CHAPTER V
Use of the Story in Primary Grades
In the primary grades of the schools,
stories may he told as a relaxation, as
an incentive to learning to read, and as a
means of enlarging the vocabulary of the
little people and thereby giving them greater
freedom of self-expression. In the more advanced
grades the story is used to awaken
interest in new subjects, to fix the essentials
of a lesson, and to cultivate a taste for the
best in literature. But in all the grades, as
well as in the home, it may be made the
means of carrying home a lesson or of clinching
a truth.
The use of the story in the primary grades coincides in some degree with its use in the home, but it goes much further. The old method of primary teaching whereby a child was made by laborious exercises to learn to read in order that he might be able in later years to enjoy the treasures of literature, has undergone a radical and healthful change.
