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We start this
section with 5 books on Canadian Readers which teach children to
read and to that we add a handbook for teachers to guide them
through these five readers.
Reader 1
The First Primer is based upon two principles: 1. That the Alphabet
is best taught in Words; 2. That Words are best taught in and
through Pictures. The picture and then the symbol—that is the
key-note to this little book. But the words and the lessons have
been selected and drawn up with a view to leave room for the Teacher
to employ the method he considers best in teaching the letters and
their forces. Those who prefer the Alphabetic Method will find the
lessons arranged so as to suit them admirably. The presentation of
the picture, and from that leading to the word sign, is the best way
of teaching by the Word Method. The fact that only one power of
single letters is used in the lessons contained in the early part of
the book, from page 7 to page 19 inclusive, adapts this series
perfectly to the Phonic Method, or the combined Word and Phonic
Method. will then find a new set of pictures and new symbols. The
single letters, in one and only one of their powers, are first
taught; then the double letters — double vowels and double
consonants, initial and final. It is earnestly recommended that the
names of the letters be not taught until a need for their names has
arisen in the pupil’s mind. The alphabet is given at the beginning
for reference. Stories are introduced as soon as possible, so that
there may be some mental movement at an early stage. Teachers are
advised to let their pupils begin to write and read script from the
beginning.
Reader 2
The Second Primer uses all the elements and words which were learned
in the First. It gives, in general, words no longer than two
syllables, and these of the most regular kind — as father, mother,
dinner, etc. If it here and there gives a word of three syllables,
like another, it is of the simplest form. The pictures here play a
new part. While, in the First Primer, they were attached to words,
in this Primer they are attached chiefly to subjects; and they do
not lead on to the symbol, hut are inserted to supply motive and
interest to the child to interpret the symbol given. They have been
selected regardless of cost, and must prove a great attraction to
the little people. The aim has been to make them value their primer
on account of the beauty of its illustrations. The sense attached to
each picture is intended to he, as nearly as possible, what a child
would say about it, if he were questioned on each part of the
picture.
Reader 3
The Third Book contains longer lessons than the Second Book, more
difficult words, and more literary phrases. But care has been taken
that the style should at the same time be so clear, that the
sentences may be read without strain. For this reason, also, the
sentences are in general short; and the sense of them may be caught
at once without too great effort. The lessons have been selected and
prepared first to interest and attract, second to instruct and
elevate. A vast fimd of practical, general information is contained
in the book, but it is given in such a style as to make the
reading-hour one of the most pleasant of the day to the pupils. In a
book of this kind there must always be a necessity for matter which
naturally promotes lively reading. This necessity has been
recognized and amply provided for in this Third Book. For this and
other reasons, it will be found that children who have been
judiciously carried through this book will have acquired good habits
of expressive reading. Special attention is directed to the
illustrations, and to the articles relating to Canadian History and
progress. The Exercises, which have been carefully thought out, are
so contrived as to give the pupils views of the functions of nouns,
verbs, and adjectives from different stand-points; and explanations
of literary phrases have not been forgotten.
Reader 4
In preparing the present volume, the object chiefly aimed at has
been to supply a series of literary selections combining instruction
with entertainment, and exhibiting the most characteristic features
of some of the leading authors of England and America. Many pupils
leave school without advancing beyond the Fourth Book, and it is of
importance that their interest in literary subjects be awakened
before they enter upon the active duties of life. Facilities are
here afforded to teachers for arousing such an interest, as well as
for imparting the just method of gaining an insight into an author's
style, and of arriving at the true significance of his most salient
passages. As a basis for preliminary examinations in literature,
this volume will be found to be a decided advance upon any
previously issued. Where it has been thought necessary, full notes
explanatory of difficult words or peculiar phrases, have been
inserted at the end of the lessons. Lessons on Temperance have also
been introduced. Intemperance is one of the most formidable and
widespread of vices, — a great and permanent source of crime and
want, — and the editors are of opinion that if this manifold evil is
ever to be successfully encountered, it is in the school, and in the
minds of the young, that the base of operations must be laid. The
lessons on Hygiene, in connection with those in Books III. and V.,
supply a want long and widely felt. "Without adding to the number of
the pupil's studies or the cost of his text-books, he is, by the aid
of these lessons, taught the leading rules for preserving his
health, and is directed as to the best means for saving life and
avoiding unnecessary pain in case of accidents. Canada receives
special prominence in this book. The leading Canadian authors have
been laid under tribute, and an opportunity is thus afforded for the
pupils to become familiar with the names and styles of their
literary compatriots. Most of the selections made from the works of
these authors refer to Canada or to some phase of our social life.
