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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/33923-8.txt b/33923-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3d7191d --- /dev/null +++ b/33923-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6116 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Special Method in Primary Reading and Oral +Work with Stories, by Charles Alexander McMurry + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Special Method in Primary Reading and Oral Work with Stories + +Author: Charles Alexander McMurry + +Release Date: October 14, 2010 [EBook #33923] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + SPECIAL METHOD + IN PRIMARY READING + + + + SPECIAL METHOD + IN + PRIMARY READING AND ORAL + WORK WITH STORIES + + + BY + + CHARLES A. MCMURRY, PH.D. + + DIRECTOR OF PRACTICE DEPARTMENT, NORTHERN ILLINOIS + STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, DE KALB, ILLINOIS + + + New York + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. + 1905 + + _All rights reserved_ + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1903. + BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. + + Set up and electrotyped July, 1903; reprinted + April, 1905. + + + + +PREFACE + + +This book attempts the discussion of two very important problems in +primary education. First, the oral work in the handling of stories, and +second, the introduction to the art of reading in the earliest school +work. The very close relation between the oral work in stories and the +exercises in reading in the first three years in school is quite fully +explained. The oral work in story-telling has gained a great importance +in recent years, but has not received much discussion from writers of +books on method. + +Following this "Special Method in Primary Reading," a second volume, +called the "Special Method in the Reading of Complete English Classics +in the Grades of the Common School," completes the discussion of reading +and literature in the intermediate and grammar grades. + +Both of the books of Special Method are an application of the ideas +discussed in "The Principles of General Method" and "The Method of the +Recitation." + +Still other volumes of Special Method in Geography, History, and Natural +Science furnish the outlines of the courses of study in these subjects, +and also a full discussion of the value of the material selected and of +the method of treatment. + +At the close of each chapter and at the end of the book a somewhat +complete graded list of books, for the use of both pupils and teachers, +is given. The same plan is followed in all the books of this series, so +that teachers may be able to supply themselves with the best helps with +as little trouble as possible. + + CHARLES A. McMURRY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER I PAGE + THE REASON FOR ORAL WORK IN STORIES 1 + + CHAPTER II + THE BASIS OF SKILL IN ORAL WORK 16 + + CHAPTER III + FIRST GRADE STORIES 47 + + CHAPTER IV + SECOND GRADE STORIES 75 + + CHAPTER V + THIRD GRADE STORIES 103 + + CHAPTER VI + PRIMARY READING THROUGH INCIDENTAL EXERCISES AND GAMES 137 + + CHAPTER VII + METHOD IN PRIMARY READING 173 + + CHAPTER VIII + LIST OF BOOKS FOR PRIMARY GRADES 190 + + + + +SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY READING + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE REASON FOR ORAL WORK IN STORIES + + +The telling and reading of stories to children in early years, before +they have mastered the art of reading, is of such importance as to +awaken the serious thought of parents and teachers. To older people it +is a source of constant surprise--the attentive interest which children +bestow upon stories. Almost any kind of a story will command their +wide-awake thought. But the tale which they can fully understand and +enjoy has a unique power to concentrate their mental energy. There is an +undivided, unalloyed absorption of mind in good stories which augurs +well for all phases of later effort. To get children into this habit of +undivided mental energy, of singleness of purpose in study, is most +promising. In primary grades, the fluttering, scatter-brained truancy of +thought is the chronic obstacle to success in study. + +The telling or reading of stories to children naturally begins at home, +before the little ones are old enough for school. The mother and father, +the aunts and uncles, and any older person who delights in children, +find true comfort and entertainment in rehearsing the famous stories to +children. The Mother Goose, the fables, the fairy tales, the "Arabian +Nights," Eugene Field's and Stevenson's poems of child life, the Bible +stories, the myths, and some of the old ballads have untold treasures +for children. If one has a voice for singing the old melodies, the charm +of music intensifies the effect. Little ones quickly memorize what +delights them, and not seldom, after two or three readings, children of +three and four years will be heard repeating whole poems or large parts +of them. The repetition of the songs and stories till they become +thoroughly familiar gives them their full educative effect. They become +a part of the permanent furniture of the mind. If the things which the +children learn in early years have been well selected from the real +treasures of the past (of which there is a goodly store), the seeds of +true culture have been deeply sown in their affections. + +The opportunities of the home for good story-telling are almost +boundless. Parents who perceive its worth and are willing to take time +for it, find in this early period greater opportunity to mould the lives +of children and put them into sympathetic touch with things of beauty +and value than at any other time. At this age children are well-nigh +wholly at the mercy of their elders. They will take what we give them +and take it at its full worth or worthlessness. They absorb these things +as the tender plant absorbs rain and sunshine. + +The kindergarten has naturally found in the story one of its chief means +of effectiveness. Stories, songs, and occupations are its staples. +Dealing with this same period of early childhood, before the more taxing +work of the school begins, it finds that the children's minds move with +that same freedom and spontaneity in these stories with which their +bodies and physical energies disport themselves in games and +occupations. + +It is fortunate for childhood that we have such wholesome and healthful +material, which is fitted to give a child's mental action a well-rounded +completeness. His will, his sensibility, and his knowing faculty, all in +one harmonious whole, are brought into full action. In short, not a +fragment but the whole child is focussed and concentrated upon one +absorbing object of thought. + +The value of the oral treatment of stories is found in the greater +clearness and interest with which they can be presented orally. There is +a keener realism, a closer approximation to experimental facts, to the +situations, the hardships, to the sorrows and triumphs of persons. The +feelings and impulses of the actors in the story are felt more sharply. +The reality of the surrounding conditions and difficulties is presented +so that a child transports himself by the power of sympathy and +imagination into the scenes described. + +There is no way by which this result can be accomplished in early years +except by the oral presentation of stories. Until the children have +learned to read and have acquired sufficient mastery of the art of +reading so that it is easy and fluent, there is no way by which they can +get at good stories for themselves. Average children require about three +years to acquire this mastery of the reading art. Not many children read +stories from books, with enjoyment and appreciation, till they are nine +or ten years old; but from the age of four to ten they are capable of +receiving an infinite amount of instruction and mental stimulus from +hearing good stories. In fact, many of the best stories ever produced in +the history of the world can be thoroughly enjoyed by children before +they have learned to read. This is true of Grimm's and Andersen's +stories, of the myths of Hiawatha and Norseland, and of the early +Greeks, of the Bible stories, the "Arabian Nights," "Robin Hood," +besides many other stories, poems, ballads, and biographies which are +among the best things in our literature. + +In these early years the minds of children may be enriched with a +furnishment of ideas of much value for all their future use, a sort of +capital well invested, which will bring rich returns. Minds early +fertilized with this variety of thought material become more flexible, +productive, and acquisitive. + +For many years, and even centuries, it was supposed that early education +could furnish children with little except the forms and instruments of +knowledge, the tools of acquisition, such as ability to read, spell, and +write, and to use simple numbers. But the susceptibility of younger +children to the powerful culture influence of story, poem, and nature +study, was overlooked. + +We now have good reason to believe that there is no period when the +educative and refining influences of good literature in the form of +poems and story can be made so effective as in this early period from +four to ten years. That period which has been long almost wholly devoted +to the dry formalities and mechanics of knowledge, to the dull and +oftentimes benumbing drills of alphabets, spelling, and arithmetical +tables, is found to be capable of a fruitful study of stories, fables, +and myths, and an indefinite extension of ideas and experiences in +nature observation. + +But the approach to these sunny fields of varied and vivid experience is +not through books, except as the teacher's mind has assimilated their +materials and prepared them for lively presentation. + +The oral speech through which the stories are given to children is +completely familiar to them, so that they, unencumbered by the forms of +language, can give their undivided thought to the story. Oral speech is, +therefore, the natural channel through which stories should come in +early years. The book is at first wholly foreign to them, and it takes +them three years or more of greater or less painful effort to get such +easy mastery of printed forms as to gain ready access to thought in +books. A book, when first put into the hands of a child, is a complete +obstruction to thought. The oral story, on the contrary, is a perfectly +transparent medium of thought. A child can see the meaning of a story +through oral speech as one sees a landscape through a clear window-pane. +If a child, therefore, up to the age of ten, is to get many and +delightsome views into the fruitful fields of story-land, this miniature +world of all realities, this repository of race ideas, it must be +through oral speech which he has already acquired in the years of +babyhood. + +It is an interesting blunder of teachers, and one that shows their +unreflecting acceptance of traditional customs, to assume that the +all-absorbing problem of primary instruction is the acquisition of a new +book language (the learning to read), and to ignore that rich mother +tongue, already abundantly familiar, as an avenue of acquisition and +culture. But we are now well convinced that the ability to read is an +instrument of culture, not culture itself, and primarily the great +object of education is to inoculate the children with the ideas of our +civilization. The forms of expression are also of great value, but they +are secondary and incidental as compared with the world of ideas. + +There is an intimate connection between learning to read and the oral +treatment of stories in primary schools which is very interesting and +suggestive to the teacher. Routine teachers may think it a waste of time +to stop for the oral presentation of stories. But the more thoughtful +and sympathetic teacher will think it better to stimulate the child's +mind than to cram his memory. The young mind fertilized by ideas is +quicker to learn the printed forms than a mind barren of thought. Yet +this proposition needs to be seen and illustrated in many forms. + +Children should doubtless make much progress in learning to read in the +first year of school. But coincident with these exercises in primary +reading, and, as a general thing, preliminary to them, is a lively and +interested acquaintance with the best stories. It is a fine piece of +educative work to cultivate in children, at the beginning of school +life, a real appreciation and enjoyment of a few good stories. These +stories, thus rendered familiar, and others of similar tone and quality, +may serve well as a part of the reading lessons. It is hardly possible +to cultivate this literary taste in the reading books alone, unrelieved +by oral work. The primers and first readers, when examined, will give +ample proof of this statement. In spite of the utmost effort of skilled +primary teachers to make attractive books for primary children, our +primers and first readers show unmistakable signs of their formal and +mechanical character. They are essentially drill books. + +It seems well, therefore, to have in primary schools two kinds of work +in connection with story and reading, the oral work in story-telling, +reproduction, expression, etc., and the drill exercises in learning to +read. The former will keep up a wide-awake interest in the best thought +materials suitable for children, the latter will gradually acquaint them +with the necessary forms of written and printed language. Moreover, the +interest aroused in the stories is constantly transferring itself to the +reading lessons and giving greater spirit and vitality even to the +primary efforts at learning to read. In discussing the method of primary +reading we shall have occasion to mention the varied devices of games, +activities, drawings, dramatic action, blackboard exercises, and picture +work, by which an alert primary teacher puts life and motive into early +reading work, but fully as important as all these things put together is +the growing insight and appreciation for good stories. When a child +makes the discovery, as Hugh Miller said, "that learning to read is +learning to get stories out of books" he has struck the chord that +should vibrate through all his future life. The real motive for reading +is to get something worth the effort of reading. Even if it takes longer +to accomplish the result in this way, the result when accomplished is in +all respects more valuable. But it is probable that children will learn +to read fully as soon who spend a good share of their time in oral story +work. + +In discussing the literary materials used in the first four grades, we +suggest the following grading of certain large groups of literary +matter, and the relation of oral work to the reading in each subsequent +grade is clearly marked. + + ORAL WORK. READING. + + _1st Grade._ Games, Mother Goose. Lessons based on Games, etc. + Fables, Fairy Tales. Board Exercises. + Nature Myths, Child Poems. Primers, First Readers. + Simple Myths, Stories, etc. + + _2d Grade._ Robinson Crusoe. Fables, Fairy Tales. + Hiawatha. Myths and Poems. + Seven Little Sisters. Second Readers. + Hiawatha Primer. + + _3d Grade._ Greek and Norse Myths. Robinson Crusoe. + Ballads and Legendary Andersen's & Grimm's Tales. + Stories. Child's Garden of Verses. + Ulysses, Jason, Siegfried. Third Readers. + Old Testament Stories. + + _4th Grade._ American Pioneer History Greek and Norse Myths. + Stories. Historical Ballads. + Early Biographical Stories Ulysses, Arabian Nights. + of Europe, as Alfred, Hiawatha, Wonder Book. + Solon, Arminius, etc. + +This close dependence of reading proper, in earlier years, upon the oral +treatment of stories as a preliminary, is based fundamentally upon the +idea that suitable and interesting thought matter is the true basis of +progress in reading, and that the strengthening of the taste for good +books is a much greater thing than the mere acquisition of the art of +reading. The motive with which children read or try to learn to read is, +after all, of the greatest consequence. + +The old notion that children must first learn to read and then find, +through the mastery of this art, the entrance to literature is exactly +reversed. First awaken a desire for things worth reading, and then +incorporate these and similar stories into the regular reading exercises +as far as possible. + +In accordance with this plan, children, by the time they are nine or ten +years old, will become heartily acquainted with three or four of the +great classes of literature, the fables, fairy tales, myths, and such +world stories as Crusoe, Aladdin, Hiawatha, and Ulysses. Moreover, the +oral treatment will bring these persons and actions closer to their +thought and experience than the later reading alone could do. In fact, +if children have reached their tenth year without enjoying those great +forms of literature that are appropriate to childhood, there is small +prospect that they will ever acquire a taste for them. They have passed +beyond the age where a liking for such literature is most easily and +naturally cultivated. They move on to other things. They have passed +through one great stage of education and have emerged with a meagre and +barren outfit. + +The importance of oral work as a lively means of entrance to studies is +seen also in other branches besides literature. + +In geography and history the first year or two of introductory study is +planned for the best schools in the form of oral narrative and +discussion. Home geography in the third or fourth year, and history +stories in the fourth and fifth years of school, are best presented +without a text book by the teacher. Although the children have already +overcome, to some extent, the difficulty of reading, so great is the +power of oral presentation and discussion to vivify and realize +geographical and historical scenes that the book is discarded at first +for the oral treatment. + +In natural science also, from the first year on the teacher must employ +an oral method of treatment. The use of books is not only impossible, +but even after the children have learned to read, it would defeat the +main purpose of instruction to make books the chief means of study. The +ability to observe and discern things, to use their own senses in +discriminating and comparing objects, in experiments and investigations, +is the fundamental purpose. + +In language lessons, again, it is much better to use a book only as a +guide and to handle the lessons orally, collecting examples and stories +from other studies as the basis for language discussions. + +It is apparent from this brief survey that an oral method is appropriate +to the early treatment of all the common school studies, that it gives +greater vivacity, intensity, simplicity, and clearness to all such +introductory studies. + +The importance of story-telling and the initiation of children into the +delightful fields of literature through the teacher rather than through +the book are found to harmonize with a mode of treatment common to all +the studies in early years. + +In this connection it is interesting to observe that the early +literature of the European nations was developed and communicated to the +people by word of mouth. The Homeric songs were chanted or sung at the +courts of princes. At Athens, in her palmy days, the great dramatists +and poets either recited their productions to the people or had them +presented to thousands of citizens in the open-air theatres. Even +historians like Thucidides read or recited their great histories before +the assembled people. In the early history of England, Scotland, and +other countries, the minstrels sang their ballads and epic poems in the +baronial halls and thus developed the early forms of music and poetry. +Shakespeare wrote his dramas for the theatre, and he seems to have paid +no attention at all to their appearance in book form, never revising +them or putting them into shape for the press. + +This practice of all the early races of putting their great literature +before the people by song, dramatic action, and word of mouth is very +suggestive to the teacher. The power and effectiveness of this mode of +presentation, not only in early times but even in the highly civilized +cities of London and Athens, is unmistakable proof of the educative +value of such modes of teaching. This is only another indication of the +kinship of child life with race life, which has been emphasized by many +great thinkers. + +The oral method offers a better avenue for all vigorous modes of +expression than the reading book. It can be observed that the general +tendency of the book is toward a formal, expressionless style in young +readers. Go into a class where the teacher is handling a story orally +and you will see her falling naturally into all forms of vivid narrative +and presentation, gesture, facial expression, versatile intonation, +blackboard sketching and picture work, the impersonation of characters +in dialogue, dramatic action, and general liveliness of manner. The +children naturally take up these same activities and modes of uttering +themselves. Even without the suggestion of teachers, little children +express themselves in such actions, attitudes, and impersonations. This +may be often observed in little boys and girls of kindergarten age, when +telling their experiences to older persons, or when playing among +themselves. The freedom, activity, and vivacity of children is, indeed, +in strong contrast to the apathetic, expressionless, monotonous style of +many grown people, including teachers. + +But the oral treatment of stories has a tendency to work out into modes +of activity even more effective than those just described. + +In recent years, since so much oral work has been done in elementary +schools, children have been encouraged also to express themselves freely +in blackboard drawings and in pencil work at their desks by way of +illustrating the stories told. Moreover, in paper cutting, to represent +persons and scenes, in clay modelling, to mould objects presented, and +in constructive and building efforts, in making forts, tents, houses, +tools, dress, and in showing up modes of life, the children have found +free scope for their physical and mental activities. These have not only +led to greater clearness and vividness in their mental conceptions, but +have opened out new fields of self-activity and inventiveness. + +So long as work in reading and literature was confined to the book +exercises, nearly all these modes of expression were little employed and +even tabooed. + +Finally, the free use of oral narrative in the literature of early +years, in story-telling and its attendant modes of expression, opens up +to primary teachers a rare opportunity of becoming genuine educators. +There was a time, and it still continues with many primary teachers, +when teaching children to read was a matter of pure routine, of formal +verbal drills and repetitions, as tiresome to the teacher, if possible, +as to the little ones. But now that literature, with its treasures of +thought and feeling, of culture and refinement, has become the staple of +the primary school, teachers have a wide and rich field of inspiring +study. The mastery and use of much of the preferred literature which has +dropped down to us out of the past is the peculiar function of the +primary teacher. Contact with great minds, like those of Kingsley, +Ruskin, Andersen, the Grimm brothers, Stevenson, Dickens, Hawthorne, De +Foe, Browning, Ęsop, Homer, and the unknown authors of many of the best +ballads, epics, and stories, is enough to give the primary teacher a +sense of the dignity of her work. On the other hand, the opportunity to +give to children the free and versatile development of their active +powers is an equal encouragement. + +Teachers who have taken up with zeal this great problem of introducing +children to their full birthright, the choice literature of the world +suited to their years, and of linking this story work with primary +reading so as to give it vitality,--such teachers have found school life +assuming new and unwonted charms; the great problems of the educator +have become theirs; the broadened opportunity for the acquisition of +varied skill and professional efficiency has given a strong ambitious +tone to their work. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE BASIS OF SKILL IN ORAL WORK + + +Accepting the statement that skill in oral presentation of a story is a +prime demand in early education, the important question for teachers is +how to cultivate their resources in this phase of teaching, how to +become good story-tellers. + +It may be remarked that, for the great majority of people, story-telling +is not a gift but an acquisition. There are, of course, occasional +geniuses, but they may be left out of consideration. They are not often +found in the schoolroom any more than in other walks of life. What we +need is a practical, sensible development of a power which we all +possess in varying degrees. Nor is it the fluent, volatile, verbose +talker who makes a good oral teacher, but rather one who can see and +think clearly: one who knows how to combine his ideas and experiences +into clear and connected series of thought. + +We may proceed, therefore, to a discussion of the needs and resources of +a good story-teller. + +1. Without much precaution it may be stated that he should have a rich +experience in all the essential realities of human life. This covers a +large field of common things and refers rather to contact with life +than to mere book knowledge. Yet it is the depth, heartiness, and +variety of knowledge rather than the source from which it springs that +concerns us. Books often give us just this deep penetrating experience, +as soon as we learn how to select and use them. We need to know human +life directly and in all sorts of acts, habits, feelings, motives, and +conditions,--something as Shakespeare knew it, only within the compass +of our narrower possibilities. Likewise the physical world with its +visible and invisible forces and objects besetting us on every side. +These things must impress themselves upon us vividly in detail as well +as in the bulk. The hand that has been calloused by skill-producing +labor, the back that aches with burdens bravely borne, the brain that +has sweat with strong effort, are expressions of this kind of knowledge +of the world. Clear-grained perceptions are acquired from many sources: +from travel, labor, books, reflection, sickness, observation. I go +to-day into a small shop where heavy oak beer-kegs are made, and watch +the man working this refractory material into water-tight kegs that will +stand hard usage at the hands of hard drinkers for twenty years. If my +mind has been at work as I watch this man for an hour, with his heavy +rough staves made by hand, his tools and machines, his skill and strong +muscular action, the amount and profit of his labor, that man's work has +gone deep into my whole being. I can almost live his life in an hour's +time, and feel its contact with the acute problems of our modern +industrial life. That is a kind of knowledge and experience worth fully +as much as a sermon in Trinity Church or a University lecture. + +The teacher needs a great store of these concrete facts and +illustrations. Without them he is a carpenter without tools or boards. +He needs to know industries, occupations, good novels, typical life +scenes, sunsets, sorrows, joys, inventions, poets, farmers--all such +common, tangible things. Even from fools and blackguards he can get +experiences that will last him a lifetime if they only strike in and do +not flare off into nothingness. + +Social experience in all sorts of human natures, disposition, and +environing circumstance is immediately valuable to the teacher. + +Close acquaintance with children, with their early feelings and +experiences, with their timidity or boldness, with their whims or +conceits, their dislikes and preferences, their enthusiasms and +interests, with their peculiar home and neighborhood experiences and +surroundings, with their games and entertainments, with the books and +papers they read, with their dolls and playthings, their vacations and +outings, with their pets and playhouses, with their tools and mechanical +contrivances--all these and other like realities of child life put the +teacher on a footing of possible appreciation and sympathy with +children. These are the materials and facts which a good teacher knows +how to work up in oral recitations. + +Of course the kindly, sympathetic social mood which is not fretted by +others' frailties and perversities, but, like Irving or Addison, +exhibits a liberal charity or humorous affection for all things human, +is a fortunate possession or acquisition for the teacher. + +2. It may be said also, without fear of violent contradiction, that a +teacher needs to be a master of the story he is about to tell. It may be +well to spread out to view the important things necessary to such a +mastery. The reading over of the story till its facts and episodes have +become familiar and can be reproduced in easy narrative is at least a +minimum requirement. Even this moderate demand is much more serious than +the old text-book routine in history or reading, where the teacher, with +one eye on the book, the other on the class, and his finger at the +place, managed to get the questions before the class in a fixed order. + +Let us look a little beneath the surface of the story. What is its +central idea, the author's aim or motive in producing it? Not a little +effort and reflection may be necessary to get at the bottom of this +question. Some of the most famous stories, like "Aladdin," "Gulliver's +Travels," and the "City Musicians," may be so wild and wayward as to +elude or blunt the point of this question. The story may have a hard +shell, but the sharp teeth of reflection will get at the sweet kernel +within, else the story is not worth while. In some of the stories, like +"Baucis and Philemon," "The Great Stone Face," "The Pied Piper of +Hamelin," "The Discontented Pine Tree," and "Hiawatha's Fasting," the +main truth is easily reflected from the story and caught up even by the +children. + +This need for getting at the heart of the story is clearly seen in all +the subsequent work. It is the exercise of such a critical judgment +which qualifies the teacher to discriminate between good and poor +stories. In the treatment of the story the essential topics are laid out +upon the basis of this controlling idea or motive. The leading aims and +carefully worded questions point toward this central truth. The side +lights and attendant episodes are arranged with reference to it like the +scenes in a drama. The effort to get at the central truth and the +related ideas is a sifting-out process, a mode of assimilating and +mastering the story more thorough-going than the mere memorizing of the +facts and words for the purpose of narration. The thought-getting +self-activity and common-sense logic which are involved in this mode of +assimilating a story are good for both pupils and teacher. + +The mastery of a story needed by an oral teacher implies abundance of +resource in illustrative device and explanation. When children fail to +grasp an idea, it is necessary to fall back upon some familiar object +or experience not mentioned in the book. Emergencies arise which tax the +teacher's ingenuity to the utmost. Even the children will raise queries +that baffle his wit. In preparing a story for the classroom it is +necessary to see it from many sides, to foresee these problems and +difficulties. Oftentimes the collateral knowledge derived from history +or geography or from similar episodes in other stories will suggest the +solution. + +It is a favorite maxim of college teachers and of those who deal mostly +with adults or older pupils, that if a person knows a thing he can teach +it. Leaving out of account the numerous cases of those who are well +posted in their subjects, but cannot teach, it is well to note the +scope, variety, and thoroughness of knowledge necessary to a good +teacher to handle it skilfully with younger children. Besides the +thorough knowledge of the subject which scholars have demanded, it +requires an equally clear knowledge of the mental resources of children, +the language which they can understand, the things which attract their +interest and attention, and the ways of holding the attention of a group +of children of different capacities, temper, and disposition. Any +dogmatic professor who thinks he can teach the story of "Cinderella" or +Andersen's "Five Peas in the Pod," because he has a full knowledge of +the facts of the story, should make trial of his skill upon a class of +twenty children in the first grade. We suggest, however, that he do it +quietly, without inviting in his friends to witness his triumph. + +No, the mastery of the subject needed for an effective handling of it in +oral work is different and is greater than they have yet dreamed of who +think that mere objective knowledge is all that is needed by a teacher. +The application of knowledge to life is generally difficult, more taxing +by far than the mere acquisition of facts and principles. But the use of +one's knowledge in the work of instructing young children, in getting +them to acquire and assimilate it, is perhaps the most difficult of all +forms of the application of knowledge. It is difficult because it is so +complex. To think clearly and accurately on some topic for one's single +self is not easy, but to get twenty children of varying capacities and +weaknesses, with their stumbling, acquisitive, flaring minds, to keep +step along one clear line of thought is a piece of daring enterprise. + +The mastery of the story, therefore, for successful oral work, must be +detailed, comprehensive, many-sided, and adapted to the fluttering +thoughts of childhood. + +3. The chief instrument through which the teacher communicates the story +is oral speech, and this he needs to wield with discriminating skill and +power. Preachers and lecturers, when called upon to talk to children, +nearly always talk over their heads, using language not appropriate and +comprehensible to children. Those accustomed to deal with little folks +are quickly sensitive to this amateur awkwardness. Young teachers just +out of the higher schools make the same blunder. They are also inclined +to think that fluency and verbosity are a sign of power. But such false +tinsel makes no impression upon children except confusion of thought. +Children require simple, direct words, clearly defined in thought and +grounded upon common experience and conviction. Facts and realities +should stand behind the words of a teacher. What he seeks to marshal +before children is people and things. Words should serve as photographs +of objects; instantaneous views of experiences. In some social and +diplomatic circles words are said to conceal thought, but this kind of +verbal diplomacy has no place in schools. + +It is an interesting question how far the language and style of the +authors should be preserved by the narrator. It would be an error to +forbid the exact use of the author's words and an equal error to require +it. It seems reasonable to say that the teacher should become absorbed +in the author's style and mode of presenting the story. This will lead +to a close approximation to the author's words, without any slavish +imitation. In the midst of oral presentation and discussion it would be +impossible to hold strictly to the original. The teacher's own language +and conception of the story will press in to simplify and clarify the +meaning. No one holds strictly to a literary style in telling a story. +Conversational ideas and original momentary impulses of thought demand +their own forms of utterance. And yet it is well to appropriate the +style and expression of the writer so as to accustom the children to the +best forms. A few very apt and forcible sentences will be found in any +good author which the teacher will naturally employ. + +But the teacher must have freedom. When he has once thoroughly +appropriated the story he must give vent to his own spontaneity and +power. Later, when the children come to read these stories, they will +enjoy them in their full literary form. + +4. The power of clear and interesting presentation of a story is one of +the chief professional acquisitions of a good primary teacher. It +involves many things besides language, including liveliness of manner, +gesture, facial expression, action, dramatic impersonation, skill in +blackboard illustration, good humor and tact in working with children, a +strong imagination, and a real appreciation for the literature adapted +to children. + +Perhaps the fundamental need is simplicity and clearness of thought and +language combined with a pleasing and attractive manner. Vague and +incomprehensible thoughts and ideas are all out of place. The teacher +should be strict with himself in this matter, and while reading and +mastering the story, should use compulsion upon himself to arrive at an +unmistakable clearness of thought. The objects, buildings, palaces, +woods, caves, animals, persons, and places should be sharply imaged by +the imagination; the feelings and passions of the actors should be +keenly realized. Often a vague and uncertain conception needs to be +scanned, the passage reread, and the notion framed into clearness. In +describing the palace of the sleeping beauty, begirt with woods, the +sentinels standing statuelike at the portal, the lords and ladies at +their employments, the teacher should think out the entrance way, hall, +rooms, and persons of the palace so clearly that his thought and +language will not stumble over uncertainties. Transparent clearness and +directness of thought are the result of effort and circumspection. They +are well worth the pains required to gain them. A teacher who thinks +clearly will generate clear habits of thought in children. + +The power of interesting narrative and description is not easily +explained. It is a thing not readily analyzed into its elements. Perhaps +the best way to find out what it is may be discovered by reading the +great story-tellers, such as Macaulay, Irving, Kingsley, De Foe, +Hawthorne, Homer, Plutarch, Scott, and Dickens. Novelists like George +Eliot, Victor Hugo, Cooper, Scott, and Dickens, possess this secret +also, and even some of the historians, as Herodotus, Fiske, Green, +Parkman, Motley, and others. It is not so important that a teacher +should give a cold analysis of their qualities as that he should fall +insensibly into the vivid and realistic style of the best story-tellers. +One who has read Pyle's Robin Hood stories until they are familiar will, +to a considerable extent, appropriate his fertile and happy Old-English +style, the sturdy English spirit of bold Robin, his playful humor, and +his apt utterance of homely truths. + +There are certain qualities that stand out prominently in the good +story-tellers. They are simple and concrete in their descriptions, they +deal very little in general, vague statements or abstractions, they hold +closely to the persons of the story in the midst of interesting +surroundings, they are profuse in the use of distinct figures of speech, +appealing to the fancy or imagination. They often have a humorous vein +which gives infinite enjoyment and spreads a happy charity throughout +the world. + +The art of graphic illustration on the blackboard is in almost constant +demand in oral work. Even rude and untechnical sketches by teachers who +have no acquired skill in artistic drawing are of the greatest value in +giving a quick and accurate perception of places, buildings, persons, +and surrounding conditions of a story or action. The map of Crusoe's +island, the drawings to represent his tent, cave, boat, country +residence, fortifications, dress, utensils, and battles are natural and +simple modes of realizing clearly his labors and adventures. They save +much verbal description and circumlocution. The teacher needs to +acquire absolute boldness and freedom in using such illustrative +devices. The children will, of course, catch this spirit, as they are by +nature inclined to use drawing as a mode of expression. + +A similar freedom in the teacher is necessary in the use of bodily +action, gesture, and facial expression in story-telling. The teacher +needs to become natural, childlike, and mobile in these things; for +children are naturally much given to such demonstrations in the +expression of their thought. Little girls of three and four years in the +home, when free from self-consciousness, are marvellously and +delightfully expressive by means of eyes, gestures, hands, and arms and +whole bodily attitudes. Why should not this naive expressiveness be +gently fostered in the school? Indeed it is, and in many schools the +little ones are as happy and whole-souled and spontaneous in their modes +of expression as we have suggested. + +Dramatization, if cultivated, extends a teacher's gamut of +expressiveness. Our inability or slowness to respond to this suggestion +is a sign of a certain narrowness or cramp in our culture and training. +In Normal schools where young teachers are trained in the art of +reading, the dramatic instinct should be strongly developed. The power +to other one's self in dramatic action, to assume and impersonate a +variety of characters, is a real expression and enlargement of the +personality. It demands sympathy and feeling as well as intellectual +insight. The study and reading of the great dramatists, the seeing of +good plays, amateur efforts in this direction, the frequent oral reading +of Shakespeare, Dickens, and other dramatists and novelists will +cultivate and enlarge the teacher's power in this worthy and wholesome +art. + +The use of good pictures is also an important means of adding to the +beauty and clearness of stories. The pictures of Indian life in +"Hiawatha," the illustrated editions of "Robinson Crusoe," the copies of +ancient works of art in some editions of the Greek myths, Howard Pyle's +illustrated "Robin Hood," and other books of this character add greatly +to the vividness of ideas. Such pictures should be handled with care, +not distributed promiscuously among the children while the lesson is +going on. The teacher needs to study a picture, and discuss it +intelligently with the children, asking questions which bring out its +representative qualities. + +It is evident the skilful oral presentation of a story calls out no +small degree of clear knowledge, force of language, illustrative device, +dramatic instinct, and a freedom and versatility of action both mental +and physical. + +5. A clear outline of leading points in a story is a source of strength +to the teacher and the basis later of good reproductive work by the +children. The short stories in the first grade hardly need a formal +outline, and even in second grade the sequence of ideas in a story is +often so simple and easy that outlines of leading topics may not be +needed. But in third and fourth grade it is well in the preliminary +study and mastery of a story to divide it up into clearly marked +segments, with a distinctive title for each division. It is difficult to +get teachers to do this kind of close logical work, and still more +difficult to have them remember it in the midst of oral presentation and +discussion. If the main points of the story as thus outlined are placed +upon the blackboard as the narrative advances, it keeps in mind a clear +survey of the whole and serves as the best basis for the children's +reproduction of the story. It compels both teacher and pupils to keep to +a close logical connection of ideas and a sifting out of the story to +get at the main points. Without these well-constructed outlines the +memory of the story is apt to fall into uncertainty and confusion, and +the children's reproduction becomes fragmentary and disorderly. +Experience shows that teachers are prone to be loose and careless in +bringing their stories into such a well-ordered series of distinct +topics. It is really a sign of a thoughtful, logical, and judicious +mastery of a subject to have thrown it thus into its prominent points of +narration. Oral work often fails of effectiveness and thoroughness, +because of these careless habits of teachers. Such an outline, when put +into the children's regular note-books, serves as the best basis for +later surveys and reviews. + +6. The oral narration and presentation of stories has a curious way of +being turned into _development lessons_, in which the teacher deals in +questions and problematic situations and the children work out many of +the facts and incidents of the story by a series of guesses and +inferences. These are well known as development lessons, and they are +capable of exhibiting the highest forms of excellence in teaching or the +most drivelling waste of time. The subject is a hard one to handle, but +it needs a clear and simple elucidation as much as any problem in the +teaching profession. Generally speaking it is better for young teachers +not to launch out recklessly upon the full tide of development +instruction. It is better to learn the handling of the craft on quieter +waters. Development work needs to be well charted. The varying winds and +currents, storms and calms, need to be studied and experienced before +one may become a good ship's master. Let young teachers first acquire +power in clear, simple, direct narration and description, using apt and +forcible language and holding to a clear-cut line of thought. This is no +slight task, and when once mastered and fixed in habit becomes the +foundation of a wider freedom and skill in development exercises. The +works of the great story-tellers furnish excellent models of this sort +of skill, and teachers may follow closely in the lines struck out by +Scott or Hawthorne in narrating a story. + +A book story cannot do otherwise than simply narrate; it cannot develop, +set problems and questions and have children to find solutions and +answers. It must tell the facts and answer the questions. But in oral +narration there is room not only for all the skill of the story-writer, +but also the added force of voice, personality, lively manner, gesture, +action, and close adaptation to the immediate needs of children and +subject. This is enough to command the undivided effort of the young +teacher at first, without entering the stormy waters and shifting +currents of pure development work. + +Yet the spirited teacher will not go far in narrating a story without a +tendency to ask questions to intensify the children's thought, or to +quicken the discussion of interesting points. Even if the teachers or +parents are but reading a good story from a book, it is most natural, at +times, to ask questions about the meaning of certain new words, or +geographical locations, or probabilities in the working out of the +story. These are the simple beginnings of development work, and produce +greater thoughtfulness, keener perceptions of the facts, and a better +absorption of the story into a child's previous knowledge. + +A sharp limitation of development work is also found in the circumstance +that a large share of the facts in a story cannot by any sort of +ingenuity be developed. They form the necessary basis for later +development questions. Even many of the facts which might be developed +by a skilful teacher are better told directly, because of the difficulty +and time-devouring nature of the process. There may be a few central +problems in every story, which, after the necessary facts and conditions +have been plainly told, can be thoroughly sifted out by questions, +answers, and discussions. But to work out all the little details of a +story by question and surmise, to get the crude, unbaked opinions of all +the members of a class upon every episode and fact in a story, is a +pitiful caricature of good instruction. + +The purpose of good development work is to get children to go deeper +into the meaning of a story, to realize its situations more keenly, and +to acquire habits of thoughtfulness, self-reliant judgment, and +inventiveness in solving difficulties. These results, and they are among +the chiefest set for the educator, cannot be accomplished by mere +narration and description. Their superior excellence and worth are the +prize of that superior skill which first-class development work demands. + +With these preliminary remarks, criticisms, and limitations in mind, we +may inquire what are the essentials of good development work in oral +lessons. + +(1) Determine what parts of a story are capable of development; what +facts must be clearly present to the mind before questions can be put +and inferences derived. In a problem in arithmetic we first state the +known facts, the conditions upon which a solution can be based, and +then put a question whose answer is to be gained by a proper conjunction +and inference from these facts. The same thing is true in reasoning upon +the facts in a story. + +(2) In placing a topic before children it is always advisable to touch +up the knowledge already possessed by the children, or any parts of +their previous experience which have strong interpretative ideas for the +new lesson. At this point apt questions which probe quickly into their +_previous knowledge and experience_ are at a premium. The teacher needs +to have considered beforehand in what particulars the children's home +surroundings and peculiar circumstances may furnish the desired +knowledge. The form of the questions may also receive close attention. +For these words must provoke definite thought. They should have hooks on +them which quickly drag experience into light. + +(3) In order to give direction to the children's thoughts on the story's +line of progress, _interesting aims_ should be set up. These aims, +without anticipating precise results, must guide the children towards +the desired ends and turning-points in the story. The mind should be +kept in suspense as to the outcome, and the thoughts should centre and +play about these clearly projected aims. Such aims, floating constantly +in the van, are the objective points, towards which the energy of +thought is directed. Every good story-teller keeps such aims expressly +or tacitly in view. Novelists and dramatists hinge the interest of +readers or spectators upon this curiosity which is kept acutely +sensitive about results. Such an aim should be simple and concrete, not +vague or abstract, or general. It may be put in the form of a question +or statement or suggestion. It will be a good share of the teacher's +work in the preparation of the lesson to pick out and word these aims +which centre upon the leading topics of the lesson. For it is not enough +to have an aim at the beginning of a story, every chapter or separate +part of the story should have its aim. For aims are what stimulate +effort and keep up an attentive interest. + +(4) Self-activity and thoughtfulness in working out problems find their +best opportunity in development work. The book, in narrating a story, +cannot set problems, or, if it does, it forthwith assumes the task of +solving them. But in the oral development of a story the essential facts +and conditions may be clearly presented and the solution of the +difficulties, as in arithmetic, left largely to the ingenuity and +reasoning power of the children. In the story of Hiawatha's +boat-building the problem may be set to the children as to what +materials he will use in the construction of the canoe, how the parts +were put together, and how he might decorate it. Not that the children +will give the whole solution, but they can contribute much to it. In +"Robinson Crusoe" many such problems arise. How shall he conceal his +cave and house from possible enemies? Where can he store his powder to +keep it from the lightning and from dampness? In fact, nearly every step +in Crusoe's interesting career is such a problem or difficulty to battle +with. In Kingsley's "Greek Heroes" and other renderings of the Greek +myths, the heroes are young men who have shrewdness, courage, and +strength to overcome difficulties. To put these difficulties before +children in such a way that they by their own thinking may anticipate, +in part at least, the proper solutions, is one of the chief merits of +development work. The story of Ulysses is a series of shrewd +contrivances to master difficulties or to avoid misfortunes, so that his +name has become a synonym for shrewdness. The story itself, therefore, +furnishes prime opportunities to develop resourcefulness. How shall he +escape from the enraged Polyphemos in the cave? His invention of the +wooden horse before Troy; his escape from the sirens; his battle with +the suitors and others. The story of Aladdin has such interesting +inventions, and even the fairy tales and fables have many turns of +shrewdness and device where the children's wits may be stimulated. The +turning-points and centres of interest in all such stories are the true +wrestling-grounds of thought. To put them point-blank before children in +continuous narrative, without question or discussion, is not the way to +produce thoughtfulness and inventive power. Merely reading or telling +stories to children without comment is entertaining, but not educative +in the better sense. Children will have plenty of chances at home and in +the school library to read and hear stories, but it is the business of +the school to teach them how to think as they read, to produce a habit +of foreseeing, reviewing, comparing, and judging. The serious defect of +much of young people's reading, from ten years on, is its superficial, +transitory character. It lacks depth, strength, and permanency. It is +not many stories that can be orally treated in this thorough-going way, +but enough to give the right idea, and to cultivate habit and taste for +more thoughtful study. + +For skilled teachers, therefore, development lessons, within certain +limits, constitute a most important phase of oral instruction. It has +been sometimes assumed that a child acquires greater self-reliance and a +stronger exercise in self-activity by learning his lesson by himself +from a book. This is probably true in much of the arithmetic, where he +works out the solution of problems unaided; but in history and +literature the book work is chiefly memory work, and oftentimes becomes +of such parrot-like character as to be almost destitute of higher +educative qualities. It is advisable, therefore, to strengthen the +educative value of story work by giving it, through oral instruction, +this problem-solving character, this thought-stimulating, self-reliant +attitude of mind. + +7. When the teacher has shown his best skill in presenting and +discussing a section of a story, it then devolves upon the children to +show their knowledge and grasp of the subject by reproducing it. The +task of getting this well done requires, perhaps, as much skill and +force of character as all previous work of oral instruction. Obstacles +are met with at once. It is dull work to go back over the same thing +again, and the children soon get tired of it. They want something new +and more exciting, and press for the rest of the story. Many children +are at first deficient in power of attention and in language, so that +their efforts at reproduction are clumsy and poor. The interest is weak, +the attention of the children scattering, and the class is apt to go to +pieces under the strain of such dull work. This is an emergency where a +teacher needs both skill and force of character. (What a comfort it is +to a writer to have such a platitude as this to fall back upon, when he +gets a teacher into a place where nothing but his own devices can save +him.) + +There are, however, some hopeful considerations which may encourage a +teacher whose feet are not already too deep in the bog of +discouragement. + +Children enjoy the retelling of good stories with which they are +familiar. They will do it at home, even if they are not very proficient +at it in school. In every class there are some talkative children who +are always willing to make an effort. Again, it is not always difficult +to interest boys and girls in doing a thing that requires skill and +power, such as memory, attentiveness, and mastery of correct language. +The force of the teacher's influence and authority is worth something in +setting up high standards of proficiency. Indeed, children respect a +teacher who makes rigorous demands upon them. The retelling of stories +is, after all, no harder nor duller than the reciting of a lesson +learned out of a book. + +On the other hand, the whole effectiveness of oral work depends upon the +success of these oral reproductions. If children know that the teacher +is in earnest they will be more attentive, so as to be able to fulfil +the requirement. Such a reproduction reveals at once a child's correct +or incorrect grasp of the subject, and in either case the teacher knows +what to do next. Errors and misconceptions can be corrected and such +explanations or additional facts given as will clarify the subject. + +In such reproductions it is praiseworthy to help the children as little +as possible, to throw them back upon their own power as much as +possible. If the teacher constantly relieves them with suggestive +questions, they lean more and more upon her direction and lose all +self-reliant power of continuous narrative. No, let the teacher keep a +prudent silence, let her seal her lips, if necessary, in order to teach +boys and girls to stand on their own power of thought. + +Under this sort of discipline, kindly but rigorous, children will +gradually acquire confidence in manner, variety and choice of language, +in short, the ability to grasp clearly, hold firmly, and express +accurately the ideas which are presented to them. + +The whole purpose of this sort of instruction is not so much to see how +skilfully a teacher can present a lesson (though that is a fine art) as +to determine how well a boy or girl can master or express knowledge, can +learn to think and speak for himself. + +8. Some teachers despair of treating stories orally in large classes of +primary children. The task of holding together such wriggling varieties +of mental force and mental inertia is great. Some children are quick and +excitable, others are unresponsive and dull. Some are timid and +sensitive, others bold and demonstrative. Some are talkative and +irrepressible, others silent or listless. + +It is interesting to consider the function and value of a good child's +story to fit in to such varying needs and personalities. If the purpose +of the primary school is simply to keep children busy at some kind of +orderly work, there are other tamer employments than stories. But if the +idea is to put children's minds and bodies into healthy, vigorous +action, it would be difficult to find a more suitable instrument than a +fitting story. + +But a good primary teacher knows better than to establish brusque and +fixed standards of uniform success for all children. It will take much +time and patience to get anything like good oral responses from some +children. Like budding flowers some unfold their leaves and petals much +quicker at the touch of sunshine than others. But the sun does not stop +shining because all do not come out at once. The crudest efforts of +little children must be received with kindness and encouragement. The +power of reproducing thought and language is very slowly acquired by +many children. They are timidly self-conscious, distrustful of their own +powers, and have not learned to throw themselves with confidence upon +the good-will of their teachers. It may take months with some children +to overcome these obstacles, and to bring them to a confident use of +their powers, but it is the highest delight of a teacher to reach this +result. + +Some children, on the other hand, are so talkative and impulsive that +they will monopolize the time of the class to no good purpose. Their +enthusiasm requires tempering and their soberer thought strengthening. + +Another difficulty lies in the necessary effort to get correct English, +to gradually mould the language of children into correct forms. The +perverse habits of children, the influence of home and playground, the +inveterate preference for slang and crude, crass expressions, and their +sensitive pride against unusual refinements of speech, make the +cultivation of good English an uphill task. But roads must be laid out +through this wilderness of hills and valleys, stumps and brush. And +these roads must be gradually worked down into smooth highways of +travel. It is pioneer toil, requiring the steady use of axe and mattock +and spade. + +There is no kind of school training where good English can be cultivated +to better advantage, where the power of correct, independent, +well-articulated speech can be so well strengthened as in oral story. It +is in the close contact of this work that the teacher is dealing +directly with the original stock of experiences, ideas, and words of +every child, and with these as instruments of acquisition, helping him +to get a spirited introduction to the world of ideas in books and +literature. + +It is here that we can get a glimpse of that vast work which the +elementary schools of the country are doing in the way of Americanizing +the children of various nationalities and in giving them not only a +common language, but a common body of ideas rooted in the earliest +experiences of childhood and already laying hold of many of the richest +treasures of American history and of the world's literature. + +9. As children advance from the first year into the second and third +years the character of the oral story-telling gradually changes. +Children should acquire more power of attention, greater command of +language and ability to grasp and hold at one telling a larger section +of a story. The stories themselves become more complex, the questions +and problems set by the teacher more difficult. The necessity for sharp, +logical outlines of leading topics increases as one advances in the +grades. Older children can be held more rigidly to common standards of +excellence in thought and language. In this, however, the teacher should +always remember that children differ greatly in their natural powers of +expression, and that a forcing process will not be so successful as a +stimulating and encouraging attitude in the teacher. + +10. The good oral treatment of most stories leads the children to much +activity in material constructions. Where the minds of children are +brought to a healthy activity their bodies and physical energies are +pretty sure to be called into play to work out the suggested lines of +thought. "Robinson Crusoe" invariably leads the children to a multitude +of building and making enterprises, such as moulding vessels in clay, +constructing the barricade around his tent and cave, the making of +chairs and tables, etc. + +We have already noticed the readiness of children to make blackboard or +other drawings of interesting objects in a story, or to cut them out +with scissors from paper. This effort to experience the realities of +life more directly by making objects of common utility and necessity is +a characteristic and powerful tendency of childhood. It is commonly seen +in children about the house, when, for example, they must have wagons, +wheelbarrows, tools, or a set of garden implements with which to imitate +the employments of their elders. Parkman and others often speak of the +constant practice of little Indian boys with bow and arrows. + +Our purpose here is not to discuss this matter at length, but simply to +notice its prominent place in connection with the oral lesson in story. +The intense interest awakened in stories leads quickly to these efforts +at construction. What shall the teacher do with this powerful tendency +of children to carry over these ideas into the field of practical +constructive labor? To the thinker this tendency is perhaps the surest +proof of the value of the story. It does not stop with words nor ideas. +It pushes far into the region of voluntary, physical, and mental labor +and application of knowledge. + +The teacher who will make good use of this enterprising constructive +desire of children must know definitely about tools, boards, shops, +various industries, and technical trades, the special materials, +inventions, and devices of artisans in the common occupations, such as +farming, gardening, blacksmithing, the carpenter shop, the baker, the +quarry, the brick kiln, etc. + +It will not be strange if many teachers recoil, at first glance, from +this leap into industrial life. It suggests that the schoolhouse must +become a big machine shop, agricultural station, etc. The trouble is, of +course, that teachers do not feel themselves qualified in these things. +They know almost as little as the children about such matters, and have +much less inclination to know more. + +But our modern education is taking a decided turn in this direction, and +with good reason. The close acquaintance of our teachers with the common +occupations of life, with their materials, tools, machines, +constructions, and skill would supply them with a rich collection of +practical, concrete, illustrative knowledge of the greatest use in +instructing children. It is impossible to mention anything which would +be of more service to them in the details of instruction. The advantages +to the children of such teaching, re-enforced by this concrete detail of +common life, are so numerous and important as to deserve a special +effort. The benefit to teachers would quickly more than recompense them +for the labor involved. By occasional visits of observation in shops, +fields, stores, and factories, by assisting children in their +constructive efforts, the teacher will acquire knowledge, strength, and +confidence for such work. The unfamiliarity of teachers with these +everyday industrial matters, and their feeling of helplessness as +regards things not in the usual routine of school, are the real +hindrances to be overcome. + +There are other subjects in the school course, like home geography and +the early lessons in nature study, which deal more directly than stories +with these practical forms of industrial life and constructive +activity. They will also demand and cultivate an increasing knowledge of +this practical phase of life and education. The lessons in oral +story-telling stand thus closely linked with progressive experimental +knowledge in other studies. + +A brief retrospect and summary of the requirements necessary as a basis +of good oral treatment of stories will impress us with the skill and +resourcefulness needed by the teacher. + +1. First-hand experience with the realities of life. + +2. Intimate knowledge and sympathy with child life. + +3. The many-sided mastery of the story for teaching purposes. + +4. Skill in the use of simple, apt, and forcible language. + +5. Power of narrative and description, together with various forms of +graphic illustration, dramatic action, etc. + +6. Clear and simple outline of leading topics. + +7. Acquired power in the use of development methods, including question, +problem, discussion, aims, and the training of children to self-activity +and thoughtfulness. + +8. The successful oral reproduction of stories by the children. + +9. Tact in the handling of large classes, with children of differing +temperament and capacity, and the encouragement of timid children. + +10. Changing character of oral work in advancing grades. + +11. The need of insight and ability to supervise constructive +activities. + +These things include a wide range of clear knowledge and confident skill +and resource. Teachers need first of all to cultivate resourcefulness in +the use of their own knowledge and experience, and to add to both of +these as rapidly as circumstances permit. + +The mere reading of stories to children by the teacher, at odd times, on +Friday afternoons or on special occasions, is also of much value as a +means of interesting children in a wide range of good books. It is a +source of entertainment and culture, which, when judiciously and +skilfully employed, adds much to the educative power of the school. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +FIRST GRADE STORIES + + +FAIRY TALES + +Young children, as we all know, are delighted with stories, and in the +first grade they are still in this story-loving period. A good story is +the best medium through which to convey ideas and also to approach the +difficulties of learning to read. Such a story, Wilmann says, is a +pedagogical treasure. By many thinkers and primary teachers the fairy +stories have been adopted as best suited to the wants of the little folk +just emerging from the home. A series of fairy tales was selected by +Ziller, one of the leading Herbartians, as a centre for the school work +of the first year. These stories have long held a large place in the +home culture of children, especially of the more cultivated class. Now +it is claimed that what is good for the few whose parents may be +cultured and sympathetic, may be good enough for the children of the +common people and of the poor. Moreover, stories that have made the +fireside more joyous and blessed may perchance bring vivacity and +happiness into schoolrooms. The home and the school are coming closer +together. It is even said that well-trained, sympathetic primary +teachers may better tell and impress these stories than overworked +mothers and busy fathers. If these literary treasures are left for the +homes to discover and use, the majority of children will know little or +nothing of them. Many schools in this country have been using them in +the first grade in recent years with a pleasing effect. + +But what virtue lies concealed in these fairy myths for the children of +our practical and sensible age? Why should we draw from fountains whose +sources are back in the prehistoric and even barbarous past? To many +people it appears as a curious anachronism to nourish little children in +the first decade of this new century upon food that was prepared in the +tents of wandering tribes in early European history. What are the merits +of these stories for children just entering upon scholastic pursuits? +They are known to be generally attractive to children of this age, but +many sober-minded people distrust them. Are they really meat and drink +for the little ones? And not only so, but the choicest meat and drink, +the best food upon which to nourish their unfolding minds? + +Fairy tales are charged with misleading children by falsifying the truth +of things. And, indeed, they pay little heed to certain natural laws +that practical people of good sense always respect. A child, however, is +not so humdrum practical as these serious truth-lovers. A little girl +talks to her doll as if it had real ears. She and her little brother +make teacups and saucers out of acorns with no apparent compunctions of +conscience. They follow Cinderella to the ball in a pumpkin chariot, +transformed by magic wand, with even greater interest than we read of a +presidential ball. A child may turn the common laws of physical nature +inside out and not be a whit the worse for it. Its imagination can +people a pea-pod with little heroes aching for a chance in the big +world, or it can put tender personality into the trunk and branches of +the little pine tree in the forest. There are no space limits that a +child's fancy will not spring over in a twinkling. It can ride from star +to star on a broomstick, or glide over peaceful waters in a fairy boat +drawn by graceful swans. Without suggestion from mother or teacher, +children put life and personality into their playthings. Their +spontaneous delights are in this playful exercise of the fancy, in +masquerading under the guise of a soldier, bear, horse, or bird. The +fairy tale is the poetry of children's inner impulse and feeling; their +sparkling eyes and absorbed interest show how fitting is the contact +between these childlike creations of the poet and their own budding +thoughts. + +In discussing the qualities requisite in a fairy story to make it a +pedagogical treasure, Wilmann says:[1] "When it is laid down as a first +and indispensable requirement that a story be genuinely childlike, the +demand sounds less rigorous than it really is. It is easier to feel +than to describe the qualities which lend to a story the true childlike +spirit. It is not simplicity alone. A simple story that can be +understood by a child is not on that account childlike. The simplicity +must be the ingenuousness of the child. Close to this lies the abyss of +silliness into which so many children's stories tumble. A simple story +may be manufactured, but the quality of true simplicity will not be +breathed into it unless one can draw from the deeper springs of poetic +invention. It is not enough that the externals of the story, such as +situation and action, have this character, but the sensibilities and +motives of the actors must be ingenuous and childlike; they should +reflect the child's own feeling, wish, and effort. But it is not +necessary on this account that the persons of the story be children. +Indeed the king, prince, and princess, if they only speak and act like +children, are much nearer the child's comprehension than any of the +children paraded in a manufactured story, designed for the 'industrious +youth.' For just as real poetry so the real child's story lies beyond +reality in the field of fancy. With all its plainness of thought and +action, the genuine child's story knows how to take hold of the child's +fancy and set its wings in motion. And what a meaning has fancy for the +soul of the child as compared with that of the adult. For us the +activity of fancy only sketches arabesques, as it were, around the +sharply defined pictures of reality. The child thinks and lives in such +arabesques, and it is only gradually that increasing experience writes +among these arabesques the firmer outlines of things. The child's +thoughts float about playfully and unsteadily, but the fairy tale is +even lighter winged than they. It overtakes these fleeting summer birds +and wafts them together without brushing the dust from their wings. + + [1] Wilmann, _Paedagogische Vorträge_. + +"But fostering the activity of fancy in children is a means, not an end. +It is necessary to enter the field of fancy because the way to the +child's heart leads through the fancy. The effect upon the heart of the +child is the second mark and proof of the genuine child's story. We are +not advocates of the so-called moral stories which are so short-winded +as to stop frequently and rest upon some moral commonplace. Platitudes +and moral maxims are not designed to develop a moral taste in the minds +of young children, for they appeal to the understanding and will of the +pupil and presuppose what must be first built up and established. True +moral training is rather calculated to awaken in the child judgments of +right and wrong, of good and evil (on simple illustrative examples). Not +the impression left by a moralizing discourse is the germ of a love of +the good and right, but rather the child's judgment springing from its +own conviction. 'That was good.' 'What a mean thing!' + +"Those narratives have a moral force which introduce persons and acts +that are simple and transparent enough to let the moral light shine +through, that possess sufficient life to lend warmth and vigor to moral +judgments. No attempt to cover up or pass over what is bad, nor to paint +it in extravagant colors. For the bad develops the judgment no less than +the good. It remains only to have a care that a child's interest +inclines toward the good, the just, and the right." + +Wilmann summarizes the essentials of a good story, and then discusses +the fairy tales as follows:-- + +"There are then five requirements to be made of a real child's story: +Let it be truly childlike, that is, both simple and full of fancy; let +it form morals in the sense that it introduces persons and matters +which, while simple and lively, call out a moral judgment of approval or +disapproval; let it be instructive and lead to thoughtful discussions of +society and nature; let it be of permanent value, inviting perpetually +to a reperusal; let it be a connected whole, so as to work a deeper +influence and become the source of a many-sided interest. + +"The child's story which, on the basis of the aforenamed principles, can +be made the starting-point for all others, is Grimm's fairy tale of folk +lore. We are now called upon to show that the folk-lore fairy tale +answers to the foregoing requirements, and in this we shall see many a +ray of light cast back upon these requirements themselves. + +"Is the German fairy tale childlike? full of simplicity as well as of +fancy? A deeply poetic saying of Jacob Grimm may teach us the answer. +'There runs through these poetic fairy tales the same deep vein of +purity by reason of which children seem to us so wonderful and blessed. +They have, as it were, the same pale-blue, clear, and lustrous eyes +which can grow no more although the other members are still delicate and +weak and unserviceable to the uses of earth.' Klaiber quotes this +passage in his 'Das Märchen und die Kindliche Phantasie,' and says with +truth and beauty, 'Yes; when we look into the trusting eyes of a child, +in which none of the world's deceit is to be read as yet, when we see +how these eyes brighten and gleam at a beautiful fairy tale, as if they +were looking out into a great, wide, beautiful wonder-world, then we +feel something of the deep connection of the fairy story with the +childish soul.' We will bring forward one more passage from a little +treatise, showing depth and warmth of feeling, which stealthily takes +away from the doubters their scruples about the justification of the +fairy tale. 'It is strange how well the fairy tale and the child's soul +mutually understand each other. It is as if they had been together from +the very beginning and had grown up together. As a rule the child only +deals with that part of real life which concerns itself and children of +its age. Whatever lies beyond this is distant, strange, unintelligible. +Under the leading of the fairy tale, however, it permits itself to be +borne over hill and valley, over land and sea, through sun and moon and +stars, even to the end of the world, and everything is so near, so +familiar, so close to its reach, as if they had been everywhere before, +just as if obscure pictures within had all at once become wonderfully +distinct. And the fairies all, and the king's sons, and the other +distinguished personages, whom it learns to know through the fairy +tale,--they are as natural and intelligible as if the child had moved +its life long in the highest circles, and had had princes and princesses +for its daily playmates. In a word, the world of the fairy tale is the +child's world, for it is the world of fancy.' + +"For this reason children live and move in fairyland, whether the +story be told by the mother or by the teacher in the primary school. +What attention as the story proceeds! What anxiousness when any +danger threatens the hero, be he king's son or a wheat-straw! What +grief, even to tears, when a wrong is practised upon some innocent +creature! And far from it that the joy in the fairy tale decrease +when it is told or discussed over again. Then comes the pleasure of +representation--bringing the story upon the stage. Though a child has +but to represent a flower in the meadow, the little face is transfigured +with the highest joy. + +"But the childish joy of fairy tales passes away; not so the inner +experiences which it has brought with it. I am not affirming too much +when I say that he who, as a child, has never listened with joy to the +murmuring and rustling of the fresh fountain of fairyland, will have no +ear and no understanding for many a deep stream of German poetry. It is, +after all, the modest fountain of fairy song which, flowing and uniting +with the now noisy, now soft and gently flowing, current of folk song, +and with the deep and earnest stream of tradition, which has poured such +a refreshing current over German poetry, out of which our most excellent +Uhland has drawn so many a heart-strengthening draught. + +"The spirit of the people finds expression in fairy tale as in tradition +and song, and if we were only working to lift and strengthen the +national impulse, a moral-educative instruction would have to turn again +and again to these creations of the people. What was asserted as a +general truth in regard to classical products, that they are a bond +between large and small, old and young, is true of national stories and +songs more than of anything else. They are at once a bond between the +different classes, a national treasure, which belongs alike to rich and +poor, high and low. The common school then has the least right of all to +put the fairy tale aside, now that few women versed in fairy lore, such +as those to whom Grimm listened, are left. + +"But does the fairy tale come of noble blood? Does it possess what we +called in the case of classics an old title of nobility? If we keep to +this figure of speech, we shall find that the fairy tale is not only +noble, but a very royal child among stories. It has ruled from olden +times, far and wide, over many a land. Hundreds of years gone, Grimm's +fairy stories lived in the people's heart, and not in Germany alone. If +our little ones listen intently to Aschenputtel, French children +delighted in Cindrillon, the Italian in Cenerentola, the Polish in +Kopcinszic. The fact that medięval story-books contain Grimm's tales is +not remarkable, when we reflect that traits and characteristics of the +fairy tale reach back beyond the Christian period; that Frau Holle is +Hulda, or Frigg, the heathen goddess; that 'Wishing-cap,' 'Little +Lame-leg,' and 'Table Cover Thyself,' etc., are made up out of the +attributes of German gods. Finally, such things as 'The Sleeping +Beauty,' which is the earth in winter sleep, that the prince of summer +wakes with kisses in springtime, point back to the period of primitive +Indo-German myth. + +"But in addition to the requirement of classical nobility, has the fairy +story also the moral tone which we required of the genuine child's +story? Does the fairy story make for morals? To be sure it introduces to +an ideal realm of simple moral relations. The good and bad are sharply +separated. The wrong holds for a time its supremacy, but the final +victory is with the good. And with what vigor the judgment of good and +evil, of right and wrong, is produced. We meet touching pictures, +especially of good-will, of faithfulness, characteristic and full of +life. Think only of the typical interchange of words between Lenchen and +Fundevogel. Said Lenchen, 'Leave me not and I will never leave thee.' +Said Fundevogel, 'Now and nevermore.' We are reminded of the Bible words +of the faithful Ruth, 'Whither thou goest I will go; where thou lodgest +I will lodge; where thou diest I will die and there will I be buried.' + +"Important for the life of children is the rigor with which the fairy +tale punishes disobedience and falsehood. Think of the suggestive +legendary story of the child which was visited again and again with +misfortune because of its obstinacy, till its final confession of guilt +brings full pardon. It is everywhere a Christian thread which runs +through so many fairy stories. It is love for the rejected, oppressed, +and abandoned. Whatever is loaded with burdens and troubles receives the +palm, and the first becomes the last. + +"The fairy story fulfils the first three requirements for a true child's +story. It is childlike, of lasting value, and fosters moral ideas. As to +unity it will suffice for children of six years (for this is, in our +opinion, the age at which it exerts its moral force) that the stories be +told in the same spirit, although they do not form one connected +narrative. If a good selection of fairy tales according to their inner +connection is made, so that frequent references and connections can be +found, the requirement of unity will be satisfied. + +"The fairy tale seems to satisfy least of all the demand that the true +child's story must be instructive, and serve as a starting-point for +interesting practical discussion. The fairy story seems too airy and +dreamy for this, and it might appear pedantry to load it with +instruction. But one will not be guilty of this mistake if one simply +follows up the ideas which the story suggests. When the story of a +chicken, a fox, or a swan is told it is fully in harmony with the +childish thought to inquire into the habits of these animals. When the +king is mentioned it is natural to say that we have a king, to ask where +he lives, etc. Just because the fairy tale sinks deep and holds a firm +and undivided attention, it is possible to direct the suggested thoughts +hither or thither without losing the pleasure they create. If one keeps +this aim in mind, instructive material is abundant. The fairy tale +introduces various employments and callings, from the king to the +farmer, tailor, and shoemaker. Many passages in life, such as betrothal, +marriage, and burial, are presented. Labors in the house, yard, and +field, and numerous animals, plants, and inanimate things are touched +upon. For the observation of animals and for the relation between them +and children, it is fortunate that the fairy tale presents them as +talking and feeling. Thereby the interest in real animals is increased +and heartlessness banished. How could a child put to the torture an +animal which is an old friend in fairy story? + +"I need only suggest in this place how the fairy story furnishes +material for exercises in oral language, for the division of words into +syllables and letters, and how the beginnings of writing, drawing, +number, and manual exercises may be drawn from the same source. + +"From the suggestions just made the following conclusions at least may +be reasonably drawn. A sufficient counterpoise to the fantastical nature +of the fairy tale can be given in a manner simple and childlike, if the +objects and relations involved in the narratives are brought clearly +before the senses and discussed so that instruction about common objects +and home surroundings is begun." + +In speaking of Shakespeare's early training in literature, Charles +Kingsley says:-- + +"I said there was a literary art before Shakespeare--an art more simple, +more childlike, more girlish, as it were, and therefore all the more +adapted for young minds, but also an art most vigorous and pure in point +of style: thoroughly fitted to give its readers the first elements of +taste, which must lie at the root of even the most complex ęsthetics. + +"The old fairy superstition, the old legends and ballads, the old +chronicles of feudal war and chivalry, the earlier moralities and +mysteries and tragicomic attempts--these were the roots of his poetic +tree--they must be the roots of any literary education which can teach +us to appreciate him. These fed Shakespeare's youth; why should they not +feed our children's? Why indeed? That inborn delight of the young in all +that is marvellous and fantastic--has that a merely evil root? No +surely! It is a most pure part of their spiritual nature; a part of 'the +heaven which lies about us in our infancy'; angel-wings with which the +free child leaps the prison-walls of sense and custom, and the drudgery +of earthly life." + +Felix Adler says:[2] "But how shall we handle these _Märchen_ and what +method shall we employ in putting them to account for our special +purpose? I have a few thoughts on this subject, which I shall venture to +submit in the form of counsels. + + [2] _Moral Instruction of Children._ D. Appleton & Co. + +"My _first counsel_ is: Tell the story; do not give it to the child to +read. There is an obvious practical reason for this. Children are able +to benefit by hearing fairy tales before they can read. But that is not +the only reason. It is the childhood of the race, as we have seen, that +speaks in the fairy story of the child of to-day. It is the voice of an +ancient far-off past that echoes from the lips of the storyteller. The +words 'once upon a time' open up a vague retrospect into the past, and +the child gets its first indistinct notions of history in this way. The +stories embody the tradition of the childhood of mankind. They have on +this account an authority all their own, not, indeed, that of literal +truth, but one derived from their being types of certain feelings and +longings which belong to childhood as such. The child, as it listens to +the _Märchen_, looks up with wide-opened eyes to the face of the person +who tells the story, and thrills responsive as the touch of the earlier +life of the race thus falls upon its own. Such an effect, of course, +cannot be produced by cold type. Tradition is a living thing and should +use the living voice for its vehicle. + +"My _second counsel_ is also of a practical nature, and I make bold to +say quite essential to the successful use of the stories. Do not take +the moral plum out of the fairy-tale pudding, but let the child enjoy it +as a whole. Do not make the story taper toward a single point, the moral +point. You will squeeze all the juice out of it if you try. Do not +subordinate the purely fanciful and naturalistic elements of the story, +such as the love of mystery, the passion for roving, the sense of +fellowship with the animal world, in order to fix attention solely on +the moral element. On the contrary, you will gain the best moral effect +by proceeding in exactly the opposite way. Treat the moral element as an +incident, emphasize it indeed, but incidentally. Pluck it as a wayside +flower. How often does it happen that, having set out on a journey with +a distinct object in mind, something occurs on the way which we had not +foreseen, but which in the end leaves the deepest impression on the +mind.... + +"The value of the fairy tales is that they stimulate the imagination; +that they reflect the unbroken communion of human life with the life +universal, as in beasts, fishes, trees, flowers, and stars; and that +incidentally, but all the more powerfully on that account, they quicken +the moral sentiments. + +"Let us avail ourselves freely of the treasures which are thus placed at +our disposal. Let us welcome _das Märchen_ into our primary course of +moral training, that with its gentle bands, woven of 'morning mist and +morning glory,' it may help to lead our children into bright realms of +the ideal." + +A selection of fairy stories suited to our first grade will differ from +a similar selection for foreign schools. There has been a disposition +among American teachers for several years to appropriate the best of +these stories for use in the primary schools. In different parts of the +country skilful primary teachers have been experimenting successfully +with these materials. There are many schools in which both teachers and +pupils have taken great delight in them. The effort has been made more +particularly with first grade children, the aim of teachers being to +lead captive the spontaneous interest of children from their first +entrance upon school tasks. Some of the stories used at the first may +seem light and farcical, but experiments with children are a better +test than the preconceived notions of adults who may have forgotten +their early childhood. The story of the "Four Musicians," for example, +is a favorite with the children. + +At the risk of repetition, and to emphasize some points of special +importance, we will review briefly the method of oral treatment and the +use of the stories in early primary reading. + +The children have no knowledge of reading or perhaps of letters. The +story is told with spirit by the teacher, no book being used in the +class. Question and interchange of thought between pupil and teacher +will become more frequent and suggestive as the teacher becomes more +skilled and sympathetic in her treatment of the story. In the early +months of school life the aim is to gain the attention and coöperation +of children by furnishing abundant food for thought. Children are +required or at least encouraged to narrate the story or a part of it in +the class. They tell it at school and probably at home, till they become +more and more absorbed in it. Even the backward or timid child gradually +acquires courage and enjoys narrating the adventures of the peas in the +pod or those of the animals in the "Four Musicians." + +The teacher should acquire a vivid and picturesque style of narrating, +persistently weaving into the story, by query and suggestion, the +previous home experiences of the children. They are only too ready to +bring out these treasures at the call of the teacher. Often it is +necessary to check their enthusiasm. There is a need not simply for +narrative power, but for quick insight and judgment, so as to bring +their thoughts into close relation to the incidents. Nowhere in all the +schools is there such a call for close and motherly sympathy. The gentle +compulsion of kindness is required to inspire the timid ones with +confidence. For some of them are slow to open their delicate thought and +sensibility, even to the sunny atmosphere of a pleasant school. + +A certain amount of drill in reproduction is necessary, but fortunately +the stories have something that bears repetition with a growing +interest. Added to this is the desire for perfect mastery, and thus the +stories become more dear with familiarity. + +Incidentally, there should be emphasis of the instructive information +gathered concerning animals and plants that are actors in the scenes. +The commonest things of the house, field, and garden acquire a new and +lasting interest. Sometimes the teacher makes provision in advance of +the story for a deeper interest in the plants and animals that are to +appear. In natural science lessons she may take occasion to examine the +pea blossom, or the animals of the barnyard, or the squirrel or birds in +their cages. When, a few days later, the story touches one of these +animals, there is a quick response from the children. This relation +between history and natural science strengthens both. + +Many an opportunity should be given for the pupils to express a warm +sympathy for gentle acts of kindness or unselfishness. The happiness +that even a simple flower may bring to a home is a contagious example. +Kindly treatment of the old and feeble, and sympathy for the innocent +and helpless, spring into the child's own thought. The fancy, sympathy, +and interest awakened by a good fairy tale make it a vehicle by which, +consciously and unconsciously, many advantages are borne home to pupils. + +Among other things, it opens the door to the reading lesson; that is, to +the beginning efforts in mastering and using the symbols of written +language. The same story which all have learned to tell, they are now +about to learn to read from the board. One or two sentences are taken +directly from the lips of the pupils as they recall the story, and the +work of mastering symbols is begun at once with zest. First is the clear +statement of some vivid thought by a child, then a quick association of +this thought with its written symbols on the board. There is no readier +way of bringing thought and form into firm connection, that is, of +learning to read. Keep the child's fresh mental judgment and the written +form clearly before his mind till the two are wedded. Let the thought +run back and forth between them till they are one. + +After fixing two or three sentences on the board, attention is directed +more closely to the single words, and a rapid drill upon those in the +sentence is followed by a discovery and naming of them in miscellaneous +order. Afterward new sentences are formed by the teacher out of the same +words, written on the board, and read by the children. They express +different, and perhaps opposite forms of thought, and should exercise +the child's sense and judgment as well as his memory of words. An +energetic, lively, and successful drill of this kind upon sentences +drawn from stories has been so often witnessed, that its excellence is +no longer a matter of question. These exercises are a form of mental +activity in which children delight if the teacher's manner is vigorous +and pleasant. + +When the mastery of new word-forms as wholes is fairly complete, the +analysis may go a step farther. Some new word in the lesson may be taken +and separated into its phonic elements, as the word _hill_, and new +words formed by dropping a letter and prefixing letters or syllables, as +_ill_, _till_, _until_, _mill_, _rill_, etc. The power to construct new +words out of old materials should be cultivated all along the process of +learning to read. + +Still other school activities of children stand in close relation to the +fairy tales. They are encouraged to draw the objects and incidents in +which the story abounds. Though rude and uncouth, the drawings still +often surprise us with their truth and suggestiveness. The sketches +reveal the content of a child's mind as almost nothing else--his +misconceptions, his vague or clearly defined notions. They also furnish +his mental and physical activities an employment exactly suited to his +needs and wishes. + +The power to use good English and to express himself clearly and +fittingly is cultivated from the very first. While this merit is purely +incidental, it is none the less valuable. The persistence with which bad +and uncouth words and phrases are employed by children in our common +school, both in oral work and in composition, admonishes us to begin +early to eradicate these faults. It seems often as if intermediate and +grammar grades were more faulty and wretched in their use of English +than primary grades. But there can be no doubt that early and persistent +practice in the best forms of expression, especially in connection with +interesting and appropriate thought matter, will greatly aid +correctness, fluency, and confidence in speech. There is also a +convincing pedagogical reason why children in the first primary should +be held to the best models of spoken language. They enter the school +better furnished with oral speech than with a knowledge of any school +study. Their home experiences have wrought into close association and +unity, word and thing. So intimate and living is the relation between +word and thought or object, that a child really does not distinguish +between them. This is the treasure with which he enters school, and it +should not be wrapped up in a napkin. It should be unrolled at once and +put to service. Oral speech is the capital with which a child enters the +business of education; let him employ it. + +A retrospect upon the various forms of school activity which spring, in +practical work, from the use of a good fairy story, reveals how +many-sided and inspiriting are its influences. Starting out with a rich +content of thought peculiarly germane to childish interests, it calls +for a full employment of the language resources already possessed by the +children. In the effort to picture out, with pencil or chalk, his +conceptions of the story, a child exercises his fanciful and creative +wit, as well as the muscles of arms and eyes. A good story always finds +its setting in the midst of nature or society, and touches up with a +simple, homely, but poetic charm the commonest verities of human +experience. The appeal to the sensibility and moral judgment of pupils +is direct and spontaneous, because of the interests and sympathies that +are inherent in persons, and touch directly the childish fancy. And, +lastly, the irrepressible traditional demand that children shall learn +to read, is fairly and honestly met and satisfied. + +It is not claimed that fairy tales involve the sum total of primary +instruction, but they are an illustration of how rich will be the +fruitage of our educational effort if we consider first the highest +needs and interests of children, and allow the formal arts to drop into +their proper subordination. "The best is good enough for children," and +when we select the best, the wide-reaching connections which are +established between studies carry us a long step toward the now +much-bruited correlation and concentration of studies. + + +BOOKS OF MATERIALS FOR TEACHERS + + Classic Stories for the Little Ones. Public School Publishing Co., + Bloomington, Ill. + Grimm's Fairy Tales (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + German Fairy Tales (Grimm). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Grimm's German Household Tales. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Stories from Hans Andersen. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Andersen's Fairy Tales, two volumes. Part I and Part II. Ginn & Co. + Fairy Stories and Fables. American Book Co. + Fables and Folk Stories (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Rhymes and Jingles (Dodge). Scribner's Sons. + Fairy Stories for Children (Baldwin). American Book Co. + Songs and Stories. University Publishing Co. + Fairy Life. University Publishing Co. + Six Nursery Classics (O'Shea). D. C. Heath & Co. + Grimm's Fairy Tales. Educational Publishing Co. + A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Welch). D. C. Heath & Co. + Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Heart of Oak, No. I. D. C. Heath & Co. + Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co. + The Eugene Field Book. Scribner's Sons. + Moral Education of Children (Adler). D. Appleton & Co. Chapter VI. + on Fairy Tales. + Literature in Schools (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Chapter + on Nursery Classics. + + +THE FABLES + +No group of stories has a more assured place in the literature for +children than the Ęsop's "Fables." Some of the commonest have been +expanded into little stories which are presented orally to children in +the first school year, as "The Lion and the Mouse," "The Ants and the +Grasshoppers," "The Dog and his Shadow," and others. They are so simple +and direct that they are used alongside the fairy tales for the earliest +instruction of children. + +As soon as children have acquired the rudiments of reading the Ęsop's +"Fables" are commonly used in the second and third school year as a +reading book, and all the early reading books are partly made up from +this material. + +If we inquire into the qualities of these stories which have given them +such a universal acceptance, we shall find that they contain in a +simple, transparent form a good share of the world's wisdom. More recent +researches indicate that they originated in India, and reached Europe +through Persia and Arabia, being ascribed to Ęsop. This indicates that +like most early literature of lasting worth, they are products of the +folk-mind rather than of a single writer, and it is the opinion of Adler +that they express the ripened wisdom of the people under the forms of +Oriental despotism. The sad and hopeless submission to a stronger power +expressed by some of the fables, it is claimed, unfits them for use in +our freer life to-day. + +There are certain points in which their attractiveness to children is +clearly manifest. The actors in the stories are usually animals, and the +ready interest and sympathy of children for talking animals are at once +appealed to. In all the early myths and fairy tales, human life seems to +merge into that of the animals, as in "Hiawatha," and the fables +likewise are a marked expression of this childlike tendency. + +Adler says: "The question may be asked why fables are so popular with +boys. I should say because schoolboy society reproduces in miniature, to +a certain extent, the social conditions which are reflected in the +fables. Among unregenerate schoolboys there often exists a kind of +despotism, not the less degrading because petty. The strong are pitted +against the weak--witness the fagging system in English schools--and +their mutual antagonism produces in both the characteristic vices which +we have noted above." A literature which clearly pictures these +relations so that they can be seen objectively by the children may be of +the greatest social service in education. + +Adler says further: "The psychological study of schoolboy society has +been only begun, but even what lies on the surface will, I think, bear +out this remark. Now it has become one of the commonplaces of +educational literature that the individual of to-day must pass through +the same stages of evolution as the human race as a whole. But it should +not be forgotten that the advance of civilization depends on two +conditions: first, that the course of evolution be accelerated, that the +time allowed to the successive stages be shortened; and, secondly, that +the unworthy and degrading elements which entered into the process of +evolution in the past, and at the time were inseparable from it, be now +eliminated. Thus the fairy tales which correspond to the myth-making +epoch in human history must be purged of the dross of superstition which +still adheres to them, and the fables which correspond to the age of +primitive despotisms must be cleansed of the immoral elements they still +embody."[3] + + [3] Adler, _Moral Instruction of Children_, pp. 88-89. + +The peculiar form of moral teaching in the "Fables" suits them +especially to children. A single trait of conduct, like greediness or +selfishness, is sharply outlined in the story and its results made +plain. "We have seen nothing finer in teaching than the building up of +these little stories in conversational lessons--first to illustrate some +mental or moral trait; then to detach the idea from its story picture, +and find illustrations for it in some other act or incident. And nothing +can be more gratifying as a result, than, through the transparency of +childish hearts, to watch the growth of right conduct from the impulses +derived from the teaching; and so laying the foundations of future +rightness of character."[4] + + [4] Introduction to Stickney's _Ęsop's Fables_. Ginn & Co. + +The moral ideas inculcated by the fables are usually of a practical, +worldly-wisdom sort, not high ideals of moral quality, not virtue for +its own sake, but varied examples of the results of rashness and folly. +This is, perhaps, one reason why they are so well suited to the immature +moral judgments of children. + +Adler says: "Often when a child has committed some fault, it is useful +to refer by name to the fable that fits it. As, when a boy has made room +in his seat for another, and the other crowds him out, the mere mention +of the fable of the porcupine is a telling rebuke; or the fable of the +hawk and the pigeons may be called to mind when a boy has been guilty of +mean excuses. On the same principle that angry children are sometimes +taken before a mirror to show them how ugly they look, the fable is a +kind of mirror for the vices of the young." Again: "The peculiar value +of the fables is that they are instantaneous photographs which +reproduce, as it were, in a single flash of light, some one aspect of +human nature, and which, excluding everything else, permit the attention +to be entirely fixed on that one." + +But the value of the fable reaches far beyond childhood. The frequency +with which it is cited in nearly all the forms of literature, and its +aptness to express the real meaning of many episodes in real life, in +politics and social events, in peace and war, show the universality of +the truth it embodies. A story which engraves a truth, as it were with a +diamond point, upon a child's mind, a truth which will swiftly interpret +many events in his later life, deserves to take a high place among +educative influences. + + +FABLES AND NATURE MYTHS + + Scudder's Fables and Folk Stories. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Ęsop's Fables (Stickney). Ginn & Co. + Book of Legends (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Stories for Children (Lane). The American Book Co. + A Child's Garden of Verses (Stevenson). Scribner's Sons. + Ęsop's Fables. Educational Publishing Co. + The Book of Nature Myths (Holbrook). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + The Moral Instruction of Children (Adler), Chapters VII and VIII. + D. Appleton & Co. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SECOND GRADE STORIES + + +"ROBINSON CRUSOE" + +In selecting suitable literature for children of the second grade, we +follow in the steps of a number of distinguished writers and teachers +and choose an English classic--"Robinson Crusoe." Rousseau gave this +book his unqualified approval, and said that it would be the first, and, +for a time, the only book that Émile should read. The Herbartians have +been using it a number of years, while many American teachers have +employed it for oral work in second grade, in a short school edition. In +one sense, the book needs no introduction, as it has found its way into +every nook and corner of the world. Originally a story for adults, it +has reached all, and illustrated Christmas editions, designed even for +children from three years and upward, are abundant. To the youth of all +lands, it has been, to say the least, a source of delight, but it has +been regarded as a book for the family and home. What would happen +should the schoolmaster lay his hand on this treasure and desecrate it +to school purposes! We desire to test this classic work on the side of +its pedagogical value and its adaptation to the uses of regular +instruction. If it is really unrivalled as a piece of children's +literature, perhaps it has also no equal for school purposes. + +In making the transition from the fairy tale to "Robinson Crusoe," an +interesting difference or contrast may be noticed. Wilmann says:[5] +"'Crusoe' is at once simple, and plain, and fanciful; to be sure, in the +latter case, entirely different from the fairy tale. In the fairy story +the fancy seldom pushes rudely against the boundaries of the real world. +But otherwise in 'Crusoe.' Here it is the practical fancy that is +aroused, if this expression appear not contradictory. What is Crusoe to +do now? How can he help himself? What means can he invent? Many of the +proposals of the children will have to be rejected. The inexorable 'not +possible' shoves a bolt before the door. The imagination is compelled to +limit itself to the task of combining and adjusting real things. The +compulsion of things conditions the progress of the story. 