Historical fiction can be a tricky genre for second graders because a lot of the great historical fiction series are juuuuust out of their reach. I try to book-talk American Girl series, I Survived, the Dear America series, and then I end up doing a lot of stand-alone novels because historical fiction just doesn't tend to be too popular with the early chapter book set. If you know of any great series, PLEASE let me know - especially ones that feature diverse characters!
Our delve into historical fiction is a little shorter than our fantasy unit; here's what we did this year:
Week 1: Introduction to the Genre & Different Time Periods
Since this is only our second genre after fantasy, it takes a while to reintroduce the idea that there are lots of different types of fiction books. We have to point out that not every book in the fiction section has magic in it; there are lots of other kinds! I book-talk a bunch of historical fiction books without naming the genre, and write the word "fiction" on the board. Even though they are all fiction, they all have something else in common - can anyone figure out what it is?! Typically they're able to tell me that they take place a long time ago, and we define the word "history" before turning it into the word "historical."
I took them on a picture walk of Winter Days in the Big Woods, an early reader/picture book version of the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. We discussed what we saw in the pictures that made us think it happened in history, and was historical fiction; those pictures are full of great scenes like butter churns, wood-burning stoves, old dress, and log cabins. Another book I've used for this activity is Snowflake Bentley.
Then we explored different historical periods using the Magic Tree House Kids Mission Game on our Chromebooks. We practiced logging in to the Chromebooks (we've ALMOST all got it!), then each student had to choose a mission to complete. Each mission takes them to four different historical periods, which we discussed could all be the setting of a historical fiction book. We did have to discuss before we started, though, that Magic Tree House themselves are not historical fiction - they've got magic in the name, so they must be fantasy!
Week 2: Hour of Code with Ozobots & Elements of Historical Fiction
Because our Week 2 happened to coincide with Hour of Code week, it worked out perfectly that we were already planning an Ozobot exploration of elements of historical fiction! Each pair of students got an Ozobot, markers, and an "Elements of Historical Fiction" map. Their task was to use color codes to make the Ozobot pause next to things that would belong in a historical fiction scene (a covered wagon, World War I & II helmets, the past), and speed by things that would not belong in a historical fiction scene (aliens, dragons, flying cars). It was a HIT!
If you've never used Ozobots before, check them out! They are easily differentiated from very simple color coding to more complicated Block coding, and I find them to be a blast to integrate into a variety of different lessons.
If you've never used Ozobots before, check them out! They are easily differentiated from very simple color coding to more complicated Block coding, and I find them to be a blast to integrate into a variety of different lessons.
Week 3: A Kahoot! Genre Review
The week before winter break is always an interesting one - energy is high and attendance is low! Instead of introducing a new topic this week, I like to do a review or a project so no one misses new material (this year I had a record - TEN absences in one kindergarten class!!). We reviewed our two genres using a Kahoot! interactive quiz. The second grade teachers don't tend to use Kahoot!, so this was new for them - and they! loved! it! You can create your own Kahoot or use mine!
Historical fiction is in the bag! We're moving on after break to my favorite: mystery!
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