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Pocumtuck Valley
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American Centuries > Lessons > History Lessons By Teachers > Analyzing Historical Fiction: Boy Captive of Old Deerfield

Analyzing Historical Fiction: Boy Captive of Old Deerfield

Details

Author
Alyson Patch
Topic/Subject Area
Native American; Politics, Government, Law, Civics; Religion, Church, Meetings & Revivals; Transportation, Travel, Tourism; Captives, Captivity; Military, Wars, Battles; Family, Children, Marriage, Courtship
Historical Era
Colonial settlement, 1620–1762
Grade Level
Elementary (K–5), Middle School (6–8)
Creation Date
2004
Last Revision Date
2024

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About This Lesson

Summary and Objective

Students will understand that The Boy Captive of Old Deerfield is historical fiction, yet much of it is based on a primary source, the memoirs of Stephen Williams.

Materials & Resources

Collection Items:
Essays:
Books:

Teaching Plan

  1. Pre-Activity: Read aloud the novel The Boy Captive of Old Deerfield.
  2. Discuss and understand the terms “primary source”, “secondary source” and “historical fiction”. Refer to the article on Primary and Secondary Sources, housed on this website (see Materials & Resources section).
  3. Use the online artifact referenced in this activity, “What befell Stephen Williams in his captivity” (see Materials & Resources section). Read aloud the first page of his memoir and discuss it with two goals in mind: 1. Help students understand and read old English. 2. Help students identify events in the memoir that they remember happening in the novel.
  4. Assign pairs of students another page from the memoir to explore. Have them keep track, on a simple two-column chart, events that they see in this primary source that also were mentioned in the novel and events from the memoir that were not mentioned in the work of historical fiction.
  5. Share the findings of each pair aloud with the whole group.
  6. Conclusion: Discuss and decide on the accuracy of this piece of historical fiction and its value in helping students understand history.