

Textbook$43			Teacher’s Guide$18


Quiz and Answer Manual$9			Novel NotebookFREE

Characters in Crisis now available in digital!

Find the digital Characters in Crisis textbook here. >>

Covers, Characters in Crisis Bundle DIGITAL

My teen already reads a lot of books. Why is this course necessary?

Perhaps the best answer to this question is a series of more questions:

- Is my teen learning about literature when reading popular fiction?
- Does my teen understand literary devices and elements such as figurative language and point of view?
- Is my teen learning what the author does to capture his or her heart and mind, seeing not only the tapestry but also the weaver behind the tapestry?
- Is my teen becoming a more discerning reader?
- Does my teen pick up on the themes in the books and apply them to life?
- Are the characters, events, and themes of the books my teen is reading feeding my teen’s soul?

For literature, we choose a novel and then use a guide like CliffsNotes. What is the advantage of using your literature course?

Choosing a novel and using a guide will help your student learn about that particular novel, but you’ll want to go deeper. The advantages of using Illuminating Literature: Characters in Crisis are as follows:

- 1. The four novels, one play, and the assortment of short stories are arranged around the literary element of characters. Your student will get an in-depth view of stories based on the characters’ crises, how they resolve them, and how they are changed by them. Students will also learn one of the most powerful tools authors use to influence their thinking: the empathetic character. This course will guide your teens to compare and contrast certain books and characters they’ll read here.
  2. This year-long course gives continuity to your student’s study of and understanding of literature.
  3. When your student learns, say, how to spot a theme in one novel in Illuminating Literature: Characters in Crisis, he or she will be able to apply that knowledge to other novels in the course.
  4. It’s written specifically to your teen in easy-to-understand language, with a sprinkling of humor.

How is this course different from other literature courses?

First, the novels, play, and short stories are arranged around the subject matter of characters, their crises, how they resolve them, and how they are changed by them. Students stick with a program longer if feels as though there’s a good reason for it, if it’s a thing.

Second, it’s unstuffy, relaxed, and easy to learn from.

Third, teens read whole novels, a complete play, and a selection of short stories, not just passages from literary selections.

Fourth, students will not only be learning literary terms as they occur naturally in the novels and selections but they’ll also be learning about writers’ devices and the methods by which the author captures their minds and hearts. This makes your teens more discerning readers for the rest of their lives.

Fifth, an exclusive feature of this course is that the textbook is keyed to specific page numbers in the coordinating versions of the novels and play. Students using these versions will easily find the examples referenced in the textbook. Students are happy. Teachers are happy. It’s a good day all around. 😉

I see that my teens will be reading four novels, one play, and an assortment of short stories. Do I buy those from you?

Some of the short stories are included in the textbook. Other short stories can be easily accessed with a link in the textbook. The novels and play are available at a discount with the links at the bottom of this page.

Why is it important for my students to have the coordinating version of the novels and the play?

When the textbook and novel coordinate, there is peace and understanding!

An exclusive feature of this course is that the textbook is keyed to specific page numbers in the coordinating versions of the novels and play. Students using these versions will easily find the examples referenced in the textbook. Reduce wasted time and needless frustration—use the coordinating versions, which have been selected for their availability and economical price.

Students reading from a tablet will be able to keep up if they know how to use the Search function.

I see there are quizzes for this course. Where do I get them and how do I grade them?

All the quizzes and opinion surveys for each novel in this course are FREE all year. Students will take quizzes and an opinion survey online for the novels, play, and short stories they read. Use the links on this page to access the quizzes and opinion surveys. Students will need a new password for each novel; passwords can be found in the textbook and Teacher’s Guide.

The quizzes are graded automatically for you on the quiz website. Students will receive a full report sent to the email address they sign in with. The report includes the original questions, the student’s answers, the correct answers, and the score. The opinion surveys do not receive a grade but will generate a full report to the student’s email address.

