XVIII.
Children are interested in their own names, hence they will quickly learn to associate the spoken name with its written symbol. Write upon the blackboard the sentence, Catch the ball, ——. (Teacher, supply the name of a child in the room.) Erase the name and replace it with a different one. Continue in this way with other names.
Ex.:
| Catch the ball, John. | ||
| ——, catch the ball. | ||
| Roll the ball, ——. | ||
| Mary, roll the ball to ——. | ||
| ——, run to ——. | ||
| ——, hop to ——. |
XIX.
From this time on it will add to the interest if the sentences are so connected that they tell a story. The following method has been found helpful:
Suppose a bird has been observed. The children have something to say and this serves as material for a reading lesson. First one child and then another expresses his thought about the bird. The teacher writes the easiest of these sentences upon the blackboard, the result being somewhat as follows:
| I see a bird. | ||
| It is a blue bird. | ||
| The blue bird can sing. | ||
| The blue bird can hop. |
The teacher asks the children to read silently the entire story. As soon as each child is ready he may rise and turn his back to the blackboard. He then gives the thought in his own language.
Ex.: