The Beach

The beach is definitely my happy place. Once the summer hits you can most certainty find me at the beach. Once I get to the beach I set up my chair and my umbrella and I begin reading a good book. There is no feeling in the world more perfect to me than feeling the sand on my toes. My love affair with the beach began when I was a child. My grandparents live right across the street from the beach and for as long as I can remember my summers have been spent soaking up the sun rays at Rockaway Beach in Queens, NY. My mom, grandpa, brother, and I would have a contest to see who could collect the most seashells in an afternoon. I love the beach so much that I just can't wait until the summer to visit the beach. I plan my winter vacations around going to a warm climate so I can spend time at the beach all year long. My longing for lazy afternoons at the beach has brought me to visit fifteen countries. Every time I visit a beach for the first time I take a seashell or a rock as a memento to remember the place and to keep my tradition of seashell hunting with my family alive.

Vocabulary: 

Affair: (noun) work or activities done for a purpose.

Contest: (verb) to try to win something.

Climate: (noun)  a region with particular weather patterns or conditions.

Longing: (noun) a strong desire for something or someone.

Lazy: (adjective) not having much activity.

Memento: (noun) something that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or thing.

Tradition: (noun) a way of thinking, behaving, or doing something that has been used by the people in a particular group, family, society, etc., for a long time.

Vocabulary Activity:
Fill in the missing letters to form a vocabulary word that matches the hint.
A_ _ a _ _ (activities)
C_ _ _ _ _ t _ (the specific weather conditions for an area)
_ o _ t _ _ _ _ (trying to win something)
T _ _ _ _ _ _ i _ n (a way of thinking or doing that is used by a particular family)
L _ _ y (not doing much activity)
_ e _ _ n _ _ (a reminder of a place or a thing)
_ o _ _ g _ _ _ (a strong desire)

Grammar Point:
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of or refers to a noun. A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. To cut down on repetitiveness, I can change the sentence Janet has to study in order for Janet to get the job that Janet wants, to: Janet has to study in order for her to get the job that she wants.

Grammar Activity:
Directions: Replace the noun with a pronoun.
Example: Oscar went swimming. He went swimming.
1. Mary is an excellent teacher. _____________________________
2. The computer is expensive. _______________________________
3. Peter and Tom are students at this school. _________________________
4. The apples taste very good. ____________________________________
5. Jane and I went to the beach. ___________________________________