raising plants, or carrying out a science experiment. Some of these centers are primarily for study activities and others for various types of creative expression. Pupil committees may have the responsibility for keeping these centers well supplied and in good order.

Storage and Display Space. Whenever possible plenty of space and equipment should be available for storing supplies, arranging a variety of study materials, and keeping results of the children's work during the unit. Such storage provisions as shelves for chart and art paper and files for pictures and other resource materials related to the units are most helpful. Accessibility of reading and expressional materials for the children is important for the success of the unit.

Atmosphere. Pervading the entire classroom environment for a unit experience, there should be a stimulating atmosphere which excites the children intellectually and causes them to pursue the unit studies and activities with a strong interest drive. There should be much color and life through the posters, maps, pictures, and realia surrounding them.

School Environment. The school environment as a whole as well as the classroom setting can foster successful unit learning. Readily available facilities such as multipurpose rooms, auditoriums, and libraries facilitate certain types of unit activities.

School grounds are important, too. Many learning experiences relating to conservation, weather, geographic features, seasons, science, and safety can well be carried on outdoors. Accessibility of the grounds from the classroom can make this kind of learning experience more readily available for the children. Many of the newer types of elementary schools are constructed with such availability of the outof-doors in mind.

Unit Materials

A widespread characteristic of unit teaching and learning is the use of varied instead of restricted materials. This does not mean that a wealth of expensive materials is essential. It does mean, however, that reliance is not placed entirely on a single textbook, but on several kinds of materials. It is helpful if most of these rich and varied materials be supplied by the school. Whether or not this is possible, teachers and pupils should explore many sources of appropriate materials and assume some responsibility for locating and obtaining them.

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Publications

Various types of books are useful during the development of a unit. Among the most useful are textbooks, supplementary books. sets of reference books, collections of stories or poems, songbooks, magazines, newspapers, news weeklies, and references for the use of the teacher. Pupils and teacher work together to collect and assemble as many reading materials as possible on their unit topic. Libraries are searched, homes are surveyed, and letters are written to sources of free and inexpensive materials.

Audiovisual Materials

Many kinds of audiovisual materials can enhance the learnings of children during a unit of study. Films, filmstrips, and slides help the children gain information and concepts as well as gain visual images of what is being studied. Photographs, posters, and other pictures are valuable study aids through which social studies and science learnings may be gained.

Television brings a whole new exciting media of learning to children of this decade. Not only do many children receive some of their lessons through educational television, but they gain much knowledge and information from other types of television programs. For instance, many children throughout elementary grades have had the wonderfully thrilling and meaningful experiences of following Alan Shepard's flight into space and John Glenn's orbits of the earth, and hearing their voices on TV at the very time the events were taking place. The potential use of television for bringing distant people, places, and happenings into the classroom as appropriate to unit study has barely begun. Such possibilities may be increasingly anticipated for the future.

Radio also has value as a means of securing information during unit studies. Children can watch weekly and monthly schedules to find suitable programs, as when children studying Latin America locate a program of Latin American music for school listening.

Recordings are also a fine resource for unit studies. Historical, biographical, dramatic, science, and musical recordings can prove valuable as unit materials. It is difficult to think of a social studies or literature unit that music would not enrich. Also the recordings are often used to accompany the rhythms and dances of the children where these activities are included in the unit.

Realia-real objects and collections or exhibits of objects have special significance as unit materials. The children can see the real objects and sometimes touch or handle them. Some exhibits show objects, crafts, and art work from other countries. Others show various stages of a process.

Maps and Globes

Among the most valuable aids to geographic learnings in a classroom are maps and globes.1 Our space-age children need to gain as much spatial orientation as possible between themselves and various points on the earth's surface as well as in the dimensions of altitude, air, and space. These maps and globes are essential for both social studies and, in many instances, science units.

A trend in primary levels today is to have a simple, cradle-type globe available for use of the children in many of the rooms. Also wall maps are appearing increasingly in classrooms of these grades.

1 Using Maps and Globes. Grades One through Seven. Virginia State Department of Education. Richmond: The Department, 1961. 23 pp.

2 McAulay, J. D. "Maps and Globes in the Elementary School Program." Journal of Geography, 59: 431-433. December 1960.

Such provisions for early map and globe study can make possible much more significant social studies and geographic learnings as children engage in unit activities.

Appropriate maps and globes are a necessity for social studies units in intermediate and upper elementary grades. They should be selected in keeping with the subject content of the units likely to be studied. Increasingly as the geography of space becomes more and more significant, three dimensional maps and aviation or space charts will be valuable for all aerospace units.3

Scientific Equipment and Supplies

With the increasing emphasis upon science in the elementary curriculum, more kinds of instructional equipment are needed for science centered or science related units. Many varieties of these materials are useful in teaching and learning science units. Some of those most commonly found in elementary classrooms are:

Magnifying glasses, weather instruments, glass containers, rock collection, rulers and scales, animal cages, aquarium, compass, and magnets.

Art Materials

As children study social studies or literature units, creative art has a significant place. Reproductions of art and real crafts objects are extremely important when children are learning about the culture of another country or another era.

As the children carry out creative art work of their own during a unit of any kind, they need many kinds of art materials. The wider the variety of art material and tools they have available for their creative expression the better. Paint, clay, scissors and paste, wood, metal, newsprint, and cardboard are some of the most frequently used art supplies.

Community Resources

In almost every community, there are many kinds of resources available for different kinds of units. These are usually places to visit, people to interview, or areas to explore. In some school systems, memoranda, or bulletins are distributed which list some of the available or recommended places for field trips. In other systems, appro

Anderzhon, Mamie L. "Geographic Concepts in the Space Age." Journal of Geography, 60: 32-35. January 1961.

priate places to visit and other community resources are listed in the curriculum units.

Some of the types of community resources used for unit study in Indianapolis follow:

Recreation at Home and School * 4

Neighborhood parks, playground, community center

Community resources recommended for studying a unit on Africa in the Evansville, Indiana, Schools are:

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Many World War II veterans in the school district would be happy to talk to classes on Northern Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. Many have pictures to share of the people, their houses and cities.

Evansville Museum-specimens of various weapons used by African people, tribal headbands and pottery displays.

Mesker Zoo children can see firsthand-camels, hippopotamuses, snakes, and other animals of African origin.

Evansville College-lists people who will speak about their tours. Some have been to Africa and have slides they will show.

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For a "Shelter" unit, Evansville children may use the following community resources as indicated:

If construction projects are going on near school or near a child's home, pupils watch the work and keep records of what they are observing each day. If a building is being torn down, this would be a good time and experience to see how the framework of an old house was constructed.

Take a trip to Willard Library to examine books on shelter.

Observe different kinds of houses while going to and from school.