Current Events and the Classroom

As future TESOL professionals, many of us have a heightened sense of cultural sensitivity.  This added sense of cultural awareness is as critical today as ever before, especially considering the recent current events. 

Although I am a special ed teacher, my current schedule has me teaching 8^th grade inclusion social studies.  When I was assigned this course for the first time last year, I was terrified that I would not be knowledgeable enough in the curriculum to be able to teach it, as I struggled with history throughout my academic career.  To my relief, I found that it was much easier for me to relearn the content than I had expected, perhaps due to the fact that I have a greater appreciation for history as an adult.  The increased amounts of life experience and background knowledge that I have gained since middle school certainly help also. 

All of this being said, I was nervous about going into work the day after the announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death because I was worried that the kids would be asking questions that I did not know the answers to.  As I mentioned previously, my background is in special education, not history.  It takes a great wealth of understanding of history to be able to explain to students the situations in which the United States finds itself today.  I was also worried that some students would not be as culturally sensitive to their Muslim peers as I expect them to be.  My co-teacher and I always go to great lengths to explain that the US is involved in a war on terror, not on the religion of Islam, and we certainly hope that this is ingrained in our students. 

One of the main reasons that I have chosen to blog about this topic is so that I can share with all of you a very well written article that provides students with background information about Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, as well as the impact of bin Laden’s death on the United States.  I find that is always a challenge to discuss current events with students because they sometimes lack the necessary facts to understand what is going on presently.  This article does a great job of providing students with a basis for discussion in a clear, respectful way.

KidsPost Article on Osama bin Laden's Death

*Aware - informed; alert; knowledgeable

*Relief - alleviation, through the removal of pain, distress, oppression, etc.

*Announcement – the public or formal notice of something

*Background - one's origin, education, experience, etc., in relation to one's present character, status, etc.

*Ingrained - firmly fixed; deep-rooted; embedded

*Basis - anything upon which something is based; fundamental principle; groundwork.

Vocabulary Practice

1. Were you __________ of the problem before they informed you about it?

2. It was such a ___________ to find out that the tests came back negative.

3. It was ________________ in me as a child to always treat my elders with respect.

4. What is his educational _______________?  Did he attend college?

5. What is the _____________ for this decision?

6. There will be a public service __________________ about hurricane preparation coming soon.

Point of View

It is important that when teaching writing we also make students aware of point of view to ensure that their writing will be clear and that they will direct what they are saying to the appropriate and intended audience.  My blog was written in the first person because I am the narrator and I am directly involved in the story.  I also use the second person because I am directly speaking to all of the readers of this blog (you).  A sample written in the third person point of view would involve the subjects he, she, or it.  Read the sentences below and decide if it is written in the first, second, or third person point of view.

1. Mrs. Robinson and her son went to the supermarket this morning. _________________

2. You should have studied more last night to prepare for the exam. _________________

3.  We all attended the gala and had a wonderful time. ___________________

The Royal Wedding

Okay, I know many of you are probably rolling your eyes at the title, but I had to go there.  I hope this topic isn’t too redundant!  The funny thing is that when I first got wind of the royal engagement, I thought it was ridiculous that people were making a big deal of the upcoming nuptials.  I cannot believe that only a few months later I was becoming such a huge sap and was DVR-ing every special on television. 

Luckily for me, I am already awake at 5 AM and was able to see Princess Kate’s walk down the aisle without having to set the alarm clock any earlier.  I was surprised with her dress choice because it was so simple, but she could not have looked more elegant in my opinion.  I admire how caring the young couple appears to be towards one another.  I thought it was so cute that Prince William mouthed, “Are you happy?” to Kate as they were departing Westminster Abbey in the coach.   

I also enjoyed gaining a little bit of insight into the history of England’s monarchy.  Even if the royal family does not hold any true political power in the UK, it was still interesting to hear about their years of reign in Britain.

