ABC’s Of New York
Written and Illustrated by
Mrs. Lazar’s 4th Graders
A is for the Big
Apple….
By Aurora W.
In the Big Apple,
There are lots of stores,
And lots of hotels,
For all the people
New York City is the biggest city in the United
States.
In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up the river
that now bears his name and went as far as
Albany. In 1664, Great Britain’s Duke of York
sent a fleet that quietly seized the settlement
from the Dutch without bloodshed and
rechristened the colony in honor of the Duke.
Congress met in New York City from 1785 to
1790.
In 1898, when Greater New York was charted,
the city expanded which includes the following
five boroughs, which are also counties in New
York State: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx,
Queens, and State Island.
“The Big Apple” is a major world capital and a
world leader in finance, the arts, and
communications. This port of the world is one
of the finest in the world and ranks as the
largest port complex on the East Coast.
In September 2001, terrorist hijackers
crashed two commercial jets into the World
Trade Center in lower Manhattan, causing the
complete destruction of the Twin Towers.
.
B is for Building…
The Empire State Building is the
largest building in New York State. The
By Alex G.
Empire State Building’s construction
began in 1931 and ended in 1972. The
Standing as the biggest building in NY State,
building has 6 freight elevators. The
Weighing about 100 tons, this building is probably
Empire State Building claimed 5 lives
pasted all over Godzilla’s room! [Also a midnight
Snack!] The Empire State Building touching the clouds. while being constructed. There is a
lightning rod on the top that gets
struck about 23 times a year. The
Empire State Building was originally
designed to park zeppelins. The
building was the first building to have
100 floors. The building was also built
for TVs and radio broadcast. The
Empire State Building has windows
that light up into different colors due
to the event. It is 1,454 feet tall.
The Empire State Building
C is for the
Chrysler Building
By Johnny D.
Tall, reaching for the stars,
Skyscraper, gray with glass windows
Unforgettable
3rd tallest building in NYC, no wonder it’s
reaching for the stars!
The Chrysler Building has
77 floors. The building is
a symbol of freedom. It is
the third tallest building
in NYC. The best view is
on Third Avenue and
44th Street. It is an art
deco style. William Van
Allen designed it. The
Chrysler building was
sold for $220 million
dollars. It was also the
tallest brick building until
2001.
D is for Douglas
Frederick Douglas….
By Maddie J.
Was a slave,
Bad childhood, good person
Loved to learn,
Planned an escape,
Got freedom!!!!
Frederick Douglas was a slave. He
was born in 1818. They didn’t know
the exact date. Fredrick Douglas had
a bad childhood because his mother
died when he was ten. Then he
secretly started learning how to write.
Frederick Douglas got in trouble for
writing because slaves are not
allowed to learn how to read and
write. He got tired of being treated
badly, so he planned an escape. Once
he got out from being a slave,
Fredrick Douglas got married. He
died on February 20, 1895. One of his
sayings was “No man can put a chain
about the ankle of his fellow man
with out at last finding the other end
fastened about his own neck.”
E is for Erie Canal
By Zack B.
The long and tall Erie Canal, over a
towering 25 feet deep. It was little pay, but
when it was done it looked beautiful.
The Erie Canal was built in
1817 when the president
was Dewitt Clinton. The
Erie Canal was finally
finished in 1825. In the
1820’s the Erie Canal
caused a canal boom. The
Erie Canal is 363 miles long
and is a special landmark to
NY. Workers only got 50
cents per day to work on the
Erie Canal and used their
bare hands, picks and
shovels.
F is for Finger
Lakes
By Olivia W.
Rocky shore, Shimmering fish,
Glistening water
Salty Seas
There are 11 Finger
Lakes. The Finger
Lakes were carved out
by glaciers. They are
called The Finger
Lakes because the
lakes look like fingers.
Believe it or not but,
the Finger Lakes are
part of the Iroquois
homeland. The biggest
lake is the Seneca.
G is for Garnet
By Olivia W.
