In writing your letters try to express yourself clearly and politely. Observe the proper form for letters. Read over your letters carefully and copy them neatly before mailing them. STOP 수 Correct Usage Lie, Lay, Write, Hurt Lie means rest; as, "I often lie down after lunch"; "I lay down yesterday"; "I have lain down every day this week." Lay means put in place; as, "Lay it down"; "I laid it down"; "I have laid it down." Learn the principal parts of lie, lay, write, and hurt. Read aloud each of the following sentences, selecting the correct form in parenthesis: 1. Did the dog (lie, lay) in the sun? TALKS BY OLD CITIZENS Talks to the Class 183. Select some topic of interesting local history on which you can talk to the class for two minutes. Before making your talk find out all you can about your topic, either by reading or by asking some one who knows. Try to make the class see the incident you relate, or the strange custom you tell about. Planning the Scenes After you have found out the most important facts about the history of your community, plan the scenes you will present in your pageant. In planning the scenes remember that only those incidents that have a good deal of action in them can be acted. Select the scenes that are striking and interesting. Appoint one pupil as secretary, whose business it will be to keep a record of what the class decides. The secretary should write down in order the scenes that are to be given. Appoint one pupil to manage each scene. The pupils who are responsible for the scenes should be good workers and able to get along well with others. Each pupil in charge of a scene should arrange with the other pupils under him to work up the scene. WORKING UP THE PAGEANT Talks by Old Citizens You may invite a few of the older citizens to tell your class about the times when they were young. Ask your teacher to help you select people who can talk well. Write down the most important things they tell you. After these talks, review in class the points that can be used in working out your pageant. Several pupils may tell the class the parts of the talks that can be used in the pageant. Letters Write letters of thanks to those who have helped you get material for your pageant. Write a letter to one who talked to you, expressing your appreciation of the talk. Write a letter thanking the one who lent you books or papers. Write a letter thanking the one who allowed you to visit his home and to see his relics. Dictation Read the following selection carefully, noticing all the punctuation marks. Try to write it perfectly from . dictation: "Have you seen any tracks of a lion?" asked a hunter of a woodcutter whom he met. "Yes, I can show you the lion himself," replied the woodcutter. "Oh, no, I don't want to see the lion. I only want to see his tracks," said the frightened hunter. Always set off the words yes and no by commas. STOP LOOK LISTEN' ↑ WHERE TO HAVE THE PAGEANT 185 These two helping verbs are often used incorrectly. "I may" means "I have permission." "I can" means "I am able." It is correct to say "May I leave the room?" not "Can I leave the room?" It is correct to say "I can swim the length of the pool." Read aloud the following sentences, filling the blanks with may or can correctly used: Planning Where to Have the Pageant Discuss in class the best place for your pageant. If the school has an auditorium with a stage, you may plan to have it there. You may be able to secure permission to use a church, if there is no suitable place in your schoolhouse. Sometimes pageants are given outdoors, where a rough stage of boards is built. All the pupils should take part in the discussion, and help find the best place. If you have to ask permission to have the pageant in the auditorium or in a church, write a polite letter requesting permission. Read over your letter carefully for mistakes, and copy it neatly before sending it. A committee of pupils may help the teacher select the letter to be sent. Talks about Costumes Discuss in class what the actors in the pageant should wear. Consult books and old magazines for pictures of costumes suitable to the time of each act. Ask friends and relatives about the costumes worn in earlier times. As the different acts of the pageant will represent different periods, all the costumes should fit the periods. Have different pupils write on the blackboard what costumes are to be worn in each act. All blackboard writing should be correct, with sentences properly formed, words correctly spelled, and the necessary punctuation marks used. Exercise Select the subject substantive and the predicate verb of each of the following sentences. Also select all the other nouns in the sentences. 1. Our pageant will show the history of our county. 2. The people in Washington's time wore queer clothes. 3. The Indians dressed in blankets and furs. 4. They liked bright-colored beads and shells for ornaments. 5. In grandmother's girlhood ladies wore hoop skirts. 6. The earliest settlers cut down trees for their houses. 7. They traveled on boats and on horses. |