The Line of Succession to the British Throne - Are you on this list?? ;-)

*Redundant – exceeding what is usual or natural

*Nuptials – a wedding or marriage

*Aisle - a walkway between or along sections of seats

*Elegant - tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, or design

*Admire – to regard with pleasure

*Insight - an instance of capturing the true nature of a thing

Vocabulary Practice

1. Many people ____________ their older siblings and try to live up to the expectations that they have set.

2. “Class, please make the ____________ wider between the desks so we can walk through the room.”

3. I would like to gain some ____________ into the way the administration works.

4. Did the couple have a long engagement before their ____________?

5. They live in a very ____________ home with fine décor and furniture.

6. It is frustrating to read a passage that is ____________ and simply says the same things over and over.

Homophones

Homophones are words that are pronounced or spoken the same way, but have different meanings.  Homophones can be words that are spelled exactly the same (as in bark the sound a dog makes, and the bark of a tree) or they can be spelled differently.  Homophones can be confusing to ELLs, especially in the area of encoding (spelling).  Frequent exposure to common homophones can be a helpful way for ELLs (and all students) to learn which homophones are associated with the proper definition.  Some of the most commonly confused homophones include their, there, and they’re (as seen in my writing) and to, two, and too, also present in my blog.  Using the description of each homophone in the chart below, create an original sentence using each homophone.

Homophone	Meaning	Sentence
Their	Possessive form; belonging to more than one person
There	Describes a relative location
They’re	Contraction – They are
Too	Also
To	Preposition showing relationship to words in a sentence
Two	The number (one, two, three…)

(My) Season Opener

Last Monday, I attended my first Yankee game of the season.  I was lucky enough to have off the Monday and Tuesday following Easter, so Paul and I thought it would be a great time to get to our first game of the year.  We quickly logged onto StubHub as soon as we realized the Yanks were playing the White Sox at home.

On our way to the stadium, with all of the directions jumbled in our heads on how to get to Geneseo, Manhattan College, and other frequently visited northern destinations, we inadvertently got mixed up and did not approach the stadium from the same way we usually do.  Because of this, we had a hard time locating the parking lot that we prefer to park in for easy exit from the stadium.  Luckily, we circumnavigated the stadium enough times to finally find it!   

Once inside, we reluctantly climbed to the highest deck of the stadium to our seats.  Although the hike may have been long, I was really quite impressed with our $4.99 StubHub seats.  The new stadium was designed in such a way that even though we were up so high, we still felt close to the field and were able to see everything.  That being said, these seats certainly did not beat the views we got last summer when we toured Yankee Stadium.  The tour is something I would definitely recommend – it was a relatively inexpensive way to see things in the stadium that we never would have seen otherwise.

Yankee Stadium Homepage

*Stadium - a sports arena, usually oval or horseshoe-shaped, with tiers of seats for spectators

*Jumbled - to be confused mentally due to a large amount of mixed up information

*Inadvertently – Unintentionally; not done on purpose

*Destination - the place to which a person or thing travels or is sent

*Locate - to identify or discover the place or location of something or someone

*Circumnavigate - to go or maneuver around

Vocabulary Practice

1.  I wonder if the kids that I mentioned in my last blog were looking to ________________ the globe when they took their father’s boat from the harbor!

2.  Would you mind helping me ________________ my glasses?  I believe I left them in this room.

3.  Their next vacation ________________ is to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

4.  When travelling, I like to visit local baseball ________________ to see the different layouts of the arenas.

5.  The waiter was pouring water into our glasses and ________________ dropped the entire pitcher on the table!

6.  At times, when I give my students a math test, the information seems to be ________________ in their heads and it is difficult to decipher which rules need to be applied to the problems.

Adverbs

An adverb is a part of speech whose function is to modify or describe any other part of speech besides a noun.  The questions that adverbs usually answer include, how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?  In English, adverbs typically end in the suffix –ly, as seen in the words quickly, rapidly, or nicely.  A frequently used adverb that does not end in –ly is well. 

Add more description to the sentences below by filling in the blank with an adverb.

