McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XXVII · Part 4: Riches, eagles and good neighbors

31. Harry and his Dog, by Mary Russell Mitford

Goal: Your child reads a story aloud and explains how Frisk repaid Harry's kindness even after a bad morning.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook or lined paper and a pencil

What's in the book

A story: Harry once rescued Frisk, a stray dog. One holiday Harry is cross, teases Frisk and is sent to bed in disgrace, missing the pear-gathering. Then Frisk comes up the stairs with a pear in his mouth. Definitions follow. The contents name Mary Russell Mitford as the author.

The lesson, step by step

  1. 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:

    Inverted, turned upside down.

    Pensioner, one who is supported by others.

    Vigilant, watchful.

    Forfeited, lost.

    Ask your child to find two of these words in the lesson and read the sentence each one is in.

  2. Read it aloud

    Your child reads the story aloud. It begins:

    "Beg, Frisk, beg," said little Harry, as he sat on an inverted basket, at his grandmother's door,

  3. Talk about it

    SayHow did Frisk come to live with Harry?

    SayWhat did Harry do on the morning of the holiday? Why was he sent to bed?

    SayWho brought Harry a pear? Why is that surprising?

    SayIs not Frisk a fine, grateful fellow? (The book asks this.)

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

  4. Tell it back

    Close the book.

    SayTell me the story from Frisk's side.

    For a written narration, your child writes a paragraph about the pear-gathering day.

  5. Copywork

    Your child copies this from the book, slowly and neatly, minding every capital letter and mark of punctuation:

    Poor Frisk had come as a stray dog to Milton, the place where Harry lived.

  6. Words to learn

    Learn: inverted, recollected, plight, pensioner, pilferers, vigilant, buffeting, forfeited. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.

@teddyrookbook GitHub