The Mother Tongue, Book I: Lessons in Speaking, Reading and Writing English · Secs. 178–179 · Part 1: Part First
52. Titles of books and poems
Goal: Your child capitalizes titles correctly and sets them off when writing about them.
You'll need
- The book, open to this lesson
- Paper and pencil (a notebook kept just for this book works well)
- A few favorite books from your shelves
What's in the book
Section 178 gives the titles of poems, books, newspapers and magazines and shows how capitals are used in them. Section 179 gives the rule that a title mentioned in writing is enclosed in quotation marks, with examples, and asks for ten sentences quoting titles.
The lesson, step by step
Look at titles
Read the lists in Section 178 together.
In all these names or titles, the first word, as well as every important word that follows, begins with a capital letter.
Ask: Which little words are not capitalized? (the, of, and, to, in, when they are not first.)
Your own shelf
Your child takes five books from your shelves and copies their titles, watching the capitals.
Quotation marks with titles (Section 179)
Read the examples.
Hawthorne is the author of "Tanglewood Tales," a book which all boys and girls enjoy.
Then and now
The book puts all titles in quotation marks. Today, in print, book and magazine titles are usually in italics (underlined when handwritten), while titles of poems and stories go in quotation marks. Either way is clear; follow the book's way for these exercises if you like, and mention the modern way.
Write
Your child writes five to ten sentences, each naming a book or poem they have read or heard, with the title marked.
Check it gently
Check capitals in each title first; then the quotation marks. Your child fixes any slips.
What a good result looks like
Example (written for this guide, not from the book):
My favorite book is "The Wind in the Willows."
We learned "Winter Jewels" by heart last week.