McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LVII · Part 6: Honesty, Crusoe and good-will

61. Good-will, by J. T. Trowbridge

Goal: Your child reads an essay about doing work with good-will and compares the two apprentices, Thomas and James.

⏱ About 30 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

An essay, adapted, the book says: true success comes from good-will in all you do. It contrasts Thomas, a careless apprentice, with James, an ordinary boy who learns his work thoroughly and is trusted by all. 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:

    Character, the sum of qualities which distinguish one person from another.

    Principles, fixed rules.

    Sordid, base, meanly avaricious.

    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 it aloud. This is an essay, a talk to boys, more than a story. It begins:

    I suppose you all, my boys, are looking for some sort of success in life;

  3. Talk about it

    SayTell what is meant by "good-will," as taught by this lesson.

    SayHow did Tom and James differ in character?

    SayWhat is meant by the phrase "to apply himself," in the fourth paragraph?

    SayWho gains more from honest work, the worker or the employer?

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

  4. Tell it back

    For a written narration, your child writes a paragraph about Thomas and James: how each worked and what happened to each.

  5. Copywork

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

    He does nothing thoroughly well, — not at all for want of talent, but solely for lack of good-will.

  6. Words to learn

    Learn: character, purpose, principles, capacity, sordid. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.

Afterwards

Choose one chore this week to do "with good-will": thoroughly and cheerfully.

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