LB 1525 .L65 Copy 1 Class _UB...\. SJtS- Book sU.ioS . Copyright N° . COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/readingfortrainiOOIibb Reading for Training Classes ROSE M. LIBBY Teacher of Training Class, Clayton, N. Y SYRACUSE, N. Y. C. W. BARDEEN, PUBLISHER Copyright, 1906, by C. W. Kardeen UBMRY of CONGRESS Twe C»le» Rectf*! JAN 2 190? CwYrieM Entry CLASS A X»« Ho, I I oow B - 1 V £/ 6 V J PREFACE This work is intended for the use of ad- vanced pupils in reading, teachers, teachers training classes, and those preparing for the New York regents examinations Much of the material has been taken from notes prepared for use in the Clayton New York training class. Many valuable sug- gestions and criticisms have been offered by Mr. Ernest Robinson, principal of the Clay- ton High School. While training class pupils need study only those portions of the work pertaining to the outline on pp. 12-15, a more compre- hensive knowledge of the subject may be obtained by studying the contents of the en- tire book. CONTENTS b. Slur m 2 i ^ i o fl / A. Mental elements 16 fl. Definition 16 2. Purpose 16 ( Absolute 17 a. Emphasis 16 2. Enunciation ^ Union of sounds and syllables [_ into words [3. Difficulties 67 fl. Definition 70 ' Suppresion of syllables 71 Omission of sounds 71 2. Includes 78 Accent Blending the termination of one sylla- ble with the beginning of another. . . 71 Definition ~ 78 Purpose 78 Kinds -S Primai T ™ Klnas 1 Secondary 78 b. Managment of breath 80 c. Emphasis, force, pitch, rate, inflection, cadence, — best studied from the mental side, 16-48. d- Facial expression „ 83 e. Gesture 83 /. Posture 83 CONTENTS V C. Material 84 1 Extensive reading 84 Quantity 84 Characteristics of good reading books 87 Questions 90 Quality 91 In early grades 92 Thefairytale 93 Myths 95 Books for first 4 years 96 for 5th and 6th grades 98 for 7th and 8th grades 100 List of books 102 Questions 107 Variety 107 A daptation 108 Reading correlated 109 Questions on selections 1 10 Primaky Reading 112 Methods 112 Synthetic and analytic 113 Word method 114 Sentence method 116 Phonic method 118 Phonetic method 120 VI READING IN TRAINING CLASSES Word building method 121 Object method . .122 Group method 122 Alphabetic method 123 Drawing method 124 Ward or Rational method 124 Ear training.... 130 Combined method 130 General suggestions 133 Defects 135 Results of first year' s work 135 Intermediate Reading 136 Word study 137 Thought getting and giving 139 Correcting errors 139 Expression 140 Faults 140 Suggestions for recitations 141 Advanced Reading 143 Suggestions for recitation 144 Concert reading 144 Silent reading -"145 Position - . 147 Questions for review ..147 Word Study 149 Examples of word analysis 151 CONTENTS Vll Definition of words 154 Exercise in synonyms 156 Spelling 158 Place in school work 1 Difficult 159 The spelling-book, advantages 160 Disadvantages 161 Best ways of teaching... 162 Suggestions for recitation 162 Oral spelling 163 Written spelling 164 General suggestions 165 In oral spelling 168 In written spelling 170 Dictation 173 Enles 174 Penmanship 175 Vertical 176 Position of body 177 Holding of the pen 178 Movements .- 179 Materia] 180 Vlll READING IK TRAINING CLASSES Copy books 180 Writing charts 181 Copies 181 Classification of letters 182 Exercises 182 Time 185 Writing in the first grade 186 Dictation 186 Criticisms 187 Reading in Training Classes READING is getting thought from the written or printed page by interpret- ing the characters in which it is expressed. The two aims in teaching reading are: 1. To make the reader recognize in- stantly and with mechanical precision, word and letter forms and values; 2. to make him interested in the con- tents of literature. The first involves the mechanical part of reading, a distinct articulation, accurate pronounciation and instant interpretation of words and charac- ters. The second involves the moral development of the pupil and gives him an insight into the true, the good and the beautiful as found in the best literature. While in primary reading both aims are to be kept in view, the chief aim is instant recognition of word and letter forms. The pupil should not, however, be requir- ed 10 READING IK TRAILING CLASSES ed to read combinations of words having no sense. From the very beginning the sentences used should be of interest to the child, and as far as possible should be ar- ranged in story form and should express thoughts of interest to them. The division between primary and advanced reading is marked by the point where drill in the mechanical recognition of words ceases and the whole attention is given to the thought. It is difficult to tell just where one ends and the other begins. There is no sudden change between the two. The ultimate end in reading can not be attained unless there has been thorough drill in the mechanics of reading in the early years of school ; for no person can gain the complete thought and inspiration from written language if his attention be directed to the study of words and charac- ters. We thus see the importance of the mechanical part of reading in the early years of school. Raub says in " Methods of Teaching " THEEE OBJECTS IN TEACHING READING 11 that there are three objects in teaching reading to a child; viz; 1. To enable him to gain information. 2. To enable him to impart information. 3. To give pleasure to himself and others. Oral reading is the audible interpreta- tion of the author's thought and feeling given in the author's own language. There are few good oral readers. Try to read an ordinary newspaper article and you will be surprised to find the number of words you mispronounce, and even your own ear will detect grave errors in emphasis and inflection. The following is a combination of the outline prepared by the Education De- partment for the lue in teachers train- ing classes and those preparing for uniform examinations. 12 READING IK TRAINING CIASSES A. Mental elements fl. Definition a. Emphasis 2. Purpose ( Absolute ■{ 3. Kinds ■< Antithetic ( Cumulative 4. How indicated 5. How taught MENTAL ELEMENTS 13 ( 1 Definition b. Slur ( 2. Uses of ' o / fl. Definition +3 ( 1. Natural d "3 1. Pitch ■{ 2. Kinds \ 2. High ( 3. Low .2 *+3 (3 A [_ 3. How taught "3 - TH O d fl. Definition Quantity^ 2 Divi- \ Volume \ ]^f' ate sions (Rate (Gentle S o "qq 2. «i *o *-CQ* 1. Definition ( 1. Natural 2. Kinds ] 2. High ( 3. Low 3. Force - 3. How taught ( Definition 4. Stress -J ( How taught '1. Definition 1. Pure 2. Orotund 4. Quality 3. Aspirated or 2. Kinds < 4 Guttural Tone 5. Pectoral 6. Falsetto V 7. Tremulous ^ 3. How tau^ rht 14 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES 1. Definition f ( Rising 1. Simple •< ( Falling 2. Kinds *{ 2. Compound ( Rising circumflex or 1 Circumflex ( Falling circumflex 3. Monotone 3. How indicated 4. Correct use of (rules) [_ 5. How taught 1. Definition e. Cadence 2. How taught /. Phrasing or grouping 1, Definition Pauses ( Rhetorical — purpose of 2. Kinds -j ( Grammatical — purpose of g. Expression PHYSICAL ELEMENTS 15 B. Physical elements (1. Definition / § ' Elementary [."£ sounds : '-B Syllabication f\. Articulation- 2. Includes <| T-i Union of c sounds and syllables "Sa into words !< 3. Difficulties" '1. Definition p r Suppresion £ zn of syllables * 3 \j_ ( Omission of sounds s 2. Enunciation* 2. Includes - Blending the termination C3 of one sylla- ble with the beginning of \ , another f Definition 3 Apppnt J Pur POse 3. Accent ^ , Pri < ^ Kinds ^ Secondary b. Managment of breath c. Emphasis, force, pitch, rate, inflection, cadence, — best studied from the mental side cl Facial expression e. Gesture /• - POS ture 16 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES The Mental Elements The mental elements, those which pertain bo the mind, include the several divisions found in the outline. By reading with correct expression we are enabled to interpret properly the author's thought and, therefore, under- stand and feel what we read. In order that we may do this we must give attention, consciously or unconsciously, to the mental elements: emphasis, slur, modulation, inflection, cadence, pauses, and the various subdivisions of these, as pitch, rate, force, etc. (a) Emphasis Emphasis is the manner of attracting attention to one or more words in a sentence. Purpose or use. — By the proper use of emphasis we give interest and enthusiasm to the reading and bring out clearly the author's thoughts and feelings. In order that we may know the emphatic word or words we must have the power to analyze. EMPHASIS 1? Many different meanings may be conveyed by as simple a sentence as this; John struck the ball. Emphasize ball and we contrast it with something else he may have struck, as cat or dog. Emphasize John and we mean that John and no other person struck the ball. Emphasize struck and we mean that what he did to the ball was to strike it. It is a good exercise to have the child take some simple sentences, emphasize different words and explain the meaning in each case. It will aid him in the control and use of his voice and show the value of emphasis. Kinds of emphasis. — Absolute emphasis is that 'emphasis applied to the prominent ideas and thus brings out the meaning, as, " Speak little and well, if you wish to be considered as possessing merit." " Boisterous in speech, in action prompt and bold." Antithetic emphasis is that emphasis used upon words and phrases that contrast, or point out a difference; as, " The good man is honored, as the evil man is despised." 18 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES "It is my living sentiment, and by the grace of God, it shall be my dying senti- ment." " Independence now and independence forever. ' 7 Cumulative emphasis is that gradual increase of emphasis applied to a succession of important words or phrases; as, " Strike — till the last armed foe expires; Strike — for your altars and your fires; STRIKE— for the green graces of your sires; God — and your native land !" What words receive emphasis? 1. The important words and those that introduce new ideas. 2. Sometimes words which modify the subject or predicate. 3. Sometimes the modifiers of a modi- fied word. A word or phrase may be made emphatic : 1. By the voice being raised or made stronger (force) ; as, " Go, ring the bells, and fire the guns, And fling the starry banners out; Shout 'freedom' till your lisping ones Give back their cradle shout. " EMPHASIS 19 " He buys, he sells— he steals, he KILLS for gold." 2. By a sudden change of voice; as, " I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he; I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three: " Good speed!" cried the watch, as the gate-bolts undrew; " Speed!" echoed the wall to us gal- loping through; Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest, And into the midnight we galloped abreast." 3. By lowering or softening voice; as, " It was a bitter, bitter night! the child is frozen dead." 4. By inflection; as, " Be not like dumb driven cattle: Be a hero in the strife. 5. By pause; as, " And now hath every city Sent up her tale of men: The foot are fourscore thousand, The horse are thousands ten." Horatius — (Macaulay ) 20 BEADING IN" TKAINING CLASSES 6. By gesture; as, " It is she! Gracious God! Is she dying? Or dead, sirs? Say, tell if you can? Unhand me ! Who murdered my poor wife?" And a voice answered, " Thou art the man." Hand extended in a position of pointing on "Thou art the man." ?. By speaking it in a very low key; as, "But soft! behold! lo, there it comes again! Breathe it not aloud] the wild wind must not hear it." 8. By pronouncing the word or phrases slowly; as, " He was the most cow-ard-ly man I ever knew." How may emphasis be taught Be sure that the child understands and feels what he reads. Ask pupil questions to bring out the meaning; e.g. take the sentence, Mary won the prize. Suppose we wish Mary emphasized, ask, Who won the prize? The child will read the sentence emphasizing the proper word. If we wish prize emphasized, ask, " What did Mary EMPHASIS 21 The child will read the sentence em- phasizing prize. In but few cases is it advisable for the teacher to read and require the pupils to imitate. If a child understands and feels what he reads and is not self conscious, there will be little difficulty with emphasis or any of the mental elements. If a child can read as he talks, provided he talks correctly, it is all that we can hope to secure in ordinary school work. If he does not do this, it is often of advantage to have him close his book and tell the sentence in the exact words. Do not emphasize too many words, as this makes the reading choppy and not pleasing to a listener. Exercise : Mark the emphatic wovds in the follow- ing selection: " You hear that boy laughing? — you think he's all fun; But the angels laugh, too, at the good he has done; The children laugh loud as they troop to his call, 22 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES And the poor man that knows him laughs loudest of all!" (6) Slur Slur is the smooth, even, softened move- ment of the voice upon the less important parts of a sentence. When a part of a sentence is slurred it is usually read in a lower tone with faster rate and with little variation of inflection. As stated under emphasis the reader must be able to analyze rapidly in order to deter- mine the important parts. Slur is used in reading parenthetical expressions, explanatory words or phrases, repetitions, contrasted ideas, and some qual- ifying clauses and phrases. Example: (The words slurred are italicized.) 1. "A young officer (in what army no matter) had so far forgotten himself, as to strike a private soldier." (c) Modulation Modulation is a changing of the^pitch note to a higher or lower degree of ele- vation. SLUR, MODULATION 23 It is by this act of varying the voice that we better express our emotions, sentiments, and thoughts. Its divisions are pitch, quantity, force, and quality. 1. Pitch Pitch is the degree of elevation or de- pression of the voice in reading or speaking. When the pitch used is adapted to the various shades of thought and feeling, the reading becomes pleasant to a listener, and the reader's good taste is shown. No voice is musical when continued in one unchanging tone (monotone). The key of the voice is the natural pitch, or that used in ordinary conversation. The elevation or depression of the voice is reckoned from the key. Few if any two people have the same key. Usually the pitch of men's voices is an octave lower than that of women's. 2. Kinds of Pitch 1. The natural pitch is that used in ordinary conversation, in narrations and unemotional reading. 24 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES 2. The high pitch is that which is above the key of the voice. This is used to express light, joyful sentiments, and some- times those which are subdued, sorrowful or pathetic. It is also used to express fear, hate, anger, a command, and to com- municate the thoughts of another. This is the pitch used in calling. Example : 1. " Go ring the bells, and fire the guns, And fling the starry banners out; Shout ' Freedom!' till your lisping ones Give back their cradle shout." 2. Breathes there a man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, ' This is my own my native land!' Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned As home his footsteps he hath turned, From wanderi ug on a foreign strand? If such there breathe, go, mark him well For him no minstrel's raptures swell." —(Scott) PITCH 25 3. Low pitch is that which is below the key of the voice. It is usually a musical fifth below the high pitch. It is used when we wish to express calm sorrow or sad emotion of any kind; or to express deep joy, awe, reverence, or sublimity. Example: " The year Has gone, and, with it, many a glorious throng Of happy dreams. Its mark is on each brow, Its shadow in each heart." How Taught 1. See that the child understands what he reads, and try to arouse his proper f?elings. 2. Drill upon the musical^scale. 3. Pupils may repeat together certain of the elementary sounds on a pitch indi- cated by the teacher, or take a sound and run the musical scale. 4. Use short sentences in a manner sim- ilar to the last. 5. The child's ear may be at fault; he will then be unable to tell when he has 26 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES the correct pitch. In such a case ear training is necessary, and he should at first be drilled upon thirds and fifths of the musical scale. Chief Errors in Pitch 1. Many pupils when reading or speak- ing before an audience pitch their voices on too high a key, with the idea that the higher the key the more distinctly they will be heard. This fault may be cor- rected by having pupils recite to one or two persons so that they may speak in natural tones. Pieces should be chosen that require the moderate pitch for the early work of the child. 2. Often pupils seem to confuse pitch and force. These are entirely independent of each other; one can read softly in a high pitch as well as in a low. The teacher can show the distinction by reading to the pupils and exaggerating the difference. 3. Some pupils do not make the pitch suitable for the feelings to be expressed. QUANTITY 37 Here again aim to have the pupil feel what he reads and if possible forget himself and his surroundings. 2. Quantity Quantity, as we will consider it, has re. ference to the volume of the voice and the rate of movement. It is, however, a gen- eral term and includes emphasis, force, stress and slur. By volume is meant the fullness of the voice. Rate is the degree of rapidity in reading or speaking. Kinds of Rate 1. Moderate rate is that used in all ordinary discourse, conversation, narra- tion, description, and also to express cheer- fulness and very gentle emotions. 2. Rapid rate is used to express such emotions as delight, mirth, terror, violent anger, and anxiety, as, " And there was mounting in hot haste, the steed, The mustering squadron, and the clattering car 28 BEADING IK TBAIN1NG CLASSES Went pouring forward with impetuous speed, And swiftly forming in the ranks of war. ' ' 3. Slow rate is need to express grandeur, vastness, horror, adoration, pathos, con- sternation; as, "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day; The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea; The plowman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me." By reading a phrase or paragraph slowly opportunity is given for arousing the imag- ination and feelings. Rate may be retarded by pronouncing words slowly or by pauses. How Taught It is not usually necessary to give much drill in rate. If a child reads too rapidly it is because he is not interested in the thought ; if too slowly it is because he does not recog- nize the words instantly, or he is naturally slow, or he does not understand what he reads. Give selections that require slow or rapid FORCE 29 rate as the case may be; ask questions to bring out the proper understanding of the thought and make the pupil interested in it. See that the pupil makes sufficient prepar- ation upon each lesson; naturally slow- readers should be drilled frequently upon selections requiring rapid rate. 3. Force Force is the degree of loudness or softness of the voice used on the the same key, when reading or speaking. 1. Moderate force is used in ordinary conversation, narration, and description, or anything not particularly animated. Example: "There is no bird that can sing like a hymn. ' ' 2. Loud voice is used in selections of joyous and animated nature; also to express emotions of sorrow, grief, respect, dignity, suppressed passions, veneration. This force is used in calling. Example : "Passion is of no service, you impudent, insolent, overbearing, reprobate." 3. Gentle force is used to express senti- 30 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES ments of gentle, tender, subdued and sol- emn nature; also caution, fear and secrecy. Example : "Give me three grains of corn, mother, Only three grains of corn; It will keep the little life I have Till the coming of the morn. ' ' How Taught 1. Drill pupils upon sounds and words until they are able to distinguish and give the kinds of force. 2. Use sentences requiring various degrees of force. 3. Question to bring out the thought and feeling of every selection, thus arousing the proper mental condition. 4. Have the child stand some distance from the pupils and read to them. Note — We want a clear, easy, natural tone. If we tell a child to read louder we get an unnat- ural force. Stress is the application of force to the accented syllable. 