3 4 18 city parks (social studies)

by Kate Morgan

H O UG H T O N M IF F L IN H ARCO URT


by Kate Morgan

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover: Masterfile; Title Page: Masterfile; 2 (b) Masterfile; 5 (t) © Wayne Green/Corbis; 8 (b)
PhotoDisc, Inc.; 9 (b) © Shubroto Chattopadhyay/Corbis; 10 (b) Larry Bones
All other photos © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests
for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers,
Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.
Printed in China
ISBN-10: 0-547-25295-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-547-25295-7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers
retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.
Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into
electronic format.


A Green Space in a Big City
Many people live and work in a city.
Cars and buses speed along the busy
streets. Tall buildings are full of people at
work or at home.

But a city has more than tall buildings.
In the middle of many big cities are large
green open spaces. These city parks are
special places.

2


Why Are City Parks Important?
City parks are places for people to
relax. They can take walks or play sports.
They can have picnics on the grass.
City parks are homes for animals, too.
Small birds, squirrels, and rabbits live in
these parks. Sometimes, visitors can see
a fox or a hawk.
The trees in city parks can help to
absorb the pollution from the city. They
help make the air cleaner.
Many cities in our country have great
parks. Let’s visit four of them.

3


Central Park in New York City, New
York
Central Park is in the middle of one
of the biggest cities in the world. In the
summer, visitors can go for a boat ride or

skate with friends. They can see a play, a
puppet show, or a movie. In the winter,
they can ice skate or go sledding.

There are 21
playgrounds
throughout
the park.

4


Trees in Central Park
There are thousands of trees in Central
Park. Here are just a few of them.

Oak tree

This tree makes clumps
of acorns that fall at
the end of summer.
This tree has gray bark
with ridges but no
spines.
Elm tree

The seeds from this tree
have thick coverings.

Horse

Chestnut tree

5


Hermann Park in Houston, Texas
Visitors to this city park can ride in
boats on a lake or play a game of golf.
They can ride around the park on a small
train, too!
Children can cool off at a water
playground. Families can hike or bike on
nature trails. People of all ages can visit a
log house museum. At the zoo, they can
walk into a tropical rain forest.

6


Seward Park in Seattle, Washington
Seward Park is in a big city, but it is
very wild. The park juts out into a lake.
Long passages lead into a thick forest.
The forest has living trees that are more
than 200 years old. It also has many dead
trees that have fallen.
The dead trees dissolve slowly into
the ground. Then they become food for
plants and animals. An old dead tree
can store food to feed many other living

things.
Visitors can look at the lake from the
edge of the park. They can watch eagles
hunting for ducks in the water.

7


Golden Gate Park in San Francisco,
California
Today almost one million trees grow
in Golden Gate Park. But it was not a
park years ago. It was a place illed with
sand dunes. The land was too dry for
most plants. Later windmills were built
in the park. They used wind power to
pump water. Then more trees could be
planted.
Golden Gate Park is full of many
things to see. It is home to museums, a
big greenhouse, and a herd of buffalo!

8


The park is famous for its gardens.
One garden is full of wonderful smells.
It was planted for people who are blind.
They can walk through the garden and
smell different lowers.

Flowers and trees grow around ten
lakes. In the spring some of the lakes
look yellow. Here’s why. Cypress trees
have dropped pollen on the water.

The most famous
garden in Golden
Gate Park is the
Japanese Tea Garden.

9


Caring for City Parks
There are wonderful parks all across
the country. What can you do to help
take care of a park near you?
1. Don’t leave food or trash.
2. Don’t pick plants or break tree
branches.
3. Do help ix up the park. Many
parks have special days for people
to plant lowers or clean up. Bring
your friends and family to help!

10


Responding
Word Builder

What kinds of passages have you used to
get from one place to another place? Copy
this word web and add more words.
TARGET VOCABULARY

roads

passages

Write About It
Text to Self You have just read about
passages through the woods. Write a
paragraph about a hike or ride you would
like to take. Include at least two words
from the Word Builder in your description.

11


TARGET VOCABULARY

absorb
clumps
coverings
dissolve
passages

pollen
spines
store

throughout
tropical

Question Ask questions
before you read, while you read, and after you
read.
TARGET STRATEGY

This word also means a place people
go to buy things.

12


Level: L
DRA: 24
Social Studies
Strategy:
Question
Word Count: 650

3.4.18 Build Vocabulary

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

1387977