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ESSAY:  Chicago
Question: What do you think life is like in Chicago - the good and bad points?
What are the people like who live there?
Which is a better place to live - Fisher or Chicago?  Why?
[ Fisher: D. Warner's 4th grade class ]
[ Benton: S. Johnson's 8th grade class ]
 
Fisher: E. Remington's 5th grade class
 
N.B.  Spelling has been corrected at teacher's request.   M and F refer to the student's gender.

Student 1

I don’t know.

(M who never visited Chicago)


Student 2

In Chicago it wouldn’t be as nice because there are a lot of robbers But it would be nice if you could go and swim in Lake Michigan and go to Nike Town.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 3

Good because you can live by the United Center, bad becuse you can get killed for your shoes.

They are nice but there is a gang from Chicago named [name omitted].

Fisher [is better] because there are more stuff to do and cost alot less.  There is less killing and robbery, or job [shop?] lifting.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 4

People have to worry about people trying to rob you on streets.  Lots of traffic.  Some people are bad are commit crimes.  Some poeple are nice and don’t do bad things.  I think Chicago [is better] because I like big cities and there are more stores all around.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 5

Chicago would be exiting, boring and loud.  Good points - you would have a musaem to go to; bad because of gangs.  People of all different kinds, blacks, whites, chinks, Japans, robbers.  Fisher [is better] because there is not as many gangs.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 6

1. very, very busy.  Lots of noise in the morning and afternoon, horns honking, people yelling, and glass breaking, I don’t think I would want to live there.  Those there are giant skyscrapers and parks.  also a lot of national landmarks and stuff.

2. Just your normal, friendly people.  Just guessing.

3. Fisher [is better]. It sounds more peaceful and quiet.  also less crime.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 7

Good reasons - I think life in Chicago is great because it has nice places to go and see, like the Sears Tower, malls, Hard Rock Cafe, and many other places.

I think the people are rude, obnoxious [unclear] and are unpatient in Chicago.  Bad reasons - I think it would be bad because of the pollution, the people, and it’s so crowded there.

I think Fisher is better because it's not so crowded.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 8

Good points are living in the town of the Chicago Bears and having lots of places to eat.  Bad points are it being such a big town and robbers and stuff like that.  I would rather live in Fisher because it has more area to do things.

(M who has never visited Chicago)


Student 9

The life in Chicago has many crimes, murders, and robbery.  The good point is that stores, cafes, restaurants, doctors, and much more are right there in town.  The people in Chicago are all different kinds.  There are nice people and there are bad people.  Fisher is a better place to live because you don’t have as many busy roads that you have to worry about.  You don’t have to worry as much if you leave your car or vehicle unlocked.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 10

The life in Chicago is good and bad.  It’s good because there are lots of fancy hotels.  It’s bad because a lot of robberies are there.  I don’t know [what people are like].  Fisher [is better] because there are not as many robberies and it’s peaceful here.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 11

I think life in Chicago would be worries [?] since it's a bigger city.  Life in Chicago would also be fun because there is lots of fun places to go.  I think there are good and bad people that live in Chicago.  I think Fisher is a better place to live because it is quiet and not so much crime.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 12

1. busy, stealing.
2.  Jacky is always busy.
3. Fisher.  It is small and not a traffic jam.  I like it because it's quiet.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 13

I think that Chicago is a good place to go shopping.  It is a big city and it lots of buildings.  The Bulls come from there too.  The bad things about Chicago is that people get shot.  There are a lot of bad people that kill other people too.  Some of them are mean and rude.  The rest of them are nice and pleasant.  I don’t know [which place is better].

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 14

Fisher because I’ve lived there for all my life.

Chicago: Bad: gangs killings and so forth.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 15

I think life in Chicago would be OK.  Here are some bad points.  #1 It would be to loud. #2 It would be too crowded 3 It would be easy to get lost in.  Here are some good point.  1 you could get away.  2  It would be cool to be in a big city.  I think people in Chicago would be mean.  I think Fisher [is better] because I’ve always lived in a small town.  And I never want to live in a big loud area!

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 16

1. Good points - the good point is that it is really big and it would just be fun to live there.  Bad points - there are a lot of gangs and mean people there.
2.  People - there would probably be a lot of nice people there but there would be some bad people like in gangs.
3. Fisher - Fisher would be better to live in because it is a little town and nice and quiet and it is just a nice place to live.