1. I colored the picture _______________ to make sure I did not go outside of the lines.

2. He ran off ______________ in attempt to make it to school on time.

3. I am not feeling ___________; I have a high fever and a cough.

4. Please speak __________ so that the students can better understand you.

An Unexpected Find

Wanting to make the most of my spring break, I decided to plan a few day trips and activities for the week off from work, ensuring that I did not let the days pass me by without having used my time wisely.  One of the activities that I planned was something that Paul and I do frequently in the summer – walking from Robert Moses beach to Kismet, Fire Island.  I thought it’d be a nice day to take a walk and have some lunch by the bay at one of our favorite places, Surf’s Out.  Not a bad plan if I do say so myself…

I’m not sure what I envisioned Fire Island to be like in the middle of April on a weekday, but much to my dismay the island was desolate and none of the restaurants were open.  Poor planning on our part left us exhausted and famished.   Okay, famished may be a slight exaggeration but we were hungry! 

Plan B was to take a nice long walk along the ocean side of town, and as soon as we stepped onto the sand we saw quite an intriguing sight in the distance.  All we could see was what appeared to be the mast of a ship, and after getting closer, we saw a large sailboat sitting right on the shore.  Curiosity took over, and we had to get closer to get a better look.  After dragging our fatigued feet through the sand, we were able to check out this grounded ship and even take a few photos.  It was such an interesting sight.  A little boy ran up to the boat and told us that some sailors were on their way to Maine and got off course.  Some interesting navigation if they landed themselves on Fire Island!  Upon returning home, I did some more research and found that there was probably some accuracy to the boy’s story.  Click the link below if you’d like to see how this sailboat made a stop at Kismet!

The Lighthouse Beach Times

*Envision - to picture mentally, especially some future event or events

*Dismay – sudden disheartenment or disappointment

*Desolate - deprived of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited

*Famished – extreme hunger or starvation

*Exaggeration – an overstatement

*Intriguing – to appeal strongly to

Vocabulary Practice

1. Many young kids venture to the _____________ mental hospital in Kings Park.

2. It was to the boy’s _____________ that he realized he did not get accepted to Yale.

3. Many people were _________________ while trekking along the Oregon Trail.

4. I was so ______________ by what I had read about the study that I decided to continue with some research of my own.

5. Were you really stuck in traffic for six hours or are you just ___________________?

6. What do you ______________ for your life after college?

Prepositions

Prepositions are words which show a relationship between words in a sentence.  They are usually used to show relationships regarding time and location.  Some of the commonly used prepositions that relate to time are after and before.  Above, under, and on are prepositions that are frequently used to describe location.  These words are usually found before a noun, as in “under the table” or “in the pantry.”  At, to, in, into, and on can be particularly confusing when they are being used to describe location.  A couple of easy tricks to try and decipher the usages of these words are that to and into usually come after the word “go”, while at and in usually follow most other verbs.  At also implies a more general location, as in “at work” or “at the supermarket.”  In usually refers to being surrounded by something, as in the sentence, “We live in New York.” 

Reread my blog above.  Can you pick out four prepositions from my writing?  I’ll give you one!

“…and have some lunch by the bay…”

1. _________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________

My (Lethargic) Weekend in Review

This weekend was one of the more relaxing and uneventful weekends that I’ve had in quite some time.  It was nice not to be overscheduled for a change.  I decided to skip yoga on Friday afternoon for a luxurious, two hour long nap.  I feel that if I don’t get a nap in on Friday afternoon that I have no chance of making it through the evening as long as everybody else, and I risk being the party-pooper that I’ve come to be known as.  After my rejuvenating nap, I headed out to a small, overcrowded restaurant with to meet up with some friends.  No such luck as being the energetic party girl for a change, and I headed home hours before everybody else.  It is frustrating to feel like the weekends are so short as it is, and then to realize that I can’t even get much out of the beginning of it because I am too run down from the work week.  Waking up at 4:45 every morning certainly takes its toll by Friday!

Saturday and Sunday ended up being not much different, although this time I did not mind all the down time.  I attempted to watch Toy Story 3, but fell asleep right as the toys arrived at what I thought would be a fun-loving daycare center.  According to Paul, it wasn’t all fun and games for the toys at that point.  I will have to make another attempt to watch this endearing Pixar sequel when I am well-rested. 

