McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson CXXXIII · Part 13: Washington, Wordsworth and Mont Blanc
139. Value of the Present (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Goal: Your student can explain Emerson's idea that today is as precious as any day, and memorize his line.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
From Emerson's essay Works and Days: we undervalue the present day, though it is as full of opportunity as any. The heading is in the lower half 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.
Your student picks three unfamiliar words, guesses each meaning from the sentence, then checks a dictionary.
About the author
The book says Emerson (1803–1882) was born in Boston, the son of a Unitarian minister. He left the ministry over his religious ideas, gave himself to literature, and became a well-known lecturer in America and England. His style is brief, pithy, witty and sometimes paradoxical. His works include Nature, Representative Men and The Conduct of Life.
Read aloud
Read it a paragraph at a time; Emerson packs many ideas into a few words.
Listen for these lines:
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
Talk about it
SayWhy do people think other days, past or future, are better than today?
SayWhat does Emerson say the days bring us? Are we using them?
SayWhat does 'write it on your heart' mean?
SayWhat could you do today that makes it 'the best day in the year'?
Narration
Your student explains Emerson's main idea in their own words.
Memorize or copy
Memorize:
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
Writing (optional)
Write about an ordinary day that turned out to matter.