McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XII · Part 2: Perseverance, fairy tales and kindness
16. Where there is a Will there is a Way
Goal: Your child reads a short story and tells how Henry Bond found a way to earn his grammar book.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook or lined paper and a pencil
What's in the book
A short story about Henry Bond, whose widowed mother can't afford the grammar book he needs, so he earns it by shoveling paths in the snow. Definitions follow.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
The new words are at the end of the lesson, under Definitions. The small number in front of each word is the paragraph or verse where it is used. Read them together before the lesson. A few of them:
Management, manner of directing things.
Furnish, to supply.
Furiously, violently.
Premises, grounds around a house.
Ask your child to find two of these words in the lesson and read the sentence each one is in.
Read it aloud
Your child reads the story aloud. It begins:
Henry Bond was about ten years old when his father died.
Talk about it
SayWhy couldn't Henry's mother buy him a grammar?
SayWhat did Henry say when the snow came? What did he mean?
SayHow did Henry do in school afterward?
SayWhat does the title mean?
Let your child look back at the page to find answers.
Tell it back
Close the book.
SayTell me how Henry got his grammar, step by step.
Copywork
Your child copies this from the book, slowly and neatly, minding every capital letter and mark of punctuation:
He knew no such word as fail, but always succeeded in all he attempted.
Words to learn
Learn: management, furnish, furiously, service, premises. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.
Afterwards
Talk about one thing your child would like to earn or make. What is a way to do it?