Part 2 of Unsung Heroes

First Hand Account

Writing first-person fiction stimulates the creative imagination, helps us relate to the story, and aids retention of material because we put ourselves in a particular situation.  We are all familiar with writing in the first person – some of us keep diaries, some write letters, and others keep journals.  Almost all of us know something about historical fiction from watching movies.  This familiarity can translate into big opportunities for learning.

Your Assignment

You will be writing a historical fiction story.  Your story should be about your “Unsung Hero” and be written in FIRST PERSON.  Your story should include multiple events that shaped their social/racial/gender commitment.  It is important your story is believable and show an accurate understanding of the life of your person.  Some suggestions on how this part of the project can be done include – but are not limited to:

·         It could be an interview between the historical figure and yourself

·         It could be a letter from the character to a loved one

·         It could be written like a journal of the historical figure

Rubric for Historical First Hand Account Essay

Criteria	3	2	1	0
Ideas and Content	The story brings the time and place of the historical figure alive; vividly describes his/her experiences and values; refers to relevant, historically accurate details	The time and place of the historical figure is clear, but his/her experiences are more like a list than a story; some details may be historically inaccurate	The setting is murky, and the characters experiences and/or values are often historically inaccurate	Not enough was written to judge the ideas or content.
Voice and Tone	1st person is used.  The voice sounds like a real person.  The paper has personality and shows how the historical figure thinks and feels	The tone is OK but the paper could have been written by anyone.  It needed to reveal more about how the writer felt about the topic	The writing is bland, mechanical or pretentious.  It sounds like the voice was lost.  It uses 2nd or 3rd person.	Not enough written to judge.
Conventions	Correct grammar, capitals, spelling and punctuation is used. A cover page and a reference page are included.	Spelling is correct on common words.  Some errors in grammar and punctuation.  A cover page and/or reference page are not included.	Many errors in grammar, capitalization, spelling, and punctuation make the paper hard to read.  A cover page and reference page are not included.	Not enough was written to judge.
Total				/9