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

8. Why the Sea is Salt, part 2, by Mary Howitt

Goal: Your child finishes the fairy tale, explains how greed was punished, and retells the whole story.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 8 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook or lined paper and a pencil

What's in the book

The end of the tale: the poor brother grows rich and generous, a greedy merchant steals the mill, and it grinds salt until his ship sinks. Definitions and eight Exercises follow.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Warm up

    Have your child tell you, in a few sentences, what happened in the first part of the story.

  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:

    Devoutly, in a reverent manner.

    Landmark, an object on land serving as a guide to seamen.

    Whirlpool, a gulf in which the water moves round in a circle.

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

  3. Read it aloud

    Your child reads the end of the tale aloud. Let the merchant's order to the mill sound greedy and bossy:

    "Now, mill, grind salt," said he; "grind salt with all your might! Salt, salt, and nothing but salt!"

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat did the poor brother do with the things he ground out of the mill?

    SayWhy wouldn't he lend the mill to his rich brother?

    SayHow was the greed of the dishonest merchant punished?

    SayWhat is the story's reason that the sea is salt? Is it the real reason?

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

  5. Find it on a map

    The book asks: "Where are Denmark and Norway?" Find them on a map or globe together. The story says it is told by the peasants there.

  6. Tell it back

    Your child tells the whole fairy tale, from the ham to the bottom of the sea, as if telling it to a younger child at bedtime.

  7. Copywork

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

    The dishonest merchant was now very much frightened.

  8. Words to learn

    Learn: devoutly, reflecting, landmark, extraordinary, whirlpool, peasants. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.

Afterwards

For a written narration, your child writes five or six sentences telling the whole story.

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