Integrating Social Studies and Language Arts Lessons

As a child, I loved learning about historical events through fictional stories. I enjoyed reading as a very young child, and was never without a book. I enjoyed learning about places I had never been, experiencing things that were foreign to me, and in times that no longer existed. I found that I was able to relate to characters easily, which allowed me to better understand what was going on in past times. Some books I really enjoyed were Rifles for Watie, The Night, Number the Stars, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Little House on the Prairie, and many more. By reading through the perspective of these characters, I was able to feel as they had felt, even when reading sad or scary stories. These are the types of books that most stick out in my memory as a young reader. The strong feelings that were created by these stories help me to remember past events in history.