Number the Stars - Chapters 1 and 2

Well we're two chapters in to our novel study so far and the students seem to be really enjoying it! We've had some great discussions about World War II and the Holocaust and the kids have asked some really interesting questions and raised very smart points. I think we're going to learn a lot from reading this novel.

So far in the first couple of chapters we've met the two main characters: Annemarie Johansen and Ellen Rosen. They are best friends growing up in Copenhagen, Denmark. They are 10 years old and in the same class at school. Their families live in the same apartment building.

We've also met Kirsti, Annemarie's 5-year old sister, who is very stubborn and has no fear of the soldiers that are on every street corner in Copenhagen in 1943. We also met their mothers, Mrs. Johansen and Mrs. Rosen. They meet for "coffee" every afternoon. We learned that there hasn't been any coffee in Copenhagen in a while, or tea or butter or sugar either. What the women are really drinking is hot water with herbs in it. We also learned that there is a resistance movement in Denmark trying to sabotage the Nazis and that they have an illegal newspaper called "De Frie Danske"

In Chapter 2 we learned that Annemarie likes to tell Kirsti stories when they go to bed. We also learned that the King of Denmark, King Christian X, is different from other kings. He used to ride his horse through the streets of Copenhagen with no bodyguards. When a German soldier asked a teenage boy why he does this, the boy answered, "All of Denmark are his bodyguards." We also learned a little bit about Mr. Johansen - that he thinks before he answers any question, and we learned that Lise, Annemarie's older sister, died in an accident a couple of years ago, just two weeks before her wedding to Peter Neilsen.

We had an excellent discussion today (the first of many) about bravery. A student mentioned that Kirsti was brave. Some other students disagreed. They said that Kirsti didn't know any better, so she couldn't be brave. They finally decided that bravery was knowing you could get in trouble for doing something, but doing it anyway, but it had to be something you would be thanked for later.

The students were given a question sheet on Chapter 2 and we read and discussed all the questions. They are to answer one question from each section on a piece of looseleaf and keep it in their pocket folder with the rest of their novel study materials.