Piero began the session today answering written questions with a past tense response. All questions required an irregular past tense form of the verb used in the question. He then responded to numerous questions that required the future tense of the verb in the answers. He then was given a picture of a home on Christmas morning. He wrote quite a lengthy, short story about the picture

Today we continued our study of the novel Charlotte’s Web. We reviewed the summary for chapter 12 and then finished reading chapter 13, which we had started yesterday. Piero did a fantastic job (scoring 12/13) with recall, describing the illustrations, and completing the fill-in-the blank summary with our reading. We focused on the meanings of the words advertise, radiant, and thrashing in our reading. We then reviewed the terms for chapters 11 – 12 with a crossword puzzle and fill-in-the blank sentences. Next, we worked on the English picture dictionary. Piero and I discussed some areas he would like to learn more about and we worked through a number of slides related to those topics (soccer words, items related to movies, and construction). We looked at soccer positions, basic rules, and items needed to play. We also looked at various tools, equipment, and vehicles related to constructions, as well as lots of different types of buildings. Additionally, we labeled items related to the movies such as a camera, lights, and a director’s chair. Lastly, we enjoyed a game of Jeopardy! This version, customized just for Piero, featured questions using Marvel characters! Our categories included reinforcing making connections with analogies and our new figurative language skill for this week, similes. Piero also used vocabulary words we’ve learned in our literature study but applied in a new way. Finally, he worked through a jam-packed pronouns category working with subject, object, and possessive pronouns throughout each level. Oral language directed activities: We began our session discussing the success of Piero’s ping pong tournament yesterday! He was excited to tell me he got third place. We also enjoyed wrapping up our review on the Marvel character project we created. Piero used the slides to support sharing information and recalling details about the characters. Piero brought several items for sharing today. This provides a nice opportunity for open conversation in English. He told me about his Captain America figure and three race cars. We revised and stretched information as indicated.

Today we kicked off our session with a review of chapter 11 in Charlotte’s Web using the completed summary. We then read chapter 12 and completed the fill-in-the blank summary. We also read the first-half of chapter 13. As we read, we discussed items for recall as well as analysis and predictions. Piero did a nice job describing the illustrations with more detail. Overall, he scored a fantastic 12/14 on measured tasks! Our focused vocabulary words today included gander, praising, slogan, destiny, and sensational. We then reviewed chapter 11 vocabulary with a crossword puzzle. Next, we continued learning about similes. We read 11 examples and determined if it was /was not a simile. Piero got all 11 correct and was also able to identify the two items being compared in the similes. We completed one last review of wh- questions (with three choices) and Piero was able to respond much quicker today with 6/6 accuracy. Lastly, we worked on our English picture dictionary. We reviewed the animal parts and containers we labeled yesterday. Our focus today was on school and office supplies and tools. We discussed several areas of interest that he would like to add to our project, which we will do in our next session. Oral language directed activities: Piero brought a Lego Iron Man figure that he built for his share item. We worked through the information he shared with revisions as indicated. We enjoyed reviewing our Marvel project. While this offers a chance for verbal discussion, Piero is also reinforcing reading comprehension skills as he is analyzing and finding evidence in the text to help with responding to questions about the material. Piero chose to caption funny pictures as our last activity. We really worked to use our imaginations and get creative today. One of our pictures had a cat sleeping with some ping pong balls! We talked about having “butterflies in the stomach” as Piero has a ping pong tournament today. I can’t wait for him to tell me all about it in our next session!

I began the session with Piero by having him use the correct form of ON, AT, TO, and ON in the context of numerous sentences. I then had him insert HOW MANY, HOW MUCH, WHOSE, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, or WHY to numerous questions that showed the answer, so he would know the correct word that should begin the sentence. We then wrote conversational questions to each other. I discussed and explained all errors and misunderstandings Piero experienced.

This afternoon we jumped right into literature. We first reviewed chapter 10 of Charlotte’s Web and then read chapter 11. As we read, Piero worked to describe the pictures as well as answer questions related to recall and analysis. He then did his follow-up fill-in-the blank summary to recall the chapter events. He did a fantastic job scoring 15/16 on measured tasks with some modifications of repetitions and two-choice questions. Our focus words for vocabulary included miracle, ordinary, unusual, common, and punishment. We then reviewed vocabulary from the text from chapters 8 – 10 with a crossword puzzle and fill-in-the blank sentences. Next, we learned about the figurative language concept of simile (comparing items with like or as). We worked through a PowerPoint of information about similes and multiple examples. We discussed the meanings and intention of each. We then had fun with inference riddles. Piero read clues to and correctly identified all 4 of the items described! Our English picture dictionary today had Piero quite stumped. We labeled pictures of animal parts, which we included as they are often found in fiction novels (items such as snout, talons, wings, beak, and claws). We then labeled household items that hold things such as a box, jar, basket, and bag. Piero’s knowledge of all of our words today was quite limited. Oral language directed activities: We enjoyed reviewing more of our Marvel slides project by discussing the features of more characters and Piero identified items he likes about the characters. Finally, Piero chose Would You Rather questions as our conversational activity. For homework he created a fantastic question about if one would rather have no friends or bad friends. We both agreed we’d rather have bad friends and try to help them to make good choices. Piero did a great job explaining his answers to why he’d rather sky dive (instead of ride a rollercoaster), have a pet zebra (instead of a pet panda), and sweat honey (instead of smell like a skunk). He claimed that last one was “too difficult!”. He also declared he’d be the “king of the ocean” if he lived under the sea all of the time (instead of living in the sky).

