Here he is at the computer giving his power point presentation. I was quite impressed! His presentation was well put together, was organized and looked great!
Here he is showing his class his presentation board. He included fun facts about New Jersey. (Did you know that there are more cars stolen in Newark, New Jersey than any other city? Or did you know that the game Monopoly is based on the city of Atlantic City, New Jersey?)He also included some maps, state symbols and other information about New Jersey.
Kayden went with me to the presentation of his state report and insisted on taking McKay's picture with my camera. (Boy that kid is stubborn!) If you would like to read up on New Jersey and catch some of McKay's personality in how he gave his state report read on (sorry some of the spacing is messed up because there were pictures included throughout his report that wouldn't copy over):Introduction
Hello my name is McKay White and I will be telling you about New Jersey. To be honest, I didn’t know too much New Jersey at first. All I knew was my cousins live there. I live on the other side of the U.S.A. New Jersey was one of the original thirteen colonies, it’s small, it has more population per square mile than any other state, and it has some awesome beach resorts.
From previewing my book, I have learned that Thomas Edison lived there, the Ford Mansion served as a head quarters for George Washington during the Revolutionary War, and the average people per square mile is 995. I have also learned that New Jersey is one of the leading producers when it comes to cranberries and also New Jersey has some chemical companies. The fact that interests me the most is the game monopoly is based on Atlantic City, which is in New Jersey.
If you continue reading my report you will learn about the history of New Jersey, three famous people that lived in New Jersey, and the climate. You would also learn about the industry, the state symbols, and there will also be a map of New Jersey. Don’t put this report down! Hopefully by the end of my report you will have learned just as much about New Jersey as I have.
Places of Interest
Have you ever been to New Jersey? I have, but I was too young to remember anything. You might consider visiting historical sites, events that happen once a year, Museums, and the National Parks.
There are plenty of historic sites to visit. There is Nation wide stuff like Edison’s lab. Then there is stuff like Burlington Historic District, and Morristown Park that people don’t know too much about. You probably didn’t know that half the Statue of Liberty is in New Jersey.
If you are like me you might want to go to the seasonal temporary events. They have some awesome events like New Jersey Festival of balloons for those people who love balloons, the Native American Pow-wow, you might also want to go to the Miss America Pageant, New Jersey Flower and Garden show, The State Fair, and the New Jersey State Ethnic Festival.
If you like museums you might want to visit Museums, Halls of Fame, and Exhibits. There is the New Jersey Aquarium, the New Jersey State Museum, Newark Museum, and The National Boy Scouts of America building. Don’t forget the National Parks! There is the Morris Cannel, Liberty State park, Seaside Resorts, and the Delaware River. You should also visit the Delaware Water Gap, The Appalachian Trail, and Port Newark.
History
Natives:
New Jersey, of course, had Native Americans like all of the other states. The main Natives that lived in New Jersey were the Lenni-Lenape. Legends claim that the Lenni-Lenape came from the north from what is called today, Canada. The Lenni-Lenape were an industrious people. They farmed and hunted; they sometimes made dug-out canoes sometimes large enough to hold up to twenty people, and hunted sea food like fish, oysters, clams and other shell fish.
Explorers and Colonists:
Every colony had explorers and colonists including New Jersey. Giovanni Da Verrazano was probably the first European to see the shores of New Jersey. Shortly after, the Dutch claimed a huge amount of land that included parts of New Jersey and New York. They named it New Netherland. More and more British colonists arrived every year, and then in 1664 British troops marched in to New Netherland. Governor Peter Stuyvesant surrendered his capital city without a shot being fired. King Charles the second gave some of New Netherland to his brother Duke of York. Then later some of New York was named New Jersey.
Colonial Life:
The colony of New Jersey had British I’ve course, but it also had Dutch, Swedes, and Germans. There were also some African-Americans. If a woman had property, it instantly became their husbands. No paper signing and no buying. If I were a woman back then, I might have considered not getting married (I am a male). The Lenni Lenape actually sold their property and moved west, which surprises me a lot since some Natives fought the colonists for land.
