A Day to Remember Forever!

The day that I graduated college was one of the happiest times of my life.  I felt a sense of accomplishment.  After going to SUNY Cortland for 3 years, I earned a degree in Education, to teach children who were the ages of birth through 6th grade.  All of the hours that I spent studying to tests, or working hard on projects, paid off.  All of my effort and time has finally gone to something important to me.  I knew that from this point in my life and forward, I could never take away my degree that I had just earned.  Sitting in the auditorium, waiting for the President of the College to call my name, to hand me my degree, I felt nervous yet excited.  The moment my name was called and I walked on stage to accept a piece of paper that would define the rest of my life, I was proud.  I was proud that I have made it this far and have not given up.  I was proud that I could now make something of myself and can only go further from that moment.  If I wish anything on anyone in the world, it is to work so hard for something that you really want, and then experience that feeling of actually accomplishing that goal.  It has to be the best feeling in the world.

Vocabulary:

1. Graduated: ( verb ) -- complete a course of training
2. Accomplishment: ( noun ) -- success of completing a task
3. Earned: ( verb ) -- to get something through work
4. Degree: ( noun ) -- earned through studying a subject
5. Auditorium: ( noun ) -- a theater or concert hall
6. Define: ( verb ) -- the meaning of words or sentences

Vocabulary Exercise:

Directions: Create a sentence for each one of the vocabulary words. Don't forget to use the vocabulary word in the sentence and place a period at the end of the sentence.

1. (Graduated) - ______________________________________________________

2. (Accomplishment) - _____________________________________________________

3. (Earned) - _______________________________________________________________

4. (Degree) - ________________________________________________________________

5. (Auditorium) - ________________________________________________________

6. (Define) - _____________________________________________________________



Grammar Point:

Step 1: In the above paragraph, there are many nouns and verbs.  The vocabulary words contain just nouns and verbs.  Please list 2 more nouns and 2 more verbs from the above paragraph that we could add to the vocabulary list.

Noun                                                                           Verb

1. ____________________                                      1. ________________________

2. ____________________                                      2. ________________________


Step 2:  Create your own paragraph about something you have accomplished in your life and include your nouns and verbs.  Also include at least 4 vocabulary words within your paragraph.  Good Luck!

Rainy Day Blues

When the rain falls down, and makes puddles on the ground, it makes me want to stay inside all day and cuddle up with my blanket.  Rain in the fall season makes the air cold and chilly.  Today was cold outside and very rainy.  For lunch, I had chicken noodle soup because I wanted something that was warm, to bring heat to my body.  The sun was not out and it looked dark all day.  Although, I understand that the earth needs rain in order to keep growing, but it makes the outside look so dreary. I shut the lights off in my classroom today, and the classroom was so dark that I couldn't see much of anything.  I dream of days of sunshine and warm air.  The weather that I favor is months away, so I guess I'll have to start to wait and eat lots of chicken noodle soup!

Vocabulary:

1. Puddles: ( noun ) -- a small pool of water

2. Cuddle: ( verb ) -- to hold fondly in arms

3. Season: ( noun ) -- changes in the year that affect the weather

4. Heat: ( noun ) -- a rise in temperature

5. Dreary: (adjective ) -- boring or dull 

6. Favor: ( verb ) -- to have a liking for 

Vocabulary Exercise:

Step 1 - Directions:  Look at the pictures shown.  Pick a vocabulary word ( from the word bank ) that matches up with the picture and state whether it is a noun, adjective or verb. 

              Work Bank: 

___________________________

1. cuddle                  2. puddle

3. heat                      4. season

___________________________

_______________________ 

_______________________

_______________________

______________________

Step 2 - Directions : Fill in the blank with the correct vocabulary word from the word bank.

              Work Bank:

________________________

1. Favor              2. Dreary

________________________

1. When the rain is falling down, and the sky looks gray, it is a ____________ kind of day.

2. I ______________ blueberries over strawberries. 

Grammar Point:

Now that you know how I feel on a rainy cold day.  I want to know how you feel on a day like today. Write 3 - 5 sentences explaining how you have felt on a rainy cold day. You may like these types of days or you may not like these types of days.  Please use at least 3 adjectives, 2 nouns, and 1 verb in your paragraph.  At the end of your writing, draw a picture of you on a rainy day and express how it made you feel in your picture. 

Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year.  I love to dress up in different costumes and be able to see other people's costumes.  When I was younger, my favorite thing was trick-or-treating.  It was the only time throughout the year, that I was able to get candy for free.  All I had to do was knock on my neighbor's doors' and say "Trick-or-Treat"!  My friends and family would get together as a large group and parade around the neighborhood, dressed up in our costumes and go around knocking on people's door.  After trick-or-treating, I would go back to my house and dump out all of the candy that I have received onto my living room floor.  From there I would sort out the good candy and bad candy.  That really just means I would go through the candy, and sort through it to see which ones I wanted to eat, and which ones I would either save for another occasion or give to my parents.  The excitement and thrill of the whole holiday is one of the reasons that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.

