The four points of this lesson are of supreme importance in teaching religion. The _aim_ must be clear, definite, and possible of attainment. The _subject matter_ of instruction must be wisely selected as an instrument for reaching the aim set forth. The _organization_ of this material must adapt it to the mind and needs of the child. The _presentation_ of the lesson material in the recitation must be such that its full effect is brought to bear upon the mind and heart of those we teach. Each of these four points will be further elaborated in the chapters which follow. In fact, the remainder of the text is chiefly a working out and applying of these fundamental principles to the teaching of religion. 1. To what extent would you say you have been directing your teaching toward a definite aim? Just how does the problem of this chapter relate itself to the preceding chapter on the "Great Objective"? 2. Do you think the majority of those who have come up through the church school possess as full and definite a knowledge of the Bible and the fundamentals of religion as we have a right to expect? If not, where is the trouble and what the remedy? 3. Have you been consciously emphasizing the creation of right attitudes as one of the chief outcomes of your teaching? Do you judge that you are as successful in the developing of religious attitudes as in imparting information? If not, can you find a remedy? 4. To what extent do you think your instruction is actually carrying over into the immediate life and conduct of your class in their home, school, etc.? If not to so great an extent as you could wish, are you willing to make this one of the great aims of your teaching from this time on, seeking earnestly throughout this text and in other ways to learn how this may be done? 5. Do you on the whole feel that the subject matter you are teaching your pupils is adapted to the aims you seek to reach in their lives? If not, how can you supplement and change to make it more effective? Have you a broad enough knowledge of such material yourself so that you can select material from other sources for them? 6. To what extent do you definitely plan each lesson for the particular children you teach so as to make it most accessible to their interest and grasp? Do you plan each lesson to secure a psychological mode of approach? How do you know when you have a psychological approach? FOR FURTHER READING Betts, Class-Room Method and Management, Part I. Coe, A Social Theory of Religious Education, Part II. DuBois, The Point of Contact in Teaching. CHAPTER IV RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE OF MOST WORTH