The Screwtape Letters Study Guide [Perfect Paperback]

Michael S. Poteet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2007

Story Summary: What if hell were organized as a fiendish bureaucracy with managers and field agents? Meet Screwtape, upper management and uncle to Wormwood. Hell shares no love, but it is full of advice on the weaknesses of humanity, and it is extremely practical. Through Screwtape's letters of advice to Wormwood, Lewis wittily and sometimes painfully reveals our too-human weaknesses.

Looking for more than activity sheets or a who-did-what series of questions? Want to dig into the essence of the novel? This study guide provides easy-to-use, reproducible lessons on literary terms, comprehension and analysis, critical thinking, related scriptural principles, vocabulary, and activities, plus a complete answer key. Examines issues from a Christian perspective. Excellent for private schools and home study. Also an excellent reference for public school teachers, but biblical references may have to be removed. Study guides do not contain the text of the story or book.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 86 pages
• Publisher: Progeny Press (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586093827
• ISBN-13: 978-1586093822
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #528,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

171 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to group study a Christian classic, January 5, 2002

By 

Sven Allenbach-Schmidt (Greenbelt, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Screwtape Letters Study Guide (Paperback)

C.S. "Jack" Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" is one of the great classics of Christian literature; well-written, educational, full of a deep faith, and funny. It can be a difficult book to get the full meaning of if the reader doesn't have a fairly comprehensive grounding in the New Testament, and a decent command of the English language. This is not to say that only biblical scholars or those with a college education can enjoy 'Screwtape', but high school students, or those new to (or not of) the Christian faith, may be confused by some references in the book. Lewis wrote the book for the average Briton of the 1940s, presupposing a higher command of the English language and familarity with the Bible than is common today. Enter Presbyterian pastor Michael Poteet and his study guide to "The Screwtape Letters".

Poteet writes the guide for readers with, I'd guess, at least an (American)10th grade reading level or the equivalent age elsewhere. He is especially good at ensuring the student understands the vocabulary used by Lewis. A good dictionary will come in handy here! Once a lesson is completed, though, the new words should be a firm addition to the reader's personal vocabulary. Poteet is also excellent with providing biblical references to ideas brought up in the individual letters, with some exposition.

Each lesson in the guide covers 2 or 3 letters in the book with plenty of questions, both multiple choice and essay style. There is an excellent answer key in the back for the instructor to base her or his response around. There is an excellent introduction to the course, which includes information about Michael Poteet as well as a short biography of Jack Lewis. There is a short list of further recommended readings, both by and about Lewis, as well as URLs for web pages that can help the student along. There are also several essay questions at the end for a student to base research papers of various length on.

While the study guide is designed for bright high school students, this would make an excellent asset for adults to use, eithier in a book reading group or in an adult Christian Education study group. The questions are perfect launching points for a spirited discussion of the book amongst any adult group. Each member of the group should have a copy of the Lewis book, of course, and I'd personally recommend the unabridged audiobook version voiced by John Cleese (available from Amazon) for in-class listening.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally worth the money, February 22, 2005

By 

Wendell Glick (Elmira, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Screwtape Letters Study Guide (Paperback)

Yes, this book is a 99 cent cover with photocopied pages, but it is a scholarly work with great depth and variety, and the study sheets are reproducible for a whole classroom. If you want to use this just for personal purposes, the price is acceptable for the amount of material you receive. If you are a teacher and want to use it for your class (it is written at a high school level), it is a steal, considering that if the publisher would choose to print a softcover teacher's guide with separate student workbooks, the cost would be much higher.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful for Thorough Investigation, March 10, 2006

By 

Training Teenagers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Screwtape Letters Study Guide (Paperback)

(I'm taking a 14 and 15 year old through the book.) It's hard sometimes to know if the teens are getting it. Both have responded favorably to the vocabulary sections (which are tremendously helpful for their age group) and general questions. I think it's hard for them to internalize what they've read so the study guide allows them to apply it to their personal experiences.