18. Third Week. Teach A Snow Song, by George Cooper. Tell the story of Watt and the teakettle. Discuss the uses of steam. (See Vol. II, page 16.)

Tell the story of Robert Fulton. Let the pupils write to their fathers, telling what they remember of the boy who set the giant steam to work. (See Vol. III, page 58.)

19. Fourth Week. Study the English sparrow. Describe the bird, its food, its habits, its home.

Explain paragraphing to the pupils. Use readers and study the form of paragraphs. (See page 310.)

Teach what initials are and how to write them. Have a short dictation exercise to impress correct forms, the uses of capitals and punctuation marks.

Let the pupils write a short story telling "What I know about English sparrows."

FEBRUARY

20. First Week. Teach Wynken, Blynken and Nod.

Study the bluejay. Note his size, color of different parts of his body, his long tail, his crest, his beak, his long wings, his feet. Learn what he eats, how he builds his nest, how he treats other birds. Read to the pupils The Bluejay (Susan Hartley Swett.)

21. Second Week. Discuss with the pupils the uses of fire and materials of which it is made. (See Plans for Nature Study, page 150.) Compare colonial methods of building fires with those in use at present. Tell the pupils of forest and prairie fires.

Study stories of Abraham Lincoln. Have the pupils reproduce these. Let them write one.

22. Third Week. Play a language game to teach It was I, it was she, it was they.

Have a dictation exercise to test the pupils' knowledge of capitals, of the use of their, and of the singular possessive. Make the exercise short, but see that it helps to fit one or more language facts in the pupils' minds.

Let the pupils tell stories of Washington. Tell them of some of the hardships Washington and his men endured. Have a picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware. Let the pupils look at this and tell the story of How Washington Got Out of a Trap. (See Great Americans for Little Americans.)

23. Fourth Week. Recall the story of coal taught in the second grade. Tell the pupils something about the plan of coal mines, how the miners work, how the coal is drawn to the shafts to be elevated and how it is shipped to us.

Tell the class about oil wells and how the oil is shipped.

If gas is used commonly, explain that it is made of coal. Let the pupils tell what they know about fuel we use.

MARCH

24. First Week. Reproduce the story of How Cedric Became a Knight.

Have dictation work to test the children's knowledge of writing direct quotations. Teach the use of write and right.

If there is a blacksmith shop near, take the class to visit it, after making arrangements with the smith for the visit. This will furnish material for several interesting conversation lessons and for written work. The pupils may make booklets of this material. Let them draw and color what pleased them most in the shop. Tell what the smith did.

25. Second Week. Have a good copy of Shoeing The Bay Mare. Let the pupils tell what they see, what story it suggests. (See Vol. II, page 416.)

Discuss the return of the birds. Study the ostrich. (See Vol. III, page 16.) Let the pupils write a short story about it.

Have a list of topics on the board as a guide in arrangement of material and in paragraphing.

26. Third Week. Discuss the wind; what it is; what it does. Teach Stedman's Four Winds.

Study twigs. Select those whose buds are large, such as the hickory, horse chestnut or chestnut. Let the pupils note the position of the buds (terminal and lateral), which is farthest advanced, how the bud is protected. If one can procure shoots of the horse chestnut, call attention to the scars on the stems (horse shoes) and explain what made them. Explain when these buds were formed, how they assisted in making the leaves fall in the autumn. Put the twigs in water, keep it fresh and note the development of the twigs. Let the pupils draw the twigs and write short descriptions of the buds.

27. Fourth Week. Teach the use of do, does, don't, doesn't. Have a short dictation exercise to test the pupils' knowledge of punctuation marks.

Discuss the making of maple syrup and maple sugar. Let the children write a letter telling a friend about maple-sugar-making.

Tell the pupils the story of The Ant and the Dove. Let them reproduce it orally.

APRIL

28. First Week. Discuss the sun, its size, its apparent movements and its work. Explain how the earth moves about the sun. Note the sun's position each morning at a certain hour and see how it seems to change its position. Let the pupils write a little story about what the sun does. Teach the use of shine, shone, has shone.

Teach Stevenson's The Sun's Travels.

