What is your Dream Vacation?

     Have you ever wanted  to go on a trip that has been your dream getaway or travel the world? I have always wanted to travel around Europe and would love to one day travel! Europe is is the sixth largest continent and has the third largest population.  This country is surrounded by the Mediterranean sea and has many different countries such as France, Italy, and Greece. Europe also has five of the oldest countries which are San Marino, France, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Portugal. Did you know that Europe has the tallest  mountain which is Mount Elbrus in Russia?  Most of the countries in Europe use the same currency which is called the Euro.
     One of my favorite foods from Europe is from the country of Spain.  Spain has delicious hot chocolate and churros.  I was able to try these two when a friend from Spain made them for our class one day.
     So now that I have told you about my dream vacation and some interesting facts about the country tell me what your dream vacation spot is.

VOCABULARY:

1. getaway- to go away to a place
2. continent-a big piece of land on the globe (there are seven in total)
3. population-the number of people in a country, city, or other place
4. currency-money
5. churros-a doughnut pastry that is dipped in chocolate

GRAMMAR POINT:

Punctuation is very important to understand written language.  Three different punctuation marks are a question mark, a period, and an exclamation point.   A question mark is used when asking a question.  Most sentences that need a question mark start with the does, who, what, when, where, why, and how. A period is used at the end of a sentence when making a point or statement and an exclamation point is used to show excitement or emphasis.  

ACTIVITY:

Try to find the three different types of punctuation above (a period, an exclamation point, and a question mark) and tell me in writing why I used them in the places that I did.

CLOZE ACTIVITY:

Look at the example below and put either a period (.), an exclamation point(!) or a question mark(?).

1. I love hot chocolate_____
2. Does anyone have a telephone_____
3. I went to the mall with my friends today_____
4. Wait, just wait a moment_____
5. When did you finish the book_____
6. Leave me alone now_____

Hispanic Heritage Month

     Hispanic Heritage Month is coming to an end.  This begins on September 15th and ends on october 15th.  During hispanic heritage month we celebrate the wonderful contributions made by Hispanics Americans to the United States.  the traditions and experiences of hispanic americans help make the united states a diverse and exciting place to live.

     People residing in the united states trace their roots to Spain, Mexico,parts of central america, south america, and the caribbean.  

      There are many hispanics who have made history.  The first Hispanic woman to become an astronaut was Ellen Ochoa.  she was Mexican American and born in 1958.  A Hispanic opera diva was Lucrezia Bori.  she was the first Hispanic to be debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1912.  Rita Moreno was the first Hispanic to win an Oscar, Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy Award for her acting skills in drama plays.  

     Although hispanic Heritage Month is coming to its end it does not mean it should end until next year.  The number of Hispanics and latinos keeps increasing in the United States and it is something that should be celebrated always.

VOCABULARY:

1. Contribution- to contribute or help out in something
2. Astronaut-a person that goes into space
3. Opera-a musical dramatic play
4. Debut-the first appearance at a show or television

GRAMMAR POINT:  

Capitalization  is very important in writing.  We capitalize important names such as the name of months (February and March), names of People (Mary and Erika), places and countries (The Bronx Zoo and Chile), nationalities (such as American and Italian), and to begin a sentence or paragraph.  

ACTIVITY:

On a separate sheet of paper look for all of the words that should be capitalized and correct them.  Keep in mind where capital letters are used as I mentioned in the grammar point above.  

CLOZE ACTIVITY:

Matching Directions: Match the words in column A to column B.

Column A                                                                                                         Column B

Lucrezia Bori                                                              a musical dramatic play

Opera                                                                         first Hispanic woman to win an award

Ellen Ochoa                                                                first Hispanic woman to be an astronaut

astronaut                                                                    first Hispanic Opera singer

debut                                                                         a person that goes into space

Rita Moreno                                                             the first appearance on a show or on TV

Capitalization                                                             is used to begin a sentence and for the names of                    

                                                                                 important place, people, and things.