understanding of the poem and a sympathetic voice are necessary to effective reading. Those who happen to choose the same poem may plan their reading as a group effort, each one reading a stanza or two. ("To a Skylark", Shelley, may be divided into four parts: I, stanzas 1 to 6; II, stanzas 7 to 12; III, stanzas 13 to 17; IV, stanzas 18 to end.)

SUPERVISED STUDY

The teacher in the capacity of counselor passing from group to group, while the members rehearse their part for the class reading, will listen in to note whether the reading is the proper interpretation of the thought, whether the phrasing is rhythmical, and whether the voice emphasizes the music of rime and alliteration.

The teacher ought never to lose sight of the fact that poetry is a fine art, something to be enjoyed, a source of pleasure for leisure hours. If the pupils' reading fails to bring out the beauty of thought, and imagery, and music, the teacher should read the poem herself so that the association of the poem will always be a pleasant one. Too many adults today have no liking for poetry because their minds associate poetry with reading, not only inadequate but often painful, which they heard in their schooldays.

A STUDY IN RIMES

Ask the pupils to make a list of the riming words in the poem which they chose for special study, illustrating the rime-scheme by means of letters as:

After the scheme has been developed for the first stanza let the pupils apply it to other stanzas of the poem to see whether the poet followed his scheme exactly. Questions similar to the following will lead to interesting disclosures:

1. What relation have you discovered between the rimes and the indention of lines? (Note the exception in "To A Waterfowl.")

2. Have you discovered any two-syllable rimes? (In "To A Skylark", Shelley.)

3. Have you discovered any rime that extends through the poem? (The "e" rime in "The Skylark.")

4. Have you found any rime within the same line? (In "Hark, Hark! the Lark.")

A STUDY IN RHYTHM

The boys and girls will realize how much of the pleasure of verse is due to rhythm if they recall the Mother Goose jingles with their wellmarked rhythm, especially those like "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man," in which the regular succession of long and short, of accented and unaccented syllables or "sounds," as Sidney Lanier prefers to call them in his The Science of English Verse, has always been associated with the clapping of hands. Indeed, the rhythm is so marked that the pupils will have no difficulty in recognizing the various jingles as they are clapped by members of the class.

A further understanding and appreciation of rhythm may be developed by comparing the "foot" or measure in verse with the "bar" in music.

The teacher will be the best judge of whether or not a study of the rhythm of these particular poems will add to the interest and enjoyment of the pupils. The atmosphere most likely to result in real appreciation of literature is the one pervaded by a spirit of recreation and curiosity. Fortunate indeed are the pupils whose teacher is able to create such an atmosphere.

After a preliminary explanation of the symbols used, and an informal class discussion in which the pupils will note with interest how successfully

the poets-especially Hogg and Shelley-suggest the flight of the lark in the rhythm and how the different poets vary their rime scheme, the pupils may record their study of rhythm in their notebooks in some such manner as the following:

Ethereal minstrel! Pilgrim of the sky!

Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound?

The intensive study that each group makes of the selection chosen will make the lines so familiar that it will require only a little conscious effort to learn the entire poem by heart. Perhaps the pupils will be interested in discussing the connotation of the Anglo-Saxon phrase "learn by heart" compared with the Latin derivative "memorize." ("Learning a poem by heart" carries the idea of having liking for it.) The teacher will do well still to use the word "read" even when the pupils do not refer to the text, keeping in mind the old Anglo-Saxon meaning of the word

"read," which is to interpret, as we still use it, occasionally, in such expressions as to read a dream, to read a riddle, or when we speak of a musician's. brilliant reading of a composer's work.

THE MOCKING BIRD (page 67)

The pupils may be asked to read this selection silently during the study period; to test their comprehension they may copy the sentences below in their notebooks, supplying the proper words or phrases from those in italics.

4. He imitates

the manner of flight which Nature has imparted the nests

to the other songsters of the grove.

much quarreling.

no consequence.

5. The choice of a place for the nest is a matter of mutual consideration.

7. The young birds are able to provide for themselves in

a fortnight

two fortnights after the eggs are deposited.

two months

8. In winter nearly all the mocking birds

(go farther south.

go deep into the forests. approach the farmhouses.