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Title: Ontario Teachers' Manuals: History
Author: Ontario. Ministry of Education
Language: English
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ONTARIO TEACHERS' MANUALS
HISTORY
AUTHORIZED BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION
TORONTO
THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, LIMITED
COPYRIGHT, CANADA, 1915, BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION FOR ONTARIO
CONTENTS
PAGE
PUBLIC AND SEPARATE SCHOOL COURSE OF STUDY 1
CHAPTER I
THE AIMS AND STAGES OF STUDY 13
CHAPTER II
GENERAL METHODS IN THE TEACHING OF HISTORY 21
CHAPTER III
CORRELATION OF SUBJECTS 40
CHAPTER IV
SPECIAL TOPICS 49
Current Events 49
Local Material 51
Civics 52
The Teacher of History 57
CHAPTER V
ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS 60
Forms I and II 60
Form II 62
Form III 66
Forms III and IV 75
Form IV 78
For Teachers' Reference 119
DEVICES 127
BIBLIOGRAPHY 130
APPENDIX 136
MANUAL OF SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS OF HISTORY
PUBLIC AND SEPARATE SCHOOL COURSE OF STUDY
DETAILS
The course in literature and composition includes the telling by the
teacher of suitable stories from the Bible, stories of primitive
peoples, of child life in other lands, of famous persons and peoples;
and the oral reproduction of these stories by the pupils. In this way
history, literature, and composition are combined.
For Method in telling stories, consult _How to Tell Stories to
Children_, by Sara Cone Bryant, Houghton, Mifflin Company, Boston,
$1.00.
FORM I
BIBLE STORIES:
Moses in the Bulrushes, his Childhood, the Burning Bush, the Crossing of
the Red Sea, the Tables of Stone; Joseph's Boyhood Dreams, Joseph sold
into Egypt, the Famine, the Visits of his Brethren; David and Goliath;
Samson.
STORIES OF CHILD LIFE:
The Eskimo Girl, the Andean Girl, the Arabian Girl, the Little Syrian
Girl, the Swiss Girl, the Chinese Girl, the African Girl, the German
Girl, the Canadian Girl; the Little Red Child, the Little White Child,
the Little Black Child, the Little Yellow Child, the Little Brown Child.
Consult _The Seven Little Sisters_, by Jane Andrews, Ginn & Co.,
Boston, 50c.; _The Little Cousin Series_, by Mary Hazelton Wade,
The Page Co., Boston, 60c. each; _Five Little Strangers_, Julia
Augusta Schwarz, American Book Co., New York; _Each and All_, Jane
Andrews (sequel to _The Seven Little Sisters_), 50 cents.
SPECIAL DAYS:
Christmas: The Birth of Christ, the First Christmas Tree (see Appendix);
Arbor Day; Constructive work suggested by St. Valentine's Day and
Thanksgiving Day; Stories of these Days.
NOTE: Advantage should be taken of every opportunity to
teach obedience to authority and respect for the property and
rights of others.
FORM II
BIBLE STORIES:
Abraham and Lot, Joshua, David and Jonathan, David and Saul, Ruth and
Naomi, Daniel, Miriam and Moses, Abraham and Isaac, Boyhood of Christ,
the Shipwreck of St. Paul.
STORIES OF CHILD LIFE:
The Aryan Boy, the Persian Boy, the Greek Boy, the Roman Boy, the Saxon
Boy, the Page Boy, the English Boy, the Puritan Boy, the Canadian Boy of
To-day, Child Life in Canada (_a_) in the early days, (_b_) to-day on
the farm and in the city or town; occupations, games, and plays, etc.
Consult _Ten Little Boys Who Lived on the Road from Long Ago till
Now_, by Jane Andrews, Ginn & Co., 50c.
STORIES OF FAMOUS PEOPLE:
Boadicea, Alfred, Harold, First Prince of Wales, Sir Francis Drake, Sir
Walter Raleigh, Columbus, Cabot, Cartier, Champlain, Madeleine de
Verchères, Pontiac, Brock, Laura Secord, Florence Nightingale.
Consult _The Story of the British People_, Thomas Nelson & Sons,
Toronto, 35c. (For Florence Nightingale, see Appendix.)
PIONEER LIFE:
In Ancient Britain: See _Second Reader_, p. 109; _Ontario Public School
History of England_, p. 10.
In Roman Britain: See _The Story of The British People_, pp. 18-24.
Old English Life: See _Third Reader_, p. 325; _Ontario High School
History of England_, pp. 33-40.
At the Close of the French Period in Canada: See _Fourth Reader_, p. 65.
In Upper Canada in the "Thirties": See _Fourth Reader_, p. 122.
Our Forefathers: Where they lived before coming here, how they got here,
hardships in travel, condition of the country at that time, how they
cleared the land, their homes, their difficulties, danger from wild
animals, the natives of the country, modes of travel, implements and
tools, etc.
Consult _Pen Pictures of Early Pioneer Life in Upper Canada_,
Briggs, $2.00; _Ontario High School History of Canada_.
INVENTORS:
Watt, Stephenson, Fulton, Bell, Edison, Marconi.
CIVICS:
Elementary lessons in local government:
(_a_) In cities, towns, and incorporated villages--the postmaster, (see
Illustrative Lesson, p. 65), the postman and policeman; city or town
hall, post-office, mail boxes, school-houses.
(_b_) For rural districts--postmaster, trustees, roads and bridges,
rural mail delivery.
SPECIAL DAYS:
Empire Day, Victoria Day, Dominion Day; local occasions such as Fair
Day, Election Day; review of those Days taken in Form I.
FORMS III AND IV
PRELIMINARY NOTE
Below are the topics and sub-topics of the Course in History for Forms
III and IV.
In dealing with the subject in both Forms, the teacher should keep
constantly in mind the chief aims suited to this stage of the pupil's
development. (See pp. 16, 17.) The most vital of these is "to create and
foster a liking for historical study." The teacher should make use of
simple map drawing to illustrate the subject. This is especially
necessary in dealing with the history of Canada. There should be much
illustration by means of maps and pictures. See Educational Pamphlet No.
4, _Visual Aids in the Teaching of History_.
The chapter numbers in the Course for Form III are those of the chapters
in _The Story of the British People_ prescribed for the Form. These
chapters should be carefully read and, in Form IV, the authorized
text-books should be followed for the main account. _Having regard to
the time available for the Course, only the most important details
should be taken up._
FORM III
JUNIOR GRADE
CANADIAN HISTORY
Columbus--The Discovery of America (Chap. XX)
John Cabot and the New World (Chap. XXI)
Jacques Cartier (Chap. XXIII)
Raleigh and Gilbert (Chap. XXVI)
The Beginnings of Acadia (Chap. XXVII)
Champlain, the Father of New France (Chap. XXVIII)
The Pilgrim Fathers (Chap. XXIX)
The Jesuits in Canada (Chap. XXXI)
The Settlement of French Canada (Chap. XXXI)
La Salle (Chap. XXXIV)
Henry Hudson--New York and Hudson Bay (Chap. XXXV)
Frontenac (Chaps. XXXIV, XXXVII)
The Conquest of Canada--Wolfe and Montcalm, Pontiac (Chap. XLI)
The Coming of the Loyalists (Chap. XLII)
How Canada Fought for the Empire (Chap. XLIV)
William Lyon Mackenzie (Chap. XLVI)
The Great North-West--Selkirk, Mackenzie, Strathcona, Riel
(Chap. XLVII)
Canada and the Empire--Royal Visitors (Chap. L)
FORM III
SENIOR GRADE
BRITISH HISTORY
The First Britons (Chap. I)
The Coming of the Romans (Chap. II)
A Day in Roman Britain (Chap. III)
The Coming of the English (Chap. IV)
The Coming of Christianity (Chap. V)
The Vikings (Chap. VI)
Alfred the Great (Chap. VII)
Rivals for a Throne (Chap. VIII)
The Coming of the Normans (Chap. IX)
A Norman Castle (Chap. X)
A Glance at Scotland (Chap. XI)
Henry the Second and Ireland (Chap. XII)
Richard the Lion Heart (Chap. XIII)
King John and the Great Charter (Chap. XIV)
The First Prince of Wales (Chap. XV)
Wallace and Bruce (Chaps. XVI, XVII)
The Black Prince (Chap. XVIII)
The Father of the British Navy (Chap. XXII)
The New Worship (Chap. XXIV)
Francis Drake, Sea-dog (Chap. XXV)
King Charles the First (Chap. XXX)
The Rule of Cromwell (Chap. XXXII)
The King Enjoys his Own again (Chap. XXXIII)
The Revolution and After (Chap. XXXVI)
The Greatest Soldier of his Time (Chap. XXXVIII)
Bonnie Prince Charlie (Chap. XXXIX)
Robert Clive, the Daring in War (Chap. XL)
The Terror of Europe (Chap. XLIII)
Waterloo (Chap. XLV)
Victoria the Good (Chaps. XLVI, XLVIII, XLIX)
CIVICS
Review of the work in Form II; election of town or township council;
taxes--the money people pay to keep up schools and roads, etc.; how
local taxes are levied for the support of the school; election of
members of County Council, of members of Provincial Legislature; duties
of citizenship.
FORM IV
JUNIOR GRADE
CANADIAN HISTORY
Before the British Conquest--an introductory account:
The French settlements: Extent, life of the seignior, habitant, and
coureur de bois; system of trade; government at Quebec--governor,
bishop, intendant; territorial claims (Chaps. VII, VIII, IX, XI)
The English settlements--Hudson's Bay Company, English colonies in New
York, New England, Acadia, and Newfoundland; population, life, trade,
government, territorial claims (Chaps. VIII, X, XI)
British Conquest of New France--fall of Quebec (Chap. XI)
Conspiracy of Pontiac (Chap. XII)
Quebec Act (Chap. XII)
Canada and the American Revolution; U.E. Loyalists (Chaps. XIII, XV)
Constitutional Act--Representative Government (Chap. XIV)
Social Conditions, 1763-1812 (Chap. XV)
Hudson's Bay Company (Chaps. VIII, XVI, XXI)
North-West Company (Chap. XVI)
Exploration in North-West--Hearne, Mackenzie, Fraser, Thompson (Chap.
XVI)
War of 1812-14 (Chap. XVII)
Family Compact (Chap. XVII)
Clergy Reserves (Chap. XVII)
William Lyon Mackenzie (Chap. XVII)
Lord Durham, Act of Union, 1840--Responsible Government (Chap. XVIII)
Social Progress, 1812-1841 (Chap. XIX)
Settlement of the North-West--Selkirk (Chaps. XVI, XX)
Confederation of the Provinces, 1867 (Chap. XXII)
Intercolonial Railway (Chap. XXIV)
Expansion of the Dominion by addition of new provinces (Chap. XXII)
Social Progress, 1841-1867 (Chap. XXIII)
Canadian Pacific Railway (Chap. XXIV)
Riel Rebellion (Chap. XXIV)
Disputes between Canada and the United States since 1814 settled by
treaty or arbitration. The Hundred Years of Peace
Canada, at the opening of the twentieth century; transportation,
industry, means of defence, education (Chap. XXV)
Ontario since Confederation: John Sandfield Macdonald, Sir Oliver Mowat,
Arthur Sturgis Hardy, Sir George W. Ross, Sir James P. Whitney (Chap.
XXVI)
An account of how Canada is governed, simple and concrete and as far as
possible related to the experience of the pupils; Municipal Government,
Provincial Government, Federal Government (Chap. XXVII)
FORM IV
SENIOR GRADE
BRITISH HISTORY
A
_A Course of about Two Months_
The Early Inhabitants--The Britons
The Coming of the Romans
The Coming of the Saxons
The Coming of Christianity
Alfred the Great
The Coming of the Normans--The Feudal System
Richard I and the Crusaders
John and Magna Charta
The Scottish War of Independence
The Hundred Years' War--Crecy, Agincourt, Joan of Arc.
The Wars of the Roses (no lists of battles or details of fighting)
Caxton and Printing
Separation between the English Church and Rome
B
_A Course of about Eight Months_
Brief account of the British Isles, territorial, political, and
religious, as an introduction to the reign of Elizabeth.
Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots; the Spanish Armada; Drake, Hawkins,
Gilbert, Raleigh, Shakespeare.
The Stuarts: "Divine Right of Kings" supported by majority of gentry and
landowners (cavaliers), opposed by the commercial and trading classes
and yeomen (roundheads). The Kings strove for absolute power, the
Parliament for constitutional government.
James I: Union of the English and Scottish Crowns.
Charles I: Struggle between King and Parliament; Petition of Right, Ship
Money, rebellion, execution of Charles.
Commonwealth: nominally a republic, really a dictatorship under
Cromwell. He gave Britain a strong government at home, and made her
respected abroad, and laid the foundations of Britain's foreign trade
and colonial empire.
Charles II: The Restoration: Reaction in state, church, and society;
King striving for absolute power; Nonconformists persecuted; society
profligate in its revolt against the strictness of Puritanism; Habeas
Corpus Act; Test Act; Plague and Great Fire.
James II: Revolution of 1688, the death-knell of "divine right";
Parliament supreme; Declaration of Rights.
William and Mary: Party government--Whigs and Tories; King to act by
advice of his ministers; each parliament limited to three years; Bill of
Rights; Act of Settlement.
Anne: Marlborough; Union between England and Scotland, 1707; the
Jacobites, 1715 and 1745.
George II: Walpole, the great peace minister--home and colonial trade
fostered and material wealth of the nation greatly increased; Pitt, the
great war minister; territorial expansion in Canada and India--Wolfe,
Clive; the Methodist Movement, Wesley.
George III: The American Revolution, 1776-83: loss of the American
Colonies; Pitt; Washington; acquisition of Australia by Great Britain,
1788; legislative union of Ireland with Great Britain, 1801; Napoleonic
wars; Nelson, Wellington, Aboukir, Trafalgar, and Waterloo; industrial
revolution--the change from an agricultural to an industrial country.
William IV: Reform Act of 1832, a great forward movement in democratic
government; abolition of slavery, 1833; railways and steamships.
Victoria: First British settlement in New Zealand, 1839; Repeal of the
Corn Laws, 1846--free trade, the commercial policy of England;
Elementary Education Act, 1870, education compulsory; parliamentary
franchise extended--vote by ballot; Crimean war; Indian Mutiny; Egypt
and the Suez Canal; Boer War--Orange Free State and South African
Republic annexed; social progress.
Edward VII: Irish Land Act of 1903; pensions for aged labourers; King
Edward, "the Peace-maker."
CIVICS
Taxation--direct and indirect; how the revenue of the Dominion,
provinces, and municipalities, respectively, is collected.
Federal Government--Governor-general, Senate, House of Commons, Premier,
Cabinet.
Imperial Government--King, House of Lords, House of Commons, Premier,
Cabinet.
HISTORY
CHAPTER I
THE AIMS AND STAGES OF STUDY
AIMS
History may be made, in several ways, an important factor in forming
intelligent, patriotic citizens:
(_a_) It must be remembered that society, with all its institutions, is
a growth, not a sudden creation. It follows that, if we wish to
understand the present and to use that knowledge as a guide to future
action, we must know the story of how our present institutions and
conditions have come to be what they are; we must know the ideals of our
forefathers, the means they took to realize them, and to what extent
they succeeded. It is only in this way that we become capable of passing
judgment, as citizens, on what is proposed by political and social
reformers, and thus justify and guarantee our existence as a democracy.
(_b_) Patriotism, which depends largely on the associations formed in
childhood, is intensified by learning how our forefathers fought and
laboured and suffered to obtain all that we now value most in our homes
and social life. The courage with which the early settlers of Upper
Canada faced their tremendous labours and hardships should make us
appreciate our inheritance in the Ontario of to-day, and determine, as
they did, to leave our country better than we found it.
To-morrow yet would reap to-day,
As we bear blossom of the dead.
(_c_) "History teaches that right and wrong are real distinctions." The
study of history, especially in the sphere of biography, has a moral
value, and much may be done, even in the primary classes, to inspire
children to admire the heroic and the self-sacrificing, and to despise
the treacherous and the self-seeking. The constant struggle to right
what is wrong in the world may be emphasized in the senior classes to
show that nothing is ever settled until it is settled right.
(_d_) History affords specially good exercise for the judgment we use in
everyday life in weighing evidence and balancing probabilities. Such a
question as "Did Champlain do right in taking the side of the Hurons
against the Iroquois, or even in taking sides at all?" may be suggested
to the older pupils for consideration.
(_e_) History, when taught by a broad-minded, well-informed teacher, may
do much to correct the prejudices--social, political, religious--of
individuals and communities.
(_f_) The imagination is exercised in the effort to recall or
reconstruct the scenes of the past and in discovering relations of cause
and effect.
(_g_) The memory is aided and stimulated by the increase in the number
of the centres of interest round which facts, both new and old, may be
grouped.
(_h_) A knowledge of the facts and inferences of history is invaluable
for general reading and culture.
To sum up: It is important that the good citizen should know his
physical environment; it is just as important for him "to know his
social and political environment, to have some appreciation of the
nature of the state and society, some sense of the duties and
responsibilities of citizenship, some capacity in dealing with political
and governmental questions, something of the broad and tolerant spirit
which is bred by the study of past times and conditions."
SCOPE
The ideal course in history would include (1) a general view of the
history of the world, giving the pupil knowledge enough to provide the
proper setting for the history of his own country; (2) a more detailed
knowledge of the whole history of his own country; (3) and a special
knowledge of certain outstanding periods or tendencies in that history.
In our schools, we should give most attention to the study of Canadian
and British history as a whole, to enough of the history of France
and other countries to make clear certain parts of our own history,
and to certain important periods, such as the settlement of Upper
Canada by the United Empire Loyalists, etc. (See Detailed Course of
Study, p. 5.) We may also study our history along special lines of
development--political, military, social, educational, religious,
industrial, and commercial--but these phases are subjects of study
rather for secondary schools and colleges.
STAGES OF STUDY
There are three stages in the study of history which, though they
overlap each other, yet indicate different methods of treatment for
pupils at different ages. They are the Story stage, the Information
stage, and the Reflective stage. These stages are not exclusive, nor do
they coincide with the first three Forms in the schools.
THE STORY STAGE
This stage is suitable for children in the primary grades and is chiefly
preparatory to the real study of history in the higher grades. The need
for this stage lies in the fact that the child's "ideas are of the
pictorial rather than of the abstract order"; yet his spontaneous
interest in these things must be made to serve "as a stepping-stone to
the acquired interests of civilized life." The definite objects at this
stage are:
(_a_) To create and foster a liking for historical study. It is
impossible, in the public school life of a child, which is usually ended
at the age of twelve to fourteen years, to accomplish all that has been
indicated above concerning the aims of history teaching. The most that
can be done is to lay the foundation and give the pupil a desire to
continue his reading after his school days are over. Serious blame rests
on the teacher whose methods of teaching history, instead of attracting
the child to the subject, give him a distaste for it. If history is made
real and living to children, it is usually not difficult to have them
like it. (For suggestions, see p. 34.)
(_b_) To acquaint the pupils with some of the important historical
persons. We wish to take advantage of the fact that "the primitive form
of attention which is captured at once by objects that strike the senses
is giving place in some degree to appreciative attention, which is
yielded to things that connect themselves with what we already know, and
which implies ability to adopt the reflective attitude towards a
proposed problem."[A] Now children are more interested in people than in
institutions or events; and, if we can give them a knowledge of some of
the striking incidents in the lives of important characters in history,
we may expect them to be more interested in the study of history at a
later period, because they will frequently meet with these familiar
names. The emphasis at this stage is therefore on biography.
[Footnote A: Raymont: _Principles of Education_]
(_c_) To help the development of the "historical sense." The "historical
sense" includes the notion of time, the notion of a social unit and,
according to some, the notion of cause and effect. The notion of time
implies the power "to represent the past as if it were present"--that
is, the power to enter into the thoughts and feelings of people of the
past as if we were living amongst them. This notion of time comes at
different ages; to some early, to others very late. It came to Professor
Shaler at the age of about eight or nine years, as the direct result of
vivid story-telling:
Of all the folk who were about me, the survivors of the Indian wars
were the most interesting. There were several of these old
clapper-clawed fellows still living, with their more or less
apocryphal tales of adventures they had heard of or shared. There
was current a tradition--I have seen it in print--that there had
been a fight between the Indians and whites where the government
barracks stood, and that two wounded whites had been left upon the
ground, where they were not found by the savages. One of these had
both arms broken, the other was similarly disabled as to his legs.
It was told that they managed to subsist by combining their limited
resources. The man with sound legs drove game up within range of
the other cripple's gun, and as the turkeys or rabbits fell, he
kicked them within reach of his hands, and in like manner provided
him with sticks for their fire. This legend, much elaborated in the
telling, gave me, I believe at about my eighth year, my first sense
of a historic past, and it led to much in the way of fanciful
invention of like tales. (N.F. Shaler: _Autobiography_, Chap. I.)
The best means at the teacher's command to assist its coming is to tell
good stories from history with all the skill he has; the stories need
not be told in chronological order. The notion of time implies also in
the older pupils the power to place events in chronological order.
The notion of a social unit is also of slow growth and must spring from
the child's conception of the social units he belongs to--the home, the
school, the community.
The notion of cause and effect does not belong so wholly to the study of
history as the notions of time and of the social unit; it is surprising,
however, how soon it makes its appearance in the child's conceptions of
history, in his desire to know the "why" of things. (See Barnes'
_Studies in Historical Method_.)
THE INFORMATION STAGE
There are several questions that children soon come to ask: "When?" and
"Where?" "What?" and "Who?" This stage may be said to begin in earnest
with the Second Form, and it continues through the whole course. One of
the essential elements in history study is to have a knowledge of the
important facts of history, without which there can be no inferences of
value for present use. The all-important point in this teaching of facts
is to keep the lessons interesting and not allow them to become mere
lifeless memorizing of isolated happenings; for a fact is of value only
when related to other facts. (See pp. 36, 38.)
THE REFLECTIVE STAGE
This stage naturally follows the Information stage, as one must acquire
facts before reflecting on them in order to draw inferences. But
reflection of a simple kind may begin as soon as any facts are given
that will show the relations of cause and effect. The question for the
pupil here is "Why?" just as in the preceding stage the questions were
"When?" and "Where?" "What?" and "Who?" Information and reflection may
therefore be combined--with due regard to the pupil's capacity.
PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES
We may speak of two difficulties. The first concerns the enormous amount
of historical material that exists. It is increased still more by the
intermingling of legend with history and by the partial narratives of
prejudiced writers. The legendary part may be taken up in the Story
stage; and the evils of one-sided accounts are often balanced by the
greater vigour and interest of the narrative, as in Macaulay's writings.
The difficulty connected with the great amount of material can be solved
by the selection (already largely made by the text-books) of the more
important parts, that is, those facts of history that have the greatest
influence on after times--"the points of vital growth and large
connection" without which subsequent history cannot be properly
understood.
The second difficulty has to do with deciding where to begin the
teaching of history. There are two principles of teaching that will help
to solve this difficulty: (1) The child learns by relating everything
new to his present fund of experiences; (2) A child's notions grow more
complex as his knowledge increases. To apply these, we must know the
child's experiences and his present notions. We cannot assume that the
present conditions of social life are known to the child through his
experiences. Our social life is also too complex to be understood by him
yet; he can understand an _individual_ hero better than he can the
complex idea of a _nation_. How many children would be able to begin a
study of history by having, as one writer suggests, "a short series of
lessons ... to make some simple and fundamental historical ideas
intelligible--a state, a nation, a dynasty, a monarch, a parliament,
legislation, the administration of justice, taxes, civil and foreign
war!" These are ideas far beyond the comprehension of the beginner. We
must be guided, not by "what happens to be near the child in time and
place, but by what lies near his interests." As Professor Bourne says:
"it may be that mediæval man, because his characteristics belong to a
simple type, is closer to the experience of a child than many a later
hero." With older children it is more likely to be true that the life of
history lies "in its personal connections with what is here and now and
still alive with us"; with historic places and relics, etc., which make
their appeal first through the senses; with institutions, such as trial
by jury; with anniversaries and celebrations of great events which may
be used to arouse interest in the history which they suggest and recall.
However, as McMurry points out, we are in a peculiarly favourable
position in Canada, because we have in our own history, in the
comparatively short time of 400 years, the development of a free and
prosperous country from a state of wildness and savagery. The early
stages of our history present those elements of life that appeal
strongly to children--namely, Indians with all their ways of living and
fighting, and the early settlers with their simpler problems and
difficulties. The development of this simpler life to the more complex
life of the present can be more readily understood by children as they
follow up the changes that have taken place. (See McMurry, _Special
Method in History_, pp. 26-30.) Of course, at every step appeal must be
made to the experiences of children, as the teacher knows them. In
Civics, however, the beginning must be made with conditions that exist
to-day--schools, taxes, the policeman, the postmaster, etc. The
beginning of the real teaching of history may then be made at the
beginning of Canadian History, as this will enable the child to go
gradually from the simple, or individual, to the complex, and will also
allow the teacher to make use of whatever historical remains may be
within reach.
CHAPTER II
GENERAL METHODS IN THE TEACHING OF HISTORY
There are many methods used in the teaching of history. A brief
description of the principal ones is given for reference merely, since
their best features are incorporated in a combination of methods, which
is strongly recommended to teachers, and is described fully in
succeeding pages.
1. _Methods based on the arrangement and selection of the matter_:
Chronological, Topical
THE CHRONOLOGICAL METHOD
The matter is chosen according to the "time" order, beginning at the
first of the history, and the events are taught in the order of
occurrence without any marked emphasis on their importance, or without
considering whether a knowledge of the event is useful or interesting to
the class at this stage. Such an arrangement of matter is more suitable
when the formal study of history is begun.
THE TOPICAL METHOD
In studying a certain period of history the events are arranged under
topics or heads; for example, the period of discovery in Canadian
History may be arranged thus--Discoveries, Explorations, Early
Settlements, Indian Wars--and the study of each of these pursued to
completion, contemporary events belonging to other topics being
neglected for a time.
Events having the same underlying purpose, though occurring in different
periods, may be arranged under one topic for review; for example, all
the voyages of discovery to America may be grouped under the topic, "The
Road to Cathay." (See p. 92.) In this way a comprehensive knowledge is
gained. This method gives a full treatment of each topic and may be used
to best advantage in connection with reviews in junior classes and
occasionally as a text-book or library exercise in senior classes.
2. _Methods based on the treatment of historical facts_: Comparative,
Regressive, Concentric
THE COMPARATIVE METHOD
By this method a comparison is made between two events, two biographies,
two reigns, etc., a very useful device when applied in connection with
other methods.
THE REGRESSIVE METHOD
In this method the pupil is expected to begin with the present and work
backward; that is, to begin with institutions as they are to-day and to
work back through the various steps in their progress to their present
state. This method may be followed most profitably in advanced classes.
In junior classes it is sufficient to refer to things as they exist
to-day in order to arouse curiosity regarding the facts of history that
are to be taught; for example, by the use of local material; by a visit
to some place of historical interest to prepare for the story of what
has occurred there in the past. (See p. 112.)
THE CONCENTRIC METHOD
This method, which is much used, deals in ever widening circles with the
same topic or event; for example, a simple story of Champlain's life
and voyages to Canada is told to Form II; the same story is considered
again in Form III, but this time the different voyages are noted, the
results of each investigated, and the whole summarized and memorized;
again, in Form IV, but this time by the topical and comparative methods,
where comparison is made of the purposes and achievements of the
explorer with those of other explorers--Jacques Cartier, La Salle, etc.
In this third discussion a full knowledge of Champlain's work is given.
The excellence of this work lies in its review and repetition. The old
or former knowledge is recalled and used in each succeeding discussion
of the topic. The pupils grow gradually into fuller knowledge.
3. _Methods based on class procedure_: Oral, Text-book
THE ORAL METHOD
This usually takes the form of an oral presentation of the story or
description of the event by the teacher, while the pupils listen and
afterwards reproduce what they have heard. The narration of the story is
accompanied by pictures, sketches, maps, etc., illustrative of persons,
places, and facts mentioned. It may also take the "development" form, in
which a combination of narrative and questioning is employed. (See pp.
66, 92.)
The Lecture method of Colleges and Universities is an advanced oral
method. In this the teacher narrates and describes events, propounds
questions, and discusses and answers them himself, while the pupils
listen and during the lecture, or afterwards, make notes of what has
been heard.
THE TEXT-BOOK METHOD
By this method the teacher assigns a lesson in the book and, after the
pupils have an opportunity to study it, he asks questions concerning the
facts learned. The exclusive use of this method results ordinarily in
dull, lifeless teaching, and with junior pupils will prevent their
enjoying, or receiving much benefit from, the study of history. There
are two reasons for the too general use of it--first, it is an easy
method for the teacher, and secondly, it is easy for the pupils to
memorize facts for the sole purpose of passing examinations. While this
criticism is true when an exclusive use is made of the text-book, the
same cannot be said when the text-book is used as an auxiliary to the
teacher. Following the oral presentation of the story, reference may be
made to the book for another version or for a fuller account and, in
Form IV, topics may be assigned and the pupils directed to consult the
text-book for the necessary information. (See pp. 26, 28.)
The text-book should be one that does not show an abrupt change from the
story told by the teacher. It should not be merely a short outline of
the important facts in history, written separately and then pieced
together in chronological order, but should be written in a readable
form by one who is able to distinguish the important and necessary from
the unimportant and burdensome. It should have short summaries at the
ends of chapters or stories of events, so that a grasp of what has been
read may be easily obtained. It should also have many pictures,
illustrations, and maps, to take the place of the teacher's explanations
in the earlier stage. (On the use of the text-book, see p. 29.)
A COMBINATION OF THESE METHODS
General Description.--As each of the above methods has its strong and
its weak points, we should attempt to combine the strong points into one
method, varied to keep pace with the mental development of the pupil,
and thus secure the best results. The general outline of such a
combination may be given as follows: The "oral story" is to be used in
the junior classes, with "development" problems presented where helpful;
in Form III the pupils should be introduced to the text-book (The
History Reader for Form III), besides being taught by the oral method;
in Form IV, the oral method is still to be the chief means used by the
teacher, who will now, however, pay more attention to the arrangement of
the matter (for example, in topical outlines), to accustom the pupils to
grasp more thoroughly the relations of cause and effect in history. The
topics of history will also be taken up more exhaustively than in the
junior classes, and the pupils must have more practice in acquiring
knowledge from the text-books.
DETAILS OF METHOD
FORMS I, II
In Forms I and II, the pupils are accustomed to the oral reproduction of
stories told by the teacher. In these should be included a good many
historical stories, such as those suggested in the Course of Study in
History for these Forms; they will serve the usual purposes of oral
reproduction work for composition and literature, and will be, besides,
a good foundation for the study of history in the higher forms. (For
objects of the Story stage, see p. 16.)
The oral presentation of a story or description of an event requires a
certain degree of skill on the part of a teacher--skill in
story-telling, in grasping the important parts of the story or
description, in knowing what details to omit as well as what to narrate,
in explaining the story in a way that will make it real to the pupils,
in preparing pictures and sketches to illustrate the different parts,
and in questioning so that the minds of the pupils will be active as
well as receptive. The care and time necessary to secure this skill will
be well repaid by the interest aroused in history, by the appreciation
of the thoughts thus presented, and by the lasting impressions conveyed.
Simple, clear language should be employed, not necessarily small words,
but words whose meaning is made clear by the context or illustration.
(For material for these Forms, see Bibliography, C, p. 132.)
When the whole story is told, revision may be made by having the pupils
reproduce it after suitable questioning, either immediately or at some
future time. Exercises in reproduction may also be given, for either
seat work or class work, in constructive or art work; for example, after
the story of the North American Indians, the pupils may be asked to
construct a wigwam, a canoe, a bow and arrow, or to make pictures of
Indians, of their houses, of their dress, etc.
Further exercise in composition may also be given by having the pupils
write the story. To each pupil may be assigned a special part; for
example, the story of Moses may be divided thus: (1) As a babe; (2) His
adoption by the Princess; (3) His life at the palace; (4) His flight to
Midian; (5) The Burning Bush, etc. The whole story is then reproduced by
having these parts read aloud in a reading lesson.
FORM III
The value of the oral work done in Forms I and II will be realized by
the teacher when the real study of history is begun in Forms III and
IV. The pupils have a liking for the stories of history and have a
knowledge of some of the leading actors and of the chief events in
history that calls for more complete satisfaction.
There are several methods of using the History Reader which is the basis
of the work in Form III. Perhaps the best method is to continue to make
oral teaching the chief feature, and to add to that the use by the
pupils, in various ways, of the History Reader.
For example, the teacher will tell the story of Jacques Cartier,
following in the main the narrative as given in the History Reader. It
is well, however, not to follow it too closely in order that, when the
pupils come to read the story in the book for themselves, they will find
it an interesting combination of the familiar and the new. For that
reason, it will be necessary for the teacher to have prepared the story
from a somewhat different narrative in some other book at her command.
In the telling of the story, problems may be asked, if thought advisable
(see p. 33); a few headings may be placed on the black-board for
subsequent reproduction, oral or written, by the pupils; all
difficulties of pronunciation, especially of proper names, should be
attended to, orally and on the black-board; the places mentioned should
be found on the map; pictures and sketches should be used; and in fact,
every possible means taken to make the narrative more real to the class.
(See p. 34.)
When the oral teaching is finished, the pupils may have the books to
read at their desks, and they often ask permission to take them home.
They may sometimes be required to read aloud from the History Reader for
supplementary practice in oral reading. Reproduction by the pupils,
either immediately or in a subsequent lesson, should follow. Teachers,
however, are advised not to insist on too much written reproduction, as
that might very easily arouse a dislike for both history and written
composition. Procedure as outlined above has had most gratifying results
in the way of creating a liking for, and an intelligent interest in, the
study of history.
Other methods have also had good results. The teacher may, instead of
telling the story, read aloud from the Reader to pave the way for the
reading of the story by the pupils themselves. Difficulties, either in
language or in meaning, may be taken up as in a literature lesson. The
pupils will at first find the reading somewhat difficult, but the
interest generated by the teacher's reading or oral narrative will carry
them through that stage till they acquire a love for reading history,
and have enlarged their vocabulary till reading is no longer a
burdensome task.
A taste of the more serious study of history may be given by asking the
pupils a few not very difficult questions that they can answer only by
combining facts contained in several stories. For example, in the
chapters selected for Form III, Junior Grade, the answer can be found to
a question about the explorers of Canada, the order of their visits, and
a comparison of their work; to another question about the expansion of
Canada from the little part of Quebec first visited to the whole of
British North America.
It is unnecessary, perhaps, to add that the emphasis in Form III history
should be still very largely on biography, so as to influence the
forming of moral ideals by concrete examples.
FORM IV
Although the pupils have now had some experience in the use of the
History Reader, yet that is no reason why oral teaching should be
discarded in Form IV history, any more than in arithmetic or geography.
It is scarcely a high estimate to have of history, to think that pupils
of this age can grasp even the simpler lines of development in history
without guidance from the teacher. Hence it is necessary for the
attainment of good results, that many of the lessons should be taught
orally before the pupils are asked to study their books. The aim of the
teaching should be not merely the acquisition of facts, but the welding
of them together in a sequence of cause and effect, and the pupils at
this stage can scarcely be expected to do that for themselves.
In preparing for a lesson in Form IV history, the teacher should analyse
the incidents of the period to be studied, should see how certain causes
have led to certain results, and should be sure enough of the facts to
have little recourse to the text-book while teaching. It does not look
like fair play to expect a class to answer questions that the teacher
cannot answer without consulting the text. On the other hand, it is
refreshing to see the interest aroused in a class by a teacher who
thinks enough of the subject to be able to teach it without constant
reference to the text-book. Therefore, let the oral method be here again
the chief dependence of the teacher. In such a lesson, for example, as
that on the Intercolonial Railway (see p. 82) no book is needed--only
the map and the black-board.
TRAINING IN USE OF TEXT-BOOK
However, as the pupils must learn, for their own profit in after years,
how to read history without a guiding hand, they need training in the
use of the text-book. The chief line on which such training may proceed
is to have the pupils search out the answers to definite questions. Any
one who has searched for material on a certain topic will appreciate
the good results that have come in the way of added knowledge and
increased interest. The topics at first should be quite simple,
gradually increasing in breadth. A few suggestions for such work are
given below; they may be called examination questions to be answered
with the help of the text-book:
1. Name, and tell something about, four of the explorers of Canada
before 1759.
2. Name several other explorers of the New World.
3. Which explorer did the most for Canada, Champlain or La Salle?
4. In what wars did the French fight against the Iroquois? With
what result?
5. What explorers of North America were trying to find a way to
China and India? (This investigation by the class may precede the
lesson on the "Road to Cathay." See p. 92.)
6. On what did English kings base their claim to be the overlords
of Scotland? Trace the dispute down to the Union of the Crowns in
1603.
7. Find out how the slave trade was treated by the English.
8. Make a list of the early newspapers in Canada. Did they have
much influence on public opinion?
9. Compare the struggles for the control of taxation in Canada and
in the Thirteen Colonies of America. Explain why these were settled
differently in the two cases.
With questions such as these for investigation, no pupil will be likely
to secure the full facts; each may state in the next lesson what he has
found, and the work of each will be supplemented by that of the others.
With succeeding investigations it may be expected that the pupils will
be more eager to get at all the facts in the text-book. At any rate they
are learning how to gather material from books--a very valuable
training, no matter how simple the topic is.
When, in the ordinary course of work, lessons from the text-book are
assigned, the teacher should indicate the important points, should
suggest certain matters for discussion, and should note certain
questions to be answered, indicating precisely where the information may
be obtained. In the recitation period following, the topic should be
fully discussed, the pupils giving the information they have secured
from the text-book, and the teacher supplementing this from his
knowledge gained through wider reading. During the discussion an outline
should be made on the board, largely by the suggestions of the pupils,
and kept in their note-books for reference and review. (See p. 100,
Lesson on the Feudal System.)
DRILL AND REVIEW
As has been already stated (p. 15), the Story stage is useful chiefly
for the purpose of arousing interest and developing the historical
sense; no drill or review is necessary other than the oral, and, in Form
II, sometimes the written, reproduction of the stories. The oral
reproduction can be obtained in Form I by using the stories as topics in
language lessons.
In the Information stage, where we are concerned more with the acquiring
of facts, and in the Reflective stage, where we wish to relate facts to
each other according to cause and effect, drills and reviews are
necessary. During the lesson, a summary is placed on the black-board by
the teacher or pupil, as indicated above. It is used as a guide in oral
reproduction and may also be copied in special note-books and used for
reference when preparing for review lessons. The teacher may look over
these note-books occasionally.
There is great difference of opinion on the value of note-taking by
pupils, but it may be said of such notes as those mentioned above that
they have the advantage of being largely the pupil's own work,
especially when the pupils are asked to suggest the headings; they are a
record of what has been decided in the class to be important points;
they are arranged in the order in which the subject has been treated in
the lesson, and are in every way superior to the small note-books in
history that are sometimes used as aids or helps. For the proper
teaching of history, the latter are hindrances rather than helps,
because they rob the pupil of the profit gained by doing the work for
himself. Notes obtained from books or dictated by the teacher are
harmful to the right spirit of study, and create a distaste for the
subject.
Special review lessons should be taken when a series of lessons on one
topic, or on a series of connected topics, has been finished. At the
close of each lesson, the facts learned are fixed more firmly in the
mind by the usual drill; but there must be further organization of the
several lessons by a proper review, so that history will not be a number
of unconnected events, but will be seen as an orderly development. This
may be accomplished: (1) by questioning the class from a point of view
different from that taken in the first lessons, (2) by oral or written
expansion of a topical outline, (3) by illustrations with maps or
drawings, (4) by tracing the sequence of events backwards, (5) by
submitting some new situation that will recall the old knowledge in a
different way. It must be remembered that it is not a mere repetition
that we seek, but a _re-view_ of the facts, a new view that will prove
the power of the pupils to use the knowledge they have gained. Thus the
lesson on the St. Lawrence River (p. 112) is a good review of the facts
of history suggested by the places mentioned; the lesson on the Road to
Cathay (p. 92) may be considered a review of the chief explorers of
North America. Such a review aims at seeing new relations, at connecting
new knowledge and old, at "giving freshness and vividness to knowledge
that may be somewhat faded, at throwing a number of discrete facts into
a bird's-eye view."
THE USE OF PROBLEMS IN TEACHING HISTORY
The development, or problem, method is intended to get the pupils to do
some independent thinking, instead of merely absorbing knowledge from
the teacher. The plan is simply to set clearly before the pupils the
conditions existing at a certain moment in the story so that they may
see for themselves the difficulties that the people in the story had to
overcome. The question for the class is: "What would you do in the
circumstances?"
Let us take an example from the life of Ulysses. Ulysses had heard of
the Sirens, who sang so beautifully that any one in a passing ship who
heard them was impelled to throw himself overboard, with a frantic
desire to swim to their island. Naturally the swimmers were all drowned
in the attempt. Ulysses desired to hear for himself the wonderful
singing, and to experience, perhaps, its terrible effect; but he
certainly did not want to run any risk of drowning. Now, how did he
accomplish his desire, without paying the penalty?
Again, in the story of Madeleine de Verchères, the narrative may proceed
to the point where Madeleine has succeeded in securing the gates. She
finds herself in a weak fort with few to help her, and outside a
numerous band of Indians, who are kept at bay for a whole week, without
even attempting their usual night attacks. How did she do it?
In the case of the U.E. Loyalists, the teacher may narrate the story to
the point where the Loyalists, after the treaty was signed, saw that
they must remove to Canada. The class must know where the Loyalist
centres in the New England States were. Now, what routes would they be
likely to take in going to Canada? With the map before them, the class
can usually tell the next part of the story themselves.
Even if the pupil is not able to give the correct answer to the problem
submitted, he is nevertheless having an opportunity to exercise his
judgment, he can see wherein his judgment differs from that of the
persons concerned, his interest in their actions is increased, and the
whole story will be more deeply impressed on his memory.
HOW TO MAKE HISTORY REAL
The chief difficulty in teaching history is to give a meaning to the
language of history. Much of the language is merely empty words. The
Magna Charta and the Clergy Reserves mean just about as much to pupils
as _x_ does in algebra, and even when they give a definition or
description of these terms, it usually amounts to saying that _x_ equals
_y_; the definition is just as vague as the original terms. The problem
is to give the language more meaning, to ensure that the words give
mental pictures and ideas; in short, to turn the abstract into concrete
facts.
Children can make their own only such knowledge as their experience
helps them to interpret. Their interests are in the present, and the
past appeals to them just so far as they can see in it their own
activities, thoughts, and feelings. The great aim of the teacher, then,
should be to help pupils to translate the facts of history into terms of
their own experiences; unless that is done, they are really not learning
anything. Some of the ways in which this may be attempted are outlined
below.
1. In the junior classes where the children are intensely interested in
stories, the stress should be put on giving them _interesting personal
details_ about the famous people in history, details that they can
understand with their limited experiences of life, and that will appeal
to their emotions. These stories should be told to the pupils with such
vividness and animation that they will struggle with Columbus against a
mutinous crew, will help the early explorers to blaze their way through
the dense forests, will toil with the pioneers in making homes for
themselves in Canada, and will suffer with the missionaries in their
hardships and perils.
For these pupils the oral method is the only one to use, for there is
nothing that appeals to children more quickly and with more reality than
what they _hear_ from the teacher. The oral method should find a large
place in the teaching of history in all the Forms. It may be added that
the teachers who use this method will find history become a more real
and interesting study to themselves.
2. What the pupils hear should be reinforced by giving them something to
_see_. Whatever pictures are obtainable (see pp. 45, 127) should be used
freely at all stages, for the visual images of children are a powerful
aid to their understanding; it is for this reason that books for
children are now so fully illustrated, and the same principle should be
applied to the teaching of history.
As soon as the children are ready for it, reference should be made to
maps to illustrate historical facts. (See p. 127.) They should see on
the map the course that Columbus took across the unknown sea;
Champlain's explorations become real when they are traced on the map and
the children have a concrete picture to carry away with them. In fact
the subjects of geography, art, and constructive work, treated under the
head of correlated subjects, are used in history with the aim of making
it real through the eye. (See pp. 40, 44, 45.)
3. A greater difficulty presents itself when we have to deal, in the
higher Forms, with topics like the Magna Charta and the Clergy Reserves,
and it is a difficulty that will test to the full the resourcefulness
of the teacher. How can the preceding conditions and the terms of the
Magna Charta be brought home to a class? How can children be brought to
appreciate the difficulties connected with the question of Clergy
Reserves? A few words about the latter may suggest a means.
Two aspects of the Clergy Reserves question stand out prominently, the
religious and the economic. The religious aspect will be the most
difficult for Ontario children, for they have no immediate knowledge of
what a State Church is--the point on which the religious dispute turned;
nor do they know enough about the government of the religious bodies to
which they belong to make the matter clear to them. A full understanding
must come later. The best point of approach seems to be to give the
class some idea of the number of settlers belonging to the churches of
England and of Scotland, which claimed the right to the lands reserved,
and compare with this the number of all other Protestant bodies that
claimed to share in them; for this difference in numbers was one of the
chief causes of bitterness. An arithmetical appeal is concrete. There
was also the economic aspect. The Clergy Reserves were one seventh of
the land in each township. Another seventh was withheld from free
settlement as Crown Lands. Now in some townships there were about 50,000
acres. Let the class find out how many acres were thus kept from
settlement. Tell them that this land was not all in one block, but
distributed through the township. They can now be asked to consider how
this would interfere with close settlement and therefore with the
establishment of schools, churches, post-offices, mills, and stores. A
diagram of a township would be of great help. These two points will help
them to see why an early and fair settlement of the vexed question was
desired. Wherever possible, present problems for them to solve by their
own experiences.
4. The reading to the class of accounts of events written by people
living at the time will give an atmosphere of reality and human interest
to the events. For example, a story of early pioneer days told by a
pioneer gives a personal element (see _Pioneer Days_, Kennedy); a letter
by Mary Queen of Scots, to Elizabeth (see p. 143), will make both of
these queens real living people, not mere names in history. (See
_Studies in the Teaching of History_, Keatinge, p. 97, also selections
from _The Sources of English History_, Colby, p. 163.) Not much of this
may be possible, but more use might easily be made of such materials,
especially with the early history of Ontario.
5. The use of local history and of current events will be treated
elsewhere. (See pp. 49, 51.)
6. When possible, let the pupils form their idea of an historical person
from his actions and words just as we form our estimate of each other,
instead of having them memorize mere summaries of his character before
they know his actions.
7. Genealogical and chronological tables, written on the black-board and
discussed with the class, will be of service in understanding certain
periods, such as the Wars of the Roses, and in helping to form the
time-sense of pupils. (See Chronological Chart, p. 128.)
