McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader by William Holmes McGuffey McGuffey's First Reader by William Holmes McGuffey    

Lesson 1: The dog ran

Teaching Guide:

Step 1: Teach Letter Sounds

Display one of the letters on a computer screen or whiteboard.

• Point to the letter, make the letter sound, and ask children to repeat the sound.
• Repeat the process for each letter.

Display all lesson letters together.

• Make a letter sound and ask children to pick out the associated letter.
• Alternatively, point to letters and ask the children to make the associated sound.
• Repeat until all letters are mastered.

Note: If teaching multiple children, practice both as a group and individually to ensure mastery by each child.

Step 2: Teach 'dog'

Show the lesson picture and point to the dog.

• Ask: What am I pointing at?
• Ask: What can you tell me about dogs?
• Ask: What is the dog in the picture doing?
• Ask: Is that a real dog? Can he bark? Can he eat bones?
• Say: No, it is not a real dog. It is a picture of a dog.
• Say: We see a picture of a real dog. Now I will show you a picture of the word dog.

Display the word 'dog.'

• Say: That is the picture that stands for the word 'dog', just as the picture we looked at before stands for a real dog.

Point to the word 'dog.'

• Ask: How do you pronounce this word?

Display the lesson on the computer screen or whiteboard.

• Ask: Who can find the word 'dog' in the lesson?
• Give each child a turn in locating the word 'dog' within the lesson.

Step 3: Teach 'ran'

Repeat the previous step for 'ran.'

Display both words 'dog' and 'ran.'

• Practice until each child can readily point to the right word when it is spoken.

Display the lesson on the computer screen or whiteboard.

• Practice until each child can readily point to the words 'dog' and 'ran' within the lesson when asked.

Step 4: Teach 'The dog' and 'The dog ran'

Show the lesson picture and point to the dog.

Display the phrase 'The dog' on the computer/whiteboard.

• Say: This phrase reads 'the dog.'

Point to the words.

• Ask: How do you say these words?

Display the lesson on the computer screen or whiteboard.

• Say: Who can find the words 'the dog' in the lesson?
• Repeat this procedure for 'The dog ran.'
• Practice until each child can readily point to the words 'the dog' within the lesson when asked.

Step 5: Teach the Terminus or Period '.'

This lesson includes the terminus or the period, the sign indicating the end of a sentence.

Explain to children that the period marks the end of a sentence.

Display the following sentences and ask children to add a period at the end of each sentence:

• 'I like apples'
• 'I am a girl'
• 'My name is Sally'
• 'I pet the dog'

Step 6: Complete Lesson Copywork

• Have children complete the associated McGuffey copywork for this lesson. Click an icon to the right to access the page.  

Step 7: Independent Reinforcement

• Later in the day, have children independently review the lesson.
• Children should click the links to hear the letter sounds, words, and sentences pronounced and then repeat them aloud.
• Teach the lesson each day until children have mastered the lesson and are ready to progress to the next lesson.