pT Southern Branch 
 
 of the 
 
 University of California 
 
 Los Angeles
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 MAR 2 3 1927 
 APR 6 1927 
 
 JUL ? ■] 
 
 war 
 
 /VUG 4 1927 
 
 FormL-9-15,«-10.-25
 
 M1NNESL I A 
 
 COURSE OF STUDY 
 
 FOR 
 
 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 
 
 AND 
 
 MANUAL FOR TEACHERS 
 
 Prepared by 
 
 THEDA GILDEMEISTER 
 
 Sometime Critic Teacher, Principal Elementary School 
 
 Supervisor of Training, Teacher of Methods 
 
 State Normal School, Winona, Minnesota 
 
 JONES & KROEGER COMPANY 
 
 Publishers 
 
 WINONA, MINN. 
 
 3GIIG
 
 Copyright, 1916, 1918, including "Diagram," Theda Gildemeister. 
 
 FIRST EDITION: 
 
 First Printing, December, 1916. 
 
 Second Printing, June, 1917. 
 
 SECOND EDITION: 
 First Printing, April, 1918. 
 
 Insubstantial Paper Binding, 75c Post paid 
 In attractive Cloth Binding, $1.25 Post paid 
 Diagram sold separately. . . 5c per copy 
 
 
 12
 
 M 
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 For a long time, workers in the field of elementary education in 
 Minnesota felt the need of a state course of study. About twelve 
 years ago the superintendent of public instruction, Mr. J. W. 01- 
 sen, had prepared and published an elementary course of study. 
 This proved most valuable, but, during 1913, a committee, author- 
 ized by the Minnesota Educational Association, prepared a report 
 (Bulletin No. 51) which dealt largely with the elimination of sub- 
 ject-matter, and pointed out the need of a revised study course to 
 serve alike city, village, and rural schools. This very general need 
 of a revised and enlarged course of study for elementary schools 
 was unanimously recognized by state and local school supervisors. 
 
 In consideration of these facts, in the fall of 1915, Mr. C. G. 
 Schulz, State Superintendent of Education, laid plans for the prep- 
 aration of such a course. 
 
 Although the mechanical work on the book occupied but a year, 
 it was really "in the making" a much longer period, for it embodies 
 not only the experience of the author, but that of the many teach- 
 ers and students of education who generously helped to make the 
 work what it is. To all of these the author acknowledges her debt 
 and tenders her gratitude. 
 
 With the increased responsibilities thrown upon the schools be- 
 cause of changing social conditions, teachers have, today, not only 
 to be better prepared to begin their work, but they must, more than 
 ever before, keep growing professionally. 
 
 One means of such growth is a course of study, broad enough in 
 outlook, to bear repeated readings with fresh interpretations at 
 each forward step in the reader's professional progress. The hope 
 that this course might prove such an one is in part realized, for, 
 during the past few months, those who have most persistently 
 studied the course speak of what they "continue to discover" in it. 
 That the hope may be completely realized, and that the Minne- 
 sota Course of Study may be a definite factor in the growth of 
 many teachers is the wish of its author. 
 
 Theda Gildemeister. 
 Winona, Minn., March, 1918.
 
 PUBLISHERS' PREFACE 
 
 The facts that earnest teachers have found the Minnesota 
 Course of Study increasingly valuable with use, and that in its one 
 short year of life, with no advertising of any kind, it has been called 
 for by teachers and school officers in over half of the states in our 
 Union as well as in Canada, give sufficient proof that it is pos- 
 sessed of more than local value. Indeed, from all quarters of 
 the United States, there has come a general expression of approval 
 of the following features: 
 
 Its evident freshness, or departure from the stereotyped course of study; 
 
 Its clear statement of a basic philosophy of education; 
 
 Its emphasis on the unity of all school work; 
 
 Its recognition and use of stages of human development in the selection and 
 distribution of subject-matter, so as to secure correlation within a grade, and 
 cumulative results throughout the grades; 
 
 Its possible use with any good text-bobk, and with any group of children; 
 
 Its definite help to beginning teachers in such matters as: Preparation for 
 the First Day of School, Discipline, Program Making, Alternation of Subjects 
 or Classes, and Type Lesson Plans; and 
 
 Its opportunities for initiative on the part of the experienced teacher, as, for 
 example, in the way certain subjects are outlined in detail in grades where they 
 are begun or need special emphasis, but are left for the teacher to outline in other 
 grades. 
 
 The first edition of the Minnesota Course of Study was pub- 
 lished by the State Department of Education, and distributed, 
 without charge, to the schools of Minnesota. Many teachers 
 wished to own copies, but the state could not, by law, sell any. 
 Nor could the state supply the calls from teachers outside the state. 
 Hence a small sales edition, with which the State Department had 
 no connection, was issued, and soon exhausted. Permission was 
 then obtained from the state and the author to publish this second 
 edition, for distribution in other states, as well as in Minnesota, 
 where it may be used as: 
 
 An authorized course of study in states having none; 
 
 A supplementary course of study in states having their own prescribed 
 courses; 
 
 A Teachers' Reading Circle book; and 
 
 A text-book in Normal Schools, County Training Schools, High School Train- 
 ing Departments, and summer Institutes. In all these places, it has already 
 proved valuable as a Pedagogy or General Methods book in its treatment of 
 aims, materials, and methods of education; and as a text in Special Methods for 
 primary, intermediate, and grammar grade, as well as for rural, courses, by 
 choosing the material suited to each. It has also been used by many depart- 
 mental teachers in Normal schools, in connection with their "Method" courses. 
 
 The selection and distribution of the subject-matter found in this 
 Course of Study are based on such universal laws of education, that 
 teachers in other states than Minnesota will find only a few places 
 where local references must be translated into those of their own 
 states. The book is usable wherever the English tongue is spoken. 
 
 Except for a few corrections the text and paging are identical 
 with those of the first edition. This was done so that teachers 
 who already own copies could use the Diagram (or summary) and 
 Index, two valuable additions found in the second edition, without 
 necessarily buying a new book. 
 March, 1918. Jones & Kroeger Co., Publishers.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Author's Preface 3 
 
 Publishers' Preface 4 
 
 Table of Contents, 5 
 
 A Teacher's Pledge, by G. E. Maxwell, 8 
 
 Diagram, Summarizing the Contents, Four Page Insert 
 
 Index 303 
 
 PART I.— COURSE OF STUDY. 
 
 Purpose of this Course of Study, 9 
 
 SCHOOL SUBJECT-MATTER AND ITS 
 DISTRIBUTION BY GRADES. 
 
 I.— ENGLISH. 
 
 A. Interrelation of the Language Arts, 11 
 
 B. Language, 12-71 
 
 Penmanship, pp. 18, 22, 29, 35, 41, 48, 54, 62; Spelling, pp. 18, 23, 29, 
 36, 41, 48, 54, 62; Grammar, pp. 63-71. Grade I, p. 15; Grade II, 
 p. 19; Grade III, p. 24; Grade IV, p. 30; Grade V, p. 37; Grade VI, 
 p. 42; Grade VII, p. 49; Grade VIII, p. 55. 
 
 C. Reading, 71-105 
 
 Phonics, pp. 78, 82, 85; Dictionary Work, pp. 88, 90, 92, 95, 98-105. 
 Grade I, p. 73; Grade II, p. 80; Grade III, p. 83; Grade IV, p. 86; 
 Grade V, p. 88; Grade VI, p. 90; Grade VII, p. 93; Grade VIII, p. 95. 
 
 II.— MATHEMATICS. 
 
 A. Arithmetic, 104-125 
 
 Place in School-Work, p. 104. Grade I, p. 106; Grade II, p. 107; 
 Grade III, p. 110; Grade IV, p. 112; Grade V, (Common Fractions,) 
 p. 115; Grade VI, (Decimal Fractions,) p. 118; Grade VII, (Per- 
 centage,) p. 120; Grade VIII, p. 122. 
 
 III.— SCIENCE. 
 
 A. Geography, ... 126-148 
 
 Preliminary to Grade III, p. 127; Grade III, p. 129; Grade IV, p. 131 ; 
 Grade V, p. 133; Grade VI, p. 136; Grade VII, p. 141; Grade VIII, 
 p. 144. 
 
 B. Nature-Study, 148-151 
 
 Illustrative Topics for all Grades, p. 150. 
 
 C. Physical Education, 151-156 
 
 Its Function, p. 151; Means of Securing a Sound Body, Mind, and 
 Character, outline, p. 152; Play, Games, Sports, pp. 152, 153; Physi- 
 ology and Hygiene, outline, pp. 153, 154; Exercises for the Grades, 
 p. 155; Adaptation of Course to Local Conditions, p. 155.
 
 IV.— INDUSTRY. 
 
 A. The Industrial Arts, 156-164 
 
 B. Thrift, 164 
 
 C. Vocational Guidance, 164 
 
 V.— CITIZENSHIP. 
 
 A. History, 165-177 
 
 Outline of the Course, p. 166. Grades I, II, III, p. 167; Grade IV, 
 p. 170; Grade V, p. 171; Grade VI, p. 173; Grade VII, p. 174; Grade 
 VIII, p. 175. 
 
 B. Civics, .... 177-182 
 
 Outline of the Course, pp. 178-181. Forming and Conducting a 
 Club, p. 181. 
 
 C. Moral Training, and Ethics, 183-190 
 
 Need of Such a Course, p. 183; Methods Outlined, p. 184. Grades 
 I, II, and III, p. 185; Grades IV and V, p. 1S6; Grade VI, p. 187; 
 Grades VII and VIII, p. 188. School Character-Chart, by Fair- 
 child, p. 189. 
 
 VI.— FINE ART. 
 
 A. Music, 191 
 
 Outlined by Grades, pp. 192-196. 
 
 B. Drawing, 197 
 
 Outlined by Grades, p. 198. 
 
 C. Literature, 199 
 
 Summarized by Grades, p. 200. 
 
 PART II.— MANUAL FOR TEACHERS. 
 
 Basis for the Minnesota Course of Study, p. 201. Analysis of Human Ad- 
 justments, p. 202. Origin of School Subject-Matter, p. 203. Factors 
 in the Selection»and Distribution of School Subject-Matter, p. 206. 
 
 I. Suggestions to Teachers, 207 
 
 This Course of Study for all Teachers, p. 207. Beginners, p. 209. 
 Experienced Teachers, p. 212. Rural Teachers, p. 212. Grade 
 and Departmental Teachers, p. 214. High- and Normal-School 
 Training-Teachers, p. 214. Superintendents, Principals, and Super- 
 visors, p. 215. 
 
 II. Time Allotment of Subject-Matter, and Program Making, . . 215 
 
 Time Allotment — Discussion and Distribution, p. 215. Program 
 Making — Factors in; Sample Programs for all Grades, City and 
 Rural, p. 217. 
 
 III. Selection of Text-Books, 224 
 
 Readers, p. 225; Arithmetics, p. 226; Geographies, p. 227; General, 
 p. 227. 
 
 IV. Helps ok English, 228 
 
 A. Outline Showing Detailed Interrelation of the Language Arts, p. 
 
 22S. 
 I'.. Hcginning-Reading Lesson-Plans, p. 230; Imperative-Sentence 
 
 Plan, p. 230; The Little Red Hen, p. 232; The Gingerbread Boy, 
 
 p. 234; The Key to the King's Garden, p. 236. 
 
 C. Reading- Plans for Older Grades, p. 237. Lessons from "Viking 
 Tales," for Third and Fourth Grades, p. 237. A Fifth-Grade Les- 
 son, "The Coast-Guard, " p. 241. 
 
 D. Aids in Language and Composition, p. 245. One Use of the Apos- 
 trophe, for Fifth Grade or Above, p. 245. Vocabulary Lessons 
 for Grades Five and Seven, p. 251. Descriptive Writing, Grades
 
 Seven and Eight, p. 253. Narration, Seventh Grade, p. 255. An 
 Eighth-Grade Newspaper, p. 258. One Hundred Spelling "De- 
 mons," p. 201. 
 
 V. Arithmetic Aids, 261 
 
 A. Outline of Social Situations from which Arithmetic Topics De- 
 veloped, p. 261. 
 
 B. Type Lessons for Grades Six, Seven, and Eight: Canceling a Dis- 
 tant Debt, p. 264; Interest, p. 265; Insurance, p. 267. 
 
 VI. Helps in Geography, 271 
 
 Type Lessons for Grades Five and Six: Latitude and Longitude, p. 
 271; The Great Basin, p. 276; The Drainage of Minnesota, p. 278. 
 
 VII. Devices and Their Place in Teaching, 279 
 
 A. Their Relation to Methods and Principles, p. 279. 
 
 B. A Few Staple Devices with Rules for Their Use, p. 280. 
 
 VIII. Teaching Children to Study, (and to do Seat-work) . . . 283 
 Steps in Studying, p. 283; Seat-Work Materials and Their Use, 
 
 p. 285; Valuable Seat-Work from Discarded Text-Books, p. 287. 
 
 IX. Measuring Results In Education, 292 
 
 References for Students of the Subject, p. 292; Available Test Mate- 
 rial, p. 293; How to Administer Tests, p. 294; Penmanship Speed 
 Comparisons, p. 295. 
 
 X. Discipline, 295 
 
 Meaning of, p. 295; Factors In Children's Development of Conduct- 
 Ideals, p. 297; Aids to Good Discipline, p. 298; Children Studied 
 to Be Understood, p. 299. 
 
 XI. A Few Important School Laws, 299 
 
 XII. A Teacher's Books, 300 
 
 For General Reference, p. 300; To Supplement Minnesota School 
 Library List In All Lines, p. 301; The First Twenty-Five Books for 
 a Teacher to Own, p. 302. 
 
 WORK PAGED BY GRADES. 
 
 Grade I.— 15, 287; 18, 295; 18; 73, 230-236; 78; 106; 127; 148; 151-155; 
 156-164; 167; 177-182; 185; 192; 198; 199. 
 
 Grade II.— 19, 287; 22, 295; 23; 80; 82; 107; 127; 148; 151-155; 156-164; 
 167; 177-182; 185; 193; 198; 199. 
 
 Grade III.— 24, 287; 29, 295; 29; 83, 237; 85; 110; 129; 148; 151-155; 156- 
 164; 167; 177-182; 185; 193; 198; 199. 
 
 Grade IV.— 30, 287; 35, 295; 36; 86, 237; 88, 98; 112; 131; 148; 151-155; 
 156-164; 170; 177-182; 186; 194; 198; 199. 
 
 Grade V.— 37, 245, 251, 287; 41, 295; 41, 261; 88, 241; 90, 98; 115; 133, 271- 
 27S; 148; 151-155; 156-164; 171; 177-182; 186; 195; 199; 199. 
 
 Grade VI.— 42, 245, 251, 287; 48, 295; 48, 261; 90, 241; 92, 98; 118; 136, 
 271-278; 148; 151-155; 156-164; 173; 177-182; 187; 195; 199; 199. 
 
 Grade VII.— 49, 252, 253, 255, 287; 54, 295; 54; 93; 95, 98; 120, 264-265; 
 141; 148; 151-155; 156-164; 174; 177-182; 188; 196; 199; 199. 
 
 Grade VIII.— 55, 254, 258, 287; 62, 295; 62; 63; 95; 98; 122, 264-267; 144; 
 148; 151-155; 156-164; 175; 177-182; 188; 196; 199; 199.
 
 A Teacher's Pledge 
 
 Recognizing that only the freedom and uplifting 
 power of a cultured mind will make my teaching vital 
 and inspiring instead of cramped and unillumined; 
 
 Realizing that long after the facts, rules, methods, 
 and lessons, are forgotten by my pupils, the heart rela- 
 tions which spring from a cultivated personality will 
 remain the real teaching power for all the days to come; 
 
 Knowing full well that the measure of the growth 
 which shall result when my life touches the pupil's 
 life will be the measure of my growing manhood, nur- 
 tured by open-mindedness, candor, generosity, inter- 
 est in things that are right and beautiful, and the 
 charm that makes a gentleman; 
 
 Recognizing that my calling is of such a character 
 that I shall have to make a special effort, by plans and 
 all forethought, to counteract the tendency toward 
 an arrested and delayed development, so noticeable 
 in all men, so dangerous in all callings, but so immi- 
 nent and subtle in my own; 
 
 Recognizing in general that my work as a teacher 
 is of the highest value to the state and society for 
 their perpetuation and happiness, and that my influ- 
 ence, exerted upon the imitative plastic lives of chil- 
 dren for their weal or woe, must find its source in the 
 culture of my own mind and heart; I enter upon the 
 fulfillment of this solemn promise: 
 
 I promise consciously to strive to measure up to 
 the best of which I am able, so to employ my time and 
 talents that my horizon shall be enlarged, that my 
 character shall be enriched, and that I shall follow 
 the gleam. 
 
 I promise as a result of well-planned efforts, to be 
 a bigger, broader person, with more interests, with 
 wider sympathies, finer sensibilities, and the capacity 
 for greater helpfulness, in one year from today than 
 I am at this moment. 
 
 Should I fail to keep this pledge in full good faith 
 and with reasonably satisfactory success, I then 
 promise to quit the work of teaching, to get where 
 my responsibilities are not so great, and thus permit 
 my shortcomings to fall upon my own life alone 
 rather than upon the lives of boys and girls whose 
 potentialities for growth would be blighted by my 
 arrested development. 
 
 G. E. Maxwell.
 
 PART I. 
 
 COURSE OF STUDY. 
 
 PURPOSE OF THIS COURSE OF STUDY. 
 
 When a man attacks a problem in an effective way he either 
 deliberately or unconsciously employs certain universal and well- 
 known methods of procedure: (1) He sees his problem, either in a 
 general way or in a specific way; (2) after recognizing or setting 
 himself his problem, he selects the methods or means for solving 
 it; (3) having done this, he sticks to the problem until it is solved; 
 then he (4) checks results, or tests his solution; and (5) he applies 
 his newly acquired knowledge to fresh situations, profiting by both 
 successes and failures. 
 
 Teaching is a series of just such problems, demanding on the 
 teacher's part, (1) a knowledge of aims, (2) of materials and meth- 
 ods to realize the aims, (3) a personality that can use materials 
 and methods effectively, (4) standards for measuring results, and 
 (5) ability to profit by successes and failures. 
 
 Aims — Since aims of education are a direct outgrowth of group 
 life, the teacher should, if he would understand the specific aims 
 of his community, know the general historical and philosophical 
 development of all aims. 
 
 When patrons, children now in school, and persons who left 
 school early, are questioned on what they wanted the school to 
 accomplish, the remarkable agreement in aims is worthy of note. 
 They want the school to help its pupils "know more," "earn a 
 better living," learn "how to live," "how to enjoy life," how to 
 "meet difficulties" or "meet emergencies," "get along in all kinds 
 of places," "be proud of themselves," "hold up their heads any- 
 where," be "brave," be "honest," know "how to work," learn 
 "how to study," and so on, through a long series of replies. That 
 is, patrons want, as Dr. O'Shea has in substance said, that the 
 pupil should be able to adjust himself to the world in which he 
 lives; that he should, first, understand life about him; second, should 
 have habits of industry and thought to aid him in controlling his 
 adjustments; and, third, must have sufficient will power to succeed.
 
 10 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Materials — What materials shall be used to meet these aims 
 are not so readily agreed upon. Some want only "the three R's"; 
 others want more hand- work than anything else; others demand 
 what they call "cultural" subjects. Consequently, every bit of 
 subject-matter (or other material of education) should have a 
 strong defense for its use, and one function of a state course of 
 study is to show all who are interested the principles upon which 
 the selection of subject-matter is based— subject-matter, however, 
 considered always as a tool, not as an end in itself. 
 
 M ethods— Though the persons questioned have definite ideas 
 of what education should aim to accomplish, and strong prejudices 
 for certain materials which they desire used, they ordinarily con- 
 cern themselves very little with the methods to be employed in 
 making the materials further the aim. Therefore it is that the 
 study of methods, though so vitally related to the efficient realiza- 
 tion of educational aims, becomes the more exclusive problem of 
 the teacher. 
 
 Measuring Results — The public does concern itself with results, 
 which it is quite inclined to criticise adversely, but not scientific- 
 ally. It therefore behooves the educator to make scientific tests 
 which either refute or support the criticisms, and hence lead either 
 to greater loyalty on the part of citizens or to reforms on the part 
 of the school. 
 
 Personality — Because of the short tenure of office of the ma- 
 jority of teachers, and the consequent necessity of employing so 
 many inexperienced persons, who, for the sake of the children in 
 their charge, must be made quickly (even if narrowly) efficient, a 
 grouping of teachers into two main classes, the supervised and the 
 supervisors, becomes necessary. And since, to secure, from young 
 teachers, practical or immediate efficiency, supervisors must plan 
 the materials, indicate the methods to be employed, and often 
 administer the tests of results, there is constant danger that teach- 
 ing may become too formal or vocational. To counteract this 
 tendency, a course of study and manual on which teachers may 
 daily reflect, should stress aims, principles, and theories, so that, 
 just as rapidly as possible, individual teachers may take the initia- 
 tive in lines which have earlier necessarily been prescribed, thus 
 entering into the profession versus the vocation of teaching. 
 
 That is, to be helpful, a state course of study should point the 
 way very plainly for at least a short distance to the inexperienced 
 teacher, but should also suggest either interesting by-paths, en- 
 riching detours, or emergency short-cuts, to teachers of wider ex- 
 perience, helping them to see constant opportunities to exercise
 
 Interrelation of the Language Arts. 11 
 
 individuality and to grow in efficiency. The actual distribution 
 of subject-matter, found in Part I, will be of primary interest to 
 the novice, whereas the underlying principles of this selection and 
 distribution, together with discussions of methods of work and 
 means of measuring results, will be what teachers of experience are 
 likely to care for. (Found mainly in Part II.) 
 
 SCHOOL SUBJECT-MATTER AND ITS DISTRIBU- 
 TION BY GRADES. 
 
 I.— ENGLISH. 
 
 A.— INTERRELATION OF THE LANGUAGE ARTS. 
 
 The formation of a group, whether it be primitive or modern, 
 whether small or great in number, demands at once some common 
 means of communication. In primitive groups this was necessary 
 for simple self-preservation — the securing of food, the planning of 
 the hunt, and similar things. In higher civilized life, though we 
 need communication for our material needs, we covet it still more 
 for exchange of the spiritual things of life — ideals, emotions, appre- 
 ciations, and knowledge, x 
 
 Because communication always has been needed, is sought to- 
 day, and, so far as we have vision to see the future, always will be 
 coveted, the defense for teaching the language arts in school is very 
 strong. 
 
 For direct communication with one another we need gesture, 
 facial expression, intonation, oral language itself (in our land, En- 
 glish), and all the accompaniments of speech which refined persons 
 use. As we cultivate our powers of direct communication we find 
 a need for grammar and rhetoric — at least enough to make our 
 speech clear and coherent, if not interesting and persuasive. 
 
 For communication with persons at a distance from us, in 
 either space or time, or even for recording events that interest us 
 or that we wish to recall, we need written language. So, if we would 
 have our thoughts clear, we must conquer penmanship, spelling, 
 forms of punctuation and of sentence structure, the methods of 
 making paragraphs, and of writing descriptions, explanations, ex- 
 positions, and, possibly, arguments or persuasions. This means 
 still more knowledge of vocabulary, of grammatical structure, and 
 of rhetorical choice.
 
 12 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 For knowing what others wish to communicate to us we must 
 learn (silently) to read written speech, whether in hand-writing or 
 print. This power necessitates our having a working knowledge 
 (the art, not the science) of pronunciation, and, hence, of phonics; 
 of spelling; of grammatical structure of sentence, clause, and phrase, 
 and discrimination in vocabulary. These, plus all the above-named 
 elements of good oral expression, are needed if we wish to commu- 
 nicate, in the author's words, what we have gathered — that is, 
 read aloud to others. 
 
 Oral language is well started before the child comes to school, 
 and so becomes the basis of further language acquisition. The 
 complex activities attendant upon written language necessitate its 
 very gradual introduction; but the not-very-dimcult art of reading 
 what interests him makes reading the desire of every five- or six- 
 year-old child. With advancing years and the application of the 
 reading art to the interpretation of literature and to all study 
 work, the subject ceases to be a simple art, and becomes, first, a 
 science with its own technique, and, later, a fine art. 
 
 To summarize a discussion transferred to Part II: 
 
 I. The child needs to understand others, hence, listens — 
 
 A. Involuntarily. B. Voluntarily. 
 
 II. The child wants others to understand him, hence, communicates — 
 
 A. By signs and sounds. B. By speech. 
 
 III. The child revels in speech for its own sake, not to communicate; hence he 
 
 talks merely to enjoy sounds. (The period of greatest vocabulary acqui- 
 sition.) 
 
 IV. The child wants to see what others find in books, hence, learns to read. 
 
 V. The child wants to put his ideas and communications into permanent form, 
 
 hence, learns to write. 
 Constant interrelation of listening, talking, reading, thinking, interpreting, 
 and writing, is to be preferred to any separate development of the different lan- 
 guage phases. Temporarily one may receive emphasis, but should not far out- 
 run the others, nor for any period ot time. 
 
 (See pp. 228-230 for the elaboration of this brief outline.) 
 
 B.— LANGUAGE. 
 
 Here the three phases, Listening, Talking, and Writing, will be 
 emphasized, and will appear in every grade; Grammar will be added 
 in eighth grade only. 
 
 Listening, at first involuntary, becomes voluntary as the power 
 of attention is trained. From giving voluntary attention for very 
 short periods in the first grade, pupils grow in power to attend for 
 longer and longer periods. Teachers should make sure that chil- 
 dren are gaining in ability to attend, for this power is the basis of 
 will, and a controlled will is the foundation of character (highest
 
 Language. — Talking. 13 
 
 self-realization). If pupils cannot attend for long periods, it is 
 decidedly better to change the work, having concentrated atten- 
 tion for five minutes, rather than to encourage dawdling and inef- 
 ficiency by having desultory attention for a half hour. Pupils should 
 be tested on their attention by questions on the story or the reci- 
 tation; for example, when one child has finished a recitation, the 
 teacher may ask: How many points did he make? What were 
 they? What was one? or, Do you agree with what he said? (Yes.) 
 What did he say? or, What was his second statement? These tests 
 should be continued until pupils feel a need of attending carefully 
 to what is done. (All this is direct training for adulthood. Indi- 
 viduals must get the correct statements made by friends and by 
 public speakers, or truth cannot prevail.) 
 
 About the same means will be used to train the listening ability 
 throughout the grades, the differences being in the amount of at- 
 tention and the specific materials used for the center of attention. 
 These are, in general, the speech of the home; the words and ac- 
 companying intonations gathered with whatever experiences are 
 being met, both inside and outside of school; the teacher's direc- 
 tions about the work of the room and about play at intermissions; 
 conversation and recitations of companions; stories or poems read 
 and told by the teacher or by visitors. The teacher of every grade 
 must take pains to use good English, to articulate clearly, pro- 
 nounce correctly, and give clear-cut directions. He must learn to 
 select and to tell stories well, and to read interpretatively to the 
 children, by these means increasing the pupils' power to attend, to 
 recognize thoughts, and to gather vocabulary. He must give to 
 that vocabulary clear and broad meanings by occasional explana- 
 tions and illustrations of the thought, and by free and natural use 
 of suitable facial expression and gesture as he reads or talks. The 
 values to be gained from the verbatim reciting of good poetry suited 
 to the grade being taught are well known to all; the teacher must 
 therefore have at his tongue's end many a poem to be so used in 
 an odd minute or two. (See pp. 91-93, Minnesota School Library 
 List, 1915-16, for reference-books.) 
 
 Talking. — Adults, as well as children, talk so much more than 
 they write, and their culture or lack of it is so often judged by the 
 English they speak, that the ability to speak well becomes a prime 
 aim of every elementary-school curriculum. To speak well one 
 must have something to say and then say it so others are glad to 
 listen; that is, (1) fluently, with good vocabulary, easily commanded; 
 (2) coherently, well organized, so as to be followed if attention is 
 given; (3) accurately, using correct vocabulary, acceptable grammar,
 
 14 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 and even choice diction. If, in addition to these minimum essen- 
 tials of good talking, the speaker possesses animation, interest in 
 his topic, originality in expression, a sense of humor where neces- 
 sary, and convincingness, we are not only glad to listen, but we 
 covet the privilege, seeking to hear him whenever possible. 
 
 Freedom, ease, or fluency, the essential which primary teachers 
 can cultivate, must not be lost with advancing years, though inter- 
 mediate-grade teachers work for coherency, and grammar-grade 
 teachers add accuracy and polish to the list. 
 
 Children differ widely, from the most voluble child, who would 
 usurp all the time, to the most passive child, who never volunteers, 
 and who, when directed to speak, can scarcely be heard. The 
 teacher's resourcefulness becomes exercised to the limit in his at- 
 tempt to curb the one and urge forward the other without making 
 either one self-conscious. The direction, "Tell me one thing (later, 
 two, three, etc., things) that you did on Saturday,"- keeps the too- 
 talkative child within bounds and yet does not demand too much 
 of the most timid one. "Tell me the most interesting thing that 
 you saw on our trip, or found out yesterday," directs the impulsive 
 child towards organization of ideas and gives him food for thought 
 while the slower child is getting out a single sentence about any- 
 thing which he saw. 
 
 Vocabulary is especially helped by pupils' reproducing stories 
 heard, with the idea of telling the stories so that others are glad to 
 listen. Commendations upon clearness of tone, looking at the 
 audience, choice of words, making the pictures clear, etc., when- 
 ever such commendation is deserved, will soon set standards for 
 the pupils as to what makes a talk good. Pupils may then help 
 to find the good points in each recitation that is made, until, in 
 upper grades, they have gained a standard which they can use for 
 self criticism and improvement. In no grade should the recognized 
 standards of "good work" be beyond the attainment of the pupils, 
 but should always be just enough above the average of the class 
 to act as a spur to self-improvement. 
 
 Children in every grade will need drill in the repetition of cor- 
 rect forms, and for this purpose nothing more valuable has been 
 found than the language games now so well known and so easily 
 varied by every resourceful teacher to meet his school's needs. 
 (See p. 302 for references.) Every teacher should make a complete 
 list of the English errors spoken or written by pupils of his grade, 
 and then steadily work to eradicate them in the order of their 
 seriousness.
 
 Language. — Writing. — Grade I. — Listening. 15 
 
 Above all else, the teacher must watch that standards set and 
 corrections made do not produce self-consciousness and fear of 
 self-expression on the part of pupils. 
 
 Recent studies made of children's English errors prove that 
 the different kinds of errors are not so numerous as was once sup- 
 posed, and that persistent effort throughout the grades can eradi- 
 cate virtually all of the gross errors in speech.* 
 
 Writing. — Writing one's thoughts, compared to speaking them, 
 has a relatively small place in the lives of most individuals; yet 
 written language is needed often enough to warrant its receiving 
 considerable attention in school. Dr. Rice's investigations led 
 him to conclude that "almost every pupil is capable of acquiring 
 the art of writing good English, and that the normal child is not 
 to blame if he has not acquired the power of expressing his thoughts 
 in creditable English"! by the end of the eighth grade. 
 
 In written English, as in oral, tests have been made in many 
 sections of the United States. The results show that concentrated 
 effort on a comparatively few points in sentence and paragraph 
 structure, and in the mechanics of penmanship, spelling, and punc- 
 tuation, should produce exactly the result Dr. Rice concludes to 
 be possible. 
 
 Each teacher should study with great care the work of all the 
 grades both above and below his own, know what to expect, build 
 upon that knowledge, work for cumulative effect, and steadily 
 raise the standard in both what is selected to be told (orally or in 
 writing) and the manner of expressing that thought. 
 
 A certain amount of repetition seems necessary for emphasis; 
 but, wherever possible, it is taken for granted that teachers will 
 read what was suggested in the grades preceding theirs. 
 
 Grade I. 
 
 Listening to speech of companions and teacher, and especially 
 to stories and poems. Only the best literature should be used, 
 since the time in school is too short to be spent upon stories or anec- 
 dotes that are merely "not bad." Every minute is necessary for 
 the positively excellent literature which will be needed by pupils 
 as they advance in the grades and reach adulthood. Literature of 
 the primary grades is absolutely necessary to the appreciation of 
 literature in high school and college, and he who hasn't the back- 
 ground of Mother Goose Rhymes, fairy tales, myths, and legends, 
 to help him understand references and allusions made in adult 
 
 * See W. W. Charters's study, in University of Missouri Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 2. 
 t Scientific Management in Education, p. 1S5.
 
 16 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 literature, often misses or at any rate is delayed in his apprecia- 
 tion of the real point. Besides this background for the apprecia- 
 tion of other literature, primary literature gives pupils gathered 
 from homes of widely differing standards, a common basis for con- 
 versation about something worth while. Unlike a personal inci- 
 dent, a bit of good literature can be told by every member of a 
 school and yet not pall; the vocabulary is choice, and the mental 
 pictures aroused are stimulating to imagination and to thought; 
 the organization is good and the development orderly; so that, 
 withal, the children get from good literature ideal models for imi- 
 tation. 
 
 Children of this age are especially fond of rhythm, and so like 
 simple rhythmic tales, cumulative tales (which are rhythmic in 
 their repetitions), and rhymes. They also love fairy tales, and 
 stories about themselves and their companions. (See p. x, pp. 
 2-7, pp! 91-93, etc., of the Minnesota School Library List, 1915-16, 
 for suggestions for real literature.) The teacher can satisfy chil- 
 dren's love of stories about themselves through the telling of pre- 
 tended incidents, such as a trip to the moon, or by relating "play" 
 dreams which the children have when they put heads on desks 
 and pretend to sleep a few seconds. Of course the teacher has to 
 tell the first "dream" and at intervals thereafter must tell parts of 
 her "dreams," to prevent children from getting into a rut. "Dreams" 
 are especially good because they may be as fantastic as one pleases 
 and still be no more strange than real dreams often are. As a 
 dream, this story, told by Edward L., a first-grade child, isn't so 
 funny as it sounds. 
 
 "I dreamed that James and I went out to the woods. There we saw a couple 
 of Indians. We lifted our air rifles and fired. James shot two and I shot three 
 of them." 
 
 Things that start out large suddenly grow small, and without 
 even any "abracadabra," such as "The Little Lame Prince" had 
 to use, one is transported miles in a second of time. The teacher 
 may well get suggestions for her "dreams" from the above-named 
 book, as well as from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," "Through 
 the Looking Glass," and "Pinocchio," though these books mustn't 
 be spoiled for later reading. 
 
 The stories prepared for telling should either be brief, with a 
 main thought kept prominent, or should be composed, as are cumu- 
 lative and fairy tales, of distinct thoughts so related as to be readily 
 held in mind. Children can then be held, in their reproductions, 
 to saying something worth while — not just chattering; to gaining 
 in the use of complete sentences; and to making clear pictures.
 
 Language. — Grade I. — Talking. 17 
 
 Talking. — In the first grade, freedom or spontaneity in expres- 
 sion should be the main thing sought. This is produced by hav- 
 ing pupils talk about the things of most vital interest or best 
 known to them; namely, their own experiences at home, in going to 
 and from school, in school, or on the play-ground; their experi- 
 ences in helping mother, or taking a walk or ride with father; what 
 happens to their pets; what they do with their toys; eventful days 
 such as birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas; school work in 
 which all are interested, nature observations, games, school excur- 
 sions, pictures studied, and stories heard or learned in the reading- 
 class; things imagined or desired as experiences; memorized poems. 
 
 Here, as in upper grades, the speaker must have an appreciative 
 audience, and the teacher must each time give the listening pupils 
 a motive for attending, or both speaker and audience lose the 
 values of the language exercise. A few motives are suggested to 
 show beginning teachers for what the children should be looking; 
 resourceful teachers will very soon find other and better sugges- 
 tions. In all cases the suggestions should be helpful to the speaker, 
 not the sort to cause fear or self-consciousness. 
 
 Show Mary that you want to hear her part of the story; that you like this 
 story; that you are glad to hear it again; while you listen to John, see whether 
 he makes the picture clear to you; listen to see whether you hear every word; 
 be ready to go on with the story, not repeating a thing Jane said; be able to tell 
 me how many and what things happened in the part Lucy tells; be ready to 
 help Susie if she needs it; when Sam is through let us tell him whether he did 
 better than last time; think of all the things you like about the way Bert tells 
 his story. If you sit up and listen well, you will be helping Frank to keep a 
 good position; when Guy finishes, you may draw (or cut) the picture he makes, 
 and the better you listen the more you'll get for your picture. 
 
 If a pupil hesitates for a word, the teacher or the listeners should 
 unobtrusively supply it. In the same inconspicuous way, the 
 teacher must gently but persistently substitute correct forms for 
 all wrong ones. The important thing is to secure freedom, which 
 too emphatic attention to errors will check. The teacher will, of 
 course, note all errors, and later plan games to give special drills 
 upon those most needed. Some of the commonest errors whose 
 correction should be begun in first grade are: Seen for saw, come for 
 came, done for did, run for ran, ain't for isn't, don't for doesn't. My 
 
 papa he said , I got-a go home , Once they wuz a little boy , 
 
 and the over-use of the conjunction and. From the first, pupils 
 must be urged to use large movements whenever such prove help- 
 ful in their talking. They may show relationships by drawings at 
 the blackboard; by asking some companions to step forward and 
 stand in desired positions; by placing waste-baskets, pointers, or
 
 18 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 erasers, wherever necessary; or by indicating objects in the room 
 that might illustrate the meaning. This will help to prove to the 
 teacher that the child's new vocabulary means something to him, 
 and will help other children to secure meanings of words used. 
 Pupils should be urged to use their own words while keeping the 
 true thought of a dialogue, and especially to supply indicated con- 
 versation in a dramatization, even when the story does not tell 
 just what was said. 
 
 A child inclined to monotony must be urged to imitate the voice 
 and manner of the person characterized. "Was that just the way 
 mother spoke to the baby?" "Do it just as mother did." "Make 
 me feel how mother loved the baby and what she said to quiet 
 her." Or, if relating how father scared away an ugly dog that 
 came towards the baby, the child must be stimulated to "move 
 and speak and use the same tone as father did." Gradually, the 
 monotone will show voice variation. 
 
 Writing. — No original composition work in writing is demanded, 
 but much of the seat-work is direct preparation for writing in 
 second grade. For example, discrimination of word forms; match- 
 ing words with words accompanying pictures; making sentences 
 like patterns from cards containing phrases, words, and (later in 
 the year) letters; and laying corn or pegs on children's written 
 names, or tracing the same with colored crayons. Near the end 
 of the year, copying words, phrases, and sentences, at the blackboard 
 from blackboard copies, and at the seats from copies on cards, may be 
 inaugurated; but such copying must not teach bad habits of finger 
 movement or pencil holding, and so must be supervised and given 
 in small quantity. 
 
 Penmanship. — Should some special method of penmanship be 
 employed throughout the school system, that will, of course, be 
 followed. If none is used, the teacher will find herself in line with 
 modern thought if she has blackboard practice, to secure full-arm 
 movement, giving pupils, by the end of the year, control over the 
 up-and-down movement and the two ovals. They should also ac- 
 quire the ability to make legibly but still with free-arm movement 
 nil the commonly used letters of the alphabet. Since pupils will 
 not need all the letters often enough to fix their forms in memory, 
 a complete alphabet of both capital and lower-case letters should 
 be either on the blackboard or on a large chart placed within easy 
 sight of all pupils. 
 
 Spelling. — Spelling as a separate subject will not appear on the 
 program, but by the end of the year children will be able to write as 
 wholes many words learned through reading and related seat-work.
 
 Language. — Grade II. — Listening and Talking. 19 
 
 What may reasonably be expected by the end of the first year. — 
 That the child have something to say; that he stand in good pos- 
 ture and speak in clear, pleasing tones while he talks; that he 
 enunciate distinctly and pronounce correctly; that he indicate his 
 completed thoughts by proper inflection, avoiding the excessive 
 use of "and"; that he show voice variation for at least the larger 
 differences in emotion; that in seat- work the child indicate that he 
 recognizes sentences by the proper placing of capitals and period; 
 that he use a capital for the pronoun / and for proper names of 
 persons; that he write his own name and address, with proper 
 spelling and punctuation; that, unless a special penmanship system 
 defers all writing, he write as wholes between fifty and one hun- 
 dred words common to his various lessons, the list to include such 
 words as the, and, in, on, was, and is. 
 
 Grade II. 
 
 (See Grade I, as all possible repetition is avoided.) 
 
 Listening. — Second-grade pupils should be made more conscious 
 of their listening and shown the benefit it will be to them to keep 
 ears (and eyes) open for things to tell others or for verifying facts 
 already told. They should begin to show power in giving volun- 
 tary attention whenever necessary, and to keep their attention 
 upon one thing for a longer time than before. Individuals will of 
 course differ, and no standard can be set for all. In one way, 
 listening attentively can be cultivated by having pupils feel and 
 reproduce rhythms in music. 
 
 Having learned how to listen attentively, the pupils may now 
 receive several consecutive directions about their work or play with 
 the expectation that all can be executed. They can hear told a 
 longer story, recalling the early parts even though absorbed in the 
 climax. As said under Grade I, only the best literature should be 
 used for story telling. Besides the literature named in first grade, 
 pupils respond happily to nature, Greek, and Norse myths, and to 
 poems of childhood. (Use the Minnesota Library List constantly.) 
 
 Talking. — Effort should be made: to keep alive all the freedom 
 gained in first grade; to enrich vocabulary and secure such easy 
 command of the new words and phrases as to produce pleasing flu- 
 ency; to hold pupuls to a point more consistently; and to arouse 
 the beginning of consciousness of digressions. Incidents should 
 be told with more conscious orderliness, such, for example, as a 
 plainly marked beginning or preface (if there is one to the incident), 
 followed by such emphasis upon the principal feature of the event 
 as to make the incident clear to all.
 
 20 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 The demand for good posture, pleasing voice, varied intonation, 
 good articulation, and evidence of knowing thought completeness, 
 must in no wise be remitted. 
 
 Pupils should gradually acquire standards for judging whether 
 their own and others' work is good or not. Mere fault-finding is 
 easy, and must not be indulged in; but second-grade pupils need 
 not be made self-conscious by adverse criticism, judicious in amount 
 and sympathetically administered. Given an attentive and sym- 
 pathetic audience, and having something to tell, a normal child 
 wants to do his best, and therefore willingly accepts all helpful 
 criticism, particularly when he may "try again," putting his cor- 
 rection into practice. 
 
 The same sorts of English errors as those noted in first grade 
 will still be found in the second. While keeping up practice upon 
 the correct use of did, saw, came, and ran, the teacher may add the 
 past tenses of other verbs needed by her pupils, fixing the correct 
 form through the playing of games which she can easily devise, or 
 adapt from some suggested in the references (p. 302). Children 
 inclined to talk monotonously are helped to portray not only very 
 different emotions (such as love and annoyance — see p. 18), but 
 also a few shades of even one emotion, as, for example, the in- 
 creasing surprise of the Three Bears on finding fresh evidences of 
 the invasion of their home. (See note, p. 82, for suggestions for 
 inflection drills; also p. 85.) 
 
 Writing. — Some written composition is, of course, possible in 
 this year. It must, however, be based upon oral work. The child 
 who has been helped to feel the end of a thought in his oral compo- 
 sition, and to express that completeness by inflection, will natur- 
 ally tend to write his thoughts in sentences. 
 
 "Children do not intuitively possess habits of correct written 
 expression. These must be built up from the day that written 
 language is begun in the second grade. The important thing, and 
 the difficult thing, is to give sufficient drill on the mechanics of 
 written composition, without killing the child's spontaneity and 
 his freedom of expression. Drill on the mechanics of written com- 
 position there must be, from the very start. At the same time, 
 the teacher must be extremely cautious not to let her insistence 
 upon correct form kill the child's desire for self-expression. Form 
 must be taught, and in the process content must not be sacrificed. 
 This is a task that calls for all the wisdom and all the ingenuity of 
 the teacher. It is the real test of the good teacher of composition." 
 
 The test of whether the written work is good should be an oral 
 one — the child who wrote the story, reading it to the others, who,
 
 Language. — Grade II. — Dictation Exercise. 21 
 
 as sympathetically helpful listeners, look for: What they like, what 
 is clearest, what they want to know more about, etc. The teacher, 
 who has looked over the composition, proposes each time a motive 
 to the audience that will also help the writer who reads his "theme." 
 As said before, a few adverse criticisms will do no harm — such as, 
 "He used too many ands"; "I think it would be better if he left 
 
 out "; "I can't tell what he means by "; but mere flaw 
 
 picking must be guarded against. 
 
 * "The dictation exercise, if employed in moderation and with a 
 clear understanding of its use, is valuable in helping to fix habits 
 of written technicalities — spelling, capitals, punctuation, and things 
 of that sort. It performs the same office as abstract work in arith- 
 metic. In the dictation exercise we isolate the forms of language 
 and focus attention entirely upon them. In writing compositions 
 the centre of attention is occupied by the content (the ideas that 
 are coming to the surface for expression), while the technique (the 
 writing, spelling, punctuation, etc.) is, or should be, removed to 
 the margin of consciousness. In the dictation exercise these rela- 
 tive positions are reversed. The content comes to the pupil ready- 
 made; he has to think only of the form. In addition to its value 
 in teaching and testing technicalities, the dictation exercise, if 
 rightly managed, builds up, also, the power of sustained attention 
 and concentration. Its never-failing effect of restoring quiet in a 
 restless class is an everyday evidence of its power to do this. Its 
 value, in developing the power of concentration, however, depends 
 very largely upon the way the teacher handles the exercise. The 
 dictation may be too long; it may be uninteresting to the pupils; 
 it may be dictated poorly— indistinctly, too fast, too slowly, or 
 with repetitions. Dictation is an exercise that requires as much 
 care in preparation and skill in execution as any other kind of 
 written composition. It is utterly useless in the hands of a teacher, 
 who, because she has no other work prepared, decides to give pupils 
 a little dictation. In order to prevent any false notion as to the 
 proper place of dictation work, teachers should bear in mind that 
 it is an exercise which is almost wholly mechanical, and that no 
 amount of dictation alone will make good writers. It is concerned 
 with mechanical correctness alone. It is not of much value as a 
 teaching exercise. Its chief value is in testing, not in teaching. 
 It is not even a safe test of the knowledge of language forms. The 
 proof of a pupil's mastery of the mechanics is not a correctly writ- 
 ten dictation lesson, but his habitual observance of these matters 
 
 * This and many other quotations are taken from "Speaking and Writing English," by B. M. 
 Sheridan.
 
 22 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 in his daily writing. The pupil who begins all the sentences of a 
 dictation paragraph with capitals and ends them with periods, 
 may in his free writing display a gross lack of 'the sentence feel- 
 ing.' The cadence of the teacher's voice, and the natural pause 
 which follows the close of a dictated sentence, give him the cue as to 
 when a period is required and where a capital must be employed. 
 The same is true in a lesser degree in respect to the other points of 
 technique. Teachers, therefore, will make a mistake if they think 
 they can teach correctness by much use of the dictation exercise. 
 It is a good thing, if rightly used. But it must be used with mod- 
 eration and with the full knowledge that its chief value is to test 
 the result of the teaching of the mechanics." 
 
 "Copying is useful, as an occasional exercise, to train pupils in 
 careful observation and exact expression. These are qualities suf- 
 ficiently rare in grown-up people to suggest the need of some or- 
 ganized effort on the part of the school to develop in children the 
 power to see things straight and to report them straight. It is the 
 experience of the Civil Service examiners that more people fail in 
 the copying test than in any other. The standard of copying in 
 all grades is exactness itself, though the matter presented in the 
 lower grades should, of course, be much shorter and simpler than 
 that which is given to older pupils to copy. The mere act of copy- 
 ing from time to time will not lead anywhere. Children must be 
 taught right habits of copying. In the second grade, for example, 
 the pupil should be taught to look at the whole word and then 
 write the whole word, not to copy a letter or two, then look at the 
 word again, and copy two or three more letters. Even in the 
 lower grades, the smallest unit should be the word. As soon after 
 as possible, children should learn to look at the whole sentence, and 
 instead of copying it word for word, looking back each time to the 
 printed page, they should copy a whole phrase at a time."* (See 
 pp. 287-292 for other sorts of seat-work possible to use here.) 
 
 Penmanship. — Regular daily practice periods should increase 
 the child's control of movement. If no writing system is named 
 for the school, the teacher may select any one of several excellent 
 systems and follow the usual second-grade plan. The child should 
 seldom need to look at the teacher's copy to see how a letter is 
 made, yet should not be discouraged from doing so. There is no 
 lack of motive for legible penmanship; indeed, the teacher must 
 watch that movement isn't sacrificed by the child's thinking too 
 much of form. Neatness may well be commended, but not good 
 
 * Sheridan.
 
 Language. — Grade II. — Spelling. 23 
 
 form that has been gained by finger movement. The rate should 
 be about 20 to 30 letters a minute. 
 
 To write so that mother can read the story; to make it good enough to be 
 saved for parents' day; to be sure Santa Claus can make out what is wanted; 
 to keep a record of plant growth, or of the sunny days in one month; to write a 
 note to the teacher when she hasn't time to hear all that the child would like to 
 tell her; to keep a record of one's successes in some competitive game; are a few 
 motives worth using. 
 
 Spelling. — The Investigation on Spelling made by the Univer- 
 sity of South Dakota contains, among others, the following con- 
 clusions: 
 
 "The most useful words in our language, indeed in any language, are the words 
 early learned by children; hence the spelling vocabularies of the lower grades 
 should receive special attention; and this means that there should be fewer words 
 in the spelling assignment and more care in fixing their meaning and use. 
 
 "Since no word is immune to misspelling, and each word has to be mastered, 
 our most important problem in handling spelling material is the problem of plac- 
 ing in the hands of our students the list of words useful in their writing at the 
 given time, and making sure that these words are mastered. These lists can 
 never be 'desk made.' 
 
 "Since grade students commonly use from 500 to 2,500 words in writing, yet 
 on the average misspell but about fifty words, not one child out of a thousand 
 misspelling as many as one hundred words, our spelling problem is not so gigantic 
 as it is commonly believed to be, for the reason that a handful of words misspelled 
 over and over by each student has misled us in our judgment. 
 
 "The words which give most trouble in spelling are found, almost without 
 exception, in the writing vocabularies of the lower grades; and since these trouble- 
 some but useful words are not pointed out and effectively dealt with in these 
 early grades, students go on misspelling, year by year, words that should be 
 mastered in the early school years." 
 
 Second-grade teachers should list the words needed by their 
 pupils in written work and see that these words are thoroughly 
 taught. They should remember that the writing vocabulary is 
 considerably behind the individual's reading vocabulary, so it is 
 probable that the words found in a good primer or first reader will 
 suit the majority of the class. The following plans have been 
 successfully tried to prevent children's writing words incorrectly, 
 thus fixing wrong forms: 
 
 1. Encouraging children to use their text-books as sources for the correct 
 spelling of words they wish to use. 
 
 2. Encouraging children to write just the known letters of a word and draw- 
 ing a line for the unknown part. The teacher can usually tell what word was 
 desired by the context and the initial letter; she supplies the full spelling in col- 
 ored pencil before returning the paper. The child then copies, into what he calls 
 his "dictionary," (a set of 26 blank leaves, on each of which is a letter of the 
 alphabet, the whole tied into an attractive paper cover,) on the proper alphabet 
 pages, the words he didn't know. The next time he wishes those words he goes 
 to his "dictionary."
 
 24 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 3. Preparing hectographed lists of words usually wanted and letting pupils 
 learn how to find the desired word by sounding the initial letter and running 
 down the alphabetical list till found. Not too many words should ever be in 
 any one list. When the most of the class no longer need the first list of, say, 
 twenty words, the teacher may supply new lists (one for each child, and usually 
 mounted on cardboard to prevent loss and mussing). The second list may re- 
 peat some words of the first list, if they are still needed. The teacher must 
 compose the lists by watching the children's writing needs, not from any 
 book or course of study. 
 
 4. Putting on the blackboard the words likely to give trouble, especially the 
 spellings of proper names, whenever all the class are to write upon a common 
 topic which the teacher has developed orally. 
 
 5. Combining two or more of these plans, or one of them with other plans 
 easily devised. 
 
 What may reasonably be expected by the end of the second year. — 
 All that was expected at the end of the first year (see p. 19). 
 Greater fluency in oral composition. The ability to write legibly 
 with easy arm movement the material needing to be written daily. 
 The ability to spell — that is, write as word-wholes— at least from 
 three to five hundred of the most commonly needed words.* "The 
 majority of the pupils should, if given a subject they feel like 
 writing about, be able to produce three or four sentences with a 
 fair degree of facility, and with no assistance from the teacher ex- 
 cept what is derived from the oral preparation. The sentences 
 should show some sense of sequence, and the desire to be interest- 
 ing. They should be invariably correct in the matter of capitals 
 and ending marks. The pupil's power should always be measured 
 by the first writing, not by a corrected and rewritten copy." 
 
 Probably the minimum of other mechanics to be demanded by 
 the end of the second grade should be: A. Capitals: (1) At the 
 beginning of a sentence; (2) in the pronoun "I"; (3) in writing the 
 child's own name and address; (4) in days of the week which he may 
 have learned (not necessarily all); (5) same with months learned; 
 (6) same with holidays learned; (7) in beginning each line of poetry. 
 B. Final marks: (1) Period at the end of a sentence; (2) period 
 after each abbreviation; (3) question-mark. C. Commas: (1) Only 
 such as are needed in writing the child's own address. D. Abbre- 
 viations: (1) Days of the week; (2) months of the year; (3) Mr., 
 Mrs., Dr. 
 
 Grade III. 
 
 Listening. — If any person has learned to attend, has the power 
 to profit by new experiences and to find in daily events food for 
 reflection and application to further experiences, his education 
 never ceases, even should schooling be denied him. Listening, then, 
 
 * If the tin her hasn't time to make such a list for herself, she may secure, for ten cents, the 
 list from the State University of Vermilion, South Dakota.
 
 Language. — Grade III. — Listening. 25 
 
 is an important habit to acquire, and by the end of the third grade, 
 pupils should have fairly well-fixed habits of listening intelligently. 
 The teacher may hold pupils to outside-of-school observations by 
 questions upon the rhythms of bird-songs heard, things learned on 
 Saturday and Sunday, and by commending children who report 
 on interesting experiences in everyday life. 
 
 Vocabulary can be enriched by some discussion of the stories 
 told or read to children, questioning upon the value of certain 
 words used by the author until children recognize that in some 
 places only one word could rightly be chosen. Then they begin 
 to notice words and to use them in their own productions. When 
 some words are particularly well chosen by an author, the teacher 
 may, on the second reading of the story, pause to let some child 
 who can do so supply the words. The third reading, with pauses 
 at the same places as before, will bring the words from half a dozen 
 pupils where only one knew them the first time. A third-grade 
 class who loved Kipling's "Riki Tiki Tavi," begged for its reading 
 time after time. The teacher noted that on the seventh reading 
 whole paragraphs could be given verbatim by many members of 
 the school, and that every child could give at least a score of the 
 most unique or interesting phrases. All this was done with no 
 intention of memorizing on the part of either pupils or teacher. 
 Vocabulary so gathered always shows in children's written work, 
 as could be illustrated by dozens of quotations from their work, 
 did space allow. One instance of the sort, proving that vocabu- 
 lary acquired with meaning stays, was that of a sixth-grade pupil 
 who fluently used an expression unconsciously learned in third 
 grade, and not used after that time until he said: "In third grade, 
 
 Miss G told us how the Indian hordes came down at midnight 
 
 on Cocheco town, and how her own great-uncle bore his cruel 
 scalp-mark to fourscore." The only fault was a confusion of rela- 
 tionships, the child not misquoting Whittier. 
 
 Children in the third grade seem to be actuated by a growing 
 sense of feeling. This leads to discrimination in values, and to 
 free play of the imagination. The aesthetic sense is strong; words 
 are loved for their imagery, length, rhythm, color-tone, etc.; and 
 "big words," or words full of dignity, humor, sound concordance, 
 etc., are tried constantly. As a consequence, the forms of litera- 
 ture which appeal are those containing (1) humor, like the "Uncle 
 Remus" tales, "Just So Stories," "Letters from a Cat," "Pinoc- 
 chio," and "Merry Animal Tales"; (2) legends, stories, and poetry, 
 using figurative language; (3) stories true to life, including such 
 stories as "Tree Dwellers" and "Early Cave Men," with tales of
 
 26 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 colonial days, and of Indian life. Experienced teachers will find 
 inspiration to renewed effort in Lynn's "A Stepdaughter of the 
 Prairie," a book that, without seeming to teach, is full of sugges- 
 tions about literature for children. (See also Minnesota Library 
 List for third grade.) 
 
 Talking. — With previous training well done, (see grades I and 
 II,) pupils now make rapid strides in freedom and fluency, because 
 of enriched vocabulary. Without detriment to these factors of 
 good talking, children must be drilled upon such errors of English 
 as are likely, if not conquered, to be forever troublesome. It is 
 worth the teacher's time to conquer them here, and to make pupils 
 conscious of what they are learning, though they should not be- 
 come self-conscious or "afraid to speak." Language games play a 
 most important part, and, as illustration of what may be done, a 
 few are given below.* 
 
 Game 1. This game is like a spelling-match. The teacher gives out the fol- 
 lowing words, one by one: 
 
 a bubble a horn a kite a whistle 
 
 a potato a feather a flag a picture 
 
 a lesson a riddle an answer a ball 
 
 a bean-bag a wagon a tulip a leaf 
 
 The pupil whose turn it is, should reply instantly, choosing the most fitting 
 answer from the following sentences: I grew it, I threw it, I blew it, I drew it, 
 I flew it, I knew it. It is a failure to hesitate or to give the wrong answer. 
 
 Game 2. For another game, the teacher may give out the same words, and 
 the pupil whose turn it is may respond instantly with one of the following ques- 
 tions: 
 
 "Have you ever known one?" "Have you ever flown one?" 
 
 "Have you ever blown one?" "Have you ever thrown one?" 
 
 "Have you ever shown one?" "Have you ever grown one?" 
 
 Game 3. Make up a similar one for the class to play, using these words: 
 bought, thought, fought, caught, taught, brought. 
 
 Game 4. A similar game may be made, using the following sentences, only 
 there will be no rhyming words in it: 
 
 I saw it I wore it. I sang it. I showed it. 
 
 I did it. I stuck it. I shook it. I strung it. 
 
 I chose it. I drove it. I swung it. I spun it. 
 
 I wrote it. I ate it. I rang it. I hid it. 
 
 I broke it. I took it. I dug it. I bit it. 
 
 I tore it. I gave it. I said it. I wove it. 
 
 Children of this age like the "Goop" stories, as children of a 
 decade ago liked Cox's Brownies, and if a few original rhymes can 
 be invented by the teacher, and printed on a card with some draw- 
 ings of Goops added, much will be done to correct English errors. 
 
 * From p. 22 of "Speaking and Writing," by Maxwell, Johnston, and Barnum.
 
 Language. — Grade III. — Writing. 27 
 
 Children should hold clearer standards as to what is "a good 
 talk," and be ready to help one another improve. To have all at- 
 tend to the speaker who is telling a story known to all is not easy, 
 but that it can be accomplished has been proved several times. 
 
 Standards set for lower grades should be maintained and slightly 
 raised. Since most of our troubles in written composition come 
 from our neglect of oral composition, the lower-grade teachers can 
 scarcely be too rigid in forming right habits in oral work. While 
 breaking up the habit of running sentences together by over use of 
 and, so, then, etc., the children's sentences may become short and 
 jerky; but this is not so bad as the stringing together of only loosely 
 related ideas, since the "choppy sentence" is more easily cured in 
 later grades than is the complete lack of "sentence feeling." "In- 
 distinct utterance, poor sentence structure, grammatical mistakes, 
 a poverty of words, and a lack of anything like fluency," should 
 not be said of any children's English when they have finished 
 the elementary grades. 
 
 Writing. — "When the pupil comes to put on paper what he has 
 to say, the situation becomes complicated by the entrance of fac- 
 tors which were not present when he was expressing himself orally. 
 He must think about his penmanship. He must watch his spelling. 
 He must look out for his capitals, his punctuation, his indention, 
 and all that. These things become automatic, or nearly so, after 
 years of training and practice; so that educated men and women 
 are required to give little or no thought to their penmanship, spell- 
 ing, punctuation, and the other technicalities of written expression. 
 But the child is at first obliged to think of all these things all of the 
 time. By degrees, however, with reasonably good instruction and 
 sufficient practice of the right kind, the observance of the simpler 
 requirements of written technique becomes habitual to him, so 
 that by the time the pupil has completed the elementary-school 
 course, he ought to be fairly free from the necessity of giving con- 
 scious attention to the mechanics of written language. The few 
 things that are required in the way of written technicalities must 
 be mastered as early as possible in the course, so that these diffi- 
 culties will not stand too long in the way of the freedom and spon- 
 taneity of the child's expression. So long as his attention is dis- 
 tracted from the thought of what he wants to say by thinking of 
 his penmanship, his spelling, his punctuation, and similar matters 
 of written technique, his composition is likely to be formal, meagre, 
 and uninteresting. On the other hand, it would be folly to at- 
 tempt to cultivate freedom of expression by allowing children to
 
 28 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 write regardless of the rules of punctuation, spelling, arrangement, 
 and the like. These matters of written technique (and we are 
 dealing with only the simplest items of them in this course of 
 study) should not, during the process of writing, hold the center 
 of consciousness. 
 
 "In handling subjects drawn from every-day life there will be 
 need at first for the teacher to exercise skill in keeping the children's 
 compositions from becoming trite and trivial. This she can do by 
 training children to discover interest in common things, and by 
 suggesting a live manner of treatment. Nothing in the world is 
 commonplace unless we make it so. Knowledge and interest, 
 therefore, are necessary conditions for good work in composition. 
 Children's lives are crowded with incidents; they have plenty of 
 ideas and opinions which they are eager to express. Every child 
 who is not feeble-minded has something worth saying if he is given 
 a decent chance to say it. From their life at home, in the streets, 
 in school; from their sports, amusements, duties, tasks; from the 
 things they have seen and heard and felt and done; from the 
 things they read and the things they imagine; from all these may 
 be drawn an almost endless variety of subjects, full of the breath 
 of life and the actuality of experience. . Some children, of course, 
 are less keen in their observation than others, and all children need 
 to have their eyes opened and their wits sharpened to see interest- 
 ing themes in the incidents and experiences which make up their 
 daily life. To teach children to observe closely and to think 
 clearly and consecutively is one of the chief values of training in 
 composition."* 
 
 "Teachers are inclined sometimes to give an undue amount of 
 dictation, because their classes happen to be poorly grounded on 
 the mechanics; and they postpone original work until a satisfactory 
 condition obtains with respect to their pupils' grasp of technique. 
 This is a double mistake. Correctness cannot be produced from 
 much use of the dictation exercise, because the kind of correctness 
 it teaches cannot be depended upon to carry over into the pupil's 
 free writing. Moreover, to postpone original writing until the 
 technique has been fully mastered is a violation of a vital principle 
 of composition teaching, which is that the motive for the mastery 
 of form must come from the pupil's interest in a real and living 
 content. To drill for a long time for correctness is death to all 
 interest. To permit children to write without regard to form is 
 quite as irrational. They must be trained simultaneously to de- 
 
 * Quotation from Sheridan's "Speaking and Writing English."
 
 Language. — Grade III. — What to Expect. 29 
 
 velop the power of self-expression and the knowledge and the de- 
 sire to express themselves on paper in accordance with the estab- 
 lished rules of correct writing. To do this well, as has been said 
 before, is the real test of the good teacher of written composition."* 
 
 Penmanship. — If no system is used, there should at least be 
 plenty of practice in (1) position of body, arm, hand, and pencil; 
 (2) easy movement which yet gives greater control over lines, so 
 that letters are now well formed, though form is still subservient 
 to movement. The same motives as those indicated in second 
 grade will operate for producing pride in legible work. Still other 
 motives to use are: Wanting the paper singled out as "One of the 
 good ones"; having an exercise sent to the parents as evidence of 
 improvement; writing simple invitations to some room festival, or 
 replying to invitations from another room or class; being quick to 
 answer in writing at the blackboard some written question of the 
 teacher's. Children should write from about 25 to 35 letters in a 
 minute, and ought to refer to the teacher's copy of lower-case 
 letters only to better the form during the practice period. A few 
 of the unusual capitals will still need to be copied when needed. 
 
 Spelling. — See second-grade statement. The teacher of third 
 grade must also make her own list from her pupils' writing needs. 
 It should include about two or three hundred words additional to 
 those of the second grade. The plans for making pupils indepen- 
 dent in second grade should be used in third (pp. 23-24). 
 
 What to expect by the end of the third year. — In addition to what 
 is expected in grades I and II, third-year pupils should show some 
 power of sustained attention; ability to judge values when only 
 two or three situations are presented and when the difference is 
 still somewhat marked; ability to tell why a thing is liked or not — ■ 
 that is, to have a rudimentary standard for judging values; and 
 knowledge of how to work independently, using books, black- 
 board, memorized poems, etc., whenever the teacher cannot assist. 
 Besides the skill in penmanship and spelling implied above, the 
 minimum mechanics to be demanded of third grade, above first 
 and second, (see pages 19 and 24,) should probably be: A. Capi- 
 tals used (1) in all proper nouns; (2) in all days of the week and 
 months of the year; (3) abbreviations of the names of the months. 
 B. (1) Abbreviations, contractions, homonyms, etc., needed for 
 daily work, like don't, Vm, to, too, two. C. (1) Paragraph form, 
 including indention and regular margin; in original compositions 
 children should attempt only one paragraph, but in copying work 
 the second paragraph will often be needed. 
 
 * Quotation from Sheridan's "Speaking and Writing English."
 
 30 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Grade IV. 
 
 Listening. — Pupils of this grade can now "listen" to stories not 
 only through the ear, but by means of their eyes, since they have 
 now fairly well mastered the mechanics of reading. This ability 
 should be encouraged, as a means of engendering the "reading 
 habit." All story-telling and reading by the teacher should not 
 be given up, however, since the values named for their use in lower 
 grades are equally operative here. 
 
 More than before, the recitations become a source of listening. 
 Fourth-grade pupils begin to reason from cause to effect, and are 
 on the lookout for inaccuracies in facts and conclusions. They are 
 verifying their earlier concepts and generalizations, and want proof 
 for opinions different from their own. This makes them good lis- 
 teners, and good critics if rightly guided; hence the good recitation, 
 with its opportunities for exchange of opinions, for the asking of 
 vital questions, and for short talks on interesting topics, is the 
 best place to secure intelligent listening. 
 
 In games especially, this tendency to "verify" makes children 
 respect law, at least the letter of the law; hence they like literature 
 that deals with obedience to law or the results of disobedience. 
 Hall's "Viking Tales," "Pinocchio," "Robin Hood," "William 
 Tell," and other tales of courage, such as are found in history 
 stories and in lives of great Americans, are especially liked. (See 
 the Minnesota Library List.) 
 
 Talking. — At this age, associations of ideas are numerous and 
 strong; it is very easy for a child to follow one idea to the most dis- 
 tant planet through the associations that come in one continuous 
 train. Many games can be devised to utilize this ability and turn 
 to account the vocabulary thus brought to light. When, however, 
 it becomes necessary for a child to select a few from the numerous 
 words that crowd the mind, he must be given the motive: for 
 the sake of clearness, or to prevent himself from being misunder- 
 stood. 
 
 In attempting to describe a game so that the listener can't play 
 it incorrectly, children get the teacher's meaning of being clear, 
 since, as one child after the other tells how to do some part of the 
 game, the teacher does it incorrectly if there is any license at all 
 for so doing. To illustrate, the children plan to tell the teacher 
 exactly how to play "fox and geese" in the snow. A volunteer be- 
 gins, "First make a ciicle." The teacher makes one — a tiny one, 
 just a few inches in diameter — on the floor, then waits without a
 
 Language. — Grade IV. — -Talking. 31 
 
 sign for the next direction. The child who volunteered, and oth- 
 ers, quickly raise hands to add the dimension of the circle. As the 
 description proceeds, pupils become more and more critical of 
 themselves and of one another, not wanting the teacher to "try" a 
 direction until the children feel sure it is correctly stated. 
 
 This oral work can be followed by written work on the same 
 theme. Children there have a chance to check themselves, sen- 
 tence by sentence; and coherency is bound to increase. 
 
 Planning an entertainment for another room also sets a motive 
 for clearness, and the need of supplying unwritten dialogue so that 
 the audience which is not familiar with the story can follow it, 
 brings just the sort of improvised dramatizations desired — -drama- 
 tizations for the sake of self-expression, not primarily for gather- 
 ing vocabulary and diction, as is sometimes wanted. (See pages 
 237-241 for illustrations of children's supplementing of "Viking 
 Tales.") 
 
 If encouraged to do so, children gain ease of expression, increase 
 their vocabulary, and learn to be coherent, by reporting upon the 
 books being read outside of school. With one or another of these 
 strong motives for clearness, "Make others like the story as well 
 as you do"; "Make them see the pictures or the joke"; "Help them 
 get the drift of the story to the point desired"; the children may 
 be asked to give brief summaries of their stories to the point where 
 some oral reading is to be done. 
 
 Picture study can also be turned to good account here. Acting 
 pictures for others to guess can be followed by describing pictures 
 for others to name. 
 
 There are two main kinds of descriptions to be worked for, one 
 at a time. There is the kind which names the central idea and 
 then gradually builds up the details to make the picture perfectly 
 clear. This is probably better for sixth grade than for fourth. The 
 other is to make the description end with the most important idea, 
 as Alice Cary does in her poem, "An Order for a Picture"; that is, 
 to work towards a climax. This is especially valuable if children 
 are to "guess" the picture described, since the speaker must make 
 a longer talk, with the motive of preventing the right guess until 
 the final clue is given, and the listeners make many associations, 
 reviewing several pictures suggested by the description. 
 
 Nature-study material, literature, cities, or people of different 
 countries in geography, and characters in history, may be similarly 
 used. Here is a "riddle" made by a child after the class had all 
 studied melons, gourds, etc., in the fall:
 
 32 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 "I am thinking of the fruit of a common plant. It is round like a ball. It 
 is a dark or reddish yellow. [Here half the school raised hands and volunteered 
 'orange.'] No. It has a harder skin than the orange. [A few hands are raised; 
 'gourd' is named. 1 No. It belongs to the gourd family, but is usually much larger 
 than a gourd. [A few volunteer 'watermelon.'] Cattle like it to eat raw, but we 
 care for it most when mother makes it into a pie. ['Pumpkin,' say many.] Yes." 
 
 To show that a quite different treatment is possible, a second 
 "riddle" with the same answer is quoted.: 
 
 "My home is in the garden — not the flower garden, though my blossom is 
 pretty; it is shaped like a morning glory, but is larger and is bright yellow. I 
 grow on a vine. The vine has to run on the ground because its fruit is too heavy 
 to let it climb a pole, as beans do. When I was little I was green, but as I grew 
 ripe, I turned yellow — just about the color of my blossom. I have a hard rind, 
 so I won't decay as I rest on the damp ground. Children like to make me into 
 a Jack-o-lantern." 
 
 Children should be encouraged to make free use of all room 
 material in illustrating their talks. This teaches them to observe, 
 to relate ideas, and to be ingenious in using material at hand, while 
 the teacher is helped to know whether pupils have the correct idea 
 or not. One child, who planned the acting of the opening stanza 
 of a poem learned by the school — Whittier's "In School Days" — 
 for all who could do so to guess and to recite, had one child hang 
 her hands over the teacher's desk to show "raggedness," a few 
 crouch by the desk for "sumachs," but the greater number running 
 round and round the desk. Every onlooker at once recognized 
 the "running blackberry vines." Though it was funny, the 
 teacher very soberly questioned about why vines are said to "run" 
 and how that sort of running could be better shown. 
 
 Games for correcting English errors are probably more effective 
 in this grade than elsewhere, since the children care much for "the 
 rule of the game," and choose to play a well-known game such as 
 "The Black Art" even when the real point is lost by their knowing 
 how it is done. As this game is especially good to correct, "Is it 
 them leaves?" and to teach this, that, these, and those, the teacher 
 does well to encourage it, even by suggesting slight variations. 
 
 Black Art.— A child who knows the rule of the game leaves the room while 
 the rest select some object. On his return, the teacher, or a second child who 
 knows the game, asks: "Is it the clock?" "Is it that eraser?" "Is it this apple?" 
 "Is it these flowers?" "Is it Lulu's shoe?" "Is it Mary's ribbon?" To all but 
 
 the last, the child answers, "It is not the ." This time he says, "It is Mary's 
 
 ribbon." (He knows because the questioner named something black in the 
 question before the one containing the correct object.) 
 
 This can be varied by use of this, that, these, and those; by changing to colors; 
 by having a definite number of questions agreed upon; etc. 
 
 Good English is mastered by practice, and the earlier the prac- 
 tice fixes the correct forms in the child's mind and tongue, the
 
 Language. — Grade IV. — Writing. 33 
 
 better for him. Drill should not cease just because a child knows 
 that he shouldn't say "I seen it"; it should continue until he never 
 says or inclines to say, "I seen it." 
 
 Writing. — The mechanics of writing, penmanship, spelling, and 
 simpler punctuation, are by fourth grade fairly well (though of 
 course not fully) mastered. Because children are thus free to give 
 more attention to thought than to mechanics, they begin to enjoy 
 writing, and voluntarily do much, even outside of school. Every 
 teacher now has brought to her little essays, stories, poems (rhymes), 
 and short plays which the children are voluntarily writing. By 
 kindly criticism of these efforts, by encouraging their continuance, 
 and by using them (with the writer's consent) to incite other pupils 
 to similar effort, the teacher will find written composition not diffi- 
 cult to secure. 
 
 Besides the topics chosen for the voluntary compositions, the 
 teacher will find fourth-grade pupils interested in bringing to every 
 recitation some supplementary material, gathered from parents or 
 books at home and not known to the majority of the class. The 
 child thus has a strong motive for being accurate and clear. The 
 class criticism should be mainly on accuracy and clearness. If 
 other pupils have read what disagrees with some statement made, 
 the point should be challenged and all should then work together 
 to secure the best authority on the question. If points are not 
 made clear, as proven by questions or by another child's reproduc- 
 tion of what was said being unsatisfactory to the one who wrote 
 it, the writer must try again to make himself clear. 
 
 Assigned topics should possess personal interest to the pupils, 
 should be possible of execution, not too long, and very definite. 
 Perhaps teachers err more often on this last point than on any 
 other, for such topics as "Dogs," "My Trip West," "What I did 
 last summer," etc., are commonly assigned. "It is impossible for 
 any child to write in an interesting manner upon such a subject 
 within the limits of a single paragraph. At best, it can be no more 
 than a bare catalog of events. Within the compass of any vaca- 
 tion, long or short, there is a score of incidents and experiences 
 exactly suitable for narrating or describing in the written para- 
 graph, because they give opportunity for striking and vivid detail; 
 but to ask a child to set down in a single paragraph the doings of a 
 whole vacation is to foredoom him to failure. Teachers should, 
 therefore, narrow their subjects. This focuses thinking, establishes 
 a single point of view, and makes it possible for the child to put his 
 own thinking into his composition. After that, even, it will be 
 found necessary to train children to single out some particular
 
 34 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 points in their specific subjects, so as to make some one idea stand 
 out prominently." There is no doubt that, with even little guid- 
 ance, pupils in grade IV can pick out and hold the central or bigger 
 thoughts; can hold a central thought and work around it; can show 
 the relation to it of a few of the minor ideas. 
 
 For keeping up drill in the mechanics, nothing will be more 
 helpful than a continued use of blackboard questions and answers, 
 with such adaptations as are necessary to fit the size of the class 
 and blackboard space. 
 
 "The dictation exercise is useful in developing the power of self- 
 criticism, because of the opportunity it affords pupils to correct 
 their own papers in every minute detail by comparing them with 
 the teacher's blackboard copy (uncovered after the writing) or the 
 printed original. No exercises are more important than exercises 
 in which the pupil corrects his own written work. Careful and in- 
 telligent criticism of his own work fixes correct habits and develops 
 a habit of discrimination which helps him to undertake new work 
 more confidently and to execute it more accurately. The dicta- 
 tion exercise is an especially good starting point for training of 
 self-correction because here the field of criticism is limited to a 
 small number of points, all of which have to do with the mechanics 
 of writing, and all of which, besides, are arbitrarily determined by 
 the matter dictated. A formula for correction, suited to the grade, 
 may be written upon the board, or upon a card which each pupil 
 has on his desk. Such a formula contains, let us say, the following 
 points: 
 
 1. Indenting the paragraph. 4. Apostrophe. 6. Quotation marks. 
 
 2. Capitals. 5. Comma. 7. Spelling. 
 
 3. Periods. 
 
 The pupils are instructed at first to look through their papers 
 for one kind of mistake at a time, until they have gone through 
 the list. They correct each error as they find it. In this way not 
 many errors will escape them. After a while they will outgrow the 
 need of the formula as a correction chart; but at the beginning it 
 serves a very useful purpose. It helps to systematize the correc- 
 tion work, and impresses upon the pupil's mind, more effectively 
 than talking commonly can, what the big matters of written tech- 
 nique are. 
 
 "Copying continues to have a value; but a 'time limit' should 
 be set to exercises in copying, if a pupil's power of observation and 
 accuracy are to be rightly measured. A teacher cannot measure 
 the power of all the individuals in her class if some are given twice 
 as long as others to finish the same exercise."* 
 
 * Sheridan.
 
 Language. — Grade IV. — Letter- Writing. 35 
 
 The need of writing dialogue to be used in room-plays will give 
 a strong motive for mastering the correct placing of quotation- 
 marks and the use of the comma preceding a simple quotation. 
 
 Though the mastery of the apostrophe may well wait until the 
 fifth grade, the teacher of fourth grade may give such parts of the 
 work as her pupils need. (See pp. 245-251 for full lesson-plan on 
 this topic.) 
 
 The writing of simple letters and notes, including the addressing 
 of the envelope, are also new bits of form to master here. It is bet- 
 ter to use one form consistently throughout a school than to try 
 several and perhaps confuse the children. Since every child will 
 need to write letters after he leaves school and may never need to 
 write any other form of composition, this work should be emphasized 
 and made as interesting as possible in every grade from this on. 
 
 "The form, or arrangement, of the letter is a matter wholly sep- 
 arate from the writing of the letter itself. It is a matter of pure 
 technique, and should be taken up as such. Thus, a letter should 
 be placed on the board, or hectographed, and the attention of the 
 pupils called to the mechanical placing of the several parts. After 
 sufficient study, the letter should be copied by the pupils. The 
 letters that the teacher puts before the children for study of the 
 form, should be models of letter writing as well as of correctness of 
 mechanical arrangement. The body of the letters so used should 
 be short (not more than five or six sentences in the fourth grade), 
 but they ought to read like real letters from real children. Noth- 
 ing should be said about the body of these letters at this time, but 
 the children will catch the spirit of them without comment from 
 the teacher. Later on, these same letters, or others, should be 
 dictated to test the children's knowledge of the form. All models 
 presented children should conform strictly in arrangement and 
 punctuation to the standard letter form adopted. When the form 
 has been well taught, the work of writing original letters should 
 begin. It is the almost universal experience of teachers that the 
 letters which children write in school are painfully unnatural and 
 uninteresting. That is because they have usually no real letter to 
 answer, no real person to whom to write, and no reason or desire 
 at that particular time to write any kind of letter to anybody. 
 So far as it is possible, therefore, the letters written in school 
 should be real letters to real people."* 
 
 Penmanship. — If no system is. used to give the teacher her out- 
 lines, she should, in fourth grade, drill, as before, on movement, 
 but may now give even more attention to form, size, and slant of 
 
 * Sheridan.
 
 36 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 letters. In fact, the final handwriting of the child will now begin 
 to be formed, hence he should be made conscious of the goal. He 
 should not compete with others, however, so much as with his own 
 record. He should be able to write well and with muscular move- 
 ment about 35 to 45 letters a minute. A fortnightly, weekly, or 
 monthly specimen of a child's handwriting, selected from any 
 written exercise of the day, will serve a double purpose. It will 
 help the child to check his own improvement and it will make him 
 careful about all written work, since he doesn't know which exer- 
 cise will be chosen to represent him. Unless penmanship is kept 
 up to the standard in all classes the special writing period will have 
 little value. It is wise not to select penmanship specimens on a 
 given day for all pupils, but to make the individual selections at 
 times which will either encourage or prod a child to further effort. 
 Work below standard should be redone outside of school hours. 
 
 Spelling.— Throughout fourth grade, as before, greater emphasis 
 should be placed upon the habitual spelling of small words needed 
 daily in every form of written exercise rather than upon longer 
 unusual words. However, the rapid oral vocabulary acquisition of 
 third-grade pupils and the need of its use in writing in fourth grade, 
 makes necessary a separate period for (1) learning how to look at 
 words, (2) how to note hard places, (3) how to relate the word to 
 others that are similar, and, hence, (4) how to master the word. 
 Pupils should feel sure of their spelling of from 700 to 1000 common 
 words, aside from their individual mastery of from 100 to 300 odd 
 words met in reading, geography, etc. 
 
 What should be expected by the end of the fourth grade. — All required 
 before in the way of having something to say, and of saying it well 
 to a sympathetic audience and while standing on both feet. 
 
 With the grasp of a central idea about which subordinate ideas 
 cluster, some of the pupils can be led to use when, which, and while, 
 as connectives; but it is better to keep sentences short and clear 
 than to change them into long, meandering sentences which would 
 destroy the children's "sentence feeling." 
 
 More freedom is seen in written work, because children are in 
 large measure now released from detailed attention to the mechan- 
 ics. Yet accuracy in using acquired knowledge on a short, inter- 
 esting composition, should outrank mere quantity poorly done. 
 
 Children should have acquired a few standards for self-criti- 
 cism, and no work should be handed in until it is as perfect as the 
 child knows how to make it. 
 
 Besides the mechanics already named for grades I, II, and III, 
 and implied under Penmanship and Spelling, pupils should be held
 
 Language. — Grade V. — Listening. 37 
 
 for: A. Captials: (1) In all proper names used; (2) as needed in 
 writing simple letters and notes, and addressing an envelope; (3) 
 as needed in the undivided quotation; (4) titles of stories, poems, 
 books, etc. B. Final Marks: (1) Exclamation-point. C. Com- 
 mas: (1) In a series of words; (2) in writing a simple quotation; 
 (3) as needed in letter forms. D. Abbreviations, contractions, 
 homonyms, etc.: (1) All needed for daily work; (2) apostrophe in a 
 few simple genitives. E. Other forms of punctuation as needed to 
 aid clearness of thought: (1) Quotation-marks; (2) poetical forms 
 (children now composing rhymes or poems). 
 
 Grade V. 
 
 Listening. — Besides all sources used before, (see Grades I to IV,) 
 teachers of the fifth grade and above should make constantly 
 greater and greater use of the recitation, and, in addition, should 
 urge pupils to listen to speakers everywhere. Secure the coopera- 
 tion of the superintendent, so that he and other visitors may occa- 
 sionally tell an anecdote, make a speech, or tell a story. 
 
 Pupils begin now to show a real appreciation of values in talks 
 heard, in nature, and in the lives of eminent citizens. In attempt- 
 ing to voice this appreciation and discrimination of values, children 
 will especially need descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs), 
 though of course other parts of speech will also be added to their 
 vocabulary. If encouraged to do so, they will be on the lookout 
 for usable words in talks heard and in reading done until a rich 
 vocabulary of descriptive words becomes theirs. 
 
 Listening to quotations from good literature, selected to fit the 
 general topic under discussion, usually ends in one or all of several 
 things: (1) Vocabulary increase from just the hearing; (2) chil- 
 dren's keeping a "dictionary" of quotations, instead of one of words 
 as in second grade (in loose-leaf note-books, so that the quotations 
 gathered can be classified under such needed titles as Autumn, 
 Spring, Fire, Wind, Trees, Snow, Dress; and quotations may either 
 be copied, or referred to by author, volume, page, and line); (3) 
 pupils grow interested and read more for themselves. While chil- 
 dren are accumulating a lengthy vocabulary, lessons and games 
 which demand discrimination in their use will be needed to unite 
 ear and tongue in favoring correct usage. 
 
 Lack of training in listening to good literature, as to good music, 
 causes an individual to miss educative opportunities. He hears a 
 story or talk, and knows in a general way that it was pleasing; but 
 he doesn't know why, and hence cannot make his own the idea 
 that made it pleasing. If he learns early to listen, and then is led
 
 38 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 to note whether a talk was pleasing because of the thought or of the 
 expression, later analyzing each of these, he has a background for 
 his own compositions. The child of ten or twelve begins to realize 
 how big the world is, and how many adventures lie ahead of him 
 and his companions. That he may have some notion of what to 
 expect, he reads stories of adventure, and stories of men and women 
 who are making present social conditions. He likes to hear read 
 or told the Arthurian legends, tales of Ulysses (especially when 
 recognized as an allegory), Beowulf, Roland, etc., the story of 
 Perseus and Medea, tales of local and state history, and of his- 
 torical characters everywhere in the United States. He also likes 
 Ernest Thompson Seton's stories, as well as books like Poe's "The 
 Gold Bug" and Stevenson's "Treasure Island," though these are 
 too difficult for class use in the oral reading hour. 
 
 Talking. — Before this, pupils have talked so unconsciously that 
 if parents and teachers have been at all thoughtful, freedom has not 
 been hard to secure. Now, however, in the fifth, or sometimes in 
 the sixth grade, the child begins naturally to be self-conscious, and 
 extra effort must be made to ignore all results of the "awkward 
 age." Feeling his own weaknesses, he giggles or hesitates when he 
 recites, and is inclined to ease his own feelings by laughing at simi- 
 lar signs of self-consciousness in his companions. The teacher 
 must, by gentle measures, by precept, and by example, continue to 
 make all listeners into a "sympathetic audience." Through the 
 use of stories about people of other lands, their dress, their speech, 
 their games, their customs of all kinds, children may be given many 
 standards instead of just one. If the teacher can lead children to 
 see the beauties and picturesqueness, rather than the oddities, of 
 other people's dress and speech, he will be doing much to arouse 
 the spirit of cosmopolitanism so much talked about now. If sug- 
 gestion is not effective, children must be forced into courteous at- 
 tention, into absolutely no laughing at one another, though laugh- 
 ing with one another over certain situations may well be encouraged. 
 Not a person in the world is so free from awkwardness of some sort 
 as to have the right to ridicule others, and nothing more quickly 
 betrays provincialism (either in city or in country) than this "mak- 
 ing fun" of another because he fails to conform in some minor de- 
 tail to the one (and only one) standard known to the laugher. 
 It is traveled, cultured people who have seen much of life, have 
 recognized the fineness of character in a rude tent-dweller, have 
 visited many localities and known numerous ways of doing one 
 thing, who know that forms are very superficial bases for the judg- 
 ing of worths. Let the audience, then, be courteous and sympa-
 
 Language. — Grade V.— Writing. 39 
 
 thetic, looking for what is good no matter how hidden, adversely 
 criticizing the bad only when such criticism will help the speaker. 
 
 Narration of interesting experiences (actual or imaginary); de- 
 scriptions of people in geography, history, or literature; descriptions 
 of birds, trees, and gardens, from nature study or general lessons; 
 and explanations of how to play games, or to make some bit of ap- 
 paratus in manual training, some garment in sewing, or some dish 
 in cooking; are all means for the securing of (1) something to say, 
 and (2) saying it (a) interestingly, (b) fluently, and (c) clearly. 
 
 Poetry committed to memory and recited verbatim, and stories, 
 jokes, anecdotes, and incidents, given in the child's own words but 
 worked over often enough to insure good telling, will be valuable 
 aids to good talking. Children may now learn to choose the essen- 
 tials or the non-essentials which make a given topic interesting or 
 clear, and then to develop those points, not simply relating a list 
 of events associated by contiguity alone. The use of a slip of 
 paper containing a few headings may be encouraged to induce 
 thinking before speaking. 
 
 Because of the tendency to self-consciousness, enunciation will 
 be one of the things needing attention; but since children rather 
 like enunciation drills, such as the old-time Theophilus Thistle and 
 Peter Piper rhymes, mumbling need not prevail. Errors of gram- 
 mar, local and individual, are omnipresent; the same sorts of drills 
 as those given before must be used, but varied, of course, to suit 
 the development of the pupils. Though no grammar is taught as 
 such, pupils may well hear and learn by incidental use the terms, 
 subject, verb, noun, descriptive word, or even adjective and adverb. 
 Posters containing such questions as, Do you say, "He doesn't catch 
 any fish"? or Did he say, "My, my! my body is broken!"? accompanied 
 by pictures of Simple Simon and Humpty-Dumpty respectively, so 
 that pupils tend to answer, "Yes, I do say, 'He doesn't catch any fish,' 
 when he fishes in a pail!" or, "Yes, he did say, 'My, my! my body is 
 broken!' " help children correct "he don't" and "is broke." Any pic- 
 tures and suitable sentences may be used, and they may be large 
 enough for all to see many times a day, unconsciously answering 
 each time; or many small cards may be used, thus making a game 
 for oral or for written work, teaching, in the latter case, the correct 
 use of quotation-marks as well. 
 
 Writing. — If a class has successfully done all required in grades 
 below this, the emphasis may now well be put upon two lines of 
 work: (1) letter writing, and (2) written vocabulary acquisition. 
 Letters may now contain at least two paragraphs, with two such 
 distinct themes as to give pupils the correct paragraph idea and
 
 40 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 not the erroneous one so commonly expressed by even high-school 
 graduates, "I thought the page would look better to be broken up 
 into paragraphs;" "I like best to read books containing short para- 
 graphs, so I thought I'd make mine short;" or "It seemed about 
 time to indent." If one boy is writing to another about his new 
 sled, for example, let him put into one paragraph all he plans to 
 say about how he made his sled, and in the second paragraph, what 
 fun he and others have had with it. The conventionalities given 
 before should be observed. 
 
 Vocabulary may be gained through games, through united class 
 effort (see pages 251-252 for illustrations), and by planned lessons 
 for the purpose, including the writing of simple rhymes (compli- 
 mented by being called poetry). 
 
 Dictionary work can now be made to aid all language efforts, 
 and lessons on certain mechanics such as quotation-marks and 
 the use of the apostrophe (see pages 98, 245-251), can be made 
 interesting and also related to other lessons. 
 
 The continuance of the plan mentioned on p. 34, of frequently 
 writing questions and answers, will secure fluency as children learn 
 to think in writing, will help the spelling of all little words, and 
 give a certain amount of ease in sentence structure. "The coop- 
 erative work of teacher and pupil is made more impressive if the 
 blackboard is brought into use in working out improvement in the 
 sequence of thought, the sentence structure, and the choice of 
 words. The teacher may copy upon it compositions which are to 
 be criticised by the class; or he may use it for presenting a model 
 composition for the pupils to follow in their own oral or written 
 constructions. One of the best ways to interest and to improve a 
 class, particularly the poorly equipped or the indifferent members, 
 is to have pupils write their own compositions on the board, instead 
 of on paper. This method can be used with great profit in a grade 
 as low as the third, and is increasingly valuable in higher grades. 
 Here the writer is certain of an audience, and equally certain of an 
 immediate estimate of his effort. He desires the appreciation of 
 this audience, and wishes to avoid any unfavorable criticism from 
 it. Therefore it is natural for him to look over his work, correct- 
 ing his own blunders before reading it aloud to the class for their 
 comments. Such exercises are certain to develop the appreciation 
 of the difference between orderly presentation of events and aim- 
 less wandering; to deepen the feeling for correct structure, and the 
 knowledge of the right use of capitals and elementary punc- 
 tuation-marks."* 
 
 * Sheridan.
 
 Language. — Grade V. — Spelling. 41 
 
 Spelling. — Oral spelling will become more and more valuable as 
 pupils learn to visualize words and name the letters from these men- 
 tal pictures. As said before, copying and dictation have some 
 values (see grades II to IV.) "Selections for copying for all grades 
 should be interesting, and in the higher grades they should have real 
 literary quality. National songs and selections frequently repeated 
 orally are suitable material for copying. It is notorious that chil- 
 dren are seldom able to write such things correctly. This is be- 
 cause the words are mostly learned by ear." 
 
 Penmanships — For many of the retarded children who reach the 
 legal age for leaving school at the end of the fifth grade, hand- 
 writing is permanently fixed. Other pupils are not harmed by 
 much practice at this point, and a cursory study of several children 
 shows that at about the age of twelve, there arises a definite inter- 
 est in hand-writing, so that pupils voluntarily spend half hours in 
 practicing on just one letter well made by a favorite teacher. 
 Teachers often wonder what to do about left-handed children. A 
 London experiment made in 1911-12 "gives some slight indication 
 that left-handed children deteriorate somewhat through being 
 forced to write with the right hand, and consequently it is sug- 
 gested that the art of writing be practiced by the superior hand 
 only."* The specific penmanship errors of the grade and of indi- 
 viduals must, by practice, be eradicated. The device of testing 
 pupils' improvement by comparison of specimens of their hand- 
 writing with selected standards in some penmanship scale is worth 
 using throughout the remaining grades of the elementary school. 
 Poor papers in class must not be tolerated. Penmanship must 
 show legibility, easy movement, letters well formed, and of uni- 
 form height, slant, and spacing. The rate should be about 45 to 
 60 letters per minute. 
 
 What to expect by the end of the fifth year. — Gain in power of vol- 
 untary attention, in picking out essentials from a heard or read 
 story or topic, and in reciting coherently. Ability to use the dic- 
 tionary, but, better yet, "a dictionary conscience." Knowledge 
 of the following mechanics in addition to those demanded in lower 
 grades (see same): A. Punctuation-marks necessary in: (1) divided 
 as well as undivided quotations; (2) using the noun of direct address; 
 (3) at least two forms of letter writing — business, and social. B. 
 Mastery of spelling and use of: (1) All kinds of genitives (nouns and 
 pronouns); (2) simple plurals of several classes of nouns, such as 
 (a) those ending in y, (b) in f or fe, (c) in o, etc.; (3) past tense of 
 common irregular verbs. Correct spelling of about two-thirds of 
 
 * Journal of Experimental Pedagogy, Vol. I. London, 1911-12.
 
 42 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 all words needed for written work, and ability to find others in the 
 dictionary. Tests show that pupils can easily spell correctly about 
 1500 words, though these may not be the same words for all pupils. 
 The "100 demons" of the South Dakota Investigation might well 
 be conquered in fifth grade. (See page 261 for list.) 
 
 Grade VI. 
 
 (See suggestions for all grades below this.) 
 
 Listening. — Since organization (including outlining and para- 
 graphing correctly) is the point of emphasis in sixth grade, the 
 "listening" should be directed to the recognition of main points 
 and to "turns" in the thought. Sometimes, as the teacher reads 
 or tells a story, he may ask that pupils name the ideas recognized 
 as emphatic. Or, he may ask for a show of hands whenever pupils 
 feel that a change in thought has occurred. Their judgment in 
 both cases may be checked by the author's paragraphing, the chil- 
 dren always first giving their reasons for feeling that a new - para- 
 graph was beginning, or that new ideas were discussed. 
 
 The teacher must take pains to read only the best of literature, 
 since it is regrettable but true that many writers of pleasing maga- 
 zine stories are careless about paragraphing, and the earlier school- 
 readers are notably badly paragraphed, since the makers seemed to 
 feel that children should see only short paragraphs regardless of 
 the meaning of "paragraph"; or else planned to make paragraphs 
 of equal length, so that the teacher need not worry about any un- 
 fairness to different pupils when each in turn read a paragraph. 
 (Good modern readers have improved on this.) Later, when pupils 
 have secured a relatively fixed standard, poorly paragraphed material 
 may occasionally be given to pupils to criticise adversely. Or, 
 hektographed material containing prose or poetry without inden- 
 tion may be given to pupils. This material should clearly fall into 
 large divisions; complex organization is beyond these children. 
 Pupils should study the material, give a title to the whole, and a 
 subtitle to each thought division, indicating thus, If, where para- 
 graphs thus chosen should begin. Results should be checked by 
 comparison of pupils' work with the author's; the author may not 
 have made the only grouping, hence all sensible work should be 
 approved. 
 
 Pupils should be gathering ideas by means of the eye as well as 
 the ear, and in all lessons should be "listening to" or "feeling" the 
 paragraph and section divisions of a topic. By naming each para- 
 graph in a short story, by naming stories, naming paragraphs, or 
 sections in the geography, history, and reading lessons, and out-
 
 Language. — Grade VI. — Listening. 43 
 
 lining the same, and by discriminating points made and selecting 
 those desired in reference reading, pupils will be learning the lesson 
 of the grade — organization. 
 
 Sixth-grade pupils are alive to speech rhythms, and enjoy learn- 
 ing bits of foreign languages. If encouraged, they will gather from 
 public speakers, from visitors or helpers in the home, from the 
 German shoemaker, from the Greek confectioner, the Italian fruit 
 vendor, or the Chinese laundryman, bits of foreign speech that will 
 vitalize all language study. The teacher who can wisely encourage 
 this, even adding from his own store of information some Latin or 
 other ancient language, and possibly some modern language, will 
 lay a strong foundation fondness for the study of language. Pupils 
 are interested in the history of our language, and listen with unbat- 
 ing interest to old English ballads and to tales from Chaucer, 
 though the odd spellings prevent these from being good reading 
 material at this age. 
 
 Besides ballads and the "Canterbury Tales," pupils enjoy, in 
 poetical form, translations of the "Iliad," of the "Odyssey," and of 
 "William Tell." They like some of Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient 
 Rome," and greatly enjoy stories of foreign lands and peoples, as 
 well as of boys and girls away from home, especially at some acad- 
 emy or college. "Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates," "Arthur 
 Bonnicastle," "Tom Brown's School Days," "Little Men," are 
 books loved by sixth-grade boys. They also like "The Gold Bug," 
 "Treasure Island," and other books named for fifth-graders. 
 
 This is a good grade in which to begin putting on the blackboard 
 weekly or semi-weekly quotations that fit the season; the daily 
 work; some disciplinary situation; or, occasionally, a clean, clever 
 joke. The teacher should watch their effect on the children, and 
 if they seem to appeal, suggest that the children hunt quotations 
 they would like to have used; later, the school may elect a quotation 
 committee, with the teacher as critic or censor, to find and write the 
 quotations for a month. Incidentally, if pupils keep quotation- 
 books their vocabularies, spelling, and penmanship, will be benefited. 
 
 Talking. — In recitations, in reading, in dramatizing, in telling a 
 story or incident, in talking upon a topic, sixth-grade pupils must 
 be encouraged to go a step beyond their earlier attainments. They 
 must, of course, have something to say, hence must continue to (1) 
 select a topic about which they know something; (2) narrow to a 
 point that can be given in the allotted time (or space, if writing) ; 
 
 (3) see that the point selected will be entertaining or instructive; 
 
 (4) tell it so that hearers will be interested. In the lower grades, 
 no more needed to be said, for, to be interesting, the short talk
 
 44 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 needed little more than the first step in the process, namely, catch 
 the listener's attention. As the topical recitations or stories or talks 
 grow longer, pupils must be given the second step, which is, hold 
 the listener's attention. To hold the attention of one's audience 
 the speaker must have his talk well organized. There must be 
 evident unity of purpose arid a consistency of development. After 
 the essential point is selected, the subordinate ideas which aid the 
 effective development of the topic must be well grouped. In any 
 case, the child must learn not to "jump about," touching first one 
 idea and then another, then back to the first, etc. Sixth-grade 
 children enjoy hearing Riley's "The Bear Story, that Alex 'ist 
 Made Up His Own Self," evidently told by a child of four to six 
 years of age, as an illustration of the inconsistency and lack of unity 
 and organization which sixth graders are working to overcome. 
 This second motive lasts well into, if not through, the seventh 
 grade, so the teacher can afford to spend plenty of time upon it, 
 securing natural and not forced growth. 
 
 "Language work carries a magician's wand of three-fold power: 
 it gives the child firm foothold from which he may take his next 
 step upward; it throws the light of self-knowledge among the 
 shadows of that chaotic self whence his personality struggles to 
 emerge; it finds for him a voice which hastens his social birth, and 
 sets him with his fellows and of them, not merely among them. 
 
 "At almost any point in his development his power may be 
 stunted by a growing disproportion between his experience and his 
 expression. Crudity of expression on one plane becomes crudity 
 of thought on the next higher; one can think and feel somewhat in 
 advance of his power of expression, but that distance is limited. 
 Inadequate language development in early years thus works in- 
 calculable harm to later thought, but so subtly that it is often im- 
 possible to sift the induced from the native barrenness of later 
 thought. Nor does the blighting effect of cramped expression 
 desolate the narrow field of thought alone; delicate perceptions die 
 away, fragile aspirations droop, yearnings toward the high fade to 
 dull commonplace, for lack of developing expression. Let the 
 child but learn the lineaments of his thought well enough to chisel 
 out its likeness in words and he will straighten many a twist; let 
 him learn the soul of his feeling well enough to breathe its life into 
 words and he will strangle much that is ignoble and extravagant. 
 
 "The fullest worth of the individual comes through his touch 
 with others; yet sympathies, faiths, keep silence within him if there 
 is fear of distortion by a garb of unaccustomed words. Anything 
 that will uncover these hidden values is of great worth; and the
 
 Language. — Grade VI. — Talking. 45 
 
 power to clothe the inner reality in words which shall truly reveal 
 the individual, sets free his social energy and gives him a deserved 
 rank among his fellows."* » 
 
 Language is the right, then, of every individual, a right so im- 
 portunate that not one teacher can afford to let an opportunity 
 for language training slip by. Teachers who use choice and cour- 
 teous English in the daily work of the schoolroom employ one of 
 the most effective means of securing pleasing speech from their 
 pupils, and, incidentally, they secure deference from their pupils 
 and acquire a greater social charm. 
 
 That pupils of all grades are word-poor is a well-known fact; 
 but that youth is the time to acquire a rich vocabulary few teachers 
 realize sufficiently to make vocabulary work a definite phase of the 
 language work of every grade. It should be so made. "Watch 
 every opportunity to enrich the child's store of forcible words. 
 Whole lessons need to be devoted entirely to word gathering. 
 Once get the children eager to express a definite idea and they very 
 rapidly absorb new words which will aid them therein. In general 
 the best source for new words is the class. Whenever a need for 
 words is felt, make a class list; it is astonishing how rich is the 
 combined vocabulary of a class whose individual members are 
 word-poor. The teacher may add such as he desires them to add 
 to their stock; but they take from each other most readily. It is 
 valuable to read some bit of literature gemmed with the sort of 
 words they will need, just before the task in composition is set 
 them. The main thing is to give pupils their new words in response 
 to a definite need. Take a good copy of Rosa Bonheur's Lion, and 
 try to get words describing the expression; or mount a milkweed- 
 stalk and set the children trying to picture it in words; examine a 
 winged Mercury, and the children's vocabulary will multiply, in 
 certain directions, wonderfully; compete to see who can, with a 
 limited number of words, make a fire brightest, a sunset most deli- 
 cate, a man angriest, a curve most graceful, a boy most courageous, 
 a mountain ruggedest, and so on. This sort of work should not be 
 too frequent, but it is most valuable in multiplying new words. 
 The surroundings and interest of any class will furnish a thought- 
 ful teacher with innumerable openings for such exercises."* 
 
 Teaching pupils how to study different lessons is one of the main 
 tasks of the sixth-grade teacher, and the work there done in getting 
 pupils to recognize main points, to unite and name related facts, 
 and to supplement the thought, will have a very direct and stimu- 
 
 * Winona Normal Bulletin, January, 1910, (out of print).
 
 46 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 lating effect upon the language work, both oral and written, of the 
 grade. 
 
 Earlier grades give the values of memorizing poems and quo- 
 tations. Dramatization in which pupils use an author's exact 
 words is valuable for training in vocabulary and conventional sen- 
 tence structure; but the other form of dramatization, that in which 
 pupils give the author's thought but express in their own words 
 what they would feel under the same circumstances, gives better 
 training in self-expression, and should be gradually used more and 
 more in advancing grades. 
 
 Correction of errors, and enunciation drills, must be continued. 
 
 Writing. — The development of the paragraph sense is the new 
 work of this grade, as has been given under the two headings above. 
 The teacher needs to make sure that "to the child paragraphing is 
 a matter of real thought division, not of external form. The teacher 
 must constantly guard against two things: he must not try to in- 
 duce a complexity of organization natural to him but beyond the 
 power of the child; and he must not insist on his own organization, 
 even on large lines. The child caji think only in large divisions; 
 if the teacher tries to refine the child's paragraphing he will feel 
 each separate thought or fact by itself, which is the very reverse 
 of the organization the teacher seeks to induce. The child must be 
 permitted to reflect his own divisions in order that his own power 
 to organize may grow. He will not gain individual power by being 
 told where to indent. Class discussion over paragraphing is very 
 valuable, as the children's minds are nearly on the same plane and 
 they can therefore give and take organization from one another ef- 
 fectively. When the children do actually organize their material in 
 large divisions, it will yet be necessary to drill them on indention to 
 reflect the same. The important thing in this drill, as in all formal 
 work, is that the indention be kept before them always as a sign of 
 a thing that actually exists in their own minds, not as a thing of 
 value in itself. For example, let a child who has written on 'The 
 Adventures of One Day,' hold his paper before the class for inspec- 
 tion, with the question: 'How many adventures?' If the reading 
 of the story does not corroborate the decision the class made from 
 his indentions, he must remodel his work. Or let a child place his 
 list of large topics on the board, and challenge others to find any 
 topic in his paper by inspection. In more advanced work let him 
 read a sentence and challenge others to point to its place by noting 
 under what topic it should occur. If the one challenged misplaced 
 it, he loses; but if he can prove that it should have been under the 
 topic he chose, the reader loses. Children preparing work with 
 such a game in view organize their work with ea^er care. Numer-
 
 Language. — Grade VI. — Writing. 47 
 
 ous variations of such exercises will occur to any teacher working 
 along thought lines."* 
 
 "See that children get the habit of going over their work care- 
 fully, before handing it in, and making any changes they think will 
 improve it. Pupils should feel free at such times to draw a line 
 through a word and substitute a better one, or make any other 
 changes that they think are for the better. The wise teacher is 
 not distressed by changes of this sort made upon the paper. By 
 degrees, the pupils who make them will learn to anticipate errors, 
 and choose in advance the better word or the better form of sen- 
 tence. We are not looking for perfect papers; we are looking to 
 develop the power that will later on make them less imperfect. 
 This does not mean that neatness is not to be encouraged and com- 
 mended, or that slovenly work is not to be condemned. It means 
 that we must be big enough not to fret over little things so long as 
 the children are clearly on their way to better writing. And every 
 child is on his way to better writing who is getting the habit of 
 scrutinizing his composition and correcting and improving his 
 work before the paper is carried up to the teacher."f 
 
 Letter writing must be continued, and the business letters which 
 pupils can now write asking for desired material of firms who dis- 
 tribute advertising material valuable for school use, will give prac- 
 tice in paragraphing as well as in letter forms. Other letters, to 
 publishers, local senators, or authorities on special lines at the State 
 University, for the sake of settling some mooted question, will give 
 additional motives for real letters. 
 
 Dictionary work should be continued. 
 
 Anecdotes, personal experiences, imaginary incidents, current 
 events, and jokes, are all good subjects for brief themes. Interest- 
 ing stories selected by the teacher may be read, hectographed, or 
 put upon the blackboard, in part only, pupils being asked to finish 
 the stories as they conceive the end. This gives a story an inter- 
 esting beginning and "sets a pace" for pupils to follow; gives chil- 
 dren a chance to exercise ingenuity and yet keep a story consistent; 
 helps less-capable pupils through hearing others' endings read, and 
 gives a motive for good climax writing. 
 
 Preparation of some form of entertainment of parents or of 
 pupils from another grade will vitalize the composition work for 
 several weeks. The selection of the theme to unify the whole, the 
 outlining of the plan, and the distribution of separate parts to in- 
 dividuals or to committees for execution, give strong motives for 
 
 * Winona Normal Bulletin, January, 1910, (out of print). 
 | Sheridan.
 
 48 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 organization. For example, near Christmas time, the pupils of 
 one sixth grade planned to entertain the pupils of other grades by 
 showing Christmas customs in other lands "in ye olden times." 
 German, French, Italian, and old English customs, were planned 
 for. Children sought reference-books, and some reported daily in 
 language hour until all had enough information to continue the 
 organization and distribution of parts to be written and acted. 
 Then the children wrote, and tested the unity and clearness of 
 what they wrote on the class members, who put themselves into 
 the position of the expected visitors and helpfully amended or ap- 
 proved each writer's result.* 
 
 Spelling, penmanship, and other mechanics of writing already 
 taught, must not be permitted to deteriorate. No work below the 
 child's best ability should be accepted, but should be rewritten be- 
 fore the teacher consents to criticize it. If the "One Hundred 
 Demons" have not been conquered in fifth grade, they should be 
 here. (See p. 261). Pupils should be urged to use the dictionary 
 for correct spellings (p. 98) of all uncertain words, and should be 
 encouraged to conquer as many of the words needing to be "looked 
 up," as possible, so as to raise their average above the minimum 
 standard indicated- Note books containing words looked up (with 
 date of need) may be kept by individuals. The teacher should look 
 these over frequently, to be sure the child has correctly copied the 
 right spelling, or he may be spending valuable time to no avail on 
 wrong forms. These lists should be studied, and, at the spelling- 
 period, children of similar spelling efficiency may be paired, each 
 pronouncing, in a low tone, to the other, his individual list for 
 writing. To check one's own growth in power is a great incentive. 
 At other times the teacher may take all individual lists, select the 
 most "popular" twenty-five words, and help pupils in studying them 
 by noting hard places, by comparing them with others of similar 
 derivation, and by applying a few known rules to the spelling of 
 their derivatives. He may then test the entire school on these 
 twenty-five words and their derivatives. (Other devices will be 
 found by resourceful teachers.) 
 
 Penmanship should show, in its result, "flow," or easy control 
 of the hand, with form, slant, and spacing of letters, up to the 
 standard selected by the school. If no special system of penman- 
 ship is employed, the teacher may use any good scale (see p. 259) 
 and expect that pupils could easily write from 60 to 75 letters per 
 minute of the quality chosen. 
 
