Adverbs!
a word or phrase that modifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb. An adverb expresses a relation of place, time, circumstance, manner, cause, degree, etc.

For example: He is standing right there

In the sentence above, there is and adverb because it tells of the boys location.

Vocabulary:

Object (n) - the goal or purpose

Position (n) - the placement of a person or thing

Practice (v) - to work at becoming better at something

Specific (adj) - clearly defined or identified

Intriguing (v) - something of interest

Intimidate (v) - to make a person afraid or scared

Pressure (n) - physical or mental force placed upon someone or something

THE GAME OF BASKETBALL: A HOW TO GUIDE FOR OFFENSE

      The game of basketball is one of the most popular sports in the United States and is played around the world. The object of the game is to score the most points by shooting a ball into a basket or hoop. There are five players on the court at a time and they all have very important positions to play. If one player does not play their position well then the whole team will suffer, most likely causing the team to lose. 

      In order to score points, teams must practice their offense. Each player has a specific role on offense and the object is to try and shoot the ball as close as you can to the hoop. One way to score on offense is to pass the ball to the tallest player on the team when they are near the hoop. That player can try to easily use their height to score, especially over a shorter opponent. Another, and very different, way to score is to pass the ball to a player who is outside the three-point line. If this player is a good shooter then they should try to shoot the ball. If the ball goes in then the team is given an extra point for that shot because it is a much more difficult and skillful shot. 

     A third way to score points on offense is when a player is fouled. When a player is hit by another player while trying to shoot the ball then the referee will call a foul. The player who was fouled will take two or three foul shots, depending where on the court the where trying to shoot from. This is an intriguing part of basketball because the player stands alone at the foul line directly in front of the hoop and tries to make the shots with everyone watching him or her. Sometimes the crowd will try to intimidate opposing players during their foul shots by chanting and yelling at them. If the player is on the home team then the crowds will sometimes become ominously quiet. Either way, the pressure makes an easy shot into a more difficult one. These are just a few of the ways you can score in basketball. 

Vocabulary Activity:

Create two original sentences for each of the vocabulary from the reading. In each of these sentences also include at least one adverb!

Build the Skill!

Using the chart at the top of the blog post or by doing your own research, complete the following mini-project:

    1. Choose two adverbs from the four columns above: HOW? 

                                                                                    HOW OFTEN?

                                                                                    WHERE?

                                                                                    WHEN?

    2. Once you have chosen two from each column, find and write their definition next to them.

    3. Finally, draw a picture for each of the adverbs that you defined!

Proper Nouns A proper noun is a name used for an individual person, place, or organization, spelled with initial capital letters. For example: Lisa works at Sears. In this example, Lisa and Sears are both proper nouns because they are the names of a specific person and a specific place. Vocabulary: Professional (n) – a person who is really good at a job Draft (v) – to pick someone or something out of many choices Organization (n) – a body of people with a particular purpose Scouts (n) – a person who looks for something Hire (n) – to make someone an employee Contract (n) – a legal document that joins two or more people together General Manager (n) – A person in charge of a team Combination (n) – to put one or more things together Potential (adj.) – the unreached development of something Hiring the Proper People             In the world of professional sports, sports teams must hire the right players in order to succeed and win a championship. There are a few ways to hire people in sports; teams can hire players through free agency or they can draft players. In order to know who to hire, teams must have people in their organization to scout players and write reports on potential players’ strengths and weaknesses. These scouts then give their reports to the general manager of the team who makes the final decision.             One professional team that has been doing a very good job at hiring the proper players is the New York Rangers. The Rangers are a team in the National Hockey League (NHL). Although the Rangers have not won a championship in the last few years, they have been one of the NHL’s best teams for the last six years. In the Rangers organization, it is the job of the Rangers general manager, Jeff Gorton, to choose the right player to hire and sign to a contract. Jeff Gorton has helped the Rangers to be successful by signing veteran players through free agency and drafting really good young players from college. This combination of young, skilled players and older, wise players has led to the creation of a great team. One young player that Gorton signed this year was Jimmy Vesey, who has been one of the NHL’s best rookie players. Hopefully this year’s Ranger team, with all their talent, can win it all and be crowned champions of the NHL! Vocabulary Exercise: Complete the sentences with the correct vocabulary word! 1. In order to become a _____________________, a person must go to school and go through training in their specific career. 2. The NFL is one of the largest sports _____________________ in the United States. 3. His Offer told his _____________________ to look for the enemy soldiers. 4. Out of the all the players in the _____________________, the Giants chose him! 5. Putting mustard and ketchup on your hot dog is a great _____________________. 6. By signing the _____________________, Rachel became an official member of her new team. 7. _____________________ likes to look a player’s resumes, playing experience, and age when deciding to _____________________ the player or not. 8. The ______________________ of Howie's gift was awesome. Build the Skill: Proper Noun Scavenger Hunt!! Uh-oh! The author of the post below forgot to capitalize their proper nouns! You are now in charge of editing the paragraph to make sure all the proper nouns are capitalized. Circle every proper noun so the author knows which words to capitalize! maria mitchell was a 19th-century astronomer and feminist who is best known for discovering a comet in 1847. Her discovery made her instantly famous and resulted in her being elected to the american academy of arts and aciences — the only woman to have the honor until 1943, according to Harvard University Library Open Collections Program.  mitchell became a professor of astronomy at vassar college in 1865, and was also named director of the vassar college observatory. She not only made strides for female astronomers when few women were working, but asked for  and received  the same salary as a male professor, according to vassar college.

