The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 444–449 · Part 2: Part Second
123. What Is Fear? and advertisements
Goal: Your child writes a short anecdote from dictation and writes clear, brief advertisements and replies.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- Paper and pencil (a notebook kept just for this book works well)
What's in the book
Section 444 is the anecdote "What Is Fear?", about two French officers at Waterloo, for dictation. Sections 445 to 447 are real advertisements from 1899 and 1900 (a nursery, a lost English setter, a farm hand wanted) to study. Sections 448 and 449 ask for an answer to an advertisement and an advertisement for a lost pocket-book.
The lesson, step by step
Dictation (Section 444)
Read the anecdote together and talk about it.
He who acts in spite of fear may be even more brave than he who has no fear.
Your child studies it, writes it from dictation, and checks it against the book.
Study an advertisement (Section 445)
Read the nursery advertisement. Follow the book's plan: What is it for? What does it tell? Your child writes its items as a paragraph of whole sentences. Which is longer? Which is easier to read quickly?
The lost dog (Section 446)
Read the lost-dog notice. Your child imagines they have seen the dog and writes a short reply telling where.
Write an advertisement (Section 449)
Your child writes a notice for a lost pocket-book (a wallet), describing its size, color, material and contents, and asking for its return. Use a made-up address; we never put our real address in practice writing.
Check it gently
Read the notice as a stranger would. Could you recognize the wallet? Is it short? Fix one thing.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
Lost. On Tuesday, near the Town Hall, a small brown leather pocket-book holding two dollars and a library card. Finder please return to 12 Oak Street. Reward.