The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 175–177 · Part 1: Part First
51. The Tree, and names of companies
Goal: Your child places the question mark inside quotation marks when the quotation is a question, and capitalizes the names of companies.
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 175 is Björnson's poem "The Tree", in which the Frost, the Wind and a girl speak to a tree, to copy with notes on quotation marks. Section 176 explains how the names of companies and associations are written; Section 177 asks for ten such names from newspapers or magazines.
The lesson, step by step
Read the poem
Read "The Tree" aloud, with your child reading the Tree's answers.
"Shall I take them away?" said the Frost, sweeping down.
Ask: What did the Frost, the Wind and the girl each want? Why did the Tree say yes only to the girl?
Question marks inside
Read the note after the poem. When the quotation is a question, the interrogation point belongs to the quotation and goes inside the marks.
Copy (Section 175)
Your child copies the first two stanzas carefully, then explains the quotation marks and capitals.
Names of companies (Section 176)
Read Section 176 together. The book notices two things: the first word of the name begins with a capital, and so does every important word.
The Cambridge Iron Company.
Find some (Section 177)
Your child finds the names of five to ten companies or clubs on labels, boxes, signs or a newspaper, and writes them in a column.
Check it gently
Look at the copy of the poem: is every question mark inside the quotation marks? Look at the company list: every important word capitalized? Your child fixes any slips.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
Copied lines with each question mark inside the quotation marks, and a short company list:
Riverside Bicycle Company
The Green Valley Garden Club