CONTENTS 



PART I 



CHAPTER PAGE 



I. The Motive in Nature-Stxtoy .... 3 



The social motive. Natural interest. 

 II. The Educational Value of Nature-Study . . 8 

 Discipline of mental functions: observation, comparison, 

 general reasoning, and imagination. The practical 

 utility of nature-study. 



III. The jEsthetic and Ethtcal Value or Nature- 



Study 14 



Cultural value. Primitive culture. The nature instinct. 

 Enjoyment of nature. Developing sympathetic atti- 

 tude ton-ard nature. The ethical and spiritual value 

 of nature-study. 



IV. Studying Nature in the Grades — How and What . 21 



Informal methods. The scientific method. The devel- 

 opment method. The teacher's preparation. Giving 

 the lesson. Rules for questioning. 



V. Illustrative Material -^^ 



Function in the lesson. Kinds of illustrations and their 

 value: actual objects, models, pictures, diagrams, etc. 

 The experiment. The museum. Live specimens. 

 Outdoor observations. The field lesson. 



VI. Correlation 53 



Principles of application — correlation with geography, art 

 study, and literature. 



PART II 



VII. Animal Study 71 



General principles of selection and presentation. Out- 

 lines for study of animals. Emphasis on life habits, 

 adaptations, and life histories. Courses of mammal 

 lessons. 



