McGuffey 2nd Reader Unit 19:
Critical Thinking and Descriptive Writing
"And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold,
it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
Genesis 1:31
it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
Genesis 1:31
Allow 4 weeks for this lesson - McGuffey Second Reader Lessons LX, LXI, LXIV, LXV
This unit begins with a story about the globe. When we consider this story was written in the 1800s, before astronauts explored space and discovered more about our solar system and planet, we can see how people used their skills of observation to learn as much as they could about the earth. As you begin this unit, consider how you can help children develop their skills of observation today? What types of questions can they ask to help them in the process of scientific discovery. Consider including some scientific lessons about the earth and solar system while working through this unit.
The next lesson in this unit is about George Washington and the cherry tree. This story gives children an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills. How can they know if what they read is based on fact or fiction? What is the value of fiction? How can children learn valuable lessons from both scientific study and fictional stories?
The final two lessons in this unit provide an opportunity to develop better writing skills. The author of these stories use a variety of adjectives and adverbs to dress up their writing to make it more interesting for their readers.
After completing this unit, choose one of the following Create and Share projects to demonstrate what you have learned.
This unit begins with a story about the globe. When we consider this story was written in the 1800s, before astronauts explored space and discovered more about our solar system and planet, we can see how people used their skills of observation to learn as much as they could about the earth. As you begin this unit, consider how you can help children develop their skills of observation today? What types of questions can they ask to help them in the process of scientific discovery. Consider including some scientific lessons about the earth and solar system while working through this unit.
The next lesson in this unit is about George Washington and the cherry tree. This story gives children an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills. How can they know if what they read is based on fact or fiction? What is the value of fiction? How can children learn valuable lessons from both scientific study and fictional stories?
The final two lessons in this unit provide an opportunity to develop better writing skills. The author of these stories use a variety of adjectives and adverbs to dress up their writing to make it more interesting for their readers.
After completing this unit, choose one of the following Create and Share projects to demonstrate what you have learned.
- Make a study of the creation of the earth and its placement in our solar system. Write a paper to summarize your research. Use footnotes and references to document why you believe your findings are factual. Use quality adjectives and adverbs to make your paper more interesting to read.
- Identify a value that you want to teach someone about (honesty, loyalty, courage, determination, etc.). Make up a fictional story that teaches that value. Use quality adjectives and adverbs to make your story more interesting to read.
Lesson LX
The school children who first listened to this story had never seen pictures of the earth and moon taken from space because they didn't exist in the 1800s. Have the children in your family seen such pictures? Use a globe and see what your children know about the earth's rotation, hemispheres, climates and other matters. Review the vocabulary words at the end of the lesson. Discuss how these words might be connected to the earth.
After they have told you what they know, read Lesson LX from McGuffey Readers.
Review questions at the end of the lesson.
The school children who first listened to this story had never seen pictures of the earth and moon taken from space because they didn't exist in the 1800s. Have the children in your family seen such pictures? Use a globe and see what your children know about the earth's rotation, hemispheres, climates and other matters. Review the vocabulary words at the end of the lesson. Discuss how these words might be connected to the earth.
After they have told you what they know, read Lesson LX from McGuffey Readers.
Review questions at the end of the lesson.
Lesson LXI
Reading
While reading this story about George Washington and the Cherry Tree, discuss if we know if this story is true or not. Even though this is a good story that speaks of George Washington's character and honesty, we don't know how many of the details are true. This type of discussion will help children become mature critical readers.
Quotations:
Notice that in a quotation that is several paragraphs long, each new paragraph begins with open quotes to remind the reader that a person is still talking. Follow the quotation marks from paragraph 1 through 5, and help the children see how they show which words the father spoke.
Reading
While reading this story about George Washington and the Cherry Tree, discuss if we know if this story is true or not. Even though this is a good story that speaks of George Washington's character and honesty, we don't know how many of the details are true. This type of discussion will help children become mature critical readers.
Quotations:
Notice that in a quotation that is several paragraphs long, each new paragraph begins with open quotes to remind the reader that a person is still talking. Follow the quotation marks from paragraph 1 through 5, and help the children see how they show which words the father spoke.
Lesson LXIV
Reading
Read Lesson LXIV together. After reading the story, go back and have the children find words that describe Emily and Francis, then words that describe Jane. Write these in two lists on the board. Talk about which girls were happier and why. Read the story again, giving emphasis to these descriptive words.
Writing
Write a paragraph about yourself or someone you know and use adjectives to describe the person. It may be fun to read the paragraph aloud, omitting the name, and let classmates guess who it describes.
Grammar:
Circle words in the lists that end with -ous and make a study of them. These words describe. They answer the question "What kind?" They are adjectives
Turn to the Adjectives page in Section 1 of the Vocabulary notebook. Consider how these adjectives are more interesting than some words that are overused in writing. Overused adjectives include: Good/bad, Nice/mean, Pretty/ugly, Big/a lot, Interesting. Add some alternative adjectives to the word list in your vocabulary notebook. You may use a thesaurus to help you.
Reading
Read Lesson LXIV together. After reading the story, go back and have the children find words that describe Emily and Francis, then words that describe Jane. Write these in two lists on the board. Talk about which girls were happier and why. Read the story again, giving emphasis to these descriptive words.
Writing
Write a paragraph about yourself or someone you know and use adjectives to describe the person. It may be fun to read the paragraph aloud, omitting the name, and let classmates guess who it describes.
Grammar:
Circle words in the lists that end with -ous and make a study of them. These words describe. They answer the question "What kind?" They are adjectives
Turn to the Adjectives page in Section 1 of the Vocabulary notebook. Consider how these adjectives are more interesting than some words that are overused in writing. Overused adjectives include: Good/bad, Nice/mean, Pretty/ugly, Big/a lot, Interesting. Add some alternative adjectives to the word list in your vocabulary notebook. You may use a thesaurus to help you.
Lesson LXV
Reading
Before reading this lesson, discuss the meaning of the following words:
Grammar
Have the children find all the words that end with -ly. Review adverbs as a part of speech and note that words that end in -ly are often adverbs. They answer the question "How?" how loud? how alarmed? how wet? and so forth. Turn to the Adverb Page in Section 1 of the Vocabulary notebook. How many adverbs can you think of that end in -ly. Begin creating a list of adverbs to use as a reference to help you as you write to make your writing more interesting.
Reading
Before reading this lesson, discuss the meaning of the following words:
- whirled
- hastened
- northwest
Grammar
Have the children find all the words that end with -ly. Review adverbs as a part of speech and note that words that end in -ly are often adverbs. They answer the question "How?" how loud? how alarmed? how wet? and so forth. Turn to the Adverb Page in Section 1 of the Vocabulary notebook. How many adverbs can you think of that end in -ly. Begin creating a list of adverbs to use as a reference to help you as you write to make your writing more interesting.