SPAIN!

Spain. A country located on the right of the Atlantic Ocean in Europe. It is a peninsula sharing its land with Portugal. Its history is endless and its a divine country to visit. That is why I decided to study abroad one summer while in college. I wanted to travel and visit a new place and therefore I did.  Its beauty was breathtaking and I experienced it for myself.  I studied in the University of Leon, in the center of Languages where I took classes and was enriched in the culture and history of Spain. I was immersed into the culture immediately. I stayed with a welcoming family that treated me like one of their own and learned all great new things. I traveled to different cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Leon, Galicia, Salamanca, and much more. I learned that in Spain many different customs were practiced in smaller cities rather than in the larger cities.

It was evident that this place was rich in culture and unique in itself. I knew that one day I would want to return for pleasure. It reminded me of the beautiful poems and stories I read in my college years and I was able to experience the country and picturesque views for myself. One day I will return Spain! 

Vocabulary:

peninsula - land that has water around its sides

breathtaking - something that is very beautiful

enriched - filled with great things

evident  - clear

immersed - included in

customs-a practice that is repeated

picturesque - a beautiful image

Vocabulary Activity:

Across
4. included in
5. something that is very beautiful
6. a practice that is repeated
7. filled with great things
Down
1. a beautiful image
2. land that has water around its sides
3. clear

 

Grammar Point:

 The past tense is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to place an action or situation in past time. The past tense has its regular verbs and irregular verbs. In English, it can become confusing in knowing which verbs are conjugated regularly or irregularly. Notice the different uses of the past tense above. 

Grammar Activity: 

Write a short diary entry about a place in your native country that you truly miss. Write it using at least 10 past tense verbs. Include your favorite locations. Include a picture or drawing.

A different spin at Sushi

Have you ever tried sushi? If you have, have you ever wondered what it would taste like if it had different ingredients in it? Well, in uptown Manhattan, there is a location called Mama Sushi, these chefs really put a different spin in their sushi. I am a huge fan of sushi and I am always trying new types of sushi. Every time I go to a sushi restaurant I order something old and something new but of course fresh! I am usually into the tempura, spicy tuna with avocado, smoked salmon, and yellow tail.  I came across this restaurant while visiting Fort Tryon Park and the cloisters in the city.  My family and I strolled around the streets looking for somewhere to dine and we found this cute little place. It was very small in size but rich in flavor because after I tasted their sushi rolls, I was immediately impressed and obsessed. I wanted more.
The thing that is so different about this place is that they mix the Japanese traditional flavors of sushi with the latin flavors.  The name of the rolls were something to get kick out of, because they were name of cities from the Dominican Republic. While in the city after visiting central park, take a train to uptown to try this!

Vocabulary:
Japanese - a person or thing that is from the country Japan; located in Asia
ingredients - food items
spin - a turn around
sushi - a Japanese dish made of rice and seafood
impressed - to be surprised 
obsessed - have a lot of love/like for something
traditional - something that is repeated in the culture/family

Vocabulary Activity:

J	I	N	C	K	X	B	V	F	M	S	G
A	P	M	I	D	J	B	D	R	T	L	X
P	K	V	P	P	J	L	I	N	P	O	J
A	Y	T	J	R	S	G	E	Q	W	R	O
N	Q	V	N	H	E	I	M	T	W	B	H
E	S	N	J	V	D	S	I	H	S	U	S
S	H	K	V	E	A	F	S	E	Q	S	D
E	W	X	R	N	C	U	S	E	R	T	F
O	L	G	Q	A	T	S	H	U	D	N	P
V	N	J	U	K	E	B	Y	J	O	W	S
I	T	R	A	D	I	T	I	O	N	A	L
P	R	Q	M	L	W	X	I	G	O	O	J

Japanese
Ingredients
Spin
Sushi
Impressed
Obsessed
Traditional

Grammar Point:

A proper noun is the special word (or name) that we use for a person, place or organization, like John, Marie, London, France or Sony. A name is a noun, but a very special noun - a proper noun. Proper nouns have special rules. 

Grammar Activity:

Circle the proper noun in each sentence.

1. John went to the store.

2. She went to Paris for her vacation. 

3. On Sunday we go to church.

4. My teacher, Ms. DeLarosa has returned.

5. Those Italians live at the end of the block. 

6. In China, there are many people. 

7. California is a beautiful place. 

8. Tom loves his cat. 

New York City!

