Cousins

                                                                                                                 

Cousins

By Marleny Abreu

The world may define us as cousins, but we know that the word cousin expresses little meaning for what we truly are. Throughout our childhood we lived for our sleepovers. We played dress up, sports, and even fought, cursed, did the silent treatment, but we learned that no matter what happens we are tied through blood and we are a family. We learned that friendship is not only about having fun, but about forgiving and respecting each other for who we are. 

As we entered our teenage years we practiced make-up on our faces, colored, washed, cut and strengthen our hairs. Enjoyed house parties and of course whispered the crushes we had and then later cried together over the heart breaks we felt. We learned that being a cousin also means being a friend and acting as a sister. 

Together we've adopted cousins. We’ve laughed, traveled, partied, said our farewells to love ones, cried, supported, encouraged, and best of all love each other.

 As we look back to those days we realize that we are more than just cousins. At this moment, on this time of year, we unite to share our love. We can look at every one of us and see the true beauty that we individually hold, but there is one true beauty we all commonly share together; our bond, our friendship, and our sisterhood. 

You see to the world we may just be cousins, but we truly are: sisters by love, friends by heart, and cousins by blood. A combination that is a pure blessing and one that can never be broken.

Vocabulary:

Practiced: Skilled or expert; proficient:

Whispered: Soft speech produced without full voice.

Crush: temporary love of an adolescent      

Encouraged: To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten.

Commonly: Belonging equally to or shared equally by two or more; joint:

Combination: mix, blend

Cloze Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list above.

1. Leslie had a childhood ____________on Robert.
2. He _______________hard for his baseball game.
3. Mrs. Fernandez ____________her students to work harder.
4. I ______________a secret to Andrew.
5. The books in the classroom are _______________used by the students.
6. The _________________of reading and writing was necessary to complete the assignment.

Grammar Point:

A conjunction is a joiner, a word that connects parts of a sentence. You can use a conjunction to link words, phrases, and clauses.  For example: I ate the pizza and the pasta. You use a coordinating conjunction ("and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," or "yet") to join individual words, phrases, and independent clauses. 

Remember the acronym FANBOYS: For-And-Nor-But-Or-Yet-So.

Grammar activity:

Look over the story and write down at least 3 conjunctions you find in the reading. Write a sentence for each conjunction.

Winter Snow

By: Shannon Leah

A light gray blanket covers the sky.

The anticipation rises, though the temperature drops.

Flurries begin to swirl down, and spirits, to fly.

All are gazing upward, wishing this never stopped.

Coats are drawn closer; scarves pulled tight.

Cameras are flashing; oh, what a wonderful sight.

Though as the day closes, it comes to an end.

The delicate snowflakes cease to descend.

Vocabulary:

Anticipation: An expectation.

Flurries: A brief, light snowfall.

Gazing: To look steadily, intently, and with fixed attention.

Delicate: Easily broken or damaged.

Descend: To move from a higher to a lower place; come or go down.

Cloze Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list above.

1.  The house has _________________through four generations.

2.  The mirror is too _____________ to move.

3.  The ___________________ for snow has everyone buying salt for the ground.

4.  John was ___________________ at the snakes every move.

5.  Maria tried to grab the ________________ with her hands. 

Grammar Point:

Semicolons are used in place of a period to separate two sentences where the conjunction has been left out, to separate groups of words that are themselves separated by commas, and between clauses of a compound sentence which are joined by conjunctive adverbs.

For example: The trip was long and tiring; we fell asleep almost at once.

Grammar Activity: Write 3 sentences using semicolons in each. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Cousins Reunion

Annual Cousins Reunion 

December 4, 2011 was our cousin’s annual Christmas celebration. Each year we meet up at different location for to celebrate the holidays.  This year the celebration took place at New York City. Twelve of us met at the restaurant Mamajuans for brunch.  We got to enjoy traditional Dominican food and great company. Afterwards, we went to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. The day was filled with laughter and especially with love. The older we get the harder it is for us to spend time together, but this tradition makes it possible for us to see each other at least once a year.  

 

Vocabulary: 
Celebrate: The action of marking one's pleasure at an important event or occasion by engaging in enjoyable, typically social activity.

Brunch: a meal eaten late in the morning, combining breakfast with lunch

Traditional: Of, relating to, or in accord with tradition

Company: One's companions

Especially: in particular; in a special manner

Cloze Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list above.

