Part 1
DAILY LESSON PLANS IN ENGLISH
BY CAROLINE GRIFFIN
EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY BOSTON New York Chicago San Francisco
Copyright, 1914
BY EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
DAILY LESSON PLANS IN ENGLISH
SEPTEMBER
FIRST YEAR
FIRST WEEK
_Monday_
Show the children a sunflower. What is it? Who can think of another flower of the same color? (Nasturtium, goldenrod, dandelion, buttercup, etc.) Who can think of a flower that is blue? (Hyacinth, bachelor’s button, flower de luce, etc.) Who can think of a flower that is red? (Rose, carnation, geranium, poppy, etc.) Have each child name some flower that he likes.
_Tuesday_
Allow the children to play “Hey, diddle, diddle.” One child is the cat, another the fiddle, a third the dish, others the spoon, the little dog, the cow and the moon. All the rest of the children repeat, very slowly:
Hey, diddle, diddle, The cat and the fiddle.
As the two lines are being recited, the children representing the cat and the fiddle stand up at their seats and bow. As the words,
The cow jumped over the moon,
are recited, the child representing the moon, stooping down, holds out a round piece of pasteboard, a piece of paper, or anything else that happens to be handy, even a book will serve, and the “cow,” steps or jumps over it.
At the words,
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
the little dog laughs. At
The dish ran away with the spoon,
the two children representing dish and spoon take hold of hands and run across the room.
Then other children may be selected for the various parts, and the game may be played thus again and again.
_Wednesday_
Have the children practise writing their names, and if possible, their home addresses.
_Thursday_
What kind of a day is it, sunny or stormy? What color is sunshine? Point to the sun. What color are storm clouds? How does the rain come down? What does the sunshine do for the trees and flowers? What does the rain do for the trees and flowers? What does the rain do for us?
_Friday_
Have the children name all the objects they can see in the school-room.
SECOND WEEK
_Monday_
How many children had their faces washed before coming to school this morning? How many had their hair combed? Have each child tell who combed his hair, whether mother, nurse, or the child himself. Talk about the necessity of cleanliness, and why every child must come to school looking clean and tidy.
_Tuesday_
Write the name of the day of the week on the blackboard, and have the children practice writing it.
_Wednesday_
Ask each child to stand up at his seat and recite a “Mother Goose” rhyme.
_Thursday_
Who can show me what I mean when I say, “Run.” Allow some child to run. What do I mean when I say, “Walk.” Have the word illustrated. Continue similarly with _talk_, _laugh_, _sing_, _jump_, _sit_, _stand_.
_Friday_
Show the children a flag. What is it? What are the three colors of the flag? Have the children count the red stripes; the white stripes. What is the color of the stars?
THIRD WEEK
_Monday_
Show the children a red apple and a green, or a yellow apple. What are the colors of the two apples? What shape? Where is the stem? Where is the skin? What is there inside the skin? Cut one of the apples open. How many seeds has it?
_Tuesday_
Have each child tell his father’s or his mother’s first name.
_Wednesday_
Have the children practise writing the date.
_Thursday_
Have each child tell something that he can see out of the school-room window. Write the word given by each child on paper and let him practise writing it.
_Friday_
Let the children dramatize, with a little suggestive help, “Old King Cole.”
FOURTH WEEK
_Monday_
What day of the week is this? How many days are there in a week? Who can name them? What is done in your home on Monday? (Washing?) On Tuesday? (Ironing?) On Wednesday? Thursday? Friday? Saturday? Sunday?
_Tuesday_
Have the children play the game, “This is the way we wash our clothes.”
_Wednesday_
Practise writing _September_.
_Thursday_
Practise writing the day of the week.
_Friday_
Have the children tell what they had for breakfast.
SECOND YEAR
FIRST WEEK
_Monday_
Tell, or read, the following story, the children to guess what animal is referred to.
Look what a small, shy thing I am! Do not frighten me, and I will tell you all about myself. It is quite true that I come and nibble your cheese and candles now and then. But if you will keep such nice things stored away in heaps, how can I help longing for a taste? The smell of your puddings and pie-crust is so nice! How should I know that it belongs to you and not to me?