1. Radical stress — when the greatest force FORCE 31 is at the beginning of the syllable or em- phatic portion. This stress marks all forms of energetic and animated expression. It often startles, thrills, and sways great audiences. Lack of this stress often produces a drawling effect, Too frequent use of this makes one appear dogmatic. It is the objective stress. Example; "Stop, don't move from that place." 2. Final stress— when the greater force is at the end of the syllable or emphatic portion. This stress marks impassioned utterance. It expresses contempt, astonishment, hor- ror, scorn, impatience, earnest purpose, and determination. Without this stress or when used in a weak form, oratory would lose much of its energy and a mere whine would be the result. It is indispensable in dram- atic poetry. Example; "Come backl come backl he cried in grief." Medium stress— when the greater force is at the middle of the syllable. This is a combination of the radical and final, and is used to express dignity, reverence, patriot- 32 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES ism, affection, and grandeur. This gives beauty to the delivery. Example: "My country, 'tis of thee; Sweet land of liberty. ' ' How Taught No mechanical drill is necessary, for if pupils properly understand the selections the correct stress is usually given. In case, however, that mechanical drill is needed the following method is suggested. 1. Take simple elementary sounds and drill upon these and pupils can readily dis- tinguish the kinds of stress and prod nee them. Take words and proceed in a similar manner. 3. Afterwards use sentences containing these words. 4. Quality 1 'Quality manifests emotional states. ' ' Quality has been defined as "that subtle element of the voice by which is expressed at one time tenderness, at another harshness, QUALITY 33 at another awe, and so on through the whole gamut [scale] of feelings. " Another defines -quality as the kind of tone used in reading and speaking. Each person has an individuality of voice, but the quality of his tone can be changed almost as he wishes, because the shape of the pharynx can be modified by the action •of the tongue. Defects of voice 1. Those caused from diseases, as catarrh, •enlarged tonsils, or from accident, as broken nose. 2. Those coming from birth, as cleft pal- ate, peculiar shaped mouth, narrow nasal passages. 3. Those caused by the misuse of the voice. Many public speakers have destroyed the quality of their tones by the improper use of their voices. The most musical voice will become un- pleasant if the tones are produced far back in the throat. Feeling or emotion has much to do with 34 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES the quality of the tone. Teachers should encourage pupils to express the various emotions, should remove all hindrances, and should discourage any attempt at ridicule. In any school where the idea exists that boys and girls appear weak when they read with feeling, the teacher should do all in her power to break it up. When a pupil shows that he feels what he reads we may be sure that his moral nature is developing and that he can be touched by the true and good. (c) Tone Tone is practically the same as quality. It has reference to the kind of sound used in reading or speaking. It is defined by Webster as sound or the character of sound. Kinds of Tone The four chief tones in which nearly all emotions are expressed are; pure, orotund, aspirated, and guttural. To these may be added the pectoral, falsetto, and tremulous. Pure tone is that of ordinary conversa- tion, sometimes called the natural tone. It is a smooth, easy, round flowing sound of TONE 35 moderate pitch, rate and force. It is used to express emotions of love, peace, cheerful- ness, joy and sometimes sadness. Example: "There was a festive hall with mirth resounding; Beauty and wit, and friendliness sur- rounding; With minstrelsy above, and dancing feet rebounding." Orotund tone is an enlarged, intensified, deepened pure tone, of a rich quality. It is the pure tone rounded in the mouth and deepened in the chest. This tone is not necessarily louder than the pure tone; loudness has nothing to do with it. It is used to express sublimity, grandeur, awe, reverence, diginity and sol- emnity. Example : "Roll on, thou deep and dark- blue ocean — roll!" This tone may be secured by arousing the interest and imagination. Think of the vastness of the ocean in the above selection; imagine the change in the sky and the 36 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES strength of the night, the storm, and the darkness in the following: "The sky is changed! and such a change! Night, And Storm, and Darkness, ye are wondrous strong, Yet lonely in our strength, as in the light Of a dark eye in woman!" Aspirated tone is a breathed or whispered utterance. It is produced by mingling the breath with the vocal tones and is used to express secrecy, fear, terror, rage, hate, scorn, and contempt. Example : "Hark! what's that?" ' 'I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?" Guttural tone is a deep, rough, grating throat tone, produced chiefly in the throat. It is used to express hate, rage, contempt and loathing. Example : "Back ! ruffians, back ! nor dare to tread Too near the body of my dead ; Nor touch the living boy. I stand Between him and your lawless hand. ' ' —The Polish Boy. TOKE 37 Pectoral tone is a low, pure, hollow tone (chest tone). It is sometimes caused by weak organs or improper care of the abdom- inal organs. This tone is used in express- ing sorrow and deep feeling. Example : ' ' Softly woo away her breath, Gentle death !" < ' Let her leave thee with no strife, Tender, mournful, murmuring Life ! She hath seen her happy day: She hath had her bud and blossom: Now she pales and fades away, Earth, into thy gentle bosom." Falsetto tone is high and sharp. It is often caused by nervousness, and it expres- ses irritability, surprise, pain, mockery and sometimes great terror. Example : k «Bah! that's the third umbrella gone since Christmas. What were you to do? Why, let him go home in the rain to be sure. Do you hear the rain, Mr. Caudle ? I say do you hear it ? " — Douglas Jerrold. Tremulous tone is an oscillating tone pro- 38 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES duced by vibrating the pitch of the voice. It is used to express tenderness, grief, pity. It may be caused by old age, and fear some- times produces it. Example: ' l love, remain ! It is not yet near day ! It was the nightingale, and not the lark, That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear ; Nightly she sings in yon pomegranite tree. Believe me, love, it was the nightingale. ' ' — Romeo and Juliet. — Shakspere. How Taught Little if any mechanical drill should be given in the public school. As previous- ly suggested appeal to the imagination, arouse the proper feelings, and make the surroundings of the school-room such that there will be no fear of expressing these feel- ings. With the older pupils selections might be given for study, requiring pupils to tell the feelings expressed, and the tone or tones in which it should be rendered, but this should never be done with the younger pu- pils. In case the teacher wishes to give me- hanical drill, she may use various elemen - tary sounds and repeat to the musical scale. INFLECTION 39 (d) Inflection Inflections are bends or slides of the voice at the close of syllables or words. Kinds There are two kinds of inflections, simple and compound. A simple inflection is a slide of the voice in but one direction, either upward or down- ward. There are two simple inflections ; the ris- ing and the falling. The rising inflection, marked thus (') is a slide of the voice upward ; as, " Are you go- ing to school ?' ' The falling inflection, marked thus f ) is a slide of the voice downward ; as, " It is six weeks since school closed. ' ' Note — The rising inflection is sometimes called the accute accent, and the falling the grave accent. The compound inflection or circumflex is a union of the rising and falling inflection. There are two compound or circumflex in- flections, the rising circumflex and the fall- 40 READING IN" TRAINING CLASSES ing circumflex, which are named from the ending of the slide. The rising circumflex, marked thus ( v ) be- gins with a downward slide and ends by an upward slide ; ' ' Must I stop this, when you are doing it?" The falling circumflex, marked thus ( A ) is an upward slide followed by a downward slide ; as, u This is a peculiar specimen that I have." The monotone is sometimes classed under inflection. This is not produced by an in- flection, however, but rather by the lack of it. The voice continues on the same tone throughout the thought. It is not suited to the literature of the school, and whenever used produces an unpleasant effect upon the hearers. It is by the use of inflections that monotonous reading is prevented. It is said that certain selections that express solem- nity, awe, reverence and the like, may pro- perly be rendered in the monotone ; but a perfect monotone is rarely used. Example : "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. " INFLECTION 41 Rules for Inflection 1. The rising inflection is used upon incom- plete thoughts ; as, ' ' You may go, btit — ' ' If thine enemy hunger, give him bread to eat." 2. Exclamations usually require the falling inflection ; as, 1 ' Hark ! Did you hear that ?' ' 3. The rising inflection is used upon direct questions or those that can be answered by yes and no ; the answers take the falling ; as, ' ' Are you going home ?" " Yes. ' ' 4. Indirect questions, or those that cannot be answered by yes and no, usually take the rising inflection and the answers the falling ; as, ' ' Who gave you that ?" " My father. ' ' Note — If the question be repeated it takes the rising inflection. 5. When words or phrases are contrasted, one takes the rising inflection and the other the falling ; as, ' ' The girl is industrious, the boy is lazy. ' ' 6. The rising inflection is used when we do not wish to assert strongly or at all ; as, ' ' There may be other ways of doing this. ' ' 42 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES 7. The rising inflection is used when we are uncertain or doubtful ; as, "I think that is true." 8. We use the rising inflection when what we have to say is trite, trivial, or repetitions; as, ' ' There is no danger. ' ' 9. The rising inflection is usually required in entreaty, concession, politeness and ad- monition ; as "Please don't go and leave me." 10. Thoughts that express completeness or momentary completeness usually require the falling inflection, but when several complete thoughts occur in one sentence, the last but one generally has the rising inflection ; as, ' ' The rivers became small brooks ; the leaves began to fall from the trees ; the cat- tle began to suffer for lack of food ; and the seed lay in the ground unsprouted." 11. The falling inflection is used to express determination or decision ; as, "I know it is true." 12. Words or phrases repeated for emphasis require the falling inflection ; as, "If I was an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed INFLECTION 43 in my country, I never would lay down my arms — never, never, NEVER. 13. Words or phrases in contact or antithe- sis require opposite inflections ; as, "I said an older, not a better." 14. The circumflex is used in expressions of decision, irony, condition, contrast and sar- casm ; as, "You ought to be ashamed to do such things." Series A series is a succession of at least three particulars. There are two classes, simple and com- pound, either of which may be a commenc- ing or a concluding series. In a simple series the members are single in word or idea ; as, "Henry gave me apples, pears, peaches, and grapes." In a compound series the members consist of several words, or more than one idea ; as ' ' He received him kindly, washed his feet, provided supper, and caused him to sit down." 44 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES A commencing series is one in which the sense is incomplete at the end of the series ; as, ' ' Bass, pickerel, pike and trout are caught in the Raquette. ' ' Rules for the inflection of series 1. The last member but one of a simple commencing series and the last member of a simple concluding series take the falling in- flection, all others the rising ; as, "Dec4r, gentle, patient, noble, Nell was dead." "Where are the traces of care, suffering and faitgue?" 2. The last member of a compound com- mencing series and the last but one of a com- pound concluding series requires the rising inflection, all others the falling ; as, 1 ' I saw in that noble person such sound principles, such an enlargement of mind, such clear and sagacious sense, and such un- shaken fortitude as have bound me by an inviolable attachment to him from that time forward." "They journeyed from San Francisco to INFLECTION 45 Chicago, from Chicago to Buffalo, from Buffalo to Syracuse, and from Syracuse to New York." 3. A series that contains more than five members, is divided into two or more shorter series and each division is read according to the rule which would apply to it if it stood alone ; as, " But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy r peace, long-suffering, gentleness, || goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Note — If a series contains an antithesis, apply the rule for antithesis to each mem- ber. 1|7_. How May Inflection be Taught? [ ^The reason for giving wrong inflections seems to be either carelessness, lack of in- terest and attention, failure to understand the meaning or because the ear is at fault. We are told to see that the child properly interprets the selection, and then make him feel that he would like to give this interpre- tation to others If we can arouse this men- tal condition, the teacher need have no trouble about the expression. 46 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES It is also said that pupils do not need a musical ear in order to read with proper in- flection. Many teachers, no doubt, have found a few pupils who could not detect the differ- ence between the rising and the falling inflec- tion. In such cases the ear must be at fault, and it is ear training that they need. The following method is suggested by some of the older teachers : To break up monotonous reading, practise pupils for four or five minutes at the begin- ing of a reading lesson upon a column of letters, figures or words. Drill the pupils first upon such a list as the following, aranged vertically upon the blackboard and marked with the falling in- flections: a, e, i, 6, u, if, yes, no, where, etc. Then use the rising inflection on the same list, then alternate. Finally use both inflections on the same word ; as, yes, yes no, no, etc. The teacher may allow the pupils to give these inflections at first in concert, then in- dividually. In giving the falling inflection see that pupils do not drop the voice too INFLECTION 47 low. It should be raised slightly before al- lowing it to fall, and should then drop only to the pitch of the sentence, not below it. Thus ; "I said come ' ' , not ' ' I said come ' ' . After the pupils are able to give the pro- per inflections on words, the teacher may use selections in a similar manner. If a child does not read a sentence proper- ly, it is often of advantage to have him close his book and tell in the exact words, the sentence he has read. The . exact words should be given, as it is upon this combina- tion that he failed. Then say, ' ' Open your book and read it just as you have told it." It has beeniound that a child will speak the exact words of a book properly when he is Dot looking at the text. It then seems to be a habit of reading incorrectly, not talking incorrectly, or else due to lack of interest and attention. Probably the above difficulty is caused by improper attention to reading in the child's early life. Our aim should be to produce natural readers. 48 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES (e) Cadence Melody is an agreeable succession of sin- gle tones of varied pitch. Melody makes reading pleasing to the ear; its absence produces a monotone. Melody causes the proper cadence of sen- tences. 1. " Cadence is the closing tone of a sen- tence. " It is usually considered as ' ' the fall- ing of the voice in reading or speaking, espec- ially at the end of a sentence. ' ' If the same pitch were continued to the end of each sentence, melody would be dis- troyed. It is more pleasing to the ear to al- low the voice to descend on the last few words; the mind is thus prepared for the close, and abruptness is prevented. The degree of the fall depends upon the emotion to be ex- pressed. In sentences expressing strong emotion, the fall is more abrupt and low ; in sentences having slight emotion, the fall is slight ; in short sentences expressing mod- erate emotion, the fall is slight ; in long sen- tences, the fall begins farther from the close and is lower. CADENCE 49 Faults of cadence 1. The voice is sometimes continued with little variation of pitch to the close of the sentence, then dropped abruptly. This is often the fault of children when reading too difficult selections. 2. The voice may fall too low at the end of the sentence. This is often noticed in the pulpit. There are many speakers whose fi- nal words are seldom heard. This fault sometimes arises from repeated reading of grave and solemn selections. Where the voice falls, the articulation should be espec- ially distinct. 3. Some people begin to lower the voice al- most at the beginning of the sentence, and before the end is reached it is so low that it can scarcely be heard. This is another fault often heard in the pulpit. II. How taught The above faults should be corrected by the teacher whenever they occur. Little can be done with cadence unless the pupil knows something of melody. There are few chil- dren, however, who need special training in 50 READING IK TRAINING CLASSES this ; most of them can give all variations of pitch necessary for good reading. If pupils understand the meaning of what they read and try to express it, there is usually little difficulty in cadence. Sometimes the teacher may read and ex- aggerate the error. But we cannot expect the child to give proper cadence if his ear can- not detect the variations of pitch. In such cases the teacher's work must be to give ear- training. This can be done by drilling pu- pils upon different elementary sounds, let- ters and words, varying the pitch until the pupil can detect the difference. (/) Phrasing or Grouping By phrasing or grouping is meant reading a number of words together that express one picture or contain one idea. Children often read several ideas as one and as a result they understand nothing of what they read. Some pupils have the habit of reading just as long as they can with one inspiration, then pause anywhere, re- gardless of the sense, then take another breath, and proceed as before. Such read- CADENCE 51 ing conveys no meaning, and all melody is destroyed. This subject of grouping should receive careful attention. Pupils should be taught to look for pictures, and read together those words that express one picture, pausing be- tween the pictures, but never in the middle of one. In the beginning of this study the teacher will need to explain the way in which a clear idea can be found. She may proceed as follows : Place upon the board the word ' ' boat ' ' for instance. Ask several members of the class what they think of when they see that word- ;Some will say a steam-boat, others a row- boat, etc. The idea is not clear, therefore ; other words must be put with it to make a complete picture. Suppose we say l ' a boat on the water ' ' . By proper questioning the pupils will still see that the picture is not clear and it is nec- essary to use still more words. We finally have the following : "A row-boat was on the water. ' ' Drill in a similar manner using other 52 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES words until the pupils can readily make and distinguish one clear picture, and only one. The next step will be to give the pupils simple sentences containing two or three pic- tures and have the pupils find and read the words that represent one clear idea or picture. Then have them read the whole sentence, pausing between the pictures. If they pause in the middle of an idea, the teacher must call their attention to the fact by judicious questions. No doubt at first the pupils will pause longer than desirable after each picture, but this will be remedied by practice. Give the pupils extracts gradually increas- ing in difficulty until they are able to select the groups in any passage found in their readers. The teachers cannot use the selec- tions in their readers at first, as they are too- difficult for this drill. Pauses Pauses are usually considered to be cessa- tions of the voice in reading or speaking. Pauses are of two kinds, rhetorical and grammatical. Grammatical pauses are visible signs used PAUSES 53 to make the meaning clear. They are punc- tuation marks, the period, interrogation point, exclamation point, colon, semi-colon, and comma. Rhetorical pauses are cessations of the voice for the purpose of emphasis, and of conveying to the hearers the sense of the se- lection. These are independent of punctua- tion marks. They often occur where there are no punctuation marks at all. Rhetorical pauses are determined by the nature of the subject and the meaning to be expressed. The reader must have the power to analyze and determine the mean- ing and the most important words and phrases. The length of the pauses usually depends upon the importance of the words empha- sized and the size of the room. Often a word or phrase will make a far deeper impression upon an audience when spoken in a louder tone with greater force. Few rales can be given, for pauses depend greatly upon the nature of the subject and the circumstance under which it is rendered. No rules should be learned by the children, 54 READING lis" TRAINING CLASSES but the following are given for the benefit of the teacher. 