^ETH0DS0FTEACH1 IN P^TEN CITIES J ST.PAULtS CHICAGO?^ CLEVELAND KANSAS CnY WASHINGTON BOSTONeS NEW- HAVEN BROOKLYN BIRMING- HAMtS POUS aX?i. '^^ EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING CO C}assL£jiL2_i Book J 4? Copyrighted By EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 1900 INTRODUCTION. Perhaps no plan for helping teachers through an educational journal has ever been a greater success than the series of " Teach- ing Reading in Ten Cities," which appeared last year in Primary Education. Everybody who is responsible for the teaching of little children is keenly interested in the problem of teaching them to read. The ways are numerous. The results record every shade of satisfaction and dissatisfaction known to teachers. Rumors of what was being done in this branch of instruction in other schools reached the teachers ; but they could not go and see for them- selves. For this reason the work of the primary schools in ten leading cities of the Union was brought to them by means of this valuable series, prepared either by the primary supervisor or a leading teacher in each locality. The scheme became popular at once. Here was a chance to visit other schools and compare notes without leaving their own work. Many school principals used each instalment as it appeared as the text for a teachers' meeting for the study of teaching youngest children to read. The ten articles cover every prominent method or system for teaching reading to beginners now in use in our public schools, and primary teachers have found in them the help, the breadth, and the inspiration that the series was designed to give. It. is a happy thought of the publishers of Primary Education to arrange these articles in book form for more convenient use and quick reference by teachers. May the new readers appreciate them as much as did the first, and may the first enjoy them all over again. Eva D. Kellogg. Editor of Primary Education. Boston, 1900. 4 CONTENTS. I- PAGE How Reading is Tauoht in St. Paul ...... 7 II. How Reading is Taught in Boston . . . . . . 24 III. How Reading is Taught in Indianapolis ..... ^9 How Reading is Taught in Brooklyn, N. Y. .... 40 V. How Reading is Taught in Kansas City ..... 54 VI. How Reading is Taught in Chicago ...... 60 VII How Reading is Taught in Washington, I). C. . . . . . 65 VIII. How Reading is Taught in New Haven, Conn. ... 75 IX. How Reading is Taught in Cleveland, Ohio .... 84 X. How Reading is Taught in the Birmingham (Ala.) Schools . . 96 TEACHING READING IN TEN CITIES HOW READING IS TAUGHT IN ST. PAUL Sarah C. Brooks. Supervisor of Priinnry Schools of St. Paul, Minn. Learning to read involves so many processes and is of so complicated a character, that under the best of circum- stances it requires the outlay of much time and energy. It calls for the training of the eye in recognizing, the vocal organs, — and incidentally, the hand, — in reproducing written and printed foi-m. Training of the ear is also in- cidentally involved in the same processes. Memory must hold the results attained, and imagination must be exercised in the effort to clothe dull form with spii'it and life. Upon sense training depends quickness of impression; upon muscular training, exactness; upon memory, permanency of attainment; and upon imagination, the dramatic fire neces- sary to comprehension and to beauty of expression. If, " by reason of strength " on the part of the child, and intelligent guidance on the part of teachers, he masters the mechanics of reading in three years, so that at the end of that period he is reasonably well equipped foi- independ- ent reading we consider the time well spent. 7 Learning- to read involves all methods known to man and cannot be accomplished by any one alone. The word is of little value nntil combined with others to form a sen- tence. The independent acquisition of new words is limited without a working knowledge of the few laws of pronun- ciation. Hence, when one inquires by what method I teach reading, I naturally infer the questionei- desires to know how I begin the teaching of reading. A system of schools is somewhat more complicated than the process of learning to read, and so long as indi- vidual tastes, attainments and judgments diflfer, there will be differences of opinions regarding method. It would be a remarkable coincidence indeed, if all the primary teachers of a city should have but one opinion concerning so im- portant a matter as that of teaching reading to beginnei's. There is, however, in all cities an earnest and studious body of teachers Avhose investigations and discus- sions lead them to accept one theory as a working basis of instruction, subject, of course, to variations in the matter of detail. It is such a body of students as this, whose views I shall now endeavor to present. The vagaries, if any, must be attributed to me; the practical ai-rangement to them. Selection of Method. In the kindergarten the child works as h? plays and plays as he works. In all the exercises of the day he is at his best because instruction, if such it may be named with- out giving offence, follows the line of interest and its reaction in expression, that of his natural activities. He plays himself into many valuable experiences, and gives form to thought by his own ci'eative activity. The lines of interest and natural activities ai-e the lines of least resist- 8 ance, and ai-o tlierefoi-e the most practical because the most effective hues for instruction to follow. From some such observations as the above, arose the following conclusions : The child naturally thiid) perception of blend is kept separate from the sen- tence work, begun at the beginning of the first term, con- ducted daily, and so managed as to make it a very brisk 44 competitive exercise. A few minutes a day in each of these hnes of drill suffices to insure rapid progress, because of the careful grading of the work. The first phonogram taken is /', l)ecause its sound can be prolonged for ear study and blends easily with whatever follows it in the words that are subsequently taught. After it come m, n, I, r and .s-, chosen for the same characteristic. For the first lesson, the teacher writes /' on the black- board and gives the sound, Avhich the children repeat sev- eral times as she touches the symbol with the pointer. As often as convenient during the day, between other exer- cises, she points suddenly to the letter or makes another like it and the children give the sound. Before the day is out, some have learned to watch for the signal and have the sound ready. The next day, a second letter and its sound are simi- larly taught. There is now a field for comparison, and the letters are alternated with as much variety of call as possi- ble. The spirit of a game already begins to develop. The call being sprung upon the class at odd moments during the day, an alertness is cultivated which is never allowed to wane dui-ing the phonetic course, but kept grow- ing, to the benefit of other studies and the general quicken- ing of the mind. Very soon the word-building begins. The word fan is taken first. The teacher writes it; covers the an and asks what thesis; covers the 'f and asks what therm is; covers both and has them recalled; encourages the children to put them togethci*; helps them as much as is necessary, prolonging the /'sound. Man and ran follow. {^An is a sight word, taught in the sentences and afterward used as a phonogram.) These 45 word-building exercises do not differ in the manner of giv- ing them from simihir exercises in other systems, save that, the teacher's prominent thought in connection with them l)eing to train the ear in perception of the blend, she approximates a given order in her selection of words for the purpose, ])roceeding from blends that are easy to those next in difficulty. Long after some children have caught the idea of blend and can put difficult sounds together smoothly in words, other children in the same class find the joining difficult. But these slow ones are not allowed to lose heart. Indeed, they are clever if they discover theii- own slowness, for the teacher keeps practicing them upon work that they can do in such a lively manner that it is not noticed that they are selected for all the " easy ones." The constant review that is kept up affords plenty of material for this generous practice. Thus fearfulness and the sense of dullness never develops to diminish the interest of any in the phonetic work. The result is a steady growth of power for all. And so much more practice is given to the weak than to the strong that an evening up takes place as the work proceeds and a remarkable unanimity of result marks the close of each term's effort. A device that greatly assists in the cultivation of brisk- ness is the set of phonetic cards, issued with the books that embody the system. These bear each one phonogram, in script on one side and in pi'int on the other. After a general exercise or two in quickly showing the cards and withdrawing them, while the class names the phonogram seen, individual and general practice are com- bined in this way: The children rise, a row at a time, and •i6 each is g-iven a chance to name a phonogram pi"oduced for him. If he fails to name it instantlf/, the teacher gives the sign and the eager class responds. It is no disgrace to miss, bnt each pnpil is ambitions to catch his phonogram " on the fly," and not have it taken from him by his class- mates. Two or three minutes amply suffice to thus exer- cise a class of fifty. It has been done in one minute. The training in attention is found invalnable in its effects m the other studies. In the eai- training, an old and familiar device is used at the start very helpfully. It is to tell a story and stop at some of the easy words to say them analytically, as n-ail, the class repeating the woi-d as a whole to show that they know what it is. It will be noticed that in this exercise, the teacher does the analyzing and the pupil the synthetiz- ing. In some of the oldei' phonetic systems, the children were compelled to dig and delve for their phonetic material, themselves breaking up the words in which it was to be found. This was found so difficult an operation that teacher and pupil were often discouraged, the acquirement of the jxjwer to read was delayed, and phonetics fell into disrepute. In the Brooklyn system, the phonetic building blocks are given the children all ready for use, and theii- energies are all directed to the mastery of the blend. From Script to Print. The transition is made very easily by simply turning to the printed Primer after its words have all been taught in script. But little blackboard help is needed. No new words are taught until Part I. of the Primer has been read through. In this book, abundant repetition of all word forms used is made the main point. As much as possible, . 47 successions of sentences referring to the same thought are given, but the '"' story " idea is never permitted to interfere with the essentials of practice. An illustration of the wise progression observed in the system may thus be given: A set of teachers in a certain school were asked by their principal to put their classes to book reading before the appointed time. One of the teachers " begged off," asking a week longer in Avhich to complete the preparatory work. This teacher, by the end of the term, had taken her children through five miscellaneous reading books, not of the system, while her mates had completed but three. Simultaneously with the print reading, the blackboard work goes on, phonetic words being introduced into the sentences. Scanning precedes reading aloud in every instance. If the pupil needs help, he discovers the fact during this silent study of his sentence, and the class gives it. Blundering is thus i-educed to the minimum, and the natural tendency to carelessness that characterizes some pupils being checked in the I'eading lessons, disappears in a measure from all their work. By the time Part I. of the Primer is finished (this is called the " second stage of the work," and requires about three weeks) the children have become used to finding marked words in their script sentences and are not fright- ened at their appearance in the print. Part II. of the Primer introduces them, at first only to a sentence. After this, new words or new phonograms are taught in each lesson in the books, until a point is i-eached where a gen- eral review is found desirable, when less preparatory black- board work is done and the book reading proceeds more rapidly. More and more frequently, it is found possible to 48 widen the text out into a little nature lesson, dialogne or story, but this is never done at the expense of fniiple prac- tice upon words and phonograms^ new and old, the aim of the system being to impart as rapidly as possible a key to real literature, which begins to make its appearance in the First Reader and comes in greater abundance later on. DiCIPLINE. It would give the martinet teacher bad dreams to see the commotion of interest that characterizes a recitation in phonetics in a Brooklyn baby class, and to hear the eager whispering with which each baby vocalizes to himself in a ^preparatory way the word he is anxious to tell. iV thought- ful observer, however, could scarce help remarking, "Why, these children are not listening to their neighbors. They are not leaning. They have no idea of borrowing their seat-mates' glory. The whispering cannot, be regarded in the ordinary light of ^ communication.' Each midget is so intent upon getting the word for himself as to be oblivious of all ' help.' The whispering is a natural expression of concomitant activity, and helps them to form the woi'd in thought and hold it while waiting for the opportunity to tell it. It is a freedom most wisely allowed." Completion of the "Key." With each new set of phonograms, there is given in the manual of instruction to teachers a list of words falling within the ordinary vocabulary of children that can be read by means of the phonograms just given, in combination with all that jDrecede. These lists have been made as comprehensive as jDossible, under a diligent search of the dictionary, and the teacher need not go outside them for her 41J practice iii.aterial. Progressive practice in making ont the words of these lists by means of the given phonograms imparts the power to read English text independently. That this mastery is act[uired rapidly is shown by the ease and fearlessness with which second-term children turn from their own reader to others of its grade. Thorough work is made of it. Such difficult combina- tions as occur in blew and ylae are iwacticed upon when they come, not lightly skipped or passed by. All difficulties are carefully reserved until their turn arrives in the order of grading, but nothing is shirked. The last thing to do is to drop the phonetic mark- ing. This is done graduall3^ The Third Keader con- tains but little of it. And by this time, the little Italian baby who proudly answei'ed ^' deng ! " when his teachei" asked him to repeat lug after her and the smiling little girl who persisted to the point of tears in giving '^ blad- ling " as her nearest approach to " badly," having learned to liear the phonetic constituents of words and to enunciate distinctly. Individuality in Teaching. Besides the devices prescribed in the manual for insur- ing interest and a rapid progress, the teachers use others of their own. Some add to the phonetic cards furnished with a manual a similar set for drill in the reco":nition of sigfht words. These are made by themselves, and each bears a word in script on one side and in print on the other. Some illustrate their blackboard lessons with pictures hung before the class, or (what the children love better) with blackboard sketches. 