GT and I were to continue our study of the play.

We began with a detailed discussion of the public testimony in the House Impeachment Inquiry. GT watched some of the hearing and offered very insightful observation about the content and nature of the proceedings. Next, we briefly reviewed several other news events. I am glad GT is feeling better.

Today GT skyped from home. We outlined and took notes on the 5 principles of natural selection. We spent some time talking about the nature of mutations. We then looked at examples of vestigial structures in several different organisms, and discussed why unhelpful features that don't really harm the individual nevertheless tend to evolve away. We went over allopatric vs sympatric speciation and adaptive radiation.

GT and I read Act IV. We read the ACT, stopping to discuss the plot. We then completed the accompanying quote assignment. We explained the meaning and the significance of the selected passages. GT does so well interpreting the lines of Shakespeare. We then began another lesson in his vocabulary book.

GT and I read the rest of Act III. We answered the quote activity that accompanied the act. GT did a great job. We also discussed a few pages of activities in the vocabulary book.

GT watched the video The Island of Shrinking Mammoths with me. We stopped every five minutes and discussed the material. GT took notes. We first identified the location of the Channel Islands. The discussion of the movie was about the Pigmy Mammoth and how its remains could be only found on the the Channel Islands. We identified the difference in size between the Pigmy Mammoth which was about 2 meters in height and the Colombian Mammoth with was 4 meters in height. The paleontologists and archaeologist dated the age of the fossil bones found by using a technique called carbon dating. GT looked up a definition for Carbon Dating. We constructed a definition which he wrote at home as: Life on Earth is carbon based. Carbon on Earth exists in 3 isotopes. GT was able to define isotopes. Carbon 12 makes up 98.9% of the carbon on Earth; carbon 13 accounts for 1.1%, and Carbon 14 is radioactive and accounts for .0000000001%. Carbon 14 has a half life of 5730 years. Scientists can measure the remaining c14 in a specimen and figure out how much carbon has dissipated based on a half life of 5,730 years. GT also studied the term Pleistocene also known as The Ice Age. The dates for this Cenozoic Era is 2.5 million to 11,700 years ago. When sea levels were low, it was caused by cold, adding to the mass of the glaciers and causing contraction of the water. It was believed that the Columbian Mammoths may have swum over the water to the islands because their sense of smell is twice that of a dog. They had a better food resource on the islands and there were no predators like the Saber-Toothed Tiger. The term "natural selection" was used to describe the change in the size of the Mammoths. The Mammoths change their size to either larger or smaller whenever an island is isolated from a mainland. The food availability impacts the size of the animals and over time, the species change their size. I suggested that GT read Origins by Irving Stone to have a really good vicarious journey experience with Charles Darwin.

(Skype session) We spent the first half of the class catching up on current events. GT was then assigned to watch some of the public showing of the impeachment inquiry. It is great he is feeling better.

Student absent.

Student absent.

GT came in but didn't feel well. He wanted some work to do at home, so I gave him some vocabulary activities.