McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XVI · Part 3: Ballads, battles and Abou Ben Adhem

22. The Corn Song, by Whittier

Goal: Your child reads Whittier's harvest song with energy and follows the year of the corn from planting to the table.

⏱ 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 in praise of Indian corn, following the crop from planting in May through summer growth to harvest and grinding, ending in praise of a simple bowl of samp and milk. Definitions follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. About the author

    Remind your child of the note about Whittier in Lesson XI: born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, raised on a farm, a Friend (Quaker), and the author of "Snow-Bound." This poem comes from that farm life.

  2. Words and meanings

    Look at the definitions printed after the poem and read them together. Also explain samp: a simple dish of coarsely ground corn, boiled.

  3. Read aloud

    Read the poem with a lively, swinging voice, like a song.

    We dropped the seed o'er hill and plain,

    And frightened from our sprouting grain

    The robber crows away.

  4. Talk about it

    SayTrace the corn through the year. What happens in May? In June? At harvest?

    SayWho are the "robber crows"?

    SayThe poem prefers a bowl of samp and milk to rich feasts. Why?

    SayHow does the rhythm make this sound like a song?

  5. Tell it back

    Your child explains the year of the corn in order, as a farmer might tell it.

  6. Memorize

    Learn the stanza that begins:

    We dropped the seed o'er hill and plain,

  7. Write (optional)

    Write a few lines in praise of a food you love that is simple, not fancy.

Tip

The first and last pages of this lesson could not be checked for this guide, so read the definitions and the opening stanza yourself before teaching.

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