86 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [17:2— Feb., 1921 



includes birds like the phoebe and kingbird which fly up from a 

 perch to capture their food and then as a rule return to their original 

 perch. The third year of a child's school work he would return to 

 a consideration of the group studied the first year and he may or 

 may not study the same example of that group. The fourth year 

 he would return to the group he studied the second year. The 

 fifth year, he would return to the group studied his first and third 

 year and the sixth year he would return to a further consideration 

 of the group studied the second and fourth years. 



Agriculture and Home-Making 



A wise decision was made when it was advised that the seventh 

 and eighth years' work along nature-study lines be largely voca- 

 tional. The plan outlined organizes the work for the seventh and 

 eighth grades so that the whole matter works in nicely. This work 

 may or may not be done as organized project work. The types 

 selected are all chosen with the view that they will lead up to some 

 home-making or agricultural project. The study of sugar produc- 

 ing plants in nature-study creates an excellent background for the 

 use of sugars as food in a homemaking lesson. The study of 

 rabbit tracks as nature-study in the lower grades creates an interest 

 in rabbits which may be reared as projects or served as a portion of 

 a well balanced meal. It is neither necessary or advisable that any 

 rural school take up all of the projects outlined for the seventh and 

 eighth grades. The outline merely shows how any of the nature- 

 study lessons may be associated with an agricultural or homemak- 

 ing project. It will probably be found wise to have the girls con- 

 fine their work to one project and the boys to another and allow 

 them to work on this project during the nature-study period, pro- 

 viding their services are not needed in helping the teacher with the 

 younger children. We all learn by teaching and the older boys will 

 grow in ability' and power by making bird baths, bird houses and 

 feeding stations for the school. The older girls will learn additional 

 things about the part of the landscape birds care for if they help 

 the smaller children with their cut-out pictures. 



This outline has been developed tomeet the requests for assistance 

 which have come from rural school teachers actually in service in 

 rural schools in New York State and in Iowa. The system is not a 

 dream which I think ought to work. The ideas have been tried and 

 found not wanting. Without exception the plan has had the 

 approval of teachers and superintendents who have looked it over. 



