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Teachers’ Manual for
EXPLORING SCIENCE
One
by Walter A. Thurber
Professor of Science
Cortland State Teachers College
Cortland, New York
Edited by Paul E. Smith
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
OF CANADA LIMITED
TORONTO
Revised Canadian Edition
Copyright, 1957
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OE CANADA LIMITED
Printed in Canada
Originally published by
ALLYN AND BACON, INC.
Contents
Introduction 5
Putting Science in the Curriculum 5
How to Use the Books 8
Speeial Techniques for Teaching Science 12
Conservation Education 16
Health and Safety Education 17
Detailed Teaching Suggestions for Book One 19
Word List 20
Caterpillars 22
Rain 27
An Aquarium 38
Signs of Winter 40
Colours 46
Magnets 53
Air , 58
We Are Crowing 64
Planting Seeds 69
Things That Float 74
Spring Is Here 79
Watching the Flag 85
List of Science Materials 91
General Referenees for the Teacher 93
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Introduction
PUTTING SCIENCE IN THE CURRICULUM
“Leam through doing!” “Study things — not ideas!” What excellent
precepts for a science programme! For children love to “do” more
than they care to sit passively. And they learn best when they are
using their senses to study the world about them.
Imagine a cheerful classroom with children taking care of radish
seedlings and goldfish; with children keeping records of tadpole
growth and weather changes; with children making model boats and
cricket cages; with children comparing what books say about robins
with their own observations; with children experimenting, arguing
about results, and suggesting new ways to prove that there is water
in the air.
This is a picture of a science programme that is meant for children.
These children are learning more than isolated facts; they are learning
to work together, to solve problems, to handle tools, to use books. And
they love every moment of it!
Teaching like this is fun. The outcomes are highly satisfying. Chil-
dren need only the ideas for things to do, a little help in finding ma-
terials, and some encouragement. They supply the necessary en-
thusiasm and energy.
Some Reasons for Elementary Science
The elementary school is concerned with the growth of the child,
— his intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth. All subject-
matter areas have the same general objectives, but they use different
methods and content for attaining them. Science, because it deals so
much with tangible things, makes several unique contributions.
Much of the programme of the Exploring Science Series involves
manipulation, thus developing muscular co-ordination, skill with tools,
and familiarity with materials. A number of otherwise outstanding
pupils are seriously deficient in manipulative ability, this phase of their
education having been neglected. They benefit greatly from oppor-
tunities to work with the “things” of the science programme. In con-
trast, there are a number of retarded readers who find in this phase
of science their only opportunities to equal or excel their classmates.
A rich variety of science projects gives all children opportunities for
self-expression. Some children best express themselves by making
5
models; some through making friezes, charts, and posters; some by
writing science stories, keeping notebooks, and producing science
plays; some through collecting and exhibiting.
Science activities encourage pupils to plan, to use ingenuity, and to
exercise initiative. When the activities are carried out by small groups,
the pupils learn to plan and work together, to share responsibilities,
and to assume leadership.
Experiments, field trips, projects, and similar activities stimulate
pupils to turn to books for information. By comparing what authori-
ties say with their own observations, the pupils tend to become more
critical and they develop habits of open-mindedness and delayed
judgment.
Certain phases of the subject matter of science have immediate and
important values. Especially important are the learnings that con-
tribute to establishing better health and safety practices. A large share
of health and safety education is based upon scientific information.
Another area that benefits from science subject matter is conservation
education; so closely is conservation allied with science that the two
are usually included in the same programme. (Pages 16-18 of this
Teachers’ Edition discuss the role of science in conservation and health
and safety education.)
How Much Time for Science?
“Can you afford fifteen minutes three times a week for science?”
This in answer to teachers who are concerned about the already
crowded class curriculum. Successful science programmes have been
carried out with as little time as this scheduled for science class work.
More time is to be desired, but there need be no sacrifice of other
important areas when science is added to the school programme.
An elementary science programme does not demand a great deal of
formal class time to keep it progressing satisfactorily. Three or four
short periods weekly, or the equivalent, are adequate for pupil motiva-
tion, with much of the actual science work being carried on outside
class time. Most of the units in the Exploring Science Series require
two or three weeks for satisfactory development — for planning, ex-
perimenting, and discussing.
Science does not require much class time because children make
time for science. They find the work too exciting to be dropped be-
tween lessons. They rush to school in the morning to see how their
plants and animals have fared through the night. They use much of
their free time during the school day for science activities. If per-
mitted they will stay after school to work with science materials. And
6 Introduction
it is not unusual for a majority of the pupils to repeat at home the
experiments they have carried out during their science lessons.
It is possible to make science the core of the entire school pro-
gramme; many children prefer to make science just that. Many chil-
dren prefer to talk and 'write about science for their language work;
many prefer to read about science during reading periods; some pre-
fer to base their art work on science subjects. As one teacher put it,
“I have learned how to start a science programme. Now show me
how to stop it!”
Planned and Incidental Science
A planned programme ensures steady progress from grade to grade
with a minimum of overlapping and repetition. A planned programme
ensures breadth of content and a balance among the various subject-
matter areas of science.
A planned programme gives point and direction to the work of the
pupils and keeps their enthusiasm high. It opens up new avenues for
exploration. Without planning, science programmes usually become
haphazard and are sometimes neglected.
On the other hand, there should be time available for what is called
“incidental” science. Pupils should have an opportunity to watch a
butterfly that has just emerged or to study a rainbow that has just
appeared in the sky. Incidental science deals with the unexpected;
it is often responsible for some of the most worth-while outcomes of
the science programme.
Equipment for the Science Programme
Mayonnaise jars, tin cans, paper clips, and soda straws — such are
the materials needed for a science programme. There is nothing
mysterious about these commonplace materials. When a child does an
experiment with a mayonnaise jar he is working with something
familiar to him. He can repeat the experiment at home if he wishes.
To him, science is the study of familiar things.
A list of materials needed for each unit of the Exploring Science
Series is included in the specific suggestions for teaching each unit.
A list of all the science materials needed for the year’s programme is
included at the end of this Teachers’ Edition. Children can supply
most of the items, such as tin cans and glass jars. Some of these should
be stocked in quantities so that there is always a supply on hand.
It is well to make a list of materials that children cannot bring in.
This list may include such raw materials as soft pine lumber, wire,
nails, and screws. The list should then be discussed with the principal
Introduction 7
or the supervisor for items that can be supplied by special depart-
ments of the school system. Usually only a few items need be pur-
chased separately.
Ideally, materials for an activity programme should be provided in
quantity. Instead of a single hand lens, a class of thirty children
should have at least fifteen hand lenses. Although this may seem
prohibitively expensive it need not be so. Other teachers in the school
will probably be able to use the same materials. By providing a cen-
tral storage space, and by working out a schedule for the use of the
materials, the per-pupil cost becomes insignificant.
HOW TO USE THE BOOKS
Each pair of facing pages in the books of the Exploring Science
Series sets the stage for an exciting adventure in science — an experi-
ment, a demonstration, a field trip, a class project. The books are
study guides rather than science readers. They present a programme
to the pupils and show them how to carry it out.
Some teachers may choose to follow the books page by page, deviat-
ing little from the programme as it is presented. Their classes will be
meaningful and fun for the pupils.
Other teachers will prefer to modify the programme to fit their
special needs. Each book has been planned to permit a high degree of
flexibility. How to take advantage of this flexibility and other features
are discussed below.
How the Books Are Organized
Science experiences form the basis for the Exploring Science Series.
Emphasis is upon first-hand experience activities supplemented by
information given through pictures and reading.
The activities have been selected to provide experiences in all the
common areas of science, both physical and biological. This presents
a well-rounded programme that appeals to different interests and gives
a broad background in science.
The activities are grouped in units centred about such familiar
subjects as “Mirrors” and “Sunshine” rather than in units of formalized
science. A single unit can, and often does, cut across several conven-
tional subject-matter areas.
The material of a unit is developed in two-page blocks, each of
which usually takes up a separate topic. This is a successful pattern
often found in how-to-do-it books. It is useful in these science books
because pupils can carry out an activity without turning pages.
8 Introduction
The Teachers’ Editions
The special Teachers’ Editions for the Exploring Science Series con-
tain the material given in the pupils’ editions together with detailed
suggestions for using this material.
Each unit is introduced with a discussion of the possible outcomes
of the unit and a description of the part the unit plays in the entire
science programme. Necessary materials are listed. Different methods
of developing and enriching the unit are suggested, and valuable
background information is provided.
Following these general helps, the material in the unit is considered
page by page. Different methods of developing lessons are suggested.
There is advice about the use of tools and materials. Possible diffi-
culties are anticipated, and suggested things for the teacher to say
in the classroom are in bold-face type. Answers to questions pupils
might ask, follow-up activities, and references are listed. See prepar-
ing FOR THE UNIT for the best time to begin a unit.
The Teachers’ Editions give teachers confidence in their ability to
teach science. The Teachers’ Editions help teachers to take full
advantage of the special features of the books, thus providing a rich
and challenging programme.
Scheduling Science
Most of the units in the Exploring Science Series require two or
three weeks for satisfactory development. Children should not be
hurried through a science programme. They need time to experiment,
to discuss results, to try experiments again. They need time between
lessons, too. A pupil who has connected a dry cell to an electric lamp
during a science lesson will want to repeat the experience during his
free time. He may also wish to repeat the experience at home.
Most of the two-page blocks of a unit serve as the subject for one or
more lessons each. One of these blocks may describe an activity that
requires a full lesson for completion. Some of the activities may be
started in one lesson, as with many experiments with plants, and then
finished during a lesson at a later time. Field trips require additional
lessons for preparation and for follow-up. Projects usually require
several lesson periods.
It is recommended that the minimum time allotment for science be
scheduled as lesson periods. Additional time can be used for inci-
dental science or for extending scheduled lesson periods as needed.
There are several ways to provide additional science time without
scheduling it at the expense of other subjects. If there is a “science
table” at the side of the room, materials may be placed on it for pupils
Introduction 9
to use in their free time, both in and out of school hours. Individual
projects can be started in school and completed at home. There can
be correlation with reading, language, art, and social studies. As long
as the science programme is interesting, the pupils will find time for it.
Modifying the Basic Programme
Perhaps spring comes early to your section of the country. Perhaps
your community makes much of Fire Prevention Week. The teaching
calendar should recognize these and other important events. The
flexibility of the Exploring Science Series makes it possible to shift
units as desired because the units within a book are independent of
each other. A unit involving fire can be moved to early fall and a
unit involving spring can be scheduled for the time when daffodils
burst from the ground.
Likewise the material within a unit may be re-organized to take ad-
vantage of special conditions. Re-arrangement of the two-page blocks
may permit a more suitable activity to open a unit. Additional activi-
ties can be inserted as desired. One may also delete some of the activi-
ties that do not seem appropriate to the teaching situation.
The class may wish to take up science material that is not included
in the programme of the books. This is admirable and the class should
be given every encouragement. There are a few cautions that should
be observed. The teacher should be sure that the subject is of interest
to all pupils and not to just a few of the more aggressive individuals.
She should be sure that there are suitable activities to be used in
teaching the proposed subject. She should try not to take up material
that will be taught by teachers in later grades. If pupils suggest a
topic that does not seem suitable for the entire class, the topic may be
assigned to certain interested pupils as optional work. Assigning a
particular topic to a superior child will frequently re-awaken his
interest by confronting him with a real challenge to his ability.
Beginning a Unit
To start children thinking about magnets put magnets in their hands.
To start them thinking about frogs put a frog where they can watch it.
That is all there is to starting a new unit.
New materials may be presented in several ways. Sometimes, as
with magnets, the materials may be put in the hands of the pupils
with little explanation. Sometimes an interesting demonstration can
be used; for example, a “race” with burning candles under various-
sized jars to see which candle goes out first. Living things, particularly
things that move, need only be placed where pupils can watch them.
10 Introduction
Special days and special events offer possibilities for introducing
new topics. A St. Patrick’s Day carnation raises questions that lead to
experiments with water movement in plants. Coloured Easter eggs
raise questions about dyes that lead to experiments with dyeing cloth.
First-hand experiences make the most interesting and the most
challenging approaches to new units. There can be no one best
approach to a unit because conditions vary so much, but a little
imagination adapts most activities to meet the situation.
Developing a Unit
The pattern in which the material is presented in the Exploring
Science Series is one that has been used successfully, but it is not
necessarily the most satisfactory for a particular situation. There can
be no one best pattern: much depends upon the interests of the pupils,
upon the teaching situation, and upon unpredictable events. A teacher
should feel free to modify any unit — re-arranging the topics, adding
material, and deleting material.
It is important that there be variety in a unit. Variety keeps interest
high and provides for individual differences. Use experiments, field
trips, demonstrations, model-making, and science play-writing, to
obtain the necessary variety.
Different types of activities make different contributions to a science
programme. Experiments and field trips provide the basic first-hand
information. Study of books and pictures supplements first-hand in-
formation with information that has been gained by other people in
different situations. Model-making, play-writing, and similar activities
serve to organize information.
These books make use of many different types of activities in the
development of the programme. The detailed sections of these Teach-
ers’ Editions suggest still more types of activities that can be used to
enrich the programme.
Evaluating Outcomes
As yet, no one has discovered how to measure the truly important
outcomes of a science programme. Certainly the facts of science as
tested by pencil-and-paper tests are of small eonsequenee. The im-
portant outcomes are the attitudes that pupils develop, the skills they
gain, and the habits they acquire.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of a science programme is chiefly
one of personal judgment. One must depend upon many small but
significant signs. One may look for signs of general interest. How
many pupils participated in each activity? How many children volun-
Introduction 11
teered for optional activities? How many pupils brought in materials
when asked to do so? How many brought in materials without being
asked? How many pupils repeated science activities at home? Did
pupils talk about their science experiences outside school?
Specific achievements can be used as a measure of success. What
experiments were carried out? What field trips were taken? What
projects were completed? What books were read?
One may look for signs of pupil growth. How many normally quiet
children took active parts in class work? How many passive children
took on leadership responsibilities? How many “slow” readers turned
to books for information? How many pupils turned out work of
improved calibre?
To measure the progress of individuals look for interest, effort,
growth, and achievement. Not all children can be judged by the same
standards, but if in his own way a pupil has shown evidence of each
of the above, one may feel satisfaction with the results.
SPECIAL TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING SCIENCE
Most of the teaching techniques used in other subject-matter fields
apply equally well to science teaching. But when pupils begin to
experiment, to perform demonstrations, to take field trips, and to build
models, it is obvious that a teacher must have a knowledge of some
additional teaching techniques.
The majority of the activities suggested in the Exploring Science
Series are direct experience activities. They are simple and they are
clearly described in the textbooks. A teacher should have little diffi-
culty in helping pupils to carry them out, but if difficulties do arise,
the detailed assistance given in the Teachers’ Editions should quickly
clear them up. The real problem that faces a teacher is not that of
giving technical assistance with activities: the problem is finding ways
to help pupils to gain the most from the experiences.
Science education stresses a number of major goals such as the
development of critical thinking and the habit of withholding judg-
ment. The activities which pupils carry out set up the situations that
permit these goals to be attained. It is in working toward these major
outcomes that many elementary teachers need help.
The Problem-Solving Approach
What a child learns may be of less value to him than the way he
learns it. A curious child can be led to speculate, to experiment, to
check conclusions. He can be given practice in defining problems.
12 Introduction
He can be given opportunities to exercise his ingenuity. He can be
encouraged to develop a critical attitude and an open mind. Such
experiences are worth more to him than the bits of information he
may pick up.
Elementary science is well-adapted to the problem-solving approach.
The materials of science awaken curiosity: “How did this dandelion
get in my garden?” “How can I connect this dry cell to an electric
bell?” “Why does my dog prick up his ears when he wants to hear
better?”
It must be remembered, however, that questions do not automati-
cally become problems. A teacher may ask, “How do the people of
Canada get their drinking water?” only to discover that few children
care. Children are more interested in small and immediate problems:
“How can fish stay under water?” Teachers should always re-examine
the problems they intend to use to be sure that they have problems
which challenge the pupils.
Answering Questions
It is a matter of courtesy to recognize all questions that pupils raise,
whether the questions seem relevant or irrelevant, intelligent or silly.
Perhaps if we could know all that goes on in a child’s mind we would
consider all his questions more seriously.
Recognition of a question does not mean that the question must
have an immediate answer. Teachers probably answer too many ques-
tions for the good of the child. When a teacher answers a question,
or selects one of the pupils’ guesses as correct, there is nothing more
for the pupil to do. It is better to encourage him to speculate, experi-
ment, observe closely, and turn to recognized authorities for informa-
tion to answer his own questions.
The more a teacher knows of a subject the easier it is to avoid the
direct answer in favour of suggestions for finding answers independ-
ently. But when a teacher’s background in a field is limited, it is still
possible to make suggestions that send a pupil to experiments and to
books for information — and for the answers.
A teacher must often say, “I don’t know, but . . .” and follow up
with suggestions for planning an experiment, or with the name of a
recognized authority. There are innumerable questions that neither
the teacher nor anyone else can answer. Physicists do not know why
a magnet picks up iron. Biologists do not know why a bobolink mi-
grates to South America in autumn. No one knows why the earth pulls
things toward it or how a green plant produces sugar. The teacher
must never be afraid to say, “I don’t know.” These are the words that
Introduction 13
challenge mankind. Perhaps that teachers pupils will be the very
ones to solve these age-old questions.
Experiments
Children love to experiment — to find out by “doing,” as eompared
with learning through reading and being told. This is because ehil-
dren like to manipulate, they like to see things happen, there is an ele-
ment of suspense involved, and perhaps they subconseiously recog-
nize the validity of information gained this way.
Experiments in the elementary sehool should be informal. Problems
are best stated in the words of the children. There is no place for the
formalized pattern of “objective, apparatus, proeedure, observations,
and eonclusions.”
The best problems for experiments are the small problems that can
be solved with simple equipment and in a short time. “Can a magnet
attract a paper clip through cloth?” “Will grass turn yellow when a
board is laid on it?” “Will cocoa pass through a filter?”
A number of worth-while problems arise from diseussions that
pupils hear at home. “Does hot water freeze faster than cold?” “Will
aspirin tablets keep cut flowers from wilting?” “Is the coldest plaee
in a room near the floor?”
Certain problems are too broad for ehildren to solve. “Do plants
need light in order to live?” “Does a fire need air in order to burn?”
It would be improper to let pupils feel that they had answered sueh
questions after two or three experiments. Instead of sueh problems,
pupils should be eneouraged to work on more limited problems. “Do
bean seeds need light in order to start growing?” “Will a candle burn
longer in a quart jar than in a pint jar?”
While pupils are earrying out an experiment, the teacher should re-
frain from influencing their eonelusions. Only after the pupils begin
to discuss their results should the teaeher begin to raise questions that
will eneourage them to modify their eonclusions. Perhaps the pupils
have discovered that a pot of corn seedlings in a dark eloset died after
six days. Some of the pupils have deeided that eorn seedlings need
light in order to live. The teacher may now suggest that the seedlings
might have died anyway, perhaps beeause the soil was poor. She may
then eneourage the pupils to set up the experiment with another pot
of seedlings in a light place.
Teachers are sometimes upset beeause an experiment does not
“work.” Aetually, all experiments “work” in that they show that some-
thing happens or fails to happen. When an experiment does not turn
out as anticipated, it is because some uneonsidered faetor has entered
14 Introduction
or because the expected result is wrong. But that is the fun of ex-
perimenting, not knowing what results are going to be and trying
to account for what does happen.
Field Work
The Exploring Science Series encourages field work as one of the
most effective methods of learning science. Few are the units that
do not suggest directly or indirectly some type of field work.
