We were scheduled to have a session today but Sam called in and said she was sick. I stayed in regardless to develop material for later lesson plans.

We were scheduled to have 2 hour session with math and physics. I worked on developing a test for Sam to be given after Thanksgiving break.

For the first hour we did geometry and finished up the practice test.

For the second hour we did physics. We discussed consciousness and the relationship that psychology and neuroscience plays with physics.

A special meditation technique to help with focusing and disciplining the thoughts was instructed and guided.

A review was given. More problems from the practice test were finished.

I gave Samantha her test on polynomial functions and equations for her to finish and after she did, I graded it. She scored a perfect 100%. We then began her studies of properties of exponents and radicals. I reviewed the basic properties of exponents and then we did a few problems using the various properties. There was no assignment.

Sam and I practiced Greetings. (Power point lesson I created for Sam in order to improve Speaking/Listening skills) Good morning, Good afternoon, and Good evening. (Conversation questions, answers, more vocabulary different alternatives and how to keep going with the conversation/formal/less formal language.) Sam wrote a list of the most important expressions. Sam read over the material for the quiz even though she was already familiar with it and was confident about taking the quiz. After that, we practiced reading a book for Pre-K (12/5/18 at 11:15am) Also we watched making a Guacamole recipe (videos)getting ready for Friday. (Homemade Guac - Spanish Vocabulary)

Samantha did an excellent job on the homework that required her to apply provisions of the Bill of Rights to numerous fact patterns. It is one thing to know the amendments and quite another to be able to apply them properly! We then reviewed the Dred Scott decision as an introduction to the Civil War Amendments. Sam took notes on the 13,14, and 15th Amendments ,and we discussed the Gitlow case which established the "incorporation theory" whereby the Bill of Rights is now applied to the states,not just the federal government. For homework, I assigned reading on the Civil Rights movement, and the chapter assessment test. We will begin to study the legislative branch next week.

During our first session, we reviewed Sam's responses to the test on the Constitution , corrected some answers, and worked on improving identification of the subject of the sentence , syntax ,and diction. For example, instead of writing ," the Supremacy Clause is when",we modified the answer to state,"the Supremacy Clause provides". Likewise, we substituted proper nouns in place of "they" and "it" where necessary to provide meaning. Sam's homework on the Bill of Rights was well done,and we made modifications to her responses on the post civil war amendments. During the second session, I reviewed in detail the provisions of the Bill of Rights. In discussing the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, I explained the various historical interpretations, and the US Supreme Court's recent interpretation prohibiting cities from outright banning ownership of handguns. We discussed what regulations remain permitted under the Second Amendment and open issues on gun control. We then discussed the rights of the accused under the 5th and 6th Amendments ,the meaning of "due process", and the scope of right of eminent domain under recent Supreme Court decisions allowing government to condemn property even to address urban blight,not traditionally considered a public purpose. For homework, I distributed a number of handouts that outline fact patterns and which require Sam to determine if the fact patterns violate any of the Bill of Rights,and ,if so, which one.

I gave Samantha her test on polynomial functions and equations to be factored and solved. The 15-problem test requires students to construct polynomial functions from their solutions, solve equations using factoring techniques, apply the rational root theorem, and use synthetic division. She did not finish today but is close to finishing soon. There was no assignment.