Number the Stars

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Resistance Movements During World War II”

In this activity, students will create visual timelines to help them explore and analyze resistance movements during World War II and compare other movements to the Danish resistance depicted in the novel.

Number the Stars portrays the heroic acts of resistance during the German occupation of Denmark. In this activity, you will broaden your perspective and explore other resistance movements during World War II. By doing so, you will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by those who fought oppression and made a difference in history.

• Choose a country that participated in World War II and research its resistance movement during that time. Look into acts of sabotage, espionage, underground networks, and other forms of resistance.
• Create a visual timeline that showcases the resistance movements that you researched. Include important events, key figures, and significant milestones to highlight the development and impact of the movement.
• Present your timeline to your classmates.
• Compare and contrast the resistance movement you studied with the Danish resistance depicted in the novel. Analyze the similarities and differences in terms of motivations, strategies, challenges, and impacts.
• As a class, create a diagram comparing and contrasting the various resistance movements, including the Danish resistance movement.

Teaching Suggestion: If you have access to technology, consider having students create an interactive map as their presentation instead. They can highlight countries and specific locations associated with their resistance movement. In their interactive map, they can include images, information, and brief summaries.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with learning differences may benefit from a supplied list of options for reliable sources for research. You also may want to provide them with a graphic organizer for them to organize their research. Consider strategically grouping students so that they can help each other find sources and create their final product. It may also be helpful to limit the activity to only the first three bullet points above.

Paired Text Extension: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Compare and contrast the experiences of Anne Frank and her family with the resistance efforts explored in Number the Stars and the other researched resistance movements. Why is it valuable to look at a Jewish girl’s perspective of the Holocaust and German occupation?

Teaching Suggestion: This diary provides a powerful firsthand account of the Jewish experience during the war, including life in hiding and the challenges faced by Jewish individuals and families. To tie this question to the text even more, you might ask students to discuss how Number the Stars would be different if it were told through Ellen’s perspective instead of Annemarie’s.