1.  I love to________________ my birthday with friend and family.

2.  Scott was grateful for her ________________.

3.  I didn't eat yet, so I gladly accept your invitation for ______________.

4.  It is ________________ to eat a turkey for Thanksgiving.

5.  William likes ice cream, __________________ chocolate ice cream.

Grammar Point:

Capitalization is writing a word with its first letter as a upper-case letter and the remaining letters in lower-case letters. In English we capitalize the following: The first words of a sentence, titles, days of the week, months , the pronoun "I" and Proper nouns (the names of specific people, places, organizations, and sometimes things).

Grammar Activity: Read the sentences below and decide if the underline letters should be capitalized.

1.  on tuesday we have class. Our vacation is in march.

2.   New York City is a big city.

3. i have some japanese friends who speak Spanish.

I have a Friend.......

I Have A Friend I Can Proudly Say

by Miraj Patel

I have a friend, I can proudly say,
Who's just amazing her own way...
Words are less to describe you the best,
You are like an angel, when you be around i care for nothing rest...
I always wondered how this sweetest thing came 2 me,
Nothing in this world can better could be...
May this fragrance of your smile last long,
Till your heart beats the sweetest song...
Nothing can be so special in this world that I can compare to your smile,
Which takes one's heart along a million miles...
I swear, never will a day come to apologize you dear,
The only thing i cant afford ever, is to see your eyes with tears...
Some memories we share it together,
Be there with me forever, forget me never...
I wish my eyes to be closed forever,
If a time comes to leave your hand ever...
One last thing to tell, you will always be the bestest of my friend,
I hope our friendship will never end...

Vocabulary:

1.      Proudly: Occasioning or being a reason for pride; honored

2.      Wondered: One that arouses awe, astonishment, surprise, or admiration

3.      Fragrance: Quality of having a pleasant odor

4.      Compare: To examine in order to note the similarities or differences

5.      Apologize: To say that one is sorry, for having done something wrong

6.      Memories: Something remembered.

Cloze Exercise : Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list above
1. Mary’s favorite ___________ is lavender.
2. The committee has to ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________the two proposals. 
3. I have pleasant childhood ­­­­___________________.  
4. I must ________________to her for my rudeness.   
5. I __________ present my son to my students.  
6. I ___________________what she might be up to in the summer.

Grammar Point:

The superlative is the form of an adjective that we use to show the object is 'the most' of something. Example: New York is the most exciting city in the USA. Superlatives are typically formed with the suffix –est (e.g. healthiest, weakest) or the word most (e.g. most interesting).

Grammar activity:

Change the following adjectives to superlatives.

1. Soft= __________________
2. Cheap=_________________
3. Sweet=_________________
4. Thin=__________________

Imprinted

In life we are imprinted by many

Some are permanent and others disappear like a footprint

that gets washed away by the ocean

It could be a smile a stranger gives you or a statement they say that

imprints you for the day

Then there are those who imprinted in our hearts forever.

You set off to do one thing without imagining

what you are truly designing in others

Positivity, hope, faith is the print you have engraved in me. 

Vocabulary

Permanent: Lasting or remaining without essential change.

Disappear: To cease to exist.

Imprint: To produce a mark on (a surface) by pressure; a characteristic mark or indication; stamp

Engraved: To carve, cut, or etch into a material.

Design: To create an artistic or highly skilled manner;  A drawing or sketch.

Cloze Exercise : Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the list above

1.  The pain has ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________.

2.  Mary wants her mother to  ___________  her wedding dress. 

3.  He left his footprint _____________ on the sand.

4.  Tom put _____________ marker all over his mothers beautiful white dress.

5.   Joe ___________________ the silver watch with his name.

Grammar Point:

An article is a kind of adjective which always gives some information about a noun.  There are only two articles a and the. 

The word a (which becomes an when the next word begins with a vowel - a, e, i, o, u) is called the indefinite article, because the noun it goes with is general.   For example, I have a book. This sentence lets us know I have one book, but it could be any book.

The word the is known as the definite article and indicates a specific thing.  The difference between the sentences I sat on a chair and I sat on the chair, is that the second sentence refers to a particular, specific chair, not just any chair.

Grammar Assignment:

Fill in the blanks with either “a”, “an”, or “the”.

I went to 1)______ airport at 6:00 AM yesterday.  I had to catch 2)______flight to Paris. The lines at 3)______ airport were very long, so I had to wait 4)______ long time. Once 5)______ plane took off, I watched a movie.