Demonstrates improved historical knowledge and empathy in elementary students through historical fiction, suggesting enhanced literacy practices.
The purpose of this study is to better understand the history elementary students ( n = 27) learn as they read historical fiction. We have three key findings. (1) Students gained accurate historical knowledge. (2) Students discern fact from fiction in most instances. (3) Students expressed empathy noting human actions and implications. Implications from this study include critical literacy practices in elementary classrooms and recommendations to be attentive to pedagogical content knowledge in teacher preparation and development.
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Brugar et al. (2026) studied this question.
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