236 METHODS IN TEACHING 



The blackboard and the sand trough are used freely in 

 developing the work of these grades both by the teacher 



and the pupils. By drawing and modeling 

 Constructive ,. , .11*. i , 



Work the teacher presents thoughts more clearly 



and forcibly; by the same means the child 

 expresses his comprehension of a subject, and visualizes for 

 himself that about which he is studying. 



THIRD YEAR GRADE 



With the mile as an understood unit of measurement, in 

 this grade many distances around the city are made intel- 

 ligible to the pupils. Distance is also meas- 

 Distance , . . . , . f 



Home City u m time > a ten mmute walk, bicycle 



ride, trip on the railroad, on the street car. 

 The principal work of the grade is to give the pupils a 

 definite idea of the size and plan of the city, which is laid 

 out as a rectangle, and of the location of the principal build- 

 ings, especially those belonging to the city. The printed 

 maps of the city furnished the schools are used by the chil- 

 dren for indicating parks, buildings, factories, hotels, 

 schools, depots. In connection with the map work, the 

 pupils learn direction as represented in drawing. In addi- 

 tion to the details of the city within its boundaries, the 

 features of the country around the city are studied: the 

 great plain in which Stockton is located; the mountain 

 ranges in the distance ; the rivers and other waterways ; the 

 nature of the soil. On maps of the city, drawn or modeled, 

 or on the wall map, the children locate the streets, parks, 

 and other points of interest, telling in what direction they 

 would go if passing from one point to another. 



Stories of child life are an important feature in the read- 



