The Elson Readers, book 5 | Page 2

whole, instead of looking upon it as a confused scrapbook of miscellaneous selections. Such arrangement also fosters literary comparison by bringing together selections having a common theme or authorship.
This book has been so organized as to fulfill these purposes. There are three main Parts, each distinguished by unity of theme or authorship.
Part I, leading from a wholesome appreciation of Nature,
particularly in its American setting, centers mainly about the important themes of patriotism, service, and good citizenship;
Part II introduces some of the great tales that typify our love of stirring
deeds;
Part III presents some of our greatest American authors at
sufficient length to make them stand out to the pupil. Through these grouped selections, together with the accompanying biographies, pupils may come to be familiar with and love some of the great company of writers that have made the name of America known in the world of literature.
Attention is called to three special features that keep the dominant theme of each Part clearly in the foreground: (1) "A Forward Look" and "A Backward Look" for each main division and important subdivisions emphasize the larger theme, and show how each selection contributes to the group-idea (see pages 19, 56, etc.); (2) the Notes and Questions frequently call the pupil's attention to the relation the selection bears to the main thought (see pages 39, 75, etc.); (3) the three main divisions, and the subordinate groups within each main unit, are made to stand out clearly by illustrations that typify the theme (see pages 18, 21, etc.) and by topical headings that enable the pupil to visualize the group-units. By these three means the organization of the book is emphasized, and fundamental ideals are kept dominant.
Quality of Literature:
Obviously, a book that is to supply the pupil with a year's course in literature must be a generous volume. Variety is impossible without quantity, especially where literary wholes rather than mere fragmentary excerpts are offered. Particularly is this true when complete units are included not only for intensive study, but also for extensive reading--longer units, of the so-called "paper classics" type, to be read mainly for the story-element. In bulk such units should be as large as the pupil can control readily in rapid silent reading, a kind of reading that increases the power to enjoy with intelligence a magazine or a book.
The Elson Readers, Book Five, is a generous volume in provision for these needs. Its inclusiveness makes possible a proper balance between prose and poetry, between long and short selections, and between material for intensive and extensive reading.
Definite Helps:
If the pupil is to gain the full benefit from his reading, certain definite helps must be provided. An efficient reader must score a high test not only on the fundamentals of quality, variety, organization and quantity of literature, but also on its fitness as a tool for classroom use. The effectiveness of this Reader as such a tool may be indicated by the following distinguishing features:
(1) A distinctive introduction, "The Crystal Glass" (see page 13), gives the pupil an illuminating interpretation of the organization and literary content of the volume.
(2) Definite suggestions for developing speed and concentration in silent reading. (See pages 21, 30, 34, 163, etc.)
(3) A comprehensive Glossary (pages 399-418) contains the words and phrases that offer valuable vocabulary training, either of pronunciation or meaning. The teacher is free to use the Glossary according to the needs of her particular class, but suggestive type words and phrases are listed under Notes and Questions.
(4) A complete program of study, "How to Gain the Full Benefit from Your Reading" (pages 28, 29), gives a concise explanation of the various helps found in the book.
(5) The helps to study are more than mere notes; they aid in making significant the larger purposes of the literature. These "Notes and Questions" include:
(a) Biographies of the authors, that supply data for interpreting the stories and poems; particularly helpful are those of
Part III;
(b) Historical settings, wherever they are necessary to the intelligent understanding of the selection (see pages 94, 105, etc.);
(c) Questions and suggestions that present clearly the main idea, stimulate original discussion and comparison, and bring out modern parallels to the situations found in the selections;
(d) Words of everyday use frequently mispronounced, listed, for study under "Discussion" (see page 29, etc.);
(e) Phrases that offer idiomatic difficulty; for convenience in locating these phrases the page and line numbers are indicated;
(f) Projects, individual and social.
CONTENTS
PREFACE SUGGESTIONS FOR AN ORDER OF READING THE CRYSTAL GLASS

PART I
NATURE--HUMOR--HOME AND COUNTRY
THE WORLD OF NATURE
A Forward Look
ANIMALS
Turk, The Faithful Dog Samuel White Baker Our Uninvited Guest Ernest Harold Baynes Hunting The American Buffalo Theodore Roosevelt
BIRDS AND THEIR SONGS
The Birds And I Liberty H. Bailey The Brown Thrush Lucy Larcom Sing On, Blithe Bird William Motherwell
FLOWERS
The Violet And The Bee John B. Tabb Four-Leaf Clovers Ella Higginson Jack In