Story Structure
This is the most important factor of historical fiction, and is a term for where the story takes place.
What is a setting?
Contemporary authors stick to factual accuracy more than in the past.
True or False
True
True or False. Historical fiction is strictly literary and is generally only connected to history and language arts.
What is false? Historical fiction is cross curricular. It can be applied to any subject.
Which of the following would best qualify as "historical fiction"?
a. a story about the hardships a soldier during the Revolutionary War faces
b. a description of the exact military strategies that were used to win World War II
c. a detailed account by a witness of the bombing of Pearl Harbor
a. a story about the hardships a soldier during the Revolutionary War faces
Historical fiction is a work of fiction set in a time prior to when it was written.
Often, the _____ on the front of the book gives an indication what the story will be about?
What is a title?
The term used to describe a change in a character's behavior or appearance.
What is character development?
Historical Fiction is written only about major historical events?
True or False
False
Contemporary authors of historical fiction are now writing about less well-known historical events.
Name one benefit to historical fiction.
Possible Answers: It conveys a sense of life as it was lived? It conveys happens to ordinary people and everyone participates in historical events? It broadens perspectives? It helps children understand that the present and the future are linked to actions of the past? It makes students feel connected as opposed to textbooks
Which type of historical fiction does this scenario describe?
A woman writes a story about her grandparents immigration to America based on their accounts.
a. Fictionalized memoirs
b. Fictionalized family history
c. Fiction based on research
b. Fictionalized family history
Fictionalized family history is developed from stories that have been passed down.
Readers must know, to an extent, the ____ _____ the story takes place to better understand the premise.
What is a time period?
The lesson the author is trying to teach the reader.
What is a theme?
Historical Fiction is written only about the history of the United States?
True or False
False
True or false. The problem with historical fiction is that it does not provide a balanced approach to historical instruction.
What is false?
Which type of historical fiction would this scenario best describe?
An author uses information from the internet, library, and historical records to write a book about the Holocaust.
a. fictionalized memoirs
b. fictionalized family history
c. Fiction based on research
c. Fiction based on research
Readers can use this genre to better understand the setting and time period their novel takes place in.
What is nonfiction?
The different perspectives authors can use to tell a story through the use of "I", "He/She", and multiple characters.
What is a point of view?
Historical Fiction ALWAYS has major historical figures as main characters?
True or False
False
Main characters are usually common people and sometimes a major historical character will be mentioned.
Which describes the style of today's historical fiction for children?
a. Passages are long and detailed with many facts.
b. The vocabulary is difficult and hard for children to understand.
c. The language is accessible to children.
c. The language is accessible to children.
Which type of historical fiction would this scenario best describe?
A woman is cleaning out her parent's house and finds an old trunk. Her aunt remembered a story about another old trunk. This fleeting exchange grew into a story called, "Katie's Trunk", which was set during the American Revolution about a child who hides from the patriots in a trunk.
a. Fictionalized Memoirs
b. Fictionalized Family History
c. Fiction Based on Research
b. Fictionalized Family History
Readers must be able to tell the difference between historical fiction and ____, since these two genres can be similar in some ways but are still vastly different.
What is fantasy?
What is the correct order of the plot diagram?
Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution.
In some cases, the author can alter the ending of a historical event so it can better portray the theme of the story.
True or False
False
Under no circumstances can an author alter the actual ending of an event, because at that point, it is no longer historical fiction.
In a written response, these three things are what is required after reading a passage.
1) Answer the prompt
2) Cite evidence
3) Provide commentary
"Brown Girl Dreaming" is a 2014 adolescent novel told in verse by author Jacqueline Woodson. It discusses the author's childhood as an African American growing up in the 1960s in South Carolina and New York.
a. Fictionalized Memoirs
b. Fictionalized Family History
c. Fictionalized Memoirs
c. Fictionalized Memoirs
In historical fiction, readers will often come across words they may not know. However, readers can use ____ ____ in order to determine the meaning of the words.
What are context clues?