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WRITING A LETTER TO A FRIEND

251

Next summer I will show you that there is no better swimmer than

Your loving cousin,

TOM.

When my leg is strong again we will have a swimming match.

Your cousin,

TOM.

Have several good endings written on the blackboard.

X (264). Answering a Letter

You are to be Tom's mother. In the story she prepared the way for a good letter. While the children are writing, pass from desk to desk asking questions, making suggestions to see that the pupils are really writing an interesting letter. There may not

be much variety in the letters, but they should all be interesting and correct in form. Use the letter Dick wrote as the type, referring the children back to it for any needed corrections in form.

Have them write the address for the envelope either on a real envelope or on a square or oblong drawn on the backs of their papers. Here they

should write Dick's full name

Mr. RICHARD BROWN

HARRISBURG

ILL.

XI (265). Writing a Letter to a Friend

Have each pupil write a letter to a friend asking the friend to spend next Saturday afternoon with

the writer.

Each letter should tell just what the

writer wants to show the visitor, what they will play,

what they will do, etc. letters with the children. what they are going to say.

Talk over the proposed

Have them tell you just
Do not let them write

a word till they know and have expressed orally just what they want to say. A whole language period might be well spent in this oral preparation for the written letters.

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When the pupils are ready to write, let them use as a type the letter Dick wrote to Tom. Have each child write to another child in the class to a child he would really like to have spend Saturday afternoon with him. See that every.child has a letter written to him. By questions and suggestions as they write help them to avoid and to correct errors.

XII (265). Answering a Friend's Letter

Give the letters written in the last lesson to the pupils to whom they are addressed. Let each child answer his letter.

While they write, pass from seat to seat helping them, as Tom's mother helped him, by questions and suggestions, to make good replies.

XIII (265). A Fable to Study

This fable is a type after which pupils are to tell and write other fables. In order that they may do this intelligently and correctly, they must master

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Have pupils tell orally just why each capital and each mark of punctuation is used. For variety ask questions as follows:

Which words in the title begin with capitals because they are important words in the title? What other word in the title begins with a capital? Why?

How many paragraphs in this fable? How do you know? In the first paragraph how many sentences are there? How do you know? How many of these sentences are statements? How do you know?

In the second paragraph how many sentences? What kind of sentences are these? How do you know? Give two reasons why "Dear" begins with a capital letter. Why is there a comma after "Mrs. Crow"? What abbreviation is used in this fable? the whole quotation in the second paragraph.

Read

Read the state

Why is the apostrophe used in "fox's "? ments in the third paragraph. What other kind of sentence is used in this paragraph? Read it.

In the last paragraph why are commas used before and after "Mrs. Crow"? Where is there another comma in this paragraph? Why is it used? Read the quotation in the last paragraph.

XIV (266).

Writing a Fable from Dictation

Dictate the fable, The Fox and the Crow. Have pupils correct mistakes as usual under your

direction.

XV (266). Making New Fables

Study with the pupils the analysis of the fable of The Fox and the Crow as given in their book.

Make sure that they clearly understand the content and significance of each paragraph — its relation to the complete fable. This perfect understanding is the necessary basis of the original fables which they are to make.

Discuss with the children the suggestions for the new fables, having them complete the outlines, and suggest a variety of ways in which the fables may be worked out in each paragraph.

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What does one animal say to the other to flatter him and make him let go his prize? The cat might say to the kingfisher: "Let me hear your sweet voice." -"How can you open your beak so wide!" "I once saw a wonderful sight. A bird threw a fish up in the air and caught it in her beak! I believe you could do that!"-"What a big fish for you to carry! But I believe you could carry a larger one still. you can!"

Just open your beak as wide as

What does the flatterer say at the end about the folly of listening to flatterers? The wolf might say to the bear: "Your teeth are sharper than your wits."-"Strong teeth may catch a lamb, but only good sense can keep it."-"Never listen to a flatterer and you may keep your lamb as well as catch it."

After the possibilities of the various suggested fables have been revealed to the children by this discussion, give them a few minutes for thought in

WRITING A FABLE

255

which each one shall select the fable that he will tell and think just how he will tell it. The fables should be told briefly and fluently. Each should be complete and pointed. The last fable suggested might be something like this.

THE WEASEL AND THE FOX

One day a weasel stole a chicken and ran with it to the woods. A fox saw the chicken and planned to get it.

"Why, Mr. Weasel," said the fox, "how did you ever catch that chicken? How could you creep up so softly that it never heard you? Please show me how you did it."

The weasel felt flattered. He dropped the chicken and crept softly over the ground. "This is how I did it," he said.

When he turned around the fox was just swallowing the last of the chicken. "How silly you are, Mr. Weasel!" said the fox. "You should know better than to listen to flatterers."

XVI (268). Writing a Fable

Pupils who choose to write from any of the outlines given in the last lesson should be able to do so with little help, as those fables have already been discussed and told orally. Any child who chooses an original title, however, should have attention. It will probably be well to have such a child at least outline his story to you before he begins to write. As pupils write encourage them to refer to the type fable (p. 265) whenever they seem to need such assistance as they can get from that fable.

In having papers corrected, pay attention not

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