14. Henry, the Boot-black

The lesson, step by step

1. Warm up

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

   If I were a sunbeam,

   Praise smooth reading and help with any word that sticks.

2. New words

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

   support along boots belong dollar years manage taught corner notice money blacking gentlemen honest quite buy earned

   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 picture together first, if there is one. Then your child reads the lesson aloud, one paragraph at a time. Help with any word by pointing to it in the word list.

   Here are a few lines from it:

   Henry was a kind, good boy.

   His father was dead, and his mother was very poor.

   Read it a second time, more smoothly.

4. Talk about it

   SayWhy did Henry want to work?

   SayHow did Henry get his first dollar, and what did he buy with it?

   SayWhere did he shine boots? What did he do with the money he earned?

   SayWas Henry honest? How do you know?

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

5. Tell it back

   Close the book.

   SayTell me how Henry became a boot-black.

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

6. Copywork

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

   Black your boots, sir, please?

   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: boots, money, corner, buy, honest.

   Check together and fix any mistakes right away.