McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson XCIII · Part 10: Granada, Hamlet and the Union

99. Surrender of Granada (Sir Edward George Bulwer-Lytton)

Goal: Your student can describe the surrender of the last Moorish city in Spain and the feelings on both sides.

⏱ About 40 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook and pen
  • A dictionary

What's in the book

Adapted from Bulwer-Lytton's Leila, or the Siege of Granada: the Moorish king gives up Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella. Notes explain the Te Deum, Mars, the Alhambra, Allah, Roland and the Alpuxarras.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Words and meanings

    Read the notes printed at the end of the lesson together before reading. The book explains, among others:

    Te Deum: an ancient Christian hymn, named from its first Latin words, Te Deum laudamus

    Alhambra: the ancient palace of the Moorish kings, at Granada

    Allah: the Mohammedan name for the Supreme Being

    Alpuxarras: a mountain region of Granada where the Moors were allowed to stay for a time

    Ask your student to find two other hard words in the lesson, guess their meaning from the sentence, then check a dictionary.

  2. About the author

    The book says Bulwer-Lytton (1806–1873) was born in Norfolk, England. His mother, who loved literature, shaped his mind, and in 1844 he took her family name, Lytton. His novels include Pelham and The Caxtons; his best plays are The Lady of Lyons and Richelieu. Leila, from which this is adapted, came out in 1840.

  3. Read aloud

    Read the opening slowly; it sets the scene at dawn.

    Listen for these lines:

    Day dawned upon Granada, and the beams of the winter sun, smiling away the clouds of the past night,

  4. Talk about it

    SayHow does the story show the joy of the Spanish side?

    SayHow does it show the grief of the Moors and their king?

    SayWhy might the writer begin with a beautiful dawn on such a sad day?

    SayWhose side does the writer seem to be on, or does he pity both?

  5. Narration

    Your student retells the surrender as if they were watching from the city walls.

  6. Writing (optional)

    Find Granada on a map and write three sentences about why the year 1492 matters in Spain's history. Use a reference book.

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