Explain lines 300-315. Write out the meaning of lines 100-106. What passage is repeated? What similes in the poem ? In what season of the year was the ship built? Merchant, master, ship, strong, perfect, model, hammers, work, finisted, launched. What trees are valuable for ship-building? Where are they found? Write in other words: 66 A flag unfolds its stripes and stars And when a wanderer, lonely, friendless, In foreign harbors shall behold That flag unrolled T'will be as a friendly hand Stretched out from his native land Filling his heart with memories sweet and endless." Punctuate properly: "Long ago In the deer haunted forests of Maine Where upon mountain and plain Lay the snow They fell those lordly pines" Write a sentence containing "model," "keel," "bows and moorings." What alliterations of s's and w's in the poem ?" The questions had been placed on the board from day to day, and to-day Miss Channing was distributing slips of paper. Each one drew a paper. Helen, with a copy of Longfellow diligently searched for the answer to her question which read: “Make out a list of adjectives from the poem describing ship." Very soon He'en had placed upon the board the following list : All the written work was carefully examined by the teacher, spelling and punctuation were criticized and words carefully pronounced. Miss Channing then opened the closet door, took from the shelf a huge box and lifted from it a perfect model of a ship all rigged. All eyes danced. The boys were delighted. The various parts were discussed, definitions given, learned and written. Nautical terms were spoken of and in five minutes the class had learned more than in five days of reading. Deck, shrouds, anchor, stern, masts, hulk, rudder, bow, stays were all learned and much more. Those who had seen ships on the ocean told where and when they saw them, their size, color and appearance. Finally Miss Channing wrote sentences on the board and each pupil wrote a complete answer, which, when joined constituted a well-written composition. When we came to the "Missouri Compromise" in history, I told the children to study it carefully. In recitation the next day, they gave it nicely. I then said, "I am going to test you to see if you understand it. Now, those who sit west of the aisle where John sits and north of the row where Jennie sits, please rise." After a moment, one in the class arose. Then after discussion, I tried again, using south and east instead of west and north. I thought they had really gotten possession of the idea. I then said, The name Tomorrow, I wish you would each bring me a map. of your map is to be 'A Map of the Territory made Free by the Missouri Compromise.' What was my surprise to find that very few of the maps were correct. Nearly all had included Missouri, although the book said, "all other territories west of the Mississippi and north of the southern boundary of Missouri." A few had placed in the map, territory not then owned by the United States, while others had drawn all the land west of the river. 66 I wonder how many teachers would have my experience if they should ask for the same map in the same way, i.e., without taking a map and pointing out what should be drawn, but letting the children get the idea of the map from the language of the history. 'wrestle weathered sails Spelling. Like many other teachers, I had been in the habit of requiring the children to define the words of their spelling lessons, and then use them in sentences. I found the result very unsatisfactory. For example, one earnest little student found that " "unique means "matchless," and wrote, "The carpet is matchless " When asked why, he replied that it couldn't be matched. Another searched the dictionary with this result: "intercede, to pass between." Her sentence was, "Prof. G interceded the desk and the chair." In short, the larger part of th words, if at all uncommon, were used either incorrectly or very poorly. I finally selected the unfamiliar words from their other lessons, had them spell and define them, and learn the sentence in which each was used in the lesson. I told the children that I made this my practice when, in studying or reading, I found words I did not unders'and, and found it very helpful. They took hold of the work quite cheerfully, and seem to be gaining a better command of language than they were in the other way. work had an opportunity of examining work that was good, and the contact with it seemed to create for them a new ideal. All pupils took a pride in marking papers so that they should be returned with as few red ink marks as possible, and all, from noting the mistakes of others, became more careful concerning their own. They were always eager to find out the reason of the obnoxious red ink mark, and listened more attentively than usual as I explained the distinction between two words, or the reason for a change in the arrangement of subject matter, or some error which their untrained minds would hardly have been expected to recognize. The above plan was tried with children thirteen years old, but I should think a class of younger children might correct some of the simpler errors with benefit to themselves and some little relief to their teacher. T Correcting Compositions. By MINNA C. DENTON, Ft. Smith, Ark. HOSE monthly compositions! How I sighed as my pen ploughed its gory-path through them! Not that I do not enjoy reading a set