5 Weeks In

(Week of 10.07.08)

Five weeks into class and the weather is changing so beautifully. I love the colors of Autumn and the smells in the air on the crisp evenings. It really makes me appreciate nature and the change of seasons. My friend and I took a long walk the other day through her town with two cups of tea and her dog. The crisp air of Autumn is so relaxing. It makes you feel so alive. There are so many different activities in Autumn that are enjoyable just for the weather and the scenery. Autumn is probably my favorite season, or at least at the very top of my list with Spring. Each season has it's perks and the change of seasons is a big reason I love New York. Thankfully, we still have a fair amount of time left in the season of changing colors.

Vocabulary List
1. weather (n): the general condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place, with regard to temperature, moisture, cloudiness, etc.
2. Autumn (n): the season that comes between summer and winter; any period of maturity or of beginning of decline.
3. crisp (adj): fresh and invigorating.
4. change (vt): to cause to become different.
5. favorite (n): a person or thing regarded with special liking, or more highly than others.
6. season(n): any of the four arbitrary divisions of the year, characterized chiefly by amount of daylight, temperature, precipatation and plant growth;

Grammatical Structure: Verbs in the Past Tense
1. took (vt): to travel by; to set out on; to follow. Past tense of take. I used this word to discuss the walk that my friend and I went on.

Practice Exercise
1. What is my favorite season? ________
2. What is the second season that is mentioned briefly? _________
3. Why is Autumn my favorite season? ________________
4. How do I refer to Autumn in the last sentence? _________________

Closing Exercise
1. The __________ today is so nice.
2. __________ is the nicest part of the year.
3. In Autumn, the weather is always so _______ and cool.
4. Every season, the weather __________.
5. I like every season, but Autumn is probably my __________.
6. What is your favorite __________?

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html (learning about Autumn)

The One Month Mark of Classes

(Week of 9/30/08)

On Saturday, October 1st, my friend Nicole and I got together and met my girlfriends out in Long Beach for the Annual (and very popular) Irish Festival. It is celebrated every year in Long Beach on the first Saturday of October and is incredibly popular. People come from all across the island to meet up for the festival each year, which starts with an Irish parade and ends with an Irish/Gaelic band. Throughout the day, there are Irish dancers and bagpipes being played. This year, there were many cars with out of state plates visiting the festival.
Each year, we always meet up early and start the day with festivities at my friend's house in Long Beach before going down to the festival to kick the day off with the parade. This year, unfortunately, we started the day quite a bit later but we still had a great time. It took us twice as long to get down there, nearly an hour to park and at least a half of an hour to walk to my friend's house from where we parked. There were people everywhere, adorned in green from head to toe. The streets were closed in the west end for about a fifteen block distance. Along the streets were booths upon booths of food and small trinkets of Irish souvenirs, clothes and keepsakes. The bars poured out onto the blocks, people were selling paintings and pictures of Ireland and bands played up on stages. The ambiance of Irish pride that fills the air at the Irish festival is what I love most about the day each year. For me, being of half Irish decent, I love to hear the music, taste the food and just be in the mix of it all. Although the festival closes at six and the streets re-open, the city of Long Beach in the west end continues to celebrate the Irish festival far into the morning hours in true Irish spirit. Luckily, the weather always remains cool and crisp for the first Saturday in October. Next year, we'll be sure to get there earlier.

Vocabulary Words
1. Annual (adj): comes or happens once a year.
2. bagpipes (n): a shrill-toned musical instrument with one double-reed pipe operated by finger stops and one or more drone pipes, all of them sounded by air forced with the arm from a leather bag, which is kept filled by the breath: now chiefly considered Scottish.
3. parade (n): any organized procession or march.
4. trinkets (n): a small ornament, piece of jewelry, etc.
5. keepsakes (n): something kept, or to be kept.
6. ambiance (n): an environment or its distinct atmosphere.
7. pride (n): proper respect for oneself; a person or thing in which pride is taken; the best of a class, group, or society.

Grammatical Structure: Verbs in the Past Tense
1. celebrated (vt): to commemorate with ceremony or festivity. Past tense of celebrate. I used this word to discuss the Irish festival and when it takes place.
2. poured (vt): to rush in a crowed, swarm; (vi) to flow freely. Past tense of pour. I used this word to describe the environment of the street and the crowd, how the people from the bars pour out onto the street.

