Learning About the Past through Historical Fiction
We have begun a new reading unit called Historical Fiction. This is a genre that takes us on journeys with the characters in our books into the past. It can be a bit difficult to understand sometimes as we travel back to times that we don’t know because we weren’t alive then, and to places we have never visited. To read and understand Historical Fiction we must stop often to visualize the time period and piece together, like a puzzle, the lifestyle of the characters and the important events on the time.
Think about one of the Historical Fiction books you have finished.
* Write about the time period the book took place and how you know this.
*What did you learn about the time period that you did not know before you read the book?
*Why did the author write the book?
Be sure to use the "tracking your thinking" notes in your Readers Notebook to do this reflection!
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Reading | Comments (16)16 Responses to “Learning About the Past through Historical Fiction”
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Hello Mrs. Mongno
I been leading historical book call, Pocahontas and the strangers, I think time period of this book is when the people came to the new world. Because its said the England people came to Indian. I learn Indian people had bad time when strangers came. And I think author is telling you the Indian had bed time when England people came and help each other.
The book I am going to write about is On The Other Side. This book was on the time period when the white people thought they were better then black people I think it was on 1800 sentry. The story took place in an farm and I knew all of that because of the pictures. Before I read the book I didn’t know that in the world people that were black cadent play with an white person. I think the anther wrote this book because he wanted to say a massage and the massage ia even thou we are not the same color we can still have fun together
Hello Mrs.Mongno
The book I want to talke about is called,”Skylark.” This book is about a woman coming to the parairie to marry Papa(Jacob). His wife died and he has two children, Ana and Caleb. I think the story took place in the old times when they used wagons to travel. And when they wrapped presents in brown paper insted of fancy wrapping paper and colorful ribons. What I learned through the book about this time is that they realy needed to work together to live. They needed to do all the cores like feeding the animals. I also noticed that it lots of sad things happens. Like there friend Magie and her husband moved to an new land because they didn’t have enough water. I think the moral of the story is that don’t give up your hope. For exaple when Caleb was sad and afraid that he wouldn’t see Papa when he was at Maine(Where Sarah’s real house is). But he fainally was with him because he didn’t give up.
Hi Miss Mongno!( did I spell your name wrong?)
I have red a book called School Day and it was a very good book. I think this book take place in Australia because the piccture in the book look so pretty and Australia is a good place. I think that maybe it’s a long time ago because everyone called there teacher ma’am and they use a mini-chalkbord in school and they use black bord for teaching.This book is about a gril who never ever been to school before and she make friends, only to bad for her, her sister got a fever and she can no longer see. She is blind, but then laura, her little sister who is a main charactere sent her to collage with her own money that she earn for teaching. I very like the ending and I love this book. THE END
I agree with Maya, that if you are reading a picture book, you can learn many details of the time period from the pictures. If the historical fiction book doesn’t have pictures it helps me if I stop often and try to visualize the scene, to try to imagine what is happening and why, or what the setting in the different parts of the story looks like.
Does anyone else use this visualization strategy while reading?
Hi ms.Mongno!!!!
I read a book called “The Courage of Sarah Noble”. And I think it’s time period is about same time period with “Robinson Crusoe”. Because there was people that eating people, so I think it’s very very long times ago. I learned when this book time period, If they didn’t hunt, they can’t get the food to eat and also I learned that people(cannibal) ate people who’s not same with them like white people.
I think this auther wrote the book because he/she wants to tell long times ago what people did and what people play and stay… And I think this book is good book to tell the long times ago and you can learn that If people didn’t avoid something you can do anything.
Gosh, I read The Courage of Sarah Noble too, but I don’t remember reading anything about cannibals, who are people who eat people. Was that in the book?
I think this story took place in the early 1600s when settlers from Europe were moving to the New World, which was America.
I think the author might also want to tell us that in the beginning when the colonists, the people from Europe who were coming to settle and live in America, first met the Indians that often they were friends, and helped each other.
Has anyone else read this book? If so, what are your thoughts?
