The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade historical
• Originally Published: 1990
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 740L; grades 7-8
• Structure/Length: 2 parts; 16 chapters; approx. 278 pages; approx. 6 hours, 27 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict (or Central Concern): Set in 1832, 13-year-old Charlotte Doyle must travel alone by ship from England to her family home in America.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Moderate violence and scariness

Avi (Edward Irving Wortis), Author

• Bio: Born in 1937 in New York City; currently lives with his wife in Clark, Colorado; started his writing career as a playwright; worked as a librarian; has published more than 70 books; frequently travels to schools to meet his young readers
• Other Works: The Fighting Ground (1984); The Man Who Was Poe (1989); Nothing but the Truth (1991); Crispin: The Cross of Lead (2002)
• Awards: Newbery Honor (1991); Horn Book-Boston Globe Award (1991); ALA Notable Book (1991)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Barriers of Class
• Challenging Gender Roles
• Transformation and Growth

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the historical context regarding gender and class in the 19th century, the time period of Charlotte’s story.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of The Barriers of Class and Challenging Gender Roles.
• Design a movie trailer for The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle that demonstrates students’ understanding of the key parts of the novel’s plot.