Canadian History has been briefly sketched, and it is confidently
hoped that the sketch, in the hands of teachers thoroughly
acquainted with the subject, will become the means of creating more
general interest in matters so important to the youth of Canada. The
Appendices will be found most useful to both teacher and pupil.
Brief sketches of the leading authors from whom selections have been
made are given in the first; the second contains the chief elements
that form our language; the third contains a brief but comprehensive
statement of the principles of elocution; and the fourth completes
the work begun in Book III., by giving an additional list of the
words commonly mispronounced. The teacher should, in order to bring
out the full meaning of the text, ask very many more questions than
those appended to the lessons. A full knowledge of the meaning of
the text is essential in every reading-lesson ; the appended
questions are intended only as samples, not as complete sets. The
teacher will also observe that the sentences referred to for parsing
and analysis are likewise merely samples; others must be given, but
in order of difficulty, — a new difficulty or construction should
not be introduced till the preceding one is mastered. In the
composition exercises the teacher must examine the work of each
pupil, not only for the purpose of ascertaining if the matter is
correct, but also for the purpose of pointing out any wrong
constructions, or errors in grammar, in order that the pupil may
remove them. Some of these errors, if of a common character, may be
written out on the blackboard, and criticised by the pupils
themselves. Our thanks are due to the illustrious American poets,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Greenleaf Whittier, for kindly
forwarding us autograph selections; also to Messrs. Dawson Bros.,
Montreal; the Methodist Publishing House, Toronto, and others, who
have kindly permitted us to reprint extracts from their copyright
works. We are also indebted to the following Canadian artists for
the skill and promptitude with which they have assisted in the work
of illustration: Mr. Sandham, late of Notman & Sandham, Montreal;
Mrs. Schreiber, and Messrs. Martin and Cruickshank of Toronto; Mr.
F. M. Bell-Smith, of Toronto and of Alma College, St. Thomas;
Messrs. Notman and Fraser, of Toronto; and the Toronto Engraving
Company.
Reader 5
This selection is the last poem in Puck of Pook’s Hill, published in
1906. W. Arthur Young in A Dictionary of the Characters and Scenes
in the Stories and Poems of Rudyard Kipling, '1886-1911 (Routledge)
says: “Puck of Pook’s Hill contains ten stories with sixteen poems
and songs interspersed. Two children, Dan and Una, living on the
Sussex countryside play a home-made version of A Midsummer Night’s
Dream on Midsummer Eve. There enters Puck himself, who allows them
to take from him ownership of all Old England. This is the beginning
of meetings and adventures, in which the past, with its many heroes,
is introduced to the children. The series is continued in Rewards
and Fairies.” The poem itself is a prayer for help and guidance, so
that the children may be best able to devote all their energies to
the service of their country.
An interesting selection from the French of Emile Souvestre might be
read to the pupils in this connection:
“When I was fifteen years of age,” said a French veteran, “I began
to visit an old uncle who had lost a leg in the wars, and who was
now pensioned off.
“One day I found him looking very grave. ‘Jerome,’ he said, ‘knowest
thou what goes on at the frontier?’ ‘No, uncle,’ I answered.
“‘Well then,’ he went on very solemnly, ‘the fatherland is in
peril.’
“Then seeing that I did not quite understand, he laid his hand on my
shoulder and said, ‘Thou hast never thought, perhaps, what the
fatherland means. It means everything that surrounds thee,
everything that has reared and nourished thee, everything thou hast
loved.
“‘That green country thou seest, those trees, those young girls
passing and laughing yonder—that is the fatherland!
“‘The laws which protect thee, the bread that pays thee for thy
work, the words thou exchangest, the joy and the sadness which come
to thee from the people and things amongst which thou livest—that is
the fatherland!
“‘The little room where thou used to see thy mother, the memories
she has left behind her, the ground in which she rests—that is the
fatherland!
“'Thou seest it, thou breathest it everywhere! Picture to thyself
thy rights and thy duties, thy affections and thy needs, thy
recollections and thy gratitude; join all these under a single name,
and that name will be the fatherland!’”
Reader Handbook
The material contained in the Handbook
to The Canadian Readers is intended for the use of teachers and aims
to provide all information necessary for the thorough understanding
of the selections in the texts. |
