Illustration an Element of Success
By May G. Cole
A VITAL principle of success in church-school work is discipline. The secret of discipline is to keep children busy while not reciting, and to keep them interested during their recitations. Illustration is one of the most successful means of interesting children, whether in class or at their seats in study. Blackboard space is always a necessary element in successful illustration. One of the most effective ways of illustrating a lesson is to make the drawing during the presentation of the lesson, but the illustration is valuable even if it is placed on the board before the time of recitation. It can then be prepared with more care, and can, if desired, be covered up until the time it is used. When the children have gone to their seats after the recitation, they may reproduce the drawings on their slates21or papers. I have had some most excellent reproduction work in this manner. One does not need to be an artist to copy a simple picture or outline an animal. Even straight marks, when the drawing is made before a class at the time of instruction, may be made to represent almost anything—men, animals, trees, etc. When the teacher steps to the board to illustrate a lesson, the children will almost invariably lend their attention at once, and even if the illustration is not the best, the attention has been secured. Nearly all our reading books contain numbers of good pictures which may be easily sketched on the blackboard. The results will justify the effort of any one in this direction.