Click here for a sample section of The Minstrel in the Tower Study Guide          Check out the E-Guide version

Random House Stepping Stones Books • Golden Kite Award winning author

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.

Progeny Press' English/Language Arts curriculum will provide your Primary Elementary grade student(s) with:

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

All of Progeny Press' Language Arts unit lessons are written from a Christian perspective!

Features and Benefits of a Progeny Press ELA study guide

Printed Workbook Format

• Large 8.5x11 format is convenient to read and easy on Elementary student eyes
• Every question in our novel study has plenty of whitespace for Primary grade student’s answers and handwriting capabilities
• Encourages neat and clean handwriting practice
• Easily transports without the need for a laptop or other expensive equipment
• Provides a permanent record of the student’s work
• Complete, removable answer key included for the teacher to make grading simple!

CD Format

• Provides the study guide in universally compatible PDF format (works on Mac AND Windows)
• No costly software purchases necessary
• Our PDF Study Guide should be opened with the FREE Adobe Reader program. With the interactive feature, students have the capability of entering their answers directly on the computer and saving their work in progress.
  Note: Mobile Devices/Tablets may require alternative app that supports and saves fillable form fields.
• Or choose to conveniently print what you need, when you need it:
• Print the whole ELA PDF guide at once
• Print single literature lessons or pages as the student completes them
• Print multiple copies of the entire curriculum study guide for classroom sets
• Easy to use with multiple students
• Complete separate answer key PDF file included for the teacher!

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!