Appealing to Jayne's interest in technology, we read and reviewed a passage about emojis - an important visual symbol in computer-mediated communication. We discussed how they're a pictorial representation indicating different emotions. Jayne knew that emojis are non-verbal cues commonly used to add expression to electronic communications; however, she learned that the word itself is derived from e (picture) and moji (character). When asked which emoji is the one she uses most frequently, Jayne replied, "the sad face," and she put her arm around me when told mine was the hysterical laughing one; she surprisingly found that sad but didn't elaborate when queried. Jayne is prepared to take the standardized test today and stated "I'm not at all nervous, "they're easy!"

Today, we discussed letter-writing after the subject of expressing gratitude came up following the visit from an author yesterday. Jayne reviewed a standard letter template and we discussed format, salutations, and closings. She then read a thank-you note written by one of her peers, and we analyzed the purpose of its content. Finally, we added the address of the author, adhered a stamp, and the Batt School return address label to it, and it was ready for dropping it in the mail box. Jayne questioned the necessity of sending snail mail letters when one can electronically express thanks. This opened up a discussion of the benefits derived from opening a letter as opposed to opening an email.

Jayne enjoyed reading and analyzing a student's work, "The Heroics and the Robot Invasion." It is the latest in a series of comic books created by one of her peers at the school. Jayne read, analyzed, and critiqued the work. Her comments were valid and well-thought out. Jayne commented favorably on the format and illustrations. She then showed me her illustrations from a video game she enjoys, called "The Mimic,' and explained why she concentrated on the character, Hiachi. We ended our session discussing the details one should look for when asked to critique a literary piece or art work.

Today, we discussed commonly misspelled words. The main reasons the words are misspelled is because of the presence of repeating vowels (e.g. separate) double consonants (e.g., embarrass); silent letters, (e.g., liaison), or just breaking common language patterns (e.g. desperate). I challenged Jayne to try to spell some of the most commonly misspelled words if one does not have the advantage of digital communications, spellcheck, and/or auto correct opportunities. Jayne grew a bit frustrated with this activity, but complied when I asked her to attempt at least five. I also asked her to write the correct spelling down in efforts to reinforce awareness and practice.

We reviewed "The Secret Garden" text and Jayne identified two of its main ideas; she explained how they were supported by key details and summarized the text. This is aligned with the reading standards for Informational Text, or LAFS.5.RI1.3 of the Florida standards. We also began discussing the concept of analogies, which we defined as a comparison between two things - in significant respects. Jayne explained her answer to an analogy question, and her explanation supported higher-level reasoning.

This morning, Jayne competed an activity tasking her with synthesizing textual material and answering comprehension questions. She was also required to compete analogies and match words to their meanings. Jayne completed the task effortlessly, expediently, and she achieved an excellent grade, confirming her understanding of the material and an excellent ability to synthesize and integrate information.

: Jayne accessed prior knowledge regarding differentiating between the active and passive voice in writing. She was given a practice exercise tasking her with changing sentences from passive to active and then from active to passive. There were two tricky sentences which confounded her as it was difficult to identify the subject of the sentence and distinguish it from the action; however, Jayne understood how to revise it to active after being provided with an explanation. Jayne rewrote the sentences as requested. She was reminded to capitalize the first letter of sentences, and that, no matter how informal the task might appear, she should adhere to Standard English language conventions so as not to compromise the integrity of her writing.

Jayne is very capable of re-telling a story, choosing her words deliberately after reflecting on the question(s) or the parameters of an assigned task. She is succinct in her summation but understands the main points of the story as well as subtleties in the text that the author wishes to convey. She reads fluently and demonstrates excellent comprehension skills and a very good ability to integrate and synthesize the material she reads or which she is auditorily presented.

Today we focused on using quotation marks around titles, which can be the name of a poem, song, short story, TV show or movie. Jayne frequently uses quotation marks in her creative writing story - but today's objective aimed to assess her ability to use them around words that are titles. Jayne completed an activity which reflected her comprehension and application of the subject matter. She was reminded to capitalize titles and was encouraged to continue work on her creative writing story.

Today we began with vocabulary, set 12, day 1. Morgan and I discussed the words she studied independently this morning (diatribe, inhibition, fortuitous, incoherent, and ilk). We made some corrections to her work (matching and sentence completion). We also talked about the idiom for today, “wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve”. Morgan organized and prepared her vocabulary work for the week into her notebook as well as created an independent study guide. We finished reading The Bronze Bow chapter 14. We discussed and revisited the vocabulary highlighted for chapters 13 – 14. Additionally, Morgan answered some comprehension questions of the material. We worked to make sure she wrote in complete sentences with proper punctuation. Language activities within the packet provided for skills practice with identifying root words and compound words.