The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ontario Teachers' Manuals: History by Ontario Ministry of Education This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Ontario Teachers' Manuals: History Author: Ontario Ministry of Education Release Date: December 9, 2005 [EBook #17268] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONTARIO TEACHERS' MANUALS: HISTORY *** Produced by Suzanne Lybarger and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) ONTARIO TEACHERS' MANUALS HISTORY AUTHORIZED BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION TORONTO THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, LIMITED COPYRIGHT, CANADA, 1915, BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION FOR ONTARIO CONTENTS page Public and Separate School Course of Study 1 Chapter I The Aims and Stages of Study 13 Chapter II General Methods in the Teaching of History 21 Chapter III Correlation of Subjects 40 Chapter IV Special Topics 49 Current Events 49 [Pg iii] Local Material 51 Civics 52 The Teacher of History 57 Chapter V Illustrative Lessons 60 Forms I and II 60 Form II 62 Form III 66 Form III and IV 75 Form IV 78 For Teachers' Reference 119 Devices 127 Bibliography 130 Appendix 136 MANUAL OF SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS OF HISTORY PUBLIC AND SEPARATE SCHOOL COURSE OF STUDY DETAILS The course in literature and composition includes the telling by the teacher of suitable stories from the Bible, stories of primitive peoples, of child life in other lands, of famous persons and peoples; and the oral reproduction of these stories by the pupils. In this way history, literature, and composition are combined. For Method in telling stories, consult How to Tell Stories to Children, by Sara Cone Bryant, Houghton, Mifflin Company, Boston, $1.00. FORM I Bible Stories: Moses in the Bulrushes, his Childhood, the Burning Bush, the Crossing of the Red Sea, the Tables of Stone; Joseph's Boyhood Dreams, Joseph sold into Egypt, the Famine, the Visits of his Brethren; David and Goliath; Samson. Stories of Child Life: The Eskimo Girl, the Andean Girl, the Arabian Girl, the Little Syrian Girl, the Swiss Girl, the Chinese Girl, the African Girl, the German Girl, the Canadian Girl; the Little Red Child, the Little White Child, the Little Black Child, the Little Yellow Child, the Little Brown Child. Consult The Seven Little Sisters, by Jane Andrews, Ginn & Co., Boston, 50c.; The Little Cousin Series, by Mary Hazelton Wade, The Page Co., Boston, 60c. each; Five Little Strangers, Julia Augusta Schwarz, American Book Co., New York; Each and All, Jane Andrews (sequel to The Seven Little Sisters), 50 cents. Special Days: Christmas: The Birth of Christ, the First Christmas Tree (see Appendix); Arbor Day; Constructive work suggested by St. Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving Day; Stories of these Days. Note: Advantage should be taken of every opportunity to teach obedience to authority and respect for the property and rights of others. [Pg 1] [Pg 2] FORM II Bible Stories: Abraham and Lot, Joshua, David and Jonathan, David and Saul, Ruth and Naomi, Daniel, Miriam and Moses, Abraham and Isaac, Boyhood of Christ, the Shipwreck of St. Paul. Stories of Child Life: The Aryan Boy, the Persian Boy, the Greek Boy, the Roman Boy, the Saxon Boy, the Page Boy, the English Boy, the Puritan Boy, the Canadian Boy of To-day, Child Life in Canada (a) in the early days, (b) to-day on the farm and in the city or town; occupations, games, and plays, etc. Consult Ten Little Boys Who Lived on the Road from Long Ago till Now, by Jane Andrews, Ginn & Co., 50c. Stories of Famous People: Boadicea, Alfred, Harold, First Prince of Wales, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Columbus, Cabot, Cartier, Champlain, Madeleine de Verchères, Pontiac, Brock, Laura Secord, Florence Nightingale. Consult The Story of the British People, Thomas Nelson & Sons, Toronto, 35c. (For Florence Nightingale, see Appendix.) Pioneer Life: In Ancient Britain: See Second Reader, p. 109; Ontario Public School History of England, p. 10. In Roman Britain: See The Story of The British People, pp. 18-24. Old English Life: See Third Reader, p. 325; Ontario High School History of England, pp. 33-40. At the Close of the French Period in Canada: See Fourth Reader, p. 65. In Upper Canada in the "Thirties": See Fourth Reader, p. 122. Our Forefathers: Where they lived before coming here, how they got here, hardships in travel, condition of the country at that time, how they cleared the land, their homes, their difficulties, danger from wild animals, the natives of the country, modes of travel, implements and tools, etc. Consult Pen Pictures of Early Pioneer Life in Upper Canada, Briggs, $2.00; Ontario High School History of Canada. Inventors: Watt, Stephenson, Fulton, Bell, Edison, Marconi. Civics: Elementary lessons in local government: (a) In cities, towns, and incorporated villages—the postmaster, (see Illustrative Lesson, p. 65), the postman and policeman; city or town hall, post-office, mail boxes, school-houses. (b) For rural districts—postmaster, trustees, roads and bridges, rural mail delivery. Special Days: Empire Day, Victoria Day, Dominion Day; local occasions such as Fair Day, Election Day; review of those Days taken in Form I. FORMS III AND IV PRELIMINARY NOTE Below are the topics and sub-topics of the Course in History for Forms III and IV. In dealing with the subject in both Forms, the teacher should keep constantly in mind the chief aims suited to this stage of the pupil's development. (See pp. 16, 17.) The most vital of these is "to create and [Pg 3] [Pg 4] foster a liking for historical study." The teacher should make use of simple map drawing to illustrate the subject. This is especially necessary in dealing with the history of Canada. There should be much illustration by means of maps and pictures. See Educational Pamphlet No. 4, Visual Aids in the Teaching of History. The chapter numbers in the Course for Form III are those of the chapters in The Story of the British People prescribed for the Form. These chapters should be carefully read and, in Form IV, the