It’s now Sunday evening, and time to gear up for the last five school days before spring break!

Toy Story 3 Trailer

*Uneventful - lacking in important or striking occurrences

*Luxurious - given to pleasure, especially of the senses

*Overcrowded - to crowd to an uncomfortable or undesirable excess

*Endearing – Evoking affection

*Sequel - an event or circumstance following something

*Although – In spite of the fact that

Vocabulary Practice

1. If school districts do not get more funding, classrooms will continue to become _______________, with hardly any room for students’ desks.

2. I hope that tomorrow is an _______________ day at work; I do not need chaos on a Monday!

3. Macy’s had _______________ cashmere robes on sale that were extremely soft and comfortable.

4. Patience is an _______________ quality that one usually looks for in a mate.

5. I couldn’t put the book down – I hope the author publishes a _______________ so I can find out what happens next!

6. I appreciated the generous birthday gift, _______________ it was unnecessary for you to make me anything.

Adjectives

An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.  I have used many of them throughout my writing in an attempt to provide greater detail about the things I was discussing.  They were also used in an attempt to appeal to the five senses throughout my writing, giving the reader a better image in his or her head of what I was talking about.  I even used a descriptive adjective in my title to give the reader a better impression of how I was feeling this weekend.    Read the sentences below.  Fill an adjective into the blank in order to make these sentences more exciting!  Use a thesaurus if you need to find a more sophisticated word to plug in!

1. I took a huge bit of the ______________, _________________ watermelon!

2. We are looking for a _________________ and ________________ puppy.

3. The aroma coming from the kitchen was that of __________________ chocolate chip cookies.

Feeling Overwhelmed

Nothing feels worse than starting the week behind the eight ball.  Sometimes it seems like no matter how much time I put into my job after school and on the weekends, it’s just never enough.  Needless to say, I’m feeling quite overwhelmed.

As a special ed teacher, I am entering one of the most stressful times of year, Annual Review season.  For me, this means writing several IEPs, attending numerous trainings and meetings, and somehow maintaining lesson plans and countless numbers of activities in the meantime.  I think the most challenging part of this job is that there is an endless amount of paper and administrative work that takes away the time spent actually working with the kids, which is why we all want to become teachers in the first place.  Most of all, I just feel like I can never “catch up” on all the things that need to get done.

I try to have a few strategies in my toolbox to help deal with these stressful days and weeks.  My favorite coping mechanism is making time to go to my Bikram yoga class.  Sometimes it’s difficult to make room in my schedule for class, but I have to remind myself that I can make time for anything I find valuable enough.  I also have to remind myself to take at least 5 minutes to myself when I get home from work before jumping into the next task.  These are just a few ways I try to maintain my sanity when things become overwhelming!  I’m always open to other tips on how to reduce stress.   Thanks!

Women's Fitness Top 10 Ways to Handle Stress

Overwhelmed - to overcome completely in mind or feeling

Countless – too numerous to count

Meantime - the intervening time; meanwhile

Administrative – pertaining to administration; executive                    

Strategy - a plan, method, or series of maneuvers for obtaining a specific goal or result

Cope - to face and deal with responsibilities, problems, or difficulties, especially successfully or in a calm or adequate manner

1. I have a wedding shower to plan, but in the ­­­______________________ I need to keep taking care of my other responsibilities.

2. My mother has asked me ­­­______________________ times to clean my room, but I keep saying no.

3. That is an ­­­______________________ decision and should be left up to your boss.

4. She seemed ­­­______________________ by the large amounts of work that needed to be done on the project by a quickly approaching deadline.  I don’t know if she will be able to ­­­______________________ with all of the responsibility.

5. The group needs to devise a ­­­______________________ for exiting the arena quickly and efficiently.

Commas

Two of the most common places to use commas are before a conjunction, or when separating items in a list.  Another way in which commas are frequently used is to indicate pronunciation that is usually found in a speaker’s intonation.  Through a speaker’s intonation, he or she will separate a defining or non-defining phrase.  For example, in the sentence, “The boy, who is new to this school, just arrived from Venezuela,” the phrase “who is new to this school,” is part of one intonation group, as indicated by the commas.

