JUST WHAT YOU WANT.

Very frequently the question comes, "What book can you suggest that will help me with this or that?"

cat burned her paw at the suggestion of the shrewd monkey, and did not even have the comfort of a taste of the chestnuts. After the reading, the teacher told some incidents from real life that il

1. "How to Tell Stories to Children." By S. E. Bryant. Pub. by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Chicago. 2. "Reading in Public Schools." By Briggs and Coffman. Pub. by Row, Peterson Co., Chicago. 3. "The Teaching of English”—Chubb. Pub. by Macmillan Co., N. Y.

4.

"Kindergarten Stories and Morning Talks"Wiltse. Pub. by Ginn and Co., Chicago.

5. "The Plan Books," by Minnie George. Pub. by A. Flanagan Co., Chicago.

6. "Plans for Busy Work." By S. L. Arnold. Pub. by Silver, Burdett and Co., Chicago.

7. "Stories of Mother Goose Village" by Madge Bigham. Pub. by Rand, McNally Co., Chicago.

8. "Books of Plays for Little People." Johnson and Barnum. Pub. by American Book Co., Chicago.

9. "Games, Seatwork and Sensetraining." Flanagan Co., Chicago.

10. "Graded Memory Selections." Educational Publishing Co., Boston.

A.

Pub. by

11. "Teaching Writing." B. D. Berry and Co., Chicago.

12. "Primary Arithmetic," by D. E. Smith. Pub. by Ginn and Co., Chicago.

13. "Arithmetic." Book I. L. D. Harvey. Pub. by American Book Co., Chicago.

Truth is within ourselves; and "to know"
Rather consists in opening out a way

Whence the imprisoned splendor may escape
Than in effecting entry for a light

Supposed to be without.

-Robert Browning.

VALUE OF THE FABLE.

MARY D. BRADFORD.

The fable is a more important item in the education of children than many things that are regularly used. Not only has it value as a means to understanding allusions frequently found in literature, but it has immediate utility even to little children, as the following incidents show:

It was a girl just graduated from the Kindergarten. A companion enviously and spitefully plucked at her pink hair ribbons and remarked, "I don't think they're pretty," when quickly the one with the ribbons retorted, "Sour grapes!"

I have heard the simple "Dog in the Manger!" flung at the selfish boy on the second ground, and have seen the immediate effect in the surrender of the ball or bat he was withholding.

A class in second grade were reading the fable of "The Monkey and the Cat,"-how the foolish

day one of the boys came to her and said, "Jimmie Johnson tried to make a cat's paw of me last night after school." "Is that so? How?" "Well, he tried to get me to swipe something in front of A's store, and to take it to him in the alley." I just said, "You can't make a cat's paw of me.” Children often come against a moral situation which they feel, but which is too complex for them to analyze and express. To formulate a judgment upon it is beyond their power, and not to express a judgment is an unsatisfactory ending of the matter. Here the fable comes in with its apt summary in one phrase, and its recall in a clear cut picture, of the moral situation. Decision follows, and character-making scores a point.

L.R.S.

SOME SPELLING GAMES TO INTEREST THE

PUPILS.

(Awarded First Prize in the March Device Contest)

Spelling is a study that generally fails to interest pupils. Below are a few devices that may serve to interest pupils and make them better spellers.

1. Game of "I spy."

Have the pupils look for hidden words in others, as hat and at in that; on and one in gone. When a child has found a hidden word, have him rise and say when called on, "I spy," naming the word he has found.

2. For Review.

Have a number of words written on a card. Give about six cards to as many pupils who are good spellers. Have them stand in different parts of the room, and name them towns whose names the children know. Then let different children in turn take a trip. Those holding the cards pronounce the words and hear them spelled. Those who are successful in spelling all the words on the six cards make the entire trip. As soon as a pupil misses, he is sent to his seat by the one whose word he misses.

