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THE

NATIONAL ILLUSTRATED

READING AND SPELLING BOOK

FOR THE YOUNG:

INCLUDING

FIRST LESSONS IN WRITING, LINEAL DRAWING, PRONUNCIATION,
COMMON THINGS, NUMBER, WEIGHT, MEASURE,

TIME, MONEY, AND COLOUR.

WITH

DIRECTIONS, EXPLANATIONS, AND EXERCISES.

BY T. B. SMITH,

PRINCIPAL OF THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE, NOTTINGHAM.

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HE design of this Work is to furnish intelligent mothers and teachers of the very young, with such aids in interesting and developing the minds of their important charge, as best accord with the improved methods of teaching now adopted in superior schools. The pack-horses of the 16th and 17th Centuries had to travel roads very different from those over which the myriad vehicles of the present day roll with such ease and speed; and it is believed that the young contemporaries of these horses were, in their journey towards the temple of knowledge, doomed to much rougher, and less efficacious treatment, than the little folks receive who now proceed along the levelled and flower-bordered roads to learning, so increasingly prepared for them. This manual, then, has been compiled, in the hope that it also may render some little service to children who are just beginning their important mental career.

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PRINCIPAL FEATURES.

1. The superiority of the new over the old methods of teaching, consists in recognising the greater importance of mental development than of mere instruction; and that, too, from the very earliest years of children. In the various suggestions and exercises now furnished, as well as in the subjects of the lessons themselves, this great truth has been steadily kept in view.

2. In teaching Reading, it is not only more rational, but even more effectual, to make ideas precede signs; that is, whatever subject is brought before the attention of a Pupil, he should first have some clear ideas respecting it, before he is taught the signs of these ideas in printed words. Hence the importance of directing attention to real objects, or to good pictures of them,* as the best preparation for intelligent reading. When this is considered, the great utility of the numerous pictorial illustrations now furnished, is at once quite obvious.

3. But children have tastes, feelings, affections, and imagination, as well as intellect, which require development along with it. Good poetry has been found to be a most powerful means for this purpose, as well as for securing useful facts in the memory. In the first Reading Lessons, therefore, considerable prominence has been given to short rhymes and poems,† which either contain interesting and appropriate facts, or inculcate valuable lessons on morals and conduct.

4. In the Spelling Lessons, groups of words which exemplify the easiest vowel sounds, are arranged first; then the difficulties of spelling and pronunciation are gradually introduced. But the hardest words of all, as well as very long ones, are intentionally excluded, because they are seldom used; and were it otherwise, they would be obviously out of place in a work like this.

5. In the Appendix, additional directions, exercises and examples are given, to indicate the different methods by which the matter and illustrations of this book can be made most subservient to the mental development of the young Pupil. It is believed, that when the latter has thus reached the end of the Work, he will be able to read any ordinary book with facility and correctness, and be well prepared to enter with zest and success on the usual course of study at school.

"I did with children as nature does with savages,-first bringing an image or picture before the eyes, and then seeking a word to express the perception to which it gives rise."-Pestalozzi.

Those from page 55 to page 67 are adapted from Lloyd's "First Book for Children;" a few are original, and others altered to render them more suitable. They are acknowledged separately whenever their respective Authors could be ascertained.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS.

1. The first step to the knowledge of written or printed language, is to learn the forms and sounds of the letters. The forms are distinguished by the eye, and the sounds by the ear; it is therefore obvious that both forms and sounds should be taught simultaneously. Moreover, in all successful teaching, the interest of the child must be sustained, and this can be done only by exercising the understanding. The letters of the Alphabet, therefore, can be best taught, either in lessons on Form and exercises in Drawing, or as component parts of simple words, first explained and then read, without being spelt or divided into syllables. Many successful teachers adopt the latter method, and therefore those who prefer it, might at once commence the Reading Lessons on page 54,-then gradually make their Pupils acquainted with the names of the separate letters. As these names, however, seldom correspond with the powers or sounds of the letters, the latter should be taught also from the easiest and most familiar words,-in accordance with the well-known principle in science, of proceeding from the known to the unknown. Indeed, whether the Alphabet be taught gradually, before or after the Pupil begins to read, the true sounds of the letters should be clearly understood, as well as their names and shapes.

2. It will be most judicious to use the Spelling Lessons at first as exercises in pronunciation, and along with the lessons on reading. Only a small portion of each, at a time, ought to be tried, especially in the case of the very young.

3. It is important that every new lesson should be accompanied by a revision of the old. The well-known nursery tale of "The House that Jack built," is an apt example of the way in which this revision can be effectually made.

4. The child should be thoroughly interested in every lesson before it is read, spelt, or written. This can be effected by first requiring him to tell all he knows about it; and then, in a pleasant tone, giving the needful explanations or illustrations. Án apt anecdote,-the sight of the object referred to, or its pictorial representation, will be of great additional service.

5. A variety of exercises is indispensable, to correspond with the variety of faculties in children, and with their thirst for novelty. Hence they should have practice in Writing, and in Geometrical forms, along with their lessons in reading and spelling. Moreover, the short rhymes might be committed to memory,* after they have been explained and read with facility.

6. The most effectual means of teaching spelling, is through the medium of the eye. The teacher should require young children to tell him how they would spell any word he may select, either from the reading lessons or the spelling columns that precede them. This-whether right or wrong-he will write on the board or slate. If wrong, the Pupils should, if possible, find it out themselves; if right, they should all spell it aloud, from the writing. The more advanced Pupils had better write from the teacher's dictation; and, after the requisite corrections, read aloud what they have written. They will thus be able to read writing, as well as to spell. For additional practice, the ordinary method of spelling can be occasionally tried.

As a SEQUEL to this book, another Work-similar in size, form, and pricewill shortly be published: containing simple introductory lessons on such interesting and useful subjects as Arithmetic, English Grammar, Geography, English History, Natural History and Science, with Human Physiology and the Laws of Health. It will also be copiously Illustrated.

*"Memorized" is a very convenient American term for this somewhat awkward phrase.

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