Monday, August 29, 2016 (Day 5)

Post date: Aug 29, 2016 7:52:01 PM

Our first Monday of the new year. It was too bad - except for the part where I had to get out of bed! Man I was tired this morning. Thank goodness I have a shower in my house. Our Monday video was so fun. We watched an NBA dunk contest. I truly enjoyed watching it the six times I showed it.

In Literature 9 we took the first of our reading probes. This reading was entitled "Beetlemania." I'm not overly interested in bugs, so my interest was way down. Then a strange lady interrupted our class - Lucinda Matlock. She told us how her life was in Spoon River. After she left we discussed whether she would have been a friend to George Gray or not. We then analyzed the poem "Fiddler Jones". Oh to live without a single regret. What a goal for all of us. I then reviewed the requirements for vocabulary - look up the definitions (this time they're on page 11) and find three synonyms. For the "Expand Your Vocabulary" - look up three of the five words.

In English 10 we discussed the concept of "Meaningful Conversation". We made a list of things needed to have that experience. We then compared those skills to those that we wrote down on post-it-notes after watching the Ashton Kutcher speech. We took a few minutes and compared them - what skills do we need to communicate both formally and informally? Qualities like connections, emotions, listening, knowledge. Characteristics only a speaker needs is preparation, volume, rehearsal, etc.

Finally we took a few notes entitled "Speech Basics". We wrote down the definition of communication and the four reasons we speak. For tomorrow everyone should write down any time they have a conversation - meaningful or not.

In American Government we took a reading probe. We also took a check over the material they were to listen to via the YouTube channel. It seemed like it went all right, but that is just superficial observation, we'll see. After everyone completed the check, we then continued to work on our own independent states. They decided how their governments were going to look. We will share these on Wednesday, along with our current events. Everyone should also listen to the short video on the "Purposes of Government."

Good luck to all the athletes tonight - football and volleyball. Do your best, that's all anyone can ask of you.