The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 46–48 · Part 1: Part First

17. If I were a month

Goal: Your child writes a short piece in the voice of a month, and uses place names correctly.

⏱ About 25 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗ 🖨 Copywork sheet

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 46 is a short poem by Herrick, "Succession of the Four Sweet Months" (April, May, June, July), with questions. Section 47 asks the child to imagine being one of the months. Section 48 asks for sentences using place names from a list.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Read the poem

    Read Herrick's poem aloud together.

    First, April, she with mellow showers

    Opens the way for early flowers;

  2. Talk about it

    The book's questions: Which are the four sweet months? How does the poet describe each? Why are April showers "mellow"? What gems does June bring us?

  3. Be a month (Section 47)

    Your child chooses a month and talks as if they were that month: What do I bring with me? What do I do? How do people like me?

    Then write it: 5 to 8 sentences, starting "I am ...".

  4. Check it gently

    Read it aloud. Ask: Did you tell what you bring, what you do, and how you are liked? If one part is missing, your child adds a sentence. Then check capitals on month names.

  5. What a good result looks like

    Example (written for this guide, not from the book):

    I am October. I paint the maple leaves red and gold. I bring apples to the orchards and pumpkins to the fields. My nights are cool, and my days are bright and blue. Children like me because they can jump in my leaves.

  6. Places (Section 48)

    If there is time, your child writes three sentences using places from the book's list (Asia, New York, Washington, England, Paris, China, Boston, Chicago, Cuba). The book's "Porto Rico" is spelled Puerto Rico today.

Answers to the book's problems

The four sweet months are April, May, June and July. Mellow showers: soft, gentle rain. May is "smiling" because she is bright and pleasant; her "rich and sweet array" is her flowers and fresh leaves. June's gems are more flowers (roses and others). July brings the richest wealth of all: ripening fruit and full summer.

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

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