High school literature studies.... these words can strike fear in even the most gifted teacher. However, the mother and daughter team from Christian Novel Studies have done all the work for you with their three study guides for J. R. R. Tolkien's, The Lord of the Rings.

According to Amy Beth Roe, the daughter, she noticed "subtle Christian ideas woven through the tale" and thus decided to dig deeper. These study guides are the product of that deeper consideration. The goal is for the, "questions and activities in this study to probe The Lord of the Rings for Christian principles and endeavor to apply them to everyday life." This very noble goal has been accomplished with proficiency.

Each of the three books: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King have it's own study guide. These tools are great for the parent who doesn't know where to go past encouraging the reading of good literature. They offer work for the student to better understand what is being read and what it means. Some of the items offered in the guides are:

Pre-reading activities
Vocabulary
Ideas for discussion or writing
Literary analysis
Extension activities
Tolkien Trivia
Life application
Post-reading activities
Answers

On the Christian Novel Studies' website, they offer a free online study guide to the book: Looking for Home by Arleta Richardson which gives you a feel for how the study guides can help you and your students study literature without stress.



--Product Review by: Stephanie Scarborough, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine