Palmer] REACHING AND TRAINING TEACHERS 83 



and second grades. The children in the higher grades will of 

 course finish this sooner than the first and second grade children. 

 They can then, go on to the work outlined for the third and fourth 

 grades. The older children should finish this work sooner than the 

 children of the third and fourth grade and can go on to the work 

 outlined for the fifth and sixth grades. The still older children in 

 this group can finish this work more quickly than the younger ones 

 and go on to the work outlined for the seventh and eighth grades. 

 In taking up a new subject, we must all begin "as little children." 



A Type Nature-Study Period 



If the children in the school have never used the material in the 

 Leaflet according to any system, it might be well to consider the 

 following suggestion to show how a lesson may be taught to a whole 

 school at once in such a manner that all may be kept busy and, by 

 the way, if the children are busy discipline will as a rule take care 

 of itself. 



Suppose for example at the beginning of the nature-study period 

 some child reports that on his way to school he saw some rather 

 small birds flying around in the air. After he tells all that he can 

 about the bird the teacher may for guidance refer to the outline 

 given for this work.* One page of this outline deals with birds and 

 it will be seen that a part of this page deals with birds found feeding 

 in the air. Under this section, reference is made to Volume XIV, 

 No. 4 of the Cornell Rural School Leaflet. This means that that 

 number of the Leaflet should be a source of information for studying 

 birds that feed in the air just as the M section of the dictionary 

 gives you guidance for information concerning words beginning 

 with M. 



A copy of Volume XIV, No. 4 of the Cornell Rural School Leaflet 

 has been sent to every rural school in the state and should have 

 been left in the library. Those schools whose teachers requested 

 additional copies have enough copies for each child. Under these 

 circimistances it should be safe to imply that every rural school in 

 New York State at least has access to this material. 



Volimie XIV, No. 4 of the Leaflet contains a chapter dealing with 

 birds found feeding in the air. These birds are called the ceiling 

 cleaners. This chapter may be read to or by the pupils and should 

 give the school some clue as to what the bird seen might be. It 



*This will appear in detail in the September, 1921, Naturk-vStudy Revh-w. 



