THE TREE-DWELLERS

The test of a book is the service it can render. The character of the service demanded by it is determined by the needs of those to whom it is devoted. This book was not written for the child of five or six years, although children of that age have shown an interest in it. The child of five or six is absorbed in the activities of his own home and his immediate environment. His own neighborhood may well constitute the chief source from which to draw the subject-matter in these early years. Even though many of the processes that he observes are complex, it matters little to the child at this time; for so easily do they lend themselves to dramatic play that they cause him little difficulty. The child at this time, therefore, has no need of this book.

But there comes a time when the ideal and the real world begin to separate. No longer content with a “make-believe” process, and unable to control the complex processes of modern life, he feels a need that cannot be satisfied by the resources of his neighborhood alone. There is need of looking elsewhere in order to find experiences that are sufficiently related to his spontaneous activities to enlist his attention, and sufficiently related to what is best in the society in which he lives to form legitimate subject-matter for this period of development. The materials which constitute the subject-matter of this book have been selected and arranged with reference to the needs of the child at such a time. It is the child of six and a half or seven years for whom this book is intended.

Were it not true that so many books that are written for children have little regard for real facts, it would seem unnecessary to state that in no case has material been introduced into this book which cannot be justified by reference to a recognized authority in anthropology, paleontology, or geology. The story-form by means of which these facts are conveyed is merely a literary device for bringing home to the child the truth that has thus far been ascertained regarding the fundamental steps in the development of our industrial and social institutions.

The portrayal of the situation which caused our early forefathers to rob birds’ nests and kill young animals will no doubt shock the sentimentalist who orders eggs or veal as a matter of course. There might be good ground for his feeling were there not present in the child the instinct to do similar deeds even though living under social conditions that do not justify such acts. Any one who will take the trouble to recall his own childhood, or to make the acquaintance of children of six and a half or seven years, will realize that such instincts are present, and that they must find expression in one form or another. Is it wise to ignore the facts of the case and allow the child to form the habit of gratifying his blind instincts, or shall we recognize the situation and meet it with all the wisdom at our command? Is it not the better plan to tell the child frankly of the way in which people lived at the time when they did what he would like to do now, and lead him to discover the changes that have taken place that lead us to disapprove of actions which, under different conditions, were considered good?

The teacher who knows that she has good ground for her convictions is not afraid to look upon a question from all sides. The fact that the teacher is willing to look at a question from the child’s point of view is a means of establishing sympathetic relations between her and the child, who thus becomes willing to look at the question from the teacher’s point of view. A sounder morality can be developed by honestly facing the facts with the child and by 134 giving him the benefit of a broader experience, than by leaving him to face the situation alone in the light of but part of the facts. The problems with which the child at this time is grappling are so similar in character to those of the race during the early periods of its development that they afford the child a rich background of experience suited to his own needs. The successful solution of these problems is as important with reference to the development of the individual to-day as then in determining the welfare of the race. A firm basis for the development of the intellectual, the moral, and the physical life can thus be laid at this time by a wise use of the experiences of the race when it was laying the foundations upon which our civilization rests. It must be remembered that there is as wide a difference between the real situation in the hunting life and the scenes depicted in this book as there is between the real attitudes of primitive people and those of the child, which are idealized forms of the same attitudes.* The child would shrink in terror from the real conflict. His interest is in the dramatized form. If this dramatic interest of the child is satisfied, it can be made to pay tribute to the sciences and the arts. If it is ignored or repressed, it is liable to find expression in acts of cruelty.

* See Katharine E. Dopp, “Some Steps in the Evolution of Social Occupations,” The Elementary School Teacher, May and September, 1903. The University of Chicago Press.

METHOD

The subject-matter is presented with the view of economizing the energy of the teacher as well as that of the child. The attempt has been made to base each lesson upon the experience of the child or at least upon that which he may be enabled to experience if he has not yet done so. This experience is so treated as to secure problems for advance thought. The purpose of “Things to Think About” is to awaken the inquiring attitude. It is at this point of the lesson that the child is given the opportunity he prizes so highly of telling what he has seen, heard, or done. Here he meets 135 with the new problems which compel him to reconstruct his experiences. The printed questions, which map out the main features in the development of the lesson, should be discussed freely. Care should be taken to avoid mechanical answers. It is much better to leave questions unsettled, or to leave the subject with several different solutions that the different children have worked out, than it is to secure uniformity by imposing upon the child the judgment of the teacher or of the author of the text. In case of a necessary delay in answering a question on account of a lack of related experience, the teacher should use the means that are available for supplying the child with the necessary experience. If the printed questions are discussed before the story is read there will be less danger of a mechanical use of the book than might arise from the habit of reading the story first and making answers to the questions so as to fit the story.

The Story. The function of the story is to supply the child with racial experiences that will enrich his own more narrow personal experience. It is not intended merely to please but to present facts in a form which the child can understand. By using the simple form of a sequence of sentences, each sentence standing by itself, less difficulty is presented to the child in reading than if the paragraph form had been employed. The greater ease with which the young child reads this style, together with the fact that the rhythm in a majority of the stories is of a character in keeping with the subject, and readily appreciated by the child, seem to justify the use of this style for a few months of the child’s life.