Please do not tell the cat where I am, or she will come and eat me up. I do not like cats a bit. But there is something that I hate more than cats, and that is the horrid traps you set to catch us in. When one of my friends finds himself inside of one of these, you do not know how badly he feels! How would you like it yourself?
We do some good in the world, though people fancy we do nothing but harm. Men and women throw about bits or scraps of food enough to give us many a nice meal. We run out and eat this, and leave the floor clean and tidy.
We run off to our holes as quickly as can be if you frighten us, and you will see no more of our soft fur and long tails. If you are kind we shall be glad to make friends with you.--_Adapted._
_Tuesday_
Have the children tell, in their own words, the story of “The Mouse.”
_Wednesday_
Copy the following:
A mouse has gray fur. A mouse has bright eyes.
_Thursday_
Have each child tell about some animal, the other children to guess the animal meant. For example:
I have four legs. I have fur. When I am hungry I say, “Miow.” When I am happy I purr. What am I?
If you find it to be too difficult for the children to give the descriptions, you can describe the animals, and let all the children guess what you are describing.
_Friday_
Write five words that rhyme with _cat_.
SECOND WEEK
_Monday_
What month is this? How many months are there in the year? How many days in this month? Teach the rhyme, “Thirty days hath September.”
_Tuesday_
Have the children write the names of the months.
_Wednesday_
Have the children complete the following sentences:
Roses are ----.
Asters are ----.
Goldenrod is ----.
Lemons are ----.
Trees are ----.
My eyes are ----.
_Thursday_
To be memorized:
MY SHADOW
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow-- Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; For he sometimes shoots up taller, like an Indian-rubber ball, And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play, And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way. He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see; I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up, I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
--_Robert Louis Stevenson._
Have the children copy two stanzas of the poem.
_Friday_
Have the children copy the rest of the poem, “My Shadow.”
THIRD WEEK
_Monday_
Teach the children the first stanza of “My Shadow.”
Who has a shadow? When can we see our shadow? How does the shadow “Jump before me, when I jump into my bed”?
_Tuesday_
Teach the second stanza of “My Shadow.”
How does the shadow grow tall? How does it get “so little”?
_Wednesday_
Teach the third stanza of “My Shadow,” questioning the children to make sure that they understand its meaning.
_Thursday_
Teach the fourth stanza of “My Shadow.”
_Friday_
Have the children repeat the entire poem, “My Shadow.”
FOURTH WEEK
_Monday_
Write five sentences, telling what the shadow does. (Refer to the poem.)
_Tuesday_
Write five name words (nouns), to be found in the poem “My Shadow.”
_Wednesday_
Write a letter to your sister or brother, telling what you do at school.
_Thursday_
Make an envelope of paper, and address it to the one to whom you wrote yesterday.
_Friday_
Write five words that rhyme with _run_.
_To the Teacher_: The proper method of addressing an envelope may be taught here.
THIRD YEAR
FIRST WEEK
_Monday_
Have the children repeat the old rhyme, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,” then let them see if they can write it.
_Tuesday_
For dictation:
I know that when my bed-time comes, And I am tired of everything, I cannot go to sleep unless I hear my mother softly sing The Bye-low song.
_Wednesday_
Story for reproduction:
JIM CROW
When Jim Crow became a member of our family he was very young, and could hardly balance himself upon his slender legs.
We fed him upon raw eggs and scraps of raw meat until he grew strong and the black feathers had become smooth and glossy, and the bright eyes were brighter, and Jim Crow had changed into a beautiful bird.
A smart bird was Jim, devoted to his master and mistress, hailing them with a loud caw whenever their steps were heard, and hopping about to greet them.
Jim could talk a little, and would have acquired much more knowledge of the language if he had lived longer.
He would spread his wings, purple in their deep black, and call in a hoarse voice, “Come on, come on,” very distinctly.
He would greet his master with “Hello, Papa,” and delighted in feeding from his hand. He knew when the butcher boy came with the meat, and was at the cook’s side when she received the basket, croaking for his share.
