March 12, 2002

Dear People in the year 2052,

Welcome to your past! We wanted you to know what life is like in Saline in the year 2002. We brainstormed about many different things that we could write about. We narrowed our ideas to seven and then wrote in small groups about the different ideas. We know that our writing is just going to give you a glimpse of our present and your past. We hope you enjoy our writing!

A Day in Our School
In the morning some kids ride the bus. The bus takes them to school. We have to walk to a bus stop. The bus just doesn’t come to you usually. We have a car loop at school. Parents drop off kids in the car loop and can park there too. We have Morning Announcements each morning on our classroom T.V. Fourth graders talk about weather, specials, birthdays, hot lunch for the day, and special guests.

After Morning Announcements we do cursive. We learned lower case letters first then the upper case. We don’t learn them in ABC order. Cursive has a lot of loops in it. After cursive we have Reading Workshop. We do stations like Listening Center, Spelling, Poetry, Guess My Sort, Computers, and Mystery Photographs. Then we have snack time. We can only have fruits or vegetables because of allergies.During Writing Workshop we write in draft books. We have a writing process. It is planning, drafting, revising, proofreading, editing, and publishing.

At 11:30am we go to lunch in the cafeteria. We can buy a hot lunch or bring your own lunch. After lunch it is math time. We do multiplication, division, arrays, area, and fractions. Then we go to Specials. Our Specials are Inquiry, Art, P.E. or gym, Music, Encore, and Media or library. Then we have science or social studies. Then we have recess and get ready to go home. We get back on the buses or our parents pick us up or we walk home.

Sports We Play
In Saline we play a lot of sports. When we play football, you have to kick, run, tackle, pass, and catch a football. It all starts with a coin toss. Whoever wins the coin toss gets to choose to kick or receive the football. If the offense throws the ball and the defense catches it is called an interception. If the offense drops the ball it is a fumble. On offense if they get to the end zone at a side of the field it is a touchdown worth 7 points. If a field goal is kicked it is worth 3 points. In soccer there are two goals that you try to score in. In hockey, you have to have lots of pads. You have a puck and a hockey stick. You have to skate and you have to have an ice rink.

Basketball is another favorite sport in Saline. You need players, a basketball, hoops, and a gym to play in. The basics are running, jumping, shooting, and getting in trouble by the referee.

I play basketball in Saline. I will play in the Special Olympics on Saturday. I will shoot the ball into the basket. I will wear my team shirt. The whistle man will be there too.

Animals in Our Lives
In Saline, we have lots of pets. These are the most popular pets: cats or kittens, dogs and puppies both big and small, mice (mostly white), guinea pigs, and last but not least gerbils. Lots of people have Golden Retriever dogs. Cats and kittens are so cuddly. There are some stray cats some places.

In Saline we see a few wild animals such as squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons. Raccoons can be seen running across the roads of Saline or hiding anywhere. We have lots of squirrels in Saline and they can be seen running up trees. Chipmunks can be seen running across streets and also through people’s yards.

Sometimes birds come in close to people. Birds may come within one foot and almost touch your hand. The Robin is our state bird. Birds are sometimes very good pets. They eat birdseed. There actually is an owl that lives in our backyard. Birds can fly great distances. Some birds are a nuisance because they scare off good birds. Baby birds sometimes fall out of their nests. Some people try to take care of them until they can take care of themselves.

Wild dogs have been around forever. Like a coyote, the dog has a roundish muzzle. They come out at night. Sometime they eat dead animals or anything they can catch. They mostly catch small mice. Wild dogs like to get into trash. Their natural habitats are being taken away, and they like the human scent.

Technology in Our Lives
In 2002 there is a lot of technology in our lives. There are remotes to change the channel on a T.V. and V.C.R. Today computers send emails that we type to each other. We have three computers in our classroom and many people have a computer at home. Digital cameras take pictures and then you can load the pictures on your T.V. or computer. Microwaves cook food faster then ovens. Microwaves help to heat foods from the inside. Today electric pencil sharpeners are still being used. We have cars that drive on the ground unless it is being carried over water on a ferry.

