The analytical study of words should be begun early.
Some columns of words are given which may indicate broader
study. The teacher should have a supply of letters and
words, printed on stiff paper, for little games of word-making
and sentence-building. Words may be grouped by vowel-
sounds, by initial or final letters, and various devices may be
used to study words.
But most important among the things that help toward
right teaching is a good attitude of mind. The mind of the
teacher first, and then of the pupil, should be filled with bright
enthusiasm. Learning to read is not an end in itself, but a
means to a higher end; the means should be subordinated, that
the end may be kept constantly in view. "All our best learn-
ing is unconscious learning" is a maxim that comes from the
wisdom of ages long past, and has been recently enunciated
with new emphasis by Colonel F. W. Parker and many a
teacher besides. While our pupils are striving to learn the
good things that they want to know, reading and writing
may be almost insensibly acquired, as a means to get what is
beyond.