8. Chief dependence must be placed, however, on increasing the pupil's
knowledge of present-day conditions in agriculture, commerce,
transportation, manufactures, in fact, in all social, economic, and
political conditions, in order to enable him by comparison to realize
earlier methods and ways of living. The pupil who understands best how
we do things to-day can understand best the state of affairs when people
had to depend on primitive methods, and can realize how they would
strive to make things better.
ON MEMORIZING HISTORY
History is usually called a "memory" subject, and is accordingly often
taught as a mere memorizing of facts, names, and dates. The following
statement of the chief principles of memorizing will, it is hoped, put
mere verbal repetition in its proper place. Interest is the chief
condition for teaching history in the public schools, in order that the
pupils may acquire a liking for the subject that will tempt them to
pursue their reading in after years; without that interest, the small
amount of historical fact they can accumulate in their school-days will
be of little real value to them when they become full-fledged citizens.
In fact, through this emphasis on interest instead of verbal repetition,
the pupils are likely to obtain a better knowledge of history and, at
the same time, will have a chance to develop, in no slight degree, their
powers of judgment.
1. Memory depends on attention; we must observe attentively what we wish
to remember. In history, attention may be secured by making the lessons
interesting through the skill of the teacher in presenting the matter
vividly to the pupils; also by using means to make history real instead
of having it a mere mass of meaningless words. (See p. 34.)
2. Facts that we wish to remember should be grouped, or studied in
relation to other facts with which they are vitally connected. The facts
of history should be presented to the class in their relation of cause
and effect, or associated with some larger centre of interest; in other
words, pupils must understand, in some degree, what they are asked to
remember. (See pp. 92, 97.)
3. If we increase the number of connections for facts, we are more
likely to remember them. It is largely for this reason that history
should be taught with correlated subjects, such as geography,
literature, science (inventions), etc. For example, the story of the
Spanish Armada is remembered better if we have read _Westward Ho!_ and
the story of the Renaissance is made clearer and is therefore remembered
better, if we connect with it the inventions of printing, gunpowder, and
the mariner's compass. (See p. 121.)
4. Repetition is necessary to memory. Facts or groups of facts must be
repeated to be remembered. This is the purpose of the drills which are
necessary to good teaching, but are only a part of it. Reviews are not
to be considered merely as repetitions, but should be treated more as
aids to better understanding. (See p. 31.)
CHAPTER III
CORRELATION OF SUBJECTS
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
These subjects are very intimately related, and each should be used in
teaching the other. Geography, which is often called one of the "eyes of
history," may be used in the teaching of this subject in two ways. In
the first place, an account of an historical event lacks, to a certain
degree, reality in the minds of the pupils if they do not know something
of the place where it occurred. Accordingly, in studying or teaching
history, reference should be constantly made to the map to give a local
setting to the story. The voyage of Columbus, the operations of Wolfe,
the coming of the Loyalists, are made more real if they are traced out
on the map, and are therefore better understood and remembered by the
pupils. For this purpose, it is better, in most cases, to use an outline
map, which may be sketched on the black-board by the teacher or the
pupils, because on the ordinary wall maps there are so many names and so
much detail that the attention may be distracted. Many of the details on
the map are, moreover, more modern than the events that are to be
illustrated, so that wrong impressions may be given.
In the second place, it must be kept constantly in mind that many events
in history have been influenced by the physical features of a country.
For example: the lack of a natural boundary between France and Germany
has led to many disputes between these countries; the fact of Great
Britain being an island accounts for many things in her history (see p.
108); the physical features of Quebec and Gibraltar explain the
importance of these places; and the waterways of Canada account for the
progress of early settlement. The climate and soil of a country affect
its history; treaties are often based on physical conditions, and trade
routes determined by them; a nation's commerce and wealth depend largely
on the character of its natural resources.
Some easy problems may be given to the senior classes to be answered by
reference to physical conditions:
Why are London, New York, Chicago, Montreal, and Halifax, such
important centres? Why are certain places fitted for certain
manufactures? Will Winnipeg become a more important city than
Montreal? Will Vancouver outstrip San Francisco? What is a possible
future for the Western Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan? What
might have been the state of North America to-day, if the Rocky
Mountains had run along the East coast, instead of along the West?
On the other hand, history contributes a human interest to geography;
the places of greatest interest are often those associated with great
events in history--Athens, Mount Sinai, Waterloo, Queenston Heights.
HISTORY AND LITERATURE
Literature gives life and human interest to both history and geography.
By means of literature we are able to get a better notion of the ideals
and motives of a people than the mere recital of the facts of their
history can give. In this connection we naturally think of Homer's
_Iliad_ and its influence on the Greeks. It was their storehouse of
history, morals, religion, æsthetics, and rules for the practical
guidance of life, as well as their literary masterpiece.
It is often easy to interest pupils in a period of history by reading or
quoting to them some ballad, poem, or prose narrative that colours the
historical facts with the element of human feeling. Macaulay's
_Horatius_ gives a deeper impression of Roman patriotism than almost
anything in pure history can; the various aspects of the Crusades are
vividly shown by W. Stearns Davis in _God Wills It_, a story of the
first Crusade. In fact, if stirring events can be linked in the child's
mind with stirring verse, if the struggles and progress of nations can
be presented in a vigorous narrative that echoes the thoughts, feelings,
and interests of the time, we make an appeal to the interest of the
pupil that is almost irresistible. The objection is sometimes urged
against the reading of standard historical tales and novels, that these
are somewhat exaggerated in sentiment and inaccurate in facts. Even if
this be so, it may be said that they give in outline a fair picture of
the period described, that the interest in history aroused by such tales
begets a liking for history itself, and that such exaggerations and
inaccuracies are soon corrected when the pupil begins to read history.
The course of history has been modified by songs, ballads, and stories.
The influence on the national spirit and ideals of songs such as _Rule
Britannia_ and _The Marseillaise_, of stories such as _Uncle Tom's
Cabin_, of novels such as those of Dickens and of Charles Reade is
incalculable.
A few poems and prose compositions are given here as suggestions; a
fuller list may be found in Allen's _Reader's Guide to English History_,
Ginn & Co., 30c.
Poems: _Boadicea_, Cowper; _Recessional_, Kipling; _Edinburgh After
Flodden_, Aytoun; _Hands All Round_, Tennyson; _Columbus_, Joaquin
Miller; _Waterloo_, Byron; _The Armada_, Macaulay; _The Revenge_,
Tennyson; _The Charge of the Light Brigade_, Tennyson.
Prose: "United Empire Loyalists," Roberts' _History of Canada_,
Chap. XV; "Departure and Death of Nelson," Southey; _Montcalm and
Wolfe_, Parkman; "The Crusader and the Saracen," in Scott's _The
Talisman_; "The Heroine of Castle Dangerous," in _Stories of New
France_, Machar and Marquis; "Adam Daulac," in _Martyrs of New
France_, Herrington.
HISTORY AND SCIENCE
The connection between history and science is very close, because it was
only after the invention of writing that history, the record of human
progress, became possible. Further, the remarkable way in which the
chief stages in the development of civilization coincide with certain
inventions and discoveries makes the study of history very incomplete
without a knowledge of the inventions and discoveries, inasmuch as these
opened a road for human development. (See p. 119.)
To make this evident, it is enough merely to mention a few comparatively
recent inventions, such as the mariner's compass, the printing-press,
gunpowder, the steam-engine, the power-loom, the cotton-gin, and the
telegraph.
To the introduction of the mariner's compass in the fourteenth century,
by which sailors were made independent of landmarks and the stars, and
could therefore go more boldly into the open sea, we owe the
explorations of the fifteenth century that culminated in the discovery
of America, and the way to India by the Cape of Good Hope. The
introduction of gunpowder in the fourteenth century gave the lower and
middle classes a weapon that made them equal in power with the nobles
and brought about the downfall of the feudal system and the rise of
modern democracies. The printing-press gave to the world the learning
of the past and revolutionized social conditions. The invention of high
explosives has made possible many of the great engineering works of
to-day. The inventions that have made transportation and communication
so easy and rapid have already done a great deal to bring nations to a
better understanding of each other and thus to promote the peace of the
world. Discoveries in medicine alone have had an incalculable influence
on the health and prosperity of society. In fact, the study of history
and an understanding of modern social and industrial conditions are
impossible without a knowledge of scientific inventions and discoveries.
(See pp. 87, 92.)
Children naturally take an interest in what individuals have done, and
it is easy to interest them in the work of men such as Watt, Stephenson,
Whitney, Fulton, Morse, Edison, Marconi, and their fellows. The
biographies of famous inventors should therefore be given, both as a
record of what they did and as an inspiration to like achievements.
HISTORY AND CONSTRUCTIVE WORK
Constructive work may be used to advantage in history and civics. It
gives concrete expression to some facts of history through the
construction by the pupils of objects mentioned therein. In studying
Indian life, the class may make in paper, wood, etc., wigwams, bows and
arrows, stockades, etc.; in connection with pioneer life, they may make
some of the buildings and implements used by the pioneers,--log houses,
spinning-wheels, hominy blocks, Red River carts, etc.; in studying
campaigns, they may make models in plasticine or clay, or on the sand
table, of forts, battle-fields, etc., for example--the Plains of
Abraham, Queenston Heights, Chateauguay, Plymouth Harbour; the Union
Jack may be cut out and coloured. (See p. 68.) In this way the
activities of the child may be made of practical use.
On the industrial and social side of history, which is being more and
more emphasized, it is of great value to the child to become acquainted,
even though on a small scale and through the simplest implements and
machines, with the construction of machinery and modes of manufacture.
For a lesson on the Industrial Revolution in England, for example, it
will give pupils a better understanding of the changes, if they know
something, through their own activities, of the way of making cloth.
For suggestions on constructive work, see the Manual on Manual Training:
P. 22: Suggestions for the various seasons and days.
P. 26: On the use of the sand table.
P. 55: On collecting and preserving pictures.
P. 58: On relief maps and geographical formations.
HISTORY AND ART
Art assists history in two ways. First, pictures may be used to
illustrate events in history and make them real. It is often difficult
for children to form a definite mental image of historical scenes merely
from the words of the teacher or of the text-book, because their
experiences are limited and the power to combine these properly is
lacking. This is recognized now in the many text-books which are freely
illustrated. Pictures of persons famous in history are also of value, in
that they make these persons more real to the pupils. Materials for
class use may be collected by the teacher and pupils,--engravings,
prints, cuts from newspapers and magazines of famous people, buildings,
cities, monuments, events; for example, the Landing of Columbus, the
Coming of the Loyalists, the Fathers of Confederation, the Landing of
the Pilgrim Fathers, an Old-Time Trading Post, the Death of Brock. A
good idea is to have a class scrap-book, to be filled with suitable
contributions from the class. The teacher will find a private scrap-book
exceedingly useful. Many fine pictures are given in _The Highroads of
History_, and _The Story of the British People_ for Form III. It may be
added that these pictures should be supplemented freely by descriptions
and narratives given by the teacher. (See _Visual Aids in the Teaching
of History_.)
Second, the pupils may be asked to illustrate, by drawings and sketch
maps, historic places, routes of armies and of explorers, the journeys
of settlers, etc.
HISTORY AND COMPOSITION
History, no less than other subjects of study, needs to be expressed by
the pupils, if it is to make them more efficient. Some of the usual
modes of expression are given above in connection with constructive work
and art. The chief mode of expression, however, for history is through
composition, both oral and written.
In the Junior Forms the stories should be reproduced orally (see Details
of Method for Forms I and II, p. 25), either by pure narration or by
dramatization; the pupils relate in their own language what they have
learned, or are allowed to dramatize the story. In the dramatization,
the pupils should be given a good deal of freedom in constructing the
conversation, once they get to know what is wanted, the only restriction
being that no pupil shall be allowed to take part who does not know the
story thoroughly. Incidents such as Harold taking the oath to help
William of Normandy gain the crown of England, Joseph being sold into
Egypt, the Greeks using the wooden horse to capture Troy, are very
easily dramatized.
In the Senior Forms the black-board outline may be used as the basis of
written or oral reproduction. The subject of composition will itself be
less objectionable by reason of these exercises, as the pupils are asked
to reproduce the history as material valuable and interesting in itself,
not merely as a means of showing their skill in expression. Moreover, in
the study of history, the pupil hears or reads the compositions of
others, and unconsciously gains, by these examples, much in vocabulary
and in power of expression. In fact, much of the culture value of
history depends on the training it affords in composition, and, by
intimately connecting these two subjects, a double advantage is
gained--the ability to comprehend historical material, and practice in
effective expression.
HISTORY AND CHRONOLOGY OR THE USE OF DATES
Geography is one of "the eyes of history"; chronology, or the arranging
of events according to their dates, is the other. This suggests that
dates are to be used merely as a help in "seeing" events in history in
their proper order, so that their relations to other events may be
better understood. When these relations are seen, the dates lose much of
their value.
For example, let us consider the following dates: 1763, 1774, 1775,
1783, 1791. The short interval between 1763, when Great Britain finally
assumed control of Canada by treaty, and 1774, when the Quebec Act was
passed, helps to make clear the reason for the French citizens receiving
so many concessions. They outnumbered the English so much that these
concessions were deemed necessary to hold their allegiance to the Crown
in face of the efforts made by the discontented New England colonies to
get their support in the coming revolution against Great Britain. The
success of the Act was shown in 1775, when the invasion by the
revolutionists failed. The war of the Revolution was ended by treaty in
1783, and Canada received as settlers, principally in Upper Canada, the
United Empire Loyalists, whose ideas of government were so different
from those of the Lower Canadians that the separation of Upper and Lower
Canada by the Constitutional Act of 1791 became necessary. These dates,
so close together, emphasize the rapidity with which events moved in
that period, as well as the sequence of cause and effect. We think also
of the dates of Cartier's voyages, 1534, 1535, and 1541, merely to raise
the question as to why so much time elapsed between the second and third
voyages. When these points are properly seen, the events are kept in
place by their relation of cause and effect, and the dates lose their
value. Moreover, the relations thus discovered will do most toward
fixing these dates in the memory. It should be understood, therefore,
that dates are only a means to an end, not an end in themselves.
It is important also to know the dates of certain events when we are
studying the history of several countries, in order that we may consider
together those events that are contemporary.
There are, of course, some dates that should be remembered because of
the importance of the events connected with them, for example: 1066,
1215, 1492, 1603, 1688, 1759, 1776, 1789, 1841, 1867.
In the Junior Forms, because the pupils are still lacking in the
"historical sense," little emphasis need be put on the giving of dates.
A few of the most important may be given in Form II, but it is very
questionable if they have any significance to the pupils at this early
stage.
CHAPTER IV
SPECIAL TOPICS
CURRENT EVENTS
The study of history should not end with what is contained in
text-books, for the making of history never ceases. The study of current
events will be found to be a very valuable element in history teaching.
Teachers and pupils who are interested in the events of to-day are much
more likely to be interested in the events of the past. A knowledge of
current events will arouse curiosity in what led up to them, will
suggest a motive for studying the past, and will often supply concrete
examples for both history and civics. In fact, the teaching of civics
may be based almost entirely on current events. (See Civics, p. 52 et
seq.) The influence of a knowledge of current events on the study of
history is very plainly seen to-day in the earnest and widespread effort
to discover the causes of the war that is devastating Europe at the
present time. History becomes real when pupils understand that what is
happening now has its roots in the past and, at the same time, is
history in the making. For example, the present war will certainly
intensify our interest in the great movement to prevent war by means of
world-wide arbitration of disputes between nations, or by any other
means. The value of this phase of history teaching depends very largely
on the interest taken in it by the teacher and on the work that the
pupils can be induced to do for themselves. The teacher talks to the
pupils about some important current event in an interesting way. Then
the pupils are encouraged to add to what he has said by relating what
they have heard, or have read in the newspapers. After a few lessons
the chief difficulty is to make a suitable selection of topics to be
discussed in class. Those of national importance, if within the scope of
the Form work, will have prominence, and the pupils will be given hints
as to articles about these topics in papers, magazines, and books. It is
obvious that topics likely to arouse religious, political, or other
party feeling, should be avoided. For actual school-room practice the
following scheme has been used successfully in Form III:
CURRENT EVENTS (10 MINUTES DAILY)
The teacher has suggested the kinds of events that are worthy of
discussion, and the pupils come to class prepared to tell what they have
read in the papers about some of these. The teacher aids them to give
fit expression to their information, and the pupil who has been chosen
as editor writes a summary of the lesson on the black-board, and later,
on a sheet of paper.
Ordinarily, the editors should be chosen from those who write and spell
well.
Where the subject-matter lends itself to such treatment, these summaries
may be placed in two columns--one, the _Girls' News Column_; the other,
the _Boys' News Column_. The summaries on the sheets of paper may be
arranged in order for a week or a month and be known as _The School
Review_. Such a lesson includes history, and oral and written
composition.
The following items of news were those discussed in a Form III room at
the end of the week, when some time is taken to talk over the events of
the week:
FEB. 5TH, 1915
Rescue of the crew of the Japanese cruiser Asama.
Rescue work in the earthquake in Italy.
Wireless message frustrates a German plot to blow up a French steamer.
Fire in a New York factory--rescue of the inmates.
Inhuman treatment of Belgian women and children.
British officer praises the enemy.
The Austrians are defeated by the Montenegrins.
Canadians wounded in France.
Importance of discipline and accurate shooting for Canadian troops.
Germany proclaims a war zone around Britain.
Two New York boy heroes of a fire.
Tsar honours a girl wounded while carrying ammunition to the troops.
Opening of the war session of the Canadian Parliament.
These items are sifted from a great many suggested by the pupils. In the
sifting process, a very useful discussion is had as to what constitutes
real "news," and what is mere "gossip"; that is, what is of value as
news to the world at large, and what is of purely local, personal
interest.
In civics, current topics may be made very useful. Items of municipal,
provincial, or federal affairs furnish a concrete basis for the study of
our system of government, and may also suggest moral examples.
LOCAL MATERIAL
One of the chief uses of local history in the class-room is to make the
study of general history more vivid and interesting (1) by making more
real those facts of history associated with the locality in which we
live, and (2) by providing suitable illustrations, from the pupil's own
experience, of facts in general history. When a pupil has seen the place
where an event of history has happened, he has an interest in that event
that he could scarcely gain in any other way, and the history of that
period may then be taught with more interest and profit to him. A pupil
finds also in local history certain facts that he must understand in
order to interpret the story of happenings, distant in time and place.
Some parts of Ontario are much richer in material than others, but in
all historic spots may be found. On the St. Lawrence River, in the
Niagara peninsula, in the Talbot settlement district, in York county,
along the Ottawa River, in the Huron tract, there is no lack of useful
material. But it is not necessary to confine such local history to the
outstanding events of war or the larger happenings of civil progress. In
every locality there are remains of the earlier Indian inhabitants, in
the form of mounds, sites of villages, relics of war and the chase
(arrow-heads, stone implements, beads, etc.); relics of the early
settlers, in the form of roads and old log houses; relics of pioneer
life consisting of furniture, household and outdoor implements, etc.,
that will serve as a basis for comparison with present-day conditions,
and make real to the children the lives of the earlier inhabitants and
settlers of Ontario.
CIVICS
The teaching of civics has a threefold aim:
1. To instruct in the mechanism of government. (Descriptive)
2. To instruct in the history of national institutions so as to show the
line of development, and also to impress the fact that existing
institutions are capable of development, are not fixed. (Historical)
3. "To show the cost of each institution in the efforts and sacrifices
of past generations and to quicken and make permanent the children's
interest in public life and their sense of responsibility to their
fellows." (Patriotic and Ethical)
Two points stand out clearly--to teach the machinery of government and
to instil ideals of public conduct. Of these the second is by far the
more important and the more difficult to teach directly. The best way to
attempt it is by means of biography and personal references. There are
great men and women in history whose lives are worthy examples to the
young: Sir John Eliot, Pym, Hampden, who stood for freedom of speech and
debate; Gladstone, who helped to right historic wrongs in the East;
Lincoln, who stood for union and the freedom of the individual; many
eminent Canadians, such as Sir John Macdonald, George Brown, Alexander
Mackenzie, Egerton Ryerson, Sir Oliver Mowat, and Sir James Whitney;
women such as Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry, Laura Secord and
Sarah Maxwell. Besides these eminent examples, there are in every
locality men and women who give unselfishly of their energy and time for
the good of the community.
There should also be impressed on the minds of the young a sense of
their responsibility for an honest and faithful use of the ballot, a
right won for them by the long and earnest effort of their forefathers;
and the necessity for purity of government in our democratic form of
administration. In school life, a good deal can be done to create a
sense of fair play, respect for the rights of others, and of the
necessity for submission to lawful authority by encouraging the pupils
to conduct all their school organizations, whether in play or in work,
honourably and by right methods.
Some of the lessons that may be taught to children during their school
life are as follows:
1. Respect for the rights of others. Pupils may be brought to see that
misconduct on their part affects others, not themselves only.
2. Respect for the property of others. This may be secured best by
teaching them to take good care of their own property first, for unless
a child cares rightly for his own, he is not likely to take much thought
for the things of others.
3. Respect for public property. This is something that needs attention
badly. It is a very common thing to find people destroying trees,
flowers, etc., in public places, throwing refuse on the street, and
otherwise disfiguring their surroundings. A beginning of better habits
may be made by getting the pupils to aid in beautifying and decorating
the school building by means of pictures, either prints or their own
work, by flowers in pots, by keeping the floor and walls clean and free
from marks and litter; also in making the grounds around the school more
attractive by means of flowers and shrubs. Arbor Day may be made of
great use in this respect, if the spirit of that Day can be carried
through the whole year. A pride in the attractiveness of the school will
have its influence on the pupils in the wider life of the community.
A knowledge of the machinery of government may be based on the pupils'
knowledge of the organization of the school. The appointment, power, and
duties of the teacher are the starting-point. The next step will be to
investigate the composition of the board of school trustees. This may be
done at the time of an election for school trustees. The following
questions may serve as an outline of study for all the political bodies
by which we are governed:
1. Who compose the board of trustees? (In the smaller local bodies,
the names of the members may be mentioned, as giving a personal
interest in the matter.)
2. How and by whom are they elected?
3. For what period are they elected?
4. How is the board organized for the conduct of business?
5. What powers do they possess?
6. What duties have they to fulfil?
7. How do they raise the money needed for their work?
8. How is the board rendered continuous? (By electing a successor
to a member who resigns; by the trustees remaining in office till
their successors are elected.)
Other governing bodies may be taken up similarly, for example: Municipal
Councils (township, county, village, town, or city council), Provincial
Legislature, Dominion or Federal Parliament, Imperial Parliament. A
suitable time to bring up the topic of how elections are conducted would
be when an election for any of the above bodies is in progress.
Information on this topic may be found in _Canadian Civics_, by Jenkins;
a fuller account is given in Bourinot's _How Canada is Governed_.
Lessons concerning special bodies of municipal and civil servants may be
taken; for example, the assessor, tax-collector, policeman, postal
employees, firemen, etc. In connection with all of these, the question
of taxation is constantly arising. It is suggested that something should
be done to put the pupils in the right attitude toward this subject.
Many people have an idea that when they pay taxes they are being robbed,
because they do not stop to think of what they are getting in return for
their money. The chief reason for this seems to be that the taxes are
usually paid once or twice a year, while the services rendered are
continuous. A good way to proceed is to have the class calculate the
value of the services given in return for the taxes. For example,
suppose it is found that the yearly cost for each pupil in a certain
section is $25.00. Divide this by the number of days (200) a pupil
attends school during the year, and the cost each day for each pupil is
shown be only 12-1/2 cents, not a very large sum for a community to pay
for a child's education.
