Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

requirements presented by the National Joint Committee on English (representing the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education of the National Education Association and the National Council of Teachers of English). This report was published by the Bureau of Education at Washington, and recommends (page 128) "after a wide consultation of principals and teachers in the elementary schools," standards to be completed in the first six grades of school. These standards are stated as follows:

"At the end of the sixth grade pupils should be able: "1 To express clearly and consecutively, either in speech or in writing, ideas which are familiar and firmly grasped;

"2 To avoid gross grammatical errors; "3 To compose and mail a letter;

"4 To spell their own written vocabulary;

"5 To read silently, and after one reading to reproduce the substance of a simple short story, news item, or lesson; "6 To read aloud readily and intelligently simple news items, a lesson from text-books, or literature of such difficulty as 'The Ride of Paul Revere,' or Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol';

"7 To quote accurately and understandingly several short poems, such as Bennet's 'The Flag Goes By' and Emerson's 'The Mountain and the Squirrel.'"

Criticism listed on page 124 of this Federal Report may also be used as one of our objectives. "Especially noticeable in all parts of the country is the neglect of the training of the voice in distinct enunciation, clear articulation, and agreeable tones." It is true that we have succeeded in conquering large numbers of cases of mumbling; we have also been pleased with the increase in poise and in conviction of tone which has grown out of stressing oral composition. We should also show growth in pupil effort to cultivate a tone and an enunciation which are both a business and a social asset. The child's attention can be more closely turned to this element as soon as he has laid the basis required for one who must learn "to stand upon his feet and think aloud." This basis is the use of complete clear-cut sentences related to the central thought, in place of the monosyllabic answer first proposed by the timid or careless child. This growth in oral expression is the type of English work to receive the largest emphasis during the time spent in Grades I-VI. (It is, of course, understood that the term oral expression indicates ability to express thought and is not used in the sense which suggests elocutionary emphasis.)

Our training for written language work should be connected with many of the oral language problems, small units of carefully thought out messages (rather than long sheets of careless vaporizing) being the task set before the pupil who must learn the importance of pruning a story and of looking at words closely instead of "throwing them on with a shovel." Large written problems should therefore be divided into several units until the time when the pupil has formed the habits of accuracy and precision. During the period's work with each small unit, the student will have three aims ever present (1) clearness and conciseness, (2) sequence, (3) variety of expression. These principles will in many cases be emphasized by such questions as:

1 Does this sentence seem a puzzle or awkward?
a Because of its wording?
b Because of its length?

2 Does each sentence "fit" (really follow with a smoothness not apparent when omissions of certain detail cause a gap in thought or needless repetitions postpone progress in thought)?

3 Does the language show an effort on the part of the writer to adopt interesting phrases or other vocabulary?

And lastly, in considering this phase of Dr. Butler's statement, may we ask what we are offering the child in the line of assistance in taking the initiative in daily conversation? Are we helping the child to lasting interests which become a basis for definite contribution on his partwhether it be when he is called upon to write an interesting letter or, as one of a social group (at his own table or outside of his home walls), to take part in a discussion where his ability to express thought is either a stimulation to others or a possible indication of a future bore?

(c) SPELLING

Such standard spelling studies as the Ayers list (and “a foundation vocabulary," as Dr. Ayers terms the 1000 words compiling the list). "The Jones' Spelling Demons" should also be known to our teachers.

(d) WRITING

Arm or muscular movement, generally used throughout the country to accomplish ease, speed, and legibility in writing, is the habit established in the cases of the majority of children leaving the elementary grades. Preliminary work is accomplished by blackboard practice that the teacher may keep in touch with each child, that incorrect body and finger movements may not develop while the pupil is puzzling over the letter forms, and that a chance for corrections during a single period may occur. Application of special problems to stress so as to anticipate errors found in written work has in many rooms been worked out; lists of words based upon forms sometimes not differentiated have resulted:

[blocks in formation]

Distribution to each grade of short lists of words suggested by the 1917 Committee on Economy of Time (appointed by the National Council of Teachers of English) is recommended. Such work is the outcome of the direct report of the sub-committee on Mechanics of Writing, and in consideration of the matter of Economy of Time, it is urged by this committee that some of the formal writing periods profit "by recent investigations of spelling conditions" and place emphasis upon certain common words "known to be commonly misspelled everywhere." Drill

[blocks in formation]

The list is as follows:

disagree

enemy

Number of words

pretty

lying

finally

necessary

generally

occurred

foreign

principal

government

probably

lies

read

grammar judgment

seize

respectfully sincerely

none

[blocks in formation]

What opportunities are we offering for growth in "refined and gentle manners"? This is Dr. Butler's second criterion of education functioning.