 * Miss Etta Howell, teacher.
 
 Language. — Grade VI. — What to Expect. 49 
 
 What may be expected of sixth-grade pupils. — Ability to get the 
 number of points made, and, if the production is not too long, the 
 gist of each main point, in whatever sort of talk is heard or in mate- 
 rial read. Ability to talk to a point with better organization than 
 in any preceding grade, but with all other desired qualities still 
 present. (See lower grades for posture, spontaneity, etc.) Ability 
 to write at least two paragraphs on one theme, with a distinct feel- 
 ing of the paragraph idea. 
 
 Sentences will still be reasonably short, though many pupils 
 may begin to construct complex sentences, a result to be encouraged 
 if the child does not get "lost" in his long sentences. He must be 
 made to feel the need of saying something about the subject of his 
 sentence, or all earlier work will quickly be undone. 
 
 Letters, written without any help from the teacher, should show a 
 mastery of the correct letter-form and reasonably interesting con- 
 tent; be grammatical in construction; be well organized, spelled cor- 
 rectly, and written in a smooth, controlled hand, with slant, spac- 
 ing, and forms of letters, up to the standard for sixth grade. 
 
 Each pupil should spell without second thought at least 75% 
 of all needed words, and should know how to use the dictionary 
 rapidly for finding all others of which he isn't certain. 
 
 Other mechanics required and not already named are few. The 
 teacher should carefully list all given in lower grades and note any 
 failures of sixth-grade pupils to meet the standards. Drills must 
 be given wherever necessary, but, in general, the need of mechanics 
 should be motivated by the desire for clearness and ease of reading 
 by the one who is to read the manuscript. Probably the use of 
 the comma before "but," or in a series of words or phrases, will be 
 all the additional punctuation needed. 
 
 Grade VII. 
 
 In no grade below the eighth is the guiding hand of the teacher 
 more needed than here. Greater individual differences exist than 
 ever before, because pupils are approaching adolescence and are in 
 many different stages of development. Some are still children; 
 others feel awkward because of rapid physical development; a few 
 retarded pupils seem already too mature for the necessary school- 
 work of the grade; all are more or less self-conscious, often express- 
 ing their real feelings by exactly opposite conduct. Boys who 
 really pity an injured animal fear that they will be ridiculed for 
 soft-heartedness, and so kick the wounded creature out of the way. 
 Girls, also, are quite apt to throw off the yoke of conventional be- 
 havior and experiment with extremes, laughing and talking bois-
 
 50 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 terously at one time, and acting so "shy" as scarcely to be heard 
 in class at others. When pupils do express themselves, they are 
 inclined to do so extravagantly, and even to voice extravagant 
 judgments. "The meanest boy in school," "The most beautiful 
 hat in the world," "The nicest, cutest, cunningest" something, 
 "The most awful, terrible" something else, etc. With this expan- 
 sion of Self, children who are not carefully guided are apt to be- 
 come opinionated, intolerant of others' acts, and conceited over 
 their own powers of execution. All these feelings and. actions will 
 definitely affect the language work, and the teacher of seventh- (as 
 well as of the eighth-) grade pupils may well pray for daily wisdom 
 to guide aright the thoughts, feelings, and actions of his pupils. 
 
 Listening. — The literature selected must meet such varying 
 needs as to make any short list very misleading. As, in the lower 
 grades, the teacher's cup of stories needed to be running over, so, 
 in upper grades, teachers must have at their mental call books or 
 stories to meet every individual case. 
 
 Stories of how timid women braved dangers under the stress of 
 necessity, and of how adventurers, explorers, and others, individu- 
 ally conquered physical and social conditions, are all forms which 
 appeal to pupils' ambitions. Care must be taken that pupils do 
 not become enamored of books which represent young boys and 
 girls as doing what no adults have succeeded in doing. Stories of 
 Sibley, Radisson, and others, help children to see that victory is 
 the result of effort, not of "luck." "Treasure Island" may now 
 be read in class; and other books by Stevenson, as well as some by 
 Cooper and by Scott, can be read outside of school and reported 
 on in class. Fiction and fun can be had in plenty, but the teacher 
 must be sure that the pupils are getting no warped notions of how 
 to succeed in life. Warner's "How I Killed a Bear," and "Camp- 
 ing Out," as well as Irving's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow," are genu- 
 inely funny to seventh-grade pupils. "Rip Van Winkle," "Miles 
 Standish," and "Evangeline," appeal to different personalities, 
 while some of Lamb's "Tales from Shakespeare," and Scott's 
 "Marmion" and "The Lady of the Lake," find sympathetic listeners. 
 
 Note: See the Minnesota Library List for many other books suited to sixth, 
 seventh, and eighth grades, since the seventh-grade teacher must know all, if he 
 would guide the individual reading of thirty or more pupils who either crave, or 
 ought to have, certain types of reading at different times. He should also be 
 familiar with the books in various professions or vocations, so that he may assist 
 pupils, soon to leave school, to choose their work wisely. This is, however, in 
 larger measure, the task of the eighth-grade teacher. 
 
 Pupils must be encouraged to share their outside-of-school read- 
 ing, and this can only be done if the class members are good listen-
 
 Language. — Grade VII. — Talking. 51 
 
 ers. Knowing what each reader is to give, the teacher may set a 
 "listening" problem for each situation; or he may encourage the 
 reader to do so, himself telling the listeners what to look for, or on 
 what he would like an opinion or help. 
 
 Before pupils write on a given topic, the teacher may well read 
 quotations upon the same subject from many sources, leaving pupils 
 free to use what their ears were attuned to gather of choice vocabu- 
 lary or of forceful sentence structure. The reading of riddles, 
 jokes, and limericks, (dropped into a box,) may well occupy a short 
 period every week or two. These should be signed, so that the 
 teacher, who must read every one, may privately help pupils whose 
 contributions are rejected. If too carelessly written to be easily 
 read at sight, they may be corrected and put into the box for the 
 next week; or, if the fun was not in good taste, the teacher must, 
 after pointing this out, quietly cultivate the child's taste, giving 
 him books full of wholesome humor and urging that he make another 
 contribution. "Alice in Wonderland" often appeals to upper-grade 
 pupils more than it does to lower, and, even though the explaining 
 of a joke may kill the fun for the one who sees it, many a less-keen 
 child will grow keener if the reason for the laughter at a joke is 
 explained. Through puns, riddles, and rebuses, pupils learn the 
 double meanings of a great many words, and become more dis- 
 criminating in speech and writing. 
 
 As in lower grades, the recitation and all forms of entertainment 
 heard should be listened to attentively and checked by criticism 
 (favorable and adverse), with reasons for the judgment offered. 
 It is not enough that one pupil should say of another's recitation, 
 "It was good"; he must add, "Because I could hear every word"; 
 "Because he said he would make three points, and he did"; "Be- 
 cause he used just the right words to make us see the picture; I 
 especially liked the words, 'spreading branches,' because it made 
 me think of a big or an old tree"; or any similar and true criticism. 
 
 Talking. — Unless pupils have been brought up to think over 
 what they are to say before they speak, — that is, roughly to organize 
 their talks, — and then to hold to a point as they talk to an audi- 
 ence, and do their best to catch and to hold the attention of that 
 audience, the teacher will need to go back far enough to lay just 
 such a foundation. (Read work indicated for at least grades IV 
 to VI; preferably for all grades.) If the preceding work has been 
 well done, the seventh year may profitably be spent in securing 
 greater facility in all lines, in polishing talks more, and especially 
 in refining the organization and the telling of a story so as to hold 
 the audience. More than before, each child should have some-
 
 52 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 thing individual to tell — a new (actual or imaginary) experience, 
 joke, or incident; a story not heard by the class before; a poem 
 never before given in the school; or a cutting from a recent gift- 
 book not known to other pupils. The teacher needs a fund of 
 material on which to draw, and the inexperienced teacher should 
 at once begin a card-catalogue or a note-book of sources of materials 
 suited to children of this age; within three years he will have a 
 rich collection and an entirely new set of pupils to use it. 
 
 The teacher's problem is to make everybody talk by giving each 
 something worth while to say, and by making the situation such 
 that the child feels it is worth while to say this something in the 
 very best way he can. 
 
 Criticism should be only what will definitely help the child. 
 Mere faultfinding will kill spontaneity; however, more people are, 
 like Ben in "Jean Mitchell's School," eager for adverse criticism 
 than we suspect, and no teacher may salve his conscience by feel- 
 ing that he is kind to the pupil when he withholds necessary criti- 
 cism for which the child is ready. 
 
 Games and drills to correct errors of grammar, pronunciation, 
 and enunciation, are as effective here as in lower grades, if selected 
 to suit the pupils. 
 
 Reciting from memory a few fine models of English will do much 
 to improve both oral and written composition. Lincoln's Gettys- 
 burg Address is one fine model, and Mary S. R. Andrews's "The 
 Perfect Tribute," read to the pupils, helps them to see that clear 
 and direct speech in simple words, with a message behind those 
 words, becomes more effective than even Edward Everett's pol- 
 ished phrases. It helps each pupil to feel that he can be himself; 
 that if long words, discriminatingly selected, are to his taste, he 
 should use them; if not, he may study to be concise and clear with 
 the best-chosen short words that he can find. Both sorts of talk- 
 ing and of writing are needed in the world. 
 
 Writing. — The written work demanded by all lessons in seventh 
 and eighth grades gives teachers ample opportunity to check stu- 
 dents on spelling, penmanship, paragraphing, punctuation, and 
 sentence-structure required to date, and to see that pupils hold 
 themselves responsible for using all that they have learned. It is 
 important enough to repeat: No work below the child's best ability 
 should be accepted; slovenly work should be redone; if he is pushed 
 in some lines, he would better be entirely excused from others than 
 permitted to do careless work and have that accepted. 
 
 In attacking the problem of how to study,— that is, how to re- 
 solve a situation without waste of time or energy, — pupils continue
 
 Language. — Grade VII. — Writing. 53 
 
 the work of organizing begun in sixth grade, and learn in addition 
 how to check results, how to solve the problem in a new way, and 
 how to apply old knowledge to new situations. Much of the his- 
 tory work may be conducted through what is called the "problem" 
 method; the industrial and geography work are full of "projects"; 
 arithmetic processes grow out of life situations and incite children 
 to ingenuity and logical procedure in their execution; and all 
 lessons give opportunity for "topical recitations," many of which 
 need to be reduced to writing for use in note-books, for reviews, 
 or for other purposes. Good paragraphing, outlining, and other 
 means of keeping pupils to the point, thus receive necessary 
 drill. 
 
 In the upper grades, written and oral language are more nearly 
 alike than they have been before or are likely to be in adult life, 
 except in the case of real authors, for, during the adolescent age, 
 children often confide to a diary or write to a confidential friend 
 what they feel could never be told face to face — emotions, ambi- 
 tions, self-depreciation or conceit, poetical effusions, admirations, 
 and the "hopes and fears of all the years" to come. As said above, 
 children begin to feel themselves different from others, so that less 
 class-work and more individual criticism become necessary in up- 
 per-grade language. Considerable class-work is, however, possible, 
 when wisely guided. (See pp. 252-258 for some suggestions.) Chil- 
 dren seek great variety in expression, and are often crude or ex- 
 travagant, (note "freeze your young blood," on p. 257;) but tactful 
 criticism (or at times the ignoring) of children's original work will 
 lead to later self criticism and correction of crudities and absurd 
 exaggerations. 
 
 Children write for some audience, and so should still wish to 
 interest that audience and to hold the attention. The means of 
 learning to do so can become a class exercise, though the final com- 
 positions may be written for the teacher alone and not for public 
 reading. A teacher must be fertile in finding motives or problems, 
 and will need many books on the subject — not to be followed, but 
 to give some suggestions of either topic or method. 
 
 The different methods of paragraph development may, in very 
 simple form, be utilized to satisfy the children's craving for variety. 
 (See any good rhetoric.) Casting some thought into poetical form 
 will also meet the demand for variety, and at the same time help 
 vocabulary, since rhyme, rhythm, and meter, all limit the word- 
 selection. 
 
 Sentence structure must be continually bettered, and many 
 teachers find that a little technical grammar on clauses and con-
 
 54 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 nectives is an aid here. At any rate, "definite work for each variety 
 of the complex sentence must be done in turn: clauses of time in- 
 troduced through a narrative demanding them; clauses of place 
 through description demanding correlation in space; clauses of 
 cause, manner, degree, concession, and so on, in like manner, 
 through the pressure of a subject-matter exacting them. Most of 
 the constructions of the simple sentence will evolve along with 
 these. The pressure must never be for a given form, but always 
 for the expression of an idea which finds that form useful. Thus 
 every set of lessons will develop not the one form aimed at, but a 
 group of parallel constructions interchangeably useful in express- 
 ing the sort of thought-relationship needed. The compound sen- 
 tence should be attacked through its adversative form; begun by 
 sharpening the child's sense of contrast, and rousing his perception 
 of the contradictory elements in things about him. The same 
 method may be used to exercise him in compounding sentences 
 copulatively, causally, and alternatively. 
 
 "Continual work in sentence response should aim to give the 
 child instinctive skill in adapting his form to his thought. Its ob- 
 ject is flexibility; it seeks to render the forms in his possession mo- 
 bile and swiftly obedient. A sentence containing two clearly 
 marked ideas may be selected, for instance, and the idea separated 
 by class-work and vivified and accurately defined by class discus- 
 sion. Then the children may be set the task of writing sentences 
 in which one idea seizes the mind, the other being present but sub- 
 ordinate. If the pupils know at once which idea is the emphatic 
 one, the sentence is a success; otherwise not. The earliest work 
 in this line may be marked by extravagance, but increased skill 
 will soon form a more restrained taste."* (See illustrations, pp. 
 255-258.) 
 
 Errors in spelling must continue to be conquered as fast as they 
 arise. At least four-fifths of all necessary words should, by this 
 grade, be "first nature" to the child, and a ready use of the dic- 
 tionary should make the looking up of the unusual words easy and 
 certain. (See sixth-grade suggestions, and pp. 98-104.) 
 
 Penmanship must still receive, at definite times on the weekly, 
 if not daily, program, enough attention to insure no loss of skill 
 already gained, and some advancement in either form, speed, or 
 grace, as needed by individuals. Legibility and beauty of form 
 (including slant and spacing) must not be sacrificed by too-much- 
 required and too-hurried writing. Either the amount of writing 
 required must be reduced, or pupils must have more practice in 
 
 * Winona Normal Bulletin, March, 1907, (out of print).
 
 Language. — Grade VII. — What to Expect. 55 
 
 securing speed. Probably 75 to 85 letters a minute of the desired 
 standard selected would fit the pupils' needs. 
 
 What to expect of seventh-grade pupils. — Ability to gather from 
 listening (or reading) the main points of a good talk, and later from 
 memory to set these points down in outline form, with some of the 
 subordinate ideas properly located. 
 
 Ability to criticise one's own work because of the possession of 
 definite standards: (1) Do I really say anything? (2) Am I clear, 
 or coherent? (3) Do I make an interesting beginning; that is, 
 would people listen to me? (4) Do I keep up the interest, or do I 
 grow commonplace, not holding my audience? If so, why do I? 
 Are my ideas not clearly differentiated? Are my sentences monot- 
 onous? If so, how can I vary them? Haven't I chosen my words 
 consistently? (5) (If written) Is my penmanship easily readable? 
 (6) Does my paragraphing show the changes in ideas that I wish 
 to express? (7) Does my punctuation help the reader? (8) Have 
 I spelled all my words correctly? (If in any doubt the dictionary 
 should be used.) 
 
 Ability to judge the worth of another's work and to offer help- 
 ful criticism on at least one point. (Why good, bad, or indifferent.) 
 
 Ready use of the dictionary. 
 
 Penmanship and spelling, of standards indicated above. 
 
 Grade VIII. 
 
 Teachers should read with care the work prescribed for all grades 
 below the eighth, for unless that has been accomplished, the teacher 
 must go back far enough to meet the children's needs and do that 
 work well, even if it be of only fourth-grade standard. To attempt 
 eighth-grade work without the sure foundation of what has pre- 
 ceded is waste of time — time that might better be spent in doing 
 the work outlined in some grade below so thoroughly that the next 
 teacher has a good starting-point. Many causes may operate 
 against eighth-grade pupils' being up to grade: (1) there has been 
 no state standard before, and pupils will vary according to the 
 ideals of their teachers; (2) many are foreigners and find English 
 almost impossible; (3) many have not been guided through the 
 self-conscious age and find extra difficulty in beginning to be free 
 of speech or pen in the eighth grade. Therefore it is that teachers 
 should be ready to teach whatever is needed, not bemoaning the 
 fact that the minimum standard set cannot now be reached, for 
 this standard is set for those who have had all preceding work. 
 Results in life everywhere must be judged by a double standard: 
 first, by a set scale; second, by the causes which produced the given
 
 56 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 result. So every language effort must be doubly judged; according 
 to language standards the result may be "poor"; but judged by 
 previous training, mental ability, foreign vocabulary, self-con- 
 sciousness, etc., it may be "superior." No eighth-grade teacher 
 should condemn his own results because they do not reach some 
 printed scale until he has honestly faced the causes which pro- 
 duced the result. If he knows that he has done his best for each 
 individual in his group, he has no reason for anxiety. 
 
 The only wholly new feature of eighth-grade composition work 
 is that of working for the last factor in the producing of an inter- 
 esting theme — that is, securing reaction from the listeners. Re- 
 peating what has been given before, there are just two things re- 
 quired of every good author, whether speaker or writer: (1) He 
 must have a message worth giving, either for entertainment or in- 
 struction; (2) he must tell it interestingly. To do this, (a) he 
 must, after having chosen a pleasing point to give, make a good 
 beginning so as to catch the attention of his audience; (b) he must 
 have the organization so clear as to be easily followed, so that he 
 may hold his audience; and (c) he must illustrate, summarize, ap- 
 ply, be sufficiently accurate, show reserve power and insight, or in 
 some other way stimulate the hearers to further interest in the sub- 
 ject, so that they want to do something about it — hear it again; 
 tell a similar anecdote; examine the object; try to make the article; 
 read more about the subject; practice it in daily life; go away criti- 
 cizing the talk, agreeing, disagreeing, debating about it, etc.; offer 
 service or money if the talk is in some charitable cause; cry or 
 laugh; or remain spellbound by the big thought, as the audience 
 did at Lincoln's Gettysburg address. 
 
 It is this third point that must be given to eighth-grade students 
 as a new motive for "finish" in organization, in vocabulary, and in 
 sentence structure. It is not a power to be fully attained in one 
 year, nor even in the succeeding four years of high school. Many 
 speakers never acquire it, but we go away from hearing such lec- 
 turers unmoved, turning to chat with our companions about other 
 topics, the talk having proverbially "gone into one ear and out of 
 the other." Though it may take a lifetime to acquire, it is well 
 worth working for, and eighth-grade pupils should begin to look 
 for it in all they hear, say, and write. 
 
 Listening. — (See suggestions for earlier grades.) Pupils listen 
 to good literature; to one another's recitations, talks, stories, etc.; 
 to as many outside speakers as possible — ministers, lecturers, 
 demonstrators, agents, political leaders, vocational experts, promi- 
 nent citizens, debaters, etc. Through the eye, they listen to all
 
 Language. — Grade VIII. — Listening. 57 
 
 forms of good writing as found in books, magazines, and news- 
 papers. The resourceful eighth-grade teacher will find numerous 
 fine men and women in the community who will gladly give ten 
 minute talks on their different occupations and what pupils should 
 be learning in preparation for each; why it is good to be a merchant, 
 a baker, a carpenter, etc.; or what lessons life has taught that these 
 boys and girls can learn now under a teacher's guidance. There is 
 no limit to the field; but the teacher must of course set a limit. 
 Talks must fit the pupils' needs. There must be no more than can 
 be well digested. The teacher must be sure of what the speaker 
 will say, and should therefore not invite people at random, but 
 should at least begin with people big enough to understand the 
 need of the talk's being a "model" of its kind, and hence big enough 
 to let the teacher hear it and suggest changes to make it fit the 
 standards known to pupils. The teacher cannot afford to invite a 
 man who says that he doesn't know what he is to talk about, who 
 rambles on awhile, and then talks twice as long as the time allowed. 
 He must invite someone who is willing to give thought to the 
 subject and show plainly that he does know what he is to talk 
 about. "Special days" open the door to talks on great men, on 
 pictures, on literature, on industries, on peace and war, and our 
 country's soldiers — soldiers in the daily battle for pure food, sani- 
 tation, and honest work, as well as soldiers on our battle-fields. 
 
 Pupils should be questioned after each talk on why they liked 
 it as a whole, what parts especially pleased them, what it made 
 them feel, what they wanted (or still want) to do: Was it pleasing 
 mainly because of the thought? The expression? Or both? Was 
 the thought new, or was it an old idea treated in a new way? Was 
 it logically developed, easy to follow? Did the speaker make his 
 point? Did he stick to his point? Did he stop when he was 
 through? Was it worth telling? Did he choose interesting de- 
 tails? Were they consistently subordinated, or did they detract 
 from the essentials? Did the expression fit the thought? Was the 
 vocabulary well chosen? (See Shryock's discussion, in his English 
 Reader, of Webster's vocabulary.) What figures of speech were 
 especially good? 
 
 Stories of great men, the growth of great industries, and the 
 execution of great enterprises, appeal to eighth-grade pupils. 
 About two years ago one of the popular magazines contained a 
 series of articles about men who earn $100,000 salaries, each article 
 showing plainly how the sum was truly earned; in July, 1916, a 
 Chicago Sunday paper gave the life of Mr. and Mrs. James J. Hill, 
 of St. Paul, showing how much both deserved the success they
 
 58 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 attained. Such articles are worth while for children to hear and 
 read, to counterbalance a false notion that success is "just luck," 
 and to teach that success is the result of hard work. When they 
 read of how Franklin and Robert Louis Stevenson learned by 
 patient practice to write, and how Stevenson wrote and rewrote 
 even his later books many, many times before he let them leave 
 his desk, pupils more willingly work to listen, to speak, and to 
 write satisfactorily. Selected "Lives" from Plutarch, Shakes- 
 peare's "Julius Caesar," and certain books by Dickens, Scott, 
 George Eliot, Warner, Hawthorne, and Irving appeal. If, for any 
 reason, pupils are not ready for these, the teacher should study 
 lower-grade lists and select books that can be "listened to" (through 
 the eye) with pleasure enough to induce the reading habit. The 
 graver danger, however, is that we let our pupils read too easy 
 matter until they form lazy habits in reading and in listening, de- 
 siring just headlines or "movies," not willingly delving for the gold 
 in real literature. 
 
 . Talking. — If a member of the class tells how to make a cement- 
 walk, a boat, or a derrick; how to make a Pilgrim cap for the girls 
 to wear at the Thanksgiving festival; or how to prepare some con- 
 fection to be served to the visitors on that day, the speaker's aim 
 should be to make every one who listens desire to make the article. 
 The teacher can often foster the execution of this desire by offer- 
 ing cloth or patterns or recipes to be taken home; or by putting the 
 talk just before a manual-training or cooking period, when pupils 
 may request the privilege of making the articles; or the talk can 
 come just at school close so that children go home with the desire 
 to try the recipe fresh in mind. One great factor in the educative 
 process is the testing of ideas and emotions by doing. Desires that 
 remain passive do not build character; hence teachers and parents 
 should cooperate wherever possible, or each must try alone if 
 cooperation isn't possible, to secure action as a result of stirred 
 interest. Wishing to make something, wishing to be as kind or as 
 brave as was the boy in the story, never produced the object, nor 
 the kindness, nor the courage. Every incitation to action should 
 have a planned outlet, or should carry with it a challenge to the 
 child to find a method of application or of execution. When the 
 habit of doing what one knows he should do is formed, the openings 
 for execution need no longer be pointed out. 
 
 Speaking and writing go hand in hand, so that much said under 
 one head may be made to fit with the other. To avoid repetition, 
 more which might well be said here will be put under the next 
 topic.
 
 Language. — Grade VIII. — Writing. 59 
 
 Writing. — The extravagances in vocabulary, in high-sounding 
 sentences, in opinions, so prominent in seventh grade, begin to 
 tone down as eighth-grade pupils realize their approaching dignity. 
 Vocabulary is selected for better purposes than to display individ- 
 uality. If given good copy and good methods of work, children 
 begin consciously to imitate different "styles" which they admire. 
 True, the dignity of dawning adulthood is often at variance with the 
 still-existing childish emotions; so that inconsistencies must often 
 be ignored by the teacher. The youth fears the world's criticisms, 
 yet at times is daring and bold. With Longfellow in his "Morituri 
 Salutamus," the teacher needs to feel, even if he doesn't say: 
 
 How beautiful is youth! how bright it gleams 
 With its illusions, aspirations, dreams! 
 Book of Beginnings, Story without End, 
 Each maid a heroine, and each man a friend! 
 Aladdin's Lamp; and Fortunatus' Purse, 
 That holds the treasures of the universe! 
 All possibilities are in its hands; 
 No danger daunts it, and no foe withstands. 
 
 "Be bold! be bold! 
 Be not too bold! Yet better the excess 
 Than the defect; better the more than less!" 
 
 In other words, the teacher must keep alive, or rekindle, a spirit 
 of freedom in self expression.* 
 
 Early in the year, the teacher must deliberately work to inspire 
 confidence in pupils, to create an atmosphere of good-feeling, and 
 to engender comradeship between teacher and pupils, as a basis for 
 the freedom of expression desired. Of course, as in other grades, 
 the subject-matter must be of interest to pupils and worth while 
 talking or writing about. There are two main types of work pos- 
 sible: First, "Big units," demanding cooperation or team work, such 
 as the writing up of a school party, planning and giving a program 
 for visitors, dramatizing a book, or preparing and binding books 
 containing a chapter from each child. For such work, the following 
 topics have been found especially good: World Builders, such as 
 Bridge Builders and Miners; Heroic Workers — "Life-Saving Ser- 
 vice," "Red-Cross Work," "History of Minnesota," "The Lost Col- 
 ony," "First Aid to the Injured." (See pp. 258-261 for one illus- 
 tration.) The Second type of work is more individual, dealing with 
 personal experiences in travel, camping, Saturday work, vacation 
 work, a visit paid, etc. 
 
 * To Miss E. Catherine Burkholder, whose work the writer has had most opportunity to watch 
 during the last few years, and to her able predecessors, the writer is indebted for the following 
 illustrations and methods of work. Much of what follows is taken from Miss Burkholder's talks 
 to students.
 
 60 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Both types run throughout the year, alternating as necessary, 
 but the individual type does and should predominate early in the 
 year when the teacher is quietly proving his trustworthiness as a 
 recipient of oral or written personalities or confidences. The 
 teacher may to himself call these lessons "get acquainted" lessons, 
 since he is, through them, learning individual abilities and needs. 
 "Home study," freely discussed in class, as to sorts, amount, con- 
 veniences for, etc., makes a good beginning essay. This may be 
 followed by "My study program," in which each child expresses 
 himself freely as he arranges his school (and home) study hours to 
 secure the best results for him. Children's opinions must be re- 
 spected by the teacher, but if poor judgment is shown, the teacher 
 may later guide the pupil in making changes in his program. 
 "School Management" discussed, and then written about, may be 
 the entering wedge to cooperation. — What makes good govern- 
 ment? Who should be most considered, the individual or the 
 group? What consideration is due our neighbors? How can we 
 better the passing of classes? Cloak-room order? Who should 
 assume the responsibility when the teacher is away from the room? 
 and the like. The teacher must avoid expressing an opinion, must 
 encourage perfect frankness, and, in the criticisms of the papers, 
 must make few adverse criticisms, and call no attention to indi- 
 vidual opinions, but say (what is true): "I enjoyed your papers 
 very much. You seem to agree that thus and so may be done. 
 Let us try the plan." After two or three weeks, the teacher, in 
 the meantime reading some autobiographies, as of Franklin and 
 Grant, may suggest that pupils write their autobiographies. This 
 must not be attempted until the teacher feels that pupils trust him 
 as a sympathetic reader and a safe confidant. If the essays prove 
 that the children are frank, the teacher may suggest, "Now you've 
 told me about the past, (and I found the stories most interesting,) 
 how would you like to look ahead about five years, when you have 
 probably finished high school, and tell me of yjour wishes or your 
 plans? You may call your stories, 'My Wish,' 'The Future,' 'Look- 
 ing Forward,' or any title that you feel fits what you write." If 
 the children feel free to write, they will do their best, and, through 
 these means, (and others that ingenious teachers will devise,) the 
 teacher learns what he so needs to know: the children's home con- 
 ditions, their ideals, their future hopes, and, incidentally, the me- 
 chanical errors needing class attention. Since the most of two 
 months will have been occupied with these "get-acquainted" les- 
 sons, the nearness to October 31 will make the consideration of a 
 Hallowe'en party, or a program, or a book of Hallowe'en incidents
 
 Language. — Grade VIII. — Writing. 61 
 
 (real or imaginary), or of ghost stories, a fine subject for the first 
 cooperative effort. Specific drills on needed mechanics, followed 
 at once by opportunities to apply the knowledge, so that much 
 practice in writing is secured through strong motives or interests, 
 will soon eradicate the majority of errors. By the time this is 
 accomplished, pupils are ready for individual criticisms from teacher 
 and classmates. 
 
 Vocational guidance has a large place in the work of any eighth- 
 grade teacher, and pupils' individual interests will control the 
 teacher's selection of literature to read and topics to assign for 
 composition work. (See reference list, pp. 300-302.) 
 
 The teacher is also needed to help pupils realize that their ideals 
 will work in daily living, if only correct means are used. (A few 
 adult "croakers" to the contrary!) As the President said in his 
 Philadelphia speech to our immigrants, "You dreamed dreams of 
 what America was to be, and I hope you brought the dreams with 
 you. No man who does not see visions will ever realize any high 
 hope or undertake any high enterprise, and just because you 
 brought the dreams with you, America is more likely to realize 
 dreams such as you brought. You are enriching us if you come 
 expecting us to be better than we are." What he further said may 
 be thus adapted to our boys and girls: The constant addition of 
 youth to the world is meant to better the ideals of men, to make 
 them see finer things than they have seen before, to get rid of the 
 things that divide, and to make sure of the things that unite. No 
 doubt you will be disappointed in some things, no doubt many 
 things you find in the world will not seem to be touched for you 
 with the complete beauty of the ideal which you now conceive; 
 but remember your mission is to help forward — never to renounce 
 your ideals; though they may not seem to be working, they will be. 
 Good is bound to overcome evil; "Life is ever lord of Death, and 
 Love can never lose its own." 
 
 Kenneth Graham's "Dream Days," and "A Golden Age," will 
 help children, who can appreciatingly look back a year or two into 
 their lives, to see how a given act appears in two lights to children 
 and to adults. 
 
 Opportunity should be given for the writing of poetry as well 
 as prose, and of puns, riddles, conundrums, limericks, and jokes. 
 
 No new features of "mechanics" will be demanded, but all given 
 before should be constantly applied, and pupils should themselves 
 be held for putting into good shape all manuscript "handed in." 
 The mechanics will naturally be motivated more largely than be- 
 fore by the subject-matter or the purpose of the composition,
 
 62 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 whether, for example, the work is to appear in a school paper, or 
 a real newspaper; to be given at a school assembly, or to be used in 
 the annual exhibit. 
 
 Since the children's good handwriting, laboriously acquired, 
 must not be permitted to grow poor, and since there will necessa- 
 rily be heavy demands on students for rapid and much writing in 
 connection with note taking upon talks heard and reference-books 
 consulted, the teacher may do well to suggest some sort of conven- 
 tionalized abbreviations or "shorthand" for note-taking. Any 
 system can be used; the one given is only suggestive of what may 
 be done: wh for which, wh l for while, wh n for when; look s , ask s , 
 etc., for the progressive form of verbs, and look 6 -, ask d , etc., for past 
 forms. The principle is, of course, to select characteristic letters 
 after the beginning is clear! Compare rev lain (revelation) and 
 rev iutn (revolution). Children may also use abbreviations from 
 their dictionary study: e. g., cf, i. e., ibid, ditto, etc.; and may even 
 use mathematical symbols for abbreviations, such as = to mean 
 alike or the same, .'. for hence or therefore, > or < for greater, less, 
 more important than, or less important than; figures instead of spelled- 
 out numbers; and two short vertical lines for the word parallel. 
 For fear this may interfere with spelling, the words should be 
 written in full in all transcribed notes, and pupils should know that 
 all numbers must be spelled out in an essay or in the body of a 
 letter. The penmanship should be rapid enough to permit the 
 execution per minute of from 85 to 95 letters of good quality. 
 (Use system or scale of penmanship adopted in the school. See 
 pp. 292-295, for scales and references.) 
 
 Spelling and dictionary work as before indicated should be kept 
 up. Some teachers advocate the organization of only spelling or 
 penmanship "hospital" classes, omitting these subjects for all but 
 pupils who need them. Certainly if in all daily work pupils show 
 themselves up to grade they may forego practice whenever the 
 school management makes this feasible. (See pp. 98-104.) 
 
 Grammar, introduced either as an aid to better thinking and 
 talking or as a separate English subject, is almost universally 
 taught in eighth grade, and often in seventh or even in sixth grade. 
 (See separate treatment below.) 
 
 What should be expected by the end of the eighth grade. — In listen- 
 ing, ability to gather the gist of a talk, and, if the talk is well 
 organized, ability to name the leading points and not be carried 
 away by some incident, even if clean and pleasing, told either to 
 rest the audience or to illustrate a large point; to recognize a fair 
 amount of apt phrasing, pleasing sentence structure, and pertinent
 
 Language. — Grade VIII. — Grammar. 63 
 
 metaphors, similes, and metonomies. In reading, (listening with 
 the eye,) to be able to (1) carry a point through a fairly lengthy 
 article; (2) know whether the point was consistently sustained, or 
 whether the position was shifted; and (3) whether details were per- 
 tinent or whether incongruities crept in. In speaking, to stand 
 well, use good tones and clear enunciation, say something worth 
 while on a subject suited to eighth-grade pupils' interests and 
 abilities, and say it so that a willing audience can follow the speaker 
 and gather the thought. Above this as a minimum, many pupils 
 can attract, hold, and secure reaction, from their audience. In 
 writing, pupils should show ability equal to that required in oral 
 work, including such control of the mechanics of written work as 
 not to hinder their free expression nor the reader's correct inter- 
 pretation of the thought. At least 97% of all words used should 
 be correctly spelled, though some may still have to be looked up 
 in the dictionary. 
 
 Grammar 
 
 In carrying out the policy of the Minnesota Committee on 
 Elimination, grammar is not separately outlined before the eighth 
 grade, though grammatical terms are not excluded from any grade 
 where they will help the child to talk about his work or to under- 
 stand the teacher's criticisms. The work to be accomplished is 
 definitely stated in that report, and is repeated below: 
 
 The records show that the great majority of children in the Elementary 
 Schools never go beyond them, and when we teach grammar therein it should 
 be with a motive suited to this condition. With these young students grammar 
 should be studied for the purpose of enabling them to understand the construc- 
 tions of the language they hear, read, and speak, and also to speak and write it 
 with accuracy and fluency. That is about all a youth of fourteen or fifteen can 
 accomplish. Technical grammar as a science, or an exercise in logic, has no 
 place in the grades. 
 
 The committee therefore recommends that Grammar, as such, should not 
 be studied below the seventh grade and preferably not below the eighth grade. 
 
 In order that children may pass freely from school to school, and all take the 
 same state examination, the first requisite is that all texts on grammar should use 
 the same terms to express the same ideas and relations. Each writer should not 
 be permitted to invent terms at will. 
 
 This committee recommends the adoption and use in this state of a single 
 uniform grammatical terminology. It further recommends the use of the ter- 
 minology recommended to and adopted by the National Education Association 
 at its Salt Lake Meeting, so far as it is practicable to do so. 
 
 But as the report provides for a very extended study of grammar, while 
 this committee, at this time, is recommending a minimum course for the ele- 
 mentary schools and for the state examinations, we would suggest that, while fol- 
 lowing the above report, we limit the amount of work to the following:
 
 64 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 The eight parts of speech. 
 
 1. Nouns: (a) In general, no distinctions as to kinds except common and proper. 
 
 (A) Two case forms: Common and genitive. 
 
 2. Pronouns: (a) Personal, relative. 
 
 (b) Person, gender, number, and cases. 
 
 (Note: Case not always distinguished by form.) 
 
 3. Adjectives: (a) Degree. 
 
 4. Verbs: (a) Kinds: Transitive, intransitive. 
 
 (6) Conjugation: regular, irregular; but not to be learned apart from the study of 
 sentences and selections. 
 
 (c) Person: first, second, third, with personal subjects. Impersonal. 
 
 (d) Number: Singular, plural. 
 
 (e) Voice: Active, passive. 
 
 (/) Mood: Indicative and imperative only. 
 
 (g) Non-modal forms: simple infinitives and participles. 
 
 (A) Tense: All. 
 
 5. Prepositions. 7. Adverbs. 
 
 6. Conjunctions. 8. Interjections. 
 The Sentence. 
 
 Kind — Simple, complex, compound. 
 
 Declarative, interrogative. 
 Subject — Simple, compound. 
 
 Complete subject, subject substantive. 
 Predicate — Simple, compound. 
 
 Complete predicate, predicate verb. 
 Clauses — Principal, subordinate. 
 Use of clauses — Substantive, adjective, adverbial. 
 Phrases — Substantive, adjective, adverbial. 
 
 Nothing, however, about methods of teaching grammar was 
 there mentioned, and, since modern methods depart widely from 
 older methods, space should unquestionably be given the subject. 
 For at least eight years, the English department* and the upper- 
 grade teachers of the elementary school at Winonaf have united 
 in working out methods of teaching what grammar seemed needed 
 to seventh- and eighth-grade pupils by "inductive" or "thought" 
 methods. Such methods have been tried elsewhere in the United 
 States, and very widely in some foreign countries, but since the 
 writer knows the Winona plans best, she asks the liberty of giving 
 them, in preference to others, to the teachers of the state. 
 
 The basis of the work, to be kept in mind by the teacher, and 
 only gradually made known to pupils, is given below :J 
 
 A. Sentences are composed of elements called ideas. 
 
 B. These ideas are of three kinds — 
 
 1. Substantive ideas. 2. Attribute ideas. 3. Relation ideas. 
 
 C. These three kinds of ideas are expressed by three kinds of words or 
 
 groups of words — 
 1. Substantive words. 2. Attribute words. 3. Relation words. 
 
 D. There are three ideas in the thought, the first being always substantive, 
 
 the second either substantive or attribute, and the third the relation 
 Ik t ween them. 
 
 * Mrs. C. B. Chorpcnning, leader. 
 
 t Misses Saunders, Storie, Hurkholder, and their assistants. 
 
 t The remainder of the discussion is taken almost bodily from the Winona Normal Bulletin, 
 March, 1916.
 
 Grammar. — Grade VIII. — Sentence Elements. 65 
 
 E. The thought is expressed by a sentence which uses substantive words, 
 
 attribute words, and relation words, (or groups of words in each case,) 
 to stand for the ideas involved. 
 
 F. Words or groups of words, representing ideas, and called modifiers, may 
 
 change or limit the meaning of other words or groups of words repre- 
 senting other ideas. 
 
 The real grammar work begins when the children are old enough 
 to consider logically the work of the sentence as the vehicle of a 
 thought; and this work is continued consistently until, through the 
 breaking up of the thought into ideas, and of the sentence into 
 words which express the ideas, the child has been forced, by his 
 own thinking, back and back, through the ideas and the words, to 
 the parts of speech and their variations. 
 
 Sentence Elements. 
 
 Through the actual inspection of sentences, and the attempt to 
 find what these sentences arouse in his own mind, the pupil's atten- 
 tion becomes directed to the elements of the sentence. When asked 
 what he finds in his own mind as a result of scrutinizing the sen- 
 tences, he is sure at an early stage to refer to certain mental images 
 or "pictures." What he has really found is an idea, for he has not 
 only found his "picture," but he has also put meaning into the pic- 
 ture. To talk about putting in meaning would probably only con- 
 fuse him, and he is allowed to ignore this difference and to call the 
 elements that he finds "images" or "mental pictures." When he 
 has a little more experience with these elements, he is told that 
 they are ideas; but the fact of their being images plus meanings is 
 not forced upon him, since there seems to be no particular value in 
 insisting upon this fact at this point. 
 
 When the term "idea" means something to him — when he can 
 isolate and in a small degree examine these elements of his mental 
 content — he is led to distinguish between the idea and the word or 
 group of words which expresses the idea. Then he is led to the 
 discovery that there are different kinds of ideas in a sentence, ex- 
 pressed by different kinds of words. He finds that there are some 
 ideas upon which his mind can focus — ideas upon which his mind 
 can rest as the ear rests upon the dominant note of a scale. Such 
 ideas are book, man, flower, etc. He finds other ideas in the same 
 sentences which cause his mind to be vaguely uneasy until it finds 
 something to which the ideas should be attached. "Black," for 
 example, is such an idea. The mind persistently asks, "Black?" 
 "Black what?" This tendency to search is comparable to the call 
 which the ear makes when it hears the leading tone "fah," and is 
 not satisfied until it traces it into the tone to which it leads. Then
 
 66 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 there is a third class of ideas which stand between two other ideas. 
 They produce the feeling of being between ideas even when the 
 other ideas are not expressed, and they carry the mind out in two 
 directions, as does the idea "in." The pupil is led to notice the 
 response of his mind to the idea. He finds himself saying, "In? — 
 Yes; something is in something." Thus the three kinds of ideas 
 are made clear through the pupil's attention to his own mental 
 content. 
 
 Care is also taken immediately to show that these ideas are not 
 always expressed in single words alone. The possibility of needing 
 a group of words for a single idea, is emphasized at this point to the 
 degree which seems wise, and reemphasized a little later in connec- 
 tion with the three ideas of a thought, and the discussion of modifiers. 
 
 As soon, however, as the three typical kinds of ideas are dis- 
 criminated, the names are logically called for by the pupil, and 
 they are at once given. As soon as the pupil begins to use the 
 terms substantive, attribute, and relation, as names for the type 
 ideas, he is led to form a definition of each of these ideas and of 
 the word or words which express the idea. A substantive idea 
 is an idea upon which the mind can rest; it is expressed by a substan- 
 tive word or group of words. An attribute idea is an idea that 
 refers the mind in one direction; it is expressed by an attribute 
 word or words. A relation idea is an idea that refers the mind in 
 two directions; it is expressed by a relation word or words. 
 
 Just how far children should be required to go in distinguishing 
 between the substantive idea and the substantive word which ex- 
 presses the idea, — just how far they should go in distinguishing the 
 thought from the sentence which expresses the thought, — is diffi- 
 cult to determine. The child should realize that the symbols are 
 only the means of expressing the thought or the idea which lies 
 back of the symbol. If it is reasonably certain that he could trans- 
 late the symbol into the content if called upon to do so, then it is 
 reasonably safe to allow him to deal with the symbol without al- 
 ways referring to the content back of it. So he may talk about a 
 substantive written on the blackboard without always stopping to 
 explain that he means a substantive word and not a substantive 
 idea; and he may talk about the sentence as the unit of thought 
 without always stopping to explain that he means that the sentence 
 is not the thought, but merely expresses the thought. 
 
 If the problem of mixed ideas arises, just enough is done with 
 it to make it possible to disregard the presence of such ideas when 
 they are found in the sentences analyzed. The children are given 
 a brief explanation, and then are asked to defer this phase of the
 
 Grammar. — Grade VIII. — Sentence Elements. 67 
 
 work until later. The consideration of a few such ideas aids clarity 
 of thought by showing that an idea may belong to more than one 
 class at the same time. This is especially helpful in discussing 
 transitive verbs. The main function of the idea, however, may be 
 used as the criterion as to what it is in the particular case, and the 
 mixed nature of the idea relatively ignored. In determining the 
 true nature of ideas it is pointed out that a substantive may be 
 described through its attributes and relations; and that an attri- 
 bute may be proved by showing to what substantive it belongs. 
 
 Function of Each Sentence Element. 
 
 The study so far will have been about ideas as recognized in 
 sentences. The work now turns to the study of the sentence as 
 the vehicle of thought, and it develops that every sentence must 
 have the three kinds of ideas — no more and no less. Thinking is 
 the relating of two ideas by means of a third idea; and the sentence 
 is the expression of this relation. The most important substan- 
 tive, the thing about which the sentence says something, is the 
 subject; the second and third ideas taken together are the predi- 
 cate. The second idea may be either a substantive or an attribute. 
 If it is a substantive, it either identifies or classifies the subject. 
 The distinction between identification and classification is believed 
 to be fundamental, and the children give careful attention to the 
 distinguishing of these relationships. They discover that the iden- 
 tification is reversible in thought, but that the classification is not; 
 thus they get many sidelights upon their own thinking, including 
 at least a slight view of the logical fallacy of the undistributed 
 middle term. 
 
 The third idea in the sentence is found to be always a relation. 
 In the use of the expressions, first, second, and third idea, it is 
 made clear to the class that these words do not necessarily indicate 
 the order in which the ideas occur in the sentence. 
 
 It is necessary also to make it clear very early that both the 
 second and third ideas of a thought may be expressed in one word; 
 as, "The horses run," "Flowers grow." This is done through a 
 discussion of the ideas involved, and through showing that the one 
 word fulfills the function of expressing both ideas. The children 
 are allowed to think of "The horses run," as "The horses are run- 
 ning," and of "Flowers grow," as "Flowers are growing." This is 
 in a sense not accurate, since idiomatic English has preempted 
 these forms for another purpose, viz., that of the progressive form 
 of the verb; but the inaccuracy is not harmful, and seems to have 
 value in making the point clear.
 
 68 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 After the three types of ideas can be recognized, either as single 
 words or groups of words, and after it is clear that the first idea 
 constitutes the subject of the sentence and the second and third 
 ideas the predicate of the sentence, then the terms "complete sub- 
 ject," "subject substantive," "complete predicate," "predicate 
 verb," and "modifier" are developed. A modifier is shown to be 
 a word or group of words which changes the meaning of another 
 word or group of words. The complete subject is the subject sub- 
 stantive with its modifiers. The complete predicate is the predi- 
 cate verb with its modifiers. Modifiers are not at this point differ- 
 entiated into adjective, adverbial, etc., but are designated merely 
 as substantive, attribute, etc., awaiting the time when the more 
 definite discussion of the parts of speech makes the more definite 
 naming of modifiers possible. 
 
 There is also care to show that there are other relations than the 
 main relation or third term of the sentence, and to see that pupils 
 are able to distinguish between other relation ideas and this main 
 relation. Little is done, however, at first, with the specific names 
 of these other relations. 
 
 For drill, children are given ideas to analyze and to identify. They give 
 one another ideas to analyze and to identify. They are given an analysis and 
 asked to find an idea to fit it; as, "I feel vibration, see steam, and hear a roar," 
 etc. They are given lists of attributes to see whether they can tell what sub- 
 stantives they make up. They contest to see who can find the most attributes in 
 a ball, a lion, a peacock, a wheel, etc.; this is tested out also for relations. They 
 try to find one attribute of a substantive which is so important that it determines 
 the substantive; as speeding, melting, etc. They try to describe substantives 
 in the fewest attributes and relations; in the process of this they play "20 ques- 
 tions, 10 attributes, and 10 relations," etc. Sentences are given in inverse order 
 in order to drill the fact that the first idea of the sentence does not always come 
 first in the sentence. In order that children may fix more definitely the fact that 
 each idea is essential in the thought, they are asked such a question as, "Which 
 idea in the thought is most essential?" Each child is helped to put into words 
 what he feels about a given idea, and discussion is allowed to go on so long as 
 what is being said seems to be profitable. 
 
 After it is certain that the class commands the problem of com- 
 plex ideas expressed by more than one word, the two classes of 
 complex ideas, phrases and clauses, are identified and named. A 
 phrase is a group of words doing the work of a single part of speech, 
 but not containing a subject or a predicate. A clause is a group of 
 words doing the work of a single part of speech and containing a 
 subject and a predicate. 
 
 The children then deal with clauses, and find that some are sub- 
 ordinate and some coordinate. They then take up the problem of 
 complex and compound sentences, and arrive at the definitions of
 
 Grammar. — Grade VIII. — Parts of Speech. 69 
 
 such sentences. A simple sentence contains a subject and a predi- 
 cate, with no subordinate thought in either. A complex sentence 
 is the expression of one principal thought, and of one or more sub- 
 ordinate thoughts. A compound sentence consists of two or more 
 clauses neither of which is a part of the other. 
 
 Parts of Speech. 
 
 The class next makes a more intensive study of the three kinds 
 of ideas, and sees them break up into smaller units. They discover 
 two kinds of substantive ideas and two kinds of substantive words. 
 One substantive word expresses the idea, and the other only repre- 
 sents the idea. The first is a noun, the second is a pronoun. 
 
 They also find different kinds of attribute ideas, and come to 
 know that an adjective is an attribute of a substantive; and that 
 an adverb is an attribute of an attribute or of a relation. 
 
 Relations break up into (1) pure relations between the first and 
 second terms of the thought (which relations are called linking 
 verbs); (2) other pure relations called conjunctions; and (3) rela- 
 tions plus an attribute, (usually of location,) which relations are 
 called prepositions. There are also found asserting words which 
 contain both an attribute and a relation, and which are called attri- 
 butive verbs. 
 
 Attributive verbs which are incomplete, in the sense that the 
 attribute which the verb contains is in itself a relation and there- 
 fore sends the mind out after something to complete it, are transi- 
 tive verbs. Attributive verbs which are complete, in the sense that 
 the attribute involved does not send the mind out after something 
 to complete it, are intransitive verbs, and are also called complete 
 verbs. 
 
 Interjections are regarded as expressions of emotion not prop- 
 erly belonging to any term of the thought, and are dealt with along 
 with such words as "the" and in some cases "that," etc., under the 
 name of expletives or introductory words. 
 
 Participles, infinitives, and gerunds, have so much the appear- 
 ance and functions of the adjectives and the nouns whose places 
 they take, that they are dealt with in the main as adjectives and 
 nouns, although later their real relation to the verb is made more 
 
 clear. 
 
 Uses of the Parts of Speech. 
 
 After the various parts of speech are discriminated as has just 
 been discussed, the uses of certain of them are very carefully con- 
 sidered. The uses of nouns dwelt upon ar^ (1) subject, (2) predi- 
 cate, (3) direct object, (4) indirect object, (5) appositive, (6) gen-
 
 70 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 itive, (7) adjunct accusative. Partially at this point, and very 
 definitely and carefully in grade eight,* the relation between these 
 terms, and such terms as attribute complement, objective comple- 
 ment, etc., is made clear, so that when the pupil hears the latter 
 terms (as he is sure to do in his later work) he will avoid the con- 
 fusion which would surely come if he did not know the two termi- 
 nologies.* 
 
 Four classes of nouns are recognized: (1) A common noun is a 
 noun that may be applied to any individual of a class; (2) a proper 
 noun is a noun that may be applied only to some particular person, 
 place, or thing; (3) an abstract noun is a noun applied to names of 
 actions, qualities, or states of mind considered apart from material 
 things; (4) a collective noun is a noun that denotes a group con- 
 sidered as one. 
 
 The uses of pronouns are essentially the same as those of nouns. 
 
 Six classes of pronouns are recognized: (1) A personal pronoun 
 is a pronoun which shows by its form whether it denotes the speaker, 
 the one spoken to, or the one spoken of; (2) a genitive pronoun 
 is a pronoun which denotes possession; (3) a demonstrative pro- 
 noun is a pronoun which is used to point out that to which it refers; 
 (4) an interrogative pronoun is a pronoun by means of which a 
 question is asked; (5) a relative pronoun is a pronoun that intro- 
 duces a clause which it connects with an antecedent; (6) an indefi- 
 nite pronoun is a pronoun which does not denote any particular 
 thing or group of things. 
 
 Uses of the other parts of speech are simple, and are indicated 
 in the definitions of such parts of speech. (Predicate-adjective will 
 probably need to be dealt with separately.) 
 
 Two classes of adjectives are recognized: (1) A descriptive ad- 
 jective is an adjective which expresses the kind or condition of a 
 person or thing spoken of; (2) a limiting adjective is an adjective 
 which does not express any idea of kind or condition, but which 
 limits the idea conveyed by the noun. (The article is dealt with 
 as an expletive, as previously indicated.) 
 
 Two classes of adverbs are recognized: (1) An interrogative 
 adverb is an adverb used to introduce a question; (2) a relative 
 adverb is an adverb used to introduce a subordinate clause. 
 
 The classes of verbs were of necessity indicated and defined in 
 the discussion of the breaking up of relations into different parts 
 of speech. Verbs are transitive or intransitive. Intransitive 
 
 * Since, at Winona, the study of grammar is begun at the middle of the seventh y -ar, some- 
 what more can be done th.in when limited to eighth grade alone. Teachers may well note the 
 complete "clissifications" as quoted from the Winona course, but no lid limit their work to mil 
 the lime spent upon he subject.
 
 Grammar. — Grade VIII. — Speech Inflections. 71 
 
 verbs are linking or complete. Transitive verbs and complete 
 verbs are attributive. 
 
 The main classes of conjunctions dealt with are coordinating 
 and subordinating conjunctions, as they appear in the considera- 
 tion of the compound and the complex sentence. 
 
 Prepositions and interjections are not divided into classes. 
 
 The matter of thinking cannot be hurried. At this point 
 teachers must give ample drill to fix all new material, and the using 
 of all old as well, before going on with modifications of the parts 
 of speech and translation of the nomenclature used up to this time 
 into the common nomenclature which many of the pupils will later 
 need. 
 
 The translation into the more commonly used nomenclature is of course a 
 temporary matter; and just as soon as the use of the nomenclature recommended 
 by the Joint Committee on Grammatical Nomenclature, National Education 
 Association, becomes general, this translation will be unnecessary. 
 
 Speech Inflections. 
 
 By this time the pupil has become acquainted with the three 
 kinds of ideas, — with the three ideas in a thought, — -and has seen 
 the ideas break up into parts of speech which have various uses 
 and classes. He has had it continually emphasized that the part of 
 speech which a certain word is, in a given sentence, is determined 
 by the function of the word in that particular sentence; and he 
 realizes that a word may be one part of speech in one sentence, and 
 another part of speech in another sentence. He now comes to see 
 that differentiation in function is further indicated by a change in 
 the form of a certain part of speech, which change in form comes 
 because of variation in use in the sentence. Thus he is introduced 
 to modifications of the parts of speech. He studies case, for exam- 
 ple, at first in pronouns where the variation in form for subject, 
 object, etc., is most noticeable. In later lessons he studies person, 
 number and gender, and relates this knowledge to nouns in so far 
 as it is applicable. The terminology of the joint report on nomen- 
 clature is followed as before. 
 
 The same general plan of procedure is carried out with the 
 other parts of speech until the necessary command of modifications 
 is obtained. Space does not permit a detailed statement of the 
 whole matter, but enough has been indicated to show the general 
 method of attack. 
 
 C— READING. 
 
 Reading is that phase of English which helps one to obtain (and, 
 in some situations, to share) the thoughts of others. It helps one
 
 72 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 adjust himself to his three worlds: he secures material facts which 
 aid him in his control of the physical world; he learns, through lit- 
 erature, how others live and act and think, provided he gets clear 
 pictures from words and keeps actively receptive to new ideas and 
 inspiring thoughts; he secures new experiences as he applies his 
 own to each new situation; and so, as Hamilton W. Mabie says, 
 "Breaks for himself his bondage to time, to place, and to narrow 
 personal experiences." He can, in imagination, fight with Achilles, 
 sail the main with Columbus, and wrestle all night on the mountain- 
 top with Jacob's angel; he learns to know himself, and, through 
 knowing himself, to know his fellows and his God. He reads books 
 not to forget himself or life, but the better to understand life, and 
 himself in that life. 
 
 In reading, as in language discussed above, there are three phases, 
 only the first two of which will, however, appear in the outline 
 for every grade. Those two are: (1) Silent reading, which is really 
 "listening" with the eye — gathering conventional meanings from 
 symbols seen over and over again; and, (2) oral reading, which 
 corresponds to the imitative "talking," under language. The third 
 stage may be either silent or oral, yet is distinct from the usual 
 meaning of both, since it demands: initiative; power to interpret the 
 thoughts read either to one's self, as in studying, or for others, as 
 in reading artistically; ability to "read between the lines"; to gather 
 deeper and richer meanings; to philosophize! Though there will 
 be daily preparation for this stage in the lower grades, it can not 
 be consciously worked for by the child until he has a comparatively 
 rich experience, a highly developed imagination, an easy command 
 of symbols (words, phrases, punctuation, etc.), and a ready emo- 
 tional response. Some would attempt no interpretative reading in 
 the grades, as, correspondingly, they would expect no original com- 
 position work there; but many others feel that one great function 
 of the elementary school is to teach children to read so that they 
 find in books the great lessons of life, so that they recognize which 
 of their individual emotions are worthy and universal, as they see 
 them expressed by an artist. Hamilton Wright Mabie's idea of 
 "what it means to read well" may well be considered here. He 
 says: "No book, however well written, is complete without a good 
 reader; and good readers are almost as rare as good writers. Read- 
 ing of the right sort is really a high order of talent. It may be 
 cultivated, but with many people it is a gift. Shakespeare was a 
 reader of genius, and his creative genius owed much to his marvel- 
 ous faculty of reading, not only with his intelligence, but also with 
 his imagination and his heart. To read a book with the mind only,
 
 Reading. — Grade I. 73 
 
 to comprehend the meaning of the words and pass on, is to leave 
 the substance of a book untouched." * * * "First acquaint- 
 ance with a book of power or beauty is an event in one's intellectual 
 life. 'One may skim a book as a swallow skims through the air 
 and leaves no trace of its flight; or one may build a nest in a book 
 and make it one of the homes of the spirit in the brief summer of 
 life.' The great works of imagination ought to be part of our lives 
 as they were once of the very substance of the men who made 
 them. You may read the play of 'Antony and Cleopatra' and get 
 nothing from it but a series of brilliant pictures; or you may read 
 it and add a large measure of Eastern and Roman life to your own 
 life, and push back the horizons of your own experience so as to 
 include these great and tragical workings out of human destiny 
 under both eternal and historical conditions. This is what hap- 
 pens to true readers, and makes reading one of the greater joys of 
 life. They not only escape from themselves, but they also come 
 into possession of themselves.'''' 
 
 Therefore, in upper grades some attention will be given to "con- 
 structive reading." 
 
 In teaching upper-grade pupils "how to study," text-books will 
 sometimes serve as reading material, but literature will, in the 
 main, be the subject-matter used by all pupils in learning to read. 
 Therefore it will not be handled as for literary interpretation, will 
 not be analyzed in that way, but will be read for reading's sake, — 
 selected because there is positive proof that pure literature makes 
 the best subject-matter for use in studying the art of reading. 
 
 The mechanical side of reading will be helped by the usual aids 
 (not ends in themselves) — -phonics, punctuation, vocabulary study 
 and other composition work, grammatical analysis, and voice work. 
 
 Grade I. 
 To read the written thoughts of another demands two distinct 
 powers on the part of the reader: (1) Basal experiences sufficient 
 to give content or meaning to the words, coupled with an imagina- 
 tive power which makes the symbolized experience real; and (2) 
 power over symbols, or forms of words used to express ideas. To 
 illustrate: (1) Though a comparatively young child might pro- 
 nounce all the words in this first stanza of R. W. Emerson's "Brah- 
 ma"— 
 
 "If the red slayer thinks he slays, 
 Or if the slain think he is slain, 
 They know not well the subtle ways 
 I keep, and pass, and turn again." 
 
 — he could never read it, for he lacks the necessary experience in
 
 74 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 life to put any real content into the words; and (2) though an octo- 
 genarian with years of weather experience should attempt to read 
 „. ( peute tft c§ fc()i* fdt/' he would find himself barred unless he knew 
 the symbols. 
 
 Because the emphasis has been placed, by some, on the one 
 essential, and, by others, on the second essential, two main methods 
 of teaching reading have arisen. If one believes that emphasis 
 upon symbol getting will quickest help the child both to know 
 symbols and to put content into words, he will naturally use a 
 symbol method. If, on the other hand, a teacher believes that 
 basal experiences are more vital than symbols in the final interpre- 
 tation of thought, he will employ a thought or experience method. 
 Ardent advocates of the thought method do not deny that symbols 
 must be known, and equally ardent supporters of a symbol method 
 have their ultimate goal the interpretation, by the reader, of the 
 symbols into thoughts. The real difference lies not in the rejec- 
 tion of either of the essentials of reading power, but in the point of 
 view as to where the emphasis shall be placed. 
 
 That teachers who use thought methods resort to drills is some- 
 times counted against the method; but this is plainly unfair, since 
 all agree that no matter what the means of presentation of a sub- 
 ject is, only practice will make the adjustment into a habit; the 
 child who sees the carpenter use a saw gets the thought process at 
 once, and even has a strong desire to use the tool, but it takes 
 practice for him to secure good results and feel an absolute control 
 of the tool. So with words — the tools of reading. 
 
 For years primary teachers have received in books and school 
 magazines much help along the line of methods. Teachers will find 
 advocates for all possible variations and combinations of the two 
 fundamental methods, thought and symbol. Text-books and their 
 accompanying manuals explain the different view-points of their 
 authors, and since some teachers can succeed best with one plan 
 and others do their best work in an almost opposite way, no one 
 method should be entirely ruled out. It is, however, legitimate to 
 say, that, in general, young and inexperienced teachers incline to 
 the more formal or symbol methods, because progress in word rec- 
 ognition and word pronouncing seems easier to check than does 
 growth in connotation; while teachers of wider experience and more 
 professional insight tend to use thought methods, having found that 
 thought work will motivate the acquisition of symbols very much 
 better than acquisition of symbols can ever be made to motivate 
 thoughtful reading.
 
 Silent Reading. — Grade I. 75 
 
 Tests made by some English experts indicate that thought 
 methods produce more intelligent and more fluent reading in less 
 time to the page than do phonic or other symbol methods, even 
 though these methods are used by capable teachers who enthusi- 
 astically support their own methods.* 
 
 Children are so eager to read that many learn as did Hugh 
 Miller ,f in spite of poor methods of teaching; and others, like Robert 
 Louis Stevenson, discover a process of reading with no teaching. 
 Children who read of their own accord get carried away by the 
 thought and pay no attention to words which would get in the way 
 of an adult reader. The type, the short sentences which virtually 
 make paragraphs in the child's thinking, the happy illustrations in 
 our modern primers and first-readers, together with the fact that, 
 in general, the vocabulary used is already a part of the child's 
 speaking equipment, and hence is possessed of rich content as soon 
 as heard, tend to minimize the bad effects of symbol methods, and, 
 by the results, seem to suggest that mere word calling is all that is 
 necessary. Thought methods apply equally to word and sentence 
 devices. Though full sentences are best for native-born children, 
 the thought-word method has proved best for foreign children who 
 are unacquainted with English idioms. Such children also need a 
 large amount of motor activity to clarify and to clinch meanings 
 of symbols for them. 
 
 Silent Reading. — This phase of the work should predominate 
 during the first few months, if not throughout the entire first year. 
 A child must not have too many problems to solve at once, and if 
 he is laboring to get the thought from new symbols, he must not 
 be expected at the same time to give it well to others. He may 
 read out loud, — that is, with his lips, — but an observer readily sees 
 that he is making lip and other movements merely as an aid to 
 thought gathering, not with any idea of making these movements 
 expressive. 
 
 Note: — Near the end of the year, a first grade was expected to entertain 
 the other grades. They decided that the guests would enjoy some of their much- 
 loved reading lessons, so they looked over all the texts used during the year and 
 freely named their favorite stories. (Incidentally this proved an excellent re- 
 view.) The entire list selected was of course impossible, so the children were 
 called on to use judgment in narrowing the stories to the few that could be given 
 in the allotted half hour. The guiding questions were: (1) Shall we have all 
 reading or some reading and some dramatizing? (2) Shall we choose stories a 
 great deal alike or quite different? Then, (3) which are best for dramatizing? 
 For reading? After checking a number of tales similar in style, (4) which of 
 these is the very best? 
 
 * Edmund J. Gillin, Journal of Experimental Pedagogy, Vol. I, London 1911-12. 
 t See S. L. Arnold's Reading: How to Teach It. p. 46.
 
 76 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Then came the question of pleasing the audience: (1) By acting so plainly 
 that every one could follow the story; or (2) by reading so clearly that every one 
 could hear. The children realized that some couldn't be heard so distinctly as 
 others, and that some didn't know their words so well as did others. All read 
 and acted the different stories for several days, the children selecting those who 
 would be likely to give the guests most pleasure. The representatives then read 
 before their classmates for several more days, until the subject-matter was very 
 familiar to all. Friday afternoon arrived. Several children showed more or 
 less difficulty in adjusting themselves to an audience larger and different from 
 their usual school-room one, but one child in particular became a striking exam- 
 ple of self-forgetfulness. Selected because she read fluently, clearly, and appre- 
 ciatively, she was given an entire story to read. In spite of her familiarity with 
 the thought and the climax, after a few opening sentences which were expressively 
 given, she became so engrossed in the story itself that gradually her tones grew 
 lower and lower until she was scarcely heard by the nearest person. Audience 
 was forgotten; self was forgotten. To all intents and purposes she was alone 
 with her story and she was enjoying it to the full. On-lookers could see her 
 lips moving, her eyes sparkling, her breathing showing her tense rapture, as she 
 turned page after page. She finally reached the end of the story and with a 
 long sigh of satisfaction over the outcome, walked to her seat, still unconscious 
 of any audience. 
 
 Although Virginia failed to make her listeners get the thought, the whole 
 situation was a wonderful compliment to the first-grade teacher,*since it showed 
 that she had aroused a real love of reading; had selected texts that bore repeti- 
 tion with no loss of interest — real literature; had used thought methods; and yet 
 had drilled sufficiently to give the child ready command of symbols. 
 
 Here was a case where a child already familiar with the symbols 
 was still too engrossed with thought gathering to read expressively 
 to others. How much less possible, then, would it be for a child 
 not yet in command of the forms, to keep an audience in mind! 
 
 There must, of course, be some expression to show that the im- 
 pression made has been correct; but the wise teacher secures this 
 by other devices than just oral reading, such as: Doing the act, 
 pointing to the object, telling the story, pantomiming, dramatiz- 
 ing, cutting paper, drawing, and modeling. 
 
 Recalling the two fundamentals in learning to read, the teacher 
 asks herself, (1) How can I get the children to enter completely into 
 the experiences portrayed in their reading? And, (2) How can I 
 create a strong desire for mastering the symbols? These will be 
 dealt with in turn. 
 
 There are two main sorts of experience to be lived: (1) That 
 had daily by the children in their games, in their instinctive ques- 
 tionings, imitations, competitions, etc.; (2) that gained imagina- 
 tively. On both of these, the first-grade teacher can build reading 
 lessons, arousing at the same time a feeling of need for symbols. 
 
 Reading lessons which are based on direct experience drop readily 
 into the imperative-sentence form, a good method (but by no means 
 
 * Miss Helen Ford Staples, Winona.
 
 Reading. — Grade I. 77 
 
 the only one) for use during the first month of school. (See pp. 
 230-232, for an illustration of this plan.) 
 
 Imagined or indirect experiences form the basis for a second 
 type of reading lessons. The teacher selects a unit of literature 
 suited to the interests of the children. This she tells well. (If she 
 isn't a good story teller, she must study the art from some of the 
 numerous excellent texts now published on the subject — see Min- 
 nesota Library List.) The pupils reproduce it by several means — 
 telling, picturing, dramatizing, paper-cutting, etc. When the story 
 as a whole has been actually lived by the children, they are ready 
 to read the story. The lesson may be on the blackboard (written, 
 not printed, since the teacher's print is like neither script nor book 
 print, and so makes a third form for the child to learn) ; or it may 
 be printed on manila paper (with a hand printing-press, such as 
 every primary teacher needs) ; or, best of all to the child, it may be 
 in a book. (See pp. 232-237, for varied treatments of literature 
 as the basis of the early reading lessons.) 
 
 To make pupils feel the need of learning the symbols, the teacher 
 must make sure of three things: 
 
 1. That the words symbolize real content. 
 
 2. That this content is, by the child, recognized as valuable — as something worth 
 
 his while to get, even at considerable self exertion. 
 
 a. Because his instinct of play, or curiosity, or imitation, or emulation, 
 
 makes him wajit to "put on the soldier cap," "get the flag," "run to 
 the cupboard," or "eat the apple." 
 
 b. Because he wants to be able to tell others what to do when he is "cap- 
 
 tain" and needs to say to one boy, "March," and, later, "Halt"; to 
 all his soldiers, "In time; march. Right, left." 
 
 c. Because he knows that the mastery of these symbols will unlock for him 
 
 great store-houses of literary treasures. 
 
 Miss Arnold, in "Reading: How to Teach It," suggests the plan of a teacher's 
 reading a part of a story just before an intermission, stopping, with expressions of 
 regret, at an interesting point, and saying, "If only you could read yourselves you 
 could finish this, at noon!" What child wouldn't feel the challenge and determine 
 that he would learn to read, and that without delay? 
 
 3. That the only possible way for the child to get this valuable content is by mas- 
 
 tering the symbols. The teacher does not speak the words as she writes 
 them, nor read a sentence every time she shows one. If she does, the 
 child has little motive for getting the visual symbols; all he needs to do is 
 to listen for the auditory symbols which he has been hearing for almost 
 six years. Besides furthering close association of meaning with visual 
 form by omitting sounds, the teacher uses many legitimate devices for 
 securing the child's concentrated attention upon the form of the words as 
 a means to some desired end. (Not as an end in itself, if she is using a 
 thought method.) 
 
 Oral Reading. — In the usual sense of oral reading, that is, re- 
 peating expressively the author's exact words, little is done in first
 
 78 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 grade. At certain times, and especially near the end of the year, 
 the teacher may hold the children to the exact words, but at other 
 times and earlier in the year, the exact words are less vital than the 
 thought. Should a child be engrossed with the onward movement 
 of the story, and say, "The fox ran into the dark woods" when the 
 book says, "into the lonely forest" he would only have been trans- 
 lating the thought into more familiar terms to him, and should not 
 be told of the change. 
 
 Adults do the same thing; why shouldn't children? When we meet a new 
 word, we look up its meaning, and then, to get any content from the sentence, 
 we find ourselves inserting each time we meet the word the synonym we know 
 best until the content of the new word is ours; after that its own form can be 
 used. A "lonely forest" to a child who is more familiar with the expression 
 "woods," and who is lonely only in the dark, naturally becomes to him a "dark 
 woods." 
 
 After pupils have acquired a love of reading and can think with 
 the author with ease, the teacher may say, "That's what it means; 
 but it isn't just what it says. See whether you can read what it 
 says." Later, phonics will help the child distinguish "meadow," 
 "pasture," and "field," though he may earlier have interchanged 
 them without loss to the thought. Special lessons may be planned 
 in which the "rule of the game" is to say exactly what the book says. 
 The exact proportion of time on thought and on form must be care- 
 fully weighed to suit the needs of a class, so that neither lack of 
 knowing form nor over emphasis on form may retard the reading. 
 
 Reading the author's words aloud should be preceded by plans 
 which permit the children to show by action, by making, or telling, 
 that they have silently gathered the correct thought. Take any 
 imperative sentence lesson. As the teacher writes on the black- 
 board, or holds up a printed sentence, one child after the other does 
 what is indicated. The teacher may then say, "Call on some one 
 and tell him what to do, Jane." Each child may thus read orally 
 a single command. Later, one child may act as "teacher" or "cap- 
 tain," reading several commands for classmates to execute. When 
 dramatizing a literature lesson, the different children make sure 
 they know what they are to say, and, at times, another child may 
 read the descriptive parts, giving the actors their cues. 
 
 Aids. — The language outlines for the grade, and pp. 228-230, 
 which show the interrelation of the language arts, should be 
 studied. Phonics should not be introduced until pupils have a 
 fair sight vocabulary. Teachers differ individually as to what is a 
 "fair" vocabulary and as to just what is meant by "phonics." 
 There is space here for just a word. Experienced teachers who 
 study results of different methods which they use, incline to post-
 
 Reading. — Grade I. — Drills. 79 
 
 pone formal phonics to the second grade, but do employ in first 
 grade incidental exercises which assist children in discriminating 
 sounds and forms in connection with the context. They realize that 
 children have to master an immense number of forms all at once, 
 and so give them all possible cues, but are careful to drop all that 
 have only temporary value as soon as children are ready for more 
 permanent aids to independence in form mastery. 
 
 During the first fortnight, one teacher makes clever associations of form 
 with meaning after this fashion: Since "pig" and "dog" are words of the same 
 length and end in the same "curly-tail" way, we must look at the first letters to 
 find in what ways these words are like the animals they name; a pig has his head 
 down, with his nose rooting in the ground a good share of the time, while the 
 dog carries his head up, and since the word "pig" begins with head down and 
 "dog" with head up, you can easily remember them. When the new word 
 "bread" is met, the teacher says, "You can remember that, for here is the loaf 
 in the pan; see the sides of the pan [pointing to b and d] and the loaf inside it 
 [pointing to rea]." Cues of this sort should not be forced, and should not be 
 recalled once, after pupils know the words without them. Gradually, a few 
 initial sounds are taught, the teacher saying, for example, "What would be a 
 sensible word to use here that begins as this word does?" (The teacher sounds 
 the first letter of the new word.) [The initial consonants may be divided into 
 four groups, according to difficulty of sounding them correctly: (1) 1, m, n, r, s; 
 (2) f, h, p, t, v; (3) c (hard), j, k; (4) b, d, g (hard). The remaining letters, q, w, 
 x, y, z, are seldom needed in first grade, so are omitted from the four groups 
 above. A word of caution may be necessary: care must be taken that children 
 sound their consonants correctly, and not say, till and urn for I and m, or buh, 
 tnh, and puh, for b, t, and p, etc. Teachers should spend necessary time in 
 studying the introduction to the dictionary, where sounds are so carefully dis- 
 cussed, if they have the least doubt about the correctness of the sounds they 
 are teaching. Though b, d, and g, are most difficult to sound clearly and cor- 
 rectly, they may be needed before some of the easier sounds. The teacher will, 
 however, if possible, begin with the first group.] 
 
 Drills on sentences, phrases, and words become necessary, but, 
 as indicated above, should be of a sort to associate form and mean- 
 ing rather than to make form an end in itself. (See suggestions 
 for drills, pp. 231-237 and 279-283.) 
 
 Seat-work can be made a most valuable aid to reading if selected 
 (1) to fit the child's needs, interests, and ability to accomplish; (2) 
 to give opportunity for many modes of expressing ideas — cutting, 
 tearing, drawing, painting, making, etc.; (3) to teach ready dis- 
 crimination in forms (not necessarily words) ; (4) to associate words 
 and meanings; (5) to repeat work presented for the sake of fixing 
 it. (See pp. 283 and 287-292, for seat-work suggestions.) 
 
 Texts. — (See p. 225 for method of selecting readers.) If the 
 school is already provided with texts, the teacher needs to evaluate 
 them carefully, classifying them into those dealing primarily with 
 (1) form, and (2) literary material. She should next study the
 
 80 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 vocabularies and literature of the different texts, so as to know 
 how and when to use each, if all must be used. The child wanted 
 to come to school to "learn to read"; that is, to be independent in 
 gathering beloved stories told or read to him at home. The litera- 
 ture readers contain what satisfies this desire, and what will entice 
 the child into richer fields. (See discussion, p. 16, on the sort of 
 literature liked by six-year-olds.) 
 
 The "form" readers, if judiciously used, may serve as drill- 
 books. Children love the idea of reading many books, and if like 
 vocabularies appear in several, this can be done with advantage. 
 During* the early use of books, the teacher will often read parts 
 which the child can't get, just as in language she helps out his 
 fragmentary speech. Gradually the child, through much reading, 
 picks up idiomatic expressions which have lost their old meaning 
 and have taken on the nature of expletives, such for example as 
 "How do you do?" "Once upon a time," "In a far away country," 
 "Ever since," and "Once there was." 
 
 If only one or two readers are supplied, the teacher should ask 
 for more. If the request can't be granted, the teacher must sup- 
 plement book work by a large amount of blackboard and hecto- 
 graphed reading-material and by charts. (See pp. 233-234.) 
 
 What to expect by the end of the year. — Since more definite stand- 
 ards are being constantly made by students of the problem, the 
 teacher should keep abreast of the times, giving such tests as she 
 feels most truly representative of pupils' abilities. Educators have 
 been chary about setting a standard for first-grade pupils, since 
 children vary so greatly in their rate of progress, a slow beginner 
 often surpassing one more rapid by the middle of the second year. 
 Then, too, the irregular attendance of first-grade children (due to 
 epidemics and other causes) produces great irregularity in a given 
 class, all members of which may yet be ready for second grade in 
 general maturity and ability. First-grade teachers should know 
 what the standards are for second grade in the several lines: vo- 
 cabulary control, rate of silent and of oral reading, ability to gather 
 thought, and to pronounce words and sentences as well as to read 
 expressively, and should do what they can in first grade towards 
 such standards. (See pp. 292-295, for discussion of standard tests 
 and their value.) 
 
 Grade II. 
 
 Here the reading time must be divided between "intensive" and 
 "extensive" reading. The large sight vocabulary naturally gained 
 in first grade must be clinched, analyzed into "families" according 
 to phonetic stems, and made a firm foundation for further growth
 
 Reading. — Grade II. 81 
 
 in vocabulary acquisition as well as in rapid or extensive reading; 
 drills on local errors of enunciation (such as the sounds of wh, th, 
 and ing) become necessary as another feature of "intensive" work. 
 However, care must be taken that mechanics are not permitted to 
 usurp any of the time due to real reading, since the early love of 
 thought gathering, regardless of "verbal no-thoroughfares," must 
 not be lost, but, on the other hand, must be conscientiously fur- 
 thered by the teacher. The two sorts of work should occur in dis- 
 tinct periods, so that children gain no false notion that reading can 
 ever be mere symbol sounding. Even different text-books may be 
 used, the literature readers being used for real reading, and "meth- 
 od" readers being used for symbol study. 
 
 Silent Reading. — During this year pupils can read many books 
 containing the same sort of literature as that read in first grade; 
 the stories can be longer, however, and may forego much of the 
 repetitive element needed before. It is not too early to encourage 
 home reading which the teacher can influence. A school library 
 should have plenty of easy books of the sort to form correct reading 
 tastes; if the system is. a large one, each teacher should select from 
 the general library thirty to forty books for a room library — to be 
 changed about once in three or four weeks; the teacher should in- 
 fluence pupils to read at home and report in school parts liked or 
 things not understood. A record should be kept of the books read, 
 and old favorites should be sprinkled among new selections month 
 by month. A book that can't be read more than once isn't very 
 valuable. Teachers should encourage the rereading of favorites, 
 at the same time cultivating growing tastes. 
 
 Presuming that a second-grade teacher has two regular reading 
 periods, aside from the time given to phonics, word drills, and seat- 
 work, the major part of one of these periods should be devoted to 
 the testing of children's power silently to gather thought and to 
 picture vividly the experiences portrayed in the simple tales read. 
 
 Oral Reading. — More than in first grade, pupils should be held 
 to reading the words of the book, whenever that is the problem of 
 the hour. Of course in extensive reading, the drift, or gist, or 
 sweep, of the story is what is wanted. To secure good expression, 
 the teacher must, even in second grade, suggest motives that make 
 the child want to do his best to make the audience understand 
 him, hence to speak clearly, pronounce correctly, and show inter- 
 est himself in the reading. Dramatization is a most effective 
 means because the child readily sees the consequences of his fail- 
 ure, if he spoils or delays the play, or makes others get their parts 
 wrong.
 
 82 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Aids. — (See language outline for the grade.) Seat-work demand- 
 ing the careful reading of blackboard or hectographed directions, 
 besides giving practice in silent reading, encourages independence 
 in all work. Many texts suited to the grade, like Miss Popp's 
 "Tree Dwellers," contain suggestions about "What to do" and 
 "Things to think about." These can be used as models by the 
 teacher, who can ask similar questions about other lessons. The 
 work in phonics consists of: (1) Noting in a long list of words those 
 that contain common elements; that is, selecting the common 
 phonic stems. (2) Learning these "stems," "keys," or "phono- 
 grams." (3) Learning the consonant sounds most needed, both 
 initial and final. (4) Learning the long and short vowel sounds, 
 and to know these apart so that when the teacher says "short a" 
 or "long i" the child can instantly give the desired sound. (Dia- 
 critical marks should not be learned unless necessary for the sys- 
 tem of reading in vogue in a given school.) (5) Ability to blend 
 known sounds. This is much harder than many adults realize, 
 and needs special emphasis. (6) Learning to break words up into 
 parts already known and to recognize whether the remaining parts 
 are, or are not, able to be pronounced independently by the child. 
 (7) Learning a few very simple rules of pronunciation of syllables. 
 The making of little dictionaries and alphabet books will teach the 
 alphabet in order. 
 
 Punctuation, as an aid in getting the meaning, must be noted. 
 This will be mainly the final mark of a sentence and the capital at 
 the beginning. 
 
 Word-drills will be necessary for securing fluency in both oral 
 and silent reading, and for the sake of pronunciation and enuncia- 
 tion. In every community the teacher will find local errors to be 
 corrected. If the children tend to monotonous expression, expres- 
 sion drills of various kinds must be resorted to. These can, how- 
 ever, never equal the spontaneous expression that comes from hav- 
 ing the correct feeling, so should not be used except to supplement 
 other means. 
 
 Note: One Rood scheme is to accumulate from daily lessons some especially interesting ex- 
 pressions demanding variation of tone, print these on good-sized cards (say 11x14 inches), and, if 
 possible, find a picture to fit the expression. Another plan is to secure interesting pictures from 
 magazines and elsewhere, get pupils to suggest what would naturally be said on seeing the picture, 
 and select the best suggestions to be printed on the cards. These cards may then be used daily 
 for expression drills, the monotones gradually imitating the enthusiastic readers, and so getting 
 habits as well as ideals of voice variation. Though the pictures can't be «hown here, they can be 
 led; these arc a few sentences found good for the purpose: 1.1) K-itty needs a nap, not milk. 
 (2) Hurry. Hurry, John! We'll be late for school! (3) We had the loveliest time! (4) Oh, the 
 pretty bird! (5) You can play with me. (6) My! such big horses! (7) My baby sister can play 
 ball, in) Pig. pig, do go over the stile. 
 
 ii plans found on pp. 230-241, for first and third grades may contain some suggestions 
 for second-grade teachers. 
 
 What to expect by the end of the year. — Ability to read "success- 
 fully" both silently and orally the usual second-grade literature
 
 Reading.— Grade III. 83 
 
 and lessons, at the rate accepted as a standard. (See p. 292 for 
 standards of "success" and "rate.") (See also language standards, 
 page 24.) The number of books read depends on too many factors 
 to permit a definite number to be named. It depends on (1) the 
 general ability of the class; (2) the ability of the teacher (one 
 teacher can make old material interesting no matter how frequently 
 it is read, but cannot so surely get results from continual use of 
 new material; other teachers do best with fresh material of about 
 the same grade of difficulty); (3) the equipment of the school in the 
 way of basal and supplementary material (whether in sets or in 
 single copies from a library) ; (4) the aim of the work as voiced by 
 superintendents, teachers, or the "standard tests" accepted for 
 that community; (5) the relative value given to reading on the daily 
 program; and (G) upon other less general factors. 
 
 Grade III. 
 
 The well-done work of the first two years has given pupils power 
 over visual symbols whose sounds and meanings were already well 
 known; eye movements in reading have become habitual; and chil- 
 dren have grown to love reading because of the fun, information, or 
 entertainment, it furnishes. All this must be kept up by the third- 
 grade teacher, who finds new problems besides in (1) a change of 
 subject-matter, and (2) a consequent change in vocabulary. Al- 
 though the children still enjoy home reading of cumulative tales, 
 fairy stories, myths, and legends, they are eager for "true" stories, 
 finding "Letters from a Cat," "Viking Tales," "Robinson Crusoe," 
 "Tree Dwellers," "Seven Little Sisters," and colonial history stor- 
 ies, the types of literature which appeal most. These stories de- 
 mand accuracy in word calling to make the meaning clear, and, 
 since the vocabulary itself begins to be strange in sound as well as 
 meaning, much work on thinking and on supplementing the text has 
 to be done. To keep a proper balance between the necessary drill 
 on the rapidly accumulating hard words and the onward movement 
 in the story, exercises the wisest teacher's ingenuity. But that it 
 can be done has been proved. (See p. 237 f, for some observed les- 
 sons from "Viking Tales.") Children have to be held to "think- 
 ing straight," to seeing definite situations, making sensible infer- 
 ences, and concentrating attention on specific problems. This 
 means that the teacher must plan questions for study which de- 
 mand thinking to a purpose, picturing described situations, and 
 many readings of the same material. She must also plan recitation 
 questions to check the children on their execution of the assign- 
 ment, and yet to secure progress in the story.
 
 84 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Silent Reading.— Psychology seems to have proved what many 
 people had learned empirically, that a first rapid reading followed 
 by several successive slower readings will produce better results in 
 a given length of time than will the spending of the entire time in 
 one slow, careful reading of the material. 
 
 Every conceivable effort should be made to secure two daily 
 reading periods in third grade. One of these should be devoted to 
 silent reading with two main purposes in view: (1) the continuance 
 of extensive or appreciative reading of books beyond the children's 
 power to read orally; and (2) the studying of reading lessons (and 
 sometimes of other texts) to learn how to set an aim for getting 
 the most out of a lesson, to practice doing this until "reading with 
 a purpose" is second nature to the child, to lay the foundation for 
 power to read constructively, to supplement the thought, to chal- 
 lenge irrational statements, to imagine the situations to be real. 
 All of this can not be done with all pupils in a single year, but if a 
 start is made in third grade, the effect will be cumulative and posi- 
 tive by the eighth grade. 
 
 Children have been made to be much interested in their own 
 growth in some of these lines — in ability to ask sensible questions 
 upon what was known and what was wanted; in ability to read 
 more and more rapidly (as timed by the clock, in some cases; as 
 shown by being among the early ones "through" instead of among 
 the last ones, etc.); in ability to get more and more facts or reasons 
 or points from a page in a limited time; and in other ways which sug- 
 gest themselves to every teacher in, earnest to secure this growth. 
 "Sweep is the word in extensive reading; thoroughness, the word in 
 intensive reading." Controlled library or home reading helps the 
 one; the study-lesson, with the teacher on the alert, aids the other. 
 
 Oral Reading. — The classic or text-book selected for this must 
 be below the children's maximum ability in silent reading. It 
 needs to be dramatic, emotional, clamoring to be "shared." The 
 pressure for correct pronunciation, articulation, picture painting, 
 and inflection — the mechanics of reading — must come from the 
 thought or the motive in reading aloud, not from external incentive. 
 When, however, stumbling, repetitions, miscalling little words, 
 mumbling, monotonous reading, careless thinking, or lax prepara- 
 tion, can not be cured while subordinated to the thought or emo- 
 tions, the individual difficulty must receive special attention until 
 conquered. 
 
 Aids. — (See usable suggestions for grades I and II. See 
 outlines for language for grades I, II, and III. See Manual, 
 pp. 279-292.) Since the meanings of v/ords are often new, the
 
 Reading. — Grade III. — What to Expect. 85 
 
 child must be urged to get all he can from the context, and, when he 
 has done his best to extract meaning from the paragraph, to learn 
 to recognize which word is troubling him. He should be encour- 
 aged, when reading aloud, to substitute a known synonym for any 
 word he can not pronounce, so as not to spoil the listener's pleasure. 
 Later, the word he did not know must be studied, and, if possible, 
 conquered. If the pupil is trained to read with the eye ahead of 
 the voice, and is not asked to read expressively material never seen 
 before, excellent results in oral reading may be expected. 
 
 To secure the very best reading, whether study or expressive, 
 specific aims must be set up. (See pp. 237-240 for examples of 
 reading one page many times with new interest each time.) Third- 
 grade children profit by being conscious of their rating according to 
 some standard test, (see p. 293,) if the teacher gives them faith 
 in their ability to reach the standard. 
 
 Sentences and phrases should be selected from the actual les- 
 sons for inflection drills. Pupils may plan to emphasize one word 
 after the other, or to inflect the whole in different ways, noting that 
 each change in inflection (or emphasis) causes a change in thought. 
 They should then select the rendering desired to express their idea 
 of the meaning. Try inflecting the Tiny Bear's various exclama- 
 tions in different ways, noting how few are at all desirable: "Some- 
 body has been sitting in my chair and has broken it all down!" 
 Try emphasizing first one word after the other in this sentence 
 taken from a text often used in third grade, "When his feelings 
 were stirred he used to sneeze," and note that each emphasis 
 changes the thought. Only the context could help one decide 
 which would finally be best to use. 
 
 Phonics becomes an especially valuable aid in the independent 
 pronouncing of words. To the work outlined earlier should now 
 be added: The other needed vowel sounds, with their names; the 
 few remaining consonant sounds, and certain digraphs and diph- 
 thongs; greater ease in rapid blending; a working knowledge of, 
 but not necessarily a statement of, principles of syllabication and 
 of syllable pronunciation, and the placing of accent, as indicated 
 by the teacher, in word lists. 
 
 What results the third-grade teacher should secure. — Children as a 
 grade should love school, love books, love to read, and should have 
 grown steadily in eagerness, enthusiasm, concentration of atten- 
 tion, reasoning, and in ethical judgment. As individuals, each 
 must have learned to do all of which he is capable, feel that his 
 efforts are recognized, and that his opinions are respected. Pupils 
 should meet the minimum standard set by whatever series of tests
 
 86 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 the local school chooses to administer, but should have tried all 
 year to attain one hundred per cent efficiency. 
 
 A fewer number of books will, naturally,. have been read in 
 class, since the material is new, harder, and consists of larger classic 
 units than before. The amount of individual or home reading 
 should have increased, but should not have degenerated in quality. 
 
 Grade IV. 
 
 In the fourth grade, as reading difficulties increase, there should 
 be ample time for both silent and oral reading, with study periods 
 in which the children may be taught to gather the central idea, 
 relate to it any subordinate ideas, supplement the thought, and ac- 
 quire increasing skill in gathering and holding thoughts. (See 
 third-grade suggestions for methods of work.) What the second 
 grade did for the first, the fourth grade must do for the third- 
 crystallize, make use of, and refine, all ability in word calling and 
 in thinking there acquired. 
 
 Silent Reading. — Pupils need to work over and assimilate the 
 wealth of new material opening up to them because of their present 
 control of the mechanical phases of reading, and a school period 
 should permit free discussion of all silent, appreciative, or supple- 
 mentary reading. Constructive reading should be encouraged, 
 and humor should be freely introduced. Up to this time, children's 
 sense of humor has been. so different from adult fun that it has been 
 difficult for either side to appreciate what the other saw of fun in 
 a particular situation. (Read Kenneth Graham's "Dream Days" 
 and "A Golden Age.") Children need some sympathetic training 
 in what is real fun and in the recognition of the double meanings 
 of words which make some riddles, rebuses, and conundrums, so 
 humorous. Their childish sense of fun, characterized by seeing 
 persons in awkward or embarrassing situations, is satisfied by some, 
 of the "Robin Hood" stories, and by "Pinocchio's" difficulties. 
 Both books contain, however, adult humor, and it is decidedly in- 
 teresting to watch pupils grow during the fourth year in their ap- 
 preciation of more and more subtle jokes. One teacher's work 
 with "Pinocchio," parts of which were used for silent reading and 
 parts of which were used for oral reading or dramatization, brought 
 out the developing sense of humor marvelously. Wholesome fun 
 is catching, hence the teacher must have a strong sense of humor, 
 or she may work in vain to secure it from the children. 
 
 Oral Reading. — As said before, good oral reading demands mate- 
 rial different from that demanded by silent reading in two particu- 
 lars: It must be easier reading than that which the child can do by
 
 Reading. — Grade IV. — Aids. 87 
 
 himself, and it must be of a sort which impels the reader to share 
 it — a bit of literature which, because of its beauty in either thought 
 or expression, or because of the delicious humor it contains, is 
 worth reading aloud.* 
 
 Ideals of what oral reading should or may be can be best ac- 
 quired by hearing some good oral reading for about ten minutes 
 each day — not the same lesson the children are to read, though oc- 
 casionally that may be wise, but some bit of vital, dramatic litera- 
 ture which the teacher has practiced reading until she reads with 
 abandon, clear enunciation, and vividness. She needs to put her- 
 self into the story and often to use large movements to accompany 
 the new expressions, since the tiny, suggestive movements of a 
 great artist would at this stage portray little to the pupils. Ar- 
 tistic reading grows upon one year by year, until one finally gets 
 from the lifting of an eyebrow or the contracting of the forehead, 
 when done by Sara Bernhardt, a whole volume of emotions. The 
 fourth-grade teacher must steer between crude and over-artistic 
 work; she must make the meanings carry and the pictures clear to 
 her ten-year-olds, not to an adult audience. "Uncle Remus" 
 stories, Kipling's two "Jungle Books," and historical stories, are 
 great favorites. (See Minnesota Library List, and the language 
 outlines.) 
 
 Aids. — Though intermediate teachers do use thought methods 
 in the actual reading work, it is a well-known fact that the rapid 
 increase of long and difficult words in books used above the third 
 grade demands very special emphasis on whatever means seem 
 wisest to insure easy control of symbols. Some of those means are 
 phonics, thought-spelling, use of the dictionary, games with words 
 and their meanings, and the memorizing of poems or short prose 
 selections to give vocabulary. Professor Palmer, in his "Self-Cul- 
 tivation in English," says that a word used three times becomes 
 the user's own. The reciting of memorized literature is one of the 
 surest means of fixing vocabulary. Composition work (see pp. 30- 
 37) is also a definite aid here, especially if the whole class develops 
 a subject and the more fluent pupils contribute variations of 
 phraseology which the word-poorer children may still use when 
 all write the story. In spite of all these means, some students will 
 still need definite mechanical drill on many words, while all pupils 
 must be thus drilled on a few words whose pronunciation violates 
 known (to children) laws of phonics. (Cough, hiccough, dough, 
 Greenwich, and Beauchamp, are examples.) 
 
 * Jackson's "Letters from a Cat," Warner's "Camping Out" and "How I Killed a Bear," 
 CrothersVThe Gentle Reader," are books that compel the child of 8 or 9, the boy of 12 to 14, 
 or the adult, respectively, to insist upon some one's hearing them.
 
 88 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Some boys and girls must still be shown how to express different 
 emotions, and different degrees of the same emotion; monotones 
 occasionally need mechanical imitation drills to give them founda- 
 tion ideals of voice variation, after which they may return to thought 
 drills on different meanings as brought out by different inflections; 
 dramatization continues to prove valuable for this purpose; the 
 motive and the thought awaken interest and many mechanical 
 difficulties cure themselves. 
 
 Mechanical skill may sometimes be a direct aid to thought get- 
 ting, though over fluency has been known to hinder it. A study 
 of punctuation needed by fourth-grade children will be of definite 
 value both for gathering the thought and for sharing it.* In this 
 grade, dictionary work, (p. 98, f,) as an aid to all phases of En- 
 glish, should be begun. Fourth-grade pupils should learn to go to 
 the dictionary for pronunciations and meanings to help the reading 
 but should still depend more on context for meaning than upon a 
 dictionary definition. Whittier says in his "Snow Bound," 
 
 We minded that the sharpest ear 
 The buried brooklet could not hear. 
 
 The dictionary will help little if at all on "minded" or "buried" 
 unless the pupil supplements the thought and knows the context. 
 
 Seat-work in reading can be made one of the most valuable aids 
 available, if only the teacher gives her assignments sufficient care. 
 
 What to expect by the end of the year. — See p. 293, for several 
 standard tests, at least one of which should be given at the begin- 
 ning, middle, and end of the year. 
 
 Grade V. 
 As pupils advance from the primary to intermediate and thence 
 to grammar grades, difficulties continue to arise. The vocabulary 
 of good literature, and even of the non-literary text-book, is new 
 to children not only in form, but in sound and in meaning. The 
 reading process must necessarily be delayed while pupils get basal 
 experiences and fundamental information; learn enough of life to 
 understand familiar allusions; and exercise imagination and reason- 
 ing so that words and phrases bring clear images and have a rich 
 content. They must also constantly cultivate judgment in accept- 
 ing facts and values in what they read. Only by this sort of read- 
 ing — never by mere word-calling — will pupils be fitted to continue 
 their own education by means of current as well as classic literature 
 when they have left school. 
 
 * Kvery teacher of fourth grade and above should own, study, and follow, suggestions made 
 by Clark in his "Interpretation of the Printed Page," or, his earlier book, "How to Teach Read- 
 ing in the Public Schools," if already owned; or any other good guide to teaching reading.
 
 Reading. — Grade V. — Silent Reading. 89 
 
 Many teachers find in use in their schools, readers that are too 
 hard for their grades. If new ones can't be bought, the teacher 
 may still do something, for if the children are encouraged rather 
 than discouraged, a little mental stretching isn't bad for them. 
 The teacher should begin by carefully cataloguing the lessons in 
 the reader according to the amount of (a) action, (b) dialogue, (c) 
 material for pantomime, (d) pictures to be made in seat-work, (e) 
 materials related to other lessons, (/) materials to suit the different 
 purposes for reading, (g) difficult words as to pronunciation, (h) 
 difficult words as to meaning, (?) humor, (J) emotions such as loy- 
 alty, truth, courage, and persistence, and (k) lessons fitted for only 
 silent reading and those good for oral reading. 
 
 Having done this, the teacher should choose lessons which he 
 knows will be the easiest or the most attractive for a week or two, 
 during which time he should be diagnosing and keeping record of 
 the difficulties of both the individuals and of the class as a whole. 
 He may now begin work on the most vital need of the majority, 
 concentrating for a few minutes daily on that until the pupils 
 themselves recognize their gain. 
 
 Even backward boys have been seen to glow with pride over their gain of 
 no more than one minute in a week, in their time of silently reading a given 
 amount. One lad, fearing that his teacher hadn't remarked it, asked, "Have you 
 noticed that I never say stawmp any more for stamp?" — glad to be gaining in 
 the pronunciation of a single word. 
 
 As soon as the pupils begin to be self-critical of an error, the 
 teacher may safely begin work on the next greatest difficulty. 
 Seat-work of kinds to help the various errors may be consciously 
 selected. Possibly the suggestions for the teaching of a simple 
 poem, "The Coast Guard," may help to illustrate some of the 
 points mentioned. (See pp. 241-245.) 
 
 Silent Reading. — (See language outlines for the kinds of reading 
 matter many enjoy at this age). The teacher must not depend, 
 however, on any general list, but must quickly learn the tastes and 
 interests of his pupils. The "reading habit" should again be defi- 
 nitely worked for, if seen to be at all on the wane. The room library 
 of thirty to fifty books chosen to suit individual abilities and inter- 
 ests, with a set period for reporting upon progress in reading and 
 sharing the pleasures of the book with others, will revive or keep 
 alive interest in home reading. 
 
 The need of children's getting the gist of, the exact meaning of, 
 or the points of vagueness in, the various lessons — geography, his- 
 tory, and arithmetic — will suggest to the teacher the kinds of work 
 he should do in the study-half of the silent-reading lesson. These
 
 90 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 texts may even be used occasionally for learning to recognize main 
 and subordinate points and their interrelation, for judging of val- 
 ues, and for recognizing fallacies or irrationalities; for learning to 
 supplement the thought, from one's own experience or by consult- 
 ing reference books; and for making pupils like lessons that demand 
 such effort. 
 
 Oral reading must be made much of, since the new danger is 
 that both teacher and pupils may grow engrossed with the neces- 
 sary thought-gathering and organizing demanded by all lessons. 
 Children must still love to dramatize, to share their most enjoyed 
 books, and to keep up their power to read clearly, fluently, and 
 accurately. They must stand well, read to a sympathetic audi- 
 ence, and use good tones and correct pronunciation. They must 
 feel and show interest in what they are doing, confidence in their 
 ability to convey the thought, and self-possession before the audi- 
 ence. This isn't easy to get at this age, since it is one of the self- 
 conscious periods, and so teachers must commend effort, and set 
 good ideals by their own self-control and freedom in reading. 
 
 Aids. — Dictionary work (p. 98) should be continued; language 
 work, including the listening to and the telling of stories, will be a 
 direct help; word drills outside of those planned in connection with 
 dictionary work and spelling will not be numerous. Seat- work in 
 all subjects may now assist thought gathering and clarifying, and 
 seat-work in reading should be of the sort to secure more associa- 
 tive thinking, more image making, and more application of daily 
 experiences to those pictured in literature, or the reverse. 
 
 What to expect. — Test pupils by standards selected more than 
 once during the year, and work to attain one hundred per cent 
 efficiency by the end of the year. 
 
 Grade VI. 
 
 Silent Reading. — If the crowded program forbids two reading 
 periods a day, (fully as much needed above the primary as in the 
 primary school,) then the teacher must make the history and geog- 
 raphy lessons serve a double purpose, for they must be used for 
 study-reading lessons where children learn to gather facts, to get 
 the gist of an argument, to test the soundness of ideas, and to learn 
 how to find desired information quickly, through use of indices, 
 tables of contents, chapter headings, etc. 
 
 The necessity for slowness and thoroughness in study-reading 
 must be counterbalanced by at least one period a week in extensive 
 or inspirational reading, with almost no interruption for mechanics, 
 so that children get, what has been said before, that indispensable
 
 Reading. — Grade VI. — Oral Reading. 91 
 
 feeling for "sweep," for onward movement in a story, regardless of 
 "verbal no-thoroughfares." 
 
 Many teachers continue the lower-grade plan of having children 
 read individual books at home, reporting once a week their prog- 
 ress in the books and sharing with their classmates bits that were 
 especially enjoyed. Of course the rapid readers may easily finish 
 more than one book in the week, but they give an inkling of what 
 is in each so that others who like that sort of reading will know 
 what to choose. As one of Miss Lynn's* characters says, the child 
 who loves to read almost always has another book "waiting and 
 holding out a fascinating promise" while yet the reader is hurrying 
 through the book in hand. Even the slower readers in a class 
 catch the epidemic of such love of reading. To quote Miss Lynn's 
 child again, "There is nothing that furnishes greater promise of 
 continued satisfaction in life than to know that whatever happens 
 you can always read. However other interests may fluctuate or 
 fail, there are always books, and there is always an interesting one 
 if you only search long enough for it. It gives a sort of certainty 
 to life, and an assurance of its continued likableness, to know that 
 there need be no dull interstices in it. Games may flag, and broth- 
 ers and sisters may have moments of slightly damaged amiability, 
 but entertainment need not pause while there are still books to 
 read. If there are no new ones you can always read David Cop- 
 perfield again." 
 
 A book enjoyed by several in a class may be "cut" and the 
 parts read by the several children to make an afternoon's enter- 
 tainment for the remainder of the school. 
 
 One teacherf planned a clever entertainment of parents and others after this 
 fashion: A child was sitting in an easy chair near her book-cases. She wanted to 
 read, but did not know which of her many favorites to choose. As she pondered 
 over it, thinking of one book after the other, she fell asleep and "dreamed." 
 Her dreams were then enacted by all the other pupils of the grade, who came for- 
 ward singly or in groups and gave the gist of one book, dramatized a scene from 
 another, recited portions of others, or read parts of others, telling briefly the con- 
 nections between parts read. When all the books the dreamer most loved (that 
 is, the books read by individuals in the grade for two or three months) had passed 
 in review before her, she awoke, and, with a caressing gesture for all her books, 
 she declared she "loved every one the best." 
 
 Oral Reading. — If but one short period can be given to school 
 
 reading, it must be devoted to teaching pupils how to enjoy good 
 
 literature and how to give others pleasure through their good oral 
 
 reading. If pupils feel strongly enough the desire to give to others, 
 
 the necessary incidental and supplementary mechanical drills on 
 
 enunciation, local pronunciations, inflection, control of pitch, etc., 
 
 will be sought rather than avoided by pupils. Even two minutes 
 
 * "A Stepdaughter of the Prairie." Margaret Lynn. 
 + Miss Harriet Z. Campbell, Bowling Green, Ohio.
 
 92 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 a day will accomplish appreciable growth, and five minutes a day 
 will do wonders by the end of the year. The plan described under 
 silent reading makes a good motive for effort in oral reading too. 
 
 Aids. — (See sixth-grade language outline, and the reading out- 
 lines for lower grades.) Since this is another period of rapid vocab- 
 ulary increase, pupils must be urged to conquer the pronunciation 
 of new words as they read, so that they may give pleasure to the 
 listeners. They should be made to feel that words are tools, and 
 that fluency in word calling is to be likened to well-sharpened tools, 
 with which the best work can be done. Phonics, if still needed, 
 spelling, and dictionary work, may become the main aids to this 
 refinement of pronunciation and quick recognition of symbols. 
 Punctuation-marks, as symbols of variations in thought, may well 
 be studied more carefully than before. Likewise, the different sig- 
 nificance of the various correlative, adversative, and subordinate 
 connectives, should be noted as an aid to interpretation of thought 
 and to correct inflection in giving the thought. 
 
 Original dramatization of material should be begun in sixth 
 grade. The writer secured rather surprising results with a weak 
 class in their changing of Hawthorne's descriptive story, "Old 
 Esther Dudley," to dramatic form. The vocabulary, which seemed 
 an insurmountable difficulty at the first reading of the story, was 
 so often gone over as different pupils employed it in their trial 
 speeches of the different characters, that, by the time pupils were 
 ready to assign parts and prepare to act and speak these parts, not 
 a dozen words in the whole play had to be drilled upon. It proved 
 again for many teachers that securing the larger end will in general 
 conquer the smaller, and that teachers need to give larger motives 
 than those ordinarily proposed. 
 
 To aid silent reading, nothing is better than reference reading 
 for a specific purpose, such, for example, as was done in 1915 by 
 the sixth-grade pupils of the Ethical Culture School in their plan 
 for their festival, "America the Wonderland."* The interrelated 
 material of geography, history, and literature, can be utilized to 
 great advantage, and the study periods should be making pupils 
 steadily stronger in their grasp of the central idea and the relation 
 to it of necessary details. The dictionary habit can be about 
 "fixed" in this grade. (See pp. 98-104.) 
 
 What to expect. — As in grades below, some standard tests should 
 be given several times during the year, and effort put forth to make 
 the poorest pupils reach the minimum and the best to attain one 
 hundred per cent proficiency. 
 
 * Book by this name, published by the Ethical Culture School, New York City, 60 cents.
 
 Reading. — Grade VII. 93 
 
 Grade VII. 
 
 Whatever privilege may be accorded to the primary teacher in 
 the use of symbol methods, no such favor can be granted to upper- 
 grade teachers. Thought methods, and only thought methods, 
 will serve their need. Children must be fitted to read for different 
 purposes in different ways,* just as adults do; that is: 
 
 1. To secure all the facts from the page, as when reading a guide-book before 
 going to visit some point of interest, or when reading a prospectus of some 
 business in which one wishes to invest. 
 
 2. To get only the important facts, as one does from his daily newspaper. 
 
 3. To get the trend of thought in an article; for illustration, to see whether a 
 certain congressman does or does not favor forest conservation, and hence what 
 will be done for our state. 
 
 4. To learn the arguments advanced, requiring ability to pick out main 
 points and see their interrelation, as in studying the President's position as to 
 internationalism, for example. 
 
 5. To discover some very definite and desired facts such as the iron-ore 
 output from the mines of Ely, during some one year. 
 
 6. To find whether certain facts are present or not, as one does when he is to 
 write a paper on "The Indians in this part of Minnesota" and goes to the library 
 to select several books to be taken home for study. 
 
 7. To satisfy one's longings, one's ambitions, desires, or emotions — a situa- 
 tion in which facts are purely incidental and scarcely even remembered; one 
 reads for the inspiration he gets from the inner spirit of the story, or for the rest 
 he gets from the fun that's there. This demands (1) a wide experience, so that 
 the imagination may have full play; and (2) eye-fluency in the recognition of 
 symbols. (Children can be taught to let the eye read ahead of the voice). 
 
 8. To share with others thoughts that have delighted the reader. This re- 
 quires power in oral expression, for "if we are to fire the soul through the ear, 
 we must control the instrument," the voice, with its possibilities for varying 
 intonation, inflection, pitch, and force. 
 
 The school, then, must provide opportunity for many sorts of 
 reading: for study-reading or intensive reading; for exercise in be- 
 ing "a judicious skipper"; for rapid or extensive reading, which 
 leads, first, to the reading habit, and, second, to discrimination in 
 selection; and, finally, for reading to be shared with others. This 
 last demands two things: 
 
 1. Evident appreciation of the thought — having something to give (as in language) . 
 
 2. Evident desire to give the thought to others, hence a desire (and its attendant 
 
 result) — 
 
 (a) To read distinctly (to be heard) — good enunciation — not mumbling. 
 
 (b) To read smoothly (to be enjoyed) — good pronunciation — not stumbling and miscalling 
 
 words. 
 
 (c) To read to make the thought carry (to be understood) — good grouping or phrasing — 
 
 recognizing main idea — true emphasis and inflection — and noting contrasts — correct 
 time — collateral thinking — force — desire to reach audience. 
 
 (d) To read to please hearers — correct pitch (no strain). Correct tone quality (appreciation.) 
 
 (e) Read to arouse hearers to action — Emotion. 
 
 * Said in 1902 in the New York Teachers Monograph, by Dr. F. E. Spaulding.
 
 94 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 The debate always comes, Will emphasis on thought gathering 
 bring good thought giving, or must children acquire (consciously or 
 unconsciously) some of the technique of good expression? The 
 writer believes that children of this age crave some knowledge of 
 "How to say it" — some of the principles of correct reading. She 
 would therefore advocate the teacher's study of S. H. Clark's 
 methods, and the use of such of them as the class needs. Clark 
 believes that a thorough grasp of the central thought, an imagina- 
 tion that builds vivid pictures, a careful study of shades of meaning 
 as expressed by single, often obscure, words, and the arousal of 
 active rather than passive emotions in pupils, will secure good oral 
 expression. The idea of some practice on placing emphasis, on 
 making pauses, and on changing inflections, pitch, quality, time, 
 and force, in connection with worth-while selections, does not op- 
 pose the thought method in upper grades any more than word 
 drills oppose thought work in primary grades. 
 