(F who has never visited Chicago)


Student 17

Life in Chicago would be busy.  The good points would be the stores and the bad points would be all the noise.  I think people who live there would be nice.  I’d rather live in Fisher because it is small and quiet.

(F who has never visited Chicago)


Student 18

1. Chicago is somewhat good and somewhat bad.
2.  I think that some of the people that live in Chicago are bad people.
3.  I think that both chicago and Fisher would be nice to live, but Chicago would be better because you could go to the Disney Store and go to their Mall and go the Six Flags Great America.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 19

1. People might like Chicago because of shops and other people.
2. Fisher [is better] because of friends and it is not a busy place.
3. The people who live in Chicago are probably nice or TROUBLEMAKERS!!

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 20

1. I think life in Chicago is o.k.  The good things about Chicago are that most of the people are nice.  The bad things about Chicago are that there is a lot of crime there.  2.  Well, everybody that I know in Chicago are very nice, but I don’t know very many.  3.  I think Fisher is better.  I think Fisher is better because in Fisher there is barely any crime, but in Chicago there is quite a lot of crime.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 21

I think that chicago is a good place to go because there is more to go shopping].  I think Chicago is a bad place to go because there is more crime.

I don’t know [what the people are like].

I don’t know [which place is better to live].

(F who has never visited Chicago)
 

D. Warner's 4th grade class - ESSAY 1: Chicago
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Question: What do you think life is like in Chicago - the good and bad points?
What are the people like who live there?
Which is a better place to live - Fisher or Chicago?  Why?

N.B.  Spelling has been corrected at teacher's request.   M and F refer to the student's gender.


Student 1

I think life in Chicago is crowded. A reason I would like to live in Chicago is there are lots of restaurants and stores. A reason I would  not like to live in Chicago is that it's a big and crowded city. I think  the people who live there are all different.

I think that I would rather live in Fisher than Chicago. I would  rather live in Fisher because it is safer and it is quiet. In Chicago my  parents would not let me ride my bike around town.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 2
 
The life in Chicago is very crammed. Different places to go fishing at for people.  People there are like us.

I would like to live in Fisher because it's quiet.  Fisher is  clean.  Fisher is also not crammed.

(M who has never visited Chicago)


Student 3

I think life in Chicago is very busy.  The good things about Chicago are that you are very close to the aquarium and Six Flags so when you want to take a trip you don't have to go very far.  The second thing is if  you live in Chicago you might get to meet Michael Jordan and if you are kind of rich you can get tickets to a Bulls game.  The third thing is that there are a lot of cool shopping malls.  The bad things are that there a lot of gangs and you could get robbed.  The second thing is you could get stolen or shot.

I think that some people who live there are nice and some people are mean.

I am not sure which is a better place to live.  Fisher is good because it is small and it has many friendly people.  Chicago is good because it has many fun places to go and it has really good shopping malls.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 4

Life in Chicago is good in many ways. It has good apartments and good lawyers too. But it is busy.  Everything is in a rush, but the tall beautiful buildings make up for that. The people have good and bad points. One reason the people have good qualities is that they run good businesses and good manufacturing companies.

I still think that Fisher is better.  I would like to visit Chicago every once and  a while. Chicago is too busy  for me. Besides I like Fisher. I would rather stay here. The people are nicer and I have a lot of friends.

(M who has never visited Chicago)


Student 5

I would like to live in Fisher. Why? Cause it's  kind of big and we have nice teachers . We have lots  of people that lives here too. We have loud sirens . We have no problems here in Fisher. We have stores; gas stations, dogs; cats; and we have lots of books and we have fun. It would be uncomfortable there for me and my family. The people in Chicago are nice; kind; tall and ; they have big houses. We have neighbors  here.  I think that it would be crowded there for me and my family. And we will be unhappy if we went to that school in Chicago.

(F who has never visited Chicago)


Student 6

I think that Chicago would be busy for one bad point but for a good point I think it would be kind of cool living by all those celebrities if you ask me. I think the people are probably  nice. Fisher because it is probably safer then Chicago.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 7

What I think would be bad about Chicago is the very high population!  I think that living in a high populated city or suburb would have a lot of crime a lot of traffic and a lot of noise.   The good things about I think about Chicago is there are a lot of stores and stuff like that. I think the people in Chicago are nice only some people would be mean I also think they like it there.

