Teaching
How ToREADING - LITERATURE GUIDES
There are a lot of literature guides out there. Most of them offer a few definitions of difficult or archaic terms found in the literary work being studied. Some offer ideas as to study, and even a few tips as to the ideas and tools the writer used. Some offer a synopsis of the work, occasionally making the reading of the work in question irrelevant. That's not really a good thing, by the way.
Connect The Thoughts Literature Guides are far more comprehensive and involving. We provide guides to works that are in the "public domain", meaning works that no one owns rights for. This allows us to publish the complete work by the author directly in the course itself, broken into parts that make the reading simpler. We also stick to shorter works, as a way of introducing the student to great writers that is not quite so "endless".
We then define every difficult or key word in each part of the work to be studied — before the student reads that part of the work! This allows the student to understand the story the first time it's read with a minimum of confusion based on words and their meaning. (It also enormously builds vocabulary and reading skills!) We also provide a list of locations mentioned in each story, which the student locates on maps and/or a globe before reading. Again, this makes the piece more easily understood the first time the student reads it.
Our guides go so much farther! Each guide starts with an explanation of literature. It explains important elements of writing such as what fiction is, plotting, the development of characters and conflict, the use of irony and surrogates in the writing, and other elements. The student will apply his new understanding of the elements of writing to each story he reads, providing a more profound understanding.
We also provide a history of the author of the piece, a separate history of the period of time the work was written in and how that history contributed to that particular work, and a history of the piece itself, from how and when it was authored and published, to its "track record" since that time, to a list of film and other media adaptations of that piece.
We follow each work read (and each part of the work) with questions and exercises which help develop the students understanding of the piece, and his understanding of the relevancy of the piece to the student's life today.
If you are looking for a thorough literature appreciation
course, one that will bring classic literature alive and
make it thoroughly understandable and relevant, as well as
more enjoyable, you’ll find our literature guides are
winners! We'll be starting with the release of guides for:
-
Sherlock Holmes Short Stories
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
-
Scary Stories
by Washington Irving
-
Short Works
by Mark Twain
- Short Stories by Edgar Allen Poe
-
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
-
The Time Machine
by H.G. Wells
NEW!
We'll follow these up with a new guide approximately every 4-6 weeks until the entire program has been released, 15 - 20 of the guides. Each guide will have about 20 lesson plans, and be about 120-220 pages in length, with an estimated study time of 20-55 hours or so.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Literature Guide'Marley was dead, to begin with...' With these words, perhaps the most popular novel of all time sets a great and frightening adventure in motion. The tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his encounter one night with four ghosts has thrilled and moved audiences for over 150 years. It has been adapted into hundreds of movies, plays, musicals, and other performance media. No single story has been presented in more forms, or as often.
Sherlock Holmes Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Literature GuideFor over 120 years, his name and that of "detective" have been one and the same in the imagination of tens of millions of readers. Sherlock Holmes has appeared in more movies, plays, radio shows, and entertainments than any other character in all of literature!
Scary Tales by Washington Irving Literature GuideHe was the first great American writer. His works were read around the world, and he encouraged more great writers to pick up their pens than any other writer in America's history. His own life was filled with adventures that are hard to believe!
Great Short Stories by Mark Twain Literature GuideA town full of "incorruptible" people, ripe for corruption. A legendary frog that can out-jump anything, and the man who'll bet on him to his last dime. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, as they struggle with the first relationship ever. These are characters in great short stories by Mark Twain included in this course.
Short Stories by Edgar Allen Poe Literature GuideThe works of Edgar Allan Poe, written over 150 years ago, continue to amaze, to thrill, and to haunt readers the world over. Few writers have ever written with more skill or passion. Few have been able to create a mood as Poe did. Few used words with more power and creativity. And few writers had the impact on literature that Poe did.
The Time Machine by H.G. WellsHe was the father of science fiction, in the English language. H.G. Wells had ideas unlike any writer before him. His first great novel, The Time Machine, written in 1895, asked questions no writer had ever asked — if we could travel in time, where would we go? And what would we find there? What is mankind's future, and can we change it today?
Wow, you sure outdid yourself!
After downloading it I couldn't help but take a peak at
it... what an amazing piece you have put together here....I
LOVE it!! Fabulous and so different from anything out
there! Having the story embedded is unique itself, having
the definitions so readily available, that is only the
beginning. This is so thorough and cross curricular!! The
cover of the book shown, which would be fascinating to kids,
the history of all the films, etc. What a rich introduction
to a classic story!
I like that you included some illustrations as well as
the links at the end to view the movie version. Your
explanations of literary terms and how they are used within
this particular story are well done. I also applaud your
decision to choose short stories and novellas rather than
larger texts. Learning to analyze literature is a lot of
work for students, having to wade through very long books
can make that job even tougher. I myself have not read many
of the classics in their original form...my California
education did not serve me well in that regard. Had I been
exposed to something like this that would walk me through it
easily, I would have done so myself as I have always been a
voracious reader.
Have you any idea what other authors/stories you will
tackle? O'Henry? Please? :-)
Excellent tool you have created, seriously...this is
outstanding. And I have been meaning to tell you thanks for
the succinct and concise definitions you give for vocabulary
in all your courses. It makes things so much easier to
understand for the kids. I can guarantee you they would
kill me if I ever changed history courses, and we will be
using it with all the kids throughout school.
Thanks a bunch for the sneak peak, I think I will have
my 12 years old do this one.
| by C.L. | Date Added: 09/04/2011 |
I really liked the exercises
that you have to do after each story to make sure that you
actually understand the technology behind writing. Conflict,
messages; I've learned a lot about the structure of stories.
I loved the videos, which help give me a picture of the
story.
| by A.S., 14 year-old student | Date Added: 09/22/2011 |
I like how these guides teach
you to search through the story, really get into all the
characters and really understand what each character is up
to, what the conflicts are, all about the protagonists and
antagonists. We love the videos at the end of each one that
really help us understand each story. The literature guide
makes it so that you can't go on without really
understanding the stories. You enjoy the stories more,
because you can understand them better.
| by M.S., 14 year-old student | Date Added: 09/22/2011 |
