Inquiry Project: “Fiction” in Teaching “Fact”

Inquiry Project: Summative Reflection and Annotated Bibliography
EDUC 450B S18 University of British Columbia

Revised Inquiry Question
How might Social Studies educators use ‘fiction’ to highlight the potential for manipulation and bias in the presentation of ‘fact’?

Significance
Fiction is a vehicle, and therefore a source, for communicating fact. It is a medium that is relatable, relational, and relevant, which are key elements for student engagement. Fiction addresses three core components of critical historical thinking: manipulation, bias, and critical thinking. Ultimately, fiction moves away from the grand narrative of history and into a more personalized format for contemporary students.

Summative Reflection
Rationale
I believe that teaching is the art of engaging, discovering, and connecting. My mission in education is therefore to excite others through passion, creativity, and care, about the possibilities that are discovered through learning, and create an innovative, supportive, and collaborative environment that is conducive to forming the holistic person— individuals who are not only willing to inquire, but also eager to learn. To actively engage students in the learning process, I believe that content material should be approachable, relevant, and relational. As a result, my inquiry question proposes that fiction should be used not only as a vehicle, but also as a source, to communicate fact in Social Studies, for as Albert Camus states, “fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”
The curricular competency for SS9 mandates that students should be able to: Assess the justification for competing historical accounts after investigating points of contention, reliability of sources, and adequacy of evidence (evidence).
Keeping in mind my philosophy of education and the above curricular competency, I began my inquiry proposal with asking the question: How might Social Studies educators use ‘historical fiction’ to highlight the potential for manipulation and bias in the presentation of ‘historical fact’? However the more I dived into this topic, and the more I talked with my colleagues during our group discussions, the more I realized that the breadth and depth and possibilities of this inquiry question, and of the manipulation of sources, are not solely limited to historical fiction, for these themes encompass all forms, sub genres, and classifications of fiction. In order to teach students how to identify and assess manipulation and bias, educators can resort to more texts than just The Book Thief by Markus Zusak or The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. Therefore, I have amended my question to as follows: How might Social Studies educators use ‘fiction’ to highlight the potential for manipulation and bias in the presentation of ‘fact’?

Links to Practice
Social Studies educators can use popular fiction, fictitious TV shows, classical novels, gothic novels, fantasy, even “children’s” literature to communicate their lesson’s content, and discuss bias. Use The Hunger Games to teach social stratification and the effects of poverty. Use the hit Netflix show Riverdale to discuss the effect of gang violence and drug use on teenage lives. Use Kipling’s The Jungle Books to discuss colonization in the modern world, or the recent live action Tarzan film; to discuss the aboriginal residential school legacy, draw on the text Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway. However, educators are reminded to always draw and connect texts, and their content, back to the curricular competency of bias. Encourage research and ask students to explore the author’s biography for clues about their perspective; ask prompting questions such as “during which period of history was this text written, and how does that potentially influence or inform the text’s themes”; finally allow the class time to discuss in groups, or research individually, the connection between the presented fiction and the potential areas of textual and historical manipulation and bias.
On the planning side, teachers can create unit plans that incorporate novel studies— which also accomplishes interdisciplinary goals— or just plan for text excerpts or film adaptation clips. Ultimately, in order for students to experience both an efferent and an aesthetic response to material, educators need to be vigilant and critical about which texts they select. These texts- whether short or long stories, poetry, novels, films, or television shows- should not only be accessible to all students, but should also be relevant, relational, and relatable. Though the assessment of teaching through fiction may not be as simplistic as some other routes of content (based on its basis in critical thinking and thinking extensions), project and activity based assessment could be utilized more to encourage collaboration and guided inquiry.

