tell how the juggler looked. It does not tell clearly what he did. After
you have added these and other points, the account might be like this
one:
THE JUGGLER AT THE CIRCUS
I saw the wonderful Japanese juggler at the circus. He was dressed
in red silk. He stood in the ring before all the people. I saw him
do one trick after another. It was like magic. He threw five shiny,
sharp knives up in the air. He kept them flying up and down without
dropping one.
=Group Exercise.= Some of the circus stories should be copied neatly on
the board. Then the whole class may try to make them better before they
are copied on the pages of the circus book.[75]
=64. Making Riddles=
=Oral Exercise.= Make believe that you are one of the performers or one
of the animals in a circus. Tell your classmates two facts about
yourself: (1) what you look like and (2) what you do. But do not tell
what you are. Thus, you might say:
I look just like you, but I spend much of my time in a cage. No, I
am not a monkey. It is my business to be in a cage. Lions are
afraid of me, and I am afraid of them, but you can see us side by
side in the same circus cage in every parade. What am I?
Or you might say:
My face is pale, and my clothes are white. I look like a very
foolish, sad, and solemn person. Everybody laughs at me. I don't
mind it. It is my business to look silly. If I did not look silly,
I should lose my place in the circus. What am I?
Your classmates will try to guess what you are.
=Group Exercise.= 1. Some of the riddles may now be written on the
board. Then the class will try to make them better. The teacher will
write each improved riddle beside the one from which it was made. 2.
When everybody in the class has made a riddle, and all the riddles have
been guessed, you and the other pupils will enjoy having a circus
parade. In this circus parade the whole class marches around the room
and up and down the aisles. Each pupil plays, as he did in making the
riddles, that he is one of the performers or one of the animals in a
circus. Each without speaking tries to show what performer or animal he
is. For example, if you are a circus horse, show it by prancing about,
but do not lose your place in the parade. If you are an elephant, show
it by your walk. You might use a piece of rope or cloth for an
elephant's trunk. If you are a horseback rider, show it by talking to
your horse in low tones and by holding him in line. If you are a clown,
show it by acting as clowns do.[76] If you are a musician, play your
instrument as you march.
Perhaps the teacher will let the parade pass into the hall, so that the
piano may be played as the class marches.
=65. Telling about Wild Animals[77]=
Sometimes boys and girls play menagerie. Each makes believe that he is
the keeper or trainer of some wild animal. When his turn comes, he
stands before the class and tells about the animal that is supposed to
be in a cage at his side.
[Illustration: AFRICAN LION]
=Oral Exercise.= Choose the animal of which you will play that you are
the keeper. Then tell the class about this animal. Tell everything
interesting that you know or can find out about it. Perhaps the
following list of questions will help you to think of what to say:
1. What does the animal look like? What is its size, color, and
shape?
2. Where does the animal live?
3. How does it live? How does it obtain its food?
4. Is the animal very different from most wild animals in any
important ways?
5. Can it be easily tamed?
=Group Exercise.= 1. The two following accounts are such as a
make-believe trainer might give of a lion. One of these is much better
than the other. Can you tell which is the better one?
2. What do you like in the first account? Notice that all of the
sentences begin in the same way. Do you like that?
3. Do you like the word _frames_ in the second account? What is the
difference in meaning between _dangerous_ and _cruel_?
4. After each talk the class should tell whether that talk was more like
the first or the second of these accounts:
I
The lion is a large animal. It has four legs, one on each corner.
Its body is covered with yellow hair. It has a shaggy mane. It has
a long tail. It lives in the wild parts of Africa. It will eat
human beings.
II
Ladies and gentlemen, the big animal that you see in this cage is a
lion. See his beautiful yellow coat. See the shaggy mane that
frames his head. You probably know that the lion is a dangerous
beast. But do you know that he is the most dangerous and cruel of
all the wild animals? The father of this fine-looking specimen
before you was caught in Africa. Human bones and several copper
bangles were found in his den.
[Illustration: BENGAL TIGER]
=66. Making a Little Book=
Now you and your classmates are ready to make a book about wild animals.