If you do not have easy Internet access or would like your students to take the quizzes and opinion surveys on paper, you’ll want to order the Quiz and Answer Manual. You’ll find the link to that under the image of the cover of the Quiz and Answer Manual above.

Grading is a pain. How do I grade this literature course?

Yes, grading is a pain. Illuminating Literature: Characters in Crisis makes grading a literature course as easy as possible for you. Each novel, play, and assortment of short stories comes with its own grading grid for you to fill out. Your students will be graded on the following:

- - Quizzes—graded online for you
  - Participation in the online opinion surveys—graded by you based on the level of student participation
  - Vocabulary quizzes—graded by you, with answers and “points for each correct answer” included in the Teacher’s Guide
  - Participation in discussions after the novel—graded by you based on the level and quality of student participation
  - Completing the lessons for each novel—graded by you based on the level of completion and apparent understanding
  - Completing an activity—graded by you based on the level of creativity, quality, or competency
  - Reading the novel or selection—graded by you based on the level of completion

How much teacher planning is needed for Illuminating Literature: Characters in Crisis?

Virtually no planning is needed if you are using this course at home, other than buying the novels ahead of time. Students are provided with lessons and a homework/reading schedule to break up their tasks into achievable pieces.

If you are teaching this course in a classroom or a co-op, plan your lessons as you would any course. Co-op plans for a once-a-month class are included in the Teacher’s Guide.

I want to teach two or more teens at the same time. Do they all need a textbook?

Yes. Students will answer certain questions in the textbook in the spaces provided. Additional students will need their own textbooks. Other questions will be answered in their Novel Notebook, which is a FREE download.

I'd like to use this program as a book-of-the-month class. Is this possible?

Yes! In fact, a schedule for the whole year is included in the Teacher’s Guide. This includes a month-by-month round-up of which lessons to conduct each month.

Is Illuminating Literature: Characters in Crisis Common Core aligned?

I’ve examined a high school literature course that is Common Core aligned, and I would be embarrassed to write a course like that for you. It lacked the actual literature and focused on secondary issues. For example, instead of reading the book The Great Gatsby, those poor students could only read one page from the novel and then participate in a whole host of activities that are only tangentially related the novel.

So, to answer your question, no. It is not Common Core aligned. It exceeds it.

Coordinating versions of the novels and play are available from our friends at Christianbook Fulfillment.

Silas MarnerBy George Eliot / Dover Publications

Much Ado About NothingBy William Shakespeare / Dover Publications

Sense and SensibilityBy Jane Austen / Dover Publications

The HobbitBy J. R. R. Tolkien / Mariner Publications

“I feel like an incredible weight has been lifted since I found Illuminating Literature.” –Gina H.

Literature in a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere

Teens feel at home with the welcoming tone of this course as they read fun facts, compelling background information, and author bios that draw them into the novels and stories.

By the end of this course, your teen will have learned almost 100 literary terms and devices as they occur naturally in the selections. They’ll also gain an appreciation for fine literature and be aware of the powerful tools authors use to get in your teen’s head.

Weekly reading schedules and clearly numbered lessons help students complete their assignments on time.

College-prep students and reluctant readers alike benefit from this engaging literature course.

- - Written for Christian high schools, homeschools, and co-ops.
  - Two-semester course earning one credit.
  - 38 lessons to introduce the selection and follow up on it.
  - Student-directed, with easy-to-follow reading and homework schedules.
  - Complete novels or stories, not just passages. See below for the links to purchase the novels and play at a discount.
  - FREE sample downloads of the course available here.

The course is comprised of a textbook, teacher’s guide, and a free download of the companion Novel Notebook. All quizzes, when taken online, are graded for you and are free. A Quiz and Answer Manual of the quizzes is available for those who prefer printed quizzes.

An exclusive feature of this course is that the textbook is keyed to specific page numbers of the novels and play. Students using the coordinating versions of the books will easily find the examples referenced in the textbook. Reduce wasted time and needless frustration—use the coordinating versions, which have been selected for their availability and economical price (see below). Tablets work well if students know how to use the Search function.

