Zeta chose to write an essay comparing and contrasting light outside with dark outside. She completed a Venn Diagram. Zeta wrote the beginning attention grabber and thesis. Together, we wrote the outline for the introductory paragraph. Zeta will write the rest of the outline for homework. She did well practicing keyboarding. Zeta also did well answering literal and inferential questions about a passage she read online. We looked at the previous predictions Zeta made about 'Al Capone Shines My Shoes' and revised what she thought would happen in coming chapters.

Today, Zeta's lesson focused on finding area. We initially reviewed finding the area of rectangles and irregular shapes using the formula A=lxw to find unknown measurements. Then, we used the formula for the area of a rectangle to help find the area of a parallelogram and the area of a triangle, using the formulas A=bxh and A=1/2bh. Zeta and I found the area of numerous parallelograms and triangles before she worked independently on Khan Academy.

Zeta continued working on her WebQuest of the Oregon Trail/Western Expansion. Today she completed the crossword puzzle, reviewing vocabulary words from the lesson. She than began her task of writing a journal telling family in the East all about the supplies she took on her trail, the preparation it took to be ready for the journey, and the hardships along the way, while still trying to convince her family members to follow her out west.

For homework, I asked Zeta to find a question about extreme weather for us to discuss and she requested to learn more about tidal waves or tsunamis. We began the lesson with some background research and discussion on what makes waves in the ocean and how gravity influences tides. Then, we watched a short educational film about tsunamis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx9vPv-T51I.

Zeta did an improv as a news reporter. She participated in a scavenger hunt acting game. She continued watching a Broadway production of Kinky Boots.

The format and elements of a five paragraph essay were reviewed. Together, we completed a Venn Diagram and an introductory paragraph for a five paragraph essay comparing and contrasting cats and dogs. For homework, Zeta will choose two things to compare and contrast and then complete a Venn Diagram. As the week progresses, Zeta will write a five paragraph, compare and contrast essay. She continues to practice and progress in keyboarding. We discussed using more descriptive adjectives to make writing more interesting. Given sentences, Zeta was tasked with writing descriptive essays to complete the sentences. Drawing conclusions and making inferences were the focus when reading 'Al Capone Shines My Shoes'. Zeta asked to work on 'Reading Eggspress' where she practiced identifying the main idea and the cause and effect.

Zeta completed the 6th grade unit challenge this morning. Today's questions covered reading and making graphs, interpreting data, statistics, completing pattern tables from equations, coordinate grids and graphing linear equations, fractions, and volume and surface area of 3-D shapes. Zeta scored very well with an 83%. We will focus on volume and surface area during our next lessons, which were questions she struggled with on the challenge.

Zeta continued working on her Web Quest of the Oregon Trail. Today she started to work on a crossword puzzle, reviewing vocabulary words from the lesson. This was to help her remember the vocabulary from this Web Quest and the Western Expansion.

Zeta read a dramatic monologue. She also continued to watch a Broadway production of Kinky Boots.

Today we discussed the metric system. We began the session with a math and science activity to practice converting Celsius to Fahrenheit. Zeta completed a few examples. We watched and discussed a short film about the acceptance of the metric system around the world and how that came to be: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bUVjJWA6Vw