INTRODUCTION AND USE OF THE GRADED LESSONS INTERNATIONAL COURSE JUNIOR MANUAL n** 13V ^ 4 k Book '40v fopyrightN _ COPYRIGHT DEPOSJTV Introduction and Use OF THE Graded Lessons, INTERNATIONAL COURSE JUNIOR MANUAL PREPARED BY JOSEPHINE L. BALDWIN Approved by Committee on Curriculum Board of Sunday Schools, Methodist Episcopal Church HENRY H. MEYER, EDITOR THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN NEW YORK CINCINNATI Copyright, 19 15, by JOSEPHINE L. BALDWIN SEP 14 1915 ©CI.A411477 CONTENTS *£ CHAPTER I PAGES ^ The International Graded Lessons 7 The First Graded Teacher — Agitation for Graded Lessons — Steps Toward a Graded Curriculum — An Epoch-Making Conference — Lessons Ready for Use — What the Lessons Are. CHAPTER II Reasons for Having Special Lessons for Juniors 17 Marked Characteristics — Habit Formation — Reading Age — Hero Worship— Attainment of Results — Puzzles — Mem- ory — Verbal Expression — Sense of Location — Sequence of Time — Reality — Regard for Authority — Limitations — Gang Period — Relation to God — Relation to Others — Lessons that Meet the Need — A Graded Series. CHAPTER III The Junior Series of Lessons 29 Part of a Course of Study — The Beginners' Series — The Primary Series — The Junior Series — Life Processes the Basis — Reasons for the Selection — Lesson Helps for Teacher and Pupil — The First Year Lessons — Memory Work — The Correlated Lessons — The Second Year Les- sons — Memory Work — The Correlated Lessons — The Third Year Lessons — Memory Work — The Correlated Lessons — The Fourth Year • Lessons — Memory Work — The Corre- lated Lessons — Department Programs — Summary. 3 4 CONTENTS CHAPTER IV PAGES Organization for Teaching 53 Forming the Department — Grading the Department — Classifying the Pupils — The Advantage of Small Classes — Difficulties That May Arise — Assigning Teachers — The Work of the Superintendent — Teachers Fixed in Grades — Maintaining a Graded Department — Substitute Teachers — Importance of Definite Provision — Workable Plans — A Plan Tested — Advantages in Substituting. CHAPTER V The Work to Be Done 67 The Aim of the Sunday School — The Junior Opportunity — Factors in Religious Education — The Great Factor — The Teacher's Work — The Lessons Analyzed — Pupil's Text Book — Two Definite Policies — Teachers in Training — Department Spirit. CHAPTER VI Starting the Course in the Department. . . 79 Lessons Introduced Gradually — Plan for the Average School — Promotions Each Year — The Lessons Tested — Facing the Task — Perseverance Essential. CHAPTER VII Conditions and Equipment for Teaching 87 Separation — Equipment — Necessary Equipment — Books — Tables and Class Boxes — Honor Record Requirements — Record of Attendance and Offering — Desirable Equipment. CHAPTER VIII The Teacher and the Lessons 97 The Teacher — The Lessons Story Lessons — The Teacher and the Story— The Teacher's Text Book— The Pupil's Book for Work and Study — The Lesson in Class — The Teacher in Training — Junior Teacher's Standard. -- CONTEXTS 5 CHAPTER IX PAGES Importance of the Pupil's Book for Work and Study 109 Relation of Doing to Learning — Aim in First Year — Habits Formed — A Progressive Course — A Stone of Stumbling — The Sunday School Coming to Its Own — Determination and Perseverance — The Power of Will and Example — Incentives — Sympathy, Interest, and As- sistance — Trust the Children — Things to Remember. CHAPTER X Transfers and Promotions 123 A Standard for Promotion — Rote Memorizing Insufficient — The Value and Use of Memory Work — Classifying Mem- ory Texts — Memory Hymns — One Requirement for Pro- motion — Limitations and Exceptions — An Honor Test. CHAPTER XI Problems of the Small School 137 Importance of the Problem — Necessity for Graded In- struction — Difficulties in the Way — Solving the Lesson Problem — A Temporary Plan — Minimizing Disadvantages — Transfers and Promotions. CHAPTER XII Results to Be Striven for and Expected 151 The Great Aim — Subordinate Aims — Means to an End — Expressional Activities — A Spiritual Crisis — The Consum- mation. APPENDICES Appendix A. Purpose and Aims of the International Graded Lessons. 165 Appendix B. Outline of Junior Graded Lessons for the Four Years 171 Appendix C. Junior Lesson Books, Programs, and Other Requisites for Teachers and Pupils, with Prices 186 What the grain fields are to Western Canada, what the orange culture and the spineless cactus plantations are to California, or the cotton fields to the South, that the Curriculum or course of study, the system of lessons together with the manner of its manipula- tion, is to the Sunday school — the inspiration of its life and its activity, the source of its harvest increase, the promise of its future greatness. Henry H. Meyer. CHAPTER I THE INTERNATIONAL GRADED LESSONS JUNIOR TEXT BOOKS FOR TEACHERS AND PUPILS Each Pupil's Book for Work and Study contains a picture sheet. The one -shown here is that issued with Part 2 of the Fourth Year. The boxes contain Stereographs which give pictures of the lesson places for each of the four years. CHAPTER I The International Graded Lessons From the beginning of the Sunday school movement and all through the early days when grading was an unknown word in Sunday school work, Graded Teacher ^ e tea °her of the youngest children held a unique position among her fellows. All other teachers were wedded to their individual classes ; she was wedded to her work. Other teachers moved on through the years with one group of pupils. She remained in her place and the children passed on. These devoted teachers, of a day now happily passed, were forced to attempt the impossible in many ways. The class given to them often included at one end children within the limits of what is now called the cradle roll, and at the other end extended up into the intermediate years. In addition to unsuitable lessons and an ungraded class the "infant class" teacher of the olden time frequently had no separate room in which to teach and even the smallest children were obliged to sit upon chairs or in pews made for the comfort and intended for the occupancy of adults. We can but won- der that any desirable results were obtained when most of what are now understood to be necessary conditions for successful teaching and training were lacking. 9 io INTRODUCTION AND USE It was the teachers of the youngest children who felt the most keenly the inadequacy of the lesson system. A sense of their almost insuperable prob- Graded Lessons lems made them desire to meet together for mutual helpfulness, and the fact that they were dealing with the same ages of pupils year after year made such cooperation possible. Pri- mary unions sprang up in different sections and this was providential, for it was the Primary Union — local and international — that started the movement which resulted finally in securing graded lessons. The first primary teachers' meeting was organized in Newark, N. J., February 19, 1870; the second in New York City in 1871, and a union in Philadelphia in 1879. In 1884 the National Primary Union was organized in Philadelphia and the International Pri- mary Union in 1887. This organization, through its official organ, "The Bulletin," and by, the circulation of leaflets and in correspondence, was able to agitate for a better provision for the training of the young children under the care of the Church. The desire for lessons adapted to the understanding of little children grew rapidly and for several years prior to 1902 there was much dissatisfaction with the uniform lesson system. In the aggregate a good deal of ex- perimentation was carried on with lessons brought out by individual teachers or small groups working together. In 1902 the primary teachers asked the Interna- OF THE GRADED LESSONS n tional Convention to give them a two years' course for beginners. This was done and the course received a warm welcome and was widely used. At the next convention, three years later, the primary teachers thanked the convention for the beginners' lessons and said they would welcome a similar course for the primary children. No action was taken on this request and the leaders of the International Primary Depart- ment felt that the most that could be hoped was that the convention of 1908 would permit the extension of the course through the primary grades. In 1902 the International Primary Department, of which Mrs. J. W. Barnes was then the secretary, Steps Toward issued an outline of graded supple- a Graded mental lessons. They were intended to Curriculum supplement the uniform lessons by giving a certain amount of information and passages for memorization which it was thought that every child should know before he reached the age of thir- teen. These lessons, used in thousands of schools, aroused a desire for lessons selected with the needs of the pupils in mind, and at the same time created an increased demand for a graded curriculum to take the place of the uniform lessons, and of these graded supplemental lessons, which w r ere known to be, at best, but a makeshift. In January, 1908, a conference of publishers, edi- 12 INTRODUCTION AND USE tors, the Lesson Committee, and lesson writers was An Epoch- h e ld at the residence of Mr. William M. Making Hartshorne, and the outcome of that Conference conference was the following resolution : "That the need for a graded system of lessons is expressed by so many Sunday schools and workers that it should be adequately met by the International Sunday School Association, and that the Lesson Com- mittee should be instructed by the next International Convention, to be held at Louisville, Ky., June 18-23, 1908, to continue the preparation of a thoroughly graded course covering the entire range of the Sunday school." This resolution was presented by the Lesson Com- mittee as part of its report at the Convention in Louis- ville in June and was unanimously adopted, and thus it came to pass that the faint hope of the primary teachers in 1905 that the 1908 Convention might possibly grant them primary lessons was changed to a glorious reality, and the adoption of the resolution covering the whole curriculum of the Sunday school shamed the feeble faith of three years before. A final fact which must be mentioned as vital is that for more than two years previous to 1908 a group of workers in the Sunday school field had Lessons Ready « , , 1 . . « r , 1 for Use at wor k outlining lessons for the nine years of the elementary grades — 4 to 12 inclusive. The Lesson Committee had been in correspondence with this group. The outlines as pre- OF THE GRADED LESSONS 13 pared were submitted to and approved by them with slight modifications. In this way it happened that the Lesson Committee when presenting the resolution to the Louisville Convention knew that they were ready to issue the first year with suggested outlines for the other years of the beginners', primary, and junior, so that they could be prepared for publication and issued by the various denominations in time for use on the first Sunday of October, 1909. When the first year of each series was issued a sug- gested outline for the other years was sent out and these w r ere made available for use one year at a time. The intermediate and senior were later prepared and issued in the same way, so that in the comparatively short space of eight years the Sunday schools were provided with a graded curriculum covering seventeen years of the pupil's life. The International Graded Course is made up of several series, each series intended to meet the spiritual needs of a particular group of pupils. Lessons Are ^ e purpose of the course as a whole is : To meet the spiritual needs of the pupil at each stage of his development. The spiritual needs, broadly stated, are these : 1. To know God as he has revealed himself to us in his Word, in nature, in the heart of man, and in Christ. 2. To exercise toward God, the Father, and his Son, 14 INTRODUCTION AND USE Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, trust, obedience, and worship. 3. To know and do our duty to others. 4. To know and do our duty to ourselves. The lessons are planned for fifty-two weeks in each year, and the school year begins on the first Sunday in October. While the lessons are not dated, the best results are obtained, and the coordination of the whole course is made possible, only when the lessons are used at the time in the year for which they were prepared. For the little children of the beginners' department the stories are very simple and are frequently repeated. They are arranged under themes such* as "God's Care of Life," "God's Gift of the Wind, the Sun, and the Rain," "Jesus Teaching to Help," "Children Helping," "Friendly Helpers." The themes are all related in thought and follow one another in such a way as to keep pace ■ with the developing life. A folder is pre- pared for each week containing a story to be read to the child in the home. In the primary, as in the beginners, the lessons are arranged under themes without regard to chronologi- cal order. Each year's lessons are an advance in grade over the year which precedes, not so much in the nature of the material as in the truths which the lessons teach and in the interest, knowledge, and ex- perience of the pupil to whom the appeal is made. A folder is prepared for the children in this department, which, in the last year, he can read largely for himself. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 15 When the child is nine years old he has reached the reading age. Here the course is no longer topical and the material is not arranged under themes, for the growing historical sense of the pupil makes it neces- sary that the chronological order shall be followed. Instead of a folder given to the child each week a book to be used as a guide in home study is furnished for each quarter with a sheet containing pictures for the illustration of the lessons. In this, as in the two pre- ceding grades, instruction is given through stories. In the intermediate period the lessons become bio- graphical, since for the first time the chief interest of the pupil does not center in the story, but in biog- raphy. In the senior period life problems are studied in the light of the principles in God's Word and ways are found of applying these principles to every-day ques- tions of the present time. Anyone who studies carefully the aims for the whole course as given in Appendix A, pages 165-170, will see how beautifully the course is developed. It is progressive, moving forward systematically with the developing life of the pupil. It is pedagogical, because constructed on the principles which must underlie all true teaching. It is biblical in the highest sense of the word, because every lesson brings to the pupil in a practical way the great truths found in the Bible. It is unified, each part being built upon that which pre- cedes and preparing the pupil for the studies which 16 INTRODUCTION AND USE are to follow. It is adapted for use in a school of any size, and is perfectly practical. Above all it is evange- listic, ministering so effectively to the pupils at all times and especially in the great spiritual crisis of life, that through the use of this course hundreds and thou- sands have been led into conscious relations with the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and have made public acknowledgment of their allegiance to" him. CHAPTER II REASONS FOR HAVING SPECIAL LESSONS FOR JUNIORS 17 THE CHILDREN WE TEACH CHAPTER II Reasons for Having Special Lessons for Juniors "The supreme aim of the Sunday school is to de- velop to the utmost the religious life of every pupil. "* In order that this aim may be realized Marked - . . . . 111 Characteristics for Juniors it is necessary that the les- sons used shall be prepared for the express purpose of developing the religious life of these children to the highest degree. They constitute a group with marked characteristics, differing widely from the primary children, and still more radically from those of early adolescents. It is because they are so different that they must have lessons selected with an understanding of their characteristics and needs, if they are to be educated as they should be religiously. "The development of habits may be said to be the aim of all education. The capacity for forming habits constitutes educability."t If this is Formation true > t e J umor years must present the most strategic educational opportunity in life, from the point of view of the religious educa- *B. S.Winchester. t Article on Habit, by J. Clark Murray, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. 19 20 INTRODUCTION AND USE tor, since during these years a great many life habits both of thought and action are fixed. The graded lessons are so prepared as to assist the pupils to establish the habit of systematic and reverent Bible study through the use of the pupil's work book as a guide. The requirements outlined in this book help also to develop habits of accuracy. The interests of juniors are important guide posts pointing the road to success in teaching them. At the _ ,. time of entering the junior period the Reading Age ■ ° 11 children have learned how to read. This opens to them the whole field of literature, and they find the most intense delight in reading whatever children's stories are accessible. Because of their pas- sion for reading they often devour many things not intended for them, and others, such as the "comic supplements," which are avowedly prepared for chil- dren but are pernicious and degrading to morals, lan- guage, and artistic sense. In religious training it must always be borne in mind that "every new ability creates a new responsibility." When the child has learned to read it is our duty to introduce him to the Bible, show him that it is a great storehouse of the most wonder- ful and interesting stories, teach him how to handle it, and so guide his training that almost unconsciously he will become an habitual Bible reader. The junior graded lessons are prepared with this as one of the ends in view. OF THE GRADED LESSONS *i The age of hero worship has its beginning in the junior period. The tendency to imitate the heroes of „ t . history rather than acquaintances in- Hero Worship J _ , f . ^ creases from about thirty to eighty per cent in the ages eight to twelve. It is in this period that most of the great heroes of Bible history, both in the Old and New Testaments, some of the Mac- cabsean period, and others from the annals of modern missions, are given to the boys and girls in lessons chosen specially for them by those who knew their needs. A primary child loves to do things; that is he likes to be busy and finds his enjoyment in the activity. He will work happily for hours making Attainment of - . 1 . , , , * Results something which he seems to take an equal pleasure in tearing to pieces as soon as it is completed. In the junior period this interest gradually changes, and the child becomes in- terested in attaining some result through his work. The pupils' books have been prepared in such a way that there is work to be done without which the book is not complete. When the writing, picture pasting, and map coloring are done the book is finished and becomes the child's permanent possession. It is a delight to a junior child to own such a book, and to be able to show to others the results of his labor. The junior child is interested in puzzles. One of 2? INTRODUCTION AND USE the ways in which his power of thought grows most rapidly is through this interest which Puzzles . r J fe makes it possible for him to find pleas- ure in ferreting out things for himself. The work books are so prepared as to take advantage of this interest, and after stimulating curiosity by telling part of a story lead the children to wish to read the rest of the story and find the answers to puzzling questions by themselves. Among the intellectual characteristics of juniors are five which are outstanding in importance. The first of these is memory, which in this Memory . . J period is both strong and retentive. This has been realized for many years as a characteris- tic of this age, but formerly the chief advantage taken of it was to fill the minds of the children with many whole chapters of Scripture, learned often under the impelling power of a hoped-for prize, and occasionally as a punishment for some misdeed, and generally with little or no understanding of the meaning. In these lessons prepared specially for juniors, all the Scripture and hymns given for memorization either contain truths, admonitions, and commands immediately use- ful to the child, or give him a vehicle for the expres- sion of emotions of praise, thanksgiving, trust, love, and adoration, which all children under the proper influence feel but have no language to express. The child at this period develops an intense interest OF THE GRADED LESSONS 23 in words. He is eager to gain verbal expression, and this hunger, together with his growing Verbal Expression fondness for his gang, leads him to use "pig" Latin or to invent some more intricate secret code. This interest is used to great advantage in the graded lessons in many ways. The alphabet invented by James Evans for the Cree Indians (see Second Year, Part 4, Lesson 40) never fails to arouse the greatest enthusiasm. Their own love for new methods of expression leads the juniors to admire the man who made a written language for a whole tribe. The high purpose which the missionary had in view also raises an ideal which leads directly away from the low plane of secrecy for selfish and often evil ends. The sense of location, which makes the study of geography possible, dawns in the beginning of the junior age and the interest matures be- Location ^ ort ^ e en< ^ °^ ^ e P er i°d- We cannot in Sunday school teach geography as a study, but because it is known that the day school gives a sufficient basis, the junior lessons contain a full course on the lands of which the lessons treat. A child graduating from the junior department having had the full course, if he has done the required work will have a good general knowledge of every Bible land, and of the physical characteristics of Pales- tine. 24 INTRODUCTION AND USE The conception of sequence of time is also a junior characteristic, as distinguished from the primary age, when the child knows little beyond the Sequence of i • ^1 r i_ • Tiine present day in the sense of being able to comprehend what is meant by the distant past or future. It is this power which makes it possible to teach history, and because it is present in the mind of the child, while no attempt is ?made here to teach Bible history, the lessons are chosen in chronological order. Any other plan would con- fuse the dawning historical sense. Because it is only dawning when the children are nine and ten years old, the chronological order is by periods, and changes are made from one whole period of time to another; but when one period is begun it is finished before a change is made. From the first of the Judges period to the end of the Apostolic age the chronological order is maintained, and this includes the last two months of the second year and all of the third and fourth years of the course. The junior child has a growing sense of reality and a desire to know what are the real things in the world ^ . about him, seen and unseen. This is Reality ' ., _ . the time when the very foundations ot faith are built, for by the proper culture of the spiritual life the childish credulity, which believes everything without discrimination, is changed to an increasingly intelligent belief in the eternal realities. The lessons OF THE GRADED LESSOXS 25 are admirably planned to meet the child's longing for fundamental truth. There is at this period a high regard for authority, justly administered by one who has the right to rule. It is imperative that the child shall have Authority* suc ^ a P resent ation of God as will en- able him to realize that he is the Creator of the world, the King to whom all owe allegiance, and who rules with justice and love. This thought of the kingship of God is supreme in these lessons, and so the need of the child to know of a Ruler who is all wise, perfectly just, merciful, and loving, is met. The junior child has many limitations. He has very little reasoning power, and therefore would be unable . . . . to follow or take part in anv discussion* Limitations on cause and effect. He does not care what people are, and therefore would have no interest in and could not understand character studies. He is interested, however, in seeing what results follow cer- tain lines of action, and he likes to know what people have done, provided their deeds have been heroic or remarkable in any way. These are the reasons why this course for juniors is made up of stories instead of abstract sermons or discussions, and mainly of stories which show the consequences of right and* wrong actions. In their relations with other people the juniors have 26 INTRODUCTION AND USE a deep interest in a selected group of their own age . , and sex. This is the beginning of the Gang Period . & - t> "gang" period, and marks the develop- ment of the first stirrings of the social instinct. Be- cause there is a strong desire for companionship it is possible to lead the child to realize that he may have God with him as a daily companion if he will. The child is also at the point when he becomes conscious of his inability to meet and conquer the temptations that arise in his every-day life. As he enters con- sciously into this lifelong struggle against sin he needs to know that God is a Saviour from the power of sin, and to be led to turn to him in temptation and to trust in him for strength. The child must realize his dependence upon God for guidance in all the affairs of life. He needs to be made to understand that his relation God to God is that of a subject to a ruler, and therefore it is his duty to obey God's laws. He needs to know that it is his privilege to work with God by doing his work in the world. He must be shown that his love and adoration for God may and should be expressed in acts of worship, and that he may talk with God concerning everything that interests him. In relation to others the junior must be taught to play fair, to obey those who are in authority over him, OF THE GRADED LESSONS 27 to work with others in the home by doing his share of whatever work is to be done, to take Relation to , . , - « . r Others stand as the champion of every good cause. He must know also that there are certain things which he owes to himself. First among these is the formation of right personal habits. The only way in which such habits can be formed is through the repeated doing of right acts. This is not easy and so the child must be helped to make right choices, and he must be given right ideals of progress. Every one of these things was definitely in mind when the junior lessons were prepared, and it is evi- dent to all who study and use the T PCCATIC T n t\ t Meet the Need lessons understanding what the junior child is, that the junior series of the International Graded Course is on the plane of the child's experience, appeals to his interests, and min- isters effectively to the upbuilding of his character. There is a wide difference between the knowledge, experience, and interests of a junior child of nine, and those of one who is three years older. Series In fact there is no period in the life when more rapid advances are made year by year. The junior series, therefore, presents not simply lessons for juniors, but four years of les- sons carefully graded both in the choice of material 28 INTRODUCTION AND USE and the method of presentation. There is first a year of lessons intended explicitly for normal children nine years old, corresponding to the fourth grade in the day school. There is another series of fifty-two lessons planned for children ten years of age, and a third year of lessons is provided for children eleven years old. In the fourth year, when the pupils are approximately twelve years old, it is known that with the large ma- jority the first great spiritual crisis occurs. The lessons for that year are so selected that they give exactly the studies needed to guide the children to the Saviour, and make conscious and vital their relation- ship to him. There are certain general characteristics which are common to junior children as a group ; but the variation which is apparent in knowledge, attain- ment, and interests between the children of any one year and those of another makes it evident that if the lessons are to minister effectively to the unfolding life they must be graded year by year. CHAPTER III THE JUNIOR SERIES OF LESSONS 29 M JUNIOR im of the Course ■^Sfo lead the child to become a doer of the word t\ and to bring him into conscious relations with the Lord Jesus Christ "Character is tk summation of habit y habit is the repeiihoa of iii§f 9wrne AIM OF THE JUNIOR LESSON'S The badge pictured here -is that of the Junior Department. It suggests the Junior Motto, James i: 22, and is in the Junior colors — light blue and white. CHAPTER III The Junior Series of Lessons The junior series of lessons do not in themselves comprise a complete course of study. They form one part of a comprehensive whole, the Part of a Course r , t * 111 of Study course 01 completely graded lessons known as the International Graded Course. In order to understand fully the ^character and scope of the junior lessons it is necessary to know something of those through which the foundation has been laid upon which these lessons build. The purpose of the two years of beginners' lessons is "to lead the little child to the Father." The lessons are very simple and center about the Series home, because the child's strongest interests are there. He is shown that his food and clothing, his parents and other loved ones are gifts from God. He is taught how God cares for birds and animals and how he provides for people. He is helped "to apply to himself the verse 'God careth for you' and to form the conclusion, 'God is love.' "* The child is also led to cooperate in loving, helpful, and *The Beginners' Teacher's Text Book, First Year, Part I, page 30. 