We first reviewed Matthew's test on Chapters 1 -25, and the quiz on chapters 27-29 that he completed yesterday. We then delved into the mid-section of the novel that delays plot development in favor of launching social criticism of the Victorian social class system, and the justice system. We studied the decor of Jagger's law office where he has mounted "death masks" of his executed clients as well as the mechanism both Jaggers and Wemmick employ to cleanse themselves of the contamination they feel each day from working within the court system. Specifically, Wemmick has constructed a house with a moat so as to separate his personal and professional life and Jaggers continually washes his hands and gargles after each court appearance. We then noted Dickens' harsh description of Drummle who represents the aristocracy . Matthew reviewed the text and located the specific language and images that illustrate the moral and intellectual deficiencies of the aristorcracy. As we have just completed "Macbeth" we were able to appreciate Dickens' description of Molly,Jagger's housemaid, as a character rising from the witches' cauldron in the play. HW- study guide ch 33

Bella read the next chapter of Where the Crawdads Sing. She kept notes on the juxtaposition of the characters Tate and Scupper and their interests. She then discussed the characters and wrote a characterization of them supporting it with text.

Jaydn was presented with a quote from the novel being studied. She had to take a stance on the topic and write to support her point of view using text to support her elaboration. She then read the next chapter of The Great Alone. She compared the theme of isolation and its effect on a human being as it appears in The Great Alone and the novel Where the Crawdads Sing.

We addressed study guide questions for chapters 21-25 first focusing on locating examples of imagery and metaphor in Pip's first impressions of London which Matthew incorporated into his homework answers. I then discussed Matthew's research paper that will be tied to the novel. As Matthew has elected to research the Victorian class system, I addressed the many areas in these chapters that exemplify Dickens' criticism of the rigid Victorian class system. Specifically, I examined the character of Bentley Drummle , a future baron, who is arrogant, selfish and dumb. He contrasts starkly with Joe Gargary who is a lower class blacksmith but who is honest, authentic and compassionate. In this regard, we studied that due to Pip's new found wealth, he is no longer expected to work at a profession but to be educated so as to be able to fit into upper class society. During our second session, Matthew completed a written comprehension and analysis exercise on Chapters. 27-29. He did well interpreting the metaphorical quote from the novel which addressed the role of social class and values .HW r chapters 30-32/study guide

Bella was online today. She wrote a compare and contrast essay. I modeled a high-level opening paragraph and concluding paragraph. Bella made an outline prior to writing.

Jaydn read, analyzed, and discussed chapter two of The Great Alone. Upon completion of our discussion, she wrote to describe the grandmother's home and the setting of the town of Kaneq, Alaska. She inserted text in the sentences as she wrote to support her opinions. She then reviewed SAT vocabulary being studied.

Cabo read, discussed, and analyzed chapter 5 of The Great Alone. He is very involved in the story line and characters. Upon completion of our discussion, he wrote to compare elements of the setting to traits in the antagonists and he then made predictions inserting text into his sentences. He is learning to do close reading which is required for AP English classes.

Bella read, analyzed, and discussed the next chapter of Where the Crawdads Sing. She then wrote to analyze the characters of Tate and Kya. She found similar traits and used text inserted in her writing to complete the descriptions. I explained to her the process of close reading used in analytical writing. She then reviewed SAT vocabulary being studied.

Cabo read, discussed, and analyzed chapter four of Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone. He discussed and analyzed the character of Ernt and then the setting of remote Alaska. He made predictions - citing text for support - on how the remote and isolated setting might affect the character of Ernt. He went through the text to find specific text to support his predictions. He then reviewed SAT vocabulary being studied and completed a writing assignment that involved application of the words.

Bella watched an interview with the author of the novel she is reading. It gave her a sense of the setting and an understanding of the author. She then wrote to compare and contrast her idea of the setting before what it actually looks like. She then read and discussed a chapter from the book.