Things to Do. The teacher should use her judgment in regard to how many of these suggestions it is best to carry out in the school hours. In schools where little work has yet been done in pantomime, drawing, modeling, and other kindred modes of activity, it will probably be the better plan to have many of the suggestions carried out in hours of play. If the teacher takes an interest in what the child does outside of school hours as well as in what he does in regular recitation and work periods, and if she utilizes the 136 experiences of the child that are gained in informal ways, she will have no difficulty in securing the heartiest coöperation in the work of the school. Where constructive work has already been introduced, the teacher will have no difficulty in selecting from the suggested activities those that are best adapted to her purpose. She should always feel free to substitute for any of the printed suggestions others that may more nearly meet the needs of the child in the locality in which she lives.

TYPICAL MODES OF ACTIVITY

“If there is one principle more than another upon which all educational practice, not simply education in art, must base itself, it is precisely in this: that the realization of an idea in action through the medium of movement is as necessary to the formation of the mental image as is the expression, the technique, to the full play of the idea itself.” —John Dewey.

Gesture and Pantomime. The muscular sense is the foundation sense from which all the others have been derived. Perceptions through sight and hearing are uncertain, often requiring to be verified by the use of the muscular sense or even by the use of smell or taste. Knowledge gained through the use of sight and hearing may be superficial; that which comes through the use of the muscular sense is wrought into the very fiber of one’s being.

Among the more simple modes of using the muscular sense are gesture and pantomime. They are within the reach of every teacher. They require no materials. A worthy idea and the desire to communicate it are the essential conditions for profitable work. Gesture and pantomime are too powerful tools in education to be used carelessly. The teacher should aid the child in discovering the real motive which animated the character to be represented. She should appeal to the best in the child. In so doing she will be able to use gesture and pantomime in such a way as to transform activities, which when undirected are liable to degenerate into vicious habits, into activities of great moral significance.

Teachers who have tried gesture and pantomime as a preparatory step to other modes of activity have found it invaluable as a means of securing a genuine growth of imagery and free expression in a variety of forms.

Play. It is now well known that many of the child’s spontaneous plays are idealized reproductions of the serious activities of primitive people. It is possible to make a much larger use of these plays than has yet been made. It is hoped that the suggestions that are scattered throughout the pages of this and the succeeding volumes of this series will enable the teacher to make a large use of this most important educational force.

Sand Modeling. Almost every child has had experience in sand modeling before coming to school. The part of the teacher is to enable him to make use of this habit with reference to new ends. One who has not learned through experience the value of this art is scarcely in a position to realize what a stimulus it is to the growth of definite images of geographical forms. When based upon observation, as it always should be, it is unsurpassed as a mode of developing and communicating adequate conceptions of topographical features. Sand pans should be provided so that there will be at least one pan for every two children. If each child can have a pan, the conditions will be still more favorable. Whether sand pans are available or not, every primary school-room should be supplied with a large sand box—two or three if there is room for them. Excellent results have been attained in many schools by modeling typical areas and representing in a graphic way the life of the place. If the sand box is lined with zinc, rivers and lakes may be represented with ease. In case there is no zinc lining, water may be represented by the use of tin foil, or by glass which may be laid in the bottom of the box, leaving only such portions uncovered as are needed in order to represent the water. Moss, twigs, grass, stones, toy animals—all help to make the scene more lifelike. By sprinkling the sand with lime water it hardens so as to keep its shape for a long time.

Clay Modeling. Although clay does not respond so quickly to the touch as sand, it preserves its shape more easily. The more skill that the teacher has in clay modeling the more freedom she will feel in the work, but she should not hesitate to make use of this mode of expression even though she has to learn with the child. The aim is not so much to secure finish in details, or a result similar to that reached by other people, as it is to secure the growth of the image and freedom in expression. Only by leading the child to compare the result of his work with the image in his mind does the image grow. By so doing, and by referring to the real object when present, the child gradually gains control over this mode of acquiring and communicating ideas.

It costs but little to supply a class with clay, for the same material may be used again and again. It is desirable, however, to have a sufficient supply to permit the preservation of the best work for some time. Clay may be bought ready mixed at art stores and in kindergarten supply stores. The common gray clay costs two or three cents a pound. Artists’ clay costs five cents a pound. A cheaper kind can be obtained of manufacturers of sewer pipes. The teacher will find suggestions regarding the use of clay in Frye’s Child and Nature, pp. 36-8; Kellogg’s Forty Lessons in Clay Modeling; Prang’s Art Instruction in Primary Schools, First Year, pp. 27-39, Second Year, 32-43; and in Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith’s Froebel’s Occupations, pp. 32-43. Excellent articles illustrated by the work of children appear in The University Elementary Record, which is published by the University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Basketry. The materials of which baskets are made are less pliable than clay or sand, yet the child of seven is able to manipulate some of them. Where possible he should be encouraged to exploit his environment in the search for raw materials that are adapted to this purpose. In many localities tough grasses, willows, rushes, or other pliable materials are present, and even though the child finds little that is adapted to the purpose, the mere search for 139 materials enables him to appreciate the value of the commercially prepared ones and aids him in picturing these materials in their raw state. The pleasant days of autumn should be used for collecting such supplies as are available at that time. These may be prepared for use and stored until they may be needed later in the year. If the child makes a ball of braided grass he will find many ways of using it later in making baskets, mats, cradles, sandals, or anything which he may choose to make of it.

