282 METHODS IN TEACHING 



the period of time in which these men lived, and should 

 begin to grasp the importance of a man to his period. This 

 is one of the first lessons in estimating the relation of man to 

 his surroundings, and one of special meaning in a republic. 

 The time devoted to history in the fourth grades is the 

 same as in the first three grades, twenty minutes a day for 



two weeks of every month, history still 

 Time 



alternating with nature study. The children 



usually enjoy bringing into class any reading or pictures that 

 they find bearing upon the history, and, unconsciously, they 

 are thus being initiated into historical research. The public 

 library, with which some of the pupils began to be ac- 

 quainted even in the third grade, grows constantly in use 

 and value for the children, many a pupil commencing to 

 delight in the books found there. 



The study of inventors who have contributed greatly to 

 the progress of the world is continued in this grade. The 

 steam-engine in its modern uses is observed 

 Inventions an( j Discussed j n c i ass unt ji t h e importance 



and 

 Inventors f tne invention to the world is called to the 



attention of the children. Then the lives of 

 James Watt, George Stephenson, and Robert Fulton are 

 studied. Electricity, its many uses and its marvellous aid to 

 modern life are talked over; Edison's life, which follows, is 

 always fascinating to the children. A trip to the woolen 

 mills is preceded by preparing the children for what they 

 are to see, and is followed by a study of some of the primi- 

 tive methods of weaving and the products of simple looms. 

 Some attention is given to different materials, and consider- 

 able thought is directed toward the importance of the inven- 

 tion to the civilization of the world. An invention is never 



