If the opening part of the recitation has been properly done, the transition to the new lesson will be an easy and natural one, and the connection with the past will be well established. The teacher now has the opportunity to test the pupils’ understanding of the new topic and to draw them out in discussion concerning the information in the text-book, source book, and collateral reading assigned for the day. The teacher’s questions should be carefully thought out, and should call for answers in which the information is given in connection with its historical importance and significance rather than as mere facts that have been memorized for recitation. All direct questions, calling for a “yes” or “no” answer should be avoided, for with such a question before him the student has an equal chance to be right as well as to be wrong. Almost equally bad are questions that call merely for a name or a date. Instead of asking: “Was Rome able to defend herself from the Visigoths?” time will be saved by asking: “Why did Rome find it difficult to meet the Visigothic attack,” and, instead of asking “Who was the leader of the Visigoths?”--a fact which every pupil should know--a better question would be: “What caused the Visigoths to invade Italy?” While it is important that the teacher’s questions should be clear, yet it is not a bad thing pedagogically to ask a question that requires some thought on the part of the pupil before it is answered. Pupils frequently say: “I don’t understand your question,” and sometimes this answer is justified, more frequently, however, it is the pupil’s own inattention, and the majority of the class will understand the question and be able to answer it correctly. The harder questions a teacher asks in the way of calling for thoughtful interpretation the better training students are getting.