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

30. What I Live For

Goal: Your child reads a short poem of purpose and names the things the speaker lives for.

⏱ About 25 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 short poem, with no author named, in which the speaker lists what gives life purpose: those who love him, those who suffered for him, and the good he can do. Definitions follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Read the definitions printed after the poem:

    Assigned, allotted, marked out.

    Emulate, to strive to equal or excel, to rival.

    Bard, a poet.

    Martyr, one who sacrifices what is of great value to him for the sake of principle.

    Sage, a wise man.

  2. Read aloud

    Read it through to your child, then your child reads it with feeling.

    I live for those who love me,

    Whose hearts are kind and true;

    And the good that I can do.

  3. Talk about it

    SayMake a list of everything the speaker says he lives for.

    SayWho might "those who suffered for my sake" be?

    SayWhich line do you like best, and why?

    SayThe same last line comes back again and again. Why?

  4. Tell it back

    Your child says, in plain words, what the poem's speaker wants his life to be about.

  5. Memorize

    Learn the first stanza, which begins:

    I live for those who love me,

  6. Write (optional)

    Write four lines beginning "I live for..."

@teddyrookbook GitHub