31 32 INTRODUCTION AND USE kind acts, in being obedient and in praising and thank- ing God. The lessons prepared for primary children are in three grades, intended respectively for children six, seven, and eight years of age. 'The The Primary . / ~ b Series purpose or aim of the first year lessons is to show forth God's power, love, and care, and to awaken within the child responsive love, trust, and obedience. From this statement of aim the advance or progress of the first year primary les- sons over the beginners' lessons is apparent. . . . The second year lessons give the child a fund of ideas con- cerning what is right. They do this by the truths they teach, by the activities they .suggest, and by the right acts to which they inspire the child. The second year lessons also teach in a definite way that right acts are God's will for a child. To the eight-year-old child who has come to know right from wrong through ex- perience in doing and in failing to do right, and who from instruction received at home, at school, and Sun- day school has a certain fund of established ideas of what he should do, the third year lessons give the mo- tive for learning and doing God's will. The third year lessons tell of God's love as expressed in Jesus. They tell of Jesus as the Saviour, that every child who is ready and able to understand may come to know Jesus as his friend, his helper at all times, his strength, and his personal Saviour. Not all children of third OF THE GRADED LESSONS 33 year primary age come to the knowledge of Jesus as a personal Saviour, but they may love him and desire to follow and obey him and to be God's child. ' ? * The aim for the junior series is, "To lead the child to become a doer of the Word, and to bring him into conscious relations with the Lord Jesus Series Christ as his Saviour." The material used in the junior series of lessons is broad and comprehensive in its scope, as will be seen from the following outline of periods treated : First Year: Stories' of the Beginnings; Stories of Three Patriarchs; The Story of Joseph; Stories of Moses and His Times. These studies cover nine months of the year, and are taken from the Pentateuch. Stories that Jesus Told (eight lessons on the Parables) . The Journeys of Moses (a geographical review of the Exodus journeys). Second Year. Stories of the Conquest of Canaan (eight lessons). Opening Stories of the New Testa- ment; Incidents in the Life of the Lord Jesus (eighteen lessons) ; Followers of the Lord Jesus (nine lessons from the Acts and eight from the lives of modern missionaries) ; Stories of the Judges (nine lessons). Third Year. Stories of the Kingdoms of Israel * Introduction and Use of the Graded Lessons, Primary Manual, by Marion Thomas. 34 INTRODUCTION AND USE and Judah (from the choice of Saul to the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, thirty-five lessons) ; Responsibility for One's Self, Neighbor, and Coun- try (four temperance lessons) ; The Exile and Re- turn of the People of Judah (nine lessons) ; Introduc- tion to the New Testament Times (two stories of the heroes among the Jews in the times of Mattathias and Judas Maccabseus; with a lesson on the land where Jesus lived and one on the temple of Herod). Fourth Year. The Gospel According to Mark (twenty-six lessons). Studies in the Acts (thirteen lessons) ; Later Missionary Stories (eight lessons) ; Our Bible and How it Came to Us (five lessons). The difference between graded and ungraded lessons is that the graded course "is built upon the life processes and progress of the learner," Life Procp^sGS the Basis while the ungraded course takes no note of changes in the developing life. It follows that any graded course is better than one that is not graded, and that the best among graded courses will be that in which the persons outlining it have had the most perfect understanding of the way in which the life progresses in each stage of its development. In the selection of the material for the International Graded Lessons, the characteristics, interests, and knowledge of pupils were carefully considered by people whose theories had been thoroughly tested again and again in the school of practical experience. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 35 As was stated in the preceding chapter, it is at the beginning of the junior period that the historic sense begins to dawn, and that is the reason Reasons for the 111 r 1 • Selection w - lessons irom this time on are chosen chronologically. If this were not done the child's sense of sequence of time would be confused. In the first two years, when the historic sense is not fully developed, changes are made from one period to another, but no period is interrupted and taken up again. Some people have criticized the junior lessons be- cause they are not so planned as to form a straight chronological course from the beginning of the Old Testament Story to the end of the New. This criticism would be valid if the most important aim in mind for the junior period had been to have the lessons arranged in a continuous chronological order. This, however, was not the case. The purpose in graded instruction always relates primarily to the pupil and not to the material, and the aim for this period was to select that material for each year which would appeal to the in- terests and meet the spiritual need in such a way as to help the child to become a "doer of the Ward," and to lead him into conscious relations with the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. The committee which outlined the junior series of lessons, noting that the first great spiritual crisis occurs at about the age of twelve, decided that the Gospel of Mark must be studied in the first part of the fourth 36 INTRODUCTION AND USE year, since the life of Christ in some form is the only material which can minister to the child effectively at such a time. Going back from the fourth year, the needs of the first and successive years were studied and lessons outlined not only with the immediate needs in view, but with the definite determination to make the studies such as would best prepare for and lead up to the climax of the fourth year. A study of the characteristics and interests of the children showed that in the first year the elemental stories of the Pentateuch would make the greatest appeal. That is the reason why a large part of the year is given to those studies. It was also known that at about the age of ten the children experience the first stirrings of that exalted admiration which we call "hero worship." It was therefore thought best at that time to present from both the Old and New Testaments and also from the annals of modern missionary enter- prises, stories which would make the best use of this intense and growing interest. The way in which the incidents in the life of the Lord Jesus are brought into this year's work makes it evident to the children that he is the source of all power, the inspiration of all who are brave to dare and to do in the cause of righteousness. The stories from the times of the Judges with which the second year closes, are also of the heroic type. With these lessons a chronological order is started, which is maintained to the end of the series. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 37 In the third year, when the pupil is about eleven years of age, he is beginning to realize in his own ex- perience the world-old struggle for righteousness, the responsibility that he has for the choices which he makes day after day, and his need for help that he may choose the right and resist the wrong. To this age the stories of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah and the topical course on Temperance come with a peculiar force. A year earlier would be too soon and a year later the appeal must be of a different kind. If this later appeal is to be really effective the pupils must have as a preparation the series of stories which deal with right and wrong choices and show their conse- quences in sharp outline. At about the age of twelve occurs the first great spiritual crisis. AYith some children it comes earlier, with a few later, but the large majority will experi- ence a strong impulse to give their lives to the Lord, and will become conscious of their relation with him as their Saviour, at about this time. As has. been said the whole course has been planned to meet this with studies which will assist the developing spiritual life to blossom normally. The Gospel of Mark, which is vivid and concrete, a record of deeds rather than teachings, is ideal for juniors, and comes at just the time w r hen it can best minister to their needs. After this study, through the deeds of the followers of the Lord Jesus in apostolic times, and of others in modern days, the children are shown some of the splendid 38 INTRODUCTION AND USE^ achievements of men who have gone out in his strength to do his work in the world. The closing lessons of the series, on Our Bible and How it Came to Us, are most fitting, for one aim all through as well as in the first year has been to interest the children in the Bible and increase their love for it, and they cannot fail to have a new reverence and love for the Book of books as they see how marvelously it has been preserved and transmitted from age to age for thousands of years. It is evident therefore that those who planned these lessons began with the most important part of the junior period when they first considered the critical time of the first spiritual awakening, and laid their plans so as to make it certain that the pupils would have just what was needed to minister to them during this critical experience. That point being settled they studied the other three years and settled upon the ma- terial to be used with a definite understanding of the needs, and a determination that they should be met as they arose, but with the further definite purpose of leading up to the lessons of the fourth year, which is really the climax of the nine elementary years — the place in which a definite harvest is expected. Those who read chapter XII of this book will see that the expectation of those who prepared the lessons has been realized and the principles upon which they worked in preparing the junior graded series fully justified. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 39 The Teacher's Text Book, issued in quarterly parts for each year, is so much more than a guide for lesson Lesson Helps teaching that it might be called a for Teacher and manual of instruction. In it is em- Pupi1 bodied a complete course of informa- tional lessons which were not a part of the outline pre- pared and issued by the Lesson Committee. These correlated lessons are, however, closely related to the main lesson, as the name given to them implies. Fur- thermore, they are an important part of the material of instruction, since without the information which they furnish the truth contained in the lesson text will often remain veiled in oriental imagery or hidden be- hind customs and conditions strange to the children of to-day. The forewords, filling approximately a hundred pages in the books for the four years, contain discus- sions of problems, plans of work for both teacher and pupil, and facts concerning outstanding junior char- acteristics and the normal development of the spiritual life during this period. In the treatment of the lesson the aim has been first of all to furnish definite practical help for the young, inexperienced and untrained teacher. Beyond this the attempt has been made to assist teachers who have had both training and experience through references for additional reading and plans for original, individual lesson preparation. It would be a fine thing if all teachers might make 4 o INTRODUCTION AND USE use of many books of reference and so acquire a broader knowledge than any single text book can give. But because there are in the aggregate many teachers who do not own and cannot gain access to other books the Teacher's Text Book has been made so compre- hensive that no teacher who studies it carefully will be handicapped by a lax:k of knowledge when presenting the lessons to his pupils. The Pupil's Book for Work and Study contains the daily Bible readings, whatever information is neces- sary for an understanding of the lesson story, and suggestions or instructions for doing the handwork. Both for example's sake and in order that he may be perfectly conversant with the pupil's task the teacher must have a copy of the pupil's work book, read the daily Bible readings, and do the work in it just as the children are expected to do these things. With the pupil's book is a picture sheet which has pictures of lesson places or events, maps, and facsimiles to go with the lessons, and pictures and title pages for the illustration of hymns. In the first two years the writ- ing done by the pupil is in spaces left on the lesson pages for a text or part of a story or the answer to a question. In the third and fourth years the work is done in a note book. The aim for the first year is "To awaken an interest in the Bible and love for it, to deepen the impulse to choose and do the right." Examining the lessons in OF THE GRADED LESSONS 41 detail we find that the key word of the first year is Obedience. All through the funda- The First Year , , . , n , t ^ ^ Lessons mental stories of Genesis, the Garden of Eden, the stories of Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and Esau the lesson of unques- tioning obedience is enforced, or the consequences of disobedience shown. Through the six stories in the group about Joseph is shown most strikingly how "all things work together for good to them that love God.' 1 In the stories of the oppression in Egypt, the wilder- ness journeys and the exodus, the people of Israel seem like children in a school who are -slowly learning the great lesson that the only successful life is that which is lived in accordance with the laws of an all-wise and loving Father. In the months of July and August the lessons are on some of the stories which Jesus told, and these serve to give added emphasis to the thought of the year, as they teach over and over the importance of being "doers of the word." In September a geographical review of the Exodus Journeys is given, closing with a view of the land of Canaan as Moses saw it from the summit of Mount Nebo. This is not only a review and a lesson in the geography of the lands connected with the story, but a preparation for the first work in the second year. In the first year there are forty verses and parts 42 INTRODUCTION AND USE of verses assigned to be memorized, three others are optional; and two passages are to be Memory Work , i t» i • • • 1 learned, Psalm 121 in connection with the Joseph lessons, and Psalm 107: 1-8 with the geographical review : fifty-six verses in all. In ad- dition to this, if the Junior Department Programs have been used, one each quarter through the year, a large amount of additional Scripture and four hymns will have been committed to memory. It must be remembered that the value of all this is far beyond any mere rote memorizing of passages, chap- ters, or psalms apart from a story. The importance of all the memory work in the graded lessons is that it gives a concrete statement for a truth which has been taught through a story or succession of stories, the truth being one which meets a need of the child at the time when it is given to him. In the use of the graded lessons it is taken for granted that there will be two periods for lesson study in each session, the first fifteen and the The Correlated , • 1 t ^1 Lessons second twenty minutes long. In the first of these periods all the informa- tion is to be given which is needed for an understand- ing of the lessons, or to help the pupil to handle his Bible and know it as a book. Of course in the first year the correlated period will be taken largely with drills on the books of the Bible, since it is essential that the child shall learn to know the book as soon as OF THE GRADED LESSONS 43 possible in order that it may not be a too difficult task for him to read and find references in it. Since there is no time during the regular lesson period for such work as this, it is easy to see how handicapped a child must be all through his junior course if no time is given in the session for this correlated period, or if, being given, it is not used as it should be. The aim for the second year is, "To present the ideal of moral heroism; to reveal the power and majesty of Jesus Christ, and to show his fol- The Second , r 1 . , . 1 , Year Lessons lowers going forth in his strength to do his work." The first material through which this aim is to be realized is eight lessons on the Conquest of Canaan. Through the geographical re- view of the exodus the memory of the children has been refreshed, and they have looked on the land with its hills and valleys, into which the people are to go and which has been promised to them as a possession. They are therefore ready to take these stirring lessons of the conquest period with interest, and get from them the great truth that those who fight on the Lord's side may be strong and of good courage, for they have the promise that he will be with them always. The key note for this year is Heroism. Beginning with December the lessons are taken from the New Testament, and we have the most delightful preparation for the Christmas season in the annuncia- tion stories, and the story of the birth of John the 44 INTRODUCTION AND USE Baptist. Following these opening stories of the New- Testament, there are fifteen lessons from the life of the Lord Jesus, including everything that could be given about his advent and childhood. The other inci- dents are those which magnify his power and majesty. Following these lessons are nine dealing with events following the death and resurrection of Jesus. The object in these lessons is to show how the power of Jesus made it possible for his followers to do his work in the world. Then there are eight lessons on modern followers of the Lord. In August and September the lessons deal with some of the heroes of -the period of the Judges, and here begins a chronological course which extends through the third and fourth years, covering the Bible story from the time of the Judges to the end of the apostolic age. In addition to forty-four verses chiefly from the New Testament, there are three passages given for memorization; the description of the Memory Work ^ . - . t- 1 • r Christian armor, Lphesians 0:10, 13- 17; the Song of Zacharias, Luke 1:76-79; and the Song of Simeon, Luke 2 : 29-32. The hymn, From Greenland's Icy Mountains, is given for illustration, and that with whatever hymns are used in the depart- ment programs is included in the .memory work for the year. The first work in the second vear on the side of 4 OF THE GRADED LESSOXS 45 information concerning the Bible, is to complete the learning of the names of the books. j ~ As the lessons begin with the Book of Joshua it is easy to introduce the only group of books which the children have not as yet learned, the twelve books of history. After these are learned the correlated lesson period is used for drills on facts, events, places, names, the books of the Bible, the finding of references, explanations of manners and customs, and the location of places on the map. The aim for the third year is "To deepen the sense of responsibility for right choices; to show the conse- quence of right and wrong choices; to The Third Year \ - , c - . * a u + ■ A Lessons strengthen love ot the right and hatred of the wrong." This aim emphasizes what is the keynote of this year's course — Choice, Through showing the choices that were made by Saul, David, Absalom, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Ahab, Elijah, Micaiah, Elisha, Naaman, Hezekiah, Jehoiakim, Daniel, Nehemiah, Ezra, Judas Maccabseus, and others, and the consequences that followed from those choices, the children are impelled toward the right and away from the wrong. In June following the end of the period of Jewish history, which ter- minated in the exile of the people of Judah, a topical course of four lessons is introduced on the subject of Temperance. This series presents one of the finest opportunities that has ever been given to teachers for 46 INTRODUCTION AND USE bringing this important subject positively before the children, at a time when they are beginning to Set their standards and make decisions on many life ques- tions. With these lessons we have fifty-seven verses, in- cluded in which are several connected passages, Proverbs 3 : 5-7 ; Psalms 23 or 27 : 1-5 ; Memory Work Psalm 95 : 1-7 and Psalm 100. The use of the twenty- fourth Psalm in connec- tion with bringing the Ark into Jerusalem is explained and verses 2j, 28 are given for memorization. The hymn for illustration is The Spacious Firmament on High, Addison's beautiful paraphrase of the first part of the nineteenth Psalm. It is expected that the children will learn this hymn, as well as those used in the" programs for the year and the Scripture given for responsive use in the worship. There are a great number of important facts that need to be given to the children during this year, as the following outline will show. Mat- The Correlated r 1 1 r Lessons ters °* government, methods of war- fare, the work of an oriental shepherd, the despotism of oriental monarchs, hymn studies, facts concerning Solomon's Temple, Bedouin tents and customs, the meaning of sacrifices, Hebrew manners and customs, trade routes through the Holy Land, Olympian games, Babylon in the time of Nebuchadnez- OF THE GRADED LESSONS 47 zar, the condition of the Jews in captivity, reasons for having walled cities, the first Sunday school, the mean- ing of A. D. and B. C, geographical lessons, and vari- ous kinds of drills. The aim of the fourth year is, "To present Jesus as our example and Saviour; to lead the pupil to appre- ciate his opportunities for service, and The Fourth . , . . . r • « Year Lessons tC> & lve him a vlslon of what lt me ^ns to be a Christian." The keynote here is Decision. The material through which it is hoped to bring the course to a climax is a study of the Gospel according to Mark. This is accomplished in twenty- six lessons and these are followed by thirteen Studies in the Acts. In all missionary lessons it is essential that certain great fundamental truths shall be pre- sented. The need of the world for the gospel, the sufficiency of the Word of God to meet the need, the duty, cost, and results of presenting the Word to those who know nothing of God and his love for the world. Many of these truths are seen through stories of apos- tolic times, but it is through the later missionary stories that they are brought most forcefully to the children. The eight that are taught during July and August *of the fourth year are splendid stories of daring and achieving in the Master's name. The last five lessons give the marvelous romance of the way in which our Bible was made and has been transmitted to us. 48 INTRODUCTION AND USE In the memory work for this year there are eighty- two verses, fifty-five from the New Testament and w „ twenty-seven from the Old. Included Memory Work . . _ m these is a review of Psalm 95 : 1-7; 1 Peter 2 : 21-24; 1 Corinthians 15 : 55-58; 2 Timothy 3: 14-17; 2 Peter 1 : 19-21. Three hymns are to be illustrated and memorized : Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me, Sow the Seed Beside All Waters, and Now the Day is Over. In the second quarter pictures are furnished for the illustration of the Apostles' Creed, and it is expected that this also will be committed to memory. There is no part of the junior series in which the correlated lesson is of greater significance than during the fourth year. In the Gospel of The Correlated , , , , . « Lessons Mark reference is made to a great many of the peculiar customs of the Holy Land, and in the missionary series for the fourth quarter there is special necessity for a large amount of explanation, just as there is in the second year when the missionary lessons are studied. Some of the sub- jects treated are : synagogues, publicans, wine-skins, caravan routes, highways, Pharisees and the Sabbath, shewbread, oriental lamps, the meaning of the tassel in the corner of the outer garment, the custom' of hav- ing hired mourners at funerals, salutations by the way, the Roman and Jewish method of naming the hours of the day, the traditions of the elders, the meaning of the title "Messiah," the Sanhedrin and its powers, OF THE GRADED LESSONS 49 the three temples and their courts, Roman coins and their superscriptions, the meaning and terror of the tabu in Hawaii, oriental schools, and the value of eastern scientific knowledge as an aid to the under- standing of spiritual truths. In addition to such topics as are outlined above, there is a great deal of instruction given upon the geography of Bible lands, and a sufficient amount re- lating to the mission fields touched upon in the eight missionary stories to furnish a background for those lessons. An important part of the equipment provided for a junior department is seen in the programs for the service of worship, one of which is fur- Department • 1 1 r 1 ' ™ Programs nished for each quarter. 1 hese contain many hymns and a large amount of Scripture, all of which become the permanent posses- sion of the children when. each program is used for several consecutive weeks. In summing up the material for the four years we find that the pupils who have done all the work have read the Gospel of Mark, and addi- tional readings in the Old and New Testaments equivalent in volume to the other three Gospels. They have studied one hundred and ninety-one stories, about one hundred and forty-one Bible char- So INTRODUCTION AND USE acters, and fifteen stories about modern missionary heroes. Two hundred and fifty-three verses and fourteen parts of verses have been memorized, taken from fifty- five of the sixty-five books of the Bible. Six great hymns of the church and the Apostles' Creed have been memorized and illustrated, and knowledge both expressed and fixed in mind through the work done in the Pupil's Book for Work and Study. During the four years if the programs are used in the department and if the children study their work books as they should they will have learned forty- five hymns and parts of hymns. The following is a list arranged under subjects in order that the value of the selections may be more readily seen : God the Father: Doxology; Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates ; Nearer, My God, to Thee ; God is Love ; A Mighty Fortress is Our God ; O God, Our Help in Ages Past; Holy, Holy, Holy; The Spacious Firma- ment on High. Jesus Our Saviour: While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night; Saviour, Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise; Long Ago the Lilies Faded; Come, Thou Almighty King; A Child this Day is Born; There is a Green Hill Far Away ; All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name; Crown Him with Many Crowns; There's a Song in the Air; Lift Up, Lift Up your Voices; The King of Love My Shepherd Is; It Game OF THE GRADED LESSONS 51 Upon the Midnight Clear; Break Thou the Bread of Life; Crusader's Hymn; Hail to the Lord's Anointed. God's Day: Q Day of Rest and Gladness. The Children of God: Hitherto the Lord Hath Helped Us ; True-Hearted, Whole-Hearted ; I was Glad when They Said; Dear Jesus, We Before Thee Bow; Lead Us, Mighty Captain; The Lord Be with Us as We Bend; We Give Thee but Thine Own; He Cares for Me ; Sound the Battle Cry ; Go Forward, Christian Soldier; I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus; Now the Day is Over; Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me. Missionary: The Son of God Goes Forth to War; From Greenland's Icy Mountains; Sow the Seed Be- side All Waters. Patriotic: My Country, Tis of Thee; God Save Our Native Land. Temperance : Every One that Striveth for Mastery. Special: Welcome Song; Birthday Song. The ideal of the graded system is a series of lessons which, beginning with the little children, carries the pupil through every year into a deeper study of the whole wealth of the Bible. The idea which lies be- hind the method is that of adapting Bible teaching to the needs of the pupil. The aim of the whole course is, to form habits of Bible study, so to mold character and intelligence and faith that when the pupil of any school reaches maturity he shall have in his heart the love of righteousness, the love of God, faith in the Re- deemer and faith even in his own place in the world, an inspiring conception both of what God is to him and of what he may be to the service of God in his life. W. Douglas Mackenzie. 