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A guide to teaching in the intermediate grades

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Title:
A guide to teaching in the intermediate grades
Series Title:
Bulletin
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Florida -- State Dept. of Education
Place of Publication:
Tallahassee Fla
Publisher:
[s.n.]
Publication Date:
Language:
English
Physical Description:
98 p. : illus., map. ; 23 cm.

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Subjects / Keywords:
Education ( lcsh )
Education -- Curricula -- Florida ( lcsh )
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government publication (state, provincial, terriorial, dependent) ( marcgt )
bibliography ( marcgt )

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Bibliography:
Includes bibliographical references.
General Note:
"October, 1944."
Funding:
Bulletin (Florida. State Dept. of Education) ;

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University of Florida
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All applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.
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21318940 ( OCLC )

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A GUIDE TO

TEACHING


BULLETIN NO. 47


INTERMEDIATE

GRADES


OCTOBER, 1944


STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
COLIN ENGLISH, Superintendent Tallahassee, Florida


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A Guide to


TEACHING IN THE

INTERMEDIATE GRADES


Bulletin No. 47
October, 1944


STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Tallahassee, Florida
Colin English, State Superintendent of Schools
W. T. Edwards, Acting Director, Division of Instruction







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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Foreword .................................. ................................. v
Map of Florida's School Population......................... ....................... vi


PART ONE

MAKING GENERAL INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS
SR ECEN T T REN DS IN T EACH ING................................................... ................................. 1
S T ERM S IN C OM M ON U SE.................................................................... ............................ 7
M M AKING THE D AILY SCH EDULE.................................................... ............................ 11
>, MAKING THE SCHOOL SETTING ATTRACTIVE ................................. ..... 16


PART TWO

/ MAKING DETAILED INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS
INSTRUCTION IN THE LANGUAGE ARTS
Instruction in R eading........................... ............ ... .................. 20
S Instruction in Handwriting............................................ 37
Instruction in Spelling........................................... ..................................................... 40
Instruction in Oral and Written Language............................................... 43
SINSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES........................................................................... 51
, INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND SAFETY........................ .......... 64
INSTRUCTION IN ARITHMETIC.....H......N.... ... ......................... 1
^ IN STRU CTION IN A RITH M ETIC ................................................................................................ 71
'INSTRUCTION IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION.............. .... ................ 80
SINSTRUCTION IN MUSIC................................ .................................... .................... 83
INSTRUCTION IN PRACTICAL AND FINE ARTS............................................... 92


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS

BULLETINS HELPFUL TO ELEMENTARY TEACHERS.......................................... 97

iiI












INTRODUCTION


At the request of many principals, supervisors, and county school
superintendents, "A Guide to Teaching in Intermediate Grades" and
its companion volume, "A Guide to Teaching in the Primary
Grades," have been prepared for use in the elementary schools.
These bulletins should prove helpful in assisting teachers in ob-
taining a general over-view of the curriculum for grades 1-3 and
4-6. They summarize in brief form much of the material hereto-
fore available only in separate bulletins dealing with various areas
of elementary school work.
Within the limited number of pages contained in "A Guide to
Teaching in the Intermediate Grades" are to be found summarizing
statements and suggestions which should lead the teacher to secure
and read with care additional materials which contain a fuller treat-
ment of the topics presented.
The more detailed curriculum bulletins dealing with teaching in
the elementary school issued by the State Department of Education
since 1938 and the various manuals provided by the publishers of
the state-adopted textbooks can be read with profit by teachers who
wish to have more complete information.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Miss Cleva Carson of the
University of Florida for her help in the preparation of the section
dealing with music. Appreciation is also expressed to the school
systems which contributed pictures. All of the pictures used in the
bulletin represent scenes from Florida classrooms. Appreciation
should also be extended to Miss Mildred Swearingen of the Division
of Instruction Staff who assumed major responsibility for organizing
and putting into written form the material contained in the present
bulletin.
COLIN ENGLISH,
State Superintendent of Public Instruction















WHERE THE SCHOOL CHILDREN OF FLORIDA LIVE


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Part I
MAKING GENERAL INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS


RECENT TRENDS IN TEACHING
Over the past twenty years the increasing knowledge of child
growth and development has led to a better understanding of how
children learn. This greater understanding has gradually shaped
classroom procedures or ways of teaching until certain trends are
clear. Today emphasis is placed upon:
1. Knowing the child. Children differ from one another and
for that reason a teacher cannot think of her whole class as though
it were a single-acting unit. The individuals within the class are
at different stages in their physical and mental development; they
bring from home and out-of-school life different personal problems
that will sometimes sharpen and sometimes distract their attention;
they have different experiences upon which to draw for the
meaning of new words and situations. Teachers will want to use
every means available for learning about the child. School records,
including health and attendance reports, are helpful. Informal
visits to the homes to talk with parents regarding children's special
interests are essential to an understanding of the individual and
to the close cooperation of school and home.
2. Flexible grouping within a class. Since all pupils are not
alike when they assemble in the classroom at the first of the year,
and, had they been alike, would not remain so because of the
irregularity of physical and mental growth, flexible grouping within
the classroom is important to efficient learning. By flexible group-
ing is meant the placing of the various members of a class in two
or more groups so that instruction may be varied according to
the needs of the groups. Thus, in a sixth grade class in handwriting
one group might be doing library reading or creative writing since
its members had already met a high standard of handwriting
achievement, a second group might be practicing for improvement
in slant since that was the greatest need of its members, and a


























































.ai~


The schools of today are concerned about the health of the ohild. A well-
balanced meal eaten under desirable conditions insures greater vitality for
the child and a more alert mind.


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RECENT TRENDS IN TEACHING


third group might be practicing letter formation to distinguish
between e and i, a and o. Or, in a first grade reading class one
group might be reading in the primer, one in the first part of the
reader, and one in the latter part of the reader. In flexible group-
ing, membership in the groups changes as children vary in their
growth and as new activities are undertaken to meet discovered
needs. Thus, a child might be with one group for reading and
with another for arithmetic. On other occasions the whole class
might work as a total group. The teacher will constantly be re-
considering her pupils in terms of all data available, re-classifying
and re-grouping.
3. Making the whole day educational. Every moment and
every incident of the child's life present opportunities for educa-
tion. Therefore, the school's curriculum is not confined to
textbooks, nor is learning limited to the actual classroom. The
normal activities of the day are now recognized as opportunities
for putting into practice what the pupil learns in the classroom.
Thus, waiting courteously in the cafeteria line instead of shoving
is better evidence of good citizenship than correct answers in
response to a written test given in the classroom. Similarly, the
selection of a balanced lunch is better proof of knowledge of
nutrition than the checking in a workbook of a multiple choice
list of foods. What children do while they wait for a bus may
be the means of developing wider interests in handcrafts, library
reading, and hobbies. The teacher of today sees the playground
activities, the lunch period, the passing of pupils in the halls not
as irksome periods, when her sole purpose is to prevent disorder,
but as opportunities to reinforce what she is already teaching.
4. Recognizing maturation. Normal children develop gradually
in their mental capacities and perceptual growth. Processes and
ideas that appear complex to a pupil at a given age may be readily
grasped at a somewhat later period when his experiences have
been more numerous and his attention span is longer. For instance,
the idea of subtraction in fractions, where a fraction is taken from
a whole number or where borrowing is involved, is extremely
difficult for most nine year old children. Those who may perform
the process usually do so mechanically and only after many time-
consuming repetitions. Such skill as the pupil attains is soon lost







TEACHINGG IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


because it is not accompanied by understanding, and the material
has to be retaught. On the other hand, if the process of subtraction
of fractions is not presented for mastery until the child has had
experiences with fractions and the part they play in his everyday
life, the process can be readily grasped. Maturation often succeeds
where too early instruction fails.
5. Spreading topics over several grades. Many concepts are
complex and need to be developed slowly through many experiences.
Thus, a child needs to meet the idea of percentage through such
common occurrences as daily attendance records or batting aver-
ages long before he is called upon to find percentages in abstract
problems. Fundamental concepts in science and social studies
need to begin in the first grade and be broadened and deepened
by the experiences of succeeding years. In reading, it was assumed
for years that in the first three grades a child learned to read
and from that point on he employed the skill he had acquired.
But actually learning to read is spread over all twelve grades
and continues in adult life. The third grade pupil has not learned
all he is later capable of knowing about phonetic elements and
other means of word analysis; he cannot possibly attach meaning
to all the words he is going to need, for he has not yet had the
experiences that permit him to form the ideas for which the words
(printed symbols) stand.
6. Using varied procedures and materials. Textbooks are a
teacher's most frequently used tool, but they are far from the only
tool she should employ. Nor is reading the only means of learning.
The child's own experiences and observation often provide the
basis for worthwhile discussions that give point and life to the
more traditional types of learning. Visual aids and auditory aids,
such as slides, simple museum collections, models, radio, and sound
films, are often available. Newspapers and current, well-illustrated
magazines are a rich source of bulletin board material. Variety
of procedures encourages interest, appeals to different senses, and
enlarges concepts through permitting a pupil to recognize the
common element in different situations. Not all students learn
equally well, nor the most economically, from the printed page.
Every avenue of learning should be used.
7. Seeing relationships. Teachers are expected to help pupils








RECENT TRENDS IN TEACHING 5

relate in a functional way the information taught in all areas. This
condition has always been true, but it is only of recent years that
its real importance has been recognized. Formerly, it was assumed
that children would automatically see the connections among facts
or apply the textbook facts to their own lives. But, unfortunately,
pupils frequently failed to make such connections and applications.
Facts learned in the language class about paragraphing and out-
lining were not applied to the social studies report the child was
preparing; nor were the facts learned in social studies about truck
farm produce in his own state related in his thinking to what
he had just learned in science about ice or refrigeration in pre-
serving food. Unit teaching and integration represent the effort
to bring facts together. Whatever method is used, teachers will
want to make a constant and conscious effort to help pupils see
relationships among their learning activities; otherwise, facts
remain isolated, do not supplement one another, and are seldom
carried into the life of the pupil.
8. Faculty planning. Good teaching naturally requires pre-
planning of the work for the day and over a period of time.
Beyond that, however, good teaching also requires careful planning
by the total faculty. Teachers need to understand one another's
aims and purposes, to be acquainted with the material and pro-
cedures of one another's classes, if maximum cooperation is to
take place and if the work of the school is to be a well-developed
whole instead of a series of fragments. Some problems of school
living, such as citizenship, are obviously the concern of every
teacher, and goals and policies must be studied by teachers to-
gether. Other matters of curriculum are just as truly, if less
obviously, problems for faculty-wide study. Thus, good hand-
writing by every pupil cannot be achieved by a few teachers
within a school no matter how hard they work, for good hand-
writing is the product of careful attention through the entire
school life of the pupil. It is only when teachers plan together
that concerted action can take place.
9. Individual teacher planning. In planning her work, each
teacher will need to consider the scope of the whole year's work,
break it into large time blocks of several weeks each, and observe
the relative importance of topics before undertaking day-by-day








6 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

plans. She will need to consider the community's resources and
needs, and the particular children in her class. She will find
health, attendance, and cumulative records helpful in discovering
the needs and interests of children, and will do her part to keep
such records accurate and up-to-date. She will need to set aside
some portion of the day, before or after the pupils are present,
for preparing the next day's work, when she can assemble pictures
and other aids, consult manuals and curriculum bulletins, prepare
or select practice materials suitable to her group, and examine
library and reference material.
10. Evaluating pupil progress. Measuring pupil progress is
no longer confined to periodic tests in subject matter. Rather, a
child's progress is judged day by day as it is shown in his attitudes,
and in his command or use of subject matter. A child who does
his "spelling lesson" perfectly has not really made good progress
until he has both the desire and the habit of using the words cor-
rectly in his daily writing. Traditionally, promotion has depended
on meeting group standards of achievement in subject matter.
Today it is recognized that other factors are also important-the
child's social adjustment to his age group, his physical condition,
his attitudes toward school, his habits of work, his capacity to
learn, his mental health. If a child started at normal school age
and is two years over-age for his group, the probability is great
that he will gain more by taking advantage of an adjusted program
involving new material than by repeating old experiences. Report-
ing pupil progress in an adequate manner involves careful analysis
of accomplishment in the light of all objectives, and any written
statements or cards should be supplemented by teacher-parent
conferences.1


I For further discussion of evaluation, see Way& to Better Instruction in
Florida Sohools, Bulletin No. 2, State Department of Education, Tallahassee,
Florida, pp. 272-306.








TERMS IN COMMON USE 7

TERMS IN COMMON USE

1. Elementary school-Grades one through six; in some cases
on account of transportation or building difficulties grades seven
and eight are included in the elementary school.
2. Primary grades-Grades one through three. This level in-
cludes kindergartens where they exist as a regular part of the
public school system.
3. Intermediate grades-Grades four through six.
4. Secondary school-Grades seven through twelve.
5. Junior high school-Grades seven through nine. In a few
instances the junior high is composed of grades seven and eight
or seven through ten.
6. Senior high school-Grades ten through twelve; sometimes
nine through twelve.
7. A.D.A.-Average daily attendance, the figure representing
the average number of pupils in attendance over a period of a
month or year. It is the figure upon which financial aid is ap-
portioned by the state to the counties.
8. Board of Public Instruction-A group of three to five mem-
bers elected to be responsible for the operation of the schools as
a county system.
9. Trustees-Three members of a local school district elected
by the people of that district to be responsible for the operation
of the schools locally.
10. Curriculum-All experiences under the direction of the
school which aid children in learning.
11. Curriculum development-The curriculum should never be
static. There should be constant effort to include additional ex-
periences found helpful to learning and to discard methods or
materials that have proved wasteful.
12. Language arts-The relating of all subjects dealing with
communicating thought, such as, reading, writing, spelling, oral
and written language.
13. Social Studies-The relating of history, geography, health,
safety, and civics in such a way as to develop unified understandings.








TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


14. Manuscript writing-A system of writing, now commonly
used in the primary grades, in which the letters are formed by
straight lines, circles, and half circles. Because of its simple lines,
it is soon learned by a child, and because it resembles the printed
letter forms he sees in reading, it aids rather than confuses his
learning of reading. Later, when connecting strokes between
letters are added and slant is developed, manuscript evolves into
familiar cursive writing.
15. Reading readiness-Commonly refers to the period in which
a child acquires sufficient experience and mental and physical
maturity to learn reading efficiently. It is also applied to readiness
at successive levels to indicate the emotional, mental, and physical
maturity necessary to learn increasingly difficult reading.
16. Unit-A curriculum unit refers to a block of related sub-
ject matter, such as letter writing or the study of Central America.
The broader meaning of the term, however, as used in "large unit
teaching" refers to a series of activities necessary to the solution
of a problem which is real to the child. Such activities cut across
subject matter lines in several fields but do not necessarily involve
all fields all the time.
17. Integration-The sustained effort to weave content to-
gether in such a manner that all knowledge and skills possessed
by a child are focused on a specific idea or problem.
18. Extended School Services-A program of -services for
children of working mothers, in all-day nursery school and kinder-
garten for children of the ages from 2-5 inclusive, and for school
age children before and after school, on Saturdays and during
vacation periods. These programs are financed through funds
provided from the federal government by the Lanham Act and
from fees collected from the parents, plus community contributions.
Each program is under the direct supervision and control of the
local county school system.
19. School lunch program-That part of the school's total
program which concerns itself with food eaten at school whether
it be a packed lunch eaten in a place provided for the child or
a completely adequate meal served in an expertly managed school
lunch department. The school lunch department, like all other








TERMS IN COMMON USE 9

school departments, is the administrative responsibility of the
school principal. It should be a curriculum laboratory where
children learn some of the best ways of solving some of their basic
problems of nutrition, healthful living, and citizenship.2

20. School month-The period of time, 20 days unless a legal
holiday has intervened, for which attendance reports are made.
21. State-adopted textbooks-Textbooks adopted by the state
are provided in grades 1-12 without expense to pupils.3 Funds to
defray the cost of textbooks are appropriated by each legislature
and are credited to the counties in accordance with a definite
formula involving the number of pupils and the cost of books at
each grade level. A local school obtains its textbooks by filing
with the county superintendent an annual inventory of books on
hand and an estimate of needs for the following year. From these
inventories and estimates the county's requisition for the following
year is compiled. It is apparent that a local school must anticipate
and make known its needs if the books are to be on hand at the
proper time. If a teacher does not find the books she needs in
the classroom, the book storeroom, or some other classroom, she
should consult the principal about the possibility of securing them.
When the books are issued to the pupils, each child signs a book
receipt and is responsible for the return of the book or payment
for loss or damage. Textbooks should be thoughtfully requisitioned
and carefully used and accounted for, not only as an example of
the wise use of public property but also as a means of saving money
for use in the purchase of library books. A school that can effect
savings in its textbook fund may use 75% of the amount saved in
the purchase of library books from the state list.
22. Experience chart-An informal chart usually prepared on
large size newsprint either in manuscript writing or with a hand
printing set, which relates some incident or excursion in which

For help in developing such plans, see Making School Lunches Educa-
tional, Nutrition Education Series, Pamphlet No. 2, U.S. Office of Education.
A copy may be obtained from the State Department of Education, Tallahassee,
Florida.
For details regarding textbook adoptions, including teacher partici-
pation in selection through a textbook rating committee, see Florida School
Laws, State Department of Education, Tallahassee, Florida, pp. 168-172.









