McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson III · Part 1: First words: the dog, the cat and the hen

3. The man has a pen

Goal: Your child reads the new words and the five sentences about the man and his pen.

⏱ About 15 minutes · 7 steps

You'll need

Seven new words (it, his, pen, hand, in, has, man), a picture of a man with a pen, and five short lines.

Warm up
Have your child reread a few lines of Lesson II, for example:
Is the cat on the mat?
Praise smooth reading and help with any word that sticks.
New words
Point to the new words at the top of the page:
it his pen hand in has man
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.
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:
The man has a pen.
Is the pen in his hand?
Read it a second time, more smoothly.
Talk about it
SayWhat does the man have?
SayWhere is the pen?
Let your child look back at the page to find answers.
Copywork
Write this line from the lesson for your child to copy, or let them copy it straight from the book:
The man has a pen.
Check for a capital letter at the start and the mark at the end.
Spelling
Say each word, use it in a short sentence, and have your child spell it aloud, then write it on the slate: man, pen, his, hand.
Check together and fix any mistakes right away.
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.

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.

Mark this lesson done