We continued to address writing tactics to refine Quinn's ability to write effectively. He chose one of three writing prompts that entailed him promoting a dessert and being as descriptive as possible. He had an idea for a vanilla shake that could constantly change with the addition of various ingredients, and we brainstormed various ideas for catchy names for the dessert. We considered synonyms for 'change', and Quinn chose to include the word versatile in the dessert's title. Quinn had definitive ideas of how he wished to express himself. After he wrote a paragraph, we reviewed it together to insure that proper conventions of language were met. We reviewed tenses, spelling, and various word choices. Quinn was encouraged to think of different adjectives to describe his dessert and to come up with a good closing sentence to leave a positive impact on readers. He was receptive to considering ideas but was also sure about what he wanted to include and how he wished to express himself. After he completed the writing prompt, he asked if we could read the Louis Sachar book. We had time to read one chapter (37) after Quinn recalled where we left off the last time we met about two weeks ago. Quinn was cooperative and productive during our session. I was happy to learn he looks forward to our sessions.
We worked on organizing our thoughts and specifically addressed the purpose, value and strategy of using transitional phrases to show the relationships between sentences and paragraphs and to make the transitions, when writing, smooth and relevant. Quinn selected one of three prompts about which to write and chose one that allowed him to write about the job he would consider the coolest. He was shown options and asked which he thought was most effective choice to communicate the next thought or idea. He then was tasked with developing a transitional phrase that would improve the efficacy of his writing and relate the transition between his thoughts smoothly. When writing, Quinn requested some assistance to spell words. We were able to review homonyms, as he was challenged with certain spelling (i.e., their/there/they're). The exercise also allowed us to refine and edit our writing while developing and fleshing out our composition, and Quinn was careful to make a concerted effort to write legibly. We made a copy and added it to his binder. Quinn was pleased with his effort and Ms. Judie afforded him well-deserved praise after reading his composition. Quinn was afforded a 5-minute break and then requested that we read another chapter in the novel. We read chapter 24 and Quinn answered correctly when queried about the characters and relationships.
Quinn responded to a writing prompt in class today. He was eager to begin work and responsive to directions and suggestions. Quinn was afforded the option of selecting one of three options and chose one about sports. He shared very good ideas and was taught how to elaborate his responses and add comlexity to his writing. He explained how to choose different words to add greater variety and interest in his word choices. Quinn had an excllent idea on how to end his writing with a twist to generate excitement and interest. We had an excellent and productive session.
Quinn was given a choice of writing prompts and selected the one that most resonated with him. It was "What athlete do you especially admire? Write and editorial persuading readers that the athlete you admire is a good role model for kids. Quin brainstormed his ideas first and then flushed them out in the development process. He initiated good thoughts that were relevant to the topic and asked for help spelling a few words. Quinn was responsive and respectful when corrected or offered suggestions to develop his writing. He was encouraged to think of a good closing sentence and to bear in mind using adjectives to make his writing more descriptive and interesting. Quinn was elated to receive a poster showing three of his favorite athletes in a spirit of camaraderie. I had inserted it in his binder and he was excited to take it home and show his family.
Quinn was given 3 writing prompts and the opportunity to choose one about which to write. The three choices were as follows: If you could play with any famous person, who would it be? 2) The best gift I ever received was....3) What is the bravest thing you have ever done? Quinn was provided with a clear idea of what he was expected to do and the steps to follow to compose a complete response. He was encouraged to plan and structure his response to give the reader a clear understanding of the progression of events, and decide what details are most important within the writing and which might be distracting to the reader. Ten minutes was allotted for Quinn to plan out and write his response. He was encouraged to re-read his response before submitting it for review. He did not use the time allotted and wrote hastily. He was encouraged to reflect on the question and plan his responses before writing but required considerable supports to help guide his thoughts. He said he had done a lot of writing in school earlier and was reticent to write more. I began the topic sentence of his choice and Quinn was offered supports and encouragement to continue. He needed reminders to write in complete sentences. I explained that a sentence he wrote was called a sentence fragment and was not a complete thought. I pointed out that details could have been added to express his thoughts more clearly. He read me his responses as I had difficulty with his hand-writing. We had planned to finish up the session reading a chapter or two in the novel but Quinn accidentally opened a dry erase marker at the wrong end (the refill end) and it required some attention to clean.
