Ayden had received a voicemail from PBSC asking him to call and schedule his PERT exams. With my support, he called and scheduled for December 9 and 10. He will take the test online at the Batt School. We co-read and discussed Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The play switches perspective every scene; it is instructive to note the director's notes (interior, exterior locations, point of view, tone of voice for the actors, etc.)

Ayden was absent today.

I helped Ayden write a follow-up email to Palm Beach State College. He learned to include his student ID in the subject line and appropriate greeting and closing for a professional email. Ayden was confused about upcoming schedule changes, so we invited Nicole to join our Teams session. Ayden was relieved to understand the plan. Finally, we co-read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them and reviewed vocabulary from the text.

We co-read the play "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." There are references to the Salem witch trials, which Ayden wasn't familiar with, so we discussed that. We discussed literary devices employed by the author, such as metaphor and alliteration.

We co-read the play "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." It's a fun read; a young wizard from England is researching magical creatures worldwide and travels to New York on this quest. There are references to the world of Harry Potter, but it is set much earlier, in the 1920s. Ayden is engaged and challenged by reading the text, but he can keep up. I chose ten vocabulary words from the play. For homework, Ayden will look up the definitions and write sentences with the words.

Ayden has discovered Harry Potter and has been begging to read the books in class. The novels are quite long, and since Ayden doesn't reliably read for homework, I chose a play written by J.K. Rowling. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." We haven't read a play together. We noted that the author delineates the setting, mood, and point of view for the reader. I am delighted with the rich vocabulary; the text is slightly above Ayden's reading level but still accessible.

At Nicole's request, I helped Ayden navigate an email from PBSC regarding a mandatory meeting on Monday. He needs to send release forms to PBSC for all attending the meeting (me, his mother.) With time remaining we reviewed for the PERT.

As a reward for finishing the novel, Google Slide Project, and Essay, we watched the movie Ready Player One. Steven Spielberg directed the film. While the cast was good, Ayden and I were disappointed by the divergence from the book. However, it was a fun session.

For the first 45 minutes, Ayden and I edited his Ready Player One essay. I taught MLA style (header on all pages, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point type.) We ran the text through Grammarly and discussed the changes (Grammarly is not always right!) Ayden submitted the essay to Judie. I dedicated the session's remaining time to PERT test preparation (reading comprehension and writing/grammar.) Next session, we will turn to the ACT; the skills overlap with the PERT.

For the first 45 minutes of the session, Ayden and I worked on test preparation for the PERT. He read a reading comprehension passage, employed the strategies we discussed, and answered the comprehension questions. The PERT requires a lot of reading, which is tiring for Ayden, but I feel confident in his ability to do well on the test. For the writing portion, which focuses on grammar, Ayden answered approximately ten questions with reasonable accuracy. For the second half of our session, we worked together to write his five-paragraph essay on the novel. Ayden was much more confident about writing today. We will finish on Monday.