Fiction as a Learning Tool
Can you use fiction to teach a curriculum unit about a factual subject? Can it be done without compromising the academic content? Can it be done artfully without becoming “fun time”? How do you do this, really?
My twin boys are in 2nd grade. Last year we started to read chapter books before bed. And when I say “we” I mean I read them a chapter from a chapter book before bed. We began with the Percy Jackson series. My boys have had little contact with Greek mythology, but they really got into the books. One of the boys constantly asks who each character is (What god are they? What are they god of?) before the text reveals that information. He seems fascinated by the monsters and the places referred to. He has a real interest in Greek mythology. So I decided to get a few mythology books for him to read on his own. He’s really enjoying it.
After sharing my boys’ enjoyment of the series with some friends, I started to hear about schools and classes using the books to introduce Greek mythology to students. It got me wondering about how a teacher can do this.
*Disclaimer: I am a high school social studies teacher. I routinely refer to fiction works to draw comparisons to the historical events we are studying, but always point out the “fiction” parts. I don’t use fiction as the primarily vehicle for teaching students about factual events.
Pros
Often times fictionalized accounts are much more exciting. They can add elements to suspense or the characters. They are relatable. My boys are relating to Percy Jackson and therefore beginning to understand his struggles being a half-blood, stuck between two worlds. And in the process they are also picking up culture and Greek mythology.
Fiction accounts allow teachers to integrate their literature units and history units. In high school, I took a combined American literature/U.S. history class. Reading the books during the time period setting made much more sense. I “got” The Great Gatsby as I never would by reading the book by itself. I picked up on the allusions, the symbolism, the historical references. This same idea can be applied all the way down to PK.
Cons
One big con for this — Knowledge. For the idea to work, the teacher needs to have a good understanding of which parts in the fiction are true to history and which parts are pure fiction. This takes a large knowledge base, but it’s not insurmountable. It just takes a little preparation. High school teachers take content classes. Elementary teachers often take “How to teach elementary ____” classes. These may or may not actually include a lot of content. Perhaps a restructuring of education classes would offer teachers a better understanding of the subject matter. Then they could employ fiction to engage students in the academic topic.
I’m loving this idea. We should explore this more.
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