I Was There When High School Research Papers Came Alive!
Want an assignment that has students lining up at six in the morning -- by choice? Clearwater (Kansas) High School English teacher Ernie Beachey's 11th graders beat the clock to get first dibs on the year they will research to create an original work of American historical fiction. Education World writer Leslie Bulion talks with Beachey about how the creative research paper project got started and how it works. Included: Helpful research sites, excerpts from Clearwater High student papers, and thoughts from a writer of historical fiction!
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On the Value of Writing Historical Fiction
"When I was a child, history classes were simply endless streams of men's names, assorted dates, and maps of places I'd never been -- all of which I remembered only until the next test," Kathleen Kudlinski told Education World. "It wasn't until I started to re-create the story part of his-story --and her-story too-- that I cared deeply.
"I'll remember all of the stories, and the historical facts imbedded in them, forever," said Kudlinski, whose most recent biography, Rosa Parks: Young Rebel, was published earlier this year by Simon and Schuster.
"Writing historical fiction gives the writer a sense of real, live people living in history," Kudlinski added.
Kudlinski is the author of ten historical novels and four biographies. See her Web page for a complete list of her historical fiction.
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"We were doing research projects with our students and getting these nearly plagiarized reports straight out of books," teacher Ernie Beachey told Education World. "They made for pretty dry and dull reading!"
So Beachey, an English teacher at Clearwater (Kansas) High School, and his former Clearwater colleague Amy Harris combined the research skills students need to learn with a unit on creative writing. The result is a project that has every 11th grader writing an original piece of historical fiction.
This year, Beachey's students worked in pairs. Each team selected a different year to research. Certain periods in history hold special appeal for students, which is the cause for the early morning lineup on assignment day. After thoroughly researching the year, students planned and wrote historical fiction that incorporated events, people, terms, and other facts they had learned in their research.
Read excerpts from the students' writings at the end of this article!
"I wanted to pick a year in the 1920s because of the interesting
fashions, prohibition, and the cool dances," 11th grader Chrystal told Education World.
"1969 was so full of great history, like the landing on the moon and Woodstock," said Chrystal's classmate Jonathan. "The hippies had some great ideas about peace, but we seem to have forgotten them."
Unless a student is interested in a specific period, such as the Civil War, Beachey encourages students to choose a year after 1900. That way he can be sure Clearwater's library will have enough information. Students are required to choose a year before they were born.
THE RESEARCH BEGINS
After students select a year, Beachey and his classes discuss research methodology. Then they head to the library to begin their search for source material. According to Beachey, his students start out on the Internet with general search engines, including
"We require our students to use at least six sources of information," Beachey told Education World. "We want them to use at least three Internet sources and two or more hard-copy sources, including books, magazines, and newspapers. Often they get some really valuable background information on their particular year from older folks in our local retirement village."
Beachey gives his students an extensive checklist that helps them find specific details about the year they will write about. Those topics include
- Form of government
- Transportation
- Cooking
- House and furniture design
- Cost of household necessities
- Fashion
- Hairstyles
- Occupations and salaries
- Entertainment: popular music, books, magazines, plays, movies
- Social rules and customs
- Contemporary slang and other language etiquette
- Five people who lived and were famous for positive achievements during the research year
- Three famous "firsts" of that year
- Three major events
"On the History Channel's This Day in History, students can type in their year or even a decade and find lots of good information to choose from," Beachey added.
For information geared to specific assignment requirements, students also find Decades in 20th Century America and American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century helpful.
"I think the students gain a good understanding of research," Beachey told Education World. "They see it is sometimes easy to be misled. They will come up to me and say, 'Mr. Beachey, look at this! This source says right here that so and so died in 1953, but this source says he died in 1954. Which one is right?' I think learning about reliable sources may be more important to me right at that moment than it is to the student, but that's a valuable tool that will help them later on."
WRITING AND RESEARCH COME TOGETHER
"We will have worked on creative writing the month before we start the research paper," Beachey explained. "That way students can develop the elements of their fiction, such as character, plot, and conflict, as they are doing the research."
As the students do their research, Beachey wanders from one student to another. He asks questions and talks with the students about how they are going to incorporate the information they are finding. "I might see a note card about the excesses of the 'roaring 20s and comment, 'Hey, your character could be even more interesting if you make her both fascinated and repelled by the extravagances of wealthy show-biz people' or, 'Gosh, wouldn't this street war make a great conflict for your character?'" Beachey said.
Beachey's students' papers take many creative forms, including a series of letters or journal entries or a fictionalized story. Students can be first-person narrators traveling back in time, or they can write stories set in their specific time period.
"The historical fiction project takes a month, and it's a lot of work, but it really is worth it," Beachey said. "Students come up to me and say, 'You know, this felt like fun, not like sitting down to do an assignment.' That makes me feel like we are on the right track!"
"I'll probably remember the events of my year longer than just plain facts
that I learn in history class, because I'll always attach my original story
to them," 11th grader Britni concurred.
HISTORICAL FICTION RESOURCES AND LESSON PLANS
- I Read It On The Internet This Education World article helps teachers show students how to evaluate Web site reliability. Links to helpful teaching resource Web sites included.
- Education World Lesson Planning Center Archives For History Education World has archives full of great lesson plans including its Celebrate the Century series for each decade in 1900's American History. Links to event and person-specific Web sites and a great game are included in each lesson.
