Summarise and Describe! Here are three texts by an Englishman describing his travels in India in the late 19th century. Following detailed guidelines, the student will read the texts, choose an essay topic from several suggested, take notes, organise those notes, and write an essay. This assignment will take at least one week to complete. Texts: Part One – India: Places of Interest The author and narrator, an Englishman travelling in India with his invaluable guide and trusted friend, Bhima Gandharva, describes their visits to a handful of beautiful monuments and places including the Taj Mahal and an indigo-factory. The description includes some local folklore and the reactions of the narrator to the beauty around him and to the people he encounters. Part Two – India: A Rural Tiger Hunt The narrator joins a local effort to rid a village of a deadly nuisance: a tiger. He offers the reader a view of an actual tiger hunt, by a group of both foreign and local men, and the peculiarities and details of an event that is now known as a somewhat iconic historical challenge. (Note that hunting tigers in India is now illegal, and tigers are currently protected as an endangered species.) Part Three – India: Moving Forward Here the reader is witness to the narrator’s encounter with a Calcutta local, a member of a group of young people who want to eliminate old traditions they feel are cruel and in the way of India’s progress. He speaks about a topic that remains important in India today: how ancient customs and new influences intermingle in that wildly diverse and culturally vibrant country. TIP! This may be a good choice for a student with an interest in Bollywood or history.

Defend An Opinion! Read two accounts of real-life narrow escapes in the wilderness, by historic ‘backwoodsmen’ of Canada. Then follow the guidelines and write an essay on one of several suggested topics. Your task is to defend an opinion, in essay format. Detailed instructions are included. This assignment will take at least one week to complete. Texts: The Vagrants of the Barren A solitary woodsman must face the wilderness alone in midwinter after his shack burns to the ground. He is knowledgeable and experienced, but he is aware that his chances of survival under such circumstances are slim. He must find food and shelter quickly. A sudden storm makes his situation all the more difficult. In the end, a chance encounter with a herd of caribou allows him to survive and to reach safety. The Grip In Deep Hole Alone in the woods that he has known and loved since childhood, a woodsman approaches a rushing stream only to feel the bank give way underneath his feet. He plunges into the water – and his foot becomes tangled in an underwater ‘trap’ of slimy roots. Repeated attempts to free himself amount to nothing. A bear arrives, and as it swims past, the woodsman cleverly – and amazingly – finds a way to use the bear’s strength to escape a tragic end. TIP! This may be a good choice for a student with an interest in wilderness survival or wild animal behaviour.

Read and Reflect! This assignment will take at least one week to complete. The student will read a thoughtful and informative piece of writing by Henry David Thoreau on the subject of ‘Wild Apples’, in which various themes are addressed, including history, myth, literature, philosophy and first-hand observations and reflections by the author. Several topics for essays are suggested. The student will treat the Thoreau text as a source for research purposes, and write an essay to show that they have familiarized themselves with the contents of the source, and have also thought about the contents. About The Text Thoreau is known for his unique and pensive style of writing. He spent considerable time in the wilderness and shared his reflections about nature and its relationship to mankind in his works. Here Thoreau ponders upon a marvelous fruit that has been important to humans since ancient times. He organises his musings according to the following themes: the History of the Apple Tree; the Wild Apple; the Crab-Apple; How the Wild Apple Grows; The Fruit and its Flavour; Their Beauty; the Naming of Them; the Last Gleaning; the ‘Frozen-Thawed’ Apple. Younger students often delve into season-related schoolwork in autumn – here is a text that will allow older students to do the same, and perhaps encourage appreciation of our natural surroundings, a gift at any age!

This Valentine’s Day, cultivate your love of the English language and the time-honoured art of beautiful handwriting! We live in a society that allows us to be bombarded with ‘perfect’ images many times a day. Here is an opportunity to take a step back in time, become more attuned to the beauty of the ever-changing English language and to relish your own unique, perfectly ‘imperfect’ creativity. Here you will learn a bit about the history of English and the surprising variety that has existed in spelling and word choice through the centuries. Further assignments will cultivate a bit of love for your own handwriting by practising longhand or block letters, or by learning the uncial alphabet and trying a bit of calligraphy! Colouring and crafts instructions for making your own Valentine’s Day cards and decorations (with suggested musical accompaniment) will allow you to cultivate a love of beautiful artistic achievements. Contents • two files, one for younger students (age 8-10) and one for older students (age 11-13) • Thomas Campion’s poem ‘Tune Thy Musicke To Thy Hart’ in various formats • a brief History of English Spelling (separate texts for each age group) • vocabulary lists and a closer look at the word ‘affect’ (younger students only) • reading comprehension questions (older students only) • handwriting and calligraphy practise • colouring pages and Valentine’s Day card cut-outs (to be coloured in and written on by the student) • instructions and answer key Poem on which the unit study is based: Tune thy Musicke to thy hart, Sing thy joy with thanks, and so thy sorrow : Though Devotion needes not Art, Sometimes of the poore the rich may borrow. Strive not yet for curious wayes : Concord pleaseth more, the lesse 'tis strained ; Zeale affects not outward prayse, Only strives to show a love unfeigned. Love can wondrous things affect, Sweetest Sacrifice, all wrath appeasing ; Love the Highest doth respect ; Love alone to Him is ever pleasing. By Thomas Campion (1567- 1620)