 Silent Reading, as said in earlier grades, can be secured from 
 study-reading of other lessons, reference reading, preparation of 
 some themes in composition, and in still further use of home or 
 library reading. If the reading habit has been formed, the teacher 
 may now influence the children's individual tastes in their selection 
 of what to read. His own knowledge of books must be broad, for 
 he will have pupils who are already interested in science, art, 
 music, poetry, and essays. He must know a little of every line, 
 and be ready to go deeper into whatever fields he finds appealing 
 to the children. Many pupils will be forming their life foundations 
 in reading during the seventh and eighth years, and need to know 
 how to find what they want in a library, as well as to know that 
 such good books as the teacher reads or has on his desk are avail- 
 able. Dickens, Ruskin, Plutarch, Tennyson, Prescott, Thackeray, 
 Victor Hugo, Irving, Warner, are a few of the authors that seventh- 
 grade pupils have been known to devour. Of course some students 
 are still fond of easy fiction, and if good fiction is read, that is better 
 than not reading at all; but all fiction, like all play, makes Jack (or 
 Jill) a dull child,' not able to crack the harder nuts of literature to 
 be met in high school and in life. 
 
 As suggested under language (which outline should have been 
 read), a few children will be looking towards a selection of their 
 life-work, and teachers must know about available literature on 
 the various vocations. Current events should be emphasized some- 
 what more than before, though some study in current events 
 should have been made from third grade up. Exercises on how to 
 read newspapers and magazines have proved most valuable.
 
 Reading. — Grade VIII. 95 
 
 Oral Reading. — The daily half hour devoted to oral reading must 
 continue to emphasize good posture, voice, intonation, articulation, 
 and pronunciation, as aids in pleasing the audience. The teacher 
 must guard against taking too much time for literary analysis and 
 other discussion of the thought, remembering that each pupil 
 should read aloud at least a little every day, and that a few pupils 
 should each day do a piece of sustained reading which would de- 
 mand different styles of oral reading and give practice in flexibility 
 of voice and of thought expression. 
 
 Aids. — Language work, study-work in all lessons, dictionary 
 work (p. 98), and drill exercises on most needed points, are the 
 main aids to good reading, besides those implied in the introduc- 
 tory paragraph of this grade's outline. 
 
 Expect pupils to reach the common standard of seventh-grade 
 pupils according to the test agreed upon as best suited to this 
 grade. (See pp. 292-295.) 
 
 Grade VIII. 
 
 All the work of the lower grades should here culminate in the 
 final elementary mastery of the reading art. The high-school work 
 in Literature is usually devoted to a study of style, figurative 
 speech, and literary allusions, so that comparatively little reading 
 (either oral or extensive silent reading) is definitely motivated 
 there. Pupils who have already acquired the reading habit and 
 good foundation tastes, keep up their outside-of-school reading of 
 their own initiative; but pupils who haven't the reading habit 
 fixed, grow to feel that it isn't worth the effort, if to read properly 
 one has to look up every word, cross reference, and figure of speech, 
 spending several days on a dozen lines of some poem. Therefore 
 must eighth-grade teachers of reading know the individual status 
 of each pupil and give to each what he most needs — love of books, 
 fluency in eye-reading, ability to get the central idea, to carry a 
 succession of ideas, power quickly to note the significance of a 
 comma in changing the thought, or ability to read aloud pleasingly. 
 Some pupils need further training in newspaper and magazine read- 
 ing, since they will do most of their reading in current literature 
 and none can lose by such practice. Others need to learn how to 
 enjoy century-old classics. That pupils may read after leaving 
 school, they must have learned (1) how to enjoy literature by get- 
 ting clear pictures from words, by reading their own experiences into 
 the book — that is, by reading between the lines — and by keeping 
 actively receptive to new ideas and inspiring thoughts; (2) to know 
 how to get an organized body of facts together after having exer-
 
 96 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 cised judgment in their selection, from personal information and 
 books or magazines; and (3) to know enough of the practical tech- 
 nique of oral expression to make others enjoy what the reader does. 
 These three phases of reading must be "rounded up" in this last 
 year of the elementary school, and pupils helped to meet the stand- 
 ard tests agreed upon. 
 
 Silent Reading. — Besides the contributions from outside reading 
 made in the supplementing of all lessons, pupils should be encour- 
 aged to make a study of certain authors, learning by "extensive" 
 reading of several books by the same author, his characteristics of 
 plot, style, etc. Biographies become interesting, particularly when 
 they are well written, as are many biographies of Robert Louis 
 Stevenson, and is Palmer's "Life of Alice Freeman Palmer." This 
 study of authors and their works must not be exhaustive, but should 
 satisfy the special need of the pupil, as said above. The work done 
 should rather make the pupil look forward to intensive study later, 
 either in high school or in the leisure of adult life, than to make 
 him feel that he has gotten all there is to get from the book or 
 author. 
 
 Too much reading of light fiction tends toward the reading of a 
 book but once, and should be discouraged, by substituting other 
 books and showing pupils the inexhaustible resources of books 
 which the world has long found good — Hawthorne, George Eliot, 
 Dickens, Shakespeare, etc. Though light fiction has its recreative 
 function for adults, it is not the sort of reading to be too early made 
 habitual. The teacher must use every possible means to help 
 pupils get a big outlook on the making of a living and on the living 
 of a full, rich life. Lives of truly great men, stories of the great 
 industries, and really great books, should be the only reading en- 
 couraged. Fun must not be omitted, but it, too, must be "big" 
 fun; not the sort which enjoys another creature's discomfiture, but 
 fun such as may be found in the works of Oliver Wendell Holmes, 
 John Kendrick Bangs, Samuel Crothers, Charles Dudley Warner, 
 and dozens of others of our humorists who have no "sting" to their 
 fun. (Kenneth Graham and Margaret Lynn will help teachers 
 to realize what children like.) 
 
 Oral Reading. — Original dramatizations of stories like "Rip Van 
 Winkle," "Ivanhoe," "The Man Without a Country," "Adam 
 Bede," "The Vicar of Wakefield," Van Dyke's "The First Christ- 
 mas Tree," and "Story of the Other Wise Man," are excellent 
 preparation for the giving of all or of parts of several of Shakes- 
 peare's dramas in the author's exact words. A finished result 
 (though necessary to work for as a motive for careful organization
 
 Reading. — Grade VIII.— Constructive Reading. 97 
 
 of parts, for practice in reading, and for becoming "line perfect") 
 is not the most valuable part of such work; the greatest value lies 
 in the developed power of the pupils to get out of their reading, 
 both silent and oral, the three essentials named above, and to learn 
 the lessons which all group effort teaches. 
 
 Constructive Reading. — Expressive reading, artistic reading, in- 
 terpretative reading, are all different names given to what is the 
 new line of conscious effort in eighth grade (prepared for, however, 
 throughout the lower grades). It is a power to be explained rather 
 than defined, to be "caught" from a teacher rather than "taught" 
 by him. As Mabie says, it can be cultivated, though it is a "gift" 
 to some. Whether doing silent or oral work, the constructive 
 reader interprets an author through his own experiences, through 
 an analysis of his own emotions and intellectual reactions, and 
 reads between the lines his own philosophy of life. If that philoso- 
 phy is big and optimistic and generous, well for the reader! And 
 well for his hearers (if he reads aloud) ! Such reading trains the 
 mind, stimulates imagination, makes delicate discriminations pos- 
 sible, deepens the nature, and stores up for the individual a wealth 
 of which he can never in life be robbed. Such reading destroys 
 provincialism and prevents impulsive and crude even if well meant 
 reactions; makes for "culture" in the finest sense of the word, 
 since, vicariously, the reader has learned just how others feel and 
 act in given situations, and is able in most delicate ways to show 
 his complete understanding of people in every walk of life, and in 
 every mood. This is certainly a kind of reading that is worth 
 cultivating. If a teacher brings to school and shares with pupils 
 bits which he has gleaned from his reading, if he and the pupils 
 keep a note-book (or begin a card catalogue) of quotations from 
 books read, with date of first reading, and page where the quotation 
 is found, a good start will be made on the road to constructive read- 
 ing. Of course it doesn't end with the eighth grade. 
 
 When students read aloud, attempting to show others the fun, 
 the philosophy, or the information, to be seen in a given selection, 
 more "finished" modes of expression are desired. To help these, 
 students should hear readers of ability who make few, but telling, 
 gestures to convey their ideas. If possible, the teacher should tell 
 pupils what to look for in some good actor, go with the entire class 
 to the play, and then discuss it later. (It would pay a school to 
 give pupils just such opportunities, but a-t present this isn't the 
 fashion. The pupils might, however, by entertainments of their 
 own, have a fund for such use.) Forbes Robertson's interpretation 
 of Hamlet was just such an opportunity to some pupils last year.
 
 98 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Although pupils of eighth-grade age can't appreciate nor by any 
 means imitate all the finesse of an artistic reader, they are impelled 
 in the right direction, or at least receive an inclination away from 
 uncouth or boisterous display of emotion, such as Hamlet solicited 
 his "players" to avoid. In a college or normal-school town, 
 eighth-grade teachers can usually secure the help of the head of 
 the Dramatic Department in the school, to read something slightly 
 above the pupils in so artistic a way as to convey to them the 
 beauty and worth of fine interpretative reading. 
 
 Aids.— (See eighth-grade language outline and preceding grade 
 reading outlines.) Work with the dictionary should now point out 
 this book's many values and how it may be used for almost every 
 need. Foreign derivatives, with the meanings of their roots, pre- 
 fixes, and suffixes, may be studied as a direct aid to vocabulary 
 increase and classification. 
 
 DICTIONARY WORK FOR GRADES IV TO VIII. 
 
 I. Handling the dictionary (or any large book). 
 
 A. How treat — 
 
 1. When new. 
 
 a. Hold so it rests on its binding and gently let it fall open. Press 
 
 gently up and down. 
 
 b. Open at gradually shorter distances and repeat the pressing, until 
 
 it has been done at about every 20 pages, to prevent any sudden 
 strain on back. 
 
 2. When opening and closing. 3. When turning pages. 
 
 B. How cover: (1) For temporary use; (2) for permanent use; (3) keeping 
 
 the cover clean. 
 
 II. What to know about dictionaries. 
 
 A. Their purpose. (Study title page as one means of knowing this). 
 
 1. To give correct spelling of words. 2. To give correct pronunciation of 
 
 3. To give meaning of words. [words. 
 
 a. By definitions. c. By discriminating synonyms. 
 
 b. By derivations and history, d. By illustrations of literary usage. 
 
 4. To give miscellaneous information. 
 
 B. Divisions of the book. 
 
 1. The body — the main part. 
 
 2. Introduction and supplement — comparatively small portions of the 
 
 dictionary, but very valuable. (See topic III F.) 
 
 C. The reliability of the dictionary. 
 
 1. Its evolution — to be made more or less elaborate as time and interest 
 
 warrant, but, in any case, to show how many people have to work on 
 a dictionary, how long a preparation is required, how the results 
 must necessarily be fallible, and yet how very trustworthy the book is. 
 
 2. The accepted authorities. 
 
 a. Century. c. Webster — International, replacing Unabridged. 
 
 b. Standard. d. Worcester. 
 
 (School editions of the last three dictionaries arc published.)
 
 Dictionary Work. — Locating Words. 99 
 
 III. Learning to use the dictionary. 
 
 Note on General Method: If children have never had similar lessons, begin these in any 
 grade, but adapt method to the age of the pupils. The following plans and devices are meant to 
 begin in 4th grade and to continue through 6th, or longer, if necessary. It is very desirable that 
 each child own or have the use of a dictionary, though a live teacher can, at a sacrifice of time, get 
 along with as few as two books, provided they belong to the school and can be justly loaned to 
 all the pupils in turn. If the school has the use of sufficient dictionaries, these exercises may well 
 constitute a three- to five-minute exercise daily, for all; if not. the school may be divided into 
 necessary groups, each group working in one — or, at different times, in all — of several ways: 
 
 (1) two pupils in one seat, alternating in following and observing the other follow directions; 
 
 (2) small groups of 10 or 12 taken each day, thus giving each child a chance every third or fourth 
 day; (3) have work not requiring dictionary paralleling that needing the book, so all may have 
 something to do during each exercise; (4) make the process progressive, letting the two children 
 (if only two dictionaries are available) who had the book-lesson this morning, pass on the lesson 
 to two more, at some convenient study-hour, and as a reward for good work on the part of all 
 four pupils concerned. Continue at different intervals in the day, if wise and possible, so that 
 any other two are prepared to continue the work on the following day. It is also a great conven- 
 ience to have all books being used of the same make and edition, but the teacher can look up 
 words in several books if necessary, rather than not to give the work at all, though the district 
 would do well to weigh carefully the relative value of the teacher's time and energy spent in this 
 way against the cost of a few dictionaries. (+ D means, use the dictionary; — D means, work 
 to be done without a dictionary.) 
 
 A. Locating words in the dictionary — 
 
 1. By knowing the location of the letters in the dictionary, 
 -f- D. a. "Guide-posts" located. 
 
 1. M, in middle of book. 
 
 2. D, half way between M and title page. 
 
 3. S, half way between M and end. 
 
 4. A, very short distance from title page. 
 
 a. Count pages in introduction. 
 
 b. Note thickness with fingers; with eye. 
 
 5. Z, about twice as far from end as A is from beginning in 
 
 school dictionaries. Test for own book. X, Y, Z, each so 
 little space that all may be learned as Z. 
 
 b. Practice opening at each guide-post after it is learned. 
 
 c. Recognizing place of other letters of alphabet in relation to guide- 
 
 posts. 
 
 2. By knowing the value of the catch-words at the top of the pages. 
 
 (Have pupils notice the catch-words at several openings and where 
 else these words occur on the pages. Lead them to feel the need of 
 arranging words alphabetically with ease, and recognizing quickly 
 the place of one word in relation to others.) 
 Devices to use: 
 
 a. Arranging words in alphabetical order — 
 
 1. By first letters only (initials all different). 
 
 — D. a. Children's names — given and surnames. 
 
 b. Ten cities, rivers, etc., from geography. 
 
 c. Ten men, places, etc., from history lesson. 
 
 d. Ten things seen in the schoolroom, found in the kitchen, 
 
 used in the dining-room, living-room, etc. 
 
 e. Toys, things seen on way to school, Christmas gifts received. 
 
 f. Objects to be seen on looking from a window, going on an 
 
 errand to another grade, at recess, etc. 
 
 2. By the remaining letters of the words when initials are alike. 
 
 a. Children's full names. 
 
 1. For the teacher's register, e. g. 
 
 2. For list to be put on blackboard or big cardboard to 
 
 be used in some game or in a device for keeping 
 records of each child's attainment, etc. 
 3. By grades, or classes, or rows.
 
 100 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 b. All hard words found in reading-lesson, arranged alpha- 
 
 betically, so list of all can be easily checked in recitation; 
 also so class can quickly check how many had same words, 
 so that the probable relative difficulty can be noted. 
 
 c. Spelling-lesson rearranged alphabetically (a good review, a 
 
 careful looking at all letters, hence an aid to study). 
 
 d. Names of children's cousins or other relatives. 
 
 e. Places visited. 
 
 f. Places to be passed in going from Chicago to New Orleans by 
 
 Illinois Central; from St. Louis to Los Angeles by Southern 
 Pacific; from Duluth to Toronto by lake steamer; etc. 
 
 g. Names of school subjects. 
 
 h. List of a day's different activities, 
 i. Months of the year. 
 j. Noted people born in February. 
 
 k. Each child to make up a miscellaneous list of ten, twelve 
 etc., words for others to rearrange. 
 
 1. Timed by the clock. 
 
 2. Ranked in order of finishing. Have papers turned 
 
 face downward to indicate completion and not to 
 be thereafter changed; deduct $ (or any agreed- 
 upon amount) from a student's rank for each 
 error, so that speed may not be placed above 
 accuracy, 
 b. Applying above knowledge to recognizing place of given words in relation 
 to others. 
 
 1. Select from any assigned lesson three, five, or ten, words that may 
 
 be found between canter and reveal, e. g. 
 
 2. Narrow the distance gradually but plainly until field is covered by 
 
 one initial; e. g., words between machine and mystery. 
 
 3. Narrow by letting succeeding letters guide; e. g., between meat and 
 
 method; or between accent and access. 
 
 4. Teacher selects real catch-words at top of pages in the dictionary, 
 
 writes the extremes on the board, and then writes a word at a time 
 or a brief list of words for pupils to challenge as to place — 
 
 a. yes — between the words, b. no — before the words. 
 
 c. no — after the words. 
 Vary by letting individual pupils prepare the words, or at least the 
 
 list to be challenged. 
 
 5. Apply all this to practice with the dictionary. All try to find black. 
 
 Let all turn to the page at which the teacher happens to open 
 first; for example, the page with bondage and bottle as catch-words. 
 Teacher then asks: Is black to be found before, on, or after this 
 page? Shall I turn to the left or the right? Shall I lift few pages 
 or many? About how many? Shall I read all the catch-words as 
 I turn? (No, only the one farthest left, so I may not go too far. 
 Or, if turning to the right, which word would be better to look at?) 
 Tell me when to stop. (Teacher reads words aloud as she lifts the 
 pages). Why stop here? 
 
 6. Let some child take the next word, letting all assist. Teacher may 
 
 need to ask some questions similar to those in 5 above. 
 
 3. By drilling to secure ease and independence in locating words. 
 
 Devices to use: Hectograph several lists of ten words in a group. Pass these 
 to pupils who are ready to begin and stop at a signal. Time pupils on finding one 
 word at a time. Later, five words; then ten. Children write page number at 
 the right of each word. 
 
 a. Find opening only — either page number correct, b. Limit to exact page. 
 
 c. Add column and distance down the page to page location. 
 
 B. Learning to pronounce words in the dictionary. 
 
 — D. 1. Review and keep up such phonic work as will be needed. (See foot- 
 notes at any opening of a school dictionary.) 
 
 a. Vowel sounds: (1) Long; (2) short; (3) odd; by name, not by 
 markings.
 
 Dictionary Work. — Pronouncing Words. 101 
 
 b. Consonant sounds, also by name, and not by diacritical marks. 
 
 c. Ability to blend known sounds into word or syllable. 
 
 2. Master pronunciation of key words in footnote at any opening — 
 
 a. Of dictionary most to be used. 
 
 b. Of other dictionaries in room. c. Of any other dictionary. 
 
 3. Acquire ability rapidly to apply the marked sound in a familiar word 
 
 to a similarly marked sound in an unknown word. 
 
 4. Place accent where indicated. Since the meanings of many words 
 
 change with different accents, the ability to notice accent-marks 
 and to place accent properly is necessary to acquire. Metcalf's 
 suggestion for using figure syllables is unequaled. 
 1' 2 con't'ent prod'uce im'press 
 
 1 2' content' produce' impress' 
 
 Practice placing accent in words of several syllables by means of 
 the 1' 2 3, 12 3', 1 2' 3, 12 3 4', 1 2' 3 4, etc., and incidentally 
 learn the correct accent in a number of commonly mispronounced 
 words; for example, ex'quisite. 
 
 5. Learn to apply (even if not to word) some of the commoner rules of 
 
 pronunciation, so that even unmarked words may be readily pro- 
 nounced. The number of rules to discover and apply, and the 
 number of exceptions to be taught, must depend on the age of the 
 pupils. The suggestions given below can be used in fourth grade: 
 
 a. In contrasting such words as man and mane, met and mete, 
 
 pin and pine, rod and rode, cut and cute, children recognize 
 and can apply the following two rules of pronunciation: 
 
 1. A vowel followed in a syllable by a single consonant is 
 
 usually short. 
 
 2. In a syllable, final e preceded by a consonant and that 
 
 by a single vowel is not sounded, but usually makes 
 the preceding vowel long. 
 
 b. A study of a large number of words or syllables containing two 
 
 vowels leads to the conclusion that in such cases the first vowel 
 is usually long and the second silent. Examples: Loan, meat, 
 rain. Exceptions are numerous, yet the rule is often helpful. 
 
 c. C is sounded like 5 and also like k; when? 
 
 Notes on Method: During a week or two, reserve a blackboard space in which children write 
 all the words they chance to find which contain c. Let this be incidental to other work until in- 
 terest is aroused and the list grows long enough to permit some generalizations — perhaps by the 
 end of the second week. At the proper time take ten minutes to study the words and separate all 
 in which c is sounded like k (hard) from those in which it is sounded like 5 (soft). Then, for as- 
 signment, let the words in each group be arranged in sub-groups according to the letter which 
 follows c; thus we should have come, second, becoming, recognition, sycophant, etc., in one group. 
 If all the letters of the alphabet are not represented, let pupils search for a few days, at odd mo- 
 ments, for words to supply the deficiency. Examples of all but six or seven can be found. 
 
 Students are now ready to make some generalizations, out of which they may select and com- 
 mit such as will be of future help in pronunciation. A few are given merely to suggest what may 
 be found: 1. When h follows c the two letters unite to form a digraph, pronounced k, ch, or sh, 
 in different positions. 2. C followed by k or z in the same syllable is silent; as, back, czar. 3. 
 C is soft before e, i, and y, and hard in all other positions. 
 
 After the generalizations have been made, the students may watch for exceptions for a week 
 or more. Perhaps some one will find facade, a word from the French always having the c marked 
 soft because it is so evidently a violation of the rule. 
 
 To apply the principles deduced, (1) lists of words may be placed upon the board for rapid 
 pronunciation; (2) lists of words containing c may be dictated for spelling; (3) pupils may take 
 pages in their reader, geography, etc., and classify the words into three groups, namely, (a) hard 
 c by rule, (b) soft c by rule, (c) exceptions.
 
 102 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 d. In a similar way, the rules for the two main sounds of g may 
 
 be developed, though the exceptions to the rule that g is soft 
 before e, i, and y, are many. 
 
 e. Study of vowels which constitute or end unaccented syllables 
 
 gives these rules: a is usually short Italian (idea, machine); 
 e, o, and u, are usually long (evasion, locomotive, accurate); 
 i is usually short (division, multiplication), but is sometimes 
 long in initial syllables (ideal, biology). Pupils will enjoy pro- 
 nouncing lists of words in application of these principles, and 
 such lists are easily made from the various lessons: 
 
 ap-pli-ca-tion prin-ci-ples a-rith-me-tic 
 
 di-vin-i-ty com-pli-ment ge-og-ra-phy 
 
 com-ple-ment re-gen-er-ate sup-pli-cate 
 
 6. For written work, pupils need to know how to syllabicate words; but 
 also, since pronunciation principles can be applied to syllables in a 
 long word, pupils who know how to syllabicate can more quickly 
 pronounce new words. There is but one sure way to syllabicate 
 correctly — consult the dictionary! But as one often needs to pro- 
 nounce words without that help at hand, one desires other means, 
 even if less reliable, hence the following laws of syllabication are 
 given. When all three, or even two, agree, the student may feel fairly 
 safe, but when there is conflict, the dictionary should be consulted: 
 
 a. If a student already knows how to pronounce the word, he 
 
 can usually distinguish the syllables; but if he isn't certain, 
 some other law may be summoned to his aid. Example: 
 In-com-prc-hen-si-ble. 
 
 b. If he has had work which helps him recognize roots, prefixes, 
 
 and suffixes, he will recall that these are seldom run together 
 into syllables, as, for example, ex-ccp-tion, re-view-ing; but 
 he must also recall his laws of spelling, so that he knows 
 that the duplicated consonant which was a part of the root 
 in filling, was added with the suffix in cutting; he must also 
 have learned that a prefix often changes the pronunciation 
 of the root, as in recommend and immigrate. 
 
 c. The placing of the consonants in relation to the vowels aids 
 
 not only in syllabication, but also in pronunciation. Such 
 combinations as th, ph, and dr, are counted as one consonant. 
 When two consonants occur between two vowels, one goes 
 with each vowel. Examples: Consonant, corn-bine, syl-lable, 
 lit-llc. When only one consonant occurs between two vow- 
 els it usually goes with the second. Examples: Conso-nant, 
 sylla-ble, u-sually, di-verge. 
 
 C. Learning how to consult the dictionary for the correct spelling of words. 
 1. Know what sorts of words one may not expect to find in an abridged 
 dictionary, and hence the rules of spelling needed for words not 
 spelled in full. 
 
 a. Past tenses of verbs if regularly formed; c. g., soiled. 
 I). Plurals of nouns if regularly formed; c. g., ladies. 
 
 c. Derivatives easily made; e. g., uninhabitable. 
 
 d. Regularly formed comparatives and superlatives of adjectives; 
 
 e. g., richer, richest. 
 
 [Eighth-grade pupils at latest may learn the following rules, using them when 
 in doubt and when no dictionary is at hand: 
 
 a. Monosyllables and words accented on the last syllable, ending in a single 
 consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant upon 
 the addition of a suffix beginning with a vowel. Examples: Run, run- 
 ning; red, reddish; hot, hotter; wit, witty, abet, abetted; occur, occurrence; 
 begin, beginning. 
 
 Corollary: Note with care words which do not come under the rule 
 and why they do not: Two vowels — rain, raining; two consonants — warm,
 
 Dictionary Work. — Spelling and Defining. 103 
 
 warmed; accent on first syllable — travel, traveler; profit, profitable; suffix 
 begins with a consonant — hot, hotly, cap, capless. 
 
 b. Words ending in silent e omit the c upon the addition of a suffix beginning 
 
 with a vowel, except when such omission causes an error in pronuncia- 
 tion or a confusion in meaning. Examples: Bride, bridal; come, coming; 
 move, movable; fleece, fleecy; force, forcible. Examples of retention on 
 account of pronunciation: Notice, noticeable; manage, manageable; advan- 
 tage, advantageous. Examples of retention to keep correct meaning: Dye, 
 dyeing (vs. dying); singe, singeing {vs. singing); tinge, tingeing (vs. tinging). 
 Corollary: When the suffix begins with a consonant the e is usually 
 retained: Hate, hateful; move, movement; pair, paleness. 
 
 c. Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant form the plural by changing 
 
 y to i and adding es. Examples: Lady, ladies; sky, skies; reply, replies. 
 
 d. Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel do not change the y, but merely 
 
 add .? to form the plural. Examples: Day, days; monkey, monkeys; 
 turkey, turkeys; attorney, attorneys. 
 
 Corollary: Final y preceded by a consonant is quite frequently 
 changed to i in derivatives. Examples: Dally, dalliance; icy, icily, iciest; 
 mercy, merciless; pity, pitiful; multiply, multiplication.] 
 
 2. Know sound equivalents or near-equivalents so that if sound is the 
 
 only guide, the word may still be found. 
 
 a. Homonyms, like beet, beat; rain, rein, reign; pare, pear, pair. 
 
 b. The sound of / may be spelled with /, ph, pf, or v. Long e 
 
 may be spelled with e, ee, ea, ie, ei, or *, as in evil, knee, 
 meat, niece, receive, machine. Teacher should study introduc- 
 ti6n to dictionary and give pupils the sound equivalents most 
 needed, or show older pupils how to find out for themselves. 
 
 c. The n sound, when initial, is often spelled with gn, gnome; kn, 
 
 knoll; or pn, pneumatic; in which the first consonant is silent. 
 The same is true of 5 and z sounds — psychic, czar, etc. Teach 
 children to hunt many places for a word, till found. A 
 good game is for the teacher to pronounce ten words which 
 pupils take down by sound alone, or by sound and a hint of 
 the meaning, and then find: Currant or current, prophet or 
 profit, diver, sailor (or sounded like er), etc. 
 
 d. Whether a single or a double letter may be expected. 
 
 For example, in pronouncing accelerate, one sees he must 
 have two c's or the k sound couldn't be heard, since one c 
 before e would be like 5 only; contrast imitate (a root word) 
 and immigrate (a derivative), and note why in one case 
 there are two m's. 
 
 3. Attitude towards reformed spellings. 
 
 a. Choose rule if one spelling is by rule; e. g., choose traveler and 
 
 worshiping. 
 
 b. Choose simpler spelling if recognized by best authorities. 
 
 4. Eye training necessary to enable students to recognize slight differ- 
 
 ences — an aid to pronunciation, spelling, and meaning; for example, 
 students often write percept for precept, clam for calm, and go so far 
 as to write prehaps for perhaps, and casual for causal, or the reverse. 
 Many games and devices are easily thought out for this work. 
 D. Learning to choose a definition — to get the right meaning for a word. 
 
 1. Know whether word whose meaning is sought will be found in the 
 
 dictionary or not. 
 
 a. See C, spelling, above. 
 
 b. Learn commoner prefixes and suffixes and how to attach them. 
 
 c. Be able to change a noun's definition to fit a derived adjective 
 
 or verb. 
 
 2. Note the relation of accent to meaning, and learn the meaning of 
 
 the more usual abbreviations, a., n.,v.,v. i., q. v., etc., which guide 
 one in selecting a definition to fit context.
 
 104 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 E. Learning to find the choicest word to use to express a thought accurately. 
 
 1. Hunting for synonyms and discriminating one from another — 
 
 a. When grouped, b. When necessary to be looked up one by one. 
 
 2. Finding antonyms. 3. Using examples of the best usage of words. 
 
 F. Using the introduction and appendix. 
 
 1. Introduction— gives more detailed knowledge of work discussed above. 
 
 a. Pronunciation: (1) More key words; (2) sound analysis; (3) ex- 
 
 ceptional sounds in detail; (4) equivalent sound symbols. 
 
 b. Spelling: (1) Prefixes; (2) suffixes; (3) rules for spelling. 
 
 c. Meanings: (1) Abbreviations used. 
 
 2. Appendix — very different in different texts and editions, hence to be 
 
 studied according to book in use. Usually contains brief encyclo- 
 paedic facts. 
 
 a. Proper names: (1) Meanings of given names; (2) accounts 
 
 of mythological characters; (3) pronunciation of geographi- 
 cal and other names. 
 
 b. Foreign phrases frequently met with in literature. 
 
 c. Common abbreviations. 
 
 d. Relation of English to other languages. 
 
 e. Signs for proof-reading. 
 
 II.— MATHEMATICS. 
 
 A.— ARITHMETIC. 
 
 Arithmetic is the only phase of mathematics here outlined, since 
 it is the one generally-accepted mathematical subject taught in 
 the elementary grades. A few schools introduce elementary alge- 
 bra and geometry. Many who do not teach these subjects, do 
 frequently employ literal notation, (as when using x for the un- 
 known quantity, or in teaching a simple formula for square root,) 
 and wisely emphasize the underlying principles of all mathematics 
 in teaching the laws of signs, and the accurate wording of equations 
 in explanations of problems. 
 
 As shown on pp. 261-263, arithmetic, like language, grew from 
 social needs; in fact, it is a form of language, — the language of rela- 
 tionships of things, — and might even be counted a part of the En- 
 glish course did it not have so definite and so important a field of 
 its own as to warrant its separate discussion. Arithmetic has not 
 only grown out of social needs, but continues progressively to assist 
 man in making better and better social adjustments, and conse- 
 quently, like language, has the strongest possible defense for a place 
 in the curriculum — the threefold defense of (1) found by earliest 
 peoples to be necessary and hence developed by them, and others, 
 to meet real needs; (2) necessary in present social life; and (3) so far 
 as any one has vision to see into the future, always to be necessary. 
 
 As men change their methods of meeting certain emergencies, 
 new topics develop and old ones become obsolete. The most ob- 
 vious illustration is that of the formation of stock companies,
 
 Mathematics. — Arithmetic. 105 
 
 rather than of simple partnerships, when men need money to fur- 
 ther some enterprise in which they believe. But, whatever changes 
 may come in special topics, the fundamental processes are forever 
 necessary. (Some business-men declare that if our youth were only 
 accurate and fairly quick in the fundamental operations, they would 
 ask no more.) 
 
 Too much cannot be said in favor of a thorough grounding of 
 pupils in the fundamental processes, of which counting is the basis. 
 A person who has been taught to count accurately has within his 
 power the key to the solution of all the ordinary arithmetical pro- 
 cesses. Adding is simply an application of counting, and can al- 
 ways be proved by reverting to counting. Subtraction, being the 
 reverse of addition, can be proved by counting backwards. Mul- 
 tiplication is shortened addition, and, hence, through addition, re- 
 verts to counting, as division does through subtraction. It would 
 take a long time to have to count backwards from 10395, 297 ones 
 at a time, to find just how many 297's make 10395; yet it could be 
 done, if the person did not know how to do long-division. Pupils 
 in the lower grades may well be taught to check much of their 
 work by counting, thus accomplishing two purposes: (1) Fixing 
 the fact that counting can be reverted to, which is a great boon to 
 pupils who leave school early, and (a) either handle in adulthood 
 very simple numbers for which counting is. sufficient, or (b) have 
 the acumen to dig out the conventional processes, still checking 
 themselves by counting; (2) showing that the fundamental pro- 
 cesses developed because of man's natural inclination to find quicker 
 ways of doing things, and, consequently, that they are worth learn- 
 ing well if one wants to compute rapidly. 
 
 The fundamental operations with fractions — common, decimal, 
 and per-cent fractions — like those with whole numbers, can also 
 be checked by counting, if one only knows how to count small 
 portions instead of wholes. 
 
 Besides mechanical skill in computation with numbers, imagi- 
 nation is a necessary quality in conquering the subject of arithmetic. 
 To see relationships is an essential ability; one must see relation- 
 ships of quantities, to make comparisons; he must see relationships 
 between steps in a process, to conquer the process so that it can be 
 rebuilt if forgotten; must see relationships between situations, to 
 recognize what unknown factor is desired; must see relationships 
 between the desired answer and the processes, to aid him in select- 
 ing (without guess-work or trial of first one and then another) the 
 correct process or processes to employ. Image building and holding 
 must, therefore, be a fundamental part of all arithmetic training.
 
 10C> Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Grade I. 
 
 Subject-Matter. — Cardinal counting, with only such other num- 
 ber relations as children find actual need for; that is: 
 
 Counting objects from 1 to 20 by ones; by twos; by fives. 
 Counting abstractly to 100 by ones, twos, fives, and tens. 
 Counting with symbols in the same way — laying in order cards containing 
 the figures; or, towards the end of the year, writing the figures. 
 Counting backwards from 20 to 0. 
 
 Method. — The conventional consecutive number-names and 
 symbols must be acquired imitatively. Most children can count 
 as far as five, while many can reach ten without error, before they 
 enter first grade. 
 
 During the first six or seven months, the counting should seem 
 incidental to the pupils, though the teacher consciously plans to 
 use every opportunity to create a need for counting. Children 
 count pencils, crayolas, cards, papers, scissors, rulers, and the many 
 other things distributed and collected during recitations or seat- 
 work. In games, children count by twos, fives, and tens, according 
 to the game played. In reading and language lessons, opportuni- 
 ties to count will arise, such as counting the wheat-seeds in a head 
 of wheat (see p. 233), and counting the twelve clock-strokes that 
 Cinderella hears when she stays too late, at the ball. Rhymes such 
 as "One, two, buckle my shoe"; and "One, two, three, four, five; 
 I caught a hare alive"; help to fix number-names in sequence. 
 Naming the digits as seen on the blackboard, finding the place in 
 the primer by page number, laying the number-symbols in correct 
 order for seat-work, and keeping a calendar, are a few means of 
 teaching counting by means of written symbols. All text-books on 
 primary arithmetic, though not necessary for class use, are sugges- 
 tive to the teacher of things she can do. 
 
 During the last two or three months of the school year the teacher 
 should test every pupil, so that if any are still unable to meet the 
 requirements they should be given special lessons and drills. 
 
 Indefinite and a few definite comparisons will incidentally arise, 
 but no required amount of such subject-matter should enter into 
 the promotion standard. Some pupils will make addition combi- 
 nations of their own accord, and some will readily use the ideas of 
 \, |, and \ . A few denominate numbers will be used, such as inch 
 and foot, pint and quart, cent and dime, and dozen; but complete 
 "tables" will not be taught. 
 
 Telling of time may be learned but should not be insisted upon 
 till second grade. If this is done, Roman numerals to XII must 
 be learned.
 
 Arithmetic. — Grade II.— Subject-Matter. 107 
 
 Grade II. 
 Subject- Matter. — Counting, as in Grade I, continued. Also car- 
 dinal counting in more difficult ways: 
 
 From to 100 by twos and fives, both forward and back; to 30 by twos, be- 
 ginning at any number; from 20, backward by twos, beginning at any 
 number; to 30, forward by threes, beginning with or any multiple of 3; 
 from 15, backward by threes, beginning at 15 or any smaller multiple of 3. 
 
 Ordinal and multiplicative counting as far as needed, probably 
 first, second, third, etc., through tenth; and once, twice, three 
 times, etc., through ten times. 
 
 Reading and writing all numbers of three digits; that is, to 1000. 
 
 Committing the forty-five addition facts and reversing them for 
 the subtraction facts. 
 
 Adding of short columns of numbers of just one digit; still 
 shorter columns of numbers of two and of three digits— no sum to 
 exceed 999 (that is, three digits). 
 
 Relation seeing, especially in the use of simple denominate num- 
 bers necessary for daily use; dry measure, linear measure, etc.* 
 
 Use of such simple fractions as are needed in the child's daily 
 experience: as, |, |, \, §, f. Telling time by the clock. 
 
 Method. — By the second-grade age, children are given to ex- 
 changing things — apples, candy, toys, etc. This tendency, coupled 
 with love of play, causes store-keeping, to be a natural game for the 
 teacher to institute. To children as store-keepers of every variety, 
 as clerks, as delivery-boys, as purchasers, etc., every necessary 
 transaction and attendant process of computation becomes moti- 
 vated. A need is felt for learning to add and subtract, for learning 
 to measure by means of the customary denominate-number tables, 
 (dry, liquid, linear, time, weight, dozen, United States money, etc.,) 
 and if the drills are brief, snappy, and constant, children will revel 
 in the actual practice as well as rejoice over the result in their effi- 
 ciency as merchants, clerks, or purchasers. The desire to get the 
 correct result for personal reasons is a powerful stimulus to accuracy. 
 
 The methods of drill and of presentation must be such as to 
 keep alive the child's natural love for number-work. The practical 
 value of arithmetic must be shown to pupils by the teacher's use of 
 practical situations both for motivating and for applying numbers 
 and processes. Nature-study, seat-work, paper-folding, cutting, 
 drawing, braiding, weaving, measuring, building, can all supply 
 number knowledge. Arranging colored circles (large dots) to make 
 domino cards, fixes the simpler addition facts. Keeping score in 
 bean bag and racing games motivates adding and comparing. 
 
 * For suggestions see Speer's "Primary Arithmetic — For Teachers."
 
 108 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Because young teachers find the distribution of subject-matter 
 into small units very difficult, a suggestion is here given them through 
 the subdivision of the work of this year into months. Since frac- 
 tions are used only incidentally, they do not appear in the outline. 
 
 First month — Review all first-grade work, and, whenever necessary, reteach 
 facts, and drill. 
 
 Teach the Roman numerals I, II, III, V, and X. 
 
 Write numbers from 1 to 10 inclusive. ("Numbers" always to mean 
 "Arabic" or "Hindu" unless otherwise indicated.) 
 
 Read numbers from 1 to 20 inclusive. 
 
 Do counting as indicated in Grade I by means of room administration. 
 
 Have games to train observation — and to cultivate quickness and accuracy 
 
 of sight, hearing, and touch. 
 
 t u ^ aa-s u- *• (111111111 22222222 
 
 leach the additive combinations, iio'}4 t Sfi7SQ ,, o i t fi j o q 
 
 If to be used, teach the signs, + (plus) and — (minus). 
 
 Second month — Keep up all review work. 
 
 Count backward, as well as forward, between and 100, by twos, fives, tens. 
 
 Teach Roman numerals through XII, emphasizing the difference between 
 IV and VI, and IX and XI. 
 
 Add the sign, = (equals), if not already known. 
 
 Continue exercises in sense training, especially in image holding. 
 
 Conquer the key to reading and writing all numbers to 100, by seeing that 
 the nine digits are repeated in order in each new group, and that the new mile- 
 posts (twenty, thirty, sixty, etc.) are also the same nine digits with a different 
 "place-value." Use both toothpicks and one-inch squares for tying into bundles 
 to count by tens. (This "bundling" makes good seat-work.) 
 
 Teach children to see that 16 is a 10 and a 6; 31, three 10's and a 1, etc. 
 
 t u *i. aa-s u- .• / 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 . 10 
 
 Teach the additive combinations, { i 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 anything, 
 
 and apply to larger numbers so a child can add 10 to any number. 
 
 Apply to counting by tens beginning at any number. 
 
 Teach the combinations with 9 as the common addend, helping pupils to see 
 
 that since 9 is one less than 10, it is very easy to add 9 by thinking one less than 
 
 the sum obtained by adding 10. (Bracketed number groups have occurred 
 
 , ( , x / mi [9] 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 
 
 before in reverse order) ( [J [ 2 ] 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 anything. 
 
 Third month — Put on the board a row of numbers. Say to pupils, "Read 
 from left to right. Read each one-larger; two-larger." Repeat, from right to left. 
 
 Count forward to 30 and back from 20, by twos, but beginning at any num- 
 ber, odd or even. 
 
 Tie up bundles of tens to make hundreds, and apply knowledge gained in 
 reading and writing numbers from 20 to 100 to reading and writing numbers 
 containing any hundreds' digit. Prevent the common error of reading 256 (two 
 hundred fifty-six) as it if were two numbers, 200 and 56. 
 
 Read the Roman numerals on several clock-faces. Note how they are placed. 
 
 Each child should make a clock-face. 
 
 Tell time by the full hours only. Show on clock-faces where the hands 
 (represented by two toothpicks, one shorter than the other) should be if it is 
 two o'clock; five o'clock; seven o'clock, etc. On the teacher's large clock-face, 
 one child may make the hands show whatever hours he chooses, for others to name.
 
 Arithmetic. — Grade II. — Subject-Matter by Months. 109 
 
 Sense-training and image-holding continued. 
 Teach the additive / [31 [31 3 3 3 3 3 3 [31 [11 [21 [31 4 5 6 7 8 [91 
 combinations \ [lj 12J 3 4 5 6 7 8 |9J llj L2J [3j 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 
 
 Teach the sign, X, if desired for use in writing or in indicating doubles given, 
 as two threes (2X3), two eights (2X8), etc. The sign should not be called 
 "times," since the multiplication indicated is merely incidental. In the same 
 way, incidental division may be taught, as in asking what two equal numbers 
 make 10, 8, etc. 
 
 Introduce one-step problems in addition, subtraction, and multiplication, 
 using any facts learned to date; for example, "I had 37 cents in my bank and 
 added a dime. How much had I?" "What will two pencils cost @ 5c each?" 
 "At 4c each?" 
 
 Fourth month — Count by threes forward to 30, beginning at or at any mul- 
 tiple of 3. Same backwards from 15. 
 
 Put on blackboard, in either a horizontal row or in a vertical column, about 
 five numbers (only three or four, if five are too many). Say to children, "Look 
 at blackboard. Face the other way. Read what you saw — top to bottom, 
 bottom to top; or, left to right, and right to left. Face the front. Look again. 
 About face! Read (without looking) from left to right, each number three 
 larger." Put on a new set of numbers and repeat; with each, read three smaller; 
 two, or one, larger, or smaller, for review. 
 
 Review all preceding combinations, keeping record of children's errors and 
 speed. Drill on all difficult cases. 
 
 Add a group of combinations which demands no number-thinking but does 
 help to fix the zero value — 
 
 000000000 1 , n . . , ., . ... 
 
 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 anything. J (0 to be read nau B ht » not au S hL ) 
 
 Tell time by hours and half hours only. Teach the signs, $ and c, if needed. 
 
 Continue sense training and ratio seeing in connection with foot and yard, 
 halves of units, etc. 
 
 Write numbers in columns for convenience in adding, so that ones come 
 under ones, tens under tens, hundreds under hundreds, even when numbers of 
 all three lengths occur in one column. 
 
 Fifth month — Keep up all previous work. 
 
 Count by ordinal numbers — first, second, third — to twenty-fifth, or farther. 
 Or start at the seventieth and count to the ninetieth — a good review of cardinal 
 counting. 
 
 Teach the new combinations: [ [J] \*] [3] [4] 5 g 7 g [9I 
 
 Read rows or columns of numbers four larger or smaller. Use other devices 
 for seat-work and drills in applying these combinations. 
 
 Have a large calendar in the front of the room. Teach children to use it 
 and to date all papers by it. 
 
 Sense-training, image-holding, and ratio-seeing, made harder. 
 
 Encourage children to make up problems and to see problems in various sta- 
 tistics that interest them. For example, how many children present, due, ab- 
 sent? Or reverse. How many children can be supplied with two apples each 
 from a basket containing 26, 14, 32, etc.? (Children count by twos to find out.) 
 
 Adapt to threes, fives, tens, by changing to blocks, candies, pennies, dimes. 
 
 Whenever it is possible to use the terms add, subtract, sum, difference, etc., 
 rather than the general expressions, work the example and get the answer, do so.
 
 110 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Sixth month — Keep up all previous work. 
 
 Drill on all hard combinations. Keep individual records of scores as to num- 
 ber correct or as to speed in all forms of drills. 
 
 Add these combinations, as new, < „ - « 7 S S I an< ^ waster them. 
 
 Review the denominate-number tables used in first grade by playing store. 
 
 Ratio-seeing emphasized. Count by the earliest multiplicative numbers. 
 
 Tell time by hours, half-hours, and quarter-hours. 
 
 Seventh month — Count by fours to 20; forward and back. 
 
 Apply number facts learned in the sixth month. 
 
 Begin teaching column addition — of one column only. 
 
 Tell time by use of the five-minute divisions. 
 
 Add liquid measure and United States money to the earlier denominate- 
 number tables learned. 
 
 Secure greater initiative in ratio- and image-seeing and -holding, and in 
 problem-making and -solving. 
 
 Eighth month — Continue all lines of work begun in preceding months, work- 
 ing for clearer insight into relations and surer control of mechanics.* 
 
 Add to the denominate-number tables that of time. Drill on the number of 
 days in a month, days in a week, hours in a day, minutes in an hour, seconds in 
 a minute. 
 
 Let all pupils who can do so, tell time by minute intervals, but do not fret 
 over those who can't. 
 
 To column addition of ones, add that of tens, and even hundreds, provided 
 the sum does not exceed three digits (except for children who know larger num- 
 bers anyway). 
 
 Ninth month — Check children to see that each has the work of the year up to 
 standard in power to image and in control of facts. Work to attain the standard. 
 
 An experimental studyf to determine the difficulties in addition and multi- 
 plication shows that out of more than one thousand pupils who were tested, be- 
 
 (97888999 
 fore and after drill, 51 to 95 pupils missed these combinations, itftjf-jj 
 
 . oi.m -i • a tu (27596678889797 
 
 whereas 21 to 50 pupils missed these: < 10305434033455 
 
 It would appear that the combination of 9 with numbers, had in no way been 
 associated with 10, (see second month's outline,) or the combinations containing 
 9 would scarcely have been missed so often. At any rate, the teacher must meet 
 the needs of individuals as well as of the class as a whole. 
 
 If pupils are able to do it, teach subtraction (by the addition or Austrian 
 method) with numbers of no more than three digits. 
 
 Grade III. 
 
 All work clone in grades I and II must be kept fresh through use 
 in practical and interesting situations. The same lines of work 
 must be extended, to meet children's growing abilities: 
 
 Writing and reading numbers of four, five, and six orders, possibly even 
 seven orders, because of some specific need. 
 
 Greater content put into large numbers through the use of bundles of tooth- 
 picks — ones tied to show tens; tens tied to show that a hundred equals ten tens; 
 etc. Let pupils push to one side on their desks the necessary bundles as the 
 
 * See devices for drill, p. 279 ff. 
 
 t Made by Dr. H. \ . liolloway, Trenton, N. J. State Gazette Publishing Company.
 
 Arithmetic. — Grade III. — Subject-Matter by Months. Ill 
 
 teacher shows a card containing different numbers like 279; 4)52; 1645. Or, re- 
 versing this, let the teacher or some child show bundles and others write the 
 number in figures, on blackboard or on paper. 
 
 Addition and subtraction with any-sized numbers must now be mastered, 
 although practice will be necessary in all succeeding grades. The teacher should 
 not harp on children's errors, but should frequently test* their progress and then 
 bring up deficiencies.! 
 
 In the third grade the necessity of rinding the sum of several 
 equal addends, as when a merchant buys from a wholesale dealer, 
 or when he makes out his bills to customers, causes a real need for 
 a quick way to add equal addends, the answer to which problem is 
 found in the study of multiplication, the new work of this grade. 
 
 Pupils having to find the cost of seven dozen oranges at 45c a 
 dozen, and knowing only the addition way to find the result, put 
 45c down the column to be added. If there is rivalry in speed, 
 45c several are sure to use some quick method, possibly saying 5 
 45c fives are 25, and then adding from that point on — 30, 35. In 
 45c a similar way some one knows 3 fours, perhaps doubles that 
 45c sum, and then adds 4, getting 28 for the sum of the seven 
 45c fours, before adding the 3 tens from the 35 of the one's col- 
 45c umn. A little questioning of the quickest children will dis- 
 close to all the class the value of a short way. The teacher may then 
 give the briefer expression for this, and lead pupils to see just how 
 the product is obtained. The need for speed will make pupils want 
 to conquer their "tables," which, by the way, should be presented 
 in the order of their least difficulty rather than in numerical order: 
 2,1,10, 11,5, 9,(0), 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12.J 
 
 During the process of conquering the tables, many applications 
 will demand the multiplication by one digit of rather large numbers. 
 As soon as there is a need for teaching how to multiply by a number 
 of several digits, teach it. One child once said to his teacher at 
 just the right time, "I do wish I knew how many seconds old I 
 am." The teacher asured him it was an easy thing to find out, 
 and by the time the multiplications needed in reducing years to 
 months, to days, to hours, to minutes, and then to seconds, were 
 accomplished, every child in the class knew how to do "long mul- 
 tiplication"; and as every child was interested in his own age and 
 in comparisons between his and others' ages in seconds, the "drill" 
 took care of itself. 
 
 Applications of multiplication will be found in the development 
 of square measure, particularly in the finding of rectangular and 
 
 * See pp. 292-295 this Course of Study. 
 
 t So many excellent drill-cards, sheets, tablets, or booklets, are now available for reasonable 
 sums that the teacher of today need not waste valuable hours in making drill-cards, once so necessary. 
 
 t See "The Multiplication-Tables," published by Flanagan, Chicago, 10c, and Holloway's 
 study referred to on p. 110.
 
 112 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 triangular areas. Also in the making out of bills in store-keeping, 
 and in measuring and computing the cost of certain materials used 
 in industrial work.* 
 
 Short-division is taught incidentally in drill upon the multipli- 
 cation-tables, as when the teacher asks such questions as, How 
 many sixes in 42? In 36? In 24? 
 
 Nature-study, games, the industrial work, excursions, the study 
 in home life of the preparation for winter, in canning fruit, buying 
 fuel, etc., will suggest innumerable concrete and practical problems 
 for third-grade pupils to make and to solve. 
 
 Ability to hold images in mind for use in comparisons should 
 continue to be increased. Ratio or relationship seeing, as indicated 
 on p. 105, is a vital factor in arithmetical power, and should be used 
 whenever possible. A set of cards containing expressed ratios, in 
 connection with each multiplication-table as taught, is a helpful de- 
 vice. The child who looks at 3/12 and thinks one-fourth and at 12/3 
 and thinks four, is laying a good foundation for later problem-work. 
 
 Third-grade pupils should learn to write and read the simplest 
 common fractions (^, \, f , \, f , at least), and to feel sure that each 
 means something to them, through seeing the indicated relations 
 in lines, surfaces, and objects about the room or home. 
 
 Before the work of the grade is complete, children should know 
 how to check or prove the correctness of their own work, and also 
 to have started to form the habit of always doing so before feeling 
 satisfied to submit the work to the class or to the teacher. 
 
 The third grade is none too early to start another good habit — 
 that of casting the written solution into a form that will save time 
 and insure clear thinking; such, for example, as: Given; Desired, 
 or Required; Solution, or Work; Check, or Proof. True, this form 
 can become stereotyped and meaningless; but it need not become 
 so, and is one way of helping pupils keep their imaging clear and 
 their mechanical work up to standard. 
 
 Grade IV. 
 
 All processes taught in preceding grades must now be done with 
 greater speed, greater accuracy, and with more difficult numbers. 
 
 The mastery of the process of long-division is the new work of 
 the year. This necessitates daily drill on the multiplication-tables 
 and upon such questions as, — How many nines in 67? In 75? In 
 71?) — as a preparation for division. Long-division should be ap- 
 proached through analyzing what has been done by pupils in short- 
 
 * A pamphlet on "The Social Motive in Arithmetic," by James F. Millis, describes work done 
 at "The Francis W. Parker School," Chicago, and shows how children cared for about a dozen 
 chickens, bought feed, sold eggs, and kept their accounts.
 
 Arithmetic. — Grade IV. 113 
 
 division, and finding that four steps, repeated over and over again, 
 are all that must be known. These steps are: 
 
 1. Estimate (how many times the divisor can be found in the partial dividend 
 
 necessary to use). 
 
 2. Multiply (the divisor by the estimate made). 
 
 3. Subtract (the product of the divisor and quotient figure [or estimate] from the 
 
 partial dividend used). 
 
 4. Bring down (the next figure of the dividend, to be placed at the right of the 
 
 remainder, all of which now becomes a new partial dividend with which 
 the steps, estimate, multiply, subtract, and bring down, are again used). 
 
 When the steps are once secured from an analysis of a shorts-divi- 
 sion example, pupils should test their use of the steps with divisors 
 like 21, 71, 31, 51, 61, so that the ones' digit will not often alter the 
 first estimate. Next, pupils should be given 39, 49, 89, 29, etc., 
 as divisors, so that the ones' digit is sure to change the quotient 
 estimate, even to the extent of needing to think 40 for 39, 30 for 
 29, 70 for 69, etc., in making the estimate. After this the divisors 
 should be 32, 52, 92, and so on; 78, 68, 28, etc.; 43, 83, etc.; 97, 47, 
 etc.; until 25, 35, 45, etc., are reached. The general order of pro- 
 cedure will by this time be well fixed, and teachers need only to 
 look out for individual errors such as putting too many naughts in 
 the quotient when the child has once learned to put any there; 
 having a remainder large enough to contain the divisor once more 
 and not recognizing the fact, but writing a one in the quotient be- 
 fore continuing; and similar errors. As soon as the process is mas- 
 tered so that accuracy is assured, pupils may work for speed — both 
 in dividing and in checking results. 
 
 Apply standard tests in all the fundamental processes, and en- 
 courage pupils to take pride in being up to standard. 
 
 A visit to any industry will provide statistics from which pupils 
 will love to make problems the solution of which will demand the 
 use of the fundamental processes. For example, during a visit to 
 one of the Ely iron mines, the author heard how many loads of 
 six tons each were hoisted a day by 225 men; how many tons of 
 ore were shipped annually; how many men worked in each shift, 
 and for how many hours; what pay each class of men received; the 
 annual number of posts used for props in the mine; the number of 
 posts shipped in on one flat-car; and so on through a long list of 
 interesting statistics. Minnesota state reports and government re- 
 ports also contain valuable statistics about industries and resources.* 
 
 Forms for stating problems in both oral and written work must 
 be developed and adhered to as a means of clearer thinking as well 
 as of better oral expression and of neater written-work. 
 
 * Miss Deming's new book, called "Number Stories," about "Ralph," and "How He Helped," 
 will be invaluable to teachers of fourth grade and above.
 
 114 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Puzzles and arithmetical games such as occur in current juvenile 
 magazines may frequently be used with profit. A few illustra- 
 tions follow: 
 
 (1) Write on your paper any number. Double it. Add 4. Multiply this 
 sum by 5. Add 12. Multiply by 10. Subtract 320. The teacher then asks 
 several children in turn to read their results. Each time the teacher says, Was 
 your original number — ? (giving as her answer the child's result with the two 
 right hand digits mentally omitted). If the child says "no," the teacher says, 
 "Then your work is incorrect." As no two children have chosen the same origi- 
 nal number, they wonder how the teacher knows. Later, the plan may be ex- 
 plained. 
 
 (2) Think of a number. Double it. Add 10 (or any even number which the 
 teacher chooses). Take one-half the sum. Subtract the number of which you 
 first thought. Your answer should be 5 (or half of whatever number the teacher 
 announced). This can be varied in many ways. 
 
 (3) Write a number of several digits. Add the digits mentally and subtract 
 that sum from the original number. Rewrite the number, omitting any one of 
 the digits. Now add the digits. When this sum is named to the teacher, she 
 says, "You omitted 7 (or 6, or 5, etc.) from your number." She knows, because 
 she mentally subtracts the sum named by the child from the nearest higher 
 multiple of 9. 
 
 Pupils should be helped to fix the habit of checking or proving 
 all work done at their seats. 
 
 From fourth grade on "there should be a great deal of mental 
 arithmetic — not for the number combinations, but that children 
 may learn to understand and to use ideas and words in reasoning."* 
 Quick oral work is valuable; in one grade, where just three minutes 
 a day were given, questions like these were once heard: "Begin 
 with 5; multiply by 6; add 2; add 4; think of the result as pints of 
 milk; reduce to quarts and sell at 5c a quart." After a similar 
 series of mechanical steps, the teacher said, "Think of them as 
 carnations and sell at 50c a dozen." 
 
 If given orally, the teacher's voice punctuates such a series of 
 different operations to be performed. But if teachers write on the 
 board examples involving several operations, the mathematical 
 "law of signs" must be learned and obeyed. For example, to each 
 of these there is but one correct result: 99 x2 — 27 + 3 +4 x4 — 24 
 + 4=? 21 +9-4-3— 8+2+3x5 = ? 3+4x8—10 + 2—60-6 = ? 
 Children who do not know that Indicated multiplications and divi- 
 sions must be performed before any sums or differences are found, will 
 obtain several different answers. In cases where only multiplica- 
 tion and division are indicated, as in, 16 -=-4 x2 =? and 5 x30 +3 =? 
 the law says, Perform the indicated operations in the order in which 
 they occur. 
 
 * President John A. H. Keith, Indiana, Pennsylvania.
 
 Arithmetic. — Grade V. — Fractions. 115 
 
 See p. 262; fourth-grade pupils should complete the outline 
 through B under II, and such parts of C as are needed, although 
 whatever work is done in fractions should be of a simple nature. 
 
 Grade V. 
 
 As is said on p. 263, the school must distribute the arithmetic 
 subject-matter so that pupils who leave school early will have had 
 time to secure from the subject two things: (1) Knowledge of how 
 needed processes should be done, which gives children a sense of 
 power; and (2) practice in using each new acquisition until they 
 have perfect control over it. Therefore, besides doing the new 
 work of the grade, it is quite essential that all power gained in earlier 
 grades be kept up to standard. This means systematic though 
 not necessarily daily drill on the fundamentals, on thought pro- 
 cesses involving the holding of images while ideas are related, and 
 upon good oral and written expression. The proper use of since, 
 therefore, hence, if, is (instead of would be or will be), each, and 
 other needed expressions, should be fixed early. 
 
 The reviews should include the re-teaching of facts where this 
 is necessary, as well as the extension of principles learned in earlier 
 grades to more complex conditions. Some such facts are: 
 
 (1) Reading and writing numbers of as many as seven to ten orders. (2) 
 The larger use of Roman numerals in encyclopaedias, chapter numbers, dates on 
 buildings, etc. (3) The addition to the denominate-number tables already 
 learned of such facts as will be necessary in the study of fractions and of the 
 problems of the grade. This will include the table of time and should probably 
 extend to a study of the relation of longitude to time as needed in geography. 
 (4) The four fundamental processes with their accompanying number facts. (5) 
 Knowledge of how to prove the correctness of results in mechanical work and 
 how to check thinking by making rough estimates of the result. (6) Better forms 
 for stating problems and solutions, as thinking grows more accurate. (7) Ability 
 to make problems from real situations, and to interpret problems because the 
 situations can be clearly imaged since they are based upon children's experiences 
 either direct or dramatic. 
 
 The new work of the grade is the application of the fundamental 
 
 processes to fractions. See p. 262, II, C. A suggestive outline of 
 
 steps follows: 
 
 Fractions. 
 
 Note: The general order of development to be used with each topic is: 
 
 (1) Create a vague and then a definite feeling of need for some process. 
 
 (2) Teach the process by getting as many suggestions from pupils as possible. 
 
 (3) Drill on the mechanical phases until children have control over them. 
 
 (4) Apply knowledge and power to new situations to prove value and to give further drill in 
 the using of ideas. 
 
 I. Meaning. 
 
 A. Meaning of a concrete fraction. 
 
 1. In popular speech — a piece, part, broken section, fragment, etc. 
 
 2. Word: how related to fracture, fragment, and fragile.
 
 116 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 3. How recognized from a whole? 
 
 a. Only by knowledge of the whole. 
 
 (1) Illustrated with a rectangle, which may be a whole or may 
 
 be half of a square. 
 
 (2) Illustrated in many life situations, where little parts of 
 
 things are interpreted as wholes. 
 
 (3) Illustrated by circles, etc., where the whole is so individual 
 
 as to let almost any fraction of it be recognized. 
 
 B. Meaning of the topic, fractions, in arithmetic. 
 
 1. Developed from social situations, because of — 
 
 a. Need of economy, b. Need of accuracy, c. Need of beauty. 
 
 2. Measuring and comparing pieces of things with one another and with 
 
 wholes resulted in two things: 
 
 a. Development of denominate-number tables. 
 
 b. Topic "fractions" in arithmetic. 
 
 C. Meaning of symbols for measured fragments, or fractions. 
 
 1. Oral. 
 
 a. Terms of indefinite comparison. 
 
 (1) Longer, wider, taller, etc. (2) Shortest, brightest, etc. 
 
 b. Terms of definite comparisons. 
 
 (1) Halves, thirds, sevenths. (2) Twice, thrice, seven times. 
 
 2. Written. 
 
 a. The fraction as a whole. 
 
 (1) An expressed ratio (as of 3 inches to 4 inches). 
 
 (2) An expressed division to be done (18 divided by 23). 
 
 (3) A quotient (after dividing). 
 
 (4) A sign of partition — may mean three quarters of one whole 
 
 or it may mean three one-fourths, each one-fourth taken 
 from a different whole. 
 
 b. The terms of the fraction, etc. 
 
 (1) The numerator. (2) The denominator. (3) The separat- 
 ing bar. 
 II. Processes employed. 
 
 A. With small fractions — such as halves, fourths, eighths, thirds, and sixths. 
 
 1. Indefinite relations seen. 
 
 2. Definite comparisons made. 
 
 a. Recognition of parts in relation to wholes. 
 
 (1) Of children in a class, books on a table, panes in a window, 
 
 crayon, and many things about home and school. 
 
 (2) Of geometric figures, (a) Lines, (b) Rectangular sur- 
 
 faces, (c) Circles, (d) Solids. 
 
 b. Representation of definite parts by written symbols. 
 
 c. Reduction or changing the form of expressing a given fractional 
 
 value. 
 
 (1) Do concretely — actually cut up thirds and halves, for ex- 
 
 ample, so they may have the common name, sixths. 
 
 (2) Do with symbols and prove by concrete. 
 
 (3) Do accurately and quickly with symbols. Use only frac-* 
 
 tions that can be reduced by inspection of denominators. 
 
 d. Addition of small fractions. f. Multiplication. 
 
 e. Subtraction. g. Division. 
 
 B. With larger (or any size of) fractions — the same processes, but rules or 
 
 formulae now seem to be needed to save time. Pupils work out own 
 rules in most if not all cases. Begin with knowledge of processes with 
 smaller fractions; refer to the concrete to keep meanings clear and to 
 prevent mere "juggling with figures." 
 1. Reduction, changing the form only, of a fraction, or of any number. 
 a. To higher terms. 
 
 (1) Develop the fact that to multiply by 1 does not change 
 
 the value of the multiplicand. 
 
 1X7 equals ? lXf equals ? lXt equals ? etc. 
 
 (2) One may be written in various ways. Develop. Children 
 
 give 4/4; 7/7; 6/6; 99/99; 25/25; etc.
 
 Arithmetic. — Grade V. — Fractions. 117 
 
 (3) Teacher points to magnitude (f, for example), and asks, 
 
 "How many fourths in this?" "How many sixths?" 
 "Eighths?" Teacher then writes, "1/2 equals 2/4; 1/2 
 equals 3/6; 1/2 equals 4/8." "The value is unchanged 
 in each case. Which form of 1 has been used as a 
 multiplier in each case?" (2/2 in 1st; 3/3 in 2d; 4/4 in 3d.) 
 
 (4) Try with other magnitudes; for example, how many sixths 
 
 in 2/3? Twelfths in 2/3? Eighths in 3/4? 
 
 (5) Discover what determines the form of 1 to use in each case. 
 
 (The name or denominator of the new fraction.) "Then 
 if I ask you to change 2/3 into 15ths, what must you 
 do? Why?" 
 
 Note: Cautions to teacher: (1) Be thorough in this step. (2) Do not let 
 children write or say 1/2X3 equals 3/6, but insist upon 1/2X3/3 equals 3/6. 
 
 (6) Give much practice until children can finally think the 
 
 form of 1 without writing it. 
 
 b. To lower (or lowest) terms. 
 
 (1) Show that reduction to lower terms is the reverse of the 
 
 above — 12/15-5-3/3 (a form of 1) equals 4/5. 
 
 (2) Quick practice-work should follow until children can 
 
 change the form of any small fraction instantly to higher 
 or lower terms. 
 
 (3) Apply to larger fractions and give much practice. Show 
 
 how one may divide by 1 several times in succession, 
 as in reducing 192/240 to lowest terms. 
 
 c. To an integer or a mixed number. 
 
 d. To a fractional form. 
 
 (1) Employed with whole or mixed numbers for convenience. 
 
 (2) Some times called "improper" fractions, but not fractions 
 
 at all — just wholes in fractional form. 
 
 2. Addition. 
 
 a. Applies the principles of addition of integers, hence reduction 
 
 to a common denominator is necessary. 
 
 (1) Found by inspection. 
 
 (2) Found by factoring and the learning how to secure the 
 
 least common multiple (of small fractions only), 
 (a) Rules for recognizing a number's divisibility by 2, 4, 
 8, 5, 10, 3, and 9, easily learned. 
 
 b. Formula found. 
 
 (1) Reduce fractions to be added to a common denominator, 
 
 which becomes the denominator of the sum. 
 
 (2) Add numerators of the "reduced" fractions for the sum's 
 
 numerator. 
 
 (3) Reduce the sum to form desired. 
 
 c. Work for neatness of form, accuracy, and then dispatch. 
 
 d. Apply to problems in merchantry — using denominate-number 
 
 tables, making out bills of goods, etc. 
 
 3. Subtraction. 
 
 a. Same principles as those learned in addition of fractions and in 
 
 subtraction of integers. 
 
 b. Order of introducing the different situations in subtraction. 
 
 (1) Fraction from fraction. 
 
 (2) Fraction or mixed number from mixed number whose frac- 
 
 tional part is larger than the fraction in the subtrahend. 
 
 (3) Same, but with fraction in minuend smaller than fraction 
 
 in subtrahend, so that the student must take a one of 
 the integer and change it to a fractional form before 
 proceeding. 
 
 (4) Same principle applied to subtracting a fraction or mixed 
 
 number from an integer. 
 
 c. Make applications to life situations. 
 
 4. Multiplication. 
 
 a. Refer to simple fractions.
 
 118 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 b. Refer to use of multiplier in reducing fractions, about which 
 
 nothing was said at the time. 
 
 c. Process derived. 
 
 (1) Multiply numerators for numerator of product. 
 
 (2) Multiply denominators for denominator of product. 
 
 (3) Reduce to form desired. 
 
 (4) Cancellation shortens the process. 
 
 d. Different forms discussed. 
 
 (1) Fraction by fraction. (2) Fraction by whole number. 
 
 (3) Fraction by mixed number. 
 
 (4) Large whole number by fraction or mixed number; for ex- 
 
 ample, 6489 
 25| 
 
 e. Drill. 
 
 f. Apply to problems within the experience of the pupils. 
 5. Division. 
 
 a. Natural method is to reverse process used for multiplication. 
 
 Easy when divisions produce no remainders; when remain- 
 ders occur, some new plan becomes necessary. 
 
 b. Method of reducing to a common denominator, as in subtrac- 
 
 tion, of which division is a shortened process. 
 
 c. Plan of inverting terms of the divisor and proceeding as in mul- 
 
 tiplication, invented. 
 
 (1) Fits all cases. 
 
 (2) Proved correct in many ways, but not necessary that pupils 
 
 should prove the truth each time. 
 
 d. Drill on some one way to give children control of the process. 
 
 e. Apply principles of multiplication and division so as to secure 
 
 the "laws of fractions," namely: 
 
 (1) Multiplying only the numerator of a fraction, multiplies 
 
 the fraction. 
 
 (2) Multiplying only the denominator of a fraction, divides 
 
 the fraction. 
 
 (3) Dividing only the numerator of a fraction, divides the 
 
 fraction. 
 
 (4) Dividing only the denominator of a fraction, multiplies 
 
 the fraction. 
 
 (5) Performing either operation by the same number on both 
 
 numerator and denominator does not change the value 
 of the fraction; it merely reduces the fraction to another 
 form. 
 
 f. Apply to problems interesting to pupils. 
 
 Note: "Complex" and "compound" fractions involve no new principles and need not be 
 mentioned unless pupils ask for them. 
 
 Grade VI. 
 
 The outline of Grade V should be read with care, since all of 
 that work must be kept fresh by use in Grade VI. 
 
 The new work of the grade is the study of decimal fractions, a 
 subject requiring only a brief time for its comprehension, but a 
 long time for its use, since, besides laying a firm foundation for 
 percentage, which is to follow, it thoroughly reviews and helps to 
 fix the work of the preceding grades in common fractions and in 
 the four fundamental processes. The problems selected for apply- 
 ing the principles of decimals should be chosen from the children's 
 experience in their home environment. (See p. 262, III, B; and 
 page 263, all of IV.) A brief suggestive outline follows:
 
 Arithmetic. — Grade VI. — Decimals. 119 
 
 Decimal Fractions. 
 
 I. Relation of decimal fractions to decimal numbers. 
 
 A. Our whole number-system is a decimal one. 
 
 1. One in a given place equals ten ones of the next place to the right. 
 
 2. One in a given place equals one-tenth of one in the next place 
 
 to the left. 
 
 3. Place-names of integers learned. 
 
 B. United States money uses both decimal integers and decimal frac- 
 
 tions (of a dollar), separating the two by the "decimal-point." 
 (A good starting place for decimal fractions.) 
 
 C. Place-names of decimal fractions easy to get in relation to place- 
 
 names of integers — tenths to tens; hundredths to hundreds. 
 
 II. Relation of decimal fractions to common fractions. 
 
 A. Just a chosen sort of common fraction, with denominator 10, 100, 
 
 or any power of 10. Usually written without the denomina- 
 tor, and given place-value through the use of the decimal-point. 
 
 B. Reduction of common fractions to decimal fractions. 
 
 1. Use of 10, 100, etc., as actual denominators in earliest reduc- 
 
 tions, proving that only old principles operate. 
 
 2. Discard the actual denominators and learn to know denomina- 
 
 tion from place-value. 
 
 3. Learn how to "carry out" a decimal fraction to several places. 
 
 4. Aliquot parts developed; value seen; some committed to mem- 
 
 ory. 
 
 III. Reading and writing of all sorts of decimals. 
 
 A. Reading any decimal by any desired decimal name, giving the right 
 
 value to the numerator; for example, 3.5 may be read: Three and 
 five-tenths (ones). Thirty-five tenths (of one). Three hundred 
 fifty hundredths (of one). Thirty-five hundredths of ten. Etc. 
 
 B. Writing a number in several forms with no change in value; for 
 
 f 7 70 700 
 
 example, .07 = .070 = .0700, etc. \ = = 
 
 { 100 1000 10000 
 
 C. Writing a given number — for example, 872039 — five times, and then 
 
 putting the decimal-point in the right place each time to name 
 the whole: ones, hundredths, ten thousandths, tenths. 
 
 IV. Fundamental processes applied to decimal fractions and mixed numbers. 
 
 A. Reduction — very simple — rule for. 
 
 B. Addition — no new principle. 
 
 C. Subtraction — no new principle. 
 
 D. Multiplication — actual process the same as of old. Placing the 
 
 decimal-point the new thing. Rationalized by using 10, 100, 
 etc., as actual denominators and making a rule. 
 
 E. Division — Like division of integers except for placing the decimal- 
 
 point. Again use ordinary fractions with denominators 10, 100, 
 etc., (1) to make a rule, and (2) to show that the rule is true. 
 Different plans for pointing)off (aside from the mechanical pro- 
 cess of dividing the numbers: 
 
 1. Multiplying both dividend and divisor by the same number (a) 
 
 to make the divisor an integer; (b) to make both divisor and 
 dividend integers; (c) to give both the same denomination. 
 
 2. First planning where decimal-point should be placed in the 
 
 quotient and making a check (vO m dividend. 
 
 3. Dividing first and then subtracting number of places in divisor 
 
 from number used in dividend and placing point to accord. 
 
 V. Application of fractions, both common and decimal, and of denominate- 
 
 number tables, to problems found in all forms of industry. (See 
 course in industry for complete list, a few of which are here suggested.) 
 
 A. Merchants' bills. 
 
 B. Coal hauling and cord-wood selling. 
 
 C. Plastering, papering, and painting. 
 
 D. Carpeting rooms, curtaining windows, covering cushions, etc. 
 
 E. House planning and carpentry processes. 
 
 F. Masonry, and excavating of cellars, cisterns, etc.
 
 120 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 G. Cubical contents of various things — cisterns, tanks, rooms (air in), 
 haystacks, boxes, coalbins, etc. 
 
 H. Buying lumber for manual-training or for home wood-work, and 
 hence learning how to measure lumber. 
 
 I. Social situations in the school, such as sending a Thanksgiving basket 
 to a deserving poor family, or a doll-house to an orphanage. 
 
 J. Learning to do practical banking, such as opening a checking ac- 
 count, writing checks, balancing the check-book and the bank- 
 book; opening a savings account, or a "thrift" account (in which 
 as little as one cent a week is deposited), finding how one's sav- 
 ings accumulate, etc.* (This is one excellent means of uniting 
 the arithmetic of the year with civics and ethics.) 
 
 K. See lesson on paying distant indebtedness, p. 264. 
 
 Mental arithmetic, checking the line of thought through making 
 sensible estimates of the result, and other valuable features of lower- 
 grade work, must not be neglected. 
 
 Note: Every effort possible is made to lead children to appreciate arithmetic as a tool, usable 
 in solving important every-day problems in life. If thought wise to do so, teachers may now in- 
 troduce percentage, since it is just a special kind of decimal fraction, with denominator always 100 
 in the same way that a decimal fraction is a special kind of common fraction expressed by other 
 means than in common-fraction form. However, if this is done, only two problems should be 
 taught, (1) that of finding a per cent of some number, and (2) what per cent (or part, expressed as 
 hundredths) one number is of another. Although these are not too difficult for sixth grade, the 
 whole topic of percentage if left for seventh grade makes in the fall of that year an excellent re- 
 view of common and decimal fractions, and points out children's abilities in the use of the funda- 
 mental mechanical processes, so that they and the teacher know on what to drill. 
 
 Grade VII. 
 
 Since the arithmetical processes are by this time well known, the 
 remaining work, whether it be done in one, in one-and-one-half, or 
 in two years, consists of the application of acquired facts and of 
 imaging power to life-situations within the pupils' comprehension. 
 
 In every line of industry which pupils investigate they see that 
 those who are engaged in the business need accuracy and speed in 
 computation, as well as power to see beyond the present. If prob- 
 lems are chosen from real situations, pupils acquire in their solution 
 not only technical skill, but also a better appreciation of the work 
 of others. "It is the mission of mathematics in the grades to make 
 a large contribution to the general knowledge" as well as to the 
 arithmetical knowledge of children. Imagination is cultivated un- 
 til pupils can put themselves into others' places. Pupils should 
 delight in the "valuable thoughts gained from arithmetic." For 
 example, to visit a mill and learn how wheat is tested before it is 
 bought; what price is paid for various grades of the grain; what 
 profit is made on the different mill products; what the machinery 
 and labor cost; how many men are employed in the mill, and what 
 specialty each has; how the product is disposed of; what place sales- 
 men or commissioned agents have. All this not only supplies 
 plenty of problem material in school, but gives pupils a general 
 knowledge of one of the world's industries, which must have a future 
 value in good citizenship. 
 
 * The Thrift Service Co., of Rockford, 111., will either send the teacher material or direct him 
 where to secure it. Ask at banks. Note new "U. S. Thrift Stamps."
 
 Arithmetic. — Grade VII. — Topics for Study. 121 
 
 Besides keeping up to a standard degree of facility the work of 
 earlier grades* viz., (1) the fundamental processes with integers and 
 fractions, both common and decimal; (2) power to see relationships; 
 (3) acceptable expression of a problem's solution, orally or in writ- 
 ing; and (4) assurance of whether one is right or wrong because of 
 well-controlled means of checking work; the seventh year's study 
 of arithmetic should probably cover the following topics: 
 
 1. A little study of roots and powers, such, for example, as these: 
 
 a. Knowing, as one knows his addition or multiplication facts, the second power of all 
 
 numbers from 1 to 20 inclusive. 
 
 b. Knowing, for the sake of rapid mental estimating, that the square of any number 
 
 ending in 5 ends in 25 and that the digits at the left of 25 must be the product of 
 the number represented by the digit (or digits) at the left of 5 in the original 
 number, and a number which is just one more than this — the number represented 
 by this digit. Illustration: 352— 1225; that is, the power ends in 25 and the digits 
 to the left of 25 are the product of 3, and 3 + 1 (or 4). Note other cases such as 
 1952 — 38025 (that is 19 X 20) with 25 annexed. Pupils are thus able to estimate 
 products which they cannot accurately secure mentally. For example, a collect- 
 or's returns to the telephone company from a district which contains 127 sub- 
 scribers each of whom pays $1.25 a month is about $156.25 (12 X 13 with 25 an- 
 nexed, and decimal-point correctly placed). Since, actually, there are just two 
 more subscribers than the estimate made by "squaring" 125, the pupil can add 
 $2.50 to the estimate and thus obtain an accurate result without pencil and paper. 
 
 c. Knowing perfectly the third powers of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10, and possibly of 6, 7, 8, and 9. 
 
 d. In the same way knowing the fourth power of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10. 
 
 e. Also the fifth power of 2 and of 3. 
 
 f. Also the sixth power of 2. 
 
 g. Knowledge of how to extract the square root of any number, if some need of this 
 
 is discovered in mensuration calculations, 
 h. Knowledge of how to factor so as to get the approximate (if not accurate) third, 
 fourth, or other roots that are only rarely needed. 
 
 2. Some simple geometric or mechanical drawing if needed in mensuration 
 
 problems. For example, bisecting and trisecting lines; describing a 
 circle with a given radius or diameter; constructing an equilateral 
 triangle of a given size; erecting a perpendicular to a given line at 
 any desired point; and so on. 
 
 3. If not already learned in lower grades, how to keep accounts — farm, house- 
 
 hold, or personal; how to take an inventory so as to know one's finan- 
 cial status; how to make out, send, collect, and receipt bills; how to 
 save (thrift); how to proceed in simple banking for one's self; the ad- 
 vantages of being a bank depositor; and so forth. 
 
 4. Percentage and such applications as the teacher chooses to give in sev- 
 
 enth grade, probably — 
 
 a. Partnership, without time as an element, b. Profit and loss. c. Discount, d. In- 
 terest, with the making of notes; giving, recording, and releasing mortgages; and 
 such other related problems as the pupils can well understand. 
 
 If arithmetic is to end in the seventh grade, a somewhat greater 
 variety of work must be undertaken than is necessary if a half or a 
 whole year's work in eighth grade is to follow. All the topics of 
 elementary-school arithmetic beyond the sixth grade can, by varia- 
 tion in method of attack, be made to fit either seventh or eighth 
 grade, so that the division of subject-matter just made is by no 
 
 * See pp. 292-295.
 
 122 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 means hard and fast; it is meant to be merely suggestive. Pages 
 262-263 show the general line of work to be done in both grades 
 seven and eight. 
 
 As was said on p. 114, percentage is the study of only one sort of 
 decimal fraction — a sort found so convenient in man's adjustments 
 to social conditions as to warrant its being made a separate topic 
 in arithmetic. 
 
 Method. — In the study of percentage, there is little need, */ any, 
 of confusing pupils with the terms base, rate, and percentage, or the 
 old-time cases. Of course, if one needs to use the words rate and 
 percentage, they should not be avoided. Finding the per cent of a 
 number is only a new way of asking for a given part of a number 
 the method of solving which has been already learned in fractions 
 (both common and decimal). Frequently to say hundredths in- 
 stead of per cent, until the latter word has a real content to the 
 pupils, will tide over many difficulties. The recognition of the 
 fact that the common fractions called "aliquot parts" were chosen 
 because the equivalent common fractions for these per cents were 
 so often more convenient than the per cents themselves, again 
 makes pupils see that to find a per cent of a number is no different 
 in principle from finding \, \, or f of the number. 
 
 In the same way, through common fractions, pupils can see 
 what it means to find what per cent one number is of another. Ex- 
 amples similar to these may be given for the earliest work: 
 
 (1) Eight equals what part of 24? What other ways may we give this 
 
 part? Then, in quick drill, eight equals how many sixths of 24? 
 How many twenty-fourths of 24? How many twelfths of 24? How 
 many thirds of 24? How many hundredths of 24? Eight equals 
 what per cent of 24? 
 
 (2) Six equals what part of 60? Six equals how many tenths of 60? How 
 
 many twentieths? How many sixtieths? How many hundredths? 
 What per cent? 
 
 Finding the per cent which one number is of another, if the 
 
 teacher is pressed for time, may be omitted here and brought up 
 
 under "investments ," in eighth grade. 
 
 Since several very excellent modern texts in arithmetic are arranged to apply 
 percentage to social situations which make for better citizenship, little more need 
 be said on the method side of the subject. Pages 265-267 of this Manual contain 
 one plan for teaching interest. 
 
 Grade VIII. 
 
 Since this is but a continuance of the work of Grade VII, the 
 
 plan there outlined should be read in detail. 
 
 The new topics to be taken up are: 
 
 1. Commission. — Related to merchantry or to exchange of products. Note 
 the need of a salesman, agent, or commission merchant. Relate to geography 
 and note the world's great centers for handling certain products (iron, flour, rail- 
 road securities, apples, oranges, rice, coffee, etc.)
 
 Arithmetic. — Grade VIII. 123 
 
 2. Investments. 
 
 a. Savings accounts at the bank. 
 
 (1) Regular amounts. 
 
 (2) "Thrift" plans. 
 
 (a) Progressive amounts. 
 
 (b) Reducing amounts. 
 
 b. Notes well secured. 
 
 c. Buying a home on time payments — through a realty company, through a building 
 
 association, through a "thrift" savings account, etc. 
 
 d. Stocks and bonds. 
 
 "The subject of stocks, as taught from the speculator's standpoint, should 
 be eliminated, and new material under the same head substituted, the new material 
 to deal with the new line of cooperative enterprises now so common; such as 
 creameries, insurance companies, shipping associations, and the like. In the same 
 way, eliminate the study of bonds as now given, and under the new topic of bonds 
 teach municipal bonds, state bonds, popular subscriptions, and other bonds of 
 this nature."* 
 
 "Pupils should be taught what a corporation is, its chief officers, how it is or- 
 ganized, what stocks and bonds are, and how dividends are declared and paid, in 
 so far as such knowledge is needed by the general public. The study of techni- 
 calities of the broker's office should not be undertaken by pupils of this age. The 
 newspaper stock reports furnish an excellent basis for practical problems. Show 
 how the nation, the state, the county, and the city, issue bonds as means of bor- 
 rowing money. Show how bonds may be purchased as an investment. "f 
 c. The interpretation, in all investments, of data, statistics, and graphs. 
 
 3. Insurance. 
 
 a. As one form of investment. 
 
 b. Personal or life insurance — different kinds. 
 
 c. Property insurance (see pp. 267-271). 
 
 4. Taxation for the sake of group-needs — local, state, and national. 
 "Problems in the cost and support of the Government should be designed 
 
 (a) to maintain and increase efficiency in the essential processes of arithmetic 
 through constant application; and (b) to convey information concerning matters 
 of local or national interest of which all citizens should have some knowledge. 
 This aspect of the work is designed to correlate with the work of the civics class. "J 
 
 The courses in all of the eighth-grade subjects are in large meas- 
 ure designed to help boys and girls to a better understanding of the 
 vocational life into which they are soon to enter. In the right in- 
 terpretation of life adjustments, arithmetic plays an important 
 part. Each problem demands that the child use the series of factors 
 discussed under good study (pp. 263-266 and 283-285), though 
 here differently worded; namely: 
 
 1. Understand — Read and reread; image the situation; relate the ideas one 
 
 to another; and again read and reread if necessary until the problem 
 is understood. 
 
 2. Think — Analyze the situation; think clearly what is wanted, what is 
 
 known, and what it is best to do (that is, choose a good method). 
 
 3. Do it — Work quickly and accurately; in computation an answer is right 
 
 or wrongs — there is no partly right to be considered in the test of doing 
 the work. Next, work economically; learn business methods of com- 
 putation with short cuts which can be understood. 
 
 4. Check the result — Feel sure of yourself — grow independent of others' esti- 
 
 mates — do it again — do it another way — know that you can be de- 
 pended upon. 
 
 * From Bulletin No. 51, on the Elimination of Subject- Matter, 
 t From 1915 Cleveland, Ohio, Course ot Study, 
 t From May, 1913, Atlantic Educational Journal,
 
 124 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 5. Apply the knowledge gained to some new situation. For example, after 
 watching a man put coal into your father's cellar, noting how often he 
 stoops, how heavy a shovelful or basketful of coal he lifts at each 
 movement, how many bushels he stows away in an hour, what energy 
 he has expended, and so on, What is your attitude towards the man? 
 Could we get along without such helpers? Can you make his task 
 any easier? 
 
 Method. — At the Francis Parker School, in Chicago, some eighth- 
 grade pupils built on the schoolgrounds an actual playhouse, thus 
 learning most of the processes mentioned in upper grades. This 
 scheme isn't possible in all localities, but the following plan, par- 
 tially executed by one eighth-grade teacher,* is feasible: 
 
 This plan is to unify all the work outlined for the grade and to review the 
 work of earlier grades by permitting the pupils to enter imaginatively into the 
 owning and furnishing of a home. The buying of the lot necessitates a study of: 
 (1) The city's industries. (2) Its probable development, as based on statistics 
 about the city itself and about the industries most prominent there. (3) A 
 forecasting of which sections will prove good residence sections and which good 
 business sections — estimated by securing data on recent rates of property-in- 
 crease or -decrease in different neighborhoods, and how differently a man looks at 
 residence property and at business property as to any desired increase in value, 
 etc. (4) Methods of transferring property; the legality as different from the 
 ethics of written over verbal promises; the need of a clear title, and of a recorded 
 deed to prevent future trouble. (5) The calculation of the real-estate agent's 
 commission and of fees paid to the notary, the recorder, etc. 
 
 Before the house can be built it must be roughly planned to suit the family 
 which is to live in it, and a general estimate secured from some contractor or book 
 of plans. Then follows a careful study of plans to fit the finances of the family. 
 Then follows a study of ways and means of paying for the home, since it can't 
 be bought at one payment; how different members of the family can help; and 
 the calculation of what each can save by various forms of investment. Then all 
 pupils draw plans, estimate the cost of excavating, of building the foundation; 
 of the lumber, plumbing, heating, cementing the basement, laying the walks, 
 and so on for all the details. Before or after all plans for buildings are settled, 
 the building laws must be investigated, and a permit secured. 
 
 To hasten over further details, the house is built; insured; assessed; paid for 
 in instalments by the help of each member of the family; and, after careful cal- 
 culation as to the cost of papering, carpeting, etc., furnished completely. Dis- 
 counts are secured on some articles because some members of the family are em- 
 ployed in stores where these articles are sold. Then comes the running of the 
 house; the budgeting of expenses; the keeping of accounts, including what is 
 saved by the various members of the family who learn how to run the furnace 
 economically; how, in spare hours, to clean the trap in a sink-drain, to pack a 
 faucet, to repair a screen or an occasional broken glass, to paint a porch, to cook, 
 sew, or raise vegetables and chickens. 
 
 Accounts are balanced once a month to see what each has been able to con- 
 tribute — that is, what per cent of his earnings; what per cent of these same earn- 
 ings had to be spent in clothing, in recreation, in further study or self-growth, 
 and the like. 
 
 * Miss Violet Melander, Winona Normal School.
 
 Science. 125 
 
 When the lines of thought thus opened up do not carry with them sufficient 
 arithmetic to warrant the use of the arithmetic time for their discussion they 
 are turned over to the civics or ethics period, for children can there calculate the 
 social and immaterial returns which each member of the family receives from 
 this investment in a home. In whose name should the home be? Who should 
 inherit it? Why? What relation does participation in the home-making bear 
 to the benefits obtained? What rights, duties, and privileges, has each member 
 of the family? How does the hard work expended in getting this home make 
 you feel about destroying property at Hallowe'en? And so forth, without end. 
 
 What to expect by the end of the eighth grade. — That pupils show 
 100% efficiency in the standard tests selected to be used.* That 
 pupils can check their own work by some certain means. That 
 pupils are able to image situations and to see relationships between 
 ideas or statements in situations of which they may reasonably be 
 expected to have some knowledge. That they use common sense 
 rather than blindly attempt to recall what is to them some mean- 
 ingless rule or formula. That they persist till the problem is con- 
 quered. Whether pupils know any algebra or not, they may well 
 have learned to use x (or any other letter) to represent the sought 
 or unknown quantity in a problem. Whether they can state any 
 laws of equations or not, they should have learned to use these 
 laws through practice in solving problems according to a good form 
 developed from accurate thinking. 
 
 III.— SCIENCE. 
 
 Through the race's efforts at adjustment to the "material world," 
 there have developed two very important and 'closely related sub- 
 jects, Science and Industry. These utilize a common field of ac- 
 tivities; but, while Industry studies the processes involved so as to 
 develop skill in the worker and to secure a saving of time, energy, 
 and capital, Science hunts for underlying laws or principles, and 
 organizes around these as a core the knowledge which the race has 
 accumulated. 
 
 With the advance of civilization and the consequent steady rise 
 of new problems, with the increasing interdependence of men and 
 nations, science has become differentiated into specialized subdivi- 
 sions so numerous as to preclude the possibility of one individual's 
 knowing thoroughly more than a small fraction of modern science. 
 
 The majority of men are impelled, by their interests as well as 
 by their feeling of need in life, to secure a general knowledge of the 
 elements of several sciences rather than to confine themselves to 
 intensive work on one. Therefore it is that schools, whose choice 
 
 * See pp. 292-295, Chapter on Measuring Results.
 
 126 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 of subject-matter must fit race needs, — and, in particular, elemen- 
 tary schools, whose pupils have neither the background nor the 
 habits of work necessary for an intensive study of science, — must 
 select certain typical and usable phases of all science. For this 
 extensive and therefore necessarily elementary study of science, no 
 single name has been consistently employed. Elementary Science 
 would be the best name to use, did it not already carry a narrower 
 meaning which excludes geography. It has therefore seemed nec- 
 essary in this course of study to make three divisions of the general 
 topic: A. Geography, from whose field material is selected and called 
 by the generic name, geography, although it is no more the real sci- 
 ence of geography than language is grammar, or than nature-study 
 is botany or physics. B. Nature-study, selected from the wide fields 
 of the biological and physical sciences. C. Physical education, 
 made to include material chosen from several fields. 
 
 A.— GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 The present meaning of geography,* the modern methods of 
 teaching the subject, and the subject-matter now selected to be 
 taught, give geography high rank among educative materials for 
 elementary-school purposes. 
 
 Geography no longer means mere location of natural features, 
 cities, and boundaries. It no longer means an isolated study of the 
 earth's physical features nor of man's distribution over the earth's 
 surface. It divides itself into two main sciences, physiography 
 and ontography, the latter subdividing, according to Tower,f into 
 three divisions, the last of which includes industrial, commercial, 
 and political geography. In all these the common element is rela- 
 tionship, with emphasis on the interrelationship of man and his 
 material environment. How man adjusts himself to his surround- 
 ings, how he utilizes the forces of nature for his and his fellows' 
 good, how in part through his response to this material world he 
 attains highest self-realization — these make up the meaning of 
 modern geography. 
 
 Methods of teaching have changed as much, if not so rapidly, 
 as has the meaning of geography. No longer are capitals and their 
 locations sung; no longer are tracing-lessons the main form of recit- 
 ing; mere memoriter work from a text is a thing of the past. Teach- 
 ers now propose to their pupils, or, still better, lead pupils to pro- 
 pose for themselves, "problems" or "projects" the working out of 
 which demands all locative, physiographic, and statistical facts 
 
 * For generous help on this, as well as for valuable constructive criticism on the whole topic, 
 the author is deeply indebted to Mr. George J. Miller, Secretary "National Council of Geography 
 Teachers," and Professor of Geography, State Normal School, Mankato, Minn. 
 
 f Article in the Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, November, 1910.
 
 Geography. — Grades I, II, and III. 127 
 
 needing to be known. By helping intermediate-grade children to 
 reason from effect to cause, the teacher leads them to build up a 
 body of geographic principles found to be permanently valuable in 
 making life adjustments. In older grades, to test the pupils' un- 
 derstanding of these principles, as well as to give them practice in 
 applying knowledge,-the teacher suggests problems whose solutions 
 demand, first, reasoning from cause to effect, and, second, 'careful 
 checking of inferences by the securing of facts on the subject from 
 reliable authorities. 
 
 The subject-matter of the elementary-school course can be briefly 
 outlined as follows: 
 
 I. Man's material environment. 
 
 A. Inanimate. 
 
 1. Land. 
 
 a. Surface. b. Soil. c. Minerals. 
 
 2. Water, on and within the earth. 
 
 3. Atmosphere. 
 
 a. Temperature. b. Movements. c. Moisture. 
 
 (All more or less dependent on the earth's planetary relations.) 
 
 B. Animate. 
 
 1. Plant life. 2. Animal life. 
 
 (Both dependent on the inanimate environment and on each other until 
 
 man intervened.) 
 [Result: Physiography.] 
 
 II. Man's adjustment to his material environment. 
 
 A. In securing the fundamentals of life: food, shelter, clothing. 
 
 1. In their natural forms. 
 
 2. In changed forms as man invents ways and means of overcoming 
 
 obstacles or of utilizing those which cannot be conquered. 
 .[Result: Industrial geography.] 
 
 B. In finding, on the earth's surface, the location suited to man's needs, 
 
 ambitions, or temperament, and in forming governments to fit the 
 various groups thus separated. 
 [Result: Political geography.] 
 
 C. In cooperating with fellow man no matter how inaccessible he may appear 
 
 to be. 
 [Result: Commercial Geography.] 
 
 Each subdivision as a science is beyond elementary-school pu- 
 pils, yet each contains much that they can comprehend and need 
 to know for both immediate and future adjustment to their envi- 
 ronment. 
 
 Grades I, II, and III. 
 
 When children begin going to school, thus regularly leaving and 
 returning to their homes, home takes on a new meaning, and may, 
 consequently, well be made the core of whatever geography-work 
 is done in grades I, II, and III. 
 
 In grades I and II, geography is not differentiated from the other 
 subdivisions of science, and is, therefore, not outlined in detail. 
 Many geographic facts are incidentally acquired, even if they are 
 not deliberately taught, in connection with nature-study, excur- 
 sions, physical education, literature, and other daily experiences
 
 128 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 both at home and in school. Since the teacher must avoid forcing 
 upon pupils her own organization, only two problems are proposed, 
 and these are meant to be merely suggestive of those geographic 
 facts which will naturally be gathered by the end of the second 
 grade. 
 
 Problem I. — How the family adjusts itself to diurnal changes. 
 
 1. Hours of rising. 
 
 a. In relation to daylight. 
 
 (1) Cause of returning day. A general answer, the rising sun — no 
 
 scientific explanation attempted, 
 (a) Directions — known by the sun's rising in the east; by 
 length and direction of shadows cast. 
 
 (2) Dawn. 
 
 b. In relation to a time-piece. 
 
 (1) The clock. 
 
 (2) Other ways of telling time. 
 
 (a) Shadows — length and direction. 
 
 (b) Hourglass. 
 
 (c) Sundial. 
 
 2. Preparation for the day (also related to industry and hygiene). 
 
 a. Father's preparations, b. Mother's, c. Children's. 
 
 3. The daily routine of adjustments — tasks, meals, school, father's business, 
 
 etc. Special house-work for different week days. Why? (Related 
 to thrift and to hygiene.) 
 
 4. Occasional variations in this routine — as for birthdays, holidays, guests, 
 
 or, perhaps, illness in the family. 
 
 5. The end of the day. 
 
 a. Sunset, dusk, night. 
 
 b. Why earlier in valleys than on plains or hills? 
 
 c. Moon and stars for light — compare to sunlight — direction as known 
 
 by north star through "Great dipper." 
 
 6. Preparation for the night. 
 
 a. The evening "chores" or "tasks." 
 
 b. The care of animals, if there are any about the home. 
 
 c. The care of buildings — doors shut; some locked because of wind or 
 
 rainstorms, minks, foxes, etc. 
 
 d. The fire — covered or let die out — kindling and other material col- 
 
 lected for quickly making new fire in the morning. 
 
 7. Hours of retiring, and why. 
 
 a. The need of sleep and rest (related to hygiene). 
 
 b. Children's hours. 
 
 c. Parents' hours. 
 
 d. Variations on occasion. 
 
 Problem II. — How the family adjusts itself to seasonal changes. 
 
 1. In relation to food. 
 
 a. Selection of in different seasons. (Expand as desired.) 
 
 b. Original sources of — planting, cultivating, harvesting; hunting, fish- 
 
 ing. 
 
 c. Preserving and storing foods — home methods; factory methods, if 
 
 some food-plant can be conveniently visited. 
 
 d. Stores — buying and selling food: from near-by regions; from foreign 
 
 lands. 
 
 2. In relation to clothing. 
 
 a. To fit changing seasons and weathers — heat, cold, rain, snow, hail, 
 
 wind. (Such study of each as children seem to want — not any 
 finished study of these elements.) 
 
 b. Recognition of different materials — cotton (and perhaps linen), wool, 
 
 silk, rubberized goods, leather, and fur. 
 
 c. What the family does in making clothing (related to home industry). 
 
 d. In cleansing clothing (related to hygiene). 
 
 e. Need of warmer bedding (that is, night clothing) in winter.
 
 Geography. — Grades I, II, and III. — Problems. 129 
 
 3. In relation to shelter and home comforts. 
 
 a. Changes in living with different seasons — from tents to warm houses, 
 
 or from much porch living to indoor living as winter approaches. 
 Relative value of different materials for house-building to suit 
 different climates (or seasons, or even weathers) — log, lumber, 
 brick, stone, stucco, etc. 
 
 b. How the home is planned to meet family needs — living-room, dining- 
 
 room, kitchen, sleeping-rooms, cellar, and so on. (Children 
 should be encouraged to make leaf-houses in the yard or to lay 
 pegs or blocks on desks to outline floor plans of their own homes. 
 This leads to map-work in third grade when pupils make plans 
 or maps of the schoolroom and yard; of stores, excursions, and 
 villages.) 
 
 c. Preparation of the house for winter — storm-doors and -windows, 
 
 banked foundation, etc. 
 
 d. Heating apparatus put up or overhauled — fuel secured and prepared 
 
 against stormy and cold weather. 
 
 e. Thermometer — weather-vane — their uses. 
 
 f. Sunshine — changing amount of in different seasons; weather records 
 
 for each season kept. 
 
 g. Lights — kinds used in different families — care of. 
 
 4. In relation to daily work. 
 
 a. Any change in father's work? In mother's work? In children's work? 
 
 b. Effect on the family work of having the children in school. 
 
 c. The animal helpers and pets about the home: Do they require more 
 
 or less Care in certain seasons? Do they perform more or less 
 service then? 
 
 5. In relation to play, sport, or recreation. 
 
 a. What father and mother play in different seasons. (Indoor games, 
 
 outdoor games, reading, entertainments, picnics, etc.) (What 
 children can do to help mother and father have a good time.) 
 
 b. What children play in different seasons — (1) Related to nature- 
 
 study — collecting flowers, ferns, leaves, berries or seeds, nuts, 
 sands, pebbles, cocoons, etc. (2) Related to physical education 
 — marbles, kite-flying, running games, skating, sledding, swim- 
 ming, etc. (3) Related to home life — toys, dolls, checkers, par- 
 cheesi, guessing games, puzzles, reading, story-telling, holiday 
 celebrations, etc. 
 
 Note: In grade III the differentiation of geography from related topics may or may not be 
 made, as best suits local school needs. Although such segregation is here made, it is done to meet 
 a need, strongly felt in rural schools, of uniting certain grades in geography and history, or of 
 alternating the two subjects. A city school may give the work as here planned, or may postpone 
 all third-grade geography until fourth grade, since what is outlined can easily be done in shorter 
 time by children a year older. Rural schools may follow one or both of the following plans: (1) 
 Alternate recitations by the day or week in geography and history, since the courses are kept fairly 
 parallel throughout, or (2) take the work outlined in both history and geography for the odd- 
 numbered grades in the odd-numbered school years, and the work outlined for the even-numbered 
 grades in the even-numbered school years. (For example, third and fourth grades will together 
 recite fourth-grade geography, in the school year beginning September, 1916. The year follow- 
 ing, both classes will study the third-grade outlines; that is, the fourth grade of 1916 will, in 1917 
 take fifth-grade work, whereas the third grade of 1916, which becomes the fourth grade in 1917, 
 having already done fourth-grade work, will, with the regular third grade of that year, take third- 
 grade work.) Of course such alternation affects the method and the amount of work covered, 
 since, when pupils of a lower grade must do the work of a higher before they have had their own 
 class-work as a foundation, certain loose ends have to be gathered up, and the method of attack 
 must be changed to suit class needs. This disadvantage is outweighed, in rural schools, by a sav- 
 ing of time; besides, since there will often be only five or six pupils in the combined two grades, 
 the teacher can give them considerable individual attention. The plan in this Course of Study 
 makes possible the combination of third grade with fourth, fifth with sixth, and seventh with 
 eighth, in either geography alone, history alone, or both geography and history if necessary. 
 
 Grade III. — The geographical concepts to be gained by third-grade pupils, 
 like those gained by first- and second-grade children, grow out of home and com- 
 munity problems, and must be tested by the principle which defines all geogra- 
 phy — man's response or adjustment to his environment. 
 
 The two problems given under first- and second-grade work may now be 
 expanded to include the larger family-life known as community life — the "four- 
 corners" group of homes or stores, the village, or the city. Besides thinking
 
 130 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 about what his own family does, the child now becomes interested in the lives of 
 his companions' families, particularly if they differ from that of his own. What 
 the uncles, big brothers, distant cousins, and others, do to make a living and to 
 help others are problems whose answers all children love. Although the study 
 of industries may closely correlate with this work, when the geography attitude is 
 desired, processes must take second rank, and the problem of how and why man 
 adjusts himself to his environment in this particular way must be kept to the fore. 
 Third-Grade Problems: According to the community using the course, selec- 
 tions from the following groups of problems will be differently made, or at any 
 rate differently emphasized: 
 
 A. What natural resources does the farmer utilize? How does he utilize them, 
 
 to support his family? How does each member of the family help? What 
 must he buy from others? What has he to sell? How does he receive 
 what he buys and deliver what he sells? What helpers (animal, especially) 
 does the farmer employ? How does each help? What care must the 
 farmer give each? After a typical farm has been visited, a map of the 
 farm should be made, showing location and comparative sizes of the dif- 
 ferent fields; of pastures, wood, house portion, roads, kinds of fences, and 
 whatever will later be of value to children in interpreting maps or in know- 
 ing about the farmer's methods of utilizing natural resources, or of trans- 
 porting his excess products. A sand-table reproduction of the farm helps 
 to clinch points learned and further to interpret the map made. 
 
 B. What does the miller use in his environment to support his family? How 
 
 does he serve others? A visit to the mill may bring out the problem of 
 its location — why near water? Why in town? Why in our state? A 
 map of the route traversed in the excursion, or of at least one floor of the 
 mill, may continue interest in map-making and map-interpreting. 
 
 C. The answer to the question, "What is done with the flour?" leads to a study 
 
 of how the baker earns a livelihood and at the same time helps others. 
 The need of cleanliness in baking and in delivering bread should be em- 
 phasized. A block map of the village may now be begun with the places 
 visited marked in special ways. 
 
 D. The stores: general, or, if the town is large, special, — such as a grocery, meat- 
 
 market, milk-depot, dry-goods store, shoe-shop, harness-shop, and furni- 
 ture store. After each visit, pupils may make maps of the store or fac- 
 tory, or even make miniature stores from pasteboard boxes. These stores 
 may have the "goods" arranged as they were in stores visited or in ways 
 thought to be better. 
 Note: Take, for example, the local market, general store, or grocery:* (1) What are the vari- 
 ous articles which can be purchased here? (Vegetables, fruits, meats, fish, flower-seeds and bulbs, 
 potted plants, etc.) (2) Make a list of all that came from surrounding territory; that came from 
 distant lands. (3) How were the various products brought to the store? (Transportation; men 
 necessary; care of produce in transit, etc.) (4) Care of produce at market to keep it wholesome 
 (sanitary regulations). (5) Transporting the products to the children's homes — care. 
 
 Arithmetic drills may be motivated by such visits; while letters to ask permission to visit 
 the merchant or worker, as well as letters of thanks after the children return, become a strong 
 incentive to good language-work, penmanship, and spelling, so that the excursion may legitimately 
 use more than mere geography time on the program. 
 
 E. How the miner secures food, shelter, clothing, and pleasure, for himself and 
 
 family; how hard he works; what risks he runs; what he does for the world; 
 are problems of vital import to many children in Minn, (and other states). 
 
 F. The builders — carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, plumbers — are 
 
 next to be studied. 
 
 G. The men who supply the builders with their materials, — that is, lumbermen, 
 
 sawyers, quarrymen, brickmakers, and manufacturers, — form a new group 
 
 to be studied, each with problems to be expanded, if they are close to the 
 
 children's lives. 
 H. What doctors, ministers, and teachers, do for the community as they earn 
 
 their life necessities. 
 I. Transportation companies and their agents, who aid all the workers to secure 
 
 or to dispose of their products; post-office employees; freight and express 
 
 agents; bankers, who help men to save money and to pay distant bills; 
 
 all these need to be recognized as valuable members of the community. 
 * From the Ohio Elementary Course of Study.
 
 Geography. — Grade IV. — Outline. 131 
 
 J. The firemen, policemen, street or road commissioners, and such other members 
 of the community as children have need of knowing, should be given due 
 attention. 
 K. Contrast the country, where various forms of farming are the means of living, 
 with the town, where manufacturing and trading are the main forms of 
 human response. A typical town or city should be visited, if possible, so 
 that pupils may know at first hand the various activities. Compare coun- 
 try roads with city streets; lighting and heating in the country with the 
 same problem in the city; the bountiful garden on the farm with the tiny 
 or no garden in the city; the kinds of animal helpers and pets to be had 
 in both places, with the care of the same. 
 If the school is located within excursion distance of two towns or cities, one 
 may be visited and studied as indicated. Then, before visiting the second, the 
 children can apply their new knowledge by interpreting a map of the second city, 
 planning what to see there and how to see these things with'the greatest economy 
 of time, effort, and expense. Appointing guides or committees to engineer cer- 
 tain parts of the trip will motivate careful and intelligent map-study, selection 
 of points of interest, and judgment in carrying out details. 
 
 Grade IV. 
 (Read note preceding grade III, as well as discussion under grade III.) 
 
 Through solving the problem of how we secure the necessities 
 and luxuries found in our homes and not produced in our locality, 
 fourth-grade pupils are imaginatively led into distant lands. There 
 they learn how different peoples respond to their various environ- 
 ments so as to secure food, shelter, and clothing for themselves and 
 still produce the articles we desire; how they dress, play, and live 
 daily; how and what they eat, as well as what they think, read, and 
 say. Children thus get their first view of the world as a whole, 
 learning of its shape; of the division of its surface into the various 
 oceans and continents; and of the modes of communication, trans- 
 portation, and travel, employed between us and these distant peo- 
 ples. They recognize how dependent men are upon one another, 
 and hence how truly men are "brothers." 
 
 The method of work should emphasize human activities, although 
 children incidentally learn that these activities are conditioned 
 largely by the climate, soil, and topography, of the regions studied. 
 Although pupils must not be forced to generalize, nor permanently 
 to organize the details which they are gathering, the teacher may 
 be helped by the outline given below: 
 
 A. The earth's shape and movements. 
 
 1. The story of how men learned the truth about the earth's shape and mo- 
 
 tions. 
 
 2. Effect of the earth's shape and of its movements in relation to the sun, 
 upon — 
 
 a. Diurnal changes. b. Seasonal changes. 
 
 3. The temperature belts. 
 
 a. Hot belt. 
 
 (1) Location. 
 
 (2) Climatic features, temperature, winds, rainfall. 
 
 (3) Plant life of the zone. 
 
 (4) Animal life of the zone, and the interdependence of plant and 
 
 animal life.
 
 132 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 (5) People of the zone, and their dependence on (2), (3), and (4). 
 
 b. Warm belts. (Same five points as those above.) 
 
 c. Cold belts. (Same five points again.) 
 4. Direction. 
 
 a. On the earth's surface. 
 
 b. On maps of the earth's surface. 
 
 B. Land masses (or continents). 
 
 1. Location of each. 
 
 2. Relative size and importance to us. 
 
 3. Main physical features of each. (A chance, if local conditions are suit- 
 
 able, to teach the more usual land and water forms.) 
 
