SAND TABLES AND WHAT TO DO WITH THEM
A sand table should be considered one of the indispensable furnishings of
every schoolroom. Its possibilities are many and varied. It may be used
merely as a means of recreation and the children allowed to play in the
sand, digging and building as fancy suggests. Or it may be used as the
foundation for elaborate representations, carefully planned by the
teacher, laboriously worked out by the children, and extravagantly admired
by the parents on visitors' day. While both of these uses may serve worthy
ends on certain occasions, the most valuable function of the sand table
strikes a happy medium between the two, as means of illustrating and
emphasizing various features of the daily lessons. In this capacity the
laborious efforts of the show problem on the one hand and purposeless play
of the other are both avoided. In this capacity the work on the sand table
goes along hand in hand with the regular work in geography, history,
language, or any subject in which it is possible through an illustration
to teach more effectively.
The purpose of this work is not so much to produce fine representations as
to help the children to clarify and strengthen their ideas through the
effort to express them in concrete form. The value lies in the
development which comes to the children while they work. The technique of
processes of construction is of secondary importance, though careless work
ought never to be permitted. The completed project has little value after
it has served its purpose as an illustration and may be quickly destroyed
to make way for the next project. For this reason emphasis is laid on the
general effect rather than the detail of construction. The work should be
done well enough to serve the purpose, but time should not be spent on
unnecessary details which do not add to the value as an illustration. In
most cases speed is an important element. The project should be completed
while the subject it illustrates is under discussion, if it is to be of
most service. The first essential is that the work shall be done wholly by
the children. The teacher may by skillful questions help them to build up
in imagination the project they intend to work out, so that they may work
with a definite purpose. She may sometimes suggest improved methods of
working out various features when the improvements will add to the value
of the illustration, but she should seldom, if ever, plan a project
definitely or dictate the method of procedure.
Not least among the possible benefits to be derived from work of this kind
is the development of resourcefulness. The necessity for expressing an
idea in concrete form with whatever materials are at hand often calls for
considerable ingenuity. Ability of this sort will show itself only when
the children are expressing their ideas with utmost freedom and feel the
responsibility for the success of their work. The more earnestly the
children try to express their ideas, the greater will be their
development. The teacher should feel that she is hindering the growth of
the children and defrauding them of their legitimate opportunity for
development when she allows an over-anxiety for tangible and showy results
to make her take the responsibility upon herself.
The details of method are best presented through a detailed description of
typical illustrations actually worked out in the classroom.
A SAND-TABLE FARM--HOME LIFE IN THE COUNTRY
The study of home life as a general subject will include "our home" and
the homes of other people who live under different conditions. To the town
child the country will often be somewhat familiar and hold the second
place in his interest. In the country school the farm may often be the
best place to begin.
Various questions will arise as soon as it is decided to make a sand-table
farm, the answers to which will be governed by the habits of the locality.
What sort of farm shall we have? Shall we raise stock, fruit, corn, wheat,
vegetables, or a little of everything? What shall we need to plant in each
case, and in what proportion? How much pasture land shall we need? What
buildings? What machinery?
[Illustration: FIG. 38.--A sand-table farm. First grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]
[Illustration: FIG. 39.--A sand-table farm. Second grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]
=Fences.=--As soon as the question of crops and the division of the table
into fields is settled, the problem of fencing presents itself. What sort
of fence is needed, wire, boards, pickets, rails, or hedge? How far apart
shall the posts be set, how tall should they be, and how many will be
needed? How many boards? How wide? How long? How many wires?
The making of the fencing will supply material for one or more number
lessons. Various materials may be used.
_Twigs_ may be cut to given lengths and set in concrete (clay) posts.
_For wire fence_, cut posts from small wooden sticks. Drive small tacks in
each post--one for each wire. Use fine spool wire or wire raveled from fly
screen. Twist wires once around each tack, or drive the tacks in firmly so
that the wire is held by the head of the tack. This is not an easy fence
for very little children to make.
[Illustration: FIG. 40.--Detail of chicken fence.]
_To make board fence._ Cut posts required length, and decide upon distance
between posts. Make boards of thin strips of wood or of pasteboard. Nail
boards to posts with tacks or small brads. This is a very easy fence to
make and gives some good exercise in measuring.
_Rail fences_ may be made from toothpicks or burnt matches.
_Picket fence_ for the dooryard may be made on wooden foundation with
cardboard pickets.
_Hedge fence_ should be made from some fine-leafed plant. Cedar twigs
serve well.
