Making Connections

Developed by

Jenny Smith & Tammy Harbaugh

jenny.smith@olympia tamara.harbaugh@olympia

Olympia Middle School

Introduction

Grade Level: 7th Grade

Subject Matter: Reading

Purpose: Through this activity students will strengthen their knowledge of historical fiction in order to eventually gain a greater understanding of Sacagawea’s life and her role in the Lewis and Clark expedition. State Standards: English Languag Arts

2.B.3a Respond to literary material from personal, creative and critical points of view

2.A.3b Describe how the development of them, character, plot and setting contribute to the overall impact of a piece of literature

The Task

Most people understand the meaning of the word history.

Most could also tell you why a book would be considered

fiction. But how many people really know what historical

fiction actually is? What makes a piece of writing

historical fiction rather than simply fiction? Through

the following web quest students will gain a greater

understanding of historical fiction and will be able to differentiate between the factual and embellished

information within a historical fiction piece of writing.

This activity will serve as a bridge between the students’

study of Lewis and Clark in Social Studies and the novel

Streams to the River, River to the Sea about the life of

Sacagawea, an important person involved in their

expedition.

Process

Lesson: (1 class period) – Historical Fiction Introduction

1. View the power point (Making Connections) to provide a definition and

pictures for the following activities.

2. As a class, students will discuss historical fiction. What is historical

fictional? What makes it different from a fictional story?

3. Students will then view pictures of a variety of famous people throughout

history (power point). For each person record all of the factual information that students are able to generate through a class

discussion.

4. Read the story Abe Lincoln’s Hat, by Martha Brenner aloud to the class.

5. Then as a class compose a list of the factual information from within the

story. Along with this list also identify the parts of the story that make

it historical fiction (the fictional aspects).

6. Students should then break up into groups of two or three. Give each

group a historical fiction picture book.

7. As a group students should create their own list of the factual

information within their particular story. They should list as many facts

as they can find.

8. Then they should organize a second list of fictional information that was

probably added to create a more interesting story.

9. When the activity is complete the groups should share the information

that they came up with. At this point students should help their

classmates by adding any suggestions or questioning information that

they feel may have been placed in the wrong category.

10. To conclude this activity, students will view the final picture provided in

the power point. Independently students will write at least 8 facts about

the picture.

11. Then, using what they have learned about historical fiction they should

add some fictional information to these facts to create a paragraph that

could be found in a historical fiction story.

Evaluation

Beginning Developing Accomplishe Exemplary Grading Rubric d 1 2 4 3 Informal Group Assessment Identified 10 Factual Information Identified 2-3 Identified 4-6 Identified 7- or more from story factual factual 10 factual factual examples examples examples examples Identified 6 Identified 1-2 Identified 2-3 Identified 4-5 or more fictional fictional fictional Extra information list fictional details details details details Formal Independent Assessment Identified 6 Factual information Identified 1-2 Identified 2-3 Identified 4-5 or more from picture factual factual factual factual examples examples examples examples Historical fiction Paragraph is Paragraph Paragraph Well paragraph vague and includes included developed contains few some of the many of the paragraph if any of the following: following: including a following: historical historical historical historical event, event, event, event, person, time person, time person, time person, time period, period, period, and period, and setting, and setting, and setting, setting, and embellishes embellishes which does not embellishes embellish the facts to some facts many facts factual interest a information reader

Conclusion

These activities were done to provide a background of

historical fiction. This background will help students

make connections from what they are studying in social

studies, language arts, and reading. Students will be

reading the historical fiction novel, Streams to the River,

River to the Sea, by Scott O’Dell. It took many people to

make the Lewis and Clark expedition a success and one

person who played a major role was Sacagawea. The

novel Streams to the River, River to the Sea provides a

glimpse into the life of Sacagawea and explains her role

Teacher Resources

Power Point – Making Connections

Abe Lincoln’s Hat, by Martha Brenner

Multiple historical fiction picture books

Credits

Image Description URL Sacajawea, the bird http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r? woman ammem/hawp:@field(NUMBER+@band(codhawp+10033784))

Western History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library Home of the River Crows / http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r? Throssel ammem/hawp:@field(NUMBER+@band(codhawp+10031211))

Western History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library [Harriet Tubman, full- http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r? length portrait, seated in ammem/awhbib:@field(NUMBER+@od1(ppmsca+02909)) chair, facing front, probably at her home in Auburn, New York].

No known restrictions on publication.

George Washington http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r? woodcut ammem/eaa:@field(DOCID+@lit(A0073))

Advertising Ephemera Collection - Database #A0160. Emergence of Advertising On-Line Project, John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/ [Postcard of Abraham http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r? Lincoln statue with suffrage ammem/nawbib:@field(NUMBER+@od1(rbnawsa+n900a)) caption]

Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection Man dressed as Paul http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r? Revere, riding a horse on ammem/cdn:@field(NUMBER+@band(ichicdn+n067854)) Michigan Avenue, looking north].

DN-0067854, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. John Howard Griffin, author of http://sdrcdata.lib.uiowa.edu/libsdrc/details.jsp?id=/griffinjh/1 “Black Like Me”