The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 49–50 · Part 1: Part First
18. A fable in your own words, and a diary
Goal: Your child retells a fable in their own words and begins a diary.
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 49 is the fable of the hungry dog who drops his meat to snatch at his own reflection in a brook; the child reads it and writes it in their own words. Section 50 explains a diary and asks for one covering the past week.
The lesson, step by step
Read the fable
Read the fable aloud together.
His greed had cost him his breakfast.
Ask: What did the dog see in the water? Why did he lose his meat? What is the lesson?
Tell it first
Close the book. Your child tells the fable aloud in their own words, in order: the dog finds meat, crosses the plank, sees the other dog, snaps, loses everything.
Write it (Section 49)
Your child writes the fable in their own words, 5 to 8 sentences. Their own words, not the book's, but the same story.
Check it gently
Read it aloud. Is anything important left out? Is it in order? Fix one thing. Praise a good word they chose themselves.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
A hungry dog found a big piece of meat. He ran off to eat it alone. As he crossed a little bridge over a brook, he looked down and saw another dog with meat. He snapped at it, and his own meat fell into the water and floated away. The other dog was only his reflection. Being greedy lost him his breakfast.
Start a diary (Section 50)
It is a daily record of what happens.
Help your child write two or three diary entries for days this past week, with the day and date at the top of each.
Afterwards
Keep the diary going all week: one to three sentences each evening.