STUDYING NATURE IN THE GRADES 27 



and easily by the lecture method. But a nature lesson should 

 be a mental discipline. In a lecture the listener is more or less 

 passive mentally, and often fails to absorb fully and to retain 

 the facts heard. But facts acquired through personal effort 

 are apt to be remembered longer, chiefly because they are 

 better understood. Furthermore, the practice simply in 

 observing, comparing, and reasoning out laws and classifica- 

 tions is a good thing. 



If the development method is properly applied it stimulates 

 individual mental effort in the pupils and tends to accurate 

 observation and logical reasoning. But there is a danger in 

 using this method of instruction that it may be so mechani- 

 cally applied that it sets the pupils' minds going only for a 

 thought or so, and then they sit and wait for another mental 

 jog in the form of a question from the teacher. Do not destroy 

 in the children the power of initiative in thought. Counteract, 

 if necessary, by requiring more extended description or more 

 extended reasoning from the pupils without prompting 

 questions, and also by varying the method -of presenta- 

 tion; for it need by no means always be the development 

 method. 



Frequently in nature lessons it is necessary to classify 

 objects. The comparison of different objects, and the finding 

 of likenesses and differences by means of which the -objects 

 are grouped is excellent mental practice for the children. 

 This comparison may be made at the close of the study of 

 the new object, or it may be made all along during the pres- 

 entation, point for point. The first method better empha- 

 sizes the comparison and tends to make the classification 

 more effective. 



Even primary children should do more or less of this. 



