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Historical Fiction Pre-Assessment

Last updated over 5 years ago
3 questions
Read the passage below. Then answer the questions that follow.

An excerpt from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

After school, when the girls stopped at the [button] shop, which had been there as long as Annemarie could remember, they found it closed. There was a new padlock on the door, and a sign. But the sign was in German. They couldn't read the words...

(Later that night)

..."Annemarie," he said, "Peter tells us that the Germans have issued orders closing many stores run by Jews."

"Jews?" Annemarie repeated, "Is Mrs. Hirsch Jewish? Is that why the button shop is closed? Why have they done that? If they can't sell their buttons, how will they earn a living?"

"Friends will take care of them," Mama said gently. "That's what friends do." Annemarie nodded.

Mama was right, of course. Friends and neighbors would go to the home of the Hirsch family, would take them sh and potatoes and bread and herbs for making tea. Maybe Peter would even take them a beer. They would be comfortable until their shop was allowed to open again.
1

Based on the exerpt, what is the author's point of view on the Holocaust?

1

Number the Stars is historical fiction and uses events from the Holocaust in and around Germany. How does the author use historical events to create the story in the example above? Describe at least two ways.

The following video shows live footage of Nanzi soldiers and non-Jewish people labeling Jewish businesses so people won't shop there. Some of the businesses were eventually shut down.

1

Describe the similarities and differences between the exerpt from Number the Stars and the video above.