LANGUAGE.

On Writing Compositions.

By J. D. MEESE, Instructor in English, Penn. State Normal School.

N the January number of the Popular EDUCATOR, the writer endeavored to point out a plain, practical way to assist the pupil in making additions to his stock of words. This paper is an a tempt to offer a few suggestions on that much discussed topic-composition work. This subject is usually considered a difficult one to teach; why? For what reason does President DeGarmo publicly call attention to the fact that men and women are needed to teach English?

Many answers doubtless suggest themselves to every one, but the leading causes are not hard to detect. Very few teachers spend on this subject an amount of time and preparation at all commensurate with it, importance. Preparation and execution are both done hurried y. A big pile of manuscripts, a large number of compositions, sem to be the results sought for by many teachers. Then again comparatively few study the method employed by the most successful teachers, and few study the style of our leading authors with the purpose in view of self-improvement. And fewer yet have a well-defined plan of presenting the subject to their pupils. All this is wrong. If the teacher does not know ' whither she is drifting," how can she expect her pupils to make satisfactory progress? It is the hazy, undefined, unintelligent view of this subject that leads the teacher to resort to all manner of time killing contrivances.

66

And what are some of these questionable contrivances? Among others hap-hazard story telling, object lessons having no particular end in view, lorg reading lessons, scrap book work, desultory talk, and a dozen other things of like import. All such work is illogical, unclassified, and while it may possibly yield some results, is more likely to do harm than good.

Let us look for a moment at the positive side of this question. We insist first of all that the pupil shall daily acquire and use new words. This feature is fully discussed in the article to which reference has already been made. It is not enough, however, that the pupil shall learn to write detached sentences. He must learn to combine sentences so as to express continuous thought. The sentence "A house stands on the hill," is good, but the pupil must be urged to say more. Now he begins to express one idea after another. To do this he makes diligent use of the conjunction and. This is as it should be, for children are as likely to give one thought prominence as ano.her. Coördination and subordination are terms whose relative importance has not yet engaged their minds. So the child's first effort is likely to read, "A house stands on the hill and it is white and it is large and Mr. Smith owns it and he is a lawyer and it has shade trees." Now the direction (not the telling) of the skiifal teacher comes to bear on this little composition. The boy tries again and again until finally the reading is, "A large whi e house stands on the hill. There are shade trees around it. It belongs to Mr. Smith. He is a lawyer."

And here the little one may rest for a time. The second statement is clear, childlike and beautiful. It will do for a time, but we look for improvement. A year or two later his composition may read, "A large white house, surrounded by shade trees, stands on the hill. It is owned by Mr. Smith, who is a lawyer by profession." This effort is no more pleasing than the other, but it is more compact and dignified, and marks the thougat of a maturer mind. Then, too, the idea of subordination is clearly expressed in the participial phrase and the relative clause.

In studying the development of the example just given, we may easily conclu e, 1, that the pupil must know what he is writing

about-facts; 2, he must have words with which to expres his thoughts roca u ary; 3, he must rearrange and rewrite his composition until he expresses what he has to say in the best possible form-improvement and development.

Keeping these general principles in mind, the judicious teacher will not hesitate to require compositions to be revised a d rewritten until they appear in correct form. The best and none other is good enough for the successful teacher. It is laborious to read and correct compositions, but success can come by no other practice. Overwork may be prevented by requiring at first only very brief compositions A page wil do. As the pupil improves he may lengthen his productions if need be. Why should any teacher worry along over ten or twelve pages of faulty composition work? No one is benefited by this useless expenditures of lab r. If a pupil writes one page bad y why should he write the second and the third? Have you ever thought of it? After the pup.l has made considerable progress in writing, it will not require any more time to examine ten pages than it did at first to examine one. Following this hint the teacher's work will be kept at a minimum, while the pupil will revise his work more cheerfully than he would under other circumstances. In short, the plan proposed simply applies the doctrine of common sense to composition work.

Friday afternoon Miss Brown asked Robert what he remembered about Hiawatha's canoe.

Robert remembered a great deal. He said: "It was a fine canoe, and Hiawatha asked the trees of the forest for wood and things, and they gave him everything he asked for. The canoe was birch and the framework was cedar."

"Who remembers more?" asked Miss Brown, smiling at the eager faces. James said: "Yes; and the roots of the larch bour d the ends together." John said: "And the cracks were all filled up with resin from a fir tree." "And it was all trimmed with red and blue and yellow quills from the hedge hog." said Helen.

Miss Brown was pleased at their enthusiasm, and asked if the hedge-hogs were red and blue and yellow.

