Curated OER
The Adventure Begins: A Historical Fiction
Seventh graders create a piece of historical fiction documenting the immigrant experience in New Brunswick, Canada in the 1800s. Using Internet research from a web exhibit, 7th graders synthesize historical facts with their description...
Curated OER
Red Legs: A Drummer Boy of the Civil War
Students identify and interpret the life of a drummer boy during the Civil War as well as about a reenactment. Students listen to a fictionalized story or a Civil War reenactor and compare ot with the life of the drummer boy the story...
Curated OER
Lady of the Tomahawk: Your Story to Tell
Students put themselves in the role of a historical person and have to write a short story of dramatic dialogue about an event or person that has NOT been depicted in a work of historical fiction yet. This person is Hannah Dustin. A...
Small Planet Communications
Planet Book Club: Number the Stars
Planning a novel study of Lois Lowry's Number the Stars? Then look no further. A 16-lesson unit guides students through a reading of this awarding-winning novel. Complete with a synopsis of the novel, analysis of its literary themes,...
Curated OER
An Immigrant's Story
Students discuss famous examples of historical fiction as a genre and why it is used so often. They create an original piece of historical fiction by developing a character who is an immigrant to the United States. They are assessed...
Curated OER
Oh My Darling
Students discuss human interaction with the environment and sing "Clementine" with historical fiction lyrics. They create a map or model of a mining camp in which Clementine may have lived. They discuss what might happen to their...
Curated OER
My Secret War - The WWII Diary of Madeline Beck: Lesson 2
Fifth graders explore world history by reading historical fiction. In this World War II lesson, 5th graders read the story My Secret War and identify the importance of fiction when analyzing history. Students answer study questions about...
Curated OER
Pre-Reading Preparation
Students explore a given historical fiction story. In groups, they research selected topics dealing with the story and determine what is fiction and what is fact. Students create a multimedia presentation about their findings and...
Curated OER
Technology Integration Lesson Plan
Eighth graders research a novel and provide a summary of the story. They relate this information to their lives and evaluate the positives and negatives of the American Revolution. Groups create a PowerPoint presentation on their findings.
Curated OER
Historical Fiction: Persuasive Presentation
Fifth graders read a book addressing a specific historical time period that was chosen by their working group. They complete journal entries as they read the book. They create a group PowerPoint explaining the personal point of view and...
Curated OER
History: Fact of Fiction?
Students find a historial novel online and distinguish between fiction and nonfiction books. They research three historical events related to their novel and write a letter to a figure from their novel's time period.
Curated OER
A Thousand Paper Cranes
Students, after finishing Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, discuss the tragedy of Hiroshima and its impact.
Curated OER
Historical Fiction - Based on facts or purely fiction?
Students, after reading an Accelerated Reader historical fiction book, research the actual historical time period portrayed in the book. Then, working in a cooperative learning group, they create a HyperStudio presentation.
City University of New York
Maryse Conde
Good introduction for research on Maryse Conde. Features a comprehensive bibliography (primary and secondary) as well as excellent links.
Indiana University
Wright American Fiction Collection: Mark Twain
The full texts to Twain's lesser-known works can be accessed from this site such as "Celebrated Jumping Frog" and "The Innocents Abroad." Read facsimiles of the original books or plain text versions.
Penguin Publishing
Penguin Random House: "The Prince and the Pauper" Teacher Guide [Pdf]
Opens with valuable background information for "The Prince and the Pauper" as well as explanations of format. Features chapter-by-chapter summaries, historical notes, probing questions, vocabulary, and quotations. Also includes language,...
Chase Young, PhD
Dr. Chase Young, Ph D: Reader's Theater Script: Brave Irene [Pdf]
A reader's theater script for William Steig's children's book, Brave Irene, is provided on these pages. Four character roles are needed in this activity.
Other
Karleen Bradford
Karleen Bradford is well known for her historical fiction written for children and teens. She has also written fiction and nonfiction. Her site has descriptions of her books as well as some teacher guides.
Other
Barbara Greenwood's Guide to Writing for Children [Pdf]
Barbara Greenwood, a Canadian author of numerous historical fiction books for children, has written this thirty-page writing guide where she explains the process she goes through in constructing a story. She covers such key topics as...
Other
Paul Yee: 'Breakaway' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
This teaching guide provided by Paul Yee for his novel "Breakaway" provides a summary of the novel, discussion questions and classroom activities. The novel explores issues faced by Chinese Canadian immigrants as they deal with racism...
Other
Paul Yee: 'The Bone Collector's Boy' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
This teaching guide provided by Paul Yee for his novel "The Bone Collector's Boy" provides a summary of the novel, discussion questions and classroom activities. The novel explores some tough issues faced by Chinese Canadian immigrants...
Other
Paul Yee: 'Ghost Train' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
This teaching guide provided by Paul Yee for his book "Ghost Train" provides a summary of the story, discussion questions and classroom activities. The book explores the Chinese-Canadians' perspective on settling in a new country, and...
Other
Paul Yee: 'The Curses of Third Uncle' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
This teaching guide provided by Paul Yee for his book "The Curses of Third Uncle" provides a summary of the story, discussion questions and classroom activities. The book explores the difficulties faced by early Chinese immigrants and...
Other
Paul Yee: 'Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
This teaching guide provided by Paul Yee for his book of short stories, "Tales from Gold Mountain", provides a summary of the book, discussion questions and classroom activities. The book explores the experiences of Chinese immigrants to...