Ella L Kelly Teaching Notebook

By training these muscles it will make them understand and appreciate what they hear. Use that way of teaching which will get the most good out of the pupils. Begins with little things. Remember Dr. Winship.

The first and most difficult work that children want to do is to learn to read. There is no royal way; no process by which to learn. A good teacher goes from the known to the unknown. First find out what he knows on that subject, then give him more. Do not take the letters of the alphabet and point to A, B, etc. Then to the next page which is just as pleasing and instructive. Teach him ways in which to draw pictures of the different letters. Make interesting incidents cluster around them by which they can be remembered. All the four or five years before, he has learned words. He knows, through the ear, one hundred and fifty or two hundred words as quick as he hears them.

He knows some grammar. He can command, entreat and question. He uses imperative and exclamatory sentences trippingly.

Knows by ear, by tongue, must learn by eye.

Then reading is at first a matter of eye training. It does not aim at memory but at perception. Child must be trained to notice differences. This is a tedious process. Reading: No one can read well whose eye is not trained so that he can see two or three words beyond those which he pronounces. Horace Greely read paper down the column and not across. This, of course, is the result of many years training. Few persons can see enough to read well. Children do not hear or see rapidly. Train them to do so. A very small child when reaching for anything will, at first, extend its hand in a roundabout way. But after a while it learns to reach it straight out and draw it back

as directly. Hold something in the hand, lever it with the other. Then quickly uncover it and ask how many know what it is. Try this again and again until at last they are trained to use the eye rapidly. Use a picture containing different objects and see how many can see the most. In four or five seconds they will see as many objects after training. The perception is carried to the brain where it becomes a thought. This exercise in eye training is fun for the children. Next put out pictures. Take simple, plain good pictures containing only a few figures. Ask questions about these. Who can tell the most? What did you see? How many? They will every time wish to take another look. If left to do this by themselves they would have become tired of it. Take a week or two at this. Get already first. Be sure of being ready to go on. Do not allow them to drawl & whine in that school house key which is so discordant. Keep in good position too.

Feb. 21/83 Reading Now the pupil has learned to know, by sight, objects and pictures. The eye has been trained to see accurately and rapidly. It takes an idea into the brain and it comes out as language. It would be better not to have a book. This work would require about a week. If the parents thought there was not enough reading in school and a delegation of mothers waits on you, good humoredly ask them to let you have your way awhile. Next work is to take some independent words such as boy, girl, and go. Let the pupils learn these words. Say to them, "You would like to learn to read." "If you learn these words, you can read". Change the position of the words quickly. Have the words on such cards as shall give them no chance to memorize. If you give them three words the first day, give only one the next day. We want a word which will fit boy and girl. Use good or bad which is characteristic. Notice how good looks when compared with go. Let them see these words many times. Teach with some other words. On charts they know them by their positions. This is not good. Teach eight

or ten words in a week. Let them spell the simple words. Call them up often for short recitations. Use "a" and "the" before the words. Teach them these words not alone but with the words they modify. Make pupils depend on the looks of the word. Take them at his seat and spell them. They are learning their letters at the same time. Letters are learned by using sidewise instead of up and down. We wish to learn them by use. Aside from that not many of know them exactly. Teach pupils to read script, as well as print. Let the two go along together. Pupils will learn the two kinds of characters better, by having the chance to compare. Have them use free and easy strokes when printing as it will be easier for them to hold the pen afterwards when they write. Picture of Prof. Allen when he shows us how so many print at blackboards. Teacher must be a good, neat writer. Take a book, put in the cards, each with its word on it and let the pupils tell what it is. A good boy. Print these words on strips of paper and let them see them. Do it all quickly. Select words that they