October Fever!

Yankees Win World Series Again in 2009?

It's October fever time! This is postseason time of the year in baseball where there are playoffs there are only four teams left to play before the World Series. In the World Series, two teams play one another; one from the American League and one from the National League. I love this time of the year, especially when my Yankees are have a chance at becoming the World Champions! I was born into a Yankee family. My parents and all of their siblings are religious Yankee fans. I remember back to the 1996 playoffs season and being so ecstatic when the Yankees won the World Series. My family was running around my house. We were hugging and screaming.

This time of year signifies more than just baseball. Playoffs signifies the fall season to come. It signifies the crisp, cold weather, pretty fall foliation, jumping in the piles of leaves my dad has raked up, scary costumes, and trick or treating. This time of the year will always remind me of childhood. My hope is that one day I will be able to afford tickets to a Yankee's playoff or World Series game! Especially to see those splits that Teixera does at first base! Oh how I wish upon a star to have ground level seats one day!



Vocabulary
1. playoffs- The series which determines what two teams will verse one another in the World Series.
2.'October fever'- A term used to describe baseball playoff season to describe. As in, a Yankees fan has October fever.
3. American League- One league division in Major League Baseball (MLB), made up of 14 teams. This league allows designated hitters.
4. National League- The other league division in Major League Baseball (MLB), made up of 16 teams. This league does not allow designated hitters.
5. 'religious'- in this case, meaning a devote fan of the Yankees.
6. signifies- to indicate, represent
7. foliation- the leaves change color as they die (fall), when they die they fall off the trees (winter).
8. 'wish upon a star'- a saying that portrays a strong wish or desire, in this case, for Yankee tickets.
9. The World Series- The championship that concludes the postseason of MLB, where the winner from the American League and the winner from the National League verse one another for the World Champions title.



Cloze Exercise
1. How I ____________ that I win the lottery one day.
2. I love driving upstate during the fall season because of all the pretty colors of the fall ________.
3. Major League Baseball is in the _________ season where there are only four teams left to play before the World Series.
4. It's playoffs time and I have ______________!

5. I follow Baseball very closely, especially the Yankees. I am a __________ fan.
6. There are 16 teams in the ___________ league of MLB.
7. October __________ much more than just baseball playoffs.
8. The ___________ league in the MLB allows for a designated hitter.
9. This Wednesday at 8:00 p.m., you can watch the Phillies and the Yankees play in the ________.



Grammar Point-The Past Continuous (Progressive)
The Past Continuous is formed with was or were followed by the main verb in an -ing form.
This tense is used to describe something which began before a particular point in the past and is still in progress at that point. Examples of this tense can be found in my text; "...was running around the house." "...were hugging and screaming."

Now, I would like you to write one paragraph made up of 5 sentences in the past continuous. This paragraph should express something of your childhood that you were doing. You may use my text as a guide for your paragraph.






Link
Here is a link to the New York Yankee's website. Here you can find information such as game schedules, player stats, ticket purchasing options, and much more! I hope all you Yankee fans and potential Yankee fans enjoy this site!

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

More Than Just Sneakers

This past weekend, I realized my shoes were making quite a noise while I walked. It was a noise almost as if I was stepping on a duck that was coming from my heel. When I stopped to look down, I saw that I had a hole in the right heel of my cherished brown converse shoes. Every time I notice a new rip in these shoes, it breaks my heart. See, I love all sneakers. Especially the array of different pairs of converse shoes that I own. However, this specific pair of brown Chuck Taylor sneakers I own is more than just a pair of sneakers to me.

This pair of sneakers have been worn by my feet for over 8 years. These sneakers have taken me through different stages of school; High School, to SUNY Cortland, to Molloy College. These sneakers have led much exploration throughout 5 countries; United States, Costa Rica, Spain, Ireland, and Italy. So, this past weekend someone told me, "Kathleen, you should really throw those shoes out. They have so many rips!" I refuse! These are more than just shoes. These are time capsules. How can you throw something away that holds so many memories?

Vocabulary

1.quite- (rather) to a considerable or great degree

2.'stepping on a duck'- in this case, this phrase is used to elude to the quacking sound a duck makes

3.cherished- to treat dear, fondly, adoringly

4.'breaks my heart'- a saying used to elude to something that makes you sad or disheartened
5.converse shoes- a popular brand of shoes which have several different styles

6.Chuck Taylors- a famous style of low top converse shoes named after an American basketball player who was famous for wearing these shoes while he played

7.refuse- to decline, deny, or renounce

8.time capsules- something that holds information or goods from a certain time period(s) that can communicate information with future times

Cloze Exercise
1. Seeing all the commercials for abandoned animals just ____________.
2. I lost my _____________ ring that was handed down to me from my Grandmother!
3. I want a new pair of shoes. I don't want Nike brand shoes, I want __________.
4. The archaeologists found an unintentional ___________ filled with past information left by the Mayan culture.
5. When I walked down the street with my old pair of shoes, it sounded like I was __________!
6. That new horror film was __________ frightening.
7. I simply ____________ to go along with this lie.
8. Jason's favorite shoes are the _______________, which are named after the famous basketball player.


