Abby began reading Chapter 7 of Presque Mort. This chapter gives a description of Bastille Day in France. It discusses the historical roots of this celebration and also relates the current day festivities. As Abby completes the reading of each page, in French, I ask her questions in French and she answers in French. She keeps a word bank and adds to it as she encounters new vocabulary words and idiomatic phrases.We spent some time identifying the tenses used in the story since the various tenses give us the time element. Example: Ann and Paul saw the parade route; Ann and Paul will attend the party after the fireworks. Abby does well identifying the tenses and speaking French.

Abby’s first hour was completing the reading, in French then the translating of chapter 6 of Presque Mort. I asked Abby question in French and she answered in French. We reviewed the grammar, new vocabulary, the characters and the plot. Since this story takes place in France, a portion of our time is spent discussing the culture, customs and history that is presented. Abby also uses her computer to see images of the various cities, and historical sites, the characters discuss.
The second hour, we went outside and Abby made entries into her journal. She discussed the cold weather we are experiencing, and the trip she took over Thanksgiving vacation. She also talked about her excitement with her upcoming Christmas trip to Utah with her family. In writing her journal, Abby uses vocabulary and grammar she learned in class. She did very well.

Abby reread Chapter 5 of Presque Mort, in French. She did not translate. I asked questions and she was able to answer in French. We identified different grammar points and discussed the idiomatic phrases used. She concluded the hour by writing a detailed summary in French.

Student absent. Tried to Skype, but student at doctor.

Student was absent. Texted assignment to Abby. Complete reading Chapter 5 in French, translate and write a summary of events.

- 2 hours today - In our first hour today Abby read her homework assignment - she wrote out a summary of chapter 4 in French. I made only 2 minor grammar corrections. She then began reading chapter 5 in French. She translated up to page 22. Her homework will be to write a summary of the beginning of chapter 5. During the 2nd hour, Abby and I went outside and she made entries into her journal. Taylor joined us and she took Abby’s sentences and put them into Spanish. Then I had the girls make a parallel between the 2 languages. The results were: there were many similar vocabulary words. I also showed them that nouns in both languages are either masculine or feminine; the sentence structure was the same: subject, verb, object; and that adjectives go predominantly after the noun and they must agree with the noun in gender and number. They were surprised to see the similarities. Taylor pointed out that those same rules apply to Hebrew and Abby pointed out that those same rules applied to German. They both enjoyed the “joint” language lesson. They said “it was different” and asked if we could do it again. I told them “we’ll see”.

Abby made entries to journal stating the events of the past weekend; the weather report and an explanation of the story we are reading in French. Abby enjoys making entries into her journal because it is in “real time”. Abby then completed reading Chapter 3 in Presque Mort. She translated it and summarized it. The main character has traveled to St. Malo in France and is visiting Mont Saint Michelle. Abby spent some time investigating the history of Mont Saint Michelle via her computer. She then read, in French, all of Chapter 4, translated and summarized it. The story has now introduced it’s 2nd plot and added 4 new characters. Abby is maintaining a word bank and begun tracking the 2 plots. She is doing a great job.

Today was a mix of activities. Abby began with a trip outside to write entries into her journal. She writes, for the most part, on her own then reads it to me. I make corrections to her grammar or vocabulary only as needed. We returned to her room where Abby is reading Presque Mort. She read her homework which was her written summaries of pages 10 & 11 and I made corrections to her French where needed. During the 2nd hour, she spent 15 minutes watching a video of Lynn University before returning to read pages 12 and 13 of her story, in French. After every 2-3 paragraphs, we stop and she write a summary and answers oral questions. She does an excellent job.

Abby read part 1 of Chapter 3 in French. She then translated and answered oral questions in French. The main character is visiting Bretagne, France. We discussed the scenery presented in the story. Abby did very well.

Student Absent