This year will be the first year I attend a Friendsgiving.  The idea of friendsgiving is to get together during thanksgiving time and have a dinner with all of your friends.  Each friend is required to bring a dish and together this makes a delicious meal that everyone can enjoy.  At friends-giving, the host usually cuts the Turkey and everyone gathers around the table to feast on the pot luck dinner.  There are games that can be played and laughs to be shared.  Although I love my family, I spend a lot of time with friends.  I consider my friends to be my second family.  This time of year always brings people together and lifts everyone's spirits. I always realize the most important things are the people around you.  I am thankful for all of the people in my life and I am looking forward to spending time with them throughout the holiday season. Let the feast begin!

Vocabulary
Friendsgiving-potluck dinner with friends during Thanksgiving time.
required(verb)-to have need of; need
host(noun)-a person who receives or entertains guests at home or elsewhere
gather(verb)-to bring together into one group, collection, or place
potluck(noun)-food or a meal that happens to be available without special preparation or purchase
consider(verb)-to think carefully about, especially in order to make a decision
thankful(adjective)-feeling or expressing gratitude


Find the vocabulary words in the word search below.

Friendsgiving

H P D P O J Y Q C E S H E R K 
Q N O E Z Q V R V L R O K E W 
U K D F P O T L U C K S O D D 
A O O I E A M R G A I T L I X 
J G Z G O E Z X X U S U Q S K 
F N A A E M Q R E H F N T N C 
X Z I U L E S D F K N Y Z O K 
G N I V I G S D N E I R F C A 
H A O B G L W A E Z E R E E O 
F X T D E W H S X R S X R V R 
H C Y H L T Z E L Y I P D N G 
I M I M E Y T F C M D U H J P 
S E W N S R C T I C X T Q E I 
Y P B Q N W Q C A W H K H E T 
U P Y E P F H V Y N G J B E R 

CONSIDER
FRIENDSGIVING
GATHER
HOST
POTLUCK
REQUIRED
THANKFUL

Grammar Point
Prepositions are the words that indicate location. Usually, prepositions show this location in the physical world.
Examples
          At midnight, Jill craved mashed potatoes with grape jelly.

In the spring, I always vow to plant tomatoes but end up buying them at the supermarket.

During the marathon, Iggy's legs complained with sharp pains shooting up his thighs.

At midnight, in the spring, and during the marathon all show location in time.

Write 3 sentences using prepositions.

Brooklyn

The amount of time I have spent in Brooklyn over the last few years has increased immensely. When I was a child I spent most of my time on Long Island because that is where I live.  My Uncle lives in Brooklyn so occasionally we would go for a visit twice a year.  Now that I am an adult, I currently work in Brooklyn.  The commute is the worst part of my job.  The construction on the Belt Parkway causes a ton of traffic daily.  I also enjoy hanging out in Brooklyn.  On my free time I drive in or take the LIRR to Atlantic Terminal.  I like to go to restaurants in Williamsburg as well as experience the night life they have to offer. Driving in Brooklyn compared to Long Island is completely different. On Long Island there is usually always somewhere to park that is convenient to where you are going.  In Brooklyn I can spend up to 20 minutes a day looking for parking which leads to a 5-10 minute walk to work.  Some of my coworkers are lucky and rent driveways in the neighborhood to facilitate their commute.  One benefit of my drive is the beautiful scenery of New York that I notice out my window each day.  I work close to the city and can see the Freedom tower.  If i drive to downtown Brooklyn for a meeting I can see the Statue of Liberty. Overall I love the atmosphere of Brooklyn, the culture, the sights and the food.  In the future, maybe I will live here, if the parking gets better!

Describe a place in New York that you like to spend time in and why.

Vocabulary

immensely(adverb) - vast; huge; very great

occasionally(adverb)-at times; from time to time

commute(verb)-to travel regularly over some distance, as from a suburb into a city and back

currently(adverb)-at the present time; now

convenient(adjective)suitable or agreeable to the needs or purpose

benefit(noun)-something that is advantageous or good

scenery(noun)-the general appearance of a place; the aggregate of features that give character to a landscape

atmosphere(noun)-a distinctive quality, as of a place; character

Grammar Point

Proper Noun

 A proper noun has two distinctive features: 

1) it will name a specific [usually a one-of-a-kind] item, and 

2) it will begin with a capital letter no matter where it occurs in a sentence.