Where natural materials cannot be obtained, commercially prepared ones may be substituted. Raffia, uncolored or colored with vegetable dyes, rattan reeds, and splints may be obtained wherever kindergarten supplies are kept, as well as in large seed stores and in most of the department stores in large cities. Of the many books that are appearing upon the subject probably none is more suggestive with reference to the significance of the art than George Wharton James’s Indian Basketry, and none more helpful with reference to mastering the processes than Mary White’s How to Make Baskets.

Drawing and Painting. Since these arts were originally derived from gesture language, it is not strange that gesture and pantomime are the best means of preparing the child for these modes of communication. The child who has difficulty in expressing his image by means of drawing and painting should be given the opportunity to experiment by means of pantomime until his image has become so clear that he can express it in a less real way. Few children fail to draw and paint reasonably well when afforded this opportunity that should be denied to none. In order to secure the best results the teacher should be careful not to repress spontaneity by criticising too severely; on the other hand she should induce the child to make such comparisons of his work with his image and with the object when present, as to prevent the formation of careless habits of work. Although water colors are used in some schools, such materials present more difficulties than it seems worth the while for the child to encounter. More satisfactory results have 140 thus far been reached by the use of blackboard crayon, colored crayon, and charcoal.

Language. When the child talks about what he has experienced, his language is almost invariably simple and direct. The lessons in this book afford ample opportunity for the use of the fundamental forms of language in communicating actual experience. Many of the stories may well be supplemented by stories that the child tells himself. Care should be taken, however, to keep the child within the limits of what was possible during the age to which his story refers. Much benefit is derived from allowing the children of the class to dramatize a story after they have read it and represented it by means of pantomime. Although there is ample room for written work, it is oral rather than written language that should receive emphasis at this time.

Field Lessons. The geographical phases of the work are referred to so frequently throughout the text as well as under the special suggestions for each lesson, that little need be added at this time except to emphasize the fact that the teacher should make use of every opportunity to cultivate in the child an intelligent interest in his natural environment. Perhaps nothing will contribute more toward developing this interest than field lessons. The value of these lessons will depend upon whether an adequate motive is aroused in the child for taking the trip and upon whether he is given the opportunity to make use of the experience gained in a practical way. There are schools in crowded quarters of large cities where it does not yet seem practicable to take an entire class out on a field lesson. But it is always feasible to make use of informal observations that the child makes from day to day as well as the results of trips that have previously been taken by some members of the class. During the time that this book is used it is hoped that at least two or three of the following field trips or excursions may be made:

1. To uncultivated spots on hillsides, in the woods, and on natural meadows to find—

2. To a brook or river to find—

3. To a circus to see the wild animals, so as to be better able to realize what the animals that lived when the Tree-dwellers did were like.

4. To a farm to find—

5. To a gravel bed or stone quarry to find—

SUPPLEMENTARY FACTS

The child asks many questions, some of which are difficult to answer. Since what has been ascertained regarding the period during which the Tree-dwellers lived is not contained in books that are generally available, it has seemed best to present at this time such summarized statements as will furnish the teacher with the facts that she may need.

ANIMAL LIFE

Extinct Species. Among the animals of the mid-Pleistocene period that have since become extinct were the Irish deer; the big-nosed, the small-nosed, and the woolly rhinoceros; the mammoth; the cave-bear; and a sabre-toothed felis (Machairodus latidens), sometimes, though incorrectly, referred to as the cave-tiger.

The Rhinoceros. The big-nosed and the small-nosed rhinoceros came to western Europe from the south. The former came the earlier and stayed until the late Pleistocene period, when the later cavemen hunted the reindeer. During this period it became extinct. As the climate became severe, both species may have migrated south each winter. It would have been possible, however, for them to remain, for they were well adapted to a cold climate. It is interesting to know that many of our popular tales of dragons originated in connection with the discoveries of the huge bones of these creatures, which could be accounted for in no other way.

Our information regarding these creatures is exceedingly meager. They are characterized as dull-witted creatures with dim eyesight, exceedingly impulsive and dangerous. They rarely attacked other animals, for they lived upon vegetable food; but if they were molested they were formidable creatures. At such times they would root up young trees with their tusks, and pierce and rend the bodies of their most powerful assailants. A full grown rhinoceros was seldom attacked by even a mammoth or the 143 sabre-toothed felis. Its thick skin served as an impervious shield, protecting it from the most powerful blows of the fiercest animals. It is quite probable that packs of hyenas and wolves learned to take advantage of precipices, and that they frightened the rhinoceros over the brink, thus disabling him so that he became an easy prey.

