The Lesson of St. Bernadette of Lourdes, by Sr. M. Eleanore, C.S.C.

Find out how Sr. M. Eleanore compares Madame Curie with St. Bernadette of Lourdes to teach us The Lesson of St. Bernadette in this inspiring essay!

Rabbit Trails

* A discussion of idiomatic expression (as found in the text) can be found in the study guide, but for teachers' background information, the Literary Devices website has a good write-up!

* There's a little expo on double negatives (also called "litotes") in the study guide that could be expanded. Try here.

* You can find a discussion on positive statements as part of a thesis or conclusion in the study guide, as well, which can be an aid to good paragraph construction for essay writing. A good essay, in essence, is a collection of true statements that add up to an ultimate point of truth.

Downloads

Find the text of "The Lesson St. Bernadette of Lourdes" here.

The study guide is here.

Answer Key, here.

Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls

This novel might be a somewhat difficult read for the sensitive (fair warning!), but all the better to discuss difficult things with children in the controlled environment of a book! We learn from the hero of the story, Billy, the values of loyalty, patience, devotion, and hard work, as well as his persistence and mature handling of difficult situations. There is a somewhat gory description of a boy falling on an ax to be aware of, as well as the tragic (but heroic) demise of Billy's beloved dogs, but all ends as it should, as Billy learns to deal with his grief, and Billy's (and the dogs') hard work ultimately improves the lives of the entire family. 

This story is a page-turner, one that I hate to turn into a scholastic exercise. Sometimes a person just needs to read a book for the pure enjoyment of the thing! In my opinion, this is one of those books. That said, though, there are some things we can learn from this well-written book, and children will benefit from "downloading" about the events in this story, so I've written out some discussion questions for each chapter to "get the ball rolling," so to speak. Teachers may find that the children lead this discussion, though, which is the best possible outcome!

Rabbit Trails

* A good introduction to the literary device known as a "frame," this story begins and (briefly) ends with the narrator's story-telling voice addressing the reader in the present day -- but the bulk of the story is told in past tense, as a flashback. A detailed description of this literary device with further examples can be found here. 

* The specs and history of coon hounds and their use for hunting is drawn out in the Teachers Notes for this novel, but more information can be found here. 

* Little Rabbit Trails for each chapter are discussed in the Teachers' Notes (below).

Downloads

* Teachers' Notes can be found here in Word Doc format.

* Biography of Wilson Rawls here.

* You can download the entire novel from Internet Archive, here.

The March of the Big Knives by Lowell Thomas

 While Washington was engaging the British across the Appalachians, George Rogers Clark was preparing an expedition in the West. Settlers had suffered too much from British-inspired Indian raids to stand for any more. The Indians had to be stopped; the British had to be smoked out of the Mississippi River lairs. Clark did it without firing a shot, the most unusual campaign in our military history.**

William Clark (1770-1838)

This short selection, "The March of the Big Knives" is a detail rich glimpse into the tactics of an intelligent and practical soldier -- turned explorer, Indian agent, and eventually a territorial governor during the infancy of the Americans Experiment.

About the author: Lowell Thomas (1892-1981), the author of The March of the Big Knives, is not chiefly known as an author of historical literature, but it might be said that, in his heyday, he could have been in the running for “World’s Most Interesting Man.” A short dive into his fascinating biography might be of interest to older students.

Rabbit Trails

* Biography of Lowell Thomas here.

* Biography of William Clark here.

* A lesson on foreshadowing, which is discussed in the Study Guide, can be found here.

Downloads

* Access Word Doc (.docx) Text for reading here.

* Find Word Doc (.docx) Study Guide here.

** From the preface of the text.

The Martyrdom of St. René Goupil

One of the 9 holy North American martyrs, St. Rene Goupil was murdered by the Huron Indians on the 29th of September, 1642. Having only recently professed in the Jesuit Order as a lay brother, he, nonetheless, exemplified perfectly the virtues of charity and obedience, most especially, to a remarkable degree. His sacrifice for the love of souls, and ultimately for love of the cross, teaches us all the value of our holy Faith. There could not possibly be a better account of St. Rene Goupil's life and death than this account, written by his fellow Jesuit, fellow martyr, St. Isaac Jogues.

Rabbit Trails

*For further reading: Saint in the Wilderness, by Glenn Kittler, c.1960; Brebeuf and His Brethren, by EJ Pratt, free Project Gutenberg download here, but also in print and available used.

* You can find here, at the Library of Congress website, some original source material: "The early Jesuit missions in North America; compiled and translated from the letters of the French Jesuits, with notes."

* A Feast Day Quick Take video on all the Feast of the North American Martyrs on --- here. * A sermon on the Feast of the North America Martyrs (by Fr. Philip Davis, CMRI) here.

Downloads

You can find the text for download here.

A pretty simple study guide here.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce

One of the most prolific and famous authors of the 19th century, Ambrose Bierce published "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" in the San Francisco Examiner in 1890. It has since been acclaimed as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature." The literary style which sets this story apart is its irregular time sequence and twist ending -- but almost revolutionary for its time is the form of narrative; instead of a formal linear narration (with a 3rd person narration of events falling in predictable order of real time), Bierce’s narration takes place from within the mind of the protagonist, allowing the author to tell the tale as a stream of consciousness -- which is not necessarily dependable. Thus, the surprise ending.

Fair warning: this tale may be somewhat brutal in its factual representation of events in wartime, which is almost definitely Ambrose Bierce's point in the telling. The "glory of war" is not very glorious.

Rabbit Trails

Some of the possible teaching moments in this short story include:

* The art of the twist ending. (The teacher's notes address this, as well as the study guide, with a list of additional examples of twist endings that could be introduced.)

