Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Brainstorm historical fiction titles that students are familiar with. What did they learn about the time period in the novel or story?

Teaching Suggestion: As students think of titles, point out to them the historical events that they learned about and prompt them to think of at least one fact they learned through this piece. Students can also bring up movies, songs, or TV shows that narrate stories about the past.

• LitHub presents ten authors on why historical fiction is important.
• The National History Education Clearinghouse, TeachingHistory.org, includes this article on why historical fiction should be used in the classroom.
• Scholastic Books offers this article on how teachers can use historical fiction, and why they should.

2. What do students know about Indigenous American cultures? Ask students to name tribes that they are familiar with. Why is it important to differentiate between tribes?

Teaching Suggestion: Use this as a moment to introduce students to terms like “Indigenous” and “Native American” and to help them think about how they can speak respectfully and avoid stereotypes about Indigenous peoples.