Bobby completed revising his "how to" essay on the process for cleaning a fish. We worked on eliminating unnecessary words such as "you" and replacing this syntax with the simple command form of the verb . We further restructured the word order within a few sentences . This exercise helped Bobby develop word choice, clarity, and organizational skills. Next, we began reading the short story "After Twenty Years" by O'Henry. I first introduced some vocabulary words and discussed the realist genre. I further advised Bobby to be alert for O'Henry's signature surprise endings. For homework, I assigned reading the final page in the story . We will write a literary essay on divided loyalties within friendship after discussing the story.