FORM I
WINTER
LESSONS ON A PET ANIMAL: THE RABBIT
I
The lesson is introduced by a conversation with the pupils about their
various pets.
Since we are to have a rabbit brought to the school we must learn how to
take care of it, and the proper method of taking care of it is based
upon a knowledge of the habits of the wild rabbit.
Where do wild rabbits live?
What sort of home does a rabbit have?
In what ways does this home protect the rabbit?
Hence, what kind of home must we have ready for the rabbit?
What does the rabbit eat?
Are there any of these foods that are not good for its health?
Give a list of foods that you can bring for the rabbit. Why will the
rabbit, when kept in a hutch, require less food than one that runs
about?
Since the rabbit likes a soft bed, what can you bring for its bed?
II
~Observations.~--The teacher or a pupil brings a rabbit to the
school-room, where, during recreation periods, the pupils make
observations on topics suggested by the teacher, such as:
Its choice of food; its timidity; its movements--hopping, squatting,
listening, scratching, and gnawing.
These observations are discussed in the class and are corrected or
verified.
_To the teacher._--Wild rabbits live in the woods or in shrubbery at the
edges of fields. The home of the rabbit is either a burrow under ground
or a sheltered place under a root or log closely concealed among the
bushes. This home is dry and affords a shelter from enemies, and from
wind, rain, and snow. From this we know that we must provide a dry bed
for our rabbit in a strong box in which it will feel secure, and in
which it will be protected from wind and rain. The food of the rabbit
consists of vegetables and soft young clover and grains. It also gnaws
the bark of trees, and in winter it feeds upon buds. We can, therefore,
feed our rabbit on carrots, beets, apples, oats, bran, grass, and leaves
of plants, and we must provide it with some twigs to gnaw, for gnawing
helps to keep its large chisel-shaped teeth in good condition. We must
be careful not to give it too much exercise, and we must not give it any
cabbage, because this is not good for the rabbit's health. A dish of
water must be placed in the hutch, for the rabbit needs water to drink.
III
Details, if studied in isolation, are uninteresting to Form I pupils.
Detailed study should be based upon the animal's habits, movements, and
instincts, and each detail should be studied as an answer to questions
such as: How is the animal able to perform these movements? How is the
animal fitted for this habit of life, etc.?
Watch the rabbit moving. How does a rabbit move?
Which legs are the more useful for hopping? How are the hind legs fitted
for making long hops?
Why is the rabbit able to defend itself by kicking with its hind feet?
Find out how the rabbit is fitted for burrowing.
Listen carefully and find out whether the rabbit makes much noise while
moving. Of what advantage is it to the rabbit to move silently?
Find out, by examining the feet of the rabbit, what causes it to make
very little noise.
How are rabbits prepared for living during cold weather?
Test the ability of the rabbit to hear faint noises. Why is it necessary
for the rabbit to be able to hear faint sounds?
How is it fitted for hearing faint sounds?
Examine the teeth and find out how they are fitted for gnawing.
_To the teacher._--The long, strong, hind legs of the rabbit are bent in
the form of levers and enable the animal to take long, quick hops.
When the rabbit attacks, it frequently defends itself by vigorous kicks
with its hind feet, which are armed with long, strong claws. Ernest
Thompson-Seton's story of Molly Cottontail and "Raggylug", in _Wild
Animals I Have Known_, contains an interesting account of how Molly
rescued Raggy from a snake by this manner of fighting. The rabbit has
many enemies, hence it has need of large, movable ears to aid its acute
sense of hearing. The thick pads of hair on the soles of its feet enable
it to move noiselessly. The thick, soft, inner hair keeps the animal
warm, while the longer, stiffer, outer hair sheds the rain.
Impress upon the pupils the cruelty of rough handling of the rabbit and
of neglecting to provide it with a place for exercise and with a clean,
dry home.
The following pet animals may be studied, using the same order and
general method of treatment: pigeon, cat, canary, guinea pig, white
mouse, raccoon, squirrel, parrot.
In many cases these animals can be brought to school by the pupils.
Encourage the keeping of pet animals by the pupils, for the best lessons
grow out of the actual care of the pets. The study of a pet bird may be
conducted along lines similar to the outline given below for the study
of the pigeon.
CORRELATIONS
With literature and reading: Ernest Thompson-Seton's "Raggylug".
With art: Charcoal drawing representing the rabbit in various attitudes,
as squatting, listening, hopping.
With modelling in clay or plasticine.
With paper cutting.
