Embedded Files
Arithmetic page from Stella Pymble's 3rd Class exercise book completed in 1898.The teacher's comment is, 'This work is a very great credit to you.'Collection number 2000-287
About the object
About the object
Stella Pymble's 3rd Class book
Stella Pymble's 3rd Class book
This page from Stella Pymble's exercise book was marked by the teacher on 28 July 1898. Stella attended Pyrmont Public School in Sydney. She was probably in 3rd Class when she completed the book and would have been 9 or 10 years old.
The page is the second page of an arithmetic lesson of division and multiplication problems. The working at the top is for the problem, 'There are 1760 yards in a mile. How many yards in 261 miles?'
Stella used this book for all her lessons from 13 June 1898 to 31 October 1898.
The subjects in the book are arithmetic, poetry, tables, spelling, words and meanings, grammar, parsing, analysis, etymology, object lessons, geography, history and scripture.
Stella's teacher, S Taylor, has marked her work in red ink. He or she has used 'R' for 'right' and gives a mark out of 100 for 'N' and 'S':
N - neatness - overall neatness and presentation
S - subject - accuracy in the work and answers.
Significance
Significance
The exercise book shows:
the scope of subjects taught in 3rd Class in 1898
the subject content learnt by 3rd Class students in 1898
what high standard late 1890s 3rd Class student work looked like
the method of marking and style of teacher comments.
Details
Details
Date –13 June 1898 to 31 October 1898
Creator – Stella Pymble, 3rd Class student
Place – Pyrmont, New South Wales, Australia
Materials – black and red ink on lined paper. Cardboard covers.
Dimensions – 20.1cm x 16.3cm, 88 pages
Look closer
Look closer
Words and meanings page from Stella Pymble's 3rd Class exercise book, 1898. The teacher's comment is, 'Excellent. It's a pleasure to look at your work.'
Tables page from Stella Pymble's 3rd Class exercise book, 1898, listing weights tables – avoirdupois, troy and apothecaries.
Geography page from Stella Pymble's 3rd Class exercise book, 1898.
Think and wonder
Think and wonder
See
See
What is your favourite page? Why?
What comments does the teacher write?
How would you describe Stella's bookwork and handwriting?
Think
Think
Do you think Stella liked doing her school work? Why do you think that?
Why do you think there was just the one book used for work in several subjects?
Students often completed their work on a slate board before copying it into their book. Is there any evidence in Stella's book to support that?
Wonder
Wonder
What does Stella's book work make you wonder about?
What questions do you have about school lessons of the past?
Do
Do
Finish Stella's words page:
Save, or download and print, Stella's unfinished Spelling Words page – button below.
Exactly copy each word into the blank column, copying Stella's handwriting.
Explore and connect
Explore and connect
1890s exercise booksYouTube | NSW Schoolhouse Museum of Public Education (1:51min) | Video transcript | Alternate video link
1890s exercise books
1890s exercise books
View the YouTube video to learn more about student's exercise books of the late 1890s and early 1900s.
What is similar about each book?
What evidence-based inferences can you make about student exercise books of this period?
Words page from Harold Henderson's 2nd Class tables and spelling book, 1890 | Collection number 2000-289Words as spelt by Harold – purposes, curious, wounded, fastened, brithes, enemies, entirely, strenth, struggled, reflection, addmition, culprit, blossoms, acquainted, ignorant.
Harold Henderson's 2nd Class exercise book
Harold Henderson's 2nd Class exercise book
This is part of a page from Harold Henderson's exercise book was completed in 1890. He was in 2nd Class and was 8 years old. Harold attended Annandale Public School in Sydney.
The page is a list of words similar to Stella's words pages.
How is Harold's work similar and different to Stella's?
Can you spot the spelling errors in Harold's work? Check them against this list - purposes, curious, wounded, fastened, breathes, enemies, entirely, strength, struggled, reflection, admission, culprit, blossoms, acquainted, ignorant.
If Stella was sitting next to Harold in the schoolroom, what advice could she give him on his book work?
Timber long tom desks with exercise books, ink pens, blotting paper, ink wells and felt pen wipers. Located in the 1877 schoolroom of the NSW Schoolhouse Museum.
Writing desks and tools
Writing desks and tools
From 2nd Class, students sat at desks and wrote with pen and ink.
Students worked at wooden desks such as the long toms in the photograph.
Each desk had one or more inkwells and a groove at the top for pens and pencils.
Writing equipment included pens, blotting paper, a fabric pen wiper and ink wells. Students also wrote on slate boards with slate pencils.
Imagine sitting and working at a long tom. What would you like and dislike?
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