Africa Vocabulary

Vocabulary

This unit's first vocabulary quiz will be on Monday, May 21st for all classes. As I promised in class, here are the vocabulary words and definitions:

trench-a deep furrow into the ground

consist-to be made up of

fertile-rich in the substances plants need to grow well

tributary-a smaller river or stream that flows into a larger river

cycle-a series of events that happen regularly

starch-a food substance found in potatoes and other vegetables

elevation-the height of land above sea level

plateau-an area of level land raised above the surrounding land, with at least one side with a steep slope

Vocabulary Stories

To practice these words, students wrote a short story about either Justin Bieber, a carnival, or the mall. They were required to use at least six of the vocabulary words in their stories. Some of the results were pretty interesting...

Here's AJ's story:

"I saw Justin Bieber eating a starchy potato. I don't like him, so I pushed him down a trench. Then he climbed out of the hole and I pushed him back in. It was like a cycle. It was getting boring, so I took him out of the hole and I pushed him off of a plateau. Then he landed in a tributary and flowed away. I grabbed him from the river and put him in the dirt. Now he's making it fertile."

Anonymous wrote:

"I was in Washington D.C. and I was digging a trench. I was at a high elevation, so the trench was deep. I got water from a lake that was part of a tributary to a larger river. I filled the trench with water. I noticed that there was Justin Bieber eating a starchy potato on some fertile land. I was on a plateau so I ran up to Justin, pushed him in my trench, and I sealed the trench up so he could not get out."

Maggie's story:

"Once upon a time I saw Justin Bieber. He smiled and did a hair flip and said, "hey." He looked like starchy potatoes. Then he began the cycle. Every I saw him, and "hey," he always said. Finally I had enough. I threw a bottle at his head.It consisted of fruit punch. Then I dragged him down the elevation of a deep trench and from there threw him in the tributary. And so was the end of bad singing!!!"

Disclaimer: These stories are in no way an expression of how my students REALLY feel about Justin Bieber. Unfortunately, this unit's vocabulary words led them to create very strange, somewhat violent stories. I promise, none of the students really want to throw Justin Bieber into a trench...

More to come this weekend! 

Remember to study!!!