Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Adventure Begins: A Historical Fiction

For Teachers 7th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Red Legs: A Drummer Boy of the Civil War

For Teachers 7th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lady of the Tomahawk: Your Story to Tell

For Teachers 7th - 8th
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...
Unit Plan
Small Planet Communications

Planet Book Club: Number the Stars

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An Immigrant's Story

For Teachers 8th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oh My Darling

For Teachers 4th - 5th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Secret War - The WWII Diary of Madeline Beck: Lesson 2

For Teachers 5th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre-Reading Preparation

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Technology Integration Lesson Plan

For Teachers 8th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Fiction: Persuasive Presentation

For Teachers 5th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History: Fact of Fiction?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Thousand Paper Cranes

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students, after finishing Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, discuss the tragedy of Hiroshima and its impact.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Fiction - Based on facts or purely fiction?

For Teachers 7th - 8th
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.
Website
City University of New York

Maryse Conde

For Students 9th - 10th
Good introduction for research on Maryse Conde. Features a comprehensive bibliography (primary and secondary) as well as excellent links.
eBook
Indiana University

Wright American Fiction Collection: Mark Twain

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Website
Penguin Publishing

Penguin Random House: "The Prince and the Pauper" Teacher Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
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,...
Activity
Chase Young, PhD

Dr. Chase Young, Ph D: Reader's Theater Script: Brave Irene [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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.
Website
Other

Karleen Bradford

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
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.
eBook
Other

Barbara Greenwood's Guide to Writing for Children [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
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...
Unit Plan
Other

Paul Yee: 'Breakaway' Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 8th
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...
Unit Plan
Other

Paul Yee: 'The Bone Collector's Boy' Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 8th
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...
Unit Plan
Other

Paul Yee: 'Ghost Train' Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
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...
Unit Plan
Other

Paul Yee: 'The Curses of Third Uncle' Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 8th
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...
Unit Plan
Other

Paul Yee: 'Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories' Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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...