Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Number the Stars

Use Number the Stars by Lois Lowry to turn your read aloud or small group work into a time to improve comprehension and talk about the text in purposeful ways.

Lois Lowry's novel Number the Stars, is the story of Annemarie Johansen and her best friend, Ellen Rosen, who live in Copenhagen, Denmark, a European city under Nazi occupation. The girls are typical: they go to school and practice running in the local athletic meet. The year is 1943; they live under the weight of Nazi soldiers marching in their town, and shortages of coffee, sugar, and butter. When German troops begin their plan to "relocate" the Jews of Denmark, Ellen moves in with the Johansen family. Annemarie is a fictional character representing the many Danish people who were part of the Resistance and helped to save the Jews during World War II. Help readers understand how to determine theme with the Book Club lesson plans and resources focusing on finding evidence to support the universal theme in the story.

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Number the Stars in the drop down below.

Instructional Overview

The first page of Book Club for Number the Stars Instructional Overview

Instructional Overview

The instructional overview includes instructional background for determining theme, instructional objectives for each of the Book Club meetings, and a list of the materials and preparation necessary to the Number the Stars Book Club.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Management Resources

The first page of Book Club for Number the Stars Management Resources

Management Resources

The management resources include a Book Club Calendar, conversation prompts, Student Self-Evaluation forms, Reading Response Board (with optional Common Core alignment), and an Expectations for Book Club anchor chart.

Meeting 1

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is a prefect text for a Book Club focusing on understanding theme. Theme is developed throughout the text, so reader will begin with documenting the important details of the plot and characters.

Meeting 2

Author Lois Lowry presents big ideas in her novel, Number the Stars. Discussion focuses on exploring the ideas that are presented in order for students to understand the text and, ultimately, identify the book's theme.

Meeting 3

When characters respond to challenges, the readers learns a lot about them. In Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, the characters encounter major challenges throughout the story. Tracking how characters change as a result of these challenges keeps the reader on track to determine the story's theme.

Meeting 4

Discussion for this Number the Stars Book Club meeting centers around developing ideas about the story's theme by using the exposition, conflicts, and climax of the plot.

Meeting 5

During this final Book Club meeting for Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, students will use what they have learned about determining theme to identify a theme for this story. While different themes are possible, students will need to support their thinking with evidence from the text.

Vocabulary Connections with Number the Stars

The first page of Vocabulary Connections with Number the Stars

Vocabulary Connections with Number the Stars

This set of vocabulary development resources for Number the Stars highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book.  Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Focus Assessment and Rubric

The first page of Book Club for Number the Stars Focus Assessment and Rubric

Focus Assessment and Rubric

Use this six-question assessment to determine whether or not students understand the key concepts associated with determining the theme.

Running Record with Number the Stars

Thumbnail for Running Record with Number the Stars

Running Record with Number the Stars

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Number the Stars. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

Management Resources - Spanish

The first page of Book Club for Number the Stars Management Resources

Management Resources - Spanish

The management resources include a Book Club Calendar, conversation prompts, Student Self-Evaluation forms, Reading Response Board (with optional Common Core alignment), and an Expectations for Book Club anchor chart.

Get Full Access to the Entire Library of Resources when You Join Today!

Unlock the potential of the books in your school and classroom libraries with lesson plans, activities, and resources expertly designed to help you meet your instructional goals
  • Teach with the best children's books
  • Always have access to new resources
  • Get access to Digial Classroom - perfect for centers
  • Finally have time to "fit it all in" with super efficient lesson plans
  • Enjoy fast planning tools and stay super organized with a personal file cabinet and dashboard
30 Day Risk-Free Guarantee, Cancel Anytime

About the Book

The cover for the book Number the Stars
Title: Number the Stars
Author: Lois Lowry
Genre: Historical Fiction
Themes: History, Award Winners
ISBN: 9780812492972
Publisher's Summary:
In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. In Copenhagen the Germans begin their campaign to "relocate" the Jews of Denmark. So Annemarie Johansen's parents take in her best friend Ellen Rosen and pretend that she is a part of their family. "Seamless, compelling, and memorable--impossible to put down; difficult to forget."
Content and Downloadable content Copyright ©2010-2024 Thinking Tree Enterprises, LLC. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced on this site are the property of their respective owners. Please see our Terms of Use.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
©BookPagez.com 2010 - 2023

Save BIG on Your Shortcut to Teaching through the Holidays - and Beyond

You’ve got all the books you and your students love. Now it’s time to grab the resources that make teaching with them eaiser than ever.
This weekend only, you can get a full year of BookPagez for just $29.
That means instant access to thousands of ready-to-go lesson plans and activities for your favorite children’s books at the lowest price we'll ever offer.
Hurry! Sale ends soon.

Resource Downloading disabled

Your ability to download resources is currently disabled. Please contact us at support@bookpagez.com

Oops!  It looks Like You're Getting Carried Away. 

When you joined BookPagez, you agreed to follow our Terms of Use. Based on your download activty, it looks like you've gotten carried away.

You are allowed to download resources to use in your classroom for the duration of your subscription. You are not allowed to bulk download resources. In other words, it's against the rules to download all (or most) of the resources. That's stealing, and it's not nice.

Please check your email for a message from us. Reply to the email and let us know what's going on so we can reactivate your account.
In order to continue, please indicate that you agree with the terms above

Get instant access to this resource plus thousands more when you join today.

  • Teach with the best books
  • Always have access to new resources (published every month!)
  • Get full access to Digital Classroom
  • Finally have time to "fit it all in" with super efficient lesson plans
  • Enjoy fast planning tools and stay organized with your personal file cabinet and dashboard