"My New York" Project

The class began with an essay entitled, "My New York." It was inspired by essays in the New York Times. The Times interviewed ten 17-year-olds from various neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs of New York City, asking them to describe their experiences as New Yorkers.
Read them here:

My So-Called Gossipy Life

'If I'm Not Busy, I Complain That I'm Bored, but When I Am Busy, It's Like, Oh, My God.'

'I Was the Most Athletic Girl, the Best Girl Playing Sports.'

ALL DRESSED UP
The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

'My Family Has High Hopes for Me Because They Know I'm Going to Do Great Things.'

PIN MONEY
Angst Amid the Artichokes

'You Don't Have to Do Bad Things to Be in a Gang. You Don't Have to Do Anything You Don't Want to Do.'

SOPHISTICATED LADIES
Girls, Mean and Otherwise

UP AND ABOUT
University Blues

'A Lot of Girls Like Me Because I'm Original and Enthusiastic and Also Because I Like to Play the Piano.'

'We're Always Talking About How We All Want to Have Boyfriends, and How We Have So Much Love to Give but No One to Give It To.'

THE HANG
The Island of Black Jeans

'My Parents Had This Big Argument Over Whose Fault It Was, Why I Chose to Be This Way.'

'Our Year Is the Most Competitive Year in the History of College Applications. Or Something Like That.'

'Some People Are Like, "Why Are You All Dressed Up in School?" but People Judge You by the Way You Take Care of Yourself.'

'I Had to Work, Because if I Didn't, There Wouldn't Be Food on the Plate.'

Where They Were, on That Day

ABOUT THE INTERVIEWER:
When He Was Seventeen
By CHRISTOPHER SORRENTINO

ASSIGNMENTS:
1) Write your own "My New York" story. Write about any neighborhood within the five boroughs of New York City, and your relationship to that neighborhood. Remember, New York City includes the "Other Islands," such as Roosevelt Island, Riker's Island, Wards and Randall's Island, Ellis Island, Governor's Island, and many others. You may write about those as well, if you so choose. You may write about where you live, or a place where you love to hang out. Your essay should be approximately two typed pages (Times New Roman 12 point font, 1.5 line spacing).

2) Research the neighborhood: What was going on in the neighborhood 200 years ago? 150 years ago? 100 years ago? 75 years ago? 50 years ago? 40 years ago? 20 years ago? What is it like now? Using Google, find information about your neighborhood's history. Remember to check the URL (web address) of the sites you go to for the validity of their information by going to the "about us," or root directory pages. Be sure to use more than one source for your research material. Print out your research materials and put them in your folder.

3) Read your materials. Highlight relevant information that focuses on your specific neighborhood.

4) Write up your research. On lined paper, describe the history of your neighborhood as you understand it. Make sure your write-up is written IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Do not plagarize. That means do not copy the words right out of the sources that you have used. Make sure to cite your sources, listing the title of the website and the URL, as you describe the information you have gathered. All research materials from the internet must be printed out, and must be in your folder when you hand in your research write-up.

5) Create a PowerPoint presentation illustrating your research. Use Google Image Search to find your pictures. Remember to VARY YOUR SEARCH TERMS in order to find pictures that illustrate the history of your chosen neighborhood. The PowerPoint presentation will be displayed behind you as you give your presentation on the history of your neighborhood. You should not include all the text from your write-up. Use words sparingly, and historical images generously.

6) Prepare the spoken part of your presentation. Plan out what you are going to say, and how you're going to say it. You may use note cards or notes from your write-up during the presentation. The audience of your fellow students will assess your presentation according to the Presentation Assessment Rubric handed out in class.