A CHILD'S REPORT ON A FIELD TRIP 



To the Editor of The Nature-Study Review: 



I enclose with this an article written by a little eleven-year old girl in 

 one of the ward schools here, after a field trip. It was not done under 

 my directions, but came into my hands because I am interested in the 

 teaching of the subject. Miss Anna Wylie.of Turner St. School, was the 

 teacher who directed the work. It seemed to me a very good illustration 

 of what can be accomplished by field work in the grades, and as you will 

 see it has not been corrected or altered by the teacher. 



Central High School 



Grand Rapids, Michigan Grace F. Ellis. 



FOURTH STREET CREEK 



By Minnie Oele, Grade 5 



Yesterday we went to Fourth St. creek to have an out of doors Geo- 

 graphy lesson. We walked over to the creek and I was very tried. Then 

 our teacher told us to sit down and draw the river basin. There were 

 hills on almost every side. 



There was one hill that had never been plowed and great sods kept 

 the land forn being washed away after rains. Another hill that had been 

 plowed was filled with gullies. All the hills that send water to the creek 

 and the gullies form a river basin. This little creek and all its branches 

 form a river system. 



Right before us was a flood plain which was formed many years ago by 

 floods. One place there were very many springs and some of us got our 

 feet wet. At the place where we were many streams feed the brook. 



Over some of the springs the owner had a little house, which we call a 

 spring house, and from these were pipes to the owner's house. 



This little creek is carrying the farmer's peach orchard away, day by 

 day. In one place the stream has cut right under a peach tree and it 

 has fallen down. 



In a hollow there is a lake and some gullies have been going back farther 

 and farther, and one has backed right into the lake. 



In another place where there is a water fall the farmer has put a pipe 

 so that the water will not wash all his land away. 



The creek has worn away much soil to quite a depth. There are very 

 many boulders there, too, which the glacier brought here and the creek 

 has uncovered. 



In some places there are four or five different layers of soil. There is 

 the black soil, glacial till, clav, and some times another laver of glacial 

 till. 



Glacial till is the soil that the glacier brought to us not less than ten 

 thousand years ago. We sometimes call it gravel. 



We measured how many cubic ft of water fell over the falls. We found 

 out that i6 2 3 or 17 cubic ft of water fell over the falls in one minute. 

 We had a string which was fifty ft. long and straightened it out along the 

 creek. Then some of the boys dropped a chip in to the water and it took 

 just one minute to float fifty feet. 



Then we found the average width which was 2 ft., and the average depth 

 which was l /e ft. Then we multiplied the length, average depth and 

 average width which gave us the cubic feet of water, 14, it x 2 ft x 50 ft= 

 16% cubic feet of water. 



In on place there was a fall and beneath it the iron had almost painted 

 the creek's walls. Some times when the stream has to turn, it turns with 

 such force that it takes land from one side and throws it to the other side 

 and in this way forms a bay. We saw many terraces. These were made 

 by the water being to different heights. 



