PJ read "To Kill a Mockingbird".

PJ completed several activities pertaining to his vocabulary words, reviewed his spelling words, read and discussed Chapter 1 of his literature book, "To Kill a Mockingbird."

1-2 The Order of Operations – We learned that powers can be used to shorten the representation of repeated multiplication such as 2×2×2×2×2×2. Then we reviewed simplification of expressions with operations which must be performed in the correct order.
1-3 Writing and Evaluating Expressions – We practiced substituting constants for variables in algebraic expressions and solving the problems using the correct order of operations.
1-4 Integers and Absolute Value – We learned to represent, graph, and order integers. We practiced finding the opposite absolute values.

Lesson 1 Analyzing the Rock and Fossil Records – We learned that unconformity is a junction between two groups of rocks that are completely different in character and age. We discovered that an 18th-century Scottish geologist named Dr. James Hutton was the first to discover rock formations of this kind in Siccar Point, Scotland. We watched a video on how the Grand Canyon was formed and other interesting rock formations around the world.

Rights and Responsibilities of U.S. Citizens: Definition of Rights and Responsibilities. Discussion of similarities and differences between citizens' rights and responsibilities. Constitutional Rights -Bill of Rights and duties. A video on the meaning, definition, and significance of Civics courses was presented. Requirements of ways to become a U.S. citizen were explained.

Introduction to Computer Technology: Course content, purpose, and expectations. Discussion of history of computers, uses of computer technology in business and entertainment (gaming, video streaming etc.), and data transmission and processing. Exploration of computer technology applications such as MS Powerpoint and Excel Spreadsheets is a goal to be pursued and developed.

Introduction to Civics: Course content, purpose, and expectations. Definition of Civics as the study of the rights, responsibilities, and privileges for citizens within the United States. The structure of the U.S. Government will be studied along with exploring the details within the U.S. Constitution. Landmark Supreme Court cases will be reviewed to give a perspective on how laws and practices in the U.S. needed to be changed (new Amendments etc) to have laws in line with the intent of the U.S. Constitution. Special projects to connect with modern day Civics will be assigned.

"All About Me" and Drawing Prompts

PJ had a choice of drawing prompts and "All About Me" activities. PJ choose to draw his favorite things on an image of a Stanley Cup. He drew his favorite movie about these aliens who could not see, and he told me about the movie. Then he drew a space ship on the Stanley Cup. Next, he chose a drawing prompt called "It's not a triangle, it's a..." From a simple triangle, PJ drew one of his favorite characters from a television show complete with details and color.

I asked PJ what his goals are for this art course, and he said he wants to get better at art and focus more.

"All About Me!"
PJ chose an image of a Stanley cup to decorate on paper with drawings from the prompts on the page. He drew his favorite movie and then drew a space ship on the cup. Then he worked on a drawing prompt called, "It's not a triangle, it's a..." and turned the triangle into a character with detail and color from one of his favorite shows.

I asked him what his goals are for this course, and he told me he wants to get better at art and focus more.

1-1 Variables and Expressions – We learned that mathematics is a language and algebra involves the same operations as arithmetic. We discovered that algebra also utilizes letters as placeholders in order to generalize a specific arithmetic statement. We practiced creating algebraic expressions.