General Methods 107 



pupil's success in his work; (e) to correlate with other 

 subjects, such as spelling, penmanship, composition, 

 and literature] (/) to develop that clearness and ac- 

 curacy of thinking which comes from clear and ac- 

 curate expression of thought; (g) to serve as a natural 

 foundation for the cultivation of the art of reading, 

 and the use and interpretation of language. 



5. POINT: (a) Neatness in writing and accuracy in 

 thinking are essential to a clear legible composition; 

 (b) each sentence should express only one leading 

 thought. 



6. PRESENTATION: (a) Provide fresh specimens for 

 re-examination when in doubt; (b) let pupils refer to 

 their notes; (c) place upon the board or dictate as 

 many general questions (or a suggestive outline) as 

 will cover the work done, and have pupils answer by 

 description or otherwise each question in a separate 

 paragraph; (see Part I, Chapter V, Section XIV and 

 XV); (d) ask pupil to copy, at the end of his com- 

 position, that stanza, or two, from a selected poem 

 or other subject, giving him expressly the liberty to 

 choose that stanza which most appeals to him; (e) 

 preserve the best of these compositions after they 

 have been read as a mark of distinction; (/) 

 number your leading questions, and have the corre- 

 sponding paragraph provided with a similar number 

 (see Part I, Chapter V, Section 14, 15); point out 

 to the pupil how the natural parts of an object might 

 each be described in a paragraph. (See Chapter 

 IV, Section 13.) 



7. PREPARATION FOR NEXT STEP: Assign literature 

 bearing on the subject to be read. 



8. NOTE. (a) This work can be done as seat work 

 or occupation when the teacher is crowded with other 

 work. But it is not to be slighted as it is a very im- 

 portant step] (b) the descriptive part should be strictly 

 scientific. 



