Shopping and Going To The Store

I love shopping!  Going to the store and picking out new clothes, or buying groceries for the week, is a lot of fun for me.  I like seeing new products, like shoes, purses, hats, scarves and more.  Sometimes however, I have to ask the shop worker questions about the things I need.  "Where can I find this pair of shoes?" or "How much does this shirt cost?" are some examples.  Sometimes I will get excited about certain products.  "I love the color of this hat!" or "This is a great sale!" I'll say out loud.  Other people in the shop might think I'm a little odd, but it's okay to be a little "different" if you have just scored a great deal!

Do you like shopping?  What are some of your favorite stores?

Key vocabulary:

• Groceries (noun): food sold in a store.
• Product (noun): goods that a company makes.
• Shoes (noun): a piece of clothing worn on the feet, usually comes in pairs.
• Purse (noun): an accessory used to hold personal possessions.
• Hat (noun): a piece of clothing worn on the head, usually protective.
• Scarves (noun): a piece of clothing worn around the neck, usually when it is cold.
• Shirt (noun): a piece of clothing worn over the chest or torso.
• Sale (noun): an event held in a store when products and goods are discounted in price.

Vocabulary Activity:
Fill in the crossword puzzle with the correct vocabulary words from the list above.

Grammar Point:
To make proper sentences, you must use punctuation.  Otherwise, your sentences become run-on sentence (a long sentence with many ideas, that can be cut into smaller sentences).  There are all different kinds of punctuation marks to choose from, but it is important to choose the right punctuation mark for the right sentence.  For example, a period " . " is good to use for regular statements.  "She is late." is an example of using a period at the end of a sentence.  It is the most frequently used punctuation.  When asking a question however, using a question mark " ? " is better.  "How many shirts do you have?" is a good example.  Sometimes when you want a sentence to "stand out," you can use a exclamation point " ! "  This can be used to show excitement, or a command.  "You are the best!" is an exciting sentence, but "Stop fooling around!" is a command.

Grammar Activity:
Find all of the punctuation marks in the paragraph at the top of the page.  Make new sentences using the punctuation marks you have found (one new sentence for each punctuation mark).

Sports and Games

Let the games begin!  Springtime is a great time to get outside and play some sports.  You can play all sorts of games outside.  Just find a park and go for a run, or get some friends together and challenge each other to a game of basketball.  If it's too cold, maybe you can try out ice skating or practice your hockey skills.  Baseball is a popular sport that's played in the warmer weather.  It involves throwing or "pitching" a baseball and hitting it with a baseball bat.  Then team members run around a set of bases.  If the player steps on all four bases after hitting the ball, it is called a "home run."  Does that sound odd?  Lots of parks have local baseball teams - you can watch a game for free and see for yourself!

What are some of your favorite sports and games?

Key vocabulary:

• Challenge (noun, verb):  to engage in a contest or show skill.
• Basketball (noun):  a game played by two teams of usually five players each on a rectangular court having a raised basket or goal at each end, points being scored by tossing the ball through the opponent's basket.
• Ice Skating (noun, verb): to glide over ice.
• Hockey (noun): a game played on ice between two teams of six skaters each, the object being to score goals by shooting a puck into the opponents' cage using a stick with a wooden blade.
• Baseball (noun): a game of ball between two nine-player teams played usually for nine innings on a field that has as a focal point a diamond-shaped infield with a home plate and three other bases,, forming a circle that must be completed by a base runner in order to score by hitting of a pitched ball with a wooden or metal bat and running of the bases, the winner being the team scoring the most runs.
• Pitch (verb): to throw a baseball to a batter during a game of baseball
• Bases (noun): the raised markers on a baseball field where players stand and run to during a game of baseball.
• Home Run (noun): a term when a baseball player runs in an uninterrupted, complete circle around the bases on a baseball field after hitting the ball.

Vocabulary Activity:

Grammar Point:
Sports and games are typically associated with verbs.  Verbs are words that describe nouns in action.  "Sonia runs in the park" describes an action Sonia is doing.  When you read the sentence, "Juan throws the baseball," you can picture what kind of activity Juan is performing.  Sometimes, verbs can also be used with adjectives.  "He walks slowly to the door" and "She sang sweetly" are some examples.

Grammar Activity:
Circle all of the verbs in the paragraph above.  Do the verbs in the paragraph describe nouns, adjectives, or both?  Why or why not?

Dining At A Restaurant

Going out to eat at a restaurant is a great experiences.  Although I enjoy cooking, I really like having other people cook for me too!  I also like to try new and different foods and then talk about them with my friends. It starts with an appetizer.  I like to order something small, like a green, leafy salad or a hot, hearty soup.  For the entree, there are lots of things to choose from.  Maybe I will order some spicy chicken, with a side of steamed rice.  Or perhaps I will order a large steak, with fluffy mashed potatoes and brown gravy.  Dessert is the best course, saved for last!  I love sweet desserts, like cheesecake, and cold desserts, like ice cream.  Sometimes I will indulge myself in a slice of rich, chocolate cake, but only after I have had a long rest between meals!

What are some of the things you like to eat when you go to a restaurant?

