PEDAGOGICAL 



335 



■^ 



EDAGOGICAL 



Snowflake Paper Cutting. 



Erie, Pennsylvania. 

 To the Editor : 



I am pleased to send yon my ])lan 

 for a snowflake paper cutting lesson, 

 trusting it may give some one a little 

 pleasure, as I assure you we have had 

 much in doing it. 



I gave the lesson to the children in 

 the Fresh Air school, and two weeks 

 after that, Miss King, the teacher, 

 asked the children to write about some- 

 thing they had learned recently. The 

 day you gave your lecture here and 

 mentioned snowflakes, she told me of 

 one boy's composition. At my request 

 she gave it to me and I am sending it 

 to you herewith that you may see the 

 lesson gave a good impression. 



*!* 'K -i* 'K -i' 



Winter. 



Winter is the season that all boys 

 and girls like. December is the best 

 month of the twelve, because it brings 

 the ice and snow. 



Snow is like the milkweed seed sail- 

 ing aroimd in the air, they move so 

 quietly without a sound. Because the 

 snowflakes help each other and work 

 together they make a big drift. 



If boys and girls would follow the 

 example of tiny snowflakes they would 

 accomplish many things. 



Reed Stinson. 



* * * * :)c 



Beside the interest and attention in 

 the drawing and cutting. T am sure we 

 can lead the children not only to love 

 the beautiful literature of Emerson. 

 Bryant and Thoreau, but also to learn 

 something of the laws of nature and in 

 so doing to be inspired with love and 

 reverence for the Creator. 



My plan for teaching snowflake pa- 

 l)er cutting is as follows : 



T give each pupil several pieces of 

 thin white paper three and one-half 

 inches square, pencil and scissors. We 

 fold the square as in Fig. IT, fold again 

 as in Fig. Ill and draw a curved line 

 as in Fig. IV. With the scissors we 



cut on the curved line without unfold- 

 ing the paper. We then fold it in three 

 equal parts as shown by the dotted 

 lines in Fig. V, draw as in Fig. I (a), 

 and cut on the lines. The folded 

 edges are held firmly together while 

 cutting and we turn the paper, not the 

 scissors. The paper is then carefully 

 opened. 



I have a magazine illustration show- 

 ing Mr. Bentley and the apparatus that 

 he uses to photograph snowflakes, also 

 ten of his photographs which I show to 

 the children and lead them to discover 

 that each snowflake has six points and 

 six sides. I tell them that Mr. Bentley 

 says he has made over two thousand 

 photographs with no two alike, and 

 again quoting from Mr. Bentley give 

 them the following facts : 



"Water is nature's most precious 

 gift to earth, next to life itself. Hence 

 it is peculiarly fitting that this most 

 iDeneficent substance should assume 

 such beautiful and varied forms. 



"Of all the water forms snow is the 

 most remarkable. Snow crystals 

 'snowflakes) form at various heights 

 from a few thousand feet to several 

 miles. Their size is ordinarily between 

 one-fourth and one-twentieth of an 

 inch in diameter. 



"All have six points and six sides 

 and the mysterious laws that govern 

 in cloudland seem to decree that the 

 rate \of growth shall determine the 

 structure- Those that grow rapidly as- 

 sume open, branching forms, while 

 those that form slowly are more solid." 

 Before beginning the lesson, the fol- 

 lowing quotations are placed on the 

 blackboard : 

 "Help one another." the snowflake said. 



As it slowly sank to its fleecy bed. 

 "One of us here would not be felt. 

 One of us here would quickly melt, 

 But I'll help you. and you help me. 

 And see ! what a splendid drift there 

 will be." 



