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A Faraway Home Winner of the 2008 National Council for Geographic Education G.E.M. Award
From Back Cover:
This heartfelt story begins on the streets of New York City in 1854 where thousands of homeless children, immigrants and natives are fighting to survive "just one more day". Charles Loring Brace, founder of the Children's Aid Society, made a plan to rescue the children by getting them out of the city to loving rural homes in America's growing Midwest. The first location to accept these homeless children is Dowagiac, Michigan, a railroad whistle-stop on the track-line to Chicago.
You will experience the hope, fear and excitement as you travel with Jack, Sarah, little George and 42 other orphans on their way to new faraway homes and better lives.
Traveling by train across New York state, crossing Lake Erie by steamship and then on to Detroit to board another train, these children cling to one another for safety and survival trying hard to keep themselves together and clean in their filthy, flea-ridden travel conditions.
Lesson Plan
A Faraway Home
Social Studies – Language Arts - Technology
“Readers make leaders!” –
J.L. Panagopoulos ©
The story starts Monday,
September 18, 1854 at Five Points,
New York City… As a documentary historical fiction writer it is my responsibility to make sure the information that I share is as accurate as possible.
I do this by using primary and secondary source material and by doing historical
research that teaches me about the past.
By using the Perpetual Calendar I was able to find out on what day specific
things happened in the lives of the orphans.
Have your students visit:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/4274/perpcale.htm
Using their birth year in the year search help them to discover what day they
were born. My birth day is December
17, 1955, and I was born on a Saturday.
* If a story is based on history with historical characters surrounding a historical event, what type of genre is it? My writing is not “just” historical fiction it is “documentary” historical fiction. What might the word “documentary” in this type of genre mean?
* Reading and Journaling go hand-and-hand. Recommend to your students that they write down questions they might have about the story as they read. Furthermore, suggest that they create a glossary of words that they might find confusing or interesting.
*
Have your students draw a picture of what they think Jack or some of the other
orphan children might have looked like.
* Create a local history research/writing project. No matter where you live in the world you have local history and information. To do this project with your students ask them to write down five basic local history questions and find the answers:
1)
When was your
city/town/village founded or incorporated?
2)
What were the names of some
of the first settlers to your area?
3)
Why did these first
settlers come to your area? Was it
easy to get to? Was the land very
fertile? Was there a specific
resource that drew them to the area?
4)
Where did your
county/city/town/village get its name?
5)
Where did the first
settlers in your area come from? Did they travel to your area together?
Were they family? Now, with these questions you can begin your research.
Are there books or publications about your area that you can share with your
students? Do you have a local
historical society, genealogy society or museum in your area that you
might be able to get a guest to come and speak to your class concerning local
history? Does your school library or your local community library have plat map
books that will show your students where the
first settlers lived and owned property?
Also, help your students to
discover which Native Americans lived in your area and at what time period.
Make sure you teach your
class about making research notes and recording the information they find for
future reference and writing.
If you are participating in an IP videoconference using this book, please make sure you have worked with your students for proper videoconferencing etiquette.
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A Faraway Home
Readers make leaders!
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