Beautiful sparkling garnets
Red wine for NY
Pretty red rocks
Pretty red garnets
Small garnets big garnets
The NY State
gemstone is the wine
garnet. The garnet is a
large group of rocks
and minerals. Barton
Mines in the
Adirondack
Mountains is the
world’s largest garnet
mine.
H is for the
Hudson River
Oh mighty river, you run so
fast. Sparkling in the
sunlight as you go.
First sighted by Verrazano in
1524 and then explored by
Henry Hudson in 1609, the
Hudson was a major route for
the Native Americans and
Dutch and English traders
and settlers. Many industries
are located along the banks of
the Hudson River and it
continues to be an important
trade route today.
I is for the
Iroquois
By Luke C.
Sparkling rivers, speeding down
waterfalls. Long houses stretch across
open fields. Animals play and fight
under the sun, Iroquois, Iroquois!
The French named the Iroquois.
They were in the League of
Confederacy in North East
America. The Onondaga broke
ties and had veto decisions made
by others. There was a written
constitution that described these
proceeds. In the 1500’s, they
settled in NY-originally they
called themselves
Haudenosaunee, meaning
People of the Longhouse. They
were hunters and gatherers, but
their main staple came from
farming. They harvested the
Three Sisters; Corn, Beans and
Squash in a very specific
manner. The Iroquois are very
spiritual people known for their
masks which they used for
religious purposes.
J is for NY Jets
By Sedona S.
Rough, tough, strong and bold the Jets can
win it all.
Football soars through the air
Touchdown!
The New York Jets are a
football team. The New
York Jets old coach was
Rex Ryan. Now their
new coach is Dan
Quinn. The Jet’s owner
is Woody Johnson. They
won one Super Bowl in
1968. Before 1963, they
were called the New
York Titans, but then
changed it to the New
York Jets to reflect their
strength. The Jets first
game was in 1960.
K is for Kodak
By Ethan G.
Kodak,
Letter k,
Secure, safe
Everyone knew George, he loved cameras. Big
house
You’d be proud to work there
Kodak was founded in
1888 by George Eastman
in Rochester, NY. At first
he was a messenger boy
and got three dollars an
hour. He worked day and
night. Eastman’s favorite
letter is k so he used that
in the name Kodak. He
chose Kodak because it
was a meaningless word
and easy to promote. He
worked for three years
straight trying to develop
the hand held camera.
Eastman died in 1932.
L is for Liberty…
The Statue of Liberty
By Jack M.
Towering over the NYC Harbor.
Freedom awaits.
All the steps make me dizzy.
And then I
fall
down.
The real name for the Statue
of Liberty is “Liberty
Enlightening the World”. The
statue was designed by a
French sculptor named
“Fredric Bartholdi”. The
Statue of Liberty honors the
“American Declaration of
Independence” and was a gift
from France. In 1886 the
statue was dedicated and
rusted green. The torch now
has a 24k gold leaf. The robed
female represents “Libertas
the Roman Goddess of
Freedom”. Visitors have to
climb 354 stairs to reach the
crown and the statues face is
said to be modeled on the
sculptors mother “Charlotte”.
M is for Monument
The Twin Towers Monument
By Cullen F.
The twin towers used
To be soaring far above
The buildings low and high.
The Twin Towers
monument is in
remembrance and to honor
the nearly 3,000 people
killed in terror attacks of
September 11, 2001 at the
World Trade Center site,
near Shankville, Pa., and at
the Pentagon as well.
The memorials twin
reflecting pools are each
nearly an acre in size and
feature the largest man
made waterfalls in North
America.
The pools sit within the
foot prints where the Twin
Towers once stood.
N is for Niagara
Falls
By Thomas L.
Niagara Falls is no laughing matter.
It is fun for the smaller and fatter.
When I feel the breeze I think I
might freeze my teeth will chatter
and chatter.
