The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions

(11 customer reviews)

$28.95$32.95

Heart training is hard work!

The Wise Woman enchants readers while it contrasts the ugliness of pride, selfishness and conceit with the beauty of humility, sacrifice, and compassion.

How do you train a heart to love what is right, pure, and true?

 

Endorsements Sample

The Wise Woman enchants readers while it contrasts the ugliness of pride, selfishness and conceit with the beauty of humility, sacrifice, and compassion.

With 16 to 24 literary analysis questions per chapter, this 160-page spiral bound edition teaches critical thinking in a way that is engaging and transformational.

Not for Women Only

Don’t let the title deceive you–this elegant fable is not for women only. It captivates boys and men as well.

  • Prepare to encounter sleek wolves, slobbering hyenas, and an assortment of beasts that go bump in the night.
  • Step into enchanted rooms with pictures that become doorways into the familiar or the fantastic.
  • Witness weak-willed parents who blindly overindulge their children…and reap the destructive consequences.

Meet a fearlessly loving and wise woman who confronts stubborn ignorance and ugly pride with unflinching discipline, truth, and grace.

How to Use This Book

The Wise Woman is a perfect story to read as a family curled up together on the couch.

Use the questions that follow each chapter to spark meaningful family discussions.

(It is only fair to warn you: once you read the first chapter, you might not put it down. More than one mom has stayed up late to finish reading it long after she put her children to bed.)

If you have older children, use the journal for independent study. The exercise of formulating and writing answers will strengthen your students’ thinking and communication skills.

Middle school and high school students create a profound keepsake as they write their answers in the book.

The story can leave a lasting impression upon your children. As one student explains:

The literary analysis questions cut hard and deep— they forced me to reflect upon the story from a biblical worldview.

As I processed the questions, I began to see Rosamond’s problems in my own life. Answering offered me no choice but to change….

–Danny (14 years old)

We’re honored to receive this endorsement from Michael Phillips, best-selling author and George MacDonald biographer:

The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions’ beautiful design is visually compelling. The entire presentation—is like nothing on MacDonald I have ever seen. I just love it!

“We home schooled back in the early years when there were no resources available. We had to make up everything as we went. How we would have loved to have had The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions back then!

“Many congratulations on this masterful way of introducing young readers to George MacDonald. I wish every home school family would use it and encourage readers toward a love for George MacDonald early in life.”

 

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Print Journal, Digital Journal

11 reviews for The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions

  1. Samantha

    Overall I think this was a great read and a fun activity. If not only for myself enjoying the read but for the kids to something out of it as well. It is always nice to see how things are taught in different ways than I would have thought how to do it.

    Read more at….
    http://earthymamalearning.blogspot.com/search?q=the+wise+woman

  2. Crystal

    Our family was recently given the opportunity to review digital ebook The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions created by Home School Adventure Co..

    This ebook is meant for read aloud and discussion as a family with children ages 9-11. Children ages 12 and up can read this as well and then use it for great family discussion or with the aid of a parent. High schoolers can do this on their own. I actually used this successfully with my children who are just ages 6 and 8. I’ll describe how later in the review.

    The Wise Woman is the story much like a fairy tale of old. We meet kings and queens and spoiled princesses. We tackle ugly pride and selfishness as well as beauty and humility. This story isn’t meant for women as the title might seem to imply, it is actually a story of a Wise Woman and how she tries to teach two very terribly spoiled little girls character and good behavior.

    The story is quite gripping and the chapters end in that way that leaves you longing to turn to the next page to find out what happens next.

    Each of the 14 chapters delves into 16 to 24 literary analysis questions that really encourages critical thinking about literature in a way that my children have never experienced.

    In our homeschool we covered just about one chapter a week. On some occasions we’d get through an entire chapter in one sitting, other times we’d tackle just a half of a chapter. Both strategies worked well. Our choice was mostly determined by what else we had planned for the day.

    Since my children actually fall below the suggested age range I adapted things to make it doable for them. After reading the first couple of chapters and attempting to move my boys through the questions I discovered that the too much time would pass between reading the first few paragraphs and the question time. As a result I decided to preread the analysis questions to myself. Then after a 3 or 4 paragraphs I’d engage the children in conversation using the questions. There were times when I had to simply the phrasing of the questions to ensure their understanding of what was being asked. After that the conversation flowed easily.
    Since we received The Wise Women as a pdf download I simply sent it to my Kindle Fire so that I could cuddle with the children on the couch as we spent afternoons enjoying such a fun story. I thought I might have trouble keeping their attention, since it is written in an old English style. However, my children and I often stories in such a style so I have to say that it wasn’t foreign to them.

    I appreciated some of the biblical lessons I was able to tie into our discussions as the story definitely lays a path for an exploration and lesson on personal sin. Some of the questions included scripture references and appropriate versus for memorization.

    We chose not to write our answers to the questions, the free flowing conversation sparked by each one was plenty enough. I felt adding the chore of writing would have taken away from the true literary and biblical lessons we were engaging in. However, I can definitely see myself returning to this text in the years to come when the children have grown into the upper grades. At that point I’d expect written responses.