Grades: 9-12

College prep: Yes

Semesters: 2

Credits: 1

Prerequisites: None

Christian worldview: Yes

This is the second volume in a series. However, students may take this and the first volume Illuminating Literature: When Worlds Collide in any order. They are not sequential.

List of stories and books:

“A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, in the textbook
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dover Publications
Silas Marner by George Eliot, Dover Publications
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Dover Publications
- An Assortment of Short Stories:
- “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett, in the textbook
- “The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges, link provided
- “Haircut” by Ring Lardner, link provided
- “The Lady, or the Tiger?” by Frank Stockton, in the textbook
- “Of the Passing of the First-Born” by W. E. B. Du Bois, in the textbook
- “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas, link provided
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Dover Publications
Biography or autobiography of student’s choice
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, Mariner Books

Teacher’s Guide

Lighten your work load with this Teacher’s Guide. Grading grids and answers are included for all the lessons, discussions, and quizzes in the textbook. Online quizzes are graded online for you. You can find the links to all the online quizzes here. (You’ll need the textbook or Teacher’s Guide for all the passwords.) For a FREE sample of a quiz, click here. To try a FREE quiz online, click here.

Want to conduct a book-of-the-month club with your teens? The Teacher’s Guide includes a schedule for that, along with Facebook posts to keep your students interested in the novel they’re reading and to enrich their experience.

A monthly lesson plan is included in the Teacher’s Guide.

Classroom and co-op teachers, we’ve compiled all the grading grids from each novel into one eBook for you to make grading multiple students a little easier. Download it here. >>

Click here to purchase the Teacher’s Guide.

Quiz and Answer Manual

This manual is optional. It is for those who prefer that their students take the quizzes and opinion surveys on paper instead of online. In here, you’ll find the “Yes, I read it” quizzes, literary terms quizzes, and opinion surveys for each book and short story your students read in this course.

All ONLINE quizzes and opinion surveys for this course are FREE, and you can access them here. (You’ll need the passwords from the textbook or Teacher’s Guide.)

Click here for a FREE sample of a quiz.

Click here to purchase the Quiz and Answer Manual.

Novel Notebook

This FREE Novel Notebook is a required element of the course and coordinates with the textbook. Students will answer questions in it, collect favorite passages, and draw conclusions about what they’ve just read.

For your FREE download of the complete Novel Notebook, click here. Students can print it off and then put it in a 3-ring binder for easy access.

Coordinating Versions on Dover Publications

Frankenstein

Silas Marner

Much Ado About Nothing

Sense and Sensibility

Coordinating Versions on Amazon

Frankenstein

Much Ado About Nothing

The Hobbit

Writing with Sharon Watson is an Affiliate of The Christianbook Group and Dover Publications, and is also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon may serve content and advertisements, collect information directly from visitors, and place or recognize cookies on visitors’ browsers. To view Writing with Sharon Watson’s privacy policy, click here.

What Parents are Saying about Our Literature

“This course has taught my daughter how to analyze books and movies and the motives behind the authors’ and directors’ intents. Critical for anyone not wishing to be easily swayed.”

— VALERIE

“This curriculum encouraged my students to read literature they might not have tried otherwise. They found some new authors to love, and they learned how to find things in literature that applied to their lives now.”

— CHARI

What Students are Saying about Our Literature

“When Worlds Collide has literally revolutionized the way I analyze books and movies and their content. This course has helped shape my worldview concerning literature and has equipped me to understand what I read and watch in a deeper and more appreciative sense.”

— MARISSA

What Reviewers are Saying about Our Literature

“Reviews will be coming soon!

Illuminating Literature: Characters in Crisis

Textbook$43

Teacher’s Guide$18

Quiz and Answer Manual$9

Novel NotebookFREE