STAGES OP A NATURE STUDY LESSON — EXPRESSION. 11 



Stages of a Nature Study Lesson.— The stages of a 



completed Nature Study lesson will usually show the following 

 sequence : — 



First, — Observation. The attentive exercise of the senses 

 upon the objects or phenomena of study — obtaining the ' raw 

 material ' of thought. " It is good to use several senses in 

 the understanding of one tiling." — Comenius. 



Second, — Reasoning. Apperceiving, comparing, relating, 

 seeking causes and effects, experimenting, — working over the 

 1 raw material ' gathered through observation and experience. 

 Making judgments, inferences, inductions. Where practic- 

 able applying these inductions to new situations, i.e., making 

 deductions. 



Third, — Expression. Expressing carefully by the most 

 suitable or the most available mode, or by different modes, 

 the steps in the observing, reasoning and applying processes. 

 " We cannot properly observe unless we can describe what we 

 observe." — Mill. 



" The education should be of the perceptions first, then of 

 the memory, then of the understanding, then of the judgment. 

 Things and words should be studied together, but things 

 especially. " — Comenius. 



"The first essential is positive, direct, discriminating, 

 accurate observation; the second is to understand why the 

 thing is so or what it means ; the third essential is the desire 

 to know more, this comes of itself ; and the final result is the 

 development of keen personal interest in natural phenomena." 

 — L. H. Bailey. 



Expression. — Authors' opinions vary as to the value of 

 expression to Nature Study and the nature of the relation of 

 one to the other. Prof. Hodge found that in one school the 

 children's written records of their growing plants were of 