Possibilities for field work are almost endless. School buildings
often have heating systems, gymnasiums, shops, kitchens, medical
centres, and fire protection devices. School yards frequently have
play equipment, flagpoles, shaded and unshaded areas, and varying
kinds of vegetation.
Near schools there are often parks, gardens, vacant lots, and fields
where plants can be studied. Where there are plants there are insects
and other animals. Near schools there are sometimes automobile
service stations, stores, greenhouses, and other business establishments.
These present many opportunities for the study of science.
Field work should be planned carefully. Children should know
what they are to look for. Do crocus blooms stay closed on cloudy
mornings? How is air put in a tire? These are simple, direct problems
well fitted for field investigations.
Outdoor experiments make good subjects for field work. The pupils
may compare the temperatures of pans of water in sunshine and in
shade. They may study the effect of sprinkling water on a pile of soil.
Field work is usually more effective when each pupil has something
to do with his hands. The children may collect coloured leaves. They
may take the temperatures of the soil in different places. They may
write the answers to questions formulated before the trip.
Techniques for handling pupils in the field are somewhat different
from handling pupils in the classroom. Each pupil must have some-
thing to do and he must know exactly how to do it. One of the im-
portant differences between indoor and outdoor situations concerns
the amount of talking by the teacher. Lecturing and class discussion
usually fail in the field because there are so many distracting elements.
These techniques should be reserved for the preparatory and follow-
up lessons. Once in the field, the teacher should generally talk only
with individual pupils who come up with special questions.
Science Projects
Science projects exist in such rich variety that it is possible to appeal
to the many interests and talents in a class. Children who like to work
Introduction 15
with tools enjoy making models. Children who like to draw and paint
enjoy making posters, charts, and friezes. Children who like to write
find opportunities to write stories and plays. Children who like to
collect will enjoy preparing exhibits of their science collections.
Science projects such as these encourage pupils to plan, to use in-
genuity, to persist at a job until it is done. Group projects give chil-
dren opportunities to work together, to share, to assume leadership.
The final products are tangible evidence of accomplishment and give
the children deep satisfaction.
Such projects are important in the learning process. They bring to-
gether information and organize it in easily understood patterns.
Often the projects give rise to new problems for the pupils to work on.
Completed projects should be put on exhibition whenever possible.
Projects may be displayed in the foyer of the school, at Parents’ Nights,
and at P.T.A. meetings. They may be exhibited in store windows dur-
ing Education Week. Local newspapers are usually delighted to pub-
lish photographs of exhibits and the children who made them; the
teacher need only call up the editor and notify him of the displays.
Through projects of this kind, parents gain a better understanding of
what goes on in the school programme, and children enjoy sharing
their science experiences with them.
CONSERVATION EDUCATION
Elementary science should make significant contributions to con-
servation education. Science deals with plants and animals, rocks, soil
and water, and with the scientific principles that control these natural
features. Science helps meet the three general objectives of conserva-
tion education — 1) to give information about natural resources, 2) to
develop desirable attitudes towards the use of natural resources, and
3) to give experiences with conservation practices.
Studies of the life histories of living things give an understanding of
their problems. Each book of the Exploring Science Series includes a
number of life history studies, and others are suggested in the Teach-
ers’ Editions.
Interrelationships among plants, animals, and their natural environ-
ments are also important. Better understanding of interrelationships
would have prevented the admission of many animal and plant pests
into this country, the extinction or near extinction of many species,
and the many other mistakes we have made in handling our environ-
ment. This Series stresses interrelationships in all units dealing with
the natural environment.
16 Introduction
In general, when pupils gain sufficient backgrounds of information
they develop proper attitudes. Having seen a badly eroded pasture,
having learned the value of topsoil and the difficulty of replacing it,
they recognize the waste and the need for conservation practice. They
need no indoctrination; they draw their own conclusions from the facts.
These books also show children how to practise conservation for
themselves. They are encouraged to take care of their clothing and
their toys. They learn to conserve heat by closing doors and windows
in cold weather. They are instructed in the prevention of grass fires
and forest fires. They learn how to co-operate in fire prevention about
the home.
Children are also encouraged to help to keep streets, roadsides,
parks, and picnic grounds free from litter. Much education is needed
in the proper use of one of our great resources, the beauty of the
countryside. By taking pupils to places that are beautiful and then for
contrast to places that have been abused, the teacher gives them
training in an important area of conservation education.
HEALTH AND SAFETY EDUCATION
All areas of the elementary school curriculum must share in the
responsibility for helping children to learn to take care of themselves.
Science is especially important since it contributes much of the in-
formational background necessary. By broadening its goals, the
teacher may use science as the basis for the health and safety pro-
gramme when classroom time does not allow for two separate pro-
grammes.
These are the areas commonly included in health and safety pro-
grammes for the elementary school:
The meaning of health
Body growth and development
Nutrition
Circulation and respiration
Digestion
Elimination
Bones (including teeth) and muscles
Skin, hair, and nails
The senses
Ears, nose, and throat
Rest and relaxation
Mental health
Sanitation
Communicable diseases and their prevention
Introduction 17
Tobacco, alcohol, and drugs
Preventing falls
Safety with tools
Preventing fires
Traffic safety
Treatment of small wounds
Prevention of sunburn
Water safety
Safety with animals
Safety with electrieity (including lightning)
The Exploring Scienee Series provides a combined seienee and
health programme when such a combination is desired. Most of the
units in eaeh book eontain health and safety material. For instance, the
fourth-grade unit “Static Electricity” includes a lesson on safety during
a thunderstorm. The sixth-grade unit “Water in the Ground” ineludes
several lessons on safe drinking water. In addition, eaeh book eon-
tains one or more units dealing primarily with health and safety,
which are noted at the end of each book under “The Major Topics
Presented in Eaeh Unit.” Thus a eomplete integration of the two
programmes ean be carried out in a eompletely natural way.
The flexible organization of the books permits the emphasis to vary
aceording to need. If the school provides a separate health and safety
programme, only a minimum amount of time need be spent on repeti-
tious material in this Series. But if the combined programme is in
operation, the health and safety material may be expanded as desired.
The speeial helps in the Teaehers’ Editions show how to make the
most of situations that arise from working with the Exploring Seienee
Series.
It should be remembered that the seienee programme eannot
assume the eomplete responsibility for health and safety edueation.
Health and safety instruction must go on at all times. Children need
orientation in the use of drinking fountains, publie toilets, and sehool
washrooms. They must be reminded constantly about washing after
playing with things that dirty their hands, after going to the toilet,
and before eating. They must be eneouraged to play aetively and
then rest quietly. Safety in the elassroom and on the playground must
be stressed constantly. And the whole problem of mental health —
good social adjustment, self-eonfidence, self-reliance — should be an
every-minute-of-the-day concern of the teacher.
18 Introduction
Detailed Teaching Suggestions
for Book One
People who do not know small children well are always amazed
when they see what can be done with science in the early grades.
They find children able to work with material that has in the past
been reserved for much higher levels. They discover that children
not only do well with the biological material of the traditional ele-
mentary programme but that they are capable of dealing with a wide
range of topics in the physical sciences.
The chief specification for science in the early grades is that it be
experiential. Small children lack the background of first-hand ex-
periences needed both for discussions and the intelligent interpreta-
tion of pictures and reading. But in contact with real things they
learn with surprising speed.
Small children like to repeat experiences again and again. This is
part of the learning process. They are usually working with science
materials for the first time and they need the additional contacts for
effective learning. It is not unusual for a child to work with science
materials for an hour at a time, repeating experiments and improvising
variations. Each repetition adds to his acquaintance with the ma-
terials and increases the soundness of his understandings.
A child may not always want to talk about experiences he has just
had. Some children seem to need time to sort out and organize infor-
mation before talking about it. It is wise not to push children into
discussions, rather let the talk come spontaneously. The chief goal
of early grade science is the development of an experience back-
ground; verbalization is of but secondary importance.
When there is no pressure, small children pick up scientific terms
with surprising ease. One often hears first-grade children talking
about “chrysalids” and “pollen.” They learn these words informally
as they hear them being used in connection with the things with
which they are working. The detailed suggestions that follow men-
tion some of the scientific terms that have been found appropriate
for children to leam, and they give advice about ways to introduce
the terms. However, one should remember that the words are not
important — the understandings are, and the words should be intro-
duced slowly, informally, and without pressure.
Teaching Book One 19
The first book of the Exploring Science Series makes no effort to
develop a scientific vocabulary for reading purposes. First-grade chil-
dren are just learning to read, and their books should contain only a
very few words with which they are not familiar. The reading level
in Exploring Science One has been kept low enough so that all first-
graders can enjoy the book.
The reading material for the children begins on page 90, develops
a vocabulary of 130 words, and is on the level of reading primers.
Throughout, pictures provide the information and directions the child
needs for carrying out the activities. Sentences are short and direct,
phrases are unbroken, and each sentence begins on a new line. The
general vocabulary has been checked against standard word lists for
the first grade. Tests in classroom situations, over a ten-year period,
have proven the readability of Exploring Science One.
All new words are included in the list below, in the order of their
first occurrence. Roots and variants of previously-introduced words
are counted as new words. The twenty-five starred words are intro-
duced with adequate repetition and are closely connected with the
illustrations. These words comprise the special science voeabulary
necessary for Exploring Science One.
WORD LIST
90 *air
is
going
out
* water
in
92 not
* juice
98 our
*hair
* growing
99 * nails
are
101 *hands
102 we
have
* bones
104 grow
for
many
years
105 how
do
you
know
that
106 animals
too
these
baby
they
107 now
grown
find
them
108 need
good
"“food
so
can
109 what
eat
112 put
soil
20 Teaching Book One
an
127
eggshell
plant
a
128
‘radish
‘seed
it
113 on
the
little
from
129
114 kinds
134
of
people
planting
115 grew
135
116 *bean
136
watch
117 this
138
happens
tell
story
139
122 some
things
* float
140
123 which
141
124 *sand
142
125 bottle
143
126 ride
to
144
* birds
boat
singing
Ned
145
building
has
*nests
toys
there
148
way
two
*wind
holes
blowing
one
149
•flag
goes
at
your
* spring
school
here
look
150
children
beginning
putting
* flowers
151
top
* flagpole
* leaves
does
bushes
help
bring
152
make
sod
own
* grass
153
then
other
every
day
eating
new
154
morning
* shadow
cutting
point
raking
155
afternoon
their
156
pages
* gardens
will
157
words
up
Teaching Book One 21
Caterpillars
PURPOSE OF THE UNIl
Of all the insects, butterflies are probably the best known and best
loved by children. It seems fitting to begin the study of insects with
this particular group, starting first with the caterpillar stage.
The species illustrated in the text is a common one, easy to identify
in its different stages and widespread over the country. It is the mon-
arch butterfly, sometimes called the milkweed butterfly because its
caterpillar is found on milkweed plants. This species is especially
valuable for classroom study because it passes through its various
stages so rapidly; children may see it pass from caterpillar to adult
stage in less than three weeks, whereas with most other species the
children must wait through the winter to see the adult emerge.
The study of this butterfly provides an experience background help-
ful in understanding the life cycle of other butterflies, of moths, and of
the many other insects that pass through four distinct stages in their
lives. In the first unit of Exploring Science Two pupils will be intro-
duced to a second type of insect development as represented by grass-
hoppers, in which there is a gradual development from young to adults.
Thus, these two type studies acquaint pupils with the two common
patterns of insect development.
As this unit is being taught, some of the broad goals of a science
programme should be kept in mind. For instance, we would like to
have children keenly aware of things around them. If we make them
interested in caterpillars and pupae and butterflies and the plants
they feed upon, we are on the road to that goal.
We would like to have children sympathetic towards the problems
of living things without being sentimental about them. Therefore, we
will not give caterpillars human characteristics of greed and ambition.
We will encourage pupils to treat caterpillars kindly but dispassion-
ately.
We want children to realize the interrelationships of living things,
so we will use every opportunity to point out how caterpillars depend
upon plants, sometimes injuring the plants, sometimes conflicting with
our own interests as in the case of the cabbage butterfly.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
This is a unit for early fall because it is then that caterpillars are
largest and most conspicuous. At this time, too, many caterpillars are
22 Caterpillars
ready to leave the plants on whieh they feed and seek plaees in which
to change into the pupa stage.
Before beginning this unit, teachers should try to find caterpillars of
the monarch butterfly. A search of the milkweed plants near the
school may reveal them. If there are many caterpillars present, one
may bring the class to the site to look for them.
Failure to discover caterpillars of the monarch butterfly should not
be discouraging. There are other species, such as those that feed on
celery and parsley (and change into Black Swallowtails), that will go
into the pupa stage when brought inside; when kept until spring,
many of them will transform to adults. Mention should be made here
of one common species that is often disappointing to children because
it does not become a pupa in the fall. This is the woolly bear cater-
pillar, a fuzzy species that is black on both ends and brown in the
middle. This species usually remains quiet until spring at which time
it spins a cocoon.
In some communities there are people who make a hobby of butter-
flies and moths; one may enlist the help of these people in finding
materials for the unit.
Caterpillars may be kept in glass jars as shown on page 7. It is well
to keep each species in separate jars because each species feeds upon
a different kind of food plant.
List of Materials
Quart or larger glass jars
Cheese-cloth for covering jars
Rubber bands
TEACHING THE UNIT
If at all possible, try to have some caterpillars in the classroom be-
fore beginning to use this book. Give the pupils an opportunity to
watch the caterpillars and discuss them. Then turn to the book with
its suggestions for things to do and its suggestions for observations.
As children watch the monarch pass through its life stages, and as
they bring in different stages of other species, there arises the problem
of vocabulary. The solution recommended here is to develop a simple
vocabulary at the beginning, emphasizing the concepts that lie behind
the words. As individual pupils develop a need for new words, or as
they encounter words for which they are ready, then help them to
extend their vocabularies.
Caterpillars 23
We can keep the terminology for the stages of butterfly life histories
very simple: only a fe\v nev^^ words will need to be introduced. The
term “egg,” for instance, is universal, although we must not assume
that an insect egg is closely similar to a hen’s egg. Technically, the
name for an insect in the second of the four stages is “larva,” but the
larva of a moth and butterfly is also called a “caterpillar.” There seems
little advantage in introducing the term “larva” until later.
The third stage is called the “pupa.” This is the outwardly inactive
stage sometimes called the “resting” stage, a term that should not be
used because inwardly the pupa is undergoing remarkable changes.
The pupa of a buttei^y is technically called a “chrysalis,” but there
seems little advantage in introducing this specialized word when the
term “pupa” applies so much more broadly. The term “cocoon” refers
to the silken covering which encloses the pupa of certain insects.
Pages 4-9
One may begin with a study of the pictures: How many girls are
there in the first picture? How many boys? What do you think they
are doing? What do you think they will do with the jar near the boy?
Let us look at the next page to find out.
This is what the children are going to do with the jar. Why do you
suppose they want to put the caterpillar in the jar? Where will they
take it? Where did they put the jar? How did they keep the cater-
pillar from crawling out of the jar?
Turn the page. Here is the caterpillar. What is it doing? What
colours do you see on the caterpillar? Does it have legs? Can you tell
which end is the head? Why is someone putting another leaf in the
jar?
At this time the teacher should propose a trip to look for caterpillars
if preliminary search makes the trip seem worth while. The pupils may
then collect a few caterpillars and put them in jars as shown on these
pages. Be sure to bring back some leaves of the plants where the
caterpillars were found feeding. Do not hesitate to bring in cater-
pillars of different species, but always collect leaves from the plant
where eaeh is found.
Pages 10-11
Here are four pictures. Let us look at the picture with the red
number one on it. What is the caterpillar doing? Which end hangs
down? The children will notice that the caterpillar is attaehed by its
hind parts. If they are able to watch a live specimen, they will see
that the head spins the thread to which the caterpillar hooks itself.
24 Caterpillars
Look at the picture with the red number two on it. What is hap-
pening to the caterpillar’s skin?
Look at the next picture. The caterpillar’s skin is nearly off. What
colour is the new skin?
Now look at the last picture. Do you still think this is a caterpillar?
Does it have any mouth? Any legs? Any eyes? Any head? Tell the
pupils that this thing that was a caterpillar is still alive but that it does
not eat or move about. It will hang there for a while. Then something
will happen to it. Turn the page to find out what happens.
Pages 12-13
There are four pictures on these pages that show us what happened
one day. Who can tell the story?
What colour is the butterfly? What colour was the caterpillar? Did
the caterpillar have legs? Does the butterfly have legs? What are
some differences in their legs? What does the butterfly have that the
caterpillar did not have? How many wings has the butterfly?
If the class is fortunate enough to see actual transformations, have
them compare what they see with the pictures in the book. Call the
pupils’ attention to the calendars on pages 11 and 13, which indicate
that ten days were needed for this transformation.
Pages 14-15
These pages sum up the life history of the monarch butterfly. First
we see the adult butterfly (No. 1) on the flower of the milkweed plant.
This butterfly lays an egg (No. 2) on the leaf of the milkweed plant.
From the egg comes a milkweed caterpillar (No. 3) which feeds on
the leaf of the milkweed plant. When the caterpillar is full grown it
changes into the pupa (No. 4) which is sometimes called the chrysalis.
From the pupa emerges a full-grown monarch butterfly (No. 5) shown
here on the flower of a wild aster.
The adult butterflies on these pages are shown feeding on the sweet
liquid, called nectar, in the flowers. The butterflies have long, hollow
“tongues” through which they suck the nectar. Butterflies drink the
nectar from many types of flowers, but their caterpillars usually feed
on one type of leaf only. Ask the pupils to look for butterflies feeding
in the fields near their homes. Introduce the word “nectar” if the
pupils seem ready for it.
Follow-up
Continue to watch the caterpillars that have been brought in. Give
them their proper food and see if they will pupate. If they are of the
Caterpillars 25
species that spend the winter in the pupa stage, it is better to remove
them when they have pupated and put them in a cold attic, barn, or
similar place, because the warm, dry air of the usual classroom dries
out the pupae and kills them. Bring back the pupae in early spring in
time to see the adults emerge.
Sometimes cabbages are heavily infested with the caterpillars of the
cabbage butterfly. If possible, take the pupils to see such cabbages.
Perhaps you can bring one of the cabbages to school in order to take it
apart and find the damage that has been done. An understanding that
some insects are harmful to our interests is an important concept to be
developed.
Give the pupils opportunities to tell stories about their observations
and make pictures illustrating them. The pupils may also exhibit their
caterpillars and pupae to pupils in other classes and to their parents,
should the latter come to a function such as a Parents’ Night or a
P.T.A. meeting.
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
There are many possible learnings that may result from the work of
this unit. We must not expect that every child will acquire every one
of these learnings, nor should we even attempt to force every child
into an identical pattern of thinking. Neither should we expect pupils
to say things as they are printed here; they will do better to use their
own way of speaking.
Most caterpillars feed on plants.
Usually one kind of caterpillar feeds on one kind of plant only.
Sometimes caterpillars do great harm to the plants they feed on.
Sometimes caterpillars damage crops that we have planted in our
gardens.
Caterpillars move about with several pairs of legs.
After caterpillars are full grown they change into the pupa stage.
Some kinds spend the winter in the pupa stage.
Although the pupa stage seems quiet, much is happening inside the
pupa.
At the end of the pupa stage a moth or a butterfly comes out.
Butterflies usually have six legs and four wings.
Butterflies often feed on the sweet liquid (nectar) in flowers.
Butterflies lay eggs on the plants the caterpillars feed upon.
There are four stages in the life of a butterfly.
Butterflies are insects; caterpillars are insects.
26 Caterpillars
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
American Butterflies and Moths. Cecile Matschat. Random House:
Toronto, 1942. 68 pages.
