McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XII · Part 2: Nell, Kitty, Tom and the pond

12. Kitty's pet

Goal: Your child reads a story about Kitty's bird and tells why the cage goes up high.

⏱ About 15 minutes · 7 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A slate, small whiteboard or lined paper and a pencil

What's in the book

Twelve new words, a picture of a girl at a window with a bird cage, and a short story about Kitty's pet bird.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Warm up

    Have your child reread a few lines of Lesson XI, for example:

    O Ben! let me get in, will you?

    Praise smooth reading and help with any word that sticks.

  2. New words

    Point to the new words at the top of the page:

    Kitty nice sweet sing just hang cage then song pet put not

    Say each word and have your child say it after you. Sound out the short ones together, then point to words in any order and let your child read them.

    The letters printed beside the words show their sounds. Point to each one and say its sound together.

  3. Read the lesson aloud

    Look at the picture together first, and ask what your child sees. Then your child reads the lesson aloud, one sentence at a time. Help with any word by pointing to it in the word list.

    Here are two lines from it:

    Kitty has a nice pet.

    It can sing a sweet song.

    Read it a second time, more smoothly.

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat can Kitty's pet do?

    SayLook at the picture together. What kind of pet is it?

    SayWhy will Kitty hang the cage up?

    Let your child look back at the page to find answers.

  5. Copywork

    Write this line from the lesson for your child to copy, or let them copy it straight from the book:

    It can sing a sweet song.

    Check for a capital letter at the start and the mark at the end.

  6. Spelling

    Say each word, use it in a short sentence, and have your child spell it aloud, then write it on the slate: sing, song, pet, put, just.

    Check together and fix any mistakes right away.

  7. Tell it back

    Close the book.

    SayTell me the story in your own words.

    Help with "What happened first? Then what?" if your child gets stuck.

Afterwards

Reread this lesson aloud on the next day before starting a new one. Read the new words from the list in any order until they come quickly.

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