Historical Fiction

Tunnel. Michael O. James S. Jacobs. Children's Literature, Briefly. 4e. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008.

What a slam on history textbooks! I must confess that I found reading them to be pure drudgery. I've never been a huge fan of historical fiction either. I've always just lumped them together. But I can definitely see how historical fiction can fill in the blanks (i.e. people, setting, and personal connection) and make history come alive for students. In fact, while reading the text, I remembered a few works of historical fiction that I actually liked (The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder and These Is My Words by Nancy Turner).

We've talked in class about how young people need to be able to identify with the books they read either by cultural or situational relevance, and I think this is especially important in teaching history. As teachers, if we can build a bridge between the realities that our students face and those of the past, maybe they will really "own" their knowledge of history rather than just learn enough to regurgitate facts for a test. Using historical fiction seems like a great idea. But when I think about the extensive background knowledge a teacher would have to have (which specific books to teach specific subjects, making sure that they are age and level appropriate) to use historical fiction effectively, I can see why so many teachers continue to use textbooks. It's just easier. What a daunting task to balance what you have time and energy to implement in your classroom with what really connects in your students' minds!