Harry Jewett Jeschke

“ By seeing written products grow in clearness, force, interest, beauty, and language effectiveness as the class faces the problem of improving them, by seeing the better word displace the good and the phrase of color the colorless one, by watching the vague thought give way to the vivid thought, pupils will be impressed as in no other way with the fact that the first draft of any written expression, brief or long, is merely the first draft, merely a basis, a beginning, a preliminary sketch, for the finished written composition. ”

“ She drove over the fields in her magic chariot and waved her wand. Then the trees put forth green leaves, the grain sprouted, and the fruits glistened in red and gold colors. She was the queen of all growing plants.
Ceres had an only daughter, of whom she was very fond. Her name was Proserpina. [62] One day Proserpina begged her mother to allow her to go into the meadow to gather flowers.
"You hardly ever let me wander in the fields, Mother," she said. "Other girls go. Do let me go to-day. I shall be gone only a short time."
[Pg 126]
Ceres did not like to let her daughter go. ”

“ The walls were lined with shelves, on which were placed the Christmas things. This was an interesting place, but Peter had no time to stay. He was eager to help at the machine saws, at the planing machines, at the workbenches, and in the bakeshop. So he hurried back to these. He did first one thing, then another, as he was needed. He was used to work and liked to help.
The fairies were careful workers and jolly comrades. Now and then they sang as they worked. Then the machines themselves, like the fingers and arms and legs of the workmen, seemed to move faster and the work to be easier. ”

“ Group Exercise. After each telling of the fable you and the other pupils should tell the story-teller, first, what things in his story you liked, and, second, what could be made better.
Sometimes pupils do not speak loud enough for the class to hear. Sometimes they do not seem strong enough to stand squarely on their two feet while they are speaking. They seem to need to hold on to a chair or table, so as not to fall. Those who stand well and speak with a clear, ringing voice should be praised for it by their classmates. ”

“ Peter, the younger one, made his father and mother very happy. Joseph, the elder, caused them much worry.
The toymaker would say: "Put wood on the fire, boys. We cannot work if we are not warm." Peter would go to the shed at once, bring in an armful of wood, put some of it in the stove and the rest in the woodbox. All the while Joseph would stay in the warm room and would not lift a finger to help him.
So it was with everything. Peter worked steadily at his father's side most of the day, whittling and gluing and painting toys, while Joseph slipped away and spent his time in idleness and play. ”

“ The questions and answers go on until every pupil in the class has spoken. Then those who made no mistake in their answers join in an Indian dance. They march up and down the aisles, clapping their hands and chanting, "All good Indians have done their work."
2. The old Indian squaw again leaves and again returns to her children. ”

“ Let pupils give free rein to their imaginations. Some of the best sentences may be written on the board, both for their content interest and to emphasize again the capital letter at the beginning, the punctuation mark at the end, and capital I. Besides, work in variety of expression or in amplification may profitably become an incident of the game. Thus, a sentence like "I saw an automobile" offers a real opportunity. It should be placed on the board. By means of questions the class should be led to amplify it, to give it definition, color, interest. ”

“ Needless to say, much more is required in the way of answer than a supply of raw material for language work or a graded sequence of formal lessons in primary English.
It is the purpose of the present book to provide a series of schoolroom situations, so built up as to give pupils delightful experiences in speaking and writing good English. Since one can no more teach without the interest of the pupil than see without light, these situations have for their content the natural interests of children. ”

“ Some of you boys will probably wish for a trip to the moon in a magic airplane. The trip is yours the moment you speak your wish. Some of you girls will probably wish to spend the two summer months in fairyland. Your wish, too, will come true.
Now I must say good-bye. Before I leave I shall make one more circle in the air with my wand. For whom is this? It is for the teacher. When the wishing begins, the teacher must have a wish, too. ”

“ Tell him that you want to become a lion trainer. Ask him what you must do to get ready for this work. Ask his advice about it. Perhaps he will tell you something interesting about lions.
2. Telephone to the keepers and trainers of other wild animals.
3. Telephone to the clown, or the juggler, or the tightrope walker, or the horseback rider.
4. Telephone to a pupil and try to make a plan with him for going to the circus to-morrow. Where shall you meet him? How will you prove to your parents and to your teacher that it will do you more good to spend the afternoon at the circus than in school? ”

“ If the purpose of language teaching is the improvement of pupils' speaking and writing, pupils must speak and write abundantly. But they must do more. Two garrulous housewives may gossip over the back fence for years and at the end of that time speak no better than at the beginning. ”

“ Pupils may play that they are a band of fairies going to Santa Claus to offer their services in the great toyshop. One pupil is Santa Claus. He asks each pupil to explain what he can do in the way of making Christmas things. Then he puts them to work. See the game in section 67.
[Pg vii]
Note 35 (page 67) . Teachers who preserve the best riddles will find them useful means of stimulating subsequent classes to their best endeavor. A riddle book may gradually be made by a teacher's successive classes, each class contributing its best. Only worthy pieces of work may be included. ”

