McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXXIV · Part 8: Truth, wisdom and work

78. The Young Witness, by S. H. Hammond

Goal: Your child reads a courtroom story and explains why the judge said little Emily was a competent witness.

⏱ 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

A story: Emily, a little girl of nine, is called as a witness in court. The prisoner's lawyer says she does not understand an oath, so the judge questions her himself. Her answers move him to tears, and her truthful testimony decides the case. 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:

    Witness, one who gives testimony.

    Counsel, a lawyer.

    Profane, irreverent, taking the name of God in vain.

    Perjury, the act of willfully making a false oath.

    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. Most of it is questions and answers, so you can read the judge and your child can read Emily. It begins:

    "She does not understand the nature of an oath."

    "Let us see," said the judge. "Come here, my daughter."

  3. Talk about it

    SayWhy did the counsel wish to have Emily refused as a witness?

    SayWhat did she think the judge meant by "taking an oath" at first?

    SayWas she a fit person to be a witness? How was this shown?

    SayWhat was the result of Emily's testimony?

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

  4. Tell it back

    Close the book. Your child tells the courtroom scene as if they had been sitting in the court.

  5. Copywork

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

    The truth, as spoken by a little child, was sublime.

  6. Words to learn

    Learn: witness, committed, counsel, rejected, confidingly, profane, perjury. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.

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