MEANING OF NATURE-STUDY 25 



ficant to the teacher or to the particular pupils. 

 It remains for the teacher to pick out the fact or 

 answer that is most significant. The teacher 

 should know what is significant and he should 

 keep the point clearly before him. One pupil 

 says that the twig is long ; another that it is 

 brown ; another that it is crooked ; another that 

 it is from an apple tree ; another that it has several 

 unlike branchlets or parts. Now, this last reply 

 may appeal to the teacher as a most significant 

 fact. Stop the questioning and open the second 

 epoch in the instruction the reason why no 

 two parts are alike. As before, from the great 

 number of responses the significant reason may be 

 developed : it is because no two parts have lived 

 under exactly the same conditions. One had 

 more room or more sunlight and it grew larger. 

 The third epoch follows naturally : are there 

 any two objects in nature exactly alike ? Let the 

 pupils think about it. 



Choose a stone. If similar stones are passed 

 about to the pupils, you ask first for the observa- 

 tion or the fact. One says the stone is long ; 

 another, it is light ; another, it is heavy ; another, 

 that the edges are rounded. This latter fact is 

 very significant. You stop the observation and 

 ask why it is rounded. Some one replies that it 

 is because it is water-worn. Query : Are all 

 stones in brooks rounded ? Numberless applica- 

 tions and suggestions can be made from this simple 

 lesson. What becomes of the particles that are 

 worn away ? How has soil been formed ? How 