1. Pauses occur after an emphatic word; as? " I never will lay down my arms — never , \ NEVER, | NEVER," I Note— When a word requires much empha- sis, pauses often occur before and after it. 2. Pauses occur before and after parentheti- cal expressions ; as, " If there's a Power above us, | (and that there is, all nature cries aloud through all her works), | He must delight in virtue." Qualifying words, phrases or clauses, are set off by pauses ; as, "The trapper was placed in a rude seat, | which had been made with studied care, | to support his frame in an upright and easy attitude." ' ' The moonlight, pure, | bright, | soft, | lambent | and clear, I streamed in through rents in the broken walls." 4. Pauses usually occur after explanatory modifiers ; as, ' ' John, the blacksmith' s son, [ has come. ' ' 5. Pauses occur between words or phrases of a series ; as, PAUSES 55 v • He has apples, | peaches, | pears, | and grapes to sell." 6. Pauses occur in the place of omitted words ; as, " It' s dangerous, | better not venture there." 7. Pauses occur between words or phrases in contrast or opposition ; as, ' ' I have seen the effects of love | and ha- tred, | joy | and grief, | hope | and des- pair. ' ' ' ' I said he was braver, | not better. ' ' How taught When pupils are able to determine each picture in a selection, there is little trouble with the pauses. The punctuation marks enable one to de- termine the meaning, but have nothing fur- ther to do with the pauses. Very often pauses are made where there are no marks of punctuation at all. The pupils should be so thoroughly drilled in phrasing that they will be able to detect a picture instantly, and then the pause will come unconsciously. Care should be exercised in reading poetry 56 HEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES to avoid the sing-song which is so prevalent among school children. Note. — When marking the pauses in a se- lection, vertical lines are placed wherever the cessations of the voice occurs, whether it be at the mark of punctuation or not. Mark the pauses in the following selection: ' ' The city slumbers. 0' er its mighty walls Night's dusky mantle soft and silent falls ; Sleep o'er the world slow waves its wand of lead, And ready torpors wrap each sinking head. Stilled is the stir of labor and of life ; Hushed is the hum, and tranquillized the strife. Man is at rest, with all his hopes and fears ; The young forget their sports, the old their cares ; The grave are careless ; those who joy or weep, All rest contented on the arm of sleep. ' ' — R. T. Conrad. (g) Expression or Quality Quality has been previously discussed, and those desiring to consider expression as EXPRESSION 57 synonymous with this, need give no further attention to the subject. One says that expression ' * is the highest quality of good reading. It embraces intelli- gent reading and something more, for read- ing may be intelligent and not be expres- sive. ' ' Webster defines expression as " a vivid rep- resentation of meaning, sentiment or feel- ing. ' ' To read with correct expression, we must give attention to all the topics previously considered. One reads with expression when he properly interprets the author's thought and feelings, and gives them to others in the correct tone, pitch, rate, etc. A child cannot read expressively if he is unable to put himself in sympathy with the thought and enter into the sentiment of the selection. But a teacher may do much to help a child, if she is careful in the choice of selections, if the pupil has no vocal defects, if he has a sympathetic nature, if all errors are promptly corrected, and lastly if the teacher can furnish a good example herself. 58 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES Sympathetic pieces and dialogues furnish some good material for this work. The following questions are merely to sug- gest suitable review work. 1. (a) Define reading. (6) What are the aims in teaching reading? (c) Which of these aims should receive the more attention in the primary grades and why ? 2. Define emphasis, modulation, pitch, quantity, rate. 3. (a) Define force. (6) What are the kinds of force ? (c) When should each be used ? "I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he ; I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three : 'Good speed!' cried the watch, as the gate- bolts undrew ; 'Speed!' echoed the wall to us galloping through ; Behind shut the postern, the lights sunk to rest, And into the midnight we galloped abreast." — " How they brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix. — Robert Browning. 4. (a) To what grade is the above selection suited? (6) Write two questions — other PRONUNCIATION 59 than those relating to the meaning of words — that you would ask pupils regarding the passage before having it read aloud. 5. With what rate and pitch should the above selection be rendered ? Give reasons for your answer. 6. Mark the emphatic words in the above selection and give reasons in each case. 7. Mark the pauses in the selecteon and give reasons for each. 8. Mark the proper inflections. B. Physical Elements By physical elements we mean those pertain- ing to the body and its members. Under this head are considered pronuncia- tion, articulation, enunciation, accent, man- agment of breath, emphasis, force, pitch, rate, inflection, cadence, facial expression, gesture, and posture. The physical elements enable the mental lauguage of one to be made visible and au- dible to another, and add meaning and force to the speakers words. (a) Pronunciation Pronunciation is the distinct and correct utterance of the elementary sounds com- 60 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES bined into syllables and words. It includes the elementary sounds of a language, phonics, articulation, enunciation, syllabication and accent. Some consider pronunciation, articulation, and enunciation synonymous. They are, however, distinct. Pronunciation deals with a whole syllable or word, while articulation deals with the elementary sounds that go to make up the syllable or word. Articulation deals with the parts, pronunciation with the whole syllables and words. Each sound and syllable of a word must be perfectly articu- lated before the whole word can be pro- nounced. Articulation has reference to the move- ment of the vocal organs, the lips, teeth, tongue and palate, in producing a sound ; while enunciation includes the correct move- ment, but the actual sound produced. Ar- ticulation may be termed the process, enun- ciation the result. Enunciation is considered by Webster as the fullness and distinctness of articulation. He says to enunciate is to make distinctly audible. Therefore the chief difference be- PKONUNCIATION 61 tween these two terms seems to be that of de- gree only. If a child should speak a sound, syllable or sound correctly, but indistinctly, the fault would be in enunciation not in ar- ticulation. Articulation is the basis of pronunciation. Every mistake made in pronunciation is due to an error in articulation, enunciation or accent. The voice must be capable of producing the sounds of a language before a syllable or word can be formed. One may be capable of articulating the sounds of a word perfect- ly, and yet mispronounce the word by fail- ure to join them correctly in the syllables. Again, the sounds and syllables of a word may be perfectly formed and still be incor- rectly pronounced by misplacing the accent. As has been stated, pronunciation is not constant, it is liable to change from age to age and in different localities. We usually take the best educated people of London as our authority in so far as they agree. Whenever they differ, we have Web- ster' s, the Standard, and the Century dic- tionaries to follow, and if these are vastly dif- 62 READING IK TRAINING CLASSES ferent, we must accept the pronunciation of the best speakers of the present time. Methods of Teaching There are three methods of teaching pro- nunciation, the associative, the alphabetic, and the phonic. The Associative or Word Method The pupil sees the word, the teacher pro- nounces it, then the pupil pronounces it. The child associates the name with the writ- ten form, just as he associates a spoken name with an object. We are told that every child should be first taught pronunciation in this way. Advantages 1. A child will be able to read before he knows his letters. 2. It is the natural method because it is the way in which he learned to talk ; he learned first to associate the name with the object, now he learns to associate the name with the written form. 3. It is the rational method because it PRONUNCIATION 63 teaches from the known spoken word to the unknown written form. 4. A child is more interested in words that express some idea, than in abstract letters. 5. It follows the order of development of a written language. Signs were used before letters to represent words. The word is to the child simply a sign of an idea or object. Disadvantages 1. The child is made dependent. He can pronounce no new words without assistance. 2. If he forgets the pronunciation of a word he has no way of recalling it. 3. He is given no key by which he can pro- nounce words for himself. It is therefore best to use some other method, with the associative to remedy the above dimcllties. Alphabetic Method No matter what method be used for teaching pronunciation, the pupils at some time learn the letters and pronounce words by looking at the letters and judging of their sounds. All persons do this in ordinary read- ing. There is, however, no advantage in 64 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES teaching the letters first abstractly ; it would be one of the most arbitrary and illegal methods that could be devised. The letters are taught incidentally and at a very early period of the child's school work. Most teachers of the present time teach words be- fore letters. The Phonic Method By this method the pupils are taught the sound of the letters and then by combining the sounds they get the pronunciation of the word. Take the word cat for instance. The pu- pils are taught the sound of c, then of a, then of t, and then they repeat these sounds in order with increasing rapidity until they blend, and the correct pronunciation of the word cat is secured. This method tends to make the child in- dependent by giving him a key to pronunci- ation, and when used in connection with the associative method, affords an excellent way of teaching reading. Objections to Phonic Method 1. The pupils find difficulty in reading un- marked words. PRONUNCIATION 65 2. A purely phonetic method would create poor spellers, as many words are not spelled as they sound. 3. When used as the only method of teach- ing it would be slow and likely to prove un- interesting to the child. A child wants words that mean something to him ; not ab- stract sounds or letters. How taught 1. No matter what method is used, the teacher should combine the words into sen- tences and the sentences into stories as soon as possible. The child will thus become interest- ed in his work. 2. Carfully combine all methods but begin with the associative. 3. Assist the pupils in the pronunciation of words only when necessary. If pupils know at, they can easily pro- nounce such words as mat, hat, cat, etc., by knowing the letter or sound of the letter pre- fixed or added. 4. Avoid as far as possible all abstract teaching. 5. Show the pupils the positions of the vocal organs. 66 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES 6. Do not allow pupils to spell a word aloud in order to pronounce it. 7. As soon as possible teach the sounds of the letters and have pupils pronounce words by sound. 8. Keep a list of the words commonly mis- pronounced and drill upon these frequently. Such words as geography, nothing, which, etc., need constant attention. 9. Follow the pronunciation of those with whom you associate unless it is incorrect. If the majority of your associates say either and neither instead of either and neither, follow them rather than appear affected by using the other pronunciation. Articulation Articulation is the distinct expression of the elementary sounds of a language and the union of these sounds. Each pupil should be taught: 1. to recognize instantly the elementary sounds 2. to produce the elementary sounds cor- rectly 3. to combine them in reading and speak- ing. ARTICULATION 67 A child must be drilled upon correct ar- ticulation from the first day of school. How taught 1. The teacher should give the sound and the pupils imitate. They may be allowed to give the sound in concert first, then indi- vidually. If pupils are not able to detect the difference in the sounds, then ear train- ing is necessary. The teacher may exagger- ate the difference. The teacher should show the pupils the position of the vcoal organs. '2. The teacher should give constant drill on phonics. Teach not only single sounds but combi- nation of sounds, and give much attention to all difficult combinations. 3. All errors of the pupils should be noted and frequent drill given upon the correct sound. Difficulties or faults of articulation 1. Several consonants occuring in succes- sion often form a different combination ; as particularly, strength. Drill constantly upon such words. 68 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES 2. Sometimes the position of the accent makes the word difficult to articulate ; as in dis sol u ble 3. The mouth may not be oppened suffi- ciently, or the vocal organs may not be in a proper position, and indistinct articula- tion is the result. Often one or more syllables are omitted or clipped ; as, goverment for government, rithmetic for arithmetic, play in for playing. The teacher should keep a list of words most commonly mispronounced in her school and give frequent drill upon them. 5. The following sounds are often difficult to articulate, ing and ight, eh, ment ; th as in thing ; is often called iss instead of iz ; ness is pronounced niss. 6. All local errors should be corrected, as r at the end of words ending in a ; v for w ; s for th ; ch for j, and j for ch ; d f or t ; p for b, and b for p. 7. Similar sounds occuring in succession are often difficult to pronounce ; as, ' 'When loud surges lash the sounding shore, The hoarse, rough voice should like the tor- rents roar." ARTICULATION 69 Pupils should be drilled upon such combi- nations as ' ' Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers; if Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where is the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?" Stammering is another fault of articula- tion. It may be caused by associating with persons who stammer, by speaking too rap- idly, or from habit. In either case the pupil should know what he is to say before attempt- ing to speak, take full breath, and speak slowly. Nervousness, excitement, diffidence, em- barassment, and anger sometimes cause stam- mering. In such cases remove as far as pos- sible all causes for excitement. As the sys- tem becomes stronger the pupil may be able to control his vocal organs. Often one who stammers can sing accurate- ly. The teacher may require pupils to read, beating time. It is said that Demosthenes overcame this trouble by reading with pebbles in his mouth. If the teacher is persistent the fault can us- ually be remedied by some of the above methods unless it be caused from some de- 70 READING IN TEAINING CLASSES feat in the vocal organs, in which case the- teacher can do little to remedy it. Lisping This may be caused by the tongue being too large for the mouth ; it thus strikes the front teeth in forming of s, and th is the re- sult. Sometimes it is the result of affecta- tion. The pupils should be made to see that it is as great a fault as mispronounc- ing words in common use. All cases of lisping can usually be reme- died by constant practise and being careful to place the tip of the tongue against the upper front teeth for th and against the gums of the upper front teeth to produce s. Enunciation It seems best to reserve the discussion of phonics and syllabication until we consider enunciation, as this is so clearly associated with articulation and both have to do with the above mentioned topics. Enunciation has been previously defined as the fullness or distinctness of articulation. Garlick says, ' ' As good pronunciation de- pends upon the sounding of the vowels, so ENUNCIATION 71 good enunciation depends upon the correct sounding of the consonants. Bad articula- tion is often due to faulty enunciation. Errors in Enunciation The chief errors of enunciation are 1. Suppression of syllables ; as, famly for family. 2. Omission of sounds; as, cad for card, fiels for fields. 3. Blending the termination of one syll- able with the beginning of another; as, some vas swilderness for some vast wilderness. 4. Substitution of sounds; as, suller for cellar. The above faults may be due to habit (we are likely to speak as our associates), ignor- ance, carelessness, or inattention. When children first enter school their minds are plastic and the above faults can usually be remedied by constant, persistent drill. More drill is required when pupils continually hear incorrect enunciation out- side of school. Syllabication A syllable is a sound or a combination of 72 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES sounds uttered by a single impulse of the voice. A monosyllable is a word of one syllable; as, boy. A dissyllable is a word of two syllables; as, for-sake. A trisyllable is a word of three syllables; as, sup-pres-sion. A polysyllable is a word of more than three syllables : as, un-de-ter-mi-na-ble. The ear should be sufficiently trained so that a single impulse of the voice can be detected. Often by speaking the word slowly the syllables will be recognized. This subject has of late been much neglected in the spelling work. Words are often mispelled because the syllables are not known or recognized. We need to know the syllables in writing, for we always separate a word at the end of a line by syllables. Phonics By phonics is meant the sounds of the human voice in speaking and reading. The English language is not phonetic. A language is phonetic when one character PHONICS 73 and only one represents each sound, and when words are spelled and pronounced as they sound. The object of teaching phonics is: 1. To train the ear so that the correct sounds can be detected when heard 2. To train the vocal organs to form these sounds accurately and automatically. The teacher should insist upon the correct formation of each sound at all times, other- wise the production of these sounds will not be quick and automatic. Results to be secured from the Teaching of Phonics 1. The child is aided in articulation, enun- ciation, pronunciation, and spelling. 2. He gets a key to pronunciation by which he can pronounce words for himself, and is thus made independent of the teacher. Letters are of two kinds, vowels and con- sonants. There are 26 letters but at least 44 sounds. Of these sounds 20 are represented by vowels and 24 by consonants; therefore, some let- ters represent more than one sound, and 74 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES some sounds are represented by more than one letter. The organs of speech are the lips, teeth, tongue, and palate, sometimes called the vocal organs. A vowel is a letter that represents a pure sound of the voice but slightly modified by the organs of speech. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u and sometimes w and y. "W is a vowel when with a preceeding vowel it rep- resents a vowel sound ; " as, few, how. Y is a vowel when it is at the end or in the middle of a syllable; as, my, eye. A consonant is a letter which represents a sound of the voice greatly modified by the organs of speech. The consonants are: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, 1, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z. A diphthong is the union of two vowels in one syllable; as ou in out, house. Diphthongs are of two kinds, proper and improper. A proper diphthong is a single sound formed by the union of two vowels in one syllable, which is different from either alone; as, oi in oil, ow in owl. An improper diphthong is the union of PHONICS 75 two vowels in one syllable, only one of which is sounded; as, eo in people, ai in hail, ei in either. A digraph is two letters combined to rep- resent a single sound. dg=j as in edge f'gh—f as in cough ) ph— f=v as in sylph=fin self=vin re- ( vi've' du=zkw, k as in queen, conquer si=sh, zh as in tension, vision tch=ch, sh, k as in match ti=sh as in motion wh=hw as in what th=as in thin ng = n as in long Methods of Teaching Phonies. Spend only four or five minutes once or twice a day in this work. The following method is suggested: The teacher first places the letter upon the board thus; a Incidentally the teacher will call attention to the macron. She gives the sound and requires the pupils to imitate. Pupils may stand or sit 76 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES as desired and the whole school may partici- pate or only one olass as seems necessary or desirable. At first have all repeat in con- cert, then each alone. Only one or two sounds should be given during the first few lessons and the teacher should be careful and not give too many at a time. Drill upon the sounds at various times during the day as opportunity offers. After the pupils are able to recognize and give a half dozen sounds the teacher may facilitate her work by the use of cards. A set of these cards used in the Ward method of teaching reading may be secured of the publishers, Silver, Burdette & Co., New York City, or the teacher can make them. Take a piece of cardboard 3 by 4 inches with the script form of the letter properly marked upon one side, the printed form upon the other. These should be suffi- ciently large so that all in the room may see them, and the script form only should be shown the pupils. Resort to the print form only when unavoidable. Proceed as follows with the cards*. The teacher standing in such a position phonics 77 that all may see, and taking each in order, show each a phonogram or letter. If he cannot give the sound instantly call out tell, and have the others prompt him. Be rapid in the work even if many pupils fail at first. Rapidity on the part of the pupils will come with practice. The rapidity of this work and the interest aroused secures the attention of the pupil. The number of sounds taught the first year will depend chiefly upon the teacher. If the Ward method of teaching reading is used, the pupils must know nearly all the sounds by the first year and a half of school life. If they leave school at this time they will have a complete key of the English language and their ability to read is assured. The first phonogram taught by this method is f, and a few of the first are f, 1, m, r, s, a, e, o, ing, ings, ight, ights. Space will not allow further discussion of this method at this point. Other methods of teaching reading usu- ally aim to teach the long and short sounds of some or all of the vowels the first year. Those teachers who know the value of 78 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES the sounds in reading and spelling will give much attention to this subject. Accent Accent is the greater force of the voice upon one or more syllables of a word. The purpose of accent is to regulate the pronunciation, and give a pleasing element to speech. There are two kinds of accent, primary and secondary. Primary accent is the stronger accent in pronouncing words as, vi o lin". Secondary accent is the weaker accent in pronouncing words; as, vi' o lin". All words of the English language that have more than one syllable have one ac- cented syllable. Note — The accent is indicated by a little mark (') placed above and to the right of a syllable. The primary accent has a heavier line or a double line. How taught Accent is taught chiefly by imitation, correcting errors and constant drill upon the correct pronunciation. ACCENT 79 One of the most common errors of pro- nunciation is misplacing accent. In order to learn the general principles governing accent, consult one of the stan- dard dictionaries. The rules have many exceptions and few if any should be learned by the pupils. There is one, however, that is of sufficient accuracy to be noted. In compounds the adjective or modifying part of the word usually takes the accent, as in school'-house, pen'-knife. The teacher should keep a list of words most commonly mispronounced by pupils and drill upon these frequently. Exercise; Mark diaciticarlly the following words: abdomen ab do m&n. Arabic, Asia, adulteration, albumnious, acclimate, assimilation, again, area, apostle accusations, address, audible, benzine, bac- teria, bicycle, boudoir, bouquet, bronchial, canine, cascade, complex, construe, deglu- tition, drama, dyspepsia, desist, encore, eus- tachian, eligible, extent, education, esquire, frost, forge, food, gallows, gelatin, hemor- rhages, interesting, illustrate, idea, January, 80 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES jaunty, jaguar, ketchup, lyceum, leisure, lacteals, microscope, museum, nausea, oc- cult, oxidation, perspiratory, precedence, quarrel, racial, recluse, romance, repose, psalm. The older pupils may be given a list of words and after marking them to the best of their ability, allow them to verify by use of the dictionary. It is wise to note that many words or parts of speech, having the same form are distinguished by accent alone. Nouns and adjectives are often thus distinguished from verbs. Examples: Why does your ab'sent friend absent' himself? Did he abstract' an ab'stract of your speech from the desk ? Note the mark of ac'cent and accent' the right syllable. Management of breath In order to speak or read well one must use the breath correctly. The muscles of the diaphragm and sides MANAGEMENT OF BREATH 81 should be brought into action, the waist should be enlarged and the whole chest cav- ity expanded. One should use no more breath than is needed. Breath should not be mixed with the voice. There is no need of a person's getting out of breath in reading, if he inspires at the proper places and then is economical in the use of his breath. We should always inhale through the nose. Exercise in breathing Position — There are two positions usually considered for these exercises, the military position and the rostrum position. Military position. — Body erect, the ear, shoulder, hip, and ankle joint should be in a vertical line; hands at sides, heels to- gether or nearly so; weight of body equally distributed on both feet. The rostrum position: Body erect, hands at sides, one foot slightly in advance of the other in such a position that if drawn 82 HEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES back the heel will strike the hollow of the back foot. Weight of body on back foot. A Few Exercises in Breathing 1. Taking either of the above positions, pupils inhale through the nose, teacher counting slowly 1, 2, 3, 4, hold breath 1, 2, 3, 4, exhale through the mouth 1, 2, 3, 4. 2. Pupils inhale and hold the breath as before teacher counting; exhale explosively. 3. Pupils place hands at waist, ends of fingers touching in front, inhale as in num- ber one. Aim to expand the waist so the fingers will be pulled apart. Exhale either explosively or gradually. 4. Pupils inhale as before and exhale slowly, producing some tone or tones in- dicated by the teacher. 5. Hand and arm work may be done dur- ing exercises if desired. Do all exercises slowly. Vary the exer- cises from day to day. (c) Emphasis, force, pitch, rate, inflec- tion, cadence have been given sufficient attention under the Mental Elements. FACIAL EXPRESSION 83 (d) Facial Expression This subject can receive little attention in the public schools; its place is in more advanced work. All that the district school teacher can hope to do is to arouse the feel- ings, or emotions of the pupils. As the expression of the face is an indication of the feelings the features must show the sentiments aroused. 0) Gesture By gesture is meant motions of the body or limbs to express feelings. This subject as well as facial expressions is more appropriately considered under elo- cution and therefore will receive no atten- tion in this work on reading. (/) Posture By posture is meant the position of the body and its members. The person should stand erect, chest leading, hips thrown back. It is better to incline a little toward the audience than away from it. There are two positions allowable in read- ing, the military and the rostrum. These 84 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES have been considered under Management of Breath. In speaking it is better to change the position occasionally and thus avoid an appearance of stiffness. In reading the book is usually held in the- left hand so that the leaves may be turned with the right. When no book is used in reading, the hands are in the best position when hang- ing easily at the sides, except when needed for gesture, although other positions are often seen. Allow no leaning on desks, standing on one foot, knee of other leg on seat or chair, a swaying of the body or any awkward position. II. Material (a) Choice for reading. 1. Extensive Reading— Quantity It is not the number of books read, but the quality of the books that should receive a teacher's careful attention. G. Stanley Hall says, "Widely read young people are alwayt feebly educated." No- EXTENSIVE READING 85 one at the age of fifteen or sixteen can have mentally digested many books. Such men as Webster and Lincoln had but few books in their boyhood days, but these were thoroughly read and studied, and many passages were committed to memory. About fifteen minutes twice a day should be devoted to reading in the primary grades, twenty minutes a least once a day in the intermediate grades, and thirty minutes once a day in the grammar grades. Some hold that above the 4th reader grade no graded reader need be chosen, but pupils should begin the study of literary productions and as far as possible whole pieces should be chosen. Theoretically this is an excellent plan, but few district schools have the facilities for carrying it out. It is very difficult if not in many cases impos- sible to secure the proper selections; there- fore it seems that for a few years longer at least we must follow the old plan and choose the best graded readers for ail grades. In addition to the work in the regular read- ing book, supplementary reading should be introduced at least as often as once a week, 86 HEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES and more interest is secured if this done at at time when the pupils do not expect it. Authorities differ as to the difficulty of the supplementary reading. Roark says, "Supplementary matter should be a little more difficult, and some- what more interesting than the regular readers, grade for grade. The reading should be done at sight; there should, at least, be no preparation made upon it out of class." As one of the chief purposes of supple- mentary reading is to give pupils practice in sight reading all agree that the reading should not be studied, or if studied simply looked over by pupils. But if the reading matter is more difficult than that in their ordinary book, which they are allowed to study, how can we expect them to read this without study, with any degree of interest or benefit to themselves or pleasure to others? Supplementary reading should pertain to work that will be of help. That is, if something in geography is being studied, for example, the New England States, the EXTENSIVE READING 67 teacher might have the pupils read some such stories aud poems as The Landing of the Pilgrims, The Courtship of Miles Standish. The chief aims of supplementary reading are: 1. To give drill and training in sight reading. 2. To create a love for reading. 3. To create a love for the best in litera- ture. 4. To improve the child's expression and increase his vocabulary, thus helping him in his language work. 5. To aid in various branches of school work as geography, history. 6. To broaden the child's knowledge. Characteristics of good reading books 1. They should be well printed, well written, attractive, and give pleasure. 2. They should be instructive, that is, they should impart some knowledge. 3. They should be adapted to the age and grade at' the pupil. 4. They must be interesting. Therefore, they should not contain short pieces. 88 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES 5. The book should be progressive. Each lesson should be a little more difficult than the preceding and contain a few new words. 6. They sheuld be of a high moral tone and aim to cultivate the affections and moral feelings. 7. They should contain something in his- tory, oiography, travel, nature, and some standard fiction. How many books beside the reading book, can be read each term? At least one book of medium length can be read in all grades up to the fifth, and from the fifth to the eighth or ninth inclusive two or three might possibly be read. But the teacher should be careful not to have the pupils read so much that they are unable mentally to di- gest the matter. The amount will depend upon the ability of the class. The above is given only as a suggestion. Many do not use supplementary books but selections from standard literature. The teacher should use her own judgment in regard to the amount the pupils can com- prehend. In the primary grades the literature EXTENSIVE READING 89 chosen should be much easier and more simply written than for the older grades, and should to a great extent be fanciful. For the first grade the teacher may be obliged to tell the story at first to the pu- pils and then have the pupils tell in simple sentences what the teacher has told. The teacher writes these sentences upon the board and pupils read them. We should try to create a love for the best in literature. Children who know and love the best will rarely be influenced by the many unsuitable stories written at the present time; they will not care to read them. On Friday afternoons the teacher may give a little time to reciting choice extracts and whole pieces of classic literature. She should not aim so much for eloquence as for good expression. When there is no suitable supplementary matter in the school the teacher may ask those pupils who can to bring books, poems, or papers. She must tell them the kind of material she desires, otherwise very unsuit- able matter may be brought. The one who brought the book may read 90 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES from it, but if he is willing to let the others take it, it is better to have them do most of the reading, for very likely he is familiar with the words and will receive but little drill in sight reading, while the others will receive none at all. Questions on Extensive Reading 1. How much time should be spent in reading in school? 2. Should a grade reader be used in all grades? Discuss. 3. When should supplementary reading be done, and why ? 4. What should be the nature of supple- mentary reading ? 5. What are the purposes of supplemen- tary reading ? 6. What are the qualities or character- istics of a good reading book ? 7. How much work in supplementary reading can be accomplished in one term in the intermediate grades ? 8. Where can the teacher obtain mater- ial for supplementary reading in case there is none in the school ? EXTENSIVE READING 91 Extensive Reading — Quality The books chosen should be adapted to the age and grade of the pupil. Classic literature, should be chosen for all grades because : 1. There is always some fancy in classic literature and this does much to enliven the school work and dull, monotony of life. 2. It contains some lasting truths. 3. The scenes and charactistics are de- picted in a realistic manner. 4. It aids in the development of moral character by showing not only certain early tendencies of individuals but the results of the tendencies and an interested reader can not fail to be influenced thereby. As far as possible we should choose whole selections because : 1. They are more interesting. A char- acter worth our acquaintance can not be presented to us in a few pages. 2. They produce a stronger moral ef- fect. As time is required for the develop- ment of character so space must be given to truthfully describe this development. 3. The meaning is clearer. A story is 92 READING IN" TRAINING CLASSES developed step by step. If any part is omitted the meaning becomes vague. The best books should always be chosen. For books are the companions of many peo- ple and they have as great an influence over them as their friends; hence it is necessary that only those of the best character be read. Literature of the Early Grades All literature of primary and early inter- mediate grades should be alive with fancy. The child's imagination is vivid and contin- ually imparts life to inanimate objects. The literature of these first four grades should be taken chiefly from the following: nursery melodies, fables, fairy tales, folk lore stories, Eobinson Crusoe, and the clas- sic myths. Some of the pupils may have heard a few of these before they enter school, and they will be pleased to learn to read the stories that have been told them. The fableis suited to the first three grades because: 1. It personifies plant and animal life. The child's imagination often pictures trees and animals as boys and girls. The fable EXTENSIVE READING 93 may assist the teacher in correcting some fault. Perhaps a bird or tree is represented as doing some wrong, the same wrong that the child is committing. Lead him to see the fault in the bird or tree, then apply to his own actions. 2. The dialogue form of the fable makes it more natural and interesting to the chil- dren. Robinson Crusoe is good for oral reading in the second grade and as a reading book in the third. It furnishes material for the language and drawing work, assists in the nature study, gives the child some knowledge of various industries, thus aiding in the preliminary geography work. The Fairy Tale Some hold that the fairy tales should not be used as reading matter for children. One says that it is not distinctly honest. It is the idealized form of the child's thought. Garlick has given the following reasons for and against fairy tales. 94 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES For: 1. They are sources of pleasure and af- ford a stock of pleasant memories. 2. They create a love for reading. 3. They cultivate the imagination. 4. They help to cultivate the feeling. Every good fairy tale has an ethical purport. 5. They teach the children to believe in friendly though invisible forces, and a mental attitude is found favorable to the reception of great religious truths. 6. They help the young soul to aim at a high ideal. Against: 1. They are said to prevent and harm the imagination, being themselves the creatures of unbridled imaginations. 2. They give children false ideas of real life and so unfit them for their struggle in a matter of fact world. 3. The wicked uncle, the unkind step- mother, the well-specified characters of fairy life, often transmit a strong bias against their supposed prototypes in real life. 4. We have sufficient literature without them. MYTHS 95 5. They appeared in an ignorant and su- perstitious age, were written for a supersti- tious people, and were based on superstition, and are, therefore, very unsuitable for the present enlightened age. Myths. The myths furnish much good material for children. They are fanciful and arouse the imagination. The Illiad and the Odys- sey are the greatest of the myths. The teacher can introduce a little biogra- phy, history, geography and science into the reading of the third or fourth grade, but most of this should be done in the ad- vanced grades. Whenever a selection in the reading book is along this line the teacher should give special attention to it. Poems in regard to nature are valuable provided they state the truths of nature. The teacher may select for the first four grades much from the following: Aesop's Fables, Anderson's Fairy Tales, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Arabian Nights, Bible Stories, American Classics, and Greek and Roman Mythology. 