This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
Living History Through Literature is a project-based course series offered to 5th through 8th grade students. These courses will weave the study of literature into a meaningful and engaging encounter with a specific era of history. In LHTL: Modern History 3, we journey to 450 BC and meet thirteen-year-old Bani.
Total classes: 6
Prerequisite: No class prerequisite. Your student will need Powerpoint or Google Slides to work on the Final Project.
Suggested grade level: 5th to 9th
Suggested credit: 1/2 semester History or Literature
Description
Living History Through Literature is a project-based course series offered to 5th through 8th grade students. These courses will weave the study of literature into a meaningful and engaging encounter with a specific era of history. In LHTL: Modern History 3, we journey to 450 BC and meet thirteen-year-old Bani. Though born in Jerusalem, has lived from infancy with his uncle in beautiful Susa, the city of the Persian King Artaxerxes. Now, his Uncle Nehemiah wants to leave his position of high honor as Cupbearer to the King to return to Jerusalem, a city in ruins and beset by every kind of trouble! Bani is given an unexpected part to play, the outcome of which is to forever change his life. This novel dramatizes a turning-point of history, in 445 BC, when Judaism was re-established in the Promised Land, and purified for her unfolding mission.
In this project-based course, students will engage in short quizzes and in projects of their choice. Project options will include fiction writing, preparing period-specific food and/or costumes, creating lap books, recreating scenes from the novel (Legos, clay, K’nex, digital drawing, hand-drawing, etc.), building a timeline, mapping, and more.
Outline
Class 1: Overview of Historical Context and Novel Introduction
Class 2: Literature Discussion; Project Introduction
Class 3: Literature Discussion; Cultural Overview
Class 4: Literature Discussion; Fiction Writing Tips
Class 5: Literature Discussion; Final Project Instructions
Class 6 Literature Analysis and Historical Connections; Student Project Showcase
Materials and Homework
Course Materials: Victory on the Walls by Frieda Clark Hyman, ISBN-10# 1883937965 or ISBN-13# 978-1883937966. Purchase new from BethlehemBooks.com or used from BookFinder.com. Your student will need PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, or Google Slides or any presentation software which can save in a .ppt format.
Homework: Weekly quizzes and reading assignments. Each week, students will work on one project-based assignment that will culminate in a final novel project submission (due at the end of week 6). Homework (including novel reading) will take 1.5-3 hours per week. Parents are encouraged to support younger students by reading texts aloud and helping with project planning and execution. An answer key is not included with this course, but instructor access is usually available.
