pet? Stand in front of the class and tell your classmates why you like
that kind of dog and what you would do with him.
2. Dogs can do many useful things. Tell the class of a remarkable thing
you have seen a dog do. If you cannot do that, tell of some intelligent
and brave deed which you have heard that a dog did. Perhaps the
following list will help you:
1. Some dogs are faithful watchdogs. They may be trusted to guard a
house, a small child, an automobile, or a flock of sheep.
2. Some dogs are used in hunting.
3. Some dogs are good rat catchers.
4. Some dogs are taught tricks. Such dogs are sometimes seen at the
circus.
5. In some countries dogs are used to haul carts; in others they
draw sleds.
6. The St. Bernard dog and the Newfoundland dog are famous as
life-savers.
7. Dogs make good playmates for boys and girls.
3. Think of a dog you like. Without telling what kind of dog he is, make
your classmates see exactly how he looks. There is no need of saying
that the dog has four legs, two ears, two eyes, and a tail. Every dog
has these. But tell what the class must know in order to see the dog as
you see him in your mind. Perhaps you will make the class see a picture
something like one of the following:
I
My dog has long hair but he himself is short. He looks like a white
muff. His bark and bite are sharp, but no one is afraid of him. He
might just as well be a rabbit.
[Illustration: After a painting by Landseer]
II
The dog I am thinking about is nearly as tall as I am. He is so
heavy that I cannot lift him off the ground. He is so strong that
he can carry me. His beautiful brown and white hair is long and
curly. He is a good dog, and I should feel safe with him anywhere
on the darkest night.
=Group Exercise.=[54] 1. The class will try to guess the kind of dog
each pupil tells about. Then it will tell each speaker (1) what was good
in his talk, and (2) where the talk might have been better.
2. Some of the talks should be given a second time. This time the
teacher will write them on the board.[16] How can each of them be made
better?
3. You and your classmates might make an interesting dog picture book.
After writing about each dog, you could draw his picture or cut it out
of a magazine and paste it beside what you have written.[55]
=48. Study of a Picture Story=
I
=Oral Exercise.= 1. What is happening in the first picture on the next
page? Does the dog want to go along? Why do the boys not take him?
2. Make believe that you are the boy on the back seat in the boat. Look
at the dog as that boy looks at him. Hold up your finger as the boy
does. What does that mean? Now, as your boat slowly moves from shore,
talk to the dog. Are you sorry that he must stay? How do you show that?
Do you sternly warn him not to leave his post?
=Group Exercise.= 1. Some of your classmates will now play that they are
talking to the dog. Each tries to show how it really happened.
2. The class will tell what it likes in each pupil's talking and
playing, and what it does not like. The following questions will help
the class:
1. Did the pupil talk as he really would talk to his dog if the
class were not there to hear him?
2. What was the best thing he said?
3. What might he have said that he left out?
[Illustration: AN UNFINISHED STORY]
=Oral Exercise.= 1. You and a classmate may now play that you are the
two boys in the first picture. Make believe that you are just arriving
at the lake on your bicycles. Jump off and lean them against trees.[56]
Talk about the lake and the beautiful day. Look the boat over and talk
about your plan to go rowing. Talk about where to leave the bicycles.
Decide to have the dog watch them. Explain this to the dog. Tell him you
are sorry that he cannot go along. Then untie the boat, jump in, and
push off. One of you is rowing. The other is sitting on the back seat
and talking to the dog.
2. Two other pupils, and two others, may now play the same
happenings.[57] They should try to talk exactly as they would if they
were really the boys in the picture. Those two boys probably talked all
the time.
=Group Exercise.= The class will tell what it likes in each playing of
the picture, and what it thinks could be done better. The following
questions will be useful in these talks:
1. Did the boys jump off their make-believe bicycles as if these
were real? Did they lean them carefully against trees?
2. Did they talk together as if they were really on a day's picnic?
3. Did they get into the boat carefully? Did one of them row the
make-believe boat as if it were a real boat? Did he look back now
and then to see where he was going?
4. Which two boys played the picture best? Which two talked the
best?
II
In the second picture the boys are seen on the water, well out from
shore. They have just made an unpleasant discovery.