The pictures are valuable for children; the information useful to
the teacher.
Johnny and the Monarch. Margaret Friskey. Book Society: Agin-
court, 1946. 24 pages.
A well-illustrated book that may be read to the pupils and then
given them to look at.
Sphinx, The Story of a Caterpillar. Robert McClung. George J. Mc-
Leod: Toronto, 1949. 48 pages.
A picture story-book of the caterpillar and its development.
Tiger, the Story of a Swallowtail Butterfly. Robert McClung. George
J. McLeod: Toronto, 1953. 44 pages.
A picture-stoiy of a common species of butterfly.
What Butterfly Is It? Anna Pistorius. Ambassador Books: Toronto,
1949. 24 pages.
The illustrations are valuable for the children.
Film
Monarch Butterfly. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films.
Close-up photography showing stages in the life cycle similar to
those of the text. For very young audiences.
Rain
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
This unit is designed primarily to make children aware of the
weather. It attempts to develop relationships between clouds and
rain and between fair skies and lack of rain. It calls attention to the
movements of clouds. Such understandings are part of the founda-
tion for the study of weather that follows throughout the Series.
The unit also emphasizes the fact that rain is water, and as such
has important effects on plants and animals. This helps to develop
the concept of the interdependence of living things and their physical
environment, thus providing a background for the study of plants,
animals, soil and conservation.
Rain 27
The habit of looking for cause-effect relationships is an important
one to develop in a science programme. In this study of rain there are
a number of simple relationships of this type — clouds-rain, clear sky-
no rain, rain-streams. As children discuss these conditions they will
be more conscious of underlying causes, and they will be less apt to
take conditions for granted.
The unit provides an excellent opportunity to bring in some sound
health education — what to wear on rainy days, risks involved in get-
ting wet, what to do if wet. Children are amazingly unconscious
sometimes of their own physical discomfort; they need much help
before they learn to take care of themselves.
There are opportunities for safety education too. The problems of
automobile drivers in wet weather should certainly be discussed — ■
how much harder it is to see, how slippery the streets are. It may
make pupils more alert when they are crossing streets or walking
along the highways.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
This unit may be taught at any time of year when rains are com-
mon. It is often well to present it early in the fall before it conflicts
with unit four, “Signs of Winter.” In regions where winter is the rainy
season this unit may be given the major emphasis, and “Signs of Win-
ter” may be subordinated to it.
Few materials are needed. The experiment showing the relation
between water and plants calls for two house plants. Coleus plants
are easily propagated at the beginning of the school year and they
grow rapidly enough to serve by the time this unit is taught.
Page 20 calls for a sprinkling can. A good substitute for a sprinkling
can is a tin can with holes punched in the bottom. A fruit juice can is
large enough. The holes should be made as small as possible; a tack
or an old phonograph needle makes tiny holes.
Uther materials are easily provided — a flat pan, a tin can, a glass jar,
— plus the things ordinarily found in the classroom.
It may be well for the teacher who has never taught this unit to
try out the experiment dealing with the need of house plants for water
on pages 22-23. Some house plants can go for days without water-
ing; others such as geraniums do not wilt but lose their leaves; others
do not recover rapidly. The coleus plants mentioned above are satis-
factory, but the amount of soil may be such that they may go several
days before wilting. A preliminary trial helps one to learn when to
expect a reaction and how to plan for it.
28 Rain
List of Materials
Large pan
Metal can or small pail
Glass jar
Sprinkling can or food can with holes in bottom
Two house plants such as coleus plants
TEACHING THE UNIT
This unit calls for observations of conditions on rainy days, and it is
best taught in rainy weather. It is a flexible unit; the content may be
taken up in any order to meet conditions as they arise. And when
rainy weather ends, it may be dropped until rainy days come again.
Pages 16-17
If possible choose a rainy day to introduce this unit. Begin with a
comparison of the picture on this first page with conditions seen out-
doors.
What are the people in the picture wearing to keep off the rain?
What did you wear to school this morning? Ask individuals to show
the different kinds of wearing apparel they used to keep off the rain
— capes, raincoats, boots, umbrellas. The pupils may draw pictures
of people in the rain. They may cut from catalogues and magazines
pictures of different kinds of rain clothes for the bulletin board.
What happens to automobiles when it rains? Does the water go
inside? What do people who have open cars do when it rains? How
do the drivers see through windshields that are covered with rain?
Do cars splash rain farther when they are going fast or when they
are going slowly? Where is the hest place to walk or stand to keep
from being splashed?
Explain to the pupils that cars cannot stop so quickly on wet streets
and that the cars may slide sidewards when they stop. Also explain
that drivers cannot see so well. Discuss the need for being especially
careful when crossing streets or walking on the highways in wet
weather.
What happens to the rain that falls on a roof? If possible, watch
the rain drip from the eaves. Look for eaves, troughs, and rain spouts
on houses near the school. Ask the pupils to look at their own homes
to see what happens to the water.
What happens to the rain that falls on the street in the picture?
How are streets made so that rain runs into the gutters? If pupils do
not understand this, pour water on a sloping board so that they rec-
Rain 29
ognize the need for streets to slope from the middle towards the gut-
ters. Then look at streets to see if they do slope this way.
Let the pupils make pictures that give their impressions of rainy
days.
Pages 18-19
On the next rainy day refer the children to these pages. Ask them
to tell the story. Then let them duplicate the experience.
Direct the children to pour the rain water into a metal can, to bring
it indoors and then pour it into a glass jar. Put a label on the glass jar
telling that it is rain.
There are several possible extensions of this experience. The chil-
dren may put a piece of cloth out in the rain and wring out the water
into a dish. They may place a pan of soil in the rain and notice what
happens to the rain that falls on the soil and what happens to the
soil.
Another worth-while experiment is to put one of a pair of outgrown
leather shoes in the rain until it is soaked. Then the shoe should be
brought in and dried. Compare this shoe with the one that was not
soaked. Exhibit the two shoes with labels. Discuss the use of rubbers
in protecting shoes.
Pages 20-21
These pages concern themselves with what happens to some of the
rain that falls on the earth. The attention of the pupils has probably
already been drawn to what happens to the rain that falls on roofs and
slanting roadways. Now they will consider the rain that falls on
larger areas.
First, however, they will reproduce a rain in miniature. On a dry
day take the class to a concrete sidewalk that has a slight slope. Let
them sprinkle water on the concrete with a sprinkling can or a tin can
with holes in the bottom. As the “rain” falls, the class will see that it
gathers and runs away in a small stream, winding down the irregulari-
ties of the slope.
Page 21 is a discussion page which broadens the concept of rainfall
flowing down slopes to include the idea of the origin of streams. Per-
haps a visit to a stream is possible at this time.
If the pupils seem interested, the concept may be broadened still
farther by considering the effect of greater slope on stream flow. Per-
haps, near the school, there is a stretch of sidewalk that has a much
steeper slope than the one first experimented with. “Rain” falling on
this slope will run away at a greater speed than on the gentle slope.
30 Rain
A visit to a stream that flows rapidly in some places, and gently in
others due to change in slope, helps to give application to the experi-
ment.
The children may ask why streams do not dry up when the rain
stops as the ditches along the road do. They should be referred back
to observations of the rain that strikes the soil, how some of it soaks
into the soil. Then they should be told that this water may soak
through the soil slowly and come out at the bottoms of hills as springs.
Pages 22-23
Before taking up the material on these two pages, let two house
plants stand for a day without watering them. Then help the pupils
to read the picture story. See that they understand the procedures.
One plant is watered and the other is not. What happens? Then
both plants are watered. What happens?
Now duplicate the experiment. The amount of time needed for the
second plant to wilt depends upon the kind of plant and upon the
amount of soil in the pot. As soon as satisfactory results are noted,
water the wilted plant as well as the other one and note the results
again. Try the experiment several times.
Encourage the children to talk about their experiences with water-
ing plants at home.
Pages 24-25
The picture story on these pages is quickly told. Then let the pupils
tell of their own experiences with watering lawns and gardens. Ask
them about the kind of weather during which they watered the plants.
At this time conduct a discussion of why rain is desirable. Talk
about the need of plants for water, the need of animals for water to
drink, and the need of fish for water to swim in. Talk about the way
rain helps people.
Let the children dictate a story for the teacher to write on the
blackboard.
Pages 26-27
These pages tell a story. To be most effective the pages should be
studied on a day when broken clouds move rapidly across the sky, re-
vealing the sun at intervals. It is not necessary that rain fall from the
clouds. However, clouds may be studied in any weather, and applica-
tions made when the weather is appropriate.
What is the colour of the sky in the first picture? Where is the sun?
Are there any clouds in the picture? Where are they?
Rain 31
Look at the second picture. What has happened? Is the sky com-
pletely covered with clouds? Is it raining?
Tell what is happening in the third picture. What is happening in
the fourth picture? Where is the sun in the fourth picture? Where
do you think it is in the second and third pictures?
Look at the sky outdoors. Are the clouds moving? Do they some-
times cover the sun? Ask the pupils to point to the sun when it is
uncovered and when it is covered.
Suggest that the pupils make pictures of the sun and clouds as they
see them in the s%.
Pages 2S-29
These pages deal with the effects of rain on the activities of animals.
Ask the children to tell the stories presented on these pages. They
will notice that the people, the cat, and the chickens go indoors out of
the rain, but that the ducks stay out in the rain. They will also notice
that the robin shelters her young with her body when it rains.
Let the children discuss the picture stories. Encourage them to tell
of their own observations of the behaviour of animals in the rain.
Perhaps they have noticed whether cows and horses seek shelter, and
they can watch the behaviour of their own pets.
Follow-up
Continue to call attention to clouds that move across the sky and
occasionally cover the sun. If rain should fall from the clouds on such
a day, compare the situation with the story told on pages 26-27.
On clear days ask the children to notice whether it is raining. Do
the same on cloudy days. When it is raining, ask them whether the
sky is cloudy or clear. Establish a relationship between clouds and
rain.
When children come to school wearing new articles of rainwear, ask
them to show their new clothes to the class.
Begin a simple weather chart. To do this make a large-sized blank
calendar. Let the pupils paste a cut-out of an umbrella on each day
that is rainy. Keep the chart as long as interest remains high.
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
Rain is water.
Rain comes from clouds.
Clouds move across the sky.
The sun is in the sky even on cloudy days.
32 Rain
We should dress properly for rainy weather.
Rain makes our brooks and rivers.
Water flows downhill.
Plants need water.
Rain helps plants.
Many animals try to get out of the rain.
Some animals do not mind the rain.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Good Rain. Alice E. Goudey. Smithers and Bonellie: Toronto, 1950.
31 pages.
A story showing the importance of rain to city and country
dwellers.
Rain and Shine. Ardra S. Wavle. Copp Clark: Toronto, 1947. 128
pages.
Rainy days and sunny days and what children do during them.
Rain Drop Splash. Alvin R. Tresselt. Ambassador Books: Toronto,
1946. 29 pages.
The story of a raindrop, a puddle, a pond, and a river that finally
joined the sea.
Film
One Rainy Day. Coronet.
A story about what rain does for soil, plants, cities, and people.
An Aquarium
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
An aquarium is an attractive and worth-while project for the first
grade. Through this project children see animals that have a way of
life entirely different from our own; they learn about a radically new
environment.
Interest in an aquarium can be maintained for several weeks while
the children are given training in accepting responsibility for the care
of living organisms. Much of a good science programme depends upon
the study of living things brought into the classroom; we cannot begin
too early to train children to care for them intelligently and humanely.
An Aquarium 33
The pictures in this unit are designed to give the pupils practice in
following directions. Discuss the pictures with them until you are
sure they understand each step to be taken. Then give them every
opportunity to follow directions.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
The aquarium is the basic item on this list. A rectangular aquarium
is best because it has a greater surface area in proportion to its volume
and because the flat sides provide better visibility. However, glass
globes can be used.
It is customary to use sand on the bottom of the aquarium. Do not
use gravel; refuse collects in the spaces between the pebbles and is
diflScult to remove.
The unit calls for the use of goldfish in the aquarium, not because
native fishes are necessarily less satisfactory, but because children usu-
ally know them better, and because they are often more easily pro-
cured. However, by all means, if they are available, use the native
fishes which are known to survive in an aquarium.
When buying goldfish, buy small, hardy forms. A rule that is some-
times given is “one inch of fish to one gallon of water.” Thus a two-
gallon fish globe should have only one two-inch fish or two one-inch
fishes. The rule may be exceeded somewhat with goldfish, but only
if conditions in the aquarium are good.
Water plants for an aquarium may be purchased in a pet store.
Some of the cultivated varieties do better in aquariums than do native
species.
Prepared fish foods are usually satisfactoiy for goldfish.
Do not forget to have cloths for mopping up the floor.
It is best to delay the purchase of the plants and the fish until the
class is ready to use them. For instance, the plants may be bought at
the time the class is ready to fill the aquarium. The fish should be
bought several days later after the water in the aquarium has had a
chance to lose any chlorine it had in it and after the water has reached
room temperature.
List of Materials
An aquarium
Clean sand
Water plants
Two or three small fish
A rubber tube three feet long
34 An Aquarium
A pail
A pond snail
Cloths for wiping up water
Newspapers
Fish food suitable for the fish being kept
TEACHING THE UNIT
It is best not to hurry this unit but to approach it deliberately, giv-
ing time for preliminary discussion and for planning. It is possible to
keep an air of suspense for a couple of weeks by carrying out each
step properly.
The following procedure has been used successfully:
At the beginning no materials for setting up the aquarium are visi-
ble. The class studies the first page of the unit and discusses what
they would need to set up an aquarium. The teacher promises to bring
in the materials the next day.
On the second day the aquarium and the sand are brought in. A
few minutes are used in planning what to do with the sand the next
day. On the third day the water plants are brought in at the begin-
ning of school and exhibited in a glass jar. Later in the day the sand
is washed and put in the aquarium.
On the fourth day the problem of getting water in the aquarium is
raised and the book referred to for a solution — the siphon. A rubber
tube is provided, the plants are put in place, and the water is added.
The aquarium is then allowed to stand to be sure that there is no
chlorine in the water, but the children are promised the fish for it
for the next week. On Monday, the teacher may buy the fish, taking
two children with her, and should then bring the fish to school
Tuesday morning.
The fish are not fed until Thursday or Friday and then the three-
day-a-week feeding schedule is outlined to the pupils. The snail can
be added a week later.
Pages 30-31
Introduce the unit with a discussion of this page. What is shown in
the picture? What kind of fish is shown? Who has goldfish at home?
What do you keep the goldfish in? How do you take care of the fish?
Does anyone have fish other than goldfish at home? What kinds?
Would the class like to have an aquarium? What things are
needed? List the things needed, not forgetting water. Promise the
children that you will bring the materials for the next class period.
An Aquarium 35
Page 32
Unless the sand is already clean it should be washed. Pupils may
wash it under a faucet or hose nozzle, letting the force of the water
stir up the sand in the pail and then pouring off the water. If weather
permits, this activity should be carried on out-of-doors.
Sand washing can be a messy process and some teachers will prefer
to do it themselves. However, a teacher does rob her pupils of valua-
ble experience by so doing.
Page 33
Most water plants look better if their bases are buried in sand. Some
species have roots but others live just as well when floating about. To
make these plants stay at the bottom, tie them to pebbles with thread.
After the plants are in position, place the aquarium in the location
it will finally occupy before filling it. The ledge of a north-facing win-
dow is excellent; a table near a window where sunlight will not
fall on it can be used. If the aquarium must be placed in a sunny
location, shade it with a sheet of cardboard on the sunny side; sunlight
warms the water, making it lose oxygen, and it promotes the growth
of microscopic green plants which cloud the water and the glass.
Do not put the aquarium near a radiator or other source of heat.
The water should be kept as cool as possible.
Keep the aquarium low enough so pupils can watch it easily.
Pages 34-35
These two pages show how to fill an aquarium with a siphon so
that the plants and the sand are not disturbed as much as they would
be if the water were poured in.
Fill the siphon tube with a bottle of water as shown at the top of
the page. Or if there is a faucet in the room, fill the tube at the
faucet. When the tube is full, pinch both ends shut as shown. Then
put the siphon in position to use and release the ends.
The tube may also be filled by holding it at one end and lowering
it into a pail of water. When the tube is completely submerged the
ends are pinched shut as before. Although siphons can be filled by
sucking on them this is not a hygienic procedure.
It would be remarkable if no water were spilled on the floor and on
the children. But water is clean and easily wiped up.
Do not attempt to move a metal-framed aquarium after it is filled.
The frame may be twisted and the cement cracked, thus causing a leak.
36 An Aquarium
Page 36
Allow the aquarium to stand for two or three days before adding
the fish. This permits the water to warm up and to lose any chlorine
that may be in it.
Discuss with the pupils how the fish may be put into the aquarium
without injury. Appoint a pupil to submerge the fish container and
pour out the fish. Then give the pupils time to watch the fish swim
around.
The snail may be added at the same time, but it is usually better to
present new material to children at intervals rather than all at once.
When the snail is put in, let them watch it and encourage them to talk
about it. Tell them that it feeds on dead materials and waste food in
the aquarium.
Page 37
Before studying this page ask the children to tell what they know
about their fish. Then ask the pupils to open their books and look at
the pictures, checking the pictures against the fish themselves. Does a
goldfish have eyes? How many? A mouth? Ears like ours? Does
it have skin like ours? With what is it covered? Should no one know
the answer to this last question, tell them that it is covered with scales.
Does a goldfish have arms and legs? How does it swim about?
What does it use when it swims? Introduce the word “fin” if the chil-
dren do not know it. How many fins has a goldfish?
Direct the pupils to watch the goldfish. Note that a goldfish uses its
tail to move forward and the fins at its sides to keep from tipping over.
Does a goldfish stay under water all the time? Can a person stay
under water all the time? What would happen to a person if he tried
to stay under water a long time?
Watch the fish’s mouth carefully. Note that the mouth opens and
closes all the time. Note that there are openings at the side of the
fish’s head and that these open and close all the time. Using the pic-
tures in the book, explain that water goes in the fish’s mouth and
comes out through the openings at the sides of its head. It is some-
thing like breathing. It is not to be expected that pupils will under-
stand the actual process of respiration.
At this time there may be some problem about the word “gill.”
Gills are actually the fleshy, red objects that can be seen by looking
in the openings at the side of a fish’s head. Gills take oxygen from
the water and release carbon dioxide. Although many people call the
flaps at the sides of the fish’s head the gills, the proper term to use
is “gill covers.”
An Aquarium 37
Page 38
Discuss this page with the pupils. What are the children doing?
What can goldfish be fed?
Show the package of fish food to the children. Read the directions
to the pupils and be sure they understand them. Impress upon them
that goldfish should be fed regularly but sparingly. Explain that un-
eaten food spoils and makes the fish sick.
Make a little ceremony of feeding the fish. Review the necessity for
careful feeding. From the directions determine how much food to
give the fish, and measure this out on a sheet of paper. Appoint a pupil
to drop part of this food in the water while the others sit about the
aquarium and watch. Ask some of the pupils to tell how the fish eat.
Add more food until the allotment is gone.
Plan to feed the fish every other day — Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Mark these days on a calendar. Appoint different pupils to feed the
fish each time and mark the calendar when they do the feeding.
Page 39
After several days, refuse will collect in the bottom of the aquarium.
Ask the pupils to suggest ways for removing it. After some ideas have
been suggested, direct them to look in their books to see how the boy
is cleaning the aquarium. What is he using?
Review the use of the siphon. Appoint pupils to siphon out the
refuse. Do not worry if they siphon out some sand too. It can be re-
placed. Appoint other pupils to replace the water siphoned out.