10 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


the children have participated. The children dictate the story
and the teacher acts as a scribe. Later the children read the chart
or charts. Chart making and reading help develop the following
abilities:
a. The ability to see that printed forms can convey meaning.
b. The ability to think in sequence and see relationships.
c. The ability to read from left to right and down the page.
d. The ability to read in sentences.
e. The ability to use content clues.
f. The ability to recognize certain important words through gross
configuration, particularly proper names.

Experience charts are used almost daily by primary, teachers, es-
pecially first grade teachers, during the reading readiness period.
However, experience charts have certain values in the middle and
upper grades, (See b, e, f above.) Experiences in social studies
and science can often be summarized to good effect and language
skills developed. New words already in the speaking vocabulary
can be introduced in written form.

23. Workbook-Consumable material which, if it is used, must
be purchased each year by the pupils or from local funds. There
is a growing tendency among teachers to be discriminating in the
amount and nature of workbook material used. A teacher will
want to consider the following questions:
a. What are the purposes in using the workbook, (as, individualized
practice, mass drill, quick review)?
b. Does the workbook extend the instruction begun in the state-
adopted textbooks, actually helping pupils learn important
concepts?
c. Are the exercises varied, giving some opportunity for thought
and the use of the skill involved?
d. Will the use of the workbook, good though it may be in itself,
.absorb time needed for other types of activities? (In language
work particularly, it is easy to become so intent upon the mastery
of written skills that the equally important oral skills may be
neglected. Also the drills in the workbook may use the time
and interest of the child to the exclusion of the same type of
practice that might have arisen normally in other learning
situations.)








TERMS IN COMMON USE 11

24. Homework-Any school activity carried on at home. It is
not necessarily drill material involving pencil, paper, and books.
Making posters, assembling collections, building models, and wide
reading are also homework. In the first three grades little or no
homework is expected. In the intermediate grades, the trend is
away from mass assignments of daily set tasks toward the in-
spirational or appreciative type of activity including reading, art
work, home projects in science, and music. A few pupils, because
of the slowness with which they work or because of absence, may
need to finish at home what is begun at school. Such work needs
to have the parents' interest and cooperation.


MAKING THE DAILY SCHEDULE
Good scheduling of the school day is important to the health
of the child, to the efficiency of his learning, and to the peace
of mind of the teacher.
Three important factors in planning the day so that pupils
remain alert and comparatively free from' fatigue are balance,
rhythm, and flexibility. Balance refers to the need for all areas
or subjects to receive an adequate or proportional share of the
time. Too much time spent on any one field can lead to a dulling
of interest and to the neglect of other important experiences.
Rhythm refers to the need for variety and contrast in the day's
work if interest is to be maintained. There is a rhythm of activity
and rest, of close application and relaxation, of large muscle ac-
tivities and small muscle activities, of mental effort and physical
effort. Flexibility refers to the need for judgment in following
a schedule. A class that is intensely interested in industrial arts
or an arithmetic explanation may need to continue that subject a
few minutes longer although the clock says it is the scheduled
time to change. The blind following of even a good schedule can
result in many lost opportunities for learning.
Good scheduling of the day should make some provision for
three different kinds of instruction.4 There should be a time for
'For a detailed discussion of planning the daily program see A Guide
to Improved Practice in Elementary Schools, Bulletin No. 9, State Department
of Education (Tallahassee, 1940) pp. 65-75.








12 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

large unit work (or integrative teaching) when pupils are helped
to see the relationships among the things they are learning and to
employ the skills acquired in the direct teaching phase. Second,
there should be a time for direct teaching. Even though much
good work is accomplished through integration, there are many
skills and techniques that must be established through direct
teaching. Third, there should be a time for individual help. All
pupils do not learn all subject matter at the same rate or with
equal ease; therefore, there should be some time which the teacher
plans to devote to helping individuals with their particular
difficulties.

IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF A DAILY SCHEDULE *
1. Devotionals. The devotional period can be one of great in-
fluence, and its value will be vastly increased through the children's
planning and participation. The period should be definitely
planned and not left to last minute chance. Some of the activities
commonly used are: the daily Bible reading by pupil or teacher,
prayer, choral reading, pledge to the flag, group singing, stories,
poems, and pictures. A small pamphlet Suggestions for Bible
Readings in Florida Public Schools (1940) is available from the
State Department of Education and is helpful in selecting Bible
readings that are of interest to children at different age levels.
2.. Cooperative planning. A teacher-pupil planning period
should occur near the beginning of the school day. It may be
quite short at first and longer later in the year as both teacher
and pupils become more experienced in such planning. Cooperative
planning gives a child a sense of participation, an opportunity for
expressing his needs both intentionally and unintentionally, and
a means of seeing that proposed work has purpose for him and is
not merely a mechanically allotted chore. For small children the
planning session might well begin with a short "interesting news"
period. The children are usually full of interest in the incidents
that have just happened at home, on the way to school, or on the
playground. Their conversation is good training in language
usage, vocabulary, and in carrying a sequence of events in mind.
It is also good training in citizenship since the children learn to
take turns in speaking and not to interrupt one another. The








MAKING THE DAILY SCHEDULE 13

shy child has his chance and the boisterous one is silenced tem-
porarily. They also reveal their interests as they talk. Then,
when the alert teacher makes her contribution of news, she can
develop some point mentioned by one or more of the children to
form a natural lead into further work in social studies, number,
science, or language arts.
3. Science, health, and safety. In the elementary school,
especially the primary grades, most of the work in science, health,
and safety grows out of the everyday living activities of the
children and therefore follows naturally after the planning period.
Health observations, going to and from school safely, proper venti-
lation and light for the classroom, and discussion of the menu from
the school lunchroom frequently are the means of promoting
science, health, and safety instruction.
4. Social studies. In most schools history and geography are
drawn together and taught in one long period instead of two
short ones.
5. Language arts. All the skills used in communicating
thought-reading, writing, spelling, oral and written language--
depend on one another and should be recognized as parts of the
same whole. Good teaching in one phase will stimulate or rein-
force work in the others. It is wise to place them together in the
schedule.
6. Play experiences. Games and other play experiences are
educational, as well as recreational, and are neesesary to health.
The play periods need to be planned, and they offer excellent op-
portunity for pupil participation in planning.
7. Lunch. The noon period should be a time in which the
child develops the correct pattern of living through daily practice.
Washing of hands before meals, pleasant conversation in natural
tones during the meal, rest and quiet games afterwards should be
practiced daily, and sufficient time allotted in the schedule of
both pupils and teachers. In the primary grades particularly it
is important to have a period for physical rest. In many schools
first grade pupils lie down on mats or blankets for a period of
thirty or forty minutes. Many children go to sleep, and when
they awaken, are so rested and refreshed that they are able to







14 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

continue the day mentally alert. In the middle grades a quiet
period, often devoted to library reading, is desirable immediately
after lunch.
8. Arithmetic. Great care must be taken to help children see
the place of arithmetic in daily living and experience. Many
opportunities for using arithmetic occur throughout the day and
the alert teacher will use them to make real the more formal
instruction and practice carried on in the regularly scheduled time.
9. Expression and appreciation in the arts. The expression
and appreciation periods include such things as music, which should
be a part of the daily life of the child, poetry, traditional children's
literature, choral reading, picture appreciation, drawing, painting,
construction, observation of beautiful and interesting things in
nature. No teacher should hesitate to undertake these activities
through lack of confidence in her own talents. The possible ac-
tivities in this area are so numerous and varied that any teacher
can enrich the lives of her pupils. The outcomes of such expression
and appreciation activities are usually multiple. Thus, work in
industrial arts leads not only to many satisfying experiences for
the child through his own developing skills but also to a better
understanding of the skill and artistry needed to produce the
commodities used in everyday life.
10. Evaluation. A short pupil-teacher conference needs to be
held to check on the progress made during the day and to plan
for projects being carried over a period of time with part of the
work being done at home.
A Guide for Schedule Making
On the opposite page is a chart which shows how the day may
be divided into large time blocks so as to include the types of
experiences indicated above.
No ready-made schedule, however thoughtfully prepared, can be
used in its entirety in a given classroom. Each teacher will want
to'look upon any such schedule as a guide. She must consider
such points as the following in adapting it to her use:
1. The opening and closing hour of the school.
2. The proportion of bus pupils in the room, the length of trip they make,
the length of time they are at school before and after the regular hours.
8. The possibility of supplemental feeding, as fruit juice or milk during
the morning.









MAKING THE DAILY SCHEDULE 15


A GUIDE FOR SCHEDULE MAKING

(The order of the suggested blocks may be rearranged as desired
and the time allotment modified in keeping with the local situation.)

Health and science are often closely re-
2--4 Devotional or Opening lated. The habits emphasized in the
hrs. Exercises, Planning morning health observation and the
Period routine care of the room (ventilation,
.................. heat, light) frequently form the back-
Health and Science ground for good science instruction.
1% hrs. Language Arts: A large time block, with provision for
Reading change of activity within the block, per-
Writing mits a better distribution of emphasis
Spelling from day to day. It not only permits suf-
Language (oral- ficient routine to aid administration and
written) encourage a sense of security, but it also
allows easy flexibility.

M hr. Physical Education Games should be chosen in advance, with
pupils participating in the planning. New
games and activities should be introduced
at intervals.

4 hr. Arithmetic First-hand experiences with number,
direct teaching, some individual practice
for skills should be included.

Noon Time should be allowed for handwashing,
unhurried eating, relaxation.

1-1 % Social Studies
hrs. This is the area usually chosen for unit
work. Many language arts skills, under-
standings in science, and industrial arts
opportunities are also involved. Unit
work helps pupils realize the relation-
ships between scientific discoveries and
our ways of living.

% hr. Expression and Appre- Music and art (both directed and crea-
ciation in the Arts tive), construction work related to other
studies, library, and writing experiences
are included. Some days the work will be
individual, some days as a total group.

Y hr. Individual Help This is an important part of the day. For
Evaluation some time teachers who have been aware
of individual differences in pupils have
been baffled in finding time to help them
with their special difficulties in under-
standings or skills. Such a period should
be definitely scheduled.








16 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

4. The time of the lunch period. (If this is extremely early or late, ad-
justments can sometimes be worked out by conferring with the
principal.)
5. The size of the room and the space available for group .and construc-
tion work. (Cloakrooms, halls, or good shade trees are sometimes
helpful as space extenders.)
6. The number of pupils.
7. The amount of teaching equipment beyond the textbooks, such as,
library facilities and visual aids.
8. The present attainment and particular interests of the pupils.
9. The preference of the teacher in choosing topics for large unit teach-
ing from such fields as social studies, or science, or language arts.
Good teaching is facilitated by a well-planned schedule, but it is
never automatically the result of the schedule. A schedule may
be considered successful when it helps a teacher, rather than
hinders her, in developing relationships among the child's many
learning, in deriving leads from one area to another, and in per-
mitting learning to be used in normal, purposeful situations.

MAKING THE SCHOOL SETTING WHOLESOME,
STIMULATING, ATTRACTIVE
Children necessarily are influenced by their daily surroundings.
Furthermore, the experiences they go through repeatedly and
the attitudes they form in school toward such things as cleanliness
and beauty shape to some extent their out of school habits. Cheer-
ful, clean, interesting surroundings help pupils develop into
healthful, alert, socially adjusted people.
A few buildings are of recent construction and are carefully
designed for school purposes. A considerable number of classrooms,
however, are in buildings which are older and which show the
effects of financially lean years and inadequate maintenance. Even
where classrooms are in good repair, they are often drab. In
nearly all instances the individual teacher must use initiative and
enthusiasm, if her classroom is to be a wholesome, stimulating, and
attractive place in which, to live. For matters of building and
grounds, sanitation and beautification, whole faculties will need
to work together, enlisting the aid also of trustees, Parent Teachers
Association, homeroom mothers, or community groups. Always,
of course, pupils should "assist in planning and carrying out the
plans. The following points need particular attention:




























































-- .- 7 -


An indoor garden can be a source of beauty as well as a means of science
and health instruction.


tr"t~~

:f;
"i :.I.








18 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

1. Sanitation
a. Drinking facilities. Where running water is not avail-
able, neither faculty nor trustees should be content until
a safe water supply has been secured.
b. Toilet facilities. Training children in the proper care
of toilet facilities takes persistent and concerted effort on
the part of all teachers. Unless all pupils are trying to
establish the right attitude and habits, the bad example
of a few can offset the good work of many.

c. Lighting. Windows and light globes should be cleaned
at regular intervals. Dust greatly reduces the amount
of light reaching the pupils' desks. Window shades
should be adjusted during the day where varying
amounts of sunlight enter the room.

d. Heating, ventilation.

e. Daily cleaning, including dusting.

2. Stimulation

a. Library table or shelves, with appropriate books and
children's magazines.

b. Display shelf or table, particularly for science and social
studies collections.

e. A science corner: bulletin board or other means of mount-
ing pictures, clippings, and samples of pupil work, a
cabinet or box for simple science equipment, space for
experiments, flower or seed boxes.

d. Aquarium, glass case for collections. (A visit to a second
hand store is helpful in locating such items.)
e. Bulletin boards, colorful pictures, placed where children
can see them. (Current magazines have a wealth of in-
formative, attractive pictures. A section of the black-
board can be marked off for use as a bulletin board until
something better can be obtained.)







MAKING THE SCHOOL ATTRACTIVE 19

3. Beautification
a. Window boxes and plants. (Check local regulation.)
b. New paint for book shelves or tables. (Less than one
dollar's worth of paint can transform drab shelves, tables,
or chairs and establish a pleasing color scheme for the
room.)
c. Large colorful desk blotters carry out a color scheme,
cover scarred table tops, serve as picture mountings,
substitute for a bulletin board.
d. Planting for the grounds, including foundation plant-
ings, shade trees, specimen plantings for beauty, hedge
plantings.









PART II


MAKING DETAILED INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS


INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS

INSTRUCTION IN READING
The modern world is a "reading" world. In earning his living,
in carrying out the duties of citizenship, in pursuing leisure time
activities, a person must read; read to follow directions, to gather
information essential to his job, to form opinions about national and
international events, to serve his broadening interests. Likewise, the
modern school is a "reading" school. In spite of a gradual increase
in the use of first-hand experiences, of visual and auditory aids, read-
ing remains by far the most frequently employed means of learning.
A child must develop facility in reading if he is to be a successful
learner.

Characteristics of a Good Reader
A good reader shows the following characteristics: (1) he has
reliable reading skills so that he can recognize old words and acquire
new ones rapidly and accurately, using such techniques of word
recognition as context or meaning clues, the general pattern of the
word, known parts within words, and sound elements within words;
(2) he groups words into thought units, thus aiding comprehension
and increasing speed; (3) he constantly develops his background of
experience so that he will have a wealth of concepts and ideas to
give meaning to his reading; (4) he is purposeful in his reading,
having a goal in mind and adjusting his rate to his purpose, reading
at one speed to follow directions in assembling a toy telegraph set
and at another speed to enjoy the adventures of Robin Hood; (5)
he develops wide interests and gradually improves the quality of his
reading tastes; (6) he reads critically, interpreting, evaluating, and
organizing significant points for recall.
It is evident that reading is a composite of many abilities. It is .
not the relatively simple process it was considered to be for so many
years, a process involving almost exclusively techniques of word









PART II


MAKING DETAILED INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS


INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS

INSTRUCTION IN READING
The modern world is a "reading" world. In earning his living,
in carrying out the duties of citizenship, in pursuing leisure time
activities, a person must read; read to follow directions, to gather
information essential to his job, to form opinions about national and
international events, to serve his broadening interests. Likewise, the
modern school is a "reading" school. In spite of a gradual increase
in the use of first-hand experiences, of visual and auditory aids, read-
ing remains by far the most frequently employed means of learning.
A child must develop facility in reading if he is to be a successful
learner.

