April is the Earth Month!

The old saying goes “April shower brings May flowers!” April is the time for plants to grow, and the Earth Day is coming up on April 22! Let’s start thinking about different ways to honor and celebrate our planet, whether it is planning an outdoor ramble, cleaning up litter, or using more Earth-friendly products. Here are ten ideas to help!

 

Fill in the blanks given below about “8 Earth Day Activities and Ideas”.

  

   1.  Support out pollinators!

Bring native _______________ and other pollinating creatures to your garden. One way to do this is by selecting the right plants.

*hint: busy as (a)  ____________

 

   2.  Clean up _________________ in your neighborhood or local park.

Go on a walk with a trash bag and help to clean up any _____________ that you find. Perhaps you know of a nearby ditch that is polluted with trash that needs a spring cleaning. You will start to realize that ______________ permeates every aspect of our lives. But as the world wakes up to its addiction, just how easy is it to ditch __________ while growing and storing more of own food?

*hint: mostly, this material is nonbiodegradable and takes up a lot of portion in human life today.

 

   3.  Swap out your kitchen and household products!

One fantastic line of kitchen and household products is called “If You Care.” Everything’s biodegradable and does not use chemicals or plastic. Think 100% recycled ______________ foil, chemical-free ______________ paper for baking, compostable bags made with potato starch, and even vegetable-based inks for their packaging. We love the company’s motto: “We care simply because it’s the right thing to do!”

  

   4.  Plant a tree!

Trees capture carbon, cool overheated places, benefit agriculture, support __________________, reduce the risk of disease transmission, and boost local economies. Did you know that planting one oak tree brings in more insect and bird species than an entire yard of plants? Talk to your local government about planting more trees and native garden beds in public spaces or consider planting your own on your property.

*hint: an insect or other agent that conveys pollen to a plant and so allows fertilization

 

   5.  Reduce, re__________, and re_____________ in the garden.

Caring about yourself and nature means being less wasteful and saving money, too. Who could argue with this? If you are a gardener, here are just a few ideas:

-     Buy in bulk when you know that you’ll need a lot of topsoil, mulch, compost, or other materials. This cuts down on plastic bags.

 

   6.  Stop using ____________________ and chemicals in the garden. *hint: a substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals.

Focusing less on the plant and more on the health of the soil that supports the plant. If the soil is nutrient-rich with organic matter, plants thrive. It’s easy to use an organic ________________ – rmade from just weeds and water. Does it sound strange to make plant ____________ by using other plants? This is how nature works!

*hint: a substance added to soil or land to increase its fertility.

 

   7.  Conserve ____________!

No living thing can survive without this. We waste a lot of ____________.  *hint: the clear liquid (i.e., H2O) that has no color, taste, or smell, that falls from clouds as rain, that forms streams, lakes, and seas, and that is used for drinking, washing, etc.

 

For gardens, flower beds, trees, and other non-lawn areas, consider installing a drip _______________ system or using sprinklers set on timers.

*hint: the supply of water to land or crops to help growth, typically by means of channels.

 

 

   8.  Think about your _____________!

*hint: the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats

 

About one-third of the food that we produce every years goes to waste annually. Usually, this happens after we buy the food. One way to avoid waste in our own lives is to care about your “food___________”, which is the result of everything that it takes to get your food from the farm to your plate.

*hint: the result of everything it takes to get your food from the farm to your plate.

Answer Keys

 

1.  bees

2.  plastics

3.  aluminum, parchment

4.  pollinators

5.  reuse, recycle

6.  pesticides

7.  water

8.  diet, foodprint

Can you give me a two-word phrase with the initials "I" & "F"?

Today's puzzle is called "The Big If." Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase with the initials I- F-.

 

Ex. Seasonal stomach ailment --> INTESTINAL FLU

 

1. Digit that's next to the thumb

 

2. Father, mother, sister, and brother, but not aunts, uncles, and cousins

 

3. Movie that doesn't originate in Hollywood

 

4. Metaphor for the ruthless exercise of authority

 

5. Substitute for breast milk in a baby bottle

 

6. Frozen block on the ocean

 

7. Writer who created James Bond

 

8. In math, what cosine is to sine

 

9. What a JPEG is

 

10. In basketball the penalty for this is two free throws plus continued possession of the ball

 

11. What's often cooked with curry

 

Answer Keys

1.  Index Finger

2.  Immediate Family

3.  Indi Film

4.  Iron Fist

5.  Infant Formula

6.  Ice Flow

7.  Ian Fleming

8.  Inverse Function

9.  Image File

10.              Intentional Foul

11.              Indian Food

Spring has sprung! Let's take a load of some Spring terms.

No matter where we are standing or living through, Spring is in the air. Today, let’s just work on some Spring words.

