Chapter 38

RECITATIONS AND SPECIAL DAYS IN SCHOOL

Whoever has had charge of young children who are in attendance at school has been many, many times worried in trying to answer for them the oft-repeated request "Where shall I find a piece to speak?" Every volume of _Journeys Through Bookland_ has a large number of selections suitable for this purpose. All of them may be found readily by consulting the Index at the end of the tenth volume, when the name is known or the nature of the selection is understood, or by examining the table of contents at the beginning of each volume when no intimation of title or subject has been given.

It has become customary in most schools to observe with appropriate exercises certain notable days. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Arbor Day, and Bird Day have their own peculiar functions and for each there is a different style of observance. Recitations, songs, readings, stories, help to make up the programs, and upon the parent often falls most of the burden in selecting material. In many states the Department of Education issues beautiful circulars on some of these special days, and from them the teacher draws some of her material and forms her program for the occasion. Yet when the one or two days for which material has been provided have passed there come a number of others which make their demands. Besides those mentioned, there are the birthdays of our great patriots and literary men and the general exercises at other times for which no special provision has been made. For the busy parent, teacher or pupil, _Journeys Through Bookland_ provides an almost inexhaustible supply of excellent things, most of which may be found readily through the Index. Moreover, the selections are from the best literature for children, from that which they should know, so that the tired and harrassed mother need not worry for fear that the children are filling their minds with useless things.

It does not seem worth while to give long lists of selections appropriate to special days, as things are well classified in the Index in the tenth volume. Yet to show more fully how _Journeys Through Bookland_ may be used, the following suggestions are offered:

I. BIRD DAY. Besides many other selections that are usable in different grades, the following seem peculiarly appropriate:

1. _The Fox and the Crow_, Volume I, page 64. (This and the other fables mentioned below may be repeated as given or, better, may be told by a pupil in his own words.) 2. _The Fox and the Stork_, I, 73. 3. _The Wolf and the Crane_, I, 96. 4. _The Lark and Her Young Ones_, I, 131. 5. _The Brown Thrush_, I, 147. 6. _The Owl and the Pussy-cat_, I, 339. 7. _Minerva and the Owl_, II, 7. 8. _The Sparrow and the Eagle_, II, 8. 9. _Who Stole the Bird's Nest?_ II, 399. 10. _The Barefoot Boy_, IV, 3. 11. _Ode to a Skylark_, VII, 275. 12. (See also the lists of articles relating to birds, given under the section devoted to _Nature Study_ in this volume.)

II. MEMORIAL DAY. A few of the selections suitable for this occasion are the following:

1. _Sheridan's Ride_, Volume IV, page 223. 2. _The American Flag_, V, 396. 3. _"Stonewall" Jackson's Way_, V, 400. 4. _Breathes There the Man_, VII, 151. 5. _For A' That and A' That_, VII, 149. 6. _How Sleep the Brave_, VII, 151. 7. _The Picket Guard_, VII, 177. 8. _The Gettysburg Address_, IX, 321. 9. _Abraham Lincoln_, IX, 324. 10. (See also in the Index the titles under the words _Patriotism_ and _History_.)

III. CHRISTMAS. There are at least three selections dealing specifically with Christmas, while many others are appropriate to the time:

1. _A Visit from St. Nicholas_, Volume II, page 202.

2. _A Christmas Carol_, VI, 244. (This may be made the basis of a very interesting afternoon. Parts of the story may be told briefly, parts may be read in full, parts recited and parts given as a dialogue. Thus the spirit of Christmas cheer and good will that animates this beautiful story may be communicated to the pupils in the pleasantest of ways and one that will be remembered.)

3. _Christmas in the Old Time_, VI, page 356.

IV. BIRTHDAYS. In the Index will be found the names of a number of great men and women of whom there are biographical sketches and from whose writings quotations have been made. Each of these may be made the subject of a general exercise at an appropriate time.

V. DRAMATIZATION. Many a poem or story may be put into dramatic form with very little effort and thus furnish an exercise for several pupils at the same time. The descriptive parts may be read by a pupil not in the dialogue or may be omitted. In the latter case, acting may fill the void or the narrative may be made into conversation between the characters. Some rearrangement may be necessary and a little change in phraseology may be needed. Such adaptations the pupils may make themselves. The following scenes may be used by pupils of different ages:

1. The description of the attack as given by Rebecca to Ivanhoe. (See _The Attack on the Castle_, Volume IV, pages 324 to 338.) By costumes and good acting this may be made a very effective scene.

2. A few boys will enjoy rendering the conversational parts of _The Heart of Bruce_ (Volume V, page 316) while a girl reads the descriptive lines of the ballad.

3. By making some changes in the text and putting into direct discourse some of that which Dickens has written in indirect discourse, a capital Christmas sketch may be made from the Christmas doings at the Cratchit home. (See _A Christmas Carol_, Volume VI, pages 303 to 312.)

4. _Limestone Broth_ (Volume VI, page 467) can be made into a neat little humorous dialogue with very little change.

5. Several scenes from _The Tempest_ (Volume VIII, page 364) are suitable for school use.

6. _The Death of Caesar_ (Volume IX, page 143) is a fine dialogue and affords a good opportunity for many speakers.

7. The conversation between Luigi and his mother (_Pippa Passes_, Volume IX, pages 317-323) is a fine scene for school use, especially if Pippa really passes singing at the right moment.

VI. AN OLD-FASHIONED AFTERNOON. Not so many years ago it was an almost universal custom to give over Friday afternoon to the "speaking of pieces." Occasionally even now a teacher wants one of the old-fashioned mixed programs, and though she will prefer to make her own for each occasion, the following example will show one of the many that might be made from _Journeys Through Bookland_:

1. _Roll Call._ (Pupils respond with a memory gem from the hundred given elsewhere in this volume.) 2. Song: _America_, Volume VIII, page 60. 3. _Wynken, Blynken and Nod_, I, 262. 4. _The Discontented Stonecutter_, II, 12. 5. Song: _Sweet and Low_, VI, 122. 6. _Beowulf and Grendel_ (retold in brief), III, 350. 7. _Incident of the French Camp_, IV, 174. 8. Song: _My Old Kentucky Home_, VII, 179. 9. _Echo_, III, 286. (Let the answers of Echo be given by someone who is concealed from view of the audience.) 10. _The First Snowfall_, II, 403. 11. Song: _Home, Sweet Home_, VI, 221.