Atticus shared his impressions of the enigmatic conclusion of the novel. We discussed what ,as a reader, he would have liked to have seen neatly wrapped up in the final chapter. We then studied the final pages wherein Jonas reaches an ill defined destination where its inhabitants are celebrating Christmas. From this point, we shared views on whether the author is religious and how she views the role of religion in society. Next, we reviewed Atticus' test essay and I provided writing suggestions and edits focusing on the need to include details and to avoid repetition and hyperbole. HW- test tomorrow ,rewrite essay due Thursday.

Learn adjectives -
Common conversational phrases -

Atticus read (7) scientific articles this morning. He was tasked with highlighting subject-specific vocabulary and underlining definitions. Atticus has an inquiring mind and had many relevant and interesting questions that pertained to the content he read.

Today's lesson focused first languages in Mesopotamia. Atticus watched a video clip that detailed the origins of written languages. Atticus participated in class discussions.

Atticus and I reviewed the mid-topic assessment that was assigned for homework over the weekend. He answered questions on exponents, GCF, LCM, evaluating expressions, and writing expressions to match a real-world scenario. He still needs help with evaluating expressions, specifically showing all of his work while working downward. He reevaluated missed expressions for half credit and earned 82%. For homework, he was assigned a unit 3 review and a very similar mid-topic assessment for more practice.

Adverbs/
review verbs -

During the first segment Atticus completed a quiz on chapters 18-20 of the novel. I then placed an essay outline on the board and distributed an essay exercise based on last week's lesson-Jonas as a dystopian protagonist . We discussed how to draft using the proposed outline. After Atticus completed his writing assignment, I demonstrated how to maintain a dual entry journal to be used in connection with his reading assignments to assist in comprehension and focus HW- due Wed read last two chapters/make journal entries as demonstrated in class.

Atticus used both his class periods to work on practicing his coning. We worked on centering his clay and using the proper amount of pressure and water. We worked on hand placement and how to get the clay to rise. Once he formed a cone, we worked on flattening. We worked on making sure he centers his hand on top of the cone and used the other one to keep the clay even and smooth as it flattens. He ended with the shape of a hockey puck. We then went over the next steps he will do in class.

Atticus started his first class by starting to design his narrative pottery piece. He sectioned his narrative into five different parts, each section telling a different part of the story. He wanted to add handles so we drew those onto his design as well. He then chose two different Greek patterns to add to his pottery. For his second class, he learned how to cut the clay with the wire and put it onto the wheel. He then turned the wheel on high and started to practice coning.

Atticus watched a demonstration on the steps of throwing pottery on the wheel. We went over steps one through five from coning to cylinder. We practiced the hand placement for each step to get familiar with standing at the wheel.