Piero began the session by applying the words DO, DON'T, DOESN'T, and DOES to the beginning of sentences that pose a question. We discussed any problems that arose from the application of these sentences. I then presented Piero with an image of children on the last day of school. He wrote a short story about the picture. Any grammar errors were discussed and corrected.

We started our session with literature. After a review of chapter 9 of Charlotte’s Web, we took turns reading chapter 10. Charlotte is still thinking of a way to save Wilbur’s life! As we read, we discussed events for recall as well as analysis, inference, and predictions. We focused a bit on the rope swinging event in the story and looked at pictures online to get a better visual of this unfamiliar term. We also discussed the illustration in the book to help support the reading. Our reading also prompted further discussion of the pronunciations of dying, Aunt Edith, several -ed words, and goslings. Our focused vocabulary today included the words patient, gullible, scooped, straddled, and balance. After reading, Piero completed a fill in the blank summary to help reinforce the material. He is provided a word bank for these summaries. Piero scored 16/20 on measured tasks. We then reviewed the chapter 8 and 9 vocabulary with a crossword puzzle. We also practiced using the words in sentences. Next, we continued review of wh- questions. Piero does well with these, but needs a little more time to think, so I want to really reinforce this area. Lastly, we wrapped up our reading comprehension Jeopardy focusing on main idea and details, summarizing, problem and solution, logical order, and author’s purpose. Piero scored 7/9 on the remaining questions. Oral language directed activities: We looked over our English picture dictionary items from yesterday and added a new page of the outdoors of a house. This included terms such as chimney, roof, windows, and doghouse. We also read through pictures of vegetables and fruits. Piero told me his favorites of each. We then discussed Community Helpers. Finally, we discussed 6 Marvel characters from our project in which Piero gave me information about each. We also discussed the features of personification for Rocket Raccoon.

Piero began the session with a lesson and application of choosing the correct possessive pronoun in the context of given sentences. I then presented him with a photo of a lost dog and he wrote a short story that pertained to the image. We corrected and discussed all errors in both lessons.

Today we began with a review of our reading of chapters 7 and 8 of Charlotte's Web. We then moved on to the chapter 9. We completed a shared reading with modeling of pace and fluency. Our vocabulary focus words today included boasting, spinnerets, hesitated, thud, and trembling. As we read, we discussed items for recall and analysis. We worked to expand Piero’s descriptions of the illustrations. We then completed the fill-in-the-blank summary. Piero scored 12/18 on measured tasks. I first start with open-ended questions in our discussions and then offer revisions and two or three choice questions when support is needed. Piero then reinforced his vocabulary building with a crossword puzzle and fill in the blank sentences for chapter 6 – 7. Next, we moved on to our English picture dictionary. We reviewed the men’s clothing, bathroom, and kitchen items we studied last week. Today we discussed items found around the house such as a telephone, keys, and umbrella. We learned a few new words today including fence and suitcase. We also discussed a mailbox, which Piero indicated he does not have where he lives. Our next activity focused on wh- questions. We reviewed what each word is tied to in questions (i.e. “when” refers to time). Piero then completed questions with the proper “wh” word with three-choices provided. Finally, we worked with the skill of inference with some fun riddles! Piero read 8 to 9 facts and then had to conclude what item was being described. With a little time, he got all 3! Oral language directed activities: We began our session with a discussion of the pool party Piero attended over the weekend. He gave some basic information and expanded with cueing. We talked about doing a “cannonball” into the pool and he was not familiar with the term. We looked at some pictures for a more concrete reference. We had fun reviewing our Marvel project that we’ve worked on for the past several weeks. Using the slides for support, Piero told me three facts and his favorite thing about each of the 5 characters we reviewed today. Finally, Piero chose to make captions for our funny animal pictures today. We worked to stretch and provide more details to his thoughts.

Piero was given 15 questions with answers. The question/sentences did not have an initial word. He had to insert the word from the following: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHOSE, and HOW. He was then given sentences where he had to insert the correct form of a given verb and the correct preposition. We concluded the session with written conversational questions and answers.