=Oral Exercise.= 1. Play that you are one of the boys in the boat and
have suddenly discovered your dog in the water near by. Look as you
think this boy looked. Say what you think he said to the dog. Say what
he said to the boy rowing the boat.
2. Now, with a classmate, play this part of the story. Begin where you
stopped in the first picture. You have left the dog on shore and are
rowing out into the middle of the lake. What can you see out there? What
do you say to each other? Think of the things that two boys out in a
boat would talk about,--birds flying by, fish, the sky, the depth of the
water, whether they could swim ashore. Say these things. Then, right in
the middle of your good time, the dog! After you have scolded him, you
and your classmate talk together about what to do. What does each say,
and what do you decide?
=Group Exercise.= Other pupils will now play this part of the story in
their own way. Each two will try to show the others the best way. After
each playing, the class will talk about it. These questions will help
the class to see whether the playing was good or not:
1. Did the players talk enough? What more could each one have said?
2. Did they act and move as if they were sitting in a boat out on a
lake or as if they were standing on dry land?
3. Did they lean over the edge of the boat and look for fish? Did
they speak about how the shore looked from the middle of the lake?
Did they see other boats on the water?
=Oral Exercise.= How did the story end? Did the boys row on and let the
dog swim after them until he got tired and returned to shore? Or did
they take the wet animal into the boat and leave the bicycles to take
care of themselves? What happened then? Were the bicycles still there
when the boys returned from their boat ride? Tell your classmates how
you think the story ended. If the ending is a good one, the teacher may
ask you and other pupils to play it.
=Group Exercise.= The teacher will write some of the story endings on
the board. Perhaps one or two pupils who have told good endings may
write these on the board. Then the class will try to make each one
better.[58] The following questions will help in this class work:
1. Does every sentence begin with a capital letter?
2. Does every sentence end with the right kind of mark?
3. Are there mistakes in any sentence?
4. Where can better words be used than those of the writer?
5. Where can a sentence or two be added to make the story better?
=Written Exercise.= Of all the story endings that have been corrected and
rewritten on the board, the best one should now be copied. As you copy,
notice the spelling of the hard words, the capitals, and the punctuation
marks. Then, together with two or three classmates, correct your work
and theirs.
=49. Correct Usage--_Went_, _Saw_, _Came_, _Did_=
An interesting game is sometimes played by pupils, which teaches them to
use four words, _went_, _saw_, _came_, and _did_, correctly. Besides, it
teaches them to have sharp eyes.
=Game.= Many things are placed on the teacher's desk. At a word all the
pupils in the class march past the desk and try to see everything on it
as they pass. When they have returned to their seats, the teacher asks
questions that the pupils answer. For example:
TEACHER (to first pupil): Tom, what did you do?
TOM: I _went_ to your desk, I _saw_ a pencil on it, and I _came_ to
my seat. That is what I _did_.
TEACHER (to the next pupil): Mary, what did you do?
MARY: I _went_ to your desk, I _saw_ a knife on it, and I _came_ to
my seat. That is what I _did_.
Each pupil must name an object on the desk that no other pupil has
spoken of. One of these objects the teacher has marked on its under
side. The pupil who names that object wins the game, if he has made no
mistake in his language, and he may go to the desk and mark another
object for the next game. In this second game only those may play who
made no mistake in the first.
=50. Two Punctuation Marks=
You already know that every sentence must begin with a capital letter.
Besides, you have learned that some sentences end with a little mark (.)
that is called a period, and some with a mark (?) that is called a
question mark.
=Written Exercise.= In order to prepare for the game on the next page,
copy the following sentences on the board.[59] Put capital letters where
they belong. Place the right mark, a period or a question mark, at the
end of each sentence.
1. what do you see on the side of the mountain
2. a large dog is standing in a snowdrift and barking
3. does he want to call us to him
4. these Saint Bernard dogs are very intelligent
5. they are beautiful dogs
6. what happened to the two boys who went boating on the lake
7. did they take the disobedient dog back to shore
8. the next picture in this book shows what they did
9. what should you have done
=Game.= The class is divided into two equal sides. Five pupils of one
side go to the board. Each pupil writes a question. The questions may be
about dogs or horses or Indians or anything that the class may choose.
