One of the trickiest parts of writing a good essay is composing a beginning and concluding paragraph that are not too similar – but that do communicate more or less the same thing. Here is an opportunity to practise just this skill. This eBook contains 15 paragraphs and 3 main essay bodies about different subjects. They can be used in any order. Each paragraph and essay has its own page, with blank spaces for the student’s work. The Paragraphs Each of the 15 paragraphs could either begin or conclude an essay. The student’s tasks are: - to write a second paragraph for each one that is similar but not identical - to label the original paragraph and their own paragraph indicating which one would be better to begin an essay, and which to conclude one - to identify and write down, concisely and clearly, the topic of the imaginary essay that the paragraph(s) would begin and conclude - to identify and write down the subjects of the three middle paragraphs of the imaginary essay, based on what has been written in the beginning and concluding paragraphs The paragraphs’ topics are as follows: skiing in the wilderness, Scotland, Gautama Buddha, William Shakespeare, Ancient Rome, French fashion, beavers, chocolate, toilets, human writing, water, rock climbing, essay writing, tomato sauce, believable scientific concepts from Star Trek. The Essays The 3 essay ‘bodies’ may be used as follows. The student should: - identify the main topic of the essay - identify the main topic of each individual paragraph within the essay - write both a beginning and concluding paragraph for each essay The essay topics are salt, cats, and exercise.

Art thou ready to read Shakespeare? But of course! Here you will finde instructions, assignments, definitions, explanations, and other sundry ‘stuff’ which will make reading ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ a zephyr – that is, a breeze! This approach focuses on seeing the big picture, with only the most interesting of extra information included for thine own interest. Read the words of the beloved Bard aloud! Write some of your own! Explore the themes of ‘miscommunication’ and ‘a big fuss about nothing’. . . learn about comedy and tragedy, fashion, and Shakespeare’s humour . . . examine the text one more time, looking for details ‘divine and rare’ . . . memorize a few lines . . . and hark! It is done! Included here are the following: the complete play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’; seven separate sections each containing assignments and information; a glossary of Weird Words, a Biography, and Summaries of Acts and Scenes. This text is well-suited to homeschoolers who do not anticipate putting on the play, or doing other activities that involve collaboration with numerous other people. It is especially aimed at students who are not yet familiar with Shakespeare’s plays, and who will benefit from a light-hearted but meaningful approach to reading them; however, I do recommend beginning with ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ or ‘Julius Caesar’ before proceeding to the slightly more challenging ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. The sections and assignments are as follows: Hark! Methinks I’ll Read the Play (read aloud and learn about types of humour in Shakespeare’s plays) Hark! What Do I Understand? (copying, list, translation and learn about terms/roles/society in the 15th century when the play takes place) Hark! Methinks I Hear A Voice! (memorization of a conversation or a song, learn about the songs of Shakespeare’s theatre) Hark Methinks I’ll Look Again (underline certain features, learn about ‘comedy’ and ‘tragedy’, and whether Much Ado is one of these – or both!) Hark! Methinks I’ll Write Mine Own (Choose between a 5 paragraph essay on the theme of ‘misunderstanding’ or a report on the topic of ‘a big fuss about nothing’ within the play. Detailed guidelines are given. Learn about the importance of telling the truth in Shakespeare’s society.) Hark! Methinks I’ll Draw Awhile! (Contemplate the appearance of characters within the play, learn about ‘fashion’ in the play and in Shakespeare’s time and place.) Stay, Good Friend - There’s More! (Glossary of Weird Words, Brief Biography, Summary of Acts and Scenes, List of Characters and their relationships to one another.) Note: Parents should be cautioned that the play contains mature elements that are not appropriate for students younger than 12.

Compare and Contrast! The student will read two short stories about space travel, written in the 1950’s (included). A list of relevant themes for a ‘compare and contrast’ essay is included. The student will choose three themes that they feel are interesting, and write an essay in which they briefly address how those themes are important to each story. Detailed guidelines are given. This assignment will take at least one week to complete. Stories: . . . So They Baked A Cake A bitter, hardened journalist joins an elite space crew for an experimental voyage into deep space, a daring mission to find a planet that humans could colonize. They are travelling at one tenth the speed of light but the journey will still take 42 years one way in Earth time. The protagonist’s pessimism about humanity, and the crew’s growing despair due to the implications of the ultra-fast travel, are both confounded by an unexpectedly happy conclusion to their journey. The Lonely Ones A space crew is on an exploratory mission to find life on another planet – human or alien, they don’t care which. Discouraged by the lifeless landscapes of the planets in the solar system, they finally reach a new planet and land. Faced with an advanced society in which they will be treated as insignificant underlings, they decide to continue their journey further into space, though in a changed frame of mind. Note: The stories contain mild expletives, such as ‘what the hell’, and include mature themes such as references to drinking alcohol. TIP! This may be a good choice for a student with an interest in science fiction or futuristic literature.

