South Lebanon Challenge A Class: September 2013

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Week 6 Seminar Recap & Notes

Week 6 - Got 'er done!

I totally forgot to record points for extra maps drawn (5 points per map once 8 have been drawn). Please email me how many your child did so I can record the points.

Here's the recap..... (PLEASE SEE THE GUIDE FOR HOMEWORK DUE FOR WEEK 7)

Challenge (Sweet treat reward)
1. Find the Latin for "Write it on the board"
2. Tell the class what is the largest mollusk

Logic/Math
I verbally gave another list of math terms. I didn't include the definitions, so they will need to look them up. Keep drilling those terms.

We continued what we did last week - reviewed previous week's concepts through dialectic discussion. In each problem we worked we asked the same questions (based on the common topics):

Observation - What do you see? (i.e. whole numbers, exponents, multiplication, solve, equation etc)
Definition - What does .... mean? What is...? (i.e. solve, evaluate, reduce, fraction, exponent etc)
Circumstance - Can any parts be written in different way? (i.e. 54 (5 to the 4th power) same as 5x5x5x5)
Relationship - What do we need to know to answer the problem? (i.e. when dividing fractions, you multiply using the reciprocal)
Authority - What math law(s) are we using to answer? (i.e. identity law)
What is the answer?
Can we work the problem in a different way?

The students brought in problems to share - and again we dialectically discussed each one then worked to answer it.

We did not have a chance to cover new concepts. If you're working in 8/7, those would be dividing fractions (multiply by the reciprocal); multiplying & dividing mixed numbers (convert to improper fraction); multiples, least common multiple, & equivalent division problems; average/mean. Remember, if you subscribe to the CC connected Challenge tier, there are math videos that are helpful in explaining these concepts.

POINTS: Bring in "math" language problem converted to English (word problem) for 5 points.

Be sure the students bring in the completed lessons you assign to class (even if they are not doing Saxon).

**Students should bring in a problem from their math lesson to share (can be one they struggled with; one they think will stump the class or anything they found interesting & would like to share & explain) This will help them be rhetorical!!

Grammar/Latin
Today we went over this week's lesson & exercises. We encountered a new verb today - WHAT FUN! All the verbs we've encountered so far have been transitive verbs that take the accusative case (DO). In class we reviewed what a linking verb is, listed "to be verbs" & reviewed the sentence patterns that involve linking verbs (S-Vl-PN - all that Essentials training is going to pay off!!). Our new verbs are linking and take the nominative case. Why the nominative you ask???? Because linking verbs are followed by nouns that rename the subject - so it's the same case as the subject - nominative. We discussed the difference between using the genitive case (possessive) & the ablative case (preposition) when we encounter words like "of God". We look to see if "of God" can be replaced with "God's" or answers the question "whose" (adjective). When we have the sentence:

Christ is the Son of God. We translate it Christus est Filius Dei

Dei is in the genitive case because we can replace "of God" with God's and it answers the question "whose" son.

They took notes on each exercise. There were no new Grammar Rules (blue book) - continue to memorize #34-44 - WE WILL HAVE A QUIZ NEXT WEEK. There were new Latin rules on p 27 & 28 that will go in the "rules" section of their notebook. The new vocab is on p 28 & 31. There are no nouns so they'll just need to make flashcards. Exercise 26 & 27 is translating the paragraph. It is important that the students parse/label each sentence so that they can clearly identify the parts of speech in order to translate it properly. We talked about that in class today.

They took a quiz in class over the 1st declension. I will return those next week.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Make sure you and your student preview the next week's lesson as stated in the guide so that they are prepared to discuss it in class. Drill student on vocabulary & grammar rules. Check daily assignments (or have students check). Continue to have students focus on memorizing endings for the declensions - sing the songs & work those charts, as well as memorize vocab & rules. It's a good idea to write the endings out - like copying mastery charts in Essentials.

Research
Today the students presented on trees. Continue to have them practice their presentation skills at home. Continue to look for interesting, unknown facts about the topic and put those IEW tools to work. Again, they should develop a good paragraph. **They can bring in a "sample/example" of the topic.