When they are written, the whole class reads them carefully to see
whether there are any mistakes in them. Every mistake that is pointed
out counts one score for the side that finds it. When the questions have
been corrected, five pupils of the other side write the answers. These,
in turn, are read by the class for mistakes. Then five more questions
are written by five other pupils, and so on. When one of the two sides
has made a certain score, twenty-five or more or less, the game ends.
The side first reaching that score wins.
=51. Another Study of a Picture Story=
Of course you remember the two boys whose dog followed them out into the
lake. When they rowed back to land, they found the bicycles untouched.
Nobody seemed to have passed there. Still, the boys were afraid to leave
them, and of course they could not take them along in the rowboat.
=Oral Exercise.= 1. What plan are the boys carrying out in the first
picture on the next page? Do you think it is a good plan? Could you
think out a better one? Explain it to your classmates.
[Illustration: A STORY TO FINISH]
2. Look at the second picture and tell what has happened since the boys
tied the dog to the bicycles. How did the boat happen to upset? Is this
dog a good swimmer? Could he probably save the drowning boy if he were
not tied? What will happen next? This exciting story might end in
several ways. Tell the class how you think it ended. Begin your story
with the tying of the dog.
=52. Letter Writing=
It is over a month since you mailed a letter in the class post office.
Shall we have another letter-writing day? It might be fun for all the
pupils to send short letters to each other.
=Written Exercise.= 1. Think of a question that you would like to ask
one of your classmates.[60] It may be something you really want to know,
or it may be a question that you are asking just for fun. It does not
matter. Write a short note asking the question.
2. Before mailing the letter, read it over several times with one of the
following questions in your mind at each reading:
1. Have you begun the letter correctly? If it begins with a
greeting like _Dear Tom_ or _Dear Mary_, there should be this mark
(:) after the name of the pupil to whom you are writing.
2. Have you written your own name in the right place at the end of
the letter? No mark should follow your name.
3. Does the first line of the letter begin a little more to the
right than the lines below it?
4. Did you place a question mark at the end of the question you are
asking?
5. Would it be a good plan to write your letter over so that it
will be one of the best and neatest letters in the class post
office?
3. The class letter carrier will bring you the letter that one of your
classmates has sent you. Write a letter[61] answering the question you
have been asked. You know how to write dates. Place in the upper
right-hand corner of your letter the date of your writing. The following
letter shows the date written in the right place and in the right way:
March 25, 1919
Dear Tom:
The question you sent me is the same as the one my letter asks
you. I wonder whether the answers will be the same. My answer
is, Yes, I do want to go to the woods next Saturday.
Fred
=53. Words sometimes Mispronounced=
It is very pleasant to listen to speakers who make no mistakes in
pronouncing words. In the list below are some of the words that give
trouble to some pupils.
=Oral Exercise.= 1. Listen carefully as the teacher pronounces the words
in the following list. Then read the whole list as rapidly as you can,
pronouncing no word incorrectly or indistinctly.
again
Tuesday
picture
I wish
drowned
you
threw
Italian
could have
window
into
chimney
to-morrow
nothing
February
just
2. Ask your classmates questions in which the words above are used. The
answers, too, should use words from the list.
=54. Story-Telling=
THE DAUGHTER OF CERES
Long ago there lived on the earth a good goddess or fairy whose
name was Ceres.[62] It was she who made the corn and the grass and
the flowers grow. She drove over the fields in her magic chariot
and waved her wand. Then the trees put forth green leaves, the
grain sprouted, and the fruits glistened in red and gold colors.
She was the queen of all growing plants.
Ceres had an only daughter, of whom she was very fond. Her name was
Proserpina.[62] One day Proserpina begged her mother to allow her
to go into the meadow to gather flowers.
"You hardly ever let me wander in the fields, Mother," she said.
"Other girls go. Do let me go to-day. I shall be gone only a short
time."
Ceres did not like to let her daughter go. She feared some harm
might come to the little girl. But Proserpina begged so piteously
that, finally, Ceres agreed.
"But," she said, "you must not go farther than the brook that
borders the meadow. Do not cross that. I want to be able to see you
when I look out of my window."
