LITERATURE IN GRAMMAR GRADES 2$ 



Word studies should be growing in importance by the 

 time the. fifth grade is reached. Selection of synonyms, de- 

 fining words, giving attention to root sylla- 

 Studies kl es > prefixes, suffixes, and their meanings, 



may all be made interesting research for the 

 children, who are thus growing in knowledge of words and 

 power over them. Training should be given in the mys- 

 teries of the dictionary, for, to a child beginning its use, it is 

 really a sealed book. 



The training of earlier years in forming clear concepts 

 should be continued. Narrative drawings by the pupils 

 strengthen the ability to do this by giving 

 Details visible form and completeness to the imag- 



ined pictures. Outlines improve the judg- 

 ment and the power of analysis, both of which are weak with 

 children of this age. Maps make more real the geographical 

 references, thus broadening the child's knowledge of the 

 world. Where the globe and wall maps are used intelli- 

 gently, and no attempt is made to require a child to memorize 

 all that is told him, map work is a delight to children, who 

 pore over maps again and again, thus gradually absorbing 

 what it would be impossible for them to learn and assimilate 

 in many lessons of drill. 



The pupils see some of the simpler beauties of the poems 

 if their attention is called to the comparisons, which can soon 

 be differentiated into similes, metaphors, and personifica- 

 tions. There should be no intention of teaching figures of 

 speech ; the desire is to show how more enjoyment can be 

 obtained from the poems. The result, however, is that many 

 of the pupils do learn these three figures very accurately, 

 while others are prepared by observation to learn them more 



