Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study Part 18

Clay is made from crushed rocks, chiefly feldspars. Mix clay with a little water and note sticky character. Compare with sand in this respect. Which makes the best road in wet weather, gravel, sand, or clay? Note how hard the clay bakes after being moistened. Uses of clay--pottery, bricks, tile. Pupils should visit a brick- or tile-yard and watch the process of manufacture. In many parts of the world there are beds of clay of extreme fineness and whiteness, from which beautiful china is made.

_Humus_ is decayed vegetable matter. Pupils should gather soil from the forest, bog, or marsh. Note dark colour. Examine carefully and see what you can find in it that is not in sand or clay.

Most of our farm land consists of these four soils mixed in various proportions, and it gets its name from the one that preponderates. Thus we have our sandy, gravelly, or clay _loams_. Humus is likely to be present in all fields, because vegetable matter grows, to some extent, everywhere; but freshly broken land, reclaimed swamps, and prairie lands are likely to be especially well supplied. The great value of humus in the soil will appear in later studies.

ANIMAL STUDIES

BIRD MIGRATION

(Consult _Bird Life_ by Frank M. Chapman, and _Bird Studies_ by G. A. Cornish.)

In the autumn, direct attention to the flight of wild ducks and geese and to the gathering into flocks of robins, crows, bronze grackles, blue herons, sparrows, and other birds in preparation for migration.

Discuss with the pupils the reasons for migration, namely, scarcity of food, the cold, the snow. In the spring, the return is stimulated by the nesting instinct.

Note how the birds are guided--some, for example the ducks and geese, by their leaders, while others have no guides but their instincts.

In winter, require the pupils to observe the kinds of birds that are to be seen in the gardens, fields, orchards, and woods, having them note the scarcity of birds and the absence of many forms that are with us in the summer.

CORRELATIONS

Geography: By pointing out on the map the countries into which the birds go, namely, Central America, Brazil, etc.

Reading and literature: By interpreting

Where did you spend the dreary winter?

In a green and sunny land, By the warm sea-breezes fanned, Where orange trees with fruit are bent, There the dreary time I've spent.

COMMON WILD ANIMALS

GENERAL METHOD FOR FIELD WORK

The best method for studying wild animals is to a.s.sign to each pupil some animal as his particular subject of study.

Begin by finding out from the pupils the wild animals that each one knows to be near his home, and a.s.sign to each pupil a number of problems on the animal which is most convenient for him to study.

In some cases, only one pupil will be studying a particular kind of animal, while in other cases several pupils may be studying the same kind of animal. The latter method has the advantage of giving opportunity for comparison of results. Differences should serve as stimuli to more careful observation, in order to verify or disprove previous conclusions.

The observations and inferences, together with drawings ill.u.s.trating the animals, their homes, etc., are recorded in the Nature Study note-books.

These are discussed in the cla.s.s, verified or corrected, and supplemented by descriptions of lives and habits of the animals from nature writers or naturalists, such as Charles G. D. Roberts, Ernest Thompson-Seton, etc.

When pupils become interested in this form of study, they become nature students in the true meaning of the term. The pupil is brought into contact with the animal in its natural environment and, under these conditions, the natural habits, interests, and activities of the wild creatures are more likely to appeal to the sympathy of child nature than under any other method of study. The method has also the advantage of being one of original discovery, and consequently it trains in self-reliance and independence of thought.

Finally, since close and careful observation is necessary, the child learns that it is unwise to alarm the animal, and thus a better relations.h.i.+p between child life and animal life is fostered.

It may be objected that this method is slow and that little is accomplished. This may be true from the view-point of matter learned, but from the view-point of child training more can be accomplished from the study of a single living animal than from the study of a score of pictures or stuffed skins.

A second method that is recommended is the study of tame animals. By conversations with the boys of the school the teacher will find what tame squirrels, ground-hogs, racc.o.o.ns, foxes, and other animals are available for cla.s.s-room work. The possessors of these animals are usually quite willing to bring them to school for the cla.s.s to study.

The movements, habits, food, and other topics, may be studied by direct observations guided by the teacher's questions or problems.

