Can you hear me now?

When I was in middle school it was common for a fellow student to come into school one day with something that everyone was talking about. Whether it was a fresh set of braces or the newest pair of Jordan sneakers, there was always some kind of buzz going about the school. One day a friend of mine came to school with something that has become so common in our society today that it makes me feel prehistoric every time I think about the first time I saw a friend of mine holding one. My friend brought in a cell phone. Yes, a cell phone. It wasn't a smartphone, like we are so used to seeing now, it was a brick of a phone with a black and white screen. It didn't flip, it had a 60 text message limit before it ran out of memory and you most definitely couldn't update your Facebook status from it. As a matter of fact the only really cool thing about that phone was the snake game that I still enjoy playing today. I would be lying if I said I didn't run home that day begging my parents if I could get one, spitting out any dramatic scenario that would require me having a phone.

Fast forward to the year 2014. Go into a middle or high school and try to find a student that has the same phone that rocked Bellport Middle School 12 years ago. You won't find it. Technology has taken a huge leap forward in the past 5 years alone.

Definitions:
1. Fellow: People that are with you
2. Buzz: What everyone is talking about
3. Prehistoric: Really old
4. Memory: Amount of space available to save items
5. Technology: Machines or systems
6. Fresh: New
7. Cell phone: A telephone that works without wires
8. Smartphone: A cellphone that can use the internet
9. Scenario: A possible situation
10. Require: To need something.

Matching:
Fellow                                                                                 a. New
Buzz                                                                                    b. To need something
Prehistoric                                                                           c. A cell phone that can use the internet
Memory                                                                              d. People that are with you
Technology                                                                         e. A possible situation
Fresh                                                                                   f. What everyone is talking about
Cell phone                                                                          g. Amount of space available to save items
Smartphone                                                                        h. A telephone that works without wires
Scenario                                                                              i. Really old
Require                                                                               j. Machines or systems

Grammar Point:
A lot of the vocabulary used in this post could almost be considered slang. Although it is not grammatically correct, it is important for ELLs to understand the social language that is being spoken and written around them. There also is a lot of vocabulary about technology. Knowing technological vocabulary is crucial, especially at a time when technology is such a huge part of our day to day lives.

Are you ready for some football?

This weekend the New England Patriots will play the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game. The winner of this game will play in the Super Bowl. The best player for the Denver Broncos is Peyton Manning. He is the quarterback for the Broncos. Manning, who was a first round pick, broke many records in the 2013 season. If Manning and the Broncos wins this game on Sunday he will be going to the Super Bowl, which is being played in New York this year, for the second time in his career. The best player for the Patriots is their quarterback, Tom Brady. Brady, who was a seventh round pick, has won three Super Bowls and has been in five total. If Brady and the Patriots win, it will be the sixth time him and his head coach, Bill Belicheck have gone to the Super Bowl together. These two quarterbacks have played each other many times over the past fifteen years, with Brady coming out victorious more often than not. After a heart breaking ending to their season last year, Manning and the Broncos have all the motivation to win this year and return to the sports biggest event.

Vocabulary
Records: An achievement by a person or team that no one else has done.
Championship: The most important game of the year. The two best teams play to be the best one.
Super Bowl: Footballs championship game.
Motivation: Desire to want to succeed.
Winner: Person or team who plays better.
Patriots: Team from New England who were named to describe early Americans.
Broncos: Team from Denver named after a wild horse.
Victorious: Winning a game or competition.
Quarterback: A position on a football team.
Heart breaking: An expression to describe extreme sadness.

Vocabulary Assignment 

Fill in the blank using the vocabulary words.

1. The                    was so difficult to control after the race.
2. Sometimes people need the right                              to get their work done.
3. The                                   is the most viewed event in the world.
4. Tiger Woods was the                         of the 1998 US open.
5. I hope my team wins today so we can play in the                              game next week.
6. Losing a really close game is so                                 .
7. George Washington, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson are all considered                           .
8. If you can throw a football far, you should think about playing                       .
9. If you work really hard and get a little lucky, you can breaks a lot of                              .
10. I scored more points than my opponent so that made me                       .

Grammar Point:
The vocabulary assignment for this post gives students a chance to take new words that they have learned and put them into sample sentences. These sentences only have one correct matching word, so when they place the correct word in the correct sentence, they will see and hear what context that word belongs. It will help them learn to read around words to figure out the definition of a word that they do not know.