Scholarship
Kathy Nawrot suggests that textbooks, while useful, “often treat the study of history as a science… the student is the outsider, looking in” (343). Fiction, however, fascinates; it tells a story, forms impressions, and engages emotions (Nawrot, 343). Therefore, fiction “focuses on the human consequences of events and on the implications of human behavior” (Nawrot, 343), and thusly, can make a difference. Transporting readers directly into a contemporary era and perspective, fiction provides a portal for students to truly experience different points of views, identities, and emotions (Rycik and Rosler, 163). This not only serves students within the classroom; it extends their thinking into their own personal lives, and the communities in which they belong, helping students “to gain an understanding of their own heritage and others” (Rycik and Rosler, 163).

Closure
Ultimately, any format or genre can be incorporated in order to communicate the BC Curriculum Competencies and Big Ideas, and concepts can then be connected to any discipline.  This question suggests presenting differing perspectives, motivations, biases, and views in a personalized manner. Through analyzing these questions, elements of manipulation, bias, and critical thinking (Big Ideas and Curriculum Competencies) will be addressed. Through exploring history through the lens of fiction and teaching through narrative instead of pure textbook “fact,” educators will ultimately be able to move away from the common grand narrative of history, and away from a history that is, as Winston Churchill states, “written by the victors.”

Annotated Bibliography
Barton, K. (2018). Teaching History.org, home of the National History Education Clearinghouse. Retrieved January 24, 2018, from http://teachinghistory.org/issues-and-research/roundtable-response/25287
This source provides both potential strengths and some critical drawbacks of using fiction as a method for communicating history within the classroom. Rather than pontificating on the usefulness of textbooks, Barton explores the pleasure of reading historical fiction and the engagement of stories. Arguing that “historical fiction also encourages a search for meaning in the past,” Barton notes that stories are narratives with plots and resolutions, and that the genre of historical fiction presents patterns and sequences of cause and consequence, which are curricular competencies in Social Studies. Barton also notes that history is a socio-cultural construction that only becomes systematic when “we impose order onto it.” Therefore, meaning and purposefulness can be difficult to find in the abstract, and patterns can be challenging to detect. Fiction typically presents comprehensible themes and patterns that tend to reinforce, rather than diminish, historical impact. This source ultimately suggests that fiction organizes history into meaningful packages that is accessible and relatable to students. Barton concludes by noting the manipulation of all sources, both historical and fictitious, arguing that “students need to be aware that all historical accounts are created by authors… [for] historical fiction can be highly motivating and can encourage a search for meaning, but teachers have to counter the tendency of good stories to seduce students into uncritically accepting what they read.”

Case, R., & Clark, P. (2013). The Anthology of Social Studies: Issues and Strategies for Secondary Teachers (Vol. 2). The Critical Thinking Consortium.
This scholarly source provides a basis for my argument, as it thoroughly and systematically explores the historical critical thinking skills that are a significant component of the new BC curriculum. This text identifies the critical historical thinking lens through which I make my argument, and as such acts as the foundational basis for my inquiry question. Throughout the course of this academic text, Case and Clark systematically explore the creation and implementation of curriculum, unit plans, lesson plans, and assessments (ie. both performance-based group and individual rubrics, criteria, scales, etc.). This source is best utilized for concrete links to practice. Because my inquiry question addresses curriculum competencies- the curricular competency for Social Studies 9 mandates that students should be able to: Assess the justification for competing historical accounts after investigating points of contention, reliability of sources, and adequacy of evidence (evidence)- this source is useful for providing not only the context of the curriculum, but also the best way to modify practice for realistic class compositions. Ultimately, this source acts as a theoretical foundation for a teacher (or teacher candidate) on how to integrate historical thinking in the classroom. In the case of this inquiry question, the historical thinking tool that best applies relates to the manipulation and bias of textual perspectives (“evidence”).