"Oh, no," said Helen, "Hiawatha dipped them in the juice of roots and berries to color them."

A few more questions followed about the clearing of the river,

After numerous questions like the above, Miss Brown asked Marion to read what she had written.

Then Miss Brown asked: "Is this a composition or a reproduction ?"

“A reproduction," was answered. "Why?"

"Because it is Longfellow's thoughts, and only our words," said Marion.

Miss Brown stepped to the blackboard and said: "Let us build some canoes and have a name for every one. You may tell me all the words that will describe 'canoe.' and I will draw as many as you can describe."

Eagerly came the answers:

wheeper

dead.

"What a long line of Indian canoes we have!"

said Miss Brown. "You all have one and I will add:"

"Tell me now what a canoe can do."

Quickly came the answers: "A canoe can float!" "Go!" "glide" "plunge!" "dive!" drift!"

How were the quills made to ornament the canoe? "Hiawatha made them into stars," was answered.

Let us make a star of quills and see how many quills we can draw on the board for our star. Now for every word you tell me that describes "star" I will draw a quill. (See Fig. A.)

Upon a board were written several questions:

Describe the birch tree.

Who first used canoes?

What does "white-skin wrapper" mean?

What is the sap of a tree!

Where was Hiawatha's canoe made?

What is meant by "veered to right and left"?

Write a sentence containing "yellow water-lily."

Write in other words: "Thus the birch canoe was builded, in

the bosom of the forest, and the forest's life was in it."

Punctuate properly:

From a hollow tree the Hedgehog

With his sleepy eyes looked at him

Shot his shining quills like arrows Saying with a drowsy murmur Through the tangle of the Whiskers Take my quills O Hiawatha.

Barch

wail

answer.

\sigh fall

b.

C.

"Pioneers" first and poorest of series.
Others of the series: "Last of the
Mohicans," "The Deerslayer," "The
Pathfinder," and "The Prairie."

d. Character of Leather-Stocking.

(1) Purely American. Cooper's creation.

(2) Develops under Cooper's hand from a commonplace old trapper in "The Pioneers" to a philoso

pher and a poet in "Last of the Mohicans."

7. Visits Europe with his family, 1826.

a. Italy his favorite country; Paris his favorite city.

b. Did much literary work abroad.

c. Defended his countrymen against false and ridiculous charges.

8. Return to America in 1833.

a. Disappointed in the intellectual growth of his countrymen.

b. Writings censuring American manners.

9. Quarrel with neighbors over part of his

father's estate.

a. Successful in the contest.

b. Cooper's books in the village library ordered burned. (Not carried out.)

c. Endless libel suits against various newspapers that had taken sides against him in the controversy.

IV. Death in September, 1851.

Burial in churchyard at Cooperstown.

V. The Man.

Truthful, fearless, uncompromising, sensitive, impulsive, pure-minded, partisan, aristocratic, ingenuous.

VI. Literary style.

Pure, simple, strong, breathing of untrammeled outdoor existence; weakest in portrayal of character and strongest in description of scenes and narration of events.

Questions on Cooper.

How much younger was Cooper than Irving?

What new era in our national development began with his birth?

Where was he born? What fact in his father's life accounts for this?

Where is Lake Otsego? Describe the scenery about this lake.

Where is Cooperstown and why so named?

Give several reasons why this region was well adapted to

be the residence of such a novelist as Cooper.

Speak of Cooper's opportunities at the Academy. What sort of schools were the old Academies? How was Cooper further fitted for College? What college did he enter? What of his career there? What business was selected as Cooper's life work? How was it learned in those days? How is it learned today? Of what value was it to Cooper in his story writing? Illustrate your answer.

What can you say of the relations of Captain Lawrence and Cooper?

Why did Cooper give up his business?
Speak fully of his wife and her family.
What can you say of Cooper's home life?

Describe the incident which started Cooper in his career of writing?

What was his first book? What can you say of its success? What largely caused this result?

What difficulty did Cooper have to contend with that never troubled Scott?

What were some of the things which made "The Spy" a success?

Why did Cooper move to New York?

What was "The Bread and Cheese Club?"

Who were some of its prominent members?

Who was "Leather-Stocking"? What books are called by the name of this character and why?

What development did Cooper work out in this character in the course of the series?

What can you say of the pay Cooper received for his books?

When did Cooper go to Europe and how long did he stay? How did he defend us while abroad?

