3
    Third GradePowered by ThirdGrade.com

    Standards this week

    Social Studies

    • D2.Geo.7.3-5 Explain how cultural and environmental characteristics affect the distribution and movement of people, goods, and ideas.Day 1, 3, 5
    • D2.His.14.3-5 Explain probable causes and effects of events and developments.Day 1
    • D2.Geo.9.3-5 Day 1
    • D2.His.2 Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today.Day 2
    • D2.His.1 Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to explain change over time.Day 2
    • D2.Geo.11.3-5 Day 3, 4, 5
    • D2.Eco.4.3-5 Explain why individuals and businesses specialize and trade.Day 4
    • D2.Eco.5.3-5 Explain the role of money in making exchange easier.Day 4, 5

    Mathematics

    • 3.OA.B.5 Apply the commutative, associative, and distributive properties.Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    • 3.OA.C.7 Fluently multiply and divide within 100; know products of two one-digit numbers.Day 3, 4

    English Language Arts

    • W.3.5 With guidance and support, develop and strengthen writing by planning, revising, and editing.Day 1, 2, 5
    • SL.3.1.B Day 1
    • L.3.1.H Day 1
    • L.3.1.I Day 1
    • L.3.3.A Choose words and phrases for effect.Day 2
    • L.3.5.C Day 2
    • RF.3.3.A Day 2
    • L.3.4.B Day 2
    • L.3.1.F Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.Day 3, 5
    • L.3.1.B Day 3
    • L.3.2 Day 4, 5
    • L.3.2.A Capitalize appropriate words in titles.Day 4

    Science

    • 3-LS2-1 Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

    See what your state adds or places differently

    Suggested daily schedule
    8:30–8:45 AM15 minMorning Circle / Read-Aloud / Calendar
    8:45–10:00 AM75 minEnglish Language Arts
    10:00–11:00 AM60 minMathematics
    11:00–11:15 AM15 minSnack and Movement Break
    11:15–12:00 PM30–45 minScience (every day)
    12:00–12:45 PM30–45 minSocial Studies (every day)
    12:45–1:30 PM45 minLunch and Choice Time
    1:30–2:15 PM45 minSpecials: PE / Art / Music (rotating)
    2:15–2:45 PM30 minIndependent Reading & Journaling

    Mark Week 13 complete

    0 / 4 done

    Saved in this browser

    Day 1 · Monday

    Social Studies

    I can name reasons people move from one place to another.

    D2.Geo.7.3-5D2.His.14.3-5D2.Geo.9.3-5

    Builds on: Needs Week 12, when many Plains nations moved their tipis to follow the bison. Also needs the Great Plains from Week 11. One-minute check: your child points to the Great Plains on the map (the wide, flat middle of the country).

    New words:
    • pull reason – something good that draws people to a new place
    • push reason – something that makes it hard to stay in a place
    • drought – a long time with too little rain

    Materials: Notebook, 5 index cards, U.S. map, Crayons, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "Which mountains are in the West, the Rockies or the Appalachians?" (The Rockies.) Then ask the big question: "Why might a family today move to a new town?" List your child's ideas.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "People move for many reasons. A pull reason draws people toward a new place. A push reason makes it hard to stay." Name some pulls: a new job, family nearby, a school, a warmer climate. Name some pushes: a flood, a fire, no work. Read aloud: "Maya's mom got a job at a hospital in Denver. The family moved from Ohio to be near the job and Maya's grandpa." Ask: "What two reasons did Maya's family have?" (A job and family.) "Are those pushes or pulls?" (Pulls.) Ask: "A river floods a family's house, and they leave. Push or pull?" (Push.) If stuck, say: "Does it chase people away, or invite them in?"

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    Source work. Read this aloud: "In the 1930s, a long drought hit the Great Plains. Farmers had plowed up the grass that held the soil in place. The bare soil dried to dust. Strong winds blew it into huge dark storms. People called this time and place the Dust Bowl. Crops died, and many families lost their farms. Hundreds of thousands of people left. Many drove west to California to look for work picking crops." 1) Your child finds the Great Plains and California on the map and traces the trip west. 2) Ask: "What happened to the land? Which words tell you?" (A drought came. Bare soil blew away.) 3) Ask: "What happened to the farms people left?" (They stood empty.) 4) Ask: "What changed in California?" (Many new people arrived. Jobs and homes were hard to find.) The text does not answer steps 3 and 4, so think them through together. 5) Write five cards. Your child labels each push or pull and names the reason. "Leo's family moved to a warmer state." (Pull, climate.) "Aisha moved near her cousins." (Pull, family.) "Mr. Kim moved for a new job." (Pull, job.) "A flood ruined Sofia's home." (Push, safety.) "Jamal moved to attend a music school." (Pull, school.)

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    Your child writes the title "Why People Move" and lists four reasons with an example for each. Then draw a small U.S. map with crayons. Add a dust cloud over the Great Plains and an arrow west. Label it "The Dust Bowl, 1930s." Finish the frame: "The Dust Bowl was a push because ___." Look for: dust storms ruined the farms, so families had to leave.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Read the three questions aloud. Your child answers in the notebook. Praise answers that give a reason with "because."

    Watch for: Thinking people move for only one reason, or that every move is a happy choice.

    Try: Point back to Maya's two reasons. Then ask: "Did Dust Bowl families want to leave their farms?" (No. They had to.)

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Ben's family moved because the factory in their town closed. Is that a push or a pull? Why?
    2. Give two causes of the dust storms in the Dust Bowl.
    3. How did the Dust Bowl change where people lived?
    Show answers
    1. A push. With no work, it was hard to stay.
    2. Answers vary. Look for any two of: very little rain (a drought), bare plowed soil, strong winds.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: many families left farms on the Great Plains and moved west, many to California.

    Support: Give a word bank for the cards: job, family, climate, school, safety.

    Extend: Your child interviews a family member or neighbor about a move. Write three questions and the answers. Label each reason push or pull.

    Homework: Your child asks an older relative or neighbor where they grew up and whether they ever moved. Write one sentence about the answer. Look for a place and a reason.

    Mathematics

    I can switch the order of factors and get the same product (commutative property).

    3.OA.B.5

    Builds on: Needs arrays from Week 4 and turning an array from Week 9 Day 3. One-minute check: your child draws 2 rows of 7. Then your child writes two equations (2 × 7 = 14 and 7 × 2 = 14).

    New words:
    • commutative property – the rule that you can switch the order of the factors and the product stays the same

    Materials: 30 counters (dried beans, coins or buttons), Sheet of plain paper, Grid paper, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 12. Ask 18 ÷ 3 and 40 ÷ 8 (6, 5). Write 6 × ? = 54. Your child finds the unknown (9). Then your child says the ×4 facts in order, with no clock. For a slow fact, double the ×2 fact. Sample: 4 × 7 is 14 doubled, which is 28.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "You have turned arrays before. Today that idea gets a name." On the plain paper, your child builds 3 rows of 4 beans. Ask: "How many rows? How many in each?" (3; 4) Write 3 × 4 = 12. Turn the paper a quarter turn. Ask: "How many rows now? How many in each?" (4; 3) Write 4 × 3 = 12. Ask: "Did any beans come or go?" (No.) Say: "So 3 × 4 = 4 × 3. Both are 12." Say: "Switching the order of the factors keeps the product the same. This is the commutative property." Say: "Commutative sounds like commute. The factors trade places." Say: "It saves work. If you know 6 × 7 = 42, you also know 7 × 6 = 42." Ask: "Does switching work for division?" Say: "12 cookies shared by 3 friends is 4 each." Say: "But 3 cookies cannot give 12 friends 4 each. So switching does not work for division." Now your child does more. Your child builds 2 rows of 5, turns it and writes both equations. (2 × 5 = 10 and 5 × 2 = 10)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Your child says "commutative property" each time the factors trade places. 1) Your child outlines 3 rows of 8 on grid paper and turns it. Your child writes both equations (3 × 8 = 24 and 8 × 3 = 24). 2) Write 4 × 7 = 7 × ?. Your child finds the unknown, then the product (4; product 28). 3) Write 9 × 2. Ask: "Which fact that you know helps?" (2 × 9 = 18, a double) 4) Ask: "Is 15 ÷ 3 the same as 3 ÷ 15?" (No. 15 ÷ 3 = 5. Sharing 3 things among 15 does not give 5 each.) If stuck, say: "Build the array with beans. Turn the paper. Count the rows again."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    For problems 1 to 3, your child finds the unknown and the product. 1) 6 × 9 = ? × 6 (9; product 54). 2) ? × 2 = 2 × 9 (9; product 18). 3) 8 × 5 = 5 × ? (8; product 40). 4) If 7 × 8 = 56, what is 8 × 7? (56) 5) Draw arrays for 5 × 6 and 6 × 5 on grid paper. Count each one. (30 each) 6) Write the switched fact for 10 × 3. Solve both. (3 × 10 = 30; both are 30) 7) One tray has 2 rows of 9 muffins. Another tray has 9 rows of 2. Which tray holds more? (Neither. Both hold 18.) 8) Sam has 7 bags of 3 limes. Eva has 3 bags of 7 limes. Who has more? (Neither. Both have 21 limes, but the bags look different.) Last, ask: "Which fact today did you know from its partner?"

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Put the beans away. Read each question aloud; your child answers on paper.

    Watch for: Treating 7 × 9 and 9 × 7 as two different facts to learn.

    Try: Your child outlines 7 rows of 9 on grid paper and turns it. Say: "One array, two facts, one product."

    Fact fluency: ×4 facts
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. If 6 × 4 = 24, what is 4 × 6? How do you know?
    2. Fill in the unknown: 7 × 9 = 9 × ?
    3. Does switching the order work for 20 ÷ 4? Explain.
    Show answers
    1. 24. Switching the factors keeps the product the same.
    2. 7
    3. No. 20 ÷ 4 = 5, but sharing 4 things among 20 does not give 5 each.

    Support: Use facts with 2, such as 2 × 3 and 3 × 2. Your child builds every array with beans and turns the paper.

    Extend: Your child finds every array for 24 beans and pairs the turned partners. Pairs: 1 × 24 and 24 × 1. 2 × 12 and 12 × 2. 3 × 8 and 8 × 3. 4 × 6 and 6 × 4.

    Homework: Your child writes 5 switched pairs from the ×4 facts with their products. Sample: 4 × 8 = 32 and 8 × 4 = 32.

