Essay On Connecting Historical Novel As A Teaching & Learning Strategy

Essay On Connecting Historical Novel As A Teaching & Learning Strategy
Introduction:

This essay defines historic fiction and discusses the advantages of using historical fiction as teaching strategy. It also clarifies that teaching techniques intend to be according to curriculum planning and programming. Therefore historical fiction is a vital tool in teaching children at schools based on curriculum (Rodwell, 2008, p.17, para.1 & Reynolds, p.9). Because it makes it easier for students to memories or remember past events, while critically think, examine and interpret the past events (Rodwell, 2008, p.17, para.1& Reynolds, p.8)). Fictions and historical fictions are both different; here the aim is to discuss historical fictions and its benefits in teaching school students and children.

Body :

Historic fiction is defined as historic novel that is about past historical facts and societal or public events and conditions. Historic fiction is a type of literature, which indicates the past events. Historic fiction tells a story that is set in the past that setting is usually real and drawn from history (Groce, E. & Groce, R, 2005, p.104, and para.2). It is possible to use novel excerpts to focus on particular historical content that will illustrate life during that era. The purpose of using historic novel is to expand on an area of for example history (The National Strategies, 2010, p.1).

Historical fiction is nonfiction that presents facts in fictional story (Groce, E. & Groce, R, 2005, p.100, para.1). For this reason it is vital to use historical fiction or novels as a forceful teaching technique (Herz, 1981, para. 15 & Linquist, para.1). It is necessary for educators to understand the content of historical fiction to establish curriculum goals (Groce, E. & Groce, R, 2005, p.100, para.1).

Reynolds (2008, p.1) states that teaching historical fictions is vital particularly in development of national identity, clarification of historical events, studying of historic literacy in schools and appreciating Australian values such as building citizenship. Fiction helps the children and students to make connection to citizenship and build citizenship skills in order to function well in society, make effective social decisions, willingness to participate in decision making process and learn about the way people live. The other advantage of historic fiction is to model citizenship qualities or in another word the novel character presents the example of citizenship skills in practice. The character in children’s fictions is concerned about and involved in their society. Historic fiction provides a holistic approach to develop literacy and educating values and morals (The National Strategies, 2010, p.2).


Teachers need to make teaching interesting and meaningful for students. It is necessary to program according to curriculum where the curriculum should be integrated and discipline-based (Tambyah, p.1&4, para.2). Historic fiction engages educators and students together in programming the curriculum based on historical literacy.


Hence, Based on curriculum, teaching method is fundamental in passing the knowledge and skills to learners and students. One of the techniques to make teaching interesting is to implement historic fiction in classrooms. Today teachers apply this method to supplement the curriculum planning (Tambyah, p.2, para.3).

Historic fiction if thought effectively will help the children and students to think reflectively and process new information in order to develop positive decision making skills. Reading historical fiction books provides information through pictures, which engages the reader through visual and contextual clues. Also historic fiction involves the student or the person who reads it to critically think, examine, and imagine past historical events and critique about present and future (Herz, 1981, para. 2-4 & Groce, E. & Groce, R, 2005, p.101, para.3). Hence it is vital to engage the students in critical thinking. Students and children in the classrooms will not only have the opportunity to think critically; they can also examine the past historical events. This will give them the chance to compare the current situation with the ones happened in the past (The National Strategies, 2010, p.3).

The significance of historical fiction is that the character presents difficulties that people experience in their life. The characters deal with problems, acts on finding solution to achieve result this also helps the students to learn to deal with their problems, find acceptable solutions and critically think on how to face difficulties that many people may experience in their life (Groce, E. & Groce, R, 2005, p.102, para.1).

It also helps students and readers to solve difficult real life problems, for example the characters in historic novel deals with conflict in a historical period Therefore students and readers can use these novels as a good example, to critically think about it and decide how to solve their every day problems (Herz, 1981, para. 20 & VandeKieft's, para.9).

The benefits of teaching historical novel is the character or actual historic person appears to have different points of view and deals with difficulties differently while neither all virtues nor all evil (Linquist, para.3-9 & VandeKieft's, para.10 & Informat, p.100, para.1). Students learn to accept other people’s opinions.

