it with the old already in the mind. To make use of this principle it
is necessary to freshen up what the pupil knows on a topic by asking
him questions or otherwise causing him to think anew the facts
previously learned that are related to what he is about to learn. For
example, when beginning the subject of percentage, the subject of
decimals should be reviewed, since percentage is but an application of
decimals and can most easily be learned and understood as such.
Likewise in beginning the study of the Civil War, the question of
slavery and that of the doctrine of states' rights should be reviewed,
since these are fundamental to an understanding of the causes of the
war. In similar manner we might apply the illustration to every branch
of study, Indeed there is hardly a single recitation which should not
start with a brief review or a few questions to freshen up in the
minds of the pupils the points related to the coming lesson. Not only
will this insure that the lessons themselves shall be better
understood, but the entire subject will in this way come to possess a
unity instead of consisting of a series of more or less disconnected
lessons in the mind of the child.


3. _The use of special forms of method_

Having stated these two general principles of method, we will now
consider some of the special forms of method to be employed in the
recitation. In discussing these methods and comparing them it is not
to be forgotten that attention and interest are dependent in large
measure on change and variety. The same method used day after day in
the recitation palls upon a class and invites listlessness and
inattention. A teacher should never employ cheap or sensational
devices in a recitation just to have something new, but neither should