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METHOD AND METHODS 
 
 IN THE TEACHING 
 
 OF ENGLISH 
 
 BY 
 
 V, ISRAEL EDWIN GOLDWASSER 
 
 ^^.. PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NEW YORK 
 
 D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 
 BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 
 
V 
 
 ,^ 
 
 .5*7 
 
 .(^1 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1913, 
 
 BY D. C. HEATH & CO. 
 
 IC3 
 
 €>CI,A343981 
 4U\ / 
 
PREFACE 
 
 To affect the various motives that may prompt an author to 
 add one more to the many books on methods of teaching that are 
 now available, there seem to be two very good reasons why a new 
 text on the teaching of English may be deemed unnecessary. In 
 the first place, there are a number of excellent discussions of the 
 general phases of the subject and of special branches, which are 
 sound in principle and scholarly in analysis of the material. 
 Secondly, in these days when so much is said in favor of allowing 
 the initiative of the teacher to find full expression, any book 
 which prescribes definite methods of teaching may be said to set 
 itself against the trend of modern theory. 
 
 Despite these considerations, however, I have long felt that 
 there is a definite need for the kind of treatment of the subjects 
 connected with the teaching of Enghsh in the elementary schools 
 that I have given in this book. There is a real need of specific 
 suggestions as to a rational mode of approaching and developing 
 the work in English. Teachers are everywhere asking for direc- 
 tions which will give them not so much a model for direct imita- 
 tion as a basis for intelligent self-criticism. This book aims to 
 present a consistent method of work in all the branches of 
 elementary Enghsh. While drawing freely from the various 
 accepted texts, and adopting without hesitation many valuable 
 suggestions from teachers and writers in all grades of the work, it 
 claims consideration for this original feature: It aims to separate 
 the teaching of technique from the teaching for appreciation and 
 self-expression, and it seeks to found its methods upon a definite 
 psychology of the learning process. 
 
 No attempt has been made to exhaust every part of the subject 
 or to be so definite as to make original thought on the part of 
 the teacher unnecessary. The purpose of this book is to stimulate 
 
vi PREFACE 
 
 and to direct the effort of the teacher, and to lessen her work only 
 by making unsuccessM experimentation unnecessary. 
 
 Thanks are due to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., for permission 
 to use extracts from the letters of OUver Wendell Holmes, and to 
 Messrs. Harper & Brothers for the right to publish parts of letters 
 by James Russell Lowell. Much of the compilation of devices in 
 Chapters IH, and IV, and of the models used in Composition was 
 done by Miss Rose A. McManus, formerly my assistant, whose 
 help merits cordial appreciation. My thanks are also due to Dr. 
 John H. Haaren, Associate City Superintendent of Schools, New 
 York, for valuable suggestions. 
 
 To the hundreds of teachers whose work both in the class-room 
 and in various texts has been the inspiration for all that is valuable 
 in this book, I submit the result of a labor no less truly theirs 
 than my own. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Reading — General Considerations i 
 
 II. Primary Reading . 6 
 
 III. Primary Reading - Phonics 4 13 
 
 IV. Overcoming Defects in Speech ...... 30 
 
 V. The Reading Lesson 41 
 
 Intermediate Grades. 
 
 VT. Reading to a Class 49 
 
 VTI. Study of the Masterpiece 53 
 
 VIII. Study of the Masterpiece (continued) .... 75 
 
 DC. Study of the Masterpiece (concluded) .... 82 
 
 X. The Oral Reproduction of Stories 93 
 
 XI. Memory Gems 108 
 
 XII. Spelling 119 
 
 XIII. Dictation 131 
 
 XIV. Composition * 141 
 
 XV. Composition (continued) 148 
 
 The Study of Models. 
 
 XVI. How the Model is to be used 157 
 
 XVII. Composition — Letter Writing 163 
 
 Models to be Studied. 
 
 XVin. Composition — Narration 198 
 
 Models to be Studied. 
 
 XIX. Composition — Description ....... 211 
 
 Models to be Studied. 
 
 XX. Composition — Exposition 222 
 
 Models to be Studied. 
 
 XXI. The Correction of Compositions 227 
 
viii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXII. Composition 236 
 
 Composition — Suggestions and Devices 
 
 XXIII. Grammar 242 
 
 General Considerations 
 
 XXIV. Grammar {continued) 253 
 
 Intermediate Grades 
 
 XXV. Grammar {concluded) 261 
 
 Formal Study 
 
THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 READING — GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 
 
 Teachers welcome specific suggestions. But any attempt 
 to establish, on the basis of detailed injunctions, a general mode 
 of procedure in the teaching of a subject, usually results in con- 
 fusion. Accordingly, it may be of value in our exposition of 
 methods in the teaching of reading in the elementary schools, to 
 lay down a few general principles. 
 
 Educationally, we are in a transitional stage. The sudden 
 and bewildering changes effected in our course of study, the 
 quick shifting from one system to another, the glad welcome 
 given to all new schemes — all these are evidences of a state of 
 unrest. This extends not only to questions of organization and 
 problems of the curriculum, but to details of method as well. 
 While such a condition is indicative of progress, it is fatal to the 
 teacher who cannot see the goal toward which all these changes 
 are tending. 
 
 In the teaching of reading, this is peculiarly true. Educa- 
 tional reform is usually the reflex of some larger movement in 
 the world at large. In America, the problem of assimilating 
 the varied nationalities entering in ever increasing numbers has 
 shaped political, economic, and educational affairs for the last 
 quarter century. In our large cities the teaching of English, 
 for example, is no longer the teaching of the mother- tongue. 
 It is often the teaching of a foreign language, and the problem 
 is the difficult one of giving perfect familiarity with a language, 
 practice in which is for the first few years at all events confined 
 to the school. 
 
2 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 While this factor has made the teaching of reading a matter 
 of increasing difficulty in our urban schools, it does not account 
 for the complete change that has taken place in our method of 
 teaching. Hundreds of years ago, book knowledge was com- 
 pletely removed from every day life. Restricted, as it frequently 
 was, to the members of the upper classes, it did not give to them 
 any material which could be used in the larger life outside of the 
 church or the university. This separation between real life and 
 the knowledge to be gained from books has remained a char- 
 acteristic of so-called education through the centuries. The 
 distinctive mark of the learned man was not his ability to handle 
 men and affairs, nor his power to judge of events, for the content 
 of his learning was set utterly apart from the real Hfe of the 
 times. The mere clerk was the educated man; the man who 
 could read and write, and who knew the insides of books. 
 Knowledge of the technique of reading and writing was sufficient 
 to stamp the learned man. And this idea permeated so com- 
 pletely the thought of the man as to shape the methods of 
 teaching. 
 
 The processes of reading and writing may be reduced to a 
 series of associations repeated so frequently as to become 
 marginated and relegated to the lower centers, through which 
 they are performed as habits of technique. With Quintilian, 
 and later, during the period of the Schoolmen and the types of 
 education dominated by the narrow humanism, we find that 
 reading and writing were taught purely along the lines of the 
 mastery of a technique. In reading, the letters and shapes and 
 their sounds were first taught. Then these were combined into 
 syllables, syllables into words, words into phrases, and, finally, 
 sentences were formed and read. Constant repetition led to 
 the formation of habits. 
 
 The content value of the words and phrases was a matter of 
 no consequence since the end that was sought was the ability 
 to form instantaneous associations between the written or 
 
READING 3 
 
 printed symbol and the articulated correlative. So in writing, 
 the letters were first learned individually by mechanical process, 
 such as the tracing of Quintilian, and when the pupil became 
 familiar with their form, the same synthetic process was gone 
 through which characterized the manner of learning to read. 
 
 Nor are we to think that this ruKng principle of method 
 ceased to control when the period of the Schoolmen and of the 
 Humanists came to an end. Wherever, in any system of educa- 
 tion, the mere ability to read is considered the desirable end, a 
 synthetic, formal method of teaching is a logical result. The 
 Ward method, at one time so popular in New York schools, the 
 a-h-ah method of the primers of twenty and thirty years ago, 
 the Word method, the "Look and Say" method, in fact, any 
 method which starts with words chosen solely because of their 
 value as furnishing phonic elements that can be used in forming 
 compounds, is but a relic of the educational ideal which sought 
 to attain power in the technique of reading. 
 
 With the Renascence came a different conception of the 
 meaning of a liberal education. Books came to be looked upon, 
 not as examples of formal excellence, but, rather, as the reposi- 
 tory of the pictures of life, of discussions of men and events, 
 valued for their influence upon life and character. Although 
 the impetus to this newer idea of the value of books came from 
 the Renascence of the 14th and 15th centuries, it did not exert 
 its full force until several centuries later. In fact, Montaigne 
 and Milton were looked upon as innovators when they merely 
 revived the Renascence ideal. This broader conception of the 
 value of books was beginning to spread through the 17th and 
 i8th centuries, but it was only in the 19th century, when a new 
 aim was set up for the entire educational process, that the idea 
 came to affect methods of teaching. 
 
 The Herbartian aim of character with its accompanying 
 doctrine of concentration, placing history and literature at the 
 center of the course of study, is probably the direct cause of the 
 
4 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 new methods followed in the teaching of reading. By itself, it 
 must be acknowledged, the Herbartian aim is not enough; but 
 when it was joined to the better insight into child psychology 
 afforded by the teaching of Froebel, it gave rise to sane, rational, 
 psychological method. Education is no longer to be measured 
 by ability to read or to write. Books are no longer the whet- 
 stones on which to sharpen one's instruments of technique. 
 We now feel that the educated man is he who understands the 
 life around him, reacts upon it in a live way, thus securing his 
 own highest development through the fullest cooperation with 
 his fellow-men. And books are of value because they give us 
 the record of earlier attempts made by men to secure this de- 
 velopment, and because they widen our experiences vicariously. 
 Moreover, a better knowledge of the psychology of the child 
 has brought us to realize that interest is the key which opens the 
 floodgates of activity, and gives a maximum return for energy 
 expended. Not the ability to read and write, but the power to 
 get from the content of books an experience which will enable 
 man effectively to meet the conditions of his environment, is 
 now considered the end of intellectual education. In our 
 methods of teaching we are seeking to crystalHze this broader 
 idea. The first task in teaching is to become assured of the 
 interest of the child. The first avenue of approach is through 
 an interesting content. The goal toward which all our efforts 
 are directed is the power to render automatic or to reduce to" the 
 margin of consciousness all the adjustments and coordinations 
 implied in the acts of reading and writing, so that the higher 
 consciousness may be left free to bring itself into completer and 
 fuller relations with the life that is hidden in the printed page. 
 
 Summary. — To rationalize our methods, we must lay down 
 certain general principles. Methods without such principles consti- 
 tute not a method but merely a collection of devices. In the teach- 
 ing of EngHsh, we must shape our procedure in conformity with 
 existing conditions, (i) In our large cities, English is to-day a foreign 
 
READING 5 
 
 tongue. (2) Reading is no longer valued, (a) as the power to call 
 ofif words or (b) as the abihty to explain isolated meanings, but rather 
 (c) as the broadening of experience by means of the thought com- 
 municated through the printed page. This change has come from 
 the newer conception of a hberal education. Our knowledge of the 
 processes of learning, moreover, shows us (i) how we can make an 
 interesting content afford a motive for acquiring mastery over the 
 form; (2) how we can reduce technique in reading to the plane of 
 habit; and (3) how we can free the higher consciousness so that 
 the reading self may become identified with the self that is expressed 
 through the printed page. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 PRIMARY READING 
 
 The limited experience of the children is the most discouraging 
 condition confronting the teacher of primary reading. Here 
 and there, with an exceptional teacher, or where the physical 
 conditions are favorable, it is possible to supply an experience 
 which later can be utilized as the content in the first steps of 
 reading; but it is unsafe to base a method completely on the 
 personaUty of the teacher or the accident of a favorable physical 
 environment. Any method, though it be never so perfect, is 
 but the carefully adjusted machinery, the motive power for 
 which is the gifted teacher. Many methods are rightly con- 
 demned as impracticable because, in order to assure success, 
 they require unusual ability on the part of the teacher. The 
 first problem, therefore, must be to give to the children an 
 interesting content which may be used as the motive for the 
 mastery of form. 
 
 If we are to avoid waste, it is necessary at this point to refer 
 to some fundamental laws of mental action. It is a characteris- 
 tic of our educational movements that most changes take the 
 form of an extreme reaction from that which has gone before. 
 The intense and narrow formaUsm which was characteristic of 
 earlier methods in reading, has given way to an emphasis upon 
 content which in many cases has neglected entirely the necessity 
 of a large amount of formal drill. It has been held that if we 
 will but present a subject matter of deep and abiding interest 
 to the children, it will make formal drill unnecessary. Probably 
 the most consistent exposition of this theory is the so-called 
 
PRIMARY READING 7 
 
 "Newark" method, or as we may call it, "the method of 
 cumulative repetition." 
 
 No habit can be economically formed unless its component 
 parts have at some time been focalized in consciousness; and, 
 furthermore, no habit can be rendered truly automatic unless 
 there has been a large amount of repetition, and, with this, 
 drill. If we are to teach reading, and if we are to make the 
 power to read an automatic coordination and adjustment, we 
 must, at some time or other, make the formal side of reading 
 occupy the focus of consciousness, and we must give due atten- 
 tion to pure drill and mere repetition. But our method must 
 differ from the senseless drill of earlier generations in one im- 
 portant particular. The motive must come from a desire within 
 the child aroused by a strong interest in some content which he 
 judges, more or less consciously, to be of value to him in his 
 attempt at self-realization and self-expression. If the ordinary 
 environment of the child were the world of Nature, if classes 
 were held in the fields so that the children could gain approxi- 
 mately the same kind of experiences, the desire to give expression 
 to these experiences could be made the starting point of a vital 
 method. Unfortunately, these ideal surroundings cannot be 
 reaHzed in the classroom. True, the conditions for them may 
 be created by a live teacher — a small brood of chickens may be 
 kept in the classroom, observed by the children for a week or 
 more; a pet canary or a tame rabbit may be fed and tended 
 by the children; beans or peas may be planted in the window 
 boxes; — and on the basis of these experiences children may be 
 led into conversation which will form the ground work for the 
 first work in reading. Such a method has been followed with 
 success by teachers in many schools. 
 
 But while such experiences may be furnished to the children, 
 there is still an element of doubt as to whether we are interesting 
 all. And, moreover, a practical difi&culty arises in that the 
 words which may be natural as the expression of the life the 
 
8 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 children are observing are not the words most desirable as 
 furnishing the elements from which the study of phonics is to 
 proceed. Here, as in every other subject of the course of study, 
 our difficulty arises in the difference between the logical and 
 the psychological factors entering into our teaching. From the 
 psychological point of view, we should aim to use only such 
 words and sentences and ideas as grow out of the ordinary, 
 interesting experiences of the child. From the logical point of 
 view, we should be careful that those elements upon which the 
 attention is first concentrated should be simple, and should 
 contain within themselves parts of greatest value for the later 
 orderly and systematic development of the subject. 
 
 It cannot be claimed that the stories which form the basis of 
 the cumulative-repetition method are such as are naturally 
 expressive of the experiences of children. As a matter of fact, 
 no story presented in a completed form can ever be totally 
 expressive of such experiences. English work, to represent the 
 daily life of the pupils, should be based upon the objects they 
 see, the things they do, and the little adventures they meet with 
 when they are together as a class. 
 
 It was, probably, a realization of the difficulty of affording a 
 varied experience to the children under the limitations of urban 
 conditions, that led the originator of the "Newark" method 
 to substitute, for the concrete happenings of life and a content 
 based upon them, rather the common child interests, and stories 
 expressive of them. Possibly because there is a pleasure afforded 
 by the recognition of the familiar, children seem to yearn for a 
 retelling of old stories. That which is entirely new requires 
 greater expenditure of nerve energy, and is, therefore, accom- 
 panied with a feeling of strained effort; while to listen to stories 
 already familiar in a general way is easy and calls forth sponta- 
 neous attention. This is pleasurable since the self-activity is 
 directed entirely toward the object which occupies the focus of 
 consciousness. 
 
PRIMARY READING 9 
 
 Moreover, an instinctive liking for regular rhythm is charac- 
 teristic of the child-mind. The crooning which lulls a child to 
 sleep soon becomes a regularly measured cadence. The child's 
 street cries are repeated in a regular rhythmic accent. It is 
 even probable that the first steps in the use of number geneti- 
 cally were determined by the rhymthic sense. 
 
 These two characteristics of the child-mind may, for our 
 present purposes, be considered practically universal — that is, 
 the tendency to reduce all repeated expressions to a rhythmic 
 cadence, and, secondly, the feeling of pleasure derived from 
 listening to the repetition of famiUar stories. It is upon these 
 two common tendencies of child-nature that the method of 
 cumulative repetition is based. 
 
 Of course, it would be an altogether ideal condition if it were 
 possible to combine with these a content closely related to the 
 experiences of children. Such a combination is not impossible, 
 but it would call for too great power of original creation on 
 the part of the teacher. The manuals for teachers and the 
 primers published in connection with these methods, give a 
 complete exposition of all the steps that are to be taken. It 
 may be well, however, to sound a note of warning. If the story, 
 e.g., "The Little Red Hen," is presented without adequate 
 preparation, the work may become just as formal as the most 
 objectionable of the S3mthetic methods. The teacher should 
 first make every possible effort to awaken the keen interest of 
 the children. Pictures should be shown, and stories of the 
 animals, independent of the stories to be used in the English 
 work, should be told. Again it must be remembered that 
 while it is necessary for the purposes of the method to have 
 the children famiHar with the exact words of the story, mem- 
 orizing should not be made a set exercise. Because of the 
 interest of the children in the repetition of a story with 
 which they are already famiHar, they may feel encouraged 
 to tell and retell the story. In this way, the exact language 
 
lo THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 becomes fixed as a by-product of their interest in the telling of 
 the story itself. 
 
 One of the most valuable features of the method is the demand 
 it creates for group work. The division of a class into sections, 
 and the practical disregard of two sections while instruction is 
 carried on with the third, makes it necessary for the teacher to 
 provide exercises which will be educative, and yet not too 
 taxing, which will call for accurate work and yet will not require 
 direct and continual supervision. To take a class immediately 
 upon entering a school, to carry on this story work, and then to 
 throw two-thirds of the class upon its resources, invariably leads 
 to disorder, dissipated attention, or wasted energy on the part 
 of the teacher. It will be foimd of great value to spend the 
 first two or even three weeks of the term on exercises later to be 
 used by the children in their unsupervised seat work. These will 
 include matching of colors, splint work in number, arrangement 
 of squares, simple freecutting, interlacing, etc. When the class 
 has become reasonably proficient, the teacher will find that 
 while she is devoting her attention directly to one group, she 
 will be able to leave the other two groups to themselves, assured 
 that they will know what to do, and that there will be a minimum 
 of waste. 
 
 In the presentation of the sight words drawn from the text 
 of the story, every device which will secure concentration upon 
 the form, and which will tend to give ready recall and rapid 
 association between the recognition of the visual S3anbol and 
 the right utterance and articulation of the word, should be 
 employed. It is not our purpose to go into this method in 
 detail. A full exposition may be foimd in the manuals and 
 primers of the various systems. 
 
 The most important points are the presentation of the story 
 as a unit, the analysis of the story into its parts, and the sjoi- 
 thesis of these parts by the children. Accordingly, when the 
 teacher has exhausted the stories which contain the element of 
 
PRIMARY READING ii 
 
 cumulative repetition and rhythmic sense-appeal, it is still 
 necessary to select complete stories. These must be short, 
 interesting, adapted to the powers of the children, and capable 
 of division into unit incidents or episodes. The method to be 
 followed in the first presentation of these stories will vary. 
 Frequently, it is good to take, in a lower grade, as a story told 
 by the teacher and retold by the children, one that in a later 
 grade will be presented to the children in printed form for their 
 reading. Their familiarity with the idea of the story will tend 
 to give them the interest in it, and, furthermore, will help to 
 keep the story a unit though the reading of it may be scattered 
 over a number of lessons. Again, the story may be presented 
 orally in the two or three lessons preceding that in which it is 
 taken up in the class. In the higher grades, it may be found 
 possible to have it read by the children at home, and then to 
 have discussion in the classroom, clearing up difl&culties. If the 
 choice has been good, this presentation will insure the interest 
 that is necessary for the fullest exercise of the self-activity 
 of the pupils. 
 
 The children must give expression to the ideas which have 
 been aroused by the first presentation of the story, and must, 
 by their method of reading, show their appreciation of the 
 thought. Accordingly, it is indispensable that the teacher, 
 after having presented the words, taught their pronunciation, 
 and explained or developed their meaning, return to the content 
 of the story so that the children have their attention directed 
 to that which should be the fountainhead of all their activity 
 — an interest in the content of the story itself. How this 
 process works out in the reading lesson of the higher grades will 
 be shown later. 
 
 Summary. — An interesting content must be secured to supply 
 motive for the mastery of form, but the habits involved in the read- 
 ing process must be specifically focused upon. We cannot get va- 
 ried personal experiences in the ordinary environment of the child. 
 
12 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Therefore, we use stories relying upon two interests: (i) Interest 
 in the famiUar. The stories are presented orally before they are 
 taken up in the book. (2) The love of rhythmic cadence. Stories 
 involving cmnulative repetition have been found most suitable. 
 
 The sequence of the episodes of the stories must be made familiar 
 to the child. The parts are taken up singly and are read practically 
 from memory. Words are isolated, recombined into new settings, 
 and later made the basis for phonetic study. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 PRIMARY READING — PHONICS 
 
 Up to the present point, we have been treating the subject 
 as if the children were continually to be under direction in the 
 process of reading, and as if the only aim of reading were to 
 arrive at an appreciation of the content of stories, themselves 
 of vital interest to the children. After all, however, an equally 
 important aim of the teaching of reading is to make the children 
 independent in their attack upon the difficulties of the printed 
 page, and eflScient in extracting the pith of the thought from 
 the contents of a book. And it is to this training toward inde- 
 pendence in reading that we must now direct our attention. 
 
 It is unnecessary to enter into any discussion of the difficulties 
 presented in English reading. The number of symbols which 
 go to form the words in the language is much less than the total 
 number of sounds found in our words. Moreover, certain 
 combinations of letters instead of having a fixed pronimciation, 
 correspond to as many as four and even five different sounds. 
 The form of a word, therefore, is not the key to the pronuncia- 
 tion. If it were, it would be an extremely easy matter to make 
 the child entirely independent in his reading. Still, while there 
 are all these difficulties, they serve only to make more serious 
 the problem of the teacher, for, in any event, the result must be 
 the same. The children must be given power to approach a 
 new text and to read it with confidence, fluency, and correctness. 
 This power cannot be developed from the inner consciousness 
 of the child. It is an automatic reaction which will follow 
 upon much practice initiated by imitation. 
 
 In many methods, it seems to be felt that independence stands 
 unalterably opposed to assistance from the teacher, and that 
 
14 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 every device may legitimately be resorted to if only the direct 
 setting of a model for pronunciation, by the teacher, be avoided. 
 To this end, devices of many sorts have been adopted. Elabo- 
 rate systems of diacritical marks are used and learned by the 
 pupils so that new words need only be presented in this arbitrary 
 system of markings to enable the children to pronoimce the 
 words. As a matter of fact, however, this is not independence 
 in reading. In the beginning, the teacher was compelled to 
 present these marks, explain their meaning, give the sound of 
 the vowel or the consonant indicated by the mark in question, 
 have the children imitate this sound and associate it with the 
 particular mark taught, and then make this association auto- 
 matic by almost endless drill. When, finally, the pupil has 
 mastered the system of marking, he applies this automatic 
 association in the pronunciation of new words. In reality, he 
 is not independent, for he is relying at every turn upon an 
 artificial system of symbols, the interpretation of which was 
 made clear to him only after much drill. Even when the pupil 
 is reading a word diacritically marked, the teacher, though 
 actually silent, is really dictating the pronunciation of that word 
 to him, and giving him a direct model for imitation. For the 
 diacritical marks are just as much a dictation to the child, on 
 the basis of his past experience with their interpretation and 
 meaning, as would be the utterance of the word by the teacher. 
 If our books were so printed as to retain the diacritical marks, 
 if every word appeared with the symbols necessary to indicate 
 its right sound, then the use of such symbols might be defensible; 
 but the confessed purpose even of the ardent supporters of this 
 method is to do away with the marking as soon as may be 
 practicable. May it not, therefore, rightly be asked, "If the 
 purpose is to dispense with the marks eventually, why should 
 they be taught at all, especially if the same results can be 
 achieved without the use of markings? " 
 What substitute have we then to offer for the teaching of 
 
PRIMARY READING — PHONICS 15 
 
 diacritical marks? In the so-called " content- to-form " methods, 
 a mode of procedure like the following is adopted. From the 
 unit of the story and the smaller unit of an independent episode 
 or incident, the teacher selects a number of sight words. These 
 are associated with the object they represent, and with their 
 significance in the story already known to the children. The 
 children see the symbol, hear the sound, know the object, and 
 feel its place in the story. The fixing of the word and the render- 
 ing automatic of its recognition by the child, call for the greatest 
 ingenuity on the part of the teacher. In general, we may say 
 that the principle of multiple-sense teaching will be found most 
 helpful, and that with greater emphasis on motor and articula- 
 tory expression, the desired end will more readily be achieved. 
 A large picture of a horse may be mounted on a chart under 
 which might be written these sentences: 
 
 See my horse. 
 It is a large horse. 
 My horse has four feet. 
 
 The children could then be given envelopes containing cut-out 
 words. They spread the cards on the desk and rearrange the 
 cards so as to reproduce the three sentences on the chart. Other 
 exercises of a similar sort could be used. 
 
 When fifty or more words are completely known at sight, 
 these methods call for the work in phonics which is the first 
 step toward making the children independent. All phonic 
 elements are studied analytically from sight words previously 
 learned. In the selection of the first word, the teacher is asked 
 to bear in mind that the sounds first taught are to be "those 
 most easily formed, those most readily prolonged, and, finally, 
 those most useful in the formation of new words." At this 
 point, one of two methods is usually followed. The teacher may 
 take up a single word and analyze its sounds; then, in another 
 period, take up another word, similarly analyzing, and, finally, 
 
1 6 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 proceed to a combination, where possible, of the parts learned 
 from the two words. This method is explained in the following 
 excerpt from "OutHnes of Phonic Lessons" by Miss McClosky: 
 
 "The teacher writes the word 'man' on the blackboard and 
 has the children name it. She asks the class to Hsten sharply 
 while she says the word slowly. The teacher pronounces the 
 word slowly and more slowly until she has separated the word 
 into m-an. The pupils are then asked if they can say it as the 
 teacher did. Volunteers are allowed to try, and when several have 
 succeeded, the teacher asks who can give the first part, m, alone; 
 the second part, an. The next step is to associate the sounds 
 they have heard and made with the letters which represent these 
 sounds. The teacher takes a piece of stiff paper or cardboard 
 and covers an, telling the pupils that she is showing the part 
 that tells them to make the first sound m. Then she covers the 
 letter m and the children make the second sound, an. Beginning 
 with the best in the group, each child then sounds m-an and 
 pronounces the word. If this is correctly done on the first 
 trial, the pupil returns to his seat. If a mistake is made, the 
 pupil waits to try again after the others have succeeded. It is 
 important that each pupil should sound the word correctly. 
 No concert work should be allowed. The words are not divided 
 on the blackboard. The temporary divisions are made by 
 covering part of the word to concentrate attention upon the 
 other part." 
 
 In a similar way a new word, like rat for example, is taken up, 
 and from these two, ran, mat, at, and am may be taught. Then 
 the number of phonic words is increased as the children show 
 more and more facility in analyzing and combining. Hand in 
 hand with this goes instruction in writing, the children merely 
 copying the forms of the entire words as they recall them; and 
 so, in one or two weeks, after this work has been begun, the 
 children are able to write words which they form themselves. 
 
 It is to be noted that in this method the word as a written or 
 
PRIMARY READING — PHONICS 17 
 
 printed symbol is always presented to the children as a unit, 
 that the analysis is purely mental, and that where the elements 
 are isolated, they appear not as parts of words but on separate 
 phonic charts. In the first part of the process, the complete 
 word is the first utterance. In the second, the complete word is 
 the last utterance. That is, in forming the new word ran, the 
 children say r-an, ran. By using the single sounds, m, r, t, f, w, 
 h, b, p, I, s, k, and the group sounds, an, at, ail, ire, ill, orn, at, ig, 
 ay, oon, ing — in other words, by using twenty-two phonic 
 elements, this method gives to the children the power to read 
 151 phonic words. 
 A second method may be described as follows: 
 A series of words like man, ran, can, fan, pan, may be sounded 
 by the teacher and written on the board in a single column. 
 The teacher pronounces the words over and over again, pointing 
 to each word as she pronounces it. She then calls upon the 
 children to tell what sound they notice is the same in all the 
 words. All guessing is discouraged, and if the children do not 
 succeed at first, the teacher goes over the list again and again, 
 each time accenting the group-sound, an, as separate from its 
 initial consonant. 
 
 When a child has identified and recognized the common 
 sound, the teacher asks the children to watch as she writes the 
 words once more on the board. She then reproduces the list of 
 words, this time, however, writing the word very large and mak- 
 ing a little wider space between the initial consonant and the 
 final group-sound, without, however, disturbing the integrity 
 of the word. She calls upon a bright child to find some part 
 of the word which is seen to be common to all the words. A 
 circle is placed around the group-sound, usually with colored 
 chalk. The teacher asks once more for the sound that is com- 
 mon to the words, and tells the children that the part of the 
 word enclosed in the circle is represented by the sound which 
 they have recognized as being common to all the words. 
 
i8 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 In a similar way, at a succeeding lesson, the sound at may be 
 isolated, identified, recognized, and associated with its symbol. 
 A return is then made to the word man, and by the method of 
 separation already described, the sound m is isolated. From 
 this point on, the combination proceeds as it does in all purely 
 phonic methods. The essential point of difference is that the 
 initial sound is presented not as the result of an articulatory 
 separation by the teacher, but as the result of a process of 
 comparison and discrimination on part of the children. 
 
 An analysis of the principles followed by the authors of a 
 typical phonic system of reading may help to a better under- 
 standing of how interest in content may be maintained while a 
 scientific development of words on the basis of phonic elements 
 is carried on in the first year. The following quotations from 
 the preface ^ will make clear the theory. 
 
 "The purpose of the book is not to gain memorized reading, 
 but to acquire independence through power in phonics." 
 
 "Diacritical marks are avoided when possible. They tend to 
 confuse the child, and are not seen in the books which he desires 
 to read." 
 
 "There should be a many-sided presentation and a many- 
 sided development. The work should include, therefore, much 
 more than phonics. Phonics lead to word-getting; words lead 
 to thoughts; thoughts to character; and character to service- 
 giving." 
 
 "The reading should be accompanied by plays and games and 
 other pleasurable devices. Joy in action is the ke)niote of the 
 children's rhythmical progress." 
 
 "On entering school, the child brings with him a stock of 
 nature facts and thoughts. The reading in this book is based 
 on Finger Plays which embody some of these thoughts; and 
 these Finger Plays are favorites in many kindergartens. This 
 book has, therefore, for its foundation, rhymes which are easily 
 1 Finger-Play Reader. D. C. Heath & Co. 
 
PRIMARY READING — PHONICS 19 
 
 learned if not already known; and rhymes of which there is but 
 one version." 
 
 "As a Nature Reader, its purpose is not to give information, 
 but to teach the child to express that which he already knows. 
 The purpose of nature-work is, above all, to lead the child into 
 the loving-relations which he should hold with the outside world. 
 The material used is near at hand, for a flower, a sparrow, or a 
 dog is closer to a child than the table at which he sits." 
 
 The selection of the phonic elements in a carefully graded 
 series is the first concern of the makers of this book. They 
 next select words which use these elements. The introduction, 
 however, is by means of pictures or the objects themselves, and 
 aims to supply the children with a content the expression of 
 which will be found in the text of the first book. For instance, 
 the first lesson on the bee, together with the pictures with which 
 the book is plentifully supplied, will lead to the expression of the 
 following experiences indicated in the Teacher's Edition. 
 
 "i. The Bee's Work: Collecting the honey; collecting the pollen 
 which he packs into the pocket shown on the hind leg; kneading the 
 bee-bread for the food of the babies; the home-biulding made of the 
 wax which exudes from the bee's body; the nursing of the children; 
 and the service to the queen. , 
 
 2. The Bee's Character: The bee is a queen tvho must preserve 
 her colony, or an industrious worker, or a drone. 
 
 3. The Bee's Appearance: Four wings, six legs, big eyes, and hairy 
 body. 
 
 4. Man's Industry in connection with the bee." 
 
 The motor-activity of the children is employed by securing 
 correlation between the free, swinging movements in writing, 
 and with various forms of Finger Play exercises. 
 
 The method of developing the first sound is indicated in these 
 directions to the teachers. 
 
 "Let the children separate the sight word just gained into its pho- 
 nograms: bee, b ee. Now write on the blackboard for phonic practice: 
 
20 
 
 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 b 
 
 ee 
 
 s 
 
 
 b ee 
 
 b ee 
 
 b ee s 
 
 bee 
 
 b ee hive 
 
 b ee hive 
 
 
 bees 
 
 b ees 
 
 bee s 
 
 
 beehive 
 
 Let the class sound these words together. Help them if neces- 
 sary. Do not let the class say the words. After each sounding, 
 let volunteers tell the word. 
 
 Always supplement written blend by oral blend. For instance, 
 for b we should give famihar words by Hp-motion, letting the chil- 
 dren guess them; as, b oy, b ite, b ack, b oot, b ill, etc. 
 
 For the phonogram ee : s ee, tr ee, f r ee, kn ee, etc. 
 
 For the phonogram 5 ; boy s, girl s, pin s, needle s, eye s. 
 
 For purpose of quick review, square tables and linear tables 
 of the phonic work are prepared. 
 
 Square Tables 
 
 a 
 
 e 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 u 
 
 ab 
 
 eb 
 
 ib 
 
 ob 
 
 ub 
 
 ac 
 
 ec 
 
 ic 
 
 oc 
 
 uc 
 
 ad 
 
 ed 
 
 id 
 
 od 
 
 ud 
 
 af 
 
 ef 
 
 if 
 
 of 
 
 uf 
 
 ag 
 
 eg 
 
 ig 
 
 og 
 
 ug 
 
 ack 
 
 eck 
 
 ick 
 
 ock 
 
 uck 
 
 al 
 
 el 
 
 n 
 
 ol 
 
 ul 
 
 am 
 
 em 
 
 im 
 
 om 
 
 um 
 
 an 
 
 en 
 
 in 
 
 on 
 
 im 
 
 ap 
 
 ep 
 
 ip 
 
 op 
 
 up 
 
 as 
 
 es 
 
 is 
 
 OS 
 
 us 
 
 at 
 
 et 
 
 it 
 
 ot 
 
 ut 
 
 av 
 
 ev 
 
 iv 
 
 ov 
 
 uv 
 
 a 
 
 g 
 
 i 
 
 6 
 
 u 
 
 an 
 
 en 
 
 in 
 
 on 
 
 un 
 
 a 
 
 e 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 u 
 
 abe 
 
 ebe 
 
 ibe 
 
 obe 
 
 ube 
 
 ace 
 
 ece 
 
 ice 
 
 oce 
 
 uce 
 
 ade 
 
 ede 
 
 ide 
 
 ode 
 
 ude 
 
 afe 
 
 efe 
 
 ife 
 
 ofe 
 
 ufe 
 
 age 
 
 ege 
 
 ige 
 
 oge 
 
 uge 
 
 ake 
 
 eke 
 
 ike 
 
 oke 
 
 uke 
 
 ale 
 
 ele 
 
 ile 
 
 ole 
 
 ule 
 
 ame 
 
 eme 
 
 ime 
 
 ome 
 
 imie 
 
 ane 
 
 ene 
 
 ine 
 
 one 
 
 une 
 
 ape 
 
 epe 
 
 ipe 
 
 ope 
 
 upe 
 
 ase 
 
 ese 
 
 ise 
 
 ose 
 
 use 
 
 ate 
 
 ete 
 
 ite 
 
 ote 
 
 ute 
 
 ave 
 
 eve 
 
 ive 
 
 ove 
 
 uve 
 
 are 
 
 ere 
 
 ire 
 
 ore 
 
 ure 
 
 ang eng mg ong ung 
 ank enk ink onk unk 
 
PRIMARY READING — PHONICS 
 
 21 
 
 br 
 cr 
 dr 
 fr 
 gr 
 pr 
 tr 
 
 aU 
 
 ber 
 ker 
 der 
 fer 
 ger 
 per 
 ter 
 mer 
 ner 
 ser 
 ver 
 ler 
 her 
 aw 
 
 sp 
 
 St 
 
 sc 
 
 spr 
 
 str 
 
 scr 
 
 sm 
 
 sn 
 
 bl 
 
 cl 
 
 dl 
 
 fl 
 
 gl 
 
 pl 
 
 si 
 tl 
 
 Linear Tables 
 
 ble 
 cle 
 die 
 fle 
 gle 
 pie 
 tie 
 sle 
 tie 
 
 ou ow 
 
 
 oi oy 
 
 
 ai ay 
 
 ey 
 
 ea ee 
 
 ie 
 
 ew 00 
 
 
 ew u 
 
 
 er ir 
 
 ur 
 
 ow o 
 
 
 ook ood ould 
 
 wh 
 th 
 ch 
 sh 
 
 ight old other any ind ful or ar y 
 
 In a note, the authors say: 
 
 " It is not expected that the children will know the above phono- 
 grams perfectly by the end of the term, but they will have a very 
 good general and unconfused idea of them, and will be able to apply 
 them, if the directions have been followed, page by page." 
 
 Any system of the class represented by this reader is based 
 upon a logical development of the phonic elements in the lan- 
 guage. An attempt is made to secure a content on a level with 
 the children's experiences. The necessary drill is secured 
 through the repetition of words learned, and there results a 
 steady growth in the power of the children to attack the printed 
 page. 
 
 Whatever method is followed, in order that there shall be 
 growth in power, every phonic element should be applied to the 
 formation of new words immediately after it has been learned. 
 Indiscriminate concert work should be avoided. In the teaching 
 of reading it should be borne in mind that the aim is not a general 
 average of class excellence but a power inherent in every indi- 
 
22 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 vidual to visualize the symbol and give it the right value. Many 
 cases of defective enunciation and articulation have grown up 
 merely because they have become fixed through constant 
 repetition in concert work, without instant correction by the 
 teacher. 
 
 In the s)nithetic part of the phonic work, actual words only 
 should be formed, and wherever possible, each word should be 
 made concrete by a picture, a dramatic representation, or some 
 other device. In presenting phonic elements, the child should 
 never be helped by having the word completely pronounced for 
 him. The aim is to develop independence. The sooner he is 
 made to rely upon his own power of combination, the more 
 readily will he acquire self-reliance in attacking diflSculties. 
 
 The teacher should never permit the voices of the children to 
 assume a shrill or strained tone. In many primary classes the 
 phonic words are given in a shouting, screaming voice which 
 may injure the vocal cords, and which, undoubtedly, has much 
 to do with the artificial tone children adopt in their reading 
 lessons. As soon as possible the teacher should note individual 
 peculiarities of utterance and give special work to overcome 
 defects. 
 
 Too frequently when teachers discover a child unable to 
 enunciate some particular sound correctly, time is wasted by 
 giving him over and over again a model for imitation'. Errors 
 in enunciation are due to one or more of three causes, i. There 
 may be some defect of hearing which prevents the child from 
 getting the right sound of the word. 2. The child may not be 
 concentrating siiflEiciently upon the exercise, and so may not 
 succeed in getting a clear idea of the sound. 3. There may be 
 some malformation or defect in the parts of the mouth con- 
 cerned with the enunciation. It will readily be seen that the 
 mere repetition of the sound by the teacher does not tend to 
 overcome the difficulty created by any one of these three causes. 
 If there is a defect in hearing, the child is a fit subject for the 
 
PRIMARY READING — PHONICS 23 
 
 physician's care. If there is a lack of proper concentration, it 
 is because the child does not find sufficient interest in the work; 
 and the cure Hes not in repetition but in better motivation. 
 If the fault is with the organs of utterance, the child should be 
 taught the right placing of the parts of the mouth, rather than 
 the mere aural impression of the word. If, by direct observa- 
 tion, children can be led properly to dispose of the tongue, etc., 
 in the utterance of a particular sound, they will correct errors 
 in less time and with less energy than if they were to try to 
 imitate a sound. A mirror for the pupil is better than a model 
 by the teacher. 
 
 It will be found, moreover, that deep breathing exercises will 
 frequently cure cases of stammering or stuttering, and that 
 insistence on correct physical posture will give good results in 
 phonics. Frequently, the children will tend to develop a habit 
 of silent Hp movement. Rapid recognition is the desired end, 
 and as soon as possible the silent lip movement should be 
 entirely stopped. 
 
 A number of devices may be of help in connection with various 
 parts of this work. In order to develop speed in recognition 
 and in utterance of phonic words, this exercise may be used : 
 
 A ladder may be drawn, between the rungs of which are written 
 a number of syllables or words containing the vowel upon which 
 the drill is to be had. The children then run up and down the 
 ladder pronouncing the syllables in their turn. A variation of 
 this is to have the syllables written under one another, and to 
 make such a drawing as to make the syllables appear on the 
 steps of a ffight of stairs. 
 
 It is important that the children shall be made independent 
 as early as possible. The following exercise is suggested: 
 
 The teacher writes a phonogram, as ing, and asks the children 
 to add some letter or letters to it so as to form a word. ' ' Suppose 
 we write the letter 5 before ing, what word would we form?" 
 In making the blend, the children should pronounce the added 
 
24 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 letter first, then the phonogram. They should make the com- 
 bination or the blend with no assistance from the teacher. As 
 many words as possible should be formed, the teacher rejecting 
 those combinations which do not form real words. In this 
 device it will be found valuable to associate all those phono- 
 grams which have the same vowel element. For example, when 
 the entire list of ing words has been written, a list of the ig family, 
 and then that of the ick, and that of the ill should be formed. 
 
 In some of the compoimd phonograms (compound sounds 
 taught as a unit) it will be necessary to give devices in order 
 to insure correct pronunciation. For example, the wh sound 
 originally appeared in words in the English language in the form 
 hw. The sound may be taught to children by having them place 
 the lips in position for the w and emmciating h at the same time; , 
 that is to say, pronouncing first the h and then the w. It will 
 also be necessary to show the effect of the adding of e in 
 changing the pronunciation of word phonograms; thus slid 
 becomes slide; not becomes note; cut, cute; at, ate; bit, bite; 
 mat, mate ; etc. There should be careful drill on this phase of 
 the work. 
 
 An interesting variation in the work will be foimd if the 
 teacher occasionally in telling a story will here and there give 
 the elements or the sounds of a word instead of the word itself. 
 The child guesses what the word is either from the context or 
 from the motion of the teacher's lips. 
 
 In the Johnny story of Mrs. Pollard, an ingenious attempt has 
 been made to associate the single sound with concrete objects. 
 For example, 5 is called the snake sound; /, the watch sound; 
 w, the lip or wind sound; th aspirate, the hissing goose sound; 
 th sub-vocal, the sound of the mill wheel; ow and ou, the hurt 
 or the crying sound. 
 
 The sound is introduced through the medium of a story. 
 The child is told about Fannie visiting Frank in the country. 
 Because Frank was a good boy, his father had given him many 
 
PRIMARY READING — PHONICS 25 
 
 pets. Frank was very proud of these, and so he took Fannie to 
 see the chickens, the ducks, etc., and at last brought her to the 
 barn where the old mother-cat made a home for her little kittens. 
 The mother did not want company that morning and when 
 Fannie took one of the little kittens in her arms, the old cat 
 became very cross, ciurved her back, opened her mouth and 
 said, /-/-/. The children will enjoy, first, listening to the story 
 and then reproducing it, and the sound will be impressed upon 
 their minds. The story is continued on succeeding days. For 
 instance, the cow was standing near the fence. When Frank 
 stroked her head, she showed how she liked it by saying, m-m-m. 
 In the same way the rest of the story may be told. In addition 
 to the equivalent sounds given above, we may add the following: 
 
 The angry dog says, r-r-r. When the hot horse-shoe fell into 
 the pail of water it said, s-s-s. After the race, Fannie was out 
 of breath and said, h-h-h. When the saw cut the log, it said, 
 n-n-n. The lazy engine said, p-p-p. When the baby tried to 
 talk, it said h-h-h. The broken bell said, l-l-l. The angry bee 
 said, z-z-z. When the cherry pit stuck in Frank's throat, he 
 said, k-k-k. When the baby was asleep, mother said, sh-sh-sh. 
 When the locomotive had a heavy load to pull, it said, ch-ch-ch. 
 
 After the sounds are taught and words are formed with them, 
 the children may be encouraged to form as many words as they 
 can think of which rhyme with the type words given by the 
 teacher. This exercise may be given increased value by hav- 
 ing children in somewhat higher grades give sentences with the 
 rhyming word that they have just discovered. 
 
 'Let us make some lines about colors. You may put in the 
 last word." 
 
 When the green grass in the field is cut down, 
 Then it is hay, and its color is . 
 
 Gold is yellow, and silver is . 
 
 What is the color of the stars at night? 
 
26 
 
 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 When to your father a letter you write, 
 The ink is black and the paper . 
 
 Pinks are growing in the garden bed. 
 
 Do you think you can tell their color from ? 
 
 Now see if you can tell what letters are left out in these lines: 
 
 class 
 
 gr 
 
 gl 
 
 P 
 
 town 
 
 d 
 
 or 
 
 br 
 
 old 
 c — 
 
 g — 
 h— 
 
 faU 
 w — 
 b— 
 
 St— 
 
 blows 
 
 gr 
 
 cr ■ 
 
 fl 
 
 sing 
 spr — 
 br 
 
 str 
 
 pink 
 th— 
 dr— 
 1 
 
 wife 
 str— 
 
 1 
 
 kn— 
 
 school 
 sp 
 
 St 
 
 play 
 
 c 
 
 s 
 
 de- 
 
 name 
 f 
 
 g 
 
 1 
 
 sheen 
 
 s 
 
 k 
 
 spl — 
 
 slate 
 
 f 
 
 h 
 
 sk — 
 d 
 
 place 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 gr 
 
 night 
 
 f 
 
 fr 
 
 br 
 
 kind 
 
 m 
 
 beh- 
 
 f 
 
 gr — 
 
 In order to have the children discriminate properly between 
 words of similar spelling but different pronunciation, have an 
 exercise like the following: 
 
 Ask the children to pronounce the words in "ough" like the ital- 
 icized word in the same sentence or group of sentences. 
 
 1. My doughty cow was struck fast in a slough near the plough. 
 
 2. One or two cups of water may cure your hiccoughs. 
 
PRIMARY READING — PHONICS 27 
 
 3. Say "as if" rather than "as though." Though is a shortened 
 form of although and should be so used. Ejiead your dough Ughtly, 
 
 4. The cat sprang of the trough with a loud cough. 
 
 5. As he went through, he cried, "Shough, shough, do!" 
 
 6. The horse waded from the dock into the lough till his houghs 
 were weU under the water. 
 
 When the class is ready for word building, these suggestions may 
 be helpful: 
 
 1. Lead the children to recognize the fact that the key- word is 
 found in each new word. 
 
 2. Give special attention to the initial letter in each case, and 
 train the class to enunciate each soimd clearly and distinctly. 
 
 3. Have each word spelled by sound and by letter only when it 
 can be grasped as a whole or recognized by sight. 
 
 4. Have each word used in a sample sentence. 
 
 5. Weave the words built on any key- word into a story, and 
 make a pause at each word of the key-word vocabulary. As each 
 special word is woven into the story, have some chUd in readiness 
 with the pointer to find the word for the class. If a mistake is made, 
 allow some one to correct the first child and to take his place at the 
 chart. Some devices in this word building are as follows: 
 
 Distribute envelopes containing many hektographed phonograms. 
 Match them by placing in a single row aU belonging to the same 
 family. Give to each child a small clipping from a newspaper. As- 
 sign words to be found such as, in, that, can. Have the children 
 draw circles or rectangles aroimd each. 
 
 It is of great help to have the children accustomed to phonetic 
 analysis so that they may be led to concentrate attention upon 
 the utterance of sounds. 
 
 If there are stories which are familiar to the children and 
 which furnish good material for phonetic analysis, they may be 
 made to serve an excellent purpose ; but the literature must not 
 be sacrificed for the purpose of the phonics. The teacher should 
 first get the thought that the poem contains. The following will 
 
28 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 charm the children through its rhythm, and from it the children 
 will get their first elements of harmony: 
 
 "Hey-diddle-diddle, 
 
 The cat and the fiddle, 
 The cow jumped over the moon. 
 
 The little dog laughed 
 
 To see such craft. 
 And the dish ran away with the spoon." 
 
 Many of the Mother Goose melodies have admirable combina- 
 tions for teaching phonetic analysis. For instance, there are 
 the sounds of o and ck in, 
 
 "Hickory, dickory, dock, 
 The mouse ran up the clock. 
 The clock struck one, 
 And down he run, 
 Hickory, dickory, dock." 
 
 and those of ing and ong in, 
 
 "Ding, dong! ding, dong! 
 
 I'U sing you a song; 
 'Tis about a Uttle bird; 
 
 He sat upon a tree. 
 
 And he sang to me. 
 And I never spoke a word. 
 
 "Ding, dong! ding, dong! 
 
 I'U sing you a song; 
 'Tis about a Uttle mouse; 
 
 He looked very cunning. 
 
 As I saw him running, 
 About my father's house." 
 
 In "Simple Simon" there are several recurring sounds as well 
 as some good contrasts. "The house that Jack Built" may be 
 
PRIMARY READING — PHONICS 29 
 
 used in different ways, while the children will always find pleas- 
 ure in the combinations of sounds that are contained in "Henny 
 Penny." 
 
 Stimmary. — Children must be made independent readers, able 
 to master, vmassisted, the difi&culties of the printed page. Diacrit- 
 ical markings will not give this independence, for the symbols are 
 merely a substitute for the direct help given by the teacher. This 
 power can come only through a study of phonics. The approach 
 may be made (i) analytically: by separating a word into its sounds 
 and identifying the component sounds with their printed symbols; 
 or (2) synthetically: by selecting sounds, associating them with their 
 symbols, and combining them to form words. In the former the 
 process is from thought to word, through analysis to s5anbols and so 
 to recombination. In the latter, the process is from phonic elements 
 and their symbols through synthesis to words, and so to thoughts. 
 In the recombination or the formation of new words, devices must 
 be employed to secure concentrated attention. \ 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 OVERCOMING DEFECTS IN SPEECH 
 
 Up to this point we have been discussing the teaching of 
 phonics with reference to the power which we wish to give to the 
 child, of attacking in an independent way difficulties which he 
 encounters when he attempts to pronounce unfamiliar words. 
 In the practical suggestions about to be given, we shall have 
 another aim in view. Ruskin says: "A well-educated gentle- 
 man may not know many languages; may not be able to speak 
 any but his own; may have read very few books; but whatever 
 language he knows, he knows precisely; whatever word he pro- 
 nounces, he pronounces rightly." In addition to giving the 
 power to read new words and the power to pronounce new words 
 correctly, the exercises should aim to give distinct articulation 
 and pure tone. 
 
 It is a mistake to imagine that work in phonics should end 
 with the first three years. Primarily, of course, the aim of this 
 study is to lead the pupils to separate words into their com- 
 ponent parts, to learn these phonic elements as imits, and then 
 to combine these units in the formation of new words, using 
 them, where possible, in pronouncing words never before met 
 by the children. At the end of the third year, all sounds and 
 elements should have been taught, and the children should be 
 ready, with a minimum amoimt of guidance, successfully to 
 attack any exercise suited to their stage of mental development. 
 But beyond the third year the work in phonics may be used to 
 concentrate the attention of the children upon the correct 
 sounding of words. 
 
OVERCOMING DEFECTS IN SPEECH 31 
 
 One of the rarest accomplishments is the ability to utter 
 English words with their proper values. Even the person of 
 more than ordinary education is slip-shod in his utterance, 
 careless in his articulation, and incorrect in rendering the sound 
 values of vowels. If a clean-cut utterance is to be considered 
 the mark of an educated man, then it should be the aim of the 
 school to direct attention consciously to the realization of this 
 aim. Phonic exercises, therefore, particularly for the purpose of 
 getting exact, yet not too mechanical, utterance, should be a 
 part of the school course. 
 
 This work may include three phases. In the first place, the 
 usual trick-sentences may be taught and rapidly repeated by 
 the children, so as to render more flexible the organs of utterance. 
 In the second place, the same end should be realized by having 
 the individual go through, daily, a series of exercises for the 
 strengthening of the muscles which produce the sounds. And 
 thirdly, there may be series of definite exercises formulated for 
 the purpose of curing defects in articulation or enunciation. 
 
 In the fifth year, and thereafter in each succeeding term, 
 diacritical marks may be taught in connection with the use of 
 the dictionary. From this time the child becomes an abso- 
 lutely independent reader, for he now has at his command all 
 the means available to the average person, of learning the 
 pronunciation of new words. 
 
 The quahties of good oral reading are: i. Correct pronimcia- 
 tion — which means giving to the consonants and the vowels 
 those values which are sanctioned by usage, together with the 
 right placing of the accent. This will be foimd to depend, to a 
 great extent, upon giving right vowel value. 2. Enunciation 
 — which means giving correct value to the consonants. 3. 
 Articulation, or the right joining of syllables to form words. 
 4. Pitch. 5. Elements connected with the right expression of 
 the content; namely, tone, modulation, pace, and inflection. 
 
 Among the common and serious defects in school reading are: 
 
32 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 I. Defects in enunciation — due to defect in hearing or to a 
 malformation of the vocal organs. 2. Lack of voice, which 
 may be due to improper physical development or to improper 
 tone production. 
 
 In every case it should be the aim of the teacher to ascertain 
 what are the causes of the defects, and to treat them directly. 
 Sometimes the errors are due to a lack of discriminating atten- 
 tion. Here devices must be employed to arouse the attention, 
 and to direct it to the clearest possible, even exaggerated, 
 enunciation of the sounds which the child confuses, until he 
 perceives the points of difference. A game may be used. 
 Two lines are formed and the players arranged in these lines. 
 The leader whispers to the one at the foot of the line an un- 
 familiar sentence. He, in turn, whispers it to the one above him; 
 and this is kept up until the head of the line has been reached. 
 The child at the head of each hne then announces the sentence 
 as he hears it, and that line reproducing the sentence with the 
 smallest number of errors, wins. 
 
 Training in accurate listening, however, will not bring about 
 all the results that the teacher desires to achieve. SUght in- 
 accuracies confuse the speech materially. Some of these are: 
 
 a. Failure to touch the gum strongly with the point of the 
 tongue for the sound of t. 
 
 b. Starting the sound of I before the muscles are in place. 
 
 c. Closing the teeth when producing the sound of m. 
 
 d. Failure completely to finish the diphthongal consonant 
 j (dzh). 
 
 e. Too Uttle tension in the tongue when y is the sound needed. 
 Drills for muscular flexibihty will do much toward overcoming 
 
 rigidity, and slow, heavy, or drawling articulation, the result 
 being that the children will acquire power to speak clearly, 
 smoothly, and rapidly. 
 
 In addition to this formal work, there should be drill on sen- 
 tences which the children study so that they may be able to 
 
OVERCOMING DEFECTS IN SPEECH 33 
 
 repeat them very rapidly. Examples of these sentences are here 
 given : 
 
 Hail! heavenly harmony. 
 
 Up the high hill he heaved a huge round stone. 
 Heaven's first star aUke ye see. 
 Let it wave proudly o'er the good and the brave. 
 The supply lasts still. 
 
 And gleaming and streaming and steaming and beaming. 
 It is the first step that costs. 
 The deed was done in broad day. 
 None now is left to tell the mournful tale. 
 Take care that you be not deceived, dear friends. 
 Lie lightly on her, earth! her step was light on thee. 
 Thou wast struck dumb with amazement. 
 
 Can no one be found faithful enough to warn him of his danger? 
 No one dared do it. 
 A great deal of disturbance ensued. 
 He gave him good advice which he did not take. 
 A dark cloud spread over the heavens. 
 
 Had he but heeded the counsel of his friend, he might have been 
 saved. 
 
 He came at last too late to be of any service. 
 The magistrates stood on an elevated platform. 
 
 The following exercises are taken from leading books on the 
 correction of speech defects. They are suggestive. Additional 
 exercises may be found in the many technical books on the sub- 
 ject. Those here given are mainly selected from Bell's work. 
 
 Exercises for the Tongue, Soft-Palate, Lips, 
 AND Lower Jaw 
 
 Tongue Exercises (before a looking-glass) 
 Exercise I 
 
 Open the mouth wide, but not too wide (this is meant for all exer- 
 cises) ; let the tongue rest quietly, without any pressure, flat on the 
 
34 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 bottom of the oral cavity, the point touching but not pressing the 
 front teeth; breathe Hghtly in and out through the mouth (four, six 
 times), not allowing the tongue to move in the least. 
 
 Exercise II 
 
 Protrude the tongue as far as possible without any pressure and 
 independent of the muscles of the larynx; keep it out for four 
 seconds, then draw it back as far as possible. Keep it back four 
 seconds without closing the mouth. Begin slowly (six times), grow- 
 ing faster by degrees (ten, fifteen times in succession). Protrude 
 the tongue during expiration, draw it back during a deep inspiration 
 through the mouth, the nostrils held closed by thtunb and forefinger. 
 
 This exercise is to be repeated frequently while he who practices 
 should try to become conscious of the muscles by means of which 
 this is accompUshed (for the knowledge of the muscles to be used 
 at aU times is the chief reqmrement). He will find that in drawing 
 back the tongue, its root will contract and thereby push down the 
 larynx; while in protruding the tongue, its root will come forward 
 and the larynx will be drawn up. With this exercise let him combine 
 the raising of the soft-palate, for while (during the production of a 
 tone), the tongue should not form an arch which protrudes into the 
 oral cavity, the soft-palate should not be drawn too far downward, 
 in order to fulfil the first condition of a full, clear tone, viz.: wide 
 fauces and wide oral cavity. 
 
 Exercise III 
 
 Open the mouth wide, move the tip of the pointed tongue to the 
 corners of the mouth, alternately to the right and left (six times), 
 having the direct intention to strike the corners (for purposeless work 
 is only a mechanical action and will not lead to success) ; then, grow- 
 ing faster by degrees (ten, fifteen times in succession). Do not 
 hold the breath during this exercise, but breathe quietly and regularly 
 through the mouth. 
 
 Exercise IV 
 
 Open the mouth wide, touch with the tip of the sharply-pointed 
 tongue the middle of the upper and of the lower lip alternately; 
 
OVERCOMING DEFECTS IN SPEECH 35 
 
 begin slowly, with the direct intention of letting only the outermost tip, 
 not the entire front part of the tongue, touch the middle of the lips 
 (six times), then growing faster, (ten, fifteen times). 
 
 Exercise V 
 
 Open the mouth wide, place the tip of the pointed tongue in 
 one corner of the mouth, proceed with sharply-pointed tongue in 
 dotting fashion along the upper Hp to the other comer; then on the 
 under Hp to the starting point; repeat the same movement back- 
 ward to the starting point. 
 
 Exercise VI 
 
 Open the mouth wide, touch with the tip of the very sharply- 
 pointed tongue the roots of the upper middle incisors, as if to make a 
 dot there, and then, touching the palate in such dotting fashion with 
 the tip of the tongue, proceed back as far as possible; then go for- 
 ward again, always breathing through the mouth (inspiration while 
 the tongue goes back, expiration while it goes forward, six times), 
 both ways. 
 
 Exercise VII 
 
 Touch, in the same manner, the bottom of the oral cavity, back- 
 ward and forward. 
 
 Exercise VIII 
 
 Open the mouth wide, touch with the tip of the sharply-pointed 
 tongue the middle of the upper lip, then of the lower lip and, with- 
 out pausing, the right and left corners of the mouth, (ten, twelve 
 times), slowly at first, growing faster by degrees, alternating thus: 
 upper middle, lower middle, right corner, left corner, upper middle, 
 lower middle, left corner, right corner, always with the sharply- 
 pointed tongue. 
 
 Exercise IX 
 
 Open the mouth wide, touch with the tip of the sharply-pointed 
 tongue the middle of the right side of the upper lip, then that of the 
 left side of the upper lip; first slowly (six times), then faster (six 
 times), without any movement of the lower jaw. 
 