1. Examples of proper nouns: Larry, Mexico, and Boston Red Sox.
2. Cookies = common noun; Oreo = proper noun.

Activity: In the passage about Brooklyn, underline the proper nouns.

Christmas Eve

Each year I wait 365 days for Christmas Eve to reappear.  The transformation into the Christmas season is the most wonderful time of the year.  In my family we prepare for a long night of eating and rejoicing with our loved ones.  My Aunt is the world's best cook and she cooks an overabundance of food for a group of 25 or more. The gifts under the Christmas tree bring a feeling of happiness and love that fills the house.  We retake an annual cousin photo every year in front of the beautiful tree in my Aunt's living room.  At midnight some of the boys go to mass while the girls clean up dinner and prepare dessert.  I will always remember this night as one of my favorites since I was a child.  Even though we have lost some family members over the years, our eve has increased in size with new family members

Vocabulary
appear -to come into sight; become visible
transformation- change in form, appearance, nature, or character
rejoice- to be glad; take delight
overabundance - an excessive amount
midnight- the middle of the night; twelve o'clock at night
prepare- to get (a meal) ready for eating, as by proper assembling, cooking, etc
increase- to make greater, as in number, size, strength, or quality

Vocabulary Activity
Fill in the correct vocabulary word from the list above.
1. The stages of change from an egg to a butterfly is the process of _______________.
2. After a long day of trick or treating, I came home with an _______________ of candy.
3. When the clock strikes ____________ Cinderella must return home.
4. Thanksgiving is a day that one must ___________ for in advance. 
5. It ___________ to be a sunny day outside. 
6. If I work more hours, my pay check will ___________.
7. A weekend well spent is when I can _____________ with my friends or family.


Grammar Point
A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to modify or change its meaning. The underlined words in the passage above contain a prefix. List the part of each of the underlined words that is the prefix of the word. 

Gotham

One of the new hit series on Fox is called Gotham.  I am not much of a Television watcher but this show caught my attention because the Batman movies are my favorite of all the superhero movies.  Gotham tells the story before Bruce Wayne became the Batman.  The setting is in Gotham, New York.  The main character is Detective Gordon.  Some of the other characters through the three seasons so far include many of the characters that have been seen throughout the Batman movies.  These characters all have a story one may not have known about just by viewing the Batman trilogy's. The villains the show highlights are the Penguin, the Joker, the Riddler, Cat woman, and Poison Ivy.  Bruce Wayne is just a boy in the show but he encounters many problems with these villains.  Some of them act as his allies while others are clearly  his enemies.  This TV series appeals to all superhero lovers in a more modern twist and puts a new perspective of how Bruce Wayne became the Batman.

Vocabulary Words
series- a daily or weekly program with the same cast and format and a continuing story
encounter- to come upon or meet with
Gotham- a journalistic nickname for New York City
character- a part or role, as in a play or film
trilogy- a series or group of three plays, novels, operas, etc.
villain- a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime
allies- to associate or connect by some mutual relationship, as resemblance or friendship
enemies- a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another
appeal- to be especially attractive, pleasing, interesting, or enjoyable
perspective- the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one

Grammar Point
A noun is a word (other than a pronoun) used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things common noun, or to name a particular one of these proper noun.

Activity: Underline all of the nouns in the passage about the TV series Gotham.

Best Experience

Throughout my life I have lived through good and bad experiences.  Today I will share about one of the best experiences of my life.  While attending undergrad at Molloy College, I minored in Spanish and took a trip of a lifetime to study abroad in Spain.  A classmate of mine had suggested this trip and persuaded me to travel with her.  I am beyond grateful that I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and am lucky that I was financially able to do so as well.  Upon arriving in Spain, I was filled with curiosity and the desire to absorb culture and thrilling experiences.  After meeting the group I would spend the next month with, we quickly became friendly and were ready to take on this adventure.  We went to school, tried new food, leaned to dance salsa, visited museums and other historical places, and took a lot of pictures.  My favorite part of the trip was taking a weekend vacation with only the students to Barcelona.  I felt independent and alive.  Span was a beautiful place filled with art, different styles of clothing and architecture, and very nice people.  I even formed a friendly relationship with a girl from Indiana that lived in the same house as I did.

