Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is a powerful historical fiction novel that gives upper-elementary and middle-grade students an opportunity to explore courage, friendship, resistance, empathy, and standing up against injustice.
Set in Denmark during World War II, the novel follows Annemarie Johansen and her family as they help their Jewish friends escape the Nazi occupation. Through Annemarie’s eyes, students encounter a difficult period in history while experiencing a story that is accessible, engaging, and filled with opportunities for meaningful discussion.
If you’re planning a Number the Stars novel study for your 4th, 5th, or 6th grade students, this guide will give you ideas for connecting the novel to reading comprehension, vocabulary, critical thinking, history, and social-emotional learning.
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Why Teach Number the Stars?
One of the greatest strengths of Number the Stars is that it allows students to encounter history through the experiences of a child.
Rather than simply reading facts about World War II, students follow Annemarie as she begins to understand what is happening around her. This creates natural opportunities to discuss questions such as:
What does it mean to be courageous?
Why do people sometimes have to make difficult choices?
How can ordinary people respond when others are being treated unfairly?
What makes someone a good friend?
How do fear and courage influence the decisions people make?
Why is it important to learn about difficult moments in history?
These questions can move students beyond simple recall and toward deeper reading comprehension and critical thinking.
Teaching Historical Fiction Through Number the Stars
Number the Stars works particularly well as a historical fiction novel because students can examine both the story and the historical context surrounding it.
As students read, encourage them to distinguish between what is happening in the fictional story and what they can learn about the real historical events that inspired it.
You can explore:
World War II
Nazi-occupied Denmark
The Danish Resistance
The rescue of Danish Jews
The Holocaust
Geography of Denmark and Sweden
Courage and resistance
Friendship and loyalty
Prejudice and discrimination
Human rights
This makes Number the Stars an excellent choice for connecting ELA and social studies.
Number the Stars Reading Comprehension
A novel study shouldn’t turn a great book into a stack of worksheets.
The goal is to help students think more deeply about what they’re reading while still allowing them to become immersed in the story.
When teaching Number the Stars, comprehension questions can focus on:
Character motivations
Making inferences
Cause and effect
Predicting
Making connections
Identifying themes
Using text evidence
Analyzing character development
Understanding historical context
I recommend using a small number of thoughtful questions rather than overwhelming students with questions after every few pages.
The questions should encourage students to explain why they think something happened—not simply identify what happened.
Vocabulary and Grammar in Context
Number the Stars also provides an excellent opportunity to teach vocabulary in context.
Instead of giving students a long list of unrelated vocabulary words, have them encounter words as they appear within the story.
Students can:
Determine meaning from context
Identify parts of speech
Use new words in sentences
Practice spelling
Explore synonyms and related words
Apply vocabulary through writing
This approach allows vocabulary instruction to become part of the reading experience rather than something completely separate from the novel.
The unit can be used with a whole class, small reading group, homeschool student, or independent reader. It includes both printable materials and digital resources for Google Drive.
What’s Included?
The complete Number the Stars Novel Study includes:
Teacher Resources
Detailed daily lesson plans
Pacing and Standards Guide
Chapter/Section Guide
Vocabulary Word Wall Cards
Answer Keys
Parent Letter
Student Resources
Spelling list
Vocabulary activities
Grammar activities
Chapter-by-chapter comprehension questions
Short-answer questions designed to encourage deeper thinking
Book-related extension activities
End-of-book activities
Story Elements Interactive Notebook activities
Assessment Resources
Part 1 assessment covering Chapters 1–6
Part 2 assessment covering Chapters 7–end
Vocabulary questions
Comprehension questions
Essay questions
Digital assessment options
The unit also includes Common Core Standards alignment for grades 4–6.
Print or Digital? You Get Both!
Today’s classrooms aren’t one-size-fits-all, so this novel study includes both printable and Google Drive-compatible formats.
Use the printable version for traditional instruction, or assign the digital activities through your classroom platform.
The digital format can be especially helpful for:
1:1 classrooms
Paperless classrooms
Students working from home
Absent students
Small-group instruction
Independent work
The assessments also include digital options, with multiple-choice Google Forms quizzes available for self-grading.
Save Time With a Ready-to-Teach Novel Unit
Teaching an entire novel is rewarding, but the planning can be time-consuming.
This Number the Stars novel unit was created to give you a complete framework so you don’t have to create every comprehension question, vocabulary activity, lesson plan, and assessment yourself.
It is designed to be low-prep and ready to teach, while still giving you flexibility to adjust the pacing and activities for your students.
You can purchase this novel study at the following locations:
💬 Connect with Fellow Educators!
Are you teaching Number the Stars this school year? How do you celebrate kindness in your classroom?
Join our free community, Book Talk with The Teaching Bank, to share ideas, grab freebies, and connect with 3rd–8th grade teachers using novels in the classroom!
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Looking for a meaningful Shiloh novel study for your 4th, 5th, or 6th grade students?
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is a wonderful choice for teaching reading comprehension while encouraging students to think about responsibility, honesty, compassion, courage, and difficult choices.
As students follow Marty Preston’s relationship with Shiloh, they encounter questions that go far beyond the events of the story:
What is the right thing to do when the right choice isn’t easy?
Can you break a rule for the right reason?
What responsibilities do we have toward others?
How do our choices affect the people—and animals—around us?
These questions make Shiloh an engaging novel for upper-elementary readers and provide plenty of opportunities for meaningful discussion, writing, and literary analysis.
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Why Teach Shiloh?