36 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Exercise X 
 
 Repeat the same exercise with the lower lip, without movement 
 of the lower jaw. 
 
 Exercise XI 
 
 Combine these two exercises in the following manner: Begin at 
 the upper right side, proceed to the lower left, thence to the upper 
 left, and then to the lower right, so that this figure ><1 would be 
 produced; at first slowly (six times), then faster (six times). 
 
 Exercise XII 
 
 Open the mouth wide; proceed with the tip of the sharply-pointed 
 tongue from the right to the left, brushing the upper lip and passing 
 along the lower Hp back to the right without interruption (six times), 
 slowly; then (six times), growing faster by degrees; repeat from the 
 left to the right, in the same maimer. 
 
 Exercise XIII 
 
 Repeat the same exercise along the inner side of the lips. Dur- 
 ing this exercise touch the lips sharply with the tip of the tongue. 
 Do not open the mouth too wide here. 
 
 Exercise XIV 
 
 Repeat the same exercise along the outer side of the lips. 
 Let it be borne in mind that the purpose of these exercises is to 
 sharpen the tongue, and that they should be faithfully performed. 
 
 Exercise XV 
 
 Protrude the root of the lowered tongue without allowing its 
 tip to pass beyond the front teeth (ten, twelve times). 
 
 Exercise XVI 
 
 Sing a tone {ah), holding it as long as possible, without allowing 
 it to lose its clear character, and at the same time try to make a cir- 
 cling movement with the tip of the tongue; and later, when this 
 exercise has been fully mastered, try to make a horizontal movement 
 
OVERCOMING DEFECTS IN SPEECH 37 
 
 with the tip of the tongue from one side of the mouth to the other, 
 first slowly and then gradually increasing in rapidity. 
 
 To hold down the tongue by means of a stick or the handle of a 
 tooth-brush, I do not consider at all beneficial. He who does not 
 learn to move the muscles of the tongue independently, will not 
 derive any aid by forcibly holding the tongue down, or the aid will 
 last only as long as the forcible pressure continues. The only rad- 
 ical cure for the incorrect activity of the muscles of the tongue lies 
 in its perfect control, and this control can be obtained only by means of 
 the exercises prescribed. 
 
 He who, during the activity of the muscles of the larynx, is able 
 thus to move the tongue, will also be able to keep it in an inactive 
 state. 
 
 The Soft-Palate 
 
 Exercise XVII 
 
 The exercise for the soft-palate consists in opening the mouth wide 
 and attempting to raise the soft-palate without singing. Here also 
 it would be serviceable if the raising of the palate occurred during 
 deep inspiration through the mouth, the nostrils being closed. 
 
 The Lips 
 Exercise XVIII 
 
 The exercise for the lips is the following: Attempt to move them 
 singly; for instance, draw the under hp downward without allow- 
 ing the upper lip to move, and vice versa. Produce a tone, hold it 
 a while, and make the same movement of the lips. He who has mas- 
 tered the muscles of the lips singly, can let them rest when they are 
 not to act. 
 
 The Lower Jaw 
 
 Exercise XIX 
 
 Sing and hold a tone, moving the lower jaw (without any pressure 
 upon the larynx) horizontally to right and left, and then describe 
 a slightly circling movement. The object of this is to free the muscles 
 used in chewing. 
 
38 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 When a person is incKned to use the larynx incorrectly, or gener- 
 ally to act with incorrect muscular activity, then, as a general thing, 
 all the muscles are strained imnaturally, and thus hinder the free 
 development of the organs. 
 
 Some of the sounds that present the greatest difficulty are: 
 
 1. The final g omitted in ing. 
 
 2. Dropping final t or d. 
 
 3. Omitting a letter altogether — r in girl, in New York. 
 
 4. Introducing a letter or syllable wrongly, e.g., sore for saw, 
 umber ella for umbrella. 
 
 Slurring and often transforming the final consonant: — 
 He sore me — for, he saw me. 
 I'll dror a man; throw pronounced trow. 
 
 5. Adding extra g or ^ sound, at end of syllable ing when 
 followed by word beginning or last element. 
 
 6. V sounded Kke w and w like v. 
 
 7. th sound as in that, with, weather. 
 
 8. Dropping the final consonants — comin' instead of coming; 
 toV instead of told; an' instead of and. 
 
 9. Pronouncing th o,?, d ox t — as pronouncing dem for them 
 or tree for three. 
 
 10. Through 1 
 
 Though I apt to be confused. 
 Thought J 
 
 11. Children find special difficulty in pronouncing endings 
 such as: sts, nd, ing, pt. For a drill, write the following sen- 
 tences on blackboard, requiring the children to read them aloud. 
 
 She still insists that it rusts the posts. 
 Don't bend the brand new stand I lend you. 
 Her singing and ringing laughter deadened the clanging of the 
 beUs. 
 
 Wrapped in thought, he crept to bed, and soon slept. 
 
OVERCOMING DEFECTS IN SPEECH 39 
 
 Sometimes write lists like the following and require the class 
 to read them quickly : 
 
 lists mists wrists fists thrusts ghosts 
 
 band hand lend grand send find mind brand 
 
 singing flinging flowing rousing pudding rocking 
 
 wrapt swept kept 
 
 Insist upon careful enimciation, exact enunciation — no 
 winders, no want ters, or saw Hm — and no imintelHgible eHsion 
 of words, the standing criticism of the EngUsh upon the American 
 at large. 
 
 The following suggestions are offered: 
 
 1. Continue the drill lessons to correct such faults, until the 
 pupils form the habit of avoiding the faults in ordinary speech. 
 
 2. Show the proper position and use of the necessary organs 
 of speech involved in the production of the correct sound. 
 
 3. Pronounce slowly, enunciate clearly and distinctly. With 
 foreign children sound is of greater importance than form in the 
 beginning. 
 
 4. Give special attention to ear-training. 
 
 5. Train the pupils to listen carefully to the teacher, to 
 watch her speak, and to imitate her. Pupils have varying 
 ability to discriminate between sounds, therefore special drills 
 are necessary. 
 
 6. Occasionally give the sounds of the words, and let the 
 children tell the words. 
 
 7. Give the special exercises to correct slovenly pronunciation 
 and enunciation apart from the reading lessons. 
 
 8. Insist on slow reading, slow pronunciation. 
 
 9. Teach the simple phonograms first. Train the children 
 to blend these into words which they know experimentally but 
 which now they are to read. Go slowly. Make the drill 
 thorough. 
 
40 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 lo. Provide for thorough training of the ear and of the vocal 
 organs. Keep a list of sentences consisting of words containing 
 difl&cult soimds to be memorized and frequently repeated by 
 the pupil. All speaking and reading should be audible; do not 
 allow mumbling. 
 
 Summary. — The first aim in the teaching of phonics is to give 
 the child independence in attacking new words. After the third 
 year, the aim should be specifically the improvement of the tech- 
 nique of speech. The work should embrace (i) ear training; (2) 
 improvement of tone production; (3) training in the accuracy and 
 flexibility of the muscular movements involved in speech. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 THE READING LESSON 
 
 Intermediate Grades 
 
 Reference has already been made to the proper conduct 
 of the reading lesson, and to the selection of material which is 
 to form the subject matter of these lessons. In common with 
 every other exercise, the reading lesson should have a definite 
 aim. This may be either the right appreciation of an interest- 
 ing content, or the mastery of the technique of expression; and 
 since our preceding discussion has been mainly devoted to 
 form, we shall treat the second of these aims first. 
 
 The reading of a selection aloud by the pupil is, at present, 
 the most commonly adopted test of right appreciation by the 
 pupil of the meaning of that selection. As will be shown later, 
 other tests of equal, and of even greater, value, may be given. 
 A faulty reading, assuming that we are thinking of something 
 larger than the mere pronunciation or enunciation of the words, 
 may be due to one of two causes. In the first place, the chil- 
 dren may not really understand the selection they are reading. 
 It may be beyond their comprehension because it is on a level of 
 thought for the right appreciation of which they are not suffi- 
 ciently matured. Secondly, it may be that although they possess 
 a somewhat vague, and yet adequate imderstanding of the 
 feeling of the selection, they lack control of those expressive 
 activities which will enable them to communicate to others their 
 own complete understanding of what they are reading. A child, 
 for example, may know that a certain passage was delivered in 
 an ironical tone, yet he may not know how to express irony by 
 
42 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 the tone of his voice. He may know that a certain passage is 
 subdued and somber, and yet he may not know how to give 
 expression to the feeHng which dominates the selection. 
 
 These things are not the possession of the child by intuition. 
 It is true, that if sufficient models were presented, they might 
 be acquired by imitation. To eliminate waste, however, here 
 as in all methods of technique which are to be rated as habits 
 of automatic reaction, that which is later to occupy a margin of 
 consciousness, must at some time in the formative period, be 
 fixed by concentration within the focus of consciousness That 
 is to say, if we are at a later period to use all the tricks of an 
 elocutionist semi-consciously, while the center of our attention 
 is occupied by an interest in a gripping content, we must at some 
 earlier time have focalized upon these tricks of the elocutionist, 
 making them habitual and automatic. 
 
 In the first three years of the course, all this work should be 
 made incidental. A formal lesson in correct expression could 
 not be made interesting to the children during this period. 
 Where we have a monotone in reading, or a case of misplaced 
 emphasis, skilfully directed questions will bring the children 
 naturally to emphasize the right word and give the proper tone 
 and inflection. 
 
 Beginning with the fourth year, however, lessons may be de- 
 voted to this formal work. The subject matter may be some 
 very short selection, from a part of a story aheady read in the 
 class, the part to be chosen so that it contains material that will 
 be of value for such a lesson. In higher grades, where it is safe 
 completely to segregate this kind of exercise from the regular 
 reading lesson, formal drills on specially constructed or selected 
 sentences, independent of the reading matter of the grade, may 
 be chosen. Even here, however, this is a dangerous practice 
 and should be only sparingly resorted to. 
 
 The direct model for immediate imitation, as presented by 
 the teacher, should be most frequently used; care should be 
 
READING — INTERMEDIATE GRADES 43 
 
 taken that this model may be a good one. Many pupils may 
 be called upon to read and to re-read the same part until the 
 aim, whether it be clean-cut articulation, the rendering of proper 
 enunciatory values, the use of a certain voice quality, the ex- 
 pression of a certain feeUng, such as wonder, surprise, terror, 
 fear, mystery, has been realized by a majority of the pupils. 
 AppUcation should follow, and should consist in the reading of 
 an entirely new selection which, however, illustrates the particu- 
 lar point that has just been taken up. 
 
 An interesting and profitable exercise in this connection is 
 the training in giving what may be called word color; that is, 
 uttering a series of adjectives, for example, in such a way that 
 the sound will give an inkling of the meaning; or again, of 
 uttering the same word, preferably a descriptive word, so as to 
 give the expression of different feelings connected with that 
 word. In the fifth year, these lessons may occur as frequently 
 as once in two weeks. Later, one lesson a month may be con- 
 sidered sufficient. It should be remembered that practically, 
 unlimited repetition by individual children is almost the only 
 method to be followed. 
 
 We now come to the second kind of reading lesson: namely, 
 the lesson for content. The aim should be kept carefully in 
 mind and should dominate every step of the lesson. Even 
 though the unit is a long story, the reading of which may extend 
 over many periods, the lesson itself should be a tmit incident or 
 episode within the larger story. Details in the technique of 
 lessons will vary according to the grade taught, selection pre- 
 sented, and so on. For the purposes of this discussion, however, 
 we will assume that we are presenting a prose selection to a 
 fifth year class. 
 
 Children may be encouraged to collect in scrap-books, pictures 
 illustrating the story itself. A bulletin board on the walls of 
 the room should contain other material, and wherever possible, 
 pictures should be displayed in the class room so as to make the 
 
44 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 story more vivid. The introduction to the lesson should be 
 conversational, and may be based upon some part of the illus- 
 trative material gathered by the pupils or displayed in the room, 
 which may be brought to bear upon the particular portion to be 
 read that day. It may be based upon an illustration in the 
 book itself. It may grow out of the title of the story, or the 
 heading given to the particular incident. It may be developed 
 from some relation drawn by the teacher between the life or the 
 personality of the author, and the story or part of the story 
 read; or finally, it may center around a question formulated by 
 the teacher and covering the content of the selection. 
 
 This preparatory step should be brief, and should be char- 
 acterized by snap and vigor. The questions should be definite, 
 terse, clear, well distributed, thought provoking, and should 
 gradually lead toward the explication of the central point of 
 the lesson. The next step should be a silent reading by the 
 pupils, the aim of which is to secure a general notion of the 
 content, as well as to enable the pupils to anticipate the diffi- 
 culties they are to meet with on the formal side, so that 
 these difficulties may be removed. This will involve telling 
 the pupil the pronunciation of new words, explaining the mean- 
 ing of difficult words or passages, making allusions clear, or 
 bringing to the level of the children an idea which at first seemed 
 to be beyond them. The teacher should, as far as possible, try 
 to keep the class parallel in silent reading, by asking them to 
 go as far as a certain point in the story, and then to stop until 
 all questions on the text have been met. There should be no 
 long explanations. 
 
 Wherever possible, children should answer the questions set 
 by children. The teacher must never lose sight of the fact 
 that the aim of a reading lesson is to have the children read 
 and not to have them talk too much about what they are going 
 to read. For pronunciation, if the child cannot develop the 
 word by comparison with phonic elements already learned. 
 
READING — INTERMEDIATE GRADES 45 
 
 the teacher or a child may give the pronunciation; or in the 
 higher grades, the children should discover the pronunciation 
 for themselves from the dictionary. 
 
 In developing the meaning of new words, the children should 
 be left to discover the meanings for themselves as far as possible, 
 and in the upper grades, should be encouraged to guess at the 
 meaning from the context without recourse to the dictionary. 
 Use should be made in the higher grades of the knowledge of 
 etymological derivatives. Allusions may be made clear in as 
 few words as possible by the teacher, while difficulties in the 
 thought should be cleared up by making the explanation as 
 concrete as possible. A simple dramatization by the teacher 
 will frequently save much verbiage, and will give as clear a 
 notion as it is necessary for the children to possess. 
 
 As this part of the lesson proceeds, the teacher should write 
 on the blackboard the words or phrases brought up by the 
 questions of the pupils which she deems of sufficient value to 
 warrant drill, and when the silent reading has been completed, 
 she should rvm rapidly over the list of words written on the 
 blackboard, two, three, or more times, until the pronunciation 
 has been well fixed, or the meaning well understood. It is, of 
 course, to be imderstood that in the teacher's own preparation 
 of the lesson, she has selected words and passages which in her 
 opinion warrant explanation because of the difiiculties that 
 they present. If any of these are not brought out by the chil- 
 dren, the teacher should question on them. 
 
 When this second step, the silent reading, has been completed, 
 there should be a return to the content of the lesson by one or 
 two skilfully framed questions, bearing upon the general mean- 
 ing or the central thought of the lesson to be read. Under no 
 circumstances should a child be interrupted for correction while 
 he is reading. The teacher may, however, stop him at any 
 time and ask a question on the context, a question which will 
 call for the expression of an opinion or the formation of a judg- 
 
46 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 ment. Answers should be given by the children in complete 
 sentences, and should be delivered with attention to correct 
 envinciation and articulation. While emphasis upon this may 
 make the earlier lessons move very slowly, and may develop a 
 tendency toward formalism, it will, sooner or later, crystallize 
 into a habit and become automatic. 
 
 Each child who reads should stand properly, and should aim 
 at correct phrasing. Children should be trained to visualize 
 groups of words and to look up frequently from the printed 
 page. When the pupil has finished reading a portion which is a 
 unit, not because it covers a certain number of lines, or because 
 it includes a certain paragraph, but because it is a separate part 
 of the story, the teacher may question the child and the class 
 upon the meaning of words and of phrases, but more particu- 
 larly should ask questions which require a judgment on the part 
 of the children concerning the acts and thoughts of the charac- 
 ters of the story. 
 
 In calling upon successive pupils to read, instead of following 
 a certain definite order determined by the seating of the pupils, 
 and instead of getting the next reader by the simple injunction, 
 "Next boy read," the teacher may, wherever possible, lead up to 
 the portion to be read by questions based on the context, asking 
 the question in such a way that it is rightly answered by 
 having the pupils read the next portion from the text. Good 
 readers may be alternated with poor ones, and all children 
 should be encouraged to read in a natural voice without any 
 strain. 
 
 Frequently children may be called upon to go to the black- 
 board and asked to draw their idea of a scene, the description 
 of which has just been read. Sometimes, one or more pupils 
 may be called to the front of the room to dramatize either in 
 pantomime, by supplying original dialogue, or by using the 
 conversation of the text. Sometimes, in the description of a 
 person or of a place, the teacher may have scattered indiscrimi- 
 
READING — INTERMEDIATE GRADES 47 
 
 nately on her desk a number of pictures, not necessarily dealing 
 with the subject matter of the story, and the pupil may be called 
 upon to step to the desk and select a picture which represents his 
 idea of the person or of the place described. 
 
 While a child is reading, the teacher should listen with closed 
 book. When all the burden of imderstanding is thrown upon 
 the ear, the teacher will create a higher standard of correct 
 articulation than she would call for if the ear were continually 
 aided by the eye. Sometimes, a child may step to the front of 
 the room and read while the entire class listens with closed 
 books. Where children fail altogether in giving right inflection 
 or proper expression, the teacher need not supply an immediate 
 and direct model either by reading the portion herself, or by 
 having a pupil read it. A few skilfully directed questions on 
 the context may lead the children to see where the proper em- 
 phasis should be placed, and what the general thought should be. 
 
 Every reading lesson should end with some kind of summary. 
 This may be an uninterrupted reading by the best pupils 
 standing in the front of the room while the rest of the class 
 listen with books closed. Or it may be an oral reproduction 
 of the story by the pupils. Again, the teacher may give an 
 uninterrupted reading, although this is probably the least valu- 
 able of the suggestions except in the case of poetry, when the 
 iminterrupted reading by the teacher may follow the second 
 step of the introduction, (that in which the difficult words are 
 selected by the pupils), and may precede the reading of the 
 poem by the class. Fourthly, the summary may take the form 
 of a discussion of the central thought of the selection. Again, 
 and once more this has particular reference to a poem, it may be 
 a comment on the artistic value of the selection. At another 
 time, this summary may be given in the form of a reproduction 
 of the story, written by the pupils as seat-work, while the other 
 groups are receiving direct instruction from the teacher in some 
 other subject. And, finally, one of the most valuable forms 
 
48 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 of reproduction is the dramatization of the entire story or of 
 some leading incident with groups of the pupils. This subject 
 will be treated in greater detail at another place. 
 
 Summary. — The aim of a reading lesson should be (i) the appre- 
 ciation of content or (2) the mastery of the technique of expres- 
 sion. Faulty reading may be due to (i) hesitating or incorrect word 
 recognition, (2) lack of understanding of the subject matter, or (3) 
 inability to give expressive rendition, (i) may be overcome by care- 
 ful study of phonics: (2) by the careful selection of reading matter 
 and a proper introduction to the lesson; (3) by formal lessons on 
 the technique of expression, direct imitation being most frequently 
 rehed upon. 
 
 The points to be considered in a reading lesson for content are: 
 (i) The preparation. By question and answer secure emotional 
 appreciation and grasping of central thought. (2) Silent reading 
 by pupUs under the direction of the teacher. The children ask for 
 help on pronunciation and meaning of words, or clearing up of difl&- 
 cult expressions. The teacher asks for expressions of judgment on 
 the content. (3) Drill on difficult words and expressions. (4) The 
 lesson proper. Is the lesson shared? Is enough attention paid to 
 the duU children? Is the class reacting on the material presented? 
 (5) The sununary. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 READING TO A CLASS 
 
 Many valuable suggestions on the method of conducting this 
 kind of work will be found in McMurry's "Special Method in 
 Primary Reading." While it is true that most of the discussion 
 apparently applies to the telling of stories, a topic which will be 
 discussed later, it will be found that many helpful ideas can 
 be gained by a careful study of this book. 
 
 The general aims to be kept in mind in reading to pupils are 
 as follows: 
 
 1. To equip the children with a knowledge of stories which 
 present such technical difificulties that the children cannot read 
 them unaided. 
 
 2. To give to the children an outline of the content which 
 will in later terms be read by them, 
 
 3. To create a love for literature that will form an urgent 
 motive for their reading, 
 
 4. To furnish models of classic English in narration. 
 
 5. To supply a basis for oral composition by the class. 
 
 6. To give models of expression. 
 
 In selecting a story, the teacher should consider the natural 
 interests of the children. She should remember that a story, 
 to be interesting to children, must lead up to a climax, that it 
 must contain a wealth of detail, and that children are able to 
 understand selections read to them which may possess a 
 greater degree of difficulty than those they are able to read for 
 themselves. The reading of the story may sometimes be pre- 
 ceded by an informal talk by the teacher on the content. This 
 may deal with a brief account of the central character of the 
 
50 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 story, if that character be historical, or a description of the 
 place in which the action takes place. At no time should this 
 introduction degenerate into a mere lecture. 
 
 If the story that is to be read by the children is a very long 
 one the preparation may take up an entire period, and in each 
 successive reading, the introduction should be a summary either 
 by the teacher or, preferably, by the brightest pupils, of that 
 portion of the story which has already been read. It will often 
 be found valuable to continue the reading only up to a point 
 where the teacher may feel assured that the interest of the 
 entire class has been thoroughly aroused. Then if, as should 
 be the case, the class library has enough copies of the story, 
 the teacher may suggest that the children continue the reading 
 of the story for themselves at home. While it is true that the 
 reading matter may in many places be too difficult for the 
 children, the strong interest which has been created will carry 
 them over many obstacles otherwise insurmountable. 
 
 The teacher should be so thoroughly familiar with the story 
 itself that during her reading she will be able to look up fre- 
 quently from the book. Nothing can equal the magnetic power 
 of the eye for holding attention. Nor should the teacher feel 
 that on the one hand she must read every word of the story, or, 
 on the other hand, that she must read nothing but what is in 
 the story. Frequently, she will find it advisable to omit passages 
 which in her opinion would divert the attention of the children 
 from the story itself. All such passages should be carefully 
 marked in advance, and the gap may be filled in her own words, 
 talking to the class and using language carefully thought out in 
 advance. 
 
 At another time where, in a description, details are missing, 
 or at some exciting moment, where there is not sufi&cient 
 dwelling upon a crisis in the story, the teacher may expand. 
 This matter of invention, however, is extremely difficult, and 
 should not be attempted by any teacher unless she has carefully 
 
READING TO A CLASS 51 
 
 thought out what she intends to say. Finally, the teacher is 
 not to suppose that there is any sacredness in the text of the 
 story as it is before her. The aim is to interest the children and 
 to give them complete comprehension. Therefore, the teacher 
 may, if she can effect the substitution without halting in her 
 reading from the text, simplify the language. 
 
 To the beginner, the suggestion may be made that in the 
 preparation for the lesson all these substitutions should be 
 carefully noted by interlined words. 
 
 The teacher may interrupt herself in her reading to ask ques- 
 tions, calKng for judgment and the expression of appreciation. 
 At tunes she may direct her questions in such a way as to lead 
 the children to anticipate what is going to happen. Again, she 
 may ask children to step to the board to draw their idea of some 
 picture as it has been presented to them through the reading. 
 At another place, where some particularly dramatic scene is 
 described, she may ask a number of children to come to the front 
 of the room and assume the poses called for by the text, so as to 
 create a tableau which will correspond to the picture described 
 in the story. At times she will pause for the purpose of drawing 
 from the mass of illustrative material in the form of pictures 
 and the like, which she should always have at hand, those 
 which will make clearer some description in the text. These 
 pictures may be passed rapidly around the room, or if large 
 enough to be seen from the front of the room, may be shown for 
 a few minutes. 
 
 One of the most effective modes of reading is to have the 
 teacher dramatize during the narration. The teacher who sits 
 in his chair and merely reads to the class misses the point of this 
 work. The aim is to make more vital the whole matter of read- 
 ing, and it should be remembered that in point of inflection, 
 enunciation, expression, and dramatic rendition, the teacher 
 should present a model worthy of imitation by the children. 
 If at any time this work is varied by having children instead of 
 
52 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 the teacher do the reading, care should be taken that only the 
 best readers are selected. 
 
 This work must be carefully distinguished from the reading 
 of subject matter possessing purely informational value and 
 intended to supplement some point that has been made in the 
 course of a lesson in history, or geography, or science. 
 
 As the term advances, periods in oral composition may be 
 given up to having the children tell in their own language the 
 stories previously read to them by the teacher. Lists may be 
 given to each teacher in the higher grades, of the stories read in 
 the lower classes, so that there may be a constant review which 
 will make the stories form a part of the children's cultural equip- 
 ment. During the time that the children tell their stories, the 
 teacher must remember the old adage that the best teacher is 
 the dumb teacher. Of course, if any flagrant errors in English 
 are made, these should be immediately corrected; but the 
 correction should be given in so occasional and incidental a 
 manner that the thread of the story will not be interrupted. 
 
 Summary. — The main purposes of reading to pupils are (i) to 
 create a love of literature, (2) to furnish a model for oral expres- 
 sion. The selection should be interesting. It may be graded in 
 difl&culty above the independent reading plane of the children. The 
 preparation should stimulate thought so as to make the listeners 
 react upon the material presented. The reading should be intimate, 
 animated, and dramatic. Interpolated questions by teacher and 
 pupils should maintain interest. Oral summaries by the children 
 should be called for to test comprehension. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 
 
 If we attempt to answer in an intelligent way the question, 
 "Why should the masterpiece be studied in the elementary 
 schools?" we shall perha.ps be able to tell better what aspects 
 should be emphasized in the teaching of the masterpiece. In 
 the first place, it should be studied because such study has a 
 distinct psychological value. It requires prolonged attention, 
 and it satisfies the desire for continued narration or description. 
 Secondly, the study has a distinct cultural value. It is an in- 
 troduction to the great classics of our language. It enriches the 
 entire course of study. And, finally, because of the interest in 
 the content it furnishes a motive for training in formal English. 
 
 The study of the masterpiece should come late in the ele- 
 mentary school curriculum. For this, three reasons may be 
 adduced: First, it is difficult to sustain attention for the long 
 period during which the study of a single masterpiece is con- 
 tinued. Secondly, the average tone of the ordinary masterpiece 
 selected for study is such as to make it beyond all but the most 
 mature pupils in the elementary school. Thirdly, since the 
 main purpose is cultural, the study of the masterpiece should 
 appear in the course of study only after a reasonable degree of 
 mechanical facility in reading English and in understanding 
 difficult expressions has been attained. 
 
 We can perhaps best understand why critical study is desirable 
 if we first state the purposes it is not intended to subserve. It 
 is a waste to devote the time set aside for the study of a literary 
 masterpiece to the teaching of proper reading with its attendant 
 drill on enunciation arid expression. The great danger of modern 
 
54 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 language work is that it spreads itself over too large an area, and, 
 consequently, lacks depth and thoroughness. We treat the 
 English branches as the quartermaster treats the much-abused 
 army mule. He sees the usefulness of the animal and hastens 
 to pile on its back every conceivable kind of army munition, 
 from the wheel of a cannon to a case of canned meat. 
 
 There is need of concentration in our language work. As 
 we have already suggested, one of the reading lessons in the 
 month should be devoted exclusively to drill on expression. 
 The drill on clear enunciation should be kept separate. Spelling 
 should be taught as a separate branch of the course of study, 
 and above all, the period for literary study should be kept 
 altogether for that purpose. If we attempt to teach the tech- 
 nique of reading in connection with the literary appreciation 
 of a work of art, we may fail in both. Concentration is the 
 secret of success in life. Why should it not be the secret of 
 successful methods? 
 
 Moreover, we ruin the artistic effect that it is our aim to 
 secure. Who has not suffered the misery of listening to a 
 bungling reader who robs anything he reads of what literary 
 merit it may possess? Since it is necessary that many portions 
 of the literary selection shall be read, it may be laid down as a 
 fundamental principle that either the teacher will read to the 
 class so as to build up a standard of good reading, or else that 
 the pupils called upon should be those of whose power the 
 teacher is reasonably sure. 
 
 Secondly, it should not be our aim to teach form primarily 
 in the study of a masterpiece. Too much of our so-called 
 literary appreciation is nothing but formal criticism and is 
 purely technical. When a man has nothing to say about a 
 work of art, when he is most signally lacking in appreciative 
 insight, he has recourse to criticism of technique. Over-sensi- 
 tiveness to form is an infallible symptom of degeneration in art. 
 The center of literary study should always be the thought. 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 55 
 
 Critical study of a work of literature does not mean the 
 teaching of rhetorical forms, figures of speech, rules of prosody, 
 etc. If we analyze every simile and name it and trace its 
 inception and test its aptness, we will lead the pupil to approach 
 a masterpiece much as the botanist does the rose — with 
 microscope and tweezers so close that he loses the effect of the 
 flower, so intent on the magnified petal and the parasite it 
 carries that he fails to notice the delicious perfume that greets 
 his nostrils, and so wrapt up in the parts that he does not see 
 the rose itself. It is a mistake to teach the figures of speech 
 during the time devoted to critical study. They are as much 
 formal elements as are infinitives, participles, and phrases. 
 They should be studied separately and distinctly, with illustra- 
 tions properly noted from the best literature. How this can be 
 done in connection with the work in composition, will be shown 
 later. If we are to call the attention of the pupil to figures of 
 speech at all in the study of the work in hand, they should be 
 tools at his ready disposal before he comes to the study of the 
 literary gem. 
 
 The true aim of critical study should be to secure to the pupil 
 the ethical and aesthetic efifect of the art work, to aid him in 
 analyzing the effects produced on him, and to show him how 
 such effects are secured by a happy choice of words, by apt 
 illustrations, by beautiful imagery, impassioned diction, or by 
 the infusion of the artist's individuality into his work. No 
 literary masterpiece that is worth presenting to children is 
 without a distinct ethical effect. No work can be a masterpiece 
 unless it is aesthetic. 
 
 Let it not, however, be imagined that it is our purpose to teach 
 ethics and aesthetics as such to the children. It is a very easy 
 matter to encourage children to think thoughts that are too 
 complex for adequate utterance. What we must do is to culti- 
 vate the feehng for what is good and noble and inspiring and 
 thus indirectly to cultivate sympathy with goodness, nobility, 
 
56 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 and true inspiration in life. Just as the end we wish to attain 
 is without definite bounds so should our work be free and in- 
 spiring and as far as possible from the cut and dried rigidity 
 of formalism and grammatical analysis. Over elaboration, too 
 minute study, these are the pitfalls which the teacher should 
 avoid. 
 
 In the selection of a suitable literary work let there not be 
 too much regard for correlation with other subjects of the grade. 
 Unity in grade work is desirable, but there is great danger of 
 overdoing the matter and making the work monotonous. Let 
 us attempt to correlate with the pupil's thinking rather than 
 with his studies. 
 
 However untenable in all its implications may be the so-called 
 cultural epoch theory, it is perhaps safe to say that a certain 
 development is noticeable in children's taste in reading. In the 
 fourth year, interest centers mainly on wonder working, super- 
 natural beings. In the fifth year of school Ufe, the child bums 
 with eagerness to read about adventures in unknown regions. 
 The sixth year of school course seems to be the period for a more 
 subjective interest to show itself, and tales of personal valor are 
 the most sought after. In the seventh year, when the critical 
 study is specifically to be taken up, what most interests the 
 children is a story of self-sacrifice or one of success in the face 
 of almost insurmountable obstacles; and in the eighth year it 
 would seem that stories that tell of intrigues and plots make the 
 strongest appeal. 
 
 Arbitrary as this classification is to a large extent, it is helpful 
 as a guide in the choice of the masterpiece. At all events from 
 the teacher's point of view, the work selected must possess some 
 embodiment of ethical principle. The greatest care should be 
 taken that the principle be a positive one and that it be not 
 beyond the complete comprehension of the children. The 
 masterpiece selected should be "the expression of the expulsive 
 power of a higher emotion." It should supply high ideals of 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 57 
 
 conduct; it should have true Hterary value; its structure 
 should be firm and evident; its language should be suggestive 
 in the highest sense; its theme should be uplifting; its appeal 
 should be universal yet personal. 
 
 Frequently in suggested methods of studying a long master- 
 piece, several readings are recommended. In one outline, three 
 readings are suggested. First, it is said that there should be a 
 reading for general conception. Some portions are to be read 
 by the teacher for the purpose of creating a right atmosphere. 
 Other portions are to be read aloud by the pupils in the class. 
 Minor portions are to be read by the pupils at home. This is 
 followed by a second reading for the more careful treatment of 
 important parts, the aim being to bring about appreciation 
 of the beauty of the selection rather than to accumulate a fund 
 of information regarding words or allusions. A third reading is 
 suggested for efifective oral rendering of those parts of the selec- 
 tion which make special appeal to the pupil's imagination and 
 sympathy. 
 
 As has been reiterated in connection with practically every 
 subject in our treatment of the teaching of English, the principle 
 that should underlie all method in literature is that there must 
 be in the mind of the child an urgent motive for every step in 
 the study. The great question which the teacher should ask 
 herself is "What are the interests that the children have upon 
 which I can act? " Such inquiry brings to light the presence 
 of two dominant interests upon which the method of teaching 
 the masterpiece is to proceed. First, there is an interest in the 
 entire story. Secondly, there is an interest in the best possible 
 rendition of passages that appeal to the imagination and sym- 
 pathy of the pupil. Here all study of meanings, etc., is sub- 
 ordina'ted to the motive of adequate oral rendition. 
 
 The study of the masterpiece may then more properly be 
 conducted in two readings, the aim of each being determined by 
 that motive or interest of the children which the reading is 
 
58 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 intended to meet. At the first reading, there should be a general 
 introduction, the purpose of which should be to create the right 
 atmosphere. The pupils may be encouraged to prepare blank 
 books in which they will write accounts of the author, besides 
 the circimistances under which the work was produced. In 
 addition they may collect pictures which with appropriate sub- 
 scriptions will make an interesting scrap-book. The teacher 
 should by anticipation suggest the general theme of the story. 
 Of course, in the reading of a play the suspense should be main- 
 tained by having the children continually on the qui vive for 
 the outcome of the plot. There should be an alternation of 
 narration and direct quotation. Sometimes the teacher will 
 tell the story; sometimes she will read. Frequently, some of 
 the best readers of the class may be called upon to continue the 
 reading of the story, but all the questioning in this part of the 
 work should tend to make clear the sequence of the story and 
 the general lesson or the general effect which it produces. There 
 need be no assigned home reading. Whatever part of the story 
 is taken up in the class room should be new to the pupils. Each 
 new reading should begin with a skilful review of the earlier 
 portions which will blend naturally into the part to be taken 
 up in this particular lesson. By careful preparation, the teacher 
 can decide upon stopping places at dynamic points in the story, 
 the aim being to carry over the interest at highest tension from 
 period to period. There should be constant appeal to the judg- 
 ment of the pupils. 
 
 When the story has been gone through in this way, a summary 
 may be called for from the best pupils. It is not always neces- 
 sary that this be actually written. Such a recapitulation of a 
 masterpiece may involve so much work as to degenerate into 
 drudgery. Nor is it essential that the children should paraphrase 
 any part of the story. If the work is a masterpiece its own word- 
 ing is inevitable and any attempt which the pupils make to put 
 the same thought in words of their own, always means lowering 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 59 
 
 the literary value. Compositions, however, may be written 
 based upon problems suggested in the course of the reading. 
 
 The second reading of the masterpiece should be of parts 
 which the class selects as being worth study in greater detail. 
 Skilful direction by the teacher will result in the right choice 
 and at the same time will develop the right standards in the 
 pupils. If the understanding of the life of the author is neces- 
 sary to an understanding of the masterpiece, the biography 
 should be taken up before the second reading; otherwise it may 
 be postponed until after the study of the masterpiece is com- 
 pleted. Although some teachers advocate the use of the dic- 
 tionary continually in the study of the masterpiece, it may be 
 well at the beginning to have the children merely guess the 
 meaning of words from the context, and to assign for home work 
 the checking up of this guessing by reference to the dictionary. 
 Grammatical analysis should be resorted to only when a con- 
 struction is particularly obscure and when the analysis will 
 result in making the thought clearer. Allusions which are of 
 merely passing interest should be incidentally explained by the 
 teacher. Where they open interesting lines of thought and 
 investigation, they should be assigned for research work. 
 
 Poor readers should not be allowed to take up the time of the 
 class. At the periods regularly given for drill in formal reading, 
 these pupils may be helped to overcome their shortcomings. 
 It is desirable that parts of the masterpiece be assigned for 
 memorizing. It will be found best to place a minimimi number 
 of lines to be memorized each week, and to have the pupils select 
 their own memory gems. Finally, it may be said that the 
 measure of success which the teacher meets in the study of 
 the masterpiece is not a calculable quantity. The best result 
 is not a high percent in an examination but rather a high degree 
 of enthusiasm for literature. 
 
 From all that has been said, one may well be led to suppose 
 that the most important matter in the teaching of EngHsh is a 
 
6o THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 knowledge of a correct method. As a matter of fact, teaching 
 in this present year of grace is suffering from the curse of too 
 much method. The latest graduate from normal or training 
 school talks glibly of principles of education and dabbles freely 
 in the technical jargon of methodology, juggling with polysyl- 
 labic compounds and sonorous phrases, and yet too frequently 
 lays bare great gaps in the knowledge of the subject matter she 
 is endeavoring to present. 
 
 No thinking teacher will minimize the value of an intimate 
 acquaintance with the thought-processes of the children before 
 her; nevertheless there is no factor more productive of poor 
 teaching than a supreme rehance upon the efl&cacy of this or 
 that method as the sole medium of successful presentation. In 
 the last analysis, no plan, however sound in its basis in child- 
 psychology, can take the place of a well-grounded mass of in- 
 formation. The teacher with a full eqmpment of broad culture 
 will always outshine the mere methodist. In the present era of 
 educational reform the tendency is far too strong in the direction 
 of minute study of formal steps and devices and modes of 
 "concretizing," and to a corresponding degree is deplorably 
 weak in the importance attached to a first-hand knowledge of 
 the subject matter. In many quarters the feeling is spreading 
 that a good method is the only prerequisite to good teaching. 
 Methods are vital, yes; but no less so is broad and accurate 
 information. 
 
 The kind of knowledge of which the teacher should be pos- 
 sessed is determined by the general aim subserved by the pres- 
 ence of a subject in the course of study. In nature study, 
 where the purpose is to awaken in the child a sympathetic 
 appreciation of the wonders of the natural world, leading him 
 through knowledge to reverence, the teacher should be equipped 
 not with a symbolic agglomeration of facts as collected in a 
 printed page, but with the truer insight into Nature's processes 
 that comes only to him who with open mind goes forth under 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 6i 
 
 the open sky to list to Nature's teachings. History develops 
 character through the study of notable t3^es, and gives civic 
 power through a right judgment of past events. To present the 
 subject properly, the teacher must have at ready command so 
 detailed a fund of information that as she stands before her 
 class every character is a Kving personality in her mind, and 
 every historical event is an inevitable link in a closely connected 
 causal chain. So in literature, and particiilarly in the teaching 
 of a masterpiece in the last two years of the course, the aim is to 
 realize through emotional and intellectual appreciation an active 
 love of the higher forms of literary art — a love which shall 
 find expression in self-direction toward the classics, accompanied 
 by a rejection of the tawdry and the superficial. Only by him 
 who hath can be given. The teacher who does not feel an im- 
 pelling love of the beautiful in Hterature, the teacher who does 
 not know of her own knowledge why this is a classic and that 
 mere clap-trap, such a teacher can never be successful in her 
 work, be the method what it may. The former characteristic is 
 essentially emotional and therefore is incommunicable; the latter 
 is simply a matter of culture and can be achieved by any one. 
 
 With a realization of the importance of this sort of equipment, 
 it is our purpose in discussing a masterpiece to show exactly 
 what a teacher should know of the author and the work if she 
 is to feel ready to teach intelHgently. Nothing is further from 
 our intention than to suggest that this information is to be 
 given in whole or even in large part to the class. It is an 
 adult's appreciation of a Hterary work and can only indirectly 
 color the teaching. For our first illustration we shall consider 
 the study of the "Courtship of Miles Standish" as taken up in 
 the seventh year. 
 
 By way of preface it may be said that the facts of Longfellow's 
 life and the circumstances surrounding the writing of the poem 
 in question should be f amiHar to the teacher. Any good edition 
 of the work will give this information. 
 
62 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 The life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow falls naturally into 
 two more or less clearly defined periods. The first is that of 
 preparation and extends from childhood to the close of 1836 
 when he entered upon the duties of his professorship at Harvard. 
 The second is that of his maturity, the period of his productive- 
 ness, which continued with breaks for almost two generations. 
 For our present purpose the first period is of greater importance. 
 
 There can be no questioning of the fact that Longfellow was 
 the most favored of the New England writers. He started hfe 
 with many advantages. His home surroundings were of a kind 
 to encourage any taste for Hterary pursuits which he might 
 develop; and while this is to some extent true of all the men who 
 made up the Boston coterie during the middle of the nineteenth 
 century, unusually favorable conditions are to be met with in 
 the case of Longfellow. At no time did he suffer financial 
 embarrassment. He never enjoyed great wealth, yet when a 
 trip to Europe was mentioned as necessary to an appointment at 
 Bowdoin, the money was forthcoming, though we are led to 
 believe by passages in his letters that some domestic economy 
 was necessary. In his parents Longfellow found appreciative 
 critics, and, moreover, minds which could share his pleasure in 
 his work. 
 
 From his Journal we learn that he had a truly poetic apprecia- 
 tion of the beauty of nature. His mind was ever open. He 
 glories in a beautiful day and basks in the mellowing sunshine 
 of the summer sun. The song of the first returning bird in the 
 spring is an event worth recording. Most particularly does he 
 note the blue skies of early autumn. And yet we remark certain 
 deficiencies in the entries. We find no discussion of deep 
 problems, and yet America was at this period passing through a 
 maelstrom of intellectual and political changes. Nowhere do 
 we come upon expressions of the inevitable doubts that assail 
 the profound thinker. He Uves his life without apparent 
 worriment. Most of his records tell of his books, his friends, 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 63 
 
 and the success that greeted the publication of his volume of 
 poems. 
 
 There is a world of difference between "occasional" poems 
 and poetry which is the forced expression of great emotions. 
 Like the lava of an active volcano, the latter breaks its outlet 
 for itself and pours beyond all bounds. Longfellow's poetry is 
 mainly "occasional." Where it is emotional, how simple is the 
 state of mind he seeks to express! And in this very simpHcity 
 lies the secret of his popularity with the middle classes. At 
 times, as in "The Spanish Student," he displays a true poetic 
 fervor and he writes in the heat of inspiration. But even here 
 it is not the white heat; it is only a warm glow. 
 
 Out of the fulness of his life comes the work of the poet. 
 Longfellow's hfe glided on like a river, darkened here and there 
 by shadows of earth, but nowhere tiunultuous or dashing. 
 We note with him as with Hawthorne, the almost total 
 lack of active sympathy with the great movement making for 
 the abolition of slavery. All is calm and quiet. The character 
 of the man's work is to a great extent determined by his experi- 
 ences in life. What a man becomes is conditioned no less by 
 the experiences he encounters than by the native qualities he 
 possesses. Some of these reactions upon his environment reveal 
 undreamed potentialities. Like the acid on the old parchment, 
 they bring to light the hidden treasures of the past. No man 
 can attain to the sublime who has not passed through a period 
 of storms and stress — who has not met temptation and con- 
 quered it — who has not fought life's battle to the very end. 
 A calm life never produced works of powerful genius. "Paradise 
 Lost" and "Samson Agonistes" would not be what they are 
 had not Milton fought the two great battles — one for his 
 countrymen against oppression, the other for himself against 
 doubt and loss of faith. Where a strong human interest attaches 
 to any work we may be sure that the creator of the work has 
 himself passed through soul-racking emotional experiences. 
 
64 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Much of the intensity of the pre-Shakespearean dramatists can 
 in a sense be traced to the kind of Hfe they led. 
 
 Longfellow passed a life of such even tenor that one day was 
 almost the counterpart of every other. In a college town, sur- 
 roimded by friends, meeting strangers only occasionally, now and 
 then traveling abroad — he had few strong emotions in life. 
 Yet while this environment set narrow bounds to his poetic 
 expression, there was a great compensation. We find a strong 
 moral force in his work. He had the time and the opportunity 
 to turn his attention inward and examine his motives. Where 
 there are a good heart and a strong religious foundation in the 
 man, such introspection can result only in strengthening of the 
 moral fibers and in elevation of the self toward a higher ideal. 
 Longfellow had a good heart. He was tender, yet not effemi- 
 nate. His bearing toward his equals was S3anpathetic; while 
 to those below him he was kindly, simple, and never overbearing. 
 He had the faculty of making many close friends and no man, 
 so blest, can lack strong moral traits. 
 
 He had experienced sorrow in his Hfe. As he says, "the first 
 pressure of sorrow crushes out from our hearts the best wine." 
 In the poems written during the years of affliction there is a note 
 of hope and faith. He was too firmly rehgious to be a pessimist. 
 We read his saddest poems and yet are lifted up by the tone of 
 resignation. We feel the melancholy, yet like the poet, we 
 never succimib; "behind the clouds is the sun still shining." 
 He never permitted sorrow to press on him with constant 
 weight; had he done so, when the wine was all gone, the pressure 
 might have brought forth bitterness from his soul — "the taste 
 and stain from the lees of the vat." 
 
 Imagination was the ruHng power of Longfellow's mind. 
 He Hved in a world which he constructed for himself. All the 
 commonplace experiences of life recalled to him scenes from the 
 half-forgotten tales he had so eagerly read, and picture succeeded 
 picture until the original scene was forgotten and the poet, lost 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 65 
 
 in reverie, was transported to a new world. No better charac- 
 terization of this phase of Longfellow can be made than that 
 which he gives of himself under the name of Paul Flemming in 
 "Hyperion." "His thoughts were twin-born; the thought 
 itself, and its figurative semblance in the outer world. Thus, 
 through the quiet, still waters of his soul each image floated 
 double, 'swan and shadow.'" No trait of Longfellow's poetry- 
 is more prominent than this. In his earlier poems we find the 
 twinship established even in mechanical details. In "The Light 
 of Stars," for example, we first have an introductory stanza 
 describing the scene; then come four stanzas given to the de- 
 scription of the red star blazing in the southeast — the symbol 
 of defiant strength. There is a transitional stanza, beginning, 
 
 "O star of strength, I see thee stand," 
 
 which shows the effect of the star upon the mind of the watching 
 poet, and then follow four stanzas which give the double or 
 spiritual appHcation of the original idea. The earlier poems, of 
 course, show this duplication more markedly than do the more 
 mature products of later years. In the "Beleaguered City" 
 (1839) the gemination extends to the use of the same words 
 wherever possible. "The Rainy Day" shows in the first two 
 stanzas a perfect parallelism, while the third is the expression 
 of a hope which fits equally well into either half of the original 
 thought. 
 
 So much for the personahty of the poet and the general trend 
 of his work. Let us now turn to a consideration of the specific 
 poem we are preparing to teach. 
 
 Although Longfellow's mind was beset with grave doubts on 
 the subject, his "Hiawatha," "a poem on the American Indians 
 . . . which was to weave together their beautiful traditions 
 into a whole," proved to be an immediate success. It is possible 
 that this experience made him more ready to occupy himself 
 with another subject of American life. His theory of a national 
 
66 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 literature was one based not on the geography of the country, 
 but on the expression of national tendencies. He says, "In 
 surveying a national literature the point you must start from is 
 a national character." And nowhere in America was there a 
 homogeneous element better fitted to produce a common type 
 with common tendencies than in New England. It was to this 
 phase of our history, therefore, that Longfellow naturally turned. 
 At any rate, when, a few weeks after the publication of "Hia- 
 watha," one of his friends urged him to write a poem on the 
 Puritans and the Quakers, he remarked, "A good subject for a 
 tragedy," and began looking over books which would give him 
 incidents. He read Dr. Young's "Chronicles of the Pilgrim 
 Fathers" and Mr. C. W. EHot's "History of New England," 
 the latter an attempt to reconstruct the interior, household life 
 in greater detail than had been achieved by others. 
 
 The first evidence of this interest was the beginning of "The 
 New England Tragedies," the third part of the Trilogy entitled 
 "Christus: A Mystery." Then it would seem that as an 
 alternative, lighter work he began a drama, "The Courtship of 
 Miles Standish." Later he modified this to a "kind of Puritan 
 pastoral," imder the name of "Priscilla" and finally, in 1858, 
 he proceeded steadily with the work, finishing it in two months 
 and giving it the name it now bears. We are told that the in- 
 cident of Priscilla's reply, on which the story turns, was a tradi- 
 tion, and that additional interest attaches to the story because 
 John Alden was a maternal ancestor of the poet. "Longfellow 
 did not think it necessary to follow the early Plymouth history 
 with scrupulous reference to chronology; it was sufficient for 
 him to catch the broad features of the colonial Hfe and to repro- 
 duce the spirit of the relations existing between Plymouth and 
 the Indians." 
 
 While in all our appreciation of a literary work, we should 
 endeavor to accept the product within the limitations set by 
 the author, for our purposes it is necessary to know something 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 67 
 
 of the historical basis out of which Longfellow evolved the story- 
 presented in the poem to be studied. Miles Standish was a 
 Pilgrim soldier, born about 1584, in Lancashire, England. He 
 had served as a soldier in the Netherlands and although not a 
 member of the church, was chosen captain of the New Plymouth 
 settlers. By his summary treatment of hostile Indians he 
 inspired them with awe for the English. His wife. Rose Stand- 
 ish, was one of the victims of the famine and fever of 162 1. In 
 1625 he visited England as agent for the colony and brought 
 supplies the next year. In 1626 Standish settled in Duxbury, 
 Massachusetts, where he lived the remainder of his days, 
 administering the ofl&ce of magistrate or assistant. He died 
 October 3, 1656. A monument was been erected to his memory 
 on Captain's Hill, Duxbury. In Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, are 
 preserved, among other relics of the Pilgrims, Standish's sword 
 and the barrel of his musket. 
 
 John Alden was bom in England in 1599; he was employed 
 as a cooper in Southampton and, having been engaged to repair 
 the Mayflower while awaiting the embarkation of the Pilgrims, 
 concluded to join the company. It has been stated by some that 
 he was the first to step on Plymouth Rock. After his marriage, 
 in 162 1, he settled in Duxbury, and for more than fifty years he 
 was a magistrate in the colony, outliving all the signers of the 
 Mayflower compact. He died in Duxbury, September 12, 1687. 
 
 The verse form that Longfellow adopted in "The Courtship 
 of Miles Standish" is known as dactylic hexameter, unrhymed. 
 It consists of six accented syllables, each of the first five in the 
 type line being followed by two unaccented syllables, the sixth 
 by a single unaccented syllable. He had experimented in it, 
 in his translation of "The Children of the Lord's Supper," and 
 in his Hues "To the Driving Cloud." From the outset he had 
 no hesitation in selecting it as the meter for "Evangeline." He 
 chanced upon a specimen in Blackwood of a hexameter transla- 
 tion of the "Iliad," and expressed himself very emphatically on 
 
68 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 its fitness. "The English world is not yet awake, to the beauty 
 of that meter." His use of it had much to do with the revival 
 of the measure. Holmes said, "The hexameter has often been 
 criticized, but I do not believe any other measure could have 
 told that lovely story with such effect as we feel when carried 
 along the tranquil current of these brimming, slow-moving, 
 soul-satisfying lines, . . . The poet knows better than his critics 
 the length of step which best befits his muse." 
 
 The hexameter verse in " Miles Standish " differs in its general 
 effect from that produced by the more stately form used in 
 "Evangeline" through its greater elasticity. "A crispness of 
 touch is gained by a more varying accent and a freer use of 
 trochees." It would be well to have a class feel tHe rhythmic 
 lilt of the verse and compare it with the sedate mavement of 
 the earlier poem, as also with the rh3nned and shorter lines of 
 other narratives in verse. 
 
 The tale is told in nine parts, each working up to a climax. 
 The opening characterization of Miles Standish is clean cut and 
 definite, while the second section, "Love and Friendship," 
 presents in its very title the essence of the conflict which is to 
 form the center of interest. From these introductory cantos, 
 if they may be so called, the movement is simple and progressive. 
 "The Lover's Errand" throws the attention over to John Alden 
 and accordingly we find the fourth part devoted to him and to a 
 setting forth of his troubled state of mind resulting from the 
 answer he had received from Priscilla. The action advances 
 once more in Part V, treating of the sailing of the Mayflower, 
 and is then halted that the third characterization, that of 
 Priscilla, may fairly set forth the last of the principal actors in 
 the little drama. The next two cantos give a parallel course of 
 events, the first dealing with Standish, the second with Priscilla 
 and John Alden, under the title of "The Spinning Wheel." The 
 pretty idyllic scene is rudely interrupted by the messenger 
 bringing in hurry and heat the terrible news from the village 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 69 
 
 that Miles Standish is dead. The lovers, kept apart by the 
 reluctant loyalty of Alden, are united, and the last canto, "The 
 Wedding Day," ends with a beautiful picture rendered all the 
 more complete by the entrance of the bewildered captain. Such 
 is a crude analysis of the poem, into the parts that should be 
 kept distinct by the teacher in her presentation. 
 
 It has already been said that the method to be followed in the 
 teaching is determined by the interests of the children. At this 
 point we shall go even further. It is inadvisable to advocate 
 any one method for the treatment of the different kinds of 
 classics to be studied in the last years of the elementary school 
 course. Two considerations determine any method: First, 
 right appreciation of the psychology of apprehension; secondly, 
 a correct valuation of the subject matter. 
 
 In a broad way, education has begun to adjust itself to the 
 newer point of view which places the child and the child's 
 interest at the center of the educational scheme. But we have 
 not yet realized all the impHcations of this theory in the field 
 of method. Three readings, or two, or even four, — the 
 number itself has no magic potency. The important point is 
 that there shall be just as many readings, and only as many 
 as are necessary to meet an urgent demand on the part of the 
 children. The nature of this demand is determined by the 
 character of the selection. "Julius Caesar" has its gripping 
 hold on the attention of the children because of the story. 
 Three readings will kill this interest and make the study 
 degenerate into a dead deHvery of the printed word. Similarly, 
 "Miles Standish" is a pretty little story and for the normal 
 child there are but two definite motives impelling him to its 
 study. These are, first, the interest in the story for its own 
 sake; secondly, the desire to reread passages here and there 
 because of the appealing nature of the verse, or of the 
 dramatic situation portrayed. Since better understanding 
 intellectually is always a key to fuller emotional appreciation, 
 
70 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 the second interest as a final aim is the impelling motive to a 
 text-study which would otherwise be dull and meaningless. 
 The plan of study that is here laid down is designed to furnish 
 material for the educative satisfaction of these motives. 
 
 It is necessary that the class first miderstand the mode of 
 living of the early Plymouth settlers. In the presentation it is 
 well to quote wherever possible from the poem itself. Two or 
 three lessons shoidd su£&ce for a review of the historical facts, 
 with which the class is already familiar, for a characterization 
 of the leading personages in the story, such as is given above, 
 and for an account of the customs and occupations of the early 
 settlers. Concrete illustrations should abound. A series of 
 pictures from the advertised collections of some of the large 
 picture publishing companies should be suitably mounted and 
 kept continually on view. References should be made to them; 
 it will frequently be found that a long explanation may be 
 avoided by the mere showing of the picture. Boughton and 
 Taylor have treated scenes of Puritan life with more or less 
 historical accuracy, but always with sympathy and insight. 
 Constant recourse should also be had to Hart's "American 
 History Told by Contemporaries," in which will be found a 
 wealth of graphic detail. 
 
 The first ten lines of the description of Standish with which 
 the story opens may profitably be used as a basis for describing 
 modes of dress and of warfare during this period, and may open 
 inquiries which let in a flood of fight on the home life. Why 
 was it a table of pine at which Alden was writing? Why 
 was the field of wheat planted above the grave of Rose Standish? 
 How many people were there in Plymouth at this time if there 
 were but seven houses in the little settlement? Why was the 
 Mayflower returning to England? These questions and others 
 of the same sort are not necessarily to be asked of the class. 
 They are indicative of the attitude the teacher should adopt in 
 reading the poem while preparing for her introductory lessons. 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 71 
 
 Her own skill and ingenuity will show themselves in the careful 
 weaving of these details into her preliminary account. 
 
 It is always well to bridge the gap between parts of a lesson- 
 whole by setting a problem or formulating a question. At the 
 close of the first lesson the teacher may make some such state- 
 ment as this, "Now we know a little more of these simple pious 
 folks, how they suffered and Hved and how at length it seemed as 
 if they had really found a true resting place. We have learned, 
 too, something about their miUtary captain, Miles Standish. 
 To-morrow (?) M^e shall begin to read a poem which will tell how 
 Standish wanted to marry, in what a curious way he set about 
 it, and whether he succeeded or not." Of course, with the 
 poems in their possession and with the creation of a right atmos- 
 phere, any class will rush through the story to find out what it is 
 all about. Nor is this to be checked. In fact, one of the pur- 
 poses of the graphic and vivid introduction is to create such an 
 interest that the class of its own initiative will read the poem. 
 If this result is not attained the presentation cannot be said to 
 have been altogether successful. 
 
 From this point the reading should proceed as in a regular 
 reading lesson. The stopping places should be chosen skilfully 
 so that the ground covered may be a vmit, while the concluding 
 situation gives a propelUng interest that will carry the class over 
 into the next reading. As each boy reads there should be brief 
 questioning on the content, elucidation of involved passages, 
 explanation of terms, etc. 
 
 When the lesson has been brought to a close and has been 
 properly summarized, the time should have been so arranged 
 that a few minutes remain during which the teacher may dictate 
 words or passages to be the subject of the pupils' research. A 
 better plan may be to have these all prepared on mimeographed 
 slips and to distribute them at the close of the lesson. The 
 introduction to the new lesson should include not only a brief 
 statement of what was read the day before, but also a rapid 
 
72 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 questioning on the meaning of the words and phrases. Care 
 should be taken not to attempt anything exhaustive in this 
 first selection for word or text study. Whatever is necessary 
 for right understanding should not be omitted from explanation, 
 but only those should be assigned for pupils' research which 
 have a definite cultural or aesthetic value. Thus "choleric" 
 would be explained, if necessary, by the teacher in the lesson, 
 but should not be assigned for pupils' study; also the references 
 to Caesar, although these may be simply explained in connection 
 with the study of the grade in history. "The well-worn Psalm 
 Book of Ainsworth," if possible, should be explained by the 
 fac-simile picture of a page; otherwise a simple statement by 
 the teacher should suffice. The advance work is done in the 
 class room, the only work done at home being on those parts 
 already presented with the aid of the teacher. 
 
 One lesson may be given to a general review of the story, 
 not so much for the purpose of the narrative as for questions and 
 answers on the characters, and on the preferences of the pupils 
 for different passages. 
 
 Up to this point, in spite of the fact that there has been con- 
 tinued questioning, it may be said that there has been more 
 opportunity for impression than for expression. It is here that 
 a second motive becomes urgent, if the presentation has been 
 vivid and interest-compelling. To enter upon a detailed study 
 of the poem would be entirely out of the question. The pupils 
 are not sufi&ciently developed, and even if they were, the results 
 would be of doubtful value. There are, however, two phases 
 of the expressive instinct that may be utilized for a more inten- 
 sive study of selected parts of the poem. On the one hand, the 
 love of dramatization will lead children to study in great detail 
 passages of narration that lend themselves readily to this form 
 of expression. The teacher may select dramatic places in the 
 story, set before the class as goal the presentation of the entire 
 poem in the form of pictures to the accompaniment of dialogue 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 73 
 
 in the language of the poem, and proceed to a careful study of all 
 passages that will shed light on the characters or help to a better 
 dramatic interpretation. What passages to choose is a matter 
 left to the discretion of the teacher. There should not be many, 
 nor should they be too long. Moreover, in the dramatization, 
 no part should be monopolized by any one pupil. Three or four 
 boys may impersonate Standish, so that the interest of the entire 
 class may be enlisted in the work. Naturally the acting of the 
 "play" before the school is a fitting climax to the work. 
 
