McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson CXI · Part 11: Country, sea and the great classics

117. A Pen Picture (William Black)

Goal: Your child notices how a writer paints a scene in words, and writes a short "pen picture" of their own.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 5 steps

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You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook or lined paper and a pencil

What's in the book

From a novel by William Black. On a still summer evening on an island in the Hebrides, off Scotland, Sheila and her visitors sit as the sun sets over the Atlantic, then Sheila and Lavender walk over the moor to the village and home by moonlight. Definitions and notes about the places follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. About the author

    The book calls William Black a leading modern English novelist whose stories are mostly set in Scotland, and says his most remarkable power is seen in "vivid, poetical descriptions" of scenery. His books include "A Daughter of Heth" and "Kilmeny."

  2. Words and meanings

    The words and meanings are printed at the end of the lesson. Read a few together before the reading, so they don't trip your child up:

    Glamour, witchery, or a charm on the eyes, making them see things differently from what they really are.

    Loch, a lake, a bay or arm of the sea.

    Peat, a kind of turf used for fuel.

    Curlew, an aquatic bird which takes its name from its cry.

    The notes say Sheila is a young Scottish girl living on Borva, a small island her father owns, near Lewis, one of the Hebrides. Find the Hebrides on a map of Scotland.

  3. Read aloud

    Read the lesson aloud slowly, enjoying the description. A few sentences to notice:

    The sun had gone down in red fire behind the Atlantic

    The cool air of the twilight was scented with sweet-brier.

    And this was Sheila's home.

  4. Talk about it

    SayFind one thing you could see, one you could hear and one you could smell in this picture.

    SayWhy is this lesson called "A Pen Picture"?

    SayThe writer calls Sheila a kind of princess. What in the scene makes it feel like a fairy tale?

  5. Write a pen picture

    Your child writes a short paragraph describing a place at sunset or by moonlight (the backyard, a street, a park), using at least one sight, one sound and one smell.

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