McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson CXXIV · Part 12: Herculaneum, Waterloo and A Psalm of Life
130. The Falls of the Yosemite (Thomas Starr King)
Goal: Your student can describe the Yosemite falls as King saw them, especially the wind playing with the water.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
King's description of the Yosemite valley in California and its great waterfalls. The heading is at the top of 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.
Look at a picture of Yosemite Falls before reading.
Your student picks three unfamiliar words, guesses each meaning from the sentence, then checks a dictionary.
About the author
The book says King (1824–1864) was born in New York City, the son of a Universalist minister. He left school after his father's death to support his mother. He led the Hollis Street Church in Boston, moved to San Francisco in 1860, and died suddenly of diphtheria. He loved nature and wrote The White Hills, about New Hampshire's mountains.
Read aloud
Read it while looking at a picture of the falls.
Listen for these lines:
as if to try the experiment of twisting it to wring it dry
Talk about it
SayHow high and how wide does the writer make the valley seem?
SayWhat does the wind do to the falling water?
SayWhich comparison helped you picture the falls best?
SayWhy do people travel so far to see waterfalls and mountains?
Narration
Your student describes the falls using the picture and the passage.
Writing (optional)
Describe moving water you have seen (a creek, a fountain, waves) with one striking comparison.