imagination in recording, for example, the habits of a bird the location and character of its nest or the way the mother bird cares for the young.

In the choice of subjects the teacher should be guided by the various interests and industrial activities of the community. The out-of-door world is always an inexhaustible source of material for observation work. For example, the activities of the civic league (which is concerned with the cleanliness and sanitation of the community) and of the Audubon Society (which has for its object the study and protection of bird life) are interesting and of great value to the child as a citizen. Such activities are wide in scope and will vary greatly with different communities. It is not necessary that societies should be organized among the children, but it is well for them to make reports on their observation, investigation, and study along these lines.

3. Recitation by Topics. Toward the close of the year a small beginning in having the children recite by topics may be made. This will be a good drill in expressing ideas in logically connected statements. The work will be more spontaneous if in the beginning the child is allowed to choose his own subject; later the teacher will always assign the topics. This method of recitation may be used in reading, in observation reports, and elsewhere. Explanations of the processes followed in solving examples in arithmetic furnish a good drill in making statements in logical order.

4. Story-Telling. The learning and retelling of classical stories should be continued in this grade, but work in original creation should by degrees be given a place. Literature, pictures, and characters taken from nature will provide suitable material for the original story. At least one long story, which is made up of successive, well-defined units, should be read and told by each child during the year. "The

MANY INTERESTING COMPOSITION SUBJECTS HERE

King of the Golden River," by Ruskin, is suggested for this grade. In the story-telling the teacher should make the story her own and tell it to the class again and again. After learning the story in this way, the children should be asked to repeat it many times. Children never tire of good stories well told or of telling the same one over and over. As in the previous grades, not more than six or eight stories should be taught during the year for the purpose of

reproduction. The teacher may tell many others, however, to teach lessons of various kinds.

The story work of this grade should include some stories from the following sources: the fairy tales which teach truths but not facts; the old folk stories which deal simply with the philosophy of life; and the modern animal stories from Thompson Seton, Uncle Remus (Joel Chandler Harris), Long, and Kipling. These animal stories, through language, style, and form, are very interesting to children because they humanize the animal characters. These stories are educative in the broadest sense, much of our best literature being based upon them. The stories of grand operas also are, in many cases, taken from folklore. The following stories are suitable material for this grade:

ESOP: The Fox and the Goat; The Hare and the Tortoise. ARABIAN NIGHTS: Sindbad the Sailor; Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp; The Fisherman and the Genie.

ANDERSEN: The Beetle; The Snow Man.

GRIMM: Strong Hans; The Elves and the Shoemaker. DASENT: Boots and his Brothers; Why the Sea is Salt; The Land East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

MABIE, H. W.: The Death of Balder; Thor's Journey to Jötunheim.

SETON, ERNEST THOMPSON: Johnny Bear.

KIPLING, RUDYARD: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

GREEK MYTHOLOGY: Venus and Adonis; The Golden Fleece; Ulysses and the Bag of Winds.

BIBLE: Stories of David and Samuel.

5. The task of leading children to make several connected statements on a given subject was begun

in the second grade and should be continued and enlarged here. Although written work will usually follow, the oral work should be planned as a distinct end in itself. Too little attention has been paid to oral language work in the past, and as a result a very necessary language power has been lost. From four to six statements will be the probable length of the composition, and yet quality rather than quantity should be the aim. For the convenience of the teacher the work may be grouped under the following heads, but, as stated before, the terms' narration,' description,' and 'exposition' should never be used in directing the work.

a. Narration. The suggestions made for this work in the preceding grade will be useful here. Experiences of other persons may be related by the children in this grade, war stories or stories of life in earlier days, told by father or grandfather, being examples. The children may be allowed to tell a few imaginary experiences to train the imagination and to develop constructive ability.

b. Description. The suggestions made in the preceding grade will be useful here. The work of describing objects and scenes from memory may be enlarged. This will be closely related to the work of making reports on observations. Any of the pictures suggested for primary grades, on page 263, may be used in this work.

Exposition. The work outlined for the preceding grade should be continued, with a proper increase

in intensity and extent. Exposition in the lower grades will necessarily be very simple. One form of oral composition that may be introduced in this grade with interest and profit is the simple argument. Either individuals or sections of the class may be allowed to oppose each other. For full directions as to the conduct of this work see the discussion under Argument in the next two grades.

IMITATIVE EXPRESSION

1. Memorizing Work. The memorizing work should be continued in this grade, and the method suggested in the preceding grades will be found useful here. The selection should be read or recited by the teacher, and the memorizing will be done by hearing, not by reading, the poem. Concert repetition should be less frequent than in the preceding grades. Greater stress should be placed on the interpretation and