Drawing Exercises and Copy Work

the lesson pages. This induces them to examine and take notice of objects around them. Outline copies were lent for home work, and brought back the following week, and the drawings corrected. Illustrated catalogues of china, ironmongery, &c., serve well for copies, when the illustrations are cut out and mounted on card, where it is necessary to save expense. Old cardboard boxes cut up, or tradesmen's cards, serve well for mounts. Where better copies can be afforded the following are very good and cheap : Vere Foster's drawing-books (Marcus Ward and Co., 2d. or 3d. each). B, 1, 2. Straight-line objects. 0, 1, 2, 3. Curved-hne objects. D, 1, 2, 3. Leaves and simple flowers. E, 1, 2, 3. Wild flowers. 0, 1. Domestic animals. 0, 4. British wild animals. Cassell's penny drawing-books ; also standard drawing- books. ' 6 DBAWING AND WOOD-CAKVINa Mr. Poynter's South Kensington drawing-books, Gd. each, viz. Elementary freehand ornament. 2 books. Freehand, first grade. 6 books. Same on card. Is. each packet. 6 packets,. As a handbook for geometry. Gill's ' Second Grade Prac- A tical Geometry ' is sufficient (price 6d.) fuller and better handbook for a teacher who wishes to go further (but containing also all the elementary matter) is ' Practical Plane and Solid Geometry,' by John S. Eawle (Simpkin and Marshall), price Is. The first and most elementary principles of perspective have been introduced into the specimen lessons, in hopes of enabling pupils to understand about converging lines in straight-line objects, and of thus helping them to draw such objects more correctly. But I have found it impossible, in the kind of class which I have had, to go beyond this. Any teacher who can carry his pupils further in this study will be giving them an added power and interest. A useful hand- book for such a teacher is Burchett's ' Linear Perspective (Chapman and Hall), also 'Practical Plane and SoUd Geo- metry,' by J. H. Morris (Longmans). The geometry problems which have been selected are those which seemed to me most helpful and suggestive. From the geometrical handbooks named above any number more can be taken. In the home lessons it is probable that the pupils will need many more exercises on all the problems taught, and to have these renewed constantly, ia order to keep up their memory of what they have learnt. As the pupUs became able to do more difficult work at home, lessons such as wUl be found at pp. 61-67 were given to them to work out. The patterns here partly drawn out were given to them, just as they stand in these pages, drawn on a httle slip of paper, with the instructions written. With carbon paper I traced as many copies as there were pupils who needed them, so that each pupU had a copy for himself. The carrying out of these patterns to completion was a great interest, and they were surprisingly well done. ; HINTS ON CONDUCTING CLASS 7 Geometrical figures were sometimes given by dictation to the pupils, without anything to look at. This is an excellent test of understanding of terms and modes of construction. It is good also sometimes to give for home work a written direction for the construction of a problem or drawing. The pupil becomes much interested in seeing what he is working out for himself. As the pupils advanced I also found it an excellent plan to give them exercises in ' memory drawing.' A simple pattern, ready drawn upon the board, was turned round and shown to them for two or three minutes, during which time they carefuUy studied it with a view to reproducing it. The order of construction was explained (generally twice over) the example was then taken away, and reproduced from memory. When the drawing was done, the original was again shown, and the faults explained and commented on. It was amusing to see the smiles of contempt and ridicule which the pupils cast on their own first attempts, when the board with the original drawing was replaced before them. Some examples wUl be found at pp. 90-92. At a still more advanced stage, and especially with those who were carving, the arrangement and adaptation of patterns, flowers, &c., to given spaces and shapes was attempted. Some exarnples of this will be found at pp. 93-97. In this branch also so much progress was made, and such an amount of success achieved, as to give great encouragement to its pursuit. At first the pupils were entirely blank, and sat helplessly idle ; but when I went to the board, and roughly sketched the shape required, and slightly indicated within it six or eight possible arrangements of the pattern, and left the pupils to choose among them, they seized their pencils and started work at once ; and I found, on returning to them, no two alike of what they had chosen, and that some had introduced alterations of their own. Thus the ice was broken in this exercise also, and in two or three lessons they