I like Fisher more than Chicago for three reasons.  One is Fisher is not high populated and doesn't have crime.  Two is that the schools aren't as crowded.  And three there are a lot of friendly people in Fisher

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 8

 I think life like in Chicago is cool good points it has lots of people has lots of  stuff. Bad points it has lots of robberies and robbers think life in Chicago is weird. I think I would like to live in Fisher because it is smaller. It has less robberies. It has less people. I think it is better then Chicago.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 9

I  think  life  in  Chicago  is  like  really   crowded  and busy.  I  think  the  good  part  about   Chicago  is  the  shopping malls.  The  bad  part  about  Chicago  is  all  of   traffic  jams.

I  think  the  people  in  Chicago  are  really  grumpy  in the  morning  because  if  they  get  into  a  traffic  jam  they  will  be late  for  work.  I  also  think  that  they  are  less   grumpier  in the  morning  when  they  get  to  work, unless  their  boss  gets  mad  at them  for  being  late.  I  think  that  the  other  people  are  probably nice  too,  but  I  don't  know  because  I've  never  lived  there  or visited  there.

I  think  that  Fisher  is  a  better  place  to  live because  there's  not  a  lot  of  people  and  there's  nice  people  that live  there.  I  also  think  that  Fisher  is  a  better  place  to  live because  it's  very  quiet  and  peaceful.  I  also  think  that  Fisher is  a  better  place  because  it's  nice  and  small.

I think that Fisher is a better place to live because it doesn't have a lot of crime and drugs.  I think that Fisher is a better place to live because when it snows people can build white snowmen instead of dirty snowmen like in the city.  I also think that Fisher is a better place to live because if you move you can take your pets with you , but in Chicago you can't take your pets with you if you are going to live in an apartment.

(F who has never visited Chicago)


Student 10

I think life in Chicago would be kind of fun but it would be croweded I just like it here more. The people there I think there are nice and not so nice people. I think Fisher would be a better place to live because it is never really croweded and it is quiet and a lot of kids. And not any gangs.

(M who has never visited Chicago)


Student 11

I  think life in Chicago is busy.  It's probably full of people and crowded. It's  probably fun when there's a celebration. Its bad points are there's wrecks, it's noisy ,  they have gangs , and traffic jams.  I think that people that live there are adjusted to the big city.

Fisher is a better place to live because it's safer and not as noisy.  I like Fisher  because the people there are nice it's pretty I like Fisher a lot

(M who has never visited Chicago)


Student 12

I think that Chicago has some good points like it has a lot of people and they have great shopping malls. Though it has its bad points like traffic it is a traffic jam  and they have bad gangs.  The people that live there are probably nice and some are bad like break-ins and robbers.

I think that Fisher would be a better place to live than Chicago because you won't have to worry about gangs trying to get into your house.  I am so glad because it is safer in Fisher I think .

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 13

I  think  life  in  Chicago  is  not good  because  if  you  try  to  go somewhere   you  have  too  many  traffic  jams.  It  would  be  too  loud  and  noisy.  The  people  in  Chicago  I  think  are  nice.

It  is  better  to  live  in  Fisher  because  it  is  safer because there's  no  gangs.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 14

The good part about Chicago it is the home of  the Chicago Bulls. The bad part about Chicago is it has a lot of gangs.

Chicago [is a better place to live] because they have to live a busy life. And it is a big city. And it is the home of the Chicago Bulls.

(M who has never visited Chicago)


Student 15

I think life is really cool in Chicago. You get to go to cool restaurants like the Rain Forest Cafe, White Castle and other interesting and good restaurants.  It has many different places to shop and go to have fun.  The bad part about Chicago is the traffic and that a lot of people live there. Some of the people that live there are very rich, and some are very poor like the street people.  People who live there are also very different from us in Fisher. No one knows each other very well.  Sometimes they can be selfish and mean.

I think that Fisher is a better place to live because nobody comes to your house to rob you. I think that Fisher School is better than Chicago's schools like Chicago but I like Fisher better. In Fisher everybody knows everybody. But in Chicago not everybody  knows everybody. All of my friends live here in Fisher.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 16

Chicago  life  like is good  because there is  nice  people  there and the  bad points are  they  are gangs that can kill  you.  People like to live in Chicago because  it will be happy because they love to live here.