HI MRS.MANGNO
I think that the time period of my book is in the 1820 because they had houses build from wood of wisconsin.before MRS.MANGNO gave me the book to start to read I read the same book but it was the first one and now I’m reading the second book named PIONEER SISTERS I learned that at the old times the people did’t have any money so they clamed land and built their an house. I think the author chose to write this book about this time period because today alot of people are very intrested about what happened in the past so I think that he chose to write this book becuse he was also intrested about what happened in the past like me about the gold in Canada and now I know what happened in canada so now I know exactly what happened.
Hi, Mrs. Mongno!
I read a book called School Days. I know this book is taking a place of long time ago because in the book Mary said to somebody “Yes ma’am,” and now we don’t usually say that. I think long time ago, it was very hard to recovery a fever, because Mary got bad fever and she can no longer see. I think now we can recovery easily than that time. I don’t it is true or not but I think there is a big difference between now and long time ago. I don’t know why this author wrote this book, but I guess she wrote about the memory of her family.
Hi Mrs. Mongno
The book that I was reading is called “Under The Quilt Of Night”. I think the time period is in the 1920 I think this because when I look at the cover all the people are wearing old clothes that we wouldn’t wear. I didn’t know that black people and white people were separated. I think the author wrote the book because he/ her wanted every one to have a good time and not have slaves and not separate white people with black people. Maybe he/her wrote the book for other people to see what they had done, and that they had to work together to get what they wanted. I think the moral for this book is never give up always fight for what you want.
I finished reading the book called ”The Long winter” I think this book takes place in the time that is about two hundred years ago from today, because when I was reading this book, I found out that characters in this book was wearing the clothe called “Calico dress”, and they wear the hat called “sun bonnet”. I learned that in this time period, it was hard to live in the winter, because the family that was written in the story had a hard time in the winter. I figured out that the family had a hard time in the winter, by reading the part that says that the family did not had enough food, because the winter was really hard that there weren’t any trains to go another town to buy food and also the cow didn’t give any milk because there weren’t any food. I think the author(Laura In galls Wilder)wrote this book because she wanted tell people about her real lifetime when she was a child, and also she want to tell about the time period of her life.
Howdy Ms. Mongno,
I’ve just finished reading a book for few days now and it’s called “School Days”. I know that this book took place after the 60’s (maybe), because now we didn’t use to wear bonnets to school and at the same time in the 60’s women love to wear bonnets to shopping in town. The thing I did not know is that kids also called their teacher ma’am and using a plate to write as a paper. I think the author write the book because now, we don’t do the same thing in the olden day, for ex. we didn’t use plate to write and we didn’t wear bonnets and also now we don’t use to called somebody else ma’am and the last but not least we are now didn’t have a tough live like what they got. So as I think the author wanted us to learn more that now a day we don’t use to do that thing and we’re now more creative than before, to show the different before and now.
Angie A. :]
I have read book called Let`s Drive, Henry Ford! This book takes place to Detroit. This book was written about the time period of 1890s.
What I have learned from the book was there was no horseless carriage and the people made soaps and candles by themselves.
I think the author wrote this book to tell readers that everybody can change the world.
Kodai
Hi,Ms.Mongno!
I have read this book called pioneer sisters.
This book showed me a text that I know the characters lived at long time ago. The text was”Laura,Mary and Carrie were all lived with thier Pa and Ma in the Big woods of Wisconsin in a little gray house made of logs.
That I know They lived at long time ago, because now the people don’t live at the house bulid by the woods.They also showed the picture.
I guess the author wrote this book because probably that time was wonderful to the author who wrote this book.
Hello Ms.Mongno!
I read the book named “Treasure Island”
I think this book’s time period was little bit ago because I got a clue
at the part that said they traveled to treasure island by a boat.
Actually, we still use boat to go to island that is really far away,
but also we use airplane.
Also, there were pirates! Today, there’s no pirates or there are few pirates.
I guess this author wrote this book to teach to us about
in that time, there were pirates looking for treasure.
So.. maybe people in that time period was really afraid of pirates!
Jungmeen’s thinking
Oh, and to add on,
I also read “Sarah Noble’s Courage” too.
But I didn’t read the part said that cannibal ate people!
I just read that Indians ate weird food
and they played like you know, like Indian I guess.
Also I felt little bit gross because they played without cloth!
WHY didn’t they felt embarrassed?
If I were Sarah, I think I couldn’t play with Indians.