became comparatively independent. For carvers nothing could be more important. Sprays of leaves, or simple flowers, were sometimes given, 8 DEAWING AND WOOD-CARVING to vary the lesson ; but when this is done it is- best that each pupil should have one to himself, to avoid difficulties of position. Occasionally I also put before them some object, such as a dish, a basin, a pail, &c. ; but there is always a difficulty in placing such objects so as to be equally visible to aU the class, and so that some pupils should not get a very difficult view of them. Where it is possible to have several objects, this would go far to obviate the objection. All materials were sold to the pupils, at cost price ; it was only necessary to lay in a stock, and keep it up. Drawing-books were sold at Id. each. Pencils ,, India-rubbers ,, Rulers ,, Pair of compasses ,, ^d. ,, ,, Id. ,, ,, Id. ,, ,, 5d. ,, These prices covered expenses of carriage of parcels, &c., when the stock needed replenishing, owing to the goods being cheaper in large quantities. It only remains for me to add that, as to behaviour, there never was need for any comment. All pupils, men and women, boys and girls, were too busy and too much inte- rested to do otherwise than work aU. the time, and the teachers had never the least trouble or occasion for dissatis- faction ; and the intercourse with aU was a pure pleasure, from the young farmer who came many mUes after a hard day's work to the little girls and boys who were clustering round before the door was cJpened, and the big lad who waded across the broad burn, and stumped in, bare-legged, for his lesson. Dogs came too, and there was an occasional fight, which did not, however, extend to the other pupils. As autumn came on we had to have lamps, and we had about eight or ten small cheap ones on the tables, which gave sufficient light and cost but little. Each pupil paid a fee of 9d. for the class for the season, which included about twenty-four lessons. Any teacher who conducts such a class cannot fail to feel that he gains, himself, immeasurably, in various ways and ; HINTS ON CONDUCTING CLASS 9 it is impossible in that case that he should not also benefit his pupils. Many of the annexed patterns have been taken or adapted from a little Japanese book, which can be had from Batsford, 52 High Holborn, who has two such books, price (about) 2s. 6d. ; and they are full of suggestion to a teacher and to a carver. 110 DRAWING AND AVOOD-CAKVING TWENTY-FOUB SPECIMEN LESSONS. 1st lesson. \^^^i*tXA'^^^{yV'^-A/i,i,p^:^^iii;^^/<^y2.ftyt^ Straight Lines. Horizontal (from horizon, at sea). Vertical (vertex, the top ; see a carpenter's plummet). Oblique (slanting). Needing 2 or more lines. Perpendicular (to balance). Parallel (beside each other). HOME LESSON. Palings (any sort). l-WENTY-FOUE. SPECIMEN LESSONS 11 IN LESSON 1. How many Horizontal lines ? ,, Vertical ,, ,, Oblique ,, Which lines are Perpendicular to each other ? -- Are there any Horizontal lines in this room ? Which are they? -- Any Vertical ? Which ? -- Any Perpendicular ? Which ? Tell the pupils to look at all the palings (or railings) as they go home, and to draw some like them for next time. 12 DRAWING AND WOOD-CARVING 2nd lesson. Circle. Centre. Circumference (to carry round). Diameter (the measure through). Radius (a rod or staff ; the spoke of a wheel). Degrees : 360� in circumfer- ence ; 180� in i circle (semicircle) ; 90� in J circle ; 60� in ^ circle, &c. Angles at centre ; measured on circumference. Eight angle. (See ' Perpendicu- lar, p.' 10.) Obtuse angle (bhmt), IsiXgei than right angle. Acute angle [sharp), smaller than right angle. HOME LESSONS. Cottage. Wlieel. -- TWENTY-FOUR SPECIMEN LESSONS � 13 IN LESSON 2. (Teacher to make a drawing on the board of any School (or other) building in the neighbourhood, so as to interest the pupils.) Ask questions about horizontal, vertical, perpendicular, and oblique lines in the buUding represented. Vary the order of questions ; e.g. ' Which lines are Vertical ? ' ' What is this line ? ' (pointing to one.) How ' many oblique lines like this are there ? ' &c. Bach Circle has 1 Centre and 1 Circumference. Can a Circle have more than 1 Diameter ? How many ? How many Eadii ? How many Angles at centre ? How many Eight Angles ? How many lines does it take to make an angle ? Are there more degrees in the Circumference of a large circle than of a small one ? Where do we measure the size of an angle ? (Show, with compasses.) : 14 DEAWINa JlKD WOOD-CAEA^NG 3ed lesson. Triangles, or Figures with 3 Angles. Equilateral triangles: all sides equal, and 3 acute angles. Eight-angled triangles : one right angle. Obtuse-angled triangles : one obtuse angle. Acute-angled triangles : three acute angles. Isoskeles triangles (meaning ' equal legs ') two sides equal. HOME LESSONS. Window. Envelope. , TWENTY-FOUK SPECIMEN LESSONS 15 IN