Ideas For Fiction/ Nonfiction Pairings

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Comment by Aylin on July 21, 2009 at 6:11pm

What a great idea Beth! I remember when I was (much) younger I just loved to occasionally flip to some random part of an old series of Encyclopedias we had. We finally got a promotional introductory volume of a brand new set that actually had some photo's (I think in a grocery store) but we never got any of the other volumes. I read about a lot of things that start with "A" - like Amundsen's polar expeditions.

I was reminded of this recently when I heard a group will be trying to find the wreckage of Amundsen's plane next month (his plane crashed in 1928 while on a rescue mission to the North Pole). This mission may be interesting for children to follow.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/02/23/amundsen/index.html

Comment by Elizabeth Shugg on July 20, 2009 at 10:52pm

The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia is a great way to look up history-inspired subjects and events that pop up in fiction. I keep it handy and when I see one of my kids taking an interest in a particular subject, I look it up and lay it out for them to read (usually just 1-2 pages of text). There are also colorful illustrations with captions that nurture the historical connections being made.

On a related note, I feel the North Carolina public school curriculum is sorely lacking when it comes to incorporating history into daily lessons--especially in elementary school. This is an excellent way to work in some history that will really connect with your kids. Very interesting topic, Aylin!