What I Do and What I Did

WHAT I DO:  Every Monday I wake up at 6:30 am.  I trudge downstairs and turn on the coffee pot.  Then I go back upstairs, brush my chompers, and get in the shower.  When I’m done with my shower I put on makeup and get dressed.  I drive to work and eat breakfast at my desk.  I come home for lunch every day at noon because I live nearby.  When I finish my lunch I go back to work until 4:00 pm.  At 4:00 pm I go down the road and take a pilates class, and then I go home for supper.  After dinner, I do some homework or study a little, and then I watch the tube before I go to bed.

WHAT I DID: Yesterday was Monday so I woke up at 6:30 am.  I trudged downstairs and turned on the coffee pot.  Then I went back upstairs, brushed my chompers, and got in the shower.  When I was done with my shower I put on makeup and got dressed.  I drove to work and ate breakfast at my desk.  I came home at noon for lunch as I do every day because I live nearby.  When I finished my lunch I went back to work until 4:00 pm.  At 4:00 pm I went down the road and took a pilates class, and then I went home for supper.  After dinner, I did some homework and studied a little, and then I watched the tube before I went to bed.

VOCABULARY:

Trudge:                (v.) walk with heavy feet

Chompers:          (n.) teeth

Noon:                   (n.) 12:00 p.m.

Pilates:                 (n.) type of exercise

Supper:                (n.) dinner

Tube:                    (n.) t.v.

VOCABULARY EXERCISE:

Write one original sentence for each vocabulary word.

GRAMMAR POINT:

Maintaining tense is important in order to be understood correctly.  The first paragraph above is in the present simple tense.  It describes what I do every Monday; things I do regularly.  The second paragraph is in the past simple tense.  It describes actions that I did yesterday that have been completed. 

GRAMMAR ACTIVITY:

Create a chart using two columns. In one column, write all the present tense verbs from the first paragraph.  In the other column, write the past versions of those verbs from the second paragraph.  

We're Going to the Zoo- How About You?

   My friend told me yesterday that he ventured to the Bronx Zoo for his birthday.  I haven’t been there in at least fifteen years.  I think the last time was when my two twin cousins turned four years old and the family went for their birthday.  It has been too long and I’d like to go back.  I have always been an animal enthusiast and enjoyed field trips to places where we could observe and interact with animals.  One time, while watching a Bird’s of Prey show at the zoo, I volunteered to be part of the show because I wanted to try something new.  They had me wear a special glove so a hawk with sharp talons could land on it.  I never knew how big hawks were- they’re intimidating!  I went back to my seat before they brought out the vulture.  It was even bigger than the hawk.  Its wingspan was eight feet across.  Luckily, they said it recently ate, otherwise I would’ve had to pray it didn’t eat me!

VOCABULARY:

Venture:              (v.) to go

Enthusiast:         (n.) someone who is enjoys and is interested in something

Observe:             (v.) to watch/ look at

Interact:               (v.) to have contact with

Prey:                     (n.) animal being hunted for food

Volunteer:          (v.) to offer services for free

Hawk:                   (n.) type of bird that eats meat

Talon:                   (n.) strong, clawed foot of a bird of prey

Intimidate:         (v.) to scare/ make uneasy

Vulture:               (n.) large bird that eats meat (larger than a hawk)\

VOCABULARY ACTIVITY:

Find each vocabulary word in the word search below.

D I W T T E I J E Y G R E L I

B Q K M Q N Y U R A I M J X E

X J C K G T V H U N K W I V A

V A V X C H O P T W Y G R C W

Q I L H J U K I N S I E V K W

T E Z T S S M S E B S D C E D

T Z O H C I B R V B U H L K T

N A A T D A U T O I B V E W J

J W L A D S R I I T R B F B D

K S T O K T G E V U L T U R E

O E S Z N B M W T S L B N B Z

P D N P W X W U A N R G R F U

R F E U Z D K N U U I H P N A

E O Z A U U R E E T N U L O V

Y A C G U G Y F I L B Z Z A C

GRAMMAR POINT:

Homophones are words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings and may be spelled differently.  (The word “homophone” comes from the Greek word “homos” which means “same,” and “phone” which means “sound.”) The homophones in the text above are written in italics. 