They took an open note quiz in class. We graded those in class so they have them. Our next topic will be mollusks so look ahead for topics & sources.

Here are some possible helpful websites:

http://www.seashellworld.com/classifications-of-mollusks.html
http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/Region_4_Report/html/mollusks.html
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v19/n2/fascinating-cuttlefish
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cfl/animals-without-backbones
http://www.oceanicresearch.org/education/wonders/mollusk.html
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/inverts/mollusca/mollusca.php

POINTS: 5 points for the Latin word "mollusk"

Suggestions for parents @ home: Help students locate sources from Internet or library. Assist in editing rough draft; listen & provide feedback for oral report (eye contact, etc). & check drawing. Have them practice reading their report for you or even the whole family!

Expo/Comp

Today we were working with Elocution and learned our first scheme - parallelism. I first asked the students what parallel lines were. We defined it and then looked around our room to find parallel lines in the classroom & what their function was. We found parallel lines in the legs of the chairs, tables & walls - their function was to "hold" things up. Similarly, parallelism in our writing adds strength as well and clarity & beauty to our writing. In short, parallelism is where the parts of speech in each sentence or in a clause "match" or line up.

We worked some samples of parallel sentences & parallelism within a sentence. The students each came up with their own example. They did really well. REMEMBER PERFECT PARALLELISM IS NOT THE GOAL (that is actually not parallelism, but called isocolon).

Examples:
Julie can bring a friend. (noun verb adj noun)
Everyone can enjoy the weather. (pronoun verb adj noun)
We can throw a ball. (pronoun verb adj noun)

I believe you do better with your head than with your hands. (Carry on Mr. Bowditch)
Psalm 1:1 We see the counsel of the wicked, way of sinners & seat of mockers.

This week the students will complete workbook p 19-24 to get more practice & clarity with parallelism. (Make sure their answers are correct & they have a clear understanding of parallelism.) When they write their paper they will have parallelism in their thesis & 3 main proofs (see sample p 24 student book or p 74 teacher book). I encouraged the students to add stylistic techniques to their papers this week (even though they are only required to have parallelism). You can see that the sample is not "plainly" written & why not put those IEW skills to good use!! The assessment sheet is p 84 in the Challenge guide.

In addition to writing the paper, they should read The Magician's Nephew. Next week we'll be working with Invention again is Lesson 5 p 117-129; student p 67. We will learn a new "tool" to come up with ideas for our papers on The Magician's Nephew.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Review student workbook pages. Assess paper to ensure it meets with this week's requirements. Re-watch DVD Lesson 2 Elocution if needed for this week's assignment. Watch DVD 3 Lesson 5 Invention to prepare for next week's lesson.

Debate/Geography

Today we were all about review games. We played a game where students came up to the board & had 30 seconds to draw as much of Central American & the Greater & Lesser Antilles as they could. Then the next student on their team added what they could in 30 seconds & so on. The girls took the boys down in that game.

We played geography term pictionary again. This time the boys were the champions!

Reminder: They should be drawing the USA with all states, capitals, rivers & features as well Canada (at least 1 time per week) & adding it to the new location. It would be a good idea to also draw the world (even if it's just"outline of continents") 1 time per week.

Students should bring in maps that they've drawn. They'll show the class their best map.

DRAW FOR POINTS!!! Students will earn 5 points for each map drawn this week (after they draw 8 which would be 2 per day for 4 days) Bring to class your best map!!

****Remember that at the end of the year we will be drawing the world - states, countries features - everything from memory. Students need to continue to draw areas they've been tested on. So this week, students should draw USA (states, capitals, features), Canada and adding our new area to that map. (They can draw on the large laminated maps I gave them at the beginning of the year). The more they draw the better they'll get - the more they will be able to remember.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Drill student on provinces & capitals as well as geography terms. Check daily drawings for accuracy & labeling. Be sure students continue to draw previous geographic areas - adding them to new areas. Continue to drill previous states & capitals.

Rhetoric

This week the students broke into 2 person teams and did a persuasive presentation on the sections of ICJH. They did very well! We read over DCYB and discussed the related bible verses. Using the tools of the 5 common topics we defined Jesus & a "Superstar" and compared the 2.

