A Lion To Guard Us Unit Study
Activities, Vocabulary, Maps, Questions to accompany Clyde Bulla's historical fiction novel:
A Lion To Guard Us
Yes, we do have this page and this unit study under development. But don't give up. Great stuff is being prepared that will help our young readers with this action filled book: a great first historical fiction.
Historical Fiction
This is a great first historical fiction novel for students: the founding of Jamestown Colony, the wreck of the ship
Sea Adventure, and the Starving Time during the fateful winter.

Above Left: Bermuda Stamp commemorating the
Sea Venture. Right: Admiral George Somers and Governor Thomas Gates
Students learn about the third supply to Jamestown, the fleet of ships, the wreck of the Sea Venture, and the somewhat testy relationship between Somers and Gates during the months they were shipwrecked on Bermuda.

As a fun activity, students chronoligically order the events depicted in Bermuda's commemorative stamps. The correct order shown above is:
- The fleet leaving Plymouth, England
- The Sea Venture wrecks during the storm
- The Building of the Deliverance
- Deliverance and Patience leave Bermuda
- Deliverance and Patience arrive in Jamestown
Fun facts and historical information are spread throughout the unit study.
Vocabulary
A Lion To Guard Us Vocabulary has chapter-by-chapter lists of words and their defintions.
Chapter Summary
List of events in each chapter
Grammar
- Types of commas: comma conjunction and commas between phrases and sentences
- Italicize: the names of ships
Narration
Students practice narrating the events in a chapter orally with a notecard.
Maps
Our
maps for
A Lion To Guard Us will show the location of:
- England
- The New World
- Virginia
- Jamestown
- Bermuda
Historical Fiction
We consider the role of historical fiction in literature. Students differentiate historial from fictitious elements:
- Main characters of Amanda, Jemmy, Meg, and Dr. Crider are fictitious.
- Admiral George Somers, Captain Christopher Newport, and Governor Thomas Gates are historical characters.
- Master Hopkins, Chris Carter, and Robert Waters were minor historical characters.
Timeline
We provide a timeline of Jamestown, the
Sea Adventure, and Bermuda Island.