Thanksgiving Dinner!

My mom's side of the family is very large, she is one of six children. Many of my mom's brother's live in different states. Two brothers live in Chicago, IL, and one brother lives in Orlando, FL. Because they live so far away, we never get to see them or celebrate the holidays with them. But this year, one of my uncles from Chicago drove in with his family to celebrate Thanksgiving! Having my Uncle Bill and his family here with us for Thanksgiving was great! It made me think about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. They had traveled so far from home, leaving many friends and family behind, I should feel lucky that I am able to spend the holidays with loved ones.

Long ago, in 1620, a group of men and women, called Pilgrims, left England to make a new life in Plymouth, MA. They traveled by ship, and it was a long hard journey. Many of the Pilgrims became sick and died on the journey across the Atlantic Ocean. When they finally landed on Plymouth Rock, they had only a short time before winter set in. Winter was rough on the Pilgrims. They didn't have enough supplies to get them through the harsh cold, so the Wampanoag Indians, a Native American tribe, donated food and other supplies to help them. Winter eventually passed, and the Pilgrims were able to start working on their farms. Their new Native American friends continued to help them. And in 1621, the Pilgrims decided to throw a celebration for a successfull growing season and harvest and to thank the Wampanoag Indians for all the help they gave.

Vocabulary:

Different (adjective) - not alike in character or quality; differing; dissimilar
Celebrate (verb) - to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities
Think (verb) - to have conscious mind, to some extent of reasoning, remembering experiences, making rational decisions, etc.
Travel (verb) - to go from one place to another, as by car, train, plane, or ship; to take a trip; journey
Pilgrims (noun) - one of the band of Pilgrims who founded the colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620
Journey (noun) - a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time.
Winter (noun) - the months of December, January, and Febuary in the US and of November, December, and January in Great Britain.
Rough (adjective) - having a coarse or uneven surface, as from projections, irreglularities, or breaks; not smooth
Donate (verb) - to present as a gift, grant, or contribution; makes a donation of, as to a fund or cause

Grammar Point:

Past tense verbs express an action that has already happened and has a definite start and finish. Example: John and Sheila walked the dog yesterday. The ending -ed almost always signifies the appearance of a past tense action verb. Reread the paragraphs above and find 5 past tense verbs, then create new sentences for each verb you have found.

Links:

A great Brainpop video about the origin of thanksgiving:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAgtUd27jls

If You Give A Pig A Pancake ...

This series of books is wonderful to use for any class. I have used these books several times to teach cause and effect to students from Pre-K to third grade. The If you give ... series of books, written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond, tell a story of what happens if you give a pig, moose, or mouse something to eat. Each story is filled with silly consequences for each action. For instance, if you give a pig a pancake. She will want some syrup and then she'll probably get all sticky. So she'll want to take a bath and so on.
I've used this book to talk about cause and effect with lower level students. We start out by reading the book once, just to listen at first. Then the second time we read it, the students have to pay attention to what happens. After the second reading, we (as a class) will fill in a cause and effect flow chart that looks something like this:       Pig --> Pancake -->  ___________ --> Sticky --> ______________
This flow chart will include most of the actions and consequences from the story. I think that this is a great way to begin teaching cause and effect, and the kids love it too.

Vocabulary:

Series (noun) - a group or a number of related or similar things, events, etc., sequence
Several (adjective) - being more than two but fewer than many in number or kind
Illustrate (verb) - to furnish (a book, magazine, etc.) with drawings, pictures, or other artwork intended for explanation, elucidation, or adornment
Silly (adjective) - absurd; ridiculous; irrational
Consequence (noun) - the effect, result, or outcome of something occurring earlier
Sticky (adjective) - covered in adhesive matter
Listen (verb) - to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing
Attention (noun) - civility or courtesy
Chart (noun) - a graphic representation; graph
Flow (verb) - to move along in a stream

Exercise:

Unscramble the words below. Then create your own original sentence for five of the words.

cstkiy
cqoneseucen
teinttano
lsiyl
tharc
enstil
steilulart
folw
eerssi
veerasl

Grammar Point:

A verb is a word that typically expresses action, state, or relation between two things. It may be inflected for tense, mood, or to show agreement with their subject or object.  Ex. teach, give, and fill.  Look through this blog and find five verbs. Write a sentence using at least three of them.

A Fantastic Concert

Last night was such a great time! Last week, I won tickets to a concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom. I called my friends, Emily and Doug, and we got dressed up in hysterical costumes. I dressed up as an ‘Aspiring Actress,’ I wore a plain white tee shirt, a big blonde wig, and a black apron. Doug bought a referee shirt that was little too small, so he ripped up the shirt put on some makeup and became a ‘Zombie Referee.’ Emily was less creative when she bought an adorable red dress that looked like a guitar.

We took the train into the Manhattan and walked to the concert hall. Every one at the venue was dressed up in costume. We saw some one dressed up as Pee Wee Herman, Octo-Mom (Nadia Suleman), the Three Blind Mice, Snookie, and Bob the Builder. They all looked fantastic! Even though the headlining band, Devo, canceled their performance, we still got to see the band Neon Trees. They were phenomenal! The lead singer was dressed in a skeleton outfit, and when they turned on the black lights, all you could see were the glowing bones on his costume. I would definitely see that band again. After the concert we went to a few local bars and danced the night away. 

Vocabulary:

Concert (noun)- a public musical performance in which a number of singers or instrumentalists, or both, participate.

Hysterical (adjective)- causing unrestrained laughter; very funny

Plain (adjective)- ordinary, simple, or unostentatious

Adorable (adjective)- very attractive or delightful; charming

Referee (noun)- a judge having functions fixed by rules of the game or sport; umpire

Guitar (noun)- a stringed musical instrument with a long, fretted neck, a flat somewhat violinlike body, and typically six strings, which are plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum.

Performance (noun)- a musical, dramatic, or other entertainment presented befor an audience.

Phenomenal (adjective)- highly extraordinary or prodigious; exceptional.

Glow (verb)- to emit bright light and heat without flame; become incandescent.

Exercise:

Unscramble the Vocabulary words. Then create original sentences using four of the vocabulary words.

rpaforemnce

gwlo

eefeeerr

turiga
hemopenaln
hsriecytal
crencto
linap
draabole

Grammar Point:

Adjectives are words that modifies or describes a noun. For example, if you were writing a sentence about a dog you could use an adjective such as black to further describe the dog.

Ex. the black dog, the blue house, an adorable red dress.

 Find four adjectives in the paragraphs above.  Write down the adjectives and nouns they describe. Then create a sentence using adjectives.

Links:

Watch this little cartoon about adjectives to learn more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJdUXSMi1lo