Other calculations may be made to show the saving to farmers by spending
money in the construction of good roads to make teaming more profitable.
For example: In a strip of country served by a road ten miles long,
there is room for eighty farms of one hundred acres each, all the
produce of which would be hauled on that road. Let us suppose that this
produce would amount to 3,000 loads, such as could be hauled on an
ordinary country road. The average haul being five miles, two trips a
day could be made. At $5.00 a day, the cost of haulage would be $7,500.
Suppose this road to be converted into a good stone road at a cost of
$3,000 a mile, a total cost of $30,000. On this road, with the larger
and heavier wagons that could now be used, the farmers could easily
double the size of the load. This would mean that, instead of 3,000
loads being necessary, 1,500 would be sufficient. At the same rate as
before, the cost of haulage would be $3,750, an annual saving of $3,750;
so that the whole cost of the road would be saved in eight years, to say
nothing of the greater ease and comfort of travel to both man and beast.
Better roads would also give the farmer access to market for a greater
part of the year and thus enable him to take advantage of higher prices
at certain seasons. It is believed that these figures are quite within
the bounds of probability.
In large towns and cities the cost of public utilities may be
calculated; for example, the expense of a fire-station in buildings,
equipment, horses, men, etc., to show how the money raised by taxes is
spent for the good of the whole community, and helps to keep down the
rates for fire insurance. The kinds of taxation may also be
discussed--direct and indirect; also the sources from which direct
taxes are derived--customs, excise, etc.; methods of levying and
collecting taxes; how taxes are spent for the various educational and
charitable institutions--schools, libraries, hospitals, asylums, homes
for the poor and neglected, etc.; for the protection of life and
property; for the administration of justice, etc. The distribution of
taxes among public institutions may be studied from the public accounts
printed for the use of ratepayers.
The lessons learned about the fairness of taxation may be used to
illustrate certain periods of history when people struggled against
unjust and arbitrary taxation; for example, Wat Tyler's Rebellion, the
Civil War in England in the seventeenth century, the American and French
Revolutions, Acts of Parliament in Canada from the Quebec Act to the Act
of Confederation.
A Dominion or Provincial election offers a good opportunity for a lesson
on how to vote and how we came to have the right to vote; on the
constitution of Parliament; on the sanctity of the ballot, etc.
A trial by jury in which the people of the district are interested may
be used to introduce the history and purpose of the jury.
THE TEACHER OF HISTORY
The teacher of history must know his subject. This does not mean that
every school teacher must have an expert knowledge of the whole subject,
but he should know the history that is to be taught thoroughly enough to
be able to teach the lesson orally without referring constantly to the
text-book or to notes. This, at least, is the ideal to strive for. To
accomplish this, the teacher is earnestly recommended to read at least
one book in addition to the authorized text-book, which does not usually
contain much more than the important facts of history. To clothe the
skeleton of facts with flesh and blood so as to make history what it
really is, a record of human beings who not only did things but had also
thoughts and feelings like our own, it is necessary to be able to supply
the personal details that make the figures of history real, living, men
and women. (See the Story of Florence Nightingale, p. 62.) The teacher
who does this will himself come to have a more lively interest in
history.
The teacher must also know children. For the understanding of history,
pupils are dependent on their previous knowledge of life and its
interests. They must be led by timely suggestions or questions to see
the connection between their own knowledge of life and the experiences
of the actors in history. Without this connection, the facts of history
remain meaningless.
To present history to the pupils in an interesting way, the oral method
is the best. It is not necessary for the teacher to have a special gift
for narration; any one who is really interested in the story to be told
is able to tell it well enough to hold the attention of the class. In
narration, mere fluency is not the chief requisite; it is more important
that the pupils should feel the teacher's interest in the topic. The
narration must also be confined to the facts and details that count; the
teacher needs to know what to omit as well as what to narrate. If the
matter has been well thought out and clearly arranged in topics with due
regard to the relation of cause and effect, the telling of the story
will be an easier matter, and the pupils will be trained also in a clear
and logical way of treating history. The oral method should be supported
by the free use of devices for making the story real. (See p. 34.) While
it is quite true that certain important topics are to be thoroughly
mastered as centres of connection for the less important facts, yet it
must be insisted on that a more important aim of the teacher is to
arouse and stimulate an interest in history so that the pupil's study of
it may continue after the close of his school-days. No mastery of facts
through memorization alone will counterbalance the lack of interest in,
and liking for, the subject.
CHAPTER V
ILLUSTRATIVE LESSONS
The following lessons are to be considered as suggestive rather
than directive, as illustrating how the principles of teaching may be
applied in a particular subject. Definite knowledge of child-nature and
of children's experiences, of the materials to be used, and of the
purpose to be accomplished in teaching a subject, determines, in the
main, the choice of method. This statement is especially true of
history, for, unless it is steadily borne in mind, the temptation is
very great to make the teaching of this subject consist in mere
memorizing of events and dates.
FORMS I AND II
TYPE LESSON IN THE "STORY STAGE"
The aim of this lesson is to give the pupils the story of "Moses and the
Burning Bush," and at the same time to arouse an interest in stories.
As a preparation for the lesson, the teacher should secure pictures, or
make sketches, illustrating (1) Moses tending his flocks, (2) the
Burning Bush, (3) the rod turning to a serpent, (4) Moses setting out to
do God's will. The pictures and sketches are used to make real the
verbal story.
A few questions recalling the earlier events in Moses' life should be
answered by the pupils, for example: Moses as a baby in the bulrushes,
his adoption by the Princess, his life in the palace, his killing of the
Egyptian, the cause of his flight into Midian.
The teacher should then narrate in clear, simple language the story of
Moses in Midian, dividing it into parts such as: Moses at the well, his
home with Jethro, the appearance of the Burning Bush, his talk with God,
his excuses, God's proof of power to help, his setting out to do God's
will.
In Form I it may be advisable to question, during the story, to
ascertain if the language and ideas are understood, but reproduction of
each part as it is narrated will probably result in a loss of attention
and a lack of interest in the remainder of the story. The reproduction
should, therefore, be taken after the completion of the story.
In Form II very short topic-phrases may be written on the black-board.
These will serve as a guide to the pupils in the oral or written
reproduction that follows.
If illustrated story-books containing this story are in the library,
pupils of Form II may be asked to read them.
When practicable, an exercise in sight reading may follow this kind of
lesson. The teacher may have slips containing sections of the story
prepared beforehand, and may give them to the pupils for sight reading.
FORMS I AND II
THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
Materials: A set of pictures showing "The Mayflower in Plymouth
Harbour"; "The Landing of the Pilgrims"; "The Pilgrims going to Church";
"Plymouth Rock"; "The Spinning Wheel." (Perry Picture Co. pictures)
A map of the western coast of Europe and the eastern coast of America
drawn on the black-board.
Introduction: A talk on Thanksgiving Day as celebrated now--the
returning of thanks to God for a bountiful harvest, the general
good-will prevailing, the dinner. How and when did this custom
originate?
Presentation: The teacher tells the story of the emigration of the
Pilgrim Fathers, and shows the pictures that illustrate the different
parts of the story. The voyage is traced on the map and the
landing-place in America marked.
This should be followed by a spirited reading of Mrs. Hemans' _The
Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers_, and the telling of _The First
Thanksgiving_. (See Appendix.)
A simple version of this story may be given to pupils in Form I,
accompanied by such construction work, in paper cutting and colouring,
and in modelling, as they can do.
FORM II
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE
In the war that England and France were carrying on against Russia in
the Crimea about fifty years ago, the English soldiers suffered terrible
hardships, so terrible that more than half the army were in the
hospital, and many men were dying of starvation and neglect. The people
in England knew nothing of this, because they thought that everything
the army needed had been sent to it. At last, they found out from the
letters of Dr. Russell, the correspondent of the London _Times_, how
great were the sufferings of the soldiers, and they were so shocked at
this state of things that they subscribed large sums of money, many
thousands of dollars, and sent out to the army Florence Nightingale and
thirty-four other nurses to do what they could for the neglected
soldiers. After they came, the wounded and sick soldiers were so well
cared for that thousands of them lived to come home who would have died
if these noble women had not gone out to nurse them.
Do you want to know why Florence Nightingale was the one person out of
all the people of England to be asked to go? From her earliest childhood
she was always doing what she could to help those who were in trouble.
The poor and suffering appealed to her more than to most people. When
quite young, she went to visit the poor and sick on her father's
estates, carrying to them some little dainties or flowers that they
would be sure to like, and helping them to get well. All the animals
around her home liked her, because they knew that she would not hurt
them; even the shy squirrels would come quite close to her and pick up
the nuts she dropped for them. An old gray pony, named Peggy, would trot
up to her when she went into the field to see it, and put its nose into
her pocket for the apple or other little treat that she always had for
it. A sheep dog had been hurt by a stone thrown at it by a boy, and the
owner thought that its leg was broken and that he would have to kill it.
But it turned out to be only a bad bruise and the dog was soon well with
Florence's nursing.
When her rich parents took her to London, she preferred visiting the
sick people in the hospitals to enjoying herself at parties or in
sight-seeing. When the family travelled in Europe, she visited the
hospitals to see how the sick were being looked after. She went to one
of the best hospitals in Germany to study how to nurse the sick in the
best way. When she came back to England, she did a great deal to improve
the hospitals, and for many years she worked so hard that her health
began to fail.
It was because of what she had done in this way that she was asked to go
to the Crimea to take charge of the hospitals for the English soldiers.
When she came there she found things in a terrible condition. The sick
and wounded men were crowded in such unhealthy rooms that they had very
little chance to get well. She cleaned up the buildings, gave the
patients clean beds and clothes, and saw that they had good, well-cooked
food to eat. She looked after their comfort, sat beside their beds when
they were very ill, and wrote letters for them to their families at
home. Because she often walked through the rooms at night, alone, and
carrying a little lamp in her hand, to see that everything was all
right, she was called "the lady with the lamp." As she went about,
speaking to some, nodding and smiling to others, we can imagine how much
the poor soldiers thought of her.
When the war was over, the people of England were so grateful to her
that the Government gave her a very large sum of money, $250,000, but
she gave it all to build a school where nurses might be trained for
their work. Queen Victoria gave her a beautiful jewel to show what she
thought of the brave work that Florence Nightingale did.
She lived for many years, doing a great deal to show how to treat people
who are ill, and how to keep people well by securing for them "pure air,
pure water, cleanliness, and light." She died August 10, 1910, but the
good she did in saving the lives of so many soldiers will always be
remembered.
METHOD
It is not intended that this story should be given to the pupils just as
it is here. This account is given to indicate what facts may be told to
pupils as young even as those in the senior part of Form I, and how the
story may be simplified for their understanding. After the story is
told, vividly and sympathetically, the reproduction by the class follows
in the usual way.
FORM II
THE POSTMASTER
AN INTRODUCTORY LESSON IN CIVICS
This is an introductory lesson in civics, in which the aim is to make
the pupils familiar with the duties, qualifications, salary, and
importance of the postmaster.
The teacher and class, in imagination, make a visit to the post-office
and describe what may be seen therein. A pupil's letter is prepared, and
the teacher, by using an old envelope, shows what is done with the
letter till it reaches the person to whom it is addressed, tabulating
these points on the black-board: (1) Stamped; (2) Stamp cancelled; (3)
Placed in the mail bag; (4) Taken to the railway station; (5) Placed on
the train; (6) Received at its destination; (7) Marked to show date on
which it was received; (8) Sorted; (9) Delivered. Another used envelope
should be shown to the pupils that they may trace, from the impressions
stamped upon it, its "sending" and "receiving" offices. From a
consideration of these several duties of the postmaster the pupils may
be led to see that he should be an honest, careful, courteous, and
prompt person.
The teacher next explains how people sent letters, etc., before
post-offices were instituted, and shows that the postmaster, in doing
his work, is doing it as our representative, and that we should help him
in the performance of his duty by plainly addressing our letters, etc.
A further explanation as to the manner of appointment and payment of
salary may follow.
In another lesson, the secondary duties of the postmaster--the
registration of letters, issuing of money orders and of postal notes,
the receiving and forwarding of money to the Savings Bank, and the
making of reports to the Post-office Department--may be discussed.
In teaching these the objective method should be used. The teacher
should obtain envelopes of registered letters and a registration blank,
a blank money order, and a blank postal note, and instruct the pupils in
the proper method of filling out these forms.
FORM III
THE CAPTURE OF QUEBEC
The introduction to this lesson will consist of questions recalling the
matter of the past lesson or lessons, and the positions of the British
and the French forces in the spring of 1759. This can be easily done by
sketching on the black-board a map of North America and marking on it
with coloured chalk the position of each force. The chief settlements to
be mentioned in the lesson of the day should also be marked. For the
matter of this see _The Ontario Public School History of Canada_, pages
83-97, and Parkman's _Montcalm and Wolfe_.
The teacher describes the voyage of Wolfe from Louisburg to Quebec,
mentioning the means taken to secure pilots and to overcome the
difficulties of navigating the St. Lawrence.
When the pupils, following the voyage, have arrived at Quebec, a
description of the topography of the vicinity should be given, and an
enlarged sketch, or better still, a plasticine model, made to show this.
(See text-book, page 100.) The difficulty of capturing Quebec may be
emphasized by reference to former attempts. On this sketch or model the
disposition of the French forces should be shown, and then problems may
be given as to actions that might be taken by Wolfe. For example: How
would you attempt to destroy the fort? Where may Wolfe land his
soldiers? What led the French to place their soldiers down as far as the
Montmorenci? No doubt some wrong answers will be given, but the
probability is that some boy will say that he would take some guns to
the high bank on the Levis side and bombard the town of Quebec. The
teacher will then tell what was done and with what results.
This should be outlined briefly on the black-board, and problem
questions proposed as to the attempt of Wolfe to dislodge the French at
Montmorenci.
This second step is also told and added to the outline, after which the
teacher proceeds to explain the final step, dwelling particularly on the
illness of Wolfe, his careful arrangement of plans, the courage shown in
attempting the surprise of the hill, the speed with which his forces
were drawn up on the Plains, the battle with its final outcome.
This is added to the outline, and the whole story is reproduced orally
before the class is dismissed.
As desk work, the outline is copied in note-books and the pupils are
directed to read the full story in Parkman's _Montcalm and Wolfe_, or in
the History Reader, pp. 284-292.
NOTE: If plasticine be used, miniature cannon, ships,
bridges, etc., may be placed in position and a realistic
explanation of the battle given. This would require more time and
the whole story would require several lesson spaces.
References: The text-book, Weaver's _Canadian History for Boys and
Girls_, and Parkman's _Montcalm and Wolfe_.
FORM III
THE COMING OF THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS
1. Narrate briefly the story of the American Revolution, to show why
they had to leave the country; describe the treatment given to them by
the revolutionists; how they lost their property; how they were driven
from their homes and exposed to all sorts of hardships, sometimes fatal
to the women and children; emphasize their constant feeling of loyalty
in face of all their troubles.
2. There was nothing for them to do but go to some place where the
British flag still flew. The pupils may be asked, with the map before
them, to consider where they would be most likely to go. What were the
probable routes they would follow? That would depend on where they lived
in the States. What methods of travel could they use? The class will see
from a consideration of these points how they did travel, what routes
they followed, and where they settled down. The waterways would have to
be emphasized and traced out on the map; by sea from New York and Boston
to Nova Scotia; by Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River to Quebec and
Eastern Ontario; by the western rivers, the Mohawk, the Genesee, etc.,
to Western Ontario. (See _Fourth Reader_, p. 170.)
3. What the Government did for them and how they succeeded. Any account
of life in Canada in the early days will give the necessary information.
It may be that some old settler of the neighbourhood can supply the
story to one of the children.
4. In the Senior Form there may be taken up slightly the political
ideals of these Loyalists and how their presence led to changes in
affairs in Upper Canada.
FORM III
THE FLAG
In itself a flag is "only a small bit of bunting"; it becomes a powerful
aid to patriotism when it receives a meaning from its history. It is the
emblem of a nation, the symbol of sovereignty, and as such should have
a prominent place in the education of the young. Children should be
taught: (1) the history of the struggles and sacrifices of our
forefathers in securing and maintaining our liberties; (2) the
significance of the flag as standing for liberty, truth, and justice;
and (3) its construction, with the special significance of each part.
The last point--the construction of the Union Jack--should be preceded
by a series of lessons on the individual "jacks." These lessons should
explain the significance of the term "jack"; should give the stories of
St. George, the patron saint of England, of St. Andrew, the patron saint
of Scotland, and of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland; and the
reasons for the placing of the crosses on the jacks of the several
countries. (See Appendix.)
These lessons may be taken as follows: that of the "jack" and "St.
George" after a lesson on the Crusaders; of "St. Andrew" after the
lesson on the Battle of Bannockburn; of "St. Patrick" after the lesson
on the Conquest of Ireland by Strongbow.
The opposite course may be followed. The construction or drawing of the
flag may be taken in connection with one of the flag days; then the
children will be interested in the work itself. The story of the jacks
may be given afterwards in the history lessons.
As desk work following each lesson, the pupils should construct the
flags, using coloured paper, and these flags should be kept for use in
the final lesson. The following sizes may be used in oblong flags:
For St. George's--white ground--2-1/2 in. x 5 in., red cross 1/2 in.
For St. Andrew's--blue ground--2-1/2 in. x 5 in., white cross 1/2 in.
For St. Patrick's--white ground--2 1/2 in. x 5 in., red cross 1/3 in.
When the story of the union of the crowns of England and Scotland in the
reign of James I has been taught, the pupils should be asked to attempt
the problem of uniting the two flags into one. For this purpose the
flags already made can be used. The flag of England will surmount that
of Scotland, and in order that the flag of Scotland may be seen, the
white ground of the flag of England must be removed, only a narrow
border of white along each arm being retained to represent the ground
colour. This narrow border on each side is one third of the width of the
red cross.
The final lesson, the construction of the Union Jack of our day, should
be given on Empire Day or a few days before. As an introduction the
teacher should review the flag of each country in the Union, referring
also to the Union Jacks of James and of Anne. The problem of uniting the
Irish Jack with the other two might be given the pupils; but as they are
not likely to succeed in solving it, it will be better for the teacher
to place before them the Union Jack belonging to the school and to lead
them to observe:
1. that it is usually oblong--twice as long as wide; (it may also
be square);
2. that the St. Andrew's Cross is partially covered by the St.
Patrick's;
3. that the St. George's Cross, as before, is one fifth of the
width of the jack;
4. that along the side of the St. Patrick's Cross is a strip of
white;
5. that this strip of white and the red of the St. Patrick's equal
the broad white of the St. Andrew's;
6. that the broad white of the St. Andrew's is partly white cross
and partly white ground;
7. that the broad white of the St. Andrew's is uppermost on the
parts near the staff.
When these have been noted, the pupils are ready to unite the flags
which they had formerly made. The teacher directs them to cut away all
of the white ground and half of each arm of the St. Patrick's Cross,
retaining the centre. This should then be pasted upon the St. Andrew's
Cross as in the Union Jack. They next cut away all of the white ground
of the St. George's Cross, except the border (one third of the red), and
paste this above the other two. The result will be a correctly made
jack, and the pupils will know the several stages in its growth.
Where it is not possible to conduct the series of lessons as above, the
following method is suggested. The pupils are provided with white paper
and red and blue crayons, and are led to make, as above, a study of the
jack belonging to the school. The following directions are then given:
First line in with a ruler the dimensions of the flag, say five inches
wide and ten inches long. Draw the diagonals in faint lines. Place the
cross of St. George and its border upon the flag according to the
measurements mentioned, that is, the cross one inch wide and the border
one third of an inch wide. The diagonals will be the centre and dividing
lines of the crosses of St. Andrew and St. Patrick. Now place the
saltire crosses according to the measurements. The white arm of St.
Andrew's Cross will be one-half inch in width, the white border of St.
Patrick's Cross one-sixth of an inch wide, and the red cross of St.
Patrick one-third of an inch wide. The red cross of St. Patrick is
placed touching the diagonal, below in the first and third quarters, and
above in the second and fourth quarters. Great care must be exercised
in making the drawing of the Union Jack.
The following are the official regulations for the proportions of
the Union Jack:
1. It may be either square, or twice as long as it is wide.
2. The proportions are:
Red Cross of St. George 1/5 of width of flag.
White border to St. George 1/3 of red of St. George.
Red Cross of St. Patrick 1/3 of red of St. George.
White border to St. Patrick 1/6 of red of St. George.
Broad white of St. Andrew 1/2 of red of St. George.
3. Broad white of St. Andrew is uppermost in the two quarters next
the staff; the red of St. Patrick is uppermost in the other
quarters.
Its base is the cross of St. George, red on a white ground. On the
political union of England and Scotland in 1707, the cross of St.
Andrew, which is a white diagonal cross on a blue ground, was added, and
to this Union flag there was joined, in 1801, the cross of St. Patrick,
a red diagonal cross on a white ground. The colours of the Union Jack
are red, which is the emblem of courage; white, the emblem of purity;
and blue, the emblem of truth; so that we cannot do anything cowardly
without disgracing our flag.
On memorial days the teacher, as he describes the past events that have
helped to make our country strong and keep it free, may well refer to
the colours of the flag as reminders of the virtues on which our Empire
rests.
For memorial days the following, among others, are suggested:
FLAG DAYS
Opening and closing of each term
Jan. 1.--Municipalities incorporated in Canada, 1842. (To be
celebrated on the first school day of the new year.)
Feb. 10.--Union of the Canadas, 1841.
March 11.--First Responsible Ministry, 1848.
March 14.--Founding of Upper Canada--Constitutional Act, 1791.
March 24.--Egerton Ryerson's birthday (1803-1882).
Empire Day.--The school day immediately preceding May 24.
May 24.--Victoria Day.
June 3.--The King's Birthday, 1865.
July 1.--Dominion Day: Confederation of the Provinces, 1867.
July 17.--First Parliament of Upper Canada, 1792.
September 13.--Battle of the Plains of Abraham, 1759.
October 13.--Battle of Queenston Heights--Death of Sir Isaac Brock,
1812.
October 21.--Trafalgar Day, 1805.
December 24.--Close of the War of 1812-1814, by the Treaty of
Ghent. (To be celebrated on the last school day before Christmas.)
Other days commemorating events connected with various localities may
also be chosen.
For information respecting the flag, teachers are referred to
Barlow Cumberland's _History of the Union Jack_ (latest edition),
to the _Flag Charts_, by Mrs. Fessenden, and to _The Flag of
Canada_, by Sir Joseph Pope. For the stories of the patron saints
of England, Scotland, and Ireland, see Appendix.
THE COLOURS OF THE FLAG
What is the blue on our flag, boys?
The waves of the boundless sea,
Where our vessels ride in their tameless pride,
And the feet of the winds are free;
From the sun and smiles of the coral isles
To the ice of the South and North,
With dauntless tread through tempests dread
The guardian ships go forth.
What is the white on our flag, boys?
The honour of our land,
Which burns in our sight like a beacon light
And stands while the hills shall stand;
Yea, dearer than fame is our land's great name,
And we fight, wherever we be,
For the mothers and wives that pray for the lives
Of the brave hearts over the sea.
What is the red on our flag, boys?
