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Main   >   Curriculum   >   Social Studies

All About Rockford! Here are some resources to teach about how Rockford came to be... and how it is today!
Rockford on US Map Rockford!
This city of more than 150,000 is located in the northern part of the great state of Illinois. Rockford is the third largest city in Illinois after Chicago and Aurora. Its latitude is 42° 16' North and its longitude is 89° 03' West. Rockford is located on the continent of North America in the Western Hemisphere. It is in the Centeral Time Zone. On April 6, 2009, Mayor Larry Morrissey announced the City of Rockford has received for the twentieth straight year the recognition of “Tree City USA Destination.” Rockford is also called the "City of Gardens." Do you know why Rockford's nickname is also the "Forest City?"
Symbol The City of Rockford
All About the City of Rockford
“We're the Forest City, where you can find affordable homes on tree-lined streets in friendly neighborhoods. Our central location, with easy access to major highways, rail service and one of the fastest growing airports in the country, makes Rockford a great location for new business development. We're the home of Illinois' largest music festival, On the Waterfront; Jane, the dinosaur, at the Burpee Museum of Natural History; and we're the hometown of the internationally-known rock group, Cheap Trick. We have a proud past and an even brighter future. We think you'll find that Rockford is a wonderful place to raise a family or grow your business. On this website, you will find information about a wide range of programs and services that we think make Rockford a great place to live, work and play.” Here you can find information about the demographics of Rockford, its history, the attractions, educational opportunities, businesses, and shopping.
Rockford Satellite Image Some Neat Data About Rockford!
From GAISMA
Here you can find:
• Sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times in a table
• Sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times in a graph
• Sun path diagram
• Solar energy and surface meteorology
• Basic information
Rockford 1949 Aerial View Rockford's History
Primary Source Images
Invite students to examine these pictures from Rockford history and respond to them!
Rockford Greetings from Rockford Rockford's Nickname Is "The Forest City"
Rockford Timeline
A timeline of Rockford's earliest years to the 1990s. What can we add to this timeliine?
Visitors Bureau Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
What's There to Do in Rockford?
"Welcome to Real, Original Rockford. Ours is a vibrant community with big-city amenities and a small-town feel. The City of Rockford is surrounded by many attractive towns and villages, each with its own character and appeal. This is a welcoming place dotted with green, blessed by rivers and untroubled by congestion. You can live your life here, not just watch it pass you by. If you're looking for the real, original heart of America, welcome home to the Rockford Region." On this site you can find these categories:
• Fun things to do
• A calendar of events
• Lodging
• Dining
• Virtual tours
• Meetings & tournaments
• About the Rockford region
Rockford Township Data
Great Graphs!
Did you know that during the years 1950 to 1959 there were 14,892 houses built in Rockford Township? That was way above the Illinois average! Here's an example of interesting information that can be found on this site: The most common places of birth for the foreign-born residents are
• Mexico (49%)
• Laos (5%)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (4%)
• Italy (4%)
• Poland (3%)
• Vietnam (3%)
• Germany (3%)
IL Waving Flag Who Was Miss Lucy Derwent?
From the Illinois State Museum
Find out more about our state flag and the Rockford connection here!
Rockford Peaches The All-American Girls Baseball League
A Rockford Connection!
Find out about the Rockford Peaches and the All-American Girls Baseball League. The Peaches played their home games at Beyer Field, at Seminary Street and 15th Avenue, right by Beyer School! The ticket booth is still there.
Rockford I Heart Rockford Rockford Unit
Curriculum Guide
New! Here is the curriculum for teaching about Rockford in Third Grade!
Remember When: Polio Once Spread Fear Through Rock River Valley
From the Rockford Register Star
This article, originally published March 26, 1995, highlights the Polio Epidemic in Rockford during the summer of 1945... "Late July 1945 opened a time of panic in the Rock River Valley. In a four-month span, 382 polio patients were treated for polio in Winnebago County. Of these, 36 died, 80 percent of them children."
Summer of fear, 1945
From the Rockford Register Star
"Nurse Mary Jayne Bishop knew when a child died overnight because the rhythmic roar from the polio ward sounded quieter at daybreak. A dozen iron lungs lined the end of the first-floor wing at the old County Hospital, metal barrels that huffed and puffed because the children inside them could not." Read more at this link.
Anderson Campaign Button 1980 Rockford History
From the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Another perspective! “Some natives and residents of Rockford who have had national impact in the 20th Century are: Julia Lathrop, associate of Jane Addams, children’s advocate, and Chief of the Children’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor under Taft; Kate O’Connor, women’s rights activist, labor leader, and government official; Bessica Medlar Raiche, physician and first woman to solo in an airplane (1911); Martin Johnson, photographer and explorer; Carl E. Swenson, inventor of the universal joint for automobiles and landscape painter; James H. Breasted, archaeologist and Egyptologist; Rear Admiral George J. Dufek, Antarctic explorer; General Laurence S. Kuter, participant in the Yalta Conference (1945) and commander of NORAD; Mildred F. Berry, speech pathologist and political activist; John B. Anderson., independent candidate for President of the United States in 1980; Lynn Martin, Secretary of Labor under President Ronald Reagan; Janice Voss, astronaut; Harry Forbes, world bantamweight boxing champion, 1900-03; Sammy Mandell, world lightweight boxing champion, 1926-30; Hal Carlson, National League pitcher, 1917-30; Cheap Trick, prominent rock group; Kurt Elling, jazz vocalist; actors Barbara Hale, Aidan Quinn, and Susan Saint James; Olympic medalists Janet Lynn, Ron Merriott, and Kenny Gould; novelists Paul Dale Anderson, Wayne Dundee, and Alice Beal Parsons, who sometimes use Rockford scenes and events in their work.”
SC KPPP Garden Rockford's Sister Cities
Did You Know?
Rockford has seven Sister Cities! Check out this site for information on them to get a global perspective. Can you explain why and how these seven cities were selected to connect with Rockford in some special way?
Rockford, Illinois
From All Experts.com
Contents
• Geography & Climate
• Demographics
• History
• Becoming a Transportation Center
• Looking into the Future
• Rockford School System
• Miscellaneous
• Points of Interest
• Sister Cities
• External Links
Aerial Views of Rockford, 1880 and 1891
From the Library of Congress
Maps, Maps, Maps!
From the Rockford Area Economic Development Council
Rockford Maps relating to the economy today!
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