With language: The vocabulary of the pupils is enlarged by the
introduction of new words whose meaning is made clear by means of the
concrete illustration furnished by direct observation of the rabbit.
They use these new words in sentences which they form in describing the
rabbit; for example: hutch, gnaw, padded, cleft lip, timid.
The rabbit has padded feet so that it can walk without noise. The rabbit
has a soft bed in its hutch.
THE DOMESTIC CAT
The following facts are suggested as topics for a first lesson on the
domestic cat. The teacher can rely upon the pupil's knowledge of the
cat to furnish these statements of fact during a conversation lesson:
The cat goes about at night as readily as during the day.
The cat can hear faint noises quite readily.
The cat can walk noiselessly.
The cat creeps along until it is close to its prey, then pounces upon
it, and seizes it with its claws.
The cat enjoys attention and purrs if it is stroked gently.
The cat likes to sleep in a warm place.
The cat can fight viciously with her claws.
The cat keeps her fur smooth and clean and her whiskers well brushed
with her paws.
The cat eats birds, mice, rats, meat, fish, milk, bread, and cake.
DETAILED STUDY
Base the study of the details upon the facts of habit, movements,
instincts, etc., which were developed in the preceding lesson.
~Observations.~--Find out how the cat's feet are fitted for giving a
noiseless tread.
Find the claws.
How are the claws fitted for seizing prey?
How are the claws protected from being made dull by striking against
objects when the cat is walking?
THE PIGEON
A pigeon is kept in a cage in the school-room and the pupils observe:
its size as compared with that of other birds; outline of body,
including shape of head; the feathers, noting quill feathers, and
covering or contour feathers; manner of feeding and drinking; movements,
as walking, flying, tumbling.
The owner or the teacher describes the dove-cot, the necessity of
keeping it clean, the use of tobacco stems for killing vermin in the
nest, the two white eggs, the habits of male and female in taking turns
in hatching, the parents' habit of half digesting the food in their own
crops and then pouring it into the crops of the young, the rapid growth
of the young, the next pair of young hatched before the first pair is
full-fledged.
Descriptions of the habits of one or more well-known varieties--pouters,
fantails, homing pigeons, etc. Read stories of the training and flights
of homing pigeons, from Ernest Thompson-Seton's _Arnex_.
MORE DETAILED STUDY FOR CLASS WORK
Compare the uses of the quill and contour feathers. Find out how these
two kinds differ in texture; the differences fitting them for their
difference in function. The names quill and contour may be replaced by
some simple names, as feathers for flying and feathers for covering the
body.
Study the adaptations for flight, noting the smooth body surface, the
overlapping feathers of the wing for lifting the bird upward as the wing
comes down, the long wing bones, the strong breast, and the covering of
feathers giving lightness and warmth. The warmth and lightness of
feathers is illustrated by the feather boas worn by ladies.
Examine the feet and find out why pigeons are able to perch on trees.
Examine the beak, mouth, tongue, nostrils, eyes, ears. How is the bill
adapted for picking up grains and seeds?
OBSERVATION AND CARE OF WINTER-BLOOMING PLANTS
Children are most interested in things which they own and care for
themselves. If a child plants a bulb or a slip and succeeds in bringing
it to maturity, it will be to him the most interesting and, at the same
time, will bring him more into sympathy with plants wherever he may find
them. The teacher should impress upon the pupil the desirability of
having beautiful flowers in the home in winter, when there are none to
be had out-of-doors.
Every pupil should be encouraged to have one plant at least, and the
bulbs planted in October and stored away in the dark in the home cellar
will require a good deal of care and afford an excellent opportunity for
observing plant growth and the development of flowers. If the pots have
been stored in a cool cellar and have been kept slightly moist, the
bulbs will have made sufficient root growth in a month and should be
brought up into a warmer room where they can get some sunshine every
day. The pupils will make a report each week as to what changes are
noticeable in the growing plant. They will note the appearance of pale
green shoots, which later develop into leaves and at least one flower
stalk. They should make a drawing once every week and show it to the
teacher, and the teacher should make it a point to see a number of the
pupils' plants by calling at their homes. In this way the pupils come to
know what plants need for their development in the way of soil, water,
light, and heat. This interest will soon be extended, until, in a very
few years, the children will add new and beautiful plants to the home
collection and assume the responsibility of caring for all of them.