50 Some use the hektograph for the reproduction of cer- tain lessons in sufficient numbers to go round the class. Some do not mark the words in the blackboard lessons until the children have told which words need marking. This gives the bright ones opportunity to read the new words without the help of the marking, as all must eventu- ally do. A blackl)oai'd lesson, when marked, looks like this : 0lcyu/- /iamaI' uud^ /di^ ^ dieAM, uCo^^ MMju (Xd^\ Ay/iymjiy /oyyixv yn^(W^ A.,c-tm£/ fO/UUX^- While the book matter is necessarily condensed, it be- ing essential therein to accomplish within a given compass a' certain amount of repetition and review of woi'ds and their elements, the teachers, in their blackboard lessons, are free to expand into all the pleasantness their sympathy with the children may suggest. Thus many of the class-made lessons are exceedingly bright. For instance, the follow- ing, illustrated by excellent blackboard sketches: 51 Kitty wants to catch the bird. The window is open. Ponto is by it, looking out. He likes the dear little bird. Kitty creeps up softly. She is about to pounce upon the bird. But Ponto sees her. He catches her instead. The little bird flies ofl". "What time is \i, Mr. Rabbitt?" "I think it is breakfast time. I am going to take this cab- bnge home. I shall cook it for dinner." "You must be quick then. It is going to shower soon." "Oh, dear! I stall hurry away. I don't want to wet my new umbrella." Mrs. Goose has no umbrella. But she is glad to have it rain. Brooklyn has illustrated in its class rooms Professor Ward's method of teaching reading for the benefit of many visitors, and its teachers have been called to other cities to explain the system by lecture. A class of nine children was recently taken by Mrs. Gordon L. Warner as far as Hackensack, N. J., to illustrate such a lecture. The chil- dren had done but one term's school work, attending during the first five months as " afternoon scholars," two hours a day, and during the second term as " morning sclwlars," three hours a day. The following sentences, prepared in advance by the teacher, but new to the children, were given : Alkali Ike is the name of a western gentleman. We can read Sanscrit, if desired. Latin words, too, are given with ease. But we are American boys. We intend to be clever. You may catechise us, if you care to. 52 So the amused auditors, who didn't want to be incred- ulous, but could scarce help it, proceeded to " catechise." The words Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, President McKinley, teacher, principal, Mr. Ingalls, Head of Depart- ment, Georgics, Hackensack, Psyche and others were given. The children had to be excused from attempting Georgics, not having reached the soft g in their phonetic course. The other words offered no difficulty. Some of them were given in the following sentences : Hear us say Connecticut. Know you the state of Vermont? Maine is noted for big forests. We know who is President. He is President McKinley. The battleship " Maine " was lost. She was an American ship. Near Havana she was lost. They called her a man-of-war. 53 V. HOW READING IS TAUGHT IN KANSAS CITY. Josephine Heermans. Principal Whittier School, A'ansas City, Mo. While I shall speak for Kansas City, there may be in the length and breadth of the town other methods used, but in so far as I know, the following is the one pursued : In accordance with the Missouri law a child must be six to be of school age. He may then enter the kindei'- garten or the primary department, as the parent elects. In many schools there is a primary room that enrolls begin- ners, and another that takes the children who have spent a year in the kindergarten. In the latter case the children are a year older than those in the same grade whose parents for some reason do not wish to enter them in the kinder- garten, Init they do the same work. We are watchnig the results from both ([uarters very closely. Enough time has not yet elapsed to speak with certainty as to the relative advantage the child trained in the kindergarten has over the one with no such trahiing. The childi'en being six or seven years of age, as the result of the above condition, we begin to teach them read- ing when they enter the primary grade. The room is full, of course, say fifty. The sheep are not separated froui the goats — in other words, the teacher has as yet no idea how 54 many of these fifty will work into the higher class, the middle or the chart class (called " chart " to avoid calling- it the "low" class). She begins, however, the first day to form an estimate of the pupils' aptness, and by the end of a week she has them in three divisions — that she may handle them more easily. These divisions are constantly changing their 'personnel during the fii-st month, at the end of which time each becomes more settled. The slowest pupils must have more time than the more receptive ones. Once in our experience we had no chart class. In fact, we had no middle class, but had two divisions of the same work. The children seemed even in their ability. The first morning the teacher writes upon the black- board the following: f\ Z, m, >/, r, .s, «, e, o, iny^ ings, iglit, ights — these thirteen phonograms — called so because they represent a sound taught as a unit. She writes them on the blackboard and she has them on big gay cards that she holds before the pupils; and maybe she has birds on the blackboard, each cariying in its bill a phonogram — any way, every way, to make them interesting. These phono- grams ai-e sounded, no letters are pronounced as such. With these and all other phonograms it is necessary that the teacher be like Chaucer's parson — "first he^w^rought and afterward he taught." She must be able to do, to sound them correctly herself before she teaches them. Three lines of woi'k are carried on from the first day : 1. Sight Reading. 2. Drill in Phonograms. 3. Ear Training. Sight words are taught a few each day until the whole list, eighty-three words, are recognized easily. On or by the seventh day they know /, ail, hoy, see, erd, Jacl-, to, too, tico, do, does. Do, tnilh, egg. See, see, an, A, are, at, like, fruit, cow, me, good, apjyle, dog, girl, water, drink, looks, yoa, can, old, any, a. Each day, beginning with the first, sight reading is introduced by means of little lessons written on the l^lack- board in script, like this: 1 2 3 4 I see. Do see. Do you see ? Do see Jack ! I see you. Do see me. Do you see me ? Does Jack see me ? See me. Do see Jack. I see Jack. Jack sees you well. This lesson is based on the word see; others are on eat, look, drinli, etc. A!rn,.are and is are hard to remember, and mnch drill in sentences in script on the blackboard is necessary. Is Jack a dog ? He is not. He is a boy. You are a boy. I am Jack. I am not a dog. I am not like a dog. I am like you. Is the girl well? The boy is not well. Is the fruit good ? Fruit is good to eat. Eggs are good to eat. Water is good to drink. Bread and milk is good, too. The whole class looks at the board, whis]3ers the whole sentence together, the teacher calls on Ben or Har- riet, or perhaps the whole class, to read it aloud. This mental preparation is valuable. The teacher hears the whisper and corrects any word wrongly called. Long after this, when pupils have finished primer and first reader and are using the second reader, they continue to prepare mentally the whole sentence before reading any of it, and if they then halt or '"^ call " a Avord we say, " JN^ow you have prepared your sentence — i)lease read it." 56 The phonograms spoken of in the beginning of" this article, /", I, in, n, r, .s, htg, ings, iyld, iyhts, a, e, o, are drilled npon for tAvo or three minutes several times each day for abont eight weeks. No letter names are tanght dur- ing the first half year. After eight weeks, gradually, the following phonograms are : A! w, 1 , X4t/, hM/^ rr\sutJ/i <^i ir(/, Jrv, 0/, i/, xi, 0", ?UU, C^^?riX>AAJe/) 0" y A/, uA/, tru/, (TUT, J , M/j --^.^y", f , iAA/^ iHy, aV, n^A/, J', ov, tnj, Ia^, Jlur, AA/UU, '^Lv, ^OA^U, jLov, -^m/, :L, (These phonograms appear in script l>ecaiise of the phonetic marking.) This work is a slow and gradual one, and each day during the two years a di'ill lasting five or six minutes in 57 all the i)honograms must be given. Unsystematized phonics ai-e chaos. It is as easy to begin to teach sounds on the first day as to begin to teach letters as in the past, and much more rational. The diacritical marking is simi)li- tied l)y means of the sight word which is taken as a whole, as t-each-Qv. Beginning with the first day the ear training begins. A sight word, say ail, is written on the blackboard and quickly the teacher places /'before it — sounded, remember, not named; f-ail, m-ail, n-ail, r-ail, s-ail, the successive sounds being uttered rapidly but separately. f-ail f-ail m-ail f-ill f-ails m-ail S-ani m-any f-all n-ail s-it s-eat f-an r-ail f-old 1-ights f-at s-ail s-ill f-an f-ill f-ight 1-and 1-it f-in 1-ight m-an r-ill f-it m-ight s-ing m-old f-ight n-ight m-eat f-in f-ights r-ight f-all n-at f-old s-ight f-ail n-ail f-olds 1-ight r-ing This blend work is given as (1) and then mixed up as (2). Five minutes a day suffice for this work. The transition fi'om script to print is made without the pupils' knowing it. The cards spoken of have the phono- grams in print on one side, in script on the other. The print side is placed underneath the same character written in script on the blackboard and pupils told that they are the same. This worked so well that the first day the primer was used the pupils read nine pages. Some teachers put the work on the blackboard in print for a couple of days. 58 After six weeks of oral work from the blackboard, primers are given the pupils, which thej finish, 127 pages, in nine weeks. These are followed by first readers, and one class I know of reads 400 pages of supplementary work. The beginning of the second year they take the second reader. After finishing it, the classes have read Longfellow's " Hiawatha," the entire poem, with ease — with elegance in a few instances. So much foi- the details of the method. It is a method, and it has a name and a very high standing with us. Perhaps in an article like this it will be better to leave it nameless. No doubt many readers will recognize it. This work requires skill, accuracy and perseverance on the part of the teacher — these are indispensables. It requires a great amount of careful blackboard Avork. It is plod and drill and steady pressure da}^ by day, introducing a little new into each lesson and never neglecting for one lesson the old. By these means foundations are laid — foundations of power and purpose. The average child under this system for two years can read and can read well. When pupils have had their two years' training they have more than a vocabulary. It helps every department of primary work; the training of eye and ear, or attention and control manifests itself in each branch. The word and sentence method go hand in hand. If Kansas City had never heard of any method, with the experience she has had with children's reading, the first thing she would do would be to select a vocabulary that touches the environment of all children. She would teach these words as wholes, using them in and out of sentences, impressing them on the memory. These sight words would not all be of one syllable. VI. HOW READING IS TAUGHT IN CHICAGO. Ida a. Shaver. Principal Cooper School, Chicago. (It is not to be expected, in u city the size of Chicago, that any one school can represent the entire city in its manner of teaching^ readino-. The followino- method in use in one buildino; is especially valualjle inasmuch as it deals with the problem of teach- ing foreign children to read. — Ed.) Our particular problem is to teach the foreign child to read. To do this effectively, lines of least resistance are sought. A careful transition from the home life to that of the school is made through play, and the content of the first reading material presented is the I'esult of the adapta- tion of the child's home environment. By this means his motor and social proclivities are easily aroused and he is accordingly thrown into an active mood of participation from the first. It is only through doing and activity that the child can know; it is his nature to feel, to handle, to act, to do, and consequently a state of " passive receptivity " can in no way yield a true develop- inent. So it is not with the Greek myth nor " Hiawatha " that our little foreigner is regaled at first, but rather with the home life pictured and adorned through toy and play. 60 To illustrate: A small table and a set of doll's dishes of fair size and quality have been procured; the older girls of the school have contributed diminutive table-cloths, napkins and doilies exquisitely made by themselves, while an artistic little flov^er-vase, together with fancy bits of china which answer for vegetable dishes, platter, etc., have been picked up here and thei'e. These, with apron and cap made by the older girls for the prospective servant, together with a dainty Japanese tray and a quaint little salt-cellar doing service as a finger-bowl, complete the para- phernalia necessary for the serving of an artistic luncheon. Gradually the children learn to dii'ect the work, some of them suggesting the process of procedure, while others perform the labors. ■'' Spread the table-cloth upon the table,'' '■'Put the napkins in place," etc., until the table is set. Then the papa, mamma, baby and servant, who are to enact the role of the diners, are selected b}^ the pupils, whereupon they take their places, and proceed with the meal, while the remaining children suggest what shall be passed and how the participants shall most properly con- duct themselves. Later, the whole action is performed from the sentences written upon the ])oard by the teacher, and afterwards from sheets printed upon the school press. In analyzing this work, the force of the principle of motor activity is felt. The child does not remain a passive recipient of ideas, but carries them over into action. Every act is thus a mental whole, yet knit so closely with that which precedes and that which follows as to form a part of a larger whole. Thus the child feels the influence of a sequence of thought, realizes means to an end, and gains in the work a sense of unity and harmony of arrangement, a feeling of ])recision and completeness. 