Number the Stars Book Club
In this 8 session course, students will dive into the Newberry Award-winning book, Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry.
Rebecca Brooks
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(46)
What's included
8 live meetings
6 in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. Students will have two chapters assigned at the end of each class. Students will complete a project from a choice board to present in lesson 7.Assessment
Students will complete a project of their choice and an online trivia game which parents can access upon request.Class Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
In this 8 session course, students will participate in a book club covering Lois Lowry’s, Number the Stars. Each class will include a class conversation about the assigned reading and a read-aloud of one chapter. Students will choose a final project from a choice board to present in lesson 7. Our final class will be a wrap-up class where we review the plot and theme of the book as well as a trivia game where their reading comprehension will be assessed. Book Summary: Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life. (summary credit: Goodreads) Lesson 1: Meet and Greet. Get to know your classmates and become familiar with the background information of the story (characters, setting, time period, etc.) Chapter 1 will be read aloud and we will talk our thoughts throughout the lesson. Homework: read chapters 2 and 3 Lesson 2: Students will discuss their thoughts on the assigned reading. The teacher will have some thoughtful questions that will guide our conversations, and we will summarize the events that have happened thus far. Chapter 4 will be read aloud and talk about the chapter. Homework: read chapters 5 and 6. Lesson 3: Students will share their thoughts on the assigned reading. The teacher will have some thoughtful questions that will guide our conversations, and we will summarize the events that have happened thus far. Chapter 7 will be read aloud and we will talk about that as well. Homework: read chapters 8 and 9. Lesson 4: Students will share their thoughts on the assigned reading. The teacher will have some thoughtful questions that will guide our conversations, and we will summarize the events that have happened thus far. Chapter 10 will be read aloud and we will talk about the events that happened in that chapter. Homework: read chapters 11 and 12 Lesson 5: Students will share their thoughts on the assigned reading. The teacher will have some thoughtful questions that will guide our conversations, and we will summarize the events that have happened thus far. The teacher will read aloud chapter 13 and the class will talk about it. Homework: read chapters 14, 15, and 16 Lesson 6: Students will share their thoughts on the assigned reading. The teacher will have some thoughtful questions that will guide our conversations, and we will summarize the events that have happened thus far. Read aloud of chapter 17 and the afterword and share our thoughts. Students will be assigned a choice project and will learn about presentation expectations. Homework: Choose a project to complete and present in the next class Lesson 7: Project presentations and student share time. Lesson 8: Final Meeting: We will review the plot, theme, and student reactions to the book. We will close the course with a Number the Stars interactive trivia game.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Number the Stars is a book written from the perspective of a ten-year-old girl named Annmarie that lives in Denmark during WWII. Denmark is being occupied by German Nazis and Annmarie’s family helps Jewish families relocate to Sweden. The book is written in a simple, kid-friendly way, yet it deals with a very hard time in world history. Jewish families are working with resistance members to relocate to the safety of Sweden so that they are not relocated by the Nazis. There are mentions of cigarettes and beer in the story. “Cigarettes” is actually a code word for Jewish families, and the beer is given as a gift to a family. Soldiers are smoking in one scene, and a family gives a baby medicine to sleep on their boat journey to safety. There are some religious beliefs represented in the story as well. We will be reading the afterword on this class, which sheds some light on some events in the story. Students will learn that the powder used to keep the soldiers’ dogs from finding the Jewish families was cocaine, which stopped their sense of smell for a while. The book also briefly talks about how a renaissance leader was caught helping the Jews and that he was killed for resisting the Nazis. The events mentioned above are very brief in the story, but still should be noted as students may want to discuss them in future conversations.
Supply List
A one-page handout will be sent to the learners after our first class. The students will need a variety of materials (mostly arts and crafts materials) depending on which project they choose from the choice board.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
Students will use the book, Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry. They will need their own copy for this course. Students will also use the Kahoot website for the final class to have their comprehension assessed.
Joined July, 2020
5.0
46reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
My name is Mrs. Rebecca. I have taught every subject, grades third through sixth and kindergarten, in public schools in Kentucky since 2007. I have also taught classes online for many years, helping students learn the English language. I have my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Elementary Education. I have a technology endorsement along with my Master's degree, and my graduate and undergraduate degrees are from Western Kentucky University. I’m also a Google Certified Educator. I am a mom to three beautiful girls, and I love to read, cook, and spend time with my family. I love spending time with my 3 dogs, too!
I am passionate about teaching and learning. My approach to teaching is founded on forming positive, genuine relationships with my students and their families. I am a firm believer that students will learn best when they feel a mutual respect with their teacher in the classroom. I love to have fun in the classroom, but more importantly, I want my lessons to be relevant to my students. I want them to leave my classes knowing that what they have learned will impact their everyday lives.Reviews
Live Group Class
$100
for 8 classes1x per week, 8 weeks
45 min
Completed by 3 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-15
1-6 learners per class
