The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 31–35 · Part 1: Part First
13. Comparing, and asking good questions
Goal: Your child compares two things out loud and writes questions that fit given answers.
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
Sections 31 to 35: compare your home with Gemila's; study the picture "The Caravan" (page 38); compare the camel and the horse; use words from the Gemila story in questions; and write the questions that eleven given sentences answer.
The lesson, step by step
Compare homes (Section 31)
Talk it over: What do you remember about Gemila's home? How is your home different? How is it the same? Encourage whole sentences: "Gemila sleeps on a mat, but I sleep in a bed."
Study the picture (Section 32)
Turn to "The Caravan" on page 38. Take a full minute just looking. Then your child tells everything the picture shows: the camels, the riders, the land, the sky.
Camel and horse (Section 33)
In what are they alike?
In what are they different?
Make two short spoken lists together.
Questions from answers (Section 35)
Read the eleven sentences in Section 35. For each, your child writes a question that the sentence answers. Do the first one together:
"A squirrel has sharp teeth." could answer "What kind of teeth has a squirrel?"
Aim for 6 to 8 questions.
Check it gently
Read each question, then its answer sentence, aloud. Does the answer really answer the question? Does each question end with an interrogation point? Your child fixes one or two.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
How many legs has a spider?
Where is tea brought from?
When does sap begin to flow?
Afterwards
Section 34: your child writes a question using each of a few words from the story (Gemila, camels, dates, desert, ostrich).
Answers to the book's problems
Section 35, one good question for each (others can be right too): 1. What kind of teeth has a squirrel? 2. Are the chestnuts ripe? 3. How many legs has a spider? 4. Where is tea brought from? 5. When does sap begin to flow? 6. What violets are in bloom? 7. Is the oak leaf notched? 8. Are the oranges sweet? 9. What fell from the tree? 10. Where can flies walk? 11. Where do oranges and lemons grow?
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.