AIM.

A. To cause thought-unfolding in the child's mind; to open up new interests help them expand.

B. To unify first grade subjects establishing a true correlation between them; not presenting them as separate, unrelated, morsels of knowledge.

C. To balance impression and expression, recognizing the great fundamental law of soul growth, that it is the latter by which the So Elsonthinking being really develops. Runkel gives due prominence to expression through reproductions of stories, poems, songs, dramatization, plays, games, drawings,

and hand work.

THE METHOD.

A.

The remarkable and absolutely unique features a re:

I.

The background oral story. The Primer contains a large story for the teacher to tell and a smaller story for the pupil to read. The "background of familiarity" thus given lays bare the plot, announces the sound of words he finds in the text, reveals beforehand the relation of each word to the complete thought and stimulates the child's own connected thinking.

2. There is some memorizing in the PrePrimer work; but the material memorized is not afterwards found in the same form in the Primer reading lesson.

B. Word Study. The phonic elements most fundamental to the English Language are placed in the Primer--building a sol platform for future work.

C. Vocabulary of Primer.

The word

で

consists of 303 words, common, necessary, useful words-a judicious mean between two extremes.

D. Dramatization. The great aims of or dramatization are spontaneity and variety of self-expression. The large oral story, the told story with its multitude of details, make this method best subserve these aims.

FORM OF ARRANGEMENT.

I.

Grouping idea. We print groups of three cat stories, three bird stories, etc. Each page is a chapter-

Page unity.

2. complete.

3. No marginal pictures break the unity of the sentence.

4. Review stories with drill on words learned up to that time.

THE MATERIAL (STOFIES) AND THE ILLUSTRATIONS. A. Character of Stories. There are 28 stories and verses. The primer is only 25% Mother Goose and folk-tale. Poetry is reduced to the minimum, to avoid the dangerous pitfall, memorization of a selection as a jingle with no idea of the words that make up the jingle.

B. Length of Stories. They are of moderate length. The longer ones are three of six pages, two of seven pages.

C. Illustrations. All pictures are in three colors, harmonizing with nature. There is color unity throughout each story. Our pictures are true illustrations, not decorations. They express vividly the successive situations" in each story. They carry the stories; make them go. There is life, and forward-movement in them.