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.