What garments are worn in winter and why? In summer and why? What are the sources of these clothing materials? To the last question the reply comes gradually that we get some of these materials, namely cotton, linen, and rubber, from plants and the rest, that is, wool, silk, fur and leather from animals. Each of these materials is now studied in turn, the teacher taking great care to psychologize her material, that is, not make an intensive study of each subject, but adapt it to the children's power of comprehension. Since the children cannot be expected to contribute much on these subjects, the teacher uses the simple story form or narrative method, and tells how each of these clothing materials is prepared for the market. The necessary data can be found in the bibliography at the end of this article.

In connection with the study of cotton an exhibit is used which was prepared from material sent the school upon request by a southern cotton mill. This exhibit includes an entire cotton plant with roots, leaves, and bolls, besides cotton in the various stages of ginning, carding, spinning and weaving, cloth, seeds, meal, hulls and oil. In the period devoted to handwork or "industrial arts" the actual steps of cotton manufacture are taken-ginning, carding, spinning, weaving, dyeing. How the children enjoy picking the cotton fibres from the seeds to which they cling so closely! Now the work has become concrete and therefore all the more instructive.

Flax may be raised in the school garden and silk worms grown from eggs obtained free from Washington upon application to the Department of Apriculture. Booklets bound with raffia are made by the children to contain samples of the clothing materials studied. How very essential concrete work is here, was impressed upon me anew recently, when I told a teacher who was going to conduct a third grade reading lesson on "flax," that she might borrow some flax that I had in a case. She returned without it, and admitted she could not find it because she did not know "what it looked like." The work on dress is concluded with a brief study of the tailor shop, clothing house, and shoe store and shop.

Houses What points are to be considered in choosing a site for a house? Who usually plans the house and its details? As a set of plans prepared by an architect is brought by some child in the class or borrowed from some houseowner, the children get some notion of the accuracy requisite in planning the basement, exterior, interior, roof and all details. What is the special work of a contractor if one is employed? Discuss lumber, bricks, stone and concrete blocks as building materials. Where prepared and obtained? Compare as to methods of holding material in place, durability

FUEL

A fire is one of the most important things in a house. because it not only makes us comfortable in winter so that we can read, sew and do many other things, but because by means of it our food is prepared.

all trees be cut for fuel? Uses of trees for shade, for protecWood Where obtained. How sold. The supply. Should tion from cold winds, for beauty, for protection of birds and

animals. Wood too valuable for fuel.

Compare value and wood as fuels, as to heating properties, Coal Where and how obtained. Visit a mine if possible.

convenience, and cleanliness. How sold. Cost. Gas and Oil Treat similarly to coal. Compare fireplace, stone and furnace.

LIGHT Candles How they are made.

ness.

Convenience and usefulStories of lighting in primitive and pioneer times. Oil The lamp; comparison with the candle in principle. Dangers in the use of oils.

The story of the first matches that would produce a flame by friction is told here. Process of making matches fifty years ago is compared with that of to-day.

Gas and Electricity Treat in manner similar to that given candles and oil. Which is best for the eyes? The teacher will find the following bibliography very helpful:

C

D

Arithmetic Lesson for the Little Folks

W

F. H. SPINNEY

HERE the primary class is small, or where it may be conveniently divided into groups, the number lessons can be made very interesting by the use of dominoes. I have found that the children take special delight in the use of these objects.

We all recall the many happy hours which we ourselves have spent in arranging the dominoes in rows of various forms, each standing on end, and parallel to one another. Then, that exciting moment when we touched one at the end, and the whole row fell in a regular file!

The children stand around the table, and the teacher arranges a few dominoes in a row. The pupil who can first say the correct number enjoys the glorious privilege of causing the row to fall. She then aranges another number in the same way, and this is continued as long as the allotted time permits. The pupils are also allowed to arrange the dominoes, taking care that they do not cause them to fall before the order is given. The dominoes can also be arranged in separate piles, and the pupils asked to tell how many there are in each pile, how many more in one pile than in the other, how many in two or more piles combined, etc.

The most interesting, and probably the most beneficial exercise is in connection with the "spots." These can be dealt with in a great variety of ways. The following is interesting: The dominoes are placed on the table, the spots turned down. The teacher turns one over, and the pupils are to tell her as quickly as possible how many spots they see. The pupil who is the first to give the correct number is allowed to turn over another domino. Sometimes the teacher turns one over, just allowing the pupils a glance at it, then turns it back. This is very exciting, and develops a habit of quick observation. Teachers will think of many other ways of making the Arithmetic lesson interesting by the use of domi

The pupils are then asked to replace the correct number of 1's. This may look like a difficult problem for the primary get it right at the first attempt. class; but it will be found that many of the children will

The teacher should plan to give much previous thought to the arithmetic lessons, in order that she may put into them all the life and interest possible; in this way, she will develop in the pupils a love for the work, which will prove of great value in later years of school life, as well as in the practical life of the world.

