in the descriptive parts of geography, nature study, and science.

When the topical method is being employed it will nearly always need
to be supplemented by questions and answers. Very rarely will a pupil
recite upon any important topic with such accuracy and completeness
that nothing more needs to be said concerning it. Hence, after the
pupil has completed his topical discussion, the teacher can round out
the subject, impress the more important points, or correct wrong
impressions, by a few questions to be answered either by the pupil who
has had the discussion or by the remainder of the class.

The topical method gives the teacher the best opportunity to teach the
pupils how to study. It is safe to say that most pupils consider that
they "have their lesson" when they understand it, or think they can
remember it. But if the child is to be taught expression, as well as
given knowledge, it is evident that this is not enough. Not only
should a pupil be sure that he understands his lesson and can remember
it, but also he should think how best to express it in the recitation.
The teacher can help the class in this when assigning the topics by
showing the pupils how to pick out the main points of the topics, and
arrange them in order for discussion. This is, of course, really
training in analysis--a power that all pupils need to cultivate.

_b. The question of standards in topical recitations._--The success of
the topical method will depend much on the teacher's standards of
thoroughness applied to its use. Children, particularly of the lower
grades, have not yet developed much grasp of mind, and consequently
are not able to judge when they have sufficiently covered a topic
given them for recitation. They are likely to think that if they stand
up and say _something_ about the topic, this is sufficient.