Vocabulary :
attend-to be present at
absorb-to involve the full attention of; to engross or engage wholly
suggest-to mention or introduce
persuade-to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding; convince
desire-to wish or long for; crave; want
minor-Education. of or relating to a field of study constituting a student's minor
classmate-a member of the same class at a school or college

Grammar Point:
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that consist of a preposition and an object. Prepositions are words such as in, at, on, by, and many more. This phrase modifies a noun or verb by adding additional information to the subject and action in the sentence.

Ex: I want to travel around the world
 "around the world" is a prepositional phrase with the proposition "around" and the object "the world"

Write 2 sentences with a propositional phrase.

1) _____________________________________________________________________

2) _____________________________________________________________________

Vacations

As a person who loves to travel, 2016 has been quite eventful. In January I began planning my trips for the year. These trips took place in Florida, Canada, Alaska, and Bermuda.  First, my cousins and I celebrated my cousins bachelorette party in Florida.  Here we spent time hanging out by the beach, pool and delicious restaurants.  In July, my friends and I journeyed to Canada by car.  This was my first road trip.  We went from Niagara Falls to Toronto and made a last stop in Montreal before coming back.  The people in Toronto showed us around and took us to the CN Tower where we viewed the whole city while eating lunch as the restaurant rotated in a circle around the tower. That was a memorable experience.  Shortly after, my family took a cruise around Alaska.  I learned a lot about the other side of the country and saw beautiful places.  The best part of the vacation was flying in a helicopter and landing on an iceberg where we then went dog sledding. What an unbelievable experience. Last but not least was my trip to the most breathtaking island of Bermuda. A friend accompanied me on this trip and together we explored the most beautiful beaches.  We also decided to go jet skiing to the Bermuda Triangle for a fun adventure.  My life is exciting because of the places I visit and memories I make on my excursions around the world.  I will continue to travel to new places in 2017.

Verbs:

A Verb can be any member of a class of words that function as the main elements of predicates, that typically express action, state, or a relation between two things, and that may be inflected for tense, aspect, voice, mood, and to show agreement with their subject or object.

Grammer Point:

The key word in most sentences, the word that reveals what is happening, is the verb. It can declare something (You ran), ask a question (Did you run?), convey a command (Run faster!), or express a wish (May this good weather last!) or a possibility (If you had run well, you might have won; if you run better tomorrow, you may win). You cannot have a complete English sentence without at least one verb. 

Vocabulary:

travel-to go from one place to another

journey-to make a journey; travel

view-to see; watch

rotated-to cause to turn around an axis or center point; revolve

explored-to traverse or range over (a region, area, etc.) for the purpose of discovery

celebrated-to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities

accompanied-to go along or in company with; join in action

Vocabulary Activity:

Draw a line and connect the correct definition to each of the following vocabulary words.

celebrated-                                    to go from one place to another                     

rotated-                                                                             

                                                         to make a journey; travel

explored-                                                                                

                                                        to see; watch

accompanied-                                                                             

                                                          to cause to turn around an axis or center point;                                                                                                    revolve

travel-                                                                          

                                                         to traverse or range over (a region, area, etc.) for                                                                                                the purpose of discovery

view-                                                                       

                                                      to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event)                                                                                                   with ceremonies or festivities

journey-                                                                  

                                                     to go along or in company with; join in action

Hockey Season!

As a faithful Ranger fan, the fall is the most delightful time of the year.  A lot of eager hockey fans are happy for hockey season to be back!  Hockey is full of action and is a very competitive sport.  Even though the rangers were defeated last season, I am proud to represent red white and blue to support the Rangers.  I hope to attend many games this year.  The feeling of being in the arena is thrilling especially when a player scores a goal.  The crowd gets very noisy as they chant for their team.  If the Rangers are defeated, I still remain a true fan and hope for a better outcome for the following game. I am sure this season will be an exciting one win or lose!

Grammar Point: To make a story or passage more interesting in the English language we use adjectives.  Adjectives are a word or phrase naming an attribute, added to or grammatically related to a noun to modify or describe it.

Vocabulary 
faithful
delightful
eager
competitive
proud
thrilling
noisy
exciting

Activity: Use the adjectives from the paragraph about hockey to complete the crossword puzzle by matching the correct word with the definition found below.

Hockey

			1								2
		3							4
5
6
7
8

Across 3. Making much noise 6. Giving great pleasure 7. Causing great interest or excitement 8. Keen or ardent in desire or feeling

Down 1. Having a strong desire to compete or to succeed 2. True to one's word, promises 4. Exciting and enjoyable 5. Feeling pleasure or satisfaction over something