Historic Fiction Literature Semester Course

In this engaging 9-week semester literature course, learners will dive into four excellent novels. These books connect learners to people across time and space. Learners will meet dynamic characters and be introduced to new settings and timelines. In our meetings, we will analyze the characters, settings, themes, figurative language, and more. Short video clips and other media will be used to provide learners with background information on specific periods and places. Learners will read the assigned chapters before each meeting to enable them to participate in the Socratic discussions. I like to keep my classes easygoing so everyone can share ideas and ask questions!
Week 1- A Night Divided chapters 1-16
Week 2- A Night Divided chapters 17-31
Week 3- A Night Divided chapters 32-47
Week 4- The War That Saved My Life  chapters 1-15
Week 5- The War That Saved My Life  chapters 16-29
Week 6- The War That Saved My Life chapters 30-46
Week 7- Johnny Tremain Part 1-4
Week 8- Johnny Tremain Part 5-7
Week 9- Johnny Tremain Part 8-12

  Weeks 1-3
  A Night Divided  (historical fiction) by Jennifer Neilson
With the rise of the Berlin Wall, Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city. But one day on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Gerta concludes that her father wants her and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?
   
Weeks 4-6
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Bradley
Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
 So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

Weeks 7-9
Johnny Tremain: A Story of Boston in Revolt
Johnny Tremain, winner of the 1944 Newbery Medal, is one of the finest historical novels ever written for children. As compelling today as it was fifty years ago, to read this riveting novel is to live through the defining events leading up to the American Revolutionary War. Fourteen-year old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith with a bright future ahead of him, injures his hand in a tragic accident, forcing him to look for other work. In his new job as a horse-boy, riding for the patriotic newspaper, the Boston Observer, and as a messenger for the Sons of Liberty, he encounters John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren. Soon Johnny is involved in the pivotal events shaping the American Revolution from the Boston Tea Party to the first shots fired at Lexington. Powerful illustrations by American artist Michael McCurdy, bring to life Esther Forbes' quintessential novel of the American Revolution.