Toss up.
Hold.
Toss down.
Hold.
Toss to the right.
Hold.
Toss to the left.
Hold.
Ball in left hand.
Toss up, etc.
In this and succeeding games it is left to the discretion of the teacher
as to when the written directions shall be introduced.
BALL GAME
_Material._--A soft rubber ball.
Form a circle.
Take the ball, Roy.
Toss the ball.
Roll the ball.
Bounce the ball.
Throw the ball.
Give the ball to Sadie.
In this game one of the children takes the ball to the circle. Each, as
the ball is tossed to him, tosses it to another. At the direction of the
teacher the game of _tossing the ball_ is changed to one of _rolling_
_the ball_, the pupils squatting on the floor; this in turn is changed
later as the directions indicate. Care must be taken that all children
are treated alike in this game. The children themselves will look out
for this if properly directed at the outset of the game.
HUNTING THE VIOLET
_Material._--Violets scattered about the room.
Find a blue violet, Glenn.
Find a violet bud, Edith.
Find a yellow violet, Lloyd.
Find a violet leaf, Sadie.
Find a white violet, Jennie.
Find a purple violet, Rudolph.
Sing to the violets.
Children sing softly:--
"Oh, violets, pretty violets,
I pray you tell to me
Why are you the first flowers
That bloom upon the lea?" etc.
A TREE GAME--(SPRING OR FALL)
_Material._--Leaves of the different trees with which the children are
familiar.
Glenn may be a maple tree.
Choose your leaf.
Wallace may be an elm tree.
Choose your leaf.
Chauncey may be a birch tree.
Choose your leaf, etc.
Make a little forest.
Toss in the wind.
(The leaves are pinned upon the children as each chooses his leaf, and
they dance lightly about as if tossed by the wind.)
CARING FOR THE ANIMALS
_Material._--Wooden or paper animals. A portion of the table is marked
off by a chalk line for the farmyard.
Drive in a pig, Willie.
Lead in a horse, Gregory.
Drive in a sheep, Sadie.
Lead in a cow, Roy, etc.
They are driven in at night, then driven out in the morning. Sometimes
they are hurried in because of the approach of a storm.
DOLL PLAY--(GENERAL)
_Material._--Penny dolls or larger ones.
Take a doll.
Rock the baby.
Pat the baby.
Sing the baby to sleep.
Put the baby to bed.
Take up the baby.
Wash its face.
Comb its hair.
Feed it bread and milk.
Take it for a walk.
At the direction, "Sing the baby to sleep," the children sing very
softly:--
"Rock-a-bye Baby,"--or some other lullaby.
The bed is the chair on which the child is sitting. All stand and turn
about together to put the babies to bed. They go through the movements
only of washing the face and hands and combing the hair, and of feeding
bread and milk. They perform these acts in unison.
THE RAINBOW FAIRIES--(SPRING)
_Material._--Large bows of tissue paper with streamers, of the various
colors mentioned.
Eva may be a yellow fairy.
Roy may be a blue fairy.
Edith may be a green fairy.
Louise may be a red fairy.
Lloyd may be an orange fairy.
Sadie may be a violet fairy.
The others may be trees.
Join hands, fairies.
Dance about the trees.
As the first direction is given Eva steps to the table and takes a
yellow bow which is pinned to her left shoulder: the others follow as
called upon.
THE LEAVES
_Material._--A leaf of one of several colors pinned on each child. The
wind calls:--
Come yellow leaf.
Come red leaf.
Come green leaves, etc.
Dance in the wind.
At the last direction the children fly over a small area, hither and
thither; some one way, some another, passing and repassing one another,
simulating the leaves in a storm.
A FLOCK OF BIRDS
All the children are little birds.
Fly to the fields.
Pick up seeds.
Take a drink.
Bathe in the creek.
Preen your feathers.
Fly home.
Perch on a twig.
_Sing._
They sing:--
"We are little birdies,
Happy we, happy we.
We are little birdies
Singing in a tree."
HUNTING BIRDS
_Material._--Colored pictures of birds common to the locality in which
the game is used.
Find a robin, Rudolph.
Find a bluebird, Gregory, etc.
The child indicated finds the picture of the bird called for and places
it on the blackboard ledge which serves as a picture gallery.
HUNTING LEAVES
is a game similar to the above.
MOVEMENT GAME
Frederick may be a pony.
Louise may be a kitty, etc.
(Of the other children--one may be a boy; another, a bird; another, a
horse; another, a fish; another, a girl, etc.)
Trot, pony.
Run, dog.
Skip, boy, etc.
They perform singly, and also in a body.
MAKING GARDEN
_Material._--Trays or box-covers of sand, and a toy set of garden tools
for each pupil.
Take the spade.
Spade the earth.
Take the hoe.
Hoe the ground.
Take the rake.
Smooth the ground.
Make holes (or rows).
Plant corn (or sow the seed).
Cover the seed.
Water the garden.
THE FARMER'S PETS
For this game the children are all seated in chairs except one for whom
no chair is provided. Each child seated takes the name of some animal on
the farm, _e.g._, a dog, cat, horse, chicken, duck, or cow. The one
standing is the farm-hand and says, _e.g._, "My master wants his dog."
The dog must jump up and turn around. If he fails to do so, he steps to
one side taking his chair with him. If when he is again called upon he
answers correctly, he resumes his seat in the circle. Occasionally the
farm-hand says, "My master wants all of his pets." When all rise and
change seats quietly. The farm-hand tries to get a seat, leaving another
child to be the farm-hand. In changing seats they change names as a
single name belongs to each chair.
* * * * *
(II) _Literature as a Basis for the Reading._ The stories in the form
indicated below are given after the children have become thoroughly
familiar with them through oral presentation, after, too, the children
have gained some facility in reading, through the use of the games, and
the directions, etc., used in the general management of the school.
Before the board work is presented the children dramatize the story
which they are to read. They look to the board to find out what to say
that they may impersonate the character in the story. Each mimics in
tone and action the one whose part he takes. As no two mimic in the same
way there is no lack of variety and interest. If the children are
thoughtful they will know every time into whose mouth to put each
sentence. They need to be alert, however. The names of the speakers,
given in the margin, are for the benefit of the readers of this article.
They are not put on the board. The children do not need them.
THE OLD WOMAN AND THE PIG
I
_The old woman._ I was sweeping my house.
I found this dime.
What shall I buy?
I know; I will buy a pig.
Where is my sunbonnet?
Where is my cane?
Here I go.
Tramp! tramp! tramp!
II.
_Old woman._ Tap, tap, tap!
_The farmer._ Come in.
Good morning, old woman.
_Old woman._ Good morning, sir.
I want to buy a pig.
_Farmer._ All right; I have some.
Will you look at them?
Here they are.
_Old woman._ I like this one.
I will take it.
Good morning.
_Farmer._ Good morning.