The blood of our heroes slain,
On the burning sands in the wild waste lands
And the froth of the purple main;
And it cries to God from the crimsoned sod
And the crest of the waves outrolled,
That He send us men to fight again
As our fathers fought of old.
We'll stand by the dear old flag, boys,
Whatever be said or done,
Though the shots come fast, as we face the blast,
And the foe be ten to one--
Though our only reward be the thrust of a sword
And a bullet in heart or brain.
What matters one gone, if the flag float on
And Britain be Lord of the main!
--Frederick George Scott
THE UNION JACK
It's only a small piece of bunting,
It's only an old coloured rag;
Yet thousands have died for its honour,
And shed their best blood for the flag.
It's charged with the cross of St. Andrew,
Which, of old, Scotland's heroes has led;
It carries the cross of St. Patrick,
For which Ireland's bravest have bled.
Joined with these is our old English ensign,
St. George's red cross on white field;
Round which, from Richard to Roberts,
Britons conquer or die, but ne'er yield.
It flutters triumphant o'er ocean,
As free as the wind and the waves;
And bondsmen from shackles unloosened,
'Neath its shadows no longer are slaves.
It floats o'er Australia, New Zealand,
O'er Canada, the Indies, Hong Kong;
And Britons, where'er their flag's flying,
Claim the rights which to Britons belong.
We hoist it to show our devotion
To our King, our country, and laws;
It's the outward and visible emblem,
Of progress and liberty's cause.
You may say it's an old bit of bunting,
You may call it an old coloured rag;
But freedom has made it majestic,
And time has ennobled our flag.
FORMS III AND IV
SUGGESTIONS FOR EMPIRE DAY
The exercises on Empire Day may be extended to include most of the
subjects on the time-table by providing interesting problems in these
subjects which will, at the same time, keep the pupils' attention
focused on the purpose of the day.
The purpose of Empire Day may be stated briefly: (1) To increase the
pupils' knowledge of the various parts of the Empire; (2) To create in
them fine ideals of a larger citizenship; (3) To give a feeling of
responsibility for Canada's place and work in the Empire, both now and
in the future.
EXERCISES SUGGESTED
1. In literature: Study one or more of the selections in the Public
School Readers that are suitable; for example, in the IV Reader, pp. 1,
49, 74, 154, 155, 227, 231, 248, 302, 358, 409; in the III Reader, pp.
55, 140, 246, 258, 274. If these have been studied before, one or two
might be read or recited by the pupils. In this Manual poems are given
(pp. 73, 74) that may be used in the same way. Pamphlets containing
suitable matter for Empire Day have been sent out by the Department of
Education on several occasions.
2. In history: (_a_) Some information about the growth of the Empire;
for example, how and when Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,
or any other part of the Empire was added; (_b_) Comparison of the size
of the British Empire with that of any earlier Empire, such as the
Persian, Greek, or Roman; (_c_) The growth of Great Britain's commercial
and naval supremacy, on what it is founded, what danger there is of
losing it, etc.; (_d_) Interpretation of the Union Jack, or of the
Canadian ensign.
3. In geography: (_a_) Story of the "All-Red" route, or of the "All-Red"
cable--explain the meaning of "All-Red" by reference to the map; (_b_)
"The sun never sets on the British flag." Make this clear by having
pupils notice on the map that there are red spots, showing British
territory, on or not very far from every meridian line; British ships,
too, are in every part of the ocean; (_c_) Compare the population and
area of Great Britain, Canada, Australia, the United States, Germany,
France, etc.
4. In arithmetic: The pupils may discover how many people there are to
the square mile in these countries; they may be asked to work out the
population Canada would have if she were as densely populated as
England, as the United States, as Germany, etc.; how fast did the
population of the United States increase in the first century after the
Revolution; what will the population of Canada be in fifty years, if it
increases as rapidly as the population of the United States in the last
fifty, etc.; at the present rate of increase, when will Canada catch up
to Great Britain? When surpass her? Indicate thus the possible position
and power of Canada in the not distant future, in order to deepen the
sense of responsibility for the use made of our opportunities. (Let the
pupils search for as much of the material needed for these calculations
as they can find in their text-books.)
5. In composition: Subjects may be given for either oral or written
composition; they may be reproductions of some of the exercises
mentioned above, or may be on topics connected with them.
6. In drawing: Pupils may draw the flag, or any map needed above.
TYPE LESSONS
FORM IV
INTRODUCTORY
As described in the details of method for Form IV (see p. 28), the ideal
method of teaching in this Form is the oral method, which means not only
the narration of the story, but the presentation to the pupils of
problems connected with the lesson that the experiences of the class may
help to solve. The full narration here of the lessons selected would be
like doing over again the work of the text-book; accordingly, in the
majority of the lessons, a topical analysis is all that is given. The
value of a topical analysis is that it emphasizes the principal points
that should be described or developed and, more important still, that it
assists the pupils to _understand_ the lesson better, that is, to see
more clearly the relation of cause and effect. The topical analysis will
also suggest to the teacher how to prepare a lesson. There is no better
evidence that a period of history is understood by the teacher than the
ability to make a clear, concise analysis of it. This analysis should
then be used instead of the text-book in teaching the lesson, and the
use of it will, after a little practice has made the teacher more
expert, contribute, to a surprising degree, to increased interest in the
class.
EGERTON RYERSON
One of the objects of instruction in civics is to create in the pupils
ideals of citizenship that may influence their conduct in after life.
The most powerful agency to use for this object is the life of some
useful and patriotic citizen who gave his talents and energy to the
bettering of his country. In using biography for this purpose the pupils
should be given only such facts as they can comprehend, and these facts
should be made as real, vivid, and interesting as possible by
appropriate personal details and concrete description. The following
sketch may serve as an example:
Dr. Ryerson, in speaking of his birth and parentage, said:
I was born on March 24th, 1803, in the township of Charlotteville,
near the village of Vittoria, in the then London district, now the
County of Norfolk. My father had been an officer in the British
army during the American Revolution, being a volunteer in the
Prince of Wales' Regiment of New Jersey, of which place he was a
native. His forefathers were from Holland, and his more remote
ancestors were from Denmark. At the close of the American
revolutionary war, he, with many others of the same class, went to
New Brunswick, where he married my mother, whose maiden name was
Stickney, a descendant of one of the early Massachusetts Puritan
settlers. Near the close of the last century, my father with his
family followed an elder brother to Canada, where he drew some
2,500 acres of land from the Government for his services in the
army, besides his pension.
Ryerson's mother had a very strong influence over him. She was a very
religious woman with a great love for her children, and from her Egerton
learned lessons that never ceased to influence him. After telling how
she treated him when he had done something naughty, he says that "though
thoughtless and full of playful mischief, I never afterwards knowingly
grieved my mother, or gave her other than respectful and kind words."
The whole family had to work hard at clearing the land and farming it.
Before he was twenty-one years of age he "had ploughed every acre of
ground for the season, cradled every stalk of wheat, rye, and oats, and
mowed every spear of grass, pitched the whole first on a wagon, and
then from the wagon to the haymow or stack." This was the work that gave
him strength and health to do the great things that were before him. His
years in the district school were few, yet he made such good use of them
that when he was only fifteen years old he was asked to take the place
of one of his teachers during the latter's illness. Further instruction
from teachers was not given him till he came of age. Then he went to
Hamilton to study in the Gore district grammar school for one year. Here
he studied so strenuously that he was seized with an attack of brain
fever, which was followed by inflammation of the lungs. His life was
despaired of, but his good constitution and his mother's nursing
restored him to health.
Shortly afterwards he began his work as a Methodist preacher. When
twenty-three years old, he undertook a mission to the Indians at the
Credit and resided among them as one of themselves, to show them better
ways of living and working. This is part of his account: "Between
daylight and sunrise, I called out four of the Indians in succession
and, working with them, showed them how to clear and fence in, and
plough and plant their first wheat and cornfields. In the afternoon I
called out the schoolboys to go with me, and cut and pile and burn the
brushwood in and around the village."
In 1829 _The Christian Guardian_ newspaper was organized as the organ of
the Methodists, and the young preacher placed in the editorial chair; in
1841 he was chosen President of Victoria College.
In 1844 Dr. Ryerson was appointed Chief Superintendent of Education for
Upper Canada. He immediately set himself to awaken the country to a
proper estimate of the importance of education, and to improve the
qualifications of teachers. He urged the people to build better schools
and to pay better salaries, so that well-qualified teachers could be
engaged. He visited foreign countries to study their systems and methods
that he might make the schools of Upper Canada more efficient. A
Provincial Normal and Model School was established in 1847, better books
were provided for the pupils, more and better apparatus and maps for all
schools. All this was done in the face of many difficulties inevitable
in a new country--popular ignorance, apathy, lack of means to build
schools and support them, lack of time to attend them. The opposition of
many who did not set the same value on education that he himself did had
also to be faced. With unwearied zeal, steadfast courage, and unfailing
patience, he met these difficulties. For over thirty years, he devoted
his matured manhood and great endowments to the task of developing a
public sentiment in favour of education, and of building on sure
foundations a system of elementary and secondary schools that is the
just pride of our Province and his own best monument.
In 1876 he resigned his position of Chief Superintendent, and was
succeeded by a Minister of Education. He had nobly fulfilled the promise
he made on accepting office in 1844--"to provide for my native country a
system of education, and facilities for intellectual improvement not
second to those in any country in the world."
He died in 1882. To honour him in his death as he had served it in his
life the whole country seemed assembled, in its representatives, at his
funeral. Members of the Legislature, judges, University authorities,
ecclesiastical dignitaries, thousands from the schools which he had
founded, and above all, the common people, for whose cause he never
failed to stand, followed to the grave the remains of the great Canadian
who had lived so faithfully and well for his country.
NOTE.--If the pupils have been told about the Pilgrim
Fathers, and the U.E. Loyalists, a review of those stories will add
interest to this lesson; if not, it will serve as an introduction
to them.
For a Form IV class, the following should be included in the lesson:
With the close of the War of 1812 there opened a new era in the
history of Canada. Its people had realized that their country was
worth fighting for, and they had defended it successfully. A new
interest in its political life was awakened, new movements
inaugurated. These were along three lines--one, political with
responsible government as its object; another, religious with equal
rights and privileges for all churches as its aim; a third,
educational with equal and efficient instruction for all without
distinction of class or creed as its purpose. The first movement is
known as the struggle for Responsible Government--the struggle for
equal political rights; the second, as the Secularization of the
Clergy Reserves--the struggle for equal religious rights; the third
as the University Question--the struggle for non-denominational
control of education. In the second and third movements Dr. Ryerson
played a very prominent part and, because these affected the
politics of his day, he took a keen interest in the first.
NOTE.--For purposes of reference, consult _The Story of My
Life_ by Dr. Ryerson; _The Ryerson Memorial Volume_ by Dr. J.G.
Hodgins; _Egerton Ryerson_ by Nathaniel Burwash in THE MAKERS
OF CANADA; and _Egerton Ryerson_ by J.H. Putnam.
THE INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY
The lesson may be begun best by referring to the provisions in the
British North America Act for the building of the railway. (If the class
knows nothing yet of this Act, reference may be made to Dominion Day,
and the Act associated with it, by explaining the significance of the
Day. The date of Confederation, 1867, may be written on the board for
reference.) In the B.N.A. Act, it was provided that "the Canadian
Government should build a railway connecting the St. Lawrence with
Halifax, to be commenced within six months after the Union."
_Teacher._--Did you notice the two places that were to be connected
by the road?
_Pupil._--They were Halifax and the St. Lawrence River.
_T._--Why do you think Halifax was chosen as one terminus?
_P._--Because it is near the sea.
_T._--Well, Quebec is not far from the sea either.
_P._--It is the nearest port for ocean-going steamers.
_T._--Do you know what happens to the St. Lawrence every winter?
_P._--It freezes up.
_T._--Yes. It is frozen over for about four months in the winter,
and ocean-going vessels cannot use the river then, so Halifax was
chosen as a good winter port on the Atlantic. Now, what place on
the St. Lawrence would be chosen as the other terminus?
_P._--Most likely either Quebec or Montreal.
_T._--We can tell better a little later which one was actually
chosen. Here is a thing that I want you to think about. Why should
they build the railway just to the St. Lawrence? Were there many
people living in Upper Canada fifty years ago?
_P._--Yes, as many people as there were in Quebec province.
_T._--Really there were about 250,000 more here than in Quebec. How
would the people here ship their goods in the winter? How do we
send our goods to Europe now in winter?
(Several suggestions were made. Finally it was stated that we could
ship by water in summer, and by rail in winter.)
_T._--You know that there are some rapids on the St. Lawrence
before we reach Montreal. How do we manage about them?
_P._--By using the canals.
_T._--How can we ship by rail?
_P._--By using the Grand Trunk or the Canadian Pacific Railway.
_T._--Now, I shall have to tell you something about the canals and
the first railway from Upper Canada. There were several canals
already built on the St. Lawrence: the Lachine, Welland, and
others. In fact, we had spent about $1,500,000 on canals before
Confederation. The Grand Trunk Railway was running from Sarnia to
Quebec city by 1856, just eleven years before Confederation. (Have
a pupil trace the line from Sarnia to Quebec, so that the class may
see how much of Upper Canada was served by the Grand Trunk.) Can
you tell me now what place on the St. Lawrence would be taken as
the western terminus of the new railway?
_P._--Yes, Quebec would be the one.
_T._--Why?
_P._--Because the people of Upper Canada had ways already for
sending their goods as far as Quebec city.
_T._--The next point to think about is--How had Canada been
shipping her goods across the sea in winter before this?
(Several suggestions were made. "We would have to keep everything
till the next summer." "We would have to use ice-boats." Objections
were raised to these methods to show that they were impossible.
Finally one pupil thought that we could send our freight through
the United States.)
_T._--Well, why did the people not continue doing that, instead of
wanting to build a railway of their own?
_P._--The United States would likely make them pay for doing it.
_T._--Let me explain about that. In 1854, a treaty had been made
between Canada and the United States, called the Reciprocity
Treaty, by which the two countries exchanged their goods freely.
This treaty was ended in 1866, and the people of Canada had to
depend more on themselves. Besides, there was a good deal of
trouble between Britain and the United States, arising out of the
Civil War in the latter country, which had just ended. (The pupils
are told here about the "Trent" and "Alabama" affairs, and the
Fenian raids of 1866.) The people at that time were afraid that
there might be war between the two countries and, of course, that
would bring Canada into the trouble. Do you see now why a railway
was needed from Quebec to Halifax?
_P._--Because there was danger of war, and because the United
States might interfere with Canadian trade.
_T._--There were both military and commercial reasons. We have
found now why the road was to run from Halifax to Quebec, and why
it had to be built at that time. The next thing to find out
is--Where it was to be built. If you were a railway contractor and
had to build the road without thinking of anything but getting it
done, what route would you be likely to follow?
_P._--I think I should take the shortest way.
_T._--Where would the road go then?
(Have a pupil place a ruler on the map from Quebec to Halifax.)
Tell where it would run.
_P._--Through Quebec Province, the State of Maine, New Brunswick,
and Nova Scotia.
_T._--Would the people build it along that line? Don't forget the
reasons for building it at all.
_P._--They wouldn't go through the State of Maine, because that is
in the United States.
_T._--What is the next way they might think of?
_P._--The next shortest way so as to keep in Canada.
_T._--Where would that be? (Pupil comes up and tells from the map.)
_P._--From Quebec city through Quebec, along the edge of Maine,
into New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
_T._--Would they take that way?
_P._--No, because it is too near the border of the United States.
_T._--Why do you say "too near"?
_P._--If there was war, soldiers from the United States might come
over and wreck the railway. They might dynamite the bridges or tear
up the rails.
_T._--As a matter of fact, they did not take that way. What route
could be taken to prevent any trouble of that kind?
_P._--They would stay as far from the border as possible.
_T._--Where would that be? (Pupil comes to the map to find out.)
_P._--They would have to follow the St. Lawrence for some distance.
_T._--How far?
_P._--Right down to the other side of New Brunswick. Then down to
Halifax.
_T._--Would that be the cheapest line to build?
_P._--It would cost more, because it is longer than the others.
_T._--It is really 138 miles longer than the next shortest. Which
of the reasons we have mentioned would make them want to keep as
far from the border as they could?
_P._--The military reason.
_T._--Which country, Canada or Britain, would be the most
interested in the military considerations?
_P._--Britain, because Canada depended on her for protection.
_T._--Is there any other reason, one connected with the cost? Where
would the money come from?
_P._--Britain would likely have to supply a good part of it.
_T._--Why?
_P._--Because there were not very many people here then.
_T._--Yes, we have to borrow a good deal of money for such purposes
even yet. The British Government was to supply the money for the
railway, and would want to have something to say as to where it was
to be built.
The pupils could now be asked to discover from the map the chief places
on the line of the railway. Have them written on the board. The teacher
would add some information about the length of the line (1,450 miles),
and the total cost ($80,000,000). He might also refer to the fact that
the fear of war that caused that route to be followed was not realized,
that the Intercolonial did good service in bringing the provinces closer
together, and that other railways have since been built on the two
rejected routes, namely, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Grand
Trunk Pacific.
The facts of the lesson should then be gone over again, following the
black-board outline that has been made as the lesson proceeds.
BLACK-BOARD OUTLINE
1. Provision in the British North America Act for the building of
the road
2. Reasons for building the road
(_a_) Military
(_b_) Commercial
3. Selection of the route
(_a_) Routes that were possible
(_b_) Reasons for the final choice
4. Facts about the road
(_a_) Principal places on the road
(_b_) Branches of the road
(_c_) Length and cost
5. Value of the road to the new Dominion
The class may be asked afterwards to draw a map showing the route and
the chief commercial centres served by the railway.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN ENGLAND, 1760-1800.
NOTE.--This lesson should be preceded by an information
lesson on the making of cotton goods--the material, how and where
the raw material is grown, how it is harvested, the difference
between spinning and weaving, the meaning of warp and woof.
The aim of this lesson is to show how a remarkable series of inventions
changed completely the processes of manufacturing, made England the
greatest manufacturing nation in the world, and gave her a source of
wealth that enabled her to carry on the costly wars against Napoleon.
The half century of this revolution is one of the most important in
English history, on account of the results in methods of transportation,
in agriculture, in social conditions, etc., and it is almost impossible
to have a satisfactory knowledge of succeeding history without
understanding this period. It is for this reason that it is treated at
such length.
This may be divided into as many lessons as the teacher wishes. The
dates given are not intended to be memorized by the pupils; they are
introduced simply to emphasize the order of the inventions. To emphasize
further the sequence, the class may be asked at each step what invention
would be needed next. The oral method--both pure narrative, and
development--is supposed to be used.
1. _Domestic System of Manufacture._--Before 1760 the manufacture of
cotton goods was carried on in the homes of the people. A spinner would
procure a supply of raw cotton from the dealer and carry it home, where,
with the help of his family, he would spin it into threads or yarn and
return it to the dealer. The spinning was all done by hand or foot-power
on a wheel that required one person to run it, and that would make only
one thread at a time. The weaving was also done at home. Because of the
use of Kay's flying shuttle (1732), the demand of the weavers for yarn
was greater than the spinners could supply, because one weaver could use
the product of many spinners, and there was great need of finding some
way of producing yarn more rapidly, to keep the weavers busy.
2. _Hargreaves' Spinning-jenny._--The first important invention of the
period was the spinning-jenny of Hargreaves (1764). This man was an
ordinary spinner, and the story is told that one day, when he was
returning from the dealer with a fresh supply of cotton, he came home
before his wife expected him. Supper was not ready, and in her haste to
rise to prepare it, she overturned the wheel when it was still in
motion. Hargreaves, entering at that moment, noticed that the spindle,
usually horizontal, was now revolving in an upright position. This gave
him the idea, and a short time afterwards he invented a machine with
which one person could spin several threads at once (at first eight).
From it has been developed the complicated machinery for spinning used
to-day.
3. _Arkwright's Spinning-frame or Water-frame._ Sir Richard Arkwright
invented, in 1771, a machine that accomplished the whole process of
spinning, the worker merely feeding the machine and tying breaks in the
thread. This machine was run by water-power, thus doing away with
hand-power and allowing the operator to attend entirely to the spinning.
4. _The Mule._ In 1779, Crompton invented a mule, by which threads of a
finer and stronger quality could be spun, and thus made it possible to
weave any grade of cloth.
5. _The Power-loom._ The spinners were now able to keep ahead of the
weavers, till Cartwright invented, in 1785, a power-loom that enabled
the weavers to work faster and use all the thread that the spinners
could make.
6. _The Steam-engine._ These machines were run by hand or water-power.
In 1785, Watts' steam-engine, invented several years before this, was
used in the manufacture of cotton, and manufacturers were now able to
use all the raw material they could get. The use of steam instead of
water-power led to the building of factories in cities, where labour was
plentiful and transportation facilities good. This meant large cities.
7. _The Cotton-gin._ Cotton had to be cleaned of its seeds before it
could be used in the factory. This had to be done by hand, which greatly
hindered the supply of raw material. A good deal of the raw cotton came
from the United States, and the planters there grew no more than could
be cleaned and sold. In 1792, Eli Whitney, an American, invented the
cotton-gin, by which the cotton could be cleaned of its seed very
quickly. Formerly a workman could clean by hand only five pounds of
cotton a week; by the saw-gin five hundred pounds could be cleaned in an
hour. (If a cotton-boll can be procured, the pupils will soon discover
how difficult it is to separate the seeds from the cotton.) More cotton
was then grown, because it could be sold to the factories, and England
was able to get all she required to keep the factories going. It may be
added here that the increase in cotton growing required more hands for
its cultivation; at that time, this meant more slaves; the cotton-gin
was therefore a large factor in the slave troubles in the Southern
States that led to the Civil War.
8. _Coal-mining and Smelting._ These machines were made of iron, and
coal was needed to run the engines and to smelt the iron. There was
plenty of coal in England, but very little was mined until the steam
pump was brought into use to keep the mines clear of water. When this
was done, more men went to work in the mines to get out the greater
amount of coal that was now needed. There was also plenty of iron ore in
England, and before this it had been smelted by means of charcoal, which
is made from wood. This slow and wasteful method was followed until
Roebuck invented a process of smelting by coal, and thus made possible a
plentiful supply of iron for the manufacture of the machines.
9. _The Safety Lamp._ Coal-mining was a dangerous occupation, because of
the fire-damp that is generated in mines. The open lamps used by the
miners often caused this gas to explode and many men lost their lives
thereby. To remedy this, Sir Humphrey Davy invented the safety lamp in
1815, which gave the miners the light they needed and prevented these
explosions.
10. _Transportation._ Now that there was so much manufacturing carried
on, people turned their attention to ways of transporting the goods to
where they were needed. The roads were generally wretched, and in many
parts of the country goods had to be carried on the backs of horses, as
the roads were not fit for wheels. Macadam, by using broken stone to
form the road-crust or surface, brought about a great improvement in
road-making. (Show pictures of old-time roads and of the roads to-day.)
Transportation by water was difficult by reasons of the obstructions in
rivers. To overcome these, canals were dug. The first one was made in
1761 between some coal-mines and the town of Manchester. Before 1800
many more were dug, and transportation became much easier.
11. _Agriculture._ The number of people engaged in the factories was
increasing and these could not grow their own food. This made it
necessary for the farmers to increase their output. Farms became larger;
better methods of cultivation were used; winter roots were grown, making
it possible to raise better cattle; fertilizers were used in greater
quantities, and the rotation of crops was introduced to prevent the
exhaustion of the soil.
