Today, Chris and I examined topics in cultural geography via review of some terms in the units which are similar to one another and easy to confuse. Chris was afforded supports to help him differentiate between the terms: cultural divergence, cultural convergence, and cultural diffusion and a lesson in prefixes to help him understand the meanings easier. Chris was afforded prompts to facilitate his attention initially but these were gradually faded as his attention maximized and he improved his focusing skills. I helped Chris on a pretest to better assess his understanding and retention of material covered in the unit we are completing.
Paige had the following assignments: write 7-10 sentences in her English journal (responding to a prompt about The Odyssey) and edit an essay about Dr. Martin Luther King's speech, "I Have a Dream."
Paige summarized Book X, and we discussed the motif of hubris. I helped Paige edit her topic sentence; she wrote the remaining sentences independently. Her history essay required only minor edits to fulfill the 500-word limit. Meanwhile, I reviewed The Benjamin School student portal to understand upcoming assignments.
In preparation for next Tuesday's session, we will read Book XI of The Odyssey and annotate the text. We will compare annotations and discuss them in session.
Assignment
none
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Paige is lovely. I hope she will allow me to help her more as she gets used to me. She tends to want to work independently and rush through assignments. I noticed several skills I could help her with (for example, more efficient and accurate annotation and more concise writing). I am confident that this will come in time.
Paige had the following assignment: Compare two poems by Louise Gluck ("Penelope" and "Telemachus's Guilt") to The Odyssey. Choose a quote from each poem and create a Google Slide illustrating the selection; write one sentence explaining why you chose the quote, and cite the quote in MLA format.
Paige and I read the poems together and discussed their connection to The Odyssey. Paige selected appropriate quotes and found clip art to illustrate her choices. She worked quickly and independently.
To conclude, we began reading Book X of The Odyssey, due Thursday.
Richard and I went over his spelling words. He sounded them out and wrote them on a dry erase board. Then he used them in a sentence. Next he used each word in a sentence with a contraction.
Hudson read, "The Tale-Tell Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe and identified the theme of the story. We discussed the setting, mood, tone, characterization, and plot structure. He recognized this as gothic literature and made the connection to Stephen King's, "IT". Although this story is not gruesome, it does reflect the gothic genre. Hudson answered comprehension questions and written responses. He was able to explain how the plotline, setting, and characterization are used to determine the theme of the story.
Introduced Hudson to Roman mythology with a discussion of what myths are and why they were written. He read "Prometheus and Pandora's Box" by James Baldwin. As he read, he underlined key points that reflect the character traits, discussed the stages of the plotline, and how the author developed the theme and the moral of the story. Hudson answered the comprehension questions and wrote a short reflection of the story and the author's message using evidence from the text to support his claim.
Santino used a complete sentence when requesting lunch today, "I want to eat," and he required only one prompt to do so. He also enjoyed his lunch of pureed/whipped potatoes and it was of a thicker consistency that enabled him to eat it without any spillage. He refused other food options but later requested a snack of Fruit Loops and water, which he drank from a cup. Santino will occasionally omit sentence prepositions; however, he is responsive to prompts when they are pointed out, and he will make an effort to verbalize the sentence correctly. We are currently working on adding the word, 'please' when making requests but have just begun to add this at the beginning or end of sentences, where appropriate. Santino requested to go outside, but waited until the other students had left for the day as he prefers having the playground to himself. Once outside, he enjoyed going on the different types of equipment as I narrated his actions. Together, he counted the steps leading to the 2 different slides and enjoyed finding hidden objects based on directional cues. This helps him to better understand the function and importance of prepositions in speech as Santino is responsive to verbal and visual cues and learns quickly, if invested. When we went back inside after Santino requested to do so, he aptly named the student's rooms that he wished to visit. Back in the classroom, we worked on a calendar skill today. Santino identified the days of the week and ordered them correctly with manipulatives. He also read the alphabet in Spanish off a wall chart, requiring just a few prompts to facilitate his performance. Santino squealed with delight after completing this activity, and he demonstrated good social referencing skills as we navigated about the facility. We enjoyed a highly productive and fun day.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
As you are aware, Kim arrived late to pick up Santino at the end of the day. She has been habitually late picking him up but I've remained with him till she arrives (I am requesting compensation for this time, as we discussed). Kim mentioned that she will be late frequently but noted that I lived down the block. I mentioned this to you, Judie, and we agreed that might consider suggesting that Kim arrange for Santino to arrive 1/2 hour later daily and leave 1/2 hour later. Judie - you mentioned that you would have someone discuss this proposal with Kim. Thank you.