'Thoughts +dwell together easily, but things jostle each other roughly in space.'" + + [5] Wilmann, _Paedagogische Vorträge_. + +There are other striking differences between "Crusoe" and the folk-lore +stories, but in this contrast we are now chiefly concerned. After +reaching the island, he is checked and limited at every step by the +physical laws imposed by nature. Struggle and fret as he may against +these limits, he becomes at last a philosopher, and quietly takes up the +struggle for existence under those inexorable conditions. The child of +seven or eight is vaguely acquainted with many of the simple employments +of the household and of the neighborhood. Crusoe also had a vague memory +of how people in society in different trades and occupations supply the +necessaries and comforts of life. Even the fairy stories give many hints +of this kind of knowledge, but Robinson Crusoe is face to face with the +sour facts. He is cut off from help and left to his own resources. The +interest in the story is in seeing how he will shift for himself and +exercise his wits to insure plenty and comfort. With few tools and on a +barbarous coast, he undertakes what men in society, by mutual exchange +and by division of labor, have much difficulty in performing. Crusoe +becomes a carpenter, a baker and cook, a hunter, a potter, a fisher, a +farmer, a tailor, a boatman, a stock-raiser, a basket-maker, a +shoemaker, a tanner, a fruit-grower, a mason, a physician. And not only +so, but he grapples with the difficulties of each trade or occupation in +a bungling manner because of inexperience and lack of skill and exact +knowledge. He is an experimenter and tester along many lines. The entire +absence of helpers centres the whole interest of this varied struggle in +one person. It is to be remembered that Crusoe is no genius, but the +ordinary boy or man. He has abundant variety of needs such as a child +reared under civilized conditions has learned to feel. The whole range +of activities, usually distributed to various classes and persons in +society, rests now upon his single shoulders. If he were an expert in +all directions, the task would be easier, but he has only vague +knowledge and scarcely any skill. The child, therefore, who reads this +story, by reason of the slow, toilsome, and bungling processes of Crusoe +in meeting his needs, becomes aware how difficult and laborious are the +efforts by which the simple, common needs of all children are supplied. + +A reference to the different trades and callings that Crusoe assumes +will show us that he is not dealing with rare and unusual events, but +with the common, simple employments that lie at the basis of society in +all parts of the world. The carpenter, the baker, the farmer, the +shoemaker, etc., are at work in every village in every land. Doubtless +this is one reason why the story acquires such a hold in the most +diverse countries. The Arab or the Chinese boy, the German or American +child, finds the story touching the ordinary facts of his own +surroundings. Though the story finds its setting in a far-away, lonely +island in tropical seas, Crusoe is daily trying to create the objects +and conditions of his old home in England. But these are the same +objects that surround every child; and therefore, in reading "Robinson +Crusoe," the pupil is making an exhaustive and interesting study of his +own home. The presence of a tropical vegetation and of a strange climate +does not seriously impair this fact. The skill of a great literary +artist appears in his power to create a situation almost devoid of +common comforts and blessings and then in setting his hero to work to +create them by single-handed effort. + +It will hardly be questioned that the study of the home and home +neighborhood by children is one of the large and prominent problems in +education. Out of their social, economic, and physical environment +children get the most important lessons of life. Not only does the home +furnish a varied fund of information that enables them to interpret +books, and people, and institutions, as they sooner or later go out into +the world, but all the facts gathered by experience and reading in +distant fields must flow back again to give deeper meaning to the labors +and duties which surround each citizen in his own home. But society with +its commerce, education, and industries, is an exceedingly complex +affair. The child knows not where to begin to unravel this endless +machinery of forms and institutions. In a sense he must get away from or +disentangle himself from his surroundings in order to understand them. +There are no complex conditions surrounding Crusoe, and he takes up the +labors of the common trades in a simple and primitive manner. Physical +and mental effort are demanded at every step, from Crusoe and from the +children. Many of his efforts involve repeated failure, as in making +pottery, in building a boat, while some things that he undertakes with +painful toil never attain success. The lesson of toil and hardship +connected with the simple industries is one of great moment to children. +Our whole social fabric is based on these toils, and it is one of the +best results of a sound education to realize the place and importance of +hard work. + +It scarcely needs to be pointed out that Crusoe typifies a long period +of man's early history, the age when men were learning the rudiments of +civilization by taking up the toils of the blacksmith, the +agriculturist, the builder, the domesticator of animals and plants. Men +emerged from barbarism as they slowly and painfully gained the mastery +over the resources of nature. Crusoe is a sort of universal man, +embodying in his single effort that upward movement of men which has +steadily carried them to the higher levels of progress. It has been said +with some truth that Robinson Crusoe is a philosophy of history. But we +scarcely need such a high-sounding name. To the child he is a very +concrete, individual man, with very simple and interesting duties. + +In a second point the author of "Robinson Crusoe" shows himself a +literary master. There is an intense and naive realism in his story. +Even if one were so disposed, it would require a strong effort to break +loose from the feeling that we are in the presence of real experiences. +There is a quiet but irresistible assumption of unvarnished and even +disagreeable fact in the narrative. But it is useless to describe the +style of a book so familiar. Its power over youthful fancy and feeling +has been too often experienced to be doubted. The vivid interest which +the book awakens is certain to carry home whatever lessons it may teach +with added force. So great is this influence that boys sometimes imitate +the efforts of Crusoe by making caves, building ovens, and assuming a +style of dress and living that approximates Crusoe's state. This +supplies to teachers a hint of some value. The story of Crusoe should +lead to excursions into the home neighborhood for the purpose of a +closer examination of the trades and occupations there represented. An +imitation of his labors may also be encouraged. The effort to mould and +bake vessels from potter's clay, the platting of baskets from willow +withes, the use of tools in making boxes or tables may be attempted far +enough to discover how lacking in practical ability the children are. +This will certainly teach them greater respect for manual skill. + +From the previous discussion it might appear that we regard the story of +Crusoe as technological and industrial rather than moral. But it would +be a mistake to suppose that a book is not moral because it is not +perpetually dispensing moral platitudes. Most men's lives are mainly +industrial. The display of moral qualities is only occasional and +incidental. The development of moral character is coincident with the +labors and experiences of life and springs out of them, being manifested +by the spirit with which one acts toward his fellow-men. But Crusoe was +alone on his island, and there might seem to be no opportunity to be +moral in relation to others. Society, to be sure, was conspicuous by its +absence. But the intense longing with which he thought of the home and +companionships lost is perhaps the strongest sentiment in the book. His +loneliness brings out most vividly his true relation to home and +friends. + +His early life, till the shipwreck, was that of a wayward and reckless +youth, disobedient to parents and seemingly without moral scruples. Even +during the first months upon the island there appears little moral +change or betterment. But slowly the bitter experiences of his lonely +life sober him. He finds a Bible, and a fit of sickness reveals the +distresses that may lie before him. When once the change has set in, it +is rapid and thorough. He becomes devout, he longs to return to his +parents and atone for his faults. A complete reformation of his moral +disposition is effected. If one will take the pains to read the original +"Robinson Crusoe" he will find it surprisingly serious and moral in its +tone. He devotes much time to soliloquizing on the distresses of his +condition and upon the causes which have brought him to misery. He +diagnoses his case with an amount of detail that must be tedious to +children. The fact that these parts of the book often leave little +direct impression upon children is proof that they are chiefly engaged +with the adventure and physical embarrassments of Crusoe. For the +present it is sufficient to observe that the story is deeply and +intensely moral both in its spirit and in the changes described in +"Crusoe." + +We are next led to inquire whether the industrial and moral lessons +contained in this story are likely to be extracted from it by a boy or +girl who reads it alone, without the aid of a teacher. Most young +readers of "Crusoe" are carried along by the interesting adventure. It +is a very surprising and entertaining story. But children even less than +adults are inclined to go deeper than the surface and draw up hidden +treasures. De Foe's work is a piece of classic literature. But few +people are inclined to get at the deeper meaning and spirit of a +classical masterpiece unless they go through it in companionship with a +teacher who is gifted to disclose its better meaning. This is true of +any classical product we might mention. It should be the peculiar +function of the school to cultivate a taste, and an appreciative taste, +for the best literature; not by leaving it to the haphazard home reading +of pupils, but by selecting the best things adapted to the minds of +children and then employing true teaching skill to bring these +treasures close to the hearts and sympathies of children. Many young +people do not read "Robinson Crusoe" at all; many others do not +appreciate its better phases. The school will much improve its work by +taking for its own this best of children's stories, and by extending and +deepening the children's appreciation of a classic. + +The story of Robinson Crusoe is made by the Herbartians the nucleus for +the concentration of studies in the second year. This importance is +given to it on account of its strong moral tone and because of its +universal typical character in man's development. Without attempting a +solution of the problem of concentration at this juncture, we should at +least observe the relations of this story to the other studies. Wilmann +says: "The everywhere and nowhere of the fairy tale gives place to the +first geographical limitations. The continents, the chief countries of +Europe, come up, besides a series of geographical concepts such as +island, coast, bay, river, hill, mountain, sea, etc. The difference in +climate is surprising. Crusoe fears the winter and prepares for it, but +his fear is needless, for no winter reaches his island." We have already +observed its instructive treatment of the common occupations which +prepare for later geographical study, as well as for natural science. + +Many plants and animals are brought to notice which would furnish a good +beginning for natural science lessons. It is advisable, however, to +study rather those home animals and plants which correspond best to the +tropical products or animals in the lessons. Tropical fruits, the +parrot, and the goat we often meet at home, but in addition, the sheep, +the ox, the mocking-bird, the woodpecker, our native fruits and grains, +and the fish, turtles, and minerals of the home, may well be suggested +and studied in science lessons parallel with the life of Crusoe. + +Following upon the oral treatment and discussion of "Robinson Crusoe" +the children are easily led to like efforts at construction, as, for +instance, the making of a raft, the building of the cave and stockade, +the making of chairs and tables, the moulding of jars and kettles out of +clay, the weaving of baskets, the preparation and cooking of foods, the +planting of grains, the construction of an oven or house, boat building, +and other labors of Crusoe in providing for his wants. + +It is quite customary now in second grade to set the children to work in +these efforts to solve Crusoe's problems, so that they, by working with +actual materials, may realize more fully the difficulties and trials to +which he was subjected. In close connection with these constructive +efforts are the drawings of the scenes of the story, such as the +shipwreck, the stockade, the boat, the map of the island, and some of +the later events of the story. A still further means of giving reality +to the events is to dramatize some of the scenes between Friday and +Crusoe, and to dress and equip these and other persons in the story in +fitting manner. The children gladly enter into such dramatic action. +These various forms of drawing, action, and constructive work are in +close connection with the home studies of industries and +occupations,--farming, gardening, carpenter and blacksmith shops, +weaving, cooking, bakeries, and excursions to shops--which follow the +Crusoe story in the study of home geography in the third grade. + +Although the story should be given and discussed orally, the children +should also read it later as a part of the regular reading exercise of +the course. Instead of suffering from this repetition, their interest +will only be increased. Classical products usually gain by repetition. +The facts are brought out more clearly and the deeper meaning is +perceived. To have the oral treatment of a story precede its reading by +some weeks or months produces an excellent effect upon the style of the +reading. The thought being familiar, and the interest strong, the +expression will be vigorous and natural. Children take a pride in +reading a story which they at first must receive orally for lack of +reading power. + +The same advantageous drill in the use of good English accrues to the +Crusoe story that was observed in the fairy tales. There is abundant +opportunity for oral narrative and description. + +The use of the pencil and chalk in graphic representation should be +encouraged both in teacher and in pupils. Thus the eye becomes more +accurate in observation and the hand more free and facile in tracing the +outlines of the interesting forms studied. The use of tools and +materials in construction gives ideas an anchorage, not only in the +brain, but even in the nerves and muscles. + +In thus glancing over the field we discover the same many-sided and +intimate relation with other school studies, as in the previous grade. +In fact, "Crusoe" is the first extended classical masterpiece which is +presented to the children as a whole. Such parts of the story as are of +most pedagogical value should be simplified and woven together into a +continuous narrative. That part of the story which precedes the +shipwreck may be reduced to a few paragraphs which bring out clearly his +early home surroundings, his disobedience and the desertion of his +parents, and the voyage which led to his lonely life upon the island. +The period embraced in his companionless labors and experiences +constitutes the important part for school uses. A few of the more +important episodes following the capture of Friday and his return home +may be briefly told. We deem it a long step forward to get some of our +great classical masterpieces firmly embedded in the early years of our +school course. It will contribute almost as much to the culture and +stimulation of teachers as of pupils. + +The method of handling this narrative before the class will be similar +to that of the fairy tales. A simple and vivid recital of the facts, +with frequent questions and discussions, so as to draw the story closer +to the child's own thought and experience, should be made by the +teacher. Much skill in illustrative device, in graphic description, in +diagram or drawing, in the appeal to the sense experiences of the +pupils, is in demand. The excursion to places of interest in the +neighborhood suggested by the story begins to be an important factor of +the school exercises. As children grow older they acquire skill and +confidence in oral narrative, and should be held to greater independence +in oral reproductions. + +One of the best school editions of "Robinson Crusoe" is published by +Ginn & Co. + +A simple edition for second grade is published by the Public School +Publishing Co. + +The teacher should be supplied with one of the larger, fuller editions +of "Robinson Crusoe," like that of Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., in the +Riverside Literature Series. It furnishes a much fuller detail of +knowledge for the teacher's use. It will also be of great advantage for +classroom use to possess an illustrated edition like that of George +Routledge & Sons. + +The full treatment of this story, first in simple, oral narrative, later +by its use as a reading book, and later still by the child reading the +complete edition for himself in private, illustrates the intensive +concentration of thought and constructive activity upon a great piece +of literature as opposed to a loose and superficial treatment. Such a +piece of work should remain for life a source of deeper thought, +feeling, and experience. + + +OTHER EDITIONS + + Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. American Book Co. + Robinson Crusoe. Lee and Shepard. + Robinson Crusoe for Youngest Readers. Educational Pub. Co. + Robinson Crusoe. University Publishing Co. + De Foe's Robinson Crusoe (Hale). Ginn & Co. + De Foe's Robinson Crusoe. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + + +"HIAWATHA" + +The story of Hiawatha has been much used for oral treatment in primary +grades, and as a basis for exercises in learning to read. Later the +complete poem has been much read in third, fourth, or fifth grade as a +piece of choice literature. + +A story which is growing so rapidly in favor with primary teachers may +explain our effort to determine its educational value. + +That the story begins with the early childhood of Hiawatha and describes +his home and early training at the feet of Nokomis, is at least one +point in its favor. + + By the shores of Gitche Gumee, + By the shining Big-Sea-Water, + Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, + Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis. + Dark behind it rose the forest, + Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees, + Rose the firs with cones upon them; + Bright before it beat the water, + Beat the clear and sunny water, + Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water. + There the wrinkled, old Nokomis + Nursed the little Hiawatha, + Rocked him in his linden cradle, + Bedded soft in moss and rushes, + Safely bound with reindeer sinews. + +The traditions and stories he learned from the lips of Nokomis will +remind children of their own home life, while his companionship with +birds and animals will touch them in a sympathetic place. + + Then the little Hiawatha + Learned of every bird its language, + Learned their names and all their secrets, + How they built their nests in Summer, + Where they hid themselves in Winter, + Talked with them whene'er he met them, + Called them "Hiawatha's Chickens." + +The games and exercises of his youth will remind them of their own +sports and introduce them to Indian life. This home of Hiawatha, and the +description of his childhood, are a happy introduction to the simple +surroundings of Indian life on the shores of the northern sea. + +Primitive Indian modes of life, traditions and myths, appeal naturally +to children, and the whole story has this setting of early simplicity +which adapts it in many ways to child study. The Indian nature myths, +which in themselves are attractive, are here woven into a connected +series by their relation to Hiawatha in the training of his childhood +and in the exploits of his manhood. + +The number of pure fairy tales scattered through the story adapts it +especially for young children, while the descriptions of home customs, +feasts, weddings, merrymaking, and games, show the happier side of their +life. + + Ye who love a nation's legends, + Love the ballads of a people, + That like voices from afar off + Call to us to pause and listen, + Speak in tones so plain and childlike, + Scarcely can the ear distinguish + Whether they are sung or spoken;-- + Listen to this Indian Legend, + To this song of Hiawatha! + Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple, + Who have faith in God and Nature, + Who believe, that in all ages + Every human heart is human, + That in even savage bosoms + There are longings, yearnings, strivings + For the good they comprehend not, + That the feeble hands and helpless, + Groping blindly in the darkness, + Touch God's right hand in that darkness, + And are lifted up and strengthened;-- + Listen to this simple story, + To this Song of Hiawatha! + +The description of husking time is such a pleasing scene, while the +picture writing of the Indians, their totems and rude drawings, are in +harmony with their traditions and religion. + + On the border of the forest, + Underneath the fragrant pine-trees, + Sat the old men and the warriors + Smoking in the pleasant shadow. + In uninterrupted silence + Looked they at the gamesome labor + Of the young men and the women; + Listened to their noisy talking, + To their laughter and their singing, + Heard them chattering like the magpies, + Heard them laughing like the blue jays, + Heard them singing like the robins. + And whene'er some lucky maiden + Found a red ear in the husking, + Found a maize-ear red as blood is, + "Nushka!" cried they all together, + "Nushka! you shall have a sweetheart, + You shall have a handsome husband!" + "Ugh!" the old men all responded + From their seats beneath the pine-trees. + + And the Jossakeeds, the Prophets, + The Wabenos, the Magicians, + And the Medicine-men, the Medas, + Painted upon bark and deer-skin + Figures for the songs they chanted, + For each song a separate symbol, + Figures mystical and awful, + Figures strange and brightly colored; + And each figure had its meaning, + Each some magic song suggested. + +One of the most striking features of this story is its setting in +nature. More than any other piece of literature now used in the school, +it is redolent of fields and forest. + + Should you ask me, whence these stories, + Whence these legends and traditions, + With the odors of the forest, + With the dew and damp of meadows, + With the curling smoke of wigwams, + With the rushing of great rivers, + With their frequent repetitions, + And their wild reverberations, + As of thunder in the mountains? + I should answer, I should tell you, + "From the forests and the prairies, + From the great lakes of the Northland, + From the land of the Ojibways, + From the land of the Dacotahs, + From the mountains, moors, and fenlands, + Where the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, + Feeds among the reeds and rushes." + + Should you ask where Nawadaha + Found these songs, so wild and wayward, + Found these legends and traditions, + I should answer, I should tell you, + "In the birds'-nests of the forest, + In the lodges of the beaver, + In the hoof-prints of the bison, + In the eyry of the eagle! + All the wild-fowl sang them to him, + In the moorlands and the fenlands, + In the melancholy marshes; + Chetowaik, the plover, sang them, + Mahng, the loon, the wild-goose, Wawa, + The blue heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, + And the grouse, the Mushkodasa!" + +This description of primitive man is as complete an absorption into his +natural surroundings as is possible. His food and clothing, his tents +and boats, his weapons and war gear, are drawn directly from nature's +first supplies, and man, in this case, seems almost a part of nature, so +completely are his thoughts and activities determined and colored by his +environment. Like the animals, in their protective coloring, he becomes +an undistinguishable part of his surroundings. His nature myths and +superstitions are but phases and expressions of the contact of his crude +mind with forces and objects in nature. In this respect there are many +interesting suggestions of similar interpretations among the Norse and +Greek mythologies. + +The close and friendly contact of Hiawatha with trees and animals, his +companionship with the squirrel, the woodpecker, and the beaver, his +talking acquaintance with trees of the forest, with the fishes in the +Big-Sea-Water, and with the masters of the winds, the storm, and the +thunder, make him an interesting guide for the children among the realms +of nature. + + Ye who love the haunts of nature, + Love the sunshine of the meadow, + Love the shadow of the forest, + Love the wind among the branches, + And the rain-shower and the snow-storm, + And the rushing of great rivers + Through their palisades of pine-trees, + And the thunder in the mountains, + Whose innumerable echoes + Flap like eagles in their eyries;-- + Listen to these wild traditions, + To this Song of Hiawatha! + +A happy, sympathetic love for the sights and sounds in nature is a +fortunate beginning of nature lore. The imaginative interpretations are +common to all the early races and in full harmony with the temper of +childhood. Even from the standpoint of nature study, this early poetic +joy in nature descriptions is profitable. The matter-of-fact, analytic +study of natural science in succeeding years need not begrudge the +children this happiness, this interpretative play of the imagination, +this music of field and forest. In early childhood, nature and poetry +are one, and as Lowell says, "Let us not go about to make life duller +than it is." + +The simplicity and beauty of the language and figure of speech make many +parts of this poem especially appropriate for children. + + Young and beautiful was Wabun; + He it was who brought the morning, + He it was whose silver arrows + Chased the dark o'er hill and valley; + He it was whose cheeks were painted + With the brightest streaks of crimson, + And whose voice awoke the village, + Called the deer, and called the hunter. + + He meanwhile sat weary waiting + For the coming of Mondamin, + Till the shadows, pointing eastward, + Lengthened over field and forest, + Till the sun dropped from the heaven, + Floating on the waters westward, + As a red leaf in the Autumn + Falls and floats upon the water, + Falls and sinks into its bosom. + + And the pleasant water-courses, + You could trace them through the valley, + By the rushing in the Spring-time, + By the alders in the Summer. + By the white fog in the Autumn, + By the black line in the Winter. + +The simple music and rhythm of the poetic form is so delightful to +children that they absorb whole passages into their memory without +conscious effort. The mere re-reading of parts of the poem to little +children under six years will often produce this happy result. A little +girl of three years picked up, among others, this passage:-- + + Dark behind it rose the forest, + Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees, + Rose the firs with cones upon them; + Bright before it beat the water, + Beat the clear and sunny water, + Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water. + +The repetitions of the same or similar passages, so common throughout +the poem, is a successful appeal to children's favor. It gives the story +a sort of Mother Goose flavor which is delightful. + +While the story centres in Hiawatha, it has a variety of interesting +personalities, giving expression to the striking features of this +primitive society. Hiawatha's loved ones, Minnehaha and old Nokomis, +stand first, and his chosen friends are next. + + Two good friends had Hiawatha, + Singled out from all the others, + Bound to him in closest union, + And to whom he gave the right hand + Of his heart in joy and sorrow; + Chibiabos, the musician, + And the very strong man, Kwasind. + + And these two, as I have told you, + Were the friends of Hiawatha, + Chibiabos, the musician, + And the very strong man, Kwasind. + Long they lived in peace together, + Spake with naked hearts together, + Pondering much and much contriving + How the tribes of men might prosper. + +In connection with these persons is a most pleasing series of +adventures, bringing to notice those heroic qualities which children +love to witness. The very strong man, Kwasind, is a fitting companion +in their thoughts to Samson and Hercules; and Chibiabos, + + He the best of all musicians, + He the sweetest of all singers, + +has had many a prototype since the days of Orpheus. + +Pau-Puk-Keewis, with his dancing and tricks, will also prove a curious +character, something like Proteus of old. + + You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis + He, the handsome Yenadizze, + Whom the people called the Storm Fool, + Vexed the village with disturbance; + You shall hear of all his mischief, + And his flight from Hiawatha, + And his wondrous transmigrations, + And the end of his adventures. + +The character of Hiawatha, as of the benefactor, of one devoted, with +high purpose, to the welfare of his people, may be regarded as the +deeper motive of the author. It is the thought of ideal good in Hiawatha +which gives tone and meaning to the whole poem. + + You shall hear how Hiawatha + Prayed and fasted in the forest, + Not for greater skill in hunting, + Not for greater craft in fishing, + Not for triumphs in the battle, + And renown among the warriors, + But for profit of the people, + For advantage of the nations. + +The views of geography and history at the beginning and close of the +poem not only give a broad scope to the story, but have an interesting +bearing upon the study of geography and history in those years of school +which immediately follow. The narrative reaches from the Vale of +Tawasentha in New York, across the great lakes and shining Big-Sea-Water +to Minnehaha and the Upper Mississippi, and even to the prairies and the +distant Rocky Mountains beyond. In the summoning of the tribes at the +Great Pipe Stone Quarry there is a broad survey of the Indian tribes of +the United States. + + From the vale of Tawasentha, + From the Valley of Wyoming, + From the groves of Tuscaloosa, + From the far-off Rocky Mountains, + From the Northern lakes and rivers + All the tribes beheld the signal, + Saw the distant smoke ascending, + The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe. + + Down the rivers, o'er the prairies, + Came the warriors of the nations. + +A map of North America is necessary for showing the meaning of this +description to the children. + +In the last part the coming of the white man and the prophecy of his +spreading over the land, and the dwindling of the native tribes to the +westward, are given. + +Iagoo's description of the white men, their ships and appearance, to his +people on the return from his travels, will greatly please the children. + + He had seen, he said, a water + Bigger than the Big-Sea-Water, + Broader than the Gitche Gumee, + Bitter so that none could drink it! + At each other looked the warriors, + Looked the women at each other, + Smiled, and said, "It cannot be so! + Kaw!" they said, "It cannot be so;" + + "O'er it," said he, "o'er this water + Came a great canoe with pinions, + A canoe with wings came flying, + Bigger than a grove of pine-trees, + Taller than the tallest tree-tops!" + And the old men and the women + Looked and tittered at each other; + "Kaw!" they said, "we don't believe it!" + +The story of Hiawatha has been used sufficiently in primary grades to +show how many are its suggestions for drawing and constructive work. +Little children take delight in drawing the Indian tents, bows and +arrows, pine forests, Indian warriors and dress, the canoe, the +tomahawk, the birds and animals. The cutting of these forms in paper +they have fully enjoyed. + +Pictures of Indian life, collections of arrow-heads, the peace-pipes, +articles of dress, cooking utensils, wampum, stone hatchets, red +pipe-stone ornaments, or a visit to any collection of Indian relics are +desirable as a part of this instruction. The museums in cities and +expositions are rich in these materials, and in many private collections +are just the desired objects of study. + +It is well known that children love to construct tents, dress in Indian +style, and imitate the mode of life, the hunting, dancing, and sports +of Indians. Teachers have taken advantage of this instinct to allow them +to construct an Indian village on a small scale, and assume the dress +and action of Hiawatha and his friends, and even to dramatize parts of +the story. + +It is only certain selected parts of the "Hiawatha" that lend themselves +best to the oral treatment with children, and that, at first, not in the +poetic form. In fact, the oral treatment of a story in beautiful poetic +form demands a peculiar method. + +For example, in treating the childhood of Hiawatha as he dwelt with old +Nokomis in the tent beside the sea, the main facts of this episode, or a +part of it, may be talked over by means of description, partly also by +development, question, and answer, and when these things are clear, let +this passage of the poem be read to the children. The preliminary +treatment and discussion will put the children in possession of the +ideas and pictures by which they can better appreciate and assimilate +the poem. This mode of introducing children to a poem or literary +masterpiece is not uncommon with children in later years, at least in +the middle grades. + +It has been customary to use nearly the whole poem in fourth or fifth +school year for regular reading, and it is well suited to this purpose. +Its use in primary grades for such oral treatment as we have described +will not interfere with its employment as reading matter later on, but +rather increase its value for that purpose. + +The method of handling such a poem as reading has been discussed in the +Special Method in the Reading of Complete English Classics. + +A number of books have been written by practical teachers on the use of +"Hiawatha" in primary grades:-- + + "The Hiawatha Primer." Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + "Hints on the Study of Hiawatha" (Alice M. Krackowizer). A. Flanagan, + publisher. + +The best edition of the "Hiawatha" is "Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha," +which is well illustrated. Published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + +Other editions are "The Song of Hiawatha." The Educational Publishing +Co. + + "Longfellow's Hiawatha." The Macmillan Co. + "Song of Hiawatha." University Publishing Co. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THIRD GRADE STORIES + + +THE MYTHICAL STORIES + +In the third grade we wish to bring a number of the mythical stories +vividly before the children. The classical myths which belong to the +literature of Europe are the fund from which to select the best. Not +all, but only a few of the simple and appropriate stories can be chosen. +Only two recitation periods a week are usually set apart for the oral +treatment of these old myths. But later in the progress of the reading +lessons other similar stories should be treated. The few recitation +periods used for oral work are rather designed to introduce children to +the spirit of this literature, to get them into the appreciative mind. + +This body of ancient myths comes down to us, sifted out of the early +literature of the active-minded Greeks. They have found their way as a +simple and charming poetry into the national literature of all the +European countries. Is this the material suited to nine- and +ten-year-old children? It will not be questioned that these myths belong +to the best literary products of Europe, but are they suited to +children? + +It is evident that some of our best literary judges have deemed them +appropriate. Hawthorne has put them into a form designed especially for +the young folk. Charles Kingsley wrote of the Greek myths for his +children: "Now I love these old Hellens heartily, and they seem to me +like brothers, though they have all been dead and gone many a hundred +years. They are come to tell you some of their old fairy tales, which +they loved when they were young like you. For nations begin at first by +being children like you, though they are made up of grown men. They are +children at first like you--men and women with children's hearts; frank, +and affectionate, and full of trust, and teachable, loving to see and +learn all the wonders around them; and greedy also, too often, and +passionate and silly, as children are." + +Not a few other authors of less note have tried to turn the classical +myths of the old Greek poets into simple English for the entertainment +and instruction of children. Scarcely any of these stories that have not +appeared in various children's books in recent years. Taken as a whole, +they are a storehouse of children's literature. The philosopher, +Herbart, looked upon poems of Homer as giving ideal expression to the +boyhood of the race, and the story of Ulysses was regarded by him as the +boy's book,--the Greek Robinson Crusoe. For the child of nine years he +thought it the most suitable story. + +Kingsley says in his Introduction: "Now you must not think of the Greeks +in this book as learned men, living in great cities, such as they were +afterwards, when they wrought all their beautiful works, but as country +people, living on farms and in walled villages, in a simple, +hard-working way; so that the greatest kings and heroes cooked their own +meals and thought it no shame, and made their own ships and weapons, and +fed and harnessed their own horses. So that a man was honored among +them, not because he happened to be rich, but according to his skill and +his strength and courage and the number of things he could do. For they +were but grown-up children, though they were right noble children too, +and it was with them as it is now at school, the strongest and cleverest +boy, though he be poor, leads all the rest." + +In the introduction to the "Wonder Book" we find the following: +"Hawthorne took a vital interest in child life. He was accustomed to +observe his own children very closely. There are private manuscripts +extant which present exact records of what his young son and elder +daughter said or did from hour to hour, the father seating himself in +their playroom and patiently noting all that passed. To this habit of +watchful and sympathetic scrutiny we may attribute in part the +remarkable felicity, the fortunate ease of adaptation to the immature +understanding, and the skilful appeal to the fresh imaginations which +characterize his stories for the young." Hawthorne himself says: "The +author has long been of the opinion that many of the classical myths +were capable of being rendered into very capital reading for +children.... No epoch of time can claim a copyright on these immortal +fables. They seem never to have been made, and so long as man exists +they can never perish; but by their indestructibility itself they are +legitimate subjects, for every age to clothe with its own garniture of +manners and sentiment, and to imbue with its own morality.... The author +has not always thought it necessary to write downward in order to meet +the comprehension of children. He has generally suffered the theme to +soar, whenever such was its tendency. Children possess an unestimated +sensibility to whatever is deep or high in imagination or feeling so +long as it is simple likewise. It is only the artificial and the complex +that bewilder them." + +A brief analysis of the qualities which render these myths so attractive +will help us to see their value in the education of children. + +The astonishing brightness of fanciful episode and of pure and clear-cut +imagery has an indestructible charm for children. They can soar into and +above the clouds on the shining wings of Pegasus. With Eolus they shut +up the contrary winds in an ox-hide, and later let them out to plague +the much-suffering Ulysses. They watch with astonishment as Jason yokes +the fire-breathing oxen and strews the field with uprooted stumps and +stones as he prepares the soil for the seed of dragon's teeth. Each +child becomes a poet as he recreates the sparkling brightness of these +simple pictures. And when a child has once suffered his fancy to soar +to these mountain heights and ocean depths, it will no longer be +possible to make his life entirely dull and prosaic. He has caught +glimpses of a bright world that will linger unfading in the uplands of +his memory. And while they are so deep and lofty they are still, as +Hawthorne says, very simple. Some of the most classic of the old stories +are indeed too long for third grade children; too many persons and too +much complexity, as in the "Tales of Troy." But on the other hand, many +of the most beautiful of the old myths are as plain and simple to a +child as a floating summer cloud. High in the sky they may be or deep in +the reflection of some lake or spring, but clear and plain to the +thought of a little child. These stories in their naive simplicity +reflect the wonder and surprise with which a person first beholds grand +and touching scenery, whether it be the oppressive grandeur of some +beetling mountain crag, or the placid quiet of a moonlit stream. The +stories selected for this grade should be the simplest and best: "The +Golden Touch," "Perseus," "The Chimęra," of Hawthorne, the episodes of +the "Golden Fleece," with others similar. + +In one form or another they introduce us to the company of heroes, or, +at least, of great and simple characters. Deeds of enterprise and +manliness or of unselfishness and generosity are the climax of the +story. To meet danger and hardship or ridicule for the sake of a high +purpose is their underlying thought. Perseus and Jason and Ulysses are +all ambitious to prove their title to superior shrewdness and courage +and self-control. When we get fairly into the mythical age, we find +ourselves among the heroes, among those striving for mastery and +leadership in great undertakings. Physical prowess and manly spirit are +its chief virtues. And can there be any question that there is a time in +the lives of children when these ideas fill the horizon of their +thought? Samson and David and Hercules, Bellerophon and Jason, are a +child's natural thoughts or, at least, they fit the frame of his mind so +exactly that one may say the picture and the frame were made for each +other. The history of most countries contains such an age of heroes. +Tell in Switzerland, Siegfried in Germany, Bruce in Scotland, Romulus +and Horatius at Rome, Alfred in England, are all national heroes of the +mythical age, whose deeds are heroic and of public good. The Greek +stories are only a more classic edition of this historical epoch, and +should lead up to a study of these later products of European +literature. + +Several forms of moral excellence are objectively realized or +personified in these stories. + +As the wise Centaur, after teaching Jason to be skilful and brave, sent +him out into the world, he said: "Well, go, my son; the throne belongs +to thy father and the gods love justice. But remember, wherever thou +dost wander, to observe these three things: + + "Relieve the distressed. + "Respect the aged. + "Be true to thy word."[6] + + [6] _Jason's Quest_ (Lowell), p. 55. + +And many events in Jason's life illustrate the wisdom of these words. +The miraculous pitcher is one whose fountain of refreshing milk bubbled +always because of a gentle deed of hospitality to strangers. King Midas, +on the other hand, experiences in most graphic form the punishment which +ought to follow miserly greed, while his humble penitence brought back +his daughter and the homely comforts of life. Bellerophon is filled with +a desire to perform a noble deed that will relieve the distress of a +whole people. After the exercise of much patience and self-control he +succeeds in his generous enterprise. Many a lesson of worldly wisdom and +homely virtue is brought out in the story of Ulysses' varied and +adventuresome career. + +These myths bring children into lively contact with European history and +geography, as well as with its modes of life and thought. The early +history of Europe is in all cases shrouded in mist and legend. But even +from this historically impenetrable past has sprung a literature that +has exercised a profound influence upon the life and growth of the +people. Not that children are conscious of the significance of these +ideas, but being placed in an atmosphere which is full of them, their +deeper meaning gradually unfolds itself. The early myths afford an +interesting approach for children to the history and geography of +important countries. Those countries they must, sooner or later, make +the acquaintance of both geographically and historically, and could +anything be designed to take stronger hold upon their imagination and +memory than these charming myths, which were the poetry and religion of +the people once living there? + +It is a very simple and primitive state of culture, whose ships, arms, +agriculture, and domestic life are given us in clear and pleasing +pictures. Our own country is largely lacking in a mythical age. Our +culture sprang, more than half-grown, from the midst of Europe's +choicest nations, and out of institutions that had been centuries in +forming. The myths of Europe are therefore as truly ours as they are the +treasure of Englishmen, of Germans, or of Greeks. Again, our own +literature, as well as that of European states, is full of the spirit +and suggestion of the mythical age. Our poets and writers have drawn +much of their imagery from this old storehouse of thought, and a child +will better understand the works of the present through this contact +with mythical ages. + +In method of treatment with school classes, these stories will admit of +a variation from the plan used with "Robinson Crusoe." One unaccustomed +to the reading of such stories would be at a loss for a method of +treatment with children. There is a charm and literary art in the +presentation that may make the teacher feel unqualified to present them. +The children are not yet sufficiently masters of the printed symbols of +speech to read for themselves. Shall the teacher simply read the stories +to children? We would suggest first of all, that the teacher, who would +expect to make use of these materials, steep himself fully in literature +of this class, and bring his mind into familiar acquaintance and +sympathy with its characters. In interpreting classical authors to +pupils, we are justified in requiring of the teacher intimate knowledge +and appreciative sympathy with his author. Certainly no one will teach +these stories well whose fancy was never touched into airy flights--who +cannot become a child again and partake of his pleasures. No +condescension is needed, but ascension to a free and ready flight of +fancy. By learning to drink at these ancient fountains of song and +poetry, the teacher might learn to tell a fairy story for himself. But +doubtless it will be well to mingle oral narrative and description on +the part of the teacher with the fit reading of choice parts so as to +better preserve the classic beauty and suggestion of the author. +Children are quite old enough now to appreciate beauty of language and +expressive, happy turns of speech. In the midst of question, suggestion, +and discussion between pupil and teacher, the story should be carried +forward, never forgetting to stop at suitable intervals and get such a +reproduction of the story as the little children are capable of. And +indeed they are capable of much in this direction, for their thoughts +are more nimble, and their power of expression more apt, oftentimes, +than the teacher's own. + +We would not favor a simple reading of these stories for the +entertainment of pupils. It should take more the form of a school +exercise, requiring not only interest and attention, but vigorous effort +to grasp and reproduce the thought. The result should be a much livelier +and deeper insight into the story than would be secured by a simple +reading for amusement or variety. They should prepare also for an +appreciative reading of other myths in the following grades. + +After all, in two or three recitation periods a week, extending through +a year, it cannot be expected that children will make the acquaintance +of all the literature that could be properly called the myth of the +heroic age in different countries. All that we may expect is to enter +this paradise of children, to pluck a few of its choicest flowers, and +get such a breath of their fragrance that there will be a child's desire +to return again and again. The school also should provide in the +succeeding year for an abundance of reading of myths. The same old +stories which they first learned to enjoy in oral recitations should be +read in books, and still others should be utilized in the regular +reading classes of the fourth and fifth grades. In this way the myths of +other countries may be brought in, the story of Tell, of Siegfried, of +Alfred, and of others. + +In summarizing the advantages of a systematic attempt to get this simple +classic lore into our schools, we recall the interest and mental +activity which it arouses, its power to please and satisfy the creative +fancy in children, its fundamental feeling and instincts, the virtues of +bravery, manliness, and unselfishness, and all this in a form that still +further increases its culture effect upon teacher and pupil. It should +never be forgotten that teacher and pupil alike are here imbibing +lessons and inspirations that draw them into closer sympathy because the +subject is worthy of both old and young. + +In addition to the earlier Greek myths we may mention the following +subjects as suitable for oral treatment: + +The story of Ulysses has been much used in schools with oral +presentation, and is one of the best tales for this purpose in all +literature. A somewhat full discussion of the value of this story for +schools is found in the Special Method in Reading of Complete English +Classics. + +The Norse mythology has also received much attention from teachers who +have used the oral mode of treatment. Several of the best books of Norse +mythology are mentioned in the appended list. Also the great story of +Siegfried. + +Some of the old traditional stories in the early history of Rome, of +France, Germany, and England, have been used for oral narration and +reading to children. + +The "Seven Little Sisters" and its companion book "Each and All," and +the "Ten Boys on the Road from Long Ago to Now," by Jane Andrews, +published by Ginn & Co., have been employed extensively for oral and +reading work in the third and fourth years of school. The "Seven Little +Sisters" is valuable in connection with the beginnings of geography. + + +BOOKS FOR THIRD YEAR OF SCHOOL + +The Wonder Book of Nathaniel Hawthorne. + + The following stories are especially recommended: The Gorgon's + Head, The Golden Touch, The Miraculous Pitcher, and The Chimęra. + + One should preserve as much as possible of the spirit and + language of the author. Perhaps in classes with children the + other stories will be found equally attractive: The Paradise of + Children and the Three Golden Apples. Published by Houghton, + Mifflin, & Co., Boston. + +Kingsley's Greek Heroes. + + The stories of Perseus, the Argonauts, and Theseus, especially + adapted to children. It may be advisable for the teacher to + abbreviate the stories, leaving out unimportant parts, but + giving the best portions in the fullest detail. Published by + Ginn & Co.; The Macmillan Co. + +Story of the Iliad and Story of the Odyssey (Church). + + Simple and interesting narrative of the Homeric stories. The + Macmillan Co. + +Jason's Quest (Lowell). + + The story of the Argonauts with many other Greek myths woven + into the narrative. This book is a store of excellent material. + The teacher should select from it those parts specially suited + to the grade. Published by Sibley & Ducker, Chicago. + +Adventures of Ulysses (Lamb). + + A small book from which the chief episodes of Ulysses' career + can be obtained. Published by Ginn & Co., Boston. + +The Story of Siegfried (Baldwin). Published by Scribner's Sons. + +Peabody's Old Greek Folk Stories. + + Simple and well written. A supplement to the Wonder Book. + Published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + +Tales of Troy (De Garmo). + + The story of the siege of Troy and of the great events of + Homer's Iliad. This story, on account of its complexity, we deem + better adapted to the fourth grade. Published by the Public + School Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill. + +Stories of the Old World (Church). + + Stories of the Argo, of Thebes, of Troy, of Ulysses, and of + Ęneas. Stories are simply and well told. It is a book of 350 + pages, and would serve well as a supplementary reader in fourth + grade. Published by Ginn & Co. + +Gods and Heroes (Francillon). + + A successful effort to cover the whole field of Greek mythology + in the story form. Ginn & Co. + +The Tanglewood Tales (Nathaniel Hawthorne). + + A continuation of the Wonder Book. + +Heroes of Asgard. + + Stories of Norse mythology; simple and attractive. + Macmillan & Co. + +The Story of Ulysses (Agnes S. Cook). + + An account of the adventures of Ulysses, told in connected + narrative, in language easily comprehended by children in the + third and fourth grades. Public School Publishing Co., + Bloomington, Ill. + +Old Norse Stories (Bradish). + + Stories for reference and sight reading. American Book Co. + +Norse Stories (Mabie). + + An excellent rendering of the old stories. Dodd, Mead, & Co. + +Myths of Northern Lands (Guerber). American Book Co. + +The Age of Fable (Bulfinch). Lee and Shepard. + +Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co. + +National Epics (Rabb). A. C. McClurg & Co. + +Classic Myths (Gayley). Ginn & Co. + +Bryant's Odyssey. Complete poetic translation. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + +Bryant's Iliad. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + +Butcher and Lang's prose translation of the Odyssey. The Macmillan Co. + +The Odyssey of Homer (Palmer). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + + A prose translation. + +Myths and Myth Makers (Fiske). + +Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler). + + Chapter X. D. Appleton & Co. + + +THE BIBLE STORIES + +The stories of early Bible history have been much used in all European +lands, and in America, for the instruction of children. Among Jews and +Christians everywhere, and even among Mohammedans, these stories have +been extensively used. They include the simple accounts of the +patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and his brethren, Moses, +Joshua, Samson, Samuel, and David. It may be seen at a glance that no +more famous stories than these could be selected from the history of any +country in the world. They stand preėminent as graphic descriptions of +the modes of life which prevailed in the early period of civilized +races. The old patriarchs lived in what is usually called the pastoral +age, when men dwelt in tents and moved about from place to place with +their flocks in search of pasture. The patriarch at the head of the +family, and even of a whole tribe, is the father, ruler, priest, and +judge for the little community over which he presides. In his person +there is a simple union of all the important powers of the later Hebrew +state. The dignity and authority which centre in the person of Abraham, +together with a marked gravity and strength of character, lend a +distinct grandeur to his personality, so that he has been recognized in +all ages as one of the great figures in the history of the world; the +foremost of the old patriarchs,--the father of the faithful. A similar +respect and dignity attaches to all these old Bible characters, and in +the case of Moses, rises to a supreme height, while in David the +warrior, statesman, and poet are united in one of the most pronounced +and pleasing characters in the world's history. These old stories are +also unparalleled in the simplicity and transparent clearness with which +the life of the pastoral age is depicted. Human nature comes out in a +series of pictures most striking and individual, and yet unmistakably +true to life and reality. And yet while this life was so small in its +compass, it is almost wholly free from narrowness and provincialism. The +universal qualities of human nature, common to men in all ages and +countries, stand out with a clearness which even little children can +grasp. The story of Joseph and his brethren is probably the finest story +that was ever written for children from eight to ten years of age. The +characters involved in this family history are striking and impressive, +and the strength of the family virtues and affections has never been set +forth with greater simplicity and power. + +The heroic qualities which appear in the old Bible stories, especially +in Moses, Samson, and David, would bear a favorable comparison with the +men of the heroic age in all countries. Strength of character combined +with faith in high ideals, pursued with unwavering resolution, is a +peculiar merit of these narratives. The heroes of the Hebrew race should +be compared, later on, with the most renowned heroes of England, +Scotland, Germany, and Greece, and even of America, for they have common +qualities which have like merit as educative materials for the young. + +This early literature of the Bible stories will be found to contain a +large part of the universal thought of the world, that is, of the +masterly ideas which, because of their superior truth and excellence, +have gradually worked their way as controlling principles into the life +of all modern nations. It need hardly be said that these stories have a +peculiar charm and attractiveness for children. The simplicity of a +patriarchal age, the strong interest in persons of heroic quality, the +descriptions of early childhood, the heroic deeds of bold and +high-spirited youth,--these things command the unfaltering interest of +children, and at the same time give their lives a touch of moral +strength and idealism which is of the highest promise. + +The oral treatment of these stories in the third or fourth year of +school is the only mode of bringing them before the children in their +full power, and they are well adapted to easy oral narrative and +discussion. The language is the genuine, simple, powerful old English, +and the teacher should become thoroughly saturated with these simple +words and modes of thought. The dramatic element is also not lacking in +many parts, and can be well executed in the classroom. Many +opportunities will be furnished to the children for drawing pictures +illustrating the stories. Many of the most famous masterpieces of +painting and sculpture represent the persons and scenes of these tales. +The great heroes of Christian art have exhausted their skill in these +representations, which are now being furnished to the schools by the +large publishing houses. Even the costumes and modes of life are thus +brought home to the children in the most realistic yet artistic way. + +An acquaintance with such early stories of Hebrew history is an +introduction to some of the finest literature of the English language. +First, that dealing with the Hebrew scriptures themselves, as the books +of Moses, the psalms of David, and second, a number of the great poems +of English masters, as the "Burial of Moses" and Milton's "Samson +Agonistes." In short, we may say that these stories are the key to a +large part of our best English thought. + +Adler, in his "Moral Instruction of Children," says: "The narrative of +the Bible is fairly saturated with the moral spirit; the moral issues +are everywhere in the forefront. Duty, guilt, and its punishment, the +conflict of conscience with inclination, are the leading themes. The +Hebrew people seem to have been endowed with what may be called 'a moral +genius,' and especially did they emphasize the filial and fraternal +duties to an extent hardly equalled elsewhere. Now it is precisely these +duties that must be impressed upon young children, and hence the +biblical stories present us with the very material we require. They +cannot, in this respect, be replaced; there is no other literature in +the world that offers what is equal to them in value for the particular +object we now have in view." + +If we could only contemplate the patriarchal stories as a part of the +great literature of the world, on account of its typical yet realistic +portraiture of men and women, we might use this material as we use the +very best derived from other sources. Mr. Adler remarks that "this +typical quality in Homer's portraiture has been one secret of its +universal impressiveness. The Homeric outlines are in each case +brilliantly distinct, while they leave to the reader a certain liberty +of private conception, and he can fill them in to satisfy his own ideal. +We may add that this is just as true of the Bible as of Homer. The +biblical narrative, too, depicts a few essential traits of human nature, +and refrains from multiplying minor traits which might interfere with +the main effect. The Bible, too, draws its figures in outline, and +leaves every age free to fill them in so as to satisfy its own ideal." + +Moreover, their use is not a matter of experiment. For hundreds of years +they have held the first place in the best homes and schools of Germany, +England, and America, and their educative influence has been profoundly +felt in all Christian nations. + +We have several editions of the stories adapted from the Bible for +school use. In the Bible itself they are not found in the simple, +connected form that makes them available for school use. One of the best +editions for school is that published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., +called, "Old Testament Stories in Scriptural Language." A free and +somewhat original rendering of the stories is given by Baldwin in his +"Old Stories of the East," published by the American Book Co. Both of +these books have been extensively used in the schools of this country. +The oral treatment of the Bible stories in the schools has not been +common in this country, but it has all the merits described by us in the +chapter on oral instruction. In fourth and fifth grades these books may +serve well for exercises in reading. + +In a great many schools of this country they can be used and are used +without giving offence to anybody, and where this is true, they well +deserve recognition in our school course because of their superior +presentation of some of the great universal ideas of our civilization. + + +BOOKS FOR TEACHERS OF BIBLE LITERATURE + + The Modern Reader's Bible, twenty-one volumes (Richard Moulton). + The Macmillan Co. + Children's Series. Old Testament and New Testament Stories. + In two volumes. The Macmillan Co. + Stories from the Bible (Church). The Macmillan Co. + Story of the Chosen People (Guerber). The American Book Co. + The Literary Study of the Bible (Moulton). D. C. Heath & Co. + + +STORIES OF ROBIN HOOD + +In the latter part of third grade or beginning of fourth, the stories of +Robin Hood are likely to prove exhilarating to children. + +These stories of the bold, manly, good-natured outlaw, with his band of +trusty men in Sherwood Forest, have been famous throughout England these +five hundred years, and the stories themselves, and the ballads +accompanying them, are a genuine part of the treasures of the older +English literature. They have been worked by Howard Pyle into the stout, +hearty English style which is so appropriate to the rendering of the +deeds of this sturdy English yeoman and his band. + +Their careless life and woodland sports under the Greenwood Tree, and +their merry adventures and shooting matches, have been the delight of +many a generation of English children. But even their woodland sports +were a severe and rugged training in hardy endurance and manly spirit. +Pyle says well in his preface: "For honest purposes manfully followed +and hard knocks courageously endured must always interest the wholesome +boy; while nature is so closely akin to man in the golden days of his +green youth that tales of the Greenwood, where the leaves rustle and the +birds sing, and all the air is full of sweet savors of growing things, +must ever have a potent charm for the fresh imagination of childhood." + +One phase of this training, as manifested in the stories, is not only +the ability to take hard knocks and keep a stiff upper lip, as the old +saying goes, but to master chagrin and anger and endure fun and gibes at +one's own expense; indeed, even with aching bones and buzzing ears, to +join in the merriment over one's own discomfiture. This is an unusual +accompaniment of even good stories, which makes them truly wholesome. +The fun of the stories also is of a light and rollicking sort which +children should have a chance to thoroughly enjoy. In fact it is +excellent material upon which to cultivate their early sense of the +comic and humorous. The literature used in early school years has, +unfortunately, too little of the sportive and laughable, and the Robin +Hood adventures will help in no small degree to remedy this defect. + +It is interesting to note, also, that brute strength is not at a +premium, but skill and quick-wittedness. Not the least attractive and +forcible part of Robin Hood's character is the shrewd-witted versatility +and boldness with which he plays any part which circumstances require +him to assume. His foes are circumvented by his shrewdness and keen wit +even as much as by his unfailing skill in archery or dexterous strength +in personal contest. + +Robin Hood's relation to the British government was known as that of the +outlaw, although the visit of King Richard to him in Sherwood Forest and +his service under that prince and others gave him a certain legal +status. He has always been regarded as a popular hero representing the +rights of the common people. + +After describing Robin Hood's first adventure with the foresters and his +outlawry, Howard Pyle says: "But Robin Hood lay hidden in Sherwood +Forest for one year, and in that time there gathered around him many +others like himself, outlawed for this cause and for that. + +"So, in all that year, five score or more good, stout yeomen joined +themselves to him, and chose him to be their leader and chief. Then they +vowed that even as they themselves had been despoiled they would despoil +their oppressors, whether baron, abbot, knight, or squire, and that +from each they would take that which had been wrung from the poor by +unjust taxes, or land rents, or in wrongful fines; but to the poor folk +they would give a helping hand in need and trouble, and would return to +them that which had been unjustly taken from them. Besides this, they +swore never to harm a child, nor to wrong a woman, be she maid, wife, or +widow; so that, after a while, when the people began to find that no +harm was meant to them, but that money or food came in time of want to +many a poor family, they came to praise Robin and his merry men, and to +tell many tales of him and of his doings in Sherwood Forest, for they +felt him to be one of themselves." + +When we consider the stories which tradition has handed down relative to +the exploits of Robin Hood, the Old-English ballads which celebrate them +in song, the stories of King Richard's visit to him in Sherwood, and +Robin's visit to the court of Eleanor and King Henry at London town, to +share in the great shooting-match, and the story of Locksley in Scott's +"Ivanhoe"--we might almost say that Robin Hood would bear favorable +comparison with any Englishman of his time. At any rate it would be +difficult to find among the kings and great lords of that age one who +had so much regard for justice and fair dealing among men, to say +nothing of his kindness to the poor and needy. + +He stands distinctly for those rights of the common people which were +constantly violated by the powerful and influential in that +half-barbarous age of feudalism. It is from this instinct for popular +rights that the body of English liberties has gradually developed, and +it is not strange that Robin Hood has always been regarded as a hero +among a people who have preserved this instinct for liberty and justice. + +The foresters of Robin Hood's band were lovers of forest and glade; the +song of the bird and fragrance of wild flowers were sweet to them. In +Pyle's introductory chapter is this description of their retreat under +the Greenwood. "So turning their backs upon the stream, they plunged +into the forest once more, through which they traced their steps till +they reached the spot where they dwelt in the depths of the woodland. +There had they built huts of bark and branches of trees, and made +couches of sweet rushes spread over with skins of fallow deer. Here +stood a great oak tree with branches spreading broadly around, beneath +which was a seat of green moss where Robin Hood was wont to sit at feast +and at merrymaking, with his stout men about him. Here they found the +rest of the band, some of whom had come in with a brace of fat does. +Then they built great fires, and after the feast was ready they all sat +down, but Robin Hood placed Little John at his right hand, for he was +henceforth to be the second in the band." + +Little John's bout with the tanner of Blyth is introduced thus:-- + +"One fine day, not long after Little John had left abiding with the +Sheriff and had come back to the merry Greenwood, Robin Hood and a few +chosen fellows of his band lay upon the soft sward beneath the Greenwood +Tree where they dwelt. The day was warm and sultry, so that whilst most +of the band were scattered through the forest upon this mission and upon +that, these few stout fellows lay lazily beneath the shade of the tree, +in the soft afternoon, passing jests among themselves and telling merry +stories, with laughter and mirth. + +"All the air was laden with the bitter fragrance of the May, and all the +bosky shades of the woodlands beyond rang with the sweet song of +birds,--the throstle-cock, the cuckoo, and the wood-pigeon,--and with +the song of birds mingled the cool sound of the gurgling brook that +leaped out of the forest shades, and ran fretting amid its rough gray +stones across the sunlit open glade before the trysting-tree." + +This delight in the beauty and music of all nature about them is a sort +of atmosphere which gives tone to all the stories of this group. + +The language in which the stories are narrated is rich in the quaint and +vigorous phrases of Old English, reminding one of the times of +Shakespeare and before. One could hardly give the children a better +introduction to the riches of our mother tongue. + +The description of English customs, the popular festivities, the booths +of the market town, the parade of feudal lords and retainers, the +constraints placed upon hunting by kings and lords, and the hardships of +the poor are touched upon in significant ways. The stories give an +insight into the English character, their love of rude sports, their +ballad literature, and their respect for honesty and courage and +shrewdness. + +The ballads associated with the Robin Hood legends are often beautiful +and striking expressions of the English spirit, and have a special charm +for children. They should be read in connection with the later reading +of the stories in the third and fourth school years. + +The bearing of these tales upon early feudal history and the general +literature of that age is of importance. This is well illustrated in +"Ivanhoe" in the use by Richard of Robin Hood and his archers in the +attack upon Torquilstone, and in various exploits of the men of the +Greenwood when brought in contact with knights on horseback. There is +also a kinship in these narratives with some of the best stories and +novels of early English history, as Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather," +Kingsley's "Hereward the Wake," Jane Andrew's "Gilbert the Page," and a +number of Scott's novels. + +In the oral treatment of the stories in the third or fourth school year, +the teacher will find her powers of presentation taxed in a peculiar +way. The quaint language and humorous tone, the occasional witty +conceits, will need to be appreciated and enjoyed, and the mode of +presentation suited to the thought. Let the teacher first of all +thoroughly enjoy the stories and in rendering them to children in the +classroom lose herself in the tone and spirit of the account. It +requires great freedom and flexibility of body and mind to do this well, +but that is what a teacher most of all needs. The humorous part, +especially, will require a certain unbending of the stiff manners of a +teacher, but no harm is done in this. + +The large volume of Robin Hood stories by Pyle should be in the hands of +the teacher, if possible, although it is an expensive book. It is much +fuller in the special details of the stories needed by the teacher, +though the smaller book is far better adapted as a reading book for +schools. + +To illustrate the place which the Robin Hood legends hold in English +history and literature, the following selections, quoted from Tennyson's +"The Foresters" and one of the old ballads, are given. They are taken +from "English History told by English Poets," published by The Macmillan +Company, where the passage from "The Foresters" is given at greater +length. + + +KING RICHARD IN SHERWOOD FOREST + +LORD TENNYSON + +(From "The Foresters") + +Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Friar Tuck and George-a-Green, Will Scarlet, +Midge the Miller's Son, Little John, and the rest are legendary +characters loved and sung from the fourteenth century to modern times. +The charm of these light-hearted highwaymen was felt by Shakespeare +himself: "They say he is already in the forest of Arden, and a many +merry men with him: and there they live like the old Robin Hood of +England; they say many young gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet +the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world."--("As You Like +It," I, I.) Tennyson adopts the tradition that the generous outlaws +dwelt in Sherwood Forest in Cumberlandshire, and that their leader, +Robin Hood, was the banished Earl of Huntingdon. The plot of the "The +Foresters" turns upon the sudden return of Richard from his Austrian +captivity and the consequent collapse of the intrigues conducted by his +crafty and cruel brother John. + + _Robin Hood._ Am I worse or better? + I am outlaw'd. I am none the worse for that + I held for Richard and I hated John. + I am a thief, ay, and a king of thieves. + Ay! but we rob the robber, wrong the wronger, + And what we wring from them we give the poor. + I am none the worse for that, and all the better + For this free forest-life, for while I sat + Among my thralls in my baronial hall + The groining hid the heavens; but since I breathed, + A houseless head beneath the sun and stars, + The soul of the woods hath stricken thro' my blood, + The love of freedom, the desire of God, + The hope of larger life hereafter, more + Tenfold than under roof. + + True, were I taken + They would prick out my sight. A price is set + On this poor head; but I believe there lives + No man who truly loves and truly rules + His following, but can keep his followers true. + I am one with mine. Traitors are rarely bred + Save under traitor kings. Our vice-king John, + True king of vice--true play on words--our John, + By his Norman arrogance and dissoluteness, + Hath made me king of all the discontent + Of England up thro' all the forest land + North to the Tyne: being outlaw'd in a land + Where law lies dead, we make ourselves the law. + + _King Richard_ (to _Robin_). My good friend Robin, Earl of Huntingdon, + For Earl thou art again, hast thou no fetters + For those of thine own band who would betray thee? + + _Robin._ I have; but these were never worn as yet, + I never found one traitor in my band. + + * * * * * + + Our forest games are ended, our free life, + And we must hence to the King's court. I trust + We shall return to the wood. Meanwhile, farewell + Old friends, old patriarch oaks. A thousand winters + Will strip you bare as death, a thousand summers + Robe you life-green again. You seem, as it were, + Immortal, and we mortal. How few Junes + Will heat our pulses quicker! How few frosts + Will chill the hearts that beat for Robin Hood! + + _Marian._ And yet I think these oaks at dawn and even, + Or in the balmy breathings of the night, + Will whisper evermore of Robin Hood. + We leave but happy memories to the forest. + We dealt in the wild justice of the woods. + All those poor serfs whom we have served will bless us, + All those pale mouths which we have fed will praise us-- + All widows we have holpen pray for us, + Our Lady's blessed shrines throughout the land + Be all the richer for us. You, good friar, + You Much, you Scarlet, you dear Little John, + Your names will cling like ivy to the wood. + And here perhaps a hundred years away + Some hunter in day-dreams or half asleep + Will hear our arrows whizzing overhead, + And catch the winding of a phantom horn. + + _Robin._ And surely these old oaks will murmur thee + Marian along with Robin. I am most happy-- + Art thou not mine?--and happy that our King + Is here again, never I trust to roam + So far again, but dwell among his own. + Strike up a stave, my masters, all is well. + + +HOW ROBIN HOOD RESCUED THE WIDOW'S THREE SONS + +Robin Hood and his followers were bandits and outlaws, but the people +loved them because they defied the hateful forest laws and made light of +the sheriff. The king's officers were responsible for the maintenance of +order, but in these lawless times they often used their power for their +own advantage, imposing heavy fines and penalties on the poor, and +extorting bribes from the rich. The following is one of the oldest and +rudest of the many Robin Hood ballads:-- + + There are twelve months in all the year, + As I hear many say, + But the merriest month in all the year + Is the merry month of May. + + Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, + With a link a down and a day, + And there he met a silly[7] old woman, + Was weeping on the way. + + "What news? what news, thou silly old woman? + What news hast thou for me?" + Said she, "There's my three sons in Nottingham town + To-day condemned to die." + + "O, have they parishes burnt?" he said, + "Or have they ministers slain? + Or have they robbed any virgin? + Or other men's wives have ta'en?" + + "They have no parishes burnt, good sir, + Nor yet have ministers slain, + Nor have they robbed any virgin, + Nor other men's wives have ta'en." + + "O, what have they done?" said Robin Hood, + "I pray thee tell to me." + "It's for slaying of the king's fallow-deer, + Bearing their long bows with thee." + + "Dost thou not mind, old woman," he said, + "How thou madest me sup and dine? + By the truth of my body," quoth bold Robin Hood, + "You could not tell it in better time." + + Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, + With a link a down and a day, + And there he met with a silly old palmer, + Was walking along the highway. + + "What news? what news, thou silly old man? + What news, I do thee pray?" + Said he, "Three squires in Nottingham town + Are condemned to die this day." + + "Come change thy apparel with me, old man, + Come change thy apparel for mine; + Here is forty shillings in good silver, + Go drink it in beer or wine." + + Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, + With a link a down and a down. + And there he met with the proud sheriff, + Was walking along the town. + + "O Christ you save, O sheriff!" he said; + "O Christ you save and see; + And what will you give to a silly old man + To-day will your hangman be?" + + "Some suits, some suits," the sheriff he said, + "Some suits I'll give to thee; + Some suits, some suits, and pence thirteen, + To-day's a hangman's fee." + + Then Robin he turns him round about, + And jumps from stock to stone: + "By the truth of my body," the sheriff he said, + "That's well jumpt, thou nimble old man." + + "I was ne'er a hangman in all my life, + Nor yet intends to trade; + But curst be he," said bold Robin, + "That first a hangman was made! + + "I've a bag for meal, and a bag for malt, + And a bag for barley and corn; + A bag for bread, and a bag for beef, + And a bag for my little small horn. + + "I have a horn in my pocket, + I got it from Robin Hood, + And still when I set it to my mouth, + For thee it blows little good." + + "O, wind thy horn, thou proud fellow, + Of thee I have no doubt. + I wish that thou give such a blast, + Till both thy eyes fall out." + + The first loud blast that he did blow, + He blew both loud and shrill; + A hundred and fifty of Robin Hood's men + Came riding over the hill. + + The next loud blast that he did give, + He blew both loud and amain. + And quickly sixty of Robin Hood's men + Came shining over the plain. + + "O, who are these," the sheriff he said, + "Come tripping over the lea?" + "They're my attendants," brave Robin did say; + "They'll pay a visit to thee." + + They took the gallows from the slack, + They set it in the glen. + They hanged the proud sheriff on that, + Released their own three men. + + [7] simple + + +ROBIN HOOD BOOKS + + The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Howard Pyle). Finely + illustrated, $3.00. Scribner's Sons. + Some Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle). Small school edition, + illustrated; Scribner's Sons. + Tennyson's The Foresters. + The Robin Hood ballads are found in many of the ballad books. + Ivanhoe contains several scenes from the life of Robin Hood + (Locksley). + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +PRIMARY READING THROUGH INCIDENTAL EXERCISES AND GAMES + + +BASED ON SCHOOL MOVEMENTS, STUDIES, AND GAMES + +Before entering upon the discussion of the usual methods of introducing +children to the art of reading we will give a treatment of the +incidental opportunities offered by the other studies, by school +movements and games in primary classes, for introducing children to the +written and printed forms. + +It is assumed that the more closely the written or printed words and +sentences are related to the children's activities, or the more +dependent these activities are made upon a knowledge of the word-forms, +the quicker and more natural will be their mastery. To put it briefly, +the teacher abstains from the use of oral speech to a considerable +extent and substitutes the written forms of the words on the blackboard +in giving directions, in games, and in treating topics in literature and +science. The following chapter is taken wholly from the lessons given by +Mrs. Lida B. McMurry in the first grade. Many other similar lessons were +worked out, but these are probably sufficient to fully illustrate the +plan. + +The teacher's aim in the beginning reading is to lead the child to look +to the lesson, either word or sentence or paragraph, to find what it has +to say to him--to present the lesson in such a way that the child shall +quicken into life in its presence--shall reach forward to grasp this +much-desired thing. The attention of the child is centred on the +thought; he grasps the symbols because he must reach, through them, the +thought. + +Much of the early reading can be taught in a purely incidental way--in +the general exercises of the school and in the literature and +nature-study recitations. + + +READING TAUGHT INCIDENTALLY + +(a) _In the General Management of the School._ The directions which are +at first given to children orally, _e.g._, _rise_, _turn_, _pass_, +_sit_, _skip_, _fly_, _march_, _run_, _walk_, _pass to the front_, _pass +to the back_, are later written upon the board. When the children seem +to have become familiar with the written direction, the order in which +the directions are given is sometimes changed, as a test, _e.g._, the +following directions are usually given in this order--_turn_, _rise_, +_pass_. Instead of writing _turn_ first, the teacher writes _pass_. If +the children understand, they will rise at once and pass without waiting +to turn. + +The names of the children, instead of being spoken, are often written; +in this way the children become familiar with the names of all the +children in the school. The teacher, writing _Clarence_ upon the board, +says, "I would like this boy to erase the boards to-night." The first +time it is written the teacher speaks the name as she writes it. It may +be necessary to do this several times. The teacher does not look at +Clarence as she writes his name. If he does not recognize his name after +it has appeared repeatedly, his eyesight may well be tested. If +heedlessness is the cause of the failure, another name is written at the +board, and Clarence loses the opportunity to do the service. No drill +should be given on these names. The repetition incident to the frequent +calling upon the child is all that is necessary to fix the name. + +The names of the songs and of the poems which the children are +memorizing are written upon the board as needed. The teacher says, "We +will sing this song this morning." If the children do not recognize its +title as the teacher points to it, she gives it. After a while the +children will recognize the names of all the songs and the poems which +are in use in the room. + +The children become familiar with the written form of the smaller +numbers in this way--the number of absent children is reported at each +session and written on the board. On Friday the teacher records upon the +board some facts of the week, or of the month, which the children +learned from their weather charts--viz., the number of sunny and the +number of cloudy days. The number of children in each row is ascertained +and written at the board that the monitors may know how many pairs of +scissors, pieces of clay, or pencils to select. + +The poems, after being partially committed to memory, are written upon +the board; when the pupils falter, reference is made to the line in +question as it appears upon the board. + +The teacher sometimes writes her morning greeting or evening farewell at +the board--thus: "Good morning, children," or, "Good-by for to-day." The +children read silently and respond with, "Good morning, Miss Eades," or, +"Good night, Miss Farr." + +Often she communicates facts of interest at the board. If the pupils are +unable to interpret what she has written, she reads for them, _e.g._, +the teacher writes, "We have vacation to-morrow." Quite likely some +child, unable to read at all, will say, "We have _something_, but I +can't tell what it is." (These same words will occur again, when needed +to express a thought, and it is a waste of energy to drill upon them.) +When the children have interpreted the above sentence at the board, the +teacher writes, "Do you know why?" The children read the question +silently and give the answer audibly, and say, "It is Decoration Day." +We too often allow children to treat a question in their reading as if +its end were reached in the asking. To lead the children to form a +habit of answering questions asked in writing or in print, such +questions as the following are, from time to time, written at the board: +"Did you see the rainbow last night?" "What color was it?" "Did you see +any birds on Saturday?" "What ones?" "Have you been to the woods?" "What +did you find there?" + +(b) _In Connection with the Literature._ The name of the story which the +teacher is about to tell is placed upon the board. At the first writing +the teacher tells the pupils what it is, if necessary, _e.g._, the +teacher says, "We shall have a story about '_The Three Bears_,'" +pointing to the title upon the board. The next day she says, "I would +like you to tell me all you can about this story"--writing its name upon +the board. + +In the final reproduction of the story the teacher assigns topics, +_e.g._: Chauncey may tell me about this (writing at the board): +_Silver-Hair going to the woods_. Eva may tell about this: _Silver-Hair +going into the kitchen_. Jennie may tell about this: _Silver-Hair going +into the sitting room_. Willie may tell about this: _Silver-Hair going +upstairs_. Should the child go beyond the limited topic, the teacher +points to the board and asks about what he was to tell. + +At the close of each story that can be dramatized, the teacher assigns +at the board the part which each is to take, thus: After the story of +"The Old Woman and the Pig" is learned, the teacher writes in a column +each child's name opposite the animal or thing which he is to represent, +in this way. + + _Agnes_--the old woman. + _Glenn_--the pig. + _Sadie_--the dog, etc. + +(c) _In Connection with the Nature Study._ In the spring the children +are looking for the return of the birds, the first spring blossoms, and +the opening of the tree buds. The teacher often makes her own +discoveries known through writing, upon the board, _e.g._, "I saw a +robin this morning," or "I found a blue violet yesterday," or "I saw +some elm blossoms last night." + +The class, by the aid of the teacher, make a bird, a flower, and a +tree-bud calendar, on which are recorded the name and date of the first +seen of each. These names are put on the calendars in the presence of +the children, and they frequently "name their treasures o'er." + +The mode of travelling is written beside the name of each familiar bird +as the children make the discoveries, thus:-- + + { hops. { walks. + Robin { runs. Crow { + { flies. { flies. + +Questions arise during the recitation which the children will answer +later from observation. That the children may not forget them they are +placed high up on the board where they can be preserved. Frequent +reference is made to them to see if the pupils are prepared to answer +them. When a question is answered it is erased, making room for another. + + +THE READING RECITATION + +For the early reading, Games, Literature, and Nature Study may form the +basis. + + * * * * * + +(I) _Games as a Basis for the Reading._ The child enters school from a +life of play. It is our purpose, so far as possible, to make use of this +natural bent of the child to insure interest in his reading, as well as +to give him the free exercise, which he needs, of his muscles. It may be +urged as an argument against the use of the games, that they are too +noisy and attract the attention of the children who are busy at their +seats. Often it would be a good thing for these children to watch the +younger ones at their games. It would rest them and put them into closer +sympathy with the little ones. In a short time they will not care so +much to watch them. The little children should be thoughtful of the +older ones and move about as quietly as is possible. + +The following are some of the games which we have used in our primary +school. They are given in the way of suggestion only. They are played at +first by following spoken directions. When the children are perfectly +familiar with the oral direction, the written direction is gradually +substituted. The children do not stay long enough on one game to become +tired of it. Two or three or even more are played at a single +recitation. It is not the plan to drill the pupils upon the written +directions, but by frequent repetitions to familiarize them with them. +The games are most suitable for the very earliest reading lessons. The +plan for teaching one of them, the first one given here, will be written +out quite fully. The others will be given with less detail. + + +THE RING GAME + +_Material._--Six celluloid rings, red, white, blue, yellow, green, and +black. Surcingle rings can be painted the colors desired. + + _Directions._--Take the red ring, Jennie. + Take the blue ring, Eva. + Take the yellow ring, Wallace. + Take the green ring, Chauncey. + Take the black ring, Gregory. + Take the white ring, Lloyd. + +When the children are ready to hide the rings this direction is given to +the remainder of the class:-- + + Close your eyes. + +This to the pupils who hold the rings:-- + + Hide the rings. + +When the children have all the rings hid they announce it by lightly +clapping their hands, upon which the children open their eyes. +Directions are then given to those who did not hide rings, for finding +the rings, _e.g._:-- + + Find the red ring. + Find the blue ring, etc. + +No notice is taken of any ring but the one called for. A limited time is +given for the finding of each. At the close of that time, if the ring is +not discovered, the one who hid it gets it. When the written directions +are first used the whole sentence need not be put upon the board, +_e.g._, the teacher need write only--_the red ring_. She says to the +child, "find _this_"--pointing to the board; or _red_, alone, may be +written, in which case the teacher points to the word, saying, "You may +find _this ring_." There is considerable rivalry to see who will find +the most rings. + +When the children seem to know the written directions perfectly, a test +is made of their ability, actually, to read them; thus, instead of +writing, "_Take_ the red ring," the teacher writes, "_Find_ the red +ring." She writes "Hide the rings," before she writes, "Close your +eyes." If the children recognize what is written they will set the +teacher right. + + +BALL AND CORD + +_Material._--Small, soft rubber balls with short rubber cords attached. +The cords have a loop for the finger. + + Ball in right hand. + Toss up. + Hold. + Toss down. + Hold. + Toss to the right. + Hold. + Toss to the left. + Hold. + Ball in left hand. + Toss up, etc. + +In this and succeeding games it is left to the discretion of the teacher +as to when the written directions shall be introduced. + + +BALL GAME + +_Material._--A soft rubber ball. + + Form a circle. + Take the ball, Roy. + Toss the ball. + Roll the ball. + Bounce the ball. + Throw the ball. + Give the ball to Sadie. + +In this game one of the children takes the ball to the circle. Each, as +the ball is tossed to him, tosses it to another. At the direction of the +teacher the game of _tossing the ball_ is changed to one of _rolling_ +_the ball_, the pupils squatting on the floor; this in turn is changed +later as the directions indicate. Care must be taken that all children +are treated alike in this game. The children themselves will look out +for this if properly directed at the outset of the game. + + +HUNTING THE VIOLET + +_Material._--Violets scattered about the room. + + Find a blue violet, Glenn. + Find a violet bud, Edith. + Find a yellow violet, Lloyd. + Find a violet leaf, Sadie. + Find a white violet, Jennie. + Find a purple violet, Rudolph. + Sing to the violets. + +Children sing softly:-- + + "Oh, violets, pretty violets, + I pray you tell to me + Why are you the first flowers + That bloom upon the lea?" etc. + + +A TREE GAME--(SPRING OR FALL) + +_Material._--Leaves of the different trees with which the children are +familiar. + + Glenn may be a maple tree. + Choose your leaf. + Wallace may be an elm tree. + Choose your leaf. + Chauncey may be a birch tree. + Choose your leaf, etc. + Make a little forest. + Toss in the wind. + +(The leaves are pinned upon the children as each chooses his leaf, and +they dance lightly about as if tossed by the wind.) + + +CARING FOR THE ANIMALS + +_Material._--Wooden or paper animals. A portion of the table is marked +off by a chalk line for the farmyard. + + Drive in a pig, Willie. + Lead in a horse, Gregory. + Drive in a sheep, Sadie. + Lead in a cow, Roy, etc. + +They are driven in at night, then driven out in the morning. Sometimes +they are hurried in because of the approach of a storm. + + +DOLL PLAY--(GENERAL) + +_Material._--Penny dolls or larger ones. + + Take a doll. + Rock the baby. + Pat the baby. + Sing the baby to sleep. + Put the baby to bed. + Take up the baby. + Wash its face. + Comb its hair. + Feed it bread and milk. + Take it for a walk. + +At the direction, "Sing the baby to sleep," the children sing very +softly:-- + + "Rock-a-bye Baby,"--or some other lullaby. + +The bed is the chair on which the child is sitting. All stand and turn +about together to put the babies to bed. They go through the movements +only of washing the face and hands and combing the hair, and of feeding +bread and milk. They perform these acts in unison. + + +THE RAINBOW FAIRIES--(SPRING) + +_Material._--Large bows of tissue paper with streamers, of the various +colors mentioned. + + Eva may be a yellow fairy. + Roy may be a blue fairy. + Edith may be a green fairy. + Louise may be a red fairy. + Lloyd may be an orange fairy. + Sadie may be a violet fairy. + The others may be trees. + Join hands, fairies. + Dance about the trees. + +As the first direction is given Eva steps to the table and takes a +yellow bow which is pinned to her left shoulder: the others follow as +called upon. + + +THE LEAVES + +_Material._--A leaf of one of several colors pinned on each child. The +wind calls:-- + + Come yellow leaf. + Come red leaf. + Come green leaves, etc. + Dance in the wind. + +At the last direction the children fly over a small area, hither and +thither; some one way, some another, passing and repassing one another, +simulating the leaves in a storm. + + +A FLOCK OF BIRDS + +All the children are little birds. + + Fly to the fields. + Pick up seeds. + Take a drink. + Bathe in the creek. + Preen your feathers. + Fly home. + Perch on a twig. + + _Sing._ + +They sing:-- + + "We are little birdies, + Happy we, happy we. + We are little birdies + Singing in a tree." + + +HUNTING BIRDS + +_Material._--Colored pictures of birds common to the locality in which +the game is used. + + Find a robin, Rudolph. + Find a bluebird, Gregory, etc. + +The child indicated finds the picture of the bird called for and places +it on the blackboard ledge which serves as a picture gallery. + + +HUNTING LEAVES + +is a game similar to the above. + + +MOVEMENT GAME + + Frederick may be a pony. + Louise may be a kitty, etc. + +(Of the other children--one may be a boy; another, a bird; another, a +horse; another, a fish; another, a girl, etc.) + + Trot, pony. + Run, dog. + Skip, boy, etc. + +They perform singly, and also in a body. + + +MAKING GARDEN + +_Material._--Trays or box-covers of sand, and a toy set of garden tools +for each pupil. + + Take the spade. + Spade the earth. + Take the hoe. + Hoe the ground. + Take the rake. + Smooth the ground. + Make holes (or rows). + Plant corn (or sow the seed). + Cover the seed. + Water the garden. + + +THE FARMER'S PETS + +For this game the children are all seated in chairs except one for whom +no chair is provided. Each child seated takes the name of some animal on +the farm, _e.g._, a dog, cat, horse, chicken, duck, or cow. The one +standing is the farm-hand and says, _e.g._, "My master wants his dog." +The dog must jump up and turn around. If he fails to do so, he steps to +one side taking his chair with him. If when he is again called upon he +answers correctly, he resumes his seat in the circle. Occasionally the +farm-hand says, "My master wants all of his pets." When all rise and +change seats quietly. The farm-hand tries to get a seat, leaving another +child to be the farm-hand. In changing seats they change names as a +single name belongs to each chair. + + * * * * * + +(II) _Literature as a Basis for the Reading._ The stories in the form +indicated below are given after the children have become thoroughly +familiar with them through oral presentation, after, too, the children +have gained some facility in reading, through the use of the games, and +the directions, etc., used in the general management of the school. +Before the board work is presented the children dramatize the story +which they are to read. They look to the board to find out what to say +that they may impersonate the character in the story. Each mimics in +tone and action the one whose part he takes. As no two mimic in the same +way there is no lack of variety and interest. If the children are +thoughtful they will know every time into whose mouth to put each +sentence. They need to be alert, however. The names of the speakers, +given in the margin, are for the benefit of the readers of this article. +They are not put on the board. The children do not need them. + + +THE OLD WOMAN AND THE PIG + +I + + _The old woman._ I was sweeping my house. + I found this dime. + What shall I buy? + I know; I will buy a pig. + Where is my sunbonnet? + Where is my cane? + Here I go. + Tramp! tramp! tramp! + +II. + + _Old woman._ Tap, tap, tap! + + _The farmer._ Come in. + Good morning, old woman. + + _Old woman._ Good morning, sir. + I want to buy a pig. + + _Farmer._ All right; I have some. + Will you look at them? + Here they are. + + _Old woman._ I like this one. + I will take it. + Good morning. + + _Farmer._ Good morning. + +III + + _Old woman._ Go on, pig. + That fence is low, + You can jump over. + + _Pig._ Grunt! grunt! + + _Old woman._ What shall I do? + I must have help. + I will go back. + +IV + + _Old woman._ Dog, dog, bite pig. + + _Dog._ No, no. (_Shaking his head._) + +V + + _Old woman._ Stick, stick, whip dog. + + _Stick._ No, no. (_Shaking head as before._) + +VI-XII. _Similar to two above._ + +XIII + + _Old woman._ Cat, cat, kill rat. + + _Cat._ I will if you will give me some milk. + + _Old woman._ I will go to the cow. + +XIV + + _Old woman._ Cow, cow, give me some milk. + + _Cow._ I will if you will give me some hay. + + _Old woman._ All right. + Tramp! tramp! tramp! + Here is the hay, cow. + + _Cow._ Chew, chew, chew, chew. + Now you may have some milk. + + _Old woman._ Thank you, cow. + +XV + + _Old woman._ Come, kitty, kitty, kitty. + Here is some milk for you. + + _Cat._ Lap, lap, lap, lap. + + _Old woman._ Now catch the rat. + + _Cat._ Patter, patter, patter. (_Given softly--it is the cat running + after the rat._) + + +THE THREE BEARS + +I + + _The papa bear._ That soup is hot. + It must cool. + We will take a walk. + +II + + _Silver-Hair._ Tap! tap! tap! + No one at home. + I will go in. + What is that on the table? + It is three bowls of soup. + I am hungry. + (_Tasting of the soup in the big bowl._) + That is too hot. + (_Tasting of soup in middle-sized bowl._) + That is too cold. + (_Tasting of soup in little bowl._) + That is just right. + It is good. + I will eat a little. + +III + + I am tired. + Here are three chairs. + That is too high. + That is too wide. + This is just right. + I will rest here. + Oh, it broke! + +IV + + I am sleepy. + I will go upstairs. + Here are three beds. + That is too hard. + That is too soft. + This is just right. + I will sleep here. + +V + + _Papa bear._ SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY SOUP. + + _Mamma bear._ _Somebody has been tasting my soup._ + + _Baby bear._ Somebody has been tasting my soup. + It is all gone. + +VI + + _Papa bear._ SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR. + + _Mamma bear._ _Somebody has been sitting in my chair._ + + _Baby bear._ Somebody has been sitting in my chair. + It is all broken. + +VII + + _Papa bear._ SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING ON MY BED. + + _Mamma bear._ _Somebody has been lying on my bed._ + + _Baby bear._ Somebody has been lying on my bed. + Why, here she is! + + _Silver-Hair._ Oh, my! + I will jump. + Now I will run. + +THE FIR TREE + +I + + I am a little fir tree. + I want to be tall. + I hate rabbits. + They jump over me. + +II + + I am three years old. + The rabbit cannot jump over me now. + It runs around me. + I wish I were taller. + I hate to be so little. + +III + + Now I am six years old. + Here come the woodchoppers. + They will take me away. + Here I go. + Thump! thump! thump! + +IV + + What a fine house. + How beautiful this moss is. + What are these people going to give me? + I am so happy! + +V + + Here are the children. + How they like me! + See them dance about me. + _Everybody looks at me._ + Do not take away my beautiful dress. + Do not put out the lights. + +VI + + Here come the servants. + They will give me my beautiful dress. + Oh, oh, oh! + Don't put me up there. + It is dark. + I want to be planted. + +VII + + I wish I were at home. + I want to see the rabbit. + It may jump over me. + I will not care. + I want to see the other trees. + The rats come. I do not like rats. + +VIII + + Out again! + I like the air. + Now I shall be planted. + I am glad to see the flowers. + I am glad to hear the birds. + Now I shall live. + +IX + + That boy called me ugly. + He took my beautiful star. + I wish I were in the woods. + I shall never be happy again. + Pop! pop! pop! pop! + + +THE STREET MUSICIANS + +I + + _The donkey._ I am very old. + I am very weak. + I can work no more. + My master will not keep me. + I will run away. + I will go to the city. + I can make music. + I will join a band. + Trot! trot! trot! + +II + + What is that in the road? + It is an old dog. + What is the matter? + + _Dog._ I am very old. + I am very weak. + I cannot hunt. + My master will not keep me. + How can I live? + + _Donkey._ Come with me. + You can play the bass drum. + Join a band. + + _Dog._ Good! good! good! + I will go. + + _Dog and donkey._ Trot! trot! trot! + +III + + _Donkey._ What is that in the road? + It is an old cat. + What is the matter, old whiskers? + + _Cat._ I am very old. + I am very weak. + I cannot catch mice. + My mistress will not keep me. + How can I live? + + _Donkey._ Come with us. + You can sing. + Join a band. + + _Cat._ Good! good! good! + I will go. + + _All three._ Trot! trot! trot! + +IV + + _Donkey._ What is that on the gate? + It is a rooster. + What is the matter? + + _Rooster._ The cook will kill me. + + _Donkey._ Come with us. + You can sing. + Join a band. + + _Rooster._ Good! good! good! + I will go. + + _All four._ Trot! trot! trot! + + +THE UNHAPPY PINE TREE + + +I + + I am a little pine tree. + I do not like to be a pine tree. + My leaves are needles. + Needles are not pretty. + I wish I had gold leaves. + +II + + _In the morning._ Why do the trees look at me? + What has happened? + Gold leaves! Gold leaves! + Just what I wanted! + Good! good! good! + +III + + _To the robber._ Do not take my leaves. + I want them. + They are beautiful. + Give them back. + No leaves! No leaves! + I wish I had glass leaves. + +IV + + _In the morning._ Oh, how beautiful! + Glass leaves! Glass leaves! + No robber will take them. + I can keep them. + I am so happy! + +V + + Cloud, do not come. + Wind, do not blow. + Keep still, keep still. + A leaf is broken. + Another! Another! + All gone! All gone! + No beautiful leaves. + I wish I had bright green leaves. + +VI + + _In the morning._ Oh, my pretty green leaves! + No one will steal them. + Nothing will break them. + I shall not need to keep still. + I will dance. + Dance! dance! dance! + +VII + + Goat, do not come here. + These are my leaves. + I want them. + They are pretty. + Oh, oh, oh! + All my pretty leaves are gone. + What shall I do? + I wish I had my needles. + +VIII + + Oh, mother, mother, see! + I have my old leaves. + I like them. + They are best of all. + No one will steal them. + Nothing will break them. + Nothing will eat them. + I can keep them. + My dear old leaves! + + * * * * * + +(III) _Nature Study as a Basis for the Reading._ The subjects in which +the pupils are most interested are made the basis for the reading +lessons. + +Sometimes there is a guessing game like the following: The teacher, +holding a flower in her closed hand, writes:-- + + Guess what I have. + It is a flower. + It is white. + _It has a yellow centre._ + +(The children answer--a daisy.) Or-- + + Guess what I have. + It is a leaf. + It is yellow. + It is long. + It is narrow. + +(The children answer--the willow.) + +After the pupils have made a careful study of a few birds or flowers, +the reading lesson describes one of these, and the pupils are expected +to name it from the description. If a child gives the wrong name, one of +those who know better points out the line or lines barring out this +object, and reads to the one making the mistake as proof of his error. + + I live in the woods. + I am not a bird. + I am not a flower. + I am not a tree. + I run up trees. + I eat nuts. + I have a bushy tail. + What is my name? (_Squirrel._) + I am a little bird. + My back is brown. + My breast is white. + My bill is curved. + I go up a tree trunk. + I fly to another tree. + I like insects. + What is my name? (_The brown creeper._) + This is a big bird. + It is blue. + It has black bands on its tail and wings. + It has a crest. + Its bill is black. + It scolds. + What is its name? (_The blue jay._) + +The children sometimes play a game like the following: All but one +personify red-headed woodpeckers. The _one_ questions from the board. +If a red-headed woodpecker fails to answer the question put to him, he +takes the place of the interlocutor. It is an honor to be able to answer +all the questions put:-- + + What color is your head? + What color is your throat? + What color is your breast? + What colors on your wings? + What color is your bill? + What do you do? + Where do you make your nest? + +To a set of questions like the following, the children give the answers, +after reading the questions silently:-- + + What bird did you first see this spring? + What have you seen a robin do? + What flower did you see first? + What yellow flowers have you seen this spring? + What white flowers? + What blue flowers? + What bird builds a nest in a tree trunk? + What bird builds a nest on the ground? + + +THE BABY ROBIN + +I saw two robins on the ground. + +One was a mamma robin. + +The other was a baby robin. + +The baby robin was as big as its mother. + +Its breast was spotted. + +Its mother gave it an earthworm. + +At first it dropped it, but its mother picked it up and gave it to her +baby again. + +This time it got a better hold. By several gulps it swallowed the worm. + +The mother looked proud of her baby. (This is the teacher's experience +which she tells the children from the board. Sometimes she writes the +observations which one of the children have made.) + +As no two teachers will have the same material for Nature Study, the +reading material will not be multiplied here. + +Gradually, as the pupils can stand it, the sentences are lengthened a +little as necessary, and massed into paragraphs. + +The use of the "Mother Goose Rhymes" as a means of enlivening the first +year reading lessons is also treated as follows by Mrs. Lida McMurry. +(Taken from _School and Home Education_ for October, 1902.) + +Many of the children on entering school are well versed in Nursery +Rhymes. They enjoy repeating them. Other children may not know them so +well, but soon learn them from their classmates. Teachers and pupils may +have a happy time together with Mother Goose, and at the same time the +pupils are learning to read without realizing that what they are doing +is something that they are not accustomed to. + +I will suggest a few ways in which these rhymes may be made the basis +for reading lessons:-- + +Take this rhyme-- + + 1. Dance, Thumbkin, dance, + Dance, ye merrymen, every one; + For Thumbkin he can dance alone, + Thumbkin he can dance alone. + +The second, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas are like the first, only +Foreman, Longman, Ringman, and Littleman are in turn substituted for +Thumbkin. + +The children first learn to act out each stanza as they recite it +together. The thumb is held up and moved about as if dancing, as the +first line is given. All the fingers dance as the second line is +recited. The thumb dances alone as the third and fourth lines are +repeated. + +The teacher then repeats the stanza alone, and the children's fingers +accompany her. + +Later, when the children have learned to act out the story well, as the +teacher repeats it, the teacher writes the first line at the board, and, +pointing to it, asks the children to do what the board directs. They +cannot tell what it is, so the teacher says, "The board is talking to +_Thumbkin_," writing the name on the board as she says it. "What do you +think it wants Thumbkin to do?" pointing to _Dance_ in the line on the +board. The next line is written on the board. The children quite likely +will guess rightly what it says, because of its setting. If not, the +teacher will help them as at first. In the same way they connect the +third and fourth lines with the oral expression of the same, and act +them out accordingly. That the children respond readily to the +directions as written is no proof, at first, that they know even most of +the words in the lines. The teacher's test is a part of the play. +To-day, instead of writing the first line, she writes the second. Many +get caught. They will be more alert another time. As they can never tell +which line will appear first, they learn to discriminate by giving +closer attention to the form of the words. + +Sometimes the teacher writes the six names--Thumbkin, Foreman, etc., and +Merrymen, on the board. She points to the name or names of the one, or +ones, that should dance. The children do not like to make mistakes in +responding with the fingers. + +Sometimes the teacher points to a name on the board, as Foreman, and +writes "dance alone," or "dance every one." The alert children see that +the latter does not apply. + +The words are not drilled upon. The game, with variations sometimes, is +played quite frequently, but never so long at a time that the children +weary of it. Three or four plays or games are given at a single +recitation. The interests of the children are studied, and rhymes which +they do not enjoy as reading material are dropped, and others +substituted. The rhymes should often be repeated, just as they occur in +"Mother Goose," that the children may not forget them. + + 2. Eye winker. + Tom tinker. + Mouth eater. + Chin chopper. + Chin chopper. + +The children point to the parts of the face as they are named. They +first learn to give the rhyme with its accompanying motion orally, then +they respond to it as written on the board (Tom tinker is the other +eye). When they do this readily the directions are written out of their +order. This tests the children's ability to distinguish one form from +another. No child likes to give the wrong motion in response to a +direction, _e.g._, point to his mouth when Eye winker is called for. + + 3. The children, we will suppose, know a number of rhymes, as, _e.g._, + + A diller, a dollar, a ten o'clock scholar. + A little boy went into a barn. + Baa, baa, black sheep. + Rain, rain, go away, etc. + +The teacher writes the first line of one of these rhymes on the board +and asks a child to give the rhyme. He cannot at first. Later he will +learn to recognize it; so with all the rhymes he knows. When he can give +any rhyme called for in response to the first line as written at the +board, another line (not the first) is written, and the child asked to +give the rhyme of which it is a part. + + 4. Is John Smith within? + Yes, that he is. + Can he set a shoe? + Ay, marry, two. + Here a nail and there a nail, + Tick, tack, too. + +After the children have learned the above rhyme, acting it out, by +imitating the voices of the two speakers, and by driving the nails, the +two questions are asked at the board, and the children respond orally. +Sometimes the second question, slightly altered, is asked first, _e.g._, +"Can John Smith set a shoe?" Sometimes "Who is within?" appears on the +board. + + 5. Old Mother Hubbard. + +There are many stanzas to this poem, a few of which the teacher will +wish to omit, as those referring to the visits to the ale-house and the +tavern. The pupils become perfectly familiar with the jingle, so they +can with ease give it orally, then the teacher writes the first line of +a stanza at the board and pointing to it asks a pupil to give the +remainder of the stanza. The mistake is ludicrous if the wrong lines +follow the first, and the pupils wish to avoid such a mistake. + + 6. There were two birds sat on a stone, + Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. + One flew away and then there was one, + Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. + The other flew after and then there was none, + Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. + And so the poor stone was left all alone, + Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. + +The children act out this rhyme at first as they say it, later, +silently, as they see what is called for at the board. + +Any number may be substituted for _two_ in the first line, but when they +come to the third line the number substituted for one should be such +that only one will remain, _e.g._, There were _eight_ birds sat on a +stone, _Seven_ flew away, etc. The children are sometimes caught by the +wrong number being told to fly. The children should not fly until they +are sure that it is all right. + + 7. What are your eyes for? + What are your ears for? + What is your nose for? + What is your tongue for? + What is your mouth for? + What is your hand for? + What are your fingers for? + What are your teeth for? + What is your brain for? + What is your heart for? + +These questions are read silently by the children, then answered orally +in complete sentences, one child only answering at one time. The answers +are so absurd when wrong that each child is careful to know what is +asked. + +These are only a few of the ways in which "Mother Goose" may be used as +reading material. Each teacher will think out for herself ways in which +these rhymes may be profitably and happily employed. + + MRS. LIDA MCMURRY. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +METHOD IN PRIMARY READING + + +The problem of primary reading is one of the most complex and difficult +in the whole range of school instruction. A large proportion of the +finest skill and sympathy of teachers has been expended in efforts to +find the appropriate and natural method of teaching children to read. +All sorts of methods and devices have been employed, from the most +formal and mechanical to the most spirited and realistic. + +The first requisite to good reading is something worth reading, +something valuable and interesting to the children, and adapted to their +minds. We must take it for granted in this discussion that the best +literature and the best stories have been selected, and what the teacher +has to do is, first, to appreciate these masterpieces for herself, and +second, to bring the children in the reading lessons to appreciate and +enjoy them. In the primary grades we are not so richly supplied with +available materials from good literature as in intermediate and grammar +grades. This is due not to difficulty in thought, but to the unfamiliar +written and printed forms. The great problem in primary reading is to +master these strange forms as quickly as possible, and find entrance to +the story-land of books. For several years, however, primary teachers +have been selecting and adapting the best stories, and some of the +leading publishers have brought out in choice school-book form books +which are well adapted to the reading of primary grades. + +We should like to assume one other advantage. If the children have been +treated orally to "Robinson Crusoe" in the second grade, they will +appreciate and read the story much better in the third grade. If some of +Grimm's stories are told in first grade, they can be read with ease in +the second grade. The teacher's oral presentation of the stories is the +right way to bring them close to the life and interest of children. In +the first grade, as shown in the chapter on oral lessons, it is the only +way, because the children cannot yet read. But even if they could read, +the oral treatment is much better. The oral presentation is more lively, +natural, and realistic. The teacher can adapt the story and the language +to the immediate needs of the class as no author can. She can question, +or suggest lines of thought, or call up ideas from the children's +experience. The oral manner is the true way to let the children delve +into the rich culture-content of stories and to awaken a taste for their +beauty and truth. We could well wish that before children read mythical +stories in fourth grade, they had been stirred up to enjoy them by oral +narration and discussion in the preceding year. In the same way, if the +reading bears on interesting science topics previously studied, it will +be a distinct advantage to the reading lesson. Children like to read +about things that have previously excited their interest, whether in +story or science. The difficulties of formal reading will also be partly +overcome by familiarity with the harder names and words. Our conclusion +is that reading lessons, alone, cannot provide all the conditions +favorable to good reading. Some of these can be well supplied by other +studies or by preliminary lessons which pave the way for the reading +proper. This matter has been so fully discussed in the earlier chapters +on oral work that it requires no further treatment here. + + +FOLK-LORE STORIES AS READING EXERCISES FOR FIRST GRADE + +Let it be supposed that a class of first-grade children has learned to +tell a certain story orally. It has interested them and stirred up their +thought. + +Let them next learn to read the same story in a very simple form. This +will lead to a series of elementary reading lessons in connection with +the story, and the aim should be strictly that of mastering the early +difficulties of reading. The teacher recalls the story, and asks for a +statement from its beginning. If the sentence furnished by the child is +simple and suitable, the teacher writes it on the blackboard in plain +large script. Each child reads it through and points out the words. Let +there be a lively drill upon the sentence till the picture of each word +becomes clear and distinct. During the first lesson, two or three short +sentences can be handled with success. As new words are learned, they +should be mixed up on the board with those learned before, and a quick +and varied drill on the words in sentences or in columns be employed +to establish the forms in memory.[8] Speed, variety in device, and +watchfulness to keep all busy and attentive are necessary to secure good +results. + + [8] First-class primary teachers claim that drills are + unnecessary if the teacher is skilful in recombining the + old words in new sentences. + +After a few lessons one or two of the simpler words may be taken for +phonetic analysis. The simple sounds are associated with the letters +that represent them. These familiar letters are later met and identified +in new words, and, as soon as a number of sounds with their symbols have +been learned, new words can be constructed and pronounced from these +known elements. + +The self-activity of the children in recognizing the elementary sounds, +already met, in new words as fast as they come up, is one of the chief +merits of this early study of words. They thus early learn the power of +self-help and of confident reliance upon themselves in acquiring and +using knowledge. The chief difficulty is in telling which sound to use, +as a letter often has several sounds (as _a_, _e_, _s_, _c_, etc.). But +the children are capable of testing the known sounds of a letter upon a +new word, and in most cases, of deciding which to use. The thoughtless +habit of pronouncing every new word for a child, without effort on his +part, checks and spoils his interest and self-activity. It does not seem +necessary to use an extensive system of diacritical markings to guide +him in these efforts to discriminate sounds. It is better to use the +marks as little as possible and learn to interpret words as they usually +appear in print. Experience has shown decisively that a lively and +vigorous self-activity is manifested by such early efforts in learning +to read. It is one of the most encouraging signs in education to see +little children in their first efforts to master the formal art of +reading, showing this spirited self-reliant energy. + +In the same way, they recognize old words in sentences and new or +changed combinations of old forms, and begin to read new sentences which +combine old words in new relations. + +In short, the sentence, word, and phonic methods are all used in fitting +alternation, while originality and variety of device are necessary in +the best exercise of teaching power. + +The processes of learning to read by such board-script work are partly +analytic and partly synthetic. Children begin with sentences, analyze +them into words, and some of the words into their simple sounds. But +when these sounds begin to grow familiar, they are identified again in +other words, thus combining them into new forms. In the same way, words +once learned by the analytic study of sentences are recognized again in +new sentences, and thus interpreted in new relations. + +The short sentences, derived from a familiar story, when ranged together +supply a brief, simple outline of the story. If now this series of +sentences be written on the board or printed on slips of paper, the +whole story may be reviewed by the class from day to day till the word +and sentence forms are well mastered. For making these printed slips, +some teachers use a small printing-press, or a typewriter. Eventually +several stories may be collected and sewed together, so as to form a +little reading-book which is the result of the constructive work of +teacher and pupils. + +The reading lessons just described are entirely separate from the oral +treatment and reproduction of the stories; yet the thought and interest +awakened in the oral work are helpful in keeping up a lively effort in +the reading class. The thought material in a good story is itself a +mental stimulus, and produces a wakefulness which is favorable to +imprinting the forms as well as the content of thought. Expression, +also, that is, natural and vivid rendering of the thought, is always +aimed at in reading, and springs spontaneously from interesting thought +studies. + +Many teachers use the materials furnished by oral lessons in natural +science as a similar introduction to reading in first grade. The science +lessons furnish good thought matter for simple sentences, and there is +good reason why, in learning to read, children should use sentences +drawn both from literature and from natural science. + + +READING IN THE SECOND GRADE + +The oral lessons in good stories, and the later board-use of these +materials in learning the elements of formal reading, are an excellent +preparation for the fuller and more extended reading of similar matter +in the second and third grades. + +When the oral work of the first grade has thus kindled the fancy of a +child upon these charming pictures, and the later board-work has +acquainted him with letter and word symbols which express such thought, +the reading of the same and other stories of like character (a year +later) will follow as an easy and natural sequence. As a preliminary to +all good reading exercises, there should be rich and fruitful thought +adapted to the age of children. The realm of classic folk-lore contains +abundant thought material peculiar in its fitness to awaken the interest +and fancy of children in the first two grades. To bring these choice +stories close to the hearts of children should be the aim of much of the +work in both these grades. Such an aim, skilfully carried out, not only +conduces to the joy of children in first grade, but infuses the reading +lessons of second grade with thought and culture of the best quality. + +Interest and vigor of thought are certain to help right expression and +reading. Reading, like every other study, should be based upon +realities. When there is real thought and feeling in the children, a +correct expression of them is more easily secured than by formal demands +or by intimidation. + +The stories to be read in second or third grade may be fuller and longer +than the brief outline sentences used for board-work in the first grade. +Besides, these tales, being classic and of permanent value, do not lose +their charm by repetition. + + +METHOD + +By oral reading, we mean the giving of the thought obtained from a +printed page to others through the medium of the voice. + +There is first the training of the eye in taking in a number of words at +a glance--a mechanical process; then the interpretation of these groups +of words--a mental process; next the making known of the ideas thus +obtained to others, by means of the voice--also a mechanical process. + +The children need special help in each step. We are apt to overdo one at +the expense of the others. + +1. Eye-training is the foundation of all good reading. Various devices +are resorted to in obtaining it. We will suggest a few, not new at all, +but useful. + + (_a_) A strip of cardboard, on which is a clause or sentence, is + held before the class, for a moment only, and then removed. The + length of the task is increased as the eye becomes trained to + this kind of work. + + (_b_) The children open their books at a signal from the + teacher, glance through a line, or part of one, indicated by the + teacher, close book at once and give the line. + + (_c_) The teacher places on the board clauses or sentences + bearing on the lesson, and covers with a map. The map is rolled + up to show one of these, which is almost immediately erased. The + children are then asked to give it. The map is then rolled up + higher, exposing another, which also is speedily erased--and so + on until all have been given to the children and erased. + +2. The child needs not only to be able to recognize groups of words, but +he must be able to get thought from them. The following are some devices +to that end:-- + + (_a_) Suggestive pictures can be made use of to advantage all + through the primary grades. If the child reads part of the story + in the picture, and finds it interesting, he will want to read + from the printed page the part not given in the picture. + + (_b_) Where there is no picture--or even where there is one--an + aim may be useful to arouse interest in the thought, _i.e._ a + thoughtful question may be put by the teacher, which the + children can answer only by reading the story; _e.g._ in the + supplementary reader, "Easy Steps for Little Feet," is found the + story of "The Pin and Needle." There is no picture. The teacher + says, as the class are seated: "Now we have a story about a big + quarrel between a pin and a needle over the question, 'Which one + is the better fellow?' Of what could the needle boast? Of what + the pin? Let us see which won." + + (_c_) Let all the pupils look through one or more paragraphs, + reading silently, to get the thought, before any one is called + upon to read aloud. If a child comes to a word that he does not + know, during the silent reading, the teacher helps him to get + it--from the context if possible--if not, by the sounds of the + letters which compose it. + +As each child finishes the task assigned, he raises his eyes from the +book, showing by this act that he is ready to tell what he has just +read. The thought may be given by the child in his own language to +assure the teacher that he has it. Usually, however, in the lower +grades, this is unnecessary, the language of the book being nearly as +simple as his own. + +The advantage of having all the pupils kept busy, instead of one alone +who might be called upon to read the paragraph, is evident. Every child +reads silently all of the lesson. Time would not permit that this be +done orally, were it advisable to do so. When the child gets up to read, +he is not likely to stumble, for he has both the thought and the +expression for it, at the start. + +While aiming to have the children comprehend the thought, the teacher +should not forget, on the other hand, that this is the reading hour, and +not the time for much oral instruction and reproduction. There are other +recitations in which the child is trained to free oral expression of +thought, as in science and literature. Such offhand oral expression of +his own ideas is not the primary aim of the reading lesson. Its purpose +is to lend life to the recitation. + +3. Steps 1 and 2 deal with preparation for the reading. Up to this time, +no oral reading has been done. Now we are ready to begin. + +Children will generally express the thought with the proper emphasis if +they not only see its meaning but also feel it. Suppose the children are +interested in the thought of the piece, they still fail, sometimes, to +give the proper emphasis. How can the teacher, by questioning, get them +to realize the more important part of the thought? + + (_a_) The teacher has gone deeper into the meaning than have the + children. Her questions should be such as to make real to the + children the more emphatic part of the thought; _e.g._ in the + Riverside Primer we have, "Poor Bun, good dog, did you think I + meant to hit you?" John reads, "Do you think I meant to _hit_ + you?" The teacher says, "I will be Bun, John. What is it that + you do not want Bun to think?" ("That I _meant_ to hit him.") + "But you did mean to hit something. What was it you did not mean + to hit? Tell Bun." ("I did not _mean_ to hit _you_.") Now ask + him if he thought that you did. ("Did you think I _meant_ to hit + _you_?") + + (_b_) When the story is in the form of a dialogue, the children + may personate the characters in the story. Thus, getting into + the real spirit of the piece, their emphasis will naturally fall + where it properly belongs. + + (_c_) Sometimes the teacher will find it necessary to show the + child how to read a passage properly, by reading it himself. It + is seldom best to do this--certainly not if the correct + expression can be reached through questioning. + +Many a teacher makes a practice of giving the proper emphasis to the +child, he copying it from her voice. Frequently, children taught in this +way can read one piece after another in their readers with excellent +expression, but, when questioned, show that their minds are a blank as +to the meaning of what they are reading. + +In working for expression, a great many teachers waste the time and +energy of the pupils by indefinite directions. The emphasis is not +correctly placed, so the teacher says, "I do not like that; try it +again, May." Now, May has no idea in what particular she has failed, so +she gives it again, very likely as she gave it before, or she may put +the emphasis on some other word, hoping by so doing to please the +teacher. "Why, no, May, you surely can do better than that," says the +teacher. So May makes another fruitless attempt, when the teacher, +disgusted, calls on another pupil to show her how to read. May has +gained no clearer insight into the thought than she started out with, no +power to grapple more successfully with a similar difficulty another +time, and has lost, partly at least, her interest in the piece. She has +been bothered and discouraged, and the class wearied. + +Sometimes when the expression is otherwise good, the children pitch +their voices too high or too low. Natural tones must be insisted upon. A +good aid to the children in this respect is the habitual example of +quiet, clear tones in the teacher. + +Another fault of otherwise good reading is a failure to enunciate +distinctly. Children are inclined to slight many sounds, especially at +the end of the words, and the teacher is apt to think: "That doesn't +make so very much difference, since they are only children. When they +are older they will see that their pronunciation is babyish, and adopt a +correct form." This is unsound reasoning. Every time the child says +_las_ for _last_ he is establishing more firmly a habit, to overcome +which will give him much difficulty. + +In the pronunciation of words as well as in the reading of a sentence, +much time is wasted through failure to point out the exact word, and the +syllable in the word, in which the mistake has been made. The child +cannot improve unless he knows in what particular there is room for +improvement. + +Children in primary grades should be supplied with a good variety of +primers, readers, and simple story books. In the course of their work +they should read through a number of first, second, and third readers. +Much of this reading should be simple and easy, so that they can move +rapidly through a book, and gain confidence and satisfaction from it. In +each grade there should be several sets of readers, which can be turned +to as the occasion may demand. It is much better to read a new reader, +involving in the main the same vocabulary, than to reread an old book. +This use of several books in each grade adds to the interest and reduces +to a minimum the mere drills, which are to be avoided as much as +possible. + + +SUMMARY + +1. Let children read under the impulse of strong and interesting +thought. + + (_a_) The previous oral treatment of the stories now used as + reading lessons will help this thought impulse. + + (_b_) An aim concretely stated, and touching an interesting + thought in the lesson, will give impetus to the work. + + (_c_) Let children pass judgment on the truth, worth, or beauty + of what they read. + + (_d_) Clear mental pictures of people, actions, places, etc., + conduce to vigor of thought. To this end the teacher should use + good pictures, make sketches, and give descriptions or + explanations. Children should also be allowed to sketch freely + at the board. + +2. Children should be encouraged constantly to help themselves in +interpreting new words and sentences in reading. + + (_a_) By looking through the new sentence and making it out, if + possible, for themselves before any one reads it aloud. + + (_b_) By analyzing a new word into its sounds, and then + combining them to get its pronunciation. + + (_c_) By interpreting a new word from its context, or by the + first sound or syllable. + + (_d_) By using the new powers of the letters as fast as they are + learned in interpreting new words. + + (_e_) By trying the different sounds of a letter to a new word + to see which seems to fit best. + + (_f_) By recognizing familiar words in new sentences with a + different context. + + (_g_) See that every child reads the sentences in the new lesson + for himself. + +3. There should be a gradual introduction to the elementary sounds +(powers of the letters). + +The first words analyzed should be simple and phonetic in spelling, as +_dog_, _hen_, _cat_, etc. + +New sounds of letters are taught as the children need them in studying +out new words. + +Very little attention needs to be given to learning the names of the +letters. + +There need be little use of diacritical markings in early reading. + +4. Many of the new words will occur in connection with the picture at +the head of the lesson. Place these on the board as they come up. + +If the teacher will weave these words into her conversation, they will +give the children little future trouble. + +5. All the different phases of the phonic, word, and sentence method +should be woven together by a skilful teacher. + +6. The close attention of all the members of the class, so that each +reads through the whole lesson, should be an ever-present aim of the +teacher. + +7. Children should be trained to grasp several words at a glance:-- + + (_a_) By quick writing and erasure of words and sentences at the + board. + + (_b_) By exposing for an instant sentences covered by a screen. + + (_c_) By the use of phrases or short sentences on cardboard. + + (_d_) By questions for group thought. + +These tests should increase in difficulty with growing skill. + +8. Spend but little time in the oral reproduction of stories. Practice +in good reading and interpretation is the main thing. + +9. Children, from the first, should be encouraged to articulate +distinctly in oral reading. Let the teacher begin at home. + +10. Let the teacher cultivate a pleasing tone of voice, not loud or +harsh. This will help the children to the same. + +11. Vigorous and forcible expression is secured:-- + + (_a_) By having interesting stories. + + (_b_) By apt questions to bring out the emphatic thought. + + (_c_) By dramatizing the scenes of the story. + + (_d_) By occasional examples of lively reading by the teacher. + + (_e_) By definiteness in questioning. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +LIST OF BOOKS FOR PRIMARY GRADES + + +In selecting reading books for primary grades the purpose is to find +those which will give the readiest mastery of the printed forms of +speech. + +For this purpose books need to be well graded and interesting. Primary +teachers have expended their utmost skill upon such simple, attractive, +and interesting books for children. Pictorial illustration has added to +the clearness and beauty of the books, so that, with the rivalry of many +large publishing houses, we now have a great variety of good primary +books to select from. + +The earliest and simplest of these are the primers, which, followed by +the first readers, give the most necessary drills upon the forms of easy +words and sentences. Great care has been taken to give an easy regular +grading so as to let a child help himself as much as possible. But as +soon as children, by blackboard exercises and by means of primers, have +gained a mastery of the simpler words and the powers of the letters, the +Mother Goose rhymes, the fables and fairy tales (already familiar to the +children in oral work) are introduced into their reading books in the +simplest possible forms. + +The use of interesting rhymes and stories in this early reading is the +only means of giving it a lively content and of thus securing interest +and concentration of thought. Good primary teachers have been able in +this way to relieve the reading lessons of their tedium, and, what is +equally good, have strengthened the interest of the children in the best +literature of childhood. + +Besides the choicest fables and fairy tales, many of the simpler nature +myths and even such longer poems and stories as "Hiawatha," "Robinson +Crusoe," and "Ulysses" have been used with happy results as reading +books in the first three years. There are also certain collections of +children's poems, such as Stevenson's "Child's Garden of Verses," +Field's "Love-songs of Childhood," Sherman's "Little Folk Lyrics," "Old +Ballads in Prose," "The Listening Child," and others, which may suggest +the beauty and variety of choice literary materials which are now easily +within the reach of teachers and children in primary schools. + +There is no longer any doubt that little folk in primary classes may +reap the full benefit of a close acquaintance with these favorite songs, +stories, and poems, and that in the highest educative sense the effect +is admirable. + +In the following list the books for each grade are arranged into three +groups:-- + +_First._ A series of choicest books and those extensively used and well +adapted for the grade as regular reading exercises. + +_Second._ A supplementary list of similar quality and excellence, but +somewhat more difficult. + +They may, in some cases, serve as substitutes for those given in the +first group. + +_Third._ A collection of books for teachers, partly similar in character +to those mentioned in the two previous groups and partly of a much +wider, professional range in literature, history, and nature. Some books +of child-study, psychology, and pedagogy are also included. The problems +of the primary teacher are no longer limited to the small drills and +exercises in spelling and reading, but comprehend many of the most +interesting and far-reaching questions of education. It is well, +therefore, for the primary teacher to become acquainted not only with +the great works of literature but with the best professional books in +education. + + +LIST OF CHOICE READING MATTER FOR THE GRADES + + +FIRST GRADE--FIRST SERIES + + Cyr's Primer. Ginn & Co. + Cyr's First Reader. Ginn & Co. + Riverside Primer and First Reader. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Nature Stories for Young Readers (Plants), D. C. Heath & Co. + Hiawatha Primer. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Stepping Stones to Literature, Book I. Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Child Life Primer. The Macmillan Co. + Taylor's First Reader. Werner School Book Co. + Arnold's Primer. Silver, Burdett, & Co. + The Thought Reader. Ginn & Co. + Sunbonnet Babies. Rand, McNally, & Co. + Nature's By-ways. The Morse Co. + Graded Classics, No. I. B. F. Johnson Pub. Co. + Graded Literature, No. I. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + First Reader (Hodskins). Ginn & Co. + Baldwin's Primer (Kirk). American Book Co. + + +FIRST GRADE--SECOND SERIES + + Six Nursery Classics (O'Shea). D. C. Heath & Co. + Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Stories for Children. American Book Co. + Rhymes and Fables. University Publishing Co. + The Finch First Reader. Ginn & Co. + Baldwin's First Reader. American Book Co. + Heart of Oak, No. 1. D. C. Heath & Co. + Choice Literature, Book I (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co. + Child Life, First Book. The Macmillan Co. + Fables and Rhymes for Beginners. Ginn & Co. + + +FIRST GRADE--FOR TEACHERS--THIRD SERIES + + A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Mother Goose). D. C. Heath & Co. + The Adventures of a Brownie. Harper & Bros. + Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + Talks for Kindergarten and Primary Schools (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + Hall's How to Teach Reading. D. C. Heath & Co. + Place of the Story in Early Education (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + Methods of Teaching Reading (Branson). D. C. Heath & Co. + Lowell's Books and Libraries. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Ruskin's Books and Reading. In Sesame and Lilies. + Lectures to Kindergartners (Peabody). D. C. Heath & Co. + Mother Goose (Denslow). McClure, Phillips, & Co. + Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories. J. L. Hammett & Co. + The Study of Children and their School Training (Warner). + The Macmillan Co. + The Story Hour (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Trumpet and Drum (Eugene Field). Scribner's Sons. + A Child's Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson). Scribner's Sons. + Treetops and Meadows. The Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, + Ill. + Songs from the Nest (Emily Huntington Miller). Kindergarten + Literature Co. + The Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler). D. Appleton & Co. + Children's Rights (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + The Story of Patsy (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + First Book of Birds (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + + +SECOND GRADE--FIRST SERIES + + Nature Stories for Young Readers (continued). D. C. Heath & Co. + Easy Steps for Little Feet. American Book Co. + Classic Stories for Little Ones. Public School Publishing Co., + Bloomington, Ill. + Verse and Prose for Beginners. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Cyr's Second Reader. Ginn & Co. + Stepping Stones to Literature, Book II. + Pets and Companions (Stickney). Ginn & Co. + Child Life, Second Book. The Macmillan Co. + Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co. + +The preceding books are for second and third grades. + + Around the World, Book I. The Morse Co. + Graded Classics, No. II. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. + Graded Literature, No. II. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Welsh). D. C. Heath & Co. + Book of Nature Myths (Holbrook). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + + +SECOND GRADE--SECOND SERIES + + Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co. + German Fairy Tales (Grimm). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Fables and Folk Lore (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Nature Stories for Young Readers--Animals. D. C. Heath & Co. + Danish Fairy Tales (Andersen). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Baldwin's Second Reader. American Book Co. + Choice Literature, Book II (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co. + Fairy Tale and Fable (Thompson). The Morse Co. + Fairy Stories and Fables (Baldwin). American Book Co. + Plant Babies and Their Cradles. Educational Publishing Co. + Ęsop's Fables. Educational Publishing Co. + Story Reader. American Book Co. + Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co. + +The above are excellent selections for second, third, and fourth grades. + + Songs and Stories. University Publishing Co. + Love Songs of Childhood (Field). Scribner's Sons. + + +SECOND GRADE--FOR TEACHERS + + Poetry for Children (Eliot). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + The Story Hour (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Story of Hiawatha. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Round the Year in Myth and Song (Holbrook). American Book Co. + Old Ballads in Prose (Tappan). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + St. Nicholas Christmas Book. Century Co., New York. + Asgard Stories (Foster-Cummings). Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Fairy Tale Plays and How to Act Them (Mrs. Bell). Longmans, Green, & + Co. + Little Folk Lyrics (Sherman). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co. + Nature Pictures by American Poets. The Macmillan Co. + Squirrels and Other Fur-bearers (Burroughs). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Seven Great American Poets (Hart). Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Early Training of Children (Malleson). D. C. Heath & Co. + Comenius's The School of Infancy. D. C. Heath & Co. + Krüsi's Life of Pestalozzi. American Book Co. + Development of the Child (Oppenheim). The Macmillan Co. + The Study of Child Nature (Elizabeth Harrison). Published by Chicago + Kindergarten College. + Listening Child (Thatcher). The Macmillan Co. + History and Literature (Rice). A. Flanagan & Co. + + +THIRD GRADE--FIRST SERIES + + Robinson Crusoe. Public School Publishing Co. + Golden Book of Choice Reading. American Book Co. + Ęsop's Fables (Stickney). Ginn & Co. + Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part I. Ginn & Co. + Seven Little Sisters. Ginn & Co. + Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co. + Fairy Stories and Fables. American Book Co. + Child Life, Third Reader. The Macmillan Co. + Grimm's German Household Tales. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Fables (published as leaflets). C. M. Parker, Taylorville, Ill. + Around the World, Book II. The Morse Co. + Graded Classics, No. III. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. + Graded Literature, No. III. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Grimm's Fairy Tales. Educational Publishing Co. + Grimm's Fairy Tales (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co. + Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). American Book Co. + + +THIRD GRADE--SECOND SERIES + + Arabian Nights. Houghton, Mifflin. & Co. + Hans Andersen's Stories. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). Harper & Bros. + Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children. Ginn & Co. + Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co. + Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co. + Judd's Classic Myths. + Grimm's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co. + The Eugene Field Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons. + A Child's Garden of Verses. Rand, McNally, & Co. + Little Lame Prince (Craik). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Prose and Verse for Children (Pyle). American Book Co. + Book of Tales. American Book Co. + + +THIRD GRADE--FOR TEACHERS + + Stories from the History of Rome. The Macmillan Co. + Friends and Helpers (Eddy). Ginn & Co. + Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe (Yonge). The Macmillan Co. + Robinson Crusoe. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Arabian Nights, Aladdin, etc. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Bird's Christmas Carol (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Uncle Remus (Harris). D. Appleton & Co. + Fifty Famous Stories Retold (Baldwin). American Book Co. + Four Great Americans (Baldwin). Werner School Book Co. + Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans (Eggleston). + American Book Co. + The Story of Lincoln (Cavens). Public School Publishing Co. + Among the Farmyard People (Pierson). E. P. Dutton & Co. + The Howells Story Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons. + The Jungle Book (Kipling). Century Co., New York. + Old Norse Stories (Bradish). American Book Co. + Little Brothers of the Air (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Hans Brinker (Mary Mapes Dodge). Century Co. + Black Beauty. University Publishing Co. + Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Wonder Book (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + The Story of the Wagner Opera. Scribner's Sons. + Thoughts on Education (Locke). The Macmillan Co. + The Education of Man (Froebel). D. Appleton & Co. + Childhood in Literature and Art (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Waymarks for Teachers (Arnold). Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Hailman's History of Pedagogy. American Book Co. + + +SERIES OF SELECT READERS FOR THE GRADES + + Child Life. The Macmillan Co. + Around the World. The Morse Co. + Baldwin's Readers. American Book Co. + Graded Classics. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. + Graded Literature. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Stepping Stones to Literature. Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Lights to Literature. Rand, McNally, & Co. + The Heart of Oak Series. D. C. Heath & Co. + Choice Literature. Butler, Sheldon, & Co. + + + + +METHODS IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION + + + A Series of Educational Books in Two Groups covering the General + Principles of Method and Its Special Applications to the Common + School + + BY + + CHARLES A. McMURRY, Ph.D. + _Northern Illinois State Normal School, DeKalb, Illinois_ + + WITH + + F. M. McMURRY + AS JOINT AUTHOR FOR METHOD OF RECITATION + + + I. BOOKS OF GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION + + The three books in this group deal with the fundamental, + comprehensive principles of Education for the school as a whole, + and include both instruction and management. + + + II. BOOKS OF SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL STUDIES. + + Each school study is treated in a separate book, and the + selection and arrangement of material, and the method of + instruction appropriate to that study throughout its course, are + fully discussed. Illustrative lessons and extensive lists of + books of special value as helps to teachers and schools are + included. + + + + +GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION + + + THE ELEMENTS OF GENERAL METHOD + BASED ON THE IDEAS OF HERBART + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + New edition, revised and enlarged. Cloth. 12mo. 331 pp. + + 90 cents net, postage 10 cents + + This volume discusses fully the controlling principles of our + progressive modern education, such as The Aim of Education; The + Materials and Sources of Moral Training; The Relative Value of + Studies in the School Course; The Nature and Value of Interest + as a Vital Element in Instruction; The Correlation of Studies; + Inductive and Deductive Processes as Fundamental to All + Thinking; Apperception, its Close and Constant Application to + the Process of Learning; The Will, its Training and Function and + its Close Relation to Other Forms of Mental Action. + + The book closes with an account of Herbart and his disciples in + Germany, and a summary of their pronounced ideas and influence + upon education. + + + THE METHOD OF THE RECITATION + + New edition, revised and enlarged + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY and FRANK M. MCMURRY + + Cloth. 12mo. 339 pp. 90 cents net, postage 10 cents + + This book, as a whole, is designed to simplify, organize, and + illustrate the chief principles of class-room method in + elementary schools. A few important fundamental principles are + carefully worked out as a basis. The essential steps, in the + acquisition of knowledge in all studies, are worked out and + applied to different branches. The developing method of + instruction so much used in the oral treatment of lessons is + worked out, and the method of careful and suitable questioning + discussed. + + Two chapters are given, consisting of Illustrative Lessons + selected from the different studies and worked out in full, as + examples of a right method. In these examples, and also in the + discussions, the application of the principles of apperception, + interest, induction, and deduction to class-room work are shown. + The peculiar application of these various principles to + different studies is carefully discussed. + + + SCHOOL AND CLASS MANAGEMENT--In Preparation + + + + +SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL STUDIES + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN THE READING OF COMPLETE ENGLISH CLASSICS IN + THE COMMON SCHOOLS + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + Cloth. 12mo. 254 pp. 75 cents, postage 9 cents + + This discusses in a comprehensive way the regular reading + lessons, the choice of stories, poems, and longer masterpieces, + adapted to the needs of the various grades from the fourth to + the eighth school year inclusive; the value for school use of + the best literature, including complete masterpieces, both long + and short; method in reading; and principles of class-room work. + A descriptive list of more than four hundred books forms the + last chapter. The list has been carefully made, and is designed + to assist teachers and superintendents in selecting suitable + reading material for the successive grades. + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY READING AND ORAL WORK IN STORY TELLING + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + Cloth. 12mo. 75 cents net, postage 8 cents + + The relation of oral story work to early exercises in primary + reading is explained at length. A full discussion of oral + methods in primary grades and a detailed account of primary + exercises in reading are given. The use of games for incidental + reading is also fully discussed and illustrated. + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION + + This book contains a course of study in history with a full + discussion of methods of treating topics. The value, selection, + and arrangement of historical materials for each grade are + discussed, and illustrative lessons given. The relation of + history to geography, literature, and other studies is treated, + and lists of books suitable for each year are supplied. + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN GEOGRAPHY + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION + + The entire course of study is laid out after a careful selection + of topics. Methods of class instruction are fully discussed, and + illustrations are given of geographical topics treated in + detail. The close relation of geography to other studies is + shown, and the best lists of books supplied. + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN NATURAL SCIENCE + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION + + The history of science teaching in elementary schools is given. + The basis for selecting the topics for a course of study, and + the method of class instruction suitable to object study, + experimentation, etc., are fully discussed. The book contains, + also, a carefully selected list of the best books for the use of + teachers and pupils. + + + A COURSE OF STUDY FOR THE EIGHT GRADES OF THE COMMON SCHOOL + + IN PREPARATION + + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK + + BOSTON CHICAGO + 100 Boylston St. 378-388 Wabash Ave. + + ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO + Empire Build'g 319-325 Sansome St. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Special Method in Primary Reading and +Oral Work with Stories, by Charles Alexander McMurry + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY *** + +***** This file should be named 33923-8.txt or 33923-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/9/2/33923/ + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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McMurry. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 18%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} + + .authnm { position: absolute; right: 80%; text-align: right;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:15%; margin-right:15%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i1 {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i11 {display: block; margin-left: 11em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.ileft {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 0em; text-indent: -15%;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Special Method in Primary Reading and Oral +Work with Stories, by Charles Alexander McMurry + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Special Method in Primary Reading and Oral Work with Stories + +Author: Charles Alexander McMurry + +Release Date: October 14, 2010 [EBook #33923] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + +<h2>SPECIAL METHOD<br /> +IN PRIMARY READING</h2> + +<hr /> + + +<h2>SPECIAL METHOD<br /><br /> +<small>IN</small><br /><br /> +<big>PRIMARY READING AND ORAL<br /> +WORK WITH STORIES</big></h2> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2><span class="smcap">CHARLES A. McMURRY, Ph.D.</span></h2> + +<h4>DIRECTOR OF PRACTICE DEPARTMENT, NORTHERN ILLINOIS<br /> +STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, DE KALB, ILLINOIS<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<small>New York<br /> +THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br /> +LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., <span class="smcap">Ltd.</span></small><br /> +1905 +<br /> +<br /> +<i>All rights reserved</i></h4> + +<hr /> +<h4><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1903.<br /> +By</span> THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.<br /> +<br /> +Set up and electrotyped July, 1903; reprinted<br /> +April, 1905.<br /> +</h4> + + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<h2>PREFACE</h2> + + +<p>This book attempts the discussion of two very +important problems in primary education. First, the +oral work in the handling of stories, and second, the +introduction to the art of reading in the earliest +school work. The very close relation between the +oral work in stories and the exercises in reading in +the first three years in school is quite fully explained. +The oral work in story-telling has gained a great +importance in recent years, but has not received +much discussion from writers of books on method.</p> + +<p>Following this "Special Method in Primary Reading," +a second volume, called the "Special Method +in the Reading of Complete English Classics in the +Grades of the Common School," completes the discussion +of reading and literature in the intermediate +and grammar grades.</p> + +<p>Both of the books of Special Method are an application +of the ideas discussed in "The Principles +of General Method" and "The Method of the +Recitation."</p> + +<p>Still other volumes of Special Method in Geography, +History, and Natural Science furnish the outlines +of the courses of study in these subjects, and +also a full discussion of the value of the material +selected and of the method of treatment.</p> + +<p>At the close of each chapter and at the end of the +book a somewhat complete graded list of books, for +the use of both pupils and teachers, is given. The +same plan is followed in all the books of this series, +so that teachers may be able to supply themselves +with the best helps with as little trouble as possible.</p> + +<p style='text-align: right'>CHARLES A. McMURRY.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2" summary="Contents"> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER I</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Reason for Oral Work in Stories</span></td><td align='right'>1</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER II</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Basis of Skill in Oral Work</span></td><td align='right'>16</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER III</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">First Grade Stories</span></td><td align='right'>47</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER IV</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Second Grade Stories</span></td><td align='right'>75</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER V</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Third Grade Stories</span></td><td align='right'>103</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER VI</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Primary Reading through Incidental Exercises and Games</span></td><td align='right'>137</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER VII</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Method in Primary Reading</span></td><td align='right'>173</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>CHAPTER VIII</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">List of Books for Primary Grades</span></td><td align='right'>190</td></tr> +</table></div> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h1>SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY<br /> +READING</h1> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 1]</span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Reason for Oral Work in Stories</span></h2> + + +<p>The telling and reading of stories to children in +early years, before they have mastered the art of +reading, is of such importance as to awaken the +serious thought of parents and teachers. To older +people it is a source of constant surprise—the attentive +interest which children bestow upon stories. +Almost any kind of a story will command their wide-awake +thought. But the tale which they can fully +understand and enjoy has a unique power to concentrate +their mental energy. There is an undivided, +unalloyed absorption of mind in good stories which +augurs well for all phases of later effort. To get +children into this habit of undivided mental energy, +of singleness of purpose in study, is most promising. +In primary grades, the fluttering, scatter-brained truancy +of thought is the chronic obstacle to success in +study.</p> + +<p>The telling or reading of stories to children natu<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 2]</span>rally +begins at home, before the little ones are old +enough for school. The mother and father, the aunts +and uncles, and any older person who delights in +children, find true comfort and entertainment in rehearsing +the famous stories to children. The Mother +Goose, the fables, the fairy tales, the "Arabian +Nights," Eugene Field's and Stevenson's poems of +child life, the Bible stories, the myths, and some of +the old ballads have untold treasures for children. If +one has a voice for singing the old melodies, the +charm of music intensifies the effect. Little ones +quickly memorize what delights them, and not seldom, +after two or three readings, children of three +and four years will be heard repeating whole poems +or large parts of them. The repetition of the songs +and stories till they become thoroughly familiar gives +them their full educative effect. They become a +part of the permanent furniture of the mind. If the +things which the children learn in early years have +been well selected from the real treasures of the past +(of which there is a goodly store), the seeds of true +culture have been deeply sown in their affections.</p> + +<p>The opportunities of the home for good story-telling +are almost boundless. Parents who perceive +its worth and are willing to take time for it, find in +this early period greater opportunity to mould the +lives of children and put them into sympathetic touch +with things of beauty and value than at any other +time. At this age children are well-nigh wholly at<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 3]</span> +the mercy of their elders. They will take what we +give them and take it at its full worth or worthlessness. +They absorb these things as the tender plant +absorbs rain and sunshine.</p> + +<p>The kindergarten has naturally found in the story +one of its chief means of effectiveness. Stories, +songs, and occupations are its staples. Dealing with +this same period of early childhood, before the more +taxing work of the school begins, it finds that the +children's minds move with that same freedom and +spontaneity in these stories with which their bodies +and physical energies disport themselves in games +and occupations.</p> + +<p>It is fortunate for childhood that we have such +wholesome and healthful material, which is fitted +to give a child's mental action a well-rounded completeness. +His will, his sensibility, and his knowing +faculty, all in one harmonious whole, are brought +into full action. In short, not a fragment but the +whole child is focussed and concentrated upon one +absorbing object of thought.</p> + +<p>The value of the oral treatment of stories is found +in the greater clearness and interest with which they +can be presented orally. There is a keener realism, +a closer approximation to experimental facts, to the +situations, the hardships, to the sorrows and triumphs +of persons. The feelings and impulses of the actors +in the story are felt more sharply. The reality of the +surrounding conditions and difficulties is presented so<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 4]</span> +that a child transports himself by the power of sympathy +and imagination into the scenes described.</p> + +<p>There is no way by which this result can be accomplished +in early years except by the oral presentation +of stories. Until the children have learned to read +and have acquired sufficient mastery of the art of +reading so that it is easy and fluent, there is no way +by which they can get at good stories for themselves. +Average children require about three years to acquire +this mastery of the reading art. Not many children +read stories from books, with enjoyment and appreciation, +till they are nine or ten years old; but from +the age of four to ten they are capable of receiving +an infinite amount of instruction and mental stimulus +from hearing good stories. In fact, many of the best +stories ever produced in the history of the world can +be thoroughly enjoyed by children before they have +learned to read. This is true of Grimm's and Andersen's +stories, of the myths of Hiawatha and Norseland, +and of the early Greeks, of the Bible stories, +the "Arabian Nights," "Robin Hood," besides many +other stories, poems, ballads, and biographies which +are among the best things in our literature.</p> + +<p>In these early years the minds of children may be +enriched with a furnishment of ideas of much value +for all their future use, a sort of capital well invested, +which will bring rich returns. Minds early fertilized +with this variety of thought material become more +flexible, productive, and acquisitive.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 5]</span></p> + +<p>For many years, and even centuries, it was supposed +that early education could furnish children with +little except the forms and instruments of knowledge, +the tools of acquisition, such as ability to read, spell, +and write, and to use simple numbers. But the susceptibility +of younger children to the powerful culture +influence of story, poem, and nature study, was +overlooked.</p> + +<p>We now have good reason to believe that there +is no period when the educative and refining influences +of good literature in the form of poems and +story can be made so effective as in this early period +from four to ten years. That period which has been +long almost wholly devoted to the dry formalities and +mechanics of knowledge, to the dull and oftentimes +benumbing drills of alphabets, spelling, and arithmetical +tables, is found to be capable of a fruitful study +of stories, fables, and myths, and an indefinite extension +of ideas and experiences in nature observation.</p> + +<p>But the approach to these sunny fields of varied +and vivid experience is not through books, except +as the teacher's mind has assimilated their materials +and prepared them for lively presentation.</p> + +<p>The oral speech through which the stories are +given to children is completely familiar to them, so +that they, unencumbered by the forms of language, +can give their undivided thought to the story. Oral +speech is, therefore, the natural channel through +which stories should come in early years. The book<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 6]</span> +is at first wholly foreign to them, and it takes them +three years or more of greater or less painful effort +to get such easy mastery of printed forms as to gain +ready access to thought in books. A book, when +first put into the hands of a child, is a complete +obstruction to thought. The oral story, on the contrary, +is a perfectly transparent medium of thought. +A child can see the meaning of a story through oral +speech as one sees a landscape through a clear window-pane. +If a child, therefore, up to the age of +ten, is to get many and delightsome views into the +fruitful fields of story-land, this miniature world of +all realities, this repository of race ideas, it must +be through oral speech which he has already acquired +in the years of babyhood.</p> + +<p>It is an interesting blunder of teachers, and one +that shows their unreflecting acceptance of traditional +customs, to assume that the all-absorbing problem +of primary instruction is the acquisition of a new +book language (the learning to read), and to ignore +that rich mother tongue, already abundantly familiar, +as an avenue of acquisition and culture. But we +are now well convinced that the ability to read is an +instrument of culture, not culture itself, and primarily +the great object of education is to inoculate +the children with the ideas of our civilization. The +forms of expression are also of great value, but they +are secondary and incidental as compared with the +world of ideas.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 7]</span></p> + +<p>There is an intimate connection between learning +to read and the oral treatment of stories in primary +schools which is very interesting and suggestive to +the teacher. Routine teachers may think it a waste +of time to stop for the oral presentation of stories. +But the more thoughtful and sympathetic teacher +will think it better to stimulate the child's mind than +to cram his memory. The young mind fertilized by +ideas is quicker to learn the printed forms than a +mind barren of thought. Yet this proposition needs +to be seen and illustrated in many forms.</p> + +<p>Children should doubtless make much progress in +learning to read in the first year of school. But +coincident with these exercises in primary reading, +and, as a general thing, preliminary to them, is a +lively and interested acquaintance with the best +stories. It is a fine piece of educative work to cultivate +in children, at the beginning of school life, a +real appreciation and enjoyment of a few good stories. +These stories, thus rendered familiar, and others of +similar tone and quality, may serve well as a part of +the reading lessons. It is hardly possible to cultivate +this literary taste in the reading books alone, unrelieved +by oral work. The primers and first readers, +when examined, will give ample proof of this statement. +In spite of the utmost effort of skilled +primary teachers to make attractive books for primary +children, our primers and first readers show +unmistakable signs of their formal and mechanical +character. They are essentially drill books.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 8]</span></p> + +<p>It seems well, therefore, to have in primary +schools two kinds of work in connection with story +and reading, the oral work in story-telling, reproduction, +expression, etc., and the drill exercises in learning +to read. The former will keep up a wide-awake +interest in the best thought materials suitable for +children, the latter will gradually acquaint them with +the necessary forms of written and printed language. +Moreover, the interest aroused in the stories is constantly +transferring itself to the reading lessons and +giving greater spirit and vitality even to the primary +efforts at learning to read. In discussing the method +of primary reading we shall have occasion to mention +the varied devices of games, activities, drawings, +dramatic action, blackboard exercises, and picture +work, by which an alert primary teacher puts life +and motive into early reading work, but fully as +important as all these things put together is the +growing insight and appreciation for good stories. +When a child makes the discovery, as Hugh Miller +said, "that learning to read is learning to get stories +out of books" he has struck the chord that should +vibrate through all his future life. The real motive +for reading is to get something worth the effort of +reading. Even if it takes longer to accomplish the +result in this way, the result when accomplished is +in all respects more valuable. But it is probable that +children will learn to read fully as soon who spend +a good share of their time in oral story work.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 9]</span></p> + +<p>In discussing the literary materials used in the first +four grades, we suggest the following grading of +certain large groups of literary matter, and the relation +of oral work to the reading in each subsequent +grade is clearly marked.</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Grading"> +<tr><th> </th><th><span class="smcap">Oral Work.</span></th><th><span class="smcap">Reading.</span></th></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><i>1st Grade.</i></td><td align='left'>Games, Mother Goose.</td><td align='left'>Lessons based on Games, etc.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Fables, Fairy Tales.</td><td align='left'>Board Exercises.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Nature Myths, Child Poems.</td><td align='left'>Primers, First Readers.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Simple Myths, Stories, etc.</td></tr> +<tr><td colspan="3"> </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><i>2d Grade.</i></td><td align='left'>Robinson Crusoe.</td><td align='left'>Fables, Fairy Tales.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Hiawatha.</td><td align='left'>Myths and Poems.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Seven Little Sisters.</td><td align='left'>Second Readers.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Hiawatha Primer.</td></tr> +<tr><td colspan="3"> </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><i>3d Grade.</i></td><td align='left'>Greek and Norse Myths.</td><td align='left'>Robinson Crusoe.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Ballads and Legendary Stories.</td><td align='left'>Andersen's & Grimm's Tales.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Ulysses, Jason, Siegfried.</td><td align='left'>Child's Garden of Verses.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Old Testament Stories.</td><td align='left'>Third Readers.</td></tr> +<tr><td colspan="3"> </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><i>4th Grade.</i></td><td align='left'>American Pioneer History Stories.</td><td align='left'>Greek and Norse Myths.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Early Biographical Stories of Europe, as Alfred, Solon, Arminius, etc.</td><td align='left'>Historical Ballads.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Ulysses, Arabian Nights.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Hiawatha, Wonder Book.</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p>This close dependence of reading proper, in earlier +years, upon the oral treatment of stories as a preliminary, +is based fundamentally upon the idea that +suitable and interesting thought matter is the true +basis of progress in reading, and that the strengthening +of the taste for good books is a much greater +thing than the mere acquisition of the art of reading. +The motive with which children read or try to learn +to read is, after all, of the greatest consequence.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 10]</span></p> + +<p>The old notion that children must first learn to +read and then find, through the mastery of this art, +the entrance to literature is exactly reversed. First +awaken a desire for things worth reading, and then +incorporate these and similar stories into the regular +reading exercises as far as possible.</p> + +<p>In accordance with this plan, children, by the time +they are nine or ten years old, will become heartily +acquainted with three or four of the great classes +of literature, the fables, fairy tales, myths, and such +world stories as Crusoe, Aladdin, Hiawatha, and +Ulysses. Moreover, the oral treatment will bring +these persons and actions closer to their thought and +experience than the later reading alone could do. +In fact, if children have reached their tenth year +without enjoying those great forms of literature that +are appropriate to childhood, there is small prospect +that they will ever acquire a taste for them. They +have passed beyond the age where a liking for +such literature is most easily and naturally cultivated. +They move on to other things. They have passed +through one great stage of education and have +emerged with a meagre and barren outfit.</p> + +<p>The importance of oral work as a lively means of +entrance to studies is seen also in other branches +besides literature.</p> + +<p>In geography and history the first year or two of +introductory study is planned for the best schools in +the form of oral narrative and discussion. Home<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 11]</span> +geography in the third or fourth year, and history +stories in the fourth and fifth years of school, are +best presented without a text book by the teacher. +Although the children have already overcome, to +some extent, the difficulty of reading, so great is the +power of oral presentation and discussion to vivify +and realize geographical and historical scenes that +the book is discarded at first for the oral treatment.</p> + +<p>In natural science also, from the first year on the +teacher must employ an oral method of treatment. +The use of books is not only impossible, but even +after the children have learned to read, it would +defeat the main purpose of instruction to make books +the chief means of study. The ability to observe +and discern things, to use their own senses in discriminating +and comparing objects, in experiments +and investigations, is the fundamental purpose.</p> + +<p>In language lessons, again, it is much better to use +a book only as a guide and to handle the lessons +orally, collecting examples and stories from other +studies as the basis for language discussions.</p> + +<p>It is apparent from this brief survey that an oral +method is appropriate to the early treatment of all +the common school studies, that it gives greater +vivacity, intensity, simplicity, and clearness to all +such introductory studies.</p> + +<p>The importance of story-telling and the initiation +of children into the delightful fields of literature<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 12]</span> +through the teacher rather than through the book +are found to harmonize with a mode of treatment +common to all the studies in early years.</p> + +<p>In this connection it is interesting to observe that +the early literature of the European nations was +developed and communicated to the people by word +of mouth. The Homeric songs were chanted or +sung at the courts of princes. At Athens, in her +palmy days, the great dramatists and poets either +recited their productions to the people or had them +presented to thousands of citizens in the open-air +theatres. Even historians like Thucidides read or +recited their great histories before the assembled +people. In the early history of England, Scotland, +and other countries, the minstrels sang their ballads +and epic poems in the baronial halls and thus developed +the early forms of music and poetry. +Shakespeare wrote his dramas for the theatre, and +he seems to have paid no attention at all to their +appearance in book form, never revising them or +putting them into shape for the press.</p> + +<p>This practice of all the early races of putting their +great literature before the people by song, dramatic +action, and word of mouth is very suggestive to the +teacher. The power and effectiveness of this mode +of presentation, not only in early times but even in +the highly civilized cities of London and Athens, is +unmistakable proof of the educative value of such +modes of teaching. This is only another indication<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 13]</span> +of the kinship of child life with race life, which has +been emphasized by many great thinkers.</p> + +<p>The oral method offers a better avenue for all vigorous +modes of expression than the reading book. +It can be observed that the general tendency of the +book is toward a formal, expressionless style in +young readers. Go into a class where the teacher is +handling a story orally and you will see her falling +naturally into all forms of vivid narrative and presentation, +gesture, facial expression, versatile intonation, +blackboard sketching and picture work, the +impersonation of characters in dialogue, dramatic +action, and general liveliness of manner. The children +naturally take up these same activities and modes +of uttering themselves. Even without the suggestion +of teachers, little children express themselves in such +actions, attitudes, and impersonations. This may be +often observed in little boys and girls of kindergarten +age, when telling their experiences to older persons, +or when playing among themselves. The freedom, +activity, and vivacity of children is, indeed, in strong +contrast to the apathetic, expressionless, monotonous +style of many grown people, including teachers.</p> + +<p>But the oral treatment of stories has a tendency to +work out into modes of activity even more effective +than those just described.</p> + +<p>In recent years, since so much oral work has been +done in elementary schools, children have been encouraged +also to express themselves freely in black<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 14]</span>board +drawings and in pencil work at their desks by +way of illustrating the stories told. Moreover, in +paper cutting, to represent persons and scenes, in +clay modelling, to mould objects presented, and +in constructive and building efforts, in making forts, +tents, houses, tools, dress, and in showing up modes +of life, the children have found free scope for their +physical and mental activities. These have not only +led to greater clearness and vividness in their mental +conceptions, but have opened out new fields of self-activity +and inventiveness.</p> + +<p>So long as work in reading and literature was confined +to the book exercises, nearly all these modes of +expression were little employed and even tabooed.</p> + +<p>Finally, the free use of oral narrative in the literature +of early years, in story-telling and its attendant +modes of expression, opens up to primary teachers +a rare opportunity of becoming genuine educators. +There was a time, and it still continues with many +primary teachers, when teaching children to read +was a matter of pure routine, of formal verbal drills +and repetitions, as tiresome to the teacher, if possible, +as to the little ones. But now that literature, with its +treasures of thought and feeling, of culture and refinement, +has become the staple of the primary +school, teachers have a wide and rich field of inspiring +study. The mastery and use of much of the +preferred literature which has dropped down to us +out of the past is the peculiar function of the pri<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 15]</span>mary +teacher. Contact with great minds, like those +of Kingsley, Ruskin, Andersen, the Grimm brothers, +Stevenson, Dickens, Hawthorne, De Foe, Browning, +Æsop, Homer, and the unknown authors of many of +the best ballads, epics, and stories, is enough to give +the primary teacher a sense of the dignity of her +work. On the other hand, the opportunity to give to +children the free and versatile development of their +active powers is an equal encouragement.</p> + +<p>Teachers who have taken up with zeal this great +problem of introducing children to their full birthright, +the choice literature of the world suited to their +years, and of linking this story work with primary +reading so as to give it vitality,—such teachers have +found school life assuming new and unwonted +charms; the great problems of the educator have +become theirs; the broadened opportunity for the +acquisition of varied skill and professional efficiency +has given a strong ambitious tone to their work.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 16]</span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">The Basis of Skill in Oral Work</span></h2> + + +<p>Accepting the statement that skill in oral presentation +of a story is a prime demand in early education, +the important question for teachers is how to +cultivate their resources in this phase of teaching, +how to become good story-tellers.</p> + +<p>It may be remarked that, for the great majority of +people, story-telling is not a gift but an acquisition. +There are, of course, occasional geniuses, but they +may be left out of consideration. They are not +often found in the schoolroom any more than in +other walks of life. What we need is a practical, +sensible development of a power which we all possess +in varying degrees. Nor is it the fluent, volatile, +verbose talker who makes a good oral teacher, but +rather one who can see and think clearly: one who +knows how to combine his ideas and experiences into +clear and connected series of thought.</p> + +<p>We may proceed, therefore, to a discussion of the +needs and resources of a good story-teller.</p> + +<p>1. Without much precaution it may be stated that +he should have a rich experience in all the essential +realities of human life. This covers a large field of<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 17]</span> +common things and refers rather to contact with life +than to mere book knowledge. Yet it is the depth, +heartiness, and variety of knowledge rather than +the source from which it springs that concerns us. +Books often give us just this deep penetrating experience, +as soon as we learn how to select and +use them. We need to know human life directly +and in all sorts of acts, habits, feelings, motives, +and conditions,—something as Shakespeare knew it, +only within the compass of our narrower possibilities. +Likewise the physical world with its visible +and invisible forces and objects besetting us on every +side. These things must impress themselves upon +us vividly in detail as well as in the bulk. The hand +that has been calloused by skill-producing labor, the +back that aches with burdens bravely borne, the +brain that has sweat with strong effort, are expressions +of this kind of knowledge of the world. Clear-grained +perceptions are acquired from many sources: +from travel, labor, books, reflection, sickness, observation. +I go to-day into a small shop where heavy oak +beer-kegs are made, and watch the man working this +refractory material into water-tight kegs that will +stand hard usage at the hands of hard drinkers for +twenty years. If my mind has been at work as I +watch this man for an hour, with his heavy rough +staves made by hand, his tools and machines, his +skill and strong muscular action, the amount and +profit of his labor, that man's work has gone deep<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 18]</span> +into my whole being. I can almost live his life in +an hour's time, and feel its contact with the acute +problems of our modern industrial life. That is a +kind of knowledge and experience worth fully as +much as a sermon in Trinity Church or a University +lecture.</p> + +<p>The teacher needs a great store of these concrete +facts and illustrations. Without them he is a carpenter +without tools or boards. He needs to know +industries, occupations, good novels, typical life +scenes, sunsets, sorrows, joys, inventions, poets, +farmers—all such common, tangible things. Even +from fools and blackguards he can get experiences +that will last him a lifetime if they only strike in and +do not flare off into nothingness.</p> + +<p>Social experience in all sorts of human natures, +disposition, and environing circumstance is immediately +valuable to the teacher.</p> + +<p>Close acquaintance with children, with their early +feelings and experiences, with their timidity or boldness, +with their whims or conceits, their dislikes and +preferences, their enthusiasms and interests, with their +peculiar home and neighborhood experiences and +surroundings, with their games and entertainments, +with the books and papers they read, with their dolls +and playthings, their vacations and outings, with +their pets and playhouses, with their tools and +mechanical contrivances—all these and other like +realities of child life put the teacher on a footing<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 19]</span> +of possible appreciation and sympathy with children. +These are the materials and facts which a good +teacher knows how to work up in oral recitations.</p> + +<p>Of course the kindly, sympathetic social mood +which is not fretted by others' frailties and perversities, +but, like Irving or Addison, exhibits a liberal +charity or humorous affection for all things human, is +a fortunate possession or acquisition for the teacher.</p> + +<p>2. It may be said also, without fear of violent contradiction, +that a teacher needs to be a master of the +story he is about to tell. It may be well to spread +out to view the important things necessary to such a +mastery. The reading over of the story till its facts +and episodes have become familiar and can be reproduced +in easy narrative is at least a minimum requirement. +Even this moderate demand is much +more serious than the old text-book routine in history +or reading, where the teacher, with one eye on the +book, the other on the class, and his finger at the +place, managed to get the questions before the class +in a fixed order.</p> + +<p>Let us look a little beneath the surface of the +story. What is its central idea, the author's aim or +motive in producing it? Not a little effort and reflection +may be necessary to get at the bottom of this +question. Some of the most famous stories, like "Aladdin," +"Gulliver's Travels," and the "City Musicians," +may be so wild and wayward as to elude or blunt the +point of this question. The story may have a hard<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 20]</span> +shell, but the sharp teeth of reflection will get at the +sweet kernel within, else the story is not worth while. +In some of the stories, like "Baucis and Philemon," +"The Great Stone Face," "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," +"The Discontented Pine Tree," and "Hiawatha's +Fasting," the main truth is easily reflected +from the story and caught up even by the children.</p> + +<p>This need for getting at the heart of the story is +clearly seen in all the subsequent work. It is the +exercise of such a critical judgment which qualifies +the teacher to discriminate between good and poor +stories. In the treatment of the story the essential +topics are laid out upon the basis of this controlling +idea or motive. The leading aims and carefully +worded questions point toward this central truth. +The side lights and attendant episodes are arranged +with reference to it like the scenes in a drama. The +effort to get at the central truth and the related ideas +is a sifting-out process, a mode of assimilating and +mastering the story more thorough-going than the +mere memorizing of the facts and words for the purpose +of narration. The thought-getting self-activity +and common-sense logic which are involved in this +mode of assimilating a story are good for both pupils +and teacher.</p> + +<p>The mastery of a story needed by an oral teacher +implies abundance of resource in illustrative device +and explanation. When children fail to grasp an +idea, it is necessary to fall back upon some familiar<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 21]</span> +object or experience not mentioned in the book. +Emergencies arise which tax the teacher's ingenuity +to the utmost. Even the children will raise queries +that baffle his wit. In preparing a story for the +classroom it is necessary to see it from many sides, +to foresee these problems and difficulties. Oftentimes +the collateral knowledge derived from history +or geography or from similar episodes in other stories +will suggest the solution.</p> + +<p>It is a favorite maxim of college teachers and of +those who deal mostly with adults or older pupils, +that if a person knows a thing he can teach it. +Leaving out of account the numerous cases of those +who are well posted in their subjects, but cannot +teach, it is well to note the scope, variety, and thoroughness +of knowledge necessary to a good teacher +to handle it skilfully with younger children. Besides +the thorough knowledge of the subject which scholars +have demanded, it requires an equally clear knowledge +of the mental resources of children, the language +which they can understand, the things which +attract their interest and attention, and the ways of +holding the attention of a group of children of different +capacities, temper, and disposition. Any dogmatic +professor who thinks he can teach the story of +"Cinderella" or Andersen's "Five Peas in the Pod," +because he has a full knowledge of the facts of the +story, should make trial of his skill upon a class of +twenty children in the first grade. We suggest, how<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 22]</span>ever, +that he do it quietly, without inviting in his +friends to witness his triumph.</p> + +<p>No, the mastery of the subject needed for an effective +handling of it in oral work is different and is +greater than they have yet dreamed of who think +that mere objective knowledge is all that is needed +by a teacher. The application of knowledge to life +is generally difficult, more taxing by far than the +mere acquisition of facts and principles. But the +use of one's knowledge in the work of instructing +young children, in getting them to acquire and assimilate +it, is perhaps the most difficult of all forms of +the application of knowledge. It is difficult because +it is so complex. To think clearly and accurately on +some topic for one's single self is not easy, but +to get twenty children of varying capacities and +weaknesses, with their stumbling, acquisitive, flaring +minds, to keep step along one clear line of thought +is a piece of daring enterprise.</p> + +<p>The mastery of the story, therefore, for successful +oral work, must be detailed, comprehensive, many-sided, +and adapted to the fluttering thoughts of childhood.</p> + +<p>3. The chief instrument through which the teacher +communicates the story is oral speech, and this he +needs to wield with discriminating skill and power. +Preachers and lecturers, when called upon to talk to +children, nearly always talk over their heads, using +language not appropriate and comprehensible to<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 23]</span> +children. Those accustomed to deal with little folks +are quickly sensitive to this amateur awkwardness. +Young teachers just out of the higher schools make +the same blunder. They are also inclined to think +that fluency and verbosity are a sign of power. But +such false tinsel makes no impression upon children +except confusion of thought. Children require +simple, direct words, clearly defined in thought and +grounded upon common experience and conviction. +Facts and realities should stand behind the words of +a teacher. What he seeks to marshal before children +is people and things. Words should serve as +photographs of objects; instantaneous views of experiences. +In some social and diplomatic circles words +are said to conceal thought, but this kind of verbal +diplomacy has no place in schools.</p> + +<p>It is an interesting question how far the language +and style of the authors should be preserved by the +narrator. It would be an error to forbid the exact +use of the author's words and an equal error to +require it. It seems reasonable to say that the +teacher should become absorbed in the author's style +and mode of presenting the story. This will lead to +a close approximation to the author's words, without +any slavish imitation. In the midst of oral presentation +and discussion it would be impossible to hold +strictly to the original. The teacher's own language +and conception of the story will press in to simplify +and clarify the meaning. No one holds strictly to a<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 24]</span> +literary style in telling a story. Conversational ideas +and original momentary impulses of thought demand +their own forms of utterance. And yet it is well to +appropriate the style and expression of the writer so +as to accustom the children to the best forms. A +few very apt and forcible sentences will be found in +any good author which the teacher will naturally +employ.</p> + +<p>But the teacher must have freedom. When he +has once thoroughly appropriated the story he must +give vent to his own spontaneity and power. Later, +when the children come to read these stories, they +will enjoy them in their full literary form.</p> + +<p>4. The power of clear and interesting presentation +of a story is one of the chief professional acquisitions +of a good primary teacher. It involves many things +besides language, including liveliness of manner, +gesture, facial expression, action, dramatic impersonation, +skill in blackboard illustration, good humor +and tact in working with children, a strong imagination, +and a real appreciation for the literature adapted +to children.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the fundamental need is simplicity and +clearness of thought and language combined with a +pleasing and attractive manner. Vague and incomprehensible +thoughts and ideas are all out of place. +The teacher should be strict with himself in this +matter, and while reading and mastering the story, +should use compulsion upon himself to arrive at an<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 25]</span> +unmistakable clearness of thought. The objects, +buildings, palaces, woods, caves, animals, persons, +and places should be sharply imaged by the imagination; +the feelings and passions of the actors should +be keenly realized. Often a vague and uncertain +conception needs to be scanned, the passage reread, +and the notion framed into clearness. In describing +the palace of the sleeping beauty, begirt with woods, +the sentinels standing statuelike at the portal, the +lords and ladies at their employments, the teacher +should think out the entrance way, hall, rooms, and +persons of the palace so clearly that his thought and +language will not stumble over uncertainties. Transparent +clearness and directness of thought are the +result of effort and circumspection. They are well +worth the pains required to gain them. A teacher +who thinks clearly will generate clear habits of +thought in children.</p> + +<p>The power of interesting narrative and description +is not easily explained. It is a thing not readily +analyzed into its elements. Perhaps the best way to +find out what it is may be discovered by reading the +great story-tellers, such as Macaulay, Irving, Kingsley, +De Foe, Hawthorne, Homer, Plutarch, Scott, +and Dickens. Novelists like George Eliot, Victor +Hugo, Cooper, Scott, and Dickens, possess +this secret also, and even some of the historians, +as Herodotus, Fiske, Green, Parkman, Motley, and +others. It is not so important that a teacher should<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 26]</span> +give a cold analysis of their qualities as that he +should fall insensibly into the vivid and realistic style +of the best story-tellers. One who has read Pyle's +Robin Hood stories until they are familiar will, to +a considerable extent, appropriate his fertile and +happy Old-English style, the sturdy English spirit of +bold Robin, his playful humor, and his apt utterance +of homely truths.</p> + +<p>There are certain qualities that stand out prominently +in the good story-tellers. They are simple +and concrete in their descriptions, they deal very +little in general, vague statements or abstractions, +they hold closely to the persons of the story in the +midst of interesting surroundings, they are profuse +in the use of distinct figures of speech, appealing to +the fancy or imagination. They often have a humorous +vein which gives infinite enjoyment and spreads +a happy charity throughout the world.</p> + +<p>The art of graphic illustration on the blackboard +is in almost constant demand in oral work. Even +rude and untechnical sketches by teachers who have +no acquired skill in artistic drawing are of the greatest +value in giving a quick and accurate perception +of places, buildings, persons, and surrounding conditions +of a story or action. The map of Crusoe's +island, the drawings to represent his tent, cave, boat, +country residence, fortifications, dress, utensils, and +battles are natural and simple modes of realizing +clearly his labors and adventures. They save much<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 27]</span> +verbal description and circumlocution. The teacher +needs to acquire absolute boldness and freedom in +using such illustrative devices. The children will, +of course, catch this spirit, as they are by nature +inclined to use drawing as a mode of expression.</p> + +<p>A similar freedom in the teacher is necessary in +the use of bodily action, gesture, and facial expression +in story-telling. The teacher needs to become natural, +childlike, and mobile in these things; for children +are naturally much given to such demonstrations +in the expression of their thought. Little girls of +three and four years in the home, when free from +self-consciousness, are marvellously and delightfully +expressive by means of eyes, gestures, hands, and +arms and whole bodily attitudes. Why should not +this naive expressiveness be gently fostered in the +school? Indeed it is, and in many schools the little +ones are as happy and whole-souled and spontaneous +in their modes of expression as we have suggested.</p> + +<p>Dramatization, if cultivated, extends a teacher's +gamut of expressiveness. Our inability or slowness +to respond to this suggestion is a sign of a certain narrowness +or cramp in our culture and training. In Normal +schools where young teachers are trained in the art +of reading, the dramatic instinct should be strongly +developed. The power to other one's self in dramatic +action, to assume and impersonate a variety of +characters, is a real expression and enlargement of +the personality. It demands sympathy and feeling as<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 28]</span> +well as intellectual insight. The study and reading +of the great dramatists, the seeing of good plays, +amateur efforts in this direction, the frequent oral +reading of Shakespeare, Dickens, and other dramatists +and novelists will cultivate and enlarge the +teacher's power in this worthy and wholesome art.</p> + +<p>The use of good pictures is also an important +means of adding to the beauty and clearness of +stories. The pictures of Indian life in "Hiawatha," the +illustrated editions of "Robinson Crusoe," the copies +of ancient works of art in some editions of the Greek +myths, Howard Pyle's illustrated "Robin Hood," and +other books of this character add greatly to the vividness +of ideas. Such pictures should be handled with +care, not distributed promiscuously among the children +while the lesson is going on. The teacher needs +to study a picture, and discuss it intelligently with the +children, asking questions which bring out its representative +qualities.</p> + +<p>It is evident the skilful oral presentation of a story +calls out no small degree of clear knowledge, force +of language, illustrative device, dramatic instinct, and +a freedom and versatility of action both mental and +physical.</p> + +<p>5. A clear outline of leading points in a story is a +source of strength to the teacher and the basis later +of good reproductive work by the children. The +short stories in the first grade hardly need a formal +outline, and even in second grade the sequence of<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 29]</span> +ideas in a story is often so simple and easy that outlines +of leading topics may not be needed. But in +third and fourth grade it is well in the preliminary +study and mastery of a story to divide it up into +clearly marked segments, with a distinctive title for +each division. It is difficult to get teachers to do this +kind of close logical work, and still more difficult to +have them remember it in the midst of oral presentation +and discussion. If the main points of the story +as thus outlined are placed upon the blackboard as +the narrative advances, it keeps in mind a clear survey +of the whole and serves as the best basis for the +children's reproduction of the story. It compels +both teacher and pupils to keep to a close logical +connection of ideas and a sifting out of the story to +get at the main points. Without these well-constructed +outlines the memory of the story is apt to +fall into uncertainty and confusion, and the children's +reproduction becomes fragmentary and disorderly. +Experience shows that teachers are prone to be loose +and careless in bringing their stories into such a well-ordered +series of distinct topics. It is really a sign +of a thoughtful, logical, and judicious mastery of a +subject to have thrown it thus into its prominent +points of narration. Oral work often fails of effectiveness +and thoroughness, because of these careless +habits of teachers. Such an outline, when put into +the children's regular note-books, serves as the best +basis for later surveys and reviews.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 30]</span></p> + +<p>6. The oral narration and presentation of stories +has a curious way of being turned into <i>development +lessons</i>, in which the teacher deals in questions and +problematic situations and the children work out +many of the facts and incidents of the story by a +series of guesses and inferences. These are well +known as development lessons, and they are capable +of exhibiting the highest forms of excellence in teaching +or the most drivelling waste of time. The subject +is a hard one to handle, but it needs a clear and +simple elucidation as much as any problem in the +teaching profession. Generally speaking it is better +for young teachers not to launch out recklessly upon +the full tide of development instruction. It is better +to learn the handling of the craft on quieter waters. +Development work needs to be well charted. The +varying winds and currents, storms and calms, need +to be studied and experienced before one may become +a good ship's master. Let young teachers first +acquire power in clear, simple, direct narration and +description, using apt and forcible language and +holding to a clear-cut line of thought. This is no +slight task, and when once mastered and fixed in +habit becomes the foundation of a wider freedom and +skill in development exercises. The works of the +great story-tellers furnish excellent models of this +sort of skill, and teachers may follow closely in the +lines struck out by Scott or Hawthorne in narrating +a story.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 31]</span></p> + +<p>A book story cannot do otherwise than simply +narrate; it cannot develop, set problems and questions +and have children to find solutions and answers. +It must tell the facts and answer the questions. But +in oral narration there is room not only for all the +skill of the story-writer, but also the added force of +voice, personality, lively manner, gesture, action, and +close adaptation to the immediate needs of children +and subject. This is enough to command the undivided +effort of the young teacher at first, without +entering the stormy waters and shifting currents of +pure development work.</p> + +<p>Yet the spirited teacher will not go far in narrating +a story without a tendency to ask questions to intensify +the children's thought, or to quicken the discussion +of interesting points. Even if the teachers or +parents are but reading a good story from a book, +it is most natural, at times, to ask questions about +the meaning of certain new words, or geographical +locations, or probabilities in the working out of the +story. These are the simple beginnings of development +work, and produce greater thoughtfulness, +keener perceptions of the facts, and a better absorption +of the story into a child's previous knowledge.</p> + +<p>A sharp limitation of development work is also +found in the circumstance that a large share of the +facts in a story cannot by any sort of ingenuity be +developed. They form the necessary basis for later +development questions. Even many of the facts<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 32]</span> +which might be developed by a skilful teacher are +better told directly, because of the difficulty and +time-devouring nature of the process. There may +be a few central problems in every story, which, after +the necessary facts and conditions have been plainly +told, can be thoroughly sifted out by questions, answers, +and discussions. But to work out all the little +details of a story by question and surmise, to get the +crude, unbaked opinions of all the members of a class +upon every episode and fact in a story, is a pitiful +caricature of good instruction.</p> + +<p>The purpose of good development work is to get +children to go deeper into the meaning of a story, to +realize its situations more keenly, and to acquire +habits of thoughtfulness, self-reliant judgment, and +inventiveness in solving difficulties. These results, +and they are among the chiefest set for the educator, +cannot be accomplished by mere narration and description. +Their superior excellence and worth are +the prize of that superior skill which first-class development +work demands.</p> + +<p>With these preliminary remarks, criticisms, and +limitations in mind, we may inquire what are the essentials +of good development work in oral lessons.</p> + +<p>(1) Determine what parts of a story are capable of +development; what facts must be clearly present to +the mind before questions can be put and inferences +derived. In a problem in arithmetic we first state +the known facts, the conditions upon which a solu<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 33]</span>tion +can be based, and then put a question whose +answer is to be gained by a proper conjunction and +inference from these facts. The same thing is true +in reasoning upon the facts in a story.</p> + +<p>(2) In placing a topic before children it is always +advisable to touch up the knowledge already possessed +by the children, or any parts of their previous +experience which have strong interpretative ideas for +the new lesson. At this point apt questions which +probe quickly into their <i>previous knowledge and +experience</i> are at a premium. The teacher needs +to have considered beforehand in what particulars +the children's home surroundings and peculiar circumstances +may furnish the desired knowledge. The +form of the questions may also receive close attention. +For these words must provoke definite thought. +They should have hooks on them which quickly drag +experience into light.</p> + +<p>(3) In order to give direction to the children's +thoughts on the story's line of progress, <i>interesting +aims</i> should be set up. These aims, without anticipating +precise results, must guide the children +towards the desired ends and turning-points in the +story. The mind should be kept in suspense as to +the outcome, and the thoughts should centre and +play about these clearly projected aims. Such aims, +floating constantly in the van, are the objective +points, towards which the energy of thought is +directed. Every good story-teller keeps such aims<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 34]</span> +expressly or tacitly in view. Novelists and dramatists +hinge the interest of readers or spectators +upon this curiosity which is kept acutely sensitive +about results. Such an aim should be simple and +concrete, not vague or abstract, or general. It may +be put in the form of a question or statement or +suggestion. It will be a good share of the teacher's +work in the preparation of the lesson to pick out and +word these aims which centre upon the leading +topics of the lesson. For it is not enough to have +an aim at the beginning of a story, every chapter +or separate part of the story should have its aim. +For aims are what stimulate effort and keep up an +attentive interest.</p> + +<p>(4) Self-activity and thoughtfulness in working +out problems find their best opportunity in development +work. The book, in narrating a story, cannot +set problems, or, if it does, it forthwith assumes the +task of solving them. But in the oral development +of a story the essential facts and conditions may be +clearly presented and the solution of the difficulties, +as in arithmetic, left largely to the ingenuity and +reasoning power of the children. In the story of +Hiawatha's boat-building the problem may be set to +the children as to what materials he will use in the +construction of the canoe, how the parts were put +together, and how he might decorate it. Not that +the children will give the whole solution, but they +can contribute much to it. In "Robinson Crusoe"<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 35]</span> +many such problems arise. How shall he conceal +his cave and house from possible enemies? Where +can he store his powder to keep it from the lightning +and from dampness? In fact, nearly every step in +Crusoe's interesting career is such a problem or difficulty +to battle with. In Kingsley's "Greek Heroes" +and other renderings of the Greek myths, the heroes +are young men who have shrewdness, courage, and +strength to overcome difficulties. To put these difficulties +before children in such a way that they by +their own thinking may anticipate, in part at least, +the proper solutions, is one of the chief merits of +development work. The story of Ulysses is a series +of shrewd contrivances to master difficulties or to +avoid misfortunes, so that his name has become a +synonym for shrewdness. The story itself, therefore, +furnishes prime opportunities to develop resourcefulness. +How shall he escape from the enraged Polyphemos +in the cave? His invention of the wooden +horse before Troy; his escape from the sirens; his +battle with the suitors and others. The story of +Aladdin has such interesting inventions, and even +the fairy tales and fables have many turns of shrewdness +and device where the children's wits may +be stimulated. The turning-points and centres of +interest in all such stories are the true wrestling-grounds +of thought. To put them point-blank before +children in continuous narrative, without question +or discussion, is not the way to produce thoughtful<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 36]</span>ness +and inventive power. Merely reading or telling +stories to children without comment is entertaining, +but not educative in the better sense. Children will +have plenty of chances at home and in the school +library to read and hear stories, but it is the business +of the school to teach them how to think as they +read, to produce a habit of foreseeing, reviewing, +comparing, and judging. The serious defect of +much of young people's reading, from ten years on, +is its superficial, transitory character. It lacks depth, +strength, and permanency. It is not many stories +that can be orally treated in this thorough-going way, +but enough to give the right idea, and to cultivate +habit and taste for more thoughtful study.