_Chicken fence_ may be cut from paper as per illustration. Fold paper
several times, lengthwise. Cut across the fold as indicated by arrows.
Stretch lengthwise as shown in Fig. 40, _a_ and _b_.
=Buildings.=--The class should decide on the buildings needed. Each
building should be assigned to a group of two or three workers. Each group
should be held responsible for its contribution and should work out its
problem with as little help as possible. If the children are able to plan
a barn and make it, even though it is a very crude affair, more has been
accomplished than if a very cunning structure had been made after plans,
dictated and closely supervised by the teacher.
_Wood_ is the best building material for general use.
_Pasteboard_ serves well, but it is less substantial. It is also harder to
cut and paste heavy cardboard than it is to saw and nail thin wood.
_Clay_ may be used for all buildings which are commonly made of concrete.
=Stock.=--The different kinds of animals needed on the farm and the number
of each will furnish profitable subject matter for class discussion. The
animals may be modeled from clay. While the animals will of necessity be
very large in proportion to the acreage of the farm, attention should be
directed to the relative proportions between horses and hogs, cattle and
sheep. Differences of this sort do not trouble little people, as their
work is sure to show. The point should be stressed only sufficiently to
help them to see a little more clearly and express their ideas a little
more adequately each time they try. The accuracy of the result is
important only as an index that the children are steadily developing in
power to see and do, and gaining self-reliance.
_The Modeling Process._--The best method seems to be simply to _begin_,
and, for example, model as good a horse as possible; then discuss the
results, note a few serious defects, and try again, endeavoring to correct
them. Encourage rapid work which gives the general proportions of the
animal in the rough. Beginners are apt to waste time in a purposeless
smoothing of the clay, in mere tactual enjoyment. Discourage the tendency
to finish the details of a horse's head, for example, before the body has
been modeled. Repeat the process as often as time and the interest of the
children warrant, but be satisfied if the children are doing the best they
can, even though the results are crude and not so good as some other class
has produced. The children should always feel that the work is their own.
For this reason the teacher's help in clay modeling should be through
demonstration rather than by finishing touches to the child's work.
Imitation is a strong instinct in little children, and watching the
teacher model a better horse than he can make will help a child to improve
his own. One thing to be especially avoided is the attempt to bring every
class to a uniform degree of excellence according to adult standards. Such
an ideal encourages the giving of help in a way which hinders real
development though it may produce immediate results.
=Trees.=--This topic will call out a discussion of the uses of trees;
which trees are shade trees, which are cultivated for their fruit, the
distinguishing characteristics of the different varieties, and the ones
best suited to this particular farm.
Twigs from the real tree should be used wherever possible. In other cases
the trees may be cut from paper. If a good green paper is not at hand, use
drawing paper and color with crayons. A realistic effect is gained by
cutting the tree from folded paper. (See Fig. 41.) Cut three pieces for
each tree and paste together at the fold, then open out. Make the trunk
long enough to be driven an inch or more into the sand.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.--Detail of paper tree.]
The making of the trees will furnish material for both art and nature
study lessons. As far as circumstances permit the real trees should be
studied, giving the children first-hand experience whether it be much or
little. They should test the trees they cut by comparing them with real
trees of the same variety. If this is impossible, the best pictures
available should be used. (See notes on paper cutting.)
=Crops.=--When the various parts of the farm are about ready, the fields
may be sown. The sand should be made very wet before the seed is put in
and sprinkled frequently (twice a day), as the top dries off very quickly.
After the seeds have germinated little sprinkling need be done, as the
roots will find enough moisture in the wet sand underneath, and it is
desirable to retard rather than hasten growth. If carefully managed, a
table can be kept green for several weeks.
For corn, check holes well into the sand and drop one grain into each
hole. See that rows are straight and holes evenly spaced.
Sow wheat, oats, barley, etc., _very thickly_, cover lightly with dry
sand, and sprinkle.
Timothy serves well for meadow and lawn, as it puts up a fine blade. Blue
grass sends up a fine blade, but is very slow in germination. Clover does
not make a velvety lawn, but a little in the pasture will make an
interesting contrast.
Vegetables may be planted in the garden. They will not develop to any
great extent, but will serve to emphasize different habits in germination;
as, for example, the contrast between beans and corn.
=Correlation.=--The opportunity for nature study afforded by the farm
problem will prove one of its most interesting and valuable features as
the progress in plant growth is noted from day to day. The farm problem
combines well with both language and art work in supplying vital material
for both. In addition to the interesting discussions which naturally arise
concerning the building and planting, a diary may be kept by each child.