American Revolutionary War:
In New Jersey about half the colonists were patriots (people who wanted independence) and the other half were loyalists (people who were loyal to King George the third). New Jersey served as one of the main fighting grounds between the Red Coats (a.k.a. lobster-backs) and the patriots.
Civil war:
New Jersey had more slaves than any other state in the north. 88,000 New Jersites (people from New Jersey) were in the Northern forces.
About 0-2 Centuries Ago:
In 1914 73,000 New Jersites entered World War 1. About 1899 an inspector examined a factory and said the workers were people ages 9 and above. That means I would have been working in the factory! In 1903, Tomas Edison made the first successful commercial film, The Great Train Robbery. Then in 1910 the people of New Jersey elected Woodrow Wilson as their governor, then because of how good of a job he did in New Jersey, he was elected as president. In 1939, 500,000 New Jerseyites entered World War 2. Then Albert Einstein (he was in New Jersey when he wrote it) wrote a letter to Franklin Roosevelt warning him about Nazi, Germany making an atomic bomb.
With in a Century ago:
In 1950 New Jersey was the National leader in highway building. On July 12, 1967, an African-American was arrested for traffic violation. The driver fought the officers. Rumor spread that the driver had bean beaten to death. Then the mobs broke out and they burned buildings down, and some gunfights broke out between the rioters and the cops. In the end 27 people were killed, and property damage was estimated at about 10 million dollars. Then in the 1980’s New Jersey became the leader in technology. In 1990 7.7 million people were living in New Jersey, and 7.7 people were living in New York. New Jersey finally had the most people living in it than any other state.
Product map
New Jersey doesn’t have the nickname the garden state for nothing. It has a lot of plants in it. By the southern coast is where you will find the berries. You might want to move to northern New Jersey if you are a miner because they have quite a few mines. Soybeans are scattered all around the south of New Jersey. Fruits and vegetables are scattered as well. You will find some clams in Delaware Bay, and some fish by the east coast. In the center I think those ovals are potatoes. Idaho isn’t the only place that grows potatoes. You will find that the cattle are pretty close to Pennsylvania. (He had a map pasted on this paper of all the different things that New Jersey produces.)
5 Famous people
Grover Cleveland was one of the 2 presidents from New Jersey. You probably know that he was the only president to be elected again after another president (22nd and 24th president). Biographer Allan Nevins wrote, "He possessed honesty, courage, firmness, independence, and common sense. But he possessed them to a degree other men do not."
Woodrow Wilson was governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913 and then became the 28th president. He was elected in 1912 and was in office for 8 years (he was re-elected). During his second term he entered the United States into World War 1. He is the only U.S. President to hold a PhD which he obtained from Johns Hopkins University.
I am pretty sure that all of you know who Thomas Edison is. He was the inventor of the light bulb, the recorder, the first movie and had many other inventions. You probably didn’t know that he lived in New Jersey though. Thomas Edison was famous for saying: "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."
Bruce Springsteen is a very popular rock star that is from New Jersey according to how many times he has popped up in my books and it is obvious that he is from America.
Everyone has read at least read one book by Judy Blume, she is a children’s book author and is from New Jersey. I like her book Super Fudge. It made me laugh.
Climate Chart
This is New Jersey’s Climate Chart (he had a chart on this page) and as you can see New Jersey is hot in the summer but not to hot, and it is cold in the winter but not too cold either. It still snows though. If you want to visit while it is hot you might want to go during July, it is about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Mean while, if you want some cold, you should visit during January with a freezing temperature of 6 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are looking for rain, you might want to visit New Jersey in May because in May it gets an astonishing 4.4 inches. If you want it to be dry when you visit go during the month of February, but it still gets about 3 inches of precipitation.
State Symbols
This is The New Jersey state seal. (It was on his page.) The seal of the state of New Jersey is a symbol of the authority and sovereignty of the state and is a valuable asset of its people. It is the intent of the state government to ensure that appropriate uses are made of the state seal and to assist the secretary of state in the performance of the secretary's constitutional duty as custodian of the seal.