We reviewed the new catechism questions for the week and reviewed past questions.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Discuss chapter 6 in each book. Check that student is filling out study guide for ICJH & answering questions for DCYB. Drill catechism questions (remember they must be able to state word for word).

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Week 5 Seminar Recap & Notes

Week 5 and still going strong!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!! (and thanks for bringing in a treat to to celebrate!!)

Also a thank you to Sierra for brining in Turkish Delight....now we know why Edmund was tempted to follow the White Witch!!!!

Here's the recap..... (PLEASE SEE THE GUIDE FOR HOMEWORK DUE FOR WEEK 6)

Challenge (Sweet treat reward)
1. Find the greek word for trees
2. Decline arbor, arboris (feminine 3rd declension)

Logic/Math
I verbally gave another list of math terms. I didn't include the definitions, so they will need to look them up. Keep drilling those terms.

In class today we reviewed last week's concepts through dialectic discussion. In each problem we worked we asked the same questions (based on the common topics):

Observation - What do you see? (i.e. whole numbers, exponents, multiplication, solve, equation etc)
Definition - What does .... mean? What is...? (i.e. solve, evaluate, reduce, fraction, exponent etc)
Circumstance - Can any parts be written in different way? (i.e. 54 (5 to the 4th pwr) same as 5x5x5x5)
Relationship - What do we need to know to answer the problem? (i.e. when dividing fractions, you multiply using the reciprocal)
Authority - What math law(s) are we using to answer? (i.e. identity law)
What is the answer?
Can we work the problem in a different way?

It was tricky for the students to think in these terms about math. Ethan brought in a word problem that was "How many 1/2s in a whole?". They knew the answer, but could not figure out how to write in in "math" language (in the form of a equation, not word problem - 1 divided by 1/2 =). We finally worked through it. It was a good example on why we need to know our laws, terms and to be able to think through a problem.

I previewed new concepts of factors, prime factorization, subtraction with mixed numbers (writing those whole numbers in a "different way" to answer the problem), reducing fractions & reducing fractions before multiplying. We went through the new concepts quickly.

POINTS: Bring in "math" language problem converted to English (word problem) for 5 points.

Be sure the students bring in the completed lessons you assign to class (even if they are not doing Saxon).

**Students should bring in a problem from their math lesson to share (can be one they struggled with; one they think will stump the class or anything they found interesting & would like to share & explain) This will help them be rhetorical!!

Grammar/Latin
Today we went over questions from last week's homework. We previewed this week's homework (exercises #17-23). Please note that there is new vocab on pages 23 & 25 (I think the guide only lists p.25). I would have students do their vocabulary flashcards & declining in spiral notebook early in the week (all together even if on different pages) so that they can get a head start on memorizing those & so that they start learning those different endings (like in the case of 2nd decl. has different endings for masculine & neuter nouns). Also when they are translating sentences, they should write the sentence and leave a space above & below so that they have room to label it. (i.e. exerc 17 #1)

2/N/P 2/G/S 2/Acc/S 2/G/S V/P
1. Amici Dei regnum Christi laudant.

The friends of God praise the kingdom of Christ.

They took notes on each exercise. **Remember that for vocab, they will make a flashcard & decline in spiral notebook. There were no new Grammar Rules (blue book) - continue to memorize #34-44. There were new Latin rules on p 22 & 24 that will go in the "rules" section of their notebook.

The students did well on the quiz. I returned those today. We played a review game declining 2nd declension vocab.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Drill student on vocabulary & grammar rules. Check daily assignments (or have students check). Continue to have students focus on memorizing endings for the declensions - sing the songs & work those charts, as well as memorize vocab & rules. It's a good idea to write the endings out - like copying mastery charts in Essentials.

Research
Today the students presented on herbs - very interesting & delicious I must say! Continue to have them practice their presentation skills at home. Continue to look for interesting, unknown facts about the topic and put those IEW tools to work. Again, they should develop a good paragraph. **They can bring in a "sample/example" of the topic.