 

    1.   What does SALUBRIOUS mean?

A.   slippery or slimy

B.   healthful

C.   abundant

 

    2.   Which of the following words means “to blossom”?

A.   languish

B.   disseminate

C.   effloresce

 

    3.   True or false? The word CHELIDONIAN is related to the arrival of swallows.

A.   true

B.   false

 

    4.   What does VERNAL mean?

A.   open to bribery

B.   pastoral

C.   youthful

 

    5.   Which of the following words means “relating to rainfall”?

A.   hyetal

B.   clarion

C.   irriguous

 

    6.   True or false? RISORGIMENTO refers to a period of European cultural revival after the medieval era.

     A.   True

     B.   False

 

    7.   What does PULLULATE mean?  

     A.   to yank or tug

     B.   to sprout

     C.   to warm

 

    8.   Which of the following words means “a bud or sprout”?

A.          burgeon

B.          sturgeon

C.          petiole

 

 

** source from dictionary.com

 

Answer Keys

1.  B. healthful

2.  C. effloresce

3.  A. true

4.  C. youthful

5.  A. hyetal

6.  B. false

7.  B. to sprout

8.  A. burgeon

Time to play the latest Sunday puzzle from NPR!!

I'm going to give you two words starting with B. You give me another word starting with B that can follow my two to complete compound words or familiar two-word phrases.

 

Ex. Black Boom --> BOX (black box, boombox)

1. Busy - Bumble

2. Brown - Book

3. Brass - Broad

4. Basket - Bowling

5. Baby - Bada

6. Bulletin - Boogie

7. Bad - Blue

8. Building - Butcher

9. Block - Bronco

10. Big – Baby

 

Answer Keys

    1.  bee

    2.  bag

    3.  band

    4.  ball

    5.  boom

    6.  board

    7.  blood/ or bunny

    8.  block

    9.  butter

    10. brother

Grammar is becoming flexible and fluid!

Do you always speak or write grammatically correct English? How would you define “grammatically correct or incorrect”? Does English grammar take the permanently fixed form? Just as we assume based on the fact that languages are fluid, English grammar has been evolving over the years. Let’s go over some of those changes in English grammar from their old prescriptive versions into the modern descriptive ones that are commonly used by native English speakers today.

 

Prescriptive/Conventional   Grammar	Modern Descriptive Grammar
1.  “his or her”   e.g., Each person is supposed to raise his or her hands.	Use gender-free “their” to sound more respectful and inclusive   e.g., Each person is supposed to raise their hands.
2.  “Indians” to refer to Native Americans   e.g., He visited the sections of Indians’ at the museum of Natural History.	Use “Native Americans” or the tribe’s name such as “Apaches”   e.g., He visited the sections of Native Americans’ at the museum of Natural History.
3.  Never start a sentence with coordinating conjunctions like “and,” “but,” “or”.	You can use a sentence with a coordinating conjunction for the purpose of offering a ‘soft’ opening for sentences.   e.g., She made a big mistake at work. But luckily, she got away with it in the end.
4.  Never end your sentences with prepositions (“at,” “for,” “by,” “of,” “on,” “in,” “after,” “with,” etc.)   e.g., Is good grammar something for which you are known?   Where are you?	You can end your sentences with prepositions.   e.g., Is good grammar what you are known for?   Where are you at?
5.  Use ‘each other’ between the two parties & ‘one another’ among more than two           e.g., When we are      married, and have more occasion to know each other.”	Use ‘each other’ and ‘one another’ interchangeably   e.g., Sixteen ministers meet weekly at each other’s houses.
6.  “None” should only be used with a plural verb.       e.g, “None” of them are mine.	“None”  is used with a singular verb.   e.g., None of them is mine.
7.  Never split an infinitive. An infinitive is a sentence that contains a “to” and a verb (e.g., to run, to criticize, to agree, etc)   e.g., Most students in that AP course were determined to prepare vigorously for the finals.	You can split an infinitive.   e.g., The kid was told to slowly speak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Movie Terms!

Do you love watching movies? How much do you know about movie terms? Why don’t we try to earn two thumbs up on this film and movie terms quiz?

 

    1.   What is a MCGUFFIN?

A. a genre of Scottish film

B. a meaningless plot device that serves as the impetus for the plot

C. a character actor

 

 

    2.   Which of the following means "movie script” or “movie scenario"?

A.          dialogue

B.          storyboard

C.          screenplay

 

    3.   True or false? Diegetic sound is not heard by the characters in a film.

A.   True

B.   False

 

    4.   What does the FOURTH WALL refer to?

A.          the shot that gives context to the scene

B.          the mark actors must hit

C.          the barrier between the film and the audience

 

    5.   Which of the following means "a movie set entirely in one location"?

A.          bottle movie

B.          capsule movie

C.          short film

 

    6.   True or false? The Dutch angle, a sideways tilted camera shot, was popularized by German filmmakers—hence the distortion of the original “Deutsch” in its name.

A.   True

B.   False

 

    7.   What does MAGIC HOUR mean?

A.   when everything goes perfectly on set

B.   when the light is ideal for filming

C.   when special effects are added

 

 

 

Answer Keys

   1.  B 

   2.  C

   3.  B

   4.  C

   5.  A

   6.  A

   7.  B