(to, two, too, there, their, they’re, where, wear, prey, pray, knew, new, eight, ate)

GRAMMAR ACTIVITY:

Write one sentence for each group of homophones.  Example (I went to the store to buy two balloons but they were too expensive.)

Laughter is Nature's Best Medicine

    When I think about all the movies I’ve seen throughout my life, I realize that the ones I like best are all comedies.  At the top of the list, not necessarily in any order, are Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Forrest Gump, Austin Powers, Mean Girls, and Old School.  

    If I had to pick a favorite, it would be between Robin Hood and Forrest Gump.  It’s hard to decide which I like better.  I have seen both so many times that I could practically recite them verbatim if I played them on mute.  Robin Hood: Men in Tights is supposed to be a spoof on the classic tale of Robin Hood, so if you know how the story goes you can predict what will happen in the movie.  Alternatively, you have to watch Forrest Gump as it unfolds and cannot predict the ending as easily.

    

    Old School is probably the most ridiculous out of the bunch.  It is also the only one rated R.  The rest are rated PG-13 because their content is for a less mature audience.  Austin Powers is, in my opinion, the cheesiest of them all, but I enjoy that type of humor.  Austin Powers is actually a trilogy.  I think the second one is better than the first, and the third is the worst.  Mean Girls delivers a valuable moral and is the most relatable to today’s youth.

VOCABULARY

Recite:  (v.)  say/speak from memory

Verbatim: (adj./adv.)  word for word

Mute: (adj.)  without sounds

Spoof: (n.)  joke version

Tale: (n.)  story

Predict: (v.)  guess

Alternatively: (adv.)  differently

Cheesy: (adj.)  silly

Trilogy:  (n.)  has 3 parts

VOCABULARY ACTIVITY

Write one ANTONYM (opposite) for each vocabulary word.

GRAMMAR POINT

When we write or speak about more than one thing, we use certain words to compare them to one another.  Comparatives compare two things.  (For example: I am taller than you. “Taller” is the comparative).  Superlatives compare 3 or more things. (For example: Jane is the tallest child in the class.  “Tallest” is the superlative).  

GRAMMAR ACTIVITY

List all the comparatives and superlatives that you can find in the text above.

The Best Part of Super Bowl Sunday

  With Super bowl Sunday coming up, I can't help but be excited.  I'm not as concerned with the game as I am with the food.  I know that we'll be munching on all of our favorite comfort foods at my friend Ashley's shindig.  I'll be bringing buffalo chicken wings, and Jessie will be making macaroni and cheese.  Ashley said she'll be making nachos with all different kinds of toppings.  I'm sure that Joe will concoct his famous chili because it's his favorite.  I'm hoping for many other treats, too.  I've been dieting for two weeks just so I can pig out while we watch the game.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

VOCABULARY:
Super bowl:  (n.) last game of American football season where the two top teams compete to win
concerned:  (adj.)  worried about; thinking about
munch on:  (v.) eat
shindig:  (n.) party
topping:  (n.) small extra pieces of food added on top of the base food
concoct:  (v.) make; put together
pig out:  (v.) eat a lot

VOCABULARY EXERCISE:
Write the vocabulary word that is best described by each word or description below.

1. gathering of friends  _________________
2. chew  _________________
3. overeat  _________________
4. sport competition  ______________________
5. interested  _________________
6. small bits not usually eaten alone  _________________
7. create  __________________

GRAMMAR POINT:
In English, contractions are words that are formed by combining two words by omitting certain letters and replacing them with an apostrophe ( ' ) to create the same meaning.  For example, "I'm" is the contraction of "I am."

GRAMMAR ACTIVITY:
Locate the contraction in the text for each of the two-word combinations below.

1. Can not __________________
2. I am   __________________
3. We will   __________________
4. I will   __________________
5. She will   __________________
6. It is   __________________
7. I have   __________________