1 68 METHODS IN TEACHING 



Square and cube root are developed by the blocks. When 

 the pupils understand the principle, they are allowed to work 



by rule. After the demonstration is made 

 Square and , Jf 



Cube Root v teacher, a pupil, generally one of the 



brightest, is called upon to present the same 

 to the class, using the blocks while so doing. In a very 

 short time every pupil in the class is able to present the sub- 

 ject intelligently. Finally, the pupils are required to make 

 the drawings representing the different steps, and to de- 

 scribe the process in writing. Problems involving the ap- 

 plication of square and cube root follow. 



In measuring surfaces and contents, a special effort is 

 made to lead the pupils to see that shapes and forms have 



a certain relation to one another; and that, 

 Mensuration 



when a few truths are well understood, it 



is possible to discover others. Few rules are required, the 

 pupils developing their own whenever possible. The rec- 

 tangle and triangle are first mastered. When a new figure 

 involving area is presented, the thought is, first, find the 

 rectangle; then, find the triangle. The pupils are led to 

 see that the faces of most solids are related to one or the 

 other of these figures: that the side of a hexagonal prism 

 is a rectangle, and that the base is a hexagon, which can 

 be divided into triangles; that the base of a cylinder is a 

 circle, made up of triangles; that the sides form a rectangle; 

 and that the cone and the pyramid can be resolved into 

 triangles. 



In our work with solids, we follow the idea so well ex- 

 pressed by Griffin : " Lead the children to see that, when 

 finding the volume of a solid, they are finding the number 

 of cubic units it contains, which are found in layers, of a 



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