* The stream of consciousness style of narration that, if it wasn't invented by Bierce, was certainly perfected in this story.

* The fun and frustration of the unreliable narrator.

* The reality of war: what is the Church's stand on the morality of war? Was the Civil War justifiable, based on the teachings of the Church?

* What should one's last thoughts, ideally, be when faced with imminent death? Why? What can we do to assure that our minds naturally turn in the right direction when we find ourselves in danger of death?

Printables

The simple text can be found here.

The text with teacher's notes can be found here.

Short biography of Ambrose Bierce and supplemental teachers notes, here.

Printable Study Guide, here.

The Necklace by Guy DeMaupassant

This classic short story, written by French author, Guy De Maupassant in 1884, is an example of a twist (or surprise) ending. The author leads the reader, step by descriptive step, to the painful, ironic conclusion, leaving in the wake of shock and dismay -- a thoroughly good lesson against vanity and envy. This story has been described as "Cinderella Gone Wrong."

Rabbit Trails

* It might be interesting to discuss this story amongst boys and girls to discover the differences in their reactions. Do young men glean a different lesson from the story than young women? Are they more or less annoyed at Mathilde? Why do they think this is?

* Was the final outcome an inevitable punishment? Though envy and vanity certainly instigated the tragic accident (the loss of the necklace), was it pride that caused the couple's ultimate societal downfall? What could they have done in humility that would have prevented the whole thing? Or... do the students think the couple's reaction to the loss of the necklace was actually an act of honor and integrity? Do the students think that it's possible the couple may have ended up the better, spiritually, by the lesson learned?  (There is no definitive answer, but it's an interesting discussion!)

Printables

Text here.

Study Guide here.

The Prideful Knight

A very old tale from the Middle Ages, this selection provides myriad opportunities for discussion and learning. First and foremost, as you might guess from the title, this tale affords a good chance to pull out the catechism and renew our acquaintance with the Church's teaching on that most ancient and deadly of vices: pride. It's also a good review (or introduction) to the literary device, the allegory, as well as a dive into the literary genres of folk tales, fables, and parables. 

Rabbit Trails

* The chapter on pride in William J. Bennett's Book of Virtues contains similar examples of stories with lessons on pride.  

* Linked is the Project Gutenberg free download, but this book is, in my opinion, a "must-have" and is available at reasonable cost on both Abebooks and Thriftbooks.

* A pdf of Aesop's Fables can be found here at Project Gutenberg

* A NO link, but a pretty good one, that discusses the parables in Scripture can be found here.

* A selection of American Folk Tales and Legends can be found at Project Gutenberg as well: here.

                           

Printables

For the full text of The Prideful Knight, go here for a pdf download.

Teacher's Text with notes can be found here.

The study guide for student use is here

Also, you can find here the same study guide, complete with teacher's notes that serve as a (partial) answer key.

(Stay tuned, I might eventually get around to completing an actual answer key for this one...)

The Ugly Madonna by Giovanni Guareschi

 The Ugly Madonna

The following is taken from the author's preface in The Little World of Don Camillo, where this short story was first published in 1951:

"... I want you to understand that, in the Little World between the river and the mountains, many things can happen that cannot happen anywhere else. Here, the deep, eternal breathing of the river freshens the air, for both the living and the dead, and even the dogs, have souls. If you keep this in mind, you will easily come to know the village priest, Don Camillo, and his adversary, Peppone, the Communist Mayor. You will not be surprised that Christ watches the goings-on from a big cross in the village church and not infrequently talks, and that one man beats the other over the head, but fairly — that is, without hatred — and that in the end the two enemies find they agree about essentials. 

"And one final word of explanation before I begin my story. If there is a priest anywhere who feels offended by my treatment of Don Camillo, he is welcome to break the biggest candle available over my head. And if there is a Communist who feels offended by Peppone, he is welcome to break a hammer and sickle on my back. But if there is anyone who is offended by the conversations of Christ, I can’t help it; for the one who speaks in this story is not Christ, but my Christ —that is, the voice of my conscience."

NB: The works of Giovanni Guareschi are an old favorite in our family. My Dad became a fan of "The Little World" when he was a new convert in the '50s, a young man living in the aftermath of WWII and the start of the Cold War. Many things about these stories resonated for him. On a political level, it was timely as the world was only just discovering the dangers Our Lady of Fatima pointed out to us concerning the errors that would be spread by Russia, and my Dad, as a sailor in the Navy, had visited Italy and had seen, firsthand, the effect of Communism on the country. On a personal level, as a convert just discovering the culture -- the psyche, you might call it -- of the Catholic Faith, I believe these manly, human stories that followed the peccadillos, disagreements -- and unlikely friendship -- between a Catholic priest and a Communist mayor, had to have spoken to my Dad's sensibilities, as well. Guareschi weaves into his tales a good microcosm of the human condition that transcends politics and finds its home in Faith -- in a way that sometimes defies reason and expectation -- as it often does in real life. And... honestly, the antics of Don Camillo and Peppone are just funny. My Dad had a great sense of humor!

Anyway, to make a long story short, at my father's suggestion, I read The Little World at some point before I was twelve years old -- and with every subsequent reading over the last fifty years or so, I've appreciated the stories ever more. Peppone and Don Camillo very often end up with "black eyes," but Our Lord and His Church -- and the people of the Po Valley -- always come out ahead. And the reader is not only vastly entertained, but almost always puts the book down with some pondersome truths to take away with him. When this selection came up in the CMD Sisters' collection, it was a pleasure to spin up a Study Guide.

Printables

Find the PDF version of The Text with notes here.

The Text for reading is here.

The Study Guide is here.

The Teachers' Notes are here.

The Answer Key is here.