The Listening Grove · Fifty Famous Stories Retold
Chapter 16: Sir Walter Raleigh
A Charlotte Mason read-aloud lesson. Press play, with the lesson.
What is Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 16, Sir Walter Raleigh, about?Parent review
Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 16, Sir Walter Raleigh, is a story about a young man’s clever courtesy. One rainy day Walter Raleigh saw Queen Elizabeth pause before a muddy puddle in her path. Quick as thought, he swept off his fine scarlet cloak and spread it over the mud for her to walk upon. The queen was so charmed that she never forgot him, and in time Raleigh rose to be a knight and one of her favorites. He was half-brother to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and like him he tried and failed to plant settlements in America. He is also long remembered for making the potato and tobacco known in England.
Say what you remember!
Tell what you remember from the last chapter.
What happened in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 15, Sir Humphrey Gilbert?Have a look
In the last chapter, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, an early English explorer dreamed of planting settlements in far-off America. Twice he set sail, and twice his hopes came to nothing. Sailing home in a tiny ship called the Squirrel, he met bitter cold, drifting ice, and a terrible storm. Sitting calmly on deck with a book in his hand, he called out that they were as near to heaven at sea as on land. That very night the little ship went down, and Gilbert was lost with all his crew.
Read the previous lesson: Sir Humphrey Gilbert →Show what you know!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Fill in the vocabulary you know, then click to check your work and learn some new words today.
What are the difficult or advanced vocabulary words in Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 16, Sir Walter Raleigh?scarlet, cloak, voyage, favoriteHave a look
- scarlet: a bright red color
- cloak: a loose outer garment worn over the shoulders
- voyage: a long journey, especially by sea
- favorite: a person liked and trusted above others
Locate it on the map!
Use your printable Lesson Guide. Use an atlas and fill in the blank map if you can find the geographic location, then click to check your work.
What important geographic location connects with Fifty Famous Stories Retold Chapter 16, Sir Walter Raleigh?
- Find London (England).
See it on the mapHave a look
This matches the map in your Lesson Guide.
The Books come Alive!
Read or listen to Chapter 16 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold, the Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition, read by Laura Caldwell.
Read by Laura Caldwell for LibriVox (public domain), professionally adjusted and trimmed by Kindred Thicket.
What do the Teacher’s Notes tell us about Chapter 16 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Parent review
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s 1896 words are read exactly as he wrote them, and we add Teacher’s Notes with historical and literary context.
- About the whole bookFifty Famous Stories Retold gathers real history together with well-loved legends and traditions. These notes tell you, story by story, which is which.
- This chapterThe tale of Raleigh spreading his cloak over a puddle is a well-loved legend, first told by the writer Thomas Fuller long afterwards. There is no record it truly happened, though it fits his reputation.
- This chapterRaleigh is often credited with bringing the potato and tobacco to England, but Spanish explorers had already carried both to Europe. His real part was making pipe-smoking fashionable at court.
- This chapterIn the story, Raleigh sails on his half-brother Gilbert’s first voyage to America. In truth that 1578 voyage was turned back by storms and never reached America; Gilbert reached Newfoundland only later, in 1583.
- This chapterRaleigh’s story describes Native Americans in the dated, dismissive language of the author’s era. A gentle reminder helps: these were established Native nations with rich cultures of their own.
Memory becomes Action!
Use the Response Resource* to remember and spell tricky names. Choose one way to narrate.
*Materials in the Lesson Guide.
What is the list of names, people, characters, and places that are important in Chapter 16 of Fifty Famous Stories Retold?Sir Walter Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, London, Ireland, AmericaHave a look
- Sir Walter Raleigh: A dashing English courtier, knighted by Queen Elizabeth I, and credited with bringing the potato and tobacco to England.
- Queen Elizabeth: Elizabeth I of England, whose favor makes Raleigh a knight.
- Sir Humphrey Gilbert: Raleigh’s older half-brother, the explorer of the previous story.
- London: The English capital, setting of the famous cloak story.
- Ireland: Where Raleigh is said to have first planted his American potatoes.
- America: The New World Raleigh tried to settle.
Chapter 16 Q & A
This is a Kindred Thicket Enhanced Edition. Baldwin’s stories mingle real history with beloved legend, and here is what to know about this one.
Is the story of Raleigh’s cloak true?
The tale of Raleigh spreading his cloak over a puddle is a well-loved legend, first told by the writer Thomas Fuller long after Raleigh’s day. There is no record that it truly happened, though it fits his reputation as a bold and gallant courtier. It is best enjoyed as a charming story rather than as history.
Did Raleigh really bring the potato and tobacco to England?
Raleigh is often credited with bringing the potato and tobacco to England, but Spanish explorers had already carried both to Europe before him. His real part was in making pipe-smoking fashionable at court, so that his name became linked with tobacco ever after. The stories grew larger than the facts.
Does this story use dated language about Native Americans?
Yes, Raleigh’s story describes Native Americans in the dated, dismissive language of the author’s era. A gentle reminder helps: these were established Native nations with rich cultures of their own, living on their land long before English ships arrived. Setting the story in that truer light is a kindness to your children.
What is the lesson of Sir Walter Raleigh?
The lesson of Sir Walter Raleigh is that courtesy and quick, generous thinking can win a lasting place in others’ hearts. By giving up his fine cloak without a second thought, the young Raleigh showed both gallantry and readiness. The story invites children to notice how graciousness opens doors.