Number the Stars Lesson Plan

A Number the Stars lesson plan is one you need to have if you plan on using this novel in your 
Language Arts classes. This is a poignant novel that details the life of the contribution of one 
young girl to the resistance movement in Denmark during World War 11. Through her bravery, 
she helps Jewish people to hide and escape the Nazis, effectively saving their lives.

This is one novel that will get the message of the Holocaust across to young readers without 
being too graphic. You need to use Number the Stars lesson plans to help get the main themes 
across. Although the students can simply read the book, you need to explore the deeper message 
and the images that this novel evokes with your students. 

The language used in this novel is simplistic, so students will readily understand the underlying 
themes and be able to picture the action. Through direct speech, the author, Lois Lowry, invites 
the reader to go below the surface of the words to envision what life must have been like during 
World War 11.

The novel study guide from F & D Teaching Aids has everything you need to teach this novel. 
You can use it to build a theme in your classroom with links to Art, Science, and Social Studies. 
Through reading and writing, students develop their own voice and become critical thinkers.

Sample Pages From the Novel Study Guide

page 4
Teaching Suggestions

Read the novel and this novel study guide before beginning any work in class on the novel.

Make sure that there are multiple copies of the novel available so the students can read at 
home as well as in class.

Read the novel aloud in class with the students following along if you wish, to ensure that 
all students are ready to begin written work at the same time.

The novel could be read on tape by parent volunteers and used as a listening center.

The activities can be photocopied on colored paper, laminated and used as center activities. 
This will allow the teacher to work one-on-one with students who need extra help.
Do not expect students to complete all the activities. Assign a minimum number which 
must be completed and allow a choice.

Reproduce the student tracking sheet and glue it on a manilla folder so the students can 
keep track of which activities they have completed.

Reproduce a response journal page for each student to complete as each chapter is read. 
They will record their responses here. Encourage them to record their own thoughts as well as 
the summaries of their reading.

The portfolio page can be used as a decorative cover for the folder in which all work 
related to this novel study can be kept.

Comprehension questions can be assigned as written exercises or as conferencing 
questions. Remind students when writing answers that they must use complete sentences.

Vocabulary words can be used as spelling words or as dictionary work.

Show a map of Europe, pointing out Denmark, where this story takes place.

Provide background knowledge about the Second World War, Hitler and the treatment of 
the Jews. 

Read The Picture Book of Anne Frank to the class

Page 10

Chapter 2
1. What did Kristi want Annemarie to do when they were in bed?
2. Who was the most famous of storytellers?
3. Why did Annemarie's sister Lise once tell her she was special forever?
4. Who did the boy say were the king's bodyguards?
5. What was Papa's reply when Annemarie said the king could not protect them from the Nazis?
6. What happened to Lise just before her wedding?
7. Why didn't King Christian fight the Nazis when they came to Denmark? Do you agree with 
this decision? Why or why not?
8. How did the people of Denmark feel about the king's decision? What words from the chapter 
tell you this?

Creative Writing – Activity 1
Write a letter to one of the characters in the novel telling him/her how you feel about the events 
in this novel. Remember this novel is based on real events that occurred in history.

Literary Elements
Use a Venn Diagram to compare the characters of Annemarie and Ellen.

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Number the Stars