61 all of whioli lK'S])e{ik a growing mind and a prep- aration for the appreeiation of the coming poem or story in the light of both form and content; and herein is avoided the grave pedagogical error of feeding- • pupils upon the scrappy, disconnected action sentences so rife at present, such as, ''" Open the door," *"" Sit upon the chair," " Stand upon one foot," etc. Moreover, the participative and co-operative spirit has been emphasized and kindly feelings thus promoted, while in many cases the habits of the home life have been improved. Again, the motive of the reading work does not lie wholly with the teacher, but the child itself is cognizant of an end and purpose in his work. He reads to find out what to do, not merely for the sake of reading. Many other toys are used to round out an occupation in its entirety. A doll provided with an elaborate wardrobe by the older girls, a trunk, a doll-buggy and an express- wagon furnish the basis for a number of jaunts in Avhich the wax madam must needs be arrayed in her elaborate finer- ies, her trunk packed for the occasion, and herself ensconced in her buggy, attended by her parents, and received at the other end of the line by the community at large. Again, by washing the clothes, running them through the wringer, hanging them upon the line with diminutive clothes-pins, etc., another round of activity and fun com- pletes itself. Putting the baby to bed necessitates the cleansing of that individual, the use of towels, wash-cloth, brush, comb, tooth-brush, etc. — all of which appai-atus may be used inci- dentally as suggestive hints to the manipulators themselves. Another phase of the reading work is . the especial appeal to the child's inherent dramatic interest. Here the 62 imrsery rhyme and the fable ai-c utilized for pui-poses of dramatization. Jack and Jill are imperwonated by two of the children, the hill by three chairs of increasing height, the pail of water in evidence, and as one child recites the rhyme, Jack and Jill go up the improvised hill; later Jack reaches for the pail at the appropriate cue, and followed by Jill, tumbles upon the floor in finale effect. Little Jackie Horner veritably sits in the corner with a pie pan and a wax plum and performs the action as an accompaniment to another child's recitation of the rhyme. Tom Thumb, Cock Kobin, Jennie Wren, Simple Simon, Old Mother Hubbard, and many other of the rhymes, as well as most of " ^sop's Fables," are found to be suscep- tible of this crude treatment and are used in like manner. Later, the scenes are enacted to the teacher's written direction and afterward from printed matter. Again and again can this work be presented and repeated and yet the interest is never known to flag, for that dramatic sense of the child which queries continually, ^' AV^hat is going to happen next? Why does it happen? How does it hap- pen? " is ever bubbling and recurrent. In consequence the teacher is here given an opportunity to insinuate the neces- sary amount of repetition and drill without the usual nauseating eftects. Another phase of the reading attempt is the experi- mental nature work in which the children perform the experiments first from the teacher's oral direction and later from written or printed forms, such as, '^ Put this piece of iron near the wax. What happened to the wax? Put it near the fire. What happened?" etc., developing the notion of the magnet. Here the thought of realization through motor activity is cai-ried out as before. 63 Constructive seat work, also, is made another medium of teaching children to read. At first from oral, later from written or printed directions, the child proceeds to do the work, beginning with very simple dictations and gradually becoming more complicated. " Construct a rectangle 3 by 3 inches. Divide it into one-inch squares. Cut out the coi-ner squares. Fold and paste so as to make a one-inch box." Here, as in the other work indicated, the child reads to find out what to do. His motive is rational. With this preliminary work which has given the child a considerable vocabulary, the allotted I'eaders ai'e taken up and phonics introduced, as the child feels a necessity for them to enable him to decipher new words. As often as practicable the child reads to his class that he may have the inspiration of an audience greater than one, in fact, that oral reading may have its excuse for being from the child's point of view. The class in turn reproduces the thought heard, thus insuring a growth in the power of auditory attention, the visual power being gained by the reproduction of the sentence or paragraph which has been glanced at simply. And with this care for the mechanism of the subject, reading becomes a study of content, much of the better literature which can be supplied in no other way being presented to the children in mimeographed form. 64 VII. HOW READING IS TAUGHT IN WASHINGTON, D. C Elizabeth A. Denny. Director of Primary Itistructioii, U'ashinghin. ^o attempt has been made in this paper to set forth the details of the machinery of school-room work. The individnal preferences of the teacher together with the sur- rounding conditions of the school-room and appliances should determine these matters. Effort has been made alone to show the plan and purpose of Averk that is done. Preparation. If by learning to read the child is to become a thought reader his knowledge getting in the early part of the work must precede his word learning. From knowledge by means of experience to the forms of knowledge is the teacher's watch-word in teaching the child to read. The child must have the ability to interpret easily the contents of the printed page before he is made to read it, if reading- is to become pleasurable and pi-ofitable to him. To secure this ability he must be given many and varied opportunities foi- broadening his old experiences and for acquiring new ones. He must not be forced in the learning of symbols (words) until adequate, rational preparation has been made, 65 until a need is felt by him or desire is aroused in him for the expression of knowledge in which he has interest. The natural desire on the part of the child to give oi-al expres- sion, and later, written expression to what he himself has found out lessens greatly the drudgery of learning the forms of this expression and is ever the teaq^ier's oppor- tunity. The longer and nioi-e thorough this period of prep- aration the more readily is the formal part of the work secured. Believing this, the first two months of the school term are devoted to leading the child to investigation, experience getting, i-esulting to a perceptible degree in correct seeing and knowing, and to the adecpiate expression of the same before written symbols are given. The abun- dance of material that the season and environment oifer furnishes the subjects for these lessons. With the object in hand, bird, flower, or other thing, the child's knowledge of the subject is first ascertained. This knowledge is increased by the child's own eff'orts in response to sugges- tions by the teacher. His replies in single woi-ds or head shakes are changed to sentences Avhich he comes to use 'naturally and easily. As the revelations of the various parts of the subject discussed become clear to him the child is led to express these relations aright and thus he comes to interpret easily and use the complex sentence with fluency. Care is taken that the efi'ort to secure good language does not become the supreme one and thus check the develop- ment sought. The teaching of language is always subor- dinate but at no time is it incidental. The main aim of every lesson is (1) the development of the power of acquiring, and (2) the acquisition of thought; the efl&cac}^ of the lesson depending largely on the wealth of knowledge of the same that the teacher possesses. She must know 06 the subject in its entirety so that out of her abundance she may be able to select and impress important truths in their proper relations. While the child is acquiring this knowl- edge there is a steady and natural increase in the vocabu- lary he uses. He is encouraged to paint and draw many of the objects studied, thereby strengthening his powers of observation and securing accui-acy of the same. Accompanying this knowledge getting, as restful employment, the child is given other lines of work (seat work) for the training of the eye and hand. He copies various simple forms from the blackboard by the use of pegs, corn, lentils or other appropriate material. He con- structs geometric forms according to measurement using the same materials, then he draws these forms on paper and cuts them. He consti-ucts boxes, envelopes, and other objects for the preservation of his own materials and uten- sils. Much manual dexterity is thus gained. The hand learns to respond quickly and accurately to what the eye sees. The difficulties in seeing and reproducing written forms ai-e so materially lessened by this preparatory train- ing that when the time comes for getting the word the child is not so engrossed with the form as to entirely lose the thought. A much longer period than two months could be profitably spent in this kind of preparation. The Written Symbol. In giving the forms the sentence method is used. This method has been to the child the avenue of the oral expression of his own thought and also the means of his thought getting from others. He has grown familiar with it in the pleasurable exercise of knowledge getting. This is the form from which he is to obtain thought from the pi-inted page. It is thei-efore the form in which he should first see the expression of his own thought. The chief aim of the lesson is not chang-ed when the child is learning written symbols. Power of acquiring and acquisition of knowledge are still the chief purpose of the lesson. Learning form is ever subordinate to thought getting but is never incidental. So also, as in the early lessons, these lessons are based on fields of knowledge which are of the most interest to the child. ]N^ature work in its varied forms ^- trees, flowers, fruits, animals, simple experiments illustrating natural phenomena, etc., — fur- nishes subjects for many of these lessons. The life of the city — the markets, mail-delivery, or street cars running past his door, — are made the basis of other lessons. The lessons are short and to the point. Observations are made, conclusions drawn, information added, main truths being so emphasized and arranged as to be left in possession of the child in proper sequence. Whenever it is possible to do it the work is enriched and interest in the subject is increased by the story and the poem. During investigations the teacher freely uses blackboard illustrations thereby increas- ing the interest of the child and inducing a closer and more accurate seeing. Through interest in the subject the child has talked freely and has been led through accurate observa- tion of facts properly related to accurate and full expression. Following this work comes the written expression. For the very first lesson the children are led to the expres- sion of some one simple sentence which the teacher writes on the board. This sentence is i-ead, erased, and rewritten several times, the children watching its growth each time. The children are then sent to the board to reproduce it from memory and afterwards to their seats for its repro- 68 dnction on papei- as well as on their desks with lentils or other objects. A few pnpils will need special care. These should be isolated for the purpose of repeating the work of ))oth teacher and pupils but not for the purpose of showing them how to make the forms specifically. The work of imitating should not be eliminated especially with those children who are slow in reproducing forms. Even the slow child should not be allowed to copy; he should be made to imitate. This written seat work is required at the close of each reading lesson. When the knowledge of written form is meager it is simply a I'eproduetion of that given in the lesson, but with inci-easing mastery over form and expression comes the independent expression of thought obtained from the discussion of subjects. Though the first written sentences are imitations of that which the child has seen yet the rethinking of the same and their j-eproduction make them original with him. The child does not copy; he imitates the teacher in what she has done and thus makes his work his own. This is the beg-innino- of three kinds of work: composition, spelling, penmanship. In all written work no copying of form is allowed, children being made to feel from the fii'st that they have the power of recalling words once in their possession. To the first simple sentence taught additions are grad- ually made, one subject being discussed long enough to secure the written expression of several related facts, ^o weariness to the child ensues because of long continuance on one subject; change in matei-ial illustrative of the sub- ject bringing with it all needed interest. If, for instance, the subject "fruit" is being discussed, the various kinds that the season and ])lace aft'ord offier sufticient variety to pi-event monotony and also sufticient opportunity for bi-oad- ening the child's knowledge of the subject while enough written forms are taught to enable him to do both consecu- tive reading and writing on the same. In the written Avork few, if any, disconnected sentences are given to the child. Units of