A language arts instructional activity helps young writers identify elements that make up historical fiction. First, it guides them through elements of fictional pieces with vocabulary cards. Then, pupils work collaboratively to...

Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...

Examine the genre of historical fiction while reading A Light in the Storm. They extract events in chronological order to make a timeline. Then, they use information in the book important to the characters to create a presentation of an...

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most recognized names and faces in America—but is there more to the third president of the United States? Upper elementary and middle schoolers conduct research on Jefferson, his famous home at Monticello,...

Students examine historical fiction as historical sources. In this historical fiction instructional activity, students analyze excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as well as Mary Wollstonecraft's A...

Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...

Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version.  This lesson includes several culminating project...

Pupils be engaged in a history project that is combined with Language Arts with the purpose of teaching students how to cite bibliographic information. This is important for doing future research.

Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...

Young historians compare the presentation of medical care during the Civil War in passages from fictional and nonfictional texts. They examine passages from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Soldier's...

Set up your class to read Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, through a class read-aloud and exploration of the setting. The detailed instructional activity outlines each step. First, class members read over the first few pages and...

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...

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...

Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...

Centered on the short story "The Tenth Man" by Polish Holocaust survivor Ida Fink, here is a solid one-day resource to support study of World War II or Nazi history, short stories, or to complement any ELA unit on The Diary of Anne Frank...

Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...

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...

Ninth graders read a novel for their foreign language class which is also used in their history class. In groups, they work together to complete stations and other assignments.

Students differentiate between fact and legend. In this Barbara Freitchie lesson, students read poetry and non-fiction accounts regarding the story of Freitchie. Students analyze the story of the American patriot to determine how much of...

Tenth graders read "Beloved" by Toni Morrison. In groups, they research the life and works of Morrison and read a speech by Sojouner Truth. Using the novel, they discuss the experiences of slaves and the effect of slavery on their...

Pupils read a book from the Dear America series and contrast different points of view. They respond to the book either by participating in a literature circle or completing a journal entry. They compare and contrast two books or a change...

Americans wanted to fulfill Manifest Destiny, and this pattern continued with the Mexican War. The resource specifically teaches about the Mexican War through a variety of exercises including a research project, group work, brainstorming...

Analyze the setting behind the Great Depression in California with Pam Munoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Middle schoolers assess the protagonist during her coming-of-age moments, while migrant workers manage the hardships of the...