_Keeping a Diary._--The date of planting may be noted and the date when
each variety of seed first appears above ground. With the larger seeds, as
corn and beans, a seed may be dug up each day and examined, so that the
children may appreciate what is going on below ground. Drawings may be
made of the seeds, showing the changes in appearance from day to day.
After the seed leaves appear the daily growth may be measured and noted in
the diary. After a few days seeds may be dug up again that the roots may
be examined. At various stages of growth different varieties of seeds may
be dug up, laid upon a paper, and sketched by the children. The facts they
note may be stated in simple, well-formed sentences, either oral or
written or both.
[Illustration: FIG. 42.--An Eskimo village and The Overall Boys' Farm.
First grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
_Art._--The sketching will serve well as the day's art lesson, though its
chief value is in helping the children to see clearly. Their efforts will
be crude but the teacher should constantly keep in mind that the chief aim
is not to obtain fine sketches. Its purpose is to help the children to a
better appreciation of the plant through the effort put forth in making
the sketch. The technique of the drawing should be emphasized only so far
as it will help them express better what they see, and not to the point
where they attempt to copy the teacher's strokes. The teacher should be
satisfied if every child is doing his best and making steady progress,
even though that best may be crude and not up to the standard reached by
the teacher who struggles for fine results.
[Illustration: FIG. 43.--An apple orchard. First grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]
_English._--For children who are able to write the diary offers a natural
means of gaining experience in the use of common forms of punctuation; as,
for example, the writing of dates and the use of a comma in a series, as
well as the punctuation of simple statements, in such entries as the
following:
April 15, 1912.
We planted the seeds on our farm to-day.
We planted corn, wheat, oats, and beans.
In all work of this sort it is difficult to overestimate the advantage of
separate sheets of paper over a notebook with sewed leaves, in the hands
of the children. With the fresh sheet always comes an inspiration, no
matter what failures have gone before. Poor pages can be done over when
necessary, but do not haunt the workers with their discouraging
suggestions, as in the use of a notebook. The leaves may be gathered
together into a binding of some sort. Even covers of plain brown wrapping
paper can be made artistic with a simple border line well placed or a
design cut from a paper of a different tone. Written work which culminates
in an attractive booklet, however simple, seems more worth while than
exercises written into a commonplace notebook or on scratch paper which
goes to the wastebasket soon after the mistakes have been commented on.
_Number._--The farm problem also supplies abundant opportunity for gaining
experience with number. In addition to the actual measurement of the
materials used for fences and buildings, the scope may be widened, where
conditions warrant, to include estimates and calculations of the amount of
the material used.
For example, how many inches or feet of wire will be needed to make a
three-wire fence of given length? How large a piece of cardboard will be
needed to cut boards one fourth or one half inch wide for a four-board
fence fifteen inches long?
These estimates may be translated, _as far as the children are able to
appreciate the connection_, into quantities and values of the same
material in real problems connected with real farms. It is important,
however, to be careful not to carry work of this sort so far beyond the
experience of the children that it becomes wholly foreign and abstract to
them. We are too apt to forget that it is _experience_ and not _objects_,
which is the vital factor in concreteness.
[Illustration: FIG. 44.--Robinson Crusoe. Third grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]
In connection with the nature study a variety of number exercises grow out
of the questions which the situation prompts. As, for example, in
connection with the corn crop: How many seeds were planted? In how many
rows? How many seeds in a row? How many came up? How many failed to
germinate? How many more came up than failed? If each good seed should
produce two ears of corn, how many would we have? What would they be
worth at a given price? etc.
[Illustration: FIG. 45.--Pueblo Indian village. Second grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]
In an ungraded school, while the younger children might confine their
efforts to counting as above, the older children might answer the same
questions in terms of percentage and in the probable quantities on a real
farm. The stock farm may be treated in the same way. How many cows? How
much milk will they give? What will it be worth? How much butter would it
make? What will it cost to keep the cows? What is the farmer's profit?
These and many other questions will suggest themselves to both teacher and
pupils, once the subject is opened up. They will be _practical questions
in so far as they touch the experience of the children_ in such a way as
to appeal to them as real questions. Each individual teacher must decide
how far and into what field it is worth while to lead any particular
class.
=The Sand Table.=--The various types of sand tables range all the way from
the hardwood, zinc-lined article, provided with a drainpipe, down to the
homemade structure evolved from a goods box.