of papers from school children, always, their childish blunders and original ways are sure to be entertaining. But to take my red ink and insert commas and make capitals over small letters, to strike out superfluous and's, to chop the long sentences into respectable lengths, and to connect detached fragments into something like order to go through this forty-three different times, for forty-three different compositions, and, worst of all, to know that the very next time I should have to do exactly the same thing—this became not only a weariness to the flesh, but also a burden to the conscience. To be sure, I faithfully presented to the class the most common errors, with instructions for avoiding them; but children have somehow a marvellous faculty for misapplying generalities. Once or twice I wrote little notes on the backs of the compositions, telling each pupil of the chief faults, and, of course, some of the virtues, of his paper; but though that kind of work always "pays," the time necessary for its faithful performance was often positively not to be found. At length, however, I devised a plan which relieved me of a great number of the more common mistakes, and made essayreading once more a pleasure, with only an occasional dash of red ink. The plan was this: After the compositions were written, I had the pupils exchange papers, I taking care to assign the most unpromising papers to the most careful pupils, and those least likely to need correction to the pupils least capable of intelligent correction. I then had the pupils read twice over the papers handed them, marking the mistakes in black ink. The system of marking was necessarily a simple one. A straight, horizontal line (I made a special point of insisting that it should be straight) was drawn through mispelled words, the correct form being written above. If a small letter was to be capitalized, Cap, was written over it; P stood for "make a new paragraph;" and so on. Pupils were told to read the papers over the first time to correct the spelling, punctuation and capitalizing; the second time, they were to see that the composition should be divided into suitable paragraphs, that long sentences put together with a string of and's should be broken up into shorter ones, that no word should be repeated a great number of times in any one sentence or paragraph, that those sentences relating to the same part of the subject should be placed together. The name of the pupil by whom it was corrected was then written at the close of the composition, and the papers handed in to me. Using red ink, I then corrected the remaining mistakes, and perhaps the corrections, if faulty. Then the papers were given to pupils for re-writing, the number of red ink marks being the inverse measure of the proficiency of the critic. The advantages of this system, after the pupils became accustomed to it were numerous. Those pupils who did not do good Creating an Interest in Reading. A: By MINNIE E. HADLEY. S reading and literature are natural concomitants, I find a short supplementary course in the latter absolutely indispensable to good work in the former. With this end in view I keep upon my desk at all times one or more books of choice quotations from the best authors and require each pupil in turn to place a selection upon the board, which the entire class copy into ta lets, commit and recite at the next recitation. Quotations are recited before the reading begins, pupils being closely graded upon articulation, inflection, modulation, etc Questions concerning the author are then put to the class and other familiar quotations from his works reviewed. If the regular lesson chances to be a selection from some very noted writer, it is best, of course, to choose the quotation from the same author; otherwise the pupil should be allowed to make his own selection, thereby showing the literary bent of his individual taste. As a preparation for the regular reading, I place upon the board a list of words to be defined, together with such geographical and historical terms as may occur in the lesson, and require pupils to look them up carefully in dictionaries, encyclopædias, etc., before coming to class. In conducting recitations I resort to various methods and d vices -anything to awaken the dormant faculties and c eate an interest. An excellent drill and one of which they never tire is to "read to a mistake" and allow the correcting member to take up the unfinished line or sentence and continue in like manner. Another device equally as successful for securing attention, though hardly so interesting as the above is to "read backwards and name the pauses,” giving inflection the same as when reading forwards. Pupils should be encouraged to watch closely for mistakes and report criticisms upon inflection, emphasis, undulation, articulation, altitnde, etc. In order to acquaint pupils more thoroughly with the exact use and meaning of words it is well to sometimes have them substitute in the reading definitions and synonyms for unfamiliar words in the text. Dictation exercises should be given at least twice a week, the pupils writing upon the board as the teacher dictates from the text. Papils then exchange places and grade each other's work from the open book, deducting 1 for every mistake in punctuation, capitalization, misspelling, etc. In order that the list of new words and definitions may be thoroughly memorized their spelling should be reviewed at the close of each recitation according to the following models: Petition, p-e- pe, t-i- ti, peti, t-i-o-n, tion, petition, trisyllable, accented on the second syllable, breve over i as in "it." Rout: r-o-u-t, rout; monosyllable, on a diphthong. Brevier: b-r-e, bre, v-i-e-r, vier, brevier; dissyllable, accented on the second syllable, is a digraph, the e only being pronounced. Beau: b-e-a-u, beau; a monosyllable, eau a tigraph and substitute for long o. Those in the next row, may represent on the blackboard, the circle as it appeared the second time we measured." Hold it still more obliquely and lead pupils to see that the horizontal measurement remains unchanged, while the vertical appears shorter than before. So, continue to change the position of the circle, inclining it more each time until its position is nearly horizontal, and after each change in position, have pupils represent the effect produced on its appearance. Have the drawings on the blackboard numbered, and let the children decide which drawing in each set, is most truthful. Remind the class that the circle has been held obliquely, and explain the term foreshortened. At another time, keep the circle perfectly horizontal, and have it studied and drawn at different levels; on a level with the eye, below, then above the eye level. Leading the pupils to observe that when the object is above or below the eye we look at it obliquely and whatever we see obliquely appears foreshortened. We are now ready to study the appearance of the hemisphere, cone and cylinder, and simple objects, involving foreshortened circles. If you have a sufficient number of models to supply each pupil, the following plan, now quite generally used, will prove convenient in arranging them for study. Let each pupil place his model on a book in this manner: Below is shown the arrangement of desks and seats in a schoolroom. A places his model on B's desk, so that the back of the book shall exactly face him. the apparent width, and compare with the measurement from 1 to 2, which is the apparent height. Mark on your paper the height and width of the picture. Measure again the apparent distance from 1 to 2, and, keeping your arm steady, mark with the forefinger of the other hand, the place where the edge appears to cross the pencil at 5. This shows us what portion of the apparent height is occupied by the upper face, and what by the lower. Locate this on paper and then sketch first the upper face; afterward the lower, and add the line for the farther edge of the book cover. Correet and finish." The study of the cone is made exceedingly simple, by so placing the model on the book, that the farthest point on the base shall coincide with the farther edge of the cover. (See previous illustration.) Having compared the apparent height a b, and width cd, and Indicated these on paper, locate next the line representing the back edge of the book cover. This touches the cone at the point e, and thus we are able to determine the size of the base. After sketching the base, note carefully the tangential union of the straight and curved lines in the model. In finishing, erase all lines representing invisible parts. In the drawing of the cylinder, after deciding height and width, locate the upper face as in the hemisphere, and the lower face as in the cone, then compare the width of the lower ellipse with that of the upper, reviewing the lesson on circles at different levels. In epresenting the appearance of common objects or groups, follow the order already given. 1. Whole width and height. 2. Principal parts. 3. Details. Let the character of the object determine the quality of the line, and finish nearer objects slightly stronger than those farther away. This is just the time to encourage the use of the sketchbooks. "Who will have the best sketches of objects like the cylinder? My book contains several new sketches. You shall see them to-morrow." WRITING. Lessons in Penmanship.-XVIII. D Practical Devices. By CLARENCE E. SPAYD, Harrisburg, Pa. Author of "Complete Manual of Commercial Penmanship.” EVICES when presented in a compact form by a teacher bring freshness and life into the school-room. Monctony will creep into the teacher's work unless he exercises great vigilance at all times. In order to win the confidence and good will of his pupils the teacher must be constantly inventing something new, presenting something different at each lesson, and every teacher should know and understand that no worker needs more invention than the teacher, and yet no other worker has an envir.nment that is so hostile to its development. Day after day the teacher is studying and endeavoring to reach the pupils who are below him in the work. This accounts for the difficulty experienced, to a great degree, by many teachers in inventing new features, etc. in their class rooms. The great body of progressive teachers seek and take advantage of the best experience of others, adopting for their own use that which they find suited to their wants. In this lesson a few devices are given, which make the work in the school-room attractive to the pupils and visitors who may happen to be present, and at the same time effective. It is always important to consider the device's relative position as a factor in education. Not infrequently teachers in their hurry and intense desire to secure the attention of their