Is texting messaging healthy?

In today’s society with the advancement of technology, communication is no longer face to face, it’s becoming digital. No more phone calls at home or passing notes in class. Text messaging is becoming out of control. Teenagers, adults and even children are excessively texting. This may cause potential health risks. Physicians and psychologists, are beginning to worry because they believe it is leading to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation. Phone carriers such as AT&T and Verizon offer unlimited texting plans, which makes teenagers more susceptible to text 24/7. Teenagers are too attached to their cell phones that they are texting during class. They are being rude to the teacher and missing the lesson. In 2009, the NY Times published an article, Texting Until Their Thumbs Hurt , referring to teenagers. It stated “American teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text messages per month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen Company — almost 80 messages a day, more than double the average of a year earlier”. Four years later, I can only imagine how many texts are being sent now. I am sure the number has quadrupled by now.

Vocabulary
digital- to manipulate with your fingers
text messaging- communication by sending messages through mobile phones
excessively- going beyond the usual or proper limit
anxiety-distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear
unlimited- not limited or unrestricted
susceptible- capable of being affected by
quadrupled- four times as great

Vocabulary exercise
Circle the word that does not belong:
1. four doubled fourfold quadrupled
2. digit finger digital face
3. immoderate extravagant reasonable excessively
4. fear worry anxiety tranquility
5. resistant influenced gullible susceptible
6. endless restricted unlimited boundless
7. mobile text messaging email talking

Grammar Point
Contractions are created to shorten or combine words.
To make a contraction, remove a letter or letters from a word and replace the letter(s) with an apostrophe (').
For example: "He is feeling ill" to "He's feeling ill."
Some other common contractions include: aren't for are not, can't for cannot, he'll for he will, and won't for will not.

Can you think of any other contractions?

Grammar Exercise

Put the following words in parenthesis into contractions:
1. (You are)__________ a great friend.
2. (I have)_______finished my homework.
3. (I will)__________meet you at 6:00pm.
4. (It is)________great that you love to go to school.
5. (Do not)_________text during class!

To read more about texting being related to health go to this website: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/health/26teen.html?8dpc

President’s Day

What is the meaning of President’s Day? Why is it a national holiday? Tomorrow February 20th, 2012 the United States of America celebrates President’s Day to commemorate the birthdays and lives of all 44 U.S. presidents. It was originally recognized as honoring George Washington’s Birthday, who was the first president of the United States. George Washington was born on February 22nd in the year 1732. In the 1880’s during the American Revolution it was first celebrated as a federal holiday. This day also honors the 16th president of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, which is February 12, 1809.
In the 1970’s Congress proposed that Washington’s Birthday be renamed Presidents’ Day to honor the February birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln. Presidents’ Day became the commonly accepted name and currently, many retailers have used this special day to promote sales.

Vocabulary
national- involving or relating to a nation as a whole
commemorate- to honor the memory of by some observance
president-the highest executive officer
revolution- an overthrow or replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.
federal-pertaining to a union of states under a central government
proposed- to offer or suggest
retailer- businesses that sell goods to individuals

Vocabulary Exercise
Complete each sentence with the correct vocabulary word.
1) Barack Obama is the 44th _________of the United States.
2) Every year during the third week in February we _____________ the lives and birthdays of the U.S. presidents.
3) The President can _________ a bill to Congress.
4) During the holidays, ___________make most of their money.
5) The American __________ occurred during the late 1700’s in which the thirteen colonies joined to break free from Britain and become the United States of America.
6) Under the U.S. Constitution, both the _________ and state governments are granted certain exclusive powers.
7) The _________ government includes three branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary.

Grammar point
The past tense is used for completed actions that happened in the past.
To form a regular verb in the past tense you add the suffix –ed to the ending.
For example: discover > discovered.
Verbs that end in –e just add a –d.
For example: decide> decided.
Grammar exercise
Put the correct form of the verb in the past tense.
Last night, while I was doing my homework, Angela (call)_________. She (want)__________to go see a movie. I (decide)_________not to go because I had too much work to do. I had (work)_______all day at the studio and I was tired. Later that night I (watch) ______the news. It (start)__________to rain and thunder and then the electricity (turn)________off. I (hope)______it would come back on but it didn’t so I went to sleep because I could not see anything.

To learn more about the presidents of the United States of America go to this History Channel website page: http://www.history.com/topics/the-us-presidents

No Kidding, Me Too!!