TREES
PINES OF THE LOCALITY
This study may be commenced in November after the deciduous trees have
lost their leaves and have entered their quiescent winter period. This
is the time when the evergreens stand out so prominently on the
landscape in such sharp contrast with the others that have been stripped
of their broad leaves and now look bare and lifeless. If no pines are to
be found in the vicinity, balsam or spruce may be substituted. The
lessons should, as far as possible, be observational. The pupils should
be encouraged to make some observations for themselves out of school. At
least one lesson should be conducted out-of-doors, a suitable pine tree
having been selected beforehand for the purpose. The following method
might serve as a guide in the study of any species of tree.
THE WHITE PINE
FIELD EXERCISES
Have the pupils observe the shape and height of the tree from a
distance, tracing the outline with the finger. Compare the shape of this
tree with that of other evergreens and also with that of the
broad-leafed trees. Have them describe in what particulars the shapes
differ in different trees. They will come to realize that the difference
in shape results from difference in length, direction, and arrangement
of branches. They may notice that other evergreen trees resemble the
pine in that the stems are all straight and extend as a gradually
tapering shaft from the bottom to the top, that all have a more or less
conical shape, and that the branches grow more or less straight out
from the main stem, not slanting off as in the case of the maples and
elms.
Coming close to the tree, the pupils may first examine the trunk. By
using a string or tape-line, find its diameter and how big it is around.
Tell them how big some evergreens are (the giant trees of the Pacific
Coast are sometimes over forty feet around). Have them notice where the
trunk is largest, and let them find out why a tree needs to be so strong
at the ground. Heavy wind puts a great strain on it just at this point.
Illustrate by taking a long slat or lath, drive it into the ground
firmly, and then, catching it by the top, push it over. It will break
off just at the ground. If a little pine tree could be taken up, the
pupils would be interested in seeing what long, strong, fibrous roots
the pine has.
Let them examine the bark of the trunk and describe its colour and
roughness. The fissures in the bark, which are caused by the enlarging
of the tree by the formation of new wood under the bark, are deeper at
the bottom of the tree than at the top, the tree being younger and the
bark thinner the nearer to the top we go.
Let the pupils look up into the tree from beneath and then go a little
distance away and look at it. They will notice how bare the branches are
on the inside, and the teacher will probably have to explain why this is
so. They will discover that the leaves are nearly all out toward the
ends of the branches as they get light there, while the centre of the
tree top is shaded, and the great question that every tree must try to
solve is how to get most light for its leaves. The pupils will now see
an additional reason why the lower limbs should be longer than the upper
ones. The greater length of the lower limbs brings the leaves out into
the sunlight.
The reason for calling this tree an "evergreen" may now be considered.
Why it retains its leaves all winter is a problem for more advanced
classes; but if the question is asked, the teacher may get over the
difficulty by explaining to the class that the leaves are so small, and
yet so hardy, that wind, frost, or snow does not injure them. Each pupil
may bring a small branch or twig back to the school-room for use in a
class-room lesson.
CLASS-ROOM LESSON
~Materials.~--Small branches--one for each pupil, cones, bark, pieces of
pine board.
~Introduction.~--Review the general features of the pine that were
observed in the field lesson.
~Observations.~--The branches are distributed. Pupils test the strength
and suppleness of the branches and find the gummy nature of the surface.
Of what value are these qualities to the tree during winter storms?
Examine the texture, stiffness, and fineness of the needles.
Note that the needles are in little bunches. How many are in each bunch?
Are there any buds on the branches?
If so, where are the buds?
How are the buds protected from rain?
The pupils examine the cones and describe their general shape.
The pupils are asked to break open the tough scales and find the seeds.
Allow the seeds to fall through the air, and thus the pupils will
discover the use of the wings attached to the seeds.
The wood is next examined, its colour and odour are noted, and its
hardness is tested.
Find articles in the school-room that are made of pine wood.
ELM
The following topics are suggested for aiding in the selection of matter
for a lesson on a typical broad-leafed tree:
The height of the tree.
The part of the height that is composed of tree tops.
The umbrella shape or dome shape of the top.
The gracefully drooping branches of the outer part of the top.
Try to find other trees with tops like that of the elm.
The diameter of the trunk.
The diameter is almost uniform up to the branches.
The branches all come off from one point, like the ribs of an umbrella.
The thick bark, that of the old trees being marked by deep furrows.
The birds that make their nests in the elm.
In spring find and examine the flowers, fruits, seeds, and also the
leaves.
FIELD EXERCISE
A good out-of-door exercise to follow the general lesson outlined above,
is to require the pupils to find all the elm trees or a number of elm
trees growing in the locality and to describe their location and the
kind of soil on which they grow.
