Intro to Number the Stars

Number the Stars
By: Lois Lowry

Make predictions on what you think about the novel when you view the cover.

​Goals:
-You will be able to build prior knowledge in order to understand a class read text.
-You will be able to show reading comprehension skills on informational text.

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Number the Stars

Annemarie is the main character in Number the Stars, a novel set in Denmark during World War II (1939-1945). In its simplest form, this historical novel is the story of two ten-year-old girls and the hardships they face while their country is occupied by German Nazis. In a much broader sense, it is a story of the entire Danish nation and its people. Annemarie Johansen lives with her younger sister Kirsti and their parents in an apartment in Copenhagen. Annemarie's best friend Ellen Rosen, who is Jewish, lives with her parents in the same apartment building. As the novel unfolds, both families are learning to adapt to the German soldiers who have taken control of their country. Both Annemarie and Ellen try to ignore the soldiers on the streets as they walk home from school.

Multiple Choice

Who is the main character of the novel?

• Annemarie

• Kristi Johansen

• German Nazi's

• Jewish Community

Multiple Choice

How are the families of Annemarie and Ellen affected by the German occupation?

• The families of Annemarie and Ellen are affected by fear, discrimination, and the threat of arrest due to the German occupation.
• The families are unaffected and continue their normal lives.
• They receive support and protection from the German authorities.
• The families thrive and experience economic growth during the occupation.

Multiple Choice

Where do Annemarie and Ellen live?

• Copenhagen, Denmark in an apartment.

• Oslo, Norway
• Reykjavik, Iceland
• Stockholm, Sweden

Number the Stars

In an effort to adjust to the stress brought

on by the Germans, Annemarie often loses her- self in the fairy tales she creates for her sister. But the danger heightens, and fairy tales can no longer mask the horrible reality, as German soldiers begin arresting Danish Jews.

Lowrv's inspiration for Number the Stars was her friend Annelise. The two women

were friends for many years, and Lowry heard many stories about Annelise's child- hood in Denmark. However, it was not until they were on a vacation together in 1988 that her friend shared with her some of the

things she had experienced as a child during the war. Annelise remembered being so cold that she had to wear mittens to bed. She even remembered the high, shiny boots of the German soldiers who occupied her homeland.

Multiple Choice

How does Annemarie cope with the stress caused by the German occupation?

• She copes by creating fairy tales for her younger sister.

• She copes by writing in her dairy to track her emotions.

• She talks to her sister at night by light of a candle.

• She copes by telling her parents everything she's going through.

Multiple Choice

What event causes Annemarie to face the harsh reality of the situation?

• The danger heightens when German soldiers begin arresting Danish Jews

• A dream about the future.
• A letter from her family.
• A celebration in the village.

Multiple Choice

What inspired Lois Lowry to write Number the Stars?

• Lois Lowry wrote it as a fictional story about her childhood.
• The book was inspired by a famous painting from the 19th century.
• Lowry was inspired by her friend Annelise, who shared stories about her childhood in Denmark during the war, including memories of cold winters and the German soldiers' high, shiny boots.

• Lois Lowry was motivated by her travels across Europe.

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Lowry makes many references to the soldier's boots in Number the Stars. When Lowry submitted her finished manuscript, her editor thought there were too many references to the boots. Lowry might have removed some of those references fi, soon afterward, she hadn't met a Dutch woman whose Jewish mother had been killed by the Nazis. The woman, just a toddler at the time of the Holocaust, remembered only one detail about the soldiers who took her mother away- their boots. Lowry told her editor to keep the references. She said she decided that: if any reviewer should call attention to the overuse of that image none ever has- I would simply tell them that those high shiny boots had trampled on several million childhoods and I was sorry I hadn't had several million more pages on which to m e n t i o n that.

Multiple Choice

Why did Lois Lowry include frequent references to the soldiers' boots in Number the Stars?

• Lowry used the image of the boots to symbolize the trauma and oppression caused by the Nazis, especially after learning how significant this detail was in a Holocaust survivor’s memory.

• The boots represent the soldiers' loyalty to their country.
• The boots are a fashion statement of the time period.
• The boots symbolize the soldiers' training and discipline.

Multiple Choice

What reasoning did Lowry give her editor for keeping the references to the soldiers' boots?

• Lowry believed the boots represented the countless childhoods trampled by the Nazis and felt strongly about emphasizing their impact, even if it seemed repetitive.

• Lowry claimed the boots were irrelevant to the story.
• Lowry thought the boots were a fashion statement.
• Lowry believed the boots symbolized the soldiers' bravery.

Multiple Choice

How did the story of the Dutch woman influence Lowry’s decision to keep the references to the boots?

• The story of the Dutch woman led Lowry to remove the references to the boots entirely.
• The Dutch woman’s memory of the soldiers’ boots as the only detail she recalled about her mother’s capture convinced Lowry of the importance of this recurring image in conveying the horror of the Holocaust.

• Lowry decided to change the boots into a different symbol after hearing the story.
• The story inspired Lowry to focus on other themes instead of the boots.

The Time and Place

Number the Stars is set mainly in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1943. It is a time when war is

raging through Europe and parts of Asia. German forces, commanded by Adolf Hitler, have invaded the lands around Germany, and Japan is attacking nations in the Pacific. Great Britain, France- and later the United States join forces to stop the aggression.

Adolf Hitler was the leader of the German aggression and was obsessed by the concept of racial purity." He believed that the German people were members ofa master race and des- tined to take over the world. The German Nazis

believed that peoples such as Slavs and those of African descent were members of inferior races.

Nazis also believed that Jews were members of the lowest and most dangerous race of all.

Immediately after his rise to power, Hitler embarked on a slow and steady campaign to rid Germany of Jews. In 1935 German Jewslost their citizenship, and marriage between Jews and "citizens of German ..blood" was forbid- den. In 1938 more than 1,000 synagogues were burned, thousands of Jewish businesses were looted, and 30,000 Jews were arrested.

Multiple Choice

When and where is Number the Stars set?

• Berlin, Germany in 1945 during World War II.
• Copenhagen, Denmark in 1943 during World War II.
• Copenhagen, Denmark before World War II.

• Stockholm, Sweden in 1943 during the Cold War.

Multiple Choice

What were Hitler’s beliefs about race, and how did they affect his actions?

• Hitler promoted racial equality among all races.
• Hitler believed Germans were a "master race" and considered Jews the most dangerous. This led to actions like stripping Jews of rights and destroying synagogues.

• Hitler believed in the superiority of all non-Aryan races.
• Hitler's policies focused on economic growth rather than racial issues.

Open Ended

Is it okay for someone to be persecuted against for something that is outside of their control?