Jim delighted in a plunge bath, and would splash away in an earthern crock a dozen times a day, if it was filled for him.
He liked red and blue, and if ladies called at the house dressed in these colors, the young crow would become frantic, spreading his wings and tail, and crying, “Come on, Come on,” to the amusement of all.
He would often eat corn with the chickens, and would act in a very greedy way, filling his bill with the grain, rushing away and hiding it, then coming back for more. If the chickens did not eat as fast as they could, Jim had the lion’s share.
Jim was hurt one day by a stray dog, and then we didn’t have a crow any more.--_Selected._
_Thursday_
Have the children tell, in their own words, the story of “Jim Crow.”
_Friday_
Have the children write the story of “Jim Crow.”
SECOND WEEK
_Monday_
Poem to be memorized:
THE LAND OF STORY BOOKS
At evening when the lamp is lit, Around the fire my parents sit; They sit at home, and talk and sing, And do not play at anything.
Now, with my little gun, I crawl All in the dark along the wall, And follow ’round the forest track Away behind the sofa back.
There, in the night, where none can spy, All in my hunter’s camp I lie And play at books that I have read Till it is time to go to bed.
These are the hills, these are the woods, These are my starry solitudes, And there the river, by whose brink The roaring lions come to drink.
I see the others far away, As if in firelit camp they lay, And I, like to an Indian scout, Around their party prowled about.
So when my nurse comes in for me, Home I return across the sea, And go to bed with backward looks At my dear Land of Story Books.
--_Robert Louis Stevenson_
Have the poem copied.
_Tuesday_
Have the children commit to memory the first two stanzas of “The Land of Story Books.”
_Wednesday_
Have the children commit to memory the third and fourth stanzas of “The Land of Story Books.”
_Thursday_
Have the pupils commit the entire poem, “The Land of Story Books.”
_Friday_
Repeat the poem of the week, entire.
THIRD WEEK
_Monday_
Write a list of the adjectives to be found in the poem, “The Land of Story Books.”
_Tuesday_
Write a list of the verbs to be found in the poem, “The Land of Story Books.”
_Wednesday_
Write two words that rhyme with each of the following: Sit, wall, bed, lay, sea.
_Thursday_
Write, in complete sentences, answers to the following questions, referring to the poem for the answers:
What do my parents do?
Where do I go with my gun?
What do I play?
What do I play that I am?
How long do I play?
_Friday_
Write a letter, thanking your aunt for a birthday present, and telling what the present is.
FOURTH WEEK
_Monday_
Complete the following sentences:
I am ---- to New York.
I ---- to school yesterday.
Will you ---- to the circus with me?
Has your aunt ---- home yet?
Are you ---- to school to-morrow?
Shall we ---- part way home with you?
_Tuesday_
Write the names of five objects made of wood; five of iron; five of wool; five of cotton.
_Wednesday_
Write a composition telling about grapes.
_Thursday_
Write a letter telling a friend about a squirrel you once saw.
_Friday_
Write an invitation to a school party.
FOURTH YEAR
FIRST WEEK
_Monday_
Write five sentences telling about good manners in the school-room.
_Tuesday_
Describe, orally, some game you know how to play.
_Wednesday_
Copy the following from Whittier’s “The Barefoot Boy”:
How the tortoise bears his shell, How the woodchuck digs his cell, How the ground-mole sinks his well, How the robin feeds her young, How the oriole’s nest is hung; Where the whitest lilies blow, Where the freshest berries grow, Where the ground-nut trails its vine, Where the wood-grape’s clusters shine.
_Thursday_
Write sentences explaining each reference in the poem copied yesterday. For example, “How the tortoise bears his shell”--The tortoise carries his shell on his back.
_Friday_
Have pupils dramatize “Little Red Riding Hood,” without preparation, and in their own way.
SECOND WEEK
_Monday_
For dictation:
Ere, in the northern gale, The summer tresses of the leaves are gone, The woods of Autumn, all around our vale, Have put their glory on.
--_William Cullen Bryant_
_Tuesday_
Proverbs, to be copied and committed to memory:
He who does his best, does well.