Proserpina promised gladly. In a minute she had put on her bonnet
and had kissed her mother good-bye. With a basket on her arm she
ran gaily toward the near-by fields. They were dotted, on this
sunny morning, with the most beautiful flowers. Ceres at her window
watched the happy girl for a time. Then she returned to her work,
for she was always very busy.
Proserpina, like a butterfly that is glad to use its wings,
wandered delightedly from flower to flower. Never had the sunshine
seemed brighter and pleasanter. Never had the birds sung more
happily. Never had she seen such beautiful flowers. The violets
seemed larger and sweeter than ever before. The roses, the pinks,
and the lilacs seemed to be wearing holiday clothes. In a short
time she had filled not only her basket but also her apron with the
choicest blossoms. Then she sat in the tall grass and clover to
make some wreaths. She decided to make one for herself and a large,
beautiful one for her mother.
As she sat there in the sunshine and twined the stems of flowers
into pretty wreaths, she suddenly heard a low murmuring. It seemed
to come from near by. She listened. The sound kept steadily on. She
arose to see what it was. A few steps showed her that she had heard
only the murmuring and splashing and babbling of a little brook. It
bordered the meadow in which she had been gathering flowers and was
the very brook that her mother had told her not to cross.
And now a strange thing happened. As Proserpina stood beside the
running water, she saw, just a little distance on the other side, a
large shrub such as she had never set eyes on before. It was
completely covered with the most wonderful flowers in the world.
Before she knew what she was doing she had stepped lightly across
the brook. The nearer she came to the beautiful plant, the more
attractive it looked; and when she stood close to it, its beauty
seemed richer than anything she had ever seen. There were a hundred
flowers on it. Each had a color of its own. All together they made
one beautiful bouquet.
Proserpina was so charmed with what she saw that she did nothing at
first but look and look at the magical sight. At length, however,
she made up her mind to pull the shrub up and carry it home.
"I will plant it in our garden at home," she said.
So she took hold of the thick stem at the center of the plant and
pulled. It would not come up. She tried harder and loosened it a
little. Then she grasped it firmly near the ground with both hands,
and pulled and pulled with all her might. Suddenly, up came the
shrub, roots and all, so suddenly that Proserpina nearly fell. A
deep hole had been left in the soil where the plant had grown. As
Proserpina looked at this hole, it grew wider and wider and deeper
and deeper. In a few moments it had grown so deep that the bottom
seemed to be entirely gone.
Suddenly a tall man arose from the black depths. He wore a helmet
and carried a shield. As soon as he saw the frightened maiden, he
made a sign to her to come nearer.
"Do not be afraid," he said. "I shall do you no harm. I have come
to take you to my palace. You may live there as long as you
please."
Proserpina was so frightened that she wanted to run away. But she
was not able to move.
"No, no," she cried. "I don't want to go to your palace. I want to
go to my mother."
The stranger leaped swiftly to where she stood. He caught her in
his arms. In a moment he had jumped with her into the deep and
almost bottomless opening. There, far down, stood a golden
chariot, drawn by six coal-black horses. Into this chariot the
stranger stepped, carrying the frightened girl. He laid her gently
on the floor of the car and took the reins in his hands. They were
off at once at a furious pace. In a minute they had left the
meadows and the brook far behind them. Then the opening slowly
closed. Nowhere was there left the least mark or sign to tell what
had happened.
[Illustration]
=Oral Exercise.= 1. What did you like best in this story? Do you like
the ending? How do you wish it had ended?
2. With a classmate play the first part of the story. This is the part
that tells about Ceres and Proserpina before Proserpina goes to the
meadow. What does Proserpina say? What does Ceres say?
3. Now with another pupil play the part of the story that tells what
happened after Proserpina crossed the brook. First, she sees the
beautiful shrub. What does she say when she sees that? Next, she tries
to pull it up. How she tugs and tugs at it! This must be shown in the
playing. What does she say as she pulls away at it? How does she look
and what does she say when she sees the deep hole that grows wider and
deeper every moment? Last, the stranger is seen. He and Proserpina talk
together before he carries her away. Does Proserpina scream as the
stranger picks her up? Scream as if you were being carried away.
4. Now that spring is here, shall you be going into the fields and woods
to gather flowers? Tell the class the best places you know, how to reach
them, and what flowers may now be found there. Do you know any place
where some rare wild flower grows every year? What is the most beautiful
wild flower you have ever found or seen?
