History Plays for the Grammar Grades

The play idea will always appeal to the minds of children. History, so often thought to be a dry subject, is made a live wide awake game when the pupils live the parts. The great men and women of history are made real to them. This method has been worked out by the pupils in the fifth grade in the McKinley School in San Francisco and found to be most successful. The chief characters in Mace's Beginners History, the California State Text, have been dramatized. The children read the story and study by outline. Then with the help of the teacher the important events are made into a play. Much outside reading is encouraged. This awakens an interest in good reading and an ability to do independent studying