McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XI · Part 2: Lessons I-XII: Storms, dawns and old tales
17. The Morning Oratorio (Wilson Flagg)
Goal: Your student reads a nature essay and explains its central comparison of birdsong to music.
You'll need
- The book, or the scan beside this guide
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
Flagg's description of the birds' chorus at dawn in early summer, compared to an oratorio (a great piece of music for many voices), naming the birds that sing in turn.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
Before reading, find these words in the selection and look up any your student does not know: oratorio, arrayed, mottled, pensive, whortleberries.
About the author
The book says Wilson Flagg was born in 1805 in Beverly, Massachusetts, attended Phillips Academy, Andover, and entered Harvard without graduating. His works include Studies in the Field and Forest, The Woods and By-ways of New England, and The Birds and Seasons of New England.
Read it aloud
Read the opening together:
Nature, for the delight of waking eyes, has arrayed the morning heavens in the loveliest hues of beauty.
Your student reads on. Note each bird as it is named.
Talk about it
SayWhich birds does Flagg name, and what is each one's part in the "oratorio"?
SayWhy is "oratorio" a good word for this chorus?
SayRead: "The first part was more melodious and tranquilizing, the last is more brilliant and animating." How does the music change after sunrise?
SayWhich birds have you heard in the early morning?
Tell it back
Your student describes the morning chorus in order, as Flagg does.
Copywork and memory
Copy:
Nature, for the delight of waking eyes, has arrayed the morning heavens in the loveliest hues of beauty.
Write (optional)
Listen outdoors at dawn or dusk for ten minutes. Write down every sound you hear, in order, then make it into a paragraph.