Teacher's Guide for Cobblestone: New York City

EDITOR'S NOTE (page 2)

1. What does the nickname "the Big Apple" mean?
2. Why does New York City have an international flavor?
3. What is the population of New York City? What is the population of your city?

1. What is a borough? When did the five boroughs join to form New York City?
2. Which is the only borough that is part of the mainland?
3. In which borough did New York City begin?
4. When was New Amsterdam founded? Who founded it?
5. Why did Staten Island remain rural? What bridge now connects it to Brooklyn?
6. For what does Brooklyn have a reputation?
7. Which borough has skyscrapers and the financial district? What else can be found in this borough?
8. Which borough has two large airports? What else does it have?
9. Which borough would be a good one to live in if you wanted to go to college?
10. In which borough could you watch a professional baseball game?
11. Which borough would you find most interesting to visit? Give reasons for your choice. Which do you think would be the best one to live in? Why?

1. Why did the Dutch come to North America?
2. What tribe lived on the island when the Dutch arrived? How much did the Dutch pay the Indians for it?
3. What was Peter Stuyvesant's job?
4. Where have the remains of Stuyvesant's farm been found?
5. What was the wall supposed to do? Why didn't it do that?
6. What remains of the original town created by the Dutch?

1. How did Beaver Street get its name?
2. Why was the name of the city changed to New York in 1664?
3. What is located on Wall Street today?
4. What did the stores along Ladies Mile offer that was new?
5. How did the Dakota apartment building get its name?
6. Who lives and works in Soho now? What is being preserved in the historic district there?

1. What does the word "ethnic" mean?
2. Name some of the ethnic groups found in New York's neighborhoods.
3. How are Little Italy and Chinatown alike?
4. Where can you learn about immigrant life?
5. Who lives in Greenwich Village?
6. For what did Harlem become a center?

1. What foods are found in the Italian neighborhoods?
2. Which ingredients could you find for Chinese cooking?
3. What do the Jewish markets sell?
4. Give two examples of foods you might buy from a street vendor.
5. Use your telephone book to locate ethnic restaurants in your town. Make a list of the different types of cuisine available in your area.

1. Why does New York have the South Street Seaport Museum? What can you see there?
2. Where is Central Park? How big is it? Who designed it?
3. Where could you go to see dinosaur skeletons?
4. What did Fiorello La Guardia do for New York City as its mayor?
5. What did Shirley Chisholm achieve?

Try this crossword puzzle.

1. What invention was necessary before skyscrapers could be built?
2. Describe the three main building techniques from which present-day skyscrapers have evolved.
3. How tall is the Empire State Building? When was it built? What building has surpassed it in height?

1. What portion of New York's workers commute?
2. How many people use the subway system yearly?
3. What kinds of jobs are available in the Financial District?
4. When did New York become a manufacturing center? Why have many manufacturers left New York?
5. What industry is called the "rag trade"? How important a source of jobs is this?
6. What share of the publishing industry (based on nationwide earnings) is in New York?
7. For what types of jobs is Madison Avenue famous?
8. What jobs are created by the arts that flourish in New York?
9. What jobs are created by tourists?

1. Why was the game of stickball adapted from baseball?
2. What is a stoop? What use is made of it in the game stoopball?
3. Have you ever played any of the games mentioned in this article?

1. Why is the name of this drink deceptive?
2. Have you ever been in a soda fountain as described in this article? What is your favorite drink? Where would you go to buy it?

1. What does the Museum of the City of New York collect? Do you have a museum like this in your town? If so, have you visited it?
2. Why could the Sailor Holding a Compass Binnacle be considered a piece of folk art?
3. What kinds of toys can you see at the museum? What do toys tell us about a society?
4. For how many years were fires fought by volunteers? How did the fire wagons get to the fires?
5. What can you learn in the Prints and Photographs Collection?
6. Which of these exhibits sounds the most interesting to you?

1. Write a short story using the photograph on pages 34 - 35 as your inspiration.
2. Write a short essay comparing the games children played in New York City in the past to the things you and your friends do for entertainment today.
3. If you have a city museum, visit it and write a description of the exhibits that you find most interesting.

What Are Public Works? (August 1983),
Alexander Hamilton (March 1987),
Chicago: An American City (April 1987),
America's Folk Art (August 1991).

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Updated: 5/23/13 04:45 pm
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