LITERATURE IN GRAMMAR GRADES 43 



" Legend of Sleepy Hollow " and " The Spy " precede or 

 accompany the Revolution. 



The maximum time permitted in the schoolroom every 



day for preparation, reading, discussion, and written work 



is fifty minutes. Many pupils, however, who 



take a pride in their notebooks, spend much 



extra time upon them. This does not interfere in the least 



with other studies ; it is simply utilizing leisure time. 



Independent preparation must be insisted upon, for self- 

 dependence is a most necessary lesson to learn. The pages 

 or the topics assigned should be carefully studied. The 

 teacher often gives definite assistance by putting on the 

 board such directions as these : Read the chapter attentively ; 

 be able to reproduce it orally; define the following words, 



; explain the following lines, ; picture to yourself 



certain scenes ; how is this lesson connected with the pre- 

 ceding reading? 



The recitation following this preparation is as varied as 

 possible. There are readings and discussions; words are 

 studied; difficult constructions are explained; all kinds of 

 allusions are noted, explained, or assigned for the next day ; 

 a few rhetorical figures, principally those familiar in the 

 lower grades, are considered, and new ones are occasionally 

 taken up, if prominent in the reading. The lesson as pre- 

 pared by the pupils is always the basis for the recitation, but 

 it is far from being the limit ; for the recitation is more than 

 a period for testing ; it is an opportunity to teach good habits 

 of work, to show the desirability of broad information on 

 many subjects, and to develop the mental powers of the 

 children. The humor of the author, his vivid descriptions, 

 his ability to make his characters live for us, are all talked 



