Today, Yanuell and I spoke about slavery in the colonies. Yanuell read aloud about Slavery. I explained: Did you know there were laws that made slavery legal? Slaves were first brought to North America from Africa in 1619. They were sold to colonies in Virginia. It wasn't until 1642 that slavery actually became legal.This topic of slavery is an invitation to reflect, because it is such a huge part of our history. Yanuell is able to explain and understand key historical events that occurred over time. We discussed that Slavery is one of the most inhumane acts the world has ever known. Africans were kidnapped and forced into slavery by Europeans; they were separated from their families and forced to work on plantations. They were placed in unbearable conditions and the prevalent racism attached onto this system fueled the mistreatment and oppression of black people for years to come.

Today I read several articles from "Time", magazine for kids to Ben. After each reading, we would discuss the readings. Good session...

Kate and I finished her word search for social studies. Kate does a great job with these! We defined some of the terms that she didn't know. We then watched CNN for Kids. CNN 10 and we discussed the stories presented.

Kelcy and I continued our discussion on Social Studies. Our goal is to: 1) define what is Social Studies; 2) how people Study the World; and, 3) who are the people who perform the many different social studies? The focus of this lesson sought primarily to answer how people study the world. I used vision as the focal point of any study, and we discussed vision with the eyes in contrast to vision with the mind. I had Kelcy look at images of animals, then I had him imagine animals changing colors in his mind. A dinosaur was changed from red to yellow to purple and eventually became "Barnie." This illustrated the ability of the mind to visualize things it is familiar with through actual or imagined experience. Likewise, I showed Kelcy how scientists study different things, and each type of scientist uses different instruments and tools to discover, observe, and study the world. I shared how astronomers and other scientists use "scopes" of various types to look at and study the stars far away or microorganisms not visible with the "naked-eye." Kelcy was able to see how vision was critical to any social study or other effort to investigate and understand the world.

I read a book on American symbols and we discussed their meanings. Kelcy created a flip book which included, the flag, Liberty Bell, Washington Monument, White House, and the eagle.

Kelcy arrived late due to a dentist appointment, but we were able to still have a fun introductory 10 minute warm-up for our next lesson. We will be covering the topic of Dinosaurs.

On 11/27, Kelcy and I had a wonderful lesson discussing the basics of Social Studies. We talked about the many ways to study the subject; why its so important; and, how reading, language, math, and other basic subjects including music and physical education are necessary for understanding Social Studies. Kelcy learned about the vastness of Social Studies. That individuals, groups of people, places/locations, ideas/concepts, and other important elements are what Social Studies is all about. We then discussed why its important to learn the basics so that Social Studies can be discovered and experienced to understand the world around us. I used language subtleties to highlight the distinctions amongst various meanings of the same word, and how the understandings and applications have an impact on our knowledge of the world and experience of events. Kelcy was intrigued and paid close attention during the entire lesson; actively answering and asking questions; and, showing amazement for the higher conceptions I termed the "abstract." I showed him how he will progress in his education and knowledge to develop the higher understanding I and others have attained.

Using the whiteboard, I outlined the hierarchy of the federal court system and the function of each level . We reviewed the terms: jurisdiction, concurrent jurisdiction,appeal, judicial review and trial court. We then reviewed Charlie's homework on political parties and platforms. Charlie had some difficulty with the questions in the study guide, and I clarified the purpose and function of third parties , and the function of a party platform. Charlie did a good job recognizing platform issues of interest to the Democratic Party and the Republican Party such as gun control and universal health care. For homework due Wednesday, I prepared and distributed a review exercise on the federal court system as discussed in class today and assigned pages 119-121 in the guide along with questions 2-4.

In yesterday's lesson, Kelcy and I spent the day in his classroom/office analyzing various words and how their use points toward a mental representation and then other sets of expectations depending of the term. I asked Kelcy how his previous day/evening after our lesson went for him. When his response was a very general statement "good," I followed with what did you do? Kelcy replied "nothing," so I expressed that I was still unclear as to what he had done the prior evening. This allowed me to lead him into specificity in words, and how these words produce a mental representation in our minds that help us understand what is going on around us. For example, the word "color" is used to describe the colors of the rainbow, but technically black/white are not included, however we use that term to describe each. Kelcy was able to correctly list all the colors in order, and I shared the acronym ROYGBIV to which he remembered his grandfather had shown him. I did a fun brain activity to show him how his mind has difficulty when speaking a word vs an image. I listed the ROYGBIV acronym on a whiteboard but wrote each letter in a different color. I then asked Kelcy to recite the color of the letter, not what the letter represented. Kelcy enjoyed this when he continued to struggle or would start to say the color of the letter (our natural tendency) but then he would correct himself to perform it accurately. We then began to look at the relationship of Father/Son, Coach/Player, Teacher/Student, and Boss/Employee. I used an analogy set up for comparing; example, father is to Son, as _________ is to Player. With a little prompting Kelcy was able to correctly determine the word, but he struggled to make the cross-connection in the analogy, which he soon overcame as we completed several of these. Lastly, I described how these terms/words describe a role we fulfill in each relationship, which defines our set of behaviors/expectations that everyone who is called by those terms/words must do properly or there tends to be trouble, difficulty, and challenges.

In Monday's lesson, Kelcy and I spent time talking about the words that people use to represent and describe the world and ourselves in relation to other people. I gave Kelcy examples of various words that are spoken the same and whether spelled the same or differently, and, thus, have very different meanings and uses by people. I used the word blue/blew. His most obvious application of the word was the color. Then, I showed him how that word is used to describe a person who is sad. Next, I asked him what word is used to describe the motion of the wind. He stated, "blows," which I praised him as being accurate, however, I then showed him how the word blow, has a form that is usually spoken in the past tense when someone is telling a story about a past event/experience, and that word was "blew." Kelcy continuously was able to share stories and provide connections that were on topic, but I was also impressed with his desire to share information with me that he found interesting or that he wanted to express/teach me. This is the mark of a student who is making connections to his personal experience, which is vital for any student aiming to successfully learn social studies. We continued discussing shapes, symbols, and others things that represent something other than the primary meaning of the word/object. We ended the lesson talking about how sports and practice help people learn important principles in mathematics/geometry as well as musical/rhythm, and physical training; how different parts of the world call certain sports by different names, i.e. Soccer/Futbol; and, the importance of practice, teamwork, and competition.