Students become familiar with words and expressions common in wartime, like "rations" and "sabotage," through learning vocabulary used in the book. Other new vocabulary words in this novel are action verbs like lunge, or adjectives like "deftly," to denote grace and speed. Students can be introduced to these words after they read through the passages where they appear. They should understand the gist of new vocabulary in context, but exercises like drills, blank fills or multiple choice can help clarify proper meanings and uses. Teachers can also integrate this into a lesson about proper dictionary or thesaurus use.
Conflict, symbolism and suspense are a few of the many literary devices that appear in "Number the Stars." Once the students understand the importance of literary devices to the story, and how they function in the plot, the instructor can select an activity to practice recognizing how it is used in the story. For example, the Star of David itself becomes more than just a representation of the Jewish religion and race, but also a symbol of hope, friendship and survival. Students can articulate the meanings of symbols through art, short compositions or group discussions. The instructor can also conduct a lively debate over the true meaning of a symbol, which is often a matter if opinion.
"Number the Stars" features several different cultures in the plot. The story takes place in a Danish-speaking country occupied by German soldiers, and includes major characters from a Jewish background. Students must familiarize themselves with dates and sometimes obsolete terms like Reich and Luftwaffe. They should also be familiar with some history and geography to understand the finer points of the plot. Instructors can use maps and other visual aids as part of this language arts lesson, to show the origin of these foreign terms. Use recordings or videos to demonstrate the differences in these three languages to students.
After learning about literary devices or history, students can practice their new-found language arts skills by using them in a composition. More advanced lessons for language arts and "Number the Stars" are in independent writing assignments. These can be expository or analytical essays, detailed paragraphs, or simple short answer questions that are no more than two or three sentences long. Instead of academic writing, students can also write more unique compositions like pretend journal entries for the characters, or their own epilogues.