Fisher is a better place  to live in because it is not a big town and I really don't like Chicago because it is  a  big  town. Another thing  Chicago  has mall to shop.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 17

I think Chicago has bigger buildings and more gangs.  Highways and streets are very busy.  It makes Illinois look big because it has the Sears Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the United States.  You can go see famous people like Michael Jordan.  You can see professional games like basketball, hockey, football, and baseball.  Sammy Sosa is a famous player for the Chicago Cubs.

I think some people are gangsters.  Some of the richest people live there. Everyone is always in a hurry driving to work.  Kids play on the roof of the schools because that is where their playground is.  Fisher is better because there are less gangs.  Everyone is friendly.  Smaller classrooms so kids can get a better education.  Fisher does not have as much crime and violence.

(M who has never visited Chicago)


Student 18

I think life in Chicago is crowded and busy.  There are many good parts in Chicago.  There are a couple of zoos.  Like Brookfield Zoo.  There are many good museums and restaurants.   There are many bad points in Chicago too.  For example traffic jams and gangs.

I think I would rather live in Fisher.  I know there are not as many restaurants in Fisher but Fisher is quieter.  Plus all my friends are in Fisher.  I like my school too.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 19

I think life in Chicago would be bad at my age.  I think it would be bad because, I or anybody my age wouldn't be able to ride their bike to a friend's house because, you could get hurt or stolen easily.  The good things about Chicago is that they have good shopping malls, a very good basketball team, and a very good hockey team.  Another good thing is that they have very good celebrities of restaurants.  Really I'm not sure how the people are in Chicago.  I have heard that there are a lot of gangs and, there is all kinds of  kids getting stolen [robbed?].

To me I think it would be better to live in Fisher. The reason I think Fisher is a better place to live is because, I don't like living in big cities.  Plus I wouldn't be able to ride my bike like I can now.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 20

I think life in Chicago would be busy because of all the traffic jams!  I  ------- [unclear]  also because of the big city crimes and the gangs. The population big too!!!!!! like the people who live there.  I know some people who used live there, they are nice.

I would rather live in Fisher because much less crowded.  A reason I like Fisher cause of my friends.

(F who has visited Chicago)


Student 21

I think life in Chicago is cool because they have places to go swimming in the winter and lots of neat things to do. I also think it is scary because of all the gangs and murders. I think some people are nice and some are mean and hurt people. I would rather live in FISHER so I wouldn't have to worry about getting  hurt when I am outside playing.

(M who has visited Chicago)


Student 22

I think life in Chicago is fun.  There are a lot of fancy restaurants and a lot of good shopping malls.  The Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears, and the White Socks are the best in sports, and they are located in Chicago.  But, Chicago is a busy and crowded town.

But the bad thing about Chicago is there are a lot of gangs and drive-by shooting.  The violence is very bad.  Most of the people in Chicago are from other countries.

I think Fisher is better then Chicago because, Fisher does not have as many people.  We don't have as much violence or traffic, and it's real quiet in Fisher.

(M who has visited Chicago)

Benton: S. Johnson's 8th grade class
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N.B. M and F in the parenthetical material following each essay refer to the student's gender. Spelling has been corrected at school's request.


1- I think life in Chicago is bad because a lot of people can get killed or hurt really bad because Chicago is kind of like a city.
 
 I think Benton is a better place to live because in Benton there is not a lot of crimes and you would not get shot by someone.

(F who never visited Chicago)


2- I think Chicago is both good in some ways and bad in some ways.  Like in the good way it is very educational from the museums and historical places.  In a bad way too. Like the violence is bad in Chicago but in Benton the violence isn’t that bad.
 
I would rather live in Benton because there is less violence.

(F who visited Chicago)


3- I would rather live in Benton.  I think life in Chicago would be good.  There is more things to do in Chicago than in Benton.  I do not like Big cities.  That is why I like Benton.
 
 I think Benton is a better place to live.  People from Chicago are not much different than people from Benton I do not think.

(M who never visited Chicago)


4- Life in Chicago could be good or bad.  I think that Chicago would be a good life because of all the shopping places.  Chicago would also have better money support for school activities. Benton is a quiet little town.  It’s a lot safer than Chicago though, but Chicago would have better malls and eating places.  Chicago is a lot more dangerous though because of all the gangs and pickpockets.