 4. Important human types found on each. 
 
 a. Where located on the continent. 
 
 b. How adjusting themselves to their surroundings. What they wear, 
 
 eat, and have; how they work; what they produce; what they 
 play and think; how they help us; what we do or can do for 
 them; what landscapes they look upon; what flowers and animals 
 they fear or love, or train for helpers; in brief, what homes in 
 other lands are like. 
 
 Note: Since most of the foreign homes studied disclose more primitive ways of doing things 
 than those employed in our local American communities, this study becomes especially valuable school 
 subject-matter: (1) Children understand the simpler modes of life, even though they live in the 
 midst of complexity. They revel in the constructive work suggested by making in miniature on 
 the sand-table, or in the large in a corner of the room, the homes of the different race-types studied; 
 or, if neither of these is possible, in doing just one or two of the things done by these "brothers" 
 and "sisters" who live under different conditions — such as weaving a mat with Gemila, or making 
 clay animals, a feather-duster, or a leather ball with Louise.* (2) To get dramatically the lives 
 of people in other climes helps pupils to interpret better and to appreciate more their own complex 
 lives. (3) If children live in a community where any of the descendants of the foreign types live, 
 they can be led to understand and love these people, learning the lessons first hand from them, 
 for a tactful teacher can get the consent of different citizens of foreign birth to let her take a class 
 to their houses to hear stories of distant lands, and to see articles brought from abroad. 
 
 5. Type industries of other lands are learned in relation to community in- 
 
 dustries and community needs, but should not be studied intensively. 
 
 6. Transportation over land areas. 
 
 a. Across plains, over and through mountains, through passes, along 
 
 rivers, across rivers, over deserts, through jungles, etc. 
 
 b. How accomplished — animal helpers such as camels, llamas, ele- 
 
 phants, horses, and dogs; railroads, bridges, tunnels, canals, etc. 
 
 7. Means of communicating with distant peoples. 
 
 Messengers, carrier-pigeons, mail, newspapers, telegraph, tele- 
 phone, and so on. 
 
 C. Water expanses (or oceans). 
 
 1. Location of each. 2. Relative size and importance to us. 
 
 3. Plant and animal life therein, of value to man. 
 
 4. Shore line — meeting of land and water masses. 
 
 Bays, gulfs, seas, straits, harbors, peninsulas, islands, capes, etc. 
 How formed. How made use of by man. 
 
 5. Transportation over water. 
 
 a. Difficulties and dangers, b. Aided by currents, winds, etc. 
 
 c. Need of ships of different kinds. 
 
 6. Communication across the oceans; how secured. 
 
 Note: In all of this study the teacher will find representative work invaluable as a means 
 of clarifying, organizing, and clinching children's ideas. Construction work in several media, 
 sand-table work, pictures and descriptions of regions, dramatization of improvised plays which 
 give the home-life of the different peoples, lantern-slide entertainments, stereoscopic pictures, 
 drawing, painting, and chart-making, are all valuable forms of representation. The drawing of 
 maps, as well as the modeling of them in clay, paper pulp, flour, or cornstarch, helps pupils to crys- 
 tallize their knowledge of forms and locations, and lays the foundation for later map-interpreta- 
 tion. The use of colored crayons and water-colors in map-work is especially pleasing to pupils, 
 Of course maps of distant regions should not be drawn until pupils have learned what maps really 
 represent, through the drawing of local maps (or plans) of the school-room, yard, a farm or indus- 
 trial plant visited, or some village or region actually traversed. Because children enjoy globe 
 and map drills on mere locations, care must be taken not to do too much of this. Plenty of oppor- 
 tunity for "place-geography" arises in grade after grade, as pupils study (1) world industries and 
 the usual accompanying statistical maps, (2) history, (3) current events, (4) literature, and (5) 
 general reading. If all these opportunities are utilized, pupils will not, at the end of the course, 
 lack in locative knowledge. 
 
 * "Seven Little Sisters," and "Each and All." — Andrews.
 
 Geography. — Grade IV. — What to Expect. 133 
 
 As said before, this outline is merely a form of organization, and should not 
 govern the order of treatment of topics. Perhaps, on a rainy fall day, the teacher 
 drops other plans, and discusses the causes of rain and the fate of the drops — how 
 some moisten the soil and aid plant-growth; how others sink into the earth to 
 appear later as springs or wells: how some run off rapidly into creeks and rivers, 
 eroding the soil, perhaps carrying a bit of local soil to the Gulf of Mexico; and how 
 others are more or less quickly evaporated to moisten the air we breathe or to 
 form mist, fog, or clouds. Such a series of lessons will last a number of days 
 and will lead to weather observations and recordings of temperature, sunshine, 
 clouds, and rain; to the noting of signs of seasonal changes as seen in changing 
 temperature, behavior of plants and animals (especially trees and birds); and to 
 observations of the sun's positions in the heavens. 
 
 What to expect by the end of the fourth grade. — 1. That pupils may- 
 have the knowledge indicated by the outline given above, although 
 this knowledge will not be so organized in their minds. 
 
 2. That they can name and locate on the map the continents 
 and oceans, and take a map trip to any of the regions studied, nam- 
 ing the most important countries passed en route, stopping, perhaps, 
 to tell of their surface and climate, products and people. 
 
 3. That they can say how far the home community is able to 
 meet its own needs and what must be secured elsewhere, with a 
 general knowledge of why the home region can or cannot meet all 
 the community's needs, and why other localities are able to supply 
 the lack. 
 
 4. A knowledge of the differences in living in rural and urban 
 communities, with the larger advantages and disadvantages of each. 
 
 Grade V. 
 The subject-matter of the year is North America, to be first 
 studied as a whole, and then by sections, with considerable emphasis 
 on Minnesota* when the central section of the United States is under 
 study and whenever the problems of other portions relate closely 
 to Minnesota.* This course so nearly parallels those outlined under 
 industry and citizenship that constant cross relations are possible, 
 and since arithmetic, literature, and composition work, may be 
 motivated by the geography, history, and industry courses, the 
 teacher should make the entire work of the grade one unit, letting 
 each course help the others. 
 
 Note: This first work is not given with the primary intention of developing geographic 
 principles, although many facts here learned will, later, be so used. See sixth-grade work for an 
 outline of continent study connected with the development of principles. This year's work is 
 meant to be just generally informational. 
 
 The "problem" or "project" method of teaching geography and 
 history is just now replacing the earlier forms of lesson-plans. The 
 advantages are numerous enough to make the plan worthy every 
 teacher's trial, at least. (1) The selection of a problem by pupils, 
 or to suit pupils' needs or interests, at once insures enthusiastic 
 effort. (2) Such effort tends towards practical efficiency, since it 
 
 *For "Minnesota" substitute the name of any desired state.
 
 134 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 is expended along lines which adult life demands: search for sources, 
 judgment in the selection of material found, checking the reliability 
 of information, and learning where and how to secure information 
 in solving a problem. (3) The working out of a project unifies many 
 otherwise unrelated yet valuable details and at the same time elim- 
 inates a host of inconsequential facts that might seem just as im- 
 portant as those chosen, were they all listed and abstractly evalu- 
 ated. (4) This plan enables teacher and pupils to work side by 
 side instead of in different planes; the result is greater sympathy 
 with one another, and a broader-minded attitude.* 
 
 A number of teachers have already asked how they can use the 
 State Course and the problem method of work with the text-books 
 they must teach. This is less difficult than it appears. As Dr. 
 McMurry says,f the geography curriculum should be independent 
 of any particular text, and should be broader and better organized 
 than is the work in any one text-book.J The main thing for the 
 teacher to do is to set (or get the pupils to set) a good problem, 
 work enthusiastically with the children over its solution, and then 
 check in the text the amount of work there covered. By frequent 
 checking the teacher notes what may be left to do and seeks prob- 
 lems whose solutions will cover the remaining facts to be learned. 
 New problems will re-use much material once found and thus ob- 
 viate in large measure the once-thought-necessary mechanical drills. 
 
 A number of more or less satisfactory problems are listed, with 
 brief suggestions as to their scope; but, since teachers, pupils, text- 
 books, and communities, are all factors in the final selection of 
 specific problems, there has been no attempt to exhaust the field 
 of work to be covered in grade five. 
 
 I. North America as a Whole. 
 
 A. What do we need to know so that we may learn much about a country 
 
 from just map study? (Answer reviews what is known of map-mak- 
 ing and map-interpreting; adds the need of learning about latitude 
 and longitude, the various methods of indicating topography on a 
 flat map; the use of surface and altitude scales; and opens the prob- 
 lems of the year.) 
 
 B. How have men learned to locate places on the earth's surface accurately? 
 
 (Answered by the study of latitude and longitude. See pages 271- 
 276.) 
 
 C. What relation does the drainage of North America bear to the drainage 
 
 of Minnesota (or reverse the question)? (Answer found in a lesson- 
 plan, page 27N.) 
 
 D. Be "land agents" in Canada. What inducements can you offer settlers 
 
 to make their homes in your region? (An excellent review of Can- 
 ada's physiographical conditions, resources, and people.) 
 
 E. Why does Canada not desire union with the United States? 
 
 F. Does the United States care to annex Mexico? Why? 
 
 * A helpful article by George D. von Hofe.Jr., may be found in the May, 1916, Teachers Col- 
 lege Record, f ' n tin- September, 1015, Teachers College Record. 
 
 X In "The World as a Whole," and "North America," Prof. Ridgley has shown how closely 
 several texts agree in both the amount and selection of subject-matter.
 
 Geography. — Grade V. — Problems. 135 
 
 II. The United States. 
 
 A. What does it commonly mean to be "an American"? Why has "An 
 
 American" come to mean "A citizen of the United States"? (An- 
 swer leads to a comparison of the United States with other divisions 
 of North America, in the matter of extent of territory, population, 
 latitude and longitude, natural resources, industries, commerce, 
 ideals, rank among world powers, amount of influence, opportunity, 
 and so on. The solution should lead to proper civic pride, with its 
 accompanying obligation to make strangers welcome and happy here.) 
 
 B. How has the purchase of Alaska benefited the United States? 
 
 C. Why is the East more thickly populated than the West? (Both a geo- 
 
 graphical and a historical question.) 
 
 D. Why is the steel industry centered around Pittsburgh? Account for the 
 
 recent westward movement of the industry. (Gary and Duluth, for 
 example.) 
 
 E. How is the outlying territory of the United States made to feel itself a 
 
 part of the home country? 
 
 F. Prove that it benefits the United States government to expend money: 
 
 (1) On the reclamation of arid lands in the western states (see pages 
 276-278 for one answer). (2) On forest conservation. (3) On a 
 fish and game commission. (4) On keeping the Mississippi river 
 dredged. 
 
 G. What is the government's duty to the Indians? (Answer leads to a 
 
 study of how the natives of North America adjusted themselves to 
 their environment; how, when robbed of their accustomed means of 
 support, sometimes cheated and injured, they lost power and heart, 
 and, like little children, had to be cared for and taught new ways of 
 making adjustments to their changed environment. The study gives 
 a background for the appreciation of all primitive life, and an impetus 
 towards broad self-training that permits ready adaptability to new 
 situations. The study may be expanded to include the specific 
 study of Minnesota Indians, and their relation to early pioneer life 
 in Minnesota, the Sioux massacre, and so on, but should not be forced 
 beyond the abilities of the pupils. The problem leads to a study of 
 United States Indian reservations, where located, what done on them, 
 Indian schools, cost to the government, and so on. Is the govern- 
 ment meeting its obligations satisfactorily or not?) 
 
 H. How do we pay for the necessities and luxuries which we import? (The 
 answer involves a study of exports in relation to imports.) 
 
 I. Why do people "go West"? 
 
 J. (1) What would you see people doing if you should go by rail or auto 
 from our home town to Buffalo? (2) To New Orleans? (3) To San 
 Francisco? Suppose you go by train or boat and keep a note-book 
 during the entire trip; suppose you plan the return trip so that you 
 pass in daylight the places passed in the night on your outward jour- 
 ney: I should like to see or hear pages from your note-book, a week 
 from today. (4) Keep a diary of what interests you day by day in 
 a week's visit on a cattle ranch. Or (5) Keep notes on a week spent 
 in the Twin Cities and vicinity. 
 
 K. (1) Let us show on our sand-table how people raise such fine fruit in 
 eastern Washington. (An irrigated farm constructed.) (2) Or, let 
 us build a coal city, showing the town above ground and the miners 
 below. (Demands much reference reading to make the completed 
 table consistent.)* 
 
 L. Find the cause of the growth of (Supply the name of some 
 
 section of the United States, of some state, of some great industry 
 such as iron-ore mining in Minnesota, of some city, such as New 
 York, Chicago, or Minneapolis, or even of some section of the L,cal 
 state under study.) 
 
 III. Minnesota. (Change to fit any state under study). 
 
 A. (1) Why is Minnesota often called "The Bread-Basket of the World"? 
 Prove her right to the title. (2) Why is Minnesota occasionally 
 called "The Butter Tub," too? Prove that she may properly claim 
 
 * Such a table was prepared with great success by Miss Edna Merriam, of Minneapolis.
 
 136 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 this name. (Answer may include surface and soil formation, glacial 
 action, etc., as well as industries.) 
 
 B. Why do people from foreign lands (especially European countries) seek 
 
 Minnesota? (Answer involves: (1) A study of immigration, with the 
 peoples' sacrifices made in leaving the father-land; the dangers met 
 in coming to America; the difficulties of entrance at Ellis Island; the 
 hardships met in Minnesota. (2) A study of what Minnesota has 
 to offer persons possessed of certain characteristics and of certain am- 
 bitions: mining for the Fins, Russians, Austrians, and Bohemians; 
 railroad labor for the Italians; various forms of agriculture and man- 
 ufacturing for the Scandinavians and Germans; and so on.* (3) A 
 study of what schools can do and what fifth-grade pupils can do in 
 their own community to help make these people feel at home, love 
 Minnesota, and become loyal American citizens. f (4) A recognition 
 of the worth of certain foreign-born men and women of fine charac- 
 ter, ability, and loyalty, sure to be found in every locality.) 
 
 C. What effect have the Great Lakes upon Minnesota's industrial develop- 
 
 ment? (Answer will include the problem of water versus rail trans- 
 portation.) 
 E. How do great steamers get past the falls of Sault Saint Marie? (Canal 
 lock-system studied.) 
 
 What to expect by the end of the fifth grade. — (1) That pupils will 
 have learned the several ways of acquiring geographical knowledge, 
 namely: (a) By the observation of geographical phenomena; "es- 
 pecially that pupils shall by this time have learned to tell true direc- 
 tions by the sun, moon, and stars; to get 'their bearings' and feel 
 them true, under a fairly open sky, at any hour of day or night. "J 
 (b) By map study, (c) By ability to gather knowledge from the 
 teacher or a speaker who gives direct oral instruction, (d) By the 
 intelligent use of text-books and a few reference-books, (e) By 
 making sensible inferences from facts already known. § 
 
 (2) That pupils will know the essential facts about North Amer- 
 ca, the United States, and their own state, which will later help 
 them in reasoning causally and in living more richly. 
 
 (3) That throughout the year, as children solve problems, or 
 prove positions to others, rapid map sketching on blackboard, or 
 occasionally more careful map drawing on paper, should be encour- 
 aged. Pupils should readily sketch North America, the United 
 States, and characteristic sections, locating a few rivers, mountain 
 systems, large lakes, and important cities on these maps. 
 
 Grade VI. 
 
 The sixth year is to be spent on the study of South America and 
 Europe, the two grand divisions most closely related to us. 
 
 During this year, the observations made in preceding grades 
 without any attempt at scientific explanations are now recalled and 
 
 ♦Excellent reference material can be secured from the Minnesota State Bor.rd of Immigra- 
 tion, St. Paul. Sec especially "Minnesota by Counties." Also secure from the Minnesota De- 
 partment of Education, Bulletin No. 60, called "Minnesota Day." 
 
 t The lives cii' several famous Minnesotans, Antin's "The Promised Land," and Wilson's 
 Speech to Immigrants at Philadelphia, (see p. 62,) arc good sources for material. 
 
 \ R. J. Scarborough, Winona Normal School. 
 
 § Taken, in substance, from the Wisconsin Manual of 1906.
 
 Geography. — Grade VI. — South America. 137 
 
 used by the children in their formulation of the larger geographic 
 principles which they discover (and are helped to organize) as they 
 seek the causes for conditions found in the two continents studied. 
 
 South America is called by some geographers "the perfect con- 
 tinent" because, in formation of its contour, in its surface feat- 
 ures, as well as in its plant, animal, and human responses to physi- 
 ography, the great geographic principles are exemplified with few 
 or no exceptions. It should be compared with North America at 
 every step indicated in the following outline; pupils thus get a 
 physiographic knowledge of North America to supplement the 
 general information gained in Grade V. 
 
 1. General shape — proportion of the sides of the triangle. 2. 
 Contour — number and location of coast indentations. 3. Latitude 
 and longitude. 4. Ocean currents. 5. Surface — location and ex- 
 tent of plains, plateaus, and mountain systems, together with the 
 direction and place of greatest altitude of the last. 6. Drainage — 
 location and volume of the great drainage systems. 7. Tempera- 
 ture belts. 8. Winds. 9. Rainfall. 10. Plant life. 11. Animal 
 life. 12. Other natural resources. 13. Human life. a. Previous 
 to about 1500. b. Changes because of the discovery, exploration, 
 and use of the continent by Europeans, c. Modern changes since 
 Europeans and Americans have made real homes there — especially 
 in the temperate-belt countries.* 
 
 It is highly probable that not all facts desired can be secured 
 through the solution of "problems," but the small residue left after 
 the teacher has checked what have been so conquered can be quickly 
 "rounded up." The following quotation from an article by L. W. 
 Mayberryf gives some indication of the relative efficiency of thought 
 methods and mechanical methods: 
 
 "In October, 1914, the pupils of the 6-A class were studying South America. 
 The superintendent and one of the sixth-grade teachers tried a rather new plan 
 in teaching geography to one of these sixth grades. 
 
 "It was agreed that little attention should be given to mere fact-questions as 
 such. The emphasis each day was to be placed on thought-provoking questions. 
 No more than three such questions should be assigned for study on any day. 
 The pupils were given such questions twenty-four hours before they attempted 
 to discuss them. They were expected to look up any facts bearing on the ques- 
 tions. During the recitation the pupils were encouraged to criticize a recitation 
 by asking the pupil who recited some question that would show the weakness of 
 the position that he took. No pupil was permitted to supply the information 
 necessary for a complete recitation. Occasionally a question was laid aside for 
 further study. 
 
 "This kind of work continued for about twelve weeks. After the continent of 
 South America was completed by all of the sixth grades, the superintendent for- 
 mulated a test consisting of three fact-questions and three thought questions, as 
 follows: 
 
 * See The National Geographic Magazine, January, 1916, "How the World Is Fed," for a sug- 
 gestion here. 
 
 t In The Elementary School Journal, March, 1916.
 
 138 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 1. Name five countries in South America. 
 
 2. What oceans touch South America? 
 
 3. In what zones does South America lie? 
 
 4. What country of South America has been most progressive? What are the reasons for its 
 
 progress? 
 
 5. What reasons can you give as to why the Guianas do not rank among the most important 
 
 countries of South America? 
 
 6. Why is there such a variety of climate and products in the tropical Andean countries? 
 
 "This test was given to the class in which the experimental work was done, 
 and to two other sixth grades. The papers written were all graded by a teacher 
 who knew nothing about the experiment. The standing of each room is shown 
 in Figs. 8 and 9 [not reproduced here]. 
 
 "Room III is the room in which the experimental work was done. It will 
 be noticed that none of the pupils in this room received grades below 70, while 
 75 per cent of them received grades above 90. 
 
 "We were interested to learn whether the pupils in Room III, where the 
 thought-provoking questions were emphasized, had neglected the facts on which 
 all reasoning must be based. As each question received a separate grade on each 
 pupil's paper, it was easy to determine their success along this line. Correct 
 answers to the first three questions required that certain facts be held in mind. 
 Thepupils in Room III averaged 96 per cent on these fact-questions and 85 per 
 cent on the last three or thought-questions. The pupils in Room I averaged 83 
 on the fact-questions and 60 on the thought-questions. The pupils in Room II 
 averaged 83 on the fact-questions and 70 on the thought-questions. 
 
 "No one would contend that such an experiment proves anything conclusively. 
 Doubtless all will agree that these results are food for thought. Pupils may by 
 one process or another accumulate a large number of facts; but if they have not 
 learned how to organize or use such facts, they have gained little of value. On 
 the other hand, if pupils learn to reason from day to day, they are compelled to 
 use facts in order to draw logical conclusions. Pupils will become interested in 
 geography when they see things in their proper relation, when the subject-matter 
 is presented in the form of problems for solution." 
 
 A few suggestive problems to use with South America: 
 
 A. How can you account for: 
 
 (1) Two rainy seasons on the broad plains north of the Amazon? (2) Heavy 
 rains over all of Brazil? (3) No rains west of the Andes in the same lati- 
 tudes? (4) Lack of forests in the valley of the Orinoco? (5) The desert 
 of Atacama? (6) The presence of nitrates in Chile? 
 
 B. (1) Build South America on the sand-table. If possible, use a hose with a 
 
 very fine spray nozzle and very low water pressure to illustrate the effects 
 of rainfall on drainage systems. If a hose can't be used, afruit-spray may 
 be borrowed, or a watering-can may be used. Later, lay blue strings for 
 rivers and place toothpicks to indicate cities and resources. 
 
 (2) Product maps made in dozens of ways which teachers already know 
 prove a good problem for any intermediate grade. 
 
 A large rectangle of cork-matting or linoleum, on which a printed map 
 is affixed, or on which an outline map has been drawn, proves especially 
 valuable, since pins and tacks can be used without injury, thus permitting 
 pupils to use such a map in class drill-exercises. 
 
 (3) Modeling of relief maps in clay, starch, or paper pulp, or chalk modeling 
 on the blackboard, may be used as a testing problem. 
 
 (4) Make a floor or yard map large enough to be walked over. 
 
 C. What does South America furnish us: (1) To eat? (2) To wear? (3) For use 
 
 in or about our homes? 
 
 D. What do we furnish South Americans in exchange? 
 
 E. Take a trip with a bag of coffee (or any selected product) from its source to 
 
 our home town. (1) What change in clothes would be needed for the 
 journey? (2) What animals would be seen? (3) What scenery viewed? 
 (4) What part of the journey would be most interesting? Why? Most 
 tiresome? Why? Most dangerous? And so on. 
 
 Dr. Charles McMurry once said, "Well-selected facts are indis- 
 pensable to growth, but mere multiplication of facts creates stupid- 
 ity." The "problem" is one of the best means of selecting worth-
 
 Geography. — Grade VI. — Europe. 139 
 
 while facts, and of eliminating many poor facts. The problems 
 chosen would, in the main, lead to a search for fundamental causes 
 of contour, physiography, and general life adjustments to condi- 
 tions, with especial emphasis on man's response to his environment. 
 However, in this grade as well as later the solution of a superior 
 problem should be interrupted if some current, important, geo- 
 graphic fact needs noting, such as a disastrous volcanic eruption 
 like that at Messina; final results in boundaries, or in economic 
 conditions to occur at the end of the present "Great War"; famine; 
 floods; a new canal (such as is suggested as possible from Duluth 
 to the Mississippi); the actual attainment of the North or of the 
 South Pole; a great snow storm which seriously ties up traffic; 
 or the discovery and practical use of some new food-stuff. Current 
 events are as vital in geography as in history. 
 
 Europe. — The influence of European conditions upon every 
 phase of North American life makes the study of Europe both a 
 necessity and a delight, not only to children, but to adults as well. 
 
 How the people of each country live, support themselves on such 
 small areas, supply the demands of other countries, conserve their 
 resources; how they dress, talk, and play; what sorts of homes they 
 have; the animal helpers they employ; their attitude towards edu- 
 cation, art, music, and science; all are problems of great interest. 
 Discovering how all these adjustments grew out of "natural condi- 
 tions" keeps geographic principles to the fore. Why any Europe- 
 ans leave (or left) their native lands to make for themselves new 
 homes in America; which nationalities came in greatest numbers 
 during any chosen decade, and why; noting to which parts of North 
 America the different nationalities came, and why: these are prob- 
 lems to be studied both in history and geography. 
 
 The influence of Europe on the plant and animal life of the 
 United States is a very big problem to face — the importation of 
 bees; birds; fruits; grain seeds, and with these some weeds; breeds 
 of sheep, cows, and draught horses; of the silk-worm; and so on. 
 The influence of European history on the amount of wheat, meat, 
 cotton, and other products, which we export; the manufacture of 
 firearms, as well as changes in the manufacture and export of farm 
 and factory machinery for use in Europe: these are topics from 
 which specific and vital "problems" can be made. To find what 
 Americans can learn of thrift or economy, of recreation, of taste or 
 style in dress, of science and art, from each of several European 
 countries, helps us to grow broad-minded. The effect of Europe's 
 call for our products upon the cost of our living shows us again and 
 clearly the interdependence of nations.
 
 140 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Some interesting personal problems can be started by getting 
 the pupils of one grade to trace their ancestry to its European ori- 
 gin; to summarize the results, noting the agencies which contribute 
 to true Americanism, getting pupils to show what fine traits of 
 character each nationality possesses and hence sent, in some meas- 
 ure, in their representatives, to America; the doctrine of noblesse 
 oblige should be encouraged to the full, for each nation's descendants 
 have something of which to be proud although nothing of which to 
 "brag." If the school is in a locality of many foreigners, old-coun- 
 try garments, dishes, tools, pictures, legends, may all be collected 
 and the life of those lands made very real. This also gives every 
 child a chance to contribute something to the group. The same 
 sort of effort may be expended in tracing the children's industrial 
 ancestry, finding perhaps the cause of parents' present occupations 
 in "America, the land of promise." 
 
 The power of true study, begun in lower grades, receives, besides 
 much practice, definite onward impetus in the sixth grade, for, 
 through their growing ability to pick out essentials and to organize 
 facts around a core, sixth-grade pupils acquire a feeling of power 
 that makes for renewed effort. 
 
 The teacher should take great pains to see that home assign- 
 ments are not deadening to the aroused love of searching for and 
 selecting of the most valuable facts. Seldom, if ever, should the 
 assignment be mere written reproductions of information given at 
 school. Parents and neighbors may wisely be enlisted in the prob- 
 lem-solving; school and community can be united. Supplement- 
 ing of thought by reference reading, by the asking of questions, by 
 atlas study, and other means, must be constantly encouraged. 
 
 Do a large amount of map sketching, of grand divisions; of sec- 
 tions (such as Italy and Scandinavia); of certain parts of cities 
 (London, Paris, or Rome, for example); or of routes to be taken in 
 imaginary travels through some of these lands. A relatively small 
 amount of accurate map-drawing should be demanded. (Bought or 
 hectographed outline maps should be used where such maps are 
 needed.) 
 
 What to expect by the end of the sixth grade. — (1) The teacher should 
 make sure that pupils have a few large geographic principles well 
 in mind, having obtained them by reasoning from effects to causes, 
 namely: (a) The general effect of the earth's shape, movements, 
 inclination of axis, relation to the sun and surrounding atmosphere, 
 upon air and ocean currents, as well as upon seasons, and upon loca- 
 tion of temperature belts, (b) The effect of winds and altitude on 
 rainfall, (c) The effect of rainfall on surface of the land, on soil
 
 Geography. — Grade VII. 141 
 
 erosion and deposition, and on the great water-highways, (d) The 
 consequence of all these influences at work, as seen in plant and 
 animal life, including such forms of disease as have influenced man's 
 selection or rejection of residence locations on the earth, (e) How 
 all this environment has caused man to develop intellectually and 
 to wrest a living from some regions while from others he could 
 secure the necessities of life without effort, (f) How his needs 
 have caused the development of industries, the interchange of 
 products, and hence of ideas and customs. 
 
 (2) On the fact side, pupils should know South America and 
 Europe at least as well as the Report of the Committee on Elimi- 
 nation, in bulletin number 51, suggests. Other facts are bound to 
 be known if the problem method is employed. 
 
 Grade VII. 
 
 The principles worked out in sixth grade need now to be tested by 
 application to new and less known areas; namely, Asia, Africa, and 
 Australia. The reasoning should be mainly from cause to effect, 
 with a growing feeling that personal inference must be checked 
 by consultation of the best authorities to be found — not one text 
 alone, but many; not one encyclopaedia, but as many reference- 
 books as are available in school, in town, and in individual libraries. 
 
 Although it is assumed that pupils come to this grade with cer- 
 tain principles in mind, it is not expected that they will be profi- 
 cient in the application of them. There must, therefore, with each 
 new area studied, be opportunity to fix, for example, the facts of 
 heat, wind, and rainfall, with their causes and variations — not as 
 an isolated study, but with a special application to the portion of 
 the earth then under consideration. 
 
 Team work has not yet become common, but every child feels 
 the influence of his group and is desirous of contributing something 
 worth while to class problems. The work of the year must conse- 
 quently result in wide ranging among magazines and other periodi- 
 cals, books of travel, of reference, and of information; the teacher 
 has to be "up to date," and should take pains to see that pupils have 
 access to the best-known sources of information and suggestion. 
 
 Of course every seventh-grade pupil has a certain amount of 
 general information about the new regions to be studied, but such 
 knowledge is not usually accurate or detailed enough to spoil the 
 general plan of (1) noting causes, (2) inferring consequences, (3) 
 consulting authorities for verification, and (4) recording the facts 
 and verified inferences made, with the general reasons for such 
 conclusions.
 
 142 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 After the teacher has proposed a problem or two and knows 
 that the pupils have their geographic principles fairly well in mind, 
 pupils may be given copies of physical maps of the new land area 
 to be studied, — Africa, for example, — with these commands as a 
 challenge: Find out all you can about Africa from this map. Make 
 written note of the things you find, if they are more than you think 
 you can remember until recitation time. If the list is long, group 
 the things you discover under a few large heads. Should the class 
 need to have the problem subdivided the teacher may say: Find what 
 you can about the climate of Africa from a study of the map alone. 
 Then, what can you find out about the products? And so on. 
 
 The recitation period must be spent in noting what the pupils 
 have been able to gather, unaided, from the map. If they have 
 discovered most of the facts necessary for later use, the teacher may 
 ask them to suggest things about which they would like to find out 
 more; to tell where they may be able to learn those things; and then 
 to set a problem or two for study by the children. If they have 
 not organized the facts learned from the map, the teacher may 
 guide in their doing this. If they need to review (or first learn) 
 some points about map interpretation, — such as latitude, longi- 
 tude, scale of distances, scale of shadings or colors for altitude, 
 direction of winds, and so on, — the teacher must lead pupils to see 
 that this lack of ability is a class problem to be solved before other 
 things can be done. Questions of this nature will need to be asked: 
 If you know the latitude of the north and south boundaries of a 
 country, what can you infer? What influences may change your 
 inference? (Altitude, winds, ocean currents, for example.) So 
 far as you can tell from the map, are these influences at work? 
 Where are the regions of greatest and least rainfall? How are you 
 able to infer this? Where will you expect the densest population? 
 Why? What will the people probably do there for a living? How 
 can you predict that? After the teacher has suggested whatever 
 problems seem needed, the children may be assigned one group- 
 conclusion of large scope, or several individual inferences of nar- 
 rower range, to be verified for the morrow. 
 
 As the work progresses, constant comparisons will need to be 
 made between new and old facts, so that all necessary reviews of 
 principles as well as of locations may be kept up. Again relatively 
 little time should be spent on the drawing of detailed, accurate 
 maps, but a large amount of rapid sketching should be encouraged. 
 Hectographed or printed outline maps should be used for filling in 
 of products, cities, surface features, transportation routes, or any 
 details of which visualization is desired.
 
 Geography. — Grade VII. — What to Expect. 143 
 
 In the work on Asia, the three countries of Japan, China, and 
 India, should be intensively studied; first, because they are typical 
 nationalities; second, because they emphasize, on account of their 
 location in different heat belts, the influence of physical conditions 
 upon the national life of a people. 
 
 The "problems" may be similar to those suggested for earlier 
 grades except that the majority of them should demand thinking 
 from cause to effect. Only a few are appended: 
 
 A. What rank among great nations would you expect [Japan] to have in manu- 
 
 facturing? In Agriculture? In Commerce? In Education? 
 
 B. How could [Russia] make better use of her natural resources for national de- 
 
 velopment? 
 
 C. What nation's ships will predominate in [India's] harbors? Why? 
 
 D. What industrial changes may we expect in [China] in the next decade? Why? 
 
 E. What do you predict for the future of Australia? Why? 
 
 F. What possibility is there of the South African natives becoming a leading 
 
 people? 
 
 G. Why is the Atlantic the great ocean thoroughfare? 
 
 H. Why has China been called backward when she possesses such ancient cul- 
 ture? 
 
 I. What makes a difference in races? What has each to give the world of valu- 
 able human characteristics? Why cannot one "look down upon" another? 
 
 J. Why has Africa been called "the dark continent"? 
 
 K. Prove that grazing is the best industry that could be proposed for . 
 
 L. How can a nation subsist so largely on rice as do ? 
 
 M. What characteristics of temperament develop from oriental rug-weaving? 
 Living near the Taj Mahal? Living on the desert of Sahara? Hunting 
 ivory in central Africa? Fishing for pearls off the coast of India? Etc. 
 
 N. Study the deserts found between 23 degrees and 30 degrees north latitude 
 and those found between the same degrees of south latitude as to number, 
 location, area, causes. 
 
 O. The following problem demands thinking both from cause to effect and from 
 effect to cause. Take a trip around the world on the fortieth parallel of 
 north latitude, noting, in relation to it: (1) The dense-population areas 
 of the world; (2) the race types predominating in these populated areas; 
 (3) the large cities; (4) the main sorts of industries seen; (5) the trade 
 routes crossed; (6) the superior plant crops, or (7) mineral deposits; (8) 
 variations in climate with causes for the same; (9) changes in time with 
 changes in longitude, including "the international date line"; (10) vehicles 
 of transportation employed throughout the journey; (11) storms met on 
 the journey if made in September, in January, or in June; (12) foods eaten, 
 and their preparation, with their relative food-values, throughout the trip. 
 (Individual pupils or groups of three or four may "work up" solutions to 
 
 some of these subdivisions of the problem, if the class as a whole cannot do all 
 
 of them.) 
 
 What to expect by the end of the seventh grade. — (1) That pupils will 
 have acquired the simple facts of physical geography (see pp. 127, 
 131, 137, 140) necessary to enable them to reason from cause to 
 consequence along geographic lines, and from consequence back to 
 cause. (2) That pupils will have a fair knowledge of the world as 
 a whole, with such appreciation of other nations' service to the 
 world as to kill forever a provincialism which makes the "Chinese 
 (or any other people) so funny." (We are just as "funny.") (3) 
 Such locative geography as the "problems" have motivated.
 
 144 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Grade VIII. 
 
 Note: This Course of Study plans for at least two-fifths or one-half of a year's work in com- 
 mercial geography for the eighth grade. Instead of employing consecutive daily recitation periods 
 for a few months it is suggested that throughout the year two days of each week be given to geog- 
 raphy, two to history, and one to arithmetic, each helping the other, since all will be unified by 
 the common idea of the interrelationship of men through commerce. The work outlined may 
 easily be expanded into a full year's work in schools where the time can be accorded it. 
 
 In common with the writers of many excellent text- and method- 
 books on geography, teachers are beginning to feel the need of 
 again extending geography into the eighth grade, from which it 
 was, in many schools, displaced a few years ago when the subject- 
 matter was mainly locative geography, and the methods mainly 
 memoriter. The reasoning demanded by present-day subject- 
 matter and methods needs maturer minds, and hence geography 
 again finds a place in eighth grade and high school. 
 
 The work of the grade will naturally emphasize the United 
 States and home state, since comparisons, constantly made with 
 their conditions, lay a desirable basis for loyalty and patriotism 
 and assist children to plan their own future as they recognise phases 
 of the world's work yet to be done — done by those who love the 
 land and fully recognize its industrial, economic, and social outlook. 
 
 If the work outlined for the preceding grades has been well done, 
 pupils have a good foundation for the proposed new view of the field. 
 
 Of necessity, the study of the elementary principles of trade 
 and commerce demands, and hence happily reviews, the pupils' 
 general knowledge of: (1) All important points commonly placed 
 in locative or political geography; (2) all principles learned about 
 topography, temperature, winds, rainfall, tides, ocean currents, 
 and planetary relations — such facts as were named under physiog- 
 raphy; (3) the world's demands, and the distribution of areas pro- 
 ducing the articles to satisfy these demands — that is, industrial 
 geography. 
 
 The method of approach should be so different from methods 
 before used as to make the subject (1) not only seem, but really be, 
 new; (2) develop judgment of worths as use is made of facts need- 
 ing to be clinched; (3) demand independence in study and thought; 
 (4) produce a broader culture; and (5) open the pupils' eyes to 
 opportunities for worth-while work in their coming adulthood. Sev- 
 eral excellent books are available for use as texts, but the general 
 plan of setting problems whose solution will demand the use of 
 many books, as well as magazine-articles, original investigation, 
 and thinking, is by all means the best. For reasons given above, 
 the problems should oftenest lead to the consideration of home con- 
 ditions: Why the United States leads in some industries and is be- 
 hind in others; whether, for example, there is any section of the
 
 Geography. — Grade VIII. 145 
 
 United States capable of raising tea — a product confined to such a 
 small area as to cause anxiety if that area were destroyed by earth- 
 quake or other natural forces. 
 
 Since the unifying thought of the eighth grade is vocational 
 guidance, the geography studied should contribute its quota to the 
 general scheme. This it can do if the teacher helps pupils to see: 
 
 (1) What men have done to utilize their environment; against 
 what odds they have often had to work; how this strife has pro- 
 duced intelligence; how a too-easy life engenders indolence and 
 stagnation and hence how one should not seek the easy job with 
 short hours and big pay, nor the "white-collar jobs" in preference 
 to the "overall jobs"; how spurs must be earned if the knight 
 would take real pride in them. In connection with history,' indus- 
 try, vocational guidance, ethics, and composition, children should 
 study the lives of men and women who have succeeded in various 
 lines — in invention, in medical service, in private life, for example 
 — so that there may be exploded all notion that big returns come by 
 luck rather than by hard work. 
 
 (2) How, with this control of nature, has come an ever-increasing 
 dependence of men on one another, and hence how the highest form 
 of cooperation — division of labor — has arisen, until the best locations 
 have been found for certain industries. Pupils must be helped to 
 appreciate the accomplishments of others and hence the necessity of 
 their being "both able and willing" to further the world's work. 
 
 (3) How this specialization of labor has necessitated exchange of 
 products; an increasing need of knowing the laws of supply and 
 demand, and of producing goods that build up the producer's repu- 
 tation. 
 
 (4) What the industrial outlook is for the coming generation. 
 
 (5) How the exchange has widened from barter between indi- 
 viduals, to commerce in its most complex modern form with its 
 need of men of broad vision, fine philanthropy, and great executive 
 ability, to govern the great transportation systems, to utilize the 
 changes in the world markets by being prepared to supply the new 
 demands almost as soon as they appear, or to manage enormous 
 banking and insurance undertakings. 
 
 Minnesotaf will naturally be prominent in the last few months of 
 the eighth year in connection with Minnesota history. Efforts to 
 predict the future of Minnesota and of her separate sections or 
 cities, with the consequent adjustments to be demanded of the 
 next generation, must make for true patriotism.* 
 
 * United States Agricultural graphs; daily, weekly, and monthly, current periodicals which 
 give such articles as those about "Men Who Earn $100,000 Salaries," or "How the World Is Fed," 
 or "The Brotherhood of Bread," should be read. -[Substitute any desired state.
 
 146 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 What to expect of pupils by the end of the eighth grade. — "Given 
 an unlettered map of the United States, on which the states are 
 outlined, our grammar-school graduate ought to be able to write 
 the names of the states in their proper places. He ought to be 
 able to do as much for the important divisions of South America, 
 Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
 
 "He should know the approximate location of the eight or ten 
 best-known rivers of the Mississippi system; three or four of the 
 Pacific rivers, and two or three of Canada; the three great river 
 systems of South America, four or five of Africa, a half-dozen of 
 Asia, two or three of the British Isles, of France, of Germany, and 
 of Russia; also the Po and Danube. He should, of course, know 
 the rivers of the region in which he lives. 
 
 "He should know the location of such arms of the ocean as are 
 highways of the world's great commercial movements. 
 
 "He should know the location of those islands and groups of 
 islands that are real factors in the world's activities, or have a great 
 historical interest. 
 
 "He should know the facts of position, direction of trend, etc., 
 of the half-dozen most important mountain systems or mountain 
 groups of North America; the Andes, Apennines, Pyrenees, Cau- 
 casus, Ural, Himalaya, and Altai; the location of a few of the most 
 frequently mentioned peaks, such as Mt. Blanc and Mt. Everest. 
 
 "There are a few capes that are often mentioned, such as Horn 
 and Good Hope, and their location is worth knowing. 
 
 "He ought to know something of the location of the chief colo- 
 nies of Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, and the United 
 States. 
 
 "He ought to know something of the location of some twenty- 
 five of the chief cities of the United States, what those cities stand 
 for in our industrial and commercial life, and the advantages of 
 their situation. There are twenty or thirty foreign cities whose 
 location should be definitely known, and also something of what 
 these cities stand for. In addition to these there are fifty or more 
 other cities at home and abroad whose names ought to be familiar 
 to the pupil. It is sufficient to know in what state or nation these 
 are located."* 
 
 Pupils should know where to find information of a required kind; 
 should be well acquainted with at least one newspaper, one maga- 
 zine, and two geographies; and should be able to solve thought 
 problems similar to the following: 
 
 * R. H. Whit beck: Journal of Geography, Vol. 4, 1905, pp. 149-154, quoted by George J. 
 Miller, Journal of Geography, January, 1915.
 
 Geography. — Grade VIII. — Suggested Problems. 147 
 
 SUGGESTED PROBLEMS. 
 
 Note: The problems may be of larger scope than those used in lower grades, but should, in 
 each case, be narrow enough to suit the pupils' abilities, the time to be devoted to the subject, 
 and the available sources for solution of the problems. Those suggested are not mutually exclu- 
 sive, nor do they cover the entire field; the questions as well as the implied organizations of answers 
 are merely illustrative and not meant to be followed as given. 
 
 A. In what ways has man caused the entire world to contribute to his needs? 
 
 [May be expanded into three large problems, each of which may again be 
 expanded: (1) Man's needs (physical, social, spiritual). (2) Sources of 
 supply and production of materials to meet these needs (natural; changed 
 by man's inventions). (3) Distribution and exchange of these products 
 (industrial, and art centers; transportation routes — land routes, inland 
 water-ways, ocean transportation).]* 
 
 B. What place in the development of North America do steam and electricity 
 
 take? (Or, narrowed, Show the value of railroads to the development of 
 the United States. Or, to Minnesota.) 
 
 C. Show how the Appalachian highlands have affected trade. 
 
 D. What has been the value of water to man in his progress? (The body's need, 
 
 the soil's need, and trade's need of water.) 
 
 E. What influences operated in the economic development of ? (Any area 
 
 desired.) 
 
 F. Account for the growth of the "Twin Cities." Predict their future. (Or, 
 
 Duluth, or other Minnesota cities.) 
 
 G. How does Minnesota rank among all of the states in the United States? (So- 
 
 lution should lead to comparisons of Minnesota with other states in size, 
 population, wealth, educational ideals, industrial progress, social service, 
 and a final judgment on whether she is living up to her ability.) 
 
 H. The value to commerce of the invention of the mariner's compass. (Mag- 
 netism and gravity reviewed.) 
 
 I. The value to commerce of the facts of the earth's shape and rotation. (Com- 
 pare the circulation of air on a stationary earth with the wind movements 
 on a rotating earth.) 
 
 J. What effect on commerce does or will the Panama Canal have? The pro- 
 posed canal from Duluth to the Mississippi? 
 
 K. What has caused New York (or, any large city desired, with consistent ques- 
 tions) to outstrip other Atlantic seaports as a commercial center? 
 
 L. What is expected as a result of China's "Open Door"? 
 
 M. How has the crusade against disease and in favor of city sanitation affected 
 industry and commerce? (May be subdivided into the problems met in 
 special localities — Cuba, or the Panama Canal zone, or large cities' sew- 
 erage problems, for example.) 
 
 N. What strides have been made in national economy during the last decade? 
 (Illustrations: By-products from various manufactories used how; scien- 
 tists' efforts to neutralize the bitterness of horse-chestnuts so they can 
 be used as a food; reburning smoke; cottonseed-oil as a substitute for 
 olive-oil; banana versus wheat flour.) 
 
 O. Effect of "The Great War" on present and on future industry and commerce. 
 
 P. Comparison of the cost of living in this decade with cost in other decades. 
 
 Q. Why do the great railroads of North America have their main lines running 
 east and west? 
 
 R. Ten wheat problems of interest: (1) Value and use of wheat as a grain food. 
 (2) Wheat farming in the Red River Valley or in Argentina. (3) Effect 
 of these big farms on England's wheat culture; on manufacturing. (4) 
 Other wheat areas of the world compared with these. (5) Varieties of 
 wheat, its power of adaptation, history of its use in past centuries. (6) 
 Dates of wheat harvest throughout the world, with causes. (7) Com- 
 parison of statistics about yield per acre, value per bushel, and so on, in a 
 different countries or in different decades in our own land; causes; effect 
 on commerce. (8) Transportation of raw wheat and of wheat products 
 — where, when, how, cost, etc. (9) Cities thato we their preeminence to 
 wheat— as distributing centers, manufacturing centers, and so on. (10) 
 Machinery and processes employed in manufacturing wheat products. 
 
 * An excellent expansion of these topics appears in the Fourth Year-Book (1909) of the Su- 
 perintendents' and Principals' Association of Northern Illinois.
 
 148 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 S. Note that in recent years the United States has sent several prominent citi- 
 zens (Root, Roosevelt, Bryan, and others) to South America for the sake 
 of establishing friendly relations between the regions. Why does the 
 United States care for the friendship of South American countries? Why 
 is manufacturing still relatively small in the South American countries?* 
 
 B.— NATURE-STUDY. 
 
 In common with all science, nature-study grew out of man's ad- 
 justment to his material world, and hence may use, as school sub- 
 ject-matter, whatever belongs to the natural environment of chil- 
 dren in any given locality. Since modern transportation brings to 
 the doors of our school boys and girls fruits, furs, minerals, and 
 manufactured objects from every land, a nature-study teacher may 
 legitimately claim the right to teach as environmental material not 
 only Minnesota birds, trees, or weather, but also tropical fruits, 
 nuts, and grains; the formation of diamonds, pearls, and amber; 
 and the laws of physics according to which some odd, even if for- 
 eign-made, toy operates. 
 
 Since many of the same topics are open to treatment under the 
 caption of geography or of industry, even though from a different 
 point of view, the work in nature-study may either supplement or 
 complement the work of other courses, depending upon the amount 
 of time the teacher has at his disposal for all subject-matter. (See 
 page 215.) 
 
 Nature-study may, first, open the eyes of the student to the 
 beauties of the world: to the marvelous color combinations to be 
 seen in grass, flowers, trees, clouds at sunset; in crystal lakes, or 
 on snow-capped mountains; to the graceful shapes of all these ob- 
 jects as well as of curving paths, winding brooks, and jagged cliffs; 
 and to the mysterious and wonderful adaptation of structure to 
 function in either plant or animal life. If no more than this were 
 done, nature-study could be justified as a worthy school subject — 
 as one which aids man to higher development; but more than this 
 is done. 
 
 The child acquires definite information, of specific value to him 
 in a social way, in his reading, and later in his interpretation of life 
 situations. He may learn a lesson of patience from every mother 
 bird he watches as she warms the eggs within her nest; a lesson of 
 industry from the same bird's feeding of her young; of cleanliness, 
 from the way Nature sweeps her hillsides by the winds of spring; 
 of beauty as he notes that every blot on the landscape is soon cov- 
 ered with a wealth of green; and, best of all, he learns, perhaps, to 
 believe in Life Eternal as he sees the apparently dead seed, bulb, 
 or cocoon, burst into fresh life. With Whittier, one wants to say — 
 
 * This last problem is adapted from the Ohio Elementary Course of Study.
 
 Nature-Study. — Subject- Matter. 149 
 
 Alas for him * * * * 
 
 Who hath not learned, in hours of faith, 
 The truth to flesh and sense unknown, 
 
 That Life is ever lord of Death, 
 And Love can never lose its own! 
 
 Thirdly, nature-study may, especially in intermediate and upper 
 grades, be so taught as to give children a permanent control of the 
 scientific method of attacking problems and of observing life; that 
 is, with unbiased mind seeking the truth for truth's sake. From 
 such study the highest principles of ethics can be acquired. Again, 
 in the children's study of how plants and animals aid or destroy 
 one another — the cause of and the extermination of weeds, of 
 "smut," of "chinch-bugs," etc. — the reasons for gasoline-stove ex- 
 plosions; for building a fire in the best way; as well as in the study 
 of a hundred other things, the tendency to observe and to look be- 
 hind effects and to infer reasonable causes, builds up a sounder cit- 
 izenship than could be built without this study. 
 
 On page 125 an attempt was made to draw some distinction be- 
 tween science and industry merely that the student of either could 
 keep his bearings. For the same reason it may be well for the 
 teacher to realize that while geography emphasizes the utilization 
 of the material world, nature-study lays stress upon what may be 
 learned from man's environment. 
 
 The original plan regarding this Course of Study was to make 
 detailed suggestions for each grade in school; but when it was found 
 that at least half the pages allotted to the whole Course would still 
 be inadequate to give teachers all that they would wish along the 
 lines of aims; of principles of selection of subject-matter, of methods 
 of teaching different topics, and of sources of supply for their own 
 equipment, the plan was altered. Many men have, each, devoted 
 a score or more of years to the solution of just these problems, and 
 have embodied the results of their labors in so many excellent 
 texts on nature-study that every school library must already be 
 supplied with at least one such book.* Besides many excellent 
 texts, school journals contain much valuable material. Above all, 
 Minnesota's teachers are fortunate enough to have a nature-study 
 authority among their number, Mr. Gilbert H. Trafton, of Man- 
 kato, a man who, with Miss Reynolds's assistance, has prepared a 
 course in nature-study for every sort of school in Minnesota.! 
 
 From whatever course the teacher selects material, certain 
 topics, such as trees, spring flowers, birds, water as affected by 
 
 * See Minnesota School Library List, pp. 1S-25, and, besides the older books, such as those 
 by Jackman, Hodge, and Bailey, see "Practical Nature-Study and Elementary Agriculture," by 
 Coulter and Patterson. 
 
 f Own Trafton's "Outlines of Nature-Study," published by the Comstock Publishing Co., 
 Ithaca, New York; cost about 30 cents.
 
 150 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 temperature, gravity, laws of levers, etc., must be spirally treated, 
 (1) because the seasonal recurrence of some phenomena in nature 
 causes recurrence of interest; (2) because old knowledge may thus 
 be tested by use under slightly different conditions, and clarified, 
 broadened, and clinched; and (3) because some pupils will not have 
 been in a receptive mood when the topic was first given but will 
 be psychologically ready for it at a second or third treatment. 
 
 Other topics have been found at all times to interest the majority 
 of pupils of given ages and may therefore well be arranged for use 
 in definite grades. 
 
 Illustrations — {not intended as an outline of subject-matter). — First-grade pupils 
 are eager to watch things move or act — hence they like to study birds, chickens, 
 rabbits, cats, dogs, etc.; watch a rapidly growing plant, or note the effect of the 
 wind on smoke, on weather-vanes, etc. 
 
 Second-grade pupils add to this general interest in action a personal attitude 
 and so want their own pets, flowers, discoveries, etc., discussed. Individual 
 gardens are here a joy. 
 
 Third-grade pupils add imagination to the above, and enjoy personification of 
 objects in nature, loving best those which can be played with or which have 
 stories — pansy faces, sweet-pea bonnets, or Greek, Norse, and Indian interpre- 
 tations of nature. 
 
 Fourth-grade children become somewhat more literal-minded and want facts, 
 enjoy noting general relationships, as, for example, that gourds, canteloupes, 
 pumpkins, watermelons, etc., belong to one family; that clouds, rain, snow, hail, 
 frost, dew, and condensed water on the outside of a cold pitcher, are related; or 
 that the domestic cat is worth studying as a representative of a large family of 
 animals possessed of similar characteristics. 
 
 Fifth-grade children crave physical activity and revel in "hikes," excursions, 
 explorations of caves, ravines, etc., and, during the winter months, thoroughly 
 enjoy experimentation with simple physical apparatus, ending in the making of 
 some toys based on principles of physics. Magnetism, cohesion, adhesion, and 
 gravity, are some much-liked topics. 
 
 Sixth-grade pupils, beginning to organize their knowledge, even if crudely, 
 like note-book work along several lines such as tracing certain manufactured 
 articles from their source to their final use — tacks, different kinds of cloth, a 
 breakfast-food, etc. Excursions and experimentations are still coveted and can 
 be utilized in connection with the note-book work. Pupils of this age are also 
 ready for some elementary science of a sort that creates wonder and admiration 
 of nature's ways, such, for example, as a study of the parts of a flower, or of 
 experiments in plant growth; of bees and their wonderful systematization of 
 labor; and of laws of physics. 
 
 Seventh-grade children have been found to delight in the evolution of forms 
 in nature — the dramatic background of present life — the adaptation of plants 
 and animals to their environment, such as the gradual changes in the horse; in 
 the cactus; how plants equip their seed-children to find new homes; the develop- 
 ment of certain foods (oranges, tomatoes, apples) from the original species; etc. 
 
 Eighth-grade pupils, many of whom will soon leave school, take an interest 
 in such things as will keep them alert to life about them after leaving school — in 
 their vocations as bread-winners or as home-keepers. Hygiene and sanitation,
 
 Physical Education. 151 
 
 as related to the care of their own persona, rooms, food supply, protection from 
 disease, labor conditions; laws of health and recreation; home gardening; use of 
 the thermometer; heating, ventilating, lighting the home; laws of nature affect- 
 ing various industries such as farming, manufacturing, commerce, etc. 
 
 Since, as has often been said before, the elementary school is 
 not the place for the teaching of any subject as a science, nature- 
 study must not be so taught. Nevertheless, such facts as are 
 taught should be scientifically accurate, not needing to be un-learned 
 later. For example, if third-grade pupils are making booklets con- 
 taining pictures and descriptions of the "Plants We Use for Food," 
 and have such chapter headings as "Roots that We Eat," "Stems 
 that Make Good Food," "Edible Seeds," etc., they should not be 
 permitted to classify potatoes under roots when it is just as easy to 
 teach why the potato is a stem in third grade as it is in high school. 
 
 From the fourth grade up, the nature-study work may gradually 
 approach real science, becoming what many call "elementary sci- 
 ence," particularly since elementary work in physics and chemistry 
 prepares both girls and boys very directly for better home-making.* 
 
 C— PHYSICAL EDUCATION.! 
 
 Like the two preceding divisions of Science, physical education 
 is closely related to industry, to vocational guidance, to civics, and 
 to ethics, all of which courses should be read in connection with 
 this one. To illustrate: the "safety-first" precautions necessary 
 for all to learn, may, like sanitation in regard to food, be taught in 
 this course, or in connection with industrial work; taught with civ- 
 ics in community effort for better protection of all; or in connection 
 with the course in right living. 
 
 Like every other subject in the Course of Study, physical educa- 
 tion has at least one characteristic which differentiates it from all 
 related courses, so that a topic studied under this head has either 
 a definite line of approach or a distinct method of treatment. The 
 single word which seems to characterize physical education is 
 "prevention," since all phases of the subject — physiology, hygiene, 
 sanitation, gymnastic exercises, play, and safety first, are bent on 
 the problem of how to prevent the material world (in the form of 
 force, or disease, or ugliness) from defeating man in his attempts 
 to adjust himself, for his own and his group's good, to his environ- 
 ment. 
 
 Man has learned that to prevent his being defeated by his mate- 
 rial world, he must, at different times, exercise physical force, in- 
 
 * Gifford's text, referred to in the Minnesota School Library List, has proved very valuable 
 for use by teachers of these grades. 
 
 t For excellent references on this subject see pp. 36 and 91 of the Minnesota School Library 
 List, and p. 301 of this Manual. The best list to purchase is "Sources of Information on Play and 
 Recreation," Bulletin No. 13C, Russell Sage Foundation, New York City; 10 cents.
 
 152 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 telligence, and character. The main thought in physical educa- 
 tion can therefore not be the body alone. "The brain, more quickly 
 and fully than any other part of the human organism, receives the 
 advantage of better digestion, fuller breathing, and more energetic 
 circulation of rich blood," and so must be considered in any course 
 of physical education. Another important function of physical 
 education is to develop the individual's power to execute plans in 
 the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. That is, physical 
 education must develop body, mind, and character. Hence it de- 
 serves a high place in every school's program of studies. 
 
 Before any school can make for itself a valuable curriculum in 
 physical education, it must plan time for the subject; must see that 
 there is a suitable place for exercise, in inclement as well as in fair 
 weather; and must see that one or more teachers in the corps know 
 the underlying principles of physical education and believe heartily 
 enough in the work to do it intelligently and well. Then a course 
 may be arranged which should take into account: (1) The various 
 means of securing the desired results; (II) the gradation of exer- 
 cises to fit the children's developing bodies, thought-power, and 
 ideals; and (III) the adaptation of (I) and (II) to the equipment 
 possible to secure. 
 
 Since space does not permit a full discussion of these three factors, an outline 
 of them is given, accompanied by occasional parenthetical suggestions of elabora- 
 tion: 
 I. Means of securing a sound body, mind, and character. 
 
 A. Health inspection of children — 
 
 1. To correct, where possible, physical defects. 
 
 2. To prevent the spread of contagious and infectious diseases. 
 
 3. To produce cleanliness and right habits of living. 
 
 B. Example — 
 
 1. Of the finest people in the community. 
 
 2. Of the teacher, who must be honorable, self-controlled, and physi- 
 
 cally sound. 
 
 3. Of other, especially older, children in the school. 
 
 C. Right habits in children themselves. 
 
 1. Play. 
 
 a. For securing perfectly free body movements. 
 
 b. For securing benefits to every part of the body — lungs, heart, 
 
 digestive organs, muscles, brain, etc. 
 
 c. For giving expression to children's emotions or ideas, as when 
 
 second-grade children played Indian and composed a harvest 
 dance. 
 
 Note: Through giving expression to his ideas and his emotions, the individual who profits 
 by his experience soon learns at least three lessons: (1) To evaluate his own and others' ideas and 
 emotions — nood judgment; (2) to select the most desirable social forms of expression to fit worthy 
 ideas and attitudes — good manners; and ('&) to make habitual those forms of expression which held 
 him to attain what he considers valuable ends — poise, control. 
 
 In childhood, these ends may be learning to walk, marching like a soldier, running in a race, 
 or hitting a ball. The inexperienced teacher needs to be cautioned against overemphasizing 
 formal exercises which to the child seem useless. Daily practice in working out a harvest (lance 
 witli which to entertain another class will accomplish better results than will isolated drills in- 
 cluding the same movements. 
 
 d. For pure fun and a cheerful outlook on life. 
 
 e. For motivating needed formative and corrective exercises.
 
 Physical Education — Outline. 153 
 
 2. Formative exercises through gymnastics or directed movements — 
 
 a. For correct breathing. 
 
 b. For correct sitting and standing. 
 
 c. For graceful movements, poise of body, clear eyes, straightfor- 
 
 ward attitude, pleasing countenance, etc. 
 (Not a complete list.) 
 
 3. Corrective exercises (for the same objects if necessary). 
 
 4. Games — 
 
 a. For teaching the lessons of — 
 
 (1) Cooperation. (2) Bearing defeat bravely. 
 (.3) Submission to law (more restricted movements necessary 
 than in play). 
 
 (4) Fair play. 
 
 (5) Generosity towards opponents who do good work. 
 
 (6) Loyalty. (7) Modesty over successes. 
 (And other lessons.) 
 
 b. For securing greater poise and grace in carriage — easy control of 
 
 the body without self-consciousness — through — 
 (1) Singing games. (2) Rhythmic and folk dancing. 
 (3) Dramatizations. 
 
 c. For entertaining others, as in festivals. 
 
 (1) Parents. (2) Other grades. 
 
 5. Sports — 
 
 a. To induce fearlessness, right daring, or courage, from which 
 
 there results a feeling of power. (Swimming and riding, for 
 example, teach this.) 
 
 b. To give opportunity for growth in initiative, in making rapid 
 
 decisions, and then in promptly and energetically executing 
 those decisions. (As in football.) 
 
 c. To encourage renewed effort in the face of defeat, self-imposed 
 
 practice and patient effort, individual responsibility, and 
 highest cooperation. (As in any competitive sport — hockey, 
 baseball, football, etc.) 
 
 6. Work done in school and at home. 
 
 a. For the development of — 
 
 (1) Persistence. (2) Reliability. 
 (See Ethics Course.) 
 
 b. As a means to apply lessons about posture, prolongation of 
 
 effort, attention, etc. 
 D. Precept — 
 
 1. Found in stories. 
 
 a. Historical. b. Literary. c. Like "Sure Pop." 
 
 2. Found in a study of physiology, hygiene, sanitation, etc. — 
 
 a. Through a well-chosen text-book. 
 
 b. Through general-exercise talks suited to the child's understand- 
 
 ing and needs. 
 
 c. By following some such outline as this: 
 
 A. Building up the body in general. 
 
 1. Bones, or framework. 
 
 a. Function and composition of bones. 
 
 b. Food to eat for the health of bones. 
 
 c. Posture, sitting and standing, for the sake of the skeleton. 
 
 Note: To learn by experiment of what two main substances bone is composed, and which 
 substance predominates at different ages in an individual's life, is the finest kind of basis for mak- 
 ing the child conscious of his own posture, as well as thoughtful about giving room on the pavement, 
 or in offering aid, to the stooped grandfather who, fearing the consequences of a fall, seems to 
 "creep" along. 
 
 2. Muscles. 
 
 a. Function of muscles, b. Food to build muscles, 
 c. The value of exercise. 
 
 3. The skin. 
 
 a. Function and general structure of. 
 
 b. Special forms of — teeth, hair, nails. 
 
 c. Effect on skin, or special forms of skin, of — 
 
 (1) Food. 
 
 (a) Kind, (b) Frequency of eating, 
 (c) Habits of chewing, etc.
 
 154 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 (2) Clothing. 
 
 (a) Material, (b) Tightness of. 
 (Not complete list.) 
 
 (3) Bathing. (4) Sleep. 
 
 (5) Housing — Ventilation, etc. 
 
 B. Keeping well because of free circulation of good blood. 
 
 1. Foods to make good blood. 2. Proper clothing. 3. Exercise. 
 (List to be extended if desired.) 
 
 C. Preventing disease through keeping the respiratory system in proper 
 
 condition. 
 
 1. The nasal passages. - 
 
 a. Need of keeping passages well cleansed. 
 
 b. Need of breathing through the nose. 
 
 2. The throat. 
 
 a. The lodging-place of many disease germs — as diphtheria, typhoid. 
 
 b. Need of gargling, etc. 
 
 3. The lungs. 
 
 a. Proper methods of breathing. 
 
 b. Outdoor air compared with indoor air. 
 
 c. Ventilation of rooms; how secured. 
 
 d. Prevention and cure of pulmonary diseases. 
 
 e. Cautions concerning the breathing of metal or other dusts in 
 
 certain occupations. 
 
 D. A sense of power acquired through proper attention to the digestive tract. 
 
 1. The mouth. (See throat above.) 
 
 a. Care of teeth, b. Cleansing the mouth. 
 
 2. The stomach. 
 
 a. Eating food that the stomach can dispose of. 
 
 (1) Kinds. (2) Cooking of. (3) To be chewed, how. 
 
 (4) Kept sanitary, how. Preventing dust, germs, flies, for 
 
 example. 
 
 b. Eating seldom enough to give the stomach a chance to do its 
 
 work — that is, not "munching." 
 
 c. Need of pure water. 
 
 d. Diseases of the stomach — prevention and cure. 
 
 3. The excretory organs. 
 
 a. Need of keeping them active, b. Kinds of food to eat to assist. 
 c. Prevention and cure of diseases of these organs. 
 
 E. Need of keeping the nervous system in good condition. 
 
 1. The special organs of sensation. (Take up each and show what 
 
 care needs to be given it, since the loss of sight, hearing, etc, 
 leaves one seriously handicapped for life.) 
 
 2. Care of the nerves themselves; value of sleep, of play, etc. 
 
 3. The brain. 
 
 a. Need of pure blood sufficiently supplied, hence-^- 
 
 (1) Avoid wrong foods and drinks. (2) Exercise judiciously. 
 
 b. Need of thinking to develop the brain's cells. 
 
 F. "Safety first" an excellent habit to acquire. 
 
 1. In regard to risking injury to whole body or to limbs, as in crossing 
 
 tracks, etc. 
 
 2. In regard to cuts, sprains, bruises, broken bones, rusty nails or 
 
 rake-teeth, etc. Get the habit of turning down rakes, boards 
 with nails in them, etc. Get the habit of handling tools care- 
 fully; of looking out for danger. 
 
 3. By workmen in various occupations — "Safety-first" cautions to 
 
 railroad-men; to carpenters; to men who work where sawdust, 
 emery dust, glass splinters, etc., fly; to painters, etc. 
 
 4. "Safety-first" rules about fires. 
 
 G. Injuries and illness sometimes come in spite of precautions. 
 
 1. First aid to the injured. 
 
 a. Simple antiseptics for cuts. 
 
 b. Bandaging for wounds and broken bones. 
 
 c. Stopping nose-bleed, d. Burns, e. Helps in nausea. 
 
 f. Helping headaches, g. Aiding one who faints. 
 h. Resuscitating one who seems to be drowned. 
 
 i. Recognizing symptoms of some contagious diseases. 
 (List not complete.) 
 
 2. Care of the sick — 
 
 a. In fevers, b. In contagious diseases. 
 
 c. Invalid foods and their preparation. (See "cookery" for their 
 serving.) 
 
 3. Quarantine. 
 
 a. Benefit to ill person, b. Benefit to family. 
 c. Benefit to community. 
 
 E. Enlarging the ideals of children. 
 
 1. From mere obedience to the letter of the laws of health to regard for 
 
 the spirit of those laws. 
 
 a. Not cleanliness for appearance only, but for ethical reasons. 
 
 b. Not clean front yards only. 
 
 2. To apply to the city's — 
 
 a. Water supply. b. Sewage system. c. Food inspection; etc. 
 
 3. In regard to precautionary measures.
 
 Physical Education. — Exercises for Grades. 155 
 
 II. Graded exercises to fit children's growing needs should be chosen from the 
 
 three classes of exercises which follow. 
 
 In General for Grades I, II, III. 
 
 A. Exercises for quickness, habitual control or skill, and fair endurance. 
 
 1. "Sense-training" exercises. 
 
 2. Walking, running, sliding, skipping, hopping, etc. 
 
 3. Easy forms of tactics, calisthenics, apparatus and field work. 
 
 4. Simple games of motion — running games like "blackman," "fox and 
 
 geese," etc., for example. 
 
 5. Rhythmic games and marches. 
 
 6. Dramatization of labor activities. 
 
 7. Some "safety-first" habits. 
 
 In General for Grades IV, V, VI. 
 
 B. Exercises for strength and endurance. 
 
 1. Skill and quickness kept up by such exercises as skating, bicycling, 
 
 swimming, rowing, riding, etc. 
 
 2. Strength and endurance cultivated by competitive games of greater 
 
 difficulty — pole-vaulting, disk-throwing, relay-racing, and the like. 
 
 3. More difficult apparatus and calisthenic work, with proper breathing 
 
 and correct carriage emphasized. 
 
 4. More "safety-first" habits. 
 
 5. Some ideas about first aid to the injured taught. 
 
 In General for Grades VII, VIII, and Beyond. 
 
 C. Exercises requiring attention and alertness besides strength and endurance 
 
 — somewhat differentiated for boys and girls. 
 
 1. Boys — Wrestling, boxing, fencing, baseball, football, etc. Exercises 
 
 to develop manly courage and daring, concentration of attention, 
 and the spirit of cooperation. Some gymnastics and apparatus 
 work. Since, psychologically, boys are read}'' for strenuous effort 
 before they are strong enough for it, teachers must see that 
 physical exercise is not overdone. 
 
 2. Girls — Gymnastics, light apparatus work, volley-ball, indoor base- 
 
 ball, basket-ball, folk and perhaps social dancing. Exercises to 
 develop fairness, self-confidence, cooperation, and womanliness. 
 Both sexes should have acquired habits of "safety first" and 
 knowledge of simple first aids to the injured. 
 
 III. Adaptation of means for securing results and of graded exercises to the con- 
 
 ditions of a local school. 
 
 A. Questions to ask: 
 
 1. Size of playground, if any. 
 
 2. Size of and appliances in gymnasium, if any. 
 
 3. Swimming opportunities. 
 
 4. Number of teachers equipped to lead or to assist in the work. 
 
 5. Cooperation of the community on each subject. 
 
 6. Money that may be spent. 
 
 7. Apparatus able to be made by pupils themselves. 
 
 8. Means of ventilating schoolrooms if they must be used as gymnasiums. 
 
 a. Desks make fine apparatus. 
 
 b. But the air is vitiated by the dust raised. 
 
 9. Text-books, if any are used, chosen with great wisdom. 
 
 10. Time allowed for the work — whether taken from school-day or not. 
 
 B. Choose from the courses in hygiene and in exercises what will fit the 
 
 needs of each grade and the conditions of work. (See general sug- 
 gestions on "Diagram" accompanying this book.)
 
 156 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 IV.— INDUSTRY. 
 
 As was said on page 125 and shown in the outline on pages 203- 
 205, the great bulk of industries developed as man tried to utilize 
 or adjust himself to his material environment. Nevertheless, the 
 present forms of these industries could not have developed except 
 as man made adjustments to his social and to his immaterial 
 worlds. Therefore it is that Industry becomes in the minds of 
 many the golden link which binds together the three "worlds" in 
 which man moves — those worlds which grow out of and end in 
 unity, and are differentiated only that adjustments within them 
 can be both better interpreted and better used as means of highest 
 individual as well as group development. 
 
 With the evolution of modern family and group life, the period 
 of human infancy has been steadily lengthening. This longer 
 childhood permits an indiivdual to postpone to a later and ever 
 later date in his life his final choice of a vocation. When the ex- 
 isting typical industries with all their modern complexities are 
 studied, the wisdom of delayed complete adjustment is evident; 
 but that youth should (in a relatively care-free way) prepare for 
 such adult adjustment is recognized by all. Through play, curi- 
 osity, imitation, emulation, or imagination, and some required 
 duties, children should become acquainted with the larger princi- 
 ples of industry long before their feet must, "like a colt's, for work 
 be shod and made to tread the mills of toil." 
 
 A.— INDUSTRIAL ARTS. 
 
 A study of the world's industries becomes a valuable bit of 
 school subject-matter, if used to give pupils — 
 
 1. A background of fundamental information. 
 
 2. An appreciation of — 
 
 a. Different men's work in the world. 
 
 b. Division of labor. 
 
 c. Highest cooperation. 
 
 3. The ability to choose for their life-work what they can do 
 
 best for their highest self-realization, whether that be post- 
 setting, cooking, or prescribing medicine for the ill. 
 
 Note: Such study prevents wrongly or carelessly chosen work — work that 
 narrows the mind, produces self-seeking, shirking, or loss of faith in one's fellows; 
 that engenders bitterness and discontent with life — work for which the individual 
 has neither ability nor taste — work chosen because of some false notion that a 
 man is made by the kind of work he does, rather than by the quality of that work.
 
 Industrial Arts. 157 
 
 Keeping in mind the three aims given above, it seems natural 
 that the work of the primary grades should be chosen largely to 
 satisfy the first aim, that of intermediate grades to satisfy the sec- 
 ond, and that of the grammar and higher grades to satisfy the last. 
 Since many books on all phases of industrial or occupation work 
 are now available, teachers of primary grades need no detailed in- 
 structions here regarding paper cutting and tearing, modeling in 
 some plastic material, weaving rugs, or making baskets. Fitting 
 up a sand-table to show a coal-mine, or Peter Rabbit in his event- 
 ful journeys about Mr. McGregor's garden, or some one of the 
 "Seven Little Sisters," is an old story to most teachers. The study 
 of all the processes through which wool passes from the sheep to a 
 woolen dress or coat; the building of leaf and stick houses on the 
 playground, or of tent-homes and caves, as children study the evo- 
 lution of our present homes; the making of miniature rugs, ham- 
 mocks, and other furnishings for a home; making toys, using the 
 wood economically and to produce the best result with the least 
 expenditure of energy, as for example planning that the edges in 
 a toy which must be whittled shall parallel the grain of the wood, 
 are all familiar projects. 
 
 If, in upper grades, the industrial work of boys and girls is differ- 
 entiated, boys usually do more complex work at the bench, or in 
 building a real shed needed by some boy, or by the school, for a 
 pet animal; lay some concrete walk or some bit of masonry; do 
 even real printing of programs or other needed school material; or 
 apprentice themselves for a short time daily and on Saturday to 
 some iron-worker, plumber, or carpenter. Girls take a definite 
 course in cookery, sewing, or general home economics; care of little 
 children; sanitation; etc. 
 
 Emergencies and first aid to the injured should be known to both 
 sexes, as should simple household tinkering — sawing, making and 
 putting up a shelf, renovating screen doors, gates, water-faucets; 
 remedying simple leaks, stoppage in the plumbing at the "trap"; 
 and so on. 
 
 Both boys and girls should be helped to study different men and 
 women in the community, as well as in history and literature, and 
 to find for themselves the elements of success. They may also 
 profitably try different kinds of work during several vacations or 
 on Saturdays, to learn that all successful work demands: 
 
 1. Skill and increasing accuracy. 
 
 2. Thinking and planning. 
 
 3. Pride in work well done. 
 
 4. Ambition to improve the work rather than to get more salary. 
 
 5. Profiting by mistakes and not repeating the same ones — being willing to' 
 
 learn.
 
 158 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 A complete course of study in industries distributed by grades 
 for all schools of the state would fill a single volume, since no two 
 schools could possibly need the same course. Some would empha- 
 size mercantile and manufacturing industries; others need plant 
 and animal husbandry; others, the so-called "trades"; others, the 
 y-'-i professions." 
 
 The Department of Education has recently issued a detailed 
 course of study in industrial arts for rural, consolidated, and graded 
 schools. Such experts as Miss Shelland, Miss Berry, and Professor 
 Brace, have given this course their best effort. In larger towns 
 and cities, there are usually employed special teachers of industrial 
 arts who are already provided with their own good courses of study. 
 Since, therefore, it seems unnecessary here to repeat what is so 
 excellently done elsewhere, the entire field is outlined in a some- 
 what new way and each school left free to select the topics it de- 
 sires to emphasize. (See suggestions on "Diagram" accompanying 
 this book.) 
 
 ONE OUTLINE OF THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIES. 
 
 I. Hunting and Fishing — the primitive foundation of all industry. 
 A. Hunting — ■ 
 
 1. Of food-stuff, (a) Vegetable — nuts, berries, grains, etc. (b) Animal 
 
 — eggs, fowls, wild animals, etc. 
 
 2. Of material for clothing — skins, furs, etc. 
 
 3. Of material for shelter — -bark, skins, caves. 
 
 4. For miscellaneous purposes, (a) Sport, (b) Extermination of some 
 
 pest, (c) Curiosity and exploration. 
 B. Fishing (a special phase of hunting) — 
 
 1. For food, (a) Immediate needs, (b) For sale or profit. 
 
 (1) Salmon, (2) tuna, (3) herring, (4) cod, (5) oysters, etc. 
 
 2. For miscellaneous purposes, (a) Whales; (b) seals; (c) pearl oysters 
 
 and clams; (d) sponges; (e) corals and shells, etc. 
 Characteristics necessary for success. 
 
 1. Knowledge of the habits of plant or animal desired. 
 
 2. Hard work in season and long periods of comparative idleness. 
 
 3. Patience, endurance, courage, shrewdness in some cases, careful plan- 
 
 ning in others (trapping). 
 
 Note: The work outlined in this section appeals most to primary pupils, who naturally cover 
 the points in their study of primitive life, in "Tree Dwellers," and in "Seven Little Sisters," used 
 in geography. 
 
 II. Agricultural Industries (including Shepherding). 
 A. Raising plants — 
 
 1. For food, clothing, etc. 
 
 a. For food. 
 
 (1) Direct, (a) Vegetables, (b) grains and nuts, (c) fruits. ' 
 
 (2) Indirect — to feed to animals, (a) Grass and grains, (b) by- 
 products (in silo). 
 
 b. For clothing. 
 
 (1) 'Cotton. (2) Flax. (3) Hemp. (4) Miscellaneous— mul- 
 berry for silk worm, wood fiber, etc.
 
 Industrial Arts. — The Field of Industries. 159 
 
 c. For shelter. (1) Trees — for lumber; (2) miscellaneous — grass for 
 
 thatch; cotton, etc., for tent materials, etc. 
 
 d. For fuel. (1) Wood; (2) miscellaneous — by-products from cot- 
 
 tonseed; stems of some plants — as in firing china, etc. 
 
 e. For pleasure. (1) Flowers, for beauty or fragrance. 
 2. For family needs only, or for sale. 
 
 a. For family needs only. (1) Orchard, (2) berry patch, (3) vegetable 
 
 garden, (4) several small grain-fields, (5) pasture and meadow. 
 
 b. For marketing. (1) Less of many varieties than for family; (2) 
 
 some few fruits, grains, or vegetables made the main crop; (3) 
 some things raised that the plants and seed may be sold — nur- 
 sery business. 
 
 c. Depending on acreage, soil, etc. 
 
 (1) Acreage, (a) Truck-farming for nearby-city demands; (b) 
 
 corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc., for nearby canning fac- 
 tories; (c) berries, melons, etc., to ship ahead of northern 
 season; (d) great grain-fields, as in Minnesota, Iowa, and 
 the Dakotas. 
 
 (2) Soil, (a) Fertile, for gardening or nursery business; (b) 
 sterile, to be treated by raising leguminous crops; (c) arid, 
 to be irrigated or used for grazing. 
 
 (3) Climate decides selection of crop, (a) Tropical, (b) tem- 
 perate, (c) frigid. 
 
 (4) Surface regulates kind of cultivation, whether for grain, 
 grapes, grass, etc. 
 
 Knowledge demanded for success. 
 
 a. Know soils. 
 
 (1) Chemical composition. 
 
 (a) What needed for crops; (b) which crops best raised; 
 (c) how rotate crops and fertilize to keep soil up to its 
 best. 
 
 (2) Moisture or aridity. 
 
 (a) Irrigation problems; (b) "dry" farming. 
 
 b. Know how to select and save seed. 
 
 c. Know how to cultivate crops. 
 
 d. Know how to propagate plants in other ways than from seed. 
 
 (1) Budding and grafting; (2) layering; (3) bulbs and "sets." 
 
 e. Know how to systematize work. (1) Sorting, marking, testing 
 
 seeds in the dull season; (2) having tools and implements ready 
 for use; (3) keeping ahead of work so that a temporary "rush" 
 can be met with comparatively little strain. 
 
 f. Know the value of broadening one's views. (1) Attending univer- 
 
 sity "short courses," farmers' conventions, etc.; (2) sending 
 children to the best schools for their needs; (3) taking the best 
 periodicals; (4) trying experiments; (5) taking outings or trips 
 occasionally, etc. 
 Raising of Animals. 
 1. For family needs. 
 
 a. Kinds. (1) Poultry for flesh and eggs; (2) cows for milk, butter, 
 and cheese; (3) animals for meat (beef, mutton, pork, etc.); (4) 
 horses or other draught animals for labor; (5) bees for honey; 
 (6) cat and dog for helpers.
 
 160 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 b. Problems to be solved. 
 
 (1) Relation of plant to animal life, (a) Plant life to support 
 animals; (b) animal products as fertilizers. 
 
 (2) Profit or loss in keeping (a) one cow; (b) a few chickens. 
 
 (3) Shelter demanded by animals, (a) Cost and architecture; 
 
 (b) care to keep sanitary. 
 
 (4) Knowledge of animal ailments, hygiene, care, etc. 
 
 (5) Knowing how to use products to best advantage, (a) Milk 
 and its uses, (b) Meats, how cured; by-products, how used; 
 lard, hams, dried beef, etc. (c) Eggs — how preserved for 
 winter use. 
 
 2. For profit. 
 
 a. Kinds (from which one or two are selected by a single stock farmer). 
 (1) Poultry, (a) Chickens; (b) ducks; (c) geese; (d) turkeys; 
 (e) pigeons. (2) Milch cows — dairying. (3) Beef cattle — 
 ranching. (4) Pigs. (5) Sheep — herding: (a) raised for 
 wool; (b) raised for flesh. (6) Bees. (7) Cats. (8) Dogs. 
 (9) Draught animals. (10) Any of the above raised for 
 fancy stock — (a) greater profit, but also greater risk. (11) 
 Miscellaneous; in special regions — muskrats for fur; canaries 
 and parrots; oysters, clams, salmon, etc., for food; game 
 "preserves" for hunters, deer, buffalo, camels, etc.; ostriches 
 for feathers; alligators for skin; etc. 
 Knowledge necessary for success. 
 
 a. Know habits, needs, diseases, etc., of animal selected to be raised. 
 
 b. Know how to breed and raise stock desired. 
 
 c. Know how to prepare and to ship. (1) If alive — e. g., cattle; (2) 
 
 if killed — e. g., poultry; (3) if fragile — c. g., eggs; (4) if dressed 
 — e. g., skins. 
 
 d. Know how to secure products when they alone are wanted. (1) 
 
 Honey — apiary; (2) milk products — dairy. 
 
 e. Be willing to work. 
 
 (1) Early and late in rush seasons; need of boys' and girls' help 
 at such times. (2) With forethought in rest seasons — re- 
 pairing buildings, fences, etc. 
 C. The privileges and pleasures of an agricultural life. 
 
 1. Its independence. 
 
 2. Its healthfulness. 
 
 3. Its financial returns if well managed. 
 
 4. Its opportunities for the finest kind of family life. 
 
 a. Time to read and converse together. 
 
 b. Children share all the problems, hence grow educated. 
 
 c. Children may specialize and still be a part of the whole life — divid- 
 
 ing labor and cooperating. (1) Fruit grower; (2) grain grower; 
 (3) stock raiser; (4) poultry raiser; (5) dairyman; (fi) mechanic 
 and engineer; (7) architect and carpenter; (8) housekeeper and 
 cook; (9) seamstress; all needed on a farm. 
 
 5. Its building of character — patience, forethought, promptness, dispatch, 
 
 honesty, courage, perseverance, industry, attention to duty, free will, 
 thinking, good judgment, etc. 
 
 Note: The line of work just outlined appeals to pupils of every grade. Certain phases 
 should be selected for intensive work in different grades, or even in different years with the same 
 grade. In rural schools, especially, different subdivisions should be stressed in different years. 
 See School Education during 1915-1918 for treatment of different topics.
 
 Industrial Arts. — The Field of Industries. 161 
 
 III. Mining Industries. 
 
 A. Digging. — 1. Sand (for building.) 2. Clay (for brick). 3. Limestone (for 
 
 plaster). 4. Salt (for food and other purposes). 5. Soda (for food and 
 other purposes). 6. Wells (for water). 7. Wells (for oil). S. Iron ore (in 
 some localities, as at Hibbing). 9. Agates, etc. 
 
 B. Quarrying. — 1. Rock or stone. 2. Granite and marble. 3. Coal and slate 
 
 (in some localities; e. g., Pennsylvania). 
 
 C. Mining.— 1. Coal. 2. Iron. 3. Copper. 4. Silver. 5. Gold. 6. Miscella- 
 
 neous — in certain regions, tin, radium, diamonds, amethysts, etc. 
 Characteristics needed for success. 1. Knowledge of methods of work for spe- 
 cial materials desired. 2. Strong nerves in the face of grave risk — "grit." 
 3. Courage in spite of disappointments — "pluck." 
 
 Note: The mining industries appeal to fourth-grade pupils first, and again to eighth in con- 
 nection with their composition work on "World-builders" or on their future vocations. 
 
 IV. Manufacturing Industries. 
 
 A. To supply food. — 1. Butter and cheese — dairy. 2. Flour and by-products 
 
 — mills. 3. Breads. 4. Breakfast foods, macaroni, etc. 5. Meat and fish 
 — packing companies, preserving companies, and canning companies. 
 6. Vegetables and fruits — cannery, pickle factory, vinegar factory, coffee, 
 tea, cocoa, spice. 7. Candy factory. 8. Refineries — for sugar, salt, soda, 
 baking-powder, etc. 9. Medicines, extracts, etc. 
 
 B. To supply clothing. 
 
 1. Spinning and attendant processes. (a)Cotton; (b) linen; (c) silk; (d) wool. 
 
 2. Weaving and attendant processes. 
 
 3. Garment making — sewing, tailoring, etc. 
 
 a. Underwear. (1) Knitting; (2) sewing; (3) finishing. 
 
 b. Outer garments. (1) Men's apparel; (2) women's apparel. 
 
 4. Hat making and attendant processes, such as straw-braiding, artificial- 
 
 flower manufacture, etc. (a) For men; (b) for women. 
 
 5. Glove manufacture, (a) For all purposes; (b) of many materials. 
 
 6. Hosiery and shoe manufacture. 
 
 7. Manufacture of storm necessities, (a) Coats; (b) hats; (c) umbrellas. 
 
 8. Accessories of dress, (a) Handkerchiefs; (b) buttons, hooks and eyes, 
 
 etc.; (c) ribbons, braids, tapes, etc.; (d) laces, trimmings, etc.; (e) 
 buckles, hat-pins, ornaments of all kinds; (f) jewelry. 
 
 C. To supply homes with necessities, comforts, or luxuries. 
 
 1. Wood-working industries, (a) Lumbering; (b) saw-milling; (c) car- 
 
 pentry; (d) cabinet making; (e) finishing of fine woods; (f) furniture 
 manufacturing; (g) clock-case making, (h) Manufacture of musical- 
 instrument cases: (1) piano, organ, etc.; (2) violin, guitar, etc.; (3) 
 flute, (i) Match and kindling manufacture, (j) Basket, box, barrel, 
 bucket, etc., manufacture, (k) Pencils, etc. 
 
 2. Clay and stone industries, (a) Brick and tile manufacturing; (b) pot- 
 
 teries — where crude crockery is made to finest types of china manu- 
 facture; (c) enamels; (d) "concrete," cement, etc.; (e) stone dressing; 
 (f) marble working — from mere polishing of slabs to sculptured pillars 
 and works of art. 
 
 3. Metal working, (a) Steel manufacture; (b) zinc manufacture; (c) man- 
 
 ufacture of all sorts of articles from different metals. 
 
 (1) Nails, screws, bolts, hinges, knobs, locks, etc.; (2) faucets, 
 pumps, plumbing pipes, furnaces, stoves, etc. (3) farm
 
 162 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 machinery and tools; (4) cooking utensils; (5) sewing mate- 
 rials — machines, needles, pins, scissors, etc.; (6) bird-cages, 
 traps, hunting and fishing apparatus, firearms, etc.; (7) table 
 utensils (steel, silver, even gold); (8) watch and clock mak- 
 ing; (9) pen-points and -holders; (10) wire netting for win- 
 dows, fences, and many purposes; (11) roof-gutters, trim- 
 mings, etc.; (12) beds and springs; (13) laundry appliances; 
 and so many more articles that a complete list would be im- 
 possible. 
 
 4. Coarse-cloth, etc., manufacture, (a) Carpets, rugs, draperies, etc.; (b) 
 
 bedding of all kinds; (c) towels, table linen, etc.; (d) linofelt linings; 
 (e) awnings and hammocks; (f) straw mattings, shades, etc.; (g) leather 
 goods of all kinds. 
 
 5. Paper manufacture for: (a) Books, periodicals, sheet music, and related 
 
 material; (b) calendars, blotters; (c) stationery; (d) prints of art- 
 works; (e) wall papers; (f) money, stamps, etc. 
 
 6. Printing (of all things named under 5). 
 
 7. Glass manufacture, (a) Dishes, bottles, etc.; (b) mirrors; (c) thermom- 
 
 eters, etc. 
 D. To supply miscellaneous wants of man. (1) Toilet articles and utensils, 
 such as soap, brushes, etc.; (2) inks, dyes, stains, varnishes, paints, etc.; 
 (3) flags; (4) children's toys, adults' games and sports equipments; (5) ap- 
 pliances for stores, banks, etc. ; (6) appliances for all forms of transportation. 
 Characteristics and knowledge necessary for success in manufacturing. 
 
 1. Keenness to see need of an article and cost of supplying it. 
 
 2. Ability to buy with judgment and economy the raw materials. 
 
 3. Ability to secure loyal cooperation from necessary helpers, (a) Justice 
 
 in dealing with men; (b) patience in training unskilled labor; (c) rec- 
 ognition of ability; (d) reasonable protection of men from harm — 
 sympathy; (e) leadership qualities, etc. 
 
 4. Honesty in producing a product that will be the best of its kind for the 
 
 cost. 
 
 5. Knowing how to market the product. 
 
 6. Ability to profit by mistakes, checking waste, and constantly improv- 
 
 ing the efficiency of the plant, hence knowing the whole business well. 
 
 Note: Manufacturing industries especially interest fifth- and sixth-grade children who are 
 at the age to experiment. Definite values lie in the making of many single articles, and the manual 
 training course can be closely related to this interest. Girls can spin, weave, make soap, and cook. 
 Boys enjoy engines, derricks, mechanical toys, and a real telegraph system. The section on 
 "characteristics," etc., is for use in eighth grade, in the study of vocntions. 
 
 V. Commercial Industries. 
 
 Community life demands cooperation, resulting, finally, in division of 
 labor. At that stage men sell their surplus products, thus earning a live- 
 lihood for their families. There seem to be three main kinds of supplies 
 to be sold, though the line of demarcation can not always be clearly drawn. 
 These are labor, produce, and thought, each designated by the prominent 
 element present, even though the other elements are never absent; for ex- 
 ample, a delivery-boy who sells his labor, handles produce, and has to use 
 thought. 
 A. The more usual forms of labor (unskilled and skilled) are exchanged for 
 money by the following persons: Baker, carpenter, printer, ' pavement 
 maker, plasterer, paper-hanger, barber, drayman, liveryman, mason,
 
 Industrial Arts. — The Field of Industries. 163 
 
 blacksmith, wheelwright, locksmith, chair-caner, wagoner or cartwright, 
 day laborer, laundryman, washer-woman, charwoman, house-cleaner, 
 tinker, plumber, shoe-repairer, wood-sawyer, serving-maid, seamstress, 
 waitress, saddler, chauffeur, maid of all work, man of all work, employ- 
 ment agents, clerk, bookkeeper, stenographer, ploughman, hired-man, 
 farm-hand, butcher, nurseryman, gardener, surveyor. 
 Qualities needed for being a successful laborer. 
 
 1. Willingness to work — industry. 
 
 2. Honesty in service as well as in relation to employer's property. 
 
 3. Knowledge of the labor undertaken — more or less skill demanded 
 
 of particular sorts. 
 
 4. Willingness to do what the employer wants — that is, flexible, adapt- 
 
 able, but not servile. 
 
 5. Possessed of initiative or of power to shoulder the responsibility 
 
 and use judgment if left alone to do the work. 
 
 6. Promptness and reliability. 
 
 7. Physical strength for the task selected. 
 
 B. Men who give their time, labor, and thought, to the handling of produce 
 
 which they buy and then sell at a profit so as to insure them a living, are 
 called merchants. Some well-known ones are the grocer, dry-goods mer- 
 chant, clothier, hatter, milliner, shoe merchant, jeweler, hardware mer- 
 chant, florist, confectioner, stationer, book dealer, laces-, hosiery-, and 
 glove-shop keepers, druggist, fuel merchant, millstuff and feed-store keeper, 
 bird dealer, furrier, publisher, dealer in rubber and sporting goods, auto- 
 mobile-shop keeper, dealer in conveyances, furniture dealer, art dealer, 
 music dealer, real-estate dealer, and dealer in antiques. 
 Some qualities demanded for this industry: 
 
 1. Faithfulness to duty; promptness, dispatch, reliability, etc. 
 
 2. Good judgment in purchasing — ability to see the consumers' needs, 
 
 the value of the goods if held some time, etc. 
 
 3. Ability to display, advertise, and so to dispose of the merchandise. 
 
 4. Ability to direct helpers if the business is large. 
 
 5. System, so as to check up losses and prevent them, or to add to the 
 
 lines of profit. 
 G. Understanding human nature and fitting business to such knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 C. Men who give others the benefit of their thought, judgment, imagination, 
 
 and ideals, incidentally earning a livelihood thereby, make the third group, 
 often called professional men. The group includes bankers, brokers (of 
 the right sort); formulators and managers of insurance, transportation, 
 and utility corporations; lawyers; civil engineers; architects; statesmen; 
 scientists; inventors; physicians; artists; music composers; authors; 
 teachers (real teachers); pastors; efficiency experts; vocational advisers. 
 Home-making and parenthood are growing to be classed among the pro- 
 fessions. 
 
 Characteristics demanded for success in the professions: 
 
 1. The general characteristics demanded for success in any Jine — 
 
 honesty, industry, dependableness, etc. 
 
 2. Superior intellectuality. 
 
 3. Long preparation for life work — in school, in travel, in apprentice- 
 
 ship, etc.
 
 164 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 4. Broad general culture and pleasing personality — clean, frank, 
 
 sympathetic, etc. 
 
 5. Altruism, willingness to lose one's life in service for mankind, 
 
 thinking less of money returns than of the good one may do. 
 
 6. The will to do one's duty in whatever form it appears — to be true 
 
 to one's ideals. 
 
 7. Superior power of expression — in words, acts, writing; on canvas; 
 
 in whatever medium necessary for the profession selected. 
 
 Note: The commercial industries will naturally appeal to upper-grade pupils, whose arith- 
 metic, geography, history, ethics, vocational guidance, and composition subject-matter relate to 
 the field or utilize material found therein. 
 
 B.— THRIFT. 
 
 In the daily use o*f material from first grade up, thrift, but not 
 littleness or stinginess, should be cultivated. The value of thrift 
 becomes evident to intermediate- and upper-grade pupils as they 
 study real industries and note the relation of expenditures and 
 waste to profit, in by-products as well as in the main output. 
 
 See pages 104-124, 177-188, and the "Diagram" accompanying 
 this book, for suggestions for teaching thrift to boys and girls. 
 
 C— VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE. 
 
 This has been so often referred to in the subject-matter outlined 
 for each grade, that little more needs to be said. See pp. 55, 95, 
 122, 144, 152, 156, 175, 180, 188, as well as the "Diagram." 
 
 At the period of adolescence "the one great field of thought 
 which appeals to the child is the field of human adult industry. 
 He wants to do real things in a real way, and is satifised with doing 
 miniature things in a miniature way only as a substitute and illus- 
 tration of the reality he seeks." 
 
 Boys, especially, want to earn money, and should therefore be 
 encouraged to learn about trades, industries, and professions — not 
 to make early and irrevocable choice of what they will do, but to 
 know better what the world wants done and the sort of persons 
 needed to do that work.* They should be encouraged to try what- 
 ever occupations parents will consent to their trying. 
 
 Conversations should constantly be had over the knowledge, 
 temperament, and character, requisite for success in various gainful 
 occupations. Children should be helped to see that, unless it is 
 absolutely necessary to do so, it is a very short-sighted policy to leave 
 school early for the sake of earning a relatively small sum, when 
 more education might later give a greater earning capacity, to say 
 nothing of the increased ability to enjoy life.f 
 
 * See books on vocational guidance referred to on p. 301; in the Minnesota School Library 
 List, p. 27; and in articles on the subject. 
 
 t Sec (1) The Elementary School Journal, p. 369, March, 1910, "The Curriculum and Vocational 
 Guidance." (2) Education, Vol. 34, pp. SI and 153, or October and November, 1913, article by 
 Coover showing that more education pays. (3) Journal of Education, p. 651, December 30, 1915 
 — Winship's description of the work in l'ortchester, N. Y., and Cincinnati, to prove the value of 
 schooling. (1) Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 22, 1917 — "The 
 Money Value of Education," Ellis — 15c.
 
 Citizenship.— History. 165 
 
 V.— CITIZENSHIP. 
 
 In an effort to find the name best suited to the study of those 
 problems of human adjustment which make for higher ideals of in- 
 stitutional as well as of individual life, citizenship was decided upon. 
 It includes the familiar subject of history, together with elementary 
 phases of civics, economics, sociology, and ethics. 
 
 There are two main means of teaching this important subject: 
 
 (1) Direct experience, demonstrated (a) in the conduct of pupils in daily 
 life and particularly in the institutional life of the school; (b) in the organization 
 of clubs and societies which need the making of a constitution and the exercise 
 of simple parliamentary practice; (c) in keeping up with such current events as 
 interpret the community life and point to the community's problems; and (d) in 
 the study of civics (outlined below). 
 
 (2) Indirect experience, gained through a study (a) of historical material 
 and of real history; (b) of ethics; and (c) of literature. 
 
 Because of the close inter-relationship between history, civics, 
 current events, and moral training, fully differentiated courses in 
 the several subjects could not be planned. They will be seen to 
 overlap one with another, as well as with science and industry. 
 
 A.— HISTORY. 
 
 In history an attempt has been made to prepare a cumulative 
 course, unified (to the teacher) by one big thought, — nationalism 
 or internationalism, — and distributed through the grades (1) to 
 correspond with children's developing consciousness of institutional 
 life, (2) to interrelate with the other subject-matter of a grade so 
 that each year's work may be a unit, and (3) to adhere as closely 
 as possible to the recommendations of the Committee of Eight.* 
 The slight variations that afe made from the committee's course 
 can be fully justified, since, as the report says, — 
 
 "If the unity of the general theme can be realized by some other treatment 
 in individual instances, by omissions, or by more detailed work, this will not in- 
 terfere with the aim of the plan. The capacity of pupils differs from school to 
 school. No plan can be regarded as adaptable to all conditions. Above all it 
 must be remembered that the fundamental aim is not to store the child's mind 
 with many detailed facts of general history, but to make certain impressions 
 which shall exercise a guiding influence over the child's intellectual growth; to 
 furnish him with a framework into which his later reading or study shall place 
 what he acquires."! 
 
 * Charles Scribner's Sons. Necessary in every school library. 
 
 t The course planned has also taken account of the report of the Committee on Elimination, 
 printed in Bulletin No. 51, in which "for purposes of examination only, "there are suggested 37 
 dates (to be acquired during six years, hence an average of about six a year); 40 biographies (in 
 eight years); 4 colonies, not over 10 battles, and, besides our local Minnesota history, only about 
 10 important historical topics, for acquisition in two years.
 
 166 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 The Growth of Nationalism. — Outline of the Course. 
 
 Grades I, II, III. 
 
 I. Primitive Life. 
 
 A. Tree-dwellers. B. Cave-men. C. Minnesota* Indian life in its primi- 
 tive stages. (And history in connection with special days.) 
 Grade IV. 
 
 II. Tribal Life. 
 
 A. Hunting tribes. 
 
 1. Land hunting. 
 
 2. Fishing. 
 
 3. Warring tribes such as the Goths, Huns, Vandals, and Vikings. 
 
 B. Shepherd tribes. 
 
 C. Agricultural tribes. 
 
 Minnesota Indian life in its tribal stages: The Six Nations; the 
 Eskimos; the Cliff-dwellers. Hebrew shepherds. Vikings. 
 Grade V. 
 
 III. National Life. 
 
 A. Chinese (1 to 2 weeks). 
 
 B. Greek (10 to 12 weeks). 
 
 C. Roman (10 to 12 weeks). 
 
 D. General changes in Europe during the 1000 years which followed the 
 
 breaking up of the Roman Empire (about one week). 
 
 E. The United States. 
 
 1. Pre-national life in America. 
 
 a. General effect of discovery, exploration, and settlement, noting 
 
 the place Minnesota had in all these movements (10 to 12 
 weeks) •• 
 Grade VI. 
 
 b. European ancestry of Americans. Review earlier work on 
 
 Greece and Rome (4 to 6 weeks) . Expand the barely touched- 
 
 upon interim between the decline of Rome and the discovery 
 
 of America into a study of the European peoples whose 
 
 children made (and make) America: 
 
 (1) The Germans (3 to 5 weeks). (2) The French (1 week). 
 
 (3) The Spanish (1 week). (4) The Norse (1 to 3 weeks). 
 
 (5) The English (7 to 9 weeks). (6) The Dutch (1 week). 
 
 (7) Other nationalities to fit local needs. 
 
 Besides this study of individual peoples, children's atten- 
 tion must be drawn to the general social, political, and reli- 
 gious life of the middle ages (1-2 weeks), the crusades, pil- 
 grimages, and commercial travel (2-3 weeks), the discovery, 
 exploration, and colonization of the New World seen from the 
 viewpoint of a resident of the Old World (2-3 weeks), and the 
 recognition of the fact that America is still the nation's "melt- 
 ing pot" (2-3 weeks). 
 Grade VII. 
 
 c. The Colonial period of United States history, with the Revolu- 
 
 tionary war to end it. (One year). 
 Grade VIII. 
 
 2. National life. Meaning of July 4th, the New Republic, territorial 
 
 expansion, the great West and Northwest (with Minnesota's 
 place noted), industrial expansion, commercial expansion, the 
 discovery of gold in California, danger to the Union, problems 
 after the Civil War, problems today (5-6 months); Minnesota's 
 parallel development (3-4 months) to be treated alone near the 
 end of the year or to be woven into the general United States 
 history throughout the year. 
 
 IV. "Internationality," the hope of the future (2 to 4 weeks, if the teacher can 
 
 get it in). 
 A. Movements towards world peace before 1914. 
 * Substitute for Minnesota any desired state.
 
 History. — Grades I, II, and III. 167 
 
 B. The present Great War — present and probable future effects of this war 
 
 on world peace, on industry, on commerce, on Americans' attitude 
 towards the alien. 
 
 C. America's problems. 
 
 D. Minnesota's problems. 
 
 E. Our individual problems. 
 
 Grades I, II, and III. 
 
 In childhood — as in the childhood of the race — fact and fancy- 
 are inextricably mixed. With no developed sense of either time 
 or space, the child sees without shock strange happenings occur in 
 juxtaposition. Myths, legends, traditions, and folk-tales, devel- 
 oped by child-like peoples, are the natural materials to satisfy chil- 
 dren of these grades. People are as yet to the child little more than 
 objects to be used for his own ends, hence he cares little for consis- 
 tency but wants people in action. Life is a puzzle, and he is inter- 
 ested to learn how heroes of history and of literature acted in dra- 
 matic situations still simple enough for him to conceive. 
 
 This is, too, the period when the child is learning to know the 
 world about him and his place in that world. 
 
 The work in "history" is closely allied to that in language, 
 geography, and industry, to all of which the teacher should con- 
 stantly refer. 
 
 In connection with the celebrations of special days, it will be 
 natural for children to be told stories or incidents of great men 
 and women of the past. Although the days to be celebrated will 
 be, in the main, identical for the first three grades, the point of 
 emphasis can be varied, as the following suggestions will indicate: 
 
 Grade I, October 12, Columbus — His boyhood, what people knew of the world 
 450 years ago, why we celebrate October 12. Thanksgiving — Stories of Pilgrim 
 children such as Oceanus Hopkins, Peregrine White, Betty Alden, and Rose 
 Standish; of Myles Standish; of Indians. Christmas — The story of the shepherds 
 as they saw the star and as they visited the Christ-child in the manger. Feb- 
 ruary 22 — Washington's boyhood, with his rules of behavior. 
 
 Grade II, often united with grade I. If not, review work of grade I and 
 add or emphasize the points of resemblance in Minnesota history. For exam- 
 ple: October 12 — To the story of Columbus as a discoverer add the story of the 
 Norsemen and relate it to Minnesota's "Kensington Rune Stone." Thanks- 
 giving — Show how similar the conditions of the Minnesota pioneers were to those 
 of the Pilgrims: same food, clothing, and shelter problems; same difficulties with 
 Indians. December 25 — Add the story of the wise men, and how they followed 
 the star. Add January 17, Franklin, with emphasis on his boyhood. February 
 22 — Maxims from Washington's copy-book used for copies; his later life, includ- 
 ing stories of Lafayette and Kosciusko if fitting the community. Add May SO, 
 Function of Memorial day; bravery emphasized. 
 
 Grade III, October 12 — Relation of Columbus to the work of later explorers, 
 some of whom (LaSalle, Joliet, Radisson, Groseilliers, etc.) came to Minnesota. 
 Thanksgiving — Compare the life and work of Winthrop with Sibley; of John 
 Eliot with Hennepin and Marquette; of King Philip with Wabasha, Red Wing, 
 or other Indian chiefs in Minnesota's early history; of the first white children of 
 the Plymouth colony with the first white children of Minnesota. Add December 
 17, Whitticr, to portray New England life after the early pioneer days were over, 
 and to compare the scenes in "Snowbound" with similar situations in early Min-
 
 168 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 ncsota history. December 25 — The flight to Egypt. Herod. Christ as a boy. 
 Early Hebrew history, such as the story of Joseph or of David. January 17 — 
 Franklin's inventions. Add February 12, Lincoln, with emphasis on his boy- 
 hood, and pioneer conditions in Kentucky noted as similar to those in Minnesota. 
 Story of Minnesota's Governor Johnson, because he was like Lincoln. February 
 22 — Washington as president. Making the United States flag. Compare to 
 Governor Sibley, of Minnesota. Sibley House at Mendota. The Minnesota 
 state flag. Add Bird and Arbor Day, with emphasis on the need of conservation 
 for the sake of Minnesota's future. May 80 — Barest outline of Civil War, with 
 emphasis on what Minnesota's sons and daughters gave for the Union. 
 
 In schools of several grades to a room, some of these days should occasionally 
 be omitted and July Fourth, Minnesota Day, Peace Day, and Flag Day substi- 
 tuted. 
 
 In the second and third grades it will be found that the daily- 
 life of primitive peoples appeals. Although the child is in the midst 
 of a complex civilization, he has no appreciation of the whole. As 
 he studies primitive peoples in their search for the necessities of 
 life, he can gradually be led to appreciate and to interpret present- 
 day activities. In principle, the life of Bodo in the "Tree Dwell- 
 ers" is much like his own, filled with the spirit of progress or the 
 desire for investigation, discovery, and exploration. Like Sharp- 
 tooth, who typifies the conservative element of society, the child's 
 mother warns him of danger and holds him back from rashness. 
 After a time, like Bodo, he finds a companion with whom to co- 
 operate, and modern "society," with its need of give-and-take, 
 begins for him. Although the child cannot analyze the thought, 
 he does understand that, as the tree-dwellers change into cave- 
 men, individual freedom gives place to the welfare of the social 
 group. He sees Firekeeper making the home, developing worship, 
 and teaching the young. He sees Strongarm, as leader, caring for 
 all, showing forethought, inventiveness, and patience in studying 
 out the problem of fire-making. He sees Sharpeyes displaying 
 bravery, persistence, and love of others. He recognizes the need 
 of division of labor, and can be led to interpret the life about him 
 more intelligently. 
 
 Closely associated with this study of typical primitive peoples, 
 will be the early Indian life of our own state, the home of "Hia- 
 watha." This study of beginnings is not to be over-emphasized, 
 but should be used only to help children realize how group-life 
 grew and how men learned better and ever better ways of doing 
 things. Present-day problems should be either the line of approach 
 to or the application of this study. 
 
 In the third grade special effort should be made to gather to- 
 gether all incidental teaching of "history," and to unify the courses 
 in citizenship, industry, and science.* Teuton and Norse mythology, 
 as well as that of Greece and Rome, should be drawn upon as source 
 
 * See plan of alternation suRgestcd under third-grade geography. Problems there given can 
 with very slight changes be suited to history work.
 
 History. — Grades I, II, and III. 169 
 
 material. Mrs. Carley's description! of some third-grade work in 
 history based on the study of Chicago's development, and accom- 
 plished by pupils in the Francis W. Parker school, is so excellent as 
 to warrant the quoting of large parts. Minnesota teachers will 
 find that little more than the substitution of some town or city in 
 Minnesota for "Chicago" is needed to make the outline fit local 
 conditions. The study is especially applicable to the Twin Cities, 
 Duluth, and Winona, although of course no teacher would use all 
 of these topics in any one year with a single class; the list is how- 
 ever very suggestive. 
 
 "The contrasts between the lives of people who lived here fifty to a hundred 
 years ago, and the children's own, helps them to appreciate their own environ- 
 ment and comforts. Chicago is so young that there are people still living who 
 can tell personal experiences of the early days, and these, with visits to historical 
 spots and museums, make the study more real and vivid. The purpose is not 
 to teach events, but to show reasons for the beginning of the city, its connection 
 with the rest of the country — the interdependence, in general, between the city 
 and the surrounding country. To have children image the landscape, not the 
 map, many excursions to type-areas are necessary. This also enables them to 
 think of conditions around Chicago as they existed long ago. It is essential to 
 make a study of some of the organized civic activities of the present day, to em- 
 phasize the beginnings, the growth, and the reasons for instituting them. 
 
 "The children write their own histories of Chicago. Each child has reprints 
 of thirty or forty pictures which the teacher has collected from every possible 
 source to illustrate this work. Covers are made for the books, and they are 
 simply and artistically bound. The motive of making a book which is to be 
 both complete and beautiful, appeals very strongly to all of them. The topical 
 outline given below will give some idea of the contents of each child's book: 
 
 How Chicago looked a hundred years ago. 
 
 Stories of Indians — Indians' dress; Indian homes — wigwam, summer home, winter home. 
 
 Indian village along creek where State street is now. Industries — Basketry, pottery making, 
 weaving rush mats, weaving blankets, cooking. 
 
 How Indians gather wild rice. Indian games. 
 
 Hunting and Fishing Devices — Elk hunting; buffalo hunting, hunting buffalo with decoys; 
 antelope hunting; hunting deer with decoys; hunting bears; bear dance, snow-shoe dance; trapping 
 animals; fishing with soap-root; fishing with bow and arrow; spearing fish; weirs. 
 