</p> + +<p>For skilled teachers, therefore, development lessons, +within certain limits, constitute a most important +phase of oral instruction. It has been sometimes +assumed that a child acquires greater self-reliance +and a stronger exercise in self-activity by learning +his lesson by himself from a book. This is probably +true in much of the arithmetic, where he works out +the solution of problems unaided; but in history and +literature the book work is chiefly memory work, and +oftentimes becomes of such parrot-like character +as to be almost destitute of higher educative qualities. +It is advisable, therefore, to strengthen the +educative value of story work by giving it, through +oral instruction, this problem-solving character, this +thought-stimulating, self-reliant attitude of mind.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 37]</span></p> + +<p>7. When the teacher has shown his best skill in +presenting and discussing a section of a story, it then +devolves upon the children to show their knowledge +and grasp of the subject by reproducing it. The +task of getting this well done requires, perhaps, as +much skill and force of character as all previous +work of oral instruction. Obstacles are met with at +once. It is dull work to go back over the same thing +again, and the children soon get tired of it. They +want something new and more exciting, and press +for the rest of the story. Many children are at first +deficient in power of attention and in language, so +that their efforts at reproduction are clumsy and poor. +The interest is weak, the attention of the children +scattering, and the class is apt to go to pieces under +the strain of such dull work. This is an emergency +where a teacher needs both skill and force of character. +(What a comfort it is to a writer to have such +a platitude as this to fall back upon, when he gets +a teacher into a place where nothing but his own +devices can save him.)</p> + +<p>There are, however, some hopeful considerations +which may encourage a teacher whose feet are not +already too deep in the bog of discouragement.</p> + +<p>Children enjoy the retelling of good stories with +which they are familiar. They will do it at home, +even if they are not very proficient at it in school. +In every class there are some talkative children who +are always willing to make an effort. Again, it is<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 38]</span> +not always difficult to interest boys and girls in doing +a thing that requires skill and power, such as memory, +attentiveness, and mastery of correct language. The +force of the teacher's influence and authority is worth +something in setting up high standards of proficiency. +Indeed, children respect a teacher who makes rigorous +demands upon them. The retelling of stories +is, after all, no harder nor duller than the reciting of +a lesson learned out of a book.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, the whole effectiveness of oral +work depends upon the success of these oral reproductions. +If children know that the teacher is in +earnest they will be more attentive, so as to be +able to fulfil the requirement. Such a reproduction +reveals at once a child's correct or incorrect grasp +of the subject, and in either case the teacher knows +what to do next. Errors and misconceptions can be +corrected and such explanations or additional facts +given as will clarify the subject.</p> + +<p>In such reproductions it is praiseworthy to help +the children as little as possible, to throw them back +upon their own power as much as possible. If the +teacher constantly relieves them with suggestive questions, +they lean more and more upon her direction +and lose all self-reliant power of continuous narrative. +No, let the teacher keep a prudent silence, let +her seal her lips, if necessary, in order to teach boys +and girls to stand on their own power of thought.</p> + +<p>Under this sort of discipline, kindly but rigorous,<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 39]</span> +children will gradually acquire confidence in manner, +variety and choice of language, in short, the ability to +grasp clearly, hold firmly, and express accurately the +ideas which are presented to them.</p> + +<p>The whole purpose of this sort of instruction is not +so much to see how skilfully a teacher can present a +lesson (though that is a fine art) as to determine how +well a boy or girl can master or express knowledge, +can learn to think and speak for himself.</p> + +<p>8. Some teachers despair of treating stories orally +in large classes of primary children. The task of +holding together such wriggling varieties of mental +force and mental inertia is great. Some children are +quick and excitable, others are unresponsive and dull. +Some are timid and sensitive, others bold and demonstrative. +Some are talkative and irrepressible, others +silent or listless.</p> + +<p>It is interesting to consider the function and value +of a good child's story to fit in to such varying needs +and personalities. If the purpose of the primary +school is simply to keep children busy at some kind +of orderly work, there are other tamer employments +than stories. But if the idea is to put children's +minds and bodies into healthy, vigorous action, it +would be difficult to find a more suitable instrument +than a fitting story.</p> + +<p>But a good primary teacher knows better than to +establish brusque and fixed standards of uniform +success for all children. It will take much time and<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 40]</span> +patience to get anything like good oral responses +from some children. Like budding flowers some +unfold their leaves and petals much quicker at the +touch of sunshine than others. But the sun does not +stop shining because all do not come out at once. +The crudest efforts of little children must be received +with kindness and encouragement. The power of +reproducing thought and language is very slowly +acquired by many children. They are timidly self-conscious, +distrustful of their own powers, and have +not learned to throw themselves with confidence upon +the good-will of their teachers. It may take months +with some children to overcome these obstacles, and +to bring them to a confident use of their powers, but +it is the highest delight of a teacher to reach this +result.</p> + +<p>Some children, on the other hand, are so talkative +and impulsive that they will monopolize the time of +the class to no good purpose. Their enthusiasm +requires tempering and their soberer thought strengthening.</p> + +<p>Another difficulty lies in the necessary effort to get +correct English, to gradually mould the language of +children into correct forms. The perverse habits of +children, the influence of home and playground, the +inveterate preference for slang and crude, crass +expressions, and their sensitive pride against unusual +refinements of speech, make the cultivation of good +English an uphill task. But roads must be laid out<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 41]</span> +through this wilderness of hills and valleys, stumps +and brush. And these roads must be gradually +worked down into smooth highways of travel. It is +pioneer toil, requiring the steady use of axe and +mattock and spade.</p> + +<p>There is no kind of school training where good English +can be cultivated to better advantage, where the +power of correct, independent, well-articulated speech +can be so well strengthened as in oral story. It is +in the close contact of this work that the teacher is +dealing directly with the original stock of experiences, +ideas, and words of every child, and with these as +instruments of acquisition, helping him to get a +spirited introduction to the world of ideas in books +and literature.</p> + +<p>It is here that we can get a glimpse of that vast +work which the elementary schools of the country +are doing in the way of Americanizing the children +of various nationalities and in giving them not only +a common language, but a common body of ideas +rooted in the earliest experiences of childhood and +already laying hold of many of the richest treasures +of American history and of the world's literature.</p> + +<p>9. As children advance from the first year into the +second and third years the character of the oral story-telling +gradually changes. Children should acquire +more power of attention, greater command of language +and ability to grasp and hold at one telling +a larger section of a story. The stories themselves<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 42]</span> +become more complex, the questions and problems +set by the teacher more difficult. The necessity for +sharp, logical outlines of leading topics increases as +one advances in the grades. Older children can +be held more rigidly to common standards of excellence +in thought and language. In this, however, +the teacher should always remember that children +differ greatly in their natural powers of expression, +and that a forcing process will not be so successful +as a stimulating and encouraging attitude in the +teacher.</p> + +<p>10. The good oral treatment of most stories leads +the children to much activity in material constructions. +Where the minds of children are brought to +a healthy activity their bodies and physical energies +are pretty sure to be called into play to work out the +suggested lines of thought. "Robinson Crusoe" invariably +leads the children to a multitude of building +and making enterprises, such as moulding vessels in +clay, constructing the barricade around his tent and +cave, the making of chairs and tables, etc.</p> + +<p>We have already noticed the readiness of children +to make blackboard or other drawings of interesting +objects in a story, or to cut them out with scissors +from paper. This effort to experience the realities +of life more directly by making objects of common +utility and necessity is a characteristic and powerful +tendency of childhood. It is commonly seen in +children about the house, when, for example, they<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 43]</span> +must have wagons, wheelbarrows, tools, or a set of +garden implements with which to imitate the employments +of their elders. Parkman and others often +speak of the constant practice of little Indian boys +with bow and arrows.</p> + +<p>Our purpose here is not to discuss this matter at +length, but simply to notice its prominent place in +connection with the oral lesson in story. The intense +interest awakened in stories leads quickly to these +efforts at construction. What shall the teacher do +with this powerful tendency of children to carry over +these ideas into the field of practical constructive +labor? To the thinker this tendency is perhaps +the surest proof of the value of the story. It does +not stop with words nor ideas. It pushes far into the +region of voluntary, physical, and mental labor and +application of knowledge.</p> + +<p>The teacher who will make good use of this enterprising +constructive desire of children must know definitely +about tools, boards, shops, various industries, +and technical trades, the special materials, inventions, +and devices of artisans in the common occupations, +such as farming, gardening, blacksmithing, the carpenter +shop, the baker, the quarry, the brick kiln, etc.</p> + +<p>It will not be strange if many teachers recoil, at +first glance, from this leap into industrial life. It +suggests that the schoolhouse must become a big +machine shop, agricultural station, etc. The trouble +is, of course, that teachers do not feel themselves<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 44]</span> +qualified in these things. They know almost as +little as the children about such matters, and have +much less inclination to know more.</p> + +<p>But our modern education is taking a decided turn +in this direction, and with good reason. The close +acquaintance of our teachers with the common occupations +of life, with their materials, tools, machines, +constructions, and skill would supply them with a rich +collection of practical, concrete, illustrative knowledge +of the greatest use in instructing children. It +is impossible to mention anything which would be +of more service to them in the details of instruction. +The advantages to the children of such teaching, re-enforced +by this concrete detail of common life, are +so numerous and important as to deserve a special +effort. The benefit to teachers would quickly more +than recompense them for the labor involved. By +occasional visits of observation in shops, fields, stores, +and factories, by assisting children in their constructive +efforts, the teacher will acquire knowledge, +strength, and confidence for such work. The unfamiliarity +of teachers with these everyday industrial +matters, and their feeling of helplessness as regards +things not in the usual routine of school, are the real +hindrances to be overcome.</p> + +<p>There are other subjects in the school course, like +home geography and the early lessons in nature +study, which deal more directly than stories with +these practical forms of industrial life and construc<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 45]</span>tive +activity. They will also demand and cultivate an +increasing knowledge of this practical phase of life +and education. The lessons in oral story-telling +stand thus closely linked with progressive experimental +knowledge in other studies.</p> + +<p>A brief retrospect and summary of the requirements +necessary as a basis of good oral treatment of +stories will impress us with the skill and resourcefulness +needed by the teacher.</p> + +<p>1. First-hand experience with the realities of life.</p> + +<p>2. Intimate knowledge and sympathy with child +life.</p> + +<p>3. The many-sided mastery of the story for teaching +purposes.</p> + +<p>4. Skill in the use of simple, apt, and forcible +language.</p> + +<p>5. Power of narrative and description, together +with various forms of graphic illustration, dramatic +action, etc.</p> + +<p>6. Clear and simple outline of leading topics.</p> + +<p>7. Acquired power in the use of development +methods, including question, problem, discussion, +aims, and the training of children to self-activity and +thoughtfulness.</p> + +<p>8. The successful oral reproduction of stories by +the children.</p> + +<p>9. Tact in the handling of large classes, with +children of differing temperament and capacity, and +the encouragement of timid children.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 46]</span></p> + +<p>10. Changing character of oral work in advancing +grades.</p> + +<p>11. The need of insight and ability to supervise +constructive activities.</p> + +<p>These things include a wide range of clear knowledge +and confident skill and resource. Teachers +need first of all to cultivate resourcefulness in the use +of their own knowledge and experience, and to add to +both of these as rapidly as circumstances permit.</p> + +<p>The mere reading of stories to children by the +teacher, at odd times, on Friday afternoons or on +special occasions, is also of much value as a means of +interesting children in a wide range of good books. +It is a source of entertainment and culture, which, +when judiciously and skilfully employed, adds much +to the educative power of the school.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 47]</span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">First Grade Stories</span></h2> + + +<h3>FAIRY TALES</h3> + +<p>Young children, as we all know, are delighted with +stories, and in the first grade they are still in this +story-loving period. A good story is the best medium +through which to convey ideas and also to approach +the difficulties of learning to read. Such a story, +Wilmann says, is a pedagogical treasure. By many +thinkers and primary teachers the fairy stories have +been adopted as best suited to the wants of the little +folk just emerging from the home. A series of fairy +tales was selected by Ziller, one of the leading Herbartians, +as a centre for the school work of the first +year. These stories have long held a large place in +the home culture of children, especially of the more +cultivated class. Now it is claimed that what is good +for the few whose parents may be cultured and sympathetic, +may be good enough for the children of the +common people and of the poor. Moreover, stories +that have made the fireside more joyous and blessed +may perchance bring vivacity and happiness into +schoolrooms. The home and the school are coming +closer together. It is even said that well-trained,<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 48]</span> +sympathetic primary teachers may better tell and +impress these stories than overworked mothers and +busy fathers. If these literary treasures are left for +the homes to discover and use, the majority of children +will know little or nothing of them. Many +schools in this country have been using them in the +first grade in recent years with a pleasing effect.</p> + +<p>But what virtue lies concealed in these fairy myths +for the children of our practical and sensible age? +Why should we draw from fountains whose sources +are back in the prehistoric and even barbarous past? +To many people it appears as a curious anachronism +to nourish little children in the first decade of this +new century upon food that was prepared in the +tents of wandering tribes in early European history. +What are the merits of these stories for children just +entering upon scholastic pursuits? They are known +to be generally attractive to children of this age, but +many sober-minded people distrust them. Are they +really meat and drink for the little ones? And not +only so, but the choicest meat and drink, the best +food upon which to nourish their unfolding minds?</p> + +<p>Fairy tales are charged with misleading children +by falsifying the truth of things. And, indeed, they +pay little heed to certain natural laws that practical +people of good sense always respect. A child, however, +is not so humdrum practical as these serious +truth-lovers. A little girl talks to her doll as if it +had real ears. She and her little brother make tea<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 49]</span>cups +and saucers out of acorns with no apparent +compunctions of conscience. They follow Cinderella +to the ball in a pumpkin chariot, transformed by +magic wand, with even greater interest than we read +of a presidential ball. A child may turn the common +laws of physical nature inside out and not be a +whit the worse for it. Its imagination can people +a pea-pod with little heroes aching for a chance in +the big world, or it can put tender personality into +the trunk and branches of the little pine tree in the +forest. There are no space limits that a child's fancy +will not spring over in a twinkling. It can ride from +star to star on a broomstick, or glide over peaceful +waters in a fairy boat drawn by graceful swans. +Without suggestion from mother or teacher, children +put life and personality into their playthings. Their +spontaneous delights are in this playful exercise of +the fancy, in masquerading under the guise of a +soldier, bear, horse, or bird. The fairy tale is the +poetry of children's inner impulse and feeling; their +sparkling eyes and absorbed interest show how fitting +is the contact between these childlike creations of the +poet and their own budding thoughts.</p> + +<p>In discussing the qualities requisite in a fairy story +to make it a pedagogical treasure, Wilmann says:<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> +"When it is laid down as a first and indispensable +requirement that a story be genuinely childlike, the +demand sounds less rigorous than it really is. It is<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 50]</span> +easier to feel than to describe the qualities which lend +to a story the true childlike spirit. It is not simplicity +alone. A simple story that can be understood +by a child is not on that account childlike. The +simplicity must be the ingenuousness of the child. +Close to this lies the abyss of silliness into which +so many children's stories tumble. A simple story +may be manufactured, but the quality of true simplicity +will not be breathed into it unless one can draw +from the deeper springs of poetic invention. It is +not enough that the externals of the story, such +as situation and action, have this character, but the +sensibilities and motives of the actors must be ingenuous +and childlike; they should reflect the child's +own feeling, wish, and effort. But it is not necessary +on this account that the persons of the story be +children. Indeed the king, prince, and princess, if +they only speak and act like children, are much +nearer the child's comprehension than any of the +children paraded in a manufactured story, designed +for the 'industrious youth.' For just as real poetry +so the real child's story lies beyond reality in the +field of fancy. With all its plainness of thought and +action, the genuine child's story knows how to take +hold of the child's fancy and set its wings in motion. +And what a meaning has fancy for the soul of the +child as compared with that of the adult. For us +the activity of fancy only sketches arabesques, as +it were, around the sharply defined pictures of reality.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 51]</span> +The child thinks and lives in such arabesques, and +it is only gradually that increasing experience writes +among these arabesques the firmer outlines of things. +The child's thoughts float about playfully and unsteadily, +but the fairy tale is even lighter winged +than they. It overtakes these fleeting summer birds +and wafts them together without brushing the dust +from their wings.</p> + +<p>"But fostering the activity of fancy in children is +a means, not an end. It is necessary to enter the +field of fancy because the way to the child's heart +leads through the fancy. The effect upon the heart +of the child is the second mark and proof of the genuine +child's story. We are not advocates of the so-called +moral stories which are so short-winded as to +stop frequently and rest upon some moral commonplace. +Platitudes and moral maxims are not designed +to develop a moral taste in the minds of +young children, for they appeal to the understanding +and will of the pupil and presuppose what must +be first built up and established. True moral training +is rather calculated to awaken in the child judgments +of right and wrong, of good and evil (on +simple illustrative examples). Not the impression +left by a moralizing discourse is the germ of a love +of the good and right, but rather the child's judgment +springing from its own conviction. 'That was +good.' 'What a mean thing!'</p> + +<p>"Those narratives have a moral force which intro<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 52]</span>duce +persons and acts that are simple and transparent +enough to let the moral light shine through, +that possess sufficient life to lend warmth and vigor +to moral judgments. No attempt to cover up or +pass over what is bad, nor to paint it in extravagant +colors. For the bad develops the judgment no less +than the good. It remains only to have a care that +a child's interest inclines toward the good, the just, +and the right."</p> + +<p>Wilmann summarizes the essentials of a good story, +and then discusses the fairy tales as follows:—</p> + +<p>"There are then five requirements to be made of +a real child's story: Let it be truly childlike, that is, +both simple and full of fancy; let it form morals +in the sense that it introduces persons and matters +which, while simple and lively, call out a moral judgment +of approval or disapproval; let it be instructive +and lead to thoughtful discussions of society and +nature; let it be of permanent value, inviting perpetually +to a reperusal; let it be a connected whole, +so as to work a deeper influence and become the +source of a many-sided interest.</p> + +<p>"The child's story which, on the basis of the aforenamed +principles, can be made the starting-point for +all others, is Grimm's fairy tale of folk lore. We are +now called upon to show that the folk-lore fairy tale +answers to the foregoing requirements, and in this +we shall see many a ray of light cast back upon +these requirements themselves.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 53]</span></p> + +<p>"Is the German fairy tale childlike? full of simplicity +as well as of fancy? A deeply poetic saying +of Jacob Grimm may teach us the answer. 'There +runs through these poetic fairy tales the same deep +vein of purity by reason of which children seem to +us so wonderful and blessed. They have, as it were, +the same pale-blue, clear, and lustrous eyes which +can grow no more although the other members are +still delicate and weak and unserviceable to the uses +of earth.' Klaiber quotes this passage in his 'Das +Märchen und die Kindliche Phantasie,' and says +with truth and beauty, 'Yes; when we look into the +trusting eyes of a child, in which none of the world's +deceit is to be read as yet, when we see how these +eyes brighten and gleam at a beautiful fairy tale, as +if they were looking out into a great, wide, beautiful +wonder-world, then we feel something of the deep +connection of the fairy story with the childish soul.' +We will bring forward one more passage from a little +treatise, showing depth and warmth of feeling, which +stealthily takes away from the doubters their scruples +about the justification of the fairy tale. 'It is strange +how well the fairy tale and the child's soul mutually +understand each other. It is as if they had been +together from the very beginning and had grown up +together. As a rule the child only deals with that +part of real life which concerns itself and children of +its age. Whatever lies beyond this is distant, strange, +unintelligible. Under the leading of the fairy tale,<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 54]</span> +however, it permits itself to be borne over hill and +valley, over land and sea, through sun and moon +and stars, even to the end of the world, and everything +is so near, so familiar, so close to its reach, as +if they had been everywhere before, just as if obscure +pictures within had all at once become wonderfully +distinct. And the fairies all, and the king's sons, +and the other distinguished personages, whom it +learns to know through the fairy tale,—they are as +natural and intelligible as if the child had moved its +life long in the highest circles, and had had princes +and princesses for its daily playmates. In a word, +the world of the fairy tale is the child's world, for +it is the world of fancy.'</p> + +<p>"For this reason children live and move in fairyland, +whether the story be told by the mother or by +the teacher in the primary school. What attention +as the story proceeds! What anxiousness when any +danger threatens the hero, be he king's son or a +wheat-straw! What grief, even to tears, when a wrong +is practised upon some innocent creature! And far +from it that the joy in the fairy tale decrease when +it is told or discussed over again. Then comes the +pleasure of representation—bringing the story upon +the stage. Though a child has but to represent a +flower in the meadow, the little face is transfigured +with the highest joy.</p> + +<p>"But the childish joy of fairy tales passes away; +not so the inner experiences which it has brought<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 55]</span> +with it. I am not affirming too much when I say +that he who, as a child, has never listened with joy +to the murmuring and rustling of the fresh fountain +of fairyland, will have no ear and no understanding +for many a deep stream of German poetry. It is, +after all, the modest fountain of fairy song which, +flowing and uniting with the now noisy, now soft and +gently flowing, current of folk song, and with the +deep and earnest stream of tradition, which has +poured such a refreshing current over German poetry, +out of which our most excellent Uhland has drawn +so many a heart-strengthening draught.</p> + +<p>"The spirit of the people finds expression in fairy +tale as in tradition and song, and if we were only +working to lift and strengthen the national impulse, +a moral-educative instruction would have to turn +again and again to these creations of the people. +What was asserted as a general truth in regard to +classical products, that they are a bond between large +and small, old and young, is true of national stories +and songs more than of anything else. They are at +once a bond between the different classes, a national +treasure, which belongs alike to rich and poor, high +and low. The common school then has the least right +of all to put the fairy tale aside, now that few women +versed in fairy lore, such as those to whom Grimm +listened, are left.</p> + +<p>"But does the fairy tale come of noble blood? +Does it possess what we called in the case of classics<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 56]</span> +an old title of nobility? If we keep to this figure of +speech, we shall find that the fairy tale is not only +noble, but a very royal child among stories. It has +ruled from olden times, far and wide, over many a +land. Hundreds of years gone, Grimm's fairy stories +lived in the people's heart, and not in Germany alone. +If our little ones listen intently to Aschenputtel, +French children delighted in Cindrillon, the Italian +in Cenerentola, the Polish in Kopcinszic. The fact +that mediæval story-books contain Grimm's tales is +not remarkable, when we reflect that traits and characteristics +of the fairy tale reach back beyond the +Christian period; that Frau Holle is Hulda, or Frigg, +the heathen goddess; that 'Wishing-cap,' 'Little +Lame-leg,' and 'Table Cover Thyself,' etc., are made +up out of the attributes of German gods. Finally, +such things as 'The Sleeping Beauty,' which is the +earth in winter sleep, that the prince of summer +wakes with kisses in springtime, point back to the +period of primitive Indo-German myth.</p> + +<p>"But in addition to the requirement of classical +nobility, has the fairy story also the moral tone which +we required of the genuine child's story? Does the +fairy story make for morals? To be sure it introduces +to an ideal realm of simple moral relations. +The good and bad are sharply separated. The wrong +holds for a time its supremacy, but the final victory +is with the good. And with what vigor the judgment +of good and evil, of right and wrong, is produced.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 57]</span> +We meet touching pictures, especially of good-will, +of faithfulness, characteristic and full of life. Think +only of the typical interchange of words between +Lenchen and Fundevogel. Said Lenchen, 'Leave +me not and I will never leave thee.' Said Fundevogel, +'Now and nevermore.' We are reminded of +the Bible words of the faithful Ruth, 'Whither thou +goest I will go; where thou lodgest I will lodge; +where thou diest I will die and there will I be +buried.'</p> + +<p>"Important for the life of children is the rigor with +which the fairy tale punishes disobedience and falsehood. +Think of the suggestive legendary story of +the child which was visited again and again with misfortune +because of its obstinacy, till its final confession +of guilt brings full pardon. It is everywhere a Christian +thread which runs through so many fairy stories. +It is love for the rejected, oppressed, and abandoned. +Whatever is loaded with burdens and troubles receives +the palm, and the first becomes the last.</p> + +<p>"The fairy story fulfils the first three requirements +for a true child's story. It is childlike, of +lasting value, and fosters moral ideas. As to unity +it will suffice for children of six years (for this is, in +our opinion, the age at which it exerts its moral +force) that the stories be told in the same spirit, +although they do not form one connected narrative. +If a good selection of fairy tales according to their +inner connection is made, so that frequent references<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 58]</span> +and connections can be found, the requirement of +unity will be satisfied.</p> + +<p>"The fairy tale seems to satisfy least of all the +demand that the true child's story must be instructive, +and serve as a starting-point for interesting +practical discussion. The fairy story seems too airy +and dreamy for this, and it might appear pedantry +to load it with instruction. But one will not be +guilty of this mistake if one simply follows up the +ideas which the story suggests. When the story of +a chicken, a fox, or a swan is told it is fully in harmony +with the childish thought to inquire into the +habits of these animals. When the king is mentioned +it is natural to say that we have a king, to ask where +he lives, etc. Just because the fairy tale sinks deep +and holds a firm and undivided attention, it is possible +to direct the suggested thoughts hither or +thither without losing the pleasure they create. +If one keeps this aim in mind, instructive material +is abundant. The fairy tale introduces various employments +and callings, from the king to the farmer, +tailor, and shoemaker. Many passages in life, such +as betrothal, marriage, and burial, are presented. +Labors in the house, yard, and field, and numerous +animals, plants, and inanimate things are touched +upon. For the observation of animals and for the +relation between them and children, it is fortunate +that the fairy tale presents them as talking and feeling. +Thereby the interest in real animals is in<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 59]</span>creased +and heartlessness banished. How could a +child put to the torture an animal which is an old +friend in fairy story?</p> + +<p>"I need only suggest in this place how the fairy +story furnishes material for exercises in oral language, +for the division of words into syllables and letters, +and how the beginnings of writing, drawing, number, +and manual exercises may be drawn from the same +source.</p> + +<p>"From the suggestions just made the following +conclusions at least may be reasonably drawn. A +sufficient counterpoise to the fantastical nature of +the fairy tale can be given in a manner simple and +childlike, if the objects and relations involved in the +narratives are brought clearly before the senses and +discussed so that instruction about common objects +and home surroundings is begun."</p> + +<p>In speaking of Shakespeare's early training in +literature, Charles Kingsley says:—</p> + +<p>"I said there was a literary art before Shakespeare—an +art more simple, more childlike, more +girlish, as it were, and therefore all the more adapted +for young minds, but also an art most vigorous and +pure in point of style: thoroughly fitted to give its +readers the first elements of taste, which must lie at +the root of even the most complex æsthetics.</p> + +<p>"The old fairy superstition, the old legends and +ballads, the old chronicles of feudal war and chivalry, +the earlier moralities and mysteries and tragi<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 60]</span>comic +attempts—these were the roots of his poetic +tree—they must be the roots of any literary education +which can teach us to appreciate him. These +fed Shakespeare's youth; why should they not feed +our children's? Why indeed? That inborn delight +of the young in all that is marvellous and fantastic—has +that a merely evil root? No surely! It is a +most pure part of their spiritual nature; a part of +'the heaven which lies about us in our infancy'; +angel-wings with which the free child leaps the +prison-walls of sense and custom, and the drudgery +of earthly life."</p> + +<p>Felix Adler says:<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> "But how shall we handle +these <i>Märchen</i> and what method shall we employ +in putting them to account for our special purpose? +I have a few thoughts on this subject, which I shall +venture to submit in the form of counsels.</p> + +<p>"My <i>first counsel</i> is: Tell the story; do not give it +to the child to read. There is an obvious practical +reason for this. Children are able to benefit by +hearing fairy tales before they can read. But that +is not the only reason. It is the childhood of the +race, as we have seen, that speaks in the fairy story +of the child of to-day. It is the voice of an ancient +far-off past that echoes from the lips of the storyteller. +The words 'once upon a time' open up a +vague retrospect into the past, and the child gets +its first indistinct notions of history in this way. The<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 61]</span> +stories embody the tradition of the childhood of mankind. +They have on this account an authority all +their own, not, indeed, that of literal truth, but one +derived from their being types of certain feelings +and longings which belong to childhood as such. +The child, as it listens to the <i>Märchen</i>, looks up with +wide-opened eyes to the face of the person who tells +the story, and thrills responsive as the touch of the +earlier life of the race thus falls upon its own. Such an +effect, of course, cannot be produced by cold type. +Tradition is a living thing and should use the living +voice for its vehicle.</p> + +<p>"My <i>second counsel</i> is also of a practical nature, +and I make bold to say quite essential to the successful +use of the stories. Do not take the moral +plum out of the fairy-tale pudding, but let the child +enjoy it as a whole. Do not make the story taper +toward a single point, the moral point. You will +squeeze all the juice out of it if you try. Do not +subordinate the purely fanciful and naturalistic elements +of the story, such as the love of mystery, the +passion for roving, the sense of fellowship with the +animal world, in order to fix attention solely on +the moral element. On the contrary, you will gain +the best moral effect by proceeding in exactly the +opposite way. Treat the moral element as an incident, +emphasize it indeed, but incidentally. Pluck +it as a wayside flower. How often does it happen +that, having set out on a journey with a distinct<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 62]</span> +object in mind, something occurs on the way which +we had not foreseen, but which in the end leaves the +deepest impression on the mind....</p> + +<p>"The value of the fairy tales is that they stimulate +the imagination; that they reflect the unbroken +communion of human life with the life universal, as +in beasts, fishes, trees, flowers, and stars; and that +incidentally, but all the more powerfully on that account, +they quicken the moral sentiments.</p> + +<p>"Let us avail ourselves freely of the treasures +which are thus placed at our disposal. Let us welcome +<i>das Märchen</i> into our primary course of moral +training, that with its gentle bands, woven of 'morning +mist and morning glory,' it may help to lead our +children into bright realms of the ideal."</p> + +<p>A selection of fairy stories suited to our first grade +will differ from a similar selection for foreign schools. +There has been a disposition among American +teachers for several years to appropriate the best +of these stories for use in the primary schools. In +different parts of the country skilful primary teachers +have been experimenting successfully with these +materials. There are many schools in which both +teachers and pupils have taken great delight in them. +The effort has been made more particularly with first +grade children, the aim of teachers being to lead captive +the spontaneous interest of children from their first +entrance upon school tasks. Some of the stories used +at the first may seem light and farcical, but experi<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 63]</span>ments +with children are a better test than the preconceived +notions of adults who may have forgotten their +early childhood. The story of the "Four Musicians," +for example, is a favorite with the children.</p> + +<p>At the risk of repetition, and to emphasize some +points of special importance, we will review briefly +the method of oral treatment and the use of the +stories in early primary reading.</p> + +<p>The children have no knowledge of reading or perhaps +of letters. The story is told with spirit by the +teacher, no book being used in the class. Question +and interchange of thought between pupil and teacher +will become more frequent and suggestive as the +teacher becomes more skilled and sympathetic in her +treatment of the story. In the early months of school +life the aim is to gain the attention and coöperation +of children by furnishing abundant food for thought. +Children are required or at least encouraged to narrate +the story or a part of it in the class. They tell it at +school and probably at home, till they become more +and more absorbed in it. Even the backward or +timid child gradually acquires courage and enjoys +narrating the adventures of the peas in the pod or +those of the animals in the "Four Musicians."</p> + +<p>The teacher should acquire a vivid and picturesque +style of narrating, persistently weaving into the story, +by query and suggestion, the previous home experiences +of the children. They are only too ready to +bring out these treasures at the call of the teacher.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 64]</span> +Often it is necessary to check their enthusiasm. +There is a need not simply for narrative power, but +for quick insight and judgment, so as to bring their +thoughts into close relation to the incidents. Nowhere +in all the schools is there such a call for close +and motherly sympathy. The gentle compulsion of +kindness is required to inspire the timid ones with +confidence. For some of them are slow to open their +delicate thought and sensibility, even to the sunny +atmosphere of a pleasant school.</p> + +<p>A certain amount of drill in reproduction is necessary, +but fortunately the stories have something that +bears repetition with a growing interest. Added to +this is the desire for perfect mastery, and thus the +stories become more dear with familiarity.</p> + +<p>Incidentally, there should be emphasis of the instructive +information gathered concerning animals +and plants that are actors in the scenes. The commonest +things of the house, field, and garden acquire +a new and lasting interest. Sometimes the teacher +makes provision in advance of the story for a deeper +interest in the plants and animals that are to appear. +In natural science lessons she may take occasion to +examine the pea blossom, or the animals of the barnyard, +or the squirrel or birds in their cages. When, +a few days later, the story touches one of these animals, +there is a quick response from the children. +This relation between history and natural science +strengthens both.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 65]</span></p> + +<p>Many an opportunity should be given for the pupils +to express a warm sympathy for gentle acts of kindness +or unselfishness. The happiness that even a +simple flower may bring to a home is a contagious +example. Kindly treatment of the old and feeble, +and sympathy for the innocent and helpless, spring +into the child's own thought. The fancy, sympathy, +and interest awakened by a good fairy tale make it +a vehicle by which, consciously and unconsciously, +many advantages are borne home to pupils.</p> + +<p>Among other things, it opens the door to the reading +lesson; that is, to the beginning efforts in mastering +and using the symbols of written language. The +same story which all have learned to tell, they are +now about to learn to read from the board. One or +two sentences are taken directly from the lips of the +pupils as they recall the story, and the work of mastering +symbols is begun at once with zest. First is +the clear statement of some vivid thought by a child, +then a quick association of this thought with its written +symbols on the board. There is no readier way +of bringing thought and form into firm connection, +that is, of learning to read. Keep the child's fresh +mental judgment and the written form clearly before +his mind till the two are wedded. Let the thought +run back and forth between them till they are one.</p> + +<p>After fixing two or three sentences on the board, +attention is directed more closely to the single words, +and a rapid drill upon those in the sentence is fol<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 66]</span>lowed +by a discovery and naming of them in miscellaneous +order. Afterward new sentences are formed +by the teacher out of the same words, written on the +board, and read by the children. They express different, +and perhaps opposite forms of thought, and +should exercise the child's sense and judgment as +well as his memory of words. An energetic, lively, +and successful drill of this kind upon sentences drawn +from stories has been so often witnessed, that its +excellence is no longer a matter of question. These +exercises are a form of mental activity in which children +delight if the teacher's manner is vigorous and +pleasant.</p> + +<p>When the mastery of new word-forms as wholes is +fairly complete, the analysis may go a step farther. +Some new word in the lesson may be taken and separated +into its phonic elements, as the word <i>hill</i>, and +new words formed by dropping a letter and prefixing +letters or syllables, as <i>ill</i>, <i>till</i>, <i>until</i>, <i>mill</i>, <i>rill</i>, etc. The +power to construct new words out of old materials +should be cultivated all along the process of learning +to read.</p> + +<p>Still other school activities of children stand in +close relation to the fairy tales. They are encouraged +to draw the objects and incidents in which +the story abounds. Though rude and uncouth, the +drawings still often surprise us with their truth and +suggestiveness. The sketches reveal the content of +a child's mind as almost nothing else—his miscon<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 67]</span>ceptions, +his vague or clearly defined notions. They +also furnish his mental and physical activities an +employment exactly suited to his needs and wishes.</p> + +<p>The power to use good English and to express +himself clearly and fittingly is cultivated from the +very first. While this merit is purely incidental, it +is none the less valuable. The persistence with +which bad and uncouth words and phrases are +employed by children in our common school, both in +oral work and in composition, admonishes us to begin +early to eradicate these faults. It seems often as if +intermediate and grammar grades were more faulty +and wretched in their use of English than primary +grades. But there can be no doubt that early and +persistent practice in the best forms of expression, +especially in connection with interesting and appropriate +thought matter, will greatly aid correctness, +fluency, and confidence in speech. There is also +a convincing pedagogical reason why children in the +first primary should be held to the best models of +spoken language. They enter the school better furnished +with oral speech than with a knowledge of +any school study. Their home experiences have +wrought into close association and unity, word and +thing. So intimate and living is the relation between +word and thought or object, that a child really does +not distinguish between them. This is the treasure +with which he enters school, and it should not be +wrapped up in a napkin. It should be unrolled at<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 68]</span> +once and put to service. Oral speech is the capital +with which a child enters the business of education; +let him employ it.</p> + +<p>A retrospect upon the various forms of school activity +which spring, in practical work, from the use of +a good fairy story, reveals how many-sided and +inspiriting are its influences. Starting out with a +rich content of thought peculiarly germane to childish +interests, it calls for a full employment of the language +resources already possessed by the children. +In the effort to picture out, with pencil or chalk, his +conceptions of the story, a child exercises his fanciful +and creative wit, as well as the muscles of arms and +eyes. A good story always finds its setting in the +midst of nature or society, and touches up with a +simple, homely, but poetic charm the commonest +verities of human experience. The appeal to the +sensibility and moral judgment of pupils is direct and +spontaneous, because of the interests and sympathies +that are inherent in persons, and touch directly the +childish fancy. And, lastly, the irrepressible traditional +demand that children shall learn to read, is +fairly and honestly met and satisfied.</p> + +<p>It is not claimed that fairy tales involve the sum +total of primary instruction, but they are an illustration +of how rich will be the fruitage of our educational +effort if we consider first the highest needs and +interests of children, and allow the formal arts to +drop into their proper subordination. "The best is<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 69]</span> +good enough for children," and when we select the +best, the wide-reaching connections which are established +between studies carry us a long step toward +the now much-bruited correlation and concentration +of studies.</p> + + +<h4>BOOKS OF MATERIALS FOR TEACHERS</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Classic Stories for the Little Ones. Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill.<br /> + +Grimm's Fairy Tales (Wiltse). Ginn & Co.<br /> + +German Fairy Tales (Grimm). Maynard, Merrill, & Co.<br /> + +Grimm's German Household Tales. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> + +Stories from Hans Andersen. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> + +Andersen's Fairy Tales, two volumes. Part I and Part II. Ginn & Co.<br /> + +Fairy Stories and Fables. American Book Co.<br /> + +Fables and Folk Stories (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> + +Rhymes and Jingles (Dodge). Scribner's Sons.<br /> + +Fairy Stories for Children (Baldwin). American Book Co.<br /> + +Songs and Stories. University Publishing Co.<br /> + +Fairy Life. University Publishing Co.<br /> + +Six Nursery Classics (O'Shea). D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> + +Grimm's Fairy Tales. Educational Publishing Co.<br /> + +A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Welch). D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> + +Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> + +Heart of Oak, No. I. D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> + +Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> + +The Eugene Field Book. Scribner's Sons.<br /> + +Moral Education of Children (Adler). D. Appleton & Co. Chapter VI. on Fairy Tales.<br /> + +Literature in Schools (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Chapter on Nursery Classics.</p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 70]</span></p> + +<h3>THE FABLES</h3> + +<p>No group of stories has a more assured place in +the literature for children than the Æsop's "Fables." +Some of the commonest have been expanded into +little stories which are presented orally to children in +the first school year, as "The Lion and the Mouse," +"The Ants and the Grasshoppers," "The Dog and his +Shadow," and others. They are so simple and direct +that they are used alongside the fairy tales for the +earliest instruction of children.</p> + +<p>As soon as children have acquired the rudiments of +reading the Æsop's "Fables" are commonly used in +the second and third school year as a reading book, +and all the early reading books are partly made up +from this material.</p> + +<p>If we inquire into the qualities of these stories +which have given them such a universal acceptance, +we shall find that they contain in a simple, transparent +form a good share of the world's wisdom. More +recent researches indicate that they originated in +India, and reached Europe through Persia and Arabia, +being ascribed to Æsop. This indicates that like +most early literature of lasting worth, they are products +of the folk-mind rather than of a single writer, +and it is the opinion of Adler that they express the +ripened wisdom of the people under the forms of +Oriental despotism. The sad and hopeless submission +to a stronger power expressed by some of the<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 71]</span> +fables, it is claimed, unfits them for use in our freer +life to-day.</p> + +<p>There are certain points in which their attractiveness +to children is clearly manifest. The actors in +the stories are usually animals, and the ready interest +and sympathy of children for talking animals +are at once appealed to. In all the early myths +and fairy tales, human life seems to merge into that +of the animals, as in "Hiawatha," and the fables +likewise are a marked expression of this childlike +tendency.</p> + +<p>Adler says: "The question may be asked why +fables are so popular with boys. I should say because +schoolboy society reproduces in miniature, to +a certain extent, the social conditions which are reflected +in the fables. Among unregenerate schoolboys +there often exists a kind of despotism, not the +less degrading because petty. The strong are pitted +against the weak—witness the fagging system in +English schools—and their mutual antagonism produces +in both the characteristic vices which we have +noted above." A literature which clearly pictures +these relations so that they can be seen objectively +by the children may be of the greatest social service +in education.</p> + +<p>Adler says further: "The psychological study of +schoolboy society has been only begun, but even what +lies on the surface will, I think, bear out this remark. +Now it has become one of the commonplaces of<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 72]</span> +educational literature that the individual of to-day +must pass through the same stages of evolution as +the human race as a whole. But it should not be +forgotten that the advance of civilization depends on +two conditions: first, that the course of evolution be +accelerated, that the time allowed to the successive +stages be shortened; and, secondly, that the unworthy +and degrading elements which entered into the process +of evolution in the past, and at the time were +inseparable from it, be now eliminated. Thus the +fairy tales which correspond to the myth-making +epoch in human history must be purged of the dross +of superstition which still adheres to them, and the +fables which correspond to the age of primitive +despotisms must be cleansed of the immoral elements +they still embody."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> + +<p>The peculiar form of moral teaching in the "Fables" +suits them especially to children. A single trait of +conduct, like greediness or selfishness, is sharply +outlined in the story and its results made plain. "We +have seen nothing finer in teaching than the building +up of these little stories in conversational lessons—first +to illustrate some mental or moral trait; then to +detach the idea from its story picture, and find illustrations +for it in some other act or incident. And +nothing can be more gratifying as a result, than, +through the transparency of childish hearts, to watch +the growth of right conduct from the impulses derived<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 73]</span> +from the teaching; and so laying the foundations of +future rightness of character."<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> + +<p>The moral ideas inculcated by the fables are usually +of a practical, worldly-wisdom sort, not high ideals of +moral quality, not virtue for its own sake, but varied +examples of the results of rashness and folly. This +is, perhaps, one reason why they are so well suited +to the immature moral judgments of children.</p> + +<p>Adler says: "Often when a child has committed +some fault, it is useful to refer by name to the fable +that fits it. As, when a boy has made room in his +seat for another, and the other crowds him out, the +mere mention of the fable of the porcupine is a +telling rebuke; or the fable of the hawk and the +pigeons may be called to mind when a boy has +been guilty of mean excuses. On the same principle +that angry children are sometimes taken before a +mirror to show them how ugly they look, the fable +is a kind of mirror for the vices of the young." +Again: "The peculiar value of the fables is that +they are instantaneous photographs which reproduce, +as it were, in a single flash of light, some one +aspect of human nature, and which, excluding everything +else, permit the attention to be entirely fixed +on that one."</p> + +<p>But the value of the fable reaches far beyond +childhood. The frequency with which it is cited in +nearly all the forms of literature, and its aptness<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 74]</span> +to express the real meaning of many episodes in +real life, in politics and social events, in peace and +war, show the universality of the truth it embodies. +A story which engraves a truth, as it were with a +diamond point, upon a child's mind, a truth which +will swiftly interpret many events in his later life, +deserves to take a high place among educative influences.</p> + + +<h4>FABLES AND NATURE MYTHS</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Scudder's Fables and Folk Stories. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> + +Æsop's Fables (Stickney). Ginn & Co.<br /> + +Book of Legends (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> + +Stories for Children (Lane). The American Book Co.<br /> + +A Child's Garden of Verses (Stevenson). Scribner's Sons.<br /> + +Æsop's Fables. Educational Publishing Co.<br /> + +The Book of Nature Myths (Holbrook). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> + +The Moral Instruction of Children (Adler), Chapters VII and +VIII. D. Appleton & Co.</p> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 75]</span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Second Grade Stories</span></h2> + + +<h3>"ROBINSON CRUSOE"</h3> + +<p>In selecting suitable literature for children of the +second grade, we follow in the steps of a number +of distinguished writers and teachers and choose an +English classic—"Robinson Crusoe." Rousseau gave +this book his unqualified approval, and said that it +would be the first, and, for a time, the only book +that Émile should read. The Herbartians have been +using it a number of years, while many American +teachers have employed it for oral work in second +grade, in a short school edition. In one sense, the +book needs no introduction, as it has found its way +into every nook and corner of the world. Originally +a story for adults, it has reached all, and illustrated +Christmas editions, designed even for children from +three years and upward, are abundant. To the +youth of all lands, it has been, to say the least, a +source of delight, but it has been regarded as a +book for the family and home. What would happen +should the schoolmaster lay his hand on this +treasure and desecrate it to school purposes! We<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 76]</span> +desire to test this classic work on the side of its +pedagogical value and its adaptation to the uses of +regular instruction. If it is really unrivalled as a +piece of children's literature, perhaps it has also +no equal for school purposes.</p> + +<p>In making the transition from the fairy tale to +"Robinson Crusoe," an interesting difference or contrast +may be noticed. Wilmann says:<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> "'Crusoe' is +at once simple, and plain, and fanciful; to be sure, +in the latter case, entirely different from the fairy +tale. In the fairy story the fancy seldom pushes +rudely against the boundaries of the real world. +But otherwise in 'Crusoe.' Here it is the practical +fancy that is aroused, if this expression appear not +contradictory. What is Crusoe to do now? How can +he help himself? What means can he invent? Many +of the proposals of the children will have to be rejected. +The inexorable 'not possible' shoves a bolt +before the door. The imagination is compelled to +limit itself to the task of combining and adjusting +real things. The compulsion of things conditions +the progress of the story. 'Thoughts dwell together +easily, but things jostle each other roughly in space.'"</p> + +<p>There are other striking differences between "Crusoe" +and the folk-lore stories, but in this contrast we +are now chiefly concerned. After reaching the island, +he is checked and limited at every step by the physical +laws imposed by nature. Struggle and fret as<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 77]</span> +he may against these limits, he becomes at last a +philosopher, and quietly takes up the struggle for +existence under those inexorable conditions. The +child of seven or eight is vaguely acquainted with +many of the simple employments of the household +and of the neighborhood. Crusoe also had a vague +memory of how people in society in different trades +and occupations supply the necessaries and comforts +of life. Even the fairy stories give many hints +of this kind of knowledge, but Robinson Crusoe is +face to face with the sour facts. He is cut off from +help and left to his own resources. The interest in +the story is in seeing how he will shift for himself +and exercise his wits to insure plenty and comfort. +With few tools and on a barbarous coast, he undertakes +what men in society, by mutual exchange and +by division of labor, have much difficulty in performing. +Crusoe becomes a carpenter, a baker and cook, +a hunter, a potter, a fisher, a farmer, a tailor, a boatman, +a stock-raiser, a basket-maker, a shoemaker, a +tanner, a fruit-grower, a mason, a physician. And +not only so, but he grapples with the difficulties of +each trade or occupation in a bungling manner because +of inexperience and lack of skill and exact +knowledge. He is an experimenter and tester +along many lines. The entire absence of helpers +centres the whole interest of this varied struggle in +one person. It is to be remembered that Crusoe is +no genius, but the ordinary boy or man. He has<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 78]</span> +abundant variety of needs such as a child reared +under civilized conditions has learned to feel. The +whole range of activities, usually distributed to various +classes and persons in society, rests now upon his +single shoulders. If he were an expert in all directions, +the task would be easier, but he has only vague +knowledge and scarcely any skill. The child, therefore, +who reads this story, by reason of the slow, +toilsome, and bungling processes of Crusoe in meeting +his needs, becomes aware how difficult and laborious +are the efforts by which the simple, common +needs of all children are supplied.</p> + +<p>A reference to the different trades and callings +that Crusoe assumes will show us that he is not dealing +with rare and unusual events, but with the common, +simple employments that lie at the basis of +society in all parts of the world. The carpenter, the +baker, the farmer, the shoemaker, etc., are at work in +every village in every land. Doubtless this is one +reason why the story acquires such a hold in the +most diverse countries. The Arab or the Chinese +boy, the German or American child, finds the story +touching the ordinary facts of his own surroundings. +Though the story finds its setting in a far-away, +lonely island in tropical seas, Crusoe is daily trying +to create the objects and conditions of his old home +in England. But these are the same objects that +surround every child; and therefore, in reading "Robinson +Crusoe," the pupil is making an exhaustive and<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 79]</span> +interesting study of his own home. The presence of +a tropical vegetation and of a strange climate does +not seriously impair this fact. The skill of a great +literary artist appears in his power to create a situation +almost devoid of common comforts and blessings +and then in setting his hero to work to create +them by single-handed effort.</p> + +<p>It will hardly be questioned that the study of the +home and home neighborhood by children is one of +the large and prominent problems in education. Out +of their social, economic, and physical environment +children get the most important lessons of life. Not +only does the home furnish a varied fund of information +that enables them to interpret books, and people, +and institutions, as they sooner or later go out into +the world, but all the facts gathered by experience +and reading in distant fields must flow back again to +give deeper meaning to the labors and duties which +surround each citizen in his own home. But society +with its commerce, education, and industries, is an +exceedingly complex affair. The child knows not +where to begin to unravel this endless machinery of +forms and institutions. In a sense he must get away +from or disentangle himself from his surroundings in +order to understand them. There are no complex +conditions surrounding Crusoe, and he takes up the +labors of the common trades in a simple and primitive +manner. Physical and mental effort are demanded +at every step, from Crusoe and from the<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 80]</span> +children. Many of his efforts involve repeated failure, +as in making pottery, in building a boat, while +some things that he undertakes with painful toil +never attain success. The lesson of toil and hardship +connected with the simple industries is one of +great moment to children. Our whole social fabric +is based on these toils, and it is one of the best +results of a sound education to realize the place and +importance of hard work.</p> + +<p>It scarcely needs to be pointed out that Crusoe +typifies a long period of man's early history, the age +when men were learning the rudiments of civilization +by taking up the toils of the blacksmith, the agriculturist, +the builder, the domesticator of animals and +plants. Men emerged from barbarism as they slowly +and painfully gained the mastery over the resources +of nature. Crusoe is a sort of universal man, embodying +in his single effort that upward movement +of men which has steadily carried them to the higher +levels of progress. It has been said with some truth +that Robinson Crusoe is a philosophy of history. +But we scarcely need such a high-sounding name. +To the child he is a very concrete, individual man, +with very simple and interesting duties.</p> + +<p>In a second point the author of "Robinson Crusoe" +shows himself a literary master. There is an intense +and naive realism in his story. Even if one were so +disposed, it would require a strong effort to break +loose from the feeling that we are in the presence of<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 81]</span> +real experiences. There is a quiet but irresistible +assumption of unvarnished and even disagreeable +fact in the narrative. But it is useless to describe +the style of a book so familiar. Its power over +youthful fancy and feeling has been too often experienced +to be doubted. The vivid interest which the +book awakens is certain to carry home whatever lessons +it may teach with added force. So great is this +influence that boys sometimes imitate the efforts of +Crusoe by making caves, building ovens, and assuming +a style of dress and living that approximates +Crusoe's state. This supplies to teachers a hint of +some value. The story of Crusoe should lead to +excursions into the home neighborhood for the purpose +of a closer examination of the trades and occupations +there represented. An imitation of his labors +may also be encouraged. The effort to mould and +bake vessels from potter's clay, the platting of baskets +from willow withes, the use of tools in making +boxes or tables may be attempted far enough to discover +how lacking in practical ability the children +are. This will certainly teach them greater respect +for manual skill.</p> + +<p>From the previous discussion it might appear that +we regard the story of Crusoe as technological and +industrial rather than moral. But it would be a mistake +to suppose that a book is not moral because it is +not perpetually dispensing moral platitudes. Most +men's lives are mainly industrial. The display of<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 82]</span> +moral qualities is only occasional and incidental. +The development of moral character is coincident +with the labors and experiences of life and springs +out of them, being manifested by the spirit with +which one acts toward his fellow-men. But Crusoe +was alone on his island, and there might seem to be +no opportunity to be moral in relation to others. Society, +to be sure, was conspicuous by its absence. +But the intense longing with which he thought of +the home and companionships lost is perhaps the +strongest sentiment in the book. His loneliness +brings out most vividly his true relation to home and +friends.</p> + +<p>His early life, till the shipwreck, was that of a wayward +and reckless youth, disobedient to parents and +seemingly without moral scruples. Even during the +first months upon the island there appears little moral +change or betterment. But slowly the bitter experiences +of his lonely life sober him. He finds a Bible, +and a fit of sickness reveals the distresses that may +lie before him. When once the change has set in, it +is rapid and thorough. He becomes devout, he longs +to return to his parents and atone for his faults. A +complete reformation of his moral disposition is +effected. If one will take the pains to read the +original "Robinson Crusoe" he will find it surprisingly +serious and moral in its tone. He devotes +much time to soliloquizing on the distresses of his +condition and upon the causes which have brought<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 83]</span> +him to misery. He diagnoses his case with an +amount of detail that must be tedious to children. +The fact that these parts of the book often leave +little direct impression upon children is proof that +they are chiefly engaged with the adventure and +physical embarrassments of Crusoe. For the present +it is sufficient to observe that the story is deeply and +intensely moral both in its spirit and in the changes +described in "Crusoe."</p> + +<p>We are next led to inquire whether the industrial +and moral lessons contained in this story are likely to +be extracted from it by a boy or girl who reads it +alone, without the aid of a teacher. Most young +readers of "Crusoe" are carried along by the interesting +adventure. It is a very surprising and entertaining +story. But children even less than adults are +inclined to go deeper than the surface and draw up +hidden treasures. De Foe's work is a piece of classic +literature. But few people are inclined to get at the +deeper meaning and spirit of a classical masterpiece +unless they go through it in companionship with a +teacher who is gifted to disclose its better meaning. +This is true of any classical product we might mention. +It should be the peculiar function of the +school to cultivate a taste, and an appreciative taste, +for the best literature; not by leaving it to the haphazard +home reading of pupils, but by selecting the +best things adapted to the minds of children and then +employing true teaching skill to bring these treas<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 84]</span>ures +close to the hearts and sympathies of children. +Many young people do not read "Robinson Crusoe" at +all; many others do not appreciate its better phases. +The school will much improve its work by taking +for its own this best of children's stories, and by +extending and deepening the children's appreciation +of a classic.</p> + +<p>The story of Robinson Crusoe is made by the +Herbartians the nucleus for the concentration of +studies in the second year. This importance is +given to it on account of its strong moral tone and +because of its universal typical character in man's +development. Without attempting a solution of the +problem of concentration at this juncture, we should +at least observe the relations of this story to the +other studies. Wilmann says: "The everywhere +and nowhere of the fairy tale gives place to the +first geographical limitations. The continents, the +chief countries of Europe, come up, besides a series +of geographical concepts such as island, coast, bay, +river, hill, mountain, sea, etc. The difference in +climate is surprising. Crusoe fears the winter and +prepares for it, but his fear is needless, for no winter +reaches his island." We have already observed its +instructive treatment of the common occupations +which prepare for later geographical study, as well +as for natural science.</p> + +<p>Many plants and animals are brought to notice +which would furnish a good beginning for natural<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 85]</span> +science lessons. It is advisable, however, to study +rather those home animals and plants which correspond +best to the tropical products or animals in the +lessons. Tropical fruits, the parrot, and the goat we +often meet at home, but in addition, the sheep, the +ox, the mocking-bird, the woodpecker, our native +fruits and grains, and the fish, turtles, and minerals +of the home, may well be suggested and studied in +science lessons parallel with the life of Crusoe.</p> + +<p>Following upon the oral treatment and discussion +of "Robinson Crusoe" the children are easily led to +like efforts at construction, as, for instance, the making +of a raft, the building of the cave and stockade, +the making of chairs and tables, the moulding of jars +and kettles out of clay, the weaving of baskets, the +preparation and cooking of foods, the planting of +grains, the construction of an oven or house, boat +building, and other labors of Crusoe in providing for +his wants.</p> + +<p>It is quite customary now in second grade to set +the children to work in these efforts to solve Crusoe's +problems, so that they, by working with actual +materials, may realize more fully the difficulties and +trials to which he was subjected. In close connection +with these constructive efforts are the drawings +of the scenes of the story, such as the shipwreck, +the stockade, the boat, the map of the island, and +some of the later events of the story. A still further +means of giving reality to the events is to dramatize<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 86]</span> +some of the scenes between Friday and Crusoe, and +to dress and equip these and other persons in the +story in fitting manner. The children gladly enter +into such dramatic action. These various forms of +drawing, action, and constructive work are in close +connection with the home studies of industries and +occupations,—farming, gardening, carpenter and +blacksmith shops, weaving, cooking, bakeries, and excursions +to shops—which follow the Crusoe story +in the study of home geography in the third grade.</p> + +<p>Although the story should be given and discussed +orally, the children should also read it later as a part +of the regular reading exercise of the course. +Instead of suffering from this repetition, their interest +will only be increased. Classical products usually +gain by repetition. The facts are brought out +more clearly and the deeper meaning is perceived. +To have the oral treatment of a story precede its +reading by some weeks or months produces an excellent +effect upon the style of the reading. The +thought being familiar, and the interest strong, the +expression will be vigorous and natural. Children +take a pride in reading a story which they at first +must receive orally for lack of reading power.</p> + +<p>The same advantageous drill in the use of good +English accrues to the Crusoe story that was observed +in the fairy tales. There is abundant opportunity +for oral narrative and description.</p> + +<p>The use of the pencil and chalk in graphic repre<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 87]</span>sentation +should be encouraged both in teacher and +in pupils. Thus the eye becomes more accurate in +observation and the hand more free and facile in +tracing the outlines of the interesting forms studied. +The use of tools and materials in construction gives +ideas an anchorage, not only in the brain, but even +in the nerves and muscles.</p> + +<p>In thus glancing over the field we discover the +same many-sided and intimate relation with other +school studies, as in the previous grade. In fact, +"Crusoe" is the first extended classical masterpiece +which is presented to the children as a whole. Such +parts of the story as are of most pedagogical value +should be simplified and woven together into a continuous +narrative. That part of the story which precedes +the shipwreck may be reduced to a few +paragraphs which bring out clearly his early home +surroundings, his disobedience and the desertion of +his parents, and the voyage which led to his lonely +life upon the island. The period embraced in his +companionless labors and experiences constitutes the +important part for school uses. A few of the more +important episodes following the capture of Friday +and his return home may be briefly told. We deem it +a long step forward to get some of our great classical +masterpieces firmly embedded in the early years of +our school course. It will contribute almost as much +to the culture and stimulation of teachers as of pupils.</p> + +<p>The method of handling this narrative before the<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 88]</span> +class will be similar to that of the fairy tales. A +simple and vivid recital of the facts, with frequent +questions and discussions, so as to draw the story +closer to the child's own thought and experience, +should be made by the teacher. Much skill in illustrative +device, in graphic description, in diagram or +drawing, in the appeal to the sense experiences of +the pupils, is in demand. The excursion to places of +interest in the neighborhood suggested by the story +begins to be an important factor of the school exercises. +As children grow older they acquire skill and +confidence in oral narrative, and should be held to +greater independence in oral reproductions.</p> + +<p>One of the best school editions of "Robinson +Crusoe" is published by Ginn & Co.</p> + +<p>A simple edition for second grade is published by +the Public School Publishing Co.</p> + +<p>The teacher should be supplied with one of the +larger, fuller editions of "Robinson Crusoe," like that +of Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., in the Riverside Literature +Series. It furnishes a much fuller detail of +knowledge for the teacher's use. It will also be of +great advantage for classroom use to possess an illustrated +edition like that of George Routledge & Sons.</p> + +<p>The full treatment of this story, first in simple, +oral narrative, later by its use as a reading book, +and later still by the child reading the complete +edition for himself in private, illustrates the intensive +concentration of thought and constructive activity<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 89]</span> +upon a great piece of literature as opposed to a loose +and superficial treatment. Such a piece of work +should remain for life a source of deeper thought, +feeling, and experience.</p> + + +<h4>OTHER EDITIONS</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. American Book Co.<br /> + +Robinson Crusoe. Lee and Shepard.<br /> + +Robinson Crusoe for Youngest Readers. Educational Pub. Co.<br /> + +Robinson Crusoe. University Publishing Co.<br /> + +De Foe's Robinson Crusoe (Hale). Ginn & Co.<br /> + +De Foe's Robinson Crusoe. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.</p> +</div> + + +<h3>"HIAWATHA"</h3> + +<p>The story of Hiawatha has been much used for +oral treatment in primary grades, and as a basis for +exercises in learning to read. Later the complete +poem has been much read in third, fourth, or fifth +grade as a piece of choice literature.</p> + +<p>A story which is growing so rapidly in favor with +primary teachers may explain our effort to determine +its educational value.</p> + +<p>That the story begins with the early childhood of +Hiawatha and describes his home and early training +at the feet of Nokomis, is at least one point in its +favor.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">By the shores of Gitche Gumee,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By the shining Big-Sea-Water,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dark behind it rose the forest,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 90]</span><span class="i0">Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rose the firs with cones upon them;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bright before it beat the water,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beat the clear and sunny water,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There the wrinkled, old Nokomis<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nursed the little Hiawatha,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rocked him in his linden cradle,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bedded soft in moss and rushes,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Safely bound with reindeer sinews.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The traditions and stories he learned from the lips +of Nokomis will remind children of their own home +life, while his companionship with birds and animals +will touch them in a sympathetic place.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Then the little Hiawatha<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Learned of every bird its language,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Learned their names and all their secrets,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">How they built their nests in Summer,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where they hid themselves in Winter,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Talked with them whene'er he met them,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Called them "Hiawatha's Chickens."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The games and exercises of his youth will remind +them of their own sports and introduce them to Indian +life. This home of Hiawatha, and the description of +his childhood, are a happy introduction to the simple +surroundings of Indian life on the shores of the +northern sea.</p> + +<p>Primitive Indian modes of life, traditions and myths, +appeal naturally to children, and the whole story has +this setting of early simplicity which adapts it in +many ways to child study. The Indian nature myths,<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 91]</span> +which in themselves are attractive, are here woven +into a connected series by their relation to Hiawatha +in the training of his childhood and in the exploits of +his manhood.</p> + +<p>The number of pure fairy tales scattered through +the story adapts it especially for young children, +while the descriptions of home customs, feasts, weddings, +merrymaking, and games, show the happier +side of their life.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Ye who love a nation's legends,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Love the ballads of a people,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That like voices from afar off<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Call to us to pause and listen,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Speak in tones so plain and childlike,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Scarcely can the ear distinguish<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whether they are sung or spoken;—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Listen to this Indian Legend,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To this song of Hiawatha!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who have faith in God and Nature,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who believe, that in all ages<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Every human heart is human,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That in even savage bosoms<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There are longings, yearnings, strivings<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For the good they comprehend not,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That the feeble hands and helpless,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Groping blindly in the darkness,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Touch God's right hand in that darkness,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And are lifted up and strengthened;—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Listen to this simple story,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To this Song of Hiawatha!<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The description of husking time is such a pleasing +scene, while the picture writing of the Indians, their<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 92]</span> +totems and rude drawings, are in harmony with their +traditions and religion.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">On the border of the forest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Underneath the fragrant pine-trees,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sat the old men and the warriors<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Smoking in the pleasant shadow.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In uninterrupted silence<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Looked they at the gamesome labor<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of the young men and the women;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Listened to their noisy talking,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To their laughter and their singing,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Heard them chattering like the magpies,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Heard them laughing like the blue jays,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Heard them singing like the robins.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And whene'er some lucky maiden<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Found a red ear in the husking,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Found a maize-ear red as blood is,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Nushka!" cried they all together,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Nushka! you shall have a sweetheart,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You shall have a handsome husband!"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Ugh!" the old men all responded<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From their seats beneath the pine-trees.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And the Jossakeeds, the Prophets,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The Wabenos, the Magicians,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the Medicine-men, the Medas,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Painted upon bark and deer-skin<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Figures for the songs they chanted,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For each song a separate symbol,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Figures mystical and awful,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Figures strange and brightly colored;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And each figure had its meaning,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Each some magic song suggested.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>One of the most striking features of this story is +its setting in nature. More than any other piece of<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 93]</span> +literature now used in the school, it is redolent of +fields and forest.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Should you ask me, whence these stories,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whence these legends and traditions,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With the odors of the forest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With the dew and damp of meadows,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With the curling smoke of wigwams,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With the rushing of great rivers,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With their frequent repetitions,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And their wild reverberations,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As of thunder in the mountains?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I should answer, I should tell you,<br /></span> +<span class="i1">"From the forests and the prairies,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the great lakes of the Northland,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the land of the Ojibways,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the land of the Dacotahs,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the mountains, moors, and fenlands,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Feeds among the reeds and rushes."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Should you ask where Nawadaha<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Found these songs, so wild and wayward,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Found these legends and traditions,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I should answer, I should tell you,<br /></span> +<span class="i1">"In the birds'-nests of the forest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the lodges of the beaver,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the hoof-prints of the bison,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the eyry of the eagle!<br /></span> +<span class="i1">All the wild-fowl sang them to him,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the moorlands and the fenlands,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the melancholy marshes;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Chetowaik, the plover, sang them,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Mahng, the loon, the wild-goose, Wawa,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The blue heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the grouse, the Mushkodasa!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 94]</span>This +description of primitive man is as complete +an absorption into his natural surroundings as is +possible. His food and clothing, his tents and boats, +his weapons and war gear, are drawn directly from +nature's first supplies, and man, in this case, seems +almost a part of nature, so completely are his +thoughts and activities determined and colored by his +environment. Like the animals, in their protective +coloring, he becomes an undistinguishable part of his +surroundings. His nature myths and superstitions +are but phases and expressions of the contact of his +crude mind with forces and objects in nature. In +this respect there are many interesting suggestions +of similar interpretations among the Norse and +Greek mythologies.</p> + +<p>The close and friendly contact of Hiawatha with +trees and animals, his companionship with the +squirrel, the woodpecker, and the beaver, his talking +acquaintance with trees of the forest, with the fishes +in the Big-Sea-Water, and with the masters of the +winds, the storm, and the thunder, make him an interesting +guide for the children among the realms of +nature.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Ye who love the haunts of nature,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Love the sunshine of the meadow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Love the shadow of the forest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Love the wind among the branches,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the rain-shower and the snow-storm,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the rushing of great rivers<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Through their palisades of pine-trees,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the thunder in the mountains,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 95]</span><span class="i0">Whose innumerable echoes<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Flap like eagles in their eyries;—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Listen to these wild traditions,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To this Song of Hiawatha!<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>A happy, sympathetic love for the sights and +sounds in nature is a fortunate beginning of nature +lore. The imaginative interpretations are common +to all the early races and in full harmony with the +temper of childhood. Even from the standpoint +of nature study, this early poetic joy in nature descriptions +is profitable. The matter-of-fact, analytic +study of natural science in succeeding years need not +begrudge the children this happiness, this interpretative +play of the imagination, this music of field and +forest. In early childhood, nature and poetry are +one, and as Lowell says, "Let us not go about to +make life duller than it is."</p> + +<p>The simplicity and beauty of the language and +figure of speech make many parts of this poem +especially appropriate for children.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Young and beautiful was Wabun;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He it was who brought the morning,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He it was whose silver arrows<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Chased the dark o'er hill and valley;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He it was whose cheeks were painted<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With the brightest streaks of crimson,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And whose voice awoke the village,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Called the deer, and called the hunter.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">He meanwhile sat weary waiting<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For the coming of Mondamin,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 96]</span><span class="i0">Till the shadows, pointing eastward,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lengthened over field and forest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till the sun dropped from the heaven,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Floating on the waters westward,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As a red leaf in the Autumn<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Falls and floats upon the water,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Falls and sinks into its bosom.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">And the pleasant water-courses,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You could trace them through the valley,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By the rushing in the Spring-time,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By the alders in the Summer.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By the white fog in the Autumn,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By the black line in the Winter.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The simple music and rhythm of the poetic form +is so delightful to children that they absorb whole +passages into their memory without conscious effort. +The mere re-reading of parts of the poem to little +children under six years will often produce this +happy result. A little girl of three years picked up, +among others, this passage:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Dark behind it rose the forest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rose the firs with cones upon them;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bright before it beat the water,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beat the clear and sunny water,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The repetitions of the same or similar passages, so +common throughout the poem, is a successful appeal +to children's favor. It gives the story a sort of +Mother Goose flavor which is delightful.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 97]</span></p> + +<p>While the story centres in Hiawatha, it has a +variety of interesting personalities, giving expression +to the striking features of this primitive society. +Hiawatha's loved ones, Minnehaha and old Nokomis, +stand first, and his chosen friends are next.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Two good friends had Hiawatha,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Singled out from all the others,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bound to him in closest union,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And to whom he gave the right hand<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of his heart in joy and sorrow;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Chibiabos, the musician,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the very strong man, Kwasind.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">And these two, as I have told you,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Were the friends of Hiawatha,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Chibiabos, the musician,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the very strong man, Kwasind.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Long they lived in peace together,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Spake with naked hearts together,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Pondering much and much contriving<br /></span> +<span class="i0">How the tribes of men might prosper.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>In connection with these persons is a most pleasing +series of adventures, bringing to notice those +heroic qualities which children love to witness. The +very strong man, Kwasind, is a fitting companion in +their thoughts to Samson and Hercules; and Chibiabos,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">He the best of all musicians,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He the sweetest of all singers,<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>has had many a prototype since the days of +Orpheus.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 98]</span></p> + +<p>Pau-Puk-Keewis, with his dancing and tricks, will +also prove a curious character, something like Proteus +of old.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He, the handsome Yenadizze,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whom the people called the Storm Fool,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Vexed the village with disturbance;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You shall hear of all his mischief,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And his flight from Hiawatha,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And his wondrous transmigrations,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the end of his adventures.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The character of Hiawatha, as of the benefactor, +of one devoted, with high purpose, to the welfare of +his people, may be regarded as the deeper motive of +the author. It is the thought of ideal good in +Hiawatha which gives tone and meaning to the +whole poem.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">You shall hear how Hiawatha<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Prayed and fasted in the forest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Not for greater skill in hunting,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Not for greater craft in fishing,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Not for triumphs in the battle,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And renown among the warriors,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But for profit of the people,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For advantage of the nations.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The views of geography and history at the beginning +and close of the poem not only give a broad scope +to the story, but have an interesting bearing upon the +study of geography and history in those years of school +which immediately follow. The narrative reaches<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 99]</span> +from the Vale of Tawasentha in New York, across +the great lakes and shining Big-Sea-Water to Minnehaha +and the Upper Mississippi, and even to the +prairies and the distant Rocky Mountains beyond. +In the summoning of the tribes at the Great Pipe +Stone Quarry there is a broad survey of the Indian +tribes of the United States.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">From the vale of Tawasentha,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the Valley of Wyoming,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the groves of Tuscaloosa,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the far-off Rocky Mountains,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the Northern lakes and rivers<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All the tribes beheld the signal,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Saw the distant smoke ascending,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">Down the rivers, o'er the prairies,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Came the warriors of the nations.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>A map of North America is necessary for showing +the meaning of this description to the children.</p> + +<p>In the last part the coming of the white man +and the prophecy of his spreading over the land, +and the dwindling of the native tribes to the westward, +are given.</p> + +<p>Iagoo's description of the white men, their ships +and appearance, to his people on the return from +his travels, will greatly please the children.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">He had seen, he said, a water<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bigger than the Big-Sea-Water,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Broader than the Gitche Gumee,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bitter so that none could drink it!<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 100]</span><span class="i0">At each other looked the warriors,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Looked the women at each other,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Smiled, and said, "It cannot be so!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Kaw!" they said, "It cannot be so;"<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i1">"O'er it," said he, "o'er this water<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Came a great canoe with pinions,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A canoe with wings came flying,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bigger than a grove of pine-trees,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Taller than the tallest tree-tops!"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the old men and the women<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Looked and tittered at each other;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Kaw!" they said, "we don't believe it!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The story of Hiawatha has been used sufficiently +in primary grades to show how many are its suggestions +for drawing and constructive work. Little +children take delight in drawing the Indian tents, +bows and arrows, pine forests, Indian warriors and +dress, the canoe, the tomahawk, the birds and animals. +The cutting of these forms in paper they +have fully enjoyed.</p> + +<p>Pictures of Indian life, collections of arrow-heads, +the peace-pipes, articles of dress, cooking utensils, +wampum, stone hatchets, red pipe-stone ornaments, +or a visit to any collection of Indian relics are desirable +as a part of this instruction. The museums +in cities and expositions are rich in these materials, +and in many private collections are just the desired +objects of study.</p> + +<p>It is well known that children love to construct +tents, dress in Indian style, and imitate the mode of<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 101]</span> +life, the hunting, dancing, and sports of Indians. +Teachers have taken advantage of this instinct to +allow them to construct an Indian village on a small +scale, and assume the dress and action of Hiawatha +and his friends, and even to dramatize parts of the +story.</p> + +<p>It is only certain selected parts of the "Hiawatha" +that lend themselves best to the oral treatment with +children, and that, at first, not in the poetic form. +In fact, the oral treatment of a story in beautiful +poetic form demands a peculiar method.</p> + +<p>For example, in treating the childhood of Hiawatha +as he dwelt with old Nokomis in the tent beside the +sea, the main facts of this episode, or a part of it, +may be talked over by means of description, partly +also by development, question, and answer, and when +these things are clear, let this passage of the poem +be read to the children. The preliminary treatment +and discussion will put the children in possession +of the ideas and pictures by which they can better +appreciate and assimilate the poem. This mode of +introducing children to a poem or literary masterpiece +is not uncommon with children in later years, +at least in the middle grades.</p> + +<p>It has been customary to use nearly the whole +poem in fourth or fifth school year for regular reading, +and it is well suited to this purpose. Its use in +primary grades for such oral treatment as we have +described will not interfere with its employment as<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 102]</span> +reading matter later on, but rather increase its value +for that purpose.</p> + +<p>The method of handling such a poem as reading +has been discussed in the Special Method in the +Reading of Complete English Classics.</p> + +<p>A number of books have been written by practical +teachers on the use of "Hiawatha" in primary +grades:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>"The Hiawatha Primer." Houghton, Mifflin, & +Co.<br /> + +"Hints on the Study of Hiawatha" (Alice M. +Krackowizer). A. Flanagan, publisher.</p> +</div> + +<p>The best edition of the "Hiawatha" is "Longfellow's +Song of Hiawatha," which is well illustrated. +Published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.</p> + +<p>Other editions are "The Song of Hiawatha." The +Educational Publishing Co.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>"Longfellow's Hiawatha." The Macmillan Co.<br /> + +"Song of Hiawatha." University Publishing Co.</p> +</div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 103]</span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Third Grade Stories</span></h2> + + +<h3>THE MYTHICAL STORIES</h3> + +<p>In the third grade we wish to bring a number of +the mythical stories vividly before the children. The +classical myths which belong to the literature of +Europe are the fund from which to select the best. +Not all, but only a few of the simple and appropriate +stories can be chosen. Only two recitation periods a +week are usually set apart for the oral treatment of +these old myths. But later in the progress of the +reading lessons other similar stories should be treated. +The few recitation periods used for oral work are +rather designed to introduce children to the spirit of +this literature, to get them into the appreciative mind.</p> + +<p>This body of ancient myths comes down to us, +sifted out of the early literature of the active-minded +Greeks. They have found their way as a simple and +charming poetry into the national literature of all the +European countries. Is this the material suited to +nine- and ten-year-old children? It will not be questioned +that these myths belong to the best literary +products of Europe, but are they suited to children?</p> + +<p>It is evident that some of our best literary judges +have deemed them appropriate. Hawthorne has put<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 104]</span> +them into a form designed especially for the young +folk. Charles Kingsley wrote of the Greek myths +for his children: "Now I love these old Hellens +heartily, and they seem to me like brothers, though +they have all been dead and gone many a hundred +years. They are come to tell you some of their old fairy +tales, which they loved when they were young like +you. For nations begin at first by being children like +you, though they are made up of grown men. They +are children at first like you—men and women with +children's hearts; frank, and affectionate, and full +of trust, and teachable, loving to see and learn all +the wonders around them; and greedy also, too +often, and passionate and silly, as children are."</p> + +<p>Not a few other authors of less note have tried to +turn the classical myths of the old Greek poets into +simple English for the entertainment and instruction +of children. Scarcely any of these stories that have +not appeared in various children's books in recent +years. Taken as a whole, they are a storehouse +of children's literature. The philosopher, Herbart, +looked upon poems of Homer as giving ideal expression +to the boyhood of the race, and the story of +Ulysses was regarded by him as the boy's book,—the +Greek Robinson Crusoe. For the child of nine +years he thought it the most suitable story.</p> + +<p>Kingsley says in his Introduction: "Now you must +not think of the Greeks in this book as learned men, +living in great cities, such as they were afterwards,<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 105]</span> +when they wrought all their beautiful works, but as +country people, living on farms and in walled villages, +in a simple, hard-working way; so that the greatest +kings and heroes cooked their own meals and thought +it no shame, and made their own ships and weapons, +and fed and harnessed their own horses. So that a +man was honored among them, not because he happened +to be rich, but according to his skill and his +strength and courage and the number of things he +could do. For they were but grown-up children, +though they were right noble children too, and it was +with them as it is now at school, the strongest and +cleverest boy, though he be poor, leads all the rest."</p> + +<p>In the introduction to the "Wonder Book" we find +the following: "Hawthorne took a vital interest in +child life. He was accustomed to observe his own +children very closely. There are private manuscripts +extant which present exact records of what his young +son and elder daughter said or did from hour to hour, +the father seating himself in their playroom and +patiently noting all that passed. To this habit of +watchful and sympathetic scrutiny we may attribute +in part the remarkable felicity, the fortunate ease of +adaptation to the immature understanding, and the +skilful appeal to the fresh imaginations which characterize +his stories for the young." Hawthorne himself +says: "The author has long been of the opinion +that many of the classical myths were capable of +being rendered into very capital reading for chil<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 106]</span>dren.... +No epoch of time can claim a copyright +on these immortal fables. They seem never to have +been made, and so long as man exists they can never +perish; but by their indestructibility itself they are +legitimate subjects, for every age to clothe with its +own garniture of manners and sentiment, and to +imbue with its own morality.... The author has +not always thought it necessary to write downward in +order to meet the comprehension of children. He has +generally suffered the theme to soar, whenever such +was its tendency. Children possess an unestimated +sensibility to whatever is deep or high in imagination +or feeling so long as it is simple likewise. It is only +the artificial and the complex that bewilder them."</p> + +<p>A brief analysis of the qualities which render these +myths so attractive will help us to see their value in +the education of children.</p> + +<p>The astonishing brightness of fanciful episode and +of pure and clear-cut imagery has an indestructible +charm for children. They can soar into and above +the clouds on the shining wings of Pegasus. With +Eolus they shut up the contrary winds in an ox-hide, +and later let them out to plague the much-suffering +Ulysses. They watch with astonishment as Jason +yokes the fire-breathing oxen and strews the field +with uprooted stumps and stones as he prepares the +soil for the seed of dragon's teeth. Each child +becomes a poet as he recreates the sparkling brightness +of these simple pictures. And when a child<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 107]</span> +has once suffered his fancy to soar to these mountain +heights and ocean depths, it will no longer be possible +to make his life entirely dull and prosaic. He +has caught glimpses of a bright world that will linger +unfading in the uplands of his memory. And while +they are so deep and lofty they are still, as Hawthorne +says, very simple. Some of the most classic +of the old stories are indeed too long for third grade +children; too many persons and too much complexity, +as in the "Tales of Troy." But on the other hand, +many of the most beautiful of the old myths are as +plain and simple to a child as a floating summer +cloud. High in the sky they may be or deep in the +reflection of some lake or spring, but clear and plain +to the thought of a little child. These stories in their +naive simplicity reflect the wonder and surprise with +which a person first beholds grand and touching +scenery, whether it be the oppressive grandeur of +some beetling mountain crag, or the placid quiet of +a moonlit stream. The stories selected for this grade +should be the simplest and best: "The Golden Touch," +"Perseus," "The Chimæra," of Hawthorne, the episodes +of the "Golden Fleece," with others similar.</p> + +<p>In one form or another they introduce us to the +company of heroes, or, at least, of great and simple +characters. Deeds of enterprise and manliness or +of unselfishness and generosity are the climax of the +story. To meet danger and hardship or ridicule for +the sake of a high purpose is their underlying<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 108]</span> +thought. Perseus and Jason and Ulysses are all +ambitious to prove their title to superior shrewdness +and courage and self-control. When we get fairly +into the mythical age, we find ourselves among the +heroes, among those striving for mastery and leadership +in great undertakings. Physical prowess and +manly spirit are its chief virtues. And can there +be any question that there is a time in the lives of +children when these ideas fill the horizon of their +thought? Samson and David and Hercules, Bellerophon +and Jason, are a child's natural thoughts or, +at least, they fit the frame of his mind so exactly +that one may say the picture and the frame were +made for each other. The history of most countries +contains such an age of heroes. Tell in Switzerland, +Siegfried in Germany, Bruce in Scotland, Romulus +and Horatius at Rome, Alfred in England, are all +national heroes of the mythical age, whose deeds are +heroic and of public good. The Greek stories are +only a more classic edition of this historical epoch, +and should lead up to a study of these later products +of European literature.</p> + +<p>Several forms of moral excellence are objectively +realized or personified in these stories.</p> + +<p>As the wise Centaur, after teaching Jason to be +skilful and brave, sent him out into the world, he +said: "Well, go, my son; the throne belongs to thy +father and the gods love justice. But remember, wherever +thou dost wander, to observe these three things:<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 109]</span></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Relieve the distressed.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Respect the aged.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"Be true to thy word."<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>And many events in Jason's life illustrate the +wisdom of these words. The miraculous pitcher is +one whose fountain of refreshing milk bubbled +always because of a gentle deed of hospitality to +strangers. King Midas, on the other hand, experiences +in most graphic form the punishment which +ought to follow miserly greed, while his humble +penitence brought back his daughter and the homely +comforts of life. Bellerophon is filled with a desire +to perform a noble deed that will relieve the distress +of a whole people. After the exercise of much +patience and self-control he succeeds in his generous +enterprise. Many a lesson of worldly wisdom +and homely virtue is brought out in the story of +Ulysses' varied and adventuresome career.</p> + +<p>These myths bring children into lively contact +with European history and geography, as well as +with its modes of life and thought. The early history +of Europe is in all cases shrouded in mist and +legend. But even from this historically impenetrable +past has sprung a literature that has exercised a +profound influence upon the life and growth of the +people. Not that children are conscious of the significance +of these ideas, but being placed in an<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 110]</span> +atmosphere which is full of them, their deeper meaning +gradually unfolds itself. The early myths afford +an interesting approach for children to the history +and geography of important countries. Those countries +they must, sooner or later, make the acquaintance +of both geographically and historically, and +could anything be designed to take stronger hold +upon their imagination and memory than these +charming myths, which were the poetry and religion +of the people once living there?</p> + +<p>It is a very simple and primitive state of culture, +whose ships, arms, agriculture, and domestic life are +given us in clear and pleasing pictures. Our own +country is largely lacking in a mythical age. Our +culture sprang, more than half-grown, from the +midst of Europe's choicest nations, and out of institutions +that had been centuries in forming. The +myths of Europe are therefore as truly ours as they +are the treasure of Englishmen, of Germans, or of +Greeks. Again, our own literature, as well as that +of European states, is full of the spirit and suggestion +of the mythical age. Our poets and writers +have drawn much of their imagery from this old +storehouse of thought, and a child will better understand +the works of the present through this contact +with mythical ages.</p> + +<p>In method of treatment with school classes, these +stories will admit of a variation from the plan used with +"Robinson Crusoe." One unaccustomed to the reading<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 111]</span> +of such stories would be at a loss for a method of +treatment with children. There is a charm and literary +art in the presentation that may make the +teacher feel unqualified to present them. The children +are not yet sufficiently masters of the printed +symbols of speech to read for themselves. Shall the +teacher simply read the stories to children? We +would suggest first of all, that the teacher, who would +expect to make use of these materials, steep himself +fully in literature of this class, and bring his mind +into familiar acquaintance and sympathy with its characters. +In interpreting classical authors to pupils, +we are justified in requiring of the teacher intimate +knowledge and appreciative sympathy with his author. +Certainly no one will teach these stories well whose +fancy was never touched into airy flights—who cannot +become a child again and partake of his pleasures. +No condescension is needed, but ascension to +a free and ready flight of fancy. By learning to +drink at these ancient fountains of song and poetry, +the teacher might learn to tell a fairy story for himself. +But doubtless it will be well to mingle oral narrative +and description on the part of the teacher with the +fit reading of choice parts so as to better preserve the +classic beauty and suggestion of the author. Children +are quite old enough now to appreciate beauty of language +and expressive, happy turns of speech. In +the midst of question, suggestion, and discussion between +pupil and teacher, the story should be carried<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 112]</span> +forward, never forgetting to stop at suitable intervals +and get such a reproduction of the story as the little +children are capable of. And indeed they are capable +of much in this direction, for their thoughts are +more nimble, and their power of expression more apt, +oftentimes, than the teacher's own.</p> + +<p>We would not favor a simple reading of these +stories for the entertainment of pupils. It should +take more the form of a school exercise, requiring +not only interest and attention, but vigorous effort to +grasp and reproduce the thought. The result should +be a much livelier and deeper insight into the story +than would be secured by a simple reading for amusement +or variety. They should prepare also for an +appreciative reading of other myths in the following +grades.</p> + +<p>After all, in two or three recitation periods a week, +extending through a year, it cannot be expected that +children will make the acquaintance of all the literature +that could be properly called the myth of the +heroic age in different countries. All that we may +expect is to enter this paradise of children, to pluck +a few of its choicest flowers, and get such a breath of +their fragrance that there will be a child's desire to +return again and again. The school also should provide +in the succeeding year for an abundance of reading +of myths. The same old stories which they first +learned to enjoy in oral recitations should be read in +books, and still others should be utilized in the regu<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 113]</span>lar +reading classes of the fourth and fifth grades. In +this way the myths of other countries may be brought +in, the story of Tell, of Siegfried, of Alfred, and of +others.</p> + +<p>In summarizing the advantages of a systematic +attempt to get this simple classic lore into our +schools, we recall the interest and mental activity +which it arouses, its power to please and satisfy the +creative fancy in children, its fundamental feeling +and instincts, the virtues of bravery, manliness, and +unselfishness, and all this in a form that still further +increases its culture effect upon teacher and pupil. +It should never be forgotten that teacher and pupil +alike are here imbibing lessons and inspirations that +draw them into closer sympathy because the subject +is worthy of both old and young.</p> + +<p>In addition to the earlier Greek myths we may mention +the following subjects as suitable for oral treatment:</p> + +<p>The story of Ulysses has been much used in schools +with oral presentation, and is one of the best tales for +this purpose in all literature. A somewhat full discussion +of the value of this story for schools is found +in the Special Method in Reading of Complete +English Classics.</p> + +<p>The Norse mythology has also received much +attention from teachers who have used the oral mode +of treatment. Several of the best books of Norse +mythology are mentioned in the appended list. Also +the great story of Siegfried.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 114]</span></p> + +<p>Some of the old traditional stories in the early history +of Rome, of France, Germany, and England, have +been used for oral narration and reading to children.</p> + +<p>The "Seven Little Sisters" and its companion book +"Each and All," and the "Ten Boys on the Road +from Long Ago to Now," by Jane Andrews, published +by Ginn & Co., have been employed extensively for +oral and reading work in the third and fourth years +of school. The "Seven Little Sisters" is valuable in +connection with the beginnings of geography.</p> + + +<h4>BOOKS FOR THIRD YEAR OF SCHOOL</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The Wonder Book of Nathaniel Hawthorne.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The following stories are especially recommended: The +Gorgon's Head, The Golden Touch, The Miraculous Pitcher, +and The Chimæra.</p> + +<p>One should preserve as much as possible of the spirit and +language of the author. Perhaps in classes with children the +other stories will be found equally attractive: The Paradise +of Children and the Three Golden Apples. Published by +Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., Boston.</p></div> + +<p>Kingsley's Greek Heroes.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The stories of Perseus, the Argonauts, and Theseus, especially +adapted to children. It may be advisable for the +teacher to abbreviate the stories, leaving out unimportant +parts, but giving the best portions in the fullest detail. Published +by Ginn & Co.; The Macmillan Co.</p></div> + +<p>Story of the Iliad and Story of the Odyssey (Church).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Simple and interesting narrative of the Homeric stories. +The Macmillan Co.</p></div> + +<p>Jason's Quest (Lowell).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The story of the Argonauts with many other Greek myths +woven into the narrative. This book is a store of excellent +material. The teacher should select from it those parts +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 115]</span>specially suited to the grade. Published by Sibley & Ducker, +Chicago.</p></div> + +<p>Adventures of Ulysses (Lamb).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>A small book from which the chief episodes of Ulysses' +career can be obtained. Published by Ginn & Co., Boston.</p></div> + +<p>The Story of Siegfried (Baldwin). Published by Scribner's Sons.</p> + +<p>Peabody's Old Greek Folk Stories.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Simple and well written. A supplement to the Wonder +Book. Published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.</p></div> + +<p>Tales of Troy (De Garmo).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The story of the siege of Troy and of the great events of +Homer's Iliad. This story, on account of its complexity, +we deem better adapted to the fourth grade. Published by +the Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill.</p></div> + +<p>Stories of the Old World (Church).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Stories of the Argo, of Thebes, of Troy, of Ulysses, and +of Æneas. Stories are simply and well told. It is a book +of 350 pages, and would serve well as a supplementary reader +in fourth grade. Published by Ginn & Co.</p></div> + +<p>Gods and Heroes (Francillon).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>A successful effort to cover the whole field of Greek mythology +in the story form. Ginn & Co.</p></div> + +<p>The Tanglewood Tales (Nathaniel Hawthorne).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>A continuation of the Wonder Book.</p></div> + +<p>Heroes of Asgard.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Stories of Norse mythology; simple and attractive. Macmillan +& Co.</p></div> + +<p>The Story of Ulysses (Agnes S. Cook).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>An account of the adventures of Ulysses, told in connected +narrative, in language easily comprehended by children in +the third and fourth grades. Public School Publishing Co., +Bloomington, Ill.</p></div> + +<p>Old Norse Stories (Bradish).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Stories for reference and sight reading. American Book Co.</p></div> + +<p>Norse Stories (Mabie).</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>An excellent rendering of the old stories. Dodd, Mead, +& Co.</p></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 116]</span></p> +<p>Myths of Northern Lands (Guerber). American Book Co.</p> + +<p>The Age of Fable (Bulfinch). Lee and Shepard.</p> + +<p>Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co.</p> + +<p>National Epics (Rabb). A. C. McClurg & Co.</p> + +<p>Classic Myths (Gayley). Ginn & Co.</p> + +<p>Bryant's Odyssey. Complete poetic translation. Houghton, +Mifflin, & Co.</p> + +<p>Bryant's Iliad. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.</p> + +<p>Butcher and Lang's prose translation of the Odyssey. The Macmillan +Co.</p> + +<p>The Odyssey of Homer (Palmer). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>A prose translation.</p></div> + +<p>Myths and Myth Makers (Fiske).</p> + +<p>Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler). Chapter X. D. +Appleton & Co.</p></div> + + +<h3>THE BIBLE STORIES</h3> + +<p>The stories of early Bible history have been much +used in all European lands, and in America, for the +instruction of children. Among Jews and Christians +everywhere, and even among Mohammedans, these +stories have been extensively used. They include +the simple accounts of the patriarchs, Abraham, +Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and his brethren, Moses, Joshua, +Samson, Samuel, and David. It may be seen at a +glance that no more famous stories than these could +be selected from the history of any country in the +world. They stand preëminent as graphic descriptions +of the modes of life which prevailed in the early +period of civilized races. The old patriarchs lived in +what is usually called the pastoral age, when men +dwelt in tents and moved about from place to place<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 117]</span> +with their flocks in search of pasture. The patriarch +at the head of the family, and even of a whole tribe, +is the father, ruler, priest, and judge for the little +community over which he presides. In his person +there is a simple union of all the important powers +of the later Hebrew state. The dignity and authority +which centre in the person of Abraham, together +with a marked gravity and strength of character, +lend a distinct grandeur to his personality, so that he +has been recognized in all ages as one of the great +figures in the history of the world; the foremost of +the old patriarchs,—the father of the faithful. A +similar respect and dignity attaches to all these old +Bible characters, and in the case of Moses, rises to +a supreme height, while in David the warrior, statesman, +and poet are united in one of the most pronounced +and pleasing characters in the world's +history. These old stories are also unparalleled in +the simplicity and transparent clearness with which +the life of the pastoral age is depicted. Human +nature comes out in a series of pictures most striking +and individual, and yet unmistakably true to life and +reality. And yet while this life was so small in its +compass, it is almost wholly free from narrowness +and provincialism. The universal qualities of human +nature, common to men in all ages and countries, +stand out with a clearness which even little children +can grasp. The story of Joseph and his brethren is +probably the finest story that was ever written for<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 118]</span> +children from eight to ten years of age. The characters +involved in this family history are striking and +impressive, and the strength of the family virtues +and affections has never been set forth with greater +simplicity and power.</p> + +<p>The heroic qualities which appear in the old Bible +stories, especially in Moses, Samson, and David, would +bear a favorable comparison with the men of the +heroic age in all countries. Strength of character +combined with faith in high ideals, pursued with +unwavering resolution, is a peculiar merit of these +narratives. The heroes of the Hebrew race should +be compared, later on, with the most renowned +heroes of England, Scotland, Germany, and Greece, +and even of America, for they have common qualities +which have like merit as educative materials for the +young.</p> + +<p>This early literature of the Bible stories will be +found to contain a large part of the universal thought +of the world, that is, of the masterly ideas which, +because of their superior truth and excellence, have +gradually worked their way as controlling principles +into the life of all modern nations. It need hardly +be said that these stories have a peculiar charm +and attractiveness for children. The simplicity of a +patriarchal age, the strong interest in persons of +heroic quality, the descriptions of early childhood, +the heroic deeds of bold and high-spirited youth,—these +things command the unfaltering interest of<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 119]</span> +children, and at the same time give their lives a +touch of moral strength and idealism which is of the +highest promise.</p> + +<p>The oral treatment of these stories in the third or +fourth year of school is the only mode of bringing +them before the children in their full power, and they +are well adapted to easy oral narrative and discussion. +The language is the genuine, simple, powerful old +English, and the teacher should become thoroughly +saturated with these simple words and modes of +thought. The dramatic element is also not lacking +in many parts, and can be well executed in the classroom. +Many opportunities will be furnished to the +children for drawing pictures illustrating the stories. +Many of the most famous masterpieces of painting +and sculpture represent the persons and scenes of +these tales. The great heroes of Christian art have +exhausted their skill in these representations, which +are now being furnished to the schools by the large +publishing houses. Even the costumes and modes +of life are thus brought home to the children in the +most realistic yet artistic way.</p> + +<p>An acquaintance with such early stories of Hebrew +history is an introduction to some of the finest literature +of the English language. First, that dealing with +the Hebrew scriptures themselves, as the books of +Moses, the psalms of David, and second, a number of +the great poems of English masters, as the "Burial +of Moses" and Milton's "Samson Agonistes." In<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 120]</span> +short, we may say that these stories are the key to a +large part of our best English thought.</p> + +<p>Adler, in his "Moral Instruction of Children," says: +"The narrative of the Bible is fairly saturated with +the moral spirit; the moral issues are everywhere in +the forefront. Duty, guilt, and its punishment, the +conflict of conscience with inclination, are the leading +themes. The Hebrew people seem to have been +endowed with what may be called 'a moral genius,' +and especially did they emphasize the filial and fraternal +duties to an extent hardly equalled elsewhere. +Now it is precisely these duties that must be impressed +upon young children, and hence the biblical +stories present us with the very material we require. +They cannot, in this respect, be replaced; there is +no other literature in the world that offers what is +equal to them in value for the particular object we +now have in view."</p> + +<p>If we could only contemplate the patriarchal stories +as a part of the great literature of the world, on +account of its typical yet realistic portraiture of men +and women, we might use this material as we use the +very best derived from other sources. Mr. Adler +remarks that "this typical quality in Homer's portraiture +has been one secret of its universal impressiveness. +The Homeric outlines are in each case +brilliantly distinct, while they leave to the reader a +certain liberty of private conception, and he can fill +them in to satisfy his own ideal. We may add that<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 121]</span> +this is just as true of the Bible as of Homer. The +biblical narrative, too, depicts a few essential traits of +human nature, and refrains from multiplying minor +traits which might interfere with the main effect. +The Bible, too, draws its figures in outline, and leaves +every age free to fill them in so as to satisfy its own +ideal."</p> + +<p>Moreover, their use is not a matter of experiment. +For hundreds of years they have held the first place +in the best homes and schools of Germany, England, +and America, and their educative influence has been +profoundly felt in all Christian nations.</p> + +<p>We have several editions of the stories adapted +from the Bible for school use. In the Bible itself +they are not found in the simple, connected form that +makes them available for school use. One of the +best editions for school is that published by Houghton, +Mifflin, & Co., called, "Old Testament Stories in +Scriptural Language." A free and somewhat original +rendering of the stories is given by Baldwin in +his "Old Stories of the East," published by the +American Book Co. Both of these books have been +extensively used in the schools of this country. The +oral treatment of the Bible stories in the schools has +not been common in this country, but it has all the +merits described by us in the chapter on oral instruction. +In fourth and fifth grades these books may +serve well for exercises in reading.</p> + +<p>In a great many schools of this country they can<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 122]</span> +be used and are used without giving offence to anybody, +and where this is true, they well deserve recognition +in our school course because of their superior +presentation of some of the great universal ideas of +our civilization.</p> + + +<h4>BOOKS FOR TEACHERS OF BIBLE LITERATURE</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The Modern Reader's Bible, twenty-one volumes (Richard Moulton). +The Macmillan Co.<br /> + +Children's Series. Old Testament and New Testament Stories. +In two volumes. The Macmillan Co.<br /> + +Stories from the Bible (Church). The Macmillan Co.<br /> + +Story of the Chosen People (Guerber). The American Book Co.<br /> + +The Literary Study of the Bible (Moulton). D. C. Heath & Co.</p></div> + + +<h3>STORIES OF ROBIN HOOD</h3> + +<p>In the latter part of third grade or beginning of +fourth, the stories of Robin Hood are likely to prove +exhilarating to children.</p> + +<p>These stories of the bold, manly, good-natured +outlaw, with his band of trusty men in Sherwood +Forest, have been famous throughout England these +five hundred years, and the stories themselves, and +the ballads accompanying them, are a genuine part +of the treasures of the older English literature. +They have been worked by Howard Pyle into the +stout, hearty English style which is so appropriate +to the rendering of the deeds of this sturdy English +yeoman and his band.</p> + +<p>Their careless life and woodland sports under the<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 123]</span> +Greenwood Tree, and their merry adventures and +shooting matches, have been the delight of many +a generation of English children. But even their +woodland sports were a severe and rugged training +in hardy endurance and manly spirit. Pyle says +well in his preface: "For honest purposes manfully +followed and hard knocks courageously endured +must always interest the wholesome boy; while nature +is so closely akin to man in the golden days of +his green youth that tales of the Greenwood, where +the leaves rustle and the birds sing, and all the air +is full of sweet savors of growing things, must ever +have a potent charm for the fresh imagination of +childhood."</p> + +<p>One phase of this training, as manifested in the +stories, is not only the ability to take hard knocks +and keep a stiff upper lip, as the old saying goes, +but to master chagrin and anger and endure fun and +gibes at one's own expense; indeed, even with aching +bones and buzzing ears, to join in the merriment +over one's own discomfiture. This is an unusual +accompaniment of even good stories, which makes +them truly wholesome. The fun of the stories also +is of a light and rollicking sort which children should +have a chance to thoroughly enjoy. In fact it is +excellent material upon which to cultivate their early +sense of the comic and humorous. The literature +used in early school years has, unfortunately, too +little of the sportive and laughable, and the Robin<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 124]</span> +Hood adventures will help in no small degree to +remedy this defect.</p> + +<p>It is interesting to note, also, that brute strength +is not at a premium, but skill and quick-wittedness. +Not the least attractive and forcible part of Robin +Hood's character is the shrewd-witted versatility and +boldness with which he plays any part which circumstances +require him to assume. His foes are circumvented +by his shrewdness and keen wit even as much +as by his unfailing skill in archery or dexterous +strength in personal contest.</p> + +<p>Robin Hood's relation to the British government +was known as that of the outlaw, although the visit +of King Richard to him in Sherwood Forest and his +service under that prince and others gave him a certain +legal status. He has always been regarded as +a popular hero representing the rights of the common +people.</p> + +<p>After describing Robin Hood's first adventure +with the foresters and his outlawry, Howard Pyle +says: "But Robin Hood lay hidden in Sherwood +Forest for one year, and in that time there gathered +around him many others like himself, outlawed for +this cause and for that.</p> + +<p>"So, in all that year, five score or more good, stout +yeomen joined themselves to him, and chose him to +be their leader and chief. Then they vowed that +even as they themselves had been despoiled they +would despoil their oppressors, whether baron, abbot,<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 125]</span> +knight, or squire, and that from each they would +take that which had been wrung from the poor by +unjust taxes, or land rents, or in wrongful fines; but +to the poor folk they would give a helping hand in +need and trouble, and would return to them that +which had been unjustly taken from them. Besides +this, they swore never to harm a child, nor to wrong +a woman, be she maid, wife, or widow; so that, after +a while, when the people began to find that no harm +was meant to them, but that money or food came in +time of want to many a poor family, they came to +praise Robin and his merry men, and to tell many +tales of him and of his doings in Sherwood Forest, +for they felt him to be one of themselves."</p> + +<p>When we consider the stories which tradition has +handed down relative to the exploits of Robin Hood, +the Old-English ballads which celebrate them in +song, the stories of King Richard's visit to him in +Sherwood, and Robin's visit to the court of Eleanor +and King Henry at London town, to share in the +great shooting-match, and the story of Locksley in +Scott's "Ivanhoe"—we might almost say that +Robin Hood would bear favorable comparison with +any Englishman of his time. At any rate it would +be difficult to find among the kings and great lords +of that age one who had so much regard for justice +and fair dealing among men, to say nothing of his +kindness to the poor and needy.</p> + +<p>He stands distinctly for those rights of the com<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 126]</span>mon +people which were constantly violated by the +powerful and influential in that half-barbarous age +of feudalism. It is from this instinct for popular +rights that the body of English liberties has gradually +developed, and it is not strange that Robin +Hood has always been regarded as a hero among +a people who have preserved this instinct for liberty +and justice.</p> + +<p>The foresters of Robin Hood's band were lovers +of forest and glade; the song of the bird and fragrance +of wild flowers were sweet to them. In Pyle's +introductory chapter is this description of their retreat +under the Greenwood. "So turning their backs +upon the stream, they plunged into the forest once +more, through which they traced their steps till they +reached the spot where they dwelt in the depths of +the woodland. There had they built huts of bark +and branches of trees, and made couches of sweet +rushes spread over with skins of fallow deer. Here +stood a great oak tree with branches spreading +broadly around, beneath which was a seat of green +moss where Robin Hood was wont to sit at feast +and at merrymaking, with his stout men about him. +Here they found the rest of the band, some of whom +had come in with a brace of fat does. Then they +built great fires, and after the feast was ready they +all sat down, but Robin Hood placed Little John at +his right hand, for he was henceforth to be the +second in the band."<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 127]</span></p> + +<p>Little John's bout with the tanner of Blyth is +introduced thus:—</p> + +<p>"One fine day, not long after Little John had left +abiding with the Sheriff and had come back to the +merry Greenwood, Robin Hood and a few chosen +fellows of his band lay upon the soft sward beneath +the Greenwood Tree where they dwelt. The day +was warm and sultry, so that whilst most of the band +were scattered through the forest upon this mission +and upon that, these few stout fellows lay lazily +beneath the shade of the tree, in the soft afternoon, +passing jests among themselves and telling merry +stories, with laughter and mirth.</p> + +<p>"All the air was laden with the bitter fragrance of +the May, and all the bosky shades of the woodlands +beyond rang with the sweet song of birds,—the +throstle-cock, the cuckoo, and the wood-pigeon,—and +with the song of birds mingled the cool sound +of the gurgling brook that leaped out of the forest +shades, and ran fretting amid its rough gray stones +across the sunlit open glade before the trysting-tree."</p> + +<p>This delight in the beauty and music of all nature +about them is a sort of atmosphere which gives tone +to all the stories of this group.</p> + +<p>The language in which the stories are narrated is +rich in the quaint and vigorous phrases of Old +English, reminding one of the times of Shakespeare +and before. One could hardly give the children a +better introduction to the riches of our mother tongue.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 128]</span></p> + +<p>The description of English customs, the popular +festivities, the booths of the market town, the parade +of feudal lords and retainers, the constraints placed +upon hunting by kings and lords, and the hardships +of the poor are touched upon in significant ways. +The stories give an insight into the English character, +their love of rude sports, their ballad literature, +and their respect for honesty and courage and +shrewdness.</p> + +<p>The ballads associated with the Robin Hood +legends are often beautiful and striking expressions +of the English spirit, and have a special charm for +children. They should be read in connection with +the later reading of the stories in the third and +fourth school years.</p> + +<p>The bearing of these tales upon early feudal history +and the general literature of that age is of importance. +This is well illustrated in "Ivanhoe" in +the use by Richard of Robin Hood and his archers in +the attack upon Torquilstone, and in various exploits +of the men of the Greenwood when brought in contact +with knights on horseback. There is also a +kinship in these narratives with some of the best +stories and novels of early English history, as Scott's +"Tales of a Grandfather," Kingsley's "Hereward the +Wake," Jane Andrew's "Gilbert the Page," and a +number of Scott's novels.</p> + +<p>In the oral treatment of the stories in the third or +fourth school year, the teacher will find her powers<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 129]</span> +of presentation taxed in a peculiar way. The quaint +language and humorous tone, the occasional witty +conceits, will need to be appreciated and enjoyed, and +the mode of presentation suited to the thought. Let +the teacher first of all thoroughly enjoy the stories +and in rendering them to children in the classroom +lose herself in the tone and spirit of the account. It +requires great freedom and flexibility of body and +mind to do this well, but that is what a teacher most +of all needs. The humorous part, especially, will require +a certain unbending of the stiff manners of a +teacher, but no harm is done in this.</p> + +<p>The large volume of Robin Hood stories by Pyle +should be in the hands of the teacher, if possible, +although it is an expensive book. It is much fuller +in the special details of the stories needed by the +teacher, though the smaller book is far better adapted +as a reading book for schools.</p> + +<p>To illustrate the place which the Robin Hood +legends hold in English history and literature, the +following selections, quoted from Tennyson's "The +Foresters" and one of the old ballads, are given. +They are taken from "English History told by +English Poets," published by The Macmillan Company, +where the passage from "The Foresters" is +given at greater length.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 130]</span></p> + +<h4>KING RICHARD IN SHERWOOD FOREST<br /><br /> + +<span class="smcap">Lord Tennyson</span><br /> + +<small>(From "The Foresters")</small></h4> + +<p>Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Friar Tuck and +George-a-Green, Will Scarlet, Midge the Miller's +Son, Little John, and the rest are legendary characters +loved and sung from the fourteenth century +to modern times. The charm of these light-hearted +highwaymen was felt by Shakespeare himself: +"They say he is already in the forest of Arden, and +a many merry men with him: and there they live like +the old Robin Hood of England; they say many +young gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet +the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world."—("As +You Like It," I, <span class="smcap">I.</span>) Tennyson adopts the +tradition that the generous outlaws dwelt in Sherwood +Forest in Cumberlandshire, and that their +leader, Robin Hood, was the banished Earl of Huntingdon. +The plot of the "The Foresters" turns +upon the sudden return of Richard from his Austrian +captivity and the consequent collapse of the intrigues +conducted by his crafty and cruel brother John.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><i>Robin Hood.</i> Am I worse or better?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am outlaw'd. I am none the worse for that<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I held for Richard and I hated John.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am a thief, ay, and a king of thieves.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ay! but we rob the robber, wrong the wronger,<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 131]</span><span class="i0">And what we wring from them we give the poor.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am none the worse for that, and all the better<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For this free forest-life, for while I sat<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Among my thralls in my baronial hall<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The groining hid the heavens; but since I breathed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A houseless head beneath the sun and stars,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The soul of the woods hath stricken thro' my blood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The love of freedom, the desire of God,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The hope of larger life hereafter, more<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tenfold than under roof.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11">True, were I taken<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They would prick out my sight. A price is set<br /></span> +<span class="i0">On this poor head; but I believe there lives<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No man who truly loves and truly rules<br /></span> +<span class="i0">His following, but can keep his followers true.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am one with mine. Traitors are rarely bred<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Save under traitor kings. Our vice-king John,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">True king of vice—true play on words—our John,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By his Norman arrogance and dissoluteness,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hath made me king of all the discontent<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of England up thro' all the forest land<br /></span> +<span class="i0">North to the Tyne: being outlaw'd in a land<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where law lies dead, we make ourselves the law.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> + +<span class="i0"><i>King Richard</i> (to <i>Robin</i>). My good friend Robin, Earl of Huntingdon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For Earl thou art again, hast thou no fetters<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For those of thine own band who would betray thee?<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><i>Robin.</i> I have; but these were never worn as yet,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I never found one traitor in my band.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Our forest games are ended, our free life,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And we must hence to the King's court. I trust<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We shall return to the wood. Meanwhile, farewell<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Old friends, old patriarch oaks. A thousand winters<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Will strip you bare as death, a thousand summers<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Robe you life-green again. You seem, as it were,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Immortal, and we mortal. How few Junes<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 132]</span><span class="i0">Will heat our pulses quicker! How few frosts<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Will chill the hearts that beat for Robin Hood!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><i>Marian.</i> And yet I think these oaks at dawn and even,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or in the balmy breathings of the night,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Will whisper evermore of Robin Hood.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We leave but happy memories to the forest.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We dealt in the wild justice of the woods.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All those poor serfs whom we have served will bless us,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All those pale mouths which we have fed will praise us—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All widows we have holpen pray for us,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Our Lady's blessed shrines throughout the land<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Be all the richer for us. You, good friar,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You Much, you Scarlet, you dear Little John,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Your names will cling like ivy to the wood.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And here perhaps a hundred years away<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Some hunter in day-dreams or half asleep<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Will hear our arrows whizzing overhead,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And catch the winding of a phantom horn.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><i>Robin.</i> And surely these old oaks will murmur thee<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Marian along with Robin. I am most happy—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Art thou not mine?—and happy that our King<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is here again, never I trust to roam<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So far again, but dwell among his own.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Strike up a stave, my masters, all is well.<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<h4>HOW ROBIN HOOD RESCUED THE WIDOW'S THREE SONS</h4> + +<p>Robin Hood and his followers were bandits and +outlaws, but the people loved them because they +defied the hateful forest laws and made light of the +sheriff. The king's officers were responsible for +the maintenance of order, but in these lawless times +they often used their power for their own advantage, +imposing heavy fines and penalties on the poor, and +extorting bribes from the rich. The following is<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 133]</span> +one of the oldest and rudest of the many Robin Hood +ballads:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">There are twelve months in all the year,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">As I hear many say,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But the merriest month in all the year<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Is the merry month of May.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">With a link a down and a day,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And there he met a silly<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> old woman,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Was weeping on the way.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"What news? what news, thou silly old woman?<br /></span> +<span class="i2">What news hast thou for me?"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Said she, "There's my three sons in Nottingham town<br /></span> +<span class="i2">To-day condemned to die."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"O, have they parishes burnt?" he said,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"Or have they ministers slain?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or have they robbed any virgin?<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Or other men's wives have ta'en?"<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"They have no parishes burnt, good sir,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Nor yet have ministers slain,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nor have they robbed any virgin,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Nor other men's wives have ta'en."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"O, what have they done?" said Robin Hood,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"I pray thee tell to me."<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"It's for slaying of the king's fallow-deer,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Bearing their long bows with thee."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Dost thou not mind, old woman," he said,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"How thou madest me sup and dine?<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 134]</span><span class="i0">By the truth of my body," quoth bold Robin Hood,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"You could not tell it in better time."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">With a link a down and a day,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And there he met with a silly old palmer,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Was walking along the highway.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"What news? what news, thou silly old man?<br /></span> +<span class="i2">What news, I do thee pray?"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Said he, "Three squires in Nottingham town<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Are condemned to die this day."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Come change thy apparel with me, old man,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Come change thy apparel for mine;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here is forty shillings in good silver,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Go drink it in beer or wine."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">With a link a down and a down.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And there he met with the proud sheriff,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Was walking along the town.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"O Christ you save, O sheriff!" he said;<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"O Christ you save and see;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And what will you give to a silly old man<br /></span> +<span class="i2">To-day will your hangman be?"<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Some suits, some suits," the sheriff he said,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"Some suits I'll give to thee;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Some suits, some suits, and pence thirteen,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">To-day's a hangman's fee."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Then Robin he turns him round about,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And jumps from stock to stone:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"By the truth of my body," the sheriff he said,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"That's well jumpt, thou nimble old man."<br /></span> +</div><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 135]</span><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"I was ne'er a hangman in all my life,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Nor yet intends to trade;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But curst be he," said bold Robin,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"That first a hangman was made!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"I've a bag for meal, and a bag for malt,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And a bag for barley and corn;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A bag for bread, and a bag for beef,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And a bag for my little small horn.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"I have a horn in my pocket,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">I got it from Robin Hood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And still when I set it to my mouth,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">For thee it blows little good."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"O, wind thy horn, thou proud fellow,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Of thee I have no doubt.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I wish that thou give such a blast,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Till both thy eyes fall out."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The first loud blast that he did blow,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">He blew both loud and shrill;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A hundred and fifty of Robin Hood's men<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Came riding over the hill.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The next loud blast that he did give,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">He blew both loud and amain.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And quickly sixty of Robin Hood's men<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Came shining over the plain.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"O, who are these," the sheriff he said,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"Come tripping over the lea?"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"They're my attendants," brave Robin did say;<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"They'll pay a visit to thee."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">They took the gallows from the slack,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">They set it in the glen.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They hanged the proud sheriff on that,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Released their own three men.<br /></span> +</div></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 136]</span></p> + + +<h4>ROBIN HOOD BOOKS</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Howard Pyle). Finely +illustrated, $3.00. Scribner's Sons.<br /> + +Some Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle). Small school edition, +illustrated; Scribner's Sons.<br /> + +Tennyson's The Foresters.<br /> + +The Robin Hood ballads are found in many of the ballad books.<br /> + +Ivanhoe contains several scenes from the life of Robin Hood +(Locksley).</p></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 137]</span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Primary Reading through Incidental Exercises +and Games</span></h2> + +<h3>BASED ON SCHOOL MOVEMENTS, STUDIES, AND GAMES</h3> + + +<p>Before entering upon the discussion of the usual +methods of introducing children to the art of reading +we will give a treatment of the incidental opportunities +offered by the other studies, by school movements +and games in primary classes, for introducing +children to the written and printed forms.</p> + +<p>It is assumed that the more closely the written or +printed words and sentences are related to the children's +activities, or the more dependent these activities +are made upon a knowledge of the word-forms, +the quicker and more natural will be their mastery. +To put it briefly, the teacher abstains from the use of +oral speech to a considerable extent and substitutes +the written forms of the words on the blackboard in +giving directions, in games, and in treating topics +in literature and science. The following chapter is +taken wholly from the lessons given by Mrs. Lida B. +McMurry in the first grade. Many other similar +lessons were worked out, but these are probably +sufficient to fully illustrate the plan.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 138]</span></p> + +<p>The teacher's aim in the beginning reading is to +lead the child to look to the lesson, either word or +sentence or paragraph, to find what it has to say to +him—to present the lesson in such a way that the +child shall quicken into life in its presence—shall +reach forward to grasp this much-desired thing. The +attention of the child is centred on the thought; he +grasps the symbols because he must reach, through +them, the thought.</p> + +<p>Much of the early reading can be taught in a +purely incidental way—in the general exercises of +the school and in the literature and nature-study +recitations.</p> + + +<h3>READING TAUGHT INCIDENTALLY</h3> + +<p>(a) <i>In the General Management of the School.</i> The +directions which are at first given to children orally, +<i>e.g.</i>, <i>rise</i>, <i>turn</i>, <i>pass</i>, <i>sit</i>, <i>skip</i>, <i>fly</i>, <i>march</i>, <i>run</i>, <i>walk</i>, +<i>pass to the front</i>, <i>pass to the back</i>, are later written +upon the board. When the children seem to have +become familiar with the written direction, the +order in which the directions are given is sometimes +changed, as a test, <i>e.g.</i>, the following directions +are usually given in this order—<i>turn</i>, <i>rise</i>, <i>pass</i>. +Instead of writing <i>turn</i> first, the teacher writes <i>pass</i>. +If the children understand, they will rise at once and +pass without waiting to turn.</p> + +<p>The names of the children, instead of being spoken, +are often written; in this way the children become<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 139]</span> +familiar with the names of all the children in the +school. The teacher, writing <i>Clarence</i> upon the board, +says, "I would like this boy to erase the boards +to-night." The first time it is written the teacher +speaks the name as she writes it. It may be necessary +to do this several times. The teacher does not +look at Clarence as she writes his name. If he does +not recognize his name after it has appeared repeatedly, +his eyesight may well be tested. If heedlessness +is the cause of the failure, another name is +written at the board, and Clarence loses the opportunity +to do the service. No drill should be given on +these names. The repetition incident to the frequent +calling upon the child is all that is necessary to fix +the name.</p> + +<p>The names of the songs and of the poems which +the children are memorizing are written upon the +board as needed. The teacher says, "We will sing +this song this morning." If the children do not +recognize its title as the teacher points to it, she +gives it. After a while the children will recognize +the names of all the songs and the poems which +are in use in the room.</p> + +<p>The children become familiar with the written +form of the smaller numbers in this way—the +number of absent children is reported at each +session and written on the board. On Friday the +teacher records upon the board some facts of the +week, or of the month, which the children learned<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 140]</span> +from their weather charts—viz., the number of +sunny and the number of cloudy days. The number +of children in each row is ascertained and written at +the board that the monitors may know how many +pairs of scissors, pieces of clay, or pencils to select.</p> + +<p>The poems, after being partially committed to +memory, are written upon the board; when the +pupils falter, reference is made to the line in question +as it appears upon the board.</p> + +<p>The teacher sometimes writes her morning greeting +or evening farewell at the board—thus: "Good +morning, children," or, "Good-by for to-day." The +children read silently and respond with, "Good morning, +Miss Eades," or, "Good night, Miss Farr."</p> + +<p>Often she communicates facts of interest at the +board. If the pupils are unable to interpret what +she has written, she reads for them, <i>e.g.</i>, the teacher +writes, "We have vacation to-morrow." Quite likely +some child, unable to read at all, will say, "We have +<i>something</i>, but I can't tell what it is." (These same +words will occur again, when needed to express a +thought, and it is a waste of energy to drill upon +them.) When the children have interpreted the +above sentence at the board, the teacher writes, "Do +you know why?" The children read the question +silently and give the answer audibly, and say, "It is +Decoration Day." We too often allow children to +treat a question in their reading as if its end were +reached in the asking. To lead the children to form<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 141]</span> +a habit of answering questions asked in writing or in +print, such questions as the following are, from time +to time, written at the board: "Did you see the rainbow +last night?" "What color was it?" "Did you +see any birds on Saturday?" "What ones?" "Have +you been to the woods?" "What did you find there?"</p> + +<p>(b) <i>In Connection with the Literature.</i> The name +of the story which the teacher is about to tell is +placed upon the board. At the first writing the +teacher tells the pupils what it is, if necessary, <i>e.g.</i>, +the teacher says, "We shall have a story about '<i>The +Three Bears</i>,'" pointing to the title upon the board. +The next day she says, "I would like you to tell me +all you can about this story"—writing its name upon +the board.</p> + +<p>In the final reproduction of the story the teacher +assigns topics, <i>e.g.</i>: Chauncey may tell me about +this (writing at the board): <i>Silver-Hair going to +the woods</i>. Eva may tell about this: <i>Silver-Hair +going into the kitchen</i>. Jennie may tell about this: +<i>Silver-Hair going into the sitting room</i>. Willie may +tell about this: <i>Silver-Hair going upstairs</i>. Should +the child go beyond the limited topic, the teacher +points to the board and asks about what he was to +tell.</p> + +<p>At the close of each story that can be dramatized, +the teacher assigns at the board the part which each +is to take, thus: After the story of "The Old Woman +and the Pig" is learned, the teacher writes in a col<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 142]</span>umn +each child's name opposite the animal or thing +which he is to represent, in this way.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p><i>Agnes</i>—the old woman.<br /> + +<i>Glenn</i>—the pig.<br /> + +<i>Sadie</i>—the dog, etc.</p> +</div> + +<p>(c) <i>In Connection with the Nature Study.</i> In the +spring the children are looking for the return of the +birds, the first spring blossoms, and the opening of +the tree buds. The teacher often makes her own discoveries +known through writing, upon the board, <i>e.g.</i>, +"I saw a robin this morning," or "I found a blue +violet yesterday," or "I saw some elm blossoms last +night."</p> + +<p>The class, by the aid of the teacher, make a bird, +a flower, and a tree-bud calendar, on which are recorded +the name and date of the first seen of each. +These names are put on the calendars in the presence +of the children, and they frequently "name their +treasures o'er."</p> + +<p>The mode of travelling is written beside the name +of each familiar bird as the children make the discoveries, +thus:—</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="10" summary=""> +<tr><td align='left'>Robin</td><td align='left'>hops.<br />runs.<br />flies.</td><td> </td><td align='left'>Crow</td><td align='left'>walks.<br />flies.</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p>Questions arise during the recitation which the +children will answer later from observation. That +the children may not forget them they are placed +high up on the board where they can be preserved.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 143]</span> +Frequent reference is made to them to see if the +pupils are prepared to answer them. When a question +is answered it is erased, making room for another.</p> + + +<h3>THE READING RECITATION</h3> + +<p>For the early reading, Games, Literature, and +Nature Study may form the basis.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><b>(I) <i>Games as a Basis for the Reading.</i></b> The child +enters school from a life of play. It is our purpose, +so far as possible, to make use of this natural bent of +the child to insure interest in his reading, as well as +to give him the free exercise, which he needs, of his +muscles. It may be urged as an argument against the +use of the games, that they are too noisy and attract +the attention of the children who are busy at their +seats. Often it would be a good thing for these children +to watch the younger ones at their games. It +would rest them and put them into closer sympathy +with the little ones. In a short time they will not +care so much to watch them. The little children +should be thoughtful of the older ones and move about +as quietly as is possible.</p> + +<p>The following are some of the games which we have +used in our primary school. They are given in the +way of suggestion only. They are played at first by +following spoken directions. When the children are +perfectly familiar with the oral direction, the written +direction is gradually substituted. The children do +not stay long enough on one game to become tired of<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 144]</span> +it. Two or three or even more are played at a single +recitation. It is not the plan to drill the pupils upon +the written directions, but by frequent repetitions to +familiarize them with them. The games are most +suitable for the very earliest reading lessons. The +plan for teaching one of them, the first one given +here, will be written out quite fully. The others will +be given with less detail.</p> + + +<h4>THE RING GAME</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—Six celluloid rings, red, white, blue, yellow, +green, and black. Surcingle rings can be painted +the colors desired.</p> + +<p><i>Directions.</i>—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Take the red ring, Jennie.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take the blue ring, Eva.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take the yellow ring, Wallace.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take the green ring, Chauncey.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take the black ring, Gregory.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take the white ring, Lloyd.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>When the children are ready to hide the rings this +direction is given to the remainder of the class:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Close your eyes.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>This to the pupils who hold the rings:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Hide the rings.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>When the children have all the rings hid they announce +it by lightly clapping their hands, upon which<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 145]</span> +the children open their eyes. Directions are then +given to those who did not hide rings, for finding the +rings, <i>e.g.</i>:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Find the red ring.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Find the blue ring, etc.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>No notice is taken of any ring but the one called +for. A limited time is given for the finding of each. +At the close of that time, if the ring is not discovered, +the one who hid it gets it. When the written directions +are first used the whole sentence need not be +put upon the board, <i>e.g.</i>, the teacher need write only—<i>the +red ring</i>. She says to the child, "find <i>this</i>"—pointing +to the board; or <i>red</i>, alone, may be written, +in which case the teacher points to the word, saying, +"You may find <i>this ring</i>." There is considerable +rivalry to see who will find the most rings.</p> + +<p>When the children seem to know the written directions +perfectly, a test is made of their ability, +actually, to read them; thus, instead of writing, +"<i>Take</i> the red ring," the teacher writes, "<i>Find</i> the +red ring." She writes "Hide the rings," before she +writes, "Close your eyes." If the children recognize +what is written they will set the teacher right.</p> + + +<h4>BALL AND CORD</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—Small, soft rubber balls with short rubber +cords attached. The cords have a loop for the +finger.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 146]</span></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Ball in right hand.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Toss up.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hold.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Toss down.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hold.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Toss to the right.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hold.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Toss to the left.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hold.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ball in left hand.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Toss up, etc.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>In this and succeeding games it is left to the discretion +of the teacher as to when the written directions +shall be introduced.</p> + + +<h4>BALL GAME</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—A soft rubber ball.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Form a circle.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take the ball, Roy.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Toss the ball.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Roll the ball.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bounce the ball.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Throw the ball.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Give the ball to Sadie.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>In this game one of the children takes the ball to +the circle. Each, as the ball is tossed to him, tosses +it to another. At the direction of the teacher the +game of <i>tossing the ball</i> is changed to one of <i>rolling</i><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 147]</span> +<i>the ball</i>, the pupils squatting on the floor; this in +turn is changed later as the directions indicate. +Care must be taken that all children are treated +alike in this game. The children themselves will +look out for this if properly directed at the outset +of the game.</p> + + +<h4>HUNTING THE VIOLET</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—Violets scattered about the room.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Find a blue violet, Glenn.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Find a violet bud, Edith.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Find a yellow violet, Lloyd.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Find a violet leaf, Sadie.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Find a white violet, Jennie.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Find a purple violet, Rudolph.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sing to the violets.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Children sing softly:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Oh, violets, pretty violets,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I pray you tell to me<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Why are you the first flowers<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That bloom upon the lea?" etc.<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<h4>A TREE GAME—(SPRING OR FALL)</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—Leaves of the different trees with which +the children are familiar.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Glenn may be a maple tree.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Choose your leaf.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wallace may be an elm tree.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Choose your leaf.<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 148]</span><span class="i0">Chauncey may be a birch tree.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Choose your leaf, etc.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Make a little forest.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Toss in the wind.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>(The leaves are pinned upon the children as each +chooses his leaf, and they dance lightly about as if +tossed by the wind.)</p> + + +<h4>CARING FOR THE ANIMALS</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—Wooden or paper animals. A portion +of the table is marked off by a chalk line for the +farmyard.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Drive in a pig, Willie.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lead in a horse, Gregory.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Drive in a sheep, Sadie.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lead in a cow, Roy, etc.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>They are driven in at night, then driven out in the +morning. Sometimes they are hurried in because of +the approach of a storm.</p> + + +<h4>DOLL PLAY—(GENERAL)</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—Penny dolls or larger ones.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Take a doll.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rock the baby.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Pat the baby.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sing the baby to sleep.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Put the baby to bed.<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 149]</span><span class="i0">Take up the baby.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wash its face.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Comb its hair.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Feed it bread and milk.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take it for a walk.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>At the direction, "Sing the baby to sleep," the +children sing very softly:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Rock-a-bye Baby,"—or some other lullaby.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The bed is the chair on which the child is sitting. +All stand and turn about together to put the +babies to bed. They go through the movements +only of washing the face and hands and combing +the hair, and of feeding bread and milk. They perform +these acts in unison.</p> + + +<h4>THE RAINBOW FAIRIES—(SPRING)</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—Large bows of tissue paper with +streamers, of the various colors mentioned.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Eva may be a yellow fairy.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Roy may be a blue fairy.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Edith may be a green fairy.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Louise may be a red fairy.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lloyd may be an orange fairy.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sadie may be a violet fairy.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The others may be trees.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Join hands, fairies.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dance about the trees.<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 150]</span></div></div> + +<p>As the first direction is given Eva steps to the +table and takes a yellow bow which is pinned to +her left shoulder: the others follow as called upon.</p> + + +<h4>THE LEAVES</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—A leaf of one of several colors pinned +on each child. The wind calls:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Come yellow leaf.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Come red leaf.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Come green leaves, etc.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dance in the wind.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>At the last direction the children fly over a +small area, hither and thither; some one way, some +another, passing and repassing one another, simulating +the leaves in a storm.</p> + + +<h4>A FLOCK OF BIRDS</h4> + +<p>All the children are little birds.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Fly to the fields.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Pick up seeds.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take a drink.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bathe in the creek.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Preen your feathers.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fly home.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Perch on a twig.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><i>Sing.</i><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>They sing:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"We are little birdies,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Happy we, happy we.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We are little birdies<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Singing in a tree."<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 151]</span></div></div> + + +<h4>HUNTING BIRDS</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—Colored pictures of birds common to +the locality in which the game is used.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Find a robin, Rudolph.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Find a bluebird, Gregory, etc.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The child indicated finds the picture of the bird +called for and places it on the blackboard ledge +which serves as a picture gallery.</p> + + +<h4>HUNTING LEAVES</h4> + +<p>is a game similar to the above.</p> + + +<h4>MOVEMENT GAME</h4> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Frederick may be a pony.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Louise may be a kitty, etc.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>(Of the other children—one may be a boy; another, +a bird; another, a horse; another, a fish; another, a +girl, etc.)</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Trot, pony.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Run, dog.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Skip, boy, etc.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>They perform singly, and also in a body.</p> + + +<h4>MAKING GARDEN</h4> + +<p><i>Material.</i>—Trays or box-covers of sand, and a toy +set of garden tools for each pupil.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 152]</span></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Take the spade.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Spade the earth.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take the hoe.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hoe the ground.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take the rake.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Smooth the ground.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Make holes (or rows).<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Plant corn (or sow the seed).<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Cover the seed.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Water the garden.<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<h4>THE FARMER'S PETS</h4> + +<p>For this game the children are all seated in chairs +except one for whom no chair is provided. Each +child seated takes the name of some animal on the +farm, <i>e.g.</i>, a dog, cat, horse, chicken, duck, or cow. +The one standing is the farm-hand and says, <i>e.g.</i>, +"My master wants his dog." The dog must jump up +and turn around. If he fails to do so, he steps to one +side taking his chair with him. If when he is again +called upon he answers correctly, he resumes his seat +in the circle. Occasionally the farm-hand says, "My +master wants all of his pets." When all rise and +change seats quietly. The farm-hand tries to get a +seat, leaving another child to be the farm-hand. In +changing seats they change names as a single name +belongs to each chair.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p><b>(II) <i>Literature as a Basis for the Reading.</i></b> The +stories in the form indicated below are given after<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 153]</span> +the children have become thoroughly familiar with +them through oral presentation, after, too, the children +have gained some facility in reading, through +the use of the games, and the directions, etc., used in +the general management of the school. Before the +board work is presented the children dramatize +the story which they are to read. They look to +the board to find out what to say that they may impersonate +the character in the story. Each mimics +in tone and action the one whose part he takes. As +no two mimic in the same way there is no lack of +variety and interest. If the children are thoughtful +they will know every time into whose mouth to put +each sentence. They need to be alert, however. The +names of the speakers, given in the margin, are for +the benefit of the readers of this article. They are +not put on the board. The children do not need +them.</p> + + +<h4>THE OLD WOMAN AND THE PIG</h4> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>I</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>The old woman.</i></span> I was sweeping my house.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I found this dime.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What shall I buy?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I know; I will buy a pig.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where is my sunbonnet?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where is my cane?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here I go.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tramp! tramp! tramp!<br /></span> +</div><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 154]</span><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>II</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Tap, tap, tap!<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>The farmer.</i></span> Come in.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Good morning, old woman.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Good morning, sir.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I want to buy a pig.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Farmer.</i></span> All right; I have some.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Will you look at them?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here they are.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> I like this one.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will take it.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Good morning.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Farmer.</i></span> Good morning.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>III</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Go on, pig.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That fence is low,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You can jump over.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Pig.</i></span> Grunt! grunt!<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> What shall I do?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I must have help.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will go back.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>IV</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Dog, dog, bite pig.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Dog.</i></span> No, no. (<i>Shaking his head.</i>)<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>V</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Stick, stick, whip dog.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Stick.</i></span> No, no. (<i>Shaking head as before.</i>)<br /></span> +</div><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 155]</span><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>VI-XII.</b><br /></span> +<span class="i0"><i>Similar to two above.</i><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>XIII</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Cat, cat, kill rat.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Cat.</i></span> I will if you will give me some milk.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> I will go to the cow.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>XIV</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Cow, cow, give me some milk.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Cow.</i></span> I will if you will give me some hay.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> All right.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tramp! tramp! tramp!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here is the hay, cow.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Cow.</i></span> Chew, chew, chew, chew.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now you may have some milk.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Thank you, cow.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>XV</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Come, kitty, kitty, kitty.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here is some milk for you.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Cat.</i></span> Lap, lap, lap, lap.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Old woman.</i></span> Now catch the rat.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Cat.</i></span> Patter, patter, patter. (<i>Given softly—it is the cat running after the rat.</i>)<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<h4>THE THREE BEARS</h4> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>I</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>The papa bear.</i></span> That soup is hot.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It must cool.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We will take a walk.<br /></span> +</div><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 156]</span><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>II</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Silver-Hair.</i></span> Tap! tap! tap!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No one at home.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will go in.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is that on the table?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is three bowls of soup.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am hungry.<br /></span> +<span class="ileft">(<i>Tasting of the soup in the big bowl.</i>)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That is too hot.<br /></span> +<span class="ileft">(<i>Tasting of soup in middle-sized bowl.</i>)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That is too cold.<br /></span> +<span class="ileft">(<i>Tasting of soup in little bowl.</i>)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That is just right.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is good.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will eat a little.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>III</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I am tired.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here are three chairs.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That is too high.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That is too wide.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This is just right.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will rest here.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Oh, it broke!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>IV</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I am sleepy.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will go upstairs.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here are three beds.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That is too hard.<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 157]</span><span class="i0">That is too soft.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This is just right.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will sleep here.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>V</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Papa bear.</i></span> <small>SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY SOUP.</small><br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Mamma bear.</i></span> <i>Somebody has been tasting my soup.</i><br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Baby bear.</i></span> Somebody has been tasting my soup.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is all gone.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>VI</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Papa bear.</i></span> <small>SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR.</small><br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Mamma bear.</i></span> <i>Somebody has been sitting in my chair.</i><br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Baby bear.</i></span> Somebody has been sitting in my chair.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is all broken.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>VII</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Papa bear.</i></span> <small>SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING ON MY BED.</small><br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Mamma bear.</i></span> <i>Somebody has been lying on my bed.</i><br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Baby bear.</i></span> Somebody has been lying on my bed.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Why, here she is!<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Silver-Hair.</i></span> Oh, my!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will jump.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now I will run.<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<h4>THE FIR TREE</h4> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>I</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I am a little fir tree.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I want to be tall.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I hate rabbits.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They jump over me.<br /></span> +</div><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 158]</span><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>II</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I am three years old.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The rabbit cannot jump over me now.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It runs around me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I wish I were taller.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I hate to be so little.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>III</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Now I am six years old.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here come the woodchoppers.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They will take me away.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here I go.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thump! thump! thump!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>IV</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">What a fine house.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">How beautiful this moss is.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What are these people going to give me?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am so happy!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>V</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Here are the children.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">How they like me!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">See them dance about me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><i>Everybody looks at me.</i><br /></span> +<span class="i0">Do not take away my beautiful dress.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Do not put out the lights.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>VI</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Here come the servants.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They will give me my beautiful dress.<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 159]</span><span class="i0">Oh, oh, oh!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Don't put me up there.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is dark.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I want to be planted.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>VII</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I wish I were at home.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I want to see the rabbit.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It may jump over me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will not care.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I want to see the other trees.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The rats come. I do not like rats.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>VIII</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Out again!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I like the air.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now I shall be planted.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am glad to see the flowers.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am glad to hear the birds.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now I shall live.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>IX</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">That boy called me ugly.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">He took my beautiful star.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I wish I were in the woods.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I shall never be happy again.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Pop! pop! pop! pop!<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<h4>THE STREET MUSICIANS</h4> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>I</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>The donkey.</i></span> I am very old.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am very weak.<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 160]</span><span class="i0">I can work no more.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My master will not keep me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will run away.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will go to the city.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I can make music.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will join a band.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Trot! trot! trot!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>II</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">What is that in the road?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is an old dog.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is the matter?<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Dog.</i></span> I am very old.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am very weak.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I cannot hunt.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My master will not keep me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">How can I live?<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Donkey.</i></span> Come with me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You can play the bass drum.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Join a band.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Dog.</i></span> Good! good! good!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will go.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Dog and donkey.</i></span> Trot! trot! trot!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>III</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Donkey.</i></span> What is that in the road?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is an old cat.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is the matter, old whiskers?<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Cat.</i></span> I am very old.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am very weak.<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 161]</span><span class="i0">I cannot catch mice.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My mistress will not keep me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">How can I live?<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Donkey.</i></span> Come with us.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You can sing.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Join a band.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Cat.</i></span> Good! good! good!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will go.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>All three.</i></span> Trot! trot! trot!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>IV</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Donkey.</i></span> What is that on the gate?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is a rooster.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is the matter?<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Rooster.</i></span> The cook will kill me.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Donkey.</i></span> Come with us.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You can sing.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Join a band.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>Rooster.</i></span> Good! good! good!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will go.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>All four.</i></span> Trot! trot! trot!<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<h4>THE UNHAPPY PINE TREE</h4> + + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>I</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I am a little pine tree.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I do not like to be a pine tree.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My leaves are needles.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Needles are not pretty.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I wish I had gold leaves.<br /></span> +</div><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 162]</span><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>II</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>In the morning.</i></span> Why do the trees look at me?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What has happened?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Gold leaves! Gold leaves!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Just what I wanted!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Good! good! good!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>III</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>To the robber.</i></span> Do not take my leaves.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I want them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They are beautiful.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Give them back.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No leaves! No leaves!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I wish I had glass leaves.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>IV</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>In the morning.</i></span> Oh, how beautiful!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Glass leaves! Glass leaves!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No robber will take them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I can keep them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am so happy!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>V</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Cloud, do not come.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wind, do not blow.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Keep still, keep still.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A leaf is broken.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Another! Another!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All gone! All gone!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No beautiful leaves.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I wish I had bright green leaves.<br /></span> +</div><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 163]</span><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>VI</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='authnm'><i>In the morning.</i></span> Oh, my pretty green leaves!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No one will steal them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nothing will break them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I shall not need to keep still.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I will dance.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dance! dance! dance!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>VII</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Goat, do not come here.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">These are my leaves.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I want them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They are pretty.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Oh, oh, oh!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All my pretty leaves are gone.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What shall I do?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I wish I had my needles.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i11"><b>VIII</b><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Oh, mother, mother, see!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I have my old leaves.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I like them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They are best of all.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">No one will steal them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nothing will break them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nothing will eat them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I can keep them.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My dear old leaves!<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /> + +<p><b>(III) <i>Nature Study as a Basis for the Reading.</i></b> +The subjects in which the pupils are most interested +are made the basis for the reading lessons.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 164]</span></p> + +<p>Sometimes there is a guessing game like the following: +The teacher, holding a flower in her closed +hand, writes:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Guess what I have.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is a flower.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is white.<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><i>It has a yellow centre.</i><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>(The children answer—a daisy.) Or—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Guess what I have.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is a leaf.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is yellow.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is long.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is narrow.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>(The children answer—the willow.)</p> + +<p>After the pupils have made a careful study of a +few birds or flowers, the reading lesson describes +one of these, and the pupils are expected to name +it from the description. If a child gives the wrong +name, one of those who know better points out the +line or lines barring out this object, and reads to the +one making the mistake as proof of his error.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I live in the woods.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am not a bird.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am not a flower.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I am not a tree.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I run up trees.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I eat nuts.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I have a bushy tail.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is my name? (<i>Squirrel.</i>)<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 165]</span><span class="i0">I am a little bird.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My back is brown.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My breast is white.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">My bill is curved.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I go up a tree trunk.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I fly to another tree.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I like insects.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is my name? (<i>The brown creeper.</i>)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">This is a big bird.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It is blue.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It has black bands on its tail and wings.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It has a crest.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Its bill is black.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It scolds.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is its name? (<i>The blue jay.</i>)<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The children sometimes play a game like the following: +All but one personify red-headed woodpeckers. +The <i>one</i> questions from the board. If a +red-headed woodpecker fails to answer the question +put to him, he takes the place of the interlocutor. +It is an honor to be able to answer all the questions +put:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">What color is your head?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What color is your throat?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What color is your breast?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What colors on your wings?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What color is your bill?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What do you do?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where do you make your nest?<br /></span> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 166]</span></div></div> + +<p>To a set of questions like the following, the children +give the answers, after reading the questions +silently:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">What bird did you first see this spring?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What have you seen a robin do?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What flower did you see first?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What yellow flowers have you seen this spring?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What white flowers?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What blue flowers?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What bird builds a nest in a tree trunk?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What bird builds a nest on the ground?<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<h4>THE BABY ROBIN</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>I saw two robins on the ground.</p> + +<p>One was a mamma robin.</p> + +<p>The other was a baby robin.</p> + +<p>The baby robin was as big as its mother.</p> + +<p>Its breast was spotted.</p> + +<p>Its mother gave it an earthworm.</p> + +<p>At first it dropped it, but its mother picked it up +and gave it to her baby again.