THE MODERN BOOK SHOULD BE THE OUTGROWTH OF ITS OWN TIME,
CONSISTENT IN ALL ITS FEATURES.--_DE VINNE_
The making of a good booklet involves the vital correlation of
several school topics and processes, presents many opportunities for
sound instruction, gives a wide scope for individuality and furnishes
genuine training of hand and eye. From such work the pupils derive
more pleasure and more solid satisfaction than from any other school
project yet discovered.
Success depends upon forethought. The teacher who thinks the problem
through to the end, who sees clearly the steps to be taken in order
from first to last, and who makes adequate preparation for the taking
of each step with the class, will not be disappointed in the result.
One may rise to a higher level in many ways: the ancient “spiral”
incline, the notched log, the ladder, stairs, and, in these days, the
moving sidewalk, and the elevator, are all good lifts. These all have
their correspondences in school work, and all have been efficient.
This little book presents ten well-worn, fireproof steps which, if
taken without haste, will land the aspirant safely on the floor above
the present level of average school work.
=First, Decide upon the Kind of Booklet=
The choice would be influenced by the grade of school, by the
previous experiences and achievements of the children, by the course
of study, and by the amount of time to be devoted to the work. In
primary grades, possibly a six- or eight-paged pamphlet with paper
covers, bound with a single thread, may be all that should be
attempted. In the grammar grades a booklet with covers of paper or
cloth over cardboard may be achieved, while in the high school a book
properly bound in boards may not be too desperate a venture.
=Second, Decide upon the Subject=
Here, again, a wide range presents itself. The subject, also, must
be determined by local conditions. A classified list may serve to
present a general survey of the field.
_Personal_--Records of adventures, mishaps, strolls, games, fads.
_Geographical_--Records of journeys, real and imaginary; studies
of towns, cities, counties, states and countries, and of world
features such as a pond or lake, the ocean, a mountain, etc.
_Natural_--Studies of individual objects or of a group of objects
in the realm of the plants, the birds, the animals, insects,
fishes, or among the elements, clouds, minerals, metals, etc.
_Historical_--Studies of myths and legends, the records of events
and achievements, of famous sites, buildings, etc., of historic
significance.
_Industrial_--Studies of occupations, trades, manufactured
materials and processes, commerce, inventions, etc.
_Biographical_--Studies of the lives of famous people, inventors,
leaders of thought, statesmen, poets, artists, sculptors,
architects, authors, musicians, etc.
_Appreciative_--Studies of masterpieces in the arts, pictures,
poems and other forms of literature, statues and other forms of
sculpture, architecture and handicraft, pieces of music, etc.
_Technical_--Collections of papers having to do with such school
topics as writing, spelling, arithmetic, algebra, geometry,
mechanical drawing, grammar, and the like.
The subject selected for the first booklet should be a popular one
with the class, and one for which illustrative material is available
or may be easily made.
=Third, Determine the Contents=
To make this discussion as helpful as possible I have decided to make
it concrete, and therefore have selected a project--a grammar-grade
booklet bound in paper covers--and a subject--the poet Longfellow.
Let us suppose I am a seventh-grade teacher. My pupils have heard
about Longfellow from their first-grade days; they know by heart some
of his poems. Moreover, he is one of my own favorite poets. With the
first money I ever earned working for strangers I purchased a copy
of Longfellow’s poems. I have that book in my desk this moment. I
visited his home in Cambridge once. I know a man who knew him. I can
make Longfellow real to the children, make them enthusiastic about
him and his poetry.