A Suggestive Lesson in Mathematics

T

EMILIE YUNKER

HE thermometer hanging on the wall in the schoolroom may be of absolutely no interest to a little child, but when he is permitted to use it, and is further encouraged to observe and record the temperature, it at once becomes of vital interest to him, because he is actively concerned with it.

Those who have made a psychological study of mathematics for the primary grades have found that much of it should be related to the child's needs and immediate interests. In a series of lessons in applied mathematics, the pupils of the second grade of the Louisville Normal School have been measuring the school garden, home and school plots, markers, tomato frames, growth of twigs, tree guards, the depth, length, and width of opening for the planting of trees, distance apart and depth of planting for the various seedsproblems related to nature study real to the child and which

had to be solved.

Among this series in which the children manifested unabated interest, there were a number of exercises in which the children measured the heat as registered by the thermometer. Two children are appointed for each hour in the day from When the time comes they are ready to make observations. The following is one of the daily charts made on the blackboard:

8:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.

One

The above is read thus:

Wednesday, April 20, 1910, at 8 o'clock in the morning there were 67 degrees of heat in the school-room, 48 degrees outside in the shade, etc.

The following questions were suggested:

I How much warmer was it in the school-room than outside in the shade at 8 o'clock? Why?

2 How much cooler outside than in the school-room at 9, 10, 11, 12, and 1 o'clock?

3 What was the difference in temperature in the school between 8 o'clock and 11 o'clock?

4 Difference between temperature in sun and shade at I o'clock, etc.?

When the thermometer registered 110° in the sun in the cold frame in the school garden, the children decided to remove the cover, so that the lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes would not burn up. And when, April 22, the temperature dropped to 37° they carefully replaced the cover.

Thermometer, shade, heat, school-room, day of week, of month, temperature and degrees are of vital importance to the children and they learn without difficulty how to spell the words correctly.

This work involves accurate observations, language, and reading as well as processes in mathematics. Intellectual problems are not merely made up to secure mental discipline but for the development of the child's powers which are set to work upon that which is intrinsically worth doing.

Devices for Teaching Number

CATHERINE M. GOULD

OW to make number lessons interesting for children of the lower grades has been a problem for many a teacher. Here are a few devices that may be helpful for those teaching second grade numbers. Let each child have a box containing one hundred 1" squares of colored cardboard, red and blue, for instance. These squares may be grouped upon the desks, and counted as the teacher directs, by two's, three's, etc., up to one hundred. The squares may be arranged in the shape of squares or oblongs. Thus,

Let two children come to the board with pointers. points to a number, 9, for instance, at the same time calling it out so that the class may hear him.

The other child must point to 6, and call out 6. If the one finding the answer, points to the wrong number, any one in the class may call out the correct answer, and come to the front, taking the place of the one pointing, while he takes the place of the one who failed to find the correct number. The one who finds the answers may have three turns if he does not miss, and then may choose someone to be the pointer, while the pointer now finds the answers.

This game keeps the whole class on the alert because each child wants a turn at the board.

Domino cards, made by cutting up old calendars and pasting the numbers on cardboard, are fine for quick work. The teacher holds up a card and the children give the answer quickly. Domino cards may also be made by stamping spots on the cards with a cork that has been dipped in ink.

Another favorite with the children is the "Family" number game. The teacher announces the family name, 17, for instance. A child comes to the front and stands facing a row of children who arise from their seats. Each child in turn calls out one part of 17, and the one in front must give the other part. Whoever makes him miss, may take his place. If he does not miss by the time he reaches the last one in the row, he calls upon someone to take his place, and the next row of children fire numbers at him.

A game which excites enthusiasm is this: The teacher calls upon one row at a time to stand. All who can give the correct answer to the problem she gives, may take their seats.

Sometimes only one will answer correctly, sometimes two or three, and occasionally everyone in the row. The problem may be in addition or subtraction. The one who cannot think quickly enough must move on to each row until he gives

I

Sleepy

ELIZABETH ELLIS SCANTLEBURY

The little white birches, nid-nodding their heads
Like babies, seem ready for bed;

While down at their feet the tall maples have dropped
Their dresses of yellow and red.

The milkweed has yawned till in her best gown
Such shocking big holes you can see!
So sleepy the little fat chestnut has grown
He's tumbled right out of the tree.

The goldenrod, too, has doffed his plumed hat And the breezes now rumple his hair They've snatched the aster's blue bonnet away, But not the least bit does she care.

Soon little snow-fairies in tiny white caps
Will dance all about them in glee

Then softly they'll cover and tuck them in bed
Just wait for awhile and you'll see!

Experience Corner

Common Sense and Primary Work

T was the morning after the first-grade meeting. The three primary teachers seated on the comfortable couch in the principal's office, were busily comparing notes, that is, two of them were, for the third, a sweet-faced young girl was unusually silent. The principal, who had been listening to the reports with a great deal of interest, finally noticed that her most thoughtful teacher was saying nothing at all, so she said rather playfully, "Miss Douglass, wake up and tell us what wonders you saw. What did you think of it all?"