This is the New Jersey State flag. (Once again, it was on his page.) You have probably noticed that it is very similar to the seal. The state coat of arms is emblazoned in the center. The shield has three plows with a horse's head above it. Two women represent the goddesses of Liberty and Agriculture. A ribbon at the bottom includes the year of independence in 1776 and reads: Liberty and Prosperity. The New Jersey state flag was formally adopted in 1861.
The New Jersey State flower is: Common Violet. It was official in 1971. It took the government 58 years to make it the official flower.
The New Jersey State animal is the horse. Governor Brendan T. Byrne signed the law August 14, 1977, while attending the farm and horse show at Augusta, Sussex County. There are many horse race tracks in New Jersey.
This is the Eastern Goldfinch (with picture). Yes, it is New Jersey’s bird.
In 1858, a skeleton of a dinosaur was the first full dinosaur skeleton found in North America. It was the Hadrosaurus foulkii. Hadrosaurus foulkii has been the official state dinosaur of New Jersey since 1991.
Conclusion
You and I have made it this far together, and now we are at the end. When I first got the packet of requirements for the 6 weeks, I was stumped. I wasn’t too happy with my self for choosing New Jersey. I was hoping for something like Idaho, Texas, or maybe Hawaii. But you had to draw those out of a hat so I thought New Jersey would be cool so I chose it. There was nothing hard about writing this, I mean, it was actually pretty fascinating learning about New Jersey. You might have thought that this would be hard compared to other writing projects, right? Well, it was just like any other project just 3 times as long. (It was fun too.)
There are tons of reasons people would want to live in New Jersey. I don’t know if you want to there because there are 7.7 million people, but that many people live there for a good reason. Surprisingly, though it has 7.7 million people, it has about 40 reserved forests. New Jersey isn’t a huge thing when it comes to national parks though. It only has one or two. They don’t call it the Garden State for nothing. It’s not like someone came along and said: “I like gardens, lets call this the garden state.” Someone probably did come along and say: “Wow. This place has a lot of gardens. Lets call it the garden state.” New Jersey has some beach resorts there too. People who like rain a lot probably live there. New Jersey gets 6 times more rain than Utah!
Remember how I mentioned monopoly being based on Atlantic City. Yup, not a joke, it really is based Alantic City during the Great Depression. Thomas Edison also made the first ever movie in New Jersey. It may not be too obvious that Bruce Springsteen is from Freehold, New Jersey, but if you have heard his song Born in America, you know he was born in America. New Jersey also has two presidents from it, Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson.
My opinion has changed a ton about New Jersey and I hope yours has too. I have learned a lot about New Jersey. It’s not a state with 500,000 people; it is a state with 7,700,000 people. It also gives out tons of cranberries for you cranberry fans. I have had to read my books a lot and go on the Internet a lot. I don’t know if my reading skills have improved, but my patience and skills with the computer have increased. This report has not only helped me with writing grade but also with my brain as well. You don’t get dumber when you study a lot you get smarter.
I have learned a ton about New Jersey. Just to refresh your memory, at the beginning of the report, I said all I knew about New Jersey was New Jersey is on the other side of the U.S., My cousins live there, and it has the greatest population out of all the other states. Bye, and thanks for reading my report.
P.S. If you see Mrs. Moedl, tell her how good of a job I did.
Fun Facts:
New Jersey is the car theft capital of the world, with more cars stolen in Newark then any other city. Even the 2 largest cities, NYC and LA put together.
New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the diner capital of the world.
Atlantic City is where the street names came from for the game monopoly.
New Jersey has the tallest water tower in the world.
New Jersey has 108 toxic waste dumps. Which is the most in any one state in the nation.
New Jersey has the highest population density in the U.S. An average 1,030 people per square mile which is 13 times the national average.
Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifa, Shaq, Judy Blume, Arron Burr, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money, Frank Sinatra, Grover Cleveland, all New Jersey natives.
**Now tell me, did you learn something??
