Home Geography for Primary Grades Part 3

_Write_ the answers to the following questions, in full sentences:

What is the name of your school? On what street or road is it? Which side of the street? Between what streets? In which direction does the building face?

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLAN OF SCHOOL GROUNDS.]

How many rooms has the building? In what part of the building is your room? How large is it? How many doors and windows? How many seats?

In what direction is the school from your home? How far is it? How long does it take you to walk to school?

EXERCISES IN DRAWING PLANS.

Draw a plan of the schoolroom on your slates. It cannot be drawn on your slates as large as it was drawn on the board. So let one inch stand for ten feet, instead of for one foot; that is, use a _scale_ of one inch for every ten feet. Your plan will not be as large as mine, but it will show the position of everything as correctly.

Draw a plan of the top of the teacher's table, showing two books and an inkstand upon it. First, measure the sides. Then decide to what scale you will draw your plan.

Now draw a plan of the schoolhouse and grounds. You must measure not only the house, but the width and length of the yard. The plan must show the size, shape, and place of everything upon the grounds. (While drawing a plan of this kind, it is better to let the pupils face the north. The top of the plan should be the north side of the grounds.)

Draw a plan of your own room at home, showing the table, bed, chairs, and other objects in it.

ORAL EXERCISE.

If the shape of a room is shown on the blackboard, what have we drawn?

Is a plan the same as a picture? What is the use of a plan? Mention some things of which plans can be drawn.

NOTE.--It is wrong to teach that the _top_ of a map or plan is _always_ north; as often as not, the bottom is north, in plans especially.

LESSON X.

G.o.d MADE THEM ALL.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "THE PURPLE-HEADED MOUNTAIN, THE RIVER RUNNING BY."]

All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The good G.o.d made them all.

Each little flower that opens, Each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colors, He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain, The river running by, The morning and the sunset, The twinkling stars on high;

The tall trees in the greenwood, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden-- He made them every one.

He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell How great is G.o.d Almighty, Who hath made all things well.

LESSON XI.

PLAINS.

The floor of our schoolroom is level. The playground is almost, if not quite, level. As you look away from the school, is the land nearly level? Did you ever see a broad extent of nearly level land?

Let us imagine that we are out on a piece of nearly level land, many, many times larger than our playground. Such a broad, nearly level stretch of land is called a _plain_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "SUCH A BROAD LEVEL STRETCH OF LAND IS CALLED A PLAIN."]

If this plain were covered with rich green gra.s.s and beautiful flowers, we should call it a _prairie_. In the summer it is a vast sea of waving gra.s.s. On the prairie we might find herds of wild horses and cattle, which feed upon the rich gra.s.s. If it were late in the summer, when the gra.s.s is dry and crisp, it might catch fire, and we might then see a grand sight--a prairie on fire.

We now come to another plain, miles and miles long, miles and miles wide. No rain falls here, and therefore we see no gra.s.s, nor flowers, nor cattle, nor horses, nothing but dry, burning sand, rocks, or gravel.

We are in a _desert_. But we are so thirsty and tired!

No water to drink, no shade from the burning sun! Suddenly, in the midst of the desert, we come to a beautiful gra.s.sy spot. There is a cl.u.s.ter of date-palm trees, and, better still, a well or a spring of fresh water.

This pleasant spot in the desert is called an _oasis_. Here we may quench our thirst, and rest beneath the shade of the trees.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "THIS PLEASANT SPOT IN THE DESERT IS CALLED AN OASIS."]

An _oasis_ is a fertile spot in a desert. What does _fertile_ mean? When do we say land is fertile? When barren? When desert?

Find a picture of a palm tree, and try to draw it.

If we were really in a desert, we might see a company of merchants carrying goods to sell in the countries they visit. Such a company is called a _caravan_. The goods are packed in bundles, which are carried on camels' backs. The camel can live for a long time without drinking, and can carry a heavy load of merchandise a long distance. It is sometimes called the s.h.i.+p of the desert.

Why do travelers use camels to cross the desert? Why do they not use horses? If you can not find answers to these questions in your books at home, ask your teacher about them.

You have seen a small whirlwind in the street. The leaves flew round and round, the dust whirled along in clouds. Trees are sometimes torn from the ground, and houses overturned, by a strong wind.

Now think of a wind-storm in the desert. A loud, rustling noise is heard. Great clouds of fine sand are lifted into the air--clouds which darken the sun! Travelers must at once jump from their camels, cover themselves with their cloaks, and lie flat on the ground.

The poor beasts will close their eyes and nostrils, and kneel with their backs to the wind until the storm has pa.s.sed over.

Thankful will the travelers be if none of them are buried in the sand.

LESSON XII.

HILLS, MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS.

The land is not always level like a plain. In some places it is high and uneven. We all know what a _hill_ is. It is land a little higher than the surrounding country.

Is there a hill near where you live? Let us walk to the _top_, and stand on its _summit_. We will start from the _foot_ or _base_ of the hill.

Now we have climbed its steep, rough _sides_ or _slopes_. Was the ascent difficult? Is the view from the top fine?

[Ill.u.s.tration: "WHAT CAN YOU SEE FROM THE TOP OF THE HILL?"]