When the capital and small letters have thus been gone through with the finger, a skewer is given to each child; with which he is instructed, by the teacher of the class, to form the letters in the sand. He begins by making them in pairs, and then proceeds to three or more letters at a time. After this practice has been continued for a few days, each child in the class is directed, in his turn, to trace out all the letters, capital and small, at once; and for this purpose he has the whole desk allotted to him; the remainder of the class being, for the time, merely spectators. Should any mistake be made by any child in the class, the teacher obliges the class to go over again in the sand the letter or letters, in which the error occurred. Should there be no mistake, nor any material inaccuracy in the formation of the written characters, the class takes a final leave of the sand, and proceeds to be instructed, by the teacher, in the use of the slate and pencil.

Each child is now provided with one of Warren's patent engraved slatest; on which he copies the letters and little words, by the direction and under the inspection of the teacher. After the practice in the sand, this is soon and easily acquired; and in a very short time the children learn to join their letters with great neatness and readiness. As soon as this is effected, they are removed to the third class.

The reading lessons of the second class are in the first pages of Mrs. Trimmer's "Charity School Spelling Book, Part I. u" and consist of the elementary syllables, or easy monosyllabic words. The class is

t The engraved slates, used by the second class, are those containing the small letters only. Sloping lines are drawn lightly on them, with the point of a knife, as a direction for the proper inclination of the letters. Similar lines are occasionally drawn on the other slates, with slate pencil; and on the copy-books, with black-lead pencil, 3d edit. 1815.

This is in the list of Tracts dispersed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

* The reading lessons of this class are now in a set of cards; and

called out to read three times in the course of an hour. The books being delivered out, the child, whom the teacher thinks proper to fix on, begins by spelling and pronouncing the first syllable, or word; the next child does the same with the following syllable, or word; and in like manner the rest of the children, to the end of the lesson. After proceeding thus through the lesson three times, they are required to spell out of book all the syllables or words of the lesson, as the teacher calls them over. The same regulations are observed with respect to correcting mistakes, &c. as have been already noticed, in the account of the preceding class.

are printed in so large a type as to be distinctly seen, when hung against the wall, by a class of twelve or fourteen children. To those who are ignorant, as these children must be, of every thing which relates to reading; who have yet to learn that it is the practice to read English from left to right;-and not from right to left; or from the top to the bottom of the page; the facilities afforded by a general lesson-book, in which the teacher points out to his pupils the order of the words, and whatever else might otherwise impede their progress, are great and unquestionable. The lessons in the cards consist of the elementary syllables, and a collection of words of one syllable; and are taken from the beginning of Lindley Murray's English Spelling Book. The method of teaching these lessons is as follows:

The teacher, pointing to Ba with his pointing cane, spells and pronounces it himself slowly and distinctly; thus, B, a,—Ba ;—and then requires every child in the class, (naming the one who is to begin,) to do the same, one after the other. Having thus proceeded through the first line, the teacher points again to Ba, and desires one of the children to spell and pronounce it, without having it first pronounced to him: and in like manner each of the remaining syllables in the line is spelled and pronounced by the child, to whose turn it falls. When the children can do this readily, the teacher exercises them by pointing at the syllables at random, or out of their order. Before the lésson concludes, he takes the card in his hand, and requires his pupils to spell the same syllables from memory, or out of book. 3d edit. 1815.

CHAPTER V.

THIRD CLASS.

IMMEDIATELY on being admitted into the third class y, the children enter upon a practice, peculiar,

y As soon as the children of the third class have learned to make the capital letters, they are qualified to join in those general exercises, by which writing is taught in our school. This seems, therefore, to be the proper place in which to give some account of these exercises.

The hour appropriated to writing copies is generally divided into three courses: the first fifteen minutes of each course being employed in writing; the remaining five, in inspection. The children who write the best hands, without regard to their stations in the reading classes, are selected as inspecting teachers; each of whom has the care of one, or two, of the desks, as the mistress may think fit to appoint. She herself, or the best writer in the school, is stationed in front, and superintends the whole; (which is easily done where, as with us, all the children are seated at single desks, facing one way;) and admonishes by name, but in a low tone of voice, any child who offends against the rules that are to be observed in writing. The principal rules are, that the body be inclined a little forward; the shoulders even; the pen, or pencil, pointing to the right shoulder; the left hand resting on the left edge of the slate, or copy-book; the slate, or copy-book, parallel with the desk. Previously to the general inspection, the mistress, or the best writer, proceeds to the heads of the seve ral desks, where the inspecting teachers are seated, and examines their writing, letter by letter; pointing out every fault, and every deviation, however slight it may be, from their copy. When the general inspection takes place, the teachers examine, with the same care, the writing of their respective classes.