Almost without fail some over-zealous pupil will add too much food
when no one is watching. Look daily for uneaten food and siphon it
out before it spoils. If the water should turn milky from spoiling ma-
terial, siphon off most of the water and replace it with fresh, being
sure to look for the source of the milky appearance.
If a large quantity of water must be replaced, use water that has
been standing for a few hours so that all the chlorine will have escaped.
Follow-up
The time needed for setting up an aquarium and studying it may
require from two to three weeks. Interest in feeding the fish may be
maintained for a much longer period.
At intervals the teacher may find it possible to bring in for a day or
so other kinds of goldfish such as fantails. She may also show some of
the native fish; older boys will usually collect them. It is better to
bring in one kind at a time, observe it for a few hours, then return it.
If possible take the children to a pet store. There they may see dif-
38 An Aquarium
ferent kinds of fish such as fancy goldfish and tropicals. Sometimes
there are people near the school who make a hobby of goldfish or
tropicals, and they may welcome a visit by a well-behaved group.
Encourage the pupils to relate accounts of fishing trips, their own
pet fish, and visits to fish ponds, hatcheries, and public aquariums.
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
Some plants can live under water.
Some animals can live under water.
Fish use their tail fins to move about.
Fish use their other fins to balance themselves and to steer them-
selves.
Some fish are covered with scales.
Fish take water in through their mouths and send it out openings
at the sides of their heads.
Snails crawl about without having any legs.
Snails have hard shells into which they can pull themselves when
frightened.
Things that spoil in an aquarium may harm the fish.
A siphon can be used to fill and empty an aquarium.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
An Aquarium. Glenn O. Blough. Copp Clark: Toronto, 1943. 36 pages.
Setting up an aquarium in the schoolroom.
An Aquarium Book for Boys and Girls. Alfred P. Morgan.
S. J. Reginald Saunders: Toronto, 1936. 180 pages.
A helpful book for the classroom teacher.
Goldfish. Herbert Zim. George J. McLeod: Toronto, 1947. 64 pages.
A simple book of aquariums and goldfish.
Modern Aquarium. William Innes. Innes: Philadelphia, 1949. 62
pages.
The teacher will find this an up-to-date aid.
Film
Life in An Aquarium. Young America Films.
How to set up, stock, and maintain a classroom aquarium.
An Aquarium 39
Signs of Winter
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
By the time children have entered the first grade, most of them have
had numerous experiences with seasonal changes. It is now time to
gather these experiences and give them meaning.
It seems best at this time to ignore the relationships between the
astronomical phases of seasonal change and the seasonal changes in
our environment. We cannot assume, for instance, that first-grade
children have noticed the change in the length of the hours of sunlight.
Nor can we expect that they have noticed any change in the intensity
of sunlight. Indeed, we cannot even expect that they at all appreciate
the sun as this world’s source of heat.
Rather at this time we shall concentrate upon the changes in general
temperature, in precipitation, and in the reaction of various organisms,
including ourselves, to these changes.
This topic touches upon many areas of science. It deals with the
change of state of water, with weather, with heat. It lays a foundation
for the study of the motions of heavenly bodies. It deals with the re-
actions of plants and animals to changes in their environment, and to
their adaptations to cold weather. It deals, too, with man’s conscious
adaptations to cold weather — his use of fuels, dwellings and clothes,
his change in habits of work and play. In later grades many units will
build upon the work of this unit.
But the chief purpose of the unit is not one of preparation for later
work. Its principal aim is the awakening of an interest in the out-of-
doors. By showing children things to look for — changes in plants,
animal tracks, bird behaviour, man’s activities when snow comes —
we help develop understanding of the environment and we guide them
into hobbies which take them into fresh air and sunlight, into woods
and fields.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
The time to introduce this unit is when autumn has advanced to
within two or three weeks of winter. Since winter comes at different
times in different localities, the teacher must use her own judgment as
to the best time for beginning the unit.
40 Signs of Winter
However, the teacher can build towards this unit almost from the
beginning of school. She can call attention to the first changes in leaf
colour. Many teachers make use of the class tree. The pupils select a
tree as their own. Through the seasons they watch it, collect its leaves
in autumn, draw pictures of it in winter, and watch it bud in spring.
A record of the class tree can be kept with a flannel board. A flannel
board is made like a small bulletin board, but it is covered with cotton
flannel. Cut-outs backed with flannel or felt will adhere to it. An
outhne of the trunk and bare branches of the class tree is painted on
the flannel board. The pupils put cut-outs of green leaves backed with
flannel on the tree in early fall. As leaves outdoors begin to change,
the pupils replace the green leaves with coloured leaves. Later they
take the coloured leaves from the tree and replace them on the
“ground” under the tree. Still later, after a snowfall, they put tufts of
cotton on the branches of the tree and on the ground underneath.
The children may be taken on walks to see other seasonal changes.
They should notice colour changes in plants other than trees. They
should notice the ending of the blooming period for some plants. They
should notice the effects of the first frosts.
Some regions have no winter in the generally accepted sense. Con-
sequently there are fewer possible first-hand experiences with signs of
winter. It is suggested that in these localities less time be given to the
study of this unit. Instead, the emphasis should be put on other units
which have more direct applications to the immediate environment.
However, the teacher may feel that a study of the signs of winter will
have a strong appeal to children who have never lived in a region
where winter brings cold, snow, and ice.
List of Materials
Pans in which to melt snowballs
Pan in which to freeze water
TEACHING THE UNIT
Although this unit can be taught chiefly through discussion, it is
hoped that teachers will make every effort to take children outside to
see the many aspects of approaching winter. We cannot expect each
child by himself to make the observations that give him a truly broad
experience.
Signs of Winter 41
Pages 40-41
On these pages are some signs that tell us the weather is growing
colder. What are they? Who knows what they are?
What would the boy and girl be wearing if the weather were warm?
How are they keeping warm today? What do people wear to keep
their hands warm? Their feet warm? Their heads warm?
Where are the leaves coming from? What happens to the leaves
when the wind blows? Where do the leaves go? How do people get
the leaves olf their lawns? What do they do with the leaves they rake
up? What happens to the leaves that fall in the street?
What do you think the man is doing in his garden? Why are the
plants brown? What will the man do with the dead plants? What
does your father do with his garden when winter is coming?
Take trips to look for signs of coming winter — fallen leaves, bare
trees, dead garden plants, also people raking and burning leaves,
cleaning up their gardens, digging their vegetables, covering roses and
other tender plants.
Some schools have small rakes for the children. Let the pupils rake
leaves and thus participate in this activity that marks the end of the
growing season.
Let the children tell about other signs of approaching winter. ' Let
them dictate stories and draw pictures appropriate to the seasoilV
Pages 42-43
Begin the study of trees that are losing their leaves. Tell the story
of the trees as shown in these pictures. An oak and a spruce are
shown in summer (No. 1), in autumn (No. 2), and in early winter
(No. 3). Do the same things happen to the trees outdoors?
Take a trip to collect coloured leaves. Bring them inside and press
them between blotters or newspapers until they are dry. Then mount
them on sheets of card.
The pupils may also collect coloured leaves and trace round them,
colouring in the outlines afterward. Although identification is not a
major aim of the science programme, some of the pupils quickly grasp
the characteristics of some of the major groups such as oaks and
maples. , „
Raise the problem of whether all trees lose their leaves in winter.
Take a trip to find out. Oak trees and beech trees often hold their
dead leaves for a long time. Evergreen trees and bushes, such as
spruce trees and rhododendrons, have living leaves all winter. It will
probably be necessary to tell the pupils that needles are leaves.
42 Signs of Winter
Page 44
What kind of weather does this picture show? How do you know
it is a windy day? How do you know it is cold?
What is the man wearing to keep warm? What is the woman wear-
ing? What are the boy and girl wearing?
Do you usually feel colder on a windy winter day or a still winter
day? What warm clothes do you wear on windy days in winter?
Ask the children to make pictures showing people dressed for cold
days. Let them clip pictures of winter clothing from magazines for the
bulletin board.
Page 45
What is the man in the picture doing? Why doesn’t he need win-
dow screens any more this year? Has your father taken the screens
from his house?
, Have you seen any flies lately? Have you seen any butterflies and
caterpillars lately? Tell the children that many insects die in cold
weather and that other insects crawl into protected places until the
cold weather is over.
In parts of the country where storm windows are used, call atten-
tion to the storm window in the picture. Explain that a storm win-
dow helps to keep cold winter winds from blowing into our homes.
Perhaps a visit to a nearby home that has storm windows can be
arranged; if possible have the owner unhook one window anil move
it so that the pupils can see that there are really two windows — the
regular window and the storm sash.
Pages 46-47
Discuss the picture on page 46. What is the man doing? How
many pupils have fireplaces at home? What do you bum in them?
When do you have fires in your fireplaces? Do fireplaces help to keep
people warm?
What is the man in the picture on page 47 doing? Why is he doing
this? What is a furnace for? What time of year do people have their
furnaces burning?
How many pupils have furnaces like this at home? What do you
bum in your furnaces? Ask the pupils to find out from their parents
what is used to heat their homes.
How is coal brought into a home? How is wood brought in? How
is oil brought to a home? How is gas brought to a home?
If possible, arrange a visit to a nearby home or building that has a
coal-burning furnace. Let the children look in and see the fire. Visit
Signs of Winter 43
the school heating plant and see what is burned to heat the school.
Sometimes it is possible to find out when coal or oil is being delivered
to nearby homes, and the pupils can be taken to see the process. Visits
to coal-yards and oil tanks will make it possible to see the trucks
being loaded.
An exhibit of diflFerent kinds of fuels may be prepared for the class-
room.
Pages 48-49
Some day the children may wake up to find their homes looking like
this. What has happened? How will the snow feel? How will the
air feel?
Study the first picture. Has anyone walked along the street since
the snow fell? How do you know? Who do you think it might have
been?
What will the people who live in the house have to do very soon?
If the snow gets any deeper what will be done in the streets?
Did the snow fall on everything? Is there snow on the roof of the
house? On the bushes? On the trees? What is hanging from the
eaves of the house? What are they made of?
Now study the next page. Tell about the different things you see
happening.
The pupils will enjoy making pictures of winter activities and telling
about their own activities in the snow. Let them dictate a story for
the blackboard.
Pages 50-51
The concept to be developed on these pages is obvious — that snow
turns to water if it is heated enough and that water turns to ice if it is
cooled enough.
Besides carrying out the activities suggested, there are many others
that help to develop the concept. Make a miniature snowman, put it in
a pan and bring it inside. Make several snowballs, put some in a cold
place, put some in a warm place, and put the remainder in a hot
place; see which melt fastest. Bring icicles and bits of ice from frozen
puddles indoors and watch them melt. Call attention to snow melting
on clothes or on the floor where it has been tracked in.
To show children that snow may not be clean even though it looks
clean, bring in a large pan of snow and let it melt. Strain the water
through white cloth and note the dirt which collects on the cloth. This
may convince them that they should not eat snow.
44 Signs of Winter
Continue observations of melting snow and ice in outdoors situa-
tions. On sunny days note dripping eaves and melting icicles. Check
daily the wasting away of a snowman. Measure on succeeding days
the depth of the snow by making marks on a stick.
It may be harder to show the freezing of water because very cold
weather is needed to freeze water in the daytime. If the region is one
where there are cold nights, the pan of water may be kept out over-
night. Failing this, it may be possible to put the pan of water in the
freezing compartment of a refrigerator.
Outdoors, the freezing of puddles and pools near the school may be
noted. It may be possible to visit a frozen pond. In the last case, try
to make arrangements to cut a hole in the ice, thus showing that the
ice is at the top only, and that fish and plants can still live underneath.
Pages 52-53
We can tell where animals have been by their tracks in the snow.
What do rabbit tracks look like? What do dog tracks look like?
Draw dog tracks and rabbit tracks on the blackboard.
What keeps dogs warm in winter? What keeps rabbits warm in
winter? Do we ever use fur to help to keep us warm? How?
What keeps birds warm in winter? Where do birds go at night?
The second picture shows what some animals eat in winter. The
downy woodpecker (No. 1) is looking for insects and insect eggs. The
tree sparrow (No. 2) is eating weed seeds, and the gray squirrel
(No. 3) has found an acorn.
Perhaps someone has a winter bird-feeding station nearby. Take the
class to see the birds feeding. Arrangements should be made with
the owner as to the best time to go.
If there are fields or a park near the school, take a trip to see animal
tracks and watch the activities of some of the animals. Dog, cat,
squirrel, and rabbit tracks are usually common, and some birds are
almost always active. Tracks of common animals can be found in
Palmers Fieldhook of Natural History. (See page 93.)
Follow-up
This unit may continue over many weeks, even while other units in
science are being studied. In a sense the unit presents its own fol-
low-up. As new situations arise teachers can always take advantage of
them. New snowfalls, sudden thaws, fresh tracks, a frozen milk
bottle, all of these present new opportunities to build concepts.
Signs of Winter 45
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
Many plants die when cold weather comes.
Many trees lose their leaves when cold weather comes.
People should wear warmer clothes in cold weather.
Flies and other insects are not so common in cold weather.
Storm windows help to keep cold winds from buildings.
People have different ways of heating their homes in cold weather.
Snow falls instead of rain if the weather is cold enough.
Water becomes ice if it is cooled enough.
Snow and ice become water when they are heated enough.
Many animals must find food during the winter.
After winter, spring comes again.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
I Like Winter. Lois Lenski. Oxford University Press: Toronto, 1950.
48 pages.
Pictures and tunes about winter for very young readers.
Snow. Gates et al. Brett-Macmillan: Toronto, 1951. 32 pages.
Things children do in the snow.
White Snow, Bright Snow. Alvin R. Tresselt. Ambassador Books:
Toronto, 1947. 33 pages.
The magical beauty of a snowfall is described for little children.
Film
Animals in Winter. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films. Ontario Depart-
ment of Education: SN-99.
Woodchucks, caterpillars, chipmunks, rabbits, and^btlieP anihiais
as they prepare for and live through the winter season.
Colours
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
Children should recognize and learn the names of common colours
as soon as possible after entering school. The addition of descriptive
words to the vocabulary is especially important in science because so
many things must be identified by appearance.
46 Colours
Colour consciousness is something to be developed early and well.
Its value ranges from the strictly utilitarian, as when noting traffie
lights, to the esthetic, as when appreciating the colour shadings in the
sunset sky. The habit of using the senses to the utmost is an important
outcome of the science programme.
This unit introduces the study of light; it forms a foundation on
which is built the continued study of this subject through the succeed-
ing books of the Exploring Science Series. It also calls attention to the
problem of giving colour to things that we use. Children tend
to take their green sweaters and their red wagons for granted without
wondering how the colours came to be. We should try to arouse their
curiosity about such things, satisfying it on their level, but leaving
them with the desire to find out more. The stimulation of curiosity and
the awakening of the desire to learn are both important aims of the
seience programme.
In addition to the study of colour as such, the unit touches on the
study of the human body by calling attention to differences in eye and
hair colour, and it includes important work on safety through its treat-
ment of traffic lights. These are areas that make up an important part
of a good science programme.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
This unit may be taught in formal fashion at any time during the
year, but the informal study of colours should start with the first day of
school. The teacher should use colour names at every opportunity.
Fresh flowers on the teacher’s desk may be discussed; children’s clothes
may be commented on; pencils and other personal possessions may be
described. If name cards are used to identify coat hooks or lockers,
these may be made in different colours. Much of this preliminary
study of colour will be closely associated with the children’s art work.
The colour-blind pupil is a special problem. It is likely that his
weakness has not yet been discovered when he comes to school for
the first time. The teacher must avoid embarrassing the colour-blind
pupil, but at the same time she must not ignore him because he must
learn to distinguish traffic lights for safety’s sake.
There are different degrees of colour blindness. Some people see no
colours; others can distinguish only a few colours; and a large number
of people have trouble with a few shades. The child v'ho cannot dis-
tinguish red from green must learn to identify the stop and go lights of
traffic signals by their positions. There are many other ways for him
to compensate for this weakness, but he needs special assistance and
Colours 47
should be referred to the proper authorities whenever help is available.
The materials needed for the unit are in general a part of most
school supplies— crayons, coloured chalk, water paints, coloured
paper. The teacher will probably need to buy some dyes for cloth.
Food dyes and Easter egg dyes make interesting things to experiment
with. A number of small mirrors are useful when the children are
studying their own hair and eye colours.
List of Materials
Coloured crayons
Coloured chalk
Coloured paper
Water paints
Paint brushes
Clothing dyes or Easter egg dyes
Pans for dyes
TEACHING THE UNIT
This is a flexible unit; it consists of a number of short topics that may
be taken up in any order. It is not even necessary to reach the indi-
vidual topics as one block; there may be situations in which some of
the topics can be taught more effectively at different times during the
school year.
Pages 54-55
These pages suggest an introduction to the unit. Provide the chil-
dren with crayons in the major colours. Ask them to make pictures of
oranges, bananas, or other things having simple coloration. Check
their choice of colours. Refer to colours by name and ask the children
to name the colours they are using.
One way of checking their knowledge of colour names is to ask
them to pick out a crayon with a certain colour and make marks with
it. Check to see if the proper selection has been made. Tiy other
colours but do not continue this formal procedure through many
colours unless the children are well acquainted with colour names.
Ask the pupils to make lines of different colours on a sheet of paper.
Direct one pupil to hold his paper before the class and ask others to
identify the colours. Again, do not extend this formal procedure over a
long period, but rather come back to colour identification at intervals.
Turn now to the introductory pages and ask the pupils to identify
the colours of the crayons that the girl is using.
48 Colours
Page 56
Choose a clear day for the study of this page. What are the colours
of the things the boy and girl see outdoors?
What colours can you see outdoors today? Notice the colours of the
sky, clouds, grass, trees, buildings and so on. Ask the pupils to make
pictures of some of the things they see.
A walk for noticing colours is appropriate at this time. The class
may visit a flower garden. They may walk in a field. They may count
the houses of different colours in one block if the variety is not too
great.
Children are interested in automobile colours. They may report on
the colours of their own automobiles. They may make pictures of
them. They may be taken to a nearby parking lot to see the colours
of automobiles. They may clip coloured advertisements from maga-
zines for display on the bulletin board.
Page 57
What are the colours of your homes? How are houses made white
or red or green? If some pupils know about the painting process let
them tell about it.
Study this page. The picture tells how a house is painted. What
does the man use to put the paint on with? Where is the paint?
What does he use to paint high parts of the house? Where is a safe
place for the boy and girl to be while they watch the man paint?
Where should they not be? Why?
If a nearby house is being painted, take a trip to see the process.
Later talk about what was seen. Let the children make pictures of
house painting.
Pupils can paint things, too. They can paint blocks or boxes with
water paints. Be sure to use newspapers to catch the drippings and
have plenty of cloths around to wipe up drops of paint.
Perhaps the class would like to make a village of cardboard boxes.
Then they may paint the houses in this village.
Page 58
This page suggests a study of the colour of clothes. What is the little
girl going to buy? What are the colours of the sweaters that are for
sale? What colour would you buy? What colour do you like best
for a sweater?
The colour of the clothes of the pupils can be observed. Ask all
those wearing something red to stand. Then ask all those wearing
something black to stand. Continue until all major colours are men-
tioned. Some shades may be hard to classify, and the teacher must
. Colours 49
make the decision. Children like this study and will happily repeat
it many times.
Pupils like to cut out pictures of people dressed in different colours
and they like to paint pictures of people wearing diflEerent colours.
These may be arranged on the bulletin board with cards bearing the
names of the principal colours.
Page 59
First have the pupils discuss the pictures on this page. What does
the girl have in her hands? What does she do with it? What hap-
pens?