96 EEADING IN" TEAIKING CLASSES Books and Poems for the First Four Years 1st Year or 1st Grade 1. A good primer should be selected for class work 2. Nursery rhymes as found in verse and prose 3. Heart of Oak, Vol. I 4. Aesop's Fables 5. Bow-bow and Mew-mew 6. CinderiUa 7. Little Birdie (poem) —Tennyson 8. What the Acorns Say (poem) — Strong 9. The Spider and the Fly (poem) — Jane Taylor 10. Open Sesame, Vol. I 11. Bible Stories: Daniel, David, Prodi- gal Son 2nd Grade The following are suggested: 1. Anderson's Fairy Tales 2. Grimm's Fairy Tales 3. Bible Stories: Noah, Ten Command- ments. Loaves and Fishes BOOKS AND POEMS 97 4. Nature Stories for Young Readers (animals) 5. Fables and Folk Lore— Scudder 6. Poems (See First Year) 3rd Grade The following are suggested: 1. Little Lame Prince 2. Little Women , Alcott 3. Little Men 4. Seven Little Sisters 5. Each and All 6. Poems. See First Year Jfth Grade The following are suggested : 1. Arabian Nights— Richard Gottheil 2. Bird's Christmas Carol 3. Children of the Cold 4. Ten Boys 5. Wonder-book — Hawthorne 6. Poems, Heart of Oak, Vol. II 7. Barbara Frietchie— Whittier 8. Robert of Lincoln— Bryant A little history may be introduced in this grade. Rourke says: ' 'The pernicious habit still 98 READING IK TRAINING CLASSES exists in a good many schools of using the U. S. history as a reading book above the fourth or fifth grade. No surer way could be devised for killing the pupils' interest in both reading and history. The same may be said of any other readers that undertake definitely to teach other branches than good reading. ' ' Literature of the 5th and 6th Grades The nature of the work of these grades should be classical, biographical and histor- ical, but fanciful stories such as those used in the previous grades should not be omitted. In the 5th grade we use literature that pertains to the pioneer epoch of our country. There should be much that will arouse the patriotic spirit and love of country. Dr. McMurry in his Special Method in Reading suggests the following for this grade : 1. Higginson's American Explorers 2. Pilgrims and Puritans 3. Stories of Our Country 4. Grandfather's Chair — Hawthorne 5. King of the Golden River — Ruskin 5th and 6th grades 99 One or more of the above should be read a term, but perhaps many schools might read much more. The aim throughout the work should be to cultivate a taste in litera- ture and have the pupils acquainted with more than one author. They should not, however, read so much nor such a variety that they are unable to comprehend it. The following poems will be found suitable for this grade. 1. Psalm of Life— Longfellow 2. The Children's Hour— Longfellow 3. Village Blacksmith— Longfellow 4. Barefoot Boy — Whittier 6th Grade Many of those mentioned under the 5th grade are well suited to the 6th. Some pupils of the 6th grade might be able to comprehend the following: 1. A Hunting of the Deer — Warner 2. Sketch Book — Irving 3. Being a Boy Poems : 4. Snow Bound — Whittier 5. Paul Revere' s Ride — Longfellow 6. Enoch Arden— Tennyson 100 READING IIS" TRAINING CLASSES 7 th Grade There should be much work in this grade pertaining to history and biography, although in all grades some fiction should be chosen. As the period of the Revolution is studied in this grade, pupils might read some such book as Scudder's Life of Washington, Fiske' s War of Independence, Hosmer' s Life of Samuel Adams. Other books suitable for this grade are : 1. Tales From Shakspere by Charles and Mary Lamb 2. Alhambra 3. Boys of '76 -Coffin 4. A Man Without a Country — Hale Poems : 5. Maud Muller— Whittier 6. A Forest Hymn — Bryant 7. Ancient Mariner — Coleridge 8th Grade The historical work of the 8th grade should pertain to the period after the revo- lution and should give the pupils a good knowledge of the development of our coun- try. The lives of such men as John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Abra- EIGHTH GRADE 101 ham Lincoln, U. S. Grant, etc., should be read. Selections of the best literature should also be chosen. The following are suggested : 1. Vision of Sir Launfal — Lowell 2. Julius Csesar — Shakspere 3. Lady of the Lake — Scott 4. Webster's Reply to Hayne [ 5. Roger de Coverly Papers 6. Bacon's Essays 7. Plutarch's Lives All reading matter chosen for use in any grade should be classical. The predominating element of the primary grades is fancy, and here is found suitable material in Aesop' s Fables, Anderson' s Fairy Tales, Grimm's Fairy Tales, etc. In the intermediate grade myths, stories of brave deeds of our countrymen, narra- tives, descriptions, nature stories and some history are used. In the advanced grades such literature as will prepare them for the duties of life is needed. Suitable material for these grades is found in the narrations, descrip- tions, historical and biographical works of 102 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES the best American and European writers. Each teacher should become familiar with the books as outlined in the teachers manual prepared by the New York Education De- partment. The teacher should know to what grade the books mentioned are suited and as far as possible read the books. A judicious teacher can use a classic pro- duct in several grades. Snow Bound has been used from the 3rd to the 7th grade in- clusive, but is best suited to the 6th grade. The development of history seems to cor- respond quite closely with the development of the individual. The early literature seems more suitable for the child than much of later origin. The age of folk lore and fairy tale is often called the childhood of the race. The following list of books is given for the benefit of the teacher. The exact grade to which each is suited should be determined by the teacher herself. For the Primary Grades Aesop's Fables Grimm's Fairy Tales Black Beauty — Anna Sewall PRIMARY GRADES 103 Robinson Crusoe— De Foe Seven Little Sisters — Jane Andrews Each and All Cinderella Little Red Riding Hood Stories Mother Nature Told Her Children Jack and the Beanstalk Bible Stories Alice in Wonderland Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe Hawthorne's Wonder Book Open Sesame, Part I Heart of Oak, Vol. I Little Men — Alcott Little Women — Alcott Pansy Family — Peck Old Stories Retold— Binner For the Intermediate Grades Water Babies — Kingsley Arabian Nights Gulliver's Travels Hiawatha — Longfellow Wake Robin — Holtzclaw Ten Boys on the Road From Long Ago Till Now Bird's Christmas Carol 104 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES Tanglewood Tales — Hawthorne Open Sesame, Vol. II Lays of Ancient Rome — Macaulay Pilgrim's Progress — Bunyan Plutarch's Lives Grandfather's Chair — Hawthorne Poor Boys Who Became Famous Girls Who Became Famous Beginner's American History First Book in American History Knocking Around the Rockies Around the World in Eighty Days Little Lord Fauntleroy Heart of Oak. Vol. II and III Green Mountain Boys King of the Golden River — Ruskin Little Men— Alcott Little Women — Alcott Poems Barbara Frietchie — Whittier The Old Oaken Bucket— Samuel Wood- worth Paul Revere' s Ride — Longfellow Barefoot Boy — Whittier Village Blacksmith — Longfellow GRAMMAR GRADES 105 Robert of Lincoln — Bryant Pied Piper — Browning Planting of the Apple Tree Sheridan's Ride Children' s Hour — Longfellow Grammar Grades Sketch Book — Irving Tales of a Grandfather Birds and Bees — Burroughs A Hunting of the Deer — Warner First Landing of the Pilgrims — R. Southey Declaration of Independence Tales of Shakspere — Charles and Mary Lamb Seven American Classics Webster's Reply to Hayne Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech Merchant of Venice — Shakspere Julius Caesar — Shakspere Bacon's Essays Alhambra — Irving Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Heart of Oak, Vol. IV and V Ivanhoe — Scott Rob Roy Succession of Forest Trees 106 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES Rab and His Friends — Brown Silas Marner— Eliot Burke's American Orations Masterpieces of American Literature Rasselas Uncle Tom's Cabin— Stowe Cooper's Leather Stocking Tales Tom Brown at Rugby Poems Maud Muller— Whittier First Snow Fall— Lowell Courtship of Miles Standish — Longfellow Battle Hymn of the Republic — Howe Cotter's Saturday Night — Burns Star Spangled Banner Vision of Sir Launfal — Lowell Enoch Arden — Tennyson Prisoner of Chillon — Byron For 'a That and 'a That— Burns To a Water Fowl— Bryant Thanotopsis — Bryant Snow Bound — Whittier Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill — Holmes Evangeline — Longfellow Lady of the Lake— Scott QUESTIONS ON INTENSIVE HEADING 107 The Holy Grail— Tennyson The Witch's Daughter— Whittier The Reaper and the Flowers — Longfellow The Rainy Day — Longfellow Questions on Intensive Reading Quality 1. Discuss the advisability of using (a) classic literature, (b) whole selections. 2. From what sources may we obtain the literature of the first four grades ? 3. What are the predominating elements of (a) primary reading, (6) intermediate reading, (c) advanced reading ? 4. Name three books and three poems suitable for (a) primary grades, (b) inter- mediate grades, (c) advanced grades. (6) Yariety Much more interest is secured in reading if the pupils are allowed to read from more than one book. Where only one book is used in a class, the pieces are often learned by heart; then the reading becomes a me- chanical process, all interest is lost, and 108 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES they are of no further use for reading pur- poses. The teacher' s duty is to create a love for reading and at the same time see that the pupils gain some knowledge. These aims can be obtained only by a sufficient and a varied amount of material. This material should contain biography, history, some- thing on science and geography, narrations, descriptions, arguments, and some fiction. If there is no supplementary reading mat- ter in the school, ask pupils to bring books, papers, etc. With the older pupils many articles from the newspaper can be read. The Youth's Companion contains much good reading matter for all grades. •(c) Adaptation The material chosen should be adapted to the age and grade of the pupil, should im- part some knowledge, and should be interest- ing. For- the primary grades we should use se- lections that are written in simple language and are alive with fancy. We find much that is suitable in the nursery rhymes, fairy ADAPTATION 109 tales, fables, folk lore stories, Robinson Crusoe and the various myths. For the intermediate grade we read selec- tons more difficult ; and while some of the literature should be fanciful we need narra- tions, descriptions, dialogues, a little history, and poems from our American authors as Whittier and Longfellow. For the advanced grades we should use still more difficult selections, from the works of American and European Writers. We should choose for these grades, history, bio- graphies of famous men and women, argu- ments, narrations, descriptions, fiction, and some articles that would be of use in science work. . Many of the late readers contain much that is valuable for the grades for which they are intended Reading correlated with other subjects Almost as soon as a child can recognize a word he is taught to write it, and by writting it he incidentally learns the letters and thus knows how to spell it. Much may be done in the reading class in 110 READING IN" TRAINING CLASSES preparation for composition work. Punct- uation and capitalization should be noted and often the reading lesson forms a valu- able reproduction exercise. Then again reading may be made to supplement the work in geography and his- tory. When the class are studying the Middle Atlantic States the reading may per- tain to that work. Chief uses of a reading book 1. It gives unformity to the teaching. 2. It lightens the work of the teacher. Questions that may be asked upon a selection 1. To what grade is this suited, and why ? 2. Give the central thought of each stanza or paragraph. 3. Give the thought of this selection in your own words. 4. If the selection be poetry, we might be asked to paraphrase. This is pratically the same as questions 3. 5. At what rate should this be read ? 6. In what time should this be read ? 7. Are the time and rate the same through- QUESTIONS UPON A SELECTION Hi out the selection; if not, where do they change ? 8. Mark the rhetorical pauses. 9. Write five questions, other than those relating to the meaning of words that you would ask pupils regarding the passage be- fore having it read aloud. 10. Describe the preparation a teacher should make upon the above selection. 11. What information should be given pu- pils in regard to this selection before they be- gin to study it ? 12. Select from the above selection rive words and give a synonym of each. 13. Select five words and give the analysis of each. It may be impossible to find one selection to which all of the above questions are suited. They are only given to show teachers the nature of questions upon various selections. It would be a good practice for those pre- paring for examinations to take a selection and answer as many of the above questions as possible. 112 BEADING IX TRAINING CLASSES Methods It is said that when a child enters school at five or six years of age he has a vocabul- ary of from five hundred to one thousand words depending upon his associations. These words he knows only through the ear, and it is the teacher's duty to help him re- cognize them through the eye. Before we can expect a child to do much reading, we must get him to talking upon come topic of interest to him. While this is language rather than reading it will give him confidence, and he will forget his surround- ings and be ready to give attention to the work at hand. The mechanics of reading should receive much attention in the first years of school. By the mechanics of reading is meant in- stant recognition of word and letter forms and values, articulation, pronunciation, phonics, etc. Primary Reading We may say that in teaching reading, as in any other subject, there are two methods, the synthetic and the analytic. PRIMARY READING 113 As the synthetic method means building up, we begin, if we use this method, with either the letters or the sounds and build up the word. We therefore see that the synthe- tic method has two forms, the old "A. B. C. grind" or alphabetic method, and the phonic method. Analytic Method As analytic means "tearing down", we begin, if we use this method, with the whole sentence and divide it into words, or with the word and divide it into letters or sounds. Therefore this has two divisions, the sen- tence method and the word method. As the above methods are not usually mentioned as such by teachers of reading we will proceed at once to the various meth- ods commonly considered. Yarious methods that hare been used in teaching reading 1. Word method also known as "Webb method" and "Reading without spelling"; in England it is called the "Look and say Method" 114 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES 2. Sentence method 3. Phonic method 4. Phonetic method 5. Word building method 6. Object method 7. Group method 8. Alphabetic method 9. Drawing method 10. Ward or Rational method While few, if any, primary teachers of the- present time use one of these methods to the exclusion of all others, most teachers use no- more than three or four. Those most commonly used are the word, sentence, phonetic, alphabetic and Ward or Rational. The last is a combination of the Ward and phonetic. Word Method In the word method we begin by teaching words as wholes. 1. The idea is aroused in the child's mind either by conversation, pictures, ob- jects, or drawings. 2. The word is spoken by the child, 3. The spoken word is associated with the WOKD METHOD 115 written form which the teacher places upon the blackboard. 4. The pupils are made familiar with the word by selecting it from among other words (a) upon the blackboard, or finding it (b) upon the chart, or (c) in their book. 5. Pupils use the word in sentences ■ This will enable them to understand its meaning. 6. Pupils write the word on the board and later at their desks. 7. The letters are taught incidentally. 8. The word is spelled by the pupils. If the word that is to be taught is familiar to the child as a spoken word, as ' 'cat' ' , no object need be used in its presentation ; in fact it would a waste of time to do so. Advantages 1. It proceeds from the known spoken word to the unknown written word, thus following the principles of ' 'Proceed from the known to the related unknown/' 2. It teaches the whole word before the pupils know any of the parts, and pupils are thus enabled to recognize words and read before they know their letters. Children always recognize objects as wholes rather 116 READING IN" TRAINING CLASSES than the individual parts. This method follows another principle' "Proceed from the whole to the parts." 3. This is the natural method. Children learn to talk by saying single words at first. Those opposed to the method say, " We think in sentences, act in single words"; therefore we should teach reading in the order in which our thoughts develop. Sentence Method In this method whole sentences are used first. The child is induced by objects or otherwise to express a thought in a sen- tence. The teacher writes the child's oral sentence on the board and he thus becomes familiar with its form. The words are taught incidentally, much the same as the letters were in the word method. Illustration of the Sentence Method Suppose the teacher has a picture show- ing dogs in various attitudes. She points to one dog and asks, " What is the dog do- ing?" One child answers: "That dog is running. " Then pointing to the other dogs ILLUSTRATION" 117 she asks similar questions and elicits such answers as That clog is running. That dog is playing. That dog barks. That dog sleeps. The teacher writes the above sentences upon the board as the pupils give them, then reads each distinctly to class, pointing to each as she reads. Then she calls upon each pupil to say his sentence from the board. The teacher points to each sentence as the child reads. After a little children will notice that there is one word in each sentence just the same and with a little work on the part of the teacher they will say that this word is dog. They may also notice the word that and discover what it is. Each pupil may be allowed to write at his seat his sentence and others if he can read them. The sentences are left on the board and at the next lesson each pupil is called upon to read his own sentence and then he may point out and read the other sentences. 118 READING IN TRAILING CLASSES Those in favor of this method claim: 1. That we do not think in single words but in sentences, therefore we ought to read in sentences. 2. Most pupils taught in this way read more smooth!} 7 than when taught by single words. 3. The eye does not look at the words spoken but several words ahead, and one must comprehend several words in order to read smoothly. Its opponents say: 1. The word is the unit of thought, not the sentence. 2. It is not long before the pupils recog- nize the words and read by words and not sentences. 