A River of Seasons

Have you ever wondered about the famous Nile River? Did you know that it is the longest river in the world? The Nile River flows north through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Yearly floods bring soil rich in nutrients to the Nile Valley.
The river divided the farmers’ calendar into three seasons. The flood time, the “time of inundation” when all work stopped, lasted from July to October. The “time of emergence,” allotted to plowing and sowing, ran from November to February. Finally, “the time of harvest” occupied March to June.
The river was a highway for transport and trade. It provided fish and larger game in the form of hippopotamuses and crocodiles. It sustained marshes where papyrus reeds grew and where waterfowl could be caught for food.
The majority of the people in Egypt live in the fertile areas around the Nile River. This narrow band of farmland is usually less than 24 miles wide! The areas away from the river are desert lands where few humans live. These deserts kept Egypt isolated allowing the civilization to flourish for more than 3,000 years.

Adapted from: Hart, G.(1996). Ancient Egypt. San Francisco, CA: Weldon Owen.

To learn more about Ancient Egypt and the Nile River visit this site: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/egypt/nile.htm



Vocabulary
inundation- to flood; cover or overspread with water
plowing- to turn up soil
sowing- to scatter seeds over land for growth
harvest - the gathering of crops
marshes- wetland in which the level of water is shallow
flourish- to be successful; prosper
waterfowl- a freshwater bird; a species of the ducks, swans and geese family.
fertile- producing, or capable of producing vegetation

Vocabulary/Writing Exercise
1) Why was the Nile River so important to the ancient Egyptians?
2) What season according to the farmer’s calendar is occurring now in Egypt?

Match the vocabulary word to the correct definition below:

inundation---- freshwater bird
plowing---- capable of producing vegetation
sowing---- the gathering of crops
fertile---- to turn up soil
flourish---- to flood or overspread with water to
harvest---- scatter seeds over land for growth
marshes---- wetland
waterfowl---- to be successful; prosper

Grammar Point

Possessive Nouns: When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun,
For example:
The farmer’s calendar (one farmer)
The farmers’ calendar (two or more farmers)

The structure can be used for a whole phrase:
Ancient Egypt's Nile River (the Nile River of Ancient Egypt)

Note: Although we can use of to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following phrases have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural:
1. the boyfriend of my sister
2. my sister's boyfriend

Irregular Plurals
Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man > men). To show possession, we usually add 's to the plural form of these nouns:

singular noun---- plural noun
my child's dog------ my children's dog
the man's work------ the men's work
the mouse's cage------ the mice's cage
a person's clothes------ people's clothes

Grammar Exercise
Choose the best word that fits in the sentences and write it in the correct way to show possession.
For example: I met_ Frank’s______ sister at the party last week. (Frank)

singer--women--student--grocer--man--children--swan--Maria--baby--father

1) This is the _________glasses.
2) The ___ rooms are upstairs.
3) That is my ___ umbrella.
4) The ________ neck is long.
5) The ________ bathroom is occupied.
6) ________camera is broken.
7) The ________ eyes are blue.
8) The _________voice is loud.
9) The ___________books are on the desks.
10) The __________ shop is round the corner

Why is it hard for us to learn a new language?

What language (or languages) do you currently speak? The language you speak depends on how difficult it is to learn a new language. If you speak Spanish or Italian, learning Portuguese or French will be relatively easy because they are known as Romance languages. If you speak Czech, learning Russian will be simple because they are considered Slavic languages. Of course, if you speak Spanish and try to learn Russian, it will be more challenging. Learning a new language always takes time and effort, but some languages are easier to learn than others. The left hemisphere of the brain is typically associated with language because it understands the components of language – like vocabulary and syntax, while the right hemisphere helps us with inferences. The right hemisphere also helps us comprehend music. The scientists discovered that some languages, like English, can be read with only the left hemisphere, while others rely on both hemispheres. A tonal language, like Chinese, utilizes both hemispheres because the left hemisphere focuses on the characters, while the right hemisphere sounds them out. Learning a language that requires both hemispheres may be harder for people whose native language relies on the left hemisphere only.
Adapted from http:///hotword.dictionary.com




Vocabulary
Romance languages- group of related languages all derived from Vulgar Latin within historical times and forming a subgroup of the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family. (The major languages of the family include French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian.)
Slavic languages- group of Indo-European languages spoken in most of eastern Europe, much of the Balkans, parts of central Europe, and the northern part of Asia. ( Some include Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Croatian, Bulgarian, Slovenian, and Macedonian.)
Left hemisphere- left side of the brain which is used for language, math and logic.
Right hemisphere- right side of the brain is used for spatial abilities, face recognition, visual imagery and music.
Inferences- the act or process of arriving at a conclusion
Comprehend- to understand or take in the meaning of something
Tonal language- a language in which pitch is used as a part of speech, changing the meaning of a word. (Tonal languages are found primarily in Asia, Africa, and South America.)