The rich descriptive language in this gentle fairy-tale by classic children’s author Walter de la Mare is balanced by a simple and unique story. Read a page a day and answer five reading comprehension questions in a notebook of your own (29 pages and 145 questions in total). If your child is ready to read more advanced English, but not old enough for the mature content of classics like Treasure Island, ‘A Penny A Day’ is a good choice. Excerpt: ‘Whenever Griselda had time to herself, which was very seldom, she would climb up by the broken weed-grown steps to the very top of the Castle tower, and sit there looking out over the green cliffs and the vast flat blue of the ocean. When the sea-winds had blown themselves out she would search the beach for driftwood in the thin salt spray blown in on the wind, the only human creature to be seen. And the sea-birds would scream around her while the slow, toppling Atlantic breakers shook the earth with their thunder.’

Research and Reflect! The student will read six short papers about ‘Wit and Humour’ by Joseph Addison (1672 – 1719), in which the author describes different types of humour and offers his opinions about whether these are effective or appropriate. (Please note, these essays are not themselves humorous!) The student may also read two short samples of humorous writing (included) by P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975). Several topics for essays are suggested. The student may choose to write an essay that simply refers to the texts by Addison, or one in which they use what they have learned in the Addison texts to analyze one of the other pieces of writing. For two suggested topics, a small amount of extra research is required. Detailed instructions are included. Texts: Five Short Papers on Wit and Humour Joseph Addison was an Englishman who is perhaps best known for his play, ‘Cato’, which deals with themes such as individual liberty versus government and has been described as ‘almost certainly literary inspiration for the American Revolution’. The play was well-known to the founding fathers - in fact, George Washington arranged that it be performed for the Continental Army while they were encamped at Valley Forge. Today Addison is also remembered as an accomplished essayist. He wrote for various widely-read magazines of his time, and was known for his ‘breezy, conversational style’, and his ‘cheerful and respectful humour’. The short, critical essays included here are: Lampoons, True and False Humour, False Wit, Punning, Etc. and Wit and Judgement (not original order or titles). ‘Damon and Pythias, A Romance’ and ‘Extricating Young Gussie’ (excerpt) Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was one of the most widely-read humorists of the 20th century. ‘Damon and Pythias, A Romance’ is a simple comic poem. The prose excerpt provided here, from ‘Extricating Young Gussie’ (featuring the well-loved characters of ‘Bertie Wooster’ and his manservant ‘Jeeves’), gives a good idea of the style of his more renowned novels. TIP! This may be a good choice for a student with an interest in philosophy or the 17th-18th century.

Do you have a student who loves dogs, and is ready to read more advanced English? This story will stretch a 9 to 10 year old’s English reading abilities while entertaining them with interesting and witty dog stories that are easy to love (no serious drama, deaths or abuse by humans in this book). This is an original animal story by Hugh Lofting, author of the famous Doctor Dolittle books. In twelve chapters, read about Quetch, a dog who set out to seek his fortune. Thomas Stubbins, the Doctor’s young assistant, faithfully writes down the story, which is told in Quetch’s own words. See the world from an intelligent dogs point-of-view! Following each chapter are three reading comprehension questions to be answered in a separate notebook, in complete sentences. There is also a list of five words from the chapter: the student should copy them into the blank space provided, and learn to spell them. Finish up by colouring a simple dog drawing! (There is one drawing at the end of every chapter.)

This collection of French texts contains fourteen selections on the subject of ‘cats’, taken from Champfleury’s ‘Les Chats – Histoires, Mœurs, Observations, Anecdotes’ published in 1869. (Please note that although it dates from a previous century, the language remains appropriate for French written style.) Each two-page piece of writing addresses a specific topic in a thoughtful manner. Following each selection are: four reading comprehension questions, a dictée, phrases to translate, room for a vocabulary list and a place to write a ‘résumé’ of the text. The selections may be completed in any order – each one is unique and an effort has been made to avoid any repetition of vocabulary in the lists of phrases, so that a student may use this entire collection and continue to learn with each new topic.

