McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson X · Part 2: The good reader and the gentle hand
16. Robin Redbreast, by W. Allingham
Goal: Your child reads a gentle seasonal poem with its refrain, and learns how the Old World robin differs from ours.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pencil
What's in the book
A three-stanza poem saying goodbye to summer and asking where the little robin can go in winter. A note about William Allingham comes first and a note about the European robin comes after.
The lesson, step by step
About the bird
Read the note after the poem. It says the Old World robin is quite different from the American robin: about half its size, olive green above, with a light yellowish-red breast, and it does not migrate.
SayHow is that different from the robins we see?
About the author
The book says William Allingham was born at Ballyshannon, Ireland, son of a banker. He published poems from 1850 on, and his fame rests mostly on short lyrics and ballads.
Read aloud
Read the poem through to your child, then together. Let the refrain sing a little each time it returns, beginning "Robin, Robin Redbreast."
From the last stanza:
Where can poor Robin go?
His little heart to cheer.
Talk about it
SayWhat signs of autumn and winter does the poem name?
SayWhy does the speaker worry about the robin?
SayWhat do the people offer him at the end?
SayWhy does a poem repeat a refrain? How does it make you feel?
Tell it back
Your child tells, stanza by stanza, what happens to the year and to the robin.
Memorize
Learn the refrain that begins "Robin, Robin Redbreast," then the first stanza.
Write (optional)
Write a short list poem of things that tell you autumn is here.
Tip
Put out crumbs or seed for the birds this week, as the poem asks.