42 The Nature-Study Idea 



(1) The fact, 



(2) The reason for the fact, 



(3) The interrogation left in the mind of 

 the pupil. 



It is impossible to find a natural-history object 

 from which these three factors cannot be drawn, 

 for every object is a fact and every fact has a 

 cause, and children may be interested in both 

 the fact and the cause. It may be better, of 

 course, to choose definite subjects, taking pains, 

 at least at first, to choose those having emphatic 

 characters. 



But even in the dullest days of winter sufficient 

 materials may be found to keep the interest 

 aflame. A twig or a branch may be at hand. 

 There should be enough specimens to supply 

 each child. Let the teacher ask the pupils what 

 they see. The replies will discover the first 

 factor in the teaching the fact. However, 

 not every fact is significant 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 