Cohen, LeoNora M. (1999). Philosophy and Education Continuum Chart. School of Education.
This source provided theoretical and foundational background information when I was researching my inquiry proposal. A text that is academic in layout and context, Cohen is a perpetuator of my basis for my philosophy of education. This text provides the background of classical philosophers and their views on education. For instance, Cohen notes that according to Socrates (c. 470-399 BCE), a classical Greek philosopher closely associated with idealism, “education is the kindling of a Flame, not filling of a vessel.” Additionally, Cohen states that Socrates perpetuated the general philosophy that “ideas are the only true reality, the only thing worth knowing.” This background is important for my inquiry question because in education, idealism is articulated through perennialism, a concept that focuses on the mind and teaches “ideas that are everlasting.” These ideals culminate in progressivism, my personal educational philosophy, which propagates “learning by doing.” The Socratic Method, a method of arriving at truth through continuously asking questions and obtaining answers, is deeply rooted in this ideal, and is a practical link to practice and route for student engagement.

Groome, Thomas. (1998). Educating for Life: A Spiritual Vision for Every Teacher and Parent. Texas.
A text similar to Cohen’s, Groome’s academic text provided both theoretical and foundational background information when I was originally researching my inquiry proposal. Because my practicum is at a Catholic high school, my research delved into a Christian context, and Groome became a perpetuator of my basis for my philosophy of education. Primarily addressing notions that are associated with the humanities and the liberal arts, Groome presents concepts that are a vehicle for “thinking for life.” This idea of “thinking for life” is directly affiliated with forming holistic individuals who are able to inquire, engage, and communicate in daily society. My belief is that to “think for life,” the mind must first be engaged before the soul can be shaped. Groome, like Cohen, acknowledges the significance of the classical philosophers of education and notes that Plato, a student of Socrates, suggests that education is about “turning” the psyche (the soul), a process that is accomplished through first igniting the mind (58-59). This process is one that “informs, [to] form, [then] transform” (58-59) individuals, which is the ultimate mission of education. Groome states that Aristotle argues that because education ultimately leads to the formation of self (275), everything that occurs within an educational school environment matters. Therefore, students have to be engaged actively with the learning process and exposed to materials that are authentic relevant and relational. My inquiry project explores these methods and materials through suggesting that presenting fact through fiction actively engages students in a personalized manner, allowing educators the opportunity to inform, form, and transform.

Lindgren, Merri and Megan Schliesman. (2006). Wisconsin State Journal: HISTORICAL FICTION TEACHES VITAL LESSONS.
This source discusses the lessons that can be derived from fiction. Lindgren and Schliesman argue that “children and teens will be transported to an earlier time through the pages of the following new books… [because] the vivid details and rich writing found in these works of historical fiction bring people and places of the past to life.” Exploring the purpose of using fiction to communicate fact, this source presents examples of texts that can be used within the classroom for a wide variety of students in order to engage them in history and assist in connecting them with the past. This text is significant because it has clear links to practice. These texts can be used to present their content themes in Social Studies, and therefore serve as a vehicle for communicating historical fact. Relatable, relational, and relevant, the texts that Lindgren and Schliesman discuss can be investigated in classes for manipulation and bias through an analysis of the character’s perspectives. For example, Lindgren and Schliesman suggest the story Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata for Social Studies students ages 10-14. Summarizing the plot of the text through presenting the protagonist Sumiko, Lindgren and Schliesman note that this text integrates the history of the bombing of Pearl Harbor during the Second World War with cultural and ethnic tensions. This section concludes by noting that “Cynthia Kadohata’s quiet, stirring novel is punctuated with small, explosive moments of revelation as a Japanese-American girl during World War II is challenged by racism and questions about identity, friendship and freedom.” Ultimately, this source presents practical methods of using fiction to present fact, and connects theory with application.

