III. The Story of Dracula. Fiction and Reality 

Aim: Who Was Dracula?

Learning objectives:

1. To find out the real character behind Dracula

2. To understand the differences between fiction and non-fiction literature

Brainstorming. What do you know about Dracula? Please write a short paragraph using this discussion forum.

After all participants post their comments, click on your classmates' response to find out what they know about the subject.

Quiz Time!

Look at these pictures. What do you think they represent?

 

 

Click Here for the answer.
Click HERE for the answer

 

Let me introduce to you the real King of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes!

The story you are about to read happened in the XVth century in Eastern Europe. It is about a small kingdom, a fiery king, and a empire that wanted to conquer the entire Europe. It is about power and blood.

Please consult these four Internet sources on Vlad Tepes. Please make sure that you read all documents to be able to go to the next step:

SOURCE ONE SOURCE TWO SOURCE THREE SOURCE FOUR

Before you continue, take this quiz on reading comprehension HERE

Aim: How to Read Non-Fiction Literature

Historical literature is non fiction literature. Its purpose is to provide information about events that happened in the past. History pages are full of facts, years, names, and events. What you do when you read history is remember as much information as you can and compare it with other sources.

Here are some concepts that will help you understand and read history better:

  • Facts v. Fiction

  • Primary Sources v. Secondary Sources

See Mary Ó. Dubháin's unit on Internet sources in history (Teachnet Ireland)
See her presentation of primary v. secondary sources at: http://teachnet.ie/modubhain/newpages/teachguide.htm

1. Which of the sources are primary and which are secondary?

2. What are the sources you find more reliable? Why? Click HERE to find more information on how to answer this question completely.

To help you in your research, here are two names of historians who wrote valuable books on the real Vlad Tepes and the legend that changed him into a vampire:

  • Dr. Raymond McNally

  • Dr. Radu Florescu

Your assignment: Find out the books these researchers wrote on the subject of Vlad Tepes. Prepare a list of books will all bibliographic information (authors, title, publishing house, year) and paste the information HERE

Go to an online bookstore and find the available titles on these authors and also what other writers wrote on the subject:

Amazon.com:  http://amazon.com

Barnes and Noble: http://bn.com

 

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