Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1886-04-29

| CnlIQren SlOulQ always Iedu III d udl'
ural way, Just as they talk, if they talk
as they ought, and their reading should
never be allowed to be mere imitation
of the teachers.
All the lessons up to this time have
been in script. We now go back to the
chart and commence taking the script
and print together, taking script lesson
on the picture first, and arranging the
words in sentences differing from the
sentences found on the chart. Then we
take the lesson in print that is given on
the chart. All the words from this time
are learned by the Phonic method.
We teach them that when they see the
letter IA marked with the breve that the
sound is a as found. in mat, and when it
is marked with the maeren, we call it
the name sound as in cake; when they
see 20 marked with the breve, they learn
that it is % as in the word log; 20 mark
ed with the macron is the name sound as
in snow-drawing a line through all
letters that have no sound. As we come
to each new sound of the vowels they
learn it in the same way.
We teach the sounds of the coRsOnants
by having something associated with
them that will enable the children to
remember them. For example, we call
IN the COW sound, r the dog sound, sc.
l and by having the children give the
that they gain certain power within
themselves that they lack if they do not
learn the words in this way. When a
child sees the word mat on the board, if
he has learned the sounds that occur in
the word, he has the power within him
self of knowing what that word is, with
out being told or shown the object which
it represents. 1t also aids them in cort
rect pronunciation, and correctS many
defects in their speech.
When they have completed the chart
lessons in this way, and thoroughly re
viewed them, we let them read from
supplementary readers, and continue to
teach the new words by sound. We are
at the present time reading from Shell
don's first reader; when the lessons be-
come too difficult in these, we will have
them read from the first lessons of some
other author.
AS writing is one of the best ways of
finding out what child knows, and it is
busy work for their hands, the writing
lessons begin on the first day.
In teaching the children to write, have
correct model before the child's eye.
To get the best results, the teacher must
be a good writer, and if she would in
spire her pupils with desire to try to
do good work, she must be very careful
about the way in wich she does her board
work. II she is patient and uses good
method in training them, she will be sure
to succeed in teaching them to write.
How hopeless to the little ones must
be the task of learning to write, if the
teacher, after years of experience, has
not learned the art.
We have followed little plan of our
own in ruling the children's states this
year. The first day, we rule the begins
nera States with two lines, making one
space; in this space, they nrst learn to
make the small letter il If the correct
form of this letter is fixed in the child's
mind. and bis hand trained to write it
correctly, the foundation work of train
ing the children to write has been well
laid.
AS soon as they have learned to form
some of the one space letters, We rule
their states with four lines, making three
spaces above the base line. In these
spaces they first learn to make 't' and ID,
and the three space letters Il, %, h, &c.
AS soon as they learn to form sufficient
number of these letters, they copy short
words containing them. Then we rule
with six lines, making five spaces, and
by the close of the year they have learn
ed to make all the capital and small let
tiers. Our reason for ruling in this way,
is because we think so many lines and
spaces at first confuse the children, and
until they have learned to make the first
few letters, they cannot copy the words
that they find in their lesson. As soon
as they can they copy their lessons from
the board, we allow them to do so; and
after time they change print lessons to
script.
In order to have good writing, their
states must be neat and clean, and they
must be provided with long, sharp pen
ellis.
| If the teacher will take the trouble of
keeping her boards black by cleansing
them with a damp cloth, and is careful
and neat about all of her board work, the
children will be about their slate work
We must remember that they are little
imitators and are looking up to us as an
example. How hard we should try to
be perfect Onel At the same time
they are learning to write, they are learn
ing to spell and to form sentences, and
the right use of capitals and punctuation
marks. All their language lessons are
thus taught in an indirect way.
AS an exercise for busy work. [ some
times tell them to write the names of
i've or ten objects On their states; in this
way l find how many have the word
forms fixed in their minds.
The first year in number work, we try
to teach as far as 10, but unless the class
is very bright, is the limit of the first
years work. We teach addition, SUBJ
traction, multiplication and division at
the same time, by having the children