Grammar Point-Present Perfect
The Present Perfect is a tense that is usually used to to describe an unspecified time before now, the exact time is not important. This tense can be used to describe an experience, a change over time, with accomplishments, an uncompleted action you are expecting, multiple actions different times, and with expressions of time. The form of the present perfect is; has/have + the past participle. You can find examples of the present perfect tense in my text. 1)"These sneakers have taken me through different stages of school." 2)"This pair of sneakers have been worn by my feet for over 8 years."

Now, I would like you to create three of your own sentences using the present perfect using the ones from my text as a guide. For each sentence, I would like you to leave a rationale as to why you used the present perfect.

1)

Rationale:

2)

Rationale:

3)

Rationale:

Link: http://www.converse.com
Here is a link to the converse shoes website. You can use this link to buy converse shoes already made, or create your own to buy! Hopefully everyone has a pair of shoes they cherish, just like me. I hope everyone enjoyed this week's blog!

The Bermuda Triangle

Map

Satelite View

A few days ago, I saw a program on the History Channel about The Bermuda Triangle. The program was called 'Mysteryquest Case Files.' I was in pure and utter fascination for an hour straight! I could barely stand the commercial breaks! For those of you who do not know, the Bermuda Triangle is located in a 500,000 square-mile open space in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Florida coastline between Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. You can refer to the picture above to see a visual representation of the bermuda triangle, also known as, the Devil's Triangle, the Sea of Doom, and the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

This area it has claimed over 120 aircrafts and 700 ships over the past 35 years. What is interesting about this fact, is that every aircraft and ship has disappeared without explanation. Most of these crafts had taken off or set sail in beautiful weather conditions with perfectly functioning radios up until just minutes before disappearing. The crafts simply disappear and the captain and all the crew members are simply never heard from again. One of the first noted cases was a ship called the USS Cyclops in 1918 that was en route to Brazil. This ship was 542 feet long, housed over 300 crewmen, and simply disappeared once it entered the triangular area.

Some flights reported their readings going off the charts, or speedometers spinning out of control. Some pilots reported taking off and landing 30 minutes later. However, in reality the flight was actually hours long. These pilots only answer is that they must have time traveled. One theory for this is electronic fog. Electronic fog is a mix of thunderstorm activity and solar energy that can create an electromagnetically charged fog. This fog can throw off readings radio contact from planes and ships. This fog is responsible for many of the disappearances in the 'Bermuda Triangle.' All in all, it was a fascinating program and I highly recommend any program on the History Channel.

Vocabulary

1. The History Channel- A television channel with several programs related to history, mysteries in history, and so on.

2. The Bermuda Triangle- A mysterious area between Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. This is an infamous area where people report black holes or mysterious happenings.

3. 'barely stand'- unable to tolerate or wait through

4. 'has claimed'- taken, or in this case, responsible for the disappearance of

5. 'take off'- when a plane departs from an airport

6. 'set sail'- when a ship departs from a port

7. 'off the charts'- unmeasurable

8. electromagnetic- influence of force on a on properties with an electric charge

Cloze Exercise

1. He is so annoying. I can _________ to be around him.

2. I am at the airport awaiting _________.

3. I really do not understand the topic of ____________ fields.

4. I cannot understand the speedometer. The readings are ___________!

5. I thoroughly enjoy watching programs on _______________.

6. The car accident ___________ the lives of 2 people.

7. _______________ is a highly mysterious and dangerous area between Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda.

8. We just arrived at the port in Manhattan waiting to __________ for our 7 day cruise!

Grammar Point- Count and Noncount nouns

We all know a noun-person, place, or thing. But, what is the difference between count and noncount nouns? Well, what nouns can you count? Examples of count nouns can be found in my text, such as ships, planes, thunderstorms, radios, members etc. Those are all count nouns because you can count them! Noncount nouns are nouns you can't count. Examples of noncount nouns can also be found in my text, such as Bermuda, and Miami. Now, to practice, I would like you to list 5 count nouns and 5 noncount nouns below.

Count
1
2
3
4
5

Noncount
1
2
3
4
5


Link
Here is the link to the History Channel specifically for the Mysteryquest program on the Bermuda Triangle. You can also view this website for more interesting programs. Check your local listings for the channel to view the History Channel. Hope you enjoyed this blog as much as I did!

http://www.history.com/genericContent.do?id=72116