Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1881-12-23

and write their mother tongue
easily and correctly, is an important
problem for us to solve. Few of US
recall with pleasure our trials with
grammar and composition. The
very word composition suggests al
most as many unpleasant memories
as those that center around the old
time ferule. Methods of teaching
this subject have changed much
during the past few years, and, if
increased interest is an indication,
they have been improved.
As with all other work the begin
ming must be made in the right way
and at the right time. When the
child first enters school he has a
goodly stock of words; and readily
learns new ones from teacher and
playmates. In the reading class the
teacher can easily induce his pupils
to talk about the objects in the les
son. Object lessons should be given
to increase the child's stock Of words
as well as to teach the correct use Of
those already his own. Do this
work orally, draw out the child's
ideas, and do not talk too much
yourself. Pictures may be used.
Questions on the objects seen in the
picture, the parts of the objects,
the qualities of the objects, what
the people or animals are doing,
what they are going to do and
such others as the nature of the
pictures may suggest. Go over this
work in a connected story. See If
the pupils can tell the story, and
ask them to wIite it on their states
for to-morrow's lesson. These first
stories will be rather rude and dis
connected in construction; but as
our little carpenters practice they
will build better. Pictures suitable
for children may be found in any
Illustrated paper. Cut these out,
paste them on paste-board, and you
have material as good as the best.
Give one to each member of the
class and ask them to write a story
of what they see in the picture.
You will be surprised at the result,
if you have not seen this method
tried.
Read a short, lively story to your
class and have the pupils write it in
their own words from memory.
Children are interested in animals.
If we take CAT as our subject, they
can tell you of her coat, her sharp
teeth and claws, her eyes, what she
eats, how she drinks milk, what she
is good for; and scores of other
objects are just as attractive.
With older pupils we may take
such subjects as these: "a Day
Fishing" " My Ride on the Cars"
Our Christmas Tree" =" First Days
in School" etc. Notice What your pu-
pills are interested in, and select your
subjects accordingly. An imaginary
visit to some other state or country,
or journey to several countries, and
an exchange Of our productions for
those of other countries is both
interesting and instructive. Some
times a teacher can start q debate rs
to the relative merits of two states.
For instance, some members Of your
class may think Ohio does not rank
equal to Michigan. while others are
ready to defend Ohio. The cham
pions Of each state become enthu-
siastic for their state, and a lively
and instructive debate is the result.
These are n few of the means we
employ to make our work in COM
position practical and pleasant, in
stead of being tiresome and worth.
less. Patience. enthusiasm, and
ingenuity, can make this exercise
the most interesting one of our
schools. j. w. l..
The following named teachers are
engaged for the present winter to