Number the Stars Unit
By: Kelsey Bostic
6th grade Language Arts
West Millbrook Middle School
Mrs. Hooker
Part I:
Unit Title: Number the Stars
A. Introduction: For this unit I will be teaching a 6th grade language arts classroom
at West Millbrook Middle School. My cooperating teacher is Mrs. Hooker and she has
been an amazing help to me throughout this whole unit plan process. I will be
teaching 1st period, 3rd period, 4th period, 5th period and 7th period. 2nd period is my
planning and 6th period is guided study. My 5th and 7th periods are higher-level
students; there are many AG students in these two periods so I will make the work a
little more challenging for them. My focus will be on the novel, Number the Stars.
My school does not have enough of these novels for every student in all of my
classes to have a copy so they will not be able to take their novels home. Since they
will not be able to take them home, we will have to do a lot of reading during class
time. I collaborated with three of my peers during this unit plan: Michelle Parker,
Stephanie Doss and Mary Weeks. I also collaborated with my cooperating teacher,
Mrs. Hooker. Mrs. Hooker was an amazing help with this unit plan. Crystal, Clarice
and Dr. Young also all helped me a tremendous amount, without all of these people,
this unit would not be as effective as it is.
B. Organizational Principle: Theme: Doing the right thing, Making Choices is the
theme that I have selected for my unit. I have chosen this theme because throughout
the novel, Number the Stars, some of the characters are having make choices and
they usually do what is right. Students need to hear more about making right
choices because at this age they are very vulnerable and will do what they think is
cool instead of what is right. Teenagers are making choices every day so this unit
will help them to see what choices benefit you and which ones do not. I will use my
journal questions to focus on the consequences of choices and I will hit on a few
more themes throughout the journals as well.
C. Primary Subject Matter Focus: Number the Stars. This novel is during the
Holocaust and it focuses on two little girls and their friendship through this. I will
relate a lot of our readings to the Holocaust so this can actually be cross curriculum
unit to an extent. I think that this including some social studies will be great for the
students because this can either be a review for them or it will give them a heads up
for what is coming when they learn about the holocaust.
D. Organizing Questions:
 What are we willing to give up in order to gain what we think we need? 
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What control do we have in making choices? How do we solve problems?
What impact do our choices have?
E. Goals: By the end of this unit students will be expected to be proficient in the
following:
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Recognize the consequences that follow making the wrong choices
Recognize the rewards for making the right choices
F. General Unit Objectives:
Cognitive:
1) Understand the novel and all of its parts
1.1 Recognize the plot of the story
1.2 Identify the climax, rising action, falling action, theme, etc.
1.3 Understand a character’s point of view
2) Develop skills in capitalization and punctuation
2.1 Identify words or phrases that need punctuation and
capitalization
2.2 Correct words or phrases that have punctuation or
capitalization errors
3) Analyze the use of figurative language
3.1 Distinguish between literal language and figurative language.
3.2 Identify figurative language
3.3 Analyze the effectiveness of figurative language
4) Understand Short Stories and all of its parts
4.1 Engage in discussion about short stories
4.2 Comprehend what they are reading
5) Understand the use of Greek/Latin Roots
5.1 Identify words that have Greek or Latin roots in them
5.2 Define words by using the root that the word has
6) Identify sequence of events in the novel
6.1 Place the events in the correct order
6.2
Affective:
7) Participate in Literature Circles
7.1 Define roles for each member of group
7.2Participate in the roles that they are assigned
7.3 Participate in-group discussion
7.4 Listen attentively to others
7.5 Respond appropriately to others opinions
8) Develop community in the classroom
8.1 Share ideas and insights with the class
8.2 Respond to the ideas and questions of others in class.
8.3 Listen to others’ responses
Performance:
9) Compose original writing
9.1 Write a Poem
9.2 Write an argumentative or persuasive essay
9.3 Revise all writings
10) Present material orally
10.1 Share pieces with the class
10.2 Use effective speaking skills
10.3 Share journal responses
11) Design a poster using technology
11.1 Use computers to make a glogster
11.2 Create a unique movie poster.
Common Core Standards:
1. CCSS-RL-(6)- 2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is
conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text
distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
2. CCSS-RL-(6)- 7 Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story,
drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version
of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading
the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.
3. CCSS-W-(6)-1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and
relevant evidence.
4. CCSS-L-(6)-1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard
English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
5. CCSS-L-(6)-3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when
writing, speaking, reading, or listening
6. CCSS-RL-(6)-4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the
impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
7. CCSS-RL-(6)-9:Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres
(e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of
their approaches to similar themes and topics.
8. CCSS-SL-(6)-5: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images,
music, and sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify
information.
