Jan. 10.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 47

LIGHT WOODWORK.

The equipment provided for doing light woodwork in the ordinary class-room will enable the teacher to extend very considerably the scope of the ordinary handwork, besides introducing new and fascinating projects. The material used will consist mainly of stripwood and plywood. For most purposes the stripwood should be dressed all over, and a variety of sections in commercial use may be obtained. For constructional work—building models, &c.—sawn wood and waste wood from packing-cases will be found useful.

The operations to be performed by the pupils will be simple compared with those of the woodwork-room, and the mastery of the plane and saw will not be a direct object of the work. Design, construction, and decoration will be the important features of the course. Accuracy in setting out the work, and reasonable skill in edge-planing and sawing across grain, in the use of chisels, cutting-gauges, and scribers, and the employment of small nails, and screws, and in some cases cold-water glue, will easily be developed. Parts made of wire and thin sheet metal will be designed and constructed when required in connection with the woodwork.

Projects may range from simple objects, such as frames for small pictures, letter-racks, &c., to a complete range of farm-buildings or a doll's house worked out to scale, painted, papered, decorated, and furnished by the boys and girls in collaboration. The theory and practice of building framed structures can be illustrated very effectively by models built with stripwood, and boys in the Seventh Standard who have had one or two years in more elementary work, and have gained all the skill they are likely to acquire in the simple operations possible with the equipment, will thus be provided with projects suited to their greater maturity, and will be able to feel that the knowledge gained will be of definite practical value in their future work.

MUSIC.

INTRODUCTION.

The following is the programme recommended in music. It may, of course, be modified to suit the conditions of the school, but teachers should endeavour to make music a very important feature of their work. The aims of the teacher should be (1) to awaken the imagination of the children and widen their capacity for artistic self-expression; (2) to cultivate a musical ear and love of sweet sounds, and to train the pupils in the right use of their own voices; (3) to give some elementary knowledge of musical notation, and thus lay a foundation for further musical progress; (4) to develop musical taste.

The instruction should be based, as far as local conditions will admit, on the text-book, “Scheme of School Music related to Human Life” issued by the Education Department.

PREPARATORY DIVISION.

Nursery rhymes and simple songs learned by ear without effort or drilling. Free bodily movement to music. Ear-training in imitation of sounds patterned by the teacher, and discrimination between strongly contrasted sounds in quality, pitch, pace, and intensity. Breathing and voice exercises in a play-way. The scale and the common chord in preparation for sight singing. Listening without effort to music sung or played by teacher or gramophone, for frequent but very short periods. Singing-games. Percussion bands suggested.

JUNIOR DIVISION (STANDARDS I AND II).

Frequent singing of songs between lessons. Easy folk and national songs. More definite voice-training. Beginnings of expression. Keener recognition of quality, pitch, pace, and intensity in music, and discovery of accent. Orderly rhythmical movement to music. Singing from the sol-fa scale and chord applied to staff; doh varied, but not above second line. Two-, three-, and four-pulse times in sol-fa and staff. Time names for pulse, two-pulse, three-pulse, four-pulse, half-pulse, and rests. Gramophone music with pictorial value or pronounced rhythm, &c.

MIDDLE DIVISION (STANDARDS III AND IV).

More difficult unison songs; some sea-shanties; rounds and easy two-part songs. Extension of vocal compass and attention to detail in singing. Free interpretative movement to songs and music. Practice by pupils in conducting class or band. Ear-training in recognition of concordant intervals