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Our Class Novel…. Number the Stars By Lois Lowry. Who is Lois Lowry?. Lois Lowry was born on March 20, 1937, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father, Robert E. Hammbersberg , was a dentist, and her mother’s name was Katherine. Lois attended Brown University from 1954 to 1956, and received
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Our Class Novel… Number the Stars By Lois Lowry
Who is Lois Lowry? Lois Lowry was born on March 20, 1937, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father, Robert E. Hammbersberg, was a dentist, and her mother’s name was Katherine. Lois attended Brown University from 1954 to 1956, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maine in 1972. In 1956 she married Donald Grey Lowry. They had four children named Aliz, Grey, Kristin, and Benjamin. Lois Lowry says that she can still remember the feeling of excitement that she had when she first discovered, at about four years of age, that sound made words, words made sentences, and sentences made stories. She decided right then to become a writer, and held onto that dream throughout her life. When she graduated from high school in 1954, her high school yearbook described her as a “future novelist”. However, she didn’t begin to write immediately. She had a family to care for, her education to complete and more life to experience. When she began to write, she sometimes drew on her own experiences, sometimes used experiences of a friend (as she did in Number the Stars), and sometimes just used her wonderful imagination. Lois received the Newberry Award fro Number the Stars in 1990, and the International Reading Association Award for children’s literature in 1978 for a Summer to Die. Today, Lois Lowry lives in an old house on Beacon Hill in Boston that has brick sidewalks and gaslights outside. She is a grandmother now. For her own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - she tries, through writing, to convey her passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another.
Anastasia was born in 1979, at the age of ten. She's been around ever since, and she's only thirteen now. I never get tired of writing about her and her family. Katherine Krupnik, her mother, reminds me of myself. Have You Read Lois Lowry Books? Sam was born when Anastasia was ten, and for a long time he existed only in the books about her. But kids liked him. Maybe he reminded them of their own little brothers. So at the request of young readers, I gave Sam his own series.
Caroline and J.P. Tate are so much like real kids in real families: a bickering sister-and-brother pair, with a long-suffering single mom. They live in New York City, but in one book they spend a summer with their dad in Iowa. In truth, the Tates could exist anywhere.
With the 2004 publication of MESSENGER, the trilogy that begins with THE GIVER is complete. Jonas and Kira are grown, and have met, at last. Of course every good book leaves one wondering, and the conclusion of the trilogy will, as well.
THE GOONEY BIRD BOOKSMrs. Pidgeon's second grade has one student who is, shall we say, somewhat unusual. New to the school in October, by Thanksgiving she has completely entranced the entire class. And there's a whole school year yet to come
STAND ALONE BOOKS Each of these is an all-by-itself book, not part of a series. They take you from Denmark to West Virginia to Boston, - and many other places - and three of them come from my own life.
What about our novel? Let’s take a book walk…. Here is what you need to do: Look at the front cover picture Think about the title of the book Read the Table of Contents Read the back cover MAKE A PREDICTION in your reading response notebook. Share your prediction with a partner.
What is this book about? Annemarie Johansen and her best friend, Ellen Rosen, are racing home from school when they are stopped by German soldiers on the corner. The girls think this is just another inconvenience that they need to contend with since the occupation of Denmark by the Nazis. However, they do not realize that soldiers on the street corners and rationed food are only the beginning of their trials. Since Annemarie and her family are Protestant, they are safe, but Ellen’s family is Jewish. When the Rosens get word that they are about to be relocated, they decide to find a way to escape. The Johansens agree to allow Ellen to live with them temporarily, and the girls embark on an adventure designed to save Ellen’s life. Mrs. Johansen’s brother, Henrik, owns a fishing boat, which he normally uses to earn his living. During the Nazis occupation, he also uses it to help smuggle Jews out of Denmark into Sweden,. However, he finds that his efforts are being ruined by German soldiers who realize that Jews are escaping, and begin to suspect the local fisherman. Annemarie discovers that once the Rosens are aboard the fishing boat, her Uncle Henrik is missing a secret packet that he needs in order to make the journey successful. In spite of her fear, Annemarie knows she must deliver the packet. She is stopped by German soldiers while on her way to the boat and narrowly escapes with the packet hidden in Uncle Henrik’s lunch. The mysterious item hidden in the packet, and the historical relevance of it are not revealed until the very end of the book. Annemarie discovers that she has played a major part in saving Ellen’s life, and that bravery is thinking about what needs to be done, not about how frightened she is.
Historical fiction includes stories that are written to portray a time period or an historical event. Usually the event or time period is about 30 years in the past. Setting is the most important literary element. Because the author is writing about a particular time in history, the information about the time period must be accurate, authentic, or both. To create accurate and authentic settings in books, authors must research the time period thoroughly. They must know how people lived, what they are, what kinds of homes they had, and what artifacts were a common part of their lives. Setting – our world, past and present Characters – like us, often including famous people from the past Action – some of the story did not happen, some of it might have happened, and all of it could have happened; not an entirely true story, but sounds like one Problem – like those of the people living in that time Number the Stars is Historical FictionWhat does that mean?
Where in the World is Europe? What does the red “X” mark? What does the blue “X” mark?
The History Behind the Story You will be using the following website to learn about background information for Number the Stars: http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/ns_history.htm You will be answering the questions in groups and we will present the information tomorrow.
The History Behind the Story Follow these steps: 1) Decide how your group is going to read. (i.e. silently and then come together, a paragraph at a time, a page at a time, etc.) 2) Read the comprehension questions FIRST to help you FOCUSwhile reading the text. Be sure to highlight or tag important information. 3) Read the passage and then answer the comprehension questions as a group. Be prepared to discuss your answers with the whole class. Answer the questions NEATLY and COMPLETELY.
3) In what ways was occupied Denmark like the pre-war years?
5) How did the Danes learn about the Nazi plans to relocate them?
7) What were living conditions like in Terezin Czechoslovakia?
8) How did the Danes continue to help their Jewish countrymen even after some were arrested and departed?
“Annemarie relaxed the clenched fingers of her right hand, which still clutched Ellen’s necklace. She looked down, and saw that she imprinted the Star of David into her palm.” (p. 49) What is the Star of David? This quote from Lois Lowry’s novel “Number the Stars” is the first time the Star of David symbol is mentioned in the novel. It is probably the first time Annemarie realizes who her best friend really is and what trouble she is in. The Star of David is an ancient symbol. In the 17th century, it became a popular practice to put the Star of David on the outside of synagogues, to identify them as Jewish houses of worship. This is the same as when a cross is used to identify a Christian church. When the modern state of Israel was founded, the Star of David was chosen as the symbol for the country’s flag. Today, it is colored blue and is centered on a white background.