III
_Old woman._ Go on, pig.
That fence is low,
You can jump over.
_Pig._ Grunt! grunt!
_Old woman._ What shall I do?
I must have help.
I will go back.
IV
_Old woman._ Dog, dog, bite pig.
_Dog._ No, no. (_Shaking his head._)
V
_Old woman._ Stick, stick, whip dog.
_Stick._ No, no. (_Shaking head as before._)
VI-XII. _Similar to two above._
XIII
_Old woman._ Cat, cat, kill rat.
_Cat._ I will if you will give me some milk.
_Old woman._ I will go to the cow.
XIV
_Old woman._ Cow, cow, give me some milk.
_Cow._ I will if you will give me some hay.
_Old woman._ All right.
Tramp! tramp! tramp!
Here is the hay, cow.
_Cow._ Chew, chew, chew, chew.
Now you may have some milk.
_Old woman._ Thank you, cow.
XV
_Old woman._ Come, kitty, kitty, kitty.
Here is some milk for you.
_Cat._ Lap, lap, lap, lap.
_Old woman._ Now catch the rat.
_Cat._ Patter, patter, patter. (_Given softly--it is the cat running
after the rat._)
THE THREE BEARS
I
_The papa bear._ That soup is hot.
It must cool.
We will take a walk.
II
_Silver-Hair._ Tap! tap! tap!
No one at home.
I will go in.
What is that on the table?
It is three bowls of soup.
I am hungry.
(_Tasting of the soup in the big bowl._)
That is too hot.
(_Tasting of soup in middle-sized bowl._)
That is too cold.
(_Tasting of soup in little bowl._)
That is just right.
It is good.
I will eat a little.
III
I am tired.
Here are three chairs.
That is too high.
That is too wide.
This is just right.
I will rest here.
Oh, it broke!
IV
I am sleepy.
I will go upstairs.
Here are three beds.
That is too hard.
That is too soft.
This is just right.
I will sleep here.
V
_Papa bear._ SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY SOUP.
_Mamma bear._ _Somebody has been tasting my soup._
_Baby bear._ Somebody has been tasting my soup.
It is all gone.
VI
_Papa bear._ SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR.
_Mamma bear._ _Somebody has been sitting in my chair._
_Baby bear._ Somebody has been sitting in my chair.
It is all broken.
VII
_Papa bear._ SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING ON MY BED.
_Mamma bear._ _Somebody has been lying on my bed._
_Baby bear._ Somebody has been lying on my bed.
Why, here she is!
_Silver-Hair._ Oh, my!
I will jump.
Now I will run.
THE FIR TREE
I
I am a little fir tree.
I want to be tall.
I hate rabbits.
They jump over me.
II
I am three years old.
The rabbit cannot jump over me now.
It runs around me.
I wish I were taller.
I hate to be so little.
III
Now I am six years old.
Here come the woodchoppers.
They will take me away.
Here I go.
Thump! thump! thump!
IV
What a fine house.
How beautiful this moss is.
What are these people going to give me?
I am so happy!
V
Here are the children.
How they like me!
See them dance about me.
_Everybody looks at me._
Do not take away my beautiful dress.
Do not put out the lights.
VI
Here come the servants.
They will give me my beautiful dress.
Oh, oh, oh!
Don't put me up there.
It is dark.
I want to be planted.
VII
I wish I were at home.
I want to see the rabbit.
It may jump over me.
I will not care.
I want to see the other trees.
The rats come. I do not like rats.
VIII
Out again!
I like the air.
Now I shall be planted.
I am glad to see the flowers.
I am glad to hear the birds.
Now I shall live.
IX
That boy called me ugly.
He took my beautiful star.
I wish I were in the woods.
I shall never be happy again.
Pop! pop! pop! pop!
THE STREET MUSICIANS
I
_The donkey._ I am very old.
I am very weak.
I can work no more.
My master will not keep me.
I will run away.
I will go to the city.
I can make music.
I will join a band.
Trot! trot! trot!
II
What is that in the road?
It is an old dog.
What is the matter?
_Dog._ I am very old.
I am very weak.
I cannot hunt.
My master will not keep me.
How can I live?
_Donkey._ Come with me.
You can play the bass drum.
Join a band.
_Dog._ Good! good! good!
I will go.
_Dog and donkey._ Trot! trot! trot!
III
_Donkey._ What is that in the road?
It is an old cat.
What is the matter, old whiskers?
_Cat._ I am very old.
I am very weak.
I cannot catch mice.
My mistress will not keep me.
How can I live?
_Donkey._ Come with us.
You can sing.
Join a band.
_Cat._ Good! good! good!
I will go.
_All three._ Trot! trot! trot!
IV
_Donkey._ What is that on the gate?
It is a rooster.
What is the matter?
_Rooster._ The cook will kill me.
_Donkey._ Come with us.
You can sing.
Join a band.
_Rooster._ Good! good! good!
I will go.
_All four._ Trot! trot! trot!
THE UNHAPPY PINE TREE
I
I am a little pine tree.
I do not like to be a pine tree.
My leaves are needles.
Needles are not pretty.
I wish I had gold leaves.
II
_In the morning._ Why do the trees look at me?
What has happened?
Gold leaves! Gold leaves!
Just what I wanted!
Good! good! good!
III
_To the robber._ Do not take my leaves.
I want them.
They are beautiful.
Give them back.
No leaves! No leaves!
I wish I had glass leaves.
IV
_In the morning._ Oh, how beautiful!
Glass leaves! Glass leaves!
No robber will take them.
I can keep them.
I am so happy!
V
Cloud, do not come.
Wind, do not blow.
Keep still, keep still.
A leaf is broken.
Another! Another!
All gone! All gone!
No beautiful leaves.
I wish I had bright green leaves.
VI
_In the morning._ Oh, my pretty green leaves!
No one will steal them.
Nothing will break them.
I shall not need to keep still.
I will dance.
Dance! dance! dance!
VII
Goat, do not come here.
These are my leaves.
I want them.
They are pretty.
Oh, oh, oh!
All my pretty leaves are gone.
What shall I do?
I wish I had my needles.
VIII
Oh, mother, mother, see!
I have my old leaves.
I like them.
They are best of all.
No one will steal them.
Nothing will break them.
Nothing will eat them.
I can keep them.
My dear old leaves!
* * * * *
(III) _Nature Study as a Basis for the Reading._ The subjects in which
the pupils are most interested are made the basis for the reading
lessons.
Sometimes there is a guessing game like the following: The teacher,
holding a flower in her closed hand, writes:--
Guess what I have.
It is a flower.
It is white.
_It has a yellow centre._
(The children answer--a daisy.) Or--
Guess what I have.
It is a leaf.
It is yellow.
It is long.
It is narrow.
(The children answer--the willow.)