 The second phase of the expressive instinct is found in the 
 desire of children to give pictorial representation of scenes that 
 appeal to them. The teacher should select two or three striking 
 scenes, such, for example, as the sailing of the Mayflower, 
 and setting as aim before the class the representation of this 
 scene with the aid of crayons or water-color, should proceed to a 
 detailed study of the descriptive passages that will aid a proper 
 representation. It may be objected that not all the children 
 can draw well, that they are self-conscious and do not throw 
 themselves into this kind of work with any enthusiasm. The 
 second criticism is one that will not hold if this sort of expressive 
 work has been carried on throughout the grades. As to the 
 first, if all the children cannot draw, all can study a descriptive 
 passage so as to get suggestions which may be offered to the few 
 talented ones who are to do the drawing for the class. The 
 figuring of the scene that will come after careful study will give 
 sound basis for intelligent constructive criticism of the selected 
 children's pictorial representations when offered for inspection. 
 
 Summary . — The masterpiece should be studied (i) because it 
 has psychological value in that it calls for prolonged attention; (2) 
 because it has cultural value in that it introduces the pupils to the 
 classics; (3) because it has pedagogic value in that it furnishes a 
 motive for training in formal English. These values being second- 
 ary or derived, the study should come late in the course. The work 
 should not be hindered with exercises in articulation, with the study 
 
74 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 of teclinical grammar, or of rhetorical forms. These are to be sub- 
 ordinated to securing the aesthetic and ethical effect of the master- 
 piece. There should be two readings meeting the dominant interests 
 to be appealed to. These interests are (i) the interest in the 
 narrative as such; (2) the desire to give satisfactory oral rendering of 
 passages that appeal to the pupils. For the teacher the best equip- 
 ment is not so much knowledge of the best method as it is mas- 
 tery of the subject matter and an appreciation of the art value of the 
 masterpiece presented. Expression for the pupils may take the form 
 of oral reading, spontaneous or memorized dramatizations, or pic- 
 torial representation. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE (Continued) 
 
 In order to show how different the study is when the emotional 
 and psychological element rather than the narrative element is 
 emphasized in the telling of the story, it may be well to show in 
 some detail the treatment of Tennyson's "Enoch Arden." 
 
 The teacher should read some full account of the life of the 
 author. In these days of intimately personal biographies it is 
 an easy matter to procure several volumes full of details and 
 anecdotes. The teacher must remember, however, that we are 
 interested in the work of Tennyson, not because he is the polished 
 master of modem English verse, nor because he is the representa- 
 tive of the modern spirit as it found expression in poetry, nor yet 
 because he is the idyllist of EngHsh legendary lore, but because 
 he is the true prophet, in the ancient sense, of the deepest and 
 highest thoughts and feelings. We are interested in him not 
 from the literary side but from the ethical, from the emotional, 
 from the aesthetic. With this side of the author the teacher 
 must become familiar. She must study the history of the com- 
 position of the work, its relation to the Hfe of the author, and 
 its relation to his other works. 
 
 There should first be an account of the life of the author 
 replete with personal detail. Anecdotes should be freely used 
 to illustrate characteristic traits of his personality. An account 
 should then be given of the circumstances imder which the 
 particular work was written. Nearly every masterpiece has an 
 interesting personal history. 
 
 When the regular study is taken up, either the teacher should 
 do all the reading or she should call upon the best readers of 
 
76 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 the class, going over a few lines without questioning until some 
 logical stopping place is reached. Then the class should retrace 
 the step taken and the analysis of the thought should begin. 
 Each day's lesson should be so planned that it will stop at a 
 logical place in the story. Each reading is to be preceded by 
 telling the story as far as it has developed from the instalments 
 already read, and some of the more important questions may be 
 revived to give pupils opportunity to settle moot points. There 
 may be occasional composition exercises, oral as well as written, 
 narratives alternating with descriptions. The attention is to be 
 concentrated on the thoughtfulness of the compositions. All 
 attempts to paraphrase portions of the work studied are to 
 be discountenanced. No paraphrase can hope to equal the 
 original in beauty of diction, and we must keep the aesthetic 
 appreciation unimpaired. 
 
 The story of the poem may be told in two periods on two 
 succeeding days. The first reading may with advantage be 
 closed at the point in the story where Enoch, on the desert 
 island, sees the crew from the ship land in search of fresh water. 
 The second reading begins with a brief summary of the first. 
 Conversation may then be begun on topics Hke those here sug- 
 gested. 
 
 What is the great act of Enoch's life that makes it noble? 
 What is the noblest act of Philip's life? What name may we 
 give to the quality of Enoch's character that is shown in his 
 actions on his return to his native village? Can you think of 
 any other stories that show us the same quaHty? Can any one 
 make up a story to show that this noble quality may be possessed 
 by any one of us? Who will give some example? What 
 name may we give to the noble quality shown by Phihp? Do 
 you think he was doing Enoch a wrong? Why? (Tell the class 
 that the noblest act of friendship is to extend help to those who 
 are dear to our friends). 
 
 Which of the two men do you Hke better? Why? 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 77 
 
 It is not advisable to encourage too minute a comparison of 
 the two characters. 
 
 Do you think Annie was not true to Enoch when she married 
 PhiHp? Why? (Emphasize to the children the fact that 
 Annie was thinking of her children, and dwell on the beautiful 
 aspects of the mother-love. Speak of the sacrifices that parents 
 are continually making for their children, and show the children 
 that love and obedience are but the natural return due from 
 them to their parents). How do you think the story would have 
 ended if Enoch had told who he was and made himself known to 
 all the people? 
 
 Detailed Study 
 
 Read the first stanza to the class. Notice how brief the descrip- 
 tion is and yet how complete. We have a full picture before our eyes. 
 When we try to say this in the ordinary way we lose force. Brev- 
 ity is always more emphatic and forcible than long speeches. (Refer 
 the children to English history, and teU them that the words "Danish 
 harrows" should almost place the exact spot; ask them to look the 
 matter up). What does the word cuplike mean? How would you 
 express the same idea by usiag geographical terms? Which way of 
 saying it tells better what the place looked like? 
 
 Read the second stanza. What does three house mean? What 
 differences would you expect in the characters of the two boys and 
 to what do you think these differences are due? Notice the exact 
 uses of adjectives by the poet. For uistance, why is the cordage 
 hard? Why are the fishing nets ^war^/jy.? (Because they are tarred). 
 Why is the fluke of the anchor rusty ? Why are the boats updrawn ? 
 
 Who knows of fines from a certain American poet in which use is 
 made of the same idea we have in the last four lines of this stanza? 
 (LongfeUow's "Psalm of Life"). 
 
 Read the third and fourth stanzas. (Do not discuss the third 
 stanza at all; let it act on the children spontaneously. They will 
 understand it perfectly). 
 
 Why does Tennyson call childhood rosy ? What is the meaning of 
 the line. Ere he had touched his one and twentieth May? What 
 
78 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 comparison have we met that was like the use of the word 
 nestlike? Why does Temiyson use the word clamber' d in speaking 
 of the narrow street? 
 
 Read stanzas 5 and 6. Notice the kind of picture you get when 
 the poet uses the words, golden eventide. (Do not have the f;hLldren 
 analyze the image; let them get the feeling of the phrase). How was 
 the hazel grove situated with respect to the village? Refer to the 
 first stanza. Notice the expression, feather toward the hollow. Why 
 did Philip read his doom ? (Explain briefly the lines third and sec- 
 ond from the last in the sixth stanza). 
 
 Read stanzas 7, 8, and 9. What are the duties of a boatswain? 
 Notice the expression, fiery highway. Who can teU some* stories 
 of the love that men have had for their horses? Why does Enoch 
 love his boat so much? 
 
 Read stanzas 10 and 11. Why did not Annie wish to let Enoch 
 go to China? What was Enoch's old sea friend? 
 
 Read stanzas 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. Notice the beautiful compar- 
 ison at the close of stanza 13. Notice how simple it is — just what 
 one would expect in such a simple tale. Who can find another of 
 these simple comparisons in stanza 16? 
 
 Read stanzas 18 and 19. What is a glass? Who use this term? 
 
 Read stanza 20. (No comments; the story is too pathetic). 
 
 Read stanzas 21 to 26, inclusive. Why had Phihp never called 
 to see Annie? What incident in his boyhood shows this same qual- 
 ity of his character? See stanza 3. Notice how, although Phihp 
 comes to do a great kindness to Annie, he puts the matter so that 
 you might think Annie was doing him a favor. It is how we do a 
 kindness that counts for more than what we give. What is a garth? 
 stanza 25. In stanza 26 what is the meaning of the words made him- 
 self theirs? Explain the use of the word lazy to describe the gossip. 
 (Explain to the class the last three lines of the stanza). 
 
 Read stanza 27. Why did the children come to love Phihp more 
 than they did the memory of Enoch? Explain the use of the word 
 fathom. How is the word generally used? Explain the beautifxil 
 expression that you find in this stanza. 
 
 Read stanzas 28 to 2)2>} inclusive. Notice how well the poet has 
 used blossom-dust in his comparison of the miller to the bee. Why 
 
• STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 79 
 
 is this word just right? Do you notice anything else that is very 
 fitting in this comparison? Explain once more what a down is. (Call 
 the attention of the class to Tennyson's use in this stanza of the 
 exact words that we met in stanza 5; his purpose is to ask us to 
 remember what took place once before in this spot). Why are the 
 hazels described as ze'Mew^wg .? Why are the boughs re^wdawi.? (Ex- 
 plain to the class Honest forehead, stanza 30. Call their attention 
 to the ellipsis in the conversation and show them by illustrations 
 how natural a touch this is. Ask for further illustrations.) Notice 
 that this is only the second time that we hear Philip speak for any 
 length of time, and that in each case it was to plead for a chance to 
 do some good to others. Explain the origin of the expression bide 
 my year. In what other way might the poet have spoken of the 
 dead flame of the fallen day ? 
 
 Read stanzas 34 and 35. What idea do you get from the poet's 
 wonderful use of the word flashed in the expression, autumn into au- 
 tumn flashed again ? Pass the next stanza without comment. 
 
 Read stanzas 36 and 37. (Explain the line. Compass' d round by 
 the blind wall of night, laying particxilar emphasis on the use of the 
 word blind. Explain to the class the superstitious beUef in dreams.) 
 Notice once more the use of repeated expressions in stanza 37. Can 
 you see how the poet leads us at this point to get some idea in advance 
 that Enoch stUl lives? 
 
 Read stanzas 38 to 42, inclusive. Why does Tennyson call Enoch's 
 ship Good Fortune ? Explain the Cape, Biscay, summer world, breath 
 of heaven, golden isles, oriental haven. Notice in stanza 40 how poet- 
 ically the Knes teU us that the ship sailed fast. Who can read the 
 lines? Why were the ship-wrecked mariners ill-content in spite of 
 the beauty of the isle? 
 
 Read stanza 43. Tennyson never was in the tropics, yet travelers 
 say this is a wonderfully accurate description. The power of imag- 
 ination is the truest sign of the real poet. Dwell on the details of 
 this description and try to show pictures to the class that wiU make 
 the imagery more vivid to the children. 
 
 Read stanzas 44 and 45. (Explain to the class what illusions are.) 
 The ringing of beUs that is described here is taken by the poet from 
 a story told to him by a man who was shipwrecked in this way. But 
 
8o THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH • 
 
 notice how the poet has used this fact to suggest an event that has 
 taken place in Enoch's native village. What is that event? It 
 was faith alone that kept Enoch aKve. Here give some quotations, 
 Biblical and others, relating to the power of faith. 
 
 Read stanza 46. Why does the poet use the words early-silvering 
 head? What had caused Enoch to lose the power of speech? Why 
 had he never noticed the loss of this power before? 
 
 Read stanzas 47, 48, and 49. Notice that the poet does not teU 
 us how Enoch felt; how does he give us a picture of Enoch's mind? 
 (By making the scene a reflex of his thoughts.) For a good ex- 
 ample, read to the class Longfellow's "Rainy Day"; the paralleHsm 
 here is perfect. 
 
 Read stanzas 50 to 53, inclusive. Notice, in stanza 51, that the 
 comparison used is one suitable for a sea-tale; and notice, also, 
 how particularly fitting it is, in that it suggests that when Enoch 
 does go to the house, Uke the bird, he goes to his ruin. Read once 
 more to the class the surpassingly beautifid, yet simple, description 
 of the interior of Philip's home; ask the class to think of Enoch's 
 thoughts as he looks in, but make no other comment. 
 
 Read stanzas 54 to 58, inclusive. Note the force of the term 
 dead man. What does it mean? Make no other comment. 
 
 Read stanza 59. Bring home to the children the moral truth that 
 the thought that we are douig right is in itself a great reward. So 
 it was Avith Enoch — he was not all unhappy. Note once more the 
 beauty of the comparison at the close of this stanza, and notice how 
 fitting it is in a sea-tale. This use of fitting figures gives an air of the 
 sea to the whole story; it is what we call the atmosphere of the poem. 
 Who can explain why we call it by this name? Now, who can turn 
 back in the poem to other comparisons that help to create this atmos- 
 phere? 
 
 Read stanzas 60 and 61. No comment. Pause a Httle to give 
 the stanzas opportimity to leave their undoubted impress. 
 
 Read the rest of the poem. For the explanation of the calling of 
 the sea, see "A Memoir of Lord Tennyson," by his son. Show the 
 class how the last three hnes of the poem teU, indirectly, the whole 
 story of what took place after Annie and Philip heard who the dead 
 man was. 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 8i 
 
 The teacher may close with a return to some of the general ques- 
 tions on the characters asked at the beginning of the study. 
 
 Summary. — Where the emotional appeal of the masterpiece is 
 strong, the pupU should be called upon to judge of acts and motives 
 with a view to establishing general standards of conduct. The 
 study of diction should lead to a feeling for the right use of words. 
 The appeal should be to the music of the word, to its suggestive 
 power, and to its inevitableness. 
 
CHAPTER rX 
 STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE (Concluded) 
 
 As an illustration of the method of studying a prose master- 
 piece, we may take Benjamin Franklin's "Autobiography." 
 The appreciation of a masterpiece consists not only in the com- 
 prehension of a story, not even in a feehng of its beauty, but 
 in the reconstruction and reorganization of the personal experi- 
 ences of the reader by the aid of the richer and fuller content 
 expressive of the personal experiences of a creative genius. The 
 problem of the teacher is to analyze the work with a view to 
 discovering what are the experiences or aspirations of the child 
 which should be recalled to him as the first step toward a com- 
 plete sympathy with the content of the work he is to study. 
 
 From this point of view, an autobiography is of value in the 
 elementary school not as a literary work but as the record of 
 the life of a man ; and its value will be proportioned to the value 
 that man's life has when translated into the experiences of the 
 pupil of the elementary schools. The study of Franklin's 
 "Autobiography " is only an intermediate step to an appreciation 
 of Franklin, the man. As a literary work the book does not 
 respond to a need in the child's expressive interests; he does not 
 care to study its style for, normally, he is not yearning to record 
 his life-story for posterity. But what he is interested in, is the 
 account of the development of a man of power in his time, from 
 the humblest of beginnings. Potentially, he is a Franklin; 
 and in the career of the apprenticed printer he sees his own 
 possible life unfolded before his kindled imagination. 
 
 The aim of the teacher, therefore, should be to present not 
 the autobiography of Franklin, but Franklin himself. A pre- 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 83 
 
 liminary reading is useless, since in a seventh year class the 
 children are already possessed of a general knowledge of Franklin 
 and his influence on the early history of the nation. In so far as 
 a detailed study of selected portions is necessary to make possible 
 an emotional appreciation of dynamic periods in the man's 
 career, there should be due emphasis on the form. But in every 
 case the selection of the part read should be made so that it will 
 illustrate a vital point in the development of the man; it should 
 verify through the actual experience of Franklin an actual or a 
 possible situation in the life of a boy. 
 
 To read the entire book in the time allotted would be mani- 
 festly impossible; parts chosen for actual reading should be 
 complete in themselves and should present dramatic episodes in 
 Franklin's life. The necessary connections between these parts 
 may be made by oral reports on portions of the autobiography 
 read at home by the pupils or by questions prepared by the 
 teacher and bearing on the development of historical events 
 during the period in question. To simamarize, then, only one 
 reading should be given. This should be of selected parts — 
 units in themselves and capable of treatment in a single period. 
 
 Naturally the dominant question is, "What part shall be 
 selected?" In other words, "What aspects of Franklin may we 
 rightly assume appeal to the boy in the seventh year, either 
 because they meet his personal ideals, or because they serve to 
 reconstruct the notions he has received from his earlier study of 
 American history? " 
 
 These criteria as we understand them are three in number. 
 They are those which are indicative of an appreciation of 
 Franklin under three aspects, viz.: FrankHn, the self-made 
 man; Franklin, the marvel of versatility; Franklin, the man of 
 affairs. As typical of the first, we should select portions of the 
 autobiography which will show us the steady application of the 
 youth, his industry, his systematic mode of living, his frugality. 
 For the second, we should choose portions which present the 
 
84 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 varied aspects of his career, the scientist, the practical inventor, 
 the author, the man of business, etc. While for the third we 
 should take parts from the autobiography which show the 
 important part he played in politics at home and in diplomatic 
 relations abroad. The first two will, if properly presented, 
 satisfy personal ideals; the third will serve to vitalize historical 
 notions already acquired by the pupil. A partial selection is 
 here given. The pagination is that of the edition of the auto- 
 biography pubHshed by D. C. Heath & Co., and edited by H. 
 A. Davidson. 
 
 1. His youth, p. 7 to middle page 12. 
 
 2. How he educated himself; p. 14 to middle page 18; then 
 page 19, top p. 21; p. 22, middle page 24. 
 
 3. Trip to Philadelphia; entrance into the city, p. 29 to top 
 page 36. 
 
 4. Life in Philadelphia, p. 51, top page 54. 
 
 5. Life in London, p. 56, to page 72. 
 
 6. Life in Philadelphia, p. 103, bottom p. 106. 
 
 7. His moral education, p. 108, and 135 to 155. Three or four 
 lessons, omitting the discussion of religious matters. 
 
 8. The Almanac, pp. 155 to 158. With copious quotations from 
 the Almanac itself. 
 
 9. His pubhc service, p. 167 and 178 to 193 with omissions. 
 
 10. As an inventor, etc., pp. 250-265. 
 
 11. As civil benefactor, pp. 189-193 and 203 to 208, 
 
 12. His plan of union, pp. 209-215, inclusive. 
 
 13. As English agent, and as colonel, pp. 266-287. Much may be 
 rapidly passed over; four lessons in all; perhaps three wiU suffice. 
 
 The lessons may be conducted hke ordinary reading lessons 
 except that the introduction should consist of a siunmary of the 
 connecting parts or of a review of the historical events. The 
 questioning throughout the lesson should bear upon the develop- 
 ment of that aspect of the man, the consideration of which 
 prompted the specific choice of the part of the autobiography 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 85 
 
 under study. Illustrative material of many sorts, it is needless 
 to add, should be employed. 
 
 As a further illustration of how the method to be followed in 
 the study of the masterpiece will always be changed by the 
 nature of the work studied, we give a brief analysis of the 
 method to be followed in taking up the study of Irving's "Rip 
 Van Winkle." 
 
 While the general mode of presentation is determined by the 
 motives supplied by the pupil's dominant interests, the approach 
 to the lesson must be regulated by the content of the masterpiece 
 itself. In Longfellow's "Courtship of Miles Standish" the 
 story is one that involves characters and a phase of our history 
 already more or less famiKar to an average seventh year class. 
 Hence the first lessons dealt with the story of the Pilgrims and 
 the difficulties and dangers attendant upon their early settle- 
 ment in Massachusetts. Here, however, we are endeavoring 
 to present a story which was an original creation with Irving — 
 at least in the form we have before us in "Rip Van Winkle." 
 Our interest here must be in the author and then by transference 
 in the story. A literary study of Irving is entirely out of place 
 in an elementary school. But he can be presented in such a 
 way as to connect with certain historical facts already known 
 by the class. Such a presentation is here attempted. Much 
 of the information to be given may form the subject matter of 
 the teacher's talk; but it is not to be inferred that all should 
 be demanded from the class in return. 
 
 In the Edinburgh Review for January, 1820, Sydney Smith 
 wrote, "In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American 
 book? or goes to an American play? or looks at an American 
 picture or statue? " In the August number of the same periodi- 
 cal for that year, we read, "The courteous and ingenious 
 stranger (Irving) whom we are ambitious of introducing to the 
 notice of our readers." No student of Hterary movements 
 dares to assert that changes in attitude are efifected within the 
 
86 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 brief compass of time that is represented by the few months 
 separating these excerpts. Still, it cannot be doubted that 
 during the first quarter of the nineteenth century a great change 
 took place in the critical judgment of England regarding literary 
 affairs in America. Irving has been called the "Father of 
 American Literature" — the "first American man of letters to 
 gain the ear of Europe." Our political independence was secured 
 in 1783; our commercial identity was assured in 181 5, at the 
 close of the Second War for American Independence. But our 
 intellectual declaration of independence was not issued until 
 1837 when Emerson in his ringing oration on "The American 
 Scholar" sounded the note of national individualism. As a 
 necessary forerunner to this, however, was the recognition on the 
 part of English critics of the existence of a native literature, 
 distinctive and worthy of its source; and it was Washington 
 Irving who was the compelling force in this struggle for separate 
 existence. 
 
 It is therefore as a pioneer that the author whose work we 
 are to present, is of most interest to us. Partly because of the 
 barrier raised between the countries by the political conflict, 
 partly because the smug complacency of the early nineteenth 
 century Britisher brooked like the Turk no rival near the throne, 
 all literary work in America was regarded with disdain by the 
 contributors to EngHsh periodicals. Repel a suppHcant and he 
 fawns all the more. In proportion as our writers were contemp- 
 tuously thrust aside so did they more assiduously give themselves 
 to complete adulation of their scorners. Although Irving 
 succeeded in gaining a grudging recognition in England, he did 
 not live to see the total rehabiHtation of American literary 
 independence. 
 
 It will be of interest during the introductory presentation to 
 speak of Irving's work in various directions. There is little 
 connected with his youth that is of value to us in tracing the 
 growth of his Hterary career. More important than his reading 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 87 
 
 or his book-education were the trips he took through the Hudson 
 valley and up into Canada. Bryant says Irving was the first 
 to describe the extraordinary beauty of the Hudson, and such 
 reports as we have, serve to indicate the strong impression made 
 on him by the virgin forests and the blue mountains of his 
 native State — "a, realm of wonder and enchantment." 
 
 "Of all the scenery of the Hudson, the Kaatskill Mountains had 
 the most witching effect on my boyish imagination. Never shall I 
 forget the effect upon me of the first view of them predominating 
 over a wide extent of coimtry, part wild, woody, and rugged; part 
 softened away into aU the graces of cultivation. As we floated 
 slowly along, I lay on the deck and watched them through a long 
 svunmer's day, undergoing a thousand mutations under the magical 
 effects of atmosphere; sometimes seeming to approach, at other 
 times to recede; now almost melting into hazy distances, now 
 burnished by the setting sim, xmtil in the evening, they printed 
 themselves against the glowing sky in the deep purple of an Italian 
 landscape. . . . 
 
 "To me, the Hudson is full of storied associations, connected as 
 it is with some of the happiest portions of my life. Each striking 
 feature brings to mind some early adventure, or enjoyment; some 
 favorite companion who shared it with me. . . ." 
 
 In order to bring a class into somewhat the same attitude 
 toward the country which forms the background of the story, 
 the room should be supplied with pictures of the Catskill 
 Mountains, cut from magazines, railroad folders, and the like. 
 Pupils may be encouraged to continue the collection in their 
 scrap books, accompanying the pictures wherever possible by a 
 sentence selected from the descriptive portions of the narrative 
 and written underneath the picture. In schools blessed with a 
 stereopticon lantern a lecture may be given by the teacher. 
 
 In 1807, Dr. Samuel Latham Mitchell published "Picture of 
 New York" — "said to be ridiculous, even among works of 
 its time, for ponderous pretentiousness." Irving and his two 
 
88 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 brothers conceived a mere jeu d^ esprit, the notion of writing 
 a burlesque of this work, and with this view, as we are informed 
 by his nephew, they took a vast quantity of notes, in emulation 
 of the erudition displayed in the commencement of that work, 
 which began with an account of the Aborigines. They started, 
 therefore, with the creation of the world. As he went on, the 
 style and purpose changed and there was produced a comic 
 history of old New York — "The History of New York, by 
 Diedrich Knickerbocker." 
 
 A lesson may profitably be given to this work. The class 
 will be delighted with the account of the preparatory adver- 
 tisements intended to arouse curiosity. How successful these 
 were may be judged from the fact that one of the city authori- 
 ties came to consult Irving 's brother on the propriety of offer- 
 ing a reward for the missing Diedrich. There are many 
 excellent selections from "the richest piece of native humor 
 that the country has produced" which will be hugely enjoyed 
 by children already familiar with the historical facts connected 
 with the leading personages of the story. 
 
 This work made Irving famous. Charles Dudley Warner 
 says: 
 
 "Outside the Dutch families, the History was hailed with univer- 
 sal delight, as the most witty and original production from any 
 American pen. The first foreign author to recognize its peculiar 
 merit was Walter Scott, who read it aloud to his family, till their 
 sides were sore with laughing, he asserts, and who saw in it a close 
 resemblance to Dean Swift, and indications of powers that reminded 
 him of Sterne." 
 
 For the purposes of the seventh year work it will scarcely 
 be advisable to enter into an account of Irving's biographical 
 and historical writings. Two, and only two, elements enter 
 into a right appreciation of Rip Van Winkle: sympathy with 
 the ardent love Irving felt for the beauties of the Catskill 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 89 
 
 Mountain country and acquaintance with the grotesque and 
 whimsical spirit in which he dealt with the traditions of Dutch 
 New York. The teacher should aim to make both these 
 factors living and real things in the minds of the children. 
 How the first of these entered completely into the Hfe of the 
 man may be learned from his choice of Sunnyside as his home 
 in later Hfe. 
 
 It is with the "Sketch Book," of course, that we are most 
 directly concerned. Only a consideration of the powers of 
 the particular class to take up the work can determine how 
 much of the information here given should be presented to 
 the children. One caution, however, should be noted. The 
 interest of the pupils is in the story as such and not in the style 
 or the technique of construction. The analysis of the sketch 
 from the literary point of view is given solely for the purpose, 
 already suggested, of furnishing the teacher with a broader 
 background of cultural information. 
 
 The writing of the book was undertaken by Irving with a 
 definite purpose. Relations between the two branches of 
 English-speaking people were strained. The haughty con- 
 descension of the Britisher was resented by the American, 
 just beginning to find himself in a national sense, and strong 
 in the consciousness of youthful power. On the other hand, 
 the self-sufiiciency and assertive independence of the Ameri- 
 can traveler was equally offensive to the staid Briton who 
 shut in his horizon with provincialism and deep-rooted faith 
 in vested tradition. More than any other man of his time, 
 Irving brought about a better understanding and laid the 
 foundation for a more tolerant respect. His papers on English 
 life, tinged with quaint humor, sympathetic withal, and with- 
 out sacrificing any of the cherished notions of American in- 
 dependence, gracefully paid tribute to the Old Home of 
 American traditions. His portrayal of American scenes and his 
 characterizations of native types were delicious in their refine- 
 
90 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 ment and showed an impartial judgment that brought about a 
 truer appreciation. 
 
 The success of the book was immediate. Intended originally 
 for publication only in America, it met with so favorable a 
 reception here that pirated editions began to appear in England, 
 and, in self-defense, Irving was compelled to arrange for an 
 authorized publication. It was once a cause for national pride 
 to refer to the fact that Murray, a leading English publisher 
 and bookseller, who had once declined to undertake the publi- 
 cation of the "Sketch Book" later asked for the privilege, and 
 became in a way Irving's literary sponsor in England. 
 
 As a stylist, Irving belongs to the eighteenth rather than 
 to the nineteenth century. The very form of his work, the 
 essay or sketch, was the characteristic product of the earlier 
 period. Many of his descriptive papers might well have been 
 taken from any of the numerous lighter periodicals of the 
 Augustan Age. He is a nineteenth century Addison, or better, 
 an American Goldsmith. We find the same, polish and finish, 
 the elusive charm, the same quips of fancy, the same super- 
 ficial and yet accurate characterizations that we meet in 
 the earlier writer. And whether it be due to the individual- 
 ity of the author, or to the unconscious influence of the English 
 models he constantly set before himself, we have a similar 
 style. The curious Latinisms that abound in the work of those 
 who belonged to our classic prose age are found here and make 
 detailed study in an elementary school almost an impossible, 
 certainly a difficult task. The sentence structure is totally 
 unlike that of our modern writers. Fashions change in style 
 of literary expression as in all else. The nicely turned, pungent 
 phrases of Addison are no longer typical of twentieth century 
 writing. While models of precise utterance and pointed ac- 
 curacy may be found in his work, a good modern style typical 
 of our age could not be gained by devoting one's days and 
 nights to the study of Addison. It is important that the 
 
STUDY OF THE MASTERPIECE 91 
 
 teacher keep this well in mind lest she turn aside too frequently 
 for the consideration of mere technique. Present day condi- 
 tions demand terseness and directness of diction, and simplicity 
 and brevity in sentence structure. 
 
 When all is said, however, the story's the thing. In "Rip 
 Van Winkle" we have a veritable classic, for it possesses the 
 one indispensable quality, inevitableness. Once let the work of 
 genius find expression and it gives us the feeling that it could 
 not have been expressed in any other way. This quahty "Rip 
 Van Winkle" possesses in a high degree. The story itself was 
 not original with Irving nor is it even native to America. But 
 whether he has adapted it from a German or a Spanish source, 
 he has so identified it with the country in which he has placed 
 it that it is "racy of the soil." Its charm grows with repeated 
 readings, and to the placidity of the style he adds a delicate 
 hinnor and a color of romance which give it an irresistible 
 appeal. 
 
 Read what Charles Dudley Warner says of it in his charm- 
 ingly intimate essay on Irving: 
 
 "And how simple Rip Van Winkle is. A less artist wovild have 
 dressed it up and overloaded it with a thousand fanciful elaborations, 
 such as the imagination of each of us likes to supply. How true it 
 seems, and how old. In fact it is old. And yet the original setting, 
 the exquisite adaptation of the legend to its locality make it a new 
 creation. It has the same dignity of antiquity as the Legend of the 
 Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, or of the Moslem youths, attended by 
 the wise dog, Ketmehr, who went to sleep in the cave above Damas- 
 cus." ... (It has) as much power of living on in the popular mind 
 as anything done, said, or written in this century. And the amazing 
 thing about (it) is that (it is) 'local,' and under a strong suspicion 
 of being 'provincial,' having sprung out of a virgin soU never sown 
 with tradition nor watered by age and custom." 
 
 It is the story which the teacher should aim to present as a 
 vivid reality to the class. And although, alas! — the legend 
 
92 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 has come to be so interwoven into our thinking that it is famil- 
 iar to almost every child, the interest of the children should 
 not be choked by any attempt to give a necessarily garbled 
 epitome of its leading episodes. The story may easily be 
 divided into smaller units, each susceptible of treatment within 
 the limit of a single period, each complete and expressive of 
 some vital part in the development of the whole. The treat- 
 ment of these parts should be that of the regular reading lesson 
 and those portions not taken up in the class may be assigned for 
 home reading to be reported on orally by the class as an intro- 
 duction to the next lesson. 
 
 If the literature study of the higher grades is carried on 
 along such Hnes as have here been suggested, we may hope to 
 create in the children's minds a love for the best. There will 
 be no drudging recitation of memorized notes. Deadly analy- 
 sis of sentences will not rob the children of any appreciation of 
 the content. The class will come to the lesson with eagerness 
 to read. The masterpiece itself will leave a lasting impression 
 upon the pupils and the teacher to some extent will have suc- 
 ceeded in establishing a standard of critical literary taste. 
 
 Summary. — Where the dominant aim is the portrayal of a per- 
 sonality, the study of form should be subordinated to the human 
 interest of the story. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 THE ORAL REPRODUCTION OF STORIES 
 
 The aim in this work is, first, to furnish the child with a 
 knowledge of stories that will add to his general culture. 
 Secondly, to enrich a valuable ethical idea with an attractive 
 story. Thirdly, to give the child exercise in the use of accurate 
 English. Fourthly, to increase the child's vocabulary. Fifthly, 
 to give concrete illustrations of important rhetorical principles 
 of narrative, such as unity, proportion, climax, etc. Sixthly, 
 to lend interest and variety to school work. 
 
 The stories which are selected for oral or for written repro- 
 duction by the children should possess some of the following 
 characteristics : 
 
 1. There should be a strong predominance of the narrative 
 element. The earliest Uterary expression of the human race 
 was in the form of narration. The child is more strongly 
 attracted by things done than by things seen. Movement 
 is the earliest phase of a conscious life. This interest in action 
 .remains strong throughout life. It is easier to interest through 
 
 a play than through a novel. Pantomime is more expressive 
 than language, and if we are to be determined in our choice 
 by the interests of the children, we should see to it that narra- 
 tion forms a large part of the content of the stories. 
 
 2. The stories should contain phases of child life. Our 
 entire discussion of method centers around the idea that the 
 child and the interests of the child should be the determinant 
 of content and of method. It may be pertinent to point out in 
 this connection that the same suggestions which will be made 
 regarding the selection of poems for memorizing should be 
 
94 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 followed here. If the story possesses the quality of the classic, 
 it will be not only interesting to the child but capable of broader 
 interpretation as the experience of the child increases. 
 
 3. The story must be well constructed, leading up to a defi- 
 nite climax. The greatest weakness in a child's telling of a 
 story is its "flabbiness." Nor is this true entirely of children. 
 It is only the trained raconteur who can so dispose the parts 
 of his story as to keep up interest, maintain suspense, and 
 deliver himself of a telling climax. 
 
 4. The story either should be complete or should be sus- 
 ceptible of division into well-defined units. The complete 
 story would, of course, be very brief and partake more of 
 the nature of an anecdote. Such work does not require pro- 
 longed interest and while it may be of value in the lowest 
 class, it should occasionally give way in the upper grades to 
 the longer story. It must, of course, be admitted that to a 
 child in the second half of the first year, it is a diflSicult task 
 to maintain interest in one story for a great length of time. 
 This difficulty can be met by selecting stories which embody 
 the cumulative element. 
 
 5. The story should have distinct ethical, artistic, correla- 
 tive, or literary value. 
 
 6. It shuld admit of being told in the simplest language. 
 
 7. It should admit of expansion through richness of detail. 
 One of these suggestions, viz., that the stories should have 
 
 a correlative value, calls for explanation. Stories from Kip- 
 ling, Thompson, and Long, for example, may be used in connec- 
 tion with nature study. Stories of the school and of home life 
 may be taken from an almost unlimited nimiber of literary 
 sources. Those which deal with the subjects of the course of 
 study may be found already told in suitable form by such 
 writers as McMurry, Pratt, and Kean. Stories which will 
 grow out of the excursions taken by the class may be such as 
 deal with monuments, tablets, etc. While the work in ethics 
 
ORAL REPRODUCTION OF STORIES 95 
 
 may be made vivid and interesting by using Biblical stories 
 for purposes of illustration. 
 
 For excellent suggestions as to the method of telling these 
 stories to the children, the teacher should consult McMurry's 
 "Special Method of Primary Reading," or Sarah Cone Bry- 
 ant's "How to Tell Stories to Children." A few hints may be 
 given here: 
 
 1. Tell the story in an easy manner, interrupting yourself 
 at times to ask questions of the children. Do not read the 
 story, and be continually on the lookout that the language 
 you employ is suited to a child. 
 
 2. In telling the story, emphasize certain words and expres- 
 sions which will add to the vocabulary of the children, and see 
 to it that these are used by the children in the reproduction. 
 
 3. In the questioning with which you interrupt your own 
 telling of the story, never allow indiscriminate answering from 
 the entire class. 
 
 4. Never have a story absolutely memorized by the children. 
 
 5. When the children reproduce a story, ask them, at times, 
 to face the class. 
 
 6. Be alert in preventing discursiveness. 
 
 7. Just as you should make your telling of the story ani- 
 mated by dramatization and characterization, so you should 
 demand the same of the children when they reproduce. Occa- 
 sionally, have the reproduction take the form of a dramatic 
 dialogue. Insist that the children inflect their voices, phrasing 
 to imitate the different speakers. 
 
 8. Never break the thread of the story told by the children for 
 the purpose of correcting errors in English. When errors are 
 made, let your correction be given in a casual way. Suggest the 
 right word and have the child proceed with as little interruption 
 as possible. Do not try to teach correct forms during this period. 
 
 9. Insist upon complete sentences in the answers given by 
 the children. 
 
96 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 10. Do not leave a story until most of the class are able to 
 reproduce it. 
 
 11. Occasionally give, through a picture or some other de- 
 vice, the beginning or the elements of a story, and ask the 
 children either to finish or to compose the story from the ele- 
 ments given. 
 
 12. In reporting a story in your plan book, if you keep one, 
 include, in S3TiopticaLform, the telling points of the story as 
 you have given them. This will emphasize for you the need of 
 making these points important, and will make your work more 
 definite. 
 
 The method of securing good oral and written reproductions 
 of stories as it is here outlined is based upon one employed in 
 the schools of Yonkers, where it has been tried for a number 
 of years with great success. Whatever originality is to be 
 claimed for the present method lies not in creation but in 
 adaptation. 
 
 The number of stories that can be taken up in any one term, 
 according to this method, is very small. It must therefore 
 be prefaced that the total number of stories told to the children 
 in any one term should not be limited to those upon which this 
 detailed work in reproduction is to be spent. It will usually 
 be found that not more than three stories can be taken up in 
 a half year. In addition to these, the teacher should select 
 perhaps half a dozen others which she will take up in a much 
 more superficial fashion, calling only for a general knowledge 
 of the story and power to reproduce it in as good English as 
 possible. From the second year onward, the stories that are 
 selected should be classics of intrinsic worth. During the ele- 
 mentary school coiu"se, the child may, in this way acquire the 
 power to tell, in fluent and original style, over forty stories 
 of gradually increasing length and complexity. This, it must 
 be remembered, will be in addition to the stories told in merely 
 a cursory fashion, while it will also exclude the stories used 
 
ORAL REPRODUCTION OF STORIES 97 
 
 in correlation with history or geography, or derived from the 
 reading matter of the grade. 
 
 Because so few stories are to be taken, a proportionately 
 greater burden rests upon the teacher. Since the children 
 will be occupied with only one story during perhaps five or six 
 weeks, the teacher must become assured that the self-activity 
 of the children is really at work, that the interest is spontane- 
 ous, and that the energy put forth is free and dominated by a 
 live valuation of the end to be attained. 
 
 Suggestions as to how this kind of interest may be directed 
 to this work will be of value. Class-room decoration should 
 display some unit-idea applicable to the work of the grade, 
 and suited to the age of the children. The idea should be the 
 center which will dominate the teacher's choice of stories for 
 oral reproduction. 
 
 First Year — "Mother Goose Room." Here the pictures 
 illustrating a nursery rhyme may decorate the room and 
 the central feature of the decoration may be Mother Goose 
 herself, broom in hand. Other figures may be those taken 
 from the jingles and the nursery rhymes. Wherever possible, 
 number work should grow out of incidents of the jingles. The 
 illustrative drawing may be made to center around the story 
 work. The reading would be of these stories, and the oral 
 reproduction would be of stories taken from a Mother Goose 
 book, 
 
 ''The Farm Yard." — Here the decorations may be alto- 
 gether of country scenes and of domestic animals. A corner of 
 the room may be set apart for a small model farm. The toy 
 farm, chicken-coop, stable, etc., and the toy animals would 
 be readily furnished by the children. In addition, there could 
 be regular planting of grass, corn, oats, etc., in small pots of 
 earth into which the farm proper might be divided. Manual 
 training work would consist of the making of farmers' imple- 
 ments of all kinds, the building of a toy fence, the pickets 
 
98 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 being made of cardboard and the cross-pieces being glued to 
 the upright sticks. The drawing would be of children posing 
 in attitudes indicative of the work of the farmer. Number 
 work could be associated with life on the farm. Finally, 
 stories for oral reproduction, besides much of the reading work, 
 would center around this idea, and would always be interesting 
 because of the presence of these objects in the room. 
 
 Second Year — "Animal Land." The pictures here might 
 be of animals of all kinds, some stuffed specimens even being 
 procured for permanent or for temporary exhibition. Here 
 again the stories should center around the unit-idea which 
 dominates all the work of the grade. 
 
 Other suggestions would be as follows: 
 
 Second Year — "Fairy Land." The central figure of the 
 decorations might be a fairy queen with wand in her hand. 
 
 Third Year — Hiawatha, Dutch Room, Japanese Room. 
 
 Fourth Year — Peter Stuyvesant Room, Old New York, 
 "Peter Pan" Room, Washington Irving. 
 
 Fijth Year — Old Spain, Old World Heroes, Ruskin Room, 
 Colonial Room. 
 
 Sixth Year — The Minute Men, The Henry Clay Room, 
 Nathan Hale Room, The Patrick Henry Room. 
 
 Seventh Year — Longfellow Room, Hawthorne Room, Merry 
 England. 
 
 Eighth Year — Shakespeare Room. 
 
 In addition to these suggestions, it will, of course, be seen 
 that it is possible from the fifth year upwards to name a room 
 after some American or English author, to have the pictures 
 deal with that author or his works, to have the stories alto- 
 gether from the writer in question, and thus, by a regular 
 graded course, to have the children become acquainted, as 
 they pass onward through the school, with the life and the 
 works of many representative authors. 
 
 This general preparation might be supplemented by much 
 
ORAL REPRODUCTION OF STORIES 99 
 
 additional material particularly appropriate to the stories taken 
 up in connection with this kind of work. The pictures dealing 
 with incidents of the story, or with places directly or indirectly 
 concerned with its content, may be collected by the teacher and 
 shown to the class at the right time. Pupils may form scrap 
 books containing appropriate pictures. In fact, any clever 
 teacher will work out devices of many kinds which will lend 
 interest to this kind of work, and make the words of the story 
 stand for realities in the minds of the children. 
 
 When the teacher has prepared the general atmosphere, so 
 to speak, of the room, and has selected her stories in a xordance 
 with the name of the room, she is ready to proceed with the 
 actual work. The story itself must be interesting, must move 
 definitely and steadily to a climax. If possible, it should be 
 a story that carries with it definite ethical content, or his- 
 torical or literary value. It is a matter of very little impor- 
 tance what the original form of the story may be which the 
 teacher is about to use. It is not necessary that the printed 
 story in amplified form should ever be given to the children. 
 
 In preparing her work, the teacher should plan first to tell 
 the story in such a way as she would, were she to require only 
 the ordinary reproduction. Her presentation should be ani- 
 mated and vivid, and should be made interesting by the intro- 
 duction of many details and much illustrative material. Bright 
 children may be called upon to reproduce the story in a general 
 way. The teacher may devote two or three lessons to this 
 work, until she feels assured that the general outline has been 
 fairly well fixed. In the higher grades, she may, with the aid 
 of the pupils, develop a topical outline showing the sequence 
 and the relative importance of the incidents of the story. This 
 outline may be copied by the children in their note-books and 
 there kept for future reference. 
 
 The next step in the preparation of the teacher should be 
 the division of the story into unit parts. These may be of 
 
lOO THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 various types. First, the unit may be a description of some 
 person or of some place mentioned in the story. Secondly, 
 it may be some single episode, or a part of an episode, of suffi- 
 cient importance in the general narrative to warrant its being 
 made the subject of detailed treatment. 
 
 It would be well for the teacher, in beginning this work, to 
 write out in her plan book in very brief and simple form, the 
 description or the incident which is to be the basis for later 
 expansion by the children. From this brief, written statement, 
 she should select a half dozen or more words or phrases or ideas 
 to be developed. 
 
 The introduction to the j&rst lesson in the real reproduction 
 may consist of an explanation of the work that the class is 
 to do. Even in the lower grades, this explanation could be 
 made so that the children will understand the aim of the exer- 
 cise. The teacher should explain that the idea of the story is, 
 of course, not the children's own. The story was written by 
 some great man or woman, and represents that writer's idea 
 of the way the story should be told. The language, however, 
 which that writer has used, is perhaps too difficult for the 
 children to understand. "At all events, it is much better to 
 make up your own words for the story, to tell it in your own 
 way, so that when you have finished, you will feel that when 
 you now tell the story, while the idea may not be yours, you may 
 really call it your own since most of the language in it you have 
 made up yourself. No boy would Uke to tell a story in just 
 the same words that this great writer did, because if he did, 
 the story would not be his own. In the same way, every boy 
 in the class should try to tell the story in a way that wiU be 
 different from that used by any other boy. When we are 
 through with the story," the teacher may continue, "I hope 
 that while in some parts a number of the boys in the class will 
 tell the story in the same way, still in most portions each boy 
 will tell it in his own way, and use his own words." In some 
 
ORAL REPRODUCTION OF STORIES loi 
 
 such manner as this, the teacher may emphasize the point that 
 the central aim of the work should be originality in finding ways 
 of telling the story. With an introduction of this kind, made 
 in a sympathetic way by the teacher, she is ready to proceed. 
 
 A few questions will recall to the class the opening incident 
 of the story. This should be reduced finally to perhaps half 
 a dozen sentences. The teacher then directs attention to 
 the first of the words or phrases already selected as the basis 
 for expansion and variation by the children. Let us suppose 
 that the phrase is "Once upon a time"; the teacher says, 
 "Now what boy can begin the story so as to give me the idea 
 'Once upon a time,' and yet not use these words? " The bright- 
 est of the class will at once respond. In a very short time, 
 there will be half a dozen or more variations. The teacher 
 should particularly encourage those who, in giving their equiva- 
 lent expression, expand the idea by giving the event, for example, 
 a definite location in time. This particular phrase, for example, 
 happened to be the first element for expansion chosen by the 
 teacher in telling the story of WilHam Tell, and one of the 
 variations given by a boy in the class was, "Years and years 
 ago, before there were any coimtries in Europe as there are 
 to-day, before gunpowder was used, and when guns were im- 
 known," etc. This was in the first half of the fifth year. 
 
 The teacher may then write on the board in colored chalk 
 the phrase as it is in the original story. She should sympa- 
 thetically encourage children to give their own statements 
 and should quietly and yet firmly insist upon correct English 
 and clear enunciation. Commendation should be frequent, and 
 particularly good equivalent expressions may be written on 
 the board in white chalk, imder the phrase of which they are 
 the equivalents. In a few minutes, a dozen or so of these 
 phrases will be secured from the class. 
 
 The teacher may then pass on to the next phrase or idea 
 selected for variation, making the transition from the first by 
 
I02 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 questioning the class as to the story, or rather the parts of the 
 story which connect the first with the second. Following a 
 method like that already described, variant expressions of the 
 second may then be secured. These are once more written on 
 the board, the connecting parts between the second and third 
 phrases selected by the teacher are brought out by questioning, 
 and so part of the story set apart for the first day is taken 
 up. The teacher may then explain to the class that now they 
 are ready to tell the first part, but that they should select from 
 the different ways of expressing an idea that particular one 
 which they like best. Sometimes this will be one that they 
 themselves have given. Frequently, they will merely be 
 adopting a form given by one of the other children, and the 
 teacher may further suggest that they are allowed to find out 
 for themselves still other ways of expressing the idea, and are 
 to use these in their telling of the story. 
 
 Every boy should be provided with a blank book in which 
 he will write the expressions he intends to use in telling 
 the story. He may be reminded that if at any later time he 
 wishes to substitute for an expression that he has previously 
 used, some other which he now thinks better, he may do so. 
 A lesson of this kind should be followed immediately by the 
 spelling lesson of the day and the words taken up should be 
 words selected from the expressions given by the teacher, such 
 words as would present difl&culties in spelling when the children 
 come to write out the story. 
 
 Sheets of oak-tag may then be prepared by the teacher on 
 which will be written the original expression from the story, 
 together with a half-dozen of the best equivalents given by the 
 children. It will be suf&cient reward for any boy, and suf- 
 ficient impetus in this kind of work, to have his own words 
 selected by the teacher to be placed before the class as a model. 
 
 In addition to the expressions given by the children, the 
 teacher may carefully, although in the beginning not too 
 
ORAL REPRODUCTION OF STORIES 103 
 
 frequently, give expressions of her own using words that she 
 may wish to add to the vocabulary of the children. All these 
 should be carefully thought out in advance. 
 
 Two or three lessons a week are all that need be given to 
 this kind of work. No period need last more than twenty-five 
 or thirty minutes, and each should begin, with a review of the 
 incidents already covered. At the first two or three reviews, 
 the charts prepared by the teacher, containing the Hsts of 
 equivalent expressions given by the children, may be on 
 view before the class. Later it will be found that the use 
 of these expressions has become familiar to the children, 
 and that they will no longer need the suggestion of the 
 teacher's list. At all times, however, they are to be allowed 
 to have before them their note-books containing the selections 
 from the Hsts which they intend to employ in their own 
 rendition of the story. 
 
 When the teacher has reached perhaps the fifth period of 
 oral reproduction, the first attempt to write may be made. 
 The first written lesson should cover only the first incident of 
 the story. It may be preceded by a telling of that incident 
 rapidly by a number of the brightest children. When the 
 actual writing begins, the teacher should move rapidly and 
 quietly around the room, continually on the lookout for errors, 
 and ever ready with suggestions. Pupils may have, besides 
 the paper on which the story itself is to be written, a smaller 
 piece of paper, and may be directed by the teacher not to 
 write any word regarding the spelling of which they are un- 
 certain. When they come to such a word in the course of their 
 story, they should attract the attention of the teacher and ask 
 for the spelling. While at times the teacher may ask the 
 children to spell the word for themselves, or may ask some 
 other pupil to help, it will most frequently be found best to 
 write the word directly for the children on the extra piece oenc 
 paper, and to have them copy the form in their sto^' 
 
I04 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 This method may be apphed not only to spelling, but to punc- 
 tuation, and even to the choice and arrangement of words. 
 It will readily be seen that the desire to write the story in 
 correct form will supply a motive to the children for the study 
 of rules of punctuation, such as the use of the quotation marks, 
 etc. All such work should carefully be correlated by the 
 teacher with this work in oral reproduction. When the idea 
 of the written work is once thoroughly grasped by the children, 
 it will be found that in a single written lesson they can cover 
 two or three incidents. In this way the written work will soon 
 catch up with the oral. 
 
 It must, however, be remembered that it would be impossible 
 to cover the work if at every succeeding lesson the children 
 were to write the story from the very beginning. It might, 
 therefore, be advisable to keep the written work of the children 
 in envelopes, one envelope being set aside for each child. The 
 product of each written lesson could be placed in the children's 
 envelopes so that as the work proceeds, they will gradually sup- 
 ply themselves with separate sheets which when put together 
 will form the complete story. A study period may be devoted 
 to writing the story as a unit, or this exercise may be assigned 
 to the children for home work. 
 
 In addition to the four forms of the work already described, 
 namely, giving the varying expressions, combining the vary- 
 ing expressions in a connected account, reviewing the selected 
 expressions at the beginning of each new lesson, and writing 
 the story itself, all devices ordinarily used by the teacher 
 in regular reading work should be employed. Of these, two 
 forms of dramatization will be found to be effective. In the 
 first form, a child may be selected to stand at the front of the 
 room and to tell the story. Others, previously picked out 
 and assigned to take different parts in the story, come for- 
 ' ' ard as their cues are given to them by the narrator in the 
 teiUx y q£ |.]^g story, and in pantomime go through the actions 
 
ORAL REPRODUCTION OF STORIES 105 
 
 called for by their part of the story. In the second form of 
 dramatization, the narrator gives all the descriptive parts, the 
 children following in pantomime; but when any part of the 
 story is reached which calls for dialogue, the narrator stops 
 and the dialogue is taken up in the direct form by the actors 
 themselves. To sustain interest and to inspire the brighter 
 hildren to put forth their best efforts, the teacher may an- 
 lOimce that when any story has been finished, a child will be 
 elected to go to some other class and tell the story, while a 
 child from that class will later entertain. Or a pupil may be 
 selected to stand before the assembly and tell the story learned 
 in the class-room. This incentive of a changed or a larger 
 audience will be all that is necessary to call forth the best work. 
 It is necessary to give a word of caution to the teacher. 
 When once the children understand the idea of the method, the 
 brighter ones will become wildly enthusiastic in giving expres- 
 sions and in volunteering to tell the story. It should be the 
 aim of the teacher not only to develop the powers of the brighter 
 children, but also to lead out the more reticent ones, and those 
 whose vocabulary is more limited or whose intelligence is less 
 quick. In other words, the teacher should take care that while 
 a high degree of excellence is reached by the brighter pupils 
 of the class, the slower ones will not be neglected. In brief, 
 it should be the aim of the teacher continually to keep in mind 
 that the story when told is given not by the entire class but 
 by individuals of the class. She should, therefore, constantly 
 aim to reach the individual. 
 
 It may be objected that the children are really committing 
 to memory a set form of the story. To a certain extent this 
 is true. But it must be remembered that the expressions 
 which they do commit to memory are either their own or those 
 which they have voluntarily selected from a large list, and, 
 therefore, such as represent their judgment and intelligent 
 choice. 
 
io6 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Good style and a large vocabulary cannot be secured merely 
 by emphasis upon the impressive side of teaching. This method 
 gives a motive for the extension of one's vocabulary, makes 
 desirable the committing to memory of excellent words and 
 phrases, and furthermore, furnishes an interesting and vital 
 form of expression to the children. At the beginning, the work 
 is slow and tends to discouragement; but at the end of one 
 term, a class enters upon its new work with a sure knowledge 
 of what is expected. In such cases, provided the enthusiasm 
 of the teacher does not abate, the results are so astounding as 
 to make it almost impossible to believe that children have com- 
 posed the sort of story one frequently hears in the course of 
 a regular lesson. It will be found that in the higher grades, 
 children frequently consult the dictionary in order to find 
 better equivalent expressions. Phrases and whole sentences 
 are adapted from memory gems or from reading lessons, and 
 are fitted into the story which the children are studying. In 
 short, the method provides an interesting and effective way of 
 giving children a better command over the language. 
 
 An adaptation of this method consists in a difference in the 
 method of originally presenting the story. In this variation, 
 instead of having a story told by the teacher and reproduced 
 by the children in general form, the teacher supplies herself 
 with a number of pictures forming a connected sequence, and 
 each depicting an important incident of the story. A picture 
 is given to the children and they are called upon to describe 
 it or to tell the story in their own language. This original 
 account forms the basis of the later variations by the children, 
 thus taking the place of the telling of the story by the teacher. 
 There are two drawbacks to this method: In the first place, 
 the children require earlier training in the telling of stories 
 from pictures. In the second place, it is difl&cult to get a 
 sufficiently large number of pictures of the right kind. 
 
 Finally it will be noted that in this method of story telling. 
 
ORAL REPRODUCTION OF STORIES 107 
 
 there is a combination of the element of narration, description, 
 and exposition. This combination is rarely found in the 
 formal composition work of the elementary schools, and yet 
 it is characteristic of any good original work such as the chil- 
 dren may be called upon to do in life. It, therefore, acquires 
 a new value as being more spontaneous and more nearly ex- 
 pressive of actual conditions in composition writing. 
 
 Summary. — The aims of the work with stories are (i) to add to 
 the child's general culture; (2) to enrich a valuable ethical idea 
 with an attractive story; (3) to give exercise in the use of accurate 
 English; (4) to increase the vocabulary; (5) to illustrate principles 
 of narrative composition; (6) to lend variety to school work. The 
 story should be selected with these ideas ia mind: (i) The narra- 
 tive element should predominate. (2) Phases of child life should 
 be represented. (3) The story must be well constructed. (4) It 
 should admit of easy division into units. (5) It should have ethical, 
 artistic, or Kterary value. (6) It should be simple. (7) It should ad- 
 mit of expansion through richness of detaU. In each grade the stories 
 selected for oral reproduction should center about some unit. Wher- 
 ever possible, the other work of the grade should lead up to or grow 
 out of this central idea. Illustrative material of many kinds should 
 be freely employed. After a vivid presentation of the story by the 
 teacher, the sequence of episodes should be fixed in the minds of 
 the pupUs. Taking the first episode or unit for the opening lesson, the 
 teacher after explaining the aim of the exercise should caU for ampli- 
 fications and variations. The best of these shoiold be used by the 
 pupils and later preserved in notebooks. Many equivalent expres- 
 sions should be presented to the class, thus permitting free choice. 
 Constant repetition in the succeeding lessons should fix the story in 
 mind. This work should be combined with written composition, 
 speUing, and exercises in the technique of written and oral English. 
 Dramatization of the stories shovdd be frequently employed. An 
 adaptation of the method substitutes for the telling of the story by 
 the teacher the presentation of sequential pictures portraying lead- 
 ing incidents of the narrative. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 MEMORY GEMS 
 
 In a superficial way, it may be said that memory depends 
 upon the depth of the original impression, upon thoughtful 
 repetition, and upon the number of associations formed in the 
 mind. From the teacher's point of view, the important thing 
 is not so much that the child shall remember a poem or a prose 
 quotation of accepted merit, as it is that this quotation shall 
 become so interwoven with his thinking that its recall will be 
 quick and ready, and that it will rise spontaneously into con- 
 sciousness imder widely varying conditions. 
 
 For example, if we are teaching a poem like Longfellow's 
 "The Light of Stars," and our aim is to make vivid to the 
 child the lesson of determination and strong endeavor, we 
 must aim to make such an impression that the child, perhaps 
 under the stress of some crisis in his Hfe, may bring to the 
 support of a wavering determination the lesson and the inspira- 
 tion of the poem. For the teacher, it is of worse than no value 
 if the child passes through the crisis, and at some later period, 
 chides himself with the knowledge that had he but recalled 
 the lesson of the poem at the right moment, he might have 
 acquitted himself more creditably. It is of Httle value merely 
 to know a thing. The world rewards those who know the 
 right thing at the right time. And memory, therefore, is of 
 value not only in that it stores the mind with a valuable con- 
 tent, but chiefly in that the knowledge is so organized as to 
 deliver up that content ready for use at the sHghtest need. 
 
 The extent to which a new state of consciousness becomes 
 interrelated with existent states, and forms associations 
 
MEMORY GEMS 109 
 
 which provide avenues of easy recall, is determined by the 
 extent to which the entire interest, or, in other words, the 
 entire available self-activity was absorbed in the act of learn- 
 ing. The child who repeats parrot-fashion a collection of 
 words meant to convey a geographical or an historical state- 
 ment, while his mind is really keenly active with other and 
 more interesting things, may be able to recall the words of the 
 sentence as a memory of the concatenation of certain sounds. 
 When the freshness of this sense-impression disappears, all 
 trace of the fact is gone from consciousness. This is the char- 
 acteristic of much of the memorizing done while cramming 
 for examinations. If, on the other hand, the effort to remember 
 is lost in the effort to understand, because the individual feels 
 vital interest in that which is presented to him, then while it 
 may be true that mere repetition will be necessary for fixation, 
 the more important results of memory will really have been 
 achieved; namely, increase in the number of vital associations 
 formed, and ease of recall. 
 
 The problem, therefore, of leading children to memorize 
 poems or prose quotations which will become a part of their 
 life's cultural equipment, may be considered as resolving itself 
 into a certain number of preliminary and fundamental prob- 
 lems. First, the teacher must see to it that the general tone 
 of the selection to be memorized shall be in keeping with the 
 stage of mental development that the child has attained at 
 the period in which it is aimed to have the memorizing done. 
 The teacher wishes to be assured that the entire activity of the 
 children will be employed in the act of learning. This will 
 not result unless the entire interest of the child is absorbed by 
 the subject matter presented to its consciousness. 
 
 Theoretically, it may be fine to ask children to commit 
 to memory maxims and Biblical quotations and poems and 
 prose moralizations which, in the sure knowledge of the teacher, 
 will be of incalculable value to the child in later life. It is 
 
no THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 beautiful theory for the teacher to say that every adult should 
 have, as part of his cultural equipment, the power to quote 
 from a number of classic writings, perfect in form or elevated 
 in content. We are told that since youth is the time of plas- 
 ticity, the teacher should have the children learn these things 
 ill school; for if it is not done in that period, no opportunity 
 will be given for such a learning in later life. 
 
 It cannot be doubted that in the elementary school period 
 of a child's life, this memorizing is effected with less expendi- 
 ture of energy than would be required at a much later period. 
 But of equal importance with the mere impression on the mind 
 is the power to recall, imder varying conditions. Recall de- 
 pends upon associations; and associations are many or few, 
 depending upon the number of times the individual thinks 
 over the content of consciousness, turns it over in his mind, 
 views it from different points, and regards it under various 
 aspects of his continually widening experience. There can be 
 none of this vital thinking unless that which is presented to 
 the mind of the child is vital at the time of presentation. Nor 
 can it in any conceivable way be vital unless it is capable of 
 immediate imderstanding. 
 
 We cannot expect children to have a vivid memory imless 
 vivid interest is present in the act of learning. We cannot 
 teach, that is, teach in the right way, abstract and abstruse 
 memorizings to a child of ten. True, these things are some- 
 times held in mind by the mere force of their sensuous associa- 
 tions, and at a much later period they are regarded in their 
 fuller and deeper thought implications. But during the time 
 that elapses between the mere form of memorizing and the 
 real comprehension of their inner meaning, they have been a 
 dormant product in consciousness. 
 
 We do not intend to imply by this that the child shall learn 
 nothing but childish things. The dominant characteristic of 
 a classic is its universal applicabihty. It knows neither time 
 
MEMORY GEMS III 
 
 nor place, age nor clime. It is perennially young and yet incal- 
 culably old. Only the best should be given to the child; not 
 the best from the adult point of view only, but that which will 
 seem best to the child and yet to the deeper vision of the teacher 
 carry with it possibilities that will become evident to the child 
 only as his experience broadens. 
 
 The teacher, therefore, should select for memorizing those 
 things which have a vital interest to the child at the time of 
 presentation. They should be suited to the comprehension of 
 the class. They should be an expression of emotions which 
 may rightly be conceived as lying within the child, struggling 
 for adequate utterance. On the other hand, the selection 
 should be such that as the thinking of the child increases in 
 complexity, deeper and higher meanings will become attached 
 to thoughts which to the child were merely thoughts of the 
 child. And finally, the form of everything that is memorized 
 should be classic. 
 
 As an illustration of this point, we may take the teaching 
 of Longfellow's "Excelsior." The poem has a message full 
 of meaning to the boy of twelve. It should be presented so 
 as to emphasize the spirit of heroic endeavor, of determination, 
 of disregard of personal danger. The pictures should be de- 
 veloped in detail. The element of the heroic should be empha- 
 sized. Treated in this way the poem is sure to make a strong 
 impression. At a later period in life, the symbolism of the old 
 man and the maiden may, in fact must, make itself felt 
 to the developing mind as it dwells more closely upon the 
 thought of the poem. But that which constituted the aim of 
 the teaching at the moment of presentation was not the deeper 
 meaning of the poem as it was evident to the teacher from the 
 beginning, and as the teacher hoped it would someday be evident 
 to the child; the aim was or should have been that aspect of 
 the poem which appeals most strongly to the child whose task 
 it is to memorize. 
 
112 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Secondly — Memorizing is not a general power. It is a 
 specific act, and as such it depends upon specific conditions. 
 For example, Bryant's "The Gladness of Nature" may be a 
 poem suited to the child of the fifth year; but it would be mani- 
 festly ridiculous to expect a child to bend himself with energy 
 and pleasure to the learning of that poem on some dreary day 
 in November when the skies are gray and the sharp sleet is 
 rattling against the window panes, and the dullness of life 
 seems to cover everything. There must be some harmony 
 between external conditions and the content. Sometimes, 
 as with a nature poem, this may be secured by selecting the 
 poem in consonance with the season, the weather, etc. The 
 first snow-storm of the year, for example, in a higher grade 
 may call for the abandonment of the regular plan of work, 
 and in the sixth year, Lowell's "First Snowfall" may be memo- 
 rized by the children. "The Planting of the Appletree," while 
 set for the second half of the fifth year, for instance, in the New 
 York course of study, may be taken up only in the spring term 
 so that some classes will learn it in the first half of the fifth 
 year and others in the second half. Poems which deal with 
 historical events may be taken up when those events are being 
 treated in the history lessons with all the vividness and detail 
 that will make them vital and interesting to the children. 
 Lowell's poem, "Aladdin," should be taken up not as a separate 
 lesson but only in connection with the story of some man who 
 achieved greatness from humble beginnings, some great poet, 
 or thinker, or philanthropist. The center of the work should 
 be a story specially adapted to the purpose and the poem may 
 be memorized to fix an idea already illustrated in the life of the 
 man considered. In other words, it should represent to the 
 children a great poet's way of expressing ideas which have been 
 aroused in their minds by a consideration of an interesting life. 
 
 Thirdly — It must be remembered that besides these two 
 factors of general suitability to the comprehension of the chil- 
 
MEMORY GEMS 113 
 
 dren, and of particular adaptation or correlation between the 
 content and the environment, either mental or physical, of 
 the child at the time of learning, it is necessary to form sensuous 
 associations. That is to say, remembering is not merely under- 
 standing. It is also knowing the words, and being able to repeat 
 them exactly as the author wrote them. This need carries 
 with it the necessity of constant repetition and drill. It is 
 the task of the teacher in this connection to make this repetition 
 and drill interesting to the children; that is to say, to supply 
 a motive which will be strong enough to carry the children in 
 a pleasurable state through the work of drudgery. Sugges- 
 tions as to how this can be done may be gleaned from the lessons 
 which follow. Some important considerations must be noted. 
 
 First — Experiments in the psychological laboratories prove 
 conclusively that a stanza or a poem is better remembered when 
 it is repeated as a whole than when successive phrases or parts 
 are isolated, repeated until they become fixed, and then joined 
 to preceding and succeeding parts. 
 
 Secondly — It must be borne in mind that the principle of 
 multiple-sense teaching is of paramoimt importance in this 
 connection. The children must hear, must see, must visualize, 
 and constantly must reproduce if they are to be expected to 
 remember. 
 
 Thirdly — It must be borne in mind that unused knowledge 
 soon ceases to be real knowledge. Provision should, therefore, 
 be made in the work of the grades to have constant review of 
 those poems and prose selections which the children have 
 memorized in the lower classes. 
 
 The real teaching of the memory gem, that is to say, the 
 memorizing by the children, is to be done in the class-room 
 under the direction of the teacher. Whatever assignment 
 of work there may be for home-study should be of a 
 content already gone over in school. How such an exercise 
 may be conducted will be made clearer by considering the 
 
114 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 treatment in a fifth or sixth year class of the first stanza of 
 Longfellow's "The Village Blacksmith." 
 
 Interest always lends itself to a biographical note connected 
 with the writing of the poem. The following comment is pre- 
 fixed to the poem in the Standard Edition of his works: 
 
 In the autumn of 1839 Mr. Longfellow was writing psalms, and he 
 notes in his diary, October 5th, "Wrote a new Psalm of Life. It is 
 The Village Blacksmith.'" A year later he was thinking of ballads, 
 and he writes to his father, October 25th, "My pen has not been 
 very proUfic of late; only a little poetry has trickled from it. There 
 wUl be a kind of ballad on a Blacksmith in the next Knickerbocker 
 (November, 1840), which you may consider, if you please, as a song 
 in praise of your ancestor at Newbury (the first Stephen Long- 
 fellow)." It is hardly to be supposed, however, that the form of the 
 poem had been changed during the year. The suggestion of the 
 poem came from the smithy which the poet passed daily, and which 
 stood beneath a horse-chestnut tree not far from his house in Cam- 
 bridge. The tree was removed in 1876, against the protests of Mr. 
 Longfellow and others, on the ground that it imperiled drivers of 
 heavy loads who passed under it. 
 
 Unless the class is interested in the subject of the poem, 
 memorizing becomes drudgery. We commit to memory those 
 things that appeal strongly to us. We wish to make them 
 part of ourselves. If the children are to go about this work 
 with enthusiasm, they must be placed completely in sympathy 
 with the subject. Show pictures of the smithy, explaining 
 the word. Explain also that the smith is the "smiter," the 
 man who strikes. Let the class describe a blacksmith shop and 
 tell all they can about how horseshoes are made. Let them 
 understand also that a village smith must do more than merely 
 make horseshoeg. The class must see that the smith is a strong 
 man, made so by the work he does. 
 
 When the atmosphere has been created, the teacher may 
 read the entire poem, without extended comment. Then the 
 
MEMORY GEMS 115 
 
 first stanza may be read again, after the teacher has called for 
 judgment on the worth and meaning of the poem. 
 
 Memorizing is easier when a large unit is repeated than when 
 single hues or phrases are droned out ceaselessly. Call on the 
 best readers to try to give full expression. In every case the 
 entire stanza should be repeated, though the specific direction 
 to each pupil may refer only to a single word. Thus: 
 
 " Show by your reading that it is a spreading chestnut- tree. Let 
 your voice spread as you read the word." "Show by your inflec- 
 tion that mighty means very strong; emphasize it, hardening your 
 lips as you pronounce the first letter." "Now read the stanza, mak- 
 ing the word large sound 'large.' " "What does brawny mean? What 
 sort of man would have brawny arms? Read the stanza so that your 
 tone when you say brawny shall give the idea of strength." So also 
 with strong and iron. 
 
 Pupils should, of course, be called upon to combine several 
 of these directions in one reading. There should be a motive 
 for each repetition so as to secure concentrated attention. 
 Encourage the reader to visualize a group of words at a glance 
 so that he often looks up from the page. 
 
 To secure still further repetition the teacher may ask ques- 
 tions based on the text requiring the pupil to answer in the 
 words of the poem. Thus: 
 
 "Where does the village smithy stand?" "What sort of man 
 is the smith?" "Are there many smiths in the village?" 
 (Only one — "The village smithy stands.") "How do his hands 
 look?" "How strong are his muscles?" "What are as strong as 
 iron bands?" ("The muscles of his brawny arms.") "Pick out 
 the words that rhyme." "Write them on the board as they would 
 appear if the poem were written in full." "Who will recite the first 
 line?" "The second?" "The first two?" 
 
 In this way the brighter children may be called upon to 
 recite until some child is able to go through the stanza. The 
 
Ii6 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 class may then be required to read the stanza once or twice 
 from the book. Finally the books may be closed and the class 
 may recite the six Hnes in concert. 
 
 It should be remembered that for the slower children this 
 class work should be supplemented by further study at home. 
 Constant review will be necessary to secure permanent fixation. 
 Occasionally the pupils may be required to write a stanza from 
 memory. 
 
 In studying prose selections, it may be found helpful to have 
 pupils select the "proposition" of a long sentence as the skeleton 
 on which to hang the rest. In a general way the same method 
 may be employed as that just outlined. The point to remem- 
 ber is that the unit should be as large as the pupils can carry; 
 the repetitions should be frequent; and for each there must 
 be a motive which will insure close attention by the class. 
 
 Let us suppose that we are taking that part of the second 
 paragraph of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: 
 
 But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, 
 we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, 
 who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add 
 or to detract. The world wUl very little note nor long remember 
 what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. 
 
 The teacher should make clear, either by direct telling or 
 by question and answer, that the point of the selection is the 
 fact that this holy ground has been made sacred not by the 
 dedication of the cemetery, but by the deeds of the men who 
 fought. The first sentence shows the speaker's feeling that 
 those who are assembled cannot consecrate the ground. The 
 second sentence gives the honor where honor is due. The 
 third combines the two ideas by showing how fleeting will be 
 the record of what is said and how permanent the memory of 
 what has been done. It may be necessary to have a very care- 
 ful explanation of this sequence of thought, so that the develop- 
 
MEMORY GEMS 117 
 
 ment of the idea may become part of the children's thinking. 
 There then should be a study of the words so that the children 
 may come to an adequate understanding of the meaning of 
 the speaker. 
 
 What new thought is there in the word "consecrate"; in the 
 word "hallow"? Why would not one of these words have ex- 
 pressed the idea? Why does Lincoln speak of "the brave men, 
 hving and dead " ? Why does he in the last sentence refer to 
 what the world will "note" and not to what it wUl remember? 
 What is the difference between the two ideas? Why, in the first 
 sentence, does Lincoln say "in a larger sense" ? Li what smaller 
 sense can those who assembled have been said to dedicate the 
 ground? Have members of the class read the first sentence, 
 throwing the emphasis upon the three verbs in succession. Have 
 another reading, throwing the emphasis upon the pronouns. 
 Have a third reading, emphasizing as is here indicated, "But in a 
 larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot 
 hallow this ground." Constant repetition of these readings will 
 fix the sentence. Have repeated readings of the second sentence 
 until pupils are able to bring out the contrast between the "brave 
 men" on one side, and "our" on the other. In the same way, 
 repeated readings by pupils should contrast the "world" and "what 
 we say here" on the one hand, with "they" and "did here" on 
 the other. 
 
 In short, by analyzing the thought, establishing the sequence 
 of ideas, calling attention to the value of the words, and then 
 securing repetition through an attempt to give proper oral 
 rendering of the thought, the teacher secures concentrated 
 attention upon the form and so fixes the selection in the 
 minds of the pupils. 
 
 Summary. — Proper memorizing of a selection calls for perma- 
 nent fixation and ready recall. To realize these aims, the selection 
 should be adapted to the understanding of the children; it should 
 appeal to their interests; it should reveal its deeper meaning as the 
 
ii8 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 experience of the children broadens and deepens; it should be classic 
 in form. The presentation should be made under conditions fitting 
 the general tone of the selection. The necessary repetition should 
 be made interesting by varied devices; it should always result in 
 concentration upon the form. It should respond to a definite aim 
 set before the pupils. Memorizing should be done by wholes, not 
 by a synthesis of parts. A multiple-sense appeal should be made. 
 Frequent expression should fix the impression. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 SPELLING 
 
 The teacher should become acquainted with some clear 
 psychological analysis of the processes involved in spelling. 
 A book like Judd's "Genetic Psychology," or Huey's "Psy- 
 chology and Pedagogy of Reading," or Bain's "Education as 
 a Science," will be sufficient for the ordinary teacher. In the 
 present discussion of the subject, however, our aim is to give 
 practical suggestions for use in the class-room, and not to enter 
 upon an abstract discussion of processes. 
 
 The need for spelling arises when the children have reached 
 the stage of original composition. It may be well to state, 
 at the beginning, as a fundamental principle, that since the 
 knowledge of how a word is spelled is of value to the child only 
 in written composition, no word should be taught for spelling 
 unless its meaning also is taught, and imless it is a word which 
 should form a part of the ordinary working vocabulary of the 
 child. This excepts words studied in connection with the 
 work in phonics. The problem, therefore, of meaning and use, 
 as separated from the problem of spelling, ceases to exist. 
 Some words, it is true, should be explained, the spelHng of 
 which will not be taught; but excepting phonic words, in no 
 case should the spelling be taught unless the meaning is 
 thoroughly understood. 
 
 The words for the spelling lesson should be chosen: — 
 
 I. From a reading lesson already taken up in the class room. 
 The words are such as have been selected by the pupils or teacher 
 as presenting difficulties. Either they are already a part of 
 the vocabulary of the child, but present some anomaly in 
 
I20 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 form, or they are words not yet a part of the vocabulary of the 
 child but probably needed in order to give him freer expression. 
 
 2. From a story told by the teacher to the class, and intended 
 for oral or written reproduction by the pupils. 
 
 3. From the content of other subjects of the course. 
 
 4. From conversation lessons intended as preparation for 
 the writing of a composition. 
 
 The lesson should be given three or four times a week, and 
 should be about twenty minutes in duration. One lesson 
 each week should be devoted entirely to drill, and at each of 
 the others, the nimiber of words taught should be Hmited to 
 four, five, six, or seven, depending upon the grade. Except 
 in rare cases of simple words, it will be foimd that more than 
 seven cannot successfully be taught as new words in any period. 
 There should be constant review in each grade of the spelling 
 lists of the preceding grades. 
 
 As preparation for the spelKng lesson, each word should be 
 written on a perception card, perhaps twelve inches by three 
 or four, and there should be ready a frame large enough to 
 contain half a dozen of these cards placed one underneath the 
 other. After the actual presentation, the card should be 
 fastened on the frame, which may be hung on the wall in some 
 conspicuous place, remaining there until the next spelling 
 lesson. 
 
 The proper use of the perception card will secure quick visu- 
 aUzation, and will serve to impress the correct form on the 
 mind of the child. With the cards continually in view before 
 the children, the teacher should in the course of other lessons 
 make frequent use of the words appearing on the cards. By 
 a cursory glance toward the frame, she will direct the attention 
 of the children to the fact that one of the spelhng words has 
 been used, and she will, therefore, make the meaning and use 
 of the word a famiUar matter to the child during the period 
 elapsing between the presentation and the review of the spell- 
 
SPELLING 121 
 
 ing words. Care should be taken that the cards be written 
 neatly, and that the word be easily read from the farthest part 
 of the room. 
 
 In the choice of words, there should be a graded progression. 
 Difi&cult words should not be selected in any grade for the 
 spelling Kst until the term has progressed. Finally, care should 
 be taken wherever possible, to have the words that are taken 
 up in any spelling lesson, (not phonic) center around some 
 one topic, and therefore form a unit. The fundamental 
 principles in the teaching of spelling are the following: 
 
 First — UtiHze the different sensory avenues of appeal. 
 
 Second — Have sufficient drill to fix. 
 
 Third — Have many devices for interest. 
 
 Fourth — Have immediate application. 
 
 Fifth — Do not study words already known. 
 
 The first of these needs no long defense. Any of the books 
 to which reference has already been made, will make clear the 
 need of these modes of approach. (2) When spelling has been 
 perfectly taught, the habit of correct spelling becomes a mar- 
 ginal process. That is to say, while the expressing self will 
 become conscious of any error in the form of a word if it has 
 once been written, the focus of consciousness should not be 
 occupied during actual written composition with the form of 
 the word and the correct mode of spelling it. It is, however, 
 a fundamental law that if a process is to be made marginal, it 
 must first be focalized. Therefore, the teacher must remember 
 that, while the approach to spelling will be a matter of develop- 
 ment, the teaching of spelling is primarily a matter of drill. 
 (3) The drill, however, will necessarily develop a sameness 
 unless the teacher is perpetually on the lookout for varying 
 devices. It is impossible to give an exhaustive account of what 
 such devices should be. Any ingenious teacher can create 
 more during the course of a lesson, with the inspiration of the 
 class before her, than could be developed in a half-dozen pages 
 
122 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 of this text. The devices should be such as to fix attention, not 
 upon themselves as interesting games, but upon the form of 
 the word which it is the aim of the teacher more firmly to fix 
 upon the mind of the child. (4) The learning of spelling has 
 too frequently been taken to be merely a matter of impression. 
 As a matter of fact, however, the spelling of la word has not 
 been learned until the child has spelled that word correctly 
 when using it in a context which absorbs the major part of his 
 attention. The aim of the teacher, therefore, in the lesson 
 should be to give adequate opportunity to the children to 
 apply their memorization of the form. (5) By testing the 
 class the teacher may readily determine whether a word needs 
 careful drill. A large part of a spelling list will be foimd to 
 consist of words which the pupils spell by analogy. 
 
 One of the reasons why the spelling in our schools has been 
 unsatisfactory is that the children do not form proper aural 
 images of the words. It is important that the teacher develop 
 in the children a habit of clear, distinct, and even exaggerated 
 enunciation, not only during the spelling lesson but during all 
 lessons, where it is possible without detracting from expres- 
 sion or distracting the attention. The teacher herself should 
 so enunciate the words that the children shall really hear what 
 they are called upon to spell. 
 
 . Let us suppose that the teacher has a number of words 
 selected from some context or subject previously taken up in 
 the class and in a general way explained. It is her aim to 
 proceed with the teaching of the spelHng of these words. The 
 following plan is suggested: No other spelHng words should 
 be before the class during this lesson. Perception card frames, 
 containing words previously taught, may remain hanging if 
 not in conspicuous places; otherwise, they should be tempo- 
 rarily removed. The blackboards should be perfectly clean. 
 The teacher may then begin by talking of the subject matter 
 of the lesson from which the words have been drawn. When 
 
SPELLING 123 
 
 she comes to that part of her review in which the use of the 
 first word is made necessary, instead of uttering the word, she 
 takes the card, and leaving her sentence incomplete, shows 
 the card to the class. It should not be left in sight for too long 
 a time. Practice will give the teacher an idea of the minimum 
 time the card should be exposed so as to make visualization 
 possible. It has been demonstrated that the form is better 
 remembered if, within limits, the time given to the individual 
 to study that form is limited. This may be because the mind 
 is compelled when the card has been removed to reconstruct 
 the image of the word, and, therefore, make a clearer percept. 
 
 A boy is called upon to tell the word. He pronounces it 
 clearly, and if he is wrong, the teacher gives the correct model 
 immediately. The word is then repeated by a nimiber of 
 other children. A good speller may then be called upon to 
 spell the word, pronouncing it before and after the spelling; 
 or one or more good spellers may be sent to the boards to write 
 the word. The teacher should stand ready, eraser in hand, 
 to rub from the blackboard any word incorrectly spelled. The 
 entire word should be erased. In fact, at any time in this 
 exercise that a word is incorrectly spelled, or any other 
 error is made, the entire word should be erased, the card shown 
 again to the pupil, this time for a longer period, and the 
 pupil should be called upon once more to write the word. 
 Except in the case of an abnormally poor speller, this should 
 be kept up until he writes the word correctly. A number of 
 pupils may then be called upon to spell the word orally, some- 
 times looking at the board, sometimes with their eyes shut, 
 sometimes with their backs turned to the blackboard. 
 
 The teacher may then repeat the word slowly and distuictly, 
 pausing significantly for the purpose of showing the class how 
 the word is divided into syllables. It must be remembered 
 that part of the regular preparation of the teacher for this 
 lesson should be reference to the dictionary so as to ascertain 
 
124 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 the correct syllabication of the word. Pupils may then be 
 called upon to pronounce the word in imitation of the teacher, 
 pausing shghtly so as to indicate the syllables. Others may 
 be called to the blackboard to divide the words into syllables 
 by placing vertical lines between them. Here the teacher 
 should stand close to the blackboard so as to be able im- 
 mediately to erase the entire word if an error is made in the 
 division. Care should be taken that somewhere on the black- 
 board should appear the word in an undivided form. It is 
 also suggested that colored chalk be used to indicate the 
 lines of division, and, furthermore, that at no time should the 
 separation be indicated by raising the chalk from the board 
 and indicating the different syllables by writing them as sepa- 
 rate "parts. 
 
 The next step should be quick oral drill on the spelling of 
 the words by the cumulative-syllabic method. Once more it 
 may be remarked that it is not our purpose to enter into a dis- 
 cussion of why this method has been considered the best. 
 Statistics show conclusively that where it has been employed, 
 the improvement in spelling percentages attained by a class 
 is almost marvelous. The spelling is of this form: 
 
 Remember, re, r-e; mem, m-e^m; remem; her, b-e-r; re- 
 member. Care should be taken that there be no exaggeration 
 of vowel values, such, for example, as may be made when 
 pupils pronounce a final suffix, a-h-l-e, with the long sound of a. 
 While one boy is spelling, the rest of the class may be permitted 
 to spell with him but in a low tone. When this step takes place, 
 the word has been erased from the blackboard, or the boy who 
 spells stands with his back to the board, while those in their 
 seats spell with closed eyes. The entire class may then be called 
 upon to write the word in the air, giving the name of each letter 
 as they write it; or they may write the words on their desks 
 without pencils. Further drill may be secured by sending 
 children to the board one after the other, to write the word 
 
SPELLING 125 
 
 and to syllabicate it. Finally, the attention of the children 
 should be drawn to the word as a unit written on the blackboard 
 unseparated, and on the perception card. It wiU be noted that 
 at no time is the word on the perception card syllabicated. 
 
 The next step may be to develop the meaning of the word. 
 Ask the class where they have met it before. Who remembers 
 in what lesson it was? In what part of the story did it come? 
 Does any one know the sentence in the reading book from 
 which this word is taken? Who can give the sentence, or part 
 of it? The actual teaching of the meaning will vary, depending 
 upon the grade. Some of the methods are here suggested. 
 From this sentence, what do you guess is the meaning of this 
 word? Have you ever seen a word like this? Do you know 
 some word which means the same as this? Do you know some 
 other word or words which we could have used in the sentence 
 instead of this word? Give some word which means the 
 opposite of this. In the higher grades where the children have 
 an approximate understanding of the meaning but cannot give 
 the definition briefly, they may be sent to the dictionary. 
 Abstract words should not be explained at great length, but 
 should be associated with something concrete. Where possi- 
 ble, descriptive words should be explained by being dramatized. 
 The teacher may give the children two or three sentences 
 containing the word, and from the comparison of these sen- 
 tences, the children may approximate or guess the meaning of 
 the word. They may then be allowed to use the word in 
 sentences. At times in the lower grades, it has been found valu- 
 able to prepare a large cardboard sheet on which appear t3/pe 
 sentences showing the correct use of the word in a sentence. 
 Children, during the study period, copy these sentences in 
 their book, and in this way memorize, or at all events, become 
 familiar with good examples of the correct use of the words 
 they are learning. It should be remembered, however, that 
 this last device is not a substitute for the teaching of the mean- 
 
126 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 ing of the words. It is merely supplying one model after the 
 children have formed their own sentences. 
 
 The return may now be made to the spelling of the word. 
 First, it should be spelled orally by the children and then 
 written on the blackboard. Care should be taken to have 
 different children go to the blackboard so that, as far as possible, 
 every one will have an opportunity to give some form of motor 
 expression during the spelling lesson. If the word presents 
 any particular difficulty, attention should be called to the 
 difficult part, and wherever possible, a device should be em- 
 ployed for the fixing of the correct form. Finally, everything 
 should be erased from the board and the children allowed to 
 take their last quick look at the perception card. Ask the 
 children to close their eyes, and in rapid succession ask ques- 
 tions like the following: What is the third letter from the 
 last? Name the middle letter. What is the second letter of 
 the word? How many e's are there in the word? — etc. This 
 method is followed with every word. Then, in rapid succession, 
 each perception card is shown once more to the class. 
 
 Papers have already been distributed, and the children are 
 then told to write out the words of the lesson from memory. 
 There should be no syllabic spelling at this point on the papers 
 or in any blackboard or note-book work which comes after this 
 step. Syllabication is a part of presentation, and not a part of 
 expression. While the children are writing, the teacher should 
 walk around the room and make note of the children who spell 
 the first, second, and third word, etc., correctly. Wherever 
 possible, she should select poor spellers and carefully see to it 
 that they are later called upon to write on the board words 
 which they have already spelled correctly on their papers. 
 The aim should be to exercise the greatest care that no child be 
 called upon to write a word on the blackboard unless he has 
 already spelled the word correctly at his seat. As has already 
 been suggested, the word should be written on the blackboard 
 
SPELLING 127 
 
 as a whole. The children compare their own spelling with 
 the word on the board. Frequently, the papers may be inter- 
 changed. 
 
 All corrections should be immediate. That is to say, as soon 
 as the word has been written on the board, the children compare, 
 and those who missed the word stand. The teacher should take 
 note of the mmiber of children who missed and this number 
 should be written by the teacher on her own list, opposite the 
 word. It will then serve as a guide, indicating whether the 
 word needs special class drill or merely drill with individual 
 children. Those who spelled the word incorrectly should draw 
 a line completely through the word, and place the correct form 
 to the right of the word or above the word as well as on the other 
 side of the paper. In this way, we can get constant writing of 
 the correct form. If time permits, children should be required 
 to write the misspelled word on the other side of the paper cor- 
 rectly three or even five times. The correction proceeds in 
 this maimer to the end of the lesson. Then each child writes 
 correctly in his ''misspelled- word book," those words which 
 were wrong in his lesson. The perception cards should then be 
 fixed on the perception card-frame, and the words left in full 
 view of the class. 
 
 Some Devices and Suggestions 
 
 1. Frequently, it will be found of value to test a class on the 
 words already selected by the teacher from an earlier content, 
 the testing to take place before any real teaching is done. It 
 will be found that many of these words are already known by 
 the class, and therefore the time for developing and impressing 
 knowledge of the form may be very much curtailed. 
 
 2. Allow to remain on the blackboard a Hst of the words 
 which have already been studied. Have each word distinctly 
 pronounced by as many pupils as possible. Direct the attention 
 of the class to the board, quickly erase a word, call upon one 
 
128 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 pupil to spell it, another to use it in a sentence, and a third to 
 pass to the board and rewrite the word, beginning a new column. 
 Then have a pupil do this with the other words, the pupil calUng 
 upon his classmates for the word. In this way, pass through 
 the list, calling for pronunciation, spelHng, sentences, and re- 
 writing, and when the lesson is completed, the first list will have 
 been erased and a dupHcate will have taken its place. 
 
 3. In dictating the words for a review spelling lesson, instead 
 of giving the words separately, give a sentence containing the 
 word, and have the children select from the sentence the word 
 that they have most recently learned to spell. They write on 
 the paper only the spelling word. 
 
 4. Spelling matches never lose their interest for a class. 
 
 5. Let the children at home make up lists of what in their 
 estimation are the ten most difficult words taken up so far in 
 the term work. Let five or six children dictate their lists to the 
 class for oral spelling; the winner is the boy who makes up a hst 
 which catches the greatest munber of his classmates. 
 
 6. Instead of having the same word respelt time and time 
 again by the class, dictate derivatives. Later in the course, 
 the children may be called upon to supply these derivatives 
 themselves. 
 
 7. Frequently, in the dictation of words, direct the class to 
 write the words not in a coliunn, but horizontally, one after 
 the other. When, owing to the fact that the end of the line has 
 been reached, it is necessary to separate the word, the children 
 are given a practical way of applying their knowledge of the 
 syllabication of the word. If the separation of the word is 
 incorrect, the word is counted wrong. 
 
 8. MisspelHng a word repeatedly tends to develop the habit 
 of misspelHng, and fixes the incorrect form in the mind of the 
 child. It will, therefore, be found advisable in written exercises 
 to have the pupils show their conscious inability to spell a word 
 correctly by drawing a dash where the word should appear. 
 
SPELLING 129 
 
 Children should be trained not to guess at the spelling of a 
 word. 
 
 9. It should be remembered that in practical life pupils are 
 rarely called upon to spell orally. Oral spelling, which is simply 
 describing a word by naming its letters in order, is a means to an 
 end, and should never be used as the sole method of teaching 
 spelling. The real test in spelling is writing the word correctly 
 in a language exercise, a dictation exercise, a business letter, or 
 the like. The proper function of oral spelling is to describe 
 word forms already in the mind, not to occasion them. It has 
 well been said that by describing an object an artist never 
 yet learned to draw it. That artist, however, who can draw an 
 object correctly from memory can certainly name its parts in 
 their proper order. Moreover, every attempt he makes to 
 describe the object accurately from memory helps him to see 
 it better. So it is with words in learning to spell. If the pupil 
 can construct the word in his mind, can visualize it, and can 
 imagine it correctly, he can describe it. If he cannot visualize 
 it, he cannot describe it. Every failure he makes in describing 
 these in oral spelling, should stimulate him to examine more 
 carefully the form of the word, and fix the image. 
 
 10. Let the most frequent form of dictated spelling lesson 
 be that in which the words are given in sentences, brief, and 
 with a worthy content, the entire sentence being written by the 
 children. 
 
 11. Except in regular formal review tests, the teacher should 
 not correct the work of the children. Correction may be made 
 a part of the drill intended to fix the correct form. 
 
 Summary. — The spelling of words is of value only in written 
 composition. Hence the meaning of all words must be taught in con- 
 nection with the spelling. Words should be selected from (i) a read- 
 ing lesson already taken up in the classroom; (2) a story intended 
 for reproduction by the pupils; (3) from the subject matter of the 
 grades; (4) from conversation lessons in preparation for composi- 
 
I30 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 tion. The principles underlying the method are: (i) a multiple sense- 
 appeal should be used; (2) drill is necessary to fixation; (3) device 
 should capture the interest; (4) appUcation should be immediate. 
 Effective aids in the teaching of spelling are: (i) correct articula- 
 tion and pronunciation; (2) clear visuaUzation of the after percept; 
 (3) oral spelling by the cumulative syllabic method. Written spell- 
 ing may take these forms: (i) writing words in columns; (2) writ- 
 ing words in succession along the hne, thus calhng for h)rphenation; 
 (3) writing words in sentences or paragraphs dictated by the teacher. 
 Corrections should be immediate and should be followed by the cor- 
 rect writing of the misspelled words a number of times. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 DICTATION 
 
 Where it is considered desirable to develop a habit of techni- 
 cal or formal accuracy which shall function in the margin of 
 consciousness while the center of attention is directed more to 
 content than to form, it is necessary at some point in the in- 
 struction to focaHze upon the technique. Desire to express the 
 thought supplies a correct motivation to the child. It is a 
 common complaint with teachers that children become more 
 and more inaccurate in spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, 
 paragraphing, etc., as they become more interested in the 
 thought to which they are attempting to give expression. In 
 many cases, instruction in this formal or technical aspect is 
 limited to the period of correction which follows in the class upon 
 the writing of the composition. That this method of procedure 
 cannot be based upon the right principles, and that it is not 
 productive of adequate return for the effort expended by the 
 teacher, is proved by the fact that in the seventh and eighth 
 years of the course, children make mistakes which were made 
 in the fourth and fifth, and the correction of which has been 
 made the subject of almost countless lessons in the interval. 
 
 A right understanding of the meaning and the conduct of a 
 dictation lesson should effect a reform. The object of the 
 dictation lesson is, wherever possible, to develop the reason for a 
 certain form or a particular use in punctuation; by repeated 
 drill to render automatic the habit of the correct use of this 
 form, or the right appHcation of this mark in punctuation; and 
 finally, to afford opportunity for the immediate application in 
 
132 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 the writing of some content, interesting to the child, of this 
 element of technique. 
 
 Every lesson in dictation should be an exercise in spelling 
 and should present an illustration of some principle in sentence 
 or paragraph form, in capitalization, or in punctuation. Many 
 teachers have become impressed by the idea that a dictation 
 lesson may be based upon the thought of the selection to be 
 dictated to the class. There is here a confusion as to the real 
 aim. If the purpose is to have the child become acquainted 
 with a great idea expressed in classic form, it should be under- 
 stood that this impression cannot be vivid or lasting if the only 
 presentation of it is through the mere dictation exercise. Such 
 selections should be developed with the class in somewhat the 
 same fashion as a "memory gem" is taken up. And while it is 
 possible that the writing of the selection will serve to fix its 
 language more firmly in the mind, and while, in addition, it may 
 be true that a dictation by the teacher is better than a mere 
 copy by the children, it is to be remembered that such a dictation 
 does not properly belong to the kind of exercise we are here 
 attempting to explain. In this particular case, dictation is 
 merely a method of securing motor expression that the memory 
 may be more firm and retentive. 
 
 If, on the other hand, the aim is to fix a certain kind of 
 expression or to show an application of some principle in 
 punctuation, care should be taken that the content of the se- 
 lection to be dictated be not so interesting that attention 
 must perforce be divided between an understanding of the 
 meaning and a proper appreciation of the formal element. It 
 is not to be inferred from this that the paragraphs and sen- 
 tences are to be concerned with a subject matter that cannot 
 possibly present any interest to the child, on the theory that 
 if uninteresting subject matter be afforded, there will be maxi- 
 mum attention to the formal aspect. Even in pure drill work, 
 examples should have a content value. The danger is lest the 
 
DICTATION 133 
 
 content be so interesting that the central aim of the lesson be 
 lost sight of. 
 
 In a dictation lesson, it will be perfectly proper to have 
 sentences and paragraphs dealing with topics selected from the 
 history, the geography, or other subjects of the grade. For 
 example, it may be that the aim of the lesson is the teaching of 
 the unbroken quotation. The motive for the lesson may be the 
 fact that the children are studying the reproduction of a story. 
 In the course of their writing, it will be necessary to reproduce 
 in written form a dialogue. The dictation lesson should come 
 between the time at which the need for the use of the quotation 
 marks is felt and the period during which it will be necessary 
 for the children to make use of the quotation marks in giving 
 their written version of the story. Now, in the formal lesson, 
 it will be proper for the teacher to use as a content for her 
 illustrations and for her final application, a conversation based 
 directly upon, even drawn from, the dialogue of the actual 
 characters in the story learned by the children. 
 
 In teaching the use of the comma for words in series, the 
 teacher may employ sentences containing facts from the geogra- 
 phy lesson, and so on. The teacher will readily see other 
 implications of this suggestion. 
 
 All the sentences used for the inductive development of the 
 principle to be taught, as well as the final selection given for the 
 step of application, should be carefully chosen. A long para- 
 graph containing but one Httle illustration of the point at issue, 
 for example, would not be a good selection. On the other hand, 
 one in which the English is completely twisted in order that the 
 sentence may afford many illustrations of the point in question, 
 would be equally bad. 
 
 The actual dictation of the selection to the children, should 
 be a test of what has previously been taught. Occasionally, 
 the entire period may be devoted to the dictation of altogether 
 new matter, the aim being to test the power of the children, and 
 
134 
 
 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 to afford an opportunity for review. The point to be taught in 
 a dictation lesson should be learned by the children as a matter 
 of observation. There are several possible methods of approach. 
 In all classes, the formal element should be one which the chil- 
 dren will find it necessary to employ in written work, one for 
 which the need has already arisen. In other words, a dictation 
 lesson never stands apart from the regular written EngHsh work 
 of the grade. As a corollary of this, it may very easily happen 
 that in no two classes of the same grade will the sequence of 
 topics be the same. In each class, those points will be taken 
 up for which the need arises in the course of the regular written 
 work. At the end of the term, however, it is reasonable to 
 suppose that every class of the grade will have covered the same 
 ground. 
 
 The teacher may direct the children to a certain mode of 
 punctuation used in some paragraph in the reading book or 
 some part of the history or geography text book. Here the 
 printed form is in the hands of each child, and the rule for 
 punctuation, or for capitalization, may be stated by the child 
 as a result of observation. He notices a certain sameness in 
 the appearance of the passage in the book. Upon this point, the 
 teacher attempts to focus his attention. The nature of the 
 form, the probable reason of its use, and so on, are carefully 
 developed. Then other sentences may be given to the children 
 with the injunction that they apply this principle of punctuation. 
 Here the drill may take one of three forms: The children may 
 be given sheets of paper on which are sentences already punctu- 
 ated. They may be called upon to describe the punctuation, 
 to explain its use, if the sentences are properly pimctuated, and 
 to correct the punctuation if they find any errors. Secondly, 
 they may be given a paper containing a series of selections 
 either incorrectly pimctuated or not pimctuated at all. They 
 may be called upon to supply the correct punctuation, and to 
 give a reason for what they have done. Thirdly, they may be 
 
DICTATION . 135 
 
 asked to form a sentence of such a type that it will illustrate 
 the point to be taught. They may be requested to write out 
 this sentence, giving the correct punctuation. 
 
 The teacher may have prepared on large sheets of cardboard 
 or heavy oak-tag, sentences showing the principle about to be 
 taught. The punctuation mark itself may be shown in differ- 
 ently colored chalk. Once more the pupils are led to observe, 
 to generalize, and to apply. 
 
 The teacher may recall the particular kind of construction 
 which calls for the new lesson in dictation, and she may, simply 
 by a process of developing through questions and answers, bring 
 out the principle which it is her aim to teach. 
 
 When it is felt that the observation has been sufficiently 
 concentrated, that there has been a sufficient amoimt of practical 
 application in type sentences, the teacher may lead the children 
 to formulate (in the shape of a general principle) the facts that 
 they have observed. The wording should be clear, direct, and 
 simple. The rule should be brief. The ffiial step is where the 
 teacher dictates a somewhat longer selection without emphasiz- 
 ing the part at which the difficulty occurs, thus testing the class 
 on its retention of what has just been taught. 
 
 If there are many errors in the results, it will be quite fair 
 to infer that the presentation has not been thorough. It may 
 reasonably be expected that more than one-half of the class 
 will produce a dictation exercise without any mistakes in it at 
 all. This is given on the assumption that every word in the 
 selection has been carefully considered with a view to ascertain- 
 ing whether it calls for a knowledge of spelling that the children 
 may fairly be expected to possess. 
 
 In the actual dictation, the teacher should first read the entire 
 selection through, enunciating clearly, giving the proper length 
 of time to the pauses, and so phrasing the reading that she will 
 pause at a break in the sense. A few questions may then be 
 asked of the class with a view to ascertaining whether the chil- 
 
136 . THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 dren understand what the central thought of the selection is. 
 During this time, the children should sit without pencils in hand, 
 and with attention directed entirely upon the content of what 
 the teacher is dictating. Then the actual dictation, and writing 
 by the children may begin. At no time should the teacher repeat 
 in dictating. 
 
 The speed of dictation should be such as to make the writing 
 by the children approximate in rapidity that which they would 
 do were they producing an original composition. In the lower 
 grades, care should be taken that the children are not called 
 upon to carry too many words in their minds. On the other 
 hand, however, as the work proceeds through the grades, the 
 number of words given as a single phrase by the teacher, should 
 be steadily increased, until in the last year, the children should 
 be able to take in a complete sentence of average length as a 
 unit. In every case, however, the phrases and pauses as given 
 by the teacher should be determined primarily by the meaning 
 of the selection. 
 
 When the passage has been finished by the teacher, one of two 
 courses may be followed. She may either read the selection 
 through once more, or she may ask the children to read over what 
 they have written. During this time, they should be allowed to 
 make any corrections which they think necessary; and in the final 
 estimating of their work, mistakes corrected by the children be- 
 fore the class correction takes place, should not be counted against 
 them. In this way they may be taught to correct independently 
 of the teacher's help, and so to form a habit that will be of 
 inestimable value to them in later life. It may be objected, 
 however, that children may then fall into a habit of careless 
 punctuation, spelling, and arrangement in their first writing, de- 
 pending upon the second reading for revision and correction. To 
 avoid this, the teacher may set before the class as a general aim 
 the ideal of perfect work; that is, the production of a paper 
 which will have a minimum number of erasures and corrections. 
 
DICTATION 137 
 
 The correction of the work may take any one of several forms. 
 Children may correct their own work, or they may exchange 
 papers and correct that of their classmates. If the selection 
 dictated by the teacher was taken from a reading or other text 
 book, the children should be requested to take out the book and 
 to compare their work with the printed page. In other cases, 
 mimeographed sheets, showing the correct form, and previously 
 prepared by the teacher, may be distributed, one to each member 
 of the class. Where it is not possible to do this, the entire 
 selection should previously have been written out by the teacher 
 on the blackboard and kept covered during the day and through- 
 out the dictation lesson by sheets of paper to be removed when 
 this point in the lesson is reached. 
 
 As the children look over the papers and compare what they 
 or their classmates have written, with the correct form, the 
 teacher should pass freely around the room, and should draw 
 the attention of the entire class to the particular points of the 
 lesson. This part of the work may be made to afford a review 
 of the principles developed during the period of presentation. 
 
 All errors should be indicated in lead pencil or in differently 
 colored ink, and the correct form should immediately be inserted. 
 If there has been an error in spelling, the children should write 
 the word correctly, underneath the dictation exercise. Finally, 
 a summary of the niunber and the kind of errors should be made 
 by each child. Those having perfect papers should be asked 
 to stand, and the very best papers in point of appearance should 
 be kept on exhibition on the bulletin board until the next dicta- 
 tion lesson. 
 
 Rarely, if ever, should there be a second dictation or a 
 rewriting of the dictation exercise. It is difficult to conceive 
 a condition in which the children will be suppHed with a 
 proper motive for such an exercise. If the results of the lesson 
 show that the point has not been completely grasped by the 
 class, the entire subject should be gone over at the next 
 
138 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 dictation lesson, and should be dwelt upon until it has been 
 properly fixed. 
 
 As an example of how such a lesson should be conducted, let 
 us take the teaching of the use of the apostrophe as a mark of 
 possession. It is of course to be assumed that the need for this 
 instruction has been made clear because of errors in the children's 
 work pointed out by the teacher. 
 
 The first work of the teacher should be to make clear what is 
 meant by the idea of possession, and to develop this without 
 introducing the complicating element of the use of the apostro- 
 phe. This can be done by making the first part of the work 
 center around the use of the possessive pronouns. 
 
 The last of the pronouns to be taught should be "its," 
 and there should be careful drill upon the use of this particular 
 form before the study of the apostrophe is taken up. The 
 usual procedure of the teacher is to study the use of the 
 apostrophe and then to introduce the pronouns with the state- 
 ment that "these are the words that can be made to show 
 possession without the use of the apostrophe." The relation 
 of its to the nominative form, it, is so much like that of the 
 relation between the singular possessive of any noun and its 
 nominative form, that the children, following as usually the 
 line of least resistance, carry over the rule for the use of the 
 possessive apostrophe to the pronoun form. As a result there 
 grows up that most common of all errors in the writing of 
 possessive forms. If the writing of the form its as a possessive 
 form is drilled upon before the use of the apostrophe is taught, 
 there will be focalization upon this correct form and the building 
 up of associations between it and such forms as his, hers, yours, 
 so that the writing of this word will become a purely formal 
 thing. Later the statement may be made by the teacher that 
 most of the words in the English language cannot be made to 
 show the fact of possession by a complete change of the word 
 such as we have in the change of I to my, and of he to his, etc. 
 
DICTATION 
 
 139 
 
 We must use a mark, called the apostrophe. The rule for its 
 use is: First think of the name of the person or the animal that 
 actually is the owner or the possessor. Write the name of this 
 person or animal. Then remember that the sign of possession 
 or ownership is the apostrophe followed by 5. If, however, the 
 5 is not sounded, we do not write it. Illustrations may then be 
 given. If we wish to speak of a boy as owning a hat, we first 
 write the word hoy because that is the name of the person. 
 Then we remember that the sign is the apostrophe and s. We 
 think for a moment whether the s is sounded. We pronounce 
 the word to ourselves, and finding that the 5 is sounded, we 
 write h-o-y's. The teacher will find that the application of this 
 rule is extremely simple and makes unnecessary the teaching of 
 long lists of exceptions. 
 
 It will be noted that no attempt has been made here to develop 
 the rule. It has been suggested that the rule for the use of the 
 apostrophe could be developed inductively on the basis of a 
 great number of illustrations given by the teacher and written 
 on the blackboard. Is not this an unnecessary expenditure of 
 time? The better method would be to write a number of 
 characteristic examples on the board, to give the rule and to 
 have the class see the application of the rule in every instance 
 which the teacher has presented. At the beginning it will be 
 found valuable to have the children write the 5 which follows 
 the apostrophe, separate from the word itself. That is to say, 
 the child should be compelled to lift pen or pencil from the paper 
 when he has written the name of the owner or possessor. This 
 physical act of raising the pencil is the outward sign of that 
 pause in the thinking which is called for by the intelligent 
 application of the rule. Needless to say, after a term or more of 
 this formal drill the process of using the apostrophe will have 
 become so completely automatic that the children will be able 
 to write the entire word as a unit, and, when necessary, will 
 insert the apostrophe. 
 
I40 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Summary. — In written and in oral English, attention is concen- 
 trated upon either the grasping or the expression of the thought. 
 All considerations of correctness of form are relegated to the margin 
 of consciousness. In order that the habits of technical accuracy may 
 function properly, at some time in their formation they must be 
 focahzed upon. Exercises in dictation are focalized lessons tending 
 to fix habits which are later to operate in the margin of conscious- 
 ness. 
 
 The subject matter of the dictated exercises may be related to the 
 subjects of the grade or to the composition of pupUs. The motive 
 should be the desire to attain perfect written form. Each lesson 
 should center around one point. The actual dictation should be a 
 test of what has previously been presented. The process should be 
 from observation through generalization of the principle and drill, 
 to appKcation to new matter. Time should be given to the pupils 
 to correct their own work. Formal correction should be followed 
 by repeated drill on correct forms until the probability of a recur- 
 rence of the error has been minimized. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 COMPOSITION 
 
 Composition is primarily a form of written expression for 
 developing the personality of the child. It is here that the 
 newer point of view in education has probably exerted greatest 
 influence upon methods. In all work where the product is a 
 definite and readily examined thing, there is a strong tendency 
 toward formalism. In language work, for example, conventional 
 usage has fixed certain forms and idioms which go to make up 
 correct English. Furthermore, an analysis of the practice of 
 our best authors has brought to light principles of arrangement 
 and proportion which, when carried out, create all the desirable 
 effects of climax and suspense. Nothing, therefore, is more 
 tempting than to develop skill in writing as a formal thing, 
 subordinating everything to the right understanding of the 
 rules of correct expression and artistic arrangement. It is this 
 spirit which, to a large extent, dominated secondary and college 
 teaching in English up to within the last few years. And it is 
 the same spirit, though perceptible in a smaller degree, which 
 has deadened composition work in the elementary schools. 
 
 Rightly conceived, composition should offer to the teacher 
 the finest opportunities for affording to the children an added 
 means of self-expression. It should give clarification to ideas, 
 since expression always carries with it a rearrangement of the 
 content of consciousness, and therefore, a better unification of 
 experiences. All expression in language is a means to the better 
 reconstruction and reorganization of mental states. As the 
 opportunities for oral expression, owing to the size of the classes 
 
142 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 in our ordinary organization, and the limited time which can be 
 devoted to the work, are not so extensive as they should be, 
 the teacher must rely upon the written exercise to give to all 
 the class opportunity to realize itself by expression. This is the 
 key to the teacher's work. Composition is for 5e//-expression, 
 and from this point of view a double duty is heavily laid upon 
 the teacher. In the first place, she should more or less directly 
 lead the child to the acquisition of experiences so vital, so much 
 a part of his developing being, that their very urgency will create 
 the motive for expression; in other words, the desire to communi- 
 cate to others the nature of these experiences. Secondly, she 
 must so surround the child during this work with a spirit of 
 freedom and spontaneity, that the child will feel unrestrained 
 in the process of expression. In this method of teaching, the 
 teacher must give to the child a consciousness of mastery over 
 the difficulties of the written form so that these will not stand 
 between the idea and its adequate expression in words. In 
 order to make clearer this point of view, it may be well to take 
 up each of these points in fuller detail. 
 
 The day has practically passed when in our elementary schools 
 children are called upon to write compositions on such subjects 
 as "Home," "Friendship," "Character," and the hke. It was 
 the old idea that all that was necessary for the development of 
 concepts which the teacher desired to have the children possess, 
 was to direct the thinking of the children to these subjects in 
 the hope that dehberation on the abstract theme would result 
 in the formation of the desired general notions. A more rational 
 psychology has taught that a general notion or a concept is 
 merely the meaning that we read into our experiences and that, 
 therefore, no concept that is really a part of the child himself, 
 can be present except on the basis of concrete and particular 
 experiences in the life of the child. It is the duty of the teacher 
 to select such subjects for composition as will be directly and 
 immediately expressive of the life of the child. 
 
COMPOSITION 143 
 
 The subjects of compositions should be directly or indirectly 
 personal. In the first place, if, as will be pointed out later, the 
 approach is made through the study of a model, that model 
 should be so selected that its tone, its theme, and the mode of 
 its treatment are suited to the development of the child at the 
 particular stage when the presentation is taking place. Nor is 
 it to be supposed that this will be Hmiting the scope of the work. 
 The power of imagination, that is, of projecting self into a 
 figured environment, is so strong in children that the choice of 
 subjects is practically unlimited. Nothing is more delightful 
 to a class than to write from the standpoint of some imaginary 
 person whom, for the moment, the child believes himself to be. 
 It may be well to insist that in every composition the direct 
 personal note be given by the use either of the pronoun in the 
 first person, or by the direct naming of particular individuals in 
 the class. 
 
 As an instance of this, we may take a subject like the follow- 
 ing: If the composition happens to be an exposition of how to 
 play a certain game, instead of a statement in the abstract of 
 the rules of the game, the laying out of the field, and the disposi- 
 tion of the players, the child may be asked to write an account 
 of an actual game which either he has played or he has seen his 
 classmates indulge in. In his account he should refer to the 
 players by name, and thus make his account intimate and per- 
 sonal. If the starting point of the lesson is some striking and 
 general topic like "A Narrow Escape," "A Curious Coincidence," 
 "The Unexpected Guest," or the like, the child should be 
 encouraged to tell the story in the first person instead of as a 
 mere narrative from the standpoint of an onlooker. In order to 
 secure this kind of expression, the teacher must be careful in 
 the choice of subjects. 
 
 A second requisite is the creation of an atmosphere of freedom 
 and spontaneity. For this, three factors are necessary. 
 
 First, a feeling on the part of the child that he has something 
 
144 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 to say worth saying, and as far as he knows, worth listening to. 
 Suppose that the aim of the teacher has been to develop original 
 modes of approaching a subject. The child will know that his 
 work, to a great extent, must be expressive of his own person- 
 aHty. Since the desire to express the self in words or in action 
 is one of the strongest characteristics of children during the 
 elementary school age, there can be no doubt of the interest 
 with which the child will take up the writing. 
 
 The second factor is the feeling that when once completed the 
 work will be assured of an appreciative audience. Through all 
 the work of writing, there should be present the consciousness 
 that what the child is now writing will be seen or heard by many 
 other children. The instinct of communication is only one 
 phase of the general social or gregarious instinct. However well 
 the teacher may have chosen her subjects, however animated 
 may have been her development, it is only when the children 
 feel that others than the teacher will read through their work, 
 and read, moreover, with the interest that comes only to one 
 who has tried the same thing, that they will write with the 
 enthusiasm necessary for the production of worthy work. 
 
 Thirdly, to create the atmosphere of freedom and spontaneity, 
 the child must be relieved of the haunting fear that every word 
 is to be carefully scrutinized and every phrase weighed, and 
 every sentence closely examined for the purpose of detecting 
 errors. The center of attention during the time of actual 
 composition should be directed to the thought and its fullest 
 expression. Any attention diverted to the form will mean a dis- 
 traction. It is not to be supposed that, as some have suggested, 
 children should be allowed to write in complete and utter disre- 
 gard of the rules and laws of punctuation, spelling, arrangement, 
 and the Hke. All such questions, however, should be relegated 
 to the margin of consciousness; that is to say, in a certain sense 
 their control should be sent down to the lower centers. To do 
 this successfully at any part of the elementary school course, the 
 
COMPOSITION 145 
 
 focus of attention must first have been directed to acquiring 
 a habit of accuracy in these particulars. Stiffness in school 
 composition is due to one or both of two factors. Either the 
 rules of formal expression have been insufficiently drilled, so 
 that the production of correct form calls for a large amount of 
 conscious attention, or else the method of criticism has been 
 largely destructive, so that the child is bviried under a wave of 
 diffidence due to his fear of making errors which will evoke 
 ridicule or unkindly comment. 
 
 It has already been pointed out in connection with the teach- 
 ing of reading, that there should be a separation of the formal 
 from the content element. In the written work in composi- 
 tion, it wiU probably be found that study of form should 
 dominate the lowest classes. Children do not possess intuitively 
 habits of correct written expression. These must be built up 
 slowly. Not that the lowest classes should study formal work 
 only. On the contrary, it will be found that a certain amount 
 of purely content work is absolutely indispensable if the formal 
 work is to be interesting. On the other hand, it is not to be 
 supposed that in the higher grades formal work should be 
 completely disregarded. To secure steady progress, the course 
 must be continuous. In every case the underlying principle 
 should be observed. The interest in a real and living content 
 must afford the motive for the mastery of the form. 
 
 Instruction in composition may be said to pass through these 
 stages: In the first place, the child Hves either directly or 
 vicariously through vital experiences. Secondly, he feels an 
 urgency for the expression of these experiences. Thirdly, he 
 gives oral expression to these, and attempts a written form of 
 expression. Fourthly, he finds that the forms of expression at 
 his disposal are insufficient to meet the demands made upon 
 him by his new environment. Fifthly, the teacher, estimating 
 properly the extent of the deficiency, sees that if the child is to 
 give right expression to his thoughts, he must master a certain 
 
146 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 form. The teacher relies upon the interest of the child in his 
 experiences, upon his desire to give expression to them, and upon 
 his feeling that this expression ought to be correct, to supply 
 the child with that re-enforcement of his ideal which is one of 
 the necessary and antecedent conditions of prolonged voluntary 
 attention along the lines of true interest. Summarizing then, 
 — given a child with something to say, who is assured of an 
 interested audience, and is not preoccupied with the technique 
 and formal difficulties of expression, we have the ideal conditions 
 for good work in composition. In order to make clearer what 
 has already been said, it may be well to lay down a series of 
 suggestions. 
 
 1. Never assign a lesson for composition unless you are sure 
 the children have sufficient information and experience to 
 enable them to write easily, intelligently, and willingly. 
 
 2. See that all your subjects are concrete, personal, definite, 
 and brief. 
 
 3. Remember that every written composition lesson carries 
 with it two distinct features of difficulty: First, the organization 
 of the thought. Secondly, the right expression of the thought. 
 Make the work easier for the child by having almost every 
 written lesson preceded by a period of preparation in which the 
 point of view of the different children may be brought out, new 
 attitudes suggested, and the right order of treatment decided 
 upon. This period of preparation may frequently conclude 
 with the formation of an outline by topics. 
 
 4. Devote a complete period to the actual writing of the 
 composition and the reading by pupils of their own work. Make 
 the period of preparation an exercise in oral composition. 
 
 5. Do not sacrifice free expression for the purpose of securing 
 a beautiful copy. On the other hand, never permit slovenly 
 work. 
 
 6. Maintain the closest correlation between composition and 
 drill on the common errors of speech. 
 
COMPOSITION 147 
 
 7. Be sure to distinguish a formal composition lesson of this 
 type from a mere reproduction of the subject matter of other 
 subjects of the course. 
 
 Summary. — Composition is an added means of self-expression 
 for the cMld. Subjects should be personal. The spirit of the exer- 
 cise should be free and spontaneous. To secure this, (i) the child 
 must feel that he has something worth while to say; (2) he must 
 feel that he is writing for appreciative and sympathetic readers; 
 (3) he must not be burdened with the fear of over-minute destruc- 
 tive criticism. Interest in the real and hving content must afford the 
 motive for the mastery of the form. The sequence should be (i) 
 gaining vital experiences; (2) feehng an urgent need for expression; 
 (3) oral expression; (4) attempts at written expression; (5) study 
 of forms of written expression; (6) adequate written expression. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 COMPOSITION (Continued) 
 
 The Study of Models 
 
 It has been suggested that in the teaching of composition 
 there should be an extensive use of models. The recorded 
 experiences of many of the best writers point to the fact that 
 their own style was formed largely through the careful study of 
 the works of their great predecessors. This studio or laboratory 
 method has features of the greatest value for work in the ele- 
 mentary schools. The general principle underlying the method 
 is eminently sound. The most important instinct in children 
 on which the educative process can be brought to bear is the 
 instinct of imitation. It is through imitation that human 
 speech is transmitted from generation to generation. It is 
 through imitation that we build up those habits of action which 
 constitute the basis of character. In other fields, the potency of 
 this instinct as an added factor in teaching has long been 
 recognized. It is surprising that it has taken so long to make 
 its way into the teaching of English in elementary schools. 
 
 It need not be emphasized that as carried out in the ele- 
 mentary school, the method should be essentially different from 
 that suited to older children. Yet, while it is the aim not so 
 much to give certain tricks of style as it is to furnish standards 
 and models of correct, clear, and forcible expression, in many 
 respects the underlying laws of the method will be the same. 
 There must be a model, a careful study of the model with 
 definite purposes in mind, perhaps an imitation, and finally an 
 application to an original content of what has been gathered 
 from, the study. 
 
COMPOSITION — STUDY OF MODELS 149 
 
 In a brief way this summarizes the usual studio method. 
 While it possesses many features of undoubted excellence, it 
 must be carefully examined before it can be adopted in toto. 
 
 In the ordinary course of study the teaching of formal written 
 composition commences in the fourth year. In the earher 
 years, there have been exercises in dictation, in transcription, 
 and in directed paragraph construction. With the fourth year, 
 however, begins the study of the model as a basis for composi- 
 tion. There should be a definite progression in the difficulty 
 of the models selected. An ordinary course of study merely 
 says that there are to be models of description, of narration, of 
 exposition, and of letters. We are supposed to infer that there 
 is to be a gradation of the difficulty. The needs in any particular 
 locality will determine the principle that should underlie this 
 increase of difficulty. A suggestion of the arrangement is here 
 
 given: 
 
 Letter Writing 
 
 Fourth year, first half. — Select as a model a pupil's letter 'to. 
 father, or to mother, or to a teacher, on school activities. This 
 is the most intensely personal subject that can be selected. If 
 the teacher adjusts the time of teaching so that there will be a 
 real or an apparent need for the writing of such a letter, the 
 necessary motive will be supplied. 
 