On Thursday, February 16, 2012, I had the chance to meet an acclaimed actor, producer and best-selling author Joe Pantoliano at Molloy College. Some of Joe Pantoliano’s famous theatrical works include such films as “The Fugitive”, “Risky Business”, “The Matrix”, “The Sopranos”, and “Memento”. He debuted his documentary, “No Kidding, Me Too”, on mental illness to the Molloy community at The Madison Theatre. Pantoliano dedicated this film to removing the stigma associated with mental illness. Nearly 100 million Americans suffer from mental illness. Some of the conditions include clinical depression, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) . On Joey’s Page he quotes, "Mental Illness is the only disease that you can come home with... and get yelled at for having it." In the film, he discusses his struggle with clinical depression, as well as the stories of six other people who were also affected differently by mental illness. Not only do they discuss their fight with mental illness but they also tell how they are recovering and realizing that they are not alone and that together they can help fight against the stigma and shame of mental illness. If you have not already seen the documentary, I recommend that you and your friends watch it and spread the word to help end this deadly disease. As Joey quotes on his webpage, "By Surrendering To Your Shame, You Obliterate The Blame."

National Alliance on Mental Illness Website: http://www.nami.org/
No Kidding, Me Too! Website:http://nkm2.org/

Vocabulary
acclaimed- to welcome or salute with shouts or sounds of joy and approval
debuted- to perform something for the first time before an audience
stigma- a mark of disgrace on one's reputation
schizophrenia- a mental disorder usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, and hallucinations
post-traumatic- occurring after physical or psychological trauma or injury
shame- the painful feeling of something dishonorable, done by oneself or another
obliterate- to remove or destroy completely

Vocabulary Exercise
Match the definition in the second column with the word in the first column.
1. acclaimed a. mental disorder in which a person see things that are not real
2. debuted b. feeling of dishonor because of something bad you have done
3. stigma c. first appearance
4. schizophrenia d. to get rid of
5. post-traumatic e. to joyfully salute or welcome
6. shame f. mark of disgrace one’s status
7. obliterate g. mental disorder occurring after a trauma or injury

Grammar Point
The difference between the words “Too, To, and Two”. How do we know when to use them?

Too is an adverb meaning a lot or in addition. For example: I like to eat chocolate, and Sally does too.
To is a preposition that expresses motion or direction toward a point, person or place. For example: I go to school on every day.
Two is a noun that is a cardinal number. For example: I have two puppies and one kitten.

Grammar Exercise
Put the correct form of Too, To, or Two in the correct blank space below.
I have ____ dogs. I like ___ take them for walks through the park. Many people walk their dogs in the park_____. One day I went ____sit down on a bench and I saw _____squirrels jumping around while my dogs were playing fetch. The squirrels came over ____ my _____ dogs and wanted ____ play_____.

A Mother's Love

A mother’s love is a special gift sent from God. It is a twenty four hour,seven days a week job of deep devotion to one’s children made up of sacrifice and pain but full of endless and unselfish love. I am everything I am because of my mother’s love and devotion to me for the past 23 years. She was my biggest supporter of all my undertakings. She went to all my dance recitals, sports games and concerts. She was my motivator throughout my education and raised me in the Catholic faith. My mother was totally devoted to my well-being and happiness. She helped me live my life to the fullest and gave me whatever I needed to succeed. My mother was a wonderful person. She was beautiful inside and out. She was a caring, courageous, humorous, loving mother, nurse and friend. I am a proud legacy of my mother. I am honored and so grateful that I had my mother’s love and I will continue to hold on to the love she has given me from now on until eternity.

Vocabulary
devotion- a profound dedication to a cause or person
sacrifice- to surrender or offer something up
unselfish- a generous person who doesn’t just think of themselves
motivator- a person who encourages you and helps you to move in the right direction
courageous- a person who is brave or fearless
humorous- a comical or funny person

Vocabulary Exercise
Directions: Put the correct vocabulary word in bold into the best sentence.

1.Maria has a great__________to her baby sister because she changes her diaper every day.
2. Micheal will__________ watching TV for playing baseball outside with his friends.
3. Gina was so ___________that she gave her last cookie to her best friend.
4. My coach is my __________ while I am playing soccer.
5. Joe was ____________ when he jumped high off the swing.
6. Comedy central shows are always so _______________.

Grammar Point/ Exercise

What are adjectives? Adjectives are words that describe nouns because they provide information about the qualities of something described in a noun. Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1. How would you describe your mother or mother like figure using five adjectives?
2. What are some adjectives that describe you?
3. Can you think of some adjectives that describe the word love?