We did a couple more example problems involving objects in free fall, and then did a review of the topics covered in the time that we have been working together.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
She was very unfocused today since she is leaving tomorrow for Maryland.
Charlotte will be able to factor polynomials including: Factoring out the GCF, Factoring by Grouping, Factoring trinomials with 1 as the leading coefficient, Factoring trinomials when 1 is not the leading coefficient, factoring perfect square trinomials and difference of squares.
Assignment
none
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
This was my last day with Charlotte. Since I was not able to find out what topic is being covered in the class that she is entering, I felt like factoring would be the most useful concept to cover (I have noticed that she did not retain much info about factoring from algebra 1).
1. Writing
-Write a paragraph summary of William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"
-Reduce the paragraph to 3 sentences. Focus on cutting out the "fluff" and being more concise.
2. Discussion
-Review homework: What symbols did you find in the story? What do they mean to you? Why are they significant to the story?
-If you were to tell the same story in the setting of South Florida in 2012, how would the story change? Would the characters change? What about the plot? Describe.
-Review and discuss the importance and implications of significant quotes from the story. Why did Faulkner write them in this specific way? What is he trying to convey with his word choice?
3. Goals
-Revise drafts to cut out "fluff" before turning in.
-Use specific words that have weight rather than sweeping general terms.
Assignment
Good luck in Annapolis!
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Charlotte really impressed me with her work and attitude today. She had some great ideas in our discussions, and she made a strong effort to improve her writing. She was much more specific and detail oriented. She also included very specific adjectives to make her writing more rich. This she did on her own! I was really proud of her for taking my advice and implementing it without my explicitly having to ask her to.
At the end of the session, Charlotte and I discussed what my goals are for her to apply to her new school. I told her that she's a strong writer as far as her ideas are concerned, but she needs to be more concise with her writing so that the writing itself reflects the complexity of her ideas. Our exercise in reducing the paragraph was to show how much stronger the 3 sentence paragraph was than her original 7 sentence paragraph.
I think she is confident in starting her new school, and I wish her all the best of luck! I very much enjoyed working with her.
1. Review homework
2. DIscussion
-Framework of morality
-Ethical experiments and the implications of their results
3. Writing
-Compare a pointless or even a harmful tradition celebrated in modern times to that of the lottery. Refer to the text including summarizing and quoting the text.
4. Revising
Assignment
Read "A Rose for Emily" and identify the symbolism Faulkner employs in his short story.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Charlotte is very passionate about her opinions, which is both wonderful and hindering to her writing abilities. Because she is so outspoken, she has no issues with brainstorming or the writing process; however, she tends to focus more on stating her opinion than backing it up with relevant examples, details, and/or references.
We discussed this when we revised her paragraph comparing a modern tradition to that of the lottery. She found it difficult to find ways to compare them because she doesn't think they have anything in common. I brainstormed with her about the similarities between her chosen tradition, April Fool's Day, and the lottery. She found one connection, but did not think it was significant enough to write about. I showed her points of the text she could refer to that are similar to dangerous pranks people play solely to laugh at the physical harm they have committed to their friends. I am writing my own paragraph response to the question over the weekend to share with her so that she can see an example of good writing.
Charlotte is adamant that she is a fantastic writer. While I agree that she does have talent, I think she quickly pumps out what she refers to as "bs" because it is easy for her. I told her I'd like to see her challenge herself to write those details or draw those conclusions that she has a hard time grasping into her work. By doing that, I told her she could go from an above-average writer to a great writer.
