GIFT OF Agricultural Educ. :KdlJ g^£-f ; vn--Dopt ^ HOW TO TEACH THE PRIMARY GRADES • • •• • BY NELLIE COOPER PRIMARY SUPERVISOR EAST TENNESSEE STATE NORMAL SCHOOL JOHNSON CITY, TENNESSEE 1924 A. FLANAGAN COMPANY CHICAGO LB - ' • - ' • * COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PREFACE This book is the outgrowth of a number of years' experience in helping prepare teachers for work in pri- mary grades. After a brief discussion of the aim of education and certain of the underlying principles which run through all the work, the author attempts to show how these principles may be worked out in practice in the primary grades. An attempt has been made to discuss each subject in a practical and scientific way followed by concrete appli- cation. Each step in the plan work has for its basis the principles of psychology which apply to the child mind. Each of the many plans given has been tried out again and again in actual schoolroom practice. The obligations of the author are too numerous to mention. Where direct quotations have been used, due acknowledgment has been made; but it was impossible to acknowledge many of the minor points used in the book, as these were often taken unconsciously from books and magazines. The author has read every book and article bearing on the subject that was accessible. Acknowledgment is made of the assistance given by the colleagues of the author; namely, Dean Hodge Mathes, President Sidney G. Gilbreath, Miss Katherine McSpadden, Miss Tompsie Baxter, Prof. F. W-. Alex- ander, Prof. D. S. Burleson, Prof. Max Schoen, Prof. W. B. Coggin, Miss Ina Yoakley, Prof. C. E. Rogers, Supt. Riley Haworth, and Miss Pearl Bennett. Nellie Cooper Johnson City, Tenn. 675232 EQUIPMENT NECESSARY FOR A MODERN PRIMARY ROOM Adjustable desks Toy money Kindergarten chairs Number drill cards Rubber screw chair tips Arithmetic cards Sand table Cubical counting blocks Library Table builder Book case Alphabet cards Card index (for Library) Word strips Good primary magazines Phonic word builder Pictures Domino cards Clock Peg boards Clock dial Plain sticks Phonograph Colored sticks Thermometer Colored pegs Numeral frame Sectional animals and birds Denominate number cabinet Weaving mats Pitch instrument Weaving slats Duplicator Beads for stringing Pencil sharpener United States Flag. Scissors Flags of Foreign Nations Paper cutter Playground equipment: Rubber type chart outfit Giant stride Plasticine See-saw Drawing and construction paper Swings Colored crayons Slide (All the equipment listed above may be obtained from A. Flanagan Company, Chicago.) CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I Aims and Principles Underlying Primary Education 7 II Lesson Types in Primary Grades 21 III The Lesson Plan in Primary Grades. ... 30 IV Reading 38 V Pre-Primer Work (Reading Continued) . 51 VI The Drill Lesson 70 VII Ppionics (Reading Continued) 77 VIII The Study Lesson (Reading Continued) . 95 IX The Recitation (Reading Continued) . . . 106 X Language 123 XI Language (Continued) 136 XII Literature 1 48 XIII Literature (Continued) 164 XIV Arithmetic 178 XV Arithmetic (Continued) 193 XVI Handwriting 207 XVII Spelling 223 XVIII History, Nature Study, and Geography. .237 XIX History, Nature Study, and Geography (Continued) 257 XX Handwork 270 XXI Music 285 XXII Seat Work 295 XXIII Opening Exercises 301 HOW TO TEACH THE PRIMARY GRADES CHAPTER I AIMS AND PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING PRIMARY EDUCATION AIMS General Aim. In beginning the study of the educa- tional process as it applies directly to the primary grades it will prove an economy of time and effort if the desired end to be attained is considered. Among the important educational aims which have been pointed out are culture, knowledge, harmonious development, utility, and the social aims. Of these the social is now accepted as the standard. The predominating purpose of this aim is to make the individual socially efficient; that is, to develop and to train such of his faculties and capacities as will enable him to accomplish his best work in the world. Special Aims. An analysis of this general aim will reveal that it is made up of a great number of minor aims. 1. The first of these minor aims to be considered is that of the proper development of the body. It is an established fact that the body has a marked influence over the mind. Too often, the laggard in the class is 7 8 How to Teach Primary Grades the poorly-nourished and poorly-developed child. It is found, also, that the well-nourished and well-developed child receives impressions with more ease and retains them longer; is better able to analyze and classify these impressions; and is more likely to make use of them in daily life. Not only does the well-developed body help the mental powers involved in the learning process, but it helps to make living a thing of joy. The healthy individual rises eacb morning with a song in his heart and goes joyfully through the duties of the day. A well-developed body is the result of proper food, proper exercise, and fresh air. Not only should the teacher see that these conditions prevail in the child's school life, but she should make suggestions regarding suitable conditions for the home life. Proper exercise may be secured through work, play, rhythmic gymnastics, and exercises for correct breathing. 2. A closely allied aim is that of training the child to rational observance of the laws of health. Medical science teaches that all the ills of the body except acci- dents may be traced to disregard for certain of these laws. It should be a vital part of the child's education to train him to obey these laws. This training may be given through the use of stories, pictures, talks, and games. 3. Another aim is to establish certain desirable habits; namely, intelligent curiosity; clear, systematic thinking; self-reliance in the solution of problems ; organizing knowledge; judging values; taking the initiative; and certain social habits. a. Intelligent curiosity is a desire to know about things which are worth while. Curiosity is the mother Aims and Principles of all knowledge, inasmuch as a desire to know is a pre- requisite to the gaining of knowledge. Curiosity may be awakened by the use of questions, stories, pictures, and objects. b. The ability to think clearly and systematically is largely a habit — a habit due to training. Practically every school activity should be utilized in establishing this very desirable habit. c. The habit of self-reliance in the discovery of problems and in the solving of these is of such impor- tance as to command the individual attention of every teacher. Many people go through life without realizing that its daily activities are full of vital problems which should be solved. The mental life grows and develops through the solving of these many problems. d. Closely connected with the habit of self-reliance are the habits of organizing knowledge and of judging values. In the old type of school the child was taught facts, and there the matter rested. But the teacher of the present day realizes that if the knowledge gained is to be translated into terms of daily life, the child must be trained to judge its value, and then to organize it in a systematic way. If the average child is to have this ability, it must be the result of definite training — a train- ing which may be accomplished through the ordinary schoolroom activities. e. The development of the capacity for taking the initiative is a most important part of the child's training. By initiative is meant the power to work out things for oneself rather than to depend on others. This is a quality that develops into leadership in both thought and action. While it is doubtless true that there are a few persons who do not possess the germ of this capacity, 10 How to Teach Primary Grades it is also true that the greater number possess it in a varying degree. It is the work of the teacher to dis- cover and develop it by making use of every opportunity which the school activities offer. f. If a person is to accomplish his best work in the world he should be trained to the social habits of thought- fulness, co-operation, honesty, promptness, industry, obe- dience, and patriotism. These habits may be established in part by the use of stories and ethical talks. 4. Many people lose much of the beauty and happi- ness of life because they have not been trained to sec the wonders in nature and in the industrial life of the world. One of the teacher's aims should be to develop within the child the "seeing eye" and the "understanding mind" for all the world of nature and of commerce. This may be accomplished through the regular lessons in nature study, social life, and literature. 5. The teacher should aim to develop within each child the ability to gain knowledge and pleasure through reading. The choice of literature which is to be read and the habit of translating the thought gained into terms of daily life are matters of training — a training for which the teacher must usually assume the entire responsibility. Consequently, she should definitely plan to direct into worthy channels the child's growing ability to read. 6. The outward expression of thought or emotions is an instinct which should be developed to its fullest by training the child to forceful expression through as many different channels as possible ; namely, through spoken and written language, music, manual arts, fine arts, and dramatic action. 7. The capacity for appreciation is one which adds very materially to the joy of living. As this is a capacity Aims and Principles 11 which is very susceptible to training, it is essential that ' the teacher plan definitely for its proper development. The child should be trained to appreciate the truly humor- ous, the beautiful, and the noble qualities in human nature and in the social relations of life. Abundant material for this training will be found in literature, nature study, social life, and history. 8. Growth in the moral, the mental, or the industrial life is largely the result of an ideal or goal which a person desires to attain. The person who has no ideal or goal accomplishes very little, since he has nothing to work toward. The teacher should help the child to establish definite childlike ideals of conduct, of study, and of industry. These ideals may be found in the social world round about, in literature, and in history. 9. A careful examination of these minor aims will reveal that the trend or leading thought is that of pre- paring the child for social service. It is becoming evi- dent that his attitude toward his fellowman is largely due to training — that he will be either selfish or unself- ish according to this training. This thought should be constantly in the mind of the teacher and she should plan to develop within the child ideals of service to parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, friends, and playmates. These ideals should govern prac- tically all his school activities as well as those of his home life. He should be trained to compete honorably with his neighbor, but the emphasis should be on the training which will enable him to work for the good of the group. He should be taught also to consider the results of his actions. Numerous opportunities are to be found in the daily routine of every schoolroom for training in co-operation 12 How to Teach Primary Grades v and service, but too often these natural opportunties are overlooked, and the child is trained only to the habit of striving to outrank his classmate rather than to serve him. The teacher should aim not only to develop the de- sirable traits and tendencies but also to inhibit certain undesirable ones. Any trait or tendency whose develop- ment would be harmful to the group should be inhibited. It is obvious that the truly successful teacher should be a close student of the child-mind from both a theoret- ical and a practical standpoint. PRINCIPLES Through a scientific study of the learning process, it has been found that there are certain laws or principles by which knowledge or skill is acquired. A practical study of these laws or principles and of their application should enable the teacher materially to lighten her work. It should also result in a great saving of time and energy for the child. 1. One of these laws is that known as Sense Percep- tion; namely, that no knowledge enters the mind unless it comes through one of the five senses. Any knowledge dealing with sound alone enters the brain only through the sense of hearing. This is illustrated by the difficulty involved in teaching deaf people to talk. Their inability to place their tones properly is owing to the fact that they have no sense of hearing, hence no real concept of sound. The conclusion for the teacher is that every new idea should be presented through that sense by which it should naturally reach the brain. The more senses involved in the presentation of an idea, the more perfect will be its concept. The child who has looked at an apple, Aims and Principles 15 handled an apple, smelled an apple, and tasted an apple has a fuller and clearer concept of it than the one who has experienced it through only one sense. 2. Closely allied with this law is that of Concept Formation; namely, that general concepts or general ideas are gained only through personal experience with the individual elements which go to make up the concept or idea. Before a complete concept or idea of a dog is formed, the child must see big dogs, little dogs, medium- sized dogs, white dogs, black dogs, brown dogs, spotted dogs, and dogs of many different breeds. Not only must he see them but he must watch them eat, play, run, and hunt, and hear them bark. In other words, no one can give him a complete concept of a dog. This can come only through personal experience — an experience which is to be made as broad as practicable. The conclusion for the teacher is that where practi- cable, the child should be permitted to work out all defi- nitions, rules, principles, and ideas in general for him- self. Her work is to bring him into personal contact with the experiences necessary to these ideas and then to train him to use these experiences in forming general ideas. Where it is not possible to supply all the necessary ex- perience at first hand, pictures will aid greatly if used wisely. In using pictures, the teacher should guard against the probability of the child's gaining a faulty idea ; for instance, a group of children who had seen only the pictures of sheep formed the idea that real sheep were only one inch high. 3. The'Law of Apperception deals with the inability of the mind to comprehend a thing which is absolutely new. When the mind comes into contact with anv new 14 How to Teach Primary Grades idea, it immediately begins to seek familiar elements. If these are not forthcoming, either the problem is given up or help is sought in acquiring the experience which will furnish the key to the situation. Until this new knowl- edge is made to fit into some previous experience it is not comprehended by the mind. The conclusion for the teacher is that not only must she know the subject-matter thoroughly, but she must also know the past experiences of the child in order to be able successfully to dove-tail the new with the old. In other words, she must be ready to supply the neces- sary experience should it be lacking. If the reading lesson is about life in the mountains, the child must be given a concept of* what a mountain is before he can really appreciate what life there would mean. Or if he is to be taught long division, he must have had sufficient experience with addition, multiplica- tion, and subtraction to enable him to comprehend the process in hand. 4. The ability of the mind to retain and to recall its past experiences is known as the Law of Memory. A person takes a pleasure trip and for many weeks and months after he has returned to his home he can recall every incident of the trip. This ability is based on three factors; namely, (a) native power of retention, (b) the number of associa- tions made, and (c) the systematic organization of these associations. Although the first factor is very fundamental and one which the teacher must consider in dealing with indi- vidual cases, it is the one over which she has- no control, consequently, it will not be discussed in this connection. The discussion of the factors dealing with the association Aims and Principles 15 of ideas should logically come under the Law of Association. 5. The Law of Imagination deals with the ability of the mind to reproduce past experiences and then to utilize these images in dealing with new situations or in forming new concepts or ideas. The child who sees the rag doll as a beautiful baby is using imagination, or the inventor who constructs some new device from his mental images is using a very high form of construct- ive imagination. Without imagination history and literature would be void of thought ; the ability to reason would be seriously hampered ; there would be no invention ; and mental de- velopment would be hindered in numerous ways. In presenting new ideas the teacher should develop that imagination of the child which is pertinent to the point in hand by helping him to recall all past experience that will clarify the present situation. 6. A law which is attracting much attention in the discussions of present-day educational problems is that known as the Law of the Aim or Motive. The gist of this law is that a task is accomplished more quickly and with more ease if the mind is held to the task by a defi- nite purpose. The child who learns certain facts of addi- tion in order that he may play a game which utilizes these facts, will accomplish the task with less expendi- ture of nervous energy and in less time than the one who has no reason for learning them other than that they are just a part of the school work. Likewise, the child who is learning to write and to spell the words necessary for writing a letter to Santa Claus, will accom- plish the task with much more ease than the child who learns to write and to spell without any apparent need. 16 How to Teach Primary Grades McMurry says that to provide a motive is the first and greatest factor in all education, as it paves the way for independent thinking and initiative. ("Elementary School Standards.") The aim or motive may be one of two types: (a) the desire to accomplish the task because of some immediate need, or (b) the desire to solve a problem that has arisen. The immediate need will probably be the predominating motive with the young child. He learns to read so that he may read stories ; he learns the number combinations so that he may keep the score in a game; he learns to write and to spell so that he may immediately write a letter. The desire to solve a problem as a source of motive will be discussed under the Law of Self-Activity. 7. Knowledge cannot enter the mind without brain activity on the part of the learner, and the more active the brain cells, the greater will be the stock of knowledge. The teacher may read a poem to the child, but unless the child thinks about it, it will mean nothing to him, and the more he thinks it over the more it will mean. This Law of Self -Activity is one of the most important of the laws of the learning process, since the faculties of the brain are stimulated and given opportunity for development only through exercise. This activity of the brain may be aroused by the presentation of a problem or a thought-compelling question. The teacher should not confuse the thought question with the fact question. "What does the rabbit eat?" is a fact question, while "Why is the color of the gray rabbit a protection to him?" is a thought question. If the problem is to be vital to the child, it must be one that is clear and definite and one that he deems Aims and Principles 17 worthy of solution. The problem or thought- compelling question should dominate every lesson of the day. The wording of the problem should not be left to chance, but should be carefully and thoughtfully planned. 8. The task which arouses the active interest of the mind is accomplished with less expenditure of energy and time than that to which the mind must be forced. The child who is interested in the arithmetic lesson will accomplish very mudh more, and will be far less tired than the one who must be forced to give his attention. The Law of Interest deserves the most careful con- sideration on the part of the teacher. The child is in- terested in moving things, animals, rhythm, music, stories, pictures, drawing, play, manipulation, construction, bright colors, change, novelty, emulation, and ownership. If possible, the interest should be within the process itself, though it is sometimes necessary to use incentives and devices to gain this interest ; but as early as possible this artificial interest should develop into a natural one. As previously suggested, the strongest interest is the realization of a need. 9. Knowledge does not enter the mind unless the at- tention is directed toward the issue. The child does not learn to recognize word symbols unless he directs his attention toward the process of word recognition. This Law of Attention is so closely allied to that of interest, that the two are almost identical, since attention is given for only a very brief time to a process that does not contain elements of interest. This attention should be spontaneous, inasmuch as forced attention brings very poor results, a part of the effort being given to the act of compelling oneself to attend. This produces fatigue and results in a lack of thoroughness. Children give 18 How to Teach Primary Grades attention only so long as the situation in hand is more interesting than some other. Consequently, the teacher must so plan her class procedure that the work will prove interesting throughout the recitation period. 10. Whenever a thought enters the mind there is a tendency for it to seek outward expression through some form of Motor Activity. If the thought of running enters the mind, there is an unconscious contraction of the muscles used in the running process. Only as a thought finds outward expression or modi- fies other thought already in the mind, is it of real value. Consequently, the teacher should so plan that all the thoughts gained in the school life are translated into motor activity. Her principle should be that no teaching is complete unless its produces some motor re- sponse. In other words, impression is a failure if there is no expression. The forms of motor expression may be verbal speech ; written speech; bodily action, such as gestures, facial expression, contraction of muscles ; dramatization ; hand- work; cooking; sewing; fine arts; or any other form by which thought is expressed. 11. When an idea is associated with other ideas, a connecting link is formed, and the recall of the one is followed by the appearance of those connected with it; for example, the baby connects the act of having his hair brushed with going from the home. The probability of the recall of an idea is strengthened with every association made; therefore, the more nat- ural associations made the better, for if one of these associated ideas does not appear in consciousness another is almost sure to do so. This Law of Association is a very important factor in the memory process. Aims and Principles 19 The logical arrangment of ideas is another important factor in the memory process. If facts are grouped ac- cording to similarity in thought and principle, and so that one fact naturally leads to the succeeding one, the possibility of recall is materially increased. If the teacher will see that the idea she wishes recalled is associated in a logical way with other ideas, it will result in a more effective type of memory. 12. The Laws of Memory and Association are im- portant factors in the Law of Habit-Formation. This law may be briefly stated thus: every act pro- duces some change in the nervous system, and there is always a tendency to repeat this act. A response thus repeated a number of times has a tendency to become permanent or to be made without the conscious attention of the mind. When it reaches this plane it is known as a habit. This Law of Habit-Formation is very important, since a large proportion of the acts of the physical and mental life of a person are on the plane of habit. The more processes relegated to the plane of habit, the broader will be the opportunities for initiative in thought and action. 13. The Law of Original Nature is that the learning process is conditioned by the native capacities of the brain. Education means the development of the brain cells given at birth, since cells are never created after birth. The original nature of the child consists of certain in- stincts and capacities. The successful teacher will make a close study of the child and strive to work with the helpful instincts rather than against them. She will seek to discover his natural capacities and concentrate 20 How to Teach Primary Grades effort on the one hand upon the proper development of these capacities and instincts, and on the other upon the inhibition of harmful ones. As previously stated, the more important of these in- stincts with which education is concerned are mental activity, emulation, imitation, defiance, ownership, socia- bility, affection, love for outdoor life, interest in animals, admiration of bright colors, enjoyment in display, col- lecting, manipulation, play, rhythm, and the dramatic instinct. Some of the most fundamental capacities are manage- ment of things, men, concrete ideas, abstract ideas, sym- bols; the capacities of self-control, thoroughness, origi- nality, co-operation, leadership, productive imagination, and concrete learning. REFERENCES Thorndike, Principles of Teaching Thorndike, Elementary Psychology Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Earhart, Types in Teaching Strayer-Norsworthy, How to Teach McMurry, Elementary School Standards McMurry, Method of Recitation CHAPTER II LESSON TYPES IN PRIMARY GRADES Under the old teaching regime there was only one type of lesson — the test or examination lesson. But as the aim of education has developed and broadened, the work of the teacher has become much more comprehensive than that of an examiner. She must train the child to proper habits of thinking, of study, of appreciation, of co-operation, of service, and to the many other habits specified in the aim of education. Many of these habits may be developed through the several types of lessons; namely, the study lesson, the inductive lesson, the appre- ciation lesson, the drill lesson, the recitation lesson, the review lesson, and the test or examination lesson. 1. The Study Lesson. The average student in the university, college, normal school, high school, and ele- mentary school wastes a very large part of his time and effort. This waste is chiefly due to a lack of training in the correct methods of study. The ability to study in the proper way is not an inheritance, but is a matter of training — a training that should begin in the kinder- garten, and continue until skillful methods of study are firmly established. One of the first things for the teacher to consider in her plan for a study lesson is her motive. This should be to direct the child's effort in such a manner that he may acquire suitable habits of study; that is, habits of 21 22 How to Teach Primary Grades independence, of initiative, and of clearness and system in thought and action. The next steps will be to consider the most effective way of arousing his interest in the lesson to be studied; of helping him to discover the problem of the lesson; of training him to select the best methods of solving this problem ; and of overcoming the difficulties. As study means the solving of a problem, the problem is a very essential part of the lesson. It has been previ- ously shown that much more is accomplished when the mind is conscious of a definite aim or problem. Conse- quently, the first step in the class procedure is to make the child conscious of a definite problem. If the problem is to be a vital one to him, it must be one that touches his daily life, and one that he considers worth solving. Often it will develop as a part of a previous recitation, or it will arise in connection with other school activity. If it does not appear in either of these cases, the subject-matter should be carefully studied by the teacher to find what it offers in the way of a problem. The difficulties in a lesson "will usually be of two types : those which the child can solve alone and those which he cannot solve except with assistance. It will require knowledge and good judgment on the part of the teacher to foresee these difficulties and to distinguish be- tween the two types. She should ask herself the follow- ing questions: First, "What has the child within his experience that should help him to overcome certain difficulties?" If the difficulty is a hard word, he may know the phonetic sounds of which the word is com- posed. Second, "How am I to train him to independence in the discovery of this necessary experience?" If the Lesson Types in Primary Grades 23 hard word is phonetic, the teacher should lead him to analyze it into its phonetic elements and thus to discover that he can sound it. Third, "With what experience must he be supplied in order to overcome other difficul- ties?" Fourth, "What is the most scientific way of sup- plying these experiences?" An attempt has been made to answer these question through the methods of pre- senting the different subjects. In the study lesson, especial attention should be given to the varying abilities of the members of the class. If necessary the slow child should be given individual and shorter assignments, and the quick child should be given extra assignments. 2. The Inductive Lesson. Very often the study lesson is of the type commonly known as the inductive lesson. This is the lesson based on the principle of con- cept-formation in which the child is led to discover things for himself. Through the study of individual cases, he works out definitions, rules, and principles for himself. The teacher does not tell him that two and two are four, but allows him to manipulate objects until he dis- covers it for himself. She does not give him the rules for letter writing, but guides him in the study of real letters until he discovers these rules. To some, this would seem a long process, requiring more time than the average child can give, but it is the one that must actually take place in the child's mind before he fully comprehends a thing and before it has become a part of his practical mental equipment. Consequently, time is saved by consciously training him to the best methods of working out things for himself. The first step in the procedure is to present a problem which is worth solving and which the child really de- 24 How to Teach Primary Grades sires to solve; for example, "How shall I begin the letter which I am going to write to John?" The material or subject-matter that is to be examined in the solving of the problem must be carefully selected. It must contain the accurate facts which are to enable the child to arrive at a conclusion. These facts should not be given in an obscure way, but should be within his comprehension. If the problem is to discover how to begin a letter, the supply of letters to be examined should be typewritten and the headings should contain words which are likely to be familiar to him. It is not sufficient for him to study a single letter, but he should examine and compare a great number until the fact which is being developed becomes an actual experi- ence within his thoughts. Only one point should be developed at a time; for instance, in a letter the first thing to be written is the name of the city and state in which the writer resides. The summary, or summing up of the rule, principle, or definition developed should form a regular part of the inductive lesson. If the correct way of writing the heading of the letter has been developed, the teacher may ask, "What is the first thing we write in a letter?" After a principle or rule has been developed, it should be immediately followed by its application to a problem of life. 3. The Drill Lesson. The drill lesson is one the purpose of which is to establish the habit of making certain responses ; for example, the use of the rules and principles developed in the inductive lesson must be made a habit. As previously stated, the more responses a person rele- gates to the plane of habit, the more opportunities the Lesson Types in Primary Grades 25 mind will find for thinking out problems and for express- ing originality and individuality in thought and action. The drill lesson should be of especial interest to the primary teacher, as her work is largely that of habit formation — the habit of making fixed responses in the fundamental operations in arithmetic ; the habits of form, position, and movement in writing; the habit of writing the letters of a word in a certain order in spelling; and the habit of using correct expressions in oral and written language. There are certain factors or principles which enter into any habit- forming exercise. These may be briefly given as (a) a motive or desire to form the habit; (b) a clear idea of the desired response or action; (c) attentive repetition of the desired response or action; (d) no exception ever to occur in the response or action; and (e) frequent reviews. a. Motive. The attitude of the child toward the desired habit is of great importance. Considerable time and energy are wasted in drill work because he does not see the use or feel the need of the habit. If he has a strong desire to form the habit because he feels the need of it, the task is, comparatively speaking, half finished. The stronger and more vital the motive, the more concentrated will be the attention and the sooner will the desired result be attained. b. Clear Idea of the Response. First impressions are usually the deepest and the most lasting. Conse- quently, it is very important that the first impression of the response or action be clear. Only a small amount of subject-matter should be used, since too much will tend to confuse the child and prevent a clear first im- pression. 26 How to Teach Primary Grades c. Attentive Repetition. After the child has a clear impression of the response to be drilled on, the next step is that of repetition with full attention. Concentrated attention adds intensity to the impression and accom- plishes the desired results much more quickly. The teacher should bear in mind the fact that a little child is capable of giving concentrated attention to even an interesting object for only a short period of time — that unless there is a change the attention is given else- where. She should plan to make the drill period short and snappy, with variety in procedure, and should see that there is no waste of time but that each child gives his entire attention. It is a law of human nature to desire to continue that which brings satisfaction and pleasure, and to avoid that which gives annoyance and pain. Therefore, the teacher should plan, in so far as possible, to make each repetition bring some form of satisfaction and pleasure. This may be either physical, emotional, or intellectual. Other things being equal, the more interesting the as- sociations made in a drill lesson, the more possibilities will there be for recall, and the more permanent will be the habit. Therefore, the teacher should plan for as much variety as possible in the manner of conducting the drill. d. No Exceptions. Another important principle is never to allow an exception to occur in giving the de- sired response. If the drill is on the fact that two and two are four, the child should never be allowed to say that two and two are five. The wrong response not only weakens the possibility of the correct one but creates a tendency to repeat this incorrect response. The child should "be trained to avoid all tendencies to guess and Lesson Types in Primary Grades 27 should be taught to be sure of the correctness of his response. e. Reviews. If a habit of response is to be firmly and permanently fixed, a single period of drill is not sufficient, but systematically arranged drills should occur from time to time. At first, the drill should occur at frequent intervals; for instance, every day. The time elapsing between the periods should gradually lengthen until they are discontinued altogether ; for instance, every other day, twice a week, once a week, once every two weeks, once a month, once every two months, once a year. 4. The Appreciation Lesson. The appreciation les- son is one in which the aim is to develop the power to appreciate the beautiful, the noble, and the humorous in the social relationship, nature, art, music, literature, and the industrial world. This power of appreciation does more, perhaps, to bring joy into life than any other one phase of education. Experience teaches that what one appreciates is a mat- ter of training. A person enjoys the music to which he is accustomed; he loves the literature which he has had constantly presented to him; or he loves the pictures which have been a part of his daily life. In training for appreciation in music, literature, art, nature, social life, and other fields, the teacher should begin with the simple things and gradually lift the child to a higher plane of appreciation. In literature she will begin with the stories and poems which most appeal to him at that period ; she will then select those of more literary merit but similar in content for the succeeding attempts. Thus she will gradually lead the child to love and to appreciate the higher forms of literature. 28 How to Teach Primary Grades The attitude of the teacher toward the material is of paramount importance. She should appreciate to the fullest, else she cannot arouse the desired emotion within the child. She should avoid allowing her emotions to dominate the situation and thus force her view-point on the child. The child should be encouraged in the free expression of any emotion or idea which comes to him in the study. He should be trained to study the different parts or situations and choose those which especially appeal to him. 5. The Review Lesson. The review lesson is a recall of old subject-matter in a new way. This makes new associations which should increase the chances for future recall. Not only are the chances for recall more certain, but a better organization of subject-matter is effected. This increases the possibilities of its functioning in actual life. The review lesson, which may also be an examination or test lesson, should form a part of every recitation, inasmuch as the new knowledge gained should be con- stantly related to that already learned. 6. The Recitation Lesson. This is the type of lesson in which the time is devoted to a report and a discussion of the problem which has been assigned for study. It is through this discussion that the teacher helps the child to clarify and to arrange his ideas sys- tematically. He should learn not only to systematize his knowledge but he should be given opportunity to de- velop his power of expression, his initiative, his indi- viduality, his judgment, and his power of independence in thought and action. Lesson Types in Primary Grades 29 REFERENCES Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Earhart, Types in Teaching Strayer-Norsworthy, How to Teach McMurry, Elementary School Standards McMurry, Method of the Recitation CHAPTER III THE LESSON PLAN IN PRIMARY GRADES The day of haphazard teaching when the teacher callec] the jmpils to class, borrowed a book from one of them, and then proceeded to examine their ability to recite verbatim the subject-matter of the designated lesson, is a thing of the past. In the evolution of teaching methods, it has been revealed that this is a most wasteful pro- cedure — wasteful not only in time and energy but in re- sults as well. The teacher who has no definite idea of what she is to do or of the best methods of doing it, will accomplish very little. If the results desired in a lesson are secured without an unnecessary outlay of time and energy, the class pro- cedure must be carefully and definitely planned. This will enable the teacher to go before her class with a well defined idea of the content of the lesson, and a clear idea of what she expects the child to gain through the lesson. It will systematize the work, direct effort so that the desired results will follow, save time and energy, insure emphasis on the important points, prevent wandering, increase the self-confidence of the teacher, and inspire the confidence of the child. It is doubtful if a teacher ever reaches the point where it is unnecessary to plan the. day's work. It takes this re-planning to stimulate her own effort as well as that of the child. A much-used plan is likely to become dry and monotonous. 30 Lesson Plan in Primary Grades 31 Curriculum. The discussion of the curriculum should be pertinent to the lesson plan, as the selection of subject-matter is an important part of the primary teach- er's work. No phase of education has undergone more radical change than that of the curriculum. Accord- ing to modern educational thought, the predominating elements in the curriculum should be the facts and activi- ties which begin with and are conditioned by the daily life of the child. In other words, the schoolroom ac- tivities should be near enough to his vital interests to make him feel their worth and to enable him to apply them in his daily life. The real test of education should be the difference it makes in daily life. McMurry says, "Whatever cannot be shown to have a plain relation to some real need of life, whether aes- thetic, ethical, or utilitarian in the narrow sense, must be dropped. 1 " The application of this principle would do more to increase the efficiency of the schools than any other one thing. Subject-Matter. The first prerequisite to the lesson plan is a thorough knowledge of the subject-matter. Many primary teachers fail because of the almost uni- versal belief that the subject-matter of the primary grades should not require study on the part of the teacher. Many of the lessons in reading and literature will re- quire concentrated study in order that the teacher may discover the attitude and purpose of the author, and that she may become imbued with the emotions and senti- ments of the selection. Many of the lessons in nature study and social life will require careful study in order that the facts may be organized in a systematic way. iAdvisable Omissions from the Elementary Curriculum.— Ed. Review. 32 How to Teach Primary Grades Teacher's Motive. Another phase of the lesson plan which is closely linked with the subject-matter is that of the teacher's motive. Just what is the specific thing that is to be accomplished through the use of this sub- ject-matter? What are the points to be stressed? Is it to increase skill or to form certain habits? Is it a lesson to develop knowledge or to develop appreciation? Whatever the motive, it is important that she determine definitely in advance of the class period just what she expects the child to gain through the lesson. Outline. Where a lesson or a lesson unit deals with more than one fact, a better organization may be effected if the subject-matter is outlined. A well organized out- line will prove very helpful in many of the lessons in language, nature study, and social life. This outline will serve as a guide to the teacher, enabling her to emphasize a few large points rather than waste time on unimportant details. In making an outline the teacher should consider the order which will be the most effective from the stand- point of the child's interest. Very few points should be attempted in any one lesson, otherwise it will close leaving the child with only a hazy idea of the facts involved. Child's Motive. If the interest and attention of the child are to be of the best type, they should be based on his conscious desire to do the work. It would not be im- pertinence should he demand to know why he must do the thing required. It is one of the problems of the teacher to make him see and feel the practical reasons for the schoolroom procedure. In other words, the child must be conscious that the lesson holds something that he needs in his daily life. The teacher must study her subject- Lesson Plan in Primary Grades 33 matter carefully to see what possibilities it holds in the way of motives or problems for the child. The selection of this motive should not be left to chance but should be carefully thought out. It should be near enough to his natural interests and activities to seem worth while. A real problem exists only when there is an actual desire to find the answer. The teacher must be careful not to set up problems which are too remote, as the child lives primarily in the present. School festivals, entertainments, general as- semblies, excursions, industrial activities, play, games, and school parties for parents are excellent as a source of motive. Class Procedure. The next part of the lesson plan deals with the class procedure. This is perhaps the most vital part of the plan, since in this the teacher must devise how she will handle the subject-matter in order to awaken the child's interest, to arouse in him a desire to accomplish the task in hand, and to accomplish her motive. In planning for the class procedure she should con- sider the kind of response she is likely to receive and how to provide another question if the response is not as comprehensive as it should be. She should also consider how this response is to be handled in order that the child shall develop the proper initiative and acquire proper habits of organizing ideas and of judging values. An important factor in the class procedure is the ques- tion. Its purpose is to test knowledge and to stimulate thought. It should be clear, definite, concise, interest- ing, and adapted to the age of the child. As a general thing it should not be a direct question which can be answered by yes or no, neither should it be one which 34 How to Teach Primary Grades is declarative in form nor one which suggests the answer, as "Yesterday was a rainy day, was it not?" The thought-provoking question is one which stimulates thought; for example, "What would be a good title for this story ?" This type of question should predominate in every lesson. It is doubtful if a lesson which involves questioning should ever be given without containing thought questions. In asking a question the teacher should direct it toward the entire class rather than toward one child, in order to keep all mentally alert. She should avoid repeating either question or answer. The Steps in a Lesson Plan. The Herbartian steps for the class procedure are preparation, presentation, com- parison, generalization or summary, and application. It is doubtful if all these steps enter into any one lesson, unless it be the inductive-deductive lesson. In the other types, the steps of (1) preparation, (2) presentation, (3) generalization or summary, and (4) application are the ones generally used. 1. Preparation. The procedure should start off with a question or statement that will immediately at- tract the interest of the child to the problem in hand. The poor results attained in many lessons may be traced to the failure of the teacher to recognize the point of contact between the child and the lesson. The child must recognize from the first, that the lesson is one in which he has a part, one which appeals to him as worth while. Considerable time and energy will be saved if the first words of the teacher attract his attention. When new material is to be presented, the first step is the recall of any former experiences of the child which are pertinent to his understanding of the new one. If Lesson Plan in Primary Grades 35 he has not had this necessary experience, it must be supplied. 