The woolly rhinoceros came down from the north during mid-Pleistocene times and was protected from the cold by a fine inner coat which resembled wool, and a coarse hairy outer coat. This species was abundant until the close of the Pleistocene period, when it became extinct. What is stated above with reference to the characteristics of the rhinoceros applies equally well to this species.

Very little has been written concerning these extinct species that is satisfactory for the teacher’s use. Brief accounts can be found in Hutchinson’s Extinct Monsters, p. 225; in Stanley Waterloo’s The Story of Ab, p. 71; and in an article by E. D. Cope on “Extinct American Rhinoceroses,” in The American Naturalist, Vol. XIII., 771a.

The Mammoth. Professor Owen, the eminent paleontologist, writes: “The mammoth is better known than most extinct animals by reason of the discovery of an entire specimen preserved in the frozen soil of a cliff at the mouth of the river Lena in Siberia. The skin was clothed with a reddish wool, and with long black hairs. It is now preserved at St. Petersburg, together with the skeleton.”

The mammoth was not so large as it has sometimes been pictured. The largest was not more than thirteen feet high, and many were not higher than nine or ten feet. Its body was heavier than that of the elephant, and its legs were shorter. It had enormous tusks, which it is thought were sometimes used as crowbars in rooting up young trees in order to get the branches for food. It is thought that several mammoths coöperated in this work. Professor Owen writes: “The tusks of the extinct Elephas primigenius, or mammoth, have a bolder and more extensive curvature than those 144 of the Elephas Indicus. Some have been found which describe a circle, but the curve being oblique, they thus clear the head, and point outward, downward, and backward. The numerous fossil tusks of the mammoth which have been discovered and recorded may be ranged under two averages of size, the larger ones at nine feet and a half, the smaller at five feet and a half in length. The writer has elsewhere assigned reasons for the probability of the latter belonging to the female mammoth, which must accordingly have differed from the existing elephant of India, and have more resembled that of Africa, in the development of her tusks, yet manifesting an intermediate character of smaller size. Of the tusks assigned to the male mammoth, one from the newer tertiary deposits in Essex measured nine feet ten inches in length, and two feet five inches in circumference at its thickest part.” Mammoth tusks are collected in Siberia as an article of commerce. The ivory is little altered.

From the examination of the contents of the stomach of a mammoth that was found frozen in a marsh it has been proved that the mammoth ate not only the buds, cones, and tender branches of trees, but the wood itself. Professor Owen shows that the mammoth was independent of the seasons on account of being able to live upon such a diet. The teeth of the mammoth, one of which weighs seventeen pounds, were well adapted to grinding food that was hard and tough.

The Cave-Bear. The cave-bear differed from the grizzly of to-day chiefly in its greater size and strength. An interesting story of the cave-bear is found in Stanley Waterloo’s The Story of Ab, Chapter XXII. Ernest Thompson Seton’s “Biography of a Grizzly,” in The Century Magazine, Vol. LIX., pp. 27-40, will be interesting to read in this connection.

The Sabre-toothed Felis (Machairodus latidens). This animal has usually been spoken of as the cave-tiger, but Professor W. Boyd Dawkins has shown that it was no more closely allied to the tigers than to other felines, and that “the very tempting name of ‘sabre-toothed 145 tiger’ must therefore be given up as implying a relationship that does not exist. It differs from the genus Felis in the enormous development of the serrated upper canines, as well as the presence of a third lobe on the sectorial edge of the upper premolar.” It was a peculiarly destructive animal, its teeth being described as “uniting the power of a saw with that of a knife.” The canine tooth of this animal is the most perfect instrument for piercing and dividing flesh known. It belonged to the southern group of mammalia; and, as the winters became cold, it probably migrated each fall. Although it was never abundant it was much feared. Remains of similar animals have been found in the United States mingled with the bones of the mammoth.

Living Species. Of the living species there were present in mid-Pleistocene times, the brown bear, the grizzly bear, the wolf, the fox, the stag, the roe, the urus or the wild-ox, the aurochs or European bison, the hippopotamus, the horse, the wild boar, the beaver, the water rat, the lion, sometimes spoken of as the cave-lion and being the same species as the Felis leo of to-day, the lynx, the panther or leopard, the wild cat, the spotted hyena, the otter, the musk sheep, and the marmot. No animal was domesticated at this time.

The Urus. The urus, which is the representative of the wild cattle of this period, is the ancestor of our long-horned cattle, and should be distinguished from the short-horned cattle that appear in western Europe in the prehistoric period in a domesticated state. The wild bulls were formidable antagonists when enraged. It is thought by some that the Chillingham cattle are descendants of the urus. The color of the urus is not known. Some think that it was white, but others doubt that the species would have been able to survive with such a conspicuous covering. On account of their fear of the beasts of prey the wild cattle probably kept under cover of the trees during the day and went out to the grassy uplands only when darkness came on. The feeding grounds of the grass-eating animals determined the haunts of the beasts of 146 prey. When wild cattle are attacked, the larger animals in the herd surround the younger and weaker so as to present a wall of horns to the assailant. This habit is not peculiar to wild cattle, but is quite characteristic of all grass-eating animals.

