The Life and Times of a Fourth Grade Class at the Dalton School in New York City
1. Look in your book for good examples of historical research and literary devices and mark those places with post-its
2. Choose the best ones and write them on your worksheet (3 for each)
3. Get a laptop and in MS Word, write a rough draft paragraph explaining why your book is a good example of historical fiction
4. Revise your paragraph
5. Check for spelling, capitalization, sense, punctuation, grammar, security, and audience
6. Have an adult check your paragraph
7. Post it on your blog
Here is the rough draft of a paragraph that we wrote together using our examples of historical research and figurative language:
Amistad Rising by Veronica Chambers is a historical fiction book about Mende captives from Sierra Leone who rebelled against the slave traders to win their freedom. Veronica Chambers uses lots of good descriptions and figurative language to make the story come to life, to explain the feelings of the captives, and to help you feel like you, the reader, are really there. Veronica Chambers used great language, which included personifications, similes, metaphors, etc. For example, when the captives were in jail in New London, CT, she describes Cinque so well with personification such as, “fear gripped him (page number),” that you feel like you’re sitting next to him in the cell. Another reason why this is a good example of historical fiction is the way the author uses similes, such as “When the rain falls it’s like tears of happiness” (page number goes here). Amistad Rising also includes many historical facts. One example is when the president, Martin Van Buren, forces an appeal and sends the case to the Supreme Court. There, former president John Quincy Adams, backs them up with a very lengthy argument. This is a great example of historical fiction.
Here is an example from the book we read together, Amistad Rising:
