The object of the Christian Brothers in issuing a
new series of Readers is to place in the hands of
the teachers and pupils of our Catholic schools a
set of books embodying the matter and methods best
suited to their needs. The matter has been written
or chosen with a view to interest and instruct, to
cultivate a taste for the best literature, to build
up a strong moral character and to imbue our children
with an intelligent love of Faith and Country.
The methods are those approved by the most experienced
and progressive teachers of reading in Europe and
America.
These Readers have also been specially designed to
elicit thought and facilitate literary composition.
In furtherance of this idea, class talks, word study,
the structure of sentences, drills on certain correct
forms of expression, the proper arrangement of ideas,
explanation of phrases and literary expressions, oral
and written reproductions of narrations and descriptions,
and exercises in original composition, all receive
the attention which their importance demands.
Thus will the pupils, while learning to read and from
their earliest years, acquire that readiness in grasping
the thoughts of others and that fluency in expressing
their own, which are so essential to a good English
education.
In teaching the art of Reading as well as that of
Composition, the principle of order should in a great
measure determine the value of the methods to be employed.
In the acquisition of knowledge, the child instinctively
follows the order of nature. This order is first,
observation; second, thought; third,
expression. It becomes the duty of the
teacher, consequently, to lead the child to observe
accurately, to think clearly, and to
express his thoughts correctly. And text-books
are useful only in so far as they supply the teacher
with the material and the system best calculated to
accomplish such results.
It is therefore hoped that the present new series
of Readers, having been planned in accordance with
the principle just enunciated, will prove a valuable
adjunct in our Catholic schools.
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3
In this Fifth Reader of the De La Salle Series the
plan of the preceding numbers has been continued.
The pupil has now mastered the mechanical difficulties
of learning to read, and has acquired a fairly good
working vocabulary. Hence he is prepared to read
intelligently and with some degree of fluency and
pleasure. Now is the time to lead him to acquire
a taste for good reading. The selections have
been drawn mainly from authors whose writings are
distinguished for their moral and literary value,
and whose style is sure to excite a lasting interest.
In addition to giving the pupil practice in reading
and forming a basis for oral and written composition
work, these selections will raise his ideas of right
living, will quicken his imagination, will give him
his first knowledge of many things, stimulate his
powers of observation, enlarge his vocabulary, and
correct and refine his mode of expression. A
wholesome reading habit, so important to-day, will
thus be easily, pleasantly and unconsciously formed.