    Overall, I absolutely recommend this book! If you have younger children who adore just about any read aloud you tackle, even they can get so very much from this resource.

  3. Rebecca Ray

    We love to read. In fact, I consider it a good school day if we spend part of our day in the Bible and part of the day reading aloud. So, when I received the chance to review The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions from Home School Adventure Co., I was very excited to add it to our read-aloud rotation.

    The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions is a fourteen chapter classic book by George MacDonald. Stacy Farrell has taken this classic work and added a dimension to it by creating 16-20 analysis questions to go with each chapter of the book. These analysis questions are literature-based and also examine the morality of the characters’ actions. There’s a section on vocabulary at the back of the book so that your child can write definitions for the often complex vocabulary words.

    The Wise Woman is organized by chapter, and its use is flexible. Farrell developed it to be used as a read-aloud for children aged nine to eleven. Children ages 12 and up can use it for family discussion and analysis with parental guidance. High school students could even work through the book independently.

    The Wise Woman tells the story of two young girls. Both are horribly spoiled by their parents. The first girl, Princess Rosamond, has developed behaviors that have brought her parents to such despair that they call for The Wise Woman. The Wise Woman, knowing the poor child’s mistreatment at the hands of her parents, takes the princess to a little cottage in the woods to teach her how to be a good, strong moral person. In other words, the Wise Woman sets out to give this child the moral training that her parents have neglected.

    As Rosamond resists this training, her fate becomes in entangled with that of another spoiled young girl. Agnes is the daughter of a shepherd and shepherdess. All though they can’t spoil her with things the way that Rosamond’s parents have, they’ve inflated her pride and conceit to such a level that she feels as if she can do no wrong, and that is a pretty dangerous place to be.

    Will Rosamond and Agnes ever learn moral character? Will they ever become wise? That is the story that George MacDonald sets out to answer, and along the way, if you’re paying attention, you as the reader will also learn some wisdom and confront some of your own personality flaws.

    If you read this book as Farrell has formatted it with the analysis questions, you can’t help but confront your own flaws and wonder at ways that you can improve. That’s the beauty of what Farrell has done in taking The Wise Woman and using literary analysis to draw the deeper message that affects everyone out of the text.

    I used this text with my older two children who are currently nine and seven. They are not reading independently well enough to actually read and understand this text on their own, and so we would sit and read a chapter a day as a read-aloud during our morning Bible time. After we read the chapter, we would orally discuss the questions, and we would define any terms that the children needed help with. Sometimes, I would also need to explain the older language of the text.

    The children loved the book. They would ask for their daily chapter and enjoy hearing what happened to Rosamond and to Agnes. For the most part, they enjoyed answering the questions. Twenty questions can be a lot for children that age, especially the ones that are part of the literary analysis with details and phrases. If I had it to do over again, I would have probably just selected the questions that I felt were most appropriate for our discussion.

    To give you a feel for the questions, here’s a random sampling of chapter one’s questions:

    What does MacDonald say about the status of human contentment in this peculiar country?
    At what point do Rosamond’s parents finally decide they need help?
    When and where does this story take place? Is it a real or imagined land?
    Were the king and queen honest with Rosamond? How do you know?

    This was a good experience for us. The children learned a lot from the story and from the discussions that we had. I also had a lot to ponder as I read through the experience of the parents, the wise woman and the children. I actually decided to tuck it away to use again with the children as an older middle school/younger high school resource, only next time we use it, I’ll have the children do a chapter a week and answer the questions as a journal.

    One of the most important things I have pondered as a parent is actually a paragraph from Farrell’s introduction to the text. She says:

    Life is shorter. (Shorter than most of us realize.) The window of opportunity to learn and laugh with our children closes all too soon. with such limited time, we must carefully select which resources receive our attention.

    This is true. Lately, I have spent a great deal of time examining the value of the things that we watch, read, listen to, experience and learn. The contrast of the virtues and vices in The Wise Woman makes it an object worthy of study and meditation. Whether you use it as a casual family read-aloud as we did, or a more formal literature study, this is a study worth completing.

  4. Tess

    My daughter had this to say after using The Wise Woman Literary Analysis Journal Questions

    “I am really enjoying this. I love this story, and I also love analyzing my favorite stories. All of the questions have been relevant and thought provoking, such as ‘Why do you think the princess responded better to terror than kindness?” and “Is there a difference between being kind and being nice?” I love how the questions are phrased. I also enjoy that the questions don’t have a right or wrong answer. They’re designed to make you think about the story and how it relates to real life.”

    You can read my full review at:
    http://www.circlingthroughthislife.com/2014/04/the-wise-woman-literary-analysis.html

  5. Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays

    Written by George MacDonald, The Wise Woman is a 14 chapter tale about two very different little girls and their interaction with a wise woman. One child is a princess whom is spoiled by her parents and has turned into a modern day brat. The second child is raised by a poor family, but has come to think of herself as the center of the world. Once introduced to the wise woman, their lives take a drastic change and true transformation begins. Written for both girls and boys, The Wise Woman is a tale of the condition of one’s heart and addresses issues of pride, selfishness and conceit. Like many Christian fables of its time, it does often contain very flowery language that my children found hard to understand at times.