pupils and make their work attractive, forget the proper balance that should be maintained between that which is novel and the fundamental principles which underlie all teaching. Successful teaching does not consist in overwhelming the pupil constantly with something new, or presenting the subject in a striking manner, but by accompanying these with brilliancy, variety and painstaking drill. Devices are introduced into a lesson more for spice than anything else and thus act as a condiment. Every teacher should prepare his lesson carefully before attempting to teach it, and wherever a device can be introduced let it be properly prepared and presented in an attractive manner so that all the ideas have made the proper impressions on the minds of the pupils. The Writing Match * Writing matches have been used for many years and with much success by thousands of teachers. These writing contests are of practical value and should be adopted by every teacher of writing. It breaks up monotony and arouses the pupils to more activity and enthusiasm. Friday is a splendid day on which to hold these contests. Its competitive principle is a stimulus for practice; and it carries with it all the excitement of contest and satisfaction of triumph, as with all contests where skill is required. "Leaders" or "captains" are selected by the teacher or school and they in turn choose the sides. Teachers must always start the contest when first introducing the writing match, by using the small letters, taking them in the order of their simplicity and not as they appear in the alphabet. The teacher calls one "captain" to the blackboard, where all the contest writing is done, and requests him to write the letter "i," which he proceeds to do. If correctly written, the letter "u" is written by the other "captain." No guide lines must be used. Never permit a pupil to pass his opinion upon work which the teacher has declared correct or incorrect. There are several popular methods of conducting these contests among which are the following: Writing Down - when a letter is incorrectly written, the writer leaves the class, thus finally disp: sing of the entire class. Saving an Out - in which when one side writes a letter incorrectly and the opposite side writes it correctly after it has passed back and forth, those who missed it and were saved by a fellow member writing it correctly remain in the class, but all those in the opposite class withdraw. Passing Over-is that when a letter is missed on one side and correctly written by the other, those who missed it pass to the side on which it was properly written. Champions - they step out and write alternate y until one or the other misses, when the class puts u its next best writer. Mixed Seating-is when the members of opposing classes are seated consecutively and the letters given in that order, those missing leaving the class. Keeping Tally-in which the number of misses are marked against each class. Rapid Writing. A valuable device is to frequently have the class work rapidly on the same letter while each member is given the same length of time in which to write as many letters correctly as possible. Give the small letter "i". Place it on the blackboard and then give the class one minute and see how many correct, disconnected letters each member can write. Have them exchange papers and ma k the correct letters. The teacher can collect the papers at the end of the period having had the writer place his name on the slip as well as the name of the person who did the marking. The class can pay attention while each or several members, in turn, passes to the board and write as many letters correctly within the specified time All letters in this contest must be disconnected. Movement exercises can be taken instead of letters. Inventing Movements. Among the most valuable features which a teacher can introduce into his class is that of invention of new and easy movement exercises. Give the class five minute's time in which to prepare an easy movement exercise to gain control of lateral motion, and you will be surprised to see the exercises each one will have on this essential movement. Of course these movement exercises must have merit and not be mere scrawls. Encourage the members of your class by adopting as many of these movements which the different members invented, as is convenient and possible. Send several members of the class to the blackboard and ask them to place their movements before the class in crayon instead of ink. Have each member of the class then criticize the work or offer sugg'stions. Pointing out Similarities. When a pupil is able to pick out similar feature in different letters, it is a satisfaction to teach, for then, and then only the student is able to comprehend what the teacher is endeavoring to teach him. Write the small letter "i" on the blackboard and ask those who know whether it is the part of any other letter, what that letter is and then have some one who was ready to answer pass to the blackboard and add to the letter "i" what is necessary to make the letter of which "i" is a part. He will likely make "u," then ask the same question about "u" and no doubt some one will make the "w," or perhaps place a loop on top of the "u" and tell you that two "l's" can be made. A small "t", "p", "b", "h", "k", "f", or "j" can be made from the first two lines of the small letter "i". (To be continued.) |