During today's Geometry class, we started working on Chapter 3 "Parallel and Perpendicular Lines". We did an introduction to the chapter and started working on Lesson 3.1 Lines and Angles.

The goal of President Franklin Roosevelt's foreign policy focused on moving the United States from isolation to intervention. With crisis growing in Europe and Asia, Roosevelt realized that America needed to intervene. After the onset of the Second World War, Roosevelt campaigned for a strengthened American international presence. He helped lift the Neutrality Acts ban on arms and supplied needed weapons to Britain and France. Roosevelt agreed to the 'destroyers-for-bases' deal, which provided naval vessels in return for the right to build American bases on British-owned land. He also navigated the Lend-Lease Act through Congress, which loaned arms to American allies. Roosevelt structured the Atlantic Charter, which was essentially a proclamation of a wartime alliance with Britain and steered the repeal of the Navigation Acts through Congress. He also froze Japanese assets in America while curbing trade with the empire. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt officially entered the United States into war, completing the transition from isolation to intervention.

From 1939 to 1945 the world was engrossed in a global conflict. World War II began in 1939 when Adolf Hitler invaded Poland. Historians have acknowledged that World War II might have really started in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria by Japan or with the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 by Italy. In September 1940 the Axis Powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan, formed. The Allied Powers, which was made up of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States, formed as a result of needing to combat the growing threat of the Axis Powers. The Soviet Union turned against Germany after Hitler violated the Non-Aggression pact in 1940, which stated that the countries would not take military action against each other. Today we looked at the causes of WWII: Failures of the League of Nations to maintain international peace, A weakened China due to civil war, which allowed Japan to invade and take over,Unresolved anger from World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
World War II has had a lasting effect on the globe. First World War II had significant casualties from the war, but also innocent civilians. The Holocaust was one of the largest losses of life during World War II, which was a result of Hilter's systematic persecution of Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and people with handicaps.

We continued studying Act I of "Our Town" with my emphasizing how the play reminds the audience of the passing of time and the importance of the "small things" that people fail to notice. As we read, I had Jaydn identify portions of the dialogue and stage directions that suggest the passing of time such as the birth of twins in town, the sounding of the school bell, and the blast of the factory whistle. We further noted the parallel neighboring families of the Webbs and the Gibbs.We discussed Mrs. Gibb's dream of going to Paris noting how other characters will also have suppressed dreams and longings. As the play is not presented in a traditional format, in order to assist Jadyn in visualizing the stage presentation, we then viewed a portion of Act I as performed at a theatre in Connecticut with Paul Newman playing the lead of the Stage Manager.

We continued our study of Act I by noting the parallels between the Gibb family and the Webb family and exploring ways the playwright emphasizes not just the passing of time but the importance of appreciating all of the time we have on Earth. In this regard, Jaydn discussed from the play the birth of children in town , the sounding of the school bell ,and the blast of the factory whistle all announcing the passage of time which remains unnoticed by the play's characters in Act I. As the play has untraditional elements , in order to assist Jaydn in visualizing the drama, we then viewed a portion of the first act as produced in a Connecticut playhouse starring Paul Newman as the stage manager.

I. The student will identify symbols in A Raisin in the Sun (The Plant) The American Dream (the check)

II. The student will learn to draw inferences in reading and apply skills to analyze the character Ruth’s situation in Act 1 scene 2 of A Raisin in the Sun

I. The student will recall details, understand series of events, understand cause and effect, and define characterization in an analysis of A Raisin in the Sun

II. The student will understand setting, time and place, as used in Act I, scenes 1 and 2 of A Raisin in the Sun

Jayden worked online and used the time to research and write about SZA, the person she has chosed to profile for Black History month. Jayden worked independently on the topic after we briefly discussed what is happening in Turkey and Syria in the aftermath of the hurricane earthquake.

During today's Chemistry class, we continued working on Molar concentrations. Jaydn worked on several practice activities.

As we are commencing a study of the play "Our Town", today's first session addressed elements of a theatrical performance such as the stage directions, dialogue ,and the role of the stage manager and director. We discussed the difference between seeing a movie and a stage performance noting the theatre as a collective experience with interaction between the audience and the actors. Jaydn has seen a number of plays on Broadway and participated in class discussion including the concept of the "suspension of disbelief". I then addressed how playwrights can break down the wall between the actors and the audience . I discussed the purpose and role of the stage manager in "Our Town " as the equivalent of the Greek chorus and a vehicle to break down the invisible wall between the play's action and the audience. During our second session, we began studying Act I. I stressed the motif of time and the passage of time and as we read the opening pages Jaydn examined and commented on events and dialogue that directly or indirectly illustrate this motif. We further noted how the stage manager narrator is outside the time frame of the play's action and is able to comment on the future of the characters' lives. I highlighted that the play is ultimately very life affirming despite its emphasis on the passing of time and its consequences.