Writing Historical Fiction

The students were randomly paired together to compare their time lines. Their goal was to punch (figurative) holes in each others time line in order to make sure that the other had a solid foundation for a story line. 

Before the break, we started our next writing unit: Historical Fiction. Students started by brainstorming different time periods that they were interested in and could do some research on it. The students thought of the major time periods like World War II, the American Revolutionary War and different events during the Cold War. Other time periods included the Underground Railroad, the Black Plague, and the Moon Landing. 

By being randomly paired, students had to talk to others in the class they may not normally pair up with. This gave them an opportunity to discuss their story with someone who doesn't necessarily think the same way that they do or those that simply don't have the same background knowledge. 

After choosing their topic, the students had to do some research on their time period to see what life what really like during those years. To take a look at the template that the students used click here.

Yep. That just happened.

Once that was completed, our next task was to create characters. We created a fictional character together as a class so the kids could see how it was done. We followed another Google Doc template and took a look at our character from all different points of view. Take a look at our class character here.

After that, it was off to create double time lines. One of the characters actions, and one of the actual historical time period and how it would all work together. We're still in the planning stages, but the students have some great ideas. Be sure to ask your student what they are writing about!