Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study Part 11

Which legs are the more useful for hopping? How are the hind legs fitted for making long hops?

Why is the rabbit able to defend itself by kicking with its hind feet?

Find out how the rabbit is fitted for burrowing.

Listen carefully and find out whether the rabbit makes much noise while moving. Of what advantage is it to the rabbit to move silently?

Find out, by examining the feet of the rabbit, what causes it to make very little noise.

How are rabbits prepared for living during cold weather?

Test the ability of the rabbit to hear faint noises. Why is it necessary for the rabbit to be able to hear faint sounds?

How is it fitted for hearing faint sounds?

Examine the teeth and find out how they are fitted for gnawing.

_To the teacher._--The long, strong, hind legs of the rabbit are bent in the form of levers and enable the animal to take long, quick hops.

When the rabbit attacks, it frequently defends itself by vigorous kicks with its hind feet, which are armed with long, strong claws. Ernest Thompson-Seton's story of Molly Cottontail and "Raggylug", in _Wild Animals I Have Known_, contains an interesting account of how Molly rescued Raggy from a snake by this manner of fighting. The rabbit has many enemies, hence it has need of large, movable ears to aid its acute sense of hearing. The thick pads of hair on the soles of its feet enable it to move noiselessly. The thick, soft, inner hair keeps the animal warm, while the longer, stiffer, outer hair sheds the rain.

Impress upon the pupils the cruelty of rough handling of the rabbit and of neglecting to provide it with a place for exercise and with a clean, dry home.

The following pet animals may be studied, using the same order and general method of treatment: pigeon, cat, canary, guinea pig, white mouse, racc.o.o.n, squirrel, parrot.

In many cases these animals can be brought to school by the pupils.

Encourage the keeping of pet animals by the pupils, for the best lessons grow out of the actual care of the pets. The study of a pet bird may be conducted along lines similar to the outline given below for the study of the pigeon.

CORRELATIONS

With literature and reading: Ernest Thompson-Seton's "Raggylug".

With art: Charcoal drawing representing the rabbit in various att.i.tudes, as squatting, listening, hopping.

With modelling in clay or plasticine.

With paper cutting.

With language: The vocabulary of the pupils is enlarged by the introduction of new words whose meaning is made clear by means of the concrete ill.u.s.tration furnished by direct observation of the rabbit.

They use these new words in sentences which they form in describing the rabbit; for example: hutch, gnaw, padded, cleft lip, timid.

The rabbit has padded feet so that it can walk without noise. The rabbit has a soft bed in its hutch.

THE DOMESTIC CAT

The following facts are suggested as topics for a first lesson on the domestic cat. The teacher can rely upon the pupil's knowledge of the cat to furnish these statements of fact during a conversation lesson:

The cat goes about at night as readily as during the day.

The cat can hear faint noises quite readily.

The cat can walk noiselessly.

The cat creeps along until it is close to its prey, then pounces upon it, and seizes it with its claws.

The cat enjoys attention and purrs if it is stroked gently.

The cat likes to sleep in a warm place.

The cat can fight viciously with her claws.

The cat keeps her fur smooth and clean and her whiskers well brushed with her paws.

The cat eats birds, mice, rats, meat, fish, milk, bread, and cake.

DETAILED STUDY

Base the study of the details upon the facts of habit, movements, instincts, etc., which were developed in the preceding lesson.

~Observations.~--Find out how the cat's feet are fitted for giving a noiseless tread.

Find the claws.

How are the claws fitted for seizing prey?

How are the claws protected from being made dull by striking against objects when the cat is walking?

THE PIGEON

A pigeon is kept in a cage in the school-room and the pupils observe: its size as compared with that of other birds; outline of body, including shape of head; the feathers, noting quill feathers, and covering or contour feathers; manner of feeding and drinking; movements, as walking, flying, tumbling.

The owner or the teacher describes the dove-cot, the necessity of keeping it clean, the use of tobacco stems for killing vermin in the nest, the two white eggs, the habits of male and female in taking turns in hatching, the parents' habit of half digesting the food in their own crops and then pouring it into the crops of the young, the rapid growth of the young, the next pair of young hatched before the first pair is full-fledged.

Descriptions of the habits of one or more well-known varieties--pouters, fantails, homing pigeons, etc. Read stories of the training and flights of homing pigeons, from Ernest Thompson-Seton's _Arnex_.

MORE DETAILED STUDY FOR CLa.s.s WORK

Compare the uses of the quill and contour feathers. Find out how these two kinds differ in texture; the differences fitting them for their difference in function. The names quill and contour may be replaced by some simple names, as feathers for flying and feathers for covering the body.

Study the adaptations for flight, noting the smooth body surface, the overlapping feathers of the wing for lifting the bird upward as the wing comes down, the long wing bones, the strong breast, and the covering of feathers giving lightness and warmth. The warmth and lightness of feathers is ill.u.s.trated by the feather boas worn by ladies.

Examine the feet and find out why pigeons are able to perch on trees.

Examine the beak, mouth, tongue, nostrils, eyes, ears. How is the bill adapted for picking up grains and seeds?

OBSERVATION AND CARE OF WINTER-BLOOMING PLANTS

Children are most interested in things which they own and care for themselves. If a child plants a bulb or a slip and succeeds in bringing it to maturity, it will be to him the most interesting and, at the same time, will bring him more into sympathy with plants wherever he may find them. The teacher should impress upon the pupil the desirability of having beautiful flowers in the home in winter, when there are none to be had out-of-doors.