After the pupils have made a careful study of a few birds or flowers,
the reading lesson describes one of these, and the pupils are expected
to name it from the description. If a child gives the wrong name, one of
those who know better points out the line or lines barring out this
object, and reads to the one making the mistake as proof of his error.
I live in the woods.
I am not a bird.
I am not a flower.
I am not a tree.
I run up trees.
I eat nuts.
I have a bushy tail.
What is my name? (_Squirrel._)
I am a little bird.
My back is brown.
My breast is white.
My bill is curved.
I go up a tree trunk.
I fly to another tree.
I like insects.
What is my name? (_The brown creeper._)
This is a big bird.
It is blue.
It has black bands on its tail and wings.
It has a crest.
Its bill is black.
It scolds.
What is its name? (_The blue jay._)
The children sometimes play a game like the following: All but one
personify red-headed woodpeckers. The _one_ questions from the board.
If a red-headed woodpecker fails to answer the question put to him, he
takes the place of the interlocutor. It is an honor to be able to answer
all the questions put:--
What color is your head?
What color is your throat?
What color is your breast?
What colors on your wings?
What color is your bill?
What do you do?
Where do you make your nest?
To a set of questions like the following, the children give the answers,
after reading the questions silently:--
What bird did you first see this spring?
What have you seen a robin do?
What flower did you see first?
What yellow flowers have you seen this spring?
What white flowers?
What blue flowers?
What bird builds a nest in a tree trunk?
What bird builds a nest on the ground?
THE BABY ROBIN
I saw two robins on the ground.
One was a mamma robin.
The other was a baby robin.
The baby robin was as big as its mother.
Its breast was spotted.
Its mother gave it an earthworm.
At first it dropped it, but its mother picked it up and gave it to her
baby again.
This time it got a better hold. By several gulps it swallowed the worm.
The mother looked proud of her baby. (This is the teacher's experience
which she tells the children from the board. Sometimes she writes the
observations which one of the children have made.)
As no two teachers will have the same material for Nature Study, the
reading material will not be multiplied here.
Gradually, as the pupils can stand it, the sentences are lengthened a
little as necessary, and massed into paragraphs.
The use of the "Mother Goose Rhymes" as a means of enlivening the first
year reading lessons is also treated as follows by Mrs. Lida McMurry.
(Taken from _School and Home Education_ for October, 1902.)
Many of the children on entering school are well versed in Nursery
Rhymes. They enjoy repeating them. Other children may not know them so
well, but soon learn them from their classmates. Teachers and pupils may
have a happy time together with Mother Goose, and at the same time the
pupils are learning to read without realizing that what they are doing
is something that they are not accustomed to.
I will suggest a few ways in which these rhymes may be made the basis
for reading lessons:--
Take this rhyme--
1. Dance, Thumbkin, dance,
Dance, ye merrymen, every one;
For Thumbkin he can dance alone,
Thumbkin he can dance alone.
The second, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas are like the first, only
Foreman, Longman, Ringman, and Littleman are in turn substituted for
Thumbkin.
The children first learn to act out each stanza as they recite it
together. The thumb is held up and moved about as if dancing, as the
first line is given. All the fingers dance as the second line is
recited. The thumb dances alone as the third and fourth lines are
repeated.
The teacher then repeats the stanza alone, and the children's fingers
accompany her.
Later, when the children have learned to act out the story well, as the
teacher repeats it, the teacher writes the first line at the board, and,
pointing to it, asks the children to do what the board directs. They
cannot tell what it is, so the teacher says, "The board is talking to
_Thumbkin_," writing the name on the board as she says it. "What do you
think it wants Thumbkin to do?" pointing to _Dance_ in the line on the
board. The next line is written on the board. The children quite likely
will guess rightly what it says, because of its setting. If not, the
teacher will help them as at first. In the same way they connect the
third and fourth lines with the oral expression of the same, and act
them out accordingly. That the children respond readily to the
directions as written is no proof, at first, that they know even most of
the words in the lines. The teacher's test is a part of the play.
To-day, instead of writing the first line, she writes the second. Many
get caught. They will be more alert another time. As they can never tell
which line will appear first, they learn to discriminate by giving
closer attention to the form of the words.
Sometimes the teacher writes the six names--Thumbkin, Foreman, etc., and
Merrymen, on the board. She points to the name or names of the one, or
ones, that should dance. The children do not like to make mistakes in
responding with the fingers.
Sometimes the teacher points to a name on the board, as Foreman, and
writes "dance alone," or "dance every one." The alert children see that
the latter does not apply.
The words are not drilled upon. The game, with variations sometimes, is
played quite frequently, but never so long at a time that the children
weary of it. Three or four plays or games are given at a single
recitation. The interests of the children are studied, and rhymes which
they do not enjoy as reading material are dropped, and others
substituted. The rhymes should often be repeated, just as they occur in
"Mother Goose," that the children may not forget them.
2. Eye winker.
Tom tinker.
Mouth eater.
Chin chopper.
Chin chopper.
The children point to the parts of the face as they are named. They
first learn to give the rhyme with its accompanying motion orally, then
they respond to it as written on the board (Tom tinker is the other
eye). When they do this readily the directions are written out of their
order. This tests the children's ability to distinguish one form from
another. No child likes to give the wrong motion in response to a
direction, _e.g._, point to his mouth when Eye winker is called for.
3. The children, we will suppose, know a number of rhymes, as, _e.g._,
A diller, a dollar, a ten o'clock scholar.
A little boy went into a barn.
Baa, baa, black sheep.
Rain, rain, go away, etc.
The teacher writes the first line of one of these rhymes on the board
and asks a child to give the rhyme. He cannot at first. Later he will
learn to recognize it; so with all the rhymes he knows. When he can give
any rhyme called for in response to the first line as written at the
board, another line (not the first) is written, and the child asked to
give the rhyme of which it is a part.
4. Is John Smith within?
Yes, that he is.
Can he set a shoe?
Ay, marry, two.
Here a nail and there a nail,
Tick, tack, too.
After the children have learned the above rhyme, acting it out, by
imitating the voices of the two speakers, and by driving the nails, the
two questions are asked at the board, and the children respond orally.
Sometimes the second question, slightly altered, is asked first, _e.g._,
"Can John Smith set a shoe?" Sometimes "Who is within?" appears on the
board.
5. Old Mother Hubbard.
There are many stanzas to this poem, a few of which the teacher will
wish to omit, as those referring to the visits to the ale-house and the
tavern. The pupils become perfectly familiar with the jingle, so they
can with ease give it orally, then the teacher writes the first line of
a stanza at the board and pointing to it asks a pupil to give the
remainder of the stanza. The mistake is ludicrous if the wrong lines
follow the first, and the pupils wish to avoid such a mistake.
6. There were two birds sat on a stone,
Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.
One flew away and then there was one,
Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.
The other flew after and then there was none,
Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.
And so the poor stone was left all alone,
Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.
