COMSTOCK] JANUARY NATURE-STUDY 3 



rising and setting of the sun should be made once a week and the 

 curved shadow of the shadow stick should be examined once a week 

 to show what has happened : First that the sun may rise thirteen 

 minutes earlier in the morning on the 31st than on the ist of 

 January, and that it may set thirty-three minutes later, the gain 

 in the length of day being mostly in the afternoon. The almanac 

 should be used to correct the children's observations. The 

 shadow-stick will show that the sun is higher at noon — each 

 successive week. 



The Polar Constellations — The dark comes so early in January 

 that the stars mav be studied by even the young children before 









bedtime. The first constellation to be taught should be the Big 

 Dipper, and how to find the Pole Star by means of its pointers. 

 The next constellation to be learned is Cassiopeia's Chair, and the 

 next is the Little Dipper. For third grade it is sufficient to teach 

 that a constellation means a group of stars that appear to us to be 

 near to each other or to form a figure of some sort ; and that the 

 polar constellations are those which in our latitude never set 

 but may always be seen above the horizon all night on any clear 

 night of the A^ear. See p. 889. 



FOURTH GRADE 



The Screech Owl — This interesting little night flier manages to 

 eke out an existence in winter by hunting field mice and other 

 small creatures. It sometimes gathers in a feast through finding a 

 sparrow roost. It is very desirable that the pupils observe a live 



