Progeny Press Showed Me My Kids Are Finally Ready for Some Traditional Academic Studies {A Homeschool Review Crew Review}

 Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Looking for interactive literature guides for your middle and highschoolers?

Having enjoyed fun, flexibility, and a combo of independent and group learning and exploration with a couple Progeny Press guides before, we decided to try out the Redwall Study Guide and the Frankenstein Study Guide when they were offered to us for review.

Like most Progeny Press study guides, these two guides offer a wide variety of information and activities, which includes:

• a brief author biography
• background information
• pre-reading activity ideas
• exercises to help learn and use vocabulary words
• focus on moral lessons and character values
• study of literary techniques
• a variety of comprehension and "digging deeper" questions
• writing assignments
• suggestions for further reading
• a complete answer key
  

Wonderful for families with multiple children, these studies can be used over and over again for multiple students in your families. (Just do a "save as" of the file for each child or print out multiple copies.) 

High School Students Can Dig into the Frankenstein Study Guide

The Frankenstein Study Guide is aimed at grades 10-12 and, when done in full, can earn a high student .25 transcript credits.

The classic Frankenstein book itself is not included with the downloadable study guide, but can be easily accessed online or taken from public libraries.

With book and guide on hand, the guide suggests that students do the prewriting activities, then read the book in its entirety, then jump into the guide. However, I chose a different course for my son.

Because my highschooler has a heavy load of studies and commitments right now, I simply asked him to self-pace through the book and guide, selecting activities that interest him or ones that I want him to focus on to deepen specific areas of knowledge or skill, which will include a final essay.

This works for him and for me as it introduces him to the meaty classic of Frankenstein, gives him some guidance and challenge with studying the story and corollary topics, but does not overwhelm him.

This is what he has to say about his work and the study so far:

I took this study, because I need English credits, and I have never read Frankenstein. I thought it would be a good way to earn some of my required credits while reading a classic.

When I first started reading the book, I did not like or dislike it, but, as I went on, the story became more and more gripping, especially the character of Frankenstein himself. I am now invested in the story and am about 1/3 of the way through the book.

Meanwhile, I read the pre-reading ideas in the guide, but decided not to do any of them. Instead, I skipped ahead to the lessons based on the book and started answering the questions onscreen.

In the past, I was not a workbook kid, so whenever we had a study like this my mom and I would chat about the material instead. I have not done many regular academic question-and-answer sort of things before besides multiple choice with online courses, so my progression with the study is slow.

I like how the study highlights many of the words I have read. When I am reading, new vocablary does not always stick out to me since I get so engaged in the story. It's nice to be reading the study guide, then, and learning words I can use in my own writing.

I also like the questions - how they ask you stuff about what the author is thinking. I know my mom has tried to talk about these things with me before, but I don't always pay attention. Doing this study on my own has me thinking more about author opinions.

 

For example, when I read the question on the author's opinion about poverty, I did not really know what poverty had to do with the story, but, then, as I was rereading sections of the book, I started realizing just how much the main  characters interact with poor people and how their actions might reveal Shelley's own opinions about poverty.

 

This study is forcing me to look for answers to questions I would have never asked using methods I would have never used. In the past, I would get too engaged in the characters and plot to notice other things.

This study is more "schooly" than most things I have done, because when I have done "schooly" things before, I tended to skip or adapt the "schooly" parts. This time, I have not been doing that because I am desperate for an English credit. The study is not completely my style, but I am learning things.

I would recommend this study guide to people who focus better than I do and those who want to get a typical, well-written study guide the poses interesting questions to the reader. I ould definitely say it is for a skilled ninth grader or above. It has merit, and I am glad I am doing it.

I give my son credit for being so honest and am also well-pleased with how he is willing and able to self-pace through this study, learning things along the way.

Should you and yours choose a different approach to the study - doing the entire study just as written, you will certainly dive into a lot!

Topics included in the Frankenstein study are information about the early 1800's, the history of science and discoveries, different literary movements and some politics.

The guide suggests activities related to Faust, poetry, mapping, research, and Bible study.

