What is the thought of the paragraph as a whole? This thought rules the paragraph. It is the paragraph thought. Now study the paragraph, sentence by sentence, to see how each sentence helps along the paragraph thought. The words of a sentence must be put together, or grouped, so as to express one thought completely. Just so, the sentences of a paragraph must be put together, or grouped, so as to express the paragraph thought completely. 14 WRITING A PARAGRAPH Write a paragraph about the performers in this concert. Let your first sentence be: The performers in the morning concert lived out-ofdoors. What must each sentence in your paragraph do? Be sure to leave a blank line between the title and the paragraph. 15 REVIEWING CAPITAL LETTERS AND MARKS OF PUNCTUATION ABRAHAM LINCOLN If I were to ask you, "Who was our greatest President?" some of you would probably answer, "George Washington." Most of you would agree, though, that President Lincoln was as great as Washington. Both of these famous men were born in the month of February, Washington in 1732, and Lincoln in 1809. Sometimes you think it is a hard task to go to school all the week from Monday to Friday, but Abraham Lincoln would have been glad of your chance to learn. In all his life he went to school for only a few months. He had very few books, too, instead of the many readers, histories, and geographies that you have, for his father was poor and could not buy him books or paper. So when Lincoln wished to remember something that he had seen or heard, he took a shingle from the wood pile and wrote on it to save paper. He also kept a scrap book, in which he copied funny sayings, and facts of history, geography, and arithmetic. In one of these books he wrote, "Abraham Lincoln His hand and pen; He will be good But God knows when." As Lincoln liked to read, he often borrowed the books that he could not afford to buy. On one occasion he obtained the Life of Washington from a man named Crawford for whom he sometimes worked. He was very careful of the book, but one day, in spite of his care, it was soaked with the rain which came in between the cracks of the log cabin in which the Lincoln family lived. When he told Mr. Crawford about it, the man said, "You must work the book out." So, for three days Abraham pulled fodder for the cattle to pay for the book. After that, Lincoln read stories of the lives of many famous men. In that way he learned much of the history of the United States and other countries. Even though he had to work when other boys were at school or at play, he kept on with his studies. He knew that he must learn to speak correctly, if he wanted people to listen to him. He was so determined to speak and write well that one day he walked six miles to borrow a grammar which the schoolmaster said would help him in his language. You know that this poor boy, who was called "Honest Abe" by his neighbors, became President Lincoln and lived in the White House instead of in a log cabin. You must read in your histories the story of his later life. Read the sentences in the first paragraph. What is the first word in each sentence? With what kind of letter does it begin? Find the names of all the people in this story. With what kind of letter does each name begin? How many titles are used in this story? With what kind of letter does each title begin? Tell which title is abbreviated. How is the abbreviation formed? By what mark is the abbreviation followed? Which title is not abbreviated? What days of the week are mentioned? What month is mentioned? With what kind of letter does the name of each day and the month begin? Name all the capital letters in the first sentence. Tell why each one is used. Look at the rime which Lincoln wrote in his scrap book. Name all the words beginning with capital letters. Why are these words capitalized? Read the question in the first sentence. Read what Mr. Crawford said to Lincoln. Where are the quotation marks placed? Why? Tell why commas are used after the word you and the word answer in the first sentence. What was the name of the book which Mr. Crawford lent to Lincoln? What words in the title are capi talized? Why? 16 BEING PATRIOTIC IN SPEECH The story of President Lincoln's boyhood teaches all boys and girls a new lesson of patriotism. As good Americans you will not only pronounce correctly the words America and American, but, like Lincoln, you will learn to speak correctly all the words you use, and thus show that you are loyal to the English language, which is the language of America. Pronounce the words in the following list: Make sentences, using these words. sentences to the class. Read your 17 LEARNING TO COPY With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in. -Abraham Lincoln. These words are a part of the speech made by Lincoln the second time he was inaugurated as President. Copy this sentence and learn it. NOTE: This and the following Learning to Copy exercises may be used as Dictation exercises. 18 A STORY Too WARM FOR MIKE! It was bitter weather. The icy winds howled and shrieked around the house. Our big gray cat made herself comfortable in the kitchen during these cold days, but old Mike, the Tom cat, was strangely absent. Usually, he was the terror of the neighborhood no matter how severe the weather; but now everyone noticed his absence and many were the guesses as to its cause. All the cats in the block felt highly jubilant over his disappearance. They gathered in sheltered nooks and pow-wowed over the good news. Their chorus of joy was ear-splitting. "Mike's dead! Mike's dead! Yeow, yeow, y-e-o-w!" they howled, and their silly tails stuck straight up in the air until they froze. Then the chorus disbanded, and its members sought warm quarters where they could sleep in peace. |