Every page of the book should contain a short but interesting account of
some wild animal. A cover of stiff paper might have these words written
or printed on it:
+---------------------------------+
| |
| A BOOK ABOUT WILD ANIMALS |
| |
| WRITTEN AND MADE BY |
| |
| THE PUPILS OF MISS SMITH'S ROOM |
| |
=Written Exercise.= Write your page[78] for the class book about wild
animals. Better write it twice. After the first, rather rapid writing is
finished, read it over several times and try to make it better. Try to
put better words in the places of some of those you used. Try to add a
bright sentence or two. Leave out sentences and words that are not
needed. Copy what you then have.
=Group Exercise.= Before each pupil's account is put in the book, that
account should be read by the class to make sure that there are no
mistakes in it. The class might be divided into a number of groups of
five or six pupils each. Each group could then correct its five or six
accounts. The pupils of each group would work together, correcting one
account at a time.[79] In this work of finding mistakes the following
questions[80] will be useful:
1. Does every sentence in the account begin with a capital letter?
2. Does every sentence end with a period or question mark?
3. Is every word correctly spelled?
4. Are there any mistakes in English?
=67. Correct Usage--_Good, Well_=
Some pupils make the mistake of using the word _good_ when they should
use _well_.
The word _good_ is correctly used to tell what sort of person or thing
you are speaking of. Thus, you may say, "He is a _good_ writer."
The word _well_, on the other hand, usually tells _how_ something is
done. Thus, you may say, "He writes _well_."
=Game.= Tom plays that he is the manager of a circus. His classmates
want to work in the circus. Each one makes up his mind what kind of work
he will play that he can do. Then one after another raises his hand and
asks Tom for a position.
For instance, Fred says: "Tom, have you a position for me in your
circus?"
Tom answers: "What kind of work can you do well, Fred?"
Fred says: "I am a good ticket seller. I can sell tickets well."
Then Nellie asks: "Tom, have you a position for me in your circus?"
Tom answers: "What kind of work can you do well, Nellie?"
Nellie replies: "I am a good cook. I can cook well."
Other pupils are good musicians, they can play well; or good tightrope
walkers, they can walk the tightrope well; or good singers, they can
sing well; or good drivers of horses, they can drive horses well; or
good shoemakers, they can repair shoes well. After each pupil has told
what he can do well, all those who made no mistake in speaking to the
manager of the circus may march around the room, saying or singing, "We
are good circus workers. We do our work well."
=68. Talking over the Telephone=
=Oral Exercise.= Talk to a classmate over the make-believe class
telephone.[81] Play that he is the ticket seller in a circus. You want
to know about the prices of seats. Ask the time at which the doors are
open. Ask him whether you and your two children may all go in on one
ticket. He will say no to the last question. Try to make him see that he
should let you in on one ticket. Then telephone to other classmates. The
following ideas[82] for telephone talks will help you think of what to
say:
1. Telephone to the lion trainer. Tell him that you want to become
a lion trainer. Ask him what you must do to get ready for this
work. Ask his advice about it. Perhaps he will tell you something
interesting about lions.
2. Telephone to the keepers and trainers of other wild animals.
3. Telephone to the clown, or the juggler, or the tightrope walker,
or the horseback rider.
4. Telephone to a pupil and try to make a plan with him for going
to the circus to-morrow. Where shall you meet him? How will you
prove to your parents and to your teacher that it will do you more
good to spend the afternoon at the circus than in school?
5. Telephone to a classmate and ask him where the circus is to be.
Play that you are a new pupil in the school and do not know the
roads and streets very well. Keep asking the classmate questions
about how to reach the circus grounds. He should answer so clearly
that a stranger would not miss the way.
=69. Words sometimes Mispronounced=
=Oral Exercise.= Pronounce each of the following words clearly and
distinctly as the teacher pronounces it to you. Then pronounce the
entire list as rapidly as you can, but still clearly, distinctly, and
correctly.
horse
because
engine
evening
eleven
lying
lion
address
library
elm
perhaps
something
often
father
theater
bouquet
across
iron
parade
fourth
third
=Game.= Ask a classmate a question that has in it one of the words in
the list above. The classmate will answer your question, using the same
word from the list. If he pronounces the word correctly, he will ask a
classmate a question containing another word from the list. And so it
will go on until every one in the class has both asked and answered a
question.