12. _Social Conditions._ Out of the factory system grew the division of
classes into capital and labour, the struggle between which is the great
problem of to-day. It was then that labour unions came into existence.
We see, as a result of these inventions, that England was changed from
an agricultural country to a land of large manufacturing cities, and
became the chief manufacturing centre of the world, able to supply money
to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte, who is credited with the statement that it
was not England's armies that defeated him, but her "spindles."
NOTE.--The teacher may refer to some of the modern social
problems resulting in large part from this industrializing of the
country: overcrowding in cities, bad housing and slums, urban and
suburban transportation, educational problems, intemperance,
decrease in physique, etc. (For the history of this period, see _A
History of the British Nation_, by A.D. Innes, T.C. & E.C. Jack,
Edinburgh.)
THE ROAD TO CATHAY
The aim of this lesson is to show how the desire of certain European
nations to find a western route to the rich countries of the
East--India, Cathay, and Cipango (India, China, and Japan)--led to the
discovery and subsequent exploration of America. It can be used as a
review lesson on the exploration of Canada. It will also give the pupil
practice in collecting information from various sources so as to show
the development of history along a certain line.
The subject-matter may be divided into as many lessons as the teacher
thinks best, and the oral method should be used. All the dates given are
not intended to be memorized; they are used to show the historical
sequence; only three or four of the most important need be committed to
memory by the class at their present stage. The map should be used
frequently.
THE LESSON
One of the results of the Crusades was to reveal to the European nations
the wealth of the East. Trade between the East and West grew, and Venice
became one of the wealthiest and most powerful of the states of Europe.
In 1295, a Venetian traveller named Marco Polo returned from Cathay
after an absence of twenty-five years. His stories of the wealth in
silks, spices, pearls, etc., of those eastern countries intensified the
desire of the West to trade with them. A great commerce soon grew up,
carried on principally by the great Italian cities--Venice, Florence,
Genoa, Pisa, Milan--and as these cities controlled the Mediterranean,
the only route to Asia then known, they had a monopoly of the Eastern
trade, and kept for a time the other western nations--Spain, Portugal,
France, and England--from sharing in it. These nations, animated by the
hope of gain and by the spirit of adventure and exploration, could not
long be denied their share. This spirit was stimulated by the
introduction of the mariner's compass, which afforded sailors a safer
guide than landmarks and stars; by the invention of gunpowder and the
use of cannon, which, through lessening the strength of the mediæval
castle, tended to increase the power of the middle classes; and by the
invention of printing, which aided greatly in the diffusion of
knowledge.
The problem was to find a route by which to trade with India and China.
Place the map of the world before the pupils and inquire how men
travel to-day from Great Britain to India. Show that these routes
were not feasible then. The route through the Mediterranean to Asia
Minor and thence overland, or through the Red Sea to India, was
closed by the Turks, who captured Constantinople in 1453. The Suez
Canal was not opened till 1869. The way round the Cape of Good
Hope was not discovered till 1497. The western route across the
Atlantic and the Pacific was unknown.
Not till the closing years of the fifteenth century were the attempts to
solve this problem successful. The discovery of the route to India by
Vasco de Gama in 1497 first opened the way to the East, though the still
earlier discovery by Columbus was to afford, in later years, a much more
complete solution.
Christopher Columbus was a native of Genoa in Italy. An eager student of
geography, he became convinced that the earth was a sphere or globe and
not a flat surface. He believed that he could reach India and Cathay by
sailing west, as well as by going east through the Mediterranean--a
route that had been closed since the capture of Constantinople by the
Turks in 1453. "This grand idea, together with his services in carrying
it out, he offered first to his motherland of Genoa. But Genoa did not
want a new route to the East. Then he turned, but in vain, to Portugal.
The hopes of Portugal were set upon a passage around the south of
Africa. To England and to France Columbus held out his wondrous offer;
but these countries were slow and unbelieving. It was to Spain he made
his most persistent appeal; and Spain, to his imperishable glory, gave
ear." Through the self-denial and devotion of Queen Isabella of Castile
he was enabled to put his dream to the test.
A special lesson should be given on the life of Columbus--his
efforts, perseverance, courage, failures, successes. The teacher
may add at will to the facts given here. Read Joaquin Miller's
Poem, "Columbus," _High School Reader_, pp. 143-145.
When Columbus landed on the island-fringe of America in 1492, he thought
he had found what he had set out to find--the eastern country of India;
and he believed it all his life. This idea survived for several
generations, partly because of the great wealth of Mexico and Peru. When
Europeans were at last convinced that it was not India, they began again
to seek a way to the East, and looked on the continent of America merely
as an obstacle in their path. To find the road to Cathay was still their
chief ambition.
In 1497, John Cabot, under a charter from Henry VII of England, set out
to find a way to the East, and landed on North America; in 1498, his
son, Sebastian Cabot, explored the coast from Labrador to South
Carolina, with the same object.
In 1534, on his first voyage, Cartier thought, when he arrived at Gaspé
and saw the great river coming from the west, that he had discovered the
gateway to the East.
With the same object in view, Champlain, in 1609, explored the Richelieu
River and Lake Champlain. In 1613, he listened, only to be deceived, to
the story of Vignau about a way to the East up the Ottawa River to a
large lake and into another river that would lead to the Western Sea.
Henry Hudson made four voyages in search of a way through or round the
continent. On the first, second, and fourth, he tried to go round by a
North-west or a North-east passage. On the third voyage, in 1609, he
sailed up the Hudson River for 150 miles, only to find his way blocked.
A curious fact is that on this voyage he must, at one time, have been
only about twenty leagues from Champlain, when the latter was exploring
Lake Champlain on the same errand. (Show this on the map.) On his fourth
voyage, in 1610, Hudson discovered the bay that now bears his name, and
he must have thought, when he saw that great stretch of water to the
West, that he was at last successful. He wintered there, and when the
ice broke up in the spring, his men mutinied and set him, his young son,
and two companions, adrift in a boat, and they were never heard of
again. (See _The Story of the British People_ pp. 234-235.)
The Mississippi was long looked upon as a possible way to the Pacific
Ocean. La Salle explored the great lakes and the Ohio, Illinois, and
Mississippi Rivers. This last he found to flow south into the Gulf of
Mexico, instead of west into the Pacific Ocean. His settlement on
Montreal Island was called _La Chine_ (the French word for China), in
allusion to his desire to find the way to that country.
Later, others were led by the same desire to explore the western part of
what is now Canada. Vérendrye, in 1731, travelled from Lake Nepigon by
way of Rainy Lake, the Winnipeg River, and the Red River, to the
junction of the latter with the Assiniboine, where Winnipeg now stands;
also up the Saskatchewan River to the Forks. His son, in 1742, explored
the Missouri River and came within sight of the Rocky Mountains.
Men of the Hudson's Bay Company and of the North-West
Company--Mackenzie, Fraser, Thompson, Simpson, Hearne--amid great
hardships and through thrilling adventures, continued the work of
exploring the waterways of the West to find an opening to the Pacific.
It has remained to the people of Canada to conquer the passes of the
Rockies and Selkirks, build great transcontinental railways and
steamship lines, and thus afford a direct short route from Europe to
Cathay. What men had striven for during more than four hundred years it
has been our lot to accomplish.
Other topics of interest suggested by the lesson may be taken up
afterwards; for example, the opening of the Suez Canal and its effect
on trade--why it did not restore supremacy to the Italian cities; the
opening of the Panama Canal and its probable effect on commerce; the
reasons why merchants prefer water routes to land routes, etc.
TOPICAL ANALYSIS OF LESSON ON THE ARMADA
The purpose of this lesson is to show how to construct a topical outline
of an important event in history. It is assumed that the teacher will
use, in preparing similar lessons, a larger history of Britain than the
Public School text-book, in order that the class may be asked, after the
lesson is taught, to read in their text-books an account somewhat
different in treatment from that of the teacher. The headings should
show the sequence of events and should be concise. The smaller print
indicates the facts that the brief headings should recall to the pupils
after the lesson. The events preceding the coming of the Armada are
suggested here among the causes. These headings may be placed on the
black-board as the lesson proceeds; they may be suggested by either
teacher or pupils. The actual teaching should be by both narrative and
development methods.
For the teacher's use a very interesting and trustworthy book is _A
History of the British Nation_, by A.D. Innes, T.C. & E.C. Jack,
Edinburgh.
I. CAUSES
1. _Political._--(_a_) Ambition of Philip to rule Europe; chief
obstacles were England, France, The Netherlands.
(The opposition of France was overcome by a treaty and by the
marriage of Philip and Isabella of France after Elizabeth had
refused Philip's offer of marriage. The Netherlands were in full
revolt and could not be conquered even by the cruelties of Alva and
the destruction of their commerce. England was the chief Protestant
power in Europe and, as such, was the chief opponent of Spain.)
(_b_) The marriage trouble; Elizabeth's religious policy broke off
negotiations of marriage with Philip.
(_c_) Philip received as a legacy the rights of Mary Queen, of Scots to
the English throne.
2. _Commercial_.--Interference of the English in the New World, to which
Spain claimed sole right.
(This includes the English settlements as well as the capture of
Spanish treasure ships. Recall stories of Drake, Hawkins, etc.)
3. _Religious._--Philip was the chief supporter of Roman Catholicism in
Europe, and wished to impose his religion on England.
(This was the period of compulsion in religious matters.)
II. EVENTS
1. Preparations in Spain and England.
(Spain set about preparing a large fleet, to carry soldiers as well
as sailors. The best Spanish general was in command at first. His
death put an incapable man in command, who was largely responsible
for the defeat. The Duke of Parma was to co-operate from the
Netherlands with a large army. In England, the small battle fleet
was increased by the voluntary contributions of all classes till it
actually outnumbered the Spanish fleet, though the vessels were
very much smaller. A comparison of the fleets as they were on the
eve of battle should be made.)
2. Difference in the national spirit in the two countries.
(The Spanish were on an expedition of conquest; the sailors were
ill-trained and many serving against their will. The English were
defending their homes; they forgot their religious and political
differences in their patriotism; the sailors were hardy, fearless,
and most skilful in handling their ships.)
3. The affair at Cadiz.
(Retarded the invasion for a year, gave England more time for
preparation, and encouraged hopes of success.)
4. The battle in the Channel.
(Armada attacked on the way to Dover, July 28-Aug. 6, 1588;
fireships at Calais, Aug. 6; final engagement, Aug. 8-9; a chance
for a vivid description by the teacher.)
5. Storm completes the ruin of the Armada.
(Facts to be given as to the losses of the Armada; recall stories
of wrecked Spanish vessels on the coasts of Scotland, etc., and
recommend class to read some story, such as Kingsley's _Westward
Ho!_)
III. RESULTS
1. Ruin of Spain and of Philip's ambitions. [Connect with I. 1 (_a_)]
2. Influence on England's patriotism and maritime power.
3. Greater religious tolerance in England.
4. Marvellous growth of literature in England partly due to this.
5. Effect on America. It decided for all time that Spain should not rule
the New World, but that the Anglo-Saxons should, with all their ideals
of political, social, and religious liberty.
(See _P.S. History of England_, secs. 135-142.)
LESSON ON THE FEUDAL SYSTEM
(As many lesson periods as may be found desirable)
_Aim._ To give the pupils a knowledge of the manner in which land was
held, (1) by the Saxons at different periods on the continent and in
England; (2) by the French; (3) by the Normans under William the
Conqueror, showing the changes he made in both Saxon and French systems.
STEP I
1. _Introduction._ By questioning, the teacher elicits from one pupil
that his father owns a farm; from another, that his father rents a farm;
from a third, that his father works one "on shares." From this may be
derived the meaning of "freehold," "leasehold," and "on shares," as
applied to ways of holding land. For town and city classes, a parallel
may be made by substituting "house" for "farm." As holding property "on
shares" is not so common in cities, suggest possible cases, such as a
florist's business, a rink, etc.
2. Let pupils read the sketch of the Saxon or "mark" system given in the
_Ontario Public School History of England_, pp. 22 and 30; and then draw
a plan of a Saxon village from the passages read.
STEP II
(Given to the class by the teacher's oral explanation)
1. _The Saxon System:_ Further study of the early land tenure of the
Saxons. (See _Ontario High School History of England_, p. 33.) The
following extract from Oman's _England before the Norman Conquest_ may
be of assistance:
The typical free settlement of an English _maegth_ (or kindred)
consisted first of the large arable fields divided up into narrow
strips, of which each household possessed several, next of the
almost equally prized meadow, which was hedged off into
appropriated lots in summer, but thrown back into common in winter,
and lastly of the undistributed waste, from which the whole
community would draw its wood supply, and on which it would pasture
its swine, or even turn out its cattle for rough grazing at some
seasons.
The normal method of agriculture was the "three-field system," with
a rotation of wheat, barley, or oats, and in the third year,
fallow--to allow of the exhausted soil regaining some measure of
its fertility. In the last year the field was left unfenced and the
cattle of the community picked up what they could from it, when
they were neither on the waste, nor being fed with the hay that had
been mowed from the meadow. There seem to have been exceptional
cases in which the strips of the arable were not permanently
allotted to different households, but were distributed, by lot or
otherwise, to different holders in different years. But this was an
abnormal arrangement; usually the proprietorship of the strips in
each field was fixed. And the usual arrangement would be that the
fully endowed ceorl's household had just so much arable in its
various strips as a full team of oxen could plough.
Then explain the origin of the names "Eorl" and "Thegn" (_P.S. Hist. of
Eng._, pp. 34 and 37); the idea of protection (_P.S. Hist. of Eng._, p.
37), and of sharing in the produce of the land, and the payment of
necessary fees to the King. Emphasize the ownership of the land by the
freeman.
2. _The Courts_: The _Witan_, which could displace the king for certain
reasons, the _Shire_ or _folk-moot_, and the _Tun-moot_; their powers;
the people looked to these courts for justice.
3. _Change_ brought about by Danish raids--small freeholders sought
protection from the greater lords; the shifting of ownership from small
landowners to "eorls."
STEP III
_The Feudal System in France:_ (Read Scott's _Quentin Durward_.) Barons
too powerful for the king for various reasons:
1. Their property was large and compact.
2. They administered justice, issued coinage, etc.
3. Vassals swore allegiance to their immediate superior.
By means of problem-questions develop from the pupils what William would
probably do to strengthen his own position.
STEP IV
_The Feudal System under William:_ (Note the innovations of William.)
1. The land belonged solely to the king; it was not the Normans as a
tribe, but William personally, who conquered England.
2. The estates of the nobles were divided, either deliberately or
because the land was conquered piecemeal and parcelled out as it was
conquered. (For example, Odo had 473 manors in 17 counties.)
3. The vassals swore direct allegiance to the king.
4. The Witan was displaced by the Great Council, the members of which
were the king's vassals; therefore with him, not against him.
5. The king's use of shire-reeves, personal dependants, who led the
military levy of the counties and collected the king's taxes.
6. What were the chief taxes? From them came much political trouble in
later times by attempts to rectify abuses in connection with them.
7. The teacher may describe the ceremony of the feudal oath.
The important points of each step should be written on the black-board
as they are described or developed.
(The decay of the Feudal System in England may be the topic of another
lesson.)
SEIGNIORIAL TENURE
The aim of the lesson is to give the pupils a knowledge of the method of
land tenure introduced into Canada by the French; to enable them to
trace the effects of this system upon the progress of the people and the
development of the country; and to increase their interest in the
present system of tenure.
METHOD
In connection with sections 3 and 4 the description of the Feudal System
would show how the land was held in France; first by the king, under him
by the greater nobles, then by the lesser nobles and the gentry, then by
the large farmers who sublet it in small farms or hired men to work it.
Every one who held land had to do something for his lord. When this
description is complete, let the pupils apply it to Canada, the teacher
supplying the names of the corresponding classes in Canada. Then the
pupils may be asked to consider what return each holder would make for
his land; this leads to a statement of the conditions of tenure in
Canada. Then the evils connected with this system may be presented as
another problem; for example, how would the actual workers be
discouraged in making improvements that they would get no credit for? In
connection with section 5, the pupils can contrast the method of holding
land that they are familiar with, that is, by complete ownership, and
can imagine what changes the English settlers would want. They are then
ready to hear how and when these changes were brought about, and at what
cost.
The method is therefore a combination of the narrative and development,
or problem, methods.
THE LESSON
1. Introduce the lesson by a reference to the system of holding land in
Ontario. (See lesson on the Feudal System.) Develop the leading
principles of freehold tenure. What Act gave the people of Ontario this
method of holding land? We are going to learn something about the system
of holding land adopted by the French when they ruled Canada. (See
_Ontario Public School History_, Chapter IX, also _Ontario High School
History of Canada_, Chap. VIII.)
2. Under the French the lands of Canada were held in feudal tenure,
which means that the King was regarded as the owner, and that rent was
paid to him, not altogether in money, but partly in military service.
Large portions of land were granted in this way to officers and nobles.
An important and imposing ceremony was that at which the lords of manors
annually did homage to the King's representative at Quebec. These
_seigniors_, as they were called, had great powers within their domains.
This method of tenure was similar to the system of holding land in
France, called the Feudal System.
At this point the teacher might give a short description of the
Feudal System. Picture to the pupils the old Feudal castle and its
surroundings. Show how ill the common people were provided for in
comparison with the lords.
3. Cardinal Richelieu introduced feudalism into Canada about the year
1527. He had two objects in view: (_a_) to create a Canadian
aristocracy, (_b_) to establish an easy system of dividing land among
settlers. This system of holding land came to be known as Seigniorial
Tenure. The seignior received vast tracts of land from the King, became
his vassal, and in turn made grants to the _censitaires_, those who held
their land on the payment of an annual rental. The censitaires secured
_habitants_ to cultivate the soil.
4. The seignior was compelled to clear his estate of forest within a
certain time. In order to do this he rented it, at from half a cent to
two cents an acre, and received his rent in produce. If the censitaire
sold the land which was cleared, he had to pay his seignior one twelfth
of the price. If the seignior parted with his estate, he had to pay the
King one fifth of the selling price. The forests of Canada were not very
attractive to the nobles of France; hence, but few of them settled in
this country. Some of the prominent colonists, however, were granted
patents of nobility and became seigniors. Prevented by their rank from
cultivating the soil, they soon became bankrupt. Then they turned their
attention to the fur-trade, and later many of them became explorers and
the most gallant defenders of New France.
5. In the year 1760, Canada became a British possession, and English
settlers commenced to make homes for themselves in Upper Canada. Their
number was greatly increased by the United Empire Loyalists who came
over after the American Revolution. The English disliked the French
method of holding land. Under Seigniorial Tenure, the seller of land in
a seigniory was compelled to pay the seignior an amount equal to one
twelfth of the purchase money. As this was chargeable not only on the
value of the land, but also on the value of all buildings and
improvements, which, costing the seigniors nothing, were often more
valuable than the land itself, it was considered by the English settlers
an intolerable handicap. (Centuries before this the Feudal System had
been abolished in England.)
6. In 1791 the British Parliament passed the Constitutional Act which
gave the people of Upper Canada the privilege of holding lands in their
own name. In Lower Canada, too, those who wished were allowed to avail
themselves of the freehold system, but the French did not take advantage
of their opportunity. In the year 1854 Seigniorial Tenure was abolished,
the Government recompensing the seigniors for the surrender of their
ancient rights and privileges, and freehold tenure, as in Ontario, was
introduced.
7. Reasons why the Seigniorial Tenure failed:
(_a_) It was not adapted to conditions in Canada.
(_b_) It did not provide sufficient incentive to settlers to
improve their lands.
(_c_) It gave the habitant no chance to rise.
(_d_) It tended to divide the population into three classes.
(_e_) It failed to develop a civic spirit. This fact alone made
progress practically impossible. Each seignior was the master of
his own domain. Thus the people had no opportunity of working
together, and under such circumstances no great national spirit
could be developed.
8. Note the effect of the conquest of Canada and of the American
Revolution, upon Seigniorial Tenure.
CONFEDERATION OF CANADIAN PROVINCES
TOPICAL ANALYSIS
_Causes:_
1. The idea of union an old one in Canada and the Maritime Provinces;
foreshadowed in Durham's Report.
2. Immediate cause in Canada was the question of representation by
population; deadlock in Parliament.
3. Immediate cause in Maritime Provinces was the feeling between Britain
and the Colonies and the United States over the _Trent_ affair, the
_Alabama_ trouble, and the idea in the Northern States that the British
Colonies favoured the cause of the South in the Civil War.
_Steps toward Confederation:_
1. Meeting of delegates from the Maritime Provinces in Charlottetown in
1864.
2. Meeting in Quebec, 1864, of delegates from all the provinces favours
Confederation.
3. Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island reject the proposal, and
delegates from Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec), Nova
Scotia, and New Brunswick proceed to London to secure an Act of Union
from the Imperial Government.
4. Movement in favour of union hastened by United States giving notice
in 1865 of the termination of the Reciprocity Treaty in a year, and by
the Fenian Raid, 1866.
5. Union accomplished by means of the British North America Act passed
by the British Parliament in 1867, and brought into force on July 1st,
1867. The provinces confederated as the Dominion of Canada; a Federal
Union.
_Outline of Terms:_
See _Ontario Public School History of Canada_, p. 215. Provision made
for admission of new provinces.
_Expansion of Confederation:_
Admission of other provinces--Manitoba, 1870; British Columbia, 1871;
Prince Edward Island, 1873; Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1905; Yukon
territory also represented in the Dominion Parliament.
NOTES OF A LESSON ON THE INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS ON THE
HISTORY OF A COUNTRY
CORRELATION OF HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY
GENERAL
The history of a nation is influenced very largely by geographical
facts. Its internal relations, whether friendly or hostile, are affected
by these. Natural barriers, such as mountains, seas, or great lakes and
rivers, are often political frontiers exerting protecting or isolating
influence.
Its industrial progress depends primarily upon its natural
products--minerals, grains, woods, fish, etc., and the facilities which
its structure affords for trade, both domestic and foreign. A sea-coast,
with satisfactory harbours, tends to produce a sea-faring people, and
therefore a trading people.
The character of its people is conditioned by the zone in which the
nation is situated. In the north temperate zone is the climate best
suited for the growth of peoples vigorous in mind and body, and lovers
of freedom.
ENGLAND
_Position:_ The forming of the Straits of Dover cut off a corner of
Europe, made Great Britain an island, and later a single political unit.
Situated between Europe and America with ports opening toward each, her
position gives her the opportunity for naval and commercial greatness.
The narrow sea separating her from the continent is a defence in war and
a means of intercourse in peace.
_Structure:_ Two regions--one of plain, the other of hills; a line drawn
from the mouth of the Tees to the mouth of the Severn and continued to
the south coast roughly divides these regions. The part lying east of
this line is, roughly speaking, level and fertile, tempting emigration
from the continent, and easily explored inward. The Angles, the Saxons,
and the Jutes found their way into this plain through the rivers that
flowed east and south. The Pennines, the Welsh Peninsula, and the
southwest of England from Bristol are in the hilly part, which, because
of its mineral wealth, has become the great industrial district.
_Climate:_ Though England lies north of the fiftieth parallel, the moist
southwest winds from the ocean temper the climate, making the winters
mild and the summers cool, a climate favourable to the growth of a
vigorous race. There is an abundant rainfall.