52 CHAPTER IV ORGANIZATION FOR TEACHING 53 IDEAL EQUIPMENT FOR THE JUNIOR SUPERINTENDENT Bound copies of the Junior Lessons, a card catalog for registering the birthdays of the children, Bible with a rainbow book mark, stereographs for the four years, a bound copy of the sixteen programs for the department, a reference library for use in the department, and maps of various kinds. CHAPTER IV Organization for Teaching When introducing the junior graded lessons into a school which is not graded, it is necessary first to bring into one group all the children who are Department nine, ten, eleven, and twelve years of age. This broad grouping, which we call the junior department, is made for convenience in administration and has no direct bearing upon lesson teaching. The graded lessons have been prepared in yearly units, and since that is so the junior lessons can be taught in any school where there are children of any one of the junior years, whether there is an organized junior department in the school or not. For lesson teaching, therefore, the departmental group must be graded. Some schools have tried grading the pupils on a day school basis, which would make all the pupils of grades four to seven in the day school eligible Department ^ or mem bership in the junior depart- ment of the Sunday school. This is an easy plan, and one easily understood and acquiesced in by the pupils. But if it is made the basis there must 55 56 INTRODUCTION AND USE be liberal provision for exceptional cases, for the fol- lowing reasons : The grading of the day school is settled by the pupil's proficiency in many studies taken collectively, most of which have no bearing on the question of his proper standing in Sunday school. The public school of necessity takes no note whatever of the question which is paramount in our work, and that is, What does he know of the Bible? Further- more, we are dealing with groups of pupils in a way of which the public school of to-day knows nothing. We have four grades in one group. This group has certain very marked characteristics, many of which disappear with the first year or two of adolescence. The changes which occur at that time make it im- possible for a junior department to meet the needs of pupils who are more than thirteen years of age. There- fore, because of the very nature of the child, the limit of the department at the upper end is fixed, and is settled not by the proficiency of the pupil in his week- day studies but by the laws of his growth. At the beginning of the period the ability to read is the definite thing which settles the question whether or not pupils are ready for promotion to the junior. This of course does not refer to ability to read in a school reader, but to a general knowledge which makes the child reasonably at home with any book. This is a knowledge which is generally acquired in day school, but as he is not graded in the day school solely on his ability to read, we cannot say that only such children OF THE GRADED LESSONS 57 as are in the fourth grade are suitable for member- ship in a junior department. On the other hand it becomes necessary at times to take a child into the junior department who cannot read, because he is ten or over and is too large physically to remain in the primary without embarrassment, and also because he needs the kind of exercises and general treatment that are appropriate to children of his age, even though he is mentally backward. Some who are in the third grade can read wfell, and because of home influences are familiar with the Bible, and therefore should be in the junior department. But in general it will be found that the best work will be done and the highest results secured by grading largely by age. After the grade groups are formed the next step will depend altogether upon the size of the depart- ment. If there are more than thirty- p upils " five pupils there will doubtless be a class of boys and one of girls for each grade, and all that is needed is to make that division. There is a strong "gang'' spirit in both the boys and the girls which can be used to very great advantage in arousing class enthusiasm. This is an important asset in securing the doing of all the various things which make for the formation of right habits and issue in strength of character. Therefore, when pos- sible, classes should be composed of groups having a certain harmony of interests. In the case of trouble- 58 INTRODUCTION AND USE some boys it is sometimes considered necessary to break up the "gang" in the interest of order, but the ideal way would be to secure a wide-awake Christian young man or woman to take that class just as it is, and direct its activities into right channels. In nine cases out of ten, classes are disorderly because no thought is given to planning definite things for the members to do before and during the session. They must do something, and their activities run out in wrong directions because that is the line of least re- sistance. But if awakened by a new interest, and steadied by having some responsibility for the manage- ment of the class put upon their shoulders, they will find a greater delight and satisfaction in achieving a law-abiding efficiency, than they ever found in their irregular and disturbing exploits. If it is possible to secure teachers, small classes are a positive advantage in many ways. Some teachers seem to think that it is not worth while Ifsmfll Clashes to come to Sund ^y school to teach two or three children, but no teacher will ever have that idea who once gains a vision of the tremendous importance of one human life, both in its present influence and in its possible effect upon future generations. If there are two boys and three girls in the first grade there should be two classes formed and two teachers assigned to them if it is possible to secure the teachers. Close individual work is the best that • OF THE GRADED LESSONS 59 can be done, and a teacher can accomplish much more for each one if the class is small. No class should have over six members when it can be avoided, and therefore it is an advantage to have class groups small enough to make it possible to place new pupils in the grade to which they belong without overcrowding the class. There are many small schools, however, in which there are only ten or fifteen juniors. In such cases it is better to group boys of nine and ten together, the girls of those ages forming another group, w T ith the boys of eleven and twelve and the girls of those ages forming two other groups. For a full discussion of the peculiar problems encountered in very small schools, see chapter XI. In a hitherto ungraded school, the moment it is at- tempted to make divisions, even on broad departmental lines, difficulties will be encountered. Difficulties That r^ -, < M1 May Arise The P ro P osed changes will require a division of some of the classes as they now exist. It is evident that the differences between children in successive periods of their growth have always existed. They should always have been taken into account in the arrangement of Sunday school classes, especially at the crossing of departmental lines. But the necessity for this is not so apparent when a uniform system of lessons is in use. There- fore in schools that have been using uniform lessons, 60 INTRODUCTION AND USE so-called junior classes often contain not only pupils of all the junior ages but some intermediates as well. Teachers naturally do not wish to give up their pupils, the children themselves dislike to have any change made, and so trouble arises the moment grading is attempted. The only way to meet this difficulty is through help- ing the teachers to gain a new point of view. They must see clearly how the children differ in the different years in knowledge, experience, and ability to assimi- late spiritual truth. The pupil and his needs must be the central consideration, not simply when lessons are selected, but when those lessons are taught. Our junior lessons are well adapted to assist the developing spiritual life in each of the junior years, but an indis- pensable condition for the accomplishment of their highest aim is that the pupils shall be so grouped that the lessons may be taught in each case to pupils of the age for which they were prepared. After the classes have been formed teachers must be assigned. In general it is wise to meet the desires of teachers who prefer to teach boys Teachers 0r S^ S as ^ e case ma y ^e, ^ ut ** 1S well to remember that often the request for a class of girls is made, not so much because there is any real preference for girls over boys, or because of any known ability to understand and help girls, but simply because of the widely accepted view that OF THE GRADED LESSONS 61 boys are very much harder to manage than girls. It is true that girls are generally more tractable, and for that reason it seems easier to teach them. On the other hand the gang spirit is stronger among boys and especially in the earlier junior years they are more alert and have more curiosity. The teacher who can . excite curiosity along the lines of the lesson study, and arouse within the class a unity of purpose, will be able to accomplish fine things with a group of boys. It has often happened that teachers who have asked for girls and who honestly thought that they could not possibly succeed except with such a class, have proved to be the best and most successful of teachers when forced to take classes of boys. Every teacher should give his best thought, work, and prayer to any class that is given to him. Sometimes it happens that in spite of the most conscientious effort on the part of the teacher it will be evident that he is a misfit in that particular position. In such a case a change is called for and should be made as soon as possible for the sake of both teacher and class. It is not best for the superintendent of the depart- ment in any but the smallest of schools to teach a class The Work of regularly. He should, however, hold the Superin- himself in readiness, and be prepared tendent eac } 1 wee k to substitute in any grade. The superintendent is the executive head of the de- partment, and if he fully meets the requirements of 62 INTRODUCTION AND USE the position, he will find plenty of occupation both on Sunday and during the week. It is desirable, however, from every point of view that the superintendent shall substitute in classes. It gives him a more per- sonal contact with the pupils, and enables him to gauge the work that is being done by the teachers and ascer- tain what the pupils are getting from it. It should be understood from the first that when the grades are established and teachers fixed in them in the department, the teachers • will Teachers Fixed .... 1 1 . M in Grades remain in the grade and the pupils pass on each year — as is generally the rule in the public schools. There are several reasons why this plan should be adopted. It is the quickest way to build up a body of trained teachers. The first year the material is new and the teacher must do a great deal of work in getting acquainted with the facts. In a second .and third year of teaching the same material the teacher is able to pay more attention to principles and methods of teaching, and so become more and more skillful in the work. Another reason is that if the pupils remain with one teacher four years and then are compelled to leave the department and the teacher, go into strange surroundings, and into the care of a teacher who may be an utter stranger, the break is too great to be endured, and in many cases the pupil becomes weaned from the Sunday school altogether. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 63 Another important matter to have understood and fixed from the beginning concerns the assignment to Maintaining a classes of new pupils who come in dur- Graded j n g the year. It is natural for boys ep en and girls who bring their friends to the school to wish to have them in the same class with themselves. But the grading will become hopelessly confused if classes are made up or their numbers augmented by any other rule than that of fitness to do the work of the grade, and the attainment of the grade age. The superintendent of the department is the one who should decide all questions relating to grading and classification. One of the chief problems in Sunday school work under any kind of a lesson system is that of securing substitute teachers. It is evident that Substitute « , « . , , - Teachers when only one lesson is used for the whole school it is comparatively easy to find some one to act as substitute teacher who has at least a general knowledge of the subject for the day. For "this reason this most important matter has been left to chance in a great majority of schools using the uniform lessons, no definite provision for substitutes being made in advance either by the teachers them- selves or by the officers. This has always been a weak spot in our organization. To leave the matter of substitute teachers to chance 64 INTRODUCTION AND USE is to run the risk of leaving some class without any Importance of teacher or of giving them one who Definite knows little of the lesson and is not Provision abk tQ adapt the j^ he does knQw to the pupils whom he is called upon to teach. The absence of the teacher with no adequate provision for supplying his place causes a greater loss to the pupils than that entailed by the failure to have the lesson properly taught. It gives them a feeling that the or- ganization as a whole, and their teacher in particular, are indifferent to their best interests, and they are perfectly justified in this conclusion. Irregularity on the part of the teacher will sap the vitality of the class spirit quicker than anything else. It will kill the in- terest of the pupils in their work and in the school. To so great an extent is this true that experience has proved it to be much .better to have a comparatively unskilled teacher who is regular and genuinely inter- ested in the pupils, than to have the most skillful of teachers who holds the task so lightly that he comes only when it is perfectly convenient. When the graded lessons are introduced in the junior department plans should be made at the begin- „ „ „ ning for a corps of substitute teachers Workable Plans , r 1 * n i 1 1 each of whom shall be prepared each week to teach the lesson for some one grade. This may be arranged for in any one of several ways. Each teacher in the department may be asked to secure a OF THE GRADED LESSONS 65 friend to act as his or her permanent substitute. In many schools these substitutes are frequently present in the class with the regular teacher in order that they may become acquainted with the pupils and with the teaching methods. This is by far the best arrange- ment, for it is not desirable to take the responsibility for securing substitutes from the shoulders of the teachers themselves when they can by any means be persuaded to accept and meet it. It helps to impress upon them the importance of each Sunday's work, and emphasizes the necessity for regularity in attendance. There are many schools, however, which prefer to meet the problem of providing substitutes by a specific provision in the general organization. Perhaps the most popular plan is to have the mem- bers of the teacher training class take part of this work. This is a good plan in some ways, for it gives the prospective teachers an opportunity to observe the management of the department and to gain practical knowledge and experience coincident with their study of theory. It must be carefully guarded, however. The training class that is used simply as a supply class will be so interrupted in its work that it cannot be properly called a training class at all. When the mem- bers of such a class act as substitutes it must be be- cause they are sent by their teachers at a time in the course when they need practical experience in the junior work. In some schools members in senior or adult classes are appointed to act when needed as 66 INTRODUCTION AND USE substitutes for the various departments, each one study- ing every week the lesson for one of the grades. In the Massachusetts State Convention, soon after the graded lessons were introduced, a speaker in the evening preceding the elementary con- ference magnified the difficulties that would follow the use of the graded lessons. Among other things he declared that it would be impossible to find substitute teachers. The next day in a church filled with elementary teachers in conference, the ques- tion of substitute teachers came up, and from all over the church teachers rose to say that they had secured substitutes from the senior and adult classes, adding that the only difficulty about that plan was that these substitutes so soon became eager to enlist as regular teachers, and there were no classes for them. Whatever plan is followed, the persons who are asked to serve as substitutes in the junior department will unquestionably find both pleasure SubSEg" 1 and benefit in studying the junior les- sons. In fact many regular teachers have testified that they have learned more of the Bible since they began teaching the graded lessons than they had gained in all their previous study. CHAPTER V THE WORK TO BE DONE 67 CHAPTER V The Work to Be Done The function of all education is to put the indi- vidual in possession of his powers, to make him master of himself. In other words the purpose The Aim of the i i • « . L - -, A • • Sunday School underlying all instruction and training is character building. The State, through its magnificent public school system, is aiming to develop the children and youth of to-day into in- telligent and loyal citizens of to-morrow. The church, through its Sunday school, is also an educational in- stitution but its purpose is broader, since it includes evangelism as well as education. In its aim is found every moral purpose that is held by so-called secular educators, but its specific object is to bring the indi- vidual into such personal relations with God through Jesus Christ that the highest forms of the Christian ideal may be realized in his life. Upon the junior department -of the Sunday school falls the responsibility for instructing and training the children during the four years from Opportunity nine to twelve - There is no period in the life of the individual from the point of view of character building that is more important 69 70 -INTRODUCTION AND USE than this. The children come from the primary de- partment facing four years of slow growth and greater physical strength; a period of brain organization, of rapid acquisition of knowledge, of easy memorization and of habit formation. They are also advancing steadily toward the time when their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, which has not hitherto been realized fully, will normally come to be recognized and the life dedicated to him. These few facts out of many that might be given (see chapter II for a fuller description), show how great is the opportunity afforded to the church, and also how large is the responsibility that rests upon the pastor and officers of the church, as well as upon the Sunday school itself, to see that these strategic years are not allowed to drift by unimproved. The failure to provide the best instruction and culture for the spiritual life of the child at this time will make im- possible the richest and fullest type of Christian char- acter in the years that follow. There are several factors through which the aim of the Sunday school is to be accomplished — the atmos- Factorsin phere of the school, the spirit which Religious animates it, the service of worship, the Education music, the personality of the teachers and officers, the lessons which are taught and the guid- ing of the expressional activities, the recreation, amuse- ments, and play of the pupils between Sundays. Every OF THE GRADED LESSONS 71 one of these has its influence and all are needed if the resulting character is to be well rounded. The course of lessons through which instruction is to be given in any school is of paramount importance. The great source of material for reli- Factor gious education is the Bible, but that book is not so arranged that lessons may be taken from it consecutively, progressing from Genesis to Revelation as the child grows through child- hood to youth and on through mature life to old age. Selections must be made, and the need of the pupil is the determining factor regarding what shall or shall not be used, as well as concerning the order in which the various types of materials shall be presented. It is not difficult for any teacher to see that a uniform lesson taught to all ages of pupils cannot by any possi- bility meet the needs of all at the same time, since those needs vary in each year of development. Even in Paul's time it was known that the Bible contains both strong meat and milk, and the advisability of giving the milk to babes was recognized. But if this is to be done selections must be made, and graded lessons be- come a necessity. It is evident that any genuinely graded course is better than one which is not graded, and there are many graded courses now on the market. Regarding the International Graded Course as com- pared with other graded systems, it is sufficient to say that these have the great advantage of having been 72 INTRODUCTION AND USE selected, not by any one person for all grades, nor by a few scholars, working solely on a theoretical basis, but by many teachers, every one of whom was, and had been for some time, a specialist in the practical work of the grade for which he helped to choose the lessons. In Appendix A will be found the general purpose and specific aims of the International Graded Course from the beginners' through the senior years. These aims show how the lessons develop with the growth of the individual not only by periods but year by year. In the beginners' the aim is "To lead the little child to the Father." The aim of the primary series is "To lead the child to know the heavenly Father and to inspire within him a desire to live as God's child." Upon this foundation, the junior builds and has for its aim, "To lead the child to become a doer of the Word and to bring him into conscious relations with the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour." In addition to these, each year has its own aim, which each lesson in the year helps to realize. It is easy to see how, in these three groups, the pupils are led into ever broadening conceptions of reli- gious truth. If the work in the junior period has been accomplished as it should be, the intermediate aim becomes possible of realization. "To lead to the prac- tical recognition of the duty and responsibiliy of per- sonal Christian living, and to organize the conflicting impulses of life, so as to develop habits of Christian OF THE GRADED LESSONS y$ service." After such a course the youth will enter eagerly upon the senior studies, because he can see that they will help him to solve the life problems of which he is beginning to become conscious. The aim here is, "To lead the student to see life in its proper perspective from the Christian point of view, and to aid him in finding his place and part in the world's work." Further, it is "to lead the student through frank discussions of his limitations and possibilities and his relations to the kingdom of God, to a realiza- tion of the claims of Christ his Saviour and Lord, and of his service as a true basis of successful living." Junior teachers are fortunate in having had pro- vided for their use a series of lessons constructed with all the needs, interests, and possibilities The Teacher's Work of the junior period in view 7 . But the lessons will not teach themselves. It is necessary to have teachers who w T ill use them w r ith enthusiasm, understanding, and skill, if the aim is to be fully realized. This does not mean that all Sun- day school workers must be university graduates. The finest equipment is none too good, for when there is enthusiasm for the task it is unquestionably true that the best trained teacher will do the best work. But no amount of education can take the place of love for Christ and for his children, love for the work of training them, determination to succeed, interest in the lessons, and the courage to face and to do hard tasks. 