By: Jacqueline By: Jacqueline

Essential Questions1. How am I similar and different from my ePal?

2. How do the physical and climate differences in my ePal’s region affect my ePal’s life?

3. What affect does the culture in my ePal’s region have on my ePal’s life?

About Me… My name is Jacqueline, and I just celebrated my “Harry Potter” birthday

party. It was during the late fall season, my favorite time of the year. As you can guess, the Harry Potter Series are my favorite books and movies.

I have one older sister, and I have a house full of animals. I call it my zoo. My favorite animal is a snake, although I do not have one for a pet.

I enjoy many activities in New Jersey. I have been playing the piano for three years. My favorite type of music is classical music, but I enjoy listening to Selena Gomez. My favorite sport is tennis. When I was younger I played tennis with a tennis ball machine.

New Jersey and New York are both high tech areas. My favorite website is National Geographic Kids. I found an underwater game where you collect ancient treasures. The treasures are all different colors. My favorite color is lime green. I do not watch television every night, but when I do watch TV, I enjoy The Wizards of Waverly Place.

My family describes me as creative, smart, and kind. These are three character traits that I think are important.

About LeilaniLeilani is nine years old. She lives in Portland, Oregon with four siblings. Her favorite sport is horseback riding lessons. She enjoys reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid and has also seen the movie. Her favorite color is dark blue, and her favorite animal is the bobcat.

Three words that describe Leilani are funny, nice, and respectful.

She sounds like a nice and creative girl!

The Environment of SpringfieldSpringfield is a suburban town.

Springfield is located on the northern edge of Union County and is bordered by Millburn to the north, by Kenilworth to the southeast, by Westfield and Cranford to the south, by Mountainside to the southwest, and by Summit to the northwest.

Springfield is a 45 minute drive from New York City, NY.

The Environment of Springfield continued

We enjoy four seasons in Springfield.The average temperature in winter is 36.9OF • The average temperature in summer is 72.4OF. • The average warmest month is July.• The highest recorded temperature was 104°F in

2001.• On average, the coolest month is January.• The lowest recorded temperature was -26°F in

1934.• September is the average wettest month.

Portland, Oregon is a lovely (urban) city in the Northwest of the United States. It is called a “green” city. Portland is located in Multnomah County. Oregon is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, between Washington to the north and California to the south. The Willamette River runs through the center of the Portland, while Mount Tabor rises on the city's east side. Mount Saint Helens and Mount Hood are visible from many places in the city.

The Environment of Portland, Oregon

The Environment of Portland, Oregon continued

Climate:mild, damp winters relatively dry, warm summers

Summers in Portland are warm, sunny, and mostly dry. August is the warmest month. The temperature in August averages 68.5 °F. Summers can also have hot spells where the temperature can rise to 100°F.

Winters are normally mild. The average temperature in January is about 40°F . Cold spells are short-lived, and snowfall occurs no more than a few times per year.

Spring can have unpredictable weather. It can have warm spells or thunderstorms. The rainfall averages are about 40 inches per year in Portland.

How the Climate Affects My Life

In the spring, after a long cold winter, I can spend more time outside. We also turn the clocks ahead so we have more sunlight to enjoy. I only need a jacket, and the flowers start to bloom.

In the summer, I swim and spend my days outside. By August it can be very hot! So I spend time in the air conditioning.

In the fall, we are back to school and we need to start wearing more clothes. We turn the clocks back to squeeze more sun out of the day, but the days grow shorter as we bundle up. The leaves turn colors and fall off the trees as it grows colder.

In the winter, we bundle up and run in and out of our homes to our cars. When it snows, we hope for a snow day (no school) so we can spend time outside making snowmen and having snowball fights. The days are short and we are looking forward to the spring.

How the Climate Affects Leilani’s LifeLeilani enjoys mild, damp summers. She

probably goes swimming on dry days.It sounds like her spring season may be very

wet, 40 inches of rain. She will need to wear a raincoat to school on most days.

The winter sounds mild, and she probably does not have many snow days. She will have to go to the mountains to make a snowman and have a snowball fight for most of the winter.

My CultureI am a Christian and I celebrate Christmas, the

birth of Jesus, on December 25. We decorate a Christmas Tree and enjoy a season of eating delicious pies and holiday cookies. On December 25, we give gifts and go to church.

During the Christmas season, we enjoy visiting New York to listen to holiday music and visit the Christmas Tree. Some of our holiday customs include spending dinners with our family.

Some special holidays we celebrate are St. Patrick's Day, Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving.

Leilani’s CultureLeilani lives in Portland, Oregon. She probably

celebrates the American holidays of Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

Portland, Oregon celebrates the Rose Festival.Customs we both share are shaking hands to

greet people, high-fiving a friend our age, and giving your friends a peace sign.

In America, there are so many religions, I cannot predict what religious holidays she celebrates, but I think she celebrates the holidays with her family.

Leilani and I have things in common.Leilani and I are both nine years old, have brown hair,

and we are in an elementary school in the US. We both have seen The Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie and have at least one sibling. The climate in Portland can be very warm in the summer, much like our New Jersey summers. We both must spend time outdoors in the nice weather.

Both Leilani and I have visited the Oregon Museum of Science in Portland. We both thought it was awesome!

We love to study, write long stories, and do well in school.

Leilani and I love to make our friends laugh and smile.

Our lives are different in many ways.I play the piano, and Leilani goes horseback

riding.I live in a suburban town, and Leilani lives in the

city.I visit New York city almost two times a month,

and Leilani lives in Portland. The winter in New Jersey are colder than

Portland. We have more snow, so I can make more snowmen and play in the snow.

She likes the color dark blue, and I like the color lime-green.

Her teacher is a woman, and my teacher is a man.I have one sister, and she has four siblings.

This project was awesome!I enjoyed learning about Leilani’s life and

more about Portland, Oregon. I got to see many new websites about Portland and Springfield.

I learned about the climate in Portland, Oregon.

It has been a fun project to have an epal.

The End

Sources:http://www.epals.com/my/home/http://climate.fizber.com/http://www.portlandonline.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Portland,_Oregon#Climate http://www.weather.com/outlook/driving/interstate/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USNJ0497

http://www.wunderground.com/US/NJ/Springfield.html