L5 /s-zs .Me .on cldldren, there should be — but only at proper times — a repetition of words and sentences in chorus : 1st. To afford opportunity for vocal drill. 2d. To awaken enthusiasm and incite to emulation. 3d. To aid in establishing harmony of action, thought, and motive in the class, to recall wandering attention, and, when needed, to bring order out of disorder. Concert exercises should never be employed as direct means of teaching reading, as they tend to produce only parrot-like repetition, and defeat the highest purpose of the lesson, which is to induce the child to find out and express for himself the meaning of the printed page. A concert drill upon the elementary sounds, and especially upon the proper pronunciation of words already learned, should sup- plement every reading-lesson. These drills, however, should be exercises entirely set apart from the reading-lesson, and the lesson itself should not be read in concert, as this has a tendency to take away its freshness, and to deprive the children of the pleasure and profit of finding out the words for themselves. Yocal Drill. — Concert drill upon colloquial phrases and sentences, familiar rhymes, short poems, and even short stories, is most excellent for training in correct inflections, for developing pure, clear tones, making supple the vocal organs, and giving the children confidence in their own powers. Since exercises of this kind are great aids in gaining control of a school, and may be made sources of moral benefit, as also of keen pleasure to the children, they should form an important part of the exercises of the first school-days. (c?.) After each reading -lesson, a training -lesson in the correct use of langtiage. While it is the aim of the conversation to make vivid the mental pictures and develop new thoughts, it is the purpose of the training-lesson to lead the children to f ormu- 6 late their newly acquired knowledge, to train them in the precise expression of thought, and to give them conscious knowledge of correct forms of expression. But the first steps which these young and undisciplined children can take in this direction must of necessity be slow and stum- bling, 27ie principle that a child must be trained to speak in complete sentences is correct in theory, but is a failure in practice, if by it is meant that such children as these should be required to speak always in complete sentences, even in a class exercise. Yet the child must be trained to the habit of speaking in complete sentences, for so only can be best developed his power of thinking clearly and logically. What, then, is the teacher to do ? What does the mother do when her babe would begin to walk ? She helps him with leading-strings. But what does she do after he is able to make short journeys alone from the chair to moth- er's arms ? Does she require of him that he shall never creep again ? So the teacher, desiring to lead these timid little children to use readily and freely, in a conscious effort at conversation, the words which they have just learned to read, encourages every attempt which they make to use the words, and does not dishearten them, nor chill them by criti- cism. But before the lesson closes she requii*es them to repeat, in imitation of her, with clear enunciation, care- ful pronunciation, and correct emphasis, at least one cotn- plete sentence containing the given word or words. This exercise may be made either a concert or individual drill, or, better still, both. Manner of a Lesson. — The method of a lesson should be founded upon the laws which govern the child's mind, and therefore should be unalterable ; but the manner of pre- senting the lesson depends upon the tact and skill of the teacher, and should be varied to meet the demands of the occasion and the circumstances of the school. The model lessons given below, while they illustrate the true method of the various lessons, are intended only as samples of one way of presenting it. It is hoped that they may be to the teacher only suggestive of other ways better suited, per- haps, to the needs of her school, and to her own manner of handling her pupils. A description of a model lesson is like a description of a landscape-painting. Both the paint- ing and the lesson are works of art, but words can not convey to the mind any adequate idea of the coloring and shading of the one, nor the spirit and delicate variations of the other. The following lessons are framed in accordance with the principle and method set forth in the " Plan " and " General Suggestions " given above. For the reason that it is necessary for the teacher to know exactly ichat point she is going to teach in a given lesson, and to have a definite plan as to ho\o she is going to teach it, the lessons are each divided into parts under ap- propriate headings ; although, as will be readily seen, it is not always easy to draw the line. It is of course desirable that the various parts of a les- son should glide imperceptibly into each other, and that no break of connection should be aj^parent to the class. The story should unfold into a conversation, and the con- versation should concentrate upon the reading-lesson. Be- tween the reading-lesson and the training-lesson in the use of language a break is permissible if circumstances re- quire it. In