Scrapbooking

My favorite hobby is scrapbooking, which is a special way of adding one's touch to photo albums. Scrapbooking is so much fun and an excellent way to channel my creativity. Scrapbooking requires lots of patience and extreme focus on detail. First, I start by figuring out what theme I will devote an album to; for example, summer favorites, winter snowboarding, or birthdays. Then, I search for memorabilia and embellishments related to that theme that I can add to my album. Next, I print out pictures that express that theme. This is my favorite part, because I am able to revisit memories with friends and family. After doing this, I shop for special paper; this paper is called cardstock. Cardstock comes in different colors, shapes and prints; they add a nice touch as a mount for photos. Lastly, I piece everything together with a little adhesive. Sometimes I like to include a small piece of writing that explains the picture or gives some detail about the picture. Scrapbooking can be fun for everyone and they are great gifts, too!



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Vocabulary

• embellishments (noun) decoration
• hobby (noun) an activity or interest pursued for pleasure
• memorabilia (noun) souvenirs
• photo albums (noun) a collection of photos in a book
• scrapbooking (noun) a book with blank pages used for the mounting and preserving of pictures, clippings, or mementos.
• theme (noun) a subject or topic

Fill in the blanks with the correct word:

• The ______ of the book was about the power of words.
• My favorite _________ is reading children's books.
• I like to add lots of ________ to my albums.
• When I went to Hawaii I brought back tons of _________.
• My friend has _____ _______ from her trip to Spain.
• There are great ____________ websites online.

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Grammar Point
In the paragraph above there are discourse markers that allow us to understand the sequence of how I scrapbook. In this particular usage they are known as textual markers. Idenitfy these markers and then write about your favorite hobby. Explain your hobby and use at least four discourse markers.

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Link

Create your own scrapbook, visit this link for ideas and supplies:http://www.scrapbook.com/

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday that is celebrated in many different places around the world. On May 5, 1862, Mexico won the war against France in the Battle of Puebla. Originally, this day was observed in Mexico to honor the Army, but now it is a day in which Mexican pride and culture are demonstrated. May 5th is a day in which people treat themselves to everything that is Mexican. People from many different ethnicities and backgrounds go out and celebrate this day. Many things are associated with this tradition, some of which include: pinatas, maracas, tacos, and margaritas. Although I am not Mexican, I look forward to celebrating this holiday. I always go to a Mexican restaurant and indulge in all the yummy food and drinks that they serve.
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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Vocabulary

• celebrate (verb) to commemorate with festivities
• honor (noun) give respect to
• maracas (noun) a rattle that serves musical purpose
• margaritas (noun) a cocktail beverage
• observed (noun) to celebrate
• pinatas (noun) a figure intended to fill with candy or toys

Fill in the blanks with the correct word:

• __________ are very popular at birthday parties, because it is so much fun to hit.
• I ____________ Cinco de Mayo by throwing a party.
• __________ make beautiful instruments and can be very noisy.
• My favorite cocktail is a ____________.
• It is important to ________ those whom have brought good change to our world.
• Many holidays ________ in the Unites States originated somewhere else.

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Grammar Point

Verbs are needed to form sentences; they also show action. Can you find all the verbs used in the paragraph above. What are some of your favorite holidays? Write a list and come up with three verbs for each holiday.

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Link

If you need Cinco de Mayo party ideas, visit this site:http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/cinco-de-mayo.htm

Tanning

Tanning salons are a great alternative for sunless tanning. Tanning salons provide you with an instant color without the hassle of sweating and laying out in the scorching sun for hours. I have resorted to tanning salons just to get that sun-kissed complexion. My mother and sisters always warn me about the dangers of tanning salons. Tanning beds have the potential to harm the skin with the use of its ultra-violet lights. The rays can expose the skin to harmful rays that are the causing lead of skin cancer. However, I am well aware of these dangers, but I don't think they pose a great risk for me because I don't tan consistently. I tend to go to tanning salons when I feel a little pale and when I'm going on a vacation. Otherwise, I usually tan during the summer in the natural sunlight rays on the beach. I recommend Beach Bum tanning salons because they have great beds and packages to choose from.
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Vocabulary