The children act out this rhyme at first as they say it, later,
silently, as they see what is called for at the board.
Any number may be substituted for _two_ in the first line, but when they
come to the third line the number substituted for one should be such
that only one will remain, _e.g._, There were _eight_ birds sat on a
stone, _Seven_ flew away, etc. The children are sometimes caught by the
wrong number being told to fly. The children should not fly until they
are sure that it is all right.
7. What are your eyes for?
What are your ears for?
What is your nose for?
What is your tongue for?
What is your mouth for?
What is your hand for?
What are your fingers for?
What are your teeth for?
What is your brain for?
What is your heart for?
These questions are read silently by the children, then answered orally
in complete sentences, one child only answering at one time. The answers
are so absurd when wrong that each child is careful to know what is
asked.
These are only a few of the ways in which "Mother Goose" may be used as
reading material. Each teacher will think out for herself ways in which
these rhymes may be profitably and happily employed.
MRS. LIDA MCMURRY.
CHAPTER VII
METHOD IN PRIMARY READING
The problem of primary reading is one of the most complex and difficult
in the whole range of school instruction. A large proportion of the
finest skill and sympathy of teachers has been expended in efforts to
find the appropriate and natural method of teaching children to read.
All sorts of methods and devices have been employed, from the most
formal and mechanical to the most spirited and realistic.
The first requisite to good reading is something worth reading,
something valuable and interesting to the children, and adapted to their
minds. We must take it for granted in this discussion that the best
literature and the best stories have been selected, and what the teacher
has to do is, first, to appreciate these masterpieces for herself, and
second, to bring the children in the reading lessons to appreciate and
enjoy them. In the primary grades we are not so richly supplied with
available materials from good literature as in intermediate and grammar
grades. This is due not to difficulty in thought, but to the unfamiliar
written and printed forms. The great problem in primary reading is to
master these strange forms as quickly as possible, and find entrance to
the story-land of books. For several years, however, primary teachers
have been selecting and adapting the best stories, and some of the
leading publishers have brought out in choice school-book form books
which are well adapted to the reading of primary grades.
We should like to assume one other advantage. If the children have been
treated orally to "Robinson Crusoe" in the second grade, they will
appreciate and read the story much better in the third grade. If some of
Grimm's stories are told in first grade, they can be read with ease in
the second grade. The teacher's oral presentation of the stories is the
right way to bring them close to the life and interest of children. In
the first grade, as shown in the chapter on oral lessons, it is the only
way, because the children cannot yet read. But even if they could read,
the oral treatment is much better. The oral presentation is more lively,
natural, and realistic. The teacher can adapt the story and the language
to the immediate needs of the class as no author can. She can question,
or suggest lines of thought, or call up ideas from the children's
experience. The oral manner is the true way to let the children delve
into the rich culture-content of stories and to awaken a taste for their
beauty and truth. We could well wish that before children read mythical
stories in fourth grade, they had been stirred up to enjoy them by oral
narration and discussion in the preceding year. In the same way, if the
reading bears on interesting science topics previously studied, it will
be a distinct advantage to the reading lesson. Children like to read
about things that have previously excited their interest, whether in
story or science. The difficulties of formal reading will also be partly
overcome by familiarity with the harder names and words. Our conclusion
is that reading lessons, alone, cannot provide all the conditions
favorable to good reading. Some of these can be well supplied by other
studies or by preliminary lessons which pave the way for the reading
proper. This matter has been so fully discussed in the earlier chapters
on oral work that it requires no further treatment here.
FOLK-LORE STORIES AS READING EXERCISES FOR FIRST GRADE
Let it be supposed that a class of first-grade children has learned to
tell a certain story orally. It has interested them and stirred up their
thought.
Let them next learn to read the same story in a very simple form. This
will lead to a series of elementary reading lessons in connection with
the story, and the aim should be strictly that of mastering the early
difficulties of reading. The teacher recalls the story, and asks for a
statement from its beginning. If the sentence furnished by the child is
simple and suitable, the teacher writes it on the blackboard in plain
large script. Each child reads it through and points out the words. Let
there be a lively drill upon the sentence till the picture of each word
becomes clear and distinct. During the first lesson, two or three short
sentences can be handled with success. As new words are learned, they
should be mixed up on the board with those learned before, and a quick
and varied drill on the words in sentences or in columns be employed
to establish the forms in memory.[8] Speed, variety in device, and
watchfulness to keep all busy and attentive are necessary to secure good
results.
[8] First-class primary teachers claim that drills are
unnecessary if the teacher is skilful in recombining the
old words in new sentences.
After a few lessons one or two of the simpler words may be taken for
phonetic analysis. The simple sounds are associated with the letters
that represent them. These familiar letters are later met and identified
in new words, and, as soon as a number of sounds with their symbols have
been learned, new words can be constructed and pronounced from these
known elements.
The self-activity of the children in recognizing the elementary sounds,
already met, in new words as fast as they come up, is one of the chief
merits of this early study of words. They thus early learn the power of
self-help and of confident reliance upon themselves in acquiring and
using knowledge. The chief difficulty is in telling which sound to use,
as a letter often has several sounds (as _a_, _e_, _s_, _c_, etc.). But
the children are capable of testing the known sounds of a letter upon a
new word, and in most cases, of deciding which to use. The thoughtless
habit of pronouncing every new word for a child, without effort on his
part, checks and spoils his interest and self-activity. It does not seem
necessary to use an extensive system of diacritical markings to guide
him in these efforts to discriminate sounds. It is better to use the
marks as little as possible and learn to interpret words as they usually
appear in print. Experience has shown decisively that a lively and
vigorous self-activity is manifested by such early efforts in learning
to read. It is one of the most encouraging signs in education to see
little children in their first efforts to master the formal art of
reading, showing this spirited self-reliant energy.
In the same way, they recognize old words in sentences and new or
changed combinations of old forms, and begin to read new sentences which
combine old words in new relations.
In short, the sentence, word, and phonic methods are all used in fitting
alternation, while originality and variety of device are necessary in
the best exercise of teaching power.
The processes of learning to read by such board-script work are partly
analytic and partly synthetic. Children begin with sentences, analyze
them into words, and some of the words into their simple sounds. But
when these sounds begin to grow familiar, they are identified again in
other words, thus combining them into new forms. In the same way, words
once learned by the analytic study of sentences are recognized again in
new sentences, and thus interpreted in new relations.
The short sentences, derived from a familiar story, when ranged together
supply a brief, simple outline of the story. If now this series of
sentences be written on the board or printed on slips of paper, the
whole story may be reviewed by the class from day to day till the word
and sentence forms are well mastered. For making these printed slips,
some teachers use a small printing-press, or a typewriter. Eventually
several stories may be collected and sewed together, so as to form a
little reading-book which is the result of the constructive work of
teacher and pupils.
