73. The Wreck of the Hesperus, by Longfellow

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:

   Skipper, the master of a small merchant vessel.

   Flaw, a sudden gust of wind.

   Helm, the instrument by which a ship is steered.

   Read the last few definitions too, about the Spanish Main and the reef of Norman's Woe, and the note that the poem is written in the style of the old English ballads.

2. About the author

   The book's note calls Henry Wadsworth Longfellow one of the greatest of American poets. He was born in Portland, Me., in 1807, and died March 24th, 1882.

3. Read it aloud

   Read the poem aloud to your child first; it is long and dramatic. Then let your child read it, perhaps half one day and half the next. It begins:

   It was the schooner Hesperus,

   That sailed the wintry sea;

   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

   SayWho went with the skipper? What did the old sailor warn him about?

   SayHow did the skipper try to keep his daughter safe?

   SayWhat did the daughter see and hear as the storm went on?

   SayWhat did the fisherman find at daybreak?

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

5. Tell it back

   Your child tells the story of the Hesperus in prose, from the old sailor's warning to the morning on the beach.

6. Copywork

   Your child copies these lines from near the end as verse:

   The salt sea was frozen on her breast,

   The salt tears in her eyes;

7. Words to learn

   Learn: skipper, veering, flaw, port, brine, amain, spar, helm, shrouds. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.