1. Characteristics of Historical Fiction It has the elements of a story: setting, characters, problem, resolution of the problem, beginning, middle and end. The story is realistic. The setting is in the past. Details about transportation, clothing, food preparation, etc., fit the historical setting. Many or all of the central characters are fictional. The writer creates an interesting story by combining imagination with facts about the historical setting and events.

2. Fact or Fiction? Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15 th, 1929. Martin Luther King Jr. practiced his speeches in front of a mirror before giving them in public. Ms. Cieglo loves to sharpen pencils every day after school ends. Ms. Cieglo teaches 2 nd grade at Dicken Elementary School. There are 19 second grade students in this class. Every student at Dicken likes dolphins.

3. Historical Fiction vs. Fiction The story is realistic The setting is in the past Details about transportation, clothing, food preparation, etc. fit the historical setting and events Many or all of the central characters are fictional. The writer creates an interesting story by combining imagination with facts about the historical setting and events.

4. Life in the 1830’s There was no electricity, central heating and air-conditioning, running water, flush toilets, automobiles, radio, washers and dryers, plastics, processed foods, antibiotics, aspirin, formal education, etc. The fastest thing most Americans knew was a race-horse. Most working Americans lived on farms or in small towns. All clothes were stitched by hand. Most people had one outfit for the week and one outfit or ‘Sunday Best’ for church. Corn was the most commonly used food ingredient…corn meal in varying forms was the basis of many meals well into the first half of the 19th century. Steamboats began to dominate river trade and travel on the Great Lakes. They were faster than previous flatboats.

5. Next Spring an Oriole by Gloria Whelan

6. This year 2008

7. 1837: setting for Next Spring an Oriole This year 2008

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10. Lets Stop And Think… Why have the Mitchell’s left their home and friends in Virginia to settle in Michigan? How does each family member feel about the move to Michigan? Papa is a surveyor. What does a surveyor do? Do you think Papa will find any work surveying land in Michigan? Why?

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13. Lets Stop And Think… What personal things did each person in the Mitchell family choose to take along? Why do you think each person chose those particular things? Did the Mitchell’s bring the same kinds of things we brought in our wagon? On page 9-10 Papa says to Mama “And why should we go somewhere where everything is already done? I’d rather have a hand in it.” What does this mean?

14. Early Native American Trails

15. Chapter Two As I read, pay close attention to how the rain impacted the Mitchell’s journey.

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17. Lets Stop and Think… Was the rainfall we just read about a good thing or a bad thing? Why? Why do you think Mama made sketches of the things she saw along the trail?

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20. Lets Stop and Think… What do you know about the Potawatomi from their encounter with the Mitchell family? Why was it more serious for the Potawatomi girl to have the measles than for Libby to have them? What do you think would have happened to her if the Mitchells had not been there to help? What do you think Papa meant when he said “They have little reason to (trust us). First white man buys the Indians’ land for a pittance, and now I hear tell they want to round up all the Potawatomis and take them west of the Mississippi”?

21. Deep Michigan Forests

22. Chapter Three As I read, pay close attention to see what you can learn from the LaBelle Family about life in Michigan in the 1830s…

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26. Lets Stop and Think… Why did Mama and Libby cut their hair off when they discovered they had lice? How would you describe the LaBelles? What details in the book tell you this? Do you think the Labelles get very many visitors? Why or why not? Why do you think clearing the land to farm is such a difficult task? Do you think Papa has more in common with trappers, or settlers? Why?

27. Writing in Your Journal What kind of occupation would you have? A trapper, a settler (farmer), or something else? What kinds of encounters would you have with Indians? Would you be kind to them or treat them like the government did? How would you use the natural resources of the forest? Did the weather affect how your journey is going? Did anyone get sick on the trail? What happened to them?

28. Chapter Four As I read, picture in your mind the place where the Mitchell family decided to settle and build there home.

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31. Lets Stop and Think… How did the family decide where to put their cabin? What things did they need to consider before deciding where it should go? Make a Prediction: Now that the logs are cut and they’ve decided where to put the cabin, how will they get it built?

32. Chapter Five As I read, picture the house building as it is described and listen for all you can learn about the Potawatomi way of life.

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34. Building a Log Cabin notch corner man slide shakes

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37. Lets Stop and Think… Why do you think the Mitchells’ friends and neighbors came to help them build their cabin? How are Libby and Taw-cum-e-o-qua alike? How are they different? Why would da government agent want to send the Potawatomi families “far away from their homes”? How does the Potawatomi way of life differ from that of the settlers? What are the reasons for these differences?

38. Log Cabin

39. Potawatomi Home (Wigwam)

40. Chapter Six As I read this chapter, listen for all the plants and animals that are mentioned. Think about what they could look like.

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46. Lets Stop and Think… What did Taw-cum-e-go-qua teach Libby about surviving the Michigan winter? Which of the animals and plants that they mentioned were used for food? What was important about Papa’s discovery of the oriole nest?

47. Centers Groups 1) Word/Picture Matching Game: Alyssa, Tomas, Ryan, Michael, Margo 2) Writing in Journals: Anthony, Jason, Libby, Isabelle, Carter 3) Making “Old” Paper: Maya, Quetez, Robert, Grant 4) Building Log Cabins: Sophia, Austin, Maggie, Falynn, Aidan

48. Writing in Your Journal Where are you going to build your home? What type of home will you build? How are you going to build it? Who will help you? Will your friends be all settlers or some Indians too? What kinds of animals will you see?