HOW TO EARN THE MERIT GRANT. PART II.-BOYS', GIRLS', AND MIXED INTRODUCTION. Most of the requirements demanded by the Government from Girls', Boys', and Mixed Schools are the same, especially in the "3 R's," in all three Departments. Practical hints useful to this common work are accordingly given in the earlier part of this Manual, Part II.; and specialities are dealt with subsequently. The work is subdivided according to Standards for the convenience of Pupil Teachers and Assistants, for whom the Manual is chiefly intended; and general principles are discussed in separate sections. Besides the daily practical work of the school, the requirements of Government Examinations have been provided for, and “Practical Hints given by her Majesty's Inspectors" have been appended as a very useful portion of the treatise. It is, of course, assumed throughout that the Head Teacher sympathizes with the effort of the writer, and uses the Manual to enforce the lines of direction which, perhaps, may profitably be taken. At least, it may be hoped that the Manual will be useful in keeping the salient points of the subject constantly present to the view of the young teacher. All PART II. B Head Teachers have special Methods of Instruction, according to which their staff must work; but the juniors are required by the Government to know, and at Examinations to discuss, all the various methods. Thus one Head Teacher may select the Alphabetic method of teaching to read, but the staff should also know the leading principles of the Look-and-Say, Phonic, Combined Method, etc. The best teachers, doubtless, elaborate plans of their own, combining the best points of all the methods; so that even in this direction the general outlook of the subject will, perhaps, be useful. The Manual has been divided into Parts I. and II., the former for Infant, and the latter for Boys', Girls', and Mixed Schools. This has been done in order to save the juniors some trifling expense; but in the writer's opinion Part I. is as necessary to young teachers in Boys', Girls', and Mixed Schools as it is to Infants, since every junior should be taught the nature of a child, and the principles of Collective Teaching. The two parts are therefore issued together as the "Complete Course" in one volume. To save space the practical hints given have been written tersely, and in order that the living voice of the Head Teacher may illustrate and amplify these. When mistakes in teaching are made by the individuals of the staff, it would be useful for the Head Teacher to refer the junior to the hints and warnings contained in the Manual, and to insist on knowing how it is that instructions contained therein (if approved by the Head Teacher) have been ignored or violated. CHAPTER I. STANDARD I. (BOYS', GIRLS', AND MIXED SCHOOLS.) READING."To read a short paragraph from a book not confined to words of one syllable.” (“Reading with intelligence will be required, with fluency and expression. Two sets of books must be provided. The Inspector may examine from any of the books in use in the Standard. The intelligence of the reading will be tested partly by questions on the meaning of what is read.") WRITING." Copy in manuscript characters a line of print, and write from dictation not more than ten easy words, commencing with capital letters. Copy-books (large or half-text hand) to be shown." "The Writing (and Arithmetic) of Standard I. may be on slates or paper, at the discretion of the managers." ARITHMETIC.- "Notation and Numeration up to 1000. Simple Addition and Subtraction of numbers of not more than three figures. In Addition not more than five lines to be given. The Multiplication Table to 6 times 12." "Short exercises in Mental Arithmetic may be given in the examination of all Standards. These should not involve large numbers, should from the first deal with concrete as well as abstract quantities, and should be preparatory to the work of the next higher Standard.” EXPLANATION OF SCHEDULE I. (STANDARD I.) A. READING. The teacher should note that the words of the reading-book are not " confined to those of one syllable." This should not lead to the false impression that monosyllabic words are the simplest generally speaking, it is the words of one syllable that are the most difficult, because the most irregular. Compare one, eyes, yes, etc., with jumping, singing, garden, mother, etc. Besides the accuracy implied above, the Inspector will test (1) The intelligence (3) The expression of the reading. (1) The "intelligence will be tested partly by questions on the meaning of what is read." By this it is not meant, merely, that individual words will have to be understood; but also the general sense of the clause, phrase, or sentence will have to be rendered into the child's own language. The "meanings" given in reading-books are only one of several that should be known, and not always the best that might be selected. These lists of words will, however, be useful for spelling purposes. (2) The fluency refers to the ease and facility with which the passage must be read. The words should not be given in a staccato, jerky manner, but, as in music, the passages must be phrased, or broken up, into natural divisions. The articles especially should be smoothly associated with the nouns, and the nouns with the verbs, as The boy went, etc., not The-boy-went, etc. (3) By expression it is meant, that proper emphasis should be laid on the notional words (the noun, verb, and adjective), while the relational words (preposition, conjunction, etc.) should be smoothly uttered. [It is, of course, the teacher and not the class that knows which are |