Characteristics of a Good Reader
A good reader shows the following characteristics: (1) he has
reliable reading skills so that he can recognize old words and acquire
new ones rapidly and accurately, using such techniques of word
recognition as context or meaning clues, the general pattern of the
word, known parts within words, and sound elements within words;
(2) he groups words into thought units, thus aiding comprehension
and increasing speed; (3) he constantly develops his background of
experience so that he will have a wealth of concepts and ideas to
give meaning to his reading; (4) he is purposeful in his reading,
having a goal in mind and adjusting his rate to his purpose, reading
at one speed to follow directions in assembling a toy telegraph set
and at another speed to enjoy the adventures of Robin Hood; (5)
he develops wide interests and gradually improves the quality of his
reading tastes; (6) he reads critically, interpreting, evaluating, and
organizing significant points for recall.
It is evident that reading is a composite of many abilities. It is .
not the relatively simple process it was considered to be for so many
years, a process involving almost exclusively techniques of word







INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS


recognition. Reading is, in fact, the comprehending and interpreting
of the written page. It is also evident that enormous growth will
have to take place between the time the child enters school knowing
almost nothing of reading and the time he leaves school, an ac-
complished, independent reader. Such growth does not all occur in
the first three grades. It is the result of good reading instruction
by all teachers from the first grade through the twelfth, and growth
should continue throughout adult life.

The Range of Reading Skill Within a Class
Children do not develop in reading ability at the same rate.
The members of a group beginning the first year of school together
show marked differences both in their readiness and in their capacity
for reading. By the end of the third year the differences have
increased rather than decreased. The instruction, the individual
attention, and the stimulating materials that have enabled the slow
reader to progress at all have enabled the fast reader to go far.
By the time the group reaches the middle grades, some of its mem-
bers are reading at the tenth and eleventh grade levels and some
are reading at the second and third grade levels, although a
standardized reading test would show the median of the class near
the expected grade level of four, five, or six.
The range to be found within any one class should be looked
upon as normal and, at the same time, as highly significant for the
methods and materials to be used in instruction. The range in read-
ing skill should be regarded as normal because it reflects individual
differences in mental capacity and differences in the opportunities
and encouragement for reading found in the homes, both of which
are fundamental factors largely beyond the influence of the school.
Even in a school where a promotion policy of rigid subject matter
attainment has been followed for years, a great range in reading
skill exists within any one class. It is probable that in elementary
classes of two generations ago a similar range existed, but there
were at the time no standardized tests to reveal it.
While the great range in reading skill is to be expected and
should therefore be no matter of surprise or complaint to inter-
mediate grade and secondary teachers, it is of great significance
in planning the program of reading instruction. In the first place,







22 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

a fourth grade teacher, for instance, facing her group of pupils at
the first of the year will want to remember that the reading range
represented is probably from the second to the eighth grade and
that if she is to direct the pupils in a year's growth, she must be a
teacher not of fourth grade reading alone but also of the levels
below and far above it. Quite obviously, fourth grade is a con-
venient term for referring to a particular group of children, but it is
not at all an accurate description of the entire group. In the second
place, when six or eight grade levels in reading ability appear
among a group who have had approximately the same amount of
time to achieve, there is reason to examine critically our traditional
program of reading instruction in the intermediate grades which
employs only large-group instructional techniques and makes use
only of identical reading materials for all the children of the group.

Developing Comprehension
In the intermediate grades, the child is refining and developing
further the skills he has begun to acquire in the primary years.
He now-becomes independent in using the skills as he reads more
and more extensively. He must acquire facility and flexibility in
choosing which skills are suitable for the reading task at hand.
From the first reading lesson the emphasis in instruction has
been upon deriving meaning from the printed page. All the study
of words and techniques has been for that purpose. Ability to
comprehend is made up of the ability to recognize words, to group
them into thought units, and to give proper emphasis to the thought
units and the relationship among sentences so as to arrive at an
understanding of the whole passage. In other words, the level of
difficulty that a child can understand is determined by his ability
to recognize words within the passage, to understand their meaning,
to see the relationships among those words, to understand the con-
cepts involved, and to see the relationships among the concepts.
To increase their power of comprehension, intermediate pupils
must develop the following abilities:
A. Ability in word recognition, as,
1. Left to right scanning of words.
2. Configuration or general pattern.














111~1


C' I~~


I:


Reading is fundamental. In the intermediate grades the reading skills
to be developed include the ability to locate reference materials and use
them effectively.


I








24 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

3. Recognition of syllable division, especially familiar parts
or known elements, including prefixes and suffixes.
4. Recognition of compound and hyphenated words.
5. Application of known sound elements.

B. Ability to understand fully the meaning of words, as,
1. Use of context clues.
2. Word building from known parts.
3. Association of meaning with word symbols, with special
attention to three types:
a. Adding new meaning to old words, as, "A fly is a part
of a tent."
b. Associating a new word with an old meaning, as, "To
protect is to take care of."
c. Associating a new word with a new meaning, as, "The
electromagnet exerts a force only as long as a current
flows through the wire." (The concept of the entire
sentence is new, the ideas represented by electromagnet,
force, and current are new, and the word symbol electro-
magnet is new.)
4. Use of glossary, dictionary.

C. Ability to comprehend clearly when reading for different pur-
poses, as,
1. In skimming.
2. In obtaining general significance.
3. In predicting outcomes.
4. In following directions.
5. In noting details.
6. In generalizing or forming an opinion.
7. In organizing for recall.
D. Ability to locate information, as,
1. Examining material read in order to verify statements,
prove a point of view, or gather facts in sequence.
2. Locating information in library books.
3. Locating information in simple reference books.








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS


4. Using table of contents, index, chapter and section headings.
5. Using maps, charts, and globes.

E. Ability to evaluate and organize, as,
1. Paragraph arrangement.
2. Arranging events in sequence.
3. Judging the relative importance of topics.
4. Outlining.
5. Judging the validity of material read.

Development of the above abilities began in the primary grades
and should continue in the secondary school. The skill a pupil
possesses is often a matter of degree. It is during the intermediate
grades that he must develop the degree of skill rapidly, becoming
independent and facile in his ability to use reading as a tool.

The Scope of the Reading Task
Pupils entering the intermediate grades are plunged into wide
reading. First, the amount they are expected to read is greatly
increased over previous years; second, the condensed and relatively
abstract treatment of most textbooks is far different from the nar-
rative, story-like presentation of most primary materials; third, the
material they are expected to read is often strange in content, being
related to far away places and complex ideas instead of the child's
familiar world of home, school, and community. Therefore, inter-
mediate pupils need guidance in developing their reading abilities.
The majority cannot be expected to come unaided into the best
use of their skills. If instruction is sharply reduced or omitted
at the very point where the children are called upon to increase
their skills enormously, it is small wonder that many pupils flounder.

Suggested Techniques and Procedures
1. Find out what the experiences of the group were the previous
year. Talk with the pupils' former teacher if that is possible.
Study cumulative records and reading records. Examine the
reading text and teacher's manual used in the previous grade.
It is helpful to know what steps the pupils have been lead
through and what points of emphasis have been made. Children








TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


forget easily items that seem unimportant to them and they,
therefore, cannot be relied upon to explain just what they have
experienced. Thus, some fourth grade children might solemnly
assure the teacher they had never heard about long and short
vowels, but if she had examined their material of the year be-
fore she would know otherwise.

2. Study the children individually. Talk -with them informally
to ascertain their interests, abilities, and hobbies that might
influence their reading habits and tastes.
3. Examine all reading material available with a view to (a) its
contribution to reading instruction or (b) its peculiarities for
comprehension.
4. Use a diagnostic, standardized reading test to learn more about
the nature of the reading difficulties members of the class are
experiencing.
5. Group the class according to reading ability in the period used
for direct instruction in reading skills. In many phases of
reading, such as poetry and story appreciation, the class will
work together as a total group; but in the reading skills phase
at least two or three groups are usually necessary for efficient
instruction. One teacher of a fifth grade class of 33 found she
needed three groups--one composed of superior pupils (14)
who read independently most of the time after a few minutes
of introductory work; one composed of 12 pupils who had
directed reading every day in addition to the reading demands of
other fields; one composed of 7 pupils who had a longer period of
directed reading each day.
6. If a child has persistent difficulty in reading, find out if his
vision, hearing, speech, and vitality are normal. Some reading
difficulties are caused or greatly augmented by physical defi-
ciencies. Find out if he changed schools often during the first
and second grades and thereby failed to receive a systematic
introduction to reading.
7. For the pupils who need it, continue work on word analysis,
including:
A. Use of phonetic elements.








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS 27


B. Word building-prefixes, suffixes, compound words.
C. Recognition of familiar parts.
8. For all pupils, develop facility and independence in using dif-
ferent types of word recognition according to the difficulty of
the word; ranging from configuration through word analysis to
dictionary use. Thus, a child meeting the word despot would
quickly try context, configuration, word analysis by sound and
by known parts, and finally turn to the glossary or dictionary.
9. Introduce simple diacritics, making frequent use of the few
marks employed. (See spelling text Using Words for the most
frequently used forms.)
10. Develop the pupils' confidence in trying new words. In the
primary grades most of the new words attempted are in the
spoken vocabulary of the children. But in the intermediate
grades most of the words are new in sound as well as sight
and frequently represent entirely strange concepts. Consequent-
ly, the children have no previous knowledge of the word by
which to judge the success of their efforts. Thus, a primary
child trying to read hotel can apply his knowledge of phonetic
elements, try to pronounce the word, and upon hearing himself
say it, will recognize the word and the familiar idea. He knows
he has succeeded. But an intermediate child, attempting delta
or a proper name such as Mesopotamia, can apply his knowledge
of phonetic elements, say the word correctly, and still not know
whether he has said it right. Nor does the pronunciation of
it give him access to the meaning of it. He will have to get the
meaning from context or glossary unless the teacher has antici-
pated his need and introduced the word into his spoken vocab-
ulary first.
11. Build a broad background of experiences, both direct and in-
direct. The more a reader brings to the written page in the
way of concepts, the more he can visualize the descriptions of
the writer and grasp his message. Use pictures, specimens, and
every type of visual and auditory aid to supplement first-hand
experiences.
12. Provide a variety of material both as to interests (as, science,








28 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

biography, fiction) and as to reading levels (primary through
junior high).
13. Let the children assist in expanding and improving library
facilities. The resulting feeling of possession encourages some
reluctant readers to participate.
14. Stimulate the desire to read, both for pleasure and as a means of
satisfying curiosity. Read aloud to the children for a few
minutes almost every day. Traditional children's literature
selections often are desirable. The language flow, the good
phrasing and enunciation of the reader are pleasing to the
listener and encourages him to try similar stories for himself.
Myths, legends, and hero stories should be a part of the library
readings of pupils since such selections have been largely omitted
from reading textbooks.
15. Give opportunity for wide reading either as a scheduled part
of the day or as a planned activity while the teacher is work-
ing with other groups.
16. Be sure slow readers practice reading, even when at first they
appear to select too easy material. One reason for a good reader
becoming a still better one is that he spends hours reading,
thereby improving his vocabulary through practice and enlarging
or refining his concepts through vicarious experience. The poor
reader, on the other hand, avoids reading. He therefore gains
no benefit from practicing what little he knows, nor does he
acquire indirect experiences that would enrich his future reading.
Instead he becomes progressively poorer.
17. Use many methods of instruction. No one method, type of
exercise, or kind of material can do all things for all pupils, no
matter how good it is in itself. Research workers and teachers
trying to measure the effectiveness of one kind of material or
procedure over another sometimes feel that the exact nature
of the material or procedure is of less importance than the
fact that the teacher is doing something about the situation.

Textbook Materials


The reading textbooks now in adoption are:








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS 29

Elson-Gray Basic Reader, Book Four
Elson-Gray Basic Reader, Book Five
Elson-Gray Basic Reader, Book Six

In addition to this systematic series, most schools still have
available some copies of basic and supplementary readers formerly
in adoption.

Transition and remedial reading materials include:
The Elephant's Friend, Grade Four
In a Green Valley, Grade Five
The Masquerade and Other Stories, Grade Six
Teacher's Manuals
These textbooks are intended for remedial or transitional work
with small groups and should be requisitioned in limited quantities
only. The teacher's manuals containing specific directions, timed
tests, and practice exercises are essential to the use of -the books.
If the books are used without the manual in the expectation that
the texts are simple reading, the results will be disappointing.

Developing Reading Skills in the Content Subjects
It is neither possible nor desirable to attempt to have all the
experience in developing reading abilities take place only in the
period devoted to direct instruction in reading skills. The inter-
mediate child spends a great proportion of his day in reading, and
the content fields are the most expedient place for acquiring many
of the necessary abilities. Thus, map reading can be taught in
connection with geography.
When an adult stops to consider candidly the reading task that
confronts a child -in the content fields in the intermediate grades, he
is usually amazed that the child succeeds at all. It must be kept
in mind that when a person reads for information, he must know
either the words in which the information is presented or the general
idea toward which he is working. If the words and the idea are
both new, he necessarily fails to get the thought. This condition is
just as true of the tenth grade pupil studying biology, the college
student studying philosophy, and the adult reading an article on








TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


economics. It also accounts for the fact that a normal pupil leaving
the elementary school does not later automatically read algebra
problems and ancient history successfully. He must have further
instruction in reading in those particular fields.

Following is an analysis of some of the reading difficulties in
the major content fields of social studies, arithmetic, and science,
and suggestions for meeting the problems involved:

Social Studies
A. Difficulty of vocabulary
1. Quantity of new words-Completely new words that
offer no .familiar clues crowd the page, as hemisphere,
patrician, mosaic, in addition to scores of proper names.
2. Abstract nature of many terms-Words such as
democracy, toleration, and civilization represent ab-
stract, evolving concepts.
3. Lack of repetition-Many contacts with a word are
needed in order to master it, but many words in geo-
graphy and history are used only two or three times
before a new subject is necessarily introduced.
4. Lack of experience-Many words represent places and
activities, remote in time or space, which the child has
never seen and never expects to see.
B. Difficulty of concepts
1. Quantity of concepts-New concepts are found several
to the page and even to the sentence and they cannot
be sufficiently elaborated.
2. Complexity of ideas-Many concepts are truly complex,
and others appear complex because it is the child's
first experience with them; nearly all are remote in
space or time to a child's world.
3. Partial error in concept-Real understanding would
involve an enormous background of experience.
C. Difficulty of organization
1. Quantity of ideas to be recalled.
2. Need for evaluation and judging of relative importance.







INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS 81

D. Difficulty of reference
1. Vague or half-forgotten ideas must be brought forward.
2. Constant need for recall and use of map referrals breaks
continuity of a new thought.

Suggested Procedures for Improving Reading of Social Studies
Material
A. Anticipate vocabulary difficulties and strange concepts and
through discussion clarify and expand word meanings for
the children; that is, try to build key words into the
pupils's hearing and speaking vocabulary before he meets
them in print.
B. Locate suitable materials for wide reading with relatively
light vocabulary burden that are rich enough in verbal
illustrations to build the needed background. Carefully
selected library books, certain stories in readers of former
adoptions, and the current state-adopted social studies
readers are good sources. It is not necessary to have one
copy to the pupil of such material since the time for which
it is used is brief, the same copies can be used by succes-
sive groups during the day, and not all pupils will need
to read all selections.
C. Use the bulletin board extensively for displaying pictures
and articles that will clarify concepts and use new words
again. Current newspapers and magazines frequently con-
tain materials that help a child see that the present and
the past are related.
D. Use visual and auditory aids.
E. Obtain repetition of new terms and re-use of ideas through
combining the development of language arts skills, such
as outlining and report making, with social studies
activities.

F. Deliberately introduce into your own speech words the
pupils will soon meet, and do not hesitate to teach directly
important words..







TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


II. Arithmetic

A. Difficulty of vocabulary
1. Quantity of words having precise meanings and rep-
resenting complex ideas.
2. Technical words-Many terms used in arithmetic are not
used elsewhere such as, quotient, subtrahend; and other
common words such as, improper, mixed have specialized
meanings.
3. Abbreviation and symbolization-Abbreviations and
symbols are used extensively and to most children look
like entirely new words.

