Will completed his reading and study of the novel, “The Glass Castle”. Today, we discussed the recurring themes in the novel: order verses turbulence, forgiveness, responsibility, self-sufficiency and nonconformity. This was a thought-provoking novel and Will and I had some serious discussions. Will shared that the novel made him think a lot about his childhood in school and about the future. He shared that he is happy to have his senior year ending but also sad about leaving the Batt School. Will also shared that he feels a little anxious about leaving this safe environment and wonders what school will be like at Lynn University. I reassured him that he will have lots of support, and that he is prepared to find his way in that new environment. I am so happy that he is comfortable opening up to me about his thoughts and concerns.

Sam and I began with the vocabulary book. I introduced and taught the new words for the lesson. We did the first exercise together, and then Sam created flashcards for the new words because that helps her learn them. We continued with completing two exercises of using the new words within context. Sam did quite well. We then continued with her final for the novel. We wrote the summary, and she wrote her personal reaction to chapters three and four within the novel.

Sam and I created her resume. Using a template, she created one to accompany her Career Narrative. We then worked on two sections of the vocabulary book. Sam creates vocabulary flash cards to help her become familiar with the words. We worked through the comprehensive exercises that require her to apply the words in context. Sam does quite well with the difficult vocabulary. We then worked on the final writing assessment for the novel. We went over how to cite using correct MLA format. We discussed how to write the fourteen chapter memoir based on the 14 lessons in the novel. Sam and I wrote the first two together.

Sam and I used a brainstorming sheet to list items that she could use for a resume. We talked about the content of a resume. We also used a graphic organizer to organize her brainstorming. We also completed unit 1-3 review in the vocabulary book.

Will worked on answering questions from his reading assignment in class. He did an excellent job on his responses. Will is very good at summarizing what he reads. Next, we discussed some of the symbols and themes that are prevalent in the text. On Monday, for a final assessment, he will be writing a paper about the prevalent themes in the novel. Will’s only task for the weekend is to read the final pages 271-288. He is very excited to be almost done with this novel!

Sam and I made some minor revisions to her paper. She did an awesome job and earned an A. We then finished three pages in her vocabulary book. She is ready to answer the cumulative vocabulary unit for a grade. We then finished reading and annotating the novel. I explained the fourteen chapter project on the novel which Sam will complete as her final.

Sam worked on the next chapter in her Sadlier Vocabulary Book. She is quite proficient in vocabulary for her level. It is important to keep up with this so that Sam can strengthen her language for college and the future. We reviewed the answers together and discussed uses for the words. Good job!

Will discussed his reading and comprehension homework questions during the first part of our class. He did a fine job on his homework and has a good understanding of the text. We had a long discussion about the parenting skills of the parents. Will shared that he wasn’t sure whether the mother truly cared about her children, or if she was just too concerned about herself to properly care for her children. A central theme of the book is the idea of neglect verses the teaching of self-sufficiency. The children are forced to fend for themselves and the mother justifies this as teaching them self-sufficiency even though the parents themselves are not self-sufficient and cannot and do not provide for their own children. After the discussion, Will continued his work in media literacy. He reread the article about “fake news” and took a short quiz. We had a very interesting conversation about the role of “fake news” in today’s media. For homework, Will is going to read and annotate pages 245-271 in “The Glass Castle”.

Natalie is moving into modern times as we chronologically follow the evolution of British writers. The authors studied today include Zadie Smith, Hilary Mantel, Kazuo Ishiguro, and others up to the very famous Harry Potter series. She is reading an except of the very first pages of the series and writing a Reader Response to it.

Natalie is reading The Book Thief and working through a packet of questions on content and for insights. She submitted her second (and final) draft on the topic of injustice in her last book, To Kill a Mockingbird. This writing shows mastery in clarity, word choice, and documentation. She may not be able to complete The Book Thief by the end of the semester, but will get in a good amount and write something for a final submission in composition.