Charlie completed the end-of-year assessment from Studies Weekly for World History. We reviewed geography vocabulary cards and created two more - archipelago and plateau. We read an opinion piece from The Palm Beach Post about the relevancy of the concept of separation of powers still today. Charlie completed an activity on The Preamble, defining old English words and translating the meaning so that he understands it. He also began a map skills activity "Welcome to Earth" wherein he had to identify longitude and latitude on the globe, hemispheres, continents, oceans, tropics, and poles.
Today Jayne and I finished one final sweep through many European countries, including Switzerland, Spain, and Greece! We journaled about our top 10 favorite experiences from our world travels - SO MUCH to reflect on!
We used a little extra time we had at the end of the day to do some research on tadpoles and how to care for them. Jayne brought in some tadpoles she found at home this weekend!
Craig and I reviewed geography vocabulary flashcards and added "archipelago" and "plateau." We read a "Point of View" from The Palm Beach Post about how the concept of separation of powers is still relevant today, 230 years later. This prompted us to review what that concept means, identify the three branches, and discuss checks and balances, all of which Craig had difficulty recalling, so it was important to go back and review again. We took turns reading from "Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates." We looked to the artwork in the center fold of the book. We stopped to discuss the parallels in history - what was happening in America during this time - the Louisianna Purchase. We also discussed new vocabulary words as we encountered them - exile, impotent. Finally, we took a rest from reading, and began a Mailbox lesson "Welcome to Earth" which tested Craig's map skills.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
It is very concerning that Craig cannot follow and understand directions. We talked today about why he does not pick up the pencil and write down the answer when he knows the information. He says he does not understand what is being asked. For example, he was asked to list the continents in the southern hemisphere - with 4 maps and globes in front of him - labeled with the answer. We went through it step-by-step, pointing out the labeled parts, the answers, the four pictures, and he still would not move and make the next step. He still mixes up the oceans, Atlantic and Pacific, and latitude and longitude. He could not read the labeled map and did not write anything down. Although he knows the 7 continetns, he could not label them on the map. He still does not answer even when I point to the word/the answer on the map. He could not name a continent in the northern hemisphere even with the pictures in front of him.
Arianna and I reviewed the state capitals she has learned so far and added more - Texas, New York, Florida, St. Louis and Hawaii. We discussed the volcanic eruption in Hawaii when looking to the map of Hawaii to learn its capital. This also afforded an opportunity to review vocabulary - archipelago, evacuate, and annex. We took another look at her rainbow organizer to recall her continent, country, state, county and city. We reviewed from the textbook - government, the three branches of government, and how a bill becomes a law. We also discussed and reviewed landforms, bodies of water, and time in relation to a reading passage about the northern lights. Arianna saw images of the aurora borealis and read about summer and winter in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Charlie and I reviewed geography vocabulary cards We read about the importance of maps and globes and reviewed terminology. We completed final wrap-up in Studies Weekly, recalling major contributions from different cultures, discussing the difference between culture and custom, and reviewing ancient civilizations and our studies this year. We read about Margarat Mead. We did further research about the ancient Greek analog computer. Charlie tested his ancient civilization IQ with Studies Weekly quizzes.
Yesterday we began our unit on landforms. Our Interactive Notebook project consists of flip pages in which we will write a sentence to describe and color a picture of the targeted landform. We went back through portions of the Brain Pop Jr. learning video on landforms, pausing and using it to support our study. Additionally, we are using online pictures and the book, U.S. Landforms by Dana Meachen Rau, which has colorful pictures and informational text. We are also completing related activities in Danny’s Geography textbook as we address each landform. Today we focused these activities on rivers, hills, mountains, and lakes. Finally, we ended our session with a Florida Studies Weekly packet on Changes in Communities. We read about how before people, there were just plants and animals on Earth. Development of communities has changed that and our communities have also grown and changed. We recapped the material with a crossword puzzle focusing on the vocabulary terms of extinct, pollution, natural resources, and traffic jams.
