(a) The previous oral treatment of the stories now used as reading lessons will help this thought impulse.
(b) An aim concretely stated, and touching an interesting thought in the lesson, will give impetus to the work.
(c) Let children pass judgment on the truth, worth, or beauty of what they read.
(d) Clear mental pictures of people, actions, places, etc., conduce to vigor of thought. To this end the teacher should use good pictures, make sketches, and give descriptions or explanations. Children should also be allowed to sketch freely at the board.
2. Children should be encouraged constantly to help themselves in interpreting new words and sentences in reading.
(a) By looking through the new sentence and making it out, if possible, for themselves before any one reads it aloud.
(b) By analyzing a new word into its sounds, and then combining them to get its pronunciation.
(c) By interpreting a new word from its context, or by the first sound or syllable.
(d) By using the new powers of the letters as fast as they are learned in interpreting new words.
(e) By trying the different sounds of a letter to a new word to see which seems to fit best.