Let's take a visit to CENTRAL PARK!! Stretching from Midtown to Harlem, Central Park's green hills, and dense woodlands always have free diversions, from concerts and protests to tai chi and tennis.  You can visit is Central Park in Manhattan also known as New York City. This location is a little farther and pricier, but if you are willing to see what New York city has to offer, this place is well worth it! This park has something else to offer rather than skyscrapers and busy streets.  You will discover that there is something for everyone in Central Park. It has beautiful landscapes and long beautiful pathways that you can simple just enjoy by strolling through them. This park is known to be the most visited urban park in the United States, once you are in the park, you will forget that you are in the worlds liveliest city, the city that never sleeps.  

Vocabulary: 

skyscrapers - a very tall building

landscapes - big land of nature such as trees, grass, flowers, etc.

liveliest- something very loud or with a lot of energy

strolling- walking around

discover - find out something new

diversions- events or activities

dense- crowded, contains many objects

Vocabulary Activity:

1. The empire state building is an example of a _____________________ because it is a very tall building. 

2. The beautiful grass and flowers make a wonderful ____________________ for a painting. 

3. The children ______________________ something new and they find out new things. 

4. The person that had the most energy was the ____________________.

5. While walking through the park, the family ____________________ slowly and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. 

6.  The school provided the students with different events and ________________ to keep the students entertained. 

7. The forest was very ______________ with all the trees and bushes all over the place. 

Grammar Point:

The Present Tense describes the things you do every day. Note the use of an "s" at the end of the verb when describing a man, a woman, or a thing. Notice the different uses of the present tense in the paragraph.

Grammar Activity:

Write a journal entry about a place that you would like for me to visit one day using the present tense.  Describe the different things I can do at this place. It could be anywhere! 

Things to do this summer in Long Island!

Summer in New York is very short and we have to take advantage of the nice weather and places it has to offer. Whether its a stroll through a nice park, a swim at the beach, or a visit to our wonderful city, there are always things to do in New York and you do not need to spend so much money! Summer is only two months away, so why not start thinking about some activities you may do after work or on your free time? Here on Long Island, there are some great places you can go just to relax and get a different scenery. During the month of July, Jones Beach has free concerts right on the beach!! The local bus has a route that goes straight there and it is very convenient. You can spend a whole day at the beach soaking up some sun and swimming in the beaches of the Atlantic ocean and right after that, you can enjoy a concert right on the boardwalk. These concerts start around 7 p.m. The concerts offer a variety of music and the best part is that they also have the audience participate. They offer dance lessons to learn different steps to Latin Music, Line dancing and much more. The entertainment at Jones beach is endless!

Vocabulary: 
advantage -  a benefit, something that is in your favor
scenery - a view of a place or surroundings 
convenient - easy, useful
soaking - to take in
variety - different things
participate - to take part in
entertainment - a fun activity

Vocabulary Activity: 

Across
5. easy, useful
7. a benefit, something that is in your favor
Down
1. to take part in
2. to take in
3. a fun activity
4. a view of a place or surroundings
6. different things

Grammar Point:
A preposition describes a relationship between other words in a sentence. In itself, a word like "in" or "after" is rather meaningless and hard to define in mere words. For instance, when you do try to define a preposition like "in" or "between" or "on," you invariably use your hands to show how something is situated in relationship to something else. Notice the different prepositional words in the story. 

Grammar Activity: 
Create a short poem with at least 6 different prepositions. Be creative! 

Check out the Video below to see what the concerts are all about ! 

Jones Beach Sunday Latin Concerts

My Voki

Batter up!

                    And The trophy goes to the Dominican Republic, beating Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic championship game! 

                   The well know country for its passion and dedicated baseball players strut their skills in the games of the classic baseball competition.  After years of trying to gain the name of the worlds championships, finally in 2013, Dominican Republic takes the victory. They are the first team to go undefeated through out the whole competition. Now that is impressive! 

                   Dominican Republic has been a country that has many young men who dream of one day playing in the major league baseball of the united states.  They train hard and dedicate many hours to this game, their passion is demonstrated in the time they put into this all time american favorite sport.

                  One might wonder why the players are so well trained and the reason is that many companies from Major League Baseball have invested in several training programs around the Dominican Republic to help the young boys reach their dreams.  

                 Dominicans are know for their unity and pride and they mentioned in interviews after winning the game that they did it for the Dominican people back home. They kept insinuating that it is all about the team and the people. 