9. CCSS-SL-(6)-1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6
topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their
own clearly
G. Possible Unit Materials & Supplementary Texts:
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Carol Pope’s Small Group Discussion Worksheet *
Literature Circle Role sheets *
240 Vocabulary Words 6th Grade Kids Need to Know Workbook Sheets
Kozol’s “First Person” Literature Circles sheet *
Bridging English Textbook
H. Possible Activities/ Instructional Strategies:
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Daily Journal questions *
Read Number the Stars *
Free writes *
Literature circles *
Analyze a poem
Write an “I Am” poem in the perspective of a character *
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Write and argumentative or persuasive essay *
Read a short story that goes with the novel and annotate it *
Reading comprehension strategies *
Small group discussion sheet for novel (Carol Pope) *
Greek/Latin Roots tied into journals. Flipbook activity and magazine activity
Greek/Latin root oral quiz *
Capitalization through journal entries *
Annotation on current event or article related to the novel *
Review figurative language when applicable
Glogster poster made for novel (technology) *
Facebook page (paper) made for a character of choice *
Reading/work days *
Capitalization Station Activity *
I. Unit Map/Narrative Overview
Day One: On my first day we will start with a journal question, the question for
today will be, “Would you ever be willing to risk your life for someone? Under what
circumstances might you take this risk? ” I will then give them time to share. Then I
will introduce myself through a power point and I will introduce my classroom rules
and the way I will manage it. After we finish this and I take questions from the
students we will transition to introducing the novel we will be reading. I will
introduce Number The Stars through a you tube video that is like a book trailer.
After this we will do an activity on the author. I will pass out a reading log for each
student as well and they have to keep track of what page they are on as we read
along. This will be turned into me on the last day of our novel discussions.
Homework will be for students to take home worksheet I give them on an
introduction to Number the Stars, they will need to read it and bring me three
interesting facts or takeaways from what they read to class tomorrow and we will
discuss them.
Day Two: Today we will start with a journal question. The question will be, “Have
you ever needed to be brave? If so, write about the situation you were in.” The
students will share their journals if they want to and then we will discuss our
takeaways from the worksheet we read last night. Then I will introduce Greek/Latin
roots and then we will do a flipbook activity. I will then explain how to do the
flipbook and let them do this until they finish up. I will then proceed to pass out
words to the students that we will use tomorrow for another activity dealing with
magazines. I will go around and write down the word that each student was
assigned just in case they forget their word tomorrow. If there is time left in class I
will begin reading the novel to the class aloud until the class ends.
Day Three: No journal today. We will then transition into our Greek/Latin root
magazine activity. I will get the kids to remember what their word was from
yesterday and have them write it on the paper that I provide them, they can write it
however they want. This will be like a collage but it will be of words that use the
Greek/Latin root that they are given. They will search for these words in magazines
that I will provide them and they will make a collage on their paper. After they are
finished I want them to go get a dictionary and look up all the words and write a
brief definition under each word on their paper. This will probably take up the
whole class period but if it doesn’t than I will read some of their novel to them.
Day Four: On day four we will have a free write at the beginning of class. (This will
go in their journal) They will get to choose between four topics to write about. The
topic page would be in my references section if I had written a lesson in this day.
After they have had 10-12 mins I will let them share if they chose to. After this we
will transition into sharing our magazine activities to the class if they choose to. I
will take the activities up as they finish sharing so that I can give them a
participation grade or letter grade (have not decided what kind of grade yet). After
they finish we will read a loud for the rest of the class period. Their homework for
the night is to study their roots for the oral quiz tomorrow.
Day five: We will start today off with another free write but they will have to pick
from the same topics but pick a different one than they did yesterday. After giving
them 10-12 mins I will let them share if they chose to. I will then let them review
their roots for a few minutes and then we will take an oral quiz on roots. I will call
out the root word and they will have to write down the definition and an example of
how this root can be used (a word using the root.) I will then take up the quizzes and
we will have a discussion about the novel and what is going on so far, I will answer
questions about the book and we will discuss the theme and some of the characters
so far. After this we will read the novel with the time remaining. Their homework
for tonight will be a worksheet on the novel.
Day six: Another free write will be done today, they will choose from the same list
but it will be a different topic, they should only have two to choose from now. After
giving them 10-12 mins I will give them a chance to share if they wish. I will
introduce the essay that they will be writing for me today. We will discuss what type
of essay it will be and the topic that they will be writing on. I will then teach them
about the parts of an essay, like the thesis statement. After I have assigned the essay
and they are finished asking questions, we will read some of our novel. Their
homework for the night is to brainstorm some essay topics.
Day seven: Today we will start off with a journal question but this will be more of a
D.O.L. It will be a paragraph and they will need to correct all of the capitalization
mistakes. I will have the students tell me some of their corrections. We will then
transition into a capitalization activity. I will set up stations and at each station there
will be a capitalization rule. The rule will not be given, there will examples of the
rule on a piece of paper and the student will have to figure out what rule is being
given. The students will be in groups of three to four. Each student will have their
own worksheet where they have to fill out the rule that they think it is and provide
their own examples of each. They can choose to collaborate with their group or they
can figure out the rule on their own. This will take up the time in the period but we
will come together after they have gone through all their stations and we will
discuss why they thought certain stations were certain rules. [Reference:
Capitalization activity adapted from Andrea Wallenbeck, 6th grade teacher at
Exploris.]
