English Composition in Elementary Schools. BY JAMES S. SNODDY, A^IVL, Teachcf of English in the State Normal School, VALLEY QTY, NORTH DAKOTA. Reprinted from Education, Boston, February and March, 1900. % /V -Xi #-^ ENGLISH COMPOSITION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. PROF. JAMES S. SNODDY, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, VALLEY CITY, N. DAK. A BOY learns to plow by plowing ; he learns to write by ^ 3. writing. Instead of having him memorize rules and defi- nitions with regard to writing we should let him learn their application by practice. The one aim of the teacher should be the rousing of the pupil's interest. This can be done only by finding some means of appealing to his personal experience. The first mean? to be employed in the teaching of composi- tion should be conversations with the children about things which they have seen or about incidents which they have ex- pevienced. The children should be encouraged to engage freely in these conversations— to tell about things they have seen, and to tell their experiences. The next step might be the telling and reading of stories. These stories should be made topics of conversations, and the pupils required to reproduce them in their own words as fully as possible. The stories may be taken from history, travels and biography ; but fables and fairy stories should not be neglected ; they are, in most instances, the best of all. The active imaginations of the children demand them. In addition to these fables and stories the beautiful myths of olden times can be made both profitable and interesting. While these various stories, fables and myths are being used as means for teaching the first steps in composition, selections from our best authors can be made to subserve the same pur- pose. There are scores and scores of little verses that could be used as memory gems and topics of conversation in the compo- sition work of the lower grades. Take, for example, the poem beginning with, " What does little birdie say In her nest at break of day?" by Alfred Tennyson ; or the poem beginning with, "We are the sweet flowers Born of sunny showers," by Leigh Hunt; or the one beginning with, "The cock is crowing. The stream is flowing. The small birds twitter, The lake doth glitter," by William Wordstvo7'th ; or the four lines found in Robert Browning's Piffa Passes, "The lark's on the wing ; The snail's on the thorn ; God's in his heaven, — All's right with the world !" or the little four-line poem entitled Rain, by Robert Louis Stevenson, '^^^ "The rain is rainfall around, It falls on field and tree. It rains on the umbrellas here And on the ships at sea." Similar extracts from our best writers might be put on the board, and each be allowed to remain several days for conven- ience in composition work. By and by more difficult passages might be interpreted and memorized ; for example, Coleridge's " He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small ; For the dear God who loveth us. He made and loveth all." The committing to memory of such choice extracts not only serves little children in the lower grades as helps in the use of language and incidental training in oral composition, but stores their minds with that which will charm and interest them in later years. In addition to selections taken from standard literature there are many valuable collections, as Mother Goose Rhymes, Aunt Effie's Rhymes and Nursery Nonsense, that might be used as helps in teaching language in the kindergarten and primary grades. Scientists who have given special attention to child study, and those who have had experience in kinder- garten work, tell us that children have a keener appreciation of the grotesque than adults have ; but I question the propriety of giving little children such whimsical and incongruous rimes as, "Three children sliding on the ice Upon a summer's da}^ ; As it fell out, they all fell in, The rest, they ran away." The majority of these "Rhymes," however, should certainly have a prominent place in the kindergarten and primary grades ; but while there are so many excellent verses in our best litera- ture which are so well adapted to the needs of these grades it seems to be misused time to teach meaningless rimes such as the one just quoted. The watchword in the teaching of lan- guage in the lower grades should be. Give the children the best literature ; begin early, and give them as much as possible. One means by which composition writing in the intermediate grades may be made to appeal to the pupils' every-day experi- ences is to have them write letters to some of their friends and to allow them to send these letters through the mail. Exercises of this sort will bring this phase of composition writing into touch with real life. But in the composition work of the inter- mediate grades we should endeavor, as in the lower grades, to arrange our plans so as to keep the work in touch with good literature ; for literature, in its broad meaning, is life. In order to show the young pupils that literature is at least a part of life, let them use some of the selections which they have taken from literature for memory gems