A little schoolgirl uses parts of me when she draws pictures. What
am I?
We are a company of soldiers. Each of us wears a cap of a
different color. We spend most of our time in a small pasteboard
fort. When we go out, we are sure to make our mark. What are we?
=Oral Exercise.= 1. Of all the riddles of the box of crayons, which do
you think is the best? Which is the second best? Which is the poorest?
2. Now again make riddles about toys and Christmas presents. But you
should now be able to make better ones than you did before.
=Group Exercise.= 1. The class, after a riddle has been guessed, should
point out what is good in it and then should tell how it might be made
better. Should it be made shorter? Should it be made longer? How could
it be made brighter?
2. The best riddles should be repeated slowly, so that the teacher may
write them on the board. Now these may be read over, and the class may
try to make each one better.[20] The teacher will rewrite each in its
improved form.[35]
=Written Exercise.= 1. Copy the riddle that the class likes best. As you
copy, notice the spelling of the words, the capital letter at the
beginning of each sentence, and the mark at the end of each sentence.
This careful copying will prepare you for the next exercise.
2. Write from dictation the riddle that you have copied. Then correct
any mistakes.[36] These questions will help you to find out whether you
have made any:
1. Is every word spelled correctly?
2. Does every sentence begin with a capital letter?
3. Is every sentence followed by the right kind of punctuation
mark?
=27. Study of a Poem=
You read in the story of Peter's visit to Santa Claus's workshop that
the fairy workers sometimes sang while they worked. At recess too they
had songs. One of these you will probably enjoy very much. As you read
it you can see the fairies dancing in a ring in the moonlight.
THE LIGHT-HEARTED FAIRY
Oh, who is so merry, so merry, heigh ho!
As the light-hearted fairy? heigh ho,
Heigh ho!
He dances and sings
To the sound of his wings
With a hey and a heigh and a ho.
Oh, who is so merry, so airy, heigh ho!
As the light-headed fairy? heigh ho,
Heigh ho!
His nectar he sips
From the primroses' lips
With a hey and a heigh and a ho.
Oh, who is so merry, so merry, heigh ho!
As the light-footed fairy? heigh ho,
Heigh ho!
The night is his noon
And the sun is his moon,
With a hey and a heigh and a ho.
UNKNOWN
Would it not be pleasant to dance in a ring with your classmates? You
might play that you are all fairies, and you might say this poem while
you dance. Each pupil could make a red cap of paper. He might stick a
white owl's or a white chicken's feather in it as fairies do. He could
wear it while reciting the poem. But, first of all, you must make sure
that you understand every line of the song, else you cannot say it well.
=Oral Exercise.=[37] 1. What do you like about this poem? Have you
noticed that the fairy is called _light-hearted_ in the first stanza of
the poem, but light-headed in the second and _light-footed_ in the
third?
2. What do fairies drink? The second stanza tells. They find this
delicious sweet drink in the cups of flowers.
3. As you know, fairies are rarely, if ever, seen in the daytime. The
night is their day, when they dance and sing and do good deeds. What is
meant in the poem by the line, _The night is his noon_? What is the
fairies' sunlight?
=Memory Exercise.= 1. Read this poem aloud a number of times. You will
not have to read it often before you will be able to say it without the
book. When you know it, recite it to the class as well as you can. Wear
your red cap and think of the merry, airy, light-hearted fairy as you
recite it. That will help you to say it in a lively way.
2. Perhaps the teacher will permit the five or six pupils who have
recited best to form a ring in front of the class and dance round and
round as they recite the poem. Then the class may point out what might
have been done better. Perhaps other bands of fairies will recite, each
trying to recite best.
=28. Correct Usage--_Rang_, _Sang_, _Drank_=
The story about Peter does not tell us the words with which some of the
fairies had trouble. If some fairies are like some pupils, then they
need to learn how to use the words _rang_, _sang_, and _drank_
correctly.
=Oral Exercise.= 1. As you read the following sentences, notice that
_rang_, _sang_, and _drank_ are not used with _have_ or _has_ or _had_.
Are _rung_, _sung_, and _drunk_ used with _have_ or _has_ or _had_?
1. I _rang_ the bell for the teacher.
2. Have you ever _rung_ it?
3. I _sang_ the Christmas song.
4. Have you ever _sung_ it?
5. I _drank_ the grape juice.
6. Have you ever _drunk_ apple juice?
7. The fairies danced and _sang_, and _drank_ nectar.
8. They had _rung_ the bell.
9. They had _sung_ that song before.
10. He has never _drunk_ nectar.
2. Which of the six words that you have been studying in this lesson are
used with _have_ or _has_ or _had_? Which are not used with them? Make
these two lists. Would it be right to make the following rule?
Never use _rang_ or _sang_ or _drank_ with _have_ or _has_ or _had_.
3. Using what you have just learned, fill the blanks in the following
sentences with the right words, _rang_ or _rung_, _sang_ or _sung_,
_drank_ or _drunk_:
1. The strange little old man had already ---- his morning coffee.
2. He ---- an old song that he had ---- many times before.
3. When he had ---- a silver bell, a troop of fairies appeared.
4. Peter is not a fairy. He has never ---- nectar.
5. But he has often ---- the song he heard the fairies sing.
6. He has never ---- a silver bell.
7. Have you ever ---- the school bell?
8. Have you ever ---- spring water?
=Game.= Let the girls of the class, working together in a group, write
on the board six sentences in which _rang_, _sang_, and _drank_ are used
correctly. Let the boys in the same way write six sentences in which
_rung_, _sung_, and _drunk_ are used correctly. The boys will correct
the girls' sentences, and the girls the boys'. The teacher will decide
whether the boys or the girls made fewer mistakes, and which group wrote
the more interesting sentences. Then all the sentences may be read aloud
by several groups of pupils in turn, each trying to read the most
clearly.
=29. Making up Fairy Stories=
The magic ring that Santa Claus gave Peter would bring him any one thing
that he might wish. When Christmas morning came, he had only to say his
wish, and it would be fulfilled.[38]
=Oral Exercise.= 1. Suppose that you had such a magic ring. What would
be your one big wish? It will be fun to see whether you and your
classmates have the same wish.
2. What do you think Peter himself wished when Christmas morning came?
What happened then? Tell your classmates the story of Peter's wish on
Christmas Day, exactly as you think everything happened.
=Group Exercise.= One or two of the best stories about Peter's wish
should be told a second time. This time the teacher will write them on
the board. Now you and the other pupils should read them carefully to
see where they can be made better.[20] These questions may help in this
work:
1. Can better words be used for some of those in the story?
2. Should some of the _and's_ be left out?
3. Can anything be added to make the story interesting?
=Written Exercise.= Silently read one of the improved stories, perhaps
more than once, noticing the spelling of the words, the capital letter
at the beginning of each sentence, and the mark at the end of each
sentence. Write it from dictation. Then compare your paper with what is
written on the board, and correct any mistakes you may have made.
=Oral Exercise.= Suppose that Peter lost the magic ring before Christmas
came. Who might have found it? What might have happened then? Make up a
story to tell this. You might call it "The Lost Magic Ring." Try to make
up a fairy story that your classmates will be very glad to hear. Try to
think of some wonderful happenings for it. Perhaps the following ideas
will help you to begin your story:
1. When Peter learned that he had lost the magic ring, and could find it
nowhere, he started off at once into the woods. He wanted to find the
strange little old man and tell him what had happened. Peter had not
gone very far when he met a giant. On the giant's finger Peter saw his
magic ring. What did he do?
2. Peter's careless and lazy brother, Joseph, saw the magic ring on the
window sill. Peter always laid it there when he washed his hands. Joseph
took the ring in order to tease his brother. Then the thought came to
him that he would wish himself something on Christmas Day. On Christmas
morning he placed the fairy ring on his finger and spoke his wish. What
was that wish? Was the wish fulfilled, or did a fairy appear to punish
the boy? What happened then?
3. The strange little old man himself took the ring from Peter's finger
while Peter was asleep. Why did he do this? Did he want to see what
Peter would do? Did he plan to give him another ring instead,--a ring
that held three wishes instead of one? How did Peter find the strange
little old man? When and where did he receive the more wonderful ring?
What were his three wishes on Christmas morning?[39]
=30. Writing Dates=
If you were asked to write on a slip of paper your name and the date of
your birth, could you do it? Of course you know how to write your name.
Some time ago you learned to write the names of the months. Now you are
to learn how to write dates. You will need to know this when you begin
letter writing, which will be soon.
