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

66. Make Way for Liberty, by James Montgomery

Goal: Your child reads Montgomery's poem about Arnold Winkelried with force and retells the brave act it describes.

⏱ About 35 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

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

What's in the book

A poem about the battle of Sempach, where the Swiss could not break the Austrians' wall of lances until Arnold Winkelried threw himself on the spears and made a gap. A note about James Montgomery comes first; definitions and notes follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. About the author

    The book says James Montgomery was born in Irvine, Scotland, the son of a Moravian preacher. He founded a newspaper, "The Sheffield Iris," and was twice fined and imprisoned for articles judged seditious. His hymns and short poems were popular.

    A pension of £300 a year was granted him in 1833.

  2. The history

    Read the note after the poem. It says this really happened at the battle of Sempach in 1386, between only 1,300 Swiss and a large army of Austrians, who held a narrow mountain pass.

  3. Words and meanings

    Read some definitions:

    Phalanx, a body of troops formed in close array.

    Rampart, that which defends from assault, a bulwark.

    Impregnable, that can not be moved or shaken.

    Breach, a gap or opening made by breaking.

  4. Read aloud

    Read it with a strong voice that builds to the climax.

    The battle trembled to begin:

    The unbroken line of lances blazed;

    "Make way for Liberty!" he cried:

    Then ran, with arms extended wide,

  5. Talk about it

    SayWhy couldn't the Swiss attack?

    SayWhat did Arnold do? What happened after?

    He bowed among them like a tree,

    SayWhat does "made way for Liberty" mean, in two senses?

  6. Memorize

    Learn the closing lines of the attack, from "Make way for Liberty!" he cried to

    And thus made way for Liberty.

@teddyrookbook GitHub