Day eight: On day eight we will start off with a journal question, another D.O.L
involving capitalization. We will then share the corrections made. We will then
move into an activity dealing with our novel in groups. This activity will be one that
Dr. Pope assigned us in class, it is a handout that goes through questions about the
book. An example would be, what would this story be like if the main characters
were of the opposite sex? It will get the students thinking and help them to dig
deeper into their novel. They will not be finished with the novel yet but they will still
be able to answer these questions. If they think that they cannot I will get the
students to think about how they think it ends and use their own imagination to
answer the questions that they are having trouble with. This will take up the whole
class period so we will come back tomorrow and share our answers as a group and
have a discussion.
Day nine: No journal question today. We will begin our class with sharing our small
group activity that we did yesterday, this will lead into many discussions so this will
probably take up a lot of the class period. If we do have time I have a fall back plan
and we will read a short story that relates to our novel and we will annotate it and
compare and contrast the novel and short story by using an anchor chart on the
board. I will have an annotation hand out for the students. If we do not have time in
class, I will pass out the short stories and they will take them home and annotate
them for homework. We will discuss our annotations tomorrow in class.
Day ten: We will not have a journal question today, we will start with our quiz. We
will have a quiz on the novel we are reading. After we have finished the quiz we will
start working on an “I AM” poem. We will first read one and then we will make our
own in the eyes of one of the characters in the novel. (I have an outline).
Day eleven: We will start off with a journal question. The question will be, “Who is
the character that you identify with most and why?” And then I will let the students’
share if they chose to. We will then transition to annotating an article that goes
along with our novel we are reading. We will discuss the article and the annotations
that each of us have made. After this we will read our novel for the remainder of the
period.
Day twelve: No journal question. We will discuss the characters in the novel and
our favorites and some of the traits that these characters portray. We will then
transition into making a fake Facebook page for any character in the novel that we
are reading. I will have a fake Facebook page ready for the students, they will need
to pick a character and then fill out the page the way that they think their character
would. We will start to share our pages when everyone is finished but we will finish
sharing tomorrow.
Day thirteen: Today we will not have a journal; we will begin by sharing the rest of
the Facebook pages. After we are finished with the pages, it will be a workday. The
students can work on their essay or read their novel. There are no other options to
work on.
Day fourteen: We will be in the media center today. We will be making a glogster
for our novel. This is a poster made online and it should be advertising the novel for
people who have not read it. Make it appealing and make it neat, there will be a
rubric and it will be for a grade. This will incorporate technology into my unit plan.
The glogster site has many different things to make a poster look nice and unique so
I expect my students to put some thought and creativity into it. Homework will be to
work on glogster if you have not finished. You should be finished after today though.
Day fifteen: Today we will be having our novel test. I will also take up their
journals and their reading logs. Their reading logs should have all of the activities
that we did on the novel in it. I will have a sheet that tells them all the materials that
should be in their log. They will be graded on completeness but also on some
individual assignments all we will do today is the test, I will give them the whole
class period to work on it and if they finish early we will just talk about the test and
the novel.
Next Unit Possibility:
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The next unit theme is “What’s your point?” We will explore how characters
make their point. A possible novel for this unit could be The Hunger Games.
Katniss makes a point to prove to the capital that she is not a piece in their
game. We could do many things with this book using this theme.
PART II: The Daily Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan Day One
Unit Title: Number the Stars
Lesson title: Introduction to self and novel
Plan Number: #1
Context: To begin this lesson I will use a PowerPoint to introduce myself, my rules
and my procedures that I will be bringing to this classroom. I want them to know
that Mrs. Hooker’s rules are still in place but we will be doing them a little
differently. I will also introduce the novel we will be working with called Number
the Stars through a you tube video and then a meet the author worksheet. This will
jump start our novel unit.
Primary Instructional Objective:
SWBAT
Cognitive
 Understand the use of Greek/Latin Roots
5.1 Identify words that have Greek or Latin roots in them
5.2 Define words by using the root that the word has
Affective
 Develop community in the classroom
8.1 Share ideas and insights with the class
8.2 Respond to the ideas and questions of others in class.
8.3 Listen to others’ responses
Performance
 Present material orally
10.1 Share pieces with the class
10.2 Use effective speaking skills
10.3 Share journal responses
Common Core Standards:
CCSS-RL-(6)-7: Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story,
drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of
the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the
text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.
Materials/ Technology Resources Required:
 Journals
 Pencil
 Introduction PowerPoint
 You Tube video on Number the Stars
 Meet the Author worksheet for all students
 Smart board
 Introducing the Novel worksheet (homework)
Time: 50-minute class
Instructional Procedures/Steps:
 Journal (5-7 mins)
o Journal Question: Would you ever be willing to risk your life for
someone? Under what circumstances might you take this risk?
o I will tell students to feel free to ask me questions about the prompt
and I will answer them.
o I will then give the students 5-7 minutes to write their responses
o When time is up I will ask for volunteers to share their responses with
the class.
 Introduction PowerPoint (10 mins)
o I will have my PowerPoint on the smart board.
o This PowerPoint will be introducing myself to the class and
introducing my procedures and how I expect them to act while I am
their teacher.
o This will also go over how I will manage the classroom.
o I will take questions from students after I finish my PowerPoint
because I know that they will be anxious to ask. We will then
transition into our book trailer.
 Introduce novel and show a You Tube video about Number the Stars (20
mins)
o While I am bringing up the video the students are to be quietly
discussing the novel with their fellow classmates, have they heard of it
before, what do they think it will be about? Etc.
o I will then show a video that is a little over two minutes long on the
novel we will be reading.
o I will then ask the students what they know about the Holocaust
o We will briefly discuss Holocaust facts and what they know about it
already.
 I will pass out the reading logs to the students.
o The reading logs will be a simple folder. The students will need to put
their name and their class period on the folder. I will then tell them
about how they need to keep everything that they do that involves the
unit in this log because it will be taken up for a grade on the last day of
our novel and novel test.
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Activity on Introduction to Number the Stars
o I will have a worksheet about the author for the students to read
o The students will need to write at least two questions that they would
want to ask the author before reading this novel and hand them in as
they leave or finish for homework.
Evaluation:
 Students will hand in the questions to the author and this will tell me
If they actually read the article or not and it will help me to see how
well they understand what is going on in the reading. Their
homework for tonight will also show me if they understand what the
novel is going to be about.
 Students participated in class discussion
 Students turned in their questions to the author
Accommodations: My 5th and 7th periods have AG students in them so I would
make their work a little more challenging. There are no special needs students that I
have to make accommodations for.
In Reflection: To be edited upon completion of teaching this lesson.
Appendix of Materials Needed:
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Introduction PowerPoint
Intro to Number the stars through you tube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zr2EglM9U&feature=share&list=PLC02933807B05044E
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Meet the Author Worksheet (Glencoe Literature Library)
Introducing the Novel Worksheet (homework) (Glencoe Literature Library)
Lesson Plan Day seven
Unit Title: Number the Stars
Context: This lesson will focus on capitalization and our novel. We will work on
capitalization skills through our journal, which will be in D.O.L form (Daily Oral
Language.) We will have a brief discussion on the importance of capitalization and I
will try to pull out prior knowledge from the students during this. We will correct
sentences together as a class and then discuss why we corrected the things we did.
We will then use the rest of our period as a reading workday, they will all need to
read their novels, we will take a vote to see if we want it read a loud or silently.
Primary Objectives:
Cognitive:
 Develop skills in capitalization and punctuation
2.1 Identify words or phrases that need punctuation and
capitalization
2.3 Correct words or phrases that have punctuation or
capitalization errors
Affective:
 Develop community in the classroom
8.1 Share ideas and insights with the class
8.2 Respond to the ideas and questions of others in class.
8.3 Listen to others’ responses
Performance:
10.1 Share pieces with the class
Common Core Standards:
. CCSS-L-(6)-1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard
English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
Materials/Technology Needed:
 D.O.L passage
 Figure out the capitalization rule activity
 Novel
Time: 50 minutes
Procedures/Steps:
 We will begin our day with a journal question but it will be in D.O.L form
instead of an actual question. The passage that they will be correcting is a
passage from our novel and it is on page 22. Passage is provided at the end of
this lesson. (5-7 min) (Lowry, 1989)
o Students that choose to will then share their corrections and we will
talk about why they corrected it and why it is right or why it is wrong.
I expect students to get some of the corrections wrong, this will give
me a chance to teach them the right way to do it. (5-7 mins)
 We will then transition into a capitalization activity [Reference:
Capitalization activity adapted from Andrea Wallenbeck, 6th grade teacher at
Exploris.]
 The remainder of the period will be a reading workday; students will need to
only be reading their novel. We will take a vote whether to have the book
read aloud or silently. (20-25 mins)
o While reading I will model the Think Aloud reading strategy. This
means that while I am reading I will pause and say thoughts that are
in my head about the part we are reading, this will help the students
to see my thought process and hopefully trigger their thinking skills as
well. This will help them to also pause and think about what has been
read or is being read. Students can share their thoughts during this
time as well.
Evaluation:
 I will evaluate my students today through their D.O.L journals and through
the sentences that we correct as a class. This will show me if the students
know what they are supposed to capitalize.
 Students will correct their D.O.L paragraphs
 Students will correct sentences with the class
 Students will take turns reading novel aloud
In Reflection: To be edited upon completion of teaching this lesson.
Appendix of Materials Needed:
 D.O.L. Passage to correct
 Figure out the rule activity
D.O.L for Day 7
Version that should be corrected by students:
Annemarie jumped out of bed, and kirsti grunted in her Sleep. Peter! She
hadn’t seen him in a Long time. There was something frightening about his being
here at Night. copenhagen had a curfew, and no citizens were allowed out after Eight
o’ clock. It was very dangerous, she knew, for peter to visit at this time. But she was
delighted that He was here. Though his visits were always hurried- they almost
seemed secret, somehow, in a way she couldn’t quite put Her finger on- still, it was a
treat to see Peter. It brought back memories of happier times. And her Parents loved
peter, too. They said he was like a Son.
