The Ontario High School Reader

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

22795

Title

The Ontario High School Reader

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A comprehensive guide to oral reading, this text combines instructional principles on pronunciation and expression with classic literary selections. Designed for high school students, it bridges mechanical reading skills with emotional interpretation, featuring works by Shakespeare, Tennyson, and Scott alongside practical vocal exercises.

Summary up to 500 words

The Ontario High School Reader, authored by Aletta E. Marty, serves as a comprehensive textbook designed to refine vocal expression and elocution. Published in 1911 and authorized for Ontario's continuation and high schools, the work functions as both a pedagogical guide and a collection of literary masterpieces. The text is structured to move students from mechanical accuracy to expressive reading, integrating technical drills with timeless literature to cultivate a voice capable of conveying deep human thought and feeling. The book begins with a preface outlining its pedagogical approach, emphasizing that good oral reading is an accomplishment in itself that improves everyday speech and prepares students for public speaking. The curriculum is divided into two primary phases: the 'mechanical side' and 'expression.' The mechanical phase focuses on correct pronunciation, distinct articulation of consonants, and the avoidance of provincialisms. Marty details the complexities of vowel sounds, such as the seven different ways the vowel 'a' is sounded, and instructs students on managing final consonants to prevent slurring. This technical foundation ensures that speech is free from local peculiarities and marked by elegance and refinement. Transitioning to expression, the text teaches students to visualize scenes and feel emotions while reading. Marty distinguishes between 'concrete thinking,' which involves forming mental images, and 'abstract thinking,' which involves forming judgments based on those images. The author argues that emotion arises naturally from this dual process of thinking. Consequently, good vocal expression springs from the reader's internal mental and emotional state rather than mechanical imitation. The book illustrates this through graded selections ranging from simple exercises to complex narratives. These selections include biblical passages like Paul's Defence before King Agrippa, dramatic ballads such as Sir Patrick Spens, and poetry by renowned authors including Longfellow, Tennyson, Stevenson, and Shakespeare. The volume concludes with appendices offering physical exercises for breath control, throat flexibility, and mouth opening, alongside a list of reference books for further study. By combining systematic drills on vowel sounds and articulation with dramatic readings of classic literature, the reader aims to produce a voice that is not only clear and correct but also rich in quality, pitch, and force, capable of stirring the imagination and conveying the full depth of human experience.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Readers
• Recitations