The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 138–140 · Part 1: Part First
40. The Helping Hand, and Fred's letter
Goal: Your child makes up a short story to fit a picture and copies a letter with quotations exactly.
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 138 is Renouf's picture "The Helping Hand": a little girl in a boat beside an old boatman, with questions and a request to tell a story that fits. Section 139 is Fred's letter from his uncle's farm at Whiteface, N. H., inviting his cousin Will, full of quotations, to copy. Section 140 asks the child to find quotation marks in a poem in their reader.
The lesson, step by step
Study the picture
Look at "The Helping Hand" on page 110 together. Your child tells all they can about the little girl, the boat, the boatman and the sea.
Make up a story
The book asks: Who is the little girl? What is she doing? How did she happen to go out in the boat? Your child tells a story aloud that fits the picture.
Write the story
Your child writes the story in 6 to 8 sentences, with at least one thing someone says, inside quotation marks.
Read Fred's letter
Read the letter in Section 139 together.
"That's right," said Uncle John. "Two boys are better than one."
Find every quotation and say who is speaking.
Copy it
Your child copies Fred's letter carefully (the book asks this), with the heading, every quotation mark and every apostrophe.
Check it gently
Your child checks the copy against the book, looking only at quotation marks and apostrophes. Fix what is missing.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
Nell's grandfather was a fisherman. One morning he said, "Would you like to help me row today?" Nell put her small hands on the big oar beside his. The sea was calm and bright. "You are a fine helper," said Grandfather, and Nell laughed.