Niagara Falls is made up of 3
different waterfalls. Niagara Falls
was created by glacier activity more
than 12,000 years ago. Niagara Falls
has the highest flow rate of water on
the whole earth. Did you know that
movies such as Pirates of the
Caribbean and Superman where
filmed here? Another fact is that
about 90% of fish that fall of the
falls survive. Another fact is that if
you’re on the Canadian side of the
falls you are almost bound to see a
rainbow. One last fact is that an
island named Goat Island is
between the Horseshoe Falls and
the Bridal falls and if you look close
enough you can see a monument.
This monument was made for a
Siberian/American inventor named
Nicole Tesla.
O is for
Orchards
By Caden W.
A farm is small but makes our
food. Sometimes calming, the
dirt is fresh, the barn is dirty
with animals. The food a farm
produces starts with wheat and
plants.
Climate & Soil
New York has a temperate climate with annual
precipitation of 47 per year. The temperature ranges
between 106F and -25F, but the Atlantic Ocean tends to
moderate weather extremes in the city.
Crops& Livestock
Fruit-New York’s fruit crops were valued at $332
million in 2010.
Livestock
Beef cattle and retired dairy cattle are also important.
Other livestock products are eggs, poultry, hogs and
sheep.
Crops
New York is a leading fruit and vegetable producer in
the eastern part of the country.
Vegetable farms produce cabbages, cucumbers, greens
peas, onions, snap beans, squash, sweet corn and
tomatoes.
The state’s leading fruit crops are apples, followed by
grapes. New York is a leading (#2) apple producing
state. Other important fruit crops are cherries and
peaches.
The big field crops are hay and corn, used as feed for
New York’s livestock.
P is for St. Patrick’s
Cathedral
By Alex G.
The biggest cathedral in NY State, built during
the Civil War,
Named after St. Patrick.
This castle, made of sandstone,
Fancy as a palace,
this is St. Patrick’s Cathedral!!
The St. Patrick Cathedral
is the largest Cathedral is
the USA. It cost 177
million dollars to build.
The length is 332FT and
the width is 174FT. Inside
is the tomb for St.
Elisabeth Ann Seton. In
1870 it was in danger of
collapsing. 5 million
people visit each year.
The construction begun
in 1858 and stopped
because of the civil war
and begun again in 1865
and completed in 1878.
The Cathedral was named
after St. Patrick, Saint of
Ireland.
Q is for
Queen of the Falls
By Helena W.
Queen of the Falls
Unexpected
Embarking on an adventure
Enormous fall
Nervous
In 1921, Annie
Edison Taylor was
the first person to go
over Niagara Falls in
a barrel and survive
the trip. She went
over the falls to
avoid the poor
house, but when she
went over the falls
she did not get the
money she was
hoping for. Her
stunt brought
attention not the
money.
R is for
Norman Rockwell
By Charlotte B.
Many paintings of his
That many people know of
Very detailed
A household name
Norman Rockwell was a fantastic
painter who is well known, and is a
household name. Norman
Rockwell was born in New York
City on February 3, 1894. His first
paintings were for Boys Life
Magazine. Rockwell knew he
wanted to be an artist at 14. Later,
Norman Rockwell was such a
fantastic drawer, that at the young
age of 17 he got his first paid job.
This job was to paint covers for The
Saturday Evening Post. People
loved Norman, and millions read
the Saturday Evening Post. His
covers never offended anyone. In
1963, his last cover was illustrated.
He also illustrated for a book called
Tell Me Why: A Book About Mother
Nature. One of Norman Rockwell’s
paintings was in the White House.
Norman Rockwell died at the age of
74 on November 8, 1978.
S is for
Samuel D. Champlain
By Cate M.
Brave explorer, passing through the
jungle, spotting new animals, listing to the
sound of animals and making maps!
Samuel D. Champlain is one
of the best explorers of
North America. He was
born in 1574 in France.
Lake Champlain was named
after Samuel D. Champlain
because he discovered it.
He also explored St.
