Number the Stars

Final Project Due by Wednesday, September 23^rd      

*As we read Number the Stars, it is important to really understand the characters and events in the story. Choose ONE of the following projects to complete by Wednesday September 23^rd.

Choice #1 Create a Comic Book

*Create a comic book (or flip book) displaying at least five major events from the story. Neatly draw and color the scenes. Use many direct quotations from the story to clearly explain the events illustrated on each page of your flip book. For example, one of your scenes/events may be the soldiers coming to the Johansen’s apartment to search for the Rosen family. If you chose this scene, you would draw and color what you think it looked like and also draw word bubbles, writing in them what Annemarie and/or other characters were saying. I should be able to look at the scene you illustrated and know exactly what part of the story it is. Put your name and class at the bottom-front of your comic book.

Choice #2 Create a Diorama                             

*Create a diorama displaying a scene from the story. Be creative! For example, you may use a shoebox for the base and glue figurines in it. (You could make the scene when Annemarie is running to the boat to give the package to Uncle Henrik.) You must use a note card to describe exactly what the scene is and why it is important in the story in at least one paragraph (about 5-10 sentences) and attach it to your diorama. Put your name and class on the note card.

Choice #3 Write a Book Summary and Create a New Cover

Write or type a summary of the most important events in the book in at least two paragraphs. Watch out for grammar, spelling and indenting! Then, you will create a new cover for the book and color it. It must be unique! Attach the cover to top of the book summary page. Write your name and class at the end of the summary.

Choice #4 Diary Entries

Think of one scene from the story and write or type 2 diary entries from 2 different characters’ points of view in that same scene. They must both be at least one page. Be sure to choose an important event so that it is clear what you are writing about from the story. For example, pretend you were Ellen when the soldiers came into the Johansen’s apartment to search and write from her point of view, then pretend to were one of the other characters like the soldier and write one from his point of view. Write about what happened and how you felt at the time. Use descriptive language! Write your name and class at the end of the paper.

Choice #5 Sequence Events

List 8-10 major events in the book. Illustrate these events on index cards and write a 1-2 sentence summary for each one at the top of the picture. Attach them to a ribbon or string so they hang in sequential order. This is a visual book report!

Choice #6 Coming Attraction

Number the Stars is about to be made into a movie, and you have been chosen to design the promotional movie poster. Include the title and author of the book, a listing of the main characters and the contemporary actors who will play them, a drawing of a scene in the book, and a paragraph synopsis of the story. Your goal is to make people want to see this movie!

Choice #7 Star of David Story Web

For this activity, you will use the Star of David as the center for a story web to represent an overview of Number the Stars. Choose a material such as plywood, cardboard or straws to construct a pair of identical equilateral (all sides equal) triangles. Paint these gold or cover them with foil. Overlap them to form a Star of David. Glue the triangles together. Mount the star on a piece of poster board or plywood and place it in the center of your story web. In the center of the star, write the title of the story. At each of the six points, write “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?” You are writing WHO the main characters are, WHAT they did, WHEN this happened, WHERE this happened, WHY the story was written, and HOW the story developed and concluded. Then illustrate some of the characters, symbols, and/or scenes from the book.

Choice #8 Crossword Puzzle

Create a crossword puzzle using at least TWENTY of the following: important characters, vocabulary words and specific events in the story. You may type this on the computer, or use a large piece of white construction paper if you choose to write it. You must also include the answer key. The clues you give for the words in the puzzle must be very specific. The puzzle words and clues must be reasonable, yet appropriately challenging. For example, one of the clue phrases might be “narrator of the story” to which the answer would be “Annemarie”. However, there are many other clues you could give for Annemarie as well such as “Ellen’s best friend” or “blond-haired ten-year-old girl from Denmark”. They are all correct, but you may choose to only have one clue for each word.

Choice #9 Mood Mural

Think about the story Number the Stars and what has taken place. The novel is divided into five sections (chapter 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-15, and 16-Afterword.) What words would you use to describe the mood of each of these sections? (Examples: hatred, frightening, peaceful, funny.) A thesaurus or a dictionary might give you some ideas. Divide a large sheet of construction or drawing paper into those five sections and label each with the chapter headings. Put your “mood description” under each heading. Next, think of the colors that remind you of those words. For instance, if you wrote down the word “angry,” perhaps the colors dark red, purple, or bright orange come to mind. Write these colors next to your descriptions. (Hint: pastel or light colors are usually considered peaceful, happy, colors. Dark or intense colors are often thought of as relating to intense emotions, such as anger or hatred.) Draw a scene from each of the sections using the colors you felt would relate to the mood of that scene. Pastel chalks work well. If you begin this project before finishing the story, wait until you read the rest of the story to complete the final section.

Choice #10 Continue the Story

When you finished reading Number the Stars, did you have some questions that were left unanswered? Well, here’s your chance to make-up an answer for them! You will continue the story by adding whatever you wish to it. Note: This is NOT an alternate ending; you are simply adding to the existing ending. Write or type a two page paper that continues the story. (If you type, you must use size 12, double-spaced, Times New Roman font, please). For example, you may write a scene that flashes forward in time to show if Annemarie and Ellen ever see one another again, a scene where Ellen reunites with her parents and they settle in Sweden or move somewhere else, a scene that shows what Denmark is like after the war for the Johansens, a scene in which Uncle Henrik is caught by the soldiers who discover what he is doing, a scene where Annemarie must go back to school without Ellen and face questions about the situation from her classmates...the list goes on and on! Be creative and be sure to watch out for grammar and proper punctuation!