McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson CIV · Part 11: Franklin, the sea, India and The Raven
110. Colloquial Powers of Franklin (William Wirt)
Goal: Your student can describe what made Franklin a delightful talker, using Wirt's words.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
A short piece by William Wirt on Benjamin Franklin's conversation, contrasting it with Dr. Johnson's. The heading is about halfway down the page, after the end of Tyndall's piece.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
Look over the notes and definitions printed at the end of the lesson before you start, so names and hard words don't trip up the reading.
Colloquial means having to do with conversation. Boswell wrote the life of Samuel Johnson, a famous English talker.
Your student picks three unfamiliar words, guesses each meaning from the sentence, then checks a dictionary.
About the author
The book says Wirt (1772–1834) was an American lawyer and author, born at Bladensburg, Maryland. He was orphaned young, was a tutor at fifteen, and became a lawyer in 1792. He was U.S. Attorney-General from 1817 to 1829. His best-known works are Letters of a British Spy and Life of Patrick Henry.
Read aloud
Read it aloud together.
Listen for these lines:
His manner was as unaffected as infancy.
There was no ambition of eloquence, no effort to shine in any thing which came from him.
Talk about it
SayHow was Johnson's way of talking different from Franklin's?
SayWhat does 'unaffected as infancy' mean?
SayWhy might people enjoy talking with someone who isn't trying to shine?
SayWho is the best conversationalist you know? What makes them good?
Narration
Your student describes Franklin at a dinner table, using Wirt's picture.
Writing (optional)
Write a paragraph describing someone you know by the way they talk.