Tennis

Tennis is a sport that is played all around the word. It is played by striking a ball with a racket over a net. There are four major championships in tennis just like with golf. Tennis players compete for these four major events called Grand Slams. My two favorite grand slam tournaments are Wimbledon and the Us Open. Wimbledon is held in London, England and it is played on a grass surface. The US Open is played on a fast hard court surface and it is held in Queens, New York.

People who are not fans of tennis don’t realize how grueling tennis is. For example, there is no offseason in tennis so players have to play all year around or at least for 10-11 months out of the year. Unlike other sports, tennis players earn money only when they win through prize money and sponsors. On the court, players have to deal with the outside elements such as extremely hot and humid weather or very windy conditions which may affect a player’s movement and technique. And since there is no time limit in tennis, a match can last for hours and can even continue on for days until the match is decided. It is very common for tennis players to play with an injury because as a single player, tennis players don’t have teammates that can substitute for them when they are injured.

After many years of being a fan, I was fortunate to attend the US Open. It was an exciting experience to watch my favorite tennis players compete live.

Additional Tennis Facts

Tennis is played in three different ways 

• (Men’s Singles or Women’s Singles) - one player versus another player 
• (Men’s Doubles or Women’s Doubles) - two players versus two other players 
• (Mixed Doubles) – a man and woman pair versus another man and woman pair

The Four Grand Slams

• Australian Open – played on a slow hard court
• French Open – played on clay
• Wimbledon – played on grass
• US Open – played on a fast hard court
  
  
  Highlights of Tennis Player Roger Federer

Vocabulary:
tennis (noun) - a game played with a ball, rackets, and a net
compete (verb) – try to win
Grand Slams (noun, plural) – the four major tennis tournaments
grueling (adjective) – hard, takes great effort
offseason (noun) – time off from the sport
outside elements (noun) -  the weather and temperature
extremely (adverb) – very
movement the act moving your body
technique (noun) - skill in doing a specific thing

Vocabulary Exercise: 

Directions: Write a sentence for each vocabulary word.  

1. tennis: _____________________________
2. compete:____________________________ 
3. Grand Slams:________________________ 
4. grueling:____________________________
5. offseason:___________________________
6. outside elements:_____________________
7. extremely:___________________________ 
8. movement:___________________________ 
9. technique:____________________________ 

Grammar Point: A prepositional phrase is a group of words that starts with a preposition and ends with the object of the preposition. 

Example: In the sentence  "The US Open is played on a fast hard court"....  from the passage above, the preposition is "on." It connects the object "court" to the rest of the sentence. The prepositional phrase is "on a fast hard court."

Exercise: Underline four prepositional phrases in the passage above. Then use those four prepositions to write four sentences. 

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                                    Preposition Song 

My Other Half

I am a twin. Twins are two babies that have the same parents and are born at the same time. There are two types of twins, identical and fraternal. Identical twins have the same genes and are always of the same gender but fraternal twins have different genes and can be of either gender. I am a fraternal twin girl and I have a twin brother. I love having a twin brother because of the special bond we share. As children, we did everything together. We experienced many milestones together such as; learning how to walk and talk, losing our baby teeth, our first day of school and much more. Today, my twin brother and I are still very close, so every year we enjoy celebrating our birthday together.  


Vocabulary:
twin (noun) - two babies born at the same birth
genes (noun) – the information that decides your traits, DNA 

identical twins (noun) - twins that have the same genes and look the same

fraternal twins (noun) - twins that have different genes and look mostly different 

gender (noun) - boy or girl
bond (noun) – strong closeness with someone
milestones (noun) - important events in your life


Vocabulary Exercise:Directions: Match the word with the correct definition. 

1. ___ gender                            a. twins that have different genes, look mostly different 
2. ___ bond                               b. the information that decides your traits, DNA 
3. ___ milestones                      c. twins that have the same genes and look the same 
4. ___ fraternal twin                  d. boy or girl                                                  
5. ___ genes                             e. two babies born at the same birth    
6. ___ identical twins                 f. strong closeness with someone  
7. ___ twin                                g. important events in your live  



Grammar Point: Conjunctions are used to put words and sentences together. For example, and, but, or, and so are conjunctions. 

Grammar Exercise: Identify and circle the conjunctions in the above passage. Then write three sentences using those conjunctions from the passage.

Conjunction Video

Pet Peeve

My biggest pet peeve involves express checkout lanes at grocery stores. I do not understand why people purposely disregard a rule that is meant to make shopping easier for everyone. It profoundly annoys me when I use the express checkout lane for a quick purchase of one or two items that I really need but instead I end up in a line with people that greatly exceed the maximum amount of items allowed. It isn't fair! Express checkout lanes should have a 10 or 12 items or less limit for the line to function in a speedy manner. But since many people treat express checkout lanes more like regular lines with their grocery carts overflowing of items, express lanes will soon become obsolete. For example, a local supermarket in my area use to have an express checkout lane of 12 items or less but then it was changed to 15 items or less. Now, there is no express checkout lane.I probably should not let this upset me as much as it does since research says that mathematically people spend more time waiting in an express line that has more people with fewer items than in a regular line with less people that have more items. Although I know there are always other options, so far I have not chosen to use the self-checkout lane because that will create another pet peeve.  