    English Language Arts

    I can tell the difference between revising and editing and do both to my writing.

    W.3.5SL.3.1.BL.3.1.HL.3.1.I

    Builds on: Needs the finished narrative from Week 12 and the three sentence types from Week 7. One-minute check: ask, "Is 'We ran, but we missed the bus' simple or compound?" (Compound. Two thoughts are joined with but.)

    New words:
    • edit – to fix small mistakes in spelling, capital letters, punctuation and grammar
    • prefix – a word part added to the front of a word that changes its meaning

    Materials: Narrative from Week 12, Two colored pencils, Sticky notes, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study, about 3 minutes. Say: "A prefix is a word part added to the front of a word. It changes the meaning. Un- means not or the opposite. Re- means again. Dis- means not or the opposite of." Write unlock, unhappy, redo, reread, dislike and disagree in the notebook. Your child reads each word, circles the prefix and sorts it under un-, re- or dis-. Ask: "Which prefix means again?" (Re-, as in redo and reread.) Spaced review from Week 12. Ask: "Name the five parts of a story arc." (Opening, rising action, climax, falling action, ending.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Revising means big changes. We add, cut, move or change ideas and words. Editing means small fixes: spelling, capitals, punctuation and grammar. Writers revise first and edit last." Write this student sample. "The Sled Hill": Last winter me and my cousin went to the sled hill. The snow was fun. We ate crackers. i sat on the sled. My cousin pushed. Then the sled hit a bump, and I flew into a snowbank! Think aloud. Say: "First I revise. 'We ate crackers' does not help the story, so I cut it. 'The snow was fun' is dull. I change it to 'The snow squeaked under our boots.'" Mark those changes in one color. Say: "Two short sentences sound choppy. I join them with a comma and the word and: 'I sat on the sled, and my cousin pushed.' That is a compound sentence." Say: "Now I edit." In the other color, capitalize the word I. Change "me and my cousin" to "my cousin and I". Ask: "Which color shows the big changes?" (The revising color.)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Hold a short writing conference. Agree on two talk rules first: listen without interrupting, and begin with "I noticed" or "I wonder". 1) Your child reads the Week 12 narrative aloud. Give one glow, something that works. (Sample: "I noticed your ending solves the problem.") 2) Give one grow as a question. (Sample: "I wonder what the room looked like.") Your child writes it on a sticky note and sticks it at that spot. 3) Switch roles with "The Sled Hill". Your child gives you a glow and a grow. (Listen for "I noticed" or "I wonder" and a detail from the paragraph.) 4) Say: "Join these with when: The sled tipped. I grabbed the rope." (When the sled tipped, I grabbed the rope.) Say: "That is a complex sentence." If stuck, say: "Say both short sentences. Now say them in one breath with the joining word."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Your child revises and edits the Week 12 narrative with a pencil and both colors. 1) Read it aloud once. 2) In the first color, make at least 2 revisions: add a detail, cut a sentence or change a dull word. Use the sticky note. 3) Join two short sentences into one compound or complex sentence. Use and, but, so, because or when. 4) In the second color, make at least 3 edits, or every one you can find. Look for three things. The revising color changes ideas or words, not spelling. The joined sentence has a joining word. A comma comes before and, but or so.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Ask the three questions aloud. Your child answers the first two by speaking and reads the joined sentence from the draft.

    Watch for: Fixing only spelling and calling the piece revised.

    Try: Ask: "Did any idea or word change?" Your child adds one new sentence before any editing starts.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. A writer adds a sentence that tells how the kitchen smelled. Is that revising or editing?
    2. A writer fixes the spelling of 'becuase'. Is that revising or editing?
    3. Read me the sentence you joined today. Which joining word did you use?
    Show answers
    1. Revising. It adds an idea.
    2. Editing. It is a small fix.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: two complete thoughts joined with and, but, so, because or when.

    Support: Make a two-column chart in the notebook. Left: Revise = Add, Remove, Move, Substitute (ARMS). Right: Edit = capitals, punctuation, spelling. Your child points to a column before each change.

    Extend: Your child moves one sentence to a new place in the narrative. They tell how the move changes the story for a reader.

    Homework: Read the revised narrative aloud to someone at home. Ask where they wanted to know more and mark that spot. Look for: one mark to use tomorrow.

    Science

    I can explain how living in a group helps some animals survive.

    3-LS2-1

    Builds on: Needs Week 12: animals eat and are eaten in food webs. One-minute check: ask, "What is a predator?" (An animal that hunts and eats other animals.)

    New words:
    • prey – an animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal
    • benefit – a good thing you get; a way something helps

    Materials: 12 index cards: 6 with animal names (wolves, honeybees, geese, fish, dolphins, elephants) and 6 with group words (pack, colony, flock, school, pod, herd), 10 blocks, 1 stuffed animal or puppet (the predator), 3 more stuffed animals (the herd), Science notebook and pencil

    5 min · Day 61 — Why Animals Live in Groups — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 12. Ask: "What might happen in a food web if all the rabbits disappear?" (Foxes and hawks have less food. The plants they ate may spread.) Then the wonder. Say: "Wolves hunt in packs. Bees live in colonies. Why might living together help an animal stay alive?" Write down two guesses to check later.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Some animals live in groups. The group helps its members survive." Raise one finger for each benefit. Say: "One, protection. More eyes and ears notice danger sooner. Two, food. Wolves together can catch prey bigger than one wolf. Three, care of young. Older wolves help feed the pups. Four, warmth. Emperor penguins huddle close in freezing wind." Say: "Geese fly in a V. Each goose gets a lift from the air moved by the wings ahead. Flying takes less energy, and they take turns leading." Ask: "Which benefit do penguins get from a huddle?" (Warmth.) "Why can a pack catch a moose when one wolf cannot?" (They chase and surround it together.) If stuck, say: "Picture one deer eating with its head down. Who watches for danger? Now picture ten deer."

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    Group Match and Many Eyes Test. 1) Your child pairs each animal card with its group word. (Wolves, pack. Honeybees, colony. Geese, flock. Fish, school. Dolphins, pod. Elephants, herd.) 2) Alone. Your child sits facing a wall and stacks the 10 blocks one at a time. Start 10 steps behind with the predator. Take one quiet step for each block stacked. Your child may glance back but must keep building. When they spot the predator, record the steps left. 3) With a lookout. Set the 3 stuffed animals beside your child as a herd that eats. Your child is the lookout and only watches, turning to look every way. Sneak up again. 4) Do each test twice. Change only one thing: alone or with a lookout. Keep the same start and steps. Table: Test | Try 1 steps left | Try 2 steps left. Expect more steps left with a lookout. If not, say: "Real results vary. Look for the pattern." Ask: "Why did the lookout help?" (One animal watches while the others eat.)

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    In the notebook, your child draws a chart with 3 columns: Animal, Group word, Main benefit. They fill 6 rows. Accept any benefit your child can explain. Then they finish: "Alone, the predator got ___ steps away. With a lookout, it was ___ steps away. Groups help because ___." Sample: "Groups help because someone can watch while the others eat."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Read the three questions aloud, then check the warm-up guesses together. Praise answers that tell how the group helps an animal stay alive.

    Watch for: Thinking animals gather in groups only because they are friends.

    Try: For each group ask, "How does this help a member stay alive or raise young?" Your child names the benefit.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. What is a group of dolphins called?
    2. Ten geese feed in a field while one keeps its head up and watches. Which benefit of group living is this?
    3. Name two ways living in a group can help an animal survive.
    Show answers
    1. A pod.
    2. Protection. The one watching can spot danger and warn the others.
    3. Any 2: protection from predators, finding or catching food, caring for young, staying warm, saving energy.

    Support: Use only 3 pairs of cards: wolves, fish and honeybees. Say the four benefit words slowly, and your child picks one.

    Extend: Add a family member as a second lookout facing another way. Your child predicts the result, then tests it.

    Homework: Watch birds, ants or squirrels for 10 minutes, outdoors or through a window. Write what you saw and one way a group might help. Look for a named benefit, such as more eyes.

    Day 2 · Tuesday

    Social Studies

    I can compare how people traveled in the past with how they travel today.

    D2.His.2.3-5D2.His.1.3-5

    Builds on: Needs the Week 8 timeline, where events go in order from left to right. One-minute check: ask "Which comes first, 1825 or 1807?" (1807.)

    New words:
    • steamboat – a boat pushed by a steam engine
    • canal – a waterway that people dig so boats can pass
    • transcontinental – going all the way across a continent

    Materials: Long strip of paper for a timeline, about 3 feet, Ruler, Markers, 6 index cards, Tape, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "Which river flows south from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico?" (The Mississippi.) Then ask the big question: "It is 250 years ago. You must visit a city 300 miles away. How do you get there?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Transportation is how people and goods get from place to place. It has changed a lot." Draw a line along the paper strip with a marker. Use the ruler to mark four equal parts: 1700s, 1800s, 1900s, today. Tell the story in order and point to each part. Say: "In the 1700s, people walked, rode horses, drove wagons on rough dirt roads, or sailed." "In 1807, Robert Fulton's steamboat carried people up the Hudson River. Steam could push a boat against the current." "In 1825, the Erie Canal opened. Boats could now travel between the Great Lakes and New York City." "In 1869, the first transcontinental railroad joined East and West. Chinese and Irish workers did much of the hard, dangerous work." "The tracks crossed the homelands of Plains nations. Trains brought settlers and hunters, and the bison herds shrank." "In 1903, the Wright brothers flew the first powered airplane. By the 1920s, many families owned cars." Ask: "Which came first, the steamboat or the railroad?" (The steamboat.) Ask: "Was the railroad good for everyone?" (No. It helped travelers, but it harmed Plains nations.) If stuck, say: "Say both dates aloud. The smaller number came first."

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    Build the timeline. 1) Your child sketches six cards and writes the date on each. Wagon, 1700s. Steamboat, 1807. Canal boat, 1825. Train, 1869. Airplane, 1903. Car, 1920s. 2) Mix the cards. Your child puts them in order and tapes them under the line. 3) Your child writes one sentence under each card. Sample: "1869: A railroad crosses the country." 4) Compare a 300-mile trip. Say: "A wagon went about 15 miles a day." Ask: "How many days for 300 miles?" (About 20. Ten days is 150 miles, so 20 days is 300.) 5) Make a chart with two columns: Way to travel, Time for 300 miles. Fill in: wagon, about 20 days. Early train, less than 1 day. Car, about 5 hours. Jet, about 1 hour. Ask: "What pattern do you see?" (Each new way is faster.) Check that the dates run in order from left to right.

