Breaking Down New York City

By: Katie Roughan and Angelica Colontonio

Objectives
★ Content Objectives:
○ Students will be able to identify the five main boroughs of New York City.
○ Students will be able to classify (sort) pictures and facts based on their corresponding borough.
★ Language Objective:
○ Students will be able to write about what borough they would rather live in or visit by using the
information they learned in the lesson.
★ Raise your hand if you have ever been to New York City.
★ Raise your hands if you’ve ever been confused in the city
because of its size.
A Glimpse into NYC
Here’s some vocabulary to know before we get started!
★ boroughs - level administrative divisions
○ In NYC, each borough is coextensive with a specific county.
★ county - the largest administrative division of a U.S. state
★ The Outer Boroughs - all of the boroughs excluding Manhattan
★ ferry - a commercial service for transporting people (and automobiles) across a body of
water
★ Upper East Side - a very affluent ($) neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan
★ Lower East Side - a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the borough of Manhattan
Let’s practice some vocabulary!
https://play.kahoot.it/v2/?quizId=d442b830-3c84-45dc-a4ac-a9527cce2a39
Background on NYC
★ Population: 8,398,748
★ By far one of the largest cities in the United States
★ NYC has significant influence and impacts on the world’s economy,
entertainment, media, education, art, technology,
and scientific research.
★ As many as 800 languages are spoken throughout the
NYC, making it the most diverse city in the world.
New York City Broken Down
★ NYC can be overwhelming at times because of it enormous size.
○ However, it can be broken down to more manageable units.
★ There are five separate boroughs in NYC
○ Staten Island
○ The Bronx
○ Brooklyn
○ Queens
○ Manhattan
★ The boroughs were created in 1898.
★ There are hundreds of distinct
neighborhoods and features within the
five boroughs that make each their own.
Now we are going to break into stations to learn about the
separate boroughs of NYC!
★ Download Google Earth on your phones!
○ We are going to be using this to explore each borough
more thoroughly.
★ Station Instructions
○ ~ 2 people per group
○ Read each sheet at your station
○ Then, after you are done reading, go on google earth and
explore the borough of your station
■ Write down points of interest in the borough that
were not discussed on the sheets.
■ Write down some observations about the borough
from google earth as well.
Staten Island (station 1)
★ Richmond County
★ It is connected with Manhattan by the Staten Island Ferry,
and Brooklyn by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
★ Mostly residential - most suburban of the five boroughs
★ Points of Interest
○ Staten Island Ferry
○ Staten Island Greenbelt (composed of 7 parks)
Staten Island Ferry

Greenbelt
The Bronx (station 2)
★ Bronx County
★ NYC’s northernmost borough
★ The only New York City borough that is part of the United
States mainland
★ Points of Interest:
○ Yankee Stadium
○ Bronx Zoo
○ Pelham Bay Park
○ Arthur Avenue
Pelham Bay Park

Arthur Avenue
Brooklyn (station 3)
★ Kings County
★ Located on the western tip of Long Island.
★ The city’s most populous borough
★ Long beachfront shoreline including Coney Island
★ Known for its cultural, social, and ethnic diversity, an
independent art scene, and distinctive architectural
heritage.
★ Points of Interest:
○ Greenpoint Historic District
○ Prospect Park
Greenpoint Historic District

Prospect Park
Queens (station 4)
★ Queens County
★ Geographically the largest borough
★ Located on Long Island, north and east of Brooklyn
★ Most ethnically diverse county and urban area in the U.S.
★ Points of Interest:
○ Citi Field
○ Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Citi Field

Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Manhattan (station 5)
★ New York County
★ Often described as the financial and cultural center of
the world.
★ Geographically the smallest borough
★ Most densely populated
★ Upper East Side and Lower East Side
★ Points of interest
○ Central park
○ Most of the city’s skyscrapers
○ Times Square
○ The Statue of Liberty
Times Square

Central Park
Let’s Sort!
Manhattan Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island
Wrap it up!
★ Now that you have learned about New
York City and its five different boroughs,
write a paragraph about what borough
you would want to live in or visit in
NYC. Use at least three reasons (learned
from the lesson or google earth) for your
response.
References
http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/new-york-city-population/

https://www.britannica.com/place/Staten-Island

https://kids.kiddle.co/Borough_(New_York_City)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=24-6b8S5H4w