Lindquist, T. (1995, October). Why and How I Teach With Historical Fiction. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/why-and-how-i-teach-historical-fiction/
This source is a teacher’s personal account of “how and why” to teach historical fact with fiction. The premise of this text investigates the statement and question of “why one teacher uses historical fiction in the classroom, tips for choosing good historical fiction, and strategies for helping students differentiate between fact and fiction.” Lindquist begins by stating that the genre of historical fiction “illuminates time periods, helps integrate the curriculum, and enriches social studies… [for] blending stories into a study of history turns the past into a dynamic place.” Lindquist argues though that fiction is not enough within the social studies classroom, for even the most comprehensive literature cannot fully address all that students must learn in social studies. A symbiotic relationship is therefore required, for fiction needs to be balanced with fact, and fact needs to be “spiced up” with fiction. Lindquist notes seven reasons of how and why to teach historical fact with historical fiction. Ultimately, fiction engages students and ignites their curiosity. Lindquist also argues that fiction is a creative and effective method for formatively assessing students’ background knowledge on material, for it can be both useful and streamline to discuss a scene and derive content awareness from it.  This additionally “levels the playing field” in terms of background knowledge, for according to Lindquist, “reading historical fiction promotes academic equity because comparing books from one unit to the next provides kids with equal opportunities to develop historical analogies.” Ultimately, this source is significant because it presents practical methods for using fiction in the classroom.

Martin, D. (2018). Teaching History.org, home of the National History Education Clearinghouse. Retrieved January 6, 2018, from http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/ask-a-master-teacher/25626
This source is scribed by a master teacher and based on personal classroom experiences. Written as an extended answer to a request for suggestions on historical fiction texts that address the Oregon Trail and Lewis and Clark, Martin lists some open-access digital databanks that list potential sources that can be utilized in a history/ social studies classroom. In relation to my inquiry question, this source is useful because it provides a link to practice, a list of fiction sources that can be used in order to communicate fact. These databases include: the National Council for the Social Studies’ (NCSS) Notable Books lists; OurStory, a project of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History; The American Library Association’s yearly list of Notable Children’s Books; and the Reading and Writing Project at Teacher’s College. Martin also lists some specific texts that link to the theme’s requested: “Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903), The Devil’s Paintbox by Virginia McKernan (2010), The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich (2005), The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung: a Chinese Miner, California, 1852 by Laurence Yep (2000). Ultimately, this source is useful and significant in my inquiry project because it suggests databases that list practical sources through which to teach historical fact through fiction.

Moran, Michelle. (2018). Why Historical Fiction Belongs in your Classroom. Random House For High School Teachers, from http://www.randomhouse.com/highschool/RHI_magazine/active_citizens/moran.html This source is scribed by a secondary teacher who uses historical fiction in order to teach historical fact. However, Moran takes this theory and pushes it beyond merely the subject of social studies; Moran suggests that historical fiction can be used to “teach psychology, geography, history, and English literacy.” Addressing the contemporary socio-cultural era and its fascination with modern technology, Moran notes that getting students to read novels can be difficult, particularly because today novels that are in direct competition with “technological advances such as iPhones, MP3 players, PlayStation, and DVDs.” In her own practice, Moran thus began to build a class library, and over time, noticed that students were curious about the facts behind the fictitious plots: “[student] wanted to ask if Henry VIII had really sent Anne Boleyn to the chopping block after failing to give him a son; if three hundred Greeks had really slayed eighteen thousand Persian warriors before being killed themselves, as depicted in Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire.” Because reading at home initiated such enthusiasm, Moran began to incorporate these themes into the curriculum. Moran lists methods of including historical fiction into subjects such as geography, world history, European history, and English literature. Ultimately, this source acts as a clear link to practice, for it suggests methods of using fiction to teach and communicate fact. Moran also acts as a theoretical foundational basis for communicating manipulation and bias, for her source contains multiple resources that can be investigated further for diversity in perspective.