Practice Exercise.
1. What nationality does the festival celebrate? ___________
2. What does the festival open with and what does it close with? _________________
3. What is my favorite part of the festival? _________________

Close Exercise
1. I love these flowers. My mom says they're annual, which means they come back every ____.
2. One part of Irish and Scottish music that I love are hearing the ___________.
3. Every holiday that has a ________ is a fun holiday.
4. Garage sales are always fun to stop at, just for the simple _________.
5. My grandmother has given me many ____________.
6. The ____________ of the upcoming Christmas season is always so delightful.
7. I take ________ in my Irish, Italian and English backgrounds.

http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ (for information on Irish culture)

Third Week of Class

(week of 9/23)

The night out at the Mets game

On Thursday night, 9/25, I went out to the Mets Game at Shea Stadium with an old friend who got the tickets for free by giving blood. It was a really fun evening. We ate all sorts of snacks and sat out in the pouring rain to see one of the very last games at Shea Stadium. Although I have been a Yankee fan from when I was very young, I do like the Mets too. The Mets won the game and it was a lot of fun to watch. Afterall, they did better than the Yankees this season and they will always be a NY team. Regardless of who is playing, being at a baseball game is much more fun than watching them on tv. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go to many games at all this year. Hopefully, next year I'll be able to make a few more. With the baseball season at a close, it is time to move on to football season. Go Giants!

Vocabulary

1. friend - (n) a person who one knows well and is fond of; close acquaintance.
2. fan - (n) a person enthusiastic about a specified sport.
3. young - (adj) being in an early period of life or growth.
4. season - (n) any of the four arbitrary divisions of the year, characterized chiefly by differences in temperature, precipation, etc; referring to a specific time of year for a sports team.
5. regardless - (adj) without regard; in spite of.
6. unfortunately - (adv) bad luck; unlucky; inauspicious; not suitable or successful.

Grammatical Structure: Verbs in the Past Tense
1. went - (vi) past tense of, go; to move along; travel; proceed. I used this word to discuss the baseball game.
2. got - (vt) past tense of, get; to come into the state of having. I used this word to help describe how we recieved the tickets to the game.
3. was - (vi) past tense of, to be; to exist, to happen or occur. I used this word to describe the evening in the past tense.
4. ate - (vt) past tense of, eat; to put food in the mouth; to use up or devour by consuming. I used this word in the passage to describe what my friend and I consumed at the game.
5. sat - (vi) past tense of, sit; to rest the weight of the body, to settle down. I used this word to describe the atmosphere of the game and how we viewed the game.
6. won - (vi) past tense of, win; to gain a victory. I used this word to discuss the score of the game.
7. did - (vt) past tense of, did; to perform, to carry out. I used this word to discuss baseball and the performance of both teams throughout the baseball season.

Practice Exercise

1. In the passage, who did I say I went to the Mets game with? __________________
2. What was the weather like during the game and what was our reaction? _______________
3. Who is my favorite baseball team that I grew up watching? ____________________
4. Who do I root for in the end of my passage? (hint: a different sports team) _____________

Closing Exercise

1. If he's not my enemy, he is my ___________.
2. My father is totally obsessed with golf. That makes him the sport's biggest ______.
3. The children were so adorable and very _________.
4. Every sport has a _________.
5. _____________ of being sick, I had to go to class.
6. ______________, my dog ate my homework and I had no time to do it over.

http://www.baseballasamerica.org/exhibition_6.htm (for information on the culture of baseball)

Second Week of Class

09.16.08

It is very nice to be back into the swing of things at Molloy. It can feel perhaps a bit overwhelming at times: trying to get back into the homework mode, studying for tests and leaving room in my work schedule for required seminars. However, facing another semester does hold some level of excitement as it brings me one step closer to graduation day and a full-time career in teaching.
I am attending Molloy as a graduate student, seeking a degree in English Education 7-12 and ESL Education Pre-K through 12th grade. I have always loved English and children. As a teacher I know that I can improve on the lives of children and I know, from working as a Teacher Asst in the past, that it is a great feeling to know that you can impact the lives of future generations. I first found my interest in ESL by talking to my ex-boyfriend who once mentioned that the teacher who most impacted his life was his ESL teacher in elementary school. I realized then how great and rewarding it would be to teach our English language to children of other languages. What better way to impact the life of a child then to welcome them into our culture by teaching them the in's and out's of the English language? I also realize that ESL education and English education have a very strong tie to one another.
Although it is sometimes hectic to balance work with school, when school always must come first, it is also an exciting challenge. I think that by learning the balance and maintaining that balance, each of us grows up in our own way.

