Back to Writings

This Is Why I Cry

School: Pioneer Charter School

City/State: Fort Collins, CO

Grade(s): 8

Format(s): Character file: Historical

Subject(s): English Language Arts, Social Studies, Visual Arts

Type(s): Narrative

Writing Assignment Description

Eighth-grade students at Pioneer Charter School (now Polaris Expeditionary Learning School) in Fort Collins, Colorado created a historical character file as part of a learning expedition on slavery. The process took two months and included multiple drafts of writing and artwork. Each file contains a portrait, a narrative/biography, a character map, a bibliography, and artifacts based on the character’s life.

 

Models of Excellence recognizes the challenges of teaching students history that includes sensitive topics such as enslaved people, genocide, and human rights abuses. Student projects that involve topics like this should be planned with care for the emotional safety of students, respect for the people and cultures studied, and should use reliable primary and secondary sources so that content is not built upon assumptions or stereotypes. Written simulations (e.g., fictional diaries or documents) should be closely informed by student research, fieldwork, and adult experts.

How This Writing Can Be Useful

  • Historically accurate fictional narrative built from realistic character’s perspective
  • Highlights a format that allows for a deeply personalized account of an historical period
  • Thoughtful and skilled use of detail to increase reader engagement

Relevant Resources

Common Core State Standards

Standard Long Term Learning Target
W.8.3
  • I can write narrative texts about real or imagined experiences using relevant details and event sequences that make sense.
W.8.4
  • I can produce clear and coherent writing that is appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
Back to Writings