How can a place become a good friend?

An Autobiography of a Place

by Mr. Reilly and Mrs. KeelerTeacher and Teacher-Librarian

.

When I opened my mail box today, I was

delighted to find a letter from an old

friend, named Rochester New York. We’ve been friends for a long time but I

wanted to know more about him.

In his letter he wrote:

Dear Friend, “I am writing to you about my life.I

haven’t talked to you in awhile. I am sending my autobiography so you can know me better. I am enclosing a good picture of me on my birthday. I hope we can be best friends!

Your pal,Rochester

The Life of Rochester New York

My name is Rochester. I am a city. I was born in 1811.

This is a good picture of me on a sunny

day.

I live on the continent of

North America, in the

northeastern part of the

country, the United States.

I am in the western section of the state of New York in the county of Monroe.

It’s easy for me to get a drink because I have Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, at the top of me and the Genesee River flows right through my middle.

I’m about 185 years old. Before I was a village and then a town, and a city, the Seneca Indians lived where I am. They were part of the Iroquois nation and were called “Keepers of the Western Nation.”

I got my name from Nathaniel Rochester who started flour mills here. That’s how I became known as the “Flour City.” There are no flour mills any more, so now I’m the “Flower City.”

I wouldn’t be as big as I am, though without the Erie Canal. Before it was built, my sisters Buffalo, Syracuse, and I were just little towns. But all the trade on the canal turned into what they called “boom towns” because we grew so fast.

I am covered with ice and snow in the winter.

The people who make my rules are a mayor and a city council. A group of people called a School Board run my schools and of course we have policemen and firemen to keep me safe.

I have built many products over the years, but right now the big ones are cameras and film, copiers, eyeglasses, and auto parts. I am also a good area to grow corn, wheat and apples.

Thomas A. Edison and George Eastman (L) with one of the earliest moving picture cameras.

              

You must come and visit my Lilac Festival. Thousands of people come each year from all over the world to see my spring clothes.

I hope you will come and visit me someday. I have grown and have many children. They all live near me.

Now it is your turn. Send your autobiography.

My friend, Mexico says Hola!

What place should you choose?Look at a map and choose one :

Country or

State or Province or

Cityhttp://www.ibiblio.org/wm/

What is the skeleton outline for your place’s autobiography?

LocationHistoryClimate and WeatherGovernmentProducts (farm and factoryTourist Attractions

What is the rubric?1 2 3 4

Areas Covered

<6 6 6 6

Paragraphs Needed

<6 4-6 6 6

Sentences per Paragraph

0-1 2-3 4-5 5-7

Descriptive Language

0 very little

1 small amount

2 medium

amount

3-4 many creative examples

Grammar and Spelling

9-10+ many

7-8 several

5-6 some

3-4 few or none

To achieve a score of 4:

You must cover all 6 areas: location, history, climate, government, products, tourist attractions

Each area must have its own paragraph You must fully cover each area with 5-7 (or more)

well-written sentences You must use descriptive language(adjectives,

similes) Examples: towering mountains, delicious apples, cold as a witches’ heart

Your grammar (punctuation, capitalization, word usage, spelling and etc.) must have only 3-4 mistakes.

To achieve a Score of 3:

Cover all 6 areasEach area must have its own paragraphEach area must have 4-5 sentencesNeeds medium amount of descriptive language with only 2 phrasesGrammar and spelling must have a few or 5-6 mistakes

To achieve a Score of 2:

I write about 6 areas.I do use 4-6 paragraphs.I use 2-3 sentences or less on each area.I 1 descriptive language descriptive language phrase.I make many 7-8 errors in spelling and grammar.

To achieve a Score of 1:

I do NOT hand in a paper at allMy paper is NOT readable or understandable.

What Internet resource can I use for research?

NOVEL or New York Online Virtual Electronic Library

Statewide virtual library Provided free to the public in New York StateNeed a computer with Internet accessWork from school or homeRequires a Log-In ID and Password which is provided by your librarian

What does it include?

Magazines, Newspapers and JournalsGeneral and Animal EncyclopediasFunk & Wagnall’s DictionaryImages, photos, maps and flagsPrimary Source materialsSpanish text articles

What NOVEL collections will we use?

InfoTrac Junior – 300 maps, news, magazinesPrimary Search via Searchasaurus contains

60 elementary magazines,30 full text reference books, Encyclopedia of Animals, Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia, American Heritage Dictionary

MasterFILE contains:775 periodicals, 1200 pamphlets, 40 reference books

What collection is in Spanish?

Informé Revistas en Español40 full text Spanish-language and bilingual magazine journals, reports and maps, a total of over 75,000 articles updated daily.

How do I begin?

Choose your placeFill out graphic organizer with the 6 areas to researchWrite down keywordsUse keywords to search NOVEL for maps, pictures and information

How do I use NOVEL?In your browser, type:

http://rochestersls.rcsdk12.org

Click on “Online Resources”

Click on: Ebsco Reference Tools

Type in: ID and Password

Click on the dinosaur!

Where does Searchasaurus live?

He lives on some islands in the Sea of Research.

Primary SearchGeneral EncyclopediaEncyclopedia of AnimalsPhotosDictionary

What is an encyclopedia?

Facts about people, places and things.

Click on this island

Put in search terms about your place and press Enter.

Where can I get pictures?

What are the terms of use for images and information?

“Users may download or print limited copies of citations, abstracts, full text or portions thereof provided the information is used solely for personal, non-commercial use.

How do I copy pictures?

Click on thumbnail to enlarge.Right click on it then copy and paste into Word document or Powerpoint

How do I use Gale Reference tools? Click on it.

Info Trac doorway

Type in Password: Click on ProceedChoose Junior Editon

Type in search terms and choose media: encyclopedias, maps, magazines, newspapers, reference

I need a picture of the canal.

Use search term canalChoose magazines as media

Found information and photo about Rochester in one article.

THANKS TO THE ERIE CANAL, Rochester--now New York's third largest city--became America's first "boom town." Before the canal, the town's main industry was flour, made from wheat ground by waterwheels powered by the Genesee River. With the advent of the canal in 1825, however, Rochester's flour could be easily shipped to reach a far greater market, and business boomed.

Info Trac gave me Rochester’s birthdate.

Rochester, Nathaniel. Roch*es*ter Pronunciation: `räch-&-st&r, -,es-ter, Nathaniel.1752–1831. American pioneer, b. Westmoreland Co., Va. Purchased land (1800) in Genesee region of upper New York state and founded the city of Rochester (1811).

How do you put it all together?

Graphic organizerList of keywordsOutlineFirst draft>Revise>Read aloud>ReviseFinal CopyPrint out pictures to match text

Remember to be the Place and tell your story. Can’t wait to meet

you!