ESSENTIALS IN AMERICAN HISTORY (FROM THE DISCOVERY TO THE BY ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, LL.D. PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY NEW YORK.:. CINCINNATI .:. CHICAGO THE AUTHOR TO THE TEACHER THE simple system of study and teaching, which this book is intended to make easy, may be summarized as follows: (1) The text-book should be carefully read and studied by the pupils, so that they may have a sense of the movement and proportion of the history of their country and may know a body of useful facts. The names, events, and dates which seem to the author essential go directly into the text; dates in parentheses are of less importance and are inserted merely to show the progress of events. (2) Class exercises will necessarily be based upon the text-book, with such methods of question, "quiz," "fluents," "cards," and the like as the teacher may feel inclined to use; but he should always aim to recall previous lessons which have a bearing on the day's subject and to enlarge on the text when possible. (3) Reading outside of the text-book is requisite for any good course in history. The whole story of the nation's development can not be told in five hundred pages. The rules of arithmetic are true, but they need practical illustration; in like manner history is apt to seem dry without the additional interest of reading about some things in more detail than can be included in one brief book. The number of reference books necessary for a school to provide is not large. The reading references at the end of each chapter are intended to serve both teacher and pupil, by sending them to a few selected and brief readings. Exact titles of most of the books mentioned will be found in Appendix B. Besides formal histories, the bibliographies include "Illustrative works," that is, narratives, novels, poems, and like literary illuminations of the subject. (4) Written work has become one of the effective adjuncts of historical study in secondary schools': it may take the form of essays, based on secondary authorities; of reports, based in whole or in part on sources; of brief "judgment questions," set during class; of "written recitations;" or one of many other forms. The list of books at the end of each chapter will facilitate such work. The " Suggestive topics" can all be prepared from the text-book, plus a few general histories, biographies, encyclopedias, and like accessible books. |