• alternative (noun) another way
• complexion (noun) the color of the skin
• rays (noun) a beam of light
• skin cancer (noun) harmful growth in the skin
• tanning (noun) browning of the skin
• ultra-violet (noun) a light that burns and tans the skin

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word:

• An ___________ route to cooking is ordering take-out.
• _____________ exposure can cause wrinkles and skin damage.
• I love __________ during the summer on the beach.
• The sun _______ were so powerful that they started a wildfire.
• __________ in skin vary from person to person.

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Grammar Point

In this blog, I used coordinating conjunctions to link two clauses or adjectives together. Coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, and or. For this task, focus only on the and conjunction. Was I combining clauses or adjective? Work with a partner and select three examples to comment on.
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Link
Here's a song on conjuctions, enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkO87mkgcNo

Waldo

Waldo is the name of my beloved pup, a spotted black and white Jack Russell terrier. Waldo came into my life when my sister could no longer care for him because of her apartment regulations. Waldo has had an interesting life considering he's only lived 5 yrs of them. Waldo was found roaming in the streets of Brooklyn while my sister's boyfriend was on duty. It was a hot summer day, Waldo was a prize to be won. The local people were trying to catch a hold of him. Luckily, my sister's boyfriend rescued him. He was never claimed and so my sister adopted him. Since he was found in a sea of confusion my sister and her boyfriend decided to name him after the popular books, Where's Waldo? Waldo lived with them for a bit before coming to live with my parents and I. After a couple of months of adjusting, Waldo experienced something no dog or animal should ever have to go through. Waldo escaped in a panic on an afternoon my grandpa was suppose to be watching him. Poor Waldo was suffering from an anxiety attack because of the loud noise from firecrackers going off. The fourth of July was around the corner, which is the worst time of the year for Waldo. On that very afternoon, Waldo went missing. My sisters, and mom, and I went hysterical looking for Waldo. We posted flyers and offered reward money to find Waldo. Hours later, Waldo was found but in a grave state. He had been hit by a car. Waldo was rushed to an emergency hospital and put on life support for the night. He was then transferred to a bigger hospital and that was when we had to make a decision. Waldo had fractured bones, ruptured urethra and trauma. My family was devastated. Fortunately, Waldo was a fighter and quite the trooper. He made it through the ordeal with the help of a couple of operations and blood transfusions. Thankfully, Waldo is back to his old self and can even run and jump without any problem. =]

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Vocabulary

• adopted (verb) to take into one's family
• anxiety (noun) uneasiness
• hysterical (adjective) uncontrollable emotion
• grave (adjective) serious
• pup (noun) a young dog
• rescued (verb) to save
• roaming (verb) wander

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary words:

• I have __________ at least 4 birds every spring.
• School work gives me ___________.
• I __________ a dog 10 years ago.
• I love _______ the streets of New York City.
• My sister has a new _____, it is only 5 weeks old.
• After the car accident, the girl was in ______ condition. She remained in the intensive care unit for several week after.
• I was ________ after sitting through that sad, tear-jerking movie.

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Grammar Point

In the paragraph above, there are several articles used before certain nouns. These articles are either: a, an , or the. Skim the paragraph and identify each article. Write a paragraph about your pet or an imaginary pet. When you have completed your paragraph circle each article used.

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Link

Adopt and rescue a pet today! It will bring you much happiness and love! Visit: http://www.nsalamerica.org/ for more information on adoption.

Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy Baseball was introduced to me through my boyfriend. A couple of years back, he began to form a league with all of his buddies on the Internet. At first, it was a new hobby and I thought small of it. However, as I became more knowledgeable about the fantasy world I learned that there was also Fantasy Football, which meant my boyfriend would be glued to his computer all year round! This proved true, as my boyfriend's team grew bigger and stronger he became enthralled in fantasy. Never did I imagine my boyfriend to become one that would obsess over something that was simply not real. He was never into video games, so I did not understand where this was coming from. I began to resent the fantasy leagues and all of its nonsense since it was taking quality time away from my time with my boyfriend. However, with the help of the Yankees winning the world series last year I began to like baseball and most importantly understand it. Today, I am at peace with the leagues and the obsession. Football is still something I know little about, but hopefully I will learn the rules to the game this year. And maybe, just maybe I will form a league of my own someday or not!
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Vocabulary

• enthralled (verb) to be captivated
• Fantasy baseball (noun) a baseball competition with imaginary teams
• hobby (noun) an activity or interest done for pleasure
• league (noun) an association of individual having a common goal
• nonsense (noun) something ridiculous
• obsess (verb) to think about something all the time
• resent (verb) to show displeasure or annoyance
• world series (noun) in baseball, an annual season of games between two winning major league teams
• Yankees (noun) a major league baseball team

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary words:

• The ______ _______ games are always the priciest tickets to buy.
• I joined a _________ that helped animals that were really sick.
• The _________ and the Mets represent the state of New York in major league baseball.
• I _______ over little details when writing papers.
• My favorite ______ is scrapbooking.
• _______ ________ lets you create your own teams and manage them.
• She was so __________ with the performers of the circus.
• There is so much ________ on the television nowadays.
• He began to ______ his parents when they gave away his car.

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Grammar Point

The paragraph above offers a few collective nouns. Collective nouns are words that represent groups of people. Identify the collective nouns in the paragraph. Brainstorm words that are collective nouns and jot them down. Use the words in complete sentences.

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Link

Start you own fantasy league visit:

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1

Hair

Hair has always been very important in my family since I can remember. As a child, my mother would always create home treatments for mine and my sisters' hair, which was about every weekend or at least it seemed. She would put all types of different oils and vegetables, such as avocado, olive oil, mayonnaise and even eggs into our hair to better it. She also believed that weaving a braid into our hair, immediately while it was washed and wet, would make for thicker and stronger hair. As a child, I had very fine limp hair that was always in a pony tail. My mother and everyone I knew valued and aimed for thick, shiny, and voluminous hair. My sisters all had hair that people seemed to rave about. My oldest sister had curly hair and my second oldest sister had thick hair with soft beautiful waves. As a child, it did not seem too much of a big deal to have this texture of hair. As I grew older, my idea of hair began to change; my hair went through quiet a few changes. My hair would go from long to short every year and eventually it went to a platinum blond. I wanted long, shiny, super voluminous, platinum blond hair. I was a true life case of blond ambition; my hair was never too blond. After that phase of my life was over, I spent tons of money in salon care and treatments to heal my hair from all the distress it went through in the bleaching process. Now hundreds of dollars later, my hair is at a happier place. Its long, shiny and with the help of special shampoos and products it is also voluminous.
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Vocabulary

• ambition (noun) a desire for some type of achievement
• bleaching (verb) to make whiter or brighter in color
• distress (noun) suffering
• limp (adjective) lacking firmness
• phase (noun) a stage in the process of change
• platinum blond (noun) a pale blond
• rave (verb) to talk wildly
• texture (noun) the physical structure
• treatment (noun) application of remedies
• voluminous (adjective) of great size and fullness
• weaving (verb) to move in a zig-zag way

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary words:

• The ________ of the walls were very hard and bumpy.
• After the boy tripped over the book, he had a ________ walk.
• The best __________ for a cough is cough syrup.
• This ________ of my life is a difficult one.
• So many people ______ about a college degree, bu those who have one cannot find a job.
• My only _________ in life is to succeed at everthing I do.
• The girl sat on the porch __________ a basket for her grandmother.
• The Girls Next Door from the Playboy Mansion have __________ _______ hair.
• In order to get platinum blond hair, the hair must go through a ___________ process.
• After only a year, she had to throw away her boots because of all the __________ they went through as she wore them for hours at a time.
• I use so many products and teasing techniques to get my hair to look ______________.