Lawrence River in NY and
Niagara Falls! Samuel D.
Champlain made maps so
he learned about the seas.
Samuel died of a stroke in
1635
T is for
Twin Towers
By Lydia B.
Twin towers stand for peace. Lots of
people died. People wanted to destroy the
towers because it stood for peace.
On September 11, 2001,
nearly 3,000 people were
killed. 9/11 was the single
largest loss of life from a
foreign attack on American
soil. 18 people were rescued
alive from the rubble of the
World Trade Center site.
The World Trade Center
complex, the Twin Towers,
were 110 stories each. The
Twin Towers were the tallest
buildings in New York City
when they were built. They
attracted roughly 70,000
tourists and commuters every
day. The Twin Towers were
completed in 1973.
U is for Under
Ground Subway
By Garett L.
Underground,
lots of trains,
zooming by
“Zoom, Zoom, Zoom”
said the trains
The rails go 298,795 miles
under the ground. It goes
under 7,207 streets. There are
468 stations in NYC subway. It
has 6,200 cars on the tracks. It
opened on October 27, 1904.
They started in 1904 on the
project. Since it was finished,
so far there are about 5.5
million riders a year. There is
660 miles of track for
passengers.
V is for
Vegetation
(NY plant and animal life)
By Sedona S.
The flower blooms,
A beaver swims,
A bluebird soars gorgeously through the
air.
New York has many trees,
animals, and plants that
have been named to
represent our state. The
New York state bird is the
Eastern Bluebird. Also, the
New York State flower is a
rose. The state animal is a
beaver. The beaver was
named our state animal in
1975. Also, our state insect
is a ladybug. Our state tree
is a sugar maple tree,
which we use to make
maple syrup. In New York
we have lots of dogs and
cats, our most common
pets.
W is for World’s
Best Lacrosse
By Dominic P.
Wining 24 championships,
Good stack work,
The Topspin brothers shooting,
Hard hits
Rochester Ratters Lacrosse
Ratters lacrosse played their
first MLL game in 2001, in
the Eastern Conference. In
2005, they won their first
championship, and then won
again in 2006, and 2007. The
Rattlers home stadium is
named Sahlen. There are
colors black, Gold, red and
white. The game lacrosse has
been around for thousands of
years, and was invented by
the indigenous people of New
York.
X Marks the Spot
For Quirky Mines
By Zack B.
Clear diamonds,
When you are found, people’s hearts fill
with joy. You are sharp, you have to mine
under the rocks to get to you.
Herkimer Mines are mostly
open rocky fields. The
diamonds are really just
clear quartz. The mines are
named after General
Herkimer. The “diamonds”
come from quartz’s being so
clear. The best time to mine
is after it rains. They are
located in Herkimer County
near the New York State
border.
Y is for
Yankee Stadium
By Travis P.
Yankee stadium is cool…
It smells like hotdogs, loud to your or my ears,
costs a lot of money from your wallet, actually
it costs more than a penny.
The Yankee’s Stadium is also
called the house of Ruth that
Elson built. The Yankees
Stadium was closed in 2008 and
opened back up in April 2009.
In April 23, 1903 the New York
Highlanders won their first
game; a 7-2 wins over
Washington. Harry Howell
pitched the winning pitch. It was
the former home of the New
York Giants. Outside the
Yankees Stadium there is a big
baseball bat signed by Babe
Ruth. It was built in 1923.
41,995 fans visit every year.
Z is for Zoo
The Bronx Zoo
By Maddie J.
The Bronx Zoo
Busy!
Swimming penguins!
Red, bouncing kangaroos!
Kids laughing and running!
Birds flying through the air!
Hungry tigers scanning the lively jungle!
ROAR!!!
The Bronx Zoo is one of the
most famous zoos in the
world. It opened
November 8th, 1899. The
Bronx Zoo has 6,000
animals and 22 exhibits. It
is the largest urban zoo in
New York, covering 265
acres. More than 2 million
people come to the zoo
every year.