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Read Ebook: Home Geography for Primary Grades by Long C C

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Ebook has 540 lines and 19117 words, and 11 pages

XL.--THE SIGNS OF THE SEASONS

Home Geography.

POSITION.

Lay your hands upon your desk, side by side.

Which side shall we call the right side? The left side?

Put your hands on the middle of your desk on the side farthest from you. That part is the back of your desk.

Think which is the front of your desk. Put your hands on the front of your desk.

Who sits on your right hand? On your left? At the desk in front of you? At the desk behind you?

Turn round. Who is on your right now? On your left? Before you? Behind you?

Turn again. Who is now on your right? On your left? Before you? Behind you?

HOW THE SUN SHOWS DIRECTION.

If I should ask, "Which is the way to your home?" who could tell me what I mean?

You all know which way you must go to find your home, but if you should wish to go to a place where you have never been, you would ask, perhaps, "Which way is it?"

When do we see the sun rise? Where do we see the sun rise? What is the name of this direction? When do we see the sun set? Where do we see it set? What is the name of this direction? On which side of the schoolroom does the sun rise? On which side does it set? Which is the east side of your desk? Which the west side?

When coming to school this morning, in what direction did you see the sun? If we walk so that the morning sun shines in our faces, in what direction are we going? What direction is behind us?

The sun seems to rise toward the east, and set toward the west. The west is just the opposite direction from the east.

When my right hand is pointing to the east, and my left hand to the west, my face is toward the north and my back is toward the south.

ORAL EXERCISES.

Which is the north side of the schoolroom? Which is the south side? Who sits to the north of you? To the south?

In what direction do the pupils face? On which side of your schoolroom is the teacher's table? Which sides have no windows? Which sides have no doors?

If a room has a fireplace in the middle of the east side, which side of the room faces the fire? Suppose the wind is blowing from the north, in what direction will the smoke go?

In what direction from the schoolhouse is the playground?

What is the first street or road north of the school? The first street or road east? South? West?

In what direction is your home from the school? The school from your home? The nearest church from the school? The post office from your home?

HOW THE STARS SHOW DIRECTION.

You have learned how to tell north, south, east, and west by the sun; but how can we tell these directions at night?

Ask some one to point out to you a group of seven bright stars in the north part of the sky. Some people think that this group of stars looks like a wagon and three horses; others say that it looks like a plow.

The proper name of the group containing these seven stars is the Great Bear. The group was given this name because men at first thought it looked like a bear with a long tail.

These seven stars are called the Dipper. It is a part of a larger group called the Great Bear. Find the two bright twinkling stars farthest from its handle. A line drawn through them will point to another star, not quite so bright, called the North Star. That star is always in the north; so by it, on a clear night, you can tell the other directions at once.

Sailors out on the sea at night often find direction by looking at the North Star.

HOW THE COMPASS SHOWS DIRECTION.

But there are times when it is cloudy, and neither the sun nor the stars can be seen. How can we tell direction then?

As the needle shows where the north is; it is easy to find the south, the east, or the west.

With the compass as a guide, the sailor, in the darkest night, can tell in what direction he is going.

Other directions are northeast, halfway between north and east; northwest, halfway between north and west; southeast, halfway between south and east; and southwest, halfway between south and west.

The chief points of the compass are north, south, east, and west.

Other directions are northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest.

Sailors find their way over the ocean by the help of the compass.

QUESTIONS ON DIRECTION.

Your teacher will give you time to discover answers to these questions. She could tell you, but it is better to find them out for yourself.

If I go out of doors, how can I find the north? How can I find it on a starlight night? How can I find it on pleasant days? How on rainy days? How does a sailor find the north?

If you were lost and knew your home was north, how would you find it? Do you know how hunters and Indians who live a great deal in the woods find out where the north is? When you are in the woods, notice the amount of moss on the north side of trees as compared to that on the south side.

As winter approaches; many of our birds will want to go to a warmer country; in what direction will they fly? Point to where ice and snow have their home. What direction is that?

In what direction does your shadow fall at sunrise? At sunset? At noon? When, during the day, is your shadow shortest?

In what direction does your shadow extend from yourself when it is shortest?

What time of day is noon? How can we tell when it is noon? When is the sun highest in the sky?

What may we discover by watching the direction of the smoke from the chimneys? What does a vane on a steeple tell us? What is a north wind? A south wind? An east wind? A west wind?

What kind of weather may be expected from a north wind? From a south wind? From an east wind? From a west wind?

WHAT THE WINDS BRING.

Comes the north wind, snowflakes bringing: Robes the fields in purest white, Paints grand houses, trees, and mountains On our window-panes at night.

Hills and vales the east wind visits, Brings them chilly, driving rain; Shivering cattle homeward hurry, Onward through the darkening lane.

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