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IX. HISTORICAL FICTION  © 2006 Nancy Polette 

ABOUT THE BOOK  
It is 1851. An Irish mother and her two children see their home burned and their land devastated by famine.. Their only choice for survival is to attempt to join the children's father in America. At the same time, eleven- year- old Sir. Laurence Kirkle runs away from home and decides also to go to America. But how will these travelers make such a journey with no food and no money? Was escaping from home really the best idea?

INTRODUCING VOCABULARY  
Form teams of three or four. Each team should have a dictionary. In ten minutes use as many of these words as you can in one sentence to describe a visual. You may add other words as needed. The team using the most words correctly is the winner.

devastated	misfortune	distinguished	hostile	insurrection	trepidation	composure	pandemonium
constable	congenial	blighted	consultation	interrogation	famine	cowering	mockery
proclaim	prosperous	remorse	Hibernian	indignation	scrutinize	scoundrel	agitated

1. SUMMARIZE
Tell what the main character wanted.
List three main events that followed.
Tell the outcome.
_____________ wanted _____________but
1.________________________________________
2.________________________________________
3.________________________________________
And then_________________________________
So_______________________________________


2. CONNECT
Tell how the selection you are reading connects with another selection you have read. How are the characters, settings, problems, solutions similar? Also look for similarities with real events, people you know about or have seen on TV. Ask: What does this selection remind me of? Who do these characters remind me of?
Prepare a one page chart showing the connections.

3. STYLE
Find interesting words , colorful language, figures os speech or special techniques the author used to tell the story. Look for sentences, phrases or words that paint pictures or create strong feelings.

4. POETRY RESPONSE
Summarize the novel in an acrostic poem.

5. MORE WRITING CHOICES

A. Write a riddle report about one of the settings in the story, Killony, London, Cork or Liverpool. Begin your report with:
Let's go to long ago places and see the Earth's changing faces.
(List six to eight things one would see)
But that's not all....
(List six to eight additional sights) Where am I?

B. Write a five senses poem descrbing London at night
London is the color of ______
It sounds like_____________
It smells like _____________
It tastes like ______________
It looks like ______________
It made ______ feel like ______

C. Summarize the novel in a song.

D. Describe Liverpool in a compare/contrast report.
If I visited Liverpool as an immigrant I would see (list 6-8 sights) but I wouldn't ( describe first class passengers) because first class passengers to that.

E. Reporting with Free Verse
You are changing, changing.
You feel: describe the atmosphere
You are: two adjectives
You: two verbs or verb phrases
You are: color
the color of: name an object the same color
You are: give size and shape
and are: use participle and prepositional phrase
You do not walk upright anymore as you: three verb phrases
It is: adjective to move like this so: one adjective and one simile
You are: name


BLITZCAT by Robert Westall.Doubleday 2001
1. Before Reading: Pre Reading Journal Sentence Starters
A. News reports about war can be...
B. A cat wandering far from home might...
C. Fear and courage go together when...


2. SUMMARIZE
Tell what the main character wanted. List three main events that followed.Tell the outcome.
_____________ wanted _____________but
1.________________________________________
2.________________________________________
3.________________________________________
And then_________________________________
So_______________________________________


3. CONNECT
Tell how the selection you are reading connects with another selection you have read. How are the characters, settings, problems, solutions similar? Also look for similarities with real events, people you know about or have seen on TV. Ask: What does this selection remind me of? Who do these characters remind me of? Prepare a one page chart showing the connections.


4. STYLE
Find interesting words , colorful language, figures of speech or special techniques the author used to tell the story. Look for sentences, phrases or words that paint pictures or create strong feelings.

5. POETRY
List as many words as you can that end in ation. Create a poem using the words to describe the cat's experiences.


6. LITERARY DESCRIPTIONS
Pattern: Let's go to long ago places and see the Earth's changing faces.
We will see: List 6-8 sights. But that's not all. List 6-8 more sights.
Where am I?

Let's go to long ago places and see the Earth's changing faces. A crowded beach with the muck and stink of smoke ovehead
With Jerry bullets and bombs behind and above and offshore the Kentish maid, but no way to get to the boat. Then a destroyer comes up with ack ack and pom poms And between the bullets they come, small boats of every description . But that's not all!
From 100 miles across the North Sea they sailed through frothin' water and shell splashes to save us.
The wounded went first.
Some died so that others could escape.
Beaten but unconquered, they faced the enemy.
And democracy shone in all its splendor.


THE CAY by Theodore Taylor
Doubleday © 1969
After the Germans torpedoed the freighter on which he and his mother were travelling Philip found himself dependent on Timothy.
This is the story of their struggle for survival, and of Philip's efforts to adjust to his blindness and to understand the dignified, wise, black man who was his companion.

1.Pre-Reading Journal Sentence Starters
A. Living in a place without seasons...
B. A sudden attack by a submarine wolf pack......
C. An island that depends upon ships for food
D. Watching a large ship explode is like...

2.Island Analogies: How many can you write?
Example:
Coral is to island as claws are to bear. (Both protect themselves by ripping and tearing.) What can you do with sharks, palm trees, coconuts, grass hut, wild birds, fish, hurricane, palm fronds, tide pool

3. A Poetic Description
1. Choose one: The rain, The sea, the waves, the shore, the lighthouse
2. Place one or two descriptive words before the noun. Example: The sea
3. Tell what the (rain, wind or surf) reminds you of. Example:The sea is a huge washtub
4. Tell what it does that a person does. Example: The sea is a huge washtub scrubbing
5. Tell how or where it does the action. The sea is a huge washtub scrubbing its coral edges.

4.Reporting with Free Verse
You are changing, changing.
You feel: describe the atmosphere
You are: two adjectives
You: two verbs or verb phrases
You are: color
the color of: name an object the same color
You are: give size and shape
and are: use participle and prepositional phrase
You do not walk upright anymore
as you: three verb phrases
It is: adjective to move like this
so: one adjective and one simile
You are: name