Number the Stars WebQuest Project

5th Grade Reading- Mrs. Pniewski

NAME:

Our next class novel will be Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. It is an historical

fiction novel, meaning that the characters are made up, but the situation is real.

You will enjoy the book much much more if you have an understanding of what

was going on in the world at the time and place the book is set. The below web-

quest will help you gain an understanding of the deep issues the book is truly

about by exploring historical topics that impact the plot of Number the Stars.

The questions that you must answer for each website are listed right below the link to the

website. You must answer the questions in complete sentences, and change the color of your

font to make it easier to read and grade.

After your research is done and you have answered all of your questions, get your responses checked by Mrs. P.

After your assignment has been approved, Mrs. P. will place you in a group and you may hen

start creating a PowerPoint presentation with slides about the information you have learned.

You must save this question page and your powerpoint on your One Drive!

Websites for Topic #1: World War II Background

Website 1

1. On what date did Germany invade Poland, starting World War II?

2. When did Germany invade Norway and Denmark?

3. What happened in December 1941?

4. When was D-Day?

5. What happened in May 1945?

Website 2

6. How many people died and how many nations took part in World War II?

7. For Americans, why did they enter World War II and what was their clear-cut purpose?

8. What is a totalitarian government? Explain.

9. In what specific part of the world did U.S. troops fight?

10. Who was president of the U.S. during World War II and what did he order to be dropped, which led to Japan’s surrender?

Website 3

11. Who is the author of Number the Stars?

12. In what city and state does Annemarie Johansen and Ellen Rosen live?

13. Define the terms “Jewish” and “concentration camp.”

14. Define the term “Aryan.”

15. What did Hitler believe about German people and non-aryan people?

16. What happened in 1935 to Jews, shortly after Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany?

Explain at least 4 examples stated in the text.

Website 4

17. In the 20th century, there were two ‘world wars’. What were the dates of these two wars? How long did they last?

18. What are civilians?

19. Why were children evacuated and where did they go?

20. Summarize the article on ‘The war effort’.

21. What is a refugee?

Websites for Topic #2: The Holocaust

Website 1

22. To what neutral country were the Jews able to escape and find refuge in?

23. What was the population of Denmark?

24. How did Danish Jews escape to Sweden? Explain.

25. Who was Werner Best? Explain

26. Who was Han Hedtoft? Explain.

Website 2

27. What was the Holocaust? Explain what happened.

28. What groups of people were targeted during the era of the Holocaust?

29. What was the Jewish population in 1933?

30. What was the “Final Solution?”

31. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, where did many survivors find shelter? Describe what this is.

Website 3

32. What happened on March 22nd, 1933?

33. When were homeless, alcoholic, and unemployed people sent to concentration camps?

34. What were the Nuremberg Laws?

35. What specifically happened on November 9th, 1938?

36. When did Germany surrender and end the war in Europe?

Website 4

37. What is Barbara Rodbell known for?

38. What happened to the parents and sister of Barbara Rodbell?

39. How old was Shulamit Lack when she led Jews underground to Romania?

40. In what year was Faye Schulman born? 41. At what age did Faye Schulman take over the photography business?

Websites for Topic #3: Denmark

Website 1

42. What is the capital of Denmark?

43. What is the official language of Denmark?

44. Demark borders what country?

45. Describe the climate in Denmark? 46. What famous author is from Denmark? He wrote The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid.

Website 2

47. Summarize the Theresienstadt , what it was, where it was, and what happened there. This is your only question so make it a thorough summary!

Website 3

48. Who was the king of Denmark who symbolized the nation’s resistance to the German

occupation during World War II?

49. Who was Christian’s father?

50. Who did Christian marry?

51. In what year did the sale of the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) to the United

States take place?

52. During World War II, after the German occupation of Denmark began in 1940, what did

Christian often do?

