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Historical fiction can be a wonderful way tocapture students’ interest in the study of thepast. It can, however, be used for more thanjust an introduction to a history unit.

What Can Literature Do for SocialStudies Instruction?1. By including historical fiction in social

studies, teachers can provide a greatervariety of books for children. This simplymakes sense since we know that not all thechildren in our classrooms are reading atthe same level (McGowan and Guzzetti1991).

2. The teaching of history includes bringingchildren to an understanding of manycomplex concepts: change, community,tradition and class, to name a few. Manywriters have recognized that stories clarifythese concepts for children because theypersonalize them: they provide a relevantand meaningful context that children canidentify with (McGowan and Guzzetti1991; Van Middendorp and Lee 1994;Brozo and Tomlinson 1986). The authorsof historical fiction use language andimages evocatively to transport childreninto different times and places. A 1992study by Guzzetti, Kowalinski andMcGowan demonstrated that sixth-gradestudents actually learned more socialstudies concepts and seemed to have agreater understanding of those conceptswhen they were taught through aliterature-based rather than textbook-based approach. Studies have also foundthat elementary school students’ interest in

history and their retention of historicalinformation increased when their historyinstruction included children’s literature(Levstik 1986; VanSledright 1995).

3. Reading stories can heighten children’semotional sensitivity. Their moral andsocial awareness grows when theyconsider reasons for people’s behaviourin other times, other places or specificsituations. Most children have not hadsufficient life experience to imagine, letalone identify with, others. Stories providethe “insider’s perspective” that allowschildren to connect with people in othertimes and places and come to a deeperunderstanding of others’ experiences.

Cautions and GuidelinesSome important cautions or concerns havebeen raised about the use of historical fictionin social studies instruction.

1. Roberta McKay reminds us that literatureis written to tell a story, not to conveyinformation or clarify concepts. Teachingsocial studies content through literaturecan distort the purpose of the story. Itshould not be used as a substitute for thetextbook (McKay 1995). When usinghistorical fiction like the Dear Canadadiaries, give children a chance to respondaesthetically to the stories they read orlisten to. Do not jump into social studiesquestions or activities without givingchildren a chance to appreciate and discussthe important literary elements of thediaries. Talk about the way the authorsused language in the diaries. (Examples:

Teaching Social Studies with Historical Fiction

by Amy von Heyking

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How does the language or vocabulary theauthors used make it seem as if they reallywere written long ago? Make a glossary ofall the unusual or new words. How didthey evoke a sense of the past? What werethe important turning points in the diary?How did the authors make you want tokeep reading? Did you get a real sense ofplace in the description of the setting?Discuss the characters in the diaries.Would you like to meet the fictional writerof the diary? Would she be a good friend?)

2. It is vital that even the youngest studentsbegin to distinguish between factual andfictional writing. Integrating fictionalstories into lessons in a content area(which is usually factual) can confuse themif explicit instruction in the two kinds ofwriting is not given. Teachers must teachthe distinction between fiction and non-fiction literature explicitly, directly andoften. Indeed, Levstik and Barton suggest that historical narratives carryextraordinary authority for children, andreading them to begin a unit may actuallyundermine children’s attempts to doresearch on the topic or approach theirresearch in an objective way. It takescareful, deliberate and teacher-directedwork with fiction and non-fiction text tohelp children understand the complex“truth” of an historical episode (2001).Reading a range of fiction and non-fictionbooks on the same subject will helpchildren examine various books critically,determining the interpretation the authorspresent. Levstik (1993) tells us thatchildren “need to be exposed not just totextbooks and historical fiction, but also tobiographies, autobiographies, informationaltexts, and even oral history; they need tobe able to distinguish the features of each

form and to recognize their strengths andlimitations. They will then learn to ask whois telling the story and to whom, and whois left out.” Consider asking students howthe authors of the Dear Canada diariesmake their characters seem like “real”people. As students are reading,continually ask them how the author mighthave known specific historical details. (Forexample: How would Maxine Trottierknow that people in New France atemuskrat? How did Julie Lawson knowwhat kinds of things children would havebeen reading in their school texts in the1880s?) After reading the diaries anddoing research on the historical period, askthem to identify elements in the diary thatare obvious fiction. Use a Venn diagram tocompare and contrast the diary with a non-fiction book on the same historical period.Place all the books students consulted on acontinuum from “completely fictional” to“completely factual” and ask them todefend the way they placed the books.