3. Quaker Spelling.

Some pupil is chosen who goes to the board, and, thinking of some word the pupils know how to spell, writes the first and last letter of it on the board and for the missing letters puts blanks, as gl, girl. The rest of the pupils try to guess the word. When they think they know it, they raise their hands and the pupil at the board chooses one by pointing to supply the missing letters. If he can do so, he puts another word on the board and the game goes on as before. In this game nothing is said.

4. By Letters.

For a change one pupil may start a word, giving the first letter without telling what word he has in mind. The next may add a letter and so on until a word is spelt. Every one in adding a letter must be thinking of a word he can spell. Often the completed word will be very different from the one the first speller thought of.

5. The Bean Bag.

Have the children form a circle. Select a leader to stand in the center, giving him a bean bag.

Have him pronounce a word and as he does so throw the bean bag to a child in the ring. The child to whom the bean bag is thrown is to spell the word and throw the bag to the one in the center. When a mistake is made, the child must take his seat and a new leader is chosen.

6. The Guess Game.

One child who is "it" should stand up in front and say "I am thinking of a word," choosing a word in the day's spelling lesson. Then in order the children may say, for example, "Are you thinking of t-h-e-m?" spelling the word. If not the word chosen, the one in front should say "No, it is not them." If the word is guessed, the one guessing it, goes to the front and the game proceeds as before. This game may be varied as follows: The teacher may write on the board, for example, the word cat. Then she asks the children to think of other words that sound like cat but not to tell the word but something about it. Perhaps one will say "It is something the cat chases." Then she places rat on the board below cat and the children guess again. Another may say, "It is something we wear on our head," or hat. If the pupil cannot tell anything about the word he whispers it to the teacher and she tells the class something about it. After enough words have been placed on the board, the teacher may have a drill in phonetic spelling. 7. By Families.

Have words spelt in families and written by pupils at their seats for busy work. On small bits of cardboard, a family name may be written as many times as needed and other letters to go with them. Place these in little boxes, each family in a box by itself. For instance the ook family has nine pieces with ook and b, c, h, l, n, t, sh, br, cr, as separate letters. The children may put these together for busy work.

8. By Omission.

For busy work, as a help in spelling, a stanza of poetry the children have learned may be written on the board with the words they know how to spell omitted. This should be copied and the omitted words put in, in their proper place.

9. Card Alphabet.

If you have the letters of the alphabet printed on cards they may be given to members of the class and as a child spells a word the ones holding the

SOME FUN AT PHONICS FOR THE LITTLE
FOLKS.

(Awarded Second Prize In March Device Contest)

To teach new sounds to a class, of say ten first grade pupils let us make them into a play. What child would not enjoy being an angry dog? Let one pupil act the part of a dog asleep in his kennel (under the teacher's desk). Another pupil can be a cat who steals up quietly and attempts to eat the dog's dinner (a box of chalk). The dog hears her and growls r-r-r. The cat spits f-f-f, but runs away. These same sounds are used again in playing that the cross dog (a boy) comes up to worry an old cat (a girl) and her little kittens (three or four small children). The old cat drives the growling dog away with f-f-f. The symbols, f and r are placed on the board as the name of the play.

Other sounds are taught by other games, as, let a number of pupils form a circle, to represent a clock, while two or three others turn about inside the circle, as the clock wheels turn inside the clock, saying t-t-t.

"M" has a number of games attached. One is that of a cow (a large pupil) calling m-m-m while her calf (a smaller girl or boy) skips about. Another is the top humming. Let two pupils take hold of hands, put their feet together and spin about, humming m-m-m.

After a number of class periods have been given. to these sounds the pupils will enjoy finding and marking the words containing these sounds which

By introducing short ǎ with the consonants we will have a chance for word building; short ǎ can be the sound made by a pupil who plays he is a lamb skipping about inside a fence. The fence is formed by the rest of the class holding hands, in line; a and m (or am) combined introduces them to a "family." The family consists of words of a group having the same endings; as, am, ham, dam.

The consonant "w" is a favorite as we can teach the piece "Have you ever heard the wind go wooooo?" with it. Have four or five pupils form in line. They are the wind calling w-w-w. Sometimes we let four or five pupils be the trees, holding their arms out or up. The pupils act as the wind blows, the trees making them bend forward and backward.

