Historical fiction brings great potential-for both student learning and confusion. The authors introduce authentication projects as a means toseparate historical fact from fiction and increase student engagement. "The authentication project helped me analyze further into the book. It taught me to think in a way that doesn't take whatever was said and hold it as truth. I never thought so much research was required behind the scenes of historical fiction."-Preservice teacher's reflection after completing her authentication project.T he fundamental question for authentication of literature is a simple one: Do you believe it? Authentication is a reader's process of questioning the veracity of an aspect of literature and then verifying those questions via research. Accordingly, an authentication project is a literacy activity documenting the research process (Norton, 2004).As suggested in the opening quote, authentication requires a critical mindset. The documentation materials needed extend beyond narrative texts and likely include informational texts, primary sources, and multimedia resources. The process involves both Internet and hands-on library research. When authenticating historical fiction, readers consider whether the major historical events, as well as the culture portrayed (e.g., the language, clothing, gender roles), are believable for the time.To define authentication projects in context with related literacy practices, authentication projects align seamlessly with tenets of critical literacy-both traditional and modern definitions. Traditionally, critical literacy is reading while simultaneously evaluating the authenticity and validity of text (Bond & Wagner, 1966
AU T H E N T IC AT ION P ROJ EC T S FOR H I STOR IC A L F IC T ION: DO YOU BE L I E V E I T ? 496The Reading Teacher Vol. 66 Issue 6 March 2013 R T critically reflecting are essential as well (Cervetti, Pardales, & Damico, 2001). Authentication naturally encompasses all aspects of critical literacy.Additionally, similar to inquiry research projects, an authentication project is driven by the readers' questions (Short & Burke, 1996). Therefore, the direction of the research is student driven. The teacher's role is to teach students how to pose potentially constructive questions and then to facilitate the research, documentation, and reflection process. It is important to note that authentication projects can be applied to many types of literature, but the intent of the authentication will vary by genre. For example, when reading multicultural folktales, the authentication process centers on cultural accuracy (Smith & Wiese, 2006).To date, although children's literature expert Norton (2004) advocates authentication projects for historical fiction in particular, this has not been fully explored by researchers and teacher educators. However, historical fiction may be the most essential texts for students to read critically because of the very nature of history. Specifically, as historian Vansledright (2004) described, historical incidents "tend t...