FOURTH YEAR
FIRST WEEK
Monday
Poem to be committed to memory:
THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH
Under a spreading chestnut tree,
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate’er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.
Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.
The children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing floor.
He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter’s voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.
It sounds to him like her mother’s voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.
Toiling—rejoicing—sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begun,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night’s repose.
Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought!
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Have the entire poem copied.
Spend the rest of the week in having the poem committed to memory.
SECOND WEEK
Monday
Write answers to the following:
Where does the village smithy stand?
Describe the smith.
Write another word whose meaning is similar to “bravery.”
What is meant by “crisp” hair?
Why should the smith’s face be brown, as though tanned?
Why is sweat called “honest”?
By doing what kinds of work does a smith earn his living?
Why should the smith be able to look the whole world in the face because he owes no one anything?
Has the world a face? What, then, is meant by “looking the whole world in the face”?
Tuesday
Describe the bellows used by the blacksmith.
What is the sledge used by the blacksmith?
Why is the sledge made heavy? Why is it swung slowly?
What is meant by “measured” beat? What is a musical measure?
What is a sexton? Where was the village bell hung, then? Why was it called the “village” bell?
When is the evening sun low?
What is a “forge”?
Why do bellows “roar”?
What is “chaff”? What is a threshing floor? How is grain threshed now-a-days? How was it usually threshed when this poem was written?
Wednesday
What members of the smith’s family are mentioned in the poem? What is a parson?
What is a “choir”?
Write a word whose meaning is similar to that of “rejoice.”
Why is the smith’s hand “hard and rough”?
Write a list of the adjectives used in the poem which are used to describe the smith.
Thursday
Write a word that might have been used in place of “toiling.” Which is the more poetic word?
What is a “task”?
What is meant by a “night’s repose”? Write another word meaning repose.
Why does something done earn repose?
What is the lesson which the smith teaches?
Friday
Write ten sentences, describing the smith.
THIRD WEEK
Monday
Conversation on signs of the coming of winter.
Tuesday
For dictation:
You cannot change yesterday, that is clear,
Or begin tomorrow until it is here.
So the only thing left, for you and for me,
Is to make to-day as sweet as can be.
Wednesday
Have pupils write about Columbus and the discovery of America.
Thursday
Write an invitation to Hallowe’en exercises to be held at the school.
Friday
Write an answer to the invitation written the day before, accepting the invitation.
FOURTH WEEK
Monday
Write ten sentences containing the word red.
Tuesday
Write five sentences, each sentence to end with a word rhyming with hat.
Wednesday
Write a description of some Hallowe’en trick.
Thursday
Play the game of “Who am I?” Each pupil play he is some object in the room. He must describe himself so that the rest can guess his name. Each pupil begins his description: “I am not myself. See if you can guess my name.” Then follows the description. The pupil who first guesses the object from the description, describes himself next.
Friday
Have a spelling match.