Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps is a household name in America, often spoken about with high regard and a strong sense of nationalism.  The Olympic Games are a worldwide tradition where countries compete in areas such as soccer, gymnastics, skiing, and of course swimming.  When Phelps first came into the spotlight he was swimming in the olympics of 2000 in Beijing.  Today he has earned more olympic medals than any other athlete in the world.  Only including gold medals phelps has earned a total of thirty five, twenty two as part of an Olympic team and thirteen as an individual athlete representing America.  Some of the races he competes in are the butterfly, the freestyle, and the relay.  The butterfly and the freestyle are different types of strokes, and the relay is a race that involves a team taking turns to race quicker than the others.  Phelps is nearing the end of his career as he is married and has a son now, but he will live on forever in the Olympic world, especially in America.

Vocabulary:

Regard (verb): to think of someone or something in a specific way

Spotlight (noun): a light shining directly on someone or something, as an expression this means

  that someone or something is the center of attention

Earn (verb): to gain something in return for a product of labor

Tradition (noun): a custom or belief that has been passed between generations

Race (noun): a competition that is based on speed

Compete (verb): to try to defeat others who are all attempting to win a set game

Vocabulary activity:

There is a __________ in front of my house that lights up when you walk towards the door.

My family has a __________ where we spend Christmas Eve at my grandmas house cooking and preparing for the big holiday.

In the ________ between the tortoise and the hare, the tortoise wins even though he is seemingly slower.

When I played basketball we liked to _________ against the toughest teams.

The wage gap describes how women ________ less than men.

I hold my mother in the highest _________ because she has worked so hard for our family.

Grammar Point: Quantifiers

A quantifier is an expression that defines the scope of the object/activity being discussed. Some are definite while others are more vague.  They are all considered nouns.

Grammar Activity:

Fill in the blanks with the quantifiers listed below.  Use each only once. There is no answer key, fill in the quantifiers where you deem most appropriate.

Quantifiers: all, some, many, a lot of, a few

_________ of the teams in the NBA have a star player.

_________ people have large families.

_________ of my friends are intelligent.

There are _________ countries I have not been to.  

There are _________ television shows that I watch weekly.

The Big Duck

The Big Duck is a landmark that resides in Flanders, New York which is on Long Island.  The name of this landmark is quite frank yet often causes confusion when tourists try to understand why it is so famous in a place that has beaches, mansions, and even Manhattan so close.  When you first visit the Big Duck it is a bit disappointing because it is just a large building shaped like a duck.  The first time I visited this building it was an accident, just a coincidence when my friend Nikki and I got lost on our way to our friend's house.  We decided to go in and try to understand why so many people were crowded around such a strange sight.  We left confused and continued on our way to our friend's house but the trip always stayed in my memory.  I later spoke to some of my friends and family about my accidental stop at the Big Duck and the responses were mixed, some were unaware of the building, and the others spoke of it fondly.  After a long discussion I discovered that the importance of this landmark was the community it has formed.  Long Island is often compartmentalized along side New York City and gets lost in the shuffle of the idea of Manhattan.  This causes many great sights on Long Island to be forgotten about, but landmarks such as the Big Duck keep the community feel of Long Island alive.  It's also just a fun trip to take!

Vocabulary:
Landmark (noun): a building or object that defines or identifies a specific location
Frank (adjective): honest and direct
Confusion (noun): a state of misunderstanding or chaos
Tourist (noun): a person who visits a location away from their home
Coincidence (noun): two or more things relating unexpectedly
Discover (verb): to learn something new or find something
Community (noun): a group of people who share common interests and/or a common living area
Compartmentalize (verb): to group things

Vocabulary Activity:
Highlight or circle the vocabulary words within the word search!

Grammar Point: Pronoun Agreement
Pronouns are often used to avoid repeating information already specified.  In order to keep a continuous understanding the pronouns must match the nouns they refer to.  For example "he" must refer to a masculine noun, while "she" refers to a feminine noun, and "it" can be used for any nouns that are considered objects.
Examples: it, he, she, her, him, they, them

Grammar Activity:
Fill in the sentence with the correct pronoun.

1. Robert enjoys walking.
     _______ enjoys walking.

2. The car came racing out of the parking lot.
     _______ came racing out of the parking lot.

3. The book was very interesting to Rachel.
       The book was very interesting to ________.

4. Rachel and Robert went to the mall to buy new clothes.
     __________ went to the mall to buy new clothes.

Super Bowl LI

American football is more than just a sport, to American’s it can be as important as a religion.  Men and women carefully watch their state’s teams in hopes that they will make it to the big game, the Super Bowl! Even when your team is not a part of this game, the first Sunday of February is a family event.  People come together by watching the game on the biggest television they can access and eating a lot of appetizers.  Everyone has a different favorite part of the day, while I love to watch the football game, my sister waits all night for the halftime show, and my dad is just happy to have his whole family in one place.  The one thing everyone can agree on is that the worst part of the Super Bowl is it being on a Sunday which means that everyone needs to get back to their daily routines of school and work on Monday.  To make the most of the day my family has a long standing tradition where we compete to make the best appetizer.  The only contestants are my dad, my mom, my sister, and me and everyone else at the party acts as our judges who ultimately choose the winning dish.  This year my mom made cheeseburger sliders which are just small cheeseburgers, my dad made buffalo wings with many different sauces, my sister made buffalo chicken dip, and I made pigs in a blanket which are small hot dogs wrapped in dough.  Once everyone is done eating we pass out score sheets and tally the points.  My mom won this year, but next year I will be victorious!  With all of the fun going on it is tough to even spend time watching the game, but this year the fourth quarter got everyone's attention.  Even though I was rooting for the Atlanta Falcons, the New England Patriots deserved to win the game by their performance in the last minutes of the game.  Hopefully next year I can root for the New York Giants on the most American Sunday of the year!

Vocabulary:

Football (noun) : a game where two teams each try to score as many touchdowns(goals) as possible

Super Bowl (noun) : the final game of the football season, decides the winning team for the whole season

Appetizers (noun) : small snacks served before the main course, often before dinner

Routines (noun) : a set order of doing things

Tradition (noun) : a common act or event a shared group such as a family continuously practices

Contestants (noun) : those participating in a contest or competition
Ultimately (adverb) : the end of a process or a period of time

Tally (noun) : points given to teams or individuals during a competition

Victorious (adjective) : to win

Vocabulary Activity:

Please finish the sentences with the vocabulary listed above.

1. The Giants are the ____________ team for New York state.
2. Many families have their own ________ that they practice each year around the holidays or other occasions.
3. Each of my family members gave their favorite dish a __________ in order to cast their vote.
4. The Super Bowl was very exciting because the score was tied but  ___________ the New England Patriots won.
5. My sister made buffalo chicken dip as her entry into our family __________ competition.
6. Everyone has a daily ________ that they follow each morning when they wake up, whether they eat a large breakfast or take a shower in the morning.
7. After the tallies were counted, my mom reigned __________ over the appetizer competition.
8. The _________________ is the championship game of the football season which decides the team that ultimately reigns victorious over the rest.
9. My mom, dad, sister, and I were all ___________ in the appetizer competition fighting for a chance to win, while the rest of my family acted as judges.  

Grammar Point: Proper Nouns

Proper nouns are nouns that contain the specific names for individuals, places, or organizations.  Each proper noun begins with a capital letter to signify its importance.

Grammar Activity:

Choose the proper nouns out of the list below. Hint: There are 6!

Mexico

paper

Rachel Carlson

Tennessee

grandma

steps

Applebee’s

New York Yankees

beach

Zac Brown Band

pencil

home