In today's session, Yanuell continued reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. During the reading process, Yanuell analyzed themes that he recognized from both this book and the entire series. The first theme he examined was the downside of fame. Harry Potter has been famous since the circumstances of his parents’ death. Such fame has always been a dual-edge sword, but in this installment, the price of fame is really starting to get to him. When his name comes out of that goblet of fire, it is too much for those who have already allowed their simmering envy and jealousy to be contained (especially his best friend Ron). Harry becomes a target of increasing negativity and even bullying by his schoolmates. Yanuell noticed that in this book, Harry begins to feel more isolated because of his fame. The second theme that Yanuell analyzed was cooperation versus competition.
The entire framework of the narrative of this Harry Potter novel is about competition. The competitive games are the centerpiece of the plot and the positioning for a competitive advantage. The real lesson that Harry gains from being forced to take part, however, is the advantage that comes with cooperation. Hagrid, Moody, Dobby, and even Cedric are all instrumental in guiding Harry through the tournament. Even Voldemort’s wand cooperates when he most needs it, a surprising spin on cooperation that surprised Yanuell. The last theme that he examined during today's reading was a recurring motif that runs throughout the entire series of the Harry Potter books, overcoming fear. While the teenage fears of the unknown are still very much on display in Harry’s marshmallow legs during the tournament, the thematic centerpiece of this adventure is the fear that Voldemort and his Death Eaters are capable of engineering and the power that fear gives. The connective tissue in this theme is the one linking the cowardly Cornelius Fudge, and his stubborn refusal even to admit the possibility of Voldemort’s return to Harry’s heroic rejection of fear in his interrogation by Voldemort. Yanuell really enjoyed making these connections while enjoying one of his new favorite series.
In today's session, Yanuell continued reading, discussing, and analyzing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in the series. Additionally, Yanuell looked at symbolism within the text, beginning with Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill, which takes notes for her. The quill is acid green, moves of its own accord, and is presumably to blame for Rita Skeeter's exaggerated and inflammatory articles. During Harry's first interview with Skeeter, he watches her test the quill by telling it only her name. The quill, however, records not just Skeeter's name, but her age, observations about her appearance, and tidbits about her reputation. In this way, the quill itself shows Harry that he can't trust everything he reads--by seeing the quill in action, he discovers that even if he or someone else tells the truth, that doesn't mean that the truth will actually end up in the papers. Instead, what does end up in the papers is filtered through someone else with goals and an agenda all their own--and in the case of Harry and his participation in the Triwizard Tournament, that agenda has little to do with the truth. The second symbol that Yanuell analyzed was the Dark Mark, which symbolized two things. The first is when witches and wizards see it in the sky. It immediately strikes fear, panic, dread and terror as it symbolizes that the people under the mark are dead. It is a dreaded symbol in the wizarding community. It’s also a symbol branded onto the forearm of Voldemort’s followers.
In today's session, Yanuell continued reading King George, What Was His Problem: The Whole Hilarious Story of the American Revolution. Yanuell read and learned about how the Declaration of Independence came to be. Franklin had been the obvious choice, but he was sick in bed. With this the author shared a hilarious back and forth between Jefferson and Adams, who bickered over who would do the actual writing. In the end, Jefferson was the one to write the Declaration of Independence. Yanuell appreciated the simplistic form used to explain what the Declaration basically says, following the actual words. People are born with certain rights, King George has taken those rights, and thus, the colonists are forming their own country. This chapter also examined how members of Congress were slave owners which completely contradicts, "all men are created equal" and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
In today's session, Yanuell continued reading, discussing, and analyzing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He focused a great deal on the effect vocabulary has on building suspense. Yanuell also looked at the amazing way JK Rowling could craft the story to keep readers hanging on to every word. He has loved reading this series and is able to make literary connections well beyond his age.
In today's session, Yanuell continued reading King George, What Was His Problem: The Whole Hilarious Story of the American Revolution. The chapter he read and discussed today looked at Benjamin Franklin's role in the war and began with a humorous story. The anecdote began by explaining that Franklin would do anything for independence, even share a single bed with John Adams. The two had been traveling together and could only find a room with a small bed, no chimney, and a tiny window. The two men tried to get comfortable, but Franklin wanted the window open and Adams was cold and afraid of getting sick. Franklin then explained, at length, his theory on colds. Adams said it was the best bedtime story he ever had and fell asleep quickly. Yanuell found this story to be hilarious and added that he loves this book. The remainder of the chapter looked at Franklin's focus on the colonies declaring independence, Thomas Paine and his pamphlet, Common Sense, and Abigail Adam's role as advisor to her husband.
In today's session, Yanuell analyzed some facts and figures to help him understand the Revolutionary War from a mathematical perspective. He learned that 2,165,076 British colonists lived in North America during the war. This was a number that surprised both of us! Twenty percent of these colonists remained loyal to Great Britain. The British had 133,000 troops and of these, 56,000 were regular military soldiers. 24,000 of the British troops died. A fact that Yanuell already knew thanks to his research, was that 30,000 German (Hessian) troops joined the fight to help the British. 13,000 Native Americans fought for the Redcoats, along with 19,000 loyal colonists. 96,000 troops served in the American army and only 35,000 of these were career army soldiers. 45,000 were militiamen – men who enlisted to serve their country. 5,000 sailors served along with 12,000 French troops. 25,000 American soldiers died; however, only 4,435 died in battle. Approximately 10,000 troops died of disease, 18,000 troops were taken as prisoners of war, and 10,000 of these died of mistreatment and hunger. American troops were three times more likely to die on a British prisoner ship than in battle. Up to 25,000 freed blacks and slaves fought on both sides. Yanuell felt that this lesson gave him excellent insight in looking at the war.
Friday, May 29, 2020
11:00 -12:00 60 min. -
Science:
TEAMS: - Dragons and Gametes -
Completing our dragon genetics game, Yanuell was challenged to determine the genotype of a dragon, based solely on the phenotype of one parent and generations of offspring. He was able to determine the genotype of the missing parent, and determine if they were capable of sample offspring. We finished the class remembering our favorite classwork together, and saying goodbye.
Yanuell went to the Leather Back page of his website, opened the page editor, and we worked on more facts about each of the Yeagers featured on his page. We were able to complete all of the facts and Yanuell saved his work.
Yanuell opened up his Leather Back page, opened the page editor and was instructed to find images of the monster that would be featured on the page. I had Yanuell resize the images that he found and upload them to the webpage. Yanuell was instructed to find images of the Yeagers (robots) that would be featured on the page, resize the images and upload them to the page. Yanuell saved his work for the next class.
