McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XLV · Part 5: Courage, kindness and the village smithy

51. Mrs. Caudle's Lecture, by Douglas Jerrold

Goal: Your child reads Mrs. Caudle's bedtime scolding with comic expression and explains what makes it funny.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 6 steps

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You'll need

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

What's in the book

A comic monologue: Mrs. Caudle lectures her husband in bed, at great length, about a button missing from his shirt. A note about Douglas Jerrold opens it; definitions follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. About the author

    The book says Douglas Jerrold was born in London, was for a few years a midshipman in the navy, worked as a printer, wrote popular plays and wrote for "Punch." It says:

    As a humorist, he occupies the first rank.

  2. Words and meanings

    Read the definitions after the lecture:

    Aggravating, provoking, irritating.

    Vindictive, revengeful.

    Paltry, mean, contemptible.

  3. Read aloud

    This is all one voice, Mrs. Caudle's. Let your child perform it, fussy and offended.

    People don't come to bed to whistle.

    I'm put upon all day long.

    It's a pity you hav'n't something worse to complain of than a button off your shirt.

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat started the quarrel? Who really seems to be complaining most?

    SayMr. Caudle never speaks. Why is that funny?

    SayFind a place where Mrs. Caudle exaggerates.

    SayIs Mrs. Caudle fair to her husband?

  5. Tell it back

    Your child tells what Mr. Caudle might have told a friend the next morning.

  6. Write (optional)

    Write a short, funny complaint in one voice, about something small, like a lost sock.

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