McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LIX · Part 6: Liberty and the voices of birds

65. The Machinist's Return, from the Washington "Capital"

Goal: Your child retells the story of the restless traveler going home and talks about what makes it moving.

⏱ 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 true-seeming sketch, adapted from a newspaper letter, about a machinist on a train to Boston who has been away three years and can hardly wait to see his family. Definitions follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Read some definitions:

    Maneuver, movements.

    Confidant, one to whom secrets are intrusted.

    Machinist, a constructor of machines and engines.

    Mortgaged, given as security for debt.

    Pantomime, acting without speaking, dumb show.

  2. Read aloud

    Take turns by paragraph.

    On our way from Springfield to Boston, a stout, black-whiskered man sat immediately in front of me

    I have been away from home three years.

    I am almost certain this train will run off the track and break my neck before I get to Boston.

  3. Talk about it

    SayHow did the narrator know something was on the man's mind?

    SayWhy does the man fear the train will crash?

    SayDescribe the meeting at the station.

    Suddenly he cried, "There they are!"

    Say"God bless her, how completely she failed in the attempt!" What was the wife trying to do?

  4. Tell it back

    Your child tells the story from the narrator's seat on the train to the station.

  5. Copywork

    Copy:

    I think I never saw a face assume so many different expressions in so short a time.

  6. Write (optional)

    Write about a time you were waiting eagerly for someone.

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