Vocabulary:

1. Favorite: ( noun ) -- something you like to do

2. Costumes: ( noun ) -- an outfit someone doesn't normally wear, used for dressing up 

3. Free: ( adverb ) -- no charge

4. Parade: ( verb ) -- march around

5. Neighborhood: ( noun ) -- an area where people live near one another

6. Knocking: ( verb ) -- to strike with a hard blow 

7. Sort: ( verb ) -- to separate 

Vocabulary Exercise:

Directions: Circle if the definition of the vocabulary words are true or false. 

1. True/False -- A parade means to march around.

2. True/False -- Favorite means that you do not like something

3. True/False -- If something is free, then it costs money.

4. True/False -- I am knocking on someone's door so I am striking it with a hard blow. 

5. True/False -- Sort means to separate something

6. True/False -- A neighborhood is an area where people live far away from each other

7. True/False -- I want to wear a costume, so I am going to dress up in an outfit I do not normally                                 wear.


Grammar Point:

A verb is an action word that is used along side with the subject and object in the sentence.  There are many verbs in the above paragraph.  Please locate all of the verbs in the paragraph by circling them.  Then go ahead and come up with 3 more verbs that describe an action.  With those three verbs, place them in sentences with the correct grammar and sentence structure.

A Exciting Year to Celebrate

When my mom told me that my father and her were having a baby, all I asked for, is that the baby be a girl so that I could have a sister.  Then when I actually got her, I was the happiest little girl.  As we grew up, my sister and I have had delightful times and some unfavorable times, and still to this day we do.  We are sisters, and that is what sisters do.  But there is not a day that goes by that I would wish anything different.  She is my best friend forever and always.

Last Sunday, my sister turned 18 years old.  The girl that I have always seen as a baby and probably always will, is growing up into a lovely young lady.  A young lady that makes her big sister so proud, and honored to be her big sister.  She makes clothes look like their being wore by a model, and she has such great passion in the things she likes.  My sister takes pride in herself, and will always fight for what she believes in which is a great quality in my eyes.  She is still growing up, so of course, there are still things that she is learning, but I have no doubt in my mind that she will grow up to be a successful and beautiful woman.

Vocabulary 

1. Delightful : ( adjective ) -- a feeling of joy

2. Unfavorable : ( adjective ) -- a negative feeling 

3. Lovely : ( adjective ) -- beautiful or nice

4. Passion : ( noun ) -- a strong feeling/emotion

5. Quality : ( noun ) -- a trait someone possess' with high value

6. Successful  : ( adjective ) -- accomplish great value 

Vocabulary Exercise:

Directions:  

Step 1: Separate all of the adjectives and nouns from the vocabulary words, into the chart below.  If you find any more adjectives or nouns in the paragraph above, please add them as well. 

Adjectives                                                                            Nouns             

1.                                                                                          1.                                                  

2.                                                                                          2. 

3.                                                                                          3. 

4.                                                                                          4. 

5.                                                                                          5. 

6.                                                                                          6. 

Step 2:   Define what an adjective is and what a noun is below.

Adjective: ________________________________________________________________________

Noun: ___________________________________________________________________________

Grammar Point:

Siblings, (sisters or brothers) hold important parts in everyone's lives.  Write a 5 sentences paragraph about your sister/brother or about someone who is important/special to you in your life.  Please include 3 adjectives about that special person and underline them.  This will make your paragraph more detailed and more interesting to read.  If there are any nouns in your paragraph, please circle them. 

Pumpkin Picking

Last autumn, my boyfriend and I went pumpkin picking.  Instead of going to a nearby farm, we drove about an hour away into the eastern part of Long Island, where we were able to pick pumpkins off their vine.  The experience was one to remember because we really got to pick them off the vein instead of just picking them from a field.  They also offered apple picking at the farm we went to.  Unfortunately, we went late in the season, so there was not that many apples left on the trees.  We did end up with 2 big bags of apples that lasted us a very long time.  The farm also offered hay rides, had playgrounds for the little children, a store where people couple buy fall products/food and roasted corn. Out of the whole day, my favorite part was getting to spend time with my boyfriend.  It was a day that we got to have an adventure, enjoy each other's company and share an experience that we will remember for a life time.

Vocabulary:

1.  Autumn: (noun) -- a season when leaves fall from trees; also called Fall

2.  Eastern: (adjective) -- a direction coming from east

3.  Vine: (noun) -- a stem of a plant

4.  Offered: (verb) -- to say you want to do something for someone

5.  Unfortunately: (adverb) -- to be unhappy about something

6.  Products: (noun) -- something you can sell

Vocabulary Exercise:

Directions:  Complete each sentence with the correct vocabulary word.

