McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXVI · Part 7: Lessons LXI-LXX: Brutus and Cassius to Hayne
72. The Eagle (James Gates Percival)
Goal: Your student reads a vigorous ode with energy and describes the picture of freedom it paints.
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 Percival, then his ode to the eagle, master of the sky and the storm.
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: tempest, banners.
About the author
The book says James Gates Percival (1795-1856) was born in Berlin, Connecticut, graduated from Yale at the head of his class, practiced medicine, was briefly professor of chemistry at West Point, and became State Geologist of Wisconsin, where he died. He was a geographer, geologist and linguist, but his fame rests on his poetry.
Read it aloud
Read the opening together:
Bird of the broad and sweeping wing!
Thy home is high in heaven,
Where the wide storms their banners fling,
And the tempest clouds are driven.
Your student reads the poem with a strong voice.
Talk about it
SayWhere does the eagle live, and where does it rest?
SayFind a line where the eagle is compared to a king.
SayWhy do poets so often use the eagle for freedom and strength?
SayCompare this eagle with the one in "The American Flag" (Lesson XX).
Tell it back
Your student describes the eagle as the poem shows it.
Copywork and memory
Copy and learn the first four lines.
Write (optional)
Write an ode (eight lines or more) to an animal you admire.