English Language Arts

Student Edition Grade 7

Grade 7 Playlist: Historical and Literary Comparisons

Aligns with CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.9:

• Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of
the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history.

Welcome
A work of literature’s setting includes the time and place where it occurs. Sometimes it is the same time and place as
when and where the author is writing. Other times, it takes place in the past, in an unfamiliar place. While works of fic-
tion most often depict characters and events that never lived or happened, sometimes fiction is based on real events.

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Authors can write fictional (or fictionalized) accounts of true events, using their own knowledge of the events with a little
imagination.

Objectives
In this playlist, students will learn how to:

• compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of
the same period.

• analyze and evaluate how authors of fiction use or alter history.

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Review
Key Terms

• To compare and contrast two things is to determine how they are the same and how they are differ-
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ent. When readers compare one piece of writing with another, they take note of the things the two
works have in common. When they contrast the pieces, they analyze the ways in which the works
are different or tell a story differently.
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• A historical account is a narrative about an event or series of events that happened in the past.
Historical accounts are based on facts and can be proven to have really happened. People who wit-
nessed the events themselves are often the authors of historical accounts.

• A fictional account is a telling of a story that never happened. It can be based on real events and
include characters that are based on actual people. However, fictional accounts also include details
that are either completely imagined or cannot be proven.

• A portrayal is a text about something such as an event, place, time, or person.

• To alter something is to make it different from before—slightly or significantly.

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 English Language Arts
Student Edition Grade 7

Read!

Take a look at the sample compare-and-contrast paper, essay organizer, and checklist.

• http://www.timeforkids.com/homework-helper/a-plus-papers/compare-and-contrast-essay

Exploring the Standard

A fictional account that involves historical events is sometimes called historical fiction. Authors of historical fiction must
be very knowledgeable about the time and place they are portraying. Some authors conduct extensive research to make
sure that the details they use are authentic. However, historical fiction nonetheless contains elements that make it fic-
tional. In fact, often the author deliberately alters historical facts and details in their stories.

EW
A Closer Look: Why Change History?

Unless an author was a witness or participant in the event he or she was portraying, the author will almost certainly use
his or her imagination when writing at least some of the details in a work of historical fiction. But some authors delib-
erately change events in stories. They make these changes to draw attention to certain aspects of stories when writing
fictional accounts of real events. A few of the many reasons why an author might choose to do this include:

• To suggest how history might have been different if events had happened just a little differently;

• To make a dull subject more interesting using methods such as colorful dialogue or a vivid setting;
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• To better inform the reader by creating a reality that is likely, even if it cannot be proven; and

• To enforce his or own views on historical events, and to persuade the reader to accept these views.

Watch!
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Watch this video to learn more about historical fiction:

• https://www.opened.com/video/introducing-historical-fiction/1537990
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Fictional Account: “The Charge of the Light Brigade”

“The Charge of the Light Brigade” was written by a well-known poet of nineteenth-century Britain, Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Originally published in December 1854, this poem portrays a real event that happened less than two months earlier in a
different part of the world. While reading and listening to the poem, think about the following questions:

• What is happening in this poem, and who is involved?

• How does the poet want the reader to feel about this event?

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 English Language Arts
Teacher Edition Grade 7

Teaching Notes: Historical and Literary Comparisons

The goal of RL.7.9 is for students to be able to compare and contrast fictional portrayals of elements from the past
with historical accounts portraying the same elements. The following information contains ideas that teachers can
incorporate in their classrooms and additional resources to peruse and integrate into instruction as appropriate.

Activities
1. Read to the class other examples of historical poetry, such as “The Eve of Waterloo” by Lord Byron or “Paul
Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Discuss how the poets use figurative language and other
poetic devices to reinterpret history in these poems.

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2. Have students identify examples of historical literature that are familiar to them. Which characters and
events from history seem to be the most commonly portrayed in historical literature? What does this say
about these particular characters and events?

Writing Prompts
1. Have students select a poem, short story, or short novel that gives a fictional account of the subject they
are currently learning about in their history classes. Then ask the students to write an essay comparing
and contrasting the treatment of the subject between the fictional account and the account given in their
textbooks.
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2. Ask students to revisit the brief activity, at the end of the playlist, in which they developed a strategy for
adapting a short story with a modern setting to a historical one. Instruct the students to complete their
research on the topic and rewrite their story with a historical setting, paying close attention to accuracy in
detail while being appropriately imaginative with the story’s plot and dialogue.

Additional Resources
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Consider these additional resources when teaching RL.7.9:
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“Why and How I Teach with Historical Fiction”: This article gives strategies and tips for using historical fiction in the
classroom:

• http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/why-and-how-i-teach-historical-fiction

“A Balanced and Critical Approach to Historical Fiction”: This resource discusses issues that the teacher might encounter
while teaching historical fiction in the classroom:

• http://teachinghistory.org/issues-and-research/roundtable-response/25287

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