Here is a delightful, old-fashioned book for young readers. The narrative introduces the reader to many wildflowers by taking them on a little tour of Willow Farm. In a gentle conversational style, Mr. Cooke describes where the flowers grow, gives their names, and draws attention to notable features (petal colours, leaf shape, etc.). He also presents a very manageable handful of scientific terms. Drawings of the flowers – some colour and some black and white – help to entertain and inform as you read. This book is an excellent introduction to botany for young people, being neither too simplistic nor overly detailed. It is suitable for young readers who will benefit from beginning to read longer texts; the format focuses on reading more than writing. The book has been heavily edited for use here. It is now in fourteen short chapters. Following each chapter are four to six very simple reading comprehension questions which need not be answered in full sentences (single words or short phrases will do). At the end there is Vocabulary List, as well as some decorative pages; the student may want to label the flowers and hang the pages on a wall, as a pretty reminder of what they’ve learned. You will learn about wildflowers in general (common to the Northern Hemisphere), and about specific plants as well. Enjoy a pleasant ‘tour’ of an old farm, guided by a teacher whose love of flowers and respect for his readers shines through the pages. Once you’re done, you will very likely be able to recognize a number of common wildflowers the next time you take a walk in a natural area.

About This Book ‘Great Elizabethan Navigators’ is the first chapter of ‘Adventurers of the Far North’, which contains accounts of the historic voyages to the northern regions of what is now Canada. This chapter describes the earliest quests to find a ‘Northwest Passage’ by European explorers such as Frobisher and Davis. Leacock explains the political and business reasons for the men’s journeys, and also gives short but interesting accounts of the voyages themselves, in some cases referring to journals as first-hand sources. These are short histories, but they are thorough. A student will be familiar with major dates, events and personalities after working through each text. The tone of the writing is neither formal nor chatty, but invites the reader to take an interest in a topic for which the author evidently had a genuine passion. Contents This book contains chapter one from ‘Adventurers of the Far North’. For study purposes, it has been divided into 6 short sections, each roughly 3 pages long. After every section there are 10 reading comprehension questions, which the student may answer as they read or after reading the previous section. These questions are meant to help the student to remember and understand important facts. There are also at least two questions under the heading ‘Thinking About the Details’. These ask that the student find a specific small segment of the text which has been underlined (page numbers are given) and answer pointed questions about that small piece of writing. These questions focus on writing style, word choice, intent and tone. Sometimes the student may be asked to verify facts. The purpose is to encourage the student to think critically about history and historical writing. After the main text and assignments there is a blank map of Canada, which can be used by the student to make a visual representation of what they have learned from reading and thinking about ‘Great Elizabethan Navigators’.

‘Snow Treasure’ is a short novel based on true events. A Norwegian freighter arrived in America in 1940 with a cargo of gold bullion worth $9,000,000 (at the time). The story of how the gold was loaded onto the boat, with the help of local children and their sleds, is true. Only the details have been added for embellishment. This book is a part of the regular Grade 5 curriculum in many Canadian schools. It will appeal to anyone living where there is a snowy winter, and is a good introduction to the concepts and events surrounding World War II, without getting into gory detail and without any tragedy. There are three sets of pages included here. The first section contains sheets of questions (four questions per chapter) which the student may answer in a separate notebook. Simply read a chapter, out loud or to oneself, and then answer the questions. Also, for each chapter a definition of one word or term is included to help the student understand the chapter properly. The answer key allows a busy parent to check for correct information in the student’s answers without having to read the book along with them. Note that the answer key does not provide sample full sentences – just the facts. The second section contains the same questions and definitions, organized on a lined page so that the student can answer them right on the page (no need for a notebook). The same answer key applies. The third section contains lined pages for each chapter which the student may use to write a short plot summary of that chapter. The same definitions are also provided. There is no answer key for this section, as individual students will need a teacher’s input to evaluate their success. Note: The book is still protected by copyright, and must be purchased separately.

This reading comprehension course introduces the reader to one of the English language’s most famous novels, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen. For two hundred years, Jane Austen has been revered as a master of character study and story-telling. Her books unfold almost like delicious ‘gossip’, with the most interesting news about the lives of a particular family and its connections presented at a quick pace and in a most engaging style. Each book offers a window into the tantalizing world of balls, visits, families and conversations of late-18th century to early-19th century middle class England. Jane Austen’s novels often contain major plot developments in the form of letters, and Ms. Austen herself was a prolific letter writer – it is a form of communication that is central to the time, place and origins of these beloved novels. In Pride and Prejudice alone, more than 40 letters are quoted or referred to! Information about letter-writing in Jane Austen’s time (Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813), and the author’s own many letters, is included. Here you will use the medium of letter-writing as a way to digest, summarise and sometimes interpret the contents of Pride and Prejudice. Read Austen’s flowing, insightful and captivating prose. Then, following the guidelines (and occasionally doing some extra research), pass along the most interesting ‘news’ to an imaginary Dear Aunt, in letters written in your most elegant and accomplished style! Note: The full novel is available for free download from Canadian Winter Homeschool Materials - please see our shop!