some cases, where the peculiarities of the lesson are such as to preclude the need of a story or conversation, they have, of course, been omitted. Although the description of a lesson covers much space, yet, as the teacher will readily perceive, the giving of any one of these lessons to a class will not require much time, as they should not. These Model Lessons embody many points of the black- board work with which good teachers usually precede the reading of the printed page. II. MODEL LESSON 1. Page 5, Lesson I., First Reader. \ THE STOET. '* Do you like to hear stories, children ? Well, if you will keep very quiet, I will tell you a beautiful story about our cat. Would you like to hear a story about a cat ? Our cat is a large gray cat ; she has two big, round eyes, and two pointed ears, and a long tail. Her fur is gray, with black stripes in it. She is a kind cat. She lets children play with her, and does not scratch nor bite them. She is an honest cat too, and never steals anything for herself, but waits until she gets her milk and bread, and then goes off to hunt rats and mice. " But one day she took a piece of raw meat from the kitchen table. She jumped up on the table, snatched up the meat, jumped down again, and ran quickly into the yard. What do you think she did ? Close by the fence there was a great, deep hole in the ground. The cat ran to the edge of this hole and dropped the meat into it. Then she wagged her tail and m-e-o-w-ed and m-e-o-w-ed. *' Now, what do you think was down in that hole ? 9 Another cat ! A poor, half-starved cat was down there. It had fallen into that deep hole, and could not get out. Our dear old pussy-cat knew that it was starving, and so she had taken the piece of meat to give to it. Was she not a good cat ? " The teacher asks the children if they would like to see the picture of this cat. She shows them the picture of the cat upon the chart ; or, if she has no chart, she says : " The picture of this cat is in your new books. You may all open your books and find it and show it to me." She allows them plenty of time to do this. THE CONVERSATION". The teacher calls the attention of the children to the fact that a picture of this cat is in every child's book, and says : " This is our cat. She belongs to our school, doesn't she ? I want you all to say that together. This is our caty She drills them a little, and then continues : " Oh, what a beau- tiful cat ! What a kind face she has ! Do you see her mouth ? Do you see her nose ? How many eyes has she ? Do you see the black stripes on her fur ? Can you put your finger on her whiskers ? Show me." She allows one and another to come to the chart and put a finger on the cat's whiskers ; or, if she has no chart, to put a finger on the picture in his book. " Can you take hold of her tail ? Try and see. Will she scratch you ? Can this cat drink milk ? can she meow ? Why not ? Oh, this is not a real cat ! This is only the picture of a cat ! But when you see this picture, what do you think of? Yes, you think of a cat." If the children answer, as it is quite likely they may, "A pussy" and *' Kitty," it is only necessary for the teacher to repeat and 10 vary the questions, so as to lead them to give, finally, the answer desired. This is an example of the many variations in a model lesson, for which it is useless in this description to attempt to provide. The teacher should not permit her pupils to talk about the cats they have at home, nor cats in general (that comes later), but only about this particular cat, whose image, through the medium of both the story and the picture, she may be certain is vivid in each individual's mind. THE AVOED. The teacher now places her finger below the word caty and calls the attention of the children to it. " Look, children : do you see this big black word here ? Have you a word like this in your books ? Shaw it to me ; put your finger under it, and show it to me." She takes pains to see that each child finds the word in his own book. " That word is the word cat. You may all say cat. Say it together — cat ! When you see this picture here, what da you think of ? Now when you see this loord cat, you must think of a cat just as you do when you see the picture. You may all say the word again. Now say it all together — cat ! " Mary, you may put your finger on the picture of the cat. John, you may put your finger on the xoord cat.'* She calls upon others to do the same. " Now, all look at the picture of the cat. See what a kind face she has ! See her long tail ! See her soft paws I Now shut your eyes — shut them up tight — and try if you can see the picture of the cat in your mind. Do you see the picture ? Has the cat a head ? and a tail ? and big- eyes ? and pointed ears ? and black stripes on her back ? Now open your eyes and look at the picture. Was that what you saw when your eyes were shut ? " She lets the 11 children try this again, and then continues : " Now put your finger under that big black word. What is that word ? Now look at it again right hard, and say the word — cat! Now shut your eyes tight and see the word in your minds, and say it — cat ! " Now see what I am going to do." She draws upon the blackboard the simple outline of a cat. " What is that, children ? Is it a real cat ? No — only the picture of a cat. Now