Vocabulary:

Championship- a title in a sport when one team wins

competition- an event where teams play each other

victory- to win a game 

passion- a strong emotion or feeling for something

insinuating- to give someone a hint or let someone know something

undefeated- a team that has not lost a game

impressive- something that makes you surprised in a happy way

Vocabulary Activity:

W T W S H U E X F H W Z Q N M I X I I L W N M T Q W C I O V B K B Y V C I D Y M S I E I K U S M E V I S S E R P M I S J G K F A H W Q Q Z F O K G S B W K S X I J U S O Q E T G A X N O I T I T E P M O C A C P P I N S I N U A T I N G A T I E L N V A B H F B O I R K R E V C H A M P I O N S H I P S R D

CHAMPIONSHIP	COMPETITION	IMPRESSIVE
INSINUATING	PASSION	UNDEFEATED
VICTORY

Grammar Point: Adjectives are describing words. Adjectives are added to nouns to make them descriptive. They make the story more interesting and add more visuals in your mind. Notice the different adjectives in the post above.   

Grammar Activity: Write five sentences using a an adjective in each sentence.  After writing the sentences, provide a picture/drawing for each sentence.

The Penny

One sunny afternoon, Sally decided to go out for a walk. Sally was walking down the street when she found a purple penny. Sally hurriedly picked it up and continued walking in the vigorous cold. It was too cold to look at it at the moment. As soon as she arrived at her steps, she took her keys out of her pocket and along came the penny and fell on the floor. Sally gasped with surprise, because the penny had turned into another color. It was now blue. She was so astounded that she picked it up and ran up the stairs. She dropped her keys on the kitchen table. While doing so, she noticed envelopes on the table with her name. She skimmed through them and saw one that was particularly heavier than the others. As she opened it, she noticed the cream color paper and she began to get nervous. It was an important and time mattered.  The penny quickly turned red.  After she read the letter, the penny turned white. She had been notified about the dream act. 

Vocabulary:

hurriedly- fast 
vigorous- strong, powerful
gasped- short breath
astounded-surprised, shocked
skimmed- to look quickly
particularly- in a special way 
notified- to give information or notice

Vocabulary Activity:

Across
4. in a special way
6. surprised, shocked
Down
1. fast
2. strong, powerful
3. short breath
5. to give information or notice
7. to look quickly

Grammar Point: Find all the verbs in the past tense

Grammar Activity: Write a fictional story of approximately 100 words. Be creative! :) 

The Grammy's

             After watching the grammy's on Sunday, I realized that this award show brings in two different types of people. It brings in people who are interested in music and/or fashion. I am going to focus on the fashion aspect of the show. Majority of the women that appear on the grammy's want to leave a statement, a fashion statement. Many of them spend weeks looking for the perfect outfit to wear on this show.  They must feel very pressured to look a certain way for this special occasion, because I know I would.  The Grammy's has become so competitive in the fashion world that many people take the fashion a little too far. And by this I mean that they really want people to remember what they were wearing, no matter how inappropriate or appropriate it was.  This year for the first time, the producers in charge of the grammy's decided to send out a memo to everyone attending the Grammy's.  This memo was about the dress code of this show and how it should be followed to maintain the classiness of the Grammy's.  None the least, many people followed it, but there were a few people that felt that this was the perfect opportunity to rebel against this code.  Many of which felt a little taken back by it, because they felt as if they were taking away something that they looked forward to doing. Do you think the celebrities responded well or do you think they were offended by it?

Vocabulary: 

statement - an appearance to remember

pressured - pushed to do something

majority - most of the people

occasion - a special event

inappropriate - something that is not okay for that time

appropriate - something that is okay for that time

celebrities- famous people


Vocabulary Activity: 

              One day Maggy made an appearance which left a huge _________________. She was always being _______________ to dress a certain way by her friends. One morning she decided it was time for a change even though it was not a special event or an _____________, she wanted the _______________ of people to see what she was going to do.  She decided to dress as if she was going to the Oscars. She wanted people to think that she was a __________________, someone that everyone would recognize. Although her outfit was appropriate, it was not the right time to be wearing such an outfit for work.  The outfit was clearly ___________________ for work. 

Grammar Point:

Find all the different pronouns.


Grammar Activity:  

Write a personal journal entry on fashion in today's world.

Conversation Via Text or In Person?

