Number the Stars
By Lois Lowry
Winner of the 1990 Newbery Award Medal for quality children’s literature
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3-2-1
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Take a look at the following slide and
complete this task:
3 things you noticed in these photos.
2 emotions / words you associate with
these photos.
1 question you have from these photos.
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Acrostic Style
Choose one of these words to complete this
task: DENMARK, HOLOCAUST,
COPENHAGEN, RESISTANCE,
FRIENDSHIP, BRAVERY
Read through the background information in
this keynote.
As a group, create an acrostic-style chart to
summarize what you learned or observed
from this information.
(Think ABC chart from social studies class)
Genre
• Historical Fiction
• This book is classified as historical fiction
because as you read it, you are able to
learn about events and people during the
WWII era. The people are fictional, but
the author has researched this time period
to include real people, events and feelings
of the people of Denmark during this time.
Setting
• Denmark (see map)- a small country in
Europe, located north of Germany
• Denmark is a peninsula, like Florida, with
water on 3 sides, and several islands
• Copenhagen is the capital city of
Denmark
• 1943
• World War II began in 1939
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
• Adolf Hitler and his Nazi political party have
went against their word and invaded countries in
Europe.
• Hitler has also designed a “Final Solution”, or a
plan to eliminate all Jews from Europe, as well
as other groups, such as: gypsies,
mentally/physically handicapped people of all
ages, elderly people, Jehovah’s Witnesses,
people too ill to work, people of Slavic
nationality, including Russian prisoners of war.
A Swastika- an ancient symbol
used by many, from cavemen to
Buddhists, to early Christians, it
is most recently known as the
symbol of the Nazi Party.
Because of this, is it not a symbol
to be randomly drawing
anywhere. It has become a
symbol of hate, violence, death
and murder.
• Jews were the main target of this
elimination, and were removed from their
homes, placed in ghettos (crowded, often
barricaded areas), and eventually sent to
concentration camps.
• The war was also raging on, with many
countries involved in the war, including the
United States.
• Anyone caught helping a Jew escape from
Hitler or his Nazi party, was also
punished.
• This time in history is known as “The
Holocaust”
• As you can imagine, this time in history is
dark, dreary and at times, hard to grasp.
• This book will allow you to understand the
people and events of this time period
without getting into too much detail.
• As you get older, you can pick up books
that may be more detailed.
• There are several other historical fiction
books out there that can do the same!
DID YOU KNOW?
• Throughout their long history, followers of the
Jewish faith have faced prejudice and persecution.
The Romans banned Jews from the holy city of
Jerusalem during the days of the Roman Empire. A
thousand years later, Crusaders massacred German
Jews. In 1492 the Jewish population was driven
from Spain. By the end of the nineteenth century,
most of the world’s Jews lived in Russia and Poland.
A substantial number also lived in Germany, and
about one million had emigrated to the United
States.
• In the late 1870’s, some people began to think of
Jews as belonging to a different race, and some
writers and politicians of the time began to criticize
Jews for their religious beliefs. Adolf Hilter’s ideas
about German “racial purity” were an extension of
myths about race. He used these myths to generate
hatred towards Jews.
Book Trailers
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Please watch one (or two, or three) of
book trailer videos for Number the Stars.
http://smedsrudhomepage.wikispaces.co
m/Number+the+Stars