Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study Part 19

Observe the movements of the wings in flight, the long tube with which it sucks honey from flowers, the three pairs of legs, the position of the wings when at rest; compare the structure with that of the larva.

Make drawings of the b.u.t.terfly and paint its colours.

CHAPTER VII

FORM II

WINTER

CARE OF PLANTS IN THE HOME

The care of flowering bulbs, which was begun in Form I, will be continued in Form II. The growing of new plants from cuttings will now be taken up. In those schools which are kept continuously heated, potted plants may be kept throughout the year. The pupils will come to appreciate the plants' needs and learn how to meet them in the supply of good soil, water, and sunlight. The following points should be observed:

1. Good potting soil can be made by building up alternating layers of sods and stable manure and allowing this compost to stand until thoroughly rotted. A little sharp sand mixed with this forms an excellent soil for most house plants.

2. Thorough watering twice a week is better than adding a little water every day.

3. The leaves should be showered with water once a week to free them from dust.

4. An ounce of whale-oil soap dissolved in a quart of water may be used to destroy plant-lice. Common soap-suds may also be used for this purpose, but care should be taken to rinse the plants in clean water after using a soap wash.

5. Most plants need some direct sunlight every day if possible, although most of the ferns grow without it.

6. Plants usually need re-potting once a year. Many kinds may be set out-of-doors in flower beds in May and left until September, when they may be taken up and placed in pots, or cuttings may be made from them for potting.

7. A flower exhibition at the school once or twice a year, or at a local exhibition, adds to the interest.

8. The pupils should report to the teacher, from time to time, the progress of their plants and make many drawings showing their development.

TREES

In November or December make a study of Canadian evergreens, choosing spruce, balsam, and cedar if available. The pupils should learn to distinguish the different species by an examination of the leaves, buds, arrangement of branches, bark, seeds, and cones. The age of young trees can be determined by noting the successive whorls of branches. In this way also the age of the leaves may be determined. On some trees the leaves persist for seven or eight years. Evergreens are frequently used as Christmas trees and their branches for house decorations. On which species do the leaves persist longest? How do they compare with the pines? The leaves are always as old as the wood upon which they grow.

Have the pupils notice how the small leaves and horizontal branches resist the clinging of snow in winter. Each branch bends down enough to cause the snow to slide off on to the one next below, and so on, until it reaches the ground. The conical shape of the tree also facilitates this action of dislodging the snow. They will also notice that these trees are well adapted to withstand wind, as the top part, which is most exposed to the wind, is much smaller and more pliable than the part next the bottom. The gum, or resinous covering, of the buds protects them from injury by rain or snow. Some kinds of pine, such as the pitch pine, have a great abundance of gum and turpentine. Resin and pine tar are made chiefly from this species. Heat a piece of pine wood--a knot or root is best. The gum will be seen oozing out of the wood. Pine torches were much used in the early days of settlement in Canada. Examine the gum "blisters" in the bark of the balsam tree. From this source the "Canada Balsam" gum of commerce is taken. The gum and resin in the wood and bark help to preserve the wood from decay.

COLLECTION OF WOOD SPECIMENS

During the winter months the boys may prepare specimens of wood for the school collection. These specimens should be cut green and dried. They should be uniform in length--not more than six inches--and should show the bark at one side. The side showing the bark should be two inches wide at most, six inches long, and running in a V-shaped, radial section toward the pith. A tangential section also shows well the annual layers.

A piece of slab as cut lengthwise off a round stick is tangential. Also visit wood-working factories for specimens of rare or foreign woods. In securing these specimens, care should be taken not to mutilate trees.

RELATED READING

Winter is nature's quiescent period. Continuous active observation out-of-doors among the plants of the forest and garden gives place for a time to indoor work and reflection. Pupils need time for reading and reflection, and no time is so opportune as the quiet winter season.

During these months some time should be devoted to the reading of nature stories and extracts from magazines and books dealing with plant as well as animal life. Pupils should review their gardening experiences and discuss plans of improvement for the approaching spring and summer. Let them write letters to the Form II pupils of other schools where similar work has been carried on, giving some of their experiences in gardening and plant and animal studies. A certain Friday afternoon might be appointed for hearing the letters read which have been received in reply. Suitable short poems that have a direct bearing upon their outdoor studies should be read from time to time. Good pictures come in here also as an aid in helping the children to appreciate written descriptions. The first-hand observations made by the pupils will form a basis for the better and more appreciative interpretation of these literature selections.

THE DOG

CLa.s.s-ROOM LESSON

Use the conversation method, since this is an animal that is well known to all the pupils. By natural, easy conversation with the pupils, encourage them to tell what they know about the usefulness and the other qualities of their canine friends.

The pupils know that some dogs are useful for hunting wild animals, others for driving or herding cattle and sheep, others for guarding their master's property, others for hauling sleighs and wagons, while others are of use as pets or playfellows.

Discuss with the pupils the qualities that make the dog so generally useful to us. In this discussion, guide the thoughts of the pupils to the qualities of faithfulness, loyalty to his friends, and docility--few animals are so easily taught. Note his strength and swiftness--he can continue in a race until he catches almost any other animal. Note also his bravery--for he does not hesitate to attack an animal many times larger than himself.

Short stories of the following type may be told, to ill.u.s.trate the chief qualities of the dog:

A dog was trained to guard any article that his master placed under his charge, and not to permit any one to touch it until his master gave his consent. One day, when returning from the mill, the master placed a sack of flour inside the gate for a neighbour who had asked him to do so, and then continued on his way without noticing that his dog had taken charge of the sack. All through the afternoon of that day and through the long, cold night that followed, the faithful animal remained at his post. When the owner of the sack came next morning to get it, the dog, although numb with cold and famished with hunger, would not permit him to take the flour. Nor could the stout-hearted creature be persuaded either by threats or by coaxing, until his master was brought, when, at his first word of command, the dog bounded joyfully toward him.

Conclude the lesson by a short discussion of the proper care and treatment that should be given to dogs. The dog requires a fairly warm but dry kennel, with a soft bed of straw or rugs. The food should consist chiefly of porridge, milk, bread, biscuit, and a little meat.

Only dogs that are running a great deal out of doors should be given much meat. The dog should be given bones to pick; picking bones is as good for a dog's teeth as a tooth-brush is for a boy's.

OBSERVATION EXERCISES

By making observations upon your dog at home, find answers to these problems:

1. How does a dog hold a bone while he is picking it, and how does he get the meat off the bone?

2. Examine the dog's feet and find out:

(1) Why he does not slip while running.

(2) What protects the soles of his feet from injury as he bounds over rough ground.

3. Which is the sharper, a dog's eye or his nose? Watch how he finds his master in a crowd or finds an object that you have hidden.

CORRELATIONS

Language:

1. Require oral or written reproduction of the stories used in ill.u.s.tration in the lesson on The Dog.

2. Require the pupils to relate incidents from dog life that have come within their own experiences.

Art and Modelling:

1. A sleeping dog.

2. A dog waiting for his master.

LESSONS INVOLVING COMPARISON