

CHAPTER III 



PRESENTATION, ACQUISITION, AND ILLUSTRATION 

 OF LITERATURE IN GRAMMAR GRADES 



FIFTH YEAR GRADE 



Pupils in the fifth year in school enjoy many poems by 

 Longfellow, who has a delightful power in picturing vividly 

 Material scenes of life and action. The poems should 



not succeed one another too rapidly, nor 

 should they be hurriedly presented. The teacher's observa- 

 tion of the attitude and attainments of the class should be 

 the guide in both respects. The first thing to be considered 

 is that the pupils gain a view of a complete poem. This can 

 be accomplished in several ways : The teacher may read the 

 poem through, stopping over every stanza long enough for 

 the children to give naturally its substance, and, at the end, 

 the whole poem may be summarized ; the pupils, instead of 

 the teacher, may read, a similar stanza analysis being given ; 

 the pupils may read the poem for themselves before coming 

 into class, looking out the thoughts for themselves. The 

 last treatment is the most difficult for children ; it should not 

 be insisted upon too rigorously nor too often, for to do so 

 would probably result in dislike for poems. Pupils of this 

 age grow but slowly into individual analyses, especially of 

 poems, although they greatly enjoy this work with the 

 teacher. The purpose in this preparatory glimpse of the 

 poems is to gain the power of uniting several successive 



23 



