37. The Kitchen Clock

The lesson, step by step

1. Warm up

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

   Poor little Bounce gave a great yelp of distress.

   Praise smooth reading and help with any word that sticks.

2. New words

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

   talkative improve obliging written tick-tock clock truthful itself kitchen fear reaches most

   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:

   Listen to the kitchen clock!

   To itself it ever talks,

   Read it a second time, more smoothly.

4. Talk about it

   SayWhat sound does the clock make?

   SayWhat good things does the clock say about itself?

   SayWhat advice does the clock give?

   SayListen for rhymes: talks and walks. 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 kitchen clock says.

   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:

   Life is short, improve it well;

   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: clock, kitchen, most, fear.

   Check together and fix any mistakes right away.