in their composition work in such a manner as to interweave their own experiences with them. Take, for example, those two dainty little poems written by Jane Taylor : one entitled The Poppy, — the proud flower that held up its "... staring head And thrust it full in view ;" the other, entitled The Violet, — the modest flower that grew " Down in a green and shady bed." Let them read and contrast the thoughts contained in these two poems, and then write a composition expressing their own thoughts and feelings in regard to pride and modesty as made 3 manifest in the characters of different people whom they have seen ; or, better, of different people about whom they have read. There are many other poems that could be used in the same way : Emerson's The Mountain and the Squirrel is full of sug- gestions that appeal to the country boys. So are many of Bry- ant's poems. Can it be possible that there is a country boy whose feelings do not respond to the thoughts expressed in the line, " They rustle to the eddying gust and to the rabbit's tread"? And, if given an opportunity, will he not write a composition expressing his feelings about the rabbit's tread among the rust- ling leaves? Longfellow, as well as Bryant, loved children, and wrote many of his poems expressly for them. For a long time he was called the " children's poet," both in America and in England. But the honor has been transferred ; it now be- longs to Eugene Field and James Whitcomb Riley. These two poets have brought to the child world a charm hitherto unknown. The greatest difficulty that teachers in the grades generally have in correlating literature with the composition work is the lack of materials in convenient form. But this difficulty is now being removed ; many of the language lesson books in current use contain gems of verse from Longfellow, Whittier, Bryant, Holmes, Alice and Phoebe Gary, Emerson, Lowell and others ;* and some of these books contain appropriate selections from good literary prose. Eliot's Poetry for Childrenf contains se- lections from Tennyson, Wordsworth, Mrs. Browning, Mrs. Hemans, Mary Howitt, Southey, Cowper, Campbell and other well-known writers of England. There are two other books which the teachers in the grades should have as reference books ::j: one is entitled, A Child's Garden of Verses, — a collec- tion of Robert Louis Stevenson's poems on childhood ; the other. The Eugene Field Book, — a collection of Field's poems, letters and stories. The Field book is especially attractive, and is admirably adapted for paraphrasing and other phases of com- position work in the intermediate grades. While such books as these can be obtained teachers need no longer complain of a lack of materials. *See Metcalf and Bright's Language Exercises. American Book Company, t Published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. X Published by Charles Scribner's Sons. So far, in my treatment of elementary composition writing, I have tried to emphasize the importance of the correlation of good literature with the work, and have, consequently, given no at- tention to any special kind of composition. Besides letter writ- ing only two phases of the work have been touched upon ; namely, simple reproduction and paraphrasing. But reproduc- tion and paraphrasing, according to the classifications of the best authorities, are not included as rhetorical divisions of writ- ing. Since they are mostly imitations of other people's writ- ings, they cannot, in the full sense of the term, be regarded as real compositions. There are, strictly speaking, only four kinds of writing; namely, narration, description, exposition, argu- mentation. The including of persuasion as a separate kind, as is done by many authors of text-books, is obviously unneces- sary ; for persuasion is merely a quality of style which applies to a narrative, a description, an exposition or an argument.* Persuasion is, however, somewhat closer, in its application, to argumentation than to the other three kinds of writing ; for ar- gumentation appeals to the understanding, while persuasion ap- peals to the will or feelings. But since it so often happens that the assent of the understanding is gained by rousing the will or feelings to action the two kinds of writing are sometimes treated as one, — persuasion is regarded simply as a degree of argu- mentation. Regarding writing, then, as consisting of four kinds, we may arrange them in two groups : one, including narration and de- scription-; the other, exposition and argumentation. Th^ former group deals primarily with things; the latter with thoughts. Description tells what things are; narration what they do.