authorized text-books should be followed for the main account. Having regard to the time available for the Course, only the most important details should be taken up. FORMS III Junior Grade CANADIAN HISTORY Columbus—The Discovery of America (Chap. XX) John Cabot and the New World (Chap. XXI) Jacques Cartier (Chap. XXIII) Raleigh and Gilbert (Chap. XXVI) The Beginnings of Acadia (Chap. XXVII) Champlain, the Father of New France (Chap. XXVIII) The Pilgrim Fathers (Chap. XXIX) The Jesuits in Canada (Chap. XXXI) The Settlement of French Canada (Chap. XXXI) La Salle (Chap. XXXIV) Henry Hudson—New York and Hudson Bay (Chap. XXXV) Frontenac (Chaps. XXXIV, XXXVII) The Conquest of Canada—Wolfe and Montcalm, Pontiac (Chap. XLI) The Coming of the Loyalists (Chap. XLII) How Canada Fought for the Empire (Chap. XLIV) William Lyon Mackenzie (Chap. XLVI) The Great North-West—Selkirk, Mackenzie, Strathcona, Riel (Chap. XLVII) Canada and the Empire—Royal Visitors (Chap. L) FORM III Senior Grade BRITISH HISTORY The First Britons (Chap. I) The Coming of the Romans (Chap. II) A Day in Roman Britain (Chap. III) The Coming of the English (Chap. IV) The Coming of Christianity (Chap. V) The Vikings (Chap. VI) Alfred the Great (Chap. VII) Rivals for a Throne (Chap. VIII) The Coming of the Normans (Chap. IX) A Norman Castle (Chap. X) A Glance at Scotland (Chap. XI) Henry the Second and Ireland (Chap. XII) Richard the Lion Heart (Chap. XIII) King John and the Great Charter (Chap. XIV) The First Prince of Wales (Chap. XV) Wallace and Bruce (Chaps. XVI, XVII) The Black Prince (Chap. XVIII) The Father of the British Navy (Chap. XXII) The New Worship (Chap. XXIV) Francis Drake, Sea-dog (Chap. XXV) [Pg 5] [Pg 6] King Charles the First (Chap. XXX) The Rule of Cromwell (Chap. XXXII) The King Enjoys his Own again (Chap. XXXIII) The Revolution and After (Chap. XXXVI) The Greatest Soldier of his Time (Chap. XXXVIII) Bonnie Prince Charlie (Chap. XXXIX) Robert Clive, the Daring in War (Chap. XL) The Terror of Europe (Chap. XLIII) Waterloo (Chap. XLV) Victoria the Good (Chaps. XLVI, XLVIII, XLIX) Civics Review of the work in Form II; election of town or township council; taxes—the money people pay to keep up schools and roads, etc.; how local taxes are levied for the support of the school; election of members of County Council, of members of Provincial Legislature; duties of citizenship. FORM IV Junior Grade CANADIAN HISTORY Before the British Conquest—an introductory account: The French settlements: Extent, life of the seignior, habitant, and coureur de bois; system of trade; government at Quebec—governor, bishop, intendant; territorial claims (Chaps. VII, VIII, IX, XI) The English settlements—Hudson's Bay Company, English colonies in New York, New England, Acadia, and Newfoundland; population, life, trade, government, territorial claims (Chaps. VIII, X, XI) British Conquest of New France—fall of Quebec (Chap. XI) Conspiracy of Pontiac (Chap. XII) Quebec Act (Chap. XII) Canada and the American Revolution; U.E. Loyalists (Chaps. XIII, XV) Constitutional Act—Representative Government (Chap. XIV) Social Conditions, 1763-1812 (Chap. XV) Hudson's Bay Company (Chaps. VIII, XVI, XXI) North-West Company (Chap. XVI) Exploration in North-West—Hearne, Mackenzie, Fraser, Thompson (Chap. XVI) War of 1812-14 (Chap. XVII) Family Compact (Chap. XVII) Clergy Reserves (Chap. XVII) William Lyon Mackenzie (Chap. XVII) Lord Durham, Act of Union, 1840—Responsible Government (Chap. XVIII) Social Progress, 1812-1841 (Chap. XIX) Settlement of the North-West—Selkirk (Chaps. XVI, XX) Confederation of the Provinces, 1867 (Chap. XXII) Intercolonial Railway (Chap. XXIV) Expansion of the Dominion by addition of new provinces (Chap. XXII) Social Progress, 1841-1867 (Chap. XXIII) Canadian Pacific Railway (Chap. XXIV) [Pg 7] [Pg 8] Riel Rebellion (Chap. XXIV) Disputes between Canada and the United States since 1814 settled by treaty or arbitration. The Hundred Years of Peace Canada, at the opening of the twentieth century; transportation, industry, means of defence, education (Chap. XXV) Ontario since Confederation: John Sandfield Macdonald, Sir Oliver Mowat, Arthur Sturgis Hardy, Sir George W. Ross, Sir James P. Whitney (Chap. XXVI) An account of how Canada is governed, simple and concrete and as far as possible related to the experience of the pupils; Municipal Government, Provincial Government, Federal Government (Chap. XXVII) FORM IV Senior Grade BRITISH HISTORY A A Course of about Two Months The Early Inhabitants—The Britons The Coming of the Romans The Coming of the Saxons The Coming of Christianity Alfred the Great The Coming of the Normans—The Feudal System Richard I and the Crusaders John and Magna Charta The Scottish War of Independence The Hundred Years' War—Crecy, Agincourt, Joan of Arc. The Wars of the Roses (no lists of battles or details of fighting) Caxton and Printing Separation between the English Church and Rome B A Course of about Eight Months Brief account of the British Isles, territorial, political, and religious, as an introduction to the reign of Elizabeth. Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots; the Spanish Armada; Drake, Hawkins, Gilbert, Raleigh, Shakespeare. The Stuarts: "Divine Right of Kings" supported by majority of gentry and landowners (cavaliers), opposed by the commercial and trading classes and yeomen (roundheads). The Kings strove for absolute power, the Parliament for constitutional government. James I: Union of the English and Scottish Crowns. Charles I: Struggle between King and Parliament; Petition of Right, Ship Money, rebellion, execution of Charles. Commonwealth: nominally a republic, really a dictatorship under Cromwell. He gave Britain a strong government at home, and made her respected abroad, and laid the foundations of Britain's foreign trade and colonial empire. [Pg 9] [Pg 10] Charles II: The Restoration: Reaction in state, church, and society; King striving for absolute power; Nonconformists persecuted; society profligate in its revolt against the strictness of Puritanism; Habeas Corpus Act; Test Act; Plague and Great Fire. James II: Revolution of 1688, the death-knell of "divine