74 INTRODUCTION AND USE The person who has these may do splendid work even though his educational opportunities have been limited. The workman "who needeth not to be ashamed" is the one who invests every talent that he has, whether it be one or ten, in the business of religious training. He studies his pupils, knows their home environment and their special needs as well as the characteristics common to junior children generally. He tries to be the embodiment of the virtues and habits to which he wishes his pupils to attain. He does the work that he wishes them to do, whether it is handwork or memorizing hymns and Scripture. He works with the children and encourages them by incentives and rewards in order that habits of industry, of meeting responsibility promptly and cheerfully, and of regu- larity in the study of God's Word may be established. Above all else he is a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom he is aiming to lead the children entrusted to his care. With such a teacher and lessons prepared with the needs of the pupils in view, as were the International Graded Lessons, the junior aim will be realized. Right habits will be formed, high standards will be raised, and at some time before the end of the period the great majority of the pupils will come to the place of definite decision, and give their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. The superintendent and teachers who are about to OF THE GRADED LESSONS 75 introduce the graded lessons, after studying chapters I and II of this manual, will find it Anal zed helpful to take the purpose of the graded lessons (see Appendix A), and then, using the outlines of the lessons (Appendix B), beginning with the first year, list each lesson under that part of the purpose which it fulfills. Before the end of the first year is reached it will be found that every phase of the purpose in its broad outline has been touched upon, and as the analysis is continued through the other years the scope, comprehensiveness, and value of the lessons will be clearly seen. After the lesson analysis there, should be a specific examination of the Pupil's Book for Work and Study. That is the text book which the pupil Book* 3 * uses ' an< ^ ^ e teacher must know its every requirement. This does not imply that the teacher must slavishly follow the instruc- tions as given in the work book, but when any de- parture is made from the instructions in the book, the fact and the reason for it must be given to the class. This should not be done, however, without a very strong reason, as it will tend to decrease the pupil's respect for the book which he uses, and that is always unfortunate,. The teacher must not only study the work book but do the work in it, as the pupils are expected to do it. In the three years following the first the teacher will need to be careful that his work 76 INTRODUCTION AND USE book is not used by the pupil as something from which to copy answers to questions and outlines. The work book to be of real value must be an expression of the knowledge which the pupil has gained. He may need help occasionally in wording what he wishes to write, but should do everything that he can by him- self. Before the actual introduction of the lessons it is not possible to anticipate the problems that will arise or all the rules that it will be necessary Policies to ma ^ e ^ or the guidance of teachers and superintendents in their tasks. But two things should be settled as the policy of the depart- ment from the beginning. It should be determined that three work books for each year completed in a satisfactory way will be required for honorable promo- tion for all pupils who are in the department for the full time. That is twelve work books completed would be the requirement for a pupil who had been in the department four years. This will give sufficient lee- way so that if a pupil does only two the first year he can be told that if he does four the next year he can still earn promotion with honor at the end of the course. Doing the work in these books implies learn- ing the memory texts, and no one should be given full credit who does not do so. The reason why this mat- ter should be decided is. that it must be announced to the children at the beginning of the course, and OF THE GRADED LESSONS 77 frequently reiterated during the first part of the year. The second matter that should be settled at the be- ginning is that the teachers shall remain in the grade and the pupils pass on. If the lessons are introduced in the manner suggested in chapter VI, some teachers will be obliged to take another grade the second year; but no teacher should go on with the same class, as that will create a feeling of dissatisfaction in every other class which is not allowed to keep its teacher. As soon as the work is started, a teachers' meeting by grades is the best method that can be taken by a superintendent to help the teachers and Teachers in • r , 1 1 \ 1 1 Training unity the work. A good plan is to choose some one day in the week to be known as the day for teachers' meetings. Suppose the day chosen to be Thursday. Then the first year teach- ers will meet on the first Thursday in the month, the second year teachers on the second Thursday, the third year on the third, and the fourth year on the fourth. When the day occurs five times in a month there should be a departmental teachers' meeting on the fifth Thursday when all the groups come together and matters of interest to all are discussed. If the department is so small that there are but four teachers all could meet every week and talk over each of the four lessons, if it seemed best to do the work in that way. But whatever plan is followed the teach- 78 INTRODUCTION AND USE ers themselves should do some part of the work in each meeting, and the emphasis should be put upon the telling of the lesson stories. For in the instruction of children only those are teachers in any true sense of the word, who can tell a story both in an interesting way and in such form that the truth which is in the story will shine out clearly from it. The practice that a teacher gets when telling a story to a class of fellow teachers is the best possible training in story telling, especially when all the teachers have the earnest desire to help and be helped by kindly criticism. Every junior department should be pervaded by a spirit of intense loyalty and enthusiasm. Such a spirit in the group inspires each individual gp^ with high ambitions and purposes. But it must be caught rather than taught, and if it is not present in the teachers it cannot be com- municated to the children. The true department spirit is characterized by loyalty to the work and plans of the department and to the church of which it is a part, interest in and love for all the members of the department, and a determination to make the depart- ment measure up to the highest possible standard. The superintendent should have as a constant aim the fusing of teachers and pupils into an organization which is enthusiastic, loyal, ambitious to succeed, and cheerfully industrious. CHAPTER VI STARTING THE COURSE IN THE DEPARTMENT 79 CHAPTER VI Starting the Course in the Department It would seem at the first glance as if the self- evident plan for the introduction of the junior graded Lessons lessons would be to give the first year Introduced lessons to the children classified as first grade, and similarly equip each of the succeeding grades with the lessons prepared for them. But it must be remembered that the junior lessons are part of a closely graded course, and that the studies of each year form part of a four years' series. Each section of the course presupposes that the work out- lined for preceding years has been done. Pupils who have not had any graded studies up to this time are not up to the grade, and are therefore not able to appreciate or understand the studies in the grade for which the lessons were prepared. Especially is this true in the two last years of the junior series. Some schools which have been using the uniform lessons for their juniors, have combined with those lessons the use of the graded supplemental lessons issued by the International Elementary Department for beginners, primary, and junior children. Where these lessons have been in use the children are better able 81 82 INTRODUCTION AND USE to take the new graded lessons than they would other- wise be, but this is only a partial preparation. Schools which have been using other systems of graded lessons are also in a better position to introduce this study; but since the selection of material, the method by which it is presented to the pupil, and the kind of work given to him to do, are different in this course, it might not be best even with a graded lesson study preparation, to introduce all four years of the lessons at one time. If neither teachers nor pupils have had any knowl- edge of graded lessons, and it is therefore thought best to introduce the lessons gradually, it Plan for the . . , ...... r Average School 1S a ? ood P lan to ? lve the children of the first and second grades (those nine and ten years of age) the first year lessons, and to those of the third and fourth grades (children eleven and twelve years old) the second year lessons. The next year the first year children, those just pro- moted from the primary, would have the first year lessons; the second year children, those who had just completed the first year lessons, would also fall regu- larly into line with the second year lessons. The third and fourth grade children would study the third year lessons. The next year the whole four grades would be on a regular basis, each year's work being done by those for whom it was prepared. Since it is necessary that pupils who have reached OF THE GRADED LESSONS 83 the age of thirteen shall be transferred to a depart- ment where adolescents are grouped to- Promotions - « 1 - . . Each Year gether, and where their needs are known and met, it must follow that each year the fourth grade pupils will be promoted. The first year they will have but one year of the graded lessons to their credit, but if they have done all the work that they had an opportunity to do, and have performed it in a satisfactory manner, they de- serve honorable promotion and a diploma.* The second year that the graded lessons are in use the promoted pupils will have had two years of the graded work, and after the lessons have been installed four years pupils will be graduated who have had all of the lessons outlined for the junior grades. Even then, however, it will not be possible to esti- mate accurately the value of these lessons. Only after pupils are graduated from the junior Tested w ^° ^ ave had the full course from the beginners through the primary can we tell just what the use of these graded lessons will accomplish for the children. A judgment founded on anything less than a full test of the course is intrinsi- cally unjust. The school which says, "We tried the graded lessons for a year and then went back to the old system, for we found them a failure," knows noth- ing of graded lessons at all. No real test of any system * See Appendix for descriptions of diplomas and certificates. 84 INTRODUCTION AND USE can be made until it is installed in all its parts, and each in full running order. It must be remembered that while the introduction of graded lessons is an evolution in Sunday school instruction, it is an evolution accom- Task • plished by means of a revolution. Nothing more completely diverse can be imagined than the uniform lesson plan which ap- plies one lesson passage to all grades of the school, and the graded lesson plan which takes the needs of the pupils as the determining factor and prepares a different series of lessons for each year of the develop- ing life. A distinguished educator in the secular field, speaking of the change which is brought into the Sunday school by the introduction of the graded lessons, said, "It is an absolute revolution, and I am free to confess that if any such change were intro- duced into our public school system it would de- moralize the work, for a time at least, in spite of the fact that we have trained teachers and supervisors." He marveled over the fact that this great change has been made in thousands of schools with so little appar- ent difficulty. These facts are mentioned not to discourage any one, but simply to show the necessity for careful plan- ning and study, and for patient con- Essential tinuance in well-doing, and persever- ance. It is to be expected that problems will arise, some of which will be common to all schools OF THE GRADED LESSONS 85 undertaking this work, and some peculiar to the indi- vidual school because of local conditions. But obstacles should be only incentives to renewed effort and stimu- lants to ingenuity. The true Christian is inspired by one great passion, the passion for knowledge of God and power to do his will. The one to whom God has intrusted the education of his children must have one even greater passion surging in his soul — the passion to meet the spiritual needs of those under his care by giving them a knowledge of God their Father, and Jesus Christ their Saviour, and so training them that as they grow in stature they will also grow "in wisdom, and in favor with God and man." The graded lessons can be used successfully in any school whose teachers and officers are animated by such a spirit. The furniture and other equipment of a Sunday school room are not a matter of necessity or con- venience solely. If fitly chosen they will take their place as effective silent teachers, inculcating order, neatness, reverence, and love for God's house. CHAPTER VII CONDITIONS AND EQUIPMENT FOR TEACHING 87 CHAPTER VII Conditions and Equipment for Teaching The first and most important requirement for the best work is that there shall be a separate room, and that the juniors shall be in that room for the whole time of the Sunday school session. It is impossible for the opening and closing services of the main school to be what they should be for the older members of the school, and at the same time fit the needs of juniors. The fact is that they are generally constructed on an adult plane, too adult, too formal, and too abstract to appeal to children of the junior age in any way. As a general rule more time is given to such exercises than the juniors can afford in justice to the needs of the instructional side of the work. Two lesson periods are required : fifteen minutes for the correlated work, that is for the giving of information which is necessary as a background, and twenty minutes for the lesson through which the highest spiritual truth is to be communicated. If the session were two hours long every moment of the time could be employed to the greatest advantage, for in addition to the service of worship, the correlated 89 9o INTRODUCTION AND USE period, the lesson time and the moments devoted to the taking of credits and other business, a good deal of time could be spent profitably in the study of the geography of Bible lands, and in some forms of hand work. When the whole school meets in a general assembly the children lose not only by having unsuitable exer- cises but through failure to receive the training which a well-planned and reverently conducted junior service gives. Through the use of the junior programs which are .provided for each quarter, the children become famil- iar with many of the best church hymns and a large amount of Scripture in addition to the memory texts and hymns which are a part of the lesson plan. The arrangement of the program is such that it will minis- ter to the needs of the children, and through it many habits are formed and fixed which are invaluable assets in Christian character. In securing the equipment for a junior room, if one could have everything that could be. desired, there „ . would be a piano, six-sided folding Equipment tables for the classes, comfortable wooden chairs sixteen or seventeen inches in height, a class box for each table, a record of credits, pencil box with a pencil in it for each member of the class, a pad of note paper, a class book for marking attend- ance, and an envelope for the class offering. There OF THE GRADED LESSONS 91 would be an anteroom with plenty of hooks for the hats and wraps, and the junior room would be as beautiful as it could be made. But there are few schools which consider themselves able to equip any of the rooms in this way, so it is well to consider what things are necessary, get those, and work for the most necessary part of the equipment one thing at a time. It is a question whether it is any better for a school than it is for an individual to be so well provided for that there is nothing left to be desired; but most of our schools are suffering from the other extreme, and are constantly engaged in a struggle with the problem of how to get money to buy the actual necessities. Some kind of a musical instrument is a necessity if the juniors are to be educated in worship, for unless they have an opportunity to express Equipment themselves in song the spiritual life must be dwarfed to some extent. Chairs are a necessity. It is essential that the pupils shall be comfortable and that their health shall be conserved. For both of these reasons there must be some provision for taking care of the hats and wraps during the session. When this must be done in the room where the department meets, the best w x ay is to have a shelf on one or more sides of the room, at the height of an ordinary wainscoting, with hooks under it. A brass rod under the edge of the shelf on 92 INTRODUCTION AND USE which denim curtains may be hung, makes a neat finish, and covers the hooks when not in use. One or two graceful vases or jardinieres on the- shelf help to make the room attractive. Each pupil must have a Bible and should have one of his own for obvious reasons. It is best that the „ , home should give the Bible to the child, Books . . but where this is not or cannot be done, the school must provide some way in which the child can earn the Bible, or give it to him outright. Each pupil must have the Pupil's Book for Work and Study. The teacher must have the Teacher's Text Book and also a copy of the work book which the pupil uses. Tables are not an absolute necessity, but they are so exceedingly valuable that no department should be content to do without them. The Class Boxes children themselves will be interested to work for them, but there are so many other things that are desirable, that anything so necessary for the best work as are the tables should be provided by the school if possible. Neatness and order have a very vital relation to reverence in a Sun- day school room. In any place where the work is being done tools are required, and there will be an appearance and sense of disorder unless there is definite provision made for keeping the tools in some sort of a box on the table. The best boxes for this OF THE GRADED LESSONS 93 purpose are the so called letter boxes, procurable at almost any stationer's. They are covered with black cloth and the right size costs about thirty-five cents. The best for this purpose are those which open at the end and have a card in the front on which the class number may be placed. Incentives are essential in the junior period to secure the kind and amount of work that ought to be done, and through it to help in the formation Requirements of the best habits. The highest form of incentive is commendation for effort put forth. We cannot be perfectly just in the com- mendation given unless there is a definite plan for keeping track of what the pupil does. Therefore each class should be provided with a record of credits, with a leaf for each member of the class and one on which the class credits may be noted. (See Appendix for description and price.) From this record the honor roll list is made up each month, and from the class credits as kept by the superintendent the class banner is assigned. The names of the honor roll pupils should be placed where they can easily be seen in the room. If the honor roll is beautiful in itself it will have an added value as an incentive. There should also be a class banner in a standard to designate the class gain- ing the largest number of credits in any given month. A wall temperance pledge roll is of paramount import- ance. 94 INTRODUCTION AND USE The method of keeping the attendance varies in different schools. Frequently there is a general secre- Record of tary who keeps the records of all de- Attendance and partments by a card or other system. Offering g ut w i ia ^ ever the general plan is there should be a book for each class in which the names and addresses of the members of the class are re- corded, their attendance and the amount of the offer- ing of each individual marked each week. There should also be a class envelope for the offering in order that it may be taken to the front by the treasurer at the time of the offering service. A blackboard should be the first on the list of desir- able articles of equipment. Maps, a sand board, stereo- graphs, and post cards picturing places T) g sirafol e E i ent in the Holy Lands, a mission cabinet in which curios may be collected and kept, and two or three of the best pictures for the walls are among the material appliances which render easier and more complete the process of religious education in the junior period. The reason why so large an amount of space is de- voted to the equipment of a junior room is that it is impossible to do the best work without a separate room for children of the junior age. It is unquestion- ably true that there are many schools where it is not possible at present to secure a separate room, but it is also the fact that there are a relatively large number OF THE GRADED LESSONS 95 which have a room, but use it only during the time devoted by the main school to lesson study. There are many other schools in which adult Bible classes are occupying separate rooms, while the children whose characters are not yet formed are deprived of that which should be the birthright of every child under the care of the church : namely, the best possible conditions for Christian nurture. The importance of the separate room cannot be over-estimated. Therefore teachers and officers should work for it unceasingly until it is secured. For suggestions concerning ways in which the work may be carried on and the disadvantages minimized in small schools see chapter XI. A faith in the Bible as a storehouse and revelation of divine thought and in truth as an effective agency for the production of character, which will constrain the teacher to make it his first aim in teaching to bring forth clearly the meaning of the Scripture, and to make his whole work fundamentally interpretative ; a genuine Christian character and a sincerely religious and prayerful life; an unaffected personal interest in the religious welfare of his pupils; a readiness to utilize moments and conditions especially favorable to conversion; a profound sense of his responsibility to share his maturing faith, rather than his question- ings, with the immature minds intrusted to him; sanctified courage, and a good sense in devising ways and means — these, we believe, are qualities which will assure not only intellectually, but religiously, effective Sunday school teaching. Burton and Mathews. 96 CHAPTER VIII THE TEACHER AND THE LESSONS 97 EQUIPMENT FOR THE JUNIOR TEACHER'S USE IN SUNDAY SCHOOL The Bible, with a rainbow book-mark, a copy of the Pupil's Book for Work and Study, a class box, pencil box, Record of Credits, a class book for marking at- tendance and offering, Bible post-cards, and Department Programs. CHAPTER VIII The Teacher and the Lessons The relative importance of the teacher as compared with other factors in the educational process has fre- quently been emphasized, and never with greater concreteness probably than when it was asserted that all that was needed for a university was "Mark Hopkins, a student and a log." It is impossible to magnify unduly the teacher's part in the work of the Sunday school, because every- thing that comes to the pupils must in a sense filter through the teacher. His personality is a cogent in- fluence. His example will be followed, his manner imitated, his spirit caught. So the teacher stands between the pupil and the highest attainments in Chris- tian character, either as an aid to the pupil in his advancement toward the ideal or as a stumbling block in his way. The need for teachers who are the living embodiment of the Christian virtues which they in- culcate is never greater than during the junior years. The unconscious tuition which is going on always wherever a teacher and pupil are associated, is so pre- 99 ioo INTRODUCTION AND USE eminent in importance that any discussion relating to the art of teaching must contain some Story Lessons reference to it. But our chief concern at the present time is with the actual instruction to be given by the teacher through the medium of the junior graded lessons. As has been said, the junior is the last period in which the story makes its greatest appeal, and it is also the last opportunity which the children will have to become acquainted with the great stories of the Bible as stories. Later studies will be biographical, his- torical, and literary. It is of the greatest importance, therefore, that each story shall be presented to the pupils so vividly that at the end of the period they will have all the great Bible stories as clearly in their minds as they have the stories associated with George Washington, or with any other of the outstanding characters of our country's history. It should be true of any child of ordinary intelligence who graduates from the junior department, that such names as Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Saul, Elijah, Elisha, Naaman, Peter, John, and Paul will bring to the mind instantly and clearly the stories associated with those names. The accounts of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the main incidents of his ministry should stand out in the thought of the children as paramount to all other stories. But this can never be true of any child whose reli- OF THE GRADED LESSONS 101 gious training is left solely to the Sunday school unless his teachers have themselves been and the Story thrilled by the Bible stories in the les- sons. One cannot stir the heart of an- other by the recital of anything which does not move his own emotions in some way. It is not enough, how- ever, to feel the story. The teacher must know how to tell the story in such a way that the truth which lies implicit in it will make the deepest impression. That is, the story must be like a clear window through which one may see beauties beyond. It would fail utterly in accomplishing its purpose if it should be like a stained glass window, however beautiful, for that fixes attention upon itself and permits no further vision. The teacher's work is not done, however, even when he has made the story his own, and has told it in such a way that his pupils know the facts of the story and feel its truth. He must provide opportunities for the children to retell the story themselves in some form, as only by so doing will the facts be firmly fixed in memory. But the knowledge of what is right does not in itself give the impulse and power for right doing. Therefore the children must be helped to live out the truth of the story, as otherwise the truth will die in the mind and have no power in character building. The story is important in itself as it ministers to the child's interest, it is doubly important because of the truth it conveys to the understanding, and both story 102 INTRODUCTION AND USE and truth are of value in exact proportion as they in- fluence conduct. Our aim therefore is to have the children become "hearers" and also efficient "doers of the word." The great question is, how is the # teacher to bring these things to pass? First through study. The Bible, the Teacher's Text Book, and the Pupil's Book for Work and Study are three essentials. Many other books are Text Book desirable, but these three the teacher must have. If 'the lessons given in the book furnished for the teacher are slavishly followed the book will weaken rather than strengthen the teach- ing power of the one who so uses it. This book is intended to guide the teacher in his Bible study and to give sufficient information to enable him to prepare the lessons for himself with the needs of his own class in mind. It need hardly be said that this book should never be taken to class. It is intended for home use in study, not for class use in presentation. A plan or outline for the teaching of the lesson is always given, but that is meant to be suggestive only. No lesson could ever be made which would perfectly fit every class. The teacher must always adapt the lessons to his own pupils or he will fail to secure the best results from his teaching. Robert Burdett once said that lesson helps are a great deal like canned vegetables. The cans contain- ing the vegetables are intended to be opened in the OF THE GRADED LESSONS 103 kitchen and left there. It is supposed that the contents will first be heated and seasoned nicely and then taken to the table in dainty china. The lesson quarterly should be opened in the home, its contents worked over, seasoned with interest and devotion, warmed with the loving personality of the teacher, and served to the pupil in the most attractive way possible. Even to take the quarterly into the class is a pedagogical error. For the teacher to read the lesson from it is as unpardonable as it would be for a housekeeper to bring the vegetables to the table in tin cans and offer them to the family unheated and unseasoned. It is incumbent upon the teacher to know the pupil's text book thoroughly, in order that the work 'may be The Pupil's checked and the pupil helped to get the Book for Work m0 st out of his study. If the teacher and Study j g tQ enter sympat hetically into the pupil's work he must do the work in the work book himself exactly as he wishes his pupils to do it. He should read the daily Bible readings regularly just as the pupils are expected to do. He must also paste the pictures in the book and do whatever writing is required. The only difference between the work of the pupils and that of the teacher should be in degree of perfection. The teacher's book must of course be a model of neatness. It is very desirable that the pictures should be colored and the book made as at- tractive as possible. This book, unlike the Teacher's 104 INTRODUCTION AND USE Text Book, should be taken to the class each week. For a full discussion of the importance of the work book see chapter IX. The children themselves should not as a rule be asked to bring their work books to the class every week. Even though the manila cover suggested in chapter IX is provided, the book will be more or less mussed by being carried so frequently, and there is also danger that it will be lost. Some teachers have found that to paste a gold star upon each lesson when the writing and pasting are satisfactorily done, is a great incentive to the children. If this plan is adopted it is necessary to have the book brought each week, as the work must be done at the right time as well as in the right way in order to win the star. In any event it is well for the teacher to ask the children to bring their books occasionally for inspection, and always when help is needed. At other times the teacher's work book is all that is needed for reference. It is always to be remembered that this book is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The end we have in view, and must keep in the forefront always, is the formation of Christian character. The work book rightly used is one of the important means through which this aim is to be accomplished. If in any case the preparation of the work book becomes the aim of any teacher the real purpose is both obscured and defeated. If the time of the lesson period is used for writing and pasting pictures, the stories cannot OF THE GRADED LESSONS 105 be taught, the truth will not be comprehended or assimilated, and that which should be an expressional activity becomes wholly perfunctory. In the first junior year the story is presented by the teacher before the children have studied it in the work book and Bible. This makes the task The Lesson - - « . . in Class ° * e teacher comparatively easy since the story is new and may be given en- tire as a story. In the second and following junior- years the pupils study the lesson before it is taught in class, and therefore the teacher's task is more complex. It is of vital importance that the pupils shall have the story and yet the teachers must secure the cooperation and report of the class through questions on facts that have been studied. The ideal way is to tell some part of the lesson story or have some member of the class tell it, as a story each week and then let the rest come through answers to questions. This requires careful study, for the questions that are to be asked should be prepared as definitely as the story part of the lesson. It is evident that any teacher worthy of the name is neither a lecturer nor a mere propounder of rote ques- tions. If he is to succeed with junior rj, e . . e children he must be a real story teller. 