In place of incidental accomplishment, we are placing upon the daily program in some systems a definite time for pausing to consider the sort of citizens we wish to become, the qualities of character out of which we build our ideals, and the lessons we learn from others, together with the response due from us for whom so much has been and is done. The use of a course of study in Civics is resulting in a discrimination on the part of the child, an understanding that results in the outward expression of the right spirit- a spirit from within, and not assumed, the spirit of true gentility and fine breeding which shows itself in simplicity and knows that greatness dares to be unaffected, spontaneous and sincere. The activities of our children, listed from Red Cross work down to the playing of games, or the building of houses for our itinerant bird folk emphasize this spirit of sympathy, of co-operating with, and of helping others- the spirit which is the foundation of good citizenship (and incidentally one of the secrets of personal charm).

Question III

What opportunities are we offering for growth in "the power and habit of reflection"?

1 The use of the socialized recitation where the child learns the value of open-mindedness which in itself is a requisite for growth. The child must draw conclusions and state problems rather than depend upon a memorized version.

2 The use of "individual study" periods to provide opportunity for the child to be taught how to be selfhelpful.

3 The type of questions proposed by teachers should stimulate reflection. Purely informational questions should not typify regular periods of work. Present questions demanding comparisons and judgment and allow the pupil opportunity to solve the situation.

4 The spirit of inquiry is encouraged in the progressive school. This does away with the tendency of set mind which refuses but one interpretation of incidents and which narrows one with succeeding years whatever the experiences encountered. In history we accept Dr. Dewey's statement for the keynote to method: "The chief purpose in studying history is not to amass information but to use information in constructing a vivid picture of how and why men did thus and so, achieved their successes and came to their failures." The tableau interpretation of various historical epochs presented by pupils illustrates the research of

[blocks in formation]

very

goes

making dropped

hear

went

[blocks in formation]

heard

[blocks in formation]

told

[blocks in formation]

done

knew

sure

[blocks in formation]

threw

[blocks in formation]

new none

[blocks in formation]

friend

often

[blocks in formation]

pupils and teachers interested in working out an interpretation of the life of the past. The dramatization, e.g., of parts of "King Arthur" by a fourth or fifth grade class will develop the spirit of inquiry through a socialized discussion of former times. Reference work of great value grows out of this attempt to truthfully portray (by means of simple improvised costumes and typical situations with possible conversations) interpretation of a period or country. Such instances are typical by-products of a change in method. Geography teaching is also drawing away from the mere drill for "knowledge by heart," and becomes a means for promoting a real mental activity where the child's constructive imagination is cultivated. The representation of Indian life upon the sand-table, the making of a miniature Eskimo hut, the drawing of the schoolyard upon the blackboard when discussing direction, or the application in paper cutting problems of the historical story of the New England settlers, or in later years turning to Joaquin Miller's "Columbus," or again to "The Charge of the Light Brigade"-all these give opportunity to more fully imagine and feel the unseen and to interpret rather than recount in order much of the detail growing out of any course of study. And by the use of the problem method we wish the pupils to have the chance to cull and select the big facts and as the need arises to propose problems growing out of problems suggested. By such means, ability to place emphasis upon important fact comes as a natural growth. This learning how to study and select the kernel is necessary not only for future experience but also for the child's intelligent use of many books during his school life.

Question V

What of "efficiency, or the power to do," the fifth criterion named by Dr. Butler?

Such ability is the result of all education received from all experience through all life. Yet as school is one of the way-stations of life's period, the question may be narrowed

T

so as to set aims for even our elementary pupils who have not at this time become classified under a vocational heading. Efficiency in the tool subjects then becomes a very definite aim of our elementary schools. Such standards as the Courtis and Thompson efficiency tests in arithmetic, the Hillegas and Harvard-Newton standards for written composition, the Kelley, the Thorndike, the Gray, and the Fordyce scales for measuring reading ability, the Ayres spelling basis, and minimum standards in penmanship should aid us in determining where our results stand in comparison with other schools of recognized standing which have used these same means of examination.

The final question, of course, in making decision to adopt any new course or plan should not be, "Is this the easiest thing for me?" but rather, "Have I the courage to keep growing?" And again, "Where should I begin to graft new life into my work?" In this case hang up Dr. Butler's five questions for your thermometer - unless you believe there is no need of a new diagnosis because you still have old pill boxes on the shelves! But having chosen a new "point of departure" let us not cast all of "the old" aside, for in each of us there should have grown something of the genius of adjustment which will help us in feeling our new way as we graft the new and the old together, culling from each to answer our growing vision. The success of such selection will once again prove the old words, "Perseverance isn't Everything, my son have a little talent!"

