75 Books: Teaching Character Through Literature
Teaching Character Through Literature has never been easier than with these 75 selections from Beautiful Feet Books. Love the learning as you read with your children.
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But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
– Galatians 5:22-23
Teaching Character Through Literature
Teaching Character Through Literature: Age 5+
Beautiful Feet Books
We know that reading aloud is important for nurturing academic skills, but even more essential, the stories we choose to tell our children will help shape their moral imaginations. Lists of wonderful books and homeschooling curriculum for multiple levels are paired with discussion prompts designed to draw character lessons out of the stories. Each title has been picked for its literary value as well as the character traits exhibited by the heroes and heroines.
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Reading great literature together is one of the best ways to teach character as well as critical thinking to your children. Many of these delightful titles are destined to become family favorites in your studies of literature and are the perfect way to develop a love of reading in early readers and competent readers alike. There is nothing like a literature-based curriculum formed around the best children’s books to illustrate that learning does not need to always happen around text books and worksheets. Regardless of the age recommendations, the entire family can come together and enjoy family bonding and the sharing of some of the best books for character development.
“After a long, long time she reached an important conclusion. She was never going to stand by and say nothing again.”
– Eleanor Estes, The Hundred Dresses
You are sure to recognise many iconic childhood authors and titles as you browse through the Teaching Character Through Literature teacher’s guide. These include Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney, Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink, Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey, The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde and When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner.
Gather your children around for cuddles on the couch and delightful read-aloud time with these beautiful selections. Designed to point children to Jesus, the character qualities modelled in these beautiful books encourage children to grow in the fruits of Spirit. Read these in the mornings in your homeschool, at bedtime or any time that works for your family reading time. May you encounter some of your new favorite read-alouds as you embark on character training with this gentle Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling and continue to love and nurture your children with a vibrant literature-rich childhood.
“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
How It Works
There are 75 recommendations in total in these lists of wonderful books. The teacher guide, written by Rebecca Manor includes 14 lesson plans for grades K-3 and 50 lesson plans for grades 4-6. There are two literature packs available to coordinate with the lesson plans.
The lesson plans are very simple in order to foster a relaxed style of natural learning in your reading days with your children. Apart from some added Bible readings and memory verses, there is no preparation required by the parent. The idea is that once you have been through the lesson plans with your children, you will have had good practice at using comprehension questions and guiding discussion questions with your children around the content of each book. These tools are transferrable to discussions of the other recommended books from the favorites lists.
“But I love snow,” Irene insisted.
She coaxed her mother into bed, covered her with two quilts, and added a blanket for her feet, then she fixed her some tea with lemon and honey and put more wood in the stove.”
– Brave Irene, William Steig
You can work through the literature packs in a matter of months or you can take advantage of the extra recommendations and literary value in the book lists to keep you going for a whole year. Of course, if you or your children have any favorites, you can revisit these as many times as you wish throughout the year. You could also use just a small selection from the reading lists each year in order to continue utilising the guide throughout the primary grades.
Some of the titles need to be appreciated for the time in which they were written or the culture of the setting. There may be a temptation to avoid books that contain offensive terms when compared to today’s culture, however these would instead be better served to educate your child in how times have changed and to highlight the positive and negative aspects of different times in history. Use the books as a road map to guide your child’s daily habits of learning about and emulating the character traits of those portrayed in literature. Learning these essential truths when they are young will continue to serve your children for a life time.
Bible & Scripture Memory
There are Bible readings and memory verses included in some of the lessons so you may want to prepare for these before you begin with the lesson plans. Some lessons have suggested Bible readings and Bible verses to write out in a notebook and to memorise. There are also memorization cards included in the back of the guide which can be cut out and stuck to the wall, formed into a card pack or glued onto poster board or into a lap book. There are also extra recommendations in the back of the teacher guide for children’s Bible storybooks and adaptations.
Reading for parents and teachers
Beautiful Feet Books recommend extra books on their site for adults and Rebecca Manor has also included a reading list in the back of the teacher’s guide to encourage you in pursuing a literary education with your children. I read For the Children’s Sake every couple of years in our first decade of homeschooling as a reminder of how important our relationship and educational journey is with our children. Enjoy!
For the Children's Sake
$10.29
Foundations of Education for Home and School
Every parent and teacher wants to give his or her children the best education possible. They hope that the teaching they provide is a joyful adventure, a celebration of life, and preparation for living. But sadly, most education today falls short of this goal.
For the Children’s Sake imagines what education can be based on a Christian understanding of the meaning of life and what it means to be human―a child, a parent, a teacher. The central ideas have been proven over many years and in almost every kind of educational situation
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
01/18/2025 12:07 pm GMT
Teaching Character Through Literature: Age 5+
Beautiful Feet Books
We know that reading aloud is important for nurturing academic skills, but even more essential, the stories we choose to tell our children will help shape their moral imaginations. Lists of wonderful books and homeschooling curriculum for multiple levels are paired with discussion prompts designed to draw character lessons out of the stories. Each title has been picked for its literary value as well as the character traits exhibited by the heroes and heroines.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
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