Compare and contrast! Here are two true stories of survival and rescue. With detailed guidelines suggesting how to proceed, 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. Stories: Tracks In The Bush An Australian ranch-worker goes missing, and three Europeans, along with six blacks, trek through the bush to rescue him. The tracking abilities of the blacks consistently astonish the narrator. He also describes the intense natural surroundings and the challenges, on a human level, that are faced by all involved. The Marvellous Ice-Drift of Captain Tyson This early attempt to reach the North Pole failed. The voyage nonetheless left its mark on history when the captain and crew were forced to abandon ship and live on an ice floe for 196 days in the middle of the Arctic winter. German sailors, an American cook, and a group of Inuit faced deadly conditions together. Under the leadership of Captain George E. Tyson, not one person perished. Note: To the best of my understanding the use of the word ‘black’ to refer to the indigenous peoples of Australia is preferable to them to the word ‘Aborigine’. Thus, the original term has been left unaltered in the text. If I am mistaken and have caused offense, please let me know! TIP! This may be a good choice for a student with an interest in outdoor adventures such as hiking, camping or rock-climbing.

Imagine that you have stumbled upon an old, leather-bound book in the dusty corner of a library. You crack open the cover and discover a real piece of history: a well-loved text that has been forgotten for many years. It is both a history book, and a historical artifact. ‘A Short History of the World’ begins with a description of the very beginnings of life on our planet, and continues by describing pivotal moments and important people all the way up to the twentieth century. It includes information about various cultures, in addition to predictable topics such as ancient Greece, etc. It is written in many short chapters which contain plenty of intriguing ‘look-what-I-found-in-the-back-of-the-natural-history-museum’-type black-and-white photos. The history of the world is a big topic, easily overwhelming to any reader; here H. G. Wells (1866-1946) tells a story that is easy to understand, entertaining, and memorable. Use this book as an introduction to world history that offers older students a good look at the big picture, as well as interesting and important details. You will be exposed to ways of thinking and writing that are now called ‘old-fashioned’, but were the foundation upon which modern scientific and anthropological studies were built. The assignments that follow each chapter will help you to learn to think critically, to examine facts, to identify ‘concepts’ and ‘opinions’, and to do some research. You will read about history and hone your observational and philosophical skills as well. Learn about history by reading a piece of history! Contents: The complete original text ‘A Short History of the World’ by H.G. Wells; a reading comprehension sheet following each of the 67 short chapters asking the student to identify from that chapter: a concept or opinion a fact that is certain a doubtful fact (which must be briefly researched) an important date and relevant event and an outdated word or phrase Appendix One contains larger version of each of the maps in the book. Appendix Two contains possible essay topics and extra assignments.

‘Gramma said when you come on something good, first thing to do is share it with whoever you can find; that way, the good spreads out where no telling it will go. Which is right.’ Little Tree narrates his own story, the tale of a unique upbringing in the near-wilderness in the 1930’s with his Cherokee grandparents as loving teachers. ‘The Education of Little Tree’ by Forrest Carter is a book that many readers turn to again and again. It is suitable for students age 11 and up who are ready to read about a time and lifestyle that differ from their own, and are able to take an interest in larger, challenging themes of life (the passage of time, spiritual beliefs, the natural world, money and government affairs, history, etc.) This resource contains reading comprehension sheets to go with the novel. (Still protected by copyright, the book must be purchased or borrowed separately.) For each chapter there are three short assignments: to summarize a lesson learned from the chapter to examine the language used in the chapter to explain how a suggested ‘main theme’ is relevant to the chapter. WARNING: The story does not paint a flattering picture of the Christian religion, and students who are Christian should be prepared; parents should read the book first, to be sure that their student is ready for this material. It also contains swear words and references to drinking alcohol, among other mature themes. The novel is presented as an autobiography, but it is a work of fiction.

This collection contains 27 stories and poems on the theme of ‘Winter’ (including one or two selections suitable for Christmas and New Year), and a handful of ‘Winter’ 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.

