McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson CXX · Part 12: Herculaneum, Waterloo and A Psalm of Life
126. "With Brains, Sir" (John Brown)
Goal: Your student can tell the anecdote of Opie and explain what 'with brains' means for any kind of work.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
A short piece by Dr. John Brown: a student asks the painter Opie what he mixes his colors with, and gets a famous answer. The heading is midway down the page.
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.
Opie was a well-known English painter.
Your student picks three unfamiliar words, guesses each meaning from the sentence, then checks a dictionary.
About the author
The book says John Brown was born in 1810 in Lanarkshire, Scotland, and graduated from the University of Edinburgh. His father, also John Brown, was an eminent clergyman. His fame rests largely on papers for the North British Review, and Rab and his Friends is his most widely known work.
Read aloud
Read it aloud. Your student reads Opie's answer gruffly.
Listen for these lines:
Pray, Mr. Opie, may I ask you what you mix your colors with?
"With brains, sir," was the gruff reply
Talk about it
SayWas Opie being rude, or helpful, or both?
SayWhy does the writer say the answer was the right one?
SayWhat does it mean to do work 'with brains'?
SayName a job where people might think skill is enough but thinking matters more.
Narration
Your student tells the anecdote and its lesson in under a minute.
Writing (optional)
Write about a time you did something 'with brains' instead of just following steps.