This morning we practiced our note taking skills while confronting a very controversial issue involving social media. Bobby and I watched a CNN special hosted by Anderson Cooper outlining the effects of social media on a large group of teenagers. Bobby practiced how to capture key points in this thought provoking special.

We would be practicing our note taking skills be reviewing another case study on the environment.

Josh and I discussed study skills both in class and at home. We studied for his upcoming science midterm. We talked about reasons why Josh's grades in class and for homework are high, but that test grades are lower than expected. Josh becomes anxious during tests. I have seen this when we are doing work together. He becomes impatient and sometimes rushes through things. I would like him to use index cards to test himself. He sometimes will study with his sister. I feel that the more prepared he is, the less anxious he will be during the actual test. He knew his science material very well.

This morning we took advantage of the latest developments by the FCC and their landmark repeal of new neutrality. Bobby was asked to research the topic, take notes and answer several questions based on his research and using only his notes.

Bobby spent the majority of this class debriefing from his recent math test. I shared with Bobby some of my observations regarding his behavior and the fact that he took an excessive amount of time during the assessment. We also discussed how his attitude or demeanor had a lot to do with his inability to focus during the first half of the test. Bobby acknowledged that he had "psyched" himself out before the test had started and agreed that his performance was negatively influenced by this behavior. I am not sure how much time Bobby had invested in preparing for the test which should have provided him with some confidence that he actually knew the material prior to taking the test. He did a much better job of answering the questions during our math class where we graded the math test.

This morning we spent a few minutes determining our material requirements for our Anubis death mask and finalized the basic design. We will begin construction next week.

This afternoon we completed our worksheet on the invasive species described as Frankenfish. Bobby used his notes to complete a variety of questions about an article that was written in USA Today on the snakehead carp. Bobby still needs practice on how to determine what information is relevant in a given article, video or presentation. This article complemented our work in life science on the ecosystem. Homework: None.

This morning we focused on social studies during this period in order to make further headway in social studies. We practiced summarizing the next chapter in the textbook on Sumerian contributions to early civilization. Homework: none

In an effort to pick up the pace somewhat in science class, we used our study skills time to reinforce note taking while viewing the video "Strange Days on Planet Earth" . We are also highlighting the concept of invasive species while learning how to identify key facts amongst the four case studies being presented in the video.

This afternoon we focused on developing a Backpack Checklist to help Bobby establish a daily routine with the hope that this will reduce the number of times he has appeared at school without essential learning tools. We will reinforce and share with his father upon our return after the holiday.