Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1902-02-26
HE'D 1855
PRIMARY Gee 6 PLY.
wHAr no rnAcn $50 3 20 re

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Primary geography CO the period of
getting ready for The re 9 ncS Of geogra-
ply. and Whatever tends : end IS accept
ed as partof the study. n Is broad sense.
then, primary geography is Il combination OF
ohservatonal geography, nature study, lam
iguage nj drawing Each pupil must 1b-
tain his knowledse Of geography. through
mental pictures gained by means OF the i'm
agination and the ideas which result from
observation As the / .agination can grow
| only from ideas it is necessar that the work
| in geogre ply begins by careful observation
of the thing, AZ home Nature study and
| geography are so closely allied that II is Inn
possible To draw the iiue between them. Geo.
gcaphy must include the study OF animal and
plant life and their relation to men, y hich
leads ms into the field Of nature.
Language Is the means through which
teacher and pupils exchange ideas. Besides
! being test OF pupils know ledge itstimulates
the development OF clearer mental pictures.
| During the tirst year Otal expression is used
entirely The second year some written
work may be done aud the third year more.
| Very often drawings help to vey the
| thought of the teacher better than words
| alone and II is also valuable means Of as
/ certaining what the pupils ke9w. For this
reason drawing should constitute part of
| primary geography: but drawing aas "a more
| vital part In this subject rs far rs the pupils
| are concerned, for II lee,ts TO closer and more
| peusabe aid geography LaHst be interpreted
| through the ideas of tie childs home geo
| graphy. These are best gotten by pupils
| making their own maps to show the relation
| OF things about them. Thus the study of
| primary geography covers a large field but
this is not surprisi.S for the scope of geo.
| graphy Is great, In the teaching of 1t we
should conine our. work to the part the very
| most serviceable for the majority OF child
| rem. The first fundamental notion is "direc-
| ton" With beginners this may have TO be-
| preteded by ideas of position. The teacher
| may use book and show the relations in
position between IL and the table or other
| objects in the room. The terms front"
| back "'rieht hand" and left hand" should
became familiar TO the pupils before proceed
tpr -evuas " nanFf. In,
| foGs ardiual points have pupils learn to tell
| direction by use of sum- stars, shadow and
| compass ltyou teach east only the part
| of tire orion IN which the sun rises how Will
| you maze east mean something definite to
| the observing child who sees the sun travel
| ing back and forth, north and south, across
| the east? Have pupils choose one place early
| in the year from which to watch the sun in
| his great Journey 70 the south and back.
| Choose some object between you and the sun
| as land mark. In connection with these
| changes note the varying in the length of
| days, the changing position of the sun at
noon in relation to the horisOn and zenith.
| the changes ia temperature from month to
month and, as the results the change OF sea-
sons. Ideas OF distance may follow direction
| Use the foot rule ia getting correct notions
OF inch and foot. Follow by use of yard-stick.
| In forming idea Of "mile' pupils should
| know Of places mile apart, In their out
| door lessons the teacher may plan for a les
son q mile or onc-halt mile from the scho,
house. Pupils will be interested la a cord
measure marked oil In feet yards and rods
! to use In measuring distances about the
school yard
There are some early notions pupils should
get along the line OF physical geography.
| These should be gotten by observation and
| simple experiment.. only general notions OF
| causes OF winds should be attempted, but
pupils can learn to name them In connection
with their work in direction and study them
| with regard 10 their work. The study OF
water forms should be preceded by simple
| experiments. Rub the blackboard with "a
| wet sponge and notice change in appearance
| and that It does not last long. Leave little
water in a vessel until 1t evaporates. show
| that more rapid evaporation takes place
when the vessel is heated The week after
our experiment To show the changing of
| water into vapor, a little girl came in and
| said The snow ON the sidewalk Is changing
| into cloud" few very simple expert
ments viii show the condensation OF water
dust into drops. Hold cold glass or dish
over the vapor rising from vessel Of boiling
water until the drops form and drop from
the dish Set pitcher of Ice wafer in a
| warm room and watch the drop collect The
! moisture ON the windows IL another example.