-\ Exposition in dealing with thoughts analyzes and explains ; argumentation in dealing with thoughts convinces the under- standing. But when persuasion is resorted to, narration and description do more than deal with things, and exposition and argumentation do more than deal with thoughts ; they all appeal to the will or feelings. It is evident, then, that since exposition and argumentation deal primarily with abstractions they can * For a full discussion of the classification of the kinds of writing see Arlo Bates' Talks on Writing English, p. 123 (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.), and A. H. Hill's Principles of Rhetoric, p. 246 (Harper & Brothers). t See Flether & Carpenter's Introduction to Theme-writing, p. 3. (Allyn & Bacon.) be used very little in the teaching of composition in the elemen- tary schools. If any application of them should be made at all, only the simplest principles of either should be used ; and these principles will naturally apply, in most instances, incidentally, in connection with narration and description. So the main bulk of elementary composition work must necessarily be limited to these two kinds of writing. Narration. — Since narration and description deal primarily with things, it makes little difference which has precedence in the elementary work ; or whether they be taught, at first, com- bined, or as separate kinds of writing. In most instances they will be found combined. Let us suppose, however, the first assignment to be a topic in which the narrative is to be the most prominent feature. If the assignment be made in the lower grades, all that can be expected is a simple reproduction or a story told in the child's own way, — first, oral; then, written. If the assignment be made in the intermediate grades, an in- formal outline might be advantageously used. If the assign- ment be made in the higher grades, the outline should be some- what formal ; and as the work progresses it should be made more and more formal. To illustrate : suppose that the topic decided upon be Our Nutting Excursion ; an informal out- line appropriate for the intermediate grade work would be about as follows : Saturday — autumn — our class and a few friends — wagon — dinner — storm — return home. In the higher grades a more formal outline might be used ; example : — 1. When and where we were when we started on our excur- sion, and who were in our party. 2. Our preparations for starting. 3. Incidents that happened on the way. 4. Our arrival at the grove. 5. Trees, squirrels, birds, flowers. 6. Return home. Or one more formal, like the following : — I. Introduction : — I. When — where — who. II. The body of the Composition; — I. Incidents in the forenoon. What happened on the way. — other incidents. 2. Noon-time. Lunch — incidents at the time. 3. The forests, flowers, etc. Their appearance (inci- dental description). 4. Some of the characteristics of the nuts that grow in our forests. Their uses, etc. (incidental exposition). 5. Why some of our nut-bearing trees are better than those that grow in other countries (incidental argumentation). 6. Other incidents. III. Conclusion : The day a pleasant and profitable one. Some proverb or quotation from poetry appropriate for a closing. The first step to be taken in the writing of any composition is, of course, the gathering together of materials. In the secondary schools, colleges and universities this is done largely by means of research work in libraries ; but in the elementary schools, from the lowest to the highest grades, it must be done almost entirely by means of conversations — oral work in the class room. But after the collection of the necessary materials shall have been completed some sort of definite plan should be made. This is one of the most important features in the writ- ing of compositions.* It is, in fact, a natural principle which is made manifest in nearly every phase of life : The little bird hopping from limb to limb is selecting with care its materials, and already has a definite design of a home for its fond nest- lings. Call this instinct, if you will ; but is it not about the same as the planning, the designing, the outlining of the archi- tect who devises the plans for the construction of buildings? The savage in the wild forest, while constructing his hut or shaping his arrowhead, has a definite plan in view. The little child at its play manifests the same principle when it constructs its little toy house in accordance with some model which is fur- nished by its memory or imagination. This, then, is nature's method, and should be used in the schoolroom. But the pupils in following ^ny prescribed plan should be allowed the utmost freedom. The outlines made for the lower and intermediate grades should be as informal as possible ; they should be out- lines of the pupils' own making — simply the putting together, in accordance with their own plans, the materials furnished * Read the chapter on Outlining Compositions in Spalding's The Problem of Elementary Composition, p. 76, ft'. (D. C. Heath & Co.) through their own answers to the teacher's questions. But as the pupils become more mature ; as they acquire more breadth of thought and power of execution ; as they begin to under- stand the construction of compound and complex sentences and the grouping of sentences in paragraphs ; as they begin to ap- preciate some of the simple elements of style, — then the follow- ing of formal outlines should be insisted upon. Just in what grade this should begin it is difficult to sa}^. The development of the pupil's mind in passing from any grade to the next higher is not a sudden transition ; it is a continuous growth. Probably