</p> + +<p>This time it got a better hold. By several gulps +it swallowed the worm.</p> + +<p>The mother looked proud of her baby. (This is +the teacher's experience which she tells the children +from the board. Sometimes she writes the observations +which one of the children have made.)</p> + +<p>As no two teachers will have the same material<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 167]</span> +for Nature Study, the reading material will not be +multiplied here.</p> + +<p>Gradually, as the pupils can stand it, the sentences +are lengthened a little as necessary, and massed +into paragraphs.</p> + +<p>The use of the "Mother Goose Rhymes" as a means +of enlivening the first year reading lessons is also +treated as follows by Mrs. Lida McMurry. (Taken +from <i>School and Home Education</i> for October, 1902.)</p> + +<p>Many of the children on entering school are well +versed in Nursery Rhymes. They enjoy repeating +them. Other children may not know them so well, +but soon learn them from their classmates. Teachers +and pupils may have a happy time together with +Mother Goose, and at the same time the pupils are +learning to read without realizing that what they are +doing is something that they are not accustomed to.</p> + +<p>I will suggest a few ways in which these rhymes +may be made the basis for reading lessons:—</p> + + +<p>Take this rhyme—</p> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='linenum'>1.</span> Dance, Thumbkin, dance,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dance, ye merrymen, every one;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For Thumbkin he can dance alone,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thumbkin he can dance alone.<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<p>The second, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas are like +the first, only Foreman, Longman, Ringman, and +Littleman are in turn substituted for Thumbkin.</p> + +<p>The children first learn to act out each stanza as<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 168]</span> +they recite it together. The thumb is held up and +moved about as if dancing, as the first line is given. +All the fingers dance as the second line is recited. +The thumb dances alone as the third and fourth lines +are repeated.</p> + +<p>The teacher then repeats the stanza alone, and the +children's fingers accompany her.</p> + +<p>Later, when the children have learned to act out +the story well, as the teacher repeats it, the teacher +writes the first line at the board, and, pointing to it, +asks the children to do what the board directs. They +cannot tell what it is, so the teacher says, "The +board is talking to <i>Thumbkin</i>," writing the name on +the board as she says it. "What do you think it +wants Thumbkin to do?" pointing to <i>Dance</i> in the +line on the board. The next line is written on the +board. The children quite likely will guess rightly +what it says, because of its setting. If not, the +teacher will help them as at first. In the same way +they connect the third and fourth lines with the oral +expression of the same, and act them out accordingly. +That the children respond readily to the directions as +written is no proof, at first, that they know even most +of the words in the lines. The teacher's test is a part +of the play. To-day, instead of writing the first line, +she writes the second. Many get caught. They will +be more alert another time. As they can never tell +which line will appear first, they learn to discriminate +by giving closer attention to the form of the words.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 169]</span></p> + +<p>Sometimes the teacher writes the six names—Thumbkin, +Foreman, etc., and Merrymen, on the +board. She points to the name or names of the one, +or ones, that should dance. The children do not like +to make mistakes in responding with the fingers.</p> + +<p>Sometimes the teacher points to a name on the +board, as Foreman, and writes "dance alone," or +"dance every one." The alert children see that the +latter does not apply.</p> + +<p>The words are not drilled upon. The game, with +variations sometimes, is played quite frequently, but +never so long at a time that the children weary +of it. Three or four plays or games are given at +a single recitation. The interests of the children +are studied, and rhymes which they do not enjoy +as reading material are dropped, and others substituted. +The rhymes should often be repeated, +just as they occur in "Mother Goose," that the +children may not forget them.</p> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='linenum'>2.</span> Eye winker.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tom tinker.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Mouth eater.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Chin chopper.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Chin chopper.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The children point to the parts of the face as they +are named. They first learn to give the rhyme with +its accompanying motion orally, then they respond to +it as written on the board (Tom tinker is the other<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 170]</span> +eye). When they do this readily the directions are +written out of their order. This tests the children's +ability to distinguish one form from another. No +child likes to give the wrong motion in response to a +direction, <i>e.g.</i>, point to his mouth when Eye winker +is called for.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='linenum'>3.</span> The children, we will suppose, know a number of rhymes, as, <i>e.g.</i>,<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">A diller, a dollar, a ten o'clock scholar.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A little boy went into a barn.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Baa, baa, black sheep.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rain, rain, go away, etc.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The teacher writes the first line of one of these +rhymes on the board and asks a child to give the +rhyme. He cannot at first. Later he will learn to +recognize it; so with all the rhymes he knows. When +he can give any rhyme called for in response to the +first line as written at the board, another line (not +the first) is written, and the child asked to give the +rhyme of which it is a part.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='linenum'>4.</span> Is John Smith within?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Yes, that he is.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Can he set a shoe?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ay, marry, two.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Here a nail and there a nail,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tick, tack, too.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>After the children have learned the above rhyme, +acting it out, by imitating the voices of the two<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 171]</span> +speakers, and by driving the nails, the two questions +are asked at the board, and the children +respond orally. Sometimes the second question, +slightly altered, is asked first, <i>e.g.</i>, "Can John +Smith set a shoe?" Sometimes "Who is within?" +appears on the board.</p> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='linenum'>5.</span> Old Mother Hubbard.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>There are many stanzas to this poem, a few of +which the teacher will wish to omit, as those referring +to the visits to the ale-house and the tavern. +The pupils become perfectly familiar with the jingle, +so they can with ease give it orally, then the teacher +writes the first line of a stanza at the board and pointing +to it asks a pupil to give the remainder of the +stanza. The mistake is ludicrous if the wrong lines +follow the first, and the pupils wish to avoid such +a mistake.</p> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='linenum'>6.</span> There were two birds sat on a stone,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">One flew away and then there was one,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The other flew after and then there was none,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And so the poor stone was left all alone,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fa, la, la, la, lal, de.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The children act out this rhyme at first as they say +it, later, silently, as they see what is called for at the +board.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 172]</span></p> + +<p>Any number may be substituted for <i>two</i> in the +first line, but when they come to the third line the +number substituted for one should be such that only +one will remain, <i>e.g.</i>, There were <i>eight</i> birds sat on +a stone, <i>Seven</i> flew away, etc. The children are +sometimes caught by the wrong number being told +to fly. The children should not fly until they are +sure that it is all right.</p> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class='linenum'>7.</span> What are your eyes for?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What are your ears for?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is your nose for?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is your tongue for?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is your mouth for?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is your hand for?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What are your fingers for?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What are your teeth for?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is your brain for?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What is your heart for?<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>These questions are read silently by the children, +then answered orally in complete sentences, one child +only answering at one time. The answers are so +absurd when wrong that each child is careful to +know what is asked.</p> + +<p>These are only a few of the ways in which "Mother +Goose" may be used as reading material. Each +teacher will think out for herself ways in which these +rhymes may be profitably and happily employed.</p> + +<p style='text-align: right'><span class="smcap">Mrs. Lida McMurry.</span></p> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 173]</span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Method in Primary Reading</span></h2> + + +<p>The problem of primary reading is one of the most +complex and difficult in the whole range of school +instruction. A large proportion of the finest skill +and sympathy of teachers has been expended in +efforts to find the appropriate and natural method of +teaching children to read. All sorts of methods and +devices have been employed, from the most formal +and mechanical to the most spirited and realistic.</p> + +<p>The first requisite to good reading is something +worth reading, something valuable and interesting to +the children, and adapted to their minds. We must +take it for granted in this discussion that the best +literature and the best stories have been selected, and +what the teacher has to do is, first, to appreciate +these masterpieces for herself, and second, to bring +the children in the reading lessons to appreciate +and enjoy them. In the primary grades we are not +so richly supplied with available materials from good +literature as in intermediate and grammar grades. +This is due not to difficulty in thought, but to the +unfamiliar written and printed forms. The great +problem in primary reading is to master these strange +forms as quickly as possible, and find entrance to the<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 174]</span> +story-land of books. For several years, however, primary +teachers have been selecting and adapting +the best stories, and some of the leading publishers +have brought out in choice school-book form books +which are well adapted to the reading of primary +grades.</p> + +<p>We should like to assume one other advantage. +If the children have been treated orally to "Robinson +Crusoe" in the second grade, they will appreciate and +read the story much better in the third grade. If +some of Grimm's stories are told in first grade, they +can be read with ease in the second grade. The +teacher's oral presentation of the stories is the right +way to bring them close to the life and interest of +children. In the first grade, as shown in the chapter +on oral lessons, it is the only way, because the children +cannot yet read. But even if they could read, the +oral treatment is much better. The oral presentation +is more lively, natural, and realistic. The teacher +can adapt the story and the language to the immediate +needs of the class as no author can. She +can question, or suggest lines of thought, or call up +ideas from the children's experience. The oral manner +is the true way to let the children delve into the +rich culture-content of stories and to awaken a taste +for their beauty and truth. We could well wish that +before children read mythical stories in fourth grade, +they had been stirred up to enjoy them by oral narration +and discussion in the preceding year. In the<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 175]</span> +same way, if the reading bears on interesting science +topics previously studied, it will be a distinct advantage +to the reading lesson. Children like to read +about things that have previously excited their interest, +whether in story or science. The difficulties of +formal reading will also be partly overcome by familiarity +with the harder names and words. Our conclusion +is that reading lessons, alone, cannot provide +all the conditions favorable to good reading. Some +of these can be well supplied by other studies or by +preliminary lessons which pave the way for the reading +proper. This matter has been so fully discussed +in the earlier chapters on oral work that it requires +no further treatment here.</p> + + +<h3>FOLK-LORE STORIES AS READING EXERCISES FOR +FIRST GRADE</h3> + +<p>Let it be supposed that a class of first-grade children +has learned to tell a certain story orally. It has +interested them and stirred up their thought.</p> + +<p>Let them next learn to read the same story in +a very simple form. This will lead to a series of +elementary reading lessons in connection with the +story, and the aim should be strictly that of mastering +the early difficulties of reading. The teacher +recalls the story, and asks for a statement from its +beginning. If the sentence furnished by the child is +simple and suitable, the teacher writes it on the blackboard +in plain large script. Each child reads it<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 176]</span> +through and points out the words. Let there be a +lively drill upon the sentence till the picture of each +word becomes clear and distinct. During the first +lesson, two or three short sentences can be handled +with success. As new words are learned, they should +be mixed up on the board with those learned before, +and a quick and varied drill on the words in sentences +or in columns be employed to establish the forms in +memory.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> +Speed, variety in device, and watchfulness +to keep all busy and attentive are necessary to secure +good results.</p> + +<p>After a few lessons one or two of the simpler +words may be taken for phonetic analysis. The +simple sounds are associated with the letters that +represent them. These familiar letters are later met +and identified in new words, and, as soon as a +number of sounds with their symbols have been +learned, new words can be constructed and pronounced +from these known elements.</p> + +<p>The self-activity of the children in recognizing the +elementary sounds, already met, in new words as fast +as they come up, is one of the chief merits of this +early study of words. They thus early learn the +power of self-help and of confident reliance upon +themselves in acquiring and using knowledge. The +chief difficulty is in telling which sound to use, as a +letter often has several sounds (as <i>a</i>, <i>e</i>, <i>s</i>, <i>c</i>, etc.). But<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 177]</span> +the children are capable of testing the known sounds +of a letter upon a new word, and in most cases, of +deciding which to use. The thoughtless habit of +pronouncing every new word for a child, without +effort on his part, checks and spoils his interest and +self-activity. It does not seem necessary to use an +extensive system of diacritical markings to guide him +in these efforts to discriminate sounds. It is better +to use the marks as little as possible and learn to +interpret words as they usually appear in print. +Experience has shown decisively that a lively and +vigorous self-activity is manifested by such early +efforts in learning to read. It is one of the most +encouraging signs in education to see little children +in their first efforts to master the formal art of reading, +showing this spirited self-reliant energy.</p> + +<p>In the same way, they recognize old words in +sentences and new or changed combinations of old +forms, and begin to read new sentences which combine +old words in new relations.</p> + +<p>In short, the sentence, word, and phonic methods +are all used in fitting alternation, while originality and +variety of device are necessary in the best exercise of +teaching power.</p> + +<p>The processes of learning to read by such board-script +work are partly analytic and partly synthetic. +Children begin with sentences, analyze them into +words, and some of the words into their simple +sounds. But when these sounds begin to grow<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 178]</span> +familiar, they are identified again in other words, +thus combining them into new forms. In the same +way, words once learned by the analytic study of +sentences are recognized again in new sentences, and +thus interpreted in new relations.</p> + +<p>The short sentences, derived from a familiar story, +when ranged together supply a brief, simple outline +of the story. If now this series of sentences be +written on the board or printed on slips of paper, +the whole story may be reviewed by the class from +day to day till the word and sentence forms are well +mastered. For making these printed slips, some +teachers use a small printing-press, or a typewriter. +Eventually several stories may be collected and +sewed together, so as to form a little reading-book +which is the result of the constructive work of +teacher and pupils.</p> + +<p>The reading lessons just described are entirely +separate from the oral treatment and reproduction of +the stories; yet the thought and interest awakened +in the oral work are helpful in keeping up a lively +effort in the reading class. The thought material in +a good story is itself a mental stimulus, and produces +a wakefulness which is favorable to imprinting the +forms as well as the content of thought. Expression, +also, that is, natural and vivid rendering of the +thought, is always aimed at in reading, and springs +spontaneously from interesting thought studies.</p> + +<p>Many teachers use the materials furnished by oral<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 179]</span> +lessons in natural science as a similar introduction to +reading in first grade. The science lessons furnish +good thought matter for simple sentences, and there +is good reason why, in learning to read, children +should use sentences drawn both from literature and +from natural science.</p> + + +<h3>READING IN THE SECOND GRADE</h3> + +<p>The oral lessons in good stories, and the later +board-use of these materials in learning the elements +of formal reading, are an excellent preparation for +the fuller and more extended reading of similar +matter in the second and third grades.</p> + +<p>When the oral work of the first grade has thus +kindled the fancy of a child upon these charming +pictures, and the later board-work has acquainted +him with letter and word symbols which express such +thought, the reading of the same and other stories of +like character (a year later) will follow as an easy +and natural sequence. As a preliminary to all good +reading exercises, there should be rich and fruitful +thought adapted to the age of children. The realm +of classic folk-lore contains abundant thought material +peculiar in its fitness to awaken the interest and +fancy of children in the first two grades. To bring +these choice stories close to the hearts of children +should be the aim of much of the work in both these +grades. Such an aim, skilfully carried out, not only +conduces to the joy of children in first grade, but<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 180]</span> +infuses the reading lessons of second grade with +thought and culture of the best quality.</p> + +<p>Interest and vigor of thought are certain to help +right expression and reading. Reading, like every +other study, should be based upon realities. When +there is real thought and feeling in the children, a +correct expression of them is more easily secured +than by formal demands or by intimidation.</p> + +<p>The stories to be read in second or third grade +may be fuller and longer than the brief outline sentences +used for board-work in the first grade. +Besides, these tales, being classic and of permanent +value, do not lose their charm by repetition.</p> + + +<h3>METHOD</h3> + +<p>By oral reading, we mean the giving of the +thought obtained from a printed page to others +through the medium of the voice.</p> + +<p>There is first the training of the eye in taking in a +number of words at a glance—a mechanical process; +then the interpretation of these groups of words—a +mental process; next the making known of the +ideas thus obtained to others, by means of the voice—also +a mechanical process.</p> + +<p>The children need special help in each step. We +are apt to overdo one at the expense of the others.</p> + +<p>1. Eye-training is the foundation of all good reading. +Various devices are resorted to in obtaining it. +We will suggest a few, not new at all, but useful.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 181]</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>(<i>a</i>) A strip of cardboard, on which is a clause or +sentence, is held before the class, for a moment only, +and then removed. The length of the task is increased +as the eye becomes trained to this kind of +work.</p> + +<p>(<i>b</i>) The children open their books at a signal from +the teacher, glance through a line, or part of one, +indicated by the teacher, close book at once and give +the line.</p> + +<p>(<i>c</i>) The teacher places on the board clauses or +sentences bearing on the lesson, and covers with a +map. The map is rolled up to show one of these, +which is almost immediately erased. The children +are then asked to give it. The map is then rolled +up higher, exposing another, which also is speedily +erased—and so on until all have been given to the +children and erased.</p> +</div> + +<p>2. The child needs not only to be able to recognize +groups of words, but he must be able to get thought +from them. The following are some devices to that +end:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>(<i>a</i>) Suggestive pictures can be made use of to +advantage all through the primary grades. If the +child reads part of the story in the picture, and finds +it interesting, he will want to read from the printed +page the part not given in the picture.</p> + +<p>(<i>b</i>) Where there is no picture—or even where +there is one—an aim may be useful to arouse interest +in the thought, <i>i.e.</i> a thoughtful question may be put<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 182]</span> +by the teacher, which the children can answer only +by reading the story; <i>e.g.</i> in the supplementary +reader, "Easy Steps for Little Feet," is found the +story of "The Pin and Needle." There is no picture. +The teacher says, as the class are seated: "Now we +have a story about a big quarrel between a pin and a +needle over the question, 'Which one is the better +fellow?' Of what could the needle boast? Of what +the pin? Let us see which won."</p> + +<p>(<i>c</i>) Let all the pupils look through one or more +paragraphs, reading silently, to get the thought, +before any one is called upon to read aloud. If a +child comes to a word that he does not know, during +the silent reading, the teacher helps him to get it—from +the context if possible—if not, by the sounds +of the letters which compose it.</p> +</div> + +<p>As each child finishes the task assigned, he raises +his eyes from the book, showing by this act that he +is ready to tell what he has just read. The thought +may be given by the child in his own language to +assure the teacher that he has it. Usually, however, +in the lower grades, this is unnecessary, the language +of the book being nearly as simple as his own.</p> + +<p>The advantage of having all the pupils kept busy, +instead of one alone who might be called upon to +read the paragraph, is evident. Every child reads +silently all of the lesson. Time would not permit +that this be done orally, were it advisable to do so. +When the child gets up to read, he is not likely to<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 183]</span> +stumble, for he has both the thought and the expression +for it, at the start.</p> + +<p>While aiming to have the children comprehend the +thought, the teacher should not forget, on the other +hand, that this is the reading hour, and not the time +for much oral instruction and reproduction. There +are other recitations in which the child is trained to +free oral expression of thought, as in science and +literature. Such offhand oral expression of his own +ideas is not the primary aim of the reading lesson. +Its purpose is to lend life to the recitation.</p> + +<p>3. Steps 1 and 2 deal with preparation for the reading. +Up to this time, no oral reading has been done. +Now we are ready to begin.</p> + +<p>Children will generally express the thought with +the proper emphasis if they not only see its meaning +but also feel it. Suppose the children are interested +in the thought of the piece, they still fail, sometimes, +to give the proper emphasis. How can the teacher, +by questioning, get them to realize the more important +part of the thought?</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>(<i>a</i>) The teacher has gone deeper into the meaning +than have the children. Her questions should +be such as to make real to the children the more +emphatic part of the thought; <i>e.g.</i> in the Riverside +Primer we have, "Poor Bun, good dog, did you think +I meant to hit you?" John reads, "Do you think I +meant to <i>hit</i> you?" The teacher says, "I will be +Bun, John. What is it that you do not want Bun to<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 184]</span> +think?" ("That I <i>meant</i> to hit him.") "But you +did mean to hit something. What was it you did not +mean to hit? Tell Bun." ("I did not <i>mean</i> to hit +<i>you</i>.") Now ask him if he thought that you did. +("Did you think I <i>meant</i> to hit <i>you</i>?")</p> + +<p>(<i>b</i>) When the story is in the form of a dialogue, +the children may personate the characters in the +story. Thus, getting into the real spirit of the piece, +their emphasis will naturally fall where it properly +belongs.</p> + +<p>(<i>c</i>) Sometimes the teacher will find it necessary to +show the child how to read a passage properly, by +reading it himself. It is seldom best to do this—certainly +not if the correct expression can be reached +through questioning.</p> +</div> + +<p>Many a teacher makes a practice of giving the +proper emphasis to the child, he copying it from her +voice. Frequently, children taught in this way can +read one piece after another in their readers with +excellent expression, but, when questioned, show that +their minds are a blank as to the meaning of what +they are reading.</p> + +<p>In working for expression, a great many teachers +waste the time and energy of the pupils by indefinite +directions. The emphasis is not correctly placed, so +the teacher says, "I do not like that; try it again, +May." Now, May has no idea in what particular she +has failed, so she gives it again, very likely as she +gave it before, or she may put the emphasis on some<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 185]</span> +other word, hoping by so doing to please the teacher. +"Why, no, May, you surely can do better than that," +says the teacher. So May makes another fruitless +attempt, when the teacher, disgusted, calls on another +pupil to show her how to read. May has gained no +clearer insight into the thought than she started out +with, no power to grapple more successfully with a +similar difficulty another time, and has lost, partly +at least, her interest in the piece. She has been +bothered and discouraged, and the class wearied.</p> + +<p>Sometimes when the expression is otherwise good, +the children pitch their voices too high or too low. +Natural tones must be insisted upon. A good aid to +the children in this respect is the habitual example of +quiet, clear tones in the teacher.</p> + +<p>Another fault of otherwise good reading is a failure +to enunciate distinctly. Children are inclined to +slight many sounds, especially at the end of the +words, and the teacher is apt to think: "That doesn't +make so very much difference, since they are only +children. When they are older they will see that +their pronunciation is babyish, and adopt a correct +form." This is unsound reasoning. Every time the +child says <i>las</i> for <i>last</i> he is establishing more firmly +a habit, to overcome which will give him much +difficulty.</p> + +<p>In the pronunciation of words as well as in the +reading of a sentence, much time is wasted through +failure to point out the exact word, and the syllable<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 186]</span> +in the word, in which the mistake has been made. +The child cannot improve unless he knows in what +particular there is room for improvement.</p> + +<p>Children in primary grades should be supplied with +a good variety of primers, readers, and simple story +books. In the course of their work they should read +through a number of first, second, and third readers. +Much of this reading should be simple and easy, so +that they can move rapidly through a book, and gain +confidence and satisfaction from it. In each grade +there should be several sets of readers, which can be +turned to as the occasion may demand. It is much +better to read a new reader, involving in the main the +same vocabulary, than to reread an old book. This +use of several books in each grade adds to the interest +and reduces to a minimum the mere drills, which are +to be avoided as much as possible.</p> + + +<h3>SUMMARY</h3> + +<p>1. Let children read under the impulse of strong +and interesting thought.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>(<i>a</i>) The previous oral treatment of the stories +now used as reading lessons will help this thought +impulse.</p> + +<p>(<i>b</i>) An aim concretely stated, and touching an interesting +thought in the lesson, will give impetus to the +work.</p> + +<p>(<i>c</i>) Let children pass judgment on the truth, worth, +or beauty of what they read.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 187]</span></p> + +<p>(<i>d</i>) Clear mental pictures of people, actions, places, +etc., conduce to vigor of thought. To this end the +teacher should use good pictures, make sketches, and +give descriptions or explanations. Children should +also be allowed to sketch freely at the board.</p> +</div> + +<p>2. Children should be encouraged constantly to +help themselves in interpreting new words and sentences +in reading.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>(<i>a</i>) By looking through the new sentence and making +it out, if possible, for themselves before any one +reads it aloud.</p> + +<p>(<i>b</i>) By analyzing a new word into its sounds, and +then combining them to get its pronunciation.</p> + +<p>(<i>c</i>) By interpreting a new word from its context, or +by the first sound or syllable.</p> + +<p>(<i>d</i>) By using the new powers of the letters as fast +as they are learned in interpreting new words.</p> + +<p>(<i>e</i>) By trying the different sounds of a letter to a +new word to see which seems to fit best.</p> + +<p>(<i>f</i>) By recognizing familiar words in new sentences +with a different context.</p> + +<p>(<i>g</i>) See that every child reads the sentences in the +new lesson for himself.</p> +</div> + +<p>3. There should be a gradual introduction to the +elementary sounds (powers of the letters).</p> + +<p>The first words analyzed should be simple and +phonetic in spelling, as <i>dog</i>, <i>hen</i>, <i>cat</i>, etc.</p> + +<p>New sounds of letters are taught as the children +need them in studying out new words.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 188]</span></p> + +<p>Very little attention needs to be given to learning +the names of the letters.</p> + +<p>There need be little use of diacritical markings in +early reading.</p> + +<p>4. Many of the new words will occur in connection +with the picture at the head of the lesson. Place +these on the board as they come up.</p> + +<p>If the teacher will weave these words into her conversation, +they will give the children little future trouble.</p> + +<p>5. All the different phases of the phonic, word, and +sentence method should be woven together by a skilful +teacher.</p> + +<p>6. The close attention of all the members of the +class, so that each reads through the whole lesson, +should be an ever-present aim of the teacher.</p> + +<p>7. Children should be trained to grasp several +words at a glance:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>(<i>a</i>) By quick writing and erasure of words and +sentences at the board.</p> + +<p>(<i>b</i>) By exposing for an instant sentences covered +by a screen.</p> + +<p>(<i>c</i>) By the use of phrases or short sentences on +cardboard.</p> + +<p>(<i>d</i>) By questions for group thought.</p> +</div> + +<p>These tests should increase in difficulty with growing +skill.</p> + +<p>8. Spend but little time in the oral reproduction of +stories. Practice in good reading and interpretation +is the main thing.<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 189]</span></p> + +<p>9. Children, from the first, should be encouraged +to articulate distinctly in oral reading. Let the +teacher begin at home.</p> + +<p>10. Let the teacher cultivate a pleasing tone of +voice, not loud or harsh. This will help the children +to the same.</p> + +<p>11. Vigorous and forcible expression is secured:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>(<i>a</i>) By having interesting stories.</p> + +<p>(<i>b</i>) By apt questions to bring out the emphatic +thought.</p> + +<p>(<i>c</i>) By dramatizing the scenes of the story.</p> + +<p>(<i>d</i>) By occasional examples of lively reading by +the teacher.</p> + +<p>(<i>e</i>) By definiteness in questioning.</p> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'>[Pg 190]</span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h2><span class="smcap">List of Books for Primary Grades</span></h2> + + +<p>In selecting reading books for primary grades the +purpose is to find those which will give the readiest +mastery of the printed forms of speech.</p> + +<p>For this purpose books need to be well graded and +interesting. Primary teachers have expended their +utmost skill upon such simple, attractive, and interesting +books for children. Pictorial illustration has +added to the clearness and beauty of the books, so +that, with the rivalry of many large publishing +houses, we now have a great variety of good primary +books to select from.</p> + +<p>The earliest and simplest of these are the primers, +which, followed by the first readers, give the most +necessary drills upon the forms of easy words and +sentences. Great care has been taken to give an +easy regular grading so as to let a child help himself +as much as possible. But as soon as children, by +blackboard exercises and by means of primers, +have gained a mastery of the simpler words and the +powers of the letters, the Mother Goose rhymes, the +fables and fairy tales (already familiar to the children<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 191]</span> +in oral work) are introduced into their reading books +in the simplest possible forms.</p> + +<p>The use of interesting rhymes and stories in this early +reading is the only means of giving it a lively content +and of thus securing interest and concentration of +thought. Good primary teachers have been able in +this way to relieve the reading lessons of their tedium, +and, what is equally good, have strengthened the interest +of the children in the best literature of childhood.</p> + +<p>Besides the choicest fables and fairy tales, many +of the simpler nature myths and even such longer +poems and stories as "Hiawatha," "Robinson Crusoe," +and "Ulysses" have been used with happy results +as reading books in the first three years. There +are also certain collections of children's poems, such +as Stevenson's "Child's Garden of Verses," Field's +"Love-songs of Childhood," Sherman's "Little Folk +Lyrics," "Old Ballads in Prose," "The Listening +Child," and others, which may suggest the beauty and +variety of choice literary materials which are now +easily within the reach of teachers and children in +primary schools.</p> + +<p>There is no longer any doubt that little folk in +primary classes may reap the full benefit of a close +acquaintance with these favorite songs, stories, and +poems, and that in the highest educative sense the +effect is admirable.</p> + +<p>In the following list the books for each grade are +arranged into three groups:<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 192]</span>—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p><i>First.</i> A series of choicest books and those extensively +used and well adapted for the grade as regular +reading exercises.</p> + +<p><i>Second.</i> A supplementary list of similar quality +and excellence, but somewhat more difficult.</p> + +<p>They may, in some cases, serve as substitutes for +those given in the first group.</p> + +<p><i>Third.</i> A collection of books for teachers, partly +similar in character to those mentioned in the two +previous groups and partly of a much wider, professional +range in literature, history, and nature. Some +books of child-study, psychology, and pedagogy are +also included. The problems of the primary teacher +are no longer limited to the small drills and exercises +in spelling and reading, but comprehend many of the +most interesting and far-reaching questions of education. +It is well, therefore, for the primary teacher to +become acquainted not only with the great works of +literature but with the best professional books in +education.</p> +</div> + +<h3>LIST OF CHOICE READING MATTER FOR +THE GRADES</h3> + +<h4>FIRST GRADE—FIRST SERIES</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Cyr's Primer. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Cyr's First Reader. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Riverside Primer and First Reader. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Nature Stories for Young Readers (Plants), D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Hiawatha Primer. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 193]</span>Stepping Stones to Literature, Book I. Silver, Burdett, & Co.<br /> +Child Life Primer. The Macmillan Co.<br /> +Taylor's First Reader. Werner School Book Co.<br /> +Arnold's Primer. Silver, Burdett, & Co.<br /> +The Thought Reader. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Sunbonnet Babies. Rand, McNally, & Co.<br /> +Nature's By-ways. The Morse Co.<br /> +Graded Classics, No. I. B. F. Johnson Pub. Co.<br /> +Graded Literature, No. I. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.<br /> +First Reader (Hodskins). Ginn & Co.<br /> +Baldwin's Primer (Kirk). American Book Co.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<h4>FIRST GRADE—SECOND SERIES</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Six Nursery Classics (O'Shea). D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Stories for Children. American Book Co.<br /> +Rhymes and Fables. University Publishing Co.<br /> +The Finch First Reader. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Baldwin's First Reader. American Book Co.<br /> +Heart of Oak, No. 1. D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Choice Literature, Book I (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co.<br /> +Child Life, First Book. The Macmillan Co.<br /> +Fables and Rhymes for Beginners. Ginn & Co.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<h4>FIRST GRADE—FOR TEACHERS—THIRD SERIES</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Mother Goose). D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +The Adventures of a Brownie. Harper & Bros.<br /> +Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks (Wiltse). Ginn & Co.<br /> +Talks for Kindergarten and Primary Schools (Wiltse). Ginn & Co.<br /> +Hall's How to Teach Reading. D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Place of the Story in Early Education (Wiltse). Ginn & Co.<br /> +Methods of Teaching Reading (Branson). D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 194]</span>Lowell's Books and Libraries. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Ruskin's Books and Reading. In Sesame and Lilies.<br /> +Lectures to Kindergartners (Peabody). D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Mother Goose (Denslow). McClure, Phillips, & Co.<br /> +Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories. J. L. Hammett & Co.<br /> +The Study of Children and their School Training (Warner). The Macmillan Co.<br /> +The Story Hour (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Trumpet and Drum (Eugene Field). Scribner's Sons.<br /> +A Child's Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson). Scribner's Sons.<br /> +Treetops and Meadows. The Public School Publishing Co., loomington, Ill.<br /> +Songs from the Nest (Emily Huntington Miller). Kindergarten Literature Co.<br /> +The Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler). D. Appleton & Co.<br /> +Children's Rights (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +The Story of Patsy (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +First Book of Birds (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<h4>SECOND GRADE—FIRST SERIES</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Nature Stories for Young Readers (continued). D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Easy Steps for Little Feet. American Book Co.<br /> +Classic Stories for Little Ones. Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill.<br /> +Verse and Prose for Beginners. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Cyr's Second Reader. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Stepping Stones to Literature, Book II.<br /> +Pets and Companions (Stickney). Ginn & Co.<br /> +Child Life, Second Book. The Macmillan Co.<br /> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 195]</span>Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co.<br /> +</p></div> + +<p class="center">The preceding books are for second and third grades.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Around the World, Book I. The Morse Co.<br /> +Graded Classics, No. II. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co.<br /> +Graded Literature, No. II. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.<br /> +A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Welsh). D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Book of Nature Myths (Holbrook). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<h4>SECOND GRADE—SECOND SERIES</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +German Fairy Tales (Grimm). Maynard, Merrill, & Co.<br /> +Fables and Folk Lore (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Nature Stories for Young Readers—Animals. D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Danish Fairy Tales (Andersen). Maynard, Merrill, & Co.<br /> +Baldwin's Second Reader. American Book Co.<br /> +Choice Literature, Book II (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co.<br /> +Fairy Tale and Fable (Thompson). The Morse Co.<br /> +Fairy Stories and Fables (Baldwin). American Book Co.<br /> +Plant Babies and Their Cradles. Educational Publishing Co.<br /> +Æsop's Fables. Educational Publishing Co.<br /> +Story Reader. American Book Co.<br /> +Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co.<br /> +</p></div> + +<p class="center">The above are excellent selections for second, third, and fourth +grades.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Songs and Stories. University Publishing Co.<br /> +Love Songs of Childhood (Field). Scribner's Sons.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<h4>SECOND GRADE—FOR TEACHERS</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Poetry for Children (Eliot). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +The Story Hour (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Story of Hiawatha. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Round the Year in Myth and Song (Holbrook). American Book Co.<br /> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 196]</span>Old Ballads in Prose (Tappan). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +St. Nicholas Christmas Book. Century Co., New York.<br /> +Asgard Stories (Foster-Cummings). Silver, Burdett, & Co.<br /> +Fairy Tale Plays and How to Act Them (Mrs. Bell). Longmans, Green, & Co.<br /> +Little Folk Lyrics (Sherman). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co.<br /> +Nature Pictures by American Poets. The Macmillan Co.<br /> +Squirrels and Other Fur-bearers (Burroughs). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Seven Great American Poets (Hart). Silver, Burdett, & Co.<br /> +Early Training of Children (Malleson). D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Comenius's The School of Infancy. D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Krüsi's Life of Pestalozzi. American Book Co.<br /> +Development of the Child (Oppenheim). The Macmillan Co.<br /> +The Study of Child Nature (Elizabeth Harrison). Published by +Chicago Kindergarten College.<br /> +Listening Child (Thatcher). The Macmillan Co.<br /> +History and Literature (Rice). A. Flanagan & Co.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<h4>THIRD GRADE—FIRST SERIES</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Robinson Crusoe. Public School Publishing Co.<br /> +Golden Book of Choice Reading. American Book Co.<br /> +Æsop's Fables (Stickney). Ginn & Co.<br /> +Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part I. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Seven Little Sisters. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Fairy Stories and Fables. American Book Co.<br /> +Child Life, Third Reader. The Macmillan Co.<br /> +Grimm's German Household Tales. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Fables (published as leaflets). C. M. Parker, Taylorville, Ill.<br /> +Around the World, Book II. The Morse Co.<br /> +Graded Classics, No. III. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co.<br /> +Graded Literature, No. III. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.<br /> +Grimm's Fairy Tales. Educational Publishing Co.<br /> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 197]</span>Grimm's Fairy Tales (Wiltse). Ginn & Co.<br /> +Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co.<br /> +Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). American Book Co.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<h4>THIRD GRADE—SECOND SERIES</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Arabian Nights. Houghton, Mifflin. & Co.<br /> +Hans Andersen's Stories. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). Harper & Bros.<br /> +Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co.<br /> +Judd's Classic Myths.<br /> +Grimm's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co.<br /> +The Eugene Field Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons.<br /> +A Child's Garden of Verses. Rand, McNally, & Co.<br /> +Little Lame Prince (Craik). Maynard, Merrill, & Co.<br /> +Prose and Verse for Children (Pyle). American Book Co.<br /> +Book of Tales. American Book Co.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<h4>THIRD GRADE—FOR TEACHERS</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Stories from the History of Rome. The Macmillan Co.<br /> +Friends and Helpers (Eddy). Ginn & Co.<br /> +Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe (Yonge). The Macmillan Co.<br /> +Robinson Crusoe. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Arabian Nights, Aladdin, etc. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.<br /> +Bird's Christmas Carol (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Uncle Remus (Harris). D. Appleton & Co.<br /> +Fifty Famous Stories Retold (Baldwin). American Book Co.<br /> +Four Great Americans (Baldwin). Werner School Book Co.<br /> +Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans (Eggleston). American Book Co.<br /> +The Story of Lincoln (Cavens). Public School Publishing Co.<br /> +Among the Farmyard People (Pierson). E. P. Dutton & Co.<br /> +<span class='pagenum'>[Pg 198]</span>The Howells Story Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons.<br /> +The Jungle Book (Kipling). Century Co., New York.<br /> +Old Norse Stories (Bradish). American Book Co.<br /> +Little Brothers of the Air (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Hans Brinker (Mary Mapes Dodge). Century Co.<br /> +Black Beauty. University Publishing Co.<br /> +Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Wonder Book (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +The Story of the Wagner Opera. Scribner's Sons.<br /> +Thoughts on Education (Locke). The Macmillan Co.<br /> +The Education of Man (Froebel). D. Appleton & Co.<br /> +Childhood in Literature and Art (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.<br /> +Waymarks for Teachers (Arnold). Silver, Burdett, & Co.<br /> +Hailman's History of Pedagogy. American Book Co.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<h4>SERIES OF SELECT READERS FOR THE +GRADES</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +Child Life. The Macmillan Co.<br /> +Around the World. The Morse Co.<br /> +Baldwin's Readers. American Book Co.<br /> +Graded Classics. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co.<br /> +Graded Literature. Maynard, Merrill, & Co.<br /> +Stepping Stones to Literature. Silver, Burdett, & Co.<br /> +Lights to Literature. Rand, McNally, & Co.<br /> +The Heart of Oak Series. D. C. Heath & Co.<br /> +Choice Literature. Butler, Sheldon, & Co.<br /> +</p></div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3>FOOTNOTES</h3> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Wilmann, <i>Paedagogische Vorträge</i>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>Moral Instruction of Children.</i> D. Appleton & Co.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Adler, <i>Moral Instruction of Children</i>, pp. 88-89.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Introduction to Stickney's <i>Æsop's Fables</i>. Ginn & Co.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Wilmann, <i>Paedagogische Vorträge</i>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>Jason's Quest</i> (Lowell), p. 55.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> simple</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> First-class primary teachers claim that drills are unnecessary if the +teacher is skilful in recombining the old words in new sentences.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 100%;" /> +<h2>METHODS IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION</h2> + + +<p class="center"><b>A Series of Educational Books in Two Groups covering the General +Principles of Method and Its Special Applications to the +Common School</b><br /><br /> + +BY<br /><br /> + +CHARLES A. McMURRY, Ph.D.<br /> + +<i>Northern Illinois State Normal School, DeKalb, Illinois</i><br /><br /> + +WITH<br /><br /> + +F. M. McMURRY<br /> + +AS JOINT AUTHOR FOR METHOD OF RECITATION</p> + + + + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="center"><br /> +<b>I. BOOKS OF GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION</b></p> + +<p>The three books in this group deal with the fundamental, comprehensive +principles of Education for the school as a whole, +and include both instruction and management.</p></div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="center"><b>II. BOOKS OF SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL +STUDIES.</b></p> +<p>Each school study is treated in a separate book, +and the selection and arrangement of material, and the method +of instruction appropriate to that study throughout its course, +are fully discussed. Illustrative lessons and extensive lists of +books of special value as helps to teachers and schools are +included.</p></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h3><span class="u">GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION</span></h3> + +<p class="center"><b>THE ELEMENTS OF GENERAL METHOD</b><br /> + +BASED ON THE IDEAS OF HERBART<br /> + +By <span class="smcap">CHARLES A. McMURRY</span><br /><br /> + +New edition, revised and enlarged. Cloth. 12mo. 331 pp.<br /> +90 cents net, postage 10 cents</p> + +<p>This volume discusses fully the controlling principles of our progressive +modern education, such as The Aim of Education; The Materials +and Sources of Moral Training; The Relative Value of Studies in the +School Course; The Nature and Value of Interest as a Vital Element +in Instruction; The Correlation of Studies; Inductive and Deductive +Processes as Fundamental to All Thinking; Apperception, its Close +and Constant Application to the Process of Learning; The Will, its +Training and Function and its Close Relation to Other Forms of +Mental Action.</p> + +<p>The book closes with an account of Herbart and his disciples in +Germany, and a summary of their pronounced ideas and influence +upon education.</p> + +<hr /> +<p class="center"><b>THE METHOD OF THE RECITATION</b><br /> + +New edition, revised and enlarged<br /> + +By <span class="smcap">CHARLES A. McMURRY</span> and <span class="smcap">FRANK M. McMURRY</span><br /><br /> + +Cloth. 12mo. 339 pp. 90 cents net, postage 10 cents</p> + +<p>This book, as a whole, is designed to simplify, organize, and illustrate +the chief principles of class-room method in elementary schools. A few +important fundamental principles are carefully worked out as a basis. +The essential steps, in the acquisition of knowledge in all studies, are +worked out and applied to different branches. The developing method +of instruction so much used in the oral treatment of lessons is worked +out, and the method of careful and suitable questioning discussed.</p> + +<p>Two chapters are given, consisting of Illustrative Lessons selected +from the different studies and worked out in full, as examples of a right +method. In these examples, and also in the discussions, the application +of the principles of apperception, interest, induction, and deduction +to class-room work are shown. The peculiar application of these +various principles to different studies is carefully discussed.</p> + +<hr /> +<p class="center"><b>SCHOOL AND CLASS MANAGEMENT</b>—In Preparation</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><span class="u">SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL STUDIES</span></h3> + +<p class="center"><b>SPECIAL METHOD IN THE READING OF COMPLETE +ENGLISH CLASSICS IN THE COMMON SCHOOLS</b><br /> + +By <span class="smcap">CHARLES A. McMURRY</span><br /><br /> + +Cloth. 12mo. 254 pp. 75 cents, postage 9 cents</p> + +<p>This discusses in a comprehensive way the regular reading lessons, +the choice of stories, poems, and longer masterpieces, adapted to the +needs of the various grades from the fourth to the eighth school year +inclusive; the value for school use of the best literature, including +complete masterpieces, both long and short; method in reading; and +principles of class-room work. A descriptive list of more than four +hundred books forms the last chapter. The list has been carefully +made, and is designed to assist teachers and superintendents in selecting +suitable reading material for the successive grades.</p> + +<hr /> +<p class="center"><b>SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY READING AND +ORAL WORK IN STORY TELLING</b><br /> + +By <span class="smcap">CHARLES A. McMURRY</span><br /><br /> + +Cloth. 12mo. 75 cents net, postage 8 cents</p> + +<p>The relation of oral story work to early exercises in primary reading +is explained at length. A full discussion of oral methods in primary +grades and a detailed account of primary exercises in reading are given. +The use of games for incidental reading is also fully discussed and +illustrated.</p> + +<hr /> +<p class="center"><b>SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY</b><br /> + +By <span class="smcap">CHARLES A. McMURRY</span><br /><br /> + +NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION</p> + +<p>This book contains a course of study in history with a full discussion +of methods of treating topics. The value, selection, and arrangement +of historical materials for each grade are discussed, and illustrative +lessons given. The relation of history to geography, literature, and +other studies is treated, and lists of books suitable for each year are +supplied.</p> + + +<hr /> +<p class="center"><b>SPECIAL METHOD IN GEOGRAPHY</b><br /> + +By <span class="smcap">CHARLES A. McMURRY</span><br /><br /> + +NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION</p> + +<p>The entire course of study is laid out after a careful selection of +topics. Methods of class instruction are fully discussed, and illustrations +are given of geographical topics treated in detail. The close +relation of geography to other studies is shown, and the best lists of +books supplied.</p> + + +<hr /> +<p class="center"><b>SPECIAL METHOD IN NATURAL SCIENCE</b><br /> + +By <span class="smcap">CHARLES A. McMURRY</span><br /><br /> + +NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION</p> + +<p>The history of science teaching in elementary schools is given. The +basis for selecting the topics for a course of study, and the method of +class instruction suitable to object study, experimentation, etc., are fully +discussed. The book contains, also, a carefully selected list of the +best books for the use of teachers and pupils.</p> + +<hr /> +<p class="center"><b>A COURSE OF STUDY FOR THE EIGHT GRADES +OF THE COMMON SCHOOL</b><br /> + +IN PREPARATION</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br /> +66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Publisher"> +<tr><td align='left'>BOSTON</td><td align='left'>CHICAGO</td><td align='left'>ATLANTA</td><td align='left'>SAN FRANCISCO</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>100 Boylston St.</td><td align='left'>378-388 Wabash Ave.</td><td align='left'>Empire Build'g</td><td align='left'>319-325 Sansome St.</td></tr> +</table></div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Special Method in Primary Reading and +Oral Work with Stories, by Charles Alexander McMurry + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY *** + +***** This file should be named 33923-h.htm or 33923-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/9/2/33923/ + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Special Method in Primary Reading and Oral Work with Stories + +Author: Charles Alexander McMurry + +Release Date: October 14, 2010 [EBook #33923] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + SPECIAL METHOD + IN PRIMARY READING + + + + SPECIAL METHOD + IN + PRIMARY READING AND ORAL + WORK WITH STORIES + + + BY + + CHARLES A. MCMURRY, PH.D. + + DIRECTOR OF PRACTICE DEPARTMENT, NORTHERN ILLINOIS + STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, DE KALB, ILLINOIS + + + New York + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. + 1905 + + _All rights reserved_ + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1903. + BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. + + Set up and electrotyped July, 1903; reprinted + April, 1905. + + + + +PREFACE + + +This book attempts the discussion of two very important problems in +primary education. First, the oral work in the handling of stories, and +second, the introduction to the art of reading in the earliest school +work. The very close relation between the oral work in stories and the +exercises in reading in the first three years in school is quite fully +explained. The oral work in story-telling has gained a great importance +in recent years, but has not received much discussion from writers of +books on method. + +Following this "Special Method in Primary Reading," a second volume, +called the "Special Method in the Reading of Complete English Classics +in the Grades of the Common School," completes the discussion of reading +and literature in the intermediate and grammar grades. + +Both of the books of Special Method are an application of the ideas +discussed in "The Principles of General Method" and "The Method of the +Recitation." + +Still other volumes of Special Method in Geography, History, and Natural +Science furnish the outlines of the courses of study in these subjects, +and also a full discussion of the value of the material selected and of +the method of treatment. + +At the close of each chapter and at the end of the book a somewhat +complete graded list of books, for the use of both pupils and teachers, +is given. The same plan is followed in all the books of this series, so +that teachers may be able to supply themselves with the best helps with +as little trouble as possible. + + CHARLES A. McMURRY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER I PAGE + THE REASON FOR ORAL WORK IN STORIES 1 + + CHAPTER II + THE BASIS OF SKILL IN ORAL WORK 16 + + CHAPTER III + FIRST GRADE STORIES 47 + + CHAPTER IV + SECOND GRADE STORIES 75 + + CHAPTER V + THIRD GRADE STORIES 103 + + CHAPTER VI + PRIMARY READING THROUGH INCIDENTAL EXERCISES AND GAMES 137 + + CHAPTER VII + METHOD IN PRIMARY READING 173 + + CHAPTER VIII + LIST OF BOOKS FOR PRIMARY GRADES 190 + + + + +SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY READING + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE REASON FOR ORAL WORK IN STORIES + + +The telling and reading of stories to children in early years, before +they have mastered the art of reading, is of such importance as to +awaken the serious thought of parents and teachers. To older people it +is a source of constant surprise--the attentive interest which children +bestow upon stories. Almost any kind of a story will command their +wide-awake thought. But the tale which they can fully understand and +enjoy has a unique power to concentrate their mental energy. There is an +undivided, unalloyed absorption of mind in good stories which augurs +well for all phases of later effort. To get children into this habit of +undivided mental energy, of singleness of purpose in study, is most +promising. In primary grades, the fluttering, scatter-brained truancy of +thought is the chronic obstacle to success in study. + +The telling or reading of stories to children naturally begins at home, +before the little ones are old enough for school. The mother and father, +the aunts and uncles, and any older person who delights in children, +find true comfort and entertainment in rehearsing the famous stories to +children. The Mother Goose, the fables, the fairy tales, the "Arabian +Nights," Eugene Field's and Stevenson's poems of child life, the Bible +stories, the myths, and some of the old ballads have untold treasures +for children. If one has a voice for singing the old melodies, the charm +of music intensifies the effect. Little ones quickly memorize what +delights them, and not seldom, after two or three readings, children of +three and four years will be heard repeating whole poems or large parts +of them. The repetition of the songs and stories till they become +thoroughly familiar gives them their full educative effect. They become +a part of the permanent furniture of the mind. If the things which the +children learn in early years have been well selected from the real +treasures of the past (of which there is a goodly store), the seeds of +true culture have been deeply sown in their affections. + +The opportunities of the home for good story-telling are almost +boundless. Parents who perceive its worth and are willing to take time +for it, find in this early period greater opportunity to mould the lives +of children and put them into sympathetic touch with things of beauty +and value than at any other time. At this age children are well-nigh +wholly at the mercy of their elders. They will take what we give them +and take it at its full worth or worthlessness. They absorb these things +as the tender plant absorbs rain and sunshine. + +The kindergarten has naturally found in the story one of its chief means +of effectiveness. Stories, songs, and occupations are its staples. +Dealing with this same period of early childhood, before the more taxing +work of the school begins, it finds that the children's minds move with +that same freedom and spontaneity in these stories with which their +bodies and physical energies disport themselves in games and +occupations. + +It is fortunate for childhood that we have such wholesome and healthful +material, which is fitted to give a child's mental action a well-rounded +completeness. His will, his sensibility, and his knowing faculty, all in +one harmonious whole, are brought into full action. In short, not a +fragment but the whole child is focussed and concentrated upon one +absorbing object of thought. + +The value of the oral treatment of stories is found in the greater +clearness and interest with which they can be presented orally. There is +a keener realism, a closer approximation to experimental facts, to the +situations, the hardships, to the sorrows and triumphs of persons. The +feelings and impulses of the actors in the story are felt more sharply. +The reality of the surrounding conditions and difficulties is presented +so that a child transports himself by the power of sympathy and +imagination into the scenes described. + +There is no way by which this result can be accomplished in early years +except by the oral presentation of stories. Until the children have +learned to read and have acquired sufficient mastery of the art of +reading so that it is easy and fluent, there is no way by which they can +get at good stories for themselves. Average children require about three +years to acquire this mastery of the reading art. Not many children read +stories from books, with enjoyment and appreciation, till they are nine +or ten years old; but from the age of four to ten they are capable of +receiving an infinite amount of instruction and mental stimulus from +hearing good stories. In fact, many of the best stories ever produced in +the history of the world can be thoroughly enjoyed by children before +they have learned to read. This is true of Grimm's and Andersen's +stories, of the myths of Hiawatha and Norseland, and of the early +Greeks, of the Bible stories, the "Arabian Nights," "Robin Hood," +besides many other stories, poems, ballads, and biographies which are +among the best things in our literature. + +In these early years the minds of children may be enriched with a +furnishment of ideas of much value for all their future use, a sort of +capital well invested, which will bring rich returns. Minds early +fertilized with this variety of thought material become more flexible, +productive, and acquisitive. + +For many years, and even centuries, it was supposed that early education +could furnish children with little except the forms and instruments of +knowledge, the tools of acquisition, such as ability to read, spell, and +write, and to use simple numbers. But the susceptibility of younger +children to the powerful culture influence of story, poem, and nature +study, was overlooked. + +We now have good reason to believe that there is no period when the +educative and refining influences of good literature in the form of +poems and story can be made so effective as in this early period from +four to ten years. That period which has been long almost wholly devoted +to the dry formalities and mechanics of knowledge, to the dull and +oftentimes benumbing drills of alphabets, spelling, and arithmetical +tables, is found to be capable of a fruitful study of stories, fables, +and myths, and an indefinite extension of ideas and experiences in +nature observation. + +But the approach to these sunny fields of varied and vivid experience is +not through books, except as the teacher's mind has assimilated their +materials and prepared them for lively presentation. + +The oral speech through which the stories are given to children is +completely familiar to them, so that they, unencumbered by the forms of +language, can give their undivided thought to the story. Oral speech is, +therefore, the natural channel through which stories should come in +early years. The book is at first wholly foreign to them, and it takes +them three years or more of greater or less painful effort to get such +easy mastery of printed forms as to gain ready access to thought in +books. A book, when first put into the hands of a child, is a complete +obstruction to thought. The oral story, on the contrary, is a perfectly +transparent medium of thought. A child can see the meaning of a story +through oral speech as one sees a landscape through a clear window-pane. +If a child, therefore, up to the age of ten, is to get many and +delightsome views into the fruitful fields of story-land, this miniature +world of all realities, this repository of race ideas, it must be +through oral speech which he has already acquired in the years of +babyhood. + +It is an interesting blunder of teachers, and one that shows their +unreflecting acceptance of traditional customs, to assume that the +all-absorbing problem of primary instruction is the acquisition of a new +book language (the learning to read), and to ignore that rich mother +tongue, already abundantly familiar, as an avenue of acquisition and +culture. But we are now well convinced that the ability to read is an +instrument of culture, not culture itself, and primarily the great +object of education is to inoculate the children with the ideas of our +civilization. The forms of expression are also of great value, but they +are secondary and incidental as compared with the world of ideas. + +There is an intimate connection between learning to read and the oral +treatment of stories in primary schools which is very interesting and +suggestive to the teacher. Routine teachers may think it a waste of time +to stop for the oral presentation of stories. But the more thoughtful +and sympathetic teacher will think it better to stimulate the child's +mind than to cram his memory. The young mind fertilized by ideas is +quicker to learn the printed forms than a mind barren of thought. Yet +this proposition needs to be seen and illustrated in many forms. + +Children should doubtless make much progress in learning to read in the +first year of school. But coincident with these exercises in primary +reading, and, as a general thing, preliminary to them, is a lively and +interested acquaintance with the best stories. It is a fine piece of +educative work to cultivate in children, at the beginning of school +life, a real appreciation and enjoyment of a few good stories. These +stories, thus rendered familiar, and others of similar tone and quality, +may serve well as a part of the reading lessons. It is hardly possible +to cultivate this literary taste in the reading books alone, unrelieved +by oral work. The primers and first readers, when examined, will give +ample proof of this statement. In spite of the utmost effort of skilled +primary teachers to make attractive books for primary children, our +primers and first readers show unmistakable signs of their formal and +mechanical character. They are essentially drill books. + +It seems well, therefore, to have in primary schools two kinds of work +in connection with story and reading, the oral work in story-telling, +reproduction, expression, etc., and the drill exercises in learning to +read. The former will keep up a wide-awake interest in the best thought +materials suitable for children, the latter will gradually acquaint them +with the necessary forms of written and printed language. Moreover, the +interest aroused in the stories is constantly transferring itself to the +reading lessons and giving greater spirit and vitality even to the +primary efforts at learning to read. In discussing the method of primary +reading we shall have occasion to mention the varied devices of games, +activities, drawings, dramatic action, blackboard exercises, and picture +work, by which an alert primary teacher puts life and motive into early +reading work, but fully as important as all these things put together is +the growing insight and appreciation for good stories. When a child +makes the discovery, as Hugh Miller said, "that learning to read is +learning to get stories out of books" he has struck the chord that +should vibrate through all his future life. The real motive for reading +is to get something worth the effort of reading. Even if it takes longer +to accomplish the result in this way, the result when accomplished is in +all respects more valuable. But it is probable that children will learn +to read fully as soon who spend a good share of their time in oral story +work. + +In discussing the literary materials used in the first four grades, we +suggest the following grading of certain large groups of literary +matter, and the relation of oral work to the reading in each subsequent +grade is clearly marked. + + ORAL WORK. READING. + + _1st Grade._ Games, Mother Goose. Lessons based on Games, etc. + Fables, Fairy Tales. Board Exercises. + Nature Myths, Child Poems. Primers, First Readers. + Simple Myths, Stories, etc. + + _2d Grade._ Robinson Crusoe. Fables, Fairy Tales. + Hiawatha. Myths and Poems. + Seven Little Sisters. Second Readers. + Hiawatha Primer. + + _3d Grade._ Greek and Norse Myths. Robinson Crusoe. + Ballads and Legendary Andersen's & Grimm's Tales. + Stories. Child's Garden of Verses. + Ulysses, Jason, Siegfried. Third Readers. + Old Testament Stories. + + _4th Grade._ American Pioneer History Greek and Norse Myths. + Stories. Historical Ballads. + Early Biographical Stories Ulysses, Arabian Nights. + of Europe, as Alfred, Hiawatha, Wonder Book. + Solon, Arminius, etc. + +This close dependence of reading proper, in earlier years, upon the oral +treatment of stories as a preliminary, is based fundamentally upon the +idea that suitable and interesting thought matter is the true basis of +progress in reading, and that the strengthening of the taste for good +books is a much greater thing than the mere acquisition of the art of +reading. The motive with which children read or try to learn to read is, +after all, of the greatest consequence. + +The old notion that children must first learn to read and then find, +through the mastery of this art, the entrance to literature is exactly +reversed. First awaken a desire for things worth reading, and then +incorporate these and similar stories into the regular reading exercises +as far as possible. + +In accordance with this plan, children, by the time they are nine or ten +years old, will become heartily acquainted with three or four of the +great classes of literature, the fables, fairy tales, myths, and such +world stories as Crusoe, Aladdin, Hiawatha, and Ulysses. Moreover, the +oral treatment will bring these persons and actions closer to their +thought and experience than the later reading alone could do. In fact, +if children have reached their tenth year without enjoying those great +forms of literature that are appropriate to childhood, there is small +prospect that they will ever acquire a taste for them. They have passed +beyond the age where a liking for such literature is most easily and +naturally cultivated. They move on to other things. They have passed +through one great stage of education and have emerged with a meagre and +barren outfit. + +The importance of oral work as a lively means of entrance to studies is +seen also in other branches besides literature. + +In geography and history the first year or two of introductory study is +planned for the best schools in the form of oral narrative and +discussion. Home geography in the third or fourth year, and history +stories in the fourth and fifth years of school, are best presented +without a text book by the teacher. Although the children have already +overcome, to some extent, the difficulty of reading, so great is the +power of oral presentation and discussion to vivify and realize +geographical and historical scenes that the book is discarded at first +for the oral treatment. + +In natural science also, from the first year on the teacher must employ +an oral method of treatment. The use of books is not only impossible, +but even after the children have learned to read, it would defeat the +main purpose of instruction to make books the chief means of study. The +ability to observe and discern things, to use their own senses in +discriminating and comparing objects, in experiments and investigations, +is the fundamental purpose. + +In language lessons, again, it is much better to use a book only as a +guide and to handle the lessons orally, collecting examples and stories +from other studies as the basis for language discussions. + +It is apparent from this brief survey that an oral method is appropriate +to the early treatment of all the common school studies, that it gives +greater vivacity, intensity, simplicity, and clearness to all such +introductory studies. + +The importance of story-telling and the initiation of children into the +delightful fields of literature through the teacher rather than through +the book are found to harmonize with a mode of treatment common to all +the studies in early years. + +In this connection it is interesting to observe that the early +literature of the European nations was developed and communicated to the +people by word of mouth. The Homeric songs were chanted or sung at the +courts of princes. At Athens, in her palmy days, the great dramatists +and poets either recited their productions to the people or had them +presented to thousands of citizens in the open-air theatres. Even +historians like Thucidides read or recited their great histories before +the assembled people. In the early history of England, Scotland, and +other countries, the minstrels sang their ballads and epic poems in the +baronial halls and thus developed the early forms of music and poetry. +Shakespeare wrote his dramas for the theatre, and he seems to have paid +no attention at all to their appearance in book form, never revising +them or putting them into shape for the press. + +This practice of all the early races of putting their great literature +before the people by song, dramatic action, and word of mouth is very +suggestive to the teacher. The power and effectiveness of this mode of +presentation, not only in early times but even in the highly civilized +cities of London and Athens, is unmistakable proof of the educative +value of such modes of teaching. This is only another indication of the +kinship of child life with race life, which has been emphasized by many +great thinkers. + +The oral method offers a better avenue for all vigorous modes of +expression than the reading book. It can be observed that the general +tendency of the book is toward a formal, expressionless style in young +readers. Go into a class where the teacher is handling a story orally +and you will see her falling naturally into all forms of vivid narrative +and presentation, gesture, facial expression, versatile intonation, +blackboard sketching and picture work, the impersonation of characters +in dialogue, dramatic action, and general liveliness of manner. The +children naturally take up these same activities and modes of uttering +themselves. Even without the suggestion of teachers, little children +express themselves in such actions, attitudes, and impersonations. This +may be often observed in little boys and girls of kindergarten age, when +telling their experiences to older persons, or when playing among +themselves. The freedom, activity, and vivacity of children is, indeed, +in strong contrast to the apathetic, expressionless, monotonous style of +many grown people, including teachers. + +But the oral treatment of stories has a tendency to work out into modes +of activity even more effective than those just described. + +In recent years, since so much oral work has been done in elementary +schools, children have been encouraged also to express themselves freely +in blackboard drawings and in pencil work at their desks by way of +illustrating the stories told. Moreover, in paper cutting, to represent +persons and scenes, in clay modelling, to mould objects presented, and +in constructive and building efforts, in making forts, tents, houses, +tools, dress, and in showing up modes of life, the children have found +free scope for their physical and mental activities. These have not only +led to greater clearness and vividness in their mental conceptions, but +have opened out new fields of self-activity and inventiveness. + +So long as work in reading and literature was confined to the book +exercises, nearly all these modes of expression were little employed and +even tabooed. + +Finally, the free use of oral narrative in the literature of early +years, in story-telling and its attendant modes of expression, opens up +to primary teachers a rare opportunity of becoming genuine educators. +There was a time, and it still continues with many primary teachers, +when teaching children to read was a matter of pure routine, of formal +verbal drills and repetitions, as tiresome to the teacher, if possible, +as to the little ones. But now that literature, with its treasures of +thought and feeling, of culture and refinement, has become the staple of +the primary school, teachers have a wide and rich field of inspiring +study. The mastery and use of much of the preferred literature which has +dropped down to us out of the past is the peculiar function of the +primary teacher. Contact with great minds, like those of Kingsley, +Ruskin, Andersen, the Grimm brothers, Stevenson, Dickens, Hawthorne, De +Foe, Browning, AEsop, Homer, and the unknown authors of many of the best +ballads, epics, and stories, is enough to give the primary teacher a +sense of the dignity of her work. On the other hand, the opportunity to +give to children the free and versatile development of their active +powers is an equal encouragement. + +Teachers who have taken up with zeal this great problem of introducing +children to their full birthright, the choice literature of the world +suited to their years, and of linking this story work with primary +reading so as to give it vitality,--such teachers have found school life +assuming new and unwonted charms; the great problems of the educator +have become theirs; the broadened opportunity for the acquisition of +varied skill and professional efficiency has given a strong ambitious +tone to their work. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE BASIS OF SKILL IN ORAL WORK + + +Accepting the statement that skill in oral presentation of a story is a +prime demand in early education, the important question for teachers is +how to cultivate their resources in this phase of teaching, how to +become good story-tellers. + +It may be remarked that, for the great majority of people, story-telling +is not a gift but an acquisition. There are, of course, occasional +geniuses, but they may be left out of consideration. They are not often +found in the schoolroom any more than in other walks of life. What we +need is a practical, sensible development of a power which we all +possess in varying degrees. Nor is it the fluent, volatile, verbose +talker who makes a good oral teacher, but rather one who can see and +think clearly: one who knows how to combine his ideas and experiences +into clear and connected series of thought. + +We may proceed, therefore, to a discussion of the needs and resources of +a good story-teller. + +1. Without much precaution it may be stated that he should have a rich +experience in all the essential realities of human life. This covers a +large field of common things and refers rather to contact with life +than to mere book knowledge. Yet it is the depth, heartiness, and +variety of knowledge rather than the source from which it springs that +concerns us. Books often give us just this deep penetrating experience, +as soon as we learn how to select and use them. We need to know human +life directly and in all sorts of acts, habits, feelings, motives, and +conditions,--something as Shakespeare knew it, only within the compass +of our narrower possibilities. Likewise the physical world with its +visible and invisible forces and objects besetting us on every side. +These things must impress themselves upon us vividly in detail as well +as in the bulk. The hand that has been calloused by skill-producing +labor, the back that aches with burdens bravely borne, the brain that +has sweat with strong effort, are expressions of this kind of knowledge +of the world. Clear-grained perceptions are acquired from many sources: +from travel, labor, books, reflection, sickness, observation. I go +to-day into a small shop where heavy oak beer-kegs are made, and watch +the man working this refractory material into water-tight kegs that will +stand hard usage at the hands of hard drinkers for twenty years. If my +mind has been at work as I watch this man for an hour, with his heavy +rough staves made by hand, his tools and machines, his skill and strong +muscular action, the amount and profit of his labor, that man's work has +gone deep into my whole being. I can almost live his life in an hour's +time, and feel its contact with the acute problems of our modern +industrial life. That is a kind of knowledge and experience worth fully +as much as a sermon in Trinity Church or a University lecture. + +The teacher needs a great store of these concrete facts and +illustrations. Without them he is a carpenter without tools or boards. +He needs to know industries, occupations, good novels, typical life +scenes, sunsets, sorrows, joys, inventions, poets, farmers--all such +common, tangible things. Even from fools and blackguards he can get +experiences that will last him a lifetime if they only strike in and do +not flare off into nothingness. + +Social experience in all sorts of human natures, disposition, and +environing circumstance is immediately valuable to the teacher. + +Close acquaintance with children, with their early feelings and +experiences, with their timidity or boldness, with their whims or +conceits, their dislikes and preferences, their enthusiasms and +interests, with their peculiar home and neighborhood experiences and +surroundings, with their games and entertainments, with the books and +papers they read, with their dolls and playthings, their vacations and +outings, with their pets and playhouses, with their tools and mechanical +contrivances--all these and other like realities of child life put the +teacher on a footing of possible appreciation and sympathy with +children. These are the materials and facts which a good teacher knows +how to work up in oral recitations. + +Of course the kindly, sympathetic social mood which is not fretted by +others' frailties and perversities, but, like Irving or Addison, +exhibits a liberal charity or humorous affection for all things human, +is a fortunate possession or acquisition for the teacher. + +2. It may be said also, without fear of violent contradiction, that a +teacher needs to be a master of the story he is about to tell. It may be +well to spread out to view the important things necessary to such a +mastery. The reading over of the story till its facts and episodes have +become familiar and can be reproduced in easy narrative is at least a +minimum requirement. Even this moderate demand is much more serious than +the old text-book routine in history or reading, where the teacher, with +one eye on the book, the other on the class, and his finger at the +place, managed to get the questions before the class in a fixed order. + +Let us look a little beneath the surface of the story. What is its +central idea, the author's aim or motive in producing it? Not a little +effort and reflection may be necessary to get at the bottom of this +question. Some of the most famous stories, like "Aladdin," "Gulliver's +Travels," and the "City Musicians," may be so wild and wayward as to +elude or blunt the point of this question. The story may have a hard +shell, but the sharp teeth of reflection will get at the sweet kernel +within, else the story is not worth while. In some of the stories, like +"Baucis and Philemon," "The Great Stone Face," "The Pied Piper of +Hamelin," "The Discontented Pine Tree," and "Hiawatha's Fasting," the +main truth is easily reflected from the story and caught up even by the +children. + +This need for getting at the heart of the story is clearly seen in all +the subsequent work. It is the exercise of such a critical judgment +which qualifies the teacher to discriminate between good and poor +stories. In the treatment of the story the essential topics are laid out +upon the basis of this controlling idea or motive. The leading aims and +carefully worded questions point toward this central truth. The side +lights and attendant episodes are arranged with reference to it like the +scenes in a drama. The effort to get at the central truth and the +related ideas is a sifting-out process, a mode of assimilating and +mastering the story more thorough-going than the mere memorizing of the +facts and words for the purpose of narration. The thought-getting +self-activity and common-sense logic which are involved in this mode of +assimilating a story are good for both pupils and teacher. + +The mastery of a story needed by an oral teacher implies abundance of +resource in illustrative device and explanation. When children fail to +grasp an idea, it is necessary to fall back upon some familiar object +or experience not mentioned in the book. Emergencies arise which tax the +teacher's ingenuity to the utmost. Even the children will raise queries +that baffle his wit. In preparing a story for the classroom it is +necessary to see it from many sides, to foresee these problems and +difficulties. Oftentimes the collateral knowledge derived from history +or geography or from similar episodes in other stories will suggest the +solution. + +It is a favorite maxim of college teachers and of those who deal mostly +with adults or older pupils, that if a person knows a thing he can teach +it. Leaving out of account the numerous cases of those who are well +posted in their subjects, but cannot teach, it is well to note the +scope, variety, and thoroughness of knowledge necessary to a good +teacher to handle it skilfully with younger children. Besides the +thorough knowledge of the subject which scholars have demanded, it +requires an equally clear knowledge of the mental resources of children, +the language which they can understand, the things which attract their +interest and attention, and the ways of holding the attention of a group +of children of different capacities, temper, and disposition. Any +dogmatic professor who thinks he can teach the story of "Cinderella" or +Andersen's "Five Peas in the Pod," because he has a full knowledge of +the facts of the story, should make trial of his skill upon a class of +twenty children in the first grade. We suggest, however, that he do it +quietly, without inviting in his friends to witness his triumph. + +No, the mastery of the subject needed for an effective handling of it in +oral work is different and is greater than they have yet dreamed of who +think that mere objective knowledge is all that is needed by a teacher. +The application of knowledge to life is generally difficult, more taxing +by far than the mere acquisition of facts and principles. But the use of +one's knowledge in the work of instructing young children, in getting +them to acquire and assimilate it, is perhaps the most difficult of all +forms of the application of knowledge. It is difficult because it is so +complex. To think clearly and accurately on some topic for one's single +self is not easy, but to get twenty children of varying capacities and +weaknesses, with their stumbling, acquisitive, flaring minds, to keep +step along one clear line of thought is a piece of daring enterprise. + +The mastery of the story, therefore, for successful oral work, must be +detailed, comprehensive, many-sided, and adapted to the fluttering +thoughts of childhood. + +3. The chief instrument through which the teacher communicates the story +is oral speech, and this he needs to wield with discriminating skill and +power. Preachers and lecturers, when called upon to talk to children, +nearly always talk over their heads, using language not appropriate and +comprehensible to children. Those accustomed to deal with little folks +are quickly sensitive to this amateur awkwardness. Young teachers just +out of the higher schools make the same blunder. They are also inclined +to think that fluency and verbosity are a sign of power. But such false +tinsel makes no impression upon children except confusion of thought. +Children require simple, direct words, clearly defined in thought and +grounded upon common experience and conviction. Facts and realities +should stand behind the words of a teacher. What he seeks to marshal +before children is people and things. Words should serve as photographs +of objects; instantaneous views of experiences. In some social and +diplomatic circles words are said to conceal thought, but this kind of +verbal diplomacy has no place in schools. + +It is an interesting question how far the language and style of the +authors should be preserved by the narrator. It would be an error to +forbid the exact use of the author's words and an equal error to require +it. It seems reasonable to say that the teacher should become absorbed +in the author's style and mode of presenting the story. This will lead +to a close approximation to the author's words, without any slavish +imitation. In the midst of oral presentation and discussion it would be +impossible to hold strictly to the original. The teacher's own language +and conception of the story will press in to simplify and clarify the +meaning. No one holds strictly to a literary style in telling a story. +Conversational ideas and original momentary impulses of thought demand +their own forms of utterance. And yet it is well to appropriate the +style and expression of the writer so as to accustom the children to the +best forms. A few very apt and forcible sentences will be found in any +good author which the teacher will naturally employ. + +But the teacher must have freedom. When he has once thoroughly +appropriated the story he must give vent to his own spontaneity and +power. Later, when the children come to read these stories, they will +enjoy them in their full literary form. + +4. The power of clear and interesting presentation of a story is one of +the chief professional acquisitions of a good primary teacher. It +involves many things besides language, including liveliness of manner, +gesture, facial expression, action, dramatic impersonation, skill in +blackboard illustration, good humor and tact in working with children, a +strong imagination, and a real appreciation for the literature adapted +to children. + +Perhaps the fundamental need is simplicity and clearness of thought and +language combined with a pleasing and attractive manner. Vague and +incomprehensible thoughts and ideas are all out of place. The teacher +should be strict with himself in this matter, and while reading and +mastering the story, should use compulsion upon himself to arrive at an +unmistakable clearness of thought. The objects, buildings, palaces, +woods, caves, animals, persons, and places should be sharply imaged by +the imagination; the feelings and passions of the actors should be +keenly realized. Often a vague and uncertain conception needs to be +scanned, the passage reread, and the notion framed into clearness. In +describing the palace of the sleeping beauty, begirt with woods, the +sentinels standing statuelike at the portal, the lords and ladies at +their employments, the teacher should think out the entrance way, hall, +rooms, and persons of the palace so clearly that his thought and +language will not stumble over uncertainties. Transparent clearness and +directness of thought are the result of effort and circumspection. They +are well worth the pains required to gain them. A teacher who thinks +clearly will generate clear habits of thought in children. + +The power of interesting narrative and description is not easily +explained. It is a thing not readily analyzed into its elements. Perhaps +the best way to find out what it is may be discovered by reading the +great story-tellers, such as Macaulay, Irving, Kingsley, De Foe, +Hawthorne, Homer, Plutarch, Scott, and Dickens. Novelists like George +Eliot, Victor Hugo, Cooper, Scott, and Dickens, possess this secret +also, and even some of the historians, as Herodotus, Fiske, Green, +Parkman, Motley, and others. It is not so important that a teacher +should give a cold analysis of their qualities as that he should fall +insensibly into the vivid and realistic style of the best story-tellers. +One who has read Pyle's Robin Hood stories until they are familiar will, +to a considerable extent, appropriate his fertile and happy Old-English +style, the sturdy English spirit of bold Robin, his playful humor, and +his apt utterance of homely truths. + +There are certain qualities that stand out prominently in the good +story-tellers. They are simple and concrete in their descriptions, they +deal very little in general, vague statements or abstractions, they hold +closely to the persons of the story in the midst of interesting +surroundings, they are profuse in the use of distinct figures of speech, +appealing to the fancy or imagination. They often have a humorous vein +which gives infinite enjoyment and spreads a happy charity throughout +the world. + +The art of graphic illustration on the blackboard is in almost constant +demand in oral work. Even rude and untechnical sketches by teachers who +have no acquired skill in artistic drawing are of the greatest value in +giving a quick and accurate perception of places, buildings, persons, +and surrounding conditions of a story or action. The map of Crusoe's +island, the drawings to represent his tent, cave, boat, country +residence, fortifications, dress, utensils, and battles are natural and +simple modes of realizing clearly his labors and adventures. They save +much verbal description and circumlocution. The teacher needs to +acquire absolute boldness and freedom in using such illustrative +devices. The children will, of course, catch this spirit, as they are by +nature inclined to use drawing as a mode of expression. + +A similar freedom in the teacher is necessary in the use of bodily +action, gesture, and facial expression in story-telling. The teacher +needs to become natural, childlike, and mobile in these things; for +children are naturally much given to such demonstrations in the +expression of their thought. Little girls of three and four years in the +home, when free from self-consciousness, are marvellously and +delightfully expressive by means of eyes, gestures, hands, and arms and +whole bodily attitudes. Why should not this naive expressiveness be +gently fostered in the school? Indeed it is, and in many schools the +little ones are as happy and whole-souled and spontaneous in their modes +of expression as we have suggested. + +Dramatization, if cultivated, extends a teacher's gamut of +expressiveness. Our inability or slowness to respond to this suggestion +is a sign of a certain narrowness or cramp in our culture and training. +In Normal schools where young teachers are trained in the art of +reading, the dramatic instinct should be strongly developed. The power +to other one's self in dramatic action, to assume and impersonate a +variety of characters, is a real expression and enlargement of the +personality. It demands sympathy and feeling as well as intellectual +insight. The study and reading of the great dramatists, the seeing of +good plays, amateur efforts in this direction, the frequent oral reading +of Shakespeare, Dickens, and other dramatists and novelists will +cultivate and enlarge the teacher's power in this worthy and wholesome +art. + +The use of good pictures is also an important means of adding to the +beauty and clearness of stories. The pictures of Indian life in +"Hiawatha," the illustrated editions of "Robinson Crusoe," the copies of +ancient works of art in some editions of the Greek myths, Howard Pyle's +illustrated "Robin Hood," and other books of this character add greatly +to the vividness of ideas. Such pictures should be handled with care, +not distributed promiscuously among the children while the lesson is +going on. The teacher needs to study a picture, and discuss it +intelligently with the children, asking questions which bring out its +representative qualities. + +It is evident the skilful oral presentation of a story calls out no +small degree of clear knowledge, force of language, illustrative device, +dramatic instinct, and a freedom and versatility of action both mental +and physical. + +5. A clear outline of leading points in a story is a source of strength +to the teacher and the basis later of good reproductive work by the +children. The short stories in the first grade hardly need a formal +outline, and even in second grade the sequence of ideas in a story is +often so simple and easy that outlines of leading topics may not be +needed. But in third and fourth grade it is well in the preliminary +study and mastery of a story to divide it up into clearly marked +segments, with a distinctive title for each division. It is difficult to +get teachers to do this kind of close logical work, and still more +difficult to have them remember it in the midst of oral presentation and +discussion. If the main points of the story as thus outlined are placed +upon the blackboard as the narrative advances, it keeps in mind a clear +survey of the whole and serves as the best basis for the children's +reproduction of the story. It compels both teacher and pupils to keep to +a close logical connection of ideas and a sifting out of the story to +get at the main points. Without these well-constructed outlines the +memory of the story is apt to fall into uncertainty and confusion, and +the children's reproduction becomes fragmentary and disorderly. +Experience shows that teachers are prone to be loose and careless in +bringing their stories into such a well-ordered series of distinct +topics. It is really a sign of a thoughtful, logical, and judicious +mastery of a subject to have thrown it thus into its prominent points of +narration. Oral work often fails of effectiveness and thoroughness, +because of these careless habits of teachers. Such an outline, when put +into the children's regular note-books, serves as the best basis for +later surveys and reviews. + +6. The oral narration and presentation of stories has a curious way of +being turned into _development lessons_, in which the teacher deals in +questions and problematic situations and the children work out many of +the facts and incidents of the story by a series of guesses and +inferences. These are well known as development lessons, and they are +capable of exhibiting the highest forms of excellence in teaching or the +most drivelling waste of time. The subject is a hard one to handle, but +it needs a clear and simple elucidation as much as any problem in the +teaching profession. Generally speaking it is better for young teachers +not to launch out recklessly upon the full tide of development +instruction. It is better to learn the handling of the craft on quieter +waters. Development work needs to be well charted. The varying winds and +currents, storms and calms, need to be studied and experienced before +one may become a good ship's master. Let young teachers first acquire +power in clear, simple, direct narration and description, using apt and +forcible language and holding to a clear-cut line of thought. This is no +slight task, and when once mastered and fixed in habit becomes the +foundation of a wider freedom and skill in development exercises. The +works of the great story-tellers furnish excellent models of this sort +of skill, and teachers may follow closely in the lines struck out by +Scott or Hawthorne in narrating a story. + +A book story cannot do otherwise than simply narrate; it cannot develop, +set problems and questions and have children to find solutions and +answers. It must tell the facts and answer the questions. But in oral +narration there is room not only for all the skill of the story-writer, +but also the added force of voice, personality, lively manner, gesture, +action, and close adaptation to the immediate needs of children and +subject. This is enough to command the undivided effort of the young +teacher at first, without entering the stormy waters and shifting +currents of pure development work. + +Yet the spirited teacher will not go far in narrating a story without a +tendency to ask questions to intensify the children's thought, or to +quicken the discussion of interesting points. Even if the teachers or +parents are but reading a good story from a book, it is most natural, at +times, to ask questions about the meaning of certain new words, or +geographical locations, or probabilities in the working out of the +story. These are the simple beginnings of development work, and produce +greater thoughtfulness, keener perceptions of the facts, and a better +absorption of the story into a child's previous knowledge. + +A sharp limitation of development work is also found in the circumstance +that a large share of the facts in a story cannot by any sort of +ingenuity be developed. They form the necessary basis for later +development questions. Even many of the facts which might be developed +by a skilful teacher are better told directly, because of the difficulty +and time-devouring nature of the process. There may be a few central +problems in every story, which, after the necessary facts and conditions +have been plainly told, can be thoroughly sifted out by questions, +answers, and discussions. But to work out all the little details of a +story by question and surmise, to get the crude, unbaked opinions of all +the members of a class upon every episode and fact in a story, is a +pitiful caricature of good instruction. + +The purpose of good development work is to get children to go deeper +into the meaning of a story, to realize its situations more keenly, and +to acquire habits of thoughtfulness, self-reliant judgment, and +inventiveness in solving difficulties. These results, and they are among +the chiefest set for the educator, cannot be accomplished by mere +narration and description. Their superior excellence and worth are the +prize of that superior skill which first-class development work demands. + +With these preliminary remarks, criticisms, and limitations in mind, we +may inquire what are the essentials of good development work in oral +lessons. + +(1) Determine what parts of a story are capable of development; what +facts must be clearly present to the mind before questions can be put +and inferences derived. In a problem in arithmetic we first state the +known facts, the conditions upon which a solution can be based, and +then put a question whose answer is to be gained by a proper conjunction +and inference from these facts. The same thing is true in reasoning upon +the facts in a story. + +(2) In placing a topic before children it is always advisable to touch +up the knowledge already possessed by the children, or any parts of +their previous experience which have strong interpretative ideas for the +new lesson. At this point apt questions which probe quickly into their +_previous knowledge and experience_ are at a premium. The teacher needs +to have considered beforehand in what particulars the children's home +surroundings and peculiar circumstances may furnish the desired +knowledge. The form of the questions may also receive close attention. +For these words must provoke definite thought. They should have hooks on +them which quickly drag experience into light. + +(3) In order to give direction to the children's thoughts on the story's +line of progress, _interesting aims_ should be set up. These aims, +without anticipating precise results, must guide the children towards +the desired ends and turning-points in the story. The mind should be +kept in suspense as to the outcome, and the thoughts should centre and +play about these clearly projected aims. Such aims, floating constantly +in the van, are the objective points, towards which the energy of +thought is directed. Every good story-teller keeps such aims expressly +or tacitly in view. Novelists and dramatists hinge the interest of +readers or spectators upon this curiosity which is kept acutely +sensitive about results. Such an aim should be simple and concrete, not +vague or abstract, or general. It may be put in the form of a question +or statement or suggestion. It will be a good share of the teacher's +work in the preparation of the lesson to pick out and word these aims +which centre upon the leading topics of the lesson. For it is not enough +to have an aim at the beginning of a story, every chapter or separate +part of the story should have its aim. For aims are what stimulate +effort and keep up an attentive interest. + +(4) Self-activity and thoughtfulness in working out problems find their +best opportunity in development work. The book, in narrating a story, +cannot set problems, or, if it does, it forthwith assumes the task of +solving them. But in the oral development of a story the essential facts +and conditions may be clearly presented and the solution of the +difficulties, as in arithmetic, left largely to the ingenuity and +reasoning power of the children. In the story of Hiawatha's +boat-building the problem may be set to the children as to what +materials he will use in the construction of the canoe, how the parts +were put together, and how he might decorate it. Not that the children +will give the whole solution, but they can contribute much to it. In +"Robinson Crusoe" many such problems arise. How shall he conceal his +cave and house from possible enemies? Where can he store his powder to +keep it from the lightning and from dampness? In fact, nearly every step +in Crusoe's interesting career is such a problem or difficulty to battle +with. In Kingsley's "Greek Heroes" and other renderings of the Greek +myths, the heroes are young men who have shrewdness, courage, and +strength to overcome difficulties. To put these difficulties before +children in such a way that they by their own thinking may anticipate, +in part at least, the proper solutions, is one of the chief merits of +development work. The story of Ulysses is a series of shrewd +contrivances to master difficulties or to avoid misfortunes, so that his +name has become a synonym for shrewdness. The story itself, therefore, +furnishes prime opportunities to develop resourcefulness. How shall he +escape from the enraged Polyphemos in the cave? His invention of the +wooden horse before Troy; his escape from the sirens; his battle with +the suitors and others. The story of Aladdin has such interesting +inventions, and even the fairy tales and fables have many turns of +shrewdness and device where the children's wits may be stimulated. The +turning-points and centres of interest in all such stories are the true +wrestling-grounds of thought. To put them point-blank before children in +continuous narrative, without question or discussion, is not the way to +produce thoughtfulness and inventive power. Merely reading or telling +stories to children without comment is entertaining, but not educative +in the better sense. Children will have plenty of chances at home and in +the school library to read and hear stories, but it is the business of +the school to teach them how to think as they read, to produce a habit +of foreseeing, reviewing, comparing, and judging. The serious defect of +much of young people's reading, from ten years on, is its superficial, +transitory character. It lacks depth, strength, and permanency. It is +not many stories that can be orally treated in this thorough-going way, +but enough to give the right idea, and to cultivate habit and taste for +more thoughtful study. + +For skilled teachers, therefore, development lessons, within certain +limits, constitute a most important phase of oral instruction. It has +been sometimes assumed that a child acquires greater self-reliance and a +stronger exercise in self-activity by learning his lesson by himself +from a book. This is probably true in much of the arithmetic, where he +works out the solution of problems unaided; but in history and +literature the book work is chiefly memory work, and oftentimes becomes +of such parrot-like character as to be almost destitute of higher +educative qualities. It is advisable, therefore, to strengthen the +educative value of story work by giving it, through oral instruction, +this problem-solving character, this thought-stimulating, self-reliant +attitude of mind. + +7. When the teacher has shown his best skill in presenting and +discussing a section of a story, it then devolves upon the children to +show their knowledge and grasp of the subject by reproducing it. The +task of getting this well done requires, perhaps, as much skill and +force of character as all previous work of oral instruction. Obstacles +are met with at once. It is dull work to go back over the same thing +again, and the children soon get tired of it. They want something new +and more exciting, and press for the rest of the story. Many children +are at first deficient in power of attention and in language, so that +their efforts at reproduction are clumsy and poor. The interest is weak, +the attention of the children scattering, and the class is apt to go to +pieces under the strain of such dull work. This is an emergency where a +teacher needs both skill and force of character. (What a comfort it is +to a writer to have such a platitude as this to fall back upon, when he +gets a teacher into a place where nothing but his own devices can save +him.) + +There are, however, some hopeful considerations which may encourage a +teacher whose feet are not already too deep in the bog of +discouragement. + +Children enjoy the retelling of good stories with which they are +familiar. They will do it at home, even if they are not very proficient +at it in school. In every class there are some talkative children who +are always willing to make an effort. Again, it is not always difficult +to interest boys and girls in doing a thing that requires skill and +power, such as memory, attentiveness, and mastery of correct language. +The force of the teacher's influence and authority is worth something in +setting up high standards of proficiency. Indeed, children respect a +teacher who makes rigorous demands upon them. The retelling of stories +is, after all, no harder nor duller than the reciting of a lesson +learned out of a book. + +On the other hand, the whole effectiveness of oral work depends upon the +success of these oral reproductions. If children know that the teacher +is in earnest they will be more attentive, so as to be able to fulfil +the requirement. Such a reproduction reveals at once a child's correct +or incorrect grasp of the subject, and in either case the teacher knows +what to do next. Errors and misconceptions can be corrected and such +explanations or additional facts given as will clarify the subject. + +In such reproductions it is praiseworthy to help the children as little +as possible, to throw them back upon their own power as much as +possible. If the teacher constantly relieves them with suggestive +questions, they lean more and more upon her direction and lose all +self-reliant power of continuous narrative. No, let the teacher keep a +prudent silence, let her seal her lips, if necessary, in order to teach +boys and girls to stand on their own power of thought. + +Under this sort of discipline, kindly but rigorous, children will +gradually acquire confidence in manner, variety and choice of language, +in short, the ability to grasp clearly, hold firmly, and express +accurately the ideas which are presented to them. + +The whole purpose of this sort of instruction is not so much to see how +skilfully a teacher can present a lesson (though that is a fine art) as +to determine how well a boy or girl can master or express knowledge, can +learn to think and speak for himself. + +8. Some teachers despair of treating stories orally in large classes of +primary children. The task of holding together such wriggling varieties +of mental force and mental inertia is great. Some children are quick and +excitable, others are unresponsive and dull. Some are timid and +sensitive, others bold and demonstrative. Some are talkative and +irrepressible, others silent or listless. + +It is interesting to consider the function and value of a good child's +story to fit in to such varying needs and personalities. If the purpose +of the primary school is simply to keep children busy at some kind of +orderly work, there are other tamer employments than stories. But if the +idea is to put children's minds and bodies into healthy, vigorous +action, it would be difficult to find a more suitable instrument than a +fitting story. + +But a good primary teacher knows better than to establish brusque and +fixed standards of uniform success for all children. It will take much +time and patience to get anything like good oral responses from some +children. Like budding flowers some unfold their leaves and petals much +quicker at the touch of sunshine than others. But the sun does not stop +shining because all do not come out at once. The crudest efforts of +little children must be received with kindness and encouragement. The +power of reproducing thought and language is very slowly acquired by +many children. They are timidly self-conscious, distrustful of their own +powers, and have not learned to throw themselves with confidence upon +the good-will of their teachers. It may take months with some children +to overcome these obstacles, and to bring them to a confident use of +their powers, but it is the highest delight of a teacher to reach this +result. + +Some children, on the other hand, are so talkative and impulsive that +they will monopolize the time of the class to no good purpose. Their +enthusiasm requires tempering and their soberer thought strengthening. + +Another difficulty lies in the necessary effort to get correct English, +to gradually mould the language of children into correct forms. The +perverse habits of children, the influence of home and playground, the +inveterate preference for slang and crude, crass expressions, and their +sensitive pride against unusual refinements of speech, make the +cultivation of good English an uphill task. But roads must be laid out +through this wilderness of hills and valleys, stumps and brush. And +these roads must be gradually worked down into smooth highways of +travel. It is pioneer toil, requiring the steady use of axe and mattock +and spade. + +There is no kind of school training where good English can be cultivated +to better advantage, where the power of correct, independent, +well-articulated speech can be so well strengthened as in oral story. It +is in the close contact of this work that the teacher is dealing +directly with the original stock of experiences, ideas, and words of +every child, and with these as instruments of acquisition, helping him +to get a spirited introduction to the world of ideas in books and +literature. + +It is here that we can get a glimpse of that vast work which the +elementary schools of the country are doing in the way of Americanizing +the children of various nationalities and in giving them not only a +common language, but a common body of ideas rooted in the earliest +experiences of childhood and already laying hold of many of the richest +treasures of American history and of the world's literature. + +9. As children advance from the first year into the second and third +years the character of the oral story-telling gradually changes. +Children should acquire more power of attention, greater command of +language and ability to grasp and hold at one telling a larger section +of a story. The stories themselves become more complex, the questions +and problems set by the teacher more difficult. The necessity for sharp, +logical outlines of leading topics increases as one advances in the +grades. Older children can be held more rigidly to common standards of +excellence in thought and language. In this, however, the teacher should +always remember that children differ greatly in their natural powers of +expression, and that a forcing process will not be so successful as a +stimulating and encouraging attitude in the teacher. + +10. The good oral treatment of most stories leads the children to much +activity in material constructions. Where the minds of children are +brought to a healthy activity their bodies and physical energies are +pretty sure to be called into play to work out the suggested lines of +thought. "Robinson Crusoe" invariably leads the children to a multitude +of building and making enterprises, such as moulding vessels in clay, +constructing the barricade around his tent and cave, the making of +chairs and tables, etc. + +We have already noticed the readiness of children to make blackboard or +other drawings of interesting objects in a story, or to cut them out +with scissors from paper. This effort to experience the realities of +life more directly by making objects of common utility and necessity is +a characteristic and powerful tendency of childhood. It is commonly seen +in children about the house, when, for example, they must have wagons, +wheelbarrows, tools, or a set of garden implements with which to imitate +the employments of their elders. Parkman and others often speak of the +constant practice of little Indian boys with bow and arrows. + +Our purpose here is not to discuss this matter at length, but simply to +notice its prominent place in connection with the oral lesson in story. +The intense interest awakened in stories leads quickly to these efforts +at construction. What shall the teacher do with this powerful tendency +of children to carry over these ideas into the field of practical +constructive labor? To the thinker this tendency is perhaps the surest +proof of the value of the story. It does not stop with words nor ideas. +It pushes far into the region of voluntary, physical, and mental labor +and application of knowledge. + +The teacher who will make good use of this enterprising constructive +desire of children must know definitely about tools, boards, shops, +various industries, and technical trades, the special materials, +inventions, and devices of artisans in the common occupations, such as +farming, gardening, blacksmithing, the carpenter shop, the baker, the +quarry, the brick kiln, etc. + +It will not be strange if many teachers recoil, at first glance, from +this leap into industrial life. It suggests that the schoolhouse must +become a big machine shop, agricultural station, etc. The trouble is, of +course, that teachers do not feel themselves qualified in these things. +They know almost as little as the children about such matters, and have +much less inclination to know more. + +But our modern education is taking a decided turn in this direction, and +with good reason. The close acquaintance of our teachers with the common +occupations of life, with their materials, tools, machines, +constructions, and skill would supply them with a rich collection of +practical, concrete, illustrative knowledge of the greatest use in +instructing children. It is impossible to mention anything which would +be of more service to them in the details of instruction. The advantages +to the children of such teaching, re-enforced by this concrete detail of +common life, are so numerous and important as to deserve a special +effort. The benefit to teachers would quickly more than recompense them +for the labor involved. By occasional visits of observation in shops, +fields, stores, and factories, by assisting children in their +constructive efforts, the teacher will acquire knowledge, strength, and +confidence for such work. The unfamiliarity of teachers with these +everyday industrial matters, and their feeling of helplessness as +regards things not in the usual routine of school, are the real +hindrances to be overcome. + +There are other subjects in the school course, like home geography and +the early lessons in nature study, which deal more directly than stories +with these practical forms of industrial life and constructive +activity. They will also demand and cultivate an increasing knowledge of +this practical phase of life and education. The lessons in oral +story-telling stand thus closely linked with progressive experimental +knowledge in other studies. + +A brief retrospect and summary of the requirements necessary as a basis +of good oral treatment of stories will impress us with the skill and +resourcefulness needed by the teacher. + +1. First-hand experience with the realities of life. + +2. Intimate knowledge and sympathy with child life. + +3. The many-sided mastery of the story for teaching purposes. + +4. Skill in the use of simple, apt, and forcible language. + +5. Power of narrative and description, together with various forms of +graphic illustration, dramatic action, etc. + +6. Clear and simple outline of leading topics. + +7. Acquired power in the use of development methods, including question, +problem, discussion, aims, and the training of children to self-activity +and thoughtfulness. + +8. The successful oral reproduction of stories by the children. + +9. Tact in the handling of large classes, with children of differing +temperament and capacity, and the encouragement of timid children. + +10. Changing character of oral work in advancing grades. + +11. The need of insight and ability to supervise constructive +activities. + +These things include a wide range of clear knowledge and confident skill +and resource. Teachers need first of all to cultivate resourcefulness in +the use of their own knowledge and experience, and to add to both of +these as rapidly as circumstances permit. + +The mere reading of stories to children by the teacher, at odd times, on +Friday afternoons or on special occasions, is also of much value as a +means of interesting children in a wide range of good books. It is a +source of entertainment and culture, which, when judiciously and +skilfully employed, adds much to the educative power of the school. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +FIRST GRADE STORIES + + +FAIRY TALES + +Young children, as we all know, are delighted with stories, and in the +first grade they are still in this story-loving period. A good story is +the best medium through which to convey ideas and also to approach the +difficulties of learning to read. Such a story, Wilmann says, is a +pedagogical treasure. By many thinkers and primary teachers the fairy +stories have been adopted as best suited to the wants of the little folk +just emerging from the home. A series of fairy tales was selected by +Ziller, one of the leading Herbartians, as a centre for the school work +of the first year. These stories have long held a large place in the +home culture of children, especially of the more cultivated class. Now +it is claimed that what is good for the few whose parents may be +cultured and sympathetic, may be good enough for the children of the +common people and of the poor. Moreover, stories that have made the +fireside more joyous and blessed may perchance bring vivacity and +happiness into schoolrooms. The home and the school are coming closer +together. It is even said that well-trained, sympathetic primary +teachers may better tell and impress these stories than overworked +mothers and busy fathers. If these literary treasures are left for the +homes to discover and use, the majority of children will know little or +nothing of them. Many schools in this country have been using them in +the first grade in recent years with a pleasing effect. + +But what virtue lies concealed in these fairy myths for the children of +our practical and sensible age? Why should we draw from fountains whose +sources are back in the prehistoric and even barbarous past? To many +people it appears as a curious anachronism to nourish little children in +the first decade of this new century upon food that was prepared in the +tents of wandering tribes in early European history. What are the merits +of these stories for children just entering upon scholastic pursuits? +They are known to be generally attractive to children of this age, but +many sober-minded people distrust them. Are they really meat and drink +for the little ones? And not only so, but the choicest meat and drink, +the best food upon which to nourish their unfolding minds? + +Fairy tales are charged with misleading children by falsifying the truth +of things. And, indeed, they pay little heed to certain natural laws +that practical people of good sense always respect. A child, however, is +not so humdrum practical as these serious truth-lovers. A little girl +talks to her doll as if it had real ears. She and her little brother +make teacups and saucers out of acorns with no apparent compunctions of +conscience. They follow Cinderella to the ball in a pumpkin chariot, +transformed by magic wand, with even greater interest than we read of a +presidential ball. A child may turn the common laws of physical nature +inside out and not be a whit the worse for it. Its imagination can +people a pea-pod with little heroes aching for a chance in the big +world, or it can put tender personality into the trunk and branches of +the little pine tree in the forest. There are no space limits that a +child's fancy will not spring over in a twinkling. It can ride from star +to star on a broomstick, or glide over peaceful waters in a fairy boat +drawn by graceful swans. Without suggestion from mother or teacher, +children put life and personality into their playthings. Their +spontaneous delights are in this playful exercise of the fancy, in +masquerading under the guise of a soldier, bear, horse, or bird. The +fairy tale is the poetry of children's inner impulse and feeling; their +sparkling eyes and absorbed interest show how fitting is the contact +between these childlike creations of the poet and their own budding +thoughts. + +In discussing the qualities requisite in a fairy story to make it a +pedagogical treasure, Wilmann says:[1] "When it is laid down as a first +and indispensable requirement that a story be genuinely childlike, the +demand sounds less rigorous than it really is. It is easier to feel +than to describe the qualities which lend to a story the true childlike +spirit. It is not simplicity alone. A simple story that can be +understood by a child is not on that account childlike. The simplicity +must be the ingenuousness of the child. Close to this lies the abyss of +silliness into which so many children's stories tumble. A simple story +may be manufactured, but the quality of true simplicity will not be +breathed into it unless one can draw from the deeper springs of poetic +invention. It is not enough that the externals of the story, such as +situation and action, have this character, but the sensibilities and +motives of the actors must be ingenuous and childlike; they should +reflect the child's own feeling, wish, and effort. But it is not +necessary on this account that the persons of the story be children. +Indeed the king, prince, and princess, if they only speak and act like +children, are much nearer the child's comprehension than any of the +children paraded in a manufactured story, designed for the 'industrious +youth.' For just as real poetry so the real child's story lies beyond +reality in the field of fancy. With all its plainness of thought and +action, the genuine child's story knows how to take hold of the child's +fancy and set its wings in motion. And what a meaning has fancy for the +soul of the child as compared with that of the adult. For us the +activity of fancy only sketches arabesques, as it were, around the +sharply defined pictures of reality. The child thinks and lives in such +arabesques, and it is only gradually that increasing experience writes +among these arabesques the firmer outlines of things. The child's +thoughts float about playfully and unsteadily, but the fairy tale is +even lighter winged than they. It overtakes these fleeting summer birds +and wafts them together without brushing the dust from their wings. + + [1] Wilmann, _Paedagogische Vortraege_. + +"But fostering the activity of fancy in children is a means, not an end. +It is necessary to enter the field of fancy because the way to the +child's heart leads through the fancy. The effect upon the heart of the +child is the second mark and proof of the genuine child's story. We are +not advocates of the so-called moral stories which are so short-winded +as to stop frequently and rest upon some moral commonplace. Platitudes +and moral maxims are not designed to develop a moral taste in the minds +of young children, for they appeal to the understanding and will of the +pupil and presuppose what must be first built up and established. True +moral training is rather calculated to awaken in the child judgments of +right and wrong, of good and evil (on simple illustrative examples). Not +the impression left by a moralizing discourse is the germ of a love of +the good and right, but rather the child's judgment springing from its +own conviction. 'That was good.' 'What a mean thing!' + +"Those narratives have a moral force which introduce persons and acts +that are simple and transparent enough to let the moral light shine +through, that possess sufficient life to lend warmth and vigor to moral +judgments. No attempt to cover up or pass over what is bad, nor to paint +it in extravagant colors. For the bad develops the judgment no less than +the good. It remains only to have a care that a child's interest +inclines toward the good, the just, and the right." + +Wilmann summarizes the essentials of a good story, and then discusses +the fairy tales as follows:-- + +"There are then five requirements to be made of a real child's story: +Let it be truly childlike, that is, both simple and full of fancy; let +it form morals in the sense that it introduces persons and matters +which, while simple and lively, call out a moral judgment of approval or +disapproval; let it be instructive and lead to thoughtful discussions of +society and nature; let it be of permanent value, inviting perpetually +to a reperusal; let it be a connected whole, so as to work a deeper +influence and become the source of a many-sided interest. + +"The child's story which, on the basis of the aforenamed principles, can +be made the starting-point for all others, is Grimm's fairy tale of folk +lore. We are now called upon to show that the folk-lore fairy tale +answers to the foregoing requirements, and in this we shall see many a +ray of light cast back upon these requirements themselves. + +"Is the German fairy tale childlike? full of simplicity as well as of +fancy? A deeply poetic saying of Jacob Grimm may teach us the answer. +'There runs through these poetic fairy tales the same deep vein of +purity by reason of which children seem to us so wonderful and blessed. +They have, as it were, the same pale-blue, clear, and lustrous eyes +which can grow no more although the other members are still delicate and +weak and unserviceable to the uses of earth.' Klaiber quotes this +passage in his 'Das Maerchen und die Kindliche Phantasie,' and says with +truth and beauty, 'Yes; when we look into the trusting eyes of a child, +in which none of the world's deceit is to be read as yet, when we see +how these eyes brighten and gleam at a beautiful fairy tale, as if they +were looking out into a great, wide, beautiful wonder-world, then we +feel something of the deep connection of the fairy story with the +childish soul.' We will bring forward one more passage from a little +treatise, showing depth and warmth of feeling, which stealthily takes +away from the doubters their scruples about the justification of the +fairy tale. 'It is strange how well the fairy tale and the child's soul +mutually understand each other. It is as if they had been together from +the very beginning and had grown up together. As a rule the child only +deals with that part of real life which concerns itself and children of +its age. Whatever lies beyond this is distant, strange, unintelligible. +Under the leading of the fairy tale, however, it permits itself to be +borne over hill and valley, over land and sea, through sun and moon and +stars, even to the end of the world, and everything is so near, so +familiar, so close to its reach, as if they had been everywhere before, +just as if obscure pictures within had all at once become wonderfully +distinct. And the fairies all, and the king's sons, and the other +distinguished personages, whom it learns to know through the fairy +tale,--they are as natural and intelligible as if the child had moved +its life long in the highest circles, and had had princes and princesses +for its daily playmates. In a word, the world of the fairy tale is the +child's world, for it is the world of fancy.' + +"For this reason children live and move in fairyland, whether the +story be told by the mother or by the teacher in the primary school. +What attention as the story proceeds! What anxiousness when any +danger threatens the hero, be he king's son or a wheat-straw! What +grief, even to tears, when a wrong is practised upon some innocent +creature! And far from it that the joy in the fairy tale decrease +when it is told or discussed over again. Then comes the pleasure of +representation--bringing the story upon the stage. Though a child has +but to represent a flower in the meadow, the little face is transfigured +with the highest joy. + +"But the childish joy of fairy tales passes away; not so the inner +experiences which it has brought with it. I am not affirming too much +when I say that he who, as a child, has never listened with joy to the +murmuring and rustling of the fresh fountain of fairyland, will have no +ear and no understanding for many a deep stream of German poetry. It is, +after all, the modest fountain of fairy song which, flowing and uniting +with the now noisy, now soft and gently flowing, current of folk song, +and with the deep and earnest stream of tradition, which has poured such +a refreshing current over German poetry, out of which our most excellent +Uhland has drawn so many a heart-strengthening draught. + +"The spirit of the people finds expression in fairy tale as in tradition +and song, and if we were only working to lift and strengthen the +national impulse, a moral-educative instruction would have to turn again +and again to these creations of the people. What was asserted as a +general truth in regard to classical products, that they are a bond +between large and small, old and young, is true of national stories and +songs more than of anything else. They are at once a bond between the +different classes, a national treasure, which belongs alike to rich and +poor, high and low. The common school then has the least right of all to +put the fairy tale aside, now that few women versed in fairy lore, such +as those to whom Grimm listened, are left. + +"But does the fairy tale come of noble blood? Does it possess what we +called in the case of classics an old title of nobility? If we keep to +this figure of speech, we shall find that the fairy tale is not only +noble, but a very royal child among stories. It has ruled from olden +times, far and wide, over many a land. Hundreds of years gone, Grimm's +fairy stories lived in the people's heart, and not in Germany alone. If +our little ones listen intently to Aschenputtel, French children +delighted in Cindrillon, the Italian in Cenerentola, the Polish in +Kopcinszic. The fact that mediaeval story-books contain Grimm's tales is +not remarkable, when we reflect that traits and characteristics of the +fairy tale reach back beyond the Christian period; that Frau Holle is +Hulda, or Frigg, the heathen goddess; that 'Wishing-cap,' 'Little +Lame-leg,' and 'Table Cover Thyself,' etc., are made up out of the +attributes of German gods. Finally, such things as 'The Sleeping +Beauty,' which is the earth in winter sleep, that the prince of summer +wakes with kisses in springtime, point back to the period of primitive +Indo-German myth. + +"But in addition to the requirement of classical nobility, has the fairy +story also the moral tone which we required of the genuine child's +story? Does the fairy story make for morals? To be sure it introduces to +an ideal realm of simple moral relations. The good and bad are sharply +separated. The wrong holds for a time its supremacy, but the final +victory is with the good. And with what vigor the judgment of good and +evil, of right and wrong, is produced. We meet touching pictures, +especially of good-will, of faithfulness, characteristic and full of +life. Think only of the typical interchange of words between Lenchen and +Fundevogel. Said Lenchen, 'Leave me not and I will never leave thee.' +Said Fundevogel, 'Now and nevermore.' We are reminded of the Bible words +of the faithful Ruth, 'Whither thou goest I will go; where thou lodgest +I will lodge; where thou diest I will die and there will I be buried.' + +"Important for the life of children is the rigor with which the fairy +tale punishes disobedience and falsehood. Think of the suggestive +legendary story of the child which was visited again and again with +misfortune because of its obstinacy, till its final confession of guilt +brings full pardon. It is everywhere a Christian thread which runs +through so many fairy stories. It is love for the rejected, oppressed, +and abandoned. Whatever is loaded with burdens and troubles receives the +palm, and the first becomes the last. + +"The fairy story fulfils the first three requirements for a true child's +story. It is childlike, of lasting value, and fosters moral ideas. As to +unity it will suffice for children of six years (for this is, in our +opinion, the age at which it exerts its moral force) that the stories be +told in the same spirit, although they do not form one connected +narrative. If a good selection of fairy tales according to their inner +connection is made, so that frequent references and connections can be +found, the requirement of unity will be satisfied. + +"The fairy tale seems to satisfy least of all the demand that the true +child's story must be instructive, and serve as a starting-point for +interesting practical discussion. The fairy story seems too airy and +dreamy for this, and it might appear pedantry to load it with +instruction. But one will not be guilty of this mistake if one simply +follows up the ideas which the story suggests. When the story of a +chicken, a fox, or a swan is told it is fully in harmony with the +childish thought to inquire into the habits of these animals. When the +king is mentioned it is natural to say that we have a king, to ask where +he lives, etc. Just because the fairy tale sinks deep and holds a firm +and undivided attention, it is possible to direct the suggested thoughts +hither or thither without losing the pleasure they create. If one keeps +this aim in mind, instructive material is abundant. The fairy tale +introduces various employments and callings, from the king to the +farmer, tailor, and shoemaker. Many passages in life, such as betrothal, +marriage, and burial, are presented. Labors in the house, yard, and +field, and numerous animals, plants, and inanimate things are touched +upon. For the observation of animals and for the relation between them +and children, it is fortunate that the fairy tale presents them as +talking and feeling. Thereby the interest in real animals is increased +and heartlessness banished. How could a child put to the torture an +animal which is an old friend in fairy story? + +"I need only suggest in this place how the fairy story furnishes +material for exercises in oral language, for the division of words into +syllables and letters, and how the beginnings of writing, drawing, +number, and manual exercises may be drawn from the same source. + +"From the suggestions just made the following conclusions at least may +be reasonably drawn. A sufficient counterpoise to the fantastical nature +of the fairy tale can be given in a manner simple and childlike, if the +objects and relations involved in the narratives are brought clearly +before the senses and discussed so that instruction about common objects +and home surroundings is begun." + +In speaking of Shakespeare's early training in literature, Charles +Kingsley says:-- + +"I said there was a literary art before Shakespeare--an art more simple, +more childlike, more girlish, as it were, and therefore all the more +adapted for young minds, but also an art most vigorous and pure in point +of style: thoroughly fitted to give its readers the first elements of +taste, which must lie at the root of even the most complex aesthetics. + +"The old fairy superstition, the old legends and ballads, the old +chronicles of feudal war and chivalry, the earlier moralities and +mysteries and tragicomic attempts--these were the roots of his poetic +tree--they must be the roots of any literary education which can teach +us to appreciate him. These fed Shakespeare's youth; why should they not +feed our children's? Why indeed? That inborn delight of the young in all +that is marvellous and fantastic--has that a merely evil root? No +surely! It is a most pure part of their spiritual nature; a part of 'the +heaven which lies about us in our infancy'; angel-wings with which the +free child leaps the prison-walls of sense and custom, and the drudgery +of earthly life." + +Felix Adler says:[2] "But how shall we handle these _Maerchen_ and what +method shall we employ in putting them to account for our special +purpose? I have a few thoughts on this subject, which I shall venture to +submit in the form of counsels. + + [2] _Moral Instruction of Children._ D. Appleton & Co. + +"My _first counsel_ is: Tell the story; do not give it to the child to +read. There is an obvious practical reason for this. Children are able +to benefit by hearing fairy tales before they can read. But that is not +the only reason. It is the childhood of the race, as we have seen, that +speaks in the fairy story of the child of to-day. It is the voice of an +ancient far-off past that echoes from the lips of the storyteller. The +words 'once upon a time' open up a vague retrospect into the past, and +the child gets its first indistinct notions of history in this way. The +stories embody the tradition of the childhood of mankind. They have on +this account an authority all their own, not, indeed, that of literal +truth, but one derived from their being types of certain feelings and +longings which belong to childhood as such. The child, as it listens to +the _Maerchen_, looks up with wide-opened eyes to the face of the person +who tells the story, and thrills responsive as the touch of the earlier +life of the race thus falls upon its own. Such an effect, of course, +cannot be produced by cold type. Tradition is a living thing and should +use the living voice for its vehicle. + +"My _second counsel_ is also of a practical nature, and I make bold to +say quite essential to the successful use of the stories. Do not take +the moral plum out of the fairy-tale pudding, but let the child enjoy it +as a whole. Do not make the story taper toward a single point, the moral +point. You will squeeze all the juice out of it if you try. Do not +subordinate the purely fanciful and naturalistic elements of the story, +such as the love of mystery, the passion for roving, the sense of +fellowship with the animal world, in order to fix attention solely on +the moral element. On the contrary, you will gain the best moral effect +by proceeding in exactly the opposite way. Treat the moral element as an +incident, emphasize it indeed, but incidentally. Pluck it as a wayside +flower. How often does it happen that, having set out on a journey with +a distinct object in mind, something occurs on the way which we had not +foreseen, but which in the end leaves the deepest impression on the +mind.... + +"The value of the fairy tales is that they stimulate the imagination; +that they reflect the unbroken communion of human life with the life +universal, as in beasts, fishes, trees, flowers, and stars; and that +incidentally, but all the more powerfully on that account, they quicken +the moral sentiments. + +"Let us avail ourselves freely of the treasures which are thus placed at +our disposal. Let us welcome _das Maerchen_ into our primary course of +moral training, that with its gentle bands, woven of 'morning mist and +morning glory,' it may help to lead our children into bright realms of +the ideal." + +A selection of fairy stories suited to our first grade will differ from +a similar selection for foreign schools. There has been a disposition +among American teachers for several years to appropriate the best of +these stories for use in the primary schools. In different parts of the +country skilful primary teachers have been experimenting successfully +with these materials. There are many schools in which both teachers and +pupils have taken great delight in them. The effort has been made more +particularly with first grade children, the aim of teachers being to +lead captive the spontaneous interest of children from their first +entrance upon school tasks. Some of the stories used at the first may +seem light and farcical, but experiments with children are a better +test than the preconceived notions of adults who may have forgotten +their early childhood. The story of the "Four Musicians," for example, +is a favorite with the children. + +At the risk of repetition, and to emphasize some points of special +importance, we will review briefly the method of oral treatment and the +use of the stories in early primary reading. + +The children have no knowledge of reading or perhaps of letters. The +story is told with spirit by the teacher, no book being used in the +class. Question and interchange of thought between pupil and teacher +will become more frequent and suggestive as the teacher becomes more +skilled and sympathetic in her treatment of the story. In the early +months of school life the aim is to gain the attention and cooeperation +of children by furnishing abundant food for thought. Children are +required or at least encouraged to narrate the story or a part of it in +the class. They tell it at school and probably at home, till they become +more and more absorbed in it. Even the backward or timid child gradually +acquires courage and enjoys narrating the adventures of the peas in the +pod or those of the animals in the "Four Musicians." + +The teacher should acquire a vivid and picturesque style of narrating, +persistently weaving into the story, by query and suggestion, the +previous home experiences of the children. They are only too ready to +bring out these treasures at the call of the teacher. Often it is +necessary to check their enthusiasm. There is a need not simply for +narrative power, but for quick insight and judgment, so as to bring +their thoughts into close relation to the incidents. Nowhere in all the +schools is there such a call for close and motherly sympathy. The gentle +compulsion of kindness is required to inspire the timid ones with +confidence. For some of them are slow to open their delicate thought and +sensibility, even to the sunny atmosphere of a pleasant school. + +A certain amount of drill in reproduction is necessary, but fortunately +the stories have something that bears repetition with a growing +interest. Added to this is the desire for perfect mastery, and thus the +stories become more dear with familiarity. + +Incidentally, there should be emphasis of the instructive information +gathered concerning animals and plants that are actors in the scenes. +The commonest things of the house, field, and garden acquire a new and +lasting interest. Sometimes the teacher makes provision in advance of +the story for a deeper interest in the plants and animals that are to +appear. In natural science lessons she may take occasion to examine the +pea blossom, or the animals of the barnyard, or the squirrel or birds in +their cages. When, a few days later, the story touches one of these +animals, there is a quick response from the children. This relation +between history and natural science strengthens both. + +Many an opportunity should be given for the pupils to express a warm +sympathy for gentle acts of kindness or unselfishness. The happiness +that even a simple flower may bring to a home is a contagious example. +Kindly treatment of the old and feeble, and sympathy for the innocent +and helpless, spring into the child's own thought. The fancy, sympathy, +and interest awakened by a good fairy tale make it a vehicle by which, +consciously and unconsciously, many advantages are borne home to pupils. + +Among other things, it opens the door to the reading lesson; that is, to +the beginning efforts in mastering and using the symbols of written +language. The same story which all have learned to tell, they are now +about to learn to read from the board. One or two sentences are taken +directly from the lips of the pupils as they recall the story, and the +work of mastering symbols is begun at once with zest. First is the clear +statement of some vivid thought by a child, then a quick association of +this thought with its written symbols on the board. There is no readier +way of bringing thought and form into firm connection, that is, of +learning to read. Keep the child's fresh mental judgment and the written +form clearly before his mind till the two are wedded. Let the thought +run back and forth between them till they are one. + +After fixing two or three sentences on the board, attention is directed +more closely to the single words, and a rapid drill upon those in the +sentence is followed by a discovery and naming of them in miscellaneous +order. Afterward new sentences are formed by the teacher out of the same +words, written on the board, and read by the children. They express +different, and perhaps opposite forms of thought, and should exercise +the child's sense and judgment as well as his memory of words. An +energetic, lively, and successful drill of this kind upon sentences +drawn from stories has been so often witnessed, that its excellence is +no longer a matter of question. These exercises are a form of mental +activity in which children delight if the teacher's manner is vigorous +and pleasant. + +When the mastery of new word-forms as wholes is fairly complete, the +analysis may go a step farther. Some new word in the lesson may be taken +and separated into its phonic elements, as the word _hill_, and new +words formed by dropping a letter and prefixing letters or syllables, as +_ill_, _till_, _until_, _mill_, _rill_, etc. The power to construct new +words out of old materials should be cultivated all along the process of +learning to read. + +Still other school activities of children stand in close relation to the +fairy tales. They are encouraged to draw the objects and incidents in +which the story abounds. Though rude and uncouth, the drawings still +often surprise us with their truth and suggestiveness. The sketches +reveal the content of a child's mind as almost nothing else--his +misconceptions, his vague or clearly defined notions. They also furnish +his mental and physical activities an employment exactly suited to his +needs and wishes. + +The power to use good English and to express himself clearly and +fittingly is cultivated from the very first. While this merit is purely +incidental, it is none the less valuable. The persistence with which bad +and uncouth words and phrases are employed by children in our common +school, both in oral work and in composition, admonishes us to begin +early to eradicate these faults. It seems often as if intermediate and +grammar grades were more faulty and wretched in their use of English +than primary grades. But there can be no doubt that early and persistent +practice in the best forms of expression, especially in connection with +interesting and appropriate thought matter, will greatly aid +correctness, fluency, and confidence in speech. There is also a +convincing pedagogical reason why children in the first primary should +be held to the best models of spoken language. They enter the school +better furnished with oral speech than with a knowledge of any school +study. Their home experiences have wrought into close association and +unity, word and thing. So intimate and living is the relation between +word and thought or object, that a child really does not distinguish +between them. This is the treasure with which he enters school, and it +should not be wrapped up in a napkin. It should be unrolled at once and +put to service. Oral speech is the capital with which a child enters the +business of education; let him employ it. + +A retrospect upon the various forms of school activity which spring, in +practical work, from the use of a good fairy story, reveals how +many-sided and inspiriting are its influences. Starting out with a rich +content of thought peculiarly germane to childish interests, it calls +for a full employment of the language resources already possessed by the +children. In the effort to picture out, with pencil or chalk, his +conceptions of the story, a child exercises his fanciful and creative +wit, as well as the muscles of arms and eyes. A good story always finds +its setting in the midst of nature or society, and touches up with a +simple, homely, but poetic charm the commonest verities of human +experience. The appeal to the sensibility and moral judgment of pupils +is direct and spontaneous, because of the interests and sympathies that +are inherent in persons, and touch directly the childish fancy. And, +lastly, the irrepressible traditional demand that children shall learn +to read, is fairly and honestly met and satisfied. + +It is not claimed that fairy tales involve the sum total of primary +instruction, but they are an illustration of how rich will be the +fruitage of our educational effort if we consider first the highest +needs and interests of children, and allow the formal arts to drop into +their proper subordination. "The best is good enough for children," and +when we select the best, the wide-reaching connections which are +established between studies carry us a long step toward the now +much-bruited correlation and concentration of studies. + + +BOOKS OF MATERIALS FOR TEACHERS + + Classic Stories for the Little Ones. Public School Publishing Co., + Bloomington, Ill. + Grimm's Fairy Tales (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + German Fairy Tales (Grimm). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Grimm's German Household Tales. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Stories from Hans Andersen. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Andersen's Fairy Tales, two volumes. Part I and Part II. Ginn & Co. + Fairy Stories and Fables. American Book Co. + Fables and Folk Stories (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Rhymes and Jingles (Dodge). Scribner's Sons. + Fairy Stories for Children (Baldwin). American Book Co. + Songs and Stories. University Publishing Co. + Fairy Life. University Publishing Co. + Six Nursery Classics (O'Shea). D. C. Heath & Co. + Grimm's Fairy Tales. Educational Publishing Co. + A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Welch). D. C. Heath & Co. + Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Heart of Oak, No. I. D. C. Heath & Co. + Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co. + The Eugene Field Book. Scribner's Sons. + Moral Education of Children (Adler). D. Appleton & Co. Chapter VI. + on Fairy Tales. + Literature in Schools (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. Chapter + on Nursery Classics. + + +THE FABLES + +No group of stories has a more assured place in the literature for +children than the AEsop's "Fables." Some of the commonest have been +expanded into little stories which are presented orally to children in +the first school year, as "The Lion and the Mouse," "The Ants and the +Grasshoppers," "The Dog and his Shadow," and others. They are so simple +and direct that they are used alongside the fairy tales for the earliest +instruction of children. + +As soon as children have acquired the rudiments of reading the AEsop's +"Fables" are commonly used in the second and third school year as a +reading book, and all the early reading books are partly made up from +this material. + +If we inquire into the qualities of these stories which have given them +such a universal acceptance, we shall find that they contain in a +simple, transparent form a good share of the world's wisdom. More recent +researches indicate that they originated in India, and reached Europe +through Persia and Arabia, being ascribed to AEsop. This indicates that +like most early literature of lasting worth, they are products of the +folk-mind rather than of a single writer, and it is the opinion of Adler +that they express the ripened wisdom of the people under the forms of +Oriental despotism. The sad and hopeless submission to a stronger power +expressed by some of the fables, it is claimed, unfits them for use in +our freer life to-day. + +There are certain points in which their attractiveness to children is +clearly manifest. The actors in the stories are usually animals, and the +ready interest and sympathy of children for talking animals are at once +appealed to. In all the early myths and fairy tales, human life seems to +merge into that of the animals, as in "Hiawatha," and the fables +likewise are a marked expression of this childlike tendency. + +Adler says: "The question may be asked why fables are so popular with +boys. I should say because schoolboy society reproduces in miniature, to +a certain extent, the social conditions which are reflected in the +fables. Among unregenerate schoolboys there often exists a kind of +despotism, not the less degrading because petty. The strong are pitted +against the weak--witness the fagging system in English schools--and +their mutual antagonism produces in both the characteristic vices which +we have noted above." A literature which clearly pictures these +relations so that they can be seen objectively by the children may be of +the greatest social service in education. + +Adler says further: "The psychological study of schoolboy society has +been only begun, but even what lies on the surface will, I think, bear +out this remark. Now it has become one of the commonplaces of +educational literature that the individual of to-day must pass through +the same stages of evolution as the human race as a whole. But it should +not be forgotten that the advance of civilization depends on two +conditions: first, that the course of evolution be accelerated, that the +time allowed to the successive stages be shortened; and, secondly, that +the unworthy and degrading elements which entered into the process of +evolution in the past, and at the time were inseparable from it, be now +eliminated. Thus the fairy tales which correspond to the myth-making +epoch in human history must be purged of the dross of superstition which +still adheres to them, and the fables which correspond to the age of +primitive despotisms must be cleansed of the immoral elements they still +embody."[3] + + [3] Adler, _Moral Instruction of Children_, pp. 88-89. + +The peculiar form of moral teaching in the "Fables" suits them +especially to children. A single trait of conduct, like greediness or +selfishness, is sharply outlined in the story and its results made +plain. "We have seen nothing finer in teaching than the building up of +these little stories in conversational lessons--first to illustrate some +mental or moral trait; then to detach the idea from its story picture, +and find illustrations for it in some other act or incident. And nothing +can be more gratifying as a result, than, through the transparency of +childish hearts, to watch the growth of right conduct from the impulses +derived from the teaching; and so laying the foundations of future +rightness of character."[4] + + [4] Introduction to Stickney's _AEsop's Fables_. Ginn & Co. + +The moral ideas inculcated by the fables are usually of a practical, +worldly-wisdom sort, not high ideals of moral quality, not virtue for +its own sake, but varied examples of the results of rashness and folly. +This is, perhaps, one reason why they are so well suited to the immature +moral judgments of children. + +Adler says: "Often when a child has committed some fault, it is useful +to refer by name to the fable that fits it. As, when a boy has made room +in his seat for another, and the other crowds him out, the mere mention +of the fable of the porcupine is a telling rebuke; or the fable of the +hawk and the pigeons may be called to mind when a boy has been guilty of +mean excuses. On the same principle that angry children are sometimes +taken before a mirror to show them how ugly they look, the fable is a +kind of mirror for the vices of the young." Again: "The peculiar value +of the fables is that they are instantaneous photographs which +reproduce, as it were, in a single flash of light, some one aspect of +human nature, and which, excluding everything else, permit the attention +to be entirely fixed on that one." + +But the value of the fable reaches far beyond childhood. The frequency +with which it is cited in nearly all the forms of literature, and its +aptness to express the real meaning of many episodes in real life, in +politics and social events, in peace and war, show the universality of +the truth it embodies. A story which engraves a truth, as it were with a +diamond point, upon a child's mind, a truth which will swiftly interpret +many events in his later life, deserves to take a high place among +educative influences. + + +FABLES AND NATURE MYTHS + + Scudder's Fables and Folk Stories. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + AEsop's Fables (Stickney). Ginn & Co. + Book of Legends (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Stories for Children (Lane). The American Book Co. + A Child's Garden of Verses (Stevenson). Scribner's Sons. + AEsop's Fables. Educational Publishing Co. + The Book of Nature Myths (Holbrook). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + The Moral Instruction of Children (Adler), Chapters VII and VIII. + D. Appleton & Co. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SECOND GRADE STORIES + + +"ROBINSON CRUSOE" + +In selecting suitable literature for children of the second grade, we +follow in the steps of a number of distinguished writers and teachers +and choose an English classic--"Robinson Crusoe." Rousseau gave this +book his unqualified approval, and said that it would be the first, and, +for a time, the only book that Emile should read. The Herbartians have +been using it a number of years, while many American teachers have +employed it for oral work in second grade, in a short school edition. In +one sense, the book needs no introduction, as it has found its way into +every nook and corner of the world. Originally a story for adults, it +has reached all, and illustrated Christmas editions, designed even for +children from three years and upward, are abundant. To the youth of all +lands, it has been, to say the least, a source of delight, but it has +been regarded as a book for the family and home. What would happen +should the schoolmaster lay his hand on this treasure and desecrate it +to school purposes! We desire to test this classic work on the side of +its pedagogical value and its adaptation to the uses of regular +instruction. If it is really unrivalled as a piece of children's +literature, perhaps it has also no equal for school purposes. + +In making the transition from the fairy tale to "Robinson Crusoe," an +interesting difference or contrast may be noticed. Wilmann says:[5] +"'Crusoe' is at once simple, and plain, and fanciful; to be sure, in the +latter case, entirely different from the fairy tale. In the fairy story +the fancy seldom pushes rudely against the boundaries of the real world. +But otherwise in 'Crusoe.' Here it is the practical fancy that is +aroused, if this expression appear not contradictory. What is Crusoe to +do now? How can he help himself? What means can he invent? Many of the +proposals of the children will have to be rejected. The inexorable 'not +possible' shoves a bolt before the door. The imagination is compelled to +limit itself to the task of combining and adjusting real things. The +compulsion of things conditions the progress of the story. 'Thoughts +dwell together easily, but things jostle each other roughly in space.'" + + [5] Wilmann, _Paedagogische Vortraege_. + +There are other striking differences between "Crusoe" and the folk-lore +stories, but in this contrast we are now chiefly concerned. After +reaching the island, he is checked and limited at every step by the +physical laws imposed by nature. Struggle and fret as he may against +these limits, he becomes at last a philosopher, and quietly takes up the +struggle for existence under those inexorable conditions. The child of +seven or eight is vaguely acquainted with many of the simple employments +of the household and of the neighborhood. Crusoe also had a vague memory +of how people in society in different trades and occupations supply the +necessaries and comforts of life. Even the fairy stories give many hints +of this kind of knowledge, but Robinson Crusoe is face to face with the +sour facts. He is cut off from help and left to his own resources. The +interest in the story is in seeing how he will shift for himself and +exercise his wits to insure plenty and comfort. With few tools and on a +barbarous coast, he undertakes what men in society, by mutual exchange +and by division of labor, have much difficulty in performing. Crusoe +becomes a carpenter, a baker and cook, a hunter, a potter, a fisher, a +farmer, a tailor, a boatman, a stock-raiser, a basket-maker, a +shoemaker, a tanner, a fruit-grower, a mason, a physician. And not only +so, but he grapples with the difficulties of each trade or occupation in +a bungling manner because of inexperience and lack of skill and exact +knowledge. He is an experimenter and tester along many lines. The entire +absence of helpers centres the whole interest of this varied struggle in +one person. It is to be remembered that Crusoe is no genius, but the +ordinary boy or man. He has abundant variety of needs such as a child +reared under civilized conditions has learned to feel. The whole range +of activities, usually distributed to various classes and persons in +society, rests now upon his single shoulders. If he were an expert in +all directions, the task would be easier, but he has only vague +knowledge and scarcely any skill. The child, therefore, who reads this +story, by reason of the slow, toilsome, and bungling processes of Crusoe +in meeting his needs, becomes aware how difficult and laborious are the +efforts by which the simple, common needs of all children are supplied. + +A reference to the different trades and callings that Crusoe assumes +will show us that he is not dealing with rare and unusual events, but +with the common, simple employments that lie at the basis of society in +all parts of the world. The carpenter, the baker, the farmer, the +shoemaker, etc., are at work in every village in every land. Doubtless +this is one reason why the story acquires such a hold in the most +diverse countries. The Arab or the Chinese boy, the German or American +child, finds the story touching the ordinary facts of his own +surroundings. Though the story finds its setting in a far-away, lonely +island in tropical seas, Crusoe is daily trying to create the objects +and conditions of his old home in England. But these are the same +objects that surround every child; and therefore, in reading "Robinson +Crusoe," the pupil is making an exhaustive and interesting study of his +own home. The presence of a tropical vegetation and of a strange climate +does not seriously impair this fact. The skill of a great literary +artist appears in his power to create a situation almost devoid of +common comforts and blessings and then in setting his hero to work to +create them by single-handed effort. + +It will hardly be questioned that the study of the home and home +neighborhood by children is one of the large and prominent problems in +education. Out of their social, economic, and physical environment +children get the most important lessons of life. Not only does the home +furnish a varied fund of information that enables them to interpret +books, and people, and institutions, as they sooner or later go out into +the world, but all the facts gathered by experience and reading in +distant fields must flow back again to give deeper meaning to the labors +and duties which surround each citizen in his own home. But society with +its commerce, education, and industries, is an exceedingly complex +affair. The child knows not where to begin to unravel this endless +machinery of forms and institutions. In a sense he must get away from or +disentangle himself from his surroundings in order to understand them. +There are no complex conditions surrounding Crusoe, and he takes up the +labors of the common trades in a simple and primitive manner. Physical +and mental effort are demanded at every step, from Crusoe and from the +children. Many of his efforts involve repeated failure, as in making +pottery, in building a boat, while some things that he undertakes with +painful toil never attain success. The lesson of toil and hardship +connected with the simple industries is one of great moment to children. +Our whole social fabric is based on these toils, and it is one of the +best results of a sound education to realize the place and importance of +hard work. + +It scarcely needs to be pointed out that Crusoe typifies a long period +of man's early history, the age when men were learning the rudiments of +civilization by taking up the toils of the blacksmith, the +agriculturist, the builder, the domesticator of animals and plants. Men +emerged from barbarism as they slowly and painfully gained the mastery +over the resources of nature. Crusoe is a sort of universal man, +embodying in his single effort that upward movement of men which has +steadily carried them to the higher levels of progress. It has been said +with some truth that Robinson Crusoe is a philosophy of history. But we +scarcely need such a high-sounding name. To the child he is a very +concrete, individual man, with very simple and interesting duties. + +In a second point the author of "Robinson Crusoe" shows himself a +literary master. There is an intense and naive realism in his story. +Even if one were so disposed, it would require a strong effort to break +loose from the feeling that we are in the presence of real experiences. +There is a quiet but irresistible assumption of unvarnished and even +disagreeable fact in the narrative. But it is useless to describe the +style of a book so familiar. Its power over youthful fancy and feeling +has been too often experienced to be doubted. The vivid interest which +the book awakens is certain to carry home whatever lessons it may teach +with added force. So great is this influence that boys sometimes imitate +the efforts of Crusoe by making caves, building ovens, and assuming a +style of dress and living that approximates Crusoe's state. This +supplies to teachers a hint of some value. The story of Crusoe should +lead to excursions into the home neighborhood for the purpose of a +closer examination of the trades and occupations there represented. An +imitation of his labors may also be encouraged. The effort to mould and +bake vessels from potter's clay, the platting of baskets from willow +withes, the use of tools in making boxes or tables may be attempted far +enough to discover how lacking in practical ability the children are. +This will certainly teach them greater respect for manual skill. + +From the previous discussion it might appear that we regard the story of +Crusoe as technological and industrial rather than moral. But it would +be a mistake to suppose that a book is not moral because it is not +perpetually dispensing moral platitudes. Most men's lives are mainly +industrial. The display of moral qualities is only occasional and +incidental. The development of moral character is coincident with the +labors and experiences of life and springs out of them, being manifested +by the spirit with which one acts toward his fellow-men. But Crusoe was +alone on his island, and there might seem to be no opportunity to be +moral in relation to others. Society, to be sure, was conspicuous by its +absence. But the intense longing with which he thought of the home and +companionships lost is perhaps the strongest sentiment in the book. His +loneliness brings out most vividly his true relation to home and +friends. + +His early life, till the shipwreck, was that of a wayward and reckless +youth, disobedient to parents and seemingly without moral scruples. Even +during the first months upon the island there appears little moral +change or betterment. But slowly the bitter experiences of his lonely +life sober him. He finds a Bible, and a fit of sickness reveals the +distresses that may lie before him. When once the change has set in, it +is rapid and thorough. He becomes devout, he longs to return to his +parents and atone for his faults. A complete reformation of his moral +disposition is effected. If one will take the pains to read the original +"Robinson Crusoe" he will find it surprisingly serious and moral in its +tone. He devotes much time to soliloquizing on the distresses of his +condition and upon the causes which have brought him to misery. He +diagnoses his case with an amount of detail that must be tedious to +children. The fact that these parts of the book often leave little +direct impression upon children is proof that they are chiefly engaged +with the adventure and physical embarrassments of Crusoe. For the +present it is sufficient to observe that the story is deeply and +intensely moral both in its spirit and in the changes described in +"Crusoe." + +We are next led to inquire whether the industrial and moral lessons +contained in this story are likely to be extracted from it by a boy or +girl who reads it alone, without the aid of a teacher. Most young +readers of "Crusoe" are carried along by the interesting adventure. It +is a very surprising and entertaining story. But children even less than +adults are inclined to go deeper than the surface and draw up hidden +treasures. De Foe's work is a piece of classic literature. But few +people are inclined to get at the deeper meaning and spirit of a +classical masterpiece unless they go through it in companionship with a +teacher who is gifted to disclose its better meaning. This is true of +any classical product we might mention. It should be the peculiar +function of the school to cultivate a taste, and an appreciative taste, +for the best literature; not by leaving it to the haphazard home reading +of pupils, but by selecting the best things adapted to the minds of +children and then employing true teaching skill to bring these +treasures close to the hearts and sympathies of children. Many young +people do not read "Robinson Crusoe" at all; many others do not +appreciate its better phases. The school will much improve its work by +taking for its own this best of children's stories, and by extending and +deepening the children's appreciation of a classic. + +The story of Robinson Crusoe is made by the Herbartians the nucleus for +the concentration of studies in the second year. This importance is +given to it on account of its strong moral tone and because of its +universal typical character in man's development. Without attempting a +solution of the problem of concentration at this juncture, we should at +least observe the relations of this story to the other studies. Wilmann +says: "The everywhere and nowhere of the fairy tale gives place to the +first geographical limitations. The continents, the chief countries of +Europe, come up, besides a series of geographical concepts such as +island, coast, bay, river, hill, mountain, sea, etc. The difference in +climate is surprising. Crusoe fears the winter and prepares for it, but +his fear is needless, for no winter reaches his island." We have already +observed its instructive treatment of the common occupations which +prepare for later geographical study, as well as for natural science. + +Many plants and animals are brought to notice which would furnish a good +beginning for natural science lessons. It is advisable, however, to +study rather those home animals and plants which correspond best to the +tropical products or animals in the lessons. Tropical fruits, the +parrot, and the goat we often meet at home, but in addition, the sheep, +the ox, the mocking-bird, the woodpecker, our native fruits and grains, +and the fish, turtles, and minerals of the home, may well be suggested +and studied in science lessons parallel with the life of Crusoe. + +Following upon the oral treatment and discussion of "Robinson Crusoe" +the children are easily led to like efforts at construction, as, for +instance, the making of a raft, the building of the cave and stockade, +the making of chairs and tables, the moulding of jars and kettles out of +clay, the weaving of baskets, the preparation and cooking of foods, the +planting of grains, the construction of an oven or house, boat building, +and other labors of Crusoe in providing for his wants. + +It is quite customary now in second grade to set the children to work in +these efforts to solve Crusoe's problems, so that they, by working with +actual materials, may realize more fully the difficulties and trials to +which he was subjected. In close connection with these constructive +efforts are the drawings of the scenes of the story, such as the +shipwreck, the stockade, the boat, the map of the island, and some of +the later events of the story. A still further means of giving reality +to the events is to dramatize some of the scenes between Friday and +Crusoe, and to dress and equip these and other persons in the story in +fitting manner. The children gladly enter into such dramatic action. +These various forms of drawing, action, and constructive work are in +close connection with the home studies of industries and +occupations,--farming, gardening, carpenter and blacksmith shops, +weaving, cooking, bakeries, and excursions to shops--which follow the +Crusoe story in the study of home geography in the third grade. + +Although the story should be given and discussed orally, the children +should also read it later as a part of the regular reading exercise of +the course. Instead of suffering from this repetition, their interest +will only be increased. Classical products usually gain by repetition. +The facts are brought out more clearly and the deeper meaning is +perceived. To have the oral treatment of a story precede its reading by +some weeks or months produces an excellent effect upon the style of the +reading. The thought being familiar, and the interest strong, the +expression will be vigorous and natural. Children take a pride in +reading a story which they at first must receive orally for lack of +reading power. + +The same advantageous drill in the use of good English accrues to the +Crusoe story that was observed in the fairy tales. There is abundant +opportunity for oral narrative and description. + +The use of the pencil and chalk in graphic representation should be +encouraged both in teacher and in pupils. Thus the eye becomes more +accurate in observation and the hand more free and facile in tracing the +outlines of the interesting forms studied. The use of tools and +materials in construction gives ideas an anchorage, not only in the +brain, but even in the nerves and muscles. + +In thus glancing over the field we discover the same many-sided and +intimate relation with other school studies, as in the previous grade. +In fact, "Crusoe" is the first extended classical masterpiece which is +presented to the children as a whole. Such parts of the story as are of +most pedagogical value should be simplified and woven together into a +continuous narrative. That part of the story which precedes the +shipwreck may be reduced to a few paragraphs which bring out clearly his +early home surroundings, his disobedience and the desertion of his +parents, and the voyage which led to his lonely life upon the island. +The period embraced in his companionless labors and experiences +constitutes the important part for school uses. A few of the more +important episodes following the capture of Friday and his return home +may be briefly told. We deem it a long step forward to get some of our +great classical masterpieces firmly embedded in the early years of our +school course. It will contribute almost as much to the culture and +stimulation of teachers as of pupils. + +The method of handling this narrative before the class will be similar +to that of the fairy tales. A simple and vivid recital of the facts, +with frequent questions and discussions, so as to draw the story closer +to the child's own thought and experience, should be made by the +teacher. Much skill in illustrative device, in graphic description, in +diagram or drawing, in the appeal to the sense experiences of the +pupils, is in demand. The excursion to places of interest in the +neighborhood suggested by the story begins to be an important factor of +the school exercises. As children grow older they acquire skill and +confidence in oral narrative, and should be held to greater independence +in oral reproductions. + +One of the best school editions of "Robinson Crusoe" is published by +Ginn & Co. + +A simple edition for second grade is published by the Public School +Publishing Co. + +The teacher should be supplied with one of the larger, fuller editions +of "Robinson Crusoe," like that of Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., in the +Riverside Literature Series. It furnishes a much fuller detail of +knowledge for the teacher's use. It will also be of great advantage for +classroom use to possess an illustrated edition like that of George +Routledge & Sons. + +The full treatment of this story, first in simple, oral narrative, later +by its use as a reading book, and later still by the child reading the +complete edition for himself in private, illustrates the intensive +concentration of thought and constructive activity upon a great piece +of literature as opposed to a loose and superficial treatment. Such a +piece of work should remain for life a source of deeper thought, +feeling, and experience. + + +OTHER EDITIONS + + Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. American Book Co. + Robinson Crusoe. Lee and Shepard. + Robinson Crusoe for Youngest Readers. Educational Pub. Co. + Robinson Crusoe. University Publishing Co. + De Foe's Robinson Crusoe (Hale). Ginn & Co. + De Foe's Robinson Crusoe. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + + +"HIAWATHA" + +The story of Hiawatha has been much used for oral treatment in primary +grades, and as a basis for exercises in learning to read. Later the +complete poem has been much read in third, fourth, or fifth grade as a +piece of choice literature. + +A story which is growing so rapidly in favor with primary teachers may +explain our effort to determine its educational value. + +That the story begins with the early childhood of Hiawatha and describes +his home and early training at the feet of Nokomis, is at least one +point in its favor. + + By the shores of Gitche Gumee, + By the shining Big-Sea-Water, + Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, + Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis. + Dark behind it rose the forest, + Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees, + Rose the firs with cones upon them; + Bright before it beat the water, + Beat the clear and sunny water, + Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water. + There the wrinkled, old Nokomis + Nursed the little Hiawatha, + Rocked him in his linden cradle, + Bedded soft in moss and rushes, + Safely bound with reindeer sinews. + +The traditions and stories he learned from the lips of Nokomis will +remind children of their own home life, while his companionship with +birds and animals will touch them in a sympathetic place. + + Then the little Hiawatha + Learned of every bird its language, + Learned their names and all their secrets, + How they built their nests in Summer, + Where they hid themselves in Winter, + Talked with them whene'er he met them, + Called them "Hiawatha's Chickens." + +The games and exercises of his youth will remind them of their own +sports and introduce them to Indian life. This home of Hiawatha, and the +description of his childhood, are a happy introduction to the simple +surroundings of Indian life on the shores of the northern sea. + +Primitive Indian modes of life, traditions and myths, appeal naturally +to children, and the whole story has this setting of early simplicity +which adapts it in many ways to child study. The Indian nature myths, +which in themselves are attractive, are here woven into a connected +series by their relation to Hiawatha in the training of his childhood +and in the exploits of his manhood. + +The number of pure fairy tales scattered through the story adapts it +especially for young children, while the descriptions of home customs, +feasts, weddings, merrymaking, and games, show the happier side of their +life. + + Ye who love a nation's legends, + Love the ballads of a people, + That like voices from afar off + Call to us to pause and listen, + Speak in tones so plain and childlike, + Scarcely can the ear distinguish + Whether they are sung or spoken;-- + Listen to this Indian Legend, + To this song of Hiawatha! + Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple, + Who have faith in God and Nature, + Who believe, that in all ages + Every human heart is human, + That in even savage bosoms + There are longings, yearnings, strivings + For the good they comprehend not, + That the feeble hands and helpless, + Groping blindly in the darkness, + Touch God's right hand in that darkness, + And are lifted up and strengthened;-- + Listen to this simple story, + To this Song of Hiawatha! + +The description of husking time is such a pleasing scene, while the +picture writing of the Indians, their totems and rude drawings, are in +harmony with their traditions and religion. + + On the border of the forest, + Underneath the fragrant pine-trees, + Sat the old men and the warriors + Smoking in the pleasant shadow. + In uninterrupted silence + Looked they at the gamesome labor + Of the young men and the women; + Listened to their noisy talking, + To their laughter and their singing, + Heard them chattering like the magpies, + Heard them laughing like the blue jays, + Heard them singing like the robins. + And whene'er some lucky maiden + Found a red ear in the husking, + Found a maize-ear red as blood is, + "Nushka!" cried they all together, + "Nushka! you shall have a sweetheart, + You shall have a handsome husband!" + "Ugh!" the old men all responded + From their seats beneath the pine-trees. + + And the Jossakeeds, the Prophets, + The Wabenos, the Magicians, + And the Medicine-men, the Medas, + Painted upon bark and deer-skin + Figures for the songs they chanted, + For each song a separate symbol, + Figures mystical and awful, + Figures strange and brightly colored; + And each figure had its meaning, + Each some magic song suggested. + +One of the most striking features of this story is its setting in +nature. More than any other piece of literature now used in the school, +it is redolent of fields and forest. + + Should you ask me, whence these stories, + Whence these legends and traditions, + With the odors of the forest, + With the dew and damp of meadows, + With the curling smoke of wigwams, + With the rushing of great rivers, + With their frequent repetitions, + And their wild reverberations, + As of thunder in the mountains? + I should answer, I should tell you, + "From the forests and the prairies, + From the great lakes of the Northland, + From the land of the Ojibways, + From the land of the Dacotahs, + From the mountains, moors, and fenlands, + Where the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, + Feeds among the reeds and rushes." + + Should you ask where Nawadaha + Found these songs, so wild and wayward, + Found these legends and traditions, + I should answer, I should tell you, + "In the birds'-nests of the forest, + In the lodges of the beaver, + In the hoof-prints of the bison, + In the eyry of the eagle! + All the wild-fowl sang them to him, + In the moorlands and the fenlands, + In the melancholy marshes; + Chetowaik, the plover, sang them, + Mahng, the loon, the wild-goose, Wawa, + The blue heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, + And the grouse, the Mushkodasa!" + +This description of primitive man is as complete an absorption into his +natural surroundings as is possible. His food and clothing, his tents +and boats, his weapons and war gear, are drawn directly from nature's +first supplies, and man, in this case, seems almost a part of nature, so +completely are his thoughts and activities determined and colored by his +environment. Like the animals, in their protective coloring, he becomes +an undistinguishable part of his surroundings. His nature myths and +superstitions are but phases and expressions of the contact of his crude +mind with forces and objects in nature. In this respect there are many +interesting suggestions of similar interpretations among the Norse and +Greek mythologies. + +The close and friendly contact of Hiawatha with trees and animals, his +companionship with the squirrel, the woodpecker, and the beaver, his +talking acquaintance with trees of the forest, with the fishes in the +Big-Sea-Water, and with the masters of the winds, the storm, and the +thunder, make him an interesting guide for the children among the realms +of nature. + + Ye who love the haunts of nature, + Love the sunshine of the meadow, + Love the shadow of the forest, + Love the wind among the branches, + And the rain-shower and the snow-storm, + And the rushing of great rivers + Through their palisades of pine-trees, + And the thunder in the mountains, + Whose innumerable echoes + Flap like eagles in their eyries;-- + Listen to these wild traditions, + To this Song of Hiawatha! + +A happy, sympathetic love for the sights and sounds in nature is a +fortunate beginning of nature lore. The imaginative interpretations are +common to all the early races and in full harmony with the temper of +childhood. Even from the standpoint of nature study, this early poetic +joy in nature descriptions is profitable. The matter-of-fact, analytic +study of natural science in succeeding years need not begrudge the +children this happiness, this interpretative play of the imagination, +this music of field and forest. In early childhood, nature and poetry +are one, and as Lowell says, "Let us not go about to make life duller +than it is." + +The simplicity and beauty of the language and figure of speech make many +parts of this poem especially appropriate for children. + + Young and beautiful was Wabun; + He it was who brought the morning, + He it was whose silver arrows + Chased the dark o'er hill and valley; + He it was whose cheeks were painted + With the brightest streaks of crimson, + And whose voice awoke the village, + Called the deer, and called the hunter. + + He meanwhile sat weary waiting + For the coming of Mondamin, + Till the shadows, pointing eastward, + Lengthened over field and forest, + Till the sun dropped from the heaven, + Floating on the waters westward, + As a red leaf in the Autumn + Falls and floats upon the water, + Falls and sinks into its bosom. + + And the pleasant water-courses, + You could trace them through the valley, + By the rushing in the Spring-time, + By the alders in the Summer. + By the white fog in the Autumn, + By the black line in the Winter. + +The simple music and rhythm of the poetic form is so delightful to +children that they absorb whole passages into their memory without +conscious effort. The mere re-reading of parts of the poem to little +children under six years will often produce this happy result. A little +girl of three years picked up, among others, this passage:-- + + Dark behind it rose the forest, + Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees, + Rose the firs with cones upon them; + Bright before it beat the water, + Beat the clear and sunny water, + Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water. + +The repetitions of the same or similar passages, so common throughout +the poem, is a successful appeal to children's favor. It gives the story +a sort of Mother Goose flavor which is delightful. + +While the story centres in Hiawatha, it has a variety of interesting +personalities, giving expression to the striking features of this +primitive society. Hiawatha's loved ones, Minnehaha and old Nokomis, +stand first, and his chosen friends are next. + + Two good friends had Hiawatha, + Singled out from all the others, + Bound to him in closest union, + And to whom he gave the right hand + Of his heart in joy and sorrow; + Chibiabos, the musician, + And the very strong man, Kwasind. + + And these two, as I have told you, + Were the friends of Hiawatha, + Chibiabos, the musician, + And the very strong man, Kwasind. + Long they lived in peace together, + Spake with naked hearts together, + Pondering much and much contriving + How the tribes of men might prosper. + +In connection with these persons is a most pleasing series of +adventures, bringing to notice those heroic qualities which children +love to witness. The very strong man, Kwasind, is a fitting companion +in their thoughts to Samson and Hercules; and Chibiabos, + + He the best of all musicians, + He the sweetest of all singers, + +has had many a prototype since the days of Orpheus. + +Pau-Puk-Keewis, with his dancing and tricks, will also prove a curious +character, something like Proteus of old. + + You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis + He, the handsome Yenadizze, + Whom the people called the Storm Fool, + Vexed the village with disturbance; + You shall hear of all his mischief, + And his flight from Hiawatha, + And his wondrous transmigrations, + And the end of his adventures. + +The character of Hiawatha, as of the benefactor, of one devoted, with +high purpose, to the welfare of his people, may be regarded as the +deeper motive of the author. It is the thought of ideal good in Hiawatha +which gives tone and meaning to the whole poem. + + You shall hear how Hiawatha + Prayed and fasted in the forest, + Not for greater skill in hunting, + Not for greater craft in fishing, + Not for triumphs in the battle, + And renown among the warriors, + But for profit of the people, + For advantage of the nations. + +The views of geography and history at the beginning and close of the +poem not only give a broad scope to the story, but have an interesting +bearing upon the study of geography and history in those years of school +which immediately follow. The narrative reaches from the Vale of +Tawasentha in New York, across the great lakes and shining Big-Sea-Water +to Minnehaha and the Upper Mississippi, and even to the prairies and the +distant Rocky Mountains beyond. In the summoning of the tribes at the +Great Pipe Stone Quarry there is a broad survey of the Indian tribes of +the United States. + + From the vale of Tawasentha, + From the Valley of Wyoming, + From the groves of Tuscaloosa, + From the far-off Rocky Mountains, + From the Northern lakes and rivers + All the tribes beheld the signal, + Saw the distant smoke ascending, + The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe. + + Down the rivers, o'er the prairies, + Came the warriors of the nations. + +A map of North America is necessary for showing the meaning of this +description to the children. + +In the last part the coming of the white man and the prophecy of his +spreading over the land, and the dwindling of the native tribes to the +westward, are given. + +Iagoo's description of the white men, their ships and appearance, to his +people on the return from his travels, will greatly please the children. + + He had seen, he said, a water + Bigger than the Big-Sea-Water, + Broader than the Gitche Gumee, + Bitter so that none could drink it! + At each other looked the warriors, + Looked the women at each other, + Smiled, and said, "It cannot be so! + Kaw!" they said, "It cannot be so;" + + "O'er it," said he, "o'er this water + Came a great canoe with pinions, + A canoe with wings came flying, + Bigger than a grove of pine-trees, + Taller than the tallest tree-tops!" + And the old men and the women + Looked and tittered at each other; + "Kaw!" they said, "we don't believe it!" + +The story of Hiawatha has been used sufficiently in primary grades to +show how many are its suggestions for drawing and constructive work. +Little children take delight in drawing the Indian tents, bows and +arrows, pine forests, Indian warriors and dress, the canoe, the +tomahawk, the birds and animals. The cutting of these forms in paper +they have fully enjoyed. + +Pictures of Indian life, collections of arrow-heads, the peace-pipes, +articles of dress, cooking utensils, wampum, stone hatchets, red +pipe-stone ornaments, or a visit to any collection of Indian relics are +desirable as a part of this instruction. The museums in cities and +expositions are rich in these materials, and in many private collections +are just the desired objects of study. + +It is well known that children love to construct tents, dress in Indian +style, and imitate the mode of life, the hunting, dancing, and sports +of Indians. Teachers have taken advantage of this instinct to allow them +to construct an Indian village on a small scale, and assume the dress +and action of Hiawatha and his friends, and even to dramatize parts of +the story. + +It is only certain selected parts of the "Hiawatha" that lend themselves +best to the oral treatment with children, and that, at first, not in the +poetic form. In fact, the oral treatment of a story in beautiful poetic +form demands a peculiar method. + +For example, in treating the childhood of Hiawatha as he dwelt with old +Nokomis in the tent beside the sea, the main facts of this episode, or a +part of it, may be talked over by means of description, partly also by +development, question, and answer, and when these things are clear, let +this passage of the poem be read to the children. The preliminary +treatment and discussion will put the children in possession of the +ideas and pictures by which they can better appreciate and assimilate +the poem. This mode of introducing children to a poem or literary +masterpiece is not uncommon with children in later years, at least in +the middle grades. + +It has been customary to use nearly the whole poem in fourth or fifth +school year for regular reading, and it is well suited to this purpose. +Its use in primary grades for such oral treatment as we have described +will not interfere with its employment as reading matter later on, but +rather increase its value for that purpose. + +The method of handling such a poem as reading has been discussed in the +Special Method in the Reading of Complete English Classics. + +A number of books have been written by practical teachers on the use of +"Hiawatha" in primary grades:-- + + "The Hiawatha Primer." Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + "Hints on the Study of Hiawatha" (Alice M. Krackowizer). A. Flanagan, + publisher. + +The best edition of the "Hiawatha" is "Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha," +which is well illustrated. Published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + +Other editions are "The Song of Hiawatha." The Educational Publishing +Co. + + "Longfellow's Hiawatha." The Macmillan Co. + "Song of Hiawatha." University Publishing Co. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THIRD GRADE STORIES + + +THE MYTHICAL STORIES + +In the third grade we wish to bring a number of the mythical stories +vividly before the children. The classical myths which belong to the +literature of Europe are the fund from which to select the best. Not +all, but only a few of the simple and appropriate stories can be chosen. +Only two recitation periods a week are usually set apart for the oral +treatment of these old myths. But later in the progress of the reading +lessons other similar stories should be treated. The few recitation +periods used for oral work are rather designed to introduce children to +the spirit of this literature, to get them into the appreciative mind. + +This body of ancient myths comes down to us, sifted out of the early +literature of the active-minded Greeks. They have found their way as a +simple and charming poetry into the national literature of all the +European countries. Is this the material suited to nine- and +ten-year-old children? It will not be questioned that these myths belong +to the best literary products of Europe, but are they suited to +children? + +It is evident that some of our best literary judges have deemed them +appropriate. Hawthorne has put them into a form designed especially for +the young folk. Charles Kingsley wrote of the Greek myths for his +children: "Now I love these old Hellens heartily, and they seem to me +like brothers, though they have all been dead and gone many a hundred +years. They are come to tell you some of their old fairy tales, which +they loved when they were young like you. For nations begin at first by +being children like you, though they are made up of grown men. They are +children at first like you--men and women with children's hearts; frank, +and affectionate, and full of trust, and teachable, loving to see and +learn all the wonders around them; and greedy also, too often, and +passionate and silly, as children are." + +Not a few other authors of less note have tried to turn the classical +myths of the old Greek poets into simple English for the entertainment +and instruction of children. Scarcely any of these stories that have not +appeared in various children's books in recent years. Taken as a whole, +they are a storehouse of children's literature. The philosopher, +Herbart, looked upon poems of Homer as giving ideal expression to the +boyhood of the race, and the story of Ulysses was regarded by him as the +boy's book,--the Greek Robinson Crusoe. For the child of nine years he +thought it the most suitable story. + +Kingsley says in his Introduction: "Now you must not think of the Greeks +in this book as learned men, living in great cities, such as they were +afterwards, when they wrought all their beautiful works, but as country +people, living on farms and in walled villages, in a simple, +hard-working way; so that the greatest kings and heroes cooked their own +meals and thought it no shame, and made their own ships and weapons, and +fed and harnessed their own horses. So that a man was honored among +them, not because he happened to be rich, but according to his skill and +his strength and courage and the number of things he could do. For they +were but grown-up children, though they were right noble children too, +and it was with them as it is now at school, the strongest and cleverest +boy, though he be poor, leads all the rest." + +In the introduction to the "Wonder Book" we find the following: +"Hawthorne took a vital interest in child life. He was accustomed to +observe his own children very closely. There are private manuscripts +extant which present exact records of what his young son and elder +daughter said or did from hour to hour, the father seating himself in +their playroom and patiently noting all that passed. To this habit of +watchful and sympathetic scrutiny we may attribute in part the +remarkable felicity, the fortunate ease of adaptation to the immature +understanding, and the skilful appeal to the fresh imaginations which +characterize his stories for the young." Hawthorne himself says: "The +author has long been of the opinion that many of the classical myths +were capable of being rendered into very capital reading for +children.... No epoch of time can claim a copyright on these immortal +fables. They seem never to have been made, and so long as man exists +they can never perish; but by their indestructibility itself they are +legitimate subjects, for every age to clothe with its own garniture of +manners and sentiment, and to imbue with its own morality.... The author +has not always thought it necessary to write downward in order to meet +the comprehension of children. He has generally suffered the theme to +soar, whenever such was its tendency. Children possess an unestimated +sensibility to whatever is deep or high in imagination or feeling so +long as it is simple likewise. It is only the artificial and the complex +that bewilder them." + +A brief analysis of the qualities which render these myths so attractive +will help us to see their value in the education of children. + +The astonishing brightness of fanciful episode and of pure and clear-cut +imagery has an indestructible charm for children. They can soar into and +above the clouds on the shining wings of Pegasus. With Eolus they shut +up the contrary winds in an ox-hide, and later let them out to plague +the much-suffering Ulysses. They watch with astonishment as Jason yokes +the fire-breathing oxen and strews the field with uprooted stumps and +stones as he prepares the soil for the seed of dragon's teeth. Each +child becomes a poet as he recreates the sparkling brightness of these +simple pictures. And when a child has once suffered his fancy to soar +to these mountain heights and ocean depths, it will no longer be +possible to make his life entirely dull and prosaic. He has caught +glimpses of a bright world that will linger unfading in the uplands of +his memory. And while they are so deep and lofty they are still, as +Hawthorne says, very simple. Some of the most classic of the old stories +are indeed too long for third grade children; too many persons and too +much complexity, as in the "Tales of Troy." But on the other hand, many +of the most beautiful of the old myths are as plain and simple to a +child as a floating summer cloud. High in the sky they may be or deep in +the reflection of some lake or spring, but clear and plain to the +thought of a little child. These stories in their naive simplicity +reflect the wonder and surprise with which a person first beholds grand +and touching scenery, whether it be the oppressive grandeur of some +beetling mountain crag, or the placid quiet of a moonlit stream. The +stories selected for this grade should be the simplest and best: "The +Golden Touch," "Perseus," "The Chimaera," of Hawthorne, the episodes of +the "Golden Fleece," with others similar. + +In one form or another they introduce us to the company of heroes, or, +at least, of great and simple characters. Deeds of enterprise and +manliness or of unselfishness and generosity are the climax of the +story. To meet danger and hardship or ridicule for the sake of a high +purpose is their underlying thought. Perseus and Jason and Ulysses are +all ambitious to prove their title to superior shrewdness and courage +and self-control. When we get fairly into the mythical age, we find +ourselves among the heroes, among those striving for mastery and +leadership in great undertakings. Physical prowess and manly spirit are +its chief virtues. And can there be any question that there is a time in +the lives of children when these ideas fill the horizon of their +thought? Samson and David and Hercules, Bellerophon and Jason, are a +child's natural thoughts or, at least, they fit the frame of his mind so +exactly that one may say the picture and the frame were made for each +other. The history of most countries contains such an age of heroes. +Tell in Switzerland, Siegfried in Germany, Bruce in Scotland, Romulus +and Horatius at Rome, Alfred in England, are all national heroes of the +mythical age, whose deeds are heroic and of public good. The Greek +stories are only a more classic edition of this historical epoch, and +should lead up to a study of these later products of European +literature. + +Several forms of moral excellence are objectively realized or +personified in these stories. + +As the wise Centaur, after teaching Jason to be skilful and brave, sent +him out into the world, he said: "Well, go, my son; the throne belongs +to thy father and the gods love justice. But remember, wherever thou +dost wander, to observe these three things: + + "Relieve the distressed. + "Respect the aged. + "Be true to thy word."[6] + + [6] _Jason's Quest_ (Lowell), p. 55. + +And many events in Jason's life illustrate the wisdom of these words. +The miraculous pitcher is one whose fountain of refreshing milk bubbled +always because of a gentle deed of hospitality to strangers. King Midas, +on the other hand, experiences in most graphic form the punishment which +ought to follow miserly greed, while his humble penitence brought back +his daughter and the homely comforts of life. Bellerophon is filled with +a desire to perform a noble deed that will relieve the distress of a +whole people. After the exercise of much patience and self-control he +succeeds in his generous enterprise. Many a lesson of worldly wisdom and +homely virtue is brought out in the story of Ulysses' varied and +adventuresome career. + +These myths bring children into lively contact with European history and +geography, as well as with its modes of life and thought. The early +history of Europe is in all cases shrouded in mist and legend. But even +from this historically impenetrable past has sprung a literature that +has exercised a profound influence upon the life and growth of the +people. Not that children are conscious of the significance of these +ideas, but being placed in an atmosphere which is full of them, their +deeper meaning gradually unfolds itself. The early myths afford an +interesting approach for children to the history and geography of +important countries. Those countries they must, sooner or later, make +the acquaintance of both geographically and historically, and could +anything be designed to take stronger hold upon their imagination and +memory than these charming myths, which were the poetry and religion of +the people once living there? + +It is a very simple and primitive state of culture, whose ships, arms, +agriculture, and domestic life are given us in clear and pleasing +pictures. Our own country is largely lacking in a mythical age. Our +culture sprang, more than half-grown, from the midst of Europe's +choicest nations, and out of institutions that had been centuries in +forming. The myths of Europe are therefore as truly ours as they are the +treasure of Englishmen, of Germans, or of Greeks. Again, our own +literature, as well as that of European states, is full of the spirit +and suggestion of the mythical age. Our poets and writers have drawn +much of their imagery from this old storehouse of thought, and a child +will better understand the works of the present through this contact +with mythical ages. + +In method of treatment with school classes, these stories will admit of +a variation from the plan used with "Robinson Crusoe." One unaccustomed +to the reading of such stories would be at a loss for a method of +treatment with children. There is a charm and literary art in the +presentation that may make the teacher feel unqualified to present them. +The children are not yet sufficiently masters of the printed symbols of +speech to read for themselves. Shall the teacher simply read the stories +to children? We would suggest first of all, that the teacher, who would +expect to make use of these materials, steep himself fully in literature +of this class, and bring his mind into familiar acquaintance and +sympathy with its characters. In interpreting classical authors to +pupils, we are justified in requiring of the teacher intimate knowledge +and appreciative sympathy with his author. Certainly no one will teach +these stories well whose fancy was never touched into airy flights--who +cannot become a child again and partake of his pleasures. No +condescension is needed, but ascension to a free and ready flight of +fancy. By learning to drink at these ancient fountains of song and +poetry, the teacher might learn to tell a fairy story for himself. But +doubtless it will be well to mingle oral narrative and description on +the part of the teacher with the fit reading of choice parts so as to +better preserve the classic beauty and suggestion of the author. +Children are quite old enough now to appreciate beauty of language and +expressive, happy turns of speech. In the midst of question, suggestion, +and discussion between pupil and teacher, the story should be carried +forward, never forgetting to stop at suitable intervals and get such a +reproduction of the story as the little children are capable of. And +indeed they are capable of much in this direction, for their thoughts +are more nimble, and their power of expression more apt, oftentimes, +than the teacher's own. + +We would not favor a simple reading of these stories for the +entertainment of pupils. It should take more the form of a school +exercise, requiring not only interest and attention, but vigorous effort +to grasp and reproduce the thought. The result should be a much livelier +and deeper insight into the story than would be secured by a simple +reading for amusement or variety. They should prepare also for an +appreciative reading of other myths in the following grades. + +After all, in two or three recitation periods a week, extending through +a year, it cannot be expected that children will make the acquaintance +of all the literature that could be properly called the myth of the +heroic age in different countries. All that we may expect is to enter +this paradise of children, to pluck a few of its choicest flowers, and +get such a breath of their fragrance that there will be a child's desire +to return again and again. The school also should provide in the +succeeding year for an abundance of reading of myths. The same old +stories which they first learned to enjoy in oral recitations should be +read in books, and still others should be utilized in the regular +reading classes of the fourth and fifth grades. In this way the myths of +other countries may be brought in, the story of Tell, of Siegfried, of +Alfred, and of others. + +In summarizing the advantages of a systematic attempt to get this simple +classic lore into our schools, we recall the interest and mental +activity which it arouses, its power to please and satisfy the creative +fancy in children, its fundamental feeling and instincts, the virtues of +bravery, manliness, and unselfishness, and all this in a form that still +further increases its culture effect upon teacher and pupil. It should +never be forgotten that teacher and pupil alike are here imbibing +lessons and inspirations that draw them into closer sympathy because the +subject is worthy of both old and young. + +In addition to the earlier Greek myths we may mention the following +subjects as suitable for oral treatment: + +The story of Ulysses has been much used in schools with oral +presentation, and is one of the best tales for this purpose in all +literature. A somewhat full discussion of the value of this story for +schools is found in the Special Method in Reading of Complete English +Classics. + +The Norse mythology has also received much attention from teachers who +have used the oral mode of treatment. Several of the best books of Norse +mythology are mentioned in the appended list. Also the great story of +Siegfried. + +Some of the old traditional stories in the early history of Rome, of +France, Germany, and England, have been used for oral narration and +reading to children. + +The "Seven Little Sisters" and its companion book "Each and All," and +the "Ten Boys on the Road from Long Ago to Now," by Jane Andrews, +published by Ginn & Co., have been employed extensively for oral and +reading work in the third and fourth years of school. The "Seven Little +Sisters" is valuable in connection with the beginnings of geography. + + +BOOKS FOR THIRD YEAR OF SCHOOL + +The Wonder Book of Nathaniel Hawthorne. + + The following stories are especially recommended: The Gorgon's + Head, The Golden Touch, The Miraculous Pitcher, and The Chimaera. + + One should preserve as much as possible of the spirit and + language of the author. Perhaps in classes with children the + other stories will be found equally attractive: The Paradise of + Children and the Three Golden Apples. Published by Houghton, + Mifflin, & Co., Boston. + +Kingsley's Greek Heroes. + + The stories of Perseus, the Argonauts, and Theseus, especially + adapted to children. It may be advisable for the teacher to + abbreviate the stories, leaving out unimportant parts, but + giving the best portions in the fullest detail. Published by + Ginn & Co.; The Macmillan Co. + +Story of the Iliad and Story of the Odyssey (Church). + + Simple and interesting narrative of the Homeric stories. The + Macmillan Co. + +Jason's Quest (Lowell). + + The story of the Argonauts with many other Greek myths woven + into the narrative. This book is a store of excellent material. + The teacher should select from it those parts specially suited + to the grade. Published by Sibley & Ducker, Chicago. + +Adventures of Ulysses (Lamb). + + A small book from which the chief episodes of Ulysses' career + can be obtained. Published by Ginn & Co., Boston. + +The Story of Siegfried (Baldwin). Published by Scribner's Sons. + +Peabody's Old Greek Folk Stories. + + Simple and well written. A supplement to the Wonder Book. + Published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + +Tales of Troy (De Garmo). + + The story of the siege of Troy and of the great events of + Homer's Iliad. This story, on account of its complexity, we deem + better adapted to the fourth grade. Published by the Public + School Publishing Co., Bloomington, Ill. + +Stories of the Old World (Church). + + Stories of the Argo, of Thebes, of Troy, of Ulysses, and of + AEneas. Stories are simply and well told. It is a book of 350 + pages, and would serve well as a supplementary reader in fourth + grade. Published by Ginn & Co. + +Gods and Heroes (Francillon). + + A successful effort to cover the whole field of Greek mythology + in the story form. Ginn & Co. + +The Tanglewood Tales (Nathaniel Hawthorne). + + A continuation of the Wonder Book. + +Heroes of Asgard. + + Stories of Norse mythology; simple and attractive. + Macmillan & Co. + +The Story of Ulysses (Agnes S. Cook). + + An account of the adventures of Ulysses, told in connected + narrative, in language easily comprehended by children in the + third and fourth grades. Public School Publishing Co., + Bloomington, Ill. + +Old Norse Stories (Bradish). + + Stories for reference and sight reading. American Book Co. + +Norse Stories (Mabie). + + An excellent rendering of the old stories. Dodd, Mead, & Co. + +Myths of Northern Lands (Guerber). American Book Co. + +The Age of Fable (Bulfinch). Lee and Shepard. + +Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co. + +National Epics (Rabb). A. C. McClurg & Co. + +Classic Myths (Gayley). Ginn & Co. + +Bryant's Odyssey. Complete poetic translation. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + +Bryant's Iliad. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + +Butcher and Lang's prose translation of the Odyssey. The Macmillan Co. + +The Odyssey of Homer (Palmer). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + + A prose translation. + +Myths and Myth Makers (Fiske). + +Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler). + + Chapter X. D. Appleton & Co. + + +THE BIBLE STORIES + +The stories of early Bible history have been much used in all European +lands, and in America, for the instruction of children. Among Jews and +Christians everywhere, and even among Mohammedans, these stories have +been extensively used. They include the simple accounts of the +patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and his brethren, Moses, +Joshua, Samson, Samuel, and David. It may be seen at a glance that no +more famous stories than these could be selected from the history of any +country in the world. They stand preeminent as graphic descriptions of +the modes of life which prevailed in the early period of civilized +races. The old patriarchs lived in what is usually called the pastoral +age, when men dwelt in tents and moved about from place to place with +their flocks in search of pasture. The patriarch at the head of the +family, and even of a whole tribe, is the father, ruler, priest, and +judge for the little community over which he presides. In his person +there is a simple union of all the important powers of the later Hebrew +state. The dignity and authority which centre in the person of Abraham, +together with a marked gravity and strength of character, lend a +distinct grandeur to his personality, so that he has been recognized in +all ages as one of the great figures in the history of the world; the +foremost of the old patriarchs,--the father of the faithful. A similar +respect and dignity attaches to all these old Bible characters, and in +the case of Moses, rises to a supreme height, while in David the +warrior, statesman, and poet are united in one of the most pronounced +and pleasing characters in the world's history. These old stories are +also unparalleled in the simplicity and transparent clearness with which +the life of the pastoral age is depicted. Human nature comes out in a +series of pictures most striking and individual, and yet unmistakably +true to life and reality. And yet while this life was so small in its +compass, it is almost wholly free from narrowness and provincialism. The +universal qualities of human nature, common to men in all ages and +countries, stand out with a clearness which even little children can +grasp. The story of Joseph and his brethren is probably the finest story +that was ever written for children from eight to ten years of age. The +characters involved in this family history are striking and impressive, +and the strength of the family virtues and affections has never been set +forth with greater simplicity and power. + +The heroic qualities which appear in the old Bible stories, especially +in Moses, Samson, and David, would bear a favorable comparison with the +men of the heroic age in all countries. Strength of character combined +with faith in high ideals, pursued with unwavering resolution, is a +peculiar merit of these narratives. The heroes of the Hebrew race should +be compared, later on, with the most renowned heroes of England, +Scotland, Germany, and Greece, and even of America, for they have common +qualities which have like merit as educative materials for the young. + +This early literature of the Bible stories will be found to contain a +large part of the universal thought of the world, that is, of the +masterly ideas which, because of their superior truth and excellence, +have gradually worked their way as controlling principles into the life +of all modern nations. It need hardly be said that these stories have a +peculiar charm and attractiveness for children. The simplicity of a +patriarchal age, the strong interest in persons of heroic quality, the +descriptions of early childhood, the heroic deeds of bold and +high-spirited youth,--these things command the unfaltering interest of +children, and at the same time give their lives a touch of moral +strength and idealism which is of the highest promise. + +The oral treatment of these stories in the third or fourth year of +school is the only mode of bringing them before the children in their +full power, and they are well adapted to easy oral narrative and +discussion. The language is the genuine, simple, powerful old English, +and the teacher should become thoroughly saturated with these simple +words and modes of thought. The dramatic element is also not lacking in +many parts, and can be well executed in the classroom. Many +opportunities will be furnished to the children for drawing pictures +illustrating the stories. Many of the most famous masterpieces of +painting and sculpture represent the persons and scenes of these tales. +The great heroes of Christian art have exhausted their skill in these +representations, which are now being furnished to the schools by the +large publishing houses. Even the costumes and modes of life are thus +brought home to the children in the most realistic yet artistic way. + +An acquaintance with such early stories of Hebrew history is an +introduction to some of the finest literature of the English language. +First, that dealing with the Hebrew scriptures themselves, as the books +of Moses, the psalms of David, and second, a number of the great poems +of English masters, as the "Burial of Moses" and Milton's "Samson +Agonistes." In short, we may say that these stories are the key to a +large part of our best English thought. + +Adler, in his "Moral Instruction of Children," says: "The narrative of +the Bible is fairly saturated with the moral spirit; the moral issues +are everywhere in the forefront. Duty, guilt, and its punishment, the +conflict of conscience with inclination, are the leading themes. The +Hebrew people seem to have been endowed with what may be called 'a moral +genius,' and especially did they emphasize the filial and fraternal +duties to an extent hardly equalled elsewhere. Now it is precisely these +duties that must be impressed upon young children, and hence the +biblical stories present us with the very material we require. They +cannot, in this respect, be replaced; there is no other literature in +the world that offers what is equal to them in value for the particular +object we now have in view." + +If we could only contemplate the patriarchal stories as a part of the +great literature of the world, on account of its typical yet realistic +portraiture of men and women, we might use this material as we use the +very best derived from other sources. Mr. Adler remarks that "this +typical quality in Homer's portraiture has been one secret of its +universal impressiveness. The Homeric outlines are in each case +brilliantly distinct, while they leave to the reader a certain liberty +of private conception, and he can fill them in to satisfy his own ideal. +We may add that this is just as true of the Bible as of Homer. The +biblical narrative, too, depicts a few essential traits of human nature, +and refrains from multiplying minor traits which might interfere with +the main effect. The Bible, too, draws its figures in outline, and +leaves every age free to fill them in so as to satisfy its own ideal." + +Moreover, their use is not a matter of experiment. For hundreds of years +they have held the first place in the best homes and schools of Germany, +England, and America, and their educative influence has been profoundly +felt in all Christian nations. + +We have several editions of the stories adapted from the Bible for +school use. In the Bible itself they are not found in the simple, +connected form that makes them available for school use. One of the best +editions for school is that published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., +called, "Old Testament Stories in Scriptural Language." A free and +somewhat original rendering of the stories is given by Baldwin in his +"Old Stories of the East," published by the American Book Co. Both of +these books have been extensively used in the schools of this country. +The oral treatment of the Bible stories in the schools has not been +common in this country, but it has all the merits described by us in the +chapter on oral instruction. In fourth and fifth grades these books may +serve well for exercises in reading. + +In a great many schools of this country they can be used and are used +without giving offence to anybody, and where this is true, they well +deserve recognition in our school course because of their superior +presentation of some of the great universal ideas of our civilization. + + +BOOKS FOR TEACHERS OF BIBLE LITERATURE + + The Modern Reader's Bible, twenty-one volumes (Richard Moulton). + The Macmillan Co. + Children's Series. Old Testament and New Testament Stories. + In two volumes. The Macmillan Co. + Stories from the Bible (Church). The Macmillan Co. + Story of the Chosen People (Guerber). The American Book Co. + The Literary Study of the Bible (Moulton). D. C. Heath & Co. + + +STORIES OF ROBIN HOOD + +In the latter part of third grade or beginning of fourth, the stories of +Robin Hood are likely to prove exhilarating to children. + +These stories of the bold, manly, good-natured outlaw, with his band of +trusty men in Sherwood Forest, have been famous throughout England these +five hundred years, and the stories themselves, and the ballads +accompanying them, are a genuine part of the treasures of the older +English literature. They have been worked by Howard Pyle into the stout, +hearty English style which is so appropriate to the rendering of the +deeds of this sturdy English yeoman and his band. + +Their careless life and woodland sports under the Greenwood Tree, and +their merry adventures and shooting matches, have been the delight of +many a generation of English children. But even their woodland sports +were a severe and rugged training in hardy endurance and manly spirit. +Pyle says well in his preface: "For honest purposes manfully followed +and hard knocks courageously endured must always interest the wholesome +boy; while nature is so closely akin to man in the golden days of his +green youth that tales of the Greenwood, where the leaves rustle and the +birds sing, and all the air is full of sweet savors of growing things, +must ever have a potent charm for the fresh imagination of childhood." + +One phase of this training, as manifested in the stories, is not only +the ability to take hard knocks and keep a stiff upper lip, as the old +saying goes, but to master chagrin and anger and endure fun and gibes at +one's own expense; indeed, even with aching bones and buzzing ears, to +join in the merriment over one's own discomfiture. This is an unusual +accompaniment of even good stories, which makes them truly wholesome. +The fun of the stories also is of a light and rollicking sort which +children should have a chance to thoroughly enjoy. In fact it is +excellent material upon which to cultivate their early sense of the +comic and humorous. The literature used in early school years has, +unfortunately, too little of the sportive and laughable, and the Robin +Hood adventures will help in no small degree to remedy this defect. + +It is interesting to note, also, that brute strength is not at a +premium, but skill and quick-wittedness. Not the least attractive and +forcible part of Robin Hood's character is the shrewd-witted versatility +and boldness with which he plays any part which circumstances require +him to assume. His foes are circumvented by his shrewdness and keen wit +even as much as by his unfailing skill in archery or dexterous strength +in personal contest. + +Robin Hood's relation to the British government was known as that of the +outlaw, although the visit of King Richard to him in Sherwood Forest and +his service under that prince and others gave him a certain legal +status. He has always been regarded as a popular hero representing the +rights of the common people. + +After describing Robin Hood's first adventure with the foresters and his +outlawry, Howard Pyle says: "But Robin Hood lay hidden in Sherwood +Forest for one year, and in that time there gathered around him many +others like himself, outlawed for this cause and for that. + +"So, in all that year, five score or more good, stout yeomen joined +themselves to him, and chose him to be their leader and chief. Then they +vowed that even as they themselves had been despoiled they would despoil +their oppressors, whether baron, abbot, knight, or squire, and that +from each they would take that which had been wrung from the poor by +unjust taxes, or land rents, or in wrongful fines; but to the poor folk +they would give a helping hand in need and trouble, and would return to +them that which had been unjustly taken from them. Besides this, they +swore never to harm a child, nor to wrong a woman, be she maid, wife, or +widow; so that, after a while, when the people began to find that no +harm was meant to them, but that money or food came in time of want to +many a poor family, they came to praise Robin and his merry men, and to +tell many tales of him and of his doings in Sherwood Forest, for they +felt him to be one of themselves." + +When we consider the stories which tradition has handed down relative to +the exploits of Robin Hood, the Old-English ballads which celebrate them +in song, the stories of King Richard's visit to him in Sherwood, and +Robin's visit to the court of Eleanor and King Henry at London town, to +share in the great shooting-match, and the story of Locksley in Scott's +"Ivanhoe"--we might almost say that Robin Hood would bear favorable +comparison with any Englishman of his time. At any rate it would be +difficult to find among the kings and great lords of that age one who +had so much regard for justice and fair dealing among men, to say +nothing of his kindness to the poor and needy. + +He stands distinctly for those rights of the common people which were +constantly violated by the powerful and influential in that +half-barbarous age of feudalism. It is from this instinct for popular +rights that the body of English liberties has gradually developed, and +it is not strange that Robin Hood has always been regarded as a hero +among a people who have preserved this instinct for liberty and justice. + +The foresters of Robin Hood's band were lovers of forest and glade; the +song of the bird and fragrance of wild flowers were sweet to them. In +Pyle's introductory chapter is this description of their retreat under +the Greenwood. "So turning their backs upon the stream, they plunged +into the forest once more, through which they traced their steps till +they reached the spot where they dwelt in the depths of the woodland. +There had they built huts of bark and branches of trees, and made +couches of sweet rushes spread over with skins of fallow deer. Here +stood a great oak tree with branches spreading broadly around, beneath +which was a seat of green moss where Robin Hood was wont to sit at feast +and at merrymaking, with his stout men about him. Here they found the +rest of the band, some of whom had come in with a brace of fat does. +Then they built great fires, and after the feast was ready they all sat +down, but Robin Hood placed Little John at his right hand, for he was +henceforth to be the second in the band." + +Little John's bout with the tanner of Blyth is introduced thus:-- + +"One fine day, not long after Little John had left abiding with the +Sheriff and had come back to the merry Greenwood, Robin Hood and a few +chosen fellows of his band lay upon the soft sward beneath the Greenwood +Tree where they dwelt. The day was warm and sultry, so that whilst most +of the band were scattered through the forest upon this mission and upon +that, these few stout fellows lay lazily beneath the shade of the tree, +in the soft afternoon, passing jests among themselves and telling merry +stories, with laughter and mirth. + +"All the air was laden with the bitter fragrance of the May, and all the +bosky shades of the woodlands beyond rang with the sweet song of +birds,--the throstle-cock, the cuckoo, and the wood-pigeon,--and with +the song of birds mingled the cool sound of the gurgling brook that +leaped out of the forest shades, and ran fretting amid its rough gray +stones across the sunlit open glade before the trysting-tree." + +This delight in the beauty and music of all nature about them is a sort +of atmosphere which gives tone to all the stories of this group. + +The language in which the stories are narrated is rich in the quaint and +vigorous phrases of Old English, reminding one of the times of +Shakespeare and before. One could hardly give the children a better +introduction to the riches of our mother tongue. + +The description of English customs, the popular festivities, the booths +of the market town, the parade of feudal lords and retainers, the +constraints placed upon hunting by kings and lords, and the hardships of +the poor are touched upon in significant ways. The stories give an +insight into the English character, their love of rude sports, their +ballad literature, and their respect for honesty and courage and +shrewdness. + +The ballads associated with the Robin Hood legends are often beautiful +and striking expressions of the English spirit, and have a special charm +for children. They should be read in connection with the later reading +of the stories in the third and fourth school years. + +The bearing of these tales upon early feudal history and the general +literature of that age is of importance. This is well illustrated in +"Ivanhoe" in the use by Richard of Robin Hood and his archers in the +attack upon Torquilstone, and in various exploits of the men of the +Greenwood when brought in contact with knights on horseback. There is +also a kinship in these narratives with some of the best stories and +novels of early English history, as Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather," +Kingsley's "Hereward the Wake," Jane Andrew's "Gilbert the Page," and a +number of Scott's novels. + +In the oral treatment of the stories in the third or fourth school year, +the teacher will find her powers of presentation taxed in a peculiar +way. The quaint language and humorous tone, the occasional witty +conceits, will need to be appreciated and enjoyed, and the mode of +presentation suited to the thought. Let the teacher first of all +thoroughly enjoy the stories and in rendering them to children in the +classroom lose herself in the tone and spirit of the account. It +requires great freedom and flexibility of body and mind to do this well, +but that is what a teacher most of all needs. The humorous part, +especially, will require a certain unbending of the stiff manners of a +teacher, but no harm is done in this. + +The large volume of Robin Hood stories by Pyle should be in the hands of +the teacher, if possible, although it is an expensive book. It is much +fuller in the special details of the stories needed by the teacher, +though the smaller book is far better adapted as a reading book for +schools. + +To illustrate the place which the Robin Hood legends hold in English +history and literature, the following selections, quoted from Tennyson's +"The Foresters" and one of the old ballads, are given. They are taken +from "English History told by English Poets," published by The Macmillan +Company, where the passage from "The Foresters" is given at greater +length. + + +KING RICHARD IN SHERWOOD FOREST + +LORD TENNYSON + +(From "The Foresters") + +Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Friar Tuck and George-a-Green, Will Scarlet, +Midge the Miller's Son, Little John, and the rest are legendary +characters loved and sung from the fourteenth century to modern times. +The charm of these light-hearted highwaymen was felt by Shakespeare +himself: "They say he is already in the forest of Arden, and a many +merry men with him: and there they live like the old Robin Hood of +England; they say many young gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet +the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world."--("As You Like +It," I, I.) Tennyson adopts the tradition that the generous outlaws +dwelt in Sherwood Forest in Cumberlandshire, and that their leader, +Robin Hood, was the banished Earl of Huntingdon. The plot of the "The +Foresters" turns upon the sudden return of Richard from his Austrian +captivity and the consequent collapse of the intrigues conducted by his +crafty and cruel brother John. + + _Robin Hood._ Am I worse or better? + I am outlaw'd. I am none the worse for that + I held for Richard and I hated John. + I am a thief, ay, and a king of thieves. + Ay! but we rob the robber, wrong the wronger, + And what we wring from them we give the poor. + I am none the worse for that, and all the better + For this free forest-life, for while I sat + Among my thralls in my baronial hall + The groining hid the heavens; but since I breathed, + A houseless head beneath the sun and stars, + The soul of the woods hath stricken thro' my blood, + The love of freedom, the desire of God, + The hope of larger life hereafter, more + Tenfold than under roof. + + True, were I taken + They would prick out my sight. A price is set + On this poor head; but I believe there lives + No man who truly loves and truly rules + His following, but can keep his followers true. + I am one with mine. Traitors are rarely bred + Save under traitor kings. Our vice-king John, + True king of vice--true play on words--our John, + By his Norman arrogance and dissoluteness, + Hath made me king of all the discontent + Of England up thro' all the forest land + North to the Tyne: being outlaw'd in a land + Where law lies dead, we make ourselves the law. + + _King Richard_ (to _Robin_). My good friend Robin, Earl of Huntingdon, + For Earl thou art again, hast thou no fetters + For those of thine own band who would betray thee? + + _Robin._ I have; but these were never worn as yet, + I never found one traitor in my band. + + * * * * * + + Our forest games are ended, our free life, + And we must hence to the King's court. I trust + We shall return to the wood. Meanwhile, farewell + Old friends, old patriarch oaks. A thousand winters + Will strip you bare as death, a thousand summers + Robe you life-green again. You seem, as it were, + Immortal, and we mortal. How few Junes + Will heat our pulses quicker! How few frosts + Will chill the hearts that beat for Robin Hood! + + _Marian._ And yet I think these oaks at dawn and even, + Or in the balmy breathings of the night, + Will whisper evermore of Robin Hood. + We leave but happy memories to the forest. + We dealt in the wild justice of the woods. + All those poor serfs whom we have served will bless us, + All those pale mouths which we have fed will praise us-- + All widows we have holpen pray for us, + Our Lady's blessed shrines throughout the land + Be all the richer for us. You, good friar, + You Much, you Scarlet, you dear Little John, + Your names will cling like ivy to the wood. + And here perhaps a hundred years away + Some hunter in day-dreams or half asleep + Will hear our arrows whizzing overhead, + And catch the winding of a phantom horn. + + _Robin._ And surely these old oaks will murmur thee + Marian along with Robin. I am most happy-- + Art thou not mine?--and happy that our King + Is here again, never I trust to roam + So far again, but dwell among his own. + Strike up a stave, my masters, all is well. + + +HOW ROBIN HOOD RESCUED THE WIDOW'S THREE SONS + +Robin Hood and his followers were bandits and outlaws, but the people +loved them because they defied the hateful forest laws and made light of +the sheriff. The king's officers were responsible for the maintenance of +order, but in these lawless times they often used their power for their +own advantage, imposing heavy fines and penalties on the poor, and +extorting bribes from the rich. The following is one of the oldest and +rudest of the many Robin Hood ballads:-- + + There are twelve months in all the year, + As I hear many say, + But the merriest month in all the year + Is the merry month of May. + + Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, + With a link a down and a day, + And there he met a silly[7] old woman, + Was weeping on the way. + + "What news? what news, thou silly old woman? + What news hast thou for me?" + Said she, "There's my three sons in Nottingham town + To-day condemned to die." + + "O, have they parishes burnt?" he said, + "Or have they ministers slain? + Or have they robbed any virgin? + Or other men's wives have ta'en?" + + "They have no parishes burnt, good sir, + Nor yet have ministers slain, + Nor have they robbed any virgin, + Nor other men's wives have ta'en." + + "O, what have they done?" said Robin Hood, + "I pray thee tell to me." + "It's for slaying of the king's fallow-deer, + Bearing their long bows with thee." + + "Dost thou not mind, old woman," he said, + "How thou madest me sup and dine? + By the truth of my body," quoth bold Robin Hood, + "You could not tell it in better time." + + Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, + With a link a down and a day, + And there he met with a silly old palmer, + Was walking along the highway. + + "What news? what news, thou silly old man? + What news, I do thee pray?" + Said he, "Three squires in Nottingham town + Are condemned to die this day." + + "Come change thy apparel with me, old man, + Come change thy apparel for mine; + Here is forty shillings in good silver, + Go drink it in beer or wine." + + Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, + With a link a down and a down. + And there he met with the proud sheriff, + Was walking along the town. + + "O Christ you save, O sheriff!" he said; + "O Christ you save and see; + And what will you give to a silly old man + To-day will your hangman be?" + + "Some suits, some suits," the sheriff he said, + "Some suits I'll give to thee; + Some suits, some suits, and pence thirteen, + To-day's a hangman's fee." + + Then Robin he turns him round about, + And jumps from stock to stone: + "By the truth of my body," the sheriff he said, + "That's well jumpt, thou nimble old man." + + "I was ne'er a hangman in all my life, + Nor yet intends to trade; + But curst be he," said bold Robin, + "That first a hangman was made! + + "I've a bag for meal, and a bag for malt, + And a bag for barley and corn; + A bag for bread, and a bag for beef, + And a bag for my little small horn. + + "I have a horn in my pocket, + I got it from Robin Hood, + And still when I set it to my mouth, + For thee it blows little good." + + "O, wind thy horn, thou proud fellow, + Of thee I have no doubt. + I wish that thou give such a blast, + Till both thy eyes fall out." + + The first loud blast that he did blow, + He blew both loud and shrill; + A hundred and fifty of Robin Hood's men + Came riding over the hill. + + The next loud blast that he did give, + He blew both loud and amain. + And quickly sixty of Robin Hood's men + Came shining over the plain. + + "O, who are these," the sheriff he said, + "Come tripping over the lea?" + "They're my attendants," brave Robin did say; + "They'll pay a visit to thee." + + They took the gallows from the slack, + They set it in the glen. + They hanged the proud sheriff on that, + Released their own three men. + + [7] simple + + +ROBIN HOOD BOOKS + + The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Howard Pyle). Finely + illustrated, $3.00. Scribner's Sons. + Some Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle). Small school edition, + illustrated; Scribner's Sons. + Tennyson's The Foresters. + The Robin Hood ballads are found in many of the ballad books. + Ivanhoe contains several scenes from the life of Robin Hood + (Locksley). + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +PRIMARY READING THROUGH INCIDENTAL EXERCISES AND GAMES + + +BASED ON SCHOOL MOVEMENTS, STUDIES, AND GAMES + +Before entering upon the discussion of the usual methods of introducing +children to the art of reading we will give a treatment of the +incidental opportunities offered by the other studies, by school +movements and games in primary classes, for introducing children to the +written and printed forms. + +It is assumed that the more closely the written or printed words and +sentences are related to the children's activities, or the more +dependent these activities are made upon a knowledge of the word-forms, +the quicker and more natural will be their mastery. To put it briefly, +the teacher abstains from the use of oral speech to a considerable +extent and substitutes the written forms of the words on the blackboard +in giving directions, in games, and in treating topics in literature and +science. The following chapter is taken wholly from the lessons given by +Mrs. Lida B. McMurry in the first grade. Many other similar lessons were +worked out, but these are probably sufficient to fully illustrate the +plan. + +The teacher's aim in the beginning reading is to lead the child to look +to the lesson, either word or sentence or paragraph, to find what it has +to say to him--to present the lesson in such a way that the child shall +quicken into life in its presence--shall reach forward to grasp this +much-desired thing. The attention of the child is centred on the +thought; he grasps the symbols because he must reach, through them, the +thought. + +Much of the early reading can be taught in a purely incidental way--in +the general exercises of the school and in the literature and +nature-study recitations. + + +READING TAUGHT INCIDENTALLY + +(a) _In the General Management of the School._ The directions which are +at first given to children orally, _e.g._, _rise_, _turn_, _pass_, +_sit_, _skip_, _fly_, _march_, _run_, _walk_, _pass to the front_, _pass +to the back_, are later written upon the board. When the children seem +to have become familiar with the written direction, the order in which +the directions are given is sometimes changed, as a test, _e.g._, the +following directions are usually given in this order--_turn_, _rise_, +_pass_. Instead of writing _turn_ first, the teacher writes _pass_. If +the children understand, they will rise at once and pass without waiting +to turn. + +The names of the children, instead of being spoken, are often written; +in this way the children become familiar with the names of all the +children in the school. The teacher, writing _Clarence_ upon the board, +says, "I would like this boy to erase the boards to-night." The first +time it is written the teacher speaks the name as she writes it. It may +be necessary to do this several times. The teacher does not look at +Clarence as she writes his name. If he does not recognize his name after +it has appeared repeatedly, his eyesight may well be tested. If +heedlessness is the cause of the failure, another name is written at the +board, and Clarence loses the opportunity to do the service. No drill +should be given on these names. The repetition incident to the frequent +calling upon the child is all that is necessary to fix the name. + +The names of the songs and of the poems which the children are +memorizing are written upon the board as needed. The teacher says, "We +will sing this song this morning." If the children do not recognize its +title as the teacher points to it, she gives it. After a while the +children will recognize the names of all the songs and the poems which +are in use in the room. + +The children become familiar with the written form of the smaller +numbers in this way--the number of absent children is reported at each +session and written on the board. On Friday the teacher records upon the +board some facts of the week, or of the month, which the children +learned from their weather charts--viz., the number of sunny and the +number of cloudy days. The number of children in each row is ascertained +and written at the board that the monitors may know how many pairs of +scissors, pieces of clay, or pencils to select. + +The poems, after being partially committed to memory, are written upon +the board; when the pupils falter, reference is made to the line in +question as it appears upon the board. + +The teacher sometimes writes her morning greeting or evening farewell at +the board--thus: "Good morning, children," or, "Good-by for to-day." The +children read silently and respond with, "Good morning, Miss Eades," or, +"Good night, Miss Farr." + +Often she communicates facts of interest at the board. If the pupils are +unable to interpret what she has written, she reads for them, _e.g._, +the teacher writes, "We have vacation to-morrow." Quite likely some +child, unable to read at all, will say, "We have _something_, but I +can't tell what it is." (These same words will occur again, when needed +to express a thought, and it is a waste of energy to drill upon them.) +When the children have interpreted the above sentence at the board, the +teacher writes, "Do you know why?" The children read the question +silently and give the answer audibly, and say, "It is Decoration Day." +We too often allow children to treat a question in their reading as if +its end were reached in the asking. To lead the children to form a +habit of answering questions asked in writing or in print, such +questions as the following are, from time to time, written at the board: +"Did you see the rainbow last night?" "What color was it?" "Did you see +any birds on Saturday?" "What ones?" "Have you been to the woods?" "What +did you find there?" + +(b) _In Connection with the Literature._ The name of the story which the +teacher is about to tell is placed upon the board. At the first writing +the teacher tells the pupils what it is, if necessary, _e.g._, the +teacher says, "We shall have a story about '_The Three Bears_,'" +pointing to the title upon the board. The next day she says, "I would +like you to tell me all you can about this story"--writing its name upon +the board. + +In the final reproduction of the story the teacher assigns topics, +_e.g._: Chauncey may tell me about this (writing at the board): +_Silver-Hair going to the woods_. Eva may tell about this: _Silver-Hair +going into the kitchen_. Jennie may tell about this: _Silver-Hair going +into the sitting room_. Willie may tell about this: _Silver-Hair going +upstairs_. Should the child go beyond the limited topic, the teacher +points to the board and asks about what he was to tell. + +At the close of each story that can be dramatized, the teacher assigns +at the board the part which each is to take, thus: After the story of +"The Old Woman and the Pig" is learned, the teacher writes in a column +each child's name opposite the animal or thing which he is to represent, +in this way. + + _Agnes_--the old woman. + _Glenn_--the pig. + _Sadie_--the dog, etc. + +(c) _In Connection with the Nature Study._ In the spring the children +are looking for the return of the birds, the first spring blossoms, and +the opening of the tree buds. The teacher often makes her own +discoveries known through writing, upon the board, _e.g._, "I saw a +robin this morning," or "I found a blue violet yesterday," or "I saw +some elm blossoms last night." + +The class, by the aid of the teacher, make a bird, a flower, and a +tree-bud calendar, on which are recorded the name and date of the first +seen of each. These names are put on the calendars in the presence of +the children, and they frequently "name their treasures o'er." + +The mode of travelling is written beside the name of each familiar bird +as the children make the discoveries, thus:-- + + { hops. { walks. + Robin { runs. Crow { + { flies. { flies. + +Questions arise during the recitation which the children will answer +later from observation. That the children may not forget them they are +placed high up on the board where they can be preserved. Frequent +reference is made to them to see if the pupils are prepared to answer +them. When a question is answered it is erased, making room for another. + + +THE READING RECITATION + +For the early reading, Games, Literature, and Nature Study may form the +basis. + + * * * * * + +(I) _Games as a Basis for the Reading._ The child enters school from a +life of play. It is our purpose, so far as possible, to make use of this +natural bent of the child to insure interest in his reading, as well as +to give him the free exercise, which he needs, of his muscles. It may be +urged as an argument against the use of the games, that they are too +noisy and attract the attention of the children who are busy at their +seats. Often it would be a good thing for these children to watch the +younger ones at their games. It would rest them and put them into closer +sympathy with the little ones. In a short time they will not care so +much to watch them. The little children should be thoughtful of the +older ones and move about as quietly as is possible. + +The following are some of the games which we have used in our primary +school. They are given in the way of suggestion only. They are played at +first by following spoken directions. When the children are perfectly +familiar with the oral direction, the written direction is gradually +substituted. The children do not stay long enough on one game to become +tired of it. Two or three or even more are played at a single +recitation. It is not the plan to drill the pupils upon the written +directions, but by frequent repetitions to familiarize them with them. +The games are most suitable for the very earliest reading lessons. The +plan for teaching one of them, the first one given here, will be written +out quite fully. The others will be given with less detail. + + +THE RING GAME + +_Material._--Six celluloid rings, red, white, blue, yellow, green, and +black. Surcingle rings can be painted the colors desired. + + _Directions._--Take the red ring, Jennie. + Take the blue ring, Eva. + Take the yellow ring, Wallace. + Take the green ring, Chauncey. + Take the black ring, Gregory. + Take the white ring, Lloyd. + +When the children are ready to hide the rings this direction is given to +the remainder of the class:-- + + Close your eyes. + +This to the pupils who hold the rings:-- + + Hide the rings. + +When the children have all the rings hid they announce it by lightly +clapping their hands, upon which the children open their eyes. +Directions are then given to those who did not hide rings, for finding +the rings, _e.g._:-- + + Find the red ring. + Find the blue ring, etc. + +No notice is taken of any ring but the one called for. A limited time is +given for the finding of each. At the close of that time, if the ring is +not discovered, the one who hid it gets it. When the written directions +are first used the whole sentence need not be put upon the board, +_e.g._, the teacher need write only--_the red ring_. She says to the +child, "find _this_"--pointing to the board; or _red_, alone, may be +written, in which case the teacher points to the word, saying, "You may +find _this ring_." There is considerable rivalry to see who will find +the most rings. + +When the children seem to know the written directions perfectly, a test +is made of their ability, actually, to read them; thus, instead of +writing, "_Take_ the red ring," the teacher writes, "_Find_ the red +ring." She writes "Hide the rings," before she writes, "Close your +eyes." If the children recognize what is written they will set the +teacher right. + + +BALL AND CORD + +_Material._--Small, soft rubber balls with short rubber cords attached. +The cords have a loop for the finger. + + Ball in right hand. + Toss up. + Hold. + Toss down. + Hold. + Toss to the right. + Hold. + Toss to the left. + Hold. + Ball in left hand. + Toss up, etc. + +In this and succeeding games it is left to the discretion of the teacher +as to when the written directions shall be introduced. + + +BALL GAME + +_Material._--A soft rubber ball. + + Form a circle. + Take the ball, Roy. + Toss the ball. + Roll the ball. + Bounce the ball. + Throw the ball. + Give the ball to Sadie. + +In this game one of the children takes the ball to the circle. Each, as +the ball is tossed to him, tosses it to another. At the direction of the +teacher the game of _tossing the ball_ is changed to one of _rolling_ +_the ball_, the pupils squatting on the floor; this in turn is changed +later as the directions indicate. Care must be taken that all children +are treated alike in this game. The children themselves will look out +for this if properly directed at the outset of the game. + + +HUNTING THE VIOLET + +_Material._--Violets scattered about the room. + + Find a blue violet, Glenn. + Find a violet bud, Edith. + Find a yellow violet, Lloyd. + Find a violet leaf, Sadie. + Find a white violet, Jennie. + Find a purple violet, Rudolph. + Sing to the violets. + +Children sing softly:-- + + "Oh, violets, pretty violets, + I pray you tell to me + Why are you the first flowers + That bloom upon the lea?" etc. + + +A TREE GAME--(SPRING OR FALL) + +_Material._--Leaves of the different trees with which the children are +familiar. + + Glenn may be a maple tree. + Choose your leaf. + Wallace may be an elm tree. + Choose your leaf. + Chauncey may be a birch tree. + Choose your leaf, etc. + Make a little forest. + Toss in the wind. + +(The leaves are pinned upon the children as each chooses his leaf, and +they dance lightly about as if tossed by the wind.) + + +CARING FOR THE ANIMALS + +_Material._--Wooden or paper animals. A portion of the table is marked +off by a chalk line for the farmyard. + + Drive in a pig, Willie. + Lead in a horse, Gregory. + Drive in a sheep, Sadie. + Lead in a cow, Roy, etc. + +They are driven in at night, then driven out in the morning. Sometimes +they are hurried in because of the approach of a storm. + + +DOLL PLAY--(GENERAL) + +_Material._--Penny dolls or larger ones. + + Take a doll. + Rock the baby. + Pat the baby. + Sing the baby to sleep. + Put the baby to bed. + Take up the baby. + Wash its face. + Comb its hair. + Feed it bread and milk. + Take it for a walk. + +At the direction, "Sing the baby to sleep," the children sing very +softly:-- + + "Rock-a-bye Baby,"--or some other lullaby. + +The bed is the chair on which the child is sitting. All stand and turn +about together to put the babies to bed. They go through the movements +only of washing the face and hands and combing the hair, and of feeding +bread and milk. They perform these acts in unison. + + +THE RAINBOW FAIRIES--(SPRING) + +_Material._--Large bows of tissue paper with streamers, of the various +colors mentioned. + + Eva may be a yellow fairy. + Roy may be a blue fairy. + Edith may be a green fairy. + Louise may be a red fairy. + Lloyd may be an orange fairy. + Sadie may be a violet fairy. + The others may be trees. + Join hands, fairies. + Dance about the trees. + +As the first direction is given Eva steps to the table and takes a +yellow bow which is pinned to her left shoulder: the others follow as +called upon. + + +THE LEAVES + +_Material._--A leaf of one of several colors pinned on each child. The +wind calls:-- + + Come yellow leaf. + Come red leaf. + Come green leaves, etc. + Dance in the wind. + +At the last direction the children fly over a small area, hither and +thither; some one way, some another, passing and repassing one another, +simulating the leaves in a storm. + + +A FLOCK OF BIRDS + +All the children are little birds. + + Fly to the fields. + Pick up seeds. + Take a drink. + Bathe in the creek. + Preen your feathers. + Fly home. + Perch on a twig. + + _Sing._ + +They sing:-- + + "We are little birdies, + Happy we, happy we. + We are little birdies + Singing in a tree." + + +HUNTING BIRDS + +_Material._--Colored pictures of birds common to the locality in which +the game is used. + + Find a robin, Rudolph. + Find a bluebird, Gregory, etc. + +The child indicated finds the picture of the bird called for and places +it on the blackboard ledge which serves as a picture gallery. + + +HUNTING LEAVES + +is a game similar to the above. + + +MOVEMENT GAME + + Frederick may be a pony. + Louise may be a kitty, etc. + +(Of the other children--one may be a boy; another, a bird; another, a +horse; another, a fish; another, a girl, etc.) + + Trot, pony. + Run, dog. + Skip, boy, etc. + +They perform singly, and also in a body. + + +MAKING GARDEN + +_Material._--Trays or box-covers of sand, and a toy set of garden tools +for each pupil. + + Take the spade. + Spade the earth. + Take the hoe. + Hoe the ground. + Take the rake. + Smooth the ground. + Make holes (or rows). + Plant corn (or sow the seed). + Cover the seed. + Water the garden. + + +THE FARMER'S PETS + +For this game the children are all seated in chairs except one for whom +no chair is provided. Each child seated takes the name of some animal on +the farm, _e.g._, a dog, cat, horse, chicken, duck, or cow. The one +standing is the farm-hand and says, _e.g._, "My master wants his dog." +The dog must jump up and turn around. If he fails to do so, he steps to +one side taking his chair with him. If when he is again called upon he +answers correctly, he resumes his seat in the circle. Occasionally the +farm-hand says, "My master wants all of his pets." When all rise and +change seats quietly. The farm-hand tries to get a seat, leaving another +child to be the farm-hand. In changing seats they change names as a +single name belongs to each chair. + + * * * * * + +(II) _Literature as a Basis for the Reading._ The stories in the form +indicated below are given after the children have become thoroughly +familiar with them through oral presentation, after, too, the children +have gained some facility in reading, through the use of the games, and +the directions, etc., used in the general management of the school. +Before the board work is presented the children dramatize the story +which they are to read. They look to the board to find out what to say +that they may impersonate the character in the story. Each mimics in +tone and action the one whose part he takes. As no two mimic in the same +way there is no lack of variety and interest. If the children are +thoughtful they will know every time into whose mouth to put each +sentence. They need to be alert, however. The names of the speakers, +given in the margin, are for the benefit of the readers of this article. +They are not put on the board. The children do not need them. + + +THE OLD WOMAN AND THE PIG + +I + + _The old woman._ I was sweeping my house. + I found this dime. + What shall I buy? + I know; I will buy a pig. + Where is my sunbonnet? + Where is my cane? + Here I go. + Tramp! tramp! tramp! + +II. + + _Old woman._ Tap, tap, tap! + + _The farmer._ Come in. + Good morning, old woman. + + _Old woman._ Good morning, sir. + I want to buy a pig. + + _Farmer._ All right; I have some. + Will you look at them? + Here they are. + + _Old woman._ I like this one. + I will take it. + Good morning. + + _Farmer._ Good morning. + +III + + _Old woman._ Go on, pig. + That fence is low, + You can jump over. + + _Pig._ Grunt! grunt! + + _Old woman._ What shall I do? + I must have help. + I will go back. + +IV + + _Old woman._ Dog, dog, bite pig. + + _Dog._ No, no. (_Shaking his head._) + +V + + _Old woman._ Stick, stick, whip dog. + + _Stick._ No, no. (_Shaking head as before._) + +VI-XII. _Similar to two above._ + +XIII + + _Old woman._ Cat, cat, kill rat. + + _Cat._ I will if you will give me some milk. + + _Old woman._ I will go to the cow. + +XIV + + _Old woman._ Cow, cow, give me some milk. + + _Cow._ I will if you will give me some hay. + + _Old woman._ All right. + Tramp! tramp! tramp! + Here is the hay, cow. + + _Cow._ Chew, chew, chew, chew. + Now you may have some milk. + + _Old woman._ Thank you, cow. + +XV + + _Old woman._ Come, kitty, kitty, kitty. + Here is some milk for you. + + _Cat._ Lap, lap, lap, lap. + + _Old woman._ Now catch the rat. + + _Cat._ Patter, patter, patter. (_Given softly--it is the cat running + after the rat._) + + +THE THREE BEARS + +I + + _The papa bear._ That soup is hot. + It must cool. + We will take a walk. + +II + + _Silver-Hair._ Tap! tap! tap! + No one at home. + I will go in. + What is that on the table? + It is three bowls of soup. + I am hungry. + (_Tasting of the soup in the big bowl._) + That is too hot. + (_Tasting of soup in middle-sized bowl._) + That is too cold. + (_Tasting of soup in little bowl._) + That is just right. + It is good. + I will eat a little. + +III + + I am tired. + Here are three chairs. + That is too high. + That is too wide. + This is just right. + I will rest here. + Oh, it broke! + +IV + + I am sleepy. + I will go upstairs. + Here are three beds. + That is too hard. + That is too soft. + This is just right. + I will sleep here. + +V + + _Papa bear._ SOMEBODY HAS BEEN TASTING MY SOUP. + + _Mamma bear._ _Somebody has been tasting my soup._ + + _Baby bear._ Somebody has been tasting my soup. + It is all gone. + +VI + + _Papa bear._ SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR. + + _Mamma bear._ _Somebody has been sitting in my chair._ + + _Baby bear._ Somebody has been sitting in my chair. + It is all broken. + +VII + + _Papa bear._ SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING ON MY BED. + + _Mamma bear._ _Somebody has been lying on my bed._ + + _Baby bear._ Somebody has been lying on my bed. + Why, here she is! + + _Silver-Hair._ Oh, my! + I will jump. + Now I will run. + +THE FIR TREE + +I + + I am a little fir tree. + I want to be tall. + I hate rabbits. + They jump over me. + +II + + I am three years old. + The rabbit cannot jump over me now. + It runs around me. + I wish I were taller. + I hate to be so little. + +III + + Now I am six years old. + Here come the woodchoppers. + They will take me away. + Here I go. + Thump! thump! thump! + +IV + + What a fine house. + How beautiful this moss is. + What are these people going to give me? + I am so happy! + +V + + Here are the children. + How they like me! + See them dance about me. + _Everybody looks at me._ + Do not take away my beautiful dress. + Do not put out the lights. + +VI + + Here come the servants. + They will give me my beautiful dress. + Oh, oh, oh! + Don't put me up there. + It is dark. + I want to be planted. + +VII + + I wish I were at home. + I want to see the rabbit. + It may jump over me. + I will not care. + I want to see the other trees. + The rats come. I do not like rats. + +VIII + + Out again! + I like the air. + Now I shall be planted. + I am glad to see the flowers. + I am glad to hear the birds. + Now I shall live. + +IX + + That boy called me ugly. + He took my beautiful star. + I wish I were in the woods. + I shall never be happy again. + Pop! pop! pop! pop! + + +THE STREET MUSICIANS + +I + + _The donkey._ I am very old. + I am very weak. + I can work no more. + My master will not keep me. + I will run away. + I will go to the city. + I can make music. + I will join a band. + Trot! trot! trot! + +II + + What is that in the road? + It is an old dog. + What is the matter? + + _Dog._ I am very old. + I am very weak. + I cannot hunt. + My master will not keep me. + How can I live? + + _Donkey._ Come with me. + You can play the bass drum. + Join a band. + + _Dog._ Good! good! good! + I will go. + + _Dog and donkey._ Trot! trot! trot! + +III + + _Donkey._ What is that in the road? + It is an old cat. + What is the matter, old whiskers? + + _Cat._ I am very old. + I am very weak. + I cannot catch mice. + My mistress will not keep me. + How can I live? + + _Donkey._ Come with us. + You can sing. + Join a band. + + _Cat._ Good! good! good! + I will go. + + _All three._ Trot! trot! trot! + +IV + + _Donkey._ What is that on the gate? + It is a rooster. + What is the matter? + + _Rooster._ The cook will kill me. + + _Donkey._ Come with us. + You can sing. + Join a band. + + _Rooster._ Good! good! good! + I will go. + + _All four._ Trot! trot! trot! + + +THE UNHAPPY PINE TREE + + +I + + I am a little pine tree. + I do not like to be a pine tree. + My leaves are needles. + Needles are not pretty. + I wish I had gold leaves. + +II + + _In the morning._ Why do the trees look at me? + What has happened? + Gold leaves! Gold leaves! + Just what I wanted! + Good! good! good! + +III + + _To the robber._ Do not take my leaves. + I want them. + They are beautiful. + Give them back. + No leaves! No leaves! + I wish I had glass leaves. + +IV + + _In the morning._ Oh, how beautiful! + Glass leaves! Glass leaves! + No robber will take them. + I can keep them. + I am so happy! + +V + + Cloud, do not come. + Wind, do not blow. + Keep still, keep still. + A leaf is broken. + Another! Another! + All gone! All gone! + No beautiful leaves. + I wish I had bright green leaves. + +VI + + _In the morning._ Oh, my pretty green leaves! + No one will steal them. + Nothing will break them. + I shall not need to keep still. + I will dance. + Dance! dance! dance! + +VII + + Goat, do not come here. + These are my leaves. + I want them. + They are pretty. + Oh, oh, oh! + All my pretty leaves are gone. + What shall I do? + I wish I had my needles. + +VIII + + Oh, mother, mother, see! + I have my old leaves. + I like them. + They are best of all. + No one will steal them. + Nothing will break them. + Nothing will eat them. + I can keep them. + My dear old leaves! + + * * * * * + +(III) _Nature Study as a Basis for the Reading._ The subjects in which +the pupils are most interested are made the basis for the reading +lessons. + +Sometimes there is a guessing game like the following: The teacher, +holding a flower in her closed hand, writes:-- + + Guess what I have. + It is a flower. + It is white. + _It has a yellow centre._ + +(The children answer--a daisy.) Or-- + + Guess what I have. + It is a leaf. + It is yellow. + It is long. + It is narrow. + +(The children answer--the willow.) + +After the pupils have made a careful study of a few birds or flowers, +the reading lesson describes one of these, and the pupils are expected +to name it from the description. If a child gives the wrong name, one of +those who know better points out the line or lines barring out this +object, and reads to the one making the mistake as proof of his error. + + I live in the woods. + I am not a bird. + I am not a flower. + I am not a tree. + I run up trees. + I eat nuts. + I have a bushy tail. + What is my name? (_Squirrel._) + I am a little bird. + My back is brown. + My breast is white. + My bill is curved. + I go up a tree trunk. + I fly to another tree. + I like insects. + What is my name? (_The brown creeper._) + This is a big bird. + It is blue. + It has black bands on its tail and wings. + It has a crest. + Its bill is black. + It scolds. + What is its name? (_The blue jay._) + +The children sometimes play a game like the following: All but one +personify red-headed woodpeckers. The _one_ questions from the board. +If a red-headed woodpecker fails to answer the question put to him, he +takes the place of the interlocutor. It is an honor to be able to answer +all the questions put:-- + + What color is your head? + What color is your throat? + What color is your breast? + What colors on your wings? + What color is your bill? + What do you do? + Where do you make your nest? + +To a set of questions like the following, the children give the answers, +after reading the questions silently:-- + + What bird did you first see this spring? + What have you seen a robin do? + What flower did you see first? + What yellow flowers have you seen this spring? + What white flowers? + What blue flowers? + What bird builds a nest in a tree trunk? + What bird builds a nest on the ground? + + +THE BABY ROBIN + +I saw two robins on the ground. + +One was a mamma robin. + +The other was a baby robin. + +The baby robin was as big as its mother. + +Its breast was spotted. + +Its mother gave it an earthworm. + +At first it dropped it, but its mother picked it up and gave it to her +baby again. + +This time it got a better hold. By several gulps it swallowed the worm. + +The mother looked proud of her baby. (This is the teacher's experience +which she tells the children from the board. Sometimes she writes the +observations which one of the children have made.) + +As no two teachers will have the same material for Nature Study, the +reading material will not be multiplied here. + +Gradually, as the pupils can stand it, the sentences are lengthened a +little as necessary, and massed into paragraphs. + +The use of the "Mother Goose Rhymes" as a means of enlivening the first +year reading lessons is also treated as follows by Mrs. Lida McMurry. +(Taken from _School and Home Education_ for October, 1902.) + +Many of the children on entering school are well versed in Nursery +Rhymes. They enjoy repeating them. Other children may not know them so +well, but soon learn them from their classmates. Teachers and pupils may +have a happy time together with Mother Goose, and at the same time the +pupils are learning to read without realizing that what they are doing +is something that they are not accustomed to. + +I will suggest a few ways in which these rhymes may be made the basis +for reading lessons:-- + +Take this rhyme-- + + 1. Dance, Thumbkin, dance, + Dance, ye merrymen, every one; + For Thumbkin he can dance alone, + Thumbkin he can dance alone. + +The second, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas are like the first, only +Foreman, Longman, Ringman, and Littleman are in turn substituted for +Thumbkin. + +The children first learn to act out each stanza as they recite it +together. The thumb is held up and moved about as if dancing, as the +first line is given. All the fingers dance as the second line is +recited. The thumb dances alone as the third and fourth lines are +repeated. + +The teacher then repeats the stanza alone, and the children's fingers +accompany her. + +Later, when the children have learned to act out the story well, as the +teacher repeats it, the teacher writes the first line at the board, and, +pointing to it, asks the children to do what the board directs. They +cannot tell what it is, so the teacher says, "The board is talking to +_Thumbkin_," writing the name on the board as she says it. "What do you +think it wants Thumbkin to do?" pointing to _Dance_ in the line on the +board. The next line is written on the board. The children quite likely +will guess rightly what it says, because of its setting. If not, the +teacher will help them as at first. In the same way they connect the +third and fourth lines with the oral expression of the same, and act +them out accordingly. That the children respond readily to the +directions as written is no proof, at first, that they know even most of +the words in the lines. The teacher's test is a part of the play. +To-day, instead of writing the first line, she writes the second. Many +get caught. They will be more alert another time. As they can never tell +which line will appear first, they learn to discriminate by giving +closer attention to the form of the words. + +Sometimes the teacher writes the six names--Thumbkin, Foreman, etc., and +Merrymen, on the board. She points to the name or names of the one, or +ones, that should dance. The children do not like to make mistakes in +responding with the fingers. + +Sometimes the teacher points to a name on the board, as Foreman, and +writes "dance alone," or "dance every one." The alert children see that +the latter does not apply. + +The words are not drilled upon. The game, with variations sometimes, is +played quite frequently, but never so long at a time that the children +weary of it. Three or four plays or games are given at a single +recitation. The interests of the children are studied, and rhymes which +they do not enjoy as reading material are dropped, and others +substituted. The rhymes should often be repeated, just as they occur in +"Mother Goose," that the children may not forget them. + + 2. Eye winker. + Tom tinker. + Mouth eater. + Chin chopper. + Chin chopper. + +The children point to the parts of the face as they are named. They +first learn to give the rhyme with its accompanying motion orally, then +they respond to it as written on the board (Tom tinker is the other +eye). When they do this readily the directions are written out of their +order. This tests the children's ability to distinguish one form from +another. No child likes to give the wrong motion in response to a +direction, _e.g._, point to his mouth when Eye winker is called for. + + 3. The children, we will suppose, know a number of rhymes, as, _e.g._, + + A diller, a dollar, a ten o'clock scholar. + A little boy went into a barn. + Baa, baa, black sheep. + Rain, rain, go away, etc. + +The teacher writes the first line of one of these rhymes on the board +and asks a child to give the rhyme. He cannot at first. Later he will +learn to recognize it; so with all the rhymes he knows. When he can give +any rhyme called for in response to the first line as written at the +board, another line (not the first) is written, and the child asked to +give the rhyme of which it is a part. + + 4. Is John Smith within? + Yes, that he is. + Can he set a shoe? + Ay, marry, two. + Here a nail and there a nail, + Tick, tack, too. + +After the children have learned the above rhyme, acting it out, by +imitating the voices of the two speakers, and by driving the nails, the +two questions are asked at the board, and the children respond orally. +Sometimes the second question, slightly altered, is asked first, _e.g._, +"Can John Smith set a shoe?" Sometimes "Who is within?" appears on the +board. + + 5. Old Mother Hubbard. + +There are many stanzas to this poem, a few of which the teacher will +wish to omit, as those referring to the visits to the ale-house and the +tavern. The pupils become perfectly familiar with the jingle, so they +can with ease give it orally, then the teacher writes the first line of +a stanza at the board and pointing to it asks a pupil to give the +remainder of the stanza. The mistake is ludicrous if the wrong lines +follow the first, and the pupils wish to avoid such a mistake. + + 6. There were two birds sat on a stone, + Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. + One flew away and then there was one, + Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. + The other flew after and then there was none, + Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. + And so the poor stone was left all alone, + Fa, la, la, la, lal, de. + +The children act out this rhyme at first as they say it, later, +silently, as they see what is called for at the board. + +Any number may be substituted for _two_ in the first line, but when they +come to the third line the number substituted for one should be such +that only one will remain, _e.g._, There were _eight_ birds sat on a +stone, _Seven_ flew away, etc. The children are sometimes caught by the +wrong number being told to fly. The children should not fly until they +are sure that it is all right. + + 7. What are your eyes for? + What are your ears for? + What is your nose for? + What is your tongue for? + What is your mouth for? + What is your hand for? + What are your fingers for? + What are your teeth for? + What is your brain for? + What is your heart for? + +These questions are read silently by the children, then answered orally +in complete sentences, one child only answering at one time. The answers +are so absurd when wrong that each child is careful to know what is +asked. + +These are only a few of the ways in which "Mother Goose" may be used as +reading material. Each teacher will think out for herself ways in which +these rhymes may be profitably and happily employed. + + MRS. LIDA MCMURRY. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +METHOD IN PRIMARY READING + + +The problem of primary reading is one of the most complex and difficult +in the whole range of school instruction. A large proportion of the +finest skill and sympathy of teachers has been expended in efforts to +find the appropriate and natural method of teaching children to read. +All sorts of methods and devices have been employed, from the most +formal and mechanical to the most spirited and realistic. + +The first requisite to good reading is something worth reading, +something valuable and interesting to the children, and adapted to their +minds. We must take it for granted in this discussion that the best +literature and the best stories have been selected, and what the teacher +has to do is, first, to appreciate these masterpieces for herself, and +second, to bring the children in the reading lessons to appreciate and +enjoy them. In the primary grades we are not so richly supplied with +available materials from good literature as in intermediate and grammar +grades. This is due not to difficulty in thought, but to the unfamiliar +written and printed forms. The great problem in primary reading is to +master these strange forms as quickly as possible, and find entrance to +the story-land of books. For several years, however, primary teachers +have been selecting and adapting the best stories, and some of the +leading publishers have brought out in choice school-book form books +which are well adapted to the reading of primary grades. + +We should like to assume one other advantage. If the children have been +treated orally to "Robinson Crusoe" in the second grade, they will +appreciate and read the story much better in the third grade. If some of +Grimm's stories are told in first grade, they can be read with ease in +the second grade. The teacher's oral presentation of the stories is the +right way to bring them close to the life and interest of children. In +the first grade, as shown in the chapter on oral lessons, it is the only +way, because the children cannot yet read. But even if they could read, +the oral treatment is much better. The oral presentation is more lively, +natural, and realistic. The teacher can adapt the story and the language +to the immediate needs of the class as no author can. She can question, +or suggest lines of thought, or call up ideas from the children's +experience. The oral manner is the true way to let the children delve +into the rich culture-content of stories and to awaken a taste for their +beauty and truth. We could well wish that before children read mythical +stories in fourth grade, they had been stirred up to enjoy them by oral +narration and discussion in the preceding year. In the same way, if the +reading bears on interesting science topics previously studied, it will +be a distinct advantage to the reading lesson. Children like to read +about things that have previously excited their interest, whether in +story or science. The difficulties of formal reading will also be partly +overcome by familiarity with the harder names and words. Our conclusion +is that reading lessons, alone, cannot provide all the conditions +favorable to good reading. Some of these can be well supplied by other +studies or by preliminary lessons which pave the way for the reading +proper. This matter has been so fully discussed in the earlier chapters +on oral work that it requires no further treatment here. + + +FOLK-LORE STORIES AS READING EXERCISES FOR FIRST GRADE + +Let it be supposed that a class of first-grade children has learned to +tell a certain story orally. It has interested them and stirred up their +thought. + +Let them next learn to read the same story in a very simple form. This +will lead to a series of elementary reading lessons in connection with +the story, and the aim should be strictly that of mastering the early +difficulties of reading. The teacher recalls the story, and asks for a +statement from its beginning. If the sentence furnished by the child is +simple and suitable, the teacher writes it on the blackboard in plain +large script. Each child reads it through and points out the words. Let +there be a lively drill upon the sentence till the picture of each word +becomes clear and distinct. During the first lesson, two or three short +sentences can be handled with success. As new words are learned, they +should be mixed up on the board with those learned before, and a quick +and varied drill on the words in sentences or in columns be employed +to establish the forms in memory.[8] Speed, variety in device, and +watchfulness to keep all busy and attentive are necessary to secure good +results. + + [8] First-class primary teachers claim that drills are + unnecessary if the teacher is skilful in recombining the + old words in new sentences. + +After a few lessons one or two of the simpler words may be taken for +phonetic analysis. The simple sounds are associated with the letters +that represent them. These familiar letters are later met and identified +in new words, and, as soon as a number of sounds with their symbols have +been learned, new words can be constructed and pronounced from these +known elements. + +The self-activity of the children in recognizing the elementary sounds, +already met, in new words as fast as they come up, is one of the chief +merits of this early study of words. They thus early learn the power of +self-help and of confident reliance upon themselves in acquiring and +using knowledge. The chief difficulty is in telling which sound to use, +as a letter often has several sounds (as _a_, _e_, _s_, _c_, etc.). But +the children are capable of testing the known sounds of a letter upon a +new word, and in most cases, of deciding which to use. The thoughtless +habit of pronouncing every new word for a child, without effort on his +part, checks and spoils his interest and self-activity. It does not seem +necessary to use an extensive system of diacritical markings to guide +him in these efforts to discriminate sounds. It is better to use the +marks as little as possible and learn to interpret words as they usually +appear in print. Experience has shown decisively that a lively and +vigorous self-activity is manifested by such early efforts in learning +to read. It is one of the most encouraging signs in education to see +little children in their first efforts to master the formal art of +reading, showing this spirited self-reliant energy. + +In the same way, they recognize old words in sentences and new or +changed combinations of old forms, and begin to read new sentences which +combine old words in new relations. + +In short, the sentence, word, and phonic methods are all used in fitting +alternation, while originality and variety of device are necessary in +the best exercise of teaching power. + +The processes of learning to read by such board-script work are partly +analytic and partly synthetic. Children begin with sentences, analyze +them into words, and some of the words into their simple sounds. But +when these sounds begin to grow familiar, they are identified again in +other words, thus combining them into new forms. In the same way, words +once learned by the analytic study of sentences are recognized again in +new sentences, and thus interpreted in new relations. + +The short sentences, derived from a familiar story, when ranged together +supply a brief, simple outline of the story. If now this series of +sentences be written on the board or printed on slips of paper, the +whole story may be reviewed by the class from day to day till the word +and sentence forms are well mastered. For making these printed slips, +some teachers use a small printing-press, or a typewriter. Eventually +several stories may be collected and sewed together, so as to form a +little reading-book which is the result of the constructive work of +teacher and pupils. + +The reading lessons just described are entirely separate from the oral +treatment and reproduction of the stories; yet the thought and interest +awakened in the oral work are helpful in keeping up a lively effort in +the reading class. The thought material in a good story is itself a +mental stimulus, and produces a wakefulness which is favorable to +imprinting the forms as well as the content of thought. Expression, +also, that is, natural and vivid rendering of the thought, is always +aimed at in reading, and springs spontaneously from interesting thought +studies. + +Many teachers use the materials furnished by oral lessons in natural +science as a similar introduction to reading in first grade. The science +lessons furnish good thought matter for simple sentences, and there is +good reason why, in learning to read, children should use sentences +drawn both from literature and from natural science. + + +READING IN THE SECOND GRADE + +The oral lessons in good stories, and the later board-use of these +materials in learning the elements of formal reading, are an excellent +preparation for the fuller and more extended reading of similar matter +in the second and third grades. + +When the oral work of the first grade has thus kindled the fancy of a +child upon these charming pictures, and the later board-work has +acquainted him with letter and word symbols which express such thought, +the reading of the same and other stories of like character (a year +later) will follow as an easy and natural sequence. As a preliminary to +all good reading exercises, there should be rich and fruitful thought +adapted to the age of children. The realm of classic folk-lore contains +abundant thought material peculiar in its fitness to awaken the interest +and fancy of children in the first two grades. To bring these choice +stories close to the hearts of children should be the aim of much of the +work in both these grades. Such an aim, skilfully carried out, not only +conduces to the joy of children in first grade, but infuses the reading +lessons of second grade with thought and culture of the best quality. + +Interest and vigor of thought are certain to help right expression and +reading. Reading, like every other study, should be based upon +realities. When there is real thought and feeling in the children, a +correct expression of them is more easily secured than by formal demands +or by intimidation. + +The stories to be read in second or third grade may be fuller and longer +than the brief outline sentences used for board-work in the first grade. +Besides, these tales, being classic and of permanent value, do not lose +their charm by repetition. + + +METHOD + +By oral reading, we mean the giving of the thought obtained from a +printed page to others through the medium of the voice. + +There is first the training of the eye in taking in a number of words at +a glance--a mechanical process; then the interpretation of these groups +of words--a mental process; next the making known of the ideas thus +obtained to others, by means of the voice--also a mechanical process. + +The children need special help in each step. We are apt to overdo one at +the expense of the others. + +1. Eye-training is the foundation of all good reading. Various devices +are resorted to in obtaining it. We will suggest a few, not new at all, +but useful. + + (_a_) A strip of cardboard, on which is a clause or sentence, is + held before the class, for a moment only, and then removed. The + length of the task is increased as the eye becomes trained to + this kind of work. + + (_b_) The children open their books at a signal from the + teacher, glance through a line, or part of one, indicated by the + teacher, close book at once and give the line. + + (_c_) The teacher places on the board clauses or sentences + bearing on the lesson, and covers with a map. The map is rolled + up to show one of these, which is almost immediately erased. The + children are then asked to give it. The map is then rolled up + higher, exposing another, which also is speedily erased--and so + on until all have been given to the children and erased. + +2. The child needs not only to be able to recognize groups of words, but +he must be able to get thought from them. The following are some devices +to that end:-- + + (_a_) Suggestive pictures can be made use of to advantage all + through the primary grades. If the child reads part of the story + in the picture, and finds it interesting, he will want to read + from the printed page the part not given in the picture. + + (_b_) Where there is no picture--or even where there is one--an + aim may be useful to arouse interest in the thought, _i.e._ a + thoughtful question may be put by the teacher, which the + children can answer only by reading the story; _e.g._ in the + supplementary reader, "Easy Steps for Little Feet," is found the + story of "The Pin and Needle." There is no picture. The teacher + says, as the class are seated: "Now we have a story about a big + quarrel between a pin and a needle over the question, 'Which one + is the better fellow?' Of what could the needle boast? Of what + the pin? Let us see which won." + + (_c_) Let all the pupils look through one or more paragraphs, + reading silently, to get the thought, before any one is called + upon to read aloud. If a child comes to a word that he does not + know, during the silent reading, the teacher helps him to get + it--from the context if possible--if not, by the sounds of the + letters which compose it. + +As each child finishes the task assigned, he raises his eyes from the +book, showing by this act that he is ready to tell what he has just +read. The thought may be given by the child in his own language to +assure the teacher that he has it. Usually, however, in the lower +grades, this is unnecessary, the language of the book being nearly as +simple as his own. + +The advantage of having all the pupils kept busy, instead of one alone +who might be called upon to read the paragraph, is evident. Every child +reads silently all of the lesson. Time would not permit that this be +done orally, were it advisable to do so. When the child gets up to read, +he is not likely to stumble, for he has both the thought and the +expression for it, at the start. + +While aiming to have the children comprehend the thought, the teacher +should not forget, on the other hand, that this is the reading hour, and +not the time for much oral instruction and reproduction. There are other +recitations in which the child is trained to free oral expression of +thought, as in science and literature. Such offhand oral expression of +his own ideas is not the primary aim of the reading lesson. Its purpose +is to lend life to the recitation. + +3. Steps 1 and 2 deal with preparation for the reading. Up to this time, +no oral reading has been done. Now we are ready to begin. + +Children will generally express the thought with the proper emphasis if +they not only see its meaning but also feel it. Suppose the children are +interested in the thought of the piece, they still fail, sometimes, to +give the proper emphasis. How can the teacher, by questioning, get them +to realize the more important part of the thought? + + (_a_) The teacher has gone deeper into the meaning than have the + children. Her questions should be such as to make real to the + children the more emphatic part of the thought; _e.g._ in the + Riverside Primer we have, "Poor Bun, good dog, did you think I + meant to hit you?" John reads, "Do you think I meant to _hit_ + you?" The teacher says, "I will be Bun, John. What is it that + you do not want Bun to think?" ("That I _meant_ to hit him.") + "But you did mean to hit something. What was it you did not mean + to hit? Tell Bun." ("I did not _mean_ to hit _you_.") Now ask + him if he thought that you did. ("Did you think I _meant_ to hit + _you_?") + + (_b_) When the story is in the form of a dialogue, the children + may personate the characters in the story. Thus, getting into + the real spirit of the piece, their emphasis will naturally fall + where it properly belongs. + + (_c_) Sometimes the teacher will find it necessary to show the + child how to read a passage properly, by reading it himself. It + is seldom best to do this--certainly not if the correct + expression can be reached through questioning. + +Many a teacher makes a practice of giving the proper emphasis to the +child, he copying it from her voice. Frequently, children taught in this +way can read one piece after another in their readers with excellent +expression, but, when questioned, show that their minds are a blank as +to the meaning of what they are reading. + +In working for expression, a great many teachers waste the time and +energy of the pupils by indefinite directions. The emphasis is not +correctly placed, so the teacher says, "I do not like that; try it +again, May." Now, May has no idea in what particular she has failed, so +she gives it again, very likely as she gave it before, or she may put +the emphasis on some other word, hoping by so doing to please the +teacher. "Why, no, May, you surely can do better than that," says the +teacher. So May makes another fruitless attempt, when the teacher, +disgusted, calls on another pupil to show her how to read. May has +gained no clearer insight into the thought than she started out with, no +power to grapple more successfully with a similar difficulty another +time, and has lost, partly at least, her interest in the piece. She has +been bothered and discouraged, and the class wearied. + +Sometimes when the expression is otherwise good, the children pitch +their voices too high or too low. Natural tones must be insisted upon. A +good aid to the children in this respect is the habitual example of +quiet, clear tones in the teacher. + +Another fault of otherwise good reading is a failure to enunciate +distinctly. Children are inclined to slight many sounds, especially at +the end of the words, and the teacher is apt to think: "That doesn't +make so very much difference, since they are only children. When they +are older they will see that their pronunciation is babyish, and adopt a +correct form." This is unsound reasoning. Every time the child says +_las_ for _last_ he is establishing more firmly a habit, to overcome +which will give him much difficulty. + +In the pronunciation of words as well as in the reading of a sentence, +much time is wasted through failure to point out the exact word, and the +syllable in the word, in which the mistake has been made. The child +cannot improve unless he knows in what particular there is room for +improvement. + +Children in primary grades should be supplied with a good variety of +primers, readers, and simple story books. In the course of their work +they should read through a number of first, second, and third readers. +Much of this reading should be simple and easy, so that they can move +rapidly through a book, and gain confidence and satisfaction from it. In +each grade there should be several sets of readers, which can be turned +to as the occasion may demand. It is much better to read a new reader, +involving in the main the same vocabulary, than to reread an old book. +This use of several books in each grade adds to the interest and reduces +to a minimum the mere drills, which are to be avoided as much as +possible. + + +SUMMARY + +1. Let children read under the impulse of strong and interesting +thought. + + (_a_) The previous oral treatment of the stories now used as + reading lessons will help this thought impulse. + + (_b_) An aim concretely stated, and touching an interesting + thought in the lesson, will give impetus to the work. + + (_c_) Let children pass judgment on the truth, worth, or beauty + of what they read. + + (_d_) Clear mental pictures of people, actions, places, etc., + conduce to vigor of thought. To this end the teacher should use + good pictures, make sketches, and give descriptions or + explanations. Children should also be allowed to sketch freely + at the board. + +2. Children should be encouraged constantly to help themselves in +interpreting new words and sentences in reading. + + (_a_) By looking through the new sentence and making it out, if + possible, for themselves before any one reads it aloud. + + (_b_) By analyzing a new word into its sounds, and then + combining them to get its pronunciation. + + (_c_) By interpreting a new word from its context, or by the + first sound or syllable. + + (_d_) By using the new powers of the letters as fast as they are + learned in interpreting new words. + + (_e_) By trying the different sounds of a letter to a new word + to see which seems to fit best. + + (_f_) By recognizing familiar words in new sentences with a + different context. + + (_g_) See that every child reads the sentences in the new lesson + for himself. + +3. There should be a gradual introduction to the elementary sounds +(powers of the letters). + +The first words analyzed should be simple and phonetic in spelling, as +_dog_, _hen_, _cat_, etc. + +New sounds of letters are taught as the children need them in studying +out new words. + +Very little attention needs to be given to learning the names of the +letters. + +There need be little use of diacritical markings in early reading. + +4. Many of the new words will occur in connection with the picture at +the head of the lesson. Place these on the board as they come up. + +If the teacher will weave these words into her conversation, they will +give the children little future trouble. + +5. All the different phases of the phonic, word, and sentence method +should be woven together by a skilful teacher. + +6. The close attention of all the members of the class, so that each +reads through the whole lesson, should be an ever-present aim of the +teacher. + +7. Children should be trained to grasp several words at a glance:-- + + (_a_) By quick writing and erasure of words and sentences at the + board. + + (_b_) By exposing for an instant sentences covered by a screen. + + (_c_) By the use of phrases or short sentences on cardboard. + + (_d_) By questions for group thought. + +These tests should increase in difficulty with growing skill. + +8. Spend but little time in the oral reproduction of stories. Practice +in good reading and interpretation is the main thing. + +9. Children, from the first, should be encouraged to articulate +distinctly in oral reading. Let the teacher begin at home. + +10. Let the teacher cultivate a pleasing tone of voice, not loud or +harsh. This will help the children to the same. + +11. Vigorous and forcible expression is secured:-- + + (_a_) By having interesting stories. + + (_b_) By apt questions to bring out the emphatic thought. + + (_c_) By dramatizing the scenes of the story. + + (_d_) By occasional examples of lively reading by the teacher. + + (_e_) By definiteness in questioning. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +LIST OF BOOKS FOR PRIMARY GRADES + + +In selecting reading books for primary grades the purpose is to find +those which will give the readiest mastery of the printed forms of +speech. + +For this purpose books need to be well graded and interesting. Primary +teachers have expended their utmost skill upon such simple, attractive, +and interesting books for children. Pictorial illustration has added to +the clearness and beauty of the books, so that, with the rivalry of many +large publishing houses, we now have a great variety of good primary +books to select from. + +The earliest and simplest of these are the primers, which, followed by +the first readers, give the most necessary drills upon the forms of easy +words and sentences. Great care has been taken to give an easy regular +grading so as to let a child help himself as much as possible. But as +soon as children, by blackboard exercises and by means of primers, have +gained a mastery of the simpler words and the powers of the letters, the +Mother Goose rhymes, the fables and fairy tales (already familiar to the +children in oral work) are introduced into their reading books in the +simplest possible forms. + +The use of interesting rhymes and stories in this early reading is the +only means of giving it a lively content and of thus securing interest +and concentration of thought. Good primary teachers have been able in +this way to relieve the reading lessons of their tedium, and, what is +equally good, have strengthened the interest of the children in the best +literature of childhood. + +Besides the choicest fables and fairy tales, many of the simpler nature +myths and even such longer poems and stories as "Hiawatha," "Robinson +Crusoe," and "Ulysses" have been used with happy results as reading +books in the first three years. There are also certain collections of +children's poems, such as Stevenson's "Child's Garden of Verses," +Field's "Love-songs of Childhood," Sherman's "Little Folk Lyrics," "Old +Ballads in Prose," "The Listening Child," and others, which may suggest +the beauty and variety of choice literary materials which are now easily +within the reach of teachers and children in primary schools. + +There is no longer any doubt that little folk in primary classes may +reap the full benefit of a close acquaintance with these favorite songs, +stories, and poems, and that in the highest educative sense the effect +is admirable. + +In the following list the books for each grade are arranged into three +groups:-- + +_First._ A series of choicest books and those extensively used and well +adapted for the grade as regular reading exercises. + +_Second._ A supplementary list of similar quality and excellence, but +somewhat more difficult. + +They may, in some cases, serve as substitutes for those given in the +first group. + +_Third._ A collection of books for teachers, partly similar in character +to those mentioned in the two previous groups and partly of a much +wider, professional range in literature, history, and nature. Some books +of child-study, psychology, and pedagogy are also included. The problems +of the primary teacher are no longer limited to the small drills and +exercises in spelling and reading, but comprehend many of the most +interesting and far-reaching questions of education. It is well, +therefore, for the primary teacher to become acquainted not only with +the great works of literature but with the best professional books in +education. + + +LIST OF CHOICE READING MATTER FOR THE GRADES + + +FIRST GRADE--FIRST SERIES + + Cyr's Primer. Ginn & Co. + Cyr's First Reader. Ginn & Co. + Riverside Primer and First Reader. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Nature Stories for Young Readers (Plants), D. C. Heath & Co. + Hiawatha Primer. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Stepping Stones to Literature, Book I. Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Child Life Primer. The Macmillan Co. + Taylor's First Reader. Werner School Book Co. + Arnold's Primer. Silver, Burdett, & Co. + The Thought Reader. Ginn & Co. + Sunbonnet Babies. Rand, McNally, & Co. + Nature's By-ways. The Morse Co. + Graded Classics, No. I. B. F. Johnson Pub. Co. + Graded Literature, No. I. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + First Reader (Hodskins). Ginn & Co. + Baldwin's Primer (Kirk). American Book Co. + + +FIRST GRADE--SECOND SERIES + + Six Nursery Classics (O'Shea). D. C. Heath & Co. + Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Stories for Children. American Book Co. + Rhymes and Fables. University Publishing Co. + The Finch First Reader. Ginn & Co. + Baldwin's First Reader. American Book Co. + Heart of Oak, No. 1. D. C. Heath & Co. + Choice Literature, Book I (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co. + Child Life, First Book. The Macmillan Co. + Fables and Rhymes for Beginners. Ginn & Co. + + +FIRST GRADE--FOR TEACHERS--THIRD SERIES + + A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Mother Goose). D. C. Heath & Co. + The Adventures of a Brownie. Harper & Bros. + Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + Talks for Kindergarten and Primary Schools (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + Hall's How to Teach Reading. D. C. Heath & Co. + Place of the Story in Early Education (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + Methods of Teaching Reading (Branson). D. C. Heath & Co. + Lowell's Books and Libraries. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Ruskin's Books and Reading. In Sesame and Lilies. + Lectures to Kindergartners (Peabody). D. C. Heath & Co. + Mother Goose (Denslow). McClure, Phillips, & Co. + Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories. J. L. Hammett & Co. + The Study of Children and their School Training (Warner). + The Macmillan Co. + The Story Hour (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Trumpet and Drum (Eugene Field). Scribner's Sons. + A Child's Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson). Scribner's Sons. + Treetops and Meadows. The Public School Publishing Co., Bloomington, + Ill. + Songs from the Nest (Emily Huntington Miller). Kindergarten + Literature Co. + The Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler). D. Appleton & Co. + Children's Rights (Kate Douglas Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + The Story of Patsy (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + First Book of Birds (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + + +SECOND GRADE--FIRST SERIES + + Nature Stories for Young Readers (continued). D. C. Heath & Co. + Easy Steps for Little Feet. American Book Co. + Classic Stories for Little Ones. Public School Publishing Co., + Bloomington, Ill. + Verse and Prose for Beginners. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Cyr's Second Reader. Ginn & Co. + Stepping Stones to Literature, Book II. + Pets and Companions (Stickney). Ginn & Co. + Child Life, Second Book. The Macmillan Co. + Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co. + +The preceding books are for second and third grades. + + Around the World, Book I. The Morse Co. + Graded Classics, No. II. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. + Graded Literature, No. II. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + A Book of Nursery Rhymes (Welsh). D. C. Heath & Co. + Book of Nature Myths (Holbrook). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + + +SECOND GRADE--SECOND SERIES + + Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co. + German Fairy Tales (Grimm). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Fables and Folk Lore (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Nature Stories for Young Readers--Animals. D. C. Heath & Co. + Danish Fairy Tales (Andersen). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Baldwin's Second Reader. American Book Co. + Choice Literature, Book II (Williams). Butler, Sheldon, & Co. + Fairy Tale and Fable (Thompson). The Morse Co. + Fairy Stories and Fables (Baldwin). American Book Co. + Plant Babies and Their Cradles. Educational Publishing Co. + AEsop's Fables. Educational Publishing Co. + Story Reader. American Book Co. + Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co. + +The above are excellent selections for second, third, and fourth grades. + + Songs and Stories. University Publishing Co. + Love Songs of Childhood (Field). Scribner's Sons. + + +SECOND GRADE--FOR TEACHERS + + Poetry for Children (Eliot). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + The Story Hour (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Story of Hiawatha. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Round the Year in Myth and Song (Holbrook). American Book Co. + Old Ballads in Prose (Tappan). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + St. Nicholas Christmas Book. Century Co., New York. + Asgard Stories (Foster-Cummings). Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Fairy Tale Plays and How to Act Them (Mrs. Bell). Longmans, Green, & + Co. + Little Folk Lyrics (Sherman). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co. + Nature Pictures by American Poets. The Macmillan Co. + Squirrels and Other Fur-bearers (Burroughs). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Seven Great American Poets (Hart). Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Early Training of Children (Malleson). D. C. Heath & Co. + Comenius's The School of Infancy. D. C. Heath & Co. + Kruesi's Life of Pestalozzi. American Book Co. + Development of the Child (Oppenheim). The Macmillan Co. + The Study of Child Nature (Elizabeth Harrison). Published by Chicago + Kindergarten College. + Listening Child (Thatcher). The Macmillan Co. + History and Literature (Rice). A. Flanagan & Co. + + +THIRD GRADE--FIRST SERIES + + Robinson Crusoe. Public School Publishing Co. + Golden Book of Choice Reading. American Book Co. + AEsop's Fables (Stickney). Ginn & Co. + Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part I. Ginn & Co. + Seven Little Sisters. Ginn & Co. + Heart of Oak, No. II. D. C. Heath & Co. + Fairy Stories and Fables. American Book Co. + Child Life, Third Reader. The Macmillan Co. + Grimm's German Household Tales. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Fables (published as leaflets). C. M. Parker, Taylorville, Ill. + Around the World, Book II. The Morse Co. + Graded Classics, No. III. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. + Graded Literature, No. III. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Grimm's Fairy Tales. Educational Publishing Co. + Grimm's Fairy Tales (Wiltse). Ginn & Co. + Nature Myths and Stories for Little Ones (Cooke). A. Flanagan & Co. + Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). American Book Co. + + +THIRD GRADE--SECOND SERIES + + Arabian Nights. Houghton, Mifflin. & Co. + Hans Andersen's Stories. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Fairy Tales in Verse and Prose (Rolfe). Harper & Bros. + Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children. Ginn & Co. + Andersen's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co. + Open Sesame, Part I. Ginn & Co. + Judd's Classic Myths. + Grimm's Fairy Tales, Part II. Ginn & Co. + The Eugene Field Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons. + A Child's Garden of Verses. Rand, McNally, & Co. + Little Lame Prince (Craik). Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Prose and Verse for Children (Pyle). American Book Co. + Book of Tales. American Book Co. + + +THIRD GRADE--FOR TEACHERS + + Stories from the History of Rome. The Macmillan Co. + Friends and Helpers (Eddy). Ginn & Co. + Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe (Yonge). The Macmillan Co. + Robinson Crusoe. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Arabian Nights, Aladdin, etc. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Bird's Christmas Carol (Wiggin). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Uncle Remus (Harris). D. Appleton & Co. + Fifty Famous Stories Retold (Baldwin). American Book Co. + Four Great Americans (Baldwin). Werner School Book Co. + Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans (Eggleston). + American Book Co. + The Story of Lincoln (Cavens). Public School Publishing Co. + Among the Farmyard People (Pierson). E. P. Dutton & Co. + The Howells Story Book (Burt). Scribner's Sons. + The Jungle Book (Kipling). Century Co., New York. + Old Norse Stories (Bradish). American Book Co. + Little Brothers of the Air (Miller). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Hans Brinker (Mary Mapes Dodge). Century Co. + Black Beauty. University Publishing Co. + Tanglewood Tales (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Wonder Book (Hawthorne). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + The Story of the Wagner Opera. Scribner's Sons. + Thoughts on Education (Locke). The Macmillan Co. + The Education of Man (Froebel). D. Appleton & Co. + Childhood in Literature and Art (Scudder). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co. + Waymarks for Teachers (Arnold). Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Hailman's History of Pedagogy. American Book Co. + + +SERIES OF SELECT READERS FOR THE GRADES + + Child Life. The Macmillan Co. + Around the World. The Morse Co. + Baldwin's Readers. American Book Co. + Graded Classics. B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. + Graded Literature. Maynard, Merrill, & Co. + Stepping Stones to Literature. Silver, Burdett, & Co. + Lights to Literature. Rand, McNally, & Co. + The Heart of Oak Series. D. C. Heath & Co. + Choice Literature. Butler, Sheldon, & Co. + + + + +METHODS IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION + + + A Series of Educational Books in Two Groups covering the General + Principles of Method and Its Special Applications to the Common + School + + BY + + CHARLES A. McMURRY, Ph.D. + _Northern Illinois State Normal School, DeKalb, Illinois_ + + WITH + + F. M. McMURRY + AS JOINT AUTHOR FOR METHOD OF RECITATION + + + I. BOOKS OF GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION + + The three books in this group deal with the fundamental, + comprehensive principles of Education for the school as a whole, + and include both instruction and management. + + + II. BOOKS OF SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL STUDIES. + + Each school study is treated in a separate book, and the + selection and arrangement of material, and the method of + instruction appropriate to that study throughout its course, are + fully discussed. Illustrative lessons and extensive lists of + books of special value as helps to teachers and schools are + included. + + + + +GENERAL METHOD IN EDUCATION + + + THE ELEMENTS OF GENERAL METHOD + BASED ON THE IDEAS OF HERBART + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + New edition, revised and enlarged. Cloth. 12mo. 331 pp. + + 90 cents net, postage 10 cents + + This volume discusses fully the controlling principles of our + progressive modern education, such as The Aim of Education; The + Materials and Sources of Moral Training; The Relative Value of + Studies in the School Course; The Nature and Value of Interest + as a Vital Element in Instruction; The Correlation of Studies; + Inductive and Deductive Processes as Fundamental to All + Thinking; Apperception, its Close and Constant Application to + the Process of Learning; The Will, its Training and Function and + its Close Relation to Other Forms of Mental Action. + + The book closes with an account of Herbart and his disciples in + Germany, and a summary of their pronounced ideas and influence + upon education. + + + THE METHOD OF THE RECITATION + + New edition, revised and enlarged + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY and FRANK M. MCMURRY + + Cloth. 12mo. 339 pp. 90 cents net, postage 10 cents + + This book, as a whole, is designed to simplify, organize, and + illustrate the chief principles of class-room method in + elementary schools. A few important fundamental principles are + carefully worked out as a basis. The essential steps, in the + acquisition of knowledge in all studies, are worked out and + applied to different branches. The developing method of + instruction so much used in the oral treatment of lessons is + worked out, and the method of careful and suitable questioning + discussed. + + Two chapters are given, consisting of Illustrative Lessons + selected from the different studies and worked out in full, as + examples of a right method. In these examples, and also in the + discussions, the application of the principles of apperception, + interest, induction, and deduction to class-room work are shown. + The peculiar application of these various principles to + different studies is carefully discussed. + + + SCHOOL AND CLASS MANAGEMENT--In Preparation + + + + +SPECIAL METHOD IN COMMON SCHOOL STUDIES + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN THE READING OF COMPLETE ENGLISH CLASSICS IN + THE COMMON SCHOOLS + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + Cloth. 12mo. 254 pp. 75 cents, postage 9 cents + + This discusses in a comprehensive way the regular reading + lessons, the choice of stories, poems, and longer masterpieces, + adapted to the needs of the various grades from the fourth to + the eighth school year inclusive; the value for school use of + the best literature, including complete masterpieces, both long + and short; method in reading; and principles of class-room work. + A descriptive list of more than four hundred books forms the + last chapter. The list has been carefully made, and is designed + to assist teachers and superintendents in selecting suitable + reading material for the successive grades. + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY READING AND ORAL WORK IN STORY TELLING + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + Cloth. 12mo. 75 cents net, postage 8 cents + + The relation of oral story work to early exercises in primary + reading is explained at length. A full discussion of oral + methods in primary grades and a detailed account of primary + exercises in reading are given. The use of games for incidental + reading is also fully discussed and illustrated. + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN HISTORY + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION + + This book contains a course of study in history with a full + discussion of methods of treating topics. The value, selection, + and arrangement of historical materials for each grade are + discussed, and illustrative lessons given. The relation of + history to geography, literature, and other studies is treated, + and lists of books suitable for each year are supplied. + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN GEOGRAPHY + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION + + The entire course of study is laid out after a careful selection + of topics. Methods of class instruction are fully discussed, and + illustrations are given of geographical topics treated in + detail. The close relation of geography to other studies is + shown, and the best lists of books supplied. + + + SPECIAL METHOD IN NATURAL SCIENCE + + By CHARLES A. MCMURRY + + NEW EDITION IN PREPARATION + + The history of science teaching in elementary schools is given. + The basis for selecting the topics for a course of study, and + the method of class instruction suitable to object study, + experimentation, etc., are fully discussed. The book contains, + also, a carefully selected list of the best books for the use of + teachers and pupils. + + + A COURSE OF STUDY FOR THE EIGHT GRADES OF THE COMMON SCHOOL + + IN PREPARATION + + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK + + BOSTON CHICAGO + 100 Boylston St. 378-388 Wabash Ave. + + ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO + Empire Build'g 319-325 Sansome St. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Special Method in Primary Reading and +Oral Work with Stories, by Charles Alexander McMurry + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECIAL METHOD IN PRIMARY *** + +***** This file should be named 33923.txt or 33923.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/9/2/33923/ + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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