The quality of the table does not greatly affect the quality of the work
to be done on it, but there are several points which affect the
convenience of the workers. The height of the table should allow the
children to work comfortably when standing beside it. A long, narrow table
is seldom as satisfactory as one more nearly square, but it should never
be too wide for the children to reach the center easily. Any table with
tight joints in the top and four- or five-inch boards fitted tightly
around the edge will serve the purpose. The inside of the box should be
painted to prevent warping and leaking. An "ocean blue" is a good color,
as it makes a good background for islands.
If no table is available, a goods box may be turned on its side, the top
covered with oilcloth, and a frame, made from the cover of the box, fitted
around the edge. The inside of the box may be used as a closet in which to
store tools and materials, and a neat appearance given to the whole by a
curtain of denim or other plain, heavy material.
ILLUSTRATIVE PROBLEMS
One of the most valuable uses of the sand table is in making illustrations
for stories, historical events, and similar topics in which the relations
between people and places is important. No definite rules can be laid
down for working out such illustrations. The conditions under which they
are made, the time to be devoted to the work, the importance of the
subject, all affect both the nature and the quality of the work. Any
material which lends itself to the purpose should be called into service.
The method of procedure is best set forth by describing several problems
as actually worked out by children.
[Illustration: FIG. 46.--A home in Switzerland. Second grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]
(1) =Story of Columbus=--_First Grade._
_Materials Used._--Paper for cutting and folding, twigs for forests,
acorns for tents, large piece of glass for ocean.
_Details of Illustration._--The piece of glass was imbedded in sand in the
middle of the table; one end of the table represented Spain, the other,
America. The representation of Spain included:
"Castles in Spain" being large houses with many
windows in which the king and queen lived. They were cut from paper.
Many people, cut from paper, including kings and queens and the
friends of Mr. Columbus who came to tell him "good-by." The kings and
queens were distinguished by royal purple robes and golden crowns and
necklaces, produced by the use of colored crayon.
The three ships made from folded paper. In one of them sat Mr.
Columbus.
Fishes, of paper, inhabited the hollow space underneath the glass.
The forest primeval was shown on the American side by green twigs of
trees set very close together. On pulling apart the leaves and
peering into the depths of this forest, one found it inhabited by
bears and other wild beasts, also cut from paper.
The Indians lived in a village of acorn tents set up in a little
clearing on the shore.
Flags.--The Spanish region was identified by a Spanish flag, while
the stars and stripes waved above the Indian village.
_Values._--The project being on the level of the children's experience,
they worked freely and with intense interest. The characters in the story
were all very real to them. They literally swarmed about the table
whenever opportunity was given, moving the figures about as they told the
story over and over again. Mr. Columbus sailed across the sea many times.
Many boats were made and named for one of the three, according to the
preference of the maker. They peeped into the forest and shuddered in
delightful fear "lest a bear get me." They made and remade the scene as
new ideas suggested themselves during several days of Columbus week.
[Illustration: FIG. 47.--Two little knights of Kentucky. Fourth grade.
Columbia, Missouri.]
[Illustration: FIG. 48.--How Cedric became a knight. Fourth grade.
Columbia, Missouri.]
[Illustration: FIG. 49.--A sugar camp. Built late in the spring by a
third-grade class. They enjoyed the green grass, though it suggests an
overlate season.]
Several discrepancies existed which are mentioned here because they
troubled some overconscientious visitors. The stars and stripes did not
come into existence until centuries after Columbus died and therefore
never waved over the Indian village which he found. But chronology does
not trouble the first grader very much, while "my country" and "my flag"
are ideas which are developing together. And when he is singing, "Columbus
sailed across the sea, To find a land for you and me," the red, white, and
blue forms the most fitting symbol in his representation of that land. The
wild animals which infested the sand-table forest are not all mentioned in
the histories as found on San Salvador, but they did exist in the child's
idea of the wild country which the white men found on this side of the
Atlantic. The children having truthfully expressed their ideas, the
teacher had a basis from which to develop, correct, and emphasize such
points as were of real importance, while the unimportant features would
fade out for lack of emphasis.
[Illustration: FIG. 50.--A western cattle ranch.]
On the occasion of the supervisor's visit the members of the class vied
with each other in telling the story and explaining the significance of
the various illustrations. The supervisor expressed a wish to own some of
the cuttings, whereupon, at a hint from the teacher, the class which had
gathered about the sand table scampered joyfully (but quietly) back to
their seats. Scissors and paper were quickly distributed, and in about
five minutes an empty shoe box was required to hold the collection of "Mr.
