All About Ryder

My boyfriend has 4 nieces and nephews. His oldest nephew is named Ryder. Ryder is 6 and a half years old. He was born at a hospital on Long Island and lives on Long Island. Ryder is currently in the first grade. He has a younger sister named Cassidy and a younger brother named Oliver. Ryder is an admirable big brother! He loves playing with his siblings. Ryder enjoys building with Legos. He also likes to play with superhero action figures. Ryder is a marvelous reader! He enjoys reading fiction books about animals and superhero comic books. Ryder is a pleasant child and I love spending time with him!

Vocabulary
niece (noun) - a daughter of a person's brother or sister
nephew (noun) - a son of a person's brother or sister
admirable (adjective) - excellent or great
marvelous (adjective) - excellent or great
fiction (noun) - a made-up or imagined story
pleasant (adjective) - enjoyable

Vocabulary Exercise
Use the vocabulary words above to complete the story.

Lynn loves her family so much. She has a _________ named Jessica and a _________ named Mark. One day, Lynn, Jessica, and Mark went to the bookstore. They looked in the __________ book section at the bookstore. The bookstore had a ____________ selection of books to choose from. After they chose their books they went to the register. The cashier was polite and _________, she did her job with a smile on her face. Lynn, Jessica, and Mark had a ___________ trip to the bookstore.

Grammar Point
State of being verbs are verbs that do not express action. State of being verbs link the subject to a noun or adjectives in the predicate. For example, I wrote, "Ryder is a marvelous reader!" The verb "is" is part of the verb "be." The word "marvelous" is a predicate adjective that describes the type of reader that Ryder is. Other examples of state of being verbs are:
be
am
are
is
was
were

Grammar Exercise:
Which state of being verbs do you see in my paragraph? Write three sentences using state of being verbs.

Watch this video if you want to learn more about state of being verbs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ3b8BX08Zc

My 21st Birthday Party

I thought the night before my 21st birthday would be similar to most Friday nights. My boyfriend and I usually eat dinner at a sushi restaurant in my town, yum! We arrived at the restaurant and walked toward our usual seats at the sushi bar. Suddenly I heard a group of people scream, "SURPRISE!" Wow, I was so surprised to see my brother, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends sitting at a long table in the restaurant. Whoa, I couldn't believe everyone kept such a gigantic secret from me! I had tons of fun eating at my favorite restaurant with my favorite people to celebrate my birthday.

Vocabulary
similar (adjective) - almost the same as something or someone
arrive (verb) - to come to a place
toward (preposition) - in the direction of something or someone
usual (adjective) - normal or regular
suddenly (adverb) - very quickly and in an unexpected way
surprise (noun) - used as an interjection
gigantic (adjective) - extremely large
ton (noun) - a large amount

Vocabulary Exercise 
Fill in the missing letters to form a vocabulary word that matches the hint.
1. t _ _ _ _ d (I am in the direction of something or someone)
2. _ _ _ _ _ _ ic (I am extremely large)
3. s _ _ _ _ _ _ e (I am used as an interjection)
4. s _ _ _ _ ar (I am almost the same as something or someone)
5. s _ _ _ _ _ ly (I am very quickly and in an unexpected way)
6. t _ _ (I am a large amount)
7. u _ _ _ l (I am normal or regular)
8. a _ _ _ _ e (I am the word for when you come to a place)

Grammar Point
Interjections are words used to show strong feeling or sudden emotion. They are used in sentences to show emotions such as surprise, joy, excitement, or enthusiasm. For example, I wrote, "Whoa, I couldn't believe everyone kept such a gigantic secret from me!" I used the word "whoa" as an interjection in my sentence to show that I was surprised.

Grammar Exercise: 
Which interjections do you see in my paragraph? Write three sentences using interjections.

Watch this video if you want to learn more about interjections!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkAX7Vk3JEw

My Favorite Foods

I love to eat many different types of foods.  I often eat Italian food at home because my family's country of origin is Italy. We like to eat pasta, eggplant parmesan, and manicotti. But, my favorite food that my dad actually makes from scratch is tacos. I put taco meat, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, and taco sauce on my tacos. I love tacos! Another food that I love to eat is sushi. My boyfriend and I get sushi for dinner at least once a week. Chinese food is one of my other favorite types of foods. I usually get chicken and broccoli from Chinese food restaurants. As you can see, I love to eat many different types of foods!

Vocabulary

many (adjective) - a large number of things or people

often (adverb) - many times

country of origin (noun) - the country that a person or people come from

actually (adverb) - used to stress that a statement is true

from scratch (noun) - with ingredients you have prepared yourself

at least (noun) - not less than a specified amount

usually (adverb) - what happens most of the time

Vocabulaery Exercise
Match the vocabulary word with the correct definition.

1. many                                         a. with ingredients you have prepared yourself

2. often                                          b. not less than a specified amount

3. country of origin                       c. the country that a person or people come from

4. actually                                     d. what happens most of the time

5. from scratch                              e. many times

6. at least                                       f. a large number of things or people

7. usually                                       g. used to stress that a statement is true

Grammar Point
Common nouns are words used to name general items and places rather than specific ones. Two examples of common nouns that I used are "food" and "home." Common nouns are also general names that are not given names or official titles. For example, the name "Jane Smith" is a proper noun because it is a given name. If you were to refer to Jane as "Professor Smith" this is also a proper noun because it is Jane's official title. But, if you were to refer to Jane as "teacher" you would be using a common noun. Common nouns are usually not capitalized unless they are part of an official title or beginning a sentence.

Grammar Exercise:
Which common nouns do you see in my paragraph? Write three sentences using common nouns.

Watch this video if you want to learn more about common nouns!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyZO9ZwJatA