1166
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 53

During the progress of the lesson the teacher should write the sentences
on the blackboard. These should afterwards be read and written by the
children. The pupils should now be able to write several consecutive
sentences on subjects that have been dealt with in oral composition exercises,
using such connectives as who, which, when, and, but, because, while, &c.

Teachers will bear in mind, however, that in all cases the free use of
oral practice must still precede written work, for too much emphasis on
written work in the early stages is a hindrance and not a help to the
acquisition of the language.

In Standard IV the work of synthesis and analysis should be extended
to include easy complex sentences, thus: “The man saw the pig in his
garden”; “He shot it with a gun,” may be combined to form “When
the man saw the pig in his garden he shot it with a gun”; “The man
shot the pig with his gun because he found it in his garden,” &c.; and,
conversely, a complex sentence of the type given may be resolved into
its simple elements. Further distinctions between singular and plural,
past and present, present and future, should be taught by examples and
the variation of easy sentences. Oral descriptions in consecutive sentences
of simple objects or incidents, or of pictures, or the oral reproduction of
easy stories, should also be given. Written composition, including the
writing of letters, will also be expected. There is no need, of course, to
teach the various grammatical terms.

(In teaching composition in this and higher classes, by means, for
example, of a short story, the teacher should proceed by well-defined stages.
He should first prepare the way by reading or preferably by telling a suitable
story, the purport of which should be well within the comprehension of
the children, and the words already within their vocabulary, only a few
new words being introduced. Next, he should ask questions following
the order of the story, individual children being called upon to answer in
complete sentences, and the best answer being written on the blackboard.
The blackboard may then be turned, and individual children asked to
repeat part of the story in their own words. The written story may now
again be shown to the class, attention being drawn to punctuation marks,
capitals, &c. Then the story should be transcribed from the board. At
the next composition lesson the children should be required to reproduce
the whole story, first orally and then in writing.)

Standard V: Oral work should be continued, the work of the lower
standards being revised and extended to include further exercises in analysis
and synthesis, and in the variation in form of easy sentences. The functions
of various phrases and clauses in easy direct sentences should be taught
as far as they can be distinguished by answering such questions as When?
What kind of? Which? What? E.g., After the man had scraped his
gum he took it to the store: “When did the man take the gum to the
store?” I like to see boys whose faces are clean: “What kind of boys
do I like to see?” John saw the man that shot the pig: “What man
did John see?” &c.

Further practice is also to be given in the various tenses, including the
perfect forms as shown by their use in various sentences.

Standard VI: Revision of the work of previous standards. Further
exercises in the blending of sentences and clauses, and in the conversion
of phrases, clauses, and sentences into equivalent constructions; also in
the proper order of words, phrases, and clauses, especially as regards the
position of limiting words, phrases, and clauses, and of very easy concessive
clauses. Correction of errors; oral and written composition on suitable
topics; simple business letters.

In Standard VII the work in English should show some advance on
that of Standard VI, and should include some training in elementary commercial correspondence. Although in the definition of the work for the
several standards many grammatical terms are introduced, these terms are
used for the guidance of teachers, and it is not intended that any grammar
shall be introduced into the course of primary instruction except for the
practical end above mentioned. Technical grammatical terms should be
used very sparingly indeed, and the order of instruction should be, first,
from example to rule, and then from rule to example; in other words,
by induction first, then by deduction. Every lesson, in short, should be
a composition lesson, no lesson merely a grammar lesson. Correct speech
and composition depend more on practice and habit than on a knowledge
of rules of grammar and composition. The art of speaking and writing
correctly is acquired by familiarity with good models, and by practice subject
to criticism and correction; and, with respect to the acquisition of the
art, the function of grammar is the subordinate function of criticism.