tv^atch and see what I am going to do this time." She prints the word cat in very large letters. " What is that ? Is it a real cat ? Is it the picture of a cat ? No, it is only the xoord cat. What must you think of when you see this? " (pointing to the picture), "And what must you think of when you see this?'''' (pointing to the word). She now prints the word upon the blackboard in a num- ber of different places, and calls upon individuals to come to the blackboard and put a finger or the pointer on the word, on another word, another, etc. She herself points to one and another, and sometimes to the picture, and calls upon the children to tell what she points to. She allows one of the children to do the same, and the others to answer. The teacher now gets the class into order with careful attention to position, and gives them a little drill on pro- nunciation. " What is this word which you have learned to-day, children ? Now I want you to say it all together very softly, this way " (and she shows them). " Now say it loud, this way" (she shows them). ''Now whisper it this way. Now say it nicely as you do when you are talk- ing. Now say it slowly, very slowly." She now calls upon individuals to pronounce the word as she points to different ones on the blackboard, asking one child to pronounce it softly, another loudly, another quickly, another slowly. She now sends the class to their seats, and clears the 12 board of all but the outline picture and one word nicely printed in large letters, which she leaves upon the board to do their silent work. She also leaves the chart open at this lesson. MODEL LESSON IL Page 5, Lesson I., First Header. The teacher begins this lesson with a review of the pre- vious one, aiming by repetition to train the children in the habit of forming consciously the mental picture, and of recognizing quickly the form of the word, and practicing them in clear enunciation. The story of the previous lesson serves as the subject of conversation for this lesson ; and therefore the teacher tells no story this time, unless she finds that the class have remembered so poorly that she needs to repeat the story for them. In this case she repeats it in exactly the same form and manner in which she gave it before. THE CONVERSATION. The class being ready, the teacher says : " Do you re- member the story I told you yesterday about a cat ? How many of you remember it ? All of you who remember that story may hold up your hands. Mary, do you remember what color the cat was ? John, do you remember what size she was ? Was she a large cat or a small cat ? And who remembers what sort of a cat she was ? Was she a good cat or a bad cat ? What did she do that was kind ? Anna, you may tell me. What sort of a hole was it she dropped the meat into ? And where was the hole? And what was down in that hole ? " Now let us look at pussy's picture again. Here she is, the dear old cat ! Our cat ! Who can touch her ears ? — 13 her eyes ? — her nose ? — her whiskers ? And now who can shake hands with her ? Why can't you get hold of her paw ? Oh, yes, that is true : this is only the picture of a cat. Don't you think it is a good picture of a cat ? Now I want you to look at it right hard, and then shut your eyes and see if you can see it in your mind. Keep your eyes shut tight. Now all of you who see the picture of the cat with your eyes shut may hold up your hands. Open your eyes — quick! Was this the picture you saw?" (pointing to it). THE WOED. "What do you think of when you see this picture? And now what do you think of when you see this word ? What is this word ? You may all say it very, very softly, this way — cat ! But I want you to say it all together ; now try again — cat ! Now you may say it out quite loud. Now whisper it. Now say it in a sweet, pleasant tone, just as if you loved pussy when you said it — this way — cat! Now look again at this word cat. Every one of you look at it, every little girl and every little boy. Now shut your eyes and try to see the word in your minds. Do you see it ? Now open your eyes — quick! Was this the word you saw? Now let us try that again." She lets them try once more. Then she continues : " Do you think you can tell this word cat now from every other kind of word ? Well, let me see if you can." CAT AND NOT CAT. The teacher now prints upon the board the word cat, and the children tell her what it is. She then prints some word widely different in appearance from the word cat. Pointing to it, she asks : " Is this cat ? No, that is not cat. Now watch and see if I make cat this time." She prints, 14 perhaps, horse. " Is this word cat ? No, of course that is not cat. A^oio watch again and see what I make " ; and she prints cat. They shout out, " Cat / " or, if any get it wrong, she compares this word with the printed word cat, and leads them to see the resemblance between them. After printing in this way a number of words cat and not eat, she calls upon individuals to come to the board and point out which is the word cat — find one, and another, and yet another. She allows the class to decide whether the in- dividual is correct, and in this way holds the attention of all to the lesson. The teacher now prints the word cat several times in a column of words, passes the pointer very slowly down the column, and