One of the reasons Shiloh works so well as a classroom novel is that students can connect with Marty while watching his understanding of right and wrong develop throughout the story.
Marty doesn’t simply face an easy problem with an obvious solution. He has to make difficult decisions, deal with consequences, and consider how his actions affect others.
That makes the novel an excellent springboard for discussions about:
Honesty
Responsibility
Compassion
Empathy
Courage
Friendship
Trust
Animal welfare
Moral decision-making
Consequences
Character development
Rather than asking students only to remember what happened in the story, you can use Shiloh to encourage them to think critically about why characters make the choices they do.
Shiloh Reading Comprehension Activities
A strong novel study should do more than give students a list of questions to answer after each chapter.
With Shiloh, students can practice important reading skills while exploring the story and its characters.
Consider having students:
Make inferences about characters’ motivations
Identify character traits
Support ideas with text evidence
Analyze conflict
Identify important events
Make predictions
Summarize sections of the novel
Identify themes
Explain cause and effect
Make personal connections
Analyze how characters change
Respond to the author’s ideas
These skills help students become stronger readers while keeping their attention focused on the actual story.
Teaching Character Development Through Shiloh
Character development is one of the strongest areas to explore in Shiloh.
Marty’s experiences give students opportunities to examine how a character’s thoughts, feelings, choices, and experiences influence his development.
Ask students questions such as:
How does Marty change throughout the novel?
What motivates Marty’s decisions?
What does Marty learn from his experiences?
Which characters influence Marty?
How do Marty’s choices create new problems or solutions?
What evidence shows that Marty has changed?
Students can then support their responses with specific evidence from the text.
This turns character analysis into an authentic reading activity rather than an isolated worksheet.
Exploring Theme in Shiloh
Shiloh also provides opportunities to introduce students to theme in a way that feels meaningful.
Possible themes to explore include:
Doing what is right
Taking responsibility for your choices
Compassion and empathy
Honesty and trust
Standing up for others
The consequences of our decisions
Learning from mistakes
Rather than simply asking students to identify the theme, encourage them to explain how the author develops that theme throughout the novel.
For example: What does Marty learn about responsibility, and which events help him learn that lesson?
Questions like this encourage students to move from simple comprehension toward deeper literary analysis.
Vocabulary and Grammar Activities
Shiloh also provides an excellent opportunity to incorporate vocabulary and language instruction into your novel study.
Students can work with vocabulary words from the text while practicing skills such as:
Determining meaning from context
Using new words in sentences
Identifying parts of speech
Practicing spelling
Exploring synonyms and related words
Applying vocabulary through writing
When vocabulary is connected to the novel students are already reading, the words have a meaningful context rather than feeling like a separate assignment.
Make Shiloh More Than Just a Read-Aloud
A whole-class read-aloud can be a wonderful way to introduce students to a novel, but you can take the experience further by incorporating activities that require students to respond, discuss, analyze, and write.
A complete Shiloh novel study can help you organize those activities so that students are practicing reading skills throughout the entire book.
And, importantly, you don’t have to spend hours creating everything yourself.
I offer a complete novel study to accompany Shiloh for use in the classroom or homeschool. The unit includes both a printable format and a Google Drive™ format, for use in a paperless classroom or with Google Classroom.
Shiloh Novel Study for Grades 4–6
I’ve created a complete Shiloh Novel Study designed for approximately three weeks of instruction and written for the 4th–6th grade reading level.
The unit can be used for whole-class instruction, small groups, literature circles, independent study, or homeschool. It includes both printable and Google Drive formats, making it flexible for traditional and digital classrooms.
What’s Included in the Shiloh Novel Unit?
This isn’t just a packet of comprehension questions. The complete unit provides a structured framework for teaching the novel from beginning to end.
Teacher Resources
You’ll receive:
Detailed daily lesson plans
Pacing and Standards Guide
Vocabulary Word Wall Cards
Answer Keys
Parent Letter
Student Resources
The student packet includes:
Spelling List
Vocabulary and Grammar Activities for 20 Words
Chapter-by-Chapter Comprehension Questions
Short-answer questions designed to encourage deeper thinking
Book-related extension activities
End-of-the-book activities
Story Elements Interactive Notebook Activities
The extension activities are only included in the complete novel study, making the full unit a particularly valuable option if you want more than the individual components.
Assessment Resources
The assessment packet includes:
End-of-the-book vocabulary quiz
Reading comprehension quiz
Short-answer assessment
Multiple-choice assessment
End-of-the-book writing assessment
Google Drive digital assessment options
The Google Drive self-grading quizzes are available in the multiple-choice format.
Print + Digital Shiloh Activities
Today’s classrooms don’t always look the same from one day to the next.
That’s why the Shiloh novel study includes both printable PDF materials and Google Drive resources.
Before purchasing the complete unit, be sure to download the free preview.
The preview lets you see examples of the different components included in the novel study so you can decide whether the format and activities are a good fit for your classroom.
Ready to Teach Shiloh?
You can purchase this novel study at the following locations:
💬 Connect with Fellow Educators!
Are you teaching Shiloh this school year? How do you celebrate kindness in your classroom?
Join our free community, Book Talk with The Teaching Bank, to share ideas, grab freebies, and connect with 3rd–8th grade teachers using novels in the classroom!
*The Teaching Bank participates in the Amazon Associate Program and earns a fee from qualifying purchases made on the Amazon.com site.
I’m Shelley from The Teaching Bank. I have taught 3rd, 4th, and 6th grades.
My goal is to provide lessons and units for K-12 that are practical and ready to teach with minimal prep needed.