thought (the paragraph), work whose parts are sequential, are presented, the complex sentence being used early and frequently that the work may be natural and that the child may become accustomed to interpreting related thought jiroperly expressed. This written work, to result in power on the part of the child, necessitates a readiness on the part of the teacher for varied, logical expression and a knowledge of the laws of composition whereby she may wisely select her points and present them in order and completeness. The subjects under discussion are presented to the children by the teacher in the various forms of com- position, description, narration, comparison, the idiom peculiar to each being emphasized. Familiarity with these various forms of composition prepares the child for getting thought easily and profitably from corresponding forms on the printed page. Idioms. A few simple exercises are given the child for both oral and written expression to give him facility in the use of some of the most common idioms of the language. By the use of objects and pictures the teacher makes conditions the descriptions of which necessitate the use of some one or more idioms. Thus: "The apple which is near the cup is red;" '^ The one which is near the pear is green;" "I see a table on which are a glass and a book," et-c. Conditions are dictated in correct idiom to children for pictorial illus- tration on the board to enable the teacher to detei'mine whether or not words call up quickly in the child's mind 70 the con-ect mental picture. In a corresponding way idioms relating to narration and comparison are used until these become a part of the oral vocabulary which the child uses. The work is always interesting and is of the simplest char- acter, practically little more than play. Vocabulary. The words used in these lessons are largely those found in the reading matter to be used by the children. At the beginning of the school year the teacher makes a complete list of words to be taught, arranging the words according to parts of speech to aid her in a wise selection of words for each lesson. Hei- dependence on the reading book for teaching ends here. The subject that is selected is so treated in discussion as to involve the use of those words that ai-e employed in the reading mattei- for the easy reading of which the work is preparing the child. Natu- rally many words outside of this selected list are taught, the subject indicating what words are necessary for the clear statement of fact. The richness of this vocabulary depends on the breadth and culture of the teacher. A few of these words for lack of oppoi'tunity for frequent use are for the time lost. The teacher lays the most stress on those words which the child is first to meet on the printed page. SUPPLEMENTAKY READING. Much additional reading to that obtained daily from the board is given the child. In connection with each sub- . ject taught, the teacher prepares reading matter with the aid of the hektograph. These hektograph sheets prove very valuable in furnishing the child the needed opportunity for ready and repeated recognition of both the thought and- 71 the words taught. They also make the step between read- ing from the board and readmg from the book an easy one, as through their use the child's eye is trained to pass easily from one line to the next, to keep the place, to turn the page, etc. These supplementary lessons are used not only in the first year but also in the second and third years whenever subjects are completed, as no one reading book contains enough reading matter on a given subject or that which is adapted to the needs of each school. Many of these hektograph lessons are original with the teachei-. Others are adaptations, transformations of poems, or, if simple, the poems themselves. By means of these hekto- graph lessons the children are introduced to much that ranks with the best in literature. This enriches, broadens, and enlivens the subjects undei- discussion, increasing interest in them. In the second and third years this line of work is continued by the use of ^Esojd, Hans Andersen, and other authors. Books. When the child has a reading vocabulary of about two hundred words he is given the book. The ease with which he passes from script to print depends on the thoroughness and breadth of the preparatory work. By this time he readily recognizes script that represents his spoken words and has acquired much power in thought getting. Tlie transition from script to print therefore presents very few difficulties. The young child, too, sees hkenesses in foi'm much more readily than he sees diffei'ences. The construc- tion of sentences found in the readers presents no new difficulties to him because the frequent and natural use of the complex sentence in both his oral and written work has developed valuable power for its interpretation at sight. 72 The care of the teacher is to see that the child knows l)y sight every word in the matter to he read. No check to thong'ht hy the intervention of a new word should occur either in these first readings from the hook or in any of the printed reading matter given him during the first and second years of school life. The reading from hooks during this pei'iod, as in fact during most of the third year as well, is not so much for the acquisition of new knowl- edge as it is for learning the representation of knowledge acquired through experience and also for verifying it. For the teacher this reading from hooks should at all times be the test of the efficacy of her teaching. Books are used, therefore, only as subjects are completed. Silent reading is emphasized, the children being required to get thought by self effort before oral work is asked. In the second and third years, in addition to the oral expression of thought obtained from the printed page, the written expression of the same is required. This written work demands a knowledge of the various kinds of sentences; capitahzation and punctuation; of possessive forms; of quo- tations, etc., much of which the child has already obtained by the reading and writing that he has done under direction but which must be extended by specific work at this time. Spelling and Phonics. During the early part of the year form is learned wholly through the sense of sight. All the words are written many times by the children, cai'e being taken by the teacher to correct the spelling when it is wrong. The child takes the sentence as a whole. Later he discovers that the sentence consists of words and still later that the word is made up of separate letters. Fi-om this last point 73 of progress the ear as well as the eye is made to help in getting form spelling. No stress is laid on the learning of letters, the names being tanght incidentally. As the teacher writes the new words on the board she names the letters, fre- quent repetition soon putting the children into the possession of their names. Little oral spelling other than that which is voluntary with the child is expected during the first year. The child acquires form mostly through the eye, the much writing that he does, both at the blackboard and in the expression of his knowledge of subjects at seat woi'k at the conclusion of each lesson, serving to impress well the spelling of most of the words taught. A knowledge of the sounds of letters is given the child, but not primarily for the purpose of acquiring a vocabulary thi'ough their use. This is used as a means of recalling words once in the possession of the child, but whose forms he has for the moment lost, and also of acquiring the forms of a few easy words (phonetic) with whose meanings he is familiar. By the end of the first year the child is familiar not only with the names of the consonants but with the appro- priate sound of each. In the second and third years he leai-ns the diacritical marks, marks of accent, the hyphen. Stress is put on syllabication, as an aid in the division of words at the end of the line and in spelling. All of this work is of such a nature as to prepare the child for an intel- ligent use of the dictionary. Throughout all of the work the penmanship is taken care of. A close watch is kept in all the written work for the correct formation of letters, this watchfulness in most cases taking the place of special lessons in this subject. VIII. HOW READING IS TAUGHT IN NEW HAVEN, CONN. May R. Atwater. Some of the objects of teaching reading' are: (a) That the child may gain in power in penetrating or comprehending the thought of the printed page. (b) In the lower grades to teach the child to recog- nize in print the words and sentences which he already knows as sounds. (c) To increase the vocabulary of the child. (d) To cultivate the feelings and emotions, the spirit- ual nature of the child. (e) To cultivate an abiding taste for good literature. — Cou7'se of Study in Heading for the JVew Haven Public Schools. The law of Connecticut allows children to enter school at the age of five. To realize that the fact is appreciated by the mothers, it is only necessary to consult the monthly report of any first year teachei-. These reports show that the average age of the children at the beginning of the year is uniformly under six. It is these little ones, whose feet have not yet lost the unsteady step of babyhood, who are to be ^ led along the mysterious j^ath called " Learning to Re'ad." 75 Ask any little five-year-old, as he starts out on the first morning, what he is going to do at school, and nine times out of ten comes the answer: " I'm going to learn to read." Some teachers feel that a simple sentence is as easily rememhered as a word, and that it means infinitely more to the child, so they cater to the child's desire for reading by gi^ ing him the entire sentence to begin with. Others begin with the word method. The latter choose words which readily lend themselves to the formation of sentences, and by the end of the fii'st month it would be impossible for an observer to tell which method was used at the beginning. The Beginj-ting. Let us glance at a i-oom where the sentence is used. For decorative purposes the teacher may have brought an armful of golden-rod into her room. They have a little talk about it, some braver spirits volunteering a few remai-ks, while the others gaze abstractedly around the room. Then the teacher says: "Let us read about the golden-rod." At the magic word " read," their wandering attention is caught foi- a few minutes, and soon they are reading '^ The golden-i-od is yellow," printed on the front blackboard, once for each child in the group, printed over here by the golden-rod, etc. Perhaps the teacher has pro- vided herself, either by the aid of a hektograph or a rubber stamp, with forty-eight reproductions of the sentence. At dismissal each child is given a sentence to read to his mother. The next day it may be that they talk about other yellow things, and for theii' reading have " The sun is yellow." Later, " The ap])le is yellow." By this time the child is ready to select the word that says "yellow." Thence it is but a step to finding " The apple," '^ The golden-rod," etc. From thit,, the word and the sentence method are used in combination. For variety, action sen- tences are interspersed, as, " I can run." " I can jump." " I can see." " I can fly." The children suit the action to the word as they read. Thi-oughout the year the reading is connected with the literature, history, nature study, or whatever may be the subject of interest uppermost at the time. As books come more into use, it may be that only one or two blackboard lessons a week are based on these subjects. SUPPLEMENTAKY READING. While a large amount of supplementary reading is at the teacher's disposal, the Cyr Readers have been selected as the basal or drill series. To quote from our Course of Study : " If these books are propei-ly used as drill books, at the end of the first four yeai's of the child's school life he will be master of the vocabulaiy of these readers. Mastered bespeaks familiarity with (a) pronunciation, and the child as a i-ule should be taught to get at the pronunciation him- self by phonics; (b) use in sentences; (c) spelling after the first year if the word be one that the child will prob- ably use, later in life, in correspondence. The important relation of such mastery to the child's work in English must be apparent to all." The Cyr Primei- and Cyr First Reader are assigned to the first year. With the Primer vocabulary in mind, the teacher com- poses her daily l)lackboard or hektograph lesson during the first months of school. In November we are studying about the Pilgrims. From the Primer the words ivjiat^ going ^ hope^ some^ soon are selected to l^e taught. After presenting the words and giving a short drill on them, the teacher places a lesson something like the following on the blackboai'd. The children have heard how the Pilgrims suffered from hunger, and how eagerly they watched for the return of the "Mayflower," and so are ready to read understandingly : Good morning, little girl. What is your name? My name is Betty. What are you going to do, Betty? I am going to look for the "Mayflower." I hope it will come soon. We do not have much to eat. _ My papa is going to catch some fish. I hope he will catch some big fish. 1 am going with you, Betty. Come on. Let us run. • I hope the " Mayflower '' will come soon. To have the child i-ead from the blackboard the lesson which he is to find in the book is poor economy. Much emphasis is placed on jweparing the lesson. It is impos- sible for the average teacher to wi'ite a series of connected sentences, possessing interest for the child, and giving the necessary i-epetition to the new words, without giving the matter previous thought. From the beginning the child is expected to read the sentence an a sentence, not as a series of words. " Study it to yourself," ^' Read it to me," are the directions frequently given. The childi-en soon get the idea, and an occasional lapse into "Where — did — you — get," etc., is quickly checked by the question, " Is that reading? " 78 At first they study in whispers. It is not wise to forbid this, for to these Uttle ones a word means a sound. After the fii-st month or two, it is well to gradually lead them to quiet studying. " See if you can think this sentence with your lips shut. I see Yetta is reading with her eyes, just as grown people do." These and similar cautions, coupled with patience and persistency on the part of the teacher, do much toward overcoming that which would otherwise develop into a bad habit. It is difficult to make absolute statements as to dates and pages, but it is safe to say that by the end of the first half of the year the majority of the children have read all of the Cyr and the Interstate Primers, and parts of some First Readers. Away back on that first day of schoolj when little five- year-old was reading about the golden-rod, another line of work was begun. Work which has been steadily converg- ing toward the reading, till some bright day the children hardly know how or when, they begin to " find out " words for themselves. Phonics. There is a variety of ways of teaching phonics in ^ew Haven. Some teachers begin with the short sounds of the vowels and with the consonants, followed by the long- sounds of the vowels. Keeping the long and short sounds far apart avoids confusion. All sorts of devices are used to make the sound study interesting, but care must be taken lest the device or story prove so fascinating in itself that it overshadows the point of the lesson. With the teaching of individual sounds comes the ear training. First the word is given by the teacher in slow pronunciation, later the sentence. This work conies in admirably at rest periods. " You may all s-t-a-n-d. You may point to what I name, w-i-n-d-o-w, f-l-o-o-r, s-k-y, f-l-a-g, etc. You may touch your h-e-a-d, f-o-o-t, Ic-n-e-e.''