=Written Exercise.= 1. Here are two dates:
January 1, 1918
December 25, 1917
The first date is that of a New Year's Day some time ago. The second
date is that of Christmas more than a year ago. See the little mark (,),
called a comma, between the year and the day of the month. Write the
date of the last New Year's Day; of the next New Year's Day. Write the
date of last Christmas; of next Christmas.
2. Write the date of your birth; the date of the birth of your mother;
of a friend.
3. Write from dictation the list of dates that your teacher will give
you.[40]
=31. Telling Interesting Things=
Now the Christmas vacation is over. Of course you had a good time. Of
course Santa Claus brought you something. It would be fun for every
pupil to tell the class about his Christmas. Probably each one's
Christmas was different in some ways from that of his classmates.
=Oral Exercise.=[41] 1. Did Santa Claus come to your home? Did you see
him? If you did, tell the class how he looked. Show the class how he
walked into the house. How did he talk? What did he say?
2. Tell the other pupils what Santa Claus brought you. If he brought you
a little engine, or a sand machine, or a small airplane, or a steamship
that runs by clockwork, or a baby sewing machine, or a music box, or a
doll stove on which one can really cook, or some other interesting toy,
explain to the class exactly how it works. Perhaps it would be pleasant
if each pupil brought a toy to school and held it up before the class
while he explained how it works.
3. What was the best fun you had during the Christmas vacation? Tell
the class about it.
=32. Story-Telling=
JACK AND JILL[C]
[Illustration]
"Clear the lulla!" was the general cry on a bright December
afternoon. All the boys and girls of Harmony village were out
enjoying the first good snow of the season. Up and down three long
coasts they went as fast as legs and sleds could carry them. One
smooth path led into the meadow. One swept across the pond, where
skaters were darting about like waterbugs. The third, from the very
top of the steep hill, ended abruptly at a rail fence near the
road. There was a group of lads and lasses sitting or leaning on
this fence to rest after an exciting race.
[C] Copyright by Little, Brown and Company.
Down came a gay red sled. It carried a boy who seemed all smile and
sunshine, so white were his teeth, so golden was his hair, so
bright and happy his whole air. Behind him clung a little gypsy of
a girl. She had black eyes and hair, cheeks as red as her hood, and
a face full of fun and sparkle.
"It's just splendid! Now, one more, Jack!" cried the little girl,
excited by the cheers of a sleighing party that passed them.
"All right, Jill," answered he, and they started back up the hill.
Proud of his skill, Jack made up his mind that this last "go"
should be the best one of the afternoon. But they started off,
talking so busily that Jill forgot to hold tight and Jack to steer
carefully. No one knows how it happened. They did not land in the
soft drift of snow or stop before they reached the fence. Instead,
there was a great crash against the bars, a dreadful plunge off the
steep bank beyond, and, before any one could see what was
happening, a sudden scattering of girl, boy, sled, fence, earth,
and snow, all about the road. There were two cries, and then
silence. Down rushed boys and girls, ready to laugh or cry, as the
case might be. They found Jack sitting up, looking about him with a
queer, dazed expression, while an ugly cut on the forehead was
bleeding. This sobered the boys and frightened the girls half out
of their wits.
"He's killed! He's killed!" wailed one of the girls, hiding her
face and beginning to cry.
"No, I'm not. I'll be all right when I get my breath. Where's
Jill?" asked Jack stoutly, though still too giddy to see
straight.--LOUISA M. ALCOTT, "Jack and Jill" (Adapted)
=Oral Exercise.= 1. Make believe that you are the Jack or the Jill in
the story. Play that the accident has just happened. You are lying in
the snow. Your classmates are standing around you wondering whether you
are alive or dead. Slowly you sit up. What do they do and say? Let some
of your classmates do and say these things. What do you say? What
happens next? Play the story up to the time when the doctor looks you
over and says that you will have to stay in bed a long time.[42]
2. Again make believe that you are Jack or Jill. Play that the accident
happened some time ago. Tell your classmates about that afternoon's
coasting and how it ended. Could you walk home that day? Did the other
children lay you both on sleds and slowly draw you to your homes? What
did your mother do and say when she saw you coming? Did they put you to
bed at once and run for the doctor? What did the doctor do and say?
