RECITATIONS AND SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL
Whoever has had charge of young children who are in attendance at school
has been many, many times worried in trying to answer for them the
oft-repeated request "Where shall I find a piece to speak?" Every volume
of _Journeys Through Bookland_ has a large number of selections suitable
for this purpose. All of them may be found readily by consulting the
Index at the end of the tenth volume, when the name is known or the
nature of the selection is understood, or by examining the table of
contents at the beginning of each volume when no intimation of title or
subject has been given.
It has become customary in most schools to observe with appropriate
exercises certain notable days. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day,
Flag Day, Arbor Day, and Bird Day have their own peculiar functions and
for each there is a different style of observance. Recitations, songs,
readings, stories, help to make up the programs, and upon the parent
often falls most of the burden in selecting material. In many states the
Department of Education issues beautiful circulars on some of these
special days, and from them the teacher draws some of her material and
forms her program for the occasion. Yet when the one or two days for
which material has been provided have passed there come a number of
others which make their demands. Besides those mentioned, there are the
birthdays of our great patriots and literary men and the general
exercises at other times for which no special provision has been made.
For the busy parent, teacher or pupil, _Journeys Through Bookland_
provides an almost inexhaustible supply of excellent things, most of
which may be found readily through the Index. Moreover, the selections
are from the best literature for children, from that which they should
know, so that the tired and harrassed mother need not worry for fear
that the children are filling their minds with useless things.
It does not seem worth while to give long lists of selections
appropriate to special days, as things are well classified in the Index
in the tenth volume. Yet to show more fully how _Journeys Through
Bookland_ may be used, the following suggestions are offered:
I. BIRD DAY. Besides many other selections that are usable in different
grades, the following seem peculiarly appropriate:
1. _The Fox and the Crow_, Volume I, page 64. (This and the other
fables mentioned below may be repeated as given or, better, may be
told by a pupil in his own words.)
2. _The Fox and the Stork_, I, 73.
3. _The Wolf and the Crane_, I, 96.
4. _The Lark and Her Young Ones_, I, 131.
5. _The Brown Thrush_, I, 147.
6. _The Owl and the Pussy-cat_, I, 339.
7. _Minerva and the Owl_, II, 7.
8. _The Sparrow and the Eagle_, II, 8.
9. _Who Stole the Bird's Nest?_ II, 399.
10. _The Barefoot Boy_, IV, 3.
11. _Ode to a Skylark_, VII, 275.
12. (See also the lists of articles relating to birds, given under the
section devoted to _Nature Study_ in this volume.)
II. MEMORIAL DAY. A few of the selections suitable for this occasion are
the following:
1. _Sheridan's Ride_, Volume IV, page 223.
2. _The American Flag_, V, 396.
3. _"Stonewall" Jackson's Way_, V, 400.
4. _Breathes There the Man_, VII, 151.
5. _For A' That and A' That_, VII, 149.
6. _How Sleep the Brave_, VII, 151.
7. _The Picket Guard_, VII, 177.
8. _The Gettysburg Address_, IX, 321.
9. _Abraham Lincoln_, IX, 324.
10. (See also in the Index the titles under the words _Patriotism_
and _History_.)
III. CHRISTMAS. There are at least three selections dealing specifically
with Christmas, while many others are appropriate to the time:
1. _A Visit from St. Nicholas_, Volume II, page 202.
2. _A Christmas Carol_, VI, 244. (This may be made the basis of a very
interesting afternoon. Parts of the story may be told briefly,
parts may be read in full, parts recited and parts given as a
dialogue. Thus the spirit of Christmas cheer and good will that
animates this beautiful story may be communicated to the pupils in
the pleasantest of ways and one that will be remembered.)
3. _Christmas in the Old Time_, VI, page 356.
IV. BIRTHDAYS. In the Index will be found the names of a number of great
men and women of whom there are biographical sketches and from whose
writings quotations have been made. Each of these may be made the
subject of a general exercise at an appropriate time.
V. DRAMATIZATION. Many a poem or story may be put into dramatic form
with very little effort and thus furnish an exercise for several pupils
at the same time. The descriptive parts may be read by a pupil not in
the dialogue or may be omitted. In the latter case, acting may fill the
void or the narrative may be made into conversation between the
characters. Some rearrangement may be necessary and a little change in
phraseology may be needed. Such adaptations the pupils may make
themselves. The following scenes may be used by pupils of different
ages:
1. The description of the attack as given by Rebecca to Ivanhoe. (See
_The Attack on the Castle_, Volume IV, pages 324 to 338.) By costumes
and good acting this may be made a very effective scene.
2. A few boys will enjoy rendering the conversational parts of _The
Heart of Bruce_ (Volume V, page 316) while a girl reads the descriptive
lines of the ballad.
3. By making some changes in the text and putting into direct discourse
some of that which Dickens has written in indirect discourse, a capital
Christmas sketch may be made from the Christmas doings at the Cratchit
home. (See _A Christmas Carol_, Volume VI, pages 303 to 312.)
4. _Limestone Broth_ (Volume VI, page 467) can be made into a neat
little humorous dialogue with very little change.
5. Several scenes from _The Tempest_ (Volume VIII, page 364) are
suitable for school use.
6. _The Death of Caesar_ (Volume IX, page 143) is a fine dialogue and
affords a good opportunity for many speakers.
7. The conversation between Luigi and his mother (_Pippa Passes_, Volume
IX, pages 317-323) is a fine scene for school use, especially if Pippa
really passes singing at the right moment.
VI. AN OLD-FASHIONED AFTERNOON. Not so many years ago it was an almost
universal custom to give over Friday afternoon to the "speaking of
pieces." Occasionally even now a teacher wants one of the old-fashioned
mixed programs, and though she will prefer to make her own for each
occasion, the following example will show one of the many that might be
made from _Journeys Through Bookland_:
1. _Roll Call._ (Pupils respond with a memory gem from the hundred
given elsewhere in this volume.)
2. Song: _America_, Volume VIII, page 60.
3. _Wynken, Blynken and Nod_, I, 262.
4. _The Discontented Stonecutter_, II, 12.
5. Song: _Sweet and Low_, VI, 122.
6. _Beowulf and Grendel_ (retold in brief), III, 350.
7. _Incident of the French Camp_, IV, 174.
8. Song: _My Old Kentucky Home_, VII, 179.
9. _Echo_, III, 286. (Let the answers of Echo be given by someone who
is concealed from view of the audience.)
10. _The First Snowfall_, II, 403.
11. Song: _Home, Sweet Home_, VI, 221.