2. Presentation. This step of preparation is fol- lowed by the presentation of the main points of the new subject-matter through questions, conversation, or illus- trative material arranged in psychological order. 3. Summary. Another important factor in the class procedure is the provision for a summary of the important facts or points covered in the lesson. If this is not done the lesson will often prove a failure, because of the child's inability to organize the points covered. The summary can often be made in answer to a skillful question by the teacher; thus, "What have we learned about letter writing today ? " 4. Application. Wherever knowledge has been ac- quired or a habit has been established, it should be fol- lowed by the application of this skill to daily life. If a number fact has been learned it should be used imme- diately in the child's daily life. If this step of applica- tion cannot be provided for in a natural way, it would be well for the teacher to scrutinize closely her choice of subject-matter to discover if it be well selected. Assignment. Very often in the class procedure a question will arise which should be utilized as a problem for the assignment of the next lesson. These should be carefully noted and made use of. If the new problem does not arise out of the class discussion, the teacher should help the child to discover one in the new lesson. Illustrative Material. The plan should provide for any illustrative materials that will, aid in making the lesson clearer and more vital to the child. The teacher will find the use of such material one of the most effec- tive devices that she can utilize. If cards or charts are 36 How to Teach Primary Grades used, these should be listed, together with any books of reference, with explicit page numbers. All material should be systematically arranged and placed in readi- ness before the recitation. If the teacher has more than one grade and does not have the time for a detailed plan in each subject, she will find that considerable time may be saved by taking a subject and planning the lessons in this for several days at one time. Then as she gains in experience, she will find that all that is necessary is a skeleton plan showing the motives, the outline of the subject-matter, and a few of the pivotal questions. Following will be found a general outline showing the form of the lesson plan : I. Topic: What the lesson is about. II. The Teacher's Motive: The definite things which the teacher expects to accomplish in the lesson. III. The Outline: A systematic arrangement of the points to be covered in the lesson. IV. The Child's Motive: The definite thing which the child expects to accomplish in the lesson. V. The Class Procedure: The preparation of the mind of the pupil for the lesson, the presentation of the subject-matter, the summary of the points made, and the application. A suggested arrangement for the class procedure is as follows : Subject-matter Procedure 1 1 The experience of the Preparation: The recall of the child relevant to the new experiences of the child which will subject-matter. serve as a basis for the new lesson. This may he done through questions or conversation. Lesson Plan in Primary Grades 37 New subject-matter in outline to correspond to the divisions of the pro- cedure. References given in detail as to the book and the page. All illustrative mate- rial listed. 3 The definite statement of the desired summary. Activities life, either home. from daily- school or The teacher should avoid side is- sues by holding him to the points which are a necessary foundation for the new knowledge. Through this step his interest in the new work should be aroused, and from it should develop his problem or motive. 2 Presentation: Manner of pre- senting the new material designated, the questions to be asked, the de- vices to >be used. Suggestions for the use of motor responses most per- tinent to the subject-matter. Summary: The method used in summing up and organizing the points developed. 4 Application: The new knowledge gained is used immediately in some form of school work or suggestions are made for its application in home life. REFERENCES Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Earhart, Types in Teaching McMurry, Elementary School Standards McMurry, Method of Recitation CHAPTER IV READING AIMS In this utilitarian age the first question that arises in the discussion of a subject pertains to its use or value. In the following reasons should be found a partial answer to the question of the value of reading. 1. We read to gain information to direct us in our daily life ; for instance, the weather forecast, the schedule of the trains, the prices of grain, or of market produce. 2. Through reading we broaden our lives immeas- urably by learning of the experiences of others. Ordinary intelligence demands a knowledge of current events. 3. As human nature has not changed since the begin- ning of authentic history, the reading of history aids us in judging intelligently the events of the present and also in foreseeing what is likely to occur in the future. 4. We read for pleasure, for culture, and for spiritual help. It is in the truest sense that this reading directs our life, interprets our experiences, and determines our ideals. It would seem that reading is one of the most impor- tant subjects the child will have in the first three years of his school life. The art of reading once mastered, all literature, all history, and all other knowledge found in books, are within his grasp and he passes at once from the dependent to the independent stage. Hence, it is of 38 Reading 39 essential importance that the primary teacher be skilled in methods that will enable the child to learn to read with the least expenditure of time and energy. SUBJECT-MATTER The evolution in the subject-matter of primary reading is a very interesting study, though only a very brief account of it can be given. The early readers were dis- tinctly ABC books, containing letters, syllables, and certain extracts of a religious nature. The present-day movement, started with the Reformation. In this period, the books were distinctly religious in character, consist- ing of the Lord's Prayer, the Commandments, and other scriptural selections. This religious element held sway until the eighteenth century, though other material was beginning to creep in. It then gave way to material about things to eat, moral tales, and the like. As time went on there were many changes until the present-day type of classical literature has become the standard. Under the old regime the teacher's only problem was that of teaching the child how to read. But for many years there has been a growing realization that teaching "how to read" is only a part of the teacher's problem. The more indispensable problem is that of training him in "what to read." Much of the crime and immorality of the present is due to the trashy reading material which too often forms a large part of the library of the younger generation. For the sake of giving the child right ideals, the teacher must place before him the best in literature — that which will supply not only standards in language but ideals in character. His experiences should be reinforced by the teachings of others — the lessons which have been treas- 40 How to Teach Primary Grades ured in books, and these lessons should begin in child- hood. It is a serious mistake to postpone the reading of good literature until the child has mastered word-form and the other technique of reading. In the newer methods, the teacher tells the child stories and teaches him rhymes and poems from the best literature and then uses these as the subject-matter for the early reading lessons. Thus, from the very first the subject-matter has literary value. These early lessons are followed by the reading of books which contain interesting Mother Goose rhymes, fairy stories, myths, fables, legends, poems, and lessons of information. The selections should be simple, easily reproduced, and readily dramatized. Through the use of this class of literature the child gains many lessons in right conduct and becomes accustomed to good, refined English. There is such a wealth of material offered for primary reading that the teacher will find it a difficult task to select the best. Any material selected should possess the following qualities: (a) it should have literary merit; (b) it should be of a character to appeal to the child; (c) it should be simple in thought and form; and (d) it should contain familiar words. Any text from the following list will meet these require- ments : Smith, Easy Road to Reading — Lyons and Carnahan, Chicago. Free and Treadwell, Reading — Literature Readers — Row, Peterson, and Co., Chicago. Withers, Brown, and Tate, the Child's World — B. F. Johnson Publishing Co., Richmond Reading 41 Gordon, The Gordon Readers — New Series — D. C. Heath & Co., New York Elson, Elson Primary School Readers — Scott, Fores- man & Co., Chicago. Coe and Christie, Story Hour Readers — American Book Co., New York METHOD Many methods of teaching reading have been ex- ploited. One of the first used is that known as the "alphabet method." In this method the child first learned the letters of the alphabet, then these were joined into syllables, then these syllables into words. He was then ready to read sentences. This method has not been used by trained teachers since 1870, as it was found to be very slow and uninteresting. Then inasmuch as the name of the letter is no index to its sound, the child gained very slowly the power of making out new words for himself. It was really only as he unconsciously learned to connect the sound of the letter with its name that he could make out a word by spelling it. M-a-n does not sound like the word man if only the letters are named. It is only through practice that a child unconsciously connects the sounds of the letters with the letter names. The first effort at relieving the drudgery of the alpha- bet method by phonics was made by Ickelsamer in 1534. In the "phonic method" the child was taught the sounds of the letters, followed by the use of this knowledge in making out new words. After acquiring a number of words he was ready to begin the reading process. This method, also, was found to be slow, uninteresting, and mechanical, though it did give the child the power to make out many unknown words for himself. 42 How to Teach Primary Grades Another method which found great favor was the "word method." The child was first taught isolated words and then these words were joined into sentences. This was more rapid, more interesting, and less mechan- ical than the phonic or the alphabet method. However, it bordered closely upon the mechanical and was purely a memory process, making the child dependent upon outside aid when he came into contact with a new word. The method known as the "sentence method" was a contribution by Oliver. By this method the child was taught to read by whole sentences. This was more rapid and much more interesting, but it was a cumbersome method and, as in the word method, it did not give the child the power to make out new words for himself. From these early methods has evolved what is known as the "combination method." This is a combination of the best features of the phonic, word, and sentence methods. The methods known as the story, the rhyme, and the conversation methods are specialized developments of the combination method. Story Method. According to the psychology of reading, the story which has been told to the child is a natural point of departure in teaching him to read. The desire for the story seems to be especially strong when he enters school, and it should prove a strong motive for his learning to read. Not only does the story awaken his interest in learning to read, but it also provides him with subject-matter of a nature that grips his attention and develops his power for connected thinking. The story should be carefully selected as to context and should abound in repetition. After it has been told until the child is perfectly familiar with its thought and word- ing, it is made the basis of a reading lesson, questions Reading 43 being asked to bring out the different thoughts. After the reading, he is guided in finding certain words in the story, those words being selected which are found in the vocabulary of his early reading book. Rhyme Method. The nursery rhymes that have stood the test of time furnish delightful reading matter for the little child. He has a rhythmic sense that is un- mistakable and the poem or rhyme selection should have the rhythmic element. It should also have the element of mystery to stir his imagination. The nursery and the nonsense rhymes fulfill both these conditions, since the rhythm of the jingle is irresistible, and its mingling of sense and nonsense arouses the imagination, while its fascination appeals even to the slowest and dullest pupil. The rhyme should be carefully selected as to context and should contain three or more of the words from the vacabulary of the child's early book. After he has thor- oughly memorized this rhyme, it is made the basis of a reading lesson. After it is read, the words of the rhyme belonging to the vocabulary of the book are selected by the child and learned through drill. In discussing the use of the rhyme in teaching new words, Dr. McMurry 1 says, "In this way they were learn- ing to recognize form by the aid of the context, which is the least mechanical, and the most independent approach to new words — either form or meaning — that there is. This plan, together with the fact that the children were already sharing with the teacher the responsibility of deciding the correctness of answers, gave promise of rapid development of self-reliance in the class." This is also true in the use of the story and the conversation methods. 'Elementary School Standards. 44 How to Teach Primary Grades Conversation Method. In the conversation method the teacher enters into conversation with the child about his play, home experiences, or any other of his activities, and after an oral discussion of this topic she suggests the writing of the story on the board. It is then made the basis of a reading lesson. As in other methods, he is guided in selecting certain Words which belong to the vocabulary of his first book. Incidental Reading. If reading is to develop as a natural and a necessary process, every opportunity must be utilized for emphasizing it in connection with other schoolroom activities. For instance, the teacher says, "I want every one to rise," writing the word rise as she pronounces it. The next time she says, "I want every one to ," and instead of pronouncing rise, she writes it on the board. Recognition of the names of each child may be taught in this way as, "I want John to erase the board." As the word John is pronounced it is written on the board. The next time she says, "I want to erase the board," writing the name John instead of pronouncing it. In language the names of poems and stories, and char- acters in the dramatization may be developed incidentally. Nature study, music, number work, and games should also furnish abundant opportunity for incidental reading. Silent Reading. Silent reading is the gathering of thought from the printed page. This is a very important part of primary reading, as reading should always be a process of thought-getting. The child should be taught from the first day of his school life that every sentence is the embodiment of a thought — a thought that is highly important and interesting from his standpoint. There is an erroneous idea that all reading in the Reading 45 schoolroom should be oral. When we stop to consider, we find that practically all the reading done in real life is silent reading. Even in school life we find that the pro- portion of silent reading done is much greater than that of oral reading. Rate in Silent Reading. Extensive experiments have been conducted to prove the relative value of the rate with which thought is gathered from the printed page. These experiments have developed the fact that the rapid reader is a more intelligent reader than the slow reader, that his impressions are more intensive and more vivid, and that he retains the thought longer. In addi- tion to these important advantages the rapid reader saves considerable time and energy in reading an equal amount of subject-matter. The conclusion is that the teacher should strive from the beginning to train the child to become a rapid reader, first, through the instantaneous recognition of words and groups of words, and then through practice in the rapid reading of sentences and paragraphs. Oral Reading. Good oral reading is the effective voicing of a thought as it is gathered from the printed page. This will involve the immediate recognition of words, the correct interpretation of the author's thought, a clear enunciation, correct articulation, correct position, and a desire to please the audiepce. The child must have much training in thought-getting before he is able to read in a pleasing way. Actual oral reading does not begin for several weeks after he has entered school, as he is not capable of gathering thought from the printed page until he has gained some facility in the recognition of words. Expression. One of the bugbears to the teacher of oral reading is expression. In the older methods, one 46 How to Teach Primary Grades way of training for expression was to have the child count a certain number of times for each punctuation mark ; for example, for a comma he paused long enough to count one, for a semicolon two, for a colon three, and for a period four. He was also told to let his voice rise or fall for certain marks. Another method was that of imitation of the teacher's reading or that of some one in the class. It will be readily recognized that these meth- ods are purely mechanical. Oral expression is based entirely on the reader's inter- pretation of the thought. Silent reading always pre- cedes oral reading, since thought-getting is a prerequisite to thought-giving. Much of the burden of training the child to read with natural expression would be removed if the teacher would realize that good oral reading de- pends upon the grasping of the thought. The teacher's problem is to lead the child to this proper interpretation of the thought. This may be done through the use of stories, pictures, hand work, dramatization, and questions. 1. Pictures. The teacher should find the child's instinctive love for the picture a great help in teaching reading. The picture found in connection with the read- ing lesson is of great importance, inasmuch as it usually tells the gist -of the- story. It attracts his attention and arouses his interest. It is not a waste of time to study it carefully, if the child's attention is directed by well selected questions and suggestions, thus enabling him not merely to see the separate objects in the picture but to grasp its story. This thoughtful study of the picture should be bene- ficial from the standpoint of arousing interest in the reading lesson, as well as from that of aiding in oral expression. If the child reads a part of the story in the Reading 47 picture, he will be eager to read the remainder from the printed page. The grasping of the thought and the good oral expres- sion of this thought depend upon the mental picture back of the oral utterance. If the visual picture is wisely used, it helps the child to form this necessary mental picture. The reading of the lesson will verify and add to, or modify the picture story. In order to do this, it will be necessary to make constant reference to it both during and after the reading of the lesson. 2. Handwork. Free - hand illustrations of the printed story by means of pencil, chalk, or crayon pic- tures, free-hand paper cutting, and clay modeling will prove helpful in developing the mental pictures. 3. Dramatization. To dramatize or to act out a story is a natural instinct of the child. This instinct is a good foundation on which to build in training him to read with natural expression, inasmuch as dramatic action is a great source of delight during the primary period. This dramatization, or playing the story pre- pares him to read with appreciation and expression, since it makes the situation real to him. He sees the characters act, he hears them talk, in fact, he lives the story. The thoughtful teacher will use dramatization as much as possible in her reading work, dramatizing all stories and rhymes which contain the dramatic element. There are two forms of dramatization used in the schoolroom. One form may be termed free or natural dramatization, in which the child acts out the story in a free manner without any reference to the descriptive parts of the story or to the actual wording; the other form is similar to the dialogue in which the parts are assigned and each character reads his part from the 48 How to Teach Primary Grades book, some other member of the class reading the descriptive part. It is well to plan to have as many children take part as possible, changing the characters frequently. Supplementary Reading. Fluency in reading comes only through well directed practice. The teacher should supplement the reading of the required book by extra or supplementary reading. The specific purposes of this supplementary work are to increase the child's skill in grasping the thought of the printed page, to insure greater fluency in the oral expression of the thought, and to insure greater proficiency in the recognition and pronunciation of words and phrases. In selecting the material for supplementary reading the teachers should select something worth while — some- thing having literary merit, but at the same time, of in- terest to the child. It should be easy reading, full of dramatic action, and the English should be unques- tioned. Much of the material for supplementary work may be obtained from children's magazines, school jour- nals, well-selected readers, and through conversation with the child on some interesting topic. Punctuation and Capitals. The use of the period and the interrogation mark at the end of the sentence, the use of the capital in the first word of the sentence, and in the names of people may be taught incidentally in connection with reading during the first year. When the teacher has occasion to write a sentence on the board she remarks, "I am beginning this sentence with a capital letter for that is the way we begin a sentence.' , This may be varied by asking, "With what kind of letter should I begin this sentence?'' or "Why do I begin this sentence with a capital letter?" As she finishes writing the sen- Reading 49 tence she says, "I will place a period here to show that this is all of the sentence," or "I will place a question mark here to show that this is a question." The use of the capital for the names of people should be taught in this same incidental way. In the second grade she should teach the use of the quotation marks by leading the child to< discover their use as they appear in the reading lessons. The use of the comma after words of address may be taught in the same way. When the child is reading a poem he should be led to discover that each line begins with a capital. In the third grade the incidental work of the first and second grades should be reviewed, and the rule that the names of the week begin with capitals, but that the names of the seasons do not, should be added. Script and Print. There is a difference of opinion as to the time for teaching script and print to a begin- ning class. Some would teach print only; some script only; while others would teach the script and print together. If it were practicable, it would seem best to teach only print at first, as all the reading matter with which the child comes in contact is printed. Then, in the early lessons, one of the aims is to make him familiar with the words found in the vocabulary of his first book. It would seem better to teach these words in the form in which they occur in the book. In the absence of the proper equipment for printing, a compromise may be made by using the script on the board and having the printed perception cards for the drill work. Alphabet. Through the work in phonics and pen- manship the child gradually learns to recognize the let- ters of the alphabet in irregular order. This is all that is necessary for present needs. He does not have a prac- 50 How to Teach Primary Grades tical need for a knowledge of the alphabet in regular order until he begins to use the dictionary, the telephone directory, the city directory, the index of a book, or a card catalogue. These needs are not likely to arise be- f or the third school year ; hence, so far as utility is con- cerned, this would be the proper time for teaching the alphabet in its regular order. As a concession to public opinion, many primary teachers find it advisable to teach the alphabet in regular order by the close of the first year. Standard in Reading. A standard by which to measure progress is very helpful in any work. The standard in primary reading is fluency in the gathering of the thought of the printed page and fluency in the oral expression of this thought. If the subject-matter is well selected as to thought and word content, this is not too high a standard for the average primary class. REFERENCES McMurry, Elementary School Standards Coe and Christie, Story Hour Manual Klapper, Teaching Children to Read Arnold, Reading, How to Teach It McMurry, A Method for Teaching Primary Reading School Methods Co., New Primary Methods Briggs and Coffman, Reading \n the Public Schools Charters, Teaching the Common Branches Huey, The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading . Baker, Carpenter, and Scott, The Teaching of Elementary English Jenkins, Reading in the Primary Grades CHAPTER V FRE-PRIMER WORK (reading — continued) AIM Opinion varies as to the proper time for placing the book in the hands of the child. In some methods of read- ing, he has the book from the first day, in others, not for some weeks. This latter procedure is based on the theory that he has not learned to recognize words, and so has little use for a book. The ability to recognize words is an essential element in independent reading, and until the child becomes familiar with a few words he cannot read independently. Many teachers have found that it is better to have these early reading lessons from the blackboard or from the home-made chart. By using the board or chart she is better able to hold the interest of the class and to con- centrate the attention on the desired points. If the child has a book at first, he is likely to lose interest in it long before he can read, and it often results in the formation of incorrect habits in reading. SUBJECT-MATTER However, the teacher does not delay the reading proc- ess until the child has learned a vocabulary sufficient; for independent reading, but the first few weeks of the 51 52 How to Teach Primary Grades beginning year are spent in preparing him for the work with the book. The vocabulary, of the first fifteen or twenty pages of the first book to be read is taught through the use of stories, rhymes, poems, games, and conversations. The story, rhyme, or poem selected should contain three or more of the words found in this vocabulary. The words need not be taught in the order found in the book, but may be grouped to fit the material selected. The following rhymes, and list of stories are interest- ing and eminently suitable for these early lessons. Rhymes "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped over the candle stick." "Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn, The sheep are in the meadow, The cows are in the corn. Where is the little boy Who looks after the sheep? He is under the haystack fast asleep." "Little Miss MufTet sat on a turret, Eating her curds and whey. There came a big spider, And sat down beside her, And frightened Miss MufTet away." "Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep, And can't tell where to find them. Leave them alone and they'll come home, Wagging their tails behind them." Pre-Primer Work 53 "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth without any bread, And whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed." Stories The Little Red Hen and the Grain of Wheat The Little Red Hen and the Fox The Three Bears The Three Pigs The Stories from the Story Hour Primer The Stories from the Free and Treadwell Primer The Stories from the Easy Road to Reading Primer METHOD This material is first developed orally and then used as a reading lesson. As a rule the teacher will find it a good plan to correlate these early lessons with the language work. All the oral work in connection with the story, rhyme, or poem may be carried forward in the language period. This oral work should precede the oral reading by two or more days. The child should be perfectly familiar with the part of the story or the poem to be read before he is allowed to read it. Illustrative Lessons First Grade I. Subject: Language. (Preparatory to the reading of the rhyme.) II. Topic: Mother Goose rhyme, "Little Miss Muffet." III. Teacher's Motive: (1) To help the child to en- 54 How to Teach Primary Grades joy the rhyme. (2) To help him to memorize the rhyme as a basis for a later reading lesson. IV. Child's Motive: (1) To decide if he would have acted as Little Miss Muffet did. (2) To picture men- tally the scene of the rhyme. (3) To dramatize the rhyme. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter 1 Experiences with spi- ders. Procedure 1 Preparation: "Are you afraid of spiders? If a spider should come up and stop beside you, would you be frightened? What does frightened mean?" Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey. There came a big spider And sat down beside her, And frightened Miss Muffet away. Presentation: "Listen to what the little girl did in this rhyme and decide if you would have acted as she did." The teacher repeats the rhyme. "What did Little Miss Muf- fet do? Would you have done as she did? "Shut your eyes while I repeat it again and see if you can imagine that you see Little Miss Muffet and the spider." The teacher repeats the rhyme. "Did you see Little Miss Muffet? What did she look like? Who saw the spider? Where was Little Miss Muffet sitting? What is a tuffet? What was she eating? What are curds and whey? "Shut your eyes while I repeat it again and see if you can imagine you see her sitting on a tuffet, eat- ing her curds and whey." She re- peats the first three lines. "Did you Pre-Primer Work 55 see her? Let me see if one of you can tell us where Little Miss Muf- fet was and what she was doing, using the words of the rhyme." She calls on several different children to repeat these three lines. "Let me see if I can make you imagine you see the big spider that sat down beside her." The teacher repeats the last three lines. "Did you see the big spider? What did it do? Then what did Miss Muffet do? Who can tell us about the spi- der, using the exact words of the rhyme?" The teacher has several different children to repeat the last three lines of the rhyme. The reproduction of the entire rhyme. Summary: "Would you like to dramatize or act this rhyme? What characters shall we need? How can we remember which is Little Miss Muffet? Supose we let her hold this card which has her name on it. Here is the spider's name for him to hold. What else do we need? What shall we use for a tuffet? What. shall we use for the bowl of curds and whey? Let us repeat the rhyme in concert while Little Miss Muffet and the spider act their parts." The rhyme may be drama- tized several times, changing char- acters each time. The reproduction of the rhyme for the mother. Application: "Repeat this rhyme for your mother." 56 How to Teach Primary Grades First Grade I. Subject: Reading. II. Topic: "Little Miss Muffet." III. Teacher's Motive: (1) To lead the child to real- ize that to read means acquiring stories, poems, and rhymes. (2) To have him read from the blackboard or the chart, the Mother Goose rhyme, "Little Miss Muffet." (3) To have him learn to recognize at sight, the words sat, on, he, and came. (These words are taken from the vocabulary of the first 15 pages of the primer.) IV. Child's Motive: (1) To read the rhyme as the teacher did. (2) To find certain words in the rhyme. V. Class Mechanics: (1) The rhyme should be writ- ten on the board or printed on a chart, with a decided space between each word. In the beginning the child does not have the ability to differentiate the single word from the group, and for this reason each word should stand out vividly. (2) The child should not be permitted to point at the separate words in reading, as this will result in the words, rather than the phrase and sentence, being the unit of thought. This rule does not apply when the search for words begins, as the purpose of this is not reading but to find the words — this second reading being merely a means to the end. VI. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 1 1 The recall of the home Preparation: "How many of you experiences with the repeated the rhyme for your moth- rhyme, er? Where do you suppose I found this rhyme? How did I know what it was about? Would you like to read it as I did?" Pre-Primer Work 57 Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey. There came a big spider And sat down beside her, And frightened Miss Muffet away. sat on he came Presentation: "Here it is on the board (or chart). Who will read it for me?" The teacher has it read by individual children. She indi- cates each part as it is read by plac- ing a pointer under the entire length of the line. Then the rhyme may be read in two sections by having one child read the section that tells what Little Miss Muffet was doing, and another read the section about the spider. "Who will read the part that tells where Little Miss Muffet sat? Who will read the part that tells what she was doing? Who will read the part that tells what the spider did? Then read the part that tells about Miss Muffet's being frightened. Show me the part that tells where Little Miss Muffet sat. Read it for me. X wonder who can find where it says Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet? Make a mark around it. "I wonder if you could find where it says sat?" The child is trained to read until he comes to the word sat. He then makes a mark around it. The teacher should have percep- tion cards with the printed form of the word on one side and the writ- ten form on the other. These cards are placed with printed side exposed, where they can be seen by the entire class- "I wonder if you see a card that has sat on it?" When the card is selected the choice should not be 58 How to Teach Primary Grades criticized, but the written side of the card should be placed directly under sat in the rhyme, and the child should be allowed to decide whether or not it is right. "Who can find where it says on in the rhyme. This same plan should be continued until each clause or line is pointed out and all the words are found. The les- son should be closed with a drill les- son on these words. An illustra- tive drill lesson will be found in Chapter VI, pages 75 to 76. First Grade I. Subject: Language. (Preparatory to the reading.) II. Topic: Story, "The Little Red Hen and the Grain of Wheat." III. Teacher's Motive: ( 1 ) To develop a love for good literature. (2) To make the child familiar with the story so that he will be able to read it. (3) To teach him organization of thought by having the story told by thought groups. (4) To prepare him for realistic reading through dramatization. IV. Child's Motive. (1) To discover the result of laziness. (2) To learn the story so he may tell it to others. (3) To tell the story in such a way that his teacher and classmates will enjoy it. (4) To act the story as he thinks it should be acted. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Story, "Hie Little Red Hen." "Once upon a time a little red hen found a grain of wheat. 'Who will plant this wheat?' said she. 'I will not,' said the Rat. 'I will not/ said the Cat. 'I will not,' said the Pig. T will, then/ said the Little Red Hen. So she planted the wheat. Pre-Primer Work 59 "When the wheat was ready to cut, the Little Red Hen said, 'Who will cut this wheat?' 'I will not,' said the Rat. 'I will not," said the Cat. 'I will not,' said the Pig. 'I will, then,' said the Little Red Hen. So she cut the wheat. "Then she said, 'Who will take this wheat to the mill?' 'I will not/ said the Rat. 'I will not,' said the Cat. 'I will not,'. said the Pig. T will, then,' said the Little Red Hen. So she took it to the mill and had it made into flour. "Then she said, 'Who will make this flour into bread?' 'I will not,' said the Rat. T will not,' said the Cat. T will not,' said the Pig. T will, then,' said the Little Red Hen. And so she made the flour into bread. "Then she said, 'Who will eat this bread?' T will,' said the Rat. T will,' said the Cat. T will,' said the Pig. 'No, you will not,' said the Little Red Hen, T shall eat it myself,' and she did." Subject-Matter Procedure First Day The recall of experi- ences connected with work. Preparation: "Do you like to work? Who does the work in your home? Could you get along if no one worked? Why not? What can boys and girls do to help? Let us see what happened to the folks in this story who would not work." 2 The Little Rhut* plant 9 14 4 (Teach eat - (Teach an 26 pig family from family an* not wheat) from man) sixpence I eat* 1 ran* (et-met) cat you away i get * dog shall from with Consonant sound must have been previously taught. 82 How to Teach Primary Grades 27 34 42 52 came rope rabbit seven to hang (y from my) children stile 36 iby* iw-vk) over won't 28 \JKJ (at family from cat) x rat* Hvhy* do because J big* 1 we* want heard bite home gnaw 37 1 me* cheese (ot-not) 43 rolled to-night 29 vStick after 44 53 stop for *beat* *got* squirrel 54 30 gave cries (aw-gnaw) 1 saw* fire 38 48 good-day burn began bee fast 31 Hhat* flew 57 water night cock quench 39 49 63 some goat laughed brook 32 40 swim (o.v-fox) into 50 64 ox* woods buzz on drink grass sting snout 33 41 thank out butcher go good (ill from would 51 are will) my (a&£-make) ate i km* cry 1 pan-cake* sound must have been previously up 1 Consonant taught. Phonics 83 65 72 87 95 chicken Foxy Loxy (ee-bee) leather *see* (ow-how) 66 75 horns 1 cow* fell (en-hen) his Men* 88 96 tail (owJ-snout) at* corn a sky* out* farmer is again 89 falling Tuppens 97 76 1 plow* 67 three 90 x Henny Penny Billy her 98 blacksmith how know gruff them of 78 91 once choking 99 68 were 1 spring* iron Turkey Lurkey great please dwarfs (WJ-fefl) give Hell* 79 (up-up) 101 (ing-king) hillside i CU p* help a king* *fat* (ound-found) they bridge » 92 *ground* told oak tree 69 80 ^hake* 102 Ducky Lucky troll under 93 shook eyes shoes 103 ears 81 spiders 71 went 94 first Goosey Loosey trip shoe-maker web 1 Consonant sound must have been previously taught. 84 How to Teach Primary Grades 104 106 108 111 spinning" hum ant happy a swing* 10? fro cricket 110 105 butterfly bird Ifly* chirp 1 sing* The work for each succeeding book should be a con- tinuation of this vocabulary. If the teacher should de- sire to do less work in phonics she may eliminate some of the less necessary families. After a few months' or a year's study in phonics, the process may be shortened by teaching the sounds of certain combinations of letters without reference to the family idea, as in the combination ai. If this is taught the child can make out almost any word containing this sound as mail, paid, rain, and wait. Following is a suggestive list of combinations which may be taught ; ou, ea, or, on, ar, ie, ir, ur, aw, oa, oi, au, ai. In the latter part of the third grade the teacher may begin to train the child to use the dictionary, teaching him the long and the short diacritical marks, and then training him to look up words, containing those sounds. She should help him to sound out these words. Later, she may extend the use of the dictionary by teaching some of the other diacritical marks that he will need in looking up the pronunciation of the new words in his reading lesson. A child has very little use for the dia- critical marks except as he uses the dictionary. Follow- ing is a list of some of the common diacritical marks which may be taught in connection with dictionary 1 Consonant sound must have been previously taught. Phonics 85 study : a-arm ; a-at ; a-all ; a-care ; e-f ern ; 6-orb ; u-rude ; u-full; u-urn; 66-food; oo-foot. Beacon Plan. Another idea for grouping phonetic words is advocated in the Beacon reader. In this method the long and the short vowel sounds are linked with the initial consonant. For example, pa-t, sa-p, ra-n. The short vowels are taught first, since the short sound is a part of many more words than is the long sound. After the child is thoroughly familiar with the use of the short sound, he is taught that the e added to the end of the word makes the vowel tell its name. The subject-matter for the phonetic work according to this plan would be something as follows : the short vowels, a (long), ai, ay; i (long), ie, y; o (long), oe, oa, ow; u (long), ue, ew; e (long), ea, ee; oy, oi, ow, ou, aw, au, oo, ea, en, ur, ir, ight, ing, oo (wood), ar, er, eight, etc. The course of study would be outlined according to the directions previously given. After the child has been taught a vowel sound he should have practice in blending it with the consonants. When he has been taught short i, he should then blend it with the common consonants, as bi, ti, fi, si, etc. The more common consonants should be taught before teach- ing a vowel in order that he may not be hampered in using his phonetic knowledge in making out the phonetic words of his vocabulary. METHOD If the teacher is to use the phonetic element success- fully in teaching the child to read, she must have a thorough knowledge of the elementary sounds of the 86 How to Teach Primary Grades English language. If she is not familiar with these sounds, she should master them before attempting to use them in the classroom. One of the most satisfactory ways of learning these sounds is to repeat slowly, three or four times, any familiar word containing the given sound. •An effort should be made to give this sound distinctly. For instance, to obtain the sound of b, the word cab should be pronounced. It should be pronounced again more slowly as ca-b. The voice should be allowed to linger on the last sound, which is the sound of b. It will be well for the teacher to spend much time practic- ing on the following list of words. She should not stop until each sound can be given correctly. To test the correctness of a sound, she should pronounce slowly other words containing the same sound. To obtain the sound of b practice on cab and ball. To obtain the sound of c practice on cat. To obtain the sound of f practice on stiff and fan. To obtain the sounds of the following consonants prac- tice on the words which are separated from the letter by a dash: <£-bed, -day; #-rag, -get; A-hot; /-jump; &-king, -look; /-fall, -love; m-ram, -man; w-pan, -not; />-rap, -pan ; gw-queen ; r-bar, -rat ; s-kiss, -see ; f-pet, -tell ; zMove, -van; w-wet; ^r-box; y-yov, £-fuzz, -zone; jA-push, -she; c/t-child; the breath sound of f/t-thin; the voice sound of th-then; w/j-what. The sounds of the diphthongs and of the sound fami- lies should be developed and practiced in a manner similar to that used for the consonant sounds. The purpose of the phonic lesson is to develop the instantaneous association of the sound with its written or printed symbol, and to train the child to independence through the use of his phonetic knowledge. The drill Phonics 87 for the instantaneous association of the symbols should be very thorough. As previously stated, after a sound family has been taught, the teacher should always insist that the pupil use this knowledge in making out new words containing this sound. If he has been taught the sound of m and of ay, and the word may presents itself to his eye for the first time, she should have him sound out this word by having him cover the ay which leaves m exposed; after he has given this sound, he should be lead to discover that he knows ay. He should then make these sounds one after the other, which will give him the word may. This seems a slow process, and at first it is slow, as it would be much quicker and easier for the teacher to tell the child the word, but by taking time to train him to use these forms of control that he has already established, she is laying the foundation for independent study, which is valuable to the child. When the sound of the same combination of letters varies, as in ow, the child should first be taught the sound that occurs the more often in his reading vocabulary. Later, when he is taught the other sound and finds an unknown word containing this combination of letters he must try first the one and then the other, selecting the one which gives a word that makes good sense in the context. LESSON PLAN A preliminary ear and voice training in phonics is car- ried forward from the first day of school in the form of games or exercises. This work is entirely oral, and should be kept up until the child can clearly detect the phonetic sounds in simple words, and until he has gained 88 How to Teach Primary Grades some skill in uttering words phonetically. By allowing five minutes a day to this work it should be accomplished in from two to three weeks. ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS I. "Subject: Phonics. II. Topic: Ear and voice training in phonics. III. Teacher's Motive: (1) To train the child to hear the sounds in words. (2) To train him to utter words phonetically. IV. Child's Motive: (1) To act out the sentences. (2) To play the games. (3) To act as teacher. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject- Matter Procedure Lesson 1 r-un "Did you ever hear any one stutter? Could j-ump you understand him? I wonder if you could h-op understand me if I should stutter? If you sk-ip understand me, I want you to do what I say. ch-air I want some one to r-un. I want some one sh-ut to j-ump. I want some one to h-op. I want f-ind some one to sk-ip. Sit on my ch-air. Sh-ut the door. F-ind a book." The teacher should continue this exercise for at least five min- utes with additional directions, allowing a child to perform each direction as given. Lesson 2 h-air "I wonder if you can understand my slow m-outh way of talking today? Smooth your h-air. Touch n-eck your n-eck. Rub your thr-oat. Lift your f-oot. thr-oat Bend your kn-ee. Sh-ow your t-eeth. Touch f-oot your 1-ips. Stand on one 1-eg." The teacher kn-ee should continue with additional directions for sh-ow at least five minutes. 