1 raining J Some teachers have supposed that they could not by any possibility tell stories to children, but anyone who is willing to pay the price can gain that 106 INTRODUCTION AND USE ability. The three essentials for a story teller are, first that he shall know the facts of the story perfectly; second that he shall feel the message of the story in his own soul; third, that he shall practice telling stories. The best and quickest way for a teacher to learn how to tell stories is by joining with other teachers in a story-tellers' league. In an ordinary junior department this league might well be a union of all the junior teachers. In a large department the teachers of the different grades could meet in their own groups for this practice. This is the best way for the teacher to keep in training, for however con- scientious any teacher may be he will prepare a story with much greater care to tell to other teachers than he will one which is to be given only to his own classes. If after each story is told the question, "Can you think of any way in which that story could be made stronger or the truth brought out more clearly?" is asked and frankly answered, the exercise will be of the greatest benefit. The following standard has been adopted by many departments and by the junior sections in city insti- tutes and graded unions : Junior . Teachers I - 1 " e use °* the International Standard * Graded Lessons. 2. Study of the Forewords. 3. Attendance at departmental teachers' meetings. 4. The pupil's book made and taken to class, and teacher's book carefully studied and left at home. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 107 5. Familiarity with pupil's reading. 6. The homes visited, and absentees always looked up. 7. The study of at least one teacher training book a year. One of the first things that the teachers of a junior department should do is to formulate a standard for themselves, raising it high enough to give an ideal to work toward, but not so high as to discourage effort by making attainment seem impossible. Character utters itself only in action; and the forces of character flow most effectively into action only when they are rallied to the achievement of clearly conceived and firmly held purposes running through life or considerable stretches of time. It cannot be denied that very many human beings, possibly the great majority, never form any such life purposes, but live a hand-to-mouth existence, doing each day or each week what the time seems to dictate. Still it remains true that such life purposes are indispensable to the fullest realization of human character, and are peculiarly marked in the strongest and most effective characters of history and general experience. E. O. Sisson. Through the finger-tips to the brain is the most direct route, and the hand in turn is the brain's best medium of expression. Whether it be an algebraic equation, a fact of history, a philosophical truth, a chemical formula, or the plan of a house, unless the fingers can express it the brain has not formulated it clearly. Conversely, set them to the task of express- ing the idea and the brain can immediately grasp it. Manual methods of instruction are employed uni- versally in general education. By these methods alone we learn and are able to tell what we have learned. Milton S. Littlefield. i 08 CHAPTER IX IMPORTANCE OF THE PUPIL'S BOOK FOR WORK AND STUDY 109 SAMPLE OF WORK BY NINE-YEAR-OLD CHILD FIRST YEAR. PART 4 OUfa. CCA*, Wrt&t y flu«jJ« /W- eta' ■y* 3 *' ^urtlfi? <%Ae/ c&tsyvvu£ ^<£> Avert- SAMPLE PAGES OF WORK BOOK. FOURTH YEAR. PART 1 CHAPTER IX Importance of the Pupil's Book for Work and Study It is trite to say that "we learn by doing," arid yet the method hinted at in that phrase is so fundamental Relation of m a ^ teaching that it can hardly be Doing to over-emphasized. The work book not Learning on jy guides the pupil in study and Bible reading, but furnishes opportunity for a form of self- expression which impresses truth and fixes knowledge in the mind. If the book is not used the pupils cannot study and will not be able to assimilate the lessons that are taught on Sunday. They will not only fail in these respects, but will form habits the exact opposite of those which a proper use of the book tends to estab- lish. An examination of the work books for the succes- sive years shows that in the first year the reading called for and the writing to be done are both Year short and simple. Definite instructions are given in the book concerning the way in which the work should be done, and there is in ii2 INTRODUCTION AND USE little opportunity for the child to think or plan for himself. The work is to be done after the lesson has been taught in class. The reasons for this arrange- ment are these: The nine-year-old children are in a transition stage between the primary period and the junior. They have had hand work to do in the primary department, but it has been done under the eye and w r ith the help of the teacher in most cases. In the first junior year the pupil must learn to follow printed in- structions accurately, and to do his work at the time and in the manner designated in the book. He must learn to handle pen and ink and paste neatly; to cut out pictures and put them on the pages where they belong. He is rapidly gaining muscular control and can do this work in a manner that would not be pos- sible for younger children, but he is not yet suffi- ciently advanced in knowledge to be able to do original work. Through the conscientious use of the pupil's book for the first year several vital points will be gained. ' -. „ Habits of obedience, punctuality, neat- Habits Formed \*\ J ; ness, and accuracy will be formed. I he child will begin to work, not simply because of the pleasure that he finds in being busy, but because he has the satisfaction of attaining a desirable result through what he does. Interest will be generated, both in the Bible as a storehouse of splendid stories, and in the Sunday school. Through the answering of questions OF THE GRADED LESSONS 113 in reviews his knowledge will be strengthened and fixed, and through the geographical studies at the end of the year he will be helped to see the stories in their setting, and the foundation will be laid for the ever broadening geographical study of Bible lands which comes in succeeding years. All of the things that can be said of the first year hand work are true of that of the three following years, except that the stereotyped A ProfifTGSsiv© Course method of the first year gives way to a larger opportunity for original work as the pupil grows older and is better able to think and plan for himself. In the second year the pictures are placed in spaces left for them in connection with the lesson, and spaces are left on the lesson pages for answering questions and for all the other writing that is required. The chief difference between this and the first year is in the difficulty of the work, an.d the fact that the work is to be done before the lesson is taught instead of afterward. In the books for the third and fourth years the work done by the pupils is written in blank note book pages, which are bound in the book in all except the last quarter of the fourth year, when a separate note book must be provided. Pictures are given for the complete illustration of all the lessons, and also for the illustration of six hymns and the Apostles' Creed. Maps are furnished as an aid to geographic study, and there are facsimiles of the ii4 INTRODUCTION AND USE Moabite stone and of verses printed in various ancient languages, and in many of the languages in use in foreign mission fields. It is impossible to realize the full value of the pupil's book until one has actually worked out each of the sixteen books in the series for himself. Stumbling ^ ut even a casua l reading of the books and examination of the picture sheet will convince any one that it is extremely important that the pupils shall do this work. And yet this is one of the stones over which many schools have stumbled in the graded instruction road. Some teachers have actually refused to give the work books to their pupils, saying, "It is no use. Half of the children do nothing with the books. It is a waste of money, so I simply teach the lesson and let it go at that." It is easy to see that such a misuse of the graded system is a tacit acknowledgment on the part of the teacher that it does not really make any difference whether the work in the books is done or not; it is also a distinct sacrifice of the interests of all the pupils because of the indiffer- ence and laziness of some. To abandon the use of the book means to give up all attempt to establish for the pupils the habit of daily Bible reading. To give the book and allow it to be lost or unused is to cultivate habits of carelessness, dis- obedience, and wastefulness. Therefore the only course open to the teacher is to give the work book to OF THE GRADED LESSONS 115 the pupils and then with loving persistence and wise optimism seek to secure its proper use. It must be acknowledged that the task set before the teacher is* not an easy one. For so long a time the The Sunday Sunday school has made no demands School Coming upon the pupils for work or study dur- to Its Own - m g fa e week, that naturally when a course is introduced into the Sunday school which necessitates some self activity on the part of a pupil, he draws back and says, "I have so much to do in connection with my day school that I cannot take on anything more." Some of the parents object to the new plans which, they say, "make the Sunday school too much like the day school." What that means is that the Sunday school is now doing what it should always have done, and is giving definite graded in- struction in accordance with the best known methods of teaching. We can do no less than take a definite stand and demand a reasonable amount of our pupils' time, and then show results which will convince the parents that the expenditure of effort is well worth while. The creation of sentiment in favor of any new project w T hich is in the nature of a reform re- quires patience, tact, and quiet perseverance. We can- not have a graded course of lessons, at least in and beyond the junior age, unless the pupils do some work and study at home. Therefore one of the most im- portant of the questions which confront us is, How n6 INTRODUCTION AND USE are we to meet these difficulties and secure the doing of the work required of the pupils? In attempting any new kind of work it is always helpful to study the plans and methods of those who Determination have succeeded in the same line of en- and deavor. Fortunately, there are already Perseverance man y teachers who have succeeded in getting their pupils to do the work in their books, and do it well, so that we are able to profit by their experi- ence. One indispensable condition for success is that the teacher shall forget that there are any such words in the language as defeat and failure. There must be a fixed determination to succeed, and a patient perse- verance in effort, together with a perfect sympathy with and love for the children. The teacher should have a high standard, but this must not be allowed to create a sense of discouragement when it is found that the aim of "Every pupil doing the work/' cannot be attained in a week or a year, or even in two years. It must be remembered that the day school teachers upon whose training the State has spent millions of dollars, and who have the children five hours a day, five days in the week, do not secure all the work that they ask for from all of their pupils. We must aim at perfection of course, but such an aim would be a serious detriment if it led to discouragement and the discontinuance of effort. The children know intuitively what the teacher OF THE GRADED LESSONS 117 really expects, and they do, not what is asked of them The Power of by the teacher, but what the teacher Will and believes in his inmost soul they are Example going tQ da The power of example is a tremendous stimulus. The teacher who reads the daily readings every day just as the children are expected to read them, and who does the work in the book in the way the children are instructed to do it, will be able to inspire his pupils as one who does the work in a haphazard way, and is not really interested in the daily reading habit can never do. If the teacher's book is well written and attrac- tively planned, especially if the pictures are colored, this will arouse within the children a desire to make one like it. The hymn illustration is always fascinat- ing, but the children can hardly do it alone. It is much more interesting if groups meet and do the work to- gether, and the doing of this work tends to establish habits and interests which make it much easier for the pupils to perform the regular work. Of course no child should be allowed to illustrate a hymn who has not completed his work books in a satisfactory way. While the power of the teacher's example and char- acter is a great factor in bringing the children into line on their handwork and study, in many Incentives -. J rr / cases this alone will not sumce. As we have seen, children of this age are self-centered, and in most cases it is necessary to make them see that n8 INTRODUCTION AND USE it is worth their while to do the work, in order to get the habit of industry established. The highest form of reward is the honor roll, for that represents com- mendation. The class banner is also important. Many boys who would never put forth any effort to gain honor for themselves, will work cheerfully and hard to win points for the class. In addition to these incentives, and more effective than either in the early junior years, is the plan of having a social or some other form of good time, for those who complete the work book in a satisfactory way. At the beginning of the quarter it should be announced that there will be such a social at the end of the quarter and that the ticket of admission to it will be a work book with the work done in it. In addition to incentives and example, it will be necessary for the teacher to give personal help and Sympathy, stimulation to many of the pupils, either Interest, and at his own home, or in the junior room Assistance at the c h nrc h t No pupil should be allowed to get so behind with his work that he will be too discouraged to try to catch up. Often if a teacher suggests a meeting at his home for a social hour, he can have the work books brought and easily induce those who are behind to make up their work in the first part of the evening, while those whose work is up to date are allowed to color their pictures, title page, etc. Such a plan as this does a great deal more OF THE GRADED LESSONS 119 for the pupils than appears on the surface. It proves that the teacher has a warm personal interest in the members of the class, and when that becomes manifest they are much more favorably disposed toward doing the work they are asked to do. A junior teacher was given a class of fourth year boys w T ho had never formed the habit of doing their work in the work books. They considered themselves too old for the department, though none of them had reached the age of twelve. They were disgruntled and out of harmony with the work of the department. After a few months a decided change was seen in the class. They did their work well, cooperated in all the services of the department, and handed in some of the best books that were made. In talking with one of the boys the superintendent discovered the secret. "You know she really likes us. Our other teacher liked us well enough on Sundays, but Mrs. likes us all the week. She lets us come to her house every Wednesday night, and we do our note book work there if we want to, and she makes candy for us. I used to think I would never do that work, but I like it now." Some teachers, finding that occasionally a pupil would lose the picture sheet, have adopted the plan of giving the pictures out Sunday by Sun- Children ^ a y- Others have pasted the pictures in the books before giving them to the children. Neither of these plans will bring the best 120 INTRODUCTION AND USE results. "To trust a child tends to make him trust- worthy." It is better to trust the children with the pictures, and to create a sense of responsibility by mak- ing the rule that new pictures shall be purchased by those who lose the ones given to them with the book. The cutting and pasting of the pictures, and their arrangement in the book are usually the most attrac- tive part of the handwork, and that which "sugar coats" the necessary writing. It is a serious error to take this part of the work from the child, or to tell him by implication that you think him either unable or unwilling to take the proper care of his materials. The work book is for use in the home, and should not be brought to Sunday school except when the teacher thinks it best to examine the Remember progress of the work. A manilla paper cover should be provided for each work book in order that the permanent cover may be kept fresh and clean. The picture sheet should be slipped under the manilla cover when the book is given to the pupil, so that there will be no danger that it will fall out and be lost as it is carried home. The pupils must be frequently reminded that there is to be an exhibit on the annual promotion day and urged to do the best work of which they are capable, in order that they may be glad to have their books examined at that time. This and other incentives will aid in arousing and maintaining effort, but the real power is that love OF THE GRADED LESSONS 121 in the heart of the teacher which "believeth all things, hopeth all things," and is determined to bring to pass all the best things for the pupils. It has been said that we can do nothing worth while for any one unless we have "faith in him, hope of him, and love for him." This is certainly true concerning the relation of a teacher to his pupils. It is also true that the prime requisites in securing the proper use of the work books are faith in its value as a means for religious educa- tion, hope, which implies both the desire and expecta- tion that the work will be done, and a genuine love for the work as there presented. "Two great tasks are included in the work of nur- ture : the first, to see that all that comes to plastic life from the outside is what it ought to be, the second, to somehow arouse the power within to vigorous effort upon the best thing."* The Pupil's Book for Work and Study brings to the child the highest and noblest ideals and ideas; it is planned with the definite aim of arousing his power and will to learn and do the right, and, if properly used, it is one of the greatest of the means in the hands of junior teachers for the religious education of the children under their care. * The Unfolding Life, A. A. Lamoreaux. Do junior children know the Bible story in terms* of great personalities? Do they test greatness in terms of good will towards society ? Are they so familiar with the Bible as a book that they can use it as a tool in future years ? Have the children memorized fifteen or twenty of the great hymns of the church and do they know many of the great passages of the Bible? Has your church some regular method of securing the attendance of junior children at the regular church service? Do your junior children attend church habitually ? Have the teachers held a public exhibition of the handwork, map drawing, notebooks, etc. ? As a result of Christian nurture are a number of the junior children expressing a desire to join the church ? W. S. Athearn. 122 CHAPTER X TRANSFERS AND PROMOTIONS 123 CHAPTER X Transfers and Promotions One of the first questions that arise in any newly graded junior department is concerning the standard for promotion from grade to grade Promotion within the department, and from the junior department to the intermediate. While the process of installing the lessons is going on it is evident that pupils must be promoted with less work done than will be required of those who graduate after having had four years of instruction in the de- partment. At the end of the first year of graded instruction, for instance, the pupils who are thirteen years of age must be transferred to the intermediate department, and if they have done one year of the graded work in a satisfactory manner they have a right to promo- tion. Not until the fourth year will it be possible to graduate pupils who have done all the junior work; but we must not on this account deny to those graduat- ing in the mean time a proper ' recognition for what they have been able to accomplish. It is necessary, however, to decide upon a general 125 126 INTRODUCTION AND USE plan at the beginning of the course, in order that the Rote pupils may know just what will be re- Memorizing quired for promotion. In the large Insufficient majority of schools using the uniform system, with or without the graded supplemental les- sons, the tests for promotion have been almost entirely memoriter, and have generally been given at the end of the pupil's last year in the department. This is an easy plan, for the pupils are able to memorize quickly and can therefore learn a large amount of Scripture without any great difficulty. It is not a desirable plan for many reasons, (i) The amount of Scripture and the number of church hymns which a child can repeat after cramming for a test, do not indicate in the slightest degree what he has gained from his course. (2) The very setting of such a standard as the require- ment for promotion tends to divorce religion from life and to make the pupil think that the memorizing of these required passages is an end in itself. (3) It is not by making a supreme effort at the end of the year that right habits are formed ; in fact that method serves only to encourage the undesirable habit of pro- crastination which makes real efficiency impossible. (4) It is a plan from which the best educators are revolting in all lines of education. It is evident that the great question is not, "What can this pupil repeat?" but, "What have the things which he has learned enabled him to do and become?" (5) The require- ment for promotion should be in a large degree indica- OF THE GRADED LESSONS 127 tive of the highest purpose of the course, and should form a true climax. Certainly no one who has caught the vision of what the graded course stands for and of the possibilities in its use, can ever be satisfied with a test which is a mere parrot-like repetition of words, whatever the value of those words may be when under- stood and woven into the fabric of life. What then is the value of memory work, and what use should be made of it? With each lesson a memory The Value and text is given, and unless that Scripture Use of Memory is memorized the work for the week is rk not done. It is the duty of the teacher to see that these verses are memorized, and to bring them to mind through drills and in other ways, not as mere verbal recitations, but as the concrete expression of some truth. Theoretically it might be supposed that the pupil who had actually learned any verse of Scrip- ture should be able to repeat that verse whenever asked to do so, and that therefore he might reasonably be expected to repeat all of his memory texts at the end of each year, and all for the four years at the end of the course. Practically, howevetv this is not true. In the first place, while this is a period in which memory is both strong and retentive under the proper stimulus, it is neither strong nor retentive unless such stimula- tion is provided. Interest and frequent repetition are essential; without the first nothing will be really learned, and without the second that which has been 128 INTRODUCTION AND USE committed to memory will not be retained. Depart- mental and class drills will help greatly in fixing the memory verses in the minds of the children; to have the children mark the verses neatly in their Bibles will also serve to fix the passages in memory; reference to verses when they will strengthen the impression of the lesson under discussion is a plan of special value, and we should make use of all these aids. At the same time we must not be satisfied with any such meager test as the verbal repetition of Scripture and hymns when establishing a basis for promotion. Another point to be remembered is that with children as with grown people, the meaning and force of many passages of Scripture which the individual could not repeat with verbal accuracy have entered into the life with power. If a teacher at the beginning of the year will make a broad classification, similar to that given in the Pur- pose of th£ Graded Lessons when the MemoJ^Texts spiritual needs are stated (see Ap- pendix A) and then place every memory text as it is learned under one of the heads, it will be possible and easy to drill and review the verses frequently by subjects. As an illustration let us take the memory work of the first year. There might be two general divisions : God's Love and Power, and Our Duty to Others and to Ourselves. Under the first division we would classify Genesis I : I ; Jeremiah 23:24a; Genesis 9:13; Genesis 21:20; .Genesis OF THE GRADED LESSONS 129 28:15a; Psalm 121; Romans 8:28a; 1 Corinthians 6:4; Exodus 2:24; 4:12; Psalm 32:10; Exodus 15: 2a; 20 : 2; 15: 11; Psalm 19 : 7; Exodus 25 : 22a; Psalm 107 : 6; 1 John 2 : 17b. Under the second head we would find verses inculcating Love, I Corinthians 13:4a; Luke 6:31; Proverbs 17:17; 3^3 a ; 4J 24 : 29a; Luke 10 : 27; Matthew 25 : 40. Obedience, Genesis 6:22; Hebrews 11 :8a, c; Psalm 1:1, 2; 1 Corinthians 12:31a; James 1 : 22a; John 13 : 15 ; Luke 16: 10a; Matthew 7:24, 25. Praise, Luke 1 : 46, 47; Psalm 107 :i-8. Prayer, Psalm 25 : 4. Courage, Num- bers 13:30b. Repentance, Luke 15:18. Work, Genesis 2:15. Watchfulness, Mark 13:37. Tem- perance, Proverbs 20: 1. Such a plan for classifying and using the memory texts keeps the work up to date, and weaves truths, stories and Scripture together in such a manner as to make assimilation easy for the child. Nevertheless, it would be an error to set up as a requirement for promotion the verbal recitation of memory texts or passages. In addition to the memory texts these hymns are given in the work books for the first year : Once in Royal David's City; Nearer, My God, Hymns to Thee; The Lord Hath Helped Us; and Long Ago the Lilies Faded. The first two should be included in the memory work for the year, and will be easily learned, especially if sung 130. INTRODUCTION AND USE as a part of the department program. The last will be learned by those who do the extra honor work and illustrate the hymn. Of course the second hymn should be committed to memory at the time when the story of Jacob's vision comes in the lessons. There is also a prayer song beginning "Dear Jesus, we before thee bow," which gives to the child a simple and fitting expression for contrition coupled with a prayer for strength to do the right. The Pupil's Book for Work and Study is the child's text book. In it are provided the references for the One lesson stories, the daily Bible readings, Requirement and the memory texts. Explanations for Promotion are giyen when required> and the chi l d is directed day by day in his work. In' the picture sheet maps are provided and the pupil is told how to use them. In fact the work book is the manual of the course. If the pupil does not use it he cannot be said to have studied the junior graded lessons at all. If he studies it faithfully he cannot fail to profit in knowl- edge gained, habits formed, and truth appropriated. Therefore the one requirement for promotion should be the work book satisfactorily completed, remember- ing always that the requirements of the work book are not met unless the_mcmory text is learned each week. Another necessary condition is that the work shall be done systematically and regularly in accordance with instructions. That is, pupils must not be allowed OF THE GRADED LESSONS 131 to take the book at the beginning of the quarter and paste in all the pictures and maps and attempt to do the work ahead of the schedule. Neither should they be allowed to get behind so that it will be necessary to do several weeks' work at one time. The reasons for this are apparent. The lessons can only be understood when the work at home and teaching in the school go side by side; and the virtues of obedience, neatness, punctuality, accuracy, and fidelity, which the work book should help to make habitual, cannot be formed if the work is done hurriedly and spasmodically and in utter disregard of the instructions, in the book and the requests of the teacher. In no school is perfection demanded in the standard set for promotion. Therefore it would not be just to condition promotion on the making of Limitations and r t t 1 . , , r Exceptions work books m each year. Many children will complete all the books and be glad to do it, and all should be encouraged to do so in order that the habits formed during nine months may not be lost in the other three. But three work books completed represents seventy-five per cent, and that is the usual passing average. In case a child is ill, or is for other reasons actually unable to do the work, he must be allowed and helped to make up the work, and if this is impossible must be excused from some part of it in order that he may not be denied honorable promotion because of matters beyond his 132 INTRODUCTION AND USE control. Of course this refers solely to a pupil who keeps up to the grade and does his work well when he has the opportunity. A test of this kind is in accord with the best present day methods in the day school. A pupil who does his work well every day in any given study and attains a certain average in his term marks, is not required to take any examination or test at the end of the term or year in that study. While there should be but this one requirement for promotion, it would be well to provide tests for the „, pupils who wish to win a higher honor An Honor Test \* & M1 . than a mere passing average will give. It is probable that many of our pupils would welcome a test of this kind at the end of the year, especially if it were not in any sense a requirement. FIRST YEAR Honor Test (oral) The Books of the Bible by divisions, except the Books of the Old Testament. The hymn, Nearer, My God, to Thee. At least five memory verses given under subjects. Extra Honor Test Hymn, Long Ago the Lilies Faded, illustrated. Hymn, Once in Royal David's City, learned at Christ- mas time. The fourth work book. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 133 SECOND YEAR Honor Test (written or oral) All the Books of the Bible by divisions. Ability to find The Christmas Story, The Lord's Prayer, The Ten Commandments, "The Shep- herd Psalm," Junior Motto, Golden Rule, Two Great Commandments, and The Christian Armor, without having the references given. The Doxology. Names of the disciples. All bodies of water named and Jerusalem, Nazareth, Capernaum, Bethlehem, Jericho, and Mount Her- mon located on an outline map of Palestine. The verses describing the Christian Armor repeated, and also at least one of the great Bible songs, that is, such parts of the Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Nunc Dimittis, as are given in the memory work, the Gloria in Excelsis, and the Great Commission. Hymn, The Son of God Goes Forth to War. Extra Honor Test From Greenland's Icy Mountains, illustrated. Two verses of A Mighty Fortress is Our God, memorized. One of the Missionary stories written and handed in. The fourth work book. i 3 4 INTRODUCTION AND USE THIRD YEAR Honor Test (written or oral) A description of a day in the life of an Oriental shep- herd, with the Twenty-third Psalm written from memory. One of the four temperance lessons written, or a com- position on Temperance. Memory texts on Wisdom, Trust, Self-Control. Hymn, Go Forward, Christian Soldier. Extra Honor Test Hymn, The Spacious Firmament on Higlr illustrated. Psalm 95 : i~7a, written from memory. A poster made illustrating some phase of the temper- ance question. The fourth work book. FOURTH YEAR Honor Test (written or oral) Explain and describe at least two of the customs pecul- iar to the Holy Land, such as : Salutations by the way; Methods of dividing time; Anointing with oil as a sign of honor; the Passover and its mean- ing. Ten or fifteen memory verses by subjects. Hymns : Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Me ; O Zion, Haste. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 135 Extra Honor Test Jesus, Saviour, Pilot Ale ; the Apostles' Creed ; Sow the Seed Beside All Waters, and Now the Day is Over, illustrated. Psalm 96: 1-10 memorized. The story of "Our Bible and How It Came to Us." To give credit for promotion from grade to grade, attractive cards are provided. For promotion from the department to the intermediate a diploma has been prepared. (See Appendix.) The Sunday school of to-day is not content to make its work a mere succession of separate earnest efforts to do its pupils good. Every years work with every grade of pupils must be a well-ordered educational whole, beginning at a definite starting point and lead- ing, with God's blessing, to a definite result in knowl- edge, character, and relation of the pupil to his God. For each of these years, also, the work must include expression as well as impression; for its end is not knowledge but character. E. Morris Fergusson. The rural Sunday school has some distinct ad- vantages. It has ordinarily and normally a better educational environment than the city schools. Its pupils find better educational opportunities. The country boy who has the chores to do, who must drive the team and care for them, develops resources and is constantly under the stimuli of situations that produce in him powers of initiative, self-dependence, and ob- servation which the city lad often lacks. He may not have art galleries, but he has nature and quickening environment. Much of the Bible is an out-door book, intelligible only to those who are accustomed to think only in terms of out-doors. Then, in the country com- munity the lives of all in the school are bound closer together than is the case in the city. One knows one's neighbors who live over the hill much better than one can get to know one's neighbor who lives in the next apartment. . . . There are even advantages in the very smallness of the school in that this offers oppor- tunities for individual treatment of scholars. The large school is liable to become institutional. The small school may still know all its pupils by name and watch them carefully and lead them personally into the larger life. H. F. Cope. 136 CHAPTER XI PROBLEMS OF THE SMALL SCHOOL *37 CHAPTER XI Problems of the Small School Taking the country as a whole, statistics show that the average number of members in our Sunday schools to-day is about eighty. When Importance of -1,1,1 1 <- 1 1 the Problem we consi der the thousands of schools whose membership runs up into the hundreds and thousands, it is easy to see that a large proportion of the total number of Sunday school pupils must be found in the small schools. For this reason the problems of the small school are exceed- ingly important and demand careful consideration. The principles which should govern the work of the small school are exactly the same as those which are suited to the large school. The manner in w T hich those principles shall be applied varies of necessity under varying conditions. Even the small schools have in- cluded in their membership pupils of different ages. It is evident therefore that the need for instruction suited to the stage of development is just as great in the small school as in the large. The purpose of the Sunday school to meet the spiritual needs of each individual in each stage of his development is the pur- pose of every school with relation to every pupil on 139 140 INTRODUCTION AND USE its roll. That purpose should not be abandoned in any case because the sum of pupils enrolled is small. It is evident that the needs of developing life can be met only through progressive instruction, on the plane Necessity for of the pupil's attainments and interest. Graded The International Graded Lessons are Instruction j i i graded by years, as every course must be which is adequately to meet the needs of the pupils as they arise. It is exactly what is needed — a splendid closely graded course with specialized material for each age group or grade. There is no question but that the small school has many disadvantages to struggle against. The equip- ment is generally meager. In many Difficulties in - 1 1 1 1 r 1 the Way cases the whole school from beginners to adults must meet in one room and that the one which is used for the church service. These conditions are trying, but the greatest problem in relation to the use of graded lessons arises from the fact that there are neither teachers nor pupils enough to provide a class for every grade. Because of this some people have been ready to sacrifice the purpose of religious education and have declared that properly graded instruction cannot be given in a small school. Others have endeavored to meet the difficulty by using the lessons in rotation, teaching one year of the junior, for instance, to all the children whose ages range from OF THE GRADED LESSONS 141 nine to twelve. This does not solve the problem, however, for lessons used in this way cannot properly be called graded. Every year in the life of the pupil brings profound changes, and these sometimes occur suddenly, so that even lessons graded by years will not always be closely graded enough to meet the needs of a class. Therefore, however well the lessons are. selected, there will be something for the teacher to do in the way of adapting the lessons to his or her pupils. Whatever lions may stand in the way, if we are doing the Lord's work we must always believe that there is some method by which the path Lel^n Problem of Progress may be cleared, and attempt to find it. Fortunately in relation to the use of graded lessons in a small school the difficulty which seemed prohibitive has been removed and the way opened for genuine graded instruction. The plan, however, cannot be worked by the junior teacher or teachers alone. In fact, it is never possible for the junior group to solve its problems in the best w r ay apart from the rest of the school, but the necessity for cooperation is perhaps realized more easily where the numbers are few. It is exceedingly encouraging to know that in schools of fifty or less if all will work together graded lessons can be used all through the grades in the order in which they were intended to be taught. Rev. J. C. Robertson of Canada made a plan which renders this possible in any school which 142 INTRODUCTION AND USE can muster six teachers.* It provides that all pupils five years of age shall be placed in one class, known as Group A; 6, 7, and 8 in another, called Group B; 9, 10, and 11 in a third, called Group C; 12, 13, and 14 in a fourth, called Group D; 15, 16, and 17 in a fifth, Group E; and 18, 19, and 20 in the sixth, Group F. For the five-year-old children, Group A, the first year beginners' lessons are to be taught ; Group B will have the second year primary; Group C the second year junior; Group D, the first year intermediate; Group E, the fourth year intermediate, and Group F, the third year senior. This plan is continued for a year. At the end of the first year's work the teacher of Group A takes the children who come into the school at five, and keeps the ones she was teaching the previous year, making a group containing children both five and six years of age. To these she teaches the second year beginners' lessons. The teacher of Group B keeps the pupils she had the preceding year whose ages will now be seven, eight, and nine, and the lessons taught will be the third year primary. The teacher of Group C keeps the same pupils and teaches the third year junior lessons to them. The teacher of Group D teaches the second year intermediate, the teacher of Group E the first year senior, and the teacher of Group F a teacher training course. * Adapted from leaflet entitled Graded Lessons in the Small School, by Josephine L. Baldwin. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 143 The following year the teachers keep, their classes as before, except that the teacher of Group A each year takes the new pupils five years of age who come into the school. In each case the teachers teach the next year's lessons.. At the end of the third year the classes pass on to the next grade, and the teachers go back and begin the work of the triennium over again. By this plan the teacher of the series known as A would teach the first and second year beginners' les- sons and the first year primary; the teacher of Series B would teach the second and third year primary and the first year junior; the teacher of Series C, the second, third, and fourth year junior; the teacher of Series D, the first, second, and third year inter- mediate; the teacher of Series E, the fourth year inter- mediate, the first and second year senior; the teacher of Series F, the third and fourth year senior, a teacher training course or some elective adult course. One advantage of this plan is that the lessons in every case are those adapted to the middle one of the group of three ages. They are never more than one year in advance or behind the development of the pupil taught. But if the lessons as taught progress steadily and logically in accordance with the development of the pupil, good results can be obtained, even when the ages of the pupils cover a range of three years. The value of Dr. Robertson's plan is that it not only provides for all the grades of the school but makes it possible for i 4 4 INTRODUCTION AND USE all the pupils to progress in- their religious education by regular steps, each successive one higher than the preceding. A departmental plan, on the other hand, .makes such progression impossible for two thirds of the primary and three quarters of the junior pupils, since only those who happen to enter the department when the first year lessons are to be studied will be given the instruction in its proper order. In this plan the teacher of Series C would teach nothing but the junior lessons and the teacher of Series B would once in three years teach the first year of the junior lessons. This placing of the first year work is an admirable arrangement, for the first year lessons are taught as the primary lessons are, before the story is read by the pupil. In regard to difficulties which are likely to arise when any new plan of grading is introduced, see chap- ter IV, page 59. This is the plan in detail as outlined by Dr. Robert- son: Let A, B, C, D, E, F stand for the six teachers respectively. Let existing (or prospective) lesson courses be designated as follows : Ka. A year's course intended for Beginners aged 4 years. Kb. A second year's course intended for Beginners aged 5 years. I. A year's course intended for First Year Primary, age 6 years. II. A year's course intended for Second Year Primary, age 7 years. III. A year's course intended for Third Year Primary, age 8 years. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 145 IV. A year's course intended for First Year Junior, age 9 years. V. A year's course intended for Second Year Junior, age 10 years. VI. A year's course intended for Third Year Junior, age 11 years. VII. A year's course intended for Fourth Year Junior, age 12 years. VIII. A year's course intended for First Year Intermediate, age 13 years. IX. A year's course intended for Second Year Intermediate, age 14 years. X. A year's course intended for Third Year Intermediate, age 15 years. XI. A year's course intended for Fourth Year Intermediate, age 16 years. XII. A year's course intended for First Year Senior, age 17 years, XIII. A year's course intended for Second Year Senior, age 18 years. XIV. A year's course intended for Third Year Senior, age 19 years. XV. A year's course intended for Fourth Year Senior, age 20 years. XVI. Any Adult course. Then a permanent system, in which (ultimately) every pupil will get every year's work in its proper order, can be arranged as follows. According to this plan, a teacher remains with a particular group of pupils no more than three ears. Pupils will not be ad- mitted under five years of age. Used by permission of Rev. J. C. Robertson, B.D., of Toronto, Canada. 146 INTRODUCTION AND USE Years 1915-1918, Etc. Years 1916-1919, Etc. Years 1917-1920, Etc. 1 ! 2 I 3 Pupils 5 years old Pupils 5 and 6 Pupils 5, 6, and 7 Lessons Ka Lessons Kb Lessons I Teacher A Teacher A Teacher A 4 5 6 | Pupils 6, 7, and 8 Pupils 7, 8, and 9 Pupils 8, 9, and 10 Lessons II Lessons III Lessons IV Teacher B Teacher B Teacher B 7 1 8 | 9 Pupils 9, 10, and 11 Pupils 10, 11, and 12 Pupils 11, 12, and 13 Lessons V Lessons VI Lessons VII Teacher C Teacher C Teacher C 10 11 1 12 Pupils 12, 13, and 14 Pupils 13, 14, and 15 Pupils 14, 15, and 16 Lessons VIII Lessons IX Lessons X Teacher D Teacher D Teacher D 13 *4 1 15 Pupils 15, 16, and 17 Pupils 16, 17, and i3 Pupils 17, 18, and 19 Lessons XI Lessons XII Lessons XIII Teacher E Teacher E Teacher E 16 17! 18 1 Pupils 18, 19, and 20 Pupils 19, 20, and 21 Pupils 20, 21, and 22 Lessons XIV Lessons XV Lessons XVI Teacher F Teacher F Teacher F To see what will be done in a particular year, follow a column downward. To trace the course of a pupil through successive years, follow'the corner numerals. OF THE GRADED LESSONS 147 In a school in which for any reason the above plan cannot be adopted the junior children may be taught in two groups. Group 1 made up of piai ^ mporary girls and boys nine and ten years old, and group 2 those who are eleven and twelve. Even such a plan requires the cooperation of other teachers, for each year the nine-year-old children must come from the primary and those thirteen must go on into an intermediate class. The teacher of Group 1 would teach the first and second year lessons alternately and the teacher of Group 2 the third and fourth year lessons. This expedient, if adopted, should be understood to be temporary, and every possible effort made to introduce Dr. Robertson's plan, for when that is in operation every pupil receives the in- struction year by year in the order in which it is in- tended to be given. It is seldom possible in a small school to have com- plete separation for the juniors. • Some of the advan- tages that accrue from separation can Dis^artages be secured > however, if the superintend- ent realizes the needs of the younger children and plans to have the service of worship at least occasionally on their plane and at all times free from dullness and monotony.* A curtain or screen around the class will make it * For a fuller discussion of this question see the General Manual on the Intro- duction and Use of the Graded Lessons, chapter xiii, Graded Lessons and the Work of the Superintendent. 148 INTRODUCTION AND USE possible to have competitive drills, to notice birthdays appropriately, and to lead in a brief prayer at the end of the lesson period. A table can be made by the boys of the class with the help of older boys, or the members can earn money to buy one. Each pupil must have a Bible. The honor roll may be only a sheet of heavy paper on which the names are written and put up in a prominent place. Not even that is necessary if the names of honor pupils are read by the superintendent each month. Under the Robertson plan classes change from one teacher to another the last Sunday in September every third year. That is, each teacher will Transfers 3.nd Promotions £ ive U P his class and be S in the work over again and the class will pass over on to another teacher at the end of the periods num- bered 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 on the chart on page 146. The promotions from beginners to primary, primary to junior, junior to 'intermediate, and intermediate to senior will occur in each case when the pupil has finished some one of the series of lessons. That is, the oldest children in the group on completing the period numbered three on the chart will be promoted from the beginners' to the primary; the oldest of the group on completing period five will be promoted from the primary to the junior. Junior promotions are the only ones that will occur at the same time when a change is made from one teacher to another. At the OF THE GRADED LESSONS 149 end of the ninth period the pupils who have studied the junior lessons for four years and are approximately fourteen years old should receive diplomas and have a part in the graduating exercises if they have com- pleted three work books for each year. (See chapter X on Transfers and Promotions.) The last Sunday in September should be "Com- mencement Day" in every school, large or small, and the recognition accorded to pupils, the exhibit of hand work, and all the other plans which tend to dignify the work of instruction and arouse interest in it, can be used as effectively in a small school as in a large one. An efficient Sunday school is one in which the work- ing forces understand its purpose or aim, its conditions and materials of operation, and its methods of pro- cedure; one in which duties are so assigned and re- sponsibilities so clearly divided that its operations pro- ceed with economy of effort and without waste or friction; one in which there is the application of all possible working forces and the enlistment of every aid available to secure desired results; one in which those who believe they work with God will so work that all his work can proceed without hindrance and with certainty of results. Henry Frederick Cope. Conversion is an event which ought not to be neces- sary in the conscious life of any human being. It must be said in truth that the New Testament concep- tion of conversion is that it ought not to have been necessary. It is urged upon adults who have lived for many years in a state of moral obliquity and aliena- tion from God. Conversion, in other words, presup- poses a previous life of sin. Unless such a life is un- avoidable conversion must be regarded as a means adapted to do away with the abnormal and to introduce normal conditions. How vastly better it would be to prevent the abnormal conditions — the long continued life of sin that makes conversion necessary! This is just what a correct conception of child religion effectively realized would accomplish. A religious life beginning with the life of the child and never lost would make conversion unnecessary, because the oc- casion for it would be obviated. C. W. Rishell. 150 CHAPTER XII RESULTS TO BE STRIVEN FOR AND EXPECTED 151 SOME JUNIOR GRADUATES CHAPTER XII Results to Be Striven for axd Expected The aim of the junior series of lessons states clearly the two great results which those who prepared the course expected to have follow its use. The Great Aim . ,_ 1 . , 1 M 1 1 1 ' I o lead the child to become a doer of the Word and to bring him into conscious relations with the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour." In any course of Bible lessons designed for pupils who develop as rapidly as do children of the junior age, there will be of necessity manv Subordinate . i *• 1 ' • 1 r Aims aims, subordinate to but essential for the best accomplishment of the chief aim of the course. In the four years of lessons almost all the great stories of the Bible are to be found. These are the means through which the fundamental truths of religion are to be given to the children, and while the impartation of truth is the main purpose, there is an incidental aim here, which is to make our pupils familiar with the great characters and events of Bible history. It is important also that the children shall know the lands in which Bible history was enacted. i53 i 54 INTRODUCTION AND USE Ample provision has been made in the development of the course through the maps provided and the sugges- tions given for notebook and class work, and there is no reason why any child taking the course should not know the geography of Bible lands as well as he knows the geography of any other part of the world. Some knowledge of manners and customs is essential for the best understanding of the Bible, and we should expect our graduates to have a large amount of such knowl- edge. These are some of the intellectual aims, and they are important, for we cannot be said to have taught the course at all unless the pupils gain a fund of information along many different lines. It is a worthy aim to interest the children in the Bible and awaken within them a love for it; it is a splendid thing to put them at ease with End the Bible, so that they can find refer- ences easily, and locate the great pas- sages which every Christian ought to know. Acquaint- ance with the great events and characters of the Bible is important even on the side of general information; for one cannot be said to be truly educated who has not such knowledge. But, after all, these things are rather a means to an end than an end in themselves. "All truth dies out in the mind unless it is lived out in practice.'' Not only must the deeds be righteous and in accord with the truth taught, but there must be an impulse within which "uplifts, broadens, and OF THE GRADED LESSONS oo sweetens the whole life, and makes it like the Alan of Nazareth." Little children act all the time and think very little. The boys and girls of the junior age are beginning to think, but they are still very active/ Expressional 1 ,1 • r • 1 c Activities anc ^ their activity is far m advance of their knowledge. For this reason the course is so planned as to give ample opportunity for handwork, and to stimulate right doing in every direc- tion. By this means we may expect that the pupils will not only make right doing habitual, but will learn to love that which is highest and best. Under the right influence and training the spiritual life of a child develops at first unconsciously, but dur- ing this period occurs what is called the Crisis first great spiritual awakening, when so large a proportion of individuals have made the decision to give their lives to the Lord. To bring this to pass normally is the great end and pur- pose of the junior series, and indeed of all the teaching and training that has been given to the pupil up to this time. We may confidently expect, at some time during the junior period, often in the last year but in some cases earlier, that our pupils will become conscious of their relation to God as Father and to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and will be ready to make public their determination to live the Christian life. 156 INTRODUCTION AND USE Thousands of junior teachers all over the land have been looking forward with the clear eye of faith to this comsummation of their hopes and The Consummation lon g in g s - E ^er since the first year's lessons were issued realization has been taking the place of expectation and desire, for the children have been seen naturally and happily coming into a conscious religious experience. This experience is none the less real, and much the more normal, be- cause it has been only one decisive step in a long process of "growth in grace and in knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ." In one school in New Jersey thirty juniors came into the church on one Sunday, and the teacher of a class of girls said, "My girls have all joined the church. I have never before been able to speak to any one on the subject of personal religion, but with these lessons it is easier to do it than not to do it" In a junior department in Pennsylvania eleven joined, and the superintendent wrote, "These are not by any means all who have taken the public step in- dicating their determination to lead a Christian life. There are many others who wish to join the church but are held back by their parents. The best of it all is that these children have given evidence in their daily lives that they are Christian children. We have watched them develop with the keenest delight, as we have seen how these lessons have met their spiritual needs." OF THE GRADED LESSONS 157 Such testimonies as these have been received from teachers in many different parts of this country and Canada, from schools large and small, from those in rural districts, suburban towns, and large cities. The following will give some idea of the results that are being achieved : We have found, in our junior department, that the daily Bible readings in connection with the junior graded lessons are of great value in helping the chil- dren to form the habit of reading the Bible every day. Seventy-five per cent of our juniors are faithfully doing this. — Xew Jersey. Fully seventy-five per cent of our pupils do their daily Bible readings. Last year in our annual exhibit we displayed three hundred and forty-five completed books from a department of one hundred and fifty- seven boys and girls enrolled. — Pennsylvania. These lessons have stimulated Bible study