THE 



NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



DEVOTED PRIMARILY TO ALL SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF NATURE IN 

 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



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 ""r" 1 W**ll» wrapper. Subscriptions must be paid in advance to comply with postal 

 requirements. Subscriptions and advertisements should be sent to The Comstock Publishing 

 Co., Ithaca, N. Y. Manuscripts for Publication and Books to be Reviewed should be sent 

 to the Editor. 



Vol. 12 April, 1916 No. 4 



Taking Nature-Study to the Teacher 



Chas. W. Finley 



Probably more than half the teachers in our graded schools have 

 never had a course in nature-study as part preparation for their 

 work. That there is a demand by teachers for such a course has 

 been demonstrated in the extension work of the State Normal 

 School at Macomb, Illinois. At the end of the school year 1913-14 

 the school received a request from the teachers at Galesburg for 

 the organization of a course in nature-study there as part work in 

 the regular extension course for the following year. The request 

 was granted and a class of thirty-three teachers was organized. 

 Twenty-seven of these teachers completed the course and received 

 credit at the normal school for their work. 



The work as outlined consists of ten class meetings and six half- 

 day field trips. In addition to these, each student is required to 

 write four papers and make a usable collection of some nature- 

 Study materials. 



A pamphlet outlining the course was prepared, a copy of which 

 was given each student. Following are two of the outlined lessons 

 as they appear in the pamphlet : 



Lesson I. The Scope and Function of Nature-Study 



1. Definition of nature-study. 



2. Materials suitable for nature-study work; plants, animals, 

 weather, earth materials, physical and chemical phenomena. 



3. Relation of book study to nature-study. 



4. Relation of nature-study to other school subjects. 



5. A consideration of the educational, ethical, esthetic, and 

 religious values of nature-study. 



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