Discussion Director
Your job is to think of questions that will get your group thinking.  Ask the following types of questions, answer them, and include the page and paragraph numbers where the answer can be found.
1 MCEOG
1 Cause and Effect
2 Predictions
1 Opinion

Character Sketcher
Your job is to complete the role sheet for Kirsti, Annemarie, or Ellen.

Word Wizard
Your job is to complete the role sheet for the following words:

Intricate              p. 14, par. 9
Awed                  p. 33, line 3
Trousseau           p. 14, par. 9
Haughtily            p. 19, par. 6

Passage Picker
1 Thematic
1 Figurative Language (simile)
2 Foreshadowing

Summarizer
Your job is to prepare a brief summary of today’s reading, Chapters 1-4.  Make sure to include all the main ideas and important events.
 

Q:  After reading the first section, who do you think the girl on the cover is?  Why?
A:  Annemarie Johansen.  She is the main character and is described as having
     blond hair (p. 1, par. 5).

Q:  What do you think the necklace on the cover is, and what does it symbolize?
A:  It is the Star of David, which is an important symbol in the Jewish religion.  The
     story is about a girl’s experience helping her Jewish friend find freedom from the
     Nazis, so it probably symbolizes the struggles the Jews go through during that
     time.

Q:  Why do you think the author included the parts about the fairy tales in the story?
A:  Kirsti is very young and innocent.  She doesn’t understand what is going on, and
     has been sheltered from the truth about the Nazis.  To her, life is like normal
     because she doesn’t remember anything before the Nazi occupation of Denmark.
     I think the fairy tales symbolize her innocence and add to her developing
     character.  I also think that it is a reminder of how different life is for them.  As
     stated in the book, everything has changed but the fairy tales remain the same (p.
     17, par. 4).  I think it gives the girls, especially Kirsti, something to hold on to.  It
     gives them hope.

Q:  Why did Denmark’s king burn his Navy when he heard the Germans were
      coming?
    a.   The ships were old and no good.
    b.   The king decided the Army would be better.
c. The king would rather burn his ships, than risk his people’s lives.
    d.   It was a cold winter, and the town needed heat.
      A:  C.  The king knew that his Navy was much too small to defeat the Germans, and
           many Danes would likely die. (p.15, par. 2).
 
      Q:  Why is Ellen staying the night at Annemarie’s apartment?
      A:  Because the Nazis got a list of all the Jews, and will probably come to Ellen’s
           apartment to “relocate” her family.  Ellen’s parents have left in secret, with Peter’s
           help.  Ellen is going to pose as Annemarie’s sister if soldiers come to the
           apartment.  Since Annemarie’s family is not Jewish, they should not be at risk,
           unless their plan to hide Ellen is found out.

 
Character Trait:
Bold
p.4, par. 11-12
Two German soldiers stop Annemarie, Ellen, and Kirsti on the corner.  Annemarie and Ellen are nervous and a bit scared to talk to them.  They are on their best behavior.  One soldier tells Kirsti that she looks like his daughter, and he touches her hair.  She yells, “Don’t!” and the soldier just laughs.  She was very bold and brave to say something to that soldier.

Innocent
p.35, line 5
 The night Ellen stays over at the Johansen’s apartment, as they all sat around the dinner table, the mood was tense.  Annemarie and Ellen were scared about what was happening to Ellen’s parents, and Annemarie’s parents were worried as well.  Kirsti, however, had no idea what was going on and was preoccupied with the fairy tale her mother promised to tell her at bedtime.  She has no idea of the dangerous situation her family has put themselves in.

Easily amused
p. 34, par. 3-7
 Annemarie’s parents tell the girls that Ellen will be staying the night with them and that Ellen and Annemarie will sleep in the same room, while Kirsti will sleep with her parents in their room.  Kirsti was about to put up a fight, but her mother tells her that she will tell her a story before bedtime.  Kirsti asks if it will be one about a king, and her mother agrees.  Kirsti insists that there be a queen, too.  When her mother agrees, Kirsti is satisfied.

Character Goal:
Kirsti’s goal is probably to be included in what her sister, Annemarie, and Ellen do.  She is very young, and doesn’t really know what is going on with the war.  She lives for the moment, and is only concerned with what is going on at that specific time.

Problem:
Kirsti’s problem is that she wants to be a part of the action.  She wants to be let in on the secrets, but she is just too young to understand.  Her parents want to protect her from the horrible outside world, but little does she know that she is already involved.

Solution:
Even though she may not know that she is helping out, Kirsti may be passively involved in protecting Ellen’s family, the Rosens, by just being herself.  The less she knows, the less likely she will give something away.  Her innocence may save them.
 

Passage One
1. p. 24, par. 5
2. “Friends will…friends do.”
3. Thematic
4. It is thematic because one moral to this story is that friends should help each other out, no matter what kind of situation they are in.  Friends are there no matter what.
5. In what way do you think the Johansens will help their friends, the Rosens, find safety from the German soldiers?
- I think they will help them escape Copenhagen in the middle of the night.  They might hide them out at Uncle Henrik’s house, or try to get them to another country that has not been taken over by the Germans.
6. I think Lois Lowry included this because it is the main theme of the story.  The Johansens risk their lives to help the Rosens, because that’s just what friends do.  Friends help friends.

