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

40. The bee in the flower

Goal: Your child reads the bee story and tells what the bee needs.

⏱ 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

Eight new words, a picture, and a talk between Lucy and her mother about a bee shut up in a flower.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Warm up

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

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

    Praise smooth reading and help with any word that sticks.

  2. New words

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

    does wonder mother other bee honey listen flower

    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:

    Come here, Lucy, and listen! What is in this flower?

    O mother! it is a bee.

    Read it a second time, more smoothly.

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat was shut up in the flower?

    SayWhat does the bee like?

    SayWhat will the bee do when it gets out?

    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:

    O mother! it is a bee.

    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: bee, shut, well, other.

    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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