1-ips 1-eg Phonics 89 Lesson 3 b-ook "I shall tell you what I saw this morning d-oll as I came to school. I shall speak some of h-at the words slowly and I want you to tell me b-ird what they are. I saw a big girl with a b-ook. tr-ee I saw a little girl with a d-oll. The doll n-est wore a h-at. I saw a pretty b-ird. It was fl-y in a tr-ee. It has a n-est. I saw it fl-y. I s-ing heard it s-ing." The teacher should continue with additional sentences. Lesson 4 t-able "I am going to play that I am just learn- d-esk ing to talk and all I can say is the first sound w-all of a word. I will touch some object in the b-oy room and give the first sound and then I g-irl want you to tell me what it is." The teacher ch-alk touches the table and gives the sound of t. ch-air The children say "table." She then touches the desk, wall, a boy, a girl, and a chair giv- ing the initial sound of each in turn. Lesson 5 find The teacher asks the children to tell her mind the first sound of the words she pronounces, come She says "find" and the children give the sound some of /. She then pronounces a selected list of words. Lesson 6 A child plays teacher in the game of touch- ing objects given in the fourth lesson, and gives the initial sound. Lesson 7 A child plays teacher and gives directions as in lesson one. 90 How to Teach Primary Grades Lesson 8 A child plays teacher and gives directions as in lesson two. Lesson 9 A child tells what he saw as he came to school as in lesson three. Lesson 10 f-ind "I wonder if you can tell me what these m-ind words are?" The teacher speaks the follow- k-ind ing words slowly; "f-ind, m-ind, k-ind, w-all, w-all t-all, s-ink, r-ing, sl-ing, sh-eep." She should t-all continue with additional words. s-ing "This time I want you to say each word r-ing slowly as I do and then tell me what it is." sl-ing sh-eep These lessons should be continued until the child is able to give a word instantly when he hears it uttered phonetically and until he has gained some skill in utter- ing words phonetically. He is then ready to begin the second step in the study of phonics, that is, the connect- ing of the sound with the sight symbol. The teacher should select some word which has been thoroughly taught as a sight word and proceed along the line of the following plans: First or Second Grade I. Topic: Sound of r from sight-word run. II. Teacher's Motive: To train the child to give the sound r automatically whenever he sees the letter r. III. Child's Motive: (1) To repeat the word phonet- Phonics 91 ically. (2) To discover the first sound and the letter which represents it. (3) To write the sound on the board. (4) To find the sound on cards or in the book. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter 1 The recall of previous experiences with the sounds relating to the lesson. Procedure 1 Preparation: The teacher begins with a brief review of lessons four, five, and six which were given on page 89. r-un 4 The finding of the sound r in other words. Presentation: She then holds up the card with run printed on it. "Name this word for me. Let us say it slowly. Now I will cover up the last part of the word and let you say the first part. Now the last part" She has the children to say the word slowly two or three times. "This time I want you to say only the first part while I cover up the last part." This will leave the r ex- posed. "What is the sound of this letter? You tell me, Mary, John, Fenton." For drill purposes the sin- gle letter r should be on the re- verse side of the card. "Let us see how it looks when it is written." She places the letter on the board and has several children to copy it on the board. 4 Application: "Let us see if we can find some other words with this 92 How to Teach Primary Grades sound." The teacher holds up cards on which are known sight-words and allows the children to point out any word containing the r sound. When a word is found it should be pro- nounced slowly to see if the sound is the same. If the children have a book the application may be made to the book. The lesson should close with a drill on this and any sound which has been previously taught. First, Second, or Third Grade I. Topic: ay family from the sight- word play. II. Teacher's Motive: (1) To teach the child a sound family. (2) To train him to use this family in making out new words. III. Child's Motive: (1) To discover something that is to make him independent in his study. (2) To repeat the word phonetically. (3) To discover the sound of the last part. (4) To see if he can make out other words that belong to this sound family. (5) To discover a word in the lesson that belongs to this sound family. (6) To learn the family so that he may make out words for himself. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 1 1 The recall of experi- Preparation: "Who helps you. ences connected with the study? How would you like to learn study of the reading les- to study by yourself? We are going son. to learn something today that will help you. Watch and see what it is."' Phonics 93 ay-play Presentation: "What is this word?" The teacher holds up a card with play printed on it. "Let me see if you can repeat this word slow- ly. Let us see what the sound of the first part is." She covers up ay and has pi sounded. She then covers up pi and has the sound of ay given. "What is this (ay) sound? Did you know that words belong to families day just as people do? What part of sa y your name is common to all your ma y family? The sound of the last part ra y of the word is its family name. What lay is its sound? Then to what family wa y does it belong ? Here are some words that belong to the ay family. Let me see if you can tell what they are." The words of this list must be the blending of previously taught con- sonant sounds and the ay sound. The teacher should help the children by covering up the ay, leaving the con- sonant exposed. She then uncovers the ay and has it sounded. She then leads them to blend the consonant sound with the sound family. The finding of the Application: "Open your book sound in the new lesson. to tomorrow's lesson. See if you can find a word belonging to the ay fam- ily." When the word is found the teacher should help the children to sound it out. After a sound family is taught she should always insist that during a study period they sound 94 How to Teach Primary Grades out any word containing this sound. "Let us see if we can learn this sound so that we may know it and be able to sound out words for our- selves. Let us write it on the board." The teacher then has a drill on this family and any previously taught sounds. "What have we learned that will help us study by ourselves?" REFERENCES Haliburton, Phonics in Reading Spaulding and Bryce, Learning to Read Coe and Christie, The Story Hour Manual School Methods Co., New Primary Methods Beacon, Manual to Readers Klapper, Teaching Children to Read Briggs and Coffman, Reading in the Public Schools Charters, Teaching the Common Branches CHAPTER VIII THE STUDY LESSON (reading — continued) A supervised study lesson in reading should consist of (1) the discovery of a problem, (2) the analysis of the difficulties, and (3) the establishing of correct study habits. 1. Problem. The assignment or discovery of a problem is the first step. The laws of apperception, in- terest, and aim are essential parts of this step. How shall the immediate interest of the child be secured and the problem be made vital to him ? Just what experiences should the teacher help him recall in order that he may have a proper apperceptive basis? To answer these questions the teacher must understand the child and must be familiar with his daily life. A question, a picture, or an object will often prove very effective in securing his interest and in providing the proper apperceptive basis. If the lesson is about a mountain and the child has never seen one, the teacher will need to recall his experiences with hills. If this, too, is not his experience, she should help him to an under- standing of a mountain by using pictures, or sand-table, or by calling his attention to the clouds which often look like miniature mountains. Variety in the choice of the problem will do much toward keeping the child's interest and in making the 95 96 How to Teach Primary Grades problem seem worth while. It should be of such a nature that the study of the lesson is necessary before it can be finally solved. A problem may be assigned to the entire class or different problems may be assigned to different groups. Following are some suggestions for motives or prob- lems for the study of a reading lesson : (a) To be able to tell certain things about the lesson, (b) To be able to tell the story of the lesson, (c) To be able to read the lesson to the pupils of another class so that they will enjoy it. (d) To be able to find and read a paragraph or sentence which the teacher or a classmate may illustrate, (e) To be able to dramatize a sentence or a paragraph from the lesson. This sen- tence or paragraph must be found and read by the other members, (f) To be able to take the part of a char- acter in the dramatization of the lesson, (g) To be able to find and read the sentence or paragraph which will answer a question given by the teacher or a member of the class, (h) To be able to read the sentence or para- graph which he likes best, (i) To be able to describe something in the lesson, (j) To be able to divide the lesson into topics. Certain groups are to read the section which is covered by a certain topic. 2. Difficulties. The difficulties- of the reading les- son should consist of new sight words, new phonetic words, difficult sight words previously presented, pho- netic words previously presented, and phrases and sen- tences the interpretation of which may prove difficult. The new sight words and phrases should be presented in connection with the context or in sentences which may be placed on the board. The difficult sight words should be reviewed in an interesting way. In the phonetic work, The Study Lesson 97 the child should either be taught the sounds necessary to make out the words for himself or he should be helped in discovering that he already has this knowledge. This work will take patience. It would be easier to tell him what the word is than to train him to study it out by the use of sounds, but patience will pay as he rapidly gains habits of independence in overcoming difficulties. 3. Habits of Study. The child should be trained to recall the assigned problem at the beginning of the study period and to keep it constantly in mind as he studies. He should be made to realize that the study is finished only when the problem is solved. He should be trained to attack any difficulty which he meets with in his study. If it is a difficult word, he should strive to make out its pronunciation by the use of his phonetic knowl- edge. If this is not possible, he should then try to dis- cover its pronunciation from the context. If it is a difficult phrase he should try to discover its meaning from the context. These also are slow processes but they are infinitely worth while inasmuch as they are necessary to independence in study. ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS First Grade I. Topic: "The Fox and the Little Red Hen." Part I. A lesson unit to be given on same day but at different period. II. Teacher's. Motive: (1) To awaken the child's in- terest in the new lesson. (2) To teach him that study means the solving of a problem. (3) To make study interesting to him by anticipating and overcoming such difficulties as would retard study. 98 How to Teach Primary Grades III. Child's Motive: ( 1 ) To be ready to read certain sections of the story. (2) To be able to find and to read any sentence which the teacher may choose to illustrate. (3) To learn words, phrases, and sounds so that he may study his lesson without help. (4) To play the game used in the drill lesson. (5) To find the phonetic words in the new lesson. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: THE FOX AND THE LITTLE RED HEN "A little red hen lived in a little house in the woods. She had a little bedroom, a little parlor, and a little kitchen. There was a little cupboard in the kitchen. "Over the hill a sly fox lived in a den with his mother. He wished to catch the little red hen and eat her. But she was a wise little hen. She kept her eyes open and her door shut. "One day the fox got a big bag. 'Mother, put the pot on/ he said. 'I will get that red hen to-day and have her for dinner.' And he went over the hill to the little red hen's house. Just then she came out The Study Lesson 99 to get some wood for her fire. She did not shut the door this time. The sly fox crept into the house and hid behind the cupboard." — The Child's World First Reader Subject-Matter 1 The recall of experi- ences with the enemies of chickens Procedure Period I. This will usually come just at the close of the reading reci- tation. 1 Preparation: "Did you ever visit in the country? Did the people keep chickens ? Did you ever hear of any- thing trying to catch them? How did the fox or opossum manage to catch them?" a. Problem : To be able to find and to read any sentence which the teacher may illustrate. Presentation: "Our new lesson tells about how the fox tried to catch a little red hen. I want you to be ready to read the section that describes the home of the little red hen, the section that tells why the fox had not been able to catch her, and the section which tells the plan he finally used." This will be pages 99 and 100. "Let me tell you what I am going to do tomorrow. I am going to draw some pictures to illustrate different sentences in the lesson, and I will see if you can find and read the sen- tence. After you have read it to us we will decide if you are correct. 100 How to Teach Primary Grades b. The development and the drill on the new sight words, difficult sight words, and phrases. (1) New Words: I eat dinner. "I went to the woods last summer." "We call it a bed- room.*' (2) Review of diffi- cult sight words: there, lived, wished, kept. (3) Interpretation of difficult phrase: sly fox What shall you have to do if you are able to take part in the lesson?" He will have to study the entire les- son. Period II. "What do you do when you go home?" The teacher should insist that each child answer in a complete statement. "I will write what you have said on the board." She should call the child's attention to the be- ginning of the sentence with a capi- tal and to the placing of the period at the close. "Who would like to read this sen- tence? Find where it says dinner. Find the card with dinner on it." "Did you ever go to the woods on a picnic or to gather nuts? When did you go? I will write what you said on the board." She places the sentence on the board, and has it read, then the word woods is pointed out and found on the card. "What do you call the room in which you sleep?" The sentence is placed on the board and read by some one. The word bedroom is pointed out and found on the card. A drill lesson is given on these words. (See Chapter VI, pages 75 to 76.) At another period a drill lesson is given on the difficult sight words. "Did you ever hear any one say that some one was sly? What did he mean? In our new lesson the fox is called a sly fox. What does that mean? I will write 'He was a The Study Lesson 101 (4) a. Sounds : y from sky. Review sounds : en, ill, s, 1, d, h, w, th (voice). b. New phonetic words den, sly. Review phonetic words : hiil, will, hen, then. The study of the les- son as a whole- sly fox.' " She has this sentence read and the phrase pointed out. The new sound family 3; is devel- oped as in the illustrative lesson on the introduction of a sound family, Chapter VII, pages 92 to 94. The review work in phdnfcs r is con- ducted as in the illustrative^ drslll les- son. (Chapter VI, pages 75 to 76.) The teacher then has the children turn to the new lesson, and she allows them to find the phonetic words belonging to the families used in the drills. In the supervised study of the les- son the teacher should insist that the children sound out every phonetic word which they do not know. For example, she asks them before they begin to study, "When you find a word that you do not know, what are you going to do? Yes, see if you know the family to which it belongs, and if you do, you will sound out the word." 4 Application: At the beginning of the study period the teacher should help the children to recall the problem which they are to solve. At th'e close of the period, . she should again have the problem stated and allow each child to decide for him- self if he has solved it. When a child comes to a difficult word or phrase she should encourage him to discover its pronunciation or mean- ing by using his phonetic knowledge or from its use in the context. 102 How to Teach Primary Grades Second or Third Grade I. Topic : The Wonder Flower, Part I. II. Teacher's Motive: (1) To awaken the child's interest in the new lesson. (2) To teach him that study means -tjie .solving of a problem. (3) To make study interesting' by anticipating and overcoming such difficul- ties as would rfetard the study. lit Child's Motive: (1) To be able to find and to read any paragraph which the teacher chooses to illus- trate. (2) To learn words, phrases, and sounds so that he may study his lesson without help. (3) To play the games used in the drill lesson. (4) To find the phonetic words in the new lesson. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: The Wonder Flower, Part I "There was once a little shepherd boy, named Carl, who herded the sheep of a rich man. "Carl and his mother lived in a tiny house with a tiny garden around it. The house and garden, with a white goat, were all they had in the world. "A deep river ran near Carl's home. Not far away were the great forests and the high mountains. "Carl loved the shining river, the green forests, and the high mountains. He loved the singing birds and the gay butterflies. But he loved still more the beautiful flowers that grew by the side of the river, in the green forest, and on the mountain. "Every morning Carl guided his sheep down to the river, and herded them there all day. When night came, he guided them back to the fold. Then he hurried to his home under the fir trees at the foot of the mountain. The Study Lesson 103 "But you must not think that Carl played even then. There was the wood to cut, the garden to work, and the white goat to milk. Carl's mother was not very strong, and she had to spin all day long and, sometimes, until late in the night. "Carl loved her too well to let her do the work that he could do. And though they were very poor, Carl and his mother were quite happy in their little home at the foot of the great mountain." — Haliburton's Second Reader Subject-Matter 1 The recall of any ex- perience connected with the name Carl. Procedure 1 Preparation: "Do you know any one named Carl? Where does he live? How does he help his moth- er?" The Wonder Flower a. Problem: To find and to read any para- graph illustrated by the teacher. Presentation: "Our new lesson tells about a boy named Carl. I won- der if he is anything like your friend Carl? We will read the first part of the story. Let me tell you what I am going to do tomorrow. I am going to draw some pictures to illus- trate the different paragraphs in the lesson and I want you to be able to read the paragraph you think I am illustrating. Then we will decide if you are right. What shall you have to do if you are able to take part in the lesson? "What must you know before you can read your lesson? Yes, the new 104 How to Teach Primary Grades b. Difficulties : (1) New words: shepherd Carl butterfly (2) Phrase : the shining river (3) Phonetic words (review) (a) ich-rich oat-goat eep-deep ear-near ing-shining -singing ong-strong -long words. Let us see how quickly we can learn them. "What do we call a man who cares for sheep? Here is the word shepherd on the board, and it is in your new lesson also. "What is the boy's name in our lesson? Here is Carl written on the board. What was this first word? (shepherd.) What is the second? (Carl.) "How many have seen butterflies? We will read of butterflies in to- morrow's lesson. Here is the word butterfly on the board." The teacher then has a word drill on all the words presented- (See Chapter VI, pages 75 to 76.) "How many of you have seen a river? How did it look? How did it look when the sun shone on it? In tomorrow's lesson it says that C5rl loved the shining river. What do you suppose it means by the shin- ing river? Let me write, 'Carl loved the shining river.' " She has the sen- tence read and the phrase pointed out. The teacher has a short card drill on the sound families found in the lesson. She then has the children turn to the lesson and allows them to find the words belonging to these families. When a word is found, it is placed on the board and sounded out. This part of the lesson should close with the question, "When you find a word in your lesson which you do not know, what are you go- The Study Lesson 105 ing to do? Yes, see if you know the family to which it belongs, and if you do, you can sound out the word." The study of the les- Application: At the beginning of son. the study period the teacher should have the children recall the problem. At the close she should again have the problem stated and allow each child to decide for himself if he has solved it. If they find a word or phrase which they do not know she should help them to discover its pronuncia- tion or meaning by the use of their phonetic knowledge or from the con- text. REFERENCES Earhart, Types in Teaching Earhart, Teaching Children to Study McMurry, How to Study Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Strayer and Norsworthy, How to Teach Jenkins, 'Reading in the Primary Grades CHAPTER IX THE RECITATION (reading — continued) AIM In the reading recitation the aim should be to develop the child's initiative, his power for clear, systematic thinking, his power of expression, the ability to gather thought from the printed page, the ability to think and to talk while standing, and skill in the judging of values. The child should be trained to recognize whether or not he has sufficiently studied his lesson. He should learn that the preparation of the lesson is not a matter of reading it over a certain number of times, but that of studying until the problem in the assignment has been solved. He should be trained to report any unsolved difficulty in class, for example, a difficult word, a passage whose meaning is obscure, or the proper way to express a certain passage. The real test of the reading is not how well the child is able to read in the schoolroom but the use he makes of this ability in practical life. He should be encouraged to read his lesson or to tell the story after careful prepara- tion to his small brothers, sisters, mother, father, grand- parents, or playmates. I. SILENT READING Aim. The purpose of the silent reading recitation is to train the child to gather the thought of the printed 106 The Recitation 107 page accurately and rapidly. Inasmuch as silent read- ing is of such importance the teacher should plan to give the child definite training in it. In other words, it should be a definite part of his training from the day he enters school until he finishes. Method. The first lessons will usually take the form of action sentences which the child reads silently and then acts out. For instance, he reads silently the sentence, "Run to a boy," and then performs the act without speaking a word. Later he can read a sentence or paragraph silently and then illustrate it by a crude drawing, free hand paper cutting, or by clay modeling. The sentence, "There was a small cupboard in the kitchen,' 5 may be illustrated by drawing a picture of a cupboard, by cutting a cupboard from paper, or by modeling one from clay. Any one of these may be done without oral reading. If a question appears in the reading lesson, the child may be allowed to read the question silently and then answer it. . "Can you read?" is read silently and he answers, "Yes, I can read." As the child gains power in reading, the entire recita- tion period may be given over to a silent reading recita- tion in which the teacher asks questions about a sen- tence or a paragraph and he reads the sentence or para- graph silently and then answers the question in his own words. Later he may be trained to ask questions about the lesson, the answers to be given by another child. A group of children may read certain sections of the lesson silently and then give a pantomime of the scene. In the story of "The Fox and the Little Red Hen" the section which gives the plan of the fox may be acted out. The entire lesson may be read silently and then 108 How to Teach Primary Grades the book laid aside and the story dramatized. The book is to be referred to only in event of a dispute. Rate in Reading. It has been previously shown that the rapid reader is the more intelligent reader; that he gains more intensive and more vivid impressions than does the slow reader; that he gains these impressions more quickly; that he retains them longer. Rapidity in the gathering of thought from the printed page does not come through oral reading but through persistent, well- directed practice in silent reading. The teacher should plan definitely how she is to train the child to rapidity in silent reading. Inasmuch as this rapidity is not possible without rapid word recognition, this is the first step in the process. It should begin by training the child to recognize words after only an in- stant's exposure. This should be gradually extended to groups of words, as "a little boy," then to short sen- tences, as "I see a little boy." These may be printed on strips of tag-board or heavy paper. In this work it is best to use only words with which the child is thoroughly familiar, since the end is not word recognition, but rapid word recognition. In the second or third grade each of the children may be given a new book containing easy reading. A section which is to be read in a certain length of time is desig- nated. When the signal is given all are to close their books. The aim is to see who can best give the thought of what was read. This should be continued until each child has had the opportunity to give the thought of a section. The habit of rapidity in reading may be greatly re- tarded if the subject-matter of the regular book is too difficult as to words or thought, since the child is more The Recitation 109 than likely to form the habit of reading slowly. Any- thing which tends to make him a slow reader is to be discouraged. II. ORAL READING Aim. The purpose of oral reading is not to dis- cover whether the pupil can recognize the words of the lesson, but is to help him to understand and to interpret the meaning and the spirit of the selection. A minor purpose is to train him to express the thought in a man- ner which will be pleasing to his audience. Method. The teacher should always be sure that the child has had the experience necessary to the under- standing of the selection, and that he has the proper stage setting; in other words, he must be led to form a vivid mental picture of the characters and of the events in the story. These vivid mental pictures are a necessary basis for good oral reading, inasmuch as expression is a natural outcome of a vivid impression. When the child has gained the ability to form these pictures through his silent reading, the droning of words will disappear and his oral reading will be more realistic. One of the most effective ways to guide the child in the interpretation of a selection is by a well directed question which will cause an important point to stand out clearly. For example, "Where did the little red hen live?" Questions will also be very effective in leading him to find the heart or the key sentence of a selection. For instance: "Why was such a title selected for this story?" The child should be trained to read by sections, for instance, "Read the part that tells what Forest Rover's 110 How to Teach Primary Grades mother gave him on his birthday." At first this will be slow work, but if the teacher perseveres she will find that he will develop considerable skill. Not only will reading conducted in this way help him in the interpre- tation of the selection, but it will also develop his power for clear thinking. As previously stated, dramatization and dialogue read- ing help to make the oral reading more realistic to the child. Selections in which the conversational element predominates should usually be dramatized or read as a dialogue. No equipment will be needed, as the child is very imaginative and enjoys imagining the stage scenery of the story. The stronger readers should be selected for the difficult parts, allowing the slower ones to read the easier parts. In his interest to express the thought gathered through silent reading, the child will often omit words and sub- stitute others of similar meaning. For example, the use of the word strong for stout. This is perfectly natural and no attention should be given to it, as the purpose of the lesson is not exact word calling, but the interpretation and the expression of the thought. To require him always to give an exact reproduction of the words of the selec- tion will often result in his attention being directed to the words, and he will lose sight of the thought behind the words. An exception to this rule should be made in the case of the child who changes the wording through carelessness. For this same reason, class criticism is likely to result in losing sight of the real purpose of the lesson, and the recitation is given over to watching for possible mistakes. In other words, it is not desirable for the child to act as a critic since this is likely to spoil the whole spirit and The Recitation 111 purpose of the recitation. The teacher should not inter- rupt a child with a criticism while he is reading unless the error is a very glaring one. When a child is reading orally and comes to a word which he does not know, the teacher should pronounce it for him instantly, otherwise the thread of thought is lost. A note may be made of the word and his attention called to it when he has finished. If oral reading is to be done in a pleasing manner there are certain desirable recitation habits which should be formed. ( 1 ) The child should face the class when he is reading. This will provide him with an audience which should inspire him to more realistic reading. (2) He should stand erect, and hold his book with both hands. The book is held by the lower edge. (3) He should be taught the proper way for turning the page. When going for- ward, turn from the upper right-hand corner, and when going backward, turn from the lower left-hand corner. (4) A beginning child often has difficulty in keeping the place during the oral reading recitation. He may be per- mitted to use a small card which he places either above or below the part to be read. He should be encouraged to discontinue this as j quickly as possible. (5) A first-grade child should be required to read a sentence silently before he reads it orally. He should then look at the class and tell what he read. This should be kept up until he has become somewhat skillful in reading. Whenever a second- or third-grade child stumbles in his oral reading he should be stopped and required to read the part silently, then orally. (6) Any lip movement in silent reading should be discouraged inasmuch as this results in slow reading. (7) The child should not be allowed to 112 How to Teach Primary Grades form the habit of pointing at words in silent or oral reading, as this, too, will tend to result in slow reading. LESSON PLANS Contents. If the lesson has been properly assigned the teacher will have become thoroughly acquainted with the subject-matter of the lesson. All that she should have to do in planning the recitation should be to look over the lesson and decide the form of recitation to which it is best adapted, or in what way she can best handle the recitation in order that the child may reap the greatest benefit from it. Teacher's Motive. In planning for the recitation it is essential that the teacher decide just what she wants the child to gain from this recitation. Is it best to make it a habit-forming lesson, or one that will develop initiative and individuality? Shall she plan it in such a way as to develop his power for systematic thinking or to develop his power of expression ? Shall it be a lesson in gather- ing thought from the printed page or in developing his ability to think and talk while standing? Or shall it be a lesson to increase his rate in reading? These motives or purposes overlap more or less, and any recitation, whatever its direct purpose, will likely forward more than one of these motives. Child's Motive. In planning for the recitation it is also essential for the teacher to decide how she can arouse the child's active interest so that he may get out of the recitation just what she desires. Following is a list of suggestions for possible motives for the child: 1. Oral Reading, (a) To be able to read so that his teacher and classmates shall form vivid mental pic- The Recitation 113 tures of the thing read, (b) To read just as he thinks the character talked, (c) To learn to read so well that he may read the story to some one. (d) To be able to find and read the part which answers a question given by the teacher or a classmate, (e) To read certain sec- tions, or certain things that happened in the story, (f) To read the section illustrated by the teacher, (g) To read the section which has just been dramatized, (h) To outline the lesson, then name and read a section, (i) To be able to name words, phrases, or sentences which are exposed for an instant only. 2. Silent Reading, (a) To be able to dramatize a sentence or paragraph, (b) To be able to answer the questions of the book, (c) To be able to illustrate cer- tain sentences, paragraphs, or sections, (d) To be able to give a pantomime of certain sections or to dramatize the story, (e) To be able to answer questions asked by pupils or teacher, (f) To be able to outline the lesson and then give the substance of the thought of each sec- tion, (g) To be able to read rapidly and then to give the thought of a section of the lesson. Class Procedure. Class procedure should include the preparation for the new subject-matter, its presentation, and often the suggested application. This part of the plan is of the utmost importance since on it depends the success of the recitation. The teacher must know just how she is to handle the subject-matter in order success- fully to accomplish her aim. She must have planned carefully how to arouse the child to the consciousness of a practical reason for doing the thing she desires done. Her questions should be very clear, definite, and to the point. 114 How to Teach Primary Grades ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS First Grade I. Subject: Silent Reading. II. Topics: "The Fox and the Little Red Hen." III. Teacher's Motive: (1) To test the child's power in gaining the thought of the lesson. (2) To train him in gathering the thought from the printed page by the use of motor activity. (3) To train him to gather the main thought of a section of the lesson. IV. Child's Motive: (1) To show how much he knows about the lesson without referring to the book. (2) To be able to give the thought of a sentence or a section of the lesson. (3) To illustrate the different sentences by drawings. (4) To dramatize a section of the story. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 1 1 The recall of the facts Preparation: "What is our les- gained in the study pe- son about? I wonder how much you riod. (See Chapter VIII, know about it? Suppose we first pages 97 tolOl.) have a lesson with closed books. Where did the little red hen live? How many rooms did she have? Where did the old fox live? What kind of fox was he? Why do you suppose he was called a sly fox? Why had he not been able to catch the little red hen? What did he get to carry her in? What did he tell his mother? How did he get into the house? Where did he hide?" The Recitation , 115 The Little Red Hen Presentation : "Take your book and the Fox. (See Chap- and read the first three sentences si- ter VIII, pages 98 to lently, and then tell me what they 99.) are about. Draw me a picture that a. The first section. will illustrate these three sentences. b. The second section. Find just what the next four sen- c. The third section. tences are about. What do they tell? Find what the remainder of the les- son tells- Could you dramatize that part? Mary may come and manage it. How many children will it take, Mary? Where should they stand? Very well, you may choose the chil- dren and tell them where to stand." The children are to act out this sec- tion of the story with Mary as critic. The dramatization of Application: "Tomorrow you the story for another may go to the second-grade room grade. and dramatize this story." I. Subject: Oral reading recitation. II. Topic: "The Fox and the Little Red Hen." III. Teacher's Motive: (1) To help the child grasp the thought of the story. (2) To train him to express this thought in a pleasing manner. IV. Child's Motive: (1) To find and to read the sentences illustrated. (2) To express the thought in a natural and a pleasing manner. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: As a rule the oral and the silent reading lessons should be combined and given as one lesson. This makes a smoother and more interesting type of' lesson. 116 How to Teach Primary Grades Subject-Matter 1 Th'e recall of the as- signment made in Chap- ter VIII, pages 99 to 101 Procedure Preparation: "What is our les- son about? Which parts did I tell you to study? What was I to do? What are you to do after I draw the picture? Very well, see who can find this sentence." "A little red hen lived in a house in the woods." "Just then she came out to get some wood for her fire." "One day the fox got a big bag." "A little red hen lived in a house in the woods." Presentation: Sketch a house with some trees near by. "Find the sentence this picture illustrates. Mary may read her selection. Was that your selection ? Did you imagine you saw a house in the woods as she read? Sam, see if you can make us see it." The same picture is used for the next sentence with the addition of the little red hen by a pile of sticks. "Who can find the sentence this pic- ture illustrates ? Helen may read her selection. Was that your choice? Did you imagine you saw the little red hen coming out of the house and going to the wood pile as Helen read? Glen, see if you can read it in such a way that we may see her." The teacher draws a fox with a bag on his back. She then has this sentence found and read as illus- trated above. "Suppose you begin now and read the story in the order that it is told in the lesson. Who would like to read the section that tells where the The Recitation 117 "She had a little bed- room, a little parlor, and a little kitchen." "There was a little cupboard in the kitchen." little red hen lived? Suppose I did not know where she lived and were to ask you, how would you say it? See if you can read it just as you would tell me." "Read the part that tells about the different rooms. If you had been to visit the little red hen, how would you tell me about her rooms, John? How would you tell me, James?" "What did the little red hen have in her kitchen? Do you suppose that was all she had? Then why is this especially mentioned? Read it just as you would tell me about it." This procedure should be continued through the entire lesson. By means of questions and suggestions the child should be helped in expressing the thought in a pleasing manner. The reading or telling Application: "Read or tell this of the story to parents. story to your father and mother." Second or Third Grade I. Subject: Silent Reading. II. Topic: "The Wonder Flower." Part I. III. Teacher's Motive: (1) To test the child's ability in gathering the thought from the printed page. (2) To teach him systematic thinking by outlining the lesson. (3) To develop his power of expression. (4) To train him to give the substance of the thought by sections. (5) To train him to think clearly while standing. IV. Child's Motive: (1) To show that he knows the lesson by answering the questions which the teacher asks. 118 How to Teach Primary Grades (2) To find the different sections of the story. (3) To come before the class and tell the different sections from the outline. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter 1 The recall of the thoughts gained through the study lesson. (See Chapter VIII, pages 102 to 105.) Procedure 1 Preparation: "What is the title of our lesson? Does this fit the sec- tion we had today? What would be a better title? I wonder how much you know about 'this story? Let's see if you can answer my questions without referring to the book." If the teacher so desires, she can give the children a lesson which they have not studied, and then ask questions and allow them to find the answers by reading the section silently. 'J What did Carl do? To whom did the sheep belong? With whom did Carl live? Describe his home. Describe the scenery around Carl's home. What did Carl love? Which did he love best? What did Carl do with the sheep in the morning? When did he bring them back? What did Carl do besides care for the sheep? What did his mother do? Why did Carl help his mother? Were he and his mother happy?" a. Carl's work. b. Carl's home. c Scenery around Carl's home. Presentation: "How many things are told in our story? Let me write them on the board. Read the first paragraph silently. What is it about? The Recitation 119 d. The things Carl loved. e. Carl's work as a shepherd. f. The home work of Carl and his mother. How shall we state that? Read the second paragraph silently. What is it about? How shall we state that? What is the third paragraph about? How shall we state it?" Each para- graph should be developed in the same way. Second or Third Grade I. Subject: Oral Reading. II. Topic: "The Wonder Flower," Part I. III. Teacher's Motive: (1) To help the child inter- pret the story and understand its sentiment. (2) To help him express this thought in a pleasing manner. IV. Child's Motive: (1) To read the section illus- trated by the teacher. (2) To read in such a way that his audience will form vivid mental pictures. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter 1 The recall of the as- signment made the day before- (See 'Chapter VIII, pages 102 to 105.) Procedure 1 Preparation: "What is our les- son about? Does it say anything about the 'Wonder Flower' in today's lesson? What does it tell? What did I say I was going to do today? Did you practice reading so that you could read the paragraphs I illus- trate?" Paragraph 1. Presentation: "Let me draw a picture and then see if you can find the paragraph it illustrates." The teacher draws a picture of a boy and some sheep. "Who thinks he knows 120 How to Teach Primary Grades Paragraph 5. Paragraph 2 Paragraph 4. which paragraph this illustrates? John, you may read your selection in such a way that we may close our eyes and imagine we see the boy and the sheep. That was good. Do you agree with his selection? Mary, let us see what kind of picture you can make us see." "Find this paragraph." She draws a picture of a river, a sheep, a boy, and a house under the trees. "Who is ready to read the paragraph? Do you agree with the selection? Try to make us see the picture, Sam. What does the first sentence tell? What picture does that make you see? Who will read just that sen- tence, and make us see the picture?''' The teacher should allow a number of children to try their skill in mak- ing others see the picture. Each sentence may be handled in a similar way. "Let us see who can find this para- graph first." She draws a picture of a. tiny house, a garden, and a white goat. The reading of this paragraph is treated in the same way as that of the first one. She then draws a picture of a river, trees, mountains, birds, butterflies, and flowers. The paragraph is found and read, and she then helps the chil- dren to develop an appreciation of its beauty by such questions as follow: "What does shining river mean? Why do you suppose Carl loved the shining river? Would you like to see it? What does he mean by gay The Recitation 121 butterflies? Do you ever listen to the singing birds and watch the gay * butterflies? How do you feel when your hear the birds singing and see the pretty butterflies flitting about? What did Carl love best? Why do you suppose he loved the flowers best ?" The other paragraphs in the lesson should be illustrated and developed in a similar way. This is possible in all except the last one. This may be developed by the teacher in the fol- lowing manner: "Who can find and read the paragraph that tells about Carl's love for his mother, and of their happiness?" Practically all the suggestions for the motivation of the oral reading may be applied to this lesson. Each motive would call for a procedure in keeping with that motive. The questions used in the type lessons on the reading of the story of "The Little Red Hen and the Grain of Wheat," and in the original story of the "Excursion" (Chapter V, pages 65 to 67), are suggestive of the questions which are asked in order to help the child develop the meaning of the sentence. It is a pernicious habit for the teacher to conduct a reading lesson in such a way that the child gains nothing from his oral reading. When her sole effort consists in saying "Read the next sentence, John," she is wasting a valuable opportunity, and the child is wasting time. By her questions and sug- gestions she should lead him to see that every sentence or paragraph embodies a thought which he is to interpret through his oral reading. 