Version from book and how it should be written:
Annemarie jumped out of bed, and Kristi grunted in her sleep. Peter! She
hadn’t seen him in a long time. There was something frightening about his being
here at night. Copenhagen had a curfew, and no citizens were allowed out after eight
o’clock. It was very dangerous, she knew, for Peter to visit at this time. But she was
delighted that he was here. Though his visits were always hurried- they almost
seemed secret, somehow, in a way she couldn’t quite put her finger on- still, it was a
treat to see Peter. It brought back memories of happier times. And her parents loved
Peter, too. They said he was like a son.
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Passage is on page 22 in Number the Stars. (Lowry,1989).
Stations for Capitalization Rule Activity:
Station 1:
Rule: Capitalize a proper noun
Ex: Golden Gate Bridge, North America, and George Washington
Station 2:
Rule: Capitalize a person’s title when it precedes the name. Do not capitalize when
the title is acting as a description following the name.
Ex:
 Chairperson Petrov
 Ms. Petrov, the chairperson of the company, will address us at noon.
 Mayor Arnold.
 Professor Carol.
Station 3:
Rule: Capitalize points of the compass only when they refer to specific regions.
Ex:
 We have had three relatives visit the South.
 Go south three blocks and then turn left.
 We live in the southeast section of town. (Southeast is just an adjective here
describing section, so it should not be capitalized.)
Station 4:
Rule: Always capitalize the first and last words of titles and publications regardless
of their parts of speech. Capitalize other words within titles, including the short verb
forms Is, Are, Be.
 Exception: Do not capitalize little words within titles such as a, an, the , but,
as, if, and, r, nor or prepositions, regardless of their length.
Ex:
 The Day of the Jackal
 Number the Stars
Station 5:
Rule: Capitalize the names of specific course titles
Ex:
 I must take history and Algebra 2
 I do not like math but I love Language Arts.
Station 6:
Rule: Always capitalize the beginning of a sentence
Ex:
 My mother told me to go to the store.
 Listen to the teacher and you will get a good grade.
 Everyone needs to go and watch that movie.
Station 7:
Rule: Always capitalize the word, “I” when it is by itself.
Ex:
 I am going to go to school now.
 Leslie and I had a lot of fun today at ballet.
 I went to the library today and I found a really cool book.
Capitalization rule activity sheet
Name:
Station 1 rule:
Date:
Your ex:
Station 2 rule:
Your ex:
Station 3 rule:
Your ex:
Station 4 rule:
Your ex:
Station 5 rule:
Your ex:
Station 6 rule:
Your ex:
Station 7 rule:
Your ex:
Lesson Plan Day Eight:
Unit Title: Number The Stars
Plan Number: 8
Context: Today we will be focusing on our novel through small group discussions.
The sheet that I will be handing out will have questions on it that students don’t
normally get asked about their novel that they are reading. This will help them to
reach different levels of their comprehension with the novel. We will also briefly go
over capitalization again during out journal time; it will be another passage from
our novel. This will tie into our lesson from yesterday; it will be like a review on
capitalization.
Primary Instructional Objectives:
Cognitive:
2.1 Identify words or phrases that need punctuation and
capitalization
2.2 Correct words or phrases that have punctuation or
capitalization errors
Affective:
7.1 Define roles for each member of group
7.2Participate in the roles that they are assigned
7.3 Participate in-group discussion
7.4 Listen attentively to others
7.5 Respond appropriately to others opinions
Performance:
 Present material orally
10.1 Share pieces with the class
10.2 Use effective speaking skills
10.3 Share journal responses
Common Core Standards:
CCSS-SL-(6)-1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions
(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6
topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their
own clearly.
Materials/Technology Required:
 Journal
 D.O.L passage to be corrected




Small group discussion sheet
Pencil
Paper
Smart Board
Time: 50-minute class
Instructional Procedures/ Steps:
 Journal: (10 mins)
o We will begin our day with a journal question but it will be in D.O.L
form instead of an actual question. The passage that they will be
correcting is a passage from our novel and it is on page 22. Passage is
provided at the end of this lesson. (Lowry, 1989)
o Students that choose to when then share their corrections and we will
talk about why they corrected it and why it is right or why it is wrong.
I expect students to get some of the corrections wrong, this will give
me a chance to teach them the right way to do it.
 Move into our small group discussions (all class period)
o I will pass out the sheet that goes into detail about the small
discussion groups. [Reference: Adapted from Carol Pope]
o Students will then get into groups and will begin to pick out their
questions and assign roles.
o This will probably take the whole class period.
Evaluation: Students will be evaluated in the journal, which is another D.O.L. They
will also be evaluated through the small group discussions. They will share their
questions and responses with the class tomorrow.
In Reflection: To be edited upon completion of teaching this lesson.