The reading lessons just described are entirely separate from the oral
treatment and reproduction of the stories; yet the thought and interest
awakened in the oral work are helpful in keeping up a lively effort in
the reading class. The thought material in a good story is itself a
mental stimulus, and produces a wakefulness which is favorable to
imprinting the forms as well as the content of thought. Expression,
also, that is, natural and vivid rendering of the thought, is always
aimed at in reading, and springs spontaneously from interesting thought
studies.
Many teachers use the materials furnished by oral lessons in natural
science as a similar introduction to reading in first grade. The science
lessons furnish good thought matter for simple sentences, and there is
good reason why, in learning to read, children should use sentences
drawn both from literature and from natural science.
READING IN THE SECOND GRADE
The oral lessons in good stories, and the later board-use of these
materials in learning the elements of formal reading, are an excellent
preparation for the fuller and more extended reading of similar matter
in the second and third grades.
When the oral work of the first grade has thus kindled the fancy of a
child upon these charming pictures, and the later board-work has
acquainted him with letter and word symbols which express such thought,
the reading of the same and other stories of like character (a year
later) will follow as an easy and natural sequence. As a preliminary to
all good reading exercises, there should be rich and fruitful thought
adapted to the age of children. The realm of classic folk-lore contains
abundant thought material peculiar in its fitness to awaken the interest
and fancy of children in the first two grades. To bring these choice
stories close to the hearts of children should be the aim of much of the
work in both these grades. Such an aim, skilfully carried out, not only
conduces to the joy of children in first grade, but infuses the reading
lessons of second grade with thought and culture of the best quality.
Interest and vigor of thought are certain to help right expression and
reading. Reading, like every other study, should be based upon
realities. When there is real thought and feeling in the children, a
correct expression of them is more easily secured than by formal demands
or by intimidation.
The stories to be read in second or third grade may be fuller and longer
than the brief outline sentences used for board-work in the first grade.
Besides, these tales, being classic and of permanent value, do not lose
their charm by repetition.
METHOD
By oral reading, we mean the giving of the thought obtained from a
printed page to others through the medium of the voice.
There is first the training of the eye in taking in a number of words at
a glance--a mechanical process; then the interpretation of these groups
of words--a mental process; next the making known of the ideas thus
obtained to others, by means of the voice--also a mechanical process.
The children need special help in each step. We are apt to overdo one at
the expense of the others.
1. Eye-training is the foundation of all good reading. Various devices
are resorted to in obtaining it. We will suggest a few, not new at all,
but useful.
(_a_) A strip of cardboard, on which is a clause or sentence, is
held before the class, for a moment only, and then removed. The
length of the task is increased as the eye becomes trained to
this kind of work.
(_b_) The children open their books at a signal from the
teacher, glance through a line, or part of one, indicated by the
teacher, close book at once and give the line.
(_c_) The teacher places on the board clauses or sentences
bearing on the lesson, and covers with a map. The map is rolled
up to show one of these, which is almost immediately erased. The
children are then asked to give it. The map is then rolled up
higher, exposing another, which also is speedily erased--and so
on until all have been given to the children and erased.
2. The child needs not only to be able to recognize groups of words, but
he must be able to get thought from them. The following are some devices
to that end:--
(_a_) Suggestive pictures can be made use of to advantage all
through the primary grades. If the child reads part of the story
in the picture, and finds it interesting, he will want to read
from the printed page the part not given in the picture.
(_b_) Where there is no picture--or even where there is one--an
aim may be useful to arouse interest in the thought, _i.e._ a
thoughtful question may be put by the teacher, which the
children can answer only by reading the story; _e.g._ in the
supplementary reader, "Easy Steps for Little Feet," is found the
story of "The Pin and Needle." There is no picture. The teacher
says, as the class are seated: "Now we have a story about a big
quarrel between a pin and a needle over the question, 'Which one
is the better fellow?' Of what could the needle boast? Of what
the pin? Let us see which won."
(_c_) Let all the pupils look through one or more paragraphs,
reading silently, to get the thought, before any one is called
upon to read aloud. If a child comes to a word that he does not
know, during the silent reading, the teacher helps him to get
it--from the context if possible--if not, by the sounds of the
letters which compose it.
As each child finishes the task assigned, he raises his eyes from the
book, showing by this act that he is ready to tell what he has just
read. The thought may be given by the child in his own language to
assure the teacher that he has it. Usually, however, in the lower
grades, this is unnecessary, the language of the book being nearly as
simple as his own.
The advantage of having all the pupils kept busy, instead of one alone
who might be called upon to read the paragraph, is evident. Every child
reads silently all of the lesson. Time would not permit that this be
done orally, were it advisable to do so. When the child gets up to read,
he is not likely to stumble, for he has both the thought and the
expression for it, at the start.
While aiming to have the children comprehend the thought, the teacher
should not forget, on the other hand, that this is the reading hour, and
not the time for much oral instruction and reproduction. There are other
recitations in which the child is trained to free oral expression of
thought, as in science and literature. Such offhand oral expression of
his own ideas is not the primary aim of the reading lesson. Its purpose
is to lend life to the recitation.
3. Steps 1 and 2 deal with preparation for the reading. Up to this time,
no oral reading has been done. Now we are ready to begin.
Children will generally express the thought with the proper emphasis if
they not only see its meaning but also feel it. Suppose the children are
interested in the thought of the piece, they still fail, sometimes, to
give the proper emphasis. How can the teacher, by questioning, get them
to realize the more important part of the thought?
(_a_) The teacher has gone deeper into the meaning than have the
children. Her questions should be such as to make real to the
children the more emphatic part of the thought; _e.g._ in the
Riverside Primer we have, "Poor Bun, good dog, did you think I
meant to hit you?" John reads, "Do you think I meant to _hit_
you?" The teacher says, "I will be Bun, John. What is it that
you do not want Bun to think?" ("That I _meant_ to hit him.")
"But you did mean to hit something. What was it you did not mean
to hit? Tell Bun." ("I did not _mean_ to hit _you_.") Now ask
him if he thought that you did. ("Did you think I _meant_ to hit
_you_?")
(_b_) When the story is in the form of a dialogue, the children
may personate the characters in the story. Thus, getting into
the real spirit of the piece, their emphasis will naturally fall
where it properly belongs.
(_c_) Sometimes the teacher will find it necessary to show the
child how to read a passage properly, by reading it himself. It
is seldom best to do this--certainly not if the correct
expression can be reached through questioning.
Many a teacher makes a practice of giving the proper emphasis to the
child, he copying it from her voice. Frequently, children taught in this
way can read one piece after another in their readers with excellent
expression, but, when questioned, show that their minds are a blank as
to the meaning of what they are reading.