Miss Douglass turned her earnest eyes upon her questioner and said frankly, "To be absolutely honest with you, I am so stupefied by yesterday's revelations that I can hardly say anything.".

"So we have observed," said Miss Burns in an audible aside, as she smiled at the young girl whose face so clearly betrayed the puzzled state of her mind. "But you have finally found your tongue, so go on."

Well, in the first place, I don't understand how a room full of first grade children could, every one of them, be trained to sit perfectly straight and still for thirty-five minutes without so much as looking around them. The attention was wonderful, yes, perfect. Perhaps that is the reason the results were so marvellous. With such intense concentration of mird, one could accomplish anything and, dear me, what things they had accomplished! Those children said all of the key-signatures from cards that the teacher held up before them and they said them without a moment of hesitation and with no waiting for anyone. There seemed to be no weak or slow pupils in that room and that, in itself, is very strange, for I have never had a room full of children given into my care, who were all capable. There have always been from three to a half dozen little people who were not up to the average and needed help. The next thing this remarkable class did was to sing through the entire chart, as well as a set of twelve hard exercises on the front blackboard, without a blunder. I ascribed their success to the fact that the recitation was concert work, but my opinion was shattered the very next minute, for the teacher produced a set of much more difficult exercises, written on long pieces of cardboard and passed these to her scholars. Now, this is the wonder of wonders. Those little people stood up, one after another, and sang those difficult exercises (in almost all of the keys too) and each child gave his work correctly. It was absolutely uncanny, it was so perfect. I would not be afraid to wager my whole next month's salary that our third grade could not perform that feat, and just Chink of the first grade being able to do it!"

"Miss Douglass is expressing the state of her mind without any exaggeration," laughed Miss Burns. "She looked just

what she is describing. You should have seen her, Miss Mason! Her eyes were as big and round as saucers."

The first speaker went on, growing more and more earnest as she proceeded. "I feel this morning as if I had been weighed in the balance and found wanting." I have never been able to get such results yet, and still, I know that I am not a careless or easy-going person, for my conscience tells me that I have worked as long and hard as I know how. It must be in the knowing how, the skill, that I am lacking"-just here she broke off with her big gray eyes filling with tears.

The principal suddenly sat up very straight and took a hand in the discussion. "Now, girls," she said energetically, "it is time for me to make a decision in this case, so listen to the official dictum, for I have taught twenty years and I know a few things from experience. Miss Douglass, where is your common sense? You might as well go to a circus and come home weeping over the fact that you cannot equal the trapese performers. Of course our third grade could not do such work. We are not working to achieve any kind of extreme mental gymnastics. Indeed, our first grade could never approach such a stage of acute over-drill in any branch. I could not sleep nights if they did." Here she stopped to get her breath and happening to notice the stupefied countenances of her hearers, she hastened on to say, "Don't be frightened. I do act rather fierce, but this kind of thing always makes me very indignant. It's nothing new. It's a thing that we shall find among us as long as we have schools and teachers, for it is the besetting weakness of a large class of pedagogues to push progress in some one or two branches of the course and so excite attention to their work. It's really another phase of the old game of showing off."

"Now, Miss Douglass, you say you never have discovered an entire group of children who were all uniformly bright and could be brought to the stage of perfection that you witnessed yesterday. I have taught many more years then you have and I am obliged, by the facts, to confirm your statements. Children are children the world over, and those that you and I teach are just like all of the others — not excluding those you saw perform yesterday afternoon. You say that you couldn't get such results. Of course, you could not and I will tell you why. It is because you, and almost all of my other teachers, are good, sensible, intelligent teachers who do rounded and consistent work in all of the branches. You all know that, if you give each branch of your work its proper time limit, you can just comfortably finish the assigned allotment, without any room for trimmings. There is just so much time each day, just so many days in a week and just sɔ many weeks in a school year. Every study merits its own particular place and you all realize that you "cannot eat your cake and have it too." If a teacher does third-grade music work in a first-grade room you may be sure that something else is bound to lose place. Either some other part of the work will suffer or she will utilize the recreation time or the recesses of the little folks. Something extra always enters in to produce such remarkable effects, for there are no presentday school-room miracles. Everything can be explained, especially everything that happens in the line of work with which we are most familiar."

"As to the value of such work, let us make a little investigation, here and now. Remember that I am not saying positively that none of you could show me third-grade work in first grade if you were willing to pay the price, or, rather have your children pay it. Indeed, I have a suspicion that even our first primary teacher could do likewise and really teach her children the Chinese language if she happened to be interested enough in that particular branch of knowledge to make it seem worth while. Would it be worth while? Why force children to go beyond their capacity in one branch and cause their little wits to flower out like hothouse vegetables? If things are allowed to take their natural course, these same children will reach third-grade work in due time. Anyhow, they will be disbanded, as a room, in just five weeks and then, what will be the result? Next year they will be just ordinary children again, probably a little weak in some respects and no more wonderful than the little folks in secondgrade who have grown normally. Why not give each child a sensible foundation of work well done and first principles well mastered? We don't want our children to develop