Appendix of Materials Needed:
D.O.L for Day 8
Version that should be corrected by students:
“Do you really think anyone will come?” ellen asked nervously, turning to
Annemaire in the bedroom. “Your Father doesn’t think so.” “Of course not. They’re
always threatening stuff. they just like to scare people. “ Annemaire took Her
nightgown from a hook in the closet. “Anyway, if they did, it would give me a chance
to practice acting. i’d just pretend to be lise. I wish I were taller, though.” Ellen stood
on tiptoe, trying to make herself tall. She laughed at Herself, and her voice was more
relaxed.
Corrected Version:
“Do you really think anyone will come?” Ellen asked nervously, turning to
Annemarie in the bedroom. “Your father doesn’t think so.” “Of course not. They’re
always threatening stuff. They just like to scare people.” Annemarie took her
nightgown from a hook in the closet. “Anyway, if they did, it would give me a chance
to practice acting. I’d just pretend to be Lise. I wish I were taller, though.” Ellen
stood on tiptoe, trying to make herself tall. She laughed at herself, and her voice was
more relaxed.

Passage is from Number the Stars on page 40 (Lowry,1989).
Small group discussion
Each member of your group must have read the same book
Directions for getting groups together:
 Decide who will be the recorder for your group; this person will record the
discussion.
 Decide on a facilitator who will keep the discussion going
 Decide on a timer who will keep the group on task and within the assigned
time.
 Decide on a reporter who will report to the whole class.
Discussion Process:
 Each person will share his or her personal opinions, feelings, and reactions to
the book.
 The group will choose five or more, or even all questions from the list below
to discuss conclusions.
Questions:
1) What would this story be like if the main character were of the opposite
sex?
2) Why is this set where it is?
3) If you were to film this story, would you use black and white or color?
Why?
4) If you could not use all the characters in the film, which could you
eliminate?
5) How is the main character different from you?
6) Would this story make a good television series? Why?
7) What one thing in the story has happened to you?
8) Reread the first paragraph. What is in it to make you want to read on? If
nothing, why did you continue?
9) If you had to design a new cover for this book, what would it look like?
10)What does the title tell you about the book? Does it tell the truth?
Target Answers
1) Males in the class could say that it is easier to relate to if the main
character was of the opposite sex. A female’s answer could vary with this
question.
2) Many of the answers should deal with the fact that this novel took place
during the holocaust.
3) These answers could vary depending on the opinions the students have.
4) This is another opinion question so the answers will vary for each group.
5) This question is a personal question so this will vary from student to
student.
6) Some will probably say that it would be a good series because students
enjoy watching television a lot more than reading.
7) This will definitely vary because some situations will relate to some
students more than others.
8) This is another opinion question so there could be multiple reasons why
students kept reading. My guess is that they will say that they had to for
their class.
9) The answers for this question will vary as well.
10) Students will probably give a summary of the novel that relates to the
cover. Answers will vary.
Lesson Plan Day Ten
Unit Title: Number the Stars
Plan Number: 10
Context: Today we will start on poetry. We will be reading and writing an “I Am”
poem today. The purpose of this is to learn to write our own poetry and to see
different perspectives because they are choosing a character from the novel.
Primary Instructional Objectives:
Cognitive:
 Identify sequence of events in the novel
6.1 Place the events in the correct order
Affective:
 Develop community in the classroom
8.1 Share ideas and insights with the class
8.2 Respond to the ideas and questions of others in class.
8.3 Listen to others’ responses
Performance:
 Compose original writing
9.1 Write a Poem
Common Core Standards:

CCSS-L-(6)-1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard
English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS-L-(6)-3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when
writing, speaking, reading, or listening
Materials/Technology required:
 Journal
 Pencil
 Quiz
 “I Am” poem outline
 “I Am” poem examples
 “I Am” poem rubric
Time: 50 minutes
Instructional Procedures/Steps:
 Quiz on Number the Stars
o We will start our class off with a quiz on our novel, Number the Stars.
o Students will need to use their novels as a cover sheet.
o After they finish, they need to bring it to the front of the class where I
am and turn it upside down on my desk.
 “I Am” poem (Reference: Adapted from Ms. Reinert’s Class Blog)
o We will then transition into creating our poems.
o I will put an example of an “I Am” poem
o Then students will need to choose a character from Number the Stars.
o They will use this character and write from their perspective for this
poem.
o I will hand out the outline to the poem and they will need to follow it
exactly the way it is. I will also pass out the rubric for the poem and
have the students sign the bottom of it after they have read it and I
will take them back up. The signature at the bottom will be proof that
they read and understood the way that their poem will be graded.
o The students will have the remainder of the class period to work on
the poem and they can take it home for homework and bring it back
tomorrow completed. They will need to present their poems
tomorrow.
o They can decorate their poem however they see fit, creativity is on the
rubric so the more creative they are, the better. The creative options
are endless.
o Tomorrow, they will be presenting their poems and they will be
graded on their oral and visual presentation. They need to make sure
that they bring it back to class with them tomorrow or they will
receive an incomplete.