^ As soon as they do this readily, and without glancing at each other to see what is meant, they are ready for the entire sentence. Such directions as : •'' Face the back of the room, stand on your right foot, touch your left arm," may be given in slow pi*o- nunciation. It is found best to give much of the first work in car training in the form that requires action on the child's part, for in this way only can the teacher be sure that each one of the foi'ty-eight knows what is said. By the middle of October the children are ready for the com- bination of sounds to form words. Much drill is given on words with like endings, as — r-tng^ s-ing, w-ing. At first this is done in concert that the child may get the sequence of sound by hearing others, then individually, that he may learn to listen to his own voice. Sometimes the complete list is placed on the board at the beginning of the lesson. At other times the teacher says : "^ Tell me all the ick words that you know," and writes as the children dictate. There is no time set for connecting the phonic work with the reading. Some of us begin before Thanksgiving, and some after Christmas. All are making use of the child's knowledge of sounds by the end of the first half of the yeai'. At the end of the year the children have been taught, in addition to the jjrevious work, .sA, wh, ch, th, ow, ou, oi, otj, ir, ur, er, and an almost endless number of pre- fixes and terminations, as, Je, in, och, est, etc. As the knowledge of sounds increases, the word method drops out of sight. Only such words as thought, again, enough are taught as wholes. Befoi'e a lesson from the " Cyr Reader" is taken up the new words are placed on the board, and the 80 children find out what they arc. If necessary .the meaning is discussed. In the supplementary reading, however, no time is spent on word drill. The children are hungry for stories, and it is wonderful how they gain, in power as they steadily devour the unlimited and interesting matter pro- vided. In one room last year, two thirds of the children read all of the " Cyr Primer," " Interstate Primer," " Finch Primer," Hodskins' "Little People," "Cyr Reader," Atwater's " Stories from the Poets," Beckwith's " In Myth- land," Arnold's ■■ Stepping-Stones to Literature," No. 1, Smythe's " Old Time Stories," and most of " Little Folks of Other Lands." There is usually a " thii-d class " which does not accomplish nearly' as much as the other two classes. Seat Work. There is one phase of the teaching of reading which is often ignored by speakers and writers. It is not, however, ignored by the primary teacher. Her reading seat work is carefully planned, and is made to help the reading lesson in various ways. Lack of space forbids mention of many varieties, but here are a few: An envelope, containing hektographed outline pictures and words to match, is given to the child. If hahj is the new word of the day, the child finds the picture of a baby and then selects all the words baby and arranges them under the picture. Later he arranges all the words in the envelope under their corre- sponding pictures. A reading lesson is hektographed on the face of a manila envelope, and also on heavy paper. The latter is cut into phrases, or, later, individual words, and placed within the envelope. The child reads from the envelope in the class, then takes it to his seat and repro- duces the lesson from the material inside the envelope. A box containing several tluplieates of each woi-d is given him, and he is told to make all the sentences that he can beginning with " Where " or ^^ I have " or whatever may be the word needing special drill. Perhaps a little direct reference should be made to the extract from our Conrse of Study which heads this ai-ticle. The entire work in reading, throughout the year, tends toward accomplishing object a, h and c. These are attained by the word teaching and the phonic Avork. d. This may be done by wise and sympathetic ques- tions and comments concerning the subject matter read. The thoughts of kindness to animals, of thoughtfulness for othei's, of obedience, of patience, of love and of sympathy may well be brought out in the various reading lessons. To do this requires infinite tact and delicacy of touch on the part of the teacher. The child is quick to feel if the questions are asked in a perfunctory way, and unle.ss the teacher really feels a responsive thrill to the thought of the lesson, she had better keep still. e. The only way to cultivate a taste for good litera- ture is to give the children the best all the time. What Professor 0\Shea says, apnypos of action, may be readil}^ applied to this subject. '"'" There is no way to negate an action, but to supplant it by another action." What we want in the training of our children is to habituate them to right lines of action. Science reveals to us that charactei- at any moment is determined by the ways in which one has acted in the past. The organism gets adjusted to a certain kind of reaction, and it goes shooting along in maturity in the direction in which it was started in childhood. 82 Below is given a list of the supplementary reading for the first and second years from which the teacher may select at her discretion : First Year. Atwater'.s "Stories from the Poets." Badlam's ''Child Life." Baldwin's "Reading hy Grades," No. 1. Bass's "Beginners' Reader." Beckwith's"" In Mythland." Bee he's " First Year Nature Book." Davis' "Nature Stories for Youngest Readers." "Finch Primer." Hodskins' "I^ittle People's Reader." "Interstate Primer." "Ligiits to Literature," No. 1. Nash's "^Fsop's Fahles." Norton's " Heart of Oak," No. 1. Scudder's " Riverside Primer." Smythe's "Old Time Stories." " Stepping Stone to Literature," No. 1. Thompson's "Fairy Tale and Fahle." Turner's " Primer and First Reader." Second Year. Baldwin's "Reading by Grades," No. 2. Bass's "Plant Life." Bass's " Animal Life." Carroll's "Around the World." Craik's " Bow-wow and Mew-mew." Ford's "Nature's Byways." Grimm's " Fairy Tales." Johonnot's " Cats and Dosrs." Scudder's "Verse and Prose." "Stepping Stones to Literature," No. 2. Strong's "All the Year Round," — ".Spring," "Summer." "Interstate Second Reader." "Little Folks of Other Lands." Turner's " Stories for Young People." Warren's " From September to June." Wilson's "Nature Study." 83 IX. HOW READING IS TAUGHT IN CLEVELAND, OHIO. Emma C. Davis. General Supervisor, Cleveland, Ohio. I have been asked to tell how we go about to teach the little six-year-old how to read, — to tell "the very first steps and all the way along, and the reasons for the methods pursned." The Child. As we are trying to teach the child and not the snb- ject, let ns, for a moment, rest our gaze upon him. Here he is, a wondering, inquiring little being, grasping far and near for every stray bit of information and fitting it in with what he has already acquired and trying as Ijest he can to piece out his limited knowings with each new bit and to weave it into the warp and woof of knowledge. Then comes the teacher studying the child to learn what are the points of contact of his inner life with the outer world; what are the lines of these, his wonderings, inquiries; along what paths his flights of fancy lead him; what his desires are; what are the missing links in his knowledge of facts — in a word, what are his interests in life. -Then finding these, as we do, in the circle of home-life, ill the nature-world and in the world of social activities, the d4 teacher next seeks to find the partieuhir i)hases of these which are nearest to her children in their special experi- ences and conditions, and to reflect these in the daily work of his edncation. For it is npon these inherent interests of the child that we mnst base onr plans of woi'k in order that the iini)nlse to learn, to do, comes from within, and the child grow through his self-activity. This principle of growth through self-activity is one of the fundamental truths which constitute the body of our educational creed. Another of these is, " Self-expression is the highest yearn- ing of the human spirit next to the hope of immortality.'- That self-expression leads to self-realization is still another. Self-realization is dependent upon two factors: the inner child, — his impulses, desires, volitions, thoughts; and upon the outer life, — his spiritual and materialistic environment; and we count this, that or the other method as valuable only as it is rightly used as an instrumentality in enabling the child to gi'ow, through his own activities, to a more and more perfect self-realization. The Method. We do not think that we in Cleveland have found a " royal road " to learning to read and we are still in the attitude of learners (and I hope shall continue to be so ) . But we have a plan which, while it is definite enough to be a guide, is yet sufficiently eclective and flexible to permit individual freedom to the teacher and to suit the varying conditions of a great city where the several sections are as different as the difterent nationalities which occupy them. The following is a brief outline of this method in its two phases which are somewhat distinct at first but which finally merge into one. We begin with what we call 85 " Thought Reading/' which is the sentence method primar- ily, with the learning of words as entities, as complemen- tary. This thought reading we carry along alone as blackboard work in script, until the childi'en have become familiar with this new avenue of expression, and have acquired quite a little stock of words and jDhrases. These woi-ds and phrases are such as have universal value as being common forms of thought or as expressive of the phases of life under consideration. These vary somewhat according to the section of the city, with the season of the year and for other causes. A record of these words and phrases is kept upon the blackboard. During this period the teacher skilfully weaves into the lesson such words as she knows she is soon to need in the work in phonics. As we begin our phonic work with the short sound of r/, such words as ca]), pla/d, has, and, are found among the words recorded upon the blackboard. Beside the learning by sight of these words containing simple phonetic elements and which are later to be ana- lyzed, the teacher has meanwhile been given *"' phonic exercises" which constitute an exercising of the vocal organs, practice in enunciation and pronunciation, training of the ear, without, as yet, any application being made to visible forms. When the teacher finds her children ready foi- it, she begins to inti'oduce them to the written signs ibr these sounds by means of first analysis and then synthesis of phonic words, and they are thus launched upon this new venture — the learning of words — not, as hitherto, by asso- ciation and inference alone, but by unlocking them with the key of sounds. Analytic and synthetic exei'cises in phonics are daily adjuncts to the reading. Take, for a single 86 instance, the ''making out" or "making up" of such lists as:, and, stcmd, sand, band, hand, land, ring, sing, bring, sting, etc. Notice that these are all words in almost daily use with the children; we make it a great point that no w^ord appears in these lists that is not included in the child's '' working vocabulary," and unfamiliar words are given only where the horizon widens and new ideas are embodied in hitherto unknown words. It will be readily seen what a rapidly increasing vocab- ulary is w^ithin the accomplishment of the youngest learners. The phonetic work marches side by side with the " thought reading," lending its aid more and more to the latter, as all words in the thought reading which come within this ever widening range of phonetic analysis are learned by this method. In ftict, as soon as sufficient facility in makino- out words by sounds has been accomplished, we make the phonetic work, whenever possible, the basis of all our read- ing study to the end that the child may begin at the earliest moment to be self-helpful. The earlier he can be set to "study out" new lessons for himself — not relying alone on memory and inferences for getting the words the earlier is his self-directive power set into operation. And the earlier he reads with the set pui-pose of acquiring foi- himself from the printed page its treasure of thought, the sooner is begun his career as a " free citizen." Appleton's charts and readers are the basis of the special work in phonics while the thought reading is con- tinued as supplementai-y to the work in language, in its several phases — home life, life in nature and civic life, with its social activities. The language work and reading are thus so closely correlated as to be almost inseparable. Indeed, w^e believe that Reading and Composing are co-ordinate educational processes, for the twofold purpose in the mastery of the symbols of language is the acquisition of the ability to put into permanent form one's own thought, as well as to read the thoughts of others. The Application of the Method. In the following illustrations of the beginning steps, I doubt not that some will think we take rather a snail's pace; that we give too limited a range in these earlier lessons. Possibly this is so, but this is our effort to