_Products:_ On the plains a fertile soil supported a large agricultural,
and therefore self-contained, population in the earlier days, and the
slopes furnished pasturage for cattle and sheep. Proximity to coal is an
almost indispensable condition for industries, though other
considerations come in. In the hill country coal and iron, essential
materials for a manufacturing nation, lie near to the deposits of
limestone necessary for smelting the iron ore. The coal-fields on or
near the coast are centres of shipbuilding; and the interior coal-fields
the centres of the great textile industries. Because of her insular
position and fleets of ships the raw products from other countries can
be brought to England easily and cheaply, and then shipped out as
manufactured goods.
Consult: _A Historical Geography of the British Empire_. Hereford B.
George, Methuen & Co., London. _The Relations of Geography and History_.
Hereford B. George, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
ANOTHER FORM OF THE LESSON
The teacher will announce the topic for discussion, namely, how the
history of Great Britain has been affected by her insular position.
_T._--Trace on the map the coast line of Great Britain. (Pupil does
so.) What do you notice about the coast line in comparison to the
size of the Island?
_P._--It is very irregular and has a good many bays and inlets.
_T._--Would this have any effect on the life and occupations of the
people?
_P._--They would almost have to be sailors.
_T._--In other words, a maritime people. Do you think that is
usual? Look at the coast line of Japan. (Class sees that it is much
the same as that of Britain: the Japanese are also a maritime
race.) What is one occupation the people would follow?
_P._--They would probably be fishermen. (The teacher may give some
idea of the extent of the fishing. The same may be done with each
new point, as it comes up.)
_T._--What else would they do?
_P._--They would probably engage in trade or commerce.
_T._--With which countries? Study the map for a moment.
_P._--With those on the west of Europe, and with America.
_T._--Yes. You must notice that Great Britain is situated very
favourably for trade with the whole world. Is there anything on the
map to show this?
_P._--There are a great many lines on the map that show the water
routes from Britain to almost every country in the world.
_T._--Suppose Britain had trouble with any other country that might
be a cause of war, would her position make any difference to her?
_P._--No country could attack her except by water.
_T._--How would she defend herself?
_P._--She would have to depend on her ships. (A good opening for a
brief outline of the growth of the navy.)
_T._--Where would she get her ships?
_P._--She builds them herself.
_T._--Isn't she dependent on any other nation at all?
_P._--No, she has always had the material in her own country for
that.
_T._--What are they built of?
_P._--The old ships were wooden, and she had plenty of the best
timber,--oak.
_T._--What are they built of to-day?
_P._--Most of them are of iron.
_T._--Where does she get that?
_P._--From her own mines.
_T._--Now, look at the latitude of Britain. What part of our
country has the same latitude?
_P._--Labrador.
_T._--What is the climate of Labrador?
_P._--Very cold.
_T._--Then the climate of Britain ought to be the same?
_P._--The water around it would make it not so cold.
_T._--Yes. The ocean currents from the south help to make the
climate milder, too. There would be plenty of rain, besides. Now,
how would a moist, mild climate affect agriculture in England?
_P._--They ought to be able to grow almost everything that we can.
(Similarly, many other points may be taken up and developed with the
class.)
ST. LAWRENCE RIVER
INCIDENTAL TEACHING OF HISTORY WITH GEOGRAPHY
_Aim._--To show general connection between history and geography.
_Material Required._--A black-board sketch of that part of Canada
adjacent to the St. Lawrence and a set of pictures (or picture
post-cards) showing the important historical sites along the banks of
the river.
_Introduction._--The teacher asks a few questions to make clear the
purpose of the map and to fix the location of the principal towns and
cities--Kingston, Brockville, Prescott, Ogdensburg, Morrisburg,
Cornwall, Lachine, Montreal, Three Rivers, Levis, Quebec, Tadoussac, and
Gaspé.
_Presentation._--The lesson is assumed to be a pleasure trip by boat
from Port Hope to the Atlantic. The teacher will tell of the departure
from Port Hope and the arrival at Kingston, the first port. While there,
he will ask why the place was given the name of Kingston. (It was named
in honour of George III; as Queenston, at the upper end of the lake, was
in honour of Queen Charlotte.) Leaving Kingston the teacher will
describe (showing pictures) the appearance of the fort on the point and,
with the pupils, will recall its establishment by Frontenac in 1673, and
its use as a check on the Indians, and will note its use now as a
storehouse, barracks, and training camp for soldiers. (_Ontario Public
School History_, pp. 51, 114.)
As the trip is continued down the river, they notice, in passing, the
beautiful Thousand Islands, and the town of Brockville--its name
commemorating the hero of Queenston Heights. Immediately below Prescott
is seen on the bank of the river an old wind-mill, the scene of the
Patriot invasion under Von Schultz, a Polish adventurer. (See _Ontario
Public School History_, p. 178, and picture in Weaver's _Canadian
History for Boys and Girls_, p. 227.)
Across the river lies Ogdensburg, the scene of a raid in 1813. Colonel
Macdonell, the British leader, who was drilling his small force on the
ice, made a sudden attack upon the town, defeated the Americans,
captured a large amount of stores and ammunition, and burned four armed
vessels which lay in the harbour. (See _Ontario Public School History_,
p. 155.)
From this point the boat passes rapidly through the narrow part of the
river at Iroquois (recall the Indians of that name), past the
flourishing town of Morrisburg, until, on the north bank, appears a
monument of gray granite, erected as a memorial of the battle of
Crysler's Farm, fought in this vicinity in 1813. (See _Ontario Public
School History_, p. 159.)
After passing through the Long Sault Rapids, Cornwall, noted as the seat
of the first Grammar School in Ontario, is reached. The river now widens
into a lake and does not narrow until it passes Coteau, after which it
passes through a chain of rapids and nears Lachine, the "La Chine" of La
Salle, and the scene of numerous Indian fights and massacres. (See
_Ontario School Geography_, p. 116, and _Ontario Public School History
of Canada_, p. 60.) Ten miles to the east is Montreal, the most populous
city in Canada, with its Royal Mount, and its many memories of early
settlement in Canada. (See _Ontario School Geography_, p. 121.)
Just above Quebec the river, now two miles wide, passes the bold cliffs
up which Wolfe's men climbed to the Plains of Abraham, and sweeps around
the Citadel and Lower Town. On the heights may be seen the monuments
erected in honour of Champlain, and Wolfe and Montcalm. In imagination,
pictures may be formed of the scenes that marked the close of French
Rule in Canada. The river flows on past Tadoussac, long the centre of
the Canadian fur-trade, past Gaspé where Cartier landed and laid claim
to the surrounding country in the name of the king of France, till its
banks fade from sight and its waters mingle with those of the Atlantic.
In teaching such lessons as this, the oral narrative and question method
is used. It is a review lesson, and reproduction may follow in a written
exercise.
THE RELATIONS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND FROM 1066 TO 1603
The purpose of this analysis is to explain by what show of right the
kings of England interfered so much in Scottish affairs. The analysis
also aims to show how correct and definite views on certain topics may
be had only by following out those topics through history, neglecting
all facts but those bearing on the topic studied.
1. In the tenth century, Malcolm I obtained Strathclyde (see map,
_Ontario Public School History of England_, p. 27) as a fief from Edmund
of England. His grandson, Malcolm II, was invested with Lothian, before
this a part of the English earldom of Northumbria. These fiefs are the
basis of all claims afterwards made by English kings as overlords of
Scotland.
2. Malcolm III (1057-1093) married Margaret, sister of Edgar Atheling.
The Norman conquest drove many Saxons north, and the Saxon element in
Scotland was strengthened by this.
3. William the Conqueror compelled Malcolm's submission, 1072. This kept
alive the English claims.
4. Henry I married Matilda of Scotland. Many Normans went to Scotland in
the reign of David (1124-1153). The Feudal System was introduced and
firmly established under Norman influence. Ecclesiastical foundation
begun. Friendly relations strengthened.
5. As the price of his liberty, William the Lyon agreed, by the
Convention of Falaise, 1174, to hold Scotland as a fief of England.
6. To raise money for his Crusade, Richard I of England renounced, in
1189, his feudal rights over Scotland for 10,000 marks, and for the
first time acknowledged her independence.
7. The border line was fixed for the first time in 1222.
8. The death of Margaret, daughter of Alexander III, 1286, left the
crown a bone of contention; Balliol finally secured it by favour of
Edward I of England, the overlord of Scotland. Then followed the War of
Independence under Wallace and Bruce and the Battle of Bannockburn,
1314. This long and destructive war caused the Scots to have a deadly
hatred of the English, and drove Scotland into alliance with France, the
great enemy of England, and consolidated the different races in
Scotland.
9. Scotland thus became involved in the many wars between England and
France and attacked England whenever she and France were at war.
10. In 1327, the independence of Scotland was acknowledged.
11. Friendship with France and distrust of England continued well into
the Reformation period, and in the main determined Scotland's foreign
policy.
12. With the change of religion in Scotland at the Reformation, French
influence came to an end. Religious sympathy overcame the political
hatred of England.
13. The trouble in connection with Mary Queen of Scots and her
imprisonment made for peace between the two countries, as Scotland did
not want to have Mary released for fear of further civil war.
14. The accession of James VI, a Scottish king, to the throne of
England, ended almost entirely the differences between the two
countries, and led finally to the Legislative Union a century later
(1707).
ANALYSIS OF SECTIONS 160-170, ONTARIO PUBLIC SCHOOL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
The Parliament had already established its sole right to levy taxation.
(See Green's _Short History of the English People_, p. 478.) Under
Charles I the struggle was mainly about the manner in which the taxes
should be spent; in other words, the Parliament was trying to secure
control of the executive, the other important element in Responsible
Government.
Charles I held very strongly the belief in the "divine right" of kings
and, naturally, this belief did not harmonize with the aim of
Parliament. Disputes were constant:
1. Differences concerning Charles' marriage.
2. First Parliament, 1626, would grant "tonnage and poundage" for only
one year.
3. Second Parliament, 1626, refused money unless the conduct of the
Spanish war by Buckingham was inquired into by Parliament.
4. Third Parliament, 1628-9. Charles raised some money by "forced
loans," but far too little, for a new war with France was begun.
Parliament refused to grant money till the king signed the Petition of
Right, which embodied all the points in dispute between them.
5. Charles did not long observe the Petition of Right which he had
signed; Laud, Bishop of London, was making changes in the church
ceremonies that seemed to bring back the old religion. Parliament
solemnly protested against both these things, then quietly adjourned.
Some members were arrested--Sir John Eliot died in the Tower--others
were kept in prison for eleven years.
6. No Parliament for eleven years. Charles aimed during this period to
raise money without Parliament, and to establish the English Church in
the whole country.
His methods of raising money were:
(_a_) By granting monopolies (£200,000).
(_b_) By Star Chamber fines--large fines for slight offences.
(_c_) By illegal duties.
(_d_) By "ship-money" (Trial of Hampden).
His methods of establishing the English Church were:
(_a_) Religious oppression--chief agent, Laud; chief sufferers, the
Puritans.
(_b_) Attempt to force the English Church prayer-book on Scotland led to
rebellion.
This rebellion forced Charles to summon Parliament in order to raise
money. Parliament refused to give money till their grievances were
redressed. It was dissolved in three weeks. Urgent need of troops to
keep back the Scottish rebels made Charles summon Parliament again in
six months (1640). This is known as the "Long Parliament."
7. (_a_) Parliament first accused Laud and Strafford.
(_b_) The "Grand Remonstrance" named the illegal acts of Charles.
(_c_) This led to Charles' final blunder--the attempt to arrest the five
members.
8. Open war, now the only way out, went on till Charles was captured and
beheaded, and Parliament held, for a time, entire control.
SUGGESTIVE OUTLINES FOR REVIEWS
FORM IV
I. _The Era of Reform in Britain_:
1. The Methodist Revival, which stirred the hearts of the people,
and gave them higher ideals
2. Social Reforms: (_a_) Canning, the friend of the oppressed
(_b_) Wilberforce and the abolition of slavery
(_c_) Elizabeth Fry and prison reform
(_d_) Revision of the criminal code
3. Political Reforms: (_a_) The Reform Bill
(_b_) The Chartist Agitation
(_c_) The repeal of the Corn Laws
II. _The Puritan Movement_:
1. Its beginning under Elizabeth
2. Its growth under James I
3. The struggle and victory under Charles I
4. Triumph and decay under the Commonwealth
5. Its dissolution under Charles II
6. It was the root of the resistance offered to the
misrule of James II.
FOR TEACHERS' REFERENCE
THE STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVILIZATION
CORRELATION OF HISTORY AND SCIENCE
The purpose of these notes, which are condensed from the article on
"Civilization" in the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_ (latest edition), is to
provide the teacher with some interesting material, by the use of which
he may impress on the pupils the far-reaching effects of certain
inventions and discoveries, which are in such common use to-day that
they are very likely to be underestimated. The number of lessons must be
left entirely to the discretion of the teacher.
NOTES
The close relation between the progress of civilization, as told in
history, and scientific inventions and discoveries is shown by Lewis H.
Morgan, who has indicated nine stages in the upward march of mankind
from the earliest times to the present. There are three stages of
savagery, three of barbarism, and three of civilization, the close of
each stage being marked by an important discovery or invention. The
problem method may be used, by asking what each invention or discovery
would enable the people to do that they could not do before.
1. The savages in the first stage were developing speech, lived on raw
nuts and fruits, and were restricted to places where they could have
warmth and food. This stage was ended by the discovery of _fire_.
2. With the use of fire, their food now included fish and perhaps flesh;
they could migrate to colder climates. This stage ended with the
invention of the _bow and arrow_.
3. With the bow and arrow, the savage was safer from fierce animals; he
could kill also to get food, and skins for clothing and tents; with
stronger food and better protection he could and did migrate into more
distant, colder countries. This stage ended with the invention of
_pottery_.
4. Hitherto man had had no cooking utensils that could withstand fire.
Now he could boil his food, and his diet was extended to include boiled
meat and vegetables. The next stage was reached by the _domestication of
animals_.
5. The dog, the sheep, the ox, the camel, the horse were rapidly
domesticated; some of these provided man with food independent of the
chase; others gave him better, swifter means of travel and
transportation. Distant peoples were thus brought into contact and
commerce began. New ideas were gained from each other. Larger
communities were formed, and towns and cities began. Property became
individual, instead of being communal.
6. This stage began with the invention of _iron-smelting_. Immense
progress was now possible in the various arts of peace: house-building,
road-making, construction of vehicles, the making of all sorts of tools.
By these tools man was now able to express his æsthetic nature as never
before. Implements of war also became more numerous and more deadly.
7. The human race was now lifted from the highest stage of barbarism to
the lowest stage of civilization by one of the most important inventions
that man has ever made--_writing_. This made possible the recording of
man's deeds and thoughts for posterity, thus securing the gains of each
generation for all succeeding generations, and making history possible.
8. The next stage of progress is marked by a group of
inventions,--_gunpowder_, _the mariner's compass_, and _paper_ and the
_printing press_. The Middle Ages, as we call them, were now ended, and
the human race found itself on a stage as wide as the world.
9. The next invention, which came quickly after the preceding ones, and
placed mankind in the present stage of civilization, was the
_steam-engine_. The revolution which this brought about is so recent as
to need no details here. (See lesson on the Industrial Revolution, p.
87.) What is to be the invention that will mark the entrance of the race
on a higher stage still, when Tennyson's dream of a "Federation of the
World the Parliament of Man" may be realized? Is it the airship, giving
man the conquest of the last element still unmastered?
THE NEW LEARNING
1. The aim of this lesson is to make the pupils familiar with one of the
most important movements in English history, by having them study the
meaning, causes, tendencies, and effects of the New Learning.
2. As an introduction, a lesson or two should be given on the conditions
prevailing in Europe during the latter part of the Middle Ages, because
a knowledge of these conditions is essential to a right understanding of
many of the causes of the New Learning.
The New Learning was a phase of a greater movement called the
Renaissance, which arose in Italy during the fourteenth century. The
Renaissance marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of
modern history. It meant re-birth, a new life. People took a new
interest in living. The influence of the monk and of the knight was
passing, and the man of affairs, with his broader sympathies, his
keener vision, his more varied interests, and his love of liberty, was
coming into prominence.
How to enjoy life, how to get the greatest value out of it, became the
great problem. In their attempt to solve this problem people turned
their attention to the ancient literature of Greece and Rome; for it was
believed that the ancient Greeks and Romans had a fine appreciation of
the meaning and beauty of life. They began to seek out the old
literature and to study it. This new study has been called the Revival
of Learning or the New Learning. The influence of these two great
literatures soon made itself felt. Every province of knowledge was
investigated, and people everywhere were influenced by this great
intellectual awakening.
3. The following were the chief causes of the movement:
(_a_) The Crusades
(_b_) The Fall of Constantinople, 1453
(_c_) The introduction of the mariner's compass
(_d_) The invention of gunpowder
(_e_) The invention of the printing press
(_f_) The overthrow of the feudal system
(_g_) The desire for knowledge stimulated by the universities
(_h_) The failure of the schools of the Middle Ages to meet the demands
and needs of the times
4. The relation of each of these causes to the New Learning must be
shown. In dealing with the Crusade movement as a cause, it will be
necessary to help the children to see the effect produced on the people
of northern Europe by their coming into contact with the more highly
cultivated people in southern Europe; and the effect produced on the
people of Europe by their mingling with the nations of the luxurious
East--the Greeks of Constantinople and the brilliant Mohammedan scholars
of Palestine. The Crusades made the people dissatisfied with the
conditions that had prevailed so long in Europe, and this fact alone
gave an impetus to the New Learning.
The relation of printing to the spread of the movement is evident. The
introduction of printing meant the cheapening of books, their more
general use, and the spread of education. This was followed by a growing
independence of thought, and a desire for greater political and
religious freedom.
The other causes may be similarly treated.
5. The New Learning was represented in England by a group of scholars of
whom Erasmus, Colet, and More were the chief. The great churchmen, too,
were its patrons. Men of every rank were interested, and the movement
affected the whole life of the people. A new interest was taken in
education, in art, in religion, and in social reform. Old methods of
instruction were superseded by more rational ones. Hundreds of new
schools were established for the benefit of the middle classes. The
whole tendency of the New Learning was toward a higher intellectual and
more moral life.
6. Its effects:
(_a_) It awakened a desire for an intellectual life and for social
reform;
(_b_) It made possible the Reformation;
(_c_) It led to the establishment of schools and libraries and to the
extension of the usefulness of the universities;
(_d_) It aroused the desire for liberty and the spirit of enterprise,
and encouraged commercial activity;
(_e_) It inspired some of the world's greatest artists in painting,
sculpture, architecture, literature, and music.
(_f_) It implanted the seeds of freedom of thought and fostered the
spirit of scientific research;
(_g_) It supplied higher ideals of life and conduct, a fact which became
responsible to a large extent for the great improvement made in the
condition of the people, and in the development of Europe since that
time.
NOTE: References to the discoveries made by Copernicus,
Columbus, and the Cabots should be made. Pupils should read or hear
short accounts of Erasmus, More, and Colet. A careful development
of the causes and meaning of the movement should aid the pupils to
anticipate its chief results.
It is assumed, of course, that the study of this topic will occupy
several lesson periods.
THE FIGHT FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTY IN CANADA, 1759-1867.
In the struggle for constitutional liberty in British Canada, there are
several distinct stages:
I. 1760 to 1763--Military Rule:
1. Amherst the nominal governor; Canada divided into three
districts
2. Little disturbance of French customs; the _habitants_ content
3. Influx of "old" subjects--their character. (See _Ontario Public
School History of Canada_, p. 109; _History of Canada_, Lucas and
Egerton, Part II, pp. 4 and 7.)
II. 1763 to 1774 (Quebec Act):
1. Period of Civil Government under General Murray
2. Unrest owing to demands of the "old" subjects
3. Conditions of government:
(_a_) Governor and Advisory Council of twelve all
appointed by Crown
(_b_) Assembly permitted but not feasible; depended
on will of Governor
(_c_) British law, both civil and criminal, prevailed
(_d_) All money matters in hands of Council.
4. At this time the French greatly outnumbered the British, and the
fear of the Revolution of the American Colonies led to the French
being favoured in the Quebec Act, 1774.
III. 1774 to 1791--Quebec Act to Constitutional Act:
1. Both "old" and "new" subjects dissatisfied--the French with
British Court procedure, the British with French feudal customs.
2. Provisions of the Quebec Act:
(_a_) Change of boundaries (See text-book.)
(_b_) Governor and Legislative Council appointed; no
assembly called.
(_c_) French Civil Law; British Criminal Law
(_d_) No oath required, as before, hostile to the Roman
Catholic Church--beginning of religious liberty
(_e_) Legislative Council had no control of taxation
IV. 1791 to 1841--Constitutional Act to Act of Union Provisions of
Constitutional Act:
1. Upper and Lower Canada divided, because French and British could
not agree on many points.
2. Each Province had a Governor, a Legislative Council, a
Legislative Assembly, and an Executive Council. The Legislative
Council was composed of the highest officials, appointed
practically for life, and responsible to no one. Many of these were
also members of the Executive Council. The Legislative Assembly was
elected and was yet without control of the whole revenue, as the
Home Government still collected "all duties regulating colonial
navigation and commerce."
3. The Clergy Reserves were established; later to become a bone of
contention.
V. 1841 to 1867--Act of Union to British North America Act.
The demands of the people for responsible government, that is, for
control of the Executive and of taxation, became so insistent that the
Act of Union was passed, following Lord Durham's report on the Rebellion
of 1837.
Provisions of the Act of Union:
1. Legislative Council appointed (20 members)
2. Legislative Assembly elected (42 from each Province, later 65
from each)
3. Executive Council selected from both Houses
4. A permanent Civil List of £75,000 was granted
5. The Legislative Assembly controlled the rest of the revenue.
Money bills were to originate with the Government. This was really
Responsible Government, as it was developed under Elgin.
VI. 1867 to the present:
The British North America Act was the statement of a complete victory of
the people for Responsible Government. The Executive Council (Cabinet)
is wholly responsible to Parliament, in which the members of the
Executive must have seats; the raising and the spending of revenue is
wholly in the hands of the people's representatives. For a clear summary
of the concessions won by Canadians, see Bourinot, _How Canada is
Governed_, page 34; see also _Ontario Public School History of Canada_,
pp. 267 et seq.
DEVICES
MAPS
1. Wall maps for general study, especially of modern history.
2. Outline or sketch maps drawn on the black-board by the teacher or the
pupils for use in the study of earlier history, or explorations, etc.
For these purposes the details of a wall map are not only not needed,
but are rather a hindrance.
3. Relief maps of plasticine, clay, or salt and flour, to be made by the
pupils to illustrate the influence of geographical facts in history, and
to make events in history more real to the pupils.
PICTURES
1. Many good historical pictures of persons, buildings, monuments, and
events may be collected by the pupils and the teacher from magazines and
newspapers, and pasted in a scrap-book. (See Educational Pamphlet, No.
4, _Visual Aids in the Teaching of History_.)
2. The Perry Picture Co., Malden, Mass., publishes pictures in different
sizes, costing from one cent upward. Many of these are useful in
teaching history. Similar pictures may be obtained from the Cosmos
Picture Co., New York.
3. Good picture post-cards can be easily obtained.
4. Lantern slides and stereopticon views may be used. (For lists of
dealers and publishers of 3 and 4, see also _Visual Aids in the Teaching
of History_.)
MUSEUMS
These often contain relics of earlier times in the form of implements,
utensils, weapons, dress. A visit to one will interest pupils.
SOURCE BOOKS
Some source books for illustrating earlier conditions in Ontario are:
1. _The Talbot Régime._ By Charles Oakes Ermatinger, St. Thomas.
