McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XLIV · Part 5: Work, wonder and the world
48. The Nettle, by Dr. Walsh
Goal: Your child reads a dialogue between a father and daughter and explains why even the nettle is "not made in vain."
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook or lined paper and a pencil
What's in the book
A dialogue: Anna stings her hand on a nettle, and her father shows her the cure, then shows her the nettle's hidden flowers through a magnifying-glass and explains how it is useful. Definitions follow. The contents name Dr. Walsh as the author.
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:
Magnifying-glass, an instrument used to make objects appear larger.
Asunder, apart, into parts.
Remedy, that which removes an evil.
Ask your child to find two of these words in the lesson and read the sentence each one is in.
Read it aloud
This is written like a play, with A. for Anna and F. for Father. Take parts, then swap. It begins:
O papa! I have stung my hand with that nettle.
Talk about it
SayWhat did Father tell Anna to do for the sting?
SayWhat did Anna see through the magnifying-glass?
SayWhat is botany?
SayHow is the nettle useful, according to Father?
Let your child look back at the page to find answers.
Tell it back
Close the book. Your child explains what they learned about the nettle, as if teaching a younger child.
Copywork
Your child copies this from the book, slowly and neatly, minding every capital letter and mark of punctuation:
Thus you see that even the despised nettle is not made in vain;
Words to learn
Learn: magnifying-glass, enchantment, asunder, remedy, conveyed, stringy. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.
Afterwards
If you have a magnifying glass, look closely at a weed or flower together and draw what you see.