Using Adjectives to Improve Our Writing!

An adjective is a word or phrase that describes a particular quality or attribute of a noun. For example:

                        The leaves on the tree were bright and yellow.

In this example, the “leaves” are the noun and “bright and yellow” are the adjectives that describe the leaves.

Vocabulary:

Traverse (v) – to travel along or across

Carved (v) – cut into something to make a design

Reclaimed (v) – to take back

Simultaneously (adv.) – at the same time

Veered (v) - change direction suddenly

Serene (adj.) - peaceful

Densely (adv.) – a large amount in a small area

Chaotic (adj.) - confusion and disorder

Funneled (v) – to go from a wide area to a narrow area

Running with Adjectives!

            In my opinion, one of the hardest, yet most interesting sports is Cross Country. Cross Country is a running sport, but instead of running around and around a long looping and boring track, runners traverse through a course that is carved into a natural setting. When I ran Cross Country, the courses were typically paths that veered in and out of wooded areas. Occasionally the path was hard to make out because nature and all its elements had reclaimed it. Although it made it difficult to race on, it was simultaneously a beautiful and serene sight.

        My favorite course was the course located in the enormous Van Cortlandt Park. The course was two and half miles, but always felt longer. I always thought this because it was very easy to become lost in the beauty of nature during the cool, crisp autumn months. The course began in a densely crowded area with thousands of other racers awaiting the start of their race. The noise was loud and the scene tended to be a bit chaotic, but with the crack of the starting gun, Boom!” it was off to the races. As the crowd of racers funneled down the course, further and further away from the starting line, the loud and chaotic scene was gone and the serenity of nature took over. The only noises now were the crackling of dried leaves and sticks beneath the racers feet and the heavy breathing of racers as they made their way to the finish line.

Vocabulary Activity:

Using at least six out of the nine vocabulary words above, write a personal narrative of an experience in your life. Be aware of using the correct tense. Underline the vocabulary words that you use.

Build the Skill!

The paragraph below is boring and has very few adjectives. Rewrite the paragraph to include more adjectives! The more interesting, the better!!!

Identifying Nouns and Pronouns!

A noun is a word used to identify any class of people, places, things, animals, or ideas. A pronoun replaces the noun in a sentence that typically a sentence. For example:

Nick went to the grocery store. He bought two apples.

In the first sentence, Nick is the noun. In the following sentence, Nick is replaced by “he” which is a pronoun. Here is a list of some everyday pronouns you may see or hear!

Pronouns: I, me, he, she, you, they, them, it, we, us

Vocabulary:

Exciting (adj.) – to feel great happiness

Stadium (n) – a place where sporting events happen

Cheered (v) – to encourage a person or team

Chanted (v) – to say something over and over again

Dove (v) – to jump on the ground

Athleticism – the quality of having the kind of strength and energy that makes a great athlete

Vendor (n) – a person that sells things

My Night at the Ballpark:

Last night, I went to a Yankees’ baseball game. It was really fun and exciting! My dad was the one who bought the tickets for me. He has been going to games since he was a little kid and always likes to go to a few baseball games each year.