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    Your child copies the timeline into the notebook with at least five entries. Then finish the frame: "The biggest change was ___ because ___." Sample: "The biggest change was the railroad because crossing the country took about a week, not months."

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Read the questions aloud. Your child may look at the timeline. Praise answers that use a date as evidence.

    Watch for: Placing inventions out of order, such as putting cars before trains.

    Try: Compare only two cards at a time. Ask: "Is 1869 before or after 1903?" Then your child slides the cards into place.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Put these in order from earliest to latest: airplane, Erie Canal, railroad across the country.
    2. Name one way the transcontinental railroad helped some people and one way it harmed others.
    3. How is a 300-mile trip today different from the same trip in the 1700s?
    Show answers
    1. Erie Canal (1825), railroad across the country (1869), airplane (1903).
    2. Answers vary. Look for: travel and shipping became much faster; it crossed Native homelands and the bison herds shrank.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: then people walked, rode or used wagons for about 20 days; today a car takes hours.

    Support: Write each date on the back of its card. Your child turns a card over to check the order.

    Extend: Your child adds two more dates: their own birth year and a grandparent's. Ask: "Which ways to travel were already here when each of you was born?"

    Homework: Your child asks an older adult how they got to school or took trips as a child. Add the answer to the timeline. Look for: it sits in the right part of the line.

    Mathematics

    I can group three factors in different ways to make multiplying easier (associative property).

    3.OA.B.5

    Builds on: Needs the multiplication facts from Weeks 6 to 8 and doubling from Week 6. One-minute check: ask 6 × 3, then 9 doubled (18, 18).

    New words:
    • parentheses – curved marks, like the ones in (2 × 3), around the part you do first
    • associative property – the rule that you can group three factors in different ways and the product stays the same

    Materials: 30 counters (dried beans, coins or buttons), 6 small cups, 2 sheets of paper (the trays), Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Day 1. Write 8 × 5 = 5 × ?. Your child finds the unknown (8) and names the property (commutative). Then practice ×2 and ×5 facts with no clock. Ask 2 × 9, 5 × 7 and 5 × 8 (18, 35, 40).

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Today we multiply three factors. We can only multiply two numbers at a time. So we group two factors first." Lay down the 2 sheets as trays. Put 3 cups on each tray and 4 beans in each cup. Write 2 × 3 × 4. Ask: "What does each factor count?" (Trays, cups on a tray, beans in a cup.) Say: "Parentheses show which part we do first." Write (2 × 3) × 4. Ask: "How many cups in all?" (2 × 3 = 6) "What is 6 cups of 4 beans?" (6 × 4 = 24) Now write 2 × (3 × 4). Ask: "How many beans are on one tray?" (3 × 4 = 12) "What is 2 trays of 12?" (12 doubled is 24) Ask: "Did we add or take away any beans?" (No.) Say: "So 2 × 3 × 4 = 24 both ways. The grouping changed. The product did not." Say: "This is the associative property. It lets us pick the easy pair first." Now your child does more. Write 5 × 2 × 7. Your child puts parentheses around 5 × 2 and solves. (10 × 7 = 70) Ask: "Why is 10 × 7 easy?" (It is 7 tens.) Say: "Look for a pair that makes 10."

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Your child writes the parentheses, solves each one both ways and tells which grouping was easier. 1) 2 × 5 × 3 as (2 × 5) × 3, then as 2 × (5 × 3). (10 × 3 = 30; 15 doubled is 30) 2) 4 × 2 × 3 as (4 × 2) × 3, then as 4 × (2 × 3). (8 × 3 = 24; 4 × 6 = 24) 3) Write 5 × 7 × 2. Say: "The pair that makes 10 is not side by side. The commutative property lets 7 and 2 trade places." Your child writes 5 × 2 × 7 and solves. (10 × 7 = 70) 4) Build 2 × 2 × 3 with trays, cups and beans. Your child shows both groupings. (4 × 3 = 12; 2 × 6 = 12) If stuck, say: "Put parentheses around two factors. Multiply them. Now multiply by the factor left over."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    For problems 1 to 5, your child solves both ways and circles the easier grouping. Both groupings must give the same product. For problems 7 and 8, your child tells which two factors were multiplied first. 1) 5 × 2 × 4 (10 × 4 = 40; 5 × 8 = 40). 2) 2 × 3 × 6 (6 × 6 = 36; 18 doubled is 36). 3) 3 × 3 × 2 (9 × 2 = 18; 3 × 6 = 18). 4) 3 × 2 × 4 (6 × 4 = 24; 3 × 8 = 24). 5) 2 × 4 × 2 (8 × 2 = 16; 2 × 8 = 16). 6) Draw 2 trays with 2 cups on each and 5 dots in each cup. Write the equation. (2 × 2 × 5 = 20) 7) A shop has 2 shelves. Each shelf holds 4 boxes. Each box has 6 pens. How many pens? (2 × 4 × 6 = 48) 8) 3 tables have 2 plates each. Each plate has 5 grapes. How many grapes? (3 × 2 × 5 = 30)

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Put the cups away. Read each question aloud; your child answers on paper and shows the grouping.

    Watch for: Multiplying only two of the three factors and forgetting the third, such as 10 for 5 × 2 × 7.

    Try: Your child crosses out each factor as it is used. All three must be crossed out before the answer is written. Ask: "Did every factor get used?"

    Fact fluency: ×2 and ×5 facts
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Solve 2 × 5 × 9 the easy way. Show your grouping.
    2. Put parentheses in 8 × 5 × 2 to make it easy, then solve.
    3. Does changing the grouping change the product?
    Show answers
    1. 90; (2 × 5) × 9 is 10 × 9.
    2. 8 × (5 × 2) is 8 × 10, which is 80.
    3. No. Any grouping gives the same product.

    Support: Stay with 2 × 2 × 3 and 2 × 3 × 2. Your child builds each with trays, cups and beans. Your child circles the two factors to multiply first.

    Extend: Your child solves 2 × 3 × 5 × 2 by finding easy pairs. Sample: 2 × 5 = 10 and 3 × 2 = 6, then 10 × 6 = 60. Ask which pair your child looked for first, and why.

    Homework: Your child picks an easy grouping for each and shows the parentheses. Solve 5 × 3 × 2, 2 × 5 × 5 and 3 × 2 × 3. Answers: 30, 50, 18.

    English Language Arts

    I can replace weak, overused words with stronger, more exact words.

    W.3.5L.3.3.AL.3.5.CRF.3.3.AL.3.4.B

    Builds on: Needs yesterday's revised narrative and the sense details from Week 11. One-minute check: ask, "Is changing a dull word revising or editing?" (Revising. A word choice is a big change.)

    New words:
    • exact word – a word that tells just what you mean, so the reader can picture it
    • word ladder – words about one idea, put in order from weakest to strongest

    Materials: Narrative draft, 12 index cards, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study, about 3 minutes. Write these base words in the notebook: pack, safe, fill, tell, appear, obey. Your child adds un-, re- or dis- to build unpack, unsafe, refill, retell, disappear and disobey. They draw a line between each prefix and its base word. Ask: "Did the spelling of the base word change?" (No. The prefix is just added to the front.) Spaced review from Week 11. Ask: "Give one body clue that shows a character is nervous." (Sample: Her hands shook.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Some words are worn out: said, went, big, good, nice, stuff. An exact word helps the reader see and hear." Write: "My brother ate the pancake." Think aloud. Say: "Ate is a weak word. If he was starving, I write gobbled. If he was full, I write nibbled. One word changes the whole picture." Next, write cool, chilly, cold and freezing on four index cards. Say: "This is a word ladder. The words climb from a little cold to very cold." Mix the cards. Your child puts them back in order. Then write a ladder on four more cards for how sure someone is: wondered, suspected, believed, knew. Say: "I wondered if the dog took my sock. I suspected the dog took my sock. I knew the dog took my sock." Ask: "In which sentence do I have no doubt at all?" (The one with knew.) "In which am I only guessing?" (The one with wondered.)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    1) Write: "The dog ran to the door." Ask: "Which word fits a tired old dog: dashed or plodded?" (Plodded. It shows slow, heavy steps.) 2) Write this line: "Look out!" Dad said. Ask: "Which word is stronger than said here?" (Shouted, yelled or cried.) 3) Find 2 weak words in the draft together. For each one, list 3 choices in the notebook. Read the sentence aloud with each choice. (Look for: the word that matches what really happened, not the fanciest word.) 4) Ask: "Which shows Ben is less sure: 'Ben believed the key was lost' or 'Ben knew the key was lost'?" (Believed.) If stuck, say: "Close your eyes. What did it really look or sound like? Say that word."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    1) Your child replaces at least 5 weak words in the draft with a pencil. They cross out the old word neatly and write the new word above it. 2) They build one more word ladder of four words on index cards. Choices: words for wet, loud or happy. Sample: damp, wet, soaked, drenched. 3) They write two sentences about one event, one with wondered and one with knew. Sample: "I wondered who left the gate open. I knew who left the gate open." Checklist: each new word still makes sense in its sentence. The picture is clearer than before. The ladder climbs in order.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Ask the three questions aloud. Your child may say or write the answers.

    Watch for: Swapping in a fancy word that changes the meaning, such as "The kitten bellowed."

    Try: Read the sentence aloud. Ask: "Can you picture this? Does it match what really happened?"

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Give a stronger word for 'looked' in 'The owl looked at the mouse.'
    2. Put these words in order from coolest to hottest: hot, scorching, warm.
    3. Which shows the speaker is more sure: 'I think it will rain' or 'I am certain it will rain'?
    Show answers
    1. Answers vary. Look for: stared, glared, peered, gazed or another exact verb.
    2. Warm, hot, scorching.
    3. 'I am certain it will rain.'

    Support: Give 3 choices for each weak word. Your child only has to pick the best fit and say why.

    Extend: Your child builds a 5-step word ladder for happy. They use two of the words in sentences.

    Homework: Read your own book for 15 minutes. Copy 3 strong verbs with their sentences. Look for: verbs that show exactly how something moved or sounded.

