Historical Fiction Publishing Expectations

Historical Fiction Picture Book Publishing Expectations

We just finished a month-long unit on historical writing in class. Our pieces focused on life in 1620 and 1621, either on the Mayflower, in Plymouth or in a neighboring Wampanoag village. We pulled on our knowledge from our readings and from our social studies work to make our pieces the strongest they could be.

During this unit, we focused on:

·      Creating three or four clear scenes that each tie in to the main problems in the piece

·      Building the meaning in our piece by layering small actions, internal thoughts, dialogue and setting details

·      Bringing out the historical story (what was actually happening in 1620) and the personal story (what was happening specifically to our character)

·      Creating characters that are flawed and realistic and revising our piece to ensure our characters are more than one way

·      “Turning the lights on” in our piece so that the setting is clear to our reader

Significant time was allotted to this project in class, and your child already should have:

·      Created a rough draft of their historical fiction piece

·      Revised their historical fiction piece based on the above lessons

·      Edited their historical fiction piece alone and with a partner

By February 25, your child will have:

·      Written a draft of a nonfiction section that went with their book, including at least 3 sections

·      Created at least three illustrations for their the book using the artistic medium of their choice (oil pastels, watercolors, collage, pencil/markers/crayons)

If your child will be absent any days over the February break, they will have to do some work on their illustrations and the nonfiction section of their book at home!

Your child will have until Friday, March 8 to work on publishing their historical fiction picture book at home, though the piece can be turned in earlier if your child is finished. This will be your child’s primary writing homework during this time. They will not be writing entries in their WNB until the piece is finished.

The finished piece should include:

o    A cover with a title and the author’s name

o    A nonfiction section at the beginning OR end that includes information about at least three different parts of life at this time (ex. The Wetu, Hunting and Life in a Wampanoag Village)

o   The nonfiction section should be enhanced with images, illustrations, diagrams, etc. These can be taken from the internet and books or created by hand.

o    A typed or handwritten historical fiction story (It can be typed by the student or by an adult)

o    Illustrations—throughout the book, with at least 3 illustrations included

o    Any other components you want to include: a glossary, an about the author page, etc.

Please help your child fill out the planning page for publishing their historical fiction picture book. Both you and your child should sign the page. I will make a copy of the page and send it home for you and your child to refer to during the publishing process.