Half Marathon in Central Park NYC

   

This April I will run my first ever half marathon in New York City. I am so excited and a little bit nervous. This marathon is called the SHAPE Women's Half Marathon. A half-marathon is a run that is 13.1 miles long. I have been training for this run for the past 12 weeks. I will be running this marathon with my two cousins and friends. Running can be fun and a great way to exercise. Depending on the weather I either run inside on a treadmill or outside on a trail. Running is also a good way to relieve stress. A lot of people find running to be therapeutic. I enjoy pushing myself to run further and further and creating new goals for myself. Running has always been a big part of my life and I am looking forward to accomplishing my first half marathon.


Link to learn more about my half marathon: https://www.nyrr.org/races/shapewomen39shalfmarathon

Vocabulary: 

1. marathon-long distance running race
2. training-taking on a particular task of exercising
3. treadmill-an exercise machine for running or walking
4. trail- a path
5. relieve- take away something
6. therapeutic- calming or relaxing
7. accomplishing- to be successful or achieve a goal



Vocabulary activity:

1. Put the seven vocabulary words in alphabetical order on the lines below:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Change the word relieve, training, and accomplishing to the past tense:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Would you want to run in a marathon one day? Why or why not:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Fill in the blank: When I run inside I use a _____________________.


5. Create a sentence using the word trail:_________________________________________

Grammar activity:

Directions: Circle all the verbs in the paragraph. Choose 4 verbs you found and make 4 new sentences.

-Verbs are action words.  Such as: ran, jumped, ate, played, yelled

Basketball

I love almost all sports, but basketball is definitely my favorite sport. Basketball is a sport played with two teams of five players on each team. Growing up I played basketball with my friends and family. Playing basketball taught me teamwork, hard work, and dedication. I am lucky enough to now coach a sixth grade basketball team in Baldwin. My favorite basketball team is the NewYork Knicks. My family and I love watching the Knicks play on television as well as at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Basketball has always been a big part of my life. I remember going to see my first live basketball as a child. I was amazed at how big the basketball court was. Basketball is a very fun, exciting, and fast paced game. I remember the stadium being packed out with cheering fans who were all wearing blue and orange.

Vocabulary:
1. Dedication: being committed to a task, give a lot of time to something
2. Stadium: a sports arena with many seats so people can watch a particular event or game
3. Teamwork: a group of people who work together towards the same goal or task
4. Hard work: Put a lot of effort into something so you can be successful
5. Players: A person who takes part in a game or sport
6. Fans: A spectator or person who watches a particular team and wants them to win

Vocabulary activity: Write about your favorite sport or a sport using four of the vocabulary words above.

Grammar activity: Change the verb tenses to the following words below. Adding -ed to a word means it took place in the past. Adding -ing to a word means it is happening in the present.

Example: play, playing, played
Verb:                         Past tense- ing                        Present tense- ed

1. watch
2. remember
3. cheer
4. take
5. look
6. wish
7. work

My Dog

This is my dog Zak he is so friendly and sweet! He has big black eyes and soft black hair. I rescued him from a dog shelter in Queens two years ago. When I first brought Zak home he was very timid, because he was abused by his previous owners. He was very afraid of loud noises and too many people around him at once. After a few months he warmed up me and my family. He loves to play with all his toys, especially his stuffed pig. He is very active and loves to go on walks near the beach. With a lot of love and patience Zak has become the perfect addition to our family. Rescuing dogs or any animal from shelter is so rewarding. Rescuing Zak means he gets to be in a safe and loving home with people who care for him.



Vocabulary:
1. Dog shelter: a place where stray or abandoned dogs are placed and then can be adopted by families

2. Abused: hurt physically on purpose

3. Active: engaging in something physical, energetic or mobile

4. Rewarding: something that is satisfying or pleasing

5. Timid: easily scared or shy

6.  Patience: to be calm and take your time with a task

7. Rescue: save someone or something from a dangerous situation


Vocabulary activity:

Directions: Fill in the blank with the correct vocabulary word for each sentence below.

1. My dog was very _______________ at first he always got very nervous when a lot of people were around.

2. I went to the _________________ with my family to adopt my dog.

3. Having a pet is very ________________ because they bring you so much happiness.

4. I think it is very sad when an animal is ________________ causing harm to animal is never okay.

5. My dog is very ______________ he loves to run around my backyard and play fetch.

6. When you ____________ a pet it makes you feel good because you saved it from a dangerous situation.

Writing activity: Adjectives are words that describe nouns, such as shape, size, color, age or material.

Adjective examples: fluffy, hard, brown, loving, caring, beautiful


Directions: Circle all the adjectives in the paragraph above. Then use four of the adjectives you circled to make four new sentences.

Aladin on Broadway

Over the summer I went a saw the musical Aladdin in New York City on Broadway. I loved seeing this musical since the original movie is one of my favorites. Aladdin is about a poor boy who finds a magical lamp with a genie inside. He gets three wishes from the genie when he rubs the magic lamp. He wishes to be turned into a prince in order to win over the heart of a beautiful princess named Jasmine. Aladdin is faced up against an evil villain character named Jafar. Jafar also wants to win over the heart of Jasmine. Princess Jasmine only has three days to find a prince to marry. The musical is filled with dancing, singing, and adventure!

