On the industrial and social side of history, which is being more and more emphasized, it is of great value to the child to become acquainted, even though on a small scale and through the simplest implements and machines, with the construction of machinery and modes of manufacture. For a lesson on the Industrial Revolution in England, for example, it will give pupils a better understanding of the changes, if they know something, through their own activities, of the way of making cloth.
For suggestions on constructive work, see the Manual on Manual Training:
P. 22: Suggestions for the various seasons and days.
P. 26: On the use of the sand table.
P. 55: On collecting and preserving pictures.
P. 58: On relief maps and geographical formations.
HISTORY AND ART
Art assists history in two ways. First, pictures may be used to illustrate events in history and make them real. It is often difficult for children to form a definite mental image of historical scenes merely from the words of the teacher or of the text-book, because their experiences are limited and the power to combine these properly is lacking. This is recognized now in the many text-books which are freely illustrated. Pictures of persons famous in history are also of value, in that they make these persons more real to the pupils. Materials for class use may be collected by the teacher and pupils,—engravings, prints, cuts from newspapers and magazines of famous people, buildings, cities, monuments, events; for example, the Landing of Columbus, the Coming of the Loyalists, the Fathers of Confederation, the Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, an Old-Time Trading Post, the Death of Brock. A good idea is to have a class scrap-book, to be filled with suitable contributions from the class. The teacher will find a private scrap-book exceedingly useful. Many fine pictures are given in The Highroads of History, and The Story of the British People for Form III. It may be added that these pictures should be supplemented freely by descriptions and narratives given by the teacher. (See Visual Aids in the Teaching of History.)
Second, the pupils may be asked to illustrate, by drawings and sketch maps, historic places, routes of armies and of explorers, the journeys of settlers, etc.
HISTORY AND COMPOSITION
History, no less than other subjects of study, needs to be expressed by the pupils, if it is to make them more efficient. Some of the usual modes of expression are given above in connection with constructive work and art. The chief mode of expression, however, for history is through composition, both oral and written.
In the Junior Forms the stories should be reproduced orally (see Details of Method for Forms I and II, p. [25]), either by pure narration or by dramatization; the pupils relate in their own language what they have learned, or are allowed to dramatize the story. In the dramatization, the pupils should be given a good deal of freedom in constructing the conversation, once they get to know what is wanted, the only restriction being that no pupil shall be allowed to take part who does not know the story thoroughly. Incidents such as Harold taking the oath to help William of Normandy gain the crown of England, Joseph being sold into Egypt, the Greeks using the wooden horse to capture Troy, are very easily dramatized.
In the Senior Forms the black-board outline may be used as the basis of written or oral reproduction. The subject of composition will itself be less objectionable by reason of these exercises, as the pupils are asked to reproduce the history as material valuable and interesting in itself, not merely as a means of showing their skill in expression. Moreover, in the study of history, the pupil hears or reads the compositions of others, and unconsciously gains, by these examples, much in vocabulary and in power of expression. In fact, much of the culture value of history depends on the training it affords in composition, and, by intimately connecting these two subjects, a double advantage is gained—the ability to comprehend historical material, and practice in effective expression.