GRADE SIX I. ORAL LANGUAGE WORK ORIGINAL EXPRESSION 1. Recitation by Topics. In this grade the recitation by topics tends to make children speak more clearly, coherently, and logically. It may be used here in geography, physiology, history, nature study, and reading lessons, and in oral reports. When the topic is assigned before the recitation, an outline made by the pupil may occasionally be used. It is better in this grade to assign the topics after the class has assembled for the recitation. 2. Oral Reports. The oral reports in this grade may be divided as follows: a. Observation Reports. This work has been sufficiently discussed in former grades. It is very important in all the grades, not only as a language exercise but as a means of developing habits of observation. Mental pictures formed by children of this grade should show a greater degree of clearness, and the language of the report a corresponding growth in maturity. b. Book Reviews. Children should be taught to read books in such a way as to be able to make an intelligent review of their contents. A small amount of such work may be attempted this year, at least two books suitable for work in this grade being read at home and reviewed before the class by each pupil during the year. In the same way, magazine and newspaper articles of value may be read and reviewed before the class. The child may be allowed to use an outline of the contents of the book or article. The following books are suggested for this work in this grade: ALDRICH, T. B.: The Story of a Bad Boy. c. Current Events. Children should be led to take an interest in matters of general interest that happen from time to time either in the immediate locality or anywhere in the outside world. In the language period, time should frequently be devoted to reports on such events. The opening exercises of the day may occasionally be devoted to this work, and sometimes all the children in the school should be urged to take part. A connected report on some matter of special interest may be secured by assigning topics to several pupils beforehand. This work may be made more interesting by leading the class to ask questions about the topic under discussion. Current events often offer good subjects for arguments or debates. They should find a place on the program at least once a week. 3. Narration. In addition to the narration work outlined in the preceding grade, many of the facts of history may be taught here by continuing the stories of great men, of discoveries and inventions, of life at various times, etc. The legend and myth should continue to have a place in the story work. Stories of King Arthur and his knights, and of Greek and Roman legendary heroes, are good to use here. Bible stories are still interesting in this grade. These stories should usually be read by the children, but the teacher may occasionally read or tell the class a story and ask for a repetition. The three types of stories mentioned in the preceding grade may all be continued here. The reconstructed and original stories, however, are more important than the repeated story, because they demand more thought. Special emphasis ought to be placed on the original story, which should occasionally be put in written form. After considerable time has been devoted to this work, the class may compose a story as a coöperative work and allow the lower grades to use it. The story work will naturally lead to original narration of actual experiences. Children in this grade should be able to tell pleasingly, and with proper timesequence, experiences that they have had or about which they have heard. Experiences in industrial work, such as making benches for the playground or ventilating boards for schoolroom windows, repairing window shades, and laying off a baseball diamond, may be related. Correlation with geography may be effected by having the children tell stories of imaginary trips, describing the people and their dress and the crops, vegetation, rivers, and other matters of interest in the countries visited. An imaginary trip in an aeroplane, or on a train, or by ship, from New York to San Francisco, London to Rome, or Peking to Calcutta, would bring out many interesting facts. 4. Description. The different types of description outlined in the preceding grade should form the basis of the work here. At this stage much attention should be given to the unity and coherence of the statements and to the order in which the details are given. The children should be taught that all details are not of equal rank, and that the order of procedure should be from wholes to parts, the parts being given in the order of their prominence and importance. Selections of model descriptions taken from standard sources should be read to the class from time to time, or members of the class may be allowed to give from memory a bit of description from some such source, following the original as closely as possible. Children should also study good descriptions for themselves, selecting them occasionally from sources other than their textbooks. This work may be correlated with geography by having the children describe local landscapes or remote scenes referred to in reading lessons, or with history by taking as subjects battlefields and historic buildings and places. Ruskin's descriptions of Europe, and those of Hawthorne in "Our Old Home," are good models of description. The picture game suggested for use in the preceding grade may be played with interest here. This game may be varied by having a familiar object described by one child, after which the rest of the class are to guess what the object is. The observation reports will be largely description work. 5. Exposition. The work outlined for the preceding grade should be continued and enlarged here. Increased attention should be paid to the unity and coherence of the subject matter of the composition. Subjects used in this grade should usually be concrete, such as the value of railroads to a country; |