We continued our study of Yanuell's lesson words. We used these words correctly in sentences. We continued reading the novel. We completed some brief comprehension activities. We discussed the theme and the characters. Yanuell also made some predictions of what he thinks will happen in the story. He also related some of his own experiences to what is happening in the book.

I projected a series of reading comprehension and vocabulary exercises during today's session. We discussed how to address reading comprehension tests requiring inferences and choosing the best answer. I focused on words in the question such as" mostly" and "best" to explain how many of the answers may not be wrong ,but are still not the best response . We looked at an expository paragraph as well as a sample of fiction. Yanuell displayed a very high level of reading comprehension and insight. We then examined how to answer vocabulary questions by gleaning meaning from context . Again, Yanuell exhibited a very high level of mastery in this exercise. Last, we discussed the Freytag triangle that identifies the parts of work of fiction: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution and examined how to incorporate these literary terms into a literary essay.

3-7 Dividing Decimals
We learned how to divide a decimal by a decimal. Then we saw that moving the decimal point the same number of places in both the divisor and the dividend signifies multiplying both by the same power of 10.
Assignment: Homework Practice Page 3-7

In today's session, Yanuell continued reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In addition to his usual comprehension work, Yanuell also analyzed the change in tone and mood from the first three books to this one. The tone and mood in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is darker than in previous novels. The stakes are higher and the humor is less frequent. Harry finds himself alienated more frequently and more fully than in the previous novels as Ron and Hermione branch out to follow their own pursuits. After examining tone/mood, Yanuell worked on antagonist and protagonist; specifically, that there can be more than one antagonist and protagonist in a novel. In this case, he recognized that in addition to Lord Voldemort, Rita Skeeter is another antagonist. Yanuell also determined that Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley are protagonists along with Harry Potter. This type of literary analysis in conjunction with reading and comprehension activities have helped Yanuell have a broader grasp of the text at hand.

In today's social studies session, Yanuell read the next chapter in King George, What Was His Problem, by Steve Sheinkin. This title of this chapter is, George Washington, Meet Your Army and looks at the first battles of the war, as well as several important people involved in these battles. Yanuell read about Ethan Allen, the Green Mountain Boys, John Adams, John Hancock, George and Martha Washington, and William Prescott. This chapter had a detailed map of the Battle of Bunker Hill that made the logistics easy to understand. Yanuell continues to love this book and the format in which the author examines history.

In today's session, Yanuell continued reading the fourth book in the Harry Potter series. In addition to reading, he analyzed vocabulary words and worked on character development for Hedwig, Harry's owl. Yanuell faced many unknown words today including sycophantically and surreptitiously. He used the online Cobuild Dictionary to look up the words. Cobuild revolutionized dictionaries for learners. It was the first of a new generation of dictionaries that were based on real examples of English rather than on compilers’ intuition, the type of English that people speak and write every day. This dictionary is an amazing resource and one that is especially helpful for Yanuell. He was able to read that if you describe someone as sycophantic, you disapprove of them because they flatter people who are more important and powerful than they are in order to gain an advantage for themselves. This was easy for him to understand and apply to the situation in the book. In addition to reading, comprehension, and vocabulary work, Yanuell analyzed the character development of Hedwig. He immediately recognized that the movies are unable to really develop certain characters, especially those who don't speak. Yanuell took her character and listed traits that apply based upon her actions, body movements, and attitude. He really enjoyed today's session.

Today's session happened all thanks to Yanuell's thirst for knowledge. He was very excited to show me the new bat that had just been delivered. He explained all of the details of the bat and why it will be great for his hitting. I asked about the timing of when players must transition to wood bats to comply with baseball regulations. To this, Yanuell said, "I don't know, but I think we should research it!" And not only did he research the answer to my question, but researched and read all about the history of baseball bats. It was amazing to see him read, process, and digest all of the historical details about the sport he loves.

In today's session, Yanuell continued his American Revolution unit of study. Yanuell felt that it was important to learn more about King George III, so he did biographical research and reading. There were many facts and details about King George that Yanuell didn't know and was happy to learn. In addition to reading a great deal of information about the monarch, Yanuell uncovered some extremely interesting facts. The first being that King George was England’s longest-ruling monarch before Queen Victoria, with a 59-year reign. Being the science lover that he is, Yanuell was excited to learn that the planet Uranus was originally named "Georgium sidus," the Georgian Star, after King George III of England, who had funded the 40-foot telescope William Herschel used in its discovery. Another shocking detail was that he had suffered intermittent bouts of acute mental illness and spent his last decade in a fog of insanity and blindness. George III died blind, deaf and mad on January 29, 1820. His illnesses may have been caused by porphyria, an inherited metabolic disorder, though a 2005 analysis of hair samples suggested arsenic poisoning (from medicines and cosmetics) as a possible cause. This biographical research will help Yanuell analyze the decisions that the monarch made during the Revolutionary War.

We had the pleasure of Miss Judie visiting our class today. Yanuell was quick to tell her that we have read 12 books this year. He is very proud of his accomplishment as he should be. He recommended his favorite two for her to read this summer. We talked about his dinosaur book that he wrote. We also talked about his writing pieces.

3-6 Dividing a Whole Number by a Decimal - We learned that a number divided by a decimal can be represented as an equivalent calculation using place value to change the divisor to a whole number. Then we practiced several examples to ensure our understanding of the concept. Next we played a Jeopardy game on decimal operations.