Teach that final e lengthens the vowel, as —
at -e ate ban -e bane bat -e bate can -e cane rat -e rate fan -€ fane fat -e fate man -e mane hat -e hate pan -e pane mat-e mate van -e vane
Teach that two vowels together in a monosyllable generally give the first, as —
bet (e) beet met (e) meet bet (a) beat met (a) meat den (e) deen net (a) neat den (a) dean set (a) seat
Following this suggestion, drill pupils on such words as these —
ail fain bail gain fail main hail pain jail rain nail die pail fie rail hie sail lie tail pie wail tie
Syllabication
Each syllable should he spelled separately with sufficient pause after it (if not pro- nounced) to denote syllabication without pronunciation; but pronunciation of sylla- bles is an aid in teaching articulation, and its judicious use in lower grades is recommended.
WRITING.
Pupils’ slates should be ruled on one side about half way down, as a copy book is ruled.
The pencil should be long and sharp.
Be careful about the form of letters, the movement, and the holding of pencil.
All written work should be carefully inspected by the teacher.
LANGUAGE.
Purpose . — To teach correct expression in words.
Oral Work:
From the very first induce the children to talk, using full statements in answer to all questions in class work. Frame questions so that pupils must use sentences in answer- ing. Talk about familiar objects, things that interest them, such as animals, trees, plants, games, etc. Tell short, easy stories and have i^upils reproduce them orally. As soon as pupils begin to read from the book, have them tell in their own words what they have read.
