assignment should cover specific matter, have definite limits, and it should always be clear and simple. However, if made by pages or by topics it may still possess these marks and fail to be illuminating. It will not do to say, "Prepare for tomorrow the next two pages"; the child must be told definitely how to prepare them. Shall he imagine himself the speaker and then, after realizing the incident, make his audience understand, through his reading, not only the facts but also how the hero felt? Or does he need especially to practice enunciation? Or does the lesson demand for its comprehension a careful synopsis? The teacher must decide first and then tell the class definitely what he will expect of them.

A series of assignments upon a given topic or selection should be marked, also, by progressiveness in difficulty, or there will be little growth in the child. If there are a number of lessons on one selection the proper sequence and the connection should be kept before the class, largely by review, but partly by the assignment.

A good assignment, moreover, often appeals to the judgment and taste of the pupils. After they have got the facts through silent reading, they have the problem, "How can I best interpret the spirit of the selection to my hearers?" In answering this question there are, of course, many elements to be considered, formally or informally. There are the tone, stress, pitch, shades, inflections, music, time, and the like of the voice (though the child will hardly

use any of these terms), facial expression, gesture, and perhaps action.

A good assignment will put the child in a mood to work on his lesson and will stimulate him to attack and solve the problems before him. In addition to these points, the assignment must not only be capable of being mastered within a reasonable time, but it must be adapted to the abilities and capacities of the pupils.

Assignments should develop familiarity with the lesson. It is questionable how much explanation should be given by the teacher. Some assert that the teacher should not even point out difficulties sure to arise, but should leave the child to work out his own salvation free and unhampered by any instruction or assistance. This view seems far-fetched and its practice will probably entail a great waste of time and energy. It will lead to the magnifying of trivialities and result in unorganized knowledge. It probably is a good practice in the lower grades to explain nearly all the difficulties, and in the upper grades to make the assignment in such a way as to assist in removing them.

In sending a child to the reading lesson to search out the new words, the strange and unfamiliar expressions, the allusions, and the like, and in urging him to get their meaning in relation to the rest of the context, the teacher is giving him invaluable aid. If the lesson is such as to require directions to sources and references, these should be definite and specific, so that there is the minimum waste of time

in looking them up and so that the child will feel that he has received real assistance. But if the references are carelessly and loosely given, the pupils are excusable for procrastinating and timewasting in their preparation.

An assignment good for one class on a certain day may be poor for the same class on another day. There are many variable elements, so that each teacher must, working from certain accepted principles, make afresh each time assignments that are appropriate to the selection and to the class.

Test of an Assignment

The value of an assignment is shown in the degree of interest aroused and maintained in the class in its study apart from the teacher. More time is lost here and energy wasted than we are usually aware. The secret of making good assignments is the teacher's knowledge of his pupils and of the thing to be taught. If he knows both, he will be able to arouse the curiosity of the former in the latter. Any device which will do this is justifiable. If an appeal to the "puzzle instinct' in searching out new words, strange expressions, or novel situations begets such interest, it is worth using.

If in the recitation, or even when making the assignment, the teacher works up to an absorbing point and then leaves it in suspense, the children will return to the subject with a glow during the study hour. In order to arouse interest and give a basis for understanding, it is often necessary to

make concrete the text by giving illustrations. But the one thing which will likely arouse the greatest interest in the children is the interest of the teacher in the thing he is doing. His enthusiasm and interest are contagious. If they are real, they will carry over to the pupils and will find expression in study and recitation.

Assignments for Preparation

Giving the "setting" of the selection in reading is often a great aid in its mastery. This is made clearer, perhaps, by the following quotation from Bagley:*

"In a reader used in a fifth grade, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is given. The writer attempted to have fifth grade pupils read this under the ordinary method of assignment, "Take your readers, turn to page 65, and study this lesson.' He found the result so inadequate that he had the pupils close their books, and then he told them the story of Gettysburg, making as clear as possible the situation between the North and South, showing the decisive character of the battle, and dwelling briefly upon the tremendous loss of life that was involved, and the general significance of the victory. All this was necessary in order to show why an occasion had arisen for Lincoln's address. Then he went through the text, carefully explaining the allusions and assigning the reading for the next lesson. The pupils worked at it during the study period and came to the recitation well prepared. Since that time he has made it a practice always to have masterpieces of literature carefully assigned and frequently read aloud to the * Class Room Management, p. 204.

class before setting the class to work upon them independ.ently."

The study of the reading lesson may often be very greatly assisted and the assignment illuminated if the teacher tells the story or a part of the story of the advance lesson, especially if it is difficult or if a preliminary knowledge of it is necessary for the understanding of the assignment. This is not only economical, but it is apt to inspire interest. It furnishes a basis for study and gives significance to details. Sometimes this will be found quite as serviceable and valuable a device as giving the "setting.' Such practices as the above not only familiarize the pupil with the lesson, but they put him in the right mood for study. When the teacher gives the class a glimpse of the pleasant scenes beyond, there is an added incentive for work. The acme of a good assignment for oral reading is realized when a child experiences, on his return to class, a desire to communicate what he has studied. He wants to express it. However, he must also feel that there are those present desiring to hear. These two things react upon each other. They are complementary. Referring to the assignment in reading, Spaulding

"Since, in the very nature of things, the young reader's attention will be largely occupied with word forms, the strongest possible influences should be constantly provided by the teacher to pull the attention away more and more from the forms, as

*Loc. cit., pp. 8-9.