122 How to Teach Primary Grades REFERENCES Briggs and Coffman, Reading in the Public Schools Jenkins, Reading in the Primary Grades Klapper, Teaching Children to Read Earhart, Types in Teaching Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Strayer and Norsworthy, How to Teach CHAPTER X LANGUAGE AIM All thought has a tendency to find outward expression. It may be through vocal language, written language, action, fine arts, industrial arts, or household arts. If nature has endowed the child with the necessary tendencies for thought and action, the development and ultimate use of these will be a matter of training ; hence, the stimulation of thought and its direction are impor- tant features in the educational process. In the language work the teacher is primarily interested in the expression of thought through vocal and written speech, hence the other forms of expression are only briefly discussed in this chapter. As there can be no expression without impression, the problem of the teacher is of a two-fold nature: (1) the amusing and stimulating of thought, and (2) the train- ing of the child to correct, clear, fluent, and forceful expression of this thought. SUBJECT-MATTER To express thought fluently, clearly, and forcefully the child must have a large stock of available words and considerable training in the use of these words. Thought may be aroused and stimulated and language power developed through use of literature, conversations 123 124 How to Teach Primary Grades about child's daily life, nature study, social life, and games. In planning for the work to be accomplished in the language course it is essential that each teacher plan her own course of study, as this must be based on the needs of the particular class in question. She should mix and mingle freely with the children in their school life and in their home life. She should constantly endeavor to lead them to free and spontaneous expression in all their work. Only in this way can she really discover the actual language needs of the class. She should keep a list of the errors heard. She should not attempt to correct all these errors at once but the most glaring and grating ones should be selected for the first work. Some of the incorrect language expressions which are common errors with the child will be found in the follow- ing list: "I have took" for "I have taken"; "I seen" for "I have seen"; "I have saw" for "I saw"; "I taken" for "I took"; "set" for "sit"; "git" for "get"; "aint" for "am not" ; "comin" for "coming" ; "come" for "came" ; "run" for "ran" ; "have got" for "have." Course of Study The language course of study will contain suggestions for the work in literature, since this is an essential part of the language work. First Grade. It will include stories reproduced and dramatized; poems memorized; thought expressed through handwork ; conversational exercises about nature observations, picture study, and daily exercises; expres- sion games to establish correct habits of expression ; use of the period, question mark, capital letter in a proper name and at the beginning of a sentence; very simple letter writing. Language 125 Second Grade. Stories reproduced and dramatized; poems memorized ; thought expressed through handwork ; conversational exercises as in the first grade ; expression games to correct errors in speech; letter writing; very simple class compositions and stories based on nature study, literature, picture study, and history or social life; abbreviations, as Mr., Mrs., St., and other forms used in this grade; use of capitals in days of the week, in months, and in the first word of each line of poetry; the use of quotation marks and of the comma after a word of address. Third Grade. Stories reproduced and dramatized; poems memorized and recited ; thought expressed through handwork; conversational exercises based on nature study, picture study, literature, and history or social life ; composition or story work based on conversational exer- cise ; letter writing ; expression games to establish correct habits of speech; punctuation marks needed in written work; abbreviations for such terms as the child uses in his written work. METHOD The use of words and expressions is a most important part of language power, since it is an almost infallible key to one's cultural attainment. The most inspiring thought loses force if it is expressed in incorrect language. The old method of teaching correct forms of expres- sion was to have the rules of grammar memorized. Very little attention was given to training the child to use cor- rect forms. The success of this method is measured by its result. We have only to listen to the speech of many who were trained in English by the use of the rule alone 126 How to Teach Primary Grades to realize that there is something woefully lacking. Many of these persons can quote glibly every rule in the gram- mar and then unconsciously break each of these rules in ordinary conversation. The way a person expresses thought is a matter of habit — a habit which is usually formed long before he is able to understand the meaning of a rule. The period of easiest habit formation is in early childhood, and hence it is very essential that the child form correct language habits. He should say things in a certain way not because of a rule but because he has formed the habit of saying it in that right way. It is with great difficulty that a habit is broken, and the older the habit, the harder it is to break. Consequently, this phase of the language work should receive especial attention in the primary grades. That language habits may be successfully established, it is necessary that the teacher have a thorough knowl- edge of language forms and that she use these forms correctly in her own speech since the child is a great imitator. The child should first be given to understand that there is a right and a wrong way to say things. This should be followed by the awakening of the desire to use the correct form, for if he is consciously trying to use the correct form, there is great gain inasmuch as he will form the habit of watching his own speech. The teacher should praise him whenever he uses the correct form, as this will help to make the desire to use it more prominent in his mind. She should use her own judg- ment in correcting errors in the child's speech. Correc- tion should never be given in a way that will tend to embarrass him or that will attract the attention of the other children. When he makes a mistake, if the teacher will quietly repeat the correct form he will usually cor- Language 127 rect the mistake and go on without any embarrassment and the attention of the other children will not be at- tracted. If this cannot be done, it will probably be better to make a note of the error and then plan some game or exercise in which there will be a frequent repetition of the correct form. The aim in all language work should be to direct the attention toward the correct form, rather than to the incorrect form. For this reason, the practice of class criticism in primary grades is questionable. A habit of expression is formed through frequent repetition of the expression. Is it not then a questionable procedure to train the child to give attention to the incorrect form? Would it not be more effective to train him to note the correct expression? The uses of literature in teaching the child to use cor- rect forms of speech will be fully discussed in the succeeding chapter. Games. In establishing a correct habit of speech the teacher should not be satisfied with calling the child's attention to mistakes, but she should plan for a sys- tematic repetition of the correct form. A very effective device to use is found in the expres- sion games. In these games there should be a frequent and interesting repetition of the correct form. The exercises or games should be varied from day to day and may occupy only a five-minute period. Many suggestions for games may be found in educa- tional journals and in books of games. The ingenious teacher can adapt many of the well known children's games to suit, her needs. Following are suggestions for expression games and exercises : 128 How to Teach Primary Grades 1. A Penny, a Penny. Aim, to establish the habit of saying "J haven't any." This is an adaptation of the old game of "Thimble." Two children come forward while the others remain in their seats. One child is given a penny. He goes from child to child, pretending to give the penny to each one. The second child watches to see which one receives the penny. When the first child has been to each one, he takes his seat, and the second child tries to guess who has the penny. He calls a child's name and says, "A penny, a penny." This child answers, "I haven't any," or "I have one," as the case may be. When the penny is located another guesser is selected, and the child having the penny gives it to some one else. 2. I Saw. To establish the habit of saying "I saw." A number of objects are placed on the table. The chil- dren form a line and march around the table. The aim is to discover who can see the greatest number of objects. After the class is reseated, each child in turn says, "I saw ' ," telling what he saw. 3. I Have Seen. To establish the habit of saying "I have seen." The teacher says, "I wonder how many dif- ferent kinds of birds you have seen ?" Each child answers by saying, "I have seen a robin." The game is continued until all have told the different kinds of birds they have seen. This exercise may be varied by letting each child tell about different animals, flowers, trees, or vegetables. 4. The King's Gold. Aim, to establish the habit of saying, "It was not I," and "It was he or she." One child goes from the room. The other children hide their eyes. The teacher goes through the aisles and touches one child. She then gives the signal for the children to sit up. The absent child is recalled. He calls a child's Language 129 name and says, "Was it you, who stole the king's gold?" This child touches another child and answers, "It was not I who stole the king's gold, it was he (or she)." This child rises and says, "It was not I who stole the king's gold, it was he (or she)." The game continues until the one touched by the teacher is discovered. This child goes from the room and the game is played as before. Other suggestions for games may be found in either of the following books: Aldine, Language Games, Newson & Co., New York. Leiper, Language in the Elementary Grades, Ginn & Co., Chicago. Conversational Exercises. Another source for de- veloping thought and the power to communicate thought is through conversation. Topics in which the child is interested should be selected; for instance, games, home and daily life, pets, nature study, pictures, or the read- ing lesson. By questions and suggestions the child is led to talk about these things. This should give an opportunity to develop correct and fluent expression, and the ability to think and talk while standing. The study of pictures representing child life will form an excellent basis for conversational exercises, and for original stories. The picture should be chosen with care and should be a copy of a painting by a good artist. The teacher should select those that tell a story, and the child should be trained to see the story in the pic- ture. Originality in composing stories should be en- couraged. Suitable pictures may be purchased from the Perry Pictures Co., Maiden, Mass. Other Forms of Expression. Any form by which 130 How to Teach Primary Grades thought is communicated has a place" in the study of language. The child should be encouraged to express the thoughts acquired through literature, nature study, or social life by some form of handwork. Among the best forms of handwork are the sand-table, clay modeling, free-hand paper-cutting, drawing, and paper-folding. This work should be developed as the outward expres- sion of the inner thought. These forms of expression will be more fully treated in Chapter XX. WRITTEN LANGUAGE Problem. In the primary grades, the larger part of the time should be given to oral language. The first and greatest problem is to train the child to express thought in correct, clear, fluent, and forceful oral Eng- lish. If this is successfully accomplished the problem of written English will resolve itself into sentence structure, the proper use of capital letters, punctuation marks, proper arrangement on the page, and correct spelling. A common mistake of primary teachers has been the neglecting of the oral language and the over-emphasizing of the written. They have worked on the supposition that correct and fluent written expression results in cor- rect and fluent oral expression. This has not proved the case, as a person can often produce a beautifully writ- ten composition or letter, and at the same time make many errors in his oral speech. Then, if a child has to contend with the expression side of his written work, his task is much greater and the time required for its successful accomplishment will be much longer. Subject-Matter. Very little written language should be attempted in the first grade inasmuch as the need Language 131 for oral expression far outranks the need for written expression. However, a small amount of letter writing may be given. This letter writing may take the form of a simple invitation, or the body of the letter may con- sist of a copied rhyme or of a selection from the reading lesson. The written work of the second and third grades will consist of the copying of simple rhymes, poems, sen- tences, compositions, written reproduction of stories, and original stories. Much of the time should be given to letter writing, inasmuch as the majority of people write nothing except letters. If spelling is taught in the mod- ern way it will include the writing, from dictation, of sentences and paragraphs- from stories and of stanzas from poems. This is an added opportunity for written language work. Method. It is a simple task to teach the little child correct written form. The endless opportunity for black- board work brings in the use of capitals and punctuation marks. In this way he may be made sensitive to form. The best time to teach the details of written form is when the child contributes the original stories which have been developed in the conversational exercises. On these occasions he gives the natural phrasing which makes punctuation a necessity. He asks the question or makes the statement and thus he sees the need of the question mark and the period. If the child is to use correct written English, no in- correct form should ever be placed before him either in the teacher's work or in any other which is presented to him. Though he does not understand the proper use of capitals, punctuation marks, or the proper arrange- ment of form, all work placed before him should be 132 How to Teach Primary Grades absolutely correct as to these points, in order to avoid the possibility of an erroneous impression. In all his own written work the teacher should require accuracy as to arrangement, capitals-, and punctuation. The child should never be asked to write anything unless he has knowledge enough to do it correctly, else the result will be the formation of an incorrect habit. No error in the child's written work should ever be allowed to pass unnoticed. He should be required to correct his own errors, since this will serve to impress the correct form as well as to make him more careful. Rules. The rules for the heading, the margin, the indention of the paragraph, the use of the capital let- ters, the proper punctuation, and other points of arrange- ment may be effectively taught by the inductive method. It is worth considerably more to the child to examine his book with the attention directed toward the point in question and discover the way to do the thing, than to be told how to do it. If the rule is worked out in this way it will mean much more to him, since the knowl- edge of it is the result of his own effort. He must have thought about it before he can form the rule. If he should forget this rule, he should go back to the source to refresh his memory. THE LESSON PLAN The language lessons are mainly of two types, the in- ductive lesson and the drill lesson. The inductive les- son, which may also be a study lesson, is the lesson where new rules or definitions are worked out. It con- sists of (1) a problem, (2) a study of material which will solve the problem, and (3) the summary or solution Language 133 of the problem. However the majority of the language lessons are drill lessons in which the aim is to establish a certain habit of response. These lessons should con- form to the principles governing the drill lesson ; namely, (1) motive, (2) clear idea of the desired response, (3) attentive repetition, (4) no exception, (5) review, and (6) application. 1. Motive. As previously stated, the mind accom- plishes a task more quickly and with greater ease if it is held to the task by a conscious and definite aim or pur- pose. The observance of this law is especially valuable in the language lesson, which is more or less a mechanical process. First, the teacher must have a general aim for the work as a whole, with specific aims for each separate lesson or lesson unit. The general aim has already been stated as (a) the arousing and stimulating of thought, and (b) the training the child to express this thought correctly, clearly, fluently, and forcefully. The specific aims for the individual lesson should be some one or more features of this general aim. The child's motive will vary with the subject matter. In the expression game it will be to play the game cor- rectly or it may be to see how many opportunities he can find to use a certain word or expression. Again he may be interested in writing an invitation to his mother, or he may want to discover the story of a picture and then tell an original story about it. Suffice it to say that whatever the problem or motive, it should appeal to him as something worth doing. 2. Clear Idea of Response. Before the important step of repetition begins the child should have a clear 134 How to Teach Primary Grades idea of the desired response in order to guard against the repetition of an error. If it is an expression game, he should hear clearly and understand the expression which is the key to the game. If it is a word which he is to add to his vocabulary, he should know both the cor- rect pronunciation and the correct meaning of the word before the repetition of its use begins. If it is a letter, he should have a clear and a definite idea of the points involved before beginning the repetition. 3. Attentive Repetition. Before a certain habit of response is permanently established there must be many repetitions. The number of repetitions necessary is ma- terially reduced if concentrated attention accompanies each repetition. Therefore, the teacher should plan for the conscious repetition of the response which she is endeavoring to establish. The child may play a variety of games which involve a certain expression; the ex- pression is brought out in a story or in a poem; or a story which involves the expression is dramatized. The different devices for bringing in the repetition of the expression utilize the law of association, which is one of the best means of establishing a desired response. 4. No Exceptions. The repetitions should be so planned that no error will be made, otherwise the task of establishing the habit will be very much retarded. Not only should the teacher try to avoid possibilities of error in the language period but she should be con- stantly on the alert whenever the child has occasion to talk or to write. 5. Reviews. The teacher should recognize the im- portance of the principle of review in establishing lan- guage habits, and plan for frequent and systematic re- view of each point covered. After the child has gained Language 135 some skill -in playing expression games, more elaborate games, in which there is a review of two or more ex- pressions, may be utilized. Stories or poems may be selected with a view to reviewing language expressions. 6. Application. The teacher should make many opportunities in the various schoolroom activities for the application of the habits established in the language course. She should praise all attempts to use these habits in both home and school activities. (See References, page 147.) CHAPTER XI LANGUAGE-(Continued) ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS First, second, or third grades I. Subject: Language game. II. Topic: The expression, "I saw." III. Teachers Motive: (1) To bring the expression "I saw" to the child's conscious field. (2) To provide an interesting means for the repetition of the expression. IV. Child's Motive: To play the game without mak- ing a mistake. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 2 2 "I saw" Presentation: "Boy and girls, I know a game which I am sure you will enjoy playing. It is the game 'I saw! Some one 'begins by telling that he saw an object of a certain color. For example, Roy says, 'I saw a red bird/ Then all the others must follow suit by telling of some- thing red they have seen. For ex- ample, John follows Roy by saying, 'I saw a red house.' As we play each one must be sure to say 'I saw' or he will have to pay a forfeit. 136 Language 137 "After each one has followed Roy's suit, then John may start the next round by changing the color; for example, he says, 'I saw a white cow,' then each of the others must follow suit." Play the game for several minutes. I saw Summary: "What was the ex- pression we used each time?" Explanation of game Application: "When you go home with emphasis on 1 saw. tell mother all about the game. See if you can tell her all the different things we saw. How would it do to tell her like this, John said, 'I saw a white cow ?' " First, second, or third grades I. Subject: Conversational Exercise. II. Topic: Picture, "Can't You Talk?" III. Teachers Motive: (1) To stimulate the child's thought. (2) To develop his power of expression. IV. Child's Motive: (1) To learn the story of the picture. (2) To tell the picture story. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 1 1 Experience with a baby Preparation: "Do you have a and a dog. baby in your home? How old is it? Do you have a dog? Is the baby afraid of it. Does he ever play with the dog?" Language 139 Picture : "Can't You Presentation : "Look at this pic- Talk?" ture and tell me what you see." The teacher allows the children a few minutes in which to examine the pic- ture. "Let us see if we can find out the story of this picture. What kind of dog do you think this is? What do you suppose his name is? Do you think he likes the baby? Why do you think so? Do you think the baby is afraid of the dog? Why do you not think so ? What do you think the baby would like to say to the dog? What do you think the dog would like to say? "What is the cat doing? What do you suppose he would like to say? "What time of day do you think it is? Why? What time of year do you think it is? Why? "What do you think this picture should be called?" After a discus- sion of different names suggested by the children, the teacher may tell the artist's name for it. An imaginary story of the picture. Summary: "Do you think you can tell the story of the picture? I want some one to imagine that this is your baby brother or sister and your dog and cat. Then tell us the story about the baby trying to talk to the dog." The teacher should allow as many children as will vol- mteer to tell a story. She should 140 How to Teach Primary Grades praise all effort, also any original suggestion. In the second and third grades the story may be written after much oral discussion. It should be made a class exercise until the teach- er is sure that the children will not make errors in form or spelling. The story to be told at Application: "What will you tell home. your mother about the picture?" Second or third grade. (For a simple note of invita- tion suitable for a first grade see Chapter XVI, pages 219-221.) I. Topic: A Written Invitation. II. Teacher's. Motive: (1) To train the child in the written mechanics of a letter. (2) To train him to de- pend upon himself. III. Child's Motive: (1) To write an invitation to his mother to visit the school. (2) To discover the proper way of writing a letter. IV. Outline 1. Heading a. address (1) location (2) capitals and punctuation b. date (1) location (2) capitals and punctuation 2. Salutation a. wording b. location c. capitals and punctuation Language 141 3. Body a. arrangement b. margin 4. Closing a. wording b. location c. capitals and punctuation 5. Address a. location b. arrangement c. punctuation V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 1 1 Discussion of an invi- tation to the mother Preparation: "How many of you would like to invite your mothers to come to visit us next Friday after- noon? How can we get the invita- tion to her ? Don't you think it would be nice to write her a letter of invi- tation? "Did you ever receive a letter? What is the first thing that is writ- ten in a letter?" A. The heading: (1) Observation school Presentation: "Examine these letters and see what is the first thing." The teacher should have some personal letters from friends in near-by towns, as these names will be familiar to the children. This will aid them in arriving at the con- clusion that the person writing the 142 How to Teach Primary Grades (a) Location (b) Capitaliz a t i o n and punctuation of the address letter places his address first. "When you have found the first word in a letter, I will help you to pronounce it if you do not know what it is." Each child is permitted to 'examine a number of letters. "What is the first thing written each time ? Why do you suppose each person wrote the name of a place the first. thing? Then what is the first thing we must write ? "On what part of the page should we write the name of our school?" She should have the children dis- cover the answer through the exami- nation of several letters. "I will mark off a page on the board. Come and show me exactly where to write the name. "Examine the letters and tell me what kind of letter to use in writ-) ing the name." After the letters are examined she has the children make a statement of the kind of letter used. "Look in the paper when you go home and see if all the names of places begin with capitals. What punctuation marks are used?" The teacher proceeds as before. Summary* of first point covered: "Show me where you will write the name of the school in your let- ter. What kind of letter will you use at the beginning of the words? What punctuation marks?" Language 143 (2) The date (a) location (b) capitalization and punctuation B. Salutation : Dear Mother (1) wording (2) location (3) capitals and punc- tuation. The teacher marks off a space on the board to represent a letter and places the name of the school in the proper place and the children copy on paper. She then develops the writing of the date in the same way. The teacher has calendars examined, in addition to the letters, to discover the rule for writing the name of the month with a capital. If sufficient evidence is found, the children are allowed to form the rule for writing th'e name of the month. The date is then added to the letter. "Examine the letters and see what comes next." The teacher should use personal letters in which the name and address of the person to whom the letter is written are omitted. "How shall we say it in our let- ter?" C. Body : (1) arrangement (2) margin She has the children discover the position, the use of the capitals, and the proper punctuation. The teacher adds the salutation to the letter on the board and the children copy it* 1 : "Now what were we going to invite mother to do? How shall we say it?" She should frave the chil- dren discover the place to begin the body of the letter. "Where must we begin the second line?" She has the children examine the letters. "Do you know what that space is called? Look in your book 144 How to Teach Primary Grades and see if a margin is left on each page. Why do you suppose this mar- gin is left?" The teacher writes the entire sentence and the children copy. We will sing for you. We will recite poems and tell stories. We will dramatize some of our stories. "What else shall we say to mother ? Don't you think she will be interested in knowing what we are going to do? How shall we say this ?" The teacher writes and the children copy. "What else shall we do?" Each sentence should be developed in a similar way. D. Closing : "Your son, John." (1) wording (2) location (3) capitals and punc- tuation. "How shall we close our letter? Examine the letters and see how they are closed." The teacher continues until each point is developed induct- ively. E. The address: (1) location (2) arrangement (3) punctuation iSummary: As previously stated, this letter would be the work of several days. Before each period the part of letter already developed should be placed on the board. In beginning each succeeding lesson the teacher should have a brief review on the points previously developed- The correct way of addressing a letter should be developed inductive- ly, also practically every other point in written composition. Writing additional letters. Application: The writing of oth- er letters from time to time. Language 145 Second or third grade I. Topic: A Written Story or Composition. II. Teacher's Motive: (1) To develop the child's* initiative and to train him in proper expression and organization. (2) To train him in the proper written mechanics of a composition. III. Child's Motive: (1) To write a story to send to his grandmother. (2) To arrange properly the outline of the story. (3) To express himself in the best way. (4) To discover the proper way to arrange and write the story. IV. Outline 1. Title a. wording b. location c. capitals and punctuation 2. Outline of theme 3. Body a. description (1) wording (2) arrangement b. food c. home d. protection from enemies V. Subject-matter and Procedure: This story is based on a previous nature study lesson on the rabbit; all the facts were fully developed. Subject-Matter Procedure 2 1 and 2 1. Title: "What have we been studying in our nature study lesson? Wouldn't 146 How to Teach Primary Grades The Story of the Rab- bit. a. wording b. location c. capitals and punc- tuation. 2. Outline : a. description b. food c home d. protection from en- emies 3. Body : a. description (1) wording (2) arrangement your grandmother be pleased if you were to write a story of the rabbit and send it to her ? What is the first thing we find in a story? Look in your books and see." The teacher has several stories examined until the children are convinced that the name of the story should be given first. "What shall we name our story? Where shall we write it?" The prop- er position, capitals, and punctuation should be developed inductively. The teacher writes on the 'board and the children on paper. Summary: "What is the first thing we write in a story?" Each point covered is reviewed. "What shall we tell about the rab- bit? I will write on the board the things you suggest. What shall we tell first? What next?" The out- line is rearranged. The teacher should train the child to organize this outline properly by suggestions and by well-directed questions. She should not be arbitrary even if the organization is not as logical as de- sired, since the aim is to develop and train the child's initiative and power of organization. "How shall we describe the rabbit? How shall we say that?" She con- tinues until all the sentences are placed on the board. These should not be placed on the part of the board where the regular composition is to be written. "Let us read our" description. What Language 147 sentence should come first?" The sentences are rearranged as in the outline. The children are allowed to discover a rule for the margin and one for the indention of the para- graph by' examining their reading books. After the first paragraph is placed on the board the children copy it. Each paragraph is developed in a similar way. All letter writing and written com- position work should be closely supervised until the teacher is rea- sonably sure that the child will not make mistakes in his work. If original work is given too early it tends to establish incorrect habits of form and of spelling. Summing up all points covered iSummary: Throughout the lesson the teacher should constantly recall all points covered. The writing of addi- tional stories. Application: The writing of oth- er stories from time to time. REFERENCES Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Earhart, Types in Teaching Strayer and Norsworthy, How to Teach Cooley, Language in the Grades. Haliburton and Smith, Teaching Poetry in the Grades Charters, Teaching the Common Branches Leiper, Language in the Elementary Grades Wilson, Motivation CHAPTER XII LITERATURE AIM If the child is to gain in language power, he must have a conscious ideal or standard by which to measure his progress. One of the best sources for these ideals is found in literature. The English is pure, simple, and elevating, and its proper use will enrich the child's vocab- ulary, add to his power of expression, and help him form correct habits of speech. In addition to its value as a source of language ideals, a genuine love and an appreciation of good literature will enrich life by broadening the mind and the character through contact with the noble men and women por- trayed. It will develop and broaden the child's sym- pathies for his fellow men, fill his mind with uplifting thoughts, develop his imagination, and furnish ideals of conduct. Through its use he should learn to love and appreciate nature as never before. It is said that if a child does not learn to love good literature before the age of ten, the chances are that he will never acquire this taste. If this is true, it is the duty of the teacher of the little child, to bring him into daily contact with as much appropriate literature as pos- sible, inasmuch as love of good literature is a matter of training and not an inborn trait. 148 Literature 149 The primary purpose of literature is to give joy. This alone is a justification for its frequent use in the school- room, since the ideal schoolroom is one in which both teacher and pupil find much joy. The use of the story will also help to bring about a closer relation between the teacher and the pupil, as the child is instinctively drawn closer to the story teller. Not only does the story or poem give joy but it affords opportunity for the en- riching and the enlarging of the child's mental and moral life. He can find no higher source for moral ideals than in the good old fairy tale or the historical tale. Two other important functions of literature are the development of the child's imagination and the mental training which the study of literature affords. Even the simplest story affords such training, as its incidents are logical in arrangement, each growing out of the pre- ceeding one and necessitating the following one. These stories are found to contain all the elements of good literature — they are simple in plot, have a predominating action, and every incident leads toward the climax. SUBJECT-MATTER . In the rhymes of "Mother Goose" will be found a rich storehouse of material for the mental training which literature should offer. These rhymes meet every re- quirement for good literature and afford a broad field for the development of the child's imagination. The rhythm is irresistible, the incidents are intensely interesting, the consequences are just, and the moral tone is of a high type. The child who has not known '"Mother Goose" has been deprived of a source of mental development which cannot be supplied in any other way. Not only is 150 How to Teach Primary Grades this true, but a knowledge of Mother Goose is essential to a complete understanding of adult literature where frequent allusions will be found to these characters. Good English is born of familiarity, therefore, it is essential that the child hear as much good English as possible. Literature is one of the most essential factors in this program since it affords endless opportunity for bringing him into daily and almost hourly contact with those who have something to say and who say it in the purest and simplest English. In choosing literature for the development of language power, the teacher must keep in mind the twofold pur- pose; namely, (1) to arouse and stimulate thought, and (2) to establish habits of correctness, forcefulness, and fluency in the expression of thought. Any selection which does not measure up to this standard should be eliminated from the language course of study. I. THE STORY There is a vast amount of material from which to choose the story, and the teacher is often puzzled to know just what selection to use. Through a close study of those which especially appeal to the child, it has been found that the ones which he likes best (1) are full of action; (2) contain simple elements used in a realistic way; and (3) contain a certain amount of repetition. If the teacher will apply this three-fold test, she will seldom make a mistake in her choice of stories. Among the classes of stories which the child likes will be found the fairy story, the myth, the legend, the his- torical story, the nature story, the Bible story, and the nonsense story. Literature 151 1. The Fairy Story. The fairy story has a special charm for a young child, and it should be given him as his natural right. It stirs and develops his imagination, inspires him to right action, and develops "his literary taste. Familiarity with the fairy story is necessary to a full appreciation of the frequent allusions in adult literature. 2. The Nature Story. If the nature story is care- fully selected, many truths may be taught in an interest- ing form. It will develop a closer sympathy with the animal kingdom and a deeper appreciation of the beau- ties and wonders of nature. Through the nature story the child may be taught that behind nature and in nature is the hand of God. 3. The Historical Story. If the historical story is wisely selected, much interesting history will be acquired, the pride and love for one's country awakened, and a broader sympathy and love for humanity developed. The stories of the love, devotion, and struggles of the early pioneers should awaken a 'desire to emulate their example. 4. The Biblical Story. In the Bible will be found another source of literature that may be used in arousing thought and establishing language ideals. It is unsur- passed in purity of style and in loftiness of content. Through the Bible stor}% the child may be taught the all-powerful influence of God in the development of the human race. As in the fairy story, a knowledge of the Bible story is necessary to a full appreciation of adult literature. 5. The Nonsensical Stor{y. The value of the funny story lies in its humor and its power to awaken laughter. A hearty laugh will do much to clear up the mental 152 How to Teach Primary Grades atmosphere, and take away the tired, discouraged feel- ing which is too often a natural result of the schoolroom procedure. When the child seems tired and listless, the teacher should try the effect of a funny story, one which will give him the opportunity for hearty laughter. The following list of stories meets all the requirements for those suitable for language work. Many equally ap- propriate may be found in the modern school readers, children's magazines, educational magazines, and in books of stories especially prepared for the teacher. First Grade: Bellerophon and Pegasus Ulysses and the Bag of Wind The Three Bears The Three Pigs The Town Musicians The Elves and The Shoemaker The Ugly Duckling The Old Woman and the Pig The Little Red Hen and the Grain of Wheat The Little Fir Tree The Discontented Pine Tree The Boy and the Wolf The Lion and the Mouse Phaeton Another Little Red Hen Story How Brother Rabbit Fooled the Whald and the Elephant Epaminondas Pig Brother Raggylug Sleeping Beauty Literature 153 The Lost Sheep (Bible) David and Goliath (Bible) The Birth of Christ (Bible) Saint Christopher George Washington Wonder Stories Stories of Animals Second Grade: Clytie Pandora Prometheus Persephone Baucis and Philemon Snow White Hansel and Grethel Beauty and the Beast Cinderella Moses (Bible) Daniel (Bible,) Ruth (Bible) Picciola Robert E. Lee Washington Columbus Third Grade: Old Greek Stories Robinson Crusoe Stories of Great Musicians Little Lame Prince Child of Urbino and Randolph The Wonderful Lamp j 54 How to Teach Primary Grades Dog of Flanders Rip Van Winkle The Cratchits' First Christmas Dinner The Constant Tin Soldier The Darning Needle Tit for Tat The Fir Tree The Angel The King of the Golden River Books of Stones The Children's Hour Books: Bryant, How to Tell Stories, Stories to Tell to Children (Houghton, Mifflin Co., New York) ; Grimm's Fairy Tales (Macmillan, New York) ; Bailey, For the Children's Hour (Milton Bradley, Atlanta) ; Cooke, Nature Myths and Stories (A. Flanagan Co., Chicago). II. POEMS It is said that the child has an instinctive love for the rhythm of the poem, and that if the adult does not like poetry, it is because this instinct was not properly devel- oped in childhood. If this is true, the teacher has com- mitted a grievous wrong against the child if she does not make the reading and reciting of poetry a regular part of his school life. The most beautiful and inspiring thoughts in all classic literature are in the form of poetry. The person who does not read poetry loses much that would broaden and elevate life and help to lift him *bove the sordid and trivial. Many people have been saved from temptation and from the commonplace by having their minds stored with these gems of literature. The retentive or permanent memory is at its best in Literature 155 childhood, and a thing thoroughly memorized in this period is never forgotten. Advantage should be taken of this opportunity by filling the child's mind with the noblest and best which literature affords. Aside from the moral and intellectual benefits of poetry, there is an excellent opportunity for developing language power. If the poetry is properly used it will arouse and stimulate the child's thought, increase his vocabulary, add to his phraseology, and help him in forming the correct .habits of speech. Great care should be exercised in the selection of the poem. It should be simple as to content, easily inter- preted, made up of familiar elements, and should be un- mistakable as to rhythm. The English should be pure and the style simple. If a poem is adapted to a certain season, it will add interest and meaning to teach it in the appropriate season. There is an abundance of appropriate poetry for the child of every age. Much poetry that is appropriate to the grade and to the season will be found in the modern readers, children's magazines, educational journals, the Bible, and in books of poetry for children. The follow- ing list of poems is suggestive : First Grade- Time to Rise The Wind The Swing Sing a Song of Seasons Singing The Cow Duty of Children Bed in Summer 156 How to Teach Primary Grades I Love You, Mother Christmas Song, Fields The Seed, Kate Brown The Wonderful Meadow (one stanza) Wordsworth The Wind, Rosetti I Love Little Pussy Second Grade: Autumn Leaves October Gave a Party The Little Kittens The Sunbeam, Paulson Come Little Leaves The New Moon Who Stole the Bird's Nest October's Bright Blue Weather The Squirrel's Arithmetic Talking in Their Sleep Wynken, Blynken, and Nod Third Grade: The Children's Hour Christmas The Four Winds Wonderful W T orld Daisies Violets March Jack in the Pulpit Sir Robin 1 Cor. 13: 1-13 Nineteenth Psalm Literature 157 Books : McMurry & Cook, Songs of the Tree-top and Meadow (Public-School Publishing Co., Bloomington, 111.). Love joy, Nature in Verse (Silver Burdette Co., New York). Stevenson, A Child's Garden of Verse (A. Flanagan Co., Chicago). Field, Love Songs of Childhood (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York). METHOD Literature should be presented and developed in such a way as to arouse the child's appreciation and to stimu- late his thought. The discussion of the selection should lead him first of all to form a clear and vivid mental picture of the scenes portrayed. This should be followed by questions which will lead him to analyze, compare, and offer opinions on the characters or the events. In other words, he should be made to think. Such questions as the following may be asked : "Why do you like this story or poem? Which character or part do you like best? Why? Do you think this a good title for the story or poem ? What would you like to call it ? Let us see how many parts there are to our story or poem." If good English is the result of familiarity, the child should have every opportunity possible to hear and repro- duce good English. One of the most effective ways to enrich his vocabulary, to help him in establishing correct habits of speech, and in developing a beautiful, forceful, and fluent power of expression is through the reproduc- tion of stories and the reciting of poems. He should be made conscious of the new word, the beautiful expression, or the correct expression which the teacher is seeking to add to his language power. He should be encouraged to use these in his daily speech. Much may be done by praising the child who makes this 158 How to Teach Primary Grades effort. Many ludicrous mistakes will be made in these early attempts, but if the teacher perseveres, the child will gradually form the habit of expressing his thought in fluent and beautiful English. The teacher's attitude toward literature is of great importance since it is not possible to teach literary appre- ciation if she does not appreciate. She should never attempt to teach a selection which she does not like. It is possible for the teacher to learn to appreciate a selec- tion if she will make a close study of it, trying to discover the author's purpose and his attitude when he wrote it. She should study until she understands its style and the thoughts which it portrays, and until she has a vivid men- tal image of the situation depicted. I. THE STORY The story which is told is much more interesting and effective than the story which is read. The relation between the narrator and the audience is much closer, since she is able to look into the faces of her auditors and adapt the story to their changing moods. Then, if she has made the story her own, she can make it much more vivid and forceful by a freer use of eyes, voice, and bodily gestures than is possible to do when hampered by the words of a book. In other words, the telling is much more natural and spontaneous than the reading. Story-telling is not always a gift, but it is an art which may be acquired through careful study and practice. The first step for the teacher in learning to tell a story is to read and study it until she feels the emotion of it and has a genuine appreciation of it. Second, she must know her story thoroughly. She should think of it and picture the events until it seems to have been a personal experience. Literature 159 The student has only to recall her joy in listening to the story which begins, "When I was a little girl," to realize the force of a story that is a personal experience. It has a charm and fascination that no other tale has, which is due in part to the fact that it is imaged in the narrator's mind as an actual, vivid picture, and as she tells it she is again participating in the event which enables her to paint a realistic word-picture. If the teacher is to tell a story well, it must partake of the elements of a personal experience. However, the story should not be memorized, except where a certain phrasing is especially beautiful, or where it seems best to preserve a certain phraseology of conversation, as in the story of the "Three Bears." In general the language should be the teacher's own. When telling a story the teacher should stand where she can look into the face of each child. This will allow her to adapt her tone and gesture to the changing expres- sions of the listeners. The story should be told simply, directly, dramatically, joyfully, and enthusiastically. When the audience is made up of young children, it should be told slowly and impressively. The events should not be told hur- riedly, but the child's imagination should be given op- portunity to leap forward and supply what is about to happen. His mind does not go quickly from one thing to another, and if the story is told rapidly half the joy of listening is lost, for not only does he not get a clear picture of the event but his imagination is not given proper scope for activity. When telling a story it should not be interrupted to correct a disorderly child. If he is not listening he should be made to listen by the force of the story. It should be made so dramatic and interesting that he will 160 How to Teach Primary Grades listen in spite of himself. There should be an exception to this rule in the event that a child is making it im- possible for others to listen. As a rule, an effective punishment will be to take from him the privilege of listening to the story. A story should not be spoiled by over analysis, but only enough discussion to help the child see the beauty and to enter into the feeling of it. A personal appli- cation of the moral of a story should never be made since this will often spoil the enjoyment of it. A well directed question will help him unconsciously to take the lesson to himself. By questions and suggestions he should be trained to compare the characters in the sto- ries and decide whether the events are justified or not. He should then be left to draw his own conclusions. It is good training to read a story to the child and then allow him to supply a title, giving reasons for his choice. Reproduction. As a basis for the development of language power, not only should the child listen to sto- ries but he should be trained to reproduce them. He should not be asked to reproduce a story until he is per- fectly familiar with it, inasmuch as this is one of the essentials for good story-telling. Unless the story is very short, several children may take part in the reproduction. For instance, "Mary may tell us about The Home of the Three Bears. Sam may tell us about The Visit of Goldilocks!' This method of telling is a training in systematic thinking and organiza- tion. The child should be allowed to tell the story in his own words provided he uses a correct expression. Any effort to use the beautiful phrases of the story should Literature 161 be praised not only in the reproduction but in ordinary conversation. There should be frequent reproduction of old stories. It is suggested that each child be allowed to have cer- tain stories as his personal property, the one being selected which he can best reproduce. Dramatization. . Where a story is full of action the child will get considerable pleasure and profit through its dramatization. Not only will it make the story more real to him but it will develop his language power by the expression of his thought in action and word. It will help to form the correct habit of speech as he must use the correct phrasing in the conversational parts/ For instance, "Who has been lying on my bed?"' Dramatization is a basis also for realistic reading. Through it the child enters into the feelings of the characters more freely than is possible in any ordinary reading recitation. Before the dramatization he must be perfectly familiar with the events in the story, as he cannot successfully reproduce that with which he is not familiar. If properly conducted, dramatization develops the child's initiative and judgment, since he must improvise stage scenery' out of the ordinary schoolroom equipment. Then he must help decide on the children best suited to the different parts, where each shall stand, and the other things that go to make up a play. As the purpose of dramatization is the benefit to the child, and not to give a finished product, it should be conducted in such a way that all the children will have a part at some time and in some story. As in the re- production, old stories should be dramatized often and each child allowed to claim certain parts as his own. 162 How to Teach Primary Grades Developing a Story. Another excellent plan for the use of the story to stimulate and develop thought is given in "The Question as a Factor in Teaching" by Hall. A story which is interesting, natural, reasonable, and logical is selected. The teacher begins the story and then pauses at a certain point and by thought-compelling questions stimulates the child's mind to activity by al- lowing him to give his ideas as to what happens next. II. POEMS It is not enough to read and recite poems to the child, but if he is to .reap the greatest benefit many of the poems must be thoroughly discussed and then com- mitted to memory. One or two poems should be mem- orized each month, with frequent review of those al- ready memorized. Psychology teaches that the ability to recall depends, primarily, upon three factors, (1) native power of re- tention, (2) the number of associations, and (3) the systematic organization of these associations. The first factor is one" over which the teacher has no control, consequently it will be eliminated from this discussion. Nevertheless, it is a factor which she must take into consideration in dealing with individual cases. Memory work is based upon a clear understanding of the thing to be memorized, followed by a systematic association of ideas gained through careful thinking. This clear understanding should come through hearing the poem read a number of times by the teacher, the attention, being carefully directed toward some special point before each reading. The poem is then analyzed anto its main thought groups without reference to lines, Literature 163 or stanzas, and these are discussed as to their meaning and their relation one to the other. The main thought of the poem is then stated, if possible, in the words of the writer. This may be followed by a further study of the thought groups ending in a statement of these thoughts in the words of the writer. The relation of these minor thoughts to each other and to the whole thought should be constantly brought out. f If memorizing were carried out in this way it would cease to be drudgery, since the poem is usually mem- orized through this careful association of ideas. Experiment has also revealed that the "whole method" of memorizing is by far the most economical. With the small child, it would seem that the combination of the whole and the part method would prove the most satisfactory. Library. When the child has been taught to love good literature, the teacher's task is only partly finished. She should encourage him to read, and to read only the best. If he is to have access to this type of reading, it will often be necessary to have a well-selected library in the school. Too often the home from which the child comes is barren of any reading matter. When the reading habit has been established provision should be made by which the child may secure proper reading matter. Original Work. When the teacher has successfully used literature in the development of the language power, she may, by skillful handling, train the child to write original poems and stories. This should first take the form of a class exercise, and later the pupils should work individually. CHAPTER XIII LITERATURE (Continued) LESSON PLANS The recitation in literature usually begins with the appreciation lesson, develops into the study lesson, then into the habit forming or drill lesson, and later into the review lesson. The appreciation lesson really forms one step in drill lesson, that is, the giving of a clear understanding of the response, and will not be discussed as a separate type. The study and the drill lesson will consist of (1) the motive, (2) a clear idea of the desired response, (3) attentive repetition, (4) no exception, (5) reviews, and (6) application. 1. Teacher's Motive. The teacher's general motive in the teaching of literature is to arouse and stimulate thought, to develop an efficient language power, and to establish the habit of reading the best literature. The subject-matter for any lesson should be carefully se- lected and closely studied by the teacher with this gen- eral motive in mind. After this study she should care- fully scrutinize it with the following questions in mind: "Why am I giving this special subject-matter? Is it to arouse and stimulate thought; develop the power for clear, systematic thinking ; to train in the ability to think and to talk while standing; to develop literary appre- ciation; to establish correct habits of expression; or to 164 Literature 165 train in the use of clear, fluent, and forceful English? Just what do I expect the child to gain through the use of this subject-matter?" More than one of these aims may enter into any lesson, but the teacher should have a clear-cut conception of what she expects the child to gain before beginning to plan the class procedure. It is through the class procedure that the child's inter- est is secured, that he is made conscious of a motive, and that the teacher accomplishes her aim. This part of the plan will require very careful preparation. She must consider how she is to interest the child, how to lead him to want to accomplish the task in hand, what question she shall ask, what suggestions she shall make, how she shall help the memory or habit- forming process by as many associations as possible, and how she shall hold his atten- tion and interest while the necessary repetition is going on. 2. Child's Motive. If the interest and attention of the child are to be of the best type, he must have a motive for doing the work. In other words, 'he must enjoy it, see the use of it, or feel that he is getting some- thing out of it. If it is a poem which he is to memorize he should feel that he is learning it to recite at some definite time ; or if it is a story he should learn to repro- duce it for some special occasion. 3. A Clear Idea of the Response. This clear idea is gained through the reading of the poem or story by the teacher and through questions. 4. Attentive Repetition. The second step, or ac- quiring the clear idea of the response, offers opportunity for attentive repetition. If this is not sufficient the teacher should use devices and variation in the necessary repetition to insure the full attention. 166 How to Teach Primary Grades 5. No Exception. If the child is to form the habit of repeating the words of the poem correctly or of using correct expressions in the reproduction of a story, each repetition should be exact. The teacher should so plan that no error is likely to occur. 6. Review. If a poem or story is to become a permanent part of the child's mental equipment, the teacher should at first review it frequently, then gradu- ally lengthen the time which elapses between the reviews. 7. Application. In so far as possible, the child should be given opportunity to make use of the stories and poems acquired through the language work. He may go to another room and recite the poem or tell the story, or the parents and friends may be invited to school and the child allowed to recite a poem or tell a story. He should be encouraged to tell the story to his brothers, sisters, father, mother, and other relatives and friends. After all, it is not so much a question of how much the child learns as what use he makes of what he has learned. ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS These lessons are planned as units and in some cases no indication is made as to where the lessons will divide, inasmuch as this is a matter which should be governed by the amount of time given to a lesson period and to the ability of the class. The connection links between the lessons should be supplied by a brief review of the pre- vious day's work. I. Topic: Story of "The Three Bears." Primarily a first-grade story. However, the same general plan may be followed in a second or third grade. II. Teacher's Motive: (1) To create a love for good Literature 167 literature. (2) To develop the child's initiative and his power for expression. (3) To increase his language power: (a) by arousing and stimulating thought, (b) by adding huge, wee, and frightened to his vocabulary, (c) by establishing the correct use of came, sat, lying, and the habit of adding the final g in tasting, walking, sitting, and lying. (4) To teach him proper organization in thinking. (5) To teach him to think and to talk while standing. III. Child's Motive: (1) To enjoy the story. (2) To make pictorial drawings of parts of the story. (3) To represent parts of the story in clay. (4) To answer the teacher's questions correctly. (5) To gain practice in the telling of the story so that he may tell it to his mother. (6) To tell certain parts of the story in such a way that his classmates will imagine they see the different char- acters as he talks. (7) To dramatize the story. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: Once upon a time there were three bears. One was a great huge bear. One was a middle-sized bear. The other was a wee baby bear. These three bears lived in a house in the woods. The great huge bear had a great huge bowl to eat out of, a great huge chair to sit in, and a great huge bed to sleep in. The middle-sized bear had a middle-sized bowl to eat out of, a middle-sized chair to sit in, and a middle- sized bed to sleep in. The wee baby bear had a wee bowl, a wee chair, and a wee bed. One day when the bears started to eat their soup, they found it too hot. So they decided to go walking while it cooled. While they were gone a little girl named Goldilocks came by. She had never seen this house be- fore, and she wanted very much to know who lived here. 168 How to Teach Primary Grades She went to the door and knocked and when no one came she decided to go in. She saw the three bowls of soup and as she was very hungry she tasted the soup in the great huge bowl, but it was too hot. She tasted the soup in the middle-sized bowl, but this was too cold. Then she tasted the soup in the wee bowl and as this was just right she ate it all up. Then she saw the three chairs and decided to rest a while. She sat down in the great huge chair but it was too high. She sat down in the middle-sized chair, but it was too hard. Then she sat down in the wee chair and it was just right, but she sat there so long she broke it. Then Goldilocks went upstairs where she saw the three beds. As she was sleepy she decided to lie down and take a nap. She lay down on the great huge bed, but it was too high at the head. She lay down on the middle-sized bed but it was too high at the foot. Then she lay down on the wee bed and it was just right. Be fore Goldilocks knew what had happened, she was sound asleep. About this time the three bears came home. When they started to eat their soup the great huge bear said in a great huge voice, "Some one has been tasting my soup." The middle-sized bear said in a middle-sized voice, "Some one has been tasting my soup." The wee bear said in a wee voice, "Some one has been tasting my soup and it is all gone." Then they looked at their chairs and the great huge bear said in a great huge voice, "Some one has been sit- ting in my chair." The middle-sized bear said in a mid- dle-sized voice, "Some one has been sitting in my chair." The wee bear said in a wee voice, "Some one has been sitting in my chair and it is broken." Literature 169 The three bears ran upstairs to look at their beds. The great huge bear said in a great huge voice, "Some one has been lying on my bed." The middle-sized bear said in a middle-sized voice, "Some one has been lying on my bed." The wee bear said in a wee voice, "Some one has been lying on my bed and here she is fast asleep." Just then Goldilocks opened her eyes. She was so frightened when she saw the tjhree bears that she ran down the stairs and out of the house. She did not stop running until she reached home and she never, never bothered the three bears again. Subject-Matter Story of Bears." The Three Pictures : bears (use pattern) house bowls chair beds Goldilocks (use pattern) Procedure First Day "Did you ever see a bear? Tell me about it. Would you like to hear a story about three bears?" The teacher tells the story. "Would you like to have been in Goldilock's place? Why (or why not) ?" Second Day "Did you enjoy the story of the Three Bears? How would you like to tell the story by pictures? Let me tell it again and then you tell me when I finish what we can draw." She tells the story. "What can we draw?" The list of things sug- gested is placed on the board. "Now if our pictures are to tell the story how must we arrange them? Which should come first? Second?" It may foe necessary to review the story in order to secure a proper arrange- ment. The children are now ready 170 How to Teach Primary Grades house bears bowls chairs beds Goldilocks to draw the pictures. The teacher should accept even the most crude drawing. "What does it mean by the great huge bear? What size should we make him?" The sizes of other bears, the bowls, chairs, and beds are developed in the same way. "Suppose you draw the pictures for your mother or your little brothers and sisters when you go home." Third Day "How did we tell the story of the 'Three Bears' yesterday? Did you draw any pictures for your mother, brothers, or sisters? How would you like to tell it in another way? Let us tell it with clay. Let me tell it again and then be ready to tell the different things we can mold." The teacher tells the story and proceeds to list of articles and the molding of the objects as on the previous day. "What can you tell your mother about the story tonight?" came Fourth to Seventh Days "What did you tell your mother about the 'Three Bears?' Who came by the Three Bears" house?" She allows two or three children to re- peat the sentence "Goldilocks came by the house of the 'Three Bears'." "Who came by your house yester- day? Who came to school with you?" She continues the questions until each child has used came in a sentence. Literature 171 huge frightened wee tasting walking sat sitting lying "What size was the big bear? Have you ever seen anything that was huge in size? Tell me what you have seen."' The child answers by a sen- tence containing huge. "See if you can use this word when you go home." Frightened and' wee are developed in the same way. "What did the great huge bear say when he found some one had been tasting his soup?" Two or three chil- dren are allowed to tell. The teacher should carefully note that the final g is distinctly enunciated, "What did the middle-sized bear say?" She should continue until each child has had an opportunity ' to use tasting. Walking, sat, sitting, and lying are developed in a similar way. 2. Description bears Description bears' home of the of the Eighth Day "Do you like to hear stories? I wonder if you would like to be able to tell the story of the Three Bears' ? How do we learn to do things well ? Yes, by practice. Let us practice tell- ing this story and when we can tell it well we will invite mother to come to hear us tell it. "John may tell the part that de- scribes the bears. Tell it so we shall imagine we see the three bears." Close attention should be given to the correctness of the language. "Mary may tell the part that de- scribes the home of the bears. Try 172 How to Teach Primary Grades to make us imagine that we see this home." 3. Visit of Goldilocks "Sam may tell about Goldilocks' visit. 4. Return of the three " Helen m ^ tdl about the return of the three bears." "Practice telling this story to your little brothers and sisters." bears Ninth and Tenth Days Reproduction as on the eighth day. Eleventh Day "How would you like to dramatize this story ? What characters shall we need? I will write the names of the characters on the board. Whom shall we select for the great huge bear? Why do you think Harley will make a nice big bear?" The other char- acters are selected in the same way. "What things shall we need? I will write the list on the board. Where shall we have the home of the bears ? What shall we use for the bowls?" She should continue until all the stage furniture is selected- .The children should be led to see the necessity for variety in the sizes of the bowls, chairs, and beds, after which the story is dramatized. Especial attention should be given to the language used. If the teacher feels that her aim has not been fully accomplished, she may continue the reproduction and dram- atization of the story for several more days. There should be frequent review in the reproduction and in the dram- atization of stories. Literature 173 First, second, or third grade I. Topic: Poem, "The Two Kittens/' II. Teacher's Motive'. (1) To arouse and stimulate thought. (2) To teach a love for good literature. (3) To train in the use of good English, with special atten- tion to begin, begun, and the choice of forceful words in expressing thought. (4) To train the child to clear, systematic thinking by finding thought groups in the poem. (5) To train him to express himself systemat- ically, fluently, and beautifully. III. Outline : 1. The cause of the quarrel 2. The quarrel 3. The punishment 4. The lesson IV. Child's Motive: (1) To listen to a poem about two kittens. (2) To discover answers to certain ques- tions asked by the teacher. (3) To answer the questions by repeating the exact words of the poem. (4) To dis- cover the thought groups in the poem and the best way of wording these topics. (5) To discover the mental pictures and to tell the story of the poem. (6) To be able to recite the poem to his mother. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter 1 Recall of experience with kittens. Procedure 1 Preparation: "Do you have a kitten ? Have any of you two kittens? Did you ever see two kittens have a quarrel? What 174 How to Teach Primary Grades Two little kittens, one stormy night, Began to quarrel and then to fight; One had a mouse, the other had none, And that was the way the trouble begun. "I'll have that mouse," said the bigger cat. "You'll have that mouse? We'll see about that." "I will have that mouse," said the elder one. "You won't have that mouse," said the little one. I told you before 'twas a stormy night When these little kittens began to fight; The old woman seized her sweeping broom, And swept the two kittens right out of the room. The ground was covered with frost and snow, And the two little kittens had no- where to go; So they laid them down on the mat at the door, While the angry old woman was sweeping the floor. was it about? What do you think would cause a quarrel between two kit- tens more quickly than anything else?" 2 Presentation: "I have a poem here about a quarrel between two kit- tens- See what this quar- rel was about." The teacher reads the poem. "How did you like it? What was the quarrel about ? What happened to the "kittens?" If the children cannot answer, she should re-read the poem. "What kind of weather was it?" If it is necessary the poem is re-read. "What time of year was it? Listen as I re-read it and see if you can find out." She re-reads the poem. "Did it tell in more than one place? Listen while I read it again and see if you can repeat the parts where it tells about the time of year." The poem is re-read. "Who can repeat the exact words in one part? Who can repeat the exact words in the other? How did the old woman feel? Literature 175 And then they crept in as quiet as mice, All wet with snow, and as cold as ice; For they round it was better, that stormy night, To lie down and sleep, than to quar- rel and fight. 1. The cause of the quarrel. How do you know? Lis- ten while I read and see if you can repeat the ex- act words that tell?" The teacher re-reads the poem. "What was the cause of the quarrel? Which stanza tells that? Let me read the first stanza and see if it tells the cause." She reads the first stanza. "What is it about? I will write The cause of the quarrel on the board. 2. The quarrel 3. The punishment The lesson learned they "Let me read the second stanza to see what it is about." She reads the second stanza. "What was it about? Let us say it in two words. What shall we say? I will write The quar- rel just under The cause of the quar- rel. "I will read the third and fourth stanzas and then I want you to tell me what they are about." She reads these stanzas. "What did they tell about? If you were to quarrel like that what would mother be likely to do to you? Yes, she would punish you. How did the old woman pun- ish the two kittens? Was that all of the punishment? Th'en what shall we call this part?" This topic, The punishment, is written on the board. "What lesson did the kittens learn? Let me read the last stanza, then be ready to tell me what it is about. How shall we say that?" The topic, 176 How to Teach Primary Grades Mental pictures Story of poem The lesson they learned is placed on the board. "How many pictures does this poem make you see? Let me read the first stanza and then tell me what the pictures are." The teacher reads each stanza and has the children de- scribe the mental pictures. "Who can tell the story of the poem? What is the first thing it tells? The next?" She continues by referring to the outline, until each topic is given. "Who is ready to tell the story ? Isn't the story beauti- fully told in this poem? Wouldn't you like to tell it in this way? Then we will invite mother to come and hear us say it. What did the first stanza tell? Now let us see if we can say it just as it is in the poem?" It is more than probable that the children will have memorized the ex- act wording by this time; if not the teacher may, by skilled questions help them to get the exact wording. "Who will repeat the stanza that tells about the cause of the quarrel? Now I will repeat the remainder so we shall have the entire story. What is the second stanza about? Let us see if we can tell about the quarrel in the exact words of the poem." She continues until the entire poem is memorized, referring constantly to the whole poem. The poem should be reviewed fre- quently. The attention should be called to the use of began and be- gun, followed by their use in games and exercises. Literature 177 If a poem is dramatic, the child may make the ap- propriate gestures. The teacher should frequently have a child to suggest the parts he likes best. His attention should be called to any beautiful phrases or correct forms. He should be encouraged to use these in his daily conversation, first by helping him to find an opportunity through games and conversational exercises, and later by praising any spontaneous effort. REFERENCES Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Earh art,. Types in Teaching Strayer and Norsworthy, How to Teach Cooley, Language in the Grades Haliburton and Smith, Teaching Poetry in the Grades Gessell, The Normal Child and Primary Education Hall, The Question as a Factor in Education Leiper, Language in the Elementary Grades Wilson, Motivation Charters, Teaching the Common branches CHAPTER XIV ARITHMETIC AIM The first question which presents itself is the "why" or the function of arithmetic. This is a very important issue, as the "what" and "how" are purified and modified by the use made of the arithmetical knowledge. The origin of arithmetic dates back to the early ages when it sprang from the utilitarian need of a means of dealing with the quantitative side of life. In the differ- ent periods which have elapsed since its origin, the rea- sons for teaching arithmetic have varied. The utilita- rian reason has always been an important one, and in addition several other reasons have been promulgated. The most prominent of these is the cultural reason. The advocates of this reason claimed that the study of arith- metic developed and strengthened the mental powers by training the pupil to reason, by sharpening the wits, and by training to habits of accuracy. In addition to these, it was claimed that it paved the way for the sciences. These claims were based on the old psychological as- sumption that the brain was made up of certain faculties, as the faculty of reasoning. It was thought that training the pupil to reason in any one field would enable him to reason in any field. Modern psychology teaches that this is not altogether true, as training in one field carries over into another only in so far as these fields are similar. 178 Arithmetic 179 Though the present opinion as to the cultural value is not so extensive in its scope as the earlier opinion, it is still the opinion of many leading educators that there is a cultural value which is a necessary part of a broad education. However, the primary teacher is not inter- ested, primarily, in this discussion, as the function of primary arithmetic is purely utilitarian. That is, it is to enable the child to do the things which he wants to do in his daily life from a quantitative standpoint. SUBJECT-MATTER As the primary purpose of arithmetic is to help the child solve the common problems of his daily life, all the first work should be closely related to his life; for in- stance, counting, measuring, weighing, comparing, gar- dening, and games. Practically all primary arithmetic could be worked out through these activities and thus be- come a live and interesting subject to the child. If it were worked out in this way it would be one for which he would feel the need, and one which he would desire to learn. The play element has the strongest appeal to the child and should always stand in the background as giving meaning to the work in hand. The needs of the child will necessitate the ability to write and read numbers, a good working knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication, simple division, the common measures such as the pint, the quart, the gallon, the inch, the foot, the yard, the pound, and the Roman numbers from I-XII. This good working knowledge should mean accuracy, reasonable speed, and the ability to apply this knowledge to the mathematical problems of daily life. 180 How "to Teach Primary Grades Course of Study There is a difference of opinion as to the proper time for the introduction of arithmetic as a subject. Some would place it in the first year; others in the second or third year. Those who want it in the first year, claim that the child is as ready and as eager to learn number facts as he is to learn to read. Those who would defer the number work until later argue that though the child may be anxious to learn number facts, it- will be of much more profit to him to wait longer as he will be better developed, and that this time would be much better spent in adding to his language power. All are agreed that he should be given that knowledge of numbers which will give him control over the quan- titative side of his social and industrial life. A' study of the child's activities should reveal what this will be. A course of study planned as a compromise between these two views should consist of the following work : First Grade. Counting, reading, and writing of num- bers from 1-100 byTs, by 10's, and by 5's; simple meas- uring and'^comparing, incidental arithmetic; games in- volving some of the simple addition facts. Second Grade. Incidental arithmetic ; games, reading and writing numbers to 1000; the numerical scale of tens, ones, hundreds; the forty-five addition facts; col- umn addition; subtraction based on the forty-five addi- tion facts; measuring, weighing, comparing; changing of money; telling time; simple fractions as %, J4, %, multiplying and dividing as it naturally develops in the addition tables. Third Grade. Incidental arithmetic ; games ; reading and writing of numbers to 10,000; review of addition Arithmetic 181 and subtraction; carrying in addition, borrowing in sub- traction; multiplication tables; carrying in multiplica- tion; measuring, weighing, comparing; changing of money; simple division in connection with the multi- plication tables; simple fractions in connection with the construction work and the multiplication tables. METHOD Practically every school activity offers opportunity for development of the number instinct. All such opportu- nities should be noted and utilized in order to satisfy the number need. Some of these opportunities are suggested as follows: 1. Find the number of children present; the number absent ; find how many rows of seats ; how many children in each row. 2. Tell the number of the page of the reading lesson ; write the number of the page on the board; how many cards each child received in the word game; find how many times a new word occurs in the reading lesson; in what lines this word is found ; the number of scissors needed for each row ; the parts of a folded paper used in the construction work, for example, the half, the fourth; the number of squares into which the paper is folded; the number of squares cut away. 3. In nature study there is endless opportunity for the number element as the number of different kinds of wild flowers found on the way to school, the different kinds of trees. 4. Make a weather calendar using dates. These are only a few suggestions as to the possibilities of utilizing the number element in an incidental way. Not only will these needs furnish an adequate motive 182 How to Teach Primary Grades for the number work, but the result will be the develop- ment of the number instinct in a natural way. Counting. Counting is the earliest number impulse and forms the basis of practically all primary arithmetic. The first counting should be that of objects. The game element may be utilized to an advantage in these early lessons; for instance, the teacher takes a handful of corn and allows each child to guess how many grains she has. The guesses are written on the board, and then the grains are counted. Another plan is to scatter the grains of corn on the table and see who can pick up the greatest number. Many and varied are the forms which the concrete counting may take ; for instance, the number of children in the class each day, the number of children in the school, the number of books in the class, the number of sheets of paper and of scissors to be used in the handwork, the number of words learned or the number of children needed to dramatize a story. These are only a few suggestions of the natural opportunities for con- crete counting which are found in every schoolroom. In teaching the child to count to 100, time may be saved if he is first taught to count to 10, then to 20, fol- lowed by counting to 100 by 10's; for instance, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100. If these steps are thor- oughly taught it will be a simple matter to complete the series of 1 to 100 by ones. After the child has learned to count to 100, the next problem is that of reading the number symbols. This work may be made very interesting by associating it with games and devices. It will simplify matters first to teach thoroughly the reading of the symbols from 0-9. A device which may be used in teaching the reading Arithmetic 183 of these number facts is as follows : the figures are writ- ten on cards using large type. These cards are given to the class. A child comes forward and reads the first row from the chart and then places the pointer on 1 and says, "I want Mary to bring me 1." This card is pinned up and he then calls for 2. He continues until he has made the entire first row. After the child has had some experience in reading from 0-9 in the regular order, he is trained to the in- stantaneous recognition of these figures. When this step is thoroughly learned, he should be taught to read the numbers by 10's beginning with naught, as 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100. If these two things are thor- oughly taught, the remainder of the series will fall into an easily acquired form. In other words if he knows the figures from 0-9, he very quickly learns any number symbol within the decimal series. The third problem is to teach the writing of the num- bers from 0-100. This should be done in a similar way, that is, the child is first taught to write the symbols from 0-9, second by 10's, third, the entire series. Counting, reading, and writing by l's and 10's may be extended to similar work with 5's, 2's, 3's, 4's, etc., working both forward and backward. These exercises are the foundation of good work in addition and multi- plication and should be drilled on until all sums of this kind can be given accurately and rapidly. The counting, reading, and writing of numbers should be gradually extended beyond TOO as the child advances. The numbers beyond 100 may be taught in a very brief time by following this same plan. Addition. Since addition is .based on counting, nat- urally it is the next step in the arithmetic process. 184 How to 'Teach Primary Grades Interesting objects should be used in natural ways in developing the addition facts; for instance, the teacher uses blocks of wood, cardboard, or paper and calls them railroad cars. She has each child to form a train of 3 cars loaded with horses, then has him couple on 3 cars loaded with cows. The question is to discover how many cars he has in the entire train. This little device will prove more interesting to him than to find out how many 3 blocks and 3 blocks are. The objects should be changed frequently if he is to gain the true number concept. Many teachers object to allowing the child to use his fingers as they feel that it is a habit which will be hard to break. The fault is not in allowing him to use these natural counters, but in not training him to rapid oral work. When a fact can be given automatically there is no desire to use the fingers. The objects are to be dis- carded only when the child has comprehended the fact that a figure is the symbol of an idea. However, a too long-continued use of objects is harmful as it retards speed. The forty-five addition facts from 1-20 should be taught with the utmost care since all the other additional facts are based on these. These combinations are as follows : 111111111222222223333333444444 12345 678923 45 678934 5 678945 6789 555556666777889 567896789789899 These combinations should be developed and given meaning by the use of natural and interesting objects. Arithmetic • 185 The work should then develop into abstract work. Only as the child can automatically give the sum of any num- ber symbols has he mastered the quantitative side of life as it applies to addition. These facts should be drilled on until they are thoroughly mastered. Inasmuch as the child is familiar with reading and writ- ing numbers to 100 before he begins this work, after he learns 3 and 2 are 5, he can readily see that 3 and 22 are 25 ; 3 and 32 are 35, etc., to 3 and 92; in other words he should be led to see that 3 added to any number ending in 2 will give the next number ending in 5. This can be taught in all the combinations and is a direct preparation for column addition. Single column addition should begin as soon as the child has mastered enough combinations to justify its use; for instance, after he has learned 2 3 5 he could add a 1 2 1 column made of 2, 1, 2 and 1. Before giving him a col- umn the teacher should be sure he has had all the neces- sary combinations to enable him to add the column. He should not be allowed to form the habit of counting his fingers or marks in column addition, as this retards speed. For this same reason it is better to avoid giving written work to be done at the seat, unless the teacher feels sure the facts are automatic. Before teaching "carrying" in addition it will be wise to develop the scale of ones, tens, hundreds, etc. Without this knowledge it will not be possible to teach the child the reason for the so-called "carrying" process. A reason should always be given where it is possible, as the thor- ough mastery of a subject is more quickly accomplished if it has its basis in understanding. The following outline is given by way of suggestion for 186 How* to Teach Primary Grades developing the numerical scale of ones, tens, hundreds, etc. Material: toothpicks, shoe-pegs, or kindergarten sticks, and rubber bands or string. I. Counting to 100 by 10's is reviewed. II. Toothpicks and rubber bands are given to each child. "Count out 10 picks for me and bind with a rub- ber. Make me 10 bundles of 10 each. Show me 1 ten. Write 10 on the board. Show me 2 tens. How many is that? Write 20 for me. Show me 3 tens. How many is that? Write 30." The teacher should con- tinue in like manner until each child has comprehended the fact that the numbers 10, 20, 30, etc., are really 1 ten, 2 tens, 3 tens, etc. JII. The teacher writes 60 on the board and asks, "How many is this? Read it by tens." She then writes 70, 50, 80, 40, and has each read by tens. IV. "Write 2 tens. How many is this? Write 4 tens. How many is this?" She continues until each child thoroughly understands the principle involved. "How many figures do we use in writing the tens ? In counting to see what a number is we count from right to left. See which place is occupied by the figure that tells how many tens there are. Let us see if this is true every time." She has each child to write 2 tens, 7 tens, 9 tens, etc. In this way she leads him to discover that the tens place is always the second place from the right. V. "Show me 1 ten and 2 ones. How many is that? Write it on the board. Show me 3 tens and 4 ones. How many is that? Write it on the board." She con- tinues until each child has a clear understanding of the principle. "Show me 35 in tens and ones. Read it by tens and Arithmetic 187 ones." She continues until each child understands the principle. "Which is the tens place? Let us see which is the ones place. Write 46. Read it by tens and ones. Which is the figure that tells the number of ones? Which place is that if you count from the right?" She contin- ues until each child is able to form the rule that the ones occupy the first place from the right. "Read these num- bers by tens and ones." She places several numbers on the board and has them read. The reason for carrying in addition can be presented as follows: "What is this number (28)? Read it* by tens and ones. Place that many toothpicks on your desk. What will it be? Yes, 2 tens and 8 ones. What is this number (44) ? Read by tens and ones. Place that many more tooth picks on your desk. Let us add them together. Add the ones first. How many? When you have enough ones to make a ten you must bind them into a ten. What will 12 ones make? Where shall I place the 2 ones? Yes, on the ones place. What shall we do with the ten ? Yes, place it with the other tens. Add the tens. How many? Now, where shall I place the number? Yes, in the tens place." The teacher should have a great number of ex- amples worked using bundles of toothpicks until the child understands thoroughly what is meant by carrying. Drill in addition should be continued through all the grades, as accuracy in this process is likely. to be fol- lowed by accuracy in all other processes. If the child is to be entire master of the adding habit he must be trained to check his work. In addition the check is to add up and then down. Subtraction. Subtraction and addition are so closely related that the processes should be taught simultane- ously. 188 How to Teach Primary Grades The Austrian or adding method of subtraction is ad- vocated by many teachers. These teachers claim that the same habit does for both processes, and that this method of subtraction gives additional practice in add- ing. Investigation will show that this is the method used in the business world ; for instance, in making change, by expert cashiers, and others. The Austrian method is illustrated in the following process: In the example 7 — 2 instead of saying "7 less 2," we would say "5 added to 2 makes 7." An example involving the carrying process would be as follows: What is the difference between 35 and 17? To find the difference between 35 and 17, we find out. what" must be added to 17 to make 35. 35 35 = 3 tens and 5 ones. 17 17=1 ten and 7 ones. 18 As 7 ones h greater than 5 ones we cannot add any- thing which would make 5 ones, therefore we must change one of the 3 tens to ones and add this to the 5 ones. Then we have 2 tens and 15 ones 1 ten and 7 ones 1 ten (added to 1 ten) 8 ones (added to 7 ones) The subtraction process which involves carrying should not be taught until the simpler process is thor- oughly understood. Arithmetic 189 The borrowing process in the "take-away" method may be rationalized as follows : 35 17 "Show me 35 in tens and ones. Place on your desk." The teacher writes 35 on board. "I want you to take this many away." She places 17 under 35. "How many is this in tens and ones? Which do we take away first? (They have already had the process which does not in- volve borrowing.) "Can you take away 7 ones from 5 ones? What shall we do? Mary says to break up one ten. How many ones will we have ? Then take away 7. How many left ? Which is the ones place ? Then where shall I place 8 ones (figure) ? How many tens did we have left? How many were we to take away? Take one ten away. How many does that leave? Where is the tens place? Then where shall I place the figure that tells how many tens we have left?" Objects should be used only long enough to rationalize the process. The teacher should definitely decide which process of subtraction she desires to use, selecting the one which she thinks will give the best results. She should not attempt to teach both methods, as it will confuse the child. After one method has been established, the teacher should avoid trying to change it. The child should be trained to use a check in all sub- traction work. This will consist in adding the result to the second number in the series. Multiplication. Multiplication is developed as a means of shortening addition and should find its basis in addition. 190 How to Teach Primary Grades Before beginning to teach a table rapid counting by the number of the table should be given, beginning with naught and extending to the limit of the table; for in- stance, for the table of 3's the counting should be 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 30. A table should first be memorized in regular order for three reasons, (1) it is easier, (2) it is rhythmic, and (3) its regular order is a background of knowledge to which the child may return if he forgets a fact. After the table is learned in the regular order it should be thoroughly drilled on in the irregular order as this is the way it is used in the step of application. The step of application should follow each table. This should take the form of oral and written, and concrete and ab- stract exercises. 