This collection contains 27 stories and poems on the theme of ‘Autumn’ (including some selections suitable for Thanksgiving and Hallowe’en), and a handful of ‘Trees’ colouring pages from Medieval woodcuts. Following each selection is a ‘Topic of Discussion’: a question which requires the student to think about one element of the text they just read, to form an opinion about it, and to express and defend that opinion. Younger students will benefit from the effort spent reading (either in their head or out loud) and then speaking with a parent/teacher or in a classroom setting about the Topic of Discussion, in a free style. Older students can benefit from using the Topic of Discussion as a starting point for a written assignment. I recommend that the older student state clearly what their point of view is, and defend it in one or two paragraphs. This will be good practise in defending an argument, a skill which becomes useful for essay-writing assignments in upper grades. The exercise of writing clearly and stating a coherent defense will prove a worthy challenge, even for pieces of writing which have simpler themes. Note: These selections are suitable for students in elementary or middle school, but are not presented in any specific order. Different texts may be better suited to older or younger students. A parent or teacher should always preview each individual piece of writing to make sure it is appropriate for a specific age group.

Learning to relax and replenish is a vital life skill! And learning to observe can help anyone, at any age, to improve your ability to complete tasks well. It will also help you to enjoy life, since much of what we experience amounts to many small moments all in a row! Every activity in this book offers a way to remember how to enjoy simple pleasures. Print the whole book, or just choose sections that interest you. Rather than trying to resist the slow and simple side of the warmest season, let yourself be encouraged to slow down, observe tiny details and make the most of a Simple Summer! Subjects: Water, Laugh!, Draw a Plant or Tree, The Sky, The Wind, Pet Rock, Decorate A Small Space, Garden In A Box, Simple Exercise, Clean Mind and Heart, Mini-Campfire, Tiny World, Travel At Home, Do Nothing On Purpose, Slow Down, Enjoy Your Food, Bird-watching, A Simple Poem

Who says Christmas-themed schoolwork is only suited to elementary students? This resource contains 6 thematic reading and writing assignments for middle school students. Complement your main curriculum with interesting age-appropriate texts, each matched with a unique writing assignment! There is no limit to the number of selections you can use. You may work through them in order or choose a topic or assignment to suit the moment. This resource offers teachers and students a chance to explore different styles and forms of varying level of difficulty, through unique poems and literary excerpts about the Christmas season. (Cut-out decorations included.) Contents: 1 - A Christmas Carol (poem), by Charles Dickens 2 - A Peaceful Christmas Alone (two short descriptions), by Unknown and Stella Benson 3 - Drawing Santa Claus (spoken instructions), by John Wilson Bengough 4 - Did Shakespeare Like Christmas? (scholarly criticism), by Max Beerbohm 5 - The Appositeness of Christmas (opinion), by E. A. Bennett 6 - Trees and Bells (poems), by Carman and Tennyson

What if you could learn to see through objects? What if you could hone your powers of concentration until you could achieve remarkable things? Welcome to the fantastical world of Henry Sugar, in which the incredible seems tantalizingly close to becoming the achievable! This unit study for The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar by Roald Dahl is suitable for students in grades 8 and up. The story focuses on themes of self-mastery (meditation and concentration), greed, charity and happiness, and the resources in this unit study put an emphasis on developing concentration and thoughtfulness while enjoying the remarkable tale. Please note: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is protected by copyright and must be procured separately. All other necessary resources are included in this unit study or available for free online (links provided). Contents About this Unit Study & Before You Begin Guide to all Assignments & When To Use What Suggested Timeline Chapter Assignments Chapter Assignments Worksheets Vocabulary & Terms Concentration Activities Card Games Copywork Ticking Clock Candle Meditation Exploring the Story’s Themes Through Music and Art Music: Guru (Anoushka Shankar) Music: Within You and Without You (The Beatles) Art: René Magritte Discussion Questions and Other Resources Long-Answer, Discussion and Essay Questions Robin Hood & Henry Sugar Comparison Henry Sugar: A Quirky Movie