allows the children to clap hands each time the pointer touches the word cat. The teacher prints the word cat many times in different places upon the board together with other words, and allows each pupil in the class to find and rub out the word cat. " Well, I see you know that word cat pretty well ; so I must give you something new for the next lesson." If the time spent upon the above review leaves the teacher no more time for the next lesson, let her not be anxious. The child who learns to creep before he walks, walks well when once he starts. So in these first lessons in reading, if the child's progress is very slow, so as to allow time for the assimilation of this new food and for the for- mation of correct habits of hearing, seeing, thinking, and expressing, he will advance all the more rapidly after the first few weeks are past. 15 The "words a and the are necessary to the formation of most of the childish sentences of the language, and a child has great need to learn them in the very beginning of his attempt to learn to read. But the child needs to learn not only to recognize readily their forms, which is a thing easy and simple enough, but, what is much more difficult, to pronounce them properly in reading. To the English-speaking child the proper pronunciation of these words in conversation "comes by nature" ; but, so soon as he attempts to read them, he mispronounces them. This is due to two causes. One cause is the wide difference between the name and the pronunciation of the word. When the child uses these words in conversation, he pronounces them unconsciously^ and, if his English be at all pure, correctly. But, just so> soon as he attempts to read them, he makes a cottscious effort to pronounce them. Now, it is almost universally the case that the child learns, either by direct or by indi- rect teaching, that the names of these words are a and the; and when he makes the conscious effort to read them, he naturally and logically calls them by their names. The other cause is the almost universal practice of teach- ing these words by contrast, while associated with the same noun, thus compelling the child, if- he has any logical sense, to emphasize them ; and to emphasize them is to call them by name. Let us take such examples as are to be found in all school-books and almost all school-rooms, such as the phrases a cat, the cat. The child is called upon to read first one phrase and then the other, in order that by con- trast he may learn to distinguish between a and the. The result is, that the Jii^st time he is likely to read the first phrase correctly, putting the accent upon the noun ; but, perceiving the difference in the next phrase, he naturally 16 reads it so as to bring out that difference — that is, he em- phasizes the y and any adult reading it would incline to do the same.* If the child is very bright and catches the idea of the contrast at the first glance, he will be likely to read the first phrase wrong as well as the second, and say " a cat." All of this is due to a law of the child's nature, which makes it difficult for him to obey his teacher when she tells him to read those phrases in succession, to keep the accent on the noun, and to give the obscure vowel- sounds in a and tJie. It is hence apparent that it behooves the teacher to do two things. One is, to prevent the child, so far as it is in her power to do so, from learning or hearing the names of these two words ; and the other is, to be careful that while the child is being taught these two words, he shall be re- quired to read them only when associated with nouns repre- senting ideas widely different. She should avoid also such contrasts as cat, a cat / hat, the licit, as being open to the same objection of forcing the emphasis to fall upon ci or the. But so far our child can read only the one noun cat ^ how, then, are we to teach him a and tJie before we teach him other nouns ? By a way so natural and so sim- ple, that the wonder is it has not been in use for the last fifty years : the placing .of these words before pictures of familiar objects, and requiring the child to give expression to the idea represented, and afterward gradually replacing the picture with the printed word. This affords oppor- tunity to make an exercise full of vivacity and spirit, and gives pleasure to the children. It enables the child to form mental pictures of these and similar words more clear-cut and vivid than he can do when they stand associated with * See " Logical Analysis, or What to Emphasize," by Professor Mark Bailey, iu Appletons' Fourth Reader, last paragraph on page 17. 