Homeschool Review Crew - Progeny Press Charlotte's Web E-Guide

I was thrilled to get a chance to review Charlotte’s Web E-Guide (Grades 4-6) from Progeny Press.

Progeny Press has guides for a variety of ages and grades. Other members of the Crew got to review:

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain E-Guide (Grades 1-3)
The Silver Chair E-Guide (Grades 5-7)
Macbeth E-Guide (Grades 9-12)

Please also check out my previous reviews of Progeny Press:

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Anne of Green Gables and Uncle Jed's Barbershop

and

To Kill a Mockingbird

What is Charlotte's Web E-Guide from Progeny Press and How Did We Use It?

The study guide works like any other study guide, but is so convenient. First, we had to make sure we had the book, Charlotte's Web. My daughter had already seen the movie version but had never completely read the book.

I received a download of an interactive PDF study guide. The book, Charlotte's Web, I already had and is not included in the download. The download is 51 pages (Though, my Answer Key came as a separate 5-page download in addition to the guide) and is laid out as follows:

NOTE TO INSTRUCTOR

The guide begins with a note to the instructor as to how to use the interactive study guide and what it's all about. It suggests that students have access to:

• a good dictionary
• a thesaurus
• a Bible - To correspond with the version used in the study guide, the Bible should be an NIV.
• a topical Bible or concordance
• either supervised access to an online encyclopedia or a physical set to use

The study guide also has a few places where the student is asked to write onto notebook paper, so a notebook would also be a good idea to have on hand. 

The pace to finish the study guide usually takes Middle or High School levels 8 to 10 weeks, completing one section per week.

It is recommended that the student read the entire novel the first week while working on the pre-reading activities. Beginning with the second week, it is suggested to complete one study guide page per day.

The Note to Instructor also gives suggestions as to how to give a final test if you want to do so. It also discusses High School credits with most High School level guides equalling one-fourth credit.

SYNOPSIS

This is a one-page brief synopsis of the story, Charlotte's Web. It summarizes the entire book in just a few paragraphs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This one-page description of E. B. White offers a nice background and history of the author's perspective.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

The illustrator of the book is Garth Williams (something I didn't know till now). I found this very interesting to have a brief summary talking about the illustrator of the book as well as learning more about the author in the previous section.

IDEAS FOR PRE-READING ACTIVITIES

I really enjoyed this section as it's a fun way to precede the reading and question time, especially for my active, hands-on learner. It offers 3 activities to pursue before diving into the book to read it. The activities include talking about spiders and where the name Charlotte came from (another fascinating tidbit I never knew before). It suggests that the student locate a field guide and write a brief report about the Barn Spider. The next activity is a field trip suggestion to a working farm where you can tour the barn, preferably one with pigs. FInally, there is an activity to improve your vocabulary by using new words in daily conversation.

CHAPTERS

As you dive into the meat of the story, the Chapters are broken down into segments that cover a few at a time. The study guide then provides interactive questions that the student fills in right there on the screen (easy peasy). Each Chapter section includes various styles of Vocabulary questions:

There are also Questions about the story:

Descriptive Writing Sections:

And, a Chance to Dig Deeper: (Note that questions related to biblical Scriptures are scattered throughout the study guide). This is a great opportunity to connect the literature with daily Christian life.

There are also sections that ask you to take a notebook and write a paragraph or two about a given topic as well as questions for Thinking About the Story, Mood and a section on Fact or Opinion. There are also other Writing Assignments that require the use of a notebook.

You will also find scriptures listed For Discussion.

Some Chapter question sections include Characters Exercises:

SUMMARY QUESTIONS/OVERVIEW

Page 44 begins an Overview section that is a series of questions to fill into the PDF which can be used for a final exam.

IDEAS FOR POST-READING ACTIVITIES

To wrap up the study, there are 3 post-reading activities, like the pre-reading activities. These include two art projects (YAY! for my little artist). One uses paint, the other magazine or newspapers. The final one is a letter writing suggestion.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Additional Resources include other book titles by E.B. White, related books of interest, field guides, and video recommendations.

ANSWER KEY

I received the Answer Key as a separate 5-page download. It is exactly what it says, it provides the answers to the chapter and summary questions that are found in the study guide.

What Did We Think?

I love how this interactive guide allows you to fill in the answers right there on the screen with a keyboard. There is no need to print it unless you want to. Because it's a download, it made it very portable as well so it could be used wherever we went as long as we had the laptop I downloaded it to. What is also great about the guide is how it incorporates Scriptures. At least, that's great from my perspective, because I'm always looking for ways to see literature and learning through God's eyes and make a bridge for my kids in that regard. I also loved that they included pre and post reading activities that were hands-on, mostly non-writing actually and, while I'm not reallly a testing and grading style of homeschool, but I did appreciate how they made a way to take a final test from which you could give your child a grade if you wanted to.

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Read what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought by clicking on the picture below: