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Projects for Primary Grades

A Project for Little Children

Elizabeth I. White

The World War is over and there is no longer the necessity for little children to hear about soldiers and their suffering, nor is there work for them to do. What is to take the place of this work and how are we to use, to good advantage, the helpful sympathy that has been aroused in even the tiniest the past months?

Can we not turn some of our attention to the helpless and appealing feathered friends, the Birds? If we are to really save them from extermination we must teach the child first to know about birds and to love them. Then as he grows older he will not have the desire to kill, rob the nests and play the part of young savage.

If a teacher of little children is to make bird study of real value there must be plenty of material. Of course pictures play an important part, but even more important

are nests.

III

does eat some strawberries and cherries, destroys thousands of harmful bugs?

Clay is, perhaps, the most satisfactory medium of expression for the child. Free hand drawing, making jointed paper birds, which they color, are other good ways of bringing bird life in close contact with the child.

The accompanying picture gives an idea of what was accomplished in one New Jersey surburban kindergarten. And I have no fear that the children who worked to make and paint a clay robin sitting on the nest, protecting her eggs, will ever have the slightest desire to harm in any way any bird. The flicker, if in his home, trhough contact with the real nest, has become a real friend and must be protected in spite of his noisy habits.

One nest is not enough for this work and I appeal to teachers to be on, the lookout for different kinds of nests in the fall of the year, so that when you are ready to take up the subject in the spring material will be at hand. As the leaves fall nests are easily seen, and may, without a scruple, be taken before the strong winds and snow destroy them.

Is it not worth while to make an extra effort at that time to collect material so that more definite work can be

When a child has seen the nest of an oriole, handled it and heard about the way in wihch it was woven, he has a respect for the home of a helpless bird and is willing to do his part in protecting it. Of course very few little accomplished in the spring? children have any desire to rob nests, but the older brother may have reached that stage. The newly acquired knowledge and desire for service carried home and repeated at the dinner table is often just the right word given unconsciously to restrain the older brother.

It is better to have children learn a few accurate facts about a few birds than to learn the names of many that would never be recognized. The robin, flicker, oriole and swallow are good examples, for their food, habits and nests are so very varied.

Can one feel that it is superficial to teach a child that orioles eat tent caterpillars and thus destroy many insects. which ruin our trees? And that the robin, although he

A Red Cross Project

HOW WE EARNED THE MONEY TO BUY A
DRESS FOR OUR FRENCH ORPHAN
Allie K. Higgins

M

(Book rights reserved)

Y second grade in their nature study had been observing the germination of seeds. They were also having stories, poems and songs relating to Easter, when it occurred to me that we might make an Easter offering this year to our French orphan. How we might do this was discussed. Some of the children said they could bring some money. I told them I wanted them to make the money at school in some way, so they could feel that it was their very own. I suggested that as they had learned something about seeds, they might plant some tomato and cabbage seeds in our window boxes, and sell the plants and buy a dress for our French orphan, calling it our Easter offering to Simone Hoffa.

The plan was accepted and all were eager to help. Two of the boys made a trip to the seed store to get a catalogue. The class looked through the catologue to decide what kind of seeds they should buy and the price of each. They decided on one package of Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage seeds at ten cents a package and one package of Bonny Best tomato seeds at five cents a package. Two girls then went to the store to purchase the seeds. Several children brought soil from their gardens at home. To this a little sand was added. The directions on the packages for planting the seeds were read by the children. The seeds were planted and watered daily. The children observed their growth from day to day.

When our plants were ready to sell we discussed ways of informing the public that we had plants for sale, and we decided it would be best to write a circular letter. We decided that this letter should explain that our class had tomato and cabbage plants for sale at ten cents a dozen; that proceeds were for the benefit of our French orphan; that the money must accompany the order; and that plants were to be delivered the next day. The

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Those who were not successful in getting an order assisted others in delivering their plants. The sum of $3.15 was cleared on the project.

Samples of dress material were shown the children, and by a vote of the class a pink and white gingha. 'ress was dded upon, as well as a pink hair ribbon.

Many arithmetic problems and spelling words grew out of the work. There were also oral language lessons in which we discussed what they would say to a person whom they might approach to solicit an order, and what they would say to their customers when they delivered the plants. For written language a letter was written to Simone telling her of the gift the class was going to send her.

Besides this work which the children had done in various subjects, they were learning a lesson in thrift, and also learning that it is their happy privilege and duty to love and care for little children less fortunate than themselves.

Correlated Arithmetic

I Ma. 1 Helen went to the seed store to buy 1 package of cage seeds at 10 cents a package and 1 package of tomato seeds at 5 cents. What was their bill?

II What change did they receive from a quarter? III Leon got an order for 2 dozen cabbage plants. How much money did he collect?

IV Mary sold Mrs. Williams 5 dozen tomato plants. How much money did she collect?

V Mrs. Siegleman has 40 cents to spend for cabbage plants. How many dozen can she buy?

VI Bennie sold Mrs. Straus 1/2 dozen tomato plants. What did the s' her?

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A St. Patrick Poster

Bess Dixon

March came and we learned something concerning the life of Saint Patrick. How the children pitied the sixteenyear-old lad who was sold into slavery in Ireland! They pictured him taking care of his master's pigs, the work required of him for seven years.

How relieved they were when the story told of his escape to Gaul! They were glad he intended to go back to Ireland some day, not as a slave, but as a missionary. And when he did return as such, he did his work so well that Ireland became known as "the Island of the Saints." And how did he teach those heathen people? He taught them the doctrine of the Trinity by the use of the shamrock, the small white clover bearing three leaves on one stem. Does the poster show you Saint Patrick as a missionary? The story concluded by telling us that Saint Patrick died on the seventeenth of March, and on that day the Irish people all over the world remember the man who made Ireland a better country in which to live.

The Crocus

Brave little crocus, what's in your cup?
Snowflakes and sunbeams I've gathered up.

Are you not hungry, lonely and cold?
Snowflakes sustain me, sunbeams enfold.

Byight, cheery crocus, we wish you'd stay; Other flow'rs follow; I'll haste away.

-Belle Willey Gue.

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Suggestions for Coloring

Color the faces and hands of figures flesh color. The old lady with the basket, red cape, blue dress, white apron, green bonnet and covering for basket, yellow basket and brown hens; boy, green suit, white collar, yellow hair, brown shoes and stockings; little girl, red dress, white apron, brown shoes and stockings, brown hair; mother, blue dress, white apron, yellow shawl, white cap; brown house, green shutters; green grass; blue sky; gray cross. Hot Cross Buns

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English in the Grades VII

Rea McCain

Corrective Work—Games and Type Sentences

Need for This Work

We need corrective work in the language courses because imitation has bred errors. The child hears in the home or on the street some expression which he later needs to make clear his own thought. He uses it as he heard it and the result is not always in conformity with the rules. of English Grammar. A bad habit is formed. Worse, an indelible impression is made upon the ear. correction of speech comes from objections registered by the ear there is small chance of improvement until so much emphasis has been laid upon the point that the child is conscious of a nervous pang when he uses the condemned term.

Aim of Games and Type Sentences

The aim of the game and the type sentence is to call the child's attention to the correct form in emphatic manner, and to do this by adopting some device which will not arouse antagonism. To correct invariably during recitation will tend to make the child self-conscious and this will prevent the free expression of thought. Since clearness of thought and careful organization of material is of so much more importance than any one verb form it seems a pity to tear to pieces a whole recitation to emphasize one word.

The game is fun, they want to play it and so there can be no question of antagonism. Moreover the correction implied is general. It is left for each child to make the individual application if he is guilty of that particular

offense.

Again, aside from its language value, the game is useful because it gives relaxation from the school work. It is a chance for change of position and of interest which gives freedom without the mischief which is the bane of the unskilled teacher.

Undoubtedly games are a good thing.

Limitations

If, with this relaxation and enjoyment, there came the correction of errors the game would be the solution for the teacher's difficulties with language work. Unfortunately it does not carry over. The children repeat the words automatically, delighted with the repetition, and without much thought as to the reason for the form.