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Grammar Point

The paragraph above has many adjectives, which describe nouns, in this case my hair. Look for and identify the adjectives and the word(s) they are describing. Next, write about your hair or your families hair. Include at least (5) adjectives. Be descriptive!

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Link

Make your own home hair treatments visit:

http://www.hairstyle.com/hair-articles/home-hair-care-tips.htm

Digital Drama

I am so excited for a new season of True Life, which premiers tonight at 10pm on MTV. True Life is a show about real people and serious topics. The season is kicking off with a show based on "Digital Drama," which is caused when people, especially intimate couples, take technology too seriously and let it consume there lives. Often times technology, such as emails, text messages and websites like Facebook can promote many digital relationships (non-intimate). There is a friendly manner that takes place in technological relationships that are easily misunderstood. In many cases, people involved in intimate relationships misinterpret messages that there partners receive via such technology, which tend to cause an uproar in their relationships. This leads to "digital drama" and causes couples to loose trust and fight a lot. Make sure to tune in on MTV for more about "digital drama."
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Vocabulary

• consume (verb) to absorb, engross
• digital (adjective) available in electronic form
• intimate (adjective) close personal relationship, like boyfriend/girlfriend
• kicking off (verb) beginning, starting
• misunderstood/misinterpret (adjective) to take in wrong sense
• uproar (noun) commotion
• via (preposition) by way of

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary words:

• I read the wrong chapter for class because I ______________ the homework.
• I talk to my friends ____ the Internet.
• I have only had one ___________ relationship.
• The employees in the office ________ in so much gossip.
• The summer should be _________ ____ with lots of parties.
• I have a ________ camera.
• There was an _________ at the school when the fire broke out.

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Grammar Point

The paragraph above showcases several adverbs. Adverbs are most often formed by adding -ly to an adjective; the examples I gave above are formed this way, too. Refer to the paragraph and review the italicized words. Ask yourself, what word is it modifying in the sentence and what is the words original form (which part of speech was it)? Lastly, choose an adverb and use it in a sentence.
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Link
To learn more about MTV's True Life show visit:
http://www.mtv.com/shows/truelife/series.jhtml

Endangered Polar Bears

Each time that I turn on the television, I am always coming across a commercial about global warming. Global warming is a huge concern for all of us living on this planet, especially the polar bears. Polar Bears are located on the Arctic ice, which is why they have become endangered species. Unfortunately for the polar bears, the ice caps are melting due to climate changes and the polar bears are left with nothing to live on or raise their young. Many polar bears are swimming into the ocean to look for food and drowning because the ice caps are moving further away from each other. Less ice caps also means that the polar bears have no place to hunt for food. Therefore, the few polar bears that do not drown end up starving because there is no place to hunt. Global Warming is caused by human consumption, in order to save these animals and other wildlife we all must make changes that include the usage of eco-friendly products.
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Vocabulary

• arctic (adjective) of, pertaining to, or located or near the North Pole
• concern (noun) a matter that engages a person's attention, interest, or care
• eco-friendly (adjective) not harmful to the environment
• endangered (adjective) threatened with extinction
• ice caps (noun) a thick cover of ice over an area
• global warming (noun) an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in the climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect
• polar bears (noun) a large white bear of the arctic regions

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary words:

• _________ ________ are cute and fuzzy.
• The _________ is very cold.
• Using __________ products can reduce the damage already caused by global warming.
• Tara had no _________ for her students' success.
• Many ________ species will become extinct before our grandchildren are born.
• _________ __________ is devastating many habitats all over the planet.
• The Titanic ship collided with and iceberg, which is very similar to an ____ _____.

