McGuffey's Third Eclectic Reader, Revised Edition · Lesson LXXII · Part 8: Rescues, corn and good-night

72. The Pert Chicken

Goal: Your child reads a funny poem about a know-it-all chicken and explains the lesson at the end.

⏱ About 20 minutes · 7 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

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

What's in the book

A poem about a pert young chicken who thinks he knows everything and tells the hens, the turkeys and Mrs. Goose what to do. Definitions at the end.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Warm up

    SayDo you know anyone who acts like a know-it-all? How do people feel around them?

  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:

    Forward, bold, confident.

    Goslings, young geese.

    Paddling, beating the water with the feet, swimming.

    Dorking, a species of chicken.

    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 chicken a bossy, squeaky voice and the old hen a patient one.

    Here are two of its lines:

    There was once a pretty chicken;

    But his friends were very few,

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

  4. Talk about it

    SayWhy did the chicken have so few friends?

    SayWhat foolish things did he say about eggs and about goslings?

    SayWhat do the last two lines teach?

    Then talk about the lesson of the reading:

    "But, when young folks talk to old folks, They should know what they're about."

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

  5. Tell it back or write it

    Close the book.

    SayTell me what the pert chicken said to the other birds.

    An older child can write two or three sentences instead.

  6. Copywork

    Your child copies this from the book in their best handwriting:

    But, when young folks talk to old folks,

    They should know what they're about.

    Check capitals and marks together.

  7. Spelling

    Say each word, use it in a sentence, and have your child spell it aloud, then write it: turkey, forward, paddling, goslings.

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

Afterwards

Reread the poem on the next day or two; try to say one stanza by heart.

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