B. Difficulty due to lack of continuity
1. Brevity of statements-Arithmetic problems are stated
so briefly and compactly that there are no descriptive
elements to give meaning through context.
2. Lack of visualization-In other reading, meaning is
cumulative, continuing from paragraph to paragraph.
But in arithmetic each little problem is a unit to be
visualized, solved, and then pushed aside in order to
go on to the next problem. What a pupil visualizes
one moment is no help to him the next.
3. Interruption of numbers-The reading material in
arithmetic is broken by numbers, which the pupil must
pause to consider for he knows they are to be his
tools of operation after he has finished reading the
problem. While he is attending to the numbers them-
selves, he loses the thought being developed.

Suggested Procedures for Improving Reading of Mathematical
Material

A. Read problems aloud slowly so that children get the idea
that all reading material is not approached at the same
rate. Good voice inflection and phrasing also help a child
grasp the meaning.







INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS


B. Encourage the children to visualize the problem, reading it
all the way through to complete the picture, before at-
tempting to work with the numbers.

C. Have pupils compose a few problems of their own. Some
children then begin to see that the purpose of the problem
is to answer a question and that the reader must know
what the question is before he can use the numbers given
to find the answer.

D. Review new terms, abbreviations, and symbols often. Use
the terms in other activities whenever possible.
III. Science

A. Difficulty of vocabulary
1. Quantity of new words-As in social studies, new words
are necessarily present in great quantity. Four or five
new words are found on nearly every page. Even if
no problem of understanding relationships were in-
volved, the task of recognizing so many new words
would be large.
2. Abstract nature of many words-Many words, such as
electrons and positive charge, cannot be demonstrated
and easily visualized.
3. Technicality of words-In addition to the hundreds of
words peculiar to the field of science, many other terms
take on specialized meanings, as conductor, charges.
4. Lack of repetition-New topics are introduced so rapid-
ly that it is not possible to obtain sufficient repetition.

B. Difficulty of concepts
1. Quantity of concepts-New concepts are necessarily in-
troduced so rapidly that they cannot be sufficiently
elaborated.
2. Complexity of concepts-The child is meeting the con-
cepts for the first time. Some ideas that later will look
simple to him now appear difficult. Many of the con-
cepts are difficult even to adult minds.







84 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

C. Difficulty due to lack of continuity
1. Compactness-Science material is written concisely with
little elaboration of detail and no narrative quality that
might give meaning through context.
2. Frequent use of diagrams-Diagrams ultimately aid in
the understanding of science, but at the same time, they
cause an interruption in the text and call for particular
reading skills in themselves.
3. Need to follow directions-Performing experiments
helps children understand science material. Following
the directions requires close attention to reading for
exact details and is a good way of developing that skill.
However, stopping to follow directions should be recog-
nized as another break in the continuity of gaining
Meaning from reading.

D. Difficulty in seeing relationship and forming generalizations
1. Formulating generalizations-More than in most areas,
science reading requires seeing relationships, making
comparisons, and forming generalizations.
2. Constant recall-The pupil must carry in mind many
facts and basic concepts, some of them only partially
understood.

Suggested Procedures for Improving Reading of Science Material

A. Be constantly aware of the fact that science study involves
reading instruction. An intermediate grade child should
not be expected to come unaided into an understanding
of ideas it took his elders many years to develop.
B. Develop the experience background of the pupils; they
must have a wealth of ideas to bring to the printed page.
C. Introduce new words into spoken vocabulary before they
are met in print.
D. Develop a science corner where specimens and collections
can be labeled and displayed.








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS


E. Use a bulletin board and clear pictures as a supplement
to first-hand experiences.

F. Gradually add to the library facilities many science books
at an easy reading level. Wide reading in such material
builds background, clarifies concepts, and gives practice in
vocabulary.

Evaluating Pupil Progress in Reading

Evaluation in reading in the intermediate grades is, an on-going
process and a varied one. Since reading ability is a combination
of many skills, it is only natural that the evaluation of a pupil's
ability to read cannot be simple. Good evaluation should include:
(1) frequent appraisal, since a pupil's rate of growth varies con-
siderably and judgment on any one day might be quite inaccurate;
(2) many types of appraisal; (3) use of some standardized testing
with the interpretation of the results carefully supplemented by
other types of measures and observations; (4) interpretation of test
results and application to instructional plans in terms of individuals
or groups rather than class medians; (5) the uses which the child
makes of reading in other subjects, in the library, in the home,
especially his desire to seek pleasure and information through reading.

A teacher is primarily concerned with evidence that each child
is growing in reading ability whatever his starting point may have
been. Many teachers like to keep a folder for each child which
forms a cumulative record over the year. If the following outline
of reading skills were lined with three or four columns as in a check
list and dittoed in quantity, it could be used for one type of appraisal
at intervals during the year and easily filed in the cumulative read-
ing folder.









TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


A Suggested Checklist for Evaluating Reading Skills


I. Silent Reading

A. Comprehension

1. To get general significance
2. To follow directions
3. To observe details

B. Speed adjusted to purpose
C. Attention or concentration
-D. Lip movement
E. Eye movement (eye span)
F. Head movement

II. Oral Reading

A. Phrasing
1. Word by word reading
2. Inadequate phrasing
3. Incorrect phrasing
4. Eye-voice span too narrow

B. Expression
1. Ignores punctuation
2. Marked insecurity evident

C. Enunciation
1. Enunciation always poor
2. Poor enunciation in diffi-
cult words only

D. Word Skills in Oral Reading
1. Habitual repetition of
words
2. Habitual addition of words
3. Omission of words.
4. Will not try hard words


III. Word Abilities
A. Word meanings
B. Recognition
1. Slow perception
2. Does not attempt new
words
3. Guesses too carelessly from
general form
4. Ignores word endings
C. Word analysis
1. Looks for familiar parts
2. Combines sounds into
words
3. Will not try difficult words
4. Sounds of letters not known
5. Blends not known
D. Use of Dictionary
1. Selection of pertinent defi-
nition
2. Use of simple diacritics
IV. Recall
A. Unaided recall scanty
B. Poorly organized recall
C. Inaccurate memories and
guesses
D. Recall labored and slow
E. Laborious writing and spell-
ing impede written recall
V. Reading Interest and Attitude
A. Avoids reading
B. Requires some urging
C. Reads willingly assigned work
but little else
D. Above average in voluntary
reading
E. Delights in wide reading








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS


INSTRUCTION IN HANDWRITING

Handwriting is one of the language arts. It is a means to an
end and not an end in itself. From the very first, the child should
be aware that writing is for the purpose of expressing an idea. It
is only when pupils are conscious of handwriting as serving their
needs that they develop genuine interest in improving their writing
skill and maintain attention and effort while practicing. Teachers
recognize that children who cannot write legibly are reluctant to
put their thought on paper. The more vital and interesting the
total school program is, the greater will be the child's desire to write
and the greater his willingness to improve his writing to the point
of easy legibility.

The intermediate grades cover the period of the child's most
rapid development in handwriting skill. When pupils enter the
fourth grade, they are usually eight or nine years old. At first they
are often awkward or clumsy, for their small muscle coordination
is developing but is far from complete. Teachers should not be in
too big a hurry for fourth grade pupils to write with a high de-
gree of perfection.
Most pupils have written in manuscript writing during the
primary grades and have begun the transition to cursive writing
in the latter part of the second or the first of the third grade and
have largely completed the transition by the time they reach the
fourth grade. Intermediate grade teachers will need to provide at
intervals practice periods for manuscript writing so that pupils can
maintain their skill for the many occasions in which they will con-
tinue to use it, as in labeling, titles, and questionnaires. Some few
pupils may be so immature in muscle control that it would be to
their advantage to continue only manuscript writing until a later
period.
The state-adopted text in handwriting is Graves' Progressive
Course in Handwriting. There is a pupil's booklet for each grade.
A teacher's manual accompanies the series and contains (1) a
diagnostic chart for analyzing handwriting with reference to form,
alignment, slant, size, spacing and line quality; (2) a measuring
scale with grade norms for determining speed and quality.
Knowledge of how to make each letter legibly, how to write








38 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

certain difficult combinations of letters (wr, oi), how to keep slant-
ing lines parallel or alignment regular, or how to keep the size of
letters uniform cannot be assumed by the teacher even though she
knows the pupils have had instruction in those points. Children
often practice a poor writing habit daily without ever being aware
of it. Others may not be ignorant of the correct form, but may let
too great haste and carelessness cause them to write poorly. Pleasing,
legible writing which leaves the writer free from fatigue should be
the goal at all times.

It is helpful if all teachers in a school use the same letter
formations. Small differences, as in t, r, and many capitals, which
are insignificant to an adult or older child, are genuinely confusing
to the early intermediate grade child.

Evaluating Pupil Progress in Handwriting

The following questions are to be considered during the inter-
mediate grades:

1. Does the pupil use writing as a means of expression?
A large part of the pupil's desire to write and much of his prac-
tice material will come out of the normal activities of a vital
school day. In addition, instruction in handwriting should pro-
vide some practice in terms of drill which treats writing as writ-
ing. For most pupils it apparently takes both high motivation
and opportunity to acquire techniques to assure good handwriting.

2. Does he know proper letter formations?
Letter formation should be taught as often as there is need. Cer-
tain letters (a, o, e, i, d, c, 1, u, n, m, r) commonly cause a high
proportion of the errors. Some children do not develop clear
mental images for some time, and others appear to forget. Even
in the sixth grade, children will suddenly ask, "How do you make
a Q ?" Sometimes this questioning merely reflects the fact that
it is easier to ask the teacher than to make the effort of recalling.
Wall cards or strips of the alphabet are helpful and can be
obtained from commercial companies if a teacher does not care
to make her own.








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS 39

3. Does ne have an understanding of the relative size of letters, of
the spacing between words and between letters, of slant?
All children do not make the same mistakes, nor make even their
similar mistakes in like degree. Therefore, instruction and prac-
tice should often be individualized. Teachers can frequently do
effective work by forming temporary groups of children needing
similar instruction and practice. Those pupils who already meet
a high standard may be excused from much of the drill in order
to carry on activities more profitable to them.

4. Does he have some ability to recognize imperfections in his own
handwriting and practice for self-improvement?
Keeping samples of writing and then comparing later with earlier
ones is often helpful. Most pupils sustain interest over a long
period of time when writing scales and charts are used as a
means of comparison and analysis.

5. Has he formed the habit of being neat and orderly, observing
margins?
The new language textbook series in the intermediate grades,
Building Better English, gives suggestions which help pupils set
up standards of neatness and good handwriting. Samples for
checking their writing are included.

6. Does he regularly adopt good posture?
Desks should be clear, writing material in good order, and the
light adequate, coming from the left for right-handed children
and from the right for left-handed children. Unless some pupils
are cautioned frequently, they assume during the day unreason-
able positions that are fatiguing and even try to write with their
notebooks on their knees or on piled-up books.
7. Is the left-handed child trained to develop a legible style of hand-
writing
When it is clear that a child prefers the use of his left hand,
he should be helped to develop a legible style using that hand
instead of being forced to change to the right hand.: In order to
secure proper light, he can sit at a table or at a movable desk
since most classrooms are designed with light coming only from:
the left. Teacher's manuals give suggestions for instruction.








TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


8. Is the period for handwriting instruction regularly planned and
scheduled?
Instruction and practice periods need to be regularly scheduled.
They are usually 15 to 20 minutes in length (a much longer
period results in fatigue) and should be so placed as not to
follow a period of extensive exercise or big muscle activity.
9. Have the children participated in setting a standard for good
handwriting and is the standard consistently followed throughout
the day's writing activities?
To practice for high attainment at one time and to accept poorly
written papers at another destroys the pupils' belief that good
handwriting is worth achievement, no matter what the teacher
says.

INSTRUCTION IN SPELLING
Spelling is another of the language arts. Like handwriting, it
is a means to an end and not an end in itself. The teacher should
help the child realize that if he is to use writing as a way of ex-
pressing himself or getting what he wants, he must learn to recall
independently how the words he wants to use look and sound as to
sequence of letters; that is, he must learn to spell. In any given
school, the child's achievement in spelling will reflect the extent to
which the curriculum provides for both systematic instruction and
the use of correct spelling in the vital activities of the day.
The spelling textbook now in adoption is:

Using Words, Fourth Year
Using Words, Fifth Year
Using Words, Sixth Year

Dictionary: Winston Simplified Dictionary, Intermediate Edition.
In a school using the formerly adopted speller, The Child Cen-
tered Speller, the teacher should ask the principal to obtain for her
a desk copy of Using Words so that she can embody in her instruction
some of the procedures which the children will meet later. Whatever
her source of material, she will recognize that spelling is a class
project and will not merely provide the children with a list and
the advice to "study your spelling."








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS 41

Dictionaries are needed frequently in a classroom, but they are
seldom needed simultaneously by all pupils in a class or by all
classes in the intermediate grades. The number of dictionaries should
not exceed one copy to every three pupils in grades four through
eight.

Suggested Procedures and Techniques

The spelling lists upon which modern spellers are based are the
result of extensive research todetermine which words are most often
used and needed by children at successive stages of their develop-
ment and to determine which words offer difficulty in mastery of
spelling. As a result of this research, the following points have
been given emphasis:
1. Repetition without attention is useless and wasteful of the
child's time.
2. Spelling is not merely a matter of knowing the sequence of
letters in a word; it is also a matter of pronunciation, and
of knowing how to use the word.
3. During the second grade, pupils should become secure in their
knowledge of the sounds of letters and then in their ability
to name them. There is no point in a child's knowing the
name of a letter until he first knows its sound. Many pupils
acquire this knowledge in the latter part of the first grade
but it is tentative, easily lost over the vacation period, and
the responses have not yet become automatic. During the
third grade pupils begin to alphabetize and need to be sure
of the sequence of letters in the alphabet. But, again, they
lose much of their skill over the vacation period, and it is
not safe for the teacher of the fourth grade to assume that
pupils will recall without effort or further study the sounds,
names, and sequence of the letters.
4. The ability to use and appreciate the dictionary as a tool for
learning should be developed. The dictionary section of the
spelling book is particularly helpful in this connection, in
addition to the regular dictionary. The definitions given
under any one word are limited to those meanings pertinent
to a child's life and are phrased in terms understandable








42 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

to a child. It is important that children develop a favorable
attitude toward the dictionary if they are to become inde-
pendent in its use.
5. It is important to have a plan of study. This usually con-
sists of:
(a) Distinct pronunciation by the teacher
(b) Pronunciation by the pupils, each syllable said carefully
(c) Recall of the visual image of the word
(d) Saying the letters
(e) Checking the visual image of the word with the book
(f) Writing the word and checking the word with the book
Unless a plan of study is followed until it is a well-established
habit, most children later feel aimless or blank when they
are advised to study their spelling.

6. Knowledge of the word's meaning is too often taken for
granted. It is seldom safe to assume that the whole class
knows the meaning of a word. Most spellers now present new
words in a short story or paragraph, thus gaining the ad-
vantage of context.

7. It is necessary to work with the words over a period of time
to assure mastery. Different kinds of exercises are used, some
relating to meaning, some to phonetic elements, and some to
derived forms. Through such exercises the child meets the
words again and again until he is thoroughly familiar with
them. *

8. It is important to inaster a reasonable number of words rather
than partially learn a great number. Twenty words per
week are usually regarded as satisfactory.

9. Frequent review of troublesome words is helpful. Each pupil
will want to make some kind of individual spelling list, con-
taining the words that trouble him most.
10. Good spelling instruction gives considerable time'to phonetic
elements, such as initial consonants and rhyming words, to
word building, and to formation of plurals. Instruction in
vowels, consonants, and a few diacritical marks is necessary.








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS 43

11. Caring whether he spells correctly is important. As in hand-
writing, carelessness and haste, rather than ignorance, are
often the cause of trouble.
12. Spelling errors should be distinguished from deficiency in
handwriting.
13. Individuals differ greatly in their ability to spell. The
weekly plan for instruction in spelling should include some
opportunity for the teacher to work with those pupils having
particular difficulty.

14. In their everyday writing children should be able to use
the words they have studied in the instruction period. As
in handwriting, consistency in standards is essential. Any
tendency to accept work that is incorrectly spelled under-
mines the child's belief that correct spelling is worth the
effort of achievement.

15. If a child is having unusual difficulty with spelling, it is
well to ask: Does he care whether he spells? Does he have
a. plan for study? Is poor handwriting a major or contribut-
ing factor? (Poor formation of a, o, e, i, d, t, r, s, m, n,
u, v, w commonly cause confusion.) Does he see clearly?
Hear distinctly? Speak distinctly?