and daily reading of the Word. — Minnesota. Attention is better and there is greater reverence. — Pennsylvania. My boys are learning to love the Bible and to bring their own copies always. — New Mexico. The attendance and interest have increased since we introduced the graded lessons. — Louisiana. The manual work is developing a sense of responsi- bility for the doing of duties connected with the church. — Maryland. The children are gaining a splendid stock of Bible 158 INTRODUCTION AND USE stories. Many parents say that their children know more about the Bible than they do. — Ohio. There has been a quickened interest in study, and the children, for the first, have the certainty that Bible times were, and that the land was and still is. — Illinois. The pupils study the Bible more than ever before, and consequently know it better. — Nova Scotia. The pupils are more orderly during the lesson period, and they have acquired the habit of doing their work systematically because the readings are planned for each day. — Wisconsin. The boys and girls are learning lessons of neatness, truthfulness, and faithfulness. — North Dakota. There is an increased interest in the lessons, the at- tendance is most regular, and the pupils manifest a desire to serve. — Quebec. The leading men of our church were much opposed to graded lessons, but after some months they con- sented to the introduction of graded instruction in the elementary departments. Two years after the work was started we had a public junior demonstration in the form of Bible drills. After the exercise was over one of the most violent opponents of the system said, "Well, surely no one could find any fault with that, except this, that when those children leave the junior department there will be nothing left for them to learn about the Bible." — Alabama. I have noticed a marked improvement in the be- havior of the children during the church service and in OF THE GRADED LESSONS 159 the care of their Bibles. Through the service of wor- ship a spirit of reverence has been cultivated, and a marked interest in the prayer has been noted. — Massa- chusetts. Since introducing graded lessons more than five years ago, quiet, orderly classes have taken the place of "bad" classes, especially boys. Children, too, are more intelligently coming into the church. — Indiana. The course on Temperance contained in the third year lessons, has meant much to us in our work with the children. With very few exceptions they have been willing to sign the pledge and they have gained a knowledge of the subject which will be a help to them when they need to take a stand on the question. — Xew Jersey. In many schools juniors are making the decision to give their lives to the Lord. — Nebraska. The graded lessons have caused many juniors to accept Christ and enter definitely on the Christian life. — Oregon. Our reports show a greater number of juniors com- ing into the church since the graded lessons have been in use. Also the attendance is much more regular. — Kansas. We have just closed our fourth year of the graded lessons. During that time thirty-six of our pupils have become members of the church. — Michigan. In March of last year fifteen from the department came into the church in preparatory membership. The 160 INTRODUCTION AND USE pastor talked with each one personally, and was con- vinced that they had made an intelligent choice. — Massachusetts. Our first class, naving had graded lessons since the beginning of the junior course, graduates to secondary this next Sunday (September, 1914). The rolls of the classes are intact except for those who have actually removed from the city, and two boys whose parents compelled attendance on other denominations when they expressed desire to join the church. Every gradu- ate (twenty-two in number) is a member of the church, having made the choice without pressure. — Arkansas. Our last graduating class numbered thirty-three, six- teen girls and seventeen boys. All of the girls and ten of the boys were church members, at the time of graduation. Three other boys had made the decision to give their lives to the Lord and earnestly desired to join the church but were prevented by their parents. — Pennsylvania. See picture on page 152, which shows part of this class. Previous to our use of the graded lessons we had no accessions to the church from the junior department. Since our introduction of them we have had many. The way the lessons are planned makes it easy and natural to talk to the children about these things. — New Jersey. An interested scholar, plus a practical religious education with helpful habits which hold the pupils longer in the Bible school. There has been a marked OF THE GRADED LESSONS 161 increase each year in the number of pupils uniting with the church. This is the sixth year since we began the junior graded lessons. We graduated a class from the second year in 191 1, but none from the third year in 1912, as the class preferred to stay and finish the course, and we had room to accommodate them. Some of the girls in the 191 1 class have taken the teacher training course. They are now about seventeen and eighteen years of age. The boys of this 191 1 class have organized our first successful "teen age" boys' class under the leadership of a bright young man of nineteen years. This class is a strong influence in a social way particularly with the younger people. — Minnesota. The Sunday school must stand unswervingly upon the declaration of Jesus which he made while he held a little child in his arms, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." Jesus knew, and I insist that all passages in the Bible which might seem to point to any other view must be interpreted in the light of this declara- tion. That declaration is the Magna Charta of child- hood, and it is the corner stone of the Sunday school. J. T. McFarland. Standards are set up in every community, and the pupils are prepared by education and civic forces to meet the requirements of these standards, but the limit of these agencies has been reached when the appeal has been made through authority and law. In re- ligious education all standards are merged in a Per- sonality. This Personality is the very embodiment of all thai makes for righteousness — Jesus Christ. The definite and peculiar work of the Sunday school is to lead the personality of the individual to come into vital relation with the Personality, Jesus Christ. After such an aim has been accomplished, the pupil has a new personality, and to direct this personality into channels of service is the great responsibility of the Sunday school. . . . Such an opportunity for the de- velopment of individuality through the guidance of the divine Personality, such an opportunity for the true finding of self, is a clarion call to the Sunday schools of to-day. How shall they meet the challenge? Nannie Lee Frayser. 162 APPENDICES 163 Moral and religious instruction should be chiefly positive and constructive in its nature, and must appeal to the elements of right character that exist in the pupil. If it is to be effective it must recognize certain nas- cent stages in religious development, and must make use of the special opportunities which they afford. Sunday school instruction on the basis of the result of scientific investigation means simply doing God's work in God's way. Edward P. St. John. 164 APPENDIX A Purpose, Aims, and Material of the Interna- tional Graded Lesson Course The purpose of the Graded Lessons is : To meet the spiritual needs of the pupil in each stage of his develop- _ ment. The spiritual needs broadly stated Purpose ^ are these : i. To know God as he has revealed himself to us in his Word, in nature, in the heart of man, and in Christ. 2. To exercise toward God, the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, trust, obedience, and worship. 3. To know and do our duty to others. 4. To know and do our duty to ourselves. beginners (Approximate age of pupils, 4 and 5) To lead the little child to the Father by helping him : 1. To know God, the heavenly Father, who loves him, provides for, and protects him. 2. To know Jesus, the Son of God, who became a little Child, who went about doing good, and who is the Friend and Saviour of little children. 3. To know about the heavenly home. 4. To distinguish between right and wrong. 5. To show his love for God by working with him and for others. 165 1 66 APPENDIX A Simple Bible Stories from the Old and New . Testaments. Arranged by themes. Selected for use with little children of kindergarten age. PRIMARY (Approximate age of pupils, 6, 7, and 8) To lead the child to know the heavenly Father, and to inspire within him a desire to live as God's child : Aim 1. To show forth God's power, love, and care, and to awaken within the child responsive love, trust, and obedience. 2. To build upon the teachings of the first year (1) by showing ways in which children may express their love, trust, and obedience; (2) by showing Jesus the Saviour in his love and work for men ; and ( 3 ) by showing how helpers of Jesus and others learn to do God's will. 3. To build upon the work of the first and second years by telling ( 1 ) about the people who chose to do God's will ; (2) how Jesus, by his life and words, death and resurrection, revealed the Father's love and will for us; (3) such stories as will make a strong appeal to the child and arouse within him a desire to choose and to do that which God requires of him. A topical course arranged by groups under related themes : Material la Stories telling of God's Power, Love, and Care. 2. Stories calling forth Love, Trust, and Obedience. Picturing Jesus in his life and work. Missionary Stories of the Helpers of Jesus. APPENDIX A 167 3. Stories showing Obedience to God's will. Jesus doing God's will. Temperance lessons. JUNIOR (Approximate age of pupils, 9, 10, 11, and 12) To lead the child to become a doer of the Word, and to bring him into conscious relations with the Aim Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. 1. To awaken an interest in the Bible and a love for it ; to deepen the impulse to choose and to do right. 2. To present the ideal of moral heroism; to reveal the power and majesty of Jesus Christ, and to show his followers going forth in his strength to do his work. 3. To deepen the sense of responsibility for right choices; to show the consequences of right and wrong choices; to strengthen love of the right and hatred of the wrong. 4. To present Jesus as our Example and Saviour; to lead the pupil to appreciate his opportunities for service and to give him a vision of what it means to be a Christian. Arranged chronologically by periods in the first two years. In the last two years the chronological sequence Material 1S unbroken, except when a topical course on Temperance is introduced. 1. Early Old Testament Stories. Stories that Jesus Told. 2. Conquest and Settlement of Canaan. Stories from the Life of Jesus, from the lives of Apostles and of later Missionaries. 1 68 APPENDIX A 3. Stories from Hebrew History — Saul to Nehe- miah. Temperance Studies. Stories of the Maccabean Heroes. Introduction to the Life of Christ. 4. The Gospel by Mark. Studies in the Acts. Stories of Later Missionaries. Studies about Our Bible and How it Came to Us. INTERMEDIATE (Approximate age of pupils, 13, 14, 15, and 16) To lead to the practical recognition of the duty and responsibility of personal Christian living, and to Aim organize the conflicting impulses of life so as to develop habits of Christian service. 1. To present the ideals of heroic living, as exempli- fied by leaders of Israel who were inspired by faith in Jehovah, and as exemplified by North American leaders of like faith. 2. To present the ideals of the Christian life, as exemplified by leaders whom Jesus inspired in his own and succeeding ages. 3. (a) To set before the pupil, through a biograph- ical study of Jesus Christ, the highest possible ideals of Christian living in aspects and forms to which the impulses of his own nature may be expected to re- spond; (b) to lead the pupil to accept Jesus as his personal Saviour and the Master of his life. 4. (a) To strengthen and encourage those young people who have decided to live the Christian life and to help others to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour, (b) To lead young people into a sympathetic and in- telligent attitude toward the Church and to help them to seek membership in it. (c) To awaken an interest APPENDIX A 169 in Bible reading and study as a means of personal spiritual growth. The treatment here is biographical and historical. 1. Leaders of Israel. Religious Leaders in North Material America. 2. Early Christian Leaders. Later Christian Leaders. A Modern Christian Leader. 3. The Life of the Man Christ Jesus. The Life of David Livingstone. 4. Fundamental Principles of the Christian Life. The Organization of the Christian Life — The Church. The Text Book of the Christian Life — The Bible. . SENIORS (Approximate age of pupils, 17, 18, 19, and 20) 1. To lead the pupil to see life in proper perspective from the Christian point of view, and to aid him in finding his place and part in the world's work. To lead the pupil, through frank confidence in himself, his limitations, and his relations to the Kingdom of God, to a realization of the claims of Christ as Saviour and Lord, and of his service as the true basis of successful living. 2. To awaken in young men and women a per- manent interest in the development of religion as reflected in the history and literature of the Hebrew people. To relate the studies of this year to the per- sonal religious life of the individual student. 3. To awaken in young people an abiding interest in the New Testament, and appreciation of its funda- mental importance to the Christian faith, and a realiza- 170 APPENDIX A tion of its practical value to them as a guide in Chris- tian conduct. 4. To show the gradual transformation of the world through the progress of the gospel; to interpret Chris- tian history as the unfolding and outworking of the spirit of Christ; to acquaint the student with the reli- gious heritage of Christendom; to relate him to the modern world-movements of Christian evangelism, brotherhood, and social service. The emphasis in the senior period is both social and historical. Material I- ^ e World as a Field for Chris- tian Service. 2. Survey of the Old Testament. 3. Survey of the New Testament. 4. Church History from Apostolic Times to the Present. APPENDIX B Outline of the Junior Graded Lessons for the Four Years (Approximate age of pupils: Nine, ten, eleven, and twelve years) AIM OF THE COURSE To lead the child to become a doer of the Word, and to bring him into conscious relations with the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. FIRST YEAR IN DETAIL (Grade 4) AIM To awaken an interest in the Bible, and love for it; to deepen the impulse to choose and to do right. I. STORIES OF THE BEGINNINGS 1. In the Beginning. Teaching Material: Genesis 1: 1 to 2:3. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 1: 1-5. Memory Text: Genesis 1:1. ,— - 2. The Garden of Eden. Teaching Material: Genesis 2: 4-25. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 2: 9, 15-25. Memory Text: Genesis 2: 15. 3. Hiding from God. Teaching Material: Genesis 3: 1-24. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 3: 1-15. Memory Text: Jeremiah 23: 24a. 4. Cain and Abel. Teaching Material: Genesis 4: 1-26. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 4: 3-15. Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 13: 4a. 5. Review. Teaching Material: Genesis, chapters 1 to 4. Pupils' Work: Answering questions and reading Genesis 4: 20-22. 6. The Building of the Ark. Teaching Material: Genesis 6: 5 to 7: 5. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 6: 5, 9, 14-22. Memory Text: Genesis 6: 22. 7. The Flood and the Rainbow. Teaching Material: Genesis 7: 6 to 8: 22; 9: 12-17. Pupils' Reading: tjenesis 7:6; 8: 6-20; 9: 12-17. Memory Text: Genesis 9: 13 • H. STORIES OF THREE PATRIARCHS 8. The Call of Abram. Teaching Material: Genesis n: 27 to 12: 9; James 2: 23. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 11: 31 to 12: 9; James 2: 23. Memory Text: Hebrews 11: 8a, c. 171 172 APPENDIX B 9. Giving Lot the First Choice. Teaching Material: Genesis 13: 1-18. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 13: 1-13, 18. Memory Text: Luke 6: 31. 10. Abram's Rescue of Lot. Teaching Material: Genesis 14: 1-24. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 14: 8-24. Memory Text: Proverbs 17: 17. 11. Abraham Entertaining Angels. Teaching Material: Genesis 15: 1-6; 17: 1-8; 18: 1-33; 19: 12-28* Pupils' Reading: Genesis 17: 3-5; 18: 1-8; 19: 12-17, 26. Memory Texts: Psalm 1: 1, 2 (optional verse 6). 12. The Song of Mary (Christmas Lesson). Teaching^Material: Luke 1: 21, 22, 26-55. Pupils' Reading: Luke 1: 26-28, 46-55. Memory Texts: Luke 1: 46, 47. 13. Review. Teacher's Theme: Walking with God. Genesis 6: 9; Proverbs 3: 5, 6. See also Genesis 5: 21-24; Isaiah 30: 21; Amos 3: 3a; Hebrews 11:5; I John 1: 6, 7; 2: 6; Revelation 3: 4, 5. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 5: 21-24. 14. Ishmael in the Wilderness. Teaching Material: Genesis 16: 1-15; 17: 15-21; 21: 1-20; 25: 8-IO. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 21: 8-20. Memory Text: Genesis 21: 20. 15. Abraham Willing to Offer Isaac. Teaching Material: Genesis 22: 1-19. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 22: 1-19. Memory Text: Psalm 25: 4. 16. Rebekah at the Well. Teaching Material: Genesis 24: 1-67. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 24: 1-27. Memory Texts: Proverbs 3: 3a, 4. 17. How Esau Lost His Birthright. Teaching Material: Genesis 25: 19-34; 27: i - 40. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 25: 27-34; 27: i _ i7- Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 12: 31a. 18. Jacob's Vision of a Ladder to Heaven. Teaching Material: Genesis 27: 41 to 28: 22. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 27: 43-45; 28: i, 2, 10-22. Memory Text: Genesis 28: 15a. 19. The Meeting of Jacob and Esau. Teaching Material: Genesis 32: 1 to 33: 20. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 32: 3-21; 33: 1-4. Memory Text: Proverbs 24: 29a. 20. Review IH. STORIES OF JOSEPH Memory Work for the Period, Psalm 121 21. Joseph Sold into Egypt. Teaching Material: Genesis, chapters 35 and 37. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 37: 12-36. Memory Texts: Psalm 121: 1, 2. 22. Joseph and the Butler and Baker. Teaching Material: Genesis 39: 1 to 40: 23. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 40: 1-23. Memory Text: Psalm 121: 3, 4. 23. From Prison to Palace. Teaching Material: Genesis 41: 1-57. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 40: 23; 41: 1-16, 25-32, 41. Memory Texts: Psalm 121: 5, 6. APPENDIX B 173 24. Joseph's Brothers Visit Egypt. Teaching Material: Genesis 42: 1 to 45: 8. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 42: 6-16; 43: 16-34; 44= 3~i7; 45: 1-7. Memory Text: Psalm 121: 7. 25. The Family of Israel Move into"Egypt. Teaching Material: Genesis 45: 9 to 50: 26; Revelation 3: 21; John 14: 2. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 45: 9-13 (optional 16-20); 46: 1-7, 28-34; 47: 7-10* 50: 15-21; Revelation 22: 1-5. Memory Text: Psalm 121: 8. 26. Review. Teacher's Theme: Romans 8: 28. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 39: 2; 41: 38-40; Isaiah 26: 3, 4. Memory Text: Romans 8: 28a. 26. The Resurrection. Teaching Material: Matthew 28: 1-10. Pupils' Reading: John 20: 11-18. Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 6: 14. IV. STORIES OF MOSES AND HIS TIMES 27. The Early Life of Moses. Teaching Material:' Genesis 22: 16-18; 26: 3, 4; 28: 13, 14; Exodus r. 1 to 2: 15, 24. Pupils' Readings Exodus 1: 8-12, 22; 2: 3-15, 24. Memory Text: Exodus 2: 24. 28. The Burning Bush at Horeb. Teaching Material: Exodus 2: 16-25; 3: 1-14; 4: 10-23 Pupils' Reading: Exodus 2: 16-25; 3: 1-14. Memory Text: Exodus 4: 12. 29. Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. Teaching Material: Exodus 4: 27 to 6: 1; 6: 28 to 9: 35. Pupils' Reading: Exodus 2: 23; 6: 28 to 7: 25. Memory Text: Psalm 32: 10. 30. The Passover Night. Teaching Material: Exodus 10: 1 to 12: 36. Pupils' Reading: Exodus 12: 21-36. Memory Text: Exodus 15: 2a. 31. The Crossing of the Red Sea. Teaching Material: Genesis 50: 25, 26; Exodus 12: 37-51; 13: 17 to 15: 21. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 50: 25, 26; Exodus 13: 19; 14: 5-31. Memory Text: Exodus 20: 2. 32. Manna in the Wilderness. Teaching Material: Genesis 2: 1-3; Exodus 15: 22 to 16: 36. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 2: 1-3; Exodus 16: 1-31. Memory Text: Exodus 15: 11. 33. The Giving of the Law. Teaching Material: Exodus 19: 1-20; 20: 1-21; 31: 18 to 32: 20; 34: 1-9, 28. Pupils' Reading: Exodus 19: 1-6, 16-20; 20: 1-20 (optional Psalm 19). Memory Text: Psalm 19: 7. 34. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness. Teaching Material: Exodus 25: 1-7; 33: 7-1 1; 35: 4-29; 36: 2-7; 40: 17-38. Pupils' Reading: Exodus 33: 7-1 1; 40: 17-38. Memory Text: Exodus 25: 22a. 35. The Rash Act of Nadab and Abihu. Teaching Material: Exodus 24: 1; 28: 1; Leviticus 8: 30; 9: 22-24; 10: I— XI. Pupils' Reading: Leviticus 8: 30; 9: 22-24; 10: i-n. Memory Text: Proverbs 20: 1. 36. The Report of the Spies. Teaching Material: Numbers 12: 16 to 14: 38. Pupils' Reading: Numbers 13: 17-33; 14: 1-10, 26-35. Memory Text: Numbers 13: 30b. 174 APPENDIX B 37. Troubles in the Wilderness. Teaching Material: Numbers 20: 1 to 21: 9; Psalm 107: 4-6. Pupils' Reading: Numbers 20: 2-13; 21: 4-9 (optional 1 John 1: 9; John 3: 14-16). Memory Text: Psalm 107: 6. 38. How God Honored Moses. Teaching Material: Numbers 27: 15-20; Deuteronomy 32: 48-52; 34: 1-12; compare Luke 9: 28-36; Revelation 15: 1-4. Pupils' Reading: Numbers 27: 15-20; Deuteronomy 32: 48, 49; 34: 1-12. Memory Text: 1 John 2: 17b. 39. Review. Teacher's Reading: Psalm 107. Pupils' Reading: Psalm 107: 4-6, 14. IS. V. PARABLES OF JESUS 40. The Parable of the Sower. Teaching Material: Matthew 13: 1-23; Luke S: 1-15. Pupils' Reading: Luke 8: 1-15. Memory Text: James 1: 22a. 41. The Good Samaritan. Teaching Material: Luke 10: 25-37. Pupils' Reading: Luke 10: 25-37 (optional Deuteronomy 6: 5; Leviticus 19: 18). Memory Text: Luke 10: 27. 42. The Prodigal Son. Teaching Material: Luke 15: 11-24. Pupils' Reading: Luke 15: 11-24. Memory Text: Luke 15: 18. 43. Earning the Right to Rule. Teaching Material: Luke 19: n-13, 15-26. Pupils' Reading: Luke 19: n-13, 15-26. Memory Text: Luke 16: 10a. 44. The Two Foundations. Teaching Material: Matthew 7: 16-29; Luke 6: 46-49. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 7: 16-29; 1 Corinthians 3: 11. Memory Texts: Matthew 7: 24, 25 (optional verses 26, 27). 45. The Wise and Foolish Virgins. Teaching Material: Matthew 25: 1-13. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 25: 1-13. Memory Text: Mark 13: 37. 46. A Parable in Action. Teaching Material: Luke 22: 7-13, 24; John 13: 1-17. Pupils' Reading: Luke 22: 7-13, 24; John 13: 1-17. Memory Text: John 13: 15. 47. The Last Judgment. Teaching Material: Matthew 25: 31-46. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 25: 31-46. Memory Text: Matthew 25: 40. 48. Review. Teacher's Reading: Matthew 7: 28, 29; Luke 4: 22; John 7: 47; 2 Timothy 4: 7, 8. Pupils' Reading: Luke 4: 22; 2 Timothy 4: 7, 8 (Review Luke 10: 25-37; Luke 15: n-24 or Matthew 25: 31-46). VI. THE JOURNEYS OF MOSES With Map Review Memory Work for the Period, Psalm 107: 1-8 49. From Egypt to Mount Sinai. Teaching Material: Exodus 2: 1-25; 17: 8-16; 19: 1-6; Deuteronomy 25: 17, 18. APPENDIX B 175 Pupils' Reading: Exodus 2: 1-25; 17: 8-16; 19: 1-6. Memory Texts: Psalm 107: 1, 2. 50. From Mount Sinai to Kadesh. Teaching Material: Exodus 20; 31: 18 to 32: 20; 34: 1-4, 29; 40: 17, 34-38; Numbers 9: 15-18; 10: 11, 12; 13: 1 to 14: 25. Pupils' Reading: Exodus 20: 1-17; 32: 1-6, 15-20; 40: 17, 34, 35; Numbers 9: 15-18; 10: 11, 12; 13: 1, 2, 17-20, 25-33; 14: 6-10. Memory Texts: Review Psalm 107: 1,2; Psalm 107: 3, 4. 51. From Kadesh to Moab. Teaching Material: Numbers 20: 1-29. Pupils' Reading: Numbers 20: 1-29. Memory Texts: Review Psalm 107: 1-4; Psalm 107: 5, 6. 52. The Vision from Mount Nebo. Teaching Material: Deuteronomy 11: 8-12; 30: 19 to 31: 13; 33: 25 to 34:. 12. Pupils' Reading: Deuteronomy n: 10, 11; 30: 19. 20; 31: 1-3, 6-8; 34: 1-12. Memory Texts: Review Psalm 107: 1-6; Psalm 107: 7, 8. SECOND YEAR IN DETAIL (Grade 5) AIM To present the ideal of moral heroism; to reveal the power and majesty of Jesus Christ, and to show his followers going forth in his strength to do his work. I. STORIES OF THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 1. Joshua Appointed Leader of Israel. Teaching Material: Numbers 27: 15-23; Joshua 1: 1-18. Pupils' Reading: Exodus 17: 8-13; 33: 7-1 1; Numbers 13: 2, 25-33; 14: I— 10; 27: 15-20; Deuteronomy 31: 7, 8, 23; Joshua 1: 1-9. Memory Text: Joshua 1:9. 2. Rahab and the Spies. Teaching Material: Joshua 2: 1-24. Pupils' Reading: Joshua 2: 1-3, 6, 8-11, 15. 16. Memory Texts: Ephesians 6: 10; 1 Corinthians 16: 13. 3. The Israelites Crossing the Jordan. Teaching Material: Joshua 3: 1 to 4: 24. Pupils' Reading: Joshua 3: 1-11, 13-17. Memory Text: Isaiah 43: 2. 4. The Siege of Jericho. Teaching Material: Joshua 5: 10 to 6: 27. Pupils' Reading: Joshua 4: 1-24. Memory Texts: Ephesians 6: 13. Review verse 10. 5. Defeat and Victory at Ai. Teaching Material: Joshua 7: 1 to 8: 28. Pupils' Reading: Joshua 1: 7-9; 6: 17-19; 7- 1-26. Memory Texts: Ephesians 6: 14, 15. Review verses 10 and 13. 6. Joshua and the Tricky Gibeonites. Teaching Material: Joshua 9: 1-27. Pupils' Reading: Joshua 9: 1-27; Psalms 34: 13; 141: 3. Memory Texts: Ephesians 6: 16. Review verses 10, 13-15. 7. Joshua's Battle Against Five Kings. Teaching Material: Joshua 10: 1 to 11: 9, 23. Pupils' Reading: Joshua 10: 1-14, 16-27; Isaiah 2: 2-4; 32: 16-18. Memory Texts: Ephesians 6: 17. Review verses 10, 13-16. 8. Joshua's Last Address (Review). Teaching Material: Joshua 24: 1-33. Pupils' Reading: Joshua 1: 7-9; Psalms 27: 1, 3; 31: 1-3; 91: 14, 15; Ephe- sians 6: 10-12; Philippians 2: 9-1-1; James 1: 22a; Revelation 3: 5, 12; 22: 1-5. 176 APPENDIX B II. OPENING STORIES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 9. The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold. Teaching Material: Luke 1: 1-25. Pupils' Reading: Luke 1: 5-23. Memory Texts: Luke 1: 76, 77. 10. The Birth of Jesus Foretold. Teaching Material: Luke 1: 26-56. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 22: 18; Psalm 85: 6, 7; Isaiah 9: 6, 7; Jeremiah 23. 5, 6; Micah 5: 2; Malachi 3: 1; Luke 1: 46-55. Memory Texts: Luke 1: 78. Review verses 76, 77. 11. The Birth of John the Baptist. Teaching Material: Luke 1: 57-79. Pupils' Reading: Luke 1: 13, 57-79. Memory Texts: Luke 1: 79. Review verses 76-78. III. INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF THE LORD JESUS 12. The Birth of Jesus. Teaching Material: Luke 2: 1-20. Pupils' Reading: Luke 2: 8-20. Memory Texts: Luke 2: 10. 11. 13. The Presentation in the Temple. Teaching Material: Luke 2: 21-38. Pupils' Reading: Isaiah 49: 6h; 60: 1; Malachi 4: 2a; Luke 2: 22-32; Rev- elation 21: 23. Memory Texts: Luke 2: 29-31. 14. The Visit of the Wise Men and the Flight into Egypt. Teaching Material: Matthew 2: 1-18. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 2: 1-18. Memory Texts: Luke 2: 32, and review verses 29-31. 15. The Boyhood of Jesus. Teaching Material: Matthew 2: 19-23; Luke 2: 40-52; Hebrews 4: 14, 15. Pupils' Reading: Exodus 20: 12.; Proverbs 3: 5, 6; Psalm 138: 3; Matthew 2: 19-23; Luke 2: 40-52; Hebrews 2: 18. Memory Text: Luke 2: 40. 16. How John Prepared the Way. Teaching Material: Luke 3: 2-22. Pupils' Reading: Luke 3: 2-22; John 1: 6-8. Memory Text: Matthew 3: 3. 17. Review. Teacher's Theme: The coming of the King. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 2: 1-23; Luke 1: 26-33; 2: 8-20, 25-28, 36-38, 41, 42. Memory Texts: (Review) Luke 1: 46, 47, 76-79; 2: 10, 11, 29-32, 40. 18. The First Followers of Jesus. Teaching Material: John 1: 29-49; 13: 35. Pupils' Reading: John 1: 29-49; 13: 35. Memory Text: John 1: 29. 19. The Sick Man Forgiven and Healed. Teaching Material: Luke 5: 17-26. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 10: 1-4; Luke 4: 16-32; 5: 17-26. Memory Text: Luke 5: 24a. 20. The Friend of the Friendless. Teaching Material: Luke 7: 36-50. Pupils' Reading: Luke 7: 36-50. Memory Text: Luke 7: 50. 21. A Day in the Life of Jesus. Teaching Material: Matthew 14: 13-33; John 6: 1-2 1. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 14: 13-33. Memory Text: Matthew 8: 27. 22. The Majesty of Jesus. Teaching Material: Luke 9: 18-22, 2 8 -43 a. APPENDIX B 177 Pupils' Reading: Luke 9: 18-22, 28-43a; John 1: 14; 2 Peter 1: 16-18. Memory Text: Luke 9: 35. 