Semester 1, Week 7 update 2014

                                             Rembrandt's  The Nightwatch

Gulliver's Travels - "Laputa"

Backpack supplies -  Check to make sure you bring: YOUR math book or a paper with a math problem and its solution written down (even if it is not Saxon or even Algebra 2), a Latin book for vocabulary help, & a Biology book/ Lab Experiment book. You'll also need any art projects, the essay of the week, and Words Aptly Spoken for circle discussions. You will not need to carry with you the actual books for: Logic, How Should We Then Live, State of the Arts, or British Literature if you have a homework notebook with written exercises from each topic. It is a good idea to bring your curriculum guide along with extra notepaper and pencils. Lastly, don't forget a lunch and drink.

Homework Review – complete before week 8 Class
Algebra 2	Lessons 23-26. Also, bring one math question from your own math book to put on the board.
Latin	Lessons 9 and exercises
Logic	Finish Lesson 7 and answer questions
History: HSWTL	Read Lesson 8 + 9 and answer the questions on page 109 of the guide
History: Art SoA	Add to Timeline Study the art piece The Nightwatch by Rembrandt Chapter 8 + 9 in State of the Arts
Art Grant:	Complete the application on page 98 of your guide (hand in next week - week 9). Start writing your outline for your 5 minute talk and gather digital pictures or exhibit examples for your presentation.
British Literature Essay:	Read sections 3 + 4 in Gulliver’s Travels (2nd half of the book) this week and work on the essay. You MAY use Clep/Sparks Notes to study Satire. Read Words Aptly Spoken – pgs. 57-58 and add to the Satire Chart on p. 91 of the guide. Essay using the Topic of Circumstance: Talk about the surroundings in Jonathan Swift’s life that made him use satire in his books.
Biology:	Finish Chapter 4.  Prepare your lab book with Experiments. (You can take lab notes in class while we look at mold – I will have gloves and masks).

Algebra 2 – Again, when working with linear equations related to each other, we can use substitution or elimination to help solve for one of the unknown variables. We also took a look at simplifying square roots, scientific notation, and word problems involving equal distances. All students bring one math question to put on the board this week. 

Latin – We reviewed adjectives, passive verbs, and demonstrative pronouns (this, these, that, those). We also finished translating all three scenes from “In the Roman Camp” on page 341-342 in Henle Book 2.

Logic – We reviewed Lesson 7 + 8 on Judgments and Propositions. This week’s logical form required recognizing contradictions after identifying the proposition by quality (affirmative/negative) and quantity (universal/particular; all/some). If “all problems are hard” in one statement is paired with “some problems are not hard” in another statement, then there is a clear contradiction. A Universal affirmation or negation can’t be paired with an opposite Particular affirmation or negation (cannot use “all/some not” and “none/some are” together).

History – We discussed ancient science and philosophers from different cultures (Greek, Arabian, and Chinese). We took a look at the long list of scientists and inventions in the early 1500s as technology started to allow for observation of scientific theory. During the Enlightenment, art and science took a leap as artists and scientists were newly motivated to study with more depth. Many of the scientists were Christians that studied God’s Word along with God’s world. Many of the artists were striving for perfection in composition, proportion, and perspective as they were inspired by classical architecture that was being excavated (along with a resurgence of philosophies that elevate man). Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were both artists during this surge of creativity. While they had differences in life skills, they had many similar philosophies about man and art. We completed huge comparison circles to discuss these men. We also reviewed State of the Art guidelines for artists (ability, intelligence, knowledge, craftsmanship, and ability to teach) as opposed to the world’s simplistic view of talent and training.

Art Grant Project - We also talked about the next Art Grant project for week 10. The students should finalize their applications and start work on preparing their outline for the 5 minute speech. They should also start gathering digital pictures or exhibit examples to prepare for using in the presentation. Final Applications will be collected on week 9 (October 23/24) so I can make copies for Presentation Day. They were handed applications in class, but an additional copy is on page 98 of the guide. Art Grants will be presented on week 10, October 30^th/31^st.

Art Presentation Project – After the Art Grant project is completed on week 10, there is one final Art Presentation project due on week 15 (December 12, the final class before break). Let me know if you or your student plans on attending the trip to Washington, D.C. on November 1^st in order to gather art information for the final project.

We hope to plan a trip to the National Art Gallery on Saturday, November 1^st with a rain date of Saturday, November 8^th. I will send more information in another week, but we will likely pick a meeting spot near Gainesville to carpool to Vienna Station and ride Metro to the Smithsonian Station on the National Mall (fare cards are $4.60 each way unless you own a Smart Card). The Main Museum opens at 10:00. We hope to be done exploring the museum by 2:30 P.M. Parents that ride along on this trip and wish to additionally stop at the National Portrait Museum since it is open until 7:00 P.M., can plan to carpool with each other and leave DC a little later (additional stops are $1.75 each way to slip up to the National Portrait Museum next to the Gallery Place Metro Stop). Food can be carried on Metro but not consumed on metro or carried in museums (also, backpacks need left in lockers). It would be wise for us to leave from Vienna around 9:30 and eat a good morning snack at 10:00/10:15 before entering the museum and then grabbing a late afternoon meal near Gainesville area when we get back. Additional parent ideas are welcome as we solidify plans. As always, if the Field Trip dates are not compatible with your family’s schedule, you may work independently on the project with your student. I will send out an e-mail next week asking for quick replies for students and parents attending.

British Literature – An essay is due this week about satire so we took a look at Jonathan Swift’s life circumstances. We talked about blowing small problems out of proportion on a huge scale to show preposterous conclusions. We used examples from Words Aptly Spoken to create a few of our own satirical examples and we looked at examples from the first half of Gulliver’s Travels. Two of our leading questions asked us to consider propositions and then blow them out of proportion (i.e. “children should spend more time reading” and “people should take measures to keep themselves healthy”). The students had a fun time creating scenarios for books where all children ever did was read books to the exclusion of everything else or people bounced around everywhere in personal bubbles.

Biology – This week’s labs involved observing various types of fungi and yeast. We discussed parts of mushrooms and classifications. We also discussed the fermentation process when yeast is added to water and starches. We kept staining and checking yeast slides under the microscopes for changes as fermenting reached its peak. We also had multiple mushrooms to dissect and prep for slides. Next week we use bread mold. Bring your lab Journal. Finish adding any procedure steps and drawings from yeast/fungi observations. REMEMBER TO COLLECT SOME LEAVES AND PRESS THEM for spring. Here are a few pictures from this week:

 

yeast @ 30 min. intervals  

 

fungi (Shelf & Portabella gill)

 

microscopic nematode parasite