THE NATURAL METHOD READERS A FOURTH READER BY HANNAH T. McMANUS AND JOHN H. HAAREN ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THE CITY OF NEW YORK ILLUSTRATED BY BLANCHE FISHER WRIGHT CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON PREFACE By the time the child has reached the fourth grade he has mastered the simple mechanics of reading. He has acquired a considerable vocabulary, a phonic sense that enables him to pronounce most of the words that he meets with a reasonable degree of accuracy, and an ability to use the dictionary. He has also learned the value of silent reading and has laid the foundation of a literary taste. Beginning with the fourth grade, the chief aims of reading may be stated as follows: 1. The acquisition of practical reading power. 2. The acquisition of greater familiarity with the language-its sentence structure, forms of speech, varieties of style, etc. 3. The acquisition of information with the aim of co-ordinating the knowledge obtained from the study of other subjects, such as geography, history, science, etc. 4. The enlarging of the vocabulary with the resultant development of the powers of expression. 5. The development of taste and the formation of literary standards. 6. The formation of ideals and the consequent spiritual growth. It would be beyond the scope of this preface to discuss in detail each of these objects of reading. It must be sufficient to mention them and to say that the selections of the Fourth Reader have been chosen with a view to assisting the teacher to realize these objects in her work in reading. It must not be supposed that the teacher is expected to follow the order of the selections given in the book. She should feel free to take them up in the order which the taste, intelligence, and proficiency of the class suggests. As far as is consistent with following the above-mentioned aims, the authors have chosen a body of content designed to make reading a pleasure, to give the child a taste of "the joy of reading." The development of a love for reading has too often been lost sight of in the schoolroom. An attempt has also been made to introduce a larger proportion than usual of selections that deal with modern things. Children too often feel that their reading material is too remote from every-day life and hence lacks reality. Such selections as "Sunshine Girl,” “Under the Sea in a Modern Submarine," and "Being a Scout" deal with activities of modern life that have either important informational or inspirational value. Thanks are due to authors and publishers for permission to use copyrighted material: To Mr. Jesse Lynch Williams and The Youth's Companion for "The Little Air Current"; Messrs. D. Appleton & Co. for "Robert of Lincoln," by William Cullen Bryant; Messrs. Little, Brown & Co. for "A Tempest in a Big Teapot," from "Around the Hub," by Samuel Adams Drake; the W. A. Wilde Company for "A Hero of the Fleet," from "Deeds of Daring and Doing," by William Allen Johnston; The Houghton Mifflin Company for "The Wreck of the Hesperus," "Hiawatha's Sailing," "To Stay at Home Is Best," by Longfellow; "Little Daffydowndilly" and "The Boston Massacre," by Hawthorne; and "King Solomon and the Ants" and "The Brown Dwarf of Rügen," by Whittier. |