    Science

    I can compare how wolves, honeybees and elephants live and work together in groups.

    3-LS2-1

    Builds on: Needs Day 1: groups help with protection, food, young and warmth. One-minute check: ask, "What do we call a group of elephants?" (A herd.)

    New words:
    • matriarch – the oldest female elephant, who leads the herd
    • worker bee – a female bee that does the jobs of the colony

    Materials: 1 large sheet of paper, 3 colored pencils, Science notebook and pencil, Library book about meerkats or orcas (only for the extension)

    5 min · Day 62 — Wolves, Honeybees and Elephants — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 11. Ask: "Is a sea turtle's flipper a physical or a behavioral adaptation?" (Physical. It is a body part.) Then the wonder. Say: "A wolf, a honeybee and an elephant look nothing alike. How could their groups be alike?" Take one guess.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Here are three animal groups. Listen for who is in each group and who does each job." Wolves. Say: "A pack is a family: a mother, a father and their young. Most packs have fewer than 12 wolves. They hunt together. Older brothers and sisters help feed the pups." Honeybees. Say: "A colony can hold tens of thousands of bees. One queen lays the eggs. Worker bees are females. They gather nectar and pollen, build wax comb, feed the young and guard the hive. Male bees are called drones." Elephants. Say: "A herd is mothers, aunts, sisters and their young. The oldest female, the matriarch, leads. She remembers where water is in dry times. Aunts and older sisters help watch over each calf. Grown males mostly live apart." Ask: "Who lays the eggs in a bee colony?" (The queen.) "Who leads an elephant herd?" (The matriarch.) "Who helps feed wolf pups?" (Parents and older brothers and sisters.) If stuck, say: "Listen again," and reread that animal's part.

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    Group Comparison Chart. 1) On the large paper, draw 3 columns: Wolves, Honeybees, Elephants. Draw 4 rows: Group size, Who is in it, How they get food, How they care for young. 2) Reread the mini-lesson, one animal at a time. Your child fills each box, using one colored pencil per animal. Look for these facts. Wolves: fewer than 12, a family, hunt together, older wolves feed pups. Honeybees: tens of thousands, a queen with workers and drones, workers gather nectar and pollen, workers feed the young. Elephants: a family of females and young, the matriarch leads them to food, aunts and sisters help watch the calves. 3) Your child circles two things all three groups do. (They get food together. They care for young together.) 4) They star one big difference. (A bee colony is far bigger. Only one bee lays eggs.) Ask: "What is your evidence?" Your child points to the boxes.

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    Your child writes three notebook sentences from the chart. Frames: "Wolves, honeybees and elephants all ___. One difference is ___. The group I would most like to watch is ___ because ___." Sample: "Wolves, honeybees and elephants all care for their young together. One difference is that a bee colony is much bigger."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Read the three questions aloud, and let your child look at the chart. Praise answers that use a fact from the chart as evidence.

    Watch for: Believing the queen bee is a boss who gives orders to the hive.

    Try: Say: "The queen's main job is laying eggs. Workers do the other jobs. No bee gives orders to the whole hive."

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Which of the three groups is by far the largest?
    2. Name one job that members share in both a wolf pack and an elephant herd.
    3. A friend says the queen bee is the boss who gives orders. What would you tell them?
    Show answers
    1. The honeybee colony, with tens of thousands of bees.
    2. Answers vary. Look for: caring for or protecting the young, or finding food together.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: the queen's main job is laying eggs, and the worker bees do the other jobs.

    Support: Fill the first two rows together. Your child tells you what to write, and you write it.

    Extend: Add a fourth column for meerkats or orcas. Your child fills the same four rows from the library book.

    Homework: Tell a family member three facts, one for each animal group. Write down the fact they found most surprising. Look for facts that match the chart.

    Day 3 · Wednesday

    Social Studies

    I can explain how goods travel from where they are made to my home.

    D2.Geo.7.3-5D2.Geo.11.3-5

    Builds on: Needs Day 2 (ways to travel) and Week 3 map skills. One-minute check: your child finds your state and one ocean on the world map (the Atlantic or the Pacific).

    New words:
    • goods – things people grow or make to use or sell
    • port – a place on the coast where ships load and unload
    • warehouse – a big building where goods wait before they go to stores

    Materials: Three kitchen items with labels, such as a banana with a sticker, a can and a box, World map or globe, Notebook, 6 sticky notes, Ruler, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 11. Ask: "Which region is called America's Breadbasket?" (The Midwest.) Then hold up one kitchen item. Ask the big question: "How did this get to our kitchen?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Goods are things people grow or make, like food, clothes and toys. Most goods take a trip to reach us." Teach four ways. Say: "Trucks make short and medium trips and can go door to door." "Trains carry heavy loads, like grain and coal, long distances over land." "Ships carry huge loads across oceans in big metal boxes called containers. Ships are slow but cost less." "Airplanes are fastest but cost the most. They carry light or urgent goods, like medicine." Draw a banana's trip as boxes with arrows. Find Ecuador in South America on the map. Say: "A truck takes bananas from a farm in Ecuador to a port. A ship carries them to a U.S. port." "A truck takes them to a warehouse. Another truck takes them to our store." Ask: "Why not fly bananas here?" (Flying costs too much. A ship carries more for less.) Ask: "A hospital needs medicine tonight. Which way is best?" (An airplane.) If stuck, say: "Is it heavy or light? Is an ocean in the way? Is it a rush?"

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    Item journey. 1) Your child reads each label and hunts for "Product of," "Grown in" or "Made in." 2) Make a chart with four columns: Item, Place on label, Ocean to cross, Likely ways to travel. 3) Your child finds each place on the map and fills in one row for each item. 4) Choose one item. Your child draws an arrow on each sticky note and sticks them from that place to your town. Write the way to travel on each arrow. 5) Ask: "What on the label is your evidence?" (The words after "Product of" or "Made in.") Ask: "Why did this item probably use a ship and not a plane?" (It is heavy or cheap, and not a rush.) If a label says only "Distributed by," say: "That names a company office. Write a question mark." Your items will differ from other families' items. Look for the pattern: far-away goods use more than one way to travel.

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    Your child draws a journey diagram for one item. Draw a box for each stop: farm or factory, port, warehouse, store, home. Write the way to travel between the boxes. Skip the port if the item was made in the United States. Look for at least four boxes in a sensible order.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Read the questions aloud. Your child answers in the notebook. Praise each answer that gives a reason.

    Watch for: Thinking stores make their own food, or that goods arrive in one step.

    Try: Walk through each stop aloud. Keep asking "Who moves it next?" until your child reaches the store shelf.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Grain must go 1,000 miles over land from Kansas. Which way of travel fits best, and why?
    2. Why do airplanes carry only some kinds of goods?
    3. Name one item in your home from far away. What on its label tells where it came from?
    Show answers
    1. A train, because trains carry heavy loads long distances over land.
    2. Flying costs the most, so planes carry light or urgent goods.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: an item and a place read from a real label.

    Support: Use one item only. Draw its route together while your child names each way to travel.

    Extend: Your child traces all three items on the map. Then use the ruler and the map scale to find which traveled farthest.

    Homework: Your child reads the labels on three things at home: a food, a piece of clothing and a toy. Write where each was made. Look for a place copied from the label.

    Mathematics

    I can break a hard fact into two easier facts and add (distributive property).

    3.OA.B.53.OA.C.7

    Builds on: Needs break apart from Weeks 7 and 8 and adding two-digit numbers. One-minute check: ask 5 × 6 and 2 × 6, then 30 + 12 (30, 12, 42).

    New words:
    • distributive property – the rule that you can break a factor into two parts, multiply each part, then add

    Materials: Grid paper, Crayons (two colors), Scissors, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Day 2. Your child solves 5 × 2 × 9 by grouping the pair that makes 10 (10 × 9 = 90). Then practice ×7 and ×8 facts with no clock. Ask 7 × 5, 8 × 5 and 8 × 2 (35, 40, 16). Say: "Easy facts like these are today's helpers."

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "You already break apart hard facts. Today we write it as one equation and name it." Write 8 × 7. Your child outlines 8 rows of 7 on grid paper. Your child colors the top 5 rows red and the bottom 3 rows blue. Say: "We broke 8 into 5 + 3." Ask: "Why choose 5?" (The ×5 facts are easy.) Ask: "What fact is the red part?" (5 × 7 = 35) "What fact is the blue part?" (3 × 7 = 21) Write 8 × 7 = (5 × 7) + (3 × 7). Say: "Each pair of parentheses holds one small array." Write 35 + 21 = 56. Say: "So 8 × 7 = 56." Cut the array between the colors, then push the parts back together. Ask: "Was any square lost?" (No.) Say: "Break a factor, multiply each part, then add. This is the distributive property." Say: "Distribute means hand out. The 7 is handed out to both parts." Say: "You may break either factor. Pick a split with facts you know." Now your child does more. Write 6 × 9. Your child breaks 6 into 5 + 1, colors an array and writes the equation. (6 × 9 = (5 × 9) + (1 × 9); 45 + 9 = 54)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Your child writes each equation, then the sum. Draw the array only if needed. Ask each time: "Which factor did we break? Which factor went to both parts?" 1) 7 × 9 = (5 × 9) + (2 × 9) (45 + 18 = 63). 2) 9 × 4 = (5 × 4) + (4 × 4) (20 + 16 = 36). 3) Write 6 × 8 = (5 × 8) + (? × 8). Your child finds the unknown and solves (1; 40 + 8 = 48). 4) Ask: "Can 7 × 6 break into 4 rows and 3 rows?" (Yes. 24 + 18 = 42.) If stuck, say: "Cover the bottom rows. What fact do you see? Uncover them. What fact is left? Add the two."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    For problems 1 to 5, your child writes the break-apart equation, then the sum. 1) 8 × 6 = (5 × 6) + (3 × 6) (30 + 18 = 48). 2) 7 × 4 = (5 × 4) + (2 × 4) (20 + 8 = 28). 3) 9 × 7 with a split your child chooses (sample: 35 + 28 = 63). 4) 7 × 7 with a split your child chooses (sample: 35 + 14 = 49). 5) 8 × 9 = (5 × 9) + (? × 9) (3; 45 + 27 = 72). 6) Outline 6 rows of 7 on grid paper. Color 5 rows and 1 row. Label each part. (5 × 7 = 35 and 1 × 7 = 7; 42) 7) A hall has 8 rows of 8 seats. How many seats? Break it apart. (sample: 40 + 24 = 64 seats) 8) 9 boxes hold 9 pears each. How many pears? (sample: 45 + 36 = 81 pears) Your child checks two answers by breaking the fact a different way.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Put the scissors away. Read each question aloud; your child answers on paper and may draw.