right"; Parliament supreme; Declaration of Rights. William and Mary: Party government—Whigs and Tories; King to act by advice of his ministers; each parliament limited to three years; Bill of Rights; Act of Settlement. Anne: Marlborough; Union between England and Scotland, 1707; the Jacobites, 1715 and 1745. George II: Walpole, the great peace minister—home and colonial trade fostered and material wealth of the nation greatly increased; Pitt, the great war minister; territorial expansion in Canada and India— Wolfe, Clive; the Methodist Movement, Wesley. George III: The American Revolution, 1776-83: loss of the American Colonies; Pitt; Washington; acquisition of Australia by Great Britain, 1788; legislative union of Ireland with Great Britain, 1801; Napoleonic wars; Nelson, Wellington, Aboukir, Trafalgar, and Waterloo; industrial revolution—the change from an agricultural to an industrial country. William IV: Reform Act of 1832, a great forward movement in democratic government; abolition of slavery, 1833; railways and steamships. Victoria: First British settlement in New Zealand, 1839; Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846—free trade, the commercial policy of England; Elementary Education Act, 1870, education compulsory; parliamentary franchise extended—vote by ballot; Crimean war; Indian Mutiny; Egypt and the Suez Canal; Boer War —Orange Free State and South African Republic annexed; social progress. Edward VII: Irish Land Act of 1903; pensions for aged labourers; King Edward, "the Peace-maker." Civics Taxation—direct and indirect; how the revenue of the Dominion, provinces, and municipalities, respectively, is collected. Federal Government—Governor-general, Senate, House of Commons, Premier, Cabinet. Imperial Government—King, House of Lords, House of Commons, Premier, Cabinet. HISTORY CHAPTER I THE AIMS AND STAGES OF STUDY AIMS History may be made, in several ways, an important factor in forming intelligent, patriotic citizens: (a) It must be remembered that society, with all its institutions, is a growth, not a sudden creation. It follows that, if we wish to understand the present and to use that knowledge as a guide to future action, we must know the story of how our present institutions and conditions have come to be what they are; we must know the ideals of our forefathers, the means they took to realize them, and to what extent they succeeded. It is only in this way that we become capable of passing judgment, as citizens, on what is proposed by political and social reformers, and thus justify and guarantee our existence as a democracy. (b) Patriotism, which depends largely on the associations formed in childhood, is intensified by learning how our forefathers fought and laboured and suffered to obtain all that we now value most in our homes and social life. The courage with which the early settlers of Upper Canada faced their tremendous labours and hardships should make us appreciate our inheritance in the Ontario of to-day, and determine, as they did, to leave our country better than we found it. To-morrow yet would reap to-day, As we bear blossom of the dead. [Pg 11] [Pg 12] [Pg 13] (c) "History teaches that right and wrong are real distinctions." The study of history, especially in the sphere of biography, has a moral value, and much may be done, even in the primary classes, to inspire children to admire the heroic and the self-sacrificing, and to despise the treacherous and the self-seeking. The constant struggle to right what is wrong in the world may be emphasized in the senior classes to show that nothing is ever settled until it is settled right. (d) History affords specially good exercise for the judgment we use in everyday life in weighing evidence and balancing probabilities. Such a question as "Did Champlain do right in taking the side of the Hurons against the Iroquois, or even in taking sides at all?" may be suggested to the older pupils for consideration. (e) History, when taught by a broad-minded, well-informed teacher, may do much to correct the prejudices—social, political, religious—of individuals and communities. (f) The imagination is exercised in the effort to recall or reconstruct the scenes of the past and in discovering relations of cause and effect. (g) The memory is aided and stimulated by the increase in the number of the centres of interest round which facts, both new and old, may be grouped. (h) A knowledge of the facts and inferences of history is invaluable for general reading and culture. To sum up: It is important that the good citizen should know his physical environment; it is just as important for him "to know his social and political environment, to have some appreciation of the nature of the state and society, some sense of the duties and responsibilities of citizenship, some capacity in dealing with political and governmental questions, something of the broad and tolerant spirit which is bred by the study of past times and conditions." SCOPE The ideal course in history would include (1) a general view of the history of the world, giving the pupil knowledge enough to provide the proper setting for the history of his own country; (2) a more detailed knowledge of the whole history of his own country; (3) and a special knowledge of certain outstanding periods or tendencies in that history. In our schools, we should give most attention to the study of Canadian and British history as a whole, to enough of the history of France and other countries to make clear certain parts of our own history, and to certain important periods, such as the settlement of Upper Canada by the United Empire Loyalists, etc. (See Detailed Course of Study, p. 5.) We may also study our history along special lines of development—political, military, social, educational, religious, industrial, and commercial—but these phases are subjects of study rather for secondary schools and colleges. STAGES OF STUDY There are three stages in the study of history which, though they overlap each other, yet indicate different methods of treatment for pupils at different ages. They are the Story stage, the Information stage, and the Reflective stage. These stages are