Professional Literature

Summary: The journal from the National Council for the Social Studies: War, Polio, and Family

Hardships: Examining Life Stateside during World War II through the Historical Novel Blue is a

journal providing information about a fourth grade project. This project allows teachers,

students, and peers to examine “life stateside during World War II” with the help of the novel

Blue. The article summarizes the novel and how it is about a child and her family and how the

family “navigated World War II stateside (on the “home front”)” (Buchanan, Hill, Kaluzny &

Kemmerer, 2018, p. 17).1 The article also goes into detail about how beneficial it is to use

historical fiction as a “vehicle for teaching social studies content” (Buchanan, Hill, Kaluzny &

Kemmerer, 2018, p. 17). 2 Finally, the article offers different sources in order to help teach the

novel Blue, like vocabulary, questions (for framework) and additional teaching resources.

Purpose of author’s work: To help guide other teachers who are teaching about the topic

“War, Polio and Family” with a guide that offers resources, ideas, and supplemental

information needed to teach the unit.

Intended audience: Teachers, and educators (higher ed.) who may plan on teaching the novel

Blue and might need incorporating the novel to their lesson plan or might need help guiding the

novel in their classroom.

1Buchanan, L. B., Hill R., Kaluzny J., Kemmerer C. (2018). War, Polio, and Family Hardships:
Examining Life Stateside during World War II through the Historical Novel Blue. NCSS.

2Buchanan, L. B., Hill R., Kaluzny J., Kemmerer C. (2018). War, Polio, and Family Hardships:
Examining Life Stateside during World War II through the Historical Novel Blue. NCSS.
Ways article shaped panning & implementation of unit: I would like to implement some sort of

text to my unit. The novel Blue is for higher elementary aged students, so that will not work,

but I would like to incorporate a novel that can assist in creating an image of the troubles and

difficulties families faced in the past and how present-family structures navigate through

difficulties.