Vocabulary:

1. Musical- A play or a movie where singing and dancing are the main part
2. Genie-a spirit in a folktale that is stuck inside a lamp and when released will grant you three wishes
3. Prince- A boy who is a royal ruler
4. Princess- A girl who is a royal ruler
5. Evil- Someone who is very bad or cruel
6. Broadway- a street in New York City that is known for famous restaurant and theaters to watch plays and musicals
7. Villain-A character who has evil actions or motives
Vocabulary exercise:


1. Write a sentence using the word musical:

__________________________________________________________________

2. Write two antonyms for the word evil:

__________________________________________________________________


3. Fill in the blank using one of the vocabulary words: Inside the magic lamp lived____________________ and when he came out out he was able to grant Aladdin three wishes.

4. Challenge* Can you think of another princess and prince from a musical, play or movie you watched? Write the names on the lines below:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Grammar point: Proper nouns are specific names for places, organizations, or people, they start with capital letters.

Examples of proper nouns: New York, Mary, McDonalds, Walt Disney, Tuesday

Grammar activity: In the paragraph below fix the nouns that should be proper nouns by making them have capital letters.


Last june I went on vacation to florida with my family. We arrived in Florida on a Monday and left by friday. During our vacation we went to the beach, swam in the pool, and ate at restaurants. We stayed at the hilton hotel which is located twenty minutes from epcot. Epcot is an amusement park filled with many different rides and games. I love going on vacation with my family!

Pizza, Pizza, and More Pizza!

       



My absolute favorite food is pizza! I could probably eat pizza for every meal. One of my favorite things to do with my family is to make home made pizzas. As a family we decide on different toppings to create unique pizza pies! Some of our favorites are eggplant pizza, meatball pizza, and taco pizza. It's a lot of fun coming up with different pizza creations and then getting to enjoy eating them together. Another thing I like to do is go into the city New York City with friends and try out different pizza places. My two favorite pizza places in the city are Artichoke Basile and Prince Street pizza. Artichoke Basile is known for their spinach and artichoke pizza which is very delicious. Prince Street Pizza has the best pepperoni slice. They are known for their small crispy pepperonis piled onto a square slice (pictured top right). To make your very own pizza pie you'll need pizza dough, tomato sauce, and any toppings you desire!

Here are some of my favorite homemade pizza recipes:https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/homemade-pizza/



Vocabulary:
1. Unique- being unlike anything else
2. Eggplant- dark purple vegetable
3. Creations- designing or making something
4. Artichoke-type of vegetable
5. Crispy- food that is firm
6. Dough- mixture of flour and liquid used for baking into bread
7. Desire- a strong feeling of wanting something


Vocabulary Activity:
1. Which word means a strong feeling of wanting something?____________________

2. Which two vocabulary words could be toppings for a pizza?
_____________________ and _________________________

3. What is a unique pizza you would make?_____________________________________________________________________________

4. Change the word desire to the past tense__________________

5. Which word means to design or make something__________________________


Grammar Activity:

Write a paragraph about a food you made before using the past tense:


Example: Last week I made tacos for dinner. The tacos took a long time to make, but the wait was worth it. I used flour tortillas as my taco base. I also used chicken, tomatoes, guacamole, and cheese for the inside of my tacos. I served the tacos with chips and salsa. The meal was delicious and fun to make.

Charleston, South Carolina

One of my favorite trips I took with my friends was to Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is a beautiful historic city with so many places to go and explore. When my friends and I visited we spent several days visiting historic sites, shopping, going to the beach, and of course eating delicious southern comfort foods. During our visit we made a stop at Boone Hall Plantation which was where the movie "The Notebook" was filmed. The tour we went on showed how slaves at that time lived in cabins and worked on the planation. The plantation also displayed beautiful gardens and a tour of the mansion. A place we all really enjoyed eating at was Hot Little Biscuit. This place is famous for there warm biscuits topped with jam or pimento cheese. They were so yummy! We also enjoyed a visit at Poogan's Porch where we tried their shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles, both were delicious. We ended our trip with a drive to Folly beach, which was located thirty minutes from the city. The beach had a beautiful boardwalk and the ocean water was extremely warm. Our trip to Charleston was a wonderful and fun experience.



Link to view the Boone Hall plantation: https://www.boonehallplantation.com/toursadmission/




 

Vocabulary:

1. Plantation: a large farm or land area where a particular type of crop is grown.
2. Grits: similar to oatmeal, a dish of corn kernels mixed with milk or water that you eat
3. Biscuit: a small, round cake of bread
4. Boardwalk: a wooden walkway usually along a beach
5. Historic: famous/important in history
6. City: A place where people live that is larger than a town.
7. Slaves: a person who is legal property of another person

Vocabulary Exercise: 
Directions: Put the correct missing vocabulary word in the sentences below.

1. For breakfast I had a bowl of __________ it was warm and delicious!

2. I took a walk on a ______________ with my family. We watched the sunset over the ocean.

3. When I went to visit the ____________ there was large buildings and many people. It was much bigger than the town I live in!

4. Charleston is a very _____________ city there is so much important history that can be learned when visiting.

5. _______________ is a large area were crops are grown.

6. I ate a very buttery and soft ___________ it was so yummy.

7. ______________ were people who were looked at as property and treated very unfairly.

Writing Exercise:

-In your writing journal write a journal entry using the past tense about your favorite trip or place you visited.

*Past tense example: Last summer I visited Hawaii with my family.
*remember words that end with "ed" show past tense (visited). It shows something that has happened in the past.