    Watch for: Breaking both factors, or forgetting to add the two parts at the end.

    Try: Break only the number of rows. Your child points to each color and says: "Two small arrays, then add." Check that both small facts keep the same second factor.

    Fact fluency: ×7, ×8 facts
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Break 6 × 6 into (5 × 6) + (1 × 6) and solve.
    2. Fill in the unknown: 9 × 3 = (5 × 3) + (? × 3)
    3. What does the distributive property let you do?
    Show answers
    1. 30 + 6 = 36
    2. 4
    3. Break a hard fact into two easier facts, then add the two products.

    Support: Use small facts such as 6 × 3 and 7 × 2. Your child always colors the array before writing the equation. Then your child counts the squares to check.

    Extend: Your child splits 9 × 8 two ways: 5 rows and 4 rows, then 10 rows minus 1 row. (40 + 32 = 72; 80 − 8 = 72)

    Homework: Your child breaks apart 7 × 6, 8 × 8 and 9 × 7 and writes each as one equation. Products: 42, 64, 63. Your child tells a family member why one split works.

    English Language Arts

    I can make subjects and verbs agree in my sentences.

    L.3.1.FL.3.1.B

    Builds on: Needs nouns and verbs from Week 2 and the irregular plurals from Week 9 word study. One-minute check: ask, "What is the plural of child?" (Children.)

    New words:
    • singular – just one

    Materials: Narrative draft, 9 index cards, Pencil, Notebook

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study, about 3 minutes. Dictate this sentence: "We will reread the note and unpack the box." Your child writes it in the notebook. Check it together. Ask: "Which two words have a prefix?" (Reread and unpack.) Your child underlines each prefix and fixes any misspelled word. Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "What is the past tense of run?" (Ran.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "The subject is who or what a sentence is about. The verb must agree with the subject. Agree means they match." Write: "The frog jumps. The frogs jump." Say: "One frog is singular. The verb gets the -s: jumps. More than one frog is plural. The noun has the -s, so the verb does not." Add: "With I and you, use the plain verb: I jump, you jump." Write the tricky pairs: is and are, was and were, has and have. Say: "One goes with is, was and has. More than one goes with are, were and have. I and you are special: I am, I have, you are, you have." Write: "Maya and Jun are reading." Say: "When and joins two subjects, the subject is plural." Say: "Some plurals have no -s: children, people, feet, teeth. They still need a plural verb: 'The children are outside.'" Last, say: "A pronoun must match its noun too. 'The boys lost his caps' becomes 'The boys lost their caps.'" Ask: "The dog wag or wags its tail?" (Wags.)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    With a pencil, write six subjects on cards: my uncle, the puppies, Grandma, the children, Leo and I, the people. Write three verb pairs on cards: walks or walk, is or are, has or have. 1) Your child lays each subject beside a verb card, picks the form and reads it aloud. (The card my uncle takes walks, is, has. So does the card Grandma. The other four cards take walk, are, have.) 2) Write: "The ducks swims in the pond." Your child fixes it. (The ducks swim in the pond.) 3) Write: "Her front teeth is loose." (Her front teeth are loose.) 4) Write: "The puppy chased their tail." (The puppy chased its tail.) If stuck, say: "Is the subject one or more than one? Hold up one finger or two. Now pick the verb."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    1) Your child reads the draft one sentence at a time. They underline each subject once and each verb twice. They fix any pair that does not agree. 2) They write 4 new sentences in the notebook. One uses is. One uses are. One has two subjects joined by and. One has an irregular plural, such as children, people or feet. Sample: "My sister is tall. The trucks are loud. Dad and I have bikes. The people were quiet." 3) They check each sentence by asking, "One or more than one?" Look for: every underlined pair agrees, and each sentence follows its rule.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Write the three items in the notebook. Your child writes the answers alone.

    Watch for: Adding -s to the verb when the subject is plural, as in "The dogs runs."

    Try: Draw a seesaw. If the noun gets the -s, the verb usually does not. Your child says the sentence both ways and listens.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Choose: The leaves ___ (fall / falls) in October.
    2. Choose: My feet ___ (is / are) cold.
    3. Fix this sentence: 'Nora and Sam was late.'
    Show answers
    1. Fall.
    2. Are.
    3. Nora and Sam were late.

    Support: Before choosing a verb, your child holds up one finger for a singular subject and two fingers for a plural subject.

    Extend: Your child writes 3 sentences with was or were. One subject must be an irregular plural, such as women or geese.

    Homework: Write 4 sentences about family members using is, are, has and have. Look for: each verb matches one or more than one.

    Science

    I can explain how groups help animals hunt and protect themselves.

    3-LS2-1

    Builds on: Needs Day 1's Many Eyes test and Day 2's wolf pack facts. One-minute check: ask, "Why does a lookout help a group?" (It spots danger sooner while the others eat.)

    New words:
    • alarm call – a sound an animal makes to warn its group of danger
    • safety in numbers – being harder to catch because many animals are together

    Materials: 20 coins of the same kind, such as pennies, 1 coin of a different kind (only for the extension), Small piece of tape, Table with a smooth top, Science notebook and pencil

    5 min · Day 63 — Group Hunting and Defense — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "What do decomposers do?" (They break down dead things and return nutrients to the soil.) Then the wonder. Say: "Prairie dogs feed with their heads down. How do they notice a hawk in time?" Take one guess.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Groups help animals hunt. Groups also help animals defend themselves." Hunting. Say: "Wolves chase and surround a moose. Some hawks hunt as a team: one scares a rabbit out, and another grabs it. Orcas work as a pod to catch fish and seals." Defense. Say: "Muskoxen stand in a circle, horns out, with calves in the middle. Prairie dogs feed near their burrows while some stand tall and watch. A watcher barks an alarm call, and everyone dashes underground. Zebras run close together in a herd. So many look-alike bodies moving at once make it hard to follow one. That is safety in numbers." Draw 8 dots in a ring with 2 small dots inside. Ask: "Which animals does this show?" (Muskoxen guarding calves.) "Orcas circle a school of fish. Hunting or defense?" (Hunting.) "A prairie dog barks and all run. Hunting or defense?" (Defense.) Say: "A group lowers the risk for each animal. It does not remove it." If stuck, say: "Is the group trying to catch food, or trying not to be caught?"

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    Confuse the Predator. Safety: keep coins away from mouths and from younger children. 1) Stick the tape flat under one coin. This coin is the target. 2) One coin. Show the target, then slide it around the table for a slow count of 5. Your child, the predator, watches and taps it. 3) Five coins. Show the target, then slide all five around with both hands for a count of 5. Your child taps one coin. Flip it to check for tape. 4) Twenty coins. Do the same. 5) Do 3 tries at each size. Change only the number of coins. Keep the same count, table and person sliding. Table: Coins | Try 1 | Try 2 | Try 3 | Hits out of 3. Write hit or miss for each try. Expect fewer hits as the group grows. If not, say: "Real results vary. Look for the pattern." Ask: "How is this like a running herd of zebras?" (Many look-alike animals moving together are hard to follow.)

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    In the notebook, your child sketches one hunting group and one defense group. Arrows show wolves closing in. A ring shows muskoxen. Then they copy the coin table and finish: "With more coins, the predator ___ because ___." Sample: "With more coins, the predator missed more because it lost track of the target."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Read the three questions aloud, and your child answers in full sentences. Praise answers that say how the group makes catching one animal harder.

    Watch for: Thinking animals in a group are always safe and never caught.

    Try: Ask: "Which zebra is easiest for a lion to catch?" (One apart from the herd.) Say: "Groups lower the risk. Predators still catch some."

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Twenty look-alike antelope scatter when a cheetah charges. Why is it harder for the cheetah to catch one?
    2. Pelicans swim in a line and drive fish into shallow water. Is this group hunting or group defense?
    3. Does living in a group mean an animal is never caught? Explain.
    Show answers
    1. Answers vary. Look for: the cheetah cannot easily pick out and follow one antelope.
    2. Group hunting.
    3. No. A group lowers the risk but does not remove it. Predators still catch some animals, often young, sick or separated ones.

    Support: Use 1, 3 and 10 coins. Do 2 tries at each size and count the 5 seconds together.

    Extend: Use the different coin as the target among the 20. Your child explains why a look-alike group is safer.

    Homework: Watch birds or ants for 10 minutes. Note one thing they do together, such as a flock flying up at once. Look for a guess about how it helps them.

    Day 4 · Thursday

    Social Studies

    I can explain why different regions produce different goods and trade with each other.

    D2.Geo.11.3-5D2.Eco.4.3-5D2.Eco.5.3-5

    Builds on: Needs the five regions from Week 11 and Day 3, how goods travel. One-minute check: your child names the five regions (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, West).

    New words:
    • specialize – to focus on making the things you are best at making

    Materials: U.S. map with the five regions (the one colored in Week 11), 10 index cards, 10 crackers and 10 raisins, or paper picture cards, 6 coins, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 4. Ask: "What is a natural resource? Name one." (A useful thing from nature, such as soil, water or trees.) Then ask the big question: "Why can't Maine grow its own oranges?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Each region has its own land, climate and resources. So each region is good at producing certain things." "When a place focuses on what it does best, we say it specializes." Point to each region on the map as you name its products. Northeast: maple syrup in Vermont, lobster in Maine. Southeast: oranges in Florida, peanuts in Georgia. Midwest: corn in Iowa, wheat in Kansas, cars in Michigan. Southwest: cattle and oil in Texas. West: apples in Washington, almonds in California, fish in Alaska. Say: "Trade means giving something to get something else. Buying and selling is trade." "Swapping goods is hard. A wheat farmer who wants oranges must find an orange grower who wants wheat." "Money fixes this, because almost everyone accepts money." Ask: "Why does Florida grow oranges but Maine does not?" (Orange trees need warmth. Maine winters are cold.) Ask: "Is buying apples at a store trade?" (Yes. We give money and get goods.) If stuck, say: "What does this place have a lot of? What is it missing?"