3. Using historical fiction can obscure thefact that the past is a different place. Whileit can be important to motivate students’interest in the past, historical fiction candistort history and the experience of peoplein the past when it pretends that they werejust like us. Anne Scott MacLeod remindsus that “people of the past were not just usin odd clothing. They were people whosaw the world differently; approachedhuman relationships differently; people forwhom night and day, heat and cold,seasons and work and play had meaningslost to an industrialized world.” (Quoted inEdinger 2000, 124.) There is a concernthat we are actually encouraging adangerous “presentism” or “present-mindedness” in children when we

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emphasize the similarities between the pastand present and suggest to children thatthey are even capable of understanding theexperience of people in the past throughthe reading of historical fiction. Rememberto ask students critical questions about theDear Canada diaries when you are readingthem: Why are real diaries written bychildren so difficult to find? Is it realisticto imagine girls like these keeping diaries?Why are all the fictional writers of thediaries a little bit eccentric? In what waysare the girls written to appeal to modernreaders?

These cautions and guidelines are intendednot to discourage teachers from usinghistorical fiction, but are simply a reminderthat it should be used judiciously andappropriately. At its most powerful, historicalfiction becomes a springboard for students’own questions about the past.

Activities for General UseThree activities that can be applied to any ofthe Dear Canada books are available onpages 45 to 47. (Activities and reproduciblesfor use with specific titles are included withineach title’s section.)

BibliographyBrophy, Jere and VanSledright, Bruce. (1997). Teaching and Learning History in Elementary Schools. New York:Teachers College Press.Brozo, W.G. and Tomlinson, C.M. (1986). “Literature: The Key to Lively Content Courses.” The ReadingTeacher, 40, 3: 288–93.Davis, John C., III and Palmer, Jesse. (1992). “A Strategy for Using Children’s Literature to Extend theSocial Studies Curriculum.” The Social Studies, 83, 3: 125–128.Edinger, Monica. (2000). Seeking History: Teaching with Primary Sources in Grades 4–6. Portsmouth, N.H.:Heinemann.Guzzetti, B., Kowalinksi, B. and McGowan, T. (1992). “Using a Literature-Based Approach to TeachingSocial Studies.” Journal of Reading, 36: 114–22.Jorgensen, Karen L. (1993). History Workshop: Reconstructing the Past with Elementary Students. Portsmouth,N.H.: Heinemann.Levstik, Linda S. (1993). “Making the Past Come to Life.” In Bernice E. Cullinan (Ed.), Fact and Fiction:Literature Across the Curriculum (pp. 5–13). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.Levstik, Linda S. (1986). “The Relationship Between Historical Response and Narrative in a Sixth GradeClassroom.” Theory and Research in Social Education, 14: 1–19.Levstik, Linda S. and Barton, Keith C. (2001). Doing History, 2nd ed. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence ErlbaumAssociates.McGowan, T. and Guzzetti, B. (1991). “Promoting Social Studies Understanding Through Literature-BasedInstruction.” The Social Studies, 82, 1: 16–21.McKay, Roberta. (1997). “Promoting the Aesthetic Experience: Responding to Literature in Social Studies.”In Roland Case and Penney Clark (Eds.), The Canadian Anthology of Social Studies (pp. 349–360). Vancouver:Pacific Educational Press.McKay, Roberta. (1995). “Using Literature in Social Studies: A Caution.” Canadian Social Studies, 29 (3): 95–6.