1. There was a huge ______________ coming out the top of my pumpkin.

2. When Tim went to the supermarket, he saw a lot of ______________ that he could buy.

3.  _________________, Sarah was unable to go to the movies with Jim because she was sick with a fever.

4. I ______________ to drive my mother to the store because she did not have her license.

5. During ________________, I love to rake all of the leaves on my grass into one pile and then jump in them.

6. Montauk is on the ______________ side of Long Island.

Grammar Point:

One of the vocabulary words, unfortunately, is an adverb.  An adverb is a grammar term that describes a verb, adjective or another adverb.  It answers the question of how, how often, when and where.  Many times, adverbs have an "ly" at the end of the word, but not all the time.  Some other examples of adverb are,  quickly, slowly, kindly, here, always, early and outside.  Here is a little chart to help you. 

By using this chart and any other internet source, come up with 5 sentences that have at least 1 adverb included in it.  

A Weekend with the Family

For my 4th of July this year, I got to spend my time with my family.  In recent years, my family comes from all different states and travels to my grandmother's house in Upstate, New York.  We spend the weekend of 4th of July celebrating the glorious holiday and each other's company.  My family will play games, have a BBQ and of course watch fireworks. Mostly, we spend our time outside, because when the weather is nice, no one wants to be just sitting inside.  This year, not only did we get to spend time at my grandmother's house, but we also went to my uncle's trailer camp.  He rented out a trailer for him and his family to have a vacation in for a couple of weeks.  There was live music, a pool, bicycles to rent and plenty of games that we enjoyed.  I always think it is so nice when families get to spend time together and see one another, especially when it doesn't have very often.  I love my family very much and I am very grateful to have shared my holiday with them.

Vocabulary:

1. Recent: ( Adjective ) -- having something happen not long ago

2. Glorious: ( Adjective ) -- a feeling of fame or honor

3. Rented: ( Verb ) -- to pay someone for something

4. Plenty: ( Pronoun ) -- a large amount of something

5. Especially: ( Adverb ) -- to single out a person or thing 

6. Grateful: ( Adjective ) -- to be thankful

Vocabulary Exercise: 

Directions:  Match up the correct vocabulary word to its correct definition.

1. Especially                                 ____  to single out a person or thing

2. Glorious                                    ____ to pay someone for something

3. Grateful                                     ____ having something happen not long ago

4. Recent                                       ____ a large amount of something

5. Plenty                                        ____ to be thankful

6. Rented                                       ____ a feeling of fame or honor

Grammar Point: 

Adjectives is a point in grammar that describes a noun.  We talked about this in our last blog.  Adjectives can have different endings in which give them more descriptive meaning.  The adjective Glorious ends in "ous" and the adjective Grateful ends in "ful".  Can you think of any other adjectives that have the "ous" and "ful" endings.  Think of 3 for each ending example ( 6 in total ).

My First Day of School

I have my first day of school on September 29th, 2014.  This is not like any ordinary first day of school.  This time, I am not longer the student but I am going to be the teacher!  I am both excited and nervous at the same time for my new journey.  I have never been on this side of school before and I am worried that my students will not like me.  If someone asked me if I thought I was nice, I would say yes, so I guess that's all I can do.  Show my students that I am their to inspire them and have them learn things in fun and creative ways. Will I be the best teacher?  I really don't know, because I don't think there is no such thing as the "best" teacher, but a teacher who cares for his/her students, and that is what I will do.  I pledge to put my best effort in teaching my students and never give up, even if it may get hard sometimes.

Vocabulary:

1. Nervous: (adjective)  -- feeling stress and tension

2. Journey: (noun) -- traveling from one place to another

3. Worried: (adjective) --  troubled thought

4. Inspire: (verb) --  have someone believe

5. Creative: (adjective) --  using imagination

6. Pledge: (noun) -- a promise

Vocabulary Exercise:

Directions:  Fill in the blank with the correct vocabulary word.

1.  Jim was being ____________ when he painted a picture of what he thought was up in space.

2. My mother sounded _____________ when I called her an hour past the time I said I was going to.

3. Every day in school, the class says the _______________ of Allegiance in the morning.

4. Jenny could tell that her sister was ___________ because she was biting her nails and had a unsure look on her face.

5. Martin Luther King wanted to _____________ people to believe that equality between all people could be possible.

6.  The Jones' took a _______________ from New York to Florida to vacation in Walt Disney World. 

Grammar Point:

There are some examples of adjectives in my above paragraph.  An adjectives describes something about a noun.  It is a piece of grammar that is used often in reading and writing.  I have stated nervous, worried and creative as adjectives.  They are all describing a way that I feel.  List 5 adjectives that describes you or describes about a time in your life.  Then put those 5 adjectives in a paragraph containing minimum of 10 sentences.