Need Help
Leading a Class Discussion?
Use our teacher guides to help you apply the
Teaching the Classics approach in your classroom.
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Each guide is a complete Socratic discussion of a
particular story, with questions addressing all five elements of fiction
(conflict, plot, setting, characters and theme) as well as context and
stylistic devices.
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Questions are drawn from our exclusive Socratic List
and include full answers keyed to page numbers in the text.
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Teacher guides also include completed story charts
and suggestions for writing assignments.
Curious? Try a FREE sample:
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Download the following teacher guides
in .pdf format:
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
The
original pirate story, and still the best! Stevenson's classic
tale of swashbuckling adventure set the standard for everything that
followed, and your students will never regret joining Jim Hawkins and
his mates in the search for Skeleton Island. Stevenson's
clear themes of loyalty, deception and growing up make for a discussion that's accessible for younger
students and teachers alike. Our teacher guide includes
questions about all the major elements of fiction with answers keyed to
the text. Suggested essay assignments and class projects are also
included, as well as a "pirate ship" story chart suitable for
duplication.
$10.00
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens
One of Dickens' most acclaimed works, A Tale of
Two Cities is a moving story of love and self-sacrifice set amidst
the violent upheaval of the French Revolution and its Reign of Terror.
Utilizing a brilliant cast of characters, from the half-mad Dr. Manette
and his angelic daughter Lucie to the cynical Sydney Carton and the
cruel Defarges, Dickens explores the extremes of human nature.
Through foreshadowing, irony, metaphor and allusion, he expounds the
themes of faith, redemption, loyalty, bitterness and more. Our
guide includes three complete story charts and questions from the
Socratic List on Character, Setting, Conflict, Plot, Theme, Context and
Literary Devices. Junior High or High School. 28 pages.
$15.00
The Story of Ferdinand
by Munro Leaf
Since its publication in 1936, this classic tale of a gentle giant has been the subject of
worldwide attention. Praised by Gandhi, banned by Hitler, and loved by
children everywhere, The Story of Ferdinand has been translated
into more than 60 languages. Will Ferdinand, the great bull who loves to
sit and smell the flowers, rise to his destiny as a bullfighting star?
What does it matter, when all he really wants is peace and quiet?
Illustrated by Robert Lawson. 12 pages
$5.00
The Cricket in Times Square
by George Selden
This classic tale of friendship and loyalty
was a Newbery Honor book in 1970, and has been delighting children ever
since. Follow the adventures of Chester Cricket as he finds a home away
from home in the Times Square subway station, and grows to learn the
true meaning of friendship, and of freedom. Includes a complete story
chart and 45 questions from the Socratic List,
each with an answer drawn from the text. Appropriate for fourth and
fifth graders, as well as older students who need practice with the
basics of plot, conflict and theme. 11 pages
$10.00
At the Back of the North Wind
by George MacDonald
A classic of juvenile literature from the
author that inspired CS Lewis, At the Back of the North Wind is a
fairy tale of the best kind. Here myth and mystery conspire to
deepen our understanding of reality, to animate it again with
imagination. Though it remains as approachable and engaging as the
purest fairy tale, this story is rich with insight into the most
enduring human questions. MacDonald leads the reader effortlessly
into contemplation of the nature of God, the problem of evil, and the
reality of the spiritual world. MacDonald’s generous use of a host
of literary devices (including allegory, metaphor, personification,
assonance, alliteration, simile and others) will bountifully reward the
Lit teacher looking for object lessons and examples. We have read this
story with students as young as ten years old, though its most stirring
themes (Childlike Faith, The Goodness of Providence) are probably best
handled by students in junior high or above. Perfectly appropriate
for high school or adult reading groups as well. 20 pages.
$15.00
Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s immortal classic of political
and psychological intrigue belongs on every junior high or high school
reading list. Astute readers will encounter ambition and sacrifice,
tyranny and patriotism, jealousy and love in abundance as Shakespeare
plumbs the glories and the depths of human nature. The characters in
Julius Caesar are unforgettable, and their challenge to the reader
to examine his own heart rings as true as ever. Noble Brutus, crafty
Cassius, loyal Antony, ambitious Caesar – every reader is sure to
identify with one of them. 19 pages.
$15.00
