THE STANDARD SECOND READER CONTAINING INTRODUCTORY EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION; AN EXPLANATORY BY EPES SARGENT, AUTHOR OF THE STANDARD SPEAKER, THE STANDARD FIFTH, FOURTH, AND With Illustrations by Billings and others. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and fiftyfive, by EPES SARGENT, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the District of Massachusetts. A large majority of the pieces in this collection, being original, are protected by the copyright. PREFACE. 894 S245 S V2BRAR EDUC spell the words he uses, With a view to facilitatElementary Readers in UNDER the modern improved plan of instruction in reading, regard is had to the learner's ability to and to understand the lesson he reads. ing the spelling process, many of the present use have, over every exercise in reading, a number of words selected from it, and arranged in columns, as in a Speller. The learner's inference is, that those words, and those only, are to be studied; whereas no good reason can be given why all the words in the exercise should not be learned. Many of our most judicious teachers, perceiving the inconsistency of the system, have objected to it as superfluous and confusing. It has also been abandoned in the more recent elementary Readers from the London and Edinburgh press. A much better practice is it for the pupil to prepare himself to spell all the words in his exercise; or in a portion of it, if the whole be too hard a task. To assist him in this, a number of the more difficult words in the early exercises of the present volume have been divided into their component syllables. The principles of syllabication may be found laid down on page 25. Unquestionably the best means of attaining accuracy in spelling is by writing from dictation. "The ordinary, and perhaps the only and shortest way of learning spelling," says Mr. Smart, "is by the eye, in the same manner that we learn pronunciation by the People who write much are generally correct spellers. In the early stages of instruction, the ordinary mode of spelling may be more conveniently practised; but the writing mode may be applied with advantage even in the instruction of the very young.* ear. A plan adopted in the Edinburgh elementary schools is this: The teacher writes on the black-board the successive letters forming a word, the pupil telling the teacher what letters to put down. When the word is finished, the teacher asks the class, "Is this word correct?" All are eager to give opinions, but no one is allowed to speak except one selected. Should he fail, a second is applied to; and so on, till the word is made right. Many advantages attend this plan. "It impresses the intimate connection See this subject illustrated in Sargent's Standard Speller. M570722 between form and sound; gives a correct, extensive and permanent knowledge of spelling, and has a powerful effect on the general intellect, inducing a habit of prompt and accurate perception. If well managed, it may afford valuable instruction, in a most amusing form, to fifty or a hundred boys at once; indeed, to as many as can see the writing on the board. This is a practice extensively pursued in Germany, Holland and Switzerland, and adopted with great success in the High School of Glasgow, and other large seminaries." With regard to the interrogative system applied to the meaning of words in reading-lessons, the extent to which it may be profitably carried will depend on the capacity of pupils, and the nature of their other studies. The fallacy of appending a string of questions to every reading-lesson has been commented on by the authors of a recent work on education in the following terms: "To all such set-down questions we most decidedly object. When questions are printed, the pupils learn the answers, and nothing more ; whereas every word in the lesson may form the basis of a dozen questions at least, exclusive of the collateral explanations which may be suggested. "In explaining to a child the meaning of his reading-lesson, the method pursued in the best European seminaries is both elliptical and explanatory. A lesson is first read, each member of the class reading a single paragraph, or more, according to the teacher's direction. The books are then laid aside, and the teacher commences the task of probing the pupil's memory, by reading sentence after sentence from the exercise, omitting one or more words, or, it may be, half-words, which are to be supplied by the children. The latter are also called upon, singly or collectively, to explain meanings, and give any collateral information on the subject that they may possess. In this species of colloquy, care must be taken not to overwork the young mind. Only very simple ideas are to be roused, and such matters alluded to as may be supposed to interest and encourage the dawning faculties. "Come, let us walk out into the fields. The sun shines in the sky.' As an example of the interrogative system, we present the following, applied to the foregoing sentences. The language in Roman letters is supposed to be by the teacher; that in Italics, by the pupil : "Now, children, put by your books, and I will see if you remember what you have been reading, Come, let us walk... out. What do you mean by out? It is out of the house (or, perhaps, cries another), out at the door. Just so; we go out. Now, what are we going to walk into? The fields. Very good; the fields. Can any of you spell fields? Yes, I can spell it -f-i-e-l-d-s. Right; now, see if you can spell it, James. [James, perhaps, fails in the attempt; but another does it, and so the teacher pro ceeds.] Well, we have walked out into the fields. Do any of you know what the fields are like? Large. Yes, they are large; but what is their color? Green. Can you tell me what green is like? The leaves on that tree are green. The blinds on that house are green. Very well answered. Now, do you know what grows in the fields? Grass. What is the use of grass? Cows eat it. And so do many other animals. Do cows give us anything? They give us milk. Is grass always green, think you? Yes. Did you ever see grass any other color? No. But suppose, during a hot summer, the sun should shine very bright for a long time, and there should be no rain, what color do you think the grass would be? Brown. Then grass is not always green? No. It sometimes is... brown. Now, tell me what it is that shines in the. sky. The sun. Does the sun always shine? No, it does not shine at night. Now I must tell you what becomes of the sun at night. [Here the teacher gives a slight explanation of the sun shining continually at one place or other, so as to correct the childish supposition that it goes to bed, or sinks into the sea, at night.] "By this method of omitting words, of cross-questioning, and easy conversational explanation of difficulties, it is impossible that a child can learn his lessons merely by rote. His young faculties are excited to listen, to comprehend, and to answer. He cons over and reads his lesson, not with the bald design of repeating it, or drawling monotonously over the words, but of acquiring information, and exhibiting his little store of knowledge among his schoolfellows. One very material advantage in this improved method of instruction is the cultivation of the art of speaking. The teacher should speak in the best English, and take care that the answers are equally correct in style, grammar, and clear articulation." It is not recommended that the attempt should be made to level every sentence and word in a reading-lesson to the immediate and entire comprehension of the child. This would be impracticable. "What blockheads," says Robert Southey," are those wise persons who think it necessary that a child should comprehend everything it reads!" There is truth in the remark, though exaggeration in the form of it; but it is also true that the more a child comprehends what he reads, the better he will read it. Increasing attention has been paid, of late years, to the subject of articulation, in our elementary schools. It is undoubtedly important that right habits in this respect should be imparted at the earliest possible age. Vicious modes of articulation and pronunciation, acquired even before the child has learned to read, are difficult to reform. As the simplest and most effectual process for regulating the reader's articulation, I have placed the drilling exercises by themselves, in the introductory portion of the present volume. This arrangement has, I think, many advantages over |