=70. Talking over Vacation Plans=
Soon the school term will come to an end. Then the long summer vacation
will begin. What good times you will have! Perhaps your parents have
already made plans for you. Perhaps they have planned a trip away. Or it
may be that they will send you to the summer school. Or, like most
pupils, perhaps you will spend the summer at home. You will play
outdoors with boys and girls who live near you.
=Oral Exercise.= Tell your classmates what you think you will be doing
during the coming summer vacation. Perhaps the following questions will
help you:
1. What games do you think you will play during the summer?
2. Shall you go to any city parks? What can you see and do there?
3. Shall you go swimming or boating? Shall you go on a picnic to a
pleasant place?
4. Shall you go to the public library?
5. Shall you take a trip away from home?
Earlier in this book you read about fairies. You know what wonderful
things they can do. They can make wishes come true. If a fairy came to
your schoolroom and spoke to you and your classmates, you might be very
much surprised. But you would be still more surprised if the fairy stood
before the class, perhaps on the top of the teacher's desk where all
could see, and made this little speech in a tiny but musical voice:
Boys and girls, I have been very glad all the year to see you
having such good times together in this room. I think that young
folks who enjoy school as much as you do should have a very
pleasant vacation too.
As you see, I have brought my magic wand with me. Watch me as I
wave it in the air. Yes, I am waving it more than once. I want to
make a ring in the air for every boy and girl in the class. There,
I have done it. Now each of you may have a wish, just as Peter was
given a wish by the strange little old man. Each of you may wish a
summer vacation exactly as he would like it best. All these wishes
will come true.
Some of you boys will probably wish for a trip to the moon in a
magic airplane. The trip is yours the moment you speak your wish.
Some of you girls will probably wish to spend the two summer months
in fairyland. Your wish, too, will come true.
Now I must say good-bye. Before I leave I shall make one more
circle in the air with my wand. For whom is this? It is for the
teacher. When the wishing begins, the teacher must have a wish,
too.
When the fairy left the room, the planning and wishing would begin. Each
pupil would probably have a wish very different from that of his
classmates. Some of the plans and wishes would be very interesting. It
would be fun to hear them all.
=Oral Exercise.= Tell your classmates how you would like to spend the
long summer vacation if you could spend it any way you wished.[83]
=NOTES TO THE TEACHER=
(The page number following each note number indicates the first
appearance of the note in the text)
=Note 1= (page 1). Although the lessons in this book are addressed to
the pupil, it will probably be advisable for the teacher to reproduce
the procedure of the first ones orally and independently of the text,
rather than to confront the class at once with the printed page. In some
instances, however, it will be preferred from the beginning to work out
each lesson as it stands, the class reading and studying the text with
the teacher (the "study recitation"). In no case should there be haste.
If the teacher finds that the Christmas lessons cannot easily be reached
by December, or the valentine lessons by early February, much depending
on the class, judicious omissions are advised. The plan of the text
makes this both permissible and easy. The teacher is asked to read the
Preface and is strongly urged to read the entire book, including the
Notes, at the beginning of the year's work.
=Note 2= (page 1). The spirit of play should pervade the composition
period. Pupils should feel as free and happy as on the playground. It is
suggested that they be encouraged to "let go" when they are playing
stories. Let there be much action, even exaggerated action. Let there be
unembarrassed speaking, even if it be sometimes a little louder than
necessary. Let there be energetic pantomime. When animals are imitated,
or sleepy boys, or elves, let it be done with a will, perhaps even
ludicrously. This freedom and abandon of play and fun will help lay the
foundation for natural, vigorous, and interesting self-expression.