The Wild Horse. The steps in the evolution of the horse are stated so fully in the text that it is not necessary to repeat them here. Almost any good text in geology gives the same facts. It should be remembered that horses with more than one toe on each foot did not live when the Tree-dwellers did, but during earlier periods. The teacher who wishes to read further regarding the wild horse will find materials in the Century Dictionary under horse, in Chambers’ Encyclopedia, in H. N. Hutchinson’s Creatures of Other Days, in N. S. Shaler’s Domesticated Animals, and in McClure’s Magazine, Vol. 15, p. 512.

The Musk Sheep. The appearance of the musk sheep in western Europe during the mid-Pleistocene period marked the change that was beginning to take place in the climate. As the climate increased in severity all the arctic species came down from the north and occupied the land during the late Pleistocene period. The musk sheep is the most arctic in its habits of any of the herbivores, and at the present time is restricted to the high latitudes of North America. It thrives in desolate, treeless, barren grounds, not even being driven from its haunts by the extremest cold. It is closely allied to the species which is the parent of our domestic sheep, although that species did not appear in western Europe until prehistoric times. The musk sheep goes in herds of from twenty to thirty individuals, and when alarmed the animals huddle together like frightened sheep. Its food is grass, lichens, moss, and tender shoots of the willow and pine. It is much sought after for its skin, which makes a fine robe. It is sometimes known as the musk ox and occasionally as the musk bison.

Plant Life. The characteristic trees of the mid-Pleistocene period were evergreen. Of these the most abundant forms were the spruce, the fir, and the yew tree. The trees which shed their 147 foliage were represented by the oak and the birch. The banks of rivers were shaded by thickets of laurel and by the sloe, the original form of the wild plum tree. The marshes afforded rich pastures for grass-eating animals as well as hiding-places, for they were partly covered by a heavy growth of alders. Wild peas, beans, stringy-rooted carrots, ruta-bagas, and turnips grew on the hillsides. The cabbage with its thick leaves, which had not yet developed into a head, was present. Seeds of grasses were available, but not used, for man had not yet learned to gather them and convert them into nourishing food. The teacher may be interested in referring to Candolle’s Origin of Cultivated Plants and Darwin’s Plants and Animals Under Domestication.

SPECIAL SUGGESTIONS

If possible read the entire book, including the preface, carefully before beginning the work. If in addition to this you can read parts of the following books and articles, do so; for in this way it will be easier to grasp the full significance of the work.

References: Katharine E. Dopp, The Place of Industries in Elementary Education, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press; “Some Steps in the Evolution of Social Occupations,” I., II., III., IV. The Elementary School Teacher, Chicago, December, 1902, January, March, and April, 1903; “A New Factor in the Elementary School Curriculum,” The American Journal of Sociology, Chicago, September, 1902. Dewey and Runyon, The University Elementary Record, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.

Lesson I. The child has the right to know what the book that he is beginning to read deals with. This lesson is an attempt to answer the question that naturally comes to his mind when opening the book. It is hoped that it will serve as a means of enabling the child to gain a clearer insight into the practical activities presented in the following pages than would be possible without a consciousness of the goal toward which they tend. Although this 148 lesson embodies a great deal of the philosophy of life, it is a philosophy that the child needs and one which he can readily understand when presented in a simple form, and when related to his own experience. Unless it arouses questions from the child it may be passed over somewhat superficially at first, but referred to again and again as occasions for its use present themselves.

Assist the child to get the real thought from the lesson by conversing with him and encouraging him to converse with his parents and friends regarding the way in which they lived when they were children, and the improvements that have been made since then. Find out from what countries the forefathers of the children of the class came originally, and something of the way that they lived before they came to this country. In this way the child will gradually see that what we have, and what we know, we owe largely to the efforts of our forefathers who have lived and worked for many long ages. If you can get the child to gain even a slight appreciation of the privileges that he enjoys, and a respect for honest labor, you will be doing a much-needed work.

This lesson should not be passed without noticing the meaning of these three sentences: “Each animal knew how to do one thing well. But the people could do a great many things. They could remember, too, what had happened before.” These three sentences contain the key to man’s superiority over the brutes. Man at this time had a mind, but he was only beginning to use it. We have no other ground for thinking ourselves superior to our forefathers, the Tree-dwellers, than this: We live at a time when it is possible to take advantage of what has been accomplished during many long ages. Were we deprived of the opportunities thus presented, we should find it difficult to account for any superiority.

Reference: Katharine E. Dopp, The Place of Industries in Elementary Education, pp. 16-24.

