Our family's immense love for basketball - Did someone say Adverbs?

For as long as I can remember, ever since I was a small, itty bitty child, basketball has always been my family's favorite sport. It started with my mother, and slowly but surely, basketball fever spread down to my brother and me,  and now it has taken hold of my children as well. My mother played basketball while she was in medical school, and apparently I was her personal cheerleader! I, of course, do not recall any of this but I will say that it was my mother who first put a basketball in my hand. She is the one who taught my brothers how to dribble the ball and do layups correctly. She helped me improve my shooting and defensive skills on the court. As my brothers grew older and taller, they became very good basketball players and even played for their high school basketball teams. I wasn't so lucky because I remained very short, I didn't get taller than 5 ft. 2 in. so it was hard to play against the much taller girls on the school team. But that did not stop me, I still played at home with my brothers when they were shooting around in the backyard. Now I have children of my own, and I have passed down the love for basketball to them. I put a basketball in my daughter's hand when she was just 6 years old and she has been playing for ten years. She isn't tall either but she is a force to contend with on the court. She has been playing High School Varsity basketball since 9th grade until recently because she got injured while playing over the summer. My son Roman is five now and is also playing basketball, but he is just starting to learn the basics of the game. But so far, he really seems to love playing our family's favorite sport!

Vocabulary List

Remember: To have in your mind an awareness of something

Sport: A game involving physical activity and usually has several players (baseball, soccer, football)

Slowly: Not quickly

Spread: To extend over a large area or surface

Hold: To support, carry or grasp with hands or arms

Apparently: As far as someone knowledge is

Recall: To bring a fact, situation, event or memory into your mind again

Dribble: To strike a basketball with an open palm as so to bounce the ball on the ground

Layup: One handed shot made into basketball hoop by bouncing ball off the backboard from the side

Skills: The ability to do something well

Remained: Continue to exist, or posses a particular quality, idea or object

High School: A phase of the American education system usually from grades 9-12

Against: Opposed to, in opposition to something

Around: (used as a preposition in the sentence) in or to many places throughout the backyard

Backyard: Yard, or space in the back of the house

Contend: Struggle to face

Injured: Physically hurt somewhere on body

Basics: Essentials facts, beginning skills of something. most basic foundation 

Seems: Give the impression of being something or having a particular quality

Summer: One of the four seasons of the year with very hot sunny days

Vocabulary Exercise

Directions: Use 10 of the vocabulary words above to write complete sentences. Underline the noun, use a blue highlighter to highlight the verbs and a yellow highlighter to highlight the adjectives.

Ex: My sister remained at her school for her worst subject, math. 

Grammar Point - Adverbs

Adverbs tell us when, where, how, in what manner and/or to what extend an action is performed. They typically modify verbs, but they can also modify and adjective or another verb. 

Adverbs tend to end in -ly but remember, not all the time, these are called flat adverbs.

Examples of adverbs modifying verbs:

1. The stray cat ran quickly to catch the squirrel in the backyard.

2. Dr. Jason Bourne worked tirelessly to find a cure for cancer.

3. The soldiers marched forward when they heard the bugle playing over the loud speaker.

4. Julie and Emily traveled far and wide to seek a better life.

Examples of adverbs modifying adjectives and other adverbs:

               

1. She is a really good swimmer for someone her age.

2. Helen's grades are significantly higher than the rest of her classmates.

3. The audience left quite abruptly after the actor missed his cue to go onstage. 

4. The price of oil rose incredibly quickly once the snowstorm hit Long Island.

Grammar Point Exercise

Directions: Create 15 full sentences with nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Next, chose adverbs from the list below to modify the verbs and adjectives in your sentences. 

Commonly used Adverbs:

Poorly                                    Gigantically

Rapidly                                  Softly

Quickly                                  Hugely

Abruptly                                 Defiantly

Swiftly                                    Deliberately

Lazily                                     Happily

Hourly                                    Enormously

Daily                                      Frequently

Brightly                                  Anxiously

Bravely                                  Nervously

To read more about adverbs visit www.grammarbook.com/grammar/adjAdv.asp