It takes two to make a quarrel.
Make hay while the sun shines.
More haste, less speed.
Waste not, want not.
A place for everything, and everything in its place.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Better late than never.
Look before you leap.
Honesty is the best policy.
_Wednesday_
Write a composition about “Sparrows.”
_Thursday_
Write a telegram, congratulating either President Taft or Governor Wilson upon his nomination for President.
_Friday_
Conversation on how we can tell that Fall and Winter are coming.
THIRD WEEK
_Monday_
Copy the following from “Hiawatha.”
THE FEAST OF MONDAMIN
And the maize-field grew and ripened, Till it stood in all the splendor Of its garments green and yellow, Of its tassels and its plumage, And the maize-ears full and shining Gleamed from bursting sheaths of verdure.
Then Nokomis, the old woman, Spake and said to Minnehaha: “Tis the Moon when leaves are falling; All the wild rice has been gathered, And the maize is ripe and ready; Let us gather in the harvest, Let us wrestle with Mondamin, Strip him of his plume and tassels, Of his garments green and yellow.”
_Tuesday_
Commit to memory the selection from “Hiawatha.”
_Wednesday_
Conversation on the meaning of the “Mondamin” story.
_Thursday_
Write a story on “Corn--How It Grows.”
_Friday_
Write ten sentences about the uses of corn.
FOURTH WEEK
_Monday_
Write the abbreviations for _month_, _year_, the days of the week, the months of the year.
_Tuesday_
For dictation:
Chestnuts in the ashes Bursting through the rind, Red leaf and yellow leaf Rustling down the wind; Mother “doin’ peaches” All the afternoon-- Don’t you think that Autumn’s Pleasanter than June?
_Wednesday_
Write five reasons why autumn is pleasanter than June.
_Thursday_
Write ten sentences containing the word blue.
_Friday_
Write a rhyme of four lines about apples.
OCTOBER
FIRST YEAR
FIRST WEEK
_Monday_
What is the name of this month? What was last month called? What month follows October? What season is this? What season follows autumn? What are the four seasons? How do you know that it is autumn? How is the weather different from what it was in July? What are the birds doing this month? What is happening to the leaves on the trees? What flowers are in blossom this month?
_Tuesday_
A little verse to learn:
Work, and make the world sweet, That’s the best for you.
_Wednesday_
Read this little poem to the children:
LITTLE MISS CHESTNUT
Little Miss Chestnut lived in a tree, She and her sisters; one, two, three. Their house was covered with prickles green, To keep the squirrels away, I ween.
Soon Jack Frost knocked, just for fun; Out jumped the chestnuts, every one.
Elsie and Fred, on their walk next day, Found the nuts and took them away. On winter evenings, cold and long, They’ll roast the nuts. Here ends my song.
--_Selected_
_Have ready_, but out of sight, a chestnut burr, if possible containing some of the nuts. If you cannot get the burr, at least have some of the nuts enough so that each child may have one to eat, after the lesson is over.
Show the children how the prickly burr protects the nuts from squirrels, and from boys and girls, until the nuts are ripe. Then Jack Frost comes along and opens the burr, and the nuts fall out.
Explain how the nut itself is the seed of the chestnut tree, and how, if allowed to lie under the snow all winter, a new little chestnut tree will start up in the spring.
_Thursday_
Teach this little rhyme to the children:
When we have a pleasant day, We like to stroll along the way; And as we walk upon the street, The folks we know we always greet.
Use the rhyme as a means of teaching the children the proper method of salutation on the street. Let the girls wear their hats, and the boys have their caps at their seats with them. Allow a boy and a girl, with hats on, to go to the front of the room, and from opposite sides of the room walk towards each other. As they start, the children--all except the two at the front--repeat the rhyme. When the two children at the front meet, the girl nods her head politely, and the boy lifts his hat. After the simple ceremony the two children return to their seats, and their places are taken by other boys and girls, in turn, until all can perform the act easily and gracefully.
_Friday_
Ask each child to bring a penny to school. See how many things are to be found on the penny--as a head, date, etc.
