SUPPLEMENTARY READING

FAMOUS STORIES AND LITERATURE

¶ This grading, which is simply suggestive, represents the earliest years in which these books can be read to advantage.

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

BROOKS’S READERS

By STRATTON D. BROOKS, Superintendent of Schools, Boston, Mass.

THESE readers form a good all-round basal series, suitable for use in any school; but they will appeal to teachers particularly, because of their very easy gradation. Both in thought and expression, the books are so carefully graded that each selection is but slightly more difficult than the preceding one, and there is no real gap anywhere.

¶ Although a wide variety of reading matter is provided, good literature, embodying child interests, has been considered of fundamental importance. Lessons of a similar nature are grouped together, and topics relating to kindred subjects recur somewhat regularly. All are designed to quicken the child’s observation, and increase his appreciation.

¶ By the use of this series, the child will be taught to read in such a manner as will appeal to his interests, and at the same time he will be made acquainted with the masterpieces of many famous writers. He will gain a knowledge of many subjects, and acquire pure and attractive ideals of life and conduct. His imagination will be cultivated by pleasing tales of fancy, and he will also be taught a love of country, and given glimpses into the life of other lands.

¶ The books are very attractive in mechanical appearance, and contain a large number of original illustrations, besides reproductions of many celebrated paintings.

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

HUNT’S PROGRESSIVE COURSE IN SPELLING

THE purpose of this book is to assist the pupil in using words correctly in any one of three relations, viz.: in speech, in oral reading, and in written composition. Its exercises recognize the laws of association, and provide a systematic drill in orthography, orthoepy, word-building, word-analysis, and other phases of word-study.

¶ The vocabulary of the book is made up of words used by the pupil in his other studies, and in his every-day experience. The work is clearly laid out and graded; reviews are amply provided, both by duplication and by dictation work.

¶ PART ONE contains a vocabulary of some 4,000 word-forms in common use, selected and graded with great care. The arrangement is such that there is afforded a variety of exercises, each containing an average of 20 words. The phonetic, the topical, the grammatical, and the antithetic and synonymic methods have received special treatment. Dictation exercises, including memory gems, illustrative sentences, and reviews, are also given.

¶ PART TWO includes a vocabulary of about 5,000 word-forms, the exercises being devoted to topical lessons, phonetic drills, pronouncing drill, grammatical forms, synonyms and antonyms, applications of rules of spelling, drill on homophones, word-building and word-analysis, words the derivation of which is indicated, and derivatives from Latin and Greek roots. Great emphasis is laid on prefixes and suffixes, the origin of words, and pronunciation.

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

SPENCERS’ PRACTICAL WRITING

By PLATT R. SPENCER’S SONS

SPENCERS’ PRACTICAL WRITING has been devised because of the distinct and wide-spread reaction from the use of vertical writing in schools. It is thoroughly up-to-date, embodying all the advantages of the old and of the new. Each word can be written by one continuous movement of the pen.

¶ The books teach a plain, practical hand, moderate in slant, and free from ornamental curves, shades, and meaningless lines. The stem letters are long enough to be clear and unmistakable. The capitals are about two spaces in height.

¶ The copies begin with words and gradually develop into sentences. The letters, both large and small, are taught systematically. In the first two books the writing is somewhat larger than is customary because it is more easily learned by young children. These books also contain many illustrations in outline. The ruling is very simple.

¶ Instruction is afforded showing how the pupil should sit at the desk, and hold the pen and paper. A series of drill movement exercises, thirty-three in number, with directions for their use, accompanies each book.

SPENCERIAN PRACTICAL WRITING SPELLER

Per dozen, $0.48

THIS simple, inexpensive device provides abundant drill in writing words. At the same time it trains pupils to form their copies in accordance with the most modern and popular system of penmanship, and saves much valuable time for both teacher and pupil.

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

MILNE’S PROGRESSIVE ARITHMETICS

By WILLIAM J. MILNE, Ph.D., LL.D., President of New York State Normal College, Albany, N.Y.

IN these series the best modern methods of instruction have been combined with those older features which gave the author’s previous arithmetics such marvelous popularity.

¶ Built upon a definite pedagogical plan, these books teach the processes of arithmetic in such a way as to develop the reasoning faculties, and to train the power of rapid, accurate, and skillful manipulation of numbers. The inductive method is applied, leading the pupils to discover truths for themselves; but it is supplemented by model solutions and careful explanations of each step.

