We cherry-picked our way through the various ACT subjects and settled on Trig today.

Rowan and I reviewed the English, Reading, and Science segments of the ACT exam today. The English portion appears to be his strength, as he clearly understands several grammar rules. The Reading portion is a bit more challenging, but we discussed the efficiency of checking answers thoroughly, as all of the answers have clues in the text. He will mark the evidence for a correct answer before he moves on to the next question. If evidence is not found, he will reconsider his answer. We also evaluated a few charts in the Science segment, as he lacks confidence in this area. Progress was made, and I look forward to witnessing his improvement.

reading comprehension
essay

We started off going through the reading section and discussing each of the four types of passages. We then talked about how Rowan wants to approach each section and how to look for the information in the text. We then went over the essay and the best way to approach it, and how to give the readers what they're looking for. Rowan needs to practice daily between now and the test.

Grammar review
practice questions

We finished up going over the rules of grammar and spent some time reviewing them, and going over any questions Rowan had. We then did 30 practice questions or so, and I was very pleased with how he did. HIs biggest obstacle is his tendency to skip words when he reads (which he has always done), but every word is critical on this test. I'm confident that he can do well if he memorizes the rules and practices consistently.

verb agreement
pronouns

We continued going over the rules of grammar today, focusing mostly on verb agreement. Rowan needs to make a study sheet of the rules that he can study. He does pretty well when the material is fresh in his head, but has trouble with the long term. He had a lot of trouble with the subjective and objective case of pronouns, but we'll go over it again on Thursday.

We spent the whole session working on solving right triangles. The triangles were a mixed bag, involving triangles that could only be solved using trig functions, using the Pythagorean Theorem, or special ("short-cut") formulas.

I started by giving Rowan a 30-60-90 right triangle problem with the short side length given. He had difficulty and needed a lot of coaching to get through it, but he did get through it. We then did the same kind of exercise with a 45-45-90 triangle with the same results. We then worked through several practice problems using both kinds of right triangles.

We spent the session reviewing the Pythagorean Theorem, using the latter to find missing side lengths of right triangles and reviewing the so-called "Special" right triangles -30-60-90 and 45-45-90 triangles. We defined the three basic trig functions and will continue using them to solve right triangles next session.

complete/incomplete sentences
commas
semi-colon
colon

We started with talking about the test and the process of elimination. Rowan has not studied the rules yet, so that right there should improve his score. We worked our way through the "complete" section, and Rowan seemed to understand the different rules pretty well. I asked him to make a study guide to the rules so he can memorize them.

We spent today's session working mainly on algebra, using examples from the Barron's ACT book.
We worked on linear functions, quadratic functions and simulates equations.