Read the poem silently. How many stanzas are there in this poem? Which lines rhyme in each stanza? How How many sentences are there in each stanza? How many sentences are there in the poem? How many lines in each sentence? What kind of sentence is each? How many of the sentences are interrogative? How many questions are there in the poem? What is the first stanza about? To whom is it addressed? To whom is the second stanza addressed? What is it about? To whom are the third and fourth stanzas addressed? What is each about? To whom is the fifth stanza addressed? What troubles are mentioned in each stanza? Are they serious? What lesson does the poem teach? What contractions, are used in the poem? full words that each contraction stands for? following words mean: frown, pout, fret, dunce, creation? Read the poem aloud: imagine, as you read, that you are giving this advice to some other child. Remember in reading that all the sentences are questions.

Commit to memory the last stanza.

68. WRITTEN LESSON

What are the

What do the

Write in a column on the left of the sheet all the contractions in the poem in Lesson 67. Opposite each contraction, write the word it stands for.

69. LANGUAGE LESSON

POSSESSIVES

The girl's doll was broken.

The boy's pony ran away.

In these sentences, whose doll was it? Whose pony ran away? In answering these questions you use the word girl

Possessives

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and boy, but you add an apostrophe (') and an s to indicate possession. Such words as girl's and boy's are said to be possessive because they show ownership or possession. To make a possessive with a singular noun we add an apostrophe and an s. For example: father, father's hat; boy, boy's lesson; George, George's mistake; doll, doll's head; Mr. J. K. Smith, Mr. J. K. Smith's house.

Make the following nouns into possessives: lady, dolly, people, George Washington, teacher, neighbor. Make five sentences, each containing one of these possessives.

Dictation:

The apostrophe is used (1) to show the omission of a letter in contractions, (2) before s in possessives.

70. ORAL LESSON

TURNING THE GRINDSTONE

When I was a little boy, I remember, one cold winter's morning, I was accosted by a smiling man with an axe on his shoulder. "My pretty boy," said he, "has your father a grindstone?" "Yes, sir," said I.

"You are a fine little fellow," said he; "will you let me grind my axe on it?"

Pleased with the compliment of "fine little fellow," "Oh, yes, sir," I answered. "It is down in the shop."

"And will you, my man," said he, patting me on the head, get me a little hot water?

How could I refuse? I ran and soon brought a kettleful. "How old are you? and what's your name?" continued he, without waiting for a reply; "I am sure you are one of the finest lads that ever I have seen; will you just turn a few minutes for me?" Tickled with the flattery, like a little fool, I went to work, and

bitterly did I rue the day. It was a new axe, and I toiled and tugged till I was almost tired to death. The school-bell rang, and I could not get away; my hands were blistered, and the axe was not half ground. At length, however, it was sharpened; and the man turned to me with:

Now, you little rascal, you've played truant; scud to school, or you'll rue it!

"Alas!" thought I, "it was hard enough to turn a grindstone this cold day, but now to be called a rascal is too much."

This experience I have never forgotten.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

This is a true story written by Benjamin Franklin about himself. Franklin was a poor boy who came to be a great and famous man by hard work and hard study. Have you ever heard any other stories of his boyhood? Do you know in what city he was born? In what city did he live for the greater part of his life? He lived at the same time as did Washington, and both men did much to make the United States an independent nation. It was through Franklin that France came to the aid of the United States in the Revolutionary War against England. Franklin was a scientist as well as a statesman, and discovered that lightning and electricity are the same thing. He was also a very sensible and wise man, and his writings are full of good sense and wisdom. Some of his best writing is in his Autobiography, or story of his own life, from which this story of the grindstone is taken.

How many paragraphs are there in the story? Give the reason for making each new paragraph. What lesson does the story teach? What is the meaning of the expression "That man has an axe to grind"? What is the meaning of accosted, compliment, flattery, rue, truant, experience?

Tell the story aloud in your own words. Remember that in Franklin's story not a single sentence begins with an and.

Contractions

71. WRITTEN LESSON

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Write the story of Lesson 70 in your own words. Exchange papers and mark with a cross all mistakes: (1) In spelling, (2) in capitals, (3) in punctuation, (4) in plurals, (5) in contractions, (6) in possessives.

Return the papers. How many mistakes did you have? Correct the mistakes on your paper.

72. LANGUAGE LESSONS

What are the contractions for I am, I have, I will, are not, is not, it is, you are, you have, you will, we will?

Answer the following questions by filling the blanks with suitable contractions:

In the replies, note that there is a comma after "Yes" and "No."

Write out your answers.

Examine the contractions and possessives in these sen

tences:

"It's raining," said May, with a frown.

"It's too bad!"

"Every cloud has its silver lining," said Grandina. May's frown changed to a look of surprise.