c. To test the imaging power of the children, ask them without previous notice to tell what they saw on the way to school or at the county seat on the last visit, what they ate the day before at supper, etc.

d. Large pictures that deal with subjects closely related to child life may be used for this purpose. The child should be expected merely to tell what he sees, and not to describe the objects except in a very general way. Only scenes of life and action should be used, such as the animal pictures of Bonheur and Landseer, and those of Millet which give scenes of action, as "Feeding her Birds."

3. Story-Telling. The story is one of the most effective instruments in the hands of the teacher in the lower grades. The telling of reproduced and original stories increases the ability to do two things, for, in addition to the increased power of expression gained in this way, the child's imaging power is greatly strengthened. After a preliminary discussion of characters and principal ideas involved, a story is told, sometimes read, to the children, after which they are led to discuss it and ask questions about it. Reproduction should never be expected until the children can ask intelligent questions about the story and have a single complete impression of it as a whole.

After new stories are learned and repeated, frequent opportunities should be given the children to tell those they liked best. Correct language and complete statements should be a goal throughout, and

yet the most important thing to be developed is vivid imagination, which leads the children to enter heart and soul into the story, and to tell it so as to make others enter into it in the same way. Only short stories are suited to the work in this grade. By the end of the year each pupil should be able to tell in a pleasing manner several stories from beginning to end. The children should be

encouraged to tell these stories to their fathers and mothers at home.

As has been indicated above, the story work affords an excellent opportunity for training the constructive imagination. To this end children should be encour

aged to tell stories constructed entirely by themselves. They may be asked to imagine they are, for example, a lion in the woods or a flower in the yard or schoolroom, and to tell little simple stories in keeping with the objects impersonated. Another simple device is to have the children hide their faces in their hands on the desks and dream for a few moments. The dreams are then told in the form of stories. In this work care should be exercised

to keep the children from indulging in flights of imagination that are wild and hurtful.

The stories that appeal especially to children in the early grades are Grimms' fairy tales, Hans Andersen's stories, Mother Goose rimes, and the mythological stories and folk tales of many lands. Stories of Indian and primitive life are pleasing to children, while those that teach lessons of good manners and morals, and of hygiene and personal habits of cleanliness etc., should also be given a place.

The following stories, from the above sources, are especially suitable for use in this grade:

Jack and the Bean Stalk.
Little Red Riding-hood.
The House that Jack Built.

Jack the Giant Killer
Tom Thumb.

The Shepherd Boy.
Cinderella.

The Hair and the Tortoise.
The Fox and the Grapes.

The Crow and the Pitcher.

The Lion and the Mouse.

The Little Red Hen.

The Three Bears.
Aladdin, or the Wonderful

Lamp.

The Fox and the Cat.

The Wolf and the Lamb.

The Dog in the Manger.

The Lion and the Mouse," one of Æsop's fables, is given below with a suggestive series of questions that may be used in introducing a discussion of the story after it has been told to the children.

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

A lion lay at full length one day, sleeping under a shady tree. Some mice, in scrambling after crumbs that he had dropped, awoke him. Laying his paw upon one of them, he was about to kill it, when the little animal cried, "Oh, please,

sir, don't kill me! If you will only spare my life, I will do as much for you sometime."

The lion smiled and let him go. Not long after that some hunters spread a net in the woods in such a way that the lion ran into it and could not get out. The more he struggled, the closer were the strong cords drawn about him.

The mouse heard him roar and ran to his aid. "Lie still awhile and I will get you loose," said he. Then with his sharp teeth he soon gnawed the ropes in pieces.

"You smiled at me once," said he, "because you thought I was too small to save your life. But haven't I kept my promise?"

QUESTIONS

Why did the lion lie down for a nap? Was it in the morning or in the evening? How do you suppose the little mouse felt when the lion caught him? What did the other mice do? Do you suppose the lion thought the mouse would ever be able to save his life? Tell what the little mouse probably said to the lion and later to the other mice when the lion let him go. Do you think he was very happy? Why could n't the lion free himself from the net? Who spread the net? What would the hunters have done with the lion if the mouse had not freed him? Was the little mouse glad to help the lion? Why? How did he set the lion free? Did you ever notice how sharp the teeth of a little mouse are? Did you ever see a garment at home that mice have eaten holes through? What do you suppose the lion said to the mouse?

IMITATIVE EXPRESSION

1. Memorizing Work. Poetry is the form in which the literature of every people has first appeared. It is therefore one of man's natural means of expressing the music in his soul, and for this reason it appeals to child nature more than prose. The kindergartners have taught us, through their emphasis on

rhythm, that the memorizing of poetry is but developing a natural feeling for rhythm that will later grow into a love for music and poetry. The study and memorizing of poetry, moreover, affords an excellent introduction to the study and appreciation of literature, and stores the child's mind with beautiful phraseology that will be quite sure to have a good influence upon his language in after life.

Pictures, or crude drawings made by advanced pupils, may be used in memorizing or story-telling

Only short poems, such as "Jack Horner," "Little Boy Blue," "Old King Cole," or Stevenson's "The Rain" and "At the Sea-side," should be used at first. Before the poem is read or recited, it is sometimes well to tell a short improvised story bearing on the thought of the selection. This will arouse interest, secure attention, and put the imagination to work. The poem should be repeated or read several times, with short discussions after or during each reading,