September · Week 1 · Day 5 · School day 5

Day 5: Courage, Truth and the First Data

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🛡️ Play with your child: Kenning Forge

The day, step by step

1. 10–15 min Morning meeting and current events SL.11-12.1

   1. Question of the day: Which takes more courage: facing a monster or facing a hard truth? Students answer in two sentences and connect to Beowulf or a real person.
   2. Current events: quick roundup of the week's stories; students name one they want to follow.
   3. Review the week: kennings, Beowulf, functions, a fair test and the social contract.

2. 15–20 min Vocabulary and word study L.11-12.4b, L.11-12.5a

   1. Define eight terms in your own words: kenning, epithet, thane, scop, wyrd, wergild, alliteration, caesura.
   2. Decode four kennings: whale-road (sea), bone-house (body), ring-giver (king), sky-candle (sun).
   3. Self-correct with the answer key and add any missed words to the vocabulary notebook with a new sentence.

3. 30–40 min Literature and texts RL.11-12.1, RL.11-12.2

   Beowulf (Francis B. Gummere's public-domain translation or any modern translation)

   1. Reading check: name three traits of the epic hero (great strength, courage, devotion to fame and loyalty) and cite a line from the week that shows each.
   2. Discussion: the poem mixes Christian references (God, Cain) with pagan ideas (fate, fame, ship burial). Why might a Christian poet tell a story of pagan heroes?
   3. Exit question: what is one value from Beowulf's world that still matters today, and one that does not?

4. 40–50 min Precalculus HSF-IF.A.1, HSF-IF.A.2, HSF-IF.B.5, HSF-IF.B.6

   1. Weekly check, 8 problems: (1) Is {(2, 3), (2, 5)} a function? No. (2) Does y = |x| pass the vertical line test? Yes. (3) f(x) = x² - 4x, find f(-1). 5. (4) Find f(a - 2) for f(x) = 3x + 1. 3a - 5.
   2. (5) Domain of √(x + 6): [-6, ∞). (6) Domain of 4/(x - 9): (-∞, 9) ∪ (9, ∞). (7) Range of y = -x² + 5: (-∞, 5]. (8) Average rate of change of f(x) = x² from x = 2 to x = 5: (25 - 4) / 3 = 7.
   3. Students score their own work with the key, then rework any missed problem on a fresh line and write what went wrong.

5. 30–40 min Environmental science HS-ESS2-5

   1. Weigh both cups. Sample data: cup A (bare) started at 550 g and now reads 496 g, a loss of 54 g; cup B (mulch) started at 580 g and now reads 562 g, a loss of 18 g.
   2. Percent of the added water lost: A is 54 / 150 = 36%; B is 18 / 150 = 12%. Students compute with their own numbers.
   3. Graph mass against days for both cups on the same axes, with a key and units. Which line falls faster?
   4. Predict: what will the graphs look like in two more weeks? We keep weighing through week 3.

6. 25–35 min Writing W.11-12.5

   1. Peer review the analysis paragraph with the checklist: Is the claim arguable? Is the evidence embedded and cited? Does the commentary explain how, not just repeat?
   2. Reviewers write one specific strength and one specific question in the margin.
   3. Writers revise and staple both versions into the portfolio.

7. 25–35 min Independent practice and projects

   1. Rework any missed math check problem.
   2. Update the mulch graph with today's data.
   3. Revise the paragraph using one peer comment.
   4. Read ahead or listen to the next section of Beowulf (Grendel's mother) if time allows.

   Projects: set up the senior portfolio (reading journal, vocabulary notebook, math warm-up log and writing folder) and start the mulch experiment log.

   Device time (15 min): play Kenning Forge on the Student games page.

   Today’s game: Kenning Forge

8. 5–10 min Closing reflection SL.11-12.1

   1. What did your data show so far?
   2. Which skill from the math check needs more practice?
   3. What is one goal for next week?

Short day? Do the math check and the mulch weigh-in; move peer review to Monday.