Developed
by Felicia M. Davis
davisfm3@adelphia.net
http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/slm/student/davisf/webquest.html
OVERVIEW:
Upon completion of
the novel Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, students will
* extend their understanding of the historical events in the novel.
* read about different types of interview questions.
* develop appropriate questions based on their research and the events in
the novel.
* summarize the events of the novel.
* create a new ending to the story of Annemarie and her friend Ellen.
* apply their knowledge by writing an interview article for their newspaper.
This WebQuest allows
students to research the historical aspects of the novel Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry in order to write a newspaper interview with Annemarie Johansen.
The interview takes place ten years after the end of World War II so
that students will be able to create their own ending to the story of Annemarie
and her friend Ellen.
INTRODUCTION:
Ten years after
the end of World War II, Annemarie Johansen has been reunited with her friend
Ellen Rosen. The story of Annemarie's heroism has been made public,
and she is becoming quite famous all over Europe. You work for a big
American newspaper, and your news team has been sent to Copenhagen to interview
Annemarie Johansen. Your team is to write a newspaper article about her life
before and during the war, her activities during the occupation of Denmark,
and how she feels about what she did to save her friend Ellen.
TASKS:
Your news team's
main task is to write a newspaper article about Annemarie Johansen. You
will be responsible for reading the novel Number the Stars by Lois
Lowry, researching different historical aspects of the novel, developing questions
to use in an interview with Annemarie, and writing the newspaper article
for your newspaper. The most creative part of this activity will be
writing the fictional answers for your questions. By the time you finish
the novel you should know Annemarie very well. Your writing should
reflect her personality in the same way that Lois Lowry presented it in the
novel.
Your news team may
have 3-5 members. You should choose one person to be the editor of
the team. The editor will be responsible for dividing up the tasks,
collecting the information from each person, and checking over the final
article for completeness. The other members can be divided up into researchers,
question writers, and question respondents. However, your team can
choose to divide up the responsibilities in whatever way best meets the strengths
of your team.
PROCESS:
1. Each member
of your team needs to read the novel Number the Stars.
2. Your team
should choose an editor and divide up the tasks.
3. Review the
graphic organizers provided below.
Choose the ones that will help your
team organize
the information and complete the task.
4. The members
responsible for research should review the topics for research. They
include the
following:
a. anti-Semitism
(discrimination against all Jewish people)
b. occupation
of Denmark
c. Jewish
population of Denmark
d. Non-Jewish
resistance
e. rescue
of the Danish Jews
5. All members
should review the reference maps of Denmark,
Germany, and Europe.
They may help
you to better understand the events of the novel. Pay
careful
attention to
the following locations:
a. the number
of islands that make up Denmark
b. how close
Copenhagen is to Sweden
c. how close
Germany is to Denmark
d. the location
of Norway
6. The members
responsible for writing the questions should review the
tips for writing an interview
article. The link will take you to the website
we reviewed in class. The best types of questions to use for
this task are open
questions,
extension questions, and direct questions. Try to limit the number
of
closed questions
so that you get more then just a yes/no answer from your
interviewee.
(IMPORTANT: submit list of questions to
your teacher before you
proceed to step 7.)
7. The novel
should be used to help write the answers to the questions for the
interview.
Remember to keep Annemarie's personality true to the book.
8. Finally,
all members should be involved in writing the final article about
Annemarie Johansen.
Review the section of tips for writing an interview
article
called "Writing the
Paper." Use the outline to keep your article organized.
Add as much interesting
information as you can. Remember to use quotation
marks around any
direct quotes from Annemarie.
9. Save your
final interview article on the computer and submit a paper copy
to your teacher.
RESOURCES:
»Graphic Organizers
The following
graphic organizers will help you to organize your research notes and your
interview questions. You may use as many as you want. Simply
click on the organizer and print as many copies as your group needs.
* Graphic organizers shown above can be found at
edhelper.com
»Topics for Research
The following
sites will provide you with background information on the topics that are
pertinent to the story of Annemarie Johansen's heroism. Use these sites
to help you develop interesting and intelligent questions for Annemarie.
»Reference maps
The three
maps provided by the sites below will help you better understand how the
location of Denmark, Germany, and Sweden affected the events in Number
the Stars.
»Tips for writing an interview
article
The link
below will take you to the writing site that we previewed in class.
»Related
Internet Sites and Books - This link will connect you to a separate
page with lists of Internet sites and fiction and non-fiction books related
to the holocaust, resistance groups, and heroic children of World War II.
<http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/slm/student/davisf/related.html>
EVALUATION:
To view the rubric
for this webquest, click on the following link:
Evaluation
Rubric: Number the Stars WebQuest
<http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/slm/student/davisf/rubric1.htm>
CONCLUSION:
You have read the
fictional novel Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. In this novel
the main character, Annemarie Johansen, is faced with an unthinkable crisis
- the Nazis are threatening the lives of all the Jewish people living in Copenhagen.
She and her family bravely choose to risk their lives to save the lives
of their Jewish friends.
By completing this
activity you have been able to better understand the living conditions in
Denmark during the German occupation and the circumstances that would lead
ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary feats. The story of the
Johansens and the Rosens is fictional, yet families like theirs really did
exist. The citizens of Denmark were able to smuggle almost all of the
Jewish people to the safety of Sweden. Lois Lowry reminds us that human
decency still exists in the world even in times of terror and war.
What traits does
Annemarie have that would give her the ability to become a hero? Do
you see any of those traits in yourself? How do you think you would
have responded in the same situation? For more information about the
heroic children and families during World War II who rose above their fears
to save others and survive in unbelievable circumstances, take a look at the
related
Internet sites and books provided.