Key vocabulary:

• Appetizer (noun): the first part, or course of a meal, usually something small to satisfy the appetite, like a salad or a soup.
• Hearty (adjective): nourishing, filling.
• Entree (noun): the second part, or course of a meal, usually something more filling, like chicken, beef or fish.
• Spicy (adjective): hot or strong in flavor, associated with peppers and/or spices.
• Steamed (adjective): food that has been cooked using steam.
• Fluffy (adjective): soft, light in weight, airy.
• Dessert (noun): the final part, or course, of a meal, usually something sweet like cake, or ice cream.
• Indulge (verb): to allow oneself a food or experience that is typically not allowed.

Vocabulary Activity:
Fill in the boxes with the appropriate word from the word bank:

Grammar Point:
Adjectives are words that modify or "describe" a noun.  Adjectives are great for making your writing vivid and interesting.  You can picture a piece of chicken, but when I add the word "spicy" to it, you know that it is hot in flavor, maybe you can even picture the color of the chicken or the kind of spices used.  Adjectives are used to distinguish people, places and things from each other.  For example, there may be two boys in the room.  But if I say "The tall boy has a blue shirt, and the short boy has a red shirt" you can easily idenitify which boy I am referring to.

Grammar Activity:
Circle all of the adjectives in the paragraph above.  Create new sentences using ten adjectives of your choice from the ones you have circled.

The Best Book You Ever Read

I love reading.  I have always enjoyed reading because I love to explore new topics that interest me.  There are non-fiction books, which are publications based on real-life occurrences, events, people and places.  Reading non-fiction books about different countries, famous people, historic events and more helps build knowledge on a topic that interests me.  Similarly, there are fiction books that tell creative stories.  Some fiction stories are centered around genres like fantasy, mystery, science-fiction and more.  I enjoy fictional stories because I get to use my imagination.  Some of my favorite non-fiction books are biographies about famous people, like Cleopatra, Cesar Chavez, and Michelle Obama.  Some of my favorite fiction books are stories like Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, which are stories about wizards, magic and dragons.

What are some of your favorite non-fiction books?  What are some of your favorite fiction books?

Key Vocabulary:

• Non-fiction (noun) informative literature that is based on facts and situations that occur in every day life.
• Fiction (noun): literature that is based around creative and imaginative writing, such as fairytales, science-fiction, young adult fiction, and more.
• Publication (noun): a written work that has been produced by a company and released to the public, as a book, magazine or article.
• Occurrence (noun): something that happens
• Genre (noun): styles or categories, particularly about literature, art and music.
• Imagination (noun): using your mind to create an idea or an image in your head, which you can use to create your own stories.
• Biography (noun): non-fiction literature about the life of a person.

Vocabulary Activity:

Word Search:  Circle the words found on the left of the Word Search

Grammar Point:
Biographies are non-fiction books that tell stories about famous people. People's names are a special kind of noun called proper nouns.  A proper noun must be capitalized to show that it is the name of a person, place or thing (such as "Canada" or "Thanksgiving").

Grammar Activity:
Circle all of the proper nouns in the paragraph above.  Once you have found them, list five proper nouns.  Bonus points if they are people, places or things you'd like to read more about!

At the Museum

This weekend, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I think that museums are very interesting places.  The "Met" has some of the finest works of art in the world.  There are paintings, sculptures, sketches, and sometimes there are even films.  That is not the only kind of museum however.  The American Museum of Natural History is also a famous museum.  There you will find artifacts from around the world, as well as exhibits about animals, geology and ancient history.  Another interesting museum is the National Air and Space Museum.  That museum is dedicated to the study of air and space transportation and technology, and you can see rockets, old air planes and even models of aircraft scientists are currently working on.

Have you ever been to a museum?  What kind of museum was it, and what was your favorite part?

Key vocabulary:

• Museum (noun): a building where objects that are important to history, art, or science are kept and shown to the public.
• Sculpture (noun): art or craft of making statues or other objects by carving, chiseling, or molding
• Sketch (noun): a drawing or painting that was done in a hurry or without detail, sometimes done to prepare for later work.
• Artifact (noun): an object made by human beings.
• Geology (noun): the study of the physical structure of the earth and how it has changed over time.
• Ancient (adjective): Something that is very old, or from a long time ago.

Vocabulary Activity:

Instructions: Write the correct word in the space before its definition.

A.    ancient

B.     artifact

C.    geology

D.    museum

E.     sculpture

F.     sketch

1.		_________ is the study of the physical structure of the earth and how it has changed over time.
2.		_________ is any object made by human beings.
3.		a building where objects that are important to history, art, or science are kept and shown to the public is called a _______________
4.		a drawing or painting that was done in a hurry or without detail. __________ are sometimes done to prepare for later work.
5.		Something that is very old, or from a long time ago, can be described as ____________
6.		__________ is the art or craft of making statues or other objects by carving, chiseling, or molding.

Grammar Point:
Many times you will go to a museum and see artifacts that are from many years ago.  These artifacts are from the past, and when we describe them, it is useful to use the past tense.  For example, if you wanted to discuss a sculpture you saw, it would not make sense to say "This sculpture is made in 1492" because the year 1492 was a long time ago.  Instead, you might say "This sculpture was made in 1492,"  to show that it was a piece of art made in the past, not the present.  "These arrowheads were used by the Iroquois Indians" and "This dress was worn by Queen Elizabeth" are also good examples of verbs used in the past tense to describe things that happened long ago.

Grammar Activity:
Find an artifact in your home and write a museum label to describe it.  State what the artifact is (art, history, science, etc), where it came from, what year it was made, and how it was used.  Be sure to use the correct tense to describe your object.