Abby and I discussed her chosen novel. We discussed the questions that she had completed for the first section of the novel. We talked about the theme prevalent in the novel and the obvious point of view from which the story is told. I assigned the next section of the novel and some analytical questions to be completed as she continues reading. We continued with the study of the new vocabulary in the Sadlier book.

Abby and I began the new vocabulary Sadlier series. it is challenging, and Abby did quite well. We also finished discussing how to revise the analytical paper on the "Rocking Horse Winner." Abby had all of the components; she needed to re-structure it. We talked about THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME. Abby is going to answer one sheet of questions to be completed by tomorrow so we can begin our discussions of the novel.

Abby turned in her paragraph on the theme for the short story "The Rocking Horse Winner." We talked about her analytical structure of the paragraph. Abby possesses an excellent command of the English language. We talked about dissecting the prompt and writing for what it is asking. We began to rewrite the paragraph together. I shared with Abby the TIQA structure to use when analyzing a literary text.

Abby and I read "The Black Cat." We stopped periodically to define unknown/difficult vocabulary. We also talked about how Poe's personal life influences his short stories. We stopped periodically to decipher the text and to annotate for theme and meaning. We also have an accompanying factual article that we will read along with this literary work. We will discuss the story in greater detail tomorrow.

We finished watching the documentary on the life of Poe. I asked Abby to write five take aways from the presentation. I did the same. We discussed the documentary and shared our conclusions. We then discussed how Poe incorporates his likes into the writing of his works. We previewed our next work "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe.

Abby and I finished discussing the short story "The Rocking Horse Winner". I assigned her to write a one paragraph response to one of the discussion questions using textual evidence. We then reviewed her pre-test on Literary Terms. She corrected the ones she missed and we discussed any questions that she had. We finished our hour by beginning to watch a biographical documentary on Edgar Allan Poe. As we watched, Abby was to write down five take aways from the presentation.

Abby and I read about the author DH Lawrence. We read his short story "The Rocking Horse Winner. " We discussed how Lawrence's life influenced his work. We stopped to define difficult vocabulary and intricate characterization. We also talked about theme. We watched a short clip of an old movie of the story to understand the boy's character. We need to complete discussing and analyzing the story tomorrow.

Abby turned in her "Where I'm From" poem. She did outstanding work. She also completed the pre/post test on Literary terms so that I will know the ones that she understood and the ones we need to discuss. We then discussed her independent novel THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME. Abby really likes the book. I gave her a quote from Sherlock Holmes to use as she continues reading. She should look for textual evidence as she is reading to support the quote so that she will be ready to write an analytical essay regarding the book.

Abby and I went over the three levels of annotating a text. She was familiar with some of the terminology, and we went over the other terms. I then had some notes to introduce the novel. We then read the novel. Abby said that she is really going to like it. We talked about her continuing to read and to also annotate as she reads. She is going to revise/edit her "Where I'm From" poem and turn it in for a grade.

I just met Abby today. We talked about what she had read and what she wanted to continue to study. We read George Eliah Lyons "Where I'm From." We talked about the imagery and poetic devices used throughout the poem. Then we talked about brainstorming one's ideas before drafting. I shared my brainstorming and initial draft with Abby. Then she began to brainstorm and draft hers. She will finish it for tomorrow.