Like the first volume of English for the Thoughtful Child, this second volume concentrates on the development of composition skills. It contains picture lessons, oral and written narration exercises, memory work, and copy work. In addition to these lessons, which help build narrative and descriptive skills, this book includes nature lessons, which help build expository writing skills. Those families who keep nature notebooks may find these lessons work well with their own nature studies.
Much of this book comes from Scott and Southworth's 1913 title, Lessons in English. The original preface describes it this way: "Too many teachers think of a textbook as a kind of machine gun, built to fire so many loads a minute with deadly precision. This is a vicious error. In this book, teachers will find a great variety of material which they can use in accordance with their best judgment. Exercises are given for copying, for dictation, for rewriting, for description, for letter writing, for recording the results of observation and experience, for the use of words and their synonyms, and for practice in the use of correct forms. Ample provision is made for the correlation of nature work with language, and the elements of grammar are inductively presented."
"The end of all instruction in English is growth in power of expression and appreciation. Drill which contributes to this end is good. Drill which, falling short of this end, merely fills the child's mind with rules and symbols, is a grievous waste of time."
These lessons exemplify the Charlotte Mason method of education. The book is a continuation of the gentle, thoughtful instruction in writing begun in English for the Thoughtful Child, Vol. 1.