Back to The New Kid in Town

Before You Read:
What Makes Us Special?

One thing that makes each of us special is our particular interests. Whether it is reading, playing baseball, painting, collecting stamps, or surfing the Internet, what we enjoy doing tells a great deal about us.

Use a word web like the one below to list things you like to do.

Share your word web with a friend. You might also share some interesting facts about the activities you've listed. Then discuss how you could learn more about each other's interests. Afterward, click here to learn amazing facts about several interesting hobbies.

Interesting Hobbies, Amazing Facts!

• Soccer: When the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) was founded in Torrance, California, in 1964, it had about 125 players. More recent membership totals were more than 600,000 boys and girls in 46 states.
• Music: The 2,000-piece Young People's Orchestra and Chorus of Mexico, which performed in 1991, was one of the world's largest orchestras.
• Juggling: The most balls that have been successfully juggled at once is ten. This feat has been accomplished only twice, once in the 1920s and again in 1996.

Now read a set of fictional diary entries in which the writer tells about meeting a newcomer with a special talent. Go to Who's the New Kid?