After having some OF this kind of work it
| Will not be difficult forpupils TO understand
the formation OF clouds, rain. dew, snow,
la studying the effects Of rain upon the
earth let the pupils watch the tiny streams
| as they form on the hillside even "a gentle
slope. Notice that the streams do not keep
clear as they move over thei ground. Why
| have they changed color2 What is the water
doing? After hard rain note the effect on
| newly plowed fields on bitches aud IL may be
| you can notice some new pl aces where the
| RAIN mas tdusGu tDb thfln 10 ufthh iQuse-
When pupils have seen some OF the effects OF
water on the land they begin the study of
land forms near the school house All forms
| accef lie should be Inspected by the child
The entire surface OF the earth consists Of
| slopes. The lines OF union AT the bottom Of
| the valley Is where the river flows and the
lines OF separation are the divides on the
| watersheds, Pupils should visit both and
! also be able TO represent them on the sand
| board. Some facts concerning slopes are inn
| purtant with the study Of rivers. or these
we may remember that the size OF the stream
} depends upon tue length and breadth OF the
| slope. The source of the stream depends upon
| the direction OF the slope. and the tilt OF the
slope determines the velocity OF the stream.
For the production UuI the river study the
home stream, becoming familiar with the
terms and knowing the meaning Of source,
NOR IN, bed, channel, basin, valley, right
bank left bank building bank, velocity cur
rent rapids and falls. Talk of the work done
| by wind, water and by freezing. The work
b Of these three agents should be studied In
: | connection with the formation of sol
: | In the study OF plants IL is well to begin
| with food plant. Corn would be good be-
J cause IL is familiar. AFTER the study OF other
{ | grams and vegetables, study the plants
| which produce clothing and the uncultivated
plants to bring children in contact with
0 | nature. The grasses and trees OF the neigh
D borhood should be taken up before the stud J
D Of plant life is finished
Begin the study Of animal life with familiar
examples. Following that OF domestic ami
mails may he taken up the study Of Wild ones
n down 10 the smaller animals OF the valley
BY the time pupils have had this work they
u are ready for the study OF the occupations oi
| men. They should be led to see the i.nLor
! tance of labor ia converting raw materia
y | into usable articles. Those which are ae
/ cessa bic should be- studied especially thos,
that concern the pupils life and welfare
p The Introduction 20 commerce Is at bom'
with the store As a starting point, A grocery
| store will be The best to visit Note articles
g brought from the country and lead to thl
a | thought that good roads are necessary {,
y commerce. In this work the railroad mus
7 not be omitted, and the value OF It. viii aD
g pear 10 the pupils AS they look around tn,
:. | store and find that the different products
come from all over the United States ant
J. some from across the ocean
Il u the beginning OF map representation
| map OF things In the room and of the school
; room should be drawn. Ia starting this WORT
= | it is best to irst draw on the north black
b board A scale should be adopted and tn,
:, | proportion should be accurate When tn,
sition OF things in the room should Be show q
| After ability TO draw school house has beer
>, gained, draw the school yard locating II,
school house aud objects in the yard. Tbi
u work should be extended 10 the ueizhborin,
. streets or. In the country TO a map OF th'
, | school YARD showing it's position in relation
. | to the road and adjoining heldss The wis
? dom q eXten ing this work beyond the onG
= | or two adjoining fields Is doubtful, unless
). map Of the neig ghborhoOd be drawn sh VIM
= the conventional modes Of representation o
IL | land and water
In this work we have now gotten ready t,
change symbols into realities, 40 are ready
: for the text book
:" Like Their New Home.
In closing business letter to the CEN
SoR Mr.. j c. Acheson, formerly of thi
I. community. writes from Montrose, ,Soutl
-. | Dakota. I'VE ara we'll uIaaaad with th