INSTRUCTION IN ORAL AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE
Oral and written language, or English, is another of the language
arts. Language is so interwoven with reading, spelling, writing,
and the content fields that it is often quite impossible to draw lines
of distinction. Thus, when a teacher is developing with her class
the idea of prefixes, she is working with language and reading
simultaneously; or when a class or group is outlining a report on
the cave dwellers, she is dealing with social studies, a reading skill,
and language. Indeed, language operates through all the activities
of the pupil's school and out-of-school life. Language may be
defined as the expression of ideas by means of words; and language,
as a school subject, is for the purpose of helping pupils express
those ideas clearly, easily, and effectively.
When do intermediate grade children use language skills? A com-







44 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

prehensive listing would be almost limitless but the following are
typical: Conversation with friends, greeting and bidding class-
mates good-bye, extending invitations, seeking information, taking
messages, making announcements, group planning, conducting meet-
ings, keeping simple records, listening politely and attentively, pre-
senting programs, retelling stories and jokes, retelling experiences,
telephoning.

If the school is to help pupils express ideas clearly and effectively
in the above situations, it is important that children have opportuni-
ties for a real exchange of ideas. It is not enough for the child to
fill in blanks or repeat the forms presented by the teacher. He
must have something to say and a valid reason for saying it if real
growth is going to occur in his language habits. The modern lan-
guage program aims to develop within the school a wealth of oppor-
tunity for gaining control over language in everyday needs, the
desire on the part of the pupil to succeed, and the knowledge of the
skills or techniques which make for adequate performance.

The following habits and skills are among the many clearly
needed by intermediate grade children:

1. Thinking before speaking; that is, sticking to the point and
judging the worthwhileness of one's own comments and those
of others.
2. Using definite, vivid words instead of vague terms.
3. Adding new words from the content fields to an ever-growing
vocabulary.
4. Speaking loudly enough to be heard.
5. Speaking distinctly enough to be understood.
6. Looking at the audience and speaking directly to it.
7. Overcoming shyness and self-consciousness.
8. Using courteous forms of address, as, please, yes, thank you.
9. Using correct verb forms, as, I saw, I did.
10. Correct pronunciation of common words, as, going, just, catch.
11. Using references, assembling, and organizing materials.
12. Willingness to think clearly, work hard, and employ self-dis-
cipline.








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS 45

13. Increasing power in oral presentation of plans and in handling
discussion in group meetings.
14. Taking notes and making simple bibliographies.
15. Writing readily short social and business letters, notes of con-
gratulation or sympathy.
16. An increasing confidence in ability to do some creative writing.
17. An increasing pleasure in good literature, including poetry and
traditional children's literature.
18. A beginning knowledge of the technical side of language, includ-
ing the four kinds of sentences and the parts of speech in
obvious situations.
19. Copying without error.
20. Using standards for correct work and proofreading to detect
carelessness.

Textbook Materials

The textbooks in adoption are:
Day by Day, Grade Four
In School and Out, Grade Five
For Every Need, Grade Six
Teacher's Manuals

In a school using the formerly adopted book, Guidebook for Lan-
guage, the teacher should ask the principal to obtain a desk copy
so that she can include in her instruction some of the approaches
and methods with which the pupils will need to be familiar in the
future. Teachers and pupils using the new texts for the first time
in the fifth and sixth grades will want to make some allowance for
the fact that pupils are using the latter half of a series of books
without having known the first part. The pupils do not have certain
attitudes and skills they would have acquired had they used the
series in the third and fourth grades and which the fifth and sixth
grade texts naturally assume they do have.
There is an excellent manual for each grade level of the series.
Both the manual and the detailed table of contents in the back of
the text help a teacher see the strong program for mastery of skills







46 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

in capitalization, punctuation, spelling, handwriting, usage, speech,
and voice improvement.
The organization of the texts reflects three major trends in lan-
guage instruction:
1. That language activities are more numerous than was first sup-
posed, including such things as telephone conversations, asking
and giving directions, courteous listening, as well as the elements
which have long been recognized.
2. That more than half our language activities are oral (true for
adults as well as children) and that the acquiring of oral lan-
guage cannot be left to chance any more than can written skills.
3. That success in drill material is not determined by quantity
alone. Thus, if a child does not understand the use of did, done
after making the choice for ten sentences, he still would not after
twenty sentences; and during the last ten his time would be worse
than wasted since he would be guessing or practicing errors. What
was needed after the first few sentences was a re-presentation of
the subject. Therefore, the authors have spaced the drills on a
given form so that a first explanation and short exercise can be
followed soon by another explanation and exercise and later by
another explanation and exercise. As some members of the class
attain mastery of the form, other activities, which will now be more
stimulating and profitable to them than continued repetition of
something they know, are provided.

Suggested Procedures
I. Vocabulary development
A. Excursions are profitable. Many trips need not go farther
than the school building and adjacent grounds. Children
learn many words by concrete illustration and many others
from the conversation centered about new experiences.
B. In every field as science, music, social studies, teachers should
develop vocabulary gradually, consistently, and without un-
due haste.
C. Encourage variety of expression, avoiding over-use of such
words as thing.








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS 47

D. Encourage the discovery of meaning through context.
E. Encourage children to keep vocabulary notebooks.
F. The teacher should deliberately introduce into her own
speech words she knows the children are going to meet
soon.
G. Bring in visual aids frequently not only to illustrate new
words but to serve as centers of vital discussion.
H. When it is clearly economical of time, do not hesitate to
teach words directly.
I. Use simple exercises with word building, prefixes, suffixes,
plurals, and phonetic analysis to develop independence and
confidence in word attacking.
J. Help the pupils use their glossaries and dictionaries in read-
ing, social studies, or science to locate a meaning for them-
selves.
K. Help children see the value of a wide vocabulary.

II. Correct usage
A. Concentrate on the errors most frequently made by your
pupils. Listen to their classroom and playground conver-
sation to determine such errors. Intermediate grade children
often like to assist in making an analysis of language errors
heard inside and outside the classroom. In listening for
errors in the speech of others, the pupils become more alert
to their own mistakes. Some investigators have found that
nearly half the errors occur with verbs. The most fre-
quently misused are forms of see, do, go, come. Misuse of
pronouns and double negatives account for many additional
errors.
B. Set a good example. For many children, imitation is far
more effective than explanation.
C. Stress oral drill. Correct usage is a matter of hearing and
speaking, not just seeing and recognizing in print.
D. Let children read aloud from correct forms on board.
E. Let children prepare original sentences including the cor-
rect form.








48 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

F. Be sure the children use the correct form in the next
natural situation.
G. Do not hesitate to individualize or group temporarily for
instruction. For instance, all the class will not need ex-
tensive drill on double negatives. Those who have already
mastered a given phase may work on material they do need
or follow other interests such as library reading.
H. Plan with other faculty members for a continuous program.
Rome was not built in a day.

III. Technicalities of language
A. Review capitalization and punctuation frequently. Care-
lessness and haste, however, are usually more at fault than
ignorance of the marks to be used. Grouping temporarily
for instruction is often helpful since all members of the
class will not need the same amount of drill on all phases.
B. Introduce verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
To improve writing and speaking skills through knowledge
of formal grammar requires a high degree of ability to ob-
serve abstract relationships and to generalize. Such ability
demands more maturity of mind than most intermediate
grade children possess. The more formal aspects of grammar
can be studied with greater profit in the junior and senior
high school. However, an important background of ex-
perience can be acquired in the intermediate grades. At each
grade level manuals for the language books contain ex-
tremely helpful charts, Appendix C "Cumulative Chart of
Skills Taught in Building Better English" and Appendix
D "Summary of Grammar Program in Building Better
English," which give an over-view of the extensive skills
program and show the relative emphasis placed on different
phases at succeeding grade levels.

IV. Writing
A. Provide for frequent practice in writing brief business and
social letters so that children feel confidence in meeting real
life situations involving letter writing.








INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE ARTS 49

B. Encourage creative writing through frequent opportunities
for dramatizations, story writing, poetry writing.
C. Guide the children in developing standards for all written
work and help them establish the habit of proofreading to cor-
rect errors. Consistency of standard in every subject or
class concerned is absolutely essential.

V. Speech
A. Encourage every child to express his thoughts, to share his
ideas.
B. Be sure the child can be heard (volume of sound) and that
he can be understood (clear articulation).
C. Concentrate on the correction of the most frequent errors in
pronunciation, usually:
1. Incorrect vowel sounds (cetch for catch, git for get)
2. Omission or substitution of sounds (fambly for family)
D. Encourage the children to listen attentively to others and
to be courteous when interruptions or disagreements are
Necessary.
E. Use dramatization not only for the pleasure and benefits
commonly associated with such activities, but also as a means
of varying instruction. For instance, correct usage of such
an expression as they were in place of they was is a matter
of hearing and speaking. If the correct form is included
in a dramatization, all the children will hear it and some
will speak it correctly. The carry over into their own
speech is far more probable than if they had spent a similar
amount of time in recognizing or writing the expression.
F. Choral reading. Use choral reading as a means of helping
children:
1. Enjoy poetry, experiencing the rhythm of it.
2. Correct their speech through attention to vowel sounds,
initial and ending sounds.
3. Experience cooperation and interdependence in a new
way.








TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


4. Forget themselves in group effort, thus aiding the timid
child.
5. Subordinate themselves to the good of the group, thus
aiding the over-confident child. (See pp. 125-129 of the
manual for In School and Out, Grade Five, for detailed
suggestions on instruction for choral reading.)

VI. Poetry and picture appreciation
A. Help the pupils visualize the scenes and action of poems.
B. Enjoy with them the rhythm; remember poems are to be
heard, not always read silently.
C. Enjoy with the pupils the fancy and humor of children's
poetry.
D. Use picture appreciation not only as a source of pleasure
in artistry and beauty, but also as a means of enlarging
concepts and vocabulary and of stimulating coherent
conversation.








INSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES 51

INSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES

The fundamental purpose of social studies teaching is growth in
social behavior. The term social behavior includes changes in per-
sonal outlook, attitudes and interests of the children. It includes
care of person and the development of satisfactory relationships with
others. Growth in social behavior is of course closely related to
growth in social information (understanding and knowledge) and
growth in techniques and skills (securing, organizing, and sharing
information).
Almost the entire school program offers opportunities for in-
struction in social studies. Because social studies involves the build-
ing of attitudes as well as the acquiring of geographic and historical
information, it is important that these opportunities be used for
establishing desirable habits. Thus, if the teacher explains in the
classroom that taking turns is the right way to get along in a group,
but does not follow up to see that the children take turns in their
games on the playground, she can hardly justify the thought that
she has taught' social studies. Or, if she has developed with the
group the idea that people from far away places are not to be con-
sidered queer because the dress and customs suited to their needs
are different from our own, but at the same time allows the pupils
to shun or ridicule a newcomer to the class because his speech has
a strange accent, she has not finished her task. The ultimate test
of whether a child has learned lies in how he acts.

Planning for the Total Program in Social Studies
It will probably be agreed that social studies should be concerned
with the development of individuals and groups who strive to ac-
complish the following: (1) To develop proper social sensitivity
(2) To gain increasing control over the skills necessary for par-
ticipation in a democracy, (3) To gain increasing control over the
process of reflective thinking and the scientific method, (4) To
acquire increasing understanding and control over self and over
the relations of self to other people, (5) To produce and enjoy the
products of creative effort, (6) To perform some useful work and to
see the relationship of this work to democratic living.
The steps in planning for the total program in social studies
for the first six grades include: (1) Defining general objectives,








52 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

(2) Describing specific outcomes or changes in child behavior de-
sired at various levels, (3) Selecting content suited to various grades,
(4) Stating persistent problems likely to prove of value both to the
child and to society if properly explored, (5) Working out profitable
ways of organizing and developing the content so as to secure de-
sirable outcomes, (6) Discovering a wide range of materials and
activities useful in an expanded social studies program. Each of
these points is considered in detail in the State Department of Edu-
cation Bulletin No. 30, Social Studies in the Elementary School.
Every teacher will find this short bulletin an excellent guide as to
content, methods, materials, and outcomes.

Social Studies and Other Content Areas
When a teacher plans for social studies instruction, she usually
finds that she is also planning for instruction in health, nutrition,
safety, science, and the use of natural and human resources. These
areas are so closely related that they reinforce one another. It is
often desirable to develop these areas together in a large time block
in the daily schedule or at least to place them in sequence so that
there need be no break in going from one to another.
Usually, units or centers of interest for integrated work are
chosen from the social studies field, and in most cases the science
and health aspects are also present. For instance, a fourth grade
class may visit the lunchroom during the morning to see the workers
preparing the food and to note the sources from which the food
came; i.e., apples from Virginia. From the social studies point of
view the purpose of the trip is to establish the idea that our way
of living is dependent on many helpers working together (interde-
pendence) ; but the following are a few of the learning opportunities
also present: why green vegetables must be washed (health), why
green vegetables are a part of the lunch (nutrition), why the work-
ers must have adequate light over their table (safety), and why
certain vegetables or fruits grow better in some regions than in
others (science).
Science and social studies are so inseparable that the teacher
needs to be constantly alert to the opportunities for pointing out
cause and effect relationships. While these relationships are often
obvious to an adult, they are not self-evident to a ten-year-old child.








INSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES 53

For instance, a fifth grade pupil studying transportation and the
westward movement in the United States, needs to realize the in-
fluence of the invention and improvement of the steam engine; or
a fourth grade pupil studying typical communities in Florida neE Is
to see the relationship of improved refrigeration and climate to the
development of the winter vegetable crops in the Everglades region;
or a sixth grade child reading about a mechanical cotton picker needs
to be able to anticipate that it will affect the way some people have
been making a living.

Large Unit Teaching and Social Studies
Since social studies is frequently the area from which centers
of interest or units of work are drawn, it is well to consider briefly
some of the characteristics of a good unit. The major purpose of
large unit teaching is to provide opportunities for more than the
intellectual development of the child. Unit teaching should provide
for social and emotional development as well. It should encourage
initiative, resourcefulness, and creative expression. Large unit
teaching serves to set the stage for direct work in skills and, in turn,
should provide opportunity for use of the skills learned in the direct
teaching phase.
Desirable units show the following characteristics:
1. A unit should provide continuity in the development of the
child. Each unit should be related to what has gone before
and what will come after. There should be a definite plan
for growth in understandings.
2. A series of units should aid in the total development of the
child. Any one unit may necessarily emphasize one phase
of subject matter or activity but a well-planned series will
provide for the total development of the child.
3. A series of units should provide for a variety of activities
or experiences. The utilization of a variety of types of activity
develops a variety of abilities. The term activity does not
necessarily involve physical motion. Reading a reference
book, watching a film, and listening to a report may all be
activities. Frequently used activities include research, con-
struction work, creative writing, music and rhythms, appre-








54 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

ciation, dramatizations, group discussions, committee work,
and interviews. The teacher should see that a child experi-
ences many of these types of experience and that he does
not fall into the habit of performing the same type in a series
of units just because it is familiar.
4. A unit should deal with some problem of living sufficiently
significant to deserve careful study. The subject matter itself
should be worthwhile and should be treated in such a manner
as to develop important concepts.
5. A unit should deal with material that is challenging to the
pupil but within his comprehension. Sufficient sources of
information should be available and the material gathered
should be authentic, although the depth to which elementary
children can pursue some subjects is naturally limited.

Suggestions for Unit Teaching
In carrying out the work of a unit the following suggestions are
offered:
1. The collection of materials which will contribute to the locating
of information is made by the children and the teacher.
2. The group plans how they will bring this information to the
class. This will include organizing the class into committees
and discussing how reports should be given. There should be
direct instruction on how to take notes on reference reading.
(Directions for outlining may be found in the language text-
books.)
3. There should be individual conferences between the teacher
and each child during the period of reference reading (or
other available periods) to guide him in his reading and tak-
ing of notes. There should be a check with each pupil before
he gives his report to be sure he has adequate information.

