Getting Students Involved in Authenticating Historical Fiction
The Reading Teacher article, “Getting Students Involved in Authenticating Historical Fiction,” details the advantages and potential problems with using historical fiction in the classroom. Historical fiction makes history come alive for students, but sometimes authors make mistakes and can convey inaccurate information. By involving students in checking the author’s research, that can alleviate the problem and teach valuable research skills in the process.
If a classroom were using my novel, THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL, one of the first things to authenticate would be whether I did my homework about tuberculosis. An excellent resource to do that is Jim Murphy’s, INVINCIBLE MICROBE TUBERCULOSIS AND THE NEVER-ENDING SEARCH FOR A CURE.
The hardest chapter to write in THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL was Chapter 26, “The Model T and Me.” Students could visit The Henry Ford Museum website and also watch numerous YouTube videos about how to drive a Model T.
Lots of details in THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL required research. A good source for clothing of the 1920’s is EVERYDAY FASHIONS 1909-1920.
The most fun part of my research involved interviewing older family members. It was fascinating to hear firsthand about outhouses, bathing weekly in a tin tub, winding water from the well, and life before electronic gadgets.
THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL could be used during Women’s History Month to discuss the role of women in society. Jessie’s choices were very limited in 1922. Was she portrayed accurately for the book’s setting? I’ll let my readers be the judge.
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What a great idea. I get really aggravated when I read something that I know is not accurate to the times. But tiny mistakes can be easy to make. Like a recent book I read that had everybody wearing monogrammed sweaters in the 1950s. In the South. And they were cardigans. Just didn't seem right to me. The devil's in the details!
The devil is indeed in the details. I was recently reading the Amazon reviews for a book that won a Newbery Honor a few years back and one of the reviews was griping about the author writing about fireflies. The gentleman says he lives in the state where the book is set and that he's never seen a firefly there…not ever. That's the kind of criticism we all want to avoid.
This is my pet peeve also. Sensibilities and ways of talking that ring so contemporary. Some well-meaning people mistakenly write biblical characters, for example, who "jive."
Biblical characters who jive? Surely it was tongue-in-cheek?
This is great, Shannon, and I found a couple of new sources for my research. I have been able to buy CDs with a 1915 Boy Scout Manual and a Sears Catalogue from the 1920s that have been very helpful to me. The Sears Catalogue is great for pricing and fashions. Did you know Sears sold food? If you need to know how much a canned ham cost in those days, I can help you out. 😉
I think Sears sold just about everything. You could even order kits to build homes. I'll keep you in mind should I ever have a need to know about the cost of a canned ham!
I have a set of paper dolls from the 40's which I bought for fashion info. Love newspaper ads for just about anything!
Asking experts to read our stories can save us tons of embarrassment – and to me just about anyone can be an expert – including people who live in the area where the story takes place. Because they know if there are fireflies!
I love your thinking that anyone can be an expert. My parents served as experts because they remembered living without running water, electricity, and telephones.