Think of the games you used to play and the way you did it. Do you remember "The Prince of Wales has lost his hat?" This is the way it goes. One stands in the center, the others are in a circle around. The leader says to some one of the others, "The Prince of Wales has lost his hat and blames it on to you, sir."

The one who is challenged retorts, "Who, sir? I, sir? No, sir, not I, sir."

The leader speaks again, "'Who, then, sir?" "Number so-and-so."

I knew a little girl who played this game for several years. She was seldom caught napping and she liked it immensely, but her game was not that which was played by the others. Here is what she thought it was. "The Prince of Wales has lost his hat and blames it on to Uzer." This Uzer was not there to speak up for himself and the one to whom the leader spoke felt called upon to defend the absent "Uzer Izor? No, sir, not Izor." (Uzer's last name must be Izor. It was not at all like Johnny Smith and Sammy Blake, but then, the Prince of Wales

would naturally have friends very different from her acquaintances and she felt very sorry for Uzer Izor, who would be terribly hurt and was not there to defend himself. (Oh, it was great fun to play this game! The little child I remember liked it better than any of the others, but she never knew until she was grown up that the game she played was not the one they played with her.

Watch that your children do not have as mistaken a meaning. They like to swing the words back and forth and they can do it very glibly without any idea as to what use they are to make of the form. It is not the game which is to correct, but the application which you make of the pleasurable excitement they have been feeling. Usually the teacher has to point her moral, but once in a while the children will do it for her. A country school teacher has succeeded in eliminating the use of leave for let, which is very common in many districts. She says she did not do it herself, the children did it for her. One day she found a little girl in the corner of the school yard, crying bitterly. "What is the matter?" "They won't play with me." "We only did what she asked us

to."

A day or two before that they had been taught that it was incorrect to use leave in the sense of granting permission. They were teasing the child in the familiar way of youngsters. She, in high glee, put up her arm to ward them off and cried, "Leave me alone." They promptly obeyed, scampering off to the other end of the playground. She had meant "Let me alone!" and had expected them to keep on playing with her. The other children cried out in chorus, "She said to leave her alone and we did!"

It was a hard lesson and the one little girl cried bitterly, but no pupil in that school ever again said leave when told me six months later that she had not heard the mistake he meant let without correcting himself, and the teacher made for weeks. So much for the carrying over. Don't make your children unhappy, but see to it that the use of the game carries over, or else admit that you are filling up a hard period with a showy device and that you expect no result.

Method of Procedure with Games

First decide what mistake you want to correct. There are many which could be chosen, but it is well to confine the attention each year to a few of the most glaring. A young teacher prepared the following lesson plan, which was very successful:

TEACHER'S AIM To correct the common error of using "I seen" by impressing upon the minds of the children the correct form, "I saw."

CHILDREN'S AIM To play the game and do it a little faster and more correctly than the others.

PROCEDURE We shall play a new game this morning. First, I shall write a sentence on the board and I want you all to read it. (Teacher writes, "I saw a pony.") How many have been to the circus? Those who have may put their heads down and think of something they saw at the circus. All ready. What did you see, Mary? And you, Robert? Continue until all who had heads down have taken part. Now, how many have been to a park? Proceed as before. If all the children have not participated choose some other place. Let a child go the window and tell what he saw there. to

After this, when a child says "I seen," remind him of the correct form by asking, "What did you see at the circus?" Later "What did you see?" will be sufficient. This game or drill should be carried on in a spirited

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If the game is one with questions and answers be sure that the response given is the logical one. I have seen children playing a game to inculcate the correct use of "It is I." It was done after the following manner: "Who saw a robin this morning?" "It is I who saw a robin this morning." This game may have taught "It is I," but it is a most absurd violation of good taste. If a friend should ask you the same question you would answer, "I saw a robin this morning." This doesn't give the chance to get in the desired expression, "It is I." Of

course it doesn't. There was no reason for that answer. Children will feel that the standards you hold up are pedantic and unnecessary if you use such absurd models. Again, this particular correction is hardly worth making. Now that the professors of Harvard and Columbia say that usage justifies "It is me" it hardly behooves us of little fame to pick out this expression from many. We ourselves avoid using this sentence lest we seem pedantic and then we waste our time drilling on this point when the children say comfortably, "I seen him when he done it." Shift your spot light.

