Tenafly—On May 11, the fifth grade students of Lubavitch on the Palisades School (LPS) went on a field trip to the Jewish Museum, in culmination of reading the book “Number the Stars” by Lois Lowry. The book follows Annemarie and her best friend, Ellen, who is Jewish. When it is announced that the Germans plan to round up the Jews for transportation to confinement camps, Annemarie’s family takes in Ellen. They hide her and eventually help her and her family to travel to nearby Sweden to seek freedom. The major themes of the book are resistance, maintaining Jewish and national identity and standing up for what’s right under extremely adverse circumstances. LPS students have spent a great part of the year learning the importance of standing up for themselves and others.

The Jewish Museum exhibit was directly linked to “Number the Stars.” The museum guide pointed to several art pieces and artifacts that highlighted the main themes of the book. After explaining what the origin of each artifact  is, the guide engaged the students in conversation relating to the art work, the book and the period of history. Through these discussions it was evident that the students had an excellent grasp of the themes of the book, as well as the symbolism in the story. The guide was very impressed with the maturity and knowledge of the LPS fifth graders.