Southern Branch of the University of California Los Angeles Form L-l This book is DUE on last date stamped below JUL 1 1924 WAY 5 1930 DEC 3 T ' ' * - REPORT STATF NORMAL PCITOOT ON THE MOTIVATION OF THE CHILDREN'S WORK IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 463 Education Library. Report on the Motivation or the Children s vv ork in tne Elementary Schools The following motives and incentives, classified by subjects, were compiled from the reports received by the committee. No attempt has been made to arrange the motives listed in the order of their value or importance nor to classify them as to their merit ethically. Some of them are merely artificial incentives. The rules governing the length of papers forced the committee to omit all of the vitalizing material contained in the excellent discus- sions some sent with their reports. Only the skeletons of these dis- cussions pertaining directly to our problem have been included in the following formulation. H. B. WILSON, Chairman. GAIL CALMERTON, THOMAS D. AGNEW, Jr. Reading Motives in reading spring from the social value of the ability to read. It enables one to gain ideas needed in solving problems, to aid or entertain his friends and classmates, and to "express beautifully one's own conception of something that is really capable of arousing individual emotional expression." Motives reported: (No attempt to distinguish silent and oral reading motives.) (1) to express the picture, music and emotion the reader is personally enjoying; (2) to entertain an audience with a play as other grades of school, parents' meeting, general audience; (3) to share infor- mation with others needing it as in working on a phase of history, a prob- 1cm in civics, the making of a school garden; (4) to show an upper grade the progress made as when lower grade children read to an upper grade or upper grade children read to a lower grade; (5) to share inter- esting stories found in out-of-school reading, the new Christmas books, perhaps. Spelling Motives reported: (1) making little dictionaries in second grade in which were put all words children could spell; (2) wishing to write a letter to Board of Education asking for playground apparatus required quite a campaign in strenuous spelling before the letter could go; (3) preparing to defeat other schools in term spelling contest; (4) wishing to have name on list of pupils perfect in spelling; (5) wishing to spell well enough to be allowed to set type in school printing office. Language The motive stimulating the child to effort in his language work is the desire to communicate for the purpose of learning, instructing or entertaining. Reports showed the following needs for correct and ef- fective language expression served to motivate the language work: (1) to tell supervisory officers, children of another grade, those attending the school assembly, parents or grandparents a story that was much en- joyed; (2) to thank a citizen for prize money, the Board of Education for a clock, hedge fence, etc., a higher grade for books loaned and for pro- grams made, the postmaster and city librarian for privilege to see Presi- dent Taft from their lawns, a mother for making pen wipers for all children in her son's room, a friend for paper napkins supplied for use at school picnic, mothers' club for pictures, books and play apparatus, the liveryman for a sleigh ride and a hay ride, the park superintendent for use of the park and for making play apparatus for the school grounds, citizens for the loan of flowers to decorate the school rooms on a par- ents' day; (3) to invite pupils of other grades or parents to enjoy a dram- atization, a good reading lesson, or a literary program, parents and friends to corns and see the regular school work on a visiting day or to attend a school fair or bazaar, a citizen to deliver a lecture on some topic related to work; (4) to answer invitations from other grades or teachers, letters from children in schools in Detroit, Mich., Stratford, Conn., and Manchester, England; (5) to inquire of city clerk, circuit judge, or superintendent of schools for information needed in civics or arith- metic work: (6) to apply to superintendent of park, a factory, a brick- yard, a molasses mill for permission wanted and to thank these persons for privileges extended; (7) to succeed in a prize story contest; (8) to write programs, prepare papers and dramatize a story for an entertain- ment the grade wishes to plan for the parents, the other grades of the school, or a general audience for mercenary purposes; (9) to write "ads" of school enterprises and to report results of school undertakings to newspapers; (10) to write a booklet giving the history of the flag, making it so interesting people will buy it, thus raising money with which to purchase a flag for the school room; (11) to write a letter to State Sup- erintendent Blair thanking him for a courtesy extended the school, let- ters for the mothers' club ordering the pictures they wish to purchase for the school with the funds derived from the school fair, for literature to use in the study of' birds, and the planting of a school garden; (12) to prepare items for the school paper which is read once per week in the school assembly; (13) to write to the congressman for seeds to plant the school garden; (14) to write letters of appreciation to Mrs. Kate Douglass Wiggin telling her what keen pleasure was experienced in reading her "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" and to Mr. Ernest Thomp- son Seton in reference to the pleasure the reading of his animal stories has afforded, a diary of this correspondence was prepared for binding in manual training class.); (15) to ask superintendent of schools for materials needed, privileges wanted; (16) to write something interesting enough to merit publication in the school paper as a letter to an absent pupil who is traveling in England, a half day's visit to Ichabod's school, adventures of a pay-as-you-enter car, a speech by the Great Stone Face. Language work reported by one sixth grade teacher in which good motives are evident: (1) Make a book of stories about vacation experiences for second grade to read; (2) letter inviting third grade to play a dramatization of "The Lion and the Mouse" which sixth grade wrote; (3) letter to the superintendent of schools inviting him to see the dramatization and en- closing a copy of the dramatization; (4) letter of thanks and appreciation to third grade after they presented the dramatization; (5) letters to par- ents inviting them to witness a repetition of the dramatization; (6) letter to the superintendent of schools asking permission to visit a sorghum mill; (o) letter to the owner of the mill asking his permission to inspect the mill and learn the process of making sorghum, and also one to citi- zens owning automobiles asking them to take them to the mill; (8) letters of thanks to the superintendent of schools, the owner of the mill and the owners of the automobiles after the visit; (9) a written account of their experiences at the mill to loan to other grades which