Mix up small quantities of dyes in separate bowls, following direc-
tions on the packages. Put the bowls on several layers of newspapers
to catch the drippings. Give each pupil a square of cotton cloth such
as may be ripped from old sheets. Let the pupils decide upon the in-
dividual colours they wish to use. Then direct them to go in turn to
the bowl of chosen dye and dip the pieces of cloth. They should then
hang the cloths on a line that is provided. Put more newspapers under
the line to catch the drippings.
Pages 60-61
In what way are the boys and girls on these pages different? How
many hair colours are there? What are the hair colours? How many
colours of eyes are there? What are the eye colours?
If possible give the pupils small mirrors to study their own eye and
hair colours. If not, let them look at each other. Who has brown hair?
Who has black hair? Red hair? Yellow hair? In some cases the
teacher may have to make the final decision. Who has blue eyes?
Gray eyes? Brown eyes? Green eyes?
Place a card naming a hair colour in each corner of the room.
Direct the pupils to go to the corner of the room that is marked with
the proper hair colour. Do the same with eye colours. Be careful lest
some one pupil be isolated by this activity; children often feel strongly
about being different from the others. Do this activity only if there
are two or more pupils in each group.
The pupils may be asked to note the hair and eye colours of their
parents and then report on these colours the next day.
Pages 62-63
These pages show pictures of four different pets. No. 1 is an albino
rabbit. No. 2 is a black cat. No. 3 is a cocker spaniel. No. 4 is a guinea-
pig. What is the colour of the hair of each one? What is the colour
of the eyes of each one?
50 Colours
If the class have animals in the classroom, study the colours of the
animals. What is the colour of the scales of the goldfish? What colour
are the eyes of the goldfish?
Ask the children to look at their own pets and report their colours
to the class.
Some schools sponsor an annual pet day. Try to have one for the
first grade if at all practicable. Such a show requires considerable
planning if it is to run smoothly, but parents are often willing to help
with the planning as well as with the actual show itself. During the
show, as the pupils announce the names and kinds of their pets, have
them mention their colours as well. “ ^
Pages 64-65
First discuss these pages. Ask the pupils to tell the story and explain
why the boy and girl cross only when the light turns green.
Make a model traffic signal. Use a shoebox for the light. Cut two
disks of red paper and two of green paper. Hold the shoebox on end
and paste one of the disks on each side, with the red colours opposite
each other. The “lights” can be changed by turning the box. The
box may be mounted on the end of a four-foot stick with thumb-tacks.
The stick can be held upright by setting it in a pail of sand.
Mark lines on the floor or playground to represent a street intersec-
tion. Put the light in the centre of the intersection. Practise crossing
the street safely. If there is a toy wagon or automobile available this
could also be used to give greater reality to the situation.
It may be desirable to visit an intersection and study the way the
lights change and the way the traffic moves.
Page 66
Explain to the pupils that red colours are often used as danger
signals. This page shows some ways red is used. What is the red sign
for? How does it help an automobile driver? How does it help the
men who are working?
Why is there a red cloth on the end of the pole? How does it help?
Why is the man holding out a red flag? Why does he want the cars
to stop? What will he do when the cars are stopped?
Page 67
Discuss the lights on the back of an automobile. Why are there
lights on the back of the car? What other things have red lights on
the back? Where else have you seen red lights used?
Colours 51
Follow-up
Continue to use colour names at every opportunity. Ask the children
to describe the things they see in school and out in terms of colours.
Provide numerous opportunities for children to use colours for
painting.
From time to time new animals will be brought to school. Let the
description of their colours be a part of the discussion each time. The
same may be true as new flowers or other nature materials are
brought in.
Buildings in the vicinity may receive new coats of paint. Call
attention to each one. Ask the children to tell about painting that
goes on at their own homes.
At Easter time there is an opportunity for the children to dye eggs.
If at all possible let them do this. If the school has facilities for cook-
ing, food dyes may be used to colour foods such as “Junket.” If there
is an oven it is possible to bake coloured cakes and cookies. There
are usually numerous other opportunities for showing pupils how
things may be given colour.
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
There are several common colours.
We often know things by their colours.
Houses and automobiles are painted to give them colours.
Cloth is dyed to give it colour.
People have different colours in their eyes and hair.
Plants and animals have many colours.
We often use red as a danger signal.
We often use green as a safe signal.
We should always watch for signals that mean danger and safety.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Safety Can Be Fun. Munro Leaf. Frederick A. Stokes: New York,
1938. 49 pages.
People who disregard traflSc light colours are “nitwits”.
We Work and Play. Wilbur S. Gray, et al. W. J. Gage: Toronto, 1951.
64 pages.
Sections of this primer deal with painting chairs and toy boats,
making things of coloured paper, sewing clothes of different
colours and making toys of different colours.
52 Colours
what Wildflower Is It? Anna Pistorious. Ambassador Books: Toronto,
1950. 24 pages.
Learning the wild-flowers helps children to appreciate colours.
Films
We Print Design and Pictures. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films.
We Work With Paper and Scissors. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films.
Magnets
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
No other area of science has had more impact on modern civiliza-
tion than that of electricity and magnetism. Every science programme
must give this area consideration.
Fortunately the fleld of electricity and magnetism is rich with activi-
ties which are fascinating and meaningful to children. To introduce
this field, the study of magnets has been chosen for the first grade.
Only simple concepts are developed on this level, but the work of the
succeeding grades is based on this foundation. In Exploring Science
T wo a magnet is used as a test for iron in the unit “Rust.” In Exploring
Science Three Unit Nine deals with magnetic poles and the concepts
of repulsion and attraction. On higher levels come electromagnetism
and increased applications.
The work with magnets on the first-grade level calls for a great deal
of individual manipulation. This feature may be considered one of the
greatest strengths of the unit. Pupils learn a great deal by watching
others, but their learnings are limited to what they can see or hear
others describe. But when they do things themselves they learn
through all the senses, including some that are rarely considered, such
as the kinesthetic sense.
Manipulation also develops muscular co-ordination, an important
contribution to the education of children and one often forgotten. In
this respect girls are more neglected than boys who learn much
through manipulation outside of school. A teacher must be sure that the
girls in a class have as much opportunity for manipulation as the boys.
Magnets 53
Another value of the unit is its possibilities for training in following
directions. True, children will be following pictorial directions rather
than printed words, but more and more directions are being given in
picture form.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
This unit can be taught at any time during the year. No particular
introduction is needed. Of course if some magnetic toy is brought to
class by one of the pupils, this makes an excellent way to start the
unit informally.
It is well to collect most of the materials before beginning the unit.
Some, like the magnets, must be purchased.
A generous supply of magnets is a necessary requirement. If we are
to give each child an opportunity to manipulate — to learn through
doing, to develop his several senses — -we must provide him with things
to work with. One magnet for each child or one for each pair of chil-
dren gives the best results. Fewer magnets can be used but at the
expense of sound learning.
Inexpensive steel magnets serve satisfactorily, but much better are
the far stronger and longer-lasting “alnico” magnets. Even if there is
not enough money to buy alnico magnets in quantity, a few should be
provided for special demonstrations.
The unit ealls for horseshoe-shaped magnets for most of its aetivi-
ties. It is desirable, however^ to have magnets of other shapes also,
so that children do not associate magnetism with the horseshoe shape.
Recommended are bar magnets, both round and rectangular in cross-
section, and U-shaped magnets.
Most of the other materials needed are of the sort usually found
around the sehool room — paper clips, steel pen points, thumb-tacks,
and the like. Iron filings are often recommended, but the teacher will
find that a box of small nails called “brads” are cleaner, easier to
handle, and serve a greater variety of uses.
There are a number of magnetic toys on the market and some of
these may be included in the equipment list.
List of Materials
Small horseshoe magnets
Paper clips
Nails
Small brads
Boxes in which to put magnetic and non-magnetic materials
54 Magnets
Box for fish pond
Stick and string for fish pole
Steel key or large nail
Sheet of stiff cardboard or thin construction board
TEACHING THE UNIT
Pages 68-69
This unit may be introduced either by demonstrating some magnetic
toy or by letting some pupil demonstrate the activity described on
these pages.
Ask for the name of the device used. Introduce the word “magnet”
if necessary. Let the children tell about magnets they may have at
home. Then give each child a magnet and a number of paper clips.
How many paper clips can the magnet pick up? How many paper
clips can be held as a chain like the one in the picture? Show the
children how to make a train of cars with the clips, laying the clips
on the desk and pulling them along with the magnet.
Do not hurry the children through these activities. Let them try
the experiment again and again as long as they seem interested. The
learning is taking place through the doing, not through talking or
rushing into a new activity.
Page 70
This page introduces a concept important in our understanding of
magnetism and mechanics in general — that a force acts both ways.
In other words, the magnet pulls on the nail and the nail pulls on the
magnet. It is not necessary to broaden the concept to other situa-
tions at this time, but pupils should recognize its application to this
particular situation.
Page 71
The activities possible with a magnet and a box of brads are almost
limitless in variety. Children can determine the maximum number of
brads each magnet can hold. They can make ropes, swings, and
ladders, of brads. The teacher should be cautioned again not to hurry
the children or try to force them into any discussion of principles.
Pages 72-73
This is a picture story. Let the children read it to themselves. Then
ask a pupil to tell the story. Ask another to act it out.
Magnets 55
Discuss situations in which pupils might make use of the technique
described — as when mother spills a box of pins.
Show the children how a magnet can sometimes be used to recover
things that are dropped in a hole or in deep water.
Pages 74-75
On these pages is described an experiment of great importance. The
children will discover that a magnet can pick up some things but not
others. The children often do this experiment again and again, sort-
ing the materials, mixing them up, and sorting them again.
The teacher should refrain from asking the pupils to generalize
about the things a magnet can pick up and cannot pick up. Although
they may sense a similarity between some of the things the magnet
attracts, it is doubtful whether they can identify objects as being made
of iron. This concept is reserved for careful development in later grades.
Page 76
Although the activity suggested on this page seems to be little more
than a pleasant trick, it involves an important principle of physics —
a piece of iron held near a magnet becomes a magnet itself. With
“soft” iron, the magnetic eflfect is almost completely lost when the
magnet is removed; with “hard” steel the magnetic effect may be
retained in some degree.
Let the pupils try the same experiment with a large nail and then
with a paper clip in place of the key. Do not expect any generaliza-
tions.
Page 77
Children enjoy little tricks like this one, which was invented by a
first-grade child. At first glance the magnet seems to be picking up
and holding a piece of card. Of course it isn’t, as the explanation on
the page reveals.
When pupils do this trick they are dealing with another important
principle, that magnetic forces can act through substances like paper.
Pages 78-79
These pages build on the previous page. Now the pupils discover
that not only does the magnet attract through a piece of card but that
it can make something move. Can the children make things other than
paper clips move by moving the magnet under the card? Can they
move nails, brads, pen points? Can they make them move on some-
thing other than card? How about thin wood, glass, and aluminum
cookie sheets, a piece of tin can?
56 Magnets
The next activity is purely a play activity, “just for fun.” But it
involves more manipulation, more muscular co-ordination, and more
experience with scientific principles. The children love to make the
paper figures move across the little stage.
The paper figures may be made free-hand or traced from colour
books. Some greeting cards bear interesting figures that may be cut
out. Remember to keep the figures small so that the force of the
magnet can move them easily.
Besides pictures of people, the children may use pictures of animals,
automobiles, trains, and boats. A more elaborate stage may be made
from a cardboard box, and plays such as “The Three Billy Goats
Gruff” may be acted out.
A street may be marked out on thin but rigid cardboard and plastic
cars may be made to move along the street if a nail is taped to the
bottom of each car and a magnet is moved about under the cardboard.
In similar fashion little wooden boats can be made to move about on
an aluminum tray full of water.
Pages 80-81
The magnetic fishpond has always been a popular toy. Although
one may buy a set, a perfectly satisfactory one can be made in a few
minutes. Trace or draw the fish on light card. Colour the fish as
desired to give them appeal. Slip a paper clip over the mouth of each
fish. The fishpond may be any card box decorated as desired. The
magnet with which the fish are caught can be a small steel horseshoe
magnet, preferably not too strong.
To raise a problem, make a paper clip of copper wire and put it on
one fish. The children will not be able to “catch” this fish and will
wonder why.
One may pattern some of the fish after local species and so gain ad-
ditional teaching possibilities.
Follow-up
Experience has shown that an excellent way to follow up the work
of this unit is to give the pupils opportunities to repeat the activities
as they desire. A small table, to be called the “Science Table,” may
serve as the centre of these activities. Put magnets and materials on
this table for a few days, changing them often, and let the pupils use
them in their free time.
During this follow-up work it will be helpful if magnets of different
shapes are put out for the children to work with. Thus the children
learn that magnets do not have to have the traditional horseshoe shape.
Magnets 57
If a teacher desires, she may show the children how to magnetize
pen points, needles, and screwdrivers. Small steel objects may be
magnetized by stroking them with one pole of a magnet, moving the
magnet in one direction only from one end of the object to the other.
(See “Making a Magnet,” Exploring Science Three, page 134.)
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
Magnets pick up some things.
Magnets do not pick up some things.
Magnets can be useful.
A magnet can make some things into magnets.
Magnets have different shapes.
The pull of a magnet can act through thin sheets of many things.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
The Boy’s Book of Magnetism. Raymond Yates. Musson: Toronto,
1941. 166 pages.
Gives clear directions for tricks and games with magnets.
Magnets. Bertha Parker. Copp Clark: Toronto, 1944. 36 pages.
The teacher will find this useful and interesting to children.
Film
Magnets. Gateway.
From toy magnets to big lifting magnets.
Air
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
Air is an intangible substance which we cannot see, feel, taste, or
smell. Usually we are totally unaware of its presence; we say, for in-
stance, that a bottle filled with air is empty.
Young children are often taught to say, “Wind is moving air.” “We
breathe air.” “Water evaporates into the air,” and “Air holds up air-
planes.” Unless children have a genuine appreciation of air as a real
substance, statements like these are just empty verbalizations.
58 Air
In the Exploring Science Series, the basic concepts of air are de-
veloped carefully. In the first grade, children are shown that air takes
up space. Common applications, such as breathing and filling auto-
mobile tires, help children to think of air as being a real substance.
Upon this understanding the work of later grades builds concepts of
wind, fire, airplanes, respiration, evaporation, weather, and numerous
other phenomena.
A major function of the unit is the development of the concept
already mentioned, but the unit has other important values as well.
It encourages manipulation both in school and out. The unit gives
training in following directions through the use of sequential pictures
which describe how to carry out simple experiments. The abihty to
follow directions is considered an important part of education.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
Besides collecting materials needed for the experiments described in
the text, a teacher will do well to look up ideas for additional experi-
ments to enrich the work of this unit. Good science teaching calls for
many related experiences in the development of one concept.
A trip to an automobile service station to see the compressed air
system helps pupils to gain the feeling that air is something real. A
teacher should look for such a station near enough to the school for
a visit by the class.
The most important single item of equipment is a large glass vessel.
A rectangular glass aquarium is best suited for this purpose because its
flat sides cause less distortion of things seen within. However, a gallon
cylindrical jar of glass, called a battery jar, will serve almost as well.
A pail may be used, but it is the least satisfactory because only a few
children can see what is happening.
Additional items include hollow rubber toys, glass tumblers and
bottles, soda straws, and rubber balloons. Other items to enrich the
unit will suggest themselves — a medicine dropper, a sponge, metal
cans, or anything that can be used to show that there is air in the
space we usually call empty.
A tire pump, an inner tube, and a tub of water can be used to show
that tires contain air. A football, basketball, or plastic beach ball can
be inflated and then held so that the filling tube is under water. The
escaping air makes bubbles. The experience with the can of tomato
juice as described in the text should be duplicated with a real can of
juice. A quart jar with a metal screw-on cap can be used to show what
happens in the juice can by punching holes in the cap.
Air 59
List of Materials
Aquarium or large glass jar
Hollow rubber ball and other similar toys
Sponge
Rubber tube
Drinking glass
Cork or wooden boat
Narrow-mouthed bottle
Can of fruit juice
Can opener
Rubber balloons
Soap bubble pipes and soap
TEACHING THE UNIT
Although children cannot see air as such, they can see bubbles of air
in water. Because such bubbles are a common experience to children
they are used in this unit to make air seem more of a real substance.
At the beginning the children will refer to the bubbles as simply
“bubbles” and no more. Soon, however, one should tell the children
that they are looking at “bubbles of air.” Later, when the two terms
have almost the same meaning, in activities like the ones suggested,
the forepart of the phrase can be dropped and the word “air” used in
all discussions.
Pages 82-83
All children who take baths in tubs have probably played with hol-
low rubber toys in the water. They will recognize the sequence of
events implied by this picture. At this time do not insist that pupils
say that air is coming from the toy, but be sure that they recognize
that bubbles escape when the toy is squeezed.
A good procedure is to bring in a hollow rubber toy and after some
discussion of past experiences, give the children opportunity to pro-
duce bubbles in the water. Do not be content with a single experi-
ence. Let several pupils duplicate the activity. If possible, use other
types of toys, such as whistling dolls and animals.
Pages 84-85
An interesting approach to these pages is for the teacher to announce
that she will perform a magic trick. She crumples a sheet of paper,
stuffs it into a dry tumbler, and thrusts the inverted tumbler to the
bottom of the water without tipping it. A few moments later she lifts
60 Air
the tumbler, again without tipping it, pulls out the paper and shows
that it is perfectly dry.
This sets the stage for the experiment described on these pages. A
cork, or better still a tiny boat with a coloured paper sail, is floated on
the water and the inverted tumbler is pushed down over it. The pupils
can now see that the water does not rise in the tumbler.
Repeat this experience several times to be sure that every pupil has
seen what is intended.
Pages 86-87
When a pupil tips the inverted tumbler, bubbles come out. The
boat and the water then rise in the tumbler. It is at this time that we
shall begin to refer to the bubbles as air. Do not hurry the children
through this step. Let them repeat the experience just described sev-
eral times. Constantly refer to the bubbles as air. Suggest related
activities; let them submerge bottles and cans, let them squeeze
sponges and medicine droppers and hollow rubber toys under water.
The more things that can be used, the better.
Pages 88-89
These pages describe an interesting stunt which can be called,
“Pouring a glass of air.” The glass tumbler is submerged and then
inverted; it is then full of water. The bottle is inverted first and then
submerged; it is full of air. If the bottle is tipped and its neck held
under the tumbler, bubbles of air will leave the bottle and go into the
tumbler. Sometimes air may be “spilled.” The glass may be filled
until it “runs over.” This all adds to the fun. And such terminology
as pouring, spilling, and full, when applied to air, help to make air
seem like a real substance.
Pages 90-91
The relationship between the water and the air is brought out on
these two pages. Water goes in if air goes out, and water goes out
when air goes in. These help to point up the concept that air takes up
space. Allow plenty of opportunity for the pupils to repeat the ex-
perience and to talk about their observations.
Sentences are introduced here for the first time in this book. Except
for the word “air,” the words are all common ones and are probably
known to the pupils. It is, however, always well to study the pictures
first and carry out the activities suggested before turning to the sen-
tences which sum up the content of the experience.
Air 61
Pages 92-93
These two pages tell a story with pictures and use some simple sen-
tences to confirm the picture story. Ask the children to look at the
pictures and tell the story. Then ask them to read the sentences. The
word “juice” is not usually in the reading vocabulary of children on
this level, but after the children have told the story from the pic-
tures they should have no difficulty in learning the word.
Following the study of these two pages, ask the children to tell
about their own experiences with opening juice cans at home.
Now bring in a can of juice and let the pupils try the experiment.
To show the children what happens inside the juice can, fill ^ith
water a quart jar that has a metal screw-on top. Screw the top on
tightly. Now punch one hole in the cap with a can opener. Try to
pour out the water. Punch a second hole. Try to pour out the water.