be psy- chological as to manner of presentation as well as psycho- logical as to subject-rnatter and miethod of presentation. The child has now come into the power of formulated thought, it is true, and should begin to learn to read by reading thoughts, i. e., sentences, and he should not be led aside into the shallows of single words — to be functioned after learned; but, on the other hand, he should not be submerged in the deep waters of too many, too varied, too complex sentences. iLLUSTPtATIVE LeSSONS. With these considerations in mind we begin our very first lessons. These lessons, as has been said, are interpre- tations of the child's interests in home life, the world of nature, and the social world, and such topics as the home, playmates, Hiawatha, the boy Columbus, autumnal plant life, wind and weather, etc., are the subjects of the earlier reading lessons. The words written in parentheses represent simple outline pictures which the teacher draws — as rapidly, almost, as she writes — these help to embody the thought and are the means of avoiding a too rapid introduction of 88- words, while giving a variety and scope otherwise unat- tainable. Here is the type of a first lesson. The teacher having provided herself with twigs, leaves, nuts, seeds and flowers, gives one of these to one of the children who stand before her with expectant eyes and minds and heai-ts aglow: She asks, "John, what have you?" John replies, "I have a twig." The teacher says, ■'" I will write what John told me." Writes, "I have a (twig)." "John, read your story." John reads with help. Mary also reads John's story. Then the teacher gives Mary a flower, and, as before, Mary '' tells " and " reads,'' " I have a (flower) ." The lesson is thus continued until this is the result: I have a (twig) . I have a (flower) . I have a (chestnut), etc. Thus the phrase " I have " is introduced and is placed upon the blackboard in a space reserved for "the dic- tionary." The next lesson may be on two objects in the hand of the child with the following result: I have a (pear) and a (peach), etc. Thus " and " is added to the dictionary. I*^ext to "^ I have," in nearness to the child's experience, is '^ I see." A type lesson would be: I see a (flower) and a (vase), etc. Thus " I see " is added to the dictionary. A playmate is presented in the picture of Lily. Lily says : See my red (dress) ! See my white (ajn-on) ! etc. 8t» Color names are written in chalk of tlie color men- tioned. Thus this use of " see " and the word "" my " are added. Then, in connection with the talks about home, " I love" is introduced: 1 love my (mother). I love my (father), etc. The foregoing- lessons are simply partial outlines of type lessons to show the mode of procedure and no attem])t has been made to reproduce an actual lesson. This next lesson was given last fall and shows how early it is possible to closely correlate seasonal language work and the reading. The Wood Asteus. (This lesson followed a language lesson on the wood aster. The word ■' have " had been taught in the phi*ase " I have.") The teacher gave each child a spray of wood asters and let the children talk about it, without questioning. The teacher also talked about the beauty of the flowei-, its coloi', its home in the shady woods, etc. Teacher. " I wonder how many little girls and boys can tell me something that all wood asters have. We will talk about more than one because they live in little families just the wa}^ you live." Warner. Wood asters have (i)etals). Grace. Wood asters have (pistils), etc. After each sentence the children talked al)out the j^art mentioned. This next lesson followed a language lesson on " Ilia- '.»0 watha." (The word '^ saw " had been taug-bt tbe day before, after a trip to a neighboring field.) Teacher. '" Children, to-day I shonld like to play that we are going to Hiawatha's home. Let us shut our eyes. ^ow take hands and we will all go together. We have had a long journey, but now we are there. I wonder if you can tell me some of the things Hiawatha saw when he was a little child just like 3'ou." Maine. Hiawatha saw the (sun). John. Hiawatha saw the (sea water). Olive. Hiawatha saw the (pine trees), etc. Conversations, stories, poems, moi-ning talks, all find their reflection in these thous'ht readino: lessons. The following lessons were given just before the spring vacation in April. These exemplify " self-expression." Twigs., " We have many little twio:s. This one is a pale grayish green with a small pointed bud on it. Harry's is dark brown with large pointed buds. It has a bud at the end. It is the largest. The buds feel very sticky. They have a very hard brown coat. "Margaret's twig is paler than Harry's. It has many little round buds in a l)unch at the end of the twig. " We have liad Beatrice's twig a long time. It- has some tiny green leaves just peeping out. Oh ! see the lovely green leaves on Edith's twig. Fred has a branch where the little pink flowers have come out — before the leaves woke up. " Eold says, 'My twig is just like Fred's, but the little flowers are green.' " Little Miss Spring. "She looks like a little fairy. Her dress is a lovely green with a long, flying sash. It has pretty yellow stars all over it. The stars are the dandelions. She came from Mother Nature's work-shop." A conversation on the approaching vacation gave the Ibllowing : 91 " I am goino- to have a good time this vacation. I will go to the woods. I will see the woodpeckers. They are tapping on the trees. J will tind the flowers thtit are hiding. I will listen to the streams. The stre-ims are moving and stretching. They will sing sweet songs to me." Devices. In Cleveland we use no device as an essential part of method. We recognize that certain devices stimulate a self-emulative spirit that is helpful in bi-inging about an exhilaration and mental alertness; but we feel that this is not to be compared in importance with the power that comes from that intense desire aiid deep abiding purpose of getting from the printed page the thoughts and expei'ience of others, which it should be the teacher's aim to inculcate. We use devices wherever they may properly be employed, as for instance, in the mechanics of reading. " The Game" we recognize as one device of universal value, for it is the child's natural avenue of self-expression. One game, which 1 recollect, was given as a test of the children's power to sound out new words. The teacher said, "Let us play we went to see A Menagerie," (The w^ord menagerie was separated into syllables and marked diacritically, as were the other hard words.) " We saw there ever so man}^ animals. We saw a tiger and a whole caije full of monkeys. We saw a tall giraffe and a hum|)ed- backed camel," etc. Diacritical Marks Are used from the beginning of the phonic work, but as soon as the child learns, for instance, that cd is given the long sound of «, the marking is omitted. The children are not specially drilled in making the marks, but we find that they have an intelligent appreciation of phonics by their intuitive use of them. When v^^riting their stories they frequently mark new words, this being an evidence of the effort of the child to help himself by means of this " power over the sounds." From Sckipt to Print. This transition comes early with us, and since we have been using the' vertical writing, the children find no diffi- culty in recognizing the identity of the Avritten and printed form. The teacher simply prints beneath the written words for a few lessons befoi'e beginning to use printed matter. Accessory Written Work. From the beginning the muscular sense comes to aid the eye and ear as another avenue to the intelligence. The children begin their writing lessons with simple, easily formed words. As soon as they can wi'ite two or three words, phrases and sentences are attempted. Hold- ing here also the theory that the child should deal with thoughts, we give even in the earliest days such exercises as these. The lesson having been on '"' N^at and His Garden," and the pictures of his gardening tools having .been placed upon the board, the children write as follows (the first sen- tence having been put upon the board) : Nat has a (spade). Nat has a ( rake ) . Nat has a (hoe), etc. After this the wi'itten work follows along with the advancement of reading, and includes the filling in of elliptical Sentences; using words in original sentences, 93 thereby composing little themes and leading- up to the written language work. COKRELATIONS. Spelling. We give a daily dictation of at first a single word, and soon a sentence containing known words. This is the beginning of our written spelling work, which con- tinues throughout the year, keeping pace with the reading. Written JLayiguage \Vorl\ During the latter part of the first term we begin to get from the first and second divisions of a noi-mally constituted class, small repi'oduc- tions — the budding of the composition work. These first reproductions, founded on the thought reading, lead to the later independent composition work. This con-elation of language and reading and composition work is a separate subject in itself, and can only be thus lightly touched upon here. Arithnietiv. This is also correlated, and in this way — if the lesson in language and reading happens to be upon leaves and flowers, then the concrete examples ai-e upon these same objects. Manual Training. The color and form study espe- cially aifords subjects for the reading lesson. The Dictionary. Frequent reference has been made to this — the lists of woi'ds and phrases recorded on the blackboard as they were learned. The lists serves to keep before the eyes of both teacher and pupils words which have been presented. This dictionai-y has two phases: during the earlier days it is a record of all words and phrases learned and is usually kept in two columns — in the first column are the 94 phrases. and non-phonetic words, as, for instance, "I have," ^'I see," "This is," "I love," "my," "pretty," etc.; in the second column are the words to be sooner or later analyzed phonetically, such as " am," " have," " can," " has," etc. After the pupils have become well established in read- ing, and most of the common words and phrases have become familiar, the dictionary takes on the second phase — words are now classed according to association in ight as: The Sun The Wind The Rain The Sky shines blows falls blue melts warms whistles strong drops washes gray clear hides bright gently bends soaks wakes gloomy clouds light breaks softens fleecy Amount of Heading Accomplished. In addition to this reading work in connection with the language work, our first grade pupils all read through two graded First Readers, and most of them accomplish another Supplementary Reader besides. 95 X. HOW READING IS TAUGHT IN THE BIRMINGHAM (ALA.) SCHOOLS. LouLA Bradford, I am asked to tell, in a brief paper, how primary read- ing is taught in our schools. Usually telling is much easier than doing, ])ut where is the primary teacher that can reduce to writing the warmth, the color and inspiration, which must give birth and life to any mechanical forms employed with a class of beginners? AVhen our little ones first enter school, they have already learned to use intelligently, in conversation, several hundred words, or at least to understand their meanings, as they hear others use them. These words are only so many sounds recognized through the ear. Interesting stories and conversations soon reveal these words to the teacher, and she hastens to make as many of them as pos- sible, recognizable to the eye in both their script and print representation. When words outside the child's oral vocabulary are needed, the teacher supplies them, and sees that they are used correctly. The child as he enters school is exclusively " ear- minded," so far as language is concerned; the teacher's task is to make him " eye-minded " as well. In accom- 96 plishiiig this task there are two important phases or lines of work which requii-e onr attention from the ontset: (1) that phase which occasions and develops thonght and stimulates its natural expression, and (2) the mechanical phase which includes drills in the use of the symbols of thought, and which enables the child to use automatically certain words and phrases and combinations of words and phrases. These two phases of work are mutually dependent and claim equal attention from the teacher. If the attention is restricted to the first phase, the child's acquirement of word forms will be very slow, and his mastery of reading as an instrument of knowledge will be unnecessarily delayed. If, on the other hand, the second phase monopo- lizes the attention, the work degenerates into a lifeless, machine-Kke drill; the mental life of the child receives no nutriment, and his spiritual nature is deprived of the insights and inspirations afforded by the beautiful in nature and in literature. The child's power and skill in these two lines of work, together with his home envii-onment and special interests, determine largely the subject matter of our lessons, and the special methods and devices we may use to accomplish the end we have in view, i. e., teachino- the child to read. On the mechanical side, the following objects are to be attained during the first year in reading: (1) the recogni- tion through the eye of the child's oral vocabulary; (2) the easy and fluent expression of thought fi-om this written or printed vocabulary; (3) some degree of power to discover for himself the pronunciation of new words; (4) the rapid extension of his speaking and reading vocabulary; (5) cor- rect pronunciation, inflection and modulation. 97 The first lessons in reading are given from the bhick- board. No books are used, no copying is required, at first. When the child learns to see as well as hear wotrls, then the 7miscular sense may re-' iiforee the eye; he must make the forms for himself by imitation. The subject matter of these first lessons is the reproduction of simple conversa- tional and objective language Avork inculcating love of home, nature and country. During the first few weeks we combine the "Word" and "Sentence" methods. Words and phrases are taught by sight and these are combined into sentences as soon as possible. We begin with the word because it seems to be the natural starting-pomt for the little ones. In learning to talk the little child does not express himself in complete sentences. His first attempt at expression is invai'iably in words, usually the " key- words " to his thoughts. He does not say "' I see a kitten," but simply " kitty ! " 'Ilie name of the object wanted is given, as " watei%" " a})i)le," etc. Our experience shows that the analogy holds good in reading, (rradually we combine words and phrases and give him complete sen- tences. In teaching words we observe the following order: 1. The Idea represented by the woi-d is developed l)y means of objects and pictures. 