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    Part 1, product match. Write these ten products on cards. Your child places each on its region. Maple syrup and lobster (Northeast). Oranges and peanuts (Southeast). Corn and wheat (Midwest). Cattle and oil (Southwest). Apples and fish (West). Part 2, trade game. Check for food allergies first, or use picture cards. 1) You hold only crackers. Your child holds only raisins. Swap until each of you has some of both. Ask: "Are we both better off?" (Yes. Each of us has two kinds now.) 2) Say: "Now I do not want raisins." Ask: "Can you still get crackers by swapping?" (No.) 3) Give your child 3 coins and keep 3. Your child buys crackers with coins. Ask: "How did money help?" (You took coins even though you did not want raisins.) Ask: "What can I do with the coins?" (Buy something you do want.) Look for this idea: trade gives each region things it cannot easily grow or make.

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    Your child makes a chart with three columns: Region, Two products, Why. The Why column names land or climate. Fill in all five rows. Sample row: "Midwest, corn and wheat, flat land with rich soil."

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Read the questions aloud. Your child answers in the notebook. Praise answers that explain how both sides gain.

    Watch for: Thinking every region grows everything, or that trade only means swapping objects by hand.

    Try: Say: "Buying with money is trade too. When we buy Florida oranges, we trade with the Southeast."

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Vermont makes lots of maple syrup. Georgia grows lots of peanuts. What can they do so both states have both?
    2. A baker wants shoes, but the shoemaker does not want bread. How can money solve this?
    3. What does it mean when a region specializes? Give one example.
    Show answers
    1. Trade. Each state sells its product to the other.
    2. The baker sells bread to other people for money, then pays the shoemaker with that money.
    3. It focuses on producing what its land and climate suit best. Examples vary, such as apples in Washington.

    Support: Draw a small picture on each product card. Give one clue for each, such as "This needs warm weather."

    Extend: Your child names a product from your own state. Ask: "Which region might buy it? What might our state buy back?"

    Homework: Your child picks three foods at home and guesses which region each came from. Check one label together. Look for a guess that names land or climate.

    Mathematics

    I can use the rules for multiplying and dividing with 0 and 1.

    3.OA.B.53.OA.C.7

    Builds on: Needs equal groups from Week 4 and sharing from Week 10. One-minute check: your child builds 3 groups of 2 and tells the total (6). Then your child shares 8 beans onto 2 plates (4 on each).

    Materials: 20 counters (dried beans, coins or buttons), 9 paper plates, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Day 3. Your child breaks apart 6 × 7 and writes one equation. Look for 6 × 7 = (5 × 7) + (1 × 7) and 35 + 7 = 42. Then your child says the ×9 facts in order, with no clock. For a slow fact, use 10 groups minus one group. Sample: 9 × 6 is 60 − 6 = 54.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Today plates show us the rules for 1 and 0." Set out 1 plate with 7 beans. Ask: "How many groups? How many in each?" (1; 7) Write 1 × 7 = 7. Now set out 7 plates with 1 bean on each. Write 7 × 1 = 7. Say: "Any number times 1 is that same number." Ask: "Why are both 7?" (The factors traded places. That is the commutative property.) Next set out 7 empty plates. Ask: "7 groups of 0. How many beans?" (0) Write 7 × 0 = 0. Say: "So 7 × 0 = 0. Any number times 0 is 0." Clear the table. Say: "Now 0 plates of 7. No groups means no beans." Write 0 × 7 = 0. Say: "Now division. 6 cookies all go to 1 child." Write 6 ÷ 1 = 6. Say: "6 cookies are shared by 6 children." Ask: "How many each?" (1) Write 6 ÷ 6 = 1. Set out 4 plates and no beans. Ask: "0 cookies are shared by 4 friends. How many each?" (0) Write 0 ÷ 4 = 0. Say: "Now try 6 cookies for 0 friends. There are no plates, so no sharing can happen." Say: "We never divide by 0. You cannot share among 0 groups." Say: "A number divided by 1 stays the same. A number divided by itself is 1, but never use 0." Now your child does more. Your child acts out 5 × 1, 5 × 0 and 5 ÷ 1 with plates. (5, 0, 5)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Your child acts out each one with plates and beans, writes the equation and says the rule in words. Sample: "Groups of zero make zero." 1) 4 empty plates (4 × 0 = 0). 2) 1 plate with 5 beans (1 × 5 = 5). 3) 8 beans all on 1 plate (8 ÷ 1 = 8). 4) 9 beans shared onto 9 plates (9 ÷ 9 = 1). If stuck, say: "Tell the story with plates. How many plates? How many beans on each plate?"

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    1) 1 × 8 and 8 × 1 (8, 8). 2) 0 × 6 and 6 × 0 (0, 0). 3) 6 ÷ 1 and 3 ÷ 3 (6, 1). 4) 0 ÷ 7 and 0 ÷ 2 (0, 0). 5) 1 × 100 and 0 × 100 (100, 0). 6) Draw plates to show 3 × 0 and 3 × 1. (3 empty plates, 0 in all; 3 plates with 1 dot each, 3 in all) 7) 5 nests have 0 eggs in each. How many eggs? (5 × 0 = 0; 0 eggs) 8) 10 crayons go 1 in each cup. How many cups? (10 ÷ 1 = 10; 10 cups) Your child tells which rule each answer used. Ask: "Can we share 5 beans among 0 plates?" (No. There are no groups to share among.)

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Put the plates away. Read each question aloud; your child answers on paper.

    Watch for: Answering 7 for 7 × 0 by mixing up the rule for 0 with the rule for 1.

    Try: Set out 7 empty plates. Ask: "7 plates with nothing on them. How much is there to eat?" Then put 1 bean on each plate and ask again.

    Fact fluency: ×9 facts
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. What is 8 × 0? Tell a plate story that shows why.
    2. What is 0 ÷ 5? What is 5 ÷ 5?
    3. Why can you not solve 4 ÷ 0?
    Show answers
    1. 0. Sample: 8 plates with 0 beans on each hold 0 beans.
    2. 0; 1
    3. Answers vary. Look for: you cannot share among 0 groups.

    Support: Keep the plates out and act out every problem. Use numbers up to 5. Your child says each story aloud before writing.

    Extend: Ask: "What number makes ? × 0 = 0 true?" (Any number.) "What number makes ? × 1 = 9 true?" (Only 9.) Your child explains why.

    Homework: Your child writes 2 real examples of ×1 and 2 of ×0. Samples: 1 dog has 4 legs, 1 × 4 = 4; 4 bowls hold 0 apples, 4 × 0 = 0. Your child draws one of them.

    English Language Arts

    I can capitalize sentences, names and titles and use the right end marks.

    L.3.2L.3.2.A

    Builds on: Needs sentence capitals and end marks from Grade 2 and this week's editing habits. One-minute check: your child names the three end marks. (Period, question mark, exclamation point.)

    New words:
    • proper noun – the special name of one person, place or thing; it starts with a capital letter

    Materials: Narrative draft, Red pencil, Two or three books from your child's shelf, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study, about 3 minutes. Ask each question aloud. "If you unpack a bag, what do you do?" (Take the things out.) "Your tower falls and you redo it. What do you do?" (Build it again.) "Two friends disagree about a game. What does that mean?" (They do not think the same thing.) Then your child uses unhappy in a sentence of their own. Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "Name two time-order words." (Sample: first, then, finally.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Capitalize the first word of a sentence and the word I. Proper nouns get capitals too. Those are the names of people and places, plus days, months and holidays." Write in the notebook: "my friend omar moved to texas in march." Fix it with the red pencil while you think aloud. Say: "My starts the sentence. Omar is a person. Texas is a place. March is a month." Next, teach titles. Say: "In a title, the first and last words get capitals. So does each important word. Little words stay small in the middle: a, an, the, and, of, in, to." Write "the day the river froze". Say: "The first word gets a capital. Day, River and Froze are important. The middle 'the' stays small." Write: The Day the River Froze. Last, review end marks. Say: "A period ends a telling sentence. A question mark ends an asking sentence. An exclamation point shows strong feeling."

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    1) Look at the titles on the books. Your child points to each capital letter and hunts for a small middle word. If a cover is all capitals, use the title page. (Answers vary by book.) 2) Write: "on monday, jamal and i visited lake erie". Your child fixes it. (On Monday, Jamal and I visited Lake Erie.) 3) Write: "where did you put my shoes". (Where did you put my shoes?) 4) Write the title "a trip to the moon". (A Trip to the Moon) If stuck, say: "Touch each word. Is it the first word, a name, a day or a month?"

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    1) Your child reads the draft and fixes every capital letter and end mark with the red pencil. 2) They give the narrative a title and capitalize it correctly. 3) They write titles for 3 imaginary books in the notebook with a pencil. Samples: The Night of the Loud Owl, A Dragon in the Bathtub. Look for three things. Every sentence starts with a capital and ends with a mark. Names, days and months have capitals. Small middle words in titles stay lowercase.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Write the first two items without capitals, just as shown. Your child rewrites them, then answers the third aloud.

    Watch for: Capitalizing every word in a title, including "the" and "of" in the middle.

    Try: Your child circles the small middle words first and leaves them lowercase. Then they capitalize the rest.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Fix: 'in july, my cousin lena and i flew to ohio'
    2. Capitalize this title: 'the mouse and the giant drum'
    3. Which end mark fits 'Watch out for the wet paint'? Why?
    Show answers
    1. In July, my cousin Lena and I flew to Ohio.
    2. The Mouse and the Giant Drum
    3. An exclamation point, because it is a warning with strong feeling. A period is also acceptable.

    Support: Write a checklist in the notebook: first word, I, names, places, days, months, holidays. They tick each one per sentence.

    Extend: Your child writes the titles of 5 family favorite books or songs. Remind them that short verbs like Is still get capitals.

    Homework: Find 3 proper nouns and 1 title in any book or magazine. Copy them with their capitals. Look for: capitals on names and on the first and last title words.

    Science

    I can explain why some animals live alone and compare the costs and benefits of living alone or in a group.

    3-LS2-1

    Builds on: Needs Days 1 to 3: the benefits of living in a group. One-minute check: your child names three benefits of group living. (Any three: protection, food, care of young, warmth.)

