“Puzzling out how West Fourth Street could be right next to West 12th,” Ms. Gerwig writes, “I realized that I was doing alone what my mom had done with me years before. Walking, walking, walking, learning the city by foot.” CreditKathy Lo for The New York Times
Student Opinion The New York Times Learning Network
By SHANNON DOYNE JAN. 8, 2018
What do you think about the place where you live? Do you think you will live there as an adult? Is there another city or town you often think of, and maybe even hope to live in someday?
In “Greta Gerwig: My Mother, My City,” the actress writes about her hometown, Sacramento, and also her current home, New York City, as well as her mother, whom she calls “the first New Yorker I ever knew.”
Sacramento is a place where you can always see the horizon. It is flat and beautiful and open. But I loved the crowdedness of New York City, how when it rained it seemed like the buildings were raining, not the sky. My mom held my hand tight as she walk-sprinted through the city. She was in her element here; everyone was moving as quickly as she was. She was joyfully sweaty. So was I. The Gerwig women belonged in New York.
... When I finally made it back to New York to attend Barnard College, I was 19 and felt “Ah, yes, now life can really begin,” as if life hadn’t been going on before. Against explicit warnings not to, I climbed to the roof of my dorm to look down at the city below. It was my city, or I wanted it to be. But I had no idea which way was uptown and which was downtown. This place I had wanted so badly to be part of was still a mystery.
Students: Read the entire article, then answer the following questions in a well-written paragraph that is between 5 - 10 sentences.Steer clear of grammar crimes, as they will drive down your grade!
— Ms. Gerwig at 19 felt this way about New York: “It was my city, or I wanted it to be.” Do you have similar feelings about a place? If so, what place is it?
— Like Ms. Gerwig, is there a person or people you associate with your special place? Explain.
— Describe the place that most captures your imagination. What makes it unique?
Student Opinion The New York Times Learning Network
By SHANNON DOYNE JAN. 8, 2018
What do you think about the place where you live? Do you think you will live there as an adult? Is there another city or town you often think of, and maybe even hope to live in someday?
In “Greta Gerwig: My Mother, My City,” the actress writes about her hometown, Sacramento, and also her current home, New York City, as well as her mother, whom she calls “the first New Yorker I ever knew.”
Sacramento is a place where you can always see the horizon. It is flat and beautiful and open. But I loved the crowdedness of New York City, how when it rained it seemed like the buildings were raining, not the sky. My mom held my hand tight as she walk-sprinted through the city. She was in her element here; everyone was moving as quickly as she was. She was joyfully sweaty. So was I. The Gerwig women belonged in New York.
... When I finally made it back to New York to attend Barnard College, I was 19 and felt “Ah, yes, now life can really begin,” as if life hadn’t been going on before. Against explicit warnings not to, I climbed to the roof of my dorm to look down at the city below. It was my city, or I wanted it to be. But I had no idea which way was uptown and which was downtown. This place I had wanted so badly to be part of was still a mystery.
Students: Read the entire article, then answer the following questions in a well-written paragraph that is between 5 - 10 sentences.Steer clear of grammar crimes, as they will drive down your grade!
— Ms. Gerwig at 19 felt this way about New York: “It was my city, or I wanted it to be.” Do you have similar feelings about a place? If so, what place is it?
— Like Ms. Gerwig, is there a person or people you associate with your special place? Explain.
— Describe the place that most captures your imagination. What makes it unique?