We had a "student question" open note quiz where each student contributed 1 question to the quiz from their notes. Way to go Caleb for getting all of them right!! Our next topic will be mollusks so look ahead for topics & sources.

Here are some possible helpful websites:

Expo/Comp

Today we learned how to sort our ANI in order to come up with main & supporting proofs for our essay. I modeled the sorting process of grouping like ideas (for column A & N) by placing a symbol next to the first item in the column, then going down the list and placing the same symbol by any similar idea. We repeated that process until all items in the column had a symbol. Then we "named" or "labeled" our groups. These "names/labels" will be the main proof in our essay i.e. (The first reason Mr. Bowditch should have indentured Nat was that he could not afford to care for Nat.). The goal is to have approx 5 groups w/ approx 3 items in each group -need 3 supporting ideas. If the student has too few groups w/ lots of ideas in that group - maybe the group can be split into another "main idea". If your student has too many groups, maybe those can be combined. **Reminder to let the student choose how to sort (maybe with a little guidance) so that they can think on their own. Our goal is not to teach them what to think, but how to think. If you have any questions on sorting, you can watch the DVD or email me.

Once we had our class ANI sorted & labeled, we went over how to complete student workbook pages 13-15; 16-17, & 18. At home they will complete these pages to form their outline. They will bring those completed pages to class next week.

We'll be working in Lesson 2 Elocution next week.

**There was a question on the Challenge A forum about writing in the books. Here is the response from the Challenge A team:

Students will be using the student workbook for three years as they go from Challenges A to Challenge I. I would encourage you to let your parents know, so they can decide whether or not they want to treat the student workbook as a consumable.

You are correct that this specific lesson on parallelism will only be presented once. As is the case with all concepts that are introduced in LTW, students will build on what they have learned and apply the scheme of parallelism to all future essays.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Re-watch DVD 1 Lesson 2 Arrangement to see how to sort the ANI and complete an outline. Help student sort ANI & label groups & complete workbook pages. Watch DVD 1 Lesson 2 Elocution to prepare for next week's lesson.

Debate/Geography

The students took their Canada test (they had about 30-35 minutes). I will return those next week.

I introduced our new area of study - Central America & Greater and Lesser Antilles. We looked at some maps and started to practice drawing the outlines of the countries. I suggested to them in class that they draw the bottom portion of the US including Florida as a "marking" to where to place the islands. As the students drew we discussed interesting facts and had some brief "integration" discussion.

We played geography term pictionary again.....we ended in a tie between the girls & boys.....competition to be continued...... :) They did well on their terms quizzes. I returned those today.

Reminder: They should be drawing the USA with all states, capitals, rivers & features as well Canada (at least 1 time per week). It would be a good idea to also draw the world (even if it's just"outline of continents") 1 time per week.

Students should bring in maps that they've drawn. They'll show the class their best map.

Rhetoric

Today we mixed it up a bit. I asked the students questions and they used their summaries to answer. The students did a dramatic reading of DCYB chapter 4. I think we may have some future actors in the group!!!! Loved all the "voice" they did!!! We played a physical review game with the catechism questions. It got a little rough, but they all did well. Hopefully Christina & Ethan won't be sore tomorrow after their "tackle" for the ball!! What a competitive group. We were so excited we forgot to look over the new catechism questions so be sure to review at home!

Suggestions for parents @ home: Discuss chapter 5 in each book. Check that student is filling out study guide for ICJH & answering questions for DCYB. Drill catechism questions (remember they must be able to state word for word).

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Week 4 Seminar Recap & Notes

Another great week!! The students were prepared & engaged!!

Also, thanks to Meg for that yummy afternoon treat!!

Here's the recap..... (PLEASE SEE THE GUIDE FOR HOMEWORK DUE FOR WEEK 5)

Challenge (Sweet treat reward)
1. Find integration between 3 or more subjects

Logic/Math
I verbally gave another list of math terms. This time I didn't include the definitions, so they will need to look them up. Keep drilling those terms.

In class today we last reviewed last week's vocab & concepts with a little "what do you know" quiz. They all did great! The students also shared a problem from their homework. Again, we'll do this each week- talking about the problems by defining terms, math laws, looking at relationships etc (5 common topics). Be sure they have a problem to share.

