Nico participated in a guided reading exercise. We collaboratively read chapters 6 and 7 in 'Take a Stand, Rosa Parks!' We discussed how the last line in chapter 8 was a predictor of how Rosa would one day make history. Nico correctly stated how her actions would make history. we concluded by noting how Rosa's actions began a movement that ended legal segregation in America and we defined new subject-specific vocabulary with which Nico was unfamiliar.

Chris responded to questions about content and vocabulary we covered in our readings in "The outsider. He made relevant personal connections and sustained interest as he participated in guided reading.

Language Features

Excellent class today discussing the character S.E. Hinton introduced in the novel, "The Outsiders." Chris participated in a guided reading exercise with 2 of his peers, one of whom had already read the book. We discussed the language structure and figurative speech Hinton used to characterize the friends in the protagonist, Pony Boy's, social circle. We reviewed the difference in the social classes in the two different gangs, discussed locale and language and used contextual clues to figure out meanings. Each boy participated in a lively discussion as to what group and character they most closely identified with or who they resonated with the most.

Nico was tasked with recalling facts about Rosa Parks from the book we are reading in class. We collectively identified 13 facts about Rosa Parks and I wrote them on the whiteboard. We read "Rosa Learns Other Lessons (pages 24 - 30) and Nico was queried on the material to ascertain comprehension. He integrated the material effectively but required prompts to engage and refocus his attention. We learned about and defined subject-specific terms including civil rights, boycott, and discrimination and discussed and covered the actions of the Ku Klux Klan as we read the scholastic chapter book biography.

Nico participated in a guided reading exercise. We alternated reading two chapters (Chapters 3 and 4) in the book about Rosa Parks ("Take a Stand, Rosa Parks!"). Nico related to a story about one of Rosa's earliest teachers, Ms. Hill and stated he had a teacher by the same name at his school at Big Bear in California. We learned how much Rosa enjoyed school and learned about Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver - and what they are each best known for- founding the Tuskegee Institute and finding hundreds of uses for peanuts, respectively.

We continued to read the coming-of-age novel "The Outsiders," by S.E. Hinton. Additional characters were introduced, and Chris was queried about their personality traits and the language used to paint a picture about their appearance and character. We discussed and identified figurative language and how it enriched the text.

We began with a character review. Chris was queried on the characters' names, main personality traits and the names of the two gangs in the story. His recall benefitted greatly from prompting methods. Through guided reading and analysis of Hinton's language, we summarized the beginning of the novel and noted that it is told from the point of view of a 14 year-old boy, the protagonist, Pony Boy, who narrates about his involvement in the working class "greaser" gang, and upper-class "Socs." Chris added some personal anecdotes as we dived into a discussion and analysis of the two different types of gang members represented in the novel. Chris's attention improves if he is interested in the subject but redirection is frequently needed to help his focus and recall.

We backtracked a bit in the book as Chris was unable to recall many details when queried. This time, we stopped periodically to note the main characters mentioned and discuss their personality traits. Chris enjoyed the depiction of the different gangs and responded well to the supportive prompts afforded him to cue his memory and understanding of the nuances the author suggested by the way he structured his language, noting the similes used to enrich the story.

Student Absent