the average class of pupils will be most benefited by formal outlines in the last two years of the elementary school work. Returning now to our topic which has been selected for an assignment as a narrative theme, Our Nutting Excursion, let us decide upon the next step to be taken. The pupils should be requested to use the outline which has been sug- gested as a guide while writing their compositions. But the topic assigned may not apply to the personal experiences of some of the pupils ; many of them probably have not been on a nutting excursion. Let such pupils select another topic similar to this one ; for example, Our Hunting Party, or My Last Picnic. The outline suggested will serve as a model which they may use in making their own outlines. At the next meeting of the class all pupils should be asked to prepare their pencils and paper for taking notes. Some member of the class should then be called upon to read his composition. He will probably reply that he has not finished it. Let him read what he has. He will doubtless have mistakes ; but the pointing out of these mistakes at first will, in most instances, kill the spirit of the work. It would be better to call on the other pupils to point out their favorite passages which have been read, and then to ask them to give reasons why they like such passages. Some passages that have been read may call to mind an inci- dent which some pupil has enjoyed, or possibly some bit of lit- erature which he has read. Composition work will at once begin to be appreciated and enjoyed, and regarded as some- thing alive — something with which the pupils are in sympathy — something they can call their own. After the pupils shall 8 have discussed all the excellent passages that they are able to point out in the composition^ that has been read the teacher should praise it. "Good "work," says Professor Salmon, " should be commended without stint; bad work should never be ridiculed."* When a pupil does his best the teacher should call his work excellent, and grade it accordingly. Every pupil should be given an opportunity to read his composition, and to have the best features of his efforts pointed out. It may take up several full periods of the class work for all to read ; but the reading should be kept up as long as there is any general interest made manifest by the members of the class. All should then be required to copy their compo- sitions with ink on heavy ruled paper, using only one side. The teacher, in reading the compositions, should make very few corrections. In most instances a mark, made with a blue pencil, indicating the mistakes, will be all that is necessary. The best results will generally be attained by the teacher's simply pointing out the mistakes and letting the pupils make their own corrections. Let them do the work. In no other way can they accomplish anything in composition writing. They learn to zvrite by zur/'ting. Before the compositions are returned, one or more regular class periods might be spent in talking about them. The teacher might call attention to mistakes that have been made by the members of the class without mentioning their names, tell how these mistakes should be corrected, and make further suggestions with regard to form ; for example, capitalization, punctuation and paragraphing. But these, it must be remem- bered, are only the. external features of the work in hand. Suggestions with regard to form in writing, however important they may be, appeal to a majority of the young pupils as noth- ing but dry-as-dust rules. Such suggestions or rules should, unquestionably, be given whenever occasion demands their application ; but can we not, at the same time, give them suggestions that appeal more directly to their tastes, to their desires, — something in which they are directly interested? Many of the pupils in writing these simple accounts of their own experiences may have used, unconsciously perhaps, ele- * The Art of Teaching, by D. S. Salmon, p. 1S5. Longmans, Green & Co. 9 ments of narration which the great story writers use; namely, association^ environment , suspense, surprise, suggestion, move- ment, climax. These and many other fundamental elements may be found in narrative compositions written by young pupils. True, their efforts may be crude, but all such efforts should be praised. Point out the passages where any of these elements have been used ; then turn to literature and read passages in which the great story-writers have used the same elements. The opening paragraph of Dr. Brown's Rab and His Frie^ids affords an excellent illustration oi association and envirotiment ; or what we might appropriately call the setting or situation — the time ?i.r\d place of the action. In other words, this writer, in the introduction to his story, has answered in a succinct way not only the questions zvken and zvhere, but also the question who; the zvJiat and the tuhy he answers in the development of t\veplot and ih^ purpose o{ his story. Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Hawthorne's Great Stone Face afford illustrations of the other elements to which reference has just been made, besides furnishing illustrations of other additional principles ; namely, unity, coherence, characterization, subordination. Verily, there is no end to the variety of interest that can be aroused in the teaching of elementary narrative composition. Description. — Since young children are naturally fond of stories, it is maintained by many that there should be very little, if any, descriptive writing in the lower grades. Not so ; children can describe as well as they can narrate. In their oral work, probably the best results will, in most instances, be attained through narration, but in their written work it will oftentimes be more pedagogical to begin with description. Oral composition appeals almost entirely to the ear ; but the first steps in written composition must necessarily appeal primarily to the eye. By means of books that contain colored pictures, little children in the primary grades can be taught to appreciate form and color.* In connection with the colored pictures of flowers in these books, little poems in which the flowers are mentioned might be used as memory gems, or as bases for sim- ple reproduction. The poets tell about flowers, — their forms, *SeeThe Baldwin Primer and Crosby's Little Book for Little Folks (American Book Co ), The Finch Primer (Ginn & Co.), Bass's Lessons for Beginners in Reading (D. C. Heath & Co.)^ The Werner Primer (Werner School Book Co.). odors, colors; why cannot children, too, be allowed to tell about them? Are not children word-painters* in the same sense of the term that poets are? Do they not tell about things — what they are — oftentimes with surprising originality? Then, too, how easy it will be, while teaching this kind of writing in the lower grades, to keep the work in touch with literature I In their reading lessons and memory gems the children's atten- tion might be called to passages that portray pictures by means of words. Could a child read or recite Robert Burns's " Wee, modest, crimson-tipped flower" without seeing in his mind's eye a picture of the daisy? or Goldsmith's oft-quoted line, '' Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn," without seeing a mental picture of the primrose ; or, perchance, some other flower with which he is more familiar and which he has already personified and recognized as his companion? Children not describe what they feel ! Give them an oppor- tunity ; they will describe as well as narrate. Pupils in high schools oftentimes prefer descriptive writing to narrative. The reason for this is probably because the variety of interest in descriptive writing is more obvious. If, then, de- scription is more interesting to the little folk in the lower grades, and is the choice of many pupils in the secondary schools, why can it not be made attractive in the intermediate and higher grades of the elementary schools? There are many ways in which this can be done. Some topic that appeals to the personal experience of the pupils might be assigned. Take, for example. My Morning Walk. After a formal outline shall have been made, and the pupils shall have prepared the first draft of their compositions, they should be asked to take their *The term "word-painter," according' to certain authorities, is a misnomer. See Baldwin's Specimens of Prose Description, pp. x, xi (Henry Holt & Co.), and Arlo Bates' Talks on Writ- ing English, p. 1S3 (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.). But while it is true that words cannot really paint, and that all that the writer can do with words is to bring before the mind of the reader certain images of things which the latter has seen, it must be admitted that the image presented by means of descriptive writing is much broader in its application than the one presented by means of painting. The painter is limited to form and color; while the writer in making his appeal to the reader has at his command color, form, sound, odor, and motion. Since there is no satis- factory term, or definition sufficiently simple and clear, to convey to pupils in the lower grades, the idea of the image presented in descriptive writing, probably the best term that can be used is word -painting " or " word-picturing." Either of them implies that description is a portrayal by means of language, and will serve as a sort of working definition. II pencils and paper and to jot down all the elements of nature referred to in the compositions while they are being read. If the five elements of nature which are used in descriptive writ- ing, namely, motion, sound, color, form, odor, be written on the board, the young writers will at once manifest interest; for they will be pleased to find that they have used many of them in their compositions. They should now be permitted to point out their favorite passages in which these elements are referred to. Suppose that several members of the class should note that the pupil who had just read his composition, in describing what he saw in his morning walk, had mentioned motion a number of times ; for example, suppose one of the passages to be, The gopher seeing us sped like an arrozu to its hole; or probably a passage like this, The little prairie jio-Lvers as they were blown by the gentle