A third method and, unfortunately, the one which is in most general use, is the study of animals by means of stuffed specimens and pictures, supplemented by descriptions and stories by the teacher. These lessons may be called information lessons, but they are not worthy of the name Nature Study. Indeed, if conditions are such that it is the only method available for animal study, it is advised that the time be spent on other branches of the subject; but if living animals are made the basis of study, stuffed specimens may be found useful for identification and for confirming observations on minute structural features, colour, etc.

THE WOOD-CHUCK

The problems outlined below are intended to ill.u.s.trate the plan of study suggested in the first general method. They are a.s.signed to a boy who has discovered a ground-hog burrow, in order to direct him in his observations on the animal.

What is the kind of soil dug out in making the burrow? Why is this soil suitable for the burrow? What size of stones are dug out in burrowing?

Are there more entrances than one?

By slowly approaching the animal, find out how close it will permit you to come. At what times of day does the ground-hog come out? Give reasons for its coming out at these times rather than at mid-day. Upon what does the animal feed? Describe the colour of the animal and find out any advantages in this colour. Observe the following actions: running, hiding, keeping sentry, and scouting.

Do more wood-chucks than one live in one burrow? When do the young wood-chucks first come out of the burrow? Describe their size, colour, and habits. Are wood-chucks ever seen during the winter? Do they use the same burrow year after year? Describe the sounds made by the animal.

What injury does the animal cause to the fields?

Describe the fur, teeth, and claws, and show their relation to the animal's habits of life.

Dig out a burrow and draw a plan of it. Make pictures showing the various att.i.tudes of the animal.

THE CHIPMUNK

FIELD EXERCISES

Describe the size, colour, shape, length of tail, and movements of the chipmunk. Compare with the red squirrel.

Have all chipmunks the same number of stripes?

Discover its home; method of carrying grain, nuts, or other foods; whether it is found most commonly on the ground, in trees, or among logs and stones. Try to tame it by placing food where it can reach it and, finally, try to have it feed from your hand.

Find out why there is no loose soil around the entrance to its burrow, whether more families than one live in one burrow, whether the chipmunk comes out during winter, or how early in the spring. Learn to distinguish the sounds of the animal, as expressing alarm, surprise, anger, playfulness.

_To the teacher._--Chipmunks carry grain, etc., in their cheeks.

Frequently these are so full that they must be emptied to permit them to enter their burrows. It is not uncommon for several to spend the winter in the same burrow, having a common storehouse connected by pa.s.sages to the main burrow. These little animals are easily tamed and soon learn to take food from the hand. They are not hibernating animals, for they store food for winter, and though they are not asleep all winter, yet they rarely come out of their burrows while there is snow on the ground.

EASTERN SWALLOW-TAIL b.u.t.tERFLY

No b.u.t.terfly is more suitable for study by the Junior Forms than the Eastern Swallow-tail. It is one of the most beautiful and attractive of our b.u.t.terflies and lays its eggs so accommodatingly on every carrot or parsnip bed that it gives ample opportunity for observation.

If possible, have the pupils observe the insect in the act of placing the eggs, one here and one there, on the under surface of the leaves of the plants, noting the busy movements; discuss the advantage of scattering the eggs, and also that of placing them on the under surface of the leaves.

If the egg placing cannot be observed, there will be little difficulty in finding the large yellow and green larva with a head shaped like that of a miniature sea-horse. If the larva itself is not easily found, the leaves stripped bare of green blade and the droppings on the ground will reveal its presence.

Why was it difficult to see such a large, and now that it is seen, conspicuous object? Lead the pupils to notice that the yellow and green bands harmonize in colour with the green leaves and alternate streaks of golden sunlight.

Does the larva feed by biting or by sucking? How many legs has the larva? Cover the plant and larva with a paper bag, or inverted bottle, or a lamp chimney with a gauze top until the larva is full grown; or place the larva in a vivarium, feed it on carrot leaves, and observe its growth.

When full grown, the larva builds for itself a snail-shaped, fairly firm case, fastened by a slender girdle of silk to a piece of wood or other support. Keep this over winter, and in March, or early April, the black-and-blue-and-gold insect emerges.