¶ Each new topic is first carefully developed, and then enforced by sufficient practice to fix it thoroughly in the mind. The problems, which have been framed with the greatest care, relate to a wide range of subjects drawn from modern life and industries. Reviews in various forms are a marked feature. Usefulness is the keynote.

¶ In the First and Second Books the amount of work that may be accomplished in a half year is taken as the unit of classification, and the various subjects are treated topically, each being preceded by a brief rÉsumÉ of the concepts already acquired. In the Third Book the purely topical method is used in order to give the pupil a coherent knowledge of each subject. The Complete Book covers the work usually given to pupils during the last four years of school.

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

STEPS IN ENGLISH

By A.C. McLEAN, A.M., Principal of Luckey School, Pittsburg; THOMAS C. BLAISDELL, A.M., Professor of English, Fifth Avenue Normal High School, Pittsburg; and JOHN MORROW, Superintendent of Schools, Allegheny, Pa.

THIS series presents a new method of teaching language which is in marked contrast with the antiquated systems in vogue a generation ago. The books meet modern conditions in every respect, and teach the child how to express his thoughts in language rather than furnish an undue amount of grammar and rules.

¶ From the start the attempt has been made to base the work on subjects in which the child is genuinely interested. Lessons in writing language are employed simultaneously with those in conversation, while picture-study, the study of literary selections, and letter-writing are presented at frequent intervals. The lessons are of a proper length, well arranged, and well graded. The books mark out the daily work for the teacher in a clearly defined manner by telling him what to do, and when to do it. Many unique mechanical devices, e.g., a labor-saving method of correcting papers, a graphic system of diagramming, etc., form a valuable feature of the work.

¶ These books are unlike any other series now on the market. They do not shoot over the heads of the pupils, nor do they show a marked effort in writing down to the supposed level of young minds. They do not contain too much technical grammar, nor are they filled with what is sentimental and meaningless. No exaggerated attention is given to analyzing by diagramming, and to exceptions to ordinary rules, which have proved so unsatisfactory.

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

NEW SERIES OF THE NATURAL GEOGRAPHIES

REDWAY AND HINMAN

IN the new series of these sterling geographies emphasis is laid on industrial, commercial, and political geography, with just enough physiography to bring out the causal relations.

¶ The text is clear, simple, interesting, and explicit. The pictures are distinguished for their aptness and perfect illustrative character. Two sets of maps are provided, one for reference, and the other for study, the latter having corresponding maps drawn to the same scale.

¶ The INTRODUCTORY GEOGRAPHY develops the subject in accordance with the child’s comprehension, each lesson paving the way for the next. In the treatment of the United States the physiographic, historical, political, industrial, and commercial conditions are taken up in their respective order, the chief industries and the localities devoted largely to each receiving more than usual consideration. The country is regarded as being divided into five industrial sections.

¶ In the SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY a special feature is the presentation of the basal principles of physical and general geography in simple, untechnical language, arranged in numbered paragraphs. In subsequent pages constant reference is made to these principles, but in each case accompanied by the paragraph number. This greatly simplifies the work, and makes it possible to take up the formal study of these introductory lessons after the remainder of the book has been completed. With a view to enriching the course, numerous specific references are given to selected geographical reading.

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

APPLIED PHYSIOLOGIES

By FRANK OVERTON, A.M., M.D., late House Surgeon to the City Hospital, New York City

OVERTON’S APPLIED PHYSIOLOGIES form a series of text-books for primary, grammar, and high schools, which departs radically from the old-time methods pursued in the teaching of physiology. These books combine the latest results of study and research in biological, medical, and chemical science with the best methods of teaching.

¶ The fundamental principle throughout this series is the study of the cells where the essential functions of the body are carried on. Consequently, the study of anatomy and physiology is here made the study of the cells from the most elementary structure in organic life to their highest and most complex form in the human body.

¶ This treatment of the cell principle, and its development in its relation to life, the employment of laboratory methods, the numerous original and effective illustrations, the clearness of the author’s style, the wealth of new physiological facts, and the logical arrangement and gradation of the subject-matter, give these books a strength and individuality peculiarly their own.

¶ The effects of alcohol and other stimulants and narcotics are treated in each book sensibly, and with sufficient fullness. But while this important form of intemperance is singled out, it is borne in mind that the breaking of any of nature’s laws is also a form of intemperance, and that the whole study of applied physiology is to encourage a more healthful and a more self-denying mode of life.

¶ In the preparation of this series the needs of the various school grades have been fully considered. Each book is well suited to the pupils for whom it is designed.

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY