268 METHODS IN TEACHING 



narratives, easily remembered because of the natural se- 

 quence of their pictures and the primitive simplicity of their 



thoughts, so at one with the period of the 



child's development. They offer fine oppor- 

 tunities for undogmatic character training, and for laying 

 the foundation of a knowledge that will lead into rational 

 views on historical evolution. These stories are so beauti- 

 ful as literature, their accounts of migrations, customs, and 

 events are so important and interesting as history, that only 

 the literary and historical sides should be presented to chil- 

 dren. Custom decrees that religious phases should be left 

 untouched. Hiawatha takes the place of more purely his- 

 torical material because of its charming and sympathetic 

 treatment of the lives of the aborigines. First and second 

 grade children love Hiawatha, as Longfellow pictures him 

 to us; from this beautiful poem they draw a truer verdict 

 about the lives of the Indians than is obtained from the 

 stories of war and bloodshed that are so frequently the only 

 knowledge possessed even by adults about the Indians. 



Special tact and training should be possessed by the one 

 who teaches beginners in the school room, for the task has 



peculiar difficulties. The history must be 

 Problems arranged with constant reference to the 



problems to be met. From the first sym- 

 pathy must be established between the teacher and the little 

 ones, for without it the best good of the year will be missed. 

 One of the earliest lessons for the untrained little minds to 

 master is the meaning of attention and how to concentrate 

 the thoughts upon the lesson. A well told, interesting story 

 is invaluable for this purpose; history is full of stories of 

 absorbing interest for young as well as old. The teacher's 