I previewed new concepts of measuring angles with a protractor (reviewing the types of angles), polygon's, perimeter & area, exponents & square roots. I handed out a exponent properties sheet for quick reference (can be put in page protector is math section of notebook).

Be sure the students bring in the completed lessons you assign to class (even if they are not doing Saxon).

**Students should bring in a problem from their math lesson to share (can be one they struggled with; one they think will stump the class or anything they found interesting & would like to share & explain) This will help them be rhetorical!!

Grammar/Latin
Today we learned about 2nd declension nouns & their endings as we move into Lesson 2. We reviewed new Latin rules on p 17, 20 & 21 (in "boxes" - will go in "rules" section of Latin). This week's Latin homework is heavy in that they will have new vocabulary for 2nd declension masculine nouns & 2nd declension neuter nouns (as they have different endings - a little something tricky with the 2nd declension). They will make flashcards for each vocab word as well as decline those in their spiral Latin vocab notebook (UNDER 2nd Declension - Note: word "et" is a conjunction and will be listed in the "indeclinable words section" like "non"). They will also have new grammar rules (blue book) 34-44. They will make flashcards for these as well.

We took our first Latin grammar rules quiz. I'll return those next week.

We went over the exercises for this week's homework (#10-16) - they took notes on each exercise so they know how to do them at home. They will be parsing & translating sentences - remember although most Latin sentences end with the verb, word order in Latin isn't important. Just be sure they have the correct endings. Let me know if you have any questions.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Drill student on vocabulary & grammar rules. Check daily assignments (or have students check). Continue to have students focus on memorizing endings for the declensions - sing the songs & work those charts, as well as memorize vocab & rules. It's a good idea to write the endings out - like copying mastery charts in Essentials.

Research
Today we talked about good presentation skills - they sure rose to the occasion!! Eye contact & charisma were at all time highs. Keep up the good work by practicing at home. They are doing well with the reports. Continue working on using those IEW tools to make their report interesting. They should be using sentence openers, transition words etc. Be sure to include interesting facts - minimum of 5. They should develop a good paragraph.

I think I forgot to introduce herbs - our topic for next week. We may have been having too much fun playing "Stump the class"! I will send out a "science snippet" for herbs that they can review at home. I did want to mention that they can bring in a sample of their herb. It would be interesting to be able to smell/taste etc.the herb. I know some of the kids in last year's Challenge class brought in food items or products (i.e. lavender lotion) made with their herb. Our next topic will be trees so look ahead for topics & sources.

Here are some possible helpful websites:

http://www.herbs.com/

http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/index.pl
http://herbsociety.org/library/nomenclature-taxonomy-databases.html
http://www.vitaminsdiary.com/herbs.html
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2012/04/10/contradictions-planting-confusion
http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/dietary-supplements/herbal-information

Expo/Comp

Today I introduced the 5 Common Topics (see handout given in class) - Lesson 2 Invention. There were suggestions from CC to "revise" the worksheet in the student workbook p 11-12 so that it better suits the Challenge A level. Instead of having the students take the time to make revisions in their workbooks, I typed up a new worksheet & will email that out. Remember that this is a tool to get additional information for their ANI charts (see DVD). We came up with an issue for Carry on Mr. Bowditch - Whether Mr. Bowditch should have indentured Nat. We worked through each section of the worksheet (relating everything to our issue) and I modeled how to add ideas to the ANI from the answers on the worksheet.

At home they will come up with a question - convert to an issue (if they do not use the one we used in class). They will work through the worksheet, like we did in class, & complete an ANI with 15 items in each column. They will bring their worksheet & ANI chart to class next week.

We'll be working in Lesson 2 Arrangement next week.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Re-watch DVD 1 Lesson 2 Invention to see how the worksheet helps the student come up with ideas for their ANI & how to complete it. Check ANI for 15 items in each column. Watch DVD 1 Lesson 2 Arrangement (Sorting) to prepare for next week's lesson.

Debate/Geography

Today we played "Mental Geography" with the USA & Canada. We played pictionary to review geography terms, then took a geography terms quiz. I will return that next week. We then drew Canada & the USA.

