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.