Why was she playing with the boy? She loved him
and was sorry he was lame.

Could he do anything for his Grandma? He could
talk to her, and keep her from being lonely.
When he grows older, he can read to her.

Describe the picture you see in the ninth
stanza. I see the old lady, with her hands
covering her face, while she guesses where the
boy is hidden.

In the last stanza, why does the author use so
many "olds", in speaking of the Grandmother? He
wants to make us feel she is quite old.

Why does he say "dear" so often? He wants to
show how very kind she was to the lame boy.

Why does he say the boy was "half-past three",
instead of three and a half years old? It
sounds better the way he says it. It suggests
the clock's time.

Give me some other titles for this poem. "The
Chums", "A Queer Game", "The Two Playmates".

DANDELIONS

(Second Reader, page 30)

AIM

To lead the pupils to perceive and appreciate how the poet uses
personification and comparison.

PRESENTATION

This poem should be studied in the spring, when the dandelions are in
bloom. A nature study lesson should precede the literature lesson. The
pupils should be required to observe when the dandelions begin to make
their appearance; at what time of the day they are most conspicuous;
after what kind of night they are to be found in greatest profusion;
what change occurs in the structure of the flowers as they grow older;
how long a time usually elapses between the first appearance of the
flowers and this change; what the white, downy part of the flower
constitutes; what eventually becomes of this part.

Introduce the lesson by a brief conversation about military operations.
Describe how one army tries to seize a strategic position, sometimes a
hill, where the men can fix their guns and command the surrounding
country. If this lesson could be presented without the pupils knowing
the title (by writing the poem on the black-board, for instance), there
would be the added interest of solving a riddle, namely, what the poet
is describing.

What is a real "trooper band"? A band of
soldiers on horseback.

And what are real "veterans"? Old soldiers who
have seen much service in war.

What is actually meant by the "trooper band"?
The dand