The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 42–45 · Part 1: Part First
16. Capitals for months, holidays and places
Goal: Your child capitalizes the names of months, holidays and places.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- Paper and pencil (a notebook kept just for this book works well)
- A calendar
What's in the book
Section 42 gives nine sentences about flowers through the year and asks the child to discover the rule for months. Section 43 is the old rhyme of the days in each month (in handwriting) with blanks to fill. Section 44 asks for days, months and holidays; Section 45 gives the rule for names of places.
The lesson, step by step
Read the flower sentences (Section 42)
Read the nine sentences together.
April showers bring May flowers.
Two columns
Your child makes two columns. In the first, the capital words that start a sentence. In the second, the other capital words. Then ask: What do the words in the second column have in common? Let your child make the rule. (They are names of months.)
The months rhyme (Section 43)
Read the handwritten rhyme on page 54 together (it is the old rhyme that tells how many days each month has). Then your child fills the blanks in the sentences below it, using a calendar if needed.
Holidays and places (Sections 44 and 45)
Your child writes the twelve months, six holidays, and answers in sentences: In what month is Independence Day? Thanksgiving? New Year's Day? What holiday do you like best, and why?
Then copy the three sentences in Section 45.
Names of Places begin with Capital Letters.
Check it gently
Your child circles every month, holiday and place name in what they wrote and checks the capital. Fix only those.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
We celebrate Independence Day in July. Thanksgiving comes in November. I like Christmas best, because my cousins come from Ohio.
Answers to the book's problems
Section 42, first column (start of a sentence): In, April, June, Water, In, Asters, October, November, Through. Second column (other capitals): March, May, July, August, September, December, January, February. Rule: names of the months begin with capital letters. Section 43 blanks: January has 31 days; February has 28; once in four years February has 29; the third month, March, has 31; April has 30, but May has 31; June has one less day than May (or July). The birthday month is your child's own. Section 44: Washington's Birthday, February; Independence Day, July; Thanksgiving, November; Christmas, December; New Year's Day, January.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.