Nawrot, K. (1996). Making Connections with Historical Fiction. The Clearing House:  A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 69 (6). http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00098655.1996.10114336?journalCode=vtch20
An open-source resource, Nawrot’s article discusses the value of historical fiction, using historical fiction to teach history, and using historical fiction to teach literature. Kathy Nawrot suggests that textbooks, while useful, “often treat the study of history as a science… the student is the outsider, looking in” (343). Historical fiction, however, fascinates; it tells a story, forms impressions, and engages emotions (Nawrot, 343). Therefore, historical fiction “focuses on the human consequences of events and on the implications of human behavior” (Nawrot, 343), and thusly, can make a difference. Because fiction is accessible, relatable, relational, and relevant to students, it has the ability to engage students in a way that historical accounts, primary sources, and textbooks struggle to accomplish. Highlighting and emphasizing the use of fiction across the humanities, Nawrot notes fictions and stories aid in memory, stating that in an experiment with fifth graders, students recalled approximately 60 percent more information with fiction than did students with traditional history texts.  This is because “as research demonstrates, historical fiction often sparks an interest in students, who inevitably become more involved in the story of a person than they would have in a list of events. That interest motivates students to ask questions and to go in search of answers… [then] the facts find places within the broad framework provided by the story, they are retained in memory.” Nawrot’s source is significant for my inquiry project because it articulates the ability of fiction to resonate with students and shift their thinking. In this way, fiction can be used to explore perspectives, manipulation, and bias.

Parker, Walter C. (1991). Renewing the Social Studies Curriculum. (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, Va.), from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED334114.pdf
Though written in 1991, Parker’s academic resource on the social studies curriculum and how it requires revision remains relevant in 2018. A source that theoretically discusses the requirements of curriculum, this book spans through multiple stages of learning. In his abstract, Parker acknowledges that the curriculum needs to shift, and that the best place for this to occur is at the school level. Parker states that “the strongest possibilities for reforming the social studies curriculum lie with those professionals who actually work with children in the schools and on whom the burden of curriculum implementation rests–local curriculum planners and teachers.” An art form, the successful delivery of curriculum requires three stages:  “judging the existing curriculum…  making whatever changes are needed, and specifying the demonstrations of achievement that are expected from students at key points in their school progress.” This book includes: Challenging Lessons on Essential Learnings; Contexts of Renewal; Deliberation for Change; Renewal Principles and Procedures; Goals, Issues, and Trends; and Thoughtful Learning and Authentic Assessment. The appendixes span Social Studies and the Education of Citizens, Designing a Social Studies Scope and Sequence for the 21st Century, Social Studies Within a Global Education. Though on the surface this resource seems removed from my inquiry project, it provides a necessary contextual basis for the project’s scope, breadth, and depth. Addressing links to practice, this source is connected with the Case and Clark’s text as it provides grounding for the theory of manipulation in both fiction and in fact.

Rider, A. (2013). Textbook vs. historical fiction: Impact on social studies students. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1547940382). Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1547940382?accountid=14656
This academic text examines the evidenced effects of supplementing texts in social studies with historical fiction novels. Rider’s qualitative study focuses on student interest as well as feedback. Questions were constructed in order to determine the impact the teacher, and the relationship of the teacher with their students, had on the engagement of the students. It also considered how historical fiction novels affected the students. Following the study, four findings were collected: “the social studies teacher greatly impacted student interest and learning; students found social studies to be both an engaging and difficult experience; students placed a low value in textbooks while recognizing their necessity; and students had a positive perception of historical fiction novels.” The significance of this study is that the positive response to the teacher related directly to the students’ response to the social studies course. This source is important to my inquiry project because it argues that students only learn from those they care for, and as such, engagement is a key component to effective teaching. Consequently, the link to practice from this text suggests that in planning their units, lessons, and assessments, teachers (and teacher candidates) need to not only consider the content and content themes they want their students to learn, they also need to consider the method through which they are engaging their students.

