Cheerleading Competitions
Common and proper nouns
Throughout high school and college, I was a competitive cheerleader. Most people think that being a cheerleader means jumping up and down on the sidelines of a football field, but that is a misconception. As a competitive cheerleader, I trained for approximately 15 hours each week. This training included rigorous dance, stunting, and tumbling work, leaving my body aching after most days. Once a week I would drive out to Plainview for private tumbling lessons from a professional cheerleader named Chad. I often prioritized cheerleading over Trigonometry and Chemistry homework. I personally always felt more proud to be a Long Island Champion rather than a straight A student in Algebra 2. The rush of landing a round-off back handspring tuck felt a lot better to me than a perfect quiz grade. Looking back, I don’t regret a single sprained ankle or broken finger, because cheerleading was always my true passion.
competitive cheerleader (noun): a cheerleader who competes against other squads with a short routine
misconception (noun): a wrong idea
trained (verb): to practice a particular skill or type of behavior over a period of time.
tumbling (verb): performing acrobatic or gymnastic exercises, typically handsprings and somersaults in the air.
Plainview (noun): a town in Nassau County, Long Island
Chad (noun): a male tumbling instructor
Trigonometry(noun): a branch of mathematics that study’s triangle relationships
Chemistry (noun): a scientific disciple involving elements and compounds
Long Island Champion(noun): a title that can be won at cheerleading competitions
Algebra 2(noun): the broad study of mathematical symbols and application of number relationships
round-off back handspring tuck (verb): a tumbling skill with three connected movements
sprained(adjective): stretching or tearing of a ligament
Vocabulary exercise:
I usually neglect my ________,__________, & __________ homework until I got home from cheerleading practice.
Some cheerleaders dance on the sidelines at football and basketball games, while other train to participate in ___________ ___________.
It is a wide ___________ that cheerleading is not a sport; people who say this have never been to a competition.
My experienced tumbling coach, Chad, _________ my teammates and I at the gym until we were experienced enough to nail stunting and tumbling.
After landing the wrong way on a tumbling pass, the athletic trainer told me I should get X-rays to verify weather or not I __________ my ankle.
Grammar:
This passage has examples of nouns. Nouns can be common or proper. Common nouns are non specific person, places, and things- like boy and gym. However, proper nouns are specific people, places, and things- like Chad, Chemistry, and Plainview. All proper nouns start with a capital letter! Write three sentences with an underlined common noun and three sentences with an underlined common noun.
Click the link for more practice with nouns.
https://www.softschools.com/quizzes/grammar/noun/quiz295.html
It is good that you have pursued your passion for cheerleading. Algebra 2 is admittedly less fulfilling to most people, but I was never good at any sport except maybe badminton. I was always all about language and literature. So each person finds his or her strongest interests.
ReplyDeleteI like your extensive vocabulary selection and your grammar point. Good work!
This was awesome to read! Congratulations for doing what you love! Many of us do what we must or what is expected and tend to forget that what we should be doing is what we most enjoy. It is our passion that drives through life and to conquer each day with positive attitude.
ReplyDeleteThe vocabulary exercise a good one to have students do, they get more practice in using context clues to find the best suited word.
Great post!