Engage the right side of your brain with simple drawing and colouring exercises, before practising your penmanship. The results may amaze you! Here are 20 pages of carefully-designed drawing and colouring exercises, each followed by a set of 5 two-letter penmanship samples. Do the drawing in the space provided, then practise your penmanship in a separate notebook. (More detailed instructions for making the most of these simple exercises are included.) All pages are in black and gray and are easily printable. Certificate of completion included! These exercises are sure to help, whether your handwriting is barely legible or you are looking to perfect your abilities!

This is a guide for 90 days of handwriting practise. Four sets of pages indicate which letters or letter combinations are to be practised each day (instructions and samples included). For each day, four different words are also listed – these are to be used (one each) in individual sentences composed by the student. This type of daily practise strengthens the student’s hand, reinforces the memorization of how letters are formed both alone and when joined with one another, and provides an opportunity to practise basic sentence-writing with the simple guideline of a prescribed word. Also included: A blank page of dotted lines for practise (print as many as you need) Tips and Instructions Samples of individual upper and lower case letters, and of letter combinations (how they join together in cursive script) Note: These exercises are suitable for students who already know how to write cursive letters. They are not suited to a rank beginner, who will find them too tiring.

These drawing and colouring exercises will engage the right side of your brain, and help you to improve your ability to write neat block letters. The results may amaze you! In this book are 20 pages of carefully-designed drawing and colouring exercises, each followed by a set of 5 two-letter block letters samples. Complete the drawing in the space provided, then practise your block letters in a separate notebook. (More detailed instructions for making the most of these simple exercises are included.) All pages are in black and gray and are easily printable. Certificate of completion included! Improve your printing in an enjoyable manner with drawing and colouring!

In this Canadian classic, you will read about an Ojibwa brother and sister, 11-year old Sajo and 14-year-old Shapian, and their adorable pet beavers, Chilawee and Chikanee. One spring day, Sajo’s father rescues two baby beavers from an otter attack and brings them home to their village. After one of the beavers must be traded for food, Sajo and Shapian set off to see if they can buy him back. Travelling by canoe and by train, they face various challenges on their trip to the City. They employ skills they have learned from their Ojibwa elders, and are also helped by a Missionary, American tourists, and an Irish policeman. Written in the style of old-fashioned classics like ‘Heidi’, this original tale by the renowned British-Canadian conservationist known as ‘Grey Owl’ is both informative and touching. Rich and reportedly accurate descriptions of the Eastern Canadian wilderness provide the backdrop to a story of caring people who triumph in their efforts to reunite two baby beavers with their family and finally return them to the wilderness. Illustrations by the author and a glossary of Ojibwa terms are of further interest. The book is divided into 23 chapters. Write your own definitions, answer reading comprehension questions, and research 22 topics (ranging from how otters and beavers hunt and eat, to how elevators and steamboats work). For each of these activities, you may go into great detail, or just scratch the surface – the material is adaptable to different students. Enjoy a trip into the past with a sincere story-teller and lovable characters! Research topics: Jacques Cartier, Ojibwa tea, beaver dams and lodges, how otters hunt, feeding human food to wildlife, Ojibwa/European trade, what beavers eat in the wild, what instinct is, the Hudson’s Bay Company, birch bark canoes, what ‘portage’ means, forest fires, steamboats, who are the Ojibwa, Native American spiritual beliefs, animals in zoos versus in the wild, travelling by train in Canada (in the past), how elevators work, the importance of saying thank you, what bannock is, autumn around the world, how dangerous wolves really are. Bonus! This title includes a set of Canadian Wilderness themed notebooking pages.

About The Book ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ is the creepy tale of a man whose inner battle between good and evil becomes manifest in a most dramatic and surreal manner. It is considered a classic horror story, though the descriptions of violence in it are minimal - it is primarily the tragic end and the macabre language used that place it in this category. This is a classic novella which has become so well-known that it is common to refer to a person with two dramatically differing sides to their personality as a case of ‘Jekyll and Hyde’. Contents & Instructions The novella will be read in eight sections. Following each section are reading comprehension assignments that focus on language and style. The student is asked: • to ‘translate’ two short passages into more contemporary language, showing that they have grasped the meaning of the language and can express the same thing as the author using their own words (If you purchase the version that includes the text, these passages are underlined.) • to familiarize themselves with a list of several words or phrases. These should be looked up or discussed with a teacher to be sure the student fully grasps their meaning. If you wish, you may write down a short definition of each. • to explain, in one or two sentences, a short passage from the text that includes some form of figurative language • to write a substantial paragraph in which the student observes the deliberate choice of language made by the author. A specific topic is given for each section. The complete novella l is available for free as a separate file in our store. Please be careful with your eyes, and limit screen reading to no more than 10 minutes at a time! Print the text if possible, or take frequent breaks.