Today Chase and I concentrated on creating figurative language. I gave Chase a number of descriptions to turn into similes, metaphors, and personifications. Next, we discussed writing the middle of her photograph inspired story and creating conflict and tension using figurative language.

Chase reviewed demonstrative adjectives, preterite tense, and practiced differentiating between saber and conocer.

Monday, December 11, 2017
02:30 - 04:15; 105 min. -
AP Environmental Science:
SKYPE Succession -
Chase was unable to attend in person, so we had class over Skype. In view of the current firestorms in Southern California, we explored what happens to an ecosystem after it has been burned away. The return of life to an empty space is called succession. There is a set order to succession, starting with pioneer species: bacteria and annual plants and followed by grasses, bushes, small trees, and finally the large trees. Chase was tasked with completing a succession lab. She was given data plots collected 5, 20, 50 and 100 years apart. She had to calculate how many of each species was included in each plot, and find the percentage of coverage for each species. She will do the hands-on part of the lab, when she is in class on Thursday. Homework: review chapter 6.

Thursday, December 7, 2017
02:00 - 04:00; 120 min. -
AP Environmental Science:
Human Population -
Chase and I discussed human population and compared this one species against all the populations we have already examined. We discussed if there is a carrying capacity that will affect humans, or will our population continue to grow logistically (exponentially). We explored the phases that different populations have gone through historically, starting with subsistence farming through the industrial revolution and beyond. In each phase the birth and death rate changed. The changes related to education, female independence, clean water, and health care. We examined population pyramids for many different countries. Chase was then tasked with constructing a population pyramid for India, using raw population numbers and graph paper. Homework: Complete self-test for chapter 7

Monday, December 4, 2017
02:30 - 04:15; 105 min. -
AP Environmental Science:
Trophic cascades -
Chase and I went over the test she completed last week. We then reviewed the trophic pyramid. She was tasked with describing the differences between predator, prey, producer and consumer, as well with placing them on a pyramid with the proper adjectives. I had her write out the Latin root words: auto, hetero, and trophic, as a means for always knowing the difference between an autotroph and a heterotroph. We then watched the trophic cascade video which described what happened when an apex predator was introduced to an ecosystem after a long absence. In two cases the wolves of Yellowstone, and the large whales in oceans, brought higher diversity and productivity to the ecosystem. We discussed how and why this happens. Homework: Read chapter 7

Today we began with a creative brainstorming technique called word association. We started with creating webs of associated words of common nouns, and then we moved on to more challenging abstract nouns. Next, I discussed final lines and endings with Chase. We read over the final lines of many different stories and discussed what type of narrative significance, thematic context, and larger consequences they might hold. Chase then brainstormed the final lines of the hypothetical stories she could have created with each word association cloud she made in the beginning of class. Lastly, I asked Chase to write an ending for the story based on a photo she began yesterday.

Chase learned to use this, these, that, those and the extra adjective Spanish has, aquel, to signify something at a greater distance.

We went through the problems from her last homework assignment, then started doing the determinant of a 2x2 and 3x3 matrix.

In this lesson, we worked on Chase's latest writing, discussing and editing to take it from very good to excellent. We discussed use of homonyms in word play, and practiced writing with this. Repetition (not purposeful) was replaced with synonymous terms and rewording that enriched the text. Alliterations used naturally in Chase's writing were pointed out, and she will observe the use of this rhetorical device in her normal activities in the next days (gathering 12). Chase scanned, read, and listened to an interactive iBook on creative writing featuring six well-known American writers. Ideas were gleaned from this brief perusal, such as writing fictionally by way of true life (as in Amy Tan's presentation). We verbally voiced examples. Next lesson Chase will do a short writing using this strategy.

Chase continues to work on the Fall Fashion Project to develop her vocabulary and practice grammar.