Reel and Slide (Mar-Dec 1918)

REEL and SLIDE Sample Lesson in Advance Geography for Seventh Grade Analysis of Test on Yello\vstone Aids Instructor Using the Screen (The test upon which this sample geography lesson was made with a seventh grade school class. In some schools the same grade of work is used in the sixth grade. Yellowstone National Park was the subject. A lecture was given with the exhibition of the films and slides.) THIS lesson in advanced geography was divided into three periods, the study period, the lesson, and the review or examination. The day before the picture was to be shown, we requested the class to get as much information as possible regarding the following things : Rivers, lakes, mountains, mountain peaks, and the divide. As a matter of history, we asked them to tell when and by whom discovered, when taken over by the government as a national park, when the cornerstone at the entrance of Gardner was laid, by whom, and the inscription on the arch. As a matter of government, where Fort Yellowstone is located and why it was there. Of interest to tourists, the number of hotels in system, transportation and route traveled. As a matter of scientific observation. Liberty Cap and what it represented; the terraces, where and how formed, and what territory covered; the Golden Gates, where and how made; Obsidian Cliffs, of what formed; the Mud geysers and "Growler"; the following Water Geysers: Old Faithful, Excelsior, Grotto and Morning Glory; Yellowstone Lake and how surrounded; Hayden Valley, Grand Canyon, the falls, petrified forests and animals of the park. Pictures are taken to be shown at the rate of two minutes for each 100 feet, or twenty minutes per reel of 1,000 feet. Theaters often run them in ten, twelve or fifteen minutes. For educational purposes they should be run very slowly, taking from twenty-six to thirty minutes for a reel. Use Slides Too Where the five-ampere Mazda light is used, the film can be stopped, the automatic shutter raised and a "still" scene shown while describing parts in detail. Where a stronger Mazda light or arc light is used, slides should be interspersed to give an opportunity for this detailed explanation. Before starting the pictures we asked for the names of the first three persons to enter the park and the dates and results of their stories upon returning home — the size of the park and when it was taken over by the government. We opened with a slide showing the archway and asked for the inscription, which was given and repeated by all, namely: "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people." Also referred to the cornerstone that was laid by Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, and that it was made of the lava from the park. Pupils Who See National Park Film, Remember 90%— Those Who Only Hear Lecture on Same Subject, Remember 10%, Six Months LaterCan Be Applied to Any Geography Lesson By Albert C. Derr, D. D., Ph. D. The moving picture then showed the train approaching Gardner station, passengers boarding the coaches, passing through the arch, down Gardner Valley, a distance of six miles, past Fort Yellowstone to Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, the first of A picture of a geyser impresses the mind more than a description of it. the chain of five hotels and three lunch stations. In passing Liberty Cap, we explained that it was the monument of the dead geyser extinct for many years. Going to the terraces which cover nearly 200 acres, near the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, we explained its slow process of formation by hot water passing over it for centuries. Different chemical combinations caused the various shades of the rainbow to be imbedded in the formations. Different names are given to different appearances of formations, as the Pulpit Terrace, so called because it had the appearance of a pulpit, and also a minister at one time delivered a sermon from it. On the regular journey through the park, a distance of 175 miles, the Golden Gate, near Bruiison's Park, was shown. It was explained what the government had done and is doing in building roads and viaducts. Then past the Obsidian cliffs, which is composed of black glass from which the road at its base was made. This glass was used by the Indians to make arrows and instruments of war. The Silver Gate or Hoodoos were shown. This gave an opportunity to explain how the porous rocks were formed centuries ago by a great glacier. The Black Growler, which can be heard at a great distance, was next, showing smoke and steam escaping. Then we entered Norris Geyser basin. This gave timely chance to explain how the heat of the earth caused the various geysers of the park to emit more hot and boiling water into the air in a day than is used by the city of Chicago in the same length of time. Story of Laundry Man (At this point, to "make the permanent existence of the hot water more impressive on the minds of the pupils, we told the story of the Chinaman who said this would be a fine place for a laundry, and the farmer who said it was a good place to scald hogs for butchering.) Passing Old Faithful Inn, in the lower geyser basin toward Yellowstone lake, we then crossed the Divide. We pointed out a spring where part of the water went to the Pacific ocean and a part through the Yellowstone, Missouri and Mississippi rivers to the Gulf of Mexico. Approaching the western shore of Yellowstone lake we pointed out the mud geysers. This afforded the opportunity of explaining that a lesser amount of steam and boiling water simply caused the mud to bubble like boiling mush. Different chemical combinations produced the various colors. We explained that Old Faithful Inn and the Fountain Hotel had decorated their walls with this in place of paint or calcimine. Reaching the lake at the point of the fishing cone, a person was seen pulling a fish out of the lake, dropping it into the boiling water of the cone and cooking his fish. Across the lake the snow-capped Teton and Shoshone mountains could be seen. Passing down the Hayden valley, the Yellowstone river made its way to the Grand Canyon. It had many tributaries, among them Alum Creek. To impress formation of rivers and tributaries, we told two stories of Alum Creek. Alum is supposed to cause contraction. A man with a team of horses and a load of logs drove through Alum Creek. The water was supposed to contract the horses into ponies