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This section of the Book Club web site links classrooms around the country in a discussion of Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. It will work best if everyone starts on the same date (March 20, 2000) and reads the book at the same pace. The Student Comments page has an outline of weekly reading assignments. Please note that the pace will be four lessons per week. If you have not yet registered for the online discussion but would like to, please complete our Sign In form. The online discussion assumes a basic knowledge of the Book Club program, as outlined in the teacher's handbook and videotape. These materials provide the background information and support (including blackline masters) to help you get the most from Book Club. If this is your first online discussion, see the section on Introducing Students to the Online Discussion. If you already have a clear idea of how the activity works, you can skip this and go straight to the discussion pages (see links below). Accessing the Lesson Plans and Discussion Pages Use these links to see an outline for the Number the Stars lesson plans, to go to individual lessons, to read the comments from teachers and students that we've received so far, or to submit your own comments via e-mail:
Student Comments Teacher Comments
Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen lives in Copenhagen in 1943, during the Nazi occupation of Denmark. She and her best friend, Ellen Rosen, are racing along the street one day when a German soldier orders them to halt. Although the girls do not fully understand the threat posed by the German forces, they sense the harsh cruelty in the man's voice. The girls' parents are disturbed when they hear about the incident and instruct the girls to start taking a different route home from school. "Be sure that they never have reason to remember your face," Mrs. Rosen says gravely. When a button shop owned by a Jewish woman is closed and the Nazis seize lists of Jewish residents from the city's synagogues, the Johansens know that they must help the Rosens escape before it is too late. Ellen's parents are taken away by Peter Neilsen, once the fiancé of Annemarie's dead sister Lise, and Ellen comes to spend the night at the Johansens' apartment. The family's worst fears come true when German soldiers pound on the door in the middle of the night. Thinking quickly, Annemarie tears off her friend's Star of David necklace, and Ellen tells the soldiers that she is Lise. The soldiers demand to know why the fair-haired Johansens have a brunette daughter, and Mr. Johansen convinces them with baby photos of Lise, who was born with dark hair. The next day Mrs. Johansen takes Annemarie, Ellen, and her youngest daughter Kirsti to visit her brother Henrik, a fisherman who lives on the coast. Annemarie knows that this is more than a vacation, but she has a hard time figuring out the strange code her parents and uncle are speaking. They talk about transporting cigarettes and having "good days for fishing." Most puzzling of all, they tell her that there is to be a funeral for her Great-aunt Birte, a relative she has never heard of and is certain doesn't exist. Annemarie eventually learns that her parents, Uncle Henrik, and Peter Nielsen are part of the Resistance movement. They are helping Danish Jews like the Rosens escape across the sea to Sweden. The funeral is really a gathering of Jewish people who will be smuggled out of the country in Uncle Henrik's fishing boat. Lois Lowry's description of this dangerous operation is powerful and suspenseful. Based on true events, the story teaches many lessons about courage, determination, and friendship. A major theme in Number the Stars is bravery, especially the bravery of "ordinary" people. Annemarie does not think of herself as brave, but she learns from her uncle that being frightened does not mean that one is not brave. Instead, bravery means somehow ignoring the dangers of a situation, often because one does not fully understand them. Bravery also means being determined to do what is right, even when it is dangerous to do so. Other themes in the book include pride and friendship. Annemarie's father remarks that King Christian X must have been very proud (as well as sad) on the day Denmark sank its own naval fleet to avoid having the Nazis take it over. Annemarie recognizes that the Rosens and the other Jews at Great-aunt Birte's funeral have a source of pride within themselves that shines through the ragged clothing they must wear to keep warm during their escape. Her close friendship with Ellen is symbolized in her desire to wear Ellen's Star of David necklace until her friend is able to return home at the war's end. Special Classroom Library Note: These titles are taken from the World War II unit outline in the Book Club teacher's handbook. See page 259 for the complete list.
Following are links to web sites related to the content of Number the Stars.
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