The novel that I would like to include in my future classroom is actually a series of novels. Growing up I loved the American Girl novel series (which was somewhat ironic considering I'm not an American girl!) and the dolls that accompanied them. The books are directed at roughly an 8-13 age range and incorporate both historical and personal issues into the plots. The series is broken down by character with each of the girls having around eight different stories chronically their various adventures. Each girl represents a different time period (For example, Felicity is a girl growing up during the Revolutionary War and facing issues regarding liberty and revolution, Addie is an African American girl in the late 1800s standing strong against slavery and race injustice, and Molly is a quick-witted girl growing up during WWII and dealing with a father who is away at war). To put it simply, the books make learning history fun and relatable! Because the stories are told from the point of view of the main character they are more relatable to children in that age range. They also highlight the important historical events and details of the time period without getting too gritty or incorporating too much technical lingo.
I believe these books would be an asset to the classroom because they are educational as well as an enjoyable read. Each one has a lot of suspense and action delivered in a historically accurate context. Students learn about historical events while seeing the issues through the lens of a fellow adolescent. Illustrations accompanying the text also help create visuals for the students. I loved reading about all the adventures of each of the American Girls and I still remember historical facts that I learned from them!
These novels are a great way to incorporate social studies into language arts and provide an excellent opportunity to blend the two subject areas. Students could write their own adventures from one of the characters, or compare and contrast some of the time periods described in the novels. In addition, students could identify challenges faced by whichever character they were reading about, and relate those challenges to ones faced by youth in America today.
I will definitely have a wide selection of the American Girl books available on my classroom bookshelf!
American Girl website
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I must admit that this is not a series I have read. Alas, an admission of my age since they became popular later rather than sooner ;) I'll have to add one to my own collection though and give it a try. Particularly since we have the first "bitty baby" of the American Girls in our home now that our two year old adores.
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