HISTORY IN PRIMARY GRADES 



The aims of the work in history during the second year 

 are a broadening out of those in the first year. The pupils 



should be learning more about the world, 

 Aims and . . - . t . , > 



Time acquiring their knowledge in good form, 



and gaming the power to use readily what- 

 ever they learn. The time for history is the same as in the 

 first grade, twenty minutes daily for two weeks out of every 

 month. This period is used variously by the teachers, ac- 

 cording to their own judgment of their classes; but, ordi- 

 narily, it is given to oral presentation and reproductions, the 

 written reproductions being put into the time for penman- 

 ship or drills in writing, and the illustrative drawings be- 

 longing to the period for drawing. The history story is 

 looked upon as furnishing material for these subjects, jtist 

 as is the case with the literature and nature study. Written 

 reproductions and drills in writing can be worked in to- 

 gether very well so long as both are formal, as in the simple 

 copying of the stories. When original stories begin, their 

 writing can not be associated with drills in penmanship, for 

 the latter is purely formal while the story writing is largely 

 creative, at least in the meaning of creative for this age. 



Some teachers prefer to tell a portion of the story, having 

 the reproduction follow immediately, so that the details will 

 ._ ^ , not be forgotten. In this method the teach- 



er's narration will extend over all of the first 

 week, and perhaps part of the second, accompanied every 

 day by the pupil's reproduction of the story of the preceding 

 day, and a resume of the narrative as just given. The final 

 review takes the form of either an oral or a written repro- 

 duction of all or of a chosen part of the story. If time per- 

 mits, the story is both told and written by the children. 