Conclusion of Lesson

A certain playful warning may be given at the end of the lesson. One primary teacher said, "If you ever use the wrong form now I am going to say 'Caught.' You will have to try hard and not let me catch you at all." This is excellent for a device, but it can be used only in one instance. If the child is told the same thing about

half a dozen errors the fun is driven out of the game and it becomes only a part of the routine drill of the school

room.

Type Sentence

Some teachers obtain good results by means of the type sentence. This is a sentence containing a form upon which the class is to be drilled It is referred to every time that particular expression is given incorrectly Suitable Material

The story in which the sentence occurs should be very familiar. Suppose the children have been told the story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree. You remember when the little boy was asked who had done the damage he said, "I did it, father. I did it with my little hatchet." Every child learns this story and it is a simple matter when a child says "I done it," to ask him what George Washington said. The sentence thus becomes a model on which the pupils are expected to model their speech and a standard to use in correction. must be a familiar one. If it is necessary to learn material for which there is no other reason than that it may give a model sentence, the plan is of doubtful value. In this, as in the use of games, moderation must be exercised. The effectiveness of the sentence depends upon the clearness with which it stands out in the mind. The tree must not be lost in the maze of a forest.

The story

Extent to Which These Devices Should be Used It has been said repeatedly that these devices must not be used too generally. There is an age limit, also. The first two grades give the best chance for using such things. Sometimes in the third grade there may be need for such games, but never beyond.

Studies in Art Appreciation VI

C. Edward Newell

Supervisor of Art and Handwork, Springfield, Mass.

At the Watering Trough-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret

Suggestive Method of Study

What do you first see in this picture? What is one horse doing? What is the other doing? What is the color of each horse? What are the trappings they are wearing called? Name the pieces of harness on their heads? Where are the bridles? Why are they here? What is the part of the bridle that goes in the horses' mouth called? Can you find bells on the harness? Where? Is there much water in the trough? Of what is the trough built? Who is standing near one horse? Is the man young and strong? How is he dressed? Where is his whip? Why does he not use it? What does he hold in one hand? What is in the

other hand? Where is the young man looking? What kind of eyes has he? Is one of the horses also looking in the same direction? Tell where you can see light parts of the picture against dark ones, or dark against light. (Dark horse, light sky; dark hat, light sky; light face, dark hat; light shirt, dark horse; light ear, dark chest; dark harness, light horse; dark bridle, light head; light nose, dark water.) Do these darks and lights help you to see the picture more clearly? What forms a background for this picture? Whay do you like the picture? Have you studied another picture of animals? Tell about it and the artist who painted it.

The S of the Picture

These two fine horse lived on a farm in France. They were used for the heavy farm work, but were always well

treated and cared for by their young driver, whom we may see standing near them. He is holding the lines that lead to the halters. The headstalls or bridles have been taken off to be hung with a short string of bells over the hames at the side of the collar. The black horse has finished

drinking, but the white one is still sipping the cool water from the large stone trough. The young man stands very erect in his leather boots and loose clothing. His whip is held in the bend of his arm, for at present it is not needed.

We seem to be looking directly at the young, dark-eyed man and the dark horse. They, in turn, seem to be looking directly back at us. It almost seems as though we had just walked toward them and our approach had attracted their attention. The placing of the dark against contrasting light repeats itself often and adds much of interest in this picture. It also helps us to catch the artist's message and see more clearly just what he wanted us to see. He wished us to feel the power of the kindly sympathy that may exist between man and beast.

The Story of the Artist

Men and women who paint and draw great and famous pictures are called artists. The artist who painted "At the Watering Trough" was named Dagnan-Bouveret (Dänyon' Boov ra'). His parents gave him the very long name of Pascal Adolphe Jean Dagnan. When the child was but a baby his parents moved from Paris, where he was born,

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