Reading Preferences

As an English teacher, I love to read books. As I have grown older, my taste in books has changed quite a bit. Even though I like to reminisce on books I read in the past, I prefer the books I read as an adult. When I was in my early years of elementary school, I was a little more advanced in reading, so I read chapter books. Instead of trying all kinds of books, I read several series, including The Magic Tree House, and The Hardy Boys. Even though these books were enjoyable, I should have tried new genres and different authors. Today, I make sure to ask friends and colleagues for suggestions on what to read. For example, my friend Connor gave me a book called American Gods, which is falls under the fantasy genre. Another friend, Brendan, gave me a book called New York, which is in the historical fiction genre. When I was younger, I never read historical fiction, but now I am willing to read anything! 

Vocabulary

reminisce - look back on

elementary - basic; primary

several - a few; some

genre - category; classification of books/film/music

colleague - someone I work with

fantasy - not real; often involving magic, etc.

Activity

Complete the following sentences with the appropriate vocabulary word. 

1. Because the student was very smart, the work the teacher gave her was far too ______________.

2. After we returned from the vacation, my family got together to ______________ about our favorite parts of the trip. 

3. My sister has a shopping addiction: instead of buying just one new shirt, she bought ______________!

4. Some of my favorite movie ______________ are thriller and comedy. 

5. My mother says I do not live in reality, and I am often dreaming in some ______________ world!

6. Because my car broke down, I called a ______________ I work with to give me a ride to work. 

Grammar Point - READ v. READ (present/past/homograph)

In the English language, you will encounter words that are spelled the same, but sound different and have different meanings. These are called homographs. In my post, I used the verbs "read" and "read" often. One represent an action that I do often, while one represents an action that I have completed. This can be tricky, but using the context of the sentence can help you out. For example, I wrote "When I was in elementary school... I read chapter books." Because I am referencing something that was nearly twenty years ago, you can guess that this is the past. Conversely, I wrote "As an English teacher, I love to read books." I am an English teacher NOW, so you can guess that I am referring to the present/an action I complete often.   

Am I referring to the past? or an action I complete often? Circle the words that tell you the answer.

1. Yesterday, I read one hundred pages in my book. 

2. Every week night, I read before I fall asleep. 

3. Last semester, I always read my textbook prior to class. 

4. Usually, I read the newspaper.