NYC can be an exciting and interesting place to live, but it can be difficult. There are so many different people living so closely together. Sometimes it isn’t easy to get along with or live together with all of these people. This is one of the reasons why we need social etiquette, unspoken rules and ways to act.
Nathan Pyle is an artist. He has made some cartoons illustrating NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette. Click on the picture to read some of them.
Do you agree with Nathan’s cartoons?
Have you experienced any of these situations?
Do you have some tips of your own on how to live in NYC?
Bill Withers is an American singer and song writer. He was born on July 4, 1938 in West Virginia. Bill joined the US Navy when he was 18 and served for 9 years. Afterwards, he moved to California and began his music career. Bill Withers has written some of the most well known songs of our time; “Ain’t No Sunshine“, “Grandma’s Hands“, “Just The Two Of Us” and many more. Below you can listen to Bill sing his song, “Lean On Me”. Also below is a video of the song with lyrics you can read.
Let us know what you think about the song in the comments section.
Is it a happy song or a sad song?
What does the phrase ‘lean on me‘ mean?
Do you have someone to ‘lean on‘ or does someone often ‘lean on‘ you?
What does the phrase ‘swallow your pride’ mean?
Have you ever had to ‘swallow your pride‘?
Listen to some of Bill Withers’ other songs and tell us what you’re favorite is.
99 years ago this Saturday, Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics to the national anthem of the United States, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It describes a battle during the War of 1812.
The national anthem is usually played or sung before sporting events like football or basketball games, and on other important national holidays.
You can listen to “The Star-Spangled Banner” and read the lyrics at the same time:
O say can you see By the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hailed At the twilight’s last gleaming, Whose broad stripes and bright stars Through the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched, Were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets’ red glare, The bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night That our flag was still there; O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free And the home of the brave?
dawn = early morning hailed = saluted twilight = early evening gleaming = glowing broad = wide perilous = dangerous o’er = over ramparts = walls gallantly = bravely, impressively glare = brightness bursting = exploding star-spangled = decorated with stars
Marilyn Monroe is perhaps the most famous actress from America. She was born on June 1, 1926, which would make her 87 years old – were she alive, that is.
Unfortunately, she died. In the year 1962, she was found dead in her home in California. The cause was probably a drug overdose, but there’s still a mystery about it.
Read the information below from Wikipedia, watch a video for a song written by Elton John about Marilyn, read the song’s lyrics, then take the quiz to test your comprehension.
Marilyn Monroe (real name: Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer, who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of successful movies during the 1950s and early 1960s.
After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946 with Twentieth Century-Fox. Her early film appearances were small, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950), drew attention.
By 1952 she had her first leading role in Don’t Bother to Knock and 1953 brought a lead in Niagara, a melodramatic mystery that showed her seductiveness. Her “dumb blonde” persona was used in later comedies such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955).
The final years of Monroe’s life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for unreliability and being difficult to work with. The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of debate. Though officially classified as a “probable suicide,” the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as of murder, have not been ruled out.
In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth-greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute. In the decades following her death, she has often been called a cultural icon as well as the quintessential American sex symbol. In 2009, TV Guide Network named her No. 1 in Film’s Sexiest Women of All Time.
Candle in the Wind
by Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name
chorus
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude
[repeat chorus]
Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
Goodbye Norma Jean
From the young man in the 22nd row
Who sees you as something more than sexual
More than just our Marilyn Monroe
Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. He is well known for his realistic writings of rural life and his use of American informal (slang) speech. His poems were often set in rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, and used these settings to look at complex social and philosophical themes. Frost has often been quoted by other people. He was honored often during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
One hundred and nine years ago, Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, was born.
Dr. Seuss was a very popular writer and artist of children’s books. His books are still very popular even now. Many American children grow up reading his books.
His most famous books are The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who!, Green Eggs and Ham, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Many of his books have been made into movies – but the books are better.
Dr. Seuss is well-known for his unique drawings and the way he played with words.
Dr. Seuss’s birthday, March 2nd, is also National Read Across America Day. So why not read a good book this weekend? Why not something by Dr. Seuss?
Here’s a video of someone reading The Cat in the Hat. Go get the book, practice reading it with this video, then read the book to your kids!
Have you ever wondered about all of the languages spoken in NYC? You can hear so many different languages when you walk down the street. WNYC, a public radio station has published the Census Bureau’s, American Community Survey. The survey lists the most popular languages in NYC.
Click on the chart below to look at the chart and answer the questions:
Which are the most popular languages besides English?
Which languages do you hear spoken often?
Which languages have you never heard of before?
What countries are these languages spoken in?
Besides English, which language would you like to learn?
