On the New Fourth-Grade Nature Studies Course

Abstract

Starting with the fourth grade, nature studies form part of the natural science curriculum of the secondary school. Under the new curriculum, prior to such systematic study, pupils in the primary grades acquire an elementary knowledge (in the form of notions and concepts) of the elements of inanimate nature (minerals, water, and air) and animate nature (plants and their parts, domestic and wild animals, etc.), of human anatomy and health protection (elements of hygiene), and of seasonal changes in living nature and their dependence on the sun's elevation over the horizon and the length of day and night. Serious attention is devoted to the study of the natural environment, the means by which man utilizes it, and the conservation of natural resources.