At Living Outside the Lines reading classical literature is fun. We make it fun in a number of ways: themed meals, interesting and engaging projects and lots of social time. Some of the homeschooling families use Living Outside the Lines as their high school English curriculum. In light of that, I set up the club like a smorgasbord of tools so that each family can decide what they want to use. At the meeting we eat, discuss great books, present projects and hang out for a long time.
Other tools available to the families are vocabulary lists of 80 to 100 words per book and writing assignment ideas. Here is a short list taken from the writing assignment sheet for Ivanhoe. Help yourself if you think these will help your child. If you aren’t sure how to grade your child’s writing I have General Grading Guidelines for Essays and an Essay Rubric that you are welcome to use if you like.
High School Essays
Compare and contrast Ivanhoe with another romantic hero that you have read about.
Write an essay that defines justice from a Christian perspective. Compare and contrast this to our culture’s idea of justice.
How do different characters in Ivanhoe attempt to correct large-scale social injustices? How successful are they at battling social inequality or unfairness? Do all the characters in Ivanhoe define unfairness in the same way?
Write a research paper on Thomas à Becket, a martyr in 1170.
Essays for Kids
Define justice? Write an essay explaining God’s thoughts on justice.
Define patriotism. Write an essay about the meaning of patriotism in Ivanhoe.
Define duty. List some actions that depict duty? Write an essay about duty.
What about you? Do you assign essays to your child? Where do you get your ideas?
