Boston finally has a reason to celebrate–and that’s exactly what Red Sox fans are doing.
Fans took to the streets last weekend to celebrate the fact that their baseball team won the World Series.
The parade made an important detour. It stopped at the Boston Marathon finish line.
Last April, there was a terrible bombing during the Boston Marathon race, which took the lives of three people.
The city–and people all over the world–were upset by the tragedy.
Many people in the city have been trying to get their lives back to normal ever since.
Now the people have a great reason to celebrate.
There’s another reason, as well. Winning the World Series represents a tremendous turn-around for the Red Sox.
Last year, the Red Sox finished in last place in their division (the American League East division).
This year, they finished first in their division–and in the whole of Major League Baseball.
No wonder the people of Boston were celebrating!
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Sports writer, Stephen Brunt, recently explained to his radio audience that he believes sports are a distraction and can’t actually change peoples lives. He argued that winning the World Series might have made the people of Boston feel better, but that it didn’t change the impact of the Boston bombing. What does Brunt mean? Do you agree or disagree with Brunt’s opinion? Why?
Reading Prompt: Extending Understanding
Have you ever competed in a sport? Have you ever won a championship? How do your experiences playing and watching sports help you understand today’s article? How does prior knowledge (schema) help a reader understand new information?
Junior
Extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).
Intermediate
Extend understanding of texts, including increasingly complex or difficult texts, by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).
Grammar Feature: Em Dash ( — )
Writers can use commas to tell their readers many different types of things. For example, commas can be used to communicate an interuption or an additional thought. However, an em dash can replace a comma in these situations to show added emphasis.
How are em dashes used in the following examples? Why do you think the authour chose to use em dashes instead of commas.
Boston finally has a reason to celebrate–and that’s exactly what Red Sox fans are doing.
The city–and people all over the world–were upset by the tragedy.
This year, they finished first in their division–and in the whole of Major League Baseball.
