NEW! Literature: Civil War Historical Fiction, Northern Wolf, Daniel Greene

Course Description

In a departure from my other literary courses, I am offering a wonderful contemporary novel, Northern Wolf, by award-winning author Daniel Greene. This book is a piece of historical fiction written about the fictional character, Johannes Wolf, a Michigan recruit into the Union cavalry in 1862. Greene allows the reader to ride along with Wolf through several real adventures of the Civil War that include the Battle of Hanover, the Gettysburg Campaign, and the Battle of Gettysburg. He covers, accurately, the actions of real Civil War personalities including Jeb Stuart, George A. Custer, and Robert E. Lee, among others. This exceptional novel provides students a cross-curricular learning opportunity that will not only provide the lessons of reading well-written literature, but the chance to learn about one of the most extraordinary periods of U.S. history, the Civil War.

From the jacket copy:

"It is late 1862, and the United States has been ripped apart by civil war for over a year, with no end is sight. The war is a distant thought of Johannes Wolf, a young German immigrant with a crippled leg keeping him off the muster lists. Desperately dredging the gutters for 
for recruits, Wolf cons his way into the depleted, demoralized, and poorly run Union army, and is promptly placed in the undesirable        F Company of the 13th Michigan Cavalry. 

Wolf's company finds themselves riding with Custer and the Michigan Brigade on a collision course with master horseman J.E.B. Stuart and the Army of Northern Virginia in a small town in Pennsylvania, called Gettysburg."

Northern Wolf Literary Awards:
--First Place Winner - Laramie Awards, 2020

--Winner in Historical Fiction - N.N. Light Book Awards, 2020

--First Place Winner in Military Fiction - Topshelf Book Awards, 2020

--Honorable Mention in Military Fiction - 2020 Readers' Favorite Awards

Studying this great work of literature will help students:

-Increase their vocabulary;
-Understand and identify elements of a plot; 
-Identify themes; 
-Use of symbolism
-How authors develop characters; 
-Using textual evidence to infer meaning;
-How figurative language and other literary devices are used to enhance the reading experience.

Course Details:

Lesson 1: An introduction to our author, Daniel Greene, and his novel, Northern Wolf, will be covered in lesson 1. This class will include reviewing the author's biography, his style of writing, a vocabulary list pertinent to the next assigned reading, a brief summary of the book's plot, addressing potential themes, and cross-curricular learning opportunities (English and history) for students to watch for as they read. 

Lesson 2: This lesson will cover chapters 1-11.  Included will be the vocabulary and the exposition elements of the novel (characters, setting, historical context, inciting incident, identification of the protagonist, etc.) For each day's assigned reading, the class will discuss and identify any symbolism and literary devices used by the author.  

Lesson 3: This lesson will cover chapters 12-23. We will address vocabulary, rising action, character development, and more. In addition to the topics above, themes of the novel will be discussed, including a post reading theme activity that will lead to class discussion. 

Lesson 4: This lesson covers chapters 24-35. We will address vocabulary, climax, falling action, resolution, character development, and wrap-up with analysis of story themes.

Lesson 5: This lesson will recap the novel including themes, symbolism, etc. 
Parents, feel free to contact me with any questions.
I hope to see your student in class!

--Brin Lewis