In working for expression, a great many teachers waste the time and
energy of the pupils by indefinite directions. The emphasis is not
correctly placed, so the teacher says, "I do not like that; try it
again, May." Now, May has no idea in what particular she has failed, so
she gives it again, very likely as she gave it before, or she may put
the emphasis on some other word, hoping by so doing to please the
teacher. "Why, no, May, you surely can do better than that," says the
teacher. So May makes another fruitless attempt, when the teacher,
disgusted, calls on another pupil to show her how to read. May has
gained no clearer insight into the thought than she started out with, no
power to grapple more successfully with a similar difficulty another
time, and has lost, partly at least, her interest in the piece. She has
been bothered and discouraged, and the class wearied.
Sometimes when the expression is otherwise good, the children pitch
their voices too high or too low. Natural tones must be insisted upon. A
good aid to the children in this respect is the habitual example of
quiet, clear tones in the teacher.
Another fault of otherwise good reading is a failure to enunciate
distinctly. Children are inclined to slight many sounds, especially at
the end of the words, and the teacher is apt to think: "That doesn't
make so very much difference, since they are only children. When they
are older they will see that their pronunciation is babyish, and adopt a
correct form." This is unsound reasoning. Every time the child says
_las_ for _last_ he is establishing more firmly a habit, to overcome
which will give him much difficulty.
In the pronunciation of words as well as in the reading of a sentence,
much time is wasted through failure to point out the exact word, and the
syllable in the word, in which the mistake has been made. The child
cannot improve unless he knows in what particular there is room for
improvement.
Children in primary grades should be supplied with a good variety of
primers, readers, and simple story books. In the course of their work
they should read through a number of first, second, and third readers.
Much of this reading should be simple and easy, so that they can move
rapidly through a book, and gain confidence and satisfaction from it. In
each grade there should be several sets of readers, which can be turned
to as the occasion may demand. It is much better to read a new reader,
involving in the main the same vocabulary, than to reread an old book.
This use of several books in each grade adds to the interest and reduces
to a minimum the mere drills, which are to be avoided as much as
possible.
SUMMARY
1. Let children read under the impulse of strong and interesting
thought.
(_a_) The previous oral treatment of the stories now used as
reading lessons will help this thought impulse.
(_b_) An aim concretely stated, and touching an interesting
thought in the lesson, will give impetus to the work.
(_c_) Let children pass judgment on the truth, worth, or beauty
of what they read.
(_d_) Clear mental pictures of people, actions, places, etc.,
conduce to vigor of thought. To this end the teacher should use
good pictures, make sketches, and give descriptions or
explanations. Children should also be allowed to sketch freely
at the board.
2. Children should be encouraged constantly to help themselves in
interpreting new words and sentences in reading.
(_a_) By looking through the new sentence and making it out, if
possible, for themselves before any one reads it aloud.
(_b_) By analyzing a new word into its sounds, and then
combining them to get its pronunciation.
(_c_) By interpreting a new word from its context, or by the
first sound or syllable.
(_d_) By using the new powers of the letters as fast as they are
learned in interpreting new words.
(_e_) By trying the different sounds of a letter to a new word
to see which seems to fit best.
(_f_) By recognizing familiar words in new sentences with a
different context.
(_g_) See that every child reads the sentences in the new lesson
for himself.
3. There should be a gradual introduction to the elementary sounds
(powers of the letters).
The first words analyzed should be simple and phonetic in spelling, as
_dog_, _hen_, _cat_, etc.
New sounds of letters are taught as the children need them in studying
out new words.
Very little attention needs to be given to learning the names of the
letters.
There need be little use of diacritical markings in early reading.
4. Many of the new words will occur in connection with the picture at
the head of the lesson. Place these on the board as they come up.
If the teacher will weave these words into her conversation, they will
give the children little future trouble.
5. All the different phases of the phonic, word, and sentence method
should be woven together by a skilful teacher.
6. The close attention of all the members of the class, so that each
reads through the whole lesson, should be an ever-present aim of the
teacher.
7. Children should be trained to grasp several words at a glance:--
(_a_) By quick writing and erasure of words and sentences at the
board.
(_b_) By exposing for an instant sentences covered by a screen.
(_c_) By the use of phrases or short sentences on cardboard.
(_d_) By questions for group thought.
These tests should increase in difficulty with growing skill.
8. Spend but little time in the oral reproduction of stories. Practice
in good reading and interpretation is the main thing.
9. Children, from the first, should be encouraged to articulate
distinctly in oral reading. Let the teacher begin at home.
10. Let the teacher cultivate a pleasing tone of voice, not loud or
harsh. This will help the children to the same.
11. Vigorous and forcible expression is secured:--
(_a_) By having interesting stories.
(_b_) By apt questions to bring out the emphatic thought.
(_c_) By dramatizing the scenes of the story.
(_d_) By occasional examples of lively reading by the teacher.
(_e_) By definiteness in questioning.
CHAPTER VIII
LIST OF BOOKS FOR PRIMARY GRADES
In selecting reading books for primary grades the purpose is to find
those which will give the readiest mastery of the printed forms of
speech.
For this purpose books need to be well graded and interesting. Primary
teachers have expended their utmost skill upon such simple, attractive,
and interesting books for children. Pictorial illustration has added to
the clearness and beauty of the books, so that, with the rivalry of many
large publishing houses, we now have a great variety of good primary
books to select from.
The earliest and simplest of these are the primers, which, followed by
the first readers, give the most necessary drills upon the forms of easy
words and sentences. Great care has been taken to give an easy regular
grading so as to let a child help himself as much as possible. But as
soon as children, by blackboard exercises and by means of primers, have
gained a mastery of the simpler words and the powers of the letters, the
Mother Goose rhymes, the fables and fairy tales (already familiar to the
children in oral work) are introduced into their reading books in the
simplest possible forms.
The use of interesting rhymes and stories in this early reading is the
only means of giving it a lively content and of thus securing interest
and concentration of thought. Good primary teachers have been able in
this way to relieve the reading lessons of their tedium, and, what is
equally good, have strengthened the interest of the children in the best
literature of childhood.
Besides the choicest fables and fairy tales, many of the simpler nature
myths and even such longer poems and stories as "Hiawatha," "Robinson
Crusoe," and "Ulysses" have been used with happy results as reading
books in the first three years. There are also certain collections of
children's poems, such as Stevenson's "Child's Garden of Verses,"
Field's "Love-songs of Childhood," Sherman's "Little Folk Lyrics," "Old
Ballads in Prose," "The Listening Child," and others, which may suggest
the beauty and variety of choice literary materials which are now easily
within the reach of teachers and children in primary schools.
There is no longer any doubt that little folk in primary classes may
reap the full benefit of a close acquaintance with these favorite songs,
stories, and poems, and that in the highest educative sense the effect
is admirable.
In the following list the books for each grade are arranged into three
groups:--
_First._ A series of choicest books and those extensively used and well
adapted for the grade as regular reading exercises.
_Second._ A supplementary list of similar quality and excellence, but
somewhat more difficult.
