Stories to Tell to Children | Page 7

in certain grades of the
Providence schools, in Rhode Island. The list is not mine, although it
embodies some of my suggestions. I offer it merely as a practical result
of the effort to equalize and extend the story-hour throughout the
schools. Its makers would be the last to claim ideal merit for it, and
they are constantly improving and developing it. I am indebted for the

privilege of using it to the primary teachers of Providence, and to their
supervisor, Miss Ella L. Sweeney.
STORIES FOR REPRODUCTION
FIRST GRADE Chicken Little The Dog and his Shadow Barnyard
Talk The Hare and the Hound Little Red Hen Five Little Rabbits Little
Gingerbread Boy The Three Bears The Lion and the Mouse The
Red-headed Wood- The Hungry Lion pecker The Wind and the Sun
Little Red Riding-Hood The Fox and the Crow Little Half-Chick The
Duck and the Hen The Rabbit and the Turtle The Hare and the Tortoise
The Shoemaker and the The Three Little Robins Fairies The Wolf and
the Kid The Wolf and the Crane The Crow and the Pitcher The Cat and
the Mouse The Fox and the Grapes Snow-White and Rose-Red
SECOND GRADE The North Wind The Lark and her Little The
Mouse Pie Ones The Wonderful Traveler The Wolf and the Goslings
The Wolf and the Fox The Ugly Duckling The Star Dollars The
Country Mouse and the The Water-Lil City Mouse The Three Goats
The Three Little Pigs The Boy and the Nuts Diamonds and Toads The
Honest Woodman The Thrifty Squirrel The Pied Piper How the Robin's
Breast King Midas became Red The Town Musicians The Old Woman
and her Raggylug Pig Peter Rabbit The Sleeping Apple The Boy who
cried "Wolf" The Cat and the Parrot
THIRD GRADE The Crane Express How the Mole became Little
Black Sambo Blind The Lantern and the Fan How Fire was brought to
Why the Bear has a Short the Indians Tail Echo Why the Fox has a
White Piccola Tip to his Tail The Story of the Morning- Why the Wren
flies low Glory Seed Jack and the Beanstalk The Discontented Pine
The Talkative Tortoise Tree Fleet Wing and Sweet Voice The Bag of
Winds The Golden Fleece The Foolish Weather-Vane The Little Boy
who wanted The Shut-up Posy the Moon Pandora's Box Benjy in
Beastland The Little Match Girl Tomtit's Peep at the World
FOURTH GRADE Arachne The First Snowdrop The Porcelain Stove
The Three Golden Apples Moufflou Androclus and the Lion Clytie The
Old Man and his The Legend of the Trailing Donkey Arbutus The Leak
in the Dike Latona and the Frogs King Tawny Mane Dick Whittington
and his The Little Lame Prince Cat Appleseed John Dora, the Little
Girl of the Narcissus Lighthouse Why the Sea is Salt Proserpine The
Little Hero of Haarlem The Miraculous Pitcher The Bell of Justice

STORY-TELLING IN TEACHING ENGLISH
I have to speak now of a phase of elementary education which lies very
close to my warmest interest, which, indeed, could easily become an
active hobby if other interests did not beneficently tug at my skirts
when I am minded to mount and ride too wildly. It is the hobby of
many of you who are teachers, also, and I know you want to hear it
discussed. I mean the growing effort to teach English and English
literature to children in the natural way: by speaking and
hearing,--orally.
We are coming to a realization of the fact that our ability, as a people,
to use English is pitifully inadequate and perverted. Those Americans
who are not blinded by a limited horizon of cultured acquaintance, and
who have given themselves opportunity to hear the natural speech of
the younger generation in varying sections of the United States, must
admit that it is no exaggeration to say that this country at large has no
standard of English speech. There is no general sense of responsibility
to our mother tongue (indeed, it is in an overwhelming degree not our
mother tongue) and no general appreciation of its beauty or meaning.
The average young person in every district save a half-dozen jealously
guarded little precincts of good taste, uses inexpressive, ill- bred words,
spoken without regard to their just sound-effects, and in a voice which
is an injury to the ear of the mind, as well as a torment to the physical
ear.
The structure of the language and the choice of words are dark matters
to most of our young Americans; this has long been acknowledged and
struggled against. But even darker, and quite equally destructive to
English expression, is their state of mind regarding pronunciation,
enunciation, and voice. It is the essential connection of these elements
with English speech that we have been so slow to realize. We have