Rodwell, Grant. (2013). Whose History? Engaging History Students through Historical Fiction. (The University of Adelaide Press.), from http://www.oapen.org/download?type=document&docid=560373#page14
Rodwell’s book is a valuable asset to my inquiry project because its contents span from the history of student engagement and pedagogical considerations of historical fiction, to the curriculum of history and historical fiction. Some sections of this text that inform and relate to my inquiry project are as follows: Compulsory History: the Issues Confronting Teachers; Student Engagement through Historical Narratives; Pedagogical Dimensions of Historical Novels and Historical; Understanding the Genre of Historical Novels; Defining the Historical Novel; The Increase of History as a Subject for Novels: Memory and the Context of Interpretation; ‘The plot against the plot’: Page-turners for Students; Alternate Histories in the Classroom; Deconstructing the Historical Novel; Historical Fiction and the Discipline of History in the Classroom: Varying Views of the Past; Understanding the Past through Historical Fiction; and Unpacking Historical Novels for their Historicity: Historical Facts and Historical Agency. This text is significant for my inquiry project because it addresses all of the components imbedded in my question, and not only provides a theoretical lens to the need for student engagement, but also discusses the unpredictability and changeability of perspective.

Rycik, M., & Rosier, B. (2009). The Return of Historical Fiction. The Reading Teacher, 63(2), 163-166. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/stable/40347667
This source is one of my primary open-access sources. Rycik and Rosler argue that fiction is not only useful in teaching fact because it is more engaging than textbooks, fiction also has roots in pleasure. These authors state that “high-quality historical fiction books can be used effectively in the classroom to not only bring history alive but also to help children appreciate the pleasure of reading this genre” (163). A portal for students to truly experience different points of views, identities, and emotions, fiction has the ability to transport readers directly into a contemporary era and perspective (163). This not only serves students within the classroom, it helps students “to gain an understanding of their own heritage and others” (163), and therefore extends their thinking into their own personal lives, and the communities in which they belong. This is significant because it is just as important for students to become emotionally invested in a text as it is for them to become mentally engaged (166). Rosenblatt remarks that “historical fiction provides an opportunity for children to make both an efferent and aesthetic response to literature” (Rycik and Rosler, 166), arguing that it is just as important for students to appreciate and experience the pleasure of a text, as it is for them to take something away from it. Ultimately, this source is significant because it provides the value of using historical fiction in the classroom, for to engage students, they first have to care. Additionally, this resource provides a list of texts that can be used to accomplish the communication of historical themes through the medium of fiction.

Teaching historical thinking. (n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2018, from https://tc2.ca/en/creative-collaborative-critical-thinking/resources/thinking-about-history/
Because it thoroughly and systematically explores the historical critical thinking skills that are a significant component of the new BC curriculum, this scholarly source provides a basis for my argument. This text identifies the critical historical thinking lens through which I make my argument, and as such acts as the foundational basis for my inquiry question. Throughout the course of this academic source, the creation and implementation of curriculum, unit plans, lesson plans, and assessments (ie. both performance-based group and individual rubrics, criteria, scales, etc.) is explored and expanded. Best utilized for concrete links to practice, this source addresses curriculum competencies. The curricular competency that is most relevant for my inquiry project mandates that students should be able to: Assess the justification for competing historical accounts after investigating points of contention, reliability of sources, and adequacy of evidence (evidence). The TC2 source is useful for providing not only the context of the curriculum but also the best way to modify practice for realistic class compositions. Ultimately, this source discusses how to integrate historical thinking in the classroom and as such acts as a theoretical foundation for a teacher (or teacher candidate). In the case of my inquiry question, the historical thinking tool that best applies relates to the manipulation and bias of textual perspectives (“evidence”).

von Heyking, Amy. Teaching Social Studies with Historical Fiction, from http://www.scholastic.ca/dearcanada/teaching/DC_Teaching_SocialStudies.pdf
Von Heyking’s source is an informal pamphlet that moves beyond student engagement and into practical implementation. The first section of von Heyking’s text attempts to answer the question: “What Can Literature Do for Social Studies Instruction?” Von Heyking suggests that the teaching of history serves multiple, complex purposes, and that the concepts of change, community, tradition, and class are just a few of the themes that can be explored in order to analyze broader social and global conflicts and contexts. For my inquiry project, I am exploring the impact of manipulation and bias in both fiction and fact. Von Heyking’s text touches on these themes and notes that fiction has the ability to “heighten children’s emotional sensitivity… [and] their moral and social awareness,” which ultimately feeds their understanding of complex, nuanced concepts. Von Heyking additionally notes some guidelines to using fiction to teach and communicate fact in social students, arguing that “literature is written to tell a story, not to convey information or clarify concepts. Teaching social studies content through literature can distort the purpose of the story.” Additionally, Von Heyking writes that “it is vital that even the youngest students begin to distinguish between factual and fictional writing. Integrating fictional stories into lessons in a content area (which is usually factual) and confuse them if explicit instruction in the two kinds of writing is not given.” This point addresses the curricular competency my inquiry project is based off of and voices a need for students to be able to distinguish the difference between fiction and fact. In other words, they need to be able to discern manipulation of and bias in perspectives, a foundational component of my inquiry project.

 

