Will and I completed our study of the English Reformation. Through this section, Will learned about the creation of the Anglican Church, the Tudor monarchs, and the interconnectedness of countries within the Holy Roman Empire. We also discussed the Catholic churches response to Protestantism, and the Spanish Inquisition.

We reviewed angles and tied that into worldwide conventions on runways, starting with compass directions and moving on to runway labels (e.g., "Runway 15" means the runway is heading SSW, i.e. 150 degrees. At the other end of the runway, the label is "33" meaning its heading 330 degrees (NNW), the reciprocal of 150.) We worked several problems on graph paper.

We defined and illustrated segment and angle bisectors. We worked through several example problems on the white board. We used the protractor to measure angles of various sizes and to draw angles of various sizes. We also used the protractor to draw and label angles and their bisectors.

Will and I began discussing the role of Henry VIII and the Reformation in England, including the creation of the Anglican Church. We discussed the early issues Henry had and his political strategies in creating his own church. Our session was cut short by a student celebration. We will return to this topic in depth on Monday.

Today, Will reviewed the Italian Renaissance and its movement north into Germany. We discussed the schism with the Catholic Church (Martin Luther), and the rise of Lutheranism and Calvinism. I challenged him to present part of the topic to add to our graphic organizer on the board. He prepared and taught me about the Peace of Augsburg.

We explored the formulas for computing perimeter, circumference and areas. We worked several example problems together at the white board.

We explored the differences and similarities between perimeters and circumferences and examined the various ways of calculating areas.

read/discuss the Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
utilitarianism
utopia/dystopia

Will and I had a great discussion leading up to reading this story. We covered utilitarianism, and utopia vs. dystopia. He was very active in the conversation and contributed some very solid thoughts. We then started reading the story but did not have time to finish by the end of class.

discuss Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
Read/discuss The Old Man with Enormous Wings

Will did not get the time to work on the writing assignment I gave him, but he did finish reading the short story. I'm very pleased with his comprehension and willingness to play with ideas. We then started reading and discussing the new short story before time ran out.

Will learned about the reasons for and consequences of the Protestant Reformation including: theological and practical differences between the Catholic and Protestant churches (salvation, authority, rites, etc), interconnectedness of trade/merchantilism. serfdom, which contributed to the wealth of the Catholic church, Martin Luther's role, and much new vocabulary. We discussed the importance of this event in terms of subsequent splits and geography, and we connected the historical schism with 20th century issues as well (i.e. the Troubles in Ireland).