Grocery Store Grammar





Vocabulary:
pet peeve (noun) – personal complaint
disregard (verb) - ignore
profoundly (adjective) -  deeply, greatly
purchase (verb) – to buy something
exceed (verb) – to go beyond the limit
typically (adverb) – in most cases
function (noun) – purpose of something
obsolete (adjective) – not used anymore

Vocabulary Exercise: Fill in the crossword puzzle by matching the vocabulary word to its definition. 

Grammar Point:  A contraction is the shortened form of two words. The spelling of contractions formed with "not" usually does not change. The apostrophe takes the place of the "o." For example, in the passage above the contraction isn't was formed from is + not.

Grammar Exercise: Form contractions with not with combinations from the passage above.

                  (do not)                   do + not      =       ________       
                  (is not)                     is  + not      =       ________
                 (should not)       should + not      =       ________
                 (have not)             have + not      =       ________

My Best Experience

           
             Life experiences whether they are good or bad can influence a person’s life in a positive way. One of the best experiences in my life came after overcoming some obstacles that were stopping me from enjoying life. Those challenges that I was able to overcome shaped me into the person that I am today. In addition, the process of facing my fears gave me the opportunity to create things that are meaningful to me.

             I became motivated to set goals for myself and to work hard to achieve them. Since I was always bothered by the fact that I didn’t finish school, my first goal was to complete my education. Of course I was overwhelmed by the fact that it had been more than a decade since I stepped foot inside a classroom, but I wasn't going to let that get in the way of finishing school. As a result, I reached my goal and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in the field of education.        
             The best experience of my life was not a single event but a long journey that taught me to focus on establishing and setting goals that will ultimately enhance my life. From this, I have gained inner peace. 

Vocabulary:
influence (verb) - to have an impact on somebody or something
overcoming (verb) - defeat a problem
obstacles (noun) - something that blocks progress
challenges (noun) - difficult task or problem
motivated (verb) - willing or committed to something
overwhelmed (verb) - having to many things to deal with, overpowered with emotions
decade (noun) - ten years
establishing (verb) - to start something
ultimately (adverb) -  eventually



Vocabulary Exercise: 

Grammar Point: Abstract nouns names an idea, feeling, quality, or concept. You can't see, hear, smell, taste, or touch an abstract noun because it is not a physical object. For example, in the above paragraphs, the words obstacles, challenges, and decade are abstract nouns.

Grammar Exercise: Write six sentences using the abstract nouns obstacles, challenges, decade and three more abstract nouns from the above paragraphs. 
 


                                      Concrete Versus Abstract Noun Song

 

Embarrassing Halloween

             I enjoy celebrating Halloween because of the spooky house decorations, the tasty treats, and the colorful costumes. However, one Halloween I decided to go to an annual Halloween party given by a school near my Manhattan neighborhood in the gymnasium and it turned out to be one of the most embarrassing experiences of my teenage life. For the party, I made my own punk rocker costume. I color sprayed my hair pink and blue, wore fishnet gloves and stockings, put on heavy bright makeup and long black nails, and wore mismatched jewelry. My friend who accompanied me to the party, dressed up in a baby costume. She wore yellow footed pajamas with a matching large bonnet and a jumbo pacifier around her neck. 

              We looked silly but amusing in our costumes and we felt a bit foolish on the way to the party since we were the only two people dressed in costumes because it wasn’t Halloween yet. It also did not help that I fell and scraped my knee on our walk to the party. When we arrived at the school the steel doors were locked and no one was there. A nice little old man came up to us and told us that the Halloween party was held the night before! We were having a terrible night. Our walk back home was an embarrassing Halloween walk of shame.

Vocabulary:
Halloween (noun) - October 31, children dress up in costumes and go to houses asking for candy
annual (adjective) – once a year
gymnasium (noun) – exercise room or sports center
embarrassing (adjective) – feeling uncomfortable and foolish
mismatched (verb, past tense) – to match badly
accompanied (verb, past tense) – to go with someone
bonnet (noun) - hat
jumbo (adjective) – very large
amusing (adjective) – funny

Vocabulary Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.
1. Many schools have a ________for students to exercise and practice playing sports.
2. Punk rockers often wear________ clothing.
3. Children celebrate_______ by wearing costumes and going trick or treating.
4. It was_______ that we did not know the_______ Halloween party was held the night before.
5. My friend looked_______ in her _________ size baby _________.
6.  I was happy that my friend______ me to the party so that I didn’t go alone.