    New words:
    • solitary – living alone most of the time
    • cost – a downside; something that makes life harder

    Materials: 8 index cards: tiger, polar bear, octopus, garden spider, honeybee, zebra, ant, dolphin, 1 sheet of paper, Science notebook and pencil

    5 min · Day 64 — Living Alone or in a Group — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 11. Ask: "What four things must a habitat provide?" (Food, water, shelter and space.) Then the wonder. Say: "A tiger hunts alone. Why might that work better for a tiger than a pack?" Take one guess and check it later.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Not all animals live in groups. An animal that lives alone most of the time is solitary." Name some: tigers, polar bears, octopuses and most spiders. Say: "Every way of living has benefits and costs. A cost is a downside." Fold the paper in half. Label the halves Alone and Group. Say and write each list. "Alone, benefits: no sharing food, easy to hide and sneak. Alone, costs: no lookouts, no help with young. Group, benefits: lookouts, help with hunting and young. Group, costs: sharing food, squabbles, sickness spreads faster." Say: "A tiger hides and creeps close to deer. A crowd of tigers would be noticed. One deer would not feed them all." Ask: "Is 'no lookouts' a cost or a benefit?" (A cost.) "Is 'help with young' a cost or a benefit?" (A benefit.) Say: "Some animals do both. A mother bear lives with her cubs, then alone." If stuck, say: "Would this make staying alive easier or harder?"

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    Solo or Group Sort. 1) Your child sorts the 8 cards under Alone or Group on the folded paper. (Alone: tiger, polar bear, octopus, garden spider. Group: honeybee, zebra, ant, dolphin.) 2) For each card ask: "What is one benefit for this animal? What is one cost?" Your child points to the lists as evidence. 3) Mini-debate. Ask: "Should a tiger join a group?" Your child makes a claim and gives one reason. You argue the other side with one reason. 4) Swap sides for the zebra. Ask: "Should a zebra live alone?" 5) Look for reasons about food or safety, not feelings. Sample: "A tiger should stay alone because it sneaks up on prey and keeps its catch." Sample: "A zebra should stay in the herd because many eyes spot lions."

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    In the notebook, your child draws a chart: Animal | Alone or group | One benefit | One cost. They fill 4 rows, two solitary animals and two group animals. Then they finish: "Living alone works for a ___ because ___." Sample row: octopus, alone, keeps its food and its den, has no lookout.

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Read the three questions aloud, and your child answers in full sentences. Praise answers that name both a benefit and a cost.

    Watch for: Thinking solitary animals are lonely, or that groups are always better.

    Try: Say: "Each way of living fits how the animal gets food." Point to the cost list on both halves.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. A leopard drags its catch up a tree and eats alone. What is one benefit of living alone for the leopard?
    2. A zebra in a herd must share the grass. Is that a cost or a benefit? Name one benefit that makes up for it.
    3. True or false: living in a group is always better. Give a reason.
    Show answers
    1. Answers vary. Look for: it does not have to share its food.
    2. A cost. Benefit: many eyes spot lions, or it is harder for a lion to pick out one zebra.
    3. False. Look for: groups have costs such as sharing food, or some animals such as tigers do better alone.

    Support: Sort only 4 cards: tiger, octopus, zebra and ant. Read the lists aloud while your child points.

    Extend: Monarch butterflies live alone in summer but rest in huge clusters in winter. Your child suggests one benefit of the cluster. (Sample: staying warmer.)

    Homework: Tell a family member about one solitary animal and one group animal. Write one benefit for each. Look for a reason about food or safety.

    Day 5 · Friday

    Social Studies

    I can show what I know about why people and goods move.

    D2.Geo.7.3-5D2.Geo.11.3-5D2.Eco.5.3-5

    Builds on: Needs Days 1 to 4. One-minute check: ask "Is a flood a reason people move or a way goods move?" (A reason people move.)

    Materials: Stored Week 13 Social Studies Check and its answer key, Product cards from Day 4, U.S. map, 2 sticky notes, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 12. Ask: "Name one Native nation of the Southwest." (Hopi, Zuni, Acoma, Taos Pueblo or the Navajo Nation.) Then ask the big question: "Can you tell the whole story of one thing that moved?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Review with a sort. Label two sticky notes People and Goods. Say each word. Your child points to a note. "A new job." (People.) "A ship." (Goods.) "A drought." (People.) "A truck." (Goods.) "Family nearby." (People.) Next, model a full answer with one product card. Lay the apples card on Washington. Say: "Washington specializes in apples because of its land and climate." Slide the card to Georgia. Say: "Trucks or trains carry the apples. A Georgia store pays for them with money. That is trade." Now your child picks a different card and tells its story the same way. Ask: "Where does it start? Why there? How does it travel? Who pays?" Ask: "Which is earlier on your timeline, the steamboat or the airplane?" (The steamboat.) If stuck, say: "Look back at your timeline and your product chart."

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    Give the stored Week 13 Social Studies Check now. It has 8 items and takes about 15 minutes. Do not time it. You may read any item aloud. Then score it with the answer key and choose a route. 6 or more right: your child is ready. Pick one food and draw its whole journey from farm to table. 4 or 5 right: redo the Day 3 page on how goods travel. Then read two more kitchen labels and find each place on a map. 3 or fewer right: reteach Day 4. Play the snack trade game again and talk about why both people gain. If the missed items were about reasons people move, reread the Day 1 Dust Bowl text too. Go over each missed item together. Your child fixes it in a different color.

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    Your child finishes two frames. "Something that moved to my home from far away is ___. It probably traveled by ___." "One reason a family might move is ___." Sample: "My bananas came from Ecuador. They probably traveled by truck and ship."

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    After the check, read these three questions aloud. Praise full stories that name a place, a reason and a way to travel.

    Watch for: Mixing up the reasons people move with the ways goods move.

    Try: Sort a few more words under the People and Goods notes before the check, such as "school" and "train."

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. A wildfire burns near a town, and families leave. Is that a push or a pull?
    2. A factory must send 100 new cars 1,500 miles over land. Which way of travel fits best, and why?
    3. Pick one product from the Midwest. Tell how people in another region can get it.
    Show answers
    1. A push.
    2. A train, because trains carry heavy loads long distances over land.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: corn, wheat or cars, carried by truck or train and bought with money (trade).

    Support: Read each check item aloud. Keep the product chart in view while your child tells a product story.

    Extend: Your child traces something with parts from several places, such as a bicycle. Guess where the tires, frame and seat came from.

    Homework: Your child shows a family member one product card on the map and tells its story. Look for: where it starts, how it travels and who buys it.

    Mathematics

    I can name and use the multiplication properties on the Week 13 check.

    3.OA.B.5

    Builds on: Needs everything from Days 1 to 4. One-minute check: write 4 × 9 = 9 × 4. Your child names the property (commutative) and the product (36).

    Materials: Stored Week 13 check and its answer key, 1 index card (the property card), 8 paper slips; write one on each: 3 × 8 = 8 × 3, 6 × 5 = 5 × 6, (2 × 5) × 7 = 2 × (5 × 7), (4 × 2) × 3 = 4 × (2 × 3), 8 × 6 = (5 × 6) + (3 × 6), 7 × 4 = (5 × 4) + (2 × 4), 6 × 1 = 6, 0 × 5 = 0, Grid paper, counters, cups and paper plates (for reteaching), Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 12. Write ? ÷ 4 = 8 and 7 × ? = 35. Your child finds each unknown (32; 5). Then practice ×6 facts with no clock. Ask 6 × 6, 6 × 8 and 6 × 9 (36, 48, 54). Your child names the strategy used for one of them.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Make a property card, then play Property Sort for 10 minutes. On the index card, your child writes four lines. Commutative: switch the order. Associative: change the grouping. Distributive: break apart, then add. Rules for 0 and 1: times 0 is 0; times 1 stays the same. Mix the 8 slips face down. Model one turn. Flip 8 × 6 = (5 × 6) + (3 × 6). Say: "The 8 is broken into 5 and 3. That is the distributive property." Check it: 30 + 18 = 48. Now your child takes every turn: flip, name the property, show the equation is true. To show it is true, your child finds the value of each side. Ask each turn: "What changed: the order, the grouping or the size of a factor?" A correct turn wins the slip. There is no clock. The slips are listed in pairs: commutative, associative, distributive, then the rules for 1 and 0.

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Do three check-style problems together. Your child works on paper and names the property aloud. 1) Solve 5 × 8 × 2 the easy way and name each property used. (Switch to 5 × 2 × 8: commutative. Group the pair: 10 × 8 = 80; associative) 2) Solve 7 × 6 by breaking 7 into 5 + 2. Name the property. (30 + 12 = 42; distributive) 3) Write 8 × 3 = 3 × ?. Your child finds the unknown and names the property. (8; commutative) If stuck, say: "Look at your property card. Which line matches?"

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Give the stored Week 13 check now. Find it with the Week 13 lessons. Put the slips away. Your child works alone for about 15 minutes. Do not teach or hint during the check. Then score it with the answer key. Choose a route by the result. 6 or more right: move on to Week 14. 4 or 5 right: find the kind of item missed. For switching the order, redo Day 1 Guided Practice. For three factors, redo Day 2 Guided Practice with cups. For break apart, redo Day 3 Guided Practice on grid paper. For 0 and 1, redo Day 4 Guided Practice with plates and counters. 3 or fewer right: reteach the Day 2 and Day 3 Mini-Lessons during the Week 14 catch-up days.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    After the check, your child answers these three questions; then go over any missed check items together.

    Watch for: Mixing up commutative (switching the order) with associative (changing the grouping).

    Try: Ask: "Did the numbers trade places, or did the parentheses move?" Trading places is commutative. Moving parentheses is associative.

    Fact fluency: ×6 facts
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Name the property: 5 × 9 = 9 × 5.
    2. What is 4 × 0? What is 4 × 1?
    3. Solve 2 × 5 × 4 the easy way. Show your grouping.
    Show answers
    1. Commutative property
    2. 0; 4
    3. 40; (2 × 5) × 4 is 10 × 4.

    Support: Let your child keep the property card during the check. Read each item aloud and allow a quick array sketch.

    Extend: Your child makes a one-page poster with a drawing and an equation for each property. Sample for commutative: an array of 3 rows of 5, turned, with 3 × 5 = 5 × 3.

    Homework: Your child explains one property to a family member with an example. Sample: 6 × 7 = (5 × 7) + (1 × 7), so 35 + 7 = 42. Then your child tells why it works.

    English Language Arts

    I can show what I know about revising and editing.