4. Before giving oral reports there should be direct teaching of
how to listen to and how to give a report. (See the language
textbooks for suggestions.)
5. Reports of each topic of interest should be followed by class







INSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES 55

discussion for further contributions by the group. There
should be daily reviews of material reported on before new
material is presented.
6. A culminating activity is a desirable outcome of a unit of
study. This may be in the form of a play written by the
class, a display of the projects completed in connection with
the unit, an assembly program presenting interesting in-
formation and art activities concerning the study, or an open
house for parents or other visitors. The type of culminating
activity should not always be the same.
7. In evaluating the work of an individual pupil, it is necessary
to observe his work habits and social attitudes as well as his
accomplishments in the more obvious oral and written phases.
Especially where the .unit continues over a period of time
it is helpful to use a chart or checklist of activities that can
be checked quickly for each child. Such a chart might in-
clude the names of the pupils down one side and items of
concern across the top, as, report, story, map, project, letters,
program, chairman, willingness to plan cooperatively, resource-
fulness in locating information.1

Grade Themes-Content of the Social Studies Program
Nowhere is it more important for teachers of a faculty to under-
stand the scope of the entire program and the share of each person
in 'it than in social studies. Certain grade themes are being used
in Florida schools so that instruction may have consistency and good
sequence. The idea of the expanding environment of the child has
been followed, since, when the principle that a child learns well
those things that are of immediate concern to him is applied to the
organization of social studies in the elementary school, the expand-
ing environment plan of content evolves. The child first studies
his relationship to his home and school, then to the neighborhood,
to the community, to the state, to the nation, and then in the sixth
grade to the world. Grade themes are described as follows: Grade
I-Living in Home and School; Grade II-Helping Each Other

1. For a more detailed description of large unit teaching see Chapter 9, State
Department of Education Bulletin No. 2, Ways to Better Instruction in
Florida Schools.







TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


in the Community; Grade III-Developing and Improving the Com-
munity; Grade IV-Living in Various Types of Communities; Grade
V-Improving Life in Different Regions of the United States; Grade
VI-Developing Successful Ways of Living on a World Basis. The
titles of the state-adopted textbooks in social studies reveal the same
plan.

CONTENT OF SOCIAL STUDIES IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES

Grade IV-Living in Various Types of Communities.

The fourth year pupil is still interested in himself, his home, and
his community; but he has an increasing curiosity about other com-
munities and other kinds of people. He is concerned about:

1. Living in the local community-now and formerly (discovery
of type as to geographic, historical, and economic background).

2. Living in nearby communities of similar or different type-
now and formerly.

3. Living in Florida communities varied in type-now and
formerly.
Communities dependent on agriculture.
Communities dependent on other natural resources.
Communities with rapid industrial growth.
Communities of special historical interest.
Communities closely related to living in other Americas.
Communities rendering special governmental or personal
service.

4. Living in typical sections in the Southeast and along the
Atlantic seaboard.
Community living in early colonies mainly dependent on
agriculture.
Community living in early colonies dependent on trade
and commerce in addition to agriculture.
Communities related historically to pioneer living in
Florida.








INSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES


5. Living in world communities.

Some information related to living in other types of com-
munities or regions (to show similarities or differences
in comparison with living in Florida and Eastern'sea-
board).
Communities having similar or different types of natural
and human resources (people, soil, climate, etc.).
Communities in varying stages of economic and cultural
development (primitive-modern; rural-urban).

Grade V-Improving Life in Different Regions of the United States.

The fifth year pupil is interested in the whole nation and the
way its regions depend on one another. He is beginning to realize
that ways of living can be improved. He is concerned about:

1. Living in the local community and state as related to living
in the Southeast and Atlantic seaboard region (earlier times
and now).

2. Meeting group and national needs through organized living
in U. S. regions.
Living in the Atlantic Seaboard region (colonial times
and present).
Living in the Central region (period of expansion and
present).
Living in the Old and New South.
Living in the Far West (earlier times and present).

3. Meeting group and national needs through cooperation with
nearby regions and possessions.
Our relationships with the possessions and protectorates of
the U. S.
Our relationships with Canada.
Our relationships with the other Americas.
Information relating to present-day events of world-wide
importance (news, radio, motion picture).








58 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


Grade VI-Developing Successful Ways of Living on a World Basis.

The sixth year pupil is interested in present-day needs of himself
and his community in relation to the rest of the world. He now has
sufficient sense of time and space and sufficient experience in ob-
serving cause and effect relationships to enable him to see the in-
fluence of discovery and invention upon our ways of living. He is
concerned about:

1. Living in the local community, state and region as related to
present-day national needs and problems.

2. Meeting national needs through cooperation with nearby
regions and nations (Canada and the other Americas).

3. Meeting group, national and world-wide needs through co-
operative living in world regions.
Our relationships with the centers of early civilization
(contributions and present-day importance in world
living).
Our relationships with the centers of ancient civilization
(contributions and present-day importance in world
living).
Our relationship with powers of Western'Europe (growth
of major powers, their expansion into the new world
and regions not yet fully developed; importance today).
Our relationship with Eastern Europe (emphasis on Rus-
sia and Near East).
Our relationship with Far East (China, Japan, India, East
Indies).

For a more comprehensive statement of problems, teachers will
want to consult the Content Chart, p. 26, .and the Persistent Prob-
lems Chart, p. 30, in the State Department of Education Bulletin
No. 30, Social Studies in the Elementary School.







INSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES 59

Textbook Materials
Textbooks now in adoption are:
Correlated Social Studies
Without Machinery, Grade Four
SThe New World and Its Growth, Grade Five
The Old World and Its Gifts, Grade Six

Social Studies Readers
Story Pictures of Transportation, Grade Four
Teaching Guide
Stories of the Seminoles, Grade Four
Frontiers Old and New Grade Five
On the Long Road, Grade Six

History
Our Nation Begins, Grade Four
Our Nation Grows Up, Grade Five
Story of the Old World, Grade Six

Geography
Homelife in Faraway Lands, Grade Four
The Americas, Grade Five
Nations Beyond the Seas, Grade Six

The four types of material listed above are being supplied for
social studies. It is not intended that each pupil will possess a copy
of each title for his grade. It is the aim to keep within an average
of two social studies texts per child. Thus, a class of 35 would
expect to have about 70 books. If the correlated book, The
New World and Its Growth, is used as the thread for the planning
of units, it should be requisitioned one copy to the child. The social
studies reader Frontiers Old and New is on the limited purchase plan
and is available in terms of one to each five pupils, making seven
for the above class. The remaining 28 books should include both
history and geography texts. There is a distinct need in both the
fifth and sixth grades for the material, especially the maps found
in the geography texts. Teachers wishing to use the geography or







TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


history textbooks as the thread for planning units would expect to
use-more of those materials and proportionately less of the correlated
material.

Organization of Material in the Fourth Grade
Teachers of the fourth grade face a peculiar problem of organ-
ization of material in that a study of the pupils' own community and
of typical contrasting communities in the state is involved. At the
same time there is of necessity very little printed material available
on the child's level. The teacher and class will have to seek much
of their information from other sources. For materials on the state,
the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, and the
Florida Forest Service have several helpful bulletins, although the
content has to be translated into simple terms for fourth grade
pupils. For local and county information, the County Farm Agent
and the Home Demonstration Agent usually have extensive material.
They have current information on the resources of the county and
the ways people make a living. Vocational agriculture and home
economics teachers frequently have similar information. A class
studying its own community has an excellent opportunity to see
cause and effect relationship; i.e., a trip to the hardware store will
show what kind of tools are sold and the pupils can judge what
activities are being carried on; or, a trip to warehouses will show
what goods are being produced.
In the fourth grade there are four textbooks on which to draw
in addition to Home Life in Faraway Lands. No teacher would
want one copy of each of the five for every member of the class.
The class needs access to a variety of material, but it is not all needed
in quantity nor needed all the time. Since these materials are not
in daily use, large schools can effect a considerable saving in text-
book funds by allowing several sections of a class to have access to
the same books. Whatever plan of instruction is evolved for her par-
ticular class, the teacher will want to keep in mind the total for the
class of two textbooks per pupil. Without Machinery contrasts sim-
ple ways of living with our more complex ones. It is attractive,
readable, and good to use near the first of the year. Questions
are directed to the pupils to help them make comparisons. If it is
requisitioned one copy to every two pupils, pupils can look on







INSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES


together when discussion is centered about the picture pages. It
has in the back of the book a helpful chapter for teachers. Our Nation
Begins takes up the discovery of the new world and the nature of
life in the colonies. It is usually wise to use this book in the later
part of the year. A few pupils may not be able to read it indepen-
dently, but all can understand the stories and visualize the events
if sufficient discussion and good oral reading are used. One copy
to two pupils, or even less, is usually all that is needed. Story Pic-
tures of Transportation and Stories of the Seminoles are social studies
readers and are available one copy to every five pupils. They have
excellent material for short periods of work. They can be used
for individual and group oral reading. If a class has not used
Susan's Neighbors and Centerville, it may be desirable to borrow
them from the primary grades since they develop a valuable way of
thinking. Library books are a rich source of material. Several
helpful books on Florida are listed among the library books avail-
able from the state. Many publishers are printing attractive, inex-
pensive books or pamphlets with a wide range of reading levels and
interests.

Many combinations of these materials are possible. Some teachers
like to begin with Without Machinery, then use Stories of the
Seminoles (our own people without machinery), then use Home Life
in Faraway Lands, and finish the year with several weeks' work on
Florida communities by types, the settlement of Florida and the
discovery of the new world. Others prefer to start with the local
community, contrasting the present with the past, then go to Florida
communities and their interdependence, then to contrasting world
communities.

Perhaps the most satisfactory way, ultimately, is to use the basic
problems approach (see Chart III State Department of Education
No. 30 Social Studies in the Elementary School) and to draw upon
all textbook and library books for their contribution to the central
problem. If the class is not familiar with this method of work, Unit
V in the new language book Day by Day will guide the pupils through
the experience of organizing questions, searching for information,
making reports, reviewing facts and outlining.


61







62 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

Suggested Procedures for the Intermediate Grades
1. Textbooks are an important aid to learning but they should not
be used to the exclusion of other means. Newspapers, current
magazines, people, including city and county representatives,
often offer more vivid means of learning.
2. Remember that social studies presents a reading problem to the
child. In the past, it was assumed that after the third grade a
child was able, without benefit of reading instruction, to sight
new material in a search of information. Reliance was placed al-
most entirely on individual study and recitation. It is only
recently, since the nature of the reading process has been better
understood, that the importance of concept building has been
recognized. To intermediate grade pupils most of the ideas of
social studies, as well as the words, are new. It is through teacher-
directed discussion, comparison, interpretation, and illustration
that the pupil will build concepts rapidly rather than through
reading only.
3. Use pictures extensively to enlarge the pupils' concepts, to stimu-
late discussion, and to supplement the text.
4. Plan to include information about resources, local, state, and na-
tional, and the best use of those resources. A class-made scrap-
book is often a good way of preserving material on resources.
Census reports and materials prepared by government depart-
ments are helpful sources of information for the teacher. There
is a steadily growing concern for education in resources, human
as well as natural. A recent publication of the Southern States
Work-Conference Building a Better South through Education
(available through the State Department of Education, 250) is
helpful, and more materials are in preparation both in the South-
ern region and in the state.
5. Help the pupils recognize the signs of unnecessary waste and
misuse in their own locality, such as an ugly approach to town,
contamination of water supply, unsightly dumps.
6. Consult State Department of Education Bulletin No. 27, State
Adopted Library Books for Florida Schools for help in selecting
books on a given subject at a desired level. The subject index
beginning on page 69 classifies the books according to subject
and also as to approximate grade level.








INSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES 63

7. Use many opportunities for correlation with art, music, and
literature. Industrial arts is a field rich in possibilities.
8. Conversational Spanish related to the everyday activities of the
children and to the Spanish speaking people has great appeal to
intermediate grade children. Even a slight knowledge of a for-
eign language acquired gradually and before the child is self-
conscious about trying strange sounding words helps develop an
understanding and appreciation of the Spanish-speaking coun-
tries. Two short bulletins are available to help teachers who wish
to carry on work in functional conversational Spanish: Spanish for
Florida Elementary Schools (1942) giving phonetic pronunciation
and English Equivalents for the most frequently used expres-
sions, and a Tentative Guide for the Teaching of Conversational
Spanish in Florida Elementary Schools (1944, mimeographed).








TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND SAFETY

Experience in science, health, and safety can make valuable
contributions to the social and personal growth of the child. The
fact that life in America has changed rapidly and has become
extremely complex, is directly related to technical and scientific
advance. For their own protection and for their own preparation
for successful participation, children must be thoroughly acquainted
with science as it influences the lives of average people today. Chil-
dren need to accept as a part of their thinking that our ways of
living evolve in part through the application of scientific discoveries;
that change is therefore normal and not to be feared. Such an
attitude of open-mindedness and willingness to make adjustments
makes it possible for persons to feel secure even in the presence of
change.
Social and economic problems also arise as a result of the impact
of scientific discoveries and their developments on our ways of living.
If the democratic character of our government is to be retained, the
voters must have some insight into the scientific forces at work and
the continuous changes such forces help produce.

The study of science, health, and safety is one of the most
promising means of taking up the lag between what has been dis-
covered to be desirable and what is still commonly practiced. Example
after example could be drawn from the field of public health and
nutrition showing that the benefits of research do not automatically
influence the health habits of people. Thus, smallpox could have
been eliminated years ago had people accepted vaccination more
readily. For years, in a land capable of producing the necessary
volume of milk, we have allowed thousands of children to grow up
without it even after research has shown it to be essential to an
adequate diet.

The Aims of Science in the Elementary School
Science in the elementary school should be personalized and kept
close to the immediate interests of the child. In the secondary school
science may often be impersonal and organized on a strictly logical
basis. In the elementary school applications and their social im-
plications should come first. There are four major aims:








INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE, HEALTH AND SAFETY 65

1. To cultivate a scientific attitude.
Material should be so presented that it develops:
A. A desire for truth.
B. The habit of basing judgments on facts.
C. A willingness to revise opinions when new evidence
is discovered.
D. A realization of the relationship between cause and
effect.
The development of a scientific attitude is often more the
result of the methods of instruction than of the specific mate-
rial used.

2. To introduce certain fundamental science concepts.
Important concepts in science are usually complex. A child
needs many simple contacts with an idea, frequently involving
some application to himself, before he can really grasp the
thought. For instance, to understand the theory of an electric
motor, a child needs early and frequent contact with magnets,
their north and south poles, their magnetic fields as shown
by iron filings, and electromagnets. If all his experiences with
magnetism'are crowded into a short space of time, he fails to
observe all the implications and possibilities.

3. To open new avenues of interest.
A normal, developing child is eager to learn the why and
how of happenings in his environment. With some children
this curiosity is latent but it can usually be aroused. For some
pupils, the interest in science is so forceful that it will stimu-
late them to greater effort in reading and in other fields of
study. Library and simple reference books on numerous as-
pects of science and at various reading levels must be available
if children are to follow up their budding special interests
in science. Pupils can easily have their curiosity deadened by
a chronic lack of means to satisfy their questions.










"~ l ....


7- T--
1fYJ
-i~i; I.f r


e ~


.... ..M. w

!mo

-- . .
k


A problem in science becomes the center of interest for many types of
learning experiences.


RK,-








INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE, HEALTH AND SAFETY 67

4. To develop desirable social attitudes.
The material of science should be so presented that pupils
are helped to develop attitudes that are socially desirable to-
ward such matters as their own health and safety, the health
and safety of others, the wise use of resources.

Areas of Science Instruction
The extent of science material is great but if the elementary
teacher thinks in terms of the six major areas of science instruction
she can be confident of directing the pupils in well-rounded experi-
ences. The six areas are: The earth, the universe, living things,
natural forces, chemical and physical changes, man's control over his
environment. Each year in the elementary school the child should
meet experiences in each of these areas. Through the cycle or spiral
plan he gradually builds an understanding of such basic principles as:

1. Man's conception of truth changes.
2. It is desirable to have confidence in the scientific method.
3. Nature's principles are invariable.
4. There is a cause for every effect.
5. Much knowledge remains to be discovered.
6. Conditions favorable to life are apt to persist on the
earth for a long time.
7. Man has become an important determining factor in the
environment of many forms of life. His continued ex-
istence and advancement are dependent upon his wise
modification and control of his environment.

Teachers of Elementary Science
Successful elementary teachers will find little difficulty in adapt-
ing themselves to effective work in elementary science. Anelementary
teacher need not have a college major or minor in science in order
to do good work. An introductory course in two or more fields of
science gives a teacher necessary information and confidence, but she
need not be a specialist. Subjective qualifications are important:








68 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

mental alertness, interest in elementary science, resourcefulness in
adapting materials to the level of children, and concern for the
development of minds. She will need to be constantly alert to
applications of scientific principles in the every-day environment of
the children so that the pupils will come to anticipate the effects
of science on their lives rather than think of science as an abstract
subject.

Textbook Materials
Textbooks now in adoption are:
SCIENCE
The Earth and Living Things, Grade Four
Learning About Our World, Grade Five
Our Earth and Its Story, Grade Six
Teachers' Manuals
This material is intended for basic instruction in science. It will
naturally require much supplementation and explanation by the
teacher. She should delibe:-ately build a readiness for understanding
the concepts presented. The texts are intended one for each pupil.

