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:

1. The fleet leaving Plymouth, England
2. The Sea Venture wrecks during the storm
3. The Building of the Deliverance
4. Deliverance and Patience leave Bermuda
5. 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
  • London
  • Thames
  • Plymouth
  • 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.