3. Do you own a sled? Tell the class about this sled. Tell about going
coasting on it.
4. What can one do with a sled besides go coasting? What was the best
fun you ever had with your sled? Where were you? What did you do? After
you have told the class about the fun you had, you may make one or two
pictures about it with colored crayons. Perhaps the following list will
help you to remember some good times you have had:
1. The first sled ride that I remember
2. Hitching behind with a sled
3. A race down a hill on sleds
4. The toboggan slide
5. The longest hill I ever coasted down
6. The steepest hill I ever coasted down
7. Six of us on a bob
5. Did you ever have an accident with your sled? Accidents sometimes
happen. Perhaps you are very careful and have never had any trouble. But
you have probably heard of accidents and narrow escapes. Tell the class
of one, and explain how it might have been avoided.
=33. Explaining Things=
Winter is here. There are many games to play and many pleasant things to
do after school and on Saturdays. You would enjoy talking with your
classmates about these. Perhaps you can plan some good times together.
=Oral Exercise.= Make believe that your class is having a meeting to
plan some fun for after school and Saturdays. What games do you think
would be best? Think out a clear plan. Then stand before your classmates
and explain it to them. Tell exactly how it is to be carried out. Tell
where, when, and everything else they must know. The following list may
help you to make a good plan:[43]
1. A skating party some Saturday
2. A skating race to see who is the best boy skater and who is the
best girl skater in the class
3. Building one or two snow forts
4. A snowball battle between your class and another
5. A straw ride
6. A game of shinny, or hockey, between your class and another
7. A class tramp with the teacher through the woods or parks
8. A basket-ball game between your class and another
9. A class party at some one's house
10. A coasting party
=Group Exercise.= After the plans have been told, you and your classmates
must decide which one you will carry out. You may wish to ask some of
the speakers questions. At last the class may vote.
=34. Words sometimes Mispronounced=
Some pupils do not know how to speak certain words correctly. If they
did, their talks would be much more pleasing.[44]
=Oral Exercise.= 1. Pronounce the following words as your teacher
pronounces them to you, in a clear, strong, and pleasant voice. Then
read the whole list as rapidly as you can without speaking any word
indistinctly or incorrectly.
looking
seeing
walking
running
jumping
smiling
laughing
crying
teasing
speaking
talking
hearing
saying
eating
paying
2. Use in sentences each of the words in the list above. Try to make
sentences that will give pleasure to your classmates. Anybody can use
the word _looking_ to make uninteresting sentences like these:
Some one is _looking_ for me.
I am _looking_ for some one.
He is _looking_ at me.
Try to make sentences like these:
The boys were looking at Jack's big red sled.
The girls were looking for a story-book at the public library.
The hunter was looking at the panther, and the panther was
looking at him.
Perhaps the teacher will write the best sentences on the board, or let
the pupils who give them write them on the board.[20]
=35. Telling Interesting Things=
Far north of us lies a part of the world where it is very cold both in
summer and in winter. It is so cold there that trees cannot live. No
cities are to be seen there, and no farms. The people who make their
homes in this world of ice and snow live by hunting and fishing. They
are called Eskimos. Their clothes are warm suits made of the fur of the
polar bear, the seal, and the reindeer. Let us learn about the Eskimos.
HOW THE ESKIMO BUILDS HIS HOUSE
The house in which an Eskimo family lives is made of ice and snow.
First the builder makes a ring on the snow-covered ground. This he
makes as large as he wishes the house to be. On this ring he places
blocks of snow. Then he lays more blocks on top of these. Each row
or ring of blocks is a little smaller than the row or ring below
it. As more and more rows of blocks are laid, these rows at last
close the top like a roof. Then snow is shoveled over it, until not
a crack remains in the solid wall.
[Illustration]
Now a narrow hallway is made. This is the only way into the house.
It is long, and the opening is hung with skins. The Eskimos creep
through it on their hands and knees.
There is only one window in the Eskimo's house. It is a small hole
in the wall, over the low hallway. There is no glass in it, but it
is covered with a thin skin that keeps out the wind and cold.[45]
=Oral Exercise.= 1. Can you think of a good reason why the Eskimos have
no such houses as ours? Why have they no fine large coal or wood stoves
in that cold country? What would happen if an Eskimo placed our kind of
stove in his house and started a roaring fire in it?
