Today in class, Will completed his graphic organizer detailing the facts from the two dream jobs he read about. He worked independently to research the answers in the articles. Next, we discussed the meanings of “compare” and “contrast”. We also discussed signal words that indicate compare and contrast. Then, Will began work on his compare and contrast essay. He completed the introduction and the section comparing the 2 jobs in class. For homework, he will do the contrast part of the essay. Will did a wonderful job working independently on these tasks.

Sam and I discussed the rubric to be used to grade her paper. I made sure that she understood the requirements. We then composed her thesis statement for her essay together. After the thesis statement, we created a brief outline for her paper. We searched the novel and the informational piece to decide which quotes from the novel she would use for textual evidence in her paper.Sam will write a rough draft of her paper to be turned in on Thursday, so we can discuss it together before she turns in her final draft. We ended our session by working through set B in the Sadlier vocabulary book.

Sam finished reading the novel. We discussed the ending. Sam enjoyed the book very much. We began discussing the Literary analysis that she will write. We began to discuss the formation of the thesis statement. We talked about the needed textual evidence. Sam will use both the novel and the informational piece"Superman and Me" for her analysis.

Will reviewed the article he read for homework on the dream job of a Pixar Animator. Next, he took a Newsela comprehension quiz on the article and earned a 100%. His next assignment is to compare and contrast the two dream jobs he read about. Will created a table to use as a graphic organizer to compare and contrast the two dream jobs. He decided on 7 questions that he would ask and began to fill the organizer out. For homework, he is to answer at least one of the questions in his organizer. Will did a great job today!

Natalie studied three videos based on Hamlet that covered asides, character foil, and tragic flaw. Following each, she took a a quiz. These items will need review next week. She is in the middle of Act 5, the last Act of Hamlet, and by next week will have completed the study guide. We will review the study guide and go to the text for further explanations and corrections. Homework writing assignment: read a two page criticism on the character of Hamlet (handed out) and complete the logic of the author worksheet to analyze this with critical thinking skills.

Sam and I read "Superman and Me." We connected the autobiographical informational text by the author. We answered some text dependent questions about the article. We connected the text to the novel. We talked about Alexee's ability to overcome obstacles and began to discuss her options for an analytical essay. We ended class by continuing to read the novel.

Will completed the article about the Digital Director and summarized its content during our session. Then, he took a comprehension quiz on the information and was able to answer all 4 questions accurately. He was able to describe what “balance” meant in terms of visual effects verses story line. Next, Will read a second article from this text set about an animator from Pixar. He read this independently and highlighted important answers to the interview questions. We will review this article at our next session and continue our "Dream Job" exploration. Will finds these articles very interesting and motivating. I have enjoyed his insights.

Natalie is studying Samuel Johnson today. I have a new small kindle that she is using rather than a laptop on which there is great reading material on Johnson. She has a worksheet to complete while reading. Following this, the official website for Johnson's renowned dictionary of the 18th century has a wonderful video that recaps all the reading and worksheet items. I collected past work today, all of which was acceptable but one thing that needs to be completed in much more detail on Henry Fielding from last week. I will collect that next class for a grade.

Sam and I discussed the novel up to where she had read. We read "Yul Kwon, From Bullying Target To Reality TV Star." It is an informational text article that parallels a young person being bullied for being different. We answered the text dependent questions and talked about the similarities between the main character Arnold in the novel and Yul Kwon. Sam will finish reading the novel for the next class.

Will completed his descriptive essay about his favorite place. We looked at a rubric together, and he did a self evaluation of his writing. Next, he was introduced to our next unit of study. We will be exploring dream jobs and developing questioning skills. He began an interview article about a digital artist who works for the company that produced Jurassic World, Rogue, and other current movies. While reading the article, Will was asked to highlight the answers to the interview questions the writer asked in the article. Will thoroughly enjoyed the article and will continue this assignment for homework.