174 



NATURE STUDY. 



must be used cautiously. Close questioning has less 

 place, probably, in science or nature study than in any 

 other line of school-work, because in nature study pupils 

 have concrete things to work with. Too much develop- 

 ment work may be more harmful in science than in any 

 other field. Every experiment and observation is, in 

 general, a question asked of nature ; and the answer to 

 that question is usually in plain 

 sight of the pupil who will use 

 eyes and head. When the teacher 

 has made sure that 

 the pupil understands 

 the question, the point 

 of an experiment, the 

 appearance of the leaf 

 in his hand, and has 

 the means for answer- 

 ing that question, it 

 is better to give him 

 opportunity to ob- 

 serve and think for 

 himself, not to dis- 

 tract his attention and interfere with close observation 

 by throwing questions at him. 



The teacher may get from the children a good orderly 

 description of the buttercup leaf (see Fig. 21) by ask- 

 ing such a series of questions as : What kind of a stem 

 has it ? How long ? What is its shape ? What is the 

 shape of the broad part or blade of the leaf ? How 

 long ? How wide ? Where widest ? What is its color ? 



Fig. 21. 