“ An interesting game is sometimes played by pupils, which teaches them to use four words, went, saw, came, and did, correctly. Besides, it teaches them to have sharp eyes.
Game. Many things are placed on the teacher's desk. At a word all the pupils in the class march past the desk and try to see everything on it as they pass. When they have returned to their seats, the teacher asks questions that the pupils answer. ”

“ For example, if you are a circus horse, show it by prancing about, but do not lose your place in the parade. If you are an elephant, show it by your walk. You might use a piece of rope or cloth for an elephant's trunk. If you are a horseback rider, show it by talking to your horse in low tones and by holding him in line. If you are a clown, show it by acting as clowns do. [76] If you are a musician, play your instrument as you march.
Perhaps the teacher will let the parade pass into the hall, so that the piano may be played as the class marches. ”

“ If a class excursion could be made into the woods or to a river or park, it should be done. Some time during this group of lessons dramatization may take the form of playing that the schoolroom is a meadow or a wood in which pupils wander about picking flowers, seeing birds and animals. ”

“ It is desirable that all pupils take part in the dramatizations, and not only the favored or the forward few. Besides, each pupil should be encouraged to play the part as he sees it. Originality, not thoughtless imitation, is desired. It is the differences that will be recognized as interesting and valuable in schoolrooms where individuality is encouraged; and it is the differences that justify repeated playing of the same story before the same audience. ”

“ Game. The class is divided into two equal sides. Five pupils of one side go to the board. Each pupil writes a question. The questions may be about dogs or horses or Indians or anything that the class may choose. When they are written, the whole class reads them carefully to see whether there are any mistakes in them. Every mistake that is pointed out counts one score for the side that finds it. When the questions have been corrected, five pupils of the other side write the answers. These, in turn, are read by the class for mistakes. ”

“ It is astonishing and delightful how well little people do when they are permitted to take the initiative and to assume responsibility. Frequently pupils should be allowed to work out a play alone, the teacher helping only when asked or when the situation calls loudly for her assistance. ”

“ The more realistic this can be made, the more fun there will be for the pupils, and the more profit for them from the English teacher's point of view. Each child should have a telephone number. A "Central" should answer rings and make connections. A little bell might be used. Toy telephones might be employed. The children are to play at telephoning, with emphasis on the play. Not until we have a deep stream of pleasure running in the class consciousness can we float the technical freight for whose sure delivery to the pupils the language teacher is responsible. ”

“ What is desired is not mere fullness but fullness of interesting detail.
[Pg iii] Note 9 (page 7) . After pupils have read the introduction to the poem, or the teacher has freely developed one (see Note 1) , the poem should be read aloud by the teacher, in order that the class may be impressed at once with its rhythm and thought. A second reading by the teacher, immediately following the first, may be advisable, in order to deepen the first favorable impression. With most classes every selection in the book should be read, the first time, by the teacher to the class. ”

“ Some say that one of the fairies brings the dreams. They say that it is Queen Mab, a queen of the fairies, who brings them. The following poem tells about this good fairy, who flutters down from the moon. It tells how she waves her silver wand above the heads of boys and girls when they are asleep. Then, at once, they begin to dream. They dream of the pleasantest things. They dream of delicious fruit trees and bubbling [Pg 7] fountains. Sometimes, like Tom, they dream of an elf or a dwarf who leads them over fairy hills to fairyland itself. ”

“ While the fable of the ants and the grasshoppers is occupying the attention of the pupils certain classic phrasings of its lesson may profitably be put on the board. See Proverbs, Chapter VI, verses 6-11, besides the quotations below. A lesson devoted to the study of these may be given, followed by exercises in copying and memorizing.
"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
"Work while it is day: for the night cometh, when no man can work." ”

“ Play the part of the fable that tells what happened in the summer. First the ants will be seen at their [Pg 17] work. They talk with each other as they work. They say what they think about the lazy grasshoppers they see in the distance. Now the grasshoppers slowly come along, humming tunes. They talk about the beautiful summer. They laugh at the hard-working ants. At last they call to the ants and invite these to join them in a dance or in a song. Read the fable to see what each thinks and says and does in this part of the story. ”

“ Telephone to a classmate and ask him where the circus is to be. Play that you are a new pupil in the school and do not know the roads and streets very well. Keep asking the classmate questions about how to reach the circus grounds. He should answer so clearly that a stranger would not miss the way. ”

“ The promise may be made that as soon as they learn to write their thoughts well, they will be given a chance to make books.
Note 44 (page 81) . The moment a word is mispronounced in the story-telling or other exercises, it should be added to a list kept on the board. Pupils will soon become alert for errors of this kind. From such a small beginning may well grow a class language conscience, a class pride in its English, and thus finally an individual conscientiousness in the use of the mother tongue. ”