1 Investigations show that the tables offer varying de- grees of difficulty. It would seem best to begin with the one which offers the least difficulty and teach the others according to their rank in this scale. The following order is suggested, 10's, 5's, 2's, 4's, 8's, 3's, 6's, 9's, 7's. The attention should be called to the similarity be- tween the products in the tables of 2's, 4's, 8's and in the 3's, 6's, 9's. In counting by 9 call the attention to the fact that the last figure is one less each time until naught is reached when it changes to 9. Simple division and simple fractions may be devel- oped in connection with a multiplication table; for in- stance, when 2(2) has been developed, the child may be asked, "How many 2's in 4? What is V 2 of 4?" The process of carrying in multiplication should be presented in such a way that the child may understand the reason for the process. If the mastery of carrying l SDecial Method in Arithmetic, McMurry. Arithmetic 191 in addition has been based on understanding, this will be an easy task. The following outline is offered as a suggestion : 65 3 "Read 65 in tens and ones. 3(5 ones) make 15 ones. How many tens is this? How many ones left? Where is the ones place ? Place the 5 ones in ones place. What is 3(6 tens) ? Add the 1 ten. How many hundreds in 19 tens? How many tens left ? Where is the tens place ? Write 9 tens in the tens place. Where is the hundreds place? Write 8 hundred in its place. What did we really do? Yes, we found how much 3(65) were. Then how can we tell if we are right? Then let us add 3(65's) together." Multiplying by numbers ending in naught offers an- other process for which the children should understand the reason. The outline of the process is as follows : 1. Counting to 100 by 10's is reviewed. 2. The table of 10's is reviewed. 3. "How many are four tens? Place a naught at the right of 4. What number have you? 40 is how many 4's? Place a naught to the right of 6. What number have you? 60 is how many 6 , s? ,, The teacher should continue until the child sees that each time a naught is placed to the right of a figure it be- comes ten times what it was before. 4. She should lead him to see that when he multiplies a number ending in naught he simply draws or places the naught to the right of where he will place his answer, which amounts to multiplying by ten. 5. She then leads him to see that if he adds 2 naughts it is the same as multiplying by 100. 192 How to Teach Primary Grades Measuring, Weighing, Comparing. The child may compare the height of different children, and then meas- ure to find if he is right. He may guess the length of desks, lines, sticks, and other familiar objects. In the same way he may guess as to the quantity of water, sand, etc., in pints, quarts, etc. He should have a play store and buy and sell by the yard, pint, quart, gallon, and pound. Toy money should be used to make change. Through those activities not only will much be learned about these common measures but many practical prob- lems in addition, subtraction, and multiplication will be worked out. Roman Numbers. The small child has very little use for Roman numbers with the exception of the figures from I-XII. These should be taught in connection with the face of the clock or the watch. CHAPTER XV ARITHMETIC— (Continued) THE LESSON PLAN Two types of lessons are involved in the teaching of arithmetic ; namely, the inductive lesson and the drill les- son. The inductive lesson is always used in the presenta- tion and the development of a new process. It consists of a (1) problem, (2) the study of individual points which will help solve the problem, and (3) the sum- mary or the solution of the problem. After the new process has been developed the aim is to make this process function in an automatic way. The child must form the habit of thinking and of saying num- bers in a certain order, and of giving a certain response to a certain combination. When he sees or hears 5x5 he should automatically think or say 25. In other words, the processes involved in addition, subtraction, multiplica- tion, and simple division must be relegated to the plane of habit so that the mind may be freely given to the thought involved in solving the natural problems of daily life. The steps in the drill lesson should be those involved in any habit-forming lesson ; namely, ( 1 ) a motive for estab- lishing the response; (2) a clear idea of the response; (3) attentive repetition of the response; (4) no excep- tion; (5) reviews; and (6) the application of the habit in a practical way. 1. Motive. In arithmetic, as in all other subjects, 193 194 How to Teach Primary Grades interest is the keynote to success. As the child is essen- tially a creature of the present, this interest finds its source in his present-day life ; that is, in the schoolroom, home, and playground activities. In other words, his arithmetic lessons should grow out of his real need for numbers. Only in this way can the teacher lead him to feel the need of arithmetic. It is true that many children naturally like the work with numbers and delight in rapid work with abstract numbers, but the greater number would work with added zest if the work were approached from the standpoint of utility. It is every child's natural right to know why he should learn a certain process; in other words, he must see and feel that he is getting something worth while out of it so that he may bring interest, intelligence, and energy to bear upon the process. If the teacher will plan to bring out the number ele- ment in handwork, nature study, reading, class manage- ment, and all other schoolroom activities, the problem of motive will, in a measure, be solved. Probably one of the best sources of motive is that of the game. Though the game may take many and varied forms, it will always be full of interest to the child, causing him. to bring much energy to bear upon memo- rizing the number facts involved. Games. Games containing the number element may be used very profitably in developing the number instinct. The teacher should use games requiring much counting, bean bag games, and easy scoring games. a. The class is divided into two or more sections. Each section is provided with a bean-bag, ball, or an eraser. A waste basket or a box is placed at a given distance from a base. Each side takes turns in the Arithmetic 193 attempt to pitch the bean bag into the receptacle. Each time the attempt is successful it scores one. The side with the largest number of scores wins the game. b. A basket or box is placed as in game one. Each child in the class is given two trials in the attempt to pitch the bean bag into the receptacle. If the bean bag goes into the receptacle it counts two; a failure counts one. At the close of the game each child adds up his numbers. The numbers may be varied. c. The class is divided into sections as in game one. In place of using a basket or box a circle is drawn on the floor. The procedure is the same as in game one. d. The teacher draws two concentric circles on the floor. The smaller circle is numbered two, and the larger one. The game proceeds as in game two. e. The players are seated in rows, each row to have the same number of children. The first child in each row is given a bean bag. At a given signal each leader lifts the bean bag back over his head, and drops it on the desk behind. The second child in turn lifts it over his head in the same manner. Each child in turn lifts it over his head until the last child in the row is reached. This child runs to the front and places the bean bag on the first desk in the row. The row first accomplishing this scores one. Then each child moves back one seat and the child bringing the bean bag forward occupies the first seat. The play then continues as before. Books of Games — Smith, Number Games, Teachers' College, New York. Johnson, Education by Plays and Games, Ginn & Co., Boston. Holton, Games, Seat Work, and Sense Training, A. Flanagan Co., Chicago. 196 How to Teach Primary Grades 2. Clear Idea of the Response. A clear idea of the thing to be drilled on is an essential element in a drill lesson, inasmuch as drill is for the purpose of deepening certain impressions or making certain connections. Since each repetition should further this purpose it is of vital importance that the impression be a clear one. It will be best to use only a very few combinations in any one drill lesson, as too many will result in a confused impres- sion of the desired response. 3. Attentive Repetition. After the clear idea is acquired, the habit of making the correct response rap- idly and automatically is formed through attentive repe- tition. However strong the motive with which the child starts, the attention is likely to wander if the drill is of long duration. Usually a short, snappy drill requiring imme- diate response will prove much more effective than one of longer period. A great variety of games and devices should be used if the child is to be kept up to the mark in attention. 4. No Exceptions. The early drill lessons should be so conducted that the possibility of an error will be reduced to a minimum, otherwise the tendency will be for the child to form the habit of guessing which leads to inaccuracy. Strayer 1 says, "Our nervous system is so constructed that to do anything once leaves a tendency to do the same thing the same way when next we are placed in a similar situation. It is bad to allow careless work or random guessing, not simply because the result in this one case may be wrong, but more especially because the tendency to the wrong reaction is there and must be i A Brief Course in the Teaching- Process. Arithmetic 197 overcome before the correct action can be fixed as a habit." The teacher should have very little concert work, as she can be sure of neither accuracy nor attention. 5. Reviews. If the number facts are to be per- manently fixed there should be frequent reviews or drills. The length of time elapsing between these reviews or drills should be gradually lengthened. They should not be entirely discontinued until the child shows satisfactory evidence that the number habit is firmly and perma- nently established. 6. Application. If the number facts learned are to have real significance there should be a definite step of application in both concrete and abstract exercises. This should be both oral and written. If the child is to develop the ability to apply his knowl- edge to the ordinary problems of daily life the material and language used should be varied in form. Often he can understand the problem only when it is expressed in a certain phraseology. The teacher should be sure that he thoroughly understands each problem and that he is developing the power to analyze a situation and discover what to do. It is not possible for a text-book to be written which will furnish the concrete problems. These must develop from the everyday life of the pupil. They should be of such nature as to appeal to him as practical from his standpoint. Not only should these problems be given but the child should be permitted to make up problems. He should be encouraged to watch his games and other daily experiences for these problems. This will stimu- late vigorous thinking. The teacher should make a list of the interests of the 198 How to Teach Primary Grades child as a basis for the concrete work. If the problem does not touch his active interests, it is not concrete in the best sense. The ideal way to learn the arithmetic processes would be through work with concrete examples, but because accuracy and speed are necessary if the child is to be master of the quantitative side of life, there must be work in abstract exercise both oral and written. Oral work should always precede written work; in fact, the only excuse written work has for existence is that the mind is unable to solve many problems without the aid of the pencil. Formal analysis has no place in the primary grades, but it is advisable to train the child to tell how he arrives at a solution and why he uses a certain process. Not only does this prevent guessing but it reveals the line of reasoning. An exact form in the wording should not be required, but the child should be encouraged to seek for the best and briefest form of analysis. Class Mechanics. As previously stated every pre- caution should be taken against the first error. In a drill, it is better to keep the desired response in view for reference, should there be hesitation over the answer. The child should be encouraged not to answer unless he is sure of the correctness of his response. ILLUSTRATIVE LESSON First or Second Grade I. Topic: Developing the addition facts 3 2 4 and 3 4 2 the allied multiplication, and division facts. Arithmetic 199 II. Teacher's Motive: (1) To help the child to dis- cover certain number facts through the use of interesting objects. III. Child's Motive: (1) To play the games. (2) To read the numbers. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 1. Objects "How would you like to play that a. blocks you have a train and some cars? Let us play that these blocks are cars." The teacher gives each child 6 blocks. "Make a train with 3 cars. Couple 3 more to your train. How many cars have you? Take away 3. How 3 4 2 many left? John and Sam may 3 2 4 switch together the cars they have - - - left. How many cars are 3 cars and 3 cars? Make a train with 4 cars. Add 2 more. How many have you? How many are 4 cars and 2 cars? "What are your cars filled with? Switch 3 cars of chickens to the main track. Switch 3 more cars to the main track. How long is your train now? How many cars did you have at first? (3) Then how many did you switch to the main track? How many are 3 cars and 3 cars?" She should develop the idea of 4 cars and 2 cars by allowing the children to use this number of cars in the play. b. toy money "Each boy and girl may count out 6 pennies. Let us play we are going to buy some apples and candy. You may spend 3 cents for apples." She 200 How to Teach Primary Grades c. boys 2. Pictures : Cards with groups of 2, 3, and 4 cherries. has each child lay 3 cents on his desk. "How much money have you left? Now buy 3 cents worth of candy. How much money have you spent? How much did you spend for apples? How much for candy? How much is 3 cents and 3 cents?" The teacher then allows them to spend 4 pennies and 2 pennies until the idea of 4 and 2 is fully developed. "Let us play a game- I want 3 boys to come and stand here. Look at them and then hide your eyes; I am going to touch some other boys who are to come and stand by these. When I clap my hands you may look up and I want to see who can first tell me how many children are stand- ing." She has 3 others to come. "How many were there at first? How many more did it take to make 6? How many are 3 and 3?" The teacher uses 4 boys and 2 boys in the game until the idea that 4 and 2 are 6 is developed. "Let us play that these are real cherries. Which card would you rather have? Mary may have a card with 2 cherries and Sam one with 4. How many cherries have we given away? Let us play that it is Eliza- beth's birthday, and Helen brings her 4 cherries (card) and Edith brings her 2; how many has she? Let us play that she eats 2 cherries, how many has she?" The teacher should continue until the other facts are de- veloped. Arithmetic 201 3. Imagery 4. Symbols 3 4 2 3 2 4 6 6 6 3j6 2(3) "How many would like to play the game of 'Imagination'? Shut your eyes and let us imagine that we have 3 pennies in one hand. Can you see them with your mind? Now imagine you have 3 in the other hand. Can you see them? How many pennies have you in all?" She continues until all facts are developed. "Boys and girls let me show you how to write 3 and 3 are 6. Mary may read it. John. Sam. Let me show you how to write 4 and 2 are 6. Mary may read it for me. How would we write 2 and 4 are 6?" ,Read this for me 3. "How many 3's 3 in 6? How many are 2(3)?" The children are now ready for the drill. Usually a drill will be more interesting if two or three facts are drilled on at one time as this offers more variety. For a type on the drill lesson see the plan for the drill on multiplication table, pages 204 to 205. These addition facts may be substi- tuted for the multiplication facts. After these facts are thoroughly learned the series should be carried to 100; for instance 3 13 23 33 etc. 3 3 3 3 Subtraction. If the teacher prefers to use the Aus- trian method of subtraction, she should first drill on the addition facts just developed and then introduce the sub- 202 How to Teach Primary Grades traction by addition; for example, "What must we add to 3 to make 6?" If the old "take-away" method is used, these subtraction facts should be developed paral- lel with the addition facts. Previous to this lesson the children have reviewed the games and exercises on reading, writing, and counting by 2's to 30. Third Grade I. Topic: .Development of the multiplication table of 2's. II. Teacher's Motive: (1) To lead the children to see the need of the multiplication table. (2) To teach them the meaning of the table. III. Child's Motive: To learn a quicker way of find- ing the score in the game. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 1(2) =2 The children have been playing a 2 (2) =4 bean bag game in which the bean bag 3 (2) =6 was thrown into a ring. Each time 4(2) =8 it went into the ring it scored 2. 5 (2) =10 At the close of the game, the scores 6(2) =12 were as follows: 7(2) =14 2 2 2 2 8(2)=16 2 2 2 2 9(2)=18 — — 2 2 10 (2) =20 2 2 2 — Each score was added- "Do any of you know how we could have saved time in finding our score? What is each figure? How Arithmetic 203 many 2's have you, Mary? How many have 4 (2's) ? If we had known how many 4 (2's) were, could we have saved time ? How many 2's have you, John? How many have 3 (2's) ? Could we have saved time in these? What would you have needed to know in order to save time, Sam?" The teacher has each child to tell what he should have known in order to save time. "Do you know what we call the process of finding how much 3(2) is? Suppose we find out what the entire table is. What part have we found out? Suppose we start with 2. Let us write the 2's in this form: (9) (8) 2 (7) 2 2 (6) 2 2 2 (5) 2 2 2 2 (4) 2 2 2 2 2 (3) 2 2 2 2 2 2 (2) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 (1) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 She allows the children to suggest how many 2's to place in each row. "How shall we remember how many 2's in each row? Suppose we place the number of 2's over each row. How shall we know this number is not to be added in with the 2's?" If the child cannot suggest a way, the teacher suggests the use of paren- theses. "Let us add each row. How many does 1(2) make? In the table 204 How to Teach Primary Grades we write it 1(2) makes 2 or it is shorter to write it 1(2) =2. How many does 2 (2's) make? How shall we write this? How many 2's in 4? What is % of 4?" The entire table should be developed in this way. The children are now ready for a drill on the table. Third Grade I. Topic: Drill on 1(2), 2(2), 3(2), 4(2), 5(2). II. Teacher's Motive: To teach a part of multipli- cation table of 2's so that the child will give the results automatically. III. Child's Motive: To memorize that part of the table of 2's which he needs to enable him to find his score quickly. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 1(2) =2 "What are we going to learn that 2 (2) =4 will help us in our bean-bag game? 3 (2) =6 When we learn this table we will 4(2) =8 play our game for 10 minutes. If 5 (2) =10 each of us has five throws, how much of the table shall we need?" "I will write the table here, then we will see how quickly we can mem- orize it" The teacher writes the table on the board in the form shown in the margin and the children study. "How many are sure they know th'e first two? Look some- where else and answer when I ask the number of 2's. Do not answer unless you are sure." She allows Arithmetic 205 several children to answer. "Let us take the first three and see how quickly you can learn them." "Now I will erase them and I want you to write them on your tablet. Do not write the answers unless you are sure you are right." She has several children to read their com- binations. "Mary may come and be the teach- er and ask for answers." She allows two or three children to come in turn and act as teacher. The last two combinations are drilled on in the same way. The teacher then places all the combina- tions on the board and has them read -and written by the children. They then drill on the combinations by making use of a device. The teacher dictates the combinations and the children write and supply the products. The children are then permitted to play the game of bean bags. If a child makes a mistake he is not al- lowed to play the next time, but must watch the other children until he shows evidence of being able to give the table without mistake. REFERENCES Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Earhart, Typ*es in Teaching Strayer and Norsworthy, How to Teach Smith, Handbook to Arithmetic Smith, Teaching of Elementary Arithmetic McMurry, Special Method in Arithmetic 206 How to Teach Primary Grades Dewey and McClellan, The Psychology of Numbers Young, The Teaching of Mathematics Brown and Coffman, How to Teach Arithmetic Bailey, Teaching Arithmetic Stamper, The Teaching of Arithmetic Lincoln, Everyday Pedagogy Charters, Teaching the Common Branches Jessup and Coffman, The Supervision of Arithmetic Suzzallo, The Teaching of Primary Arithmetic CHAPTER XVI HANDWRITING AIM The function of handwriting is to furnish a medium for the communication of thought through certain rec- ognized written symbols. The teacher's aim in teaching handwriting is to train the child to the habits of reproducing these written sym- bols accurately, legibly, beautifully, and automatically, using an easy natural movement, and maintaining an easy natural position. SUBJECT-MATTER It is no more pedagogical to begin writing by teach- ing single letters than it is to begin reading by teaching the alphabet. The child learns to write so that he may communicate thought through written symbols. Hence, the most pedagogical way for him to learn to write should be through the symbols representing his thoughts. . In other words it should be the written expression of a thought which he desires to express through writing. In the beginning, he may present a thought by pictorial drawing as the rolling of the hoop /ZT77^~ , the tick tock of the clock <*— ^ or the movement of the swing V^. 0S . Later he may write a note of invitation to his mother inviting her to visit the school, as "Come to see us;" a letter to an absent playmate, as "We miss you;" simple letters to friends and relatives; original 207 208 How to Teach Primary Grades stories and simple compositions which are to be read or sent to some one, words to be used in puzzle sentences and other games; sentences to be used in the game of "Deaf and Dumb." Any one of these suggestions should furnish subject-matter for many lessons. Certain forms for these written symbols have been accepted as standard for the business world. In the light of present knowledge these forms are the most economical from the standpoint of speed, legibility, and beauty. The following symbols are a reproduction of these forms : The Standard Script Alphabet cvJrvcb-i/Jy a^ Jay u^ yuJt/ J/ /rnJi/rt/ (Drawn by Miss Sammie Cleveland, Supervisor of Writing, Chattanooga, Tenn.) COURSE OF STUDY It is a much-mooted question as to whether or not handwriting should constitute a part of the curriculum of the first grade child. Those who would postpone it until the second or third year contend that his muscles are not sufficiently developed to secure the necessary coordination without too great an expendi- ture of nervous energy and a probable strain of the muscles. Also, that he has very little need for the ability to write, inasmuch as this is the oral period of his de- Handwriting 209 velopment. They would utilize this early period of his school life to develop the proper coordination of these muscles through the rhythmic and pictorial drawings, leaving the written symbols for a later period. Those who would place handwriting in the first grade contend that the advantage should be taken of the child's eager interest in learning to write which is especially manifested when he enters school. They contend that the development and proper coordination of muscles may be obtained through real writing without harm if the emphasis fall on work on the blackboard. It would seem wiser to effect a compromise between these two opinions and begin the work in the first year with the pictorial drawing and after several weeks or months gradually change to the written symbols used in handwriting. First Grade. In the first few weeks or months the subject-matter should consist of the pictorial representa- tion of the child's experiences. Mother Goose rhymes and poems will prove a valuable source for this pictorial writing. The thought in the rhyme of "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candle stick." may be pictured by the representation of the jump as /rrn The poem of "The Swing" by Robert Louis Stevenson may be pictured by the movement of the swing, as V— ^ The turning of the rope may be represented by this picture &£JLg/ • This same picture could also be the representation of the drawn out coil-spring or of the little girl's curl. A row of hay mounds could be pictured 210 How to Teach Primary Grades as /7W , or this would represent a certain type of iron fence. It is suggested that the major movements in writing could be drilled on in this form of pictorial writing. These movements are as follows: t/D# The different forms which are used in the development of the letters are derived from these movements. They are as follows: /I is o /^y^T^S *"*" After this preliminary work the child may write simple letters of invitation, as "Come to see me/' to parents, relatives, playmates, or other schools; letters of thanks, as "We thank you"; letters to absent playmates, as "We miss you." Occasionally, a simple poem which is to be sent to some one will furnish material for many lessons in writing, as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star; How I wonder what you are, Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky." Second and Third Grades. Rhythmic exercises for muscular control on the different writing movements ; for instance, the direct oval ; words needed for simple invita- tions, letters, and games. Written reproductions of simple stories used in the language lesson; writing of original stories from pictures; simple compositions from nature study subjects. METHOD Position. Inasmuch as a natural, easy position in writing is an economy of time and nervous energy, it Handwriting 211 should be an important part of the teacher's aim to train the child to form this habit from the beginning. He should face the desk squarely, sitting well back in the seat, with head and body erect, though some forward bending is necessary, and with feet flat on the floor. The whole of the right forearm with the exception of the elbow, should rest on the desk, supported by the muscular pad just below the elbow and by the tips of the fourth and fifth fingers. The entire left forearm except the elbow should also rest on the desk at right angle with the right forearm. The pen, pencil, or crayon should be held lightly be- tween the first and second fingers and the thumb at about one and one-half inches from the point. The first finger rests on the top of the pencil, which crosses the second finger just below the first joint, and comes into contact with the hand at the base of the first finger. All the fingers are slightly bent, each one slightly more than the preceding one. The hand glides on the tips of the fourth and fifth fingers. Movement. The most commonly accepted move- ment in hand-writing is the muscular movement. Experi- ment has shown that this is the easiest, smoothest, and most natural movement. The large fleshy muscle of the forearm just below the elbow is used as a rolling base; the muscles of the upper arm and of the shoulder control the movement. Since the muscular movement used in writing is pro- duced by the large muscles located above the elbow and around the shoulder, extensive training of these muscles is necessary before the writing habit is satisfactorily established. Long before the period when the real writ- ing lessons begin the child may be trained in muscular 212 How to Teach Primary Grades movement through rhythmic games and pictorial writing. The rhythmic and pictorial writing games are regulated by marking the time in some way, as by counting, tap- ping, rhythmic phrasing, music, or the repeating of poetry. Rhythm. In any form of muscular movement rhythm is an important consideration. If the movement is accompanied by rhythm it results in ease, smoothness, and regularity. We have only to note the rhythm of movement when a group of laborers sing as they ply the pick or shovel, to be convinced of its value. In the rolling of the hoop the teacher repeats, "Roll, roll, roll" rhythmically as the child makes the picture. In the tick-tock of the clock she repeats "Tick-tock, tick- tock," rhythmically as he makes the movement. This rhythmic idea may be carried out in many of the sug- gestions for pictorial writing given in the course of study. This pictorial and rhythmic work should be continued for several weeks or months as it builds a strong foundation for the work which is to follow. It should be followed up by writing done to rhythmic counting, phrasing, sing- ing, instrumental, or phonograph music. A catalogue from any reliable phonograph house should offer sugges- tions of records suitable for this work. Rhythmic and pictorial drawing is followed by the writing of words. The children decide to write a letter of invitation to some one to visit the school, as "Come to see us." The single word come is selected for the first practice. A type lesson fully illustrating the class procedure will be found on pages 218 to 219. Should the formation of some letter in the word upon which the child is practicing prove difficult, the entire period may be spent in practice on this one letter. How- ever, a lesson period should not be given to subject- Handwriting 213 matter of this nature unless the need for this practice has been developed with the child. A child below the age of ten years should not be given movements which require precision, steadiness, complex- ity in adjustment, or rapidity in execution. To aid in avoiding these dangers it will be found much better to have all writing for the first few months done on the blackboard, and on rather a large scale. Writing in the air will also be helpful. The first work at the seat should be on unruled paper and the child should be encouraged to write in a large hand. All new forms should be made on the board and under the direct supervision of the teacher. In the early lessons if the child makes a mistake, the teacher should erase the form and have him rewrite it. Later, he should study the correct form and then compare his with it, thus learning to discover his own error. In the child's writing the teacher should strive first for correct movement, position, and legibility. Later he may gain the necessary speed and beauty of form through practice. Standard. A standard by which to measure the child's writing progress is helpful. It may be used also in arousing his interest in overcoming the mistakes in his writing and in improving his record. By comparing his work with the standard he can be trained to discover where the difficulty is and how to correct it. The de- veloping of the ability to depend upon oneself is in- valuable. Following is a reproduction of a scale which may be used in grading the child's writing. This measuring scale can be secured from the Russell Sage Foundation, New York. Should this scale be used 214 How to Teach Primary Grades in the second grade it is suggested that 20 be added to each per cent and if used in a third grade that 15 be added. MEASURING SCALE FOR HANDWRITING THE LESSON PLAN The writing lesson is essentially a habit-forming les- son, consequently, it will conform to the principles gov- erning the drill lesson. These may be enumerated as (1) a motive; (2) a clear idea of the thing to be drilled on; (3) attentive repetition; (4) no exceptions; (5) re- views; (6) application. 1. Motive. That the child may be interested in learning to write, it is essential that he see the reason for it and that he feel the need for it. The teacher should arouse his desire to communicate his thought through written language, for if he is interested in this expression he will want to learn how to write and will be willing to make the effort necessary for its accomplishment. He should also be made to realize that poor writing is likely to result in misunderstanding. The pictorial representation of ideas, the writing of letters to real people, and the writing of stories or poems which are to be read to some one should furnish practical problems and motives for writing. Handwriting 215 The little game of "Deaf and Dumb" in which the child pretends that he cannot talk but must write will furnish endless subject-matter and motive for learning to write. A list of questions to be used in the game to- gether with the answers may be compiled by the class. For example, "What is your name? How old are you? What do you like to play?" Then before the game may be played he must learn to write some of these questions ;.nd answers. The filling in of the blanks in the puzzle sentences is another source of subject-matter and motive for the writing lessons. In the sentence, "I see a big white ," the child's aim is to learn to write the word bear so he may fill in the sentence. A list may be com- piled for use in this game as in the "Deaf and Dumb" game. Other sources of motive are rivalry, approval of teacher or parent, admiration of his companions, reward, and fear of punishment. 2. Clear Idea Problem. Before beginning to repro- duce the form, the child must have a clear idea of what is to be done, and how to do it. He should be encouraged to watch the teacher make the form again and again. His problem should be the necessary control and co- ordination of the muscles. This clear idea of what is to be done cannot be over-emphasized, for a child often stumbles and fails because he does not know what is ex- pected of him. Then if he makes a mistake the teacher's task is much greater than it was before, for the impulse to make the wrong form and movement must be over- come before the right habits can be established. Much more will be accomplished when the teacher allows the emphasis to be on what she wants done, rather than on 216 How to Teach Primary Grades what she does not want done. Of course the exception to this rule will be when the child has formed an incorrect habit of either form or movement. When one of these mistakes is discovered it should be pointed out and special practice given on the right habit. This will call for both class and individual instruction. 3. Attentive Repetition. Learning to write is a matter of practice or repetition of correct movement, therefore after the child has an interesting motive and a clear idea of what is to be done, the teacher's problem will be to keep his interest and attention while the needed repetition is being carried forward. Repetition is largely wasted time unless accompanied by concentrated atten- tion. As a small child gives attention to a thing for only a short time, it will be best to have short drill periods. Two or three short drills, when he is fresh and will give his full attention, will accomplish fifty per cent more than one long period when he is tired and listless. Variety in procedure will do much toward holding the attention of the class. For example, if the child is prac- ticing on the oval, the teacher should pretend one day that he is making a little girl's curl, on another day a drawn-out spring. 4. No Exception. If the repetition is to be worth while it must be the repetition of the desired response and not that of error. The child should be trained to discover the points where the improvements should be made, and to avoid repetition of an error. In order to avoid repetition of error it would seem best for all writ- ing to be confined to the writing period or under the direct supervision of the teacher until the correct writ- ing habits are firmly fixed. Error may also creep in by having the writing period Handwriting 217 at a time when the child is either physically tired or has been indulging in strenuous physical exercise. 5. Reviews. In writing, as in spelling, the teacher must plan for frequent reviews of the work gone over. This will be much easier in writing, as the child's written vocabulary will develop slowly and will be very limited in scope. The teacher cannot count her task of teaching writing as completed until the child can give his entire attention to the thought which he is expressing. The mechanics of writing should be automatic and at the same time accurate, legible, and rapid. 6. Application. If the interest of the child is prop- erly maintained, the skill gained through the drill should always end in the step of application. If he is learning to write an invitation, the drill should end in the writing of an actual invitation. It may take one week, two weeks, or three weeks to complete the practice on the necessary words, but the application should always be the final step. The following outline will be suggestive of the steps taken in a writing lesson : Lesson Outline, a. Rhythmic movements in the form of ovals, push-pull, etc., should be used as a prepa- ration for all writing lessons. This will limber up the muscles and result in regularity of movement. b. The teacher writes the subject-matter, after its de- velopment, on the board in a clear hand, the children observing. She should make an opportunity to write it several times. c. The child writes in the air as the teacher writes on the board. She should count or give descriptive phrases as the form is made in order to bring in the rhythmic movement. 218 How to Teach Primary Grades d. She then has individual children to write on the board. In the event of a mistake she has the child to compare his work with the copy. e. In the second or third grades she has the worcl or sentence written on paper. If the material is suitable she should have rhythmic counting. f. Application. The word or sentence is added to the letter, story, or poem which the child is writing, or he is allowed to play the game. ILLUSTRATIVE LESSON First Grade I. Topic: Rhythmic motion of the pendulum. II. Teacher's Motive: (1) To train the child to rhythmic motion. (2) To develop muscular control. (3) To train him to represent his ideas through pictorial drawings. III. Child's Motive: (1) To make the motion of the pendulum as the teacher phrases it. (2) To make the picture of the motion of the pendulum as the teacher phrases it. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure "How can you tell when it is time Tick-tock to come tQ sc jj 00 i ? Have any of you tick-tock a ^g c i oc k? Did you ever see one with a pendulum? What does the pendulum do? Show me how it swings. What does it say? Play that your hand is a pendulum and when I say tick let it swing across, then when I say tock let it swing Handwriting 219 back. Now ready, 'Tick-tock, tick- tock, tick-tock'." The teacher should continue until each child gets the movement and has learned to swing his hand to the phrasing. The phras- ing should be regular and rhythmic. "If we were to make a picture of the motion of the pendulum, how do you think it would look?" She should encourage the children to represent their ideas on the board. If they do not have the true idea she should show them how it should look. "Mary may come and make the picture as I tell what the pendulum says. The rest of us will make it in the air." She should continue by allowing different children to make the movement with the chalk. First Grade. This same general plan should be fol- lowed in a second or third grade. I. Topic: An invitation. II. Teacher's Motive: (1) To give the child a defi- nite motive for learning to write. (2) To insure accu- racy of form by giving him a vivid image of the word. (3) To form the correct habits of writing. (4) To train him to write correctly and beautifully. III. Child's Motive: (1) To write an invitation to his mother. (2) To practice on come until he can make it correctly and beautifully. (3) To discover the rhyth- mic phrasing for writing come. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure 1. A review of the "How did we make the picture of direct oval through the the children turning the rope? 220 How to Teach Primary Grades pictorial drawing of the rope. 2. The indirect oval through the rhyme of Jack be Nimble. James may come and make the pic- ture on the board while we make it in the air. Ready. 'Turn, turn, turn, turn.'" This should be con- tinued for a short time. "Let us make a picture of the way Jack jumped as we repeated the rhyme." The teacher has the children repeat the rhyme as they make the move- ment. "Wouldn't you like to have Mother come to visit us? Suppose we invite her? How shall we do it? Don't you think she will feel more as though she were invited if we send her a written invitation? What shall we say? Yes, 'Come to see us.' I will write it here on 'the board. What is the first word? Suppose we practice on this word until we can write it so that it looks neat. Watch me write it and see if you can discover any part of the picture of the turning of the rope." She writes come in large script. "Did you see it? Come and show me which part it was. Watch me write come again and see if you see any part that is made like the picture of Jack jumping the candle- stick." She writes come and has the children select the familiar part. "Watch me write come again and see what rhythmic exercises the last letter reminds you of." The last let- ter is the movement used in the turn- ing of the rope. "Suppose we say round, up, round, jump, jump, jump, turn" The teacher writes on the board as she phrases the word. The Handwriting 221 word has now been written five times, and the children have had the op- portunity to get a very fair mental image of its form and of the move- ment used in making it. They are now ready to begin the actual work of reproducing the written form of the word. "Boys and girls, suppose we play that you are writing the word in the air as I write it on the board. See if you can make it as I count it. Now, let us see if you can count it as we make it again. I want some one to write come on the board while the rest of us write it in the air." The practice on the word is contin- ued. The work is varied by having two or three of the children come to the board at the same time. If any letter in the word should prove dif- ficult, she should say to- the class, "We seem to be having trouble with o, suppose we practice on it alone until we can make it, for it spoils the looks of come to have a bad looking o." A single letter or word should never be taken for practice without some definite reason or need. After enough board work to insure the accurate form- ing of the letters, a second or third grade should be allowed to practice on paper. The teacher should insist on correct position and muscular movement. She should insist on muscular movement in all lessons where writing is used. As the child gains skill in writing, he may practice on more than one word in a lesson. 222 How to Teach Primary Grades The practice should be first for accuracy in form, then for beauty, then for speed. The teacher should not make the mistake of going too fast or of attempting too much in a lesson. However, the subject-matter should be changed often enough to keep the work inter- esting. In the second and third grades writing, spelling, and written language may be correlated in a very effective manner. When the exercise is written there should be a preliminary exercise in rhythmic movement, then in the writing of the words or sentence the teacher should stress form, movement, and position. REFERENCES Freeman, The Teaching of Handwriting Gesell, The Normal Child and Primary Education Lister, Handwriting for the Primary Grades Charters, Teaching the Common Branches Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Earhart, Types in Teaching Strayer and Norsworthy, How To Teach Lincoln, Everyday Pedagogy CHAPTER XVII SPELLING AIM The purpose in teaching spelling is to enable the child to communicate his thoughts accurately through the medium of written language. SUBJECT-MATTER As there are something like 600,000 words in the English language it cannot be expected that the child will learn to spell the entire list. The question of the selection of words for the spelling lesson is an impor- tant one. It is suggested that the poor results attained in spelling are due to the poor selection of words making up the subject-matter of the spelling lesson and to the method or lack of method in teaching spelling. If the criticism as to the choice of words is well founded, it is impor- tant that the words be carefully chosen. When we recall that the purpose in teaching spelling is to enable the child to express himself by means of written language, we are convinced that his actual needs should be the basis of selection. The recognition of the importance of this factor has resulted in the elimination of much useless subject-matter. The day of isolated, unrelated lists of words is past, and 223 224 How to Teach Primary Grades also the day of imposing spelling upon the child in such a way that he feels that it is a subject for which he has little use. The spelling of today is an interesting sub- ject, one for which he feels the need — one in which he has a personal interest. The problem, then, is to teach the child to spell the words which he needs in his written work. There are three sources from which spelling lists may be compiled. The first of these is the spelling book. In using this the teacher should be careful to see that the words are those which are suitable to a child's written vocabulary, since the teaching of unusual words is a great waste of valu- able time. Another source is the grade reader. Here, too, the teacher should use discrimination in choosing, keeping in mind the daily written vocabulary of the child. His reading vocabulary is of much wider scope than his written vocabulary, and it is a pernicious waste of time and energy to attempt to teach him to spell all the new words in his reading lessons. The third and the most valuable source is the daily written work of the child. Here, without any question, will be found the words which he needs to know how to write. The teacher should carefully watch all his written work, making a list of the words which must be spelled for him or words which he misspells. This would be the ideal list for his spelling lesson. Because of the necessity for some system in courses of study, many teachers will find it better to have a care- fully and scientifically graded spelling book as a guide, supplementing this with a list made up from the written work of the class. The Jones Primary Speller published by the Capital Publishing Co., Pierre, S. Dak., is a book which has been compiled according to the modern prin- Spelling 225 ciples of teaching spelling and should prove helpful to the teacher. In using a text the teacher should furnish the child with the experience that will bring these words into his vocabulary, and then make the writing of these words the desire to express these experiences through writing. Standard. A better type of work can be done if there is a standard by which to measure the efficiency of the class in spelling. Such a standard has been worked out by Dr. Leonard P. Ayres. The following quotation is taken from this standard : "The data of this scale are computed from an aggregate of 1,400,000 spellings by 70,000 children in 84 cities throughout the country. The words are 1,000 in number and the list is the product of combining different studies with the object of identifying the 1,000 commonest words in English writing.' ' Copies of this scale may be obtained for five cents each. Copies of the monograph describing the investi- gation which produced it may be obtained for thirty cents each. Address the Russell Sage Foundation, Divi- sion of Education, 130 East 22d St., New York City. COURSE OF STUDY A contention which has caused considerable dis- cussion refers to the time when formal spelling should be introduced. Practically all agree that it should not begin in the first grade though some would place it in the second grade, others in the third grade. Almost all modern writers agree in saying that it should not be introduced until the need for it arises. The delay of written composition work and of penmanship post- pones the need for it. It should be introduced as soon as the need for written expression appears. 226 How to Teach Primary Grades * The following course of study is not given as a set course but only as suggestions of what may be developed by the teacher. First Grade. No formal work is done in spelling, though in reality a child begins to spell when he copies his first word. From the first the teacher should see that this is accurately done. She should not call atten- tion, however, to the separate letters but in case of error, erase the word and have it rewritten. In this way he is trained to study the word as a whole, which is the end desired in these early lessons. Later he may be told that he has made certain letters incorrectly. When he learns to write the simple invitation in his writing lesson, he is learning to spell; likewise, in all the other subject- matter used in the writing period. Second Grade. The words necessary to write a let- ter of invitation to parents or friends to visit the school, a letter to an absent classmate, a letter to the same grade of another school, an invitation to a class party, an invita- tion to go on a nature or bird walk, a note of thanks for some favor as, the gift of a flower or book, words neces- sary to play the game of "Deaf and Dumb," words nec- essary to play the puzzle game. If a book is used these words may be used in the exercises suggested above. This may be done without reference to the order of words suggested in the book. Third Grade. The work of the second grade is continued except that it will be more extensive ; words for short compositions on nature study topics; words for written reproductions of simple stories ; if a book is used the words should be woven into the exercises suggested above. Spelling 227 LESSON PLANS The central problem in the teaching of spelling is to teach the child to write the letters of the word in a certain order and to do this automatically so that the mind may be entirely given to the thought. Learning to spell is simply a matter of forming a habit — the habit of using letters in a certain order. In spelling, as in other habit-forming lessons, there must be intelligently conducted drill if the child acquires the ability to write the word when he needs it without stopping to think how it is spelled. The principles or steps in the lesson will be (1) a motive for learning the words; (2) a clear idea of cor- rect response; (3) attentive repetition of the response; (4) no exceptions; (5) frequent review of the words; and (6) application of the habit of response to practical problems. 1. Motive. The teacher should see, first of all, that the child is interested in learning to spell, and that the conditions are such that he has a motive for the study of the word. The stronger the motive or the incentive the more close will be the attention and the sooner will the desired result be obtained. Much of the drill work in spelling is barren of result because the child sees neither the need nor the signifi- cance of learning to spell. So one of the problems of the teacher is to motivate the work properly for him. The motive should be strong enough and attractive enough to appeal to the child and to secure his attention for a considerable length of time. There are various sources for motivation. The most important is the real- ization of the practical need for the ability to spell the words ; for instance, so that he can write letters, stories, 228 How to Teach Primary Grades compositions ; play the game of "Deaf and Dumb," where he must write instead of talk; or fill in words of puzzle sentences. It is suggested that if the child is interested in his written work he will want to learn to spell the words which are necessary to this written expression. And if he fully realizes that he is to be judged by his ability to write correctly, he will realize that when he cannot spell a word he ought to learn it at once. Variety in procedure is one of the best ways to attract and hold the attention and interest of the child. A promised spelling match will often secure concentrated attention and effort on the part of the class. A pupil will often work to improve his own record. The pupil's record may be kept on a score card and instantly checked up. Another means for securing the interest and attention is that of emulation, or the desire to excel others. This is the lowest type of all the motives, with the possible exception of the fear of punishment, and should be used only very occasionally. 2. Clear Idea of Response. In this as in other habit- forming lessons, the first step is to help the child to form a clear idea of the thing to be done. In order to make the spelling of the word easy and natural, the teacher should see that he hears the word correctly and that he has a clear, accurate picture of it. He should be en- couraged to look again and again at the word until its image becomes firmly fixed. Many errors in spelling are due to faulty pronunciation and faulty visualization of the word. The ability to spell includes more than the power to reproduce the letters of a word in a given order. It involves the ability to pronounce the word and to give its meaning. A word is never well taught unless Spelling 229 the teacher makes sure that the child has its meaning, its pronunciation, and its spelling. In a discussion of the modern method of conducting a spelling lesson, Suzzallo 1 says, "The teacher spends his time in carefully presenting a few words, rather than in examining the child's ability in many. New work is a matter of class study, where words are presented with unusual artfulness in order to suggest their meaning naturally through circumstance or context. Every effort is made to safeguard the child against a wrong first im- pression and an incorrect learning of the word. If a home lesson is assigned, it is not a mere blocking out of a number of words to be learned; the assignment is an exercise in which the teacher uses all his foresight in anticipating the various kinds of trouble the child will meet, focusing the attention on special difficulties and suggesting modes of self-instruction. The modern spell- ing exercise may test the child's knowledge, but its primary function is to teach rather than to examine." 3. ' Attentive Repetition. After the child has a proper motive, a clear idea of what is to be done, the teacher should plan how to further the multiplicity of associa- tions necessary for the learning of the word. It has been found that the most economical method of learning to spell a word requires that the entire attention be given while the letters of the word are repeated and written a number of times. Multiplicity of association is brought about through writing the word on the board, in the air, on paper, spelling it aloud, spelling it under the breath, etc. By this plan the eye sees, the ear hears, the voice reproduces, and the hand copies the word. If each word is to be thus carefully studied it will of !The Teaching- of Spelling. 230 How to Teach Primary Grades necessity have to be a supervised study, for undirected effort will result in random effort. And furthermore, all the words of a list will not require the same amount of study. Some of them can probably be spelled with- out many repetitions, while others will require the most careful study. It is the work of the teacher to train the children to recognize the words that will present diffi- culties and to train them to overcome these difficulties. 4. No Exceptions. As suggested in the above quota- tion the teacher tries in every way to get rid of error by anticipating and preventing it through supervised study. The efficient teacher will train her class to avoid making errors in so far as possible. The trial-and-error method belongs to the old order of teaching spelling. The teacher of the present day realizes that if the child makes a mistake, her task is much greater than it was, for this wrong way of spelling the word must be overcome before the right habit can be established. The child should be trained never to write a word or to attempt to write it unless he is sure he knows how to spell it. In case of error, a new chain of associations must be formed be- ginning with the pronunciation and leading through the meaning to the correct, written form, leaving the incorrect associations to fade away. 5. Reviews. In spelling as in the other drill lessons, opportunity should be given for frequent reviews, for when the teacher has first succeeded in securing the desired result, she has only begun the process. If the child is to make the correct spelling of a word a per- manent part of his mental equipment, he must write or spell the word several times during the next few days, write it over and over again the next week, the next month, the next year. The time will come when the Spelling 231 word is indelibly fixed in the child's mind, and then, and only then, can the teacher discontinue the drill on the word. If it is necessary for a child to learn to spell a word, it is not only necessary for him to be able to spell it when it is assigned as a new word, but it is necessary that he be able to spell it ever afterward, wherever he may encounter it. Testing. In the old method of teaching spelling, the testing occupied the larger part of the recitation period, but in the modern method it is only a step in the lesson. As teachers are coming more and more to the teaching of the words which the child needs in his daily written work, it is possible to test his ability to spell in sentences. How- ever, the only test is the spontaneous written expression of the child. 6. Application. If spelling is to continue to appeal to the child as a practical subject, the teacher should plan many exercises for its application. Not only does this make the subject vital for him but it helps to fix the words in mind. It is also the truest test of his efficiency in spelling. One of the teacher's problems will be to provide enough natural opportunities for this application. These may be found in letters written to friends, absent play- mates, or to children in another school; in compositions based on nature study topics; the written reproduction of the stories which are to be read or sent to parents or friends, in the game of "Deaf and Dumb," and in puzzle sentences. Devices. In spelling, a list of words known as a black list will prove helpful. This list is kept in a con- spicuous place on the board. Any word which is mis- spelled by a number of children is placed on this list. 232 How to Teach Primary Grades They are encouraged to eliminate words from this list as rapidly as possible. In addition each child should have a personal list which he may keep in a small blank book. To this list should be added any word which he misses or which he has to have spelled for him. He should be tested fre- quently on this list. Outline of Steps in a Lesson. The following outline for conducting the spelling lesson should contain much that is helpful in way of suggestions. This outline may be modified or added to according to the needs of the class. The varying difficulty of the words should also affect the outline. The change wrought in the teaching of spelling has had its effect on the number of words assigned each day. It is the general consensus of opinion that two to four new words a lesson should be assigned in the primary grades. I. Motive: The child's interest is aroused in learn- ing to write the word. II. Teaching Method (to be applied to each individual word) : a. The pronunciation and meaning of the word is developed in connection with the child's motive for learning to write it. b. Write the word slowly on the board, the class following visually the formation of the letters. Write the word compactly. c. Divide the word into syllables, orally, and then write it in syllables. Call on individuals to pronounce and then spell orally by syllables. Pronounce by sylla- bles only when necessary to make it clear. d. Have pupils to point out familiar parts of the Spelling 233 word such as phonograms or smaller words included in it. Then have them point out the new or unfamiliar parts. Lead the class to study the word to see which are the difficult parts. Have the pupils close the eyes and visualize the different parts. e. Have the pupils write the word in the air as you write it on the board. Then have them write it on the board or on paper. Have them pronounce and softly spell the word as they write. This should be under the breath. f. Allow the class a moment in which to look at the word again, then have them close their eyes and visualize it. III. Reviewing (when drilling for impression) : a. After the words of the new lesson have been taught as above, allow a few minutes for studying the whole list again, suggesting that each pupil emphasize the word or words which he thinks he does not know. The time should be limited so that each pupil will concentrate vigorously. b. Call on pupils individually, and at times in concert, to spell the entire list as dictated without looking at the board. Refer them to the board at once if they hesitate. IV. Testing: a. Erase all the words from the board and dictate them to the class for a written test, using each in a sen- tence. It will be well to have the entire sentence written if it contains no new words. If it is possible to make a sensible sentence, bring in the words which the children need for review. Insist that no child attempt to write a word unless he is sure he can spell it. b. Dictate review words to class. c. To check the work, write the words or sentences on 234 How to Teach Primary Grades the board and have each child compare his work with the model. d. Words that are misspelled are placed on the black list or on the individual lists. V. Assignment. Only review words. ILLUSTRATIVE LESSON Second or Third Grades I. Topic: bird, red, robin. II. Teacher's Motive: ( 1 ) To give the child a motive for learning to spell bird, red, robin. (2) To give him a clear picture of each word and to help him to reproduce it in writing. III. Child's Motive: (1) To learn to write bird, red, and robin so that he may fill out the puzzle sentence. IV. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure The teacher should give about two minutes to some of the rhythmic movements used in writing. Through- out the lesson she should insist upon correct position, form, and movement. "Boys and girls, do you ever try As I came to school I to fill in puzzle sentences? I have a saw a (bird). It had a puzzle here and I want to see if you (red) breast. It was a can guess what the words are which (robin). I have left out." The children are allowed to study and discuss the sen- tences until the correct words are found. "Would you like to write these sentences and fill in the blank? If you do that, we shall have to learn to write bird, red, and robin; then I will let you fill out the puzzle and carry it home to your mother." Spelling 235 "Watch me write bird on the board. Sound it for me. How many sounds ? Which two letters make one sound? Have we had this sound before? Let us spell bird. Pronounce each letter as I point at it." The teacher has it spelled twice in concert. 'This time I want you to spell it as I make each letter on the board." She has it spelled by several children, writing it each time. In this way the children are forming a vivid image of the word. "Now you write the word in the air as I write it on the board, naming the letters as we make them." She has it written twice. She writes in large script. "Each of you take your pencil and write bird, spelling ° lf( f it softly as you write. r ° blt "Now turn your back and see if ™ rd you can spell it without looking at the board. If you are not sure, look at the board immediately, for we do not want a single mistake made. "Turn your paper over and let us see if you can write bird without looking at the board. If you are not sure, look at the board, as we do not want any one to make a mistake." Red should be studied in a similar way. "What kind of bird did I see? Watch me write robin. How many syllables has robin ? Let me write it, dividing it into syllables. Pronounce it by syllables. Do you see a fa- miliar part to this word? Yes, we have had in. What does that leave? Well, rob will be easy to learn, won't 236 How to Teach Primary Grades it?" Robin is studied in a way simi- lar to that used in studying bird. "Which of these words do you think will be the hardest? I want you to study this list for a few minutes, studying the hardest word the long- est time, and then I will see if you can write the answer to the puzzle." She gives the children a few minutes to study. After this she takes up the practice papers, erases the words from the board, and has the children copy the sentences, filling in the blanks. If the teacher has more than one grade this may be the seat-work period. She should impress on .the class that she does not want them to try to write a word unless they are sure of it. She should also impress the fact that the only honorable thing to do in a case like this is to ask the teach- er so that she may help him to learn the word. It would be a terrible disgrace to copy from another child's paper. REFERENCES Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process Earhart, Types in Teaching Strayer and Norsworthy, How To Teach Suzzallo, The Teaching of Spelling Circular No. 14, Richmond Public Schools, Board of Education, Richmond, Va. Charters, Teaching the Common Branches CHAPTER XVIII HISTORY, NATURE STUDY, AND GEOGRAPHY AIM History and Geography. The history and geography of the primary grades are studies of the home life, the community, and all forms of allied life. Their purpose is to socialize the child by leading him to an intelligent appreciation of his surroundings and of his part in this life. He is by nature wholly selfish and sees the world only in relation to himself. If he is conscious of the service rendered him, he takes it as a matter of course and gives nothing in return. Nature Study and Geography. Not only should the child be led to recognize the interdependence of man upon man but he should see man's dependence for suste- nance and enjoyment upon other forms of life. In these studies he should be led to see how the earth is adapted to man's habitation and is therefore fitted by a wise creator to be his home. Nature Study should aim to develop in the child an intelligent and sympathetic interest in the world about him to the end that he can better adjust himself to his environment. He should have more than a mere knowl- edge of things; he should have an abiding interest in all forms of nature; he should have a healthy curiosity to 237 238 How to Teach Primary Grades know the names of everything he sees; he should have such a constantly growing appreciation of natural beauty in all its forms that it will lead him to select and create beautiful surroundings ; he should have such a growing realization of the economic importance of nature that it will lead him to protect and control it for the good of mankind ; he should have a permanent attitude of investi- gation concerning the adaptation of form to function, the relation of nature to the needs of man, and the problem of its control; he should carry into his home, in a ma- terial and practical way, many things gleaned from the study of nature in the school. SUBJECT-MATTER History and Geography. The first step is to bring the child into intelligent connection with his surround- ings by a study of the home and community life. The community life is approached through a study of the work of the father, the sources of food, clothing, shelter, and other provisions for home needs and comforts. Through these studies the child should be trained to see that human progress has been made possible by division of labor and by cooperation. This idea may be developed, also, through the work of the home and through school life and games. He should be led to dis- cover the universality of the family idea by a study of homes in other lands. Through these studies the child should slowly awaken to the mutual interdependence of the different members of the human family. He should awaken to the realiza- tion that no man can live unto himself but that the truest life must be one of service. History, Nature Study, Geography 239 Nature Study and Geography. The experience and needs of the child form the basis for the selection of the material for the study of nature. The work should begin with a study of the immediate environment, and as his horizon gradually broadens and his interests begin to rest on more complex experiences, the teacher may go farther afield for subject-matter. He should recognize the interdependence of different sections of the country and of different countries one upon the other. He should study the home, food, physical character- istics, and habits of the animals and plants which furnish him food, clothing, shelter, and other home comforts. In other words, he should be led to recognize the close rela- tion between all forms of life and of the activities in the world. COURSE OF STUDY The following outlines are given as suggestions for the correlation which could be made in history, geography, nature study, and hand work. The hand work suggested will be developed in Chapter XX. These outlines should not be completed in regular order, topic by topic, but should be handled according to seasons. In the fall, "Family and Community Pleas- ures" should be discussed from the standpoint of the pleasures in the fall. In connection with the fall pleasures all the correlation pertaining to fall work should be car- ried out. In the winter, the teacher should revert to this same topic and discuss winter pleasures together with the allied topics. In the spring the same topic will again be taken up. Each topic should be treated in this way if it contains anything peculiar to a season. 240 How to Teach Primary Grades First Grade Aim of Course: "To socialize the child." I. The Home and Community Life. A. The Family. Leading thought, "A real home is possible only when the love of each member is shown through cooperation, helpfulness, kindness, and obedi- ence." 1. Members: Father, mother, children. 2. Occupations: a< Mother: washing, ironing, sweeping, keeping the house tidy, mending, sewing, baking, canning, care of children, combing hair, washing faces, etc. The idea of the mother's loving care of the family and the need for lightening her work in every way possible should be stressed. b. Father : about the house, as making of fires, carry- ing in of fuel and water, care of the garden, cows, horse. Each child should be allowed to tell what his father does to earn money for the family. ^ c. Children: helping father and mother, by carrying in the fuel and water, running the errands, washing the dishes, taking care of the baby, cleaning the yard, making the flower beds, gathering the flowers. 3. Love and Politeness of the Child: a. To mother and father : willing and cheerful obedi- ence ; promptness to meals ; taking care of toys ; helping in the daily tasks ; practicing nice table manners ; saying "Please" and "Excuse me" ; avoiding quarrels ; warming father's and mother's slippers ; bringing father and mother flowers, fruit, and little gifts; good behavior in school ; well prepared lessons. b. To brothers and sisters, dividing treats with them, History, Nature Study, Geography 241 giving way to them in games, allowing them to play with personal toys, saying "Please, Thank you, Excuse me." 4. Helps: Pictures of different equipment which is used in carrying on the work of the home; for instance different kinds of washing machines, irons, stoves, kitchen cabinets, bread mixers, sewing machines, dish washers. The children may make a scrap book or poster showing the different things their mothers could use in their work. B. The Family and the Community Aim : "To teach the dependence of the family on the community for its existence. The need for cooperation and for each to do his part." C. Family and Community Pleasures: Leading thought, "The dependence of man upon man and on nature for his pleasures. Each child has a part in making others happy." Sources: car rides, drives, visits, visitors, picnics, parties, pets, flowers, games, toys, .stories, making scrap books, celebration of special days, and observing birds and insects. 1 . Car rides, drives, picnics, visits, and visitors : Lead- ing thought, "Need of courtesy, kindness, and unselfish- ness on the part of those participating." Different modes of travel ; need for parks. Helps: pictures, booklets, sand-table. 2. Parties: Leading thought, "Real pleasure depends upon courtesy, thoughtfulness, and unselfishness." How to make the home attractive, games to play, re- freshments, dress. 3. Animal Life: Leading thought, "How animals, birds, and insects add to the child's pleasure. His part in caring for them." 242 How to Teach Primary Grades a. Pets ; care, food, habits, physical characteristics, means of protection from enemy, natural home. b. Birds: Teach the child to recognize a few of the most common birds, their food, habits, home, migration, and return. c. Insect Life: Observe any insect to be found in the community, where seen, what happens as the weather grows colder; in the spring observe cocoons; note the reappearance of many forms of insect life. Devices: Natural objects and pictures. 4. Flowers: Leading thought, "How flowers add to the child's pleasure by making the world more beautiful. How he may use flowers to add to the pleasure of others." Teach the child to recognize the most common fall and spring flowers in both garden and field ; note the seeding of flowers; collect seeds for spring planting; study the whole plant to discover the use of the roots, stem, and leaves ; note the effect of frost ; gather flowers for beauti- fying the schoolroom, home, or a sick room; plant a hyacinth or narcissus bulb in time for it to bloom for Easter. This is to be taken to mother or a sick friend. Devices: Natural objects and colored pictures. 5. Toys, Games, and Sports: Leading thought, "Need for cooperation, fairness, and unselfishness. a. Toys: Kind, care. b. Games and sports: Kind, selection of game de- pends upon weather, season, length of days, kind best adapted to warm weather, cold weather, rainy days, etc. In this connection study rain, snow, long and short days. In the study of snow, which should be developed when there is snow on the ground, study the Eskimos, who History, Nature Study, Geography 243 are known as "the Little Children of the Snow." Study their homes, home life, dress, food, games ; make an Eskimo sand-table. Devices: pictures, sand-tables, posters, booklets. 6. Special Days: a. Thanksgiving: Leading thought, "Gratitude to God for the preservation of life." Story of the first Thanksgiving in this country ; Colonial homes, home life, dress; study of Indian homes, home life, food, and occupation; study of common fruits, vegetables, grains, and turkey. Devices : Use pictures extensively ; collect Indian and Colonial relics ; dramatize the Thanksgiving story using very simple costumes; duplicate the scene on the sand- table. b. Christmas: Leading thought, "God's great love for man." Story of the birth of Christ; Christmas in America, Japan, France, Italy, and England. Study of the ever- greens, the camel, the common fruits, and the vegetables used at Christmas. Devices : Pictures, sand-table, dramatization of Christ- mas story and of Christmas in other lands using simple costumes. c. Washington's Birthday: Story of Washington's boyhood, study of home life and of child life of Colonial days; story of the first flag. Devices : Pictures, curios, simple dramatization, book- lets, and sand-tables. d. Easter: Leading thought, "The awakening of new life." Biblical story of first Easter; study of egg, chicken, rabbit, lily; why these are used. 244 How to Teach Primary Grades Devices: Pictures, real objects. II. Supplying Material Needs in the Home and Community. Leading thought, "Man's dependence on man and on nature for food and sustenance. Need and value of cooperation in their production and preparation." 1. Food: What the child eats ; teach him to recognize the common fruits and vegetables; trace the common fruits, vegetables, and grains to their sources; brief study of farm life, grocery store, dairy, bakery, mill, ice factory, meat shop; study the common farm animals as to names, food, habits, physical characteristics, and value to farmer; a study of the weather conditions, heat, cold, rain, frost, etc. ; have simple school gardens ; encourage home gardens ; study of germination ; preparation of food for eating; simple reasons for cleanliness in cooking; preservation of food; cooking, refrigeration, canning, drying. Devices : Natural objects, exhibits, pictures, sand- tables, excursion to points of interest, booklets, and posters. 2. Clothing: a. Garments: Material; where produced; study of cotton plant, sheep, silkworm and cocoon, and flax plant ; choosing clothing suitable to season ; care of clothing. b. Shoes: Material; where produced; study of ani- mals from which leather is made; rubber; study of shoe- maker and shoe store. Devices: Natural objects, exhibits, pictures, excur- sions to points of interest. 3. Shelter: a. Use : the home is the place of abode of the family ; types of homes; location depends on water, drainage, History, Nature Study, Geography 245 sunlight, shade, beauty of surroundings, convenience to church, school, and business. b. Materials : brick, wood, stone ; the work of the architect, brickmason, carpenter, plasterer, painter, paper- hanger. Value of these workmen to a community ; need for cooperation in building a home; study of wood, trees ; learn to recognize trees by leaves and bark, note the budding of trees. c. Furnishings: Furniture, use, and care of each room. d. Light and heat : Different methods of heating and lighting; study source of coal, work of coal miners. e. Beautifying the home: pictures, rugs, flowers, good selection of colors; lawn, grass, flower beds; clean- liness. f. Study of types of shelter of Indians, of people of colonial days, of Japanese, and of Eskimos. Devices: Pictures of different styles of homes, furni- ture, tools, ways of heating and lighting, exhibits; sand- tables ; excursions to factories, stores, forests, mines, etc. III. Other People Who Serve Us: 1. The Doctor: Value of health; contagious and germ diseases ; protection from disease by developing the physical body, by means of fresh air, pure water, per- sonal cleanliness, sanitation in home, thorough masti- cation of food ; value of a good doctor's service ; work of nurse; value of a hospital. 2. The Teacher: Need for schools; the child's part in the school life; opportunities for helpfulness and kindness to teacher and playmates. 3. The Preacher: Service to the minister; value of the Sunday School and churches to a community; the 246 How to Teach Primary Grades child's part in the services of the Sunday School and Church; observance of the Sabbath. 4. The Mail Carrier: What he does for the com- munity ; mode of travel ; how to make his work happier ; the use of newspapers and magazines; a visit to the printing office. 5. If the children live in a city study the work of the policeman, fireman, expressman, newsboy, drayman, school janitor, street cleaner, and health officer. Second Grade The work of the first grade is used as a basis for a more extensive study of home and community life, and their relation to the other parts of the country. Primi- tive life, as represented by the Tree-dwellers and Cave- men is studied and compared with a later period of life as represented by the Indian life of Colonial days; then comes the study of colonial life. In the first grade the aim has been to awaken the child to a knowledge of his interdependence on man and nature for his existence, and to the fact that he has a service to render to the community. His sympathies have been aroused through the simple study of the child life of the Japanese, of the Eskimos, and of the Colonist. In the second grade his sympathies are expanded and strengthened as he is led to see the progress of men toward a life of greater service. He is led to realize how cooperation, invention, and education lighten the work of the world and make it a happier place in which to live. Modern and Primitive Days Aim "To socialize the child." History, Nature Study, Geography 247 A. Shelter: Aim : "To help the child to appreciate the contrast and development of means of shelter." 1. Present Day: See the first grade outline. This should be reviewed and extended. 2. Primitive Days: a. Tree dwellers: location of house, reason for locating, type, material, workmen, tools, rooms, use, furnishing, light, heat, water supply. b. Cave dwellers : location of house, reason for locating, type, furnishings, light, heat. 3. People of Colonial Days: a. Indians : Reasons for location of home, types of house, materials, workmen, tools, rooms, furnishings, light, heat, water supply. b. Colonists : Reasons for location of homes, type of houses, material, workmen, tools, rooms, furnishings, light, heat, water supply. Devices: Pictures, sand-table, scrap-books, posters. 4. In connection with the study of materials and fur- niture study kinds of wood, trace each to its source; study of lumber camps, mills, factories. Teach the child to recognize the oak, maple, pine, chestnut, poplar; study brick, concrete, granite, marble, sandstone, slate. In connection with the heating of modern homes teach something of the life story of coal, study of coal mines, transportation of coal, elementary study of gas, kero- sene, and electricity ; study weather as a cause of shelter ; change in temperature, reading the thermometer; study of moon, winds. B. People: Aim: "To help the child see the cause for the lightening of labor; the opportunity for education and mental and physical development." 1. Present Day. See first grade outline for the 248 How to Teach Primary Grades family. Review and extend. To the special days add Columbus Day; Lincoln's Birthday. 2. Primitive Days: a. Tree-dwellers: Members of the family; personal appearance, size, color, disposition, occupation of women, children, men; education; pleasure. b. Cave-men: Members of family; personal appear- ance, size, color, disposition ; occupation of men, women, children ; education ; pleasures. 3. Colonial Days: a. Indians : Members of a family ; occupation of squaws, children, braves; education, pleasures. b. Colonists: Members of a family, occupation of mother, children, father ; education ; pleasures. Devices : Pictures, sand-table, scrap-book. 4. Pleasures of Present Day (extension of first-grade course) : a. In connection with Thanksgiving, trace vegetables to their source, study plant with reference to root, stem, leaf, flowers, fruit, or seed. b. Christmas : Study of evergreen trees, cedar, pine, spruce, fir, holly. c. Easter : Hens and chickens ; have a hen and chicks at school; care of hen, food, habits, time required for hatching eggs, incubator, enemies of hen and chickens ; visit an incubator. d. Flowers : Review those studied in the first grade ; teach the child to identify clover, gentian, sweet alyssum, mignonnette, petunia, verbena, phlox, cosmos, snap- dragon, bachelor-button, wild lily of the valley, dogwood, azalea, and others. Teach how the life of the plant is preserved, developing the idea of food-making and food- storage. History, Nature Study, Geography 249 e. Insects: Study the insects that work about the flowers. f. Birds : Teach the child to identify blue-jay, car- dinal, oriole, catbird, bluebird, and other common birds; teach something of the habits, food, and physical char- acteristics of these birds; note the migration and return of birds ; organize an Audubon society for this work. Devices: Natural objects, excursions, and pictures. C. Food : Aim : "To help the child to see how animals and plants work for men. Help him to see how cooperation, invention, and helpfulness lighten labor." 1. Present Day: Kinds of food ; visit a farm and truck gardens ; teach the farm implements and machinery ; visit mills, market ; preparation of food; drying, canning, refrigeration; pre- servation of potatoes, cabbage, etc.; visit canning fac- tory, ice factory, cold-storage plant, etc. ; sources of heat for cooking; coal stove, wood stove, kerosene stove, acetylene gas, natural gas, electrical stove, fireless cooker. 2. Primitive Days: a. Tree-dwellers: kind of food, source, preparation, cooking, implements, utensils, source of heat. b. Cave-men : kind of food, source, preparation, cook- ing, implements, utensils, source of heat. 3. Colonial Days: a. Indians: kind of food, preparation, cooking, im- plements, utensils, source of heat. b. Colonists : kind of food, preparation, cooking, im- plements, utensils, source of heat. Devices : Natural objects, pictures, excursions. 4. a. Plants: Study the life story of many articles of food such as vegetables and grains; study the plants as to parts and characteristics; watch the plants' prepa- 250 How to Teach Primary Grades ration for winter; collect seeds of different kinds; study natural provisions for distribution of seeds; in spring study germination of seeds; make experiments to deter- mine the effect of light, heat, and moisture, and of the kind of soil best suited to plants ; make a school garden as a model for a home garden; encourage each child to plant a home garden; have school exhibits of vegetables and flowers grown. b. Fruits: kinds, source; study of trees and plants which produce fruit; study buds and blooms; watch to see what becomes of each part of the flower; note the insects about the trees; study the methods of packing and shipping, and preservation of food. c. Animals: kind used for food; physical character- istics, habits, foods, care, natural home, use to man; preparation for winter. d. Garden foes: cutworms, lice, caterpillars. Garden friends: toads, earthworms, bees, birds. e. Weather: work of the sun: furnishes light, heat; effect of rain and droughts on food supply, how rain gets into clouds, reading of the thermometer, value of the thermometer to gardener ; snow : where it comes from, how it gets into the clouds, condition under which snow falls ; catch flakes and examine crystals ; use of snow to plants. Devices: natural objects, pictures, excursions, experi- ments. D. Travel and Transportation: Leading thought, "How necessity leads to invention." 1. Present Day: Train, steamboat, ship, electric car, auto, air planes, bicycle, motor cycle, wagon, horseback, walking. History, Nature Study, Geography 251 2. Primitive Days: Carrying; walking, footgear and accessories ; inventions to make this work easier. 3. Colonial Days: a. Indians : carrying, walking, canoeing. b. Colonists : walking, carrying, coasting, horseback riding. Devices: Pictures, paper construction, natural objects. E. Clothing: 1. Present Day: kinds, use, material, source, process of making cloth ; visit to mill ; shoes : material, source, process of making. 2. Primitive Days: kind of clothing, use, material, source, preparation of clothing, covering for feet. 3. Colonial Days: a. Indians: kind, use, material, source, process of making, covering for feet. b. Colonists : material, source, process of making, covering for feet. 4. a. Plants : Study life story of plants from which cloth is made, as flax, cotton, mulberry tree; study silk- worm ; study of rubber. b. Animals: Animals which furnish materials for clothing; characteristics, habits, home food, use to man; animals' preparation for winter; special study of wool. F. Means of Protection: 1. Present Day: policeman, sheriff, law, prisons, guns, fire equipment, fireman, health boards, doctor, hospital, nurse. 2. Primitive Days: Bows and arrows, flint spear, fire, location of home. G. Fire : Origin ; lightning, volcanoes, falling rock, friction of certain woods, traditions of origin of fire. 252 How to Teach Primary Grades 1. Uses: a. Present Day : light, drying clothes, cooking, moving of trains, cars, automobiles, machinery, etc. b. Primitive Days : heat, cooking, protection from wild animals, insects, serpents, etc. 2. Dangers from fire: burning buildings, injury to people, injury to forests and to prairies. 3. Protection from fire: fireman, fire equipment, safety matches, fire escapes, doors opening outward, pro- tection of all sources of fire, fire drills. Third Grade In this grade, the child is brought into closer touch with the life of colonial days and of other lands. His work is beginning to have a real historical aspect. He makes a closer study of some of the events of colonial history which have been touched on in the second grade. He is led to see how others have suffered hardship that there might be peace and liberty. His sympathies are deepened and broadened by a study of life in other lands. The great war of nations is made a basis for this study. This work is developed largely by stories, relics, curios, pictures, and the sand-table. The child is encouraged to dramatize the different scenes, using very simple costumes and stage settings. A. The Early Settlements: 1. Review briefly the Colonial life developed in the first and second grades. 2. The Plymouth Settlement: a. Cause of emigration from England b. Life in Holland c. Voyage across the ocean History, Nature Study, Geography 253 d. Early experiences (1) shelter (2) food (3) clothing (4) occupations and pleasures (5) education (6) dangers and protections (7) methods of travel and transportation 3. The Virginia Settlement: a. Causes which led to settlement b. Early experiences (1) shelter (2) food (3) clothing (4) occupations and pleasures (5) education (6) dangers and protections (7) methods of travel and transportation 4. Present Day Life: Compare present day life with the life of the Colonists. Lead the child to discover the causes for the progress of the race. Devices : Pictures, sand-table, relics, dramatization. 5. Life in -Holland: a. Location and description b. Homes : types, material, workmen's tools, fur- nishings, lights, heat, water supply c. People: appearance, dress, occupation d. Food: kind, source, preparation, cooking e. Education f. Cities: buildings, streets, cars, light, water sup- ply, etc. g. Farm life h. Peculiar customs 254 How to Teach Primary Grades i. Holidays and pleasures j. Transportation and travel Compare with America as to natural characteristics, people, homes, food, transportation, travel, cities, holi- days, amusements, etc. 6. In connection with the study of Holland, study farm life; cows, dairying, cheese making, dogs, geese, and ducks, poultry, fruits, vegetables, fish, weather. a. Farm: parts, crops, other products, animals, care of crops and animals, machinery and tools, activities on the farm. Discussion of crops and products. (1) Stock: value to farmer, to others, care of stock, feed, cost and care of food, disposal of surplus stock. (2) Grains: kinds, value, cultivation and harvest, tools and machinery, shipment and transportation to market. b. Truck Garden: variety of things raised; location of garden, soil, cultivation, tools, garden friends: earth- worms, birds, bees; garden foes: cutworms, lice, potato bugs, caterpillars, scales ; make a study of bees, potatoes, radishes, strawberries ; have school garden ; . encourage home gardens ; study life story of toads and frogs. c. The Orchard: kind of fruit trees; foes: scale, insects ; friends : birds ; care of trees ; harvesting of crops ; / preparation for market ; transportation to market ; value as food. d. Dairying: value of cow to man; products: milk, cream, butter, cheese ; other products : hide, hoofs, bones, suet, etc. ; care of cow, necessary cleanliness ; visit a dairy, care of cows and stables ; cleansing of bottles ; cool- ing of milk ; use of separator ; bottling ; delivery. e. Poultry: value to man; kinds; value of different kinds; care; food; selection of food; foes; extermina- History, Nature Study, Geography 255 tion of foes ; special study of geese, ducks, chickens, and turkeys ; methods of marketing, dressing, preparation for shipment; visit a poultry plant if possible. f. Bulbs: kinds, note parts and use of each; plant bulbs in fall and bury for six or eight weeks; bring to light and keep a record of care and development. g. Weather: changes in temperature, and weather conditions ; effect on crops ; reading of thermometer ; value of thermometer to fruit grower and truck gardener ; review of the work of rain and snow given in second grade. h. Dog (develop from use of dog carts in Holland) : use to man; structure; habits; adaption; breeds; use of different breeds; domestication of dog; wild cousins of dogs : wolf, hyena. Devices : natural objects, excursions, pictures, sand- table, posters, scrap-book, post-cards. B. The War of Nations : 1. Where fought 2. Countries participating 3. Implements of war . 