Go on a comma scavenger hunt!

In my blog, I used commas twice to separate items in a list.  Write each sentence below:

1 _________________________________________________

2 _________________________________________________

I also used a comma before a conjunction.  Locate the sentence and list it below:

3 _________________________________________________

Now look back in your own writing and see if you can cite why you used commas!

Quality Time with Girlfriends

Although I was feeling very under the weather this past weekend due to a little sinus infection, I still had the opportunity to spend some quality time with my best girlfriends.  It was one of my best friend’s 24^th birthday, and it was definitely cause for celebration. 

Despite the many acquaintances that have come and gone over the years, one group of girls will always be in my life, and has been since the first grade back in 1993.  It is hard to believe that we have stayed the tight-knit group that we are from early elementary school all the way through post-college life.  These girls are more than friends to me; they truly are like sisters to me.  Our personalities, likes and dislikes, careers, and interests are so diverse, but nothing stops us from talking and laughing for hours on end when we are together.  We have created so many memories over the years, especially during our trips to Key West, Florida.  We have been through a lot together, and I am forever grateful to know that they will always be there for me through thick and thin.  This weekend, while celebrating in Rockville Centre, I had just another reminder of how blessed I am to have these remarkable girls in my life.

2000 - Before the school dance

  2010 - In Key West, FL         

                                                                                                            

Very cute blurb about friendship.

Speaking of 24^th birthdays, mine is in one week from today!  I am still like a little kid when it comes to my birthday; driving my family and friends up a wall with my constant counting down.  One of the reasons I like my “birthday season” (as I childishly refer to the several weeks surrounding March 14^th) is because it reminds me of the time of year when Paul and I met.  Although we both attended Berner Middle School and Massapequa High School together for several years, we had never really interacted until around the time of my 18^th birthday.  The night before my birthday was one of the first time we spent hours talking on “Aim” (who still does that?? OK maybe I do sometimes J), and at the end of the conversation he said, “I’ll say happy birthday to you now because I’ll probably be too tired to remember tomorrow morning in calc.”  Ha!  I never let him live that comment down, and often jokingly say “I might be too tired to remember” when he asks me to do something early in the morning that I am reluctant to do.  After getting to know him for the past 6 years, I know that he was probably just being shy, but I have to laugh when thinking back to that conversation. 

*Opportunity - a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success.

*Acquaintance – a person known to one, but usually not a close friend

*Diverse - of various kinds or forms

*Remarkable - worthy of notice or attention

*Interact - to act on or in close relation with each other

*Reluctant - unwilling; disinclined

Vocabulary Practice:

1. It is interesting to watch children ____________________ with one another because sometimes they will speak to each other, and other times they will pretend the other does not exist!

2. The students in my class are very  ___________________; they have come to America from many different parts of the world.

3. My mother is truly a  ____________________ woman.  She is a wonderful teacher, mother, wife, sister, and daughter.

4. I do not know the boy very well.  We are simply  ___________________.

5. I was  ____________________ to wake up early on a Saturday for yoga class, but was very glad I went afterwards.

6. Not as many woman had the  _____________________ to attend college many years ago.

Idioms

The definition of an idiom as defined by linguistic researchers Simpson and Mendis is, “A group of words that occur in a more or less fixed phrase and whose overall meaning cannot be predicted by analyzing the meanings of its constituent parts.”  Some idioms that I used in my writing include, “feeling under the weather,” “through thick and thin,” and “driving them up a wall.”  The meaning of these sayings cannot be deciphered through literal translation of the words in the sentences.  Feeling “under the weather” refers to being ill, and driving someone “up a wall” means to irritate them greatly. 

Take a piece of paper and fold it in half.  On the left side of your paper, draw a literal translation of the idiom discussed above.  On the right side of the paper, draw the actual meaning trying to be conveyed by the idiom.  When you are finished, try researching more commonly used idioms in the English language and put them into sentences.