True Story by Brady Clayton

The Diary of Brady

I went down by the Columbia River. I saw a little man carved in the rocks. There was a sign that said, "You can't take the petroglyphs." Petroglyphs are carvings from a long time ago. Petroglyphs were used for making stories thousands of years ago. They put paint on the lines of the petroglyphs, so they wouldn't get all nasty and soon, the weather wouldn't make it so you can't see the petroglyphs.

We also went to the Maryhill Museum. We saw the crown jewels from Romania. There were peacocks there. They were not native. The Chinook people used carved rocks and straight up and down, fat sticks, or spears. They would sneak up on the animal and kill it and then go back to thir home and skin it. Then they would put the animal on a stick and roast it. Then they would eat it.

Brady Clayton, 3rd Grade

Fiction Story by Cole Lucky

Chinook Fisherman's Fate

We are going to meet our new neighbors. So are traveling in canoes. We have our eyes out for danger. The kids were watching the waterfalls while the adults listened to the sound of the canoes as they slowly passed by. It sounded like small waves starting to form at the ocean.

But then, when I closed my eyes for two seconds, I could not see the other canoes. All I could see was rough water and two screaming children. I saw a couple of waterfalls and the water got swifter and swifter. There were some rocks close to shore. So I threw the two youngest kids onto shore so they would be safe.

Then the canoe flipped over. Then we swam to shore. The men were waiting with the two children on shore. The canoe was broken in half. We continued on with the adventure.

Cole Lucky, 4th grade

Canoe Day

We put on orange life vests. If the life vest was over your nose, then it was too big. The captain helped us get on the canoe. Then he taught us how to paddle. Then we started to go, but he helped us a little by turning on the motor. Then we paddled downriver. We saw a snake in the water. The kids jumped. Then it slithered by the boat. It looked like a black and brown snake.

Next we paddled into the big river. Then we started to turn around and play this neat game with popsicle sticks. The captain had this sack full of bird bones. You throw the popsicle sticks in the air. If you got one X and one O, you won one bird bone, but you didn't get to keep it. The captain built the canoe himself. It was a Chinook canoe. The game was a Chinook game. We came back to the school and wrote.

Hannah Woods, 3rd grade

Sternwheeler Trip

09-22-08

The Sternwheeler trip was fun. We saw docks. People were fishing. We saw a rock that fell from a volcano. We got to spray a hose. It was exciting. We saw a dam. It was big. We got to see the Gorge. It was beautiful. The boat was really cool. I like the Sternwheeler.

Monty
Grade 3

We Went Walking

We went walking down the hall of Corbett Grade School.
We saw pictures and family trees.
Katie M. drew a river and waterfall.
At the library, we saw the Wild About Books book. It looks like a fun book. Animals on the cover are reading.
Then we saw field trip pictures from Larch Mountain and Vista House.
We saw Mrs. Dawkins’s pictures of skiing.
Our school is cool, because it helps everybody learn about Corbett and the Gorge.

Nichole, grade 3

Example: Corbett Grade School Field Trip to Multnomah Falls

Last spring, the third and fourth grades at Corbett Grade school visited Multnomah Falls for a scavenger hunt. The first part of the path was a dark tunnel under the highway. We stopped to read about the type of salmon fry that might be living in Multnomah creek. Then, as we came out of the tunnel, Multnomah falls stretched up into the sky ahead of us. The waterfall foamed and roared as we searched for the answers to our scavenger hunt. Then, some unseeable piece of matter began to irritate one of my eyes.

Zoe's mom told the story of the princess who sacrificed herself in the waterfall so that her people could have a successful harvest. I wonder which tribe she was in and whether it worked out for them. We hiked up to a bridge right in front of the falls. Everyone was soaked in the mist.

Having collected information about the local wildflowers and trees we went into the Multnomah Falls Info Center for a question & answer session. They had all kinds of bones, animal ad plant specimens in drawers that we could look at and hold. They also had a scale model of the whole gorge. Mrs. Handy recommended some of her favorite hikes to me. I am excited to try them out!