Notice the bubbles of air entering as the water goes out. Cover the
upper hole with a finger and notice that the water stops flowing again.
Air must go in if the water is to run out.
Page 94
This page suggests additional experiences to help to build up the
concept of air as a substance. The experiences with balloons and soap
bubbles, supplemented by such activities as blowing through soda
straws into water, introduce the thought that we blow .air from our
mouths, thus preparing the way for a later study of breathing.
Any work done with blowing through straws and through soap
bubble pipes presents an opportunity for a discussion of why chil-
dren should not use a straw or a pipe that someone else has used.
Page 95
The study of this page may well be preeeded with some activities
involving a tire pump. Children may use the pump to inflate a foot-
ball, a basketball, or a plastic beach ball. Some kinds of balls can
also be inflated with a tire pump.
Experiences with tires come early in the lives of many children.
They may have watehed their parents or garage attendants test tire
pressures and add air to the tire. Some of them have experienced a
“flat tire” or have heard their parents speak of one. Many of them
have seen bicycle tires “go flat.”
Try to borrow an inner tube and a tire pump. Let the children
inflate the tube and deflate it by pressing on the valve in the end of
the valve stem. Hold the valve stem under water and deflate the
tube so that the pupils ean see the air eseaping as bubbles. Explain
what a punctured tire is. Explain what a “blow out” is. ' -
62 Air
If possible plan a trip to an automobile service station. If an at-
tendant is not too busy he will show the children how he puts air in
a tire, and he will show the children the air compressor and the tank
where the air is stored. He may also show how he uses water to locate
a leak in a tube.
Follow-up
During the remainder of the school year there will be many times
when pupils see bubbles in water and encounter things filled with air.
A brief moment of discussion to connect with this unit each of these
new experiences as it arises further strengthens the concepts which
the unit has introduced.
It is also good teaching practice to repeat occasionally one of the
activities described in this unit. This gives the children an opportunity
to recall what they have learned and practise the verbalizations they
have acquired.
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
There is air in many things we call empty.
Air can keep water out of hollow things.
If air can leave a container, water can enter.
If air cannot enter a container, water cannot leave.
We use air in such things as balloons and tires.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Let’s Find Out. Herman and Nina Schneider. S. J. Reginald Saunders:
Toronto, 1946. 38 pages. - '
A first experiment book, mostly about air and water.
The Little Airplane. Lois Lenski. Oxford University Press: Toronto,
1938. 48 pages.
Answers questions young boys and girls ask.
See for Yourself. Nancy Larrick. Smithers and Bonellie: Toronto,
1952. 47 pages. c
A well-illustrated primer with very simple experiments on air
and water.
Air 63
Films
Air. Gateway.
Air pressure is explained by demonstrations which the very young
child can perform himself.
Nothing hut Air. Instructional Films.
How Billy’s living and playing are affected by the invisible but
very real air around him.
We Are Growing
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
One of the most valuable outcomes of any educational programme
is to help to develop a sound understanding of the normal, healthy
human body. People who know about themselves are more apt to
take good care of their bodies, to avoid practices that abuse their
health, and to ignore foolish fads and quackery.
The time to begin the study of the human body is as early as pos-
sible, in order to develop desirable attitudes from the beginning.
Good health is as much a matter of healthy attitudes as it is of physi-
cal well-being. But so often we find that undesirable attitudes have
originated during the early years and these are so firmly fixed that they
are never truly eliminated.
One can sometimes see immediate results from the early introduc-
tion of the study of the human body. Children lose some of their fear
of doctors, or never develop it at all, because they are interested in
what the doctor is doing. They will have the proper perspective on
something like a broken arm, which to non-informed children is com-
parable to the broken arm of a doll. And bones, which are too often
associated with horror stories, become interesting parts of their own
anatomy.
“We Are Growing” is the first in a series of units in the Exploring
Science Series acquainting pupils with their bodies. Following it are
units dealing with respiration, circulation, ears, teeth, eyes, muscles,
and digestion. Together they form the foundation for the study of
health. Without such a foundation, health teaching becomes little
more than propaganda.
Specifically, this unit deals with the growth of various parts of our
bodies and touches upon the need for satisfactory diet to maintain
good growth. Two pages of reference to the growth of young animals
is included for comparison and contrast.
64 We Are Growing
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
This unit may be taught at any time. Little advance preparation is
required. However, a teacher may begin collecting weight and height
records early in the school year; the units of measurement may mean
little to children of this age, but they are able to grasp the idea of an
increase.
Only a few specific materials are called for. A long sheet of brown
paper is needed in the study of hand growth. A set of scales is de-
sirable for weighing the pupils. Pictures of baby and adult animals
are helpful.
List of Materials
Scales for weighing pupils
Tape for measuring height
Nail file
Long sheet of wrapping paper for frieze
TEACHING THE UNIT
Pages 96-97
What is happening in the picture? Does anyone know how much
he weighs? Have you always weighed that much?
Are you taller now than you used to be? How do you know? How
else do you know that you are bigger than you used to be?
How big were you when you were a baby? About how long were
you? How much did you weigh? Ask your mother.
If scales are available, weigh each pupil and make a record of his
weight. Also measure his height and record it.
If there is any weight and height data available from earlier meas-
urements, compare the figures to see if there is an increase. Explain
carefully to the children that not everyone grows at the same rate.
Some people grow steadily; others grow rapidly for a while and then
stop growing for a while.
Page 98
What is happening to the boy? Has any boy in the class just had
his hair cut? What does the barber do? Let the boys explain the
process. Have any girls had their hair cut? Let them tell about how
it was done.
Look at the three pictures at the bottom of the page. What story
do these pictures tell? Which one shows the boy when he needs a
Wc Are Growing 65
haircut? Discuss the improved appearance of the boy after he has
had a haircut.
Does this show that a boy’s hair grows? Does a girl’s hair grow?
Does it hurt to have a haircut?
Do eyebrows and eyelashes need to be cut? Does the hair in them
grow? Explain that when an eyelash falls out or is cut off, the hair
grows until it is the same length as before and then it stops growing.
Page 99
What is the boy doing? Why is he doing it?
What do you do to your fingernails when they grow long? When
did you file your nails last? Have your nails grown since then?
What are some reasons you should keep your fingernails trimmed?
Discuss also the reasons for cleaning fingernails.
Use a nail file to show the children how to clean and file nails prop-
erly. Try to make the children conscious of fingernail appearance.
Pages 100-101
What are the boy and the girl doing in the picture? Who would
like to do this too? Give the pupils large sheets of blank paper and
show them how to trace round their hands. Show them too, how to
sketch in the fingernails.
How many hands does each person have? How many fingers on
one hand? How many fingers on both hands? Are all the fingers
alike? Which is longest? Which is shortest? What is the short,
thick finger called? If the pupils seem interested teach them the
names of the fingers — thumb, fore, middle, ring, and little fingers.
Are the two hands alike? How are they different?
Does hair grow on your hands? Where? Notice that the palms
of your hands are bare.
Do you think that your hands grow? What makes you think so?
Are the hands of older boys and girls bigger than yours?
Plan a frieze to display across the top of the blackboard or bulletin
board. Start by tracing the hand of the youngest pupil in the class.
Add a tracing of the hands of children of increasing age, “borrowing”
pupils from upper grades to complete the series. Write the name and
age of each pupil near the tracing of his hand.
As an extra project at this time the pupils may make clay plaques of
their hands to take home. Fill small pie or cake plates with modelling
clay and press the hand of each pupil in a plate of clay. Dry the clay
for a few days and remove the plate. Let the pupils paint their
plaques with water paint.
66 We Are Growing
Pages 102-103
Review the structure of the hands and then direct the pupils to pinch
the fingers of one hand with the fingers of the other. Can you feel
something hard inside? Is there something hard inside each finger?
Ask them to look at their books and notice that the girl is pinching
her finger. The picture beside the girl shows what is inside her finger.
The hard parts are called bones. How many bones are there in each
finger? Feel your own fingers and see if there are three in each one.
Are there three bones in the thumb?
What happens when a finger is bent? The boy in the picture is
bending his finger. The picture beside him shows what the bones do.
Look at the pictures of the hands on the next page. They show the
bones in the whole hand. Can you feel some of them in your own
hands? What do these pictures show about the growth of bones?
Do you have bones in other parts of your bodies? Can you find
any bones in your arm? In your legs? Where are your ribs? Can
you feel your backbone? Feel the bone in your jaw. Feel the top
of your head. Is there a bone there?
This portion of the unit may be enriched by showing the pupils a
real skeleton or a chart of a skeleton. The pupils may then try to
locate some of the larger bones on themselves. Obviously there is no
value in using the technical names of the bones.
Do any pets have bones? Have you noticed the backbones of dogs
and cats when you pat them? Do chickens have bones? What other
animals do you know that have bones?
Some bones from a meat market or from home may be brought in
for display. They become clean and white, if boiled in soapy water.
Pages I04-I05
These two pages show four pictures of a boy at different ages — ^six
months, six years, nine years, and twelve years. Use them to begin a
discussion of growth. Discuss what the boy can do and what he can-
not do at each age. Discuss what he wears at each age. Then give
the discussion a personal slant by discussing the past and future acti-
vities of the children in the classroom.
Pages I06-I07
These two pages are also discussion pages. Let the pupils select
from the adult animals on page 107 the parent of the young animal on
page 106. Let them talk about the growth of their own pets.
If separate pictures of young and adult animals are available, make
these into a game of matching.
We Are Growing 67
Page 108
This page is designed to make the pupils conscious of the role of
food in growth. Talk over with them some of the foods they should
eat every day — a green food, a yellow vegetable, milk, meat of some
kind or eggs, and so on. Let them tell about their own meals they
have eaten recently. Help them to plan good meals.
Page 109
This study of the foods of pets is introduced to emphasize the im-
portance of good food and to help also in developing a spirit of
humaneness. It is chiefly a subject for discussion.
Find out what foods the children feed their pets. Bring in and dis-
play some of these foods. Encourage the children to make pictures
of pets eating proper foods.
If there is a dog fancier or other specialist in the community, per-
haps he will be willing to talk with the children about the proper
feeding of some of their pets.
Follow-up
There are several stories about growing up that have been written
for children of this age. Put these in the hands of children at different
times and provide an opportunity for discussion of them after they
have been read.
Be sure to follow up some of the weight and height records. Also
call attention to haircuts, as boys and girls have them.
Sometimes a child near the school has a baby animal given to him.
Perhaps arrangements can be made to see this animal two or three
times. The first time, the height and length of the animal can be
marked off on a sheet of paper for comparison with later observations.
Commonly a child hears of someone who has broken a limb. He
often believes the limb is broken off like a doll’s limb. If the subject
arises, take time to show with a diagram on the blackboard that it is
the bone that is broken, usually only cracked, and that after the doctor
puts the parts back together properly, the bone will grow together
again.
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
Children grow from the time they are babies until they are
“grown up.”
Some parts of our bodies grow rapidly.
Some parts of our bodies grow slowly.
68 We Are Growing
We have bones inside our bodies that grow too.
We need good food to grow properly.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Bigger and Bigger. Inez Hogan. Copp Clark: Toronto, 1946. 48
pages.
Twin boys grow up.
Growing Story. Ruth Krauss. Musson: Toronto, 1947. 32 pages.
A small boy realizes he is growing when he puts on his last
year’s clothes.
Story Book of Things We Use. Maude and Miska Petersham. Win-
ston: Toronto, 1933. 128 pages.
Films
Animals Growing Up. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films. Ontario
Department of Education: SN-95.
Growth and development of puppies, a calf, and chicks during
the first few weeks of life.
Baby Beavers. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films.
A mother beaver and her family.
Ten Little People and Their Teeth. National Film Board.
Planting Seeds
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
Nothing in the area of plant study interests small children more than
planting seeds and watching them grow. For this reason the study of
seeds is chosen to give introductory experiences with the reproduction
of plants.
In this unit children learn of some of the conditions usually neces-
sary for plant growth — soil, moisture, light — -although as yet they will
make no formal study of these factors. The children also have an
opportunity to observe at close hand the development of seedlings, an
experience they might otherwise never have.
One of the major principles of science states that organisms produce
their own kind; for example, bean plants produce only bean plants and
Planting Seeds 69
rabbits produce only rabbits. In this unit we are beginning to develop
this principle, although pupils must have many, many more experi-
ences before we can expect them to generalize so broadly.
This early study of garden seeds encourages pupils to be more
observant of plants and plant development. The acquired experi-
ences give a background for later study of seed dispersal and flower
functions. As such, this unit fits into a planned sequence of units on
reproduction, giving elementary treatment of sex education. The third-
grade unit “Travelling Seeds” and the fifth-grade unit “Flowers and
Their Work” will be based on this unit.
This unit has another function: it is designed to foster an interest in
the out-of-doors, which can be a source of great personal satisfaction
to many. This unit may influence some of the pupils to take up gar-
dening as a hobby in later life.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
With parents making plans for gardens and with new seed cata-
logues arriving in the mails, early spring is the logical time for the
study of seeds. But one must not start too early; some schools with-
out adequate air conditioning are so arid in cold weather that seed-
lings cannot thrive in the classrooms. This unit has been put early
enough in the sequence of units so that seedlings will have time to
develop. In some regions, however, it may be well to take up the
unit at a later time.
Seeds of various kinds are a necessity and so are containers of soil
to plant them in. Hardy seeds that germinate quickly are best for
these lessons. Radish seeds are very satisfactory: young plants appear
from them in less than a week. Corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, and
tomatoes germinate quickly and produce large seedlings. Carrots, on
the other hand, germinate slowly and the tiny seeds are difiicult to
handle.
Soil may be taken from any garden or flower bed that produces
healthy plants. Avoid sticky clay soils. If soil is not available, buy
potting soil from a florist or greenhouse.
The importance of giving each child his own container cannot be
over-emphasized. The realization that something is his, and his alone,
gives it new value in the pupil’s eyes; he will follow more eagerly the
development of his own seedling than a pot of seedlings belonging to
the class as a whole.
The text suggests halves of eggshells for seed containers. Eggshells
are usually available and though fragile are easily replaced. But other
70 Planting Seeds
types of containers are equally well suited — waxed paper (“Dixie”)
cups, ice cream containers, small flower pots, metal cans. Whenever
water-tight containers are used, be sure to punch holes in the bottom
so that excess water drains out.
List of Materials
Eggshells or other individual seed containers
Garden soil
Radish seeds
Flower pots or tin cans with drainage holes in the bottom
Seeds of several different kinds, including bean, corn, pumpkin,
and the like
TEACHING THE UNIT
There are many possible approaches to this unit. The most satis-
factory introduction takes advantage of some situation that arises
naturally — parents may be starting a garden, older pupils may be
planning a school garden, farmers may be doing spring planting.
These events precipitate classroom discussion of seeds.
It will be noticed that the word “plant” has two meanings as it is
used in this unit. It is worth while to take time when the second mean-
ing has been encountered to talk about the two meanings of the word.
Pages 110-111
What are the children doing? What does the man have in his
hands? What has he been doing with it? What is the boy holding?
What is he doing with it? What is the girl doing?
Who has seen a garden being made? Who has helped to make a
garden? Who had a garden of his own last year?
What tools are used in making gardens? What are the tools used
for?
Let the experienee and the interests of the children be a guide to
the amount of time spent on these pages. In some situations these
pages may have little signifieanee and should be treated quickly.
Pages 112-113
These two pages give a picture story and at the same time give
direetions for important aetivities. Eaeh ehild should plant a seed
that is specifieally his, just as shown in the text.
Radish seeds are reeommended for this first experience because the
seeds germinate quickly and the plants grow rapidly. Children ean
Planting Seeds 71
watch a radish grow from a seed to an edible plant in a few weeks.
The pictures show eggshells being used as miniature flower pots.
There was a time when many home gardeners used eggshells for
starting seedlings. Despite their fragility, they have advantages —
small size and ease of transplanting. Sometimes teachers collect
Easter eggshells for this unit.
Direct the children to write their names on individual shells and
fill them with soil. Give each pupil a single radish seed and explain
how he is to push the seed just beneath the surface of the soil. Also
plant some seeds in extra eggshells so that if some of the pupils’ seeds
do not develop, there will be replacements for them. Then put the
eggshells in a pan of loose soil or sawdust and set the pan on a
window ledge or table. Dampen the soil in the eggshells. If possible,
put a pane of glass over the pan to reduce evaporation; cover the
sharp edges of the glass with adhesive tape or cellulose tape.
Children are likely to over-water their plants. The soil must be
kept damp but not saturated; water should not stand in the containers.
If metal cans or waxed cups are used, punch drainage holes in them.
It is not necessary to puncture eggshells since they are porous.
When the radish plants are about an inch high, it is time to trans-
plant them. Each pupil may take home his own plant in a pasteboard
carton packed with crumpled paper. Thereafter he will report on its
growth. If the children do not have access to even a flower pot or a
window box at home, arrange to have a place at school for them.
Pages 114-115
These pages depict garden scenes. What time of year is represented
by the first picture? How do you know? What time of year is repre-
sented in the second picture? How do you know?
What must be done to a garden before it is planted? If the children
have never seen a garden being made, try to arrange a trip to a nearby
home garden where they can see the processes. Even in cities there
are usually flower gardens in parks, and arrangements can often be
made to see some of the important steps of soil preparation.
What kinds of vegetables are being raised in the garden in the
picture? What kinds of seeds were planted?
Bring in packets of different kinds of seeds. Prepare an exhibit of
seeds. Put seeds in vials or transparent envelopes and put them on
the bulletin board together with pictures of the proper vegetables and
flowers. The pictures can be cut from seed eatalogues.
The children may paint pictures showing the steps in preparing a
garden. They may act out the steps. They may set up miniature
72 Planting Seeds
diagrams of gardening scenes. They may put garden tools on display.
Pages 116-117
These pages give in picture story form the plant cycle from seed
to seed. The story points out that from a bean seed comes a plant that
produces more bean seeds. It is part of the broader concept that “like
produces like.”
Ask the children to read the story to themselves. Then let them tell
what happens in each picture. No. 1 shows the package of beans;
2, the seedling of the bean just emerging from the ground; 3, the seed-
ling as the leaves begin to unfold; 4, the seedling with additional
leaves; 5, flowers appearing on the bean plant; 6, young green beans
or bean pods; 7, the green beans turned yellow; and 8, beans in one
of the dried bean pods. Be sure that they note that small bean pods
come from the flowers and that these small pods grow into large pods.
Let the children plant some beans and watch the first steps of this
story. The beans may be planted in a flower pot or a seed flat. They
can also plant other species — corn, squash, pumpkin and the like.
Label the pots both with pictures and names. Beans and tomatoes
will flower in the classroom and sometimes start fruit, if pollen is trans-
ferred from one flower to another with a water-colour brush.
Pages 118-119
These pages show that a wild plant, the dandelion, also produces
seeds. Let the children tell the story. Take them outdoors and let
them look for plants that have buds, for plants that have flowers, and
for plants that have seeds. Let them mark one budded plant and
watch it daily to see development. Bring in some of the dandelion
heads and look at the seeds with a hand lens.
Follow-up
Watching the development of the seedlings that have been planted
by the children will continue until the end of the school year. The
children should be encouraged to tell stories and draw pictures of their
observations.
It may also be possible to take several trips around the neighbour-
hood and watch the progress of some of the gardens. Sometimes it is
possible to take a trip to a farm to see some of the crops beginning to
grow.
Planting Seeds 73
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
Seeds are usually planted in soil.
Seeds need moisture to start growing.
Seeds grow into plants.
Many plants have roots, stems, and leaves.
Each kind of seed develops into one kind of plant.