Every other day, the copper-plate copies are used: and, on these occasions, the teachers themselves write during two only of the three courses. During one of the three, generally the first, they are on their legs, attending to their classes; directing the children how to rule their lines; to make and mend their pens; to hold their pens, or pencils; and instructing them in all the details of penmanship.

Alternately with the copper-plate copies, we now make use of a set of large painted copies; one of which serves for the whole school to write from at the same time. They are painted on oblong slips of well-seasoned red deal, about two feet in length, and six inches in breadth; and do great credit to the ingenuity of the artist,—Mr. Gil

I believe, to the Enmore school, and a few other schools which have lately adopted the same plan of

more, painter and engraver, of Bridgwater. The smaller letters, as m, n, &c., are rather more than two inches long; and the other letters are in proportion. They are black on a white ground; and, when placed in a situation for the light to fall on them, are distinctly seen at the distance of twenty-five feet; which is the distance of the eighth, or highest class, from the wall at the opposite end of the room, against which the large copy is hung. Each copy consists of a single word, in round hand, and beginning with a capital letter. Such words are selected as comprehend the greatest variety in the combination of the letters. To constitute a complete set, the copies should be equal in number to the letters of the alphabet: but twelve or fourteen have been found sufficient for our purpose: and the number may be still more limited, if circumstances should require a strict attention to economy. Supposing the set to be incomplete, the remaining capitals, together with the Arabic figures, should form two or three additional copies.

I was led to think of these large copies by the desire, which I had long felt, that the judgment and experience of the master, or mistress, or of the best writer among the senior scholars, could be so directed, as to contribute at once to the improvement of every individual in the school. Before a child begins to write his copy, there are certain points upon which an attentive instructor cannot but wish to make some observations; and when the copy, or a part of it, is finished, there generally are some errors, to which he must be desirous of directing the child's attention. Where the number of pupils is small, this may be done, to a certain degree, according to the ordinary method of teaching to write: but this is evidently impracticable, according to that method, in a large school; where fifty, or a hundred, or a still greater number of pupils are to be instructed at the same time. It is true, that by the division of the school into classes, with a child at the head of each, a tolerable substitute for the personal attention of the master, or mistress, is provided; yet, even where this plan is followed, there are occasions when the whole school may be considered as one large class, and may receive the full benefit of the superior skill, and mature judgment, of the master, or mistress,-or of the most advanced scholar, under his, or her, immediate superintendance. This has been our practice, from the beginning, in the case of the catechism, which is repeated in this way every evening; accompanied with questions, partly taken from the Catechism broken, and partly such as may occur at the moment to the person conducting the exercise. It has been introduced, with obvious advantage, in some other instances: but in no one instance has the success attending it been more apparent and decisive, than in its application to the instruction of our children in writing.

When a large copy is used, the inspecting teachers cannot attend upon their classes, as in the use of the copper-plate copies, during either of the courses; because, by so doing, they would obstruct the

The monitor is selected from the best and steadiest children of the eighth class; and is relieved at the same time, and by the same directions as the teachers. His usual station is at the inner extremity of the first, or front desk; where, either seated on the desk or standing on the form, and thus facing the classes, he has an opportunity of observing accurately both their conduct, and that of their teachers. If a child offends in any way, the monitor instantly cautions him aloud; and if the offence is repeated, he is again cautioned, and his name is set down, with a mark opposite to it, on the monitor's slate: and for every new offence committed, the caution is repeated, and an additional mark set down. Before the school separates, the monitor's slate is examined by the schoolmistress; and if more than three or four marks appear opposite to any child's name, confinement, or some other punishment, is inflicted.

1

The monitor frequently leaves his station, to assist an unpractised teacher; to inspect the slates of the several classes; or, generally speaking, to perform any office that may be conducive to the discipline

children; who, in this instance, may be considered as the assistant teachers; and are, in general, perfectly qualified for the execution of this duty. In the mean time, the eighth class are either at their desk, engaged in transcription, or some other such occupation; or assembled round their teacher, reading their lesson. At the expiration of the ten minutes (and, for the accommodation of the teachers' class, the interval is sometimes extended to twelve or fourteen minutes) the five higher children in the eighth class take charge of the five classes before mentioned, conduct them out to lesson, hear the lessons read, and lead them back to their desks: the head children of those classes then resume their dictation; and the eighth class reassemble under their own teacher.

Whilst the five classes are reading, the children in the lower part of the eighth class either assist those teachers, who have charge of the largest classes, or join with the seventh class in saying the lesson to the head teacher.

This arrangement does not comprehend the teachers of the first and second classes. They are still changed at the expiration of the hour; and are usually supplied from the seventh class.

N. B. All our dictating or assistant teachers are now taken from the seventh class. 3d edit. 1815.