The advantage historic fiction is fundamental in teaching students and children to explore solutions in real life situations. The disadvantage, some historic fiction reveals strong feeling against past conflicts, for example exploring indigenous conflicts and issues in the past informs current debate (Reynolds, 2008, p.6&7). However historic fiction captures consecration, presents characters, and brings together past and presents (Informat, p.101, para.3)

The other advantages of historical fiction are that it reveals the history. The reader needs to comprehend the values and achievement of the characters (Rodwell, 2010, p.20, para.8). Thus it helps the reader to link past historical events values to real life situations. Then critically think and show empathy to the history presenter. This engagement between the reader and the history character is vital in understanding of people, events and histories of past, present and future (Rodwell, 2010, p.23, para.3 & Reynolds, 2008, p.6).

Nevertheless, textbooks consist of advanced and complicated sentences, words and language, which is not easy for students and children to remember and in some case to understand it. However the strength of historical fiction book is that, they are more engaging and much easier to understand. It uses every day language (Groce, E. & Groce, R, 2005, p.102, para.2).

The strength of historical fiction is that they are different from textbooks. However, the meaning of the historical fiction or story depends on the knowledge, view and life experience of the author (Rodwell, 2010,p.23, para.3 & Reynolds, 2008, p.6).

It is necessary for educators and students or readers to identify and select good historical fiction books, which delivers natural context while meeting the curriculum requirement, as well as historically accurate, the historical facts are skillfully woven in to text, and uses historically appropriate illustration (Groce, E. & Groce, R, 2005, p.104, para.4). The historical fiction book needs to be developmentally appropriate for students and the language should be easy to understand. The author’s selection of story and themes shall be familiar to young students. The use of appropriate pictures and meaning full content is important. The information should be valid and accurate.

The limitation of historical fiction is that some authors may manipulate the facts, or have biased views in order to make the literature look good (Groce, E. & Groce, R, 2005, p.102, para.5 &p.113, para. 4). It is important to encourage the readers and students to critically think, compare and research on materials used in the historical fiction books and check on references (Groce, E. & Groce, R, 2005, p.103, para.3 & p.114, para.1).

Historical fiction presents diverse cultures, which was disengaged by periods not pace (Reynolds, 2008, p.7). Children’s fiction offers lessons about people from varies periods, discovers cultural backgrounds, knowledge about people, their relationships and their behavior.


Conclusion:

The advantages of using historical fiction as teaching strategy were discussed. It is vital to use historic fiction as teaching techniques based on curriculum, planning and programming (Rodwell, 2008, p.17, para.1 & Reynolds, p.9). Using historic fictions gives the students the opportunity to explore and examinee about the past events (Rodwell, 2008, p.17, para.1& Reynolds, p.8). Historic fiction zooms in one specific event, explores its impact from one person’s point of view, which clarifies the characters in history.


References:

Terry Linquist, language Arts/Social studies: ‘Why and How I Teach with Historical Fiction’.
http:// teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/instructor/social1

Grant Rodwell, ‘Historical Novels: Engaging student teachers in K-10 history pre-service units’, Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35, 7, pp.15-29 November 2010.

Mallihai Tambyah,’ What do SOSE teachers know: The significance of subject content knowledge among middle school teachers and teachers’ professional identity’, School of Cultural and language studies in education faculty of education Queensland university of technology.

Lynette Vandekieft’s, ‘Historical fiction in the elementary classroom: Great Sites for Educators, viewed December 2010
http://www.msu.edu

Groce, E. & Groce, R. (2005).’ Authenticating Historical Fiction: rationale and process’, Education Research and Perspectives, 32, 1 p.p. 99-119; June 2005.
http//search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.cdu.edu.au/full text


Ruth Reynolds’ The use of historical fiction to promote a critical citizenry’, Curriculum perspective, vol.28, no.1, 2008.

Herz, S. 1981. Using historical fiction in the history classroom. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Retrieved on 30 November 2010 from
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculumn/units


McGowan & Thomas M. ‘Historical Fiction: the national strategies’, ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science education Bloomington IN., 37,p.p. 1-3 May 2010
http:// primary/primaryframework/literacy/planning/narrative/histoticalfiction
www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/NationalStrategies