3. It would take too much time to teach all sentences needed in reading. Children must know words in order to know different combinations. For full explanation, see Farnham's "Sentence Method in Reading." Phonic Method In this method the teacher teaches the sound of the letters so that the pupil deter- PHONIC METHOD 119 mines the word by uttering the sounds of the letters in succession and with sufficient rapidity that they may blend. Take the word ' 'cat for instance. The teacher utters the first sound and places on the board the letter that stands for that sound. She does not, however, say that is "c" and then give the sound of "k", but simply gives the sound and puts the letter on the board. She proceeds in a sim- ilar way with the other letters of the word. After the pupils can produce each sound as soon as the letters are written, as c a t, the teacher tells them to pronounce them in succession increasing the rapidity until the sounds blend and the word is recognized by the pupils, Other words are taught in a similar man- ner. Soon all the sounds of all the letters will be given to the pupils. A pure phonic method cannot be used to advantage because our language has only 26 letters and fully 44 sounds. Children are likely to become confused when told that ' 'a' ' sometimes has this sound as in cat and sometimes another sound as in 120 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES half, etc. They will have no way of telling what sound to use. A pure phonic method does not mark the letters. Many letters are silent. This method works to advantage however, when used in connection with the word method. As the sounds of the letters depend to a great extent upon their position in the word, some teachers require young pupils to learn rules for phonics. For example in the word made, a is long when in the middle of the word ending in silent e. In mad "a" is short because it is in the middle of a word which does not end in e. The chief advantages are that it puts in the hands of the pupils a key to pronuncia- tion, and aids in spelling, articulation, and enunciation. The elementary sounds must be known before a child is able to pronounce three- fourths of all the words of the English language leaving 25 f to be learned in some other way. Phonetic Method This method uses signs or diacritical marks to represent the sounds of the language; the letters each represent but one sound and PHONETIC METHOD 121 modifications of these represent the other sounds. To use this entirely would require the books to be reprinted. At the present time many seem to consider the phonic and phonetic method the same. We might, however, make this distinction: when the sounds of the letters are taught and the letters are unmarked, we are using the phonic method, but when the sounds of the letters are taught and the letters are marked, as a, a, a, etc., we are using the phonetic method. Both methods have practically the same advantages, but the phonetic method seems to be the better of the two, for the diacriti- cal marks tell the child the exact sound of the letters used. Little or no trouble will arise when this method is used in connection with the word method; when this method is used in a proper manner, the instant the pupils see a word with its proper marks they can pro- nounce it. 5. Word Building Method In this method we begin with words of one 122 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES letter and prefix or affix other letters: as a, an, and, land, etc. This method is rarely used at the present time. 6. Object Method This is similar to the word method. In this method, however, we always use objects, pictures, drawings, etc., to arouse the idea, while in the word method we use objects, etc., only whem we are teaching a word which the child does not use in his conver- sation and of which he has no idea. If we were teaching the word dog, it would be utter nonsense to bring a dog or picture of a dog before the class, but not so if we were teaching the name of an animal not known to the child. 7. Group Method This method teaches pupils to read a group of related words. In reading "the boy", the pupils are taught to read it as a single word, putting the accent on the word boy as we would if it were the syllable of a word. This method aids a child to read with proper expression ALPHABETIC METHOD 123 and if used after the pupils know a few words may greatly aid the pupils. 8. Alphabetic Method By this method the pupils are taught in various ways the letters of the alphabet, then by learning to spell and pronounce the words they learn to read. A purely alphabetic method of teaching reading is rarely if ever used at the present time. The chief objections are : 1. It is slow and a waste of time. A pu- pil can be taught to read and also learn the alphabet in the time formerly required to learn the alphabet alone. 2. It produces stumbling, hesitating readers. 3. It does not proceed from the known to the related unknown but starts with some- thing entirely new to the child. iSo points can be given in favor of teach- ing the alphabet before learning to read. The alphabet is now taught incidentally in connection with words and is described under the "Word Method". It is a good 124 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES plan to have the letters of the alphabet (both the large and small letters) placed in order at the top of one of the boards from A to Z. The pupils thus learn the alphabet in order by having it constantly before them. It is necessary that every one should know the alphabet in this way, as the letters are al- ways so arranged in books of reference. 9. Drawing Method This method teaches the child first to draw the letter, then to learn its name. This method is now used only in connection with the word method. 10. Ward or Rational Method This method is that advocated by Edward G. Ward, late associate superintendent of public instruction, Brooklyn, N. Y. The following is a brief description of this method, much of which is in the words of the author. The Eational method is a peculiar com- bination of the word and phonetic methods. The word method is used first until the pupils are able to recognize a few words, and read a few short sentences. It then WARD OR RATIONAL METHOD 125 gradually gives place to the phonetic, which becomes the chief means of growth and pro- gress. It imparts power while it supplies the key which the word method is inade- quate to give. The aims of the Rational method are: 1. To make the child not only independ- ent in his reading, but generally self-reliant. 2. To enable him to read a vastly greater amount than heretofore in a given time, and thus acquire not only a fuller vocabu- lary but greater maturity of mind. 3. To put him in possession, during the first year and a half of school life, of a com- plete key to the language, so that, no mat- ter how soon thereafter his schooling may cease, his ability to read will be assured. The following are some of the leading features of the phonetic part of the work: 1. The presentation of the sounds and their symbols (phonograms) in a rational order. 2. The teaching of an initial stock of phonograms before any phonetic reading is done. 3. The training of the ear in the percep- 126 READING IK TRAINING CLASSES tion of phonetic blends, before phonetic reading is begun. 4. An extensive and sympathetic use of word phonograms and other compound pho- nograms. 5. A careful grading of the phonetic words introduced. 6. The general introduction of phonetic words into the sentence reading. 7. Separate daily drills in the recognition of the individual phonograms and the read- ing of single phonetic words. A phonogram is a written or printed repre- sentation of sound, either simple or com- pound. Examples: f, s, 1, ing, ight. Sight word. A word that has been taught as a 'whole, and is therefore recognized by sight alone. Phonetic word. A word to be read by means of its phonograms. Sight reading. The reading of sight words either singly or in sentences. Phonetic reading. The reading of phonetic words either singly or in sentences. Simple phonogram. A phonogram con- taining but one letter. Examples: s, t, o. WARD OR RATIONAL METHOD 127 Compound phonogram. A phonogram containing more than one letter. Example : ing, ight, ip, on, ness. ( Every compound phonogram represents a compound sound, which, however, is taught as a unit.) Word phonogram. A sight word used as a phonogram in the representation of a longer word. Examples : old in fold, ail in sail, an in man. Blend. The"^ union or combination of sounds, simple orcompouud or both, to form words. Three lines of work to be practiced each day during the first eight weeks. 1. Sight reading. 2. Drill in phonograms. 3. Ear training. Commence with the blackboard, using script characters only and teach such sight words as a, ail, all, again, etc. Use words in sentences from the very be. ginning. The teacher makes her own sentences and so far as possible she works them into story form. 128 READING IN" TRAINING CLASSES Never allow a child to read a sentence until he can do so without a break. If he hesitates tell him he must not read until he has the sentence all ready. Give him the privilege of asking by number any word he does not know. Suppose we have the sen- tence, "I have a large black cat". The child does not know the word large. He simply asks for number four to be pro- nounced. If a child does not read with proper ex- pression, try to secure this by questioning, and if he fails and you are sure that he un- derstands the sentence, read it for him and require him to read it after you. Some- times it is of advantage to exaggerate the emphasis and inflection. How to teach s and ing forms : When a half dozen singular nouns and three or four simple verbs are known, write any convenient one on the board and have pupils tell what it is. Then add to it an s and tell them what it is. Now take another familiar word, add an s to it, and instead of telling them what it is, have them tell you. Continue this until they readily distinguish WARD OR RATIONAL METHOD 129 between the simple and the s form of any word. Then teach them the ing forms in a simi- lar manner and then the ings. Avoid until the end of the year such words as goes, making, etc., which involve the ad- dition or elimination of e. Drill in phonograms. This is a preparation for phonetic read- ing. The first phonograms used are, f, 1, m, n, r, s, a, e, o, ing, ings, ight, ights. The drill on this work must begin when the first blackboard work begins, and con- tinue until all are thoroughly known and recognized at once. The method of teaching these was des- scribed under phonics. No letter names are taught during the first half year. Never attempt to teach a phonogram un- til you are sure you can pronounce it your- self. Never teach a new one until the old ones are thoroughly known. Never accept from pupils anything but an accurate pro- nunciation. 130 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES Ear training This begins at the very beginning of the term and is practised daily. Tell a story and introduce here and there a phonetic word. Pronounce the words only by sounds ,, not by wholes, and have pupils tell what the word is as soon as you have pronounced it. As, I saw a sheep in the fold. Those desiring to use this method must of necessity send for a teachers manual, and the phonetic cards are very helpful. Most teachers at the present time use script letters from the very first when writ- ing upon the blackboard. A Combined Method In case you do not wish to use the above method, the following is suggested: Begin with the word method. Teach the word in the following manner. Suppose the word we wish to teach is. bird. 1. Arouse the idea by conversation, draw- ing picture or object, and then have pupils, speak the word. 2. The teacher may then say, " Now V\\ A COMBINED METHOD 131 say bird and won't move my lips", or "Xovv I'll make the crayon say bird". And then she proceeds to write the word upon the board. (The teacher should be very careful about her penmanship and never make a letter in a different way.) 3. Have them find the word when written among other words upon the board; have them rind it upon the chart and in their book. 4. Have the pupils use the word in a sen- tence. 5. Then the teacher may say, I wonder how many can say bird the way I did when I put this upon the board. No doubt the children will be anxious to try, and the teacher may allow all to pass to the board and write the word. The pupils' hands may need guiding at first and possibly the teacher may write the word and allow the pupils to trace it. 6. The letters are taught incidentally. She may say something like this when they are writing the word. "Your b is not quite like mine," or " We always put a dot over 132 READING IK TRAINING CLASSES the £," "The r is a little taller than the i", etc. After a little she may point to the letters of the word and ask their names. 7. When the pupils can tell each letter readily have them note the order of the let- ters, then ask them to spell the word. 8. When the pupils go to their seats have them write this new word several times. The child should be taught to recognize and use several words before he can spell any one of them. Perhaps the next word taught may be a suitable adjective or verb. The idea of many of the early verbs may be aroused by showing the action and by pro- per questioning. We can draw from the pupils that birds sing and fly. After the idea is aroused pro- ceed as above with the new word. Write the verb and the noun and form the sentence. Our object should be to have the pupils read sentences as soon as possible. When we have several nouns, adjectives and verbs, write them into as many combi- A COMBINED METHOD 133 nations as possible. Of course they should always form sentences. As soon as possible write the sentences and form a story. Thus the teacher can make her own reading book. One of the chief aims of primary reading is to make the learner recognize instantly word and letter forms and values. There- fore constant drill on old words is necessary. One way of drilling in this is to have the pupils read the sentences backwards. General Suggestions As previously stated, the mechanics of reading receives most of the attention in the primary grades, but in all our work we should try and cultivate a taste for reading, and reading the best in literature. We should also aim to have the pupils properly interpret what they read and be able to give this interpretation to others with the proper expression. The pupils should read in clear, easy na- tural tones; read as they talk, provided they talk correctly. After the pupils are able to read a few 134 READING IK TRAINING CLASSES sentences readily, the teacher may begin the teaching of phonics. She may take some easy sound, as long a in ate. The long and short sounds of all the vowels could be taught the first year, but the teacher should aim to teach the sounds most needed and thus place in the hands of the pupils as early as possible a key to pronounce words for themselves. If no phonics were taught the pupils would be able to pronounce no word that had not previously been pronounced for them. For method of teaching phonics, see Pho- nics, page Dr. Brooks says that he regards the cor- rect method to be: To begin with the word method, and after the child becomes familiar with a num- ber of words and can read little sentences, lead the pupil to analyze the words into their elementary sounds and characters and thus correct it by the phonic method. It has been a question which elements of the word should be presented first, the sounds or the letters. Dr. Brooks says teach the sounds first, the letters afterwards. GENERAL SUGGESTIONS 135 All diacritical marks should be thoroughly taught in the primary grades. Defects in Primary Reading 1. Inability to recognize words readily, thus producing stumbling readers. 2. Failure to interpret the thought, thus causing improper expression. The teacher should explain passages not readily understood. 3. Poor enunciation. This arises from improper training of the vocal organs. Drill upon words difficult to pronounce and upon certain combinations. See Artic- ulation, page 72. 4. Timidity. Results of the first year's Work At the end of the first year a child should be able to recognize and pronounce in- stantly the simpler words that he uses in his conversation; he should be able to write and spell most of them; he should know the long and short sounds of the vowels; if taught by the Ward method he will know many more sounds, and he should have 136 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES some idea of the pleasure he can get when he is able to read readily. The child can do little with reading until he is thoroughly drilled in the mechanics of reading. By this drill he will be able to read smoothly and avoid stumbling, halting, stopping to spell words while reading, and miscalling words. Intermediate Reading The amount of work accomplished will de- pend chiefly upon the work done in the pre- vious grades. We should spend at least half of our time in these grades on thought getting, although much attention must also be given to the mechanics of reading. As pupils advance, less attention is given to the mechanics of reading and more to the interpretation of the selection. The following topics receive attention in intermediate reading. 1. Word study. 2. Thought study and thought getting. [ 3. Actual reading or thought giving. Most of the time should be devoted to the ItfTEKMEDIATE HEADING 137 last two topics, thought getting and thought giving. The teacher should always look over the reading lesson before attempting to assist the class with it. The last three or five minutes of the pre- ceding lesson should be devoted to the pre- paration of the succeeding lesson. The teacher should give such assistance during this time as will enable the pupils to pre- pare the work for themselves. All difficult passages should be explained, that is, if she feels that the pupils are unable to interpret them, and new words should be noted. The teacher may sometimes call attention to certain marks of punctuation. Word Study This should be done during the last three or five minutes of the preceding recitation. The new words in the next lesson should be considered. 1. The teacher should have a list of the new words. She may place these upon the board and have pupils pronounce them with- out marks if possible. If they cannot pro- 138 BEADING lis" TRAINING CLASSES nouuce them the teacher may mark them and then call for the pronunciation. 2. Meaning of words. Sometimes the teacher may require the pupils to analyze the words; that is, to di- vide them into stem, prefix and suffix, and determine the meaning from them. Again she may use objects or illustrations, if the meaning of the word can be better obtained in this way. The word transparent can probably be better explained by illustra- tion than in any other way. Have the pupils use the new word in a sentence. This may be a part of the lan- guage lesson if desired. Sometimes ask for synonyms of the word. It is very unwise to require pupils to learn a definition abstractly. Definitions are often meaningless. Often there is a list of words and definitions preceding each lesson. Many times the words used in the definition are more difficult than the word defined. It is a waste of time to require pupils to learn this list. We can probably learn the meaning of a new word much bet- ter by hearing it used in a sentence. WORD STUDY 139 At the end of the fourth or beginning of the fifth grade, the pupils should be taught the use of the dictionary. As soon as pos- sible the teacher should insist upon the words being pronounced and studied by the pupils themselves. Thought getting After the preliminary work the pupils should study the lessons by themselves, so that most of the time of the recitation per- iod may be devoted to actual reading. Thought giving After the class is called the teacher may sometimes ask a few questions to see if the lesson be properly prepared and compre- hended by the pupils. Sometimes she may ask pupils to tell the whole story. Again this may be entirely omitted and the reading begun at once. Correcting errors During the reading allow no unnecessary criticisms. Do not stop a child in the mid- dle of a sentence unless it be for continued carelessness. For careless errors require the whole paragraph to be re-read. 140 READING IN TRAILING CLASSES It is unwise to allow all hands to be raised upon the slightest error. It embarrasses the reader and hinders his best work. Expression If pupils do not read with the proper ex- pression ask questions to bring out the thought. Sometimes correct expression may be se- cured by requiring the pupil to close the book and tell the exact words of the book, then open the book and read. If the meaning is thoroughly understood and the child does not read correctly, the teacher may read and require the pupils to imitate. Faults of intermediate reading The faults in the intermediate grade are much the same as in the primary, although probably in no grade are boys and girls more likely than here to be careless, inattentive and indolent. In these grades we often find incorrect articulation, improper emphasis or no em- phasis at all, and similar errors* These are FAULTS OF INTERMEDIATE READING 141 usually due to carelessness, improper atten- tion, lack of study, etc. Any serious faults in articulation should be corrected by oral drill. The teacher should keep a list of the words most commonly mispronounced and drill upon these. Suggestions for recitation 1. The teacher may devote a few minutes to questions upon the selection or these may be entirely omitted. The judgment of the teacher will determine when questions are best. 2. Pupils should be called upon to read not in order but irregularly. 3. Pupils may sometimes face the class, sometimes stand in the back of the room. If pupils face the class it tends to give them confidence so that they will not be so much embarrassed if required to appear before a large audience. 