Grammar Point: An adjective is a word that tells you about a noun. For example, in the paragraphs above the words spooky and tasty are adjectives.

Grammar Exercise: Create a word cloud using these two adjectives and at least eight other adjectives from the paragraphs above.

Websites: 
http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm
http://www.wordle.net/create


Sample Adjective Word Cloud


Game: Practice identifying adjectives with this interactive activity <click here>

Bucket List

This past summer I invited my cousin Rebecca over to my house for dinner and a movie. During dinner, Rebecca and I discussed things that we would like to add to our bucket list. Rebecca mentioned she would love to do something thrilling such as skydiving because she is adventurous. I revealed that I had never been to a live concert before. Rebecca immediately got up in the middle of dinner and purchased concert tickets for us! I was surprised by my cousin’s spontaneous reaction but I was also excited to complete a goal from my bucket list.We went to see salsa singer Marc Anthony at Radio City Music Hall. His performance was noteworthy. He sang with a live band and his voice was amazing. He opened with the song “Aguanile.” Then he surprised us by bringing his father out on stage for a duet. The duet with his father was a heartfelt performance. Marc Anthony ended the concert with an encore of my favorite song “Vivir Mi Vida.” 

What do you have in your bucket list?

Vocabulary:
bucket list (noun) – a list of things you want to do before you die
thrilling (adjective) – very exciting
skydiving (noun) – jump from an airplane with a parachute
adventurous (adjective) – willing to do dangerous or exciting things
revealed (verb, past tense) – make something known
spontaneous (adjective) - unplanned or done on impulse
goal (noun) – something you are trying to do or achieve
noteworthy (adjective) – deserving of attention
encore (noun) – repeated performance


Vocabulary Exercise:Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.

1.  Marc Anthony is known for delivering ______ performances.
2. ______ people enjoy participating in dangerous and _______activities.
3.  After a standing ovation the audience screamed for an_______.
4. We were surprised when Marc Anthony_______that his guest performer was his father.
5. People have to wear parachutes when they go_______.
6. I always like to plan upcoming events but I needed to be_______in order to accomplish a ______ from my ______.  

Grammar Point:
The past tense tells about something that has already happened. Regular past tense verbs end in ed. For example, invited and revealed are regular past tense verbs from the passage above. Find at least three more regular past tense verbs from the passage. Write three sentence using the three regular past tense verbs you find.  

             Marc Anthony's Live Performance of Aguanile

The Influence of Jeans

     Jeans are pants made of denim or other cotton fabric. I love jeans because they are comfortable, durable, and inexpensive but I have always been fascinated by their popularity and often wondered how they emerged into existence. Dating back to the 19th century, jeans were designed as work wear for miners and farmers throughout the Western states of America. In 1873 Jacob W. Davis, a tailor from Latvia who settled in Nevada and Levi Strauss, a merchant of dry goods who emigrated from Germany to San Francisco teamed up and patented a jean design that included rivets to reinforce the points of stress on the pants. Riveted jeans were later redesigned and became the modern jeans seen today.
    

     Jeans have evolved into the most popular apparel on earth. Because of their massive worldwide appeal jeans have transcended culture, class, age, and gender. Their versatility may be one of the many reasons why they have become a staple in wardrobes around the world. 

     Personally, the majority of my wardrobe consists of jeans in an array of different styles and colors. I like that jeans can be worn with all types of tops and footwear. My favorite pair of jeans are skinny jeans which I like to wear with boots. I also enjoy wearing ripped jeans paired with a tee shirt and sneakers.How do you like to wear your jeans?

The History Behind the American Jeans

Vocabulary:
durable (adjective) - able to last

emerged (verb, past tense) - come out

patented (verb, past tense) - have the rights to an invention
rivets (noun) - metal fastener
evolved (verb, past tense) - develop gradually, progress

apparel (noun) - clothing
transcended (verb, past tense) - to go beyond the normal limits of something

versatility (noun) - with many uses

staple (noun) - a regular and important part or feature of something

array (noun) - a large group, number, or quantity of people or things

Vocabulary Exercise:

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.

1. Jeans are very ______ because they have ______ that help hold the fabric together.
2. Modern jeans are designed in an impressive ______ of styles and colors.

3. Because jeans can be worn in many different ways their ______ (with many uses) has ______ many styles of fashion.
4. Skinny jeans are a _____ of my wardrobe. 

5. After jeans were _____ they ______ (came out) as the most widely used ______ in the world.

6. I was fascinated by the way jeans ______ throughout history. 

Grammar Point: A common noun names a person, animal, place, thing, or idea.
A proper noun is a special name used for an individual person, animal, place, thing, or organization. A proper noun always starts with a capital letter.

Grammar Exercise: Identify four common nouns and four proper nouns in the passage above. Write a sentence for each identified noun and label the noun as common or proper.

Game: Practice classifying common and proper nouns with this interactive online game.

Basketball Game <CLICK HERE>