EXCELSIOR

FIFTH READER:

CONTAINING

A COMPREHENSIVE TREATISE ON ELOCUTION, ILLUS
TRATED WITH DIAGRAMS; SELECT READINGS
AND RECITATIONS; FULL NOTES, AND A
COMPLETE SUPPLEMENTARY INDEX.

Q

TO TEACHERS.

66774

UALIFY pupils by daily vocal drill, by special aid as required,
and by general and systematic instruction, for each lesson. A
reading which does not demand preparatory labor is not
adapted to the needs of the class.

The Lessons of Part First should be used for Reading Exercises.
Require the class to commit to memory and recite the most important
principles, definitions, and examples, both separately and in concert.
Review the lessons, and do not commence Part Second until the pupils
master them.

Part Second is not simply a collection of readings, but also a dic-
tionary and cyclopediä, containing needful aids which are to be turned to
profitable account. Never omit the Preliminary Exercises; but require the
pupils to pronounce, spell, and define the words in the notes. Often
require them to commence with the last word of a paragraph in the read-
ing and pronounce back to the first. Also direct their attention to the
accents and marked letters. Call into exercise their judgment and taste
by requiring them to determine what principle of elocution each reading
lesson is best adapted to illustrate.

Before the Final Reading, be sure that the pupils understand
the lesson. Adopt a simple order of examination, and let them give the
leading thoughts in their own language, without formal questions: for
example, first, the title of the piece; secondly, the words liable to mispro-
nunciation, both in the notes and the reading; thirdly, the objects men-
tioned, and the facts concerning these objects; fourthly, the narrative or
connected thoughts, and the portion illustrated by the picture, if any;
and fifthly, the moral or what the lesson teaches.

The Index to the Notes is of the utmost importance, and ought
to be employed daily. Make special efforts to give pupils great facility
in its use.

The PUBLISHER of this BOOK has taken, by permission, certain Excellences
of Watson's Independent Readers, including original material, classifications, arrange-
ments, methods, and other features.

Copyright, 1877.

WILLIAM H. SADLIER.

Electrotyped by
SMITH & MCDOUGAL.

Τ'

HE Fifth Reader of the Excelsior Series, which is now presented to the public, will, it is con

fidently hoped, do much to justify and confirm the favorable verdict which the preceding numbers of the series have received from experienced Catholic teachers. The general principles which håve governed the choice of selections for reading, are the same as those which have been acted on in arranging the earlier Readers. The final cause of a Reading-book, or a Reading class, we have assumed to be the production of good readers-of pupils, that is, who have learned to pronounce well, to modulate their voices. properly, and to bring out the full thought of an author, by giving due emphasis and expression to his words. At the same time, care has been religiously taken to secure not only that no selection shall contain anything capable of wounding the purity of Catholic faith, but also that the Reader shall be a serviceable and important adjunct to the Catechism and the History.

The Treatise on Elocution, more extended than in the earlier numbers of the Series, presents the subject both as a science and an art. To study it with the help of a blackboard, on which the diagrams, indicat

ing the divisions and subdivisions of the subject-mat-
ter, should be drawn and carefully explained, should
be regarded as an indispensable preliminary exercise
for classes beginning to use this Reader, It will be
found full enough for thorough training in Pronuncia-
tion and Expression, and simple enough to be easily
mastered by every pupil.

In this edition all of Webster's marked letters are
used to indicate pronunciation, while ample foot-notes
give all needed definitions, as well as explanations of
obscure allusions, and brief biographical sketches of
most of the authors from whom selections have been
made. The wood-cuts are numerous, and admirably
illustrate the text; and the Index of Notes will be
found a useful and carefully prepared assistance to
pupils in obtaining a thorough mastery of the English
language.