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

15. The Maniac

Goal: Your child retells the sad story of Conrad Lange and discusses what lessons it teaches about care and accuracy.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 6 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 story, with no author named, of an old man in a Berlin hospital who keeps repeating "Once one is two," and how a single mistake in his accounts led to his ruin. Definitions follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Read some of the definitions:

    Revenues, the annual income from taxes, public rents, etc.

    Scrupulously, carefully.

    Assiduous, constant in attention.

    Deficit, lack, want.

    Defaulter, one who fails to account for public money intrusted to his care.

  2. Read aloud

    Take turns reading. The old man's words:

    Once one is two; once one is two.

    And the description of him before his trouble:

    Scrupulously exact in all his dealings, and assiduous in the discharge of all his duties,

  3. Talk about it

    SayWho was Conrad Lange, and what did he discover in his accounts?

    SayWhat did he think had happened to the money? What had really happened?

    SayWhy did the mistake hurt him so badly, if he was honest?

    SayThe book says the story, true or not, "obviously abounds with lessons of instruction." What lessons can you find?

  4. Tell it back

    Your child narrates the story, beginning with the traveler's visit to the hospital.

  5. Copywork

    Copy:

    This affecting story, whether true or untrue, obviously abounds with lessons of instruction.

  6. Write (optional)

    Write about a small mistake you made and how you found it. How can we check our work?

Tip

The middle page of this lesson was not checked for this guide; read it yourself first so you can answer questions about the arrest.

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