296 NATURE STUDY. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE SELECTION AND SEQUENCE OF MATERIAL. 



The Formulation of a Course of Nature Study. 



WHAT shall the children study ? Nature is so vast ! 

 The world is so great ! What shall we select from it 

 all? 



Shall the teacher take anything that happens to be 

 convenient, to-day a butterfly, to-morrow the clouds, 

 the next day the daisy or the rain or a seed? Some 

 teachers seem to assume that this is the way to study 

 nature. But they discover that the children gain but 

 little from work without definite aim, plan, or sequence. 

 Such work may interest the children, but leaves in 

 their minds little but a jumble of ideas, without order 

 or coherence. 



But what shall we select for study ? By what prin- 

 ciples shall we be guided in the selection of material ? 



This must be determined : 



First. By the aim of the work. 



Second. By the nature and development of the chil- 

 dren. 



Third. By the prevailing conditions, such as sea- 

 son, preparation of teacher, character and amount of 