=Note 3= (page 2). A number of pupils may be asked to show how the
sleepy boy looked as he wakened. Let each one lie on the platform or
floor before the class, apparently fast asleep; then awaken and stretch
and yawn prodigiously; and finally awake fully and realize lazily that
mother is at the bedside. This may represent an awakening from dreamless
sleep. Next, let each player awake with a start, as Tom may have done
after his exciting dream. It may be advisable with some classes, as a
preliminary "warming up," to ask that (for example) flying a kite,
riding a horse, picking flowers, sweeping and dusting a room, rowing a
boat, be represented in pantomime.
=Note 4= (page 3). No finished dramatic product is looked for in these
exercises. The ends are (1) the pupils' keen pleasure in the activity
and expression involved in the play; (2) the creation of a situation
that means for the pupils freedom and absence of self-consciousness; (3)
purposeful speech by the children "in the situation"; (4) development of
increasing interest in the story as a basis for further, and now
story-telling, expression work. _No_ rehearsing, _no_ memorizing of
speeches, but originality, extemporaneous expression, natural,
spontaneous speech, are desired. Later on, different pupils should be
asked to be managers of plays, selecting players, giving stage
directions, urging the actors to speak more, to act more naturally, etc.
=Note 5= (page 3). It is desirable that all pupils take part in the
dramatizations, and not only the favored or the forward few. Besides,
each pupil should be encouraged to play the part _as he sees it_.
Originality, not thoughtless imitation, is desired. It is the
_differences_ that will be recognized as interesting and valuable in
schoolrooms where individuality is encouraged; and it is the differences
that justify repeated playing of the same story before the same
audience. See Note 57.
=Note 6= (page 4). It is astonishing and delightful how well little
people do when they are permitted to take the initiative and to assume
responsibility. Frequently pupils should be allowed to work out a play
alone, the teacher helping only when asked or when the situation calls
loudly for her assistance.
=Note 7= (page 4). If the purpose of language teaching is the
improvement of pupils' speaking and writing, pupils must speak and write
abundantly. But they must do more. Two garrulous housewives may gossip
over the back fence for years and at the end of that time speak no
better than at the beginning. The same grammatical errors with which
they began, the same infelicities of expression, the same lack of
organization, the same meager and overworked vocabulary, the same
mispronunciations and slovenly utterance, will still be there. Why is
this? The reason indicates clearly that it is not enough that pupils
speak and speak and write and write. This is only half the battle. In
addition there must be continual attention to the problem of improvement
in speaking and writing. This improvement is a task of years, and only
one step can be taken at a time. In these first lessons criticism should
be directed mainly to the matter of the pupil's expressing himself
fully. See Notes 20 and 64.
=Note 8= (page 5). As pupils suggest improvements, Tom's dream should be
rewritten on the board, sentence by sentence, the point being throughout
that Tom did not tell all that he had in mind. The class will greatly
enjoy and profit by seeing Tom's original bald, fragmentary story become
a vivid narrative, full of interesting detail and realistic color. See
Note 64. Later this should be compared with Tom's improved narrative as
it stands on pages 5 and 6. Pupils should not conclude, however, that
_length_ is necessarily a virtue in compositions. What is desired is not
mere fullness but fullness of interesting detail.
=Note 9= (page 7). After pupils have read the introduction to the poem,
or the teacher has freely developed one (see Note 1), the poem should be
read aloud by the teacher, in order that the class may be impressed at
once with its rhythm and thought. A second reading by the teacher,
immediately following the first, may be advisable, in order to deepen
the first favorable impression. With most classes every selection in the
book should be read, the first time, by the teacher to the class. Many
teachers memorize the poems, reciting instead of reading them.
=Note 10= (page 7). Some teachers will desire to use the second half of
this poem. Judiciously employed, that half will be greatly enjoyed by
children and will, in fact, give added point to the first half.
=Note 11= (page 7). When the force of each word has been explained,
pupils should use it in sentences of their own and thus show that they
understand its meaning.
=Note 12= (page 8). Far better than the traditional correction of
completed papers by the teacher at home it is for the teacher to walk up
and down the aisles while pupils are busy copying, and to point out
sympathetically their mistakes, making concrete and constructive
suggestions where they are needed.