not exclusive, nor do they coincide with the first three Forms in the schools. THE STORY STAGE This stage is suitable for children in the primary grades and is chiefly preparatory to the real study of history in the higher grades. The need for this stage lies in the fact that the child's "ideas are of the pictorial rather than of the abstract order"; yet his spontaneous interest in these things must be made to serve "as a stepping-stone to the acquired interests of civilized life." The definite objects at this stage are: (a) To create and foster a liking for historical study. It is impossible, in the public school life of a child, which is usually ended at the age of twelve to fourteen years, to accomplish all that has been indicated above concerning the aims of history teaching. The most that can be done is to lay the foundation and give the pupil a desire to continue his reading after his school days are over. Serious blame rests on the teacher whose methods of teaching history, instead of attracting the child to the subject, give him a distaste for it. If history is made real and living to children, it is usually not difficult to have them like it. (For suggestions, see p. 34.) (b) To acquaint the pupils with some of the important historical persons. We wish to take advantage of the fact that "the primitive form of attention which is captured at once by objects that strike the senses is giving place in some degree to appreciative attention, which is yielded to things that connect themselves with what we already know, and which implies ability to adopt the reflective attitude towards a proposed problem."[A] Now children are more interested in people than in institutions or events; and, if we can give them a knowledge of some of the striking incidents in the lives of important characters in history, we [Pg 14] [Pg 15] [Pg 16] may expect them to be more interested in the study of history at a later period, because they will frequently meet with these familiar names. The emphasis at this stage is therefore on biography. (c) To help the development of the "historical sense." The "historical sense" includes the notion of time, the notion of a social unit and, according to some, the notion of cause and effect. The notion of time implies the power "to represent the past as if it were present"—that is, the power to enter into the thoughts and feelings of people of the past as if we were living amongst them. This notion of time comes at different ages; to some early, to others very late. It came to Professor Shaler at the age of about eight or nine years, as the direct result of vivid story-telling: Of all the folk who were about me, the survivors of the Indian wars were the most interesting. There were several of these old clapper-clawed fellows still living, with their more or less apocryphal tales of adventures they had heard of or shared. There was current a tradition—I have seen it in print—that there had been a fight between the Indians and whites where the government barracks stood, and that two wounded whites had been left upon the ground, where they were not found by the savages. One of these had both arms broken, the other was similarly disabled as to his legs. It was told that they managed to subsist by combining their limited resources. The man with sound legs drove game up within range of the other cripple's gun, and as the turkeys or rabbits fell, he kicked them within reach of his hands, and in like manner provided him with sticks for their fire. This legend, much elaborated in the telling, gave me, I believe at about my eighth year, my first sense of a historic past, and it led to much in the way of fanciful invention of like tales. (N.F. Shaler: Autobiography, Chap. I.) The best means at the teacher's command to assist its coming is to tell good stories from history with all the skill he has; the stories need not be told in chronological order. The notion of time implies also in the older pupils the power to place events in chronological order. The notion of a social unit is also of slow growth and must spring from the child's conception of the social units he belongs to—the home, the school, the community. The notion of cause and effect does not belong so wholly to the study of history as the notions of time and of the social unit; it is surprising, however, how soon it makes its appearance in the child's conceptions of history, in his desire to know the "why" of things. (See Barnes' Studies in Historical Method.) THE INFORMATION STAGE There are several questions that children soon come to ask: "When?" and "Where?" "What?" and "Who?" This stage may be said to begin in earnest with the Second Form, and it continues through the whole course. One of the essential elements in history study is to have a knowledge of the important facts of history, without which there can be no inferences of value for present use. The all-important point in this teaching of facts is to keep the lessons interesting and not allow them to become mere lifeless memorizing of isolated happenings; for a fact is of value only when related to other facts. (See pp. 36, 38.) THE REFLECTIVE STAGE This stage naturally follows the Information stage, as one must acquire facts before reflecting on them in order to draw inferences. But reflection of a simple kind may begin as soon as any facts are given that will show the relations of cause and effect. The question for the pupil here is "Why?" just as in the preceding stage the questions were "When?" and "Where?" "What?" and "Who?" Information and reflection may therefore be combined—with due regard to the pupil's capacity. PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES We may speak of two difficulties. The first concerns the enormous amount of historical material that exists. It is increased still more by the intermingling of legend with history and by the partial narratives of prejudiced writers. The legendary part may be taken up in the Story stage; and the evils of one-sided accounts are often balanced by the greater vigour and interest of the narrative, as in Macaulay's writings. The difficulty connected with the great amount of material can