McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XLI · Part 5: Courage, kindness and the village smithy
47. Rebellion in Massachusetts State-prison, by J. T. Buckingham
Goal: Your child retells a tense true-sounding account of a prison revolt and talks about the kind of courage that ended it.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pencil
What's in the book
An account of convicts who arm themselves in the prison dining hall to stop a flogging, and the commander who faces them with a few disciplined men and ends the revolt without firing a shot. Definitions follow.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
Read some definitions:
Expostulated, reasoned earnestly.
Indomitable, that cannot be subdued or tamed.
Intrepid, fearless.
Reprieve, a delay of punishment.
Precipitancy, headlong hurry.
Read aloud
Take turns by paragraph. Read slowly as the tension grows.
Three convicts had been sentenced, under the rules of the prison, to be whipped in the yard,
The dining-hall was long, dark, and damp, from its situation near the surface of the ground;
The turning point
Read the commander's words slowly and firmly:
You must leave this hall; I give you three minutes to decide;
For two minutes not a person nor a muscle moved;
SayWhat did the convicts do in the end?
Talk about it
SayWhy did the convicts rebel?
SayWhat did the officer offer them, and how did they answer?
SayWhy didn't the commander simply fire? What kind of courage did he show?
SayThe writer says, "No situation of greater interest than this can be conceived." How does he make us feel the suspense?
Tell it back
Your child narrates the events in order, ending with the empty hall.
Write (optional)
Write about the difference between being calm and being afraid in a hard moment.
Tip
The middle page of this lesson was not checked for this guide; read it yourself first.