78. The Little People

The lesson, step by step

1. Warm up

   SayWhat do you think grown-ups like about having children around?

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:

   Dreary, cheerless.

   Stern, severe, harsh.

   Doleful, gloomy, sad.

   Love-chords, ties of affection by which people are drawn together.

   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. Point out how the first and last stanzas end almost the same way.

   Here are two of its lines:

   A dreary place would be this earth,

   Were there no little people in it;

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

4. Talk about it

   SayWhat would the world be like with no children, according to the poem?

   SayWhat do children bring to the world?

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

5. Tell it back or write it

   SayTell me why the poem says the world needs little people.

   An older child can write two or three sentences instead.

6. Copywork

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

   A dreary place would be this earth,

   Were there no little people in it;

   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: dreary, stern, utter, doleful.

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