CHAPTER I.
 SCIENCE IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

 The beach is wearing away at Anna Maria and building
up ten miles south. Storm warnings for small craft are up
from Carabelle to Cedar Keys. The rain last night made the
Jackson County corn growers smile. The pavement ahead glis-
tens like water for a moment in the noonday sun. This is science
for Florida boys and girls. Science is all around them. It is
present in the early experiences of children and lasts through-
out their lives. Within this bulletin may be found specific help
to teachers as they seek to guide these boys and girls in under-
standing their surroundings and developing ways of thinking
and acting that will lead to improved living for all.

The Purposes of Instruction in Science
 In the broadest sense the ultimate purpose of teaching
science is growth in desirable social behavior. The primary con-
cern is to aid children in using scientific procedures and infor-
mation as a means of understanding their environment, of deal-
ing with problems that arise, and of developing ways of thinking
and acting that will contribute to the betterment of living.
 The purposes of teaching science described in the follow-
ing pages serve as a guide to teachers in their planning for se-
lection and organization of content and materials, and in plan-
ning ways of work. They are the goals toward which the
teacher and pupils are working. They are the standards by
which the teacher can evaluate his efforts and those of his
pupils. Purposes should become a part of the living of the
teacher. As these purposes become a "first" and a definite
part of the science program, the effectiveness in teaching chil-
dren will be increased immeasurably.
 The major purposes of teaching science in the elementary
school are: To help children develop concepts, principles, and
generalizations which will be of value to them in understanding
and solving their problems.
 An individual responds in some manner to his environment.
The kind of meaning the environment has for him, whether
based on insight, or upon ignorance and superstition, has much
to do with the kind of individual he is and determines in part
the kind of person he becomes. Thus, it is through an under-
standing, for example, of the nature of bacteria, their growth
and method of spreading, that pupils come to modify their be-
havior regarding communicable diseases. Through knowledge
of the physical and natural phenomena, the child adjusts himself