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

57. The Goodness of God (from the Bible)

Goal: Your child reads a psalm of creation aloud with dignity and names the pictures of God's care in it.

⏱ About 25 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 psalm of praise (Psalm 104) describing God's care for the earth: springs in the valleys, trees, birds, beasts, the moon and the sun, and people going to their work. Notes follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Before you read

    This lesson is a psalm from the Bible. Remind your child to read slowly, as with Lesson XV. It opens:

    Bless the Lord, O my soul!

  2. Read aloud

    Take turns verse by verse.

    He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.

    The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted.

    He appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knoweth his going down.

  3. Notes

    Read the notes: the cedars of Lebanon were a fragrant, lasting wood used in costly buildings, and Leviathan is a name the Old Testament gives to a huge creature of the waters.

  4. Talk about it

    SayMake a list of the creatures and things the psalm names.

    SayWhat does the psalm say about day and night?

    Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his labor until the evening.

    SayWhich picture do you like best?

  5. Tell it back

    Your child tells, in plain words, what the psalm says about the world.

  6. Memorize

    Learn one verse of your child's choosing.

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