be solved by the selection (already largely made by the text-books) of the more important parts, that is, those facts of history that have the greatest influence on after times—"the points of vital growth and large connection" without which subsequent history cannot be properly understood. The second difficulty has to do with deciding where to begin the teaching of history. There are two principles of teaching that will help to solve this difficulty: (1) The child learns by relating everything new to his present fund of experiences; (2) A child's notions grow more complex as his knowledge increases. [Pg 17] [Pg 18] [Pg 19] To apply these, we must know the child's experiences and his present notions. We cannot assume that the present conditions of social life are known to the child through his experiences. Our social life is also too complex to be understood by him yet; he can understand an individual hero better than he can the complex idea of a nation. How many children would be able to begin a study of history by having, as one writer suggests, "a short series of lessons ... to make some simple and fundamental historical ideas intelligible—a state, a nation, a dynasty, a monarch, a parliament, legislation, the administration of justice, taxes, civil and foreign war!" These are ideas far beyond the comprehension of the beginner. We must be guided, not by "what happens to be near the child in time and place, but by what lies near his interests." As Professor Bourne says: "it may be that mediæval man, because his characteristics belong to a simple type, is closer to the experience of a child than many a later hero." With older children it is more likely to be true that the life of history lies "in its personal connections with what is here and now and still alive with us"; with historic places and relics, etc., which make their appeal first through the senses; with institutions, such as trial by jury; with anniversaries and celebrations of great events which may be used to arouse interest in the history which they suggest and recall. However, as McMurry points out, we are in a peculiarly favourable position in Canada, because we have in our own history, in the comparatively short time of 400 years, the development of a free and prosperous country from a state of wildness and savagery. The early stages of our history present those elements of life that appeal strongly to children—namely, Indians with all their ways of living and fighting, and the early settlers with their simpler problems and difficulties. The development of this simpler life to the more complex life of the present can be more readily understood by children as they follow up the changes that have taken place. (See McMurry, Special Method in History, pp. 26-30.) Of course, at every step appeal must be made to the experiences of children, as the teacher knows them. In Civics, however, the beginning must be made with conditions that exist to-day—schools, taxes, the policeman, the postmaster, etc. The beginning of the real teaching of history may then be made at the beginning of Canadian History, as this will enable the child to go gradually from the simple, or individual, to the complex, and will also allow the teacher to make use of whatever historical remains may be within reach. Raymont: Principles of Education CHAPTER II GENERAL METHODS IN THE TEACHING OF HISTORY There are many methods used in the teaching of history. A brief description of the principal ones is given for reference merely, since their best features are incorporated in a combination of methods, which is strongly recommended to teachers, and is described fully in succeeding pages. 1. Methods based on the arrangement and selection of the matter: Chronological, Topical THE CHRONOLOGICAL METHOD The matter is chosen according to the "time" order, beginning at the first of the history, and the events are taught in the order of occurrence without any marked emphasis on their importance, or without considering whether a knowledge of the event is useful or interesting to the class at this stage. Such an arrangement of matter is more suitable when the formal study of history is begun. THE TOPICAL METHOD In studying a certain period of history the events are arranged under topics or heads; for example, the period of discovery in Canadian History may be arranged thus—Discoveries, Explorations, Early Settlements, Indian Wars—and the study of each of these pursued to completion, contemporary events belonging to other topics being neglected for a time. Events having the same underlying purpose, though occurring in different periods, may be arranged under one topic for review; for example, all the voyages of discovery to America may be grouped under the topic, "The Road to Cathay." (See p. 92.) In this way a comprehensive knowledge is gained. This method gives a full treatment of each topic and may be used to best advantage in connection with reviews in junior classes and occasionally as a text-book or library exercise in senior classes. 2. Methods based on the treatment of historical facts: Comparative, Regressive, Concentric [Pg 20] [A] [Pg 21] [Pg 22] THE COMPARATIVE METHOD By this method a comparison is made between two events, two biographies, two reigns, etc., a very useful device when applied in connection with other methods. THE REGRESSIVE METHOD In this method the pupil is expected to begin with the present and work backward; that is, to begin with institutions as they are to-day and to work back through the various steps in their progress to their present state. This method may be followed most profitably in advanced classes. In junior classes it is sufficient to refer to things as they exist to-day in order to arouse curiosity regarding the facts of history that are to be taught; for example, by the use of local material; by a visit to some place of historical interest to prepare for the story of what has occurred there in the past. (See p. 112.) THE CONCENTRIC METHOD This method, which is much used, deals in ever widening circles with the same topic or event; for example, a simple story of Champlain's life and voyages to Canada is told to Form II; the same story is considered again in Form III, but this time the different voyages are noted, the results of each investigated, and the whole summarized and memorized; again, in Form IV, but this time by the topical and comparative methods, where comparison is made of the purposes and achievements of the explorer with those of other explorers—Jacques Cartier, La Salle, etc. In this third discussion a full knowledge of Champlain's work is given. The excellence of this work lies in its review and repetition. The old or former knowledge is recalled and used in each succeeding discussion of the topic. The pupils grow gradually into fuller knowledge. 