Will shared his decision to attend Lynn University with me today. He also shared that he received a Merit Scholarship from Lynn University. This is very exciting news. We are so proud of him! In our session today, we reviewed the MLA citation style, and I gave him a resource guide to keep with links to the Purdue student writing center MLA resource guides. We looked them over in class and set up a folder on his lap top called "College Resources", so that he can keep all the resources that will be helpful to him next year in one spot. Then, we discussed the next essay assignment, “Why I Write”. He read two essays from authors on the topic of why they write. We discussed that writing can be of a personal nature, for the purpose of analysis or research oriented. For homework, Will should write the first 100 words of his essay. He brainstormed ideas and can follow the same format as the essays he read in class. Each sentence can start with, “I write….”. It was a great session and a wonderful start to 2019.
Today, Will completed a second Powerpoint, which was a brief description of other jobs in the film industry. He worked on this very independently and was quite proud of that fact. Will has been striving to be as independent as possible on his work assignments, and I have encouraged this as preparation for his coming college work. He has made great strides over the past few months on focusing and getting work completed. I am so happy that he was accepted at both Mitchell College and Lynn University. He has much to consider, as he comes to a decision about which school will be the best fit. I wish him a relaxing and wonderful holiday break- he deserves it!
Natalie reviewed some material on the background of Robert Burns and then read four or five of his best known poems. I prepared and distributed a study guide with questions on the material which Natalie completed in class. We discussed some specific figurative language, imagery, and theme in the poems, and Natalie added notes to her answers. We further discussed Burns' poems as the source of the titles of the novels "Catcher in the Rye" and "Of Mice and Men". No homework was assigned.
Sam and I continued our study of the novel. We completed our discussion of chapter one. We used the study guide questions as a springboard for our discussion. We began reading and studying chapter 2. We stopped periodically to discuss the extensive symbolism employed throughout the novel.
Will has been working on power point presentations over the past few sessions,and he did a wonderful job on a presentation regarding the role of a "Producer" in the film industry. In class, he worked on a second presentation with information about 4 other jobs in the film industry. For homework, Will needs to review the slides he did in class and add graphics or change the font sizes to make the presentation visually interesting. He shared that he received an acceptance to Lynn University but that he is still waiting to hear from Mitchell College. He also is talking about getting part time job after the school break. Let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Natalie read/studied/took notes on Hollace Walpole and Mary Shelley. She has never read Frankenstein, so I gave her the book to read excerpts at the end of class. I reviewed her notes. We discussed our next book, Catcher in the Rye, which she should begin next Thursday because we have completed the Hamlet unit.
Natalie took the final exam on Hamlet today (86). She also handed in her essay on Hamlet from last week's prompt (91). She received written corrections and comments. I made copies of about 6 pages on planning and writing an argumentative essay from my college composition textbook for Natalie to study this week. She will choose one of five argumentative essay prompts, and she has a rubric showing how it will be graded. This is due next week. We have completed Hamlet.
