We reviewed the steps required for writing a comparative essay, complete with in-text citations. I encouraged Jared to use a Venn Diagram approach, since he is familiar with this mathematical technique.

After discussing the power points on types of clauses, apostrophes, and quotation marks, and doing practice exercises, the girls took quizzes on each that we then reviewed immediately noting mistakes. They did wonderfully on the quizzes (as usual), so it was a very productive lesson!

We began the pronoun packet introducing antecedents and pronoun agreement and pronoun reference. We targeted indefinite pronouns to recognize the need for their need for singular verbs. We then read a literary story that demonstrated the use of imagery, social constructs, and implications found in literature and why we read the classics.

Jared compared the elements of a non-fiction writer like Thoreau with a fiction writer like Stephen King. We discovered that aside from writing style, these two genres are much closer than we normally think of them.

Jared wrote on the whiteboard the beginning of an outline comparing and contrasting Twain and Thoreau's writing. We also reviewed a video about one of Mark Twain's short stories.

We had a powerpoint that covered clauses, phrases, complex/compound sentences, apostrophes, and quotations marks. This lesson included practice tests, which they will continue to do tonight from the English Composition and Writing book.

Jared learned the elements of writing an outline to prepare for a comparative essay among authors such as Emerson and Twain.

The girls and I went outside to review the fragment, comma, and punctuation quizzes taken on the day before. Each had to first finish what they did not the day before, then reviewing each and every sentence with corrections took the full 45 minutes. I would like Jesse to take one of the quizzes again, however, as I feel she was unable to concentrate fully as we were outside and Adrianna finished much sooner. She will finish that quiz inside and while Adrianna is working on something of her own so she will be able to focus better. This was my fault, not hers.

We read through the comma and punctuation exercises for quiz preparation. We discussed paragraph grammatical errors and reviewed fragment rules in preparation for quiz. Jesse did a great re-write and we discussed her grammatical mistakes. The more she writes and is cognizant of her elaborating with description, the more proficient she will become with her writing, while her style will improve dramatically as it already is demonstrated in her rewrite.

We looked at the Jumping Frog story by Twain and showed how he was very much interested in the problems of modern society that Jared also sees. I asked Walt Breed to step in to talk with Jared about how one writes stories relative to being influenced by films.