17 other words. It also illustrates to the child, in a way which he can not misunderstand, the use and purport of these words. This picture-reading is also the very beginning of language-work, the very a b c of sentence-making ; while it is at the same time the foundation of intelligent reading. From the picture the child catches the idea and spirit of the lesson, and readily transfers these to the words. The following lessons. III., IV., V., are given as illus- trations of this method of teaching "a" and "the." The word " my " is introduced chiefly for the purpose of afford- ing^opportunity for permissible emphasis. MODEL LESSON IIL Page 5, Lesson I., First Reader. The teacher first draws upon the blackboard a few sim- ple outline-pictures, as for example : Hi No story is needed for this lesson, as a story would be likely to distract the attention and to divide the interest aroused by the pictures. THE CONVERSATION. Pointing to each picture in turn, the teacher asks the class, " What is this ? " They reply, of course, " A house," "A hat," "A bird." The teacher needs to make sure, first, that the children perceive that there is a word which they speak before the words house, hat, and bird, and then that they catch the pronunciation of it as it is spoken. House is a word well suited for a first example, as the II aspirate h compels the child to make a slight pause be- tween the words a and house, and so makes the point clear. Having once become conscious of the fact that there is there a separate word, and perceived its pronunciation, they are now in possession of new, positive knowledge, which they will readily apply to the other words. The teacher extends and varies this exercise, now with objects and then again with pictures, until the children approximate, at least, an assured and confident conscious pronunciation of the word a when associated with other words. A WORD AND A PHRASE. Feeling sure that the children have now a clear percep- tion of the spoken word, the teacher gives them the printed symbol for it. Before the pictures of the house, hat, and bird she now puts a, thus — and points out to the children the word a as represent- ing the first word which they speak when they say "a house," etc. All this can be done without once calling the word by its name. Finally, the teacher places upon the Iboard the following — a cat .J and leads the children to see how the picture of the cat is replaced by the word cat, and practices them in the 19 rapid recognition and correct pronunciation of the phrase j ci cat 1^ in the same way that she taught them the word cat. THE LANGUAGE-LESSON". The teacher gives the children another short exercise in naming things in the room in answer to the question, "What is this?" as "A table," "A desk," "A door," etc., insisting always upon clear enunciation and correct pro- nunciation. At the close of this lesson the teacher gives the children an exercise at their seats with their books. She requires them to open their books at the first lesson, and find and show to her the word cat, and the phrase I a cat I ; or, as she may express it, " the phrase a cat in a little box." By using the word phrase in its proper application she will soon teach the children its meaning. MODEL LESSON IV. Page 5, Lesson I., First Reader. Again the teacher draws upon the blackboard simple outline-pictures of objects which are familiar to children, but this time such as children possess, or desire to possess. She places before these pictures the now known word a, and adds the known phrase | a cat \ . She gives the children a short, lively review upon that which they have learned in the two previous lessons. Then she tells them the following story, or some other one illus- trating the same point : THE STORY. " Once I knew a little girl named Lily — a little baby- girl, who was just beginning to talk. She had learned to walk, and could run everywhere, and now she was learning 20 to talk. She was a bright little baby, and knew all the things that were her own : she knew their names, too, and she could speak them quite well. She could say ' mamma,' and *papa,' and 'hat,' and 'chair,' and 'foot,' and 'hand,' and a great many other words, which she spoke very distinctly. But there were some things she did not know. She would say ' Baby's papa,' ' Baby's mamma,' ' Baby's hat,' ' Lily's chair,' ' Lily's foot,' and so on. Now her mamma did not like to have her talk this way, and she tried to teach her to say — What ought she to have said instead of saying ' Baby's hat ' ? Mary, you may tell me. ' Lily's hat ' ? Oh, no ! When you speak about your hat, do you say ' Mary's hat ' ? No. Well, what do you say then ? Yes, you say ' My hat,' Charley, when you speak of your papa, do you say ' Charley's papa ' ? Of course you do not ; you say ^ My papa.' " But this little baby-girl, Lily, did not know so much as you do, and when her mamma tried to teach her to say 'My hat,' she did not understand, and she did not like it. She was much troubled, and shook her little head, and said, ' No ! no ! Bahy^s hat ! Lily's hat ! ' If she had only known how to use the words, she would have said, ' No, no, mamma, it is not yoiir hat ; it is my hat.' But every day her mamma taught her a little, until at last she began to understand, and then she learned how to use the word my.'''