Handbook of Nature Study: Complete Ebook Set

An essential guide for the nature study teacher whose aim is to cultivate in children powers of accurate observation. A massive tome, weighing over three pounds in the hardback edition, The Handbook of Nature Study in this ebook edition is divided into thirteen sections to make topics easier to access on electronic devices. The introduction to the book sets the stage by elaborating on the purposes of nature study and how best to conduct the lessons so the children make the discoveries themselves. This opening chapter is well worth re-reading periodically to fix its principles in your mind. Each of the following twelve sections opens with an introduction to the study at hand, followed by a series of lessons. Many of the lessons have a story, meant to supply background material for the teacher rather than to be read to the students. Similarly, the "leading thought" in each lesson embodies some of the points which should be in the teacher's mind while giving the lesson but should not be read or shared with the pupils. Instead the teacher should make the lesson an investigation and make the pupils feel that they are investigators. A series of suggestions for observations, framed as questions, concludes each lesson. Use these questions as a springboard for investigations. With sections on birds, fish, frogs and toads, reptiles, mammals, insects, invertebrates, wildflowers, cultivated plants, flowerless plants, trees, and earth and sky, there is ample material for years of nature study.