The Ruins teacher pack
Five weeks of lessons on The Ruins for ages 14 to 18: a plan, a worksheet and the answers for each week, a final essay with a marking guide, and a reading certificate to print. Free to use in class.
- Ages 14 to 18
- 5 weeks, one 60-minute lesson plan each
- Worksheets with answers
- Essay with a four-band marking guide
- PDF and Word
Give your class the book
A free class page
One link for your students to read the 15-minute summary and, as each opens, the eBook and audiobook. No student accounts, no names kept; a free teacher sign-up.
Make a classA class set in print
5 to 200 copies of the same edition, printed at cost and shipped together to the school; the price per copy shows before you order.
Class set pricesFor the whole school
Every student and teacher gets the 15-minute summaries and study guides of 200,000+ classics, the eBooks and audiobooks as each opens, and print and large print at cost; we send a quote, take a purchase order and invoice the school.
School plansFive weeks, week by week
- Week 1Parts 1 to 1
Volney’s pursuit of knowledge and the traveler’s reflections at Palmyra introduce intellectual independence and human responsibility for suffering.
See the plan, worksheet and answers
The full plan, the worksheet questions and the answers for this week are in the pack (PDF).
- Week 2Parts 2 to 2
The vision of conflict in Crimea exposes religious violence and corrupt rule while challenging the narrator’s despair about human happiness.
See the plan, worksheet and answers
The full plan, the worksheet questions and the answers for this week are in the pack (PDF).
- Week 3Parts 3 to 4
The assembly’s religious divisions lead to public examination, while an independent spokesman explains belief through sensation, human needs, and observation.
See the plan, worksheet and answers
The full plan, the worksheet questions and the answers for this week are in the pack (PDF).
- Week 4Parts 5 to 5
The dialogue defines natural law through physical consequences and grounds moral duties in preservation, education, restraint, and social cooperation.
See the plan, worksheet and answers
The full plan, the worksheet questions and the answers for this week are in the pack (PDF).
- Week 5Parts 6 to 6
Volney’s reply to Priestly defends religious privacy, doubt, and conduct-based morality, while the closing discussion connects religious images with the stars.
See the plan, worksheet and answers
The full plan, the worksheet questions and the answers for this week are in the pack (PDF).
Assessment
Final essay
Three questions to choose from, 800 to 1,200 words, with a marking guide in four bands.
Quiz bank
The 30 questions and 40 flashcards online, for homework or a quick check in class. Open the quiz
Discussion
Questions for small groups, meeting by meeting. The book club kit
Reading certificate
Certificate of reading
Student's name
has read
The Ruins
by C.-F. Volney
Teacher and class
Free for 3 months
Read the whole of The Ruins; Or, Meditation on the Revolutions of Empires, free
- 200,000+ classics as eBooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
- Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
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