Vocabulary Exercise- Writing activity
After reading the article, think about your first language you speak. Why is it hard for you to learn English or a second language other than your own? Which hemisphere(s) of the brain does your first language require?

To read about more information of the brain go to: http://www.brainpop.com/health/bodysystems/brain http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/split.html

Grammar Point
A preposition is a word governing, and usually coming in front of, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element, as in:

To express one point in time English uses the following prepositions: On is used with days: I will see you on Monday. At is used with noon, night, midnight, and with the time of day: The movie starts at 6 p.m. In is used with other parts of the day, with months, with years, with seasons: He likes to read in the afternoon.

To express extended time, English uses the following prepositions: since, for, by, from—to, from-until, during,(with)in.

To express notions of place, English uses the following prepositions: to talk about the point itself: in, to express something contained: inside, to talk about the surface: on, to talk about a general vicinity, at

Grammar Exercise
Decide which preposition belongs in the sentence.
1)She has been gone ______yesterday. (for/since)
2)I'm going _____ Paris for two weeks. (to/at)
3)Put the present _________ the box. (on/inside)
4)I left your keys ______ the table. (on/in)
5)The week begins _____ Sunday. (in/on)
6)The movie starts ______ 6 p.m. (at/on)
7)The book was published ______ 1999. (by/in)
8) She was waiting ________ the corner. (on/at)

Springtime!!

What is Springtime all about? It has been a week since the first day of Spring. March 21st has been marked the first day of Spring in the United States which is located in the Northern Hemisphere. The astronomical term for the first day of Spring is called the vernal equinox. Spring is one of the four temperate seasons. It is a transitional period between the cold winter and the hot summer. Spring occurs in the months of March, April and May. It is known as a time of rebirth and renewal. Everything is coming back to life. Flowers, plants and trees are blossoming. Babies and animals are being born. Spring is also the most important time of the year in the Christian religion because Easter is celebrated. Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead and they celebrate the resurrection on Easter Sunday. This year for Catholics, Easter is celebrated on April 8th. Easter customs vary across the Christian world, but decorating Easter eggs, egg hunting and awaiting the Easter Bunny is a common motif.



Vocabulary

Northern Hemisphere- the half of the earth that is north of the equator.
astronomical- having to do with astronomy, which is the study of matter outside of the atmosphere of the earth including the stars and the planets.
vernal equinox- the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth
temperate seasons- moderate or mild in temperature and climate throughout all four seasons
rebirth- a new or second birth
renewal- a time of awakening or revival
blossoming – to develop or grow
Easter - an annual Christian festival in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ
resurrected- to raise from the dead; bring to life again.
motif - a recurring subject, theme, idea

Vocabulary exercise

Complete the sentence with the correct vocabulary word in bold from the paragraph.
1)___________ is a holiday during spring to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2)Christians believe that Jesus Christ was_____________ from the dead and brought back to life.
3)The ______________ is located north of the equator and includes all of North America, parts of South America, Africa, all of Asia and Europe.
4)_______________ Observatories are able to study stars through telescopes.
5)After a cold winter, there is a_________________in the life of a tree.
6)It is so beautiful to see flowers and trees____________ during Spring.
7)Bunnies and chicks are a common __________ of the secular Easter festival.
8)The first day of spring is also called the ____________________.
9)Spring, summer, fall and winter are known as ____________________.
10)During springtime, there is a ____________ of flowers and plants.

Grammar Point
Regular verbs in English consist of three main parts: the root form (present), the (simple) past, and the past participle. Regular verbs have an -ed ending added to the root verb for both the simple past and past participle. Irregular verbs do not follow this pattern, and instead take on an alternative pattern. Here are some common irregular verbs:
Base form Past Simple Past Participle
awake-- awoke-- awoken
be-- was-- been
choose-- chose-- chosen
do-- did-- done
go-- went-- gone
know-- knew-- known
take-- took-- taken

Grammar Exercise
Are the following forms of the irregular verbs used as Infinitive, Simple Past and/or Past participle?

1) have -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
2) went -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
3) slept -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
4) come -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
5) do -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
6) met -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
7) say -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
8) put -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
9) seen -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
10) caught -
Infinitive
Simple Past
Past participle
For more practice on irregular verbs click on this link: http://a4esl.org/q/h/irv001-ck.html