(M who visited Chicago)


5- I would like to live in Chicago, and I would like to live in Benton. I think that it would be nice to live in Chicago of the malls & stores.  It also has some nice pools, tennis courts & streets unlike Benton.  But I would also like to live in Benton because, it’s small so you know what & where everything is.  Plus, you have a less chance of getting jumped.

(M who visited Chicago)


6- Living in Chicago would be very different from living in Southern Illinois.  Somethings would be good, some would be bad. I think that living in Chicago would be neat, firstly, because you would be so close to so many things.  You could see three different major sports teams, you would be close to many museums and historical sites, and you could do so many tours and things.  I also think it would be neat because you would be around so many different people.
 
 I like living in Benton best because it [is] so much simpler.  You hardly ever worry about traffic or commuting, there’s not near as much serious crime, and you know so many people personally.

(M who visited Chicago)


7- Life in Chicago could be good or bad.  I think Chicago would be good for all of the good shopping places. Chicago might have more money for school activities.
 
Benton is a quiet little town.  It’s a lot safer than Chicago.  But Chicago would have good malls.  But Chicago is a lot more dangerous and not as safe as Benton.

(F who visited Chicago)


8-  Living in Chicago would be very different from life in Benton.  Living in Benton, I think, would be much easier than life in Chicago.  The reasons I think this is because in Chicago there are crimes all over the city everyday.  Gangs here aren’t that common around here but there are many gangs and stuff there.  Also, the schools are very big and in my opinion they and the whole city are over populated.

(M who never visited Chicago)


9-  Living in Chicago and living in Benton.  There are many different things.  There are good & bad things in Benton & Chicago.  Some of the good things are, Chicago has more buildings and places to go.  The bad things are, Chicago has too  much pollution.  Benton has good and bad things also.  They have not as much pollution as Chicago.  But Benton is not as exciting as Chicago.

(M who visited Chicago)


10- Living in Chicago is very different from living in Southern Illinois.  Chicago has very many gangs and social groups that act negatively to others and themselves.  There are not that many gangs in Southern Illinois.  In fact none in Benton.  In Benton one thing that is good is that everybody knows everyone that lives here.  Chicago is such a big town that you really can’t know everybody that lives there.  To some people they think that Chicago is dangerous.
 
 I think Chicago would be better to live in because of more possibilities and success in life.  You can also do more in business and work on your future.

(F who visited Chicago)


11- I think life in Chicago is good and bad.  It is good because there are lots of wonderful places to go.  For example, the Sears Tower, Navy Pier and lots of museums.  There are also lots of good places to shop & eat.  Life in Chicago would be bad because there is a lot more crime there than there is in Southern Illinois.  There are lots of murders, gangs and robberies.  I think that is the worst part, but then there is pollution.  There are lots of cars, buses, planes and boats in Chicago.  There are also more people who smoke and pollute the water and streets.  That is a bad part, too.
 
I think that Chicago is good and bad.  There are also good & bad parts to Benton, so I don’t know where I would want to live more.

(F who visited Chicago)


12- Living in Chicago would be a really big change from living in Benton.  It would be both a good change and bad change.

The good change would be getting to know new people, and more things to do.  Some people in Chicago would be like people in Benton, others might be meaner than some people in Benton.

The bad change would be gangs, shootings, and drugs.  There would also be a lot more mean people.  More gang members too.
 
To conclude, I think I would rather live in Benton.  It would be both a good change and bad change.

(F who never visited Chicago)


13- Living in Chicago would be very different from living in Benton.  Living in Chicago could be good or bad. Chicago is a very big city, there are good areas, and bad areas.  There are also a lot more jobs there than in Benton.

(F who never visited Chicago)


14- Living in Chicago would be very different from living in Southern Illinois.  There are many things good and bad.  The good things that are good are all the shopping, sports teams, and the many places to visit.  People are very cluttered and probably can get very mean if you tempt them.  Some of the bad things are the people who live there.  There are many gangs there.
 
I feel Benton is a better place.

(M who never visited Chicago)


15- Living in Chicago would be very different than being in Southern Illinois.  There are many positive things about living in Chicago.  They are the sports such as the Chicago Bulls, and the Chicago Cubs.  Some negative things about living in Chicago would be the gangs, and the smoky city.
 
(F who visited Chicago)
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