The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 464–466 · Part 2: Part Second
129. The Imperial Courier
Goal: Your child describes a dramatic picture and writes a story it suggests.
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 464 is Schreyer's picture "The Imperial Courier", a messenger racing through the snow in a sleigh pulled by horses, with wolves following, and questions about it. Sections 465 and 466 ask for a description of the picture and a story it suggests.
The lesson, step by step
Study the picture
Look at the picture on page 308 for a full minute. Ask the book's questions: What does the name of the picture mean? (An imperial courier carries an emperor's messages.) What do you see? Describe the driver, the other person in the sleigh, the horses, the wolves. What does the picture tell you about the country?
Description (Section 465)
Your child writes a description of 5 or 6 sentences.
Plan a story
Talk about a story the picture suggests: Who is the courier? What message is he carrying? Will they escape? Your child tells it aloud first.
Write the story (Section 466)
Your child writes the story, 8 to 12 sentences, in two or three paragraphs, with some conversation in quotation marks.
Check it gently
Read it aloud together. Does it have a clear beginning, middle and end? Are the paragraphs where the action changes? Fix one thing; praise the most exciting sentence.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
The courier's sleigh raced through the snowy forest. Behind it ran a pack of gray wolves. The driver cracked his whip, and the horses stretched their necks and flew. "Faster!" cried the messenger, holding the emperor's letter tight. ...
Tip
If the wolves are too scary for your child, the story can have a happy, safe ending.