Literature Unit Study Ideas for King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry

A few years ago, we discovered an awesome book during our countries and cultures study, and it's a book that will become a favorite of horse lovers. King of the Wind: The Story of Godolphin Arabian is by Marguerite Henry, an author of many, many horse books that each focus on different horse breeds. Here are some ideas for using this book as a unit study.

This post is part of a series- 31 Days of Literature Unit Studies, and you can find links to all of the literature unit studies I posted here. You can get this literature unit study as well as 44 others and lots of great literature unit study resources here in my free ebook The Ultimate Book of Unit Studies for Literature Lovers.

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About the book...

King of the Wind begins in England at a horse race. The famous Man O' War is a Thoroughbred who is destined to win it all. When his owner decides to quit racing early, he's questioned by the race fans. In response he tells the story of the Godolphin Arabian, the ancestor to the modern Thoroughbred horse.

In Morocco, Agba is a stable boy in the Sultan's stables. He cares for his favorite mare who dies after giving birth to a foal. The foal is named Sham, and the head stableman predicts he'll die without the care of his mother. Agba, a mute, orphan boy, is determined that this will not happen. He cares for the  foal who ends up surviving.

Agba and Sham have many adventures that carry them through Paris and eventually into England. Throughout it all, Agba is determined to care for Sham. Despite peril and struggles, Sham lives to become the ancestor of the Godolphin Arabian line of horses.

Countries and cultures connections...

• When we first meet Agba in Morocco, it's time for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. You can learn more about the holiday here.
• Learn about the country of Morocco here.
• You can explore this interactive website for even more information about the country of Morocco.
• Sham's adventures take him to France as a gift for the French king. Learn about France at this site.
• Sham is born in Morocco in the 1700s. He is sent to be a gift for the king in France- Louis the XV. Learn about Louis the XV here.
• Use a printable map from this site to label the countries of Morocco, France, and England where Sham and Agba traveled in the book.

Science connections...

• Read about real horse races. You can find three here- The Breeder's Cup, The Kentucky Derby, Preakness
• The Godolphin Arabian horse is ancestor to the modern Thoroughbred. Learn about Thoroughbred horses here.
• Learn fun facts about horses, horse breeds, and horse care from the Duckster's site.
• You can find more great information about horses and see some great pictures of horses here.
• Read the story of the real Godolphin Arabian horse here.

Literature connections...

• Read Black Beauty. (You can read a free version online here.) Compare and contrast the main characters of the stories- animals and people- and the setting and plot.
• Although Agba doesn't speak, he's a very interesting character. Use this character analysis worksheet to look closely at his character.
• The animals throughout this story don't talk, but they definitely have human characteristics. Read about personification and look at some examples of this literary device.
• Use this problem and solution diagram from Scholastic to look at the main problem, key events in the story, and the solution.

Crafts and hands-on activities...

• Try your hand at this beautiful cardboard horse craft. It's a little more difficult, so it might work best with older kids, but the results are so pretty!
• This stained glass horses craft is based on a different book, but it would go great with this story as well.
• Make some Moroccan couscous.
• For a simple Moroccan-themed craft, try these Henna Hands.

Other resources...

• King of the Wind DVD- a retelling of the story in movie form
• Horsing Around- a Once-a-Week unit study from Homeschool Legacy- This isn't a free resource, but we had the opportunity to review this unit study and really enjoyed it. It uses King of the Wind as one of the resource books.
• Free All About Horses Lapbook from Creative Learning Fun

Booklist...

• Fritz and the Beautiful Horses by Jan Brett
• Billy and Blaze by C.W. Anderson
• Learn About Horses: A Child's First Guide to Horsemanship by Kathy Mann
• The Kingfisher Horse and Pony Encyclopedia by Sandy Hansford
• Nations of Africa: Facts About the African Continent
• Under the Ramadan Moon by Sylvia Whitman

You can get this literature unit study as well as 44 others and lots of great literature unit study resources here in my free ebook The Ultimate Book of Unit Studies for Literature Lovers.