* THE CONVERSATION. " You little girls and boys all know how to use the word my, don't you ? Let me see if you do." Children are always interested in their own things, so the teacher has them show hands, jackets, boots, pockets, books, etc., and each time allows individuals to answer her question, " Whose ? " Of course they say, " My hand," " My jacket,'* 21 etc. " I see you know how to use the word my, and I think you would like to learn how to read it, wouldn't you ? " THE NEW WORD, " Now I will make it on the blackboard, and you may watch and see how I make it." She prints the word my. " You may all speak the word together — my ! " She gives them a little practice in closing their eyes and seeing the word in their minds. Then she continues, " But now we "must put this word my before something." She makes my my and pointing to them asks, " What is this ? " The children of course reply, " My boat " and " My hand,'''' or "ilfy boat " and " My hand " ; it matters not which. The teacher now points to a From the sense of contrast being aroused, the bright chil- dren will most likely reply, ".4 boat." In this case the teacher answers, " Oh no, you do not wish to tell me that is ' a boat ' ; but you wish to tell me what it is. Now what is it ? Yes, it is 'a boat.'' Now watch and see what I am going to make " ; and she makes my and asks, " What is this ? " When the children have an- swered correctly, she asks, " Who can tell me another way to make the blackboard say ' my cat ' ? Yes, we can put the word cat in place of the picture cat. Now watch and see if I make it right." She prints the phrase ! my horse \. " There, is that right ? What is the matter ? Oh, that is not the word cat ! Who can show me the word cat f Who can find it on the blackboard? Who can find it on the chart ? Now I will try again. Watch now and see if I get it right this time." She prints the phrase 1 my cat \, and calls upon the children to read it both in concert and indi- vidually. The teacher now prints in several places upon the board the words my and cat, also longer, unknown words, and the known phrases | a cat \ and | my cat \ • and, for the sake of giving vivacity and adding interest to the lesson, she puts here and there a new picture, with the word a or m,y before it. She lets the children hunt out here, and also upon the chart, the knoicn words and phrases,, and name them. This ends the reading-lesson. THE LANGUAGE-LESSON AND VOCAL DRILL COMBINED. One purpose of the following exercise is to train the children to hear accurately, and to recognize in a half -un- conscious way that words are made up of separate sounds. Another is to test whether the children do really hear and recognize the word. The teacher says, " Listen now, children, and see if you can tell me what word this is ; " and she speaks very slowly the word h-d-cJc. If the children do not get it, she speaks it a little faster until they do. When they have told her what the word is, she says, " Who can touch the back of this chair ? Johnny may go and touch the back of Mary's desk," etc. She gives them now the word b-l-d-ck. When they \ 23 get it, she permits a iiumbei' of the children to designate something black, allowing one to touch something black, another to point to something black, another to name some- thing black, and so on. " Now," she says, " I want every little girl to hold up one h-d-n-d. That is well. " Now I want every little boy to hold up two h-a-n-d-s. That is right. " Now you may all put your hands in your l-d-p-s.''^ ANOTHER LANGUAGE-LESSON. Another language-lesson, which is a happy accompani- ment to this reading-lesson, is the following : Having previously provided herself with as many paper dolls as she has girl-pupils, and as many small tops as she has boy-pupils, and the class being in order and attentive, she holds up one paper doll, and says : " See, children, what I have. It is a paper doll. It is my doll. I bought it at the store. Now, I am going to give this doll to a little girl in this class. Let me see — to whom shall I give it ? " She calls up a child who she is sure will not be too bashful for the experiment, and, placing her so that she faces the class, she says : " Now, Mary, I am going to give this doll to you. There ! now it is your doll — your own doll, to keep and take home with you. Now, children," she says — and we may be sure there is no want of attention on the part of the children — " I want you to tell me whose doll this is." She requires of them to reply very distinctly and clearly, " It is Mary's doll." " Now, Mary," she says, " I want yott to tell me whose doll it is ? " She requires of Mary to re- ply, " It is 7ny doll." " Now, children, what should Mary say to me for giving her this doll ? Yes, she should say, * I thank you,' " Mary having done as required and gone 24 to her place, the teacher holds up a bright-colored top, and says : " See, children, what I have now. It is a top. It is my top. Now, I am going to give this to one of these boys. Let me see — to whom shall I give it ? There is a little boy who is sitting very still ; I think I will give it to him. Come here, Hai'ry." Harry being placed so as to face the class, the teacher says : " Here, Harry, I give you this top. Now it is your own top, and you may take it home with you. Children, I wish you to tell me whose top this is." Many of the children will this time reply, without prompting, in the complete sentence, " It is Harry's top.'