McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LII · Part 6: Honesty, Crusoe and good-will
56. The Snow Man, by Marian Douglas
Goal: Your child reads a short poem and explains what it means to have "a frozen heart."
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook or lined paper and a pencil
What's in the book
A short poem: a speaker admires a school-boy's snow-man standing bold in the north wind, and would rather be like it than be a man with a frozen heart. Definitions and Exercises 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:
Shrink, to draw back on account of fear.
Triumph, success causing exultation.
Realm, the territory over which authority is used; dominion.
Ask your child to find two of these words in the lesson and read the sentence each one is in.
Read it aloud
Read the poem aloud to your child first, then let your child read it. Read it with a bold, wintry voice. Here is a line:
Blow, wild wind from the icy north!
Then have your child read it a second time, more smoothly: the first reading is for the meaning, the second for the sound and rhythm.
Talk about it
SayWith what is the snow-man compared in this poem?
SayWhat is meant by a man with "a frozen heart"?
SayDo you think such a man would follow the Golden Rule?
Let your child look back at the page to find answers.
Tell it back
Your child explains, in their own words, why the poet would rather be a snow-man.
Copywork
Your child copies these closing lines as verse:
Than be a man who walks with men,
But has a frozen heart!
Words to learn
Learn: pipe, shrink, triumph, realm. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.