2. _Pioneer Days._ By David Kennedy, Port Elgin. Sold by author, 50c.
3. _United Empire Loyalists._ By Egerton Ryerson. William Briggs.
4. _Canadian Constitutional Development._ Selected speeches and
dispatches, 1766-1867. By Egerton and Grant Murray. $3.00.
5. _Pen Pictures of Early Pioneer Life in Upper Canada._ William Briggs,
Toronto, $2.00.
GENEALOGICAL TABLES
Those needed to illustrate special periods may be found in the larger
histories. Pupils should be instructed how to interpret them.
CHRONOLOGICAL CHART
This may be made by the class, on the black-board or on a slated cloth
as the work advances. On the left hand of a vertical line are set down
the dates, allowing the same space for each ten years, the close of each
decade being shown in larger figures. On the right side are set down the
events in their proper place. For example, in studying the career of
Champlain, the Chart will be begun as follows:
CHAMPLAIN
=1600=
1603 First visit, when 36 years old, with Pontgravé.
1604 With De Monts and Poutrincourt he undertakes to colonize Acadia;
forms a settlement at Port Royal.
1608 Founds Quebec.
1609 Explores Richelieu River and Lake Champlain; forms an alliance with
the Hurons and Algonquins against the Iroquois.
1610 Marriage.
1611 Establishes a trading station at what is now Montreal.
1613 Ascends the Ottawa River, expecting to find the way to China;
deceived, returns to France.
1615 Brings out the Recollet Fathers to Christianize the Indians;
explores the country of the Hurons.
=1620=
A useful chart which shows the growth of Canada is to be found in
Taylor's _Cardinal Facts of Canadian History_, reproduced in Duncan's
_The Canadian People_. An Illustrated Chart of Canadian History is
published by the United Editors Company, of Toronto.
NOTE-BOOKS AND CLASS EXERCISES
In the Fourth Form, pupils should copy into a notebook the black-board
work--topical outlines, time chart, etc., as a basis for review and for
class exercises in composition. Such a topical summary, the joint work
of teacher and class, is the best means of review for examination
purposes, when one is held.
Pupils may occasionally be asked to make from the text-book, without
preceding class work, a topical analysis either of a subject which is
treated consecutively in the book, such as the War of 1812-14, or of a
subject that requires the pupil to collect his material from various
parts of the book, or even from several books. In the latter case the
teacher should direct the pupil to the proper sources.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. FOR TEACHERS
I. _Histories_:
(_a_) English:
1. A Short History of the English People. Green. $1.50. The
Macmillan Company of Canada, Ltd., Toronto.
2. Ontario High School History of England. 65c. The Macmillan
Company of Canada, Ltd., Toronto.
3. A History of the British Nation. A.D. Innes. $1.25. E.C. & T.C.
Jack, Edinburgh.
(_b_) Canadian:
1. A History of Canada. Roberts. $1.00. The Macmillan Company of
Canada, Ltd., Toronto.
2. Story of Canada (Story of the Nations Series). Bourinot. $1.50.
G.P. Putnam's, New York.
3. A Historical Geography of the British Colonies, 10 vols. Canada:
Part I, $1.60; Part II, $1.10. Lucas and Egerton, Clarendon Press,
Oxford.
One of the best histories of Canada; on a geographical basis.
4. Ontario High School History of Canada. Grant. 19c. The T. Eaton
Company, Ltd., Toronto.
5. A Short History of the Canadian People. Bryce. $2.00. William
Briggs, Toronto.
(_c_) Civics:
1. Canadian Civics. Jenkins. 35c. Copp, Clark Co., Ltd., Toronto.
2. How Canada is Governed. Bourinot. $1.00. Copp, Clark Co., Ltd.,
Toronto.
(_d_) General History:
1. General Sketch of European History. Freeman. $1.00. The
Macmillan Co. of Canada, Ltd., Toronto.
2. History of Our Own Times. McCarthy. $1.25. Crowell and Company,
New York.
3. The Nineteenth Century--A History. MacKenzie. $1.00. T. Nelson
and Sons, Toronto.
For help in preparing lessons every teacher should possess one book of
each of the above classes, in addition to the Ontario Public School
Histories.
II. _On Methods_:
1. Teaching of History and Civics in the Elementary and Secondary
Schools. Bourne. $1.50. Longmans Green and Company, London, England.
The best book on general method.
2. Methods in History. Mace. $1.00. Ginn and Company, New York.
3. Special Method in History. McMurry. 75c. The Macmillan Company of
Canada, Ltd., Toronto.
B. MATERIAL FOR CLASS WORK
ESPECIALLY IN CORRELATED SUBJECTS
1. Reader's Guide to English History. Allen. 25c. Ginn and Company, New
York.
(Contains a list of historical authorities for the various periods;
and lists of historical poems and fiction to illustrate these
periods.)
2. School Atlas of English History. S.R. Gardiner. $1.50. Longmans,
Green and Company, London, England.
3. Atlas of Canada. Published by Department of the Interior, Ottawa.
(The Department of the Interior also publishes maps giving the
latest information concerning railways, distribution of minerals,
etc., which can be had by asking for them.)
4. Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography. Everyman's Library. 25c.
Dent & Co., Ltd., Toronto.
5. Literary and Historical Atlas of Europe. Everyman's Library. 25c.
Dent & Co., Ltd., Toronto.
6. Literary and Historical Atlas of America. Everyman's Library. 25c.
Dent & Co., Ltd., Toronto.
C. HISTORICAL READERS AND SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKS
Group I.
1. Highroads of History. 13 Vols. T. Nelson and Sons, Toronto.
Well illustrated; a great favourite with children.
2. Gateways to History. 7 Vols. 9s. 1d. Edward Arnold, London, England.
3. Longmans' Ship Historical Readers. 7 Vols. 9s. Longmans, Green and
Company, London, England.
4. The Little Cousin Series. 25 Vols. 60c. each. The Page Co., Boston,
Mass.
Get list of titles and select.
5. Peeps at many Lands and Cities. 50 Vols. 50c. each. The Macmillan
Company of Canada, Ltd., Toronto.
Get list of titles and select.
Group II.
1. Stories from Canadian History. Marquis. 50c. Copp Clark Company,
Ltd., Toronto.
2. Brief Biographies. Supplementing Canadian History. J.O. Miller. 35c.
Copp Clark Company, Ltd., Toronto.
3. Stories of the Maple Land. C.A. Young. 25c. Copp Clark Company, Ltd.,
Toronto.
4. Heroines of Canadian History. W.S. Herrington. Cloth 30c., paper 18c.
Wm. Briggs, Toronto.
5. Ryerson Memorial Volume. J.G. Hodgins.
A graphic sketch of the old log school-house and its belongings,
and the life of a pioneer teacher.
6. Stories of New France. Machar and Marquis. $1.50. Briggs, Toronto.
7. Martyrs of New France. Herrington. 60c. Briggs, Toronto.
Group III.
1. Fifty Famous Stories Retold. Baldwin. 35c. The American Book Company,
New York.
2. Thirty More Famous Stories. Baldwin. 50c. The American Book Company,
New York.
3. Book of Legends. Scudder. Riverside Literature Series 15c. Copp Clark
Company, Ltd., Toronto.
4. Legends Every Child Should Know. Ed. H.W. Mabie. 90c. Doubleday, Page
and Co., New York.
Group IV.--Miscellaneous:
1. Heroes Every Child Should Know. Ed. H.W. Mabie. 60c. Doubleday, New
York.
2. Famous Men of Greece. 50c. The American Book Company, New York.
3. Famous Men of Rome. The American Book Company, New York.
4. Famous Men of the Middle Ages. 50c. The American Book Company, New
York.
5. Famous Men of Modern Times. 50c. The American Book Co., New York.
6. Stories of Great Inventors. Macombe. 40c. Wm. Briggs, Toronto.
7. Calendar Stories. M.P. Boyle. 30c. McClelland, Goodchild, & Stewart,
Toronto.
8. Ten Boys Who Lived on the Road From Long Ago to Now. Jane Andrews.
75c. Sch. ed. 60c. Ginn and Company, New York.
9. Seven Little Sisters. Jane Andrews. 75c. Sch. ed. 50c. Ginn and
Company, New York.
10. The Romance of Canadian History. Selections from Parkman; edited by
Pelham Edgar. 75c. The Macmillan Company of Canada, Ltd., Toronto.
11. English Life 300 Years Ago. Trevelyan. 1s. Methuen and Company,
London.
12. Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Reformers, Great Orators,
Great Teachers, English Authors, Good men and Great. Hubbard. 10c each.
The Roycrofters, East Aurora, N.Y.
In Group I the first, and any of the others may be read. The first are
very interesting and great favourites with children.
In Groups II and III one of each may be taken as they, to some extent,
cover the same ground.
All of those in Group IV are useful, and may be added as opportunity
permits.
APPENDIX
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE
Did you ever hear the story of the first Christmas tree? This is the way
it was told to me: Martin Luther was a good man who lived in Germany
long ago. One Christmas Eve he was walking to his home. The night was
cold and frosty with many stars in the sky. He thought he had never seen
stars look so bright. When he got home he tried to tell his wife and
children how pretty the stars were, but they didn't seem to understand.
So Luther went out into his garden and cut a little evergreen tree. This
he set up in the room and fastened tiny candles all over it, and when he
had lighted them they shone like stars.
One of Luther's neighbours came in that night, and when she saw the tree
she thought how one would please her children. Soon she had one in her
house, too. And the idea spread from one house to another until there
were Christmas trees all over Germany.
Queen Victoria of England was married to a German prince, and the German
custom of a Christmas tree for the children was followed in the royal
palace. Of course after the Queen had a tree other people must have one,
too. So the Christmas tree came to England.
The little French boys and girls have not had them so long. Not very
many years ago there was a war between France and Germany. At Christmas
time the German soldiers were in Paris. They felt sorry to be so far
from their own little boys and girls on Christmas eve. But they knew how
to have something to remind them of home. Every soldier who could got a
little evergreen tree and put candles on it. The French saw them, and
were so pleased that now, every year, they too have Christmas trees.
So many people from England, and from Germany, and from France have come
to our country to live, of course, we too have learned about Christmas
trees. And that is why you and so many other little girls and boys have
such pretty trees on Christmas eve.
THE ORIGIN OF THE EASTER BUNNY
Childish voices are asking why the rabbit is seen with the eggs
and the chickens that fill the shop windows and show-cases at Easter.
The legend that established the hare as a symbol of the Eastertide is
not generally known. It is of German origin and runs as follows:
Many years ago, during a cruel war, the Duchess of Lindenburg with her
two children and an old servant fled for safety to a little obscure
village in the mountains. She found the people very poor, and one thing
that surprised her much was that they used no eggs. She learned that
they had never seen or heard of hens, and so when the old servant went
to get tidings of his master and of the war he brought back with him
some of these birds.
The simple village folk were greatly interested in the strange fowl, and
when they saw the tiny yellow chickens breaking their way out of the
eggs they were full of delight. But the Duchess was saddened by the
thought that Easter was drawing near and that she had no gifts for the
little mountain children. Then an idea came to her. The spring was
beginning to colour the earth with leaves and flowers, and she made
bright dyes out of herbs and roots and coloured the eggs. Then the
children were invited to visit the Duchess, and she told them stories
of the glad Easter day, and afterwards bade each make a nest of moss
among the bushes. When they had all enjoyed the little feast provided in
their honour, they went back to the woods to look at their nests. Lo! in
each were five coloured eggs.
"What a good hen it must have been to lay such beautiful eggs," said one
child.
"It could not have been a hen," said another. "The eggs that the hens
lay are white. It must have been the rabbit that jumped out of the tree
when I made my nest."
And all the children agreed that it was the rabbit, and to this day the
mystic Bunny is supposed to bring eggs and gifts at Easter to the little
children of the "fatherland" who have been loving and kind during the
year.
THE STORY OF ST. VALENTINE
Once upon a time, there lived in a monastery across the sea a
humble monk called Valentine. Every brother save himself seemed to have
some special gift.
Now there was Brother Angelo, who was an artist, and painted such
wonderful Madonnas that it seemed as if the holy mother must step down
from the frame and bless her children.
Brother Vittorio had a wonderful voice, and on saints' days the
monastery chapel would be crowded with visitors, who came from far and
near just to listen to that wonderful voice as it soared up among the
dim old arches.
Brother Anselmo was a doctor, and knew the virtues of all roots, herbs,
and drugs, and was kept very busy going about among the sick, followed
by their tearful, grateful blessing.
Brother Johannes was skilled in illuminating, and Valentine often
watched the page grow under his clever hand. How beautiful would then be
the gospel story in brightly-coloured letters, with dainty flowers,
bright-winged butterflies, and downy, nestling birds about the borders!
Brother Paul was a great teacher in the monastery school, and even
learned scholars came to consult him. Friar John ruled the affairs of
the little monastery world with wisdom and prudence. Indeed, out of the
whole number only Valentine seemed without special talent.
The poor man felt it keenly. He longed to do some great thing. "Why did
not the good God give me a voice like Vittorio or a skilled hand like
Angelo?" he would often inquire of himself bitterly. One day as he sat
sadly musing on these things, a voice within him said clearly and
earnestly: "Do the little things, Valentine; there the blessing lies."
"What are the little things?" asked Valentine, much perplexed. But no
answer came to this question. Like every one else, Valentine had to find
his work himself.
He had a little plot where he loved to work, and the other monks said
that Valentine's pinks, lilies, and violets were larger and brighter
than any raised in the whole monastery garden.
He used to gather bunches of his flowers and drop them into the chubby
hands of children as they trotted to school under the gray monastery
walls. Many a happy village bride wore his roses on her way to the
altar. Scarcely a coffin was taken to the cemetery but Valentine's
lilies or violets filled the silent hands.
He got to know the birthday of every child in the village, and was fond
of hanging on the cottage door some little gift his loving hands had
made. He could mend a child's broken windmill and carve quaint faces
from walnut shells. He made beautiful crosses of silvery gray lichens,
and pressed mosses and rosy weeds from the seashore. The same tender
hands were ready to pick up a fallen baby, or carry the water bucket for
some weary mother.
Everybody learned to love the good Brother Valentine. The children clung
to his long, gray skirts, and the babies crept out on the streets to
receive his pat on their shining hair. Even the cats and dogs rubbed
against him, and the little birds fluttered near him unafraid.
St. Valentine grew old, loving and beloved, never dreaming that he had
found his great thing. When the simple monk died the whole countryside
mourned, and hundreds came to look for the last time on the quiet face
in the rude coffin.
A great duke walked bare-headed after that coffin, and one of the most
noted brothers of the church spoke the last words of blessing to the
weeping people.
After his death, it was remembered how sweet had been his little gifts,
and the villagers said: "Let us, too, give gifts to our friends on the
good Valentine's birthday." So ever since has the pretty custom been
carried out, and on St. Valentine's day we send our friends little
tokens of remembrance to say we love them.
THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
It is nearly three hundred years since the first Thanksgiving
Day. Though we have even more to be grateful for, I think that there are
not many of us who feel quite so thankful as the little handful of
people who set apart the first Thanksgiving Day.
There were not very many of them, just one little village in a big
forest land, and by the edge of a great ocean. Here, on the map, is
where they lived. It is on the north-eastern shores of the United States
and is called Plymouth. The people I am telling you about gave it that
name when they came to it, nearly two years before they had their first
Thanksgiving Day. It was the name of the last town they had seen in
England. Here, on the map, is the English Plymouth, and you see what a
long trip they had in their little vessel, called the _Mayflower_, to
their new home.
You still wonder why they travelled so far to make new homes for
themselves. It was because they wanted to worship God in their own way
that they left England. They were not afraid of the long voyage and all
its hardships; for they felt sure they were doing as God wished them to
do. They arrived safely, too, and built their little village by the
sea--the new Plymouth. One of the first buildings they put up was a
little log church.
The first year was very hard for everybody. The winter was colder than
any they had ever known in England, and their houses were small and
poorly built. They could not get any letters or news from their friends
in England for many months. Food was not scarce, for there was always
plenty of game and fish. But it was such a change from their old way of
living that many people became ill, and in the spring there were many
graves. But the worst thing about the new land was the Indians. These
English people were afraid of them--and with good reason, too, for they
were very fierce and sometimes very cruel. They tried not to let the
Indians know how few they were, and even planted grain about the graves
in the churchyard so that the Indians could not count how many had
died.
But one of the Indian Chiefs was friendly to the English and kept the
other tribes from making war on them, and the second summer they had a
great harvest and everything was more comfortable. It was in that
autumn, just after the grain was gathered, that the minister spoke to
them one Sunday about having a Thanksgiving day. "It seemeth right," he
said, "God hath granted us peace and plenty. He has blessed us with a
dwelling-place of peace. He has held back the savage red man from
bringing harm to us. Therefore let us appoint a day of Thanksgiving."
After that all the people, even the boys and girls, were busy getting
ready. The men took their guns and fishing-rods and went into the
forest, and brought home fowl, fish, and deer, and perhaps bear meat as
well. The boys and girls gathered wild plums, and grapes, and corn, and
brought in pumpkins from the gardens; and the women made pies, puddings,
cakes, and bread, and baked the meat and corn. They had great piles of
cakes, and rows and rows of pies, and loaves of bread and platters of
meat, for they all expected company. You could not guess, I am sure, who
was coming! They had sent word to the Indians near to come and spend
Thanksgiving Day with them.
Do you suppose they came? Indeed they did. They came before breakfast
and stayed until long after supper, and had a good time, and tasted
everything the white women had cooked, and nodded their heads and said,
"How" a great many times, to say it was good. Some of the little girls
and boys were half afraid of them, but they need not have been; for that
day the Indians felt very kindly toward the English.
Ask pupils to mention things for which they are thankful.
LETTER FROM MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, TO QUEEN ELIZABETH
Believe, Madame (and the doctors whom you sent to me this last
summer can have formed an opinion), that I am not likely long to be in a
condition which can justify jealousy or distrust. And this
notwithstanding, exact from me such assurances, and just and reasonable
conditions as you wish. Superior force is always on your side to make me
keep them, even though for any reason whatever I should wish to break
them. You have had from observation enough experience of my bare
promises, sometimes even to my own damage, as I showed you on this
subject two years ago. Remember, if you please, what I then wrote you,
and that in no way could you so much win over my heart to yourself as by
kindness, although you have confined forever my poor body to languish
between four walls; those of my rank and disposition not permitting
themselves to be gained over or forced by any amount of harshness.
* * * * *
In conclusion, I have to request two things especially; the one that as
I am about to leave this world I may have by me for my consolation some
honourable churchman, in order that I may daily examine the road that I
have to traverse and be instructed how to complete it according to my
religion, in which I am firmly resolved to live and die. This is a last
duty which cannot be denied to the most wretched and miserable person
alive; it is a liberty which you give to all foreign ambassadors, just
as all other Catholic kings allow yours the practice of their religion.
And as for myself, have I ever forced my own subjects to do anything
against their religion even when I had all power and authority over
them? And you cannot justly bring it to pass that I should be in this
extremity deprived of such a privilege. What advantage can accrue to you
from denying me this? I hope that God will forgive me if, oppressed by
you in this wise, I do not cease from paying Him that duty which in my
heart will be permitted. But you will give a very ill example to other
princes of Christendom of employing towards their subjects and
relatives, the same harshness which you mete out to me, a sovereign
queen and your nearest relative, as I am and shall be in spite of my
enemies so long as I live.
INDEX
Aims of Study, 13
Amount of Material, 18
Appendix, 136
First Christmas Tree, The, 136
First Thanksgiving, The, 140
Letter of Mary Queen of Scots, 143
Origin of the Easter Bunny, 137
Story of St. Valentine, 138
Bibliography, 130
Black-board Work in Teaching History, 27, 31, 40, 47, 50
Capture of Quebec, The, 66
Characteristics of a Good Text-book, 24
Chronological Chart, 128
Chronological Method, 21
Civics, 20, 51, 52
Civilization and Inventions, 119
Clergy Reserves, The, 36
Colours of the Flag, The, 73
Combination of Methods, 25
Comparative Method, 22
Concentric Method, 22
Confederation of the Canadian Provinces, 107
Constitutional Liberty in Canada, 124
Correlation of Subjects, 39, 40, 50
Course of Study, 1
Current Events, 49
Dates, 47
Devices for Teaching, 127
Dramatization of History, 46
Drill and Review, 31
Empire Day, 75
Feudal System, 100
First Christmas Tree, The, 136
First Thanksgiving, The, 140
Flag, The, 68
Flag Days, 72
Florence Nightingale, 62
Genealogical Tables, 37, 128
Historical Sense, The, 17
History and Art, 45
" " Chronology, 47
" " Composition, 26, 46
" " Constructive Work, 44, 67
" " Geography, 40, 108
" " Literature, 41
" " Oral Reading, 26
" " Science, 43, 119
How to Make History Real, 34
Illustrative Lessons, 60
Type Lesson in the Story Stage, 60
First Thanksgiving, The, 61
Florence Nightingale, 62
Postmaster, 65
Capture of Quebec, The, 66
Coming of the United Empire Loyalists, The, 67
Flag, The, 68
Suggestions for Empire Day, 75
Egerton Ryerson, 78
The Intercolonial Railway, 82
The Industrial Revolution, 87
The Road to Cathay, 92
The Armada, 97
The Feudal System, 100
Seigniorial Tenure, 103
Confederation of the Canadian Provinces, 107
Influence of Geographical Conditions on History, 108
The St. Lawrence River, 112
Relations Between England and Scotland, 114
Analysis of Secs. 160-170 in Ontario P.S. History of England, 116
Outlines for Reviews, 118
The Development of Civilization, 119
The New Learning, 121
The Fight for Constitutional Liberty in Canada, 124
Importance of Facts in History, 19
Industrial Revolution, The, 87
Influence of Geography on History, 108, 110
Information Stage, The, 18
Interest, 16, 19, 34, 38, 44, 58, 78
Intercolonial Railway, The, 82
Inventions and History, 43, 87, 119
Letter of Mary Queen of Scots, 143
Local Material, 51
Maps, 35, 40, 68, 127
Memorizing History, 38
Methods for Forms I and II, 25
" " Form III, 26
" " Form IV, 28, 78
Moral Value of History, 14, 28, 53
Museums, 128
New Learning, The, 121
Newspapers, 49
Note-books, 31, 129
Oral Method, The, 23, 25, 27, 28, 34, 58, 60, 62, 64
Origin of the Easter Bunny, 137
Patriotism, 13
Pictures, 35, 45, 127
Postmaster, 65
Problems in History, 14, 33, 36, 41, 66, 67, 68, 76, 78, 83, 119
Reflective Stage, 18
Regressive Method, 22
Relations of England and Scotland, 114
Reviews, 23, 31, 39, 92, 112, 118
Road to Cathay, 92
Ryerson, Egerton, 78
Scope of Study, 15
Seigniorial Tenure, 103
Source Books, 37, 128, 143
Spanish Armada, 97
St. Lawrence River, 112
St. Valentine, 138
Stages of Study, 15
Story Stage, 15
Story Telling, 1, 15, 17
Taxation, 11, 55, 56, 57
Teacher of History, 57
Text-book Method, 24
Topical Analysis, 21, 78, 87, 97, 107, 114, 116, 124
Topical Method, 21
Training in the Use of the Text-book, 29
United Empire Loyalists, 67
Union Jack, 68, 74
Use of Problems in History, 14, 33, 36, 41, 66, 67, 68,
76, 78, 83, 119
Where to Begin the Study of History, 19
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