First Fabulous Day of Fall and the Harvest Moon!

To continue our conversation about fall or autumn, this past Wednesday, September 22nd, was the first official day of fall! The first day of fall is also called the Autumn Equinox. Around the same time as the Autumn Equinox we experience a Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox. Because of the Earth's tilt in fall, the Harvest Moon may seem bigger, brighter, and much more colorful than other full moons. The Harvest Moon can occur anywhere between September 8th and October 7th. This year was the first time in twenty years that we, in the Northern Hemisphere, have seen a Super Harvest Moon. This abnormally large (appearing even bigger than a typical Harvest Moon which occurs annually) moon occurs only when the full moon begins on the last day of summer. Historically, the Harvest Moon was important to our country's agriculture because it rose right after sunset and provided extra minutes of light each evenning for farmers to work longer hours harvesting their crops. The Harvest Moon is not as important to farmers today because of advanced farming techniques and lighting options. However, some religions such as Wiccans or Pagans celebrate the harvest moon during religious ceremonies.

For more information about this year's Harvest Moon take a look at this news clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyffdajqTso

Vocabulary:

1. conversation (noun) -an informal discussion
2. abnormally (adverb) - different than the standard or normal
3. historically (adverb)- throughout history or as has been done most often in the past
4. agriculture (noun) - the production of food and goods through farming
5. religious ceremony (noun phrase)- a formal event, celebration or special occasasion associated with a particular religion
6. advanced (adj.) - sophisticated, innovative, ahead of the times
7. provided (verb) - gave, supplied

Fill-in the Blank:

1. Housekeeping at the hotel __________ us with extra pillows.
2. We had a long _______ about what we were going to bring to the party.
3. The doctor said he had an __________ large mole on his back.
4. In the Catholic faith, Baptism is an important ______ ________.
5. The science lab had a lot of new computers and _______ technology.
6. In the Midwest _______ is a very important industry because there are a lot of farms.
7. ___________ people from Iraq and Iran have not gotten along.

Grammar Point: Comparatives

Comparatives are adjectives and adverbs which compare two or more people, things or ideas and typically end in -er.

Examples: bigger, richer, faster

How are they formed?

Comparatives are usually formed by adding er to the end of the adjective or adverb. However, this is not always the case. For long adjectives and adverbs we use the words more and most in front of the adjective/adverb to form the comparative. (ex: more energetically).

Some irregular comparatives are presented below:

good --> better

well --> better

bad --> worse

far --> farther, further

old --> elder

"Because of the Earth's tilt in fall, the Harvest Moon may seem bigger, brighter, and much more colorful than other full moons."

Write a short paragraph comparing two or more of your favorite things (ex: cars, clothing store, friends, etc.). Be sure to use at least 6 adjectives or adverbs in the correct comparative form.