McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XXXIX · Part 5: Home, market and school

39. Dear old grandma

Goal: Your child reads about grandma and talks about ways to be helpful.

⏱ About 15 minutes · 7 steps

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You'll need

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

What's in the book

Thirteen new words, a picture of grandma in her easy-chair, and a child telling about a kind grandma.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Warm up

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

    James has been to market with his mamma.

    Praise smooth reading and help with any word that sticks.

  2. New words

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

    reads so wears please could hair fast love easy gray chair who glasses

    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.

    For longer words, clap the parts together, then say the whole word.

  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:

    See my dear, old grandma in her easy-chair!

    How gray her hair is!

    Read it a second time, more smoothly.

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat does grandma look like?

    SayWhy does the child like to do what grandma says?

    SayWhat could you do to please your grandma?

    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:

    How gray her hair is!

    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: gray, hair, chair, love, so.

    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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