< HAMILTON'S ARITHMETICS FIRST BOOK BY SAMUEL HAMILTON, PH.D. AUTHOR OF "THE RECITATION," AND SUPERINTENDENT PREFACE THIS First Book in Arithmetic is intended to cover the work of the first four years. It is based on, and closely follows, the Course of Study issued by the Department of Public Instruction of the State of New Jersey. The aim of the course is twofold: first, to give the child mathematical skill; second, to give him mathematical power. It is divided into work for four grades. The purpose of the first grade work is to suggest to the teacher those phases of number work which may be taught incidentally in connection with other subjects, and to show by concrete examples how this may be done. The second grade is devoted mainly to the forty-five socalled primary number facts of addition and subtraction. The textbook may be placed in the hands of the pupil when he enters upon the work of this grade. The purpose of the third grade work is to complete the fundamental operations. The fourth grade work contains little that may be called new; but it leads the pupils farther along lines they have already traveled. In the New Jersey course of study the unit of classification is the half year. With this in view, the subject matter in the second, third, and fourth years has been separated into two parts. Attention is invited to the following features: 1. The plan, which provides an easy treatment of each subject before the complete treatment of it. 2. The prominence given to drill intended to give skill, and the frequency of systematic reviews. 3. The easy steps in gradation. 4. The interesting character of the problems drawn from the child's activities at home, at school, and at play, and from his relations to community life. 5. The close relation of business problems to real conditions. 6. The emphasis placed on correct interpretation of problems and on choosing the most economical methods for their solution. 7. The appeal made to observation as a stimulus to mathematical thought. SAMUEL HAMILTON. |