Note: It is recommended to keep a notebook or binder to hold the exercise work described in this text. Alternatively, you can print pages for the notebook work by clicking the 'N' printer icon on the main textbook page.

What river flows near your home? Have you ever seen it? Where were you when you saw it? How did it look? What did you notice along its banks? What was on the river? Was there any way of crossing over to the opposite bank?

Have you seen boats dock on your river? People have built many wharves on the banks of the rivers. If you stand on the wharf of certain rivers, you see great ferry-boats crowded with people and cars. Back and forth these boats go, carrying the people from one side of the river to the other.

Sometimes tugboats and barges come up big rivers. They have carried people, food, and clothing on long journeys. Some boats are loaded with coal or lumber. There are many pretty sailboats and rowboats too. In some you will see fishermen. They bring the fish back for the city people to eat.

Imagine you are in a big city on a riverbank. Before the city was built there was beautiful country all along the banks. If you travel up the river, leaving the city far behind, you will see some fine scenery. Perhaps you will pass beautiful woods. Some of the trees bend over the river as if they were looking at their reflections in the clear water. At places, there are broad fields where the cows come down to drink the cool water. Farther up there are hills or mountains rising far above the banks. You will notice that the river is growing narrower and narrower until it is but a small stream. If you go down the river again, you will see that it gradually widens as it flows on to the mouth.

Notebook Work: Label the top of your notebook page with "LESSON 1." Go for a walk to a nearby stream or river, or examine the picture of the busy river shown below. Sketch your chosen river and the surrounding land in your notebook. Depending on what you see, you might draw the following: Water (including ripples, waves, currents, or reflections in the water), riverbanks, animals, boats and other vehicles, roads, bridges, buildings, people, and vegetation.