The maple, oak, horse-chestnut, and apple are also suitable trees upon
which to base lessons for Form I.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
Domestic animals not only furnish suitable subjects for observation
work, but also afford good opportunities for developing that sympathetic
interest in animal life which will cause the pupils to more nearly
appreciate the useful animals and to treat them more humanely.
THE HORSE
I
~Introduction.~--By means of a conversation with the pupils, find out what
they know about the horse and lead them to think about his proper
treatment.
~Lesson.~--The matter and method are suggested by the following:
What are the different things for which horses are useful?
What kinds of horses are most useful for hauling heavy loads?
Why are they most useful?
What kinds are the most useful for general farm work? Why are they the
most useful?
What kinds are the most useful for driving?
Are there any other animals that would be as useful as the horse for all
these things?
What causes some horses to be lean and weary while others are fat and
brisk?
What kinds of stables should horses have as to warmth, dryness, and
fresh air?
Why is it cruel to put a frosty bit into a horse's mouth?
When a horse is warm from driving on a cold day, how should he be
protected if hitched out-of-doors?
Why, when he is warm from driving, should the blanket not be put on
until he has been in the stable for a little while?
Correlate with reading from _Black Beauty_.
II
~Preparation.~--I want you to find out some more things about the horse,
but you will understand these things better if you remember that long
ago all horses were wild, just as some horses are wild on the prairies
to-day, and that the habits learned by wild horses remain in our tame
horses.
The teacher should read to the class parts of "The Pacing
Mustang" from Ernest Thompson-Seton's _Wild Animals I Have
Known_, or "Kaweah's Run" from _Neighbours with Claws and
Hoofs_. This will give the pupils a motive for making the
required observations.
~Observations.~--Compare the length of the legs of the horse with his
height.
Of what use were these long legs to the wild horses?
What causes horses to "shy"? Of what use was this habit to wild horses?
In how many directions can a horse move his ears? Of what use was this
to wild horses?
When horses in a field are alarmed, do they rush together or keep apart,
and where are the young foals found at this time? Of what use were these
habits to wild horses? Are the eyes of the horse so placed that he can
see behind him and to either side as well as in front? Of what use was
this to wild horses?
_To the teacher._--The horse is an animal which is strong, swift,
graceful, gentle, obedient, docile. The pupils should learn that, in
return for his good services, the horse should be treated with kindness
and consideration.
The legs of the horse are long, straight, and strong, and the single toe
(or hoof) means that the horse walks on the tip of one toe, and the hoof
is in reality a large toe nail developed to protect the tip of the toe.
To these features is due the great speed of the horse. Horses gather
together in the field with the foals in the most protected part of the
group, just as wild horses found it necessary to do for protection. The
wild horses "shied" at a fierce enemy concealed in the grass, and the
tame horse shies at a strange object.
CORRELATIONS
With literature and reading: By interpretation of _The Bell of Atri_.
With language: By exercise on new words, as graceful, etc.
DOMESTIC BIRDS
THE DUCK
~Home Observations.~--Compare the duck and the drake as to size,
colouring, calls, and other sounds.
Observe the position of the birds when standing. Observe their mode of
walking, of swimming, and of flying. Where do they prefer to make their
nests? Why is the duck more plain in dress than the drake? What is the
shape, size, and build of the nest? Describe the eggs. When does the
duck sleep? Why can it not sleep upon a perch as hens do? How do ducks
feed on land? Compare with the feeding of hens. Observe how ducks feed
when in water. Observe the various sounds, as alarm notes, call notes,
social sounds.
Describe the preening of the feathers and explain the meaning of it.
Compare the appearance of the young ducks with that of the older ones.
Do the young ducks need to be taught to swim?
CLASS-ROOM LESSON
Provide, where convenient, a duck for class study.
~Observations.~--Colour, size, general shape of the body, and the relation
of the shape to ease of swimming; divisions of the body.
Size of head, length of neck, and the relation of the length of the neck
to the habit of feeding in water.
The legs and web feet, and the relation of these to the bird's awkward
walking and ease in swimming.
The bill and its relation to the bird's habits of feeding by scooping
things from the bottom of the water and then straining the water out.
The sensitive tip of the bill by which the duck can feel the food.
The feathers, their warmth, and compactness for shedding water. The oil
spread over them during the preening is useful as a protection against
water.
The bill, feet, and feathers should be compared with those of the hen
and goose, and reasons for the similarities and differences should be
discussed.
The uses that people make of ducks and their feathers and eggs; the
gathering of eider-down.
For desk work, make drawings of the duck when swimming, flying, and
standing.