(Recorded Course) Living History Through Literature: Kat Finds a Friend with Jackie de Laveaga

  

 

 

In Kat Finds a Friend , students learn history in an engaging, enjoyable study of this novel. You will learn about America in the early 1800s through the protagonist of our story and share that knowledge with a fun project of your choice.

 

How to get the most out of Kat Finds a Friend with Jackie de Laveaga:

  • Read the assigned chapters. 
  • Do the quizzes and any extra work assigned for that class after you do the assigned reading.
  • Have a notebook ready and available for taking notes.
  • Watch the recording of the live class meeting.

Total classes: 4

Suggested Grade Level: 2nd through 6th grade

Suggested Credit: 1/2 semester History or Literature

Instructor: Jackie de Laveaga, BA, M.Ed.

Instructor Email: hsc@delaveaga.app

Course Description: Living History Through Literature is a project-based course series. These courses weave the study of literature into a meaningful and engaging encounter with a specific era of history. In LHTL: Kat Finds a Friend, we meet Kat Walter, a nine-year-old shoemaker’s daughter from Emmitsburg, Maryland. Kat thinks that life is one big chore until she meets the lively Kitty Seton, Mother Seton’s daughter. Kat’s life will never be the same again! When Mother Seton brings her family and new order of nuns to the mountainous village of Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1809, it not only changes Kitty’s life, but it changes her whole family. Students will study the historical context of the novel and participate in engaging literature discussions. In this project-based course, students will engage in short quizzes and in a project of their choice. Project options will include fiction writing, preparing period-specific food and/or costumes, creating lapbooks, recreating scenes from the novel (Legos, clay, K’nex, digital drawing, hand-drawing, etc.), building a timeline, mapping, and more.

Course Outline:

Class 1: Overview of Historical Context and Novel Introduction
Class 2: Literature Discussion; Project Introduction; Literary Devices; Analysis
Class 3: Literature Discussion; Cultural Overview; Project Ideas; Analysis
Class 4: Literature Discussion; Fiction Writing Tips; Analysis

Course Materials: 

Kat Finds a Friend, A St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Story by Joan Stromberg, 

(https://catalog.beholdpublications.com/)