Lesson II. The two questions raised serve to show the child that the Tree-dwellers needed some of the things that we need. We feel the need of much that they did not have, but we, as well 149 as the Tree-dwellers, need food the most of all. Next to food we feel the need of shelter, clothing, and means of protection.

The child is ready to understand that Sharptooth is a woman who differs from women to-day chiefly in the fact that she did not have as good an opportunity to learn. Help him to be alert to see the admirable traits in Sharptooth’s character. If he wishes to have her described, tell him that she was shorter and probably more thick-set than women of to-day; that she probably walked with a bend at the knee; that her forehead sloped backward; that her jawbones were large and strong, her chin small, and that probably her hair was a reddish color. These points were omitted from the lesson because they are not regarded as essential, and their introduction might lead to many questions which the teacher ought not to be expected to be able to answer. They are added here as a help to the teacher who may be questioned concerning these points. Should the teacher desire further information on this subject, she will find it in the references given below.

In places where it is impossible for the children to go to an uncultivated place, the teacher may substitute for the suggestions at the close of the lesson other work. But she should in some way give the child an idea of grassy plains, wooded hills, and dense forests. Unless he has such an experience as this he will not be able to deal with the problem of finding a place where the Tree-dwellers might have lived. The teacher’s problem at the close of this lesson is the one that constitutes the central thought of the next two lessons. It is this: How can the child get such an experience as will enable him to select a place where the Tree-dwellers might have lived? In these days of cheap transportation there are few schools where it is not possible for some of the children to visit places that are sufficiently wild to answer the purpose. By making use of such experiences of the children in uncultivated places as they have or they can easily get, and by supplementing these by means of pictures, stories, and sand modeling, very satisfactory results can be obtained.

References: Katharine E. Dopp, The Place of Industries in Elementary Education, pp. 18, 19, 126, 127; “Some Steps in the Evolution of Social Occupations,” The Elementary School Teacher, January, 1903.

Lesson III. The problem of this lesson has already been stated. The questions at the beginning of the lesson serve to help the child to interpret what he has observed, or what has been illustrated to him. The scene of this lesson need not be definitely located in space, for this book is a generalized account of progress, not a description of a particular locality. Should the teacher need assistance in getting a more adequate notion of a river valley, she will do well to read the following references, as well as the chapters on river valleys in any good textbook on geography or physiography.

References: N. S. Shaler, First Book in Geology, pp. 1-4; Frye, Brooks and Brook Basins. Aspects of the Earth, chapter on “River Valleys.”

Winchell, Walks and Talks in a Geological Field.

Rollin D. Salisbury and Wallace W. Atwood, The Geography of the Devil’s Lake Region, Wisconsin, pp. 36-58.*

Note. This pamphlet may be obtained by writing to Professor E. A. Birge, State University, Madison, Wis., and enclosing thirty cents. It is Bulletin No. 5, Educational Series No. 1.

R. S. Tarr, Elementary Physical Geography, pp. 262-82.

Lesson IV. This lesson serves merely to bring out the striking contrasts that the geographical features mentioned in the last lesson present. The child can readily see why it was necessary for Sharptooth to swing from branch to branch instead of walking on the ground.

Lesson V. Although the father was always more or less attached to the primitive group, it was the mother and child that constituted the original family. Not until the development of the patriarchal system in the pastoral stage of culture was the relation of the father recognized as of as great importance as that of the mother.

The data from which the part of the story that deals with the way in which Sharptooth carried her baby was constructed was derived from the practices of contemporary tribes in the lowest stages of culture. It is a well-known fact that all young infants during the first few hours after birth possess the power to grasp and to hang suspended by the hands for several minutes.

References: Loria, Economic Foundations of Society, p. 87.

Thwing, The Primitive Family.

C. N. Starcke, Primitive Family in its Origin and Development.

G. L. Gomme, “The Primitive Human Horde,” Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. XVII., pp. 118-33; “The Evolution of the Family,” Popular Science Monthly, Vol. XI., p. 257.

Ch. Letourneau, The Evolution of Marriage and the Family.

Lesson VI. This lesson is important as marking the beginning of the textile industry. Undoubtedly the motive that prompted the first weaving was the love of the mother for her child, and her desire to keep it safe from harm. The materials were inevitably such as the immediate environment could afford—vines, slender branches, or other fibrous plants. The process at first must have been crude, but savage women very early developed a skill in basketry that we are not able to find among civilized peoples. By encouraging the child to think of the different articles that he uses that were made by weaving, and by examining the beauty of the work, he will be prepared to grasp something of the significance of the simple act of Sharptooth, which was an expression of the same kind of mother love which he enjoys, but which he accepts as a matter of course.

Explain to the child that the Tree-dwellers did not have such music as we have. But mothers as they held their babies in their arms would gently sway back and forth, uttering a soothing sound. The little girls will no doubt enjoy making such a lullaby in their hours of play.