Inquiry Project: Appendix
Proposal

I believe that teaching is the art of engaging, discovering, and connecting. My mission in education is therefore to excite others about the possibilities that are discovered through learning, and create an innovative, supportive, and collaborative environment that is conducive to forming the holistic person. Effective teaching includes passion, creativity, and care, and results in the development of holistic individuals who are not only willing to inquire, but also eager to learn. To actively engage students in the learning process, I believe that content material should be approachable, relevant, and relational. Through the manners I will suggest, the genre of historical fiction- utilized within the classroom- can accomplishes this aim. As a result, my inquiry project proposes that fiction should be used not only as a vehicle, but also as a source, to communicate fact in the humanities (particularly English and Social Studies), for as Albert Camus states, “fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.” My inquiry question is therefore as follows: how might educators most effectively utilize historical “fiction” to teach historical “fact”?
According to Socrates, “education is the kindling of a Flame, not filling of a vessel.” Socrates (c. 470-399 BCE), a classical Greek philosopher closely associated with idealism, perpetuated the general philosophy that “ideas are the only true reality, the only thing worth knowing” (Cohen, 1999). In education, this idealism is articulated through perennialism, a concept that focuses on the mind and teaches “ideas that are everlasting” (Cohen, 1999). The Socratic Method, a method of arriving at truth through continuously asking questions and obtaining answers, is also deeply rooted in this ideal. Typically associated with the humanities and the liberal arts, these concepts are a vehicle for “thinking for life” (Groome, 269), Thomas Groome’s proposed theory for the purpose of education. My belief is that to “think for life” (Groome, 269), the mind must first be engaged before the soul can be shaped. To accomplish this, I propose that educators draw on historical fiction novels or films to teach about the past. Kathy Nawrot suggests that textbooks, while useful, “often treat the study of history as a science… the student is the outsider, looking in” (343). Historical fiction, however, fascinates; it tells a story, forms impressions, and engages emotions (Nawrot, 343). Therefore, historical fiction “focuses on the human consequences of events and on the implications of human behavior” (Nawrot, 343), and thusly, can make a difference.
Plato, a student of Socrates, suggests that education is about “turning” the psyche (the soul), a process that is accomplished through first igniting the mind (Groome, 58-59). This process is one that “informs, [to] forms, [then] transforms” (Groome, 58-59). These ideals culminate in progressivism, my personal educational philosophy, which propagates “learning by doing” (Cohen, 1999). To Jean Piaget, a proponent of this philosophy, “the goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create [people] who are capable of doing new things” (Hamlyn, 113). In order for students to discover, students must be immersed in an environment that precipitates learning, and with texts that encourage interest. Lindgren and Schliesman argue that “children and teens will be transported to an earlier time through the pages of the following new books… [because] the vivid details and rich writing found in these works of historical fiction bring people and places of the past to life” (2006). Rycik and Rosler move a step beyond mere engagement and into pleasure, arguing that “high-quality historical fiction books can be used effectively in the classroom to not only bring history alive but also to help children appreciate the pleasure of reading this genre” (163). Transporting readers directly into a contemporary era and perspective, historical fiction provides a portal for students to truly experience different points of views, identities, and emotions (Rycik and Rosler, 163). This not only serves students within the classroom; it extends their thinking into their own personal lives, and the communities in which they belong, helping students “to gain an understanding of their own heritage and others” (Rycik and Rosler, 163). This is significant because it is just as important for students to become emotionally invested in a text as it is for them to become mentally engaged (Rycik and Rosler, 166). Rosenblatt remarks that “historical fiction provides an opportunity for children to make both an efferent and aesthetic response to literature” (Rycik and Rosler, 166), arguing that it is just as important for students to appreciate and experience the pleasure of a text, as it is for them to take something away from it.
In order for students to experience both an efferent and an aesthetic response to material, educators need to be vigilant and critical about which texts they select. These texts- whether short or long stories, poetry, novels, films, or television shows- should not only be accessible to all students, but should also be relevant, relational, and relatable. One example is The Crown television series on Netflix. Episodes can be explored, analyzed, and discussed to discover the daily realities of bridging the gap between the “old world” pre-war and a more modern society, as well as the resistance to the departure from traditional patriarchal gender roles. The book and film The Book Thief by Markus Zusak can be used to explore the cause and consequence and personal devastation of World War Two; Suzanna Collins’ book series The Hunger Games can be used to analyze social stratification and political formations; the hit television show Riverdale can be evaluated to deconstruct the socio-cultural and economic consequences of teenage drug use, gang violence, and social cliques. Ultimately, any format or genre can be incorporated in order to communicate the BC Curriculum Competencies and Big Ideas, and concepts can then be connected to any discipline. Though the assessment of teaching through fiction may not be as simplistic as some other routes of content (based on its basis in critical thinking and thinking extensions), project and activity based assessment could be utilized more to encourage collaboration and guided inquiry.
Aristotle argues that because education ultimately leads to the formation of self (Groome, 275), everything that occurs within an educational school environment matters. Therefore, students have to be engaged actively with the learning process, and exposed to materials that are authentic relevant and relational. This inquiry project will explore the question “how might educators most effectively utilize historical “fiction” to teach historical “fact”?” and suggest differing perspectives, motivations, biases, and views in a personalized manner. In order to fully analyze this question, sub-questions will be addressed: how can educators effectively implement fiction in the classroom to teach the curriculum; how does teaching “fact” through “fiction” connect with the curriculum; why does the dominant research in this field pertain towards elementary school and not secondary school? Through analyzing these questions, elements of manipulation, bias, and critical thinking (Big Ideas and Curriculum Competencies) will be addressed. Through exploring history through the lens of fiction and teaching through narrative instead of pure textbook “fact,” educators will ultimately be able to move away from the common grand narrative of history, and away from a history that is, as Winston Churchill states, “written by the victors.”

Considerations
Connections must be both explicit and implicit between the learning objective of historical fact and the evidence in historical fiction. The audience and class composition shifts the goal or objective of the lesson. Bias and manipulation is not only an element of fiction, it is also a key component of fact. History, as Winston Churchill states, is “written by the victors,” and as such, is twisted and conveyed through the respective lens. As such, the line between fact and fiction is always blurred, in all narratives. How do we discern the nuanced difference between fact and fiction?

Sub-Questions
In order to fully analyze this question, sub-questions will be addressed: how can educators effectively implement fiction in the classroom to teach the curriculum; how does teaching “fact” through “fiction” connect with the curriculum; why does the dominant research in this field pertain towards elementary school and not secondary school?