    The Home School Adventure Co. has found a solution for that in their Literary Guide! At the end of each chapter of this reprinted book, they offer a 16- 24 questions to help guide you as a parent in the teaching of this classic. By using not only basic “give me the details” questions like “what happened when..”.or “what did she do…” but also deep, open ended questions like “why do you think..” and “what does it mean…”, the Homeschool Adventure Co. helps you delve past the obvious things in the story to the more intended meanings. By opening the door to the book with many open ended and though provoking questions, this guide is a very through literary investigation for high schoolers especially…. I cannot say that I would tackle such a hefty fable as a family again, especially one with younger kids, anytime soon, but I can tell you that if I did I would certainly not do so without a guide such as this one! The Homeschool Adventure Co. has done an outstanding job of covering all sides of the story- from the obvious to the not so obvious details and themes. I cannot imagine doing that any justice without them.

    Read our full review at http://familyfaithandfridays.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-wise-woman-with-literary-analysis.html

  6. Tara @ This Sweet Life

    I’ve been looking for a devotion or Bible study to do with my fifth grade daughter for the past little bit. At the same time, I had been hearing good things from some of my bloggy friends about the products at Home School Adventure Co. So, when the opportunity arose to review a product from there that also fit my search for a devotion to use with Emma, I signed up! I received The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions. While it’s not written as a devotional or Bible study, The Wise Woman turned out to be a great blessing to Emma and to me.

    Read my full review at: http://thissweetlifeofmine.com/crew-review-home-school-adventure-co/

  7. Jenn L

    I reviewed this product with my 9 year old daughter, and we were really blessed by it!
    The writing style is different than what we’re used to, but we quickly got used to it and both wanted to read more and more.
    I think this would be great for boys OR girls ages 8 and up (and their parents). I did most of the questions orally with my daughter, but I definitely think that junior high and high school students could complete them independently (and in writing).

    You can read my full review and thoughts over at: http://jennsraq.com/2014/04/family-read-aloud-review-wise-woman-literary-analysis-journal-questions-hsreviews.html

  8. Adena F

    Not only did I become aware of areas in my own heart that needed improvement, I became keenly aware that I over-indulge my own children and that does not help them. Since we read this as a family, these topics were openly discussed. Most of the critical thinking was a challenge for my 7 year old (the book is not really geared to that young of an age) but I think it was good for him to listen to us discuss character training issues.

    Overall, I would highly recommend The Wise Woman with Literary Analysis Journal Questions. It will help teach you humility and compassion and as my grandmother always said, “Beauty is, as beauty does.”

    You can read my full review at http://adenaf.com/2014/04/challenge-examine-home-school-adventure-co-review/

  9. Nicole @ Some Call It Natural

    I reviewed this book and we loved it. A little bit of my review…

    “Now, I know the book is called The Wise Woman, but don’t allow that to give you the impression it is only for women. It is for boys, girls, women, AND men! For the boys and men, we have wolves, hyenas and beasts! And, just as much that girls and women will enjoy as well. We all become entranced as we see the story unfold.

    There are 14 chapters in the book. Each chapter will take around 20 minutes to read aloud. And then, at the end of the chapter, you can either discuss the literary analysis questions or have your child answer them by writing down their answers. Because one of my kids would be writing down her questions, we did not do the questions immediately after reading. My oldest would do her questions in her notebook immediately after our read aloud session. Then when she was finished, we would all discuss them. Now, there is no “answer key”, but since you are reading it aloud with your child, you should be able to figure out the answers.

    The book is a great read aloud with your children. The literary analysis questions can be done verbally or as a starting point for journaling. My kids are 6, 10, and 12… so the questions were done aloud with the 2 younger ones, while I used them as a journaling opportunity for my 12 year old. We still discussed them, as well, but this was a great writing experience for her.”

    Read the complete review here: http://somecallitnatural.com/2014/04/the-wise-woman-book-review/

  10. Melissa Bristow (verified owner)

    The crucial role that parents have on the shaping of a child, who will one day be an adult, has been a major focus of interest for me for over 20 years. It is a topic that our culture needs some reminding on, but it is not always easy. Storytelling is one of the most effective ways to address sensitive issues and I absolutely loved the power of this tale. Any age can understand how the children are both products of their upbringings yet still responsible for themselves. Without giving anything away, I finished the book feeling very satisfied and eager to share the tale. I wish it would be made into a movie so more people will be exposed to it and consider how vital their role as a parent is. Thank you for making me aware of this story, Homeschool Adventure! It contains universal truths.

  11. Alissa Garth (verified owner)

    This was a phenomenal book. We read it aloud this summer (myself with 6 kids ages 16 down to 3), and we all thoroughly enjoyed it (except for the 3 year old who has no opinion on it lol). The analyses questions were spot on and brought forth meaningful discussion (we just discussed them orally, no writing involved). I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as we did – and I wasn’t expecting me personally to be so affected. It was really, really good. Highly recommend.

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