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Page 69
The part of the teacher at this point, therefore, is to act as
interpreter, to help the learner to grasp the meaning of the poem, the
picture, the song, or the character he is studying. The admirable
qualities are to be brought out, the beautiful aspects set forth, and
the lovable traits placed in high light. The teacher may even express
his own admiration and appreciation, though without sentimentality or
effusiveness. Nor is it likely that a teacher will be able to excite
admiration in his class for any object of study which he does not
himself admire. If his own soul does not rise to the beauty of the
twenty-third psalm or to the inimitable grandeur and strength of the
Christ-life, he is hardly the one to hold these subjects of study before
children.
THE REVIEW LESSON
Reviews and tests fulfill a double purpose for the learner: they help to
organize and make more usable the matter that has been learned, and they
reveal success or failure in mastery. They also serve the teacher as a
measure of his success in teaching. The review lesson should not be, as
it often is, a mere repetition of as many facts from, previous lessons
as time will permit to be covered. It should present a _new view_ of the
subject. It should deal with the great essential points, and so relate
and organize them that the threefold aim of _fruitful knowledge_, _right
attitudes_, and _practical applications_ shall be stressed and made
secure.
Guiding principles.--If the section of matter under review deals with
a series of events, such as the story of the migration of the Israelites
from Egypt or the account of the ministry of Jesus, then the review
lesson must pick out and emphasize those incidents and applications
which should become a part of the permanent possession of the child's
mind from the study of this material. These related points should be so
linked together and so reimpressed that they will form a continuous view
of the period or topic studied. There is no place for the incidental nor
for minute and unrelated detail in the review.
The teacher will need most careful preparation and planning to conduct a
review. He must have the entire field to be reviewed fully mastered and
in his own mind as a unit, else he cannot lead the child back over it
successfully. He must work out a lesson plan which will secure interest
and response on the part of his pupils. Many review lessons drag, and
are but endured by the class. This may be accounted for by the fact that
the review recitation often fails to do more than repeat old material.
It may also come from the fact that the children are asked details which
they have forgotten or never knew, so that they are unable to take their
part. It may in some cases arise from the fact that the teacher is
himself not ready for the review, and does not like review days.
Whatever may be the cause, the review that fails to catch interest or
call forth enthusiasm has in so far failed of its purpose. The minds of
teacher and pupils should be at their best and concentration at its
keenest for the review lesson.
ASSIGNMENT OF LESSON
No small part of the success of instruction depends on faithfulness and
skill in assigning lessons. Too often this is left for the very last
moment of the class hour, when there is no time left for proper
assignment and the teacher can give only the most hurried and incomplete
directions. Or, it may be that the only direction that is given is the
exhortation to "be sure to prepare the lesson for next week." But this
will not suffice. We must not forget that children, especially the
younger children, may not know just how to go to work upon the lesson,
nor what to do in getting it. It is hard for any young child to gather
thought from the printed page, even after he has attained fair skill in
reading; and it is doubly hard if the matter is difficult or unfamiliar,
as is much of the material found in the church-school lessons.
How to make the assignment.--In order to assign the lesson properly
the teacher must, of course, be perfectly familiar with the coming
lesson. This means that he must keep a week ahead in his preparation,
which is in the end no loss, but even a gain. The teacher must also have
the plan of the lesson sufficiently in mind that he knows just what
points are to be stressed, what will present the most difficulty to the
class, what will most appeal to their interest, and what will need to be
especially assigned for study or investigation. In lessons which
children are to prepare at home it is usually well to go over the
material briefly with the class in making the assignment, giving hints
for study, calling attention to interesting points, and stating very
definitely just what the class is expected to do.
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