Written In Bone: Buried Lives Of Jamestown And Colonial Maryland (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
WARD, Margaret-Written in Bone Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. WalkerThis fascinating book is about archeologists who have uncovered graves in and around Jamestown, Virginia and Colonial Maryland. The book has interesting pictures of the careful process of recording and removing the bones for study. It’s amazing what archeologist can tell about a person just from the bones and teeth, how old they were, what gender and what kind of work they might have done. (Reading Level 5) I picked two books to pair this with because one was an easier reading level than the other. Elizabeth’s Diary Jamestown, Virginia, 1609 by Patricia Hermes is a easy fiction book to match with Written in Bone. It tells the story of Jamestown through a diary of a young girl. She writes of the hardships and illnesses of the early settlers and her family. Written in Bone delves into what might have happened to the settlers and Elizabeth’s Diary fictionalizes what did happen to each family she was associated with. The reader could apply what she read in fiction to the non-fiction selection and it would help the reader to remember important facts in each book. Blood on the River, Jamestown,1607 by Elisa Carbone is another worthy companion book to Written in Bone, but for a more mature elementary reader. This book tells of an orphan, Samuel Collier who goes to the New World with Captain John Smith as his page. It goes into much more detail about the hardships of life in Jamestown; the lack of food, disease, and the friendly as well as the hostile Indians that the settlers encountered. What happened in Jamestown is somewhat a mystery. These fiction books can inspire the reader to evaluate, appreciate and explore further why it is important to learn about Jamestown and the surrounds. Written in Bone includes the investigation of graves of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland. The process of forensic science is explained in depth in this book and would be highly engaging for people interested in this process. The historical aspect of this book is lighter than the forensics, but is still incorporated. It would make a perfect text for an interdisciplinary unit, as there are opportunities for specific learning in Math, Science, and History. My interest in this particular book came from the combination of history and forensics. I thought students would be engaged in learning about this process and in turn be more engaged in also learning about the people of a time period so different from their own. I have to admit I was disappointed by the disparity between the amount of history and science, though. The learning that can be taken from this book seemed mostly connected to science concepts and I felt the book would be more engaging for middle school students if the lives of the people became more apparent- a story and process combination. Though I can see a place for this text in the classroom, I do not think it would engage the learning of every student- or even the majority.
What do You think about Written In Bone: Buried Lives Of Jamestown And Colonial Maryland (2009)?
Skimmed through this one. Excellent for students interested in forensics and/or history.
—Carrie
Fascinating read. Those interested in forensics and/or archaeology will love it.
—Hoda
loved this book b/c it made me feel like an actual archeologist.
—lesley
Very interesting, but I found myself bored at times
—Deea18
