What can a novel teach us about history, and how can history deepen our understanding of a novel? That was the two-part question seventh and eighth grade students were busy tackling in both their English and history classes last month.

在年初的时候, 学生们读“蓝眼睛的奴隶”,” a carefully researched historic novel set in Charles Towne in 1764 with two 13-year-old heroines, 一个是奴隶，一个是西班牙系犹太人. Then they immersed themselves in their own research and writing for five weeks to explore the book’s three major themes: Judaism, 被奴役的人, 以及查尔斯顿的全球影响力.

“We used the book to introduce historical thinking, 以及学习历史的意义所在,” says history teacher Mary Webb who collaborated with her humanities colleagues to create the 跨学科 项目. 在她的课堂上, students studied primary sources to deepen their understanding of historical events and references in the book. “From studying old maps of Charleston to reading The Book of Exodus which narrates the escape of the Jewish slaves from the Egyptians, we did a deep dive into the book’s main threads.”

从那里, students were tasked with creating an object that represented something significant in the book, whether it be a teapot which was a popular souvenir after the repeal of the Stamp Act or a replica of the Da Costa House where Jewish people gathered to worship before synagogues existed in Charleston. “Then we used their ‘artifacts’ as an opportunity to showcase how to write a historical essay,英语老师娜娜·威斯布鲁克说. “首先你要识别物体, 解释一下书上的意思, 它在历史上的意义, 你认为它的意义是什么.”

该项目在周三达到高潮, September 20 with a very special visit from Marshall Highet and Bird 琼斯, 《蓝眼奴隶》的合著者,” who spent a day on campus tying everything together. 在英语课上, they taught students how to analyze a photo without dates or explanation to try and figure out its historical context, 从那里开始, 围绕它创造一个故事.

“We were asking what things were, and Bird would say, ‘Oh, I don’t know either!’”29岁的哈珀·哈泽尔登笑着说. “I think that was the best part because when you read the book, you think they know everything. But really, they didn’t know everything at first – they’re just good at figuring things out. She went to actual places to figure out facts she put in the book, 这样的研究看起来真的很有趣.”

那天晚上, 琼斯, 研究人员, 和海耶特, 作者, discussed their joint approach to researching and writing during an event open to the public as a part of the 十大最好的网赌平台作家系列. 他们说话的时候, the audience was surrounded by the artifacts created by Nautilus students, as well as posters they had researched and created.

“It was wonderful seeing the students engage so deeply in an activity rooted in critical thinking, 分析, 信息搜索,艾莉森·帕克斯说。, Director of the Intermediate and 鹦鹉螺公司程序s. “I love what this 项目 showcases overall–learning at 十大最好的网赌平台 goes beyond the words on a page.”