This was shared with me via e-mail:
Hi Ms. Baker's class,
We're not from an exotic foreign country, but Chicago and Downers Grove, Illinois are beautiful places to visit. Chicago is located on the western shores of Lake Michigan. The lakefront is known for its beautiful parks and museums like the Adler Planetarium, The Shedd Aquarium, and famous visitor destinations like Soldier Field and Navy Pier.
Our town, Downers Grove, is located about 20-30 minutes west of the city (depending on traffic). We're a small town that connects to Chicago with Metra train service. Many people in Downers Grove work in Chicago and can take an express train to and from the city in less than 20 minutes. On Main Street, which runs through the center of our town, we have many stores and restaurants. The early settlers of Downers Grove were farmers because if you've never been to Illinois, the land is very flat. We had many hardwood forests, but most were cut down for farming. Early settlers of Downers Grove like Pierce Downer (the town's namesake) and Israel Blodgett were very involved in the Underground Railroad and helped many slaves escaping from the south to freedom.
Illinois was once also covered with tallgrass prairie, but most has been plowed under for farmland, road and town construction, etc. Our park district maintains a couple areas of prairie restoration as do many of the towns in Illinois. Revival of the tallgrass prairie is a concern in our state and many groups are working to try to bring back the beautiful prairie ecosystems we once had here.
Pictures below: Chicago lakefront (Lake Michigan)
Downers Grove: Train Station, Main Street, Tivoli Theater
Illinois Prairie
Hope the information is useful!
Mrs. Krygeris
6th grade teacher
Whittier School
Downers Grove District 58
http://www.dg58.org//Domain/439
Hi Ms. Baker's class,
We're not from an exotic foreign country, but Chicago and Downers Grove, Illinois are beautiful places to visit. Chicago is located on the western shores of Lake Michigan. The lakefront is known for its beautiful parks and museums like the Adler Planetarium, The Shedd Aquarium, and famous visitor destinations like Soldier Field and Navy Pier.
Our town, Downers Grove, is located about 20-30 minutes west of the city (depending on traffic). We're a small town that connects to Chicago with Metra train service. Many people in Downers Grove work in Chicago and can take an express train to and from the city in less than 20 minutes. On Main Street, which runs through the center of our town, we have many stores and restaurants. The early settlers of Downers Grove were farmers because if you've never been to Illinois, the land is very flat. We had many hardwood forests, but most were cut down for farming. Early settlers of Downers Grove like Pierce Downer (the town's namesake) and Israel Blodgett were very involved in the Underground Railroad and helped many slaves escaping from the south to freedom.
Illinois was once also covered with tallgrass prairie, but most has been plowed under for farmland, road and town construction, etc. Our park district maintains a couple areas of prairie restoration as do many of the towns in Illinois. Revival of the tallgrass prairie is a concern in our state and many groups are working to try to bring back the beautiful prairie ecosystems we once had here.
Pictures below: Chicago lakefront (Lake Michigan)
Downers Grove: Train Station, Main Street, Tivoli Theater
Illinois Prairie
Hope the information is useful!
Mrs. Krygeris
6th grade teacher
Whittier School
Downers Grove District 58
http://www.dg58.org//Domain/439