IO METHODS IN TEACHING 



the part of the old wolf. Cinderella, her gracious fairy god- 

 mother, and her wicked step-sisters often converse for the 

 edification of the other babies, who, in their turn, enact 

 Silver Hair and the three bears, Tom Thumb, Dick Whit- 

 tington, and the other heroes of the fiction dear to children. 

 Fortunately, little ones do not tire quickly of these stories 

 and representations, and ten days or two weeks pass pleas- 

 antly in the efforts to reproduce in good lan- 

 guage the story that has been listened to 

 with such rapt attention. In the meantime, all unsuspected 

 by the children themselves, much more than the story is being 

 learned. The first problem that teachers of first grades 

 must meet is how to induce the babies before them to forget 

 their shyness and talk about the things that it is desirable 

 the class should be learning. The above exercises accom- 

 plish much in this line in addition to all the progress possible 

 in language and general culture ; this is especially true when 

 the stories are acted out. The dramatic instinct, or playing, 

 is in every child ; if it has an opportunity to express itself, 

 it becomes an important factor in self-forgetfulness, one of 

 the first requirements for the happiness of a child in the 

 schoolroom. There now follow formal language lessons, and 

 the formation of a composite story for reading and copying. 

 Toward spring the story of Hiawatha's childhood is taken, 

 preceded by two or three weeks on Indian life. Much illus- 

 trative material can be obtained for class 

 Hiawatha 



use. The children examine everything, ask 



questions, and are told interesting facts. After a fairly clear 

 child's idea of the Indians has been formed, the poem is 

 begun, and for several weeks the many stories about the 

 little Hiawatha are a source of delight to all. During this 