 Fourth year, second half. — Select a pupil's letter to a fellow- 
 pupil, on school life, etc. Here once more the personal note is 
 sounded, while the added difficulty is the fact that correspond- 
 ence between pupils of this age is less likely to be spontaneous 
 than correspondence between a pupil and a parent or a teacher. 
 The strain is therefore placed upon the child of meeting a new 
 condition for which his earUer training has not prepared him. 
 As a result, there will be development in the child's power of 
 expression. 
 
 Fifth year, first half. — The child is approaching the time when, 
 according to the requirements of a compulsory education law, 
 
I50 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 he may leave school and enter upon employment. The model 
 may therefore be a letter making application for a position. 
 The child will see the immediate importance and the ultimate 
 value of this exercise, and there will be no question as to the 
 interest and effort he will put forth. 
 
 Fifth year, second half. — The probabilities of having boys 
 leave school to go to work become very much greater. As a 
 consequence, the work in business correspondence may be made 
 more extensive, and the models for letter writing may include 
 various business forms, correspondence connected with organiza- 
 tions, and the like. 
 
 Sixth year, first half. — It will probably be found that a greater 
 portion of time should be spent on the other branches of the 
 composition work. It may be found advisable to omit any 
 formal or advance work in letter writing. This is not to imply 
 that the children are not to write any letters in this grade. It 
 is to be remembered that the suggestions for models as laid down 
 here apply only to the formal study of the technique of the letter 
 taken up as a separate exercise. In addition to this, as in the 
 other branches of the composition work, there should be informal 
 work, such as is naturally suggested by the ever widening ex- 
 periences of the child in his school and home relations. There- 
 fore, the class may be called upon to write half a dozen letters 
 covering the types studied in the fourth and fifth years. 
 
 Sixth year, second half. — Formal letter writing may again be 
 taken up through the medium of a model, and particular atten- 
 tion may be paid to the formal, semi-formal, and the informal 
 models of social correspondence. It is of doubtful value to 
 spend much time on social correspondence in the third person. 
 It is easy for children to understand that the acceptance or the 
 refusal of an invitation should be determined in style by the 
 nature of the invitation itself, and it is of much greater value to 
 the children that they should learn how to write in a spontane- 
 ous and informal way Httle notes of acceptance or regret. 
 
COMPOSITION — STUDY OF MODELS 15 1 
 
 Description 
 
 One of the reasons why children develop in the higher classes 
 no greater power of description than they possess in the lower, 
 is that teachers have failed to analyze the difficulties of descrip- 
 tive composition. There should be a gradation. On the one 
 hand, the children should not at the outset be overwhelmed by 
 too much; on the other, they should not lose interest in the work 
 because each successive grade sees only a repetition of what was 
 taken up in the earKer ones. In the analysis of the types of 
 descriptive writing as here suggested, it should be remembered 
 that the aim is only to give a basis for selecting models for 
 intensive study. It is not to be supposed that the only descrip- 
 tions which the children are to write should be those suggested 
 for the grade, or already taken up in earlier grades. 
 
 It has already been made clear that the standard for choice 
 of composition topics should be the degree to which these topics 
 are expressive of the normal experience of the children. A child 
 may be called upon in the fourth year to write a description of a 
 certain subject even though the formal type of such description 
 may not be studied until the sixth year. In such work, the 
 teacher is not to be too critical of results. 
 
 Fourth year, first half. — The model may be a single, small, 
 inanimate object, such as a chair, or a table, or a desk. This is 
 easily described, first, because it is purely objective; secondly, 
 because there is a regular mode of procedure from the whole to 
 the parts, and to a statement of the use. 
 
 Fourth year, second half. — The description may be that of a 
 room or an interior. Here the parts are easily arranged be- 
 cause there is, first, a description of the unit, and then a treat- 
 ment in order of the various parts. Moreover, a further increase 
 of difficulty may be provided for in the teacher's presentation 
 by having the children inject a subjective element into their 
 descriptions; for example, the feeling which the room arouses 
 
152 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 at first glance, or the general impression which it makes on the 
 mind of the observer. Retrospection or subjective analysis is 
 always more difficult than purely objective description. 
 
 Fifth year, first half. — The description may be extended to 
 that of a building. Here the teacher should aim to develop the 
 idea of describing from two different points of view. The house 
 in its surroundings may first be treated, and then the house as 
 a thing by itself. 
 
 Fifth year, second half. — Description takes a long step from 
 the purely expositional features it has possessed in the first three 
 models. Here the subject selected should be a large scene of 
 some sort — a street scene or one in the country. The de- 
 mand made upon the children for descriptive adjectives and 
 for phrases that will lend color to the account, will give oppor- 
 tunity for complete mental activity. 
 
 In the first half of the sixth year, the description may be that 
 
 of a person, while in the second half, there may be an attempt 
 
 at a combination of the last two named; that is to say, the model 
 
 should be the description of a scene with a person or a group of 
 
 persons in it. 
 
 Narration 
 
 Narration has primarily to do with action. It is d)mamic 
 and should be ever changing. Hence, it is in the drama that 
 we can find the most valuable suggestions to guide us in the 
 selection of models for this kind of work. Here, as in no other 
 form of Hterary composition, we see the importance of unity 
 and continuity. Two events stand out prominently: the 
 cUmax and the catastrophe. The former is the key-stone of the 
 play. To it, everything that precedes must lead. Whatever 
 does not have intimate bearing on the development of the 
 climax is evidence of bad construction. From the cHmax all 
 events must radiate through the operation of the natural laws 
 of cause and effect, to the final capping event, the catastrophe 
 where poetic justice is meted out with lavish hand, where 
 
COMPOSITION — STUDY OF MODELS 153 
 
 intricacies are unraveled, and obscurities illuminated. Details 
 may be introduced for variety or to give the audience pause. 
 But in no case should any detail take so important a place that 
 the main interest is even for a moment drawn from the develop- 
 ment of the cHmax. The deus in machina must be felt but 
 never seen. Furthermore, it is an important quality of a 
 good play that the opening scene be such as immediately to 
 grip the attention and give an insight into the main idea of 
 the story. 
 
 In the selection of the model, therefore, and in the teaching 
 of this form of composition, the teacher should be careful to 
 emphasize the importance of the opening part of the story. 
 If the method of taking up the reproduction of stories has been 
 followed along the lines suggested in an earlier part of this work, 
 it will be found that the children already have command of 
 certain good forms of Hterary composition which will serve them 
 as models. But it must not be imagined that the teacher is to 
 rely altogether upon this knowledge. It is one thing uncon- 
 sciously to imitate a good form without analyzing its component 
 parts and accounting for its various excellences. It is quite 
 another to take up this form as a central object of study, to 
 concentrate upon it, and to focalize upon it with a view to 
 maldng it an efficient factor for the more ready expression of 
 one's ideas. It is from the latter point of view that the study 
 of the model should be taken up. The principle determining the 
 progression of difficulties in the models for narration, should be 
 that of increase in the number of incidents and in the com- 
 plexity or involution of their relation. 
 
 Fourth year, first half. — The model may be a single incident 
 — a fable or a story. From the very beginning it should be 
 pointed out that a story is completed when the point of the 
 story has been told. Although the fuller treatment of this 
 topic may be deferred to some later grade, from the very be- 
 ginning children should be taught that most difficult of all 
 
*I54 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 features of the story-teller's art; namely, that when they have 
 reached the end of the story, they should stop. 
 
 Fourth year, second half. — The model may be a story which 
 contains several incidents, so put together and so arranged as to 
 develop a telHng climax. 
 
 Fifth year, first half. — The teacher may employ a model 
 which makes use of details for the effective telHng of the story. 
 The attention of the class should be concentrated upon modes of - 
 developing these details through descriptions, and particularly 
 through dialogue. 
 
 Fifth year, second half. — A correlation with the work in 
 description may be effected. The model may be a story con- 
 taining a description of a scene more or less complex. When 
 the children come later to write original compositions on the 
 basis of the model they have studied, it may be suggested to 
 them that it is possible to treat a description so as to make its 
 general tone fit the tone of the story. This will lead to a hinting 
 at the device of selecting details so as to create the desired effect. 
 The same room, for example, may be described so as to create 
 the impression either of cheerfulness or of gloom, depending 
 upon what features in its appearance are emphasized. 
 
 Sixth year, both halves. — The correlation with the description 
 work may be continued so as to have the story model contain a 
 description of some person of importante in the narrative. In 
 the second half of the sixth year no one particular model should 
 be studied, but a number of stories should be read and carefully 
 examined with a view to developing the idea of the appropriate 
 introduction and the appropriate ending. 
 
 Exposition 
 
 The general plan or outline which is observable in most 
 expositions is practically the same. The increase in difl&culty, 
 therefore, of our models should come from the use of a greater 
 number of details in the course of the exposition. It will not 
 
COMPOSITION — STUDY OF MODELS 155 
 
 be necessary to treat this question at much length. The nature 
 of the subjects chosen for the exposition work, together with the 
 models which are furnished as illustrations of what is meant, 
 will by itself determine the kind of difficulties added in the 
 course of the added grades. 
 
 Fourth year, first half. — The model may tell how a game is 
 played. The basis should be an actual game played in sight of 
 the children or by the children themselves. The personal element 
 may be injected here, as in all the other models in this branch of 
 the work, by the use of names, and by definite locations in place. 
 
 Fourth year, second half. — The model may tell how an article 
 is made. Care should be taken that the article chosen is one 
 of use to the children, and one, moreover, which they have 
 really made. 
 
 Fifth year, first half. — The subject may be, "How a lesson 
 is conducted." This differs from the work of the fourth year in 
 that the material that is used is no longer inanimate but consists 
 of the living members of the class. In other words, there is a 
 response on the part of those with whom the operation is per- 
 formed. 
 
 Fifth year, second half. — The same idea may be carried out in 
 somewhat greater complexity by choosing as the subject of the 
 exposition some difficult and involved school evolution such as 
 the marching into or out of assembly, the action of a class during 
 a fire drill, etc. 
 
 Sixth year, first half. — Partly as a preparation for the science 
 work of the seventh year and partly as an extension of the work 
 in etymology which should have been begun in an earlier class, 
 and which by this time should have reached a more or less ad- 
 vanced stage, the subject of the exposition may be the explana- 
 tion of some term. Emphasis should be laid upon the logical 
 development of the parts of the explanation, and care should be 
 taken that the children weigh carefully the words, particularly 
 the adjectives, used. 
 
156 
 
 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Sixth year, second half. — There may be a further extension of 
 this kind of work by making the subject of the exposition a com- 
 parison of two terms or of two animals, or of two cities, or of 
 two personages or characters in history. 
 
 Summary. — The study of models is an excellent mode of teach- 
 ing style. The appeal is through the instinct of imitation. The 
 models should be carefidly graded. 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 OF A GRADED SERIES OF 
 
 MODELS FOR COMPOSITION 
 
 YEAR-HALF 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 NARRATION 
 
 EXPOSITION 
 
 4 — I St 
 
 From pupil 
 
 A single 
 
 A single incident 
 
 How a game 
 
 
 to father. 
 
 inanimate 
 
 e. g., a fable 
 
 is played 
 
 
 mother, or 
 
 object 
 
 
 
 
 teacher 
 
 
 
 
 4 — 2d 
 
 From pupil 
 
 A room 
 
 A story contain- 
 
 How some 
 
 
 to fellow- 
 
 
 ing several inci- 
 
 simple article 
 
 
 pupil 
 
 
 dents leading to a 
 climax 
 
 is made 
 
 S-ist 
 
 Application 
 
 A building 
 
 A narrative de- 
 
 How a lesson 
 
 
 for a 
 
 from two 
 
 veloped through 
 
 is conducted 
 
 
 position 
 
 points of 
 view 
 
 details 
 
 
 S-2d 
 
 Business 
 
 A large scene 
 
 A simple narra- 
 
 How an in- 
 
 
 letters 
 
 — city or 
 
 tive combined 
 
 tricate school 
 
 
 
 country 
 
 with a descrip- 
 tion of its setting 
 
 manoeuvre is 
 efltected 
 
 6— I St 
 
 Review of 
 
 A person 
 
 A simple narra- 
 
 The explana- 
 
 
 form of 
 
 
 tive combined 
 
 tion of a 
 
 
 letters 
 
 
 with a descrip- 
 tion of its impor- 
 tant personages 
 
 term 
 
 6— 2d 
 
 Social corre- 
 
 A large scene 
 
 Narrative 
 
 The compari- 
 
 
 spondence 
 
 combined 
 
 studied with 
 
 son of two 
 
 
 Formal — In- 
 
 with the de- 
 
 reference to ap- 
 
 terms 
 
 
 formal 
 
 scriptions of 
 persons 
 
 propriate intro- 
 duction and 
 conclusion 
 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 HOW THE MODEL IS TO BE USED 
 
 It will be seen that the arrangement of the models in all 
 branches of composition is such as to provide for a progression 
 from the fourth year to the sixth. The question will naturally 
 arise, — "What provision is to be made for the seventh and the 
 eighth year? " That the model should be used in the last two 
 years goes without saying. There is, however, to be a difference 
 in the mode of treatment, and this difference is so marked, in 
 other words, the method of teaching in the highest two grades 
 is so different from that followed in the preceding three, that 
 there will be no need of indicating the progression in difficulty 
 of the model. 
 
 In general, it may be said that in the fourth year the aim 
 should be to imitate the model as such. The teacher should 
 particularly call the attention of the class to the sequence of 
 topics. The idea of the outHne, its function, and its value as a 
 preparatory step to the writing of the composition itself should 
 be shown. Moreover, by actual use, the teacher should show 
 what a topic sentence is. It has been found of value to require 
 occasionally that when the class prepares an outHne, every topic 
 should be represented by a complete sentence. While the model 
 is studied, the only aim should be the understanding of the 
 model itself, with a view to intelligent imitation. The members 
 of the class will note that at a later time they will be called upon 
 to write an original composition in imitation of the model 
 they are studying, but it is imnecessary that their attention 
 should be divided by letting them know what the subject of that 
 composition is to be, or even what general form it is to take. 
 
158 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 In the fifth year the study of the model may be with a view to 
 guidance in the original work. That is to say, the subject for 
 the original composition should be known to the class at the 
 same time that they are studying the model. It will be im- 
 necessary to go through the step of reproduction of the model 
 in this year; for while the pupils are studying the model, since 
 they already know the subject of the composition upon which 
 they are to write, they are forming judgments as to how they 
 must adapt the order of treatment of topics in the model, the 
 development of these topics, and the choice of words, in order 
 to give an effective treatment of their own subject. 
 
 In the sixth year the teacher should interfere to as sHght an 
 extent as possible in the work of model study. Children should 
 form the topical outhne practically unaided, and by a few 
 leading questions they may be called upon to speak of those 
 features of the model which in their judgment are worthy of 
 imitation, and which admit of adaptation to their own original 
 work. In other words, there should be the beginning of an at- 
 tempt to form a critical judgment on the part of the children. 
 
 As a further suggestion, it may be said that in the first half of 
 the fourth year, there should be, after the analysis of the model 
 and the formation of the outHne, merely an oral reproduction 
 of the model. It is perhaps too much to ask the children to 
 attempt at once the difficult step of exact reproduction. They 
 are in this work confronted with three difficulties. In the first 
 place, they must follow the order of development as indicated in 
 the model. Secondly, they are met with the difficulties of 
 spelling, punctuation, and the use of correct EngUsh. In the 
 third place, there is the difficulty of remembering and incorporat- 
 ing into their own reproduction the exact words and phrases of 
 the model. Throughout, there is a great strain upon the memory 
 which may be exhausting to a child attempting this work for 
 the first time. 
 
 If we insist merely upon the oral reproduction of the. model, 
 
HOW THE MODEL IS TO BE USED 159 
 
 we are accomplishing several things. In the first place, we are 
 affording an opportunity for formal drill and exercise in oral 
 composition. In the second place, we are relieving the children 
 of the burden of paying attention to the spelling, the punctua- 
 tion, the paragraphing, and the penmanship. And in the 
 third place, we are creating a vital interest in the step of repro- 
 duction. There is no more stimulating element in class work 
 than the comparison of the work done by one member of the 
 class before his classmates with what each classmate figures in 
 his own mind would have been his own performance had he 
 the opportunity to appear before the class. In this step, the 
 children should be encouraged to adopt happy words or phrases 
 from the model and to incorporate them bodily into their own 
 oral work. In fact, it is not too early to initiate in this class the 
 habit of keeping note-books in which the children will write 
 words or phrases which the teacher commends as being par- 
 ticularly apt and appropriate, and which could be used with 
 advantage by the children in their composition work. 
 
 In the second half of the fourth year, the step of written repro- 
 duction may be introduced. The added difficulties of spelHng, 
 paragraphing, punctuation, etc., it is true, will be no less than 
 they would have been had this work been done in the first half 
 of the year; but as has already been suggested, it is advisable to 
 have the pupils accustomed to the idea of imitation of a model 
 before they are called upon to imitate in writing. 
 
 In the first half of the fifth year, it is unnecessary, as has 
 already been suggested, to have the step of reproduction. Care 
 should be taken that the subject chosen for the model may be 
 closely similar to the subject of the first class composition based 
 on the model. In this way it will be more easy for the children 
 to incorporate words, phrases, and modes of treatment into 
 their own work. 
 
 In the second half of the fifth year the formal study may be 
 concentrated on the study of letter-writing, while in the other 
 
i6o THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 branches of the composition work it may be found advisable to 
 have the steps in the study of the model as brief as possible, so 
 as to provide for as much original work as can be done in the 
 allotted time. 
 
 In the sixth year the plan of study should be Hke that adopted 
 for the fifth. That is to say, the subject of the first composi- 
 tion to be written by the children should be known to them at the 
 time the model is presented. The step of reproduction may be 
 omitted, but the attention of the children should be directed by 
 the teacher not so much to the outline or to the sequence of 
 topics as to the turns of phrases, the diction, and the structure 
 of the sentence. Particularly should there be a careful study of 
 what should be included in a single paragraph. Where English 
 is not altogether a foreign language, it may be found advisable 
 to classify paragraphs imder certain heads, as is done in the 
 paragraph study of the high school. It is always a convenient 
 thing to be able to refer to a form by name, even though it be 
 technical, rather than by a long description. 
 
 It is a mistake for the teacher to imagine that there should be 
 but one model presented each term for each type of composition. 
 She should select a number of the same general type for compara- 
 tive study. These may be read at different parts of the period 
 during which the study of the model is taken up, the aim being 
 to furnish the children with many illustrations. The result will 
 be that while there may be a general likeness in the nature of the 
 reproduction made by the class, there will be some variety, since 
 different pupils will select from the various models some one 
 feature which they will add to the type model studied by all. 
 Since in few cases will the judgment of two children exactly 
 coincide, the work, being continually varied, will always be 
 interesting. 
 
 In the first half of the fourth year it will probably be found 
 most advisable to take one complete lesson for the study of the 
 model, another for the step of reproduction, a third for a com- 
 
HOW THE MODEL IS TO BE USED i6i 
 
 position on a similar topic, and a fourth for correction. On the 
 basis of two lessons in formal composition each week, it will be 
 seen that it is possible to carry on the study of two models each 
 month. The second may be selected from the reader or from a 
 supplementary text book, or if the teacher so desire, from a 
 regular book of models in EngKsh composition. It will be possi- 
 ble to have the study of the second model and the oral reproduc- 
 tion take place in one period, the writing of a similar composition 
 in a second period, while the correction would occupy the third. 
 The last composition period for the month could, therefore, be 
 set aside for the writing of a test composition on a subject chosen 
 by the teacher or selected by the pupils from a Kst presented by 
 the teacher. It was been found valuable to carry on this plan 
 of study throughout the fourth and the fifth years. 
 
 In the sixth year, there may be less study of the model and 
 more opportunity for original composition. In fact, even in the 
 second half of the fifth year it may be found advisable to restrict 
 the number of models studied to one each month, thus largely 
 increasing the amount of original work that can be done by the 
 children. 
 
 It is suggested that in the first month of the term letters be 
 studied; in the second, narration; in the third, exposition; in 
 the fourth, description; while in the fifth, although there should 
 be no model study, there might be a review of the models already 
 studied so that the composition may be on such a subject as will 
 involve description combined with narration through the dia- 
 logue and the use of the direct quotation. 
 
 Summary. — There should be a grading in the use of the model. 
 Fourth year — Direct imitation of the model and development of 
 an outline. 
 
 ist Half — Oral reproduction of the model. 
 2nd Half — Written reproduction of the model. 
 Fifth year — Using the model for guidance, the step of direct 
 imitation being omitted. 
 
1 62 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 ist Half — Study of selected words and phrases. 
 
 2nd Half — Study of correct placing of parts of a letter. 
 Sixth year — Formation of outline by pupils omitted. Children 
 to exercise their own judgment in designating features of the model 
 most worthy of imitation. 
 
 ist Half — Study of paragraph unity. 
 
 2nd Half — Study of sentence unity. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 COMPOSITION (Continued) 
 
 Letter Writing 
 
 The quality most difficult to secure in pupils' letters is 
 spontaneity; and this is but natural. For this very quality is 
 one so elusive, so thoroughly identified with the interests of the 
 children, so completely a form of pure self-expression, that it 
 may be doubted whether a spontaneous effect can ever, through 
 the teacher's efforts, be secured. If it is not present it cannot 
 be forced. Originality cannot be taught. If, however, we can 
 discover what are the restraints which make letters written by 
 children in the grades of the elementary school so artificial and 
 awkward, it might be possible, could we but remove the hamper- 
 ing factors, to lend to this work, within the Hmit of the children's 
 powers, the freedom, the grace, and the charm that characterize 
 the correspondence of a Lowell, a Dodgson, or a Stevenson. 
 
 The traditional demarcation between the life of books and the 
 Ufe of the world finds its parallel in two entirely different forms 
 of expression within the school. Just as there once was a belief 
 (have we altogether outgrown it to-day?) that the form and the 
 subject matter of written language should be as far removed as 
 possible from the style and the content of everyday speech, so 
 do our children in the schools unconsciously adopt, in their 
 written work, a style as foreign to the natural form of the daily 
 conversation as the subjects they choose for their compositions 
 differ from the topics they discuss in their walks to and from 
 school. Naturalness disappears as soon as they take pen in 
 hand. They are on their best behavior, and strut about, so to 
 
1 64 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 speak, uncomfortably correct, stilted, unbending. Nowhere is 
 this more apparent than in their correspondence, for it is here 
 that since naturalness is the main desideratxmi, the lack of it 
 becomes most painfully evident. The great task before the 
 teacher, briefly speaking, is this: to remove as much as possible 
 the barrier between free thinking and written expression. The 
 latter should be made not only the natural but even the neces- 
 sary outcome of the former. 
 
 But how is this to be done? In the last few years great 
 advance has been made in one direction. We have already 
 referred to the fact that the subjects of compositions called for 
 from the children are on live topics. We are coming more and 
 more to realize that the logical sources of our composition work 
 are not the pet theories of the teacher but the natural interests 
 of the children. Little, therefore, need be said in this place 
 regarding the choice of subjects. In the matter of form, however, 
 the results have not been so satisfactory. Pupils have not 
 attained the requisite facihty in using the language. Their 
 attention is constantly wavering between what they wish to 
 say and how they wish to say it. We must concentrate our 
 efforts therefore on the matter of form itself, and what is more, 
 on those very parts where unnaturalness most clearly shows 
 itself; namely, in the opening and closing portions of the letter. 
 A graceful exit from the room is no less difficult than a graceful 
 close to a letter; but both can be taught. 
 
 Even if we have secured a reasonable degree of ease in certain 
 parts of the letter, we are confronted with a task, beside which 
 the former becomes insignificant. The body of the letter may 
 be made correct in outHne and in sequence but it is generally 
 couched in language absolutely different from the colloquial 
 usage of the children. Kipling's Judy in "Baa Baa, Black 
 Sheep," is a good type of the priggishness that we meet with. 
 Much of this we can reform if we are but careful to have the 
 children write on topics within their natural interests. When 
 
LETTER WRITING 165 
 
 this has been done, the rest of the cure lies in changing our 
 method of using the models. 
 
 There are certain Hmitations to be observed in the appHcation 
 of the studio or laboratory method to the study of model letters. 
 At this point we shall not go so far as to say dogmatically that 
 these limitations are equally appHcable to the study of models 
 of description, narration, and exposition. It is possible, however, 
 that the principle upon which our criticism is founded may 
 be basic although the mode of its interpretation may differ in 
 the various forms of composition. In the present connection it 
 will be sufficient to say that the change in the mode of study, 
 which should be inaugurated with the seventh year, will be 
 along the hne of the kind of study that is suggested here in 
 connection with letter writing. 
 
 It cannot be too often repeated that if we are to achieve any 
 degree of success in our teaching, we must be careful to make 
 the center of our method the natural interests of the pupils, 
 and the lines of our methods their natural activities. What is 
 our present mode of procedure? The teacher announces to 
 the class that she intends to begin an exercise in composition. 
 She begins the study of a model which may or may not treat 
 of a topic closely akin to the pupils' interests. In other words, 
 she chokes originality by the first step of her method. She 
 places the thought and work of another between the thought 
 of the pupils and its adequate expression. It is true that this 
 method insures the production of exercises of a definite form. 
 The improvement over the former rambling, incoherent, chaotic 
 composition is so great that we must recognize the benefit 
 accruing from the study of models. But cannot these advan- 
 tages be secured without spreading a deadening influence over 
 the work of the pupils? What wonder is it that the letters are 
 lifeless? At no time is opportunity afforded for the absolutely 
 free thinking of the pupils. We make a strong appeal to their 
 imitative faculty, and yet we wonder why the imitation is 
 
1 66 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 not original. The method involves an inherent contradiction. 
 We study the model only so as to insure accuracy of form, yet 
 we plan the time for such study so that we mold not only the 
 form but the content as well. 
 
 In favor of the method here suggested, certain arguments 
 may be presented. It will be noted that it springs from the 
 natural interests of the children. Its successive steps are 
 responses to demands arising from the children's needs. At 
 the outset no attempt is made to consider form. Since the 
 quantity of attention at any moment is limited, if we are to 
 permit and to encourage the free expression of thought, there 
 must be no check on the pupil's thinking. No model is to be 
 presented nor should anything be said by the teacher which 
 will divert attention from the matter at hand; namely, the free 
 expression of individual thinking. 
 
 The topic of the letter may be selected from the work of 
 the class, provided there is something so interesting that the 
 children feel a desire to communicate their experiences to 
 others. Suggestions as to what these topics should be, if we 
 are to provide for a gradual increase in difl&culty, have already 
 been made in our analysis of models for letter writing. It is 
 to be remembered that all hints which have already been given 
 as to the method of studying the models in the class apply to 
 the other forms of composition writing, and not to letter writing. 
 The modification that is here introduced is for the purpose of 
 securing the spontaneity which, as has already been explained, 
 is so vital a part of successful work. 
 
 Subjects should be concrete and specific, not a general account 
 of progress in school work, except perhaps at the close of the 
 term when the amount of ground covered and the readiness for 
 promotion are prominent factors in the child's thinking about 
 school affairs. By concrete and specific subjects are meant, 
 such as an account of an interesting experiment in physics; 
 the experiences of the children in class room gardening; a 
 
LETTER WRITING 167 
 
 report on an interesting discussion in history or geography; 
 how a difficult problem in arithmetic was solved, let us say, 
 by only one member of the class; how the district athletic 
 meet or the school athletic meet was decided; the writer's 
 opinion of a book or a story read in the class-room, together 
 with advice to read the same story if the letter is written to a 
 classmate; or a request for the title of a similar book if the 
 letter is written to a teacher. A little thought will develop 
 many similar subjects. After a holiday of any sort, the letter 
 may be written on how the day was spent. A long vacation 
 gives opportunity for writing descriptions of places or of people, 
 or narrations of various kinds. 
 
 The teacher here should always be on guard to see that the 
 pupils are treating of real and not of imaginary experiences. 
 A simple warning to the class should be siifficient to prevent 
 romancing. It is of no value to have the child write on the 
 subject, "How I Spent my Vacation," or any other similar 
 topic of a general nature. Let the subject be definite and to 
 the point, and have the children select some incident interest- 
 ing to themselves, and likely to be interesting to others, which 
 will admit of expansion. A successful letter is detailed and 
 intimate. 
 
 With a subject properly chosen, the most difficult part of the 
 teacher's work is done. The next step to take in order to get 
 the effect of reahsm is to provide some system of actual cor- 
 respondence. Members of one division of a sixth year class, 
 for example, may write to the children of a different division. 
 If a letter of invitation is to be written, the many athletic 
 contests between different schools may be made the occasion 
 of a real correspondence. A fifth year class may invite a class 
 of another school to be present at the game, and as incentive, 
 the teacher may announce that the best letter will actually be 
 sent. Surely, principals in the same or in different districts 
 may arrange some plan of correspondence by schools. If a 
 
1 68 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 book is to be bought for the class hbrary, why should not the 
 children be called upon to write the letter? Once more, the 
 best letter could be sent, and when the book is received, a letter 
 of receipt and acknowledgment may be composed. 
 
 It must be remembered that with a real motive there will be 
 far better results than if the work is done in a perfimctory 
 way. Have the pupils of one class write to individual pupils 
 of another class. The letters may be enclosed in regular enve- 
 lopes and sent through the regular mail box of the school. Where 
 there is an interchange of letters by the pupils of different 
 schools, the teacher of the corresponding classes should be fur- 
 nished with a list of the register together with the addresses of 
 the boys of the other class. This will give an intimate tone to 
 the letter. If there has been a lecture or an entertainment of 
 any sort in the school, let the class write to the lecturer. All 
 challenges between classes should be made through the medium 
 of regular letters written as a class exercise. In sending to 
 the National or the State government for any material which 
 the class may need for its work in geography or in nature study, 
 write the letter as a class exercise. 
 
 Practice should be given in addressing envelopes. For this 
 purpose, paper cut down to the right size will answer the pur- 
 pose of the real envelopes and will be much more economical. 
 A great deal of this informal letter writing can be done before 
 nine o'clock, or at home, and in this way the regularly planned 
 work in letter writing will not be seriously interfered with. 
 
 By the choice of the proper subject and a knowledge of the 
 practical end which the letter is to serve, the teacher should 
 have brought the class to a state where it is eager to get to work; 
 but we are still far from the actual composition of the letter. 
 The next step in the lesson should be the conversation between 
 the teacher and class for the purpose of bringing out what the 
 letter should contain. As the important points are given by 
 different members of the class, pupils may go to the blackboard 
 
LETTER WRITING 169 
 
 and briefly write out their own contributions. The minds of 
 the children are now keenly alive, and no attention should be 
 wasted on order or form. What we are here developing is really 
 the body of the letter; five minutes should be sufficient to bring 
 out all that is necessary for the exercise. Then the attention 
 of the class should be directed to the list of topics on the black- 
 board, and another five minutes should be given to enable the 
 class so to number the statements that the sequence of ideas 
 will be orderly and definite. 
 
 The remaining part of the period should be devoted to the 
 writing of the letter. It is assumed that even in the lowest 
 grade, that is, in the first half of the fourth year, the mechanical 
 placing of the different parts of the letter has been taught. 
 The ordinary composition paper is not to be used in this exer- 
 cise at all. As soon as possible the ruled margin should be 
 dispensed with. The teacher should get paper of foolscap 
 size and cut it down to the proportions of ordinary note paper. 
 
 Up to this point, we have had free thought and free expres- 
 sion. The letter will show many errors, the style may not be 
 fitted to the general tone of the letter, the opening and the clos- 
 ing of the letter may be models of what should be avoided, but 
 at all events we have the pupil's own work, the expression of his 
 own ideas. It may be well to use the few minutes at the end 
 of the period for pupils to read their letters to the class. Those 
 should be selected who have acquitted themselves most cred- 
 itably in earlier composition work, so that the right to read 
 the composition comes to be recognized as a reward given for 
 good work. 
 
 At the second lesson, which should occur within the same 
 week as the period devoted to the first composition of the letter, 
 the pupils should take their letters from the envelopes in which 
 all their written compositions are kept, and now for the first 
 time, the model is presented to the class. The general principle 
 for study is that the model shall be considered, not for purposes 
 
lyo THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 of slavish imitation from the very beginning, but only for com- 
 parison and correction. 
 
 There are three points to which the attention of the class is 
 to be directed. In the first place, there should be comparison 
 with the model for the purpose of detecting errors in the mechan- 
 ical placing of the various parts. Is the heading right? Are 
 the punctuation marks properly used? Do paragraphs begin as 
 they should? — etc. It will therefore be seen that the model 
 which is presented to the child should be carefully prepared, 
 and that it should be correct in all small matters of form. 
 
 A second study of the model should center on the introduction 
 and the conclusion. Continued study of letters will show that 
 the importance of the introduction decreases in proportion as 
 the tone of the letter becomes more and more informal. Here, 
 as with all study of the models, it should be remembered that 
 it is not sufficient to have only one model presented to the 
 children. Types of various kinds of openings and endings may 
 be shown and wherever the pupils make corrections in their 
 work, these should be made with the view of imitating not the 
 words of the model but the spirit. 
 
 Finally, the model should be studied with the closest atten- 
 tion to the body of the letter. If what has been said regarding 
 the choice of models has been followed, the letter in the hands 
 of the pupils should have been so chosen that it deals with a 
 subject allied to that on which they have already written. 
 The rest of the period should be devoted to a description of 
 the merits of the model. Different children should be called 
 upon to read what they have written, and class criticism should 
 follow. Some pupils should be called upon to write their letter 
 on the blackboard, and the entire class should turn itself to the 
 correction of the work. Finally, the lesson should be concluded 
 with about ten minutes devoted to personal correction. Each 
 child revises his own work, so that while it shall still preserve 
 his own thought, it will be made as nearly as possible like the 
 
LETTER WRITING 171 
 
 model in form. During this concluding portion of the period, 
 the teacher may walk around the room and by judiciously 
 scattering her criticism, may manage to reach practically every 
 member of the class, directly or indirectly, with at least one 
 point of suggestion. 
 
 It may be objected that children in the lower classes can not 
 be called upon to exercise the critical faculty which apparently 
 is demanded in this method. It should be remembered, how- 
 ever, that at the beginning all the work is carried on under the 
 immediate guidance and supervision of the teacher. Surely, 
 we are asking no more of the children than we demand of them 
 in a proper appreciation of the model. We have eliminated 
 an uninteresting reproduction of the model, and we have kept 
 close to the child's own interest. At no time has the model 
 been studied purely for form. The motive for the study has 
 been fmrnished in the desire on the part of the pupil to find out 
 how he may improve his own work. At the same moment that 
 he sees his faults, there is before him a model which shows him 
 a correct form. 
 
 The lesson is completed in a third period when the letter is 
 written, ready for sending. The teacher should be careful that 
 instruction is given as to the proper folding of the letter, the 
 addressing of the envelope, and the placing of the stamp. 
 Since these are purely formal elements, they should be made 
 part of a separate lesson, and the class should use either real 
 envelopes or else paper cut down to the proper size. 
 
 A number of suggested models are here given. In the selec- 
 tion of other letters to be read by the teacher to the class, 
 care should be taken that there is a progressive advance in the 
 models. Even in the higher grades, models which are too long 
 should be avoided. It would perhaps be too much to say that 
 no models should be used exceeding in length the letters we 
 demand from the children. It may be safer to say that the 
 limit should be the power of the children to retain a unitary 
 
172 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 impression of the letter while still carrying on the process of 
 analysis. If the model is too long, the pupils think of it not as 
 a letter but as an agglomeration of parts. In the lower grades, 
 if any extreme is to be touched it should be on the side of over- 
 simplicity. 
 
 Letters should be short, and care should be taken with the 
 writing. It is never too early to impress on children the truth 
 that a carelessly written letter is an affront offered to the reader. 
 In our letters we talk to our friends, and if we are slovenly in 
 our writing, we might as well call on them, untidy in appear- 
 ance. It should be remembered that though correlation of the 
 topics of the letters with the work of the class is desirable, 
 such a relationship should be made only when we are sure of 
 the children's interest in the topic. Only in a few cases do the 
 models here given show the heading, and frequently they do 
 not give the salutation. These are purely formal elements, and 
 while the motive for the study of these forms should come 
 through the desire of the children to write letters, there is no 
 reason why these subjects should not be taken up as early as 
 the third year when the children are copying letters from black- 
 board or from text book. The more complicated forms of 
 headings may be taught in the later grades, but in general, the 
 plan should be the same; salutations, headings, and subscrip- 
 tions are all formal elements and should be focalized upon by 
 the teacher in the course of the regular work. Some suggestions 
 as to the technique of letter writing are given here although it 
 will be found best to refer to some regular text book in the 
 writing of English. 
 
 The heading of a letter gives us two separate pieces of informa- 
 tion. First, it shows the place from which the letter is sent. 
 Secondly, the time at which the letter is written. These should 
 be kept distinct. In the third year, the first lessons in letter 
 writing may be given. These should not be allowed to degen- 
 erate into mere exercises in penmanship. When the model has 
 
LETTER WRITING 173 
 
 first been copied by the children, the letter may at a later 
 period be dictated by the teacher, who should at all times call 
 the attention of the class to the placing of the parts, the capi- 
 tahzation, the paragraphing, and the punctuation. After a few 
 lessons the dictation may become less definite. For example, 
 — "We are going to write from a house at 258 East 56th St. 
 Write the place and the date. This letter is to be written to 
 your cousin." The child's memory and knowledge of form 
 should help him to fill in the gaps. Before the first letter is 
 written, there should be exercise and drill on headings and salu- 
 tations apart from the letter itself. Examples of these letters 
 used as models in the third year are given here. In the first 
 half of the year the model may be limited to one paragraph. 
 In the second half, it may contain two. 
 
 Third Year — First Half 
 Dear Cousin, 
 
 Did you watch at the window this morning? I almost 
 cried when I saw the rain and knew I could not go to your 
 house. Will you be home next Saturday? Love and kisses 
 to all. 
 
 Dear Harry, 
 
 You ought to see how the beans I planted have grown. 
 Did you ever plant any? The onion that you saw is all 
 dried up. Can you tell me why? 
 
 Dear Friend, 
 
 When you did not come last week I thought you were 
 sick. Why did you not write me a letter? I waited for 
 you all day. When shall you be in New York again? 
 
 Dear Frank, 
 
 What fun we had in school to-day! A boy brought a 
 rabbit and we gave it green leaves to eat. Did you ever 
 see a gray rabbit? I saw one yesterday. 
 
174 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Dear Mother, 
 
 We have had a fine time this week. I went driving 
 with Uncle John and the horses went so fast I was fright- 
 ened. But Uncle only laughed at me. When will you 
 come here? I pray for you every night. 
 
 Third Year — Second Half 
 
 Dear Father, 
 
 The books which you sent me came here this morning. 
 Thank you very much for them. 
 
 It has been raining since two o'clock. As I could not 
 go out I looked at the books. I did not read any but I 
 think I shall like tljpm. Will you come here soon? 
 
 Dear Friend, 
 
 How does it feel to be ten years old? I have been 
 that age for two months and I feel just the same. I wish 
 you many more happy years. 
 
 Please write me soon and tell me what kind of birth- 
 day party you had. Did you receive many presents? 
 Don't you wish birthdays came every week instead of every 
 year? 
 
 Dear Mr. Brown, 
 
 Papa told me this morning that you had sent me the 
 beautiful sled which I found near my bed when I got up. 
 I want to thank you very much for it. It is beautiful. 
 
 I hope it will snow soon so that I can use the sled. The 
 first time I take it out I am going to give my little brother 
 a ride because his first name is the same as yours. 
 
 Dear Frank, 
 
 We began a new story in the class yesterday. I like 
 it very much and think you will like it too. The name of 
 the story is, "At the Back of the North Wind." 
 
 Our teacher reads to us and we all sit and listen. If 
 your mother reads it to you, you can make beheve you 
 
LETTER WRITING 175 
 
 are in school even though you are sick. I hope you will 
 get well soon. 
 
 Dear Rose, 
 
 Mamma is going to let me have a real doll-party next 
 Saturday. 
 
 Will you come early and bring your best doll with you? 
 I want you to come early because I need you to help me to 
 fix some things for the other girls. 
 
 Up to this point there has been no original composition work 
 by the children. They have merely copied the letters, or written 
 them from dictation. In the fourth year, the regular study of 
 the model according to the method already suggested is to begin. 
 It will be noted that in the model for the first half of the fourth 
 year the name of the city is written on a separate line. While 
 this form will at once be recognized as different from that con- 
 ventionally used, there is no reason why it should not be adopted 
 in the schools. To a great extent of course, convention will 
 determine usage; and yet it should be one of the functions 
 of the school to try to introduce reform. If we are writing to 
 some one in the city, the words "New York" may be omitted, 
 and then a comma is placed after the word ''Street." Other- 
 wise, as will be seen, no punctuation separates the two 
 lines forming the address in the heading. It is probably 
 better not to use abbreviations. The date should be writ- 
 ten as a cardinal not as an ordinal number. The three lines 
 forming the heading should be so arranged that they end flush 
 at the right hand side of the page. In the salutation, the 
 comma may be used in informal letters, and the colon in 
 formal letters. 
 
 The teacher should call the attention of the class to the 
 capitalization in the following forms: Dear Father, Dear Friend, 
 Dear Uncle John, My dear Frank, My dear Mr. Brown. The 
 form, Dear friend John has been called by some authorities 
 
176 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 not a true English idiom, and should be avoided; instead, use 
 either Dear Friend or Dear John. 
 
 The forms of conclusion should be taught at the same time 
 that the salutations are studied, so as to impress on the class 
 the fact that certain salutations carry with them inevitably 
 certain forms of subscription. The rule, and it is without excep- 
 tion, is that only the first word of the subscription is written 
 with a capital. The model advisedly gives the full name of 
 the writer even in a letter written to the father. It is a good 
 thing to impress on the children the business-like habit of placing 
 their name in full at the close of a letter. The more informal 
 closings will come naturally to them, and need form no part of 
 the instruction in the school. 
 
 It will also be noted that an effort has been made to do away 
 with the usual participial phrase which from time immemorial 
 has been the closing part of a letter. The object is to avoid 
 the indiscriminate "By so doing you will obHge," form, which 
 constitutes a humorous element in many school letters. It is 
 not intended that the participial phrase shall never be used. 
 The aim is to teach that there are other ways of closing a letter. 
 
 In the study of the model for the first half of the fifth year, 
 the teacher should impress on the class that it is bad form to 
 sound one's praises too much in an application for a position. 
 Furthermore, wherever possible, a specific reason for seeking a 
 position should be given. The second sentence of the first 
 paragraph does this. Call the attention of the class also to the 
 brevity, the directness, and the general business-like character 
 of the letter. Business men like directness. Many a man 
 writes a long letter because he has not the time to write a short 
 one. Explain this to the class. 
 
 In addition to the models that are to be studied, others, 
 which may be read by the teacher to the class are also given. 
 
LETTER WRITING 177 
 
 Fourth Year — First Half 
 
 108 Broome Street, New York, 
 
 ^ „ , March 3, loi^. 
 
 Dear Father, ^' ^ ^ 
 
 You are so far away that I am afraid you didn't hear 
 the good news. Both Bobbie and I are going to be pro- 
 moted. 
 
 Miss Brown says a few other boys and I are to try the 
 5A class. Won't that be splendid? 
 
 Mother is very much pleased. She says she has a 
 pleasant surprise for me when you come home. So please 
 hurry with that business and take the fastest train you can 
 
 ^^' Your loving son, 
 
 Charles Price. 
 My dear Miss Brown, 
 
 The stories about Hiawatha that you read to us are 
 very interesting. I was always sorry when you finished. 
 
 Will you please send me the names of other books in 
 which I can read about the rest of Hiawatha's life? I en- 
 close a stamp. I hope I am not troubling you too much. 
 
 Your affectionate pupil, 
 My dear Miss Brown, 
 
 I have been very sick for three weeks and I do not 
 think I can come back to school for a month. 
 
 If I am not asking too much will you please send me 
 
 the names of some good books to read? It is very lonely 
 
 here sometimes. I should like some book like "Alice in 
 
 Wonderland." ^^ «• ^. ^ 1 
 
 Yours affectionately, 
 
 Dear Frank, 
 
 Our school is going to play PubHc School 76 a game 
 of basketball next Friday afternoon. The game will take 
 place in our g3Tnnasium at half-past three o'clock. 
 
 Will you ask your mother whether you may come? 
 Mamma says you are to stay with us for supper and Tom 
 will take you home. Please write soon saying that you 
 will come. Yours truly. 
 
178 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Good Ground, L.I., 
 
 July 8, 1913. 
 
 Dear Mother, 
 
 We arrived here at ten o'clock this morning. It was 
 
 very dusty on the trains. I looked as black as coal when 
 
 I reached the house. 
 
 In the afternoon I went with Fred to the field and 
 
 watched the men digging potatoes. The earth has a very 
 
 pleasant smeU. We saw a great nimiber of worms. Love 
 
 to all. ^^ „ . 
 
 Your anectionate son, 
 
 Dear Uncle, 
 
 Promotion time is almost here and all the boys are 
 excited. Next week we shall be examined by the Prin- 
 cipal. 
 
 I think I shall be promoted. I have always had "A" 
 
 on my report cards. That means "Excellent" you know. 
 
 But I am going to make sure and I shall do my best next 
 
 week. Love to Aunt Mary. ^^ , . 
 
 Your loving nephew, 
 
 Fourth Year — Second Half 
 
 108 Broome Street, New York, 
 March 3, 19 14. 
 Dear Harry, 
 
 Bobbie told me this morning that you are in bed with 
 a heavy cold. I am very sorry. I hope the doctor is 
 not making you take some awful medicine. 
 
 The class exercises were very successful. The song 
 went splendidly, although we missed your voice. Every- 
 body was very much pleased with the Indian Club drill. 
 
 Do not worry about the lessons. I'll copy the spell- 
 ing for you and help you out with any new arithmetic we 
 
 have. c- 1 
 
 Smcerely yours, 
 
 Charles Price. 
 
LETTER WRITING 179 
 
 Fewer models are added here to be read by the teacher to 
 the class since it should be the aim to devote more time to the 
 study of the outline. 
 
 438 Second Avenue. 
 My dear Fred, 
 
 The boys of our class are to play a game of football 
 with the team from Class 5A on Saturday next. If you 
 want to have a good time, see the game. 
 
 Please do not say you are too busy. If you Kke, I 
 
 will call for you on my way to Central Park, where the 
 
 game wOl take place. ,^ 
 
 Yours as ever, 
 
 November 18, 1914. 
 
 Dear Harry, 
 
 Why must your class have a football game on the 
 same day that our class is going to the Aquarimn? We 
 have been planning our trip for several weeks, and I am 
 afraid I cannot go with you to the Park. 
 
 If it rains on Saturday I suppose your game will be 
 
 postponed; then I shall wait for you until half-past nine. 
 
 Do not fail to come with us if you do not go to the game. 
 
 I have spoken to Miss Brown, my teacher, about you, and 
 
 she wUl be very glad to have you come. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Dear Uncle, 
 
 We have just received our report cards for the month, 
 and I thought you would be glad to hear that I received 
 "A" in my work. You know this is the first time my 
 card had nothing but "A" on it. 
 
 I find that my lessons are not so difi&cult as I thought 
 they would be. I have plenty of time to play and still do 
 my written work very neatly. Love and kisses from all. 
 
 Your afiectioiiate nephew, 
 
i8o THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Fifth Year — First Half 
 
 The indention used in the model in these cases should be 
 carefully followed. Further, it will be noted that when the 
 salutation takes the pen well across the page, the words "Dear 
 Sir" are written not under the state or city name, but well 
 over to the left at the margin. If this is not done the letter 
 will look patchy, with but one word at times on the first line 
 of the body of the letter. 
 
 io8 Broome Street, New York, 
 March 3, 1913. 
 Messrs. Abraham & Strauss, 
 
 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I am a graduate of PubKc School 20, and I am anxious 
 to secure employment in some good house. I respect- 
 fully make application for a position with your firm in 
 order to gain a thorough knowledge of the dry goods trade. 
 I am fourteen years of age and I can furnish recom- 
 mendations from Mr. Brown, the Principal of Public 
 School 20, from which I was graduated last February. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 John Mason. 
 
 Models to be read by the Teacher 
 
 Dear Frank, 
 
 I have just returned from my first ride in the Subway, 
 and I am sure you will like to know what I think of it. 
 
 The cars run under groimd and are therefore Lighted 
 all the time. They look bright and clean and all the metal 
 work sparkles as if it were just polished. 
 
 The trains move very quickly, but except for the sta- 
 tions nothing can be seen. I tried to look out of the win- 
 dow, but my eyes hurt because of the pUlars which are 
 close together and very near the tracks. 
 
LETTER WRITING i8i 
 
 At first I thought the noise was going to give me a 
 headache. But in a few minutes I became used to the 
 rumble and did not mind it. 
 
 I hope you will come to the city soon, so that we can 
 take a ride together, the whole length of the Subway. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 Dear Tom, 
 
 You ought to see the new picture my mother bought 
 and hung up in my room! It is beautiful. I am afraid 
 I cannot study my lessons at my desk any more. I always 
 want to look at the picture. 
 
 I do not know who the painter is, but the name of the 
 picture is "The Storm." It shows a Uttle fishing vessel out 
 on the ocean. The waves are higher than the boat and all 
 white with foam. I think there must have been a terrible 
 storm, as the sky is black with clouds, and the rain is fall- 
 ing heavily. 
 
 Do you remember a poem by Longfellow about a 
 boat wrecked in a storm? I tried to think of the name 
 but I could not recall it. We read it one day last summer 
 when it was raining so hard that we could not play. If 
 you know what poem I mean please send me the name, as 
 I wish to read the story while I sit in front of my new pic- 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Dear Mother,- 
 
 I am a real cook! When I come home I am going to 
 put on an apron and do all the work in the kitchen. Do 
 you want to know what I made? I want to tell you, so I 
 hope you will say "Yes" to my question. 
 
 It was raining yesterday, and Miss Brown, who always 
 shows us new games, asked us would we hke to make 
 "fudge." Of course we all shouted "Yes!" Then we went 
 to the kitchen, and what fun we had! 
 
 We took about two cupfuls of sugar, a cup of milk 
 and a lump of butter about the size of an egg. We put aU 
 into a pot together with seven teaspoonfuls of cocoa, and 
 
l82 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 placed the pot on the stove. I did not help in this. But 
 when the mixture began to boil I had to stir it for about 
 a quarter of an hour. How my arms ached! And I had 
 to stand so close to the stove that my face was red as fire. 
 
 When my work was through, Mary beat the brown stuff 
 a little and poured it into a buttered platter. As soon as 
 it began to cool Miss Brown cut it into httle squares. 
 
 Then we all went into the parlor, and in about half an 
 hour, while we were singing, Miss Brown brought in the 
 platter, and we had a grand feast of "fudge." I wish I 
 could send you some, but it was so good that every piece 
 was eaten up, even the crumbs. 
 
 Your affectionate daughter, 
 Dear Father, 
 
 I think when you get back to New York you will be 
 most surprised to see the pohcemen on horseback through- 
 out the city. 
 
 Yesterday I went to Broadway with Jack. I saw one 
 of the pohcemen at Herald Square. His horse was very 
 beautiful, and the officer had a pretty cap instead of a hel- 
 met. 
 
 I saw an automobile try to go down Broadway. The 
 officer motioned to the man, who then turned down Thirty- 
 fourth Street. Jack told me they do this so that the people 
 who get off the cars can cross the street safely. 
 
 I am feeling well, only I hope you will soon come 
 
 back to 
 
 Your loving son, 
 
 Fifth Year — Second Halp 
 
 io8 Broome Street, New York, 
 March 3, 1914. 
 Houghton, Mifplin and Co., 
 
 85 Fifth Ave., New York. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Please send me, by Adams Express, as soon as possible, 
 the following: 
 
LETTER WRITING 183 
 
 2 doz. Smith's Intermediate Arithmetic. 
 
 3 copies Longfellow's Poems, Household Edition, cloth. 
 I doz. Whittier Leaflets. 
 
 1 set Little Classics, 16 voliimes, green cloth. 
 
 2 copies Uncle Tom's Cabin. Popidar Edition, cloth. 
 When you forward, please notify me by letter, enclos- 
 ing invoice. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 Edward Reade. 
 
 Models to be read by the Teacher 
 
 D. C. Heath & Co., 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Please let me know how much it will cost to get by 
 mail a copy of Heath's Fourth Reader. Enclosed please 
 find stamp for reply. 
 
 I hope you will quote your lowest price, as I wish to 
 present the book to a society of which I am a member. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 D. C. Heath & Co., 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I am very sorry that I must trouble you about such 
 a little thing as one copy of a book. But the Heath's 
 Fourth Reader which you sent is soiled at page 38, and I 
 should like to have a clean copy. 
 
 I hope I am not causing much trouble. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 The Preshjent, 
 
 Lincoln Literary Society. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I have been requested, as Secretary of the "Lowell 
 Reading Circle," to invite your society to be present at 
 our next meeting, Friday, December i6th, at half -past 
 three. 
 
 We hold our meetings in Room 38, and are anxious 
 to have our friends who belong to other societies in the 
 
1 84 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 school see what we are doing. I hope your society will 
 find it possible to be present. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 Henry Franklin, 
 Secretary. 
 
 In the sixth year the two models which are suggested consti- 
 tute a communication together with the reply. In the model 
 presented for the second half of the year, we have given the only 
 type of formal letter in the third person which can come within 
 the experience of an average class of boys. It is absolutely 
 necessary to make these letters real by associating the writing 
 with some actual event in school life. 
 
 Sixth Year — First Half 
 
 Public School 34, 108 Broome Street, 
 February 13, 1914. 
 The President, 
 
 Perseverance Club. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 At the last meeting of the Everonward Club, upon a 
 vote taken by its members, the Secretary was instructed 
 to communicate with the proper official of the Persever- 
 ance Club, challenging it to a debate. 
 
 I hereby challenge the club to a debate, the conditions 
 to be decided upon by joint committees appointed by each 
 club. 
 
 We suggest that the debate be held in the Assembly 
 HaU on Friday afternoon and prefer that three debaters 
 be on each side. 
 
 We hope that the challenge will be accepted. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 George Smith, 
 Secretary. 
 
LETTER WRITING 185 
 
 Public School 34, 108 Broome Street, 
 February 23, 1914. 
 The Secretary, 
 
 EVERONWARD ClUB. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I hasten to acknowledge the receipt of your commimi- 
 cation of the 13th inviting us to meet your club in joint 
 debate. 
 
 After placing the motion before the club at its meet- 
 ing last week, we decided imanimously to accept your offer. 
 
 A committee has already been appointed which will 
 
 meet someone designated by you at any future date you 
 
 may select. _^ 
 
 Yours smcerely, 
 
 Jacob Weiss, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 The members of the Everonward Club extend to you 
 
 and yoxu: friends a cordial invitation to be present at their 
 
 joint debate with the Perseverance Club of 6B, to be held 
 
 in the Assembly HaU of Pubhc School 34, on the afternoon 
 
 of Friday, March eighteenth, nineteen hvmdred fourteen, 
 
 at three o'clock, ^ ^ 
 
 Jacob Reich, 
 
 ■» ;r -rr Secretarv. 
 
 Morris Kline, 
 
 President. 
 
 Since the larger part of the letter writing of this year includes 
 business communications, applications for positions, and the 
 like, there is no attempt made to give supplementary models. 
 These may be foimd in any of the text books on grammar or 
 composition. 
 
 In the seventh and eighth years the letter writing should of 
 course be much more difficult and advanced. As has already 
 been suggested, at this point an effort should be made to secure 
 variety and naturalness in the opening and the closing of the 
 
1 86 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 letter. Care should be taken that the models here presented 
 are used accordmg to the method described. That is to say, 
 there should first be free writing by the children themselves. 
 • No attempt is made in our presentation of the models to pre- 
 serve the form of a letter. The correct placing of the parts 
 should have been taught in the earlier classes. It will be noticed 
 furthermore that we have for the most part used selections from 
 standard authors. A good epistolary style is an accomplish- 
 ment entirely apart from a generally good literary style, and 
 the former is much more rare than the latter. The teacher's 
 own reading will supply her with many more illustrations than 
 are here given. 
 
 Models of Openings of Letters 
 
 Many thanks for your letter. It rejoiced me to hear that the 
 dinner over which you presided was a success, as it ought to have 
 been with you at the head of the table. It made me wish I could 
 have been there; but I was quite right in staying at home, where I 
 had a good deal to keep me. 
 
 — Oliver Wendell Holmes, February 26, 1878. 
 
 I always find myself in a little hurry when I sit down to write 
 — partly because I am generally pretty busy, and partly because 
 I always put off writing on purpose as nearly as I can to the time of 
 the packet's leaving. 
 
 — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Paris, October 22, 1833. 
 
 I am unwilling to let the packet go without taking advantage 
 of it, and I shall therefore send you a few fines, the principal object 
 of which is to let you know that I am weU, and to inquire again why 
 I hear nothing from you. If the post has done its duty you have 
 received more than a dozen letters from me, and I have not had 
 the shadow of an answer. ... If I could only have news from home 
 I should be perfectly contented. 
 
 — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Paris, September 28, 1833. 
 
LETTER WRITING 187 
 
 I begin this letter, as I have all of late, with a complaint of not 
 receiving letters. I cannot suppose but that you write, and am en- 
 tirely imable to understand why I hear nothing from you. Although 
 I go on the principle of not worrying myself, I confess it is not com- 
 fortable to be so long without one word from home. 
 
 — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Paris, August 30, 1833. 
 
 You told me that I need not read the book which you have sent 
 me, and for which I cordially thank you; but you did not tell me 
 I must not read it. Now I have read it, every word of it, and I 
 wish to say to you that I have had too much pleasure in reading it 
 to be denied the privilege of telUng you how I have enjoyed it. 
 
 — Oliver Wendell Holmes, December 8, 1869. 
 
 You cannot imagine how delightful it is out here. The greatest 
 miiltitude of birds of every description I recollect ever to have seen. 
 The grass is fast growing green under the kind sun of spring. Every 
 day that the sun shines I take my book and go out to a bank in our 
 garden and he and read. 
 
 — /. R. Lowell, Cambridge, April 14, 1837. 
 
 I have no particular reason for dating this letter as I have, 
 except that i8th sounds as weU as anything else, for I have no idea 
 of the true day of the month. Since I have been in Italy I have 
 cared nothing about calendars. 
 
 — /. R. Lowell, Naples, April 18, 1856. 
 
 No greeting could go to my heart straighter than yours, and yet 
 I have let all these days sh'p by without returning it — not a day, 
 though, without thinking of you, and meaning to write. 
 
 — J. R. Lowell, Cambridge, September 18, 1836. 
 
 Thank you for your letters — especially that from among the 
 dear old Adirondacks. Though written in pencil, it did my heart 
 more good than my eyes harm — only it made me homesick. 
 
 — /. R. Lowell, Cambridge, October 28, 1857. 
 
1 88 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 You see by my date that I am back again in the place I love 
 best. I am sitting in my old garret, at my old desk, loving my old 
 
 — /. R. Lowell, Elmwood, March ii, 1861. 
 
 I hope you will come hither as early as you can, for it wiU be 
 vacation, and I can see more of you. And I want you to see my 
 trees with the leaves on — especially my English elms. I hope by 
 the middle of August our worst heats will be over, for they begin 
 early this year. As I write the thermometer is 92 degrees. 
 
 — /. R. Lowell, Elmwood, July 18, 1870. 
 
 Parting with you was like sajdng good-by to sunshine. After 
 I got home, my study looked bare, and my old cronies on the shelves 
 could not make up to me for my old loss. I sat with my book on 
 my knee and mused with a queer feeling about my eyeUds now and 
 then, 
 
 — /. R. Lowell, to Thomas Hughes, Elmwood, October 18, 1870. 
 
 I have been so busy lately with doing nothing (which on the 
 whole demands more time, patience and attention than any other 
 business) that I have failed to answer your very pleasant letter of 
 I don't know how long ago. 
 
 — J. R. Lowell, Paris, May 28, 1873. 
 
 I have suspended my thermometer outside of the window; and, 
 looking at it a moment ago, I perceive that it is polar weather out of 
 doors. Really, an excursion into the country is not to be thought 
 of in this first fierceness of the winter. So pray do not expect me 
 to-morrow. 
 