=Note 13= (page 9). The best way for the pupil to memorize, as is well
stated in Pillsbury's "Essentials of Psychology," page 192, is "to read
through the whole selection from beginning to end, and to repeat the
reading until all is learned, rather than to learn bit by bit." The
teacher should join the class in reading the poem aloud repeatedly, in
order that pupils may have the right emphasis and expression while they
memorize.
=Note 14= (page 9). Pupils will enjoy, in this connection, hearing some
of the wonderful tales, which might very well have been fantastic
dreams, of Baron Munchhausen. See "Tales from Munchhausen," edited by
Edward Everett Hale (D. C. Heath & Co.). The telling of dreams involving
comical situations should by no means be discouraged. The funnier they
are, other things being equal, the better.
=Note 15= (page 9). The term _group exercise_ designates in this book
those class activities in which pupils manage the matter in hand mainly
themselves, or in which they work together on a problem as in a
laboratory.
=Note 16= (page 10). It is suggested that the term _sentence_ be used
incidentally by the teacher while writing on the board. The beginning
capital letter and the final punctuation mark (period or question mark)
should be pointed out, as well as capital _I_, also incidentally.
Besides, the terms _punctuation mark_, _period_, and _question mark_
should receive passing notice. The object is to give pupils a
preliminary acquaintance with these technicalities. No definition of the
sentence should be attempted in this grade, but the foundation for
sentence sense may be laid successfully.
=Note 17= (page 10). Improvement here should take the form of adding
interesting and significant details, as was done on pages 4 and 5 in the
improvement of Tom's dream. The matter of variety in expression may be
lightly touched. By no means should the work be formal or heavy or above
the heads or interests of the pupils. So far as possible let them make
the suggestions.
=Note 18= (page 10). Let the dictation clearly indicate, by a dropping
of the voice and by a pause, the end of each sentence. Thus the
dictation work will be a drill rather than a test in the writing of
sentences. Preparation for dictation work may include counting the
capital letters in the selection to be written, counting the periods,
etc. It is suggested that occasionally the pupils be asked to repeat
each sentence aloud as it is read by the teacher, and then write it.
=Note 19= (page 11). See page 21 for the fuller presentation of _saw_
and _seen_. In this connection the teacher need hardly be reminded that
good English is largely a matter of habit rather than of knowledge, and
that repetition under stimulus and in the atmosphere of interest is the
means of establishing habits. Of course the game is one of the best of
these means.
=Note 20= (page 12). Encourage originality. Applaud unusual conceptions.
Let pupils give free rein to their imaginations. Some of the best
sentences may be written on the board, both for their content interest
and to emphasize again the capital letter at the beginning, the
punctuation mark at the end, and capital _I_. Besides, work in variety
of expression or in amplification may profitably become an incident of
the game. Thus, a sentence like "I saw an automobile" offers a real
opportunity. It should be placed on the board. By means of questions the
class should be led to amplify it, to give it definition, color,
interest. What sort of automobile was it? Was it new or old? Where was
it? Who was in it? Etc. Finally the original meager sentence becomes, "I
saw an old, unwashed automobile that stood by the roadside with the
driver asleep on the back seat," or, "I saw a shining new automobile
spin noiselessly down the street with three laughing children on the
back seat." See Notes 7 and 64.
=Note 21= (page 18). While the fable of the ants and the grasshoppers is
occupying the attention of the pupils certain classic phrasings of its
lesson may profitably be put on the board. See Proverbs, Chapter VI,
verses 6-11, besides the quotations below. A lesson devoted to the study
of these may be given, followed by exercises in copying and memorizing.
"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
"Work while it is day: for the night cometh, when no man can work."
"There is a time for work and a time for play."
"He that will not work shall not eat."
"When you play, play with all your might. When you work, do not
play at all."
=Note 22= (page 20). Pupils should stand before the class as they tell
their stories. Only when they _face_ their classmates can they speak
_to_ them effectively. There is no good in pupils' speaking unless they
speak _to_ some one. They must, like adults, have a real audience and
something to tell that audience which it does not already know. Or, if
there be repetition, this must be for a purpose that is of interest to
the audience and therefore to the speaker.
=Note 23= (page 23). A little talk on "Sharp Eyes" is suggested.