Publishers of Scales and Tests Arithmetic: Courtis Standard Tests. (S. A. Courtis, 82 Eliot Street, Detroit, Mich.) Woodey's Arithmetic Scales. (Bureau of Publications, Teachers' College, Columbia University, New York.) Reading: Kelley's Silent Reading Tests. (State Normal, Emporia, Kan.) Gray's Oral Reading Test. (University of Chicago.) Thorndike's Scales. (Teachers' College, Columbia University, New York.) Fordyce Scale. (University of Nebraska.) Penmanship: Ayres' Measuring Scale. (Leonard P. Ayres, Russell Sage Foundation, New York.)

Silent Reading in the First Grade

Mary B. Pratt

State Normal School, Worcester, Mass.

Practical Suggestions

HE educational materials and tools in the life of the first grade child are many and varied, and like all other materials and tools in school life, they have two users, the child and the teacher.

Under the so-called materials may be listed the subjects of study in the curriculum for Grade I. Under the socalled tools may be listed the various methods and devices which the teacher has at her disposal. There is a continual interaction going on between these four elements in the child's education, namely: child, teacher, subjects of study,

methods.

The child contributes his instinctive equipment, his bits of knowledge. His experience is meagre and his means of expression are limited.

The teacher, on the other hand, has a wide experience, and an almost unlimited avenue of expression. She has certain ideals and standards, a clear judgment and a well defined though plastic procedure for the working out of her educational theories.

In view of all these facts our greatest problem to-day is how can these two users, child and teacher, get together on some common ground for the best development of the child and for the best progress of the teacher.

The child comes to the first grade presumably from a

good kindergarten where he has learned to work and play intelligently, where initiative and leadership have been developed, and where he has been given small problems to solve and projects to work out by himself or in a group. In short, he has been taught to THINK.

At this point we should pause to ask ourselves if we, as educators of first grade children, provide the situation for real thinking. Do we use or adapt the problem and project method at all? If we do, is it limited to the handwork period alone?

I should like to put in a plea that we provide more opportunity in the first grade for solving problems in all phases of the work. That we use the instinct of curiosity more consciously as a stimulus for thinking, and that we use and adapt our reading lesson more than ever before as a tool by which the child is taught to think, and to think quickly and well.

We all know that to-day oral reading is no longer emphasized in the upper grades. The silent reading lesson has taken its place most effectively. We appreciate its value as a thought producer and as a means of teaching children how to study.

For some time I have asked myself why we should. not begin as early as the first grade to teach the children to grapple with the problem of silent reading and to provide the situation for them to get information in this way.

Last year I organized and tried out the following series of lessons with the children and apprentices in our first grade, and the results were entirely satisfactory.

Of course this particular series of lessons is only suggestive of a type which may be varied according to the interests and powers of the children. It might be unwise to try the whole series before the second half year, though the clever teacher who is a real artist in adaptation could use it with success much earlier.

Type Lessons

Type I Silent reading expressed through group activity.
The teacher writes the following sentences on the board:
"All run around the room."
"Come back."

"Everyone hop on one foot."
"All the boys play soldier."
"Every girl make a courtesy.'

Type II This group limits the action to one child, though all the children must read it waiting to see whose name is written at the end:

"Bring me a pencil, Mary."

"Knock at the door, Elizabeth."

"Name the flowers on the table, John."

"Repeat a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginia."

Type III A unit of thought written on the board. The children read it silently and are then asked questions. Other reactions should also be used.

"When vacation comes Barbara is going to visit her Uncle Sam who lives on a farm. She will feed the hens, hunt for eggs and milk the cow. Uncle Sam will let her jump on the hay in the barn, too. He has promised Barbara a brown and white pony if she is a good girl."

Type IV A unit of thought similar to the preceding, though this time speed is a motive. A time limit is placed for the reading, then the teacher erases the story and asks the children questions in regard to it. Or she may ask for a simple dramatization; possibly a spontaneous drawing on the board.

Type V Each child is given a card with a short, simple story written on it. These stories are all different and vary in difficulty to suit the reading powers of the individual. A time limit may or may not be imposed this time. The children read their own stories and then put them away. The teacher calls upon each child to stand before the class and tell what his story was about. An opportunity is given each member of the group to ask him questions. In this case, also, dramatization may be an effective way of reproducing the thought.

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Ethel said that she liked Christmas so much this year because Santa Claus brought her a doll's house. It had four large rooms and in each room there was real furniture made of wood. The parlor was such a pretty room! There was a brown and green rug on the floor. The wall paper was green with a little brown and white border. The chairs looked as if any doll would like to sit in them, and over in the corner was a piano. Ethel said that all the rooms were just as pretty and cosy as they could be.

Every morning Billy looked for the postman because. sometimes he brought a letter from grandmother. One day he brought Billy the story of the Three Little Pigs. Grandmother sent it to him for a birthday present. Billy liked it very much because it had colored pictures. The wolf looked so fierce, and the little bit of a pig looked so brave. Billie took the story to school. The teacher read it to the children and then they played it. Billie was the wolf.

