Write the following on your slates:

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?

LESSON III.

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.

[Illustration:  THE GREAT BEAR.]

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.

Write on your slates: 

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

LESSON IV.

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?

Have you ever seen a compass?  It is a box in which is a little needle swinging on the top of a pin.  When this needle is at rest, one end of it points to the north.

[Illustration:  A COMPASS.]

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