The Nature Library

Teacher's Corner & the Nature Club

The original Key closed with a course of nature study for home and school — lesson plans by grade, and a programme for a neighbourhood Nature Club. They are gathered here.

The original Key laid out a full course — kindergarten through grade six, then a neighbourhood Nature Club. Pick a lesson:

Before school

Ages 3 to 5 · before schoolNature Study for the YoungestWhy the Library is a mine for children too young for school — with a first lesson on the cottontail.

The graded course

Ages 6 to 7 · Grade 2 · fall studyCrickets & GrasshoppersCatching, caging and observing the autumn fiddlers, and the questions to answer by looking. Ages 7 to 8 · Grade 3 · spring studyFrogs & ToadsA balanced tadpole aquarium, and what it teaches about frogs and toads. Ages 7 to 8 · Grade 3Flowers for Humming-birds & InsectsHow colour and nectar recruit pollinators — with flower lists by visitor. Ages 9 to 10 · Grade 4 · spring studyAnimals That Live in ShellsSnails, slugs, clams and oysters, kept and studied alive. Ages 9 to 10 · Grade 5 · winter studyAnimals Useful to ManA survey of the animals people depend on, ranked from higher to lower orders. Ages 11 to 12 · Grade 6 · fall studyHow Seeds Are SownSeeds that are thrown, hitch a ride, sail on the wind, or are carried by animals. Ages 11 to 12 · Grade 6 · winter studyWoods & Their UsesHow wood grows, why it has grain and rings, and everything made from it.

The Nature Club

An indoor programme · SeptemberThe Nature Club: Protective MimicryA club meeting on “sheep in wolves’ clothing” among common insects.
Rights & ReuseThe complete text of The Nature Library (published in the early twentieth century) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored plates, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.