Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits

It is 1943 and you are a citizen of Denmark. The German army has occupied your nation since 1940. Although your king surrendered rather than fight a losing battle, the Danish people have continued to resist the Nazi occupation.

One way the Danish citizens are resisting occupation is through an organization called De Frie Danske, or "The Free Danes." De Frie Danske is looking for more Danish citizens who want to join the resistance against the Nazis. The group needs a flier that can be secretly distributed to the Danish people.  

Using the websites below, research the history of the Danish resistance and some of the people involved. Use the information you gather to create a flier that can be distributed to the Danish people, encouraging them to join the resistance movement.

You will use your Reader's Response packet to record information from the websites. Make sure the notes you take are detailed! The flier will be assigned as homework, and you may not have access to the websites.

Below, you will find several websites with information about the Danish resistance. Please use these websites to help you create your flier. Consider the following questions as you research:

1. When Number the Stars begins, how long had the Nazis occupied Denmark?
2. What are some hardships that the Danes have had to face because of the occupation?
3. What are The Free Danes doing to resist the Nazis?
4. Who are some of the people involved in the resistance?
5. Why do you think The Free Danes believe so strongly in the need to resist the Nazis?

Please record notes on these questions in your Reader's Response packet. Your homework will be to create a flier that persuades people to join the Danish resistance movement.

This flier is also included in your Reader's Response packet. Use the space provided to draw a neat, detailed flier. You are encouraged to add slogans or dialogue to persuade your audience.

The following websites are available for your research:

http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/ns_history.htm

http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/ns_kim.htm

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/danish_resistance.htm

http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/denmark.htm

The notes you record and the flier you create will both be evaluated as part of your final grade for this novel group. Both the notes and the flier are worth 10 points.

To earn full credit, you are expected to:

1. Use your computer time wisely and respectfully
2. Take the time to look at all the websites and gather detailed information.
3. Record information in your Reader's Response packet to help you create your folder.
4. Create a neat, detailed flier that reflects what you have learned about the Danish resistance.

The Danish resistance was made up of courageous, compassionate people who knew what was right and stood up for what they believed in. Lois Lowry uses this history as the background for her novel Number the Stars. Hopefully, you have learned more about the people and the courage behind Annemarie's story by researching this movement.

Thanks to Mark Bailey, for his introduction to using webquests in the classroom and the webquest template.

For more information on webquests, see "Adventures in Electronic Constructivism," Maureen Brown Yoder, in Learning and Leading with Technology, September 2006.