There were so many people that the stadium was sold out! Everyone was cheering so loud that it was almost hard to hear my dad at some points. I chanted along with them when they cheered, “Let’s go Yankees!” after a homerun hit by Gary Sanchez. He hit the ball so hard that it went into the upper deck of the stadium. Later in the game, Didi Gregorious made an incredible play which everyone cheered for again. The ball was hit really hard to his right. He ran to his right, dove on the ground, grabbed the ball, and threw the runner out at first from his knees! It was an incredible display of athleticism and great skill.

The game itself was awesome, but I also loved the food at the stadium vendors. During the seventh inning stretch, my dad and I walked to the vendor, who was selling Philly cheesesteaks, Italian sausage and peppers, and different kinds of hot dogs. She told us that if we bought two heroes and two drinks, we could get a hot dog for free. Of course we went with the deal, and bought two Philly cheesesteaks and two sodas. My dad let me have the free hot dog. We made our way back to our seats and watched the last few innings of the game. The Yankees ended up winning the game by the score of 5 – 2 and my dad and I left as happy fans.

Vocabulary Activity: 

Correctly match the best vocabulary word with the sentences that most closely is related to                  that word.

1. John made a lot of money selling things today at his stand.

2. The sports team just built a new place for them to play their games in. 

3. The proud parents yelled for their child to do well during the competition.

4. If it wasn't for Mark's great strength and skill, his team would have lost. 

5. The unexpected ending to the movie left everyone's hearts beating and put smiles on their                   faces. 

6. In order to stop the ball from going by him, Luke jumped onto his side to stop it.

7. Following the goal, the fans in the stadium kept repeating the players name who scored, all                 in unison. 

Build the Skill:

Write ten original sentences using at least one noun in the sentence. Then rewrite the                           sentence, replacing the noun with the correct pronoun.

Example: (Original) Lisa went shopping with Bobby.

                 (New)      She went shopping with him. 

Prepositions
A preposition is a word that comes before a noun or pronoun, expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause. For example:

"the man on the platform"     or     "She arrived after dinner"

Other prepositions include:

Above, after, among, around, as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, by, despite, down, during, following, for, from, in, inside, into, near, of, off, on, onto, outside, over, past, round, since, than, through, to, toward, under, until, up, upon, with, within, without

Vocabulary:

Ritual (n) – an act that is performed for a specific purpose

Routine (n) – a sequence of actions regularly followed

Unique (adj.) - being the only one of its kind

Cleats (n) – sports shoes with spikes on the bottom

Visualize (v) - form a mental image of

Habit (n) - settled or regular practice

Superstition (n) – a belief in supernatural powers

Blame (v) – to make a person responsible for a fault or wrong

Prevent (verb) – to stop something from happening

Sequence (n) - a particular order in which related events

Preference (n) – to like something more than something else

Game Time!

            Athletes often have their own rituals and routines they will do before a game. From a young age, athletes will practice these routines. Every athlete has their own unique routine and they sometimes can be really odd. One routine that a former teammate of mine would go through is before every game he would hit is cleats against the ground three times and then rub the bottoms. Another teammate would take a nap all the way up to the time warm ups began. I too had a routine of my own. Toward the end of warm ups before a game, I would sit by myself, close my eyes, and visualize everything I needed to do during the game.

            Many athletes complete these routines because of habit, but other athletes believe that if they don’t then it will bring them bad luck during their game. This superstition causes many athletes to continue doing their routines every game. Despite their routines, athletes will still have bad games here and there. Athletes tend to blame a misstep in their routine as to why they may have under performed.

            Following games, athletes also complete routines to prevent injuries. Each athlete is different in how they decide to cool down after a game. Common routines include icing sore body parts, taking a shower, stretching, and eating. These routines are also different from athlete to athlete. Some athletes think it is better to take an ice bath, then shower, and finally stretch. Other athletes will sometimes do the complete reverse order of that routine. The sequence in how these routines are completed is based all on personal preference. Whenever I finish playing a game, I would always like to shower, then stretch, and finish by icing while I ate. No matter the routines prior to a game, during a game, or after a game, it is the goal of every athlete to stay healthy and win every game!

Vocabulary Activity:

Create your own original sentence for each of the vocabulary words above. You are allowed to use more than one vocabulary word in the same sentence. Underline the vocabulary words you use!

Build the Skill:

Using the prepositions you know and the ones listed above, label the following pictures using as many prepositions as you can. Also describe each picture in one sentence using at least one preposition.

**If you would like, you can create your own comic strip!**