McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XC · Part 9: History, seasons and home
94. A Mother's Gift—The Bible, by W. Fergusson
Goal: Your child reads the book's last poem aloud and says what the mother's gift is and why she gave it.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook or lined paper and a pencil
What's in the book
The last lesson: a short poem in which a mother gives her child a Bible as a pledge of her love and asks the child to keep it and its faith. Definitions follow. The contents name W. Fergusson as the author.
The lesson, step by step
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:
Pledge, proof, evidence.
Incense, something offered in honor of any one.
Scoffer, one who laughs at what is good.
Ask your child to find two of these words in the lesson and read the sentence each one is in.
Read it aloud
Read the poem aloud to your child first, gently, then let your child read it. It begins:
Remember, love, who gave thee this,
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.
Talk about it
SayWhat is the mother's gift?
SayWhy does she give it? What does she hope for?
SayWhat does she say a scoffer might do? How should her child answer?
Let your child look back at the page to find answers.
Tell it back
Your child says, in their own words, what the mother is asking of her child.
Copywork
Your child copies one verse of the poem from the book, keeping the line breaks, capitals and punctuation exactly.
Words to learn
Learn: pledge, incense, faith, scoffer. Spell each aloud, then write it with its meaning.
Afterwards
You've finished the Fourth Reader! Let your child choose a favorite lesson from the whole book to read aloud to the family.