Katya is catching up on our vocabulary series including Latin and Greek roots and etymology. We listened to the next lesson on The Great Courses in Vocabulary and Katya took notes on her laptop. We will have a test on the new words next week.

Alexa and I read parts in the Tempest with our new books, we are in Act III. We then watched the movie up to the point where we had finished reading. It is challenging for Alexa with the Shakespearean language, but she is getting it, plus the important words defined on the left pages are extremely enlightening.

First we took notes on our brainstorming for Alexa's creative writing screenplay project. Then we watched and discussed Shakespeare's, The Tempest, including rhetorical devices such as allusions and word play.

Katya and I read The Tempest -- Act 1, Scene 2 -- discussing the word meanings, what is happening, the characters, their relationships, the motives for decisions being made, and the genius of Shakespeare in word play, knowledge of rhetorical devices and creation of mystery to keep his audience hooked. Things come up naturally that expand knowledge in many ways, as when the allusion "sleeping with their eyes open" that goes back to Greek mythology (Hynos, god of sleep, made his mortal wife sleep with her eyes open so he could always look into them -- from which "hypnotism" is derived) -- for example.

Katya and I worked on her essay for Agatha Christie's, Love From a Stranger, using a requirement for 10th grade prompt. She is connecting events, ideas, and characters chronologically and logically. She is showing good insights into the narrative and events, and recognizing foreshadowing as we go back over the text for main ideas.

Alexa practiced reading script -- giving opportunity to discuss character, scene plot, elements of narrative, tone, and word choice. We then listened to a live performance of The Tempest, by Shakespeare, that matched the written text exactly. We bantered ideas for her creative writing project. Alexa will bring written portions on Thursday.

Katya has chosen a prompt from the essential standards for 10th grade for "Love from a Stranger." We reviewed the literary requirements listed in the prompt and discussed introductory strategies for writing this essay, as well as insertion of in-text citations.

On Skype. We read The Tempest by Shakespeare.

Alexa will write a screenplay this semester. We have collected brainstorming ideas on characters, possible settings, and plot. We watched a documentary to spark ideas using Alexa's idea for dystopian society. She will bring more brainstorming ideas next week.

Katya completed reading and watching Love from a Stranger today on Skype with me. I texted her four choices for writing prompts from the Florida Standards of 10th grade that are appropriate for either Agatha Christie's play or The Tempest. Katya will choose one prompt for each play. We discussed literary devices in decision-making for which Standard she might choose.