Passage Two
1. p. 5, par. 7
2. “For Kirsti… remembered life.”
3. Figurative Language- simile
4. It is an example of figurative language (simile) because the soldiers are compared to lampposts.  They are like lampposts because they have been in Copenhagen so long that they blend in with the scenery just as lampposts do.
5. How do you think the soldiers’ presence in Copenhagen has effected Annemarie, Ellen, and Kirsti’s lives?
-  Annemarie and Ellen are old enough to remember life before the soldiers, so they reminisce about things they used to do and have before the war.  Kirsti, on the other hand, is too young to remember life before the soldiers, but she does remember little things they used to have, like cupcakes.  As Annemarie brings to the reader’s attention, Kirsti can’t possibly remember these things, because she was just a baby when cupcakes and other like foods were available.  She probably remembers them through stories that other people tell, and therefore, believes that she remembers them from her own experiences.
6. I think Lowry included this to help the reader understand the mood of the city.  She wanted the reader to know that the soldiers in the streets were part of everyday life for the people of Copenhagen, and had been for a few years.  Though they didn’t like them being there, they had grown accustomed to their presence and had come to grips with how life would be until the war ended.

Passage Three
1. p. 22, par. 7
2. “Though his visits… to see Peter.”
3. Foreshadowing
4. I think it is foreshadowing because I believe that Peter may have had a hand in helping the Rosens leave town.  It’s just a suspicion, but because he and Annemarie’s sister Lise are brought up a lot, there seems to be something more to the story.
5. Why do you think Peter defies curfew and visits at night?
-  I think he is part of helping the Rosens leave town, and therefore, could not risk
   visiting during the day.  He’s trying to go unnoticed by the soldiers.
6. I think this passage is important because it develops Peter’s character a little more.  The reader begins to see his compassion, and knows that he must be a caring person.

Passage Four
1. p. 25, par. 4-7
2. “She turned… Papa replied.”
3. Foreshadowing
4. I think this passage is foreshadowing because I believe the Johansen family will become “bodyguards” for their Jewish friends, and will go the extra mile to protect them.
5. If you lived during this time and had Jewish friends, would you help them escape “relocation” even though you would be risking your life?  Why or why not?
-  I would because I believe that you have to stand up for what is right.  The Jewish people were being discriminated against, some to their death.  I would be scared, but I would not be able to live with myself if I didn’t help them survive.
6. I think Lowry included this passage to reassure the reader that the Johansens would not just sit by and let their friends and neighbors be “relocated.”  It gives the reader a bit of hope that something will be done to save the Jews.

 Annemarie Johansen lives in Denmark during WWII.  She lives with her parents and her younger sister, Kirsti.  Her older sister, Lise, was killed in a car accident.    Annemarie’s best friend is a Jewish girl named Ellen. It is 1943 and German soldiers occupy the streets of Copenhagen.  King Christian, the king of Denmark, burned their Navy when he heard of the coming Germans, because he knew that Denmark was much too small to take on such a large opponent; too many lives would have been lost.  Since the Nazi occupation, the country has been stricken by food shortages and curfews.  The Nazi soldiers get a list of all of the Jewish families in Copenhagen from the local synagogue.  Annemarie’s family decides to hide Ellen out in their house, pretending that she is one of their children, while Ellen’s parents flee to another hiding place.  The only problem is that Ellen has dark hair and Annemarie and Kirsti have blond hair.
 

Word One
1. Intricate, p. 14, par. 9
2. Her fingers moved rapidly, turning the thin white thread into an intricate narrow border.
3. Adjective- detailed, complicated
4. Something that has complex and contains many details.
5. This word was used when Annemarie was thinking about a pillowcase that her mother made for her sister’s trousseau.  It was a fond memory of how life used to be when her sister Lise was alive.  She was remembering how much her parents loved Lise, and how devastating her sudden death had been.  It adds emotion to an already emotional story of friendship and family.
6. (See Word Card)

Word Two
1. Awed, p. 33, line 3
2. Annemarie always stood very quietly, awed, to watch; even Kiristi, usually a chatterbox, was always still at that time.
3. Adjective- overwhelmed, impressed
4. To be in amazement of something or someone
5. It is important to the story because it shows reverence for the Jewish New Year ceremony.  Even though Annemarie and Kirsti were not Jewish, they were still respectful and interested in their friend’s religious traditions.

Word Three
1. Trousseau, p. 14, par. 9
2. Momma had been crocheting that night, three years ago:  the lacy edging of a pillowcase, part of Lise’s trousseau.
3. Noun- a collection of keepsakes to send with one’s daughter when she gets married
4. Various keepsakes, either handed down or new, parents collect over the years to give their daughter when she gets married.
5. This is important to the story because Lise and Peter were engaged to be married when Lise was killed in the car accident.  Her death was devastatingly unexpected, and this is illuminated by the fact that her mother was continually making things to go into her trousseau.
6. (See Word Card)

Word Four
1. Haughtily, p. 19, par. 6
2. “I did not!” Kirsti said haughtily from the bedroom doorway.
3. Adverb- conceitedly
4. To do something in a manner that portrays an attitude of being proud
5. This word lends more to the development of Kirsti’s character.  She is a very innocent, naïve, yet bold little girl that wants to be in the center of attention all of the time.