They may, in some cases, serve as substitutes for those given in the
first group.
_Third._ A collection of books for teachers, partly similar in character
to those mentioned in the two previous groups and partly of a much
wider, professional range in literature, history, and nature. Some books
of child-study, psychology, and pedagogy are also included. The problems
of the primary teacher are no longer limited to the small drills and
exercises in spelling and reading, but comprehend many of the most
interesting and far-reaching questions of education. It is well,
therefore, for the primary teacher to become acquainted not only with
the great works of literature but with the best professional books in
education.
LIST OF CHOICE READING MATTER FOR THE GRADES
FIRST GRADE--FIRST SERIES
Cyr's Primer. Ginn & Co.
Cyr's First Reader. Ginn & Co.
Riverside Primer and First Reader. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Nature Stories for Young Readers (Plants), D. C. Heath & Co.
Hiawatha Primer. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Stepping Stones to Literature, Book I. Silver, Burdett, & Co.
Child Life Primer. The Macmillan Co.
Taylor's First Reader. Werner School Book Co.
Arnold's Primer. Silver, Burdett, & Co.
The Thought Reader. Ginn & Co.
Sunbonnet Babies. Rand, McNally, & Co.
Nature's By-ways. The Morse Co.
Graded Classics, No. I. B. F. Johnson Pub. Co.
Graded Literature, No. I. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.
First Reader (Hodskins). Ginn & Co.
Baldwin's Primer (Kirk). American Book Co.
FIRST GRADE--SECOND SERIES
Six Nursery Classics (O'Shea). D. C. Heath & Co.
Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Stories for Children. American Book Co.
Rhymes and Fables. University Publishing Co.
The Finch First Reader. Ginn & Co.
Baldwin's First Reader. American Book Co.
Heart of Oak, No. 1. D. C. Heath & Co.
Choice Literature, Book I (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co.
Child Life, First Book. The Macmillan Co.
Fables and Rhymes for Beginners. Ginn & Co.
FIRST GRADE--FOR TEACHERS--THIRD SERIES
A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Mother Goose). D. C. Heath & Co.
The Adventures of a Brownie. Harper & Bros.
Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks (Wiltse). Ginn & Co.
Talks for Kindergarten and Primary Schools (Wiltse). Ginn & Co.
Hall's How to Teach Reading. D. C. Heath & Co.
Place of the Story in Early Education (Wiltse). Ginn & Co.
Methods of Teaching Reading (Branson). D. C. Heath & Co.
Lowell's Books and Libraries. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Ruskin's Books and Reading. In Sesame and Lilies.
Lectures to Kindergartners (Peabody). D. C. Heath & Co.
Mother Goose (Denslow). McClure, Phillips, & Co.
Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories. J. L. Hammett & Co.
The Study of Children and their School Training (Warner).
The Macmillan Co.
The Story Hour (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Trumpet and Drum (Eugene Field). Scribner's Sons.
A Child's Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson). Scribner's Sons.
Treetops and Meadows. The Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington,
Ill.
Songs from the Nest (Emily Huntington Miller). Kindergarten
Literature Co.
The Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler). D. Appleton & Co.
Children's Rights (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
The Story of Patsy (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
First Book of Birds (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
SECOND GRADE--FIRST SERIES
Nature Stories for Young Readers (continued). D. C. Heath & Co.
Easy Steps for Little Feet. American Book Co.
Classic Stories for Little Ones. Public School Publishing Co.,
Bloomington, Ill.
Verse and Prose for Beginners. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Cyr's Second Reader. Ginn & Co.
Stepping Stones to Literature, Book II.
Pets and Companions (Stickney). Ginn & Co.
Child Life, Second Book. The Macmillan Co.
Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co.
The preceding books are for second and third grades.
Around the World, Book I. The Morse Co.
Graded Classics, No. II. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co.
Graded Literature, No. II. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.
A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Welsh). D. C. Heath & Co.
Book of Nature Myths (Holbrook). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
SECOND GRADE--SECOND SERIES
Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co.
German Fairy Tales (Grimm). Maynard, Merrill, & Co.
Fables and Folk Lore (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Nature Stories for Young Readers--Animals. D. C. Heath & Co.
Danish Fairy Tales (Andersen). Maynard, Merrill, & Co.
Baldwin's Second Reader. American Book Co.
Choice Literature, Book II (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co.
Fairy Tale and Fable (Thompson). The Morse Co.
Fairy Stories and Fables (Baldwin). American Book Co.
Plant Babies and Their Cradles. Educational Publishing Co.
AEsop's Fables. Educational Publishing Co.
Story Reader. American Book Co.
Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co.
The above are excellent selections for second, third, and fourth grades.
Songs and Stories. University Publishing Co.
Love Songs of Childhood (Field). Scribner's Sons.
SECOND GRADE--FOR TEACHERS
Poetry for Children (Eliot). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
The Story Hour (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Story of Hiawatha. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Round the Year in Myth and Song (Holbrook). American Book Co.
Old Ballads in Prose (Tappan). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
St. Nicholas Christmas Book. Century Co., New York.
Asgard Stories (Foster-Cummings). Silver, Burdett, & Co.
Fairy Tale Plays and How to Act Them (Mrs. Bell). Longmans, Green, &
Co.
Little Folk Lyrics (Sherman). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co.
Nature Pictures by American Poets. The Macmillan Co.
Squirrels and Other Fur-bearers (Burroughs). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Seven Great American Poets (Hart). Silver, Burdett, & Co.
Early Training of Children (Malleson). D. C. Heath & Co.
Comenius's The School of Infancy. D. C. Heath & Co.
Kruesi's Life of Pestalozzi. American Book Co.
Development of the Child (Oppenheim). The Macmillan Co.
The Study of Child Nature (Elizabeth Harrison). Published by Chicago
Kindergarten College.
Listening Child (Thatcher). The Macmillan Co.
History and Literature (Rice). A. Flanagan & Co.
THIRD GRADE--FIRST SERIES
Robinson Crusoe. Public School Publishing Co.
Golden Book of Choice Reading. American Book Co.
AEsop's Fables (Stickney). Ginn & Co.
Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part I. Ginn & Co.
Seven Little Sisters. Ginn & Co.
Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co.
Fairy Stories and Fables. American Book Co.
Child Life, Third Reader. The Macmillan Co.
Grimm's German Household Tales. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Fables (published as leaflets). C. M. Parker, Taylorville, Ill.
Around the World, Book II. The Morse Co.
Graded Classics, No. III. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co.
Graded Literature, No. III. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.
Grimm's Fairy Tales. Educational Publishing Co.
Grimm's Fairy Tales (Wiltse). Ginn & Co.
Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co.
Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). American Book Co.
THIRD GRADE--SECOND SERIES
Arabian Nights. Houghton, Mifflin. & Co.
Hans Andersen's Stories. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). Harper & Bros.
Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children. Ginn & Co.
Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co.
Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co.
Judd's Classic Myths.
Grimm's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co.
The Eugene Field Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons.
A Child's Garden of Verses. Rand, McNally, & Co.
Little Lame Prince (Craik). Maynard, Merrill, & Co.
Prose and Verse for Children (Pyle). American Book Co.
Book of Tales. American Book Co.
THIRD GRADE--FOR TEACHERS
Stories from the History of Rome. The Macmillan Co.
Friends and Helpers (Eddy). Ginn & Co.
Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe (Yonge). The Macmillan Co.
Robinson Crusoe. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Arabian Nights, Aladdin, etc. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.
Bird's Christmas Carol (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Uncle Remus (Harris). D. Appleton & Co.
Fifty Famous Stories Retold (Baldwin). American Book Co.
Four Great Americans (Baldwin). Werner School Book Co.
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans (Eggleston).
American Book Co.
The Story of Lincoln (Cavens). Public School Publishing Co.
Among the Farmyard People (Pierson). E. P. Dutton & Co.
The Howells Story Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons.
The Jungle Book (Kipling). Century Co., New York.
Old Norse Stories (Bradish). American Book Co.
Little Brothers of the Air (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Hans Brinker (Mary Mapes Dodge). Century Co.
Black Beauty. University Publishing Co.
Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Wonder Book (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
The Story of the Wagner Opera. Scribner's Sons.
Thoughts on Education (Locke). The Macmillan Co.
The Education of Man (Froebel). D. Appleton & Co.
Childhood in Literature and Art (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.
Waymarks for Teachers (Arnold). Silver, Burdett, & Co.
Hailman's History of Pedagogy. American Book Co.
SERIES OF SELECT READERS FOR THE GRADES
Child Life. The Macmillan Co.
Around the World. The Morse Co.
Baldwin's Readers. American Book Co.
Graded Classics. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co.
Graded Literature. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.
Stepping Stones to Literature. Silver, Burdett, & Co.
Lights to Literature. Rand, McNally, & Co.
The Heart of Oak Series. D. C. Heath & Co.
Choice Literature. Butler, Sheldon, & Co.
METHODS IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
A Series of Educational Books in Two Groups covering the General
Principles of Method and Its Special Applications to the Common
School
BY
CHARLES A. McMURRY, Ph.D.
_Northern Illinois State Normal School, DeKalb, Illinois_
WITH
F. M. McMURRY
AS JOINT AUTHOR FOR METHOD OF RECITATION
I. BOOKS OF GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION
The three books in this group deal with the fundamental,
comprehensive principles of Education for the school as a whole,
and include both instruction and management.
II. BOOKS OF SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL STUDIES.
Each school study is treated in a separate book, and the
selection and arrangement of material, and the method of
instruction appropriate to that study throughout its course, are
fully discussed. Illustrative lessons and extensive lists of
books of special value as helps to teachers and schools are
included.
GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION
THE ELEMENTS OF GENERAL METHOD
BASED ON THE IDEAS OF HERBART
By CHARLES A. MCMURRY
New edition, revised and enlarged. Cloth. 12mo. 331 pp.
90 cents net, postage 10 cents
This volume discusses fully the controlling principles of our
progressive modern education, such as The Aim of Education; The
Materials and Sources of Moral Training; The Relative Value of
Studies in the School Course; The Nature and Value of Interest
as a Vital Element in Instruction; The Correlation of Studies;
Inductive and Deductive Processes as Fundamental to All
Thinking; Apperception, its Close and Constant Application to
the Process of Learning; The Will, its Training and Function and
its Close Relation to Other Forms of Mental Action.
The book closes with an account of Herbart and his disciples in
Germany, and a summary of their pronounced ideas and influence
upon education.
THE METHOD OF THE RECITATION
New edition, revised and enlarged
By CHARLES A. MCMURRY and FRANK M. MCMURRY
Cloth. 12mo. 339 pp. 90 cents net, postage 10 cents
This book, as a whole, is designed to simplify, organize, and
illustrate the chief principles of class-room method in
elementary schools. A few important fundamental principles are
carefully worked out as a basis. The essential steps, in the
acquisition of knowledge in all studies, are worked out and
applied to different branches. The developing method of
instruction so much used in the oral treatment of lessons is
worked out, and the method of careful and suitable questioning
discussed.
Two chapters are given, consisting of Illustrative Lessons
selected from the different studies and worked out in full, as
examples of a right method. In these examples, and also in the
discussions, the application of the principles of apperception,
interest, induction, and deduction to class-room work are shown.
The peculiar application of these various principles to
different studies is carefully discussed.
SCHOOL AND CLASS MANAGEMENT--In Preparation
SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL STUDIES
SPECIAL METHOD IN THE READING OF COMPLETE ENGLISH CLASSICS IN
THE COMMON SCHOOLS
By CHARLES A. MCMURRY
Cloth. 12mo. 254 pp. 75 cents, postage 9 cents
This discusses in a comprehensive way the regular reading
lessons, the choice of stories, poems, and longer masterpieces,
adapted to the needs of the various grades from the fourth to
the eighth school year inclusive; the value for school use of
the best literature, including complete masterpieces, both long
and short; method in reading; and principles of class-room work.
A descriptive list of more than four hundred books forms the
last chapter. The list has been carefully made, and is designed
to assist teachers and superintendents in selecting suitable
reading material for the successive grades.
SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY READING AND ORAL WORK IN STORY TELLING
By CHARLES A. MCMURRY
Cloth. 12mo. 75 cents net, postage 8 cents
The relation of oral story work to early exercises in primary
reading is explained at length. A full discussion of oral
methods in primary grades and a detailed account of primary
exercises in reading are given. The use of games for incidental
reading is also fully discussed and illustrated.
SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY
By CHARLES A. MCMURRY
NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION
This book contains a course of study in history with a full
discussion of methods of treating topics. The value, selection,
and arrangement of historical materials for each grade are
discussed, and illustrative lessons given. The relation of
history to geography, literature, and other studies is treated,
and lists of books suitable for each year are supplied.
SPECIAL METHOD IN GEOGRAPHY
By CHARLES A. MCMURRY
NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION
The entire course of study is laid out after a careful selection
of topics. Methods of class instruction are fully discussed, and
illustrations are given of geographical topics treated in
detail. The close relation of geography to other studies is
shown, and the best lists of books supplied.
SPECIAL METHOD IN NATURAL SCIENCE
By CHARLES A. MCMURRY
NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION
The history of science teaching in elementary schools is given.
The basis for selecting the topics for a course of study, and
the method of class instruction suitable to object study,
experimentation, etc., are fully discussed. The book contains,
also, a carefully selected list of the best books for the use of
teachers and pupils.
A COURSE OF STUDY FOR THE EIGHT GRADES OF THE COMMON SCHOOL
IN PREPARATION
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
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