* Harry is required, as Mary was, to answer with the com- plete sentences, " It is tny top," and " I thank you." So each child in turn may be called upon to stand up facing the school, and to repeat clearly and distinctly two complete sentences, thus receiving a training-lesson not only in the correct use of language, but one also in self- command and good manners ; this, too, under circumstances which will not make the task a very hard one. This lesson has so many points of value that the teacher who is earnest enough to carry it out will, we are sure, be wise enough to take ample time to do it well, even though something else must wait. If, ho\^ever, the number of pupils exceeds twenty, or at most thirty, it will be unad- visable to continue the individual training until all are called upon. After a representative number have spoken, it will be well to distribute the gifts, and close the lesson with a concert exercise. a5 MODEL LESSON V. Page 5, Lesson I., First Reader. This lesson teaches the word the in a manner similar to that in which the words a and my have been taught. The teacher of course selects pictures of other simple and fa- miliar objects for this lesson. Time and space will not permit us to give this lesson in full. MODEL LESSONS VL, VII., VIII., IX., being lessons upon page 6, Lesson II., and page 7, Lesson III., of the First Reader, are not given here, as time and space will not permit. It is hoped that the lessons given above will indicate clearly enough the plan and method to be pursued in these lessons. MODEL LESSON X. Page 8, Lesson IV., First Reader. Since this lesson contains within itself the elements needed to moaJcen interest and hold attention, and is also combined vnth much conversation, and for other reasons which loill he readily apparent, the story lohich accompar nies it folloviiS instead of preceding it. FINDING SOUNDS,* The teacher, having her class before her, eager and ready for " something new to-day," begins. First Step. — She first prints upon the blackboard in large letters the word rat. She has the children tell her what * See page 8, Appletons' First Reader. it is, and pronounce it several times in concert, insisting each time upon a very clear, correct, and slow pronunciation. Second Step. — She then pronounces it so slowly as to separate it into its sounds, and has the children imitate her. Third Step. — " Now look, children,'" says the teacher, "and listen" ; and she holds up the first three tingei's of the left hand, separated just a little, and sounds the word, pointing with a pencil to the index-finger as she sounds r, to the middle finger as she sounds a, and to the ring-finger as she sounds t. This step the teacher repeats slowly and without ques- tions two or three times, so as to give ample opportunity and time for all to see, to hear, and to comprehend. At each repetition she separates the fingers a little more widely, and gives the sounds a little more slowly. Now she says, " Listen, children, and see if you can tell what sound I speak when I point to th\^ first finger." Again she repeats the word very slowly as she points to her fingers, dwelling a little on the sound r. " What did I say when I pointed to this first fin- ger ? Yes, I said r. Now listen again and let me see how many will hear what sound I speak Avhen I point to this middle finger." As before, she repeats the entire word, dwelling this time on the sound it. " What did I say when I pointed to this middle finger ? Yes, I said «#. MODEL LESSON XII. Page 8, Lesson IV., First Reader. " LEARNING HIS LETTERS." The children having now learned certain sounds and their uses, it becomes the duty of the teacher to give them the printed symbols for these sounds. This she now pro- ceeds to do by teaching them to distinguish first the letters in the word rat, and then the letters of other words. It rests with the teacher to decide whether she will teach the names of the letters at this time, or defer that to a later period. In the lesson given below the name of the letter is taught as soon as the form is presented to the eye. There are two good reasons why this should be done. One is, that a letter is a thing, and has a name ; and it is well to call all things by their right names. The other is, that many of the children have already been taught at home the names of the letters, and have come to school proud of the fact that they " know their letters." It is not well that any knowledge which any of the children possess should be ignored by the teacher, unless it materially interferes with the instruction which she 36 is giving to others ; for no one likes to be told as news that which he already knows. From the known to the unknown is not only the right road in education, but it is also the most agreeable one. First Step. — Three boys having been chosen to repre- sent the three sounds in the word rat, the teacher has them stand in a line with their backs to the blackboard. The first boy represents r, the middle one Ci, and the last one, a tall boy, t. All this being understood by the class, the teacher says : " What is the first boy's name ? and what sound does he stand for ? You may give that sound, Frank. What is this middle boy's name ? and what sound does he stand for? You may give that sound, Robert. What is the last boy's name ? and what sound does he stand for ? You may give that sound, James." Second Step. — " Now I am going to put here on the blackboard a letter which stands for the sound r." She prints a large r just above Frank's head. " This first boy's name is Frank, and he stands for the sound r. Now, this first letter's name is — Who can tell me ? And it stands for the sound — ? Yes, this first letter's name is r, and it stands for the sound r. Now I am going to make a letter which stands for the sound