5. Did you ever see a brook? If you did, tell your classmates how a
brook looks. How is it different from a river or a lake? Can you tell
the class where to go to see a brook?
=55. Telling Interesting Things[63]=
THE RETURN OF SPRING
Have you noticed any signs that spring is coming? The bluebirds are
usually among the first to tell us that winter is over. Soon after,
the robins tell the same glad story. Then the song sparrow puts the
good news into a beautiful song. At about this time boys and girls
begin to talk of going into the woods for flowers.
But the air still seems a little too cold. The ground is still too
wet. The tramps into the country are put off a while. In the
meantime a pretty flower, an early dandelion perhaps, shows itself
here and there along the roadside or on a green lawn. Then,
suddenly, one fine warm day, a boy brings to school a handful of
yellow marsh marigolds. He found them in the low meadows. Now every
boy and girl starts out, and spring flowers are seen in every
schoolroom and in every home.
Gradually the pleasant weather grows still warmer. One boy sees a
snake. Another finds a turtle. These have been enjoying their long
winter sleep deep down, a yard or more, in the ground. Now they are
glad to lie in the pleasant sunshine, as if they needed to thaw
out. In the ponds the frogs sing day and night. More and more
flowers start up, more and more birds arrive and begin to build
their nests. Boys play marbles and make willow whistles. Farmers
start their early plowing. A veil of delicate green shows clearly
on the forest trees. Spring has come.
=Written Exercise.= Make a list of all the birds you know. Make a list
of all the flowers you know. Make a third list of all the flowers,
birds, and animals other than birds, that you have seen this spring.
=Correction Exercise.= The teacher will now write three lists on the
board. The first will give the names of all the birds the class knows.
The second will name all the flowers the class knows, and the third all
the flowers and all the birds and other animals that have been seen this
spring. Compare your own lists with those on the board, and correct any
mistakes in spelling that you may have made.
=Group Exercise.= Think of one of the birds or flowers or animals in
your three lists. Tell your classmates an interesting fact about it.
Tell it in two or three sentences. Thus, you might choose the bluebird
from your list and say:
A pair of bluebirds is building a nest in a bird-box my father put
up. They lived in the same box last year.
Your classmates will tell about some bird or flower or animal in their
lists. The teacher will write some or all these groups of sentences on
the board,[64] or ask some of the pupils to write their own on the
board. Then the class will try to improve each of these short accounts.
Thus, what was said about the bluebird might be changed to read as
follows:
A bluebird family has rented the birdhouse that my father built in
our back yard. They seem to like it, for they lived there last
year. Perhaps they will buy it some day and decide to live there
always.
Or:
Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird have started housekeeping in a little flat
near my home. I saw them getting the straw mattress ready. They are
old neighbors, for they lived here last summer.
=56. Story-Telling=
CERES AND APOLLO[62]
Ceres, the good queen of fruit trees, grains, vegetables, and all
growing plants, returned to her work after watching Proserpina run
gaily to the meadow to pick flowers. She was very busy. Now and
then during the afternoon she went to the window. She wanted to
make sure that her daughter was in sight and safe. She saw the girl
sit down in the long grass.
"The child is getting a little tired, I suppose," she said. "She
will be coming home before long."
But an hour passed, and Proserpina had not yet returned.
"She has probably fallen asleep in the soft grass," said her
mother. "When she awakes, she will run home as fast as her legs
will carry her."
But when another hour had slipped by, and Proserpina was still not
in sight, Ceres became greatly worried.
"I wonder what has happened," she cried, as she hurried outdoors.
She ran into the meadow. She called. Here and there she found a
withered flower that the girl had dropped. At length Ceres reached
the place where Proserpina had sat in the grass and where, as Ceres
supposed, she had fallen asleep. There was nothing here but an
unfinished wreath beside a pile of flowers. Ceres hastened to the
brook. Yes, there in the soft ground on the edge of the water
Proserpina's footprint was plainly to be seen. A little farther on,
Ceres came upon the shrub that Proserpina had pulled out of the
soil. But no other trace of the girl could she discover anywhere.
A farmer chanced to be passing. He was on his way home from the
fields where he had been at work all day.