Vocabulary Words

excitement - (n) something that excites; (from term, excite) to arouse the feelings or passion of, to stir up. This word is often used to describe anticipation of something.
improve - (vt) to raise to a better quality or condition; make better.
impact - (n) the power of an event, idea, etc; to produce changes, move the feelings of,etc.
tie - (vt, n) something that connects, binds or joins; links to.
hectic - (adj) characterized by confusion, rush, excitement, etc.
challenge - (n) anything, as a demanding task, that calls for special effort or dedication.
balance - (vt) to bring into proportion; to bring into or keep in a state of equal equilibrium.

Grammatical Structure: Word Usage in Past Tense.

required - (vt) to order; command (to require someone to be present); to call for as necessary; to demand by virtue of a law or regulation. Past tense of require. I used this word to describe what is/was expected of me during my time at Molloy.
found - (vt) to happen on; come upon; meet with; discover by chance. Past tense of find. I used this word to describe the discovery of my interest in ESL education.
mentioned - (n) to refer to or speak about briefly or incidentally; Past tense of mention. I used this word to describe a conversation with my ex-boyfriend.
impacted - (n) the power of an event; to move the feelings of. Past tense of impact. I used this word to describe the change that an ESL teacher brought about in the childhood life of my ex-boyfriend.
realized - (vt) to understand fully. Past tense of realize. I used this word to describe my discovery of my interest in ESL.

Practice Exercise.

1. What I am referring to in my passage when I use the word, overwhelming? ___________
2. What impacted the childhood life of my ex-boyfriend, mentioned in my writing? _________
3. What makes the study of English and ESL similiar? _______________________

Closing Exercise

1. We were going to the game and both of us were very ________________.
2. I didn't do well on the quiz and my teacher said there is time to ______________.
3. The news on television had an ________ on me.
4. The doctor said there is a _____ between eating fruit and living healthy.
5. Our efforts to get ready for the wedding proved to be very _________.
6. The class I have first period is really a ______________.
7. It is hard to _______ soccer and homework.

http://www.rong-chang.com/kids.htm (for a look into teaching english to ESL children)

The First Week of Class

09.09.08

Missed class due to death in the family.

I missed our first day of class due to an unexpected death in my family. It was my cousin's husband. Experiencing death makes me realize how fragile and 'real' life actually is. Watching what my cousin is going through helps me to see the power of loss in love and the power of love within my family. Experiencing death within our family structure helps me to see and be reminded of how strong the family bond is and what it means to be a family. Each member of my family has pulled together to be around her with love and support. The experience helps me to see the true strength that a person can find within themselves. Death, to me, helps to remind me of the need to appreciate what I have in life, no matter how bad or good the circumstances might be. It helps me to be reminded of and appreciate the people around me, the people I call both my family and friends, who are so important in my everyday life. It reminds me of what love is and what it is capable of.

Vocabulary
Class - (noun) a group of students taught together according to standing, subject, etc.
Death - (noun) the act or fact of dying; permanent ending of all life in a person, animal or plant.
Husband - (noun) a man with reference to the woman to whom he is married.
Power - (noun) great ability to do, act, or affect strongly; vigor; strength.
Love - (noun) a deep and tender feeling of affection for or attachment or devotion to a person or persons.
Structure - (noun) the arrangement or interrelation of all the parts of a whole.
Family - (noun) a group of people related by ancestry or marriage; all those claiming descent from a common ancestor; tribe or clan; lineage.
Strength - (noun) the power to resist strain, stress, etc; toughness; durability.

Verbs
missed - (vt) meaning to fail to meet, reach, attain, etc; Used in my entry to describe my reason for failing to make class for our first meeting.
reminded - (vt, vi) to put a person in mind of something; to cause a person to remember. I used this word in my entry to better explain my experience with death and the feelings in which death provoked.

Practice Exercise
1. What is the term for a word that names a person, place or thing? _______
2. What is the term for a word that is used to limit or qualify a noun? ___________
3. What is a verb? __________________________________________

Closing Exercise
1. I really like him. He is very __________.
2. She loves to go shopping at her favorite stores for shirts and __________.
3. My mother asked me to help her with chores, so I kindly _______________.
4. Every week I go out to dinner with my ________.
5. The dog and the cat get along quite __________.
6. It has been raining all weekend and it makes me feel ___________.


www.pallcare.asn.au/mc/mcitalian.html - 23k
( for information on death in the Italian culture and family)