 — Hawthorne to LongfeUow, Boston, November 30, 1840. 
 
 I have been looking for a letter from you every day. Why don't 
 you drop me a line? It would be particularly cheering just now. I 
 have not been out of the house since you left here. Having been 
 much indisposed by a cold, I am at the mercy of every breath of 
 air that blows. 
 
 — Washington Irving, 
 
LETTER WRITING 189 
 
 Models of Closing of Letters 
 
 Well, as I said, I must be off to the hospital and try to find some- 
 thing more interesting for the next time. Love to aU. 
 
 — Oliver Wendell Holmes, London, July 25, 1834. 
 
 I shall stop. My letters are crisp, and snap short off. I shall 
 stop, first because I must breakfast, and, second, because I have a 
 milHon of things to do afterwards. Give my love to aU, and excuse 
 me for hurrying to the Cafe Procope. 
 
 — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Paris, November 29, 1833. 
 
 I am at my wit's, paper's, and daylight's end, and am, as al- 
 
 ways. 
 
 Your 
 
 T R T 
 
 (Cambridge, June 12, i860.) 
 
 "I am holding 'good-by' at arm's length as long as I can, but I 
 must come to it. Give my kindest regards to Rawlins, and take all 
 my heart yourself. God bless you. A pleasant voyage, and all well 
 in the nest when you get back to it. 
 
 Always most affectionately yours, 
 J. R. Lowell. 
 (To Thomas Hughes, October 18, 1870.) 
 
 The following examples of conclusions from Mendelssohn's 
 letters to Moscheles are taken from "Studies in English Com- 
 position," Keeler & Davis (AUjoi & Bacon), 1897. 
 
 May we meet in health and happiness, and may you be as kindly 
 disposed as ever, to ^ 
 
 And now farewell and fare ever well. ^^ 
 
 Yours, 
 
 My best wishes accompany you on what I trust will be a happy 
 
 and pleasant journey. _^ 
 
 Yours ever, 
 
ipo , THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 And trusting you will preserve a kind remembrance of me, I 
 
 remain, ,, , . , 
 
 Yours most smcerely. 
 
 My love to Emily and Serena, and may you and Moscheles be as 
 well and as happy as I wish you to be. 
 
 For to-day, good-by. And more thanks and — hurrah, you are 
 
 coming! „ 
 
 Ever yours, 
 
 Letters and Bodies of Letters 
 
 We had, last night, an old-fashioned northeast snowstorm, far 
 worse than anything in the winter; and the drifts are now very high 
 above the fences. The inhabitants are pretty much confined to 
 their houses. AU houses are one color, white, with the snow plas- 
 tered over them, and you cannot tell whether they have blinds or 
 not. Our pump has another pump, its ghost, as thick as itself, stick- 
 ing to one side of it. 
 
 — Henry D. Thoreau, Concord, March 22, 1861. 
 
 My dear Sir: 
 
 I expect to sail for England in the Baltic on Saturday next; and 
 although my stay will probably be quite brief, I am desirous of see- 
 ing Mr. Rogers. Will you give me a line to him and any other friend 
 in England whom it would be pleasant for me to see, and oblige, 
 Yours ever, truly and respectfully, 
 
 Henry T. Tuckeeman. 
 
 We had a very quick passage to Albany, where we arrived at 
 three o'clock on Thursday morning. I was unwell almost the whole 
 time, and coiild not sleep either night. We left Albany about an 
 hour after we arrived there, in a wagon, and reached Johnstown 
 between ten and eleven in the evening. The roads were fine, being 
 turnpike almost the whole way; but I was so weak that it was sev- 
 
LETTER WRITING 191 
 
 eral days before I got over the fatigue. I have had a little better 
 
 appetite since I have been up here, though I have been troubled with 
 
 the pain in my breast almost constantly, and still have a cough at 
 
 night. I am unable to take any exercise worth mentioning, and 
 
 doze away my time pretty much as I did in New York; however, I 
 
 hope soon to get in a better trim. rrr ,- -r . 
 
 — Wasmngton Imng. 
 
 I was, a few mornings since, on a visit to the Duchess of Berwick. 
 She is the widow of a grandee of Spain, who claimed some kind of 
 descent from the royal Hne of the Stuarts. She is of immense wealth, 
 and resides in the most beautiful palace in Madrid (excepting the 
 royal one). I passed up a splendid staircase, and through haUs and 
 saloons without number, all magnificently furnished, and hung with 
 pictures and family portraits. This Duchess was an Itahan by 
 birth, and brought up in the royal family at Naples. She is the 
 very head of fashion here. Well, this lady of almost princely state, 
 will be one of the ladies-in-waiting on the Kttle Queen when she 
 receives her mother. She will stand behind the Queen, at the foot 
 of the staircase of the royal palace, and perhaps near her Majesty's 
 train. 
 
 Think of that, my dear, think how grandly these Httle queens of 
 thirteen years of age are waited upon. . . . After all this magnifi- 
 cent detail, I shall expect, in return, an accoimt of cousin Julia's 
 Ball, and how you all enjoyed yourselves, and how you were all 
 dressed. 
 
 Your mother reminds me that to-morrow is your eighteenth birth- 
 day, and though I know that my "happy returns" will reach you a 
 few hours too late, I cannot but send them. 
 
 You are touching manhood now, my dear laddie, and I trust that 
 as a man your mother and I may always find reason to regard you 
 as we have done throughout your boyhood. 
 
 The great thing in the world is not so much to seek happiness as 
 to earn peace and self-respect. I have not troubled you much with 
 paternal didactics — but that bit is "over true" and worth thinkings 
 over. 
 
 — T. H. Huxley. 
 
192 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 My dear Longfellow : 
 
 You are coming to England, you know. Now listen to me. Wlien 
 you return to London, I shall be there, please God! Write to me 
 from the Continent, and tell me when to expect you. We Hve quietly 
 — not uncomfortably — and among people whom I am sure you 
 would like to know, as much as they would like to know you. Have 
 no home but mine; see nothing in town on your way towards Ger- 
 many, and let me be your London host and cicerone. Is this a 
 
 bargain? ,, r • ■, ,■ ^-, 
 
 Always faithfully your friend, 
 
 Charles Dickens. 
 
 This morning I poured some ink for the first time into your pretty 
 ink-stand, and, as in duty bound, hansel it by writing to you. It 
 has been standing on my shelf of my secretary, its mouth wide open 
 with astonishment at my ingratitude in not writing to thank you, 
 ever since it came. It needn't have been so jealous, though, for I 
 have written to nobody else meanwhile, and it should remember that 
 I can at any moment shut it up tight, deny it ink, pen and paper, 
 and thus cut it off from aU its friends. "Monster!" I seem to hear 
 it say, "you would not surely deny me the sad consolation of sending 
 my love to Mrs. Herrick and teUing her how home-sick I am? There 
 are aU kinds of fine things in me, as good as were ever in any ink- 
 stand that ever lived, if you had but the wit to fish them out. If I 
 had stayed with my dear mistress I should ere this have found a 
 vent for my genius in a score of pleasant ways." Well, well, so long 
 as you don't make me uneasy with your reproaches, I shall be sure 
 to treat you kindly for the sake of your old mistress, . . . who is 
 always contriving pleasant ways of making her friends grateful. 
 
 Since I wrote, I have been down the harbor with the pilots in "The 
 Friend." We went first to Hull and telegraphed the boat, which 
 was cruising on the inner station. They could not come in for us 
 at once, because they were on the lookout for the EngHsh steamers, 
 so we had a chance to investigate Hull a httle. It is a pretty httle 
 village cuddled down among the hills, the clay soil of which keeps 
 them densely green. The fields are broad and wholly given to graz- 
 
LETTER WRITING 193 
 
 ing cattle and sheep, which dotted them thickly in the breezy sun- 
 shine. Down in the village we found a stalwart fellow in the barn 
 shearing sheep. This was something new to me, and going away, I 
 thanked the man for having shown me something I had never seen 
 before. He laughed and said: "If you'll take off them gloves o' 
 yourn, I'U give you a try at the practical part of it." By Jove! he 
 was right. I never saw anything handsomer than those strong, firm 
 hands of his, on which the sinews were as tight as a drawn bowstring. 
 I told him that I was bred in the coimtry as well as he. He 
 laughed again and said: "Wall, anyhow I've the advantage of you, 
 for you never see a sheep shore, and I've been to the open and shore 
 a sheep myself into the bargain." He told me that there were two 
 himdred sheep in HuU, and that in his father's day there used to be 
 eight hundred. The father, an old man of near eighty, stood look- 
 ing on, pleased with his son's wit, as brown as if the HuU fogs were 
 walnut jxiice. Then we dined at a little inn with a golden ball hung 
 out for a sign — a waif, I fancy, from some shipwrecked vessel. 
 
 — James Russell Lowell. 
 
 WlU you dine with me on Saturday at six? I have a Baltimore 
 friend coming, and depend on you. ... If not Saturday, will you 
 say Sunday? 
 
 — /. R. Lowell to Longfellow, Elmwood, May 3, 1876. 
 
 The aspect of a Dutch town is much as I expected, and of course 
 quite peculiar. Brick houses with sharp roofs, green blinds, gener- 
 ally small and not more than two or three stories high, with remark- 
 ably pretty iron fences before them — odd names and signs up at 
 the windows, — at intervals the figure of a man opening his jaws as 
 if to bolt a score of pills, the sign of the apothecary shops — here a 
 street and there a canal — here a hackney coach on wheels, and there 
 one which is dragged over the smooth flagstones on runners — such 
 are the images that rise to my mind when I think of Rotterdam or 
 
 — Oliver Wendell Holmes, London, July 25, 1834. 
 
 Your most xmexpected gift, which is not a mere token of remem- 
 brance, but a permanently valuable present, is making me happier 
 
194 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 every moment I look at it. It is so pleasant to be thought of by 
 our friends when they have so much to draw their thoughts away 
 from us; it is so pleasant too, to find that they have cared enough 
 about us to study our special tastes — that you can see why your 
 beautiful gift has a growing charm for me. Only Mrs. Holmes thinks 
 it ought to be in the parlor among the things for show, and I think 
 it ought to be in the study, where I can look at it at least once an 
 hour every day of my life. 
 
 — Oliver Wendell Holmes, July 6, 1891. 
 
 These may be considered types of the letters to be presented. 
 When the study of the general thought, the tone, the style, 
 the paragraphing, and finally the sentence structure has been 
 completed, have the class go over the model once more so as 
 to learn any good words or phrases which may be used by them 
 in their own work. In the fourth year, first half, direct atten- 
 tion to "to be promoted" rather than to "to get promoted." 
 Have the class study the right form, keeping a book in which 
 they will enter from time to time similar expressions which will 
 become a part of their written and spoken vocabulary. 
 
 In the fourth year, second half, note the word "successful" 
 rather than the indifferent word "good" or "nice." Synonyms 
 may be elicited from pupils of the class, and boys should be 
 encouraged to use these rather than the word given in the 
 model. 
 
 In the fifth year, first half, "secure employment" rather than 
 "getting a job" or "getting a place" should be emphasized. 
 The word "thorough" should be dwelt upon as a desirable 
 addition to one's vocabulary. The phrase, "furnish recom- 
 mendations" is one that should be brought to the attention of 
 the class. Note also that we use "was graduated" rather than 
 "graduated." 
 
 In the fifth year, second half, the word "notify" is used where 
 the usual letter makes use of the word "advise." The latter is 
 not good form. 
 
LETTER WRITING 195 
 
 In the work of the sixth year, first half, a nvimber of words and 
 phrases should be made vital to the class: "hasten to acknowl- 
 edge," "decided," "unanimously"; "someone" written as 
 one word, "designated" — are examples. So also, "was in- 
 structed to communicate," "joint committees," "that the 
 debate be held," with emphasis on the subjunctive form, are 
 important. 
 
 Finally, there should be study of the spelling and the punctua- 
 tion. Here the method of the dictation lesson may be employed. 
 After the punctuation mark has been noted, the reason for its 
 use should be given, and the class, at seats or at blackboard, 
 may write phrases and sentences illustrating the points devel- 
 oped. Where possible, if the plan of dictation for the term can 
 be so arranged, the technical form should be taken up in a dic- 
 tation lesson at about the same time that the model is studied. 
 The last step in the study of the model should be the dictation 
 of the words in the spelling of which the teacher anticipates 
 difficulty. These should be copied by the class in note books 
 and may be made the subject of an additional spelling lesson. 
 
 It is not our intention at this point to take up a discussion 
 of the question of composition correction. That subject will 
 later be treated in full. A few suggestions, however, may be 
 helpful. The teacher should from time to time take home a 
 set of composition papers for the purpose of reading them 
 through. It is not necessary to correct them. The reading 
 should be done only for the purpose of getting a general impres- 
 sion of the work of the class, the nature of the prevailing errors, 
 the pecuHar errors of certain individuals, and an estimate of 
 the general progress of the class. The teacher should keep a 
 record of the weakness of individuals. The teaching of com- 
 position is not a class affair. It is a question of the progress 
 that is made by each individual member of the class. 
 
 It is well to have class correction of each exercise before the 
 advance is made to another; otherwise, the teacher will find 
 
196 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 the same errors repeated again and again. In the comparison 
 of the children's letters with the original model an analytic 
 method may be followed. First the general form; then the 
 paragraphing; then the sentence structure; then the words 
 and phrases; finally, the spelling and the punctuation. The 
 teacher may have letters interchanged, asking the critics to 
 write their names on the papers they have looked over. This 
 will fix responsibiUty. Conversation within small groups of 
 pupils may safely be permitted. Sometimes it will be found 
 valuable to have a child write his composition on the board 
 before nine or before one o'clock. The teacher may cover this 
 work with sheets of paper. When the period comes for correc- 
 tion, the paper may be removed and the class may discuss the 
 pupil's work. Frequently it will be found that the best com- 
 position of one of the children may be used as a model with 
 good results. 
 
 When corrections are made, the pupils should make the actual 
 changes by interlining. If is of no value merely to indicate the 
 nature of the error. In practice we wish to show the exact and 
 correct form. While the teacher is passing around the room, 
 she should be making corrections. Where the error is of such a 
 sort that the pupU has already studied the corrected form, the 
 teacher should by questions lead him to a correction of his own 
 work. When the error cannot be briefly explained, the teacher 
 should show the correct form and rely upon the power of imita- 
 tion for the instruction of the pupil. It is advisable to have 
 all corrections made in pencil. The custom of first having 
 drafts and finally copies is pernicious, since it encourages poor 
 writing and careless habits of expression. Unless there is a real 
 need for a perfect copy, it is seldom advisable to have a com- 
 position rewritten. 
 
 Summary. — The most desirable quality in letter writing is spon- 
 taneity. To secure it we must separate the study of the form of let- 
 
LETTER WRITING 197 
 
 ters from the writing of the letter itself. The former is a matter of 
 technique and should be taken up as sueh. The latter is a mode of 
 self-expression and should not be checked by the deadening imita- 
 tion of a model. Subjects should be personal and concrete. When 
 possible the conditions of actual correspondence shoiild be estab- 
 lished in order to lend reahsm to the exercise. The study of the 
 model should follow the writing of the letters. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 COMPOSITION — NARRATION 
 
 Ir the method outUned in Chapter X had been followed, 
 much of the work in narration has already been done. The 
 adaptation of the "Yonkers" or "Variation" method which 
 was there given does not, however, analyze the elements of a 
 narrative itself. It accepts the story already made, and con- 
 centrates attention upon the vocabulary and eqmvalent ex- 
 pressions. In the study of narration, under the heading of 
 Formal Composition, it should be the aim of the teacher to use 
 all the experience in narrative writing which has been gained 
 from the other work in order to bring out ideas of the elements 
 of a narrative itself. 
 
 Reference has already been made to the dynamic nature of 
 the narrative. The teacher must approach her work with 
 this conception clearly defined. Narration is the form of 
 expression most natural to human beings. It is more ele- 
 mentary to speak of what one has done or has seen others do 
 than to describe what one has seen. Less accuracy of discrim- 
 ination is necessary for the former process and, hence, children 
 are very likely to excel in narrative, though their descriptive 
 work may be indifferent. Furthermore, a good narrative 
 depends upon rapidity of action, clearness of details, and co- 
 herence. A good description depends, primarily, upon well 
 chosen epithets. It is a much rarer thing to find power in the 
 latter than in the former particular. It will not be necessary 
 to urge children in the composition of a narrative. If they are 
 given sufficient confidence, when they are given the elements 
 
NARRATION 199 
 
 or the suggestion of a story that is worth teUing, they will look 
 forward with eagerness to the period set aside for this work. 
 
 The question then must arise: How are we to give this 
 proper training? As in practically all successful habit forma- 
 tion, analysis must precede synthesis. Logically it may be 
 correct to build up from the elements; pedagogically, the 
 natural method is analytic. 
 
 The first work should be to read a short story to the class 
 as a mere relaxation. It is a mistake to begin this work at 
 once by presenting the model, stud3dng it, reproducing it, and 
 so on. The children should first be interested in a story as 
 such, and if they have the feeling that no story is ever to be 
 presented to them except for analysis and imitation, there will 
 be only perfunctory interest. If, however, a number of stories 
 are told to the children at odd moments, and if when the com- 
 position time comes, the children are called upon to choose 
 which one they wish to reproduce or imitate, we are approach- 
 ing more closely to a method that gives opportunity for free 
 self-expression. 
 
 In the lower classes, of course, reproduction of some sort 
 may follow upon practically every telling of the story. In these 
 cases there is no reason why this part of the work should be 
 used for the purpose of training diffident or backward children 
 in oral composition. Call upon the best pupils, those who can 
 be relied upon, and for each story have but one, or at most 
 two pupils of the backward t)^e attempt a reproduction. It 
 is a torture to listen to a good story poorly told; why should 
 we subject the children to such torture? On the other hand, 
 however, it must not be forgotten that if the story is of the right 
 type and the children are really interested, there is no better 
 time to call upon the slow pupils than this, for the teacher may 
 now be assured of interest and a desire to excel. 
 
 After the story has been told, the teacher may ask the class 
 as a whole to supply omitted details. Once more it must be 
 
200 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 emphasized that the teacher should not make the mistake 
 of permitting disjointed answers, meaningless in themselves, 
 encouraging habits of carelessness in speech and in thought. 
 Each time a pupil supplies a fact, he should be called upon to 
 tell why he considers this fact important. Finally, the teacher 
 may, with a few well-chosen questions, bring to the surface new 
 applications and relations. It is essential that the teacher 
 know the story perfectly. She should have determined on the 
 points to be emphasized, and the inexperienced teacher should 
 even have framed the questions designed to lead the class to 
 see these important parts. In general it may be said that the 
 questions of the teacher should be devoted to one of three 
 purposes. First, to bring out facts previously unmentioned. 
 Second, to show the ethical appHcation of the story, if there be 
 any, to ask the judgment of the pupils on such questions of 
 conduct as may He within their experience, and in general to 
 make the narrative a vital part of their thinking. Third, to 
 show as much of the technical construction of the story as 
 may be thought wise, considering, however, the age and the 
 capabiHties of the children. This part of the work will later be 
 treated more in detail. 
 
 The analysis should not be taken up until there has been a 
 general discussion of the story. For instance, a question like, 
 "What do you think of this story?" is sufficient to evoke varied 
 comment. It is difficult to decide whether the model should 
 be presented before or after the children write an original story. 
 On the one hand, it must be recognized that at some time or 
 other there must be a careful study of the form. On the other, 
 it must equally be recognized that mere imitation may produce 
 a flat sameness. It is in this connection that valuable use may 
 be made of the instruction already given in the oral and written 
 reproduction of stories. Even when the children have reached 
 the first half of the fourth year, they should already be able 
 to write with almost absolute accuracy a story of reasonable 
 
NARRATION 201 
 
 length, containing many features entirely original with them, 
 although the story itself is merely an adaptation of one presented 
 by the teacher. 
 
 Before the children are called upon to write an original story, 
 they may be asked to put on paper one of the stories already 
 written by them in the school. This may be assigned for seat 
 work, or it may be done at home. At all events, it should not 
 take up much of the time which rightly should be given to the 
 actual composition work in narration. The story may be used 
 as the first presentation of the narrative to the children, and 
 with this as the basis, the teacher should proceed to call the 
 attention of the class to certain elements of the technique of 
 narration. 
 
 In every class, from the first half of the fourth year through 
 the sixth year, where much of this formal work will cease, the 
 teacher should bring out the idea that the connection between 
 the paragraphs in an exercise in narration is the sequence in 
 time. That is to say, except where the chronological order is 
 purposely departed from, the order of events as given in the 
 story should determine the order of the paragraphs. Secondly, 
 the class should be led to observe that each paragraph tells one 
 incident or a imit part of an incident in full. Thirdly, that the 
 topic of the last paragraph should be such as to form a climax 
 to the story. 
 
 It might be well to have the class form an outline from the 
 story which has been written. It will probably be found that 
 the best results will be achieved if the topic sentence of the out- 
 line is written in the present tense. In the higher grades, such 
 as from the fifth year onward, the children may be allowed 
 to use the past tense in their preparation of the outline. A 
 difficulty often met in this utilization of the stories learned 
 by the children in another part of the work, is that the 
 stories which they reproduce, using their own variations in 
 expression, are many times longer than those they are 
 
202 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 allowed to compose exclusively from their own data. It will 
 be noted, for instance, that the model for the first half of the 
 fourth year contains but two paragraphs, and the teacher should 
 see to it that the work of the pupil contains no more than two. 
 The reason for this difference in length is not hard to find. It 
 is much easier merely to vary a story already determined as 
 to order of development and climax, concentrating attention 
 solely on the expression, than it is to write an original story 
 with attention divided between the expression, i.e., the form, 
 and the story, or the content. 
 
 In the fourth year it will be sufi&cient to make the analysis 
 of the children's stories bring out these ideas of chronological 
 sequence, of paragraph unity, and, finally, of climax. In the 
 fifth year, since the stories which have already been written 
 will be more difiacult, the analysis by the teacher should bring 
 out the point that occasionally the thread of the story may be 
 interrupted so as to allow the story teller to insert a description 
 of a place in which something important is to happen, or of 
 a person by whom something of importance is to be done. In 
 the fifth year also, there should be emphasis on the importance 
 of straightforward narration. No event is told out of its order, 
 and there is no retracing of one's steps. The teacher may make 
 this idea clear to the children by telling them that a narration 
 tells of things and the times at which they took place; and that 
 just as we cannot turn time backwards, so we cannot go back- 
 wards in our telling of a story. It will be found that the retro- 
 spective narration cannot be successfully handled below the 
 seventh year of the elementary school course. In the fifth and 
 the sixth years, also, the teacher may call attention to a few 
 particularly well-chosen words in the stories written by the 
 children. In general, however, this analysis of the stories which 
 the children have learned in their oral and written reproduction 
 work should be made solely for the purpose of bringing out the 
 idea of correct form in narration. 
 
NARRATION 203 
 
 The next step in the work should be to give to the class either 
 the elements of a story or a subject on which they are to write. 
 The study of the formal model should be made only after the 
 children have set down on paper their own attempts. 
 
 In the first half of the fourth year the introduction might be 
 
 to tell what a fable is; then the model might be given to the 
 
 children. In the second half of the fourth year the aim should 
 
 be the reproduction of the story with particular emphasis upon 
 
 an uninterrupted sequence of events. In the fifth year, first 
 
 half, it would of course be extremely dull to ask the children 
 
 to reproduce the story suggested as a model. The teacher 
 
 should make the narration so vivid that on the basis of this 
 
 work the children will be able to write a story of their own. 
 
 Here, therefore, the model should again precede the writing of 
 
 the original work by the children. In the second half of the 
 
 fifth year the analysis of the story may be the first part of 
 
 the lesson, and the original work of the children may be the 
 
 development of the idea suggested in the title. In the study of 
 
 the model in the first half of the sixth year, direct reproduction 
 
 may be permitted. The aim here is to make an addition to the 
 
 vocabulary of the child, and no better means could be adopted 
 
 than the selection of a story from Hawthorne. The model for 
 
 the last half of the sixth year should not be studied until after 
 
 the children have written their own composition. The models 
 
 are here presented. They have been chosen from different 
 
 sources, and have been found adapted to the work of an average 
 
 child. 
 
 Fourth Year — First Half 
 
 The Crow and the Pitcher 
 
 A thirsty crow one morning sought far and wide for water to 
 quench his thirst. At last he found a long-necked pitcher which was 
 partly filled with water. He said, "Now I can have water to drink." 
 But when he tried to drink, he found that he could not reach the water, 
 it stood so low in the pitcher. He tried and tried in vain. 
 
204 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 At last a happy thought struck him. He found a pebble near by, 
 brought it in his bill, and dropped it into the water. Then he flew 
 to get another, and another, and another, dropping them into the 
 pitcher, one by one. The water rose higher and higher with every 
 pebble, until at last he could reach it easily. Then he drank his fill. 
 
 Fourth Year — Second Half 
 
 When Stuart was painting Washington's portrait, he was rallied 
 one day by the General for his slow work. The painter protested 
 that the picture could not advance untU the canvas was dry, and 
 that there must be yet some delay. Upon arriving next morning, 
 Stuart turned his canvas and discovered, to his great horror, that 
 the picture was spoiled. "General," said he, "somebody has held 
 this picture to the fire." 
 
 Washington summoned his negro valet, Sam, and demanded of 
 him, in great indignation, who had dared to touch the portrait. 
 The trembling Sam rephed, that, chancing to overhear Washington's 
 expression of impatience at the slowness of the work, and the response 
 of the artist that it must be dry before he could go on, he had ven- 
 tured to put the canvas before the fire. Washington, with great 
 anger, dismissed htm, and told him not to show his face again. 
 
 But the next day, after Stuart had arrived and was preparing to 
 work, Washington rang the bell, and sent for Sam. He came in 
 abashed and trembling. The President drew a new silver watch from 
 his pocket, and said, "Come here, Sam. Take this watch, and when- 
 ever you look at it remember that your master, in a moment of pas- 
 sion, said to you what he now regrets, and that he was not ashamed 
 to confess that he had done so." 
 
 Fifth Year — First Half 
 
 One day a tragedy was enacted a few yards from where I was sit- 
 ting with a book; two song sparrows were trying to defend their 
 nest against a black snake. The curious interrogating note of a 
 chicken who had suddenly come upon the scene in his walk first 
 caused me to look up from my reading. There were the sparrows, 
 with wings raised in a way pecuharly expressive of horror and dis- 
 
NARRATION 205 
 
 may, rushing about a low clump of grass and bushes. Then, looking 
 more closely, I saw the glistening form of the black snake, and the 
 quick movement of his head as he tried to seize the birds. 
 
 The sparrows darted about and through the grass and weeds, try- 
 ing to beat the snake off. Their tails and wings were spread, and, 
 panting with the heat and desperate struggle, they presented a most 
 singular spectacle. They uttered no cry, not a sound escaped them; 
 they were plainly speechless with horror and dismay. Not once 
 did they drop their wings, and the peculiar expression of the uplifted 
 palms, as it were, I shall never forget. 
 
 It occurred to me that perhaps here was a case of attempt at bird- 
 charming on the part of the snake, so I looked on from behind the 
 fence. The birds charged the snake and harassed him from every 
 side, but were evidently under no spell save that of courage in 
 defending their nest. 
 
 Every moment cr two I could see the head and neck of the serpent 
 make a sweep at the birds, when the one struck at would fall back, 
 and the other would renew the assault from the rear. There ap- 
 peared to be Uttle danger that the snake covdd strike and hold one of 
 the birds, though I trembled for them, they were so bold and ap- 
 proached so near to the snake's head. Time and again he sprang 
 at them, but without success. How the poor things panted, and held 
 up their wings appealingly! Then the snake glided off to the near 
 fence, barely escaping the stone which I hurled at him. 
 
 — John Burroughs. 
 
 Fifth Year — Second Half 
 An Unwelcome Visitor 
 
 Many years ago, a Httle frame schoolhouse stood at the edge of a 
 large forest. Often the children in school would tremble to hear the 
 wolves howling near by; yet they loved to collect at the windows and 
 watch the troops of gay hunters who passed on their way to the 
 forest. 
 
 One fine spring morning, the yelping of hunters' hounds broke the 
 stillness, and before anyone had time to rush to the windows to see 
 what was the matter, a fox dashed in at the open schoolroom door 
 
2o6 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 with a pack of hounds close upon it. In a second everything was in 
 an uproar. The fox turned about as if it wanted to go back, but the 
 hounds in the door blocked the way, so with growls and snarls it leaped 
 over the benches scattering the screaming children right and left. 
 
 Some of the children scrambled imder benches to get out of the 
 way, others huddled together in corners, and a few nearest the door 
 rushed out, while the teacher shouted, "Out at the door, every- 
 body!" The fox made for the farthest corner of the room, and as 
 the hounds closed in upon it, in the general confusion, the last of the 
 children were finally pushed out at the doorway by the teacher. 
 
 A group of hunters came riding up, and several hurried into the 
 schoolroom to the hoimds' assistance. They had guessed what had 
 taken place when they heard the shouts of the children, but were 
 too far away to call off the hounds. They seemed heartily sorry to 
 think they had caused such a disturbance. 
 
 Sixth Year — First Half 
 
 Miss Hepzibah Pyncheon sat in the oaken elbow chair. She was 
 suddenly startled by the tinkling alarm — of a httle bell. The maiden 
 lady arose upon her feet, as pale as a ghost. This little bell, being 
 fastened over the shop door, was so contrived as to convey notice 
 to the inner regions of the house when any customer should cross 
 the threshold. Its ugly and spiteful little din at once set every 
 nerve in her body in tumiiltuous vibration. Her first customer was 
 at the door. 
 
 The door, being forced quite open, a square and sturdy little ur- 
 chin became apparent, with cheeks as red as an apple. He was 
 clad rather shabbily (but, as it seemed, more owing to his mother's 
 carelessness than his father's poverty) in a blue apron, very wide 
 and short trousers, shoes somewhat out at the toes, and a chip hat, 
 with the frizzles of his curly head sticking through the crevices. A 
 book and a small slate, under his arm, indicated that he was on his 
 way to school. He stared at Hepzibah a moment, not knowing 
 what to make of the tragic attitude and queer scowl wherewith she 
 regarded him. 
 
 "Well, child," said she, taking heart at the sight of a personage 
 so httle formidable, "well, my child, what did you wish for? " " That 
 
NARRATION 207 
 
 Jim Crow there in the window," answered the urchin, holding out a 
 cent, and pointing to the gingerbread figure that had attracted his 
 notice. 
 
 So Hepzibah put forth her lank arm, and, taking the eflSgy from 
 the shop window, deHvered it to her first customer. "No matter 
 for the money," said she, giving him a httle push toward the door; 
 for it seemed such pitiful meanness to take the child's pocket money 
 in exchange for a bit of stale gingerbread. "You are welcome to 
 Jim Crow." 
 
 The child, staring with round eyes at this instance of liberality, 
 took the man of gingerbread and quitted the premises. No sooner 
 had he reached the sidewalk than Jim Crow's head was in his mouth. 
 — Adapted from "The House of the Seven Gables," 
 
 Nathaniel Hawthorne. 
 
 Sixth Year — Second Half 
 Two Foolish Goats 
 
 The goats started to cross a narrow bridge at the same time. 
 Neither would go back for the other. They began to fight and both 
 fell into the water. 
 
 Far up among the lofty Alps, a beautiful stream springs from its 
 rocky bed. On it tumbles, in its rushing, noisy way ever journe3dng 
 to the distant sea. Just where it is deepest, someone has built a nar- 
 row bridge. The mountain goats often found it very useful. 
 
 One day a large, white goat started to cross it. At the same 
 moment a big brown feUow, with a fine pair of horns, stepped on at 
 the other end. Of course, they met in the middle. 
 
 Each expected the other to step back. Both insisted on moving 
 forward. White Goat said he had started first and therefore had 
 the right to continue. Brown Goat refused to yield. 
 
 Soon they were fighting. White Goat was heavy and strong, but 
 Brown Goat was quick with his horns. They got so close to the 
 edge of the bridge, that the chattering brook could see their forms 
 reflected in her shining face. Suddenly there was a loud splash and 
 there were the two goats struggling desperately to reach land again. 
 
 A valuable part of the study of the model is a careful examina- 
 
2o8 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 tion of words and phrases which may be adopted by the class 
 for incorporation into their own work. It has already been 
 suggested, in connection with the study of the letters, what 
 principles should guide the teacher in the selection of these 
 words and what devices may be used. Certain points, however, 
 are peculiar to narrative work. 
 
 In the model, fourth year, first half, the class should note 
 the repetition which gives the effect of continued action; the 
 examples are, "tried and tried"; "another and another and 
 another"; "higher and higher." Have the pupils form sen- 
 tences of their own, using these and original repetitions to give 
 the effect. At this point the chances are that the error will 
 develop in the use of an adjective instead of an adverb. That 
 is to say, a pupil wUl say, "He went slower and slower." This 
 should be made at once the basis for correction. Although 
 reasons cannot be given, the children should be given the 
 standard of right expression. 
 
 In the model for the second half of the fourth year, the story 
 should be dramatized as soon as it has been learned by the class. 
 In the study of narration in general, after the discussion, the 
 outline formation, and the study of words and phrases, oral 
 reproduction may be had. The idea is to apply what has been 
 learned of the form without meeting the additional difficulty 
 of spelling and the technique of written expression. It will 
 be found that in the desire to dramatize well children will 
 memorize the exact language of the model; that they will get 
 the dramatic representation of such phrases and words as 
 "abashed," etc. A valuable exercise will also be provided by 
 the necessity of changing the dialogue in the second paragraph 
 as reported in the third person, to the second person. 
 
 The model for the fifth year, first half, offers excellent oppor- 
 tunity for developing the use of well-chosen adjectives. Try 
 to have the class understand that of the many describing words 
 which could be used (and they should be encouraged to supply 
 
NARRATION 209 
 
 others than those found in the text), there is always one which 
 brings a picture to the mind and which is the best that could 
 have been employed. Examples in the model are, "inter- 
 rogating," "dispirited," "harassed," and so on. Drill on this 
 kind of work will be found of great value. Give the nouns 
 and ask the class to supply the appropriate adjective, and vice 
 versa. In the same way, sentences with blanks for the appro- 
 priate words may be supplied to the children. Any book on 
 English will give a supply of material or the teacher may fur- 
 nish her own material by selecting sentences from any good 
 work. In copying sentences, she may leave a blank for the 
 word to be supplied. This is an excellent form of busy work to 
 be used in classes organized for group work. Similar work may 
 be based on the model of the second half of the fifth year, and 
 that of the sixth year, first half. 
 
 In the story given for the second half of the sixth year, the 
 model itself should not be presented to the class until the pupils 
 have made their own attempts at the amplification of the story. 
 The teacher may have the brief story analyzed and the outline 
 may consist of an enumeration of the possible points to be 
 expanded. Suggestions are (i) the place; (2) the description 
 of the goats; (3) the conversation between the goats; (4) the 
 fight. Each of these may be developed, first, orally, then in 
 writing, and the best may be written on the board. In this 
 way will be built up an eclectic composition consisting of the 
 best work of the best individuals. This may then be erased 
 and the class set to work on the writing of the story itself. 
 Then at the second, or if two periods have already been taken 
 up, at the third period, the pupils' work may be compared with 
 the model. Here the aim should be to show where specific 
 words have been used with better effect in the model than in 
 the story written by the pupils. From this part of the lesson, 
 the correction, etc., will proceed as was outlined in the work 
 on letters and as will be later more fully developed. 
 
2IO THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Summary. — Before original work in narration is begun, there 
 should be a review of stories studied by the "Variation" method. 
 The class should be brought clearly to understand that the connec- 
 tion in narration is through sequence in time. The formation of out- 
 lines will aid in making this understood. The difficulties should be 
 carefully graded. Fourth year — unbroken narrative. Fifth year 
 — interpolated descriptions of persons or of places. Sixth year — 
 study of the diction particularly adapted to narration. 
 
CHAPTER XrX 
 COMPOSITION — DESCRIPTION 
 
 Models to be Studied 
 
 Fourth Year — First Half 
 
 The Statue of the Olympian Zeus 
 
 The statue of the Olympian Zeus was a fine piece of work. The 
 great sculptor Phidias made it as beautiful and grand as he could. 
 It was in honor of the mighty Zeus, the father of all the gods. 
 
 The throne upon which this figure was seated was made of cedar- 
 wood and ebony, and richly set with precious stones. 
 
 The face, the chest, the arms, and the feet of the statue were of 
 ivory; the hair and beard were of solid gold with jewelled flowers. 
 In one outstretched hand stood a golden figure of the Winged Vic- 
 tory; in the other was a mighty scepter. Forty feet high was this 
 grand statue. He sat there with a look sublime and unapproachable, 
 yet not stern or angry. 
 
 The old Greeks used to say, "Not to have seen the Olympian Zeus 
 was indeed a misfortune to any man." 
 
 — Andrews' "Ten Boys." 
 
 Fourth Year — Second Half 
 
 Description of an Apartment at Bracebridge Hall 
 
 It was a large, old-fashioned hall. Over the heavy projecting 
 fireplace was suspended a picture of a warrior in armor, standing by 
 a white horse, and on the opposite wall hung a helmet, buckler and 
 lance. At one end an enormous pair of antlers were inserted in the 
 waU, the branches serving as hooks on which to suspend hats, whips 
 
212 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 and spurs, and in the corners of the apartment were fowling-pieces, 
 fishing-rods, and other sporting implements. The furniture was 
 of the cumbrous workmanship of former days, though some articles 
 of modern convenience had been added, and the oaken floor had 
 been carpeted, so the whole presented an odd mixture of parlor and 
 hall. 
 
 The grate had been removed from the wide, overwhelming fire- 
 place to make way for a fire of wood, in the midst of which was an 
 enormous log, glowing and blazing, and sending forth a vast volume 
 
 " — Washington Irving, "Sketch Book." 
 
 Fifth Year — First Half 
 An Eskimo Hut 
 
 On the slope, fifty yards from the beech, in the midst of rocks and 
 boulders, stood the Eskimo settlement, consisting of two stone huts 
 twenty yards apart. It was more fitted for the dwelling place of 
 wild animals than for the home of himian beings. Around it was 
 a wilderness of snow and ice. In the evening while the men in our 
 tent were fast asleep, I paid a visit to one of these huts. I found 
 it to be in shape much like an old-fashioned country clay oven, 
 square in front, and sloping back into the rock strewn hill. 
 
 To get inside, I was obliged to crawl on my hands and knees 
 through a covered passage about twelve feet long. . . . The whole 
 interior was about ten feet in diameter and five and a half feet high. 
 The walls were made of stones, moss, bones of whales and other 
 animals. They were lined with seal or fox skins stretched to dry. 
 In the cracks between the stones were thrust whipstocks and bone 
 pegs, on which hvmg coils of harpoon lines. 
 
 The floor was covered with thin flat stones. Half of this floor, 
 at the back part of the hut, was elevated a foot. This elevator was 
 called "breck," and it served as both bed and seat, being covered 
 with dry grass over which were spread bear and dog skins. The front 
 of the hut was square and through it, above the passageway opened 
 a window. A square sheet of strips of dried intestine, sewed together, 
 admitted the hght. 
 
DESCRIPTION 213 
 
 The air of the place was insufferable except for a short time. . . . 
 There may have been a vent hole but I did not see any. I was 
 indeed glad to get back to my people. 
 
 — Isaac I. Hayes, "An Arctic Boat Journey." 
 
 Fifth Year — Second Half 
 View from a Pier in Geneva Harbor 
 
 The pier commands a view of the lake and town. How crystal 
 clear is the water of the lake! 
 
 Forty miles away is the king of Alpine peaks, Mount Blanc. This' 
 snow-crowned monarch is most beautiful as it hfts its mighty mass 
 towards heaven. 
 
 Turning our eyes towards the town we see the lake shore in the 
 form of a crescent with a park along its inner circle. On either side 
 of the park, hotels and mansions front the lake. Their brilliant 
 cream color makes a fine contrast with the blue of the sky and water. 
 Beyond the park and hotels the city rises in a pUe. Far in the west 
 the hills make a dark line against the sky. 
 
 On the lake steamboats cut the blue water and leave a trail of white 
 foam. Heavy barges loaded with stone drift past. 
 
 Here the River Rhone issues from the lake with a current swift 
 and powerful. Looking down the river we see a vista of bridges. 
 -^Adapted from Little's "Journeys in Switzerland." 
 
 Sixth Year — First Half 
 
 The Old Apple Dealer 
 
 He is a small man, with grey hair and grey stubby beard, and is 
 invariably clad in a shabby surtout of snuff-color, closely buttoned, 
 and half concealing a pair of grey pantaloons; the whole dress, though 
 clean and entire, being evidently flimsy with much wear. His face, 
 thin, withered, furrowed, and with features which even age has failed 
 to render impressive, has a frost-bitten aspect. 
 
 He sits on a bench in the depot room, and before him, on the floor, 
 are deposited two baskets, of a capacity to contain his whole stock 
 in trade. Across, from one basket to the other, extends a board on 
 
214 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 which are displayed a plate of cakes and gingerbread, some russet 
 and red-cheeked apples, and a box containing variegated sticks of 
 candy; together with that delectable condiment known by chil- 
 dren as Gibraltar rock, neatly done up in white paper. There is 
 likewise a half-peck measure of cracked walnuts, and two or three 
 tin half-pints or gills filled with the nut kernels, ready for pur- 
 chasers. Such are the small commodities with which our old friend 
 comes daily before the world ministering to its petty needs and little 
 freaks of appetite, and seeking thence the solid subsistence — so 
 far as he may subsist — of his life. 
 
 — Nathaniel Hawthorne, " Mosses from an Old Manse." 
 
 Sixth Year — Second Half 
 
 In my school-house ... I seem to see the square most readily 
 in the Scotch mist which so often filled it, loosening the stones and 
 choking the drains. There was then no rattle of rain against my win- 
 dow sill, nor dancing of diamond drops on the roofs, but blobs of water 
 grew on the panes of glass to reel heavily down them. Then the sod- 
 den square would have shed abundant tears if you could have taken 
 it in your hands and wrung it like a dripping cloth. 
 
 At such a time the square would be empty but for one vegetable- 
 cart left in the care of a lean colly, which, tied to the wheel, whined 
 and shivered underneath. Pools of water gather in the coarse sacks 
 that have been spread over the potatoes and bundles of greens, which 
 turn to manure in their lidless barrels. The eyes of the whimpering 
 dog never leave a black close over which hangs the sign of the Bull, 
 probably the refuge of the hawker. At long intervals a farmer's 
 gig rumbles over the bumpy, ill-paved square, or a native, with his 
 head buried in his coat, peeps out of doors, skurries across the way, 
 and vanishes. Hosts of the leading shops are here, and the decorous 
 draper ventures a few yards from the pavement to scan the sky, 
 or note the effect of his new arrangement in scarfs. Planted against 
 his door is the butcher, Henders Todd, white-aproned, and with a 
 knife in his hand, gazing interestedly at the draper, for a mere man 
 may look at an elder. The tinsmith brings out his steps, and mount- 
 ing them, stealthily removes the sauce-pans and pepper-pots that 
 
DESCRIPTION 215 
 
 dangle on a wire above his signboard. PuUing to his door he shuts 
 out the foggy hght that showed in his solder-strewn workshop. 
 
 The square is deserted again. A bundle of sloppy parsley slips 
 from the hawker's cart and topples over the wheel in driblets. The 
 puddles in the sacks overflow and run together. The dog has twisted 
 his chain round a barrel, and yelps sharply. As if in response comes 
 a rush of other dogs. A terrified fox terrier tears across the square 
 with half a score of mongrels, the butcher's mastiff and some collies 
 at his heels; he is doubtless a stranger who has insulted them by his 
 glossy coat. For two seconds the square shakes to an invasion of 
 dogs, and then, again, there is only one dog in sight. 
 
 — Barrie, "Auld Licht Idylls," Chap. I. 
 
 A composition exercise in description permits the child to 
 express through the mediuum of words a picture which he has 
 in mind, so that from his account a reader can reconstruct that 
 picture, forming, in his turn, an image which will enable him 
 to identify the object if at any time it is actually presented to 
 him. It is, therefore, absolutely necessary that hand in hand 
 with the study of the model should go the study of the picture 
 of the object described in the model. The preparatory step in 
 this work should be the showing of a large picture sufficiently 
 rich in detail to afford the child such information as he will 
 need in describing it. It would be an added advantage if smaller 
 copies of this picture were supplied to the individual pupils. 
 
 The teacher may begin the exercise by giving the name of 
 the picture and a brief statement of something interesting con- 
 nected with it. Thus, with the model of the fourth year, first 
 half, it might be a brief account of the wonderful achievements 
 of the Greeks in art. With the other model of the fourth year, 
 it might be a reference to the antiquity of some of the great 
 English houses, how every stone seems to tell a story that is 
 hallowed with age. The subjects of the other models will 
 suggest to the teacher a similar mode of approach. 
 
 Before the model itself is presented to the children, they may 
 
2i6 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 be called upon to attempt a description of the picture. This 
 should be oral, and the aim of the teacher should be to lead the 
 children to give their descriptions in some ordered form. The 
 natural result of this exercise will be that the child will plunge 
 at once into the description of the picture itself and that when 
 he has told all that he can about it, he will consider his descrip- 
 tion finished. When a number of the pupils have been called 
 upon in this way to give an oral account of the object which is 
 described in the model, the teacher then may speak briefly of 
 the value of some form of introduction to the description. She 
 may call attention to the fact that it is necessary, very frequently, 
 to place the object definitely or to tell something about it which 
 will arouse interest in the description. Then she may refer to 
 the fact that when the description has been completed, it is 
 frequently good to have a summary or to give an estimate of 
 the picture. 
 
 The model should then be presented to the class. The first 
 step in the study should be devoted to the description proper. 
 In the model for the fourth year, first half, this is found in the 
 second and third paragraphs. The second may be explained 
 as describing the first impression one gets as one looks at the 
 statue. The children should be directed to note that the para- 
 graph is general, that it contains no element of description which 
 will not appeal to an observer even at a considerable distance. 
 In the third paragraph the teacher may direct attention to the 
 grouping of details. A good description does not give an account 
 of the different parts of an object in a hap-hazard, random 
 fashion. Rather does it attempt to adopt from the outset 
 some standard of uniting different elements so as to keep the 
 mind of the reader intent upon one aspect of the thing. In 
 the description in question, the first element of unity is found 
 in the materials of which the statue was made. We have the 
 account of the four parts which were made of ivory; then the 
 two which were of solid gold. 
 
DESCRIPTION 217 
 
 Once more, the teacher should call the attention of the class 
 to the fact that the description proceeds from those things 
 which can be most readily observed from a distance to those 
 things which can be noted only when one has come closer to 
 the object. Thus one may easily note what part of the statue 
 was of ivory, what part was of gold, and what were the objects 
 held in the hands. The next detail is also one that might 
 appeal to an observer at a distance, and the object of intro- 
 ducing this detail of size or of measurement is to make the statue 
 a concrete thing to the mind of the child. The last sentence of 
 this paragraph, describing the expression on the face of the 
 statue, is a smaller detail which requires on the one hand no 
 very close examination, and yet calls for a nearer approach. 
 In other words, the aim of the study should be to emphasize 
 these two points: first, that the distance from the object deter- 
 mines the kind of details to be mentioned, and secondly, that 
 the details must be grouped around some common element, in 
 this case the composition of the statue. 
 
 The last step in the study of the model may be to direct the 
 attention of the class to the value and efifect of the introductory 
 and the concluding paragraph. The former gives a general 
 judgment of the statue, mentions incidentally the name of 
 the sculptor, and tells why the statue was made. The latter 
 by implication summarizes the judgment expressed in the first 
 paragraph and gives the general impression of the wonderful 
 beauty of the work. 
 
 It is not to be supposed, however, that the class is to be led 
 to believe that the only common element around which the 
 details are to be grouped is the element of material. It will 
 be well perhaps in this grade to restrict direct reference al- 
 together to this, but the children should be allowed to use 
 any other idea for the purpose of grouping details. 
 
 In the model selected for study in the second half of the fourth 
 year, we have an entirely different mode of approach. Here 
 
2i8 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 the value and the artistic effect of the abrupt introduction should 
 be made clear to the class. The introductory sentence is short, 
 arouses interest, and in a way creates a general though very- 
 vague picture of the hall itself. As a matter of fact, the entire 
 model is merely an amplification of what is suggested in the 
 introductory sentence. When this point has been made clear 
 to the class, the teacher may lead the pupils to note the order 
 in which the different details are given. The first thing men- 
 tioned is what probably was the most striking object in the 
 entire room. This is followed by a description of what was on 
 the opposite wall of the room. The teacher should take advan- 
 tage of this to call the attention of the class to the element of 
 balance or symmetry in description. Examples of this will be 
 found in any class-room, and in the architecture of any build- 
 ing. It is a natural tendency for us when once our attention 
 has been called to some object in a general picture, to see what 
 other object is present to balance the first. 
 
 The third sentence of the first paragraph carries out practically 
 the same order of development. In the last sentence the de- 
 scription of the furniture comes in naturally since after noting 
 the objects hung around on the walls, one turns the attention 
 to the contents of the room itself. The attention of the class 
 should be directed to the incongruity of the two. The wall 
 decorations gave the effect of a hall; the contents were those 
 usually associated with a parlor, and, therefore, the close of the 
 first paragraph gives expression to the conflict of the two ideas. 
 We may safely assume that the first aim in the mind of the per- 
 son who entered this room was to classify it. That is, to tell what 
 kind of room it was, and to what sort of use it was probably put. 
 This may safely be assumed to be the aim of any similar de- 
 scription and the class should be called upon, in their original 
 work, to attempt to achieve a similar res;ilt. In this case, the 
 classification was not really complete since the author can only 
 say that the whole presented an odd mixture of parlor and hall. 
 
DESCRIPTION ' 219 
 
 With the first paragraph devoted to classification, the second 
 is directed to a more detailed description of the most interesting 
 object in the room. This is, in this particular case, the grate. 
 The second paragraph is more expositional than descriptive. 
 Before the study of the model is completed the children may be 
 called upon to write one or two sentences to describe the effect 
 of this glowing fire in the fireplace. Four points should have 
 been made clear to the class. First, the value of the abrupt 
 introduction; secondly, the attempt at initial classification; 
 thirdly, the detailed description of the most striking feature; 
 and fourthly, the creation of a general emotional effect in the 
 observer. 
 
 The model for study in the first half of the fifth year brings 
 us to a more minute study of the technique of description. The 
 four paragraphs follow a definite order. The first gives the 
 general impression of the entire settlement from a distance, and 
 tells the occasion on which the writer made a visit to the huts 
 in order to see what they were like. The last sentence of this 
 paragraph is a description of one of these huts as it appears to 
 an observer from without. The second paragraph, which gives 
 the description of the interior in general, is accompanied by a 
 slight narrative detail which shows how the writer came to 
 change his view-point. In all descriptions of this kind, the 
 class should be required to introduce this detail. Where this 
 narrative element is not present, we are to assimie that the ob- 
 server continues to stand in one place. If the description is of 
 such a nature that it calls for a change of position, the account 
 should include a statement of how the observer moved from 
 place to place. The third paragraph is purely descriptive and 
 shows the general plan of all descriptions; namely, that the 
 progress should be from the general impression to the various 
 details. The last paragraph should be particularly dwelt upon 
 with the class as describing a detail which could become evident 
 to the observer only after a more or less prolonged stay in the 
 
220 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 hut. It would have been an inconsistency to refer to the insuf- 
 ferable air at the moment of entrance. It would have been 
 much more natural, in fact, to speak of the atmosphere within 
 the hut by contrast with the actual air as being perhaps too 
 warm. It would be only after the writer had stayed inside for 
 some time that the air would become insufferable. Finally, the 
 last sentence of the description gives the necessary narrative 
 element which takes the writer back to the original view-point. 
 
 The model chosen for study in the second half of the fifth 
 year is one which calls for the description of details noted in 
 succession, while the view-point of the observer remains the 
 same. It is not necessary to call attention to any detailed 
 mode of treatment. The order of topics in the paragraph will 
 suggest to the teacher the right method of approach. 
 
 The model for the first half of the sixth year is on a subject 
 that will always appeal to a class. The greatest care should be 
 given to the choice of the right adjectives. In fact, it would be 
 well for the teacher to have the children give, in a preliminary 
 exercise, niunbers of adjectives describing various parts of the 
 physiognomy or the apparel of a person. This will increase 
 their working vocabulary. When they come to their original 
 work, the right motive may be supplied by having them write 
 their description without naming the person. The test of the 
 successful description is that another pupil reading the account 
 written by one of his classmates will be able to identify the 
 person. An exercise of this sort is a source of never ending 
 delight to a class. 
 
 The model for study in the second half of 4he sixth year 
 introduces a new element in that the same object is described 
 at different times. In the selection that is given for study, this 
 difference of time is utilized only for the purpose of introduc- 
 ing new details. In the original work done by the children, 
 however, the aim should be to have them seek to produce 
 different kinds of effects. Thus they may describe the class- 
 
DESCRIPTION 221 
 
 room so that it will give the effect of cheerfulness, and the 
 second paragraph may be devoted to a description of the same 
 room for the purpose of giving the effect of gloom. Prelim- 
 inary exercises would be to have the children arrange in double 
 columns adjectives descriptive of the same actual condition, 
 and yet chosen in one case so as to give a bright effect, in the 
 other, to give a somber effect. In the beginning this work will 
 be extremely imsatisfactory, but if the teacher exercises a 
 reasonable amount of patience, the result wiU improve wonder- 
 fully. 
 
 Summary. — The study of the object should proceed hand in hand 
 with the formal work in description. Training in observation is a 
 part of the training in the writing of description. Children should be 
 led to proceed from the general effect to details, from the striking first 
 appearance to a closer examiriation. The effect upon the descrip- 
 tion of a change in the point of view of the observer should be made 
 clear to the class by a careful study of the model. In the more 
 advanced work, such details should be selected as will, tend to pro- 
 duce a desired effect upon the mood of the reader, while stUl remain- 
 ing true to the real purpose of description; viz., the identification 
 of some object or scene. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 COMPOSITION — EXPOSITION 
 
 Models to be Studied 
 
 Fourth Year — First Half 
 
 How to Play Handball 
 
 Handball is a game played by boys or men. A ball and something 
 against which to throw it are needed. Boys often use any blank wall 
 or fence to play against, but when grown men play they have courts 
 built for the purpose. 
 
 The baU is thrown against a wall and then struck with the pahn 
 of the hand as it reboimds. The object is to keep it from the groimd 
 as long as possible. The player who keeps the ball in the air, between 
 his hand and the wall, the longest, wins. 
 
 Fourth Year — Second Half 
 A Home-Made Kaleidoscope 
 
 Get three strips of glass about a foot long and two or three inches 
 wide, a piece of semi-transparent writing paper, and some dark col- 
 ored paper. 
 
 Tie the strips together. The strings wiU keep the glass in posi- 
 tion. Cut a piece of the writing and of the dark paper so they wiU 
 fit the ends of the prism. 
 
 Cut a small round hole in the middle of the dark paper for the 
 observer's eye. Fasten the overlapping edges of these papers to 
 the glass with mucilage. Then cover the sides of the prism with 
 the dark paper. 
 
 Drop a few bits of colored glass, or beads, through the hole, and 
 
EXPOSITION 223 
 
 turn the writing paper end to the light. Place your eye at the hole 
 and keep the prism slowly turning. 
 
 A kaleidoscope made in this manner is very serviceable. 
 
 Beard, " American Boy's Handy Book " 
 
 Fifth Year — Second Half 
 The Fire-Drill 
 
 Clang! Clang! Clang! Three bells! Every boy in the school 
 knows what that signal means. Perfect sUence reigns. All eyes 
 are centered on the teacher awaiting his (or her) commands. In 
 less than thirty seconds, in response to* the teacher's brief, quiet, 
 " Class, stand," a line is formed with the class president in the 
 lead. 
 
 A second beU rings. This is a signal for the class to move. 
 Quickly but quietly the boys move to their allotted places in the 
 yard. On arriving there they stand in rigid postures awaiting the 
 principal's visit of inspection. To meet the approval of the princi- 
 pal there must be absolute quiet and perfect Hnes. 
 
 A whistle is now blown which is the signal for the boys to "about 
 face " and return to their rooms. This part of the drill must be in 
 keeping with the remainder of the drill, i.e., it must be executed 
 quickly and quietly. 
 
 Speed in execution and perfect order are the requisites of a good 
 fire-driU. 
 
 Sixth Year — First Half 
 
 The True Gentleman 
 
 Boys make a great mistake about the term "the true gentleman." 
 A gentleman is one who can live at ease, they think, — a rich, popular 
 citizen who is honored for his position. If this were a correct view, 
 comparatively few boys could become a gentleman. But it is an 
 error; and it should be discarded as unworthy of thought or attention. 
 Any boy can develop into a true gentleman, if he wUl, no matter how 
 himible his lot in Kfe. 
 
 A man may be poor, unhonored, and probably uncultured, never- 
 theless his gentleness, kindness, fidelity, or a sense of obligation and 
 
224 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 honor prove that he is a gentleman. He is manly, thoughtful of 
 others, and a true friend. 
 
 Sir PhiUp Sidney was the pattern to all England of a perfect gentle- 
 man; but, then, he was the hero that, on the field of Tutthan, pushed 
 away the cup of cold water from his own fevered and parched Hps, 
 and held it out to the dying soldier at his side. 
 
 Washington was a gentleman of the old school whose bow of rec- 
 ognition was like a blessing to both old and young. One day, in 
 company with a friend, he passed a colored man, who saluted him 
 with respect. Washington acknowledged his pohteness with a bow, 
 whereupon his friend objected to such deference to a negro. "Would 
 you have him be more gentlemanly than I?" answered the great man. 
 
 A man once foimd fault with Robert Burns for bowing in too 
 friendly a fashion to a farmer in the streets of Edinburg. Burns 
 repHed, "It was not the greatcoat, the scone bonnet, and the Saxm- 
 ders boot-hose that I spoke to, but the man that was in them." 
 Burns was a gentleman. 
 
 These facts show that neither dress, aristocratic airs, nor anything 
 of that sort can make a gentleman. Simphcity rather than affec- 
 tation, honesty rather than hypocrisy, a noble aim rather than 
 arrogant pride, gentleness rather than overbearing assumption, resolu- 
 tion rather than effeminacy, and character rather than mannerism, 
 constitutes the true gentleman. 
 
 — Adapted from Thayer's "Ethics of Success." 
 
 Sixth Year — Second Half 
 
 Spiders and Insects 
 
 Spiders are not insects. Many people think that spiders and 
 insects belong to the same family. 
 
 The body of an insect is divided into three parts. If you examine 
 the body of a spider, you wiU find it divided into only two parts. 
 Spiders have four pairs of legs; insects have only three pairs of legs. 
 Spiders have four simple eyes; insects, on the other hand, have com- 
 pound eyes. 
 
 If you covdd look inside the body of a spider, you would see that 
 it does not breathe as insects do. All insects breathe through httle 
 
EXPOSITION 225 
 
 tubes that run all over the body, and open into a row of holes along 
 each side. A few spiders have air tubes also, but the breathing 
 apparatus of the greater number of spiders consists of Httle air sacs 
 opening on the under surface of the body. 
 
 Insects always go through a number of changes after they are 
 hatched; but the spider undergoes no transformation. A young 
 spider is of the same shape as an old one. So, you see that spiders 
 are not insects. 
 
 All spiders spin webs of some sort through all their lives; while 
 no insect can spin a web of any kind after it has passed through the 
 second stage. The silkworm can spin, but when the sUkworm be- 
 comes a moth, it can spin no more. 
 
 In just the same way that the first step in the study of the 
 description should be to show a picture of the object to be 
 described, so the introductory step in an exposition should be 
 to make the object or to do the thing. The model suggested 
 for the sixth year is static, and is intended to develop certain 
 ideas in the technique of this form of composition. In the 
 fourth and fifth years, however, the model is based upon some 
 actual event or game. Before writing the composition, in fact 
 before studying the model, the children either should go through 
 the action itself or should be interested observers while others 
 are doing it. In the fourth year the members of the class 
 may arrange to play a game of hand-ball in the yard, and the 
 selection of the players and assignment to their respective places, 
 and the conduct of the game, should be actually gone through. 
 Thereupon, the class should return to the room and an oral 
 account of what has just been done should be given. Wher- 
 ever possible, the names of the players should be mentioned. 
 If the boy who is giving an account of the game is one who 
 took part, he should be required to use the first person in his 
 exposition. 
 