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Grammar Point

In the paragraph above there are some quantifiers that come at the beginning of a noun phrase and indicates the quantity of something. Identify where these quantifiers are and write (5) sentences. In addition, draw a picture that describes each sentence. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Link

To learn more about the polar bears and other endangered species, visit:

http://http//www.nwf.org/Global-Warming/Effects-on-Wildlife-and-Habitat/Polar-Bears.aspx

Texting While Driving

Text messaging is a fast and effective way of communication. However, more and more car accidents are being caused by texting while driving. Texting and any other form of cell phone use is distracting to the driver and can lead to the loss of control of a vehicle. Statistics and studies have proven that texting while driving is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. It is imperative that people become aware of the dangers they put themselves in and others when they decide to text as they drive. Many drivers believe that they can multitask; thus, put very little thought about responding or sending a text message while driving. An accident caused by a text message takes a matter of seconds and can cause major damage. Drivers must be responsible and aware of the dangers caused by cell phone use while driving, especially texting. Do not text and drive because you are more likely to get into an accident.
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Vocabulary

• aware (adjective) Informed and alert.
• car accidents (noun) When an automobile collides with anything that causes damage to the automobile.
• distracting (verb) To draw away or divert.
• loss of control (noun) To be without or lose ability to have direction.
• multitask (verb) Do several things at once.
• responsible (adjective) answerable or accountable, as for something with one's own power, control, or management.
• text messaging (noun) The process by which text messages are transmitted.

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary words:

• ________ __________ is a very easy way to talk to your friends.
• To be a good driver means that you must be __________.
• Working as an ESL teacher requires the ability to ___________.
• My neighbor survived a really bad ___________ __________.
• All of the noise in the library was very __________.
• Everyone was well ________ that the paper was due on Monday.
• When school gets to be overwhelming, you tend to feel a sense of ______ __ ________.

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Grammar Point
The paragraph contains several infinitive or -ing forms of verbs. These words are verbs that end with an -ing. Can you find all the -ing endings in the paragraph? Make a list of (5) infinitive forms of verbs. Use at least (3) of those words in a paragraph.
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Link
http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbiHwGBsRr0

Helping a Family in Haiti

Haiti is often associated with poverty and crime, but most recently it is being identified as one of the world's largest natural disasters in history. Haiti is a country very dear to my heart. This past December, I visited the country with my boyfriend. We stayed at his family's house in the capital city Port au Price. It was a vacation I will cherish forever and a country I had planned to visit in the near future. On January 12, 2010, Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Haiti experienced a tremendous loss of people and the coutry itself. Many efforts of relief were immediately sought and delivered to the country. Fortunately, my boyfriend's family still had their health, but that wasn't to be said about thousands of other Haitians. My boyfriend and friends got together to help raise money for his family. The benefit was held at CHI restaturant and lounge on January 28, the fundraiser was a success. We raised over $4,000 in one night and more importantly gave his family an immediate sense of hope.

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Vocabulary

• crime (noun) violation of the law
• devasted (verb) to bring to ruin
• earthquake (noun) shaking or trembling of the earth
• magnitude (noun) great size
• natural disasters (noun) a disaster caused by natural forces
• poverty (noun) not having enough money
• relief (noun) public help in the form of money, food, clothing, shelter and medicine

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary words:

• Hurricane Katrina was a ________ ________ that left many people homeless.
• The tsunami __________ most of Sri Lanka.
• Most college students experience _________ because tuition is very expensive.
• The Red Cross is responsible for coordinating _________ to countries around the world that need help.
• California is one state that has been struck with numerous amounts of _________.
• New York city has a strong war against _________.
• The ________ of the earthquake was so large in scale scientist were bewildered.

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Grammar Point

The paragraph contains several Past Participles. Past Participles usually ends in -ed or-t. Can you find all of the Past Participles in the paragraph? What are your thoughts on Haiti and the earthquake? Write a paragraph about it.

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Link

Donate to help the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti, visit this link:

http://www.redcross.org/