29. Second Week. Discuss streams, how formed, what becomes of them, the work they do. Pay especial attention to erosion. If possible visit a nearby creek. Compare it with a river. Have pictures of the Colorado Canyon. Speak also of the overflow of streams, the cause, damage, and the use of dikes as a preventive. Tell of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and the damage they cause each year. Let the pupils give oral descriptions of the formation of streams, the work of streams and the harm they sometimes do. Tell them the story of the Nile. Tell the story of brave Kate Shelley.

(See Plans for

30. Third Week. Study the formation of soils. Nature Study, Vol. II, page 151.) Have a little leaf mold. Let pupils tell where the leaf mold comes from. Let them tell how soils are formed and that good soil contains a mixture of sand, clay and decayed vegetable and animal matter.

Discuss the ways by which rocks are broken up and converted into soil. Describe Mammoth Cave.

Speak of the use of sand in making glass and of clay in making china and crockery.

31. Fourth Week. Study earthworms. (See Plans for Nature Study, Vol. II, page 151.) Let the class describe the worms, the way they travel where they live and what they live on. See if the worm has eyes, ears, nose or feet. How does it find its worms can smell a little, that they Explain that these worms lay eggs. the worms climb a pane of glass. creatures in loosening the soil.

Teach the uses of sit and set.

way about? Discover that the have a delicate sense of touch. Let the pupils observe how easily Speak of the value of these little

Have exercises in which blanks are left for the verb forms. Let the pupils choose the correct form of the troublesome verbs learned.

MAY

32. First Week. Study the meadow lark. Have the pupils tell all they know about it, its song, its nest and its food.

Reproduce the story of The Lark and Her Young Ones.
Study the flicker. Let the pupils describe it and its nest.

Tell stories of Audubon. Have the pupils reproduce these.

33. Second Week. If possible, secure toad's eggs and watch the development. If this is impossible, secure a toad for study. Let the pupils write a letter to a friend, telling about the toad.

Teach the use of isn't and aren't.

34. Third Week. Study the cowslip and the spring beauty. Note the kind of roots, leaves and flowers each has. Let the pupils give oral descriptions of these plants.

Study maples. Compare leaves and seeds of different varieties. Learn to recognize the common maples.

35. Fourth Week. Make a study of the elm and birch trees. Note the shape, the grace of each one, the kind of leaves, blossoms and seeds. Let the pupils give oral descriptions of each. Have them tell for what these trees are useful, for what Hiawatha used the birch.

Let the pupils play they are trees and describe themselves without telling their names. Let the class guess the names.

Have the pupils describe their gardens and the plants that are up.

JUNE

36. First Week. Tell the story of Ceres and Proserpina. Let the pupils reproduce the story.

Teach the use of ate, eaten.

Give short dictation exercises to review the use of capitals and punctuation marks.

Have an attractive picture for study.

37. Second Week. Study the wild rose. Note the variations in color, the fragrance, the number and shape of the petals and sepals, the texture of the outside and inside of the petals. Why do the petals close at night? What kind of seed cups has the rose? Let the pupils draw the flower, or paint it; then write a description of it.

Teach The Bee and the Rose. (See Songs of the Tree-Top and Meadow.)

Assistant Professor of Kindergarten Education,
Teachers' College, Columbia University, N. Y.

Instructor in Elementary and Kindergarten Education, Teachers' College, Columbia University, N. Y.

I. STORY-TELLING

1. Introductory Statement. All of the greatest teachers and leaders have used the story as an effective means of imparting instruction, molding thought and influencing conduct. The story has been much more influential in lifting the race to a higher plane of thinking and acting than the essay or the argumentative presentation of truth. Great stories may be in the form of drama, romance or poetry, but they are always concerned with human experience and they embody in a concrete way some of the deep lessons of life. The appeal of the story is primarily to the heart, not the intellect.

2. Special Value of Story-Telling. The question is often asked, "What value does the story told carry with it which does not attend the individual reading of the same story?" From the standpoint of the primary teacher the answer is simple. No matter how rapid progress may be in the mastery of written and printed symbols, children are for a long time handicapped