13. If I were a Sunbeam

The lesson, step by step

1. Warm up

   Have your child reread a few lines of Lesson XII, for example:

   Susie Sunbeam was not her real name; that was Susan Brown.

   Praise smooth reading and help with any word that sticks.

2. New words

   Point to the new words at the top of the lesson:

   woodlands divine raised until drooping blessed whose seek upward hovels inner steal heaven hearts lilies die roaming

   Say each word and have your child say it after you. Clap the parts of long words. Then point to words in any order and let your child read them.

3. Read it aloud

   Look at the page together first. Then your child reads the poem aloud, a line at a time. Pause a little at the end of each line.

   Here are a few lines from it:

   If I were a sunbeam,

   I know what I'd do;

   Read it a second time, more smoothly.

4. Talk about it

   SayWhat would the sunbeam do for the lilies?

   SayWhere else would the sunbeam shine?

   SayHow is Susie Sunbeam like the sunbeam in this poem?

   SayListen for rhymes: do and through. Can you find more?

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

5. Tell it back

   Close the book.

   SayTell me what the sunbeam in the poem would do.

   Let your child talk without stopping them. Afterward, help with anything left out by asking "What happened next?"

6. Copywork

   Write this lines from the lesson for your child to copy, or let them copy it straight from the book:

   If I were a sunbeam,

   I know what I'd do;

   Check capital letters, commas and the mark at the end.

7. Spelling

   Say each word, use it in a short sentence, and have your child spell it aloud, then write it: seek, until, raised, hearts.

   Check together and fix any mistakes right away.