Two Old Women by Velma Wallis: A Tolman Hall Homeschool Literature Unit Study

by Rachel Tolman Terry

This homeschool literature unit study does NOT include the original book, Two Old Women by Velma Wallis. You can obtain the original book through your local library or through retailers to use in conjunction with this curriculum. Grade Levels: 5-10 Themes: Independence, Forgiveness, Respect for the Elderly Unit Projects: Essay, Field Trip, Social Studies & Geography Projects, Letter-writing Activity Schedule: 3 Schedules Included: (2) Two-week Schedules and (1) One-week Schedule

Tolman Hall Literature Unit Studies are designed to give you the flexibility to design your own curriculum based on your children’s interests while still providing a solid foundation in literature. If used as designed, your children will learn and understand the literary concepts essential for doing well on standardized tests such as the SAT Literature Subject Test and the ACT Reading Test.

Even more important, Tolman Hall Literature Studies will open your students’ eyes to ideas, concepts, and deeper meanings that they may previously have skimmed over in cursory literature studies and in their reading for pleasure. Each Unit Study provides background information about the author, several possible unit study schedules, a plot overview, and individual lessons. The lessons each contain a reading assignment, a summary and analysis of the assignment, a vocabulary lesson, a reading quiz, and short essay questions.

Depending on your needs and schedule, you can customize the lessons to fit your students’ needs. As the teacher, you can read along with your students, or if you’re short on time, you can keep up by simply reading the summaries and analyses of each lesson, which give enough information for you to discuss the assignment with your student.

Many homeschooling parents teach more than one student at a time, and with Tolman Hall Unit Studies, you can teach the same work of literature at several grade levels. For instance, you could assign the same reading to students in grades 7 and 9 but assign the 9th grader more difficult writing assignments and more mature end-of-unit projects. In this way, your whole family can discuss the same books and authors while still meeting grade-appropriate requirements.

Written by Athabaskan Velma Wallis, Two Old Women illuminates a legend passed down through generations of people living off the land in Fort Yukon, a remote community in northwest Alaska. The author was raised in a family that adhered to traditional Athabaskan values, and these values are deeply ingrained in the story. It's a fairly quick and easy read, but the themes, characters, and cultural heritage will give you plenty to talk about.

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Rachel Tolman Terry has worked as a parking lot attendant, a dance teacher, a writing tutor, a publishing acquisitions editor, and a ghostwriter. She currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, after having lived in a whole bunch of places that have considerably more traffic. Rachel would love to hear from you. Visit her at www.racheltolmanterry.com and follow her on Twitter @_rachelterry_.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet tale of perseverance.

[Dana Cowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! Shows courage, determination and stillness. As an old woman myself gives me hope! 💕📖💕

[Sandra Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this guide very helpful in formulating the discussion questions I used for my book discussion group. The beauty of the book itself is it’s wide range in age appeal. My then 14 yr old grandson who lives in Alaska read it in school. And my book group was of “mature” adults. It would be a wonderful guide to use with a mixed group of ages, it occurs to me. The themes are pretty easily identifiable. The only theme not mentioned on the actual book cover is forgiveness. A whole conversation could be about that theme alone. This guide could be helpful in support of that.
Sandra Cohen
Santa Ctuz, CA