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

69. The Rainbow, by John Keble

Goal: Your child reads Keble's short poem and explains how the rainbow becomes a picture of grief and joy.

⏱ About 20 minutes · 5 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 short poem about a piece of rainbow seen from a distance, bright to the watcher though dark and damp where it stands, and what it teaches about grief and joy. A note about John Keble comes first.

The lesson, step by step

  1. About the author

    The book says John Keble was born near Fairford, Gloucestershire, England, graduated from Oxford with high honors and became professor of Poetry there. After his death, Keble College at Oxford was built in his memory. His best-known work is "The Christian Year," a book of sacred poems.

  2. Read aloud

    Read it slowly.

    A fragment of a rainbow bright

    Through the moist air I see,

    All dark and damp on yonder height,

    All bright and clear to me.

  3. Talk about it

    SayWhy is the rainbow dark and damp to those standing under it, but bright to the speaker?

    SayRead the last stanza:

    Grief will be joy if on its edge

    Fall soft that holiest ray,

    SayWhat is the "holiest ray"? What is the poet saying about sorrow?

  4. Try it

    On a sunny day, spray a fine mist from a hose with the sun behind you and look for a rainbow. Notice where you have to stand to see it.

  5. Memorize

    Learn the first stanza, which begins:

    A fragment of a rainbow bright

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