Bobby read several sections of a humorous travel book: Florida Curiosities. The sections he read included the under water hotel and about parts of Key West including Hemingway House. Bobby and I researched the underwater hotel online and he read about it there as well to answer the many questions he had. When we read about Hemingway house, we explored my photo album of Key West and we talked about Hemingway, and the genetics of polydactyl cats. Bobby's interest in hurricanes was sparked as we talked about the 1935 Hurricane, so we researched hurricane images from space online. Through that, as well as the maps in the book, we were able to incorporate geography into the session. Bobby also learned about elevation today. Finally, Bobby read about and listened to segments on Spanish missions in Florida, and he answered several comprehension questions.

Needs and Wants: Marina drew pictures discribing the difference between needs and wants. She did very well and used good discretion defining each. good lesson Marina

Introduction to the Judicial Branch of the US Govt. The rights and responsibilities of the US Supreme Court / Federal District Courts / Courts of Appeal / Circuit Courts / Bankruptcy and International Trade Courts

Today Stephen and I began by reading a book on Martin Luther King Jr. Stephen then completed a worksheet that covered the information he learned from the book. Stephen then completed his own book on Martin Luther King Jr. Stephen and I finished class by completing a review of unit 3. Stephen will have a test on Unit 3 next Wednesday!

Today Gwendolyn and I began class by watching a short Brainpop video on the 3 branches of government. Gwendolyn then answered all 5 questions of quiz correctly. We began listing as many important facts as we could about the Executive Branch and added this material to Gwendolyn's parts of government poster.

Map Quiz: Ethan did good job, very good recall from earlier lessons, maps, continents, and conservation. Great job Ethan

Map Quiz: Marina did very well on the quiz. This was a review from maps, continents, and conservation. Good job Marina

Bobby and I covered many different topics today in our exploration of Northern Florida. He read several chapters in a funny and interesting book called Florida Curiosities. In this book we looked at maps of Northern Florida and talked about the cities and natural sites (waterways, etc). Next, we read about Dixie and Gilchrist counties. Bobby's interest was sparked when he read about the underwater caves in Gilchrist County. We then read about and watched clips of underwater/cave archaeology. Bobby learned about how GPS's work in terms of coordinates, latitude, and longitude. Finally, Bobby read about the endangered Florida panther and we talked about the issues surrounding endangered animals in Florida.

Discussion centered around the men and women that the President of the US selects to be his trusted advisors. The civilians are titled "Secretary" and the military advisors are "Chiefs" The Executive departments include Homeland Security, Defense, State, Interior, Transportation, Education and Commerce.

Discussion centered around whether or not the President of the US has more, less or the same amount of power as the Legislative Branch and/or the Judicial Branch. We tried to answer the question - Since the President is also the Commander-in-Chief does he wield the most power?