3. Methods based on class procedure: Oral, Text-book THE ORAL METHOD This usually takes the form of an oral presentation of the story or description of the event by the teacher, while the pupils listen and afterwards reproduce what they have heard. The narration of the story is accompanied by pictures, sketches, maps, etc., illustrative of persons, places, and facts mentioned. It may also take the "development" form, in which a combination of narrative and questioning is employed. (See pp. 66, 92.) The Lecture method of Colleges and Universities is an advanced oral method. In this the teacher narrates and describes events, propounds questions, and discusses and answers them himself, while the pupils listen and during the lecture, or afterwards, make notes of what has been heard. THE TEXT-BOOK METHOD By this method the teacher assigns a lesson in the book and, after the pupils have an opportunity to study it, he asks questions concerning the facts learned. The exclusive use of this method results ordinarily in dull, lifeless teaching, and with junior pupils will prevent their enjoying, or receiving much benefit from, the study of history. There are two reasons for the too general use of it—first, it is an easy method for the teacher, and secondly, it is easy for the pupils to memorize facts for the sole purpose of passing examinations. While this criticism is true when an exclusive use is made of the text-book, the same cannot be said when the text-book is used as an auxiliary to the teacher. Following the oral presentation of the story, reference may be made to the book for another version or for a fuller account and, in Form IV, topics may be assigned and the pupils directed to consult the text-book for the necessary information. (See pp. 26, 28.) The text-book should be one that does not show an abrupt change from the story told by the teacher. It should not be merely a short outline of the important facts in history, written separately and then pieced together in chronological order, but should be written in a readable form by one who is able to distinguish the important and necessary from the unimportant and burdensome. It should have short summaries at the ends of chapters or stories of events, so that a grasp of what has been read may be easily obtained. It should also have many pictures, illustrations, and maps, to take the place of the teacher's explanations in the earlier stage. (On the use of the text-book, see p. 29.) A COMBINATION OF THESE METHODS General Description.—As each of the above methods has its strong and its weak points, we should [Pg 23] [Pg 24] [Pg 25] attempt to combine the strong points into one method, varied to keep pace with the mental development of the pupil, and thus secure the best results. The general outline of such a combination may be given as follows: The "oral story" is to be used in the junior classes, with "development" problems presented where helpful; in Form III the pupils should be introduced to the text-book (The History Reader for Form III), besides being taught by the oral method; in Form IV, the oral method is still to be the chief means used by the teacher, who will now, however, pay more attention to the arrangement of the matter (for example, in topical outlines), to accustom the pupils to grasp more thoroughly the relations of cause and effect in history. The topics of history will also be taken up more exhaustively than in the junior classes, and the pupils must have more practice in acquiring knowledge from the text-books. DETAILS OF METHOD FORMS I, II In Forms I and II, the pupils are accustomed to the oral reproduction of stories told by the teacher. In these should be included a good many historical stories, such as those suggested in the Course of Study in History for these Forms; they will serve the usual purposes of oral reproduction work for composition and literature, and will be, besides, a good foundation for the study of history in the higher forms. (For objects of the Story stage, see p. 16.) The oral presentation of a story or description of an event requires a certain degree of skill on the part of a teacher—skill in story-telling, in grasping the important parts of the story or description, in knowing what details to omit as well as what to narrate, in explaining the story in a way that will make it real to the pupils, in preparing pictures and sketches to illustrate the different parts, and in questioning so that the minds of the pupils will be active as well as receptive. The care and time necessary to secure this skill will be well repaid by the interest aroused in history, by the appreciation of the thoughts thus presented, and by the lasting impressions conveyed. Simple, clear language should be employed, not necessarily small words, but words whose meaning is made clear by the context or illustration. (For material for these Forms, see Bibliography, C, p. 132.) When the whole story is told, revision may be made by having the pupils reproduce it after suitable questioning, either immediately or at some future time. Exercises in reproduction may also be given, for either seat work or class work, in constructive or art work; for example, after the story of the North American Indians, the pupils may be asked to construct a wigwam, a canoe, a bow and arrow, or to make pictures of Indians, of their houses, of their dress, etc. Further exercise in composition may also be given by having the pupils write the story. To each pupil may be assigned a special part; for