We watched a Brain Pop video on figurative language. Then we spent the rest of the period working on timed sections of his SSAT reading passages.

: We reviewed general rules for capitalizing titles and Mercer was tasked with re-writing titles using capitalization where needed. He completed 12 questions and we reviewed the three in which there were words that should be capitalized that he missed. He was surprised that the last word in a title is capitalized, regardless of what part of speech it is. He was reminded to capitalize the important words, and nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. This rule applies to titles of books, articles, and songs. Mercer questioned the rule about last word being capitalized rule, but conceded when I showed him capitalization rules in a style guide and provided examples. I pointed out that articles, conjunctions, and prepositions are not capitalized, and Mercer corrected the three sentences. This proved to be a useful exercise that provided Mercer with helpful information and good practice. It will become easier for him to apply these rules as he gains more practice with the parts of speech and conventions of grammar.

Work on Mercer's second "Painting like Andy drawing". Fix some of the scales that were missed when transferring and start working with the primary colors to color in the snake.

Mercer and I studied several recommended open moves. We then played a game of chess that ended in a tie.

Mercer continued exercises from the 6th grade math Envision textbook, estimating products of fractions.

He took his Wordly Wise test and made a 100. We discussed and delved into his new Wordly Wise list exploring the words and their various meanings. He learned how to write the letters vi, vo, va, and vy in cursive. He reviewed the simile and did an activity reinforcing what he learned about a simile. We covered a reading passage for the SSAT test, learning strategies to help when deciding which multiple choice answer best fits the question asked.

Work with Mercer on his "Painting like Andy" color theory project. Print out a reverse image and start to sketch it for the last sketch. Begin to add colors of his choice for the first painting. Choose a complementary color for the background.

Today's lesson focused on Hanukkah. Mercer read material about
the eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah which commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend, Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. Mercer answered questions on the material and completed vocabulary activities.

We worked on SSAT practice problems.

Today's lesson focused on the unit review. Mercer completed questions about Jewish holidays, culture, religion, and kings who reigned in Israel. Mercer spent time reviewing material about the Dead Sea, stories about David and Goliath, and games played with Dreidels. Mercer spent the remainder of class watching a documentary about cities in Africa.