For permission to use copyrighted material grateful acknowledgment is made to G. P. Putnam's Sons for "Hunting the American Buffalo" from The Wilderness Hunter by Theodore Roosevelt; to the Frederick A. Stokes Company for "The Grapevine Swing" from Rings and Love Knots by Samuel Minturn Peck; to Lothrop, Lee & Shepard for "The Boyhood of Lincoln' from The True Story of Abraham Lincoln by Elbridge S. Brooks, and for "Washington with General Braddock" from The True Story of George Washington by Elbridge S. Brooks; to The Macmillan Company for "My Boyhood on the Prairie" from A Son of the Middle Border by Hamlin Garland; to The Century Company for "The American Boy" from The Strenuous Life by Theodore Roosevelt; to Small, Maynard and Company, Inc. for "The Violet and the Bee" by John B. Tabb; and to Liberty H. Bailey for "The Birds and I." This book is based on the belief than an efficient reader for the fifth grade must score high when tested on five fundamental features: quality of literature; variety of literature; organization of literature; quantity of literature; and definite helps sufficient to make the text a genuine tool for classroom use. Quality of First among these features is the essential that the foundation of the book must be the acknowledged masterpieces of American and British authors. American boys and girls may be depended upon to read current magazines and newspapers, but if they are ever to have their taste and judgment of literary values enriched by familiarity with the classics of our literature, the schools must provide the opportunity. This ideal does not mean the exclusion of well established present-day writers but it does mean that the core of the school reader should be the rich literary heritage that has won recognition for its enduring value. Moreover, these masterpieces must come to the pupil in complete units, not in mere excerpts or garbled "cross-sections"; for the pupil in his school life should gain some real literary possessions. A study of the contents of The Elson Reader, Book Five, will show how consistently its authors have based the book on the above sound test of quality. The works of the acknowledged "makers" of our literature have been abundantly drawn upon to furnish a foundation of great stories and poems, gripping in interest and well within the powers of child-appreciation in this grade. Variety is fundamental to a well-rounded course of reading. If the school reader is to provide for all the purposes that a collection of literature for this grade should serve, it Variety of must contain material covering at least the followLiterature ing types: (1) literature representing both British and American authors; (2) some of the best modern poetry and prose as well as the literature of the past; (3) important race stories-great epics-and world-stories of adventure; (4) patri otic literature, rich in ideals of home and country, loyalty and service, thrift, coöperation and citizenship-ideals of which American children gained a new conception during the World War, and which the school reader should perpetuate; (5) literature suited to festival occasions, particularly those celebrated in the schools: Armistice Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, Arbor Day and Bird Day, anniversaries of the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington, as well as of Longfellow and other great American authors; (6) literature of the seasons, Nature, and out-of-door life; (7) literature of humor that will enliven the reading and cultivate the power to discriminate between wholesome humor-an essential part of life-and crude humor, so prevalent in the pupil's outside reading; (8) adventure stories both imaginative and real; (9) literature suited to dramatization, providing real project material. This book offers a well-rounded course of reading covering all the types mentioned above. Especially by means of groups of stories and poems that portray love of home and its festivals, love of our free country and its flag, and unselfish service to others, this book makes a stirring appeal to right notions of life and good citizenship. Moreover, it will be noted that wholesome ethical ideals pervade the literature throughout. The literature of a school reader, if it is to do effective work, must be purposefully organized. Sound organization groups into related units the various selections that cenOrganization of ter about a common theme. This arrangement Literature enables the pupil to see the larger dominant ideas of the book as a whole, instead of looking upon it as a confused scrapbook of miscellaneous selections. Such arrangement also fosters literary comparison by bringing together selections having a common theme or authorship. This book has been so organized as to fulfill these purposes. There are three main Parts, each distinguished by unity of theme or authorship. Part I, leading from a wholesome appreciation of Nature, particularly in its American setting, centers mainly about the important themes of patriotism, service, and good citizenship; Part II introduces some of the great tales that typify our love of stirring deeds; Part III presents some of our greatest American authors at sufficient length to make them stand out to the pupil. Through these grouped selections, together with the accompanying biographies, pupils may come to know and love some of the great company of writers that have made the name of America known in the world of literature. Attention is called to three special features that keep the dominant theme of each Part clearly in the foreground: (1) an illuminating introduction for each main division and important subdivision emphasizes the larger theme, and shows how each selection contributes to the group-idea (see pages 17, 57, 81, etc.); (2) the notes and questions frequently call the pupil's attention to the relation the selection bears to the main thought (see pages 37, 75, etc.); (3) the three main divisions, and the subordinate groups within each main unit, are made to stand out clearly by illustrations that typify the theme (see pages 16, 21, etc.) and by topical headings that enable the pupil to vizualize the group-units. By these three means the organization of the book is emphasized, and fundamental ideals are kept dominant. Obviously, a book that is to supply the pupil with a year's course in literature must be a generous volume. Variety is impossible without quantity, especially where literary Quantity of wholes rather than mere fragmentary excerpts are Literature offered. Particularly is this true when complete units are included not only for intensive study, but also for extensive reading, longer units, of the so-called "paper classics" type, to be read mainly for the story-element. In bulk such units should be as large as the pupil can control readily in rapid silent reading, a kind of reading that increases the power to enjoy with intelligence a magazine or a book. The Elson Reader, Book Five, is a generous volume in provision for these needs. Its inclusiveness makes possible a proper balance between prose and poetry, between long and short selections, and between material for intensive and extensive reading. |