I was so excited for today's lesson with Elle as I knew she was going to share her experience and impressions of Mustique from her family vacation there during Thanksgiving break. Two weeks ago, I shared with her that Mustique is the most elite of the Caribbean Islands and very British. After being there, Elle really appreciated talking about the island as well as learning and listening about it. Elle expressed an appreciation and respect for the indigenous island residents. And she now believes me that Mick Jagger has a home there! (David Bowie had a home there too, but Elle has never heard of him.) While there, Elle also learned that Tommy Hilfinger has a home in Mustique. Today in class Elle learned that Mustique was purchased in 1958 by Lord Charles Tennant under whose guidance the island began to be developed. In 1960, Princess Margaret,the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, accepted as a wedding present his gift of a 10-acre plot of land, where she built a residence called Les Jolies Eaux. In 1979, Mustique Island was transformed from a family estate into a private limited company with the homeowners as shareholders. Prince William, Princess Kate and their children also vacation in Mustique.

The geography, climate, economy and culture of the Pacific Island regions of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.
These regions are found in the 20,000 - 30,000 islands below the Tropic of Cancer.
1,200 languages are spoken throughout the Pacific Islands.
There are 10 independent nations, three islands that belong to other nations and six self-governing nations that still rely on larger nations for help and seven nations that are considered territories of either France, New Zealand, Great Britain or the United States.

We focused on the devastation and loss currently happening in CA as a result of the wildfires. We learned about the geographic and weather conditions that contribute to these fires in this part of the country.

Today's lesson focused on Australia and New Zealand, their geography, climate, population, economy, government and the culture of the indigenous Aborigine and Maori peoples. We learned about the history of both countries, their national symbols and some of the amazing wildlife found in lands of the southern hemisphere.

Elle brought her Texas project board back into school today! Way to go, Elle! We were able to resume solid research and adding to it today. We also spent some time on a CNN for Students lesson.

Today, Elle resumed work on her Texas project. Despite daily reminders to bring her TX project board into school, she has yet to do so. We will still complete this project. I explained to Elle that she has two choices: continue to add to what she started or she can just start over. Follow through is important to success in school...and life.

We finally reviewed all of the amendments, 1 - 13 that will be on tomorrow's state election ballot. Some of them are called "bundled" amendments. These are odd, confusing and somewhat misleading amendments that literally ask voters to vote "yes" or "no" on 2 or 3 completely unrelated issues in an amendment. We decided that it may be best to vote "no" some of these bundled amendments. We finally got through all of them in time for election day tomorrow!

Elle was absent today.

Elle was absent...

Today's lesson began with two short introductory videos. The first was a series of clips showing 7 Natural Wonders of the World, including Victoria Falls (Zambia/Zimbabwe, Africa), Mt. Everest (Nepal, Asia), and the Grand Canyon (USA, North America), to name a few. Henry effectively answered numerous higher-order questions; an example being, "What factors make a location likely to become a 'natural wonder of the world'?". The second video included clips of 7 Man-Made Wonders of the Ancient World. (Look ahead: we will be viewing a clip of 7 Modern Wonders of the World in the next lesson). Again, Henry showed the foundational understanding, exhibited in his responses to several analytical and synthesis-type questions, of size and scope of a natural or man-made "structure" being a key ingredient in being claimed a "wonder". However, it was the connections between wonders of the ancient and wonders of the modern world. To the question, "what do all these man-made structures have in common?", Henry again noted the size, but he made another strong analysis that was interesting. Henry seemed to point his awareness toward man-made wonders being in cities or populated areas, and natural wonders being in places away from the city, ie rural areas. The lesson concluded with a critical negotiation between Henry and I. On Monday, we discussed a World Map Project, which I usually encourage as a enrichment activity with students. However, it became apparent that Henry has a strong grasp of physical and political maps. I assessed him on latitude/longitude, and he understood how climate changes as latitude ascends, north or south, from the equator, and how this affects human actions/decision/culture. So, after a brief discussion, I opted to allow Henry to create his own World, which he will need to incorporate these critical understandings to produce a viable society. Henry agreed to the project idea and we shook on his commitment to it.