McGuffey's Fifth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXXX · Part 8: Dickens, Irving and poems of the heart

86. Capturing the Wild Horse (Washington Irving)

Goal: Your child follows Irving's description of a horse hunt on the prairie and tells how the plan failed and what was caught.

⏱ About 40 minutes · 7 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook or lined paper and a pencil

What's in the book

From Washington Irving's account of a prairie journey: the party plans to trap a herd of wild horses in a meadow by the north fork of Red River, but an eager little Frenchman, Tonish, spoils the plan. A mare is caught with lariats, and Tonish catches a cream-colored colt. A long list of definitions follows.

The lesson, step by step

  1. About the author

    This selection is by Washington Irving; his name is printed at the end. There is no note about him with this lesson. If he appeared earlier in the book, ask your child what they remember about him.

  2. Words and meanings

    The words and meanings are printed at the end of the lesson. Read a few together before the reading, so they don't trip your child up:

    Prairie, an extensive, level tract without trees, but covered with tall grass.

    Lariat, a long cord or thong of leather, with a noose, for catching wild horses.

    Panic, sudden fright (usually, causeless fright).

    Mercurial, sprightly, full of fire.

    Your child reads each meaning aloud, then uses the word in a sentence of their own.

  3. Read aloud

    Your child reads the lesson aloud, a few paragraphs at a time. It opens with a picture of the valley:

    About ten o'clock in the morning we came to where this line of rugged hills swept down into a valley,

    Then comes the turning point:

    This put an end to all system.

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat was the hunters' plan for trapping the horses? Draw it if that helps.

    SayHow did Tonish spoil the plan? What did he catch in the end?

    SayIrving calls Tonish "the mercurial little Frenchman." What does that tell you about him?

    SayHow did the riders slowly calm the wild mare?

  5. Tell it back

    Close the book.

    SayTell me the story of the horse hunt, from the quiet meadow to the captured colt.

    Your child may draw a map of the valley, the river and where the riders waited.

  6. Dictation

    Read this sentence aloud while your child writes it, then check it with the book:

    In this way her spirit was gradually subdued.

  7. Optional writing

    Your child writes a paragraph from the colt's point of view.

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