How can a place become
a good friend?
An Autobiography of a Place
by Mr. Reilly and Mrs. Keeler
Teacher 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.
Thomas A. Edison and George Eastman (L) with one of the earliest moving picture cameras.
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.
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
City
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/
What is the skeleton outline for
your place’s autobiography?
Location
History
Climate and
Weather
Government
Products (farm
and factory
Tourist Attractions
What is the rubric?
1
Areas Covered <6
2
6
3
6
4
6
Paragraphs
Needed
4-6
6
6
2-3
4-5
5-7
1
2
3-4
small
amount
medium
amount
many
creative
examples
5-6
3-4
<6
Sentences per 0-1
Paragraph
Descriptive
0
very little
Language
Grammar and
Spelling
9-10+ 7-8
many
several
some
or none
few
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 areas
Each area must have its own paragraph
Each area must have 4-5 sentences
Needs medium amount of descriptive
language with only 2 phrases
Grammar 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 all
My 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
State
Need a computer with Internet access
Work from school or home
Requires a Log-In ID and Password
which is provided by your librarian
What does it include?
Magazines, Newspapers and Journals
General and Animal Encyclopedias
Funk & Wagnall’s Dictionary
Images, photos, maps and flags
Primary Source materials
Spanish text articles
What NOVEL collections will we use?
InfoTrac Junior – 300 maps, news, magazines
Primary 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 Español
40 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 place
Fill out graphic organizer with the 6
areas to research
Write down keywords
Use 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 Search
General Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia of Animals
Photos
Dictionary
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 Proceed
Choose Junior
Editon
Type in search terms and choose
media: encyclopedias, maps,
magazines, newspapers,
reference
I need a picture of the canal.
Use search term
canal
Choose 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 organizer
List of keywords
Outline
First draft>Revise>Read aloud>Revise
Final Copy
Print out pictures to match text
Remember to be the Place and
tell your story. Can’t wait to meet
you!