Lesson VII. If no child in the class knows what kind of banks a river has at the drinking-places, and if there is no opportunity to 152 go to a brook or river to find out, do not state that the banks are low. The fact presented in that way would be almost devoid of meaning. But let the child model a river valley in the sand box or out on the playground showing steep banks in places and in others banks that slope gently. Then let him think of a herd of cattle feeding on the hillsides. The cattle need water. Suppose that they come up to the steep banks. Can they reach the water? How can the cattle get down to the stream? When the cattle have found a good drinking-place will they be apt to come to it again? By means of such questions as these the child can picture the conditions and the relation of living creatures to them. Such knowledge as this means something to him. He need not try to remember it, for it is his.

Give the child plenty of time in reading the short sentences that picture the cattle in the stream to allow him to actually see the different steps in the process. By considering each point by itself, but yet in relation to the preceding step, the child can get a vivid picture. (For information concerning the wild cattle, see The Urus, p. 145.)

Lesson VIII. This lesson is introduced to give the child a faint suggestion of the struggle for existence among wild animals. It also suggests something of the dangers to which the Tree-dwellers were exposed. Pass lightly over these dark pictures and emphasize the fact that it was possible even in those times for Sharptooth and her baby to sleep safe from harm. In contrast to this wild life let the children draw pictures that will illustrate the security and comfort of their own homes.

Lesson IX. If possible let the child visit a cave; if not, he may take advantage of the tiny streams that may be seen everywhere after a heavy rain or during the thawing of snow. A careful examination of such a miniature stream will enable the child to get all the experience he needs in order to understand the geographical phase of this lesson.

Do not try to teach the child much more than he can observe 153 regarding the way in which caves were formed. A much better opportunity to teach him this lesson is presented later.

Ask the child why Sharptooth dipped up the water with her hand. Do not be discouraged if some child thinks that she might have used a tin dipper. It is only by discovering the misconceptions of the child that we are able to correct them.

The language of the Tree-dwellers was probably in a very undeveloped state. That fact is merely suggested in the story.

Lessons X. and XI. The first of these lessons conveys the truth that people have taken many suggestions from animals in order to better their condition in life. This does not imply that man is inferior to the animal, but merely that he is inferior in some one respect, or that he depends less upon instincts and thus has a greater need of training. If the child learns at this early stage that there is no person or no creature too insignificant to teach him something, he will have learned one of the most valuable lessons in life. The child may not be able to tell why the wild hog has lost its tusks, but he will enjoy thinking about it. He can observe or find out in other ways that the domesticated hog no longer has them, and by comparing the difference in the mode of life of the animal in the wild and in the domestic state he can see that the wild hog needed tusks and used them, while the domestic hog of to-day does not have them. Children are so keen in their thought that they can soon get the relation that exists between the use of an organ and the state of its development. This point, introduced here, paves the way for the lesson of the wild horse.

Let the children represent by pantomime the way in which the wild hogs protected their young.

Lesson XII. The only point that is liable to need explanation here is the fact that Sharptooth required Bodo to take care of himself when he was only a child. This can be more easily understood if it is taken into consideration that mothers frequently had another child to take care of at that time, and so of necessity 154 were obliged to let the older child take care of himself. The fact that Sharptooth took pains to teach Bodo all that she knew, and that she left him only when he was able to take care of himself, justifies the act sufficiently. The slow development of father love is less easy to explain and will not be attempted at this time.

Lesson XIII. Read the general suggestions, pages 133 and 134, before attempting to teach this lesson.

Lesson XIV. Supplement this lesson by facts which the child has observed regarding bees, or by pictures and stories that are almost universally available.

Lesson XV. Wild horses usually associate in large herds sometimes numbering several hundred. This large herd is subdivided into several smaller herds, each of which is led by the handsomest and strongest stallion of the group. The younger and smaller horses keep on the outskirts of the herd.

If the paper animals which the children cut are mounted in groups upon the blackboard or on a large sheet of manilla paper it will greatly add to the vividness of the child’s image. (See The Wild Horse, p. 146.)

Lessons XVI. and XVII. The fact that we possess the records which reveal the story of the evolution of the wild horse while the complete account of many other species is not yet made, accounts for the frequent allusions to the horse when discussing the history of physical development. Read the suggestions here offered and as much of the suggested reading as possible before teaching this lesson. Notice that the four-toed horse the size of a fox lived not when the Tree-dwellers did, but at a much earlier period. It is not necessary for the child to get a clear conception of the time required for the changes pictured in these lessons. No adult can have a perfect conception of this. But even the child can get an idea of development, of change, which will prevent the formation of such static conceptions of life as are still only too prevalent in many of our institutions of learning. (For further information regarding the wild horse, see p. 146.)

Lessons XVIII. and XIX. Before the child is able to use tools, he deals with objects through a direct use of the various organs of his body. No better preparation can be given the child for an intelligent use of tools and machinery than to let him practice a great variety of activities that furnish him with the muscular sensations necessary to interpret the more complex processes.

Encourage the child to collect natural forms in wood, stone, bone, horn, shells, and other materials that may be available, and preserve the best of them, thus forming the nucleus of an industrial museum.