Columbuses," kings and queens in royal purple, gold crowns, and necklaces,
ships, fishes, etc., that were showered upon the guest. Needless to say
many scraps of paper had fallen to the floor. The teacher remarked that
it was time for the brownies to come. Down went all the heads for a sleepy
time. The teacher slipped about, tapping here and there a child, who
quickly began gathering up the scraps as joyously as he had helped to make
them.
The supervisor bade them good-by, with a wish that all children might
begin their school life under such happy and wholesome influences.
(2) =Story of Jack Horner=[3]--_First Grade._--As the story was read the
different characters were subjects for free paper-cutting exercises. An
abundance of paper (scratch paper and newspaper) was supplied, and each
child allowed to cut each figure many times, very quickly.
The story was also dramatized and acted out over and over again. Figure 1
shows the result of an hour's work in assembling the various characters
and telling the whole story on the sand table and in a poster. The
different figures to be cut were assigned to or chosen by the different
children, the teacher taking care that no characters were omitted. Having
cut figures of the various characters as they were met in the story, all
were eager to reproduce the part called for, and in a few minutes more
than enough cuttings were made to supply both sand table and poster with
ample material. Two groups of children, one for the poster and one for the
sand table, were assigned the work of placing the figures. The teacher
superintended both projects, giving a few suggestions as needed, but
throwing the responsibility upon the children as much as possible.
This problem was worked out by the same class which made the Columbus
illustration just described. The Jack Horner story was illustrated in the
spring, after much work of this sort had been done. The quality of the
cuttings showed an interesting improvement over the cuttings made for the
Columbus story, which came during the third week of the school year.
(3) =Story of Three Little Pigs.=--This is a long story, and three weeks
were occupied in reading it and dramatizing it. During this time there
were frequent discussions about how it was to be worked out on the sand
table. Contributions in great variety were brought in: straw for the straw
house, twigs for the house of sticks, bags of brick dust to make a roadway
different from the sand, rose hips to be tied to a small branch to
represent the apple tree, and various other articles.
[Illustration: FIG. 51.--The story of Three Little Pigs. First grade.
Columbia, Missouri.]
[Illustration: FIG. 52.--A Japanese tea garden. Third grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]
[Illustration: FIG. 53.--A coal mine. Fourth grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
The houses were built as suggested by the pictures in the reader. The pig
and wolf were modeled in clay, each being shown in the several different
positions described in the story. Over and over a little clay pig rolled
down the hill in a paper churn and frightened a clay wolf. One group, not
having wherewithal to build a brick house, used a wooden one made by
another group. Another class made the brick house out of blocks, and built
in a fireplace with its kettle ready to hold the hot water whenever the
wolf should start for the chimney. (See Fig. 51.)
(4) =Japanese Tea Garden.=--A third-grade class used the sand table to
illustrate what they had gleaned from reading several stories and
descriptions of life in Japan, in connection with elementary geography.
The sand-table representation included a tiny bridge across a small stream
of "real" water. The "real river" was secured by ingenious use of a
leaking tin can which was hidden behind a clump of trees (twigs). A thin
layer of cement in the bed of the river kept the water from sinking into
the sand. A shallow pan imbedded in the sand formed a lake into which the
river poured its waters. (See Fig. 52.)
(5) =A Coal Mine.=--The sand table shown in Fig. 53 was worked out by a
fourth-grade class in connection with the geography of the western states.
Descriptions and pictures were studied with great earnestness to find out
how to fix it, and the children made it as they thought it ought to be.
The actual making occupied very little time, the various parts being
contributed by different pupils.
Problems of this sort develop leadership. There is usually one whose ideas
take definite shape promptly and whose suggestions are willingly followed
by his group. If there is one pupil in the class whose ability to lead is
so strong that the others are overshadowed, it is sometimes well to let
the work be done by small groups who use the table turn about. This plan
stimulates a wholesome rivalry and discourages dawdling.
(6) =Stories.=--Illustrations for two stories are shown on page 94. In the
first (Fig. 47) part of the class made a representation on the sand table
while the rest prepared a poster from paper cuttings. In the second (Fig.
48) empty shoe boxes were used in making the castle. Very little time was
spent on either project.
[Illustration: FIG. 54.--A chariot race. Second grade. Pasadena,
California.]