 In the second half of the fourth year, the teacher should 
 actually make a kaleidoscope in the class room. The class may 
 
226 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 note what the teacher is doing, even writing down the list of 
 the materials employed, and the order in which they are put 
 together. In the fifth year, fire-drill should be held so as to 
 give an immediate and concrete presentation of that which is 
 to form the subject matter of the exposition. 
 
 After this the treatment is extremely simple. In general 
 it may be said that an exposition consists of three parts. 
 First, the materials; secondly, their putting together; thirdly, 
 their use. This plan is of equal value whether one is telling 
 of the making of an object, or of the playing of a game. In 
 the fifth year, the model brings in two valuable points, one of 
 which is entirely new in the work thus far outlined. The first 
 has already been used in the description. It is to show the 
 value of the abrupt introduction in attracting and riveting the 
 attention of the reader. The new point is the use of the present 
 tense for the purpose of securing vividness and giving the air 
 of suppressed excitement. It will require careful attention on 
 the part of the teacher to have the children keep this tense 
 uniform throughout the composition. 
 
 In the sixth year, the model for the first half is purely formal, 
 and the particular aim of the teacher should be to show how an 
 anecdote may be used to make clear an idea in the mind of the 
 writer. The model for the second half is to show the value and 
 the use of contrast and comparison for the purpose of making 
 clear two related objects. It is unnecessary to dwell at length 
 on the mode of development. 
 
 Summary. — The writing of an exposition should go hand in hand 
 with the action that is the subject of the composition. This form of 
 exercise may be made to afford valuable practice in the use of the 
 present tense. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 THE CORRECTION OF COMPOSITIONS 
 
 It is probable that if teachers were asked why the correction 
 of class exercises in composition is included as part of the work, 
 in nine cases out of ten they would answer that the object is 
 to secure a correct form of composition. It is this notion of 
 the purpose of the work, together with the methods that are 
 determined by this idea, that has made the work in composition 
 correction so unsatisfactory in the past. Here even more than 
 in any other branch of the work the result or the product is of 
 slight importance compared with the power which it should be 
 the aim of the teacher to develop. Very few of us indeed are 
 so facile with our pens that we can turn out in a first draft a 
 perfect copy of what we wish to say. Most of us are compelled 
 to look over our work carefully, to correct it, to be perpetually 
 on the lookout for errors in English, in punctuation, and to a 
 somewhat less degree in spelling, / It should be the aim of the 
 teacher to give to the children the power intelligently to look 
 over their work with a view to bringing that work up to the 
 standard of correctness. Moreover, it should be the aim of 
 the teacher to give to the children certain ideals of correct 
 expression, the application of which will constitute the actual 
 work of correction. 
 
 It would be too much to expect that in the elementary school 
 individuality of style should be developed. If it be true that 
 the style is the man, it is impossible that there should be a 
 peculiarly distinctive style before there is a complete develop- 
 ment and assertion of the individual. It is a very rare thing 
 
228 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 to have a distinctive style of penmanship among children below 
 the secondary school. How much more rare, therefore, would 
 it be to find a child who has already developed a uniqueness of 
 literary expression. Three fundamental qualities of style may, 
 however, even though indirectly, be brought to the focalized 
 consciousness of the children. It is not necessary that the 
 principles of these qualities of style be impressed upon the chil- 
 dren nor is it even necessary or desirable that the children should 
 know the names of the qualities as such. It will be quite suf- 
 ficient for them to be required to put into actual use those forms 
 of expression which will result in the qualities desired. These 
 elements of style are the familiar ones known as clearness, 
 force, and elegance. The function of clearness is to enable 
 the writer to make himself understood; that of force, to hold 
 the attention or the interest of the reader; and that of elegance, 
 to please the reader. In other words, clearness will make an 
 appeal to the intellectual side, force to the emotions, and ele- 
 gance to the taste. From the very beginning of the work in 
 the study of the models in reading lessons, and in the teacher's 
 own estimate of the children's work, there should be reference 
 continually made to phrases and words which will give these 
 qualities. Clearness, of course, wUl readily appeal to the 
 children. Force and elegance are to be presented to them 
 through the actual cases where by the proper choice of phrase, 
 they will bring about the desired effects. 
 
 When we come, however, to the matter of formal correction 
 of pupils' work, we are brought face to face with one of the most 
 important problems in connection with composition. As has 
 already been suggested, it must carefully be borne in mind 
 that the object is not the reproduction of a perfect composi- 
 tion. It should be the aim of the teacher to develop in the 
 child a power of correction. Hence, there must, in the first 
 place, be some degree of progression in the work of correction. 
 It will be entirely useless to attempt to correct everything in 
 
THE CORRECTION OF COMPOSITIONS 229 
 
 every composition. No child should be expected to turn out an 
 absolutely perfect paper. If we are aiming to secure a habit of 
 correct expression, the children must be allowed to focalize upon 
 habits, one at a time, and not be asked to form twenty, thirty, 
 or forty different habits of correct expression simultaneously. 
 
 To select merely at random the different forms of speech 
 upon which the teacher should concentrate in any single month 
 or in any single period, would be totally arbitrary and an almost 
 hopeless task. If our work were not to a great extent deter- 
 mined by the exigencies of a large school system, we would say 
 that the teacher has merely to determine what is the most 
 common error in the class during any one exercise and to 
 concentrate upon that. In every properly graded course, 
 however, there should be, from, let us say, the second year 
 through the sixth, a carefully graded series of drills on errors 
 in common speech. For example in the third year, the emphasis 
 might be upon the singular and the plural verbs. In the fourth 
 year, it might be on the right use of comparatives and superla- 
 tives. In the fifth year, on the right use of tenses; and in the 
 sixth year, on the right use of pronouns. A fair sample of such 
 a graded course is that in use in the public schools in New York 
 City. 
 
 In the past, all work of this kind has been largely unproduc- 
 tive. That is to say, the teachers have worked at this matter of 
 correction with zeal and with earnestness; and yet results have 
 been far from commensurate with the amount of effort they 
 have put forth. The reason for this is not far to seek. With 
 the average teacher, the test of the successful teaching of a 
 drill upon one of the common errors is the ability of the child 
 to attack a number of sentences which contain examples of 
 this error, and to recast the sentences in correct form. As a 
 matter of fact, however, the real test of success should be the 
 power to use these forms correctly in the course of regular com- 
 position work. The average teacher measures her success in 
 
230 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 teaching by the work of the children when correct expression is 
 in the focus of their consciousness. The real test comes when 
 the expression of a vital content occupies the focus of conscious- 
 ness, while the desire to retain correctness of form is relegated 
 to the margin. 
 
 We need a series of exercises in which the children may 
 make use of what they have learned in formal drill lessons, 
 but make use in such a way as to duplicate as far as possible 
 the actual condition which characterizes the situation in life. 
 In other words, when the children are no longer in school they 
 will not be writing with their minds centered upon this rule 
 of grammar or that correct idiom. Their most vital interest 
 will be in what they are saying, and correct expression should 
 be a matter of habit to a great extent. There should be a feel- 
 ing for the right form without hesitating concerning its proper 
 use. The extent to which a child will be able to form this 
 desired habit of correct expression will be determined by the 
 extent to which there is a motive for the study of the correct 
 form. In the ordinary method, the teacher presents inductively 
 or deductively the correct form, has many examples, gives 
 continued drill and then expects the children always to use 
 the correct form in their written and spoken language. But 
 there has really been no vital motive for the study of the form 
 and, hence, the use of the correct form has never become woven 
 into the experience of the child. The result is that when he 
 writes or speaks, he does so with a complete disregard of all the 
 rules of correct expression so carefully drilled by the teacher. 
 
 It is suggested that a much better mode of procedure would 
 be one like the following: The graded cotu^se of study will re- 
 quire certain drills upon correct form up to the sixth year. The 
 teacher should be provided with two distinct lists. In the first 
 place, she should know what are the forms that must be taken 
 up in her own grade. Secondly, she should know what forms 
 have been taken up in the earlier grades. 
 
THE CORRECTION OF COMPOSITIONS 231 
 
 With the first named Hst, however, it would be a mistake, 
 although it is a common practice, to have the teacher take up 
 the first error in this list, to teach it, drill upon it, and then 
 ask the children carefully to observe the correct form when they 
 come to give expression to their thoughts. There is no reason 
 why a certain sequence should be arbitrarily adopted. The 
 order in which the forms are to be studied is determined only 
 by the needs of the children. If a number of children in the 
 writing of a composition make an error like, "He tried to do it 
 as good as he could," that is the time to take up the common 
 errors made by the careless use of adverbs for adjectives, and 
 vice versa. The incorrect form may be shown. If necessary, it 
 may be written on the blackboard. The correct form should 
 be put in its place and the reason for the correction should be 
 given. In the lower grades this reason cannot be given with any 
 degree of technical accuracy. In the higher grades if the study 
 of technical grammar has begun, the reasons are to be given 
 in the terminology that is in use in the study of grammar. The 
 point we are trying to make is simply this: The motive for 
 the study of the correct form should come from the feeling that 
 the children have that the incorrect form has occurred in many 
 of their compositions and that the correction of this form is 
 necessary if they are to write with accuracy and precision. 
 The advantage does not lie alone in the fact that we have really 
 supplied a motive. The application to the composition work 
 is direct and immediate, and there are more chances that there 
 will be a general use of this correct form in later composition. 
 
 The period for the study of this form should, of course, be 
 separate from the usual composition period. In the course of 
 the writing, the teacher walks around the room and notices 
 some one common error. If this is one that has already been 
 corrected in the earlier grades, the teacher should stop the work 
 of the class, call attention to the error, call upon the children 
 to recall the correct form as they learned it in an earlier grade, 
 
232 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 to give the reason for the correction, and to look through their 
 
 composition at once with a view to testing their own work in 
 
 the Hght of the freshly recalled knowledge. 
 
 / If the error noted by the teacher in her walk around the room, 
 
 / is one that has not yet been taken up in the course and is, in 
 
 I fact, set down for focalized study in a higher grade, the teacher 
 
 may give the correct form directly to the individual child or, 
 
 if necessary, to the entire class and go on with the work 
 
 without any attempt at explanation. 
 
 If, in the third place, the error noted by the teacher is one 
 that is part of her own grade work and has not yet been taken 
 up by the class, she should make note of the error and, if possi- 
 ble, copy sentences from different compositions which contain 
 examples of the mistake. With each copy she should write the 
 name of the pupil from whose composition the sentences were 
 taken. The period for the study of this form should come 
 between that devoted to the writing of the composition and the 
 period set aside for the class correction. During this period the 
 teacher should drill on the form, should give many examples, 
 among them the sentences copied from the children's com- 
 positions. Then the application of the work should be made. 
 
 It will be found desirable to have the compositions of the 
 children written either in a book to be known as the "Book of 
 Compositions," or kept in envelopes, one envelope for each child. 
 When the form has been taught, the teacher may call upon the 
 class to take out the envelope, or if they are in the teacher's 
 possession, the envelopes should be distributed. The pupils 
 then take out all the compositions written by them since the 
 beginning of the term, and look through them with a view to 
 finding out whether there are to be found any examples of the 
 error which has just been taken up in the work of the class. 
 If there are, the correction is to be made at once. Sometimes 
 it will be found advisable to have pupils correct compositions 
 other than their own. Sometimes compositions may be read 
 
THE CORRECTION OF COMPOSITIONS 233 
 
 aloud. As the work of the term goes onward, the number of 
 compositions in an envelope will become so great that it will 
 be impossible for the children to go through them all. The 
 pupils should, therefore, be encouraged to select as early as 
 possible what will be known as their masterpieces or best work, 
 those which it is their aim to whip into as nearly perfect form 
 as possible. When the period arrives for the application of the 
 principle of correct expression which has just been learned, the 
 children concentrate upon these compositions so that when 
 the work of the term is over, these should represent as 
 nearly perfect pieces of work as they can do. 
 
 In the higher grades this correlation between correct expres- 
 sion and correction of compositions should be made through 
 the medium of the study of grammar. One of the fundamental 
 purposes of English grammar is to give to the children a rational 
 basis for correct expression. It should, therefore, be the aim 
 of the teacher in connection with the study of each part of 
 speech, of each new inflection, and the like, to develop also some 
 law of sjmtax and to apply this law to the correction of the 
 children's compositions in some such way as that suggested in 
 connection with the drill on common errors of speech. 
 
 Much of the correction will of necessity be made by the 
 teacher; always, however, in the presence of the pupU. It is 
 a sheer waste of time for the teacher to make a great number 
 of corrections on a child's composition when the child is not 
 there to see the corrections made, to be questioned, and to be 
 led to see wherein he might improve his work. In the individ- 
 ual conference which the teacher will hold with the pupil, there 
 are three possible ways of correction. If the error which the 
 teacher sees is one that has already been taken up during the 
 term or in the lower class, a mere line under the incorrect form 
 or an X in the margin to show that there is an error on that 
 line, will be sufficient to call the attention of the child to the 
 mistake and to lead him to substitute the correct form. In 
 
234 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 all cases where the correction is made, the child should feel 
 free to draw a line through his work and to insert the correct 
 form. If the error is one that is based on some principle of 
 grammar already taught, the teacher may write in the margin 
 a word or two to suggest to the child the principle of grammar 
 that has been violated; and once more the correction should 
 be made by the child unaided. Finally, if the error is of a sort 
 that is beyond the knowledge of technical grammar which the 
 child already possesses, or is one of those to be taken up later 
 in the course, the teacher should merely insert the correct form 
 in full for the child. 
 
 The code of correction should be simple. Frequently a 
 criticism will be simply a question like "Why is this apostrophe 
 before the sf or "Why did you put this comma here?" or 
 "Why did you write this word with a capital?" Where the 
 error is indicated by a word written in the margin, this word 
 should not be too general; thus, "grammar" written in the 
 margin means absolutely nothing to the child. The suggestion 
 should be much more specific, such as, "agreement of subject 
 and predicate," "use of adjective," "case of pronovm," "tense 
 of verb," etc. In spelling, the error may be indicated by a line 
 drawn through the incorrect word; an omission, by the caret; 
 an error in capitalization, by a slanting line drawn through 
 the error; an error in punctuation, by an x at the exact point 
 of the error; a capital P will indicate the paragraph, while 
 a curved line from the last word of one paragraph to the first 
 word of the next, that there should have been no paragraph 
 division. 
 
 Summary. — The aim of the correction of compositions is not so 
 much to secure a perfect product as it is to form the habit of self- 
 criticism in the child. As a basis, pupils should be made fanuliar with 
 correct idioms and should later formulate principles which will guide 
 them in improving their own work. No drill in the correction of 
 errors is complete imtU the child has had an opportunity to use the 
 
THE CORRECTION OF COMPOSITIONS 235 
 
 correct form in his written or oral work. The correct idioms to be 
 taught in the school course should be carefully arranged by grades. 
 Within each grade, any particular idiom should be taken up only 
 when its use in incorrect form has shown itself to be common in the 
 class. Wherever possible, the course should be correlated with the 
 study of technical grammar. By reviewing earher compositions of 
 the class, sufficient driU in correction and repetition of the right 
 form may be assured. Correction to be of greatest value must be 
 personal and must result not from the dictation of the teacher but 
 from the self -activity of the pupil. A simple code of correction shoxxld 
 be devised. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 COMPOSITION 
 
 Composition — Suggestions and Devices 
 
 The teacher will find that her most serious problem will be 
 to give the children enough opportunity to write. Too fre- 
 quently the work done by the children is restricted to one 
 or two compositions during the week. It will be found valuable 
 for the teacher to have informal composition work every day 
 in the year. If a teacher wUl examine her ordinary plan of 
 work, she will find that she is spending much more time teach- 
 ing about language than she is in giving the children an oppor- 
 tunity to use what she is teaching in the course of their regular 
 written work. We take up rules and constructions and we seem 
 to forget that the only way that a child will ever learn to use 
 correct language is by using it. We take up the study of quota- 
 tion marks, and we think our work is complete when the chil- 
 dren have done a regular dictation exercise involving the use 
 of the quotation mark, and have produced fairly accurate 
 results. We teach the use of the apostrophe, and we give sets 
 of words and ask the children to write these words in the singu- 
 lar and plural possessive. We give drill on the spelling of 
 words, and we give much less practise in the use of these words 
 in regular composition work. It must be remembered that 
 practically every dictation lesson is deductive, and that a 
 correct application is indefinitely easier when the principle is 
 held in the focus of consciousness than it would be if the center 
 of attention were directed to the content and the principle rele- 
 gated to the margin. 
 
COMPOSITION — SUGGESTIONS AND DEVICES 237 
 
 It is here suggested that every child have a composition 
 book for informal work. This should be in addition to the regu- 
 larly recognized work taken up in connection with the study of 
 the models. The ingenuity of the teacher will suggest a name 
 to be given to this book. Titles such as these may be used: 
 My Diary, Interesting Occurrences in the Class Room, What I 
 am Thinking About, What I am Doing, What We are Learning, 
 Stories of School Life, My Daily Calendar, Interesting Lessons, 
 A Handy Book of Information, etc. The children should be 
 practically unrestricted in their choice of subjects. They may 
 enter a reproduction of a reading lesson, a review of some book 
 they have read, a summary of a story told by the teacher or 
 read by the children, reports on current topics, reports on topics 
 assigned to the class for investigation and study in connection 
 with geography, history, etc., with or without the text book, 
 reports on things seen on the way to or from school, descrip- 
 tions of experiments, descriptions of pictiues, narratives of 
 personal experiences, answers to questions set by the teacher 
 as research questions, a transcription of some proverb with an 
 explanation of what the proverb means. 
 
 In the higher grades, the children may be given a set of 
 readers from a lower grade, and they may be asked to rewrite 
 the short stories in longer form, or to condense the stories into 
 a few well-written paragraphs. The teacher may prepare long 
 sentences and ask the children to condense them into ten-word 
 telegrams. PupUs may be asked to write out a story in the 
 form of a series of letters, or a series of telegrams, so that 
 the succession of letters or telegrams will tell the story. The 
 teacher may give the children a number of words like crow, lead, 
 razor, gold, ox, bee, grass, thunder, vinegar, lamb, line, glass, 
 sky, honey, lightning, snail, iron, snow, black, clock, and ask 
 them to make comparisons. For instance, they will write a 
 sentence which will tell that something was as black as a crow, 
 or as white as snow, or that some one was as busy as a bee, and 
 
238 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 so on. Again, there may be a story told by means of the tele- 
 phonic conversation in which the reader must infer what is 
 being said at the other end of the telephone from what the child 
 reports as the conversation heard at this end. 
 
 The incentives for such composition work will be, first, the 
 interest in giving expression to the subject itself; secondly, 
 the praise of the teacher; thirdly, the placing of the best com- 
 position book on the wall, hanging it by a ribbon or a string from 
 a hook so that it will be easily seen by the principal or by a 
 visitor; fourthly, the publication of the best work in the school 
 paper, or reading the best compositions to the assembled 
 school. Occasionally the work of the children should be looked 
 at by the teacher. She may select some child whose work is 
 the best for the week, and when a visitor or the principal comes 
 into the room and asks for examples of the composition work, 
 the teacher may call upon this boy to read his best work. Every 
 boy will know what is his masterpiece, and will take pride in 
 reading it to visitors. 
 
 Additional suggestions of subjects for informal work to be 
 done by the children in their composition books are submitted. 
 
 I. Unfinished Stories. 
 
 In the higher grades, when the children have learned how 
 to reproduce stories, when they have mastered the difficulties 
 of an outline, and when they know how to develop a story from 
 an outline, they should be given the beginning of some story 
 which the teacher will write in a half-dozen lines or so on a piece 
 of oak-tag, and put in some conspicuous place in the room. 
 The informal work for that day will be the finishing of the story. 
 This, and all similar work, should be done at odd moments, 
 before nine, before one, in the study period. It must be ac- 
 knowledged that there will be a tendency to free communica- 
 tion. There need be no fear, however, that this will result in 
 a weakening of the discipline. Communication is a natvual 
 instinct in children, and where it is used for class purposes, 
 
COMPOSITION — SUGGESTIONS AND DEVICES 239 
 
 there can be no question that it will serve to build up a better 
 spirit in the class. These stories, of course, should be adapted 
 to the grade. There will be individuality in the work, and 
 if, after every child has had an opportunity to write his own 
 version of the story, the teacher were to read the story as 
 it really was completed by the author, the children will have 
 an opportunity of making individual criticism of their own 
 powers of invention. 
 
 2. Imaginary Adventures. 
 
 Children may write on — My Trip in a Balloon; What I 
 saw from the Conning Tower of our Submarine; A Hair-breadth 
 Escape; and so on. Many of our school subjects for composi- 
 tion are too matter of fact, and the result is that the impulse 
 to imaginative creation is satisfied by the children through the 
 reading of dime novels and the like. We may be able to do 
 something of value by giving the children opportunity to write 
 on subjects that give free rein to their romancing tendency. 
 
 5. Descriptions oj Pictures in Poems. 
 
 From the poems studied by the children as memory gems, 
 they should be encouraged to select pictures which they will 
 describe in full detail. Sometimes they may find and put into 
 their composition book a picture which seems to fit the descrip- 
 tion of the poem most closely. The composition may be devoted 
 to showing the points of resemblance. 
 
 4. The Picture Gallery. 
 
 Here the children should attempt to describe the appear- 
 ance of some favorite character, or of some noted person 
 at some important point in his career. For instance, "How 
 did Washington look as he took the oath of office? " "How did 
 Nathan Hale look just before he was executed?" "Describe 
 Paul Revere as he looked while waiting for the signal." 
 
 5. Imaginary Autobiographies. 
 
 This topic is touched on in many books on Composition, and 
 need not be explained in full here. 
 
240 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 6. Dramatic Compositions. 
 
 Arrange with two or more boys to have them make up a 
 little play, keeping its central idea secret from the rest of the 
 class. Have them act the play in pantomime before the class, 
 and let the exercise in the composition book be the writing 
 out of the story told by the boys in their acting. 
 
 7. Moving Pictures. 
 
 In these days when the moving picture show plays so large 
 a part in the experiences of our city children, it will be found 
 interesting to have the children write in their composition book 
 the story of some play which they saw through pictures at the 
 show. It may be objected that this will put a premium on 
 having the children visit the show. In answer it need scarcely 
 be said that there is very little danger that we, as teachers, 
 will put into the minds of the children a desire not already 
 present. 
 
 8. The Class Newspaper. 
 
 It will be possible only to touch upon this point. The use 
 of the mimeograph, and the printing of enough copies to supply 
 every member of the class, and to give one to each of the other 
 classes of the grade, is all that will be necessary. The chil- 
 dren will be able to get ideas for a good breezy newspaper. 
 
 p. Geography. 
 
 Imaginary trips to different countries will be valuable and 
 will, moreover, furnish an excellent opportunity to give a review 
 of work in geography. 
 
 Almost any book on English composition will give to the 
 teacher many more examples of interesting subjects that may 
 be given to the children. A dozen or more may be put on the 
 board at the beginning of each week, so that the children will 
 feel free to make a selection. Moreover, it should be impressed 
 upon the class that it is not at all necessary for them to select 
 as the subject of their composition work any topic on the list 
 given by teacher. The aim should be to have the pupils feel 
 
COMPOSITION— SUGGESTIONS AND DEVICES 241 
 
 that this work is to be the natural and unrestrained expression 
 of their own ideas. Finally, it must be pointed out that there 
 should be no limit set on the length or on the number. In 
 every case, the teacher should insist that the form be good, 
 penmanship careful, all work done in ink, and so on. But it 
 would be a great mistake on the one hand to insist that the 
 compositions reach a certain length, or on the other hand, to 
 demand that there be no composition beyond a certain length. 
 Children should feel that a composition should be just as long 
 as is necessary to express completely their ideas, and that it 
 should be no longer. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 GRAMMAR 
 
 General Considerations 
 
 It is significant to note that there is a pronounced tendency 
 in many quarters to question whether the study of grammar 
 should have any place at all in the elementary curriculum. 
 This doubt is by no means a new thing in education; but at 
 no earlier period in the course of development has it been so 
 permanent or been advocated by so many leading thinkers. 
 It will cast much light on the point of view we are to adopt in 
 our treatment of this subject if we enter somewhat into detail 
 in discussing this question with a view to ascertaining why the 
 study has fallen into disrepute, and wherein reforms are neces- 
 sary, if indeed we are to hold that grammar should remain a 
 part of the course of study. 
 
 In all systems of education in which the aim is something 
 apart from participation in real life, the content as well as the 
 expressive side of the educative process is found in books; and 
 hence, language and the formal aspects of language become 
 important subjects of study. In China, for example, the right 
 understanding of the classics and the faithful reproduction of 
 their style are the aims which the so-called culture strove to 
 reaKze. To whatever extent it may be said that the Chinese 
 language has a grammar, the study of this grammar was the 
 most vital part of the education of the time. It is true that 
 owing to the peculiar nature of the tongue, grammar resolves 
 itself rather into a study of location and combination, but 
 still the content of the educative process is foimd in books, the 
 
GRAMMAR 243 
 
 expression of the activity of the learner is in the form of written 
 exercises, the main task he has to perform is to overcome the 
 difi&culties of diction, arrangement, and style. It is altogether 
 probable that the cultured Chinese speak with a greater degree 
 of purity than do those who have had none of this training. 
 But it must be realized that this increased correctness comes 
 rather as a concomitant effect of the study of the language. 
 At no time was the attainment of this power of cultured speech 
 used as an impelling motive in the process of learning. At 
 no time was the application to spoken language made the test 
 of the real comprehension of the study of the classics. As a 
 matter of fact the real test of results was given in a field alto- 
 gether separated from real life. At no time was written lan- 
 guage considered a mark of power; the ability to speak well was 
 never tested. In such a scheme of education the study of the 
 formal aspects of language inevitably plays an important part. 
 
 We have treated in this detail the characteristics of the t5^i- 
 cal aspects of the relation of formal study to the general educa- 
 tive process in the case of Chinese education, because to a large 
 degree this relation will be foimd to be the characteristic in 
 any system of education which finds its inspiration in books. 
 In that period of Roman education which is represented by 
 Quintihan, the aim was to produce orators who could speak 
 with perfect accuracy; and although to a certain extent Quin- 
 tihan is different from some other writers of this period in that 
 he lays much stress upon the content of the speeches, even he 
 shows in every step in his system that his aim was to secure 
 formal and technical accuracy. 
 
 It may be well to analyze in a brief way his method of teach- 
 ing reading, composition, and grammar. He adopts the 3301- 
 thetic method; that is to say, he has the child begin at the 
 age of three with the study of letters. At once, this puts the 
 stamp of formalism upon his entire method. If the progress 
 which has been made in education since the time of Froebel 
 
244 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 stands for anything, it means that the educative process finds 
 its rational beginning in the ideas and instinctive activities of 
 children. Applied to language, this implies that the start- 
 ing point should be the expression in language, at first spoken, 
 later written, of thoughts revealing the developing person- 
 ality of the child. The method which we have suggested for 
 the teaching of reading and the advantages of an approach 
 through stories over an approach synthetically through the 
 study of letters, vowels, and words, illustrates what is meant 
 by the effect which the new point of view should have upon our 
 methods. We need not refer at length to those instances in 
 the method of Quintilian which show us that here and there 
 he had essentially correct ideas of child-nature. While to-day 
 we realize that instinctive activities are the keynote of all 
 method, Quintilian used them only in the employment of 
 devices. For example, he used the play instinct for the pur- 
 pose of fixing the shapes of letters. He had ivory blocks and 
 letters cut in wooden blocks, the grooves followed by a stylus 
 held in the hands of the children. From letters he proceeded 
 to the study of syllables, drilling on these so that the children 
 might pronounce what had gone before while the eye took in 
 what followed. When he came to the study of words, he again 
 unconsciously emphasized the formal attitude that he had 
 adopted in the study of the language. He insisted that the 
 children should be called upon to write imcommon words, on 
 the plea that if they wrote those words which frequently occur, 
 they would be wasting time. In the later stages, when poetry 
 was studied, it is true that some attempt was made at under- 
 standing the content; but the real aim was to analyze the 
 construction of the poem in addition to memorizing it, to pro- 
 ceed to a study of the parts of speech, the prosody, and the 
 choice of words. 
 
 It is quite probable that a method of this sort will produce 
 formal accuracy in the use of language. That is to say, this 
 
GRAMMAR 245 
 
 is a method apparently adequate to meet its purposes. But 
 in education the product is never the most important element. 
 It has well been said that with unHmited patience, with the 
 proper amount of external control, the normal child can be 
 taught to do anything. There are, however, two other factors 
 which enter into the problem, and which are of tremendous im- 
 portance. In the first place, how much waste of energy is 
 there in the process of compelling children to do things which 
 are not naturally expressive of their developing personality; 
 and secondly, to what extent does a method like that outlined 
 give the children power to attack situations different from 
 those through which they gained their knowledge? Power 
 to meet the new and economy in the attainment of what we 
 possess are set at naught by any method of language teaching 
 which is based upon a logic of the subject. 
 
 In the Middle Ages, with varjdng forms, we find educational 
 systems that have their source entirely, or almost entirely, 
 in books. This is true throughout the period of the Church 
 Fathers, throughout that of the Schoolmen, and in that phase 
 of realism which has been called "humanistic realism." It is 
 true that in the broader himianism, the study of the forms of 
 language was subordinated to the comprehension of the con- 
 tent, but the inevitable change soon took place. Whenever 
 any system of education derives its inspiration from books, 
 sooner or later, the entire method of that education will become 
 formal, its method based upon the analysis of the style of the 
 language found in the books, and its aim the reproduction of 
 that style with a minimum expenditure of energy. Formal 
 teaching is always easier for the teacher than that which waits 
 upon the development of the child-mind; and accordingly, 
 in the history of education we find that the broader humanism 
 soon gave way to the narrower phases. 
 
 In the northern part of Europe this ideal was crystallized 
 by Sturm, and the method which he applied to the teaching 
 
246 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 of Latin has had its influence on the teaching of language even 
 to the present time. In fact, we may go even further. All 
 mistakes made in the treatment of Enghsh grammar in our 
 schools to-day are due to the persistence of the Sturm ideal. 
 If there is any objection at all to the presence of grammar 
 in the course of study it is because the subject is looked upon 
 from the formal aspect; it is because an attempt is made to 
 reach a certain formal accuracy piu-ely in a synthetic way; 
 it is because a knowledge of rules, of modes of analysis, and of 
 parsing, is considered a desirable thing apart from the applica- 
 tion of these rules. 
 
 It is true that an attempt is made to apply to the speech 
 of the children all that has been learned in grammar. But it 
 is one thing to secure good results when the mind is focalized 
 upon a process, and it is quite another to attain similar results 
 when the center of attention is upon the content. The accuracy 
 which was easy of attainment when there was a concentration 
 of consciousness upon this process becomes a very difficult 
 thing to achieve when the process is marginated. Every 
 teacher has met a situation of this sort. A class is able to imder- 
 stand a rule of syntax, is able to apply this rule with absolute 
 accuracy in the period devoted to the correction of sentences. 
 Yet, in the written compositions and in the oral work of the 
 children, held perhaps on the same day that the driU in syntax 
 has taken place, they will, with utter disregard of what has 
 just been learned, commit the very errors which would at 
 once appeal to them as things to be avoided were their atten- 
 tion directed exclusively to these forms as such. 
 
 What then is to be our attitude toward the teaching of 
 grammar? Are we to say, that because there is so little carry- 
 ing over of power from the formal study to power in correct 
 expression, the formal study is altogether a waste process in 
 the elementary school? Hardly. It is true that all the formal 
 study in the world will never make a man speak the language 
 
GRAMMAR 247 
 
 of a cultured person. On the other hand, mere acquaintance 
 with correct forms through models presented by the teacher 
 in her own speech, and through the reading of the best litera- 
 ture, while it makes for a higher degree of perfection than 
 could be attained were these models not presented, will never 
 produce a perfect use of language. We have referred a number 
 of times to the fallacy implied in the theory of incidental teach- 
 ing. If a child is really to know a thing, whether this be a 
 matter of form or a matter of content, he must concentrate 
 upon that thing. We may call it focalization, as the psy- 
 chologists do, or absorption and reflection as the pedagogues 
 do, but we must recognize from the outset that only that is 
 learned upon which consciousness is centered. Even a habit 
 which is based upon activities diflferent in the slightest degree 
 from the natiural tendency of the child, can never be economi- 
 cally formed unconsciously. It is one thing to speak with a 
 reasonable degree of correctness because one has been accus- 
 tomed to hear only correct forms in the course of one's 
 development. It is another to be able to rationalize the use 
 of these correct forms and in that way to extend one's mastery 
 over expressions which have not come within the limit of one's 
 inunediate experience. It is the second kind of training that 
 the study of grammar should aim to give^ 
 
 But the mere study of form, that is of rules, and of modes 
 of analysis and parsing, does not necessarily imply a carrying 
 over into application. Whether this study will or will not 
 find an inevitable and natural usefulness in the ordinary lan- 
 guage of the children depends upon the method of approach. 
 Children will speak grammatically, that is, they will speak with 
 due regard to the rules which are based upon the best usage, 
 only if immediately below the level of consciousness there is 
 within easy recall a knowledge of rules derived from the lan- 
 guage they are employing. That is to say, there must be an 
 immediate and close association between every rule of grammar 
 
248 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 and the language that is used. In oiir ordinary teaching, we 
 attempt to get this kind of association by having the children 
 study some rule. Then by giving them a series of twenty, 
 thirty, or forty incorrect sentences connected with their lessons 
 or their average thinking, we call upon them to apply the rule 
 in the correction of the sentences. As a matter of fact, the real 
 center of this work is the rule, and the application is nothing 
 but an excrescence, something foisted upon the rule because 
 of some ulterior motive in the mind of the teacher, and not 
 because of some inherent native demand of the rule itself, or 
 some normal fimctioning of the expressive personality of the 
 child. 
 
 That the step of application is necessary, no one would dare 
 to dispute; but whether the application should be of this par- 
 ticular sort is a matter open to serious question. And even 
 were the application of a different kind, even if we were to 
 make it more vital to the children, we still should have met but 
 one-half of our problem. We may rightly ask why were these 
 rules selected for study? What determined the order of their 
 development? Why was just this rule selected and no other? 
 We should be forced to confess that our selection was based upon 
 a more or less rightly conceived notion of the order of difficulty; 
 that is to say, solely upon a logic of the subject. Every sub- 
 ject in the course of study carries with it an inevitable logic 
 which will, to a greater or less extent, determine the method of 
 its presentation. In fact, we may go so far as to say that the 
 systematized mass of knowledge in any branch as we possess 
 it to-day has come as a result of the work of the race-mind, 
 and that, therefore, the logic of a subject to some extent is 
 representative of the psychological development of the race 
 in its mastery of that subject. But whatever of general truth 
 there may be in this statement it would not be well to apply 
 it in too much detail in our attack upon any subject in the ele- 
 mentary school curriculum. We must never lose sight of the 
 
GRAMMAR 249 
 
 fact that the real center of the educative process is the child 
 with his developing ideas, his instinctive tendencies, and his 
 functioning personality. This must be always the main door 
 through which we enter upon any step in teaching. 
 
 What we have said thus far by way of introduction leads 
 us then inevitably to this general statement of the method of 
 procedure to be followed in the teaching of grammar. We 
 should start from the actual language used by the children as 
 one form of expression for the ideas which are ever forming 
 in their minds. To a certain extent, because of the models 
 set for them by the teachers and met in the course of their 
 reading, this language will be correct. That is to say, it will 
 be in accordance with the conventional usage of modern society. 
 In many other particulars, however, there will be errors. 
 
 Sometimes these errors will be due to psychological causes. 
 Let us take the use of the pronoun I instead of me in such 
 phrases as "between you and I" or "John gave it to him and 
 I." Wherever the expressing personality is the center of 
 thought, it has largely been the center of what James calls 
 a "substantive state," that is, a state where the ego is focused 
 upon. In the great majority of cases it is so because the ego 
 has been trying to express itself. That is to say, the pronoun 
 used has, in these cases, been /. The earliest phases of child 
 activity are characterized by an expression of the self. The 
 child tells what it has done rather than what has been done 
 to it, and, therefore, there is a much more frequent use of the 
 nominative case (of the pronoun 7) than of any other form. 
 Consequently, by the law of habit superinduced by constant 
 repetition, the pronoun I will be used wherever there is an 
 attempt to express the personaUty of the speaker. This error 
 may, therefore, be ascribed to a psychological cause. 
 
 Again, let us take the case in which the children, in using 
 a sentence that has two singular subjects connected by and, 
 use the singular form of the verb. The power to group two 
 
250 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 statements is late in developing. When the child says, for 
 example, "The bean and the pea is growing in our window- 
 box," the child concentrates first upon the idea bean, and then 
 upon the idea pea, and in the scarcely measurable interval of 
 time between the utterance of the word pea and the statement 
 of the predicate, that is, "is growing in our window-box," 
 the idea of hean has faded somewhat and the child holds in 
 mind only the second idea. Consequently, as far as conscious- 
 ness is concerned, the child is engaged merely in expressing the 
 idea, "the pea is growing in our window-box." It is only 
 much later in development that the child is able to synthesize 
 and to group these in the interval between the statement of 
 the subject and the statement of the predicate. It is only 
 in a later period that the child is able to see both the ideas 
 grouped together, to realize that two objects are spoken of, 
 and that, therefore, the plural verb is called for. 
 
 It may be said that if this is a characteristic of child-mind, 
 it would be useless to attempt to teach the plural form of the 
 verb with the connected subject imtil the child has developed 
 sufficiently to be able to group the ideas of individuals under 
 the idea of two. But it is just at this point that the study 
 of grammar will be a help, for by directing attention to this 
 particular form, we may hasten and facilitate the process of 
 grouping. 
 
 To cite another case which contributes to the common errors 
 found in the speech of children, let us take the sentence, "He 
 don't know what he is doing." Here we may say that the 
 error is due to a social cause. We must not forget that, after 
 all, the time spent by the child alone is small compared with 
 that portion of his life which he spends with his comrades and in 
 the larger life around him. If the speech of those at home and 
 of his playmates on the street is incorrect, he will hear many 
 expressions which, by the canons of good usage, are incorrect. 
 Simply by reason of their number and of the frequency of 
 
GRAMMAR 251 
 
 repetition, they will furnish him with a model that he will 
 more or less consciously imitate. It is the function of grammar 
 to correct the errors committed by the children because of the 
 language they hear at home and on the street, and to apply to 
 these solecisms rules derived from the best usage. 
 
 Summarizing then, it will be seen that no matter how much 
 we may attempt to give the children none but perfect models 
 in the school, for psychological and for social reasons there 
 may grow up certain forms which are at variance with what 
 is usually considered correct usage. Starting from these, and 
 using them as the basis for instruction, all work should proceed. 
 
 From the inspection of many such examples, children may be 
 led to see what is the incorrect form. The teacher then sup- 
 plies the correct one, and leaves the children to formulate a 
 reason for the correction. From this will develop the rules of 
 syntax. The immediate application of these rules should be 
 to other expressions used by the children either in speech or 
 in writing. In this way, we have brought about what we be- 
 lieve to be a method characteristic of the best teaching of the 
 formal aspects of language. The rule is never taught as a 
 thing in itself; it is never given except on the basis of the 
 language used by the children. On the other hand, the rule 
 is never left as a thing by itself; it is always applied to the 
 language of the children. 
 
 Summary. — As ordinarily understood, the aim of the teaching 
 of technical grammar is to assure formal accuracy in speech and in 
 writing. This aim may be secured by isolating form from content 
 and concentrating upon technique and the principles underlying cor- 
 rect technique. Such a procedure is wastefvd because (i) it does 
 not employ an urgent motive which wUI make the learning process 
 easier; (2) it does not insure the carrying over of proficiency from 
 the theory to the practice. The study of grammar, Uke the study of 
 technique and of habits of action which are to operate in the mar- 
 gin of consciousness, must at some point in the learning process be 
 
252 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 focalized upon. The order of development is to some extent to be 
 determined by the logic of the subject. The starting point should 
 be the actual language used by the children in the expression of 
 their ideas. The development of the prmciples should be inductive. 
 The appUcation should be to the speech and the written work of 
 the child. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 GRAMMAR (Continued) 
 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 From the moment that the teacher begins to place empha- 
 sis upon the form of expression of the children as regards 
 correctness of idiom, completeness of statement, and the 
 hke, at that very moment the teaching in formal grammar 
 begins. As has already been suggested, the aim is first to have 
 the child, by imitation, by conscious effort, and by direct form, 
 acquire habits of correct utterance, and later to analyze his 
 own speech so as to form general principles which will be of 
 value to him in giving a rational basis for what was first blind 
 imitation. In the lowest grade of the elementary school, the 
 teacher may well insist that the answers given by the children 
 to the questions shall be in the form of complete sentences. 
 
 It will be found helpful if the work in the conversation lessons 
 be carried on in such a way that the children ask questions 
 which are to be answered by other children rather than that 
 they remain continually in the attitude of giving information. 
 The asking of a question implies the previous formulation of the 
 expected answer in the mind of the one who asks the ques- 
 tion, and calls for a focalization upon such a form of question 
 as will bring out the answer expected. The question, there- 
 fore, is a much more valuable and vital means of language 
 training than the answer Paradoxical as it is, the early teach- 
 ing values error much more highly than it does correctness. 
 It is the aim of the teacher to form right habits, and this can 
 be done only if the teacher knows what are the common errors 
 made by the children. Any devices which will call forth 
 
254 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 natural and spontaneous utterance from the children, which 
 will lead them to forget the artificiality that usually character- 
 izes all their school speech, which will make them depend upon 
 themselves, will reproduce within the class room conditions 
 like those which exist on the street, and may lead children to 
 speak with the freedom that they exercise when they are not 
 under immediate supervision. 
 
 The teacher should always bear in mind that the formation 
 of a habit is a purely individual matter. It is not a question 
 of class instruction except where the habit refers to a detail of 
 school routine. It would be well if the teacher kept on cards 
 lists of the particularly persistent errors made by individual 
 children: errors which the utmost expenditure of effort on his 
 part does not seem to correct. When a child leaves one class 
 to go to the next higher one, this card may be sent to the 
 next teacher, who will add new errors committed by the child, 
 and who will on the other hand cross out those which tend 
 to disappear. 
 
 It may be suggested at this point that some of the errors 
 made by children, like some of the instincts which they show 
 in the process of their development, have a tendency to die of 
 their own accord. For example, in the lowest grades the 
 teacher is driven almost distracted by the flabby "and" and 
 "and so" sentence structure of the children. As a matter of 
 fact there is scarcely any need of correcting this habit. It 
 is true that the teacher should at times make a perfunctory 
 attempt to correct the children, but this will be done merely 
 to stamp her own disapproval upon the expression. It is 
 not to be done so continually as to lead to an undue em- 
 phasis upon the error. As the child grows older, he will, 
 through the force of models that he meets in his school life and 
 in his reading, drop this particular habit. It is true that this 
 form of construction sometimes persists in the adult, but it is 
 probably due to temperamental causes. 
 
GRAMMAR — CORRECTION OF ERRORS 255 
 
 Beginning with the second half of the first year, the formal 
 work on the correct forms of some of the incorrect expressions 
 common to the class may be made the basis of drills. Care 
 should be taken to have these forms grow out of the actual 
 speech of the children. The conversation lesson as such 
 should never be interrupted for the purpose of any extended 
 correction on the part of the teacher. No lesson should be too 
 long, nor should any attempt be made at exhaustive treatment. 
 Wherever the child speaks for the purpose of giving expression 
 to individual experiences, the language should be corrected in 
 such a way as not to interrupt the steady flow of the thought. 
 
 In places where certain children have made use of a sentence 
 which is particularly good from the standpoint of clearness or 
 brevity, the teacher may interrupt with an approving word, 
 and may repeat the sentence given by the child so as to em- 
 phasize it. It may even be well to write such a sentence on 
 the blackboard. When the teacher notices a particular error 
 occurring with a reasonable degree of frequency in the state- 
 ments of the children, that error may be made the basis for a 
 regular drill on the correct form. 
 
 It should carefully be noted that this work begins only with 
 the second half of the first year. Due regard for the signifi- 
 cance of this later introduction will give the teacher a notion 
 of the attitude she should adopt in this work. In the lowest 
 grade, the teacher should note the errors made by the children, 
 but she should not forget that the fundamental aim is to 
 secure spontaneity and free expression. If she attempts to 
 make unduly emphatic reference to the errors made by a 
 child, she will embarrass the child, and may cause a certain 
 hesitation to develop in speech. 
 
 In the lower grade there should be simply "the gentle patient 
 substitution of the right expression for the wrong one, with- 
 out insisting upon the child's knowing that a correction was 
 necessary. It is by constant imitation only that the child 
 
256 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 will acquire the habit of correct expression." When once, 
 however, the drill on correct form has begun, it should be 
 constant. It is a great mistake to reserve it only for the 
 regular lesson. On the one hand, the teacher should remember 
 that misplaced emphasis on form, when the aim is the develop- 
 ment of content, will result in a less satisfactory rendition of 
 the content. On the other hand, to allow errors to be made 
 by children in the course of their speech without making any 
 attempt to correct those errors, or to lead the pupils to see that 
 the expressions they have used are incorrect, will separate the 
 drill on correct form from its natural and inevitable applica- 
 tion to the language of the children. 
 
 No reason need be given for the correction. Mere blind 
 imitation on the part of the children will residt in fixing the 
 correct form if there has been proper focalization upon that 
 form, and if the teacher has given svifficient opportunity for 
 repetition. At no time in the course, even through the eighth 
 year, should this kind of work be completely discontinued. 
 In the higher grades, when certain of the rules which have been 
 evolved from the philosophy of our language have been taught 
 to the children, the basis of the correction may be, not the 
 mere blind imitation of a model set by the teacher, but rather 
 the application of a rule already developed by the children 
 themselves. The following quotation from an article on 
 "Language Work for the First Five Years," by Margaret 
 Knox, will show how the work is to be carried on in this informal 
 way. The play or game element may be safely dropped after 
 the third year. 
 
 "With the very little folks select a story in which there is 
 frequent repetition of the same expression, as for example, 
 the story of 'The Old Woman and Her Pig.' The child begins 
 to tell the story thus: 'The rat beginned (or begun) to gnaw 
 the rope.' The teacher gives the proper expression, saying, 
 'The rat began to gnaw the rope.' The child accepts it, and 
 
GRAMMAR— CORRECTION OF ERRORS 257 
 
 goes on with the story, using the correct expression ten or a 
 dozen times in the next minute. What better exercise could 
 there be for the fixing of that correct form? 'Cock Robin' 
 is a story that gives opportunity for the repetition of 'said' 
 instead of the ilUterate 'says/ for the use of 'I saw,' instead 
 of 'I seen,' and also for correct use of the pronoun 'I' instead 
 of 'me.'" 
 
 Or a game may be devised which provides opportunity for 
 reiteration of the form which we desire to impress; as, for 
 example, the game which for the want of a better name let 
 us call the "I saw" box. The teacher wishes to correct the 
 "I seen" habit. She has on her desk a box filled with all sorts 
 of objects. These she holds up before the class in rapid succes- 
 sion, then hides them, calling upon the little folks to tell what 
 they saw. 
 
 Teacher: "What did you see?" 
 
 Child: "I seen a top," or "I sawn a top," or "I sawr a top." 
 
 Teacher: "I saw a top. What did you see?" calling on the 
 next child. Noting the correction that his teacher has made, 
 he answers, "I saw a ball"; in this way, there is repetition of 
 "I saw" until the article held up is not recognized. In the 
 excitement of answering, some child is again trapped into 
 making the "I seen" mistake; here is another chance for 
 the teacher to use the correct expression. In such a game the 
 opportunity for using "I saw" has occurred perhaps twenty 
 times or more. By devices of this sort, which hold the atten- 
 tion of the child through pleasant interest, the correct form 
 is unconsciously fixed in the child's mind, and will find expres- 
 sion in his speech. 
 
 The teacher should listen to the language of the class at 
 all times and should note the mistakes. She should select 
 the most glaring of these, and make them the subject of drills. 
 Her ingenuity will be taxed to devise new and interesting 
 ways of conducting these, but they should not be allowed to 
 
258 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 lapse on that account. The work should be systematic and 
 continuous. 
 
 Then, again, she may have simple repetition of the correct 
 form without any so-called drill. By simply correcting over 
 and over again the mistake as it occurs, always kindly, always 
 patiently, not with the irritated "Don't say this or that," 
 but — 
 
 "Can I do this?" 
 
 "Yes, if you say 'May I.'" 
 
 "I ain't got no pencil." 
 
 "You shall have one if you say 'I have no pencil.'" 
 
 "This example is awful hard." 
 
 "It is very — what did you say?" 
 
 There are, after all, not so many errors of speech to which 
 we can give our attention in these early years. These few, 
 however, we must attack unweariedly, and let the rest go 
 until technical grammar steps in to shoulder the responsibility. 
 If this work is not left to chance, but is taken up systematically 
 and continuously, giving it a recognized place in the day's 
 program, there will be marked improvement in the child's 
 language. 
 
 In the third year, the drill on correct forms of expression 
 may profitably follow a regular course. In the New York Course 
 of Study, for example, this year is given to the study of the use 
 of "is" and "are," "was" and "were," "has" and "have," 
 the use of the parts of "do, see, come, and go"; while such 
 exercises are given in sentence construction as will afford prac- 
 tice in forming the plurals of noims, including a few common 
 irregular forms. The method of teaching really resolves itself 
 into the employment of devices which will keep up interest and 
 will afford practically unlimited opportunities for the repeated 
 use of the correct form. Once more it is to be emphasized that 
 there is to be almost no reference to reasons for the correction. 
 
 In a way, however, the teacher may make use of certain 
 
GRAMMAR — CORRECTION OF ERRORS 259 
 
 principles of concord and of grammatical use which will form 
 the basis of later formal study. For example, the use of the 
 singular and plural forms of the verbs may easily be explained 
 by having the children see that where they are speaking of but 
 one thing, they use "is" or "has"; and that where they are 
 speaking of more than one, they use "are," "were," or "have." 
 But the mode of approach should be made through the constant 
 repetition of the correct forms, and the children, by comparison 
 of many sentences, and by constant use of the correct forms, 
 and by untiring correction by the teacher, should be led 
 to formulate for themselves the principle of concord that is 
 exemplified by these forms of expression. 
 
 When the plurals of nouns are taken up, the teacher need 
 not use the technical word. In some locaHties, however, 
 where English is a native rather than a foreign tongue, chil- 
 dren may become accustomed to the use of the word "plural," 
 understanding that the word means more than one. 
 
 The fourth year may be given up to drill on the part of irregu- 
 lar verbs in frequent use, and on the comparative and superla- 
 tive forms of adjectives. In general, the teacher must bear in 
 mind that until the formal study of technical grammar begins, 
 there should be a minimum use of technical terms. When 
 a correct form has been taught to the children, reference may 
 be made to it when the teacher corrects their oral or written 
 compositions. For example, if the child uses a superlative form 
 in comparing two objects, the teacher, instead of substituting 
 the correct form at once, calls the attention of the children 
 to the language lessons in which this particular kind of error 
 was treated, and the child should make his own correction. 
 It may be said that this is the principle which should domi- 
 nate the work. When once a form of" expression has been made 
 the basis of regular study in the language lesson, the correc- 
 tion of that form should be made by the children with but 
 slight suggestion from the teacher. 
 
26o THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 In the fifth year, the drill on correct forms may extend the 
 number of irregular verbs studied, and may include some 
 of the more frequently misused prepositions, while in the 
 latter half of this year the study of the personal pronoim, 
 particularly when it forms a part of a compound subject or pred- 
 icate, is taken up. Since the study of grammar in the second 
 half of the fifth year includes the distinguishing of the subject 
 word, the predicate verb, and the complement of the verb, 
 the children may be led to formulate some such principles of 
 correction as these: "He told John and I not to take the book." 
 We cannot use "I" because John and I make up the comple- 
 ment of the active verb. The word to be used in the com- 
 plement of an active verb is "me" and not "I." The children 
 may in this way give rules of grammar within the limits of the 
 knowledge with which they are, up to that particular stage, 
 equipped. 
 
 In the sixth year, the drills on correct forms may include 
 the use of irregular verbs, of prepositions, and of relative pro- 
 nouns. In the second half of the year, and from that point 
 to the end of the course, formal grammar may be made 
 the more important part of the work. The drill on correct 
 forms becomes the application to the speech of the children 
 of the regular principles developed in the course of the work 
 in grammar. How this application is to be effected, and what 
 these principles are, will be shown later. 
 
 Summary. — Teaching in grammar begins with the correction by 
 the teacher of errors made by the children. Habits of correct speech 
 should be developed through imitation. In this work the psy- 
 chology of habit formation should be carefully observed. Where 
 possible, technical terms may be introduced in an incidental way. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 GRAMMAR (Concluded) 
 
 Formal Study 
 
 In taking up the discussion of the methods to be adopted 
 in the teaching of formal EngUsh grammar, we must set forth 
 clearly a fundamental difference between the mode of treat- 
 ment which we advocate and that set forth in the ordinary- 
 course of study. In the usual syllabus the earlier instruction 
 in grammar is intended to be to a greater or less extent formal; 
 e.g., conducted with a view to developing inductively certain 
 principles which are to find their application in the composition 
 work of the last years of the course. Such a procedure is 
 opposed to the correct method, and is almost certain to lead 
 to a separation between accuracy in the use of language and 
 a knowledge of those laws which are the generalizations based 
 upon correct usage. From the very beginning, the work in 
 grammar should grow out of the spoken and written work of 
 the pupils, and should find its immediate application in the 
 correction of errors to be found in their compositions and in 
 their speech. In other words, in this branch of formal Eng- 
 lish, just as in the formal study and drill upon correct forms for 
 expression, the basis of the work should be the language of the 
 children, and its appKcation should be the correction of their 
 errors. 
 
 A principle of grammar as such responds to no immediate or 
 even remote need in the developing experience of the children. 
 But any principle which presents in brief form a rule for the cor- 
 rection of errors which the child knows that he continually makes, 
 
262 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 is a short cut in correction. If the ideal set up by the children 
 for themselves because of the model set by the teacher, and 
 because of the suggestions continually made as to the value of 
 correct English as a sign of culture, is sufficiently potent and 
 vital for them, there will be an ever present motive for technical 
 study. It is, therefore, to be remembered that in all our work 
 the intimate relation should never be lost between the study 
 of grammar and the composition work of the class. 
 
 It may seem a formidable thing to say that the study of 
 grammar should begin with the fourth year. It is to be noted, 
 however, that there is to be no use of technical terms. A 
 classification of sentences is called for, but this classification 
 is based entirely upon the analysis of the thought. In this 
 year the study should be purely inductive; that is to say, the 
 classes are to be formed and named after many exaniples have 
 been given by the teacher. 
 
 The motive for this study may be the fact that the children, 
 in their written work, will frequently give as sentences expres- 
 sions which do not make complete sense. For example, there 
 will be a long subject, but the predicate will be omitted. Some- 
 times, where a child wishes to make a complex statement about 
 some idea which he has in mind, the second sentence will begin 
 with a predicate or will include nothing but a dependent clause. 
 The mode of approach to this study may be, first, the state- 
 ment made by the teacher that every sentence, that is to say, 
 every part of written composition included between the 
 initial letter and the final period, must tell a complete thought. 
 There must be something spoken about, and we must tell 
 something about it. The separation of this sentence into 
 these two parts of logical subject and logical predicate is 
 not to be attempted in this grade. 
 
 The teacher may select from the answers made by the chil- 
 dren in the course of lessons, answers which she hurriedly jots 
 down on paper kept ready for the purpose, or from their written 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 263 
 
 compositions, statements which do not express the complete 
 thought which she has already set forth as the fundamental 
 characteristic of a complete sentence. These may be written 
 with heavy crayon on large sheets of oak-tag in advance of the 
 lesson, and should at the right time be displayed to the class. 
 Pupils will in all probability recognize their own statements. 
 
 The teacher may then call upon the particular pupil to tell 
 in full what idea he had in mind when he made the statement 
 selected as the subject for study. In the first part of the work, 
 the teacher should select only those sentences which come 
 under the first class of sentences given for study in this grade; 
 that is, sentences which tell what things do. 
 
 In all probabiHty, most of the examples given by the teacher 
 will be incomplete answers made by the children in response 
 to questions asked in the course of the lessons. The immediate 
 application of this work will be the insistence upon complete 
 answers to be given by the children to questions in every lesson. 
 The drill may consist of a series of subjects, for example, the 
 names of subjects or of persons given by the teacher, and the 
 task of the children will be to complete these by telling what 
 these things or persons do. A second form of drill may con- 
 sist of giving a number of words which tell of the actions of 
 the things, leaving blank the names of the things or persons 
 performing the action. Once more the task of the children is 
 to make the complete sentence. 
 
 It is entirely unnecessary that the teacher should feel re- 
 stricted to the kind of exercise usually given in the text books 
 on English; that is, exercises which contain but a single word 
 for the subject and a single word for the predicate. Longer 
 ones are just as clear to the children as the single word, al- 
 though it must be remembered that the first steps in this work 
 should be the simplest. 
 
 Since the application of this work is to be to the answers 
 given by the children in the course of the other lessons of the 
 
264 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 grade, care should be taken by the teacher that in her selec- 
 tion of examples she base the work largely upon close correla- 
 tion with the other subjects. For example, if there are certain 
 topics taken up in nature study for that particular week, and 
 if the nature study lesson is one of the development type, the 
 study of one specimen for the purpose of reaching a generaliza- 
 tion regarding it, it may be well to have the language work 
 of that week center about the nature study lesson. If a story 
 has been taken up for extended treatment in oral reproduction, 
 the sentences for another week may be based upon the subject 
 matter of that story. If a new topic has been taken up in 
 arithmetic, and the children are likely to be called upon to make 
 explanations in connection with it, the sentences at that par- 
 ticular time may be grouped aroimd the idea of the arithmetic 
 lesson. 
 
 Sentences should be classified into those that tell (i) what 
 things do; (2) what is done to things; (3) what the quality of 
 things is; and (4) what things are. 
 
 It woidd perhaps seem somewhat more natural to study as 
 the second type of sentence the form which tells what things are. 
 This might seem to correspond to the type, "What things do." 
 Several reasons, however, may be advanced for postponing 
 such study to a later period. In the first place, the difference 
 between these two tj^es is slight. Hence it will be difficult 
 sharply to discriminate between them. In the beginning of 
 all analysis, discriminations should be between things as much 
 imlike as possible. It requires a larger apperceptive back- 
 ground and a greater familiarity with detail to make fine dis- 
 tinctions, while discriminations of the coarser sort, on the other 
 hand, tend to furnish this largeness of backgroimd and this 
 increase in the knowledge of detail. We make one percept 
 clearer if we distinguish it sharply from another. The greater 
 the intrinsic differences between two classes, the sharper will 
 be the discrimination. It is, therefore, advisable to select, 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 265 
 
 as the second type studied, one that is as unlike the first as 
 possible. 
 
 There is a second reason why the next type of sentence 
 studied should not be that which tells what things are. It 
 will be seen that because of intrinsic relationship the four 
 types actually fall into two groups, each containing two 
 types. "What things do" and "What is done to things" 
 make a unit; similarly, "What the qualities of things are" and 
 "What things are," are related. It is a very easy step from 
 the statement of what things do to the statement of what is 
 done to things. Yet the second type of sentence will be so 
 much unlike the first in form, although related to it in mean- 
 ing, that the differences will be great enough to permit imme- 
 diate and complete discrimination. Furthermore, the third and 
 fourth are similarly related. In the third type we have in 
 mind a certain object, and select from its many quaUties one, 
 which, for the purposes of the immediate statement, is to be 
 considered as characteristic. In other words, we make explicit 
 one of the factors differentiating this object from others and 
 making it a distinctive thing of its kind. For example, we 
 may say, "The Andes Mountains are the highest in the western 
 hemisphere." In this statement, from the many things which 
 may be said about the Andes Mountains, from the many per- 
 ceptional elements with which the name, Andes Mountains, 
 is immediately associated in the mind, we may select the one 
 which, for our purposes, gives the distinguishing mark of the 
 subject. In the fourth type, the mental process, namely that 
 of selecting a characteristic quality from the many associated 
 elements brought into the margin of consciousness at the men- 
 tion of the subject, is the same as that made explicit in the third 
 type of sentence. But here the abstraction of a quality re- 
 mains implicit, and mentally there is a leap from this quality 
 to some other class of which the abstracted quaUty may be 
 considered t3^ical. 
 