Did u ever have to tell someone something and didn't know how? Did you ever think it would be easier if you could just text it? But then thought about it being rude if it was through via text message. It's February 9th of the year 2013 and these are the small dilemmas that sadly many people face. I know many of you have thought about it and much rather have a conversation with someone through text than in person. Many reasons could be that you find it easier, it's more convenient, and it also takes away the nervousness or anxiety someone may be have depending on the conversation. Society has changed within the last couple of years in such a rapid pace.  Changes have been made in the way people communicate with each other to the point where many of the young generation do not know how to be social.  In my opinion, I do not agree with this new change because it takes away from people really enjoying each others presence in many different occasions and events.  Life goes by so quickly and with the new technology that everyone is being preoccupied with, it is passing through even quicker than we think. Did you ever just think about how society socializes? Think about it. 

Vocabulary:

dilemmas - situation/problem

convenient - fits to someone's need

anxiety - nervous

rapid - fast

presence - being present in place

generation - a group of people around the same age

preoccupied - busy thinking 


Vocabulary Activity:

Across
4. nervous
5. busy thinking
7. fast
Down
1. being present in place
2. fits to someone's need
3. a group of people around the same age
6. situation/problem

Grammar Point: 

Underline all the nouns in the passage.

Grammar Activity: 

In one paragraph, write about your first experience with technology.

My Critique on Long Island Medium

On TLC, a reality television show has aired over a year ago and I have been hooked on it since. Theresa Caputo captured my attention because of her unique talent. She has been blessed with the gift of the ability to connect with people who have passed away. She says that they speak to her in ways people do not understand. It astounds me to know someone can have that connection with people who are not here with us physically but are here in some way, spiritually.
Although some people do not believe in this, I am intrigued by this reality show and the guests that have been reconnected with their loved ones. Ultimately, she helps people by bringing them closure to their worries and questions about their loved ones who have passed.

Vocabulary:

Hooked - trapped into something

Intrigued- interesting 

Reconnected- connect with something or someone again

Ultimately- at the end; bringing the idea together at the end 

Astounds-surprise 

Unique-one of a kind; different 

Spiritually- having to do with the soul; religious 


Vocabulary Activity:

1. Ally was so interested in the television show, she was immediately ______________ on it and could not stop watching it.

2. The fashion designer had a very different and ____________ sense of style of clothing.

3. Tommy was __________________ when his best friend threw him a surprise party for this birthday.

4. I was ________________ by the variety of animals at the zoo. There were so many shapes and sizes. It was very interesting.

5. It was nice to see the relatives again, after not have seeing them for months.  We all _________________ and talked about old times.

6.  At the end, he __________________ chose to go continue his degree in college.

7. When believing in God, some people are deeply _________________involved and dedicated their life to him.

Grammar Point:

Identify the verbs that are written in the past.

Grammar Activity:

Write 10 sentences using the past tense; free write.

My critique on MTV new reality show series

After having an outstanding outcome of viewers, MTV has successfully satisfied viewers with their hit show Jersey Shore.  They have recently aired a new reality show series that has taken over Jersey Shore called Washington Heights. This series takes place in uptown Manhattan. Briefly this show is about 9 young adults living in the heights who all aspire to be known in the world of music, arts and sports. They all have their own unique personalities but they have  all one thing in common; their drive to succeed.
This show drove me in because of their culture, heritage and ideas.  Just like me, these young adults are all first generation Dominican- Americans.  Just like my parents, their parents immigrated from the Dominican Republic in the mid 1980's to New York for an opportunity to achieve the American dream. The parents of these young adults went through many of the same struggles that my parents went through trying to make a living and bring food to the table. The talents that these young adults acquire are impressive and their desire to become big are inspirational. Its nice to see that their are young Dominican Americans who are willing to put their mind to achieve their dreams.   

Vocabulary:

outstanding- something that stands out

satisfied - being content; happy; complete

aspire - to rise up; to aim for

unique- different from others; having no like; only

succeed- to grow; to complete goal

opportunity- a chance

struggles - a problem


Vocabulary Activity:

Across
4. different from others; having no like; only
6. a problem
7. being content; happy; complete
Down
1. something that stands out
2. a chance
3. to grow; to complete goal
5. to rise up; to aim for

Grammar Point: Find seven adjectives in the critique.

Grammar Activity:Write a critique about your favorite television series in the present tense. Must be at least