"Building a Personal and Intimate Connection to the Past," is one aspect of the Tier I, Historical Method Document that I would like to reflect on. All too often, it seems that history books are full of dates, events and information from long ago neglecting to bring meaning and relevance to the lives of young people living in the 21st century. I believe one way to help students connect to history is through reading historical fiction literature books based on a particular event from the past that we study. For example, I often read the story Blood on the River to bring a deeper understanding of the harsh voyages that explorers from the past endured to find new land. This book brings to life the conditions on the boats, the hardships of being at sea for months at a time, and the adaptations humans had to endure in order to survive early life in small settlements. Also, through characters' actions and feelings, students experience the turmoil that occurred between the natives and early settlers. After reading this novel aloud, and supplementing some of the facts with the history book, students can then write a third person narrative about life as an early colonist in Virginia.
Reading literature books allows students to connect with characters actions, motives and feelings from historical events of the past. This enables students to understand history as a story of people and their voice rather than dry, disconnected events. I have seen the impact this story and others like it have on learning about these events. Students are motivated to then write their own stories with factual information they have learned from the literature and history book combined.
Kristine, I too use literature to enhance the history we learn in class. I have used multiple books to expose kids to a variety of ideas. I do not have a set of "Blood on the River" for my reading group, but I have read it and I think it is great!
ReplyDeleteJust a thought I had, have you thought about having kids read books on two different points of view on a particular part of history and then have them discuss together? I have done this with American Revolution books and it is always successful. One group reads a novel from the view of the Loyalists ("My Brother Sam is Dead") and one group reads a book from the side of the Patriots ("The Fighting Ground" or "Guns for General Washington"). Even the Houghton Mifflin for 5th grade has stories from three different perspectives that you could jigsaw in your own classroom. Plus, you can teach author's point of view as well! Enjoy!