example, the story of Moses may be divided thus: (1) As a babe; (2) His adoption by the Princess; (3) His life at the palace; (4) His flight to Midian; (5) The Burning Bush, etc. The whole story is then reproduced by having these parts read aloud in a reading lesson. FORM III The value of the oral work done in Forms I and II will be realized by the teacher when the real study of history is begun in Forms III and IV. The pupils have a liking for the stories of history and have a knowledge of some of the leading actors and of the chief events in history that calls for more complete satisfaction. There are several methods of using the History Reader which is the basis of the work in Form III. Perhaps the best method is to continue to make oral teaching the chief feature, and to add to that the use by the pupils, in various ways, of the History Reader. For example, the teacher will tell the story of Jacques Cartier, following in the main the narrative as given in the History Reader. It is well, however, not to follow it too closely in order that, when the pupils come to read the story in the book for themselves, they will find it an interesting combination of the familiar and the new. For that reason, it will be necessary for the teacher to have prepared the story from a somewhat different narrative in some other book at her command. In the telling of the story, problems may be asked, if thought advisable (see p. 33); a few headings may be placed on the black-board for subsequent reproduction, oral or written, by the pupils; all difficulties of pronunciation, especially of proper names, should be attended to, orally and on the black-board; the places mentioned should be found on the map; pictures and sketches should be used; and in fact, every possible means taken to make the narrative more real to the class. (See p. 34.) When the oral teaching is finished, the pupils may have the books to read at their desks, and they often ask permission to take them home. They may sometimes be required to read aloud from the History Reader for supplementary practice in oral reading. Reproduction by the pupils, either immediately or in a subsequent lesson, should follow. Teachers, however, are advised not to insist on too much written [Pg 26] [Pg 27] [Pg 28] reproduction, as that might very easily arouse a dislike for both history and written composition. Procedure as outlined above has had most gratifying results in the way of creating a liking for, and an intelligent interest in, the study of history. Other methods have also had good results. The teacher may, instead of telling the story, read aloud from the Reader to pave the way for the reading of the story by the pupils themselves. Difficulties, either in language or in meaning, may be taken up as in a literature lesson. The pupils will at first find the reading somewhat difficult, but the interest generated by the teacher's reading or oral narrative will carry them through that stage till they acquire a love for reading history, and have enlarged their vocabulary till reading is no longer a burdensome task. A taste of the more serious study of history may be given by asking the pupils a few not very difficult questions that they can answer only by combining facts contained in several stories. For example, in the chapters selected for Form III, Junior Grade, the answer can be found to a question about the explorers of Canada, the order of their visits, and a comparison of their work; to another question about the expansion of Canada from the little part of Quebec first visited to the whole of British North America. It is unnecessary, perhaps, to add that the emphasis in Form III history should be still very largely on biography, so as to influence the forming of moral ideals by concrete examples. FORM IV Although the pupils have now had some experience in the use of the History Reader, yet that is no reason why oral teaching should be discarded in Form IV history, any more than in arithmetic or geography. It is scarcely a high estimate to have of history, to think that pupils of this age can grasp even the simpler lines of development in history without guidance from the teacher. Hence it is necessary for the attainment of good results, that many of the lessons should be taught orally before the pupils are asked to study their books. The aim of the teaching should be not merely the acquisition of facts, but the welding of them together in a sequence of cause and effect, and the pupils at this stage can scarcely be expected to do that for themselves. In preparing for a lesson in Form IV history, the teacher should analyse the incidents of the period to be studied, should see how certain causes have led to certain results, and should be sure enough of the facts to have little recourse to the text-book while teaching. It does not look like fair play to expect a class to answer questions that the teacher cannot answer without consulting the text. On the other hand, it is refreshing to see the interest aroused in a class by a teacher who thinks enough of the subject to be able to teach it without constant reference to the text-book. Therefore, let the oral method be here again the chief dependence of the teacher. In such a lesson, for example, as that on the Intercolonial Railway (see p. 82) no book is needed—only the map and the black-board. TRAINING IN USE OF TEXT-BOOK However, as the pupils must learn, for their own profit in after years, how to read history without a guiding hand, they need training in the use of the text-book. The chief line on which such training may proceed is to have the pupils search out the answers to definite questions. Any one who has searched for material on a certain topic will appreciate the good results that have come in the way of added knowledge and increased interest. The topics at first should be quite simple, gradually increasing in breadth. A few suggestions for such work are given below; they may be called examination questions to be answered with the help of the text-book: 1. Name, and tell something about, four of the explorers of Canada before 1759. 2. Name several other explorers of the New World. 