McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XXXV · Part 4: Lost Lucy, the Town Pump and the bobolink

41. The Thunder-storm, by Irving

Goal: Your child reads Irving's storm description with growing force and picks out the words that make it vivid.

⏱ About 35 minutes · 7 steps

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You'll need

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

What's in the book

A description, from "Dolph" in "Bracebridge Hall," of a sudden thunderstorm on the Hudson River that Dolph watches from a boat. A note about Washington Irving opens it; definitions follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Read some definitions:

    Languor, exhaustion of strength, dullness.

    Clamorously, with a loud noise.

    Bellying, swelling out.

    Defile, a long, narrow pass.

    Rack, thin, flying, broken clouds.

  2. About the author

    The book says Washington Irving was born in New York City, had an ordinary school education, wrote "Salmagundi" and "Knickerbocker's History of New York," lived seventeen years in Europe, was minister to Spain, and spent his last years at "Sunnyside," near Tarrytown. It says:

    Mr. Irving's works are characterized by humor, chaste sentiment, and elegance and correctness of expression.

  3. Read aloud

    Start calmly and let your voice build as the storm builds.

    In the midst of his admiration, Dolph remarked a pile of bright, snowy clouds peering above the western heights.

    The rain began to patter down in broad and scattered drops;

    The thunder burst in tremendous explosions;

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat were the first signs of the storm? How did the birds act?

    SayFind words that describe sound. Find words that describe light.

    Say"had brought all the artillery of heaven into action." What is Irving comparing the storm to?

    SayHow does the passage end?

  5. Tell it back

    Your child describes the storm from first cloud to the end, as if they had been in the boat.

  6. Dictation

    Dictate this sentence slowly, then check together:

    The rain began to patter down in broad and scattered drops;

  7. Write (optional)

    Describe a storm you remember, starting quietly and building.

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