VISECOND YEAR ENGLISH
In the second year the composition and the reading which have been begun in the first year may be continued in about the same proportion, that is, about one-half of the five periods a week may be devoted to each. The work should be largely a development and expansion of that of the first year. In the study of the rhetorical principles the consideration of sentence construction should be continued, and the principle of emphasis and its application should be studied. The several types of sentences, such as long, short, loose, periodic, and balanced, and their uses should receive considerable attention, and the importance of variety in sentence structure may be emphasized. In the discussion of paragraph structure more study may be given to the details of its construction by developing the importance of the principles of emphasis, as well as by considering again the principles of unity and coherence. The methods of developing the paragraph topic will naturally form a part of the work of paragraph construction, particularly in the second semester, when the principles of exposition are studied. The application of the same principles of unity, emphasis, and coherence to the whole theme, where it consists of a number of paragraphs, may also be developed, for in the second year it is desirable to have the students write longer themes, as well as the short ones.
The forms of discourse, narration and description, studied in the first year, will also be developed and expanded during the second year, and more emphasis can be placed upon the several forms of description. From description the pupil can be led by gradual steps to the study of exposition, and this subject may be developed as fully as the maturity of the pupilswill permit. It is also possible in some schools to undertake the elementary forms of argumentation toward the end of the second year, particularly if there is considerable interest and activity in the school debating society, but it is not desirable to undertake much of this work with immature pupils.
The reading of the second year will also furnish material for a study of words and figures of speech. In the analysis and writing of description it is natural to note the effects of different kinds of words, and to discriminate between the general, colorless term and the specific, picture-making expression. In description, likewise, the effectiveness of contrast, or of a comparison in the form of a simile or metaphor may be pointed out. In exposition emphasis must be given to the importance of using the exact term to make clear the idea, and to the dependence of clearness upon this accurate choice and use of words. The use of comparisons, contrast, and other figures of speech, may also be studied in relation to exposition.
In the second year, as in the first, the subjects for composition should be drawn largely if not entirely, from the pupil’s own experiences. In narrative and descriptive themes the pupil, after his practice in the first year, will find little difficulty in choosing the right kind of subjects. In exposition he can be encouraged to write explanations of those subjects with which he is thoroughly familiar. Simple manufacturing processes, the operation of machinery or of mechanical devices generally, methods of doing any kind of work, directions for playing games, and many other similar subjects that the pupil understands thoroughly, furnish excellent material for simpler expository themes. If argumentation is undertaken, the pupil may be led to discuss questions constantly arising in connection with the life of the school and the community, and thus he can obtain most of his material from his own experiences.
The plan of having one or two paragraph themes of from 150 to 200 words each week should be continued throughout the second year. Every month or six weeks pupils should write a longer theme of from 600 to 800 words, that is, a theme of four or five paragraphs. Both the short and the long theme should be promptly and carefully corrected by the teacher andrevised or rewritten by the pupil. In the second year a careful revision of the corrected themes by the pupils is usually sufficient, but all themes that can be sufficiently improved to make rewriting worth while, should be rewritten.
The general purpose and the character of the reading in the second year are the same as in the first. During the first part of the year narrative and descriptive material should be read, and during the second semester some of the simpler types of essays may be used as a basis of a study of exposition. As has already been indicated in connection with the composition, the pupils’ attention should be directed to the use of words and figures of speech in the masterpieces. The plot and its development, and the form in which the story is told can be studied in more detail than in the first year.
Methods of describing persons and places and of delineating character, taken up in connection with description, will frequently be exemplified in the reading. Direction may be given to the study of essays by considering them as examples of exposition. All this analytical work ought to be carried on with a view not only to developing inductively or illustrating the principles of composition which it is desired to have the pupils apply in their own writing, but also to having the pupils understand the author’s purpose and the methods which he uses to accomplish it; that is, to understand fully what they are reading.
The following may be taken as typical of the character of the reading best adapted for the purposes outlined: Irving’s “Sketch Book” and “Tales of the Alhambra”, Poe’s “Gold Bug”, Thoreau’s “The Succession of Forest Trees”, Burroughs’ “Birds and Bees” and “Sharp Eyes”, Macaulay’s “Lord Clive” and “Life of Samuel Johnson”, Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Speech.” If at the end of the first semester the pupils have learned to read prose of average difficulty, it is often advantageous during the second semester to study a play of Shakespeare’s, and “Merchant of Venice” or “Julius Caesar” is well adapted for this purpose. Narrative poetry such as Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”, Arnold’s “Sohrab and Rustum”, Coleridge’s “AncientMariner”, or Scott’s “Lady of the Lake” may also be used successfully during the second semester.