Literary techniques and topics touched upon are many and include context clues, characterization, framing, setting, mood, allusion, parallel foreshadowing, Gothic and  romantic novels, tone, irony, verisimilitude, metaphor, contrivance, theme, etc.

Among moral and character values that are raised are motivation, hubris, friendship, death, sin, guilt, human goodness, responsibility for our actions, revenge, man's nature, purpose, responsibility, God and His creation,  and ambition.

Writing assignments and activities include essays, research, and dramatic scenes.

Of course, there is plenty of fodder for pondering and discussion amidst the more traditional vocabulary and comprehension exercises, too.

Late Elementary Students and Older Can Focus on Redwall

The Redwall Study Guide is aimed at students in grades 6-10. Frankly, I think younger students who are good readers might enjoy the popular Redwall book which can be easily ordered online or from your local library to be used along with the study and that students on the older end might find the book less challenging/interesting, but still benefit from the breadth of topics the study guide focuses on.

My eldest, now 15, enthusiastically read the entire Redwall series years ago as a pleasure read. Now, my 11-year-old, is diving into Redwall for the first time with this study. He has the following to say about his experience this far:

The book is good. It is at the right level for my interests and abilities. I finished the first book - or section - of the book and, then, went over to the guide. 

The guide is okay. It is easy to use. I open the document my mom saved for me, read questions, and answer them onscreen. 

The questions make me think about the story and the words used in it. Some of the vocabulary words I don't even remember from the story until I read them in the guide and have had to look up the meanings of them, so I can put them into my own sentences. 

So far, I have learned the most from the vocabulary words and the questions about the story. I really like the vocabulary words. I would not have noticed them just reading and am learning a lot. 

I did have a problem saving my work on my computer and lost a lot of it. My mom then showed me how to fix it and what to do so I don't lose my work again. I don't mind doing the work over, though.

I would recommend this study for people who like reading, Redwall, and fun learning. It can be used as an independent study, which I like, or as a parent-kid study or even a group study. I want my friends to do the same study and then to discuss it after.

I was delighted to hear that my son likes the vocabulary exercises so much!

In the past, my kids did not like nor do well with many workbook/traditional study materials, so I tended to approach learning in other ways. In doing so, formal study of vocabulary took a back seat to learning through natural conversation, reading, etc. Without this study and my son's comments on it, I would not haverealized my son is ready for and enjoys more formal focus on vocab. (Winning!)

Since my son likes the study, I am also delighted that he will willingly self-pace through so much of it, and, in doing so, will be introduced to many new words and ideas while reviewing some he already knows.

Within the study, literary techniques dealt with include foreshadowing, dialect, empathy, foils, paraphrasing comic relief, paradox, simile, acrostic, mood, idioms, symbolism, paradox, cliff-hanger, irony,  and more.

Moral lessons and character values include focus on leadership, pride, teamwork, cooperation, promises, self-control, wisdom, talents, reaping what we sow, the armor of God, etc.

Activities and writing assignment topics include fantasy, maps, cooking, animals, architecture, art, crafting, flags, newspapers,  democracy, and service projects.

Among the extras mentioned in the guide, my son found out there is a Redwall animated show. That excited him, and now he wants to watch it when he is finished with the book!

Both study gudies are written from a Christian worldview.

Learn More

Progeny Press study guides for elementary, middle, and high school students are are available for instant download with no shipping costs and work on MAC and Windows with a universally compatible PDF format.

The Interactive Study Guides should be opened with a free Adobe Reader program and allow students to enter their answers directly on the computer, saving their work in progress. (You can also print the guides, of course, if you prefer to work offscreen.

Any child in the family may use the guides - just save a copy for each child - and there is a complete, separate answer key for parents.

Not tech savvy? Free technical support is available if you encounter any difficulties using the digital guide!

Homeschool Crew Review families chose from one of four guides recently, so you can read more about the Frankenstein and Redwall guides - as well as learn about the Cricket in Times Square and Wagon Wheels one - by clicking through to find links to everyone's reviews.

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