4. Life in Germany, France, and Belgium from a child's point of view. Supplementary study — Russia, Italy a. Germany: (.1) location and description (2) homes, type of house, material, workman, tools, light and heat, furnishings, water supply (3) people: appearance, dress, occupation (4) pleasures and amusements (5) food: kind, source, preparation, cooking 256 How to Teach Primary Grades (6) education (7) holidays (8) customs (9) cities : buildings, streets, care, 1 ealth board, etc. (10) farm life (11) transportation and travei (12) comparison with America as to points given b. France: (1) location and description (2) homes, type of house, material, workman, tools, light and heat, furnishings, water supply (3) people: appearance, dress, occupation (4) pleasures and amusements (5) food: kind, source, preparation, cooking (6) education (7) customs (8) holidays (9) cities : buildings, streets, care, health board (10) farm life (11) transportation and travel (12) comparison with America as to points given c. Belgium: (1) location and description (2) homes, type of house, material, workman, tools, light and heat, furnishings, water supply (3) people: appearance, dress, occupation (4) pleasures and amusements (5) food: kind, source, preparation, cooking History, Nature Study, Geography 257 (6) education (7) customs (8) holidays (9) cities : buildings, streets, care, health board (10) farm life (11) transportation and travel (12) comparison with America as to points given Devices: pictures, sand-tables, dramatization, souve- nirs, post-cards, scrap-books, posters. (13) study of vegetables: cabbage, potatoes, grains, buckwheat, rye; fruits: apples, grapes; animals: hogs, cows, horses; re- view or teach farm life; compare with farm life of countries studied d. Japan: The child is always interested in Japan because of the rice, tea, fans, umbrellas, kites, and other Japanese products which they see. (1) location and description (2) homes, type of house, material, workman, tools, light and heat, furnishings, water supply (3) people: appearance, dress, occupation (4) pleasures and amusements (5) food: kind, source, preparation, cooking (6) education (7) customs (8) holidays (9) cities : buildings, streets, care, health board (10) farm life (11) transportation and travel (12) comparison with America as to points given (13) study of teas and rice, as articles of food; 258 How to Teach Primary Grades trees: cherry, plum; flowers: chrysanthe- mum, iris, azalea, lotus; insects: silk- worm, butterfly, moth Devices: natural objects and pictures. C. Heroes of History: Columbus Joseph Washington Isaac Lincoln Moses Ulysses Aaron Abraham David Alexander the Great CHAPTER XIX HISTORY, NATURE STUDY, AND GEOGRAPHY— (Continued) METHOD In these studies of history, geography, and nature study, there should be the actual observation of the thing studied, whenever practicable. When feasible, the mate- rial should be brought to the schoolroom. A school- made museum will form a very interesting part of this work. When it is not practicable to bring the material to the schoolroom excursions may be made to points of interest. When neither of these is possible much may be made clear through the use of pictures. The teacher and the child should keep a close watch on all papers and magazines for pictures of interest. These pictures may be made into scrap-books or may be exhibited on a bulletin board. Later the pictures may be placed in boxes or envelopes and put away for future reference. The stereoscope is a valuable asset in the teaching of history, geography, and nature study. With the excep- tion of the motion picture, the stereoscopic picture is pos- sibly the next best thing to the actual object. It may be procured very cheaply from certain school-supply houses. The largest and best assortment of pictures is furnished by the Underwood and Underwood Company, New York. The sand-table is another valuable asset in this work. 259 260 How to Teach Primary Grades Here the child may gain some idea of the life in other parts of his own country and of that in foreign lands. The use of the sand-table will be discussed more fully in Chapter XX. LESSON PLANS The lessons in history, geography, and nature study are appreciation lessons the aims of which are to awaken and to develop a love for and appreciation of the beauti- ful in nature and in the relationship existing in all forms of life. The first step in awakening appreciation is a true ap- preciation on the part of the teacher. It is suggested that she become a student of nature and of social relation- ships. She should utilize every opportunity for first- hand observation, and in addition books, pictures, and specimens should be used. Literature and art offer a splendid opportunity for awakening this appreciation. The attitude of the child at the beginning of the lesson is very important. An appreciation lesson may be entirely spoiled if his attitude is the reverse to that of apprecia- tion. Should he be cross and tired or ill the teacher will find great difficulty in obtaining the desired results. Again he may have gained erroneous ideas which will hin- der the development of appreciation. Consequently, the step of preparation is rather an important one as it is through this step that the teacher strives to bring the child to a desirable attitude toward the lesson to be pre- sented. Sincere appreciation is a matter of the emotions. It may be aroused through a story, a poem, a picture, a game, a bright little song, or by an apt question. The next step in the lesson is the presentation of the new material. This may be most successfully done by History, Nature Study, Geography 261 the use of the natural objects, by a picture, or by a speci- men, or curio. The child should be allowed a few minutes for free observation, then by well selected questions, the attention should be directed to points of interest. The lessons in social life and nature study offer excel- lent opportunity for the development of the reasoning power; for example, "Why is the color of the wild rab- bit a means of protection ?" ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS First Grade I. Subject: History or social life. II. Topic: The work of the mother with special em- phasis on laundering. III. Outline: 1. Work of Mother a. Washing (1) need (2) method IV. Teacher's Motive: (1) To help the child to real- ize the many services his mother renders him because of her love for him. (2) To help him see that he can do much to make her work lighter. (3) To train him to think. V. Child's Motive: (1) To tell of his mother's work and to discover what he may do to help her. (2) To find pictures of washing machines for posters. VI. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure • 1 1 Experiences prepara- Preparation: "Who helped you tory to coming to school. get ready for school this morning? 262 How to Teach Primary Grades What did she do? Could you have helped mother by doing some of these things for yourself? Did mother do any other thing for you this morning? Could you have helped ? What are some of the other things she will do for you today? What .will she do for you tonight? How can you help her? Why does mother do so much for you? I won- der why you should want to help her?" • a. Washing Presentation: "Do you wear the (1) need same clothes to school every day? (2) method Why not? Who washes your clothes ? How is the washing done ? Is it hard work? What could you do to make the washing easier? Do you know of any easier ways to do washing? Why do you think mother should have a washing machine? I wonder who could find some pictures of washing machines ? Bring all the pictures you can find and we will make posters showing the hard way and the easy way to wash. Do you suppose we could use these posters in a way that will help mother? What would you suggest? What do you suppose mother and father would think if you were to show them these post- ers?" Second and Third Grades I. Subject. History. II. Topic: Shelter of Cave Men. History, Nature Study, Geography 263 III. Teacher's Motive: (1) To give information about the shelter in one period of primitive people. (2) To help the child to see how education, invention, and cooperation have added to comfort and pleasure. IV. Lesson Outline: 1. Description of shelter 2. Why used 3. Location 4. Furnishings a. bed b. carpet c. bowls 5. Light and heat V. Child's Motive: (1) To learn of the shelter of some of the primitive people. (2) To discover what has led to our type of shelter. (3) To prepare the story to tell to his mother. VI. Subject-matter and Procedure: This lesson follows the one on the shelter of modern days. Subject-Matter Procedure 1. Description of "Do you suppose people always shelter lived in houses like ours? Tell of those who did not. (Indians, Eski- mos, Japanese.) Did you know that people once lived in caves? What do you think would be a good name for these people? Did you ever see a cave? Tell me what it is like." If children are not familiar with caves they should visit one if practi- cable, otherwise a demonstration should be made on the sand-table. 264 How to Teach Primary Grades 2. Why used 3. Location 4. Furnishings a. bed b. carpet c. bowls "Why do you suppose people want- ed to live in caves? Let me tell you how they lived before and see if you can work out the reason. Their houses were made of brush in the rudest kind of way. When the ground was covered with ice and snow how do you suppose they felt? Could a cave let in as much cold as these brush huts? Then why would it make a better horned "Would you have liked to live in a cave? Why or why not? What has helped us to have better houses ?" (Education, invention, and coopera- tion.) "Is there any reason why one cave would be better than another ? What are the things we think about when selecting a home? (Water, drainage, sunlight, shade, beauty of surround- ings, convenience to school, church, and business.) Which of these do you think the cave men would have had to consider? (Water.) Why would the things we consider make our homes pleasanter than a cave? "What kind of furniture do you suppose the Cave-men had? What places did they have for getting fur- niture? (Nature.) What do you suppose they used for bed? (Branches of trees.) What kind of trees do you think would have the best branches? Let us go out and see if we can find a tree that would make a bed." The children are guided hi the selection of an evergreen. History, Nature Study, Geography 265 "What could they use for floor covering? Did any of you ever make a playhouse in the woods? What did you use as a carpet? (Moss and leaves.) Do you not think the Cave- men could have used moss and leaves ? Do you suppose they had any dishes ? What could they have made dishes of? How many of you have seen gourds? What do people make of them? What could the Cave-men have made of them? (Bowls.) What did they use for knives and forks? (Fingers.) Does our furniture make our homes nicer than the homes of the Cave-men? Why do we need more furniture than the Cave-men had? Why can we get more than the Cave-men could? (Results of edu- cation, invention, and cooperation.) 5. Light and heat "How do you think they could see in the cave? How would you like to depend on a fire for your light? What else did the fire do besides fur- nish light? Do you suppose they could have lived in the cave in the summer? Why not? Could they have lived in the cave without fire? Why not? I do not know whether they went back to the brush huts in th'e summer or not, but I dare say they did. What kind of lights do we have? Are these better than fire- light? Why? Why do we need bet- ter lights? What has helped us to have better ones?" (Education, in- vention, and cooperation.) Summary: "How many will be ready to tell mother about the hom« 266 How to Teach Primary Grades of the Cave-men? What will you tell her ?" The child should be helped to organize his knowledge. First, Second, or Third Grades I. Subject: Nature Study. II. Topic: The Rabbit. III. Teacher's Motive: (1) To help the child to dis- cover the physical characteristics of the rabbit as a means for escaping dangers. IV. Lesson Outline: 1. Food 2. Home 3. Enemies 4. Physical characteristics a. legs b. ears c. eyes d. nose e. color f. lip g. cleansing methods V. Child's Motive: (1) To discover the food of rab- bit. (2) To learn of the rabbit's home. (3) To dis- cover how he is protected from his enemies. (4) To discover how he cleans himself. VI. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter Procedure The teacher should have a pet rab- bit in the room. The children should be allowed to look at the rabbit and play with it before she begins to direct their attention. History, Nature Study, Geography 267 1. Food 2. Home 3. Enemies iysi ical character- istics : a. legs b. ears c. eyes d. nose e. color f. HP g. cleansing method "Who would like to feed the rab- bit? What does it eat? How could we find out? Suppose we give it several different things and watch to see which it eats? "Where do rabbits live? Did you ever find a rabbit's nest or home? What was it like?" If children have never seen a rabbit's nest, the teach- er should take them to see one, either a wild or tame rabbit's nest. "What was it lined with? Why do you suppose she lines it with grass and hair? What do you think the coverlet is for? "Did you ever see any one kill a rabbit ? Does he have other enemies ? How do you suppose he ever 'escapes so many enemies? Let us see if we can find out. "Are the rabbit's legs just alike? What is the difference? What good does it do him to have these long legs? How would that help him es- cape his enemies? "Do you see anything that would help him to know when he was in danger? What good are such big ears to him? What else is there about his ears that would help him to detect danger? "Do you see how his eyes would help him to escape his enemies? "Look at his nose and tell me what you see. Why do you suppose it moves all the time?" (Scenting dan- gers.) "What color is a wild rabbit? Do you see anything in the fields and 268 How to Teach Primary Grades woods that is about the same color? Then, how would the rabbit's color help him to escape his enemies? "Look at his upper lip. Do you see anything peculiar about it ? What good do you suppose that it? Would that aid him in getting scent with his nose? Did you ever see a small fruit tree which a rabbit had gnawed? How would this split lip help him in gnawing trees? "Does the rabbit ever get dirty? How do you suppose he cleans him- self? I want you to watch our rab- bit and see if you can find out. "Are you able yet to tell any of the food which he eats?" (Bark and anything eaten since the beginning of the lesson.) "I want you to watch for several days and we will give him different things and find out just what he likes/' Summary: "Now let us see what we have learned. What will you tell your mother about the rabbit?" The teacher helps the children to organ- ize their knowledge and then has different ones suggest what they will tell at home. REFERENCES Schwatka, Children of the Cold Campbell, The Story of Little Metsu Chase, Children of the Wigwam Dynes, Socializing the Child Dopp, The Tree-dwellers Dopp, The Early Cave-men Burton, Story of the Indian of New England History, Nature Study,, Geography 269 Earle, Child Life of the Colonial Days Earle, Home Life in Colonial Days Andrews, Seven Little Sisters Carpenter, Geographical Readers Macgregor, The Story of France Told to Boys and Girls Curriculum of Horace Mann Elementary School Course of Study for Elementary Schools, Western Illinois State Normal CHAPTER XX HANDWORK AIM • The desire to express ideas with any material at hand is instinctive. With the child it tends to find expression in some form of handwork. Considerable attention is being given to this form of work as teachers have realized that the more ways thought can be expressed the clearer it becomes. The aims in handwork are (1) to help the child gain clear-cut images or thoughts; (2) to train him to addi- tional avenues of expression; (3) To train the will to accomplishment through purposeful effort. SUBJECT-MATTER Handwork takes two forms, that of free expression, and that which is directed because it represents some historical or geographical fact. The teacher should ever be on the alert for any indication of a tendency to express thought in either words or by motor activity. Especially should she watch for and encourage any ten- dency to creative work. Only through creative work does the child attain the best growth. Dynes 1 says, "Every child must do in order to know. . . . Every thought tends to issue in some form of motor activity; Socializing the Child. 270 Handwork 271 and unless the motor phase is developed, the idea does not come to completeness." The child should be con- stantly encouraged to give expression to his ideas through handwork. The literature studied should furnish a rich field for this free expression type. There are several different forms of handwork in the primary grades ; namely, clay molding, freehand paper cutting, paper folding, spool knitting, mat weaving, and drawing. The selection of the form should be governed by the idea to be expressed. When using clay the child should learn of the com- mercial uses to which clay is put; something of its life history, and something of the workers who devote their time to this work. He should recognize these workers as people who are serving mankind. In the study of clay he should be taken for a visit to a clay bank and some- thing of the process of the mining explained to him. Then, by the use of pictures he should be given some idea of the process through which clay is taken in the manu- facture of dishes. When using paper, its use and the source from which the materials come should be discussed. In the work with the furniture, he should be taught something of the industries by which furniture is made, also something of the source of the material. In all this work the aim should be to give the child an insight into the world of industry. Through this his sympathies should be broadened and thereby he will be brought into closer touch with the lives of the workmen who make the material things of life. COURSE OF STUDY This course of study is offered merely to suggest 272 How to Teach Primary Grades the possibilities of handwork as an expression of thought. If the teacher thoroughly understands the idea, she should find a wealth of material to use. The outlines are based on the course of study given in the chapters on Literature, and on History, Nature Study, and Geography. First Grade I. Literature and Reading. The stories and poems developed in literature and reading are illustrated by LANS In the lesson in handwork the teacher should strive to develop the child's initiative and individuality. Di- rections or set ways of making an object are avoided as much as possible. She should endeavor to give him a clear mental image of the problem in hand and then encourage him to work out the problem in his own way. After he has a clear idea of a bear in connection with the story of "The Three Bears," he is given clay and is told to make a bear, or he is given paper, scissors, and paste and is told to make the big bear's chair. At first 284 How to Teach Primary Grades his efforts are very crude, but after a few weeks of this work it is marvelous what he is able to do. In this work he is developing not only self-reliance, but the power of expressing his ideas in a clear, forceful style. After he has done his best and fails, the teacher may give* him the directions for working out the problems. How- ever, this should not be done until the child feels the need for it. Pictures of the models and directions for making them will be found in the following books : Dyer, The Cut Out Book. Goodrich, With Scissors and Paste. Bowker, Busy Hands Construction Work. Latter, How to Teach Paper-Folding. McGaw, Construction Work For Rural and Elemen- tary Schools. Schneidewendt, How to Make Baskets. (All the above published by A. Flanagan Company, Chicago). Layard and Brackenfeld, Primary Manual Work. (Milton Bradley Co., New York.) McCormack, Spool Knitting. (A. S. Barnes & Co., New York.) Seegmiller, Primary Handwork. (Atkinson, Mentzer & Co., Chicago.) REFERENCES Layard and Brackenfeld, Primary Manual Work Dynes, Socializing the Child Seegmiller, Primary Handwork Curriculum of the Horace Mann Elementary School Dopp, The Tree-dwellers, and The Early Cave-men CHAPTER XXI MUSIC AIM One of the most beautiful modes of expressing thought is through music. Some of the most beautiful thoughts of the world are expressed in this way. Music arouses feeling and emotion as does no other form of expression. It has the power of inspiring man to noble acts of patriot- ism, heroism, altruism, self-sacrifice, sympathy, and ten- derness; it has power to move him to tears, to a state of despondency or joy; it has the power to soothe his nerves, to quell impatience and angry passion, and to make him forget worry. It makes life more beautiful in many ways. The kind of music which a person enjoys and which will influence him depends upon his experience and his training in interpretation of music. The music of the Chinese does not carry the same message to an American that it does to the Chinaman. Neither does the classic music carry a message to the man not musically educated. If the child is to be fully developed, he should not be denied the pleasure which comes through this very im- portant mode of expression. It is the opinion of ex- perienced music teachers that practically every one could be trained to sing if this training were begun in the early years. Be that as it may, there is no doubt that 285 286 How to Teach Primary Grades the appreciation of good music is a matter of training — a training which is possible to practically every individual. As in literature, this training should begin in the early, formative years. The specific purpose in the early years is to develop the child's sense for rhythm, cultivate his sense for harmony and melody through the use of song and musical instrument, and to train him to express himself through music. SUBJECT-MATTER As in language music has its beginning in imitation, therefore this is the natural way to begin training in musical expression inasmuch as tone element is learned only through the ear. The first step is tone matching; for example, bird u w , calls. The \ J 1 teacher sings In J ly * "Cuck-oo" " answers A J 1 fh J \!\J * J and the child The call of the "Cuck-oo" whip-poor-will, bob-white, and chic-a-dee, also are used. Tone matching is also developed through the roll-call. The teacher sings and the child answers by singing Tt * 'Mary' Tm here' Music 287 This is followed by the rote song which is used to give the child an easy means of expressing himself music- ally; as the means of developing a strong feeling for rhythm and tune ; and to train the mind to recognize and to think melody. Practically all the work of these early years is based on the rote song. The morning greeting may be used in these exercises in tone matching. J& - — j^ -j- J =^= ±±+= (Teacher) "How do you do?" (Child) "I'm well, thank you." A game of echo in which the teacher calls, "I'm com- ing," or sings, "Throw the ball," is excellent. The teacher gives the call and the child echoes. ) — -/St— <><> jJ 4 9-* J~ k * it ? J J "I am coming." "Throw the ball.' The greatest of care should be exercised in the selec- tion of the rote song. It should be rhythmic and melod- ious, not too low or too high, and the word-content should be interesting and within the child's experience. The opportunities offered by nature study, special days, and holidays should be taken advantage of as this will add interest and motive to the work. A' correlation with literature, reading, and social life should give purpose and meaning to the work. 288 How to Teach Primary Grades COURSE OF STUDY This course of study is offered as a suggestion to the teacher who has had no musical training. Conse- quently it is very simple in form and does not contain many of the features which would be in the course of study of a trained teacher. First, Second, and Third Grades I. Tone matching through bird calls, roll call, morn- ing greeting, and a game of echo. Continue until prac- tically all the class can respond accurately. II. Rote songs; improvement in tone and pronun- ciation through efforts to express the thought of the song. III. Rote songs continued as a basis of further work in melody, rhythm, ear training, self-expression, and in- terpretation. Material for rote songs may be found in any of the following books : Small Songs for Small Singers, Neidlinger (G. Schirmer, New York) ; Children's Singing Games, Hofer (A. Flanagan Co., Chicago) ; First Year Music, Dann (American Book Co., New York) ; Songs of the Child's World, Nos. 1 and 2, Gaynor (John Church Co.) ; Holi- day Songs and Games, Poulsson; Nature Study for Chil- dren, Knowlton (Milton Bradley, Atlanta, Ga.) ; Song Primer, Teacher's Book, Bentley; Song Series Book I, Bentley; (A. S. Barnes) ; Music Course, Book I, Eleanor Smith (Silver Burdett) ; Lyric Music Primer, Foreman; Modern Music Primer, Eleanor Smith (Silver Burdett) ; Songs of Life and Nature, Smith (Silver Burdett); Songs for Little Children, Smith (Milton Bradley); Mother Goose Set to Music, Elliot (McLaughlin) ; Edu- Music 289 cational Music Series, Teacher's Edition (Ginn & Co.) ; The Public School Song Book, Schoen and Gilbreath (A. S. Barnes Co., New York). METHOD As previously suggested, the work in music begins with the exercises in tone matching. These exercises should be continued until the child is rather proficient in his response to any tone. Very often a child will be found to be a monotone; that is, he does not seem to have the ability to vary his tone, and it is pitched on a low key. This child should have extra work in tone matching until he learns to place his tones properly. In the work with the rote songs, the teacher should be careful to avoid calling attention to this defect and treat the child exactly as though his tones were normal. Rhythm may be developed by clapping, marking, or beating time as a familiar rote song is sung or played, or through the singing game, folk dance, action song, or march. The child is trained in the ability to think melody by having the teacher hum or play a familiar song and then allowing him to name it. In the work of each grade the emphasis should fall on the interpretation and expression of the thought with only enough technique to enable the child to read and to interpret simple music. It is not necessary that the teacher be either a trained musician or a good vocalist in order to teach music. These are valuable assets but not indispensable. How- ever, an appreciation of good music is an essential qual- 290 How to Teach Primary Grades mcation for the successful teaching of music. If the teacher lacks this, she should strive to awaken and to cultivate this power. If this is impossible the probability is that she has missed her calling and should not attempt to teach the little child. Many teachers have successfully taught music without either the ability to play or to sing. There are two or three ways in which this may be done. First, very suc- cessful work may be done by using a phonograph. Any good phonograph company should be able to furnish a list of records containing a number of appropriate rote songs, singing games, and folk dances. Second, the class usually has one or more pupils who can lead in the singing. It is an easy matter to find some one who will teach these children the songs. Or there will probably be a pupil from one of the more advanced grades who will be glad to assist in this work. Very often some patron or friend of the school will come once or twice a week and teach the songs. Where there are other teach- ers in the school, a teacher who can sing will often ex- change work with the teacher who cannot. Suffice it to say, "Where there's a will, there's a way." Though it is not essential for the teacher to have a technical knowledge of music or of the voice, it is essen- tial that she be able to distinguish between good and bad tone production. A child's voice is naturally very light and should be used only in producing a light, soft, sweet tone. It will take the utmost vigilance to prevent him from using a coarse, harsh, shouting tone in singing. Should this continue it will often strain and injure the voice beyond repair. Individual work in music should be stressed if the child is to develop to the extent of his ability. Music 291 LESSON PLANS The presentation of the rote song is an important part of the work as much depends upon the teacher's manner of developing an interest in it. Since the lesson in music is the same type as that in literature, it should be de- veloped in a similar manner. Suggestions for these les- sons were given in Chapter XIII, pages 164 to 166 and pages 173 to 177. The following outline plan for teach- ing a song is in keeping with the method used by many expert teachers of music. 1. The word-content is presented to the child in song and its meaning developed as a basis for a true inter- pretation of the melody. 2. The teacher sings the song a number of times in order that the child may gain a clear conception of it. 3. The first phrase is then sung by the teacher several times, then imitated by the class as a whole and by individual children. It is then linked by the teacher with the whole song. The second phrase is learned in the same way. Then the first and second phrases are sung together, and then the teacher finishes the entire song. She should continue by phrases, constantly linking them together and with the entire song. Another method often used in the third step is for the teacher to sing the song as a whole allowing the child to supply the last syllable or word of each phrase. She then allows him to supply two words, etc. Or the teacher may sing the entire song and allow the children to sing "la ; la !" After the tune is familiar he sings the words. ILLUSTRATIVE LESSON First Grade I. Subject: Music. 292 How to Teach Primary Grades II. Topic: Tone matching. III. Teacher's Motive: To train the child's ear to tone values. IV. Child's Motive: To answer the bird call given by the teacher. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter "Cuck-oo" m 5=1 "Bob-White' ^ c Chick-a-dee' n Procedure "Do you boys and girls like birds? Have you heard them sing? How many have heard a cuckoo sing? What does he say? Yes, he says his name. Listen to the way he says it." The teacher sings "cuck-oo." "I want you to play that you are a baby cuckoo and when I sing cuckoo I want you to answer by singing cuckoo just as I do." In order to help the children gain self-confidence a little concert work is permissible, but the major part of the work should be individual work. The other bird calls are introduced in the same manner. 'Whip-poor-will" First Grade. (The same general plan is used in the second and third grades.) I. Subject: Music. Music 293 II. Topic: Rote song, 'The Chicken" from Small Songs for Small Singers, Neidlinger. III. Teacher's Motive: To guide the child in the proper interpretation of the song. IV. Child's Motive: (1) To discover the thought of the song. (2) To learn the song to sing to his mother. V. Subject-matter and Procedure: Subject-Matter "I think when a little chicken drinks He takes the water in his bill, And then he holds his head way up So the water can run down hill." I think when a chicken drinks little Procedure "How many of you have chick- ens? Do you have any baby chick- ens? Did you ever watch them get a drink? Show me how they drink. I know a little song about a chicken drinking. Listen to how it says the little chicken drinks/' The teacher sings the song. "How did it say he takes the water ? Then what does he do? How does he hold his head? "Let me sing it again and see if you think it is a pretty song." She sings the song again. "Did you like it? This time as I sing it I want Mary to come and pretend that she is a little chicken." She again sings the song. "John may come." The teacher continues singing it over a number of times in order to give the children a clear concept of it. "I want you to learn this song so you can sing it for your mother. Let me sing just that phrase. Listen again and then I am going to let you sing it for me." After the teacher sings this the whole class is allowed to sing it two or three times. She then calls on individual children. "Let us all sing this phrase together 294 How to Teach Primary Grades and then I will finish the entire song." The teacher sings as sug- gested. "Let me sing the song again He takes the water in and see how the phrase 'He takes his bill. the water in his bill' sounds." She sings the entire song. "Let me sing just that phrase." The teacher sings the phrase. "This time I want you to sing it." She proceeds as in the first phrase. "Let us sing both phrases together, then I will finish the song." She proceeds in like man- ner until the entire song is learned. REFERENCES Farnsworth, Education Through Music Dann, First Year Music Western Illinois State Normal School, Course of Study for the Elementary School The Speyer School Curriculum, Teachers College, Columbia University Schoen, Music in the Rural School and Community CHAPTER XXII SEAT WORK AIM In the schoolroom of more than one grade or of more than one section of a grade, the teacher works with the child for only a part of the time. For the remainder of the time he must engage in some form of unsupervised activity. That he will engage in some form of activity is a well-known psychological fact, as nature has en- dowed him with an instinct for activity. The teacher's problem is to supply him with employment which is worth while — that in which his mental powers will be active and that which will develop habits of independent thinking and study, concentrated attention, tenacity of purpose, and healthy activity. SUBJECT-MATTER AND METHOD There are many forms of seat work which will prove attractive, interesting, and instructive. Probably the most valuable of these is some form of handwork such as clay modeling, paper folding, cutting and pasting, color- work, and drawing. Other forms are colored pegs and peg boards, colored sticks, cut-up pictures, interesting pictures with words for sentence forming, corn, peas, blocks, empty spools, etc. The catalogue of any good supply-house will furnish many suggestions for different 295 296 How to Teach Primary Grades types of seat- work. Other valuable sources of sugges- tions for types of seat-work will be found in educational journals, and children's magazines. To give the child a book to study for any length of time means asking an impossibility of him, and develops habits of listlessness and inattention which will be hard to overcome. Assigning written tasks results in cramped fingers, incorrect habits of writing, and carelessness. That the best results may be secured, seat- work, should possess the following characteristics : 1. When possible it should be further development or application of some previous lesson, as "I want you to tell the story of the reading lesson with the clay." 2. It should consist of an unsolved problem which is of interest to the child, as "Draw a picture of the house of 'The Three Bears' just as you think it looked and put in the furniture which you think it had in it." After he has solved this problem to his satisfaction, there is no problem and very little interest or value in continuing to do it. However, this skill may be utilized as the means toward the solving of a new problem. For instance, "How would you like to tell the story of 'The Three Bears' by picture? What picture shall we have to draw?" Among these pictures will be the house and furniture. 3. It should be of such a nature that it will hold the child's attention and interest until the problem is solved. For example, "Did you ever go to a circus? What ani- mals did you see? Where were the animals? How would you you like to make a poster showing the ani- mals you saw ? I have a great number of 1 magazine pic- tures of animals and of tents here. Let us see who can make a nice poster. Today we will see how many Seat Work 297 animals you can cut out in fifteen minutes." This will probably take a number of seat-work periods to finish. The child should be encouraged to bring other pictures from home. Outline pictures which have been made on the hectograph may be used or he may trace around cardboard patterns of animals. 4. It should not require too long a period of atten- tion, as the child does not give attention to one thing however interesting for any great length of time. This may be illustrated by the above example where only, fifteen minutes are used in one form of seat-work. Seat- work should always be of such a nature that it can be entirely finished in the time alloted or that a definite part can be finished. Observation and experience will soon show the teacher the amount of' time which should be given to the different forms of seat-work. The problem is to select types of seat-work which are interesting, attractive, and instructive. Following are some suggestions which will fulfill these requirements if used wisely and understandingly. When seat-work is given the directions should be clear and definite. 1. Tell the story of the reading lesson by clay model- ing. In the story of "The Little Red Hen," Chapter V, pages 58 and 59, the child could mold a grain of wheat, a hen, a cat, a rat, a pig, and a loaf of bread. 2. Tell the story of the reading or language lesson by free-hand paper cutting. These are to be made into a poster which will tell the story. 3. Cut and arrange magazine or outline pictures to tell the story. 4. Draw and color pictures which will tell the story. 5. Tell the story on the sand-table by planning and making necessary articles. 298 How to Teach Primary Grades 6. Illustrate rhymes and poems as in suggestions one, two, three, four, and five. 7. Illustrate by one of the above* forms the part of the poem or story which he likes best. 8. Have the child illustrate with pencil, colored crayon, clay, or free-hand cutting something that hap- pened on the playground or on the way to school. Sen- tences may be written about this event. 9. Have pictures with words to match and have him place the words on the proper picture. 10. Give him a picture with the list of necessary words for telling the story. He should form sentences about it with the word card. 11. Sentence building may be given using cards with the written or printed words. Place a model on the board or have child use a model from the book. 12. Give each child a pair of scissors, some paper, and a list of name words. Have him cut a free-hand picture of the word and place the proper word on this picture. 13. Write a simple question on the board and ask the child to answer with drawings or word cards. 14. Place a simple direction on the board or on a card which tells the child to make something; for ex- ample, "Cut the picture of a boy and his kite." 15. Give the child a copy of a simple rhyme or story and allow him to illustrate. 16. Give him the copy of a simple rhyme or story and words for building this rhyme or story and have him build it. 17. Give him the words for building a very familiar rhyme or story and have him build, it without a copy. 18. Many interesting booklets or scrap-books may be Seat. Work 299 made by the cutting and pasting of magazine pictures or outline pictures made from patterns or by the hecto- graph. Paste a picture on the outside of the book with proper explanatory wording. For example, make a book representing the child's home. Let him find the picture of a house which is the most like his own. The word- ing "MY HOME" should be just below the picture. A page represents a room in the home. He is to cut, arrange, and paste the furniture for each room. Booklets of pets, circus animals, farm animals, farm tools, fall flowers, fall birds, leaves, "How We Are Clothed, ,, "How We Are Fed," "How We Keep Warm," "How We Ride," and Noah's Ark, may be made. The child will enjoy furnishing a real doll house made of boxes. (For suggestions see Chapter XX, page 280.) This may be either a class or an individual problem. Spool knitting is an interesting activity. The chain is to be utilized in some way. One of the teacher's problems will be to acquire enough seat-work material which is worth while without too great an outlay of. money. If she will secure the inter- est of the child in the problem he will bring many things which may be utilized, such as newspapers, magazines, wrapping paper, string, spools, tablet backs, corn, acorns, etc. Often the local printing office will allow the teacher to take strips of refuse paper, or she may buy "news print" at a reasonable rate. Colored paper may also be purchased from the printer. Often the teacher can raise money for the purchase of materials by a little entertainment. Other suggestions as to material and their use will be found in Chapter XX, pages 281 to 283. The care of this seat-work material is an important 300 How to Teach Primary Grades part of the program. If possible, the teacher should have a set of shelves, in which is placed the different materials in systematic order in boxes which are plainly marked on the ends. Monitors may be selected who will care for this material in an orderly way. These same monitors may attend to the distribution and the collection of this material and thus relieve the teacher of this mechanical part of the work. She should plan for her seat-work periods as care- fully as for the regular lessons. Her daily program should show exactly what the child is to do for every period of the day. Not only should she know what he is to do but she should have all the material ready and arranged in systematic order so that no unnecessary time or energy may be expended. All seat-work should be carefully inspected as an en- couragement to the child and to prevent the formation of habits of carelessness and idleness. REFERENCES Dunn, Educative Seat Work Holton, Games, Seat Work, and Sense Training, A. Flanagan Company, Chicago CHAPTER XXIII OPENING EXERCISES The first few minutes of the morning furnish the key-note to the day. The child often comes to school cross and irritable due to any one of many possible causes. It may be that the breakfast was insufficient, poorly selected, or poorly prepared. It may be that he has not had a sufficient amount of sleep or that he has received a severe though merited reproof from his parents. Bodily illness will also often cause irritability. Suffice it to say that whatever the cause, it is often possible to turn what would otherwise prove the pro- verbial "Blue Monday'' into a day of joy and happiness by a wise use of these first few minutes. One of the most important factors in a happy school- room is the teacher. It should not be necessary to sug- gest to her that a smiling, happy face is perhaps the most essential element in the personality of the success- ful teacher. Not only should her face be bright and happy, but her personal appearance should be as at- tractive as possible. This does not mean expensive wear- ing apparel, but that which is well selected as to quality, color, and style. The hair should be arranged neatly and attractively. Another important factor is the appearance of the room. The teacher should see that it is properly cleaned, lighted, heated, and ventilated. She should make it as 301 302 How to Teach Primary Grades attractive as possible by a wise use of flowers, pictures, bookcases, curtains, and the work of the children. She should avoid giving the room a cluttered appearance by the too promiscuous use of these articles. The table or desk should be made attractive with a cloth or scarf and a flower vase. As each child enters the room he should be greeted with a cheerful good-morning (with perhaps an addi- tional word of greeting). If the child arrives before the opening hour, he should be given some quiet, though in- teresting, form of activity until the opening hour. If he is allowed to romp and engage in noisy talking while in the schoolroom, it not only makes a bad beginning for the day but helps to create a harmful schoolroom atmos- phere. SUBJECT-MATTER The morning exercises may consist of Bible stories, Bible verses, psalms, prayer, poems, stories, songs, les- sons in ethics, hygiene, and sanitation. Bible Stories. Unless there is a state law prohibiting the use of the Bible, this should form a regular part of the morning exercises. In the primary grades it should take the form of Bible stories, simple verses, and psalms. These stories may be found in books of Bible stories for children. Probably a better source will be the Teacher's book for the Beginners and the Primary Department of a Graded Sunday School. These are well adapted to the understanding of the little child and are simple and interesting. In connection with these books, pictures which illustrate these stories may be procured. These will add much to the interest. These books and pictures Opening Exercises 303 may be bought from the publishing house of any of the leading religious denominations. Prayer. If not prohibited by a state law, the prayer should also form a regular part of the morning exercise. Should there be a law prohibiting it, the prayer may be used in the form of a song. The following prayer is very appropriate for use with the little child : "Our Father, we thank Thee for the night, And for the morning light, For food and rest and tender care, And all that makes the world so fair. Help us to do the things we should, To be to others kind and good. In all we do, in all we say in work or play, Make us more loving every day. — Amen." If the teacher prefers she may use the Lord's prayer. Songs. The singing of a bright, happy song makes a good beginning for a day inasmuch as it will often drive away the feeling of impatience or worry. It will also help the teacher and the children to take up the schoolroom activities with a better mental attitude. These songs may be either secular or religious in form. For the religious songs, help may again be found in the litera- ture of the Beginners or Primary Department of a Graded Sunday School. These songs are simple, and interesting and especially adapted to the comprehension of the small child. "Songs for Little Children," by Francis W. Danielson, published by The Pilgrim Press, Boston, contains suitable songs both secular and religious in content. 304 How to Teacfi Primary Grades If a regular music period is provided in the daily schedule, the songs taught in this period are utilized in the morning exercises. If there is no music period, the song should be taught as a part of these exercises. Ethics. Little talks, stories, and exercises to help establish the social habits of thoughtfulness, helpfulness, courtesy, sympathy, truthfulness, etc., may form an im- portant part of the morning exercise. These should not be "preachy" in character and should be used in a natural, interesting way. This should be followed up through the day by suggestions and by praise of any action which is of this character. Many suggestions for these talks, stories, and exercises should be found in primary mag- azines of education, children's magazines, and children's books. Hygiene and Sanitation. This morning period offers an excellent opportunity for giving the child a knowl- edge of the laws of health and of sanitation. These may be presented through natural and interesting little stories, talks, and exercises. Material for these exercises should be found in primary magazines of education, physical culture magazines and books on hygiene and sanitation. Poems and Stories. The morning exercises also offer an excellent opportunity for the reciting of the poems and the reproduction of the stories learned in the litera- ture lessons. This furnishes motive for the learning of these poems and stories and gives additional practice in appearing before an audience. 675232 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY