McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson CX · Part 11: Franklin, the sea, India and The Raven
116. A View of the Colosseum (Orville Dewey)
Goal: Your student can describe the Colosseum as Dewey saw it and what feelings it stirred in him.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
Dewey's account of his first sight of Rome and his visit to the Colosseum. Notes explain Constantine, the Esquiline, un dono and the Circus Maximus.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
Read the notes printed at the end of the lesson together before reading. The book explains, among others:
Esquiline: one of the seven hills upon which Rome is built
un dono: an Italian phrase meaning a gift or alms
Ask your student to find two other hard words in the lesson, guess their meaning from the sentence, then check a dictionary.
About the author
The book says Dewey (1794–1882) was a Unitarian clergyman and author, born in Sheffield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Williams College in 1814, studied at Andover, assisted Dr. W. E. Channing in Boston, and was a pastor in New Bedford, New York and Boston. He was an original, earnest and impressive preacher.
Read aloud
Look at a picture of the Colosseum first. Then read the passage.
Listen for these lines:
On the eighth of November, from the high land, about fourteen miles distant, I first saw Rome;
Talk about it
SayHow did Dewey feel when he first saw Rome?
SayWhat did the Colosseum look like to him? What was ruined, and what still stood?
SayWhat did the place make him think about the people who once filled it?
SayWhy do old ruins move people so much?
Narration
Your student describes the Colosseum as Dewey saw it, in their own words.
Writing (optional)
Write about an old building or place you have visited and what it made you think about.