Again we let the wind blow off the hats of a couple of girls. The girls run after the imaginary hats apparently all tired out. They pant as they run about h-h-h.

A dove cote and doves teach the sound d. Let five or six pupils make a half-circle across the corner of the room, leaving an opening for a door. Three or four other pupils fly in and out waving their arms in imitation of the doves, cooing d-d-d very softly.

A pond of frogs is very funny and teaches g very nicely. Let the play table become an island. in the middle of the frog pond (the floor). Two or three children play they are frogs and mount the table. As each frog jumps into the water he cries 9-9-9.

The boys like to play train. We all enjoy it, though it is quite noisy. The boys form in line with their hands on the shoulders of the one in front of them. One is the locomotive and as he pulls them around the room puffs p-p-p. (The street car is made in the same way only it runs faster and says v-v.) As the train comes to a standstill it lets off steam. All the pupils say ch-ch-ch. Three sounds are taught by this game v, p, and the combination ch.

The sound z and s is the sound made by the bees. Let the class be a swarm of bees flying about a tree (the coat rack or teacher's desk) ready to swarm, buzzing z-z-8-8.

This work must be enlarged upon by having the pupils give lists of words containing the last sound taught or by having them write a list of familiar

Drill must

words having in it the new sounds. be given on one sound until it is quite well known before introducing a new sound.

Another favorite sound is the s and c made by putting a red-hot horseshoe into a slack tub. Four or five pupils join hands to form a circle which represents a slack tub. Three more, smaller pupils, form a horseshoe. The busy blacksmith (the teacher or a pupil strong enough to lift the children into the circle) puts the horseshoe into the tub of water and a very loud hissing is heard

S-C-S-C.

These games admit of many changes as will be readily seen by the teacher. They must be fitted to her class of pupils. Many other games teach new sounds; short i or y is an easy sound to teach as few schoolhouses are without mice. Some day when one is seen, let a pupil play he is that same mouse. Then have four or six more kneel down and form two lines. Now by taking hold of hands and bending forward a trap is made. The little mouse runs into it and is held fast. He squeaks y-i-y-i.

After these games the pupils will enjoy finding the bees, mice, lambs, etc., in their lesson or on the boards and the form of the sound is mastered.

Blend words and phonograms, as taught in the Manual are but a step in advance of the work outlined and can be made just as interesting, if the idea of playing into knowledge is not forgotten. Pupils like to discover new things for themselves and do so as little according to rule as possible. Let us play while we may.

Maude E. Blakeman, McFarland, Wis.

SCHOOL INCENTIVES.

(Awarded Third Prize In March Device Contest) One of the best incentives to earnest effort on the part of the pupils in primary arithmetic is a daily accounting of the results of each pupil's

efforts.

The following is a simple device for keeping a record of the daily work of each pupil :

The teacher prepares a "book" for each pupil, made by tying a dozen sheets of manila paper together through the middle, and folding them over until the edges meet. This book is used by the pupil for seat work, instead of loose sheets of paper. The "books" are collected at the close of the period for seat work on the following day. Before distributing the "books" the teacher reads the record of each pupil's work of the previous day, adding words of praise or encouragement as the results may justify.

These records are entered on a record chart which hangs on the wall of the class room. A record chart for ten weeks' work may be made by ruling a sheet of foolscap paper, leaving a space for the entry of the number worked (w) and the number correct (c) for each day. The following will be found a convenient form for this record.

(Awarded Fourth Prize in the March Device Contest)

Choose sides as for spelling match. Let the first speaker be the chooser or a volunteer from his side. He steps up before the school and tells the story of some great man or woman. This story may be about the man's great deeds, his life, some of his peculiarities or some well-known story about him, as "Shooting the Apple on the Boy's Head," for Tell. The speaker does not mention the man's name while speaking, but after he has finished, he calls upon someone of the opposite side to guess