Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Literature Part 4

So they ran and ran, but had to return home because they did not find the king's house.

WISHES

(Primer, page 52)

The pupils knew by the pictures on page 52 that the lesson would be a delightful one, but when they attempted to read it, they found difficulties that lessened their pleasure somewhat.

They enjoyed reading "I wish I could find a little fat fly", but "sad little sigh" and "an odd little shrug" were very difficult to say and were meaningless until the children imitated the teacher's "sad little sighs" and "odd little shrugs".

The pupils were then asked which little chicken they would like to be.

The first pupil to respond was chosen. He went to the front of the room, which was then a garden, and with a much bigger sigh than was necessary, complained: "I wish I could find a little fat fly".

The other pupils then eagerly studied the page, that they might learn what the next little chicken said and did. The teacher was always ready to tell them any words they could not discover for themselves. One pupil could make a shrug but could not remember the second little chicken's words, so another was found who could say what the second little chicken said in just the way he would say it if he could talk. The other little chickens and the mother hen were chosen in a similar manner.

The mother hen could be seen busily scratching at one end of the garden, while her little chickens were walking aimlessly about.

_First Chicken_ (after sighing):

"I wish I could find a little fat fly."

_Second Chicken_ (with a shrug):

"I wish I could find a fat little bug."

_Third Chicken_ (with a squeaky voice):

"I wish I could feel some corn in my beak."

_Fourth Chicken_ (sighing):

"I wish I could find a fat worm on a leaf."

_Mother Hen_ (impatiently):

"See here, if you want things to eat, just come here and scratch."

INDIAN LULLABY

Rock-a-bye, my little owlet, In the mossy, swaying nest, With thy little woodland brothers, Close thine eyes and take thy rest.

Hush-a-bye, my little owlet, Many voices sing to thee; "Hush-a-bye," the water whispers, "Hush!" replies the tall pine tree.

--LONGFELLOW

There had been language lessons on the habits of the Indians; their way of living had been worked out, as far as possible, on the sand-table, and pictures representing Indian life had been shown. The pupils had eagerly constructed an Indian home--"Dark behind it rose the forest"

(twigs from the pine and other evergreen trees), "Bright before it beat the water".

The lessons in drawing, painting, end modelling had been connected with this work. From their boxes of coloured crayons, the pupils had selected the colours used in making the pine trees, the gra.s.s, the bark of the trees, the owl in the tree, the wigwams, etc.

From the many beautiful Indian lullabies that would have been suitable, the teacher selected the _Indian Lullaby_ by Longfellow. During the periods set apart for music, the pupils had been taught the desired melody with the syllable "loo".

_Teacher._ "How does your mother put baby to sleep?"

_Pupils._ "My mother rocks the baby in her arms." "Mine puts him on the bed and he falls asleep." "We rock our baby in a cradle," etc.

_Teacher._ "The picture I give you will show you what the Indian mother does with her baby."

Each pupil was given a small picture showing an Indian baby in his cradle suspended from a tree. These pictures had been cut from a supplement to _Primary Education_.

_Teacher._ "What has the mother done?"

_Pupils._ "She has put her baby in a basket and hung it on a tree."

_Teacher._ "Is the baby in the picture awake or asleep?"

_Pupils._ "He is asleep."

_Teacher._ "What could the baby see before he went to sleep?"

Here a picture--fourteen by twenty inches--was shown. It was a good representation of an Indian home and its surroundings. The pupils had made use of this picture when working at the sand-table.

_Pupils._ "He could see the pine trees, the water, the wigwams, the canoes, the Indians,"

etc.

_Teacher._ "What could the baby hear while swinging in his cradle?"

_Pupils._ "He could hear the Indians talking.

He could hear the wind among the trees; the water; the birds singing in the woods; the cry of an owl; perhaps wolves, bears," etc.

_Teacher._ "What other babies lived in the woods?"

_Pupils._ "Birds, squirrels, owls, wolves,"

etc.

_Teacher._ "A man once wrote what he thought an Indian mother might have sung to her baby. This is what he thought she would sing." (The teacher recited the _Indian Lullaby_.)

Individual pupils then repeated one stanza at a time with the a.s.sistance of the teacher.

The pupils sang softly the melody they had learned to "loo"; then all tried to sing the words with the teacher. The purpose was to emphasize the rhythm and interpret the spirit of the poem. The lesson occupied twelve to fifteen minutes. At another time, hectographed copies of the poem were given to the pupils, and as they had already partly memorized it, they soon learned to read it.

CHAPTER IV

FORM I: SENIOR GRADE