296 METHODS IN TEACHING 



SIXTH YEAR GRADE 



As the pupils grow older their work should become more 



scholarly and their methods of reproduction and composition 



should be growing more and more mature. 



Need of 



M t r - i The grammar grades are the starved grades 



in many schools, although unconsciously so. 

 Children in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades can read 

 much if they have the material. They long to know about 

 the world, the whole world ; no country is so remote that it 

 can not arouse their curiosity, no people so quaint that it can 

 not interest them. The sense of acquisitiveness is so strong 

 at this time that, rightly managed, an immense amount of 

 information can be gained between the years of eleven and 

 fifteen. How much many children read at home! How 

 eager they are to visit every " show " that comes along ! It 

 is the natural desire of the time of life. The world is be- 

 ginning to assert its hold over the imaginations, and these 

 are the years when habits of work and reading are becoming 

 life methods. This condition is not fully enough recognized 

 in our schools; to do so would be expensive, for it would 

 mean equipping grade libraries. Consequently, children 

 suffer from an ill-timed economy. There should be books 

 in abundance where the children can use them freely. These 

 should be on all subjects within the comprehension of the 

 children, and some of them should be leading out into new 

 fields of thought so attractively that inquiring minds will be 

 charmed along hitherto unknown paths. Better equip- 

 ments for children in science and manual training are being 

 granted in many schools, and it is to be hoped that the pur- 

 chase of well selected grade libraries for every school, or 