 Picture writing. Building canoes. 
 
 Building Fort Dearborn. (Minnesota has Fort Snelling.) Plan of the fort. 
 
 Mr. Kinzie comes to Chicago. (Every Minnesota town contains some descendant of a pio- 
 neer whose journey west was full of incident and adventure.) 
 
 The Kinzie mansion. Fur trading — stories of trappers. Stories of French voyageurs. 
 
 How Chicago looked in 1812 — Tecumseh; Revolutionary War; War of 1812; first Indian 
 trouble; massacre of Fort Dearborn; Black Partridge. 
 
 After the War of 1S12. Fort Dearborn rebuilt. 
 
 Coming of settlers; how they traveled; traveling with ox-carts, sledges, prairie-schooners, flat- 
 boats, pack-horses. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln traveling to Illinois; his trip on a flatboat down the Mississippi river. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kinzie's traveling experiences. How Chicago looked in 1S31. 
 
 Old-fashioned fireplace; cooking. 
 
 River water; wells and sweeps; selling water from cart. Water system — log pipes; first city 
 water-works; the drainage canal; intersecting sewers; plan for north-shore sewers. 
 
 Street problems — Lifting Chicago out of the mud. Playground plan. 
 
 t In the Seventh Year-Book of the Superintendents' and Principals' Association of Northern 
 Illinois.
 
 170 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Grade IV. 
 
 When pupils have reached the fourth grade they have ceased to 
 class people and objects together. They recognize the difference 
 in the reactions which people make to people, and those which peo- 
 ple make to their material environment. During the develop- 
 ment of this social consciousness, while yet children are trying 
 through competitive games and through interchange of experiences, 
 to know one another, they grow interested in adults, the "Olym- 
 pians" who can do "just as they please," and yet who do not seem 
 to take advantage of their privileges. Children can not, however, 
 yet grasp complex social situations. Their attention becomes riv- 
 eted at any one time on just one individual and what he accom- 
 plishes. Therefore the work in history may often be done by the 
 proper use of biographies, selected and presented so as to portray 
 the age in which the character lived, disclosing the life of all the 
 people. If the child's imagination is cultivated so that he sees the 
 scenes, so that the setting is clear and the action plain; if much en- 
 riching detail is employed; if dramatization is used to strengthen 
 the child's understanding, to check the rationality of facts offered, 
 and to help him feel the situations, the intermediate-grade pupil 
 will "love history." Whenever possible, he should be led to see 
 how the individual character was influenced by the group in which 
 he lived and how he and his group influence our life today. 
 
 The range of stories and biographies from which to select is so 
 broad as to make it unnecessary for any two schools to do exactly 
 the same things, although a few are later suggested. 
 
 Although fourth-grade pupils are still unable to comprehend the 
 significance of the sequence of national development, (outlined on 
 p. 166), they can be led to enter into the life of those earlier tribes 
 and nations which grew out of primitive conditions and which 
 bridged the gap from no solidarity in group-life to our own modern 
 and complex civilization. This study should be preceded by the 
 sort of review that will best emphasize the growth of tribal life; 
 hence, a review of primitive life in which: (1) Each man lived alone; 
 (2) the child had very early to fend for himself; (3) fire was discov- 
 ered and used; (4) language developed; (5) family life developed; 
 (6) labor was divided; and (7) a larger family life (or group-life) 
 evolved. The study of tribal life may be subdivided as follows: 
 
 A. Hunting tribes, including fishing and warring tribes. For stories, use 
 parts of "The Brown Baby," "Mancnko," and "Agoonack," from "Seven Little 
 Sisters" and "Each and All;" "Robinson Crusoe;" "Docas;" "Hiawatha" (parts 
 not used in primary grades); and other Indian boyhood stories such as the East- 
 man books and Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans."
 
 History. — Grade V. 171 
 
 B. Shepherd tribes — For pictures of this life see the story of "Jeannette," in 
 "Seven Little Sisters," and "Each and All"; "Heide;" "Robinson Crusoe;" the 
 life and paintings of Millet; the biographies of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David> 
 and others which teachers find suited to their needs. 
 
 C. Agricultural tribes, represented well by some of our American Indians, 
 where the women tilled the soil; gathered, ground, and cooked grains; wove 
 blankets; made baskets, pottery, etc. See "Docas"; "Hiawatha" (and Monda- 
 min); stories of Squanto's teaching the Pilgrims to plant maize; and the life of 
 "The Six Nations." As Pilgrim and Virginia life are studied, children recognize 
 the difficulties of an agricultural life and appreciate the setting apart a day of 
 Thanksgiving when the harvest did prove bountiful. Robinson Crusoe's troubles 
 also help to point the lessons of forethought, thrift, and care. From" "Seven 
 Little Sisters," and "Each and All," parts of the stories of "Louise" and "Pense" 
 can be utilized. 
 
 Grade V. 
 
 As the child grows in social consciousness, (see grade IV,) learn- 
 ing how groups have met or do meet life's changing conditions, and 
 as he explores and invents things for himself, he discovers every- 
 where not only the necessity but the benefit of cooperation. "Team 
 work" takes on a new meaning, and he feels, more or less definitely, 
 that still closer organization of group-life will benefit mankind. 
 He is therefore ready for a study of nations and of what each has 
 done in its particular part of the world. Facts and dates become 
 valuable only when needed in studying the bigger "problems" of 
 why one nation has risen to high rank, how long it held its suprem- 
 acy, and why it ever fell; what each nation has contributed to the 
 world's progress and the relationship to the geography of the earth 
 of the westward advance of frontier life. Four typical nations are 
 chosen. (See Outline, p. 166.) 
 
 The study of China may be omitted if a teacher so desires. It 
 was selected as the type of an Oriental nation, as an example of a 
 non-progressive group, and because the early earthworks and the 
 later brickwork of the "Chinese Wall" are thought by some histori- 
 ans to have definitely influenced European civilization, turning 
 back upon Europe the hordes of warring and nomadic tribes that 
 once harassed China. Again, the present "Awakening in China" 
 points to future interrelations which the next generation of business- 
 men can better interpret if they learn as boys somewhat of China's 
 history. 
 
 Since Greece and Rome have had so marked an influence on 
 present-day civilization, no further defense is necessary for the 
 study of topics from their history. Hurrying over a thousand years, 
 just noting that with the decline of Rome her extensive empire 
 changed into many European nations, the Course of Study takes 
 up the beginnings of European life in America.
 
 172 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Note: In schools where pupils in great majority are likely to leave at the 
 end of the fifth year, somewhat less of Grecian and Roman life, and probably 
 nothing of Chinese life, should be given, so that the time can be put upon a more 
 extended study of the United States than is here outlined. Children who may 
 have no later schooling should have at least a cursory knowledge of their own 
 land and of their obligations to a country which has done and is doing so much 
 for them. 
 
 China. — For the work on China, the story of "Pense" and her 
 brother "Lin" in "Seven Little Sisters," and "Each and All," sup- 
 plemented by reference readings upon life in China, and by the 
 story of Marco Polo's visit there, will provide all that the teacher 
 needs. 
 
 Greece. — Through the study of Greek myths, legends, hero-tales, 
 and biographies, the real life of the Grecian people should become 
 known. Children and teacher must make themselves a part of 
 this life, working and playing with these wonderful yet simple peo- 
 ple; with them accounting for the mysteries of nature in fanciful 
 tales of Zeus, Pluto, Ceres, and Aurora; learning to emulate the 
 virtues of Theseus, Perseus, Jason, Ulysses, and the heroes of the 
 Trojan war; seeing what the world has gained from Grecian law- 
 givers, soldiers, rulers, and teachers of art, music, and philosophy. 
 Through a study of the larger causes of Greece's rise and decline, 
 the child can be led to see that a nation's strength depends on the 
 high moral conduct of its individual members — citizens with civic 
 consciences as sensitive as personal consciences. By a comparison 
 of Grecian conditions with modern, the child gets a basis for right 
 civic conduct now and in adulthood. 
 
 Rome. — From the study of Rome, pupils should get the feeling 
 of the world's great indebtedness to that city, for (1) law and gov- 
 ernment, (2) practical arts such as were seen in good roads and 
 aqueducts, (3) the spread of a religion which was mightier than the 
 sword, and (4) the dissemination of culture which Rome took from 
 Greece and tried to make her own. The teacher should study the 
 report of the Committee of Eight, pp. 26-34, for "problems" and 
 reference material, and add to these topics that of the Decline of 
 the Roman Empire and the final formation of the nations whose 
 citizens, because of love of adventure, religious liberty, conquest, 
 or greed, sought the New World and started our own United States. 
 As this forms the core of the sixth-grade work, only enough time 
 should be given the subject in fifth to pave the way to the next big 
 topic, E. Dramatization of events which can best be understood 
 by acting; making in miniature the Acropolis or the Forum, for 
 example; and picturing events which the imagination can paint; 
 are means to be frequently employed.
 
 History. — Grade VI. 173 
 
 From p. 1G6, E, 1, a. The First Europeans in America 
 
 (1) Came by fortunate accidents — Leif Ericson; Columbus. 
 
 (2) Found native American tribes (review Indian life). 
 
 (3) The period of discovery and exploration. Every normal fifth-grade 
 child is ambitious to learn the outside world, and since explorers did 
 what each child longs to do, the lives and adventures of men like Balboa, 
 the Cabots, Raleigh, Champlain, Marquette, and Joliet, are of deep in- 
 terest. Equally attractive are the frontiersmen, who showed such 
 sterling and admirable qualities of character, while they maintained 
 themselves against dangers and foes. 
 
 (4) The period of settlement, with especial emphasis on the two types of 
 colonial government exemplified in the Massachusetts and Virginia 
 
 • colonies. 
 
 Grade VI. 
 
 In this and later grades the work outlined by the Committee of 
 Eight, and employed as the basal organization in half a dozen ex- 
 cellent modern texts, can be used with little modification — only 
 such as is necessary to suit the abilities and needs of pupils in a 
 given locality. The problems therein proposed and the references 
 given are the best possible for the purpose. 
 
 A brief review of the large points made in each of the earlier 
 grades gives a good start to the general question of "the brother- 
 hood" of all Americans — sprung, as we are, from those nations 
 which rose as Rome fell. The work of this grade begins to resemble 
 real historical study. More than before, pupils take the initiative 
 in proposing "problems," in proving points of debate, and in learn- 
 ing to think from effect to cause before offering final judgment upon 
 an individual or a nation. As has been frequently said elsewhere, 
 the method of study should be varied to suit the needs of different 
 localities, but, in general, the "problem" method, illustrated fully 
 in the geography course, has proved efficacious for securing growth 
 in power (1) to see a point, (2) to stick to a topic, (3) to recognize a 
 change of base, and (4) to see the relation of a few subordinate 
 points to some large one. 
 
 Besides being thus valuable as a means of selecting and grouping 
 important facts, "problems" become excellent means of conducting 
 a review, for a new problem may require the use of all ground cov- 
 ered in such new guise as to make it thoroughly alive. The careful 
 building of an early English castle on the sandtable* has fixed for- 
 ever on many pupils' minds the daily-life details of the several 
 classes of people who worked and played in feudal days. 
 
 Children's English is also definitely improved through their 
 keeping of note-books in which they outline reasons why certain 
 groups of settlers left the Fatherland for America; in which they 
 take two sides to a debate as to whether these people showed wis- 
 
 * Excellent results have been obtained by Miss Etta Howell, Winona Normal School.
 
 174 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 dom or not in coming; in listing the traits of character which differ- 
 ent nationalities brought to America and which we should attempt 
 to emulate; in showing the industrial, commercial, or political con- 
 ditions existent in different European countries at some given date; 
 in picturing the conditions under which each group lived in Europe 
 before it came to America, and consequently the different ideals 
 they brought with them. Which of these ideals should be perpet- 
 uated and which displaced for the good of Americanism is a topic 
 well to expand under Ethics. 
 
 Grade VII. 
 
 The work of this grade is the more careful study of the early 
 history of the United States from its European beginnings (learned 
 in the sixth grade) to its birth as*a republic. (See topics suggested 
 by the Committee of Eight.) Although some of this ground may 
 have been traveled before, it will be so differently treated and will 
 use so much new material that all possibility of monotony will be 
 precluded. 
 
 At the adolescent period, when boys, especially, are beginning to 
 think of their vocations in life, pupils develop a greater interest in 
 local situations, in current events, and in present social conditions. 
 Possessed by a desire to understand things as they are (to get be- 
 neath the surface of life), and by an ambition to influence the future 
 (to make things what they should be), pupils in grades seven to 
 nine covet and deserve to be given such impartial study of facts 
 leading to present events as will develop judgment of values, right 
 attitude towards discrimination and verification of facts, selection 
 of authorities, and prediction of effects from given causes. 
 
 While the seventh-grade teacher continues to further the aim of 
 the sixth, which was to help pupils to see relationships rather than 
 merely to memorize facts and dates, he should seek to stimulate 
 increased reasoning power and sounder judgment: besides reason- 
 ing from effect to cause, some thinking from cause to effect should 
 be done by pupils, as they solve the subordinate problems which 
 naturally arise in the solution of the large ones of the year. Inci- 
 dentally, as it is needed in geography, in history itself, or "in read- 
 ing, the history-work of earlier grades must be recalled and kept 
 reasonably fresh and ready for use. 
 
 In the study of "the struggle for territory," one seventh-grade class* organ- 
 ized the work, around problems similar to the following. (1) Prove that condi- 
 tions were favorable for adventure and exploration during the fifteenth century. 
 (2) Prove that Spain had a right to territory in the New World. (Later, France 
 and England were substituted for Spain in this question.) (3) Prove that the 
 
 * Taught by Miss Anna McGuane, of Seattle, Washington.
 
 History. — Grade VIII. 175 
 
 colonists who came to Jamestown were not well fitted to make settlement. (Later, 
 the opposite affirmation was to be proved about the Massachusetts colony.) 
 
 (4) Prove that the Jamestown colony showed a slow, steady growrh. (Another 
 problem was to prove that the colonies of Massachusetts showed rapid growth.) 
 
 (5) Show why the Mississippi Valley was disputed territory. 
 
 Problems for work on succeeding topics are also suggested: (1) What caused 
 the gradual estrangement of the colonies from the mother countries? (2) Prove 
 that the idea of union was gaining ground. (3) Show that the idea of self-gov- 
 ernment developed gradually. (4) Find the causes for the growing divergence 
 of England and her colonies. (5) What were the people's problems in the Revo- 
 lutionary period? (6) What were the problems of the critical period at the close 
 of the war? (7) Prove that we still owe a debt to the men who framed and 
 signed the Constitution and who put the government into operation.* 
 
 Grade VIII. 
 
 As indicated in the outline of the entire Course, (p. 166,) the 
 work of the eighth year is a continuation of the history of the 
 United States from the time of Washington's inauguration to the 
 present. At least one third, possibly one half, of the year should 
 be given to the study of Minnesotaf in its relation to the whole 
 United States, to the West, and especially to the Northwest.f As 
 Professor Alvord said a year ago, "The real history of the West does 
 not belong to the days of long ago. Much more important for us 
 are the days when the actual settlers carrying their farm utensils 
 on flatboats or in their covered wagons were seeking the fertile 
 lands of the West to make homes for themselves and their followers. 
 History is not confined even to those days of the pioneer, for many 
 a historical problem of utmost importance may be found in the 
 civilization that is almost contemporary. Here in Minnesota is 
 [also] the problem of the "melting-pot." [Our] population has been 
 drawn from many states in Europe. Men with foreign language 
 and foreign customs have settled here in [our] midst and are gradu- 
 
 * For still other problems see Teachers' College Record Sept., 1915. f Or, any state desired. 
 
 J Teachers should watch for two books devoted to Minnesota, one, in story form for interme- 
 diate grades, by Miss Pollock; the other, a superior treatment for eighth- or even ninth-grade pu- 
 pils, by Miss Mary Carney. Briefly, the topics Miss Carney suggests are: Geographical condi- 
 tions which influence Minnesota's development; Indian life; explorations; period of permanent 
 settlement; governmental changes in Minnesota; Minnesota as a state — prominent men, her place 
 in the Civil War, the Sioux trouble, railroad building, agricultural development, flour milling, iron 
 mining, immigration, education of the youth. While Miss Carney was working out her course in 
 Hibbing, teachers at Mankato and Winona were independently bent on the same mission. The 
 result of a half year's work with Winona pupils was made permanent for them in a hand-made 
 booklet, named "Minnesota." The writing of the topics became a part of the English work and 
 the binding of the book a part of the industrial work. The table of contents, here quoted, will 
 give those interested an idea of what was accomplished. Pari I. — Early History of Minnesota — A. 
 The Dakota or Sioux Indians: (1) Manner of living and occupations; (2) customs and ceremonies; 
 (3) mounds and builders; (4) names derived from the Indians. B. First White Men: (1) Names 
 of men; places visited; fur trading; (2) mission of white men; early roads and mail routes; (3) Fort 
 Snelling. Part II. — Minnesota as a Territory — A. Organization and Development of Territory. 
 B. Conditions of Country in 1849. C. Conditions of Country in 1S50-1855. D. Transition to 
 Statehood. Part III. — Minnesota as a Slate — A. Progress of Minnesota After Becoming a State. 
 B. Outbreak of the Indians. C. The State Capitol. D. State Emblems. E. State Institutions; 
 (1) Prison; (2) reformatory; (3) training-school; (4) soldiers' home; (5) insane asylums; (6) school 
 for defectives; (7) state normal schools and university. F. A. Chronicle of Recent Events; "Minne- 
 sota," by Governor Hammond; the state song.
 
 176 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 ally becoming assimilated with the American people. One of the 
 most interesting problems that can be conceived concerns itself 
 with this process of assimilation. How is the descendant of the 
 Vikings being turned into an American?"* 
 
 Since vocational studies are the unifying topic of this grade, the 
 emphasis must be placed upon industrial and commercial history. 
 What better spur to ambition can be made than (1) to help a boy 
 or girl see the causes and effect of the long train of industrial changes 
 made in the United States in the last one hundred years? (2) To 
 predict the future of America, of "our state," and of "our town"? 
 And then (3) to recognize that youth is needed to further the 
 world's progress — that there is work for every child who is willing 
 to shoulder his share of it? 
 
 As he sees how full the world is of work to do he must also see 
 how impossible it is for any one to do more than a small part, and 
 hence how necessary it is that he choose his life-work wisely — 
 whether it be laying railroad-ties to prevent unnecessary accidents, 
 washing milk-bottles to supply sanitary food to the people, or heal- 
 ing the sick of soul or body. 
 
 As he reviews the large events of the centuries, noting the changes 
 which have produced our own wonderful nation, he must see that 
 cooperation, of which division of labor is the highest form, is at the 
 root of it all. 
 
 An analysis of division of labor shows that unless each laborer 
 keeps in touch imaginatively with his fellows, he soon fails to ap- 
 preciate what others are doing for him, and when he loses this 
 sense of appreciation, he makes his fellow-man's work harder be- 
 cause of lack of sympathy, or he does his own work less efficiently — 
 not realizing, perhaps, how so little a thing as failing to put a nut 
 on a bolt may cause a city's ruin, provided that bolt be in the span 
 of a bridge against which a great flood of water pours from a break- 
 ing dam. One must not let the sort of work he does estrange him 
 from his fellows. It is not what one does, but how he does it, that 
 counts; only to have done his task the best he can justifies any 
 man's pride in himself. 
 
 Eighth-grade boys and girls must go out into the world with 
 ideals of good workmanship. These ideals must be built upon: 
 (1) Knowledge of how things are done; (2) sympathy for the dangers 
 and risks that others run for the world's good; and (3) willingness 
 to shoulder a share of the common load while still doing individual 
 duties. 
 
 * Vol. I. No. 1. "Minnesota History Bulletin."
 
 Civics. 177 
 
 This course rounds out the study of national life, and should, in 
 either history, ethics, or civics, lead to a consideration of inter- 
 nationalism (as outlined on p. 166). Reviews, as was suggested in 
 the sixth-grade course, should be by large topics such as tariff re- 
 forms, secession of states, states' rights, nullification acts, territorial 
 expansion, and so on, each topic suggested as a live problem. 
 
 A school play such as "America, the Wonderland," or a play 
 based on the life of Lincoln (including "The Perfect Tribute"), or 
 upon Antin's "The Promised Land," would make a fine close to 
 the year's work. 
 
 What to expect at the end of the eighth grade. — Dr. W. W. Charters 
 says: "In answering this question we must define what we mean 
 by the word know. One may have a great mass of facts and ideals 
 that are a part of his make-up, but which he cannot organize or 
 state. Or he may have facts that he remembers definitely. Now 
 looking at the question from the first standpoint, I should say that 
 the pupil should read as widely as he possibly can — not to remem- 
 ber all, but to absorb. The actual facts to be remembered need 
 not be many. In dates, if he remembers 1492, 1607 or 1621, 1776, 
 1785, 1791, 1861, besides those he picks up naturally, he probably 
 has enough. That is, he has enough if he remembers them. Of 
 facts he should not be expected to remember many; the significant 
 facts only are necessary, and it is not to be expected that he know 
 the details. In the daily lessons, of course, he is supposed to know 
 many details that he would not be expected to know at the end of 
 the year or a year later. These are more numerous, but the num- 
 ber important enough to be made automatic is relatively small. 
 In short, in history study the pupils should read widely for what 
 they can absorb; should memorize only a few facts, but those few 
 should be remembered well."* 
 
 Children need such a knowledge as will make them intelligent 
 readers of newspapers and magazines. That is, besides knowing 
 the historical facts indicated, they must, in either history or civics, 
 learn about the three branches of government and what phases of 
 social life each controls or aids. They should know what is meant 
 by acts being "constitutional" or not, and should know where to 
 find out the truth. (See p. 178.) 
 
 B.— CIVICS. 
 
 The course in Civics parallels that in History, and, in its admin- 
 istration, should scarcely be separated from History, except possibly 
 when its motivation is found in current events not immediately 
 
 * In "Teaching the Common Branches."
 
 178 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 related to the history-work then in progress. It is also part and 
 parcel of the course in Ethics, and relates closely to the courses in 
 Hygiene, Industry, and Vocational Guidance. 
 
 The study of Civics means the study of all things which make 
 for public welfare — such as matters of property, personal and pub- 
 lic; health, personal and civic; education of the youth; and laws re- 
 garding all community adjustments. As soon as the child is old 
 enough to do so in even the smallest degree, he must be helped to 
 see that the group can attain its highest efficiency only as each in- 
 dividual does his share. This is true in every group, whether it 
 be small or great, a family or a nation. Even the selfish person 
 must see that the group's ability to help its individual members is 
 impaired when even one member does his share badly; hence, for 
 selfish reasons, if for no higher, each must shoulder his own re- 
 sponsibilities. 
 
 The subject-matter of the course is not here distributed by 
 grades, since some topics must necessarily appear in several grades, 
 and since other topics so evidently belong to certain stages of devel- 
 opment as to be self distributive. (See "Diagram" for suggestions.) 
 
 Illustrations of how Civics may be closely interwoven with History: (1) When 
 pupils are studying the period during which our Constitution was adopted, when 
 they are entering dramatically into the debates of those days, they should turn 
 to the Constitution itself, at the back of their histories, and from it find out how 
 the president, how senators, how representatives, are elected; what qualifications 
 are necessary in candidates; how much and by what means these men are paid; 
 what branches of government there are; and so on. Such study makes the Con- 
 stitution a live instrument, not something that is mouldering in the dust of over 
 a hundred years. 
 
 (2) Jefferson's administration makes further study of the Constitution inter- 
 esting, since the difficulty about Jefferson's election made necessary a change in 
 the Constitution. This is one good time to fix the facts concerning the election 
 of a president. Another good time is during a presidential-election year, when 
 pupils can watch the procedure from January to November. 
 
 (3) The method of admitting states to the union is well studied at the admis- 
 sion of Missouri or Texas, or in connection with local state history. 
 
 The succeeding outline is for the teacher rather than for pupils. 
 OUTLINE OF THE COURSE IN CIVICS. 
 
 I. Individual life — no civic duties. (When man lived alone, self-preservation 
 
 was his only guide to action. He could kill what he pleased, eat all he 
 wished, and discard the remainder even though good. He felt no obliga- 
 tion to any other individual, so had no responsibility. How is the baby 
 in the home, today, like early man in this regard?) 
 
 II. Family life. 
 
 A. The father. 
 
 1. What he contributes to the home — materially, socially, spiritually. 
 
 2. His rights. 3. His privileges. 
 
 4. His obligations in return for these rights and privileges. 
 
 B. The mother. (Same outline.)
 
 Civics. — Outline. 179 
 
 C. The baby or very little child. (Same outline.) 
 
 1. He probably contributes nothing in a material way, but, by being 
 
 sweet-natured, sunny, and affectionate, can contribute much to 
 the happiness of the home and to each member of the family. 
 Are you the youngest child? What can you do to make others 
 happy? Is there a baby in your home? How can you help to 
 keep it happy and sweet? How will baby's sunniness help 
 mother? Father? Other members of the family? 
 
 2. He has the right to eat, sleep, play, grow, and learn. 
 
 3. He is protected from danger; cared for when ill; is loved and petted. 
 
 4. The baby can feel no obligation; he takes his privileges as a matter 
 
 of course, and expects what he has no right to expect. The child 
 of four or older gradually realizes that in return for these rights 
 and privileges, he must obey his parents and obey cheerfully and 
 promptly. He must look out for his safety when playing, so 
 that his parents need not worry; he can learn to wash his face 
 and hands, brush his teeth and hair, dress himself, and keep him- 
 self neat at proper times. He must be kind to his pets, as his 
 parents are to him. He must be courteous to all who enter the 
 home. 
 
 D. Other children in the family. (Same outline.) 
 
 With increasing years, children can more and more plainly see the 
 need of cooperation in the home and of what they need to contribute. 
 They can see the difference between rights and privileges, so as not to 
 demand the latter. To the obligations named under C, above, will be 
 added the assumption of some of the home duties, such as tidying the 
 living-room, caring for baby, or running errands (at mother's conven- 
 ience, rather than the child's.) 
 
 E. The oldest children in the home. (Same outline.) 
 
 Contribute to it new ideas and fresh interests, gained at school, per- 
 haps. Often contribute material comforts through their labor. More 
 than in material comforts, however, parents rejoice in the comradeship 
 of their children, and in watching the development of children's char- 
 acter as they apply themselves to school or to their vocations. What 
 new ideas do you carry home? Do you see little ways in which you 
 could make mother's work easier? Is the kitchen designed to save 
 mother unnecessary steps? Does she need a stool or chair for occa- 
 sional sitting? Is the sink too low, and would a board or stool on which 
 she could set the dish-pan relieve her? Are there any door-knobs or 
 hinges loose that you could screw? Or any screens to mend? Any 
 furniture that you could make in manual training? Any comfort that 
 you could provide father or grandmother by your own effort? 
 
 F. Grandparents or aunts and uncles in the home. (Same outline.) 
 
 Children should be led to see how their elders worked years before, 
 and so deserve care and respect for past effort just as baby deserves 
 love and care before he puts forth effort. Without preaching, the 
 teacher can help pupils to see how much the general home atmosphere 
 is regulated by the conduct of each member of the family, and espe- 
 cially how children can help make the home a happy one. 
 
 In the study of primitive life one sees the gradual increase of group 
 responsibilities and the subordination of individuals in some lines for 
 their greater advantage in others. Through the sacrifice of certain 
 personal conveniences the individual becomes a part of the group, re- 
 ceiving (a) protection, (b) comforts which individually he might not 
 afford in either time, money, or effort, and (c) spiritual uplift, through 
 interchange of ideas and opinions. Each individual has a right to the 
 pursuit of life, — that is, food, shelter, and clothing, — and to the pursuit 
 of happiness, — that is, the realization of his highest ideals; but with this 
 right goes an obligation to others of the group. He must not destroy 
 the property of another in his pursuit of either life or happiness. Prim- 
 itive man had to learn the difference between "mine" and "thine" and 
 then to respect this difference. He could no longer waste what food he 
 did not wish, but had to cultivate thrift and economy. He had to con- 
 serve his sources of food supply, and learn industries which helped him 
 Dreserve food, dress skins, and protect his home.
 
 180 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Children can apply two primary laws of group-life (the individual's 
 right for self and the individual's obligation to others) to their own 
 activities. For example: Why not play ball near a building? Why 
 not talk when one pleases in church? Why not have dinner just when 
 one is hungry instead of having to be home at the right hour? What 
 gain to the family? What gain to the child? Why not eat fruit, candy, 
 nuts, or pickles, lying open in a grocery? Why think of "safety first" 
 when playing on the street or going to and from school? Why "turn 
 in" all found articles? 
 
 III. School-life. 
 
 A. The teacher. 
 
 1. Rights. 2. Privileges. 3. Obligations and duties. 
 
 B. The pupils. (Same outline.) 
 
 To recognize that rights always carry with them obligations, and that 
 privileges must not be counted as rights, is a long step on the road to 
 true citizenship. The character qualities begun in the home need to 
 be further developed in school-life where children can be helped to see 
 their duty in regard to yard, building, room, desks, books, learning and 
 reciting of lessons, and in obeying necessary rules for order and quiet. 
 They should realize the values of an education; why their parents and 
 the city and state sacrifice to provide this for children; and hence their 
 obligation to use their time to good advantage. They may see the re- 
 lation of school laws to laws of games which they play, and how the 
 "game" is spoiled if rules are not followed. "Team-work" in sports is 
 also a fine approach to the problem of group cooperation. (See pp. 
 295-299, on Discipline.) 
 
 IV. Town or City life. Again the topic can be outlined under the heads of the 
 
 rights, privileges, and obligations, of the different members of the commu- 
 nity — the merchants, the doctors, the laborers, the policemen, firemen, 
 etc., but especially of the children. What privileges are accorded children 
 because of the city's organization? What rights have they? What must 
 boys and girls do to deserve these rights and privileges, on the streets, in 
 parks, in the city library, opera-house, or town hall? What can children 
 do to help the city in the way of clean and attractive yards (back and front) 
 clean walks, and clean streets? How can they help in the prevention of 
 unnecessary disease? What are the advantages of quarantine laws? 
 How carefully should these be obeyed? Why are fires so dreaded? What 
 can children do to prevent fires? How can boys and girls make "safety 
 first" mean something? 
 
 With the older children, the city's government may be studied. What 
 advantages has a commission form of government over a council or other 
 form? What are the duties of the various city departments and officials? 
 How can children make these duties less difficult? Who in the town are 
 leaders for a better — (town)? Are they upheld or are they pooh-poohed? 
 Must a leader be willing to take criticism and perhaps ridicule? When 
 the reform (good roads, good lights, pure water, or riddance of the "smoke 
 nuisance," for example) is accomplished, how do the citizens feel towards 
 the promoter? 
 
 V. State and National life. "The gravest danger which confronts America to- 
 
 day is American individualism and political indifference. How to make 
 our people nationally self-conscious; how to make 'America First' a sig- 
 nificant instead of a meaningless phrase; how to induce our presidents to 
 see beyond their parties, our congressmen beyond their districts, and our 
 citizens beyond their own individual gain; these are the problems to which 
 our most thoughtful men and women are directing their attention."* 
 
 Older pupils may well study the rights, privileges, duties, and obliga- 
 tions, of every citizen of the United States, towards: 
 
 1. General law. 2. Taxes. 
 
 3. Conservation of natural resources — forests, fish, game, water, etc. 
 
 4. Government or state inspection of — 
 
 (a) Foods — meats, milk, eggs, fruit, manufactured foods. 
 
 (b) Clothing — made in "sweat-shops" under unsanitary conditions 
 
 and in defiance of labor laws. 
 
 * Walter E. Meyer, Kansas State Normal School.
 
 Civics. — Boys' and Girls' Clubs. 181 
 
 (c) Fire protection in factories and public buildings. 
 
 (d) Railroads and other corporations. 
 
 (e) Weights and measures. 
 
 (f) Banks and insurance companies. 
 
 5. Public education — 
 
 (a) Of the normal child. 
 
 (b) Of the defective child — physically, morally, or mentally. 
 
 6. Government projects which further group and individual progress. 
 
 (a) Fish hatcheries. (b) Irrigation projects. 
 
 (c) Canal projects. (d) National parks. 
 
 (e) Cure for tuberculosis and other diseases. 
 
 (f) Copyrights for authors of books, pictures, and music. 
 
 (g) Patents for inventors. (h) Military and naval academies, 
 (i) Publications at Washington to help every class of workers to 
 
 do their work better, and to be more contented and happy 
 in the doing of that work. 
 
 7. The problem of voting for good measures — system of politics — refer- 
 
 endum and recall — methods of electing state officers — United 
 States officers. 
 
 Current events of civic importance should be made either the approach 
 to certain special studies, or should apply studies already made. Suf- 
 ficient time is allowed (see p. 216) under one or another subdivision of 
 "Citizenship" to permit "current events" to have a brief time either 
 daily or weekly in every grade. 
 
 The problem method, so thoroughly illustrated under geography, is 
 an especially good one to employ in the teaching of civics. Three 
 sample problems follow: (1) How does a city (Minneapolis, St. Paul, 
 Duluth, or the children's own town) get rid of the snow which falls in 
 the business streets throughout the winter? The answer leads to a 
 study of city cost, city administration, traffic laws, etc. (2) What does 
 it cost to educate me? The answer to this involves a study of how 
 school taxes are levied, collected, and distributed; what officers are 
 necessary; etc. (3) How does it feel to be a member of the United 
 States governing body? This problem may be subdivided into how it 
 feels to be elected or defeated; to be responsible to one's constituents 
 when voting on national questions; to preside over a deliberative body; 
 to be president. These questions can best be answered by pupils' par- 
 ticipating in similar activities; that is, by forming a club or society, 
 electing officers who preside and who must learn the rudiments of par- 
 liamentary practice, of debate, of administration, etc.* 
 
 For the benefit of teachers who have asked for help in organizing and con- 
 ducting a club, the following suggestions are given: 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 Article I. — Name. 
 The name of this organization shall be 
 
 Article II. — Object. 
 
 The object of this club shall be to improve ourselves, our school, our homes, and our com- 
 munity. 
 
 Article III. — Membership. 
 
 Any boy or girl in this district between the ages of 10 and 18 years may become a member of 
 this club by signing the constitution and by paying the required membership fee. 
 
 Atricle IV. — Officers, and Elections. 
 
 Section 1. The officers shall consist of a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer, 
 who shall perform the usual duties of such officers. 
 
 Sec. 2. The officers shall be elected by ballot, at the first regular meeting of each school term 
 and shall hold office until their successors have been elected and qualified. 
 
 * Excellent work along this line has been done by several of Winona's principals, and by Miss 
 Mabel G. Peirce, of Faribault.
 
 182 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Article V. — Quorum. 
 A quorum of this club shall consist of at least one-third of its members. 
 
 Article VI. — Amendments. 
 This constitution may be amended at any regular meeting, by a two-thirds vote of the members 
 present. By-laws may be adopted by a majority vote, at any meeting. 
 
 BY-LAWS. 
 
 Section 1. The club dues shall be 
 
 Section 2. The regular meetings shall be held at the school, the last Friday of each month 
 during the school term, unless otherwise voted. 
 
 Section 3. This order of business shall be followed at regular club meetings. 
 
 Roll call, by the secretary. 
 
 Reading of minutes of the previous meeting. 
 
 Reports of committees. 
 
 Unfinished business. 
 
 New business. 
 
 Program. 
 
 Adjournment. 
 
 The above constitution is in part quoted from one made by Wilson, in '"Elements of Farm 
 
 Practice." If a more elaborate instrument is desired, the constitution of the United States should 
 
 be used as a model. 
 
 Parliamentary Practice. 
 
 For experienced leaders there are several excellent books on this subject, such as Gregg's 
 parliamentary Law," or Robert's "Rules of Order"; but, for boys and girls, it is sufficient that 
 they know the following things: 
 
 From the time that the meeting is called to order until it is adjourned, business must be con- 
 ducted in a formal way. 
 
 If an individual wishes to speak, he rises, and says, "Mister [or Madame, if a girl] President." 
 The President then says, "Mr. [Brown]," which is the formal way of saying, "You have permission 
 to speak." The speaker then talks, makes a motion, explains a point being misunderstood, etc. 
 
 If several persons rise and say, "Mr. President," at about the same time, the president should 
 
 try to "recognize" (that is, say "Mister " to) the one who rose first. As soon as one person 
 
 is "recognized," the others should sit, and, without any demonstration of annoyance, listen to the 
 speaker "on the floor," and when he sits, rise again, asking for permission to speak. It is usual 
 for the presiding officer to permit every speaker to be heard. 
 
 If some action is desired, a "motion" should be made. A speaker rises, says "Mr. President," 
 is "recognized," and then says: "I move [or "I move you," or "I make a motion"] that this society 
 change its weekly day of meeting from Friday to Wednesday." He then sits. A second speaker 
 rises, says "Mr. President," is "recognized," and says: "I second the motion," or, "I support the 
 motion." The president then says, "You have heard the motion. Are there any remarks?" 
 Or, so that there may be no error, he may repeat the motion, saying, "It has been moved and 
 seconded that the meeting-day of this society be changed from Friday to Wednesday. Are there 
 any remarks?" 
 
 Speaker after speaker may, in turn, after being recognized, make remarks upon the question. 
 The presiding officer tries to be fair to all and to watch the wishes of the society. When, however, 
 there seems no further need of debate or remarks, he says, "Are you ready for the question?" In- 
 dividuals who so desire answer, "Question!" and the president says, "All those who favor the 
 motion say 'aye.' " He notes the general sentiment. Then he says, "All those who are opposed, 
 say 'no.' " Again he notes the sentiment. If he docs not feel sure which side is the stronger, 
 he calls for a rising vote, asking the same questions as above except the words "say aye" and 
 "say no," for which he substitutes "stand." If necessary he appoints one or two members to 
 count those standing at each call. 
 
 When he finally knows which side is stronger, he says, "The motion is carried [or lost]," and 
 the secretary so records the decision. 
 
 While it is the president's duty to meet the general wishes of the group, individuals cannot 
 always be satisfied; but it is a rule of the game that each member of the society shall respectfully 
 abide by the president's ruling just as in a game the players obey the umpire's decision without 
 question. 
 
 After a motion to adjourn has been made, seconded, and carried, and the president says, 
 "This meeting stands adjourned," informal debate on questions of interest may go on, or a social 
 hour may be indulged in; that is, the formality must be observed only during the meeting of the 
 club.
 
 Moral Training, and Ethics. 183 
 
 C— MORAL TRAINING, AND ETHICS. 
 
 Since ethics is defined as a science, and morality as an art, it is 
 plain that it is moral training that should be the main object of the 
 elementary school. Right habits of thought, feeling, and action, 
 should be so well established that they make a firm foundation 
 upon which the individual can, later in life, build the science of 
 ethics. These habits may be initiated by precept, by illustration, 
 and by example, but can be fixed only by the individual's own 
 conduct. It then becomes the duty of every teacher to see that 
 his pupils conduct themselves according to as high moral standards 
 as they are capable of holding. To "know better" and not to do 
 better weakens one's moral fiber. (See p. 295, ff., on Discipline.) 
 Dr. Dewey says, in his "Ethical Principles": 
 
 "What the normal child continuously needs is not so much isolated moral 
 lessons instilling in him the importance of truthfulness and honesty, or the benefi- 
 cent results that follow from some particular act of patriotism, etc. It is the 
 formation of habits of social imagination and conception. I mean by this it is 
 necessary that the child should be forming the habit of interpreting the special 
 incidents that occur and the particular situations that present themselves in 
 terms of the whole social life. The evils of the present industrial and political 
 situation, on the ethical side, are not due so much to actual perverseness on the 
 part of individuals concerned, nor to mere ignorance of what constitutes the or- 
 dinary virtues (such as honesty, industry, purity, etc.), as to inability to appre- 
 ciate the social environment in which we live." 
 
 If each individual's highest self-realization is the goal of instruc- 
 tion, there must be, on the teacher's part, conscious effort directed 
 toward the building up of character in pupils, the broadening of 
 personality, and the laying of a philosophical foundation. Each 
 person must be helped to get the deepest possible meanings out of 
 life, to joy in the actual doing of his work as well as in the fruits of 
 that labor, and to use leisure properly for physical, mental, or spir- 
 itual re-creation. One must learn from experience to appreciate 
 service in whatever form or degree it is rendered, learn how to ac- 
 cept as well as to give favors, and grow to realize that faith, in self, 
 in one's fellows, and in the Absolute, is the rock foundation of a 
 perfect life. An individual's spiritual growth is so largely the re- 
 sult of all the influences which go on in his life that parents and 
 teachers need to know the stages of development in moral attitude, 
 and what subject-matter and methods will best satisfy any special 
 need at a given age, as much as they need to know the same things 
 about reading or arithmetic. 
 
 In 1908, the National Education Association felt strongly 
 enough upon the subject to warrant a "Declaration of Principles 
 and Aims," in which it says:
 
 184 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 "The National Education Association wishes to record its approval of the 
 increasing appreciation among educators of the fact that the building of charac- 
 ter is the real aim of the schools and the ultimate reason for the expenditure of 
 millions for their maintenance. There are in the minds of the children and 
 youth of today a tendency toward a disregard for constituted authority, a lack 
 of respect for age and superior wisdom, a weak appreciation of the demands of 
 duty, a disposition to follow pleasure and interest rather than obligation and or- 
 der. This condition demands the earliest thought and action of our leaders of 
 opinion and places important obligations upon school-boards, superintendents, 
 and teachers." 
 
 "We earnestly recommend to boards of education, principals, and teachers, 
 the continuous training of pupils in morals, and in business and professional 
 ethics, to the end that the coming generation of men of affairs may have a well- 
 developed abhorrence of unfair dealing and discrimination. The daily exempli- 
 fication in the routine life of the school of the advantage of honest and truthful 
 methods, are commended to the especial attention of teachers as a partial means 
 to this end." 
 
 Power to do right comes only through the habit of right acting, 
 and an education which does not give such power to the youth of 
 the race is failing of its mission — is building on sand. 
 
 Methods used in teaching this subject, though varied, may be 
 classified under two main heads; namely, direct and indirect meth- 
 ods. Space forbids any elaboration of the topic, but at least the 
 relationship between methods can be seen by the following outline: 
 
 METHODS IN MORAL TRAINING AND IN ETHICS. 
 
 I. Direct method. 
 
 A. Children's conduct. 
 
 1. At home. 2. On the street or playground. 
 3. In the schoolroom — a. During recitation. 
 
 b. During passing of classes. c. During study-periods. 
 
 B. Club or society work. 
 
 1. Forming the club. 
 
 2. Getting it into working order. 
 
 a. Making a constitution. b. Electing officers. 
 
 3. Parliamentary rules practiced in the conduct of the club's business. 
 
 C. Games and sports. 
 
 1. Meaning of fairness. 2. Qualities of a leader. 3. Team-work in sports. 
 
 D. Excursions in geography, nature-study, industry, etc. 
 
 1. Courtesy to one another on the trip. 
 
 2. Courtesy to the farmer, merchant, or manufacturer, who is host to 
 
 the class. 
 
 3. Thoughtfulness about plants, birds, etc. — not to destroy ruthlessly. 
 
 4. Class discussion of conditions noted in a visit to some sanitary gro- 
 
 cery, or, perhaps, dairy. 
 
 Note: Teachers would better teach these ethical lessons through positive rather than negative 
 suggestion, hence should visit only such places as can, in discussion, be favorably criticized. For 
 this there are many reasons — some psychological, some ethical. 
 
 E. Cooperative government in the schoolroom. 
 
 1. Part pupils can take. 2. Relation to advisers. 
 
 3. Right of pupils to take to the teacher problems in ethics hard to 
 solve or to harmonize with popular thought; for example, "giv- 
 ing evidence" as related to "tattling"; problems in politics heard 
 at home or read in the papers. (Needless to say, the teacher 
 must be broad, and especially tactful.)
 
 Moral Training, and Ethics. — Grades I, II, and III. 185 
 
 4. Pupils recognize need of reminders, and so do as the Perth Amboy, 
 New Jersey, pupils did: print little cards or leaflets containing 
 what they wish to stand for.* 
 F. By conscious attention to the conduct of parents, teachers, etc. 
 II. Indirect method.f 
 
 A. Music — Classic music and what it means. Music used to arouse finer 
 
 emotions. 
 
 B. Pictures. 
 
 1. Famous pictures illustrating characteristics desired. Little comment. 
 
 2. Many pictures from modern daily life, such as Rev. Milton Fairchild 
 
 has secured for his lectures. 
 
 C. Literature. 
 
 1. Fairy tales, for younger pupils, demanding ethical judgments. 
 
 (Charles McMurry.) 
 
 2. Hero tales, for intermediate-grade pupils. 
 
 a. Many, without comment (as Frederic James Gould suggests). 
 
 b. Few, with discussion of the ethical problems involved. (Dr. 
 
 Felix Adler and Dr. John Lovejoy Elliott advocate this 
 plan.) (See also "Cuore," by de Amici.) 
 
 c. Precept — as in the case of Washington's "Rules of Behavior." 
 
 3. Fun — wholesome humor cultivated. (See pp. 26, 51, 52, for exam- 
 
 ple.) 
 
 4. Poetry and fiction for older pupils — "The Merchant of Venice," 
 
 "Julius Caesar," "Ivanhoe," "Jean Valjean," etc., in the read- 
 ing or discussion of which children must pass moral judgments. 
 
 D. History, civics, industry, physical education, etc. 
 
 Each teacher must select the method he can use most effectively 
 with each new moral situation. 
 
 Grades I, II, III.J 
 
 Through a study of the family and the home community, the 
 child recognizes certain responsibilities which he must meet: help- 
 fulness in the home, cleanliness, obedience, truthfulness, and care 
 of property, for example. 
 
 Even third-grade pupils may learn that they have obligations: 
 
 (1) To themselves: (a) To keep well and hence to keep teeth, 
 hands, face, clothing, handkerchiefs, pencils, and books clean, 
 (b) To have fun, but to think of "safety-first." (c) To keep eyes 
 and ears open so as to learn all that is possible and not be a "stupid." 
 
 (2) To their parents and companions: (a) Children may help 
 their parents by taking care of themselves, by being prompt and 
 obedient, by faithfully performing helpful services, and by being 
 good-natured, (b) They can help their playmates by sharing 
 pleasures with them, by participating in games in any needed ca- 
 pacity — not always wanting to be the leader, — and by showing 
 
 * A few statements are quoted from the New Jersey Educational Bulletin: 
 
 1. To be polite is to have a kind regard for the feelings and rights of others. 
 
 2. Be as polite to your parents, brothers, sisters, and schoolmates, as you are to strangers. 
 
 3. Look people fairly in the eyes when you speak to them or they speak to you. 
 
 4. Do not bluntly contradict anyone. 
 
 5. It is not discourteous to refuse to do wrong. 
 
 6. Be courteous enough to give others at least half of the way when meeting them on the streets. 
 
 t Miss Alice M. Paine, Ethical Culture School, gave valuable help here (and elsewhere). 
 t Several very excellent books containing graded courses in ethics are now available for the 
 teacher. See page 301.
 
 186 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 those who need help how to do some bit of work, (c) They should 
 serve others by being thoughtful, kind, and courteous — running on 
 errands for neighbors; saying "Thank you," "Excuse me," and "If 
 you please," at proper times, and by avoiding all rudeness to 
 strangers, such as staring, laughing, or calling out. 
 
 (3) To the public or community. Children should be made 
 from the first to feel that public property belongs to all rather than 
 to no one, and hence should be preserved by all, not abused. The 
 town can be improved by children's care of their own yards, by 
 thoughtfulness in not throwing candy-bags, papers, boxes, fruit- 
 peelings, or broken playthings, about the streets or on other peo- 
 ple's premises. Children can avoid destroying trees, shrubbery, or 
 flowers, in public parks, and can instead plant these, and help to 
 keep the parks tidy and attractive. Many other lines of commu- 
 nity effort will suggest themselves to teachers in different localities. 
 
 Grade IV. 
 
 As pupils in this grade study the history of tribal life and of 
 tribal leaders, the lesson of effort in behalf of others, or the good of 
 each and of all, will be inculcated. Stories of Hebrew, of Viking, 
 and of American Indian life, of our Colonial forefathers, Robinson 
 Crusoe, and the Pioneers of Minnesota, make good studies. Also, 
 a study of the historical development of various industries, and of 
 inventions with their inventors, opens the eyes of children to the 
 heroism of right daily and hourly living. Effort should be ex- 
 pended in helping to make the children's conduct show growth in 
 truthfulness, generosity of spirit, bravery, fortitude, ingenuity, in- 
 dustry, kindness to animals or to children less strong than them- 
 selves, sympathy, patience, self-control; in courtesy to strangers 
 and to the aged; and in general good manners. All these qualities 
 of character are displayed by the heroes of the stories suggested. 
 
 Home duties offer further opportunities for the practice of these 
 several virtues. 
 
 Grade V. 
 
 The work in history makes fifth-grade pupils feel their debt to 
 past generations, and in particular to local pioneers. Civics points 
 out some of the complex situations in life. Ethics must, therefore, 
 point the need of courage, perseverance, thrift, unselfishness, loy- 
 alty, integrity, self-reliance, self-respect, fidelity to a trust, and 
 patriotism. 
 
 As soon as children have a fair background of experience, and 
 recognize that in their own environment people set up different 
 standards of conduct for different ages and different abilities, they
 
 Moral Training, and Ethics. — Grade VI. 187 
 
 begin to set up standards of their own. At almost this same time, 
 daily life seems to conflict with all efforts at heroism. The child 
 feels chained to earth, and needs to learn how great heroes of his- 
 tory looked, and felt, as well as acted, as they went about their or- 
 dinary daily duties. 
 
 Opportunities to inculcate virtues and to develop a righteous 
 hatred of weakness of character are numerous in the study of the 
 lives of the leaders as well as of the humbler peoples in the nations. 
 To see a nation rise because its citizens were temperate, frugal, 
 just, honest, brave, and loyal; to see a nation remain intact for cen- 
 turies, increasing its territory and governing wisely because of 
 good laws, industry, and the spread of knowledge and loyalty; to 
 see a nation fall as soon as its people became indolent, seeking indi- 
 vidual advantage regardless of the group's good; are burning exam- 
 ples of what to do and what not to do. 
 
 Grade VI. 
 
 Legendary stories of the Niebelungen, and of King Arthur and 
 his knights, besides being both history and literature material, are 
 excellent teachers of ethics. The situations are simple, the units 
 relatively small, and the punishment or reward swift and certain, 
 hence both deed and result are sure to be remembered. For ex- 
 ample, Brunhilde's good intention did not mitigate her punishment 
 for disobedience; Gareth's reward for bravery, as he overcame the 
 three successive Knights of the Plains, and for self-control, in the 
 face of Lynette's ridicule of him, would encourage any boy to cul- 
 tivate like adherence to duty in spite of hardships, mistakes, and 
 misrepresentations. 
 
 The stories of the crusades, and of the English people's winning 
 of their inalienable rights as men, are lessons in the power of an 
 ideal which children can never forget, if these are first rightly pre- 
 sented. It is needless to say that the teacher should do no moral- 
 izing, but should so propose the "problems" as to let the solutions 
 speak for themselves. 
 
 The recognition of what each nation contributed to American 
 ideals cannot fail to make for broader sympathy, better coopera- 
 tion, and greater unity of purpose. (See p. 172.) 
 
 The movement at present being instituted in many cities and 
 states to make present-day immigrants feel at home in the land of 
 their choice is worthy the attention of every intermediate- or 
 grammar-grade pupil in the state. Current events, as of the 
 Great War, connect readily with this work and teach American 
 boys and girls something of the real meaning of courage, heroism,
 
 188 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 economy, thrift, and cheerfulness, in the face of sorrow, hunger, 
 and suffering. 
 
 Grade VII. 
 
 As before, history, civics, industry, and English, open the way 
 to lessons in morals and ethics. The keynote is cooperation. 
 
 History shows how the early colonists had to unite against com- 
 mon dangers and hardships, and how they developed governments 
 and necessary laws, as well as obedience to these laws. Individual 
 sacrifices for the common good, justice, faith in one another, loy- 
 alty, and patriotism, were virtues which we have inherited from 
 our early ancestors and which we must in honor perpetuate. 
 
 A study of home life shows the necessity of cooperation in the 
 home, how parents need and covet the comradeship of their children, 
 and what qualities of character seventh-grade pupils can culti- 
 vate; namely, control of temper, being fair to companions and 
 courteous to elders, showing joy in life, hopefulness, ambition, and 
 attention to duty. 
 
 Grade VIII. 
 
 Here the correlation between citizenship, science, industry, com- 
 position, reading, and arithmetic, is so close as to make the listing 
 of' ethical problems almost unnecessary. Only that the teacher 
 may easily recall them are they so listed. 
 
 1. Recognition of the sort of nation in which we live — one built 
 on the ideal of individual freedom — the "melting-pot" of so many 
 nationalities as to be in danger of disintegration unless American 
 citizens keep ever before them the principle that individual free- 
 dom is best realized through socialization, even as highest nationality 
 depends upon the strength of individual citizens. 
 
 2. That individuals get most benefit from a group in whose af- 
 fairs they take active part, hence the duty of voting intelligently, 
 of helping to cure "graft," and to solve tariff or capital-and-labor 
 problems. 
 
 3. To learn how to take defeat. (See page 181.) 
 
 4. To know how to act when representing others. (See third 
 problem under eighth-grade Civics, p. 181.) 
 
 5. To cultivate the qualities of determination, ambition, imagi- 
 nation, consecration to duty, heroism, and strength of character. 
 
 6. The need of choosing a life work because of the impossibility, 
 under present complex conditions, of doing all that one sees to do. 
 (Related to vocational guidance.) 
 
 7. The need of understanding others' work, of sympathizing 
 with all who divide among themselves the world's labor, and of 
 acting for the good of all.
 
 Moral Training, and Ethics. — Character-Chart. 189 
 
 8. The need of seeing that it isn't what we do but how we do it 
 that gives us the right to a feeling of pride. 
 
 9. The application to our local community of the movement in- 
 stituted by Detroit and other cities to make the alien, so far from 
 the land of his birth, feel at home in the land of his choice. 
 
 The civic pride, the ethical judgments, and the moral growth, 
 that will come to eighth-grade pupils from their attempts to make 
 every foreigner in town love the city, state, and nation, will be well 
 worth the time it takes any teacher to learn what his pupils can 
 do and to be the power behind the scenes to create the right idea 
 of what it really means to be a citizen of the United States today 
 instead of a tree-dweller several thousand years ago. 
 
 10. The need of boys and girls of this age to be just boys and 
 girls, not little adults; girls to dress sensibly, avoiding tight cloth- 
 ing, high-heeled shoes, low-necked dresses, and the use of cosmetics 
 at school; boys to refrain from smoking, swearing, idling, and all 
 habits which would cause their mothers shame or heartache. 
 
 The appended quotation from The School Review for February, 
 1916, speaks for itself. 
 
 School Character-Chart. 
 
 Mr. Milton Fairchild, of Washington, D. C, chairman of the Executive 
 Committee of the National Institution for Moral Instruction of Children and 
 Youth, presents to school-men a school character-chart, now in the process of 
 its third revision. 
 
 Washington, D. C, December 17, 1915 — School Character-Chart — It is believed that schools 
 have produced about as good results as are possible from a curriculum devoted almost exclusively 
 to intellectual education. If more attention to character education should be given, and a better 
 basis in character thus gotten for intellectual development, an improvement in the product of 
 American education could be secured which would be much appreciated by parents and the gen- 
 eral public, and a benefit to the nation. 
 
 The following statement of the character which should be the result of education has been 
 compiled from advice received from many thoughtful people in various walks of life, and is re- 
 spectfully submitted for further study and criticism by those interested. Modern life is compli- 
 cated beyond the possibility of understanding save through collaboration by many individuals 
 who combine their experiences and observations into a broad basis for conclusions. On the level 
 of many minds there is some degree of certitude regarding the wisdom of human experience. 
 
 Character is divided into six phases: (1) Intellectual, (2) working, (3) personal, (4) social, (5) 
 emotional, (6) physical. An estimate in detail of a pupil's character can be made by grading each 
 item thus: "Earnest, 7; trifling, 3 (or 5 and 5, or 2 and 8, according to observation). The totals 
 under each division can be made up, and the general total. A detailed knowledge of the strength 
 and weakness in character of any pupil can be attained, and used as a basis for planning his or her 
 character education. The effectiveness of the general character education given in a school can be 
 estimated by a study of the character development of the pupils in the older classes: 
 
 Intellectual Character, needed for wise thinking. 
 
 Sincere and open-minded, not diverted by per- Earnest, not trifling. 
 
 sonal interests. Discerning, not superficial. 
 
 Inventive and constructive, not lacking initiative. Alert, not indolent. 
 
 Rational and judicious, not over-emotional, hys- Useful, not merely interesting. 
 
 terical, nor melancholy. Accurate, not indefinite. 
 
 Working Character, needed for doing useful work. 
 
 Purposeful, not led merely by likes and dislikes. Teachable, not stubborn. 
 
 Attentive, not heedless. Ambitious, not self-satisfied. 
 
 Persistent, not vacillating. Energetic, not lazy and dilatory. 
 
 Decisive, not procrastinating. Progressive, not opposed to change. 
 
 Adaptable, not slow to fit into new surroundings. Thrifty, not wasteful. 
 
 Developed executive ability, not haphazard. Artistic, not slovenly.
 
 190 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Personal Character, needed for doing right by one's self. 
 
 Thoughtful, not merely impulsive. Conscientious, not lawless. 
 
 Independent, not suggestible. Self-controlled, not weak. 
 
 Self-respecting, not dissipated. Refined, not coarse. 
 
 Influenced by high ideals, not content with low standards. 
 
 Social Character, needed for doing right by others. 
 
 Honest, not thieving nor disposed to cheat. Genuine, not affected. 
 
 Truthful, not given to lying and deceiving. Honorable, not sneaking. 
 
 Disposed to trust others, not suspicious. Just, not unfair. 
 
 Sociable, not exclusive nor snobbish. Harmonious, not wrangling. 
 
 Tactful, not brusque nor priggish. Forgiving, not vindictive. 
 
 Generous, not stingy nor jealous. Loyal, not treacherous. 
 
 Public-spirited and patriotic, not selfish. Pure, not lewd. 
 
 Reverent, not impudent nor flippant. Courteous, not rude. 
 
 Emotional Character, needed for the joy of living. 
 
 Capable of true love, not cold-hearted. Courageous, not timid. 
 
 Kindly, not cruel nor hateful. Sympathetic, not self-centered. 
 
 Responsive to the beautiful, not indifferent. Congenial, not repulsive. 
 
 Devoted to righteousness, not inclined to evil. Alive to truth, not uninterested. 
 
 Humble, not conceited. Patient, not irritable. 
 
 Tolerant and with a sense of humor, not angry Hopeful, not pessimistic. 
 over differences of opinion. 
 
 Physical Character, needed as a basis for human life. 
 
 Well-developed body, not poorly nourished. Vital, not sluggish. 
 
 High resistance to disease, not susceptible. Endurance, not quickly tired. 
 
 Ready muscular control, not bungling. Strength, without disability. 
 
 Grace of figure and carriage, not frumpy. 
 
 VI— FINE ART. 
 
 As shown in the outline on page 206, man promotes the growth 
 of a new art — fine art — when in his development, he reaches the 
 point where he seeks expression for his aesthetic emotions. Craving 
 quiet, rest, peace, balance, harmony, — whatever the emotion be 
 named, — man seeks the satisfaction of this longing in the world 
 about him. When he once attains a satisfactory expression of the 
 harmony which he finds in his material, social, and thought worlds, 
 the result is called fine art. 
 
 The field of fine art naturally divides into music, drawing, and 
 literature, according as the expression is that of beauty in sound; 
 in line, form, and color; or in human relationships. 
 
 Preliminary to the attainment of fine art, the race made numer- 
 ous motor adjustments bordering on art, and using art materials, 
 yet lacking one or more of the principles necessary to make the re- 
 sult true art. 
 
 In a similar way, children of elementary-school age must needs 
 use art materials long before they can produce artistic results. Be- 
 fore school age, as well as in the kindergarten and primary grades, 
 when children make mud pies or clay animals and fruit; use build- 
 ing-blocks of different kinds; scribble; dance and play in rhythmic 
 games; and hear and use language; they are making responses and 
 gaining experiences upon which fine art can later be built. 
 
 The function of the school is to guide these responses so that 
 each individual may attain the highest development of which he is 
 capable. The subject-matter of the three divisions of the field
 
 Music. — General Statement. 191 
 
 must, like all other subject-matter, be selected and distributed 
 according to definite principles. (See pp. 206-207). 
 
 A.— MUSIC. 
 
 Music is the result of man's efforts to express instinctive rhythms, 
 emotions, and highest aspirations, through the use of harmonized 
 sounds. Rhythmical body movements such as are found in primi- 
 tive and folk-dancing, in whistling and singing, and in playing 
 upon instruments invented to fit man's developing tastes, are the 
 present means of expressing this harmony. 
 
 Since the human voice is not only the most universal and im- 
 mediately accessible but also the most wonderful instrument 
 known to musicians, singing will continue to be, as it has long been, 
 the phase of music to be emphasized in our public schools. 
 
 Like the other arts, music is based on harmony — harmony be- 
 tween thought and its expression, consistency within any one form 
 of musical expression, and right relations between the phases of 
 the art and the individual's emotional and spiritual development. 
 
 Because teachers and parents see year by year new values in 
 the control of this phase of knowledge, the aims of music study 
 have accumulated into a long list. None of the earlier aims can 
 or should be discarded, but the relative values of all must be set- 
 tled and each given its rightful place as a factor in the final result 
 to be desired. At different times, places, or stages of development, 
 we find music to be: (1) A "pleasing diversion or relaxation;" (2) 
 an expression of an individual's feelings; (3) an appeal to others' 
 feelings; (4) a factor in unifying a group (congregation, mob, or 
 community); (5) a drill in intellectuality (perception and analysis); 
 (6) an appreciation of technique; (7) a moral or ethical uplift; 
 and (S) an expression of highest self-realization, which comes to 
 the artist with creation, or to the layman with interpretative 
 power — one of the rarer delights resulting from long study and 
 effort. 
 
 Appreciation and love of good music are within the grasp of all; 
 but, like the love of good literature, they can not be gained by 
 mere knowledge of symbols (words or notes), though such knowl- 
 edge may be made to aid appreciation. If the work on symbols 
 be isolated, as it too often has been, it ends in "mechanical exer- 
 cises which grow distasteful and almost meaningless." If, on the 
 other hand, children are unguided in their choice of songs or un- 
 trained in their use of the voice, the result is seen in crude taste 
 and execrable execution. Later attempts to develop good taste 
 and to arouse the critical faculty only show the child how grotesque
 
 192 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 are his own efforts, and end in his abandonment of all attempts at 
 musical expression, and, possibly, even of appreciation. 
 
 In common with all teachers, the teacher of music must de- 
 velop what ability is already within the pupil — must begin on his 
 plane and lift him very gradually to higher planes. Two main 
 lines of effort are necessary: (1) The pupil must have his "range of 
 sound concepts" steadily enlarged, so that he finally makes many 
 and fine discriminations, whereas at first the ordinary child feels 
 few and only coarser differences. (Monotones seem to make no 
 discriminations.) Sense training, much listening, and rote-singing 
 of songs within the pupil's ken, are some of the means employed by 
 teachers to secure this broader range of sound concepts. (2) The 
 child must have, as in other content subjects, increased and varied 
 experiences of a general nature, as well as in the specific field of 
 music. He must, through doing, get a fundamental background 
 for imaginary situations before the literature of music will appeal. 
 
 The following outline is furnished through the courtesy of — 
 
 MISS ELSIE M. SHAWE, 
 Supervisor of Music, Public Schools, St. Paul. 
 The attempt has been made to suggest work which can he 
 carried out under existing circumstances by the teachers in the 
 State of Minnesota. 
 
 COURSE IN MUSIC FOR GRADES I TO VIII INCLUSIVE. 
 
 SYLLABUS. 
 
 Rhythm. — Development of the feeling for and ability to express 
 rhythm in bodily movements. 
 
 Ear Training. — Appreciation of and discrimination between 
 musical sounds. 
 
 Voice Training. — Proper use of the voice, and ability to sing 
 many songs. 
 
 Eye Training. — Sight reading. 
 
 Harmony. — Singing of part-songs; orchestral ensemble. 
 
 Musical Appreciation. — Cultivation of a taste for the best music, 
 by singing good songs and hearing good vocal and instrumental 
 compositions. 
 
 Outlines. — Grade I. 
 
 Rhythm. — Cultivation of the feeling for rhythm, and ability to 
 interpret it by bodily movements. The phonograph may be used 
 here to advantage; use records of a strong rhythmic character. 
 
 Ear Training. — Recognition by children of melodies that have 
 been heard frequently, whether sung by teacher without words, or
 
 Music. — Grades II and III. 193 
 
 played on piano or phonograph. Rote songs may be learned 
 directly from the phonograph record. Phonograph records of many 
 suitable songs for children of this grade are available. 
 
 Voice. — Children of this grade who have not the ability to sing 
 simple songs should be given daily individual help. The frequent 
 cause of the monotone is the incorrect use of the voice; if the 
 teacher uses a light quality of voice in illustrating for the children, 
 and leads them to use the head-voice exclusively in singing, prac- 
 tically every child will be able to sing simple songs when he leaves 
 this grade. From twenty-five to forty songs should be learned by 
 the children during the two semesters. 
 
 Grade II. 
 
 Rhythm. — Development in the children of the feeling for strong 
 pulsations in music, through listening to vocal and instrumental 
 compositions. Children may indicate the beats of a piece of music 
 by tapping, clapping, marching, swaying or bending of body, etc. 
 The phonograph may be used to advantage. Use records of a 
 strong rhythmic character. 
 
 Ear Training. — Recognition by children of melodies that have 
 been heard frequently. Some rote songs may be learned directly 
 from the phonograph records. To cultivate the listening habit, 
 have the children occasionally sing their rote songs with piano ac- 
 companiment, or phonograph record. 
 
 Tone Relationship. — As an introduction to sight reading, have 
 children learn, by rote, about fifteen simple songs with syllable 
 names. 
 
 Sight Reading. — Children should begin to read music in this 
 grade. Use many simple songs in all keys, and in the various 
 meters commonly used, and have children read the songs collec- 
 tively and individually with syllable names, and later with words. 
 
 Musical Appreciation. — The rote songs, songs for sight reading, 
 and music played on piano or phonograph, should in all cases be 
 good, so that a taste for the best will be cultivated in the child. 
 
 Grade III. 
 
 Rhythm. — Development in the children of the feeling for strong 
 and weak pulsations in music, through listening to vocal and in- 
 strumental compositions. Children may indicate the beats of a 
 piece of music by tapping lightly on desk. The phonograph may 
 be used to advantage; use records of a strong rhythmic character. 
 
 Ear Training. — Recognition by children of melodies that have 
 been heard frequently. The listening habit is cultivated by having
 
 194 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 the children occasionally sing their rote songs with accompaniment 
 or phonograph record. It is advisable that children hear songs 
 that illustrate the pure, light, sustained tones that children should 
 use exclusively in singing. Many phonograph records are avail- 
 able for this purpose. Teachers should take great care to use only 
 the right quality of voice in teaching the rote songs. 
 
 Sight Reading. — Children should read, collectively, and indi- 
 vidually, many simple one-part songs, written in all keys and in 
 the various meters in common use. The last half of this year, the 
 songs for sight reading may contain the rhythm commonly known 
 as the "equally-divided beat." 
 
 Musical Appreciation. — The rote songs, songs for sight reading, 
 and music played on piano or phonograph, should in all cases be 
 good, so that a taste for the best will be cultivated in the child. 
 Suggestions are gained for the proper interpretation of songs, 
 through listening to good phonograph records. 
 
 Grade IV. 
 
 Rhythm. — Continued development in the children of the feeling 
 for strong and weak pulsations in music, through listening to vocal 
 and instrumental compositions. In the last half of this year, pre- 
 sent six-eight measure, as compound double meter— two beats to a 
 measure; it will aid the children in the proper feeling for and in- 
 terpretation of this rhythm if they listen to rhythmic music writ- 
 ten in six-eight measure, such as "Barcarolles," "Cradle-Songs," etc. 
 
 Ear Training. — Recognition by children of musical composi- 
 tions that have been heard frequently. Children will be ready, 
 the last half of this year, to read simple two-part songs. As an aid 
 to clear, pure two-part singing, have class listen to duos, both vocal 
 and instrumental; good phonograph records are available for this 
 purpose. Listening to music written in minor keys develops an 
 appreciation of this mode, which is necessary for the proper render- 
 ing of songs in the minor mode. 
 
 Sight Reading. — Children should read, collectively and individu- 
 ally, many good one-part songs written in all keys, and in the 
 various meters in common use. These songs may contain the 
 rhythms known as "equally-" and "unequally-divided beat," "beat- 
 and-a-half note," etc.; and chromatic tones, where the progressions 
 are simple. The last half of the year, simple two-part music may 
 be introduced. 
 
 Musical Appreciation. — Only good music should be sung and 
 heard by the children, so that a taste for the best will be cultivated.
 
 Music. — Grades V and VI. 195 
 
 Suggestions are gained for the proper interpretation of songs by 
 listening to good phonograph records. 
 
 Grade V. 
 
 Ear Training. — As an aid to clear, pure, two-part singing, have 
 class listen to duos, both vocal and instrumental. Good phono- 
 graph records are available for this purpose. Children should 
 become familiar with the minor as well as the major mode; fre- 
 quent listening to music in both modes will result in the desired 
 appreciation. 
 
 Sight Reading. — Songs for this grade are in one- and two-part; 
 they may contain chromatic tones, and any rhythm in common 
 use. The voices of the pupils of this grade are in most cases of 
 the same quality and compass, and the alto part in the two-part 
 songs should not be sung exclusively by one division of the class. 
 
 Theory. — Through the reading of music in grades two, three, 
 and four, children have gained a knowledge of the staff, note and 
 rest forms and values, and meter signatures. In the fifth grade, 
 children should learn the place on the staff of the key-note, in 
 eleven major keys. 
 
 Musical Appreciation. — Recognition by pupils of musical com- 
 positions that have been heard frequently. Only good music 
 should be sung and heard by the children, so that a taste for the 
 best will be cultivated. Suggestions are gained for the proper in- 
 terpretation of songs, by listening to good phonograph records. 
 
 Grade VI. 
 
 Ear Training. — Give pupils the opportunity of listening to 
 good part-music. It is advisable in some cases to introduce three- 
 part singing the last half of this year; as a preparation for this 
 work, have pupils listen to simple three-part music, preferably un- 
 accompanied. The phonograph may be used. 
 
 Sight Reading. — The course in sight reading for this grade 
 should consist chiefly of good two-part songs. In classes in which 
 there is a sufficient number of alto voices, three-part singing may 
 be introduced the last half of the year. 
 
 Voice Testing. — The voices of all pupils in this grade should be 
 tested individually, twice during the school year, and each pupil 
 assigned to the vocal part to which his voice is best suited. 
 
 Musical Appreciation. — Recognition by pupils of musical com- 
 positions that have been heard frequently. After hearing a com- 
 position for the first time, pupils should be able to classify simple 
 musical forms such as march, waltz, minuet, cradle songs, etc. 
 Only good music should be sung and heard by the children, so that
 
 196 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 a taste for the best will be cultivated. Suggestions are gained for 
 the proper interpretation of songs by listening to good phonograph 
 records. 
 
 Grades VII and VIII. 
 
 Ear Training. — Listening to the quality or timbre of musical 
 instruments, and making comparisons, is good training for the ear. 
 Some phonograph records reproduce quite satisfactorily the tone 
 quality of orchestral instruments, and could be used for this pur- 
 pose. As an aid to clear, pure part-singing have pupils listen to 
 trios and quartettes, both vocal and instrumental; phonograph 
 records may be used. 
 
 Sight Reading. — The course in sight reading for the seventh 
 grade, and in some cases for the eighth grade, should consist chiefly 
 of good three-part songs. If there is a sufficient number of boys 
 in the school with bass voices, they should unite with the eighth 
 grade, and the eighth-grade class should then study songs in four 
 parts. 
 
 Voice Testing. — The voices of all pupils in these grades should 
 be tested twice during the school year, and each pupil assigned to 
 the vocal part to which his voice is best suited. 
 
 Theory. — Elementary theory of music should be learned in 
 connection with the actual study of music, and not as a formal 
 study of signs and terms. Through the reading of music, pupils 
 have gained a knowledge of the staff, note and rest forms and 
 values, major, minor, and chromatic scales, and key and meter 
 signatures. Tests covering this theory should be given eighth- 
 grade pupils. 
 
 Orchestra. — An orchestra is a valuable asset in a school. En- 
 courage pupils to study musical instruments, and wherever possible 
 organize a grade-school orchestra. In some cities and towns of 
 the United States, class instruction is given pupils in the public 
 schools, in piano, and also violin and other orchestral instruments. 
 Competent teachers of these instruments are provided, and the 
 lessons are given in the school-building, usually outside of school 
 hours, pupils in most cases paying a nominal fee for the lessons. 
 Class instruction gives pupils the opportunity of hearing and see- 
 ing others at work, and the results are favorable to the individual. 
 
 Musical Appreciation. — Recognition by pupils of musical com- 
 positions that have been frequently heard. Children of this grade 
 are interested in overtures and other instrumental compositions, 
 excerpts from operas and oratorios, and the best "art-songs." It 
 is important that pupils should know the titles and the names of 
 the composers of musical compositions to which they listen.
 
 Drawing. — Outline. 197 
 
 B— DRAWING. 
 
 Drawing and its related arts, painting, sculpture, and architec- 
 ture, grew out of man's desire to express in various mediums the 
 beauty he saw or dreamed of in line, in form, and in color. 
 
 In lieu of a full discussion of the subject, already so ably treated 
 by Bailey, Sargent, and others, a brief outline of various topics 
 necessary for teachers to consider follows: 
 
 I. Development of the various forms of the drawing art. 
 
 A. Drawing. 
 
 1. Grew from man's desire to communicate and to record experiences, 
 
 hence the first efforts were to portray an object as it was; that 
 demanded exactness of observation, and accuracy of line relation- 
 ships. Soon, details, differences, and ill-proportioned accuracies, 
 were omitted or idealized, so that beauty in line developed. 
 
 2. A proper "setting" for an object or a part of an object created per- 
 
 spective; later, laws of perspective were worked out. 
 
 3. A desire that an object should fit its function caused the laws of 
 
 design to be developed. 
 
 4. Decoration of loved objects naturally followed. 
 
 B. Painting. 
 
 1. Developed from attempts to express harmony of color. 
 
 a. With spectrum colors, b. With light and shade in one tone. 
 
 2. Demanded study of space and mass relationships, rather than mere 
 
 line relationships. 
 
 3. Created additional laws of drawing, design, decoration, and perspec- 
 
 tive. (Composition.) 
 
 4. Developed a technique of each medium. 
 
 a. Water-colors. b. Oils. c. Pastels, etc. 
 
 C. Sculpture. 
 
 1. Application of principles of drawing, design, and composition, to a 
 
 new medium — clay, plaster, marble, etc. 
 
 2. Study of anatomy, architecture, etc., according to form of sculpture 
 
 to be used. 
 
 D. Architecture. 
 
 1. Application of named principles to construction and ornamentation 
 of buildings. * 
 
 II. Aims of elementary-school instruction in the drawing arts. 
 
 A. To make art an aid to the language arts, to nature-study, and to industry 
 
 especially, but also to other school subjects. 
 
 B. To secure steady growth in the child's ability — 
 
 1. To illustrate an idea or thought by doing; for example, modeling an 
 
 apple in clay, cutting a tree from paper, making a pattern for a 
 star, or a box, etc. That is, to represent, showing better and 
 better control of the medium and better powers of observation. 
 
 2. To make a specific into a general notion; that is, to conventionalize. 
 
 3. To add to a specific idea; in other words, to idealize. 
 
 4. To apply principles learned to new situations; that is, to decorate, 
 
 to design, and to compose. 
 
 5. To appreciate better art. 
 
 As an exceptionally fine teacher* of this subject has said, fine art in the ele- 
 mentary school should be, what it is for the majority of us through life, "the 
 handmaid of other subjects," as well as of our thinking. In adulthood most of 
 us express ourselves, not in creating art, but in selecting what we "believe to be 
 either useful or beautiful." 
 
 III. Materials and mediums to be used. 
 A. In all grades. 
 
 1. Paper — for tearing, folding, cutting, mosaic laying, etc. 
 
 2. Pencils and crayons of all kinds. 3. Water-colors and brushes. 
 
 * Miss Bertha H. Speckman, Winona.
 
 198 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 4. Clay, or some other plastic material such as plasticene, papier mache, 
 
 or salt and cornstarch paste, if clay is not obtainable. 
 
 5. Beautiful works of art in the original, in lantern slides, or in pictures. 
 B. In different grades. 
 
 Construction materials to suit ability, skill, and interest of pupils; for 
 example, wood for toys, materials for Christmas gifts or for house- 
 hold and personal conveniences, etc. 
 While, throughout the elementary school, the real problem for the child is to 
 learn to draw, the materials and mediums selected for practice must ever be the 
 most artistic obtainable. Art materials are not chosen to make the child think 
 that he is creating art, but so that whatever he learns may readily function, later, 
 when he does reach the stage where he can independently create or appreciate 
 fine art. This use of art materials for the child who is learning to draw is analo- 
 gous to the employment of good literature for the child who is learning to read. 
 
 IV. Methods. 
 
 Throughout the grades the work in fine art should parallel the children's 
 mental and emotional development, being used largely as a means of self-expres- 
 sion but also of reaching towards highest self-realization. Adult standards forced 
 upon the child kill spontaneity, interest, and growth, produce fear of self-expres- 
 sion (self-consciousness), and result in formal, imitative work of no value. 
 
 Beginning with the child's early desire for decorating objects, and of coloring 
 things, the teacher may lead him — 
 
 1. To design decorations that harmonize with the object and its function. 
 
 2. To select something appropriate and beautiful in the material world about 
 
 him as the core of that design. 
 
 3. To study that object through representing it in different mediums (paper 
 
 tearing or cutting, stick laying, clay modeling, crayons, etc.) 
 
 4. To conventionalize the idea gained from the object. 
 
 5. To apply the design properly. 
 
 6. To develop taste, appreciating (a) nature in its varied expressions, as well 
 
 as (b) the ability of great artists to help others see beauties in life 
 about them. 
 
 As in other subjects, power is gained by several methods — trial and success; 
 imitation; awakening intelligence, imagination, and emotions; study of technique; 
 and trying to express the ideal in mind at the time. The teacher's function is to 
 lift the pupil to a higher plane as soon as he is ready for it, but not before. 
 
 The different mediums employed are found to be valuable in all grades, the 
 only difference being the natural development that comes with maturity— greater 
 skill in handling the materials, better taste, richer experiences, more complex 
 ideas, and surer grasp of principles. Results should be much less thought of than 
 process, and an exhibit of work which shows how pupils grew in thinking power, 
 in appreciation, in invention, in taste, is of much greater value than one which 
 shows results (especially if adults have "doctored" up those results). 
 
 V. General results to expect. 
 
 In first grade: (a) Pure love of using the mediums. (Mixing colors, daub- 
 ing, molding clay, for example.) (b) Rhythm, even when not present 
 in the object represented. (A six-year-old, for illustration, will cut a 
 symmetrical tree while looking at one with branches on just one side.) 
 (c) Uncontrolled lines, (d) Vivid color combinations, (e) Attempts 
 at communication of ideas. 
 
 In second grade: Not noticeably different from first-grade work, except with 
 individuals and in muscular coordination so that results look better. 
 Children are satisfied with the result if they feel they have worked. 
 
 In third grade: The use of materials is undertaken with more purpose (not 
 just daubing). There awakes a more conscious desire to know "how 
 to do it," hence pupils imitate the process of the teacher or others, ob- 
 serve the object to be portrayed more closely, represent ideas more ac- 
 curately than before, and check results by comparison of their work 
 with that of others, thus setting up crude standards of judgment. 
 
 In fourth grade: Pupils begin to see the relative values of parts, and so no 
 longer, for example, make buttons the most prominent part of the pic- 
 ture of a shoe, but, under even slight guidance, learn to subordinate de-
 
 Literature. 199 
 
 tails to central ideas, and to judge worths by applying only one or two 
 standards at a time. For example, this picture is good for its color (let 
 other things go); this, for its movement; this, for its spacing; this, for 
 its neatness and good lines; etc. 
 In fifth and sixth grades: The children's power to select a central idea and 
 then consistently to work out details to fit it, that is, to organize, shows 
 in whatever problem is undertaken. If the pupils are to entertain other 
 grades, the costumes, room decorations, color scheme, must all fit the 
 central idea. A school magazine must have a cover to suit the season, 
 the contents, or the purpose of the "publication." Painstaking work is 
 comparatively easy to secure if the need of such work is felt to be con- 
 sistent with the central plan. 
 
 In seventh and eighth grades: The same organization of details about a cen- 
 tral idea may be expected, but the "problems" should be more like adult 
 problems, challenging the awakening "grown-up-ness" of the students. 
 Finer accuracy, better judgment of values, and greater personal re- 
 sponsibility for the doing well of all assigned work, should be demanded. 
 Community effort should be common, while individual tastes and in- 
 terests should at the same time be encouraged. The correlation of fine 
 art with industry, nature study, literature, and language, gives a wide 
 selection of "problems." 
 The note-book work of upper-grade pupils gives them many opportunities 
 
 for learning good methods of collecting and arranging material so as to illustrate 
 
 given subjects, and for using design in decoration. 
 
 C— LITERATURE. 
 
 Literature is the result of a universal desire, satisfied by the 
 genius of a few, to harmonize cause and effect in social relationships. 
 In true literature given causes can produce but one effect; wrong is 
 punished and right rewarded. True, the punishment or the re- 
 ward may appear in new form to us; but the truth remains. 
 
 Real literature is tested primarily by the universality of its con- 
 tent — does it contain an abiding truth felt by all ages in all climes? 
 As we go about our daily tasks we are too close to ourselves and to 
 our neighbors always to appreciate the larger truths of life; but 
 when we observe the inner and detailed relationships among sev- 
 eral persons during years, as we do in reading "Dombey and Son," 
 for example, we have time to note the universal truths that send us 
 back to daily work with greater faith in the justice of life, with re- 
 newed courage to live our best, and with greater tolerance for the 
 frailties of others. 
 
 Other tests for good literature also have "harmony" for the key- 
 note: we expect the expression to correspond to the thought; we 
 want the vocabulary as well as the ideas to satisfy our ideals, to 
 enlarge our vision, or to play upon our imagination; we want to be 
 stirred by the proper emotions as we progress in our interpretation 
 of character, and should feel decidedly tricked had Dickens made 
 John Carker's career end other than it did. 
 
 Because, then, literature deals with universal types of truth, put 
 into beautiful or consistent form, and because we can there see ideal
 
 200 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 social relationships by which to guide our own conduct, it is desir- 
 able that all learn to read, to understand, and thoroughly to love 
 literature; and that this may be accomplished, children of all ages 
 should be surrounded by good literature. 
 
 In school this is best accomplished by using literature as the 
 subject-matter of language and reading, so that the pupils' acquired 
 "love of reading" or "the reading habit" invariably means a love 
 of literature. Or, used as supplementary material, literature may, 
 in youth, clinch a nature-study lesson, and then be recalled in adult- 
 hood as a bit of real philosophy. Industry, geography, and history, 
 are dignified, enriched, or vivified, by means of related literature, 
 while the other arts, drawing and music, are inextricably bound up 
 with it. In other words, while literature, like drawing and music, 
 has a content of its own, it yet makes a superior handmaid to other 
 subjects. 
 
 Classic stories, fairy tales, myths, legends, hero tales, and poetry, 
 should in all grades be heard, read, reproduced, copied, committed 
 to memory, or imitated in writing, for by these means pupils grow 
 accustomed to the vocabulary of the best literature, have as back- 
 ground the knowledge which leads to an appreciation of metaphor 
 and allusion, and acquire the habit of sustained thinking, of seeing 
 images clearly, and of judging worths. 
 
 For suggestions concerning literature to be used in different 
 grades, consult (1) the courses in Language and Reading, (2) pp. 
 301-302, and (3) The Minnesota School Library List, which is a 
 rich mine in itself. 
 
 SUMMARY OF SUGGESTIONS —TAKEN FROM THE "DIAGRAM." 
 
 Grade I. Rhythmic tales, cumulative tales, rhymes, and fairy tales. — p. 16. 
 
 Grade II. Same as first grade plus Nature myths, some Greek and Norse myths. Poems of 
 childhood (Field, Riley, R. L. Stevenson, etc.) — p. 19. 
 
 Grade III. Humor — Uncle Remus, Just So Stories, Letters from a Cat, Pinocchio, Merry Ani- 
 mal Tales. Imagery, color-tone, long words, etc. True stories — Tree Dwellers, etc. Indian 
 Life, Colonial Days, Viking Tales, Robinson Crusoe, Seven Little Sisters, etc. — pp. 25, 82. 
 
 Grade IV. Recognition and respect for law and courage. Same as above plus Robin Hood, Wil- 
 liam Tell, historical tales, biography, lives of great Americans, etc. Jungle Books. Humor 
 of finer kind. — pp. 30, 86. 
 
 Grade V. Vaguely appreciating bigness oj -world, and of life — hence, stories of adventure and 
 biography — Arthurian legends, Ulysses, Beowulf, Roland, Perseus, historical characters 
 everywhere. Gold Bug, Treasure Island, books by Seton-Thompson. Poetry. 
 
 Grade VI. Similar to fifth. Poetry: Ballads, Canterbury Tales, Iliad, Odyssey, William Tell, 
 Lays of Ancient Rome. Stories of foreign lands and of children away from home — Hans 
 Brinker, Arthur Bonnicastle, Tom Brown's School Days, Little Men, etc. — pp. 43, 92. 
 
 Grade VII. Great individual differences, hence wide range necessary. Stories of individual 
 success and courage. Biographies, Writings of Cooper, Scott, Lamb, Hugo, Dickens, Rus- 
 kin, Plutarch, Prescott, Thackeray, Tennyson, Warner, Irving, Alcott, etc. — p. 50. 
 
 Grade VIII. More of one line of reading. Literature about great men, great industries, great en- 
 terprises, etc. Same authors as seventh plus Shakespeare, Eliot, Hawthorne, Hale, Gra- 
 ham, Holmes, Bangs, Webster, Vandyke. Current literary magazines. — pp. 58, 96.
 
 PART II. 
 
 MANUAL FOR TEACHERS 
 
 A .--HIGHEST SELF-REALIZATION AS THE AIM OF EDU- 
 CATION, THE BASIS FOR THIS COURSE OF STUDY. 
 
 This Course of Study elaborates as the aim of education the 
 highest self-realization of the individual, through his active adjust- 
 ment* to the three phases of his life: physical, social, and spirit- 
 ual. 
 
 Since life demands constant adjustment as a means of growth, 
 — since, today, like Alice in Looking-glass Land, one has to run 
 barely to keep his place in the world, — education, as one phase of 
 life, furthers the individual's power (1) consciously to select the 
 best adjustments to make for his development, and (2) purposely 
 to employ the best means of making the selected adjustments. 
 
 Since the best means can never be employed unless the end is 
 known, education is forced to name its own goal, as well as to select 
 the materials for and methods of attaining that goal. The goal, 
 however, like the end of the rainbow, or the distant mountain, 
 recedes with the seeker's advance. Because some grow weary, and, 
 losing sight of the distant end, make an end of the means; because 
 others go on to the end, there to find richer returns than can be 
 measured by the fabled pot of gold; and because many, in between, 
 find the means as end too narrow, and yet miss high spiritual values 
 on account of limited interpretative power; the aim (or goal, or 
 end) of education has come to be stated in a myriad of ways. Of 
 all these, self-realization, obtained through subordination as well as 
 elevation of the individual in the process of his socialization, seems 
 the goal best suited to modern American thought, even as it was to 
 Grecian when Athens ruled the world. 
 
 Self-realization is best attained by living a nobly purposeful 
 life; but, since all adults of the community want the youth of the 
 race to come to their own more quickly and more certainly than 
 they can if left to the chance teachings of life, the specialized phase 
 of life (or of education) called "schooling" must choose a road to 
 the final end, along which are set up transitory goals able to be 
 striven for by the young. To do this, those interested in the pro- 
 cesses of education (parents, teachers, and all adults of the commu- 
 nity) must discover (1) what goal men seek through the adjust- 
 ments they make both for their own development and that of the 
 group in which they live; (2) which phases of these types of adjust- 
 
 * Carver distinguishes between the passive adjustment made by animals and the active ad- 
 justment made by men in "Sociology and Social Progress," p. 9.
 
 202 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 ment miss being taught in the general life of the child (so that the 
 specialized organ of education — the school — may know how prop- 
 erly to supplement what is learned outside of school); and (3) how 
 these adjustments are made (so that the school may employ proper 
 methods). In other words, the school must look to the activities 
 in human life — physical, social, and spiritual — to discover (1) its 
 aims, (2) its materials, and (3) its methods. 
 
 (1) No matter how aims in education may be subdivided to 
 meet the exigencies of the week, day, or half-hour, they must ever 
 point towards the eternal values of Truth, Morality, Beauty, and 
 Holiness — those aims which govern human adjustments in the ag- 
 gregate. 
 
 (2) No matter into how small bits the subject-matter needs to 
 be made, to fit the various considerations necessary in its selection 
 and distribution, it must of necessity be chosen from the materials 
 men use in furthering life aims. 
 
 (3) No matter what methods are employed, they will assuredly 
 be those methods which the human race has worked out to meet 
 changing needs; hence the teacher, in his conscious systematiza- 
 tion of work, the only economical means of securing efficiency, 
 must study the different methods open to selection, the principles 
 underlying these different methods, and the relative values of de- 
 vices in furthering the method selected, so that method and device 
 may be judiciously selected and then used only so long as valu- 
 able. (See pp. 279-283.) 
 
 Because the aim of life is the fullest possible realization of the 
 divine self in the individual, the materials and methods for fur- 
 thering the aim must be found in a careful analysis of the adjust- 
 ments made by man to attain his birthright. 
 
 B— AN ANALYSIS OF HUMAN ADJUSTMENTS.* 
 
 As implied before, self-realization is not self-seeking; it. is a 
 result to be obtained by serving, not by being served. 
 
 Between the best good of the individual and the best good of 
 his fellows there is no conflict; one man's best good is in perfect 
 harmony with the good of all mankind. One has not attained 
 perfect self-realization until he has so lived that the maxim of his 
 every act is fit to become a universal lawf ; but as he approaches 
 this perfection, this self-realization, he takes more and more cogni- 
 zance of bis fellows and of his physical environment. Genius-like, 
 he marvels at the commonplace, seeing in each stone and leaf and 
 butterfly the mystery of all life. 
 
 An analysis of human adjustments leads one to the century- 
 old truth that all begins in unity and ends in unity; that phases of 
 life are temporarily segregated for convenience, but that all can 
 be seen in each whenever studied. Birth starts all the later differ- 
 entiated phases of adjustment which in highest self-realization 
 again unite. In modern civilization, a child is born into the unit 
 
 * For the impetus to this analysis, the author is indebted to the work of the Superintendents' 
 and Principals' Association of Northern Illinois, 
 t Kant's Categorical Imperative.
 
 Analysis of Human Adjustments. 
 
 203 
 
 of social life, the family, and so his social adjustments begin almost 
 at once. Very soon he consciously notes his social surroundings, 
 and also reaches out in an attempt to control material things and 
 to understand some of the immaterial or abstract situations about 
 him. The accompanying diagram is an attempt to represent the 
 idea that all adjustments grow out of life itself, separate into three 
 main types lying in the same plane, at equal distances one from 
 another, yet always interrelated; and end in man's highest self- 
 realization, or freed personality. 
 
 1. Life, the unit out of 
 
 which all differentiated 
 experience grows. 
 2-3-4. The plane in which 
 human experiences dif- 
 ferentiate because of ad- 
 justments to different 
 "worlds." 
 
 2. The social world. 
 
 3. The material world. 
 
 4. The immaterial world, 
 or world of ideas and of 
 ideals. 
 
 Self-realization in the 
 highest sense — that uni- 
 ty which comes after 
 differentiation. 
 
 5 SELF- REALIZATION 
 
 5. 
 
 IDEAS 
 
 AND A 
 
 IDEALS 
 
 SOCIAL 
 
 WORLD 
 
 Origin of elementary-school subject-matter in relation 
 to human adjustments. 
 
 Note: Italics in this outline indicate the commonly known school subjects as 
 they inevitably grow out of various human adjustments. 
 
 I. Adjustments to the social world. 
 
 A. In family life. 
 
 1. Communication necessary — 
 
 a. Understanding others. (Voice, gesture, words.) 
 
 (Through the senses; hence, "sense training") 
 
 b. Expressing self; (voice, gesture, words;) hence, 
 
 language developed. (See pp. 228-230.) 
 
 2. Family privileges shared; hence, conventional good man- 
 
 ners developed. Also, morals and hygiene. 
 
 3. Family labors shared; hence, simple home industries 
 
 learned. 
 
 B. In the larger group — clan, tribe, town, state, world. 
 
 1. Cooperation necessary — 
 
 a. For protection — hence, discipline or government 
 
 upbuilt — town moots; building laws, fire and 
 police departments, etc., made. 
 
 b. For economy of (1) time, (2) energy, (3) money — 
 
 hence, civic and economic laws, taxation, etc., 
 developed.
 
 204 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 c. For interchange of ideas. 
 
 (1) In conventions — speech refined, travel nec- 
 
 essary. 
 
 (2) In print — reading necessary; hence, books, 
 
 magazines, newspapers; hence, libraries. 
 
 (3) In studying social and economic conditions 
 
 of other peoples in other lands and times; 
 hence, history and sociology. 
 
 d. For spiritual uplift — logical, ethical, and aesthetic 
 
 values prominent in working out this — knowl- 
 edge, ethics, (esthetics, religion. 
 2. Division of labor. 
 
 a. Inventions made labor lighter. 
 
 b. Differentiated industries developed. 
 
 (1) Labor-^. -capital problems. 
 
 (2) Child-labor problems. 
 
 (3) More inventions made in every field. 
 
 c. Exchange of excess products of labor. 
 
 (1) Barter, exchange, merchantry, commerce — 
 as business methods of conducting these 
 forms of trade changed, various phases of 
 arithmetic developed. (See p. 261.) 
 
 d. Transportation facilities increased — {geography de- 
 
 veloped.) 
 
 II. Adjustments to the material world. 
 
 A. In play, manipulation of objects, destruction, etc., asking 
 
 "What?" "Why?" "Wherefore?" etc. 
 
 B. By discovery, exploration, and trial, man finds nature sup- 
 
 plying his simple wants. 
 
 1. Food. 
 
 a. Native nuts, grains, berries, vegetables, wild ani- 
 
 mals, etc. 
 
 b. Cultivated grains, fruit, etc. Stock and poultry 
 
 raised for meat, milk, eggs, etc. 
 
 c. Activities: hunting, fishing, herding, agriculture, 
 
 stock-raising, dairying. 
 
 2. Shelter. 
 
 a. Natural — caves, treetops, etc. 
 
 b. Slightly transformed — skin and bark huts, log and 
 
 stone houses, tents, etc. 
 
 c. Activities: hunting, lumbering, quarrying, mining. 
 
 d. Results — Family life. 
 
 3. Clothing. 
 
 a. Vegetable products, skins, etc. 
 
 b. Activities: hunting, dressing skins, simple weav- 
 
 ing, etc. 
 
 C. By manipulation, and invention or construction, man changes 
 
 the forms of nature's supplies. 
 1. Food — Illustrations follow: 
 
 a. Flour, puffed grains, etc., prepared. 
 
 b. Beverages prepared from beans, leaves, berries.
 
 Analysis of Human Adjustments. 205 
 
 c. Minerals refined; soda, salt, water. 
 
 d. Cookery refined into an art; sanitation. 
 
 e. Animal foods preserved in many ways. 
 
 f. Better and different plant and animal forms devel- 
 
 oped; horticulture and animal husbandry. 
 
 2. Shelter — Illustrations: 
 
 a. Iron changed to steel for strength and durability. 
 
 b. Lumber used for veneers and other fine purposes. 
 
 c. Stone crushed and made into concrete, false mar- 
 
 ble, etc. 
 
 3. Clothing. 
 
 a. Cloth manufacture. 
 
 (1) wool, (2) cotton, (3) linen, including all the 
 processes necessary. Hygiene. 
 
 b. Sewing, designing; and all the arts of garment 
 
 making and, manufacture. 
 D. By organizing facts and laws or principles found in the 
 simple processes above, man has developed: 
 
 1. Great industries. 
 
 a. Agricultural industries. 
 
 b. Mining industries. 
 
 c. Manufacturing industries. 
 
 d. Commercial industries. 
 
 2. Sciences. 
 
 a. Geography, geology, astronomy, etc. 
 
 b. Botany, and related sciences. 
 
 c. Zoology, physiology, and related sciences. 
 
 d. Physics, chemistry, etc. 
 
 e. Grammar, philology, etc. 
 
 f. Mathematics. 
 
 III. Adjustments to the immaterial world. 
 
 A. By attempting to explain the mysteries of nature, man 
 
 developed — ■ 
 
 1. Power of thinking. 
 
 2. Power of imagination. 
 
 3. Mythology. 
 
 B. By attempting to explain man's place in nature, man de- 
 
 veloped — 
 1. Standards of appreciation and evaluation — 
 
 a. Of things. 
 
 b. Of relationships. 
 
 (1) Relative values. 
 
 (2) Eternal values — truth, goodness, beauty, 
 
 holiness. 
 
 C. By seeing man's relation to his fellow man, the race has 
 
 developed history, economics, and sociology — 
 
 1. The family protection of the child for a longer and 
 
 longer period of infancy. 
 
 2. The desire that the youth of the race shall be taught 
 
 what will quickly make them better individuals 
 and members of society.
 
 206 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 3. The desire to better all mankind — ■ 
 
 a. Socially. 
 
 b. Individually. \ Hence a study of citizenship. 
 
 c. Economically. J 
 
 4. The feeling of brotherhood of all mankind (sociology). 
 
 a. Sympathy. \ United on one task, although 
 
 b. Cooperation. / the labor is divided. 
 
 D. By trying to express the harmony in ideal social and ma- 
 
 terial relationships, fine art is developed — 
 
 1. Drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, etc. 
 
 2. Music. 
 
 3. Literature (including the drama). 
 
 E. By attempting to solve the problem of man's ultimate 
 
 destiny, men have evolved — 
 
 1. Philosophies of life. 
 
 a. Meaning of duty. 
 
 b. Use of leisure. 
 
 c. Self-realization. 
 
 d. Materialism — pragmatism 
 
 e. Idealism, etc. 
 
 2. Religion. 
 
 a. Faith the keynote. 
 
 b. Forms numerous. 
 
 Hence, ethics or 
 morals. 
 
 Points to be considered in the selection and distribution 
 of elementary-school subject-matter. 
 
 The preceding analysis shows the origin, through adjustment, 
 of every subject in the course of study. Which of these are best 
 fitted for use in mass-instruction, which need developing and refin- 
 ing to meet special needs of a given community, and which must be 
 subordinated to others to secure highest self-realization through 
 socialization, remains a problem for each locality to solve. 
 
 The general principles are few; namely: 
 
 1. The subject-matter must further one or more of the eternal 
 values, which are only larger names for the more commonly quoted 
 fundamentals of character: knowledge, accuracy, persistence, hon- 
 esty, obedience to law, economy, providence or foresight, gener- 
 osity, thoughtfulness of others, sympathy, faith, appreciation of 
 beauty, ability to stand alone in times of stress, and the will to do 
 the chosen or the allotted task. Said differently, the material 
 chosen must perpetuate and further the experiences which the race 
 has found, is finding, and will find, valuable for its best develop- 
 ment. 
 
 That special subjects within a field should be emphasized is 
 not so vital as that all fields should, for the sake of the final goal, be 
 given their proportion of attention. 
 
 The school subjects growing out of and fostering social adjust- 
 ments are English and Mathematics; those growing largely out of 
 material adjustments are Science and Industry; those growing 
 mainly out of ideal adjustments are Citizenship and Fine Art. 
 The unity of the three worlds, lying in one plane, interrelated with
 
 Suggestions. — Course for all Teachers. 207 
 
 one another, and all growing equally from life and ending in self- 
 realization, must be constantly kept in mind by the teacher, so that, 
 for example, when he teaches geography he will see in it social and 
 spiritual relationships, just as when he teaches reading there will 
 be physical and ideal adjustments as well as social. The youth who 
 wants to try every diverging path along the main road must be 
 held to knowing on what road he is, or he soon becomes lost in a 
 bog of indecision, in a maze of insurmountable complexity; he gets 
 only isolated bits, and, worse still, these seem to disagree, and he 
 may be led so far from the original road as never to get back even 
 in adulthood, when he longs to do so. 
 
 2. The subject-matter must be selected and distributed to fit the 
 pupils to be instructed, planned in a broad way to fit the psycho- 
 logical stages of developing childhood. The too-early forcing of 
 adult standards upon children, or the holding of pupils too long 
 on a plane lower than they are qualified to reach, are equally re- 
 stricting to progress towards highest self-realization. 
 
 8. The subject-matter and methods of work must be chosen to 
 utilize the means at hand: 
 
 a. The materials chosen must be such as are available in a 
 locality: Problems about industries, if industrial plants can be vis- 
 ited; study of farming, if farm operations can be observed; nature 
 study of park trees and house-plants, if city children have never 
 had a glimpse of real country; and "safety-first" cautions to chil- 
 dren who are exposed to undue dangers in going to and from school. 
 
 b. The subject-matter must fit the conditions provided for 
 instruction: A three-hour or a six-hour day, a six-months' or a 
 nine-months' school, few or many supplementary books, poorly 
 or well-equipped school-buildings with small or crowded classes. 
 
 c. The subject-matter must be chosen to fit the special ability 
 of the teacher (assuredly his general ability for the profession of 
 teaching must be above question): Whether he has particular ar- 
 tistic ability, or little; whether he can best secure accuracy, per- 
 sistence, and independence, from history, mathematics, or geog- 
 raphy. See discussion under 1 above. 
 
 I.— SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 
 
 A.— THIS COURSE OF STUDY FOR ALL TEACHERS. 
 
 The majority of state courses of study have been avowedly prepared for 
 "rural" or "district" teachers, and even more specifically for inexperienced rural 
 teachers, so that one has grown to expect a state course of study to be useful 
 only in country schools; but the Minnesota course of study has been prepared 
 with the hope of serving all teachers. 
 
 There is no question that rural teachers should have had first consideration. 
 Isolated as they once were, missing the incentive of daily companionship and 
 the incidental suggestions arising from that companionship, receiving infrequent 
 and often short visits from supervisory officers, rural teachers lacked standards 
 by which to judge the efficiency of their work, and consequently each rural school 
 became an individual unit — good or poor according to the individual teacher.
 
 208 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 State Superintendents were wise in bending their earliest energies to standardiz- 
 ing the work of these isolated schools, and in making so nearly uniform a course 
 of study as to better all schools. Minnesotans have reason to be proud that 
 their state leads in making rural schools as good as town schools. Through 
 state inspectors; through better-planned county supervision, institutes, and con- 
 ventions; through high-school training departments, with a famous leader in 
 rural education at their head; through the Agricultural College and normal 
 schools; and through other agencies; rural teachers in Minnesota are today re- 
 ceiving as much help as do the majority of urban teachers, excluding, of course 
 those in our very largest cities. It therefore seemed only fair that a state course 
 of study issued during this current period of progress, should help all teachers 
 of the state and not just one class. 
 
 According to length of service, there are three general classes of good teachers 
 (the bad are not considered, since they are soon eliminated by interested school 
 boards) : 
 
 The first class consists of beginning teachers, whether rural or urban, who are 
 concerned most with just how to go about this new work and who are naturally, 
 and hence properly, open-eyed mainly to catchy devices or "tricks of the trade." 
 
 Any one who visits a great number of schools and stays long enough to dis- 
 cover the real attitude of teachers to their problem, is invariably impressed with 
 their evident consecration of self to a great work. So few teachers are dishonest, 
 hypocritical, selfish, or given to mere eye-service, that one who is, is at once 
 called unnatural. For the untrained teacher who approaches his work with a 
 real desire to do his best for the children, this course of study provides specific 
 help in the way of distributed subject-matter, suggestive lesson plans for the 
 various types of teaching, and definite devices for seat-work, drill lessons, and 
 general management. 
 
 The second class consists of teachers of from two to four years' experience, who 
 have satisfactorily learned the external details of school-room management, and 
 who now crave something more fundamental. 
 
 Such teachers are recommended to begin reorganizing the subject-matter 
 being taught, for, in making this reorganization, teachers see relationships be- 
 tween topics and subjects that, when pointed out to pupils, arouse more enthu- 
 siasm for study than did any extraneous devices ever employed. One subject a 
 year, or, at most, two, will be all a teacher can do well while keeping up the 
 necessary work in other branches. The selection of a topic on which to begin 
 broad study must depend on the teacher's interests or feeling of need, or upon 
 what the school most requires. If no one in the building, or in a particular grade 
 is an authority on geography, history, composition, vocational guidance, moral 
 training, or any one subject, the teacher will do well to become such an authority. 
 It is hoped that such teachers will find help in at least three places in this Man- 
 ual, namely: (1) In the basis for the course; (2) in the specific introduction to 
 each school subject; and (3) in several sections of this second half of the book 
 (the Manual). 
 
 The third group consists of teachers of wider experience who begin to think 
 more of individual pupils than of either device or organization of subject-matter- 
 Such teachers want to know the whole field of methods so that they may wisely 
 select the best method for each child. Psychology and pedagogy are their aids. 
 Devices will still be used, as they should be, and subject-matter is important, 
 but both become temporary means to an end, and are given their correct evalua- 
 tion.
 
 Suggestions. — Beginners. 209 
 
 There is an old legend of how different birds learned to build their nests. 
 It tells how, while the dove was teaching the art to all, one bird after the other 
 flew off at a different stage of the process, thinking that she knew all about nest 
 building. Only the few who had the patience or insight to remain for the last 
 step became fine builders. Many teachers leave their profession having seen 
 only its earlier stages; the efficient, experienced teacher, who stays to take the 
 last step, wants to get the relation of the field of education to all of life, to see 
 how the specialized organ of education — school — ever grew up, what its original 
 function was, what changes in social conditions have affected that primary func- 
 tion, and whether schools are today meeting their responsibilities. That is, the 
 teacher who has reached this stage of professional growth is getting at funda- 
 mental principles of life, is forming a philosophy of education that pushes meth- 
 ods, as well as devices and subject-matter, back to a position of means to an end. 
 Such teachers will study the world's great books, and the world's great teachers 
 in every walk of life as well as in the school-room. They will read and reread 
 this entire course of study, exercising initiative, supplementing the thought, and 
 suggesting changes that will better it. 
 
 This course of study was intentionally made to be studied. Were it easy 
 enough to permit of being read by him who runs, teachers could not turn to it 
 year after year, as they must, with any degree of interest. It was meant to 
 foster — not kill — initiative, and each succeeding year the course should be less 
 mechanically followed by every teacher who uses it. It must be adapted in 
 every community to local needs and conditions. Superintendent Schulz and the 
 educational leaders who assist him will be ever ready to offer advice on adapta- 
 tions of the course of study to individual situations. They will also welcome 
 questions and criticisms of every sort. 
 
 B.— SUGGESTIONS TO SPECIAL GROUPS OF TEACHERS. 
 
 1.— TO BEGINNERS. 
 
 Inexperienced teachers want to know "everything," but a study of their in- 
 quiries proves that they want most to know what can be done to prepare for the 
 first week, and especially what to do the first day of school. 
 
 As soon as possible the teacher should learn all he can about the school and 
 the community; how he is likely to be situated if boarding, and everything which 
 will help him to know what to carry with him. He should study this course of 
 study, and if obtainable, read the text-books to be used, planning general assign- 
 ments of lessons so as to know what materials to provide. A quantity of seat- 
 work must be made if the teaching is to be done in lower grades or in a rural 
 school, and a note-book of general assignments if in upper grades. The former 
 should all be put into plainly labeled boxes or envelopes, so as to be economically 
 handled. (See pp. 2S3-292.) 
 
 The prospective teacher should make pencil-cases and fill with at least two 
 dozen sharpened pencils; make (or buy) a pocket-like seating-chart,* and have 
 two or three sets of cards ready to use in it. Having a large number of cards to 
 fit the seating-chart pockets, the teacher can, on the first day of school, have 
 each child who is old enough to do so write his name on two of them — one to be 
 put into a pocket corresponding to his seat and the other to lie on his desk. The 
 child's name and face can thus be associated, whether the teacher is at his desk 
 or walking about the room. For the children too young to write, the teacher 
 
 * Called the "Dorothy" seating-plan in the Thomas Charles catalog.
 
 210 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 must make the cards. This seating chart will last all year, cards being easily 
 shifted as children's seats are changed. 
 
 The teacher should plan a temporary program for the first day and then see 
 that there is some definite work to be done by each division that will need to 
 study; learn to tell several stories well, and make a specialty of at least one — 
 his best — telling it almost daily all summer, until he feels that he can tell it in 
 his sleep; know well several songs suited to the pupils to be taught and be able to 
 teach them by rote; collect good pictures, mounting some that will need to be 
 handled often, and label the envelopes in which are pictures for "geography," 
 "history," "language," "Thanksgiving Day," etc. 
 
 The teacher must have at tongue's end a number of easily explained and easily 
 played games, some suitable for the playground and some for the schoolroom. 
 He should also have one or more good books from which to begin to read, reading 
 perhaps the last ten minutes so that pupils look forward to the next day's school. 
 (See list of "Books to Read Aloud," by Miss Wilson, Department of Education.) 
 
 If not already known, the teacher must find out how to keep the school rec- 
 ords, how to find average daily attendance as well as other averages required in 
 the reports to City or County Superintendent. 
 
