Although the pupils have now had some experience in the use of the
History Reader, yet that is no reason why oral teaching should be
discarded in Form IV history, any more than in arithmetic or geography.
It is scarcely a high estimate to have of history, to think that pupils
of this age can grasp even the simpler lines of development in history
without guidance from the teacher. Hence it is necessary for the
attainment of good results, that many of the lessons should be taught
orally before the pupils are asked to study their books. The aim of the
teaching should be not merely the acquisition of facts, but the welding
of them together in a sequence of cause and effect, and the pupils at
this stage can scarcely be expected to do that for themselves.

In preparing for a lesson in Form IV history, the teacher should analyse
the incidents of the period to be studied, should see how certain causes
have led to certain results, and should be sure enough of the facts to
have little recourse to the text-book while teaching. It does not look
like fair play to expect a class to answer questions that the teacher
cannot answer without consulting the text. On the other hand, it is
refreshing to see the interest aroused in a class by a teacher who
thinks enough of the subject to be able to teach it without constant
reference to the text-book. Therefore, let the oral method be here again
the chief dependence of the teacher. In such a lesson, for example, as
that on the Intercolonial Railway (see p. 82) no book is needed--only
the map and the black-board.


TRAINING IN USE OF TEXT-BOOK

However, as the pupils must learn, for their own profit in after years,
how to read history without a guiding hand, they need training in the