HEALTH
Health by Doing, Grade Four
Building for Health, Grade Five
The Body and Health, Grade Six
Emphasis should be placed not only on habit formation but also
upon the beginning study cf the how and why of these habits. Many
of the best opportunities for health instruction arise in large unit
teaching. Approximately cne book to each two students is sufficient.
Pupils will need access to the text above and below their grade level
in their search for information.

SAFETY EDUCATION
Around the Year, Grade Four
On Land and Water, Grade Five
Who Travels There, Grade Six
Teachers' Manuals








INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE, HEALTH AND SAFETY 69

These books provide good material for short periods of work or
for reference in relation to safety education. The books should be
requisitioned in terms of one to five pupils.

Suggested Techniques of Instruction
1. Plan ahead for a whole phase or topic of work; but also plan
specifically for the next day's class. Be sure to assemble in
advance the pictures needed or the materials to be used in simple
experiments. Note the new words apparent in the work of the
next few days and plan to introduce them ahead of the pupil's
meeting them in print.
2. Keep at hand frequently used materials including: hammer,
saw, screw driver, forceps, scissors (sharp points), funnel, in-
sect killing jar, labels, matches, spring-type clothes pins, paper
clips, rulers, glue or paste, crayons, teaspoon, tablespoon, alcohol
lamp, balarice or small platform scales, magnets, dry cells, com-
pass, copper wire. These materials can usually be obtained from
the ten cent store or hardware store. A visit to the toy counters
of stores, especially at Christmas time, will locate items such
as steam engines and telegraph sets that illustrate many scientific
principles.
3. Read regularly some brief publication such as Science Newsletter
which keeps the laymen informed of developments in the field
of science.
4. Plan to use such means as an aquarium, terrarium, garden, in-
ventory chart of birds, insects, flowers, or animals as an on-going
activity of several weeks' or months' duration while other science
instruction continues.
5. Use the incidental or casual contributions of the children as a
means of stimulating interest and of obtaining desirable repe-
tition of experiences and words. However, it is necessary to guard
against the momentary enthusiasm of some of the pupils dis-
rupting all sequence of ideas or absorbing all the time and
attention of the class.
6. Use demonstrations and short field trips whenever possible. First-
hand experiences are essential to full understanding of many
ideas.







TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


7. Do not expect all children to understand important concepts
in a like degree. Some children will accept an observation with-
out endeavoring to understand the explanation; others will at-
tempt to understand and desire help; still others will understand
from one reading or demonstration and proceed to make ap-
plications in their own thinking.
8. Encourage a pupil in his interest in science. An awakened
curiosity will certainly benefit all his other school work and it
may lead to a genuine life interest.
9. Encourage pupils to carry on out-of-school experiments and re-
port the results to the class.
10. Develop gradually the library materials available, including
books on many subjects and at many reading levels. Watch
the ten cent store book counter for inexpensive books on subjects
of current interest.
11. Draw extensively on visual aids in building a background of
experience for successful reading. See State Department of
Education Bulletin No. 44 Lessons from Life: A Survey of Some
Visual Education Opportunities in the Florida Curriculum 1943.
(Mimeographed.)
12. Consult the manual; prepared by the publishers of the texts.
They are particularly helpful in keeping continuity from one
phase of work to the next and in aiding the teacher to see the
relationship of any one topic to the large idea being developed.
13. Make extensive use cf the State Department of Education Bulle-
tin No. 4, Florida's School Health Program, in planning health
instruction. The school of today is vitally concerned that chil-
dren develop adequate health practices and habits. It is not
enough for pupils merely to be supplied with information about
health. The bulletin also describes procedures for "screening"
the pupils (finding which ones need special attention from the
school nurse) and shows how the "screening" process, as in
eye and ear tests, (an be made a part of regular instruction
rather than an added load.
14. Consult Bulletin 221: Suggestions for Teaching the Actions and
Effects of Alcohol and Other Narcotics for aid in narcotics
education.








INSTRUCTION IN ARITHMETIC 71

INSTRUCTION IN ARITHMETIC

Arithmetic has been described as a system of quantitative think-
ing. The need for quantitative thinking arises early in life when the
child is faced with the necessity for describing the size, weight, shape,
position, and amount of various things in some adequate fashion.
In the beginning, the description does not have to be accurate and the
child is satisfied with such expressions as "a long way off", "bigger
than John", "before I came to school". However, it is not long
before activities at home and school help him realize the need for
describing things in terms of exact amount, exact.weight.
In the past, children have been given rigorous training in the
manipulation of abstract numbers with little regard to their mean-
ing and significance, or to their function in interpreting the social
and physical environment. Actually, drill and repetition of skills
within the computational processes made up the body of the
arithmetic program. Children frequently did not know what they
were doing and even after mastering certain computational skills,
were unable to solve the simplest problems in which those skills were
involved.
Today, educators believe arithmetic has a more significant role
to play in the life of the child. A great amount of research has been
carried on to determine what are those understandings and skills
which should be developed in school. Two general trends are clear;
first, that many concepts in arithmetic are complex and need to be
developed gradually over a period of time if they are to be really
understood; second, that successful learning of processes and speed
and skill in using the processes must be based upon and accompanied
by broad, first-hand number experiences. These first-hand experiences
cannot be assumed for the child. It becomes part of the work of the
teacher to include a given experience in the environment of the child,
if that experience is going to be necessary to his understanding of
a new concept in number.
The concept of drill and problem-solving is wider in application
today than was formerly the case. No longer are teachers satisfied
to accept computational skill as the only outcome of drill, nor do.
they limit problem solving to the solving of textbook problems. They
have come to understand that arithmetic has but one purpose-to








TEACHING :[N INTERMEDIATE GRADES


assist in the solution of problems with quantitative aspects. The
problems may involve the comparing of amounts, the measuring or
determining of amounts, or the estimating of amounts. The solutions
may depend on counting, computing, measuring, estimating, and
comparing, or a combination of these processes.

The development.of understandings and skills requires the repe-
tition of experiences. This is another way of saying that drill must
be provided if understandings and skills are to be developed. 'Drill
should follow understanding but it should also increase understand-
ing. Written problems should follow oral problems, and drill with
abstract numbers should come after the meaning of the process has
been established. Experiences which have led to the drill should
help the child understand what he is learning. He should believe in
what he is doing. If the drill seems worthwhile his attitude will
Contribute to his success. In addition, he should be challenged by the
drill he is undertaking. It should never be entirely new but the
range of difficulty should be increasingly greater.

Arithmetic-a System of Quantitative Thinking

After examining arithmetic and questioning its place in the ele-
mentary school program, teachers are beginning to see that its function
is to measure and describe quantity. Whether the child compares,
estimates, uses a standard instrument, counts or computes, he is
measuring quantity, either accurately or by means of descriptive
terms. Arithmetic is concerned with quantity in its three aspects-
time, length, mass. In reality any process in arithmetic is an ex-
pression of some phase of time, length, or mass. Children need to
measure and describe time by means of a clock or calendar. They
need to be able to compare, estimate, and measure accurately various
lengths, widths, depths, heights. Likewise, they need to be able to
find, the amount and weight of things, of themselves, their friends,
food they buy, and the like. They need to be able to interpret num-
bers representing amount, size, weight, capacity, height, distance,
and to understand that different things are measured in different
ways. In addition, they need to have understandings regarding the
use of money.

As teachers attempt to identify needs, experiences, activities, of








INSTRUCTION IN ARITHMETIC


both the younger and the older child, it becomes evident that a con-
tinuous growth in understanding and in skill development occurs and
that this growth begins before the child's entrance in school and
extends throughout life. For a more extensive discussion of the nature
of arithmetic and an analysis of the skills involved, teachers will need
to consult State Department of Education, Bulletin No. 26, Arithmetic
in the Elementary School.

Skills Outcomes
There is a continuous and sequential development of understand-
ings and skills. Many concepts have simple early beginnings that
do not mature until a' much later period. However, the following
outline of goals for skills at each grade level represents the attain-
ment expected of all normal pupils in the class. Many pupils will
learn more than the skills listed. No outline of skills should be
followed so rigidly as to ignore the needs or opportunities in a
particular class.

Grade IV
Counting, reading, writing numbers
Writing of six place numbers (use of comma)
Reading of any number needed to interpret the expanding
environment

Addition and subtraction
Check ability to give automatic responses to 100 addition and
subtraction facts and ability to bridge tens
Column addition with carrying in units, tens, hundreds places
(no more than five addends)
In subtraction by end of year three place minuend, one, two,
three place subtrahend (borrowing from tens and hun-
dreds; zero in units and tens column of minuend.)
Multiplication and division
Check on automatic responses to combinations whose products
do not exceed 36








74 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

Multiplication facts and reverses whose products do not exceed
144
By end of year three place multiplicand with one and two place
multipliers, with and without carrying, with and without
zeros
Use long division method
Division facts and reverses where dividends do not exceed 144
One place divisor, three or four place dividends (first quotient
in ten's place-at first no remainders, later remainders)
Two place divisors-10, 11, 12 only
Fractions-common
Read and write simple fractions
Add and subtract simple fractions with like denominators, if
need arises
Reduction on, an oral level with many concrete illustrations
Fractions-decimal and percentage
Build meaning for percentage as used to express the whole or
part ideas
Acquaint with decimal fraction form through experiences with
clinical thermometer, records of rainfall, records of mileage
Measures
Use of gallons, miles, thermometer, and other common terms
Using money, making change

Grade V
Counting, reading, writing numbers
Writing of nine place figures
Reading of any number needed to interpret expanding en-
vironment
Addition and subtraction
Maintain and refine addition abilities with emphasis on ac-
curacy and speed
Three and four place minuends with two and three zeros; one,
two, three, four place subtrahends (borrowing from tens,
hundreds, thousands column)



















































In this class, pupils are practicing reading large numbers as part of
their arithmetic program. The need for refining the skill and opportunity
for its immediate use are present in the social studies work involving the
size of crops in Mexico.


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76 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

Multiplication and division
Check on automatic responses to multiplication facts, on abihty
to determine position of partial product
Multiplication of three and four place multiplicand by two or
three place multiplier with and without zero
Two place divisors; zero difficulties
Remainder changed to common fraction form
Fractions-common
Addition and subtraction of all kinds of like fractions
Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators where
common denominator is equivalent to one expressed de-
nominator-no borrowing
Multiply wholes, fractions, and mixed numbers by wholes, frac-
tions, mixed numbers (horizontal form only)
Cancellation taught as a way of reduction after child under-
stands process
Fractions-decimal and percentage
Readiness program
Addition and subtraction through hundredths (two places);
zero as a place holder in decimals
Learn equivalent of 1/2, 1/4, 3/4, 1/5, 1/10, 1/3
Measures
Maintain and refine ability to read and write amounts of money
Changing terms in denominate numbers

Grade VI

Counting, reading, writing numbers
Reading and writing any number needed to interpret expand-
ing environment

Addition and subtraction
Maintain and refine abilities with emphasis on speed and ac-
curacy
Check on ability to borrow in tens, hundreds, and thousands
places before introducing subtraction of decimals
Multiplication and division
Maintain and refine multiplication abilities








INSTRUCTION IN ARITHMETIC 77


Three place divisors, any dividend, apparent quotient not the
true quotient

Fractions-common
Adding and subtracting any fraction or mixed number; bor-
rowing in subtraction of fractions or mixed numbers, like
denominators, unlike denominators
Cancellation taught as a way of reduction after child under-
stands process
Division of fractions-all steps
Fractions-decimal and percentage
Change common fractions to decimal and reverse
Decimals-add two and three places; more difficult subtrac-
traction, zero differences in remainder; multiplication-all
steps; division-all steps presented, but whole class may not
master most difficult phases
Learn to round off ragged numbers

Measures
Refine ability to read and write amounts of money
Drawing to scale
Interpretation of graphs
Areas

Textbook Materials

The textbooks now in adoption are:
Arithmetic We Use, Grade Four
Arithmetic We Use, Grade Five
Arithmetic We Use, Grade Six
Teacher's Manual

In a school which is using the formerly adopted text, Triangle
Arithmetic, the teacher should ask the principal to obtain a desk
copy of Arithmetic We Use so that she can include in her instruction
some of the approaches and methods with which the pupils will need
to be familiar in the future. As each new process is introduced
in the text, it is developed in six steps:








78 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

1. Readiness development
2. Concrete experience lending meaning to the process
3. Models and study helps
4. Practice, both isolated and interrelated
5. Diagnostic tests
6. Progress tests

In planning instruction, teachers will want to make wide use
of the State Department of. Education Bulletin No. 26, Arithmetic
in the Elementary School which is an excellent guide as to content,
methods, materials, and outcomes. It contains an analysis of the
difficulty of the major processes and a desirable sequence of skills
development. The manual Teacher's Guide for Arithmetic We Use
is also helpful.

Suggested Procedures

1. Opportunities for number experiences abound in the regular
activities of the day, but the teacher must carefully examine the
day's work in advance in order to take advantage of the oppor-
tunities. For instance, a class participating in a Field Day made
use of number in the following situations: Weighing, measuring,
and classifying pupils into groups, making score cards, keeping
score cards during preliminary practice, measuring the race
track, laying out the softball field, preparing field for broad
jump and high jump, making ribbons for the winners, making
posters. Unless a teacher makes a deliberate effort to point out
the situations in which number functions, arithmetic remains an
abstract subject to many children. Whenever possible, the learn-
ing of a new process should begin in response to an actual need.

2. Maintain a kit of simple materials in the classroom for instant
use, as: measuring cup, kitchen scales, measuring spoons, quart
and bushel baskets, railroad schedules, bus schedules, airplane
schedules, road maps, No. 1 and No. 2 vegetable cans, 1 gal. oil
can, and feed sacks.

3. Sometimes translate textbook problems into terms of the local
setting, using names of children in the room or items produced
in the community.








INSTRUCTION IN ARITHMETIC


4. Develop additional problems and practice material related to the
children's daily living. This step is important and is anticipated
by modern textbook writers. No published material, however
skillfully prepared, can be expected to provide help in that vital
phase of arithmetic instruction, the use of the child's local en-
vironment in making arithmetic real.
5. Do not hurry children into glib response. Be confident you are
doing the right thing in developing a broad base of number ex-
perience upon which to build real mastery.
6. Expect to find individual differences within the class. Temporary
grouping for additional instruction in certain phases is often
helpful.
7. Remember that arithmetic also constitutes a reading problem
and that from the child's point of view the difficulty may lie
in understanding what the writer expects him to visualize rather
than in computation.
8. Expect to do considerable reteaching within the year and from
year to year, presenting as new material each year the steps that
were new in the previous grade. The children often do not have
sufficient use for all processes in their arithmetic outside the
classroom to retain mastery through vacation periods.







TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


INSTRUCTION IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Physical education has a distinct contribution to make to the
personal and social growth and development of the child. The four
major objectives of a well-planned physical education program are:

1. Building organic fitness for today and tomorrow through ac-
tivities definitely selected to increase strength, vigor, and
functional organic capacity.

2. Developing physical abilities and control of the movements of
the body by providing a wise, rich program of activities that
demand and increase the skills required for body coordination.

3. Generating among boys and girls of today meaningful, vitalized,
recreational habits and interests that will carry over into
their play outside school hours.

4. Definitely educating for behavior conditioned by the principles
of good sportsmanship, thus building toward character and
better citizenship.

Many different ideas of an adequate physical education program
have existed in the past and once in a while still exist. Some people
have thought of physical education as a recess period during which
the children were sent outdoors to play; others considered physical
education as a period in which the teachers watched the children to
see that there were no fights; still others considered calisthenics and
deep breathing to be all that was necessary. Fortunately, nearly
all school people realize now that physical education is an oppor-
tunity for achieving many educational goals, including growth in
social behavior.

It is assumed that each classroom teacher will direct the physical
education activities of her own group. She may be able to secure
the aid of physical education director in planning her work or in
obtaining equipment. She will want to observe the following points:
1. Plan the physical education period as definitely as the spelling
or arithmetic lesson.















































-t-


Physical education promotes good health. It also helps children develop
techniques for working together in large and small groups.


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82 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

2. Secure the participation of the pupils in choosing the particular
games to be used, but see that new games are learned at fre-
quent intervals.

3. Keep such simple equipment as is needed in usable condition.
If the school does not already have the equipment needed, con-
sult the principal about obtaining the material from local
school funds or the P.T.A. Meanwhile, a trip to the ten cent
store will provide enough material for a beginning. Many
favorite games of elementary children require no equipment
or merely a rope or bean bag.