 All the above things can be prepared long before school opens. There still 
 remains the need of going to the school itself long enough before the first day to 
 be sure that everything within the teacher's province to control will be in order, 
 and to secure from the clerk of the district school or from the city principal, the 
 classification, attendance, and library registers left by the last teacher. In case 
 the last teacher, whose duty it was to do so, has not left things in perfect order 
 the new teacher should put into clean boxes, well arranged and labeled, all sup- 
 plies and materials worth using. Books should be dusted, and mended if worth 
 mending, before being recorded; or, if past mending, discarded. Maps should 
 be examined, mended if necessary, and checked to see whether all that will be 
 needed are available. If new window shades, fresh calsomining, scrubbing, re- 
 placed window panes, or other repairs, are needed, or if the school is a primary 
 school and has not the full set of supplies required by law, the teacher should 
 courteously ask whether they may be bought or attended to at once. If the 
 teacher shows a pride in the appearance of the school, he will usually be met 
 more than half way by the principal, superintendent, or directors. 
 
 On the Saturday before school opens, if not before, cupboards and the teach- 
 er's desk should be cleaned out, fresh papers put in the drawers and on shelves, 
 and materials needed for the first day put into accessible places. The temporary 
 program should be written on the blackboard, or on a large card to be hung up. 
 Words to a song and some assignments can be written on the blackboard, and the 
 room can be given an air of "ready for work," of neatness and cheerfulness. In 
 the afternoon, the teachers should "settle" himself in his home for the year, put- 
 ting things in such order that Monday night can be spent on school work with- 
 out interruption. Sunday, at church, the teacher is likely to meet some of his pu- 
 pils or their parents, and can make a good start by being "friendly" yet dignified. 
 
 On the first day the teacher will do well to see that no time is wasted, though 
 some must necessarily be taken for getting pupils' names, passing supplies, etc. 
 The law demands an accurate account of attendance, so, before noon, the teacher 
 must have a complete list of names; but it is not necessary to take an hour to 
 get this. Before nine o'clock, the teacher, having gone early to school that day, 
 may have learned several names and have them put into the seating-chart. Others 
 can be obtained gradually, as different classes are called or seat-work is inspected.
 
 Suggestions. — Beginners. 211 
 
 If pupils are old enough to do so, they may write their own names on the seating- 
 cards. Within a few days the teacher may secure all other information required 
 for reports, such as children's ages, nationality, physical condition, etc. The 
 alphabetically arranged names should not be written in the register for about a 
 week, to make su-re there will be no more changes. 
 
 If the school furnishes books, writing materials, etc., the teacher need not 
 have all passed at once, but may well spend two or three days in their gradual 
 distribution, as needed. Immediately after a brief and dignified opening exer- 
 cise, at which time a "speech" from the teacher is not at all essential, each class 
 may be given something very definite to do. (See pp. 2S3-292.) A small 
 group may be tested in some subject and then set a task to do, while another 
 group is tested. If the school consists of but a single grade, all may recite and 
 then study, the teacher thus having an opportunity to show pupils how he 
 wants work done, and to learn how independent and capable the pupils are. 
 
 After a vacation of unrestricted movement, younger pupils may find long 
 sitting tiresome. It is therefore wise to see that children's positions are fre- 
 quently changed — by passing to blackboard or to recitation-benches, by stand- 
 ing for some short recitation, by marching for two minutes, or playing some 
 game like "stage coach" or "fruit basket," or by standing to sing. 
 
 The teacher needs to have high ideals of order, and can more easily relax 
 (after too strict discipline the first day) than later secure the ideal if the first day's 
 standards have been too low. A happy medium is best, but, to repeat, it is 
 better to err on the side of rigidity than of leniency. (See pp. 295-299.) 
 
 The first day will have been a success if the pupils feel (1) an interest in 
 school, (2) a desire to cooperate with the teacher in making the machinery of 
 school move smoothly, (3) if they have had their curiosity, wonder, or thirst for 
 knowledge aroused, and (4) if the day has been well spent, leaving a feeling of 
 something accomplished. 
 
 For comparison later, a teacher will wish to make a record of various abilities 
 of each child as shown during the first week. For example, every child old enough 
 to do so should copy some stanza or paragraph in his best penmanship, dating 
 the sheet and recording the exact number of minutes spent on the copy. Some 
 of the standard tests (see pp. 292-295) suited to the age of the pupils to be taught 
 should be given and the records of results kept, with dates. The tests in spell- 
 ing and arithmetic are especially easy and make one good sort of first-day seat- 
 work. Reading, language, and composition tests, are not so easily graded, but 
 can be given. 
 
 A young teacher, Miss Hazel Wheeler, made the excellent suggestion that 
 for first-day composition work in an upper grade, the teacher might ask the 
 pupils to list all the interesting things about town about which they would like 
 their new teacher to know. At recitation time these topics could be discussed 
 briefly, very large subtopics planned, and the several subjects (or only one, if 
 thought best) assigned to members of the class to write so well about that the 
 teacher would feel impelled to visit the place of interest. 
 
 Care of school property should be begun the first day and unostentatiously 
 kept up all year. Books should be covered. The teacher will need for the fall 
 flowers two or three inexpensive but good-looking baskets or vases, with neat 
 squares of glass to lie under them; a good dust-cloth; several cloths for sopping 
 spilled water or ink, perhaps; a bundle of clean newspapers for laying on the 
 desks during any lesson that may soil or scratch the desks; twine or cord; as well 
 as the several articles named on pp. 279-283, 283-292, 292-295.
 
 212 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 2.— TO TEACHERS OF EXPERIENCE. 
 
 Experienced teachers will, of course, know the routine of the first day and 
 week, and will avoid many of the difficulties met by beginning teachers. They 
 must, however, do the same general things, but will do them more efficiently, 
 with greater ease, and without any loss of time. More classes can be heard; 
 more suitable assignments of work and better rest exercises will be given. The 
 note-book in which the teacher plans to keep (for his own benefit only) charac- 
 teristics of individual pupils, will show more discriminating notes than a young 
 teacher can make. On different pages may be found, for example: Ready to 
 offer service, but not persevering if task is hard. Strong in history. Very weak in 
 penmanship and spelling — must be helped daily. Grows too tired before day is 
 over — Why? — Sleep?— Food? — Work at home? Liked by companions on the play- 
 ground. Timid. Enunciation slovenly. Such rapid diagnoses of the children 
 will definitely assist in making the social atmosphere good, for a teacher who 
 understands will not seat near together the domineering boy and the one most 
 easily intimidated; nor the highly imitative child next to one who is defiant, 
 disrespectful, ill-mannered, or profane; nor will he make the child who is natur- 
 ally orderly sit close to one who scatters things about or moves constantly, thus 
 spilling the ink in the well of the seat behind, or shaking out books, etc. Chil- 
 dren with sight or hearing defects must be made as comfortable as possible near 
 the front of the room. 
 
 Experienced teachers soon begin to ask one of two questions: How can I 
 earn more? or, How can I grow more? Since to earn more one must grow more, 
 and since growth is almost always appreciated by better salary, the questions 
 have a common answer: Look for basal principles, suggestions for using indi- 
 viduality, and for means of unifying instruction. Seek to approach the new 
 year's work with broader vision, obtained by reading between the lines of the 
 course of study, studying many of the suggested books of reference, challenging 
 fresh methods and devices in the light of both basal principle and past experience, 
 and determine to make the new year one of richness for the pupils. Frequently 
 challenge what is to be taught in the light of why it ever came to be selected as 
 a bit of school subject-matter, and whether it is still valuable. This makes even 
 old subject-matter and methods of work alive. No teacher can afford to miss 
 the joy that comes from having personally defended the worth of the lesson to 
 be taught. 
 
 In December, 1915, Mr. Geo. F. Howard, of the State University, told four 
 hundred normal-school students that they needed just six things to become good 
 teachers. Since these six points are as valuable for experienced as for inexperi- 
 enced teachers, they are here given: (1) Know your subject-matter; make thor- 
 ough preparation for the lessons to be taught. (2) Possess a true enthusiasm 
 for the work of teaching. (.3) Be interested in children. (4) Be interesting to 
 children. (5) Be progressive. (6) Get a vision, for "where there is no vision 
 the people perish." 
 
 3.— TO RURAL TEACHERS AND TO TEACHERS OF SEVERAL GRADES 
 
 IN ONE ROOM. 
 
 (Read the suggestions to Beginning Teachers). Rural teachers need to be, 
 and many of them are coming to be, the best-educated and the best equipped 
 teachers in the state — more like the school-master described by Whittier in his 
 "Snowbound," who —
 
 Suggestions. — Rural Teachers. 213 
 
 "Sang songs, and told [the children) what befalls 
 In classic Dartmouth's college halls. 
 [Who] early gained the power to pay 
 His cheerful, self-reliant way; 
 Could doff at ease his scholar's gown" 
 To do a dozen other things and feel no shame; 
 Who could learn of life in every place 
 And turn that knowledge to account. 
 "Happy the snow-locked homes wherein 
 He tuned his merry violin, 
 Or played the athlete in the barn, 
 Or held the good dame's winding yarn, 
 Or mirth-provoking versions told 
 Of classic legends rare and old. 
 Wherein the scenes of Greece and Rome 
 Had all the commonplace of home. 
 
 [A rare accomplishment 
 Large brained, clear-eyed, — of such as he" 
 May teachers of all children be! 
 
 Besides needing this fund of general information, and the ability to fit into 
 varied situations, rural teachers have to be big enough in personality to treat 
 sympathetically the five-year-old child whose mother "can't keep her at home 
 when she sees the other children go to school," and yet understand the ambi- 
 tions and reticence of the biggest boy in school. They must usually do their 
 own janitor work, and often be the school carpenter, plumber, decorator, and 
 tinker. They have to be superior managers to do everything that it is necessary 
 to do (to say nothing of other things that are desired) during the too-short day. 
 (See pp. 215-224.) They have to plan more seat-work for the younger pupils and 
 more educative assignments for older pupils than do any teachers of single grades. 
 (See pp. 2S3-292.) But! the joy of making school just a larger home! — with big 
 "brothers" and "sisters" helping the younger ones and thus learning thoughtful- 
 ness of others, sympathy, gentleness, and the joy of service! — with younger 
 pupils learning many things from just hearing the older ones recite; all learning 
 to work independently, to take care of themselves through longer periods of in- 
 action than is necessary in a school of one grade! What an opportunity for 
 securing group effort and generosity of spirit towards, and appreciation of, the 
 youngest helper and his crude results. How eager the children are to learn, if 
 only the teacher has something worth while to give. They stand at the foot of 
 the mountain with the world at their feet, and the teacher has only to help them 
 climb the mountain that they may get ever wider and wider views of this won- 
 derful world and the people in it. (See suggestions to other groups of teachers.) 
 
 The teacher's noon hour with the children gives him rich opportunities to 
 lead one child to copy an older one, or to help the older boy keep up to hisbest 
 because he is some younger boy's hero. If the children can be induced to eat 
 together around an improvised table, what fun can be had with riddles, anec- 
 dotes, and repartee; what practical lessons can be given in good manners and in 
 sanitation. For the former, at least, many a child will in later life be grateful. 
 Is this hard? Of course it is; but the joy of conquering hard things is the finest 
 joy in life! 
 
 Visitors are so rare in rural schools that some teachers forget to teach pupils 
 the courteous attitude of hosts. If, in spite of the teachers' efforts to induce 
 patrons to come to school, few visitors appear, children may be taught what 
 should be done through several means. The teacher may appoint a child to 
 teach some class while he plays the visitor's part, noting that all pupils are at-
 
 214 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 tentive to their individual tasks and yet thoughtful of the guest; getting him a 
 chair; handing him a book; relieving him of the book when the need for it is past, 
 etc. The teacher may make the agreement with some older girl that when she 
 asks to leave the room she will knock and be received as a visitor. The teacher 
 then plays the courteous host, telling the visitor what is being done, asking what 
 she particularly desires to see or hear, and, if possible, changing the program 
 slightly to gratify the wish. Children should take pride in reciting as for a real 
 visitor. 
 
 Such dramatization should be followed by free discussion of the pupils' be- 
 havior — where it was good, where deficient, how it could be bettered, etc. Again, 
 the teacher may tell or read stories in which pupils behave well or badly in the 
 presence of visitors. He may also frequently refer to conduct as desirable (or 
 undesirable) from the standpoint of hosts. Such training gives pupils a notion 
 of what is expected of them, and, after the first real visitor has come and gone, 
 they may discuss with the teacher such new points of behavior as then seem 
 necessary. 
 
 4.— TO GRADE AND DEPARTMENTAL TEACHERS. 
 
 (Read suggestions to Experienced Teachers.) Though grade teachers have 
 some difficulties peculiarly their own, they have great opportunities for profes- 
 sional growth. The advantages of conferring with one another and of having 
 the advice and criticism of superintendents, principals, and special supervisors, 
 make for surer and more rapid growth than can be attained by any one unaided. 
 Although most teachers recognize the advantages, a few are not always eager to 
 pay for them in the required hard work to meet standards set. They do not 
 realize that such hard work will bring its own reward in broader culture, wider 
 influence, greater executive ability, or truer vision, nor that the supervisor's task 
 is also difficult and often thankless. Occasionally they fail in loyalty and sym- 
 pathy, pulling back on the load instead of pushing it. They need to remember 
 that superintendents and supervisors are interested in the welfare of the whole 
 system, including equipment, method of procedure, pupils, and teachers, alike. 
 Reports or tests which are required to secure true measures of efficiency should 
 be honestly, intelligently, and loyally administered by the teachers concerned. 
 Perhaps a thoughtful reading of "The Message to Garcia" will help these few 
 teachers to stand by their supervisors in their efforts to make the local school 
 realize the function for which it was organized. 
 
 Departmental teachers, being specialists as they are in certain fields, should 
 study the bases given for their subjects, reporting their soundness and practi- 
 cality to all concerned in the success of this course of study. 
 
 5— TO HIGH- AND NORMAL-SCHOOL TRAINING TEACHERS. 
 
 To this group the suggestion is made that the course of study be used as a 
 text-book with student teachers. As with other text-books, parts should be 
 slighted and other parts emphasized. Class discussion will clear up some points; 
 others must be explained by the training teachers. Still others must be expanded 
 and supplemented by reference reading. Students need to learn how to use a 
 course of study, and especially how to adapt the distribution of subject-matter 
 to local conditions which they may meet as beginning teachers. 
 
 Seat-work and drills prepared in advance can be criticized, while tests may be 
 administered until students lose their dread of the technicalities of tests and ap- 
 preciate their value in teaching.
 
 Time Allotment. — Subject-Matter. 215 
 
 6— TO SUPERINTENDENTS, PRINCIPALS, AND SUPERVISORS. 
 
 As superintendents first urged upon the M. E. A., through their appointment 
 of the committee which prepared Bulletin No. 51, the need of a new state course 
 of study, so they can do most towards evaluating this result. 
 
 If they will "try out" the course with their teachers, helping the state de- 
 partment to find what in it is wheat and what chaff, they will be furthering the 
 cause of education in Minnesota. 
 
 Superintendents of cities which have no present course of study can help by 
 using this as a basis, noting what adaptations have to be made and reporting 
 results and opinions to those interested. 
 
 Superintendents of cities already using local courses of study can help by 
 asking teachers, in meetings assembled, to discuss divergent principles and prac- 
 tices of the two courses and to offer criticisms to guide in the revision which must 
 necessarily be made in a very few years. To facilitate full returns from teachers, 
 the superintendent might mimeograph blank reports calling for sections lfked, 
 points not clear, features most helpful, etc. Again, on his visits, the superin- 
 tendent may note what the teachers find obscure or ambiguous; what suggestions 
 are impractical; and what lines need more emphasis. 
 
 If superintendents could also find time to discuss the course of study among 
 themselves, or at institutes and conventions, the result would without doubt 
 propagate greater discrimination in values and larger professional cooperation. 
 
 II.— TIME ALLOTMENT OF SUBJECT-MATTER 
 AND PROGRAM MAKING. 
 
 A.— TIME ALLOTMENT OF SUBJECT-MATTER. 
 
 A careful study of the evaluation of subject-matter as indicated in courses of 
 study and in time allotments on programs of different states and cities, shows that 
 at present there is little agreement. After reaching this conclusion, the writer 
 found it verified by the more scientific report of Mr. Henry W. Holmes,* in which 
 he discusses briefly the causes of such divergence of opinion, and the need of in- 
 vestigation which will remedy the matter. 
 
 Some of the causes given are: Differing lengths of the school year; differing 
 needs of various school populations; different demands from the public as to 
 what shall be done, which subjects are "essential," and which are "fads"; differ- 
 ing opinions as to the time necessary for the achievement of certain results, or 
 as to methods which are wisest to employ; and disagreement as to what shall be 
 included in a subject as defined. 
 
 Before a scientific distribution of subject-matter can be made, Mr. Holmes 
 feels that we need: (1) A very careful report on the actual hours spent in recit- 
 ing upon, pondering, studying, and using, a bit of subject-matter; (2) clearly 
 understood aims of school work or of education; (3) agreement upon definitions 
 of subjects, with perhaps new names to decrease the complexity; (4) limiting the 
 scope of school subjects (now being done by students of "minimum essentials"); 
 and (5) settling upon some standards of achievement for each grade in school 
 (also in process of preparation; see pp. 292-295). Then may we know how 
 much time should be given a subject! 
 
 * The Fourteenth Year Book of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part I.
 
 216 
 
 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 SUGGESTED TIME DISTRIBUTION FOR 
 
 Grade 
 
 
 Subjects 
 
 English — Reading (and Literature) 
 
 Language and Comp. (and Literature). 
 
 Grammar 
 
 Penmanship 
 
 Phonics and Dictionary work 
 
 Spelling 
 
 Arithmetic (and Thrift) 
 
 I II III IV V VI VII VIII 11 
 
 o a 
 
 rt o »0 
 l-l o 
 
 '■ss 
 
 Science — Geography 
 
 Nature Study and Elementary Science. 
 Physiology and Hygiene 
 
 Physical Exercise, etc. 
 
 Industry — Industry — General 
 
 Sewing or Manual Training 
 
 Cookery or Manual Training 
 
 Vocational Guidance (and Thrift). 
 
 How to Study (Special effort). 
 
 Citizenship — History, Civics, Current Events. . . . 
 Moral Training (with some literature) 
 
 Fine Art — Music 
 
 Drawing and related subjects 
 
 Literature — used as a means in other sub- 
 jects hence no special time allotted 
 to it. 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 Extra recesses or play periods, using time gained 
 from Arithmetic, etc 
 
 Regular recesses and necessary time for assembling 
 and dismissing, and for general exercises at 
 opening and closing 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 L0 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 30 
 
 Total 330 minutes. 
 
 1| Rural for all classes. See Note 2. 
 *30 for one-half year. 
 
 Note 1. — This distribution must be varied to suit local needs; more or less of any one subject as 
 demanded; use of eighth-grade spelling and penmanship time for how to study, or, for arithmetic the whole 
 year instead of the half year as indicated (if penmanship and spelling have been conquered by eighth 
 grade); part of the noon or recreation time for industrial subjects if necessary; supervised play at recesses 
 and noons in place of scheduled physical training, etc. 
 
 At this juncture no one wishes to make a time allotment except as a mere 
 point of departure, but if we agree upon our aim and upon our meaning for 
 certain subjects, and if we accept the present work of specialists on minimum 
 essentials and standards of efficiency as guides, we can, for our own state at 
 least, make a suggestive and tentative time allotment, with the hope that every 
 teacher will make such changes as the conditions of his work demand. The greater 
 the number of teachers who report on the values and the faults of this distribu- 
 tion, the surer will Minnesota take a leading place in this scientific movement. 
 (Please report!) 
 
 Replies to requests made of students from all parts of Minnesota as to the 
 length of a school day in their localities show that a five- to a five- and- one-half- 
 hour day is more general than any other. Many private schools have only 
 morning sessions (three hours), and a few city schools have pupils come in two 
 relays, each group receiving instruction for about three hours; but most public 
 schools have two sessions of three, and two to two and one-half hours, respectively; 
 many schools have less than five and some have full six hours. In certain locali-
 
 Time Allotment. — Program Making. 217 
 
 A FIVE-AND-ONE-HALF-HOUR DAY. 
 
 Usual number of recitations per week in graded schools 
 
 15 or 20 in primary grades to 5 in upper. 
 10 in primary grades to 5 in upper. 
 
 5 in eighth grade, once a week in seventh grade, if at all. 
 
 5, possibly 3, in eighth grade. 
 
 5 except in eighth grade, when 1 per week (25 minutes) may be better. 
 
 5 in general. Occasionally a "match," using all of one week's time in eighth grade (50 minutes). 
 
 5 for j year only, or 2 or 3 a week for a whole year in eighth grade, 5, below eighth grade. 
 
 5 sometimes combined with Industry for an excursion. 
 
 5 sometimes combined with Geography or Industry in an excursion. 
 
 5, 2, or 1 — depending on kind of work and grade (25 minutes a week — often done in general exercises). 
 
 {2 or 3 if gymnasium and swimming-pool are used. 
 5 if room and halls are used (50 minutes a week). 
 5 in lower grades shown. 
 2 (100 minutes a week.) 
 2 (100 minutes a week.) 
 
 5, 2, or 1 — depending on kind of work (25-50 minutes a week — often done in general exercises or related 
 to composition work.) 
 
 {5 in lower grades teaching children to do seat-work correctly. 
 2 in upper grades, teaching children to organize, use references, use a library, etc., expecially in Geog- 
 raphy and History — sometimes in Arithmetic or Literature. 
 
 5 in upper grades; often done in General Exercises in lower grades. 
 
 5 in primary rooms, 2 in older grades (75-50 minutes a week). (Often done in General Exercises.) 
 5 in general, though sometimes 10. 
 
 5 in primary rooms, 2 in older grades (150-100 minutes a week). 
 Some good book or poem on hand to fill odd moments or an occasional General Exercise. 
 
 5 needed in grades indicated. 
 If physical exercises need to be given more time, recesses may be shortened. 
 General-exercise periods may be lengthened by using time allotments for subjects suitable to use thus. 
 
 Note 2. — Rural schools contain so many classes which can not always be united that a different time 
 apportionment seems necessary, more minutes being given to the "three R's." The number and the 
 sizes of classes will regulate how much of the time of one subject is to be spent in recitation with each grade. 
 (See sample rural programs.) P'or example, 25 minutes a day given to history may be distributed thus: 
 25 minutes Monday and Wednesday to fifth-and sixth-grade history; 25 minutes Tuesday and Thursday 
 to seventh- and eighth-grade history; 25 minutes Friday to whole room, or to first four grades, or general 
 citizenship topics, current events, or historical biographies, etc. 
 
 If two classes are indicated to recite in one period, they may recite together, alternating the years 
 of work (for example, taking seventh-grade history in odd numbered years and eighth-grade history in 
 even numbered years); or each class may have half the time, or whatever time is fair according to the 
 number of pupils in each class. 
 
 ties the primary pupils have shorter sessions than do the older pupils, but the 
 average day is five- to five-and-one-half hours, and therefore 330 minutes are 
 used as the basis for the above allotment of time to different subjects. 
 
 B.— PROGRAM MAKING. 
 
 A well-planned program, followed to the letter, is one excellent means of 
 teaching pupils the habits of punctuality, of careful preparation of daily lessons 
 and of self-control in providing an appropriate time for doing each task regard- 
 less of momentary preference. Such a program also saves time and energy which 
 a haphazard plan of work loses. Children should be able to see the program, 
 and, if blackboard space is limited, the program should be printed on a card and 
 hung where it can be seen by teacher, pupils, and visitors. 
 
 Once made, a program should be followed to the minute, though there must 
 of course be exceptions such as may be made to suit the superintendent or a 
 visitor interested in some special child or subject. Teacher and pupils thus form
 
 218 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 the habit of being ready at the appointed time, and much of the confusion some- 
 times heard in schoolrooms can be avoided, for, without warning, children should 
 be ready for the coming recitation. Sometimes a mere nod from the teacher can 
 call a whole class, the remainder of the school scarcely noting the movement. 
 Not long since, the writer saw the opposite of this when a teacher called a class 
 of one pupil by four taps of the bell, thus disturbing all the other pupils and 
 wasting time. 
 
 However, before the teacher knows his pupils, he should not attempt to make 
 a permanent program, but should plan to accomplish two main purposes during 
 his early days in a new school: (1) To keep all happily busy, at worth-while 
 tasks; and (2) to find out the children's weaknesses and strength — that is, to re- 
 view and test them on the ground preparatory to the new work of the year. 
 
 A temporary program should be on the blackboard before nine o'clock of 
 the opening day, should be rigidly followed that day, varied on each of several 
 succeeding days if necessary, and finally replaced by a permanent program. An 
 inexperienced teacher may not be satisfied that he has the best possible program 
 before Thanksgiving; but the best way to prove a program's value or weakness 
 is to follow it exactly. If it needs changing, change it; but do not let an unused 
 program remain on the wall a day. 
 
 To keep all pupils happily at work before regular tasks can be set, the teacher 
 must have more kinds of seat- or study-work planned than will ever afterwards 
 be necessary in a single day. Little children should have frequent relaxation 
 periods and much variety in tasks. Older pupils should go home even at noon 
 with the happy feeling that something has been accomplished and more is to be 
 accomplished during the days to follow. The better to test children's ability 
 to work independently, it will be well to have all recite together in several sub- 
 jects, and then have a common study period, during which the teacher can teach 
 pupils the best ways of preparing lessons or of doing assigned tasks. 
 
 The testing of pupils' ability in different subjects may not demand so much 
 time per pupil as do teaching lessons, but will demand longer or duplicated reci- 
 tation periods to hear every child recite. It is probable, therefore, that not over 
 half the school can be tested in one day, or that only a few important subjects 
 can be so handled; but every child should have recited in at least one important 
 subject. 
 
 The factors to be considered in making a permanent program are three (or 
 four): (1) The relative value of subjects; (2) economy of time, of energy, and of 
 materials; (3) the psychological laws of work and fatigue; and, in some systems 
 of schools, (4) fixed times for recesses or for special-teachers' instruction periods. 
 
 Factor 1: For a discussion of the relative values of the different school sub- 
 jects, see Time Allotment above. In the making of a program the teacher must 
 consider how to subordinate the less essential subjects and still give them place. 
 There are four main ways of doing this: (1) Alternate one less-important subject 
 with another, either by days, weeks, or seasons; (2) shorten the daily period for 
 that subject; (3) have larger groups recite, during a given time, than in the more 
 essential subjects; (4) combine any closely related subjects. 
 
 Factor 2: Regarding economy of time and energy experienced teachers need 
 no help; but inexperienced teachers do not realize the value of saving the precious 
 minutes, and are therefore inclined to plan work so that needless school time is 
 spent cleaning blackboards, in distributing and collecting drawing or industrial 
 material, in sharpening pencils, and so on. A lesson which demands much use 
 of the blackboard, with work to be left for copying by the children or correcting
 
 Time Allotment. — Program Making. 219 
 
 by the teacher, should be placed before some intermission, so that monitors (who 
 count the task an honor) get all in readiness for the next session. Lessons which 
 demand much distribution and collection of material should be put just after or 
 just before an intermission, so that one phase of the passing can be done by moni- 
 tors outside of the work hours. For example, a painting lesson, with its boxes, 
 brushes, specimens, newspapers, or pasteboards for keeping the desks clean, 
 water-cups, paint-rags, and possibly other tools, as well as the finished but moist 
 paintings to be disposed of, would best come just before noon. Also, since drill 
 lessons require much less time but greater alertness on the part of pupils, phonic 
 or arithmetic drills can well be sandwiched in between longer periods needed for 
 developing lessons. Also, to economize materials, it would be better to have a 
 cutting-and-pasting lesson once a week for a longer period, than daily for five 
 minutes, since in the longer period scraps of paper and paste could be more eco- 
 nomically used than in short periods. 
 
 Factor 3: There are too many laws of work and fatigue for all to be consid- 
 ered or discussed here. As it would be equally impossible for a beginning teacher 
 to obey all of them in his first program making, only a few laws are given: (1) 
 The younger the pupils, the greater variety of work should there be, with shorter 
 periods of concentrated effort alternating with pleasant forms of relaxation. (2) 
 Moderate, regular exercise is in general better than spasmodic, excessive work — 
 that is, five minutes spent daily on some form of drill will produce better results 
 than will a twenty-five minute period once a week. (3) Fatigue diffuses, so that, 
 for example, long eye-strain may produce general fatigue, or general fatigue may 
 cause a lack of acuteness in hearing or seeing, hence the program should allow 
 for periods of real recreation, not mere change of work; teachers having no re- 
 cesses because they cause disciplinary troubles do not judge values well; to ap- 
 ply the law of diffusion of rest or fatigue to program making, a teacher will not 
 put penmanship just after an outdoor recess or a gymnastic game when the 
 muscles are too relaxed to do work demanding fine coordination, but will put it 
 before such a rest period or in the middle of a session; on the other hand, sing- 
 ing may well follow an exercise in which the lungs have been refreshed. (4) Fatigue 
 usually increases and decreases rhythmically, so that a program should alternate 
 hard and easy work for the majority of the pupils; individual differences in 
 fatigue phenomena must also be studied, so that pupils who fatigue more quickly 
 than others may not be injured by straining to work when too weary. No two 
 grades or schools are exactly alike, so no two programs can be alike; but when 
 a teacher once finds what his pupils can best do at given hours of the day, that 
 program should be faithfully followed. 
 
 Factor 4 : I n systems where certain days are rearranged to suit special teach- 
 ers, or where intermissions are planned to meet playground facilities, the teacher 
 has additional problems in program making which only experiment can satisfac- 
 torily solve. 
 
 In trying to follow a program faithfully, the inexperienced teacher is apt to 
 leave himself no time for change of classes, general directions to the class about 
 to begin study, or general inspection of work just completed by some class. Such 
 time must be provided for by leaving a minute or two free at certain intervals, or 
 by dismissing one class early enough to assign seat-work and yet call the next 
 class on time. 
 
 General exercises may occur at either or both the opening and closing of the 
 day, but should be made definitely educative in their consummation — and being 
 "educative" does not exclude humor. Every program should have some place
 
 220 
 
 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 upon it for fun, in the shape of a bright story to be read or told, anecdotes, puns, 
 original but kind cartoons, riddles, jokes, games, or intellectual contests. If no 
 other place can be had, the last five to ten minutes of the day may profitably be 
 so spent. 
 
 SAMPLE PROGRAMS. 
 
 Note: — All programs show the minute for beginning a recitation, and the number of min- 
 utes to be used therein. 
 
 Program for a First or a Second Grade. 
 With three classes, adapted from one used by Miss Irene Ferguson, Hillsboro, 111. 
 
 A. M. 
 
 9.00-10 — Opening Exercises. 
 
 9.10-10— Reading, C. 
 
 9.20-15 — Penmanship, A and B. 
 
 9.35- 5 — Rest Exercises, all. 
 
 9.40-15— Reading, A. 
 
 9.55- 5 — Gymnastics, all. 
 10.00-15— Reading, B. 
 10.15- 5 — Sense Training, all. 
 10.20- 5— Number, C. 
 10.25-10— Number, A. 
 10.35-15— Recess, all. 
 10.50-10— Number, B. 
 11.00-15— Phonics, C (then dismiss). 
 11.15-10— Word Study, A. (Spelling.) 
 11.25-10— Word Study, B. (Phonics.) 
 11.35-10 — Corrective language games, A and B, 
 11.45-10— Nature Study, A and B. 
 11.55- 5 — Dismissal. 
 
 P. M. 
 
 1.15-10 — Rote Singing, all. 
 
 1.25-10— Reading, C. 
 
 1.35-12— Reading, A. 
 
 1.47- 5— Rest, all. 
 
 1.52-13— Reading, B. 
 
 2.05-10— Number, C. 
 
 2.15- 5— Games, all. 
 
 2.20-10 — Written Language including Spell., A. 
 
 2.30-10 — Written Language including Spell., B. 
 
 (A and B often united.) 
 2.40-15 — Recess, all. 
 
 2.55-15 — Oral Language, C (often dismiss). 
 3.10-13— Oral Language, A. 
 3.23-12— Oral Language, B. 
 
 (A, B, and C often united.) 
 3.35-20— Drawing, A and B. 
 3.55-15 — Note Singing, A and B. 
 4.10-05— Dismissal. 
 
 If school should be in session less than the six hours here shown, recess and the longer recita- 
 tions could be shortened. This program is excellent in that it provides for three sections, since 
 absence or immaturity or both will very soon make three divisions necessary, in almost every first 
 grade, and in many second grades. 
 
 Program for a Third or a Fourth Grade. 
 Furnished by Miss Grace P. Kissling, Winona city schools. 
 
 p. M. 
 
 1.30-20 — B and A, Language. 
 
 1.50-20— B, Reading. 
 
 2.10-20— A and B, Music. 
 
 2.30-10 — Recess. (See morning recess.) 
 
 2.40-20— A, Reading. 
 
 Monday, Wednesday, Friday. 
 3.00-15 — A and B, Geography. In this work, 
 make excursions to city's factories, insti- 
 tutions, etc., and use information gained 
 in arithmetic, language, etc. 
 
 Tuesday and Thursday. 
 3.00-15— A and B, History. 
 3.15-15 — Monday — Individual help to back- 
 ward pupils. 
 Tuesday and Wednesday. Hygiene 
 
 (for 6 weeks). 
 Thursday and Friday. Nature Study 
 — making frequent excursions. 
 
 To suit special teachers, classes may be shifted, but so far as possible the regular hours are 
 those of the special teachers. Alternate Thursdays — Music teacher 10.45 to 11.05. Then take 
 five minutes from morning exercises and move classes forward, keeping right number of minutes, 
 putting Drawing in afternoon in place of Music. Alternate Wednesdays — Drawing teacher — 
 regular period. Fridays — Writing teacher — regular period. 
 
 9.00-10 — Morning Exercises, including story 
 told by teacher, or teaching a stanza of 
 some poem, memory gem, or observations 
 made by children out of doors. 
 9.10-20— B, Reading. 
 
 9.30-15 — B and A, Phonics in connection with 
 Spelling and drill in the use of the diction- 
 ary. 
 9.45-15— A and B, Writing. 
 10.00-20— A, Numbers. 
 
 10.20-15 — Recess — out-door play, supervised 
 by teacher; rainy days, indoor games and 
 physical exercises. 
 ]().::.", L'O— H, Numbers. 
 10.53 20 — Drawing. 
 11.15-20— A, Reading. 
 11.35-10— Written Spelling, A and B.
 
 Time Allotment. — Sample Programs. 
 
 221 
 
 1.30-20 — Writing — twice a week. 
 1.50-10 — General period — Hygiene, Literature. 
 1.30-30 — Drawing — three times a week. 
 2.00-25 — A, Reading. (B, study Language.) 
 
 2.25-20— B, Language. 
 2.45-20 — A, Language. 
 3.05-25— B, Reading. 
 
 Program for a Fifth or a Sixth Grade. 
 Furnished by Miss Mabel McLennan, Winona city schools 
 
 A. M. P. M. 
 
 9.00-10 — Opening Exercises — Music, Litera- 
 ture, Current Events, etc. 
 9.10-20 — Spelling — short period of study and 
 drill; then writing of lesson from memory. 
 9.30-30— A, Arithmetic. (B, study Geography 
 or History.) 
 10.00-30 — B, Geography or History (alternate). 
 
 (A, study Geography or History.) 
 10.30-5 — Intermission (when weather permits, 
 outdoor recess of 20 minutes. Periods fol- 
 lowing consequently shortened.) 
 10.35-25 — A, Geography or History. (B, study 
 
 Arithmetic.) 
 11.00-25— B, Arithmetic. (A, study Reading.) 
 H.25-20— Music. 
 
 Fridays. 
 10.30-11.45 — Sewing and Manual Training. 
 
 (A, study Language.) 
 
 (B, study Reading.) 
 
 (A, study Arithmetic.) 
 
 A city school where special teachers teach 
 their special subjects at regular intervals, 
 hence adjustments must be made thus: Writing 
 teacher every Tuesday, 10.10-10.20; Drawing 
 teacher, alternate Mondays, 9.45-10.10; Music 
 teacher alternate Mondays, 2.25-2.45. 
 
 Program for a Seventh or an Eighth Grade. 
 Furnished by Miss Agnes Storie, Indianapolis schools, 
 p. M. 
 
 A. M. 
 8.30-10 — Opening Exercises. 
 8.40-30 — English, Spelling, Dictation, Word 
 
 Study, Composition, all. 
 9.10-10 — Physical Exercises. 
 9.20-30 — Mathematics, A. 
 9.50-30 — English Grammar, A and B. (Classes 
 alternate seat-work and recitation.) 
 10.20-15— Recess. 
 10.35-30 — Mathematics, B. 
 11.05-30 — Literature, A, first 4 days of week, 
 
 B on Fridays. 
 11.35-25 — Geography and History, B. 
 
 Program for a Rural School. 
 Furnished by Miss Margaret McAdam, of Blooming Prairie, Minn. 
 a. m. p. m. 
 
 9.00-10 — Morning Exercises. 
 9.10-10 — Beginners' Class (Reading prepara- 
 tion).' 
 
 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. 
 1.30-30— Literature, B. 
 2.00-25 — Geography and History, A. 
 2.25-35 — Penmanship and. Music, A and B. 
 
 Thursday and Friday. 
 1 .30-45 — Drawing. 
 2.15-25 — History and Geography, A or B (each 
 
 one day or one two days, as needed). 
 2.40-20 — Physiology and Hygiene, or general 
 
 lessons. 
 
 (Spelling 
 
 12.40-10 — Beginners' Reading. 
 12.50-10 — 1st, Reading. 
 1.00-10 — 2d, Reading. 
 
 1.10-15— 3d and 4th, Reading, 3 days. (Lan- 
 guage, 2 days.) 
 1.25-15 — 5th and 6th, History, 3 days. (Lan- 
 guage, 2 days.) 
 1.40-20 — 7th and Sth History (Reference and 
 
 Composition work.) 
 2.00-10 — Writing, except Friday; Drawing, 
 Friday. 
 2.10-10 — Recess. 
 
 2.20-10— Word Study. (Phonics.) 
 2.30-10— 2d and 3d, Home Geography. (Lan- 
 guage.) Industrial work for seat-work. 
 2.40-15 — 4th and 5th, Geography. (Lan- 
 guage.) Industrial work for seat-work. 
 2.55-15 — 6th and 7th, Geography. (Lan- 
 guage.) Industrial work for seat-work. 
 3.10-15— Sth, Grammar. 
 
 3.25-05— Sth and 6th, Spelling (from speller); 
 (group spelling an advantage). 
 Keep up drills in arithmetic by letting 2d grade recite with 1st, 3d with 2d, 4th with 3d, etc., 
 whenever practicable. Noon hour may be lengthened and school close later, but closing school 
 
 (Concluded on Page 224.) 
 
 9.20-10 — 1st, Reading. 
 
 9.30-10— 2d, Reading. 
 
 9.40-20 — 7th and Sth, Reading, 
 and Composition.) 
 10.00-15— 3d and 4th, Reading. 
 10.15-15— Sth and 6th, Reading. 
 10.30-10 — Recess. 
 10.40-10 — Beginners' Reading (Later in year, 
 
 Numbers.) 
 10.50-10— 1st and 2d, Number. 
 11.00-10— 2d and 3d, Number. 
 11.10-15— 4th and Sth, Arithmetic. 
 11.25-15 — 6th and 7th, Arithmetic. 
 11.40-20— Sth, Arithmetic. 
 12.00-40— Noon.
 
 222 
 
 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 PROGRAM OF RECITATION AND STUDY 
 
 Furnished by Miss Mary Ensfield, Specialist 
 
 A. M. 
 
 RECITATION. 
 
 (4) Grade I. 
 
 (4) Grade II. 
 
 (5) Grade III. 
 
 9.00-15 
 
 Opening Ex.* 
 
 Opening Ex.* 
 
 Opening Ex.* 
 
 Opening Ex.* 
 
 9.15-10 
 
 1st and 2d, Numbers. 
 
 Numbers. 
 
 Numbers. 
 
 Prep. Numbers. 
 
 9.25-10 
 
 3d, Numbers. 
 
 Stringing. 
 
 String'g or Weav'g 
 
 Numbers. 
 
 9.35-15 
 9.50-20 
 
 4th, Numbers. 
 
 5th and 6th, Arithmetic. 
 
 Stringing. 
 Sand table. 
 
 String'g or Weav'g 
 String'g or Weav'g 
 
 Use pt., qt., gal. 
 measures. 
 
 10.10-20 
 
 7th and Sth, Arithmetic. 
 
 Excused. 
 
 Excused. 
 
 Excused. 
 
 10.30-15 
 
 Recess. 
 
 Recess. 
 
 Recess. 
 
 Recess. 
 
 10.45-15 
 
 1st, Reading. 
 
 Reading. 
 
 Use readers. 
 
 Prep. Read. 
 
 11.00-10 
 11.10-15 
 
 2d, Reading. 
 
 3d and 4th, Reading. 
 
 f Build sentences 
 J from hectograph- 
 1 ed words from 
 ( Reading. 
 
 Reading. 
 
 Build words out 
 of letters. 
 
 Prep. Read. 
 
 Reading. 
 
 11.25-20 
 
 |7th and Sth, Hist, or Civics. 
 
 Excused. 
 
 Excused. 
 
 Illus. Read, by 
 paper cutting. 
 
 11.45-15 
 
 tSth and 6th, Read, or History. 
 
 
 
 Excused. 
 
 12.00-60 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 P. M. 
 1.00-10 
 
 Jlst, Reading. 
 
 Reading. 
 
 Prep. Read. 
 
 Prep. Read. 
 
 1.10-15 
 
 J2d, Reading. 
 
 Free-Hand 
 Drawing. 
 
 Reading. 
 
 Prep. Read. 
 
 1.25-15 
 
 J3d, Reading. 
 
 Free-Hand 
 Drawing. 
 
 Free-Hand 
 Drawing. 
 
 Reading. 
 
 1.40-20 
 
 4th, Language, 1, S, 5. 
 Geography 2, 4- 
 
 Picture-Books. 
 
 Free-Hand 
 Drawing. 
 
 Free-Hand 
 Drawing. 
 
 2.00-15 
 
 Sth and 6th, Language 1, S, 5. 
 Hygiene 2, J f . 
 
 Excused to play. 
 
 Excused to play. 
 
 Prep. Spelling. 
 
 2.15-15 
 2.30-15 
 
 7th and Sth, Grammar 1 , 3, 6. 
 
 Hygiene 2, J,.. 
 Recess. 
 
 Recess. 
 
 Recess. 
 
 Prep. Spelling. 
 Recess. 
 
 2.45-15 
 
 1st, 2d, and 3d, Language. 
 
 Language. 
 
 Language. 
 
 Language. 
 
 3.00-15 
 
 3d and 4th, Writing. 
 Spelling. 
 
 Dismissal. 
 
 Dismissal. 
 
 Spelling and 
 Writing. 
 
 3.15-30 
 
 Geography, 7th and Sth, 1,3,5. 
 Sth and 6th, 2, 4. 
 
 
 
 Dismissal. 
 
 3.45-15 
 
 6th, 6th, 7th, and Sth, Writing. 
 
 Spelling. 
 
 
 
 
 4.00 Dismissal. 
 
 
 
 
 * Music, Drawing, Nature Study, Story Hour, Discussion. 
 t Combined for Agriculture on Mondays during spring term. 
 t Combined for dramatization and reading poems some times. 
 § Pupils take turns in preparing and serving hot noon luncheon.
 
 Time Allotment. — Sample Programs. 
 
 223 
 
 FOR RURAL SCHOOLS, (30 PUPILS.) 
 
 in Rural Education, Winona Normal School. 
 
 (6) Grade IV. 
 
 (3) Grade Y. 
 
 (2) Grade VI. 
 
 (4) Grade VII. 
 
 (2) Grade VIII. 
 
 Opening Ex.* 
 
 Prep. Numbers. 
 
 Prep. Numbers. 
 
 Numbers. 
 
 Drill on tables on 
 blackboard. 
 
 Drill on tables on 
 blackboard. 
 
 Recess. 
 
 Opening Ex.* 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 A rithmelic. 
 
 Finish Prob. 
 
 Recess. 
 
 Opening Ex.* 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 
 Arithmetic. 
 
 Finish Prob. 
 Recess. 
 
 Opening Ex.* 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 
 Arithmetic. 
 
 Recess. 
 
 Opening Ex.* 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 Prep. Arithmetic. 
 
 Arithmetic. 
 
 Recess. 
 
 Prep. Reading. 
 Prep. Reading. 
 Reading. 
 
 Industrial Work. 
 
 Industrial Work. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Prep. Reading. 
 Prep. Reading. 
 Prep. Reading. 
 
 Ind. Work or 
 §Prep. Lunch. 
 
 Reading. 1, S, 5. 
 History, 2, 4- 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Prep. Reading. 
 Prep. Reading. 
 Prep. Reading. 
 
 Ind. Work or 
 §Prep. Lunch. 
 
 Reading, 1, 3, 6. 
 History, 2, 4. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Prep. Hist, or Civ. 
 Prep. Hist, or Civ. 
 Prep. Hist, or Civ. 
 
 History, 1,2,3, 4. 
 Civics, 5. 
 
 Ind. Work or 
 §Prep. Lunch. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Prep. Hist, or Civ. 
 Prep. Hist, or Civ. 
 Prep. Hist, or Civ. 
 
 History, 1,2,3, 4- 
 Civics, 5. 
 
 Ind. Work or 
 §Prep. Lunch. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Prep. Language, 
 or Geography. 
 
 Prep. Language 
 or Geography. 
 
 Prep. Language 
 or Geography. 
 
 Lang, or Geog. 
 
 Prep. Spelling. 
 
 Prep. Spelling. 
 Recess. 
 
 Prep. Language 
 or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Language 
 or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Language 
 or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Spelling. 
 
 Lang, or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Geography. 
 Recess. 
 
 Prep. Language 
 or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Language 
 or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Language 
 or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Spelling. 
 
 Lang, or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Geography. 
 Recess. 
 
 Prep Grammar 
 or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Grammar 
 or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Grammar 
 or Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Spelling. 
 
 Prep. Geography. 
 
 Gram, or Hygiene. 
 Recess. 
 
 Prep. Gram, or 
 Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Gram, or 
 Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Gram, or 
 Hygiene. 
 
 Prep. Spelling. 
 
 Prep. Geography. 
 
 Gram, or Hygiene. 
 Recess. 
 
 Spelling and 
 Writing. 
 
 Dismissal. 
 
 Prep. Geography. 
 Prep. Geography. 
 
 Geography, 2, 4- 
 
 Spelling and 
 Writing. 
 
 Dismissal. 
 
 Prep. Geography. 
 Prep. Geography. 
 
 Geography, 2, 4- 
 
 Spelling and 
 Writing. 
 
 Dismissal. 
 
 Prep. Geography. 
 Prep. Geography. 
 
 Geography, 1 , ■!, 0. 
 
 Spelling and 
 Writing. 
 
 Dismissal. 
 
 Prep. Geography. 
 Prep. Geography. 
 
 Geography, 1,3, 6. 
 
 Spelling and 
 Writing. 
 
 Dismissal. 
 
 This program has been tried out and proved to be good. 
 
 Words printed in italics indicate recitations. 
 
 Numbers in parentheses before grades indicate number of pupils in the grade. 
 
 Numbers after the subjects indicate the days of the week when the class recites.
 
 224 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 (Concluded from page 221.) 
 at 3:30 gives children a chance to assist with the work and yet get home before dusk. Let young- 
 est pupils have extra recess periods to play out of doors or in the halls. Writing only ten minutes, 
 but make all lessons writing lessons. Drawing only one day, for instruction only; practice for 
 seat-work other days. In the lower grades language must be based on other school subjects in- 
 dicated in parentheses. In grades 5, 6, 7, a language-book may be used a part of the time as a 
 guide. Word drills and word study should precede the reading lessons in lower grades. Phonics 
 should be at a separate period at least once a day. Organize a club of some kind. Have it meet 
 for a general program the last quarter of a day of each month. Sewing and other industrial work 
 may be done in clubs outside of school. 
 
 Program for a Rural School. 
 
 Furnished by Miss Georgina Lommen of the State Agricultural School. 
 
 (School of 30 pupils: 1st grade 6, 3d grade 6, 4th grade 4, 5th grade 6, 7th grade 3, Sth grade 5.) 
 
 A. M. P. M. 
 
 9.00-10 — Opening Exercises. 1.00-10 — Primer class, Reading, Language or 
 
 9.10-10 — Word Study. Phonics. 
 
 9.20-10 — Primer class. 1.10-15 — 3d and 4th, Reading (alternate oral 
 
 9.30-15 — Sth, Arithmetic. and silent.) 
 
 9.45-20 — 3d and 4th, Reading (alternate silent 1.25-20 — 7th and Sth, Geography (alternate 
 and oral). years). 
 
 10.05-15 — Sth, Reading. 1.45-15 — Sth, Geography. 
 
 10.20-10 — 7th, Reading. 2.00-05 — RestExercises — Drills, Games, Songs, 
 
 10.30-10 — Recess. Marches. 
 
 10.40-10 — Primary, Number. 2.05-15— 3d and 4th, Geography (Nature Study 
 
 10.50-15 — Sth., Reading. or Language). 
 
 11.05-15 — 3d and 4th, Number (alternate oral 2.20-15 — 8th, Grammar. 
 
 and board work.) 2.35-10 — Recess. 
 
 11.20-25 — 5th and 7th, Arithmetic (alternate 2.45-15 — Primary History (1, 2, 3, 4). 
 
 oral and board work). 3.00-20 — 7th and Sth, History (alternate years.) 
 
 11.45-15— Writing. 3.20-10— 7th, Language. 
 
 Noon hour — Games, lunch, monitors' reports, 3.30-15 — 5th, History or Language, 
 sewing, duties, etc. 3.45-15 — Spelling classes. 
 
 On Fridays, omit last classes and have De- 
 bate, Literary Work, Manual Training, Sew- 
 ing, or Handwork, for 1J hour. 
 Note: — If necessary, on Fridays, shorten noon hour to a half hour rather than omit so many 
 classes. If best, have geography and history, on alternate days, doubling the time for both. Lan- 
 guage must grow out of history, geography, etc., or be based on agricultural work, which must 
 be done in general exercises, at noon, etc. Opening Exercises may consist of current events, the 
 reading of good books, memory gems, lives of famous men and women, nature study, songs, story- 
 telling by teacher and pupils, agriculture, hygiene, and study of vocations. The wise teacher 
 will provide opportunity for changes — physical exercises, songs, games, marches, etc. — at least 
 once during every quarter of a day. 
 
 III.— SELECTION OF TEXT-BOOKS. 
 
 One of the things every teacher has to do is to select one or more text-books 
 for the school in which he teaches. The tendency of an inexperienced teacher 
 is to take the word of an agent, or to select a book used by a friend or used in 
 some school which he admires. The difficulty with such selection is that, though 
 the book possess great merit, it may not at all meet the needs of the particular 
 school for which it is intended. Again, teachers differ so widely in their methods 
 of using a book that what suits one teacher does not another. "In Mythland," 
 for first or second grade; "Pinocchio," for third or fourth grade; "Lamb's Tales 
 of Ulysses," for fifth grade; and "Alice in Wonderland," for the sixth grade; are. 
 books which the writer has known cejtain teachers to use with remarkable suc- 
 cess, while other teachers could get neither reading results nor interest from the 
 children. Hence, it is not safe to select a book merely because some one else has 
 used it successfully.
 
 Selection of Text-Books. — Reader. 225 
 
 Since readers wear out and are cither changed or supplemented more fre- 
 quently than are other texts, more detailed suggestions are given for selecting a 
 reader than for other books. In fact, topics 1, 2, and 4, under Readers, with 
 very little adaptation, fit all texts. 
 
 A.— HOW TO SELECT A READER FOR A PARTICULAR 
 SCHOOL AND GRADE. 
 
 The natural order of procedure is given, rather than one which indicates the 
 relative values of the acts of judgment. Of course, if at any point the book is 
 rejected, the remaining points are not even considered. Topic three is, assuredly, 
 the one of greatest weight. 
 
 1. — Handle the Book to Notc.its General Make-up. 
 
 a. Cover — Attractive or objectionable? Color sensible for daily use? 
 
 Binding strong and yet flexible? 
 
 b. Type — As pages are rapidly turned, does the type seem good? Clear? 
 
 Suited to age of pupils who are to use the book? Is the reading ma- 
 terial well arranged on the page? 
 
 c. Paper — Is it of good quality? Durable? Well sewed at back? 
 
 d. Illustrations — Are they pleasing to children? Suited to the stories? 
 
 Well colored? Artistic? Well sewed, if full-page pictures, or only 
 pasted in? Too few? Too many? 
 
 2. — Look at the Title Page and those immediately following. 
 
 a. Author — Who is the author? Known, or never heard of? Holds what 
 
 teaching position? Likely or not to make a good reader? 
 
 b. Publishers — New, or well established? With a reputation for good 
 
 book making? A firm that publishes what is really good, or merely 
 what will sell? 
 
 c. Copyrights — Date of first printing or copyright? Any revisions made? 
 
 Even though date is recent, does the book seem up to date? (In 
 general the life of a reader without revision is not over ten years, 
 though some deserve a longer life.) 
 
 d. Preface or Introduction (or both) — What is the specific aim of the 
 
 book? Is that the aim needed by the school which is to use the book? 
 
 e. Table of Contents — Does the material, judged by the titles and au- 
 
 thors quoted, carry out the specific aim or not? Does the material 
 seem to duplicate much already possessed by the particular school 
 in need of a reader? Or is it mainly new material? Which is wanted 
 for this school at this time, new material or the same material in new 
 and attractive form? 
 
 3. — The Subject- Matter itself. 
 
 Is it literary in style? Written by good authors? Or is it "made material" 
 for the sake of some device being exploited? Does it meet expecta- 
 tions aroused by preface and table of contents? Is it well graded in 
 thought? In vocabulary? Is it interesting in form? Better than 
 material already in use? Is there variety, or sameness, in style? 
 Which is most needed here? Are the kinds of literature needed by 
 this grade included?
 
 226 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 4. — Appendix or Supplement. 
 
 Are there suggestions as to the use of the book? Are there aids to the 
 teacher, such as the vocabulary of each lesson, if primary; a glossary, 
 if for older pupils; or notes, pronunciations of foreign or unusual 
 words, etc.? Or, does a "Manual" accompany the reader or set of 
 readers? If so, does it furnish the help desired? 
 Note: Every grade should have, besides the regular texts of standard diffi- 
 culty, one or more sets of supplementary readers which, first, are below the 
 standard in difficulty; and, second, contain especially interesting material. 
 These texts should not be used by lower grades, but should be left for rapid 
 sight reading or for use by children a bit below grade. 
 
 B.— HOW TO SELECT AN ARITHMETIC TEXT. 
 
 After adapting for use sections 1, 2, and 4, above, the teacher may ask him- 
 self such questions as these: 
 
 1. — For Primary Work. 
 
 a. When and how are the different topics introduced? Does this agree 
 
 with the Course of Study I am to use? With my ideas? That is, 
 can I teach it successfully? Could I push the book up (or down) a 
 grade and make it fit our school's needs? 
 
 b. Is the sequence of topics good? Is there sufficient drill on the funda- 
 
 mentals? 
 
 c. Is there sufficient provision for seat-work? Is it of the right sort? 
 
 Can children follow the directions without help? Do the problems 
 correlate with other work they are doing — for example, gardening, 
 manual training, geography? Does the vocabulary used correspond 
 in general with that of the reader in use, or must there be vocabulary 
 lessons on the arithmetic text? If so, can I make a place for that? 
 
 d. Are there any suggestions as to tests for ranking pupils by grades? 
 
 If so, do they seem sensible? Are they administered with a satis- 
 factory degree of ease? 
 
 2. — For Work above Primary. 
 
 In addition to the points under 1 above, the teacher may want to know: 
 
 a. Is there any provision for frequent reviews or drills upon the funda- 
 
 mental operations? If not, is there time for me to add these nec- 
 essary drills? Can I omit any topics to make such provision? 
 
 b. Is the text mathematically accurate in use of terms, in definitions, 
 
 etc.? Does it introduce any algebra or geometry? If so, is such 
 work correct? Sufficient to help pupils understand literal numbers 
 and equations when reached? Too much? 
 
 c. Are the applications life-like? Do they fit modern business methods? 
 
 Are the problems worth while spending time upon from either (or 
 both) the processes involved or the subject-matter? 
 
 d. Are the topics developed well? Are there any suggestions for teach- 
 
 ing the topics? Do these fit my ideas, or would I have to discard 
 the book except for problems? Is the material of the book arranged 
 for easy reference, or else well indexed, so pupils can turn readily 
 to a desired topic?
 
 Selection of Text-Books. — Geography. 227 
 
 e. Is there any provision for "mental arithmetic" in fundamental pro- 
 cesses? In estimating results so as to check the rationality of ac- 
 curate result? 
 
 C— HOW TO SELECT A GEOGRAPHY TEXT. 
 
 Some teachers, particularly specialists in geography, prefer to use no text- 
 books, but want their pupils to have good maps or atlases and geographical 
 readers or other reference books. If, however, a text is to be used, the questions 
 a teacher will want to ask, besides those implied in the topics above, will relate 
 to the text, the maps, and the pictures. 
 
 1. The Text. 
 
 a. Is the material so arranged as to be in itself a good general course of 
 
 study? Can the topics be rearranged to suit our local needs? To 
 suit my plan of development? 
 
 b. Does it emphasize the same topics we need to emphasize, and subor- 
 
 dinate the topics we feel to be less important for our use? 
 
 c. Will it help pupils to see relative values? To learn to study? To 
 
 get main points? To develop a topic so that it can be given with 
 reasonable confidence by the student? Will it give a new view- 
 point to a topic developed orally, thus fixing the concepts more 
 firmly? 
 
 d. Are the statistics, summaries, pronunciations, etc., up to date and 
 
 accurate, so that the text may become a handy reference-book to 
 be used in connection with other lessons too? 
 
 2. The Maps. 
 
 a. Are there maps to show all the things needed: Surface, drainage, 
 
 winds, political divisions, population, industrial regions, commer- 
 cial routes, etc.? 
 
 b. Are these maps sufficiently detailed for the age of pupils who need 
 
 them and yet not so detailed as to confuse them? 
 
 c. Can I use these maps in training pupils how to read maps, and get 
 
 from one all that is possible? 
 Note: Every teacher will need to supplement the text-book maps by outline 
 maps for practice in locating surface, political, or industrial features. Such 
 maps can be bought, can be hectographed, or can be sketched by the pupils. 
 
 3. The Pictures or Illustrations. 
 
 a. Are they well made, attractive, and artistic, as well as suited to the 
 
 text? 
 
 b. Will they definitely assist the pupil in forming concepts, relating 
 
 ideas, and applying principles? 
 
 Since not all schools have regular texts in the other subjects of the curricu- 
 lum, the suggestions for judging readers, arithmetics, and geographies, are prob- 
 ably sufficient to illustrate the need of careful selection, noting (1) that the book 
 in itself is possessed of educative value; (2) that its content fits local needs and 
 is authoritative; and (3) that the mechanical make up of the book is satisfactory. 
 Miss Martha Wilson, Supervisor of School Libraries, has an excellent outline on 
 points to be noted in the selection of dictionaries.
 
 228 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 IV.— HELPS ON ENGLISH. 
 A.— THE INTERRELATION OF THE ENGLISH SUBJECTS. 
 
 (An elaboration of the outline on p. 12, covering pre-school as well as school 
 ages.) 
 
 I. The child needs to understand others, hence listens — 
 
 A. Involuntarily: 
 
 1. To sounds in general — 
 
 a. Only general meanings of satisfaction or displeasure secured. 
 
 b. Direction of sound noted. 
 
 2. To mother's voice. 
 
 a. To be comforted — 
 
 (1) By mere nearness. 
 
 (2) By soothing tones. 
 
 3. To others' voices. 
 
 4. To special sounds. 
 
 a. Preparation of food. 
 
 b. Preparation for a ride. 
 
 c. Preparation for bed-time. 
 
 d. Company, etc. 
 
 B. Voluntarily: 
 
 1. To discriminate attitude of companions towards the child. 
 
 2. To discriminate ideas. 
 
 3. To learn vocabulary for self through imitation. 
 
 4. Later in life, to acquire ideas, ideals, emotions. 
 
 II. The child wants others to understand him, hence tries to communicate — 
 
 A. His actual needs — hunger or satisfaction, pain or pleasure, loneliness or 
 
 comfort, by — 
 
 1. Intonation, large body movements, gesture, facial expression, etc., 
 
 (about all that seem necessary). 
 
 2. Repetition of sounds for the same causes — the beginning of a self- 
 
 made vocabulary. 
 
 B. His desires. 
 
 1. Not so easily conveyed as the more general needs. 
 
 2. So variable as not to permit a settled mode of expression. 
 
 3. Not so readily recognized by people in social environment. 
 
 4. Hence the child begins to imitate "how others say it." 
 
 5. Constant alternation of listening and of trying the new sounds de- 
 
 velops the child's conventional vocabulary. 
 
 6. With advancing years he makes finer and finer discriminations and 
 
 so secures a choicer vocabulary and the basis for new thoughts. 
 
 III. The child revels in speech for its own sake, hence uses language as an end. 
 
 A. For pure love of sounds heard. 
 
 1. Full, resonant, open sounds. 
 
 2. Absurd combinations just for fun, no meaning necessary. 
 
 B. For pure pleasure of vocalization. 
 
 1. Chattering, with no intention of conveying meaning. 
 
 2. Talking to self in nonsense syllables for just the fun of talking. 
 
 3. To get feeling of power that speech gives one.
 
 Helps .on English. — Interrelation. 229 
 
 C. For the satisfaction found in rhythm. 
 
 1. Rhythm by accent. 
 
 2. Rhythm by repetition. 
 
 3. Rhythm by rhyme (repetition of similar sounds at end). 
 
 4. Rhythm in the form of onomatopoetic words — this runs into a kind 
 
 of meaningful vocabulary. 
 
 D. For the peculiar emotions and meanings which accompany some sounds.* 
 (In older children and in adults the same causes operate, but are often cloaked 
 
 by some more or less sensible reason.) 
 
 IV. The child wants to find out what is in books — hence wants to read. 
 
 Note: Because the social situation soon proves to the ordinary child that books and papers 
 contain desirable material — stories, etc., which his companions have not always time to read or 
 tell him — he becomes possessed by a desire to read, and knowing that this art is taught in school, 
 the five- or six-year-old child urges his parents to let him go to school to learn to read. 
 
 A. Now the child's first need is for an eye vocabulary. 
 
 1. Meaning and sounds of most of this early vocabulary are well known, 
 
 hence child needs only to be helped to see relation between 
 forms and meanings. 
 a. Vocalization an aid at first, and whenever meaning is evanes- 
 cent. 
 
 (1) Permitted when needed. 
 
 (2) Child soon led to inhibit vocalization. 
 
 (a) To save time by going directly from form to mean- 
 ing (economy). 
 
 (b) To keep from disturbing others (politeness). 
 
 (c) Because more discriminating thinking can be done 
 
 with finer movements as an accompaniment (cul- 
 ture). 
 
 2. Certain conventions now become a help. 
 
 a. Spelling. b. Phonics. 
 
 c. Sentence form — capital to mark beginning and period or ques- 
 
 tion-mark to indicate the end. 
 
 d. The conventional use of certain groups of words. 
 
 (1) I am, You are, We were, etc. 
 
 (2) A boy runs, Boys run, etc. 
 
 (3) Come, came, am coming, etc. 
 
 (4) By, on, under, etc. 
 
 (5) Once upon a time; lived happily ever after. 
 
 B. Sharing with others what he has gathered gives the child greater eye 
 
 fluency but it also leads him to express differences in meaning and 
 hence to think more discriminatingly. 
 1. A pupil's attempts to make the picture clear, the meaning carry, the 
 several ideas stand out, the joke appreciated, the emotion felt, pro- 
 duce variations in and control of pitch, tone-quality, time, and 
 force. 
 
 Note: Work on emphasis, inflection, grouping, pausing, etc., employed for the sake of giv- 
 ing the listener pleasure or knowledge, will eliminate mere word pronouncing as an ideal of reading. 
 
 2. The reaction of good oral reading upon silent reading is soon seen in — 
 a. Love of reading — the acquisition of the reading habit. 
 
 * Illustrations in "A Stepdaughter of the Prairie," pp. 7, 15, 98, etc.
 
 230 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 b. The selection of better literature, because more easily appre- 
 
 ciated than before. 
 
 c. The use of supplementary or reference material in other school- 
 
 work. 
 3. The effect is also noted upon oral and written speech — 
 
 a. In greater freedom. c. In sentence structure. 
 
 b. In better organization of ideas. d. In vocabulary. 
 
 That is, the pupil has something to say, and says it more fluently, co- 
 herently, and accurately, than before. 
 V. The child wants to write. True, the child does not feel so strongly the social 
 pressure for this mode of expression as he does for oral language, but since 
 it is so important in adult life and yet can be acquired best in childhood, 
 parents and teachers must contrive motives, if natural ones prove insuf- 
 ficient. 
 
 A. Natural motives. 
 
 1. Keeping records of nature-study observations, etc. 
 
 2. Keeping records of events, recipes, games, etc. 
 
 3. Writing- letters to real absentees. 
 
 a. Father when away. c. A sick schoolmate. 
 
 b. Grandparents. d. A doll. 
 
 4. Real invitations, requests, etc. 
 
 5. Self-expression. (As in oral language, after a start has been made, 
 
 children write just for the love of writing, not for communica- 
 tion, especially if they are not ridiculed or repressed.) 
 
 a. Rhymes — "poetry." d. Puns, jokes, etc. 
 
 b. Stories. e. Diaries or memory books, etc. 
 
 c. Plays. 
 
 B. Contrived motives which may be made to seem "natural" to the child. 
 
 1. School seat-work. 
 
 2. Letters and invitations. 
 
 3. Note-books. 
 
 4. Exhibit work. 
 
 5. Community problems in which each shares. 
 
 a. A room bulletin. 
 
 b. A room newspaper or other periodical. 
 
 c. A room play, etc. 
 C. 
 
 cleans to be used. 
 
 
 1. Necessary. 
 
 2. Valuable. 
 
 a. Penmanship. 
 
 a. Dictionary work (above third grade). 
 
 b. Spelling. 
 
 b. Much reading. 
 
 c. Paragraphing. 
 
 c. Literary interpretation. 
 
 d. Punctuation. 
 
 d. Simple rhetoric — as needed. 
 
 
 e. Grammar — as needed. 
 
 B.— BEGINNING-READING LESSON-PLANS. 
 
 1— IMPERATIVE-SENTENCE PLAN. 
 
 Aim. — To show children that there is (to them) a new method of expressing 
 thought. To help children differentiate the written symbols for at least three 
 thoughts.
 
 Helps on English. — Reading-Plans. 231 
 
 Preparation. — (1) Toys and well-known articles on teacher's desk. (2) Chil- 
 dren examine these objects and talk about what may be done with each. (3) 
 Children tested to prove that names are known no matter where objects are 
 placed. Teacher may say, Do you think the names of these objects hard to 
 remember? The written names are just as different as the spoken words, and 
 if your eyes are bright, you will make no mistakes in the game we shall play. 
 I am going to tell you to do something with one of these objects. Who wants 
 to do it? All? Then watch. 
 
 Development. — (1) The teacher writes on blackboard one action-imperative 
 sentence — perhaps, Beat the drum. (2) Can any one do what I have told you to 
 do? If some one can, let him; if no one can, teacher may do, some older child 
 may do, or teacher may whisper the thought to one child, who then does. (Value 
 of each?) (3) Others watch the act performed. Then teacher rewrites the sen- 
 tence, calling on some one else to do. She may write it four or five times if she 
 thinks it wise to do so. If not necessary, pointing to the sentence already writ- 
 ten will answer. (No oral reading. Why?) (4) In a similar way teacher in- 
 troduces, for example, Wave the flag, and March to the door, or simply March. (5) 
 Teacher now writes any one sentence and child called upon acts the thought. 
 (Leave the "patterns" for a time. Why?) (6) Later erase "patterns" and child 
 responds at sight of familiar form. 
 
 Children have discovered that written symbols express thought. If this has 
 aroused interest, the children now desire to master these written symbols which 
 open a wide field of pleasure. These three sentences are probably conquered, 
 and, later, when analyzed, form the basis of many lessons. The teacher may 
 test pupils in many ways — she may act, or may whisper to one child to act, or one 
 child may act whichever story he wishes as another points to the corresponding 
 sentence. The teacher may point to a part of the sentence and say, for example, 
 (if Beat is used,) Do this (beat) to something else. Touch this (drum pointed to). 
 Take something besides this (flag pointed to) and (writing or pointing to the 
 word) wave it. Play that you have drums (written) and beat (written) them. 
 
 Application. — The above analysis is a form of application, but the pedagogical 
 application is to come in future lessons. 
 
 The word-drill should be separate from the reading-lesson, since, from the 
 first, we wish the children to feel that reading is a distinct process of thought 
 getting or giving, and should in no way be hampered by the mechanics. Never- 
 theless, the need of carefully planned word-drills cannot be too strongly empha- 
 sized. Unless children have a fairly long list of words which are known instantly 
 at sight, all future work is hindered. These drills should, however, never be con- 
 ducted at such time nor in such manner as to rob the words of their thought con- 
 tent, for if pronunciation is made the sole aim of the work, the children's future 
 is in great peril, since they will probably become mere word-callers. In a lesson 
 of the sort just discussed, the children might be asked to do whatever the teacher 
 writes, if verbs are being drilled upon; to touch the object, when a noun is writ- 
 ten or indicated; to draw pictures beside the nouns written low on blackboard, 
 or. to lay pictures or real objects beside them; to lay words (written plainly on 
 cardboard slips) upon the right objects; to do all that it says in the story in which 
 "Run" occurs (Run to the door, for example); to watch the words erased and do 
 or show what the words symbolize. 
 
 In continuance of this class word-drill, the pupils may for scat-work match 
 pictures of flags, drums, boys, etc., with the proper words (written on slips of 
 cardboard); or these words may be arranged to look like the stories on the black- 
 board. Children may tear or cut or draw pictures to illustrate these stories.
 
 232 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 Before leaving this plan of teaching, a few more sentences, excellent for first 
 lessons, are appended: 
 
 1. Ring the bell. 9. Hop. 17. Take three steps. 
 
 2. Clap your hands. 10. Jump. 18. Go to sleep. 
 
 3. Shake your head. 11. Run. 19. Jump the rope. 
 
 4. Fold your arms. 12. Sit. 20. Beat the drum. 
 
 5. Wave the flag. 13. Sing. 21. Hold the doll. 
 
 6. Open the door. 14. Stand. 22. Roll the ball. 
 
 7. Toss the bean bag. 15. Laugh. 23. Blow the whistle. 
 
 8. Touch your nose. 16. Listen. 24. Read the book. 
 
 (Query: Why would it not be well to give both 1 and 22 the first day?) 
 The following sentences will also throw some light upon how new words are 
 gradually introduced for a month or more, and what the children can finally do: 
 
 1. Ring the little bell. 4.»Roll the large ball. 
 Ring the large bell. Roll the largest ball. 
 Ring the bright bell. Roll the small ball. 
 Ring the silver bell. Roll the smallest ball. 
 
 Roll the rubber ball. 
 
 2. Knock on the door (later, the window). Roll the woolen ball. 
 Look out of the door (later, the window). Roll the blue ball. 
 Walk to the door (later, the window). Roll the red ball. 
 Touch the door (later, the window). 5. Take the ball. 
 
 Hide the ball. 
 Find the ball. 
 
 3. Hold up your hands. Bring me the ball. 
 Raise your hands. Put the ball away. 
 You may clap your hands. Toss the ball. 
 Hold up both hands. Bounce the ball. 
 Hold up one hand. Throw the ball. 
 Hold up your right hand. Catch the ball. 
 Hold up your left hand. Get the ball. 
 
 Kick the foot-ball. 
 
 The new words which are thus necessarily introduced may be repeated in 
 still other combinations, thus: 
 
 Roll the cylinder. Throw the bean-bag. 
 
 Toss the sphere. Catch the hoop. 
 
 Or, making longer stories. 
 
 Hold the red ball in your left hand. 
 Touch the wall with both hands. 
 
 2.— THE LITTLE RED HEN.* 
 
 This blackboard lesson uses the story of The Little Red Hen, already familiar 
 to pupils through the language hour. Children have pictured the story, acted 
 the parts, and have told it several times. Familiar pictures of the characters 
 are on large cards; script names of the animals arc on smaller cards, easily clip- 
 ped on to the picture-cards, and as easily removed. Several recitation periods 
 are necessary for the entire story. The teacher asks, "Shall we make a read- 
 ing-lesson of our story, The Little Red Hen?" (The children agree, and the 
 teacher writes the heading on the blackboard.) 
 
 "About whom is our lesson to be?" (Answers will not be indicated except 
 where the desired answer could not be known.) 
 
 "Find the little hen's picture. Put it under the title. What does the title 
 say?" 
 
 * This and the remaining plans are based on Literature, and are adaptations of observed 
 lessons taught by Miss Helen Ford Staples, Winona.
 
 Helps on English. — Reading-Plans. 233 
 
 "What did the little red hen find?" (Teacher writes answer on blackboard: 
 "The little red hen found a seed.") 
 
 "What sort of seed was it?" (Teacher writes answer: "It was a wheat-seed.") 
 
 "Was she glad? Why? What did she want to do with the seed?" (Teacher 
 writes: "She wanted to plant the seed.") "Why did she want to plant it? Why 
 didn't she eat that seed?" ("It wasn't enough; she wanted more.") Teacher 
 shows a stalk on which is a head of wheat, and asks, "Would one seed, if planted, 
 make a head like this? Let's count the seeds on this stalk." (Teacher counts 
 with children, who incidentally see a need for counting). "Twelve seeds! Then 
 it would pay the little red hen to wait." (Teacher points to the words children 
 know and children say them.) 
 
 "Let us read all of our story." The teacher points to the sentences, asking 
 questions similar to those originally asked. She calls on as many pupils as pos- 
 sible. Then she asks a child to take the pointer and show by a sweep the black- 
 board sentence that tells what the hen found; what sort of seed it was; what she 
 wanted to do with it. 
 
 For a rest, the pupils dramatize the story as far as given. "Be a little red 
 hen, James, and scratch around and see whether you can find a seed." If James 
 can't, or is too slow, the teacher sends some other little red hen to scratch — one 
 who can find a seed. 
 
 "How does she act when she finds the seed? Does she know at once what 
 kind it is? Is she glad when she discovers that it is a wheat-seed? Be the little 
 red hen when she finds the seed, Lucy, and show me how you feel." 
 
 "Don't tell me, but be ready to point to and read the story that says what 
 she wanted to do with the seed." (John does.) "Did she decide at once to 
 plant it? What did she say?" (Teacher writes answer, "Who will plant the 
 seed?") "Who answered her? Find their pictures." (As one picture after the 
 other is shown by a child, the teacher attaches to it the card that contains the 
 correct name. "Were these animals ready to work? What sort of pig was he?" 
 (Teacher writes "pig" on blackboard but does not speak the word.) "What did 
 he answer?" (Teacher writes, " 'Not I,' said the pig," letting pupils read the 
 known parts as she writes; she supplies the other words.) "What sort of cat 
 (from now on the teacher writes every word she can for children to say, and writes 
 the same word as often as possible to fix its form) was the cat?" "What did the 
 cat answer?" ("Not I," said the cat.) 
 
 "Now we have one other animal who lived in the yard with the little red 
 hen. Find his picture. What sort of dog was he? (Lazy.) What did the dog 
 say to the little red hen?" ("Not I," said the dog.) 
 
 "Who spoke then? What did the hen say? ("I will, then.") And did she?" 
 (Yes.) Probable end of first recitation. 
 
 Suitable seat-work to clinch presented work is assigned; for example, match- 
 ing words, hen, pig, etc., with small pictures of these animals; laying pegs to rep- 
 resent wheat on a wheat-stalk; tracing with colored crayons over large script 
 words taken from the story; cutting the story from paper; matching loose hecto- 
 graphed sentences with similar sentences pasted on a card, with space left after 
 each sentence for the loose one. 
 
 Second recitation. — The teacher reviews preceding work and has a brief word- 
 drill by some device fitting the story and the children's needs. She then helps 
 pupils recall and think about the next unit in the story. "Now the wheat has 
 grown up. Here it is (show wheat-stalks). What does the little red hen (chil- 
 dren say, as before, whenever teacher writes words) want done next? What does
 
 234 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 she ask? Would the lazy dog cut it? What did he say? Would the lazy cat 
 cut it? What did she say? And, 'Not I,' said the pig. What does the hen say 
 then?" 
 
 The development of a unit is followed by reading, dramatization, word and 
 phrase drills if needed, and more reading, according to the time available. Seat- 
 work should repeat whatever sort pupils most need, as shown by their preceding 
 work. Perhaps some new forms can be added, such as arranging hectographed 
 sentences on a card so that the card looks like the story on the blackboard. After 
 this has been done several times, so that children are quite proficient in it, the 
 slips may be pasted on to the card and the card used for reading in class and 
 then carried home to be read to mother and father. Or, the sentences may be 
 hectographed with spaces for the important words. These words are on sepa- 
 rate slips and are to be inserted in the blank spaces. Children may look at a 
 correct complete copy on a card or on the blackboard. 
 
 The several other units of the story may be developed in successive recita- 
 tions, the number depending upon the needs of the class. 
 
 To keep the situations real all through, the children must enter into the ex- 
 periences dramatically. For example, in the final scene the teacher says: "The 
 wheat flour is ready to be made into bread. All may make bread. Think of 
 the bowl. Are you mixing it well? Are you kneading it, or using a bread-mixer? 
 Which did the hen do? Have you put it into the pan? Is it ready for the oven? 
 Put it into the oven. Now it is done. Take it out. Does it look nice? Would 
 you like to eat it? Who else would? [All the lazy animals.] Who does eat it? 
 What does she say before that?" 
 
 3— THE GINGERBREAD BOY. 
 
 This lesson illustrates the use of a hand-made chart. The teacher should 
 have had baked a fine gingerbread boy just like the one described in the story 
 and pictured in whatever primer contains the story, especially if that primer 
 is to be used later. She should also have large, interesting pictures, from some 
 good magazines or advertisements, of the characters in the story — an old man, 
 an old woman, a pig, a cat, a dog, a hen, and a fox. Each should be mounted 
 on a separate sheet. Loose cards containing the printed names of the characters 
 should be available for clipping to or laying beside the pictures as needed. 
 
 The entire story, in the form desired by the teacher, should be printed on 
 large sheets of manila paper or tagboard, with the usual primary printing-press 
 sold by all dealers in primary supplies. (All this can be prepared in the summer 
 vacation.) Besides the complete story, now to be spoken of as the "chart," the 
 teacher should make two extra sets, printed in such a way that of the first the 
 sentences can be cut apart and in the second the sentences can easily be cut into 
 words and phrases as will be seen to be necessary. 
 
 It will also be well to have in smaller type, printed sentences and words 
 needed for seat-work. If the teacher hasn't a small press (bought at any ten- 
 cent-store for ten or fifteen cents), she may find the Congdon gummed words 
 valuable. 
 
 The teacher begins by showing the pupils the chart (about five sheets) and 
 the pictures of the characters. She then tells the story exactly as it appears on 
 the chart, embellishing wherever necessary by showing pictures, having pupils 
 relate their own experiences which these recall, etc. As she tells the story, she 
 points to the chart sentences (not words) in sweeping movements. Perhaps the
 
 Helps on English. — Reading-Plans. 235 
 
 first telling will occupy all of one recitation. She plans each time to stop at the 
 natural end of a unit. The second day she retells the story, pointing as before, 
 but asking pupils to help "read" wherever they remember what was said or 
 described. This is interspersed with dramatizations to get the feeling of the 
 experiences, and the sequence of thought. Seat-work to accentuate this sequence 
 and to keep alive the interest and the emotional attitudes should be given. 
 
 By the end of the third recitation certain phrases and sentences will have 
 been repeated often enough to begin to be recognized by pupils. The first page 
 only may be reread. The duplicate page may be set up beside the original. On 
 the new page the children may point to the lines as the teacher or some child 
 reads them from the original copy. 
 
 The teacher then takes big scissors, and, before the children, cuts the second 
 card into sentences. They are then laid beside the uncut-card sentences to see 
 which one is like another. When similar ones are found, they are read aloud — 
 the one on the chart known by its location in the story, the one on the card be- 
 cause it is like the chart one. To match and read the other sentences will be 
 counted great fun. The chart page becomes a dictionary of reference only, and 
 children enjoy reading the card sentences. 
 
 Reading from memory, dramatizing, drill, and seat-work, are parts of each 
 recitation. The seat-work must be with print also, and if the teacher can't 
 have some sheets of the same story in smaller type, she should let the seat- work 
 emphasize other lines of work than recognition of form, until she comes to her 
 cut-up sentences and words. 
 
 The remaining pages of the chart should be similarly treated, each being easier 
 than the preceding, as familiar phrases become better known. 
 
 The teacher calls attention to form only when such knowledge will help the 
 thought. "He means the gingerbread boy; find another he." "Can you tell 
 whether a man or a woman speaks the next time?" "I stands up straight and 
 tall. The gingerbread boy feels tall when he boasts of how he can run away 
 from everybody. The cat carries her tail up, as most cats do, in fact." 
 
 The teacher works also to secure the children's complete participation in the 
 experiences. "Each animal wants to eat the gingerbread boy. Would you like 
 to eat him? Does he look good to eat? Take a bite (pretend); does it taste 
 good? Now we need an old woman. Be the old woman. Who will take the 
 part of the little old man? Be little. Be old. He has helped many people. 
 Now he needs help. He wishes he had a boy. Why can the gingerbread boy 
 outrun the old man and the old woman?" 
 
 After full sentences have been read, the sentences can be cut up into words 
 and phrases to be matched with those in sentences, as sentences were matched 
 with the chart. 
 
 At this point the seat-work can consist of building sentences from words; of 
 "cutting" the characters and matching them with words; of arranging the char- 
 acters in order as they pursued the gingerbread boy, either represented by words 
 or pictures or both; or of any of the suggestions given before that are still usable. 
 
 The chart with its pictures should be kept intact for use in reviews or when- 
 ever children forget some words learned there in context. 
 
 After the vocabulary has been mastered, the cut-up words can be used to 
 rebuild a slightly changed form of telling the story; but, though the form be 
 changed, the sequence of thought must be kept the same. 
 
 The reading of this newly arranged old material is also fine review.
 
 236 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 4— THE KEY TO THE KING'S GARDEN. 
 
 Note: The treatment of each of these lessons is for beginning pupils. Adaptations of the 
 plans must be made if they are used later in the year. Some teachers do not have text-books enough 
 to permit their use from the beginning, in which case blackboard and chart lessons will make 
 book work comparatively easy. The following lesson is meant for pupils who have been in school 
 only a few days and are given the book for at least one reading recitation a day. If possible there 
 should be several short reading periods daily, some of which can be devoted to "direct-experi- 
 ence" lessons and others to literature lessons. Of course these lessons are merely suggestive and 
 are not the only good stories to be used. 
 
 The teacher puts pupils into the atmosphere of the story, which they have 
 heard told, as was the plan in the preceding lessons. She questions as to pictures 
 seen when she mentions king, palace, queen, king's garden, key, gate; but she does 
 nothing of word teaching, choosing to let pupils first get their words from the 
 book. 
 
 Books are passed and children are shown a book open at the first picture. 
 "Find the same picture — that of a man who discovers a key. Who'll be first 
 to find the place? Now lay these bookmarks (strips of stiff paper) on the page 
 just under the picture. As some one reads, move your bookmarks down to 
 keep the place; I shall watch to see who do this and so follow the reading." 
 
 "What does the man see? What does he say? Was he glad? Make me 
 know just how glad he was! [Children read (that is, repeat from memory) The 
 key! The key to the king's garden!] Perhaps the key has been lost a long time, 
 and every body is glad that it is found. All show how glad you are (moving 
 your bookmarks down as you read)!" 
 
 Teacher shows a card on which the word key is printed, saying, "Here is the 
 key. Pretend to unlock the door with it. Is there anything by which we can 
 remember key? (Children can't think of anything, so the teacher suggests that 
 k looks something like a key, with its stem and its notches.) Put your book- 
 marks under a key in the book. Under another key. Whose key was this? 
 What did it unlock? (Teacher shows card with word garden on it.) Is there 
 anything to help us?" A child suggests that the word looks like a garden with 
 flowers in it, one tall flower. Teacher accepts, though the likeness isn't striking. 
 Several children are now called on to read the whole page, others moving book- 
 marks down. (This teaches children that the story is on the page and can be 
 followed, though of course no child is studying the words.) 
 
 "Turn the page. What is the man doing here? I would like a man who 
 sells things on the street. Leslie, be the man. What have you to sell? [Pota- 
 toes.] Call so I can hear you, though I'm in the house. What do you charge? 
 I'll take some. Let's hear another man. Frank!" (I sell apples! At five 
 cents a peck! Apples! Apples!) "Good. I can hear that, and your apples are 
 very cheap. I'll take a peck." The teacher secures just enough responses to 
 get pupils into the atmosphere of selling and calling out the articles for sale, then 
 turns to the book again. "What is the man selling?" The teacher now adds a 
 card containing the word sell. "Who'll be the man? What must you have in 
 your hand? Find it. [Child selects key from the cardboard words.] Now cry 
 it for sale." (Child reads, "I sell the key to the King's garden!") Other chil- 
 dren cry it. At last the teacher says, "I'd like to buy it. What do you charge?" 
 
 "Find key, garden, sell." The teacher adds the card containing king's, and 
 again has children find words as she calls for them — words laid face up on the 
 floor or stood on the blackboard ledge where all can see. As the words are found 
 the teacher pins them to a stiff cardboard or bulletin-board which stands near her. 
 
 "Look at the next picture. Recall the story. What is for sale this time?" 
 (Answer, "The string that held the key.") The teacher adds card with word
 
 Helps on English. — Reading-Plans. 237 
 
 string on it to others on the bulletin-board and suggests that string can be re- 
 membered because the first letter looks like a piece of string, and the last letter 
 is also a sort of curly string. All words, quickly pointed to, to be named by 
 children. 
 
 "Who is ready to be the saleswoman on this page?" Several children in 
 turn,, act and read, "/ sell the string that held the key to the king's garden!" while 
 others move their bookmarks down. The teacher commends those who do, say- 
 ing she sees who are reading. 
 
 "Make the people at work in the kitchen hear you." (Motive for clear call- 
 ing of the wares.) Probable end of first recitation. Seat-work to fit the lesson 
 follows. See suggestions in lessons above and on pp. 283-292. 
 
 As the remainder of the story is taken up in succeeding recitations, the 
 teacher helps children get cues for the idea-words, has dramatization of the 
 parts to create reality, urges constant following of the book until pupils actually 
 do read from the book and do not merely repeat the story from memory, gives 
 word-drill sufficient to fix the needed words, and plans seat-work to make vivid 
 the experiences. In daily recitations, she holds pupils to reading what the book 
 says, not just what it means, giving as one motive, "Read just what the book 
 says, so you can play it right," and as another, "I'll know that you are reading 
 if you use just the words in the book." 
 
 C— READING-PLANS FOR OLDER GRADES. 
 
 1— LESSONS FROM "VIKING TALES."* (Third Grade.) 
 
 (As taught by Miss Frances M. Smith, Minneapolis.) 
 
 Note: Parts only of several lessons are given, because of lack of space. These parts show, 
 in general, thought methods of teaching reading; and, in particular, the following points: (1) That 
 the setting of good specific aims is the best means of holding pupils a long time on a bit of subject- 
 matter without loss of interest; (2) that children can find central ideas and name them; (3) 
 that execution is the finest sort of check on correct thinking; (4) that children can supplement 
 thought; and (5) that symbol calling can be controlled by the thinking. 
 
 First illustration, from a lesson on pp. 32-34. — The following specific aims 
 were set during two twenty-minute recitations: 
 
 (1) Have you a picture of this farmer's house? Where can you get it? 
 (Last few lines on p. 32 and on to p. 33.) Get picture of just how the farmer's 
 house looked. (Children read silently.) 
 
 (2) Make a floor-plan of the house on the blackboard. (One child drew a 
 straight line on the blackboard, with benches, fire place in middle, and more 
 benches, shown in one row.) Children criticized plan, by asking of the maker, 
 "How many sides to this house?" 
 
 Does the book help us to know whether the benches were on only one side? 
 (Top of p. 33.) Teacher then asked, "Would you still leave it this way?" (Child 
 re-drew it.) 
 
 (3) Where shall we put the door? (A boy finds that the lines say, "The 
 thralls looked down the feast hall.") 
 
 (4) Find a name for pp. 32-34. (Several given; all good; the one selected 
 by the class was, "What Olaf and his Men Did at the Farmer's House.") (This 
 aim demanded rapid reading of these pages.) 
 
 (5) Turn back to p. 33. Begin at "Ho, thralls!" and stop at the beginning 
 of the last paragraph. What were the men doing here? (Joking. Making fun 
 of the farmer.) 
 
 * By Jennie Hall, Rand-McNally, Chicago.
 
 238 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 (6) They were doing something else at the same time. Find out. (Waiting 
 for supper. Warming themselves.) 
 
 (7) Let us act that part. What must we know first? (How many people 
 we need. Find out.) (As children answered they were asked to prove the 
 answers by the book; for example, one child said "twelve thralls." Others 
 thought she was wrong, since the book says, "A dozen people" sat on the bench. 
 The first child read, " 'Ho, thralls!' I called to them," as proof that the "people" 
 were "thralls"; and "Off they ran," as a further verification of her idea.) 
 
 (8) How many men are going to talk? (Proved by reading aloud.) 
 
 (9) After Katherine, who was told to do so, had selected the characters to 
 talk and to act, the teacher said, "Now read to be sure each of you knows what 
 to do and to say!" 
 
 (10) To the child who is to be the farmer, "What is especially important 
 about your part?" (To let my face show how surprised I am.) "Yes, and 
 your other feelings, too. See what they are. I shall watch your face as you 
 act, to find out just how you feel." 
 
 (11) After the acting and various criticisms on it have been given, "Who can 
 tease the farmer more?" (Children supplement the thought and tease in the 
 way they think the Vikings did.) 
 
 (12) Just what things did Olaf and his men do? (A summary called for: 
 Demanded entrance. Ordered thralls about. Joked or teased the farmer. 
 Warmed themselves. Waited for supper. Ate and drank.) 
 
 Second illustration, from a lesson on pp. 69-70. — A few of the directions in the 
 assignment: Be ready to name the first half of p. 70. Be ready to name the 
 second half of p. 70. Be ready to dramatize p. 70. Tell what you think Harald's 
 runes might have said. Make up a joke that you think these Vikings might 
 have thought funny. 
 
 Two examples of correcting form by thought, calling no attention to the particu- 
 lar words miscalled: A child read, "Leaped up the dirt." "Does that make 
 sense? What do you see him doing?" (Making the dirt into a mound.) "Show 
 us that." (Child re-read it correctly.) 
 
 Another child read, "They divided the spoils into two piles." (He read 
 "two" when the book said "four." )The teacher said, "Frank read one thing 
 that couldn't have been true according to what follows. How many people re- 
 ceived piles of spoils, Frank? Read to show us." 
 
 Third illustration, from a lesson on pp. 95-99. — To show the number of spe- 
 cific aims set: (1) "We are ready for a new chapter; what is its name?" (Har- 
 ald Goes West Over Seas.) "What will this chapter tell us, then?" (Where 
 Harald went.) (2) "Read to the place where Harald really goes. Where does 
 he go? What is all this about?" (The reasons for his going.) (3) "Read the 
 first long paragraph on p. 95, and get just the first reason." (4) "Read again 
 to see whether there are any reasons you do not understand." (Some discussed.) 
 (5) "Read aloud and make me feel why they wanted to leave." (6) Read to 
 find out just where they went." 
 
 Fourth illustration, from an "Assembly." — Dramatization of pp. 15-61. 
 
 Pictures 1, 2, 3, illustrate a play which the B-4 class gave, the play being 
 based upon work done in the reading-class. The name of the play was, "Har- 
 ald Made King." Harald was the son of a Viking king named Halfdan. After 
 Half dan's death, Harald held a funeral-feast at which he took a king's vow and 
 became king.
 
 Helps on English. — Reading-Plans. 
 
 239 
 
 1. EATING IN THE DAYS OF THE VIKINGS. 
 
 Picture 1 illustrates the method of eating in the time of the Vikings. The 
 gymnasium stools represent the long backless benches which Vikings used. The 
 trestles and boards represent the tables of those times. Big trays and platters, 
 swords and daggers, were the fashionable dishes. 
 
 2. KING HARALD, THE VIKING, TAKING OATH TO SUBDUE HIS FATHER'S ENEMIES. 
 
 Picture 2. Harald has just ordered his tables removed and the mead-horns 
 to be passed. He is now making a king's vow, and his subjects are listening 
 with much interest, ready to drink his health as soon as he finishes.
 
 240 
 
 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 3. THE SKALD SINGING THE PRAISES OF 
 
 THE FATHER OF HARALD THE VIKING. 
 
 Picture 3. Harald has finished making his vow. He has now taken the king's 
 high seat which shows he is king. The skald, wishing to please the king, is sing- 
 ing of Harald's father, King Halfdan. 
 
 While the thralls removed the tables after the feast, the men told funny 
 stories to entertain one another. At the end of each story the Viking men ap- 
 plauded and showed their appreciation by loud laughter. 
 
 Since the reader which the children used did not give any of the stories which 
 the men told, it left the field open to the children to imagine what stories were 
 told. The aim, then, was for the children to tell any story which their fancy 
 led them to tell, so long as it was in harmony with Viking life. 
 
 The following are some of the stories which were invented: 
 
 Basil B.'s story: When I started out for the feast I started out in my ship and the ship wouldn't 
 go, so I started out with my horse. Then my horse wouldn't go, so I had to buy another horse. 
 When I got half way to the feast the horse heard me say something about mead. He stopped and 
 I guessed he wanted some mead. So I got off and made a horn full of mead and gave it to him. 
 That's the reason why Audbiorn and I came late to the feast. [Applause and loud laughter.] 
 
 Sylvester R.'s story: Well, I'll tell you a story of what happened to me once. I was fishing 
 over in that 200-foot river one day and had my feet hanging over the edge of the boat and had one 
 of those pine-tree branches for my fish pole and a piece of skin for my line. I was lying there tak- 
 ing it easy and something gave a little jerk. Then I pulled hard and up came a great big snake' 
 with a large head. He grabbed me right in the ankle and I hung there for a while and he nearly 
 pulled me out of the boat, only I grabbed my dagger and stabbed him right in the head. I gave 
 my foot a little jerk and threw him right back in the water and there's only a little scar there 
 where he bit me. [Applause and loud laughs.] 
 
 Gaylord G.'s story: I'd just made my spear, Foesfear. I went in the blacksmith-shop and I 
 made my spear-head. Then I didn't have a shaft, so I put on my skis and started off for the 
 woods. I was going down here and I jumped across that 200-foot river, that you were talking 
 about and when I got across I saw a huge rock across there, and going up to it I saw an ash tree 
 on top. I jumped oil my skis and started to climb up the ragged edge and tore my cloak a little 
 bit. When I got to the top I cut down the ash tree and trimmed it off. Then I threw my ash 
 trunk down the rock and started to climb down. Then when I got near the bottom I jumped. 
 Just then a wolf sprang out from the thicket and I snatched my pole. Swinging it around my head, 
 I was trying to hit the wolf, but just as the pole got on the opposite side from the wolf, he sprang 
 at me and got me by the wrist. Just then I happened to think of Foesfear and I ran it into his
 
 Helps on English. — Reading-Plans. 241 
 
 head. I threw the wolf back into the woods. Putting on my skis, I started off home. When 
 I got home Olaf was there in the shop and he asked me what was the matter with my wrist. I 
 told him it was nothing but a little wolf scratch. This is all the scar there is left. [Applause, as 
 before. 1 
 
 The following are some greetings which the little girls invented as they took 
 the part of the Viking women and passed the mead horns: 
 
 To the king: "Drink this; it will give you a better voice to make your vow." 
 
 To the skald: "Drink this mead; it will give you a better tune to sing your song." 
 
 To a visitor: "Mead is good for a strong and healthy man." 
 
 George A., who look the part of the skald, invented his tune (a sort of chant) 
 and the following words for his song: King Halfdan was a brave man. He 
 fought in many battles and won every one. He had a strong arm, a heavy 
 shield and a strong sword, and a strong mail-coat, and a gold helmet. It was too 
 bad he had to die, for every man loved him. All the kings were scared of him 
 because he had such a strong arm. He had the best horse in his army and 
 every man loved him because he was so brave. He was open handed and made 
 many vows and all his vows were the truth. He had a strong arm and a big 
 shield. It was too bad he had to die, because every man loved him. 
 
 2.— A FIFTH-GRADE LESSON. 
 
 THE COAST-GUARD. 
 
 Do you ask me what I am seeing 
 
 While I watch the embers glow, 
 And list to the wild wind howling 
 
 As it drives the winter snow? 
 I see, away to the eastward, 
 
 The line of a storm-beat coast, 
 And I hear the tread of the hurrying waves, 
 
 Like the tramp of a mailed host. 
 
 And up and down in the darkness, 
 
 And over the frozen sand, 
 I hear the men of the coast-guard 
 
 Pacing along the strand, — 
 Beaten by storm and tempest, 
 
 And drenched by the pelting rain, — 
 From the shores of Carolina 
 
 To the wind-swept bays of Maine. 
 
 No matter what storms are raging, 
 
 No matter how wild the night, 
 The gleam of their swinging lanterns 
 
 Shines out with a friendly light. 
 And many a shipwrecked sailor 
 
 Thanks God with his gasping breath, 
 For the sturdy arms of the surfmen 
 
 That drew him away from death. 
 
 And so, when the wind is wailing, 
 
 And the air grows dim with sleet, 
 I think of the fearless watchers 
 
 Pacing along their beat. 
 I think of a wreck, fast breaking 
 
 In the surf of a rocky shore, 
 And the life-boat leaping onward 
 
 To the stroke of the bending oar.
 
 242 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 I hear the shouts of the sailors, 
 
 The boom of the frozen sail, 
 And the crack of the icy halyards 
 
 Straining against the gale. 
 "Courage!" the captain trumpets, 
 
 "They are sending help from land!" 
 God bless the men of the coast-guard 
 
 And hold their lives in His hand! 
 
 — Emily Huntington Miller. 
 
 I. Subject-Matter. 
 
 (This poem was selected because a teacher of some experience asked the 
 writer in a rather despairing tone, what could be done with such material.) 
 
 A. Aim, or Aims: (1) To help pupils know what experiences come to other 
 
 people; (2) to help them recognize bravery, courage, faithfulness to duty, 
 etc.; (3) to rejoice in just reward; (4) to help them see how scenes fre- 
 quently witnessed may be preserved in word-pictures; (5) to help pupils 
 become brave themselves by growing to appreciate what heroes do for 
 us; and (6) to help pupils express a poet's thought — read well orally. 
 
 B. Organization of Subject- Mailer: This poem, written by an author who had 
 
 the same appreciation we all feel for bravery, and who had the added 
 power of fine expression, may be divided into three main parts: 
 
 1. Lines 1-4. Introduction. Why or how author is reminded of the 
 
 scene. 
 
 2. Lines 5-38. Description of sights often witnessed on seashore. 
 
 a. A tempestuous night. 
 
 b. Coast-guards pacing the strand (stanza 2). 
 
 c. Coast-guards rescuing shipwrecked sailors in face of great 
 
 danger (stanza 3). 
 
 d. Tempest on land should remind us of worse tempest on coast; 
 
 wreck described (stanzas 4 and 5). 
 
 3. Lines 39-40. Conclusion. Prayer for blessing on coast-guard. 
 
 C. Preparation of Material. 
 
 1. Of such as will be used if necessary during development: A map of 
 
 the Atlantic seaboard; some pictures of wrecks; pictures of ships, 
 so that different parts can be recognized; pictures of coast-guards 
 in their work; pictures of waves in a storm. 
 
 2. Of suggestions for preliminary assignments from which teacher must 
 
 select what her individual class most needs (no class must be given 
 all): 
 
 a. To help children get the larger thoughts — 
 
 1. Read the poem through to find: 
 
 What it is about. Where the story is located. What 
 different characters are mentioned. How the different 
 characters act, dress, etc. What season of the year it is. 
 
 2. Think about the story and try to tell: 
 
 Why the author saw such pictures. Why the author 
 pictures such a scene to us. Why the work described is 
 a noble one. (Do you believe it is?) Why God is asked 
 to bless these men. 
 
 b. To help children get word content, word value, and word pro- 
 
 nunciation. 
 1. With your books open, find and think over the meaning of 
 the following words and expressions:
 
 Helps on English. — Reading-Plans. 243 
 
 The embers glow. As it drives the snow. Tread of 
 waves. (Why use "tread?") A mailed host. The coast- 
 guard. Drenched by rain. (Who or what were?) Wind- 
 swept bays. Friendly light. (Why is "friendly" a good 
 word?) Gasping breath. Sturdy arms. Surfmen. Drew 
 his men from death. Wind is wailing. Air grows dim. 
 (Why?) Fearless watchers. (Why "fearless"?) Pacing. 
 Beat — Note the fourth line of second stanza; of fourth 
 stanza; what difference in words? In thought? Surf. 
 Rocky shore. (Why is "rocky" consistent here?) Life- 
 boat. Bending oar. (Why?) The captain trumpets. 
 Halyards. Boom of frozen sail. Hold their lives in his 
 hand, 
 c. To help children get images. 
 
 1. Indicate all the lines in which you can find pictures that 
 
 might be painted. Indicate the lines in which are scenes 
 that might be acted; situations that might be described. 
 
 2. Or reverse this (at least in part) by asking children to draw 
 
 pictures; to be ready to act pictures; to try to describe 
 pictures found in lines 2, 3-4, 5-6, 9-14, latter half of 18, 
 19-20 added to 9-14, 21-22, 23-24, 26, 27-28 added to 
 9-14 and 19-20, 29, 31-32, 33, 34-36, 37-38. 
 II. Method. 
 
 A. Aim (specific) may be one or all of the following, if it differs at all from 
 
 aim of subject-matter division: 
 
 1. To help children recognize how hard it is to do one's duty, and how 
 
 much we admire those who are faithful in spite of discomforts and 
 danger. 
 
 2. To relate experiences in our own lives to situations in the poem. 
 
 3. To recognize the words and be able to read (aloud) the poem with 
 
 thoughtful expression — to give others the meaning. 
 
 B. Preparation: Of children's minds (the assignment having been made before 
 
 and the children having studied the lesson): 
 
 1. Did you find many pictures in today's lesson? Read the lines you 
 
 selected, Albert. Hold up the picture you made, Marian, and let 
 the class find the lines to fit it. (Marian, allowed to call on a child 
 to read, approves or disapproves the selection.) 
 
 2. Did you find any hard words? Can you pronounce them? Teacher 
 
 writes one by one and calls on some child each time to pronounce 
 
 the one last written: 
 
 mailed host drenched sturdy halyards 
 
 embers gasping surfmen wailing 
 
 If any stumble, teacher calls on several, at the same time asking 
 
 for the content of each word. Recall a few questions under b of 
 
 assignment. 
 
 3. Which of the questions under a in the assignment did you like best? 
 
 Answer it. Which did you find hardest? Answer that. (Or, 
 teacher may recall any or all she deems necessary.) 
 
 C. Development: 
 
 1. If preparation hasn't made thought clear, teacher must help more 
 here. Show materials collected, etc.
 
 244 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 2. If thought is clear, and words are so well known that oral reading 
 
 will not be hampered, the teacher has left only the problem of 
 arousing the children's emotion, so that the oral reading will be 
 done with feeling and consequent good expression. To do this the 
 following thoughts must be brought out clearly in relation to chil- 
 dren's own experiences: 
 
 a. Guarding — sheep by shepherds; town by policemen; sick 
 
 people by nurses; ocean travelers by these coast-guards. 
 
 b. Winter fireside — if children have never seen pictures in the 
 
 embers, they may have done so in the summer clouds, or in 
 the smoke. Howling winds bring what thoughts to the 
 author? Why? 
 
 c. Seashore — recall it as seen by children in summer; waves; 
 
 their height, movement, frequency; imagine it in winter. If 
 never seen, recall what is known — lake-shore, pond, river, 
 creek, tub of water agitated. Rocky shore — bluffs, etc. 
 
 d. Wreck — train wreck; tornado, hurricane, or cyclone and its 
 
 effects; lightning striking; ships, frozen sail, halyards, cap- 
 tain trumpets (why?); make picture clear. 
 
 e. Bravery — courage — faithfulness to duty in the face of dis- 
 
 comfort, drenching rain, pelting sleet, raging storms. If 
 children know story of the leak in the dyke, or of the picket 
 guards in war, or stories of colonial children, some may here 
 be recalled briefly. What made men's arms "sturdy"? 
 Why are "fearless," "wakeful," and "humane" good words 
 to use? 
 
 f. Make children feel — 
 
 The fearful season. The relief of tjhe sailors and travelers. 
 The bad night. The deserved blessing for duty faith- 
 
 The heroic acts. fully done. 
 
 3. Oral reading by as many pupils as possible, criticising only the bring- 
 
 ing out of the thought — giving pronunciations where necessary, so 
 as not to impede expression or thought. Questions should be of 
 this nature: Is that picture clear to us? Can John make it clearer? 
 Julius, try again to make us see it. Is that what it means to you, 
 Lulu? Why didn't he make it stand out? Did Mary read that 
 better than she read yesterday? Were all the points brought out? 
 Ray, show us what points you got that Arthur didn't emphasize. 
 What is the biggest thought in those lines? Can you make it scent 
 the biggest? Do you really feel it? Then show us. Do you 
 believe it? I'd never guess it from your reading. Try again. 
 D. Application: No immediate application is necessary, yet the teacher could 
 make this the basis of painting lessons — letting pupils paint different pic- 
 tures to illustrate the various lines. Or, pupils may cut out and carefully 
 mount suitable pictures for this purpose. She might also use the copying 
 of the poem for penmanship lessons; the committing it for language les- 
 sons; the hard words in it for spelling lessons; and all might then be ap- 
 plied to a class "booklet" showing the poem in its entirety, followed by 
 single lines on the pictures illustrating them. 
 
 The teacher should also take pains to use often in school work the 
 thought of perseverance or faithfulness to duty in the face of discom-
 
 Helps on English. — Language and Composition. 245 
 
 forts, saying, for illustration: You wouldn't (or would) make a good 
 coast-guard. Why? Suppose the coast-guards had given up because it 
 was hard! Are you going to give up? The words learned will come up 
 and be referred to in many future lessons. 
 
 D.— AIDS IN LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION. 
 1— FIFTH-GRADE WORK UPON ONE USE OF THE APOSTROPHE. 
 
 I. Subject-Matter (of the lesson-unit). 
 
 A. Aim or Need: To express in concise written form the fact of ownership. 
 
 (School-room conditions make it necessary to subdivide the lesson-unit 
 into several recitation periods, each of which will have a sub-aim of its 
 own.) 
 Sub-aims: 
 
 1. To express the fact of ownership by an individual. (A study of the 
 
 child's needs makes us exclude any mention of such exceptions as 
 Moses', Jesus', for conscience' sake, etc., but simply to develop 
 the invariable rule: Add 's.) 
 
 2. To see how plurals are formed. (Usually by adding s or es, but also 
 
 in several other ways.) 
 
 3. To give plural nouns the genitive form. (Done by adding 's, or 
 
 just \) 
 
 4. To learn how to express exactly what is wished said in correct geni- 
 
 tive form. (Learned by careful study of the thought first expressed 
 in phrase form.) 
 
 5. To gain mechanical skill in using the facts learned. (Done by daily 
 
 applications in other lessons, by seat-work, tests, and drills.) 
 
 B. Organization of Subject- Matter to Meet this Need or Aim: 
 
 Our ancestors felt this need and satisfied it by the invention of the 
 genitive form, which is characterized by the use of the apostrophe with 
 nouns, and by inflected case-forms for pronouns. The following points 
 illustrate the problem and its solution: 
 
 The phrase, John's hat, says concisely the same thing as John owns a 
 hat, or John has a hat. So long as the race confined itself to oral expres- 
 sion, no apostrophe or other "sign of possession" was necessary, but as 
 soon as thoughts needed to be put into writing, confusion must naturally 
 have arisen. For example, in the expression, The boys play, the reader 
 could not know whether the error was a failure to place a period after 
 play, or a failure to finish the sentence — The boys' play is worth watch- 
 ing. The form may have developed through the abbreviation of his or 
 has, and is, consequently, only a further application of the use of the 
 apostrophe in contractions. Illustrations: The girl'(ha)s (a) doll. John 
 Smith'(hi)s book (found even within the last fifty years). 
 
 As the use of written expression became more general, different forms 
 for singular and plural nouns had to be invented. Then, as euphony 
 entered, exceptions arose, until now the most reliable authorities give 
 the following principles: 
 
 1. All singular nouns are made genitive by adding an apostrophe and 5. 
 a. Euphony has excepted from this rule words or phrases con- 
 taining several hissing sounds, namely, Jesus, Xerxes, Moses, 
 for conscience' sake, for goodness' sake, etc.
 
 246 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 b. But the best usage does not sanction this change for only 
 one s sound. Write James's book, the countess's ball, etc. 
 
 2. Plural nouns must be separated into two groups: 
 
 a. Those which end in j and add only the apostrophe to become 
 
 genitive. 
 
 b. Those which do not end in s and add both the apostrophe and s. 
 
 Proper nouns are seldom made plural, much less plural 
 genitive, and when they are so used the phrase form is the 
 better one to use. Illustration: "The happiness of the three 
 Helens is now complete," in preference to, "The three 
 Helens' happiness is complete." 
 
 3. When there is any doubt whether a noun should be used as singular or 
 
 as plural genitive, transpose the expression to the phrase form, thus: 
 The Hall for Students — should be, The Students' Hall. 
 The house for my doll — should be, My doll's house. 
 The work of one week — should be, A week's work. 
 A drill of ten minutes — should be, A ten minutes' drill. 
 Cautions. — To avoid confusion, emphasis must also be placed upon some 
 points which are only slightly related to these three principles. 
 
