About this book
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.1
Lexile Measure: 670L
Guided Reading Level: U
Age: Age 11, Age 9, Age 10
Genre: Classics, Historical Fiction
Subject: Courage, Bravery, Heroism, Equality, Fairness, Justice, Holocaust, Honor, Jewish Experience
GETTING STARTED
Use one or more of these ideas to introduce the book to the class:
- Discuss Germany's occupation of other European nations during World War II including Denmark, Belgium, Norway, and The Netherlands. Talk about the fate of many Jews under the Nazi regime.
- Read aloud the book's title, Number the Stars, and ask students to speculate on its meaning. Write their ideas on a poster pad to review when they reach Chapter 10.
- Have students read through the list of chapter titles and make inferences about the story. Draw their attention to the number of titles that are questions. What do so many questions suggest about the story? (that it depicts a time of uncertainty) What other words jump out from these titles? (words of death and darkness—“long night,” “dark-haired one,” “death,” “casket,” “dark path”)
- Everything You Need:
- Subjects:Death, Grief, Loss, European History, Europe, Jewish Experience, Social Studies through Literature, World War II, Holocaust
- Skills:Making Inferences, Theme