I showed Quinn a chart showing the Latin and Greek roots of words and explained that it's important and helpful to understand word origins, or roots, in order to better understand the meanings of words. We reviewed prefixes or suffixes and recalled that they are groups of letters that come before or after words that change the meaning of the words to which they're attached and that a root is a word part that provides the basic meaning of a word. I showed Quinn some root words and asked him to figure out the meaning of several words (e.g. bicycle). I also asked Quinn to name some words using the root word shown and to identify the words with common roots. For another exercise, Quinn was asked to pick the odd word out of a group of words and we made some words with common roots. We watched a short video to reinforce and consolidate gains. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWyX8vl6kMs).
Prior to our session, Quinn was permitted to take 5 minutes to look up a poster he would like to put up to decorate his room. He chose the soccer player Maradona. We got right to work after he made his choice. We worked on a reading passage entitled the Simple Physics of Soccer." the article's content vocabulary words included: apply; combination; determine; exert. The words proved a bit challenging to Quinn. He was asked about them before we started reading and then after reading the article,and Quinn was able to understand their meanings better after reading and exploring the words through some different activities. He then answered questions about the article. Quinn answered 6 out of 8 questions correctly and explanations were afforded him. Quinn also worked on exercises requiring him to choose the best word that fit in sentences, but the work was more challenging; a few strategies were shown to facilitate performance. After completing his work, Quinn asked if we could read a chapter in the novel. We read chapters 28 - 30 - guided reading with Quinn, as he did not want to read too much today. When queried, however, Quinn demonstrated good comprehension, listening, and inferential reasoning skills. He was excited, animated, and responsive today, and he is looking forward to getting his poster!
This afternoon, Quinn worked on a reading task after we got settled in class. Quinn remembered the chapter we were on (chapter 26) and was happy to read along with me using a clear ruler to hold his place. He grew very excited to pass page 100.
Quinn expressed that he was not happy to return to school but was looking forward to coming here to the Batt School. He shared his experiences over the Winter break and his favorite presents. Quinn requested a song about soccer as we were reading an article about soccer. It was called Wavin' Flag - sung by the artist, K'naan. Quinn sang along with it and he was motivated to work. We collaboratively read two chapters in the novel and Quinn demonstrated excellent recall of details and characters. He raised questions about the characters change in personality and suggested reasons why it happened. Quinn made excellent connections between cause and effect as pertained to the character's interpersonal relationships. I also gave Quinn copy of a student's comic book as he expressed interest in reading one. We noted and circled some words that were spelled incorrectly. We also read a passage about earthworms. Quinn answered questions correctly and his answers reflected higher-order critical thinking skills. We had a productive session.
After choosing the room in which he wanted to work and settling in, this afternoon, Quinn worked on a reading passage I had selected about an African folk tale. After a few initial prompts to focus, Quinn sustained attention and was able to answer all the multiple-choice content questions and one open-ended question for which he added details and elaborated in his response, independent of prompts. When queried about the book we have been reading, Quinn recalled literary features and important elements of the story. He filled in certain key phrases used for effect by the author, Louis Sachar, and remembered the term 'leit motif,' referring to the literary device characterized by repetition of themes and word choices. Quinn was able to recognize that the attributes of the main characters were being reversed and suggested possible reasons prompting the reversal, which added an interesting and more complex twist to the story elements. Quinn prompted me to read one last chapter although there was little time left in our session, and he stated he was pleased with our progress, revealing a bit of a competitive streak when comparing his progress to other students reading the book.
