McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson VIII · Part 2: The good reader and the gentle hand

14. Work, by Eliza Cook

Goal: Your child reads a rousing poem in praise of honest work with energy, and explains its main idea.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 7 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook and pencil

What's in the book

A poem urging the reader to work without shame, praising the weaver, the smith and the miner and warning against idleness. A note about Eliza Cook and definitions are on the same page.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Read the definitions:

    Mesh, net-work.

    Rife, abounding.

    Stagnant, inactive.

    Torpor, laziness, stupidity.

    Lolls, reclines, leans.

  2. About the author

    The book says Eliza Cook was born in London, began writing for periodicals in 1837, had her first collection of poems in 1840, and in 1849 became editor of "Eliza Cook's Journal."

  3. Read aloud

    This poem should be read with spirit. Read it through, then your child reads it.

    Work, work, my boy, be not afraid;

    There's glory in the shuttle's song;

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhich workers does the poem praise?

    Say"The wind disturbs the sleeping lake." Why might a lake that is stirred be better than a still one? What is the poet comparing it to?

    SayWhat does the poem say about people who are idle?

    SayWhy do you think the poet repeats the word work?

  5. Tell it back

    Your child explains the poem's argument in their own words, as if convincing a lazy friend.

  6. Memorize

    Learn the first stanza, which begins:

    Work, work, my boy, be not afraid;

  7. Write (optional)

    Write about a job you have done that made you proud.

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