"There is a danger when using novels for your reading course that the novel is “read to death” and the enjoyment is lost for the students. Trying to teach individual skills using a novel or having the students stop after every chapter to answer mundane comprehension questions can spoil all the fun of reading and dilute the story so much that students dread to work on literature. At the same time, simply reading loads of books without reflection does not make a thoughtful, good reader. What students need is to read challenging texts and to think deeply about them.

So three methods of using a novel for a reading course are suggested. One method is to have the student simply read a work straight through, first of all to enjoy the story and then to discuss it at the end of reading. A second way is to reflect and discuss the novel as the story progresses, studying the work as literature and considering literary devices or plot and theme. A third way is to use the work as a basis for a unit of study on a particular time period, integrating it with other works. All three of these methods have merit. Using a combination of all three throughout the year would provide a well-balanced variety."

- Margot Davidson, author of the Connecting with History Literature Guide series

The Year 4 Literature Guide discussion and study guides the following historical novels.

Beginner Level
Beginner level guides include a story synopsis for the parent/teacher, discussion questions, and writing activities.

• Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola
• The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
• Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express by Eleanor Coerr
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• First Flight: The Story of Tom Tate and the Wright Brothers by George Shea

Grammar Level
Each Grammar level guide includes a story synopsis for the parent/teacher, discussion questions, and writing prompts.

• Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac
• Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery
• By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
• All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

Logic Level Study Guides
Logic level study guides include a story synopsis, discussion questions for more in-depth analysis, and writing prompts.

• Father Marquette and the Great Rivers by August Derleth
• Simon Brute and the Western Adventure by Elizabeth Bartelme
• Chaplain in Gray: Abram Ryan by H.G. Heagney
• Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse

Rhetoric Level Study Guides
Rhetoric level study guides include a story synopsis, discussion questions for more in-depth analysis, and writing prompts.

• Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather
• Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington

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Written by Margot Davidson

3-hole punched for convenient insertion in your lesson plan binder.