McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LVIII · Part 6: Lessons XLIX-LX: Sieges, patriots and pilgrims
64. Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers (Felicia Dorothea Hemans)
Goal: Your student reads a famous poem with feeling and explains why the Pilgrims came.
You'll need
- The book, or the scan beside this guide
- A notebook and pen
- A dictionary
What's in the book
An author note on Mrs. Hemans, then her poem on the Pilgrims' landing on the New England shore, with a note on the landing at Plymouth.
The lesson, step by step
Words and meanings
The book's note says the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, Mass., in December 1620, and that the rock they first stepped on is now covered by a granite canopy.
Before reading, find these words in the selection and look up any your student does not know: exiles, bark, anthem.
About the author
The book says Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1794-1835) was born in Liverpool, grew up in Wales and wrote poetry very young. Her husband left her after six years, and she then wrote for her living. An American edition of her poems, published in 1826, became and stayed popular.
Read it aloud
Read the first stanza together:
The breaking waves dashed high
On a stern and rock-bound coast,
And the woods against a stormy sky
Their giant branches tossed;
Your student reads the whole poem.
Talk about it
SayWhat was the coast like when the Pilgrims landed? Why does the poet show it so wild?
SayThey came "not as the conqueror comes." How did they come?
SayWho was in the band, besides men? Why does the poet mention them?
SayWhat, according to the last stanza, did they seek and leave "unstained"?
Tell it back
Your student tells what the poem describes, stanza by stanza.
Copywork and memory
Copy and learn the first stanza.
Write (optional)
Write a paragraph about the Pilgrims' first winter. You may need to look it up.