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I'm working with the student to prepare for her Math state exams. We worked on practice tests I found online. She read a Native American folktale passage and answered short-response questions. She understood the passage well, but was a bit vague in her answers. A bit more specificity and she'll be in good shape. For math, she had a bit of trouble taking the concepts she learned in class and applying them to more layered problems or word problems. Also she has not covered geometry yet in class.

The student had a new packet of vocabulary to cover, so I began by reviewing the exercises she had completed and making some corrections to her work. We talked through the meanings of some of the more difficult words, and I shared with her some mnemonic devices for a few words. Afterward we went through the synonyms and antonyms she is required to memorize, sifting out the words she already knows. Then I helped her compile a list of words unfamiliar to her, defined them with her, and assigned her to study them. On Wednesday I will introduce her to "Julius Caesar," which her class will begin after spring break.

The student is continuing to read his novel and continues to be much more comfortable with it. We went over Chapters 4 to the beginning of 7, and things begin to unravel. We paid close attention to symbolism and also looked at how characters continue to mirror/double each other. We were also going to go over some of his older essays. I had him read parts of a book I brought, with special attention to his 6 rules for writers. He liked the rules, and this emphasis on economy and straightforwardness is partly why he likes his assigned reading.

The student took a practice test for 8th grade Communication Arts and several pieces from a variety of standardized state tests in Social Studies. She is not struggling in any subjects, so our main focus will be to ensure that she is fully prepared for her Freshman year, when she moves. Because she is on target for her grade level, we will be working towards MLA formatting and preparing her for writing her first formal research paper. She also wanted attention paid to formal grammar terms, as a review. I will bring a novel for her to read on her own time, the contents of which we will use for analysis and writing prompts.

In this class, the student and I discussed the importance of poetry as a literary gender. We reviewed the poem he wrote about bees and corrected some mistakes we found. In addition to this, he got to finish an activity I assigned him for homework regarding the passive voice. He seemed to have difficulties changing a paragraph he wrote using the active voice to the passive. We also discussed the main ideas of the two chapters of his book. Lastly, we talked about the next assignments and the importance of organizing to make study simpler.

The client was struggling with providing evidence for AP Language and Composition prompts, so we worked together through four example prompts. We worked on brainstorming evidence, structuring arguments, and writing introductions. The student was very pleasant and very willing to work through the practice problems. I provided her with a planning model designed to make writing timed essays a little bit easier. She is a very good writer and has excellent ideas. Overall, it was a very productive session!