Finding History in Historical Fiction

The weeks spent at the Newark Museum have been a refreshing boost to my instruction as a Library Diva (LMS). The work I have been doing thus far in the Masters for Teacher Leadership has mostly been about my role as Professional Development Coach (AKA Literacy Coach or Staff Developer). But, this work has brought the instruction in the library home for me.

Our concept, as mentioned in an earlier blog, is finding the History in Historical Fiction. We focused on, again, as mentioned earlier, the Battle of Gettysburg. Talk about an embodied response to art: I am consumed by this process. I am talking about this exhibit with everyone I see. In fact, my son has let me "borrow" a book about the Civil War to add to our Lit Links portion of our exhibit. I think about the faces of the pictures I have downloaded for our slide show. The music that accompanies it tugs at my heart! I read over and over again the picture book The Cemetery Keepers of Gettysburg and learn more each time I do. I touch the cape and hat that once clothed a union soldier and I think about the sacrifices made by the generations that came before us. Even more, I think about the pain and suffering of the soldiers and those who loved them. They have created the country (united!) that we are today. The picture below haunts me-- their eyes and pride. The resolve in their faces, with a bit of fear in others.

This is the kind of response and understanding I can bring to learning in the library.

There were a new set of standards just released by the American Association of School Librarians that indicate the need for students to be able to think critically, create meaning through inquiry, utilize technology, to share knowledge in a productive and ethical manner, and to take that learning and pursue personal growth in areas of interest. The role of object based learning is clearly supportive of these standards, most especially in motivating students to learn more about a particular area of interest and to think critically about those areas. Surely the use of artifacts and cultivate the learning and standards set forth here by the new wave of thinking from School Librarians. I know this because I am experiencing that desire to know more and learn more about a subject I had really no prior interest in.

So, my conclusion is that finding the History in Historical Fiction will have the draw for my students the same way it has had the draw for me.