Name: _________________________________________________

Period: ___________

Date: _____________________________

Historical Fiction Unit Assessment

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Directions:
Read each of the questions and passages and decide on the best answer. For short response
questions, you must respond in complete sentences, unless otherwise stated, for full credit.

1. What element of a story is especially important in the historical fiction genre?

A. Fictional characters
B. Realistic and historical setting
C. Futuristic and realistic plot
D. Fantasy-like conflict
2. What do responsible authors of historical fiction do to prepare their story?
A. Authors interview readers for inspiration.
B. Authors create inaccurate and implausible settings.
C. Authors make up futuristic time periods.
D. Authors research the historical time period
3. What is the authors purpose for writing historical fiction?
A. To entertain readers with a plausible story about a historical time period.
B. To inform readers about the true events of a historical time period.
C. To retell a persons experience during a specific time period.
D. To teach readers about a realistic, but fictional event in history.

Read the following excerpt and respond to question 4.

Infection
In the year 2015, President Obama declared martial law when the infection spread across
the country. My dad was the Surgeon General when the outbreak happened and grabbed as many
vials of medicine that he could to prevent our family from getting whatever illness killed off 80% of
Americans. Now, hes merely a scavenger, searching for anything that would help us survive in a
lawless, uninhabitable land. Today, my dad and I are walking through Millennium Park in what
used to be the vibrant Windy CityChicago. From where I stand, I can see the skyscrapers
standing tall, creating deep shadows in the central part of the city. To the right of me, hedges are
un-kept; the fields are empty. To the left, I can see Soldier Fieldhome of the Chicago Bears. As
we walk through the open space, all I can think is manwhen civilization reboots itself, this
infectionthis apocalyptic eventits meant for the history books. The future is sure to learn from its
past

Name: _________________________________________________

Period: ___________

Date: _____________________________

4. Does the passage, Infection, reflect the historical fiction genre? How so, or not so? Explain
your response by referring to the text. (3 points)

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Read the following excerpt and respond to question 5-7.

From Fever 1793 by: Laurie Halse Anderson
August 16th, 1793:
I sat down at the table. Our kitchen was larger than most, with an enormous hearth crowded
with pots and kettles, and two bake ovens built into the brickwork beside it. The size of the room
did not match the size of our family. We were only three: Mother, Grandfather, and me, plus Eliza
who worked for us. But the roomy kitchen could feed one hundred people in a day. My family
owned the Cook Coffeehouse. The soon-to-be famous Cook Coffeehouse, Grandfather liked to say.
My father had built our home and business after the War for Independence ended in 1783. I was
six years old. The coffeehouse sat just off the corner of Seventh and High Streets. At first we were
lucky if a lost farmer strayed in, but business improved when President Washington's house was
built two blocks away. Father was a carpenter by trade, and he built us a sturdy home. The room
where we served customers filled most of the first floor and had four large windows. The kitchen
was tucked into the back, filled with useful shelves and built-in cupboards to store things. Eliza
was the coffeehouse cook. Mother couldn't prepare a meal fit for pigs. I found this amusing,
considering our last name was Cook. In a manner, though, it was serious. If not for Eliza's fine
foods, and the hungry customers who paid to eat them, we'd have been in the streets long ago.
Mother's family had washed their hands of her when she ran off to marry a carpenter, a tradesman
(the horror!), when she was but seventeen. So we were very fond of Eliza. Like most blacks in
Philadelphia, Eliza was free. She said Philadelphia was the best city for freed slaves or freeborn
Africans. The Quakers here didn't hold with slavery and tried hard to convince others that slavery
was against God's will.

Name: _________________________________________________

Period: ___________

Date: _____________________________

5. Identify selected elements of historical fiction from the excerpt of Fever 1793 by completing the
chart below. (2 points)
Historical Fiction
Element
Historical Events

Real Places

Identification
One main historical event from the selection is:
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The real place in the selection is:

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6. Explain how Eliza is a plausible character according to historical facts from the excerpt. Use
textual evidence to support your response. (2 points)

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7. Based on the excerpt, what type of historical background information or Historical Note
would be most appropriate for readers to read to better understand the excerpt?
A. Information on how to run a coffee house.
B. A WebQuest on immigration to America.
C. An article that discusses mens professions in the late 1700s.
D. The relationship between freed black slaves and whites in the North.

Name: _________________________________________________

Period: ___________

Date: _____________________________

Read the following 2 excerpts and respond to question 8.

The Difficult JourneyHistorical Fiction Excerpt
The wagon train departed bright and early this morning. I was disappointed that I had to tell
my friends goodbye, but I had chosen to leave Denver. By that point, we had already been traveling
for several long months. I was sorry to leave Denver, but I heard there was gold in California. It
was June when we had first left Denver and I had made the decision that I would be continuing
onward with the rest of the families on the wagon train.
California Gold RushNonfiction Article
The California Gold Rush (18481855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by
James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of
the Gold Rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), and Latin America, who
were the first to start flocking to the state in late 1848. All told, the news of gold brought some
300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. Of the 300,000,
approximately half arrived by sea and half came from the east overland on the California Trail and
the Gila River trail.
8. Using the nonfiction excerpt, California Gold Rush, add to the excerpt of The Difficult Journey
that tells the readers about the narrators decision for why she would continue on to
California.
The end of the excerpt has been provided for you to add onto. (10 points)
Element
Historical
Content

Fictional
Content

Grammar and
Mechanics

3 Advanced

2 On Target

1 Novice

The writing:
Includes and
references 2
pieces of
information
from the article.
The writing:
Continues the
excerpt
appropriately
and completely,
according to the
prompt.

The writing:
Includes and
references 1
piece of
information
from the article.
The writing:
Continues the
excerpt
appropriately
according to the
prompt.

The writing:
Slightly
references 1
piece of
information
from the article.
The writing:
Does not
appropriately
continue the
excerpt
according to the
prompt.

The writing:
Uses mostly
correct
grammar,
spelling, and
punctuation
that moves the
reader easily
through the text.

The writing:
Includes some
grammar,
spelling, and
punctuation
errors, but it
does not impede
the
understanding
of the text.

The writing:
Demonstrates
little attention to
grammar,
spelling, and
punctuation
errors make the
text difficult to
read.

0 Not
Included
The writing:
Does not
include textual
support from
the article.
The writing:
Does not
include fictional
content, or is
completely
irrelevant to the
context of the
story.
The writing:
Was not
written, or does
not show any
attention to
grammar and
punctuation.

Name: _________________________________________________

Period: ___________

Date: _____________________________

It was June when we had first left Denver and I had made the decision that I would be
continuing onward with the rest of the families on the wagon train.
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