5. From what animal does mutton come? veal? beef? pork? venison ?

6. Of what is glass made? silk? cotton cloth ? linen cloth?

7. When should a boy take off his hat? When should he lift it? (Here a lesson on politeness can be given.)

8. What word should be used instead of pants? specs? gent? 9. What is meant by the "nick of time"?

10. When the tin wears off what is left ?

11. Mention a polite act. Some rude acts. Some kind ones. 12. From what is starch obtained?

13. What is wrought-iron ? steel? bronze? tin? (Have specimens to show.)

14. How are school slates and slate pencils made?

15. How can you send money through the post-office to a distant friend? Is the money actually sent?

16. Who are the mail carriers, and what is the color of their dress?

17. Who is your post-master?

18. Who is the Postmaster-General ?

19. Who was the first Postmaster General ?

20. How was mail carried in the time of our fore-fathers? How much postage was required?

66

21. What are star-routes"? (These are the long stage lines conveying the mails to towns remote from railroads and distant from traveled lines. They are mostly in the far West.)

22. Who designed the Columbian stamps ?

(NOTE.- Slate is usually quarried either by blasting it out in large slabs, or by splitting it off with wedges. The slabs are split up into sheets by driving wide chisels between the layers with wooden mallets. The sheets are then cut up into the sizes wanted, and then polished smooth with pumice stone.

Slate pencils are made of a kind of soft slate stone, of which the best is found in Vermont. The stone is then sawn into small blocks and split into sheets about a quarter inch thick, then planed smooth in one machine and cut into pencils in another. Even the dust and small pieces are afterward ground up into flour and also made into pencils, so that none of the slate is wasted.)

23. How is salt obtained from sea-water?
24. What is it to be useful? selfish? benevolent ?

Hints for Country Teachers on
School Room
Room Decoration.

T

By CLARA C. FARNHAM, East Saugus, Mass.

HE pictures and casts recommended for city schools may be beyond our means, bu have we fewer opportunities for training the children's love for the beautiful?

Let us start with the belief that any room may be made a pleasant place.

Cleanliness is the first thing to be considered. Who can explain why so many teachers accept a dirty room as a recessity? A true lady will make and keep the place in which she spends so many of her waking hours, both clean and sweet. "Amy" in the realistic story of "Dodd,” showed one of the finest instincts of her nature, when she washed the school-room floor.

Next let the attention be turned to the teacher's desk. Besides books it should have just such bright little knick-knacks as she would have on her writing table at home. Paper knives, penwipers, blotters, inkstands and calendars - ornamental ones— are easily provided. A glass or vase for flowers (a whole one) or a small easel for a favorite picture should find room here.

The walls should be the next point of attack.

The Art Amateur and The Interchange make special offers of studies of fruit, flowers, animals, marines, etc. -eight or more for one dollar. These are admirably adapted to our needs.

Large uncolored copies of noted pictures may be had for a small sum. "Thoroughbred," "Pharaoh's Horses," and "Can't you Talk?" will supplement the lessons on kindness to animals.

For several years we have obtained calendars for the doors, from the New England Mutual Insurance Co. The result has been an awakened interest in American history.

We would urge that a careful selection be made, if the panels given by the various manufacturing companies are used. Fleischmann & Co. published a fine one, the head of a St. Bernard dog. (No. 11.)

All these pictures, if unframed, may be tacked to the walls. (The holes thus made are easily filled with plaster-of-Paris when the pictures are removed.)

A dado can be made from a strip of dark blue cambric, twelve inches wide, and as long as the space to be covered. From Babyland, Wide-Awake and St. Nicholas cut full paged pictures. Having trimmed them to a uniform size, tack them to the cambric, leaving the same space above, below and between them. The effect is pleasing, and you have added to your material for picture stories and other language work.

After these have been in place a few weeks let the children vote, on paper, for their favorite picture. The result will be apt to furnish the teacher food for thought.

A few plants will add greatly to the home-like appearance of the room, if fires are kept throughout the week. As we are not thus favored, we settle the difficulty in this way. In the spring chrysanthemum slips are started at home. They are taken to the schoolroom in the autumn and for several weeks gladden us with a profusion of flowers. A fernery is kept all the time, and it is here that the early spring wild-flowers are planted and coaxed to blossom two or three weeks earlier than out of doors. Hyacinths and other bulbs are started at home and brought when ready to flower. Thus we have our material for plant lessons at hand.

Have a flag in the room—one out ide als if you wish, but one inside first, and let this be the only permanent bit of decoration. We made ours before the days when a school-flag became fashionable, and found it not more difficult than the patchwork quilt of our infancy.

