Ethan expressed interest in watching short videos related to the causes of the Civil War and key events during the war. We read aloud supplemental information pertaining to the Civil War and then completed post-video/reading quizzes.

We completed a KWL survey of Cuba. Ethan considered what he knew, what he wanted to know, and what he learned about Cuba after conducting some research. Ethan asked some very good questions and was able to change his mind completely about life on the island. He had been very afraid of it, but now wants to go fishing there.

Today Ethan worked on his Sadlier Vocabulary Unit 9. He matched meanings and he found synonyms and antonyms for his words. When he was finished, he read a story on Raz Kids about how the New York sky line has changed over the years.

We learned that there are two types of consumers on the food chain. The organisms that eat only plants are called herbivores and the ones that eat only animals are called carnivores. Then we learned about decomposers or living things that get energy by breaking down wastes and dead plant and animal matter. Next we learned that mushrooms help decompose logs and worms eat dead leaves and other plant parts. We learned that the wastes from these organisms help make the soil richer.

Ethan sketches the following woodworking tools: claw hammer, screwdriver, and wrench. He then views videos on how the following things are made: claw hammer, timber, plywood, and artificial turf.
Good session.

We identified a famous Latino baseball player, Aroldis Chapman, and then wrote a bit about his life: his childhood in Cuba, his first team at age 15, his play with the National Team, defection from Cuba, MLB career and fastest recorded pitch: 106 mph.

Ethan watched two short videos from Brainpop.com. The first video pertained the the stock market. The second video was about President Barack Obama. We completed post-video quizzes after viewing the videos. The Brainpop videos and supplemental materials related to the topic area are tailored to his grade level. Ethan seems to retain more when a visual element (short video)is involved.

Ethan was very attentive and focused today, listening and answering reading comprehension questions on Raz Kids website. He first chose a book about Floods and answered quiz questions. He wrote a free writing piece in response to a prompt, finishing the beginning idea which started with a "Kapow!" Ethan wrote what happened next. Afterwards, he chose another book about September 11th. He finished, but we ran out of time, so he was not able to answer the questions for that book.

Ethan was introduced to the definition of perimeter. Ethan watched three videos on youtube to help explain perimeter. Ethan identified the perimeter of multiple different shapes including squares and rectangles. Ethan identified the length of a missing side by using the given perimeter. Ethan played two perimeter games on the internet practice calculating perimeter.

Ethan practiced converting yards to miles. He practiced basic problems and scenarios on the projector. Ethan looked up football players and converted the amount of rushing yards each one has had in his or her career. He converted them to miles and ordered each one. Ethan played measurement games to review basic customary measurement.