2. The Eskimo has only three things with which to build. What are they?
If you had only snow and the skins and bones of animals to work with,
what kind of house should you make? Can you think of any way in which
you could make the Eskimo house warmer or safer?
3. Does the Eskimo way of building a house give you an idea of a good
way of building a snow fort? Tell your classmates what you think would
be the best way of building one. Shall you put a roof over it?
4. Play that you are an Eskimo. Make believe that you are in the frozen
North and are just beginning to build yourself a new house. You have
already drawn a ring on the snow-covered ground. Draw a ring on the
floor of the schoolroom with a piece of chalk. Other pupils will play
that they have come to the Far North in a ship. They will pretend that
they know nothing about the way Eskimos live or build their houses. They
stand around while you work at your new house. They ask you many
questions about it. Stop in your work and explain it to them. Remember
that they know nothing at all about it. Perhaps some of their questions
will seem very stupid to you. But patiently explain to these strangers
everything they want to know.
=Group Exercise.= The class will tell you and the other pupils how the
meeting between the Eskimo and the strangers might have been played
better. But first they will point out what they liked in the play.
Several other groups of pupils will each try to show the class how the
meeting should be played.
[Illustration]
=Oral Exercise.= Find out from a book or from your parents or your
teacher some interesting fact about the Eskimos and the country where
they live. Let it be something that you think the class does not know.
The other pupils will do the same. Then each one will stand before the
class and tell what he has learned.
Some might tell about how cold it is in this North-Pole part of the
world.
Some might tell about polar bears, seals, reindeer, or walruses.
Some might tell the class what Eskimos eat and how they cook their food.
Some might tell about the inside of the Eskimo house.
Other pupils might tell the class about some of the men from our country
who traveled in this cold part of the world. Some of these men wished to
reach the North Pole.
=Group Exercise.= When each pupil has spoken, some of those who spoke
best will tell again what they said. The teacher will write on the board
what they say. Now the class will try to make this better. The following
questions will help the class improve what has been written on the
board:[46]
1. What is the best part of the account on the board?
2. Is anything important left out?
3. Could anything be left out because it is not needed?
4. Are too many _and's_ used?
5. What could be added to make the account better?
=Written Exercise.= When all the accounts on the board have been
rewritten, study the one the teacher selects. Notice the spelling of the
hard words. Notice the capital letter at the beginning of each sentence
and the punctuation mark at the end of each sentence. This study will
make it easier for you to write the account from dictation without
making any mistakes. Write it from dictation.
=36. Study of a Poem=
You remember, of course, that the house of snow in which Eskimos live
has only one window. But this is only a hole in the wall, covered with a
thin skin. There is no glass in it. So the little Eskimo boys and girls
do not know the wonderful things that Jack Frost sometimes pencils on
the windowpanes when children are asleep. The Eskimo children could not
understand the poem below. But you have seen these sights on your own
windows--castles, high and rocky places, knights with waving plumes, and
trees and fruits and flowers. You will learn from the poem how Jack
Frost paints them there.[9]
JACK FROST
The door was shut, as doors should be,
Before you went to bed last night;
Yet Jack Frost did get in, you see,
And left your window silver white.
He must have waited till you slept;
And not a single word he spoke,
But pencilled on the panes, and crept
Away again before you woke.
And now you cannot see the hills
Nor fields that stretch beyond the lane;
But there are fairer things than those
His fingers traced on every pane.
Rocks and castles towering high;
Hills and dales and streams and fields;
And knights in armor riding by,
With nodding plumes and shining shields.
And here are little boats, and there
Big ships with sails spread to the breeze;
And yonder, palm trees waving fair
On islands set in silver seas.
And butterflies with gauzy wings;
And herds of cows and flocks of sheep;
And fruits and flowers and all the things
You see when you are sound asleep.
For creeping softly underneath
The door when all the lights are out,
Jack Frost takes every breath you breathe,
And knows the things you think about.
He paints them on the windowpane
In fairy lines with frozen steam;
And when you wake you see again
The lovely things you saw in dream.
GABRIEL SETOUN
=Oral Exercise.= 1. How did Jack Frost get into the house? Has he
visited your house this winter? Did he pencil, or trace, on your windows
some of the pictures of which the poem speaks? Which ones?