ussions and narratives supply oral language work, and
descriptions, letters, and notes provide material for written exercises.

The class may be divided into groups, each group contributing one store to
the street, or the attention of the whole class may be centered on one
store at a time, as the immediate conditions suggest. If the former method
is used, as each store is finished it may be used as subject matter for
the entire class, while the important facts concerning it are considered.
The first permits a broader scope; the second a more exhaustive study. In
either case visits to the real stores studied are important supplements
to the work.

[Illustration: FIG. 32.--A village street. Third grade. Columbia,
Missouri.]

=General Directions.=--Discuss the stores on a village street. Which are
most important? Why? Decide how many stores the class can build, and
choose those most necessary to a community.

If self-organized groups[2] are allowed to choose the part they are to
work out, both interest and harmony are promoted and leadership
stimulated.

Use a box for each store. Each group is usually able to provide its own
box. Paper inside of box with clean paper, or put on a coat of fresh
paint. Make appropriate shelving and counters of thin wood.

Stock the store with samples of appropriate merchandise as far as
possible. Supplement with the best representations the children can make.
They should be left to work out the problem for themselves to a large
extent, the teacher giving a suggestion only when they show a lack of
ideas.

=Suggestions for Details of Representation.=--_Clay Modeling._--Clay may
be used to model fruits and vegetables, bottles and jugs for the grocery;
bread, cake, and pies for the bakery; different cuts of meat for the
butcher shop; horses for the blacksmith shop and for delivery wagons. Clay
representations may be made very realistic by coloring with crayon.

_Canned Goods._--Paper cylinders on which labels are drawn before pasting
serve well for canned goods. Cylindrical blocks may be cut from broom
sticks or dowel rods and wrapped in appropriately labeled covers.

_Cloth._--Rolls of various kinds of cloth should be collected for the dry
goods store. Figures may be cut from fashion plates and mounted for the
"Ready to Wear" department.

_Hats._--Hats may be made for the millinery store from any of the
materials commonly used. This is a good way for girls to develop their
ingenu