3. Which explorer did the most for Canada, Champlain or La Salle? 4. In what wars did the French fight against the Iroquois? With what result? 5. What explorers of North America were trying to find a way to China and India? (This investigation by the class may precede the lesson on the "Road to Cathay." See p. 92.) 6. On what did English kings base their claim to be the overlords of Scotland? Trace the dispute down to the Union of the Crowns in 1603. 7. Find out how the slave trade was treated by the English. 8. Make a list of the early newspapers in Canada. Did they have much influence on public opinion? 9. Compare the struggles for the control of taxation in Canada and in the Thirteen [Pg 29] [Pg 30] Colonies of America. Explain why these were settled differently in the two cases. With questions such as these for investigation, no pupil will be likely to secure the full facts; each may state in the next lesson what he has found, and the work of each will be supplemented by that of the others. With succeeding investigations it may be expected that the pupils will be more eager to get at all the facts in the text-book. At any rate they are learning how to gather material from books—a very valuable training, no matter how simple the topic is. When, in the ordinary course of work, lessons from the text-book are assigned, the teacher should indicate the important points, should suggest certain matters for discussion, and should note certain questions to be answered, indicating precisely where the information may be obtained. In the recitation period following, the topic should be fully discussed, the pupils giving the information they have secured from the text-book, and the teacher supplementing this from his knowledge gained through wider reading. During the discussion an outline should be made on the board, largely by the suggestions of the pupils, and kept in their note-books for reference and review. (See p. 100, Lesson on the Feudal System.) DRILL AND REVIEW As has been already stated (p. 15), the Story stage is useful chiefly for the purpose of arousing interest and developing the historical sense; no drill or review is necessary other than the oral, and, in Form II, sometimes the written, reproduction of the stories. The oral reproduction can be obtained in Form I by using the stories as topics in language lessons. In the Information stage, where we are concerned more with the acquiring of facts, and in the Reflective stage, where we wish to relate facts to each other according to cause and effect, drills and reviews are necessary. During the lesson, a summary is placed on the black-board by the teacher or pupil, as indicated above. It is used as a guide in oral reproduction and may also be copied in special note-books and used for reference when preparing for review lessons. The teacher may look over these note-books occasionally. There is great difference of opinion on the value of note-taking by pupils, but it may be said of such notes as those mentioned above that they have the advantage of being largely the pupil's own work, especially when the pupils are asked to suggest the headings; they are a record of what has been decided in the class to be important points; they are arranged in the order in which the subject has been treated in the lesson, and are in every way superior to the small note-books in history that are sometimes used as aids or helps. For the proper teaching of history, the latter are hindrances rather than helps, because they rob the pupil of the profit gained by doing the work for himself. Notes obtained from books or dictated by the teacher are harmful to the right spirit of study, and create a distaste for the subject. Special review lessons should be taken when a series of lessons on one topic, or on a series of connected topics, has been finished. At the close of each lesson, the facts learned are fixed more firmly in the mind by the usual drill; but there must be further organization of the several lessons by a proper review, so that history will not be a number of unconnected events, but will be seen as an orderly development. This may be accomplished: (1) by questioning the class from a point of view different from that taken in the first lessons, (2) by oral or written expansion of a topical outline, (3) by illustrations with maps or drawings, (4) by tracing the sequence of events backwards, (5) by submitting some new situation that will recall the old knowledge in a different way. It must be remembered that it is not a mere repetition that we seek, but a re-view of the facts, a new view that will prove the power of the pupils to use the knowledge they have gained. Thus the lesson on the St. Lawrence River (p. 112) is a good review of the facts of history suggested by the places mentioned; the lesson on the Road to Cathay (p. 92) may be considered a review of the chief explorers of North America. Such a review aims at seeing new relations, at connecting new knowledge and old, at "giving freshness and vividness to knowledge that may be somewhat faded, at throwing a number of discrete facts into a bird's-eye view." THE USE OF PROBLEMS IN TEACHING HISTORY The development, or problem, method is intended to get the pupils to do some independent thinking, instead of merely absorbing knowledge from the teacher. The plan is simply to set clearly before the pupils the conditions existing at a certain moment in the story so that they may see for themselves the difficulties that the people in the story had to overcome. The question for the class is: "What would you do in the circumstances?" Let us take an example from the life of Ulysses. Ulysses had heard of the Sirens, who sang so beautifully that any one in a passing ship who heard them was impelled to throw himself overboard, with a frantic desire to swim to their island. Naturally the swimmers were all drowned in the attempt. Ulysses desired to hear for himself the wonderful singing, and to experience, perhaps, its terrible effect; but he certainly [Pg 31] [Pg 32] [Pg 33] did not want to run any risk of drowning. Now, how did he accomplish his desire, without paying the penalty? Again, in the story of...