2. The word as a sound is emphasized foi- the ear. 3. The word as a foi-m is pre- sented to the eye. 4. The word form is copied. The muscular sense exercised in uttering and in copying the words strengthens the ear and eye impressions. The fiist Avords, phrases and sentences to l)e taught are suggested by the child's oral vocabulary, and are always developed in the oral work. Great care is exercised in the selection of subject matter as well as in the selection of words for our lessons. The subject matter may be 98 varied, but it is so arranged and planned that the leading thought of each day's lesson will naturally introduce that of the next. The central theme may be continued for days and even weeks. The indiscriminnte or hap-hazard selec- tion of words is to be avoided by the careful preparation of a list of Avords suggested by the subject mattei-. This list includes (1) words of interest to the child, (2) connecting words, (3) sound words and (4) root words. The work is begun in script, not simply l)ecause the script is easier to reproduce than print, but because it is the form he will use in life; pi-actice in rejDrodncing the ])rinted forms is waste of time, as experience proves that the transition from the written to the printed form presents no obstacles worthy of consideration. The child learns more readily that which he attempts to reproduce, and at the same time learns the art of writing. AYe continue to teach words as wholes for the first four or five weeks, but as the lunnber of words increases, there is danger of confusion. When the child forgets a word, it must be given to him again; he has no power to recall it except by association, noi- has he as yet any abihty to help himself with new words; he is entirely dependent upon others. To overcome this, we now intro- duce phonic analysis. In the method heretofore used, the memory only has been exercised. JSTow he begins to compare and to analyze familiar words, and to construct new ones. The first exer- cises with the phonetic elements of words are given to train the ear, and then by the use of the blackboai-d. the children are taught to associate the sounds of the word with their written symbols. ^ After learning a nunibei- of sounds, the children become moi-e self-helpful nnd their i-eading vocab- ulary increases rapidly. We can now use "sound words" 99 L.ofC. and " root words " to advantage. From each of sneh root words as an^ and, all, end, ice, in, oil, ore, etc., the child will soon learn to construct a series of new words by pre- fixing consonants. The teacher will find many ways to help the child in enlarging his vocabulary, such as by add- ing letters or syllables to root words, making lists of words that rhyme, and by many other devices too numerous to mention here. At this point we find the greatest need of patience and perseverance. Some children are quick to appreciate sound, some are slow: some confuse one sound with another, while others still cannot make certain sounds after weeks of drill. Individual attention to special needs is imperative. Do the best we may, there is a period, all too long, when the mechanics of reading keep the child l)ack, — far behind his intelligence. Phonic analysis is carried far enough to be of use to the child in correct enunciation and as a means of discovei- ing the pronunciation of new words, but no farther. The letters of the alphabet are not taught until the beginning of the second half-year, when they are taught in their order. The children know them by name long before this usually, but it is useless to require the alphabet to be memoi-ized before we begin using it in alphabetic spelling. The script charts, especially pi'epared by the teachers, are used eai-ly in connection with blackboard work. In making the tran- sition fi'orn script to print, the two foi'ms ai-e placed together and the change is made without loss of time or energy. After this the usual Reading Chai-ts may lie used, or better still " stenciP' charts, made and illustrated by the teacher. The words now selected and used on chai-t or blackboard arc suggested not only by the subject matter 100 presented, l)iit also by the i-eading* book to be placed in the hands of the children later. When the first reading book is introdoced at the beginning- of the second half-year, the child finds the first part of the l)ook a delight, because the words are ali-ead}^ familiar to him. To secuie this familiarity with words we use many varieties of drills. In addition to the charts and blackboard, a box of letters is often given to the child to construct sentences; written and printed cards containing easy sentences, or stories are given to be read, and after- wards .reproduced from memory. In all drills, howevei', the thought element is uppermost, and the child is encour- aged "" to tell " the stor}^ in his own childish way. As a rule the child appreciates the thought of the lesson and Avill give the proper vocal expression without instruction in punctuation. During the first half-year, he will need simply the ]jeriod and the comma, the ^ question mark " and the wonder mai-k." During the last half of the school year the children will easily master the ordinary first reading book, and one or two supplementary readers besides. Much of the skill acquired in reading depends upon the subjects selected for our reading lessons. From the first, the work foi- any day, week oi* month is unified. The work is so planned that it forms an organic whole. By this organization of the work and association of ideas, the interest is stimulated, aud the child will more readily retain and recall the facts presented. With increased interest and enthusiasm, there is also increased mental activity, and even mechanical drills are enjoyed. During the first weeks of school even, a stoi'y, a fable oi- a poem is used as a cen- tral theme, not onl}^ for the reading, but around which we gi'oup all the other lessons of the class. In the selection of 101 these central themes, we take into consideration the child's environment, and the different seasons of the year. The first lessons seem naturally to cluster around natnre study. Only those who have told the stories fur- nished by good old Mothei* Mature can know of the delight children find in this suliject. In autumn, when the children enter school, there are fruits and grains and grasses to interest us; we note the change in the trees and leaves as they put on their bright autumn dresses, and watch with keen delight Dame Nature's preparations for approaching winter. Of all things dear to the childish heart,, color is the dearest, and when the bright leaves of red and gold are brought into the school-i-oom, eveiy face betokens pleasure. After talking about the shapes of the leaves, their colors, and what trees gave them to us, we di-aw them, and perhaps have a color lesson; we then sing " Come, little leaves," and listen to the story of the "Anxious Leaf." Aftei- this, the children are eager to learn more, and the words necessary to tell the story of the leaf are mastered without drudgery. Winter also furnishes us with scores of interesting themes, around which we group and arrange our work. And when springtime comes, especially in oui- Southland, how many delightful themes IsTature brings us! (Iladh^ the little ones gather the first spring flowers, and lovingly they bring them into the school-room. How wonderful the lessons taught, — how lasting the impressions I'eceived! There is a story for every little flower, and a beautiful sen- timent for every leaf, and these stories and sentiments find a lodgement in the children's hearts forever. Many of these flower stories are written on the blackboai'd in words simple enough for the children to read, and fi-oquently they 102 will find time to write them and carry them to the home. Will they ever forg-et the story of the ^' moss-rose,'"' or the little -^forget-me-not story?" There are likewise stories for the violet, the daisy, and the dandelion, and other flowers that are dear to the heart of childhood. Original flower stories told by the childi*en are written by the teacher on the blackboard and read by the children. There are also many little flower poems that are appro- priate and simple enough for reading lessons. After black- board lessons about the violet they will eagerly read and memorize the little gem : "Oh, violets tender, your shy tribute render, Tie round your wet faces, your soft hoods of ])lue, And carry your sweetness, your dainty completeness, To some tired hand, that is longing for you." Or, less advanced pupils will i-ead tlie more readily: " And just as many daisies As their soft hands can hold, The little ones may gather, AH fair in white and gold. Here blows the warm, red clover, There peeps the violet blue, Oh, happy little children, God made them all for you." These stories, poems and songs in connection with our flower lessons, inspire the little ones to master the other- w^ise difficult and tedious process of learning to read, and above all they develop a spiritual atmosphere that domi- nates the school and permeates the home. Spring gives us another interesting central theme that is especially appropriate for reading as well as other exer- cises, — the birds. We have a "Bird Week" during which we talk of birds, their colors, songs and habits; baby-bird 103 life and bird-families. Stories and beautiful })oeiii.s about birds furnish many a profitable and interesting reading lesson. Indeed, we cannot crowd into our " Bird Week" all the stories, poems and songs that suggest themselves, and if we are '""very good" we are allowed to continue the work in the " saved time " period of the next week. But along with our " nature stories," myths and fairy tales, we must not forget the historical and biographical stories that are suggested by our national holidays and other interesting occasions. What delightful lessons we have about Thanksgiving time or Christmas, when the interest is keen and the enthusiasm is kindled! Our work table is easily transformed into the little village of Plymouth; a bucket of sand, a few twigs and log cal)ins, a boat for the Mayflower, tiny dolls to represent Governor Bradford, Miles Standish, John Alden, Priscilla and the other characters of the story, and the scene is complete. The story is readily grasped and the new words are mas- tered with ease, regardless of their length. Then there is the story of Hiawatha, loved best of all by the children : " Ye who love the haunts of nature ; Love the sunshine of the meadow, Love the shadow of the forest, Love the wind amonjx the branches." Yes, the children love these things and never weary of learning the story or di'illing u[)on the words. To them, as well as to the teacher, the work is a " joy forever." 104 READING IN THE CHICAGO NORMAL SCHOOL Flora J. Cooke. Formerly " Cook County Xoriiiair III the Chicago Xorinal School there has been no fixed method of teaching reading. This does not necessarily indicate that the work in this line has been haphazard and unimportant in the eyes of the teacher. On the contrai-y, it is a problem so far-reaching and difficult that we must still look to the future for its satis- factorij solntion. Yet we have reason for our faith and encouragement to continue in the course which we have been pursuing. The child-study movement has aided us. The experi- ences of earnest educatoi's and even fanatics in this field have not been disi'egarded. In almost every established method of teaching reading, as the phonetic, word, and sentence methods, thei-e is exercised some fundamental law of mental action. It has been most helpful to analyze these methods. In each, one finds some principle so exaggerated and focused in strong light by tlie unqualified approval of its originator, that its value can be most easily seen and appreciated, but it is in the application that we recognize 105 the limitations and dangers of even the best of these systems. Let a teacher attempt to follow, to the letter, any of these so-called snccessful methods, and she invariably fails nntil she discovers some stimnli which react npon the will power of the children. They mnst first desire to read. After the desire is awakened a child will learn l)y any method, with or Avithout a school. lie will find a teacher. Tlie line of least resistance which he instinctively follows, the economy of time and efibrt exercised by a child who is teaching- himself to read, is the best school of observation which we have ever fonnd. Yet the service to the child of the right teacher cannot be over-estimated. She can nnderstand his instinctive efforts, and snpplement and aid him by her knowledge of the laws of association, interest, fatigne, etc., and npon her choice of material will largely depend his early reading habits and tastes. She is, too, often needed to counteract the false sentiments which over-anxiety and pressure in the home cultivates in children. Very often their first desire to read is secondary to another motive — the desire to gain praise or reward from teacher or parents, or even to escape punishment. But in any case, all who have watched little children learning to read, will agree that success is in direct i-atio to the in- tensit}^ of the desii-e — as measured l)y the child's willing effort and growing satisfaction in his woi'k. Finally, then, while we acknowledge gratefully that we have received valuable help from many sources, we have found our most potent guide in this work, in actual experience with children, and, after an honest consideration of what seems to us to be the natural normal attitude 106 tuwai"d i-eading- of children, who are fi-ee from overstrain and pressnre in the home and school; after trying to decide concerning the effect and inflnence which reading has exercised npon children, after patiently trying to judge of its possibilities and place in the child's life — we present the following synopsis of our present working plan in con- nection with reading, and some of the reasons which have led to its adoption. As such, its results, while far from the ideal, are certainly encouraging. 