Excerpt from Human Geography Peoples and Countries, Vol. 1 In these primary grades they frequently include well-organized projects from the study of the home, the farm, the community or store, etc. The readers contain stories of Indian and Eskimo life, other selections contain material relating to the products, occupations, industries, and climatic conditions of our own country and foreign lands. With this rich background of information and concrete experience the child is adequately prepared to begin the study of Peoples and Countries. The position taken by many that the fourth grade child is entirely without preparation for the study of geography, and that he must necessarily begin with his immediate surroundings cannot be successfully sustained. Globe and Maps. - A globe is essential in teaching the shape, the relative size and the movements of the earth, and its relation to the sun and moon. No school can afford to be without one. Other equipment should include large colored physical and political wall maps of the United States, the world and each of the continents. Wall outline maps of continents and the blank black roller map are very helpful. Current News. - Current newspapers and magazines are filled with live interesting geographic material related to local, national and foreign questions. Encourage the pupils to read these publications and make contributions to the class. Train them to read publications, to observe the geographic material and report to the class. A typical daily paper of the Middle West recently examined contained in one issue eight articles on the first page, three on the second, two on the third, and a half dozen more scattered through the rest of the paper, every one of which contained geographic material, or required a knowledge of geography to be read intelligently. Every continent was included. Several of the articles would give excellent bases for problem study. Collections. - When studying a country or a large subject, the teacher should encourage the pupils to collect for class use as many specimens or articles relating to the subject as possible. Rocks, soils, minerals, woods, products, and so on may be assembled, put in boxes or bottles, or mounted on cardboard, properly labeled and made ready for teaching purposes. When studying the Indians of the Great North Woods, it stimulates interest to get together and use a collection of Indian relics, beads, arrow-points, basketry, etc. Sources from which such material can be obtained free or at small cost are suggested throughout the Manual. Begin collecting in advance of your needs. Assign to one child or a committee the task of securing and preparing for use the specimens needed for the study of wheat, to another the needs of corn, and so on. Pictures. - Pictures are entitled to special mention. In their several forms they are most valuable aids in teaching geography. They tell interesting stories, they assist in making ideas concrete, they give vivid impressions of distant places and people, they add a touch of reality to the printed page. Direct the attention of the child to the pictures of the text and teach him to read them as you do the printed page. They come from several sources, but most important is the text. They have been carefully chosen to illustrate the subject being taught. While it is highly desirable to use pictures from other sources, it is not likely that they will contribute nearly as much as those accompanying the subject matter of the textbook. Advantage should be taken of the child's natural desire to collect pictures. Make special assignments to individuals or committees for the collecting of pictures on given subjects, as lumber, the New England fisheries, cotton, western irrigation, etc. Pictures from magazines, advertisements, photographs and post cards should be carefully selected, and then classified according to subjects, countries, or industries, and filed i...