Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study — John Shaqi
Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature StudyOntario. Department of Education
Science
Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study
Ontario. Department of Education
Nature study; Science -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Ontario
This Manual is placed in the hands of the teachers in the hope that the
suggestions which it contains on lesson topics, materials, books of
reference, and methods in teaching will be found helpful to all teachers
and in particular to those who have had little or no instruction in
Nature Study during their academic or professional training.
The first Chapter of the Manual discusses topics which have general
reference to the subject as a whole. The remaining part of the Manual
deals more particularly with the subject in its application to the
different Public and Separate School Forms. While this division of the
matter into Forms is convenient for general classification, it is not to
be regarded as arbitrary. Materials and methods of presentation suitable
for one class of pupils in a certain Form might, under different
conditions, be quite unsuitable for another class of pupils in the same
Form. For example, work which would be suitable for a class in Form I
made up of pupils admitted to a school at seven or eight years of age,
after two years' training in a kindergarten where nature lessons
received special attention, would not be suitable for a Form I class
made up of pupils admitted to a school at five years of age with no such
previous training. In selecting work for any class the teacher,
therefore, should not be guided solely by the arbitrary divisions of the
Manual, but should exercise his own judgment, taking into account his
environment and the attainments of his pupils. To facilitate such a
selection, page references are given in the details of the Course of
Study, which in reality forms a detailed expansion of the Public and
Separate School Course in Nature Study. By means of these references,
the teacher may find, in any department of the subject, typical matter
suited to the development of his pupils.
The numerous type lessons that are contained in the Manual are intended
to suggest principles of method that are to be applied in lessons upon
the same and similar topics, but the teacher is cautioned against
attempting to imitate these lessons. This error can be avoided by the
teacher's careful preparation of the lesson. This preparation should
include the careful study of the concrete materials that are to be used.
The books, bulletins, etc., that are named in the Manual as references
will be found helpful.
To facilitate teaching through the experimental and investigation
methods, special attention has been given to the improvising of simple
apparatus from materials within the reach of every teacher.
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