McGuffey's Third Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LIV · Part 6: Courage, waves and patience

54. The Waves

Goal: Your child reads a story in which the waves talk, and explains how each wave did its work.

⏱ About 20 minutes · 7 steps

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You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • A notebook or lined paper and a pencil

What's in the book

A story in which the great sea sends the little waves to the shore to work: carrying shells and pebbles and washing the sand. Definitions at the end.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Warm up

    SayIf waves could talk, what would they say?

  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:

    Timid, wanting courage, not bold.

    Fretful, cross, peevish.

    Moaning, making a low dull sound, muttering.

    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. Give the sea a deep, kind voice and the little waves small, eager voices.

    Here are two lines from it:

    "Where are we to go?" said the little waves to the great, deep sea.

    "Go, my darlings, to the yellow sands: you will find work to do there."

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

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhat work did the waves find to do on the shore?

    SayWhich wave thought it had done no good? What did the sea say?

    SayWhy did the sea call the waves back at the end?

    Then talk about the lesson of the reading:

    Every small part of the work matters, even when it seems like nothing.

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

  5. Tell it back or write it

    Close the book.

    SayPretend you are one little wave. Tell me about your day at the shore.

    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.

    "Where are we to go?" said the little waves to the great, deep sea.

    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: timid, fretful, eldest, pressed.

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

Afterwards

Reread the lesson aloud tomorrow before starting the next one, and review any missed spelling words.

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