4. If the class is not large, all may read each day. 5. Serious errors should be corrected by 142 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES requiring the sentence or paragraph to be re-read, usually by the same pupil. 6. If a pupil cannot pronounce a word it shows improper preparation on the part of the pupil, or teacher, or both. 7. Sometimes the teacher may secure in- terest by allowing a little discussion of the selection. Perhaps the opinion of the pu- pils may be asked in regard to some charac- ter in the story, if it be a story. 8. The last three or five minutes should be devoted to the preparation of the next lesson, new words noted, difficulties ex- plained, etc. Supplementary reading should be used as often as once a week. It is not necessary in the reading class that each pupil keep his book open. Some- times it is better that it be closed and then some one be asked to tell what has just been read. In order to do this all will be obliged to give attention. It is] often necessary that the pupil do some preliminary work before reading a selection. For instance if a classic is to be read, as Paul Kevere's Eide, the pupils ADVANCED READING 143 should know who Paul Revere was, from what place he started, where he went, and why he took this ride, the effect, etc. (c) Advanced reading Here as in the intermediate grades we consider word study, thought getting and actual reading or thought giving. Most attention in the advanced grades should be devoted to the thought; the teacher should rarely assist the pupils in the pronunciation or meaning of a word. They know by this time the use of the dia- critical marks and the dictionary. We should attend particularly to the reading and see that the pupils get the thought and read so that others can get it. The mechanics of reading receives little at- tention in the grades. Often pupils are backward in other sub- jects because they can not read understand- ing^- Try to create a love for the best there is in literature. Give drill upon words commonly mispro- nounced. 144 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES Allow pupils to discuss and express their own opinions in regard to the subject mat- ter read. Suggestions for recitation The method varies but little from that of the intermediate except that perhaps pupils are allowed more freedom in discussion, and no time at the close is devoted to the me- chanical preparation of the next lesson. Concert Reading Concert reading should be used but rarely, but in a few cases it may be found a help. Among the advantages are: 1. It may help the timid and diffident. 2. It is a change from the usual method, and when used occasionally may produce interest. 3. It tends to produce uniformity in the rate, helping the fast readers to read more slowly, and the slow readers to read more rapidly. 4. It may aid in pronunciation. Among the disadvantages are these: 1. The best readers receive the benefit. CONCERT READING 145 The poor ones feel that their mistakes will not be noticed. 2. If the class is large some may not read at all. Possibly more benefit will be derived from the concert reading if the class be allowed to choose sides, the teacher or someone outside the school acting as judge. Silent reading From the very first silent reading should be encouraged, because : 1. Much of our knowledge is gained through silent reading, and nearly all of our reading after leaving school is done in this way. 2. We can read more in the same length •of time than aloud. 3. It can be done with little physical ef- fort. How to train pupils in silent reading For the small children: 1. The teacher may put some direction upon the board, the pupils read it silently and do as directed. 146 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES 2. The teacher may give some new work to the. children. Have them read each sen- tence or paragraph silently, then aloud. 3. The teacher may have the pupils tell what they have read silently. With the older 'pupils : 1. AVe may have the pupils recite the whole reading lesson, once in a while, with- out reading it at all in the class, the teacher asking questions. 2. The teacher may call upon someone to tell the whole story during the reading les- son, or one pupil may tell the first part and another the next, and so on. Only by some such plan can the teacher be sure that the pupils have properly inter- preted the lesson. To change the monotony of a recitation in reading, dialogues may be made interesting by allowing one pupil to represent one char- acter, another, another character, etc. We may sometimes, but not often, allow a pupil to read until he makes a mistake; or the teacher may stop one in the middle of a sentence and have someone else begin at that place and continue . SILENT READING 147 It is a good plan to have each member of the reading class learn one poem a month. This may be taken from the reader, all learn- ing the same one, or each may learn a differ- ent one. One or two may be recited each day during the reading period, until all have recited, or if the poems are different, some Friday afternoon may be devoted to this work and pupils from all classes may partic- ipate. Position for reading Pupils should in all cases stand erect, and not lean on chair or desk. There are two positions for the feet. These are described under Management of breath, page 80. The book if not too heavy, is held in the left hand. The right hand is used to turn the leaves. It is always well to have pupils stand fac- ing the class. Questions for Review 1. Mention the main objects to be kept in view in (a) primary, (ft) advanced reading. 2. Describe the special preparation that 148 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES should be required of the pupil preliminary to the reading of one of the following selec- tions: (a) Paul Revere' s Ride, (6) Webster's Reply to Hayne, (c) The Chambered Nau- tilus. 3. Name three results to be secured from teaching phonics. 4. Mention the defects characteristic of reading in the intermediate grades and sug- gest remedies. 5. Describe the preparation a teacher should make in (a) intermediate reading, (6) advanced reading. 6. Discuss, ' ' There is no better way to develop a thinking person than by careful training in reading. ' ' 7. Distinguish between (a) primary and intermediate reading, (6) intermediate and advanced. 8. Describe in full a method of teaching the word ' *dog' ' . 9. Describe in full a method of teaching (a) primary reading, (6) intermediate read- ing. 10. Name three things that should be kept in view in (a) intermediate reading, (b) ad- vanced reading. WORD STUDY 149 IT Word study A word is a sign of an idea or a sign to denote the relation between ideas. Words are classified according to their uses in sentences as parts of speech; as, noun, pronoun, etc. Words are classified according to their structure as prime and composite. A prime word is a word that cannot be reduced to any simpler forms ; as, boy, play. A composite word is a word that can be re- duced to simpler parts. It is made up of two or more elements; as, girlish, playing. The elements of which words are com- posed are (1) prime words as, school-house, (2) prefixes; as, admit, (3) suffixes; as, goodness, (4) stems; as legal. A prefix is a letter or letters placed before a word to qualify or limit its meaning. A svffix is a letter or letters placed after a word to qualify or limit its meaning. A stem is that element of a word which gives the principal meaning to the word, but is used only with other elements. The stems, prefixes and suffixes of the En- loO READING IN TRAINING CLASSES glish language come mostly from the Anglo- Saxon, the Latin and the Greek. Formerly stems were called roots. The base of a word is the principal ele- ment of a word. An adjunct is a word, prefix or suffix that modifies the base. A compound icord is compound of two or more prime words. In a compound word the base and ad- juncts are each words. In a derivative word the base is a word and the adjunct is a prefix or suffix. In a stem compound word the base and ad- junct are stems. In a stem derivative word the base is a stem and the adjuncts are a prefix or suffix or both. An excellent list of roots, prefixes and suffixes, is found in Wilson's Elementary English, an admirable text-book. To analyze a word is to resolve it into its elements. The following method of analysis is that used in Maxwell's Advanced Lessons in En- glish. WORD STUDY J 51 In analyzing a word the following steps should be taken: 1. Give the class name of the word to be analyzed. 2. Name and give the meaning of the base. 3. Name and give the meaning of the ad- junct or adjuncts. 4. Give the meaning of the whole word. Examples of Word Analysis agent. class — stem derivative base — stem ag meaning do. adjunct— suffix ent, meaning one who meaning — one who does or has the power to act altitude. class — stem derivative base— stem alt meaning high or height adjunct — suffix tude meaning condition, meaning — condition of height inhospitable. class derivative word base — stem derivative word hospitable adjunct — prefix in meaning not meaning — not hospitable 152 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES hospitable class — stem derivative word base— stem hospit meaning guest adjunct — suffix able meaning fit to be or have meaning — fit to have a guest meaning of whole word — not fit to have a. guest, or not kind to guests. railroad. class — compound word base — simple word road adjunct — simple word rail meaning— a road upon which rails are laid. autograph. class — stem compound base — stem graph meaning write adjunct — stem auto meaning self meaning of word — something written by one's self (note) Auto is sometimes given as a pre- fix. Analyze each of the following words, fol- lowing the models given, abbreviate abject alter abrupt abduct advocate WORD AKALYSI s 153 accident accede accept admit accurate adapt antipathy adjure bicycle biped bisect cadence carnivorous catalogue century centigrade centrifugal circumscribe conduct confide conform conjunction competent commerce compel component confess congratulate cursory decline degradation dignity disdain dictation dislocate dissatisfy dispel educate episcopal equinimity evident expulsion faction fixture fraction fragile futile general gradual grateful impetus interpose jurisdiction liberate linguist linen literary logic loquacious ludicrous mandamus magnitude maintain marine matrimony mensuration merchandise monitor monotone monument notice numerous oculist opposite penal pendant pension petition 154 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES picture porter phonograph physiology proceed precede pronoun recede retrograde sacred secede sentiment solution submarine subscribe tangent tegument terminal transform unanimous utility valid valuable version vice-president Definition of Words The meaning of the words may be taught by means of objects, illustrations, use in sen- tences, use of the dictionary, their etymol- ogy, and the study of synonyms. By objects. The child may be taught the meaning of the word sphere by showing him a sphere. Many words, especially geometric and scientific terms, may be taught in a similar way. By illustrations. The meaning of many terms may become clear by the use of draw- ings and other illustrations. Crescent may be illustrated by the figure of the new moon, flutter by a motion of the hand. DEFINITION OF WORDS 155 By use in sentences. A child learns the meaning of his first words by hearing them used by members of his family. In reading one often learns the correct use of a word which can not be determined from the defi- nition. By the dictionary. Pupils should be taught the use of the dictionary as early as the lat- ter part of the fourth year or beginning of the fifth. Most dictionaries give the definition of a word and then illustrate its use by means of a sentence ; thus the child can determine the meaning with no assistance from the teacher. By the study of etymology. Pupils should be taught at an early age the meaning of stems, prefixes and suffixes. There are two methods of teaching etymology, the analy- tic and the synthetic. The analytic begins with the whole word and divides it into its elements; then by learning each part the meaning of the whole word is determined. By the synthetic method the child is re- quired to learn a list of stems, prefixes and 156 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES suffixes; then, by combining these, words are formed. It it said that the analytic method is the better for beginners because it is the more logical. A child comprehends a whole be- fore a part, and it proceeds from the known word to the unknown parts. By the study of synonyms. Synonyms are words that have similar meanings, but with slight differences. The English language has many synonyms because it is composed of words from several other languages. By the study of synonyms one is enabled to tell when a word may be substituted for another and when it may not be. By their use an unpleasant repetition of the same word is avoided and writing becomes accurate and smooth. Exercise in Synonyms Distinguish in meaning the following syn- onyms. Repentance, penitence ; invent, discover ; only, alone ; enough, sufficient ; avow, ac- knowledge, confess ; kill, murder, assassi- EXERCISE IN SYNONYMS 157 nate ; design, purpose, intention ; hasten, hurry ; abundance, plenty ; industrious, la- borious, dilligent ; pride, vanity ; custom, habit ; force, strength ; truth, veracity ; re- mark, observe ; qualified, competent ; dis- trust, suspicion ; excuse, pardon, forgive ; grand, sublime, magnificent, gorgeous; splen- dor, grandeur; arduous, hard, difficult; disad- vantage, injury ; hopeless, desperate ; hope, expect, anticipate ; lonely, solitary; ask, beg, request, beseech, implore; admit, allow, excite, incite ; poison, venom ; modern, re- recent; curious, prying, inquisitive; defend, protect; persuade, convince ; sorrow, grief ; propose, purpose; mutual, reciprocal ; mid- dle, centre ; whole, entire, complete ; forti- tude, courage ; vocation, avocation ; lovely, pretty, beautiful ; amuse, divert, entertain ; aged, old, ancient, antique, obsolete; weight, heaviness; reputation, character; contagion, infection; teaching, instructing; pale, pallid, wan; abandon, forsake, desert; fright, alarm, terror; argue, debate; abdicate, resign; con- ceal, disguise; among, between; battle, fight; description, narration ; clear, distinct; lie, lay; sit, set; on, upon ; bring, fetch ; want 158 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES need ; instruction, education ; healthy, healthful ; in, into; applause, praise; thank- ful, grateful; apprehend, comprehend; sick, ill ; exceed, excel ; polite, oblige ; stout, strong; learning, wisdom; price, cost, value, expense ; scholar, pupil, student, learner ; labor, work, employment, business ; pleas- ant, agreeable, pleasing, attractive; com- mand, direction, order, mandate; bold, dar- ing, courageous, fearless ; anxiety, solici- tude, worry, foreboding; falsehood, deceit, lie, untruth. Orthography or Spelling Orthography comes from orthos meaning right, and grapho meaning I write, the whole word meaning I write right. Orthography is the act of expressing words with the proper letters, according to stand- ard usage. Dr. Brooks defines orthography as ' ' the art of expressing the elements of a word". Its place in school work (a) Regular text-book instruction should be given in it. ITS PLACE IN SCHOOL WORK 159 (6) Special attention should be given to it in all written work. (c) It should have as prominent a place in school as reading or any other subject. It is not necessary however, to give as much time to it as to most other subjects, as if the recitations are properly conducted, an equiv- alent amount of work can be accomplished in much less time. Its full value may be stated in one sen- tence. "There is no great credit in being a good speller, but there is great discredit in being a poor one." Correct spelling indicates a cultivated and scholarly mind. Spelling difficult We possess one of the most difficult if not the most difficult of languages to spell. This is due to the silent letters and different let- ters to represent the same sound. One au- thority states that scissors can be spelled in 6000 different ways. This unsystematic spelling is the result of the formation of our language, the English language being derived from many sources. 160 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES The introduction of printing helped to make spelling constant. It is said that anyone may learn to spell if he puts forth effort in the right direction. Each new word should be noted carefully, then it should be written and pronounced several times. Spelling should receive careful attention in the early years of sehool, for if neglected at that time, one is likely never to learn to spell. Material 1. We may obtain words, sentences, etc., for use in the spelling class from the various lessons on reading, geography, language, etc. 2. Pupils may spell the names of objects in the schoolroon, or about the house, or on the farm. 3. Words may be taken from the news- paper. 4. A regular spelling book may be used. Advantages of a Spelling Book 1. It lightens the work of the teacher; she does not need to copy the words on the ADVANTAGES OF A SPELLING BOOK 161 l)oard or take time to arrange the lists of words. 2. Pupils can study the lesson at any time. They do not need to wait until the teacher places it upon the board. 3. It is easier to study words from a .speller than from some other book. 4. If the book gives only the words com- monly misspelled, the attention of the pupils is concentrated in what they need to study jnost. Disadvantages of a Spelling Book 1. The words may not be arranged pro- perly. In some books there are lists of 'words having the same ending or beginning, -or some other similarity, and after the pupils know the first word the others require little attention in that lesson. The pupil knows in what respect the words are alike, and he requires no thought in spelling them, they make no impression on his mind, and he is likely to misspell any of them the next time it appears alone in his written lesson. 2. Often not all the words in a particular lesson are such as the teacher wishes to give 162 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES that day, and it would be about as much work to select the words from various lessons of the speller as from any other book. Our aim in teaching spelling should be to teach pupils to spell correctly the words in common use, and only such technical and and geographical names should be spelled a& are in common use. Best ways of teaching Spelling (a) Through the eye, seeing the word. (b) Through the ear, hearing the word. (c) Through the muscular movement,, writing the word. Suggestions for Recitation 1. The teacher should pronounce the word but once. Vary from this only when there is unavoidable noise. 2. Do not mispronounce a word in order that pupils may spell it, as sep a rate. 3. In oral spelling when a word is missed do not pronounce it again in asking the next to spell it. 4. Allow only one trial in spelling a word. All after that is guess work. 5 Require pupils to pronounce each word SUGGESTIONS FOR RECITATION 163 before and after spelling it. This enables the teacher to determine if the word is under- stood and gives the pupil drill in pronuncia- tion. 6. It is often of advantage to require pu- pils to spell and pronounce each syllable; as, sep (sep) a (a) rate (rate). 7. Do not pronounce the words in the or- der in which they were studied, unless it be a dictation exercise. 8. Require pupils to name everything necessary to the correct writing of the word; as, capital letter, apostrophe, hyphen, etc. Oral Spelling Oral spelling is naming aloud the letters of a word in the order in which they occur. The pupil taught orally learns to spell through the sense of hearing, the same as one learns a poem by hearing it repeated. Usually however, the pupils study the words from the book or the blackboard and then spell aloud in class. In such cases the order of the letters is fixed upon the mind through the sense of sight as well as of hear- ing. Among its advantages are : 164 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES 1. It teaches pronunciation. 2. It aids in teaching correct syllabica- tion. 3. It affords several interesting methods of conducting a recitation. 4. It may save time. Its disadvantages are: 1. Pupils when taught to spell orally may not spell correctly when they write. 2. We need to know how to write words but are rarely called to spell them orally after leaving school. 