Lesson 3 The Rock Cycle: We learned how tectonic plate motion forms mountains, ocean basins, and the rock cycle. When plates move apart cracks appear in Earth’s surface forming a rift zones. Iceland straddles an active rift zone. When plates collide mountain ranges can rise as the pressure of the moving plates causes folding in the crust and uplift which is the raising up of Earth’s crust due to pressure or stress relief in the area. Earthquakes are often associated with uplift and can occur when mountains wear down or massive ice sheets retreat exerting less pressure on Earth’s crust. We looked at active volcanoes and seismic activity in the US and around the world.
Assignment: Complete active reading prompts in science workbook and add the rock cycle to your science workbook.

I worked with Mercer on his color theory project. Work on his last color theory drawing using secondary and primary colors. We revisited shading and left light spots so that the scales look like they're overlapping. Mercer practiced drawing as light as possible, working his way to a shadow. 

Mercer and I first went outside to search for shells. After returning indoors, he worked on his handwriting page (page 130). He wrote the script letters and words all across the line, and worked on 6 letters and words. He needed reminders to remember to create a space between one of the words (‘zipper’), but otherwise made a concerted effort to form his letters clearly and correctly. Mercer is improving his legibility as he gains continued practice in this area. For the last ten minutes of the session, I challenged Mercer to spell a list of commonly misspelled words. In turn, he challenged me to spell a few. Fair enough. Equal time!

Mercer and I worked together soldering the remaining LED strips for his display case.

Today we worked on math exercises, and then we played chess.

Mercer worked on both his secondary colors and tertiary colors drawings. He finished the wood that all four snakes are wrapped around.

Today we learned about the verb to be, and I combined it with emotions, creating sentences like El esta contento, Yo estoy contento.

Mercer learned to write his name in cursive and the letter o using the words zoo, flower, and old. He took his spelling test. He answered reading comprehension questions over chapter 9 of, "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs.Basil E. Frankweiler." With only one chapter left in the book, we started watching the movie version of the book to compare how they are alike and how they are different.

Mercer learned about the four most common systems of Ancient Greek government. He reviewed and defined democracy, monarchy, oligarchy, and tyranny. Mercer was interested to learn that the word ‘democracy’ is taken from the Greek language and means 'demos,' which refers to the entire citizen population. We also reviewed facts about each of these systems of government. Mercer has a great wealth of general information about geography, and he demonstrates excellent recall skills. He was interested in a map of Ancient Greece, noting the seas that border it and he correctly identified the Mediterranean as the one to the South. We also discussed the topography of Greece and learned that about four-fifths of the country is mountainous, and that the 3 geographical features are the mountains, the seas, and the islands. Mercer responded correctly when queried about the information. We discussed the significance of the geography and topography, as it contributed to shaping its government and culture.

Lesson 3 The Rock Cycle: We learned that there are three classes of rock based on their formation. Igneous rock such as granite forms from cooling magma or lava. Sedimentary rock such as sandstone forms when fragments of older rocks, shells, skeletons of marine organisms, and fossils breakdown and become cemented together. Metamorphic rock such as marble is formed when temperature and pressure change the texture and mineral content of rock within the Earth. It is formed by a combination of temperature and pressure changes. Each type of rock can be changed into another type by temperature, pressure, weathering, and erosion.
Assignment: Complete active reading prompts in science workbook and add the rock cycle to your science workbook.