Teacher studies pupils.-According to a bulletin on teacherpupil planning published by a city in Maryland, the teacher in her own preparatory planning examines the needs and interests of the children in her class and plans opportunities for them to be considered in the school program. She anticipates some of the problems that are likely to arise and thinks of ways in which the children can go about solving them. She selects materials and references that will be useful to children at their various ability levels. When she meets her pupils she has, instead of a ready-made plan of her own, many ideas and resources to draw upon as she plans with the pupils. She is prepared to modify her thinking in accordance with the ideas and interests of the class. She is ready to help them in setting up plans which they can accomplish with satisfaction and which will contribute to their development.

Activities are basic.-When planning together, teachers and pupils usually consider the tasks to be done in solving problems or carrying on activities. They select the tasks of greatest importance, organize them, and, when necessary, cooperatively assign them to individuals or groups. Together teacher and pupils decide on what materials will be needed and where they can get them. A large part of teacher-pupil planning is done before the class breaks into small groups. An example of teacher-pupil planning frequently observed in the schools is a listing of questions or of things to do made by teachers and pupils together.

In a California community it is necessary for people to conserve water, and the entire community works on the problem. In school 1 year, the pupils of grade 4 became interested in the situation and began a study with the question, "What has been done to increase the water supply?" In planning together the teacher and children listed the following things to do in getting their study started:

Find out where the community's water comes from.

Ask if the fourth grade may visit the source of supply.

Find out how the community plans to increase its water supply.

Find out why the community needs more water now than in earlier days. (More people have moved in because of increased industry in San Francisco, where most of them work.)

Gather books and other sources of information.

System is part of planning.-In one school in Michigan, the curriculum department suggests the following steps related to teacher-pupil planning:

(a) Teacher explanation and teacher-pupil discussion of possible topics or problems.

(b) Teacher-pupil selection of the over-all topic or problem.

(c) Teacher-pupil selection of the phases of the over-all topic or problem to be investigated by the whole class, individuals, or committees within the class.

(d) Teacher-pupil discussion and decisions regarding activities, methods of investigation, and resources to be used.

(e) Teacher-pupil investigation of phases of the topic or problems decided upon.

(f) Teacher-pupil reports and discussion of the findings.

(g) Teacher-pupil evaluation of results.

A simple pattern of teacher-pupil planning in a primary group was observed in a New Jersey school. After talking about things to be done during the day, the teacher and children stated the main jobs. One child wrote them on the blackboard.

Our Plans

We will talk about our plans.

We will do number work.

Some of us will learn about a safety patrol.

Others will learn about air mail.

We will share what we read.

Planning requires a look ahead.-In many schools, students and teachers were observed planning future excursions and long-term enterprises together. A Wisconsin second grade, for example, planned a visit to the railroad depot. Here are some of the things they planned to do. They decided to meet the ticket agent and see him write out tickets. They decided where to watch the trains come in and where to see people getting off and on the trains with their baggage. They decided that when they returned to school they would write about the trip for their class newspaper. Having plans made ahead helped them know what to look for on the trip.

In the same school, a first grade studied about people who helped the community. Teacher and children decided on the people to study and the order in which they would be studied. In an eighth grade in the same city, boys and girls and their teacher made a list of things they wanted to know in the field of science. They discussed responsibilities of different groups, ways of study, where to look for information, and ways of presenting to the class the things learned. Then they proceeded to work on their plans systematically from day to day.

Planning adds continuity.-Continuity of experiences between grades is strengthened by teacher-pupil planning. A certain Wisconsin school is especially successful with a continuous program. The school is small, the teachers like their work, and the teacher turn-over is slight. These things mean that the staff can work and plan well together. Unnecessary duplication from year to year is largely eliminated. The children's progress is continuous. In the first three grades the primary unit plan gives the children a good foundation in fundamental skills,

A Rhode Island city contemplates a continuous program which is described by a supervisor as follows: Each child will be allowed to progress through the primary grades at his own rate of learning. In order to make this possible, reading levels will be established through which the child will progress step by step or level by level. During the child's first year these levels will replace the traditional grades. At the beginning of the second year, the pupil will continue where he left off the previous year. There will be no failures or repetition. Each child will move ahead. By the time a child has finished 3 years in school beyond the kindergarten, he will be expected to have completed a certain number of levels in reading. For some children it may take more than 3 years. An enriched program will be planned for all children who work rapidly.

What Happens in Groups at Work

In many schools children were observed working in groups in which they could make progress themselves and contribute to the progress made by others. Grade and age groups are least flexible. Attempts to organize smaller groups within grade or age structures were observed. When small groups are formed within the standard grade or age groups, the rows of children are replaced by many small groups working in clusters, with desks or seats around small tables or just moved together. Here are some of the things that happen in schools observed.

Children learn from one another.-Look in on pupils in a fourth grade in Alabama as they study clothing. In one group, five girls are making aprons, each according to an individual pattern. The members of another group are cutting out pictures from a mail order catalog, and pasting them on sheets of paper with such questions as: What season of the year are these clothes for? Would children wear these clothes every day? Other groups are planning questions for study, writing stories about some phase of clothing,

or reading for information. An older boy is reading a book of about sixth-grade difficulty, and an older girl is using an encyclopedia.

After half an hour, the children move their chairs into a large informal group for exchange of information and ideas. Some children report on what they have read, the pupils in the sewing group tell what they have done, and other groups mention questions not yet answered. By appropriate comments, encouraging words, and brief questions, the teacher unobtrusively leads the children to take stock of achievements or improvements and to plan ahead. In helping the pupils understand and see the usefulness of the study, the teacher frequently refers to their own experiences, to the clothes they wear on different occasions, and to the uses they make of wool, silk, and other materials.

A group of children in a Missouri fifth grade has an aquarium. The children are greatly interested in the hatching of some fish eggs. Another group grows a variety of vegetables in a large sand box. Once the children prepared a salad luncheon using their own vegetables and serving crackers with them. As groups and as individuals the pupils exchange experiences and learn from one another.

Each group contributes to a common problem. In a Rhode Island sixth grade, 5 different groups were working on certain phases of State history, in a way of working that was also observed in other schools. One group was studying about Roger Williams, another about Anne Hutchinson. The pupils were using several books to get the information they needed. One was a rare book printed in 1850 that had been lent to them. They were writing a play based on the facts they discovered. The group working on Anne Hutchinson had first jotted informal notes as they came from their reading. Now they were writing a play.

Informal classrooms are most effective for group work.-Most teachers feel that children work best in groups when the classroom is informally arranged, preferably with chairs and movable desks or tables. Some teachers, however, help children work in informal groups, even with formal seating and stationary desks. In a formally seated seventh-grade classroom in Massachusetts,

the children worked across aisles in groups of four. They brought three small tables and chairs into the room. They had been working on the problem of our relations with countries in Asia that are played up in the newspapers today; especially Korea, China, Japan, and India. They found it necessary to learn where the countries are located, how their people live and are governed, and why there are temporary difficulties in our relations with any of them.

The children became interested in the lives of the people and in the craft products that are sold in the United States. On the morning referred to, several committees were at work. Some were arranging displays of articles brought from home, such as costumes, baskets, painted plates, and ceramics. One committee was coloring a large poster designed to represent an oriental rug. They