Evaluation: I will be evaluating them on their poems. They will present them
tomorrow and I will have the rubric with me while they present. This will show me
that they understand the character’s point of view and that they understand how to
write and “I Am” poem.
In Reflection: To be edited upon completion of teaching this lesson.
Appendix of Materials needed:
Name:
Date:
Period:
Number the Stars Quiz
Directions: Put a 1- 6 beside the events. Put these events in order of the way they
happened in the novel.
______ Mrs. Hirsch disappears
______ Soldiers stop Annemarie and Ellen
______ The soldiers come to the Johansen's house and they pretend that Ellen is Lise.
______ Ellen, Kirsti, Annemarie and Mrs. Johansen go to Uncle Henrik's house to visit
him.
______ Mr. Johansen tells the story about the king
______ Ellen's parents are taken to a safe hiding place and the Johansens are hiding
Ellen in their house.
Short Answer:
1. Who is Lise and what happened to her?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why does Ellen spend the night with Annemarie?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Create an I Am Poem
Follow the outline below to create an “I Am” poem in the point of view of one of the
characters in the novel that you choose.
First Stanza
I am (two special characteristics your character has)
I wonder (something your character would actually be curious about)
I hear (an imaginary sound your character might hear in his/her head)
I see (an imaginary sight your character might see in his/her head)
I want (an actual desire of your character)
I am (repeat the first line of your poem)
Second Stanza
I pretend (something your character might actually pretend to do)
I feel (a feeling about something imaginary your character might have)
I touch (something your character would like to touch, or imagine touching)
I worry (something that would make your character very sad)
I cry (something that would make your character very sad)
I am (repeat the first line of your poem again)
Third Stanza
I understand (something that your character knows is true)
I say (something that your character would believe in)
I dream (something that your character would actually dream about)
I try (something that your character would really make an effort to try)
I hope (something your character would actually hope for)
I am (repeat the first line of your poem for the last time
Poem example:
I AM
I am a hard working teacher who loves to laugh
I wonder how my students will do this year
I hear their brains clicking
I see the light in their eyes
I want them to want to succeed
I am a hard working teacher who loves to laugh
I pretend I am always in control
I feel like I’m swimming in quicksand sometimes
I touch the hearts and minds of others
I worry that I am not good enough
I cry when one of my family is in pain
II am a hard working teacher who loves to laugh
I understand I cannot save everyone ignorance and apathy
I say I still need to try
I dream of being the best teacher I can be
I try to make my classes interesting
I hope I never stop caring
I am a hard working teacher who loves to laugh
--Art Belliveau
Creativity
Grammar
Excellent
Showed an
immense
amount of
creativity in
creating their
poem. A lot of
thought went
into it.
Satisfactory
Showed a good
amount of
creativity in
creating their
poem. Little
amount of
thought went
into this poem.
Poor
Showed little
amount of
creativity in
creating their
poem. Very
little amount
of thought into
it.
Unsatisfactory
Showed no
amount of
creativity in
creating their
poem. No
thought went
into this poem.
4
Grammar
usage was
excellent.
Little to no
grammar
mistakes.
3
Grammar
usage was
satisfactory. A
few mistakes
in the poem.
2
Grammar
usage was
very poor. Too
many mistakes
in the poem.
1
Grammar usage
was
unsatisfactory.
There were too
many mistakes
in this poem.
3
2
1
Poem structure
was somewhat
followed. Did
not follow the
exact outline of
the poem.
Poem
structure was
not followed
well. Did not
use the outline
the way they
should have.
Poem structure
was nonexistent. The
outline given
was not used at
all.
3
Spoke clearly,
had some eye
contact.
2
Spoke too
softly and did
not have eye
contact.
1
Poor speaking
skills, eye
contact was not
given.
4
Poem
Structure
Poem
structure was
followed
precisely.
Student used
and followed
the outline
given.
4
Oral
Spoke clearly,
Presentation made eye
contact.
4
Visual
Visual
Presentation presentation
was excellent.
Neat, and eyecatching.
4
3
Visual
presentation
was good.
Neatly put
together.
3
2
1
Visual
presentation
was poorly put
together.
2
Visual
presentation
was nonexistent.
1
Total Points: ____/ 20
PART III: Evaluation:
 Our reading logs will be the culminating experience project. These logs will
include every activity that we did involving the novel. After they finish each
assignment they should put it in their log, if I take something up, I will pass it
back eventually and you still must put it in your log. I will take up the log on
the last day of the unit; we will also be having a novel test on this day as well.
I will have a sheet for them telling them exactly what needs to be in their log
so that they can try and find everything before I grade it. This will evaluate
them; it will show me what they learned from the novel and what they
learned about other subjects that I taught that we tied together with the
novel. I think that this is a great way to evaluate them because it shows all
their work but different types, I will be able to tell what they are best at and
what they need work on by looking at all of their work. Things that should be
in the log would be meet the author sheet and their questions to her,
introduction to the novel and the annotations on it and also the takeaways.
