On March 23, 2000, Rogers School fourth graders went to the prairie lot on La Salle Boulevard in Marquette Heights, Illinois. We went to the prairie lot to watch the firemen burn it.

We got to walk through it. It was about 5 ­ 7 feet tall or higher. It was hard to see around us. Can you guess how the pioneers felt? We walked through it also to scare the animals out.

Fire is important to the prairie grass every year because it is good for the seeds. It helps them to germinate. Once it started to burn, it sounded like popcorn popping. It only took 10 ­ 15 minutes to burn.

It was fun and scary to watch the prairie to burn. We felt like pioneers in the 1700 ­ 1800's. Thanks to the Marquette Heights and North Pekin firemen, we were safe and had a fun field trip.