Books can be a powerful representation of history as well as a great teaching tool. However, Readers should be aware of the liberties that authors may take with historical details, creating fiction out of fact or leaving out major pieces of information that are ‘inconvenient’ to the story. Here is your opportunity to enjoy some great historical fiction books that deal with events and issues we are studying in class and to receive extra credit for your efforts. However, nothing is free. Please read the following directions, and then select one of the films listed below.

To receive credit for reading a book for Extra Credit you must hand in a minimum TWO page (HAND WRITTEN) paper that contains the following:

1)Your name, the date, and the name of the book.

2)A brief (1-2 paragraph) synopsis of the plot of the movie (what happened, who was involved, etc.)

3)Then, chose from one of the following methods for reporting on your book:

  1. Interview a character from your book. Write at least ten questions that will give the character the opportunity to discuss his/her thoughts and feelings about his/her role in the story. Then, answer each question from the characters point of view.
  2. Write a diary that one of the story's main characters might have kept before, during, or after the book's events. Remember that the character'sthoughts and feelings are very important in a diary.
  3. Do a book talk. Talk to the class about your book by saying a little about the author, explain who the characters are and explain enough about the beginning of the story so that everyone will understand what they are about to read. Finally, read an exciting, interesting, or amusing passage from your book. Stop reading at a moment that leaves the audience hanging and add "If you want to know more you'll have to read the book." If the book talk is well done almost all the students want to read the book.
  4. Compare and Contrast how 2 characters in the book are alike and how they are different.

Extra Credit Book List

American Revolution-Pre Civil War

The Glorious Cause

Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution (Hardcover)
by Jeff Shaara

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West

Mexican American War-Civil War

Gone For Soldiers

The Last Full Measure

Gods and Generals

The Killer Angels

The Soldier's Pen: Firsthand Impressions of the Civil War

A Grand Army of Black Men: Letters from African-American Soldiers in the Union Army 1861-1865

Robert Macomber Series

/ At the Edge of Honor
/ Point of Honor: The Continuing Exploits Of Lt. Peter Wake, United States Navy
/ Honorable Mention
/ A Dishonorable Few
/ An Affair of Honor

Western Frontier

Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors

Nothing Like It In the World : The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869

Guilded Age-Americas first Serial Killer

Devil and the WhiteCity

World War I

To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War

World War II

The Greatest Generation

Band of Brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

The Wild Blue : The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany 1944-45

D Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II

Citizen Soldiers: The U. S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany

The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II

Flags of Our Fathers

General Interest

10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America