APPENDIX 365 



In assigning it the teacher should try to use the fullest ex- 

 perience of the children in its interpretation. Some such 

 points as the following may be emphasized : 



Read the whole poem. What is the principal thought run- 

 ning through it? Do you think Whittier had experienced 

 what he is talking about? Why do you think so? Indicate 

 the parts of the poem which describe experiences you have 

 had. Classify each experience under the sense through which 

 it came. Which experiences are most vividly portrayed ? 

 Through which sense did these come ? Do you like the poem ? 

 Indicate the parts you like best. Try to tell why you like 

 these particular passages. 



It is said that farmers have no sense of the aesthetic; that 

 they look on the daisy and the vine merely as troublesome 

 weeds. If this is true it ought not to be so, because out- 

 door beauty may be counted as one of the chief assets of 

 country life. In developing a love for nature the rural school 

 has a decided advantage over the city school. 



spelling 



Spelling cannot be taught incidentally. It must 

 have the systematic attention of the teacher as a 

 separate subject and his constant care in all his 

 WRITTEN WORK. While oral spelling is helpful in fixing 

 forms, written spelling must receive the larger stress be- 

 cause of its importance in writing the language. The eye 

 rather than the ear must be trained. Constant drill in 

 writing the correct form of a word serves to fix it in the 

 mind. 



The life of the children should supplement the Spelling- 

 Book in the matter of spelling lessons. Each community has 