Website 4

53. The Kingdom of Denmark has 2 autonomous provinces. What are they?

54. The Faroes is comprised of how many islands?

55. How many Danes live in Denmark?

56. What is the life expectancy in Denmark of women and men?

57. What is the Danish flag called?

Websites for Topic #4: The Resistance in Denmark

Website 1

58. What other countries besides Denmark were considered neutral?

59. What does neutrality mean?

60. How many Jews were found, out of 8,000, during the raid between October 1st and 2nd? Why

were so few found? Explain. 61. How long was the water passage through which the Jews were smuggled?

Website 2

62. What was the Danish resistance? Explain.

63. Where did the Danish Jews hide?

64. Why was the Danish rescue effort unique? How did this uniqueness help the effort to be

successful? 65. What was the code name for the earliest rescue operations?

Website 3

66. How many years did it take for the Germans to begin persecuting Jews from the time that

they first occupied Denmark?

67. What was different about Jews in Denmark compared to Jews in other countries?

68. How did the Danish police help Jews?

69. What does it mean to have one of the highest Jewish survival rates? Explain.

70. What was the name of the Danish rescue boat used to transport Danish refugees during World War II?

Website 4

71. What happened on Rosh Hashanah in 1943?

72. Why did the Jewish people escape to neutral Sweden? What did the Jewish people fear?

73. If the Jewish people did not escape to Sweden, what would have happened to them?

74. What is one item that can be found at the Museum of Danish Resistance 1940-1945? 75. Who was one famous Dane who fled to Sweden?

Websites for Topic #5: Life in America During World War II

Website 1

76. In what year did World War II occur?

77. What were two purposes for popular entertainment during the war?

78. What caused America to be involved in World War II?

79. What happened to women during the war?

80. How did civilians help the war effort?

81. What were two roles of women during the war?

Website 2

82. What is patriotism (hint: look at the picture which has a “patriotic theme”)?

83. When and why did patriotism surge in America?

84. Look at the poster that says “Americans! Share the meat.” What is the purpose of the poster

and why will it help the war effort?

85. Look at the Red Cross advertisement. What is the poster asking people to do and why is this

important to the war effort?

86. Look at the “Air Raid” poster. Why were these necessary? How is this similar to drills we do today?

Website 3

87. During World War II, how many women joined the workforce?

88. List some of the jobs that women did during World War II.

89. What was “The Great Depression?”

90. Define the term “deloused.” How was this done during World War II?

91. In the 1940’s, how long did it take a letter to get from America to Europe by boat?

Website 4

92. How many children, women, and elderly people were evacuated to ‘safe places’ to escape

German bombing raids?

93. Due to the food ration, how many eggs could each person have per week per family?

94. What was the job of the Air Raid Wardens?

95. The most popular Big Band came from America and was led by whom?

96. Where can you find a register of where many soldiers and civilians killed in the two World Wars are buried?

Websites for Topic #6: Jewish Traditions and Culture

Website 1

97. Describe the flag of the State of Israel.

98. What type of government does Israel have?

99. Is Israel’s government very different, similar, or exactly the same as the United States

government?

100. When was the State of Israel proclaimed? 101. What happened in 1973?

Website 2

102. What does “kosher” mean?

103. What is a major rule for cooking kosher regarding milk and meat?

104. What is the English translation of the excerpt from Ex 23:19 from the Torrah?

105. Besides not cooking meat and milk together, what are three ways to keep a kosher

house or kitchen?

106. Why do you believe that there are laws in the Torrah about what people should and

should not eat?

Website 3

107. When did the Nazis come into power in Germany?

108. Approximately how many Jews lived in the countries that would be occupied by

Germany?

109. Many of the Jews of Eastern Europe lived in predominantly Jewish towns or villages

called what?

110. What language did Jewish people speak? 111. What does the term “emancipation of Jews” mean?

Website 4

112. Who was born on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany, to Otto and Edith Frank?

113. Where did Anne Frank live the first five years of her life?

114. In Anne’s diary, what did she call the secret attic in which her family lived?

115. What is the Gestapo?

116. While in hiding what did Anne keep in which she recorded her fears, hopes and experiences? Why did this become so important?