This afternoon, Mercer was tasked with identifying the author's purpose after reading passages and underlying clues that suggested the author's purpose. He then recorded the author's purpose on the answer line, and Mercer was able to identify persuasive and informative essays after determining if the author was attempting to convince the reader of something or trying to impart information, teach a topic, or provide facts. Mercer demonstrated a good ability to integrate and apply information.

This morning, we applied spelling rules in an exercise to piggy-back on yesterday's lesson. We discussed unusually spelled words, such as asthma (sneaky "th"), colonel (even though we pronounce it "kernel'), conscience (even though we pronounce it "con-chense") and handkerchief, (even though we pronounce it 'hankerchief'). Mercer did well, considering the difficulty level of these 'outlaw' words. His queries about the choices indicated he was aware of spelling rules as he attempted to apply them. We went over the few errors he made and then reviewed other rules of Standard conventional English, primarily to refresh his memory. When we finished the lesson, Mercer asked if he could look up geodes and artifacts on the computer, and his comments to me as we watched the clip suggested Mercer has an excellent wealth of information about topics in geology and Earth science.

Jayne continued to work on her novel and then we took a walk to the park.

Mercer enjoyed celebrating the birthday of one of his peers and he enjoyed a slice of ice-cream cake after lunch. When we returned to the room, we reviewed spelling rules. Mercer was given a word list that supported and offered examples for each of the rules, and he was given a spelling activity tasking him with applying the rules.Mercer began coughing considerably in the class, so we went outdoors where he spent the latter part after being invited to participate in an activity with a peer.

This afternoon, Mercer and I reviewed essay-writing skills by editing responses to a writing prompt. We read a peer's response to a writing prompt and discussed its format, the introductory/topic sentence, transitional words, and the concluding paragraph. Mercer was afforded strategies to facilitate cohesive and coherent writing skills, including 'hooking' the reader's interest, using choice words to highlight a desired key word, concept, or phrase, and making a connection back to the introductory hook when writing a concluding paragraph. He was also advised to add a memorable ending that will make the reader think more about the topic - or its author. The lesson drew Mercer's attention to concepts he should consider when developing his essay or when responding to writing prompts.

Cabo and I discussed an article we reviewed from the Wall Street Journal entitled, "Silicon Valley Now Wary of iPhone.' We discussed vocabulary from the article, including such terms as, 'curtail, 'spawn,' 'ubiquity', and two ways to define the word 'consume.' I selected the article in efforts to pique Cabo's interest, and Cabo made text-to self and text-to-world references, showing the connections he formed between the ideas in the passage, his own experiences and beliefs, and events happening in the world. The article raised themes that resonated with Cabo's own experiences as well as material he's studied previously, and he easily answered open-ended questions, even suggesting one solution to the problem of overusing smartphones. Cabo ironically added that the article does not apply to him, and looked at me with a coy smile. We engaged in an interesting discussion of the merits and social consequences of smartphone usage, especially as seen from the perspective of key figures within the industry especially as seen from the perspective of key figures within the industry from which it 'spawned.'

The focus of today's lesson was on capitalization. Jayne was reminded to capitalize the first word of a sentence, and to capitalize names and other proper nouns, days, months, holidays, but not seasons, and to capitalize most words in titles. This was basically a review for Jayne and we went over examples of each. Jayne is cognizant of the rules but at times will not apply them when writing informally. I am encouraging her to apply the conventions of English on a consistent basis.

Mercer was given a choice of writing and tasked with writing a short paragraph to demonstrate command of the language. He selected one of several prompt choices offered so that he would be more invested in developing his voice and opinion when writing. Although initially resistant, Mercer was encouraged to use such prewriting strategies as brainstorming, graphic organizers, notes, and/or logs. Mercer submitted one sentence to me and said he was done, but I encouraged him to develop his draft by helping him categorize and prioritize his ideas. I explained that the first introductory sentence could serve as his topic sentence and encouraged him to use language techniques such as similes, metaphors, etc., by which to create a vivid expression of ideas and produce a cohesive, coherent, multi-paragraph response to the prompt. Mercer refocused on the task and eventually elaborated in greater detail. We reviewed proper spelling, grammar, and discussed strategies, word choices, and ways to effectively transition ideas to the next paragraph. Mercer was afforded supports and prompts to help consolidate his thoughts, connect his conclusion to the beginning or topic sentence, and close the paragraph.

As a follow-up to yesterday's activity, Jayne worked on the 'Emoji Emotion' activity sheet. She was tasked with identifying the emotional expression illustrated on the page and to describe a time when she's experienced the emotion. Jayne answered all but one question as she was unsure what the emoji expression indicated, so we considered possible emotions that might best describe it. Once the assignment was completed, we discussed Jayne’s answers as she tends to elaborate more when queried verbally than on paper. Her spelling was corrected on the sheet. This was a fun exercise which was chosen in order to engage Jayne while addressing conventional language skills during testing week. As mentioned in yesterday's summary, Jayne is not at all anxious about testing and said, "it was easy, just boring."

Our Scholar was absent for this session.