Should I choose this template?

Are your students struggling to differentiate which parts of historical fiction are real and which were created by the author? The Fact and Fiction network template supports students reading historical fiction by:

• helping students to determine which elements of plot are factual from history and which are elements of fiction that are added for the sake of the storyline.
• examining characters, events, and locations for their potential historical contexts.

Teachers suggested this type of network be created because students routinely struggled to differentiate between fact and fiction and this impacted their reading comprehension, making connections between ELA and history standards, and understanding of historical events.

When should I use this template?

When they read historical fiction, students can get confused about which story elements (plots, setting, characters) are historical events and which are part of the fictional plot. This network helps them identify the differences.

What sources work best?

Historical fiction novels, passages, or short stories

What’s the investment in time and effort for this network?

Time: This network could be used for one class period or on an ongoing basis while reading a novel over the course of a few weeks.

Teacher support: Teachers will need to

• understand the basics of Net.Create (node and edge entry). See this basic-data-entry video!
• how to toggle between network view and table view and sort columns in table view.
• how to use one network filter (the “?????” filter). See this ?????-filter video!

How should I use this template?

Lesson plan

Network Details

Teacher resources

Student resources

Network Details: What should my students and I be tracking?

What learning goals does this template support?

• Disciplinary goals
• State-standard-aligned goals
• What kinds of student identity are present?

What data literacy outcomes does this template support?

• Data literacy outcomes and questions (for the VFOI team)

Resources for classroom use

Teacher Resources

• Classroom management recommendations
• Network-analysis learning Resources
  • Simple Net.Create documentation
  • Videos of new node/edge, table sorting, filters, etc.
  • 5-moves-to-make video
• 1-pager lesson plan
  • “Good questions to ask” guide for teachers
  • What network-data moves (viz, tables, filters) to use as network gets big

Student Handouts

• “Good questions to ask” guide for teachers