References: Katharine E. Dopp, The Place of Industries in Elementary Education, pp. 19-21, 32, 33, 134-140; “Some Steps in the Evolution of Social Occupations,” III., The Elementary School Teacher, March, 1903.

Lesson XX. The purpose of this lesson is to show the way in which man began the conquest of the animal world. Lead the child to see that it has taken a long time to make the earth a good home for man, and that one reason why we can learn more than the lower races knew is because they spent their time in making the earth a better place in which to live. (See pp. 147-148.)

Lesson XXI. This lesson is based upon well-authenticated facts supplied by Professor Boyd Dawkins. It portrays not merely the intelligence of animals, but man’s alertness to take suggestions. It also suggests to the child a relation that exists between him and the larger world to which he is already looking with expectancy. (See Supplementary Facts, pp. 142-144, for information regarding the rhinoceros, the mammoth, and the sabre-toothed felis.)

Lesson XXII. This lesson, together with the two following, in which the probable method of subduing fire is portrayed, marks the climax of interest in the story of the Tree-dwellers. No greater conquest has ever been made. In writing of this subject, Mr. Geiger says: “And if we admire in genius not only superior intellectual endowment but the boldness of attempting to think of what has never been thought of by any one before, and to undertake 156 what has never been done before, it was surely an act of genius when man approached the dreaded glow, when he bore the flame before him over the earth on the top of the ignited log of wood—an act of daring without a prototype in the animal world, and in its consequences for the development of human culture truly immeasurable.”

Only the first step in the conquest of fire is portrayed in this lesson. That is fear.

References: Mason, Origins of Invention, Chapter III.

Katharine E. Dopp, The Place of Industries in Elementary Education, pp. 22-24.

Lesson XXIII. This lesson shows how man, first through fear and then through the desire to make friends with the dreaded object in order to secure its protection, subdued fire. Its significance with reference to social life is portrayed in this and in the following lessons.

Lesson XXIV. The purpose of this lesson is to enable the child to see the way in which simple societies were formed, the necessity for the division of labor, and an early, if not the earliest, form of worship. This lesson also illustrates a step in advance in the development of the primitive family.

Lesson XXV. This lesson illustrates the first efforts of man to make a shelter. Previous to this he was protected by such shelters as nature afforded. Now he begins to adapt nature’s gifts to his own needs. The construction of the rude shelter illustrates what is probably the second step in the evolution of the textile arts, the first being the weaving of a cradle. In both cases the motive was undoubtedly the desire on the part of the mother to protect her child.

Lesson XXVI. The suggestions in this lesson, together with those under Basketry, pp. 138-139, are probably all that are required.

Lesson XXVII. Let the child suggest other uses to which fire might have been put than those named here. Let him also suggest other ways in which food might have been cooked accidentally. 157 Encourage him to make a connected story which will embody what he has thought. Lead him to discover some of the advantages that arise from the use of cooked food.

Reference: Katharine E. Dopp, “Some Steps in the Evolution of Social Occupations,” III., IV., The Elementary School Teacher, March and April, 1903.

Lesson XXVIII. The purpose of this lesson is to supply an experience that will pave the way to an understanding of coöperative action.

Lesson XXIX. This lesson illustrates the way in which leisure hours were used so as to secure not merely recreation, but a training for the Serious activities of life. The child will readily appreciate the significance of the primitive dance, for it is closely related to his own spontaneous play.

Reference: Katharine E. Dopp, The Place of Industries in Elementary Education, pp. 25-34.

Lesson XXX. This lesson explains one very important reason for wearing ornaments. The child’s instinctive love of ornaments may be utilized to train him in habits of industry just as easily as the same process took place in the development of the race. Really beautiful necklaces and bracelets may be made by children, if they take pains in stringing seeds of various sorts in such alternations as to give pleasing effects. It is worth the while to encourage the child to see the beautiful in nature and to train him to adapt nature’s forms so as to secure still more pleasing effects.

Reference: Katharine E. Dopp, The Place of Industries in Elementary Education, pp. 25, 27, 115.

Lessons XXXI. and XXXII. These lessons serve the purpose of making the transition from the mild, equable climate which characterized the early part of the mid-Pleistocene period to the colder climate of the later part of the period. The early part is the age which is characterized in this book. The later part will be treated in the next book. (For information regarding the animals referred to, see Supplementary Facts, pp. 143 and 146.)

Lesson XXXIII. This lesson is intended to still further satisfy the child regarding the questions which will probably arise in his mind from the first, and which were partially satisfied then. The attempt has been made in all cases where it has seemed possible, to speak frankly and directly to the child. Had the aim been merely to please him, to excite him by dramatic stories, it could have been done in a much easier way. The simple and plain statements of fact have been made so as to enable the child to understand. The suggested activities, together with other normal forms of work and play, furnish sufficiently rich emotional reactions. In the light of the racial experiences embodied in the stories, these emotional reactions maintain their normal function as the most powerful factor in the education of the child.