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The blacksmith and Polly and Peter went into the shop. It was fun inside. The children had often seen the blacksmith fit shoes on horses' feet.

They liked to watch him hammer the white-hot iron. They liked to see the sparks that the hammer made. They liked to watch his fire.

"Why, there is Mary, our horse," said Polly. "I did not know that she was over here."

"I have been shoeing her. She is all ready to go to the store. I shall lead her. You may both ride on her back."

"Oh, goody, goody!" cried Polly. "Sometimes father lets us do that."

"Here are two presents for you, Polly. And here are two presents for you, Peter. Do you know what they are?"

"They look like horseshoes," said Polly. "Thank you very much. But what odd little horseshoes! Did you make them for Mary? I guess that they did not fit her."

"I did not make them for Mary. Can you guess what they are for?"

"They are just big enough for Tim's goat," said Peter.

"They are not for Billy," said the blacksmith." Guess again."

"Are they for a little calf?"

"No," said the blacksmith. "And I think that you had better look at Billy's feet. Then I think that you had better look at a calf's feet. You will see that round shoes would not fit them."

"Then what are these for?" asked Polly. "I cannot guess."

"I made them for a pony. If you were my children, maybe I should buy you a pony for your very own."

"Oh, would you?" asked Peter. "I should like that. But I cannot be your boy, because I am my father's."

"Show him what I gave you. Tell him that you would like a pony to fit those four shoes. Well, Polly, what is the matter?"

"Nothing much," said Polly. "I just dropped my horseshoes into my apron pocket. I forgot that my egg was there. It is all broken, now."

"I should say it is, Polly. Come over here and clean up a little. Wipe out that pocket. Now are you ready? Then up you go on Mary. Peter first, Polly behind."

"It is quite slippery up here," said Peter. "Maybe I shall slide off."

"That will not matter, unless you have eggs in your pocket, too. Have you, Peter?"

"No," said Peter, "just horseshoes."

"Then forward march," said the blacksmith. And off they started.

Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read the story multiple times.
  • Review the synopsis.
  • Study the vocabulary words.
  • Learn the concepts.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Polly and Peter enter the blacksmith's shop. The blacksmith shoes Peter and Polly's father's horse, Mary. The blacksmith shows the children a set of rounded, metal shoes that are too small for horses. He asks the children to guess which animal will wear the shoes. Peter and Polly guess a goat and a calf, but those animals do not have round feet. The shoes are for a pony. Polly accidentally drops the horseshoes onto her uncooked egg and breaks it. The children take a ride on Mary.

Vocabulary

Hammer: A tool with a handle and a metal head used to pound and pull nails, break things, and shape things.
Iron: A silvery gray metal used to build things.
Spark: A particle thrown from a fire or produced by striking two hard things together.
Horseshoes: A shoe for a horse made from iron and secured with nails.
Temperature: Temperature is a measure of how hot or cold something is. The hotter the object, the higher temperature. The colder the object, the lower the temperature.
Melt: Turn from solid to liquid.
Melting Point: The temperature that melts a solid into a liquid.

Concepts

In the story, Peter and Polly visit the blacksmith's shop. Blacksmiths heat metals and hammer the heated metal into shapes. Blacksmiths make many things, such as iron shoes for horses.

Facts about blacksmiths:

  1. Blacksmiths heat metal, such as iron, until it becomes blazing hot, starts to melt, and can be bent and shaped.
  2. As iron grows hotter and hotter, it glows red, then orange, then yellow, and finally white. Yellow-orange is the best color for shaping iron.
  3. Blacksmiths create items such as horseshoes, swords, art sculptures, fixtures for lights, and gates.

Did you know that there is a competition for blacksmiths held in Canada every year? Blacksmiths compete in categories such as horseshoeing to be crowned 'The World Champion Blacksmith.'

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Story

  • After reading or listening to the story, narrate the story events aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Melting Point Experiment

Objective:

Discover that different substances melt at different temperatures.

Materials:

An ice cube, a pat of butter, and a penny

Procedure:

  • Review the definitions of melt, melting point, and temperature in the 'Vocabulary' section above.
  • Set an ice cube, a pat of butter, and a metal penny on a plate, and put the plate in the refrigerator overnight.
  • Hypothesize (guess/predict) what you think will happen to each item. Observe the results the next day. Were your hypotheses correct?
  • Next, hold a penny in one hand and a small piece of butter in the other. Hold your hand over a sink to avoid making a mess.
  • Hypothesize what you think will happen to each item. Observe the results in a couple of minutes. Were your hypotheses correct?

Results:

  • What happened to the ice cube, butter, and penny in the refrigerator? (The ice cube melted into liquid. The butter and penny remained solid.)
  • What happened to the butter and penny in your hands? (The butter melted into liquid. The penny remained solid.)
  • Why did the solid ice cube turn into liquid in the refrigerator? (The refrigerator was warmer than water's melting point.)
  • Why didn't the solid butter and solid penny turn into liquid in the refrigerator? (The refrigerator was colder than the butter and penny's melting points.)
  • Why did the solid butter turn into liquid in your hand? (Your hand was warmer than the butter's melting point.)
  • Why didn't the solid penny turn into liquid in your hand? (Your hand was cooler than the penny's melting point.)
  • What would you need to do to melt the penny? (Raise the penny's temperature until it melts.)

Conclusion:

This experiment showed that different things melt at different temperatures. The ice melted in the cold fridge. The butter melted in your warm hand. The penny melts at an even higher temperature. For instance, pennies can be melted with the flame from a propane torch. Iron has an even higher melting point than pennies. Iron must be heated to even higher temperatures than pennies before melting.

Review

Question 1

Who are the mystery horseshoes for?
1 / 5

Answer 1

The mystery horseshoes are for a pony.
1 / 5

Question 2

How many horseshoes did the blacksmith make for the pony?
2 / 5

Answer 2

The blacksmith made four horseshoes, since ponies have four hooves.
2 / 5

Question 3

What happened to Polly's egg?
3 / 5

Answer 3

Polly dropped horseshoes on the egg, and the egg broke.
3 / 5

Question 4

What did the children ride at the end of the story?
4 / 5

Answer 4

The children rode a horse.
4 / 5

Question 5

Describe what happens to iron when it is heated to extremely high temperatures.
5 / 5

Answer 5

Iron changes color when heated. First it glows red, then orange, then yellow, and finally white. It will eventually melt into a liquid.
5 / 5

  1. Who are the mystery horseshoes for? The mystery horseshoes are for a pony.
  2. How many horseshoes did the blacksmith make for the pony? The blacksmith made four horseshoes, since ponies have four hooves.
  3. What happened to Polly's egg? Polly dropped horseshoes on the egg, and the egg broke.
  4. What did the children ride at the end of the story? The children rode a horse.
  5. Describe what happens to iron when it is heated to extremely high temperatures. Iron changes color when heated. First it glows red, then orange, then yellow, and finally white. It will eventually melt into a liquid.

References

  1. 'Blacksmith.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

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