Mercer was given a choice of writing and tasked with writing a short paragraph to demonstrate command of the language. He selected one of several prompt choices offered so that he would be more invested in developing his voice and opinion when writing. Although initially resistant, Mercer was encouraged to use such prewriting strategies as brainstorming, graphic organizers, notes, and/or logs. Mercer submitted one sentence to me and said he was done, but I encouraged him to develop his draft by helping him categorize and prioritize his ideas. I explained that the first introductory sentence could serve as his topic sentence and encouraged him to use language techniques such as similes, metaphors, etc., by which to create a vivid expression of ideas and produce a cohesive, coherent, multi-paragraph response to the prompt. Mercer refocused on the task and eventually elaborated in greater detail. We reviewed proper spelling, grammar, and discussed strategies, word choices, and ways to effectively transition ideas to the next paragraph. Mercer was afforded supports and prompts to help consolidate his thoughts, connect his conclusion to the beginning or topic sentence, and close the paragraph.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Mercer told me he was accepted to Cardigan Mountain school in NH. We looked at some pictures and I read him the description of the school.
I supervised Mercer in a research activity for 1/2 hour this afternoon, piggy-backing on a science subject begun the first 1/2 hour of the session. Mercer researched volcanic rocks and finished watching a video demonstrating a method of fashioning tools from the rock.
Session Minutes
30
Minutes Student Attended
30
Lesson Comments
Teresa asked me to finish watching Mercer for the last half hour of the session. Chris complained he was very tired and asked to sit on the couch while we finished researching on the computer.
Lesson 1 Earth’s Layers: We learned that the mantle is about 2900 km thick. It is made up of oxygen, silicon, magnesium, and iron at a temperature of more than 1000°C. Although it is solid it is able to flow like a fluid or plastic material because of its high temperature. Then at the center of the Earth is the core which is made up of a liquid outer core and a solid inner core. The outer core is predominantly iron and nickel and the inner core is almost pure iron-nickel alloy. We watched a video about the layers of the Earth and the Theory of Plate Tectonics.