They should continue to draw at home as many times as possible. Work on adding provinces, bodies of water & features to Canada. We will have our test next week.

They should be drawing the USA with all states, capitals, rivers & features as well (at least 1 time per week). It would be a good idea to also draw the world (even if it's just"outline of continents") 1 time per week.

Students should bring in maps that they've drawn. They'll show the class their best map.

DRAW FOR POINTS!!! Students will earn 5 points for each map drawn this week (after they draw 8 which would be 2 per day for 4 days) Bring to class your best map!!

****Remember that at the end of the year we will be drawing the world - states, countries features - everything from memory. Students need to continue to draw areas they've been tested on. So this week, students should draw USA (states, capitals, features) - adding Canada to that map. (They can draw on the large laminated maps I gave them at the beginning of the year). The more they draw the better they'll get - the more they will be able to remember.

Rhetoric

Today we took turns sharing our ICJH summaries. We previewed chapter 4 & discussed ideas for summarizing that chapter. We used the 5 Common Topics to define, compare etc. We had some more good discussion on DCYB talking about the main points of the chapter & bible verses. I introduced the new catechism questions and we played a review game.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Discuss chapter 4 in each book. Check that student is filling out study guide for ICJH & answering questions for DCYB. Drill catechism questions (remember they must be able to state word for word).

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Week 3 Seminar Recap & Notes

Well we made it another week! Again, I'm so proud of the work the students are putting in.

Just a reminder to have tracing paper & "regular" (copy) paper for geography. Also, the maps that some of you had copied - the ones that are 8 1/2 x 11 sized should be in page protectors in their geography notebook for them to reference in class.

Also, the homework they do for each seminar should be brought to class.

Here's the recap..... (PLEASE SEE THE GUIDE FOR HOMEWORK DUE FOR WEEK 4)

Challenge (Sweet treat reward)
1. Find a wildflower that is used for medicinal purposes
2. Flowers have been associated with meanings - what does sunflower mean?

Logic/Math
I handed out another list of math terms. (We may play a game with math terms so be sure they review!)

In class today we last reviewed last week's concepts. This time the students were the teacher. They each wrote up a problem from their homework on the board. As we'll do each week, we talked about the problems by defining terms, math laws, looking at relationships etc (5 common topics). We learned that there's not just one way to attack a problem!

I previewed new concepts of multiplication (repeated addition), equivalent fractions and reducing fractions into lowest terms and what that means.

Be sure the students bring in the completed lessons you assign to class (even if they are not doing Saxon).

**Students should bring in a problem from their math lesson to share (can be one they struggled with; one they think will stump the class or anything they found interesting & would like to share & explain) This will help them be rhetorical!!

Grammar/Latin
Today we reviewed answers from exercises 3 & 4. We reviewed the new verbs we learned last week & discussed how their endings tell us that they are all 3rd person (at-sing; ant-plural; et-sing; end-plural). This week we'll have 1 new verb & 1 noun to make vocab flashcards (again the verb won't go into the spiral Latin vocabulary notebook - but the new noun will - so they will need to decline it there). There were also 3 new rules (the ones in "boxes" in the purple book)- those will go into their notebooks under rules section".

Today we got some practice with nouns in the accusative case (DO or objective case). We walked through how to identify a direct object in an English sentence (our question confirmation), then looked at the same sentence in Latin - learning to parse & translate sentences. I gave them a handout "Recommended steps for parsing & translating Latin sentences".

S V DO S DO V
The sailors see Mary. Nautae Mariam vident. (The sailors Mary see.)

We saw that in English - word order matters. We have s-v-do pattern in English, where in Latin order doesn't matter. In fact most Latin sentences end with the verb (see rule p 14). This is why in the Challenge guide (under Course Description & Goals), #5 mentions that word order can very so the student's answer may be written in a different order than the answer key.

We split in teams & raced to the board to decline nouns & played around the world with Latin vocab. What a competitive group!! Who knew Latin could be so fun!!

We went over the exercises this week (6-9) - they took notes on each exercise so they know how to do them at home.