The Program and Time Allotment

A daily period of at least thirty minutes, exclusive of the noon
hour, should be assigned to physical education in grades one through
six. In a properly planned program sufficient time should be pro-
vided for:

1. The planning period in the classroom, including the changing
of shoes.

2. Proceeding to the playground, gymnasium, or playroom.

3. Participation in the activities of the program as planned for
that day. Not less than twenty minutes should be devoted
to this part of the program.

4. Return to the classroom at the close of period.

5. Discussion of any situations or problems which arose during
the day's play. This discussion may be held on the play-
ground or after the class has returned to the classroom.

The program should include the following types of activity:
1. Directed Play.
2. Small Group Play.
3. Large Group Play.








INSTRUCTION IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION 83

4. Team Games.
5. Rhythmic Activities.
6. Stunts, Pyramids, and Apparatus Activities.
7. Classroom Games.

Directions for the different types of games, music for rhythm
activities, and helps for the teacher in planning a well-balanced
physical education period are found in the State Department of Edu-
cation Bulletin No. 21, Source Materials for Physical Education in
Elementary Schools. If this bulletin is not already in the class-
room, the principal can obtain a copy for each teacher. Any teacher
using this bulletin as a guide will find that she can develop a program
that is a pleasure to the pupils and herself as well as an educational
benefit.

INSTRUCTION IN MUSIC

The nature of a music program depends (1) upon the previous
training, abilities, and needs of the group of children, and (2) upon
the teacher and her musical experience. However, lack of formal music
training is no bar to a most worth-while music program. What could
be more valuable in these days of fear and grief than songs which
can furnish a safe and sane outlet for pent-up emotions? Every
teacher can teach such songs-songs of patriotism, hope, faith, love,
and cheer-songs which can be carried into the home, and even into
community gatherings. Even though the teacher has to "finger out"
the melodies on the piano-at least until she gains more confidence
in her own ability-she can help build valuable musical experiences.
Or perhaps some talented pupil in the group can assist in the teach-
ing of songs.

Every teacher can develop, also, a fine sense of rhythm through
activities which will not only be useful in later music work, but
will be enjoyable as well, and will react favorably upon the health
of the participants. Listening lessons, too, can be carried on and
are particularly valuable in the integrated program. The teacher
with little or no music background can carry on appreciation work
with the help of books.








84 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

Finally and again, every teacher can give her pupils many worth-
while music experiences.

The textbooks in adoption are:
The Music Hour, Third Book, Grade 4
The Music Hour, Fourth Book, Grade 5
Intermediate Teacher's Manual
The Music Hour, Fifth Book, Grade 6
Teacher's Guide for Fifth Book
The Music Hour Series (Combination Grade Plan)
Two-Book Course (2-5 teacher schools):
The Music Hour, Book for Lower Grades
The Music Hour, Book for Upper Grades
Teacher's Manual for Two-Book Course
One-Book Course (1 teacher schools):
The Music Hour, One Book Course
Teacher's Manual for One-Book Course

WHY Music?
Music makes life richer, fuller, and more enjoyable.
Music serves as a safe and sane emotional outlet.
Music is useful as a recreation for an individual and for a group.
Music is a means for self expression.

How PRESENTED?
The values listed above must have first consideration in any pro-
gram and they must be evident in every music lesson. Often they
are lost sight of in the zeal to develop skills in reading music. While
these skills have a place in any worthy music program, they are
but a means to an end-a lovely song. Children must first have
many pleasurable experiences with music before they will desire
to read music.

Three steps are suggested for an elementary music program:
Step I Building music experiences-necessary for the first year
of music in any grade, and should be a continual process
S throughout the school.








INSTRUCTION IN MUSIC 85

Step II Building reading readiness for music-observation by
ear and by eye of music factors of time and tone prob-
lems and the symbols needed to express them.

Step III Reading music-a step which may well be begun in the
fourth grade.

STEP I-Building Music Experiences

No formal music training should be begun in any grade until the
pupils have had many experiences with music. Where children
have never sung, the first year may be profitably devoted to build-
ing these experiences.

Five different types of experiences are recommended:

I. Singing songs by rote
A. Songs of permanent value
When school time is so limited, it is well to teach those songs
which have endured throughout the years and which will still
endure-songs which can be sung with pleasure at any age. From
this rich store of songs, select those first which may be used in
the integrative activities. Furthermore, start a song repertory
and add new ones to it each year. Such a list should include all
the stanzas of The Star Spangled Banner, America, and America,
the Beautiful. Every pupil loves the songs of the service men
such as, The Marines Hymn and Anchors Aweigh, as well as the
war songs such as The White Cliffs of Dover and Over There.

Fun songs have a definite place in every school program and
several are to be found in the MUSIC HOUR texts-A Frog He Went
A-Courtin', The Frog in the Well-both in the THIRD BOOK-Tur-
key in the Straw, Billy Boy, and Yankee Doodle in the FOURTH
BOOK. The original songs of the American Indians and the
abundant folk tunes of many nations may be useful in integrative
work.
Any list of permanent songs should include religious numbers.
Some excellent ones are available: Beethoven's Hymn of Thanks,








TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES


Mendelssohn's How Lovely are Thy Dwellings, Thanks and Praise,
the Georgian chant-A Morning Hymn, (all in BOOK THREE), a
religious round called a canon-Thy Mercies Lord, the Crusaders
Hymn, Come Ye Thankful People Come (BOOK FOUR) and Handel's
Largo, (BOOK FIVE).
Other standard works not religious but which build appre-
ciation are: Bach, My Heart Ever Faithful, Brahms' Lullaby,
and The Little Dustman (BOOK THREE) Mozart's Minuet, Strauss'
Blue Danube (BOOK FOUR), and Schubert's The Brooklet (BOOK
FIVE.)
By no means should the songs learned by the group be limited
only to those in the adopted text. There are excellent collections
of permanent songs.1

B. Singing two-part songs
It is not necessary to read music to sing part-work, for it can
be introduced by rote. The easiest approach is through the familiar
song such as Silent Night, and Juanita (BOOK FOUR). For the
first part work it is well to select some of the most musical chil-
dren to learn the alto part which ideally should be heard and
learned* with the soprano; but if it cannot be taught in this
manner by the teacher, the alto part can be learned separately
and added later to the soprano. After the first few songs, the
class should be equally divided as to music ability, and thereafter,
the alto part should be alternated with each new song so that
all the children will have experience in singing a lower part.
Two-part work may start in the fifth grade, or if the class has
had little music experience, it may well be delayed until the sixth
grade. In the school up to standard musically, three-part work
may be introduced in the sixth grade. However, it is better to
do good two-part work than poor three-part. Rounds are valuable
for developing independence in singing parts and all intermediate
grade children enjoy singing them.

1. THE NEW AMERICAN SONG BOOK (Hall, McCreary Co., Chicago, is
particularly good for integrative purposes because of its explanatory
notes. Carl Sandburg's The American Songbag (Harcourt, New York) is
excellent for folk songs. The BOTSFORD COLLECTION OF FOLK
BONGS (Vol. I, II, III, Schirmer, New York) is particularly good for
reference material for songs of other countries.








INSTRUCTION IN MUSIC 87

Tone quality should be stressed from the very first. This is
adequately discussed in the INTERMEDIATE TEACHER'S BOOK. Like-
wise, all out-of-tune singers should be taught to sing the tune.
II. Expressing rhythms
Equally important as singing is the development of a feeling
for rhythm. Much work should be done with folk dances and
play party games (sometimes called Singing Games). Physical
Education in the Elementary School, State Department of Edu-
cation Bulletin No. 21, gives excellent helps in both these phases.
The INTERMEDIATE TEACHER'S MANUAL also contains folk dances.
There are two additional rhythm skills which are needed for
reading music and it is well to give the pupils considerable ex-
perience with both.
1. Recognizing various meters as the 2, 3, 4, or 6 counts in
2/4, 3/4, 4/4, and 6/8 time signatures.
Marching, beating the counts with the closed fists, drawing
marks on the board as in:
S 2/4, -, 3/4,
----,- -, 4/4.

2. Stepping note values in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 measures, as:
A quarter note-walk
An eighth note-run
A half note-step, bend
A dotted half-step, point, point
A whole note-step, point, point, point

Combinations of notes might be:
A dotted quarter and eighth-step bend on the dotted
quarter and run on the eighth.
A dotted eighth and sixteenth-each foot makes two
steps thus expressing the two notes.

Perhaps a contrast of the two eighths with the dotted eighth
and sixteenth would be the best approach to show that the first
combination is smooth and the latter is jerky. The word jerk'y
might be used to read the rhythm.








88 TEACHING IN -INTERMEDIATE GRADES

In order to build these skills it will be necessary to teach a
number of simple songs for drill in stepping. For example, Many
Things, (BOOK THREE) and The Traveler (BOOK FOUR) deal with
the rhythms only of the quarter, half and whole note, and will
make excellent drill material. Falling Leaves, Over the Heather
(BOOK THREE), and Crickets (BOOK FOUR) may be used for the
eighth note step. Even simpler material found in the (SECOND
BOOK) might be better and easier. Skater's Waltz (BOOK THREE)
or others in the first texts will develop the dotted half note. For
the combination of the dotted quarter followed by the eighth,
familiar songs such as phrases from America and America, the
Beautiful will be helpful. The dotted eighth followed by the
sixteenth can be developed through rote songs such as Birds and
Clouds (BOOK THREE) or Auld Lang Syne.

III. Listening activities
Integration provides the best means for presenting appreciation
work. If a phonograph is available, records may be obtained from
the General Extension Division, University of Florida, by paying
mailing costs. Send for the topical indexed catalogue. A classi-
fied list of records given in the INTERMEDIATE TEACHER'S MANUAL
may also be helpful in selecting listening lessons for integration
and correlation purposes.' The U. S. Office of Education also
publishes an excellent list.

IV. Playing instruments
Playing instruments from tonettes, ocarinas, and xylophones
to real instruments, and even playing the piano by ear, are valuable
experiences.

V. Creating songs
Most teachers are afraid of this activity but it is simpler than
it sounds. Select a short poem, preferably written by the group,
and place this on the board for the children's reference. Create
a tune for the first phrase and discuss whether it expresses the

1. There are a number of good reference books, one inexpensive one being
Music Appreciation for Every Child, Intermediate Grades, by Glen-Lowry
(Silver Burdett Co.)








INSTRUCTION IN MUSIC 89

mood and thought of the poem. If it meets the approval of the
group under the teacher's guidance, create the second phrase in
the same manner. Continue until the song is completed. The
children will need to memorize the melody for each phrase if
the teacher is unable to take down the notes of the tune. Use
syllable names, if possible. Later a musician may help notate
it in case the teacher or group cannot do this.

STEP II-Building Reading Readiness for Music
While building a readiness for reading music is the work of
the primary grades, every school which has had little or no singing
will definitely need this step and it should be a part of every inter-
mediate grade's training, if reading of music is to be developed. All
experiences 'under Step I can be rich contributors to building this
reading readiness for music and the children can profit more at this
age by learning the songs from the books, for many useful knowledge
may be observed at the same time. Reading readiness for music is
developed through observation and drill on two problems-(1) time
dealing with both meter and length of sounds and (2) tone dealing
with highness or lowness of these sounds.

I. Time problems to be observed in rote songs
A. Meter: Discover that 2/4, and 4/4 marches; 3/4, and 6/8
swings; and that 6/8 is a swing-march.
Discover that the first note after the bar is accented and that
the accent is count 1.
Discover that the lower number in the time signature, as the
8 in 6/8 is the beat note.
B. Note value: See discussion under Step I Expressing Rhythms
by Stepping Note Values. Use many short, simple songs for
drilling on the steps for note values. Later check the skill
by scanning the words of a new song-in rhythm with the
notes-to see if there is a transfer from the large muscular
response to the interpretation of the music of the printed
page.1 It is the general opinion that, if rhythm problems are
1. For other interesting ways of catching the rhythm of notes see Coleman,
S. N., Creative Musio in the Home, Valpariso, Ind., Myers, 1928.








90 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

thoroughly drilled by stepping notes and other muscular
responses, sight reading will be a simple problem. Since chil-
dren like these rhythmic responses, the drills may develop, a
high degree of skill in interpreting the note values in songs.

II. Tone problems found in rote songs
The second important step in reading readiness for music is
building a tonal vocabulary. For the average teacher this is most
easily done by means of syllables. Teach the syllables to many
familiar songs, some containing the tonic chord (do, mi, sol, do)
and others the scale (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do)-some ascending
the others defending. Perhaps a number of easy songs such as
Feathers (BOOK ONE) and The Fly (BOOK TWO) could be used for
the tonic chord development, and The Sleigh (BOOK ONE) for the
scale. If syllables are taught to many songs, tonal relationships
are built up in the mind of the pupil. For example, when he
sees do, mi, sol (located differently for each key; as in E and E
flat it is first line, second line, and third line, while in F it is
first space, second space, third space) he will instantly think the
correct tones. Likewise when he hears tones sung without
syllables, or played on the piano, he immediately attaches the
correct syllable names to the sounds. He must recognize the
"home" tone do by ear and eye Other chord tones as fa, la, do,
and sol, ti, re if learned in these combinations will assist in reading
music.

The symbols used in the time and tone problems such as staff,
number names of lines and spaces, a few rests, the sharp, flat,
bar, measure, and double bar should be learned only as there is
need for them.

STEP III-Reading Music

In keeping with the general trends in education of delaying the
abstract phase of a subject until the pupils have had first-hand ex-
periences, it is recommended that the actual reading of music begin
not before the fourth grade.1 In those schools where music has not
1. For a discussion of syllable reading see Mursell, J. L., Music in American
Schools, Silver Burdett Co., 1943, p. 246.








INSTRUCTION IN MUSIC 91

been taught, however, sight reading of course will not begin until
Steps I and II are fairly well covered.

A second recommendation is the use of much material easily read
for only in this way can facility and skill in reading be really de-
veloped. Of course, this will mean supplementary material.'

Suggested procedures for sight reading:
(1) Discuss the word text always-it is a song and not an exercise.
(2) Scan or step the rhythm.
(3) Note the tonic chord or portions of it, and also scale passages.
(4) Sing with syllables and then words.
(5) If children can sing it correctly without syllables, there is no
merit in using them-for they are merely an assisting agent.

EVALUATION
1. Do your children like to sing ?
2. Do they sing their songs in activities outside the school?
3. Do they ask to sing at the free periods of the day?
4. Is there growth in the group's appreciation for songs or are
the "hill-billy" songs and popular songs preferred?
5. To what type of radio programs do they listen?

SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES
1. Include songs for pleasure in every lesson.
2. Many beautiful songs are preferably learned by rote or by
combination of rote-note at all ages, than labored over with
syllables.
3. Integrate songs with other learning experiences as social science.
4. Sing songs with a "live" tone but not a loud tone.
5. Always keep music an enjoyable activity.





SParticularly good because of their simplicity are The Congdon Books,
Primer, Book II, III, IV, C. H. Congdon, New York.







92 TEACHING IN INTERMEDIATE GRADES

INSTRUCTION IN PRACTICAL AND FINE ARTS

When the practical and fine arts were first introduced into the
elementary school curriculum, their purpose was largely that of
giving training in cultural tastes or of providing relief from the
drudgery of the skill subjects. Frequently the teacher did not
expect anything of real importance to happen during such periods.
Indeed, if they were included at all in the daily program, they
served only to provide busy work or to put zest into an otherwise
colorless day. At the other extreme were a few teachers who had
received advanced training in the techniques of art; accordingly,
they became concerned with art for its own sake and consequently
spent most of the time in improving the skills and techniques of
their pupils.
Today there is need for a changed conception on the part of
teachers if experiences in the practical and fine arts are to become
vital for the children. Experiences in these areas have often been
guided by specialists who knew the subject but did not always know
children. The alert classroom teacher of today has caught a vision
of what art can do for her children and is enjoying these creative
activities along with them.

OBJECTIVES OF AN ART PROGRAM
As is indicated above, art work in the elementary school should
make a definite contribution to the growth of the child. Bulletin
No. 9, A Guide to Improved Practice in Florida Elementary Schools,
contains a full treatment of the objectives to be achieved. It
stresses the need for careful planning of work both in the direct
teaching phase (the thirty or forty minute period once a week to
which reference is made below) and to the way in which art ex-
periences form a part of the integrated phase of teaching.
If the art program of the school is to make its maximum contri-
bution to child growth it should attempt to do the following things:
1. Broaden the social understanding of the child
2. Develop necessary functional skills
3. Promote reflective thinking on the part of the individual
4. Develop control over self and one's relationship to his
environment