Graded Course in Seat Work for First and

Second Grades

Belle Brady

VI

Primary Critic, State Normal School, Superior, Wis.
(Book rights reserved)

Second Grade Seat
Grade Seat Work

I Review Work of the First Year

1 Give the pupils the word boxes which they used in the first grade. Have them look over the words, naming as many as they can. They should count those they were able to name, write the number on a small piece of paper and put it in the box. After another week has elapsed have this exercise repeated and again have each child record the number of words he could name. The teacher should make a little chart for her own use showing each pupil's record in each of the tests. If the words which the pupil cannot name are placed in a small envelope inside the word box, the teacher may look through these words after school hours and make a list of them. In this way she will learn what words she needs to stress for the whole class during word drills and which words certain individuals need to learn. Have this exercise repeated at regular intervals until the pupils have recalled all of the words in their first-year word boxes.

2 Another splendid piece of work which may be carried along with that described in the preceding section and which is continued long after that one is completed is the following. Make for each child a book of blank paper (or these may be made by pupils in the higher grades). This book should contain about three pages for each letter of the alphabet and should be fastened together with brads in order that new pages may be easily added if needed. If there is a printing press in the school, such as is used in making perception cards, stamp the letter a at the top of the first page, the letter b at the top of the fourth page, c on the seventh page, and so on, leaving three pages for each letter of the alphabet. Or the children will enjoy lettering their own books. To do this they cut out the large colored letters found on the covers of magazines or in names in advertisements. Each child will collect an entire alphabet and paste the letters in the right places in his book. The book is to be used for recording the child's reading vocabulary and will serve two purposes: first, that of providing the teacher with a rather accurate record of the extent of each child's reading vocabulary, and second, that of increasing the interest in learning new words. Start this book just after the pupils have looked through the word boxes, as suggested in Exercise 1 above. They have picked out the words they are sure of; now they should sort them according to the beginning letter of each word, and copy all of those beginning with a on the a page, those beginning with b on the b page, etc., until all of these known words have been copied into the book. After succeeding exercises with the word box in which the pupil recalls other words that he did not remember before, he will write these newly recalled words in his vocabulary book and will continue to do so until he has been able to record every word in the word box. And during all this time he has also been learning other new words in his reading lessons and from other sources, both in and outside of school. All these new words, from whatever source learned, should be copied into the vocabulary book. Continue this work throughout the year. Interest will be greatly increased if the teacher occasionally posts the name of the five or six children who are in the lead and the number of words each has in his book. It will be readily seen that care must be taken to guard against the tendency on the

part of some pupils to record words which they do not really know. (The latter part of this device which deals with new words learned in the second year work, does not properly come under this section, which is entitled "Reviewing work of the first year." But since it is a continuation of the device suggested for reviewing words learned in the first year, it is placed here in order to show more clearly the relation between the two exercises.)

3 In the early part of the second year, some of the readers that were used in the latter part of the first grade are re-read before using second readers. This is done to recall vocabulary and to renew that feeling of power in reading which existed at the close of the school year, and which has in all probability waned during the summer vacation. Much of this review reading may be done during seat work periods.

4 To recall knowledge of phonics write on the board "families" of words such as these with the basic phonogram underlined:

[blocks in formation]

When assigning the seat work, name the phonograms and have the class repeat them. Then the children may be left to name the words silently and to add other words to each list.

5 Place a list of phonograms on the board and instruct the pupils to search in their readers for words containing these phonograms and write the words on paper. Have a number of words from each child's list pronounced at the next class period.

6 Write on the board such words as matter, plaything, clouds, hundred, and let pupils copy, underline the phonograms, and work out the pronunciation of the words.

7 Have the class write all of the phonograms which they can recall. Look over the lists after school hours and announce at the next session who had the greatest number of phonograms.

8 On one of the blackboards that is not in daily use, write all phonograms which were taught in the first grade. For seat work the pupils may look over this list, naming all the phonograms they can and writing on paper all those which they cannot name. At the next phonic recitation period, let the pupils take turns in pointing out phonograms which they have listed as not known. When every phonogram, which gave trouble to anyone, has been marked, have the pupils name the phonograms that they think they know. Erase all those which can be named correctly and readily. Leave the others (the unknown ones) on the board for future use in class work.

9 Place the numbers from 1 to 100 on the board. Have the children copy these on paper, then place under each number he has written the corresponding number from his number box.

10 Use the number boxes and lay the numbers from 1 to 100 from memory.

11 Draw on the board pictures so grouped as to represent easy number combinations that were taught in the

« AnteriorContinuar »