McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson II · Part 2: Perseverance, fairy tales and kindness

6. Try, Try Again, by T. H. Palmer

Goal: Your child reads a short poem with good rhythm, learns its refrain by heart and explains its lesson.

⏱ About 20 minutes · 8 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 short poem in three verses, each ending "Try, try again." Definitions and two Exercises about punctuation follow. The contents name T. H. Palmer as the author.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Warm up

    SayYesterday's story ended with a motto. Do you remember it? Today's poem is built around the same two words.

  2. 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:

    Courage, resolution.

    Conquer, gain the victory.

    Prevail, overcome.

    Patience, constancy in labor.

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

  3. Read it aloud

    Read the poem aloud to your child first. Then your child reads it. Each verse ends with the same line, so let your voice come down firmly on it. The last verse closes:

    Time will bring you your reward,

    Try, try again.

    All that other folks can do,

    Why, with patience, should not you?

    Only keep this rule in view:

    Try, try again.

    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.

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat should you do if you fail once or twice?

    SayWhat does the poem say time will bring?

    SayIs there something you're learning now where this poem fits?

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

  5. The book's punctuation questions

    The Exercises ask about marks. Find the answers together:

    What does the mark before " 'T is " mean? What is it called?

    It is an apostrophe, and it shows that a letter is left out: 'T is means It is. Look back at the punctuation pages at the front of the book if you like.

  6. Tell it back

    Have your child say the poem's lesson in one or two sentences of their own, then try to say the last verse from memory.

  7. Copywork

    Your child copies these lines as verse, starting each line with a capital letter, as the book does:

    All that other folks can do,

    Why, with patience, should not you?

  8. Words to learn

    Learn: courage, conquer, prevail, disgrace, reward, patience. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.

Afterwards

Learn the whole poem by heart over the week, one verse a day.

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