r all_."

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ABOVE LESSON ACCORDING TO THE RATIONAL METHOD.

_See Remarks to the Teacher, Page vii_.

What kind of a land is ours? What is meant by the stars and stripes?
Over what buildings do we see the flag floating? What kind of a flag
is it? For what does our flag stand? For what else does it stand?
What does our flag proclaim? Who is proud of the flag? What does our
flag tell to all the people? How many stars are there in the flag?
For what does each star stand? When was the first American flag made?
By whom was it made? In what city was it made? What did Washington
think of it when he saw it? How do we Americans look upon the flag?
When is Flag Day? etc., etc.

DICTATION EXERCISES

_See Remarks to the Teacher, Page vii_.

Our country has a _beautiful_ flag. This flag _proclaims_ or declares
liberty to the people. I am _delighted_ with my country's flag. I
pledge _allegiance_ or _fidelity_ to my flag. Our nation is
_indivisible_; it cannot be parted.

SELECTION I

A CITY STREET

I love the woods, the fields, the streams,
The wild flowers fresh and sweet,
And yet I love no less than these
The crowded city street;
For haunts of men, where'er they be,
Awake my deepest sympathy.

I see within the city street
Life's most extreme estates;
The gorgeous domes of palaces;
The dismal prison gates;
The hearths by household virtues blest,
The dens that are the serpent's nest.

I see the rich man, proudly fed
And richly clothed, pass by;
I see the shivering, houseless wretch
With hunger in his eye;
For life's severest contrasts meet
Forever in the city street.

Hence is it that a city street
Can deepest thoughts impart,
For all its people, high and low,
Are kindred to my heart;
And with a yearning love I share
In all their joy, their pain, their care.

_Mary Howitt_.

_Questions_: Can you put this little poem in prose? Tell what you
admire in nature. Then tell what you observe in the city. Tell about
the rich and where they live. Also about the poor and how they are
housed and clothed. Let us write a composition together.

LESSON II

BREATHE PURE AIR

Some boys were playing hide-and-seek one day, when one of their number
thought it would be good sport to hide little Robert in a large empty
trunk. He did so and then turned the key in the lock. The little
fellow in the chest