1. Our iDorhing hi/potliesis is that the children may learn to read as naturally as they learn to talk and for exactly the same reason: i, e., from the desire to find out something or to tell something. Therefore, reading has been used entirely as a means of image-growth and expression. Considered from the child's standpoint the learning to read has been incidental to some other work in which he has been interested, as manual training, literature, nature study, etc. The mastery of the mechanics of reading and writing has been made essential to the children both in the s'aininof of desired ideas and in their expression. Thus the children have added their motive to that of the teacher, and both have worked directly to the same end. The course of study has been determined as far as pos- sible ( in our present state of enlightenment or ignorance ) from considering the natural and hereditary interests of the children and what seemed most essential to their best development. A¥e have freely used their social and physi- cal environment as the natural laboratories and storehouses of materials, believing that contact with real things, such things as have in all time inspired our poets, artists, and inventors, belongs to every child by right — a direct inheritance from the Creator and inspired humanity, and 107 their enjoyment of this legacy i« ample reward for the extra exertion of the teacher. Our question is, the place of reading in this course of study. The old law asserts that — " The child must first gain a vocabulary." " He must mechanically repeat words and idioms until they are functioned." This dead process has been for years sugar-coated with pictures, lately with most artistically colored ones. It is now taking the form of the action game. The action game certainly has a place in the child's life. It is good in so fL\r as it is an unconscious incen- tive to closer observation and bodily control. There are no games which children enjoy more keenly than those in which they act out something — vai-ying from the simplest exercise to a complex stoiy — while the class tries to guess what is represented. The written descriptions of birds, flowers, etc., are equally valuable and enjoyable, and his interest helps him to overcome many obstacles in reading and writing. Again, there are necessary things to be done all day long, where the teacher may use the blackboai'd foi- giving directions, utilizing this form of the game. But why waste the effort and energy of the children in an endless — " Close your eyes," " Open the window," "Roll the sphere," just because the action will hold their attention V As a metliod of teaching reading, it seems to me that it must take its place as a merely attractive wa}' of 2-ettino- the old-fashioned mechanical drill on words and idioms. We have all recognized the law that color and action are to children the " ignition points " of interest in the objects around them. Are we not ready for the next step? KKS //. Gaining the necessary repetition of words. AVe believe that there is a legitimate repetition of words inher- ent in the stndy of any subject worthy twenty minutes of the children's time. Surely there is color enough and action enough in doing things of relatively permanent value to them. The following illustration in one line may make this point clearer : Tlie child comes daily into con- tact with the same things in zoology, botany, geology and meteorology. The same Avords come constantly into use as he watches and asks questions concerning the things which attract him. For instance, for explanation and expression concerning the movements of the common animals, as the birds, insects, fish, horse, cat, dog, etc., one set of words is demanded, as fly, crawl, swim, run, etc.; for describing their coverings another, as feathers, scales, hair and fur; and other words and several idioms arc necessary in considering their food and homes. The little child cannot go far into the details of animal study. He does not care to analyze except for one purpose — the nnderstanding of something which he wants to know. A forced close analysis kills interest as does the repetition of facts which he already knows, as "^ The rabbit has two eyes," '-' The leaf is green," etc. How, then, can he get the neces- sary repetition ? It comes naturally if he is allowed to come into contact with real things. For, as he cannot go fai" into the minutiae of animal study, he turns to something else, perhaps his interest or his teacher takes him into the region of plants. He finds here the same familiar animals, dependent upon the plants for food, or, if he works in his gai-den, he --ees the use of the soil to both plants and animals, and he comes gradually, incidentally and through -simple experiments, to notice how all depend upon heat and 1(19 light and upon each other for existence. It is all one thing and it makes no difference where the child begins if the teacher knows what he is doing and follows him. Worlcing with the same things again and again innst bring about the repetition of the same words, and his different standpoint of observation (for he meets these same things in stories, in Mature, in different phases of industry, per- sonal and social), and the constant changes in the things themselves continually demand new words, so that the child's vocabulary grows naturally as his mental images expand. III. The teaclmig of 7iew ivords. These have ])een selected because of their necessity in written expression as usually they have already been in the child's speaking vocabulary. Their presentation has also been of immediate use in impressing more strongly the work in hand. The nature of the lesson, a story, or an experiment, has deter- mined the details of the presentation of the words, but the plan has been in general, as follows: As a material or object was used, and the child told what it was, its name was written upon the blackboard, that the child might associate the written form with the thing at the time of greatest interest. That word was usually not again used orally during the lesson, the teacher pointing to the written word, or writing it, every time the thought demands its use; but the strongest impression was made by the child's own expression. They had perhaps been examining the soils, and the teacher asked, "^ Which soil shall you use for your garden ? " The children all passed to the blackboard and answered " sand " or " loam," according to their choice. This was a record and was used as such in the work that followed in finding out which soil ivas best. During the 110 first lessons the children have expressed their thoughts, when possible, in one word, later on in full sentences. From the first, full records were made and used. During or after an experiment, the children told what was done and discovered, and the teaclier wrote their statements upon the blackboard, and thus they pictured the experi- ment over again, step by step. If they had mastered the necessary written forms, they passed directly to the black- Iward and told what they had, what they did, and what they found out. These statements were often copied by the teacher and sent to the printer. In the reading lesson which followed, the children's motive was to see if all had found out the same thing. In this manner drill was obtained which was justifiable in the foct that it was incidental to some result, for which the children felt an immediate use. It will be seen, that while writing and reading have each had a distinct place and purpose in all the Avork, the one sup])lements and reinforces the other. IJ. Words which have no intritisic meaning, as con- junctions, definite adjectives, prepositions, etc., have been generalh^ functioned by use, but they have received special attention whenever individual children have seemed to need it. Drills of this kind were understood in a common sense way, as means to a definite end, and the time of the entire class has not been wasted upon forms which were already in automatic use by many of the children. V. The me of the didionary. To make the children independent in the use of words, it has proved a good plan to allow each child to make and index a simple dictionary in which he placed the written and printed words as fast as he became familiar with them. One period each week was usually devoted to this work. The words thus functioned 111 and J3lacecl in the dictionaries would probably average about three hundred during the first year, and they did not differ to any gi-eat extent from the words in an ordinary "first reader." VI. Phonics. The work in [)honics has been, during the first part of the first year, entirely distinct from the woi'k in reading. Its pui'pose has been to give the child the independent power of associating certain sounds with certain forms in the most economical way; to strengthen his vocal organs and so lead to clear enunciation and good pronunciation. The work has usually been given in the form of games, which have brought in nuich exercise in slow pronuncia- tion, the guessing game with lists of rhyming words, many Mother Goose ditties and lythmic poems. We have not used the diacritical marks exce])t in special cases, until the children felt their need of a real dictionary in the third grade. VII. The necessity of selecting reading for small chil- dren. We all believe that a teacher's chief work is to bring children into contact with good things in nature, literature, art, and society, in such a way as to constantly increase their interests, expei'ience, powers of influence and oppor- tunities for free expression. We do not believe that we make good reading help enough in this work. In primary grades, while in many cases the quantity of ready material is abundant, it is not carefully selected, or vai-ies in style. For convenience we have classified our reading material under five headings. For instance, a lesson may place before the children for their consideration, their various experiences and observations in a subject. Something new should always come to the children for such a review. 112 Note. — The following lesson of this type came alter a month's work upon watei-, where the pnpils tried to purify water for drinking by filtering, boiling, etc. They had used the water which they had brought home from a lake, swamp, etc., and this lesson tested their powers of inference by giving them a new standpoint of observation. Water. Example 1. We played we went out on the ocean. We had no water to drink. We were very thirsty. Some one said, "Let us get water from the ocean." We did this, hut the water was salt. It made us more thirsty. Carleton said, "Let us strain the water." We (lid this, but the water was still salt. Donna said, "Let us hoil the water." A\'e did this, but the water was still salt. Hans said, " Let us catch the vapor from the water upon a piece of glass." We did this : the water was fresh. How do you think we got enough to drink ? {¥) It may give data or useful information. XoTE. — This lesson came after Christmas w^hen the children had had four months' observation upon stones, in connection Avith other things. One child brought some quartz and insisted that it was glass. If there had been a glass factoiy within reach we should have visited it. As there was not, the information was, with the help of pictures, given to the childi"en in the form of reading lessons. 113 Glass. Example 2. Men make glass of quartz, sand and lime. They jjut sand and lime in big clay jars. They melt the sand and lime in the tire. Then it looks like molasses. They jmt a long tube like a horn in the soft glass. They can \)\o\\ it into shape with this. That is how men make glass bottles and vases and lamps. Henry was almost right, was he not? Quartz is not glass. But glass is melted quartz with lime in it. (c) It may be a simple plan of work, concise and clear. Note. — The children need abont six months' work in which the blackboaixl is nsed as a medium for dictation before they are ready for the lesson below. In this case they had made a plan for a box and knew its nse. The teacher said, "I have a plan for one which will take less ])aper. See if yon can make it.'' Each child was supplied with materials and allowed to follow the plan. Measuring Box. Example 3. Take tlie cardboard. Make a 4-inch square. Place a dot 1 inch from each corner on each line. Connect opposite dots. Cut out the one inch square in each corner. Find the four small rectangles. Fold them ujjward. Always keep the lines inside the box. How lonof, wide and hish will the box be? How many cubic inches will it hold? (d) It may be a good or beautiful desci-iptiou of something within their own experience. Example 4. We came early in the springtime. Children love us very much. There are many, many of us. We are happy in the sunshine. We are happy in the shade. We look like gold in the grass. After awhile we look like silver. We are short when we are young. AVe grow tall as we grow older. Once I wore a yellow dress. Now my children dress in laces. Soon the wind will take my children. Then I shall l)e bald and lone!}-. Or (e) it may be an educative story. This last type needs no illustration, VIII. The reading recitation. This, of course, does not follow a fixed plan. Sometimes the children have read silently, each a different thing (perhaps very simple and short), and told the class what they have found out. Often they h:ive read silently and expressed the result in drawing, after which the expression was judged by the oral reading of the story represented. As in oral readmg the sole motive should be to arouse in others some definite image, it is very necessary in the beginning to get this i-eading attitude right. Therefore the reading lessons where the entire class i-ead the same thing have been largely cut out of the first year's work. When they have read aloud they have had a different storv^, para- graph, or sentence, so that th'jy felt the necessity of making 115 themselves understood. Of course there are exceptions to this rule. Finally, Avhile we know the ditticulty of getting good reading for little children, Ave would have every rending lesson which is put into chihlren's hands oi- written u])on the blackboard stand at least the three following tests: (a) That it be so satisfactory to the child that its reaction shall l)e a greater desire to read. (b) That it makes an appro] )riate demand for good reading hal)its and good taste. (c) That it contains an image worth a child's effort to get it, i. e.j that it has some intrinsic value either in the snbject mattei- which it presents or in tlie emotions which it is capable of arousing in the children. 116 Mm 7 1905 LIBRARY OF CONUKtss 019 843 573 9