McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XLVIII · Part 5: Work, wonder and the world

52. Emulation

Goal: Your child reads a short story about two rivals and explains the difference between emulation and envy.

⏱ About 25 minutes · 6 steps

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You'll need

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

What's in the book

A story told by a gentleman to Frank's father: a rich farmer's son and a poor widow's son compete for the head of the class. When the widow's son must leave school, his rival quietly pays his tuition. Definitions and Exercises follow.

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:

    Emulation, rivalry, contest.

    Excelled, surpassed, exceeded in good qualities.

    Anecdote, a short story.

    Tuition, payment for teaching.

    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. Here is how close the two boys were:

    They were so nearly equal that the teacher could scarcely decide between them.

  3. Talk about it

    SayWhat do you mean by emulation? What is envy?

    SayWhat story is told about the two rivals?

    SayWhy did the widow's son stop coming to school?

    SayIs it right to envy any person?

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

  4. Tell it back

    Close the book. Your child tells the story of the two rivals as the gentleman told it.

  5. Copywork

    Your child copies this part of the story exactly as printed (it is the start of a longer sentence):

    Poverty was the cause; the poor woman found that she was not able to continue to pay for the tuition

  6. Words to learn

    Learn: emulation, competition, excelled, rivals, anecdote, tuition. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.

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