Entertainment in Our Lives
A lot of kids in Saline like Gameboy Advance. Gameboy Advance allows gameboy games. It has a bigger screen than regular gameboy. It lasts for two weeks when you put in new batteries. We like to play Gameboy Advance when we have nothing better to do.

Another game that kids in Saline like to play is called X Box. X Box is a game system that plays X Box games. X Box games look like a CD. Here are some of the X Box games: Halo, Shrek, and Reckless. We like to play it on Saturdays and Sundays.

Play Station Two is a rectangle box that you put CD games in and you can play them. One popular game is 007 Agent Under Fire. Agent Under Fire is a James Bond game. You can play multi-player or do missions. In multi-player you shoot people with guns. In the missions you can get more guns, and drive cars. There are lots of games for it. It can even play DVDs. It is real cool.

DVDs may be a thing of the past in 2052, but right now in 2002 it is cool. A DVD is a machine that plays discs. My dad and mom’s DVD has a DVD player and video player. You have to buy a new one every two years. My family has more grownup DVD discs. Here are some of the popular kids’ DVD discs: Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in cartoon version, Snow White, and Cinderella 2. Here are some of the music DVD discs that are popular: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Shania Twain. Well that is what DVDs are like.

ESPN is a television show. It is a channel that shows all sports like NBA, college basketball, NFL, college football, Olympics, Season of the Brink, tennis, volleyball, and commercials. It is like 1,000 sports on T.V. In the morning it is like reviewing the sports yesterday. In the afternoon there is college basketball. It is fun watching college basketball. A popular college basketball team is Duke Blue Devils. They are ranked #3. Michigan Wolverines are ranked #12. Jason Williams plays for Duke. Chris Young and Level Blandcher are players for Michigan.

Popular Stores in Saline
In Saline we have three shops that kids like to go to. One is Front Row Video, where you can rent videos and DVDs. There is the Dollar Tree is a store where everything is $1.00. Also, there is the Hallmark store where they sell Beanie Babies, cards, and other stuff.

Saline has many popular stores. We have a Saline Sweet Shop. You can go there and see a lot of sweets!! There is even candy from the 1950s! There is a new restaurant in Saline called Bean and Bagel. It is a little deli. You can get hot soup, sandwiches and bagels. Many families go there on Saturdays. Then there is Café Dolce. It is a little deli too. You can get sandwiches, coffee, Italian soda, and tea. There are fast food places too like Wendy’s, KFC/Taco Bell, Tim Horton’s and more. We eat fast food when we don’t have time to cook dinner at home.

Holidays in Our City
Everyone loves holidays. Everyone loves Christmas. At Christmas you get a lot of presents. It is on December 25th. Most people celebrate Christmas. Kids love Christmas. Santa Claus comes through your chimney at night and gives you a present. People put lots and lots of lights on their houses. Christmas colors usually red and green. Easter is another cool holiday. Most people paint eggs and have Easter egg hunts. Easter is also a religious holiday. For Thanksgiving, we eat turkey and gravy on stuffing. Thanksgiving is celebrated because the Indians and the pilgrims had a feast. Now we celebrate it every year. On Thanksgiving we try to look our best. The 4th of July is awesome. We celebrate it because we won the Revolutionary War. On the 4th of July we shoot off fireworks. Some fireworks are illegal. On the 4th of July we get to hang out all night. Halloween is the holiday when kids go around and get candy around your neighborhood. On Valentine’s Day we give each other valentine cards and candy. Some of the candy say "Love Ya!" Yuck!!! Now we have named most of the holidays that we celebrate in Saline in the year 2002.

We hope that you enjoyed learning about our lives in Saline during the year of 2002. We know that many of us in third grade now are possibly grandparents in the year 2052. We hope that you enjoyed our writing about our present and your past.

Love,
Pleasant Ridge Elementary
Third Graders in 2002

Keely, Jori, Timothy, Dylan, Samantha, Heather, Scott, Evan, Mikey, Marcel, Derek, Zach, Brandon, Lauren, Trevor, Michael, James, Maghan, Sarah, Emily, Marissa, Sean, Christine, Margery, Austin, Alex, Andrew, and Mrs. Welzbacker