23. The Raising of Lazarus. Teaching Material: Luke 10: 38-42; John 11: 1-57. Pupils' Reading: John 11: 1-46. Memory Text: John 11: 25. 24. The Triumphal Entry. Teaching Material: Luke 19: 29-44. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 26: 3-5; Luke 19: 29-40, 47, 48; John n: 55-57; 12: 9-11. Memory Text: Mark 11: 9. 25. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Teaching Material: Luke 22: 47-53, 66-71; 23: 13-25, 33~56; 24: 1-49. Pupils' Reading:- Matthew 27: 62-66; 28: 2-4; Luke 23: 33-56; 24: 1-9. Memory Text: Revelation 5: 12. 26. Review. Teacher's Theme: The power and majesty of Jesus Christ. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 21: 1-11; Mark 16: 1-8; Luke 5: 17-26; 7: 44-50; 9: 28-36; John 1: 29-49; 6: 1-15; n: 35~44; 19: 17, 18, 28-30. IV. FOLLOWERS OF THE LORD JESUS 27. The Ascension of Jesus (Followers Commissioned). Teaching Material: Luke 24: 44~53; Acts 1: 1-14. Pupils' Reading: Matthew 28: 18-20; Luke 24: 44-53; Acts 1: 1-14; Philip- pians 2:9; Revelation 5:9. Memory Text: Mark 16: 15. 28. The First Christian Sermon. Teaching Material: Acts 2: 1-47. Pupils' Reading: Acts 2: 1-17, 22-24, 37~43, 46, 47. Memory Text: Acts 2: 38. 29. The Courage of Peter and John. Teaching Material: Acts 3: 1 to 4: 31. Pupils' Reading: Acts 3: 1-16; 4: 1-23, 29, 30. Memory Text: Acts 4: 13a, c. 30. Stephen, the First Christian Martyr. Teaching Material: Acts 6: 1 to 7: 60. Pupils' Reading: Acts 6: 2-15; 7: 51-60. Memory Text: Revelation 14: 13a. 31. The Journeys of Philip. Teaching Material: Acts 8: 1-40; 21: 8. Pupils' Reading: Acts 7: 58; 8: 1-17, 25-40; 21: 8. Memory Text: Acts 1: 8b. 32. Saul Converted on the Way to Damascus. Teaching Material: Acts 9: 1-25. Pupils' Reading: Acts 9: 1-25; 26: 9-20. Memory Text: Acts 26: 19b. 33. Saul (Paul) Going to Preach the Gospel. Teaching Material: Acts 9: 27; n: 22-26; 13: 1 to 14: 28. Pupils' Reading: Acts 11: 22-26; 13: 1-3; 14: 1-28. Memory Text: Philippians 3: 14. 34. Paul and the Jailer. Teaching Material: Acts 15: 36 to 16: 40. Pupils' Reading: Acts 16: 9-40; Romans 8: 35, 37~39. Memory Texts: Romans 8: 35, 37. 35. Review. (Lessons 26-34.) Teacher's Theme: The growth of the kingdom. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 22: 18; Isaiah 9: 6, 7; Daniel 7: 14; 12: 3; Mat- thew 28: 18-20; Mark 16: 15; Luke 2: 8-14; John 3: 16, 17; John 13: 34, 35; James 1: 22. 36. A Cobbler and a Map of the World — William Carey. 1 7 8 APPENDIX B Bible Readings: Psalms 22: 27, 28; 96: 1-13; Isaiah 54: 2, 3; Mark 16: 15; Romans 10: 12-15. Memory Texts: Matthew 28: 19, 20. 37. Making the First Chinese Bible — Robert Morrison. Bible Readings: Psalms 19: 7~n; 119: 9, it, 105; Isaiah 2: 2-4; Matthew 7: 24, 25; Ephesians 6: 17; 2 Timothy 3: 16, 17; James 1: 22. Memory Texts: Isaiah 55: 10, 11. 38. In a Burmese Prison — Adoniram Judson. Bible Readings: Psalm 50: 15; Matthew 5: n, 12; 10: 16-18; 16: 24, 25; 19: 29; 2 Corinthians 11: 24-27; 12: 9, 10. Memory Text: 2 Timothy 2: 3 (Margin). 39 Seeking the White Man's Book of Heaven — Response by Jason Lee and Marcus Whitman. Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 28: 9; Psalm 145: 18; Isaiah 45: 22; Jere- miah 42: 3; Amos 5: 8; Matthew 6: 33; 7: 7-11. Memory Text: Matthew 5: 6. 40. Making of the Cree Alphabet — James Evans. Bible Readings: Psalm 119: 1, 2, 18, 33, 34, 130; Isaiah 52: 7; Habakkuk 2: 2; Luke 24: 45-47; Acts 16: 31. Memory Text: Isaiah 40: 8. 41. The Man Who Kept His Word — David Livingstone. Bible Readings: Psalms 121: 1-8; 135: 1-7; Proverbs 3: 5, 6. Memory Text: Matthew 5: 16. 42. A Bonfire of Idols in Aniwa — John G. Paton. Bible Readings: Psalm 72: 18, 19; 135: 15-18; Isaiah 44: 14-17; 46: 7; 59: 7, 8; John 3: 16; 2 Corinthians 5: 17. Memory Texts: Psalm 86: 9, 10. 43. Review. Lesson 36-42. Bible Readings: Psalm 19: 7-11; 46: 1-3; Proverbs 4: 18; Isaiah 41: 10; Daniel 12: 3; Romans 8: 35, 37; 10: 12-15. V. STORIES OF THE JUDGES 44. Deborah and Barak Defeat Sisera. Teaching Material: Judges 4: 1 to 5: 31. Pupils' Reading: Judges 2: 6-15; 4: 1-22; 5: 1-5. Memory Texts: 2 Chronicles 20: 15b. 45. The Call of Gideon. Teaching Material: Judges 6: 1 to 7: 1. Pupils' Reading: Judges 6: 1-40; Psalm 27: 1. Memory Text: Psalm 118: 6. 46. Gideon's Victory with Trumpets, Pitchers, and Torches. Teaching Material: Judges 7: 1-25. Pupils' Reading: Judges 7: 1-25; Hebrews 11: 32-34. Memory Text: Leviticus 26: 8. 47. The Story of Ruth. Teaching Material: Ruth 1: 1 to 4: 17. Pupils' Reading: Ruth 1: 1-7, 15-22; 2: 1-23; 4: 1-11. Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 13: 13. 48. A Strong Man with a Weak Will. Teaching Material: Judges 13: 1 to 15: 8. Pupils' Reading: Judges 13: 8-20; 14: 1-18; Proverbs 16: 32. Memory Texts: 1 Thessalonians 5: 21, 22. 49. The Death of Samson. Teaching Material: Judges is:9toi6:3i. Pupils' Reading: Judges 16:3-31. Memory Text: Proverbs 1: 10. 50. The Boy Samuel. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 1: 1-28; 2: 12-26; 3: 1-21. Pupils' Reading: 1 Samuel 1: 11, 21-28; 2: 18, 19, 26; 3: 1-21. Memory Texts: Proverbs 1: 8, 9. APPENDIX B 179 51. The End of Eli's House. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 4: 1 to 7: 2. Pupils' Reading: Numbers 4: 5; Joshua 18: 1; 1 Samuel 4. 1-18; 5: 1-5; 7: 1, 2. Memory Text: Galatians 6:7. 52. Review. Lessons 44~5i. Bible Readings: Judges 4: 4-16; 6: 11-21; 7: 16-24; 16: 23-30; Ruth 2: 1-23; 1 Samuel 2: 26; 4: 12-18. THIRD YEAR IX DETAIL (Grade 6) AIM To deepen the sense of responsibility for right choices; to show the consequences of right and wrong choices ; to strengthen love of the right and hatred of the wrong. I. STORIES OF THE KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL AND JTJDAH 1. Saul Chosen King. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 8: 1 to 10: 27. Pupils' Reading: 1 Samuel 8: 1-10; 9: 10-27; 10: 1, 17-27. Memory Texts: Proverbs 3: 5, 6. 2. Saul Winning and Losing a Kingdom. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 11: 1-13; 15: 1— 31. Pupils' Reading: 1 Samuel 11: 1-13; 15: 1-23. Memory Texts: Proverbs 3:7. (Review verses 5, 6.) 3. David Called to a Kingdom. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 16: 1-13. Pupils' Reading: 1 Samuel 16: 1-13. Memory Text: 1 Samuel 16: 7c. 4. David and Goliath. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 17: 1-58. Pupils' Reading: 1 Samuel 17: i-ii ? 17-58. Memory Texts: For those who have not committed the Twenty-third Psalm to memory, Psalm 23: 1, 2. For those who know the Twenty-third Psalm, Psalm 27: 1. 5. David Loved by Jonathan and Hated by Saul. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 18: 1 to 10: 22. Pupils' Reading: 1 Samuel 18: 1-16; 19: 1-12. Memory Texts: Psalm 23: 3, review verses 1, 2; or Psalm 27: 2, review verse 1. 6. David and Saul in the Cave. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 24: 1-22. Pupils' Reading: 1 Samuel 24: 1-22. Memory Texts: Psalm 23: 4, review verses 1-3; or Psalm 27: 3, review verses 1, 2. 7. David Chasing the Amalekites. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 28: 1, 2; 29: 1 to 30: 31. Pupils' Reading: 1 Samuel 27: 1-7; 29: 6-1 1; 30: 1-25. Memory Texts: Psalm 23: 5, review verses 1-4; or Psalm 27: 4, review verses 1-3. 8. The Death of Saul and Jonathan. Teaching Material: 1 Samuel 31: 1 to 2 Samuel 1: 27. Pupils' Reading: 1 Samuel 31: 1 to 2 Samuel 1: 21. Memory Texts: Psalm 23: 6, review verses 1-5; or Psalm 27: 5, review verses 1-4. 9. David Capturing Zion and Bringing Up the Ark. Teaching Material: 2 Samuel 5: 1-12; 6: 1-19; Psalm 24. Pupils' Reading: 2 Samuel 5: 1-12; 6: 1-15. Memory Texts: Psalm 24: 7, 8. 180 . APPENDIX B io. Nathan's Parable of the Pet Lamb. Teaching Material: 2 Samuel n: 1 to 12: 13; Psalm 51: i-tq. Pupils' Reading: 2 Samuel 12: 1-13. Memory Text: Psalm 51: 10. 11. Absalom the Traitor. Teaching Material: 2 Samuel 14: 25, 26; 15: 1-37: 17: 1 to 18: 33. Pupils' Reading: 2 Samuel 15: 1-6, 13-15; 18: 9-16, 31-33. Memory Texts: Job 4: 8. (Review Galatians 6: 7.) . 12. Jesus the Son of David — Christmas Lesson. Teaching Material: Isaiah 9: 6, 7; Luke 1: 32, 33; 2: 8-20; Acts 13: 21-23. Pupils' Reading: Luke 2: 8-20. Memory Text: Luke 2: 11. 13. David Makes Solomon King. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 1: 5 to 2: 4; t Chronicles 28: 1-10. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 1: 5-10. 32-53; 2: 1-4. Memory Text: 1 Chronicles 28: 9a. 14. Solomon's Wise Choice. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 3: 4-15. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 3: 4-15. Memory Text: Proverbs 9: 10. 15. Solomon Builds the Temple. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 5: 1 to 6: 14. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 5: 1-14. Memory Text: 2 Chronicles 2: 4a. 16. The Temple Dedicated. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 7: 51 to 8: 66. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 7: 51 to 8: 11. Memory Texts: Psalm 96: 8, 9a. 17. The Visit of the Queen of Sheba. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 9: 26 to 10: 29. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 10: 1-13. Memory Texts: Matthew 6: 28, 29. 18. Why the Kingdom Was Divided. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 11: 1-43. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 11: 4-13, 26-31. Memory Text: Matthew 6: 33. 19. Rehoboam and His Rival Jeroboam. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 12: 1-33. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 12: 1-20. Memory Text: Proverbs 15: 1. 20. King Ahab and the Prophet Elijah. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 16: 23 to 17: 24. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 17: 1-24. Memory Text: Psalm 46: 1. 21. The Contest on Mount Carmel. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 18: 1-46. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 18: 3~39- Memory Text: 1 Kings 18: 21b. 22. Elijah at Horeb. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 19: 1-2 1. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 19: 1-21. Memory Text: Zechariah 4: 6b. 23. One Prophet Against Four Hundred. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 22: 1-18, 24-37. Pupils' Reading: 1 Kings 22: 1-18, 26-37. Memory Text: Proverbs 12: 19. 24. Review. 25. Elisha Begins His Work. Teaching Material: 1 Kings 19: 19-21; 2 King? 2: 1-22. Pupils' Reading: 2 Kings 2: 1-22. Memory Text: 2 Kings 2: 9c. APPENDIX B 181 26. Naaman and Gehazi. Teaching Material: 2 Kings 5: 1-27. Pupils' Reading: 2 Kings 5: 1-27. Memory Text: Proverbs 28: 13. 27. Elisha at Dothan. Teaching Material: 2 Kings 6: 8-23. Pupils' Reading: 2 Kings 6: 8-23. Memory Text: 2 Kings 6: 16. 28. The Great Famine in Samaria. Teaching Material: 2 Kings 6: 24to 7: 20. Pupils' Reading: 2 Kings 7: 1-20. Memory Text: Deuteronomy 33: 27a. 29. Elisha's Last Message. Teaching Material: 2 Kings 13: 14-25. Pupils' Reading: 2 Kings 13: 14-25. Memory Text: Ecclesiastes 9: 10a. 30. The Downfall of the Kingdom of Israel. Teaching Material: 2 Kings 17: 1-18; Hosea 14: 1-9. Pupils' Reading: 2 Kings 17: 1-18. Memory Text: Hosea 14: 1. 31. Hezekiah Rebels Against Sennacherib. Teaching Material: 2 Kings 18: 1-8, 13-21, 36 to 19: 1, 2, 6-19, 32-36. Pupils' Reading: 2 Kings 18: 13-21, 36 to 19: 2, 32-36. Memory Texts: Psalm 46: 6, 7. 32. Josiah Walks in David's Ways. Teaching Material: 2 Kings 22: 1 to 23: 3, 25. Pupils' Reading: 2 Kings 22: 1 to 23: 3, 25. Memory Text: Isaiah 55: 7. 33. Jehoiakim Burns the Prophet's Message. Teaching Material: Jeremiah 36: 1-32. Pupils' Reading: Jeremiah 36: 11-32. Memory Text: Isaiah 40: 8. 34. Jerusalem Taken by Nebuchadnezzar. Teaching Material: 2 Kings 25: 1-30; Jeremiah 39: 1-18; Lamentations 1: 1-6. Pupils' Reading: 2 Kings 25: 1-12. Memory Text: Deuteronomy 4: 23a. 35. Review. n. RESPONSIBILITY FOR ONE'S SELF, NEIGHBOR, AND COUNTRY (Temperance Lessons) 36. Exercising Self-Control. Teaching Material: 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27. Pupils' Reading: 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27. Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 9: 25. 37. Banded Together for the Right. Teaching Material: 2 Kings 10: 15-17; Jeremiah 35: 1-19; Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12. Pupils' Reading: Jeremiah 35: 1-19. Memory Text: Ecclesiastes 4: 12. 38. Courage to Do the Right. Teaching Material: Daniel 1: 1-2 1. Pupils' Reading: Daniel 1: 1-2 1. Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 16: 13. 39. Signs of Progress in Our Country. Teaching Material: Deuteronomy 8: 7-20. Pupils' Reading: Deuteronomy 8': 7-20. Memory Text: Proverbs 14: 34. 182 APPENDIX B III. THE EXILE AND RETURN OF THE PEOPLE OF JUDAH 40. The Fiery Furnace. Teaching Material: Daniel 3: 1-30. Pupils' Reading: Daniel 3: 1-30. Memory Texts: Psalm 95: 1-3. 41. Belshazzar's Feast. Teaching Material: Daniel 5: 1-30. Pupils' Reading: Daniel 5: 1-30. Memory Texts: Psalm 95: 4, 5. Review verses 1-3. 42. Daniel Delivered from the Lions' Den. Teaching Material: Daniel 6: 1-28. Pupils' Reading: Daniel 6: 1-28. Memory Texts: Psalm 95: 6, 7. Review verses 1-5. 43. The Return from the Exile. Teaching Material: Ezra 1: 1-11; Isaiah 40: 1-11; Psalm 126: 1-6. Pupils' Reading: Ezra 1: 1-11. Memory Text: Psalm 126: 3. 44. Rebuilding the Temple. Teaching Material: Haggai 1: 1 to 2: 9; Ezra 5: 1, 2; 6: 14-16. Pupils' Reading: Haggai 1: 1 to 2:9. Memory Texts: Psalm 100: 1, 2. 45. Nehemiah Visits Jerusalem. Teaching Material: Nehemiah 1: 1 to 2: 16. Pupils' Reading: Nehemiah 1: 1 to 2: 16. Memory Texts: Psalm 100: 3. Review verses 1,2. 46. Nehemiah Builds the Wall. Teaching Material: Nehemiah 2: 17 to 4: 23; 6: 15, 16; 12: 43. Pupils' Reading: Nehemiah 4: 1-23; 6: 15, 16; 12: 43. Memory Texts: Psalm 100: 4. Review verses 1-3. 47. Ezra Teaches the Law. Teaching Material: Nehemiah 8: 1-18; Psalm 119: 97-104; 19: 7-14. Pupils' Reading: Nehemiah 8: 1-18. Memory Texts: Psalm 100: 5. Review verses 1-4. 48. Review. IV. INTRODUCTION TO NEW TESTAMENT TIMES 49. The Jewish Martyrs. Teaching Material: Hebrews 11: 1-22; 1 Maccabees 1: 1 to 2: 17. Pupils' Reading: Hebrews 11: 1-10, 17-20, 22. Memory Text: Hebrews 12: 1. 50. The Courage of Judas Maccabaeus. Teaching Material: Hebrews n: 23-38; John 10: 22, 23; 1 Maccabees 3: 1 to 4: 61. Pupil's Reading: Hebrews 11: 23-27, 29, 30, 32-38. Memory Texts: Hebrews 12: 2. Review verse 1. 51. The Land Where Jesus Lived. Teaching Material: Luke 3: 1, 2; Deuteronomy 11: 10-12. Pupils' Reading: Genesis 17: 8; 26: 1-5; Deuteronomy 8: 7-10; n: 9-12; Micah 5: 2; Matthew 2: 19-23; Hebrews 11: 8-10. Memory Text: Genesis 26: 4. 52. The Temple of Herod. Teaching Material: John 2: 13-21. Pupils' Reading: Psalm 65: 4; Isaiah 2: 3; 56: 6, 7; John 2: 13-21. Memory Text: Isaiah 56: 7 (last clause). APPENDIX B 183 FOURTH YEAR IN DETAIL (Grade 7) AIM To present Jesus as our example and Saviour; to lead the pupil to appreciate his opportunities for service, and to give him a vision of what it means to be a Christian. I. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK 1. How the Ministry of Jesus Began. Lesson Passage: Mark 1: 1-20. Memory Text: Isaiah 40: 3. 2. Jesus at Work in Capernaum. Lesson Passage: Mark 1: 21-45. Memory Text: Isaiah 9: 2. 3. The Authority of Jesus Questioned. Lesson Passage: Mark 2: 1-22. Memory Text: Mark 2: 17. 4. How to Keep the Lord's Day. Lesson Passage: Mark 2: 23 to 3: 6. . Memory Texts: Mark 2: 27, 28. 5. Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles. Lesson Passage: Mark 3: 7~35- Memory Text: John 15: 16a. 6. Teaching by the Sea of Galilee. Lesson Passage: Mark 4: 1-34- Memory Text: Psalm 119: 130. 7. Restoring the Demoniac. Lesson Passage: Mark 4: 35 to 5: 20. Memory Text: Mark 5: 19. 8. Jairus' Daughter Brought to Life. Lesson Passage: Mark 5: 21-43. Memory Text: Mark 5: 36. 9. A Hero Who Faced a Tyrant. Lesson Passage: Mark 6: 1-29. Memory Text: Revelation 3:12. 10. Feeding the Five Thousand. Lesson Passage: Mark 6: 30-56. Memory Text: John 6: 35. 11. Jesus Rebukes the Hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Lesson Passage: Mark 7: 1-23. Memory Text: Micah 6: 8. 12. Review. 13. Visit to Tyre and Sidon. Lesson Passage: Mark 7: 24-37. Memory Text: Mark 7: 37. 14. On the Way to Caesarea Philippi. Lesson Passage: Mark 8: 1 to 9: 1. Memory Text: Luke 9: 23. 15. The Transfiguration. Lesson Passage: Mark 9: 2-29. Memory Text: John 1: 14. 16. Humility and Ambition. Lesson Passage: Mark 9: 30 to 10: 12, 35-52, Memory Text: Mark 10: 45. 17. The Rich Young Man. Lesson Passage: Mark 10: 13-34. Memory Texts: Matthew 6: 20, 21. 18. The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Lesson Passage: Mark 11: 1-25. Memory Text: Mark 11:9. 1 84 APPENDIX B 19. The Tuesday Before the Crucifixion. Lesson Passage: Mark 11: 27 to 12: 44. Memory Texts: Mark 12: 29-31. 20. Teachings About the Future. Lesson Passage: Mark 13: 1-37. Memory Text: Mark 13: 33. 21. The Last Supper. Lesson Passage: Mark 14: 1-3 1. Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 11: 26. 22. The Betrayal and Night Trial. Lesson Passage: Mark 14: 32-72. Memory Texts: 1 Peter 2: 21-23. 23. The Crucifixion and Burial. Lesson Passage: Mark 15: 1-47. Memory Texts: 1 Peter 2: 24; review 1 Peter 2: 21-23. 24. The Resurrection Day. Lesson Passage: Mark 16: 1-8 (also 9-14). Memory Texts: 1 Corinthians 15: 55-57. 25. Appearances of the Risen Lord. Lesson Passage: Mark 16: 14-20. Memory Texts: 1 Corinthians 15: 58; review 1 Corinthians 15: 55-57. 26. Review. n. STUDIES IN THE ACTS 27. The Apostles in Jerusalem. Teaching Material: Acts 1: 1-26. Memory Text: Acts 1:8. 28. Power Through the Holy Spirit. Teaching Material: Acts 2: 1-47. Memory Texts: Acts 2: 41, 42. 29. Foes Within and Without the Church. Teaching Material: Acts 5: 1-42. Memory Text: Matthew 6: 24. 30. The Martyrdom of Stephen. Teaching Material: Acts 6: 1 to 8: ia. Memory Texts: Acts 7: 59, 60. 31. Philip, the First Christian Missionary. Teaching Material: Acts 8: ib-40; 21: 8, 9. Memory Texts: Romans 10: 14, 15. 32. Conversion of Paul. Teaching Material: Acts 9: 1-31. Memory Texts: Acts 9: 15, 16. 33. Peter's Visit to Cornelius. Teaching Material: Acts 10: 1-48. Memory Text: Acts 10: 35. 34. The Release of James and Peter. Teaching Material: Acts 12: 1-24. Memory Text: Psalm 91: 14. 35. How Paul Became a Missionary. Teaching Material: Acts 11: 19-26; 13: 1-3; 14: 1-28. Memory Texts: Acts 26: 19b, 20. 36. Paul Arrested in Jerusalem. Teaching Material: Acts 21: 15 to 23: 35. Memory Text: Matthew 5: 10. 37. Paul Shipwrecked. Teaching Material: Acts 25: 1-4, 7-11; 27: 1-44; 2 Corinthians 11: 22-33. Memory Text: Romans 8: 28. 38. Paul at Rome. Teaching Material: Acts 28: 1-30. Memory Texts: 2 Timothy 4: 7, 8. 39. Review. Teacher's Theme: Acts 1: 8. APPENDIX B 185 IH. LATER MISSIONARY STORIES 40. The Formation of the First Bible Society: Mary Jones and Her Bible. Biblical Material: Psalms 19: 1-14; 23: 1-6; 119: 1-16, 101-106; Isaiah 55: io, 11; John 8: 31, 32. Memory Texts: Psalm 19: 9, 10. 41. The Converting Power of the Gospel: Robert Moffat and Afrikaner. Biblical Material: Psalm 37: 5; Isaiah 1: 18; 45: 22; Ezekiel 36: 25-27; Luke 4: 16-21; Romans 6: 22, 23; 10: 9-13; 1 John 1: 9. Memory Text: Luke 4: 18. 42. The Supremacy of the Lord: Kapiolani Defies the Fire Goddess Pele. Biblical Material: 1 Kings 18: 20-39; Psalms 46: 1-3; 95: 1-7; 121: 1-8; 139: 1-4, 7-12, 23, 24; Isaiah 9: 2; 40: 12, 21-26. Memory Texts: Review 1 Kings 18: 21, and Psalm 95: 1-7, omitting last clause. 43. A Messenger of Peace: John Williams and His Good Ship. Biblical Material: Isaiah 44: 14-19; 52: 7; Matthew 5: 9; Luke 1: 77~79; John 3: 16; Acts 13: 1-5; Colossians 3: 12-15; 1 Timothy 1: 15; 1 John 4: 19-21; 5: i-5- Memory Text: Isaiah 52: 7. 44. The Ministry of Teaching: Alexander Duff's First School in India. Biblical Material: 2 Chronicles 17: 9; Proverbs 1: 2-5; Xehemiah 8:8; Mat- thew 5: 1-16; 28: 18-20; 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11; Ephesians 4: 11, 12. Memory Texts: Ephesians 4: 11, 12. 45. The Ministry of Healing: Peter Parker "Opening China at the Point of the Lancet." Biblical Material: Numbers 6: 24-26; Psalms 121 and 124; Isaiah 41: 10; Matthew 4: 23, 24; 15: 29-31; 25: 40; 28: 19, 20; Luke 10: 25-37; Acts 3: 1-10; 8: 4-8; 9: 32-35-- Memory Text: Matthew 4: 23. 46. The Power of the Word of God : Murata and the Bible in Japan. Biblical Material: Psalm 119: 9-11; Isaiah 40: 8; 55: 10. 11; Mark 4: 1-20; Ephesians 6: 10-17; Colossians 3: 16, 17; Hebrews 4: 12. Memory Text: Hebrews 4: 12. 47. Saving a Race: Sheldon Jackson and the Reindeer in Alaska. Biblical Material: Psalms 67: 1-7; 145: 9; Proverbs 27: 23-27; Luke 6: 36; 10: 25-37; Acts 26: 18; 1 Thessalonians 4: iob-12; 1 John 3: 16-18. Memory Texts: Psalm 145: 9; Luke 6: 36. IV. OUR BIBLE, AND HOW IT CAME TO US 48. The Old Testament and Its Books. Biblical Material: Leviticus 19: 18; Deuteronomy 6: 4, 5; 10: 12, 13; 30: 11-14; 33: 27a; Psalms 19: 1-14; 5i: 1-10; 90: 1, 2; 91: 1-6; 139: 7-12, 23, 24; Isaiah 1: 18; 26: 3; 55: 7; Ezekiel 36: 26, 27. Memory Text: 2 Peter 1: 21. 49. The New Testament and Its Books. Biblical Material: Matthew 5: 1-12; 7: 12, 24-27; 13: 1-8, 18-23; Luke 6: 31; John 3: 16; 14: 1-3; 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13; James 1: 22; Revela- tion 21: 10-12, 21-27; 22: 1-5. Memory Texts: 2 Timothy 3: 14, 15. 50. The Story of the New Testament Manuscripts. Biblical Material: Matthew 5: 17-20, 33-37, 43-48; 6: 1-15, 19-21; 7: 1-5; John 13: 34, 35- Memory Texts: 2 Timothy 3: 16, 17. Si. The Story of the English Bible. Biblical Material: Psalm 119: 9-16, 33-36, 89-91, 105-112, 129-133, 152, 160; Matthew 5: 18; Hebrews 1: 1, 2. Memory Texts: 2 Peter 1: 19, 20. 52. The Bible in Mission Lands. Biblical Material: Isaiah 45: 20-23; 59: 7, 8; 6: 8; Psalm 119: 1, 2; Mat- thew 28: 18-20; 2 Corinthians 5: 17. Memory Text: Psalm 98: 2. APPENDIX C JUNIOR GRADED LESSON EQUIPMENT Junior Teacher's Text Book, First Year In four parts. Each part contains a foreword, suggestions for teaching both the correlated lesson and the regular lesson, a copy of the department pro- gram, a list of books and the outline of the lessons for the year. These lessons are for use with children approximately nine years old. Price, 25 cents a part. Junior Teacher's Text Book, Second Year The fifty-two lessons of this year are intended for children about ten years of age, the grade correspond- ing in general to grade five in the day school. Among the lessons of this year are seven modern missionary incidents. In Part IV a Promotion Exercise is given. Issued in four parts, 25 cents a part. Junior Teacher's Text Book, Third Year The lessons in these books have been prepared w T ith eleven-year-old children in mind and contain the help- ful features of the other two years with the addition of more material in the correlated lessons and greater emphasis upon the geography of the Holy Land and in the Appendix a list of stereographs. In Part III a 186 APPENDIX C 187 course of Temperance Lessons is given. Parts I to IV, 25 cents a part. Junior Teacher's Text Book, Fourth Year The fifty-two lessons for this year form a fitting climax to the junior course. The forewords are especially full and will help the teachers to appreciate the importance of this critical year in the life of their pupils. In the missionary lessons and the lessons on Our Bible and How it Came to Us a great deal of valuable matter is given. Four parts, 25 cents a part. Pupil's Book for Work and Study, First Year This book is issued in four parts, each part having with it a picture sheet for the illustration of the les- sons. There are spaces for writing, extra hymns for memorization, and with Part IV suggestions are given for illustrating the Scripture found in Matthew 6:25- 33 and the hymn, Long Ago the Lilies Faded. Price 8y 2 cents a book. Pupil's Book for Work and Study, Second Year These books have in their picture sheets a larger number of pictures, maps, facsimilies, etc., than are found in the first year, and in Part IV a full set of pictures is given for the illustration of the hymn From Greenland's Icy Mountains. Price 8 J / 2 cents a book. Pupil's Book for Work and Study, Third Year In this year the plan for the pupil's work is changed. 1 88 APPENDIX C Instead of writing in spaces left on the printed page, blank pages for a note book are bound in the middle of the work book. The hymn given for illustration in Part IV is The Spacious Firmament On High. Price Sy 2 cents a book. Pupil's Book for Work and Study, Fourth Year The note book plan started in the third year is followed in the fourth. The picture sheets with these books contain a large number of pictures, maps, dia- grams, facsimiles, title pages, etc. Pictures are given for the illustration of three hymns and the Apostles' Creed one in each part. Price 8y 2 cents a book. Junior Department Programs There are sixteen of these programs, numbers o to 15, one for each quarter of the four years. The hymns and Scripture used in them for the service of worship have been chosen to meet the needs and appeal to the interests of the children. Each program fits closely into the lessons, for some one of the grades, but is equally helpful for the other grades. Price 15 cents per dozen, $1 a hundred. Record of Credits This book will enable a class teacher and the super- intendent of the department to know just how each pupil stands in relation to his work. It is a loose-leaf book, each leaf carrying the recond of a pupil for a year. It is arranged to begin in October. Price of APPENDIX C 189 cover with rings, 23 cents. 25 leaves for names and record, 12 cents; per 100, 42 cents. Junior Recorder and Birthday Book This record contains leaves with the names of the month in which to register members of the department according to birthdays. There are also leaves on which may be given information concerning date of enrollment, when baptized, parents' names, when the pupil joined the church, etc., with spaces for recording when he left and why. On the other side of the sheet there is space for notes of calls made in the home. Covers with alphabetical roll and rings, each 20 cents postpaid. Leaves for names and records, per hundred, 20 cents postpaid. When ordering specify the junior as there are similar books for the other departments. The Rainbow Book-Mark This book-mark is made of nine ribbons in the rain- bow colors and is a great help to the children in learn- ing the divisions of the books of the Bible, each ribbon marking a division. The book-marks are twelve inches long. Price 25 cents each; $2.50 a dozen. The Junior Badge This badge is sterling silver enameled in the junior colors, blue and white. It represents an open Bible with the words, "Hear, Do" upon it. These words are intended to suggest the junior motto, "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only." Price 25 cents. i 9 o APPENDIX C The Graded Edition of the Sunday School Journal In this Journal there is a junior department in which the junior teachers and superintendents will find helpful discussions and suggestions. Price 60 cents a year, 5 cents a copy. The Junior Certificates of Promotion For promotion from grade to grade in the junior department three certificates have been prepared. The one for the children who have done the work of the first grade and are entitled to promotion to the second grade is in silver and blue and has the junior badge in the design. For those promoted from the second to the third grade the card has a design of blue bells. For promotion from the third grade to the fourth grade the design is one of ragged sailors on a silver background. These are all postal card size and should be used in every department, as they are a great help in arousing ambition and stimulating the pupils to work. On each of these cards place is given for credit- ing the child with whatever honors he has earned during the year. Prices sent upon application. In ordering be sure to give the number wanted for each year. The Junior Diploma For children graduating from the junior department into the intermediate, an attractive diploma has been prepared on which not only the fact of promotion is APPENDIX C 191 noted, but the honors that have been earned during the course. Prices given upon application to the pub- lishers. Junior Birthday Cards One of the best ways in which the junior teacher and superintendent may show an ever present interest in the children is through the recognition of their birthdays. Attractive birthday cards have been pre- pared for each of the four junior years. For the first year the card is the same for the boys and girls. For children in the second, third, and fourth years two cards have been prepared for each year, one for boys and one for girls. In ordering do not fail to state the ages of the children for whom the cards are desired, and also whether they are boys or girls. Prices given on application. /i tfC LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 062 918 A