Vista Language Arts Lessons

  Abraham Lincoln's Birthday  February 12, 1809- April 15, 1865 1. At 6 foot, 4 inches , Lincoln was the tallest president. The average height of men at this time was 5'6".  Lyndon Johnson was 6'3.5" and Donald Trump is 6'3". -He was the first president to be born outside of the original thirteen colonies. He was born in Kentucky on February 12, 1809 in a log cabin.  - Lincoln was the first president to be photographed at his inauguration. He was to have sat for over thirty-six photographers on sixty-six occasions. -John Wilkes Booth (his assassin) can be seen standing close to Lincoln in the picture. -Lincoln was the first president to wear a beard.*** -A few weeks before he was elected President, Lincoln received a letter from Grace Bedell an 11 year old from Westfield, New York,(October 15, 1860) who urged him to grow a beard to help him get elected.  In Lincoln's response of October 19, 1860,  he gave no promises, but a month later allowed his bea...

 Antonyms -the opposite of a word 1. accidental-intentional -It was an accidental move when my co-worker spilled my coffee over my deadline paperwork. -The way my coffee toppled over my important paperwork seemed intentional by my co-worker.  2. arrival-departure Last night at LAX we were waiting for the arrival of my college friend and the departure of my parents simultaneously.  3. artificial - natural The artificial turf in my backyard patio is almost as natural as having a fresh, green lawn. 4. better-worse Our whole family is feeling better after having Covid during the holiday season. The worse part of our family having Covid during the holiday season was that we couldn't go to the mall and have our traditional portrait with Santa Claus.  5. blunt-sharp All my color pencils had blunt points after working on my new drawing this morning. To conserve my color pencils I prefer to use a manual pencil sharpener instead of an electric one. 6. borrow-lend I feel fortun...

1. abandon -desert - The high school student will abandon what he considers "teenage behavior" to prepare for college and adulthood. - His friends are feeling deserted because he is moving out of state to go to college. 2. ability- skill The carpenter has the ability to design and construct the new front porch of the house. The carpenter's acute skill with the power saw makes his job quicker and more concise. 3. accurate-correct The accountant had the accurate financial data for his clients several weeks before  tax day April 15. The accountant had to correct the final income of  the married couple's yearly balance. 4.approve-accept The security guard has to approve everyone that tries to enter the main gate The security guard will only accept permits signed by the president of the company. 5.jubilant-delighted The couple were jubilant and delighted with the surprise party for their 20th wedding anniversary. 6.legible-clear Her handwriting was legible even though she ...

 Homonyms- Each of two or more words having the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings and origins. accept- take in :  I need to accept that I can't play tennis five times a week like I did as a teenager.  I  am playing twice a week nowadays. except- other than-  Except for the daily rain showers, we enjoyed our vacation in Seattle. real- factual:  The biography of Queen Elizabeth is a real account of her life as a reigning queen for  more than sixty years. reel- roll:  The movie reel got tangled on the movie projector making it unwatchable. ring-encircle-: The crop circles make a ring around the crops in the field. ring-sound : The doorbell will ring a Christmas tune during the holidays. wring- squeeze:  I had to wring out my blouse by hand when the washer went out of service. road-street:  The road was recently paved making easier for people to drive their cars. rode-past tense of ride: Last summer on our vacation to the...

 OUND 1. The traffic was heavy heading westbound on the 405 freeway. 2. Since the Covid 19 quarantine, we have been homebound and unable to leave our home. 3. The greyhound is a lean and fast dog used for greyhound races. 4. The Greyhound bus has been around for almost one hundred years. 5. My teenage boy is a real chowhound at every meal.  He always asks for seconds and thirds. 6. My Irish Setter is the best deerhound I have every owned.  He is unfounded in his success for finding deer. 7. I was dumbfound when I could not find the my friend's correct address even with the help of two neighbors. 8. We are deskbound in the office instead of working from home. 9. I prefer to ask the butcher for fresh ground beef when I go to the supermarket. 10. As a child I enjoyed going around and around on the merry-go-round near the beach in Santa Monica. 11. The sound of the rock music woke me up very early this morning. 12.On our vacation to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, produced bound...

  Alliteration is when two or more words that start with the same sound are used repeatedly in a phrase or a sentence. The repeated sound creates the alliteration not the same letter. Example: "tasty tacos" is considered an alliteration but "thirty typist" is not because the "th" and "ty" don't sound the same.  Alliteration is a type of repetition-a repetition of sounds. Alliteration can make your words more engaging and entertaining-especially if you are trying to engage an audience and you want them to pay more attention. Also used in advertising, musicians and to express emotion. 1. Clary closed her cluttered clothes closet. 2. Harry hurried home to watch football on TV. 3. Rachel ran right until she realized she was running round and round.  4. Polly's prancing pony performed perfectly. 5. The boy buzzed around as busy as a bee. 6. Make mountains out of a molehill. 7. Matthew met Michael at the Moor 8. Busy buzzing, the bee behaved be...

Tongue Twisters are a good way to practice and improve pronunciation and fluency.  They can also improve accents with repetition of sound. 1. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood As a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood 2,How can a clam cram in a clean cream can? 3. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear.  Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair.  Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy, was he? 4. I have got a date at a quarter to eight.  I'll see you at the gate, so don't be late. 5. You know New York, you need New York, you know you need unique New York. 6, I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen. 7. If a dog chew shoes, whose shoes does he choose? 8 I thought I thought of thinking of thanking you 9. I wish to was my Irish wristwatch. 10. Near an ear, a nearer ear, nearly eerie ear 11. A big black bear sat on a big black rug 12. Tom threw Tim three thumbtacks 13. Nine nice night nurses nursi...