Each kind of plant has its own kind of seeds.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
The First Book of Plants. Alice Dickinson. Ambassador Books: To-
ronto, 1953. 93 pages.
Tells what plants are, what they do, and how they help mankind.
Up Above and Down Below. Irma Webber. S. J. Reginald Saunders:
Toronto, 1943. 31 pages.
Concerned with plant reproduction, and usable by the teacher.
What’s Inside of Plants? Herbert Zim. George J. McLeod: Toronto,
1952. 32 pages.
What is inside the leaves, stem, roots, and flowers of a plant is
explained in this book.
Film
Seed Dispersal. Ontario Board of Education.
Time-lapse photography and microscopic enlargements are used
to show the action of the poppy, nightshade, thistle, bean and
others. Movements of the seeds in germinating and sprouting
are shown in slow-motion.
Things|That Float
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
One of the large areas of human experience is that of the mechanics
of liquids. Boating, swimming, even bathing in a bath-tub, makes one
conscious of the buoyant force of water. Children enter school with
a considerable background of experiences with buoyancy, and they are
ready to organize and extend their knowledge of this subject.
74 Things That Float
In our study we continually encounter situations which permit us
to stress some of the safety aspects of water. Safety around boats and
while swimming should be emphasized. We do not need to frighten
the children; rather we must try to show them that swimming is not
dijBBcult and that everyone should master it. Our goal is to give them
a healthy respect for the water.
The experiments suggested in this unit, as well as the ones sug-
gested for enrichment by this manual, deal with simple cause-and-
effect relationships. One aspect of science education is the encourage-
ment to look for such relationships. So give pupils plenty of time to
express their own ideas about cause and effect, do not ridicule their
mistakes, and do not press them with leading questions which might
set the children guessing without really thinking. Remember that any
real understanding of cause and effect requires considerable maturity
of experience.
This unit calls for a large amount of manipulation in the classroom
and encourages even more in out-of-school situations. Give the chil-
dren adequate time for these activities. Remember that education is
not just the development of formal ideas, but is the development of
the whole child including his ability to manipulate and his habit of
using all his senses.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
The unit may be taught at any time of the year but field work is
best carried out when the weather is pleasant. However, if field work
is possible, and the unit comes most conveniently in winter, the field
work may be saved as part of the follow-up.
The teacher should investigate the possibilities for field experiences
early in the year. If the school is near a lake, river, or seacoast, it may
be possible to take the children to see ships loading and unloading,
and it may be possible to see smaller boats in use.
For demonstrations, a large glass vessel is needed. A rectangular
aquarium provides the best visibility, but cylindrical gallon jars called
“battery” jars can be used. For individual experimentation, small pails
or large (No. 10) cans are satisfactory.
The text calls for small bottles, metal cans, a floating bath-tub toy,
and other small items. Many other things not specifically mentioned
will suggest themselves.
A few new words are introduced in the reading matter, most of
them recognizable from the pictures. Some help will be needed with
the word “float.” On page 124 the word “can” is used with one mean-
Things That Float 75
ing, and on page 130 with another meaning. Take time to compare.
List of Materials
Aquarium or large glass jar
Tin cans
Bottle with cork
Sand
Celluloid bath-tub toy
Newspapers to soak up water
Wiping cloths
TEACHING THE UNIT
Pages 120-121
This page sets the stage for the unit by introducing a scene which
has probably made a distinct impression on any child who has visited
a lake shore or a seashore.
Who has been to the shore? Let the children relate some of their
experiences. Did you see any of the things that are in the picture?
What else did you see?
What things in the picture ean float? What are some other things
one might see at the shore that can float?
Why is there a rope round one place next to the shore? Why
should poor swimmers stay within the rope? What does the man on
the platform do? Does the raft that is out in the water move around
or is it fastened in one place? Does anyone know how it is kept in
one place?
Let the interest of the children determine the attention given to
this page. Perhaps, if the children have never been to the shore, this
page will have less appeal for them.
If a water-tight sand table is available, the work on this page may
be enriched by letting the pupils reproduce the shore scene. Corks,
pieces of wood, celluloid toys, toy boats, dolls and similar things may
be used. This will not be just a play activity if the objects can really
be placed in water and if the buoy and the raft can really be anchored.
Pages 122-123
The activities suggested on these pages are self-evident. Use a
demonstration first, letting the pupils guess which objects will float and
which will sink. The pupils may then repeat the experiments, putting
the objects in two piles or in two boxes — one for those that float, and
one for those that sink.
76 Things That Float
In addition to the things shown, try as many more as possible. Add
things like a cork with many nails stuck into it, and a closed metal can
with sand in it.
Do not hurry the children through these experiments. They will
test the objects again and again if they have the opportunity. And
every time they do, they are learning through their muscular sense,
the so-called “kinesthetic sense,” about density in a way they can never
learn it from reading alone.
Pages 124-125
These pages suggest experiments that are basic to an understanding
of the laws of floating bodies. Let the pupils take turns demonstrating.
Give plenty of time for speculation and comment.
In these experiments the pupils are testing the effect of making float-
ing bodies heavier. Adults frequently attribute the floating of empty
bottles and cans to some magical property of the air contained in them.
To avoid this misconception, talk always about the weight of the float-
ing object. For instance, as sand is added to the can it becomes
heavier and sinks deeper in the water; when it is heavy enough it will
no longer float.
After experimenting with the sand, empty the can and repeat the
experiment. Then try other things such as pebbles, nails, and water.
Try the same experiments with the stoppered bottle, trying to add
enough water so that the bottle neither sinks nor floats at the top.
Similar experiments can be performed with a medicine dropper and
a hollow rubber ball. If either of these is squeezed under water a
little air is forced out, and a little water goes in when the pressure is
released. By repeated squeezings, the object can be made to float
lower and lower in the water until it finally sinks.
Pages 126—127
These pages tell a story that can now be explained in terms of the
experiments just carried out.
To give greater reality to the story, ask the children to bring in toy
boats and see if added loads make these toys sink deeper. They may
also use toy ships and pretend that they are adding cargoes to the
ships.
Some schools will be near enough to docks so that the children can
be taken to see the loading and unloading of large ships. They may
record their observations by making pictures.
Things That Float 77
Pages 128-129
The story told in these pictures builds not only on the present unit
but also on Unit Seven — ^“Air.” Let the children tell the story and then
experiment with a real bath-tub toy.
Page 130
This is chiefly a discussion page to be used as much as the past ex-
periences of the children make worth while. Let them talk about
the plants and animals they have seen floating in the water, and about
the ones they have heard about. Refer to the classroom aquarium if
there is one. Trips to pet stores and to places where there are aquar-
iums may give them new experiences.
Page 131
This is another discussion page. Use it to stimulate an interest in
swimming. Ask who has been swimming. Who can swim? Who can
float? Let them relate their own experiences.
Look at the picture of the nearest boy floating. Notice that he floats
like a piece of wood. Notice that most of him is under water. What
parts are out of water?
What are the other boys using to help them to float? What is the girl
using? What other things can people use to help them to float?
Turn the discussion to swimming. Why should everyone know how
to swim? Where can you learn to swim?
Follow-up
Whenever pupils encounter something that is floating call their at-
tention to it. Perhaps a trip may be arranged to a garden pool or a
small pond in the spring. Have the children note the plants and ani-
mals they see floating on the water. Whenever the situation seems
worth while, let them draw pictures and tell stories about the things
they see floating in the water.
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
Some things float.
Some things do not float.
When floating things are made heavier they go deeper in the water.
If floating things are made heavy enough they sink.
Some plants and animals float.
People ean float.
People can use things to help them to float.
78 Things That Float
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
At the Lake. Gates et al. Brett-Macmillan: Toronto, 1951. 48 pages.
A family takes their boat to the lake for some fun.
The Boats on the River. Marjorie Flack. Macmillan of Canada: To-
ronto, 1946. 31 pages. Illustrated by J. Hyde Barnum.
Ferryboats, ocean liners, tugboats, barges, sailboats, rowboats,
freighters, submarines and warships — they are all here in realistic
and beautiful coloured pictures.
Film
Boats. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films,
Nancy and Roger take a river trip and see all kinds of boats.
Spring Is Here
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
Spring, with all its rapid changes, is as exciting to children as it is to
adults. It is a season to make much of.
No other outcome of the unit can be more important than a height-
ened interest in the outdoors. There are so many opportunities for
exciting observations in the city as well as in the country — developing
buds, birds building nests, new flowers, people at work in gardens.
Once the pupils have had pleasant experiences of this kind, they enjoy
repeating them and they are apt to extend their interests into related
areas.
The spring season is also a good time to encourage the use of all
the senses, to awaken a new awareness of scents and sounds and feel-
ings, as well as sights, because there are so many stimulating sensations
possible out-of-doors when dealing with new growth of plants and in-
creased activity of animals.
Spring is a time that encourages children to follow special interests
and to develop individual initiative; there are so many different things
going on, and there are so many different things to do. The teacher
does well to encourage a great deal of independent work when teach-
ing this unit.
There will be many opportunities to bring some of the outdoors into
the classroom, and thus to freshen up a place that has become a bit
too familiar through the winter months. The season may be antici-
pated by bringing in buds and potted bulbs. Later, new flowers and
Spring Is Here 79
frogs and insects keep interest high. Almost every day some new
bit of nature may be put on exhibition.
The content of the unit fits into the planned sequence of experiences
dealing with seasonal changes. The influence of increasing tempera-
tures on plant growth is part of the study of the relations between
living things and their physical environment. In addition, many later
units dealing with plants and animals will build upon the experiences
gained at this time.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
The pictures in the text suggest that the formal study of this unit
should begin about the time crocuses bloom and daffodils begin to
appear. However, there are many things that can be done in anticipa-
tion of the season.
Unit Nine, “Planting Seeds,” has already suggested some activities
that lead into this unit. The forcing of the buds of woody plants
represents another set of activities that set the children watching for
changes outdoors. Forsythia twigs are especially satisfactory be-
cause they burst quickly into a mass of golden bloom. There are other
species equally good — pussy willows, aspens, cultivated cherries — and
it is always interesting to experiment with new kinds.
Pots of flowering bulbs can be purchased and brought into the class-
room. The kinds usually on sale are tulips, hyacinths, and iris. How-
ever, if one has facilities, the bulbs may be purchased in the fall and
potted according to the directions given with each. Usually these
bulbs are potted, buried in the soil, or kept in a cold place until mid-
winter. Then they are transferred to a dark cool place until leaf
growth is well started, after which they are kept in a cool, light place
until budded.
Experiences with such things as seedlings, developing buds, and
flowering bulbs give the children a taste of what is coming and sharp-
en their interest in looking for similar happenings outdoors.
Changes in the weather are an important part of the study of spring.
Call attention to indications that the weather is warmer. There will
be rain instead of snow, ice on ponds will melt, and people will be
wearing clothes that are not so heavy. Use pictures that the pupils
have made of scenes in winter for contrast.
List of Materials
Spade or spading fork
Large pan or deep tray for sod
80 Spring Is Here
TEACHING THE UNIT
This is a unit that can well be extended over ten or more weeks,
with most of the work on an informal and incidental basis. This book
describes only a few of the many things ehildren can do; many other
activities will suggest themselves as conditions change through the
season.
Elasticity in the general programme will help greatly in making this
unit more effective. Many things will happen that have not been
planned, but which should be utilized immediately. A butterfly or
moth may emerge. Someone may notice a new bird outside the win-
dow. Frog eggs may begin to wriggle.
Observational trips should be planned whenever possible, but there
are many eonditions that will upset plans. Bad weather will require
cancellation of a trip or a delay to a more pleasant day. And some-
times something new in the neighbourhood will make possible a valu-
able trip for which no planning is possible. Complete flexibility of
programming is most desirable when making use of field trips.
Pages 132-133
These pages show ehildren looking at a bed of crocuses. Ask who
has flowers like them at home. Where are they growing? Does the
sun shine on them? What are their colours? What are the colours of
the ones in the picture? Call attention to the clothes of the children
in the picture. What story do these clothes tell?
If possible, take the class to see some eroeuses on a warm sunny day.
Notiee the colours. It is interesting to revisit the crocuses on a cold
dull day; the flowers are then tightly closed but will reopen when the
sun warms them again.
A croeus flower may be displayed to the class and the name intro-
duced if a field trip is not possible. However, crocuses do not make
good cut flowers beeause they close quickly indoors.
Crocus bulbs can be potted in the fall and kept buried outdoors
until spring when they can be brought indoors. They develop best if
they are kept in a cool room until the buds are ready to open. It is
also possible to lift a clump of the bulbs in early spring by driving a
spading fork deep into the ground so as not to break off the roots. The
flowers will not be completely satisfactory because they usually close
as soon as the sun stops shining on them.
Pages 134-135
These pages suggest a series of observations that ean be made during
Spring Is Here 81
field trips and during independent observations outside of school.
Find out from a nearby homeowner or from a gardener in a park
where daffodils may be seen pushing from the ground. Then visit the
plants several times and watch their development.
If desired, a few daffodils may be purchased from a greenhouse or
florist so that the children will know ahead of time what will come
from the plants they are watching. It is also possible to pot daffodil
bulbs in the fall, following the directions for the crocus bulbs.
Some schools are landscaped with shrubs around the foundation.
Daffodils may be planted among these shrubs in the autumn and
studied in the spring as they grow.
Encourage the children to look for daffodils at home, in parks, and
in door-yards on the way to school. Use pictures from catalogues to
show some of the forms and colours of daffodils.
Encourage the children to keep picture records of the observations
of these flowers.
Pages 136-137
These pages suggest observations of the developing buds on shrubs
and trees. The children will see leaves beginning to grow on some
twigs and they will see flowers growing on others. Later in the season
they will see both leaves and flowers on the same twigs. Page 136
shows a barberry branch; page 137, a forsythia bush.
As mentioned earlier, it is helpful to bring in twigs of woody plants
and put them in water. Most of the buds will show enough develop-
ment to stimulate the children to increased observations of twigs out-
doors.
Before beginning any forcing of buds in the classroom, it is desirable
to talk over with the pupils the reasons for not breaking off twigs from
shrubs without the consent and advice of the owner of the shrubs.
Pages 138-139
New grass is one of the prominent features of the spring landscape.
In order to see its growth at close hand bring in a piece of sod as de-
scribed here. There should be no difficulty in procuring a piece of
sod; usually a lawn tends to encroach upon flower beds or gardens,
and sod must be trimmed away each spring.
Put the sod in a deep pan of soil and keep it moist. If the air in
the room is very dry cover the pan with a pane of glass. Growth of
grass is usually rapid.
Study the plants that grow in the pan, then go to a lawn and try to
find some of the same plants. Some teachers also like to plant grass
82 Spring Is Here
seed in a pot or pan so that children can see the grass seedlings de-
velop.
A good project at this time is to prepare the soil and seed with grass
any bare spots in the school lawn. This helps to give children a
personal interest in the appearance of their school.
Pages 140-141-142
These three pages dealing with grass are to be treated as discussion
pages except where the local situation permits first-hand observations.
Ask the children to describe their observations of situations like those
in the pictures. Discuss the uses of grass shown here. Encourage the
children to make pictures of animals eating grass and people taking
care of their lawns.
Page 143
People often transplant small plants from greenhouses in their flower
beds and vegetable gardens. Pupils may see this process at home or
on field trips. Try to demonstrate the process to them, showing the
rooted parts of the plants, how the hole is dug, how the plants are
watered, and how the soil is packed firmly about the roots. Perhaps
the class can be taken to a greenhouse to see the small plants ready
for sale.
Pages 144-145
Opportunities for watching birds singing and building nests vary
with local conditions. Birds differ much in their periods of activity,
and therefore trips taken just to see birds may be disappointing. It
is usually more satisfactory to plan trips to see other things, and then
take advantage of opportunities to study birds that are seen.
It is not necessary to name all the birds seen in the field. The chil-
dren can learn the names of a few common and distinctly marked
species. For instance, the robin shown on these pages is easy to recog-
nize. But the song sparrow on page 144 shown singing, and the Eng-
lish sparrows on page 145 building a nest are not so easy for children
to distinguish; they may be treated just as “birds” or “sparrows” until
the children are older.
Follow-up
Observations started in this unit can continue until school is over.
It is not enough just to watch a bud develop into a bloom; it should
also be watched as it withers and falls off. Children may be able to
see a bird build its nest and raise a family. They may have some frog
Spring Is Here 83
eggs and watch them develop. Almost all study of plants and animals
after this unit is completed will be in the nature of follow-up.
Encourage the children to tell about their observations of things
outdoors. Encourage them to take little trips of their own and report
to the class. And encourage them to make pictures that represent
their impressions of what they have seen.
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
Spring comes after winter.
Weather becomes warmer as spring comes.
Plants grow rapidly when spring comes.
Some plants grow from under the ground in spring.
Some plants stay alive above the ground all winter.
Many plants have leaves and flowers.
We use grass around our homes and to feed our animals.
Birds sing and build nests in spring.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Hi, Mister Robin! Alvin Tresselt. Ambassador Books; Toronto, 1950.
26 pages.
The first signs of spring are described in simple text with illustra-
tions.
Spring Is Here. Lois Lenski. Oxford University Press: Toronto, 1945.
48 pages.
A picture book of springtime scenes and activities.
When the Root Children Wake Up. Helen D. Fish. Longmans Green:
Toronto, 1930. 21 pages.
A new edition of a German picture book about spring flowers.
Films
Robin Redbreast. Encyclopaedia Britannica Films.
The stoiy of a robin family from the time of the nest-building
until the young robins can take care of themselves.
Wonders in Your Own Backyard. Ontario Department of Education.
Interesting and simple presentation of common creatures that
children can End in most backyards.
84 Spring Is Here
Recordings
Canadian Bird Songs Album. Cornell University. Thomas Allen:
Toronto.
American Bird Songs — Vol. 2. Comstock. Thomas Allen: Toronto.
Sounds of Nature — Vol. 1. Federation of Ontario Naturalists.
Songbirds of America. Soundbook. Thomas Allen: Toronto.
Watching the Flag
PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
The Canadian flag flying from a flagpole is a part of almost every
school. Besides being a symbol of our nation and appealing to our
patriotic emotions, the flag presents a number of unique teaching pos-
sibilities.
First there is the pulley by which the flag is hoisted to the top of
the pole. Here are possibilities for some lessons in elementary me-
chanics.
The periodic raising and lowering of the flag marks the beginning
and ending of the working day. This presents us with a study in time
measurement.
The flagpole casts a shadow on sunny days but not on cloudy days.
Attention given to this phenomenon involves us in a study of light and
weather.
The shadow of the pole moves throughout the day because the sun
moves across the sky. When pupils notice this they are studying
astronomy.
A flag waves in a breeze or hangs quietly in a calm, thus indicating
wind velocity and wind direction. Again we are studying weather.
The most desirable outcome from this unit is not so much the subject
matter itself but the realization that science deals with the common
Watching the Flag 85
things around us. We need only to look at things with curiosity to
find them interesting and profitable.
PREPARING FOR THE UNIT
This unit has been placed last in the year because some of its con-
cepts require a certain amount of maturity of experience. But it may
be taught at any time with profit.
A flagpole provides nearly all the equipment that is needed. If the
flagpole of the school is not accessible, it may be possible to find one
in the community that is. The teacher should make arrangements
with the proper authority to permit the pupils to raise the flag on one
or more occasions.
The text suggests that pupils also make their own flagpole. A tall
stick, some cord, and an awning pulley are called for. The pulley can
be purchased in a variety store or a hardware store.