SECOND WEEK
_Monday_
Tell the children that October was the month when America was discovered. We live in the United States, and the United States is in America. Tell the story of Columbus and the discovery of the new continent. If well told, the story is quite as fascinating as a fairy tale.
_Tuesday_
Have the children tell back to you the story of Columbus and the discovery of America.
_Wednesday_
A poem dramatized.
This poem, acted out as indicated, can be used effectively as a rest exercise. As all the children will be moving, the windows can be thrown open, and the room aired while the game is being played.
The poem is to be recited by the teacher. Allow plenty of time between lines, for each part to be acted.
Children representing Sunshine, Miss Weather and Professor Wind are first chosen. They take their places in the front of the room. Then the other children are separated, by rows of desks, into Ashes, Oaks, Maples, and Chestnuts.
October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came--
The Ashes, Oaks, Maples, and Chestnuts come skipping, tiptoe, up the aisles, helter-skelter, to represent flying leaves.
The Ashes, Oaks, and Maples, And those of every name.
The skipping is continued, until all the leaves stand in a group at one side of the room.
Miss Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand.
As these two lines are being recited Miss Sunshine pretends to spread a carpet over the entire open space at the front of the room. She may take plenty of time. The poem is not to be recited continuously.
Miss Weather led the dancing,
As this line is recited, Miss Weather skips alone across the front of the room, from one side to the other.
Professor Wind, the band.
Professor Wind marches pompously across the room, tooting a real or an imaginary horn.
The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Chestnuts skip lightly, by couples, from one side of the room to the side where Miss Weather stands. They bow to Miss Weather by twos, turn, and skip back again.
The Oaks in crimson dressed; The lovely Misses Maple In scarlet looked their best.
The Oaks, then the Maples, followed by the Ashes, skip across the room by twos, bowing to Miss Weather, and returning to their places, after the fashion of the Chestnuts.
And balanced all their partners, And gaily fluttered by; The sight was like a rainbow Now fallen from the sky.
While the teacher is reciting the four lines given above, all the children are still, but at its close, all skip about partners, holding their clasped hands high above the head, skipping tiptoe, as before, and very light and gay.
Then in the rustic hollows, At “hide-and-seek” they played, The party closed at sundown, And everybody stayed.
All remain quiet while the four lines given above are recited, then partners separate, and everybody apparently hides somewhere.
Professor Wind played louder; They flew along the ground; And then the party ended In jolly hands around.
As Professor Wind blows his hardest, all gather from their hiding places, take hold of hands and circle round, and the game ends.
--_Selected and adapted_
_Thursday_
Play the October game.
_Friday_
Play the October game.
THIRD WEEK
_Monday_
Read this poem to the children, for them to guess who is meant:
WHO’S THE ROGUE?
A roguish old fellow is prowling about In field and in garden; you can’t keep him out. No matter how tall You build up your wall, He’ll find a way over, in spite of it all.
On the glass of the window his pictures you’ll see, A grand exhibition (admission is free); He works hard at night While the stars glitter bright; But when the sun rises he keeps out of sight.
He’ll sketch you a snow-covered mountain or tree; A torrent all frozen, a ship out at sea. He draws very fast, But his work does not last: It fades when the chill of the night-time is past.
Before the sun rises, while hardly ’tis light, He feels of the fruit and takes a sly bite; He has a fine taste, Though a great deal he’ll waste, Then off he will go in very great haste.
Now, who do you think this old fellow may be, The bright, sparkling work of whose fingers we see? All winter he’ll stay, What more shall I say? Only this, that his first name begins with a J.
--_Selected_
_Tuesday_
On this, or some rainy morning of the week, talk about the weather. Why did you all come to school this morning with rubbers and umbrellas? Why is an umbrella shaped as it is? Why does the rain sometimes fall straight down, and sometimes slanting? How does the rain tell us which way the wind blows? Why do rubbers keep our feet dry, when shoes do not? What else is made of rubber?
_Wednesday_
Teach the children this memory gem:
All that’s great and good is done Just by patient trying.
_Thursday_