Teaching Number the Stars

Instructions for You

Objective: No one who reads Lois Lowry's books can stop dreaming about what happens beyond the borders of the stories. In this exercise, students will get the chance to discover what happens when Ellen and her family come home—because they are going to write it.

Using their knowledge of the characters and plot of Number the Stars, students will imagine a meeting between Ellen and Annemarie at the end of the war. This project emphasizes descriptive writing, the conventions of dialogue, and the ability to enter fully into the thematic and psychological concerns of the novel. This exercise can be done in class (over one or two class periods) or assigned as homework and presented in class for further discussion (taking about one week total).

Materials Needed: Copies of Number the Stars

Step 1: Let's start at the end, shall we? After all, this activity picks up where the book lets off. To begin, then, discuss the ending of the story with your students. Things you might focus on include:

• How Annemarie and her family change by the end of the war
• What Annemarie once feared and hoped in the days of the occupation
• Describing Annemarie's last moments with Ellen, as well as their friendship in general

Take a look at our character analyses (especially Annemarie's) to help you develop further lines of inquiry.

Step 2: Ask your students to imagine what would happen if Ellen walked back through Annemarie's door on the last page of the novel. Brainstorm a list of things they might do or talk about, keeping track of students' ideas on the board or a large sheet of poster paper. If students are slow to start talking, here are some questions you might throw their way:

• What sort of feelings might come up for each girl in this moment? 
• How do you think they would greet each other?
• Would they immediately start talking? Would it be hard for them to come together?

Step 3: It's time to put pen to paper (or fingers to computer keys, as the case may be). Before students get to work imagining Annemarie and Ellen's reunion, though, make sure they understand your expectations: they need to include dialogue and bust out their descriptive writing skills, as well as utilize proper grammar, punctuation, and paragraph formatting. With this established, let them run wild with this one.

For a fun bonus, you can set aside a class day for sharing their imagined new endings for Number the Stars—or you can simply have them turn them in and get ready for one of the more interesting paper grading experiences yourself.

Instructions for Your Students

Now that you've finished reading Number the Stars, you probably wish that you could be a fly on the wall of Annemarie's house for a while, just to see what happens next. Will Ellen come back? Does Kirsti get her yellow cupcakes with pink frosting? So many questions.

Good news: though you can't be a fly on the wall, you can come up with your own version of what happens next. In fact, you're going to have to for class. For this activity, you will have the chance to show what you think happens when Annemarie gets her biggest wish: a reunion with her best friend, Ellen.

Step 1: Discuss the end of the story with your classmates. Think about:

• How Annemarie and her family change by the end of the war
• Annemarie's fears and hopes in the days of the occupation
• Annemarie's last moments with Ellen, and their friendship in general

Step 2: Now imagine that Ellen and her family have returned to Copenhagen and the girls have been reunited. What kinds of things might they do? What might they discuss with each other? How would they react to seeing each other? Do some brainstorming with your class and make a list.

Step 3: Use these ideas to help you write the dream scene: Ellen and Annemarie's first meeting after two years of separation. Remember to include dialogue and do your best descriptive writing—while also making sure to use proper grammar and punctuation and paragraph formatting. Have fun with this project, and be prepared to share your work with your classmates. Don't you want to know what they come up with?