50. The Alarm-Watch

The lesson, step by step

1. Warm up

   SayWhat wakes you up in the morning? What happens if you ignore it?

2. Words and meanings

   This lesson's definitions are printed at the end, after the reading. Read a few of them together before you start:

   Alarm, a sudden sound calculated to awaken persons from sleep.

   Roused, waked.

   Conscience, that within us which tells what is right and what is wrong, reason.

   Trifling, of little importance or value.

   Then find each word in the lesson.

   SayCan you use one of these words in a sentence of your own?

3. Read it aloud

   Your child reads. The story is short; the last paragraph is the important one, so read it twice.

   Here is a line from it:

   The lady placed her watch at the head of the bed, and at the right time she found herself roused by the long, rattling sound.

   Then let your child reread a favorite part, more smoothly.

4. Talk about it

   SayWhy did the lady stop hearing her alarm?

   SayWhat is a conscience?

   SayHow is a conscience like the alarm-watch?

   Then talk about the lesson of the reading:

   "Just so it is with conscience." If we obey it even in small things, we will always hear it clearly.

   Let your child look back at the page to find answers.

5. Tell it back or write it

   Close the book.

   SayTell me the story of the alarm-watch and what it teaches about conscience.

   An older child can write two or three sentences instead.

6. Dictation

   Show your child this sentence. Let them study it for a minute: the capitals, the commas, any hard words.

   She arose at once, and felt better all day for her early rising.

   Then close the book and read it aloud slowly while your child writes it. Open the book and check together.

7. Spelling

   Say each word, use it in a sentence, and have your child spell it aloud, then write it: alarm, duty, merely, allow, conscience.

   Check together and fix any mistakes right away. Keep missed words for tomorrow's warm-up.