Reading

The 1911 Lake Madison Chautauqua

An important part of the Chautauqua was the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle. Reading lists were sent to participants and the books were read over the long winter months. Discussions about the books were held during the summer Chautauqua. Participants could earn diplomas by working individually during the winter and with others during the summer.

Young girls enjoyed reading books by Mary Jane Holmes while the boys read the books known as the Horatio Alger series. Mary Jane Holmes's books were similar to modern series such as the Baby Sitter Club and Sweet Valley High. Horatio Alger books proved that honesty and hard work are eventually rewarded. Of course, many books considered classics today were best sellers in the late 1800s and early 1900s. These stories are as entertaining and spellbinding today as they were then.

Enjoy reading these books with your students. Many are available online. Selections also make excellent reader's theater presentations.

Lewis Carroll, Alice 's Adventure in Wonderland, 1865.
Jules Verne, Around the World in 80 Days, 1872.
Anna Sewell, Black Beauty, 1877.
Margaret Sidney, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, 1881.
Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, 1883.
Johanna Spyri, Heidi - Her Years of Wondering and Learning, 1884.
Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, 1885.
Robert Lewis Stevenson, A Child's Garden of Verses , 1885.
Robert Lewis Stevenson, Treasure Island, 1881
Arthur Canon Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1892.
Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book, 1894.
L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz, 1900
Beatrix Potter, The Story of Peter Rabbit, 1902
Mary Jane Holmes
Horatio Alger

Library Certificate

Note to teachers: These as well as other authors reflect the culture and mores of their day. As times change, so do the cultural mores. For instance, when you are reading Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Fin and come across the word 'nigger' it is a wonderful time to have this discussion with your students. Encourage students to look for expressions and words that are not appropriate today and to form their own opinion of the appropriateness or inappropriateness of the language.

Fictionary

Many words were in common use a century ago are no longer popular. Fictionary is a game that encourages vocabulary development and enhances dictionary skills.

Players: small group or whole class
Materials: paper, pencil online or real dictionary

Players:

Choose a word from the Word Box below
Look up the word in the dictionary
Write down the real definition or the word plus two other definitions that sound correct but are completely wrong!
Read each definition to your group.
As each definition is read, the member of the opposing group (collectively or individually) decide which is the correct definition.
The player or group of players who fools the most people wins.

Word Box
admonished	corrugate	gingham	obliterate	stifle
alacrity	douse	hostelry	perturbation	stow
astride	drayman	ignominious	pilgrimage	teamsters
beau	ecstatic	imminent	rector	trundle
cadaverous	elocutionist	introspection	remonstrate	unwavering
cantata	flaxen	inveigle	remorse	vagaries
caricature	furl	irreparable	sedately	verisimilitude
copious	gingerly	judicious	staves	zenith

Reading Aloud

Poster

We don't think of reading as a form of entertainment, but this program announcement from the 1911 Lake Madison Chautauqua highly recommended her performance. Have students select something they would like to read to the rest of the class. Research tells us that students need to read and re-read selections in order to improve fluency and comprehension. They might choose from one of the following:

The Wizard of Oz

The Mock Turtles's Song

Smith Zimmermann Heritage Museum