
Click here for a sample section of The Minstrel in the Tower Study Guide Check out the E-Guide version
Roger and Alice live alone with their mother in a tiny cottage. Their father, a knight, left five years earlier to fight in the Crusades and never returned. Roger and Alice are sent by their mother, who is sick and feverish, on a journey to find an uncle they did not know they had. They take with them their mother's lute. "Show him the eagle carved on the back," she tells her children. "Ask him to come quickly. Quickly!" Their journey is complicated when they are captured by outlaws, and their lute (their only proof of identity for their uncle) is stolen. Alice, the better climber of the two, climbs out of the tower from a high window. Now she journeys alone, and somehow must find her uncle and persuade him to help.
Historical Background: Learn about the Crusades, France, 1195 A.D.
Author Biography: Learn about Gloria Skurzynski and her writings.
Vocabulary: Understand words used throughout the novel, utilizing a variety of activities to stimulate retention and growth.
Literary Techniques: Similes, flashbacks, synonyms, description, alphabetize.
Moral Lessons and Character Values: Obeying, sacrificing to help others, kind words, strength from God, hope from suffering, first impressions, anger, forgiveness & compassion.
Activities and Writing Assignments: Minstrels and jesters, mapping, Medieval legends, Francis of Assisi, wordsearch, Crusades, oral reports, cooking, art, clay crafting.
Suggestions for Further Reading: We include an in-depth reading list of more books by the same author(s) and other books that tie in with, or are similar to, Minstrel in the Tower by Gloria Skurzynski
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Formatted with your Primary grade Elementary student in mind, Progeny Press language arts study guides divide the book into simplified writing assignments and lessons that strengthen their reading comprehension, vocabulary, and begins building their analysis and writing skills. Each Progeny Press novel study accomplishes all of this without busy work that can drain the fun out of reading and literature! Kids have loved Progeny Press ELA curriculum in homeschool, co-ops, and private schools for over 30 years!
My 3rd grade and 4th grade boys and I read this together and did the study guide orally over the last couple weeks. It was wonderful and my treasured time each day. I'm shopping now for our next Progeny Press treasure.