Autumn leaves and ferns should be used sparingly Gather

them, press them and forget them, until the day of the first snowstorm. Then tuck in a few around the edge of your pictures and watch the effect. You will find out who are the observing children.

A large spray of autumn leaves (pressed under newspapers) is effective on a white wall-for a time. The same is true of pussy willows, clematis, cat-tails and bittersweet.

A word now about maps and drawings. We know a room where, with occasional restorations, the same drawing has been on the board for ten years. The best work should never be allowed to remain longer than a week. When it is erased have that done thoroughly. A partially cleaned board will spoil the looks of an otherwise pretty room.

Cards and specimens of paper-work, have their place in boxes or scrap books. Do not litter the walls with them.

A pasteboard palette covered with tin foil, or bright paper, with straight ferns arranged around it, with the ends of the stems glued to the back makes a pretty change.

A Japanese panel may be turned and something more artistic painted on the other side. Ours has an orange branch. Some fans are beautiful for decoration.

The boys will be glad to make corner brackets.

Have the colors of your room harmonize. If you have not the artistic faculty there is always some one in every village who has, and who may be called upon to assist.

Watch nature. Then you will put a few spears of grass in your vase on the bracket, and the abomination known as a grass bouquet will not be seen. It is also to be hoped that you have never even heard of a wallpaper fan.

See advertisements and pass by on the other side. How can a teacher give a lesson on the evil effects of using tobacco, for fifteen minutes a week, leaving in sight all the time a large panel of an old man, who with evident delight, is discoursing on the merits of his favorite weed to an admiring group of boys?

Our feeling against soap advertisements is less strong, but no doubt personal talk would have a better effect.

Do not fall into the habit of supposing that any worn-out, broken article is good enough for school.

The appearance of a room has a direct moral force, and aids of hinders discipline.

For example: Only one of a class finished correctly the problems given for the lesson. The teacher looked the astonishment she felt, for this child was noted for her want of perseverence. Mary arose, her face shining; "I was going to give up when I looked on the wall and it said: 'You Can if You Will,' and I said, 'I will then!' and I did."

Another teacher began decorating her room with a few pictures. She overheard this conversation between three of her pupils. "What are you going to bring?" "Nothing, the teacher will do that." "Well, if teacher wants the room to look pretty, I do, and I shall bring something." "So shall I," said the third. Others absorbed the same spirit, and this room was made "pretty" without a word being said on the subject by the teacher.

The personal appearance of the teacher has its influence also; becoming dresses, outlined aprons, ribbons and dainty handkerchiefs have ther moral uses.

Would you make your room attractive-think on these things.

We learned in the last lesson that gravity draws every molecule of matter toward the centre of the earth.

Experiment 32.- Balance a book on the unsharpened end of a lead pencil.

Obs.-There is one point on which the book can be balanced. Inf.-The molecules of matter are so distributed about the pencil that gravity pulls down equally on all sides. Definition 22.- The point about which the gravity of the various parts of a body is equal, is called the Centre of Gravity of that body. Experiment 33.- Cut the different parallelograms from pasteboard -large; draw their diagonals and balance them separately as in experiment 32.

Obs. Their centres of gravity are at the intersections of their diagonals.

Experiment 34.-Cut a triangle from pasteboard, draw lines from the summit of each angle to the middle of the opposite side, and balance as before.

Obs.-The triangle has its centre of gravity at the intersection of the lines drawn from the summit of each angle to the middle of the opposite side.

[Explain to the pupils that the last two observations are true only when parallelograms and triangles are of uniform thickness and density.]

Experiment 35.- Reduce the surface of the parallelograms and the triangles so as to leave their contours one-half inch wide, then draw and fasten threads in place of the lines previously drawn and balance on a pencil at the intersection of the threads (Fig. 5).

Obs. The position of the centre of gravity is not changed by reducing the surface to the contour.

Observe that the centre of gravity of a body is not always within that body.

Experiment 36.- Find the centre of gravity of a parallelogram cut out of pasteboard, and with a small tack fasten the middle of a plumb-line at any point in its contour, and hold it up as in Fig. 6. Obs.-The centre of gravity is in a vertical line from the point of support.

Experiment 37.- Fasten the middle of a plumb-line at any point in the edge of an irregular piece of pasteboard and suspend it, then mark on the board a line coinciding with the plumb-line.

Where must the centre of gravity be? Fasten the line at another point and suspend as before (Fig. 7).

Where is the centre of gravity? Prove it by balancing the board on the end of the pencil.

Definition 23.- A vertical line passing through the centre of gravity of a body, is called the Line of Direction.