LESSON 2
JOHNNY'S FIRST SNOWSTORM

WORD LIST

country groves losing sugar freezes

1. Johnny Reed was a little boy who never had seen a snowstorm till he was six years old. Before this, he had lived in a warm country, where the sun shines down on beautiful orange groves, and fields always sweet with flowers.

2. But now he had come to visit his grandmother, who lived where the snow falls in winter. Johnny was standing at the window when the snow came down.

3. “O mamma! ” he cried, joyfully, “do come quick, and see these little white birds flying down from heaven.”

4. “They are not birds, Johnny, ” said mamma, smiling.

5. “Then maybe the little angels are losing their feathers! Oh! do tell me what it is; is it sugar? Let me taste it, ” said Johnny. But when he tasted it, he gave a little jump—it was so cold.

6. “That is only snow, Johnny, ” said his mother.

7. “What is snow, mother? ”

8. “The snowflakes, Johnny, are little drops of water that fall from the clouds. But the air through which they pass is so cold it freezes them, and they come down turned into snow.”

9. As she said this, she brought out an old black hat from the closet. “See, Johnny! I have caught a snowflake on this hat. Look quick through this glass, and you will see how beautiful it is.”

10. Johnny looked through the glass. There lay the pure, feathery snowflake like a lovely little star.

11. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star! ” he cried in delight. “Oh! please show me more snow-flakes, mother.”

12. So his mother caught several more, and they were all beautiful.

13. The next day Johnny had a fine play in the snow, and when he came in, he said, “I love snow; and I think snowballs are a great deal prettier than oranges.”

STUDY GUIDE

A. Scrambled Sentences—Put the sentences in the correct order. The first one has been done for you.

Johnny lived in a warm country. ( 1 )

Johnny's mother caught more snowflakes. ( )

Johnny's mother caught a snowflake on an old, black hat. ( )

Johnny said he thought snowflakes were prettier than oranges. ( )

Johnny was standing at the window when the snow came down. ( )

Johnny wanted to see more snowflakes. ( )

Johnny looked at a snowflake through a glass. ( )

Johnny thought the snow was birds, angels, or sugar. ( )

Johnny's mother told Johnny what snow is. ( )

Johnny played in the snow. ( )

B. Vocabulary Practice—Write the correct vocabulary word in the blank. Choose from the following words.

sugar snowflakes joyfully lovely grove freezes snowstorm angel

1. Many fruit trees together are called a ___________________.

2. When water reaches 0 degrees it ____________________.

3. Pieces of snow falling from the sky are called _______________.

4. To do something happily is to do it _________________________.

5. When a lot of snow falls, this is called a ___________________.

6. A sweet substance used to make candy is ____________________.

7. Something that is beautiful or pleasing may be called ___________.

8. A messenger from God is sometimes called an _________________.

C. Discussion Questions—Talk about these questions.

1. Why had Johnny never seen a snowstorm before he was six years old?

2. Why did Johnny think the snow was sugar?

3. Why did Johnny want to see many snowflakes?

4. Have you seen snow? Do you like it? Why or why not?

5. Do you agree with Johnny that snowflakes are prettier than oranges? Why or why not?

6. With your group, make a list of white things and orange things. An example has been done for you.

white

clouds

orange

pumpkins