For exercises 6 & 7 - if they write them all out they will receive 20 points for each exercise.

**On exercises 8 & 9 the directions say to "say in English"or "say in Latin" - I would like them to write them out. I feel the extra practice parsing & translating will really pay off.

WE WILL HAVE A QUIZ ON GRAMMAR RULES 14-33 (RULES FROM BLUE BOOK THAT THEY MADE FLASHCARDS)

Suggestions for parents @ home: Drill student on vocabulary & grammar rules. Check daily assignments (or have students check). Continue to have students focus on memorizing endings for declensions - sing the songs & work those charts.

Research
Once again we had very interesting reports! Continue to have the practice at home working on presentation skills - eye contact etc. They are doing well with the reports. Continue working on using those IEW tools to make their report interesting. They should be using sentence openers, transition words etc. Be sure to include interesting facts - minimum of 5. They should develop a good paragraph.

I introduced the new topic Wildflowers and they took notes on what we discussed (facts I introduce could be on open note quiz). Next week is herbs so look ahead for interesting topics & sources. Here are some possible helpful websites:

http://www.wildflowers-and-weeds.com/

http://www.vermontwildflowerfarm.com/
http://www.wild-flowers.com/
http://www.americanmeadows.com/wildflower-gardening/wildflower-facts/herbal-medicinal-wildflowers
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2009/12/flower-family-knows-its-roots-2/

Expo/Comp

Today we learned how to turn out outline into an essay. This week they write the rudimentary essay. I explained that this should be the most basic boring "essay" they will ever write. It should follow the example in the student book p 7.

1st paragraph will have 2 sentences. The thesis with enumeration ("for three reasons") & their 3 proofs listed in 1 sentence. 2nd paragraph will have 3 sentences. The sentences will start with "The first reason...", "The second reason...", & "The third reason...". These sentences will also have the verbiage "was that" just like the sample essay on p 7. The 3rd paragraph will have 1 sentence listing the 3 proofs (using word "because) - again like the essay on p 7.

See Challenge guide p. 83 for assessment & guidelines. Remember we are totally concerned with structure in this first essay - we are not looking for grace & eloquence (style), so we should not see stylistic techniques in this essay. They will bring their essay into class.

At home they write the essay and READ Carry on Mr. Bowditch.

Suggestions for parents @ home: Read their essay making sure it follows the assessment guide in Challenge guide p 83 (& sample essay in student workbook p 8). Re-watch DVD 1 Lesson 2 Invention to prepare for upcoming lesson introducing the 5 Common Topics.

Debate/Geography

Today they drew the USA, it's states, capitals & features from memory. I will return those next week.

I introduced Canada and they began tracing the outline of the country. They should draw Canada & it's provinces & capitals several times daily, adding bodies of water & features as soon as they are ready. We have 2 weeks to learn Canada - test will be on week 5. They are to pick their best map (freehand) and bring it in to class. They should also be making flashcards for the provinces & capitals for Canada.

Again, they will want to be drawing each day. As an incentive I'm doing another "Draw for points" - see below!

DRAW FOR POINTS!!! Students will earn 5 points for each map drawn this week (after they draw 8 which would be 2 per day for 4 days) Bring to class your best map!!

***We will have a Geography terms quiz next week over week 1 & 2 terms.

****Remember that at the end of the year we will be drawing the world - states, countries features - everything from memory. Students need to continue to draw areas they've been tested on. So this week, students should draw USA (states, capitals, features) - adding Canada to that map. (They can draw on the large laminated maps I gave them at the beginning of the year). The more they draw the better they'll get - the more they will be able to remember.

Rhetoric

Today we took turns sharing our ICJH summaries. We previewed chapter 3 & discussed ideas for summarizing that chapter.

We had some more good discussion on DCYB talking about the main points of the chapter & bible verses.

I totally spaced it & forgot to introduce this week's catechism questions. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU GO OVER NEW CATECHISM 7-9. They should make flashcards & continue drilling all

Suggestions for parents @ home: Discuss chapter 3 in each book. Check that student is filling out study guide for ICJH & answering questions for DCYB. Drill catechism questions (remember they must be able to state word for word).