The “I Am” poem, their character Facebook page, their glogster and many
other things. I will have a whole list on the last day; I may want to add a few
things so I do not have the complete list yet.
 Novel quiz
 The novel test will also evaluate them
 Greek/Latin oral quiz
 Journal questions and free writes
Evaluation is important, many students need special attention but you may never
know until you get an assignment from them that challenge them. I plan to pay close
attention to every assignment that I get back so that I can learn my students and
they way that they think, write and create. I believe that my evaluation method for
this unit is a good one because it involves many different kinds of assignments and
works well with Bloom’s taxonomy. I think that most of his levels are covered in my
unit, if not all then most of them are.
Part IV: Works cited list &Reflective Addendum
A. Works Cited list:
 I referenced multiple activities in my lesson plans and my narrative
overviews.
Lowry, Lois. (1989). Number the Stars. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Glencoe, McGraw-Hill. Study guide for Number the Stars. Retrieved from
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/number_the_stars.
pdf
B. Reflective Addendum:
Dear Reader,
I decided my theme and unit focus after discussing it with my cooperating
teacher. My teacher always wanted to teach Number the Stars but had not been able to
so she gave me the option of doing it. I thought it would make for a great unit novel so I
told her I would do it. My process has been slow but steady, there has been many
changes in my unit but I think it has come together well. The strengths of my unit are
probably my activities, I feel that they are creative and will interest my students. I am
concerned about my standards because I am still not comfortable with the common
core. I would like to learn more about standards and would have loved to have more
time to. The limitations I had were ones that my cooperating teacher gave me, she told
me the things that I should teach during my time with her. This helped me but also
limited me to an extent. I would probably do the same in my classroom; she is a very
good teacher and has very good advice. On a scale of 1 to 4, I would say that my unit is a
3, it is good but it is not my best and it probably won’t be until I get into the field and see
how units really work. Finally, I would like to tell future students who have to do this
project that they should start soon and do work little by little. Do not wait until last
minute because it is hard and it will not be organized the way that is should be, it takes
research to find good materials. I am so glad that I started my unit as easy as I did. Even
though I started early it still took me a long time to finish it. It also works well if you
work with your fellow classmates, they have good suggestions and they help so much
because they are going through the same thing that you are. Get together with the
people in your class. Some of the people in my class have become some of my closest
friends and working with them has helped me tremendously. They give me good and
honest advice and so I highly recommend trying to become friends with you classmates.
Sincerely,
Kelsey Bostic
PART V: Process Materials:

Here are a few questions that I asked Dr. Young. I am in black and Dr. Young
is in red. He helped me a lot with these Reponses; I was a little confused
before this.
QUESTIONS!!!!
Ok 1) I have multiple things going on in my unit like making a poster or
writing and essay and creating a Facebook page. I do not know if this is
what you are looking for a culminating experience project? If so then how
can I make this my final project?
We have discussed thinking about the unit almost as a narrative -- not only
beginning, middle and end, but also the ideas of an introduction, rising
action, climax, falling action, resolution and transition to the next unit. It
sounds like rather than one culminating experience you might have
multiple ones, which is fine if that is the case. Or, you might think about
whether your unit lends itself to weighing one of these activities more than
the others so that the others are activities along the way while one is more
of the main activity. In my unit example, I provided examples of choices
students had for their culminating project -- students could choose one of
the options I developed. Keep in mind that the culminating experience
doesn't necessarily have to be a project -- it might be experiential in
nature. Hope this helps.
2) I am having a hard time finding common core standards for some of my
lessons, like for day one I am having a journal then introducing myself
through a powerpoint then introducing the novel through a book trailer and
then we are reading about the author and they are writing down questions
that they would ask her.I do not know what standard I would put for this.
any suggestions?
Keep in mind that standards don't necessary reflect the activities you're
doing in the classroom. Instead, they reflect what it is you want students to
know or to know how to do or to be able to know or do as a result of your
instruction. You may need to be a little more broad in your thinking in terms
of finding a fit for a CCSS.
3) When we cite, how should we do our internal citations? Like we would in
a novel, (Pope, 2012)?
The model lesson plan provides examples of this, but yes, you've got it -(Ref.: Pope, 2012) or (Ref.: Beers, 2006) etc.
4) When you say transitions how do you suggest we go about this? I read
your corrections for michelles lesson plan and I am not sure what you want
us to do for transitioning things!
As mentioned in class, on the Guidelines, and on the rubric, you want your
daily plans to flow from one another in a way that makes sense and is
clear and you want the steps within a lesson plan to progress from one to
the other in a way that makes sense. Think about it like you would a
narrative or writing in general. You want your reader to understand how
you're moving from point a to point b throughout your daily narrative
overview and also in your individual lesson plans.
Sorry so many questions, I am just super stressed about this right now and
want to make sure I am doing this write.
-Kelsey
No problem, Kelsey. Don't stress -- you're almost there. Breathe and keep
on plugging.
Hope this helps. Good luck finishing up.