We finished the discussion of irony that we began yesterday and Will was able to fully describe the irony of Mr. Shiflet's prayer at the end of Flannery O'Connor's story. We then turned our attention to the symbolism in the story, namely the single word that the deaf mute daughter was able to utter, "Buuurdt!" Will said that the word referred to her desire and ultimate achievement of "flying free" from the desolate farm and her suffocating mother. Great job, Will! Will then completed the first half of a vocabulary lesson. His homework is to read over the six terms from the story.

Today we continued our work analyzing the O'Connor story. We had a lesson on irony, with various examples and a very brief but helpful video. At the end, Will was able to generate an example of irony as: "Someone who hates roller coasters wins a contest for a roller coaster ride." Well done, Will! Seeing irony in the final statement of one of the main characters is a bit more challenging and we shall continue with that tomorrow.

Today, Will answered questions 1-3 for the story we have been reading. His comprehension and ability to respond to those questions was very impressive. He considered the ways that the two main characters interacted in ways that were not truthful in order to advance their personal interests. We shall continue with these questions tomorrow. Will seems keen on working with grammar sooner rather than later, so we may need to adjust the plan.

Will and I have continued our reading of Flannery O'Connor's short story, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." There is half a page remaining to be read, which Will agreed to prepare for Monday's class. He would like to answer some of the questions that follow the text as well. Excellent initiative!

Today we started a new story, Flannery O'Connor's "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." We completed a pre-reading exercise and began reading the piece together. His predictions regarding what might transpire in the story were insightful. Will is very engaged and likes to check his understanding frequently, which makes for a very pleasant experience for both of us. We shall continue with the story tomorrow.

Today we reviewed the SOAPS-TO method of rhetorical analysis. Natalie applied this method to Senator Joseph McCarthy's speech on "Enemies Within." Next we reviewed the different verb forms, and Natalie practiced identifying them. I then introduced the concepts of dramatic and verbal irony, as well as logical fallacy. Natalie should look for these elements as we read Act 3 of "The Crucible."

We completed the graphic organizer for Beowulf Cantos to 31, identifying literary elements, plot, oral and epic traditions, etc.

Today we began by reviewing the vocabulary sentences Natalie completed for homework. Next, we continued to read Act 1 of the Crucible, stopping to check for comprehension, discuss unknown vocabulary, as well as the characters' backgrounds, relationships and motivations. Lastly, I asked Natalie to write a scene to explore these different relationships, as well as the use of dialogue, stage directions, characterization, and dramatic exposition.

Class consisted of an easy-going discussion of the just-passed summer vacation and an exploration of where we would go in the course. Naturally, today being Tuesday and our first class day of the week, we took a look at Sunday's New York Times Book Review in which we explored a novel about virtual reality "The Chalk Artist". Agenda items for the coming term included: "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." The latter are two of the titles of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin novels about the Royal Navy and the two novels were combined and made into a very popular film about ten years ago. We will watch the film and read "Master and Commander." We touched a bit on the poetry of Billy Collins, a two-time U. S. Poet Laureate who was very devoted to his parents and grieved mightily when they died. (Bill and I were high school classmates.) We'll make occasional returns to his poetry. Will plans to attend college, so we'll probably do an occasional SAT II review. Finally, relating to the Hurley family visit to Paris this past summer, we'll read "Sarah's Key" and watch the film of the same name. (Fabulous scenes of Paris!)

Today we began our lesson by discussing Natalie's homework response to the current events topic we covered yesterday. Then we read an informative text about the bombing of the Alabama Church that killed four girls. Natalie then answered comprehension questions based on the text. Lastly, we went over her new vocabulary words and reviewed prefixes. For homework, I asked Natalie to complete the definitions on her vocabulary study sheet.