SUBJECT MATTER AND METHODS I4Q 



use much larger numbers, without drawing. The process 

 of solving the problem mentally is often followed by draw- 

 ing the area to scale. 



Thirty minutes a day are given to arithmetic in the 

 fourth grade. Most of this time is taken for oral exer- 

 cises, unless some entirely new subject is to be presented. 

 Thirty minutes a day are also used for seat work by every 

 pupil. This generally consists of ten examples. Much of 

 the grade work is based on problems drawn from the expe- 

 riences of the pupils. 



FIFTH YEAR GRADE 



With the close of the fourth grades there begins among 

 the pupils that constant dropping out of school that does not 

 cease thereafter. Consequently, persistent effort is made 

 to give every child as thorough a preparation as his mental 

 development will permit for the world into which he is 

 entering. Arithmetic is one of the necessities in all lives, 

 but the processes are not many that are required for a boy 

 or girl who leaves school when but eleven years old. Such 

 a child does need, however, thorough knowledge of those 

 few processes, rapidity and accuracy in their use, and a 

 quick recognition of the proper operation. 



The fifth grade outline of arithmetic aims to give care- 

 ful and extensive reviews of the uses of integers in numbers 

 through three periods and of the handling of simple frac- 

 tions. In using integers there is drill in rapid addition of 

 ledger columns; mental work with such combinations as, 

 33 + 42, 84 47, 6400 -r- 8 ; long multiplication and divis- 

 ion are completed ; pupils become very familiar with factor- 

 ing; numbers of three periods are written and read; the 



