Fourth Grade Reads Historical Fiction

Fourth grade is engrossed in reading, writing and discussing in small groups the book Shadows On Society Hill- An Addy Mystery by Evelyn Coleman.  This book follows the life of eleven year old Addy and her family living in Philadelphia right after the end of the Civil War. There is a mystery that Addy and the reader need to solve as the plot unfolds. The author has included historical details about the way of life, and the varying attitudes and prejudices of people living at that time. There are even real people portrayed in the book.

Halfway through the book, the readers have are introduced to Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield- the Black Swan. In order to learn more about her life, we read an article about her from http://www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-taylor-greenfield-40267. Students, read aloud, discussed and selected facts of personal interest to highlight. They then had the opportunity to share why they selected those facts. Later in the book, we will meet Mary Bowser, a freed slave who worked as a Union spy during the Civil War. After the War, she was worried that she would face retribution from members of the the Confederate Army. There is little known of her life after the Civil War. The article about her life that we read is from the following link.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bowser
Both Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield and Mary Bowser began life as slaves but were freed by the matriarchs in their families after the patriarchs' deaths. Both matriarchs were Quakers and both women ended up in Philadelphia at various times in their life, after they were freed.

The following links are videos about the life of each of these women.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqZGQeCNFSA&ebc=ANyPxKoav_NpHW0iXfRbEUmKpYviGPVbrlIM41Zuod_aaY-4fxgAp_O4L6Zi9z81OaHk5jZydyDbq-P-i74PR0xTj6KITnKMHA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7AiOCkx-e8