3. Each pupil cannot spell at one recita- tion as many words as by the written method. Written Spelling Written spelling is writing the letters of a word in the order in which they occur in the word. The letters are fixed in mind through the sense of sight, and the hand is assisted in producing them through the training of the muscles (muscular movement). Its advantages are: 1. Impressions are made upon the mind "WRITTEN SPELLING 165 more deeply through the sense of sight than through the oral method. 2. It tends to make pupils spell more ac- curately in all written work than the oral method. 3. Each pupil can spell all the words in the lesson during one recitation. 4. Pupils are enabled to keep a list of the misspelled words and correct them. 5. All pupils are occupied during the en- tire recitation. Its disadvantages are: 1. It does not tend to teach syllabication. 2. It takes more time than the oral method. Oral and written methods combined The words may first be spelled orally and then written, or written and then spelled or- ally. This method would have the advan- tage of the other two. The chief disadvan- tage would be that it takes too much time. General Suggestions The first spelling book is the school reader. The teacher should select words 166 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES and sentences from this for the spelling work. Pupils in the primary grades are first taught spelling by writing words. As soon as possible these should be used in sentences and most of the spelling is done in connec- tion with the reading lesson. The pupils should be taught to punctuate correctly each sentence from the very first. Pupils should at first copy sentences from their readers. This may form busy work for the pupil at his seat. The teacher must see that all work is correctly and neatly done. No careless work should be accepted. After the pupils show some skill in copy- ing sentences from the readers, the teacher may give sentences of her own for them to copy, or she may give a word and require the pupils to write it in a sentence. As the pupils grow older the teacher may place sentences upon the board, have the pupils study and copy them at their seats, and then in recitation use them for dictation exercises. The teacher may also give a list of words and require pupils to use them in sentences. GENERAL SUGGESTION'S 167 Introduce a little oral spelling during the first year or two. The older pupils may be given oral spelling more frequently. With the intermediate pupils the teacher may prepare a list of words if no spelling book is used, and place them upon the board. These words may be taken from the geography, reading, language, etc., and should be thoroughly studied by the pupils. They may be required to write the words at their desks during the study period, no mat- ter what method is used in conducting the recitation. They may sometimes be required to use these words in sentences. The teach- er should see that the meaning of all words is known by the pupils. When the lesson is assigned the teacher should call the pupils' attention to any words that have a difficult or peculiar spelling, and offer any suggestions that will aid the pupils in remembering the words. The older pupils should study the spell- ing in much the same way as the intermedi- ate pupils. 168 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES Suggestions in Oral Spelling Position. The pupils may sit or stand as desired by the teacher. If they are seated they should be as near each other as possible as it is easier to hold their attention and it is only the attention of those in the spelling class that is desired. They should sit erect with their hands clasped and resting upon the desk or in their laps, and their feet squarely upon the floor. If they are stand- ing each should take an erect position and the class form a straight or slightly curved line. Pronouncing of words. If there is to be place- taking the teacher must pronounce the words to the pupils in order from the head of the class to the foot. She should not, however, pronounce them in the order of the book. The teacher should usually pronounce the word but once, and allow pupils but one trial. Errors. When the word is missed the teacher passes it to the next. The teacher, to vary the method, may sometimes pass the word to the next pupil, even if it is correct, the pupil to tell whether it is right or wrong. SUGGESTIONS IN ORAL SPELLING 169 If wrong, he spells it, if right he may sim- ply say right or spell it again. The teacher may again vary the method by pronouncing a word and if it is mispelled, pronounce another, paying no attention to the mispelled word. The pupil should, of course, spell the missed word instead of the one last pro- nounced. The pupil who corrects the error takes the place of the one who first missed the word. Expedients. Sometimes the teacher may allow pupils to spell a word beginning with the last letter of the preceding word ; as, play, year, raining, giving, etc. This re- quires quick thought on the part of the pu- pil. One difficulty with this is that the words spelled may be too simple to be of any benefit to the pupil unless the teacher tells them at first the number of syllables re- quired. The above methods break up the monot- ony of the recitation and hold the attention of the class. The teacher may allow the pupils to spell down once in a while. Some Friday after- noon could be devoted to this and the par- 170 READING IK TRAINING CLASSES ents invited. This tends to create an inter- est in the school work, particularly the spell- ing. Phonetic spelling. Lists of words should sometimes be given pupils to spell by sound only. This can be introduced in the third or fourth year. When this work is firsf taken up the words should be written upon the board and marked plainly by the teacher. As pupils advance the list of words should be given unmarked and the pupils required to find the proper marking and then spell them by sound. Suggestions in Written Spelling Blackboard method. The class pass to the blackboard and divide it into spaces by drawing vertical lines. Numbe/these spaces one and two and let each pupil write his name at the top of the space he is to use. The teacher pronounces two words in suc- cession. Number one writes the first word pronounced and number two the second. Continue this until all the words in the les- son have been written; then one of thenum- SUGGESTIONS IN" WRITTEN SPELLING 171 ber ones may spell a word and a number two another, and so on until all are spelled. All misspelled words should be marked with an x or a line drawn through them. The pupils may exchange places and correct each other's work if desired. The correct form of each misspelled word should be writ- ten once or twice by the pupil. The teach- er and pupils should keep a list of the mis- spelled words and at the end of the week these may be given as a test lesson. The class may be divided into more than two sections. This method is of advantage to the teacher as all work is before her, and when the class is divided there is little chance of copying. In some schools there is not sufficient black- board room to allow of this method. Blank books. By this method the words are written in blank books instead of on the blackboard. These books may be made by the pupils by cutting legal cap or fools cap paper into the proper size, or books or pads may be purchased for this purpose. All work should be done neatly with pen and ink. 172 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES The teacher or one of the pupils may spell the words and each child may correct his own errors, or the books may be exchanged and corrected by others. Pupils should be taught to grade the papers. When the books are exchanged better work is likely to result, as all desire to have their books equally neat and accurate. One says that the exchange of books creates an idea of distrust, but there is little danger of this feeling in a properly conducted school. All misspelled words should be written correctly at the close of each lesson, in a space provided for this purpose and these should be corrected as in the blackboard method. The teacher should look over the books herself, if not every day at least as often as once or twice a week, as pupils are likely to make mistakes in marking words. The teacher or pupil who spells the word should follow carefully the method of spell- ing orally given under " Directions to Teachers' ' . DICTATION 173 Dictation Words should often be written in sen- tences. The teacher may write the sen- tences upon the board and allow the pupils to study them, or for drill, she may dictate sentences they have not studied. Sometimes she may give words and have pupils write sentences using these words. In the sentences dictated the teacher should use various marks of punctuation, possessive forms, contractions, quotations, invitations, acceptances, regrets, and para- graphs from books and papers. The pupils in all cases should punctuate correctly. Examples of a dictation exercise 1. John said, "Where are you going?" 2. "I'll tell you what I saw,''' said John, "when I come from school to-night." 3. "Good evening, Richard, step right in." 4. "Mary, I didn't tell you to go." 5. "Harry," said the teacher, "where did you find that book?' ' 6. "0, wait till it's done," said Tom. 174 READING IN" TEAINING CLASSES 7. "I can't, I want to see it," said Bess. 8. "If you won't tell mamma, I'll go for the book." The teaaher may place the above exercise on the board and allow the pupils to study it. She should call attention to the various marks of punctuation etc. Reasons should be given for the marks. Erase the work and dictate each sentence. The pupils should write them exactly as they were upon the board, using capitals, punctuation marks, etc. Rules for spelling There are but few rules for spelling that are not without exceptions. Only three can be given that are of practical value. 1. Monosyllables and words accented on the last syllable, ending with a single con- sonant, preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, as, rebel, rebellion. 2. Words ending in y preceded by a con- sonant, change the y to i before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel; as, pony, ponies. RULES FOR SPELLING 175 3. Final e is usually omitted in adding a suffix beginning with a vowel; as, advise, advising. Words often misspelled When, their, there, which, until, many, very, any, neither, hoping, weather, whether. Penmanship The usefullness of this subject need not be mentioned. In all schools, however poor their condition may be, it should receive careful attention. The aims in teaching penmanship are to secure legibility, neat- ness, rapidity and beauty. It is far more necessary that one write plainly, neatly and rapidly, than that he write artistically. One should first write legibly and neatly, then aim to write rap- idly. A business man desires rapidity, but must have neatness and legibility. Beauty of writing is of secondary importance. There is a mistaken idea that the promis- cuous use of flourishes produces a pleasing effect. These may entirely destroy the beauty of plain but artistic writing. 176 BEADING IN TKAINING CLASSES Vertical penmanship There are two systems of penmanship, the vertical and the slant. ^ The advocates of the vertical claim: 1. It is more legible because it is more nearly like the Roman letters found in all books. 2. It is easier to teach and learn. The position required is a natural one, and both teacher and pupil are saved trouble of training the muscles to take unnatural posi- tions and the penmanship period becomes a pleasure to both. [. 3. It is more beautiful than the slant as all unnecessary flourishes are avoided. 4. It is more rapid, as a vertical line is shorter than a slant line of the same height, therefore space and time are economized. 5. It is conducive to the health of the child, as the body is in a natural, upright position and both eyes are at equal distance from the paper. Those opposed to this system claim: 1. It produces slow writers, and therefore is not suitable for business purposes. 2. It has never been adopted in commer- VERTICAL PENMANSHIP 17$ cial schools or used to any extent in busi- ness houses ; hence a pupil taught to write this way cannot get a position. 3. It is no more conducive to health than the slant if the proper position be taken in writing the slant. 4. It is not beautiful. It has too much the appearance of a school boy hand. There was a period ten years ago, as there was a hundred years ago, when there was a temporary adoption of vertical penmanship, but it is now very little used. Position of the Body Whatever system is used the pupil should take the front position. The child sits directly in front facing the desk; both feet squarely upon the floor, the left a little in advance of the right; both arms rest upon the desk obliquely, forming right angles with each other. The left arm should not be too far upon the desk, the el- bow may be slightly off the table. The left hand is used to steady the paper. The weight of the right arm should be borne by 178 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES the muscles of the forearm and the nails of the little and ring ringers. The side position that is sometimes taken in slant writing tends to raise one shoulder higher than the other. Position of Paper In slant writing and the front position the paper is placed at an angle with the body, the left edge at an angle of about 35° with the front edge of the desk. If the side position be taken the paper is parallel to the front edge of the desk as in vertical writing. Holding of the Pen The pen should be held lightly by the first and second fingers and the thumb. The end of the first finger should be at least an inch from the point of the pen. If placed too near, a cramped position of the fingers usually results. The thumb should be slightly bent and placed on the holder opposite the first joint of the first finger. The penholder should cross the first finger near the knuckles, some say half way between the knuckles and sec- ond joint, and the second finger at the root HOLDING OF THE PEN 179 of the nail. It should point between the shoulder and the elbow. The hand should rest upon the nails of the little and ring fingers; the wrist should not touch the paper at all. Care should be taken that the pen be held so loosely that by taking hold of the top of the penholder it can be pulled up and down easily. If it is held too firmly the muscles become tired. This position may be secured by raising the right arm from the shoulder and letting it fall at the side with the muscles of the hand and arm relaxed. If the hand be raised to the paper without changing the position of the fingers it will be in the cor- rect position for writing. Pupils may be taught to take the proper position by holding in their hand when writ- ing a small ball of paper or a handkerchief. Movements There are three movements commonly considered ; the arm, the forearm and the finger movement. In the arm movement the whole arm is 180 BEADING IN TRAINING CLASSES used ; in the forearm movement only the muscles of the forearm are used ; in the fin- ger movement the first and middle fingers and the thumb are used. An authority says that the forearm move- ment is the only one that should be allowed in writing. It seems best however, to use both the forearm and fingers, the whole arm but rarely. Material The material used in the primary grades should be long lead pencils, paper, and per- haps a copybook. No short pencils should be allowed, as incorrect positions will result. No ink should be used for the first two years at least, as pupils at this age cannot control a pen as easily as a pencil and are liable to get the ink upon their clothing and disfigure books. The elder pupils should use pen and ink. Copy-books It is possible to teach penmanship with- out copybooks. The pupils may take fools- cap paper and fold it to the proper size for use in penmanship. If copybooks are used COPYBOOKS 181 the pupils should be supplied with practice paper and never write in the book until they have first practised various movements and the copy upon this paper. Copybooks lighten the work for the teacher as she does not need to write copies for the pupils, and they also furnish accurate forms for the pu- pils to follow. When the teachers write the copies the children are obliged to follow varying forms from year to year, as no two teachers' write alike. Writing Charts Usually there is a writing chart with each system of penmanship. These are valuable, as they furnish accurately formed letters for class use, and save the teacher the trouble of placing correct forms upon the board, which she is often incapable of doing unless much time is spent in practice. Copies If there be no copybooks in the school, the teacher can prepare copies upon slips of paper before the class period. Each pupil should be given a slip, all in the same class having like copies. This will save the 182 READING IK TRAINING CLASSES teacher much time during the period, pro- duce uniformity in the writing, and enable the teacher to properly grade the work. Classification of Letters Those letters which are similar in lines, curves and spaces should be classed together. The following classification is suggested: i u w — n m x v — o a c e — r s — t d p q — 1 b h k f— j y g z. A E D C— P B R— T F— H K G L S— N M— I J— W X Z Q— V U Y. It should be noticed that some letters are one space in height and others more than one. Some copybooks give the spacing of the letters. These vary from two to five. In whatever systemis used the spaces occupied by the letters should be noticed, otherwise the letters will be out of proportion. Exercises Each lesson should be preceded by one or EXERCISES 183 more exercises to prepare the muscles for the work. The pupils should try the exercises first with a dry pen. When an exercise is given for one or more divisions of the school, the teacher should count for the pupils. For examples see first two on following page. Some exercises require a different count from others. The teacher can usually deter- mine the number required. An exercise should be arranged for each letter, and this should always be" practised before the [letter is written alone. For in- stance if 'we are to teach a give some such 184 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES EXEECISES 185 exercise at first as the third on the oppo- site page. Then the fourth. The teachers manual that is issued with some systems of penmanship will give all necessary information in regard to exercises. With a little thought a teacher can pre- pare suitable exercises. The general exercises first and second on the opposite page are suggested to secure a free forearm movement. Time There should be a certain time devoted to penmanship and pupils should not be allowed to use the copybooks at other times. In some schools it is impossible to have penmanship every day. In such cases it may be alternated with drawing or some other subject. It is a good plan to have the copybooks and practice paper kept at the teacher's desk; the practice paper may be placed in the book. If they are kept in the pupils' desks they are likely to become soiled and torn, 186 READING IN TRAINING CLASSES and there is always a temptation to use them when not desired. Writing in the First Grade The pupil's first attempt made in writing may be ]bj tracing a letter made by the teacher. Some systems advocate this plan. The letter should be large at first. The muscles of young children are not suffi- ciently under their control so that they can make small letters. If they attempt to do so the movement becomes cramped and they are likely to hold the pencil too firmly. Specimens Th6 teacher should take specimens of the pupil's writing from time to time and com- pare them. She can thus see the progress made. Dictation Sometimes the teacher may dictate an ex- ercise in penmanship. These may consist of rules of health, maxims, modes of busi- ness letters, checks, receipts, etc. See dictation exercises under spelling. CRITICISMS J 87 Criticisms During the writing period the teacher should move about the room and correct all errors. Often she may correct the mistake of several by writing on the board a letter incorrectly as she finds it and comparing it with the correct form which she may make or which she shows them from the chart if there be one in the school. She may some- times exaggerate the mistake to make it more obvious. We can not expect all the pupils to write alike nor do we wish them to do so; we should not therefore be so critical as to destroy the individuality of the pupil's writ- ing. JAN 2 190? v-t uununcsa 019 843 587 9