List of Materials
An awning pulley
Some heavy cord
A long slender pole for a flagpole
A small Canadian flag for the flagpole
TEACHING THE UNIT
To be most effective, this unit requires frequent short observations
rather than a few long periods of intensive study. It is helpful to have
for several days a few minutes of shadow observations — early in the
morning, at noon, and the last thing in the afternoon. It is helpful to
be able to stop other work for a few minutes to call attention to a
change in the speed or the direction of the wind. An elastic programme
is much to be desired for good science teaching.
Pages 146-147
Begin with a study of the colours of the flag. Let the children make
pictures of the flag, both flat and unfurled on a flagpole.
Study the pictures on these pages. Why is the flag furled? Why
does it stand out instead of hanging down? How many things in the
picture tell you that the wind is blowing? Which way is it blowing?
Watch the school flag to see if it looks the same.
86 Watching the Flaa
o o
Pages 148-149
These pages deal with the flag as a wind indicator. Let the children
discuss the pictures and answer the questions. Then take them to see
the school flag and compare it with the pictures.
If the flag is visible from the classroom make a practice of asking
the class each morning whether the wind is blowing and which way it
is blowing'.
The children need not know compass directions for this work on
winds. They need only indicate direction by pointing.
If they know directions, and if it is felt they can identify winds by
name, remember that a wind is named for the direction from which it
is blowing — in other words, a north wind blows from the north, to-
wards the south.
Pages 150-151
This picture shows a group of pupils putting up the flag. It is an
experience all children should have again and again. They can be
much impressed with the dignity of the occasion and the reverence
paid to the flag.
After the flag has been raised once or twice, call the attention of the
pupils to the pulley at the top of the pole. Show a pulley to the class
so that they can see how it is made. Introduce the term “pulley” and
use it frequently. Look at the picture in the book to see how it is
used. Discuss the advantages of using the pulley at the top of the pole.
Ask the pupils to tell where they have seen pulleys in use.
Pages 152-153
Suggest that the class might make their own flagpole and put up
their own flag every day. Let them study the pictures to see what is
needed.
The pole may be a stick cut in the school shop, or a bamboo fish-
pole, or a straight sapling with the branches trimmed.
The picture in the text shows one way of fastening the pulley at the
top, but the children may think of other ways of fastening it. Perhaps
someone will suggest using a nail or a screw eye. Or someone may
try wrapping wire tightly round the top of the pole, forming a loop.
Fasten the flag to the rope with safety pins.
There are also various ways of holding up the flagpole. The pole
can be set in a pail of sand as shown in the picture. A Christmas tree
holder may be used. But more stable than either of these is a nail keg
full of pebbles. For use outdoors, drive a short length of pipe of the
proper size into the ground and insert the pole into it.
Watching the Flag 87
Pages 154-155
The study of these pages is best carried out early in the morning and
late in the afternoon of the same day. Ask the pupils to look at the
pages and compare the shadows of the flagpole in each. Be sure they
notice that the other shadows in each picture point in the same direc-
tion as the shadow of the flagpole.
Ask them to notice the sun. How did it change?
Does the sun make the shadows? Test the conclusion in various
ways.
Take the children outdoors to note the position of the sun and the
shadows around their own school. Make a mark at the end of the
shadow of the flagpole. Look at the shadow a little later. Has it
moved?
In the afternoon take the children out again and look at the posi-
tions of the sun and shadows.
A single observation of this sort is not enough. Continue them for
several mornings. Mark other shadows besides the flagpole shadows.
Take a trip to find out which rooms are sunny in the morning and
which are sunny in the afternoon. They can find where one would
put a chair to be in the shade in the morning and where to put it to
be in the shade in the afternoon. They should be encouraged to look
for similar things at home.
Pages 156-157
Ask the pupils to read this picture story. Then ask individuals to
tell the story, picture by picture. Be sure they notice such things as
the shadows and the wind direction. Ask them to decide where the
sun is in each picture.
Have them compare the picture story with conditions around their
own flagpole. Let them make picture stories for their own flag and
flagpole.
Follow-up
Continue to keep track of shadows at different times of day. Also
continue to observe the flag to see if the wind is blowing and which
way it is blowing.
POSSIBLE LEARNINGS
Pulleys help us to raise things.
Shadows move throughout the day.
The sun moves across the sky every day.
88 Watching the Flag
Wind makes things move.
Some days there is a wind; some days there is not.
The wind blows from different directions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
How Things Work. Creiehton Peet. George T. McLeod: Toronto,
1941. 115 pages.
Interesting information about elementary mechanics.
Lefs Find Out. Herman and Nina Schneider. S. J. Reginald Saunders:
Toronto, 1946. 38 pages.
Air, heat, weather— a picture science book.
Film
Blow, Wind, Blow. Coronet. Ontario Department of Education:
SG-56.
Designed to develop a background for the understanding of
poems, songs and stories about the wind.
Watching the Flag
89
List of Science Materials
( Class of Thirty Pupils )
QUANTITY ITEM
1
Canadian flag
aquarium plants
1
awning pulley
bottles, assorted
1 box
brads or small nails
1
can opener
cardboard
cardboard cartons
1
celluloid bath-tub toy
cheesecloth
clean sand
cloths
coloured chalk
coloured crayons
coloured paper
cord
drinking glasses
dyes for cloth
eggshells
1 pkg.
fish food
flower pots
1 can
fruit juice
gallon glass jars
garden soil
glass jars
1
hollow rubber ball
2-15
horseshoe magnets
REMARKS
about two feet long
small size
One should be fitted with a
cork.
one-inch length
bayonet type
One for a fishpond (Unit 6).
A toy swan is excellent,
for covering jars
for wiping up water
for use on the flagpole (Unit
12)
Easter egg dyes may also be
used.
These make good individual
seed containers. Dixie
cups may be substituted.
Tin cans may be substituted,
small size, inexpensive brand
Paste-jar type is good.
assorted sizes with screw caps
Alnico magnets preferred.
One magnet for each two
pupils is recommended.
List of Science Materials 91
QUANTITY
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 pkg.
2
2
1
2-3
1
1
1
1
ITEM
REMABKS
house plants
key or long nail
Should be same size. Coleus
is recommended.
long pole
for use as a flagpole (Unit
12)
measuring tape
nail file
nails, assorted
for measuring children’s
height
old newspapers
pail
paint brushes
pans, assorted sizes
paper clips
pond snail
radish seeds
for soaking up water
rectangular aquariums
rubber balloons
rubber bands
About 10" X 10" X 15". Large
glass jars can be substi-
tuted, but are not as satis-
factory.
rubber tube
Three feet long, for use as a
siphon.
scales
for weighing children
seeds, assorted
Bean, corn, and pumpkin are
recommended.
small fish
Goldfish are satisfactory.
small toy boat
soap bubble pipes
spade or spading fork
sponge
A cork may be substituted.
stick
string
tin cans, assorted sizes
water paints
for use as a fish-pole
wrapping paper
A long sheet for making a
frieze.
92 List of Science Materials
General References
for the Teacher
Audubon Nature Bulletins. Prepared and published by the National
Audubon Society, New York. 4 pages each.
These bulletins contain background information on the things of
our natural environment. List sent by the Society upon request.
Cornell Rural School Leaflets. Prepared and published by Cornell
University, Ithaca, New York.
These leaflets contain background information and suggestions
for teaching almost every science topic. Consult the list of titles.
Fieldbook of Natural History. E. Laurence Palmer. McGraw-^Hill:
Toronto, 1949. 664 pages.
Condensed information on a wide variety of plants, animals,
rocks, and minerals.
Golden Treasury of Natural History. Bertha Parker. Musson: To-
ronto, 1952. 216 pages.
Interesting background information for the teacher.
Handbook of Nature Study. Anna B. Comstock. Thomas Allen: To-
ronto, 1939 ed. 937 pages.
Valuable for a general reference and teaching guide. An excellent
source of information on common plants and animals.
Elementary School Science and Hotv To Teach It. Glenn O. Blough
and Albert J. Hugget. Macmillan of Canada, 1951.
Among the main headings are: The Earth and the Universe;
Living Things; Matter and Energy; Conservation of Our Re-
sources; Fire and Prevention; The Behaviour and Habits of
Animals.
Natural Science Through the Seasons. J. A. Partridge. Macmillan of
Canada, Revised Edition, 1955.
A practical and informative text for teachers of Grades I-VI.
Science for the Elementary-School Teacher. Gerald S. Craig. Ginn:
Toronto, 1947. 551 pages.
Background information in a wide variety of science fields to-
gether with specific suggestions for teaching this material.
General References 93
Conservation and Nature Activities. Audubon Society of Canada:
Toronto.
Making and Using Classroom Science Materials in the Elementary
School. Glenn O. Blough and Marjorie H. Campbell. Macmillan of
Canada: Toronto, 1954. 229 pages.
A practical book with descriptions of appropriate activities
including photographs and drawings and carefully prepared lists
of source material.
Film Sources
Coronet Films. Sovereign Film Distributors Limited, 277 Victoria
Street, Toronto.
Eneyclopaedia Britanniea Films. General Films Limited, 18 Bread-
albane Street, Toronto.
Federation of Ontario Naturalists, 187 Highbourne Road, Toronto.
Gateway Produetions Incorporated. Canadian Film Institute, 142
Sparks Street, Ottawa.
Instructional Films. Canadian Film Institute, 142 Sparks Street,
Ottawa.
National Film Board, 71 Bank Street, Ottawa.
Ontario Department of Education, Visual Education Branch, 244 Col-
lege Street, Toronto.
Young Ameriea Films. General Films Limited, 18 Breadalbane Street,
Toronto.
Publishers’ Addresses
Thomas Allen Limited, 266 King Street West, Toronto.
Ambassador Books Limited, 1149 King Street West, Toronto.
Audubon Soeiety of Canada, 181 Jarvis Street, Toronto.
Book Soeiety of Canada Limited, Sheppard Avenue, Agincourt.
Brett-Macmillan Limited, 25 Hollinger Road, Toronto.
The Copp Clark Publishing Company Limited, 517 Wellington Street
West, Toronto.
94 General References
W. J. Gage and Company Limited, 82 Spadina Avenue, Toronto.
Ginn and Company, 1331 Yonge Street, Toronto.
Longmans, Green & Company, 20 Cranfield Road, Toronto.
The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, 70 Bond Street,
Toronto.
McGraw-Hill Company of Canada Limited, 253 Spadina Road,
Toronto.
George J. McLeod Limited, 73 Bathurst Street, Toronto.
Musson Book Company Limited, 103-107 Vanderhoof Avenue, To-
ronto.
National Audubon Society, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York.
Oxford University Press, 480 University Avenue, Toronto.
Random House of Canada Limited, 1149 King Street West, Toronto.
S. J. Reginald Saunders & Company Limited, 266 King Street West,
Toronto.
Smithers & Bonellie Limited, 266 King Street West, Toronto.
The John C. Winston Company Limited, 130 Evans Avenue, Toronto.
General Referenees
95
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EXPLORING
by Walter A. Thurber
Edited by Paul E, Smith
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
OF CANADA LIMITED
TORONTO
EXPLORING SCIENCE SERIES
One ■ Two ■ Three ■ Four Five • Six
READING
CONSULTANT
Linda C. Smith
EDUCATIONAL
CONSULTANT
Dorothy G. Atwater
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
OF CANADA LIMITED
Printed in Canada
Originally published by
ALLYN AND BACON, INC.
Due acknowledgment is made to H. A.
MacGregor, M.S. (Comell), Ed.D. (Oregon
State) , F acuity of Education, University of Alberta,
Edmonton, for his advice in the editing of the
Canadian edition.
Caterpillars ^ 4
Rain ~ 16
An Aquarium ~ 30
Signs of Winter ~ 40
Colours ~ 54
Magnets ~ 68
Air ~ 82
We Are Growing ~ 96
Planting Seeds ~ 110
Things That Float 120
Spring Is Here ~ 132
Watching the Flag ~ 146
Index ~ 158
Illustrated by
Constance Helfron
and
Robert Candy
Caterpillars
/
6
7
8
9
10
2
4
12
14
15
18
19
20
21
22
23
^r///
24
Hy\3^
25
28
29
1‘
1
"
■: /■ ■ i
i
r
1
An Aquarium
31
32
33
35
36
37
3z;:zz
39
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
1
2
51
53
Colours
55
I
58
60
61
62
63
64
65
mm
\ DANGER
/ Men
WOf?K(NG
66
67
Magnets
70
71
m.
Things a magnet
Things a magnet
will pick up
will not pick up
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
Air
84
85
86
89
Air is going out.
Water is going in.
90
Air is going in.
91
Air is not going in.
Juice is not going out.
92
93
Air is going in.
Air is going out.
Air is going in.
94
Air is going in.
95
We Are Growing*
96
97
Our hair is growing.
98
o
99
100
5 years 6 years /years Syears 9 years
Our hands are growing.
101
We have bones.
102
•*. 'I
» I
■' "
I ■' i
-V *5-
Our bones are growing.
103
We grow for many years.
104
How do you know
that you are growing?
Animals grow too.
These are baby animals.
They will grow up.
106
Now they are grown up.
Find them.
107
We need good food
so we can grow.
108
Do baby animals
need good food too?
What do they eat?
109
Planting Seeds
Put soil in an eggshell.
Plant a radish seed in it.
112
Put water on the seed.
A little plant will grow
from the seed.
113
What kinds of seeds
are these people planting?
What kinds of plants
grew from the seeds?
Plant a bean seed.
Watch it grow.
116
This is what happens.
Tell the story.
117
118
119
Things That Float
121
I
I
f
Some things float.
Some things do not float.
122
Which of these things
will float?
Which of these things
will not float?
123
This can floats.
Put some sand in the can
What happens?
This bottle floats.
Put some water in the bottle.
What happens?
1
2
These people
are going for a ride.
126
What happens to the boat?
127
Ned has some toys that float.
There are two holes in one toy.
128
Air goes out.
Water goes in.
What happens to the toy?
129
Some animals can float.
Some plants can float.
130
People can float too.
131
pring Is Here
/ -
‘•J> t A./
132
133
Spring is here.
Look for plants
beginning to grow.
134
Look for flowers
growing from plants.
135
Look for leaves
growing on bushes.
136
/
Look for flowers
growing on bushes.
138
Watch grass grow
from the sod.
Do other plants grow
from the sod?
139
Look for animals
eating new grass.
140
Look for people
cutting new grass.
141
Look for people
raking their grass.
I
142
Look for people
planting gardens.
143
Look for birds singing.
144
Look for birds building nests.
Watching the Flag
r
147
Which way is the wind blowing?
Which way is the wind blowing?
148
Is the wind
blowing?
Watch the flag
at your school.
The children
are putting up
the flag.
Tell how
they put it up.
What is
at the top
of the flagpole?
How does it help
to put up the flag?
You can make
your own flagpole.
152
Then you
can put up
your own flag
every day.
153
*1
■ I
! I
■ii .
It is morning.
Look at the shadow
of the flagpole.
Which way does it point?
154
It is afternoon.
Look at the shadow
of the flagpole.
Which way does it point?
155
These two pages tell a story.
156
Now you tell the story
in your own words.
The Major Topics
Presented in Each Unit
Unit 1 — Caterpillars. How caterpillars live. How cater-
pillars affect plants. What caterpillars become.
*Unit 2 — Rain. How rain is helpful to us. What people do
when it rains. What some animals do when it rains.
Unit 3 — An Aquarium. How to set up an aquarium.
Some plants and animals that live in water. How to care for an
aquarium.
*Unit 4 — Signs of Winter. How we know that winter is
coming. What people do when winter comes. What some
animals do when winter comes.
*Unit 5 — Colours. The colours of things around us. How we
colour things we use. How we use colour for safety.
Unit 6 — Magnets. What magnets can do. Some ways we
use magnets.
Unit 7 — Air. How we know there is air. Some things air
can do. Some ways we use air.
'“'Unit 8 — We Are Growing. How we know that we are
growing. What we need for good growth.
Unit 9 — Planting Seeds. How to plant seeds. What
comes from seeds. Where seeds come from.
*Unit 10 — Things That Float. Some things that float.
Some things that sink. What happens when floating things are
made heavier.
Unit 11 — Spring Is Here. What to look for in spring.
What plants do in spring. What birds do in spring.
Unit 12 — Watching the Flag. What the flag does when
the wind blows. How a pulley helps us. How shadows change
through the day.
These units include health and safety material.
158
Subject Index
The topics covered by Exploring Science One have been
indexed for the convenience of teachers who wish to refer quickly
to specific subjects. Most of the references are to pictures, pic-
tures having been employed in this first book to give information
and directions for activities.
Words that are starred will be found in the reading material
for the children, which begins on page 90. These words represent
the special science vocabulary developed by Exploring Science
One. All other words appearing in the reading material have been
checked against standard word lists for the first grade. The
general reading level is that of the usual primers. A complete
list of the 130 words used in the book is in the Teachers’ Edition.
*air, 82-95, 125, 128-129
aquarium, 30-39, 54-55
automobiles, 16, 56, 64-67
autumn, 40-45
balloon, 94
barberry, 136
*beans, 116-117
*birds, 28-29, 53, 109,
144-145
boats, 120-121, 126-127
*bones, 102-103
bubbles, 82-83, 86, 89-94
buds, 132-137
butterfly, 12-15
canary, 109
cat, 28, 62, 106-107, 109
caterpillar, 4-11, 14
chicken, 28, 106-107
chrysalid, 10-14
clothes
colours of, 58-59
buying, 58, 105
rain, 16-18, 21
warm, 41, 44, 49-50
clouds, 26-28, 156-157
colour, 54-67
cow, 106-107, 140
crocus, 132-133
daffodil, 134-135
dandelion, 118-119
diet, 108-109
dog, 52, 63, 109
duck, 28, 106-107, 130
dye, 58-59
egg, insect, 14
eggshells, 112-113
eyes, 60-63
feathers, 28-29
159
finger, 100-103
fire, 46-47
fireplace, 46
*flag, 146-157
^flagpole, 152
*floating things, 120-131
^flowers, 14-15, 116-119,
130, 132-135, 137
*food, 38, 53, 108-109
forsythia, 137
freezing, 48-49, 51
frog, 130
fuel, 46-47, 49
fur, 52, 62-63
furnace, 47
♦garden, 24-25, 110-111,
114-115, 143
tools, 110, 114, 141-143
goldfish, 30-39, 54-55
♦grass, 138-142
♦growing, 96-119, 132, 143
guinea pig, 63
♦hand, 100-103
♦hair, 60-63, 98
health, 16-17, 41, 44, 108
heat, 45-47, 49-50
horse, 140
ice, 48-51
♦juice, 92-93
♦leaves, 40-44, 136
magnetic fishpond, 80-81
magnetic theatre, 79
magnets, 68-81
melting, 50
♦nails, 99
♦nest, bird, 29, 145
paint, 56-57
pig, 106-107
plants and water, 22-25
pullejs 151-153
rabbit, 52, 62, 106-107
♦radish, 112-113
rain, 16-29
robin, 29, 144
safety, 16-17, 48-49, 64-
67, 120-121, 126-127
♦sand, 32, 39, 124
scales, fish, 37
screens, 45
♦seeds, 110-119
♦shadows, 154-157
sheep, 140
signals, 64-67
sinking things, 122-125
siphon, 34-35, 39
snail, 30-31, 38
snow, 43, 48-50, 52
sod, 138
sparrow, 53, 144-145
♦spring, 132-145
squirrel, 53
storm window, 45
stream, 20-21
sun, 26-28, 154-157
swimming, 121, 130-131
tire, automobile, 95
tracks in snow, 48-49, 52
trees, 40-44, 49
turtle, 130
vegetables, 114-117
♦water, 16-29, 34-35, 48-
51, 82-91, 120-131
water plants, 30-39, 130
weighing, 96-97, 104
♦wind, 44, 148-149, 156
winter, 40-53
woodpecker, 53
160
100
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