Historical Literature Project

Jockey's Ridge

Over the course of the next two plus weeks, students will be reading books with historical significance and then carrying out a group project with others reading the same book. All the books relate to American history, ranging from slavery to a fever yellow fever epidemic in 1793 to World War I. The list of books is as follows:



Enemy Women, by Paulette Jiles, tells of young girls trying to survive in Missouri in the middle of the American Civil War.

Invisible Many, by Ralph Ellison, chronicles the struggle of the main character and his attempt to find his own identity in segregated America.

Copper Sun, by Sharon M. Draper, follows a girl from Africa into slavery.

47, by Walter Mosely, is the life of a slave with science fiction qualities.

Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson, tells the tale of a teenage girl whose community is infected with yellow fever.

Chains and Forged, by Laurie Halse Anderson, this is a two part series following two slaves and how they try to deal with this horrible institution in the time of the American Revolution.

Nightjohn, by Gary Paulsen, this book is set right before the American Civil War (Antebellum) in America.


Uprising, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is the story of three girls in the early twentieth century and how they explore the politics of their time period.

Students are expected to finish their book by April 18, and the projects will be completed and presented by April 25th. This project is a way for students to exercise both Language Arts and Social Studies skills in the same assignment, so students are able to learn about the importance of historical events in America and how they affect our lives today.