McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XVIII · Part 3: Lessons XIII-XXIV: Dickens, Gray and Patrick Henry

24. Tact and Talent

Goal: Your student follows an essay built on contrast and explains the difference between tact and talent.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, or the scan beside this guide
  • A notebook and pen
  • A dictionary

What's in the book

A short essay contrasting talent with tact in the theater, at the bar, in the church, at court and in the senate.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Before reading, find these words in the selection and look up any your student does not know: tact, talent, preferment, profession, common-place.

  2. Read it aloud

    Your student reads the essay aloud, bringing out each contrast. Two sentences to find:

    Talent makes the world wonder that it gets on no faster, tact arouses astonishment that it gets on so fast.

    Talent is an honor to the profession, tact gains honor from the profession.

  3. Talk about it

    SayIn your own words, what is talent, and what is tact?

    SayWhy does the writer say tact usually wins success?

    SayAlmost every sentence is built on a contrast (antithesis). How should such sentences be read aloud?

    SayWhich would you rather have? Can a person have both?

  4. Tell it back

    Your student explains the essay's main idea and gives two of its examples.

  5. Copywork and memory

    Copy and learn:

    Talent is an honor to the profession, tact gains honor from the profession.

  6. Write (optional)

    Write about someone you know who has great tact. What do they do?

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