Let us suppose that such a historical series of stories has its due
share of time on the school program and that the stories are properly
presented by the teacher and orally reproduced by the pupils. Into
what _relations_ shall the other studies of the school enter to these
historical materials? How shall language, reading, geography, natural
science, and arithmetic be brought into the close relation to history
required by the idea of concentration.
The oral reproduction of the stories by the children is the best
possible _oral language_ drill, while their partial written review is
the basis of much of the regular _composition_ work. Language lessons
on isolated and unconnected topics can thus be entirely omitted. The
element of interest will be added to oral and written language lessons
by the use of such lively stories.
_Reading_ is chiefly tributary to the historical series. Such
selections should be made for reading lessons as will throw additional
light upon pioneer history and its related geography. Descriptions of
natural scenery and choice selections from our best historians, as
Irving and Bancroft, describing events or men of this period, should be
used for reading lessons.
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