266 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 The judgment, or, grammatically speaking, the sentence is 
 the declaration of the identity between the subject first pro- 
 posed in consciousness, and the class or the object suggested 
 by the quality abstracted from the subject and held momen- 
 tarily in the focus of consciousness as a factor in the recall of 
 this associated object. For example, we may say, "The Andes 
 Mountains form the continental ridge of South America." 
 Here the abstracted idea is the notion of the height of these 
 mountains, and the fact that they constitute a table land. 
 This idea, suspended in consciousness, suggests the larger idea 
 of continental ridge, and it is only the latter which finds 
 expression in the sentence or the judgment. 
 
 This intrinsic relationship between the first and the second 
 type, and between the third and the fourth type, is an added 
 reason why the grouping should be that suggested in the course 
 of study rather than one based upon what, at first sight, seems 
 a more natural sequence. 
 
 The relationship between the sentences of the first and of 
 the second type suggests the method that should be adopted 
 in the study of the second form. The motive given to the 
 children should be the desire to secure variety in their expres- 
 sion. The general ideal set for them by the teacher is that of 
 avoiding monotony. It may be expressed in some such state- 
 ment as, "If we were always to Use the same kind of sentence, 
 people would become tired of listening to us, or of reading what 
 we have written. If we want them to be interested, we must 
 use different ways of telling our thoughts to them." Examples 
 may be given by reading from the reader or some other book 
 within the actual experience or easy comprehension of the 
 children, such quotations as will show where sentences in the 
 passive form have been used to secure variety. 
 
 The class may be led to note the relief from monotony 
 secured by this alternation of form. The next step may then 
 be to take numbers of sentences from those already given 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 267 
 
 by the children in their study of the first type, and to change 
 them into sentences of the second type. The application of 
 this work may be to the written compositions of the class. As 
 has already been suggested, these compositions may be kept 
 in composition books, or, if the themes are written on separate 
 sheets of paper, the work of each pupil may be kept in a sepa- 
 rate envelope. One period may be devoted to having the chil- 
 dren look over their compositions, select sentences which are of 
 the first type, and, where they think it would add to the effect, 
 change the form. It may be objected that this kind of work 
 will result in the production of a correction paper which will 
 be anything but neat. There will be interlineations, erasures, 
 etc. This is very true. But, after all, the aim is not to keep 
 immaculate the written work of the children. At a later time 
 it may be advisable to rewrite the compositions of the children 
 if corrections have been made, the purpose then being to turn 
 out a clean copy. 
 
 The formal drill in the study of this type should include the 
 changing of sentences from the active form to the passive form, 
 and vice versa. The technical words, active and passive, need 
 not be given to the class. With the brighter group of pupils, 
 however, there is no harm in giving these terms, and in requiring 
 their use. It is just as easy for a class to refer to a sentence of 
 the first type as a sentence in the active form and to a sentence 
 of the second type as a sentence in the passive form, as it is to 
 have the class say that the former tells what things do, and the 
 latter, what is done to things. Even if the technical terms, 
 however, are given, it is essential, if we are to form the immediate 
 association between the thought in the mind of the pupil and 
 the sentence in which that form finds expression, to use the more 
 descriptive terms in all the early steps of the work. 
 
 In connection with this study, the teaching of important 
 plural forms of nouns may be required. This will carry with it 
 a review of the exercises on correct forms of expression which 
 
268 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 were given in the work of the third year. The object here 
 should be to focalize the attention of the class empirically upon 
 concord of subject and predicate. Where, in the study of the 
 sentences of the first type, the drill calls on the children to 
 complete the sentence, the first question asked by the teacher 
 should be, ''Must the thing that we are talking about be one 
 thing or more than one?" A study of the form of the verb 
 will show whether a singular or plural subject is called for. 
 Similarly, when we have a subject given, the first question 
 should be, "What kind of word must we use? One that tells 
 what is done by one thing or one that tells what is done by 
 more than one thing? What form of the verb must we use? " 
 This kind of exercise will give an immediate application of 
 the drill on correct forms of expression, and will, moreover, 
 afford an opportunity for an intelHgent review of what has 
 been taken up in earlier grades. 
 
 Fourth Yeae. — Second Half 
 
 The study of the sentences of the third and fourth types 
 should, in a general way, be conducted by a method similar to 
 that suggested for the first two forms. Since the general nature 
 of the idea expressed in the third type of sentence is different 
 from that of the first, the mode of approach will be somewhat 
 different. In this type, the essential idea is descriptive. The 
 sentence is the expression of a judgment regarding an object 
 present to the senses or recalled in imagination. The first work 
 may, therefore, be the formation of sentences descriptive of 
 objects presented to the class. It would be well to establish 
 some sort of correlation between this work and the study of the 
 model in description. The teacher should place emphasis 
 upon the choice of suitable adjectives. 
 
 A distinguishing mark of good style is the ability to choose 
 words which are at once specific and suggestive. On the one 
 hand, the adjective should be so aptly chosen as to bring to the 
 
GRAMMAR— FORMAL STUDY 269 
 
 mind of the reader a definite picture of that phase of the object 
 which it is the intention of the writer to convey. On the other 
 hand, the adjective should be so chosen that it is, to a certain 
 degree, characteristic of the object in connection with which it 
 is used, so that the adjective itself will recall the name of the 
 object. It will be foimd that the tendency of the children at the 
 beginning will be merely to give any kind of descriptive word 
 without much regard to its force or suitability. It should be 
 the aim of the teacher to develop the feeling that there is but one 
 adjective which is the inevitably right one, and to encourage the 
 children to reject all suggested words until the exact one has 
 been given. In order to make this idea clear to the class, the 
 teacher may find it helpful to present good illustrations from 
 standard authors. 
 
 At times, it will be found valuable to carry on a lesson or a 
 series of lessons analytically. The teacher may prepare for the 
 children copies of excellent models, or a passage may be selected 
 from a reader or from some other text book for study. The class 
 may then be called upon to go through the model or the selection 
 for the purpose of picking out those sentences which tell what 
 the qualities of things are. In a little while children should be 
 able to separate such sentences into the two parts; one, giving 
 the name of the object, the other, its quality. The teacher who 
 takes up this work will undoubtedly discover that sentences of 
 this type usually require the use of a copula. Once more it 
 must be emphasized that the technical names are not to be 
 given to the class. In fact, it is not desirable that they should 
 be used by the teacher. This, however, is no reason why the 
 teacher should not effect improvements in method because of 
 her knowledge of the larger truths underlying the work of the 
 children. The sentence containing a copula is really only the 
 amplification of a purely descriptive subjective statement. 
 Thus the sentence — "The house is beautifully decorated" — 
 really is the expression of a judgment based upon the percept 
 
270 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 of the beautifully decorated house. It will, therefore, be a 
 valuable exercise for the teacher to give to the class merely the 
 expression of a number of such perceptional judgments; that is, 
 the names of objects with descriptive words telling what that 
 object is like, and what its distinguishing or characteristic marks 
 are. The work of the children may be to take this statement 
 and expand it into regular sentence form. In this way, without 
 the use of any technical language and without any attempt to 
 have the children go through the steps of parsing, we are building 
 up empirically in their minds the notion of the attribute. 
 
 The application of this study to the work of the children will 
 be twofold. In the first place, the teacher may call for a more 
 careful choice of the adjectives by the children. In the second 
 place, it will be noted by reference to the course of study that 
 the drill on correct forms of expression includes a study of 
 comparatives and superlatives. While the idea of comparison 
 need not be taken up technically, the word ''compare" should 
 be made familiar to the children. Drill on the right forms of 
 the comparative and the superlative, the avoidance of double 
 comparatives and double superlatives, and the use of the com- 
 parative when but two objects are considered, the superlative 
 being reserved for more than two objects: — all these are practi- 
 cal applications to the speech and the writing of the children, 
 and furnish opportunities for reviewing the study of the third 
 type of sentence. 
 
 The entire class may not be a,ble to grasp the rules that the 
 comparative always implies an exclusion while the superlative 
 involves an inclusion of objects. This concept is diflScult and 
 is in most cases beyond the comprehension of the child in the 
 fourth year. Such instruction, however, may be given to the 
 pupils of the brighter group. It will be foimd that at every 
 stage of the work it is advisable to establish a minimum of the 
 subject matter to be covered so that the teacher may know just 
 how much knowledge should be gained by the children if they 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 271 
 
 are to be fitted to take up the work of the next higher grade. 
 On the other hand, it is equally advisable to reserve certain 
 features of more intensive study so' that the brightest children 
 may have an opportunity to exercise their full powers on their 
 work. A test should, however, be restricted to the work 
 covered by the entire class. 
 
 For the study of the fourth type it is unnecessary to add many 
 suggestions to those already given. The teacher should bear 
 in mind what are the psychological elements involved in the 
 judgment expressed by a sentence of this type. Wherever the 
 children are showing a tendency to give a sentence that does 
 not carry much thought with it, the teacher should call upon 
 the pupils to state what was the quality of the subject which 
 caused the pupil to identify that subject with the class in 
 which the subject has been placed by the judgment .expressed 
 in the sentence. Thus, in "the man is a hero," the notion of 
 bravery should be shown to be the common quality. If this 
 kind of formal work does nothing more than direct the atten- 
 tion of the children to the intimate relation between the 
 thought in the mind of the speaker and the form of the sen- 
 tence, it will have accomplished its purpose. 
 
 Fifth Year — First Half 
 
 The new work for this grade may be made the analysis of the 
 sentences into the logical subject and the logical predicate. In 
 the higher grades, where this kind of work is usually taken up, 
 most teachers use the term "logical subject and logical predi- 
 cate"; and later, when the subject word or the predicate verb 
 is selected, they refer to these as the "grammatical subject" and 
 the "grammatical predicate." As a matter of fact, the word 
 logical means absolutely nothing to the child. It may be 
 questioned whether the average teacher knows why the word 
 logical should be used. The isolation of one particular word 
 from the subject and one particular word from the predicate is 
 
272 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 a purely technical process made valuable only by the exigencies 
 of the study of grammar. For the children that which they are 
 thinking about and talking about is the subject and that which 
 is said about this thing is the predicate. These words should 
 therefore be used. Some teachers may choose to add complete 
 and refer to the former as the complete subject and to the latter 
 as the complete predicate. There is no objection to such use. 
 The word complete carries with it a certain definite idea usually 
 grasped by the children. 
 
 But the mere analysis of the sentences into these two parts 
 is, after all, only an analytic process. The sentences, it is true, 
 may come from the compositions of the children, from their 
 speech, and from the subject matter of their reading. This, 
 however, is fulfilling only one of the two conditions that we have 
 set forth as necessary to all successful work. The second is 
 that the principles developed should find immediate and ready 
 application to the language expression of the children. Of 
 course, the correction of sentence structure such as was taken up 
 in the fourth year should be continued. Violations of the law 
 of sentence unity should be corrected and the reasons for the 
 correction may now be given in somewhat more formal and 
 technical language. 
 
 This, however, is not enough. The suggestion is therefore 
 made that the teacher take up the topic of securing variety in 
 the introduction of sentences by at times throwing the predicate 
 or a part of the predicate before the subject. The name 
 "phrase" need not be used. After the sentence has been 
 given in the direct form and has been broken up into its subject 
 and its predicate, the teacher may ask whether it would not 
 have been possible to have the sentence begin with some part of 
 the predicate. The application of this work to the written com- 
 positions of the children may readily be understood. One of the 
 most difficult things to secure in the written work of children 
 is the breaking away from the direct statement. If this kind 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 273 
 
 of work is begun as early as the first half of the fifth year, it is 
 possible that at the completion of the course the children will 
 have developed a freer and more flexible style. Furthermore, 
 it has already been suggested under the heading of "Drill on 
 the Correct Forms " that in the first half of the fifth year there 
 should be a study of a few of the more frequently misused 
 prepositions. From the fact that the children will be com- 
 pelled to concentrate upon these words, it will be easier for 
 the teacher to have the children select the proper phrase, and 
 make it the introducing element in the sentence. 
 
 Fifth Year — Second Half 
 
 We have already set down as one of the fundamental principles 
 in the teaching of formal grammar that the progress should be 
 from the whole to its parts. That is to say, from the complete 
 thought and its expression in the form of a sentence, gradually 
 through intermediate forms to the study of the word. In the 
 first half of the fifth year we have suggested that the sentence 
 should be broken up into its larger units; namely, the subject 
 and the predicate. In this half of the year the division is 
 somewhat finer. 
 
 The first work may be to break up the predicate into the 
 predicate verb and the complement. The first step in this work 
 should be drill in naming the predicate verb as such. Num- 
 bers of sentences should be given and the class called upon to 
 divide each sentence first into subject and predicate, and then 
 to underline the word or the words expressing the action. The 
 drill on this may be extended over a number of lessons until 
 the entire class has become proficient. 
 
 The next step is to provide for that portion of the complete 
 predicate which is left after the predicate verb has been isolated. 
 A number of sentences may be written on the board or read from 
 the text book, and the attention of the class directed to the 
 relationship existing between the remaining words of the predi- 
 
274 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 cate and the predicate verb. Two general classes should be 
 established. The first will include those words which in some 
 way change the meaning of the predicate verb. These may be 
 called the modifiers. All other parts, the class will learn from 
 observation and inference, in some way complete the idea ex- 
 pressed by the verb. As a result of our analysis up to this 
 point we have selected the complete subject and the predicate 
 verb, and have placed the remainder of the predicate in one of 
 two classes, either modifier or complement. It may be neces- 
 sary to carry on this general analysis for several weeks. At all 
 events, it must be remembered by the teacher that success at 
 every later stage in the teaching of grammar will depend upon 
 the accuracy with which this selection is made. 
 
 The third step in the analysis may be the breaking up of the 
 complement into two classes: first, that kind of complement 
 which tells something more about the subject, and secondly, 
 that kind of complement which receives the action expressed 
 by the predicate verb. The appropriate names should be 
 given to the two kinds of complements, and the first kind 
 should at once be related to the third and fourth types of 
 sentences studied in the fourth year. 
 
 Application may be made at once to the correct language 
 expression of the children. The motive may be furnished by 
 giving to the class a sentence such as, "It is me." Then 
 after the teacher gives the correct form, and says that it will 
 be the aim to. find out why one is right and the other is 
 wrong, the children may easily be led to see that where the 
 complement means the same as the subject, that word should 
 be used which would have been foimd in the subject itself. 
 The teacher will see that in this lesson, as with every lesson 
 involving the study of case, the first sentences should always 
 be those requiring the use of pronoims. It is only with the 
 pronoun that the change in the word itself shows the inflection. 
 
 When the fact has been properly impressed upon the children 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 275 
 
 that when the complement means the same as the subject the 
 word used in the complement should be that word that would 
 have been used as the subject, all other forms may be disposed of 
 merely by the method of logical exclusion. That is, where the 
 complement does not mean the same as the subject we should 
 not use that word that would have been used as the subject. 
 This will give a sort of reason for the correction of the error. 
 "He told you and I what to do." 
 
 It is probable that this work will be completed about the 
 middle of the term. The next step may be the further analysis 
 of the subject so as to isolate the subject noun. The extension 
 of this work to the formation of sentences that have compound 
 subjects, together with the study of the concord of the verb 
 with a compound subject will follow very easily and will find 
 ready application in the correction of errors made by the children. 
 Furthermore, the study of the punctuation of words in series, 
 which should be taken up in the dictation lessons, will grow 
 naturally out of the study of the compound subject or the 
 compound predicate. 
 
 Technical names for the various complements need not be 
 taught in this grade. The children have not yet become ac- 
 quainted with the term noun, adjective, pronoun, and, therefore, 
 we cannot speak of predicate adjectives, predicate nouns, 
 predicate pronouns, and the Hke. It may be found advisable 
 to use the terms, attribute and object, respectively, to denote 
 the two kinds of complements taken up in this work. All the 
 sentences should be of the conventional type; that is, they 
 should not involve any of those unusual forms, the study of 
 which calls for concentration and technical knowledge beyond 
 the powers of the children. 
 
 Sixth Year — First Half 
 
 In the work of this grade practically the most important part 
 may be made the development of the definitions of the parts 
 
276 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 of speech. The general principle may be briefly stated. All 
 development in grammar should be the result of an inductive 
 process based upon many examples given by the teacher and 
 drawn from the regular written or spoken language of the class. 
 All analysis should be taken up as deductive work. In order to 
 illustrate what is meant by the inductive development of the 
 definition of a part of speech, we shall use a lesson on the adverb 
 given by Bagley in his "Educative Process" imder the topic of 
 the inductive development lesson. We shall, to a large extent, 
 use his language, adapting only slightly here and there. In 
 his lesson, Bagley has followed faithfully the five formal steps of 
 the regular Herbartian lesson. 
 
 The preparation for the series of lessons, the object of which 
 is the development of the definition of the adverb, should consist 
 of the definitions of other parts of speech already studied with 
 special emphasis upon the adjective and the verb. This natu- 
 rally makes it a matter of great importance to select the right 
 order in the development of our parts of speech. The simpler 
 ones, such as the noun, the pronoun, and the verb, which repre- 
 sent substantive states of consciousness, should, of course, be 
 taken up first and should grow out of the actual objects or acts 
 of which they are the language symbols. The first of the 
 modifying parts of speech to be studied should be the adjective, 
 and the preparation here should be the reference to the third 
 type of sentence, the condensation of this sentence into a mere 
 description of the object as a percept or an image. From this 
 point, the presentation and the formulation of the definition 
 will be simple. 
 
 With the adverb, then, we should first review what has already 
 been taught about the adjective. There should be a recall of 
 the analysis of the complete predicate such as was taken up in 
 the second half of the fifth year. The teacher should once more 
 review the difference between the complement and the modifier. 
 As results of this review certain ideas will have been made clear 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 277 
 
 to the children. First, the notion of the adjective; secondly, 
 the isolation of the verb; and thirdly, the classification of certain 
 parts of the predicate as being not complement but modifier. 
 
 The dominant method of this step as with all inductive 
 development lessons is that of questions and answers. The 
 teacher should use well directed questions which will suggest 
 rather than tell. For the development of the adverb the 
 questions will probably be rather formal. For example, the 
 teacher will point out the verb to the class and will then ask, 
 "What does this word do?" "What part of speech is it?" 
 "Define a verb." She should then point out an adjective. 
 ''What does this word do?" "What part of speech is it?" 
 "Define an adjective." "What do you mean by the word 
 modifier?'^ "What part of the predicate is left after we pick 
 out the predicate verb?" "What does this part do?" The 
 class will say that the remaining part of the predicate modifies 
 or changes the meaning of the predicate verb, and will make 
 the statement, "The rest of the predicate comes under the 
 class of modifiers." Up to this point the preparation should 
 have brought out the facts: (i) that the adjective is one form 
 of modifier and that it makes clearer the meaning of the noun 
 or pronoun; (2) that we have a word or a number of words 
 which make clearer the meaning of the predicate verb; (3) that 
 we know these words to be modifiers of some kind but that we 
 do not know what name to give to these modifiers. 
 
 The statement of the aim will be in some such form as, "The 
 adjective makes clearer the meaning of the noun. What kind 
 of word makes clear the meaning of the verb?" 
 
 Then comes the presentation. The actual facts should be 
 brought out by a study of sentences containing adverbs. They 
 may be written on the blackboard with blank spaces which the 
 children are asked to fill in with words that make the meaning 
 of the verb clearer, or the teacher may write complete sentences 
 containing adverbs. The pupils, having disposed of the other 
 
278 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 words, may be led to say that the adverb does for the verb what 
 the adjective does for the noun. 
 
 In the third step, that of comparison and abstraction, the 
 facts revealed in the second step should be compared with one 
 another. In the presentation, attention has been called to a 
 new class of words. The teacher asks, "What do all the words 
 that we have just pointed out do?" "Are they like any other 
 class of words that we have studied?" "How?" "In what 
 respect do they differ from adjectives?" "Look at them 
 again." "In what respect does the first one help the verb?" 
 "The second?" and so on, care having been taken that the ex- 
 amples supplied illustrate place, time, and manner of action, 
 interrogation, and cause. 
 
 In the fourth step the generalization will take the form of a 
 definition. "Any word used to modify the verb by answering 
 the question how, when, where, etc., is called an adverb." The 
 definition should be given in the inductive form. Frequently 
 one meets with a definition like, "A noun is a word used as a 
 name." In the mental process preceding the actual definition, 
 the first step is the recognition of the function of the word in 
 the sentence. The second step is a comparison of that function 
 with the functions of different parts of speech already studied. 
 The third step is the identification of the function of the particu- 
 lar word with the function of some part of speech, and the last 
 statement is the judgment that this word is a noun, a verb, an 
 adjective, etc. It is, therefore, more consistent to have the 
 children first give expression to what is the first step in their 
 mental process. "This word is a word used as " — etc, " There- 
 fore, this word is a noun, an adjective," etc. If this kind of 
 definition is carried on consistently throughout the course, it 
 will be found that the number of ridiculous errors made by 
 children in parsing will decrease. 
 
 In the fifth step of the inductive lesson, the application will 
 naturally concern itself with the identification of adverbs in 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 279 
 
 given sentences. This in turn will prepare the pupil for a suc- 
 ceeding lesson on the extension of the definition to cover the 
 modification of adjectives and of adverbs. 
 
 What has been said here regarding the form of definition to 
 be used applies with equal force to all steps in the process of 
 analysis and parsing. When the children classify a sentence, 
 the statement should not be, "That the sentence is declarative 
 because," etc., but it should be, "This sentence expresses so 
 and so and therefore it is a declarative sentence." One of the 
 ends that will be secured by this kind of statement will be that 
 the first object of attention for the children will be the idea 
 expressed in the sentence or by the- word, and the early rec- 
 ognition of the fact that all parsing grows out of the idea 
 expressed through the functioning of the word. 
 
 Reference to an ordinary text-book of grammar will help the 
 teacher to find application of the study of the parts of speech 
 to the correction of errors in the language of the children. It 
 is, therefore, easy to make the work practical. For example, 
 when the adverb is studied, errors should be taken up which 
 involve the use of the adverb instead of the adjective and of 
 the adjective instead of the adverb. A still further application 
 could be made by calling upon the children to correct similar 
 errors in their written compositions. 
 
 Sixth Year — Second Half 
 
 The study of phrases may be begun in this grade, and should 
 be approached from the study of the compositions of the class. 
 As has been remarked in another connection, probably the most 
 frequent error to be met with in the composition of the ele- 
 mentary school child is the almost unbroken monotony in the 
 opening of the sentences. It is a rare thing to find a child who 
 in spontaneous work makes frequent use of the phrase for the 
 purpose of securing variety in the introduction. The motive 
 presented to the children should be the attempt so to place the 
 
28o THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 phrase as to keep up the interest of the reader and to prevent 
 fatigue. The teacher should refer to the fact that there are 
 different sorts of elements of a sentence which may be used for 
 the purpose of getting this variety. She should first make use 
 of the knowledge already gained by the children regarding 
 adverbs. It will frequently be found that the adverb when 
 itself emphatic may be placed at the beginning of a sentence to 
 heighten the effect. When the idea of transposition for the 
 purpose of securing emphasis or variety has been weU grasped 
 by the class, the teacher may then suggest that it is time to take 
 up the study of another useful element in this kind of work. 
 This gives the motive for the study of the phrase. 
 
 Naturally, the first study should be from sentences in which 
 it is easy to pick out the sought-for group of words, and com- 
 paratively easy to classify the phrase according to its function: 
 that is, by finding out what part of speech the phrase modifies 
 or what function it performs in the sentence. It will be found 
 advisable to take up the study of the phrase and to complete 
 the classification before the use of the phrase as a device to secure 
 variety is taken up with the class. This positive value of the 
 study of the phrase, however, should not cause the teacher to lose 
 sight of the corrective value. That is, in the syntax work the 
 class should study some of the forms where ambiguity or humor- 
 ous twists of thought are effected by the misplaced phrase. A 
 valuable exercise is to give a sentence containing a large num- 
 ber of phrases all thrown together in hap-hazard fashion, and to 
 call upon the children to rewrite the sentence, arranging the 
 phrases properly. It would be well to use this for seat work and 
 to select for the exercise sentences from some text-book in the 
 hands of the children. The test of the children's work would 
 then be to compare the sentence or the paragraph as finally 
 constructed by them with that part of the text to the approxi- 
 mation of which they should in some degree have succeeded. 
 
 In the study of the classes of the parts of speech it is only 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 281 
 
 occasionally that one can find an immediate application. For 
 example, in the study of the two classes of nouns, the proper 
 noim of course will give to the children a reason for many of the 
 rules of capitalization which they have studied. While there is 
 no immediate value to the children in the classification of pro- 
 nouns, this part of the work may be made practical by taking up 
 certain of the rules of concord and of syntax. Since inflection is 
 to be studied, and inflection involves the study of person, num- 
 ber, and case particularly, it will be a simple matter for the 
 teacher to find in the speech and the written work of the children 
 sufficient examples of errors in the use of the proper case and the 
 like, to furnish a motive for study. The approach should always 
 be through the study of the pronoun, and particularly of those 
 pronouns the form of which readily shows by its change that 
 different cases or numbers have been used. For the most part, 
 these errors, it will be found, have been taken up in the earlier 
 grades under the head of Drill in Common Errors. It is, how- 
 ever, in this grade for the first time that the children are led to 
 state the principle which underlies the correction. If the drill 
 in correct expression has been steady and intelligent, the habit 
 of using the correct form should now be fixed. The method we 
 are employing is merely an illustration of the general progress 
 of all habit formation; namely, that the act is performed as a 
 result of superimposed authority, that the act becomes auto- 
 matic through repetition, and that, finally, the act is rationalized 
 and made the application of a broad principle. 
 
 Finally it may be suggested that the study of the con- 
 junctions should be restricted to conjunctions as connecting 
 words and phrases. 
 
 All the sentences through the sixth year should be simple. 
 
 Seventh Year — First Hale 
 
 The extension of the study of grammar in the first half of the 
 seventh year is one that applies merely to the amount of ground 
 
282 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 covered, not to the kind of work done. The clause, which may 
 here be taken up, should be approached with the same motive 
 that was supplied in the study of the phrase. By far the most 
 important part of this grade work, however, is the exercise in 
 the contraction of sentences. The material for the first exercises 
 should be supplied by the teacher, but it will be found valuable 
 after a certain amount of drill has been given to the class to have 
 the pupils apply to their own compositions what they have 
 learned regarding the modes of contraction. In this grade and 
 in those which succeed it the amount of application which it 
 will be possible for the children to make is so great that it 
 may be found advisable to have pupils retain in their posses- 
 sion the envelopes holding the compositions of the preceding 
 term. These will be valuable not only in furnishing a basis 
 for comparison but also in giving the children a standard 
 whereby to measure their own progress. 
 
 The study of the active and passive voices of the transitive 
 verb may be referred to the study of the first two types of sen- 
 tence taken up in the first half of the fourth year. 
 
 Seventh Year — Second Half 
 
 A general review may be given in this grade, dominated 
 by the idea of making the children famihar with the purely 
 formal side of grammar. Analysis and parsing as such, together 
 with the study of declensions, conjugations, and the like, should 
 take up the work of the entire term. It must be remembered 
 of course that at no time should the application step be lost 
 sight of. Children should never be allowed to feel that gram- 
 mar exists as a subject entirely apart from their regular 
 speech. On the other hand, if we are to give the child a 
 foundation which will be of value to him in his study of 
 another language, such as German or Latm or Spanish, which 
 may be taken up in the last year of the course, we must make 
 him thoroughly familiar with the terms that it will be nee- 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 283 
 
 essary for him to use when he comes to study the grammar of 
 
 that language. 
 
 Eighth Year 
 
 In the eighth year a further systematic review of the subject 
 may be provided, this time, however, according to topics, and 
 also for the teaching of the use of the grammar as a book of 
 reference. The teacher should present an analysis of the sounds 
 of the English language with some treatment of how the organs 
 of the mouth should be placed for correct utterance. There 
 should be a rapid review of the most common rules of spelling. 
 Where children make mistakes in their spelling, mistakes, that 
 is, which come under the few rules our language can boast of, 
 the teacher may call upon the child to refer to a text-book. 
 Rules for the formation of the plural and of the feminine, to- 
 gether with the study of etymology, may be studied. Children 
 who make errors coming under these heads may be shown how 
 to get at the appropriate place in the grammar text-book where 
 the correct form or the rule may be found. It will be necessary 
 to have a class study the principal parts of many of the irregular 
 verbs directly from the text-book. The review may include 
 all the important rules of syntax based on the study of formal 
 grammar. 
 
 Throughout this year, the teacher's correction of compositions 
 should consist altogether of the mere indication in the margin of 
 the principle that has been violated. The child should look up 
 the principle in the text and should not only make the required 
 correction but may also write the number of the section or the 
 page of the text-book in which will be found the statement of 
 the law which was violated. In order to make this correction 
 work effective, it will be found in the first half of the eighth 
 year that one point in particular may be emphasized each week 
 in the correction of the compositions, with a view to having a 
 recapitulation of the most important topics by the end of the 
 term. In the last half of the eighth year, the children should 
 
284 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 be ready to detect errors in any part of their work without much 
 guidance from the teacher. A suggested mode of review for 
 this study in the first half of the eighth year is here given. 
 
 First week — The correction work should be centered upon the 
 sequence of topics in the paragraphs. This will call for careful 
 study of the outline. It may be said that this is a study not of 
 grammar but of style. It is true that if the children made any 
 errors in this particular it would be difficult, if even possible, to 
 select any riile in the grammar text-book which has been violated 
 by the faulty arrangement of the topics. On the other hand, 
 however, what we gain is a growing consciousness on the part of 
 the children that the study of grammar and of the corrections 
 based upon grammar always commences with the largest mass 
 of thought. They come to feel that the idea always is to present 
 to a reader, with a minimum of strain and with absolute accu- 
 racy, the thoughts that are in the mind of the writer. 
 
 The child should criticize his work from three points of view. 
 In arranging an outline or in testing the value of the develop- 
 ment of a composition, the first thing is to be sure you know 
 what you want the composition to end with. It is the final 
 impression that is left in the mind of the reader that determines 
 what effect the entire composition is to have upon him. Every 
 composition should be written because the writer has a distinct 
 message to give. Unless that message can be embodied in brief 
 and telling form, it may as well never be uttered. Therefore, 
 the first direction of the attention should be the essence of the 
 composition as it is to be expressed in the concluding paragraph. 
 The next question to ask is, "What is a good way of opening 
 this composition? " If we wish to have our thoughts reach the 
 field of their real influence, we must be sure to gain the atten- 
 tion of the reader or listener. It is, therefore, a matter of great 
 importance to select the correct method of opening the com- 
 position. The third question that should be asked is, "Does 
 the composition proceed in a natural way from the opening to 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 285 
 
 the conclusion? " If we are sure we have the correct introduc- 
 tion, and even though we feel confident that our final idea is 
 properly expressed, we must be sure that the reader is carried 
 on in so easy and logical a fashion that his attention never 
 wanders. 
 
 Second week — The second large topic for correction should 
 be the study of the unity of the paragraph. The notion of the 
 topic sentence should be carefully reviewed. In this grade it 
 may be well to show to a class that it is not necessary to have 
 the very first sentence give the topic of the paragraph. Usually 
 one of the first three sentences should give this, and what the 
 children have already learned as to the right use of conjunctions 
 will help them make their transitional sentences more effective. 
 
 Third week — The third topic is the study of the unity of the 
 sentence. The important point to be drilled upon is the fact 
 that a sentence should treat of one idea, should tell all that the 
 writer has to say about that idea, and should not tell anything 
 more. This may include an incidental review of subject and 
 predicate. 
 
 Fourth week — The study, which has proceeded thus far 
 from the composition as a whole through the paragraph to the 
 sentence, should now proceed to clauses. In a general way the 
 errors will be of two kinds. The fourth topic takes up the first 
 of these kinds; namely, errors in position. Four principles 
 may be developed with a class and may be further enforced by 
 reference to the text-book. First, the principle of clause refer- 
 ence; namely, that there should never be any doubt as to what 
 a clause relates to. Secondly, it is possible to keep clause 
 reference clear without putting a clause immediately after 
 the word modified. This is particularly true of the adverbial 
 clause, though it is less true of the adjective clause. This 
 principle will at once lead to the third; namely, that a clause 
 may be placed first for the purpose of getting variety in the 
 introduction of sentences, and secondly for the purpose of 
 
286 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 maintaining interest until the end of the sentence is reached. 
 Fourth, when a clause is not of great importance it may be put 
 in a parenthetical construction. The examples that are given 
 of this kind of construction should be carefully selected by the 
 teacher since it is the use of the parenthetical construction with 
 too great freedom that is the cause of most obscurities in the 
 compositions of the children in the secondary schools. 
 
 Fifth week — The topic is the second which grows out of 
 the study of the clause. It was said that the study of the 
 position of the clause is the first of the two topics. The second 
 is the distinction between who and which and that. It is prob- 
 ably too much to ask a class fully to grasp the idea of the 
 restrictive and the additive pronoun. It is possible, however, 
 to have any average class understand the fmidamental idea. 
 Whenever the pronoun who or which is used, ask yourself 
 whether you can use and he or and that instead of who and, 
 and it, or and that instead of which. If you cannot use this 
 equivalent expression, then use the word that. The pronoun 
 that is used whenever you want to distinguish the object you 
 are speaking of from something else. The pronoun which is 
 used when you wish to give some additional information about 
 the word modified by the " which" clause. In the sentence, "I 
 saw the boy who was sitting at the desk," there is but one 
 boy thought of. "I saw him," and ''he was sitting at the 
 desk." When I say, "I saw the boy that was sitting at the 
 desk," I mean that there may have been other boys whom I 
 did not see. I am speaking only of the one "that was sitting 
 at the desk." In this connection, also, there shoidd be a 
 review of the use of the relative pronoun in the objective 
 case, even in the instances where it is separated from its 
 governing word. 
 
 Sixth week — The topic in a way grows out of the study of 
 the clause although it refers more definitely to the study of 
 one specific part of speech. It takes up all specific conjunctions. 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 287 
 
 It will be found that children make too constant use of what we 
 may call the "stock conjunctions." It is not that these more 
 specific words are not in the vocabulary of the children. It is 
 one thing, however, for a word to be imderstood when it crosses 
 one's mental vision and it is quite another to have an active 
 command of the use of that word. It is for the purpose of 
 gaining this second kind of control that this topic is introduced. 
 Pupils should be led to use however, nevertheless, still, and other 
 conjimctions which denote finer shades of distinction. 
 
 Seventh week — The subject is the study of phrase reference. 
 The method followed is to a large extent that which was taken 
 up under the subject of clause reference. 
 
 Eighth week — The work bears the same relation to the 
 seventh that the sixth does to the fifth. It includes the correct 
 use of prepositions. It will be found, however, that the text- 
 book will give examples not alone of prepositions, the correct 
 use of which is a matter of judgment, but also of those which 
 are demanded by conventional usage. For instance, the use of 
 between when we are speaking of but two, and of among when 
 we speak of more than two, and the larger principle which 
 calls for such a preposition after a derivative which contains 
 a prepositional prefix as is implied in the prefix used in the 
 formation of the word. For example, we say compare with. 
 When we say compare to we use the unexpected preposition 
 because we wish to give an entirely different color to our mean- 
 ing. We say "sympathy with'^ and the other expression, "sym- 
 pathy /or," which, at first declared incorrect, has now come to 
 have the stamp of approval from some of our best writers, 
 and which has gradually grown to carry with it the idea of 
 pitying condescension rather than mere fellow feeling, which is 
 implied in the expression "sympathy with." A study of the 
 chapter on etymology in any good text-book will show that the 
 preposition which comes after a verb or a noun is in most cases 
 that implied in the prefix used in that verb or noun. 
 
288 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 Ninth week — The concord of the verb and the subject should 
 be studied. This wUl call for a review of the rules to be found 
 in any book on the number of the verb when the subject is 
 singular, when it is plural, when we have several subjects 
 connected by and, or singular subjects connected by or, when 
 we have collective nouns which at times convey the idea of 
 singularity and at other times the idea of plurality, and so on. 
 In addition there should be careful study of the construction 
 where the subject is singular and is followed by a phrase, the 
 principal word of which is plural and immediately precedes 
 the predicate. The tendency in aU such constructions is to 
 use the plural form of the verb, the mind being more influ- 
 enced by the close proximity of the principal word of the 
 prepositional phrase than by the actual relationship between 
 the true subject and its predicate. Thus a composition may 
 contain such an expression as "One of us are going to," etc. 
 This particular form should be studied carefully and the reason 
 for the correction should be discovered by the pupil after refer- 
 ence to the text-book. 
 
 Tenth week — This should be given up to a study of the con- 
 cord of pronoun and antecedent. Most of the material for this 
 study can be got from the study of the text. 
 
 Eleventh week — The topic may be the study of the "hanging 
 •participle" as we may call it; that is to say, the error which is 
 involved in a sentence of the type, "Entering the room, a beauti- 
 ful statue of Jupiter was seen." While it is possible to find the 
 correction of this error in the ordinary text-book, it may be well 
 to give the class this rule : When using the construction which we 
 shall call the ^^ hanging participle'' construction, make sure that the 
 subject of the main verb is the name of the person or animal doing 
 the action implied by the participle. 
 
 Twelfth week — We may take up the study of an adjective 
 and the adverb. Here practically all the work can be given 
 directly from the grammar text-book. 
 
GRAMMAR — FORMAL STUDY 289 
 
 The next three topics deal with the verb, the thirteenth 
 having reference to the correct use of the past and the perfect 
 tense, the fourteenth to tense-sequence, and the fifteenth to the 
 right use of shall and will. Here, as with the study of the ad- 
 jective and the adverb, the principles may be learned by the 
 children through independent reference to the text-book. 
 
 The last four topics have reference purely to form, and while 
 they constitute an important part of the correct expression of 
 thought, they are not usually included under the study of 
 grammar. Any good grammar, however, contains the rules for 
 the correct use of these forms and the pupil should learn how 
 to find in the text-book rules which will set him right whenever 
 he is in doubt. In the sixteenth week the class may study the 
 period, the interrogation point, the exclamation mark, the semi- 
 colon, the colon, the dash. In the seventeenth, the proper use 
 of quotation marks. In the eighteenth, the study of the semi- 
 colon as distinguished from the comma; and in the nineteenth, 
 the study of the comma to separate words in series. 
 
 This suggested review of the grammar from the standpoint of 
 the errors that may be made by children in their compositions 
 and for the purpose of training the children to an intelligent use 
 of the text-book, has been a consistent development from the 
 study of these errors growing out of the conception of the 
 composition as a whole through the study of the paragraph, 
 of the sentence, of the clause, of the phrase, of concords, and of 
 individual words to those purely formal elements which are a 
 feature only of written work. 
 
 Summary. — The work in grammar should grow out of the spoken 
 and written work of the pupils, and should find its immediate appli- 
 cation in the correction of errors to be found in their compositions 
 and in their speech. A principle in grammar is a short cut in cor- 
 rection. The motive constantly appealed to should be the desire of 
 the children to improve their earlier composition work and to ration- 
 ahze the corrections suggested by the teacher. All approach to 
 
290 THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH 
 
 study of the elements of a sentence should be from the side of the 
 function of the word or words. The thinking done by the children 
 in developing a principle in grammar is as important as the memoriz- 
 ing of the principle itself. Hence, the method of development should 
 always be inductive. In addition to reviews based upon different 
 aspects of the subject, aU the topics may be gone over once more in 
 connection with a graded course in the correction of compositions. 
 A suggested course, logically graded, follows: 
 
 1. Sequence of topics in the composition. 
 
 2. Paragraph unity. 
 
 3. Sentence imity. 
 
 4. Position of clauses. 
 
 5. Restrictive and additive clauses. 
 
 6. Conjunctions. 
 
 7. Phrase reference. 
 
 8. The use of prepositions. 
 
 9. Concord of verb and subject. 
 
 10. Concord of pronoim and antecedent. 
 
 11. The hanging participle. 
 
 12. The adjective and the adverb. 
 
 13. Tense. 
 
 14. Tense sequence. 
 
 15. Shall and will. 
 
 16. Punctuation as between clauses and sentences. 
 
 17. Quotation marks. 
 
 18. The semicolon as distinguished from the comma. 
 
 19. The comma. 
 
 The last four topics which are concerned mainly with form should 
 be taken up in connection with the grammatical relations which they 
 are intended to indicate to the eye. 
 
INDEX BY GRADES 
 
 The aim of this index is to enable a teacher of any grade to refer easily to 
 those sections of the book which will help her in her class work. 
 
 First Year — First Half 
 
 Reading by Pupils 
 
 Underlying principles, 7 
 
 Content of, 7 et seq. 
 
 Grouping in, 10 
 
 Ciunulative repetition, 10, 11 
 Phonics 
 
 Underlying principles, 13 
 
 Diacritical marks, 13, 14 
 
 Methods, 15-29 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 5° 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 ' 
 
 Selection of stories, 93, 94, 97 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99 
 Memory Gems 
 
 . Underlying principles, 108, 109 
 
 Method, 113 
 
 First Year — Second Half 
 
 Reading by Pupils 
 
 Underlying principles, 7 
 
 Content of, 7 et seq. 
 
 Grouping in, 10 
 
 Cmnulative repetition, 10, 11 
 Phonics 
 
 Underlying principles, 13 
 
 Diacritical marks, 13, 14 
 
 Methods, 15-29 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 
 Story Telung 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of stories, 93, 94, 97 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109 
 
 Method, 113 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Methods, 255-258 
 
 Second Year — First Half 
 
 Phonics 
 
 Underlying principles, 13 
 
 Diacritical marks, 13, 14 
 
 Methods, 15-29 
 Reading by the Class 
 Standards, 41, 42 
 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93j Q4. q8 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109 
 
 Method, 113 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Method, 255-258 
 
292 
 
 INDEX BY GRADES 
 
 Second Year — Second Half 
 
 Phonics 
 
 Underlying principles, 13 
 
 Diacritical marks, 13, 14 
 
 Methods, 15-29 
 Reading by Class 
 
 Standards, 41, 42 
 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93, 94, 98 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109 
 
 Method, 113 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Third Year — First Half 
 
 Phonics 
 
 Underlying principles, 13 
 
 Diacritical marks, 13, 14 
 
 Methods, 15-29 
 Reading by Class 
 
 Standards, 41,42 
 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93, 94, 98 
 
 Method, 95, 96 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 III, 113 
 
 Aims, no, in 
 
 Spelung 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 
 Model letters, 173 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Methods, 255-259 
 
 Third Year — Second Half 
 
 Phonics 
 
 Underlying principles, 13 
 
 Diacritical marks, 13, 14 
 
 Methods, 15-29 
 Reading by Class 
 
 Standards, 41, 42 
 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93, 94 
 
 Method, 95, 96 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 111-113 
 
 Aims, no, in 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 
 Model letters, 174 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Methods, 255-259 
 
INDEX BY GRADES 
 
 293 
 
 Fourth Year — First Half 
 
 Overcoming Defects in Speech 
 
 Underlying principles, 30 
 
 Aims, 31, 32 
 
 Methods, 32-40 
 Reading by Class 
 
 Standards, 41, 42 
 
 Teaching of technique, 42, 43 
 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telung 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93, 94, 98 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99-107 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 III, 113 
 
 Aims, no, in 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 Selection of Models 
 
 Letters, 149 
 
 Description, 151 
 
 Narration, 153 
 
 Exposition, 155 
 
 Study of Models, 157, 158, 160 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 166, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 17s, 176 
 
 Model letters, 177, 178 
 
 Notes, 194 
 Correction, 195, 196 
 Narration 
 
 General principles, 198 
 General method, 199-203 
 Models, 203 204 
 Notes, 208 
 
 Description 
 
 Models, 211 
 
 Notes, 215-217 
 Exposition 
 
 Models, 222 
 
 Notes, 225 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252 
 Correction of errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255, 261, 
 262 
 
 Selection, 259 
 
 Formal study, 262-268 
 
 Fourth Year — Second Half 
 
 Overcoming Defects in Speech 
 
 Underlying principles, 31 
 
 Aims, 21, 32 
 
 Methods, 32-40 
 Reading by Class 
 
 Standards, 41, 42 
 
 Teaching of technique, 42, 43 
 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93, 94, 98 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99, 107 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 111-113 
 
 Aims, no, in 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 144-147 
 Selection of models 
 
 Letters, 149 
 
294 
 
 INDEX BY GRADES 
 
 Composition 
 
 Selection of models 
 
 Description, 151 
 
 Narration, 154 
 
 Exposition, 155 
 
 Study of models, 157, 158, 160 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 1 65, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 17s, 176 
 
 Model letters, 178, 179 
 
 Notes, 194 
 
 Correction, 195, 196 
 Narration 
 
 General principles, 198 
 
 General Method, 199-203 
 
 Models, 204 
 
 Notes, 208 
 Description 
 
 Models, 212 
 
 Notes, 217-219 
 Exposition 
 
 Models, 222 
 
 Notes, 225, 226 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252, 261, 
 262 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Selection, 259 
 
 Formal study, 268-271 
 
 Fifth Year — First Half 
 
 Overcoming Defects in Speech 
 
 Underlying principles, 30 
 
 Aims, 31, 32 
 
 Methods, 32-40 
 Reading by Class 
 
 Standards, 41, 42 
 
 Teaching of technique, 42, 43 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93, 94, 98 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99-107 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 III, 113 
 
 Aims, no, in 
 
 "The Village Blacksmith," 113-116 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principles of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 Selection of models 
 
 Letters, 149 
 
 Description, 152 
 
 Narration, 154 
 
 Exposition, 155 
 
 Study of models, 158, 159 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 166, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 175, 176 
 
 Model letters, 180-182 
 
 Notes, 194 
 
 Correction, 185, 196 
 Narration 
 
 General principles, 198 
 
 General method, 199-203 
 
 Models, 204, 205 
 
 Notes, 208, 209 
 Description 
 
 Models, 212, 213 
 
 Notes, 219, 220 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Selection, 260 
 
 Formal study, 271-273 
 
 Fifth Year — Second Half 
 
 Overcoming Defects in Speech 
 Underlying principles, 30 
 
INDEX BY GRADES 
 
 295 
 
 Aims, 31, 32 
 
 Methods, 32-40 
 READING BY Class 
 
 Standards, 41, 42 
 
 Teaching of technique, 42, 43 
 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93, 94, 98 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99-107 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 111-113 
 
 Aims, no. III 
 
 "The Village Blacksmith," 113- 
 116 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 Selection of Models 
 
 Letters, 150 
 
 Description, 152 
 
 Narration, 154 
 
 Exposition, 155 
 
 Study of models, 158, 159, 160 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 166, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 175, 176 
 
 Model letters, 182-184 
 
 Notes, 194 
 
 Correction, 195, 196 
 Narration 
 
 General principles, 198 
 
 General method, 199-203 
 
 Models, 205, 206 
 
 Notes, 209 
 Description 
 
 Models, 213 
 
 Notes, 220 
 Exposition 
 
 Models, 223 
 
 Notes, 226 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Selection, 260 
 
 Formal study, 273-275 
 
 Sixth Year — First Half 
 
 Overcoming Defects in Speech 
 
 Underlying principles, 30 
 
 Aims, 31, 32 
 
 Methods, 32-40 
 Reading by Class 
 
 Standards, 41, 42 
 
 Teaching of technique, 42, 43 
 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93, 94, 98 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99-107 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 III, 113 
 
 Aims, no, III 
 
 "The Village Blacksmith," 113- 
 116 
 
 "Gettysburg Address," 116, 117 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 Selection of Models 
 
 Letters, 150 
 
296 
 
 INDEX BY GRADES 
 
 Composition 
 
 Selection of Models 
 
 Description, 152 
 
 Narration, 154 
 
 Exposition, 155 
 
 Study of models, 158, 160, 161 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 166, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 175. 176 
 
 Model letters, 184, 185 
 
 Notes, iQS 
 
 Correction, 195, 196 
 Narration 
 
 General principles, 198 
 
 General method, 199-203 
 
 Models, 206, 207 
 
 Notes, 209 
 Description 
 
 Models, 312, 214 
 
 Notes, 220 
 Exposition 
 
 Models, 223, 224 
 
 Notes, 226 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Selection, 260 
 
 Formal study, 275-279 
 
 Sixth Year — Second Half 
 
 Overcoming Defects in Speech 
 
 Underlying principles, 30 
 
 Aims, 31, 32 
 
 Methods, 32-40 
 Reading by Class 
 
 Standards, 41, 42 
 
 Teaching of technique, 42, 43 
 
 Aims, 43 
 
 Methods, 44-48 
 Reading to Class 
 
 Aims, 49 
 
 Selection of story, 49, 50 
 
 Method, 50-52 
 Story Telling 
 
 Aims, 93 
 
 Selection of story, 93, 94, 98 
 
 Method, 95, 96, 99-107 
 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, io8, 109, 
 111-113 
 
 Aims, no. III 
 
 "The Village Blacksmith," 113- 
 116 
 
 "Gettysburg Address," 116-117 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underliyng principles, 141-147 
 Selection of Models 
 
 Letters, 150 
 
 Description, 152 
 
 Narration, 154 
 
 Exposition, 156 
 
 Study of models, 158, 160, 161 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 166, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 175, 176 
 
 Model letters, 184, 185 
 
 Notes, 195 
 
 Correction, 195, 196 
 Narration 
 
 General principles, 198 
 
 General method, 199-203 
 
 Models, 207 
 
 Notes, 209 
 Description 
 
 Models, 215, 216 
 
 Notes, 220, 221 
 Exposition 
 
 Models, 224, 225 
 
 Notes, 226 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252 
 Correction of Errors 
 
 General principles, 253-255 
 
 Selection, 260 
 
 Formal study, 279, 281 
 
INDEX BY GRADES 
 
 297 
 
 Seventh Year — First Half 
 
 Overcoming Defects in Speech 
 
 Underlying principles, 30 
 
 Aims, 31, 32 
 
 Methods, 32-40 
 Stitdy of the Masterpiece 
 
 Underlying principles, 53-56 
 
 Selection, 56, 57 
 
 General method, 57-61 
 Selected Studies 
 
 Courtship of Miles Standish, 61- 
 
 73 
 
 Enoch Arden, 75-81 
 
 Franklin's Autobiography, 82-85 
 
 Rip Van Winkle, 85-92 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 III, 113 
 
 Aims, no. III 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 166, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 175. 176 
 
 Models, 186-194 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252 
 
 Formal study, 281, 282 
 
 Seventh Year — Second Half 
 
 Overcoming Defects m Speech 
 
 Underlying principles, 30 
 
 Aims, 31, 32 
 
 Methods, 32-40 
 Study of the Masterpiece 
 
 Underlying principles, 53-56 
 
 Selection, 56, 57 
 
 General method, 57-61 
 
 Selected Studies 
 
 Courtship of Miles Standish, 61- 
 73 
 
 Enoch Arden, 75-81 
 
 Franklin's Autobiography, 82-85 
 
 Rip Van Winkle, 85-92 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 111-113 
 
 Aims, no. III 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 166, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 175, 176 
 
 Models, 186-194 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252 
 
 Formal study, 282, 283 
 
 Eighth Year — First Half 
 
 Overcoming Defects in Speech 
 
 Underlying principles, 30 
 
 Aims, 31, 32 
 
 Methods, 32-40 
 Study of the Masterpiece 
 
 Underlying principles, 53-56 
 
 Selection, 56, 57 
 
 General method, 57-61 
 Selected Studies 
 
 Courtship of Miles Standish, 61- 
 
 73 
 Enoch Arden, 75-81 
 Franklin's Autobiography, 82-85 
 Rip Van Winkle, 85-92 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 
 III, 113 
 Aims, no, in 
 
298 
 
 INDEX BY GRADES 
 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 166, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 175, 176 
 
 Models, 186-194 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252 
 
 Formal study, 283-290 
 
 Eighth Year — Second Half 
 
 Overcoming Deeects in Speech 
 Underlying principles, 30 
 Aims, 31, 32 
 Methods, 32-40 
 
 Study of the Masterpiece 
 Underlying principles, 53-56 
 Selection, 56, 57 
 General method, 57-61 
 
 Selected Studies 
 
 Courtship of Miles Standish, 61- 
 73 
 
 Enoch Arden, 75-81 
 
 Franklin's Autobiography, 82-85 
 
 Rip Van Winkle, 85-92 
 Memory Gems 
 
 Underlying principles, 108, 109, 
 111-113 
 
 Aims, no, in 
 Spelling 
 
 Underlying principles, 119 
 
 Selection of words, 119, 120 
 
 Method, 120-130 
 Dictation 
 
 Underlying principles, 131, 132 
 
 Principle of selection, 133 
 
 Method, 133-140 
 Composition 
 
 Underlying principles, 141-147 
 Letter Writing 
 
 General principles, 163-166 
 
 Subjects, 166, 167 
 
 Method, 168-173, 175, 176 
 
 Models, 186-194 
 
 Correction, 227-235 
 
 General suggestions, 236-241 
 Grammar 
 
 General principles, 242-252 
 
 Formal study, 283-290 
 
INDEX 
 
 Composition 
 
 Correction, 195, 196, 227 et seq. 
 
 Code, 234 
 Devices, 236, 241 
 Means of self-expression, 141, 142 
 Method, 143-147 inc. 
 
 Discussion of, 143-147 inc. 
 In Description, 215-221 
 In Exposition, 225-226 
 In Letter Writing, 164-167, 186 
 In Narration, 198-203 
 Suggestions, 146, 147 
 Theory of, 141, 142 
 Models, nature of, 4th, 5th, and 6th 
 years 
 Description, 151, 152 
 Exposition, 155, 156 
 Letter writing, 149, 150 
 Narration, 153, 154 
 How used, 157-161 
 Description, 215-221 
 Exposition, 225, 226 
 Letter writing, 169-172, 196 
 Narration, 199-203, 208, 209 
 Study of. 
 
 Graded Selection, 4th, sth, and 
 
 6th years, 149-156 
 Reasons for, 148 
 Model Descriptions, 21 1-2 15 
 Model Expositions, 222-225 
 Model Letters, 173-194 
 Model Narrations, 203-207 
 Rewriting, 201 
 
 Subject, selection of, 142, 143 
 Technique, 144, 145 
 Treatment, comparison of former 
 and present methods, 141, 142 
 Concert Work 
 In Memory Gems, 109 
 In Phonics, 21, 22 
 Correct Speech 
 Drill on Common Errors, 227-230 
 Real test of, 227 
 
 Development of taste in children's 
 
 reading, 49 
 Diacritical Mark's 
 Their use in teaching reading decried, 
 
 14, IS 
 Their substitute — sight words lead- 
 ing to phonics, 15, 19, 20 
 Their proper use, 31 
 Dictation 
 
 Characteristics of, 131, 132 
 Choice of selections, 132, 133 
 Content, interest therein not to over- 
 shadow formal element, 132 
 Forms of, 134 
 Method, 134-136 
 Methods of correction, 136, 137 
 Model lessons, 138, 139 
 Necessity for, 131, 132 
 "Enoch Aeden" 
 
 Detailed method- whole, 75-81 
 Enunciation, Faulty 
 
 Causes and treatment, 22, 23 
 Ethical Principle 
 Necessary in masterpieces studied, 
 55. 56 
 Franklin's Autobiography 
 
 Detailed method-whole, 82-85 
 Grammar 
 Development in its teaching, 242- 
 
 248 
 Errors in common speech 
 
 Basis for grammatical work, 248, 
 
 250 
 Causes classified, 248-250 
 Correction, method 
 
 ist and 2nd years, 255-258 
 3rd year, 258 
 4th year, 259 
 5 th year, 260 
 6th year, 260 
 Formal study 
 In Fourth Year — ist half, 262-268 
 In Foiurth year — 2nd half, 268-271 
 
300 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Grammar 
 
 Formal study ^ 
 
 In Fifth year — ist half, 271-273 
 In Fifth year — 2nd half, 273-275 
 In Sixth year — ist half, 275-279 
 In Sixth year — 2nd half, 279-281 
 In Seventh year — ist half, 281-282 
 In Seventh year — 2nd half, 282- 
 
 283 
 In Eighth year, 283-289 
 Mode of approach, 262-268 
 Usual method incorrect, 261 
 In Chinese education, 242, 243 
 In Roman education, 243, 244 
 In Middle Ages, 245, 246 
 In Modern education, 246, 248 
 Method, general principle, 248 
 Method, specific, 262-283 
 Group-Work 
 
 Modern reading method demands 
 it, 10 
 Inductive Development 
 
 Not always to be employed, 139 
 Masterpieces 
 
 Not to be pharaphrased, 58 
 Study of 
 
 Method, 57-59 
 
 Necessity for culture, and knowl- 
 edge of subject-matter on part 
 of teacher, 60, 61 
 Place in elementary schools, 53 
 True function, 55 
 Value of, 53 
 
 Warnings in connection with, 
 53-55 
 Meaning of Words 
 
 Inseparable from spelling, 119 
 Method of teaching, 125, 126 
 Memory Gems 
 Function of, 108 
 Method of teaching, 111-118 
 Principles of selection, 109-112 
 Methods 
 
 In various subjects (See index under 
 subject in question) . 
 "Miles Standish" 
 
 Detailed method-whole, 61-71 
 Models, for composition study, 4th, 
 5th, and 6th years 
 Description, 151-152, 211-215 
 Exposition, 155-156, 222-225 
 
 Letter writing, 149, 150, 173-175, 177- 
 194 
 Narration, 153, 154, 203-207 
 Method of use, 157-161, 194, 201, 
 202, 208, 209, 216-221, 225, 226 
 Oral Reproduction of Stories 
 Aim, 93 
 Details of method and devices, 
 
 95-107 
 Principles of selection, 93, 94 
 Suggestions in method, 95, 96 
 Perception Cards 
 
 Use in reading, 16, 17 
 Use in spelhng, 120, 122 et seq. 
 Phonics 
 
 Concert work to be generally avoided, 
 21, 22 
 Devices, 23-27 
 
 Drill on blend, 23, 24 , 
 
 Elements from sight words, 15- 
 
 17 
 New combinations of elements, 17- 
 
 20 
 Suggested exercises for interme- 
 diate grades, 33 et seq. 
 Work not to end in third year, 30 
 Reading 
 
 Change in methods of teaching, 1-4 
 Faulty — possible causes, 41 
 For content 
 
 OutUne of model lesson treatment 
 in intermediate grades, 43-47 
 Formal drill 
 Necessity for at some time in 
 
 course, 7 
 Neglected through overemphasis 
 
 on interesting content, 6 
 Motivation furnished by modern 
 method, 7 
 Lesson — aim necessary, 41 
 Oral 
 Necessary qualities, 31 
 Common defects and their treat- 
 ment, 31-33 
 Primary 
 
 Aim — defined, 13 
 
 Aim — ■ how attained, 14-20 
 
 Modem methods 
 
 Based upon (i) Interest in the 
 famiUar (2) Love of rhythmic 
 cadence, 8, 9 
 
INDEX 
 
 30I 
 
 Teaching of, in large cities — com- 
 plexity of problem, i 
 Technique 
 
 Emphasis on its importance causes 
 
 certain methods, 3 
 Formal work in intermediate 
 
 grades, 42, 43 
 Possible neglect through too much 
 
 stress upon content, 6 
 Teacher's model for imitation, 42, 
 43 
 To class 
 Aims, 49 
 Method, 49 
 
 Nature of selections, 49 
 "Rip Van Winkle" 
 
 Detailed method-whole, 82-92 
 Spelling 
 
 Cimiulative syllabic method, 124, 
 126 
 
 Devices, 127-129 
 
 Fundamental principles in teaching 
 of, 121-122 
 
 Lessons — frequency and duration, 
 120 — method, 120, 122 et seq. 
 
 Reasons for teaching meanings con- 
 currently, 119 
 
 Syllabication, 123-125 
 
 Words, bases of selection, 119, 
 120 
 
 Written, correction of, 126, 128 
 Syllabication 
 
 Not a part of expression, 126 
 
 When and how to use, 123, 124 
 
 Syllabic method in oral spelling, 
 124, 125 
 Technique 
 
 Composition, 144, 145 
 
 Reading, 2, 3, 7, 42, 43 
 
APR 22