wi^td see?ned to he dancing /or Joy. Ask these young critics which of these passages is their choice ; and then ask them to tell why they like it. Many of them will prefer the sentence in which the dancing flower is mentioned. While the interest is aroused, an opportunity will be open for beginning the teaching of the figures of speech ; not by mem- orizing text-book rules, but in a live way. The flower that danced for joy can easily be made an interesting topic for class discussion. If the pupils are permitted to express themselves on this topic, the flower to them will soon become a personality — a companion. There will be no need of a formal definition for personification; the name of the figure of speech is all that is necessary ; they already know its application — they feel its application ; all they need is a word by means of which they can express their thoughts and feelings. But some pupil may say that he prefers the passage in which a reference is made to the gopher's speeding like an arrow. Give him an opportunity to tell why he likes it. He will doubtless not be able to give a strictly formal definition for simile ; he will probably say that he has often shot arrows from his bow, and knows something about the rapidity with which they speed. That is definition enough ; he understands the application of this figure of speech. This is all that is necessary. Without wasting time in memo- rizing definitions in regard to figures of speech, the pupils can learn, in connection with their composition work, the uses, not only of personification and simile, but of nearly all the figures of speech before they are ready to enter upon their high-school work. Special exercises might be given from time to time on figures of speech in connection with their reading or literature lessons, which will, in due time, serve as material for composition writ- ing. For this purpose such selections should be culled from literature as will appeal to the personal experiences of the pupils. Many a boy will be delighted to find himself portrayed in the figures of speech used by Whittier in his hi School Days or The Barefoot Boy, or in many of Longfellow's, Field's or Riley's poems ; and some country boy will be still more delighted to find in Tennyson's The Brook the following stanza, — " I chatter over stony ways, In little sharps and trebles ; I bubble into eddying bays, I babble on the pebbles," — a personification which recalls the boy's own childhood days when he spent so many happy hours wading barefoot over peb- oles in some brook near his country home. Come back now to our topic. My Morning Walk. While one of the pupils is reading his composition, other pupils may call attention to the fact that sound is referred to a number of times. This element, in its turn, will become an interesting topic for conversation and friendly criticism. Many questions might arise with regard to the nature of the sounds referred to in the composition; for example, were they harsh sounds? or were they soft sounds? or melodious sounds? Many of the girls who have had practice in music will have answers ready. Questions then might arise with regard to the sources of the sounds referred to : were they artificial or natural sounds? Were they caused through the agency of man, or did they arise direct from nature? In connection with this feature of the work literature might again be drawn upon. The passages in literature in which onomatopoetic eflTect is clearly marked will be especially inter- esting and useful. Bryant's poetry affords an abundance of material of this character. His " Robert of Lincoln," with his " spink, spank, spink " and " chee, chee, chee," is a picture 13 presented by means of words that represent sound. Poe's The Bells is another good example ; here the silver, the golden, the brazen, the iron bells, in their tinkling, chiming, clanging and tolling, present a series of pictures.* While frequent references to motion, sound, form and odor may be found in elementary descriptive compositions, there will generally be more references to color. Let the pupils point out the passages in which this element is referred to and decide which are the most appropriate. There will be no need of tell- ing them that the passages which contain references to delicate tints of colors are the best. They will find it out themselves. Many of them, in fact, already know it; they have known it, or rather have felt it, ever since they were little children. This may, however, be their first conscious realization of , their pos- session of this knowledge. They begin to see themselves in their own writings. What a delight to them this realization must be ! An opportunity is now open for giving the pupils a few glimpses of the world of beauty that lies be3'0nd — that is still ahead of them in their composition work in higher schools and in the active duties of life. They should be told that our best word-painters, — the great novelists and poets — in making use of the element, color, as a means by which they express their thoughts and feelings, often use words and phrases that simply suggest colors. Keats's poetry will furnish appropriate illustrations ; for this great poet in presenting some of his best pictures by means of words and phrases that represent colors does not, in every instance, mention red, orange, yellow, or any of the so-called prismatic colors. Tell them that not only Keats, but many other great writers, when portraying the green beauty of the primeval forests, the beautiful blue of the sky and the sea, and the cloud-reflecting lakes, oftentimes use only hints of colors. Read them passages from Shelley and Bryant to show how they, by means of this indirect process, present the many-colored beauty of their sunset skies ; or passages from Tennyson that contain word-pictures of the early morning sky; as, " Morn in the white wake of the morning-star Came furrowing all the orient into gold." * Read A. II. Tolman's article, The Expressive Po-.ver of English Sounds, Atlantic Monthly, April, 1895. Browning also has many beautiful passages that depict sunrise ; but in this respect Lanier surpassed them all. This suggestive or indirect process of portraying pictures by means of words may appropriately be called the kindling hint process. In portraying such pictures the writer does not really describe ; he simply gives a hint— some type or characteristic by means of which we are enabled to see the complete picture. He appeals to our imaginations; his picture kindles— grows upon us. This is art. But when a writer describes by giving all the details, he does not write the best literature ; he simply gives information. In order to illustrate this to young pupils read to them a newspaper description of a thief or criminal who has made his escape, and contrast it with some familiar piece of literature ; for example, Longfellow's picture of the scenery sur- rounding the little village in Acadia, where the distances are not given in miles, or the size of the fields in acres ; we are simply told that there were " vast meadows," and " flocks with- out number." So Wordsworth, in presenting his picture of the " host of golden daffodils" which he saw " Beside the lake, beneath the trees. Fluttering and dancing in the breeze," does not attempt to give an exact description* of the flower, — its form, its size, the number of its petals and stamens — or any other of its special characteristics, but by means of such general words as "golden," referring to color, and "fluttering" and " dancing," referring to motion, he makes us feel its beauty. Now, some may say that young pupils in the grades are not sufficiently advanced in aesthetic culture to be able to appreciate the poetical meanings that are implied in the kindling hint process, or even those that are expressed by means of figures of speech, or by means of the five elements of nature found in descriptive writings. But a casual glance through a set of com- positions written by any average class in the higher grades of the elementary schools will reveal the fact that these young people not only appreciate and enjoy reading such passages in litera- ture, but in their attempts at descriptive writing actually use all these devices ; then, too, they oftentimes do more — they present the subjective as well as the objective side of the pictures that they portray. 15 Here are two extracts taken from compositions written by seventh-grade pupils. Note the natural way in which a figure of speech is used, and the appropriate references to three of the elements of nature : — " I always feel sad when I walk over the crisp, dead leaves and listen to their rustling." " Our prairies, with their long grass turned all to somber brown, look desolate until the snow comes and lays a white mantle over everything." Here are examples of personification taken from a set of compositions written by pupils who have had a little more practice : — "The willows growing in bunches near the water looked as if they were standing guard over their more delicate friends, the flowers." " . . . In whose crystal waters the lilies bathed their slender fingers, and timid crocuses peeped up from the grasses that grew beside it." But here is a passage taken from the same set of compositions in which a kindling hint picture is presented : — "Wild flowers and grass grew on the roof and wall." The picture here presented is more than an external view of the flowers, the grass, the roof and the walls ; these are only hints — the mere outline of the complete picture that grows on our imaginations. The time element comes into our minds as we read, and with it associations that cause us to see the subjec- tive as well as the objective side of the picture. These are only a few of the means by which work in descrip- tive writing can be made interesting to young people. Indeed, there seems to be about as great a variety of interest in descrip- tion as in narration. How much better, then, it would be if the teachers in the elementary schools, instead of having the pupils waste time in memorizing the senseless rules and endless details of the so-called English grammars, would give them an oppor- tunity to learn to write by writing, — in other words, to learn English by using English. i6 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Hi 021 729 202 5