Brooks's Readers: First Year Part 1

Brooks's Readers: First Year.

by Stratton D. Brooks.

BROOKS'S READERS, FIRST YEAR.

The sole purpose of this book is to help the children to learn to read.

While it may ultimately lead to the acquisition of knowledge concerning many subjects, its present aim is only to make reading easy. The lessons are, therefore, on subjects familiar to every child. The words are such as children habitually use in conversation; they are introduced gradually, and as a rule are repeated many times. Since proficiency in reading is best attained by much practice, care has been taken to present as large an amount as possible of interesting matter which the child can readily master. Every line is for the pupil to read. The stories are so constructed as to encourage and secure naturalness of expression without the intervention of rules or formal drills. The gradation both in thought and in expression is easy and natural.

Although the learning of words by much repet.i.tion and familiarity with their forms is an essential feature of this book, its foundation is nevertheless phonetic. Yet, for the sake of leaving it perfectly adaptable to any method of teaching, the phonetic basis has not been emphasized. The systematic introduction of words which may serve as key-words for the acquisition of others containing similar phonetic elements has been carefully observed, and it is believed that this is the natural method untrammeled by any artificial cla.s.sification.

As further aids toward making the child's first reading lessons easy, the sentences are short. There are no broken lines in the first hundred pages. Indentations help the young reader to keep the place. There are no interfering ill.u.s.trations in the text. Each story is complete without turning a leaf.

Grateful acknowledgments are extended to Miss Frances Lilian Taylor of Galesburg, Illinois, to Mr. W. J. b.u.t.ton of Chicago, and to Miss Matilda Mitch.e.l.l, primary teacher, Phillips Brooks School, Boston, for valuable suggestions and a.s.sistance.

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS

As stated on the preceding page, the foundation of this work is phonetic. The author believes that children may profitably learn many words without reference to their phonetic composition, and that among these certain key-words should be selected from which the elementary sounds of the language may be developed. These elements will give the pupils the power of acquiring new words. For example, observe the following key-words and the sounds developed from them:--

[**Transcriber's Note: To represent the diacritical marks used in the text, square brackets have been used to enclose a letter and a symbol. The symbol precedes the letter to represent a symbol above the letter, and follows the letter to represent a mark below the letter.

[)x] - a letter with a breve above it, [x+] - a letter with an up tack (upside down "T") under it, [=x] - a letter with a macron above it, [~x] - a letter with a tilde above it, [.x] - a letter with a dot above it, [x:] - a letter with a diaresis under it.

The "$" signs are used to represent bold typeface.]

Page 5, $flag$; teach f, l, [)a], g.

Page 7, $fan$; teach n.

Page 8, $can$; teach c.

Page 10, $has$; teach h, [s+].

Page 10, $get$; teach [)e], t.

Page 12, $cap$; teach p.

Page 13, $drum$; teach d, r, [)u].

Page 14, $am$; teach m.

Page 15, $not$; teach [)o].

Page 15, $big$; teach b, [)i].

Page 16, $see$; teach s, [=e].

Page 17, $ball$; teach [a:].

Page 17, $play$; teach [=a].

Page 18, $jump$; teach j.

Page 19, $bird$; teach [~i].

Page 19, $fly$; teach [=y] = [=i].

Page 21, $wall$; teach w.

Page 24, $good$; teach oo.

Page 25, $with$; teach th.

Page 31, $some$; teach [.o].

Observe the great number of easy and common words that may be developed from the sounds thus learned from the first ten key-words named above.

The list includes _an_, _as_, _ran_, _had_, _pan_, _man_, _tan_, _let_, _met_, _pet_, _bet_, _men_, _pen_, _fig_, _did_, _bit_, _little_, _not_, _lot_, _got_, _hot_, _log_, and a great many more. Similar key-words emphasizing the remaining sounds should be selected as the work proceeds. Teachers preferring to introduce the sounds less rapidly, may teach these first words as words and select others later in the book to serve as key-words. The blackboard should be in constant use, and the pupils' ingenuity in forming new words and new sentences should be tested at every recitation. The few exercises in script given at the beginning of the book are suggestive of the manner in which much additional drill in reading may be presented on the blackboard. The diacritical marks should not be taught to the children.

[**Transcriber's Note: The { } are used to denote handwritten script.]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

a flag

{a flag} a flag

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

I have a flag

{I have a flag}

[Ill.u.s.tration]

I have a fan.

I see the fan.

See the fan.

See the fan I have.

{I have a fan.} {I see the fan.} {See the fan I have.}

[Ill.u.s.tration]

See the flag.

I have the fan.

I can see the flag.

I have a dog.

Can the dog have the flag?

The dog can see the flag.

Can I see the dog?

Can I see a fan?

Can the dog see the fan?

can fan flag dog

I see a flag.

I see a fan.

I see a dog.

The dog can see.

The dog can have the flag.

I can have the fan.