 1. Pronouns have their own genitive-case forms and need no apostrophe. 
 
 Its (not it's) home is in the mountain. One must here note that 
 it's, the contraction, is to be studied under another topic. 
 
 2. Simple plurals of nouns never have the apostrophe. The girl wears 
 
 twos (not two's). I have used four ands (not and's). I went to 
 visit the Smiths (not Smith's). 
 
 3. Letters, marks, and figures, however, form their simple plurals by 
 
 adding 's. One writes 6 a's; four +'s; five 9's, etc., but not five 
 nine's. (See preceding paragraph.) 
 C. Material (other than subject-matter) to be used in the series of recitations 
 necessary to teach this lesson: 
 
 1. Forms of applications and assignments from which to choose: 
 
 a. Children are given lists of words to be changed to genitive 
 
 form and to be followed by names of articles which might 
 be owned: 
 
 1. Of only singular nouns. 2. Of plurals not ending in s. 
 
 3. Of plurals ending in 5. 4. Of all three classes given 
 miscellaneously. 
 
 b. Complete sentences called for, these sentences to use given 
 
 words in genitive form. 
 
 c. Children asked to supply blanks in the following sentences, 
 
 which have been selected because thought is necessary to see 
 whether singular or plural genitives are to be supplied: 
 
 1. The New Foundland dog... body is large. 
 
 2. The girl... mothers were not at home. 
 
 3. The child... love for their teacher was plain. 
 
 4. The dress.... color was a lovely blue. 
 
 5. The boy.... cap was torn. 
 
 6. Both the shoe... buttons were gone. 
 
 7. The class... behavior was perfect. 
 
 8. The goose.... feathers are soft. 
 
 9. The worn.... husbands went to war.
 
 Helps on English. — Language and Composition. 247 
 
 10. The "Minute M..„" love of country made them brave 
 
 fighters. 
 
 11. My kni ... blades were all broken. 
 
 12. The doll ... hair came off. 
 
 13. The grass... green. 
 Can now be seen. 
 
 14. Many turkey... wings were used in brushing Pilgrim- 
 
 hearths. 
 
 15. The book.... tenth page is torn. 
 10. The bus ... driver was hurt. 
 
 17. For pity... sake, help me in this affair! 
 
 18. The magnet. .. power of attraction makes it useful to 
 
 man. 
 
 19. Lamb.... wool is used for many things. 
 
 20. The pupil ... last holiday was April 2. 
 
 d. After repeated drills, put with the genitive forms some simple 
 
 plurals to be supplied, because, after learning the genitive 
 form, children are inclined to use the apostrophe for mere 
 plurals where no thought of ownership enters, e. g.: 
 
 1. The boy.... like Washington. 
 
 2. February 14 is St. Valentine.... day. 
 
 3. Boy ... like that day. 
 
 4. I saw one child... valentine. 
 
 5. The heart... on it were red. 
 
 6. Six boy.... came to school. 
 
 7. One boy.... hat was torn. 
 
 8. Another boy.— book was soiled. 
 
 9. The other boy.... felt sorry. 
 
 10. No child.. .. were absent Monday. 
 
 11. The teacher.... desk is oak. 
 
 12. The flower.... on her desk look fresh. 
 
 13. Their petal— are pink. 
 
 14. The flower.... fragrance is delightful. 
 
 e. Sentences selected from history stories so that immediate ap- 
 
 plication to other lessons may be made. These may be 
 given in incorrect form to be made right: 
 
 1. Pharaoh commanded all the Israelites children to be 
 
 killed. 
 
 2. Miriam was Aarons sister. 
 
 3. Pharaohs daughter found Moses on the rivers bank. 
 
 4. Moses obeyed Gods commandments. 
 
 5. He met Jethros daughters at a well. 
 
 0. The Israelites obtained Pharaohs permission. 
 7. The Red Seas waters were parted for them to pass 
 through. 
 
 f. Children may each find five examples of the use of the apos- 
 
 trophe in any of their text-books. Copy the five sentences 
 and be ready tomorrow to read them and tell why the apos- 
 trophe is placed as it is in each case. 
 
 g. Dictation of a story employing as many genitives as possible, 
 h. Applications can be made in every succeeding lesson by call- 
 ing for the reason (or rule) whenever a genitive is noted.
 
 boy 
 
 turkey 
 
 man 
 
 sheep 
 
 child 
 
 Charles 
 
 rose 
 
 table 
 
 shoe 
 
 book 
 
 dog 
 
 foot 
 
 n satisfying 
 
 this.) 
 
 The teacher 
 
 cork 
 
 Helen 
 
 eye 
 
 girl 
 
 string 
 
 ox 
 
 church 
 
 class 
 
 glass 
 
 deer 
 
 moss 
 
 bus 
 
 goose 
 
 James 
 
 pencil 
 
 mouse 
 
 knife 
 
 lady 
 
 248 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 2. Materials and objects to have in class: Such as are needed to make 
 
 meaning clear, c. g., a piece of lambskin with wool on it, and a 
 
 slipper-sole with lambs'-wool lining. 
 
 II. — Method. — (Divided into recitation units, but not of necessity to be given 
 
 on consecutive days. In fact, a fortnight between some would produce 
 
 better results.) 
 
 First Recitation: The use of the apostrophe with singular nouns. 
 
 A. Preparation. — (To arouse the child's feeling of need, and to find what pos- 
 
 sible past knowledge he has to aid him 
 has on the board these or similar words: 
 
 gas 
 
 dress 
 
 Willie 
 
 woman 
 
 wolf 
 
 picture 
 
 The children are asked to study the words for a few minutes to be sure all are 
 known. Then the teacher questions after this fashion: 
 
 1. How many does this signify? This one? (Pointing.) Look through 
 
 the list and see how many each word signifies. 
 
 2. Do you know the meaning of ownership, or possession? Who can 
 
 suggest something that a boy may own? That a shoe may have? 
 That a table may possess? (Derive such sentences as "The boy 
 has a knife," "The shoe has a tongue," "The table has a leg." 
 
 3. These same things can be told in fewer words. Can any one think 
 
 of a short way to tell me that the table has a leg? (The table's 
 leg.) Give several others. 
 
 4. Have any of you ever seen such a phrase written? Can you write 
 
 it? (If a child can, continue.) What is that little mark which 
 you have made called? Where did you place it? 
 
 B. Development: 
 
 1. If the children's previous knowledge has made clear the proper plac- 
 
 ing of the apostrophe, the teacher needs only to drill and to give 
 opportunity to all pupils to show their grasp of the fact. If it can 
 not be derived from the past experience of the class, the teacher 
 must give the form herself, since no amount of thinking could pro- 
 duce the correct solution to this problem. 
 
 2. When the correct form has been presented, in one way or another, 
 
 the teacher continues: Some one may tell me (write) in the short- 
 est way possible that the boy has a cap, the dog has a bone, etc. 
 Tell me anything you wish that the turkey has, the ox, etc. Take 
 any object or person named in our list, think of something which 
 that object or person may have, and tell us in the shortest possible 
 way. Do this several times. 
 
 3. What have you done in every case? (Added '.?.) Why did you do 
 
 it? (To show ownership.) Why was something of the sort neces- 
 sary? (To prevent confusion with simple plurals.) How do you 
 think the apostrophe came to be chosen? (In contractions.) Illus- 
 trate. Do you think this form (table's) is any sort of contraction? 
 (See Organization of Subject-Mattcr, p. 245.)
 
 Helps on English. — Language and Composition. 249 
 
 4. Now let us see what we have learned today. What sort of words 
 have we had? (Nouns meaning only one.) Have we treated all 
 exactly alike? Then how shall we explain what we have learned 
 to do? (Some expression of the rule or principle derived, but the 
 expression must not be forced into any stereotyped form until the 
 impression (or feeling) is sufficiently strong to demand it, even if 
 left for a week. 
 C. Application. — (See full list, one of which will be chosen, c. g., use (1) sin- 
 gular nouns, under a, under 1.) 
 
 Second Recitation: The Study of Plurals. 
 (We cannot here take time to teach all the rules for forming plurals of nouns, 
 but will, instead, take simple nouns, the plurals of which are already known by 
 the children. These plurals we shall classify into very general classes. Proba- 
 bly, too, the terms "singular" and "plural" will need to be taught as the briefest 
 means of expressing the thought of "one," and of "more than one.") 
 
 A. Preparation: 
 
 1. The list of words used yesterday to be on the blackboard. 
 
 2. Review yesterday's work. What did we do to these words yester- 
 
 day? What is the sign of ownership or possession? Write the 
 word "apostrophe"; make the sign. Where is it placed in the geni- 
 tive form of each of these? Write on blackboard the new term, 
 "genitive," explaining that it is the name of the form employed to 
 show ownership, and other things to be learned later. Make any 
 two words genitive and put them into sentences. 
 
 3. Prepare for advance. Do you know what I mean by such expressions 
 
 as these? (Teacher writes on blackboard) : He is a very singular 
 man. That was the most singular story I ever heard. You are 
 a singular boy. (The children ought to feel that singular means 
 "one of a kind," so that when we call these words singular nouns, 
 the same thought of "oneness" is appreciated.) Name some more 
 singular nouns. 
 
 4. Do you know what we call nouns that mean more than one? (If no 
 
 one does, the teacher teaches the name, "plurals.") 
 
 B. Development: 
 
 1. Let us make all the words in our list plural. (Children do this. 
 
 During the process they will find that "proper nouns" are seldom 
 made plural, and why this is true.) 
 
 2. How many classes do we find? Three, namely: a. Proper nouns 
 
 seldom made plural, b. Plurals ending in 5. c. Plurals not end- 
 ing in s. 
 Let us mark the three classes with three different colors of crayon. John 
 may mark all the proper nouns; Mary those ending in s; and James those not 
 ending in 5. Lulu may copy the first list in order on this board; Jane may copy 
 the second list, and George the third. 
 
 3. Now let us see what we have learned today (a. Nouns which mean 
 
 but one are called singular nouns, b. Those which mean more 
 than one are called plural nouns, c. Proper nouns are seldom made 
 plural, d. There are two main classes of plural nouns — those 
 which end in s, and those which do not end in s.) 
 
 C. Application: Tomorrow we shall learn how to make these plural nouns 
 
 genitive in form. For study, I shall ask you to fill blanks in some sen-
 
 250 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 tences. Sometimes you will need to use the singular genitive and some- 
 times the simple plural. Try to get all correct. (The assignment will be 
 a combination of b and c under full list of applications.) 
 
 Third Recitation: The formation of Plural Genitives. 
 
 A. Preparation: 
 
 1. Review of work of preceding days: What are nouns? What are 
 
 singular nouns? What are plural nouns? How do we make sin- 
 gular nouns show ownership; that is, assume the genitive form? 
 
 2. Arouse the need for the plural genitive: Do we own things in com- 
 
 mon? Illustrate. (Several children have one teacher; one mother, 
 one father; one house, etc. Several boys own a football. Two 
 merchants own a store, etc.) 
 
 B. Development: 
 
 1. Let us learn today how to express, "The boys have a ball," or "The 
 
 children have a new teacher," in the briefest way possible. Do 
 any of you know? Let us begin by looking at the groups we studied 
 yesterday. How many groups have we? Let us talk about the 
 proper nouns first. Why seldom made plural? If made plural, 
 would several Johns or Helens probably own anything in common? 
 Then let us discard this group and look at the others. 
 
 2. Lead children to suggest articles which several men, women, or chil- 
 
 dren, could own in common. Form given. Rule made. (See Organ- 
 ization of Subject-Matter, p. 246.) Rule applied to several phrases. 
 
 3. Group three, plurals ending in s, studied. 
 
 a. Bring out the need of a plural genitive as distinctive from a 
 
 singular genitive. Contrast One boy's cap, and Two boys' 
 caps. 
 
 b. Show how the addition of the 's here would make too many s 
 
 sounds; and that to place the apostrophe alone before the s 
 in the plural word would make it exactly like the singular. 
 If no child knows what is done, tell how grammarians have 
 decided in favor of the apostrophe alone (to prevent an un- 
 due number of s sounds) placed after the 5 which ends the 
 plural, to distinguish it from the singular form. 
 
 c. Drill upon the fact by many illustrations. 
 
 d. Contrast the two methods of securing plural genitive form. 
 
 What distinguishes the plural from the singular form in 
 plurals not ending in s? In plurals ending in s? 
 
 e. Formulate a rule for writing plural genitives. (First make the 
 
 noun plural; decide about the ending; if it ends in s, add an 
 apostrophe; if it does not end in s, add '.v.) 
 
 C. Application. — Give phrases and sentences containing both sorts of plural 
 
 genitives to be written correctly. 
 
 Fourth Recitation: Distinctions in Genitives. 
 
 A. Preparation: 
 
 1. Very carefully review preceding work. 
 
 2. Help pupils to see the need of expressing correctly one's exact thoughts. 
 
 B. Development: 
 
 1. If children show their understanding of preceding work, the discus- 
 sion of some errors will lead them to see for themselves that the 
 phrase form will give the key. Select sentences containing such
 
 Helps on English. — Language and Composition. 251 
 
 errors as these: The boy's choir will meet tomorrow; the dog's 
 tails wagged joyously; the pens' point is blunt; the boys' knife is 
 broken; the girls' hat is pretty; the girl's mothers went away. 
 
 2. Test this by transposing a number of phrases to genitive form. Ex- 
 
 amples: A home for teachers; a dress for my doll; the mother of 
 the girls; the husbands of the women; a house for rabbits; a cage 
 for my bird; the teacher of the boys; the land of the Indians. 
 
 3. Test by letting pupils explain the thought of a number of correctly 
 
 written genitives, such as: This lambs' wool; the grape's seeds; the 
 tablets' pages; a week's work; ten minutes' study; contrasted with: 
 this lamb's wool; the grapes' seeds; the tablet's pages; an hour's 
 drill. (Have actual articles in class.) 
 
 4. Summarize all we have learned in the four lessons (four months, 
 
 perhaps, in time.) 
 C. Application. — Seat-work upon sentences from history. (See Applic, e, p. 247.) 
 
 Fifth Recitation: Drill on Genitives. 
 
 A. Preparation, and B, Development, made in preceding plans. 
 C. Application. — Devote the entire period to drills, tests, etc., such as are 
 suggested under Applications, a to h, p. 246. This drill will probably 
 disclose some misconceptions such as are given under "Cautions," p. 246, 
 in the Subject-Matter Division, and, as the need arises, some or all of 
 these will be explained. 
 Note. — This subject should not end here, but should be reviewed upon every 
 pertinent occasion during the months and years which follow. 
 
 2.— A FEW VOCABULARY LESSONS. 
 
 1. — A Fifth-Grade Lesson On Actions.* 
 
 Purpose. — To arouse the child to the need of accuracy in reporting actions, 
 and thus to sharpen his discrimination as to the exact meanings of words. 
 
 Preparation. — (1) A pantomime was worked out by the class from their 
 knowledge of certain selected persons who were to be imitated. (2) The panto- 
 mime was performed, and described in writing by each child. (3) Each report 
 was tested by action. (4) This composite report was put upon the board and 
 tested, bit by bit: Miss Pratt sat at her desk, with her forhead propped in her 
 hands, studying diligently. After a while Superintendent Charters entered, with 
 his head bowed in thought, one hand thrust into his pocket and the other pulling 
 at his lower lip. He came up to the desk with long, slow strides. "How is your 
 school getting on?" he asked. Miss Pratt started with surprise. "Oh, pretty 
 well," she answered. 
 
 Check. — It was found that the persons described could perform the actions 
 without error from the written account, hence no revision was needed. 
 
 2. — Fifth-Grade Vocabulary Work On Winter Weather, with two 
 themes to illustrate the result. 
 
 a. Words describing a dark day, derived from the class: 
 rainy windy cloudy gloomy dull miserable 
 
 wet dark sloppy misty cold bad 
 
 damp foggy dreamy wintry slushy winter 
 
 cool breezy 
 
 * Fifth-grade work done by Mrs. Weaver (formerly Miss Pratt).
 
 252 
 
 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 b. Words to be used in describing a snowy day, volunteered by the class: 
 
 soft 
 
 heavy 
 
 silvery 
 
 damp 
 
 sticky 
 
 icy 
 
 sugar 
 
 deep 
 
 light 
 
 dry 
 
 hard 
 
 frosty 
 
 clear 
 
 drifting 
 
 freezing 
 
 fluffy 
 
 quivering 
 
 frozen 
 
 white 
 
 dazzling 
 
 banked 
 
 cutting 
 
 cold 
 
 slippery 
 
 fleecy 
 
 fine 
 
 shining 
 
 floating 
 
 crusty 
 
 glittering 
 
 flaky 
 
 clean 
 
 watery 
 
 glistening 
 
 crystal 
 
 fluttering 
 
 heaped 
 
 flying 
 
 wet 
 
 sparkling 
 
 
 
 c. Words derived to 
 
 show how the snow falls: 
 
 
 
 gently 
 
 thickly 
 
 quietly 
 
 heavily 
 
 wonderfully 
 
 lazily 
 
 softly 
 
 easily 
 
 beautifully 
 
 down 
 
 fast 
 
 rapidly 
 
 swiftly 
 
 slowly 
 
 smoothly 
 
 silently 
 
 drowsily 
 
 silently 
 
 lightly 
 
 quickly 
 
 
 
 
 
 d. First composition: This week the snow fell nearly every day. The snow 
 is about a foot deep. Every morning I get up very early and shovel paths to 
 the barn, and to our pump and shovel paths outside the yard. The first time it 
 snowed the wind blew and heaped the snow up high and in some places there 
 was no snow at all. Every evening after school, some boys and I go in the deep 
 snow and play. — Herman K. 
 
 e. Second illustration: The snow is coming down faster than yesterday and 
 besides the flakes are big and flaky. They are pure white and not so mealy as 
 the other snow was and when they come down they are quiet. As the flakes 
 fall on the ground they look as if they are thankful it is so white that they look 
 like a white bed spread for the earth and plants. — Clarence L. 
 
 3. — Seventh-Grade Work on Wintry Weather. 
 
 This helps one to see the growth to be secured in two years. The vocabu- 
 lary in each effort is the result of some class-work upon the subject, where lists 
 of suitable expressions were secured by contributions from all, arid also from 
 literature taken in the reading and other lessons and carried over to the lan- 
 guage; as, aisles of steel-stemmed trees, arabesques, fret-work, diamond drops, from 
 "Sir Launfal"; and costly ermine, from "The First Snowfall." Three themes are 
 given to show that in spite of class-work on vocabulary, great individuality can 
 be secured in the written results: 
 
 c. The trees are all covered this morning with an exquisite feathery down 
 which is very beautiful to the spectator. They look very delicate and dainty 
 from the tip of every branch and twig to the very base of the tree. It makes a 
 person walking under them think of fairy land with aisles of steel-stemmed trees. 
 — Frank D. 
 
 b. Today the trees, bushes, and houses are covered with a beautiful and 
 exquisitely delicate covering of fleecy whiteness, outlined against a sky of azure 
 blue. The sun shining through the fret-work of twigs and branches touches 
 them making them sparkle with a delicate kind of beauty and making an ideal 
 winter day. — Flora L. 
 
 c. When I looked out of the window this morning I was wonderfully impressed 
 by the mystic sight of the world. Not only was the ground piled high with the 
 soft white snow, but the trees were most delicately clothed with frail, feathery 
 frost, making a beautiful, fairy-like scene. — Mary Frances T. 
 
 * All seventh-grade work used was done by Miss Carrie F. Saunders.
 
 Helps on English. — Language and Composition. 253 
 
 3.— ILLUSTRATIONS OF DESCRIPTIVE WRITING. 
 
 1. — Seventh-Grade Work, Using Pictures. 
 
 (All errors are left as they were made by the pupils in both descriptions and 
 narrations.) 
 
 THE WAVE. 
 
 The picture is not a very large one, yet a very great expanse of water is shown. 
 
 The sea looks as though a storm was coming, for great waves are rolling 
 toward the shore and in the foreground the surf is boiling and frothing. The 
 waves are crested with white-caps, underneath which are dark hollows. 
 
 Flocks of sea gulls are flying and skimming across the stormy water. Their 
 forms are scarcely seen against the lowering clouds. The sky is a sober gray 
 making a very dismal scene. 
 
 In the distance a ship is seen fighting its way through the angry waves and 
 trying in vain to get to the rock-bound coast. — Flora L. 
 
 THE WAVE. 
 
 Although the picture is not large, there is an immense tract of rough water 
 shown seemingly never ending. 
 
 The frothing waves dash against the rock-bound coast without pity, some- 
 times bursting out like a volcano. Looking farther on, one can see the white- 
 crested waves dashing rapidly onward, broken up here and there by dark valleys 
 and hills. 
 
 Off in the distance a ship can be seen, beaten on all sides by the fierce uplift- 
 ing waves, and making its way toward land through the stormy waters. 
 
 To the right of this are a few sea gulls soaring through the somber sky, toward 
 the forlorn ship, for food. 
 
 The lowering, black clouds are trying their best in making the waves have 
 their white caps on. — Meta D. 
 
 THE WAVE. 
 
 The most conspicuous thing in this picture is the stormy sea, with its undu- 
 lating hills and valleys. Off in the distance one can see the towering waves 
 come rushing madly on towards the shore, where they lash with merciless power 
 against the rock-bound coast. 
 
 One lonely ship can be seen clear off on the dim horizon with a flock of sea 
 gulls soaring over the water near by which shows that land is not far off. 
 
 Above the storm tossed waves, the sky is full of dark threatening clouds. — 
 Frances S. 
 
 THE. OCEAN. 
 
 Although the picture is not a large one it shows a very large area of stormy 
 sea. As the big dark waves come rushing in from the distance they seem to get 
 larger till at last one big wave stretches across the entire picture, then the water 
 moves onward till it reaches the shore and dashes on the rock-bound coast. 
 
 In the distance you can see a ship tossed about by the angry waters and the 
 dark gray clouds seem to touch the very masts of it. 
 
 Farther to the right is a large flock of sea gulls sailing along the water after 
 the ship. — George B. 
 
 THE OCEAN. 
 
 Although the picture is small it shows a vast expanse of water. In the fore- 
 ground the low foaming waters dash madly against the unseen coast, a few huge 
 rocks stand out from the shore around which the waves whirl angrily.
 
 254 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 Farther back is a mighty towering white-capped wave stretching from one 
 side of the picture to the other. Back of the wave as far as the eye can see is a 
 vast stretch of storm-tossed water. 
 
 Dreary gray clouds overhang the ocean. Far out to the left of the picture 
 is a small sailing vessel barely visible behind the large waves. 
 
 A number of large sea gulls are soaring above the water to the right. — James T. 
 
 2. — Eighth-Grade Work, Using Pictures.* 
 
 the departure of the pilgrims from holland. 
 Walking down the shore at Delft Haven, Holland, in the year 1620, I saw 
 about fifteen people gathered on the shore and some were in a small boat. Get- 
 ting nearer I could see that most of them were on their knees. One of the fore- 
 most men looked to be a young priest. He was looking up toward heaven with 
 his arms outstretched. Some of the others' heads were bent in prayer and some 
 were watching those in the boat. On the whole the people looked very wistful 
 and sad. There was sorrow on the faces of the men and women in the boat 
 who, I believe, hated to leave. This was quite a contrast to the young children 
 and the unruly dog who were full of excitement. Two strong men standing by 
 the boat gave it a push and sent it into the deep water. There was then a wav- 
 ing of hands as the boat departed. I afterward found out that they were the 
 Pilgrims leaving for the New World. — Milton P. 
 
 WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE. 
 
 One evening at Valley Forge I was walking through the woods wondering 
 what would become of our army. Suddenly upon glancing up I beheld Wash- 
 ington, in six inches of snow, on his knees in prayer, not two rods off. I shall 
 never forget the sincerity of this great man nor the appealing look on his care- 
 worn but resolute face as the accents of his petition sounded forth under those 
 bare, uninviting, snow-laden trees. — Jay R. 
 
 THE DEATH OF GENERAL WOLFE. 
 
 General Wolfe is dying on the edge of a battle field. Lying in the center of 
 a group of men and resting on one arm, with his hat on the ground before him, 
 he lifts his eyes to heaven. The calmness on his face contrasts greatly with the 
 intense grief of his comrades. Three of the men kneel beside him with sad anxious 
 faces and hold their dying leader up. Two men stand behind Wolfe bending 
 over so they can see his face. One of these men is holding the flag Wolfe loves 
 so much. The two soldiers that have just rushed up are the ones that have the 
 news of the victory. The other men stand wringing their hands and sorrowing 
 over their leader's death. Even the Indian sitting there on the ground seems 
 touched by the sad spectacle before him. — Marion R. 
 
 3. — Eighth-Grade Work, Using a Quotation for a Foundation. 
 
 on the farm. 
 
 "The gate of the barn-yard creaked beneath the merry weight of sun-brown 
 children, listening while they swung." — Whitticr. The great golden sun is setting 
 behind the soft, green hills. Three roguish, laughing children are swinging on 
 the gate of the barn-yard. Their hair, brushed so neatly in the morning, is all 
 tumbled now and falls over the grimy little faces. The red lips are made redder 
 by the strawberry stains upon them, and their legs, faces and arms are brown 
 as an Indian's. The cows they are watching are straggling up the barn-yard 
 
 * Eighth-grade work done by Miss Agnes Storie.
 
 Helps on English. — Language and Composition. 255 
 
 and every now and then they can hear the faint tinkle of the bell upon the leader's 
 neck. — Marion R. * 
 
 THE VIEW FROM THE BARN-YARD GATE. 
 
 "The gate of the barn-yard creaked beneath the merry weight of sun-brown 
 children, listening while they swung." — Whitticr. Back and forth swung an old 
 barn-yard gate, weighed down by four laughing children, who, in the cool of the 
 evening, were listening to the katy-dids, crickets and an occasional tinkle of a 
 cow-bell, and looking before them at the pretty scene. Broad fields of grain 
 swayed gently in the soft, cool breeze. The trees, too, huge poplars, slightly 
 stirred and nodded. Best of all was the sun, a great ball of fire, gradually sink- 
 ing behind the hazy horizon. The children quietly swinging gazed long at this 
 scene even after the sun had gone down, leaving many colored streaks and a 
 faint outline of a sun dog. — Alice I. 
 
 4. — Eighth-Grade Work — An impromptu effort to establish a given at- 
 mosphere. 
 
 A GARDEN DESOLATE. 
 
 For a quarter of a century the garden had lain desolate. Here and there 
 among a forest of tangled weeds a stray primrose or a sickly looking daisy had 
 fought its way through only to droop and lean wearily as if the struggle had been 
 so prolonged and difficult that its very life had been sapped away. Were the 
 weeds not so matted one could dimly discern traces of what used to be stately 
 walks bordering formal gradens. 
 
 Over in one corner of the garden stood a rustic bench, moss covered and de- 
 crepit, which had once been strong and artistic. In another corner stands a 
 trellis, broken and sagging, a wilderness of white roses crowded over it in reckless 
 confusion. From a distance they looked beautiful, but on closer observation it 
 is discovered tha-t each rose's heart has an evil mildew poisoning it. 
 
 In the center of this wild picture is a fountain, cracked and yawning, with 
 the leaves of a quarter of a century rotting in its basin. It must have been ex- 
 ceedingly beautiful in the days of its youth, for under the blackened surface, 
 filled with dirt, are exquisite carvings of winged creatures, flowers, dragons and 
 beautiful scrolls worked out in delicate fineness. The garden is enclosed by a 
 fence, leaning here and upright there, in some places gaping, giving the passer-by 
 an occasional fleeting glimpse of the picture of utter ruin and desolation lying 
 within. — Eunice M. 
 
 4.— WORK LEADING UP TO NARRATIVE WRITING. 
 
 (This is a concise report of work actually done in one seventh grade by Mrs. 
 C. B. Chorpenning and Miss Carrie F. Saunders.) 
 
 A. Nov. 15. — A situation presented: On the Ice. 
 
 1. Six boys — Damasius, Earl, Howard, Henry, Dean, Edward. 
 Four girls — Florence, Mildred, Helen, Ruth. 
 
 2. A dilapidated rail fence running along the bank. 
 
 3. The bank so low as to be easily scaled. 
 
 4. A tree overhanging the bank. 
 
 5. Henry falls in. 
 
 B. Question: What did each of the others do? 
 
 Howard ran for a rope. The other girls and Damasius were not able 
 Edward ran for a rail. to think of anything to do. 
 
 Florence ran for help. Earl came up from a distance. 
 Dean built a bonfire.
 
 256 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 C. Class asked to write what Howard did. 
 
 Problem — To show haste; to introduce the elements of rescue; rope, rail, etc. 
 Secured the following expressions: 
 
 like a shot 
 
 rushed 
 
 Howard, remembering the rope 
 
 like an arrow 
 
 sped 
 
 Howard, seeing the rope 
 
 like the wind 
 
 instantly 
 
 Howard, noticing the rope 
 
 like a flash 
 
 immediately 
 
 rope which 
 
 at full speed 
 
 flew 
 
 rope that 
 
 shot 
 
 flashed 
 
 
 D. Nov. 16. — Class asked to write what Edward did. 
 
 Problem — To show haste and that it was done at the same time as Howard's 
 effort. Secured: 
 
 lost no time at the same time jerked 
 
 redoubled his speed while seized 
 
 with all possible speed just as quick tug of war 
 
 at the same moment tore 
 
 E. Nov. 17. — Class asked to give an account of what each of the party did as 
 
 Henry fell in, showing simultaneous action. 
 
 F. Nov. 20. — Work for sentence response. Show Henry screaming as he went 
 
 into the water; his efforts to get out. Sentence given: With a terrified yell 
 as he sank into the icy water, Henry made frantic efforts to get out. 
 Make efforts to get out the strongest. 
 
 G. Nov. 22. — Make condition in the water strongest. Choking, sputtering, gur- 
 
 gling. Down, down he sank. 
 H. Nov. 23. — Make warmth strongest. Sentence given: Henry was warmed by 
 
 the glowing fire. Analyzed into four parts: Henry, fire, brightness, warmth. 
 I. Nov. 24. — Make brightness strongest. 
 J. Dec. 5-9. — Writing entire story, revising each day; trying to increase the 
 
 clearness of each point, especially the readiness with which some devised 
 
 means of help. 
 K. Dec. 12. — School divided into two sections, each section making a united 
 
 effort to perfect all its papers in regard to capitalization, punctuation, and 
 
 paragraphing. Members of each section might consult each other when 
 
 in doubt. 
 L. Dec. 13. — Same with regard to spelling. Misspelled words on papers had 
 
 been written correctly on board by teacher before the lesson. 
 M. Final papers copied on white paper. One is given below as an illustration. 
 
 A SCARE. 
 
 It was a bright, clear winter day about four o'clock. It was bitterly cold. 
 
 Helen, Mildred, Ruth, Florence, Edward, Damasius and Dean were standing 
 near the bank of a stream waiting for a race that was about to take place. How- 
 ard and Henry were preparing to race. Earl, standing by the starting place, 
 gave the signal to start. Away they went. All went smoothly for a while. 
 Henry began to gain. He glided past Howard. Put the race did not last very 
 long. There was a scream and a splash. Henry had fallen in! With his mouth 
 open, he sank under the icy cold water. He rose, sputtering and choking, grasp- 
 ing wildly for something to take hold of. 
 
 But while poor Henry was fighting with death, something else was going on. 
 Howard wheeled around and flew, with three times the speed he had raced, to a 
 rope he had remembered seeing entangled in a fence near by. He got the rope and 
 flew back passing Damasius, Mildred, Helen and Ruth, who were paralyzed with
 
 Helps on English. — Language and Composition. 257 
 
 fear and whizzing past Edward who was tugging at a rail on the fence. Florence 
 started to the nearest house for help and Dean had a bon-fire built in less time 
 than it takes words to tell it. Earl hastened to the scene of disaster in time to 
 take the rope from Howard, who was nearly exhausted, and threw it toward 
 Henry, who grasped it as tightly as his numb lingers would permit him. 
 
 This happened in such a short time that Florence didn't have to get very 
 far and was called back. She hastened back to find a happy party surrounding 
 the cheerful fire. Henry was thoroly warmed and dry by this time. After the 
 party got warm, they started off to their homes none the worse for their scare. 
 
 Illustrations of Final Stories from Other Problems, 
 home from a nutting party. 
 
 It was in the fall of the year and four boys, Phil, John, Jay and Charles, 
 were on the way home from a nutting party, on which Charles had fallen out of 
 a nut tree and had sprained his ankle, but the other boys had had better luck 
 than that, they each had a bag of nuts. 
 
 Their faces were dusty and in fact they were dusty from head to foot. The 
 hot sun poured down upon them and the perspiration was rolling off of them in 
 little streams. 
 
 While the}' were walking along under the shade of a few friendly maple trees, 
 that hung over the edge of the bluff, they heard in the distance a rumbling noise 
 that sounded like an avalanche, but they knew it was a runaway team. 
 
 On hearing the rapidly approaching hoof beats the boys became frightened 
 and nervous and began looking for a place of safety. Charles finally decided to 
 climb the steep bluff. So with a frantic struggle and a deep respiration he started 
 the duty that his life depended upon. He kept saying to himself "it can be done, 
 it can be done." He succeeded in his attempt and finally arrived at a place of 
 security. 
 
 In the mean time the other three boys were looking around to see where they 
 could go. Phil was excited and his breath came in gasps, and his teeth were 
 chattering. The predicament he was in was enough to "freeze your young blood." 
 He and Jay had decided to leave their nuts in the middle of the road because 
 they thought it would stop the horses. After carefully putting their bags of 
 nuts in the road they started down the cliff, but all the time they had their 
 minds on the nearing team. 
 
 John thinking his bag of nuts would bring him in some change began climb- 
 ing the bluff after Charles with them. With his great hindrance he succeeded 
 in his task. 
 
 The boys were no more out of danger than, with a roar and a crash, the horses 
 dashed by. — Nanna B. 
 
 THE FIRE. 
 
 Cold, bleak, biting weather. Level stretches of glittering snow, broken by 
 trees made intensely black by the cold moon and stars. Houses and scarred 
 bluffs in the distance. 
 
 In one of these houses a girl was asleep. A whistle sounded loud and clear. 
 Maude stirred. Another whistle. She rubbed her eyes and sat up looking none 
 too good natured. Again the whistle! She got out of bed and pattered across 
 the floor to the window where she looked out. Nothing in sight. Oh yes! A 
 wreath of gray smoke whirled out of a window of the large brick building across 
 the street. It was the Normal School!! She hastily summoned her father who 
 had not been awakened by the alarm. Then she dressed with frantic haste.
 
 258 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 As she was hurrying on her coat the chief's wagon whirled madly down Main 
 Street, clanging its bell and leaving a line of gaping windows and whirling snow 
 in its wake. It had scarcely been seen before the hook and ladder dashed past. 
 The clang clan-n-n-n-ng on the startled air brought fearful thoughts to many 
 minds. Shrieking and banging the chemical rushed swiftly onward and the people 
 were thoroly aroused as the hose cart galloped past. Shouts and screams min- 
 gled with the sound of banging doors and windows were heard as Maude stumbled 
 down the steps and across the street clinging tightly to her father's hand. She 
 had no sooner come to the curbing when she saw a moving figure near the north 
 corner of the building. It was Mr. Maxwell! She had hardly comprehended 
 who it was when she was stumbling into a smothering biting mass of sharp snow. 
 She gathered herself up, laughing, with wrists and face scratched and smarting. 
 Her father caught her hand and she found herself flying over the fence. On she 
 scrambled thru the snow. She ran to the corner where Mr. Maxwell's house was 
 and seated herself on the fence. 
 
 By this time darting tongues of flame were cutting the rolling masses of swirl- 
 ing smoke and throwing a ghastly light on the building and faces. The fire was 
 well under way when discovered or it would not have been so fierce now. When 
 any one could see the moon the fire made it a trembling blot of silvery light 
 which was quickly clouded over by the masses of night-like smoke. 
 
 In a quick orderly way the firemen had gone about their respective duties 
 and masterful order only was seen among the rubber mailed bodies. All of a 
 sudden a low rumbling sound was heard and a great dash of water came with 
 powerful force against and into the building. Then some men entered and 
 chopped away parts of the woodwork and water was directed toward the open- 
 ing thus made. For a long time the fire rose and fell, and then swelled again, 
 but the firemen got the best of it. — Lelia M. 
 
 5.— AN EIGHTH-GRADE NEWSPAPER.* 
 
 An Experiment in English Involving Unity of Purpose as Against Indi- 
 vidual Effort. 
 
 E. Catherine Burkholder, 
 State Normal School, Winona, Minnesota. 
 
 The entire composition class of thirty-nine eighth-grade pupils resolved itself 
 into an office force and devoted its composition time for two weeks to newspaper 
 work. The paper was to be finished by the end of two weeks and was to be 
 read by members of the "force" before an assembly of all the grades. The time 
 limit furnished an incentive for writing under stress, and the prospective audience 
 furnished the motive for creditable work. At the first few meetings of the force 
 preliminary problems were considered. The most important of these were: (1) 
 Length of time for reading the paper; (2) size and form of paper; (3) audience; (4) 
 nature of material to go into paper; (5) plan of manipulation of work. After 
 discussion we decided to "get out" a paper that could be read to an audience in 
 twenty-five minutes. Children from the first grade through the seventh, with 
 their teachers, supervisors, and principal, made up the audience. This presented 
 a problem as to subject-matter. We decided that articles must be written which 
 would be of interest to little children and yet be worthy of eighth-grade efforts. 
 This led to consideration of the nature of the material: Should the paper contain 
 
 * Reprinted here by courtesy of the author and of the publishers of The Elementary School 
 Teacher for May, 1914.
 
 Helps on English. — Language and Composition. 259 
 
 town news or school news? Should it be of local or of general interest? After a 
 
 frank discussion some one suggested that we consider the school as a locality or 
 
 community, and that the children, teachers, and all connected with the school, 
 
 be considered the citizens, and that the different phases of school-work, such as 
 
 manual training, gymnasium, reading, geography, etc., constitute the enterprises 
 
 of the community. This was satisfactory to all, for now we could get out a 
 
 newspaper concerned entirely with school affairs. It was still left to consider 
 
 under what heads our articles should appear. The children were all emphatic 
 
 in holding entirely to the newspaper idea, and this list of headings was decided 
 
 upon: 
 
 Personal Mention Poem Cartoons 
 
 Editorial Market Reports Advertisements 
 
 City News Weather Report Funny Column 
 
 Story Sporting News 
 
 Before the force could get down to writing, there were still considerations to 
 be disposed of. The paper was to be read the Friday preceding Thanksgiving, 
 hence it was decided that it should be a Thanksgiving- number, and the Presi- 
 dent's proclamation was added to our list. It was suggested that the story ought 
 to be a Thanksgiving one. Cartoons appropriate and advertisements incident 
 to Thanksgiving seemed easy. 
 
 We decided that in addition to our other topics we would write up some 
 phase of the work connected with each room in the elementary school. We 
 planned that these articles should make up an important part of the material of 
 the paper, for, as one girl put it, "That will make it easy to interest the children, 
 for even the first-grade children will like to hear what we have to say about them." 
 
 As to manipulation of the work: An editor-in-chief and two assistants were 
 elected. The three boys at once felt the responsibility of making it "go." 
 Reporters were also elected — two for each room in the elementary school and 
 two for each of the other headings in our list. 
 
 The editor-in-chief and his assistants thought it would be wise that everybody 
 on the force should write an editorial and allow the editors to choose the best 
 one. This plan was also suggested for the story. One meeting was taken up 
 with a discussion on "editorials." At its close the children knew the essentials 
 of a good one. They knew where it was to be found in the paper and they had 
 decided that theirs should set forth the sentiments of their paper in regard to 
 Thanksgiving. Some of the editorials were quite good, but the editors saw how 
 it was possible to work up a fine one by putting together selected thoughts from 
 all. This is the editorial as it went into the paper: 
 
 This paper believes that "the best Thanksgiving is Thanksliving." We ought to make every 
 day in the year a Thanksgiving day. Most people seem to think that a good time, a holiday, 
 and a big dinner — with emphasis on the dinner — constitute a perfect Thanksgiving. But we would 
 have them remember the old saying of Shakespeare, "Yet for aught I see they are sick that surfeit 
 with too much as they that starve with nothing." 
 
 By far the most interesting feature of all the work was that in connection 
 with the reports from the several rooms. The reporters asked the teachers for 
 interviews and arranged for a visiting time when they might observe the work 
 going on. I saw in advance the different teachers and explained fully to them 
 what we were doing. I asked them to grant the visiting-time to the reporters 
 when there was work going on that they would like especially well to have re- 
 ported. (Cooperation here meant a unifying influence so far as the school as a 
 whole was concerned.) 
 
 At the appointed times the reporters went for their visits. They always 
 came back scarcely able to wait until they could find time to write up what they
 
 260 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 had seen and heard. The two reporters from each room worked together and 
 came to me with their articles or asked permission to read them to the class. 
 All the articles that went into the paper were read to the entire class for sugges- 
 tions, the class taking on the attitude of an audience to see whether or no the 
 writing was clear and interesting. Criticism was free and often severe, but com- 
 mon interest in the paper made it easy to give and easy to take. The reporters 
 were always eager to go to work at revising or rewriting. In several instances 
 the articles were worked over the fourth and fifth time — the children never 
 showing any signs of weariness. Here are two articles typical of room reports: 
 
 MISS STAPLES'S ROOM (FIRST GRADE). 
 
 Last week on Thursday afternoon Miss Staples's room was visited by two reporters of this 
 paper. It is a light, cheery room with large east windows. It is also made pleasant with its 
 cream-colored walls, brown woodwork, plants, palms, and goldfish. 
 
 At half-past one the attention of the school was called by the words, "Lips still." Then the 
 children were requested to raise their hands so Miss Staples might see if they were clean. The B 
 reading -class got their chairs and placed them very carefully and quietly in a semicircle in the front 
 of the room, while the C class passed to the board to draw houses and trees that they could see 
 out of the window. The children were very much interested in their reading, and they dramatized 
 it very well by putting a great deal of feeling into it. The general attitude of the room was very 
 good. • 
 
 The desks are placed in a sort of semicircle so that the children can watch each other while 
 they recite. The tennis shoes are fastened on the rod under the desk. On the right side of each 
 desk is a black pocket. The contents of this pocket are: A box of paints, a paint-dish, a paint- 
 cloth, a box of crayons, a pair of scissors, a button-hook, and a finger-nail cleaner. On the other 
 side of the desk is another pocket containing a drinking-cup wrapped in a napkin to keep it clean. 
 
 As a part of the children's work, they make up dreams. They fold their arms and dream. 
 Those who have dreams pass to the front of the room to tell them. This is good practice for them 
 to learn to speak before an audience. One little boy dreamed this: "I dreamed it was the Fourth 
 of July and I was a fire-cracker. Pretty soon I turned into a torpedo. I had a face and arms 
 and legs. I was walking along the street and I tripped and fell on my side and exploded." 
 
 STORIES BY MISS MARVIN'S PUPILS (FOURTH GRADE). 
 
 The pupils of Miss Marvin's room were writing stories of dogs on Thursday morning of last 
 week. All the stories are to be typewritten by the pupils themselves, bound in a book, and then 
 sent to the children at the hospital. 
 
 These stories were illustrated in three different ways: with kodak pictures, freehand drawings, 
 and with tracings. Copies are to be kept also and sent to the Tri-County Fair next fall. 
 
 These are some of the best subjects: "My Old Cat on Sunday Morning," "A Story of Prince," 
 "My Cat Tempest," "A True Story of Rover," "The Result of His Visit," "A True Story of 
 Rags." They were all very good. 
 
 As time drew near for the paper to be finished, during office hours (compo- 
 sition and penmanship time) nearly all phases of the work in all stages of devel- 
 opment could be seen going on. Interviews, writing, revising, cartoon-making, 
 conferences with the editors, etc., were in progress. The children were at work 
 singly and in groups in the main office (our schoolroom), at the tables in the 
 text-book library, and at the long table in the principal's office. 
 
 We called the paper the Elementary School Weekly. It was hand-printed on 
 a double sheet of four pages. Each page was 15x13 inches in size and was divided 
 into four columns — the customary margins being allowed. The cartoons were 
 reproduced on large sheets of tagboard and placed where they could be seen 
 easily by the audience. Members of the force read to the audience the different 
 articles in the paper, including the "funny column" and advertisements. Proof 
 of its success was the fact that it held the entire attention of all the audience 
 during the reading. 
 
 As to results: Aside from the benefits in English resulting from opportunity 
 offered for spontaneity and freedom of expression, the children had had experi-
 
 Arithmetic Aids. 
 
 261 
 
 ence in doing team-work — they had worked together for a common end and knew 
 they had done something worth while. This gave them confidence and assurance, 
 which showed in greater strength of attack upon other school affairs involving 
 sustained effort, cooperation, and power of initiative. 
 
 E.— ONE HUNDRED SPELLING DEMONS OF THE EN- 
 GLISH LANGUAGE.* 
 
 (Order not significant after first four.) 
 
 which 
 
 hear 
 
 seems 
 
 says 
 
 though 
 
 whole 
 
 their 
 
 here 
 
 Tuesday 
 
 having 
 
 coming 
 
 won't 
 
 there 
 
 write 
 
 wear 
 
 just 
 
 early 
 
 cough 
 
 separate 
 
 writing 
 
 answer 
 
 doctor 
 
 instead 
 
 piece 
 
 don't 
 
 heard 
 
 two 
 
 whether 
 
 easy 
 
 raise 
 
 meant 
 
 does 
 
 too 
 
 believe 
 
 through 
 
 ache 
 
 business 
 
 once 
 
 ready 
 
 knew 
 
 every 
 
 read 
 
 many 
 
 would 
 
 forty 
 
 laid 
 
 they 
 
 said 
 
 friend 
 
 can't 
 
 hour 
 
 tear 
 
 half 
 
 hoarse 
 
 some 
 
 sure 
 
 trouble 
 
 choose 
 
 break 
 
 shoes 
 
 been 
 
 loose 
 
 among 
 
 tired 
 
 buy 
 
 tonight 
 
 since 
 
 lose 
 
 busy 
 
 grammar 
 
 again 
 
 wrote 
 
 used 
 
 Wednesday 
 
 built 
 
 minute 
 
 very 
 
 enough 
 
 always 
 
 country 
 
 color 
 
 any 
 
 none 
 
 truly 
 
 where 
 
 February 
 
 making 
 
 much 
 
 week 
 
 sugar 
 
 women 
 
 know 
 
 dear 
 
 beginning 
 
 often 
 
 straight 
 
 done 
 
 could 
 
 guess 
 
 blue 
 
 
 
 V.— ARITHMETIC AIDS. 
 
 A.— OUTLINE OF SOCIAL SITUATIONS WITHIN WHICH 
 VARIOUS ARITHMETICAL PROCESSES DEVELOPED. 
 
 Note: The succeding outline is an attempt to show more clearly how each commonly taught 
 topic of arithmetic develops in the child's evolution as it did in the evolution of the race, and, 
 consequently, how each topic can be motivated and given its rightful evaluation. 
 
 I. Barter — Exchange of wholes, without forethought or imagination. Different 
 
 articles evaluated by immediate needs or by the feelings, as primitive 
 peoples exchange furs for bright beads, or as boys exchange a knife for a 
 bite of apple. Such exchange is often ignored later; for example, the In- 
 dian sometimes wanted his blanket returned, or the child desires his knife 
 after the apple is eaten. 
 
 A. Counting, about the only number process needed, naturally developed 
 
 from rhythmic movements in dealing out articles. 
 
 B. What little ratio seeing there is, is inaccurate; controlled by the feelings. 
 
 II. Exchange — Made with more thought; articles evaluated by less emotional 
 
 standards; greater equality of values present. 
 A. Need of comparison developed. 
 1. Indefinite comparisons. 
 
 * From the "Concrete Investigation of the Material of English Spelling," The University of 
 South Dakota, Vermilion. Price 10c.
 
 262 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 a. Larger, smaller, longer, taller, etc. 
 
 b. Equals recognized. 
 2. Definite comparisons. 
 
 a. Sums and differences developed to answer how much more or 
 
 less. 
 
 b. Products and ratios developed to answer how many times or 
 
 what part. 
 
 B. Need of measuring felt. 
 
 1. Natural standards — foot, span, etc. 
 
 2. Units of denominate-number tables developed. 
 
 C. Economy demanded division of wholes into parts — [Compare money val- 
 
 ues, sales, etc., of pioneer days in any locality with the same of modern 
 days, where population is crowded: 25c or 5c the smallest coin versus cent 
 today, in the United States; money equal to one-tenth of a cent in many 
 foreign lands. Eggs by the dozen (often the baker's dozen, 13) versus by 
 the pound. Numerous illustrations can be found.] Hence, there were 
 felt certain needs: 
 
 1. Need of fractions to express the fragments or fractured wholes. 
 
 2. Need of complete denominate-number tables with definite relations 
 
 between measures. Standard measures fixed by law. 
 
 3. Symbols needed to express relations in long computations. 
 
 a. Roman. b. Arabic or Hindu. 
 
 III. Merchantry conducted to help both the merchant and society. 
 
 A. Goods evaluated according to — 
 
 1. Law of supply and demand. 
 
 2. What others charge. 
 
 3. Merchant's need of selling — 
 
 a. To prevent loss. 
 
 b. To prevent bankruptcy, causing others to lose, etc. 
 
 B. As fractional relations became complicated, there grew up a decimal sys- 
 
 tem of whole numbers and fractions, and, in some countries, of measures, 
 too. 
 
 C. The merchant's need of making a living created a system of selling for profit. 
 
 Keeping account of what goods brought best and poorest returns resulted 
 in a study of "profit and loss," "book-keeping," etc. 
 
 D. A merchant's need of money to keep the business going resulted in various 
 
 business operations: 
 
 1. Partnership (cumbersome, awkward, embarrassing at times.) 
 
 2. Borrowing money and hence paying "interest," giving a "mortgage," 
 
 making a "note." 
 3.. Selling goods at a "discount" for the sake of cash. 
 
 4. Organizing stock companies and issuing "stocks and bonds." 
 
 E. Computing discounts, interest, etc., "on the hundred" found easy, hence 
 
 "percentage" developed. 
 
 F. The need of the merchant particularly, but of any individual, to protect 
 
 his goods against loss by some accident, brought about the business of 
 "insurance." 
 
 G. The need of cooperation for the sake of protection and economy (of time, 
 
 energy, and money), caused "assessments" to be made, "taxes" to be 
 levied, and a system of "banking" to be built up.
 
 Arithmetic Aids. 263 
 
 IV. The selling of labor, rather than of produce, created a need for certain "men- 
 
 suration" processes. 
 
 A. In building a house, barn, poultry-house, granary, etc. 
 
 1. Excavating for cellar, cistern, drains, etc. 
 
 2. Building the foundations, chimneys, and other masonry. 
 
 3. Carpentry — measurements of joists, beams, sheathing, clapboarding, 
 
 shingling, etc. 
 
 4. Plastering, painting, papering, and related processes. 
 
 5. Plumbing, ventilating, heating problems. 
 
 B. In planting fields and gardens. 
 
 1. Land measurements. 2. Fencing. 3. Drainage, etc. 
 
 C. In furnishing a home. 
 
 1. Carpet laying. 2. Curtain making. 
 
 3. Planning the fuel problem — wood measure, or coal-bin capacity, for 
 example, and other processes easily seen. 
 
 V. Commerce (quite properly applied to the whole subject, but used in its more 
 
 specific sense of a wider exchange of merchantry). 
 
 A. Goods evaluated according to — 
 
 1. World's supply and demand. 
 
 2. Protection of home industries, "duties," "tariff," etc. 
 
 3. Cost of transportation. 
 
 4. Protection of retail merchants. 
 
 5. Protection of labor — "sweatshops," etc. 
 
 B. Arithmetical processes in addition to those given are few — possibly only 
 
 "duties," "commission," and "brokerage." Of course there is a wider 
 use of all the earlier-developed processes, such as money-lending and 
 banking; and an extension of mensuration processes as needed in wholesale 
 business — bins, carloads, tanks, ships' capacities, etc. 
 The real science of arithmetic should be studied in college, after algebra and 
 geometry have been pursued in high school; the business of the elementary 
 school is to distribute the subject-matter so that pupils who leave school early 
 will have had time to secure from the subject two things: (1) Knowledge of how 
 a process should be done, which gives the child a sense of power; and (2) prac- 
 tice in using this new acquisition (in which he delights) until he has perfect con- 
 trol over it. Those who stay in school throughout the eight years should secure 
 a third ability — that of applying the acquired skill in computation to many sorts 
 of problems such as life will offer. An examination of the common practice in 
 distributing subject-matter, and a checking of the results with children's grow- 
 ing feeling of need, leads one to make very little change, if any, in the usual 
 distribution of arithmetical material. 
 
 In general, first-grade pupils are in the "age of barter," where counting is 
 about the only process needed; second-, third-, and fourth-grade work lies in the 
 field of "exchange," with need of the fundamental processes, of ratio-seeing, of 
 symbols for use in computation, of simple denominate-number tables, and of 
 easy fractions; fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-grade pupils have need of all preceding 
 work, and, in addition, as their interests lie in the fields of "merchantry" and 
 "labor exchange," they master simple and decimal fractions, percentage and its 
 applications, and necessary mensuration processes. Many of the merchantry 
 problems, such as stocks and bonds, insurance, and banking, together with new 
 problems arising in "commerce," form the subject-matter for eighth-grade work, 
 if arithmetic is there given a place on the program.
 
 264 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 B.— LESSON PLANS. 
 
 OUTLINE OF A PLAN FOR TEACHING PUPILS HOW TO PAY DIS- 
 TANT INDEBTEDNESS. 
 
 (By Miss Agnes G. Storie, Normal, 111.) 
 
 I. Teacher has ready: Receipt for registered letter. Return notices of delivery 
 
 of registered letters. Applications for money order. (One or more for 
 each pupil to fill out.) Money order, attached coupon, and receipt. Ad- 
 vertising material of express companies showing advantages and scope of 
 their service. Checks (unused and returned) with stubs. Drafts. 
 
 II. Assignment made before lesson was given: 
 
 Through Miss Patterson, members of the seventh grade ordered seeds 
 from L. L. May & Co., St. Paul, to the amount of $5.99. 
 
 1. Find out so far as possible in what ways Miss Patterson might pay 
 
 the bill. 
 
 2. What would she have to do to pay the debt in each of these ways? 
 
 3. What are the advantages of each method? 
 
 4. Which way do you think she chose? Be ready to defend your posi- 
 
 tion. 
 
 III. General plan of recitation-work: 
 
 A. Last month seeds were ordered, through Miss Patterson, of L. L. May & 
 
 Co., St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 Before the company would fill the order for the seeds what would 
 they expect of Miss Patterson? 
 
 Let us see what we can find out about the possible means Miss Pat- 
 terson might have employed to settle the account. 
 
 B. Questions and discussions to develop subject-matter and to organize what 
 
 children's experience furnishes: 
 
 Means of making payments due at a distance. 
 
 1. Sending actual money (or stamps) by — 
 
 a. Ordinary mail. 
 
 (1) Advantages. (2) Disadvantages. 
 
 b. Registered letter. 
 
 (1) Manner of registering. (2) Fee. (3) Advantages and 
 disadvantages. 
 
 c. Express. 
 
 (1) Service to government and banks. {'2) Cost. (3) Ad- 
 vantages. 
 
 2. Sending an order for money. 
 
 a. Money-order. 
 
 (1) Postoffice — Manner of securing; form; fee; advantages. 
 
 (2) Express — Comparison with pdstoflice money-order; advan- 
 tages. 
 
 (3) Telegraphic — Method employed; fee; advantages. 
 
 b. Personal check. 
 
 Review of form; fee; advantages. 
 
 c. Drafts. 
 
 Kinds; parties; exchange; advantages. 
 
 IV. Result secured — Children taught (1) to notice ordinary business transactions 
 
 and to contribute their knowledge to a common cause; (2) the various
 
 Arithmetic Aids. — Recitations on Interest. 265 
 
 ways of canceling indebtedness at a distance; and (3) the manner of em- 
 ploying each of the several methods, with its relative advantages. 
 
 A SERIES OF OBSERVED RECITATIONS ON INTEREST. 
 
 (Given to a Seventh Grade by Miss Carrie F. Saunders, Onalaska, Wis.) 
 First Recitation. 
 
 A. Preparation: "In our last work what reasons did we find for a merchant's 
 giving a discount to a customer? [Merchant needs money, so prefers to take less 
 for the goods than he once planned to do, etc.] Is there anything else a man 
 may honestly do when he needs money? [Borrow.] Is it fair to pay a person 
 for the use of his money? The amount paid is called interest." 
 
 B. Development: "On what was discount reckoned? [On list price, marked 
 price, first remainder, second remainder, etc.; cost, or bill.] On what is the 
 interest reckoned? [On the amount borrowed from the one man's standpoint; 
 on the amount loaned from the other's standpoint.] We need a name for this 
 amount so we can more easily talk about it; it is called the principal [note spell- 
 ing of last syllable]." 
 
 "I want to borrow one dollar from you for a year. How much do you think 
 it would be fair for me to pay you?" [Different pupils answered "10c," 
 "25c," "6c," "Oh, nothing."] 
 
 "Suppose Gay did lend me $1.00 for a year and I paid him 10c, what per 
 cent of the amount borrowed would I be paying? Then he lends money at 
 what %? [10%.] At what rate would James be lending money, if he asked me 
 6c for the use of his $1.00? Kenneth (who wanted 25c)? Then the rate of in- 
 terest means what? [Accept any satisfactory definition.] Just as you differed 
 in what you thought it fair to charge me, so men differ in the business world, and 
 a few selfish ones take advantage of another's need and charge more at that 
 time than usual. Hence the law has fixed upon a rate that is counted fair. 
 The laws of the several states differ; but, no matter what the law, if a man 
 charges in that state more than the rate fixed by law he is guilty of usury. [You 
 may recall the name "usurer" given to Shylock; we are not going to deal with 
 any people guilty of usury, but you'll find the term in your book — so I give it.]" 
 
 "In some oral problems that I give you, you ma} r each time tell me the 
 principal, the interest, and the rate. [Many examples rapidly given.] I lend 
 $100 at 6%; at 10%; at 12£%. I lend $100 to you for a year at 8%; what will 
 you pay me? At 7%; at 9%; at 9J%; \Q\%; 11|%; 12J%. [This series due 
 to children's missing one question including the \%\ Try $200. Lend it at 
 4%. Lend $300 at 3%; $100 at 3^%; $200 at 3J%; $300 at Z\%; $350 at Z\%. 
 [One child permitted to go to blackboard for this.] Let us try two years. Lend 
 $100 at 6% for two years. How much interest would you receive? $300 at 
 4% for three years; $350 at 3§% for two years." Form for indicating operation 
 here developed, using children's former knowledge of discount. 
 2 X .035 X $350 = $24.50 
 
 Assignment, end of first recitation — Many problems demanding the finding of 
 any interest on any sum for any whole number of years. 
 
 Remainder of lessons merely outlined, with a few especially good questions 
 interjected: 
 
 Second recitation: "If I lend you $100 for 1 year at 6%, what must you pay 
 me back? $106. Which part of this is principal? Which interest? What do
 
 266 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 we call the whole [teacher tells, the amount]?" Children asked to give the 
 amounts for $100, 2 years, 6%; $200, 2 years, 6%; $300, 4 years, 5%; $400, 3 years, 
 3%. "Perhaps I do not know the number of years, but do know that I loaned 
 the money in 190S, and had it paid back in 1910. I borrow money on a certain 
 date in 1905 and pay it back on the same date in 1913. A man borrowed $200 
 Jan. 1, 1904, at 5%, and paid it Jan. 1, 1910; what interest did he pay?" 
 
 "We have another situation to learn today. A man may want money for 
 just a part of a year, just a few days even, to tide him over a situation; what 
 would be fair for him to pay? The whole year's interest? I wish to borrow 
 $100 at 6% for 1 month; what should I pay? $100 at 8% for 6 months; $100 
 at 8% for 9 months; $200 at 3% for 3 months; for 1| months; for 2 months; 
 etc. [Prove each.]" 
 
 "Mr. Brown borrowed $300 at 7% and paid off the note in 4 years and 5 
 months. How much did Mr. Brown pay the lender in all?" 
 
 Assignment, end of second day — "You may make up some problems in which 
 the time always includes some parts of years. Find a form of operation that will 
 simplify your work." 
 
 Third day: Teacher uses examples brought in by pupils and leads them to 
 select a form of statement that will indicate the interest; one to indicate the 
 amount; e. g.: 
 
 $1420 at 6% for 4| years. 
 
 4.5 X 06 X $1420 = the interest. 
 
 4.5 X -06 X $1420 + $1420 = the amount. 
 
 Other forms worked out and discussed; e. g.: 
 127 X $1420 
 
 = amount. 
 
 100 
 
 "I have a new thing to propose. I want to borrow the same old $100, but 
 one year isn't long enough; nor is 1 year and 6 months long enough. I want it a 
 few days longer. Will you charge me? [Children answer — some "no," some 
 "yes."] It is good business to charge me. Suppose I wish the money for 1 year 
 6 months and 15 days. How can you treat the 15 days?" From this and other 
 problems children tell of different ways to use the days. Most chose to reduce 
 the months and days to a fraction of a year and found several ways of doing 
 so; e. g., 6 mo. 15 da. = § yr. + 1/24 yr. = 13/24 yr. Or 195 da. = 195/360 
 yr. = 13/24 yr. Or 6^/12 yr. = 13/24 yr. 
 
 Several examples tried, with such time periods as 2 years 7 months 18 days 
 given. 
 
 "I borrowed some money on April 1st and returned it April 10th. How long 
 did I keep it? [10 days — no, first day didn't count — 9 days.] How long is 
 money kept if borrowed on the 2d of a month and returned on the 22d? On 
 the 3d and returned on the 30th? On the 5th and returned on the 12th? On 
 the 8th and returned on the 17th? On the 4th of July, 1776, and returned on 
 the 9th of September, 1783?" 
 
 Drill on examples from text and other arithmetics, in which differences in 
 dates must be found. 
 
 The succeeding recitation topics are evident in this list of the steps used in 
 development: 
 
 1. Borrowing is one means of securing money when needed.
 
 Arithmetic Aids. — Teaching Insurance. 267 
 
 2. Fair to pay for such use of money. 
 
 3. Interest the name for money so paid. Principal the name for sum bor- 
 
 rowed. 
 
 4. Rate of interest fixed by law in most states. (Usury, a rate above the 
 
 legal rate.) 
 
 5. Drill upon recognition of principal, rate, and interest, in each problem. 
 
 6. Drill on getting interest when principal and rate are known. 
 
 a. Principal left the same and rate frequently changed. 
 
 b. Principal changed and rate (3§%) kept. 
 
 c. Principal and rate both changed. 
 
 d. Time added — full years only. 
 
 7. Form of expression developed through thought process. 
 
 S. Testing all previous work, clearing up inaccuracies of form, of grading 
 
 results, of writing per cents in different ways, etc. 
 9. "Amount" learned as the sum of principal and interest due. 
 
 10. Finding time when dates are given: years only to subtract; c. g., from 
 
 Jan. 1, 1903, to Jan. 1, 1910. 
 
 11. Drill on finding interest for — 
 
 a. Parts of years — months. b. Years and months. 
 
 12. Expression of interest in one statement. Amount attempted to be simi- 
 
 larly expressed. Easy for one year. Difficult for longer time. 
 
 13. Finding interest for — 
 
 a. Days — part of a month or part of a year. 
 
 b. Months and days. 
 
 c. Years, months, and days — Expression for this developed. 
 
 14. Finding time from dates given, including differences in months and days 
 
 as well as years. 
 
 15. Drill on finding simple interest in problems involving all the situations 
 
 developed. 
 
 16. Notes — need of making — form, etc., discussed and taught if needed. 
 
 17. Stock "dividends" and bond "coupons" discussed but not taught unless 
 
 the local course of study should demand it. 
 
 18. Compound interest, discussed only. 
 
 19. Partial payments, discussed only. 
 
 A PLAN FOR TEACHING INSURANCE TO UPPER-GRADE PUPILS. 
 
 (By Miss Agnes Storie, Normal, 111.) 
 
 Teacher's Organization: 
 
 A. Race need: How can persons and property be protected against loss by 
 
 calamity? 
 
 B. Satisfied by the development of the present system of insurance. 
 
 1. Object of insurance — To protect a person, or family, or property, 
 against loss by calamity. 
 a. Person 
 
 1. Death, hence family helped. 
 
 2. Accident, hence self helped, j 
 
 3. Illness, self helped. \ Family indirectly helped. 
 
 4. Annuity, self helped. J
 
 268 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 b. Property 
 
 1. Fire. 7. Flood. 10. Water loss. 
 
 2. Wind. 8. Accident (plate 11. Transportation 
 
 3. Hail. glass windows, loss. 
 
 4. Sea dangers. stock, standing 12. Explosion. 
 
 5. Theft. grain.) 13. Builder's insur- 
 
 6. Wreck. 9. Lightning. ance, etc. 
 
 2. How secure this protection? Plan of procedure illustrated by the 
 plan employed in securing fire insurance. 
 
 Property owner seeks insurer, or underwriter. 
 
 1. States location and value of his property. 
 
 a. Real value — tested by — 
 
 1. Opinion of many. 
 
 2. Original cost plus improvement and minus 
 
 deteriorations from: Change in town; change 
 in locality; change in all property; etc. 
 
 2. States proportion of value for which he wishes to insure 
 
 his property. 
 a. Insured value — may be the same as real value, but 
 is usually less — because owner doesn't care to 
 pay high rate. 
 
 3. States time for which he wishes to insure his property! 
 
 a. 30 days, 60 days, 1 year, etc. 
 
 b. Rate for three years equals less than three times 
 
 rate for one year, hence an advantage to owner 
 to insure for a long time. Advantage to com- 
 pany to have money to loan. Rate for five years 
 equals about three times rate for one year. 
 
 b. Underwriter then — 
 
 1. Inspects property. 
 
 2. Agrees (or not) to insure it. 
 
 3. Classifies it according to the risk. 
 
 a. Protection. 
 
 1. Best sort — ideal protection. 
 
 2, 3, 4, 5. These intermediate classes pertain to 
 
 buildings with less and less protection, or 
 which contain inflammables. 
 6. Almost none, or none. 
 
 b. Construction. 
 
 1. Material of which built. 
 
 2. Age of building. 
 
 3. Relation of open spaces — stairways, air-shafts, 
 
 pipes, etc., — to places of fire-beginnings. 
 
 4. Condition of flues, etc. 
 
 5. Kind of heat employed, etc. 
 
 6. Sort of building — barn, house, store, etc. 
 
 c. Location. 
 
 1. Isolated, or near other buildings, in city. 
 
 2. Hill or valley, etc., in country. 
 
 4. Tells owner of rate. 
 
 c. Property owner agrees to insure.
 
 Arithmetic Aids. — Teaching Insurance. 269 
 
 d. Underwriter then collects premium from owner and writes 
 and gives owner a policy. 
 3. Definitions required during lesson: 
 
 a. The insurer, insurance company, and underwriters, are names 
 
 applied to the person or firm which guarantees to pay to the 
 property owner a certain sum in case he loses his property. 
 
 b. The insured is the person who secures the protection of an 
 
 insurance company. 
 
 c. The policy is the written agreement of the underwriters to pay 
 
 a sum of money to the property owner in case of loss. 
 
 d. The face of the policy is the sum agreed to be paid in case of 
 
 loss. 
 
 e. The real value of the property is the value it possesses for any 
 
 one, regardless of sentiment or original cost. 
 
 f. The insured value is the amount for which the property is in- 
 
 sured. 
 
 g. The premium is the sum paid by the owner for his guaranteed 
 
 protection. 
 C. Materials needed. Some real policies to show. Some good problems ready 
 to propose. 
 
 Method of Procedure in Class. 
 
 Two to five recitations are needed, according to age of pupils and previous training. 
 
 A. Preparation: (The topic may have been assigned and so children may have 
 
 been thinking about insurance. Also, most upper-grade children know 
 from their own experience something about insurance.) An atmosphere 
 of work is created by the teacher's attitude and enthusiasm. 
 
 B. Development: How could a person protect himself against the loss of his 
 
 property by some calamity? (By insuring the property.) Against what 
 might he insure his property? (Fire, wind, hail.) If a merchant were 
 shipping goods from foreign countries, against what might he wish to in- 
 sure? (Against marine dangers.) (Perhaps children recall Antonio's ven- 
 tures in the "Merchant of Venice.") 
 
 How should one proceed to get his property insured? (Go to an in- 
 surance agent or company.) What other names are there for insurance 
 company? (Underwriters, insurers.) What is an underwriter? (Defini- 
 tion given.) 
 
 What is the individual who takes out an insurance called? (The in- 
 sured.) Who is the insured? (Definition.) 
 
 What will the company do before agreeing to insure the property? 
 (Inspect property, ascertain value, liability to risk, etc.) 
 
 How is the value set upon the property determined? (See Teacher's 
 Organization, p. 268.) 
 
 What is the sum for which a person gets his property insured called? 
 (Insured value, insurance, face of policy.) What is the face of the policy? 
 The insured value? The insurance? (Definitions.) 
 
 How does the insured value compare in amount with the real value, 
 usually? (Insured value is smaller than real value.) Why does an in- 
 surance company prefer to insure property for less than its real value? 
 (Discussion of lessened possibility for dishonesty on part of insured.) 
 Under what conditions will a company insure property for its full value? 
 (Discussion.)
 
 270 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 How may a company protect itself against a large loss in case an in- 
 surer desires to insure a valuable piece of property; for instance, a building 
 occupying a large portion of a city block? (It may assume full risk and 
 reinsure, or transfer part of risk directly to another company, assuming 
 only such portion as it wishes.) 
 
 What prevents a person's insuring his property in several companies 
 for more than its real value? (See conditions of policies.) 
 
 What right does the company reserve instead of paying damages? 
 (Right to make repairs.) 
 
 What would a company do in case of partial loss? (See "average 
 clause.") 
 
 For how long a time may property be insured? (30 days, 60 days, 
 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 7 years, are usual periods.) What determines the 
 length of time for which the insurer will take the risk? (Condition of 
 property, its location, probable date of sale, etc.) Show why these con- 
 ditions affect the time element of the agreement. How definite is the 
 time mentioned as the expiration of the agreement? (See policies.) Why 
 is this necessary? (Discussion.) Why does not a company insure prop- 
 erty for very long periods? (Discussion.) 
 
 How does the rate for a longer period compare with that for a shorter 
 period? (It is smaller in proportion.) How does this profit each party 
 to the transaction? (See Teacher's Organization, p. 268.) 
 
 What does the company expect of the insured for assuming the risk? 
 (A premium.) What is a premium? (Definition.) How is it possible 
 for an insurance company to guarantee to pay so large a sum to the in- 
 sured in case of loss? (Discussion of per cent of losses and investment 
 of moneys received.) 
 
 On what is the premium reckoned? (Face of policy.) In what way 
 is the rate stated? (In dollars per hundred or thousand, and per cent of 
 insured value.) 
 
 (Problems to test understanding of situation may be introduced here, 
 or reserved for use after development of whole situation, according to 
 maturity of class.) 
 
 What does owner lose in case of destruction of property? (Premium 
 and part of value not insured.) What does company lose? (Insured 
 value minus premium.) What does the combined loss of owner and com- 
 pany equal? (Real value of property.) 
 
 What determines the rate charged for insuring a given piece of prop- 
 erty? (The liability to risk.) What factors determine the probable risk 
 incurred? (Nature of protection, construction, and location.) Which of 
 these factors is considered first? (Protection.) (Show agent's book giv- 
 ing rates for groups into which property may be classified according to 
 protection offered. See Teacher's Organization, p. 268.) What is it 
 necessary for the company to do in order that the rate may be fixed so 
 far as this factor is concerned? (Determine in which class property is.) 
 
 What is the next factor to be considered in determining the rate of 
 premium? (Character of structure.) Illustrate, how details of construc- 
 tion affect the rate. (See Teacher's Organization.) 
 
 What is the third factor in determining the rate? (Location.) Show 
 how location affects rate. (See Teacher's Organization.)
 
 Helps in Geography. — Latitude and Longitude. 271 
 
 How have these rates of insurance been so definitely determined? 
 (Through statistics kept during a period of years. To illustrate: Sup- 
 pose that it is found that of every 6000 dwellings insured for $.'5500 each, 
 60 are destroyed by fire annually. What sum is needed annually to make 
 good the loss? (60 X $3500 or $210,000.) What is the total insured 
 value? (6000 X $3500 or $21,000,000.) 
 
 What is the relation of the loss to the insured value? (The loss of 
 $210,000 is 1% of the insured value, $21,000,000.) What % of insured 
 value must company ask to cover actual loss? This is the so-called natural 
 rate of insurance. What must the company make besides this actual loss? 
 (Expenses and profit.) How will the rate they charge for taking the 
 risk compare with this "natural" rate? (It will be larger.) Yes, they 
 are said to "load" the "natural" rate — to 2%, perhaps. 
 
 What does the company give the insured to show he has purchased 
 protection? (A policy.) What is a policy? (Definition.) (Insurance 
 policies should be consulted and discussed.) Mention at least six condi- 
 tions imposed upon the insured in a policy. How may the insured forfeit 
 his policy? 
 C. Application. 
 
 Discuss the value of insurance to the insured. Outline the manner of 
 insuring property. Give a two-minute talk on the factors determining 
 the rate of premium. Give the essential conditions of a policy. (Pupils 
 of class should supplement and criticise the individual recitations until 
 subject-matter is clear.) Solution of problems involving real situations. 
 Special reports on fires and their causes. 
 
 VI.— HELPS IN GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 A.— ILLUSTRATIVE LESSON UPON LATITUDE AND 
 LONGITUDE FOR FOURTH GRADE OR ABOVE. 
 
 Note: The following plan, though called one lesson, is intended to cover from five to ten 
 recitation periods, according to the ability of the class. The special treatment is for beginning 
 fourth-grade pupils, but the same general plan has been successfully used in higher grades. 
 
 A. Race Need or Aim: To find a way accurately to locate places on the earth's 
 
 surface. 
 
 B. Satisfaction found in the study of latitude and longitude. 
 
 1. Means of locating places — 
 
 a. In a school-building. 
 
 b. In the country. 
 
 c. In a city — ■ 
 
 1. By well-known buildings. 
 
 2. By street and number. 
 
 d. Anywhere on the earth's surface — 
 
 1. By natural objects. 
 
 2. By latitude and longitude. 
 
 a. Necessity for parallels and meridians. 
 
 2. Latitude — 
 
 a. How measured. 
 
 b. Parallels. 
 
 1. Meaning of name.
 
 272 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 2. Location of. 
 
 3. Practical use of. 
 c. Function of latitude. 
 
 3. Longitude. 
 
 a. How measured. 
 
 b. Meridians. 
 
 1. Meaning of name. 
 
 2. Location of. 
 
 3. Practical use of. 
 
 c. Function of longitude. 
 
 4. Value of latitude and longitude used together. 
 
 C. Materials: Globe, maps of several kinds, plain and colored crayon, material 
 for children to use in map making, sensible and interesting localities with 
 their latitude and longitude hunted up. 
 
 Method. — Preparation — 1. Questions leading children to see the different 
 methods of locating places. For example: "Elmer, could you take this picture 
 to Miss Speckman for me? Tell me where you will go, that I may be sure you 
 know the room." (If Elmer doesn't know, let some child tell him.) Ask other 
 questions about the location of various rooms — the music-room, the museum, 
 the physical laboratory, the library, etc., letting children see that we must have 
 knowledge of some rooms, as "guide posts" to us in finding others. 
 
 2. In the country, we tell strangers where to find desired houses, roads, etc., 
 by the hills, mountains, bluffs, valleys, rivers, bridges, cross-roads, or by houses 
 passed. Or we may speak of the number of miles. Bring this out by questions. 
 If the school is in the country, children may be asked to tell how to reach their 
 homes, etc. 
 
 3. In a city, when asked by a stranger to locate some place, we usually ask 
 him whether he knows where the postoffice, hotel, library, or normal school is; 
 or we show him one of these buildings as his "guide post." Ask children to lo- 
 cate (in Winona) Hardt's art store, their own homes, etc., and their answers will 
 prove the above statement true. Is there any better or surer way of locating 
 places? (By knowing the street and number of the house.) How could a 
 stranger find the street and house? (He would need a map giving names of the 
 city streets, etc. Children have made city maps, and hence understand this.) 
 
 4. "How are places on the Earth's surface located?" By mountains, rivers, 
 lakes, etc. Buffalo is at the eastern end of Lake Erie. New Orleans is near the 
 mouth of the Mississippi river; etc. 
 
 5. "What will sailors on the ocean do, when they have no mountains or other 
 forms to guide them? Do you feel that they need a map with something like 
 our streets and cross streets on it? Suppose we find out, today, what men have 
 done to help sailors and others to locate places accurately." 
 
 Development. — 1. "Look at these maps and the globe and see whether you 
 find any lines that cross one another like streets. Are they on all maps? Look 
 through your geographies. Why haven't you noticed them before? Yes, they 
 are light; men have drawn them so because there are really no such lines or 
 "streets" on the earth's surface itself, but are just imagined to be there. [Use 
 globe as much as possible.] Draw your fingers over some of the lines which you 
 see. Which lines run north and south? Which run east and west?" 
 
 2. "What do you notice about the east and west lines? Frank, Hattie, and 
 Walter, may put their fingers here. Each may follow his line, going east. Others 
 may watch the fingers. Were they the same distance apart all of the time?
 
 Helps in Geography. — Latitude and Longitude. 
 
 273 
 
 Rosse, put on the board some lines that are the same distance apart throughout. 
 What are such lines called? [Parallel lines.] Which lines on the glove have we 
 just found to be parallel lines? [East and west.] And, because they are parallel, 
 they are called a name which shows that. [Teacher writes parallels on the board 
 and children learn to spell the name.] Trace the parallels again. And again." 
 
 3. Just as each street in Winona is named or numbered, so each parallel has 
 a number. Starting at the equator (children have learned about the equator and 
 know reason for its name), the men who first planned these lines made 89 parallels 
 between the equator and the north pole, and 89 parallels* between the equator 
 and the south pole. (Let children point to north pole, south pole, equator, and 
 then tell how many parallels in each half.) 
 
 "As all cannot easily see the globe, I will draw a map on this board, and we 
 can continue our study upon that. [Teacher draws large circle with arm for the 
 radius, locates equator with colored crayon, and numbers it O — the starting 
 point.] We have a street in Winona (Center street) from which the houses are 
 numbered both ways. Just as we have 225 east Fifth street, and 225 west Fifth 
 street, so we have a fortieth parallel north of the equator, and a fortieth parallel 
 south of the equator, as the parallels are numbered from the equator both north 
 and south. 
 
 "My map is too small for me to put in all of the parallels, so I shall put in 
 only eight, letting you imagine the absent ones." (Teacher talks as she draws, 
 explaining how to divide each quadrant into thirds, and then each third into 
 thirds; how to connect the opposite points of division, making eight parallels; 
 how nine parallels have been omitted between each two drawn, and hence the 
 first shown must be numbered 10. Then derive from children the numbers for 
 the other parallels, and for the point marking the pole. In the same way, put 
 the parallels into the southern half of the map. (Figures 1 and 2.) 
 
 JV? 
 
 Application of work so far done. — "Now let us see how we can use these 
 'streets' that we have called parallels. Each of us may select a 'street' upon 
 which to live, and the others may try to find that street. I have decided upon 
 mine. I live on parallel 40, north. Find." (Children tell, one by one, where 
 they live, and others find. Many given by teacher, varying the form of ques- 
 
 * Parallels here understood to be one degree apart. Term "degree" not yet familiar to 
 children.
 
 274 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 tion, and using term latitude frequently; for example: "A friend of mine lives on 
 the thirtieth parallel, south latitude; find.") 
 
 Other devices. — The teacher may vary the succeeding recitations by using 
 some of the following: 
 
 1. Teacher makes x's on various parallels and children describe the location, 
 seeing how few errors are made. 
 
 2. Teacher writes children's initials at certain places and children tell loca- 
 tions. 
 
 3. The teacher may write the descriptions of various locations, and let chil- 
 dren locate them on the teacher's map, or on individual maps made by the chil- 
 dren for seat-work. Teacher may give several forms of expression, such as: (a) 
 Forty degrees north of the equator, (b) Forty degrees north latitude, (c) 40 
 degrees north latitude, (d) The fortieth parallel north of the equator, (e) 40° 
 north latitude, (f) 40° N. Lat. Children locate by x's; or the descriptions 
 may be numbered and children use corresponding numbers on map. The use 
 of the word (and sign for) "degrees" may be taught by showing children that in- 
 stead of saying, "We live on the fifth street from here"; we say, "We live five 
 blocks from here." So I may say, "I live ten blocks north of the equator," 
 rather than, "I live on the tenth parallel north of the equator." But these 
 blocks are not like our city blocks, for each is nearly seventy miles long, and is 
 called a degree. "Show me the 'Brown Baby's' home, which is thirty degrees 
 south latitude"; etc. 
 
 4. If children have read "Seven Little Sisters," the home of each "sister" 
 may be located. 
 
 5. Follow these lessons by some which will show locations of places between 
 the drawn parallels. First use 35, 45, 15, 5, etc. Later take 29, 71, 63, etc., 
 until children freely locate any place upon the right parallel. 
 
 After sufficient seat-work and class testing have been given to prove that 
 pupils understand latitude fairly well, lead them to see that a hunt for a person 
 living 40 degrees north would be worse than hunting for a person on Broadway 
 in Winona, since the 40th parallel is almost 20,000 miles long, whereas Broad- 
 way is not over 3 miles long, whatever way we count it. "What does a hack 
 driver need besides knowing Broadway, to find a man's house readily? [Num- 
 ber on house; or else the cross street, if the house is on a corner.] What would 
 help us quickly to find one another on our parallels?" Children may answer 
 "north and south parallels," or "cross parallels," or "cross lines." If the first 
 or second, the teacher says, "Look at the globe and at your maps. Are there 
 any cross lines? Let us see whether they are also parallel. [Let a few children 
 trace, us was done with parallels; others watch.] Were the fingers the same dis- 
 tance apart all the way? [No. They all came together, at each pole.] These 
 north and south lines are called meridians, but you could not now understand 
 the reason for the name." (Teach spelling and pronunciation, and let children 
 trace meridians. Then try both parallels and meridians to see that there is no 
 confusion of names.) 
 
 "Let us now draw some of the meridians on our map. As with the parallels, 
 we haven't room for all, so I shall omit nine between each two, as we did with 
 the parallels." (Teacher explains as she works, dividing equator into halves, 
 each half into thirds, and each one-third of the one-half into thirds again. Draw- 
 ing the lines from pole to pole through the points of intersection will give the 
 seventeen meridians within the circumference, the halves of which now make 
 the two outer meridians.)
 
 Helps in Geography. — Latitude and Longitude. 
 
 275 
 
 "As the equator divided the south parallels from the north, so we must have 
 one meridian which will divide the east meridians from the west meridians. 
 Long ago one such was chosen and called the prime meridian. I will help you 
 about the meaning of prime: What is a primer? [Teacher writes word on black- 
 board.] Yes, your first reading-book. What is the primary room at school? 
 What do I mean when I say, 'These are prime oranges?' " {First class oranges.) 
 (Older children may know of political meetings called primaries, of England's 
 prime minister, and possibly of prime factors.) "Let us now look at these words 
 I have upon the board. What likeness can you see? And what general mean- 
 ing do we find in all? The prime meridian must mean ?" (The first meridian, 
 
 or the starting point.) 
 
 "I will mark (with crayon) the prime meridian on our globe and then I want 
 you to watch the globe while I turn it. Where do you now see it? [At the right.] 
 Now? [We can't see it at all.] Later it will be seen appearing at the left, — ap- 
 proaching the front, — again at the right, etc. I should like to make the prime 
 meridian on our blackboard map with colored crayon, as we did the equator. 
 Which meridian shall I call prime? Could it be any one on my map? Why? 
 Let us locate the prime meridian on our map, as the one on the globe looks to 
 Walter, as he is now sitting. Walter may show us." (In succeeding lessons 
 change the location of the prime meridian on the map, so that children will learn 
 that it is not relatively fixed, as is the equator.) 
 
 "What number did we give to the equator when we talked about latitude? 
 We shall give our prime meridian the same number. All of the meridians at the 
 right of the prime meridian are said to be east, and all at the left, west." (Lead 
 children to number the meridians, and to see that only half the globe can be seen 
 at once, so that we must make two maps to show the entire surface. (Figures 
 3 and 4.) The outer edges coincide, so are numbered the same.) 
 
 Fig. 3 
 
 Fig. 4 
 
 Application of new work.— About the same plan as with parallels may be 
 used, except that instead of drawing the pointer along an entire line to show a 
 person's home, only one spot can be pointed out. Begin with "even" locations 
 such as 70 degrees north and 20 degrees east. Later introduce the intermediate 
 steps; for example, 55 degrees south and 20 degrees west; then 35 degrees north 
 and 75 degrees west; then 61 degrees north and 37 degrees east, etc. Use term 
 longitude, as teacher did latitude, so frequently that children learn its meaning by
 
 276 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 association. When children are fairly familiar with use of map, give such loca- 
 tions as 90 degrees north, 25 degrees east; degrees south, etc. 
 
 Each child should, at his seat, draw a map and correctly number the lines. 
 Then the teacher may place upon the board ten statements of locations, using 
 both latitude and longitude. Children will place corresponding letters or fig- 
 ures at proper points on the map. Children may do this as seat-work, or as a 
 contest of speed, in class. 
 
 Another plan is to give children the names of from ten to twenty well-known 
 cities, mountains, etc., and let them find the latitude and longitude of each. 
 Later these could be marked upon the children's own maps. Or, reverse this, 
 the teacher indicating the latitude and longitude where famous points of interest 
 may be found and children find and name the city, lake, or river mouth. 
 
 For review the children may be asked questions to emphasize the differences 
 and similarities found in: 
 
 1. Parallels and meridians. 
 
 a. Direction of, on globe. 
 
 Parallels are drawn east and west. 
 Meridians are drawn north and south. 
 
 b. Relative position. 
 
 Parallels are parallel. 
 Meridians meet at poles. 
 
 c. How numbered. 
 
 2. Methods of locating places. 
 
 a. Compare locating places in the country with locating places on 
 
 earth's surface by means of "landmarks." 
 
 b. Compare locating city houses by street and number with locat- 
 
 ing places on earth's surface by means of parallels and meri- 
 dians. 
 
 Children should conclude that parallels and meridians are necessary for 
 accurate location of places on the globe; should know how they are drawn; and 
 should know how to use them. If old enough to understand it, children should 
 learn about the dropping or adding of a day, at the 180th meridian, and about 
 change of time when traveling east or west. The topic of "longitude and time" 
 formerly taught in arithmetic, is more sensibly taught here. 
 
 Thereafter, pupils should use latitude and longitude in locating places talked 
 of, and will necessarily use latitude in discussing comparative climates of differ- 
 ent countries. 
 
 B.— A LESSON ON THE GREAT BASIN. 
 
 (By Miss Mabel Marvin, Winona.) 
 
 Aim. — What is man's problem in relation to arid regions in general and to 
 The Great Basin in particular? 
 
 Rcviciv. — 1. "Turn to the map on the wall. Find the coast region. The 
 Sierra Nevada mountains. Can you anywhere find anything about the height 
 of these mountains? [Children use the 'key' and find that the mountains are 
 from 1000 to (JOOO feet high.] Just what does this mean?" (Children explain.) 
 
 2. "The winds which blow from the west, pass over what water? Do they 
 bring much or little moisture? Why?" (Each child gave a judgment, one after 
 the other; then, later, gave reasons for that judgment.)
 
 Help's in Geography. — The Great Basin. 277 
 
 3. "Recall the experiment we made with the slates and our teakettle of boil- 
 ing water. What happened?" (Children told how the cold slate caused rain, 
 and how the hot slate dried up the steam so that it disappeared.) 
 
 4. "When the westerly winds, laden with moisture, reach the Sierra Nevada 
 mountains (1000 to 6000 feet high), what probably happens? [Rain.] Which 
 slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains gets the more rain? [West.] Why?" 
 
 5. "Is your inference correct — does it have much rain? How can you prove 
 it?" (Oregon and Washington, already studied, are referred to by pupils as 
 having much rain.) 
 
 Development. — 1. "Turn to p. — of your texts. Put your fingers on the 
 Sierra Nevada mountains. On the Rocky mountains. Note the region between 
 these ranges and follow it north to the south branch of the Columbia river. Can 
 you find that river? Then look towards the south until you find the Colorado 
 river. Show the whole region. What bounds it on the east? On the west? On 
 the north? On the south? Point it out on the wall-map." 
 
 2. "This region is called The Great Basin. [Teacher writes name on the 
 blackboard.] Why do you think it is called that? [Children answered freely, 
 It's a big valley. There are a lot of lakes in it. It's like a basin, high on the 
 sides. There are lots of rivers and valleys in it.] What do you notice about 
 the lakes and rivers? Find a river. Trace it to its mouth. Find another. 
 Trace it. [Children all work, as teacher oversees and helps wherever necessary.] 
 Where do all the rivers flow? [Into lakes. Not one flows into the ocean.] What 
 must be true of the north and south rims of this basin?" (High, too, just as the 
 east and west rims are, but not so high as they are.) 
 
 3. "Why is it called The Great Basin? [It is so large.] Can you find any- 
 thing anywhere that would tell you the dimensions?" (Children supplement 
 text by using scale, and find that the basin is about 500 miles long. This dis- 
 tance is then compared with known distances — 100 miles from Winona to St. 
 Paul, for example.) 
 
 4. "If Atlantic winds, laden with moisture, should come as far west as The 
 Great Basin, what would happen to them? [They would drop their moisture on 
 the east side of the Rockies.] Then what would be true of rain in The Great 
 Basin? [Little or none would reach it.] Suppose a few clouds got past the 
 Sierras or the Rockies, what would happen to them? Compare the situation 
 with our hot-slate experiment." (The clouds would disappear. No rain would fall.) 
 
 5. "What does your map tell you of the surface? Look at these pictures of 
 the region." (The teacher supplemented these by descriptions of the canyon- 
 cut surface, of cacti, and of scenery in general, making very vivid pictures for the 
 pupils to imagine.) 
 
 6. "What may we expect this region to produce? [Little vegetation.] Yes. 
 For a long time it was called the Great American Desert. What relation does it 
 bear to the East, and California? [Right between. On the road needing to be 
 traveled.] Then what would naturally be built? [A railroad.] How many 
 stations would there be? Why few? How many station-agents? How many 
 trains a day? What would these agents do to use the time? [Ride horseback and 
 explore.] As they explored, they discovered rich veins of minerals. What min- 
 erals were found? Use your books if you don't know. As soon as people out- 
 side the Basin heard of its mineral wealth, what happened?" (Migration into 
 The Great Basin.) 
 
 7. "What occupations would naturally develop? [Mining in great quantity. 
 Some farming to supply daily needs.] Why not more farming? [So little rain.]
 
 278 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 Look at the Great Salt Lake region. What mineral is important there?" (By- 
 pictures and description, the teacher gave pupils vivid impressions of this region.) 
 8. "Let us make a comparison, step by step, of this region and the Coast 
 Region which you have studied before." With a few suggestions and necessary 
 questions from the teacher, the pupils put on the blackboard the following table 
 of comparisons: 
 
 Coast Region Great Basin 
 
 Moisture Plenty Scanty 
 
 Winds Moist Dry 
 
 Soil Fertile Arid I l° il *°°* 
 
 { but too dry. 
 
 Vegetation Abundant Scanty 
 
 Products Agricultural products, gold Minerals 
 
 Occupations Fruit growing Mining 
 
 Assignment {oral). — "Could people of The Great Basin ever have farming? 
 
 [Yes, if they irrigate.] Are they doing so? Has the government helped any? 
 
 How much? What is your opinion about this region's being a good home for 
 
 people? What would you expect regarding cities? Many? Few? Large or not? 
 
 Then you will have a good many things to think about for tomorrow, won't 
 
 you? I shall be glad to see who has found out about them all." 
 
 (The next lesson clinched all done in this and added the suggested points.) 
 
 C— A LESSON ON THE DRAINAGE OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 (By Miss Harriet Carter, Pittsburgh, Pa.) 
 
 Problem. — "How is the drainage of Minnesota related to the drainage of the 
 United States and of North America?" 
 
 Review. — "In what physical division of North America is Minnesota? [The 
 Great Central Plain.] How far west does this Great Central Plain extend? 
 [Child called on each time, steps to the map and points as he talks.] How far 
 north? East? South? [To Gulf Coastal Plain.] Within the United States, 
 Minnesota has what position in this great central plain? [North central.] In 
 all of North America, Minnesota has what location in reference to the Great 
 Central Plain?" [Middle.] 
 
 Development. — "Does Minnesota's being in the 'middle,' or center, affect its 
 drainage? Much or little? Let us see. 
 
 1. "The greater part of the drainage of this Great Central Plain, within the 
 United States, is through what? [The Mississippi river.] What part of Minne- 
 sota is drained by the Mississippi river? Show on the map. [A little more than 
 one-half the state.] 
 
 2. "Sketch outline maps of Minnesota. [Two boys named to do this.] Now 
 add the rivers which flow into the Mississippi, even if the}' How through some 
 other state to reach the Mississippi. Where do the streams about Winona flow? 
 Think of some creeks you know near Winona. In the spring, what is true of 
 the ravine across the lake? [Water rushes down in torrents.] Into what does 
 it flow? [The lake.] Into what does the lake drain? Then it all really does 
 drain into ? [The Mississippi.] 
 
 3. "In what direction does the water that falls on the northern part of Min- 
 nesota drain? Into what? [Lake Winnipeg.] 
 
 4. "What is the boundary between waters called? [A divide]. Can you 
 show me where the divide must be to separate these two systems of drainage?
 
 Devices. — Relation to Methods and Principles. 279 
 
 Add the northern rivers to the two maps. [Other pupils called on to do this.] 
 Indicate the divide on the map. [Child does.] 
 
 5. "But there is still another part of Minnesota at which we haven't looked. 
 Which part? Point to it. Where do the waters of this northeast corner drain? 
 [Some to the Lake of the Woods and from that to Lake Winnipeg. Some to 
 Lake Superior.] 
 
 6. "Then we need another divide. Can you put it into our sketches?" 
 
 7. Teacher helps pupils to summarize work to this point: Minnesota lies in 
 the center of the Great Central Plain, and as that is drained by three main streams 
 (the Mississippi, the Great Lakes, and Hudson Bay), we naturally find in Minne- 
 sota the beginnings of all three systems of drainage. These are separated by the 
 two main divides which were drawn, and one minor one. 
 
 Assignment. — "Are these divides high? How can you find out? Do so for 
 tomorrow. What bearing will the drainage of Minnesota have on the State's 
 industries? On its commerce? Tomorrow we shall take these topics. 
 
 VII.— DEVICES AND THEIR PLACE IN TEACHING. 
 A.— THEIR RELATION TO METHODS AND PRINCIPLES. 
 
 A principle is something so deep and so fundamental as to be most difficult 
 of definition. Like an axiom, it is indisputable; yet, unlike an axiom, it lies so 
 deep as often to be unrecognized as the propelling motive to some action. 
 
 As soon, however, as the principle makes itself felt, the individual, whether 
 conscious or not of the fundamental cause, seeks some method of expressing the 
 principle. Necessity produces one sort of method or invention. The instinct of 
 curiosity which leads to experimentation and improvement on invention pro- 
 duces a second sort of method; the spirit of emulation, or of ambition to excel, 
 may cause the development of a highly mechanical or scientific method; while 
 parent love, sympathy, friendship, and faith in our fellows, will call out still 
 different methods of carrying out a principle. An individual's instinctive love 
 of variety causes him, in working out a method, to make a number of minor 
 changes — devices which catch the attention of an observer, and often please or 
 interest him. 
 
 Illustrations. — The fundamental principles of good dressing are (1) protection 
 of the body, and (2) decoration. The methods of dressing vary for men and 
 women, for Eskimos and Chicagoans, for the leisure class and for the working 
 woman. And in any single narrow field, numerous devices appear, such as the 
 military collar, the streaming tippet ends, the plain or the betrimmed sleeve, 
 the short or long skirt, the bright or the sombre bodice, the "cut-a-way" or the 
 "frock" coat. 
 
 Food is cooked because of the fundamental need of food's being palatable and 
 digestible. Potatoes may be boiled, baked, scalloped, mashed, creamed, made 
 into soup, or prepared to be both palatable and digestible by a dozen different 
 methods. Scalloped potatoes, for example, may be served in individual ramikins 
 or in one large casserole; may be garnished with parsley or with cheese; or may 
 be made attractive by any other device the chef may invent. 
 
 The principle which underlies one's learning to subtract is economy of time 
 and energy when finding the differences between numbers used in daily business. 
 There are several methods of subtracting: right to left, left to right, Austrian, 
 "borrowing," etc. A teacher may employ any one of several devices for helping 
 her pupils learn any one of the methods: She may use toothpicks for presentation
 
 280 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 of the plan and for use in doubt; she may have competitive drills for fixing sub- 
 tractive relations; she may use blackboard or paper for solving the examples; 
 and she may use the thermometer, or walking to the north or south of a given 
 spot on the floor, or making spaces on the blackboard, to teach subtraction of 
 positive and negative quantities. 
 
 These illustrations, better than definitions, serve to show the interrelation 
 of principle, method, and device, and to point to the relative importance of each. 
 That devices have a worthy place, none can deny. But that they should not 
 outweigh method or principle is plain. Whether a woman wears a flower or a 
 ribbon bow on her hat is of less importance than that she select a hat that is be- 
 coming and suitable; but still more important than the becomingness, is the need 
 of having some sort of head covering, especially in cold weather. The momentous 
 debates over methods and devices of teaching are parallel to the seasonal discus- 
 sions over styles in dress. Both become matters of no consequence in the face 
 of same really big principle of life. The mother whose child is ill thinks not for 
 a moment of whether the dress she has on is one for morning or afternoon; she 
 cares only to be dressed quickly that she may wait upon her child. The teacher 
 who would build a character is not primarily concerned with whether the child 
 knows a particular multiplication table, but is concerned over the chance there 
 is in the learning of the table for the pupil to gain greater self-confidence, and 
 strength to persist even unto victory. That these lessons can be learned from the 
 building of a rabbit-hutch or the entire care of a horse or a cow, just as well as 
 from the multiplication tables, every experienced teacher knows. And when 
 those lessons are once learned they can be applied to the care of the horse or to 
 the conquering of the tables, whichever one lost out in the original teaching. 
 
 All three — devices, methods, principles — are constantly needed in life, but 
 their proper interrelations must be kept. Rings, and beads, and ribbons, are 
 proper devices of dress; but a woman who wears too many strings of beads, fly- 
 ing ribbons, cords and tassels, and too much jewelry, has lost the sense of rela- 
 tive values and has violated a principle of good dressing. So teachers who be- 
 come carried away by devices in teaching lose their perspective and forget prin- 
 ciples: They teach the device, not the child. 
 
 The young girl who is just learning to cook spends undue time on the devices 
 of garnishing or serving, and, if left alone, is apt not to have the meal on time, 
 or the food hot; in the same way, the inexperienced teacher is likely to overdo de- 
 vice, and, when he visits a colleague, sees and tries to imitate the devices ob- 
 served. Occasionally a young teacher visits one of experience and returns with 
 "nothing seen" because no devices showed. One test of a teacher's growing 
 power is the gradual discontinuance of much device. The greatest teachers of 
 the world arc bound down to no special method, to no particular equipment, to 
 no set text-books. Like Socrates, Pestalozzi, and others less known to fame, 
 they teach anywhere with any material. If "college education" can be defined 
 as "a log with Mark Hopkins on one end and a pupil on the other," what ought 
 to be the definition of an elementary school education? 
 
 B— A FEW STAPLE DEVICES, WITH RULES FOR THEIR 
 USE. 
 
 Devices are more needed in drill lessons than in either development or ap- 
 preciation lessons. This is because the tendency in drill lessons is to emphasize 
 the form rather than the content. Association of meaning and form will obviate
 
 A Few Staple Devices. 281 
 
 the necessity for any considerable number of devices. Nevertheless, some 
 are always necessary. (See p. 231.) 
 
 Four Rules. — (1) Devices should be easily understood when quickly explained. 
 For example, a teacher once worked out an elaborate scheme of playing croquet, 
 putting a word at each arch, and a harder word at each stake. She used 
 the device with second-grade pupils who did not know how to play croquet. 
 As a consequence, the entire time was spent in teaching pupils how to play the 
 game rather than in drilling on words. (2) They should jit the lesson in hand, 
 not evidently be "dragged in." At another time, the same teacher had a class 
 reading the story of "The Clever Starling," (the talking bird which was caught 
 in a net with other birds.) She wrote on the blackboard a dozen words that might 
 give trouble in the oral reading, calling for the meaning of each as she wrote it. 
 Then she said, "Let us play these are birds, caught in this net (she quickly drew 
 a chalk net over the words), and you may be the fowler who takes them out, one 
 at a time. He does not want to lose any so all must be pronounced." (3) If 
 devices can't fit the immediate lesson, they should chime with children's inter- 
 ests. For example, if the circus has just been in town and pupils are engrossed 
 in its interesting details, the teacher may "play" that the desired number com- 
 binations are animals in cage's, and pupils must correctly name the animals pointed 
 to, saying "twelve" if 3 X 4 or 6 X 2 is pointed to; or 8, if 5 4- 3 is indicated. 
 A few quickly drawn vertical lines for "bars" are sufficient to create the atmos- 
 phere; finished drawings are here out of place. Again, near Christmas time, the 
 number combinations, phonic stems, or words needed, can be written upon 
 the branches of a Christmas-tree. (4) Devices must not be worn threadbare, just 
 because they interest the pupils at first, or because the teacher does not want to 
 bother to find new ones. Very slight changes are sometimes sufficient. If the 
 ladder device is used (and it is always good), the ladder may be drawn on the 
 blackboard, on a chart, or on the floor. Words, cities, number combinations, 
 phonic elements, or whatever drill is being used, may be written on the rounds 
 of the ladder, the child being able to climb the ladder successfully if he has firmly 
 planted a foot on each round by answering correctly. If the ladder is on the 
 floor, the words may be on the sides of the ladder, and the child try to walk on 
 one side without falling off. Later the ladder may lead to the top of a wall; or 
 to an apple-tree on which hang apples (harder words), or to a Christmas tree 
 loaded with presents. 
 
 The device of putting the same kind of seat-work into a fresh cover such as 
 a colored leaf, or a sunbonnet (cut from wall paper), or a large star, makes the 
 work seem wholly new to children. A third grade was once seen to glow with 
 pleasure over some familiar seat-work passed, for a change, in an attractive 
 basket on whose handle a big bow of red ribbon had been tied. Not long since 
 a young rural teacher was observed while she drilled third-grade pupils on the 
 table of threes. All she did was to ask one pupil after the other to say the table 
 in order, beginning with 1X3. There was no life to the lesson, nor was this any 
 proof that pupils knew 6 X 3 or 8 X 3 whenever seen. She needed a dozen 
 "snappy" devices, such as flashing cards, calling the combinations in irregular 
 order, having a "match," or a "race," or doing all possible in a given number of 
 minutes. Variety and snap are essential factors in drills. 
 
 A few other staple devices. — 1. The "Is it ?" game. The teacher writes 
 
 number combinations on the board and then says, for example, "I'm thinking 
 of a certain product (or sum)." A child points to 3 X 4 and says, "Is it 12?" 
 The teacher says, "It is not 12." Child points to 7 X 2 and says, "Is it 14?",
 
 282 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 continuing until he guesses the correct product, or errs in naming the product of 
 two factors to which he points. This can be varied in dozens of ways, to use 
 with word and other drills as well as with arithmetic facts. 
 
 2. Keeping record of pupils' weekly abilities, by either the number done cor- 
 rectly in a given time, or the time taken to do a specified number of examples, 
 or words. 
 
 3. "Racing" is always good. Two individuals or two groups may race. Two 
 illustrations are given. (1) A large outline map of some country (say the U. S.) 
 is on the blackboard or a sheet of tagboard. The children have learned some of 
 the states, or the largest rivers or cities, or the locations of certain industries. 
 The teacher sends two pupils, each with a pointer, to the map, and rapidly names 
 five cities, for example. The child who first touches the correct spot for the 
 location of at least three out of five cities named, wins for his side. (2) Two 
 similar columns of names of states, cities, rivers, or of industries, may be on the 
 board, but in different order. Let us take the last named. The two children 
 are ready. The teacher says, "Done along the Columbia river," "Done in the 
 southern states," "The cause of California's being settled," "Most famous in 
 Colorado," or "Illinois and Iowa noted for." Each pupil points to the correct 
 industry in his column, and, as before, the one who most often finds the answer 
 first wins. 
 
 4. Take some maps from discarded geographies, trace the outlines with hec- 
 tograph ink, and print a large number. Or save bits of maps, without names, 
 from many sources. Cut a map into sections, so that each piece has some dis- 
 tinguishing feature. Mount each piece on a square of stiff paper. (Children 
 like to prepare the cards themselves.) The teacher then "flashes" one card 
 after the other and pupils name the part of the map seen. Or they may all write , 
 the answers, checking their work as the teacher slowly reshows the cards, approv- 
 ing the correct names as one pupil after another reads his answer: "The southern 
 part of Europe," "Florida," "Alaska," and "The eastern coast of Asia," are 
 typical answers. 
 
 5. A "snow storm" which covers the words as fast as they are correctly pro- 
 nounced, makes pupils happy indoors even though the first snow of the season 
 tempts them to dream of school-close. 
 
 6. Rapidly rescuing people or furniture (words or number combinations) 
 from a burning house, the whole made dramatic by a few red flames seen to be 
 bursting from the roof, is great fun. 
 
 7. "Cleaning house" (erasing words known as they are pronounced), is a fine de- 
 vice for the very end of the drill, since the board is thus left clean for the next class. 
 
 8. "Fox and Geese," makes a fine game for securing rapid replies (to number 
 combinations, for instance). The board contains many expressed operations. 
 A child stands and says 6, 12, 21, 4, 18, etc. He may go in any direction he 
 pleases but must keep in line; that is, he can't skip all over the board. As soon 
 as another child "locates him," he stands. The "goose" stops; the "fox" steps 
 to the board, pointing to the combinations and naming the same sums, products, 
 differences, or quotients, as the "goose" named up to the time of his stopping. 
 If correct, the "fox" becomes the next "goose" for another "fox" to catch. 
 
 A few devices for helping enunciation follow: 
 
 9. Say quickly and clearly, 
 
 (a) la, IS, li, lo, 16b 
 
 (b) da, dc, dl, do, dob 
 
 (c) Repeat (a) giving each syllable four times, thus — la, la, la, la — le, 
 le, le, le, etc.
 
 Teaching Children to Study. — Steps. 283 
 
 (d) Repeat (b) giving each syllable as often as its place number indi- 
 cates, thus — da; de, de; di, di, di; do, do, do, do; doo, doo, doo, 
 doo, doo. 
 
 (e) On the tip of the tongue. 
 
 (f) Over the hills the farm boy goes. 
 
 10. Draw on the blackboard a triangle. Write a, e, do, at the three points. 
 Soured each slowly, then more and more rapidly, but always separately. 
 
 Do the same with syllables, ip, ik, it. 
 
 12. Drop the vowel and give only the consonants in 11. 
 
 Texts, school magazines, and the teacher's ingenuity, will supply many other 
 devices, if more are needed. 
 
 VIIL— TEACHING CHILDREN TO STUDY. 
 
 (Including Seat- Work for Lower Grades.) 
 
 Because seat-work has grown out of mere "busy- work," teachers have only 
 gradually come to see that it is a valuable supplement to recitation-work and 
 hence worth their careful attention. Since pupils, through seat-work, gradually 
 acquire the art of studying, it should be prepared with as much care as is given 
 to the preparation of the recitation. The program must be planned to permit 
 seat- or study-work to be carefully assigned, and, when done, briefly inspected 
 or else collected for correction. Directions, whether oral or written, should be 
 simple, definite, clear, and precise, and capable of being executed as well as of 
 being remembered. 
 
 The teacher should plan for a minimum amount of work for all, and add ex- 
 tras for children who are able to do more. For example, in assigning arithmetic 
 problems, the teacher names a definite number for all to do and then suggests 
 that perhaps some can do in addition a few named examples which are "hard." 
 The tone implies that the extras are possible if only pupils are ambitious. Again, 
 a history teacher was once heard to make this assignment: "We have all been 
 studying the revolutionary period for some time now; you know characters on 
 both the American and the English side; for tomorrow you may choose any 
 character, man or woman, on either side, and plan to tell as many things about 
 yourself as possible so that the rest of us can guess who you are." Then, slyly, 
 ''Of course the more books you read the harder you'll be to guess. You are wel- 
 come to any books on my desk, and most of you know how to use the library." 
 The reader may well believe that the more capable and more ambitious pupils 
 were kept just as persistently busy as those who had to give all their time and 
 effort to meeting the minimum requirement. 
 
 A.— STEPS IN STUDYING. 
 
 Of the steps in the process of studying there are many organizations, and 
 each teacher must finally make his own, first, to fit all study; and, second, to fit 
 his particular grade. As a starting point, the following five steps are suggested, 
 each to be briefly discussed later: (1) Recognizing or setting the problem; (2) 
 planning the solution; (3) solving the problem; (4) checking the result; and (5) 
 applying the newly-found knowledge to other situations. In general, steps (1) 
 and (3) are the ones to be emphasized in primary grades, steps (2) and (4) the 
 new steps to work on in intermediate grades, while in grammar grades, step (5) 
 may be consciously added to the other four.
 
 284 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 1. Before any real work can be done the performer must know towards what 
 he is driving; or, in other words, must have a more or less specific aim, must see 
 that there is a problem before him, must feel the need of overcoming some ob- 
 stacle. Life in the form of our daily work, our fellow citizens, our superior 
 officers (of children, this means t'eachers), or, perhaps, our social duties, usually 
 sets the problems for us, and we only need to have our eyes open to sense the 
 problems. Some people live with broken windows, falling fences, doors hanging 
 by one hinge, or other forms of disorderliness without ever recognizing them as 
 problems,; People of opposite temperament would recognize these problems in- 
 stantly, and, just as promptly, begin to solve them. From first grade up, pupils 
 must be helped to see their problems, only gradually learning to do that more- 
 difficult task, set their own problems; that is, not wait to be told what to do> 
 but to "carry the message to Garcia" without need of oversight. 
 
 2. The second step is to plan how to solve the problem, to select the proper 
 materials or tools and the best method of procedure to employ. This demands 
 judgment of things, of worths, and of action. It demands memory, imagination, 
 and organization. Thought must be supplemented by more thinking, by read- 
 ing, or by asking other people's opinions. 
 
 3. After the solution has been planned, the third step, doing the task, must 
 be taken. Many find this the hardest step of all, for the actual doing of a planned 
 task almost always involves drudgery, monotonous repetition, or mechanical 
 detail. Illustrations as in getting a meal, in making a dress, in finding how many 
 seconds old I am, etc., are very numerous. The planning is dramatic; the exe- 
 cution, apt to be tedious. It is, therefore, a big problem of our schools to teach 
 the power of perseverance, persistence, or stick-to-it-till-done attitude to pupils. 
 It is here that teachers and parents need devices for holding children to their 
 tasks without taking from them the real joy of having conquered in spite of 
 weariness or lack of interest. From first grade on, pupils must be held to fin- 
 ishing work that is begun, though, of course, work given should fit the pupils' 
 ability to do, and it is therefore quite essential that the teacher have a minimum 
 standard which can be reached by even the poorest child who yet is "up to grade," 
 with just enough extra work planned to challenge the effort of the better pupils. 
 If pupils have been asked to name five cities which manufacture cloth they must 
 be held to naming the full five. If the teacher has suggested that perhaps some 
 pupils can name five cities which manufacture cotton cloth and five which manu- 
 facture woolen cloth, (or silk, or velvet, or linen, as the case may be,) the pupils 
 who attempt this task should be required to complete it. To attempt more than 
 is required should not be counted so satisfactory as to do what is required perfectly. 
 
 4. Having solved a problem, students need next to assure themselves that 
 they are right. From having their work approved by others to being able to 
 check it themselves is a long journey, but is a journey well worth conscious 
 effort. To be able to check one's own work, a person needs (a) to keep in mind 
 his aim, (b) to know at least one other method of procedure, (c) to have a stand- 
 ard or ideal of what the result will be, and (d) be willing to do the work again, 
 or have a pride in wanting to be certain of himself. Care, despatch, and accur- 
 acy, are traits of character which this step will engender. 
 
 5. Having checked one's self so that he feels sure of his knowledge, his sym- 
 pathy, or his power to do, an individual is ready for the last step — using his 
 freshly acquired ability or information under new circumstances. As he does 
 this he grows in alertness to see a problem or to set one, in executive ability, and 
 in general efficiency. He becomes an expert in his field. With advancing years 
 he is able to generalize from wide experience and so becomes a real philosopher.
 
 Teaching Children to Study. — Materials. 285 
 
 Though every step is present in every grade, the earlier suggested points of 
 emphasis must be kept in mind. 
 
 To make younger pupils see their problem, (1) the seat-work must be assigned 
 to meet immediate interests, to fit directly into the regular daily work of the 
 schoolroom. It must usually fix, by practice in one or more media, the new- 
 experience that the child has had. For example, if he has been led to discover 
 the additive combinations in five, his seat-work should clinch the knowledge dis- 
 covered by building five with stars, pegs, corn, pictures of pets or toys, etc., or 
 by using the number symbols to fix the combinations. It may, on the other 
 hand, occasionally demand effort in unfamiliar fields for the sake of exciting the 
 child's curiosity, or of preparing him to appreciate something which is to be pre- 
 sented later. The child must also have opportunities (2) to do the same kind 
 of work often enough to secure control of the mechanical side of seat-work- 
 That is, he must cut, paste, arrange tablets or letters without spilling, use taste 
 in selecting color combinations and in spacing his work, copy carefully, or do 
 whatever is required at frequent enough intervals to insure growth in neatness, 
 accuracy, speed, or arrangement of his work. 
 
 To secure perseverance or steady application to a task, and to prevent any 
 tendency towards dawdling or idling, the study or seat-work must have two 
 seemingly conflicting qualities. It must, first, be easy enough to insure its ac- 
 complishment, to bring to the child the feeling of success; that is, it must be se- 
 lected to fit the child's ability to do. Second, it must be hard enough to chal- 
 lenge the child's best effort. He must feel that it is worth while doing, or his 
 ambition atrophies. 
 
 To make somewhat older pupils add to these first and third steps, the second 
 step (organization), and the fourth (checking results), the teacher must give 
 for seat- or study-work tasks which demand picking out essentials, weighing 
 values, outlining, paragraphing, composing problems from statistics, doing group- 
 work which checks individual accuracy and methods, and tasks that continually 
 function in a larger whole and hence are correctly evaluated. 
 
 To help eighth-grade {and older) pupils in learning to use their knowledge, 
 the teacher has to be clever in devising means to throw children upon their own 
 initiative in solving problems. Children need' to catch a teacher's spirit of in- 
 genuity and expediency. For example, if a schoolroom shelf has to be put up 
 and made level without the usual spirit-level, what are all the possible means to 
 use? These are some of the answers once given: Make a "level" of a small 
 bottle. Use a tumbler of water, pasting a strip of paper on the glass. Measure 
 up from the floor in two places. Move the shelf until a marble rolling on it will 
 prove that it is "level." (This last suggestion came because a marble was the 
 substitute quickest to get, after some fixtures were seen to prevent equal meas- 
 urements.) 
 
 B.— MATERIALS AND THEIR USE. 
 
 Since, during the first few school years, the teacher sets most of the prob- 
 lems and supplies most of the materials with which pupils do their work, primary 
 teachers are usually on the lookout for suggestions as to materials and their use. 
 (Since space forbids a lengthy list only a few are given below.) 
 
 From fourth grade on, the pupils' text-books and reference reading supply 
 most of the material used. Map making, composition work, dictionary work, 
 problems in arithmetic, geography, and history, fill the bulk of the study time.
 
 286 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 A book like McMurry's "How to Study," is a valuable aid to teachers of upper 
 grades. 
 
 Materials Useful or Necessary for Seat-Work. 
 
 1. Papers of all kinds — regular school papers, colored papers for weaving 
 and folding, tissue papers, papers for cutting and for card-board modeling, etc., 
 down to plenty of clean newspapers. 
 
 2. Pencils, crayolas, pens and ink, and brushes and paints, with their neces- 
 sary accessories. 
 
 3. Modeling-clay or some substitute such as soaked and mashed paper, or 
 a preparation of flour or starch and salt (often used for relief maps). 
 
 4. Scissors. 
 
 5. Rulers. 
 
 6. Weaving materials — yarn, rags, raffia, carpet warp, etc. 
 
 7. Alphabets, words, and sentences in boxes. 
 
 8. Numbers and number signs in boxes. 
 
 9. Collected materials — seeds, moss, pressed leaves, advertisements, colored 
 pictures, seed catalogues, toys for models in handwork, old text-books for cutting 
 up, and so on without limit. 
 
 10. Sets of standard tests. (See pp. 292-295.) 
 
 11. A sign printing-press if possible. (Any supply house sells one of good 
 size for about $1.50. A small one for some kinds of work can be bought at a 
 five-and-ten-cent store.) 
 
 12. Paste which can be made inexpensively by teacher or pupils. Several 
 recipes are given, since children sometimes want to work at home when a cooked 
 paste cannot be conveniently made. 
 
 No. 1. — Will keep for weeks if sealed in ordinary fruit-jars: 
 1 pint flour. Put on to boil two pints of water and the 
 
 3 pints water. alum. Mix the flour with the remaining pint 
 
 1 tablespoonful powdered alum. of water, as mother makes a gravy "thicken- 
 
 1 teaspoonful oil of cloves. ing," avoiding lumps. 
 
 When the water (with alum) is boiling, slowly add the "thickening," stirring 
 constantly, and letting the whole cook until clear like starch. Add oil of cloves 
 and seal. 
 
 No. 2. — Similar to above, but different in proportions: 
 \ pint flour. 
 
 2 pints water. Mix as above. Cook 20 minutes in 
 1 tablespoonful powdered alum. double boiler. Strain. 
 
 10 drops oil of cloves. 
 
 No. 3. — Cooked starch (made from either starch or flour) left by the laun- 
 dress can be used for a few days. When much paste is desired for immediate 
 use, laundry starch is the cheapest kind to make. 
 
 No. 4. — Scrape or grate one small potato; add boiling water enough to make 
 it clear like starch and continue to cook four or five minutes. 
 
 No. 5. — If eggs are being used in cooking, the small amount of white left in 
 the broken shells will supply all of one's day paste needed by children at home. 
 
 No. G. — Gum tragacanth dissolved in water makes a good paste for thin 
 papers. Oil of cloves added will preserve it. 
 
 No. 7. — A teaspoonful of ordinary flour mixed with cold water to a moder- 
 ately thin paste will serve in an emergency. 
 
 13. A hectograph or some other duplicating contrivance.
 
 Teaching Children to Study. — Seat- Work. 287 
 
 A Hectograph Recipe. 
 2 ounces best French gelatine. Put all into double boiler and cook 
 
 1 ounce sugar. until thoroughly mixed, stirring as 
 
 \ pint water. gently as possible. 
 
 1 pound glycerine. 
 
 Strain through old dampened cheese-cloth into a shallow pan. Set in a level 
 place, covered from dust, for at least 24 hours before using. 
 
 Directions for Using a Hectograph. 
 1. With hectograph ink, purchasable at any stationer's, write or draw the 
 work to be duplicated. 2. It is economy of time and of gelatine to have paper 
 the full size of the hectograph and always to print a filled sheet. Therefore plan 
 to use all the space by looking days ahead to some desired seat-work, drawing, 
 design, or language anecdote, with which to complete a nearly filled page. 3. 
 Moisten the gelatine-pad very slightly by wiping its surface with a damp (not 
 wet) sponge. 4. Turn written matter down upon the pad and let remain from 
 one to four minutes, according to number of copies desired. (It wastes gelatine 
 to let original sheet remain longer than necessary.) 5. Mark the corners of the 
 sheet by small strips of paper so the duplicate copies may all be "square." 6. 
 Remove written sheet, and rapidly put on one blank sheet after another until 
 the desired number of copies is obtained. One can print 30 to 40 copies with 
 ease, and as many as 125 copies by taking care (a) to write heavily; (b) to let 
 original copy remain on the pad some time; (c) to work rapidly at first and 
 more and more slowly later. 7. When through, wash pad in very hot water, 
 removing all signs of ink. Either by washing or by remelting, level the gelatine, 
 and set away covered. A pan of good tin, about 10 by 14 by f inches, and made, 
 with a fitted lid, is most serviceable. Such a pan costs about fifty cents. 
 
 Care and Distribution of Materials. 
 
 1. Keep all materials in labeled boxes or envelopes so children can readily 
 find them. Replace each time in proper place. Clean and dust often but keep 
 neat all the time. The best lessons in neatness can be taught by example. 
 
 2. Dispense materials economically, helping pupils to see the need for this, 
 thus teaching them thrift. 
 
 3. Make the post of monitor a coveted one, earned by neatness, quietness, 
 common sense, or dependableness. 
 
 4. Have all the heaviest passing or collecting done by monitors and teacher 
 at intermission. 
 
 C— VALUABLE SEAT-WORK FROM DISCARDED TEXT- 
 BOOKS. 
 
 Excellent seat-work can be prepared from discarded arithmetics, geographies 
 (using maps and pictures as well as reading material), and histories, but since 
 there is not space for all, only a discussion of seat- and study-work possible to 
 prepare from old readers is given. Much of this can be done before the first day 
 of school. 
 
 Note: Wherever it can possibly be done, let pupils do the selecting, cutting, 
 mounting, arranging, and labeling, of envelopes or boxes. The list does not pre- 
 tend to be exhaustive, but only suggestive. 
 
 I. When books are used intact (so books may afterwards be "exchanged" or sold 
 
 for a small sum).
 
 2SS Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 A. Pass for children who are through other work to use in one or more ways, 
 for example: 
 
 1. Select a story you would like to hear read aloud. 
 
 2. Select a story (or poem) you would like to read to the class. 
 
 3. Give the pages on which you find stories about — 
 
 a. Dogs, cats, horses, cows. b. Wild animals, c. Birds, d. Flow- 
 ers, trees, etc. e. Kindness to older people, f. Courage, 
 g. Love of home or parents or sisters, h. Kings and queens, 
 or princes and princesses, i. Fairies, j. Giants, k. Indians. 
 1. Some geographical topic being studied, m. Some historical 
 topic being studied. 
 Of course the title selected under "1" and "rn" for any one child or for any 
 one lesson or text-book must fit the book in hand, or the child's interests, or the 
 topics desired to be looked up. 
 
 This is helping the child organize the book and giving him a motive for extra 
 silent reading. The teacher may use this information in a card catalogue for 
 the room — a catalogue of topics commonly needed in that grade. Or pupils may 
 be making themselves booklets on different topics into which they put the refer- 
 ence pages. 
 
 4. Underline words on certain designated pages, to suit age of pupils, 
 for example: 
 
 a. Words of two, three, etc., syllables, b. Words beginning with 
 c sounded like k. c. Words beginning with c sounded like s 
 (then contrast these and note rule for c's being soft before e, 
 i, y). d. Words containing port (to carry) or fer (to bear) as 
 export, transfer, defer, etc. e. Words containing certain 
 phonic stems, as ick, edge, ight, ack, etc. f. Words ending in 
 ing. g. Words beginning with any desired letter, h. Words 
 that indicate in general good qualities; c. g., good, bright 
 pretty, sweet, happy, gay, cheerful, plentiful, i. Words that 
 indicate contrasting qualities — bad, dull, ugly, sour, Sad, sor- 
 rowful, glum, scanty, j. Action words, k. Nouns, or verbs, 
 adjectives, adverbs, etc., for an older class. 
 
 5. Name the paragraphs or sections of certain designated stories or de- 
 
 scriptions and write names on the margins. 
 
 6. Find the humorous parts. 
 
 7. Read the story and be ready to give or write the gist of it in 20, 30, 
 
 or 50 words. 
 
 8. Read a designated story and then write an original story along the 
 
 same lines. 
 
 9. Read a story and then write any story you've ever heard, of which 
 
 this reminds you. 
 
 10. Copy from some one story all words meaning just one (singular 
 
 nouns). Make each mean more than one (plural). 
 
 11. Copy all the plurals in a given story and then write the singulars. 
 
 12. Copy the verbs and make all present tense, past tense, future tense, 
 
 for example. 
 
 13. Copy the adjectives or adverbs and write the corresponding adverbs 
 
 or adjectives. 
 II. When books may be cut up. (Usually, but not always, two books of one sort 
 will be necessary, so the complete stories can be mounted.)
 
 Teaching Children to Study. — Seat-Work. 289 
 
 Pictures. 
 
 1. All full-page pictures and such smaller pictures as do not interfere 
 
 with stories to be saved may be carefully trimmed and mounted 
 and used in some of these ways. 
 
 a. Cut into sections to be used as puzzles to be put together 
 
 again — each cut-up picture in its own envelope, on which 
 should be marked the number of pieces and perhaps the title 
 and number corresponding to number on back of each piece. 
 (Thus, if pieces are dropped on the floor, the correct envelope 
 can be quickly found.) 
 
 b. Several pictures put into envelopes and accompanied by 
 
 printed words suggested by the pictures; children match 
 words and pictures. 
 
 c. One picture and several words suggested by it put into en- 
 
 velope. 
 
 (1) Children lay words on correct parts of picture. 
 
 (2) Children make sentences containing the words — sen- 
 tences which would fit the picture. 
 
 (3) Children write a story suggested by the picture, us- 
 ing as many of the words as possible. 
 
 (4) Words arranged alphabetically. 
 
 (5) Words arranged according to sequence of ideas, as 
 suggested by the picture. 
 
 d. Pictures used as suggestions for children's drawings, paper 
 
 cuttings, etc. 
 
 e. Black-and-white pictures colored with water-color paints or 
 
 with crayolas. 
 
 f. Characters in pictures named. 
 
 2. Pictures put into envelopes with definite questions to fit each pic- 
 
 ture. For example — 
 
 "can't you talk." 
 By Permission of The Perry Pictures Company, Maiden, Mass. 
 
 How many living things in this picture? Name them. 
 Which do you like best? Why? 
 Which is the oldest? How do you know?
 
 290 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 Which is the youngest? How do you know? 
 What time of the year is it? What makes you think so? 
 Make a list of all the things being done by any one in the 
 picture. 
 
 What sounds can each make? 
 
 3. Picture put into envelope with complete sentences from a story about 
 
 the picture. Children arrange sentences in sensible order to fit 
 the picture. 
 
 4. Pictures saved for children's ABC booklets, or "animal" booklets, 
 
 or "My Book" booklets. 
 
 B. Stories or poems as wholes — mounted on one side only of cards, neatly cut 
 
 and large enough to permit a good margin, put into large envelopes, num- 
 bered and perhaps labeled. 
 
 1. Children who finish work permitted to get and read stories. 
 
 2. If stories are not named, children find good names, and when sev- 
 
 eral have been found (in a fortnight or a month) children read 
 story aloud and vote on the best title, by which the story is there- 
 after designated. 
 
 3. Each story or poem accompanied by questions to be answered. 
 
 (Some suggestions in the Coast-Guard lesson, pp. 241-245.) 
 
 4. If stories are short, such as anecdotes, incidents, or fables, each may 
 
 be treated in many ways. 
 
 a. Find a name to fit it. b. Give the gist of it in one sentence. 
 c. Outline it. d. Illustrate it with drawing, paper cutting, 
 etc. e. Write it in your own words, f . Copy it, supplying 
 a word which means the same in place of every word you 
 can. g. Learn the anecdote so you can tell it. h. Be ready 
 to tell a similar incident of your own. i. Change the per- 
 son from third to first, or vice versa, j. Change the tense, 
 k. If people talk, change direct to indirect quotations, or 
 vice versa. 
 
 5. In longer stories, let pupils — 
 
 a. Tell at what points changes in the thought occur, b. Whether 
 the story is liked or not, with reasons for decision, c. Give 
 the five (or any number of) main points of the story, d. 
 Make the story into "chapters" as in a book, and name each 
 chapter, e. Pick out words and phrases pleasing to the ear. 
 f. Pick out all the newest words or expressions. 
 
 C. Stories cut into paragraphs or sections, and poems cut into stanzas or sec- 
 
 tions, and each section mounted on a card with a margin. Children may 
 then be given envelopes containing all the sections of one story, or each 
 child may receive but one section. Suggestions follow: 
 
 1. Arrange the sections to make a consecutive story. 
 
 2. Name each section. 
 
 3. Be ready to read your section so well that when every one reads 
 
 there will be no break; let it seem like one person reading. 
 
 4. Guess what comes before and after your section. 
 
 5. Write the ending as you think it will be. As you wish it might be. 
 (i. Copy all the words in your section, grouping them by syllables. 
 
 7. Same, arranging words alphabetically.
 
 Teaching Children to Study.— Seat- Work. 291 
 
 8. Rewrite your section — 
 
 a. In your own words, b. Supplying synonyms wherever pos- 
 sible, c. In changed person, d. In changed tense. 
 
 9. Copy ten words: 
 
 a. The hardest*, b. The longest, c. That begin with . d. 
 
 That end in . e. That you like. 
 
 10. Take the ten words and write for each some associated word: 
 
 a. By likeness, b. By contrast, c. Whole if part is given; e. g., 
 door, if knob is named, d. Part if whole is given, e. 
 Function if object is named; e. g.,. clock — to tell time. f. 
 Material, if object is known; e. g., apron — cotton, cloth, 
 gingham, calico, or lawn. g. Rhymes; e. g., grow, snow, 
 throw, sew, etc. h. Sounds made if animals are named; e. g., 
 dog, barks; horse, neighs, i. Object used where: Cup, in 
 kitchen; knife, at the table; table, in the library. 
 (See suggestions for use when books are not cut up, many of which can be 
 used for cut-up stories as well.) 
 
 D. Sentences, word lists, words, and alphabet letters. 
 
 1. Paste sentences on a card with enough space after each sentence for 
 
 child to fill in one sentence. 
 
 a. Sentences kept whole and put in envelope with card. Chil- 
 
 dren to lay on card sentence just like the one above. 
 
 b. Same, only sentences are cut into words or phrases and must 
 
 be matched with wholes, part by part. 
 
 c. Same, only words are cut into letters from which sentences 
 
 must be built up. 
 
 2. Write sentences on a card and children find printed sentences, as 
 
 above, to correspond. 
 
 3. Children find pictures to fit sentences, or make pictures to fit them. 
 
 4. Word lists often found at the beginning or end of a lesson, or found 
 
 at the end of a reader, may be mounted on cards for children to use. 
 a. Copy list. b. Rearrange list by length of words, c. Rear- 
 range by meanings, d. Rearrange alphabetically, e. Match 
 list from loose words in envelope, f. Same from loose let- 
 ters, g. Match with synonyms, h. Write corresponding 
 antonyms, i. Write as long a list as possible suggested by 
 the hardest word. j. Ditto by the longest word. k. Ditto 
 by the word you like best. 
 
 5. These same lists need not be mounted, but may be given to pupils 
 
 to cut up and paste in their "dictionaries" — little folded booklets 
 
 of 26 pages, with one letter of the alphabet on each page and under 
 
 that letter only words beginning with it. Of course the words 
 
 can't be in perfect alphabetical order because they will be collected 
 
 at different times. These "dictionaries" may be used, later, for 
 
 word drill, spelling lessons, phonics, etc. 
 
 Adapting a mother's story of how she entertains her convalescent 
 
 boy, a teacher may for an occasional study period let pupils cut up 
 
 readers or magazines to illustrate a story which the teacher or some 
 
 child has put upon the blackboard. For example: 
 
 Once there were a father and a mother and their two little boys. (Each 
 
 time we vary the family to suit ourselves.) Here the children stop to find a
 
 292 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 picture of a house for the family to live in — sometimes it is a big farmhouse, some- 
 times a beach cottage, and sometimes children even choose a boat; this is cut 
 out and pasted in a book. If we are to be in the country we hunt for a picture 
 of a barn and all the animals that belong to a farm. After they are all pasted 
 neatly we continue reading the story, illustrating as we go on. We tell what one 
 day with this family is like, or we have them go on a picnic. There is a great 
 deal of amusement in finding pictures of what they carry for their luncheon. 
 
 With a few suggestions on the teacher's part any child will enjoy making up 
 the story, putting in all sorts of adventures, and since there is no end to the 
 things that our family does, it is always a delight and a lasting amusement. 
 
 7. Similar work may be done for booklets on — 
 
 a. The Kitchen, b. The Dining-Room. c. Our House, d. The 
 Circus, e. The Barn. f. My Playthings, g. My Pets, etc. 
 h. Last Vacation, etc. 
 
 8. From the pages not otherwise needed, pupils can cut sentences, 
 
 words, and letters, with which to fill spool-boxes or heavy envelopes 
 for seat-work. 
 
 IX.— MEASURING RESULTS IN EDUCATION. 
 
 For somewhat over ten years students of education have been making more 
 or less scientific measurements of educational results and critical studies of school 
 conditions. 
 
 For those who want to make a careful study of the whole movement, much 
 literature is available. The early work, necessarily crude and unsatisfactory 
 because it broke virgin soil, deserves students' attention for the same reason that 
 pioneer work does in any field. Later efforts have been widely scattered over 
 the United States and published in so many different forms that it has been vir- 
 tually impossible for teachers in service to keep up with the literature. Dr. 
 William S. Gray is printing some summarizing articles in The Elementary School 
 Journal for 1916-17,* while Dr. M. E. Haggerty, head of the Bureau of Coop- 
 erative Research, University of Minnesota, is now working on several tests, 
 hoping that many teachers during the current school year will assist him in giv- 
 ing these tests and in checking the results of Minnesota school work in spelling, 
 reading, grammar, language, composition, and handwriting. He will issue bulle- 
 tins from the University. The Northwestern School Supply Company will print 
 or sell at low cost all tests used by Dr. Haggerty or mentioned in this Manual, 
 but all communications should be addressed to the Bureau of Cooperative Re- 
 search, University of Minnesota. 
 
 Teachers who wish to begin a study of standard measurements will find the 
 following references valuable. The pursuit of all sources mentioned in these will 
 soon open wide many other doors: 
 
 1. The Fourteenth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education — Part I — 
 78c — University of Chicago Press. 
 
 2. Consult list of Teachers College (N. Y.) publications, selecting the numbers dealing with 
 measurements. 
 
 3. Consult contents of The Elementary School Journal (formerly Teacher), University of Chi- 
 cago Press, for the last two or three years. 
 
 4. Scientific Management in Education, J. M. Rice, (1012); Hinds, Noble, and Eldredge. 
 
 5. Secure reports from a few of the many cities having made surveys during the last few years: 
 Springfield, 111.; New York City; Cleveland; Kansas City; fioise, Idaho; etc. 
 
 0. Watch School Education for Dr. M. E. Haggerty's bulletins and reports. 
 
 * Reprints of these can be obtained for 5c a copy from Dr. Wm. S. Gray, University of Chicago.
 
 Measuring Results. — Test Materials. 293 
 
 Believing, however, that the great majority of teachers care less about the 
 history of the movement and the scientific methods of deriving scales than they 
 do about the values to be secured and the actual methods of administering tests, 
 the remainder of this article will confine itself to a brief discussion of the last- 
 named points, and to only such references as are immediately essential and have 
 not been named before. 
 
 REFERENCES FOR AVAILABLE TEST MATERIAL. 
 
 A. General Menial Ability. 
 
 1. Kuhlman — Revision of the Rinet-Simon System for Measuring the Intelligence of Chil- 
 
 dren; Dr. F. Kuhlman, Faribault, Minn.; 25c. 
 
 2. Yerkes, Bridges, and Hardwick — A Point Scale for Measuring Mental Ability; Warwick 
 
 and York, Inc., Baltimore, Md.; $1.25. 
 
 3. Terman — Measurement of Intelligence; Houghton, Mifflin Co., $1.60. 
 
 B. Quality Scales for Use in Rating Children's Handwriting. 
 
 1. Thorndike — Teachers' Estimates of the Quality of Specimens of Handwriting; Teachers 
 
 College Record, November, 1911; Teachers College, N. Y.; 30c. 
 
 2. Ayres — A Scale for Measuring the Quality of Handwriting of School Children; Russell 
 
 Sage Foundation, N. Y.; 10c. 
 
 3. Freeman — The Teaching of Handwriting; Houghton, Mifflin Co., Boston, 60c; 
 
 4. Johnson and Stone — Measuring the Quality of Handwriting; The Elementary School Jour- 
 
 nal, February, 1916; University of Chicago,; 20c. 
 
 5. Haggerty, University of Minnesota. (Ready in October.) 
 
 C. Arithmetic Tests. 
 
 1. Courtis — Efficiency Tests; S. A. Courtis, Detroit, Mich. (Write Dr. Haggerty.) 
 
 2. Courtis — Standard Practice Tests; World Book Co., Chicago. (Price list sent on request.) 
 
 3. Thompson — Minimum Essentials; Ginn & Co., Chicago; 90c and $1.00 for 500 sheets. 
 
 D. Reading Tests. 
 
 1. Thorndike — The Improved Scale for Measuring Ability in Reading; Teachers College 
 
 Record, November, 1915, and January, 1916; 40c each. 
 
 2. Gray, Wm. S. — Methods of Testing Reading; The Elementary School Journal, January 
 
 and February, 1916; 20c each. 
 
 Sheet tests, 50c a hundred for either oral or silent reading tests. 
 
 3. Kelly — The Kansas Silent Reading Tests; Bureau of Educational Measurements, State 
 
 Normal School, Emporia, Kan.; 35c a hundred. 
 
 4. Jones — Phonetic and Sight Word-Tests; R. G. Jones, Rockford, 111.; $2.00 for complete 
 
 set to test 100 pupils. 
 
 5. Dr. M. E. Haggerty — University of Minnesota. 
 
 6. Haggerty, revised Thorndike tests in Indiana University Report. 
 
 E. Spelling Tests. 
 
 1. Ayres — Measuring Scale for Spelling; Russell Sage Foundation, New York; 10c. 
 
 2. Buckingham — -Spelling Ability: Its Measurement and Distribution; Teachers' College, 
 
 New York. 
 
 3. Jones — Concrete Investigation of The Material of English Spelling; University of South 
 
 Dakota, Vermilion; 10c. 
 
 4. Haggerty. (Address above.) 
 
 F. Language, Composition, and Grammar Tests and References. 
 
 1. A Course of Study in Grammar Based on Kansas City Survey; Charters and Miller; Uni- 
 
 versity of Missouri Bulletins, Vol. 10, No. 2. 
 
 2. Briggs — Teachers' College Record, September, 1913. 
 
 3. Trabue — Completion Test Language Scales; Teachers' College. 
 
 4. Rice — Scientific Management in Education. 
 
 5. Boise Public Schools, Special Report, June, 1915. 
 
 6. Hillegas — A Scale for the Measurement of Quality in English Composition by Young 
 
 People; Teachers' College Record, September, 1912; 30c. 
 
 7. Hosic — Chapter VII of Fourteenth Yearbook. 
 
 8. Haggerty. (Address above.) (Language, Grammar, Composition, ready by October.) 
 
 G. Geography and History. (Reference only.) 
 
 1. Bagley — Chapter IX of Fourteenth Yearbook. 
 
 2. Mayberry — in March, 1916, The Elementary School Journal. 
 H. Drawing Scale. 
 
 1. Thorndike — The Measurement of Achievement in Drawing; Teachers College Record, 
 November, 1913; 30c.
 
 294 Minnesota Manual for Teachers, 
 
 values of measuring results. 
 
 A. To the Community: 
 
 1. In learning local conditions. 
 
 2. In discovering local needs. 
 
 3. In bettering local methods and administration. 
 
 4. In placing education on at least an equal plane with other community- 
 
 activities — fully as worth measuring as the temperature, or the gas, 
 water, and electricity; certainly worth as much attention as the motions 
 made by girls in folding handkerchiefs, or of workmen's efficiency in a 
 dozen fields. 
 
 B. To the School as a Whole: 
 
 1. To insure cumulative effect through the grades. 
 
 2. To eliminate waste due to poor equipment, poor methods, or poor per- 
 
 sonalities. 
 
 3. To produce pride in growth. 
 
 C. To the Superintendent: 
 
 1. To know his school in all its parts. 
 
 2. To plan better courses of study. 
 
 3. To plan a better system of administration. 
 
 4. To supervise teachers more capably. 
 
 5. To rate teachers more justly. 
 
 6. To examine pupils more effectively than by former methods. 
 
 D. To the Teachers: 
 
 1. To secure greater cooperation and unity of purpose. 
 
 2. To grow in teaching power — 
 
 a. Finding better methods; b. eliminating nonessentials; c. developing 
 breadth of view; d. increasing self confidence — (1) because 
 of objective instead of subjective standards; (2) because the 
 measures are definite rather than vague. (No longer is one class 
 merely "better than last year's class," but it is exactly so much 
 better by some scale, however crude that may be.) 
 
 3. To grow in appreciation of scientific articles now so numerous in current 
 
 literature. 
 
 E. To the Pupils: 
 
 1. To know their individual, class, and school ranks. 
 
 2. To take pride in improving. 
 
 3. To feel confidence in what they know and can do. 
 
 HOW TO ADMINISTER TESTS. 
 
 In general, each purchasable set of tests is accompanied by very definite 
 directions, by sample score-sheets, and by all material necessary for making a 
 good test. The novice, who naturally wants his school to appear well, is apt to 
 become nervous, and sometimes unwittingly fails to give an honest test. The 
 first rule to follow is: Make the conditions normal and give a perfectly fair test. 
 It is the present status of efficiency that teachers want to learn, so that they may 
 know on what phases to work for improvement. The later tests which show 
 growth are the valuable ones, if they, too, are honestly given. 
 
 Freeman's article in February, 1916, and Mayberry's article in March, 1916, 
 of The Elementary School Journal, arc helpful along this line.
 
 Measuring Results. — Standards. — Discipline. 
 
 295 
 
 MINNESOTA COURSE OF STUDY STANDARDS. 
 
 The only definite standards set are found under Penmanship, one of the sub- 
 jects easiest to standardize. Recent Ethical Culture School (New York) experi- 
 ments corroborate what, from personal experience and from observation of many 
 classes of pupils, the writer believes, namely, that there is a natural period of 
 pride in penmanship at about the age of 11 or 12. Because the writer also be- 
 lieves that wherever possible the rise of an interest should be utilized, penmanship 
 is not forced until about fifth or sixth grade. As is frequently said, the entire 
 course is merely suggestive, local communities being urged to adapt and not to 
 adopt the state course as it stands. Hence, those who feel that the minimum 
 speed standards set are too low, can easily alter them. Although the quality 
 standard is in all cases left to the community, the speed standard parallels it in 
 a general way. 
 
 The following table of comparisons of speeds clearly shows the writer's position : 
 Comparison of Penmanship Speed Standards from Several Sources. 
 (All reduced to "letters in a minute"; decimals omitted.) 
 
 
 
 GRADE 
 
 
 11 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 V 
 
 VI 
 
 VII 
 
 VIII 
 
 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Minimum standard only. Less demanded than in 
 some scales until the natural acceleration period 
 in fifth- and sixth-grades is reached; then just as 
 much or more 
 
 20-30 
 
 25-35 
 
 35-45 
 
 45-60 
 
 60-75 
 
 75-85 
 
 85-95 
 
 Courtis. Penmanship in Original Work. 
 
 Words reduced to letters, counting 3J letters to a 
 word. From p. 56 of the Fourteenth Yearbook 
 
 
 31 
 
 42 
 
 40 
 
 56 
 
 59 
 
 63 
 
 Courtis. Penmanship in Reproduction. 
 
 
 38 
 
 4!) 
 
 59 
 :;',i 83 
 
 66 
 
 47-93 
 
 6:; 
 
 73 
 
 45-90 
 70 
 
 SO 
 
 Cleveland Survey. 
 
 Shows wide variations found in four upper grades 
 only. These are class averages, hence do not 
 show individual variations from 2 to 129 letters a 
 
 
 16-101 
 
 Freeman. Fifty-six cities tested. 
 
 :>7 
 
 44 
 
 51 
 
 59 
 
 73 
 
 Freeman. Group selected for speed. 
 
 45 
 36 
 
 53 
 
 4S 
 
 (10 
 
 56 
 
 68 
 
 65 
 
 70 
 
 SO 
 
 SO 
 
 94 
 
 Freeman. Proposed Average Standard. 
 
 From p. 76 Fourteenth Yearbook 
 
 90 
 
 Freeman. Proposed minimum to maximum stand- 
 ard. 
 From p. 150 of The Teaching of Hand -Writing. . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30-40 
 
 40-50 
 
 50-60 
 
 60-70 
 
 70 Ml 
 
 SO-90 
 
 90-100 
 
 X.— DISCIPLINE. 
 
 (A few positive statements for the sake of brevity.) 
 
 A. Discipline should mean the securing of right conduct as an expression of right 
 attitude on the part of the child* 
 
 1. But, do secure right conduct — set a standard! To wait until the child 
 feels like doing right won't teach him what is right. He must first 
 
 * For this definition and several points that follow, the author is indebted to Keith's Elemen- 
 tary Education.
 
 296 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 get the ideals or standards of the group in which he lives. Let him 
 know what your standards are. 
 
 a. Use suggestion as a first means. Illustration: "I wish every 
 
 paper could look as neat as this one" (showing an approved 
 paper). 
 
 b. Use direction, if suggestion isn't sufficient. For example, "Each 
 
 child must hand in a neat paper." 
 
 c. If neither suggestion nor direction secures the desired result, re- 
 
 sort to punishment of the delinquents. 
 
 (1) Mean what you say, and prove it to the pupils. 
 
 (2) Be insistent on adherence to the standards set up. 
 
 (3) The same reprimand of punishment for the same offense 
 committed by the same child will soon prove ineffective, 
 hence be fertile in expedients. 
 
 (4) Have reserve power, not exhausting the final resources 
 
 in the first move. 
 
 The last few points may be illustrated by a discussion of a very common breach of order — 
 whispering. Perhaps the teacher first suggests that, though it isn't wrong in itself, whispering 
 interferes with good work and consequently should not prevail in school. The majority of the 
 pupils will succeed in not whispering, but some cannot. The teacher may now discuss just how 
 whispering interferes with good work — how the whisperer doesn't study; how the one to whom he 
 whispers is unfairly interrupted; how those nearby, who hear the confusion, are disturbed; how 
 the teacher may hear the noise and have to give only partial attention to the class he is teaching 
 until he locates and stops the disorder; and consequently how the pupils in that class receive less 
 than their fair share of attention or good instruction. If the teacher is obliged to go to the whis- 
 perer or to reprimand him aloud, every one is disturbed. Having thus helped pupils to see how 
 far-reaching a little lack of self-control may be in its consequences, the teacher may urge that all 
 help those who forget by shaking their heads and refusing to reply. 
 
 Should this not be effective, the teacher may say, Since some of you do not take your share 
 of responsibility in keeping our room a quiet place for study, let me say to you that you must 
 refrain from whispering. I'll help you all I can by giving you plenty of work to do, and by a 
 warning nod when I am not too busy; but in the main you must look out for yourselves, and you 
 must not whisper any more. 
 
 Then comes the test of whether the teacher means what he says. A child whispers. The 
 teacher must not ignore it on the plea that he knows "the child forgot," or that it was "only one 
 child," or that it was so "quietly done that few were disturbed." The punishment, sympatheti- 
 cally administered, must be swift and sure. The offender is called to stand by the teacher, to sit 
 in another seat, or is publicly named as an offender, or has his name put on the board as one who 
 "forgets," or is told to forfeit his recess, depending, of course, on the age of the child and the 
 means that will best fit him. For a second- or third-grade child, to stand by the teacher will be 
 enough. The next offense may be punished by the child's having to sit in a smaller seat, as if he 
 were still too little to remember. The next time, by changing his seat so that he isn't tempted to 
 talk to the particular friend involved. The next time the teacher keeps him for a private talk 
 and lets him lay on his desk for the day, a card that has on it a picture suggesting silence; for ex- 
 ample: (a) Mother saying "Sh" because baby is going to sleep; or (b) Mother with finger on lips 
 as she points to baby already asleep; or (c) a card that says, "I can keep from whispering, and I 
 will!" or (d) that says "Remember"; or (e) just "Silence!" These cards should be treated as 
 helps; but if they, too, are ineffective, the teacher will do well to make a record of how much help 
 the child has needed, or how many days or weeks elapse before he can remember. Some children 
 would be helped by having such a record made public — as, for example, on the blackboard write i 
 These children are trying not to whisper. The marks indicate the days they have needed help from 
 
 others! 
 
 John Brown, / / / Jennie Sims, /////// 
 
 But some children would simply revel in this publicity, and the plan would be no deterrent at all. 
 In that case the record must be kept in the teacher's note-book, for just the child and teacher to 
 discuss at the end of each week and to mark the child's gain in self control. The opposite plan 
 of having a list of children who can take care of themselves on the board, with the names of delin- 
 quents "conspicuous by their absence," is sometimes valuable. 
 
 Other good helps to be used are (a) to send an inveterate whisperer with his book to study 
 in a room where the pupils arc known to be especially quiet and studious; this may be to a lower
 
 Discipline. 297 
 
 grade to shame the whisperer by seeing how smaller pupils do better than he, or to an upper grade 
 to see what is expected of him Liter and how lie should begin at once to learn control. The form 
 of punishment must, of course, fit the mental attitude of the offender, (b) To give the child a seat, 
 for several days, at a table in the front of the room so that he sees nothing that is going on behind 
 him, and so has no temptation to whisper, (c) To have the child make up the time he has lost for 
 himself and others by working after school. (d) To deny the child some coveted part in explain- 
 ing an exhibit, because he hasn't helped all he could to make the work easier for others in the room. 
 The teacher who really means what he says will find still other ways to help individual chil- 
 dren. Though no schoolroom can be absolutely free from whispering, and though whispering is 
 not a crime (like cheating or story-telling or stealing) and consequently should not be punished 
 like a crime, the teacher should uphold the ideal of no communication during study times. Plenty 
 of worth-while work to keep all busy is the primary preventive of communication. Chances during 
 recitations for the children to express themselves freely because sure of sympathetic treatment 
 from the teacher is a second fundamental, since pupils who have "said their say" and have inter- 
 esting tasks to do, will labor industriously and independently at the work. A few minutes, at 
 more or less frequent intervals, depending on the grade, given to free movement and conversation, 
 will also be found a help in some schools. 
 
 2. Next, develop conscience; that is, give pupils sufficient opportunity in 
 
 exercising judgment about what to do, and in seeing the good or poor 
 result of their conduct, to help them gradually to create their own 
 standards, no longer needing to depend on the teacher's approval to 
 know whether they have done right or not. 
 
 3. Then help pupils grow in will power, hence give chances to exercise 
 
 initiative, to choose a line of action in a wholly new situation. If the 
 teacher anticipates every situation and forestalls any exercise of 
 judgment and "will," pupils do not grow. 
 A first-grade teacher who had a daily three-minute rest period during which the pupils indulged 
 in free movement about the room and in chatting with one another, gave the usual signal for re- 
 laxation on the first spring day that windows were wide open. In less than a minute all had fol- 
 lowed the lead of two or three and were clambering over one another, four or five deep, to lean 
 out of the windows. The teacher had at once to call all to their seats, discuss the danger of fall- 
 ing out of windows so high from the ground, of torn or mussed clothing from so much jostling, as 
 well as the confusion and impoliteness shown. She further said: "Now, some one can't be always' 
 with you to say 'do' or 'do not' do thus and so; you have to learn to think for yourselves. Be- 
 cause you didn't do so this morning, we've had to take even more than the time of your rest period 
 in talking about it; so much time, in fact, that instead of the long story I had planned to tell you 
 we have time for only a very short one." No one leaned out of a window the next day. 
 
 4. Lastly, help pupils to broaden their ideas of right, to discriminate be- 
 
 tween "letter" and "spirit" of the law and so recognize (a) that an 
 act in itself may not be wrong, but is wrong in some places (when 
 others are disturbed, or when a law is violated, or when one fails to 
 do his own work); and (b) that a changed form of the act is just as 
 wrong as the form denied (note-writing instead of whispering, for 
 example). 
 B. Recognize the factors which help a pupil to form and to change his standards of 
 behavior — heredity, material environment, conduct of others, and the child's 
 own conduct. The first is past the teacher's power to change; the second 
 can be changed very little by any one teacher; the third and fourth are the 
 agencies which the teacher may mold. He must, himself, be honest, prompt, 
 respectful to others, reliable, and generous; he must choose companions of 
 high character; he must suggest only persons worthy of imitation as ideals 
 for pupils to follow; he must secure good conduct in the schoolroom, first, 
 that the weak ones may follow what others do, and, second, because one's 
 own conduct influences one's morals: he who does wrong loses self-respect 
 and does more wrong; he who is held to doing right feels a glow of satisfac- 
 tion that makes doing right the easy thing to continue.
 
 298 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 C. Study the causes of poor discipline in yourself and others and profit by the dis- 
 
 coveries. 
 
 1. Have high ideals of orderliness in the room. Of conduct. Of work. 
 
 a. Be a good housekeeper — keep things dusted; put away pictures or 
 
 decorations for some special occasion as soon as their purpose 
 has been served. Keep things fresh and up to date, and help 
 the children to be orderly in getting and replacing material, in 
 destroying waste paper, in keeping desks in order, and in assist- 
 ing in passing materials. 
 
 b. Be sensitive to unnecessary noises, confusion, and movement, and 
 
 quietly but firmly demand respectful obedience to right stand- 
 ards. Children like a teacher who is business-like, self-possessed, 
 and pleasant, but who stands for his own rights; they choose for 
 a playground leader one who demands that they play the game 
 fairly. Children like to be made to do right. 
 
 c. Plan assignments so that pupils need not interrupt the teacher nor 
 
 communicate with their companions while the teacher hears an- 
 other class. 
 
 d. Have orderly movements to and from classes, the wardrobe, etc., 
 
 with as few directions as possible. 
 
 e. Inculcate courteous habits. In adult life, we have to learn to 
 
 await another's convenience; to take our turn to speak; to knock 
 at a door; and in other ways gain permission to usurp another's 
 time or attention. A habit of thoughtfulness of others can be 
 started in school; one means is by insisting that pupils gain per- 
 mission to speak, to leave their seats, etc.; another is by having 
 pupils stand in good position to recite or when addressing the 
 teacher or a visitor. 
 
 f. Hold children to doing faithful work. Recognize and prevent 
 
 repetition of carelessness, shirking, and dawdling. 
 
 2. Make punishment impersonal. Few misdemeanors are committed as 
 
 personal affronts, so the teacher need not take them as such. Work 
 must be done, not merely because the teacher said so, though that is 
 a good lesson to learn at times, but because the child's business in 
 life is to get his lessons, and because parents support schools and send 
 children there that they may learn to work. The teacher must see 
 that the work is done, but the child who fails to do his work has not 
 offended the teacher; he has failed in higher things — in trustworthi- 
 ness, in exactness, in holding himself to a hard task, in honesty. 
 
 3. Cultivate a personality that makes you: 
 
 a. Sympathetic but not indulgent, b. Persevering and cheery in the 
 face of difficulties, c. Self-reliant, yet open to advice, d. Able 
 to keep school matters to yourself, e. Loyal to your superin- 
 tendent, to your patrons, and to your pupils, f. Indefatigable 
 in the preparation of lessons, in securing helpful material, and 
 in trying to grow professionally, g. Use good common sense on 
 all occasions. 
 
 D. Study the common forms of punishment and judge of their value in gradually 
 
 securing from individuals right conduct as an expression of right attitude or 
 character.
 
 School Laws Teachers Should Note. 299 
 
 E. Study children. Note their changing attitude towards different forms of pun- 
 ishment with their increasing years, and try, at each need for punishment, 
 (suggestion and direction being of no avail here,) to administer the right 
 punishment in the right way to be effective in real character development. 
 
 XI.— A FEW ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT SCHOOL 
 LAWS WHICH TEACHERS SHOULD NOTE.* 
 
 Note: The first figures refer to section numbers in the 1915 pamphlet summarizing Laws of 
 Minnesota Relating to tlic Public-School System, prepared under the direction of State Superinten- 
 dent Schulz, by W. H. Williams. A copy of this should be in the library of every schoolhousc 
 in Minnesota until it is replaced by a revision of the same. The numbers in parentheses are those 
 used in the General Statutes, hence any law can be quickly found even in a revision of this 1915 
 summary. 
 
 § 147 (2796). In this section, the word "five" before months should be "six." 
 Compare this with § 181, in which the law says that the minimum school year is 
 six months. 
 
 § 148 (9412-16). School should not be held on any legal holiday. Some 
 teachers do hold school on a legal holiday so that they may take some more con- 
 venient date for a vacation. The legal holidays are selected as special occasions 
 for showing respect and patriotism, and children should be instructed in the 
 reason for so doing. To disregard the law, letting any day be substituted for 
 the legal holiday, as though it were merely a day's time given to teacher and pupils, 
 depreciates the love of country and of God which these holy-days were meant to 
 foster. 
 
 § 150 (2835). Note that instruction in morals must not be religious teaching. 
 
 § 173 (S634). Corporal punishment must be reasonable and moderate and 
 exercised only for the good of the child. 
 
 §§ 181-185 (2895-2899 as amended in 1915). Teachers should read these 
 sections and make sure that they do their part to have schools receive their just 
 proportion of state and county funds. Teachers must prevent parents and chil- 
 dren from misconstruing the phrase, "forty days of attendance." This does not 
 mean that pupils shall attend school only forty days. Besides the required forty 
 days' attendance of a pupil, simply demanded that the district may be entitled 
 to some apportionment of funds, the child must continue in school for the full 
 term of school, as shown in §§ 225-231. 
 
 § 1S9 (Laws of 1915). The Department of Education issues a blank Appli- 
 ed! ion for State Aid to Class "A" Rural Schools which contains the rules pertain- 
 ing to such a school's equipment. A teacher may secure such a blank from the 
 county superintendent or from the State Department of Education, St. Paul. 
 The teacher should shoulder his full share of responsibility in keeping up such 
 equipment, including the notifying of the school-board of needed repairs or sup- 
 plies. 
 
 §§ 225-231 (2979-2985). A teacher needs to know the exact law regarding 
 compulsory education, noting especially his own duty in holding children, par- 
 ents, and school-board if necessary, to obedience to the law. The teacher should 
 not wait several days before finding out the cause of a child's absence. If no 
 member of his family nor any neighbor's child can properly account for the ab- 
 sence, the teacher should at once telephone, write, or, best of all, visit the family. 
 He should then take all steps provided by law. 
 
 * Thanks for help on this section are due County Superintendent A. C. Loomis, Winona.
 
 300 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 §§ 288-290 (2829, 2830-2864). Teachers should be thoroughly conversant 
 with the law concerning their quantisations. 
 
 § 295 (2960). Note the Smith decision, Feb. 15, 1915, regarding pay for 
 time spent in Institutes, and read in this connection § 271 (1020). 
 
 § 299 (2838). Teachers should know in what branches they are expected to 
 pass examinations if by this means they secure certificates. 
 
 § 325 (2832). Note the whole section, but especially the paragraphs con- 
 cerning contracts on p. 89 of report used. Although a person's word is morally 
 as good as his bond, the law recognizes only a written contract, so teachers need 
 to secure such an instrument before counting themselves legally employed. 
 
 Teachers are urged themselves to be ruled by the ethics rather than the law 
 of the situation, asking leave to change (if they desire to) whether they have 
 given an oral or a written acceptance. If such resignation is refused, a teacher 
 should cheerfully abide by the decision, feeling that his oral acceptance obligated 
 him to remain unless willingly released. 
 
 §§ 326-327 (2833-34). Teachers must make it their conscientious business 
 to learn how to keep a register correctly and to make accurate reports. 
 
 §§ 332-347 (Laws of 1915). Teachers should know at least what concerns 
 them individually about the state teacher's insurance and retirement fund. The 
 secretary of the board of trustees of the pension fund, The Capitol, St. Paul, will 
 supply necessary blanks and circulars of information, if these cannot be secured 
 from county superintendents. 
 
 XII.— A TEACHER'S BOOKS. 
 
 Because teachers of experience, principals, and supervisors, receive numerous 
 requests from young teachers concerning "the best books to own," "what I ought 
 to read to grow more," "how I can understand children," "what book is best for 
 help in teaching history" (or some other named subject), "what material is avail- 
 able for school entertainments," "what reference-books the children ought to 
 read for geography or history," "how to secure parent cooperation," and the 
 dozen and one other problems which assail a teacher, it seemed very proper to 
 include in this Manual a list of books which might help comparatively inexperi- 
 enced teachers. (Teachers longer in service know the many means of keeping 
 up with what they need, hence are not specifically provided for here.) Any one 
 who has attempted to make a similar list will realize how unsatisfactory the re- 
 sult is felt to be, for, almost before the printer's ink is dry, some new and possibly 
 better publication will be available. Also any one compiler is certain to have a 
 limited range; consequently, the lists offered are to be used merely as a working 
 basis and are necessarily tentative. 
 
 A.— GENERAL REFERENCES TO SECURE. 
 
 1. Minnesota School Library List for 1915-10. (A copy should be found in every school- 
 house in the state, or secured from Miss Wilson, Department of Education, The Capitol, St. Paul.) 
 Refer constantly to the introduction for general helps about books; pp. 1 to 90 for books liked by 
 children, for the books to have as desk copies in every subject, for reference-books to be consulted 
 by pupils; pp. 90 to 90 for the teacher's own books. The list is discriminatingly selected and is 
 up to date. Hooks here mentioned will not be repeated in the following list. 
 
 2. Books to Read Aloud: Miss Wilson. (Same address as above.) 
 
 3. Material Descriptive of Minnesota Secured at Little Cost. Public library, St. Paul. 
 (Enclose stamp.) 
 
 4. Catalogs of The Northwestern School Supply Company, Minneapolis; the St. Paul Book 
 & Stationery Co., St. Paul; the Milton Bradley Co., through Thomas Charles Co., Chicago; A. 
 Flanagan, Chicago; and book lists from all good book firms, including special series such as the 
 Riverside Educational Monographs, and the Riverside Text-Books in Education.
 
 Teachers' Books. 301 
 
 5. Bulletins issued by the State Department of Education and the University of Minnesota 
 which apply to any phase of a teacher's work. 
 
 6. U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletins — often free — seldom over 10c each. a. Teaching 
 Material in Government Publications, No. 558, 10c. Especially valuable as source for other 
 material; for example, Fifty Common Birds pictured and described, 15c; Games, Songs, Marches 
 etc., for Indian Schools, (but excellent for all schools,) 10c; Contagious Diseases and how to recog- 
 nize seven of them, 5c. b. A Teacher's Professional Library, No. 408. c. The Reorganized 
 School Playground, Curtis, 10c. (No. 40 of 1913 issue.) d. The Teaching of Community Civics, 
 Barnard, No. 650, 10c. 
 
 7. Annual reports of the Minnesota Educational Association and of the National Education 
 Association are valuable to show the trend of professional interests and outlook. (The superin- 
 tendent, or the school as a whole, should have a copy.) 
 
 S. A comparative Study of the Public-School Systems in Forty-five States. Pamphlet No. 
 124, Russell Sage Foundation, 10c. 
 
 9. Monthly copies of School Education. (Last year's work by Miss Avis Wescott was espe- 
 cially valuable for beginning and primary teachers.) 
 
 B.— BOOKS TO SUPPLEMENT THE MINNESOTA SCHOOL LIBRARY LIST. 
 
 Note: Topics and pages refer to Miss Wilson's Minnesota School Library List. 
 
 Ethics, p. 8. — Palmer — Ethical and Moral Instruction in the Schools. Cabot and others — A Course 
 in Citizenship. 
 
 Government, p. 11. — Dunn — The Community and the Citizen. Cabot and others — A Course in Citi- 
 zenship. Field and Nearing — Community Civics. 
 
 Vocational Guidance, p. 27. — Parsons — Choosing a Vocation. (Illustrates methods of advising 
 young people. Is a fine companion to Davis, which excels in bibliographies and in sugges- 
 tions for using the composition period for vocational guidance.) 
 Collins Publicity Service, Philadelphia. (Excellent "Teachers' Auxiliaries" issued on the dif- 
 ferent vocations.) 
 Thrift Service Co., Rockford, 111. (Issues many booklets that would inspire children to build 
 character — especially Johnson's story in "Thrift Talk" issued by a Milwaukee bank.) 
 
 Household Economics, and Manual Training. — pp. 30 and 31 — Shelland — Bulletin No. 42, and a 
 forthcoming Bulletin, State Department of Education, St. Paul. 
 
 Drawing, p. 33. — (Ref.) Sargent and others — Course of Study in drawing in The Elementary School 
 Journal, April, May, June, 1916, and on into the fall, 1916. (Ref.) Bailey — Art Education. 
 (Ref.) Daniels — School Drawing a Real Correlation. 
 
 Games, p. 35. — Boston Normal School of Gymnastics— One Hundred Fifty Gymnastic Games. 
 Crawford — Dramatic Games and Dances for Little Children. Crawford and Fogg — The 
 Rhythms of Childhood. Johnson — Education by Play and Games. Newton — -Graded Games 
 and Rhythmic Exercises for Primary Schools. Gomane — Children's Singing Games. De- 
 partment of Interior — Indian Affairs — Social plays, games, marches. 
 
 Dialogues and Plays, p. 37. — Chubb — Festivals and Plays in School and Elsewhere. Andrews — 
 The Perfect Tribute. (Excellent for dramatization.) Antin — The Promised Land. (Also 
 makes a fine patriotic play.) Ethical Culture School (New York) — America the Wonderland. 
 (A Patriotic Festival.) Freeman — The Green Door. (Makes a fine Thanksgiving play.) 
 Goodlander — Fairy Plays for Children. Stockton — School Assemblies; Winona Normal 
 School Bulletin. The Road House to Ardennes (Shakespeare comes into the play). The Toy 
 Shop. (Makes a fine Christmas play. Children act the parts of toys. Whenever a customer 
 comes in, they are decorous. When the shopkeeper leaves with a customer, the toys dance, 
 and make merry, each being consistent.) Van Dyke — Several of his stories prove excellent 
 for dramatization by upper-grade pupils. 
 
 Music, p. 34, (Reference-books only.) Faulkner — What We Hear in Music. Damrosch — Some 
 Essentials in the Teaching of Music. Cady — Outlines of Music Education. Henderson — 
 What is Good Music. Krehbiel — Appreciation of Music. Mason — The Orchestral Instru- 
 ments and What They Do. Smith, C. V.— 1916 Bulletin Winona Normal School. 
 
 Teachers' Books — Education, p. 90. Ayres — Laggards in Our Schools. Butler — The Meaning of 
 Education. Clodd — The Childhood of the World. Fisher— Mothers and Children. Hen- 
 derson — Education and the Larger Life. King — Rational Living. Kirkpatrick — Fundamen- 
 tals of Child Study. Klapper — Principles of Educational Practice. McMurry — Elementary- 
 School Standards. Spencer — Education. Huntington — Unconscious Tuition. 
 
 School Hygiene, p. 91. — Bailey — Sure Pop and the Safety Scouts. Shelland — Bulletin No. 42, and 
 a forthcoming Bulletin issued by the State Department of Education, St. Paul. Trenton, 
 N. J., Department of Public Instruction — Teaching of Hygiene and Safety. 
 
 Story Telling and Collections, pp. 91-92. — Chisholm — The Golden Staircase. Huckel — -The Wag- 
 ner Opera Stories Retold (each story in a separate volume; beautifully told).
 
 302 Minnesota Manual for Teachers. 
 
 Arithmetic, p. 93. — (For teachers only.) — Belfield and Brooks — The Rational Elementary Arith- 
 metic (contains excellent suggestions for ratio work applied to the denominate-number tables). 
 Hall — The Arithmetic Primer (preface only; excellent suggestions for incidental number work). 
 Speer — Primary Book for Teachers (old, but excellent for ratio suggestions). Waldo-Harris — 
 First Journeys in Numberland (very suggestive to the teacher in the lines of games and seat- 
 work). Suzzalo — The Teaching of Primary Arithmetic. Deming — Number Stories. Madden 
 and Turner — Rural Arithmetic. Hoyt & Peet — Everyday Arithmetic. 
 
 Language, p. 93. — Klapper — The Teaching of English. Manly and Powell — A Manual for Writers. 
 — Deming — Language Games for all Grades. King — Language Games. Maxwell, Johnston, 
 and Barnum — Speaking and Writing. 
 
 Geography and History, p. 94. — Booth — Material on Geography which may be obtained free or at 
 small cost (10c), American Library Association, Chicago. Harvest Scenes of the World — 
 International Harvester Co. McMurry — Excursions and Lessons in Home Geography. An- 
 drews — The Counsel Assigned (another story of Lincoln). Committee of Eight Report to 
 the American Historical Association — The Study of History in Elementary Schools (full, 
 bibliography). Department of the Interior— General Land Office (1908), Public Documents; 
 Map of the United States of America, showing routes of Principal Explorers; House of Repre- 
 sentatives (probably 10c). Dickson— New American History for Grammar Schools (excel- 
 lent chapter-end devices for teaching history). Hall — European Beginnings. Johnson — The 
 Teaching of History. Langlois and Seignobos — Introduction to the Study of History. 
 
 Reading, p. 94. — Klapper — Teaching Children to Read. Clark — Interpretation of the Printed 
 Page. Clark — How to Teach Reading in Public Schools (an older book, but not fully super- 
 seded by the first named.) Everts — Vocal Expression. 
 
 For Phonics: Akin — Word Mastery. Libby — The Key Method. Robbins — Phonetics for 
 Schools. Wescott — The Teaching of Phonics.— The Teaching of Sight Words. 
 
 Literature for Children, p. 95. Bunce — Fairy Tales, their Origin and Meaning. MacClintock — 
 Literature in the Elementary School. Moses — Children's Books and Reading (similar to 
 Olcott's Children's Reading). American Library Economy — Course of Study for Normal- 
 School Pupils in Literature for Children. 
 
 Understanding Children. — Andersen, Hans Christian — The Story of My Life. Brubaker — Stories 
 of boyhood in several numbers of Harper's Magazine, 1914-15. Graham — Dream Days. 
 Graham — A Golden Age. Henderson — John Percyfield. Holland — Arthur Bonnicastle. 
 Howells and Alden — The Heart of Childhood. Lynn — A Stepdaughter of the Prairie. Mor- 
 ris, Clara — Little Jim Crow, and Other Stories. Stevenson — Virginibus Puerisque. 
 
 C— THE FIRST TWENTY-FIVE BOOKS FOR A TEACHER TO OWN. 
 (Order not significant.) 
 
 1. James — Briefer Course in Psychology, or any standard psychology. 
 
 2. Klapper — Principles of Educations Practice, or any standard pedagogy. 
 
 3. Kirkpatrick — Fundamentals of Child Study. 
 
 4. A medium-sized dictionary. 
 
 5. Manly and Powell — Manual for Writers, or an equally reliable "style-book" for composition. 
 6-9. One good method-book in each of several subjects, as needed: Arithmetic. Drawing. En- 
 glish — Reading, phonics, language, literature, story-telling. Ethics. Geography. History. 
 Industrial work — General, cookery, sewing, basketry, wood-work. Music. Nature-study. 
 Physical education — Physiology, Hygiene, Safety First. See Minnesota School Library List 
 and the supplementary list just preceding this. 
 
 10. McMurry — How to Study, and Teaching Children to Study. 
 
 11. One good book on discipline. 
 
 12. a. For primary teachers — -a good book on seat-work. 
 
 b. For upper-grade teachers — a good book on vocational guidance. 
 
 13. One book on children's reading: Olcott, Moses, ar MacClintock. 
 14-15. Two or three books on understanding children. 
 
 Hi. One book for use in giving entertainments. 
 
 17-18. Two or more volumes of poetry, including at icast one old-time classic (Homer, Dante, 
 Milton, Shakespeare). 
 
 19-20. Two or more volumes of essays (Emerson, Stevenson, Crothers — The Gentle Reader, 
 for example). , 
 
 21-23. Two or three standard novels to which the teacher can return over and over again, always 
 finding new interpretations of life. (Dickens, George Eliot, Oliver Goldsmith, Margaret 
 Deland, C. Hanford Henderson, David Grayson, F. Hopkinson Smith, etc., to suit the read- 
 er's taste.) 
 
 24. Pamphlets useful in teaching, to the extent of one dollar and a half — the price of a good book. 
 
 25. One good magazine (two to three dollars) for keeping up with the times.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Limited space forbids duplicating what is already well indexed in "Tabic oj Contents" and "Diagram" 
 
 Action commands, lesson plan on, 230-232. 
 
 Accuracy and polish in English, trie problem of 
 grades seven and eight, 14. 
 
 Addition: an application of counting. 105; com- 
 binations, and short column addition taught, 
 107-110; mastered, 111; practice on neces- 
 sary in all grades, 111; of fractions, 117; of 
 decimals, 1 19. 
 
 Adjustment: best made through knowledge, 
 right habit-;, and will-power, 9; demanded by 
 life, 201; necessary for growth, 201. 
 
 Adjustments, human: analyzed. 202-203; pro- 
 vide school problems, 201-202. 
 
 Africa, in seventh grade geography, 111-143. 
 
 Agricultural Tribes: study of, 171; basis of 
 national life, 171. 
 
 Agriculture, study of outlined, 158. 
 
 Aims: of education, 9 and 201; outgrowth of 
 group life, 9; parents' expression of, 9; sum- 
 marized as adjustment, 9; of art education, 
 197. 
 
 Alaska, 135-II-B. 
 
 Aliquot parts of one hundred, 122. 
 
 Alphabet books, 82. 
 
 Alternation: a means of relieving a crowded 
 program, note, 129; of adjacent years in 
 geography or history, or both, note-12'J. 
 
 American, An: what it means to be, and ac- 
 companying obligations of, 135-II-A, 140, 
 173; ancestry of, 140, 173, 61. • 
 
 Animal husbandry, 159. 
 
 Apostrophe: in genitives or possessive nouns, 
 35; lessons on, 245-251. 
 
 Appreciation: of art, 197-199; of modern life 
 through primitive life, 168; illustrated by 
 Chicago history, 1C9; of music, 191—196; "I 
 service and of others' work, 130, 173, 183, 
 1S8. 
 
 Area, of rectangles and triangles, 111-112. 
 
 Arid land, reclamation of, 135, 276. 
 
 Arithmetic: general discussion of, 104; devel- 
 oped from social needs, 104, 261-203; defense 
 for as a school subject, 104; related to thrift, 
 105; fundamental processes of based on 
 counting, 105; demands image-building (or 
 seeing) and image-holding, 105-110; uses of, 
 115, 120, 120-125, 123; changed to meet 
 social conditions, 104-105; accuracy and 
 speed both necessary, 120; mental, valuable, 
 114, 120; tests in, see Tests; tvpe-lessons in, 
 262-263; topics for each grade, 106-125. 
 
 Art versus art materials: in race, 190; in school, 
 190, 198. . 
 
 Arthurian legends, 187. 
 
 Asia, in seventh grade geography, 141-143. 
 
 Assignments, 140, 283-292. 
 
 Association of ideas, 14, 30, 291. 
 
 Attention: basis of will and hence of character, 
 12; involuntary and voluntary, 12; training 
 and testing of, 13, 21. 
 
 Audience: needed by a speaker, 17; given what 
 motives for listening, 17; an appreciative one 
 secured by what means, 17, 21, 38, 50-51, 
 260. 
 
 Australia, in seventh grade geography, 141-143. 
 
 Banking, 120, 121, 262. 
 
 Barter, from, to Commerce, 145. 
 
 Basis of this Course of Study, 201-202. 
 
 Bills: motive for multiplication practice, 112; 
 making and receipting of, 121. 
 
 Blackboard reading: for beginners, lesson-plans 
 illustrating, 230-234; an aid to spelling, 29, 
 34, 40, 87. 
 
 Biography: an aid to history, 170^172; giving 
 standards of success, 157; helping in voca- 
 tional guidance, 145. 
 
 Brokerage, 262. 
 
 Brotherhood of Americans, 173. 
 
 Causal thinking. See Thinking. 
 
 Character: building of. an aim of education, 58, 
 183; chart for school children. 1S9 T 190; 
 fundamentals of. 206; meaning of, 189; judg- 
 ing of, 189; teaching of. 189. 
 
 Charts used in reading; occasional need of, SO; 
 
 illustrated by type lesson. 234. 
 Checking results. See Tests and Study. 
 
 Children, their duties and responsibilities, 
 17.s 181, 
 
 China: fifth grade history, 171-172; why se- 
 lected, 171; may be omitted, 172; seventh 
 grade geography. 143. 
 
 Citizenship: meaning of, 165, 189; developed 
 how, 206; subdivided. 105-190; aided by 
 other school subjects, 120-122. 133, 135-11- 
 A, 130-III-B, 140, 149, 168, 173; methods of 
 teaching, 165. 
 
 Civics, 177 182: a subdivision of Citizenship, 
 165; meaning of. 17s; outline for teacher of, 
 178-181; related to other school subjects, 
 120-125; 130, 132-note; 177-178; 180; 188; 
 295-299. 
 
 Clauses, 53, 54, 68-69. 
 
 Clearness, in English. See Language. 
 
 Clubs: organization of, 181; work of, 1S4. 
 
 Coal-mine, made on sand-table, 135-ITK. 
 
 Coherency. See Language. 
 
 Commercial industries. See Industry. 
 
 Commission, 122, 262. 
 
 Comparison, of quantities, definite and indefi- 
 nite, 106. 
 
 Composition. See Language. 
 
 Communication. See Language. 
 
 Community life: outgrowth of social adjust- 
 ments, 203; studied in grade three, 130-131; 
 studied for ethics, 1S5. 
 
 Consistency, in English, 44. 
 
 Constitution: for a club, 1S1; of the United 
 States studied, 178. 
 
 Construction work. See Seat Work. 
 
 Constructive reading. See Reading. 
 
 Content and form: their interrelation, 73-78; 
 equal to thought and -expression — a test of 
 ingenuity to keep the balance, 20, 28, 44, 78; 
 thought will correct form, 238; feeling and 
 expression, in reading, JS2, 88; in music, 191, 
 196; in letter writing, 35; related to vocabu- 
 lary increase, 45, 92; to paragraph study. 46; 
 to study of clauses and connectives, 54; to 
 punctuation, 92; seeing relationships more 
 valuable than memorizing facts, though this 
 is necessary, 137-138, 144, 174. See, also, 
 Thought Methods, and Motives. 
 
 Continent study, outline for, illustrated by 
 study of South America, 137. 
 
 Co-operation, Group Effort, or Team Work: 
 vaguely seen to be valuable by lower grade 
 pupils, 16S; begun below eighth grade, 53, 
 tit), 141, 171, 203-206; emphasized in grade 
 eight, 59, 145, 153, 155, 102, 176, 184 185, 
 1SS. 196 (orchestra), 252-261; difference in 
 attitude from seventh to eighth grade, 49, 59, 
 142, 1SS, 254-261. 
 
 Copying, in English work. See Language. Wr. 
 
 Corrective exercises, in physical education. 153. 
 
 Cosmopolitanism versus provincialism, 38, 97, 
 139, 143. 
 
 Counting. See Arithmetic. 
 
 Course of Study: basis for, 201; clear, but why 
 not too easy, 209; fosters initiative, 209; to 
 be used daily and rellccted upon, 10, to fit 
 all teachers, 207-208; to point the way for 
 inexperienced teachers, and to help others, 
 10-11. 108-110, 207-215. 
 
 Criticism, in English. See Tests and Study. 
 
 Crusades, ls7. 
 
 Cues, preceding phonics, 230-237.
 
 304 
 
 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Current events: in civics, 177, 181; as reading 
 material, 94; in geography, second note-132, 
 139; in ethics, 1S7. 
 
 Debts, distant, how paid, 120, 264. 
 
 Decimal fractions: outlined, 119-120; related 
 to decimal system, 119. 
 
 Decimal system, 105: developed from social 
 situations, 262; concretely taught, 10S, 110; 
 placing of decimal point, 119. 
 
 Defense for selection of school subject matter, 
 general discussion at opening of each sub- 
 ject, and 201-206. 
 
 Denominate numbers, 106, 107, 107-110, 262. 
 
 Derivatives, in dictionary work, 98. 
 
 Descriptive writing. See Language, Writing. 
 
 Devices: place in teaching, 279; relation to 
 methods and principles, 279-2S0; four rules 
 for using, 2S1-2S3; needed in drill work, 2S0; 
 some suggested, 2S 1-283. See also discus- 
 sions and type lessons on various topics. 
 
 Dictation, in English. See Language, Writing. 
 
 "Dictionaries": of words, made by primary 
 pupils, 82; of quotations, by older pupils, 37. 
 
 Dictionary: Use of, 98-104; an aid to many 
 lessons, 47, 48, 54, 60, 81, 87, 88, 90, 92. 
 
 Direction, told by sun, moon, etc., _136._ 
 
 Discipline, meaning of, methods in, illustra- 
 tions of, problems in, 295-299. 
 
 Discount, in Arithmetic, 121, 262. 
 
 Division: in Arithmetic, 105, 112-113,117, 119; 
 of labor, 204: highest co-operation, 17S, 188; 
 danger that workers lose sympathy with 
 fellow workmen. 176; three classes of work- 
 ers, 162-164. • 
 
 Diurnal changes, in geography, 128. 
 
 Domino cards, to fix additive combinations, 
 107. 
 
 Drainage of Minnesota, a lesson plan on, 27S- 
 279. 
 
 Dramatization: two forms of, 46; values of, 46, 
 81, 88, 96-97, 170-172, 214; an aid to all sub- 
 jects; 170-172, 177; 59, 17, 88, 92, 96-97; 
 214, 232-241; 132. 
 
 Drawing: aims in, 197; development of, 195, 
 197; materials to use in, 197-198; methods 
 of teaching, 198; aid to other subjects, 197, 
 171, 199, 200. 
 
 Dreams, in language, 16. 
 
 Dress: of people in other lands, 38, 139, 143; 
 of school children, to be sensible, 189; indus- 
 try of making, 161-162. 
 
 Drill: necessary, 14, 17, 87, 280, 287-292; how 
 reduce to a minimum, 92, see Content and 
 Form; variety and snap necessary, 281; tends 
 to emphasize form vs. content, 280; sugges- 
 tions for, 20, 34, 52, 87, 107-115, 130, 134, 
 152; an aid to reading, 19, 20, 39 and 81, 74, 
 82-85, 88, 91, 92, 94. 
 
 Duties and tariff, 262. 
 
 Early withdrawal from school, influences dis- 
 tribution of school subject matter, 115, 263. 
 
 Earning money, a strong motive for leaving 
 school, 164. 
 
 Education: one phase of life, 201; docs what 
 for the individual, 150, 201; pays, 135-11- 
 G, and footnote, 164. 
 
 Elementary Science. See Science. 
 
 Ellis Island, 136. 
 
 English, interrelation of subjects in, 228-230. 
 See Language, Reading, Grammar, Spelling. 
 
 Eternal values, 202, 205, 206. 
 
 Ethics. See Moral Training. 
 
 Europe: in sixth grade geography, 136, 139- 
 141; why studied, 139; influence upon North 
 American life, 139. 
 
 European Beginnings in America, 166, 173. 
 
 Excursions, valuable in many subjects, 112, 
 130, 150, 184. 
 
 Exploration, 173, 150. 
 
 Expression, necessary to clinch impression: 58, 
 note-153, note-152; 197; 173; 82, 88; 85. 
 
 Extensive reading. See Reading. 
 Evolution, facts of, appeal to seventh grade 
 pupils, 150. 
 
 Factors in study. See Study. 
 
 Faith, the foundation of group life, 183. 
 
 Family: the fundamental unit of group life, 
 17S-1S1, 203; members of, 178-181; chil- 
 dren's duties towards other members of, 17S- 
 181; study of for moral training, 1S5, 188. 
 
 Fiction: value of, danger of, 94, 96; light com- 
 pared with classic, 96. 
 
 Fine Art, 190-200: an expression of harmony, 
 190, 206; development of, 206; divided into 
 three fields, 190; each a content subject, but 
 also a handmaiden to others, 200; subject 
 matter chosen from, 190-200, 206-207. 
 
 First aid, in emergencies, 154, 157. 
 
 First day of school, how prepare for, 209. 
 
 Fish and Game Commission, 135-11- F. 
 
 Fishing, 158. 
 
 Foreigners, Aliens, Immigrants, or Strangers 
 in America: made to feel at home in America, 
 140, 173-174, 175-176, 187-189; can give 
 school help, 140. 
 
 Forest conservation, 135-II-F. 
 
 Form and content. See Content and Form. 
 
 Fuel-buying, in arithmetic, 112. 
 
 Fun: aid to good judgment, 26, 51, 52, 86, 96; 
 to moral training, 185; sense of humor chang- 
 ing about grade four, 86. 
 
 Fundamental processes in arithmetic, kept 
 fresh, 115. 
 
 Fundamentals of life — food, shelter, clothing 
 —204: means of securing, 204-205, 156-164. 
 
 Furnishing a home, a valuable bit of subject 
 matter, 124. 
 
 Fractions, in arithmetic, 105, 107, 108, 112, 
 115-11S, 262. 
 
 Freedom. See Language. 
 
 Games: an aid to many subjects, 107, 112, 114; 
 30, 87, 14, 20, 26, 32, 39, 52, 46, 68; 153; 184. 
 
 Gardening, 150, 151, 159. 
 
 Genitives, how distinguished, see lesson-plan 
 on, 245-251. 
 
 Geography: modern meaning of, 126; rank as 
 an educative material, 127; course outlined, 
 127-148; principles stated, tested, applied, 
 139-141; related to other school subjects, 
 127, 122, 130, 132, 171, 200; locative geog- 
 raphy, 132, 143, 144; type lesson plans in, 
 271-279. 
 
 Geometric drawing, needed in mensuration, 121. 
 
 Get-acquainted lessons, 60. 
 
 Goal (or aim) of Education, necessary as a 
 basis for selecting means for its realization, 
 201. 
 
 Good judgment. See Fun and Study. 
 
 Good manners: an expression of good morals, 
 186; taught through play, note-152. 
 
 Grammar, 62-71: limited to upper grades, 62; 
 selected to fit needs of elementary pupils, 
 63; terminology limited, 63; work outlined, 
 63-71; time for, 216-217; value of, 11, 12, 39, 
 53, 73, 92. 
 
 Graphs, interpretation of, 123. 
 
 Great Basin, lesson on, 276-278. 
 
 Great Lakes, related to Minnesota, 136-III-C. 
 
 Great Men, Industries, etc., studied in grade 
 eight, 57, 145, 157. 
 
 Greece: in fifth grade history, 171-172; gave 
 the world what, 172; myths valuable in 
 study of Greek life, 172. 
 
 Group life: related to that of individual, no 
 conflict in best welfare of both, 178, 202. 
 See Co-operation. 
 
 Habit formation: the basis of rigflt living, 183; 
 how initiated, 183; how fixed, 183; of right 
 sort, i. e. of work vs. indolence, 145. 
 
 Have something to say. See Language, Talk- 
 in K- 
 
 Health inspection, 152.
 
 Index. 
 
 305 
 
 Hectograph: recipe for, 2S7; directions for us- 
 ing, 287. 
 
 Hindu numerals, 10S-110. 
 
 History, Kio— 1 77 : aim of, 165; course in, how 
 unified, 105; course outlined, 16G— lf>7; closely 
 related to other subjects, 132-note, 135-II-A, 
 139, 172, 158, 166-167, 172, 185-188, 200; 
 alternation of with geography, or by years, 
 note-129. 
 
 Home: school and, 140; reading at, encouraged, 
 81, S9; buying, values of, 124; making of a: 
 150-151; 124; 178-180; 188. 
 
 Homes in other lands, fourth grade geography 
 material, 38, 97, 132, 139, 142. 
 
 Household tinkering, 157. 
 
 How to study. See Study. 
 
 Humor. See Fun. 
 
 Hunting: tribes, 170; related to industry, 158. 
 
 Hygiene, 151-154; 130, 150-151, 178. 
 
 Idea, distinguished from word, image or pic- 
 ture, 65. ' 
 
 Ideals, kept alive, not ridiculed, 61. 
 
 Image: building, seeing, getting, holding, neces- 
 sary in arithmetic, 105, 108, 112, 115; re- 
 lated to language and literature, 200, 243. 
 
 Imagination needed, 205, 120, 170, 192, 1S3. 
 
 Imitation, a means of learning, 106. 
 
 Immaterial world: 205-206; meaning of, 206; 
 subjects growing out of, 206; citizenship, 
 165-190; fine art, 190-200. 
 
 Immigrants. See Foreigners. 
 
 Immigration, 136-III-B and footnote. 
 
 Imperative sentence plan of teaching reading. 
 See Action-commands. 
 
 India, 143. 
 
 Indian life and Indians: aim of study of, re- 
 lated to present day problems, not to be 
 over-emphasized, 16S; related to many top- 
 ics, 170-171; 15S-159; 135-II-G. 
 
 Infancy, human; lengthening period of, 156; 
 value of, 156. 
 
 Individual: relation of to the group, 202, 170, 
 171, 172, 178, 188. 
 
 Individuality: fostered in grade seven, 50-52, 
 252-258, 54, 93-95, 102, 141-143, 150, 162- 
 
 163, 174-175, 1S7-1SS; of the teacher urged, 
 10-11. 
 
 Industrial Arts, Industries, and Industry: 156- 
 
 164, 203-205; three values of as school subject 
 matter, 156; relation of to science, 125; field 
 of outlined, 158-164; aid to choice of a voca- 
 tion, 158-164; commercial industries, 122, 
 141-145, 162-163, 204; to aid other subjects, 
 112-120; 178-180; 130-141; 1S6-18S; 200. 
 
 Industrial Geography, 127, 144. 
 
 Inflection: in reading, IS, 19, 20, 82, 85, 88, 
 92, 94. 
 
 Initiative: for teachers, 10-1 1 ; for children, 173. 
 
 Insurance, 123, 262, 267-271. 
 
 Interest, in arithmetic, 121, 262, 265-267. 
 
 Interdependence of men and of nations — In- 
 ternationalism, 131, 139, 143-1, fine print- 
 144, 145, 166, 171, 177. 
 
 International date line, 143-0. 
 
 Inventions and Inventors, 204, 186. 
 
 Inventory, how to make, 121. 
 
 Investments, in arithmetic, 123, 262. 
 
 Irrigation projects, 181; miniature farm, 135- 
 II-K. 
 
 Japan, 143. 
 
 Judging worths. See Study. 
 
 Judgment, cultivated, 174. 
 
 Keeping accounts, 121. 
 
 Labor: problems in, 204; division of, 162, 176, 
 178, 188; success in various sorts of, 158-164, 
 Language: 
 
 General discussion of: communication nec» 
 essary for group life, 11, 203, 228, defense 
 for teaching, 11, 44; phases of and their 
 interrelation, 11-12, 228-230; develop- 
 
 ment of, 11, 203-207, 228-230; and see 
 Stages of child-development; errors, correc- 
 tion of, 15, 20, 23 2 1, 26, 32, 33, 39, 52, 61. 
 Oral Language: Listening and Talking, 11, 
 
 12, 44, 228 230. 
 Listening: involuntary and voluntary, 12, 19, 
 25, 228; with eyes as well as ears, 30; 
 values of, 12, 13, 24, 37, 228; means em- 
 ployed in, 13, 19, 37. 42, 56. nil -196; 
 motives given for, 15, 16, 19, 25, 42, 
 56 57; see .1 uJicnce. 
 Talking: principles of, 13, 14, 17, 19, 25, 31, 
 43 44, 56, 93; relation of to reading, 7."., s", 
 93, 240-241; aids to, 12, 16, 17, 32, 44, 
 113, 260; aims of in different grades, 17, 
 19 and 14, 26, 30, 38, 43, 51, 58. 
 Written Language: Listening with the eye 
 (reading) and Talking with the pen (writ- 
 ing or written composition) needed, I 1, 12, 
 15, 44, 72, 132. 203-207, 228-230. See 
 Reading. 
 Writing: principles of, 11-12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 
 25, 27, 31, 33, 43, 44, 50, 230; need of 
 drill in, see Drill, and Content and Form; 
 aims of in the'different grades, 18, 20, 27-28, 
 33, 39-40, 115, 46-47, 52, 59-63, 251-258; 
 subjects and motives for, 28, 30, 31, 33, 
 35, 39, 40, 46-48, 53, 54, 59-63, 255-261; 
 copying, 22, 34, 41; dictation, its values 
 and dangers, 21, 28, 34, 41; descriptive 
 writing, 30, 31-32, 37, 39, 253-255; letter- 
 writing, 35,39, 47, 49, 130, 230; narrative 
 writing, 39, 53-55, 255-201, 59-63. 
 Latitude and Longitude: type lesson on, 271- 
 
 276. 
 "Law of signs," 114. 
 
 Leisure, use of, an ethical problem, 183. 
 Lesson-planning: form for shown, 241-251; 
 subdivisions of one unit illustrated, 115-118, 
 245-251; type lessons shown, 230-279. 
 Letter writing. See Language, Writing. 
 Linear measure, 107. 
 Liquid measure, 107. 
 Listening. See Language, Writing. 
 Literature: meaning of, 199; test of, values of, 
 199-200, and 15-16; an aid to all subjects: 
 to language, 19, 42, 52, 199-200; to reading 
 73, 199-200; to history, 167, 170-172, 177, 
 200; to geography and nature study, 200; to 
 moral training, 185-187, 200; to drawing and 
 music, 200; kinds of to use, 167, 200, and 
 15, 16; 19; 25, 26, 28, 83; 30, 86, 87, 170, 171; 
 37, 38; 43, 92; 50, 94; 58, 61, 96; references 
 for material in, 200, 301-302. 
 Locative geography. See Geography. 
 
 Manufacturing, 161. 
 
 Map: making and interpreting, 130, 13S; 
 sketching vs. drawing, 2d note-132. 136, 140, 
 142; study of, Problems I A and B 134, 138, 
 142, 271; values of, 142. 
 
 "Material World," 125, 120, 14S, 151, 150, 164, 
 203-205. 
 
 Materials of Education, 201-202, 10. 
 
 Measure: Dry, Liquid, Weight, 107; Surface, 
 111-112. 
 
 Measuring results in education, 10, 292-295. 
 
 Merchantry, 119, 122, 163, 262. 
 
 Methods in education: of more interest to- 
 teachers than patrons, 10; thought vs. sym- 
 bol, see Thought Methods; in geography, 
 126, 144; in moral training — direct and in- 
 direct, 184—185; in music, 192; in drawing, 
 198; in detail for various grades and sub- 
 jects, 46, 47, 59-60, 64-71, 106-118, 122, 
 124-125, 144, 169, 230-279; see Motives. 
 
 Mining, 161. 
 
 Minnesota, 133. 135-130, 145, 181. 
 
 Mississippi river, dredging of, 135-II-F. 
 
 Monotones: in speech, 18, 20; in music, 192, ff. 
 
 Moral Training and Ethics, 183-190: each de- 
 fined, 183; methods of teaching, 184; related 
 to discipline, 183 and 295-299; children's ob- 
 ligations, 185; thoughtlulness of elders, note- 
 153, 179; N. E. A. report on, 183-184; moral
 
 306 
 
 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 traits desired by all, 183, 189-190; related 
 to all subjects, 120, 124-125, 130, 132, 148- 
 149, 153, 170-172, 174, 176, 178, 186-190. 
 
 Motives: for listening, 13; content to motivate 
 form, 28, 29, 45, 46, 92, 152, 153; 230; sug- 
 gested for use in different grades and sub- 
 jects: (1) 74, 77; (2) 17, 21, 23, 81-S2, 107- 
 110; (3) 21, 25, 2S, 111-112, 130, S4 and 237- 
 241; (4) 30, 32, 33, 35 and 230, 87, 8S, 112, 
 132, 170; (5) 38, 39, 40, 42, 89, 130, 135-11- 
 J; (6) 42-48, 137, 230, 91-92; (7) 50-54, 60, 
 120, 177, 252-25S; (8) 56-59, 61-62, 94, 96- 
 97, 144, 176, 258-261. 
 
 Mumbling, to prevent, 39. 
 
 Multiplication, 105, 111, 117-119. 
 
 Music, 191-196: defined, 191; aims in study of, 
 191; voice best, 191; begun early, 191-192; 
 cultivation of taste in, 191-196; reading of, 
 193-196; instrumental in class, 196; musical 
 forms in, classified, 195-196; theory of, 195- 
 196; allied to literature, 200; an aid to moral 
 training, 185. 
 
 Mythology: developed how, 205; basis of his- 
 tory and literature, 167; see Literature. 
 
 Narration or Narrative Writing. See Lan- 
 guage, Writing. 
 
 Nationalism: the basis of organization of his- 
 tory work, 166; the culmination of work in 
 citizenship, 177; how related to interests of 
 individuals, 187-188; see Co-operation and 
 Language, General Discussion. 
 
 National Government, studied with state gov- 
 ernment in Civics, 180-181. 
 
 Nature study, 148-151: relation of to science, 
 14S, 205; to other subjects, 14S-149, 126, 
 31-32, 107-112, 200; three values of, as a 
 school subject, 148-149; books on, and top- 
 ics in, to fit all grades, 149-150; methods of 
 treating topics in and why, 150-151. 
 
 Newspaper: one made by grade eight, 258; 
 reading of, in history, 177. 
 
 North America: the main work of grade five, 
 133; studied for information, not principles 
 in grade five, note-133; problems on, 134— 
 135; reviewed in grade six for comparison 
 with South America and the discovery of 
 geographic principles, 137; drainage of, 134 
 and 278. 
 
 Notation, 105, 107, 10S-110, 111. 
 
 Notes: making of, business need of, 121, 123, 
 262. 
 
 Note-taking and Note books, 53, 150, 173, 199. 
 
 Numeration. See Notation. 
 
 Obedience, necessary in group life, 179. 
 
 Observation: the basis of all learning, 203; in 
 language, 28, 32. 
 
 Oral Language. See Language. 
 
 Oral Reading. See Reading. 
 
 Organization: the main work of grade six, 42, 
 44; helped by: "problem" method in history, 
 173; nature study, 150; seatwork, 2S5-292; 
 orderliness in beginning a story, grade two, 
 20; topical recitations, grade five, 39; main 
 points, fallacies, supplementing thought in 
 reading, grade five, 90; association of ideas, 
 30, and grouping, begun in grade four, 150; 
 naming central ideas, 237-241; teacher's 
 problem in securing, 285. 
 
 Origin of school subject-matter, 203-206. 
 
 Paragraphing: necessary for written language, 
 11; lii-gun in grade five, 39; suggestions for 
 teaching, 42, 46 and 53. 
 
 Parks, children's rights in and obligations to- 
 wards, 180, 186. 
 
 Parliamentary practice, simple forms of, 182. 
 
 Partnership, without time, 121, 262. 
 
 Parts of speech, kinds, uses, inflection of, 69, 71. 
 
 Paste, several recipes for, 286. 
 
 Patriotism. See Co-operation, Nationalism, 
 Foreigners, Citizenship, Geography (144, 145), 
 and Language. 
 
 Pencil and Penholder cases, 209. 
 
 Penmanship: motivated by language (11) and 
 other school subjects (130, e. g.); tests for, 
 36, 41, 293; time on program, 216-217; 
 progress noted throughout the grades, "Dia- 
 gram" and 18, 22, 23, 29, 35, 36, 41, 48, 54, 
 62; period of natural interest in, 41, 295; 
 devices and suggestions in, 29, 36, 41. 
 
 Percentage: relation to decimal fractions, and 
 fundamental operations, 105, 120; teaching 
 of, 120-122. 
 
 Personality: of teachers, 10, 207-215, 298; of 
 pupils, how developed, 44, 143-M, 156-164, 
 183-190. 
 
 Phases of life: physical, social, immaterial, 201. 
 
 Philosophy of life: gained by observation and 
 thinking, 206, 201-206; related to literature, 
 148, 200. 
 
 Phonics: an aid to reading, 11, 73, 78, 81, 85, 
 87, 92, 229; when introduced, 78; cues, cau- 
 tions, work of grade one, 79; work of grade 
 two, 82; suggestions for, 79, 80, SI, S2, 87, 
 92, 100; words which violate laws of, 87; 
 books for teachers on, 302. 
 
 Phrases, in grammar, 6S. 
 
 Physical education, 151-155: related to science, 
 
 126, 151 ; to other subjects, 151, 153; includes 
 more than body, 152; course in, considers 
 what, 152; means of securing best results in, 
 152-154; value of as a school subject, 151-152; 
 phases of, 151-154; exercises in, grouped by 
 grades, 155; exercises to meet three aims, 155. 
 
 Physical Geography, facts of, 127, 131, 137, 
 140, 143, 144. 
 
 Physiography, meaning of, 127. 
 
 Pictures, value and methods of using, 31, 185, 
 197-199, 2S9-290. 
 
 Play, 152-153: values of, 152; in home life. 129. 
 
 Poetrv: teachers must know, 13; loved by chil- 
 dren, 16, 19, 25, 33, 39, 43, 61, 200; commit- 
 ted, 39, 46; made by pupils, 33, 61. 
 
 Poise or self-control, note-152. 
 
 Population of eastern and western U. S. com- 
 pared, 135-II-C. 
 
 Posture: one phase of good expression, worked 
 for in all grades, 19, 20, 36, 49, 63, 152, 153, 
 190. 
 
 Pride: of right sort, 140; related to work done, 
 189. 
 
 Primitive life: valuable in helping pupils ap- 
 preciate or interpret modern life, not to be 
 over-emphasized, 15S, 166, 16S, 170, 179. 
 
 Principle, method, device, relationship of, 202, 
 279-292. 
 
 Principles: of good speaking and writing, 13- 
 14, 39, 43, 56; of geography, 140-141, and 
 
 127, 131, 137, 143, 144; of seatwork, 79, 285. 
 Print, learned from the beginning, 230-237. 
 Printing-press, use for, 234. 
 
 "Problem" or "Project" method of teaching: 
 explained and illustrated, 133, 134, 136; 
 uses and values of, 53, 126-127, 131-134, 
 144, 157, 171, 181; some necessary facts thus 
 omitted, 137; some "problems" suggested, 
 109-110, 112, 113, 119, 120, 134-136, 138, 
 139, 140, 142-144, 147-148, 157, 171, 173- 
 175. 17S-181. 
 
 "Product" maps, 138. 
 
 Professions, the, 163-164. 
 
 Profit and loss, 121, 262. 
 
 Program: temporary, for first day of school, 
 210; principles of making, 217-224; samples 
 of for all grades, 220-224; time allotment of 
 subject-matter on, 216-217. 
 
 Provincialism, can be eradicated, see Cosmo- 
 politanism. 
 
 Public education, a civic question, 180-181. 
 
 Public property, attitude towards, care of, etc., 
 186. 
 
 Punctuation, an aid to reading and writing, 
 11, 73, 82, 88, '.12. 
 
 Pupils: rights and duties of, in school, 180; on 
 the street, in parks, 180-186. 
 
 Purpose of the Course of Study, 9-11 and Pre- 
 faces. 
 
 Puzzles, good in arithmetic, 114.
 
 Index. 
 
 307 
 
 Questions, thought vs. fact, 137. 
 
 Quotation marks, 37, 41. 
 
 Quotations, values of in collecting, 37,43,51,97. 
 
 Raindrop, story of, 133. 
 
 Reading: aids to, 12, 30-37, 73, 78, 79, SO, 84- 
 85, 87, 90, 92, 94, 95, 98, 225, 229, 233-237, 
 283, 287—292; appreciative, artistic, or con- 
 structive, 72-73, S4, 86, 97; discussion of, in 
 general, 12, 71, 229: kinds of, 13, 72, 73. 97; 
 mere art, science, fine art of, 12; extensive, 
 intensive, 80, 81, 84, 86, S9, 90, 91, 93, 94, 
 96; prerequisites for, 12, 73, 78, 88, 93, 95, 
 96, 229; discussion for each grade, 73. 80, 
 83, 86, 88, 90, 93, 95; forming the reading 
 habit, 31, 58, 72-73, 86, 89, 93, 94, 95, 96, 
 200, 231; lesson plans in, 230-245; methods 
 and devices for teaching. 74, 75. 76. 77, 78, 
 232-237, 280-283; oral and silent reading, 12, 
 72, 75, 76, 77, 78, 81, 84, S5, 86, 89, 90, 93, 
 94, 95, 96, 204, 229: each aids the other. 229; 
 related to "talking" and "listening" in lan- 
 guage, 72, 93; correcting faults in, 81. 84, 
 85, 87, 91, 92, 98, 241-245; material to use 
 for, 87; motives for, in each grade, (1) 75, 
 77, (2) 81, (3) 84, (4) 86, (5) 89, 90, (6) 90, 
 91, (7) 94, 95, (8) 96, 97; taste formed, 81, 
 89, 93, 94, 95, 96; tests for efficiency in, 293; 
 texts: how classify and use, 79-80; how se- 
 lect, 225-226; number to use, 80, S6; what 
 to do if too difficult, 89; if too few, 80; why 
 use real literature, 73, 200; "Thought" meth- 
 ods in, 74-78, 230, 237; value of, 12, 72, 95, 
 229. 
 
 Reciting: from memory, 52; from notes, 39; 
 for others, 30. 
 
 Reference reading, 48, 57, 90, 92, 141, 173. 
 
 Relation seeing: in arithmetic, 105, 107, 112; 
 between rights and duties, 178-181; of pres- 
 ent to past life, 170, 175; of men to one an- 
 other, 205-206, and see Co-operalion. 
 
 Representative work: meaning of, media for, 
 value of, note 2-132; leaf-houses a form of, 
 129. 
 
 Results: in education, desired by public, to be 
 measured by teachers, 10; in daily work vs. 
 process or growth, 198; to be expected by 
 end of grade eight, 176, and end of each sub- 
 ject. 
 
 Review: necessary, 121, 142; conducted by new 
 "problems," 173; topics for, 177. 
 
 Rhetoric, needed by the race, 11. 
 
 Rhythm: naturally loved, 16, 43, 229; in music, 
 191, 196; an aid to "listening," 19. 
 
 Right habits. See Moral Training. 
 
 Roman Numerals, 106, 108-110. 
 
 Rome, 171-172, gave what to the world, 172. 
 
 Room or school library, 81, 89. 
 
 Roots and powers, 121. 
 
 Rote songs, 192-196. 
 
 Rune stone, Kensington or Minnesota, 167. 
 
 "Safety-first" precautions, 151, 154, 155, 185. 
 
 Sand-table and related representative work, 
 129-3-C, 130-A, 132, 135-II-K, 13S, 157, 
 172, 173. 
 
 Sanitation. 130, 152-155, 157, 1S0-181. 
 
 Sault St. Marie, canal, 136-III-E. 
 
 Saving: means of, 121; keeping account of, 123. 
 
 School: function of, 201, 202; responsibility of, 
 201-202; benefits of to be made known to 
 child, 180; place of in character development, 
 202, and see "Co operation"; character chart, 
 189-190; some important laws for, 299-300; 
 value of plays in, 59, 177; training in art in, 
 190. 
 
 School subject-matter: origin of, 203-206; re- 
 lated to human adjustments in the three 
 "worlds," 203-206, 11-200; and "Diagram"; 
 a means to an end, 10, 206, 207, 209; distri- 
 bution of, 206; suggested time allotment of, 
 215-217; selection of, 206-207; a unit of, sep- 
 arated for convenience only, but to be kept 
 in right relation, 207. 
 
 Science: developed how, 125, 205, 203-206; 
 
 place and kind of in school, 125-126; why 
 elementary phase of chosen. 126; elementary 
 (science; in place of nature study in grade 
 six or below, 150, 151; relation of to indus- 
 try, 125. 
 
 Script: used on blackboard in preference to 
 hand printing, why. 77; easy for child to pass 
 from, to print. 230-234; use of in reading 
 lessons, 23(1 234. 
 
 Seasonal changes, outlined in primary geogra- 
 phy, 128-129. 
 
 Seating chart, prepared for first day of school, 
 209. 
 
 Seat Work: materials for, 2N6-2.S7; place and 
 value of, 283, 285-292; principles for select- 
 ing, 79, 285; suggestions for. 18, 22, 79, 81, 
 82, 88-90, 95, 107, 108, 130, 132, 231-237, 
 241-247, 283, 287-292. 
 
 Self-confidence, what youth contributes to the 
 race, 61. 
 
 Self-consciousness, to be tided over, 15, 20, 90. 
 
 Self-realization: means what, paragraphs 1, 3, 
 4 and following 201, 202; attained only 
 through co-operation, 126, 183, 201-202; 
 aided by all school subject-matter vitally 
 taught — see School subject-matter. 
 
 Sense-training, 108-110, 191-196. 
 
 Sentence feeling and structure, 11, 19, 22, 24, 
 27, 34, 36, 40, 49, 51, 53, 54, 65-69, 229. 
 
 Serving vs. being served, 202. 
 
 Shorthand, a sort of, invented for note-taking, 
 value of, misuse of, 62. 
 
 Silent reading. See Reading. 
 
 Social appreciation, imagination and interpre- 
 tation, needed by all, 183. 
 
 "Social world," 203-204. 
 
 Sound concepts^ worked for in music, 192. 
 
 South America, 136-139. 
 
 Special days: to be celebrated in primary 
 grades, 167-16S; illustrations of variations 
 in point of emphasis for, 167-16S; give mo- 
 tive for study of famous men and women, 
 167. 
 
 Specific aims, one factor in study, illustrations, 
 237-241. 
 
 Speech: needed for communication, 11-12, 22S- 
 229; loved for its own sake, 22S; a sign of 
 culture or lack, 13; see Language, oral and 
 written, and Reading, oral and silent. 
 
 Spelling: an aid to reading, 12, 92, 229; "One 
 Hundred Demons" in, 261; means of better- 
 ing, 23, 29, 36, 41, 4S, 54, 62, 130, 2S7-291, 
 292; necessary for written language, 11; 
 time allotment of on program, 18, 216-217; 
 standard tests for ability in, 293. 
 
 Sports, three purposes of, 153. 
 
 Square measure, developed, 111-112. 
 
 Stages of child development, "Diagram" and 
 202-207: parents and teachers must know, 
 183; subject-matter must fit, "Diagram" and 
 207; a few characteristics of, noted by grades: 
 1st grade, 14, 16, 17, 75, 76, 127-130, 150, 
 155-157, 158, 160, 166-16S, 178, 198, 200, 
 261, 263; 3d grade, 19, SI, 107, 127-130, 150, 
 155-157, 15S-160, 166-168, 178, 19S, 200, 
 263; 3d grade, 25, 83, 85, 127-130, 150, 153, 
 155-157, 15S-160, 166-168, 178-181, L98, 
 200, 263; 4th grade, 30, 32, 33, 86-88, 132, 
 150, 153, 155-157, 158-160, 161, 166-167, 
 170, 178-181, 186, 198, 200, 263; 5th grade, 
 37-38,90,115, 150, 153, 155-157, 15.S-160, 
 161-162, 166-167, 171, 173, 178-182, 186- 
 1S7, 198, 200, 251-260, 263; 6th grade, 42, 
 43, 92, 137, 139, 140, 150, 153, 155-1 57. 158- 
 160, 161-162, 166-167, 173, 178-182, 198, 
 200, 251-260, 263; 7th grade, 49, 50, 53, 94, 
 141, 150, 155-157, 15S-160, 162-163, 166- 
 167, 174, 17S-1S2. 188, 198, 200, 251-260, 
 263; 8th grade, 55, 56, 57, 59-62, 94, 96, 
 123-125, 144, 150, 155-157, 158-160, 161- 
 164, 166-167, 176, 17S-1S2, 188-189, 198, 
 200, 251-260, 263. 
 
 Standards. See Tests, and Study. 
 
 State and national government studied, 180- 
 181.
 
 308 
 
 Minnesota Course of Study. 
 
 Statistics: interpretation of, 123; securing of, 
 
 113. 
 Steel industry, 135-II-D. 
 Stocks and bonds, 123. 
 Store-keeping, 107, 111, 163, 262. 
 Story-telling, 13, 16. 
 Struggle for U. S. territory, 174. 
 Study: children taught to, 45, 46, 52-53, 283- 
 2S5; power of, emphasized, 140. 
 Steps in the process, 9, 123-124, 283-285: 
 what each step demands, 284; which best 
 done in various grades, 285; amount to do 
 in grade six, 45-46. 
 Aims, general and specific, 9, 83, 84, 85, 89, 
 
 90, 90-92, 133-note, 237-242, 285. 
 Planning the solution: judging values, 9, 10, 
 90, 144, 200, 283-292; using a library and 
 reference books, 94; supplementing 
 thought, 84, 237-241, 284. 
 Solving the problem, doing the task, 9, 5S; 
 
 relation of to character building, 284. 
 Checking the result, 9, 10, 5S, 112, 114, 141, 
 
 143, 284, 2S5, 292. 
 Applying the facts learned: 9, 10, 2S3-285, 
 111, 141-143, 156-190, 197; illustrations 
 of found in different subjects: paragraph 
 study, 42; reading, 73, 89-90, 90-91, 92; 
 map work, 140; arithmetic, 123-124, 263- 
 266, 283-285; geography for grade six, 
 140; nature study, 149; literature, 73, 200; 
 seat work, 285-292. 
 Subtraction, 105, 110, 111, 117, 119. 
 Success: won by effort, not luck, 50, 58; char- 
 acteristics of, 157; personal characteristics 
 needed for success in different occupations, 
 15S-164. 
 Supervision, aim of and need of, 10. 
 Supplementing thought, illustrated, 84, 237- 
 
 240. 
 Symbols. See Content and Form. See Thought 
 Methods. 
 
 Talking. See Language. 
 
 Taxation and Taxes, 123, 180, 262. 
 
 Teachers: a zealous group, 208; book list for, 
 300-302; classified according to experience, 
 208-209; needs partially met by course of 
 study, 20S-209; classified according to work 
 being done, 209-215; suggestions to, 209- 
 215; "methods" learned from life, 202; special 
 problems met: in reading, 76-77, 79-80, 83, 
 87, 89, 90, 94, 95, 292-295; in home-reading, 
 81, 84, 86, 89; in language, 13, 15, 20, 29,45, 
 49, 52, 55; in nature study, 148; in citizen 
 making, 184, 189; in drawing, 197-199; rights 
 and duties of, 180. 
 
 Teacher's Pledge, A, 8. 
 
 Teaching: a profession vs. a vocation, 10; a 
 series of "study" problems, 9-10. 
 
 Teaching children to study. See Study. 
 
 Team work. See Co-operation. 
 
 Tests: standardized, 292-295; good, though not 
 standardized: "what to expect" at the close 
 of many grade subjects; some suggestions 
 found, for arithmetic, 106,112, 113, 114, 121, 
 125, 292-295; for English, is, 41, 14, 20, 21, 
 27, 34, 38-40, 46-47, 52, 55-57, 260, 81, 84, 
 85, 88, 90, 293; for all situations, 9, 10, 284, 
 285. 
 
 Text books: possible to use anv with this Course, 
 79-80, 89, 134; selection of, 84, 224-227; use 
 of discarded, 287-292. 
 
 Thinking: how developed, 205; causal thinking: 
 begun in grade four, 30; from cause to effect, 
 30, 127, 140, 141, 143, 149, 174; from effect 
 to cause, 127, 143, 149, 173; illustrations of 
 how aided, 113, 115, 127-148, 173-174, 197, 
 200, 229, 237, 238 241 ; logical thinking, done 
 in all upper-grade work, q. v. 11-200. 
 
 Thought methods: explained, 73-78; best for 
 beginning reading, 78, 93; necessary for ad- 
 vanced grades, 93; drills often needed in, 84, 
 
 87; illustrations of, 137-138; 29, 34, 40, 87; 
 74, 81, 237-241, 82, 88; 20, 28, 44, 45, 46, 54, 
 78, 92, 255-261. See Content and Form. 
 
 Thrift: meaning of, value of learning, for all 
 grades, 164; developed from social situations, 
 105, 111, 120, 121, 123, 262; helped by sev- 
 eral studies, 156-164. 171, 179-F, 186-188, 
 104-124; plans for, footnote 120, 123. 
 
 Time Allotment of subject-matter on daily pro- 
 gram, 215-217. 
 
 Topical recitations: 43, 44, 53. 
 
 Transportation: in geography, 132; developed 
 from race need of exchange, 204. 
 
 Tree-Dwellers, suited to lower grades, 168. 
 
 United States: geography of, 135, 144-148; 
 history of, 173-177, ISO; what different peo- 
 ples have brought to, 38, 61, 139-140, 171, 
 173, 174, 175, 187, 188; making strangers 
 feel at home in, 140, 173-174, 1S7-189; table 
 of money of, 107. 
 
 Unity: of life, 202; of the three phases of life, 
 206-207; necessary in national life, 18S; seen 
 in history course, 165-167; needed in lan- 
 guage work, 44-47. 
 
 Use: the test of knowledge, 54, 284; of room 
 materials valuable, 32. 
 
 "Verbal no thoroughfares," 81, 91. 
 
 Verification or checking, a step in study, 283- 
 285: see Study; defense for learning in school, 
 284. 
 
 Vocabulary: need or value of, 11, 12, 37, 39, 
 45, 73, SS, 92; increased in each grade, 37,45, 
 53, 59, 88, 92, 98; some suggestions for se- 
 curing, 13, 14, 25, 30, 37, 40, 43, 45, 51, 53, 59, 
 80, 83, 87, 98, 200, 228, 242-243, 251-252. 
 
 Vocalization (in reading), value and danger of, 
 229. 
 
 Vocational choice: postponed with the advance 
 of civilization, 156; must be prepared for, 
 156, 164. 
 
 Vocational guidance: distinguished from voca- 
 tional choice and training, 164; the import- 
 ant feature of grade eight, 164, 145, 53-note, 
 57, 58, 59, 61, 96, 123, 135-II-G, 144-145, 
 149-151, 152-155, 156 last topic and note 
 following, 156-164, 176, 180, 188-190; some- 
 times needed below grade eight, 94, 158-164; 
 subjects to aid: history, 170; geography, 144— 
 145; civics, 178; moral training, 188; charac- 
 teristics of success for each industry, 156- 
 164; reading, 96-97; language, 57-60; arith- 
 metic, 122-125; nature study, 150- 1. 51. 
 
 Voice variation: 18, 20, 81, 82, 84, 85, 88, 90; 
 testing in music, 195-196; training in music, 
 191-196. 
 
 "What to expect," given at the end of each 
 grade in Language, Reading, Geography, 
 History, Drawing. See each subject. Also 
 pages 27, 64-65, and 104-125. 
 
 "White collar jobs," 145. 
 
 Wilson, Woodrow, Pres., speech to immigrants 
 quoted and abstracted, 61. 
 
 Winter, preparation for by individuals and 
 communities, 128-129. 
 
 Word-calling, accuracy in, when demanded and 
 when conquered, 85. 
 
 Word-drill: need of, 74, 79, 82. 83, 87, 90, 231, 
 
 234, 237; suggestions for, 79, 80, 231, 233, 
 
 235, 236, 237, 279-283. 
 Word study, 36. 
 
 Words, kinds, to correspond with kinds of 
 ideas, 65-66. 
 
 Work: right sort of pride in, if well done, 189; 
 men needed for all kinds of, 145; not kind, 
 but quality of, makes the man, 156, 17(i. INN. 
 
 World: studied as a whole, 131, 145; people of 
 the, seen in their home life, 131. 
 
 "Worlds" or phases of life to which men adjust 
 themselves, all o;ie, interrelated, separated 
 temporarily for convenience, 201-202. 
 
 Writing. See Penmanship and Language. 
 
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