Number the Stars

The Novel Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is set in Copenhagen, Denmark in the year 1943. The novel follows the life of Annemarie Johansen and her best friend, Ellen Rosen (who is Jewish). The girls are about ten years old and constantly remember how life was before the war. In 1943, life is much harder in Copenhagen. The soldiers are filled with Nazi soldiers and there are food shortages.

The Jews living in Denmark discover through the work of the resistance movement that they are going to be "relocated." To help protect the Rosen's, the Johansen's allow Ellen to live with them and pose as their deceased daughter. They also help Ellen's parents escape.

The Johansen's know it isn't safe for them to stay at their home long, so they go to visit their uncle. This is part of the plan to help the Rosen's (and other Jews) escape to Sweden. During this time, Annemarie must go on a dangerous mission to help save the life of her best friend.

When using Number the Stars in the classroom, the link between the reality of WWII and the novel are quite accurate. I think student's would benefit from this novel by understanding that it was not just the Jews in Germany that were targeted by the Nazi's.

I think this novel could be used to discuss human rights violations, as well as discrimination. There are many ways to integrate this novel into an English or Social Studies classroom. The novel is a 5.1 grade level, but I think it would interest students in higher grades as well.

Teaching ideas for the novel!