- About.com Creative Writing for Teens In "Historical Fiction, What Does History Have to Do With Creative Writing," the About.com guide gives a step-by-step process for writing historical fiction, including many helpful research and writing links.
- Student Created Historical Fiction A sixth grade historical fiction lesson plan from the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.
- And That's The Way It Was Wisconsin historical fiction created by student authors in a lesson plan for fourth grade that is adaptable to other grade levels.
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Following are two excerpts from the historical fiction of Beachey's students. The students' references to research sources appear in parentheses.
Excerpt from The Year of New Beginnings, a historical fiction journal by Lindsay and Lindsay
January 1928
Dear Sophie,
It has been too long since we last spoke or even seen each other. How are you doing? Everything is jake here (Time-Life 32). I am now beginning my second semester at college here in Chicago. The fellows here are quite sheik (Time-Life 33). Almost everyone here has a car, which is unlike anything we were used to back home.
It is pretty crazy here with the Prohibition Act. You know how that is, I am sure. With classes in the morning and working at night, I am nearly exhausted. Oh, but it is so much fun, and if only you could be here to experience all of this with me. I work at a speakeasy down the road called The Hooch, which is run by Ruth. She is my boss and quite the little pill. All the men call her Little Miss Priss, yet she thinks she is the cat's meow (Time-Life 35, 639).
Sophie, you must see this absolutely wonderful hat I bought the other day. It complements my new bobbed haircut (Time-Life 30). Since I have been here, I feel like everything has changed so much. I have even tried flagpole sitting (Kirshon 639)! Russian boots just came out in the shops. Have you gotten yourself a pair yet? You should. When it comes to stashing liquor they come in quite handy (Time-Life 159). We girls wear them to parties and clubs. Some places are crazy, and some people there are just completely ossified (Time-Line 33).
Excerpt from Eno Ytrof Ot Seog Nylrem (Merlyn Goes to Forty One, spelled backwards)
by Matt and Justin
Deep within the forest of southern Wales, I stand clad in a tunic made of rabbit skins and hawk feathers. Staff in hand, I trace a circle in the sand I stand upon, sand that has no earthly reason to be where it lies. For sand this white is not found in the middle of a forest. Then again, this is not ordinary sand, nor am I an ordinary man. Wizards and their sorcerer's sand; sure components of magic.
Driven by a need far greater than myself, I begin tracing the ancient Druid symbols of life in the air, paying homage to each one in turn. In a loud voice, I speak to things unseen, creatures of the mist, "raw taerg eht fo ecalp eht ot em ekat, emit fo sdnah eht hguorht kcab." The threads that compose the tapestry of time rip, creating a gap across the cosmos and a doorway between worlds. Without hesitation, I step through, leaving the forests of Wales to be transported to...
... "A city?" I think to myself. "This is most assuredly not where I wanted to go!" Not really surprised that my spell was botched, I set out to figure out just where I am and in what time period. Walking down the paths of concrete, and not particularly paying much attention to where I am walking, I run straight into a man.
Bowing at the waist, I say, "Good sir, my name is Merlyn. I am a traveler from a far away land. Please, what," I pause to think how to word my question, "era do you people call this?"
The man, rubbing his newly bruised shoulder and cocking his head at the question, eyes me curiously. "I don't know what era. If it helps, we Americans call this day and age 1941. By the way, my name is Capone, Al Capone (Luce 1). Welcome to Chicago." ....
Continuing my course, I come across another store, this one claiming to be one of the world's biggest bookstores. Entering, my ears pick up the distinct sound of music. Stopping a passerby, I inquire, "What is that beautiful sound?"
"This is Guy Lombardo, the 'King of Corn,' my favorite. He's so dreamy," answers the polite young lady (Luce 191). "I'm not sure exactly what the name is, but I do know it's Guy Lombardo!"
"Thank you. One more thing. I am an avid fan of reading. Do you know if this store carries Plato's Five Great Dialogues?"...
Leaving shortly after the lady, I begin looking for a place of solitude to cast my spell. Finding only an alleyway, for the city life is but one mass populace, I submit to using it as my gateway to the time from whence I came, and more importantly, to where I belong.
Standing in the middle of the alleyway I extend my arms, and begin slowly turning in circles. As I chant "Emoh fo ecalp eht ot em ekat," my fingers once again trace the ancient Druidic runes of the pagan religion. A hideous, blue flame surrounds my body, shrouding me in its dark light. With a flash of iridescent yellow light, I disappear.
Falling through the hands of time, I find myself in my crystal cave. Archimedes, my pet owl, swoops into the cavernous home of the all-powerful me. "And where have you been, old man?" asks the owl.
"I've been a thousand and one places. And all of them in 1941," I say smugly.
"Leaping through time again, I see? Just like a little boy."
"And just like the boy I once was, I didn't get it right! Tell me, ole friend, how goes the war against Vortigern?" I curiously ask.
"Never you mind that. Tell me, what all have you done?"
Reaching into my pockets, I pull forth a war bond. Smoothing out the ruffles in my fashionable zoot suit, I remember all fun times I had -- meeting the president, watching Dumbo, buying new clothes, hearing music, seeing those awful hotdogs, and countless other things. I play the day's events once more through my mind, trying to make sense out of the future of our world.
Turning to my owl, I smile slyly to myself, saying, "you wouldn't believe me if I told you."
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Article by Leslie Bulion
Education World®
Copyright © 2001 Education World
9/10/2001
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