1. Count That Day Lost by
George Eliot

2. PRE-READING
Look at the pictures. Which do you think show a “good day”?
Explain why. 3 2 1 4 5 6
2. Suggest other activities that you could do on a “good day”.

3. VOCABULARY INTRODUCTION English set of sun to count acts
Hebrew
set of sun
שקיעת השמש
livelong day
כל אורכו של היום
to count
לספור, למנות, להחשיב
to cheer
לעודד
acts
פעולות
yea כן
self-denying deed
מעשה שדורש הקרבה מצדך
nay לא
to ease
להקל
to trace
לאתר
glance
מבט חטוף
soul
נשמה ,נפש ,אדם
kind
טוב לב, אדיב
to cost
לעלות
sunshine
אור השמש
worse than
גרוע מ
well spent
שנוצל היטב
lost
אבוד

6. 1. Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B.
___1. trace
a. act
___2. count
b. give relief
___3. ease
c. a quick look
___4. glance
d. find
___5. cheer
e. encourage
___6. deed
f. add together to find the total number d f b c e a

7. 2. Complete a wordsearch.
count
worse
deed
self-denying
ease
glance
trace
cheer
count

8. BASIC UNDERSANDING
1. Match the lines from the poem in column A with their meanings in column B A B
___a. One glance most kind
1. שום מעשה ואילו הקטן ביותר
___b. If, through it all
2. מבט אחד חטוף מאד אדיב
__c. No act most small
3. אבל אם, לכל ארכו של היום
___d. And, counting, find
4. שהקלה על ליבו של מי ששמע
___e. Then you may count that day well spent
5. אז תחשיב את היום כגרוע יותר מאבוד
___f. But if, through all the livelong day
6. אם לאורכו כולו
___g. That eased the heart of him who heard
7.ובעת הספירה, מוצא
___h. Then, count that day as worse than lost
8. אז תוכל להחשיב יום זה כיום שנוצל היטב 2 6 1 7 8 3 4 5

9. Stanza-בית בשיר
A group of lines which form a unit in a poem.
2. How many stanzas are there in the poem “Count That Day Lost”?__________

10. 3. Read the first stanza (lines 1-8) and answer the following questions:

11. You should count the acts that you have done.
a. Who is the speaker talking to?
CIRCLE THE CORRECT ANSWER
i) The reader.
ii) People who help others.
iii) People who count their acts.
b. What time of day is mentioned in the first stanza?
i) the afternoon
ii) the early evening
iii) night
c. What should you do at sunset?
d. The poet mentions three things that make a day well spent. Name TWO of them.
You should count the acts that you have done.
one self-denying deed/one word that eased the heart of him who heard/one glance most kind

12. that eased the heart of him who heard
e. CIRCLE THE CORRECT ANSWER
The example of a “self-denying deed” is when….
i) a person visits a sick friend instead of going to a show.
ii) a person gives old clothes he doesn’t need to a homeless person.
iii) a person studies for hours for an important test.
f. Copy the words that mean “made someone feel better.”
g. Write in Hebrew the meaning of the word “count”
line 2:___________________________line 8:_____________________________
that eased the heart of him who heard
לספור
להחשיב

13. h. CIRCE THE CORRECT ANSWER.
You may think that a day is well spent if you have….
i) smiled with happiness
ii) done one good deed
iii) enjoyed the sunshine

14. Read the second stanza (lines 9-16) and answer the questions that follow:

15. a. CIRCLE THE CORRECT ANSWER
At the end of the day, you may discover that you have…
i) had a very long, tiring day.
ii) done bad things during the day.
iii) done nothing for any other person.
b. Give ONE reason why a day is worse than lost.
c. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES
i) You can cheer someone by saying___________________________________
ii) A day is worse than lost when you can’t trace one act that_______________________
you’ve cheered no heart/you’ve nothing done(that you can trace…
yes or no/one word
brought the sunshine to one face/helped some soul.

16. d. CIRCLE THE CORRECT ANSWER
“That helped some soul and nothing cost” means that….
i) you didn’t have to make a special effort to help someone
ii) you didn’t have to pay a lot of money to help someone
iii) helping someone was not worth the money

17. 5. Tick () True or False True False
True
False
a. A day well spent is a day in which you don’t help others.
b. At the end of the day, we should count the things that we have done during the day.
c. If you didn’t make anyone happy, your day is worse than lost.
d. You should do good things and bad things every day.

18. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
1. What is the message in the poem?
If you want to have a meaningful life, help others.
The message is to do good deeds for others and not to waste your days.
Good deeds are important and not difficult to do.
Good deeds give your life meaning.
Make your life worthwhile.

19. What should the next shape be? Why?
EXPLAINING PATTERNS
Look at the following series of numbers: 1,3,6,10,15, ______
What should the next numbers be? Why?
What should the next shape be? Why?

21. RHYMES
Write the words from the Word Bank that rhyme with each of the words in the table below.
third fun grey run call mind bird space pay blind heard base none
sun
find
day
word
all
face

22. Now write the numbers of the lines that rhyme
Find as many rhymes as you can in the poem. Highlight the rhyming words.
Stanza I
Stanza II
Now write the numbers of the lines that rhyme

23. Rhyme Scheme-תבנית חריזה
Another way to show the rhyming pattern in the poem is to use a letter for each new sound at the end of the line.
What is the rhyme scheme in the poem?
______________________________________________________________________
a a b c c b d d

24. A simile is a comparison in which one thing is described as being similar to another.
A simile is usually introduced by like or as.
Her dress is as white as snow.
Find a simile in the poem.

25. HOTS: CAUSE AND EFFECT
Look at the picture. What happened? What may be the reason for this to happen?

26. the birds flew to warmer countries.
Cause and Effect
An action that makes something else happen is called a cause (this is the reason) and the result of the action is called an effect.
Effect
I can’t lift it.
it stopped working.
I gave him an answer.
the birds flew to warmer countries.
Cause
Dan asked me a question
The box is too heavy
It became cold
My cell phone got wet so

27. According to the first stanza (lines 1-8) what are the reasons for a day well spent?
Complete the following graphic organizer. Use the phrases below.
a day well spent
made no one happy  a kind word that made someone feel better a caring look  didn’t help any person  doing an unselfish (לא אנוכי) act didn’t make anyone smile

28. What makes a day worse than lost?
If you ____________________________________________,then______
_________________________________________________________________.
According to Eliot, is it very hard to help another person? Explain your answer by giving examples from the text.
Thinking Skill I chose:_____________
Inferring
Although the answer is not written specifically in the text, I believe that Eliot tells the reader in the second stanza that it is not hard to help another person. I assume this is the answer because Eliot describes actions that require little effort such as “ act most small”, or saying to another person simply yes or no (“yeh or nay”)

29. BRIDGING TEXT AND CONTEXT
Read the following quote and answer the question that follows.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
Aesop
Make a connection between the quote and the poem.
Aesop tells us that every act of kindness is important and is not wasted even if it is very small. we can find the same idea in Eliot’s poem. The poet tells us that if we want our day be well spent, then we should do at least one good act, and even if it is only a word or a glance it still counts because it made someone else fell good.
The poem Count That Day Lost expresses the same idea that is in the quote: if you do even one act of kindness, “an act most small”, then your day is well spent. An act of kindness can cheer another person, it can ease a person’s heart and it can give meaning to our lives, so it is never wasted.

30. POST-READING
Make up a schedule for yourself of a day you think George Eliot would consider worthwhile.