    W.3.5L.3.1.FL.3.2

    Builds on: Needs Days 1 to 4: revising, exact words, agreement, capitals and end marks. One-minute check: say, "Revise means ___ changes. Edit means ___ fixes." (Big; small.)

    Materials: Stored Week 13 check and its answer key, Pencil, Red pencil, Notebook

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study, about 3 minutes: a quick spelling check with no clock. Say each word, then say it in a short sentence: unlock, unhappy, reread, retell, dislike, disappear. Add the challenge word unexpected. Your child writes all seven in the notebook. Correct them together. Your child circles each prefix and rewrites any missed word. Spaced review from Week 12. Ask: "What is the climax of a story?" (The biggest, most exciting moment.)

    10–15 min · Review

    Review each skill with one sample. Your child answers in the notebook with a pencil. 1) Ask: "Is changing 'ran' to 'sprinted' revising or editing?" (Revising. It is a stronger word.) 2) Say: "Join with but: I wanted to skate. The ice was too thin." (I wanted to skate, but the ice was too thin.) 3) Write: "The women ___ (is / are) on the team." (Are.) 4) Write: "my dog rex was born on thanksgiving". (My dog Rex was born on Thanksgiving.) 5) Write the title "the last cookie in the jar". (The Last Cookie in the Jar) After each one, your child tells which rule they used.

    10 min · Guided Practice

    Teach the three-pass edit on a sample. Write "At the Park" in the notebook just like this: last friday my sisters was at the park. one mitten were missing. did they find it Say: "Good editors read three times. Each time they hunt for one kind of error." 1) Pass one, capitals. Your child marks them with the red pencil. (Last, Friday, One, Did.) 2) Pass two, verbs. Ask: "One or more than one?" (My sisters were. One mitten was.) 3) Pass three, end marks. (A question mark after "it".) 4) Your child reads the fixed sample aloud. (Last Friday my sisters were at the park. One mitten was missing. Did they find it?) If stuck, say: "Which pass are we on? Look only for that."

    15 min · Weekly Check

    This block is the stored Week 13 English Language Arts Check. It has 8 items. Your child works alone with a pencil. Then score it with the answer key. 7 or more right: move on to Week 14. For more practice, your child joins three pairs of sentences in an old draft. 5 or 6 right: redo the Day 3 practice page. Then play the Day 3 card match with five new subjects. 4 or fewer right: reteach Day 3 before Week 14. Line up toy animals, one and then many, and say the matching verb. Then edit two sentences together with a red pencil.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Go over the check together first. Then ask the three questions aloud and listen for a clear plan in the last answer.

    Watch for: Fixing the capitals but missing the verb errors.

    Try: Use three passes every time. Your child says the name of the pass aloud before reading.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Which comes first, revising or editing? Why?
    2. Fix: 'Two goats was in the garden.'
    3. Which error is hardest for you to spot: capitals, verbs or end marks? What will you do about it?
    Show answers
    1. Revising. There is no point fixing the spelling of words you may cut or change.
    2. Two goats were in the garden.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: one named error type and a plan, such as one reading pass just for that error.

    Support: Write each sentence of a passage on its own line. Your child edits one line at a time. Read the check items aloud if needed.

    Extend: Your child writes a 3-sentence editing passage with 4 hidden errors. You find and fix them, and your child checks your work.

    Homework: With permission, edit a short note or list written by someone at home. Look for: capitals and end marks fixed neatly.

    Science

    I can use evidence to argue whether living in a group helps an animal survive.

    3-LS2-1

    Builds on: Needs all of Days 1 to 4, plus claim and evidence from Week 11. One-minute check: ask, "What is evidence?" (A fact or observation that supports an idea.)

    New words:
    • reasoning – telling how your evidence supports your claim

    Materials: Week 13 Science Check (7 items) and its answer key, 2 index cards, Science notebook from this week, Pencil

    5 min · Day 65 — Week 13 Check: Animal Groups — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 12. Ask: "Which way do food chain arrows point?" (From the food to the eater.) Then a quick recap. Your child names the group word for wolves, bees, fish and elephants. (Pack, colony, school, herd.) Big question: "How do scientists convince others that groups help animals survive?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Scientists argue with three parts. A claim is what I think. Evidence is a fact I learned or saw. Reasoning tells how the evidence supports the claim." Model it. Say: "Claim: living in a herd helps a zebra survive. Evidence: a herd has many eyes watching for lions. Reasoning: one zebra sees the lion and the whole herd runs. So each zebra is safer." Write C, E and R down the side of a page. Reread each sentence. Your child says which letter fits. Ask: "'Penguins huddle in a tight crowd.' Claim or evidence?" (Evidence. It is a fact.) "'Groups help penguins survive.' Claim or evidence?" (Claim.) "What is still missing?" (Reasoning. The huddle keeps each penguin warmer.) If stuck, say: "Which sentence could you check by watching the animal?" Keep this part to 10 minutes today.

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    Argument Scenarios. Write one scenario on each index card. 1) Card 1: "Twenty muskoxen and one muskox alone each meet a wolf pack." Your child writes a claim about which is safer. 2) They add evidence from this week's notebook. (The herd forms a circle with horns out. A herd has more lookouts.) 3) They add reasoning. (Wolves cannot easily reach the calves or get behind an adult.) 4) Card 2: "A honeybee leaves its colony and tries to live alone." Your child predicts what happens, with evidence and reasoning. (One bee cannot gather food, raise young and guard a hive. It would not live long.) 5) Check each argument together. Tick C, E and R. Your child adds any missing part in another color. Keep this to 15 minutes.

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    Your child copies their best argument into the notebook on three labeled lines: Claim, Evidence, Reasoning. Sample: "Claim: the herd is safer. Evidence: muskoxen form a circle with horns out. Reasoning: wolves cannot get behind them."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions aloud and praise any answer with evidence. Then give the Week 13 Science Check: 7 items, about 10 minutes, worked alone. Score it with the answer key. 6 or more right: move on to Week 14. 4 or 5 right: redo the Day 4 page, then chart costs and benefits for a new animal. 3 or fewer right: reteach Day 1 with the Many Eyes test, then reread Day 3's mini-lesson.

    Watch for: Giving a claim with no evidence, such as "because it is better."

    Try: Ask: "What fact from this week shows it?" Your child finds one in the notebook charts.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Make a claim: does living in a group help a prairie dog survive?
    2. Give one piece of evidence for your claim, and your reasoning.
    3. Which part of an argument is a fact you can check: the claim or the evidence?
    Show answers
    1. Yes. Look for: a clear claim that the group helps.
    2. Answers vary. Look for: lookouts give alarm calls (evidence), so the others reach their burrows before the predator arrives (reasoning).
    3. The evidence.

    Support: Give the frame: "I think ___. One fact is ___. This matters because ___." Read the check aloud.

    Extend: Your child argues the other side: one way herd life is harder for a zebra. (Sample: sharing grass in a dry season.)

    Homework: Prepare three sentences to share at dinner: "Should a wolf leave its pack?" Look for a claim, one fact and reasoning.

    Friday Checks & Answer Keys

    Mathematics · Week 13 Mathematics Check

    3.OA.B.53.OA.C.7

    Goals

    • I can switch, group or break apart factors to make multiplying easier.
    • I can multiply and divide with 0 and 1.

    Answer each question. Show your thinking in the box when there is one.

    1. 6 × 8 is the same as 8 × ____
    2. Solve 5 × 6 × 2 the easy way.
    3. 9 × 6 is the same as (5 × 6) + (____ × 6)
    4. Break apart 7 × 8 and solve.
    5. 0 × 9 = ____
    6. 1 × 15 = ____
    7. Which property is shown? 4 × 7 is the same as 7 × 4.
      ○ commutative○ associative○ distributive
    8. Mateo has 2 shelves. Each shelf holds 4 baskets with 5 balls in each basket. How many balls?
    Show answer key
    1. 6
    2. 60
    3. 4
    4. (5 × 8) + (2 × 8) is 40 + 16, which is 56
    5. 0
    6. 15
    7. commutative
    8. 40 balls

    What to do next

    Most right
    If 6 or more are right: make a property poster with your own example for each property and the rules for 0 and 1.
    Some right
    If 4–5 are right: redo the Day 3 page, then color two arrays on grid paper and write the break-apart facts.
    Few right
    If 3 or fewer are right: reteach Day 2 (three factors) with counters in cups, then Day 3 (break apart) by cutting an array on grid paper into two parts.

    English Language Arts · Week 13 English Language Arts Check

    W.3.5SL.3.1.BL.3.1.HL.3.1.IL.3.3.AL.3.5.CRF.3.3.AL.3.4.B

    Goals

    • I can revise with stronger words and joined sentences.
    • I can edit for agreement, capitals and end marks.
    • I can use the prefixes un-, re- and dis-.

    Answer each question. Show your thinking in the box when there is one.

    1. Is replacing 'nice' with 'sparkling' revising or editing?
      ○ revising○ editing
    2. Join with because: We stayed inside. It was raining.
    3. Choose: The mice ____ hungry.
      ○ is○ are
    4. Choose: My brother ____ the dishes.
      ○ wash○ washes
    5. Fix: did you see aunt kim on saturday
    6. Capitalize the title: the secret of the blue door
    7. What does 'refill' mean?
    8. Write the word that means 'not honest.'
    Show answer key
    1. revising
    2. We stayed inside because it was raining.
    3. are
    4. washes
    5. Did you see Aunt Kim on Saturday?
    6. The Secret of the Blue Door
    7. to fill again
    8. dishonest

    What to do next

    Most right
    If 7 or more are right: revise a paragraph from an old draft by joining three pairs of sentences, then trade with a grown-up to check capitals.
    Some right
    If 5-6 are right: redo the Day 3 page, then play the subject and verb card-matching game with five new subjects.
    Few right
    If 4 or fewer are right: reteach the Day 3 agreement lesson; line up toy animals (one, then many) and say the matching verb for each, then edit two sentences together with a red pencil.

    Science · Week 13 Science Check

    3-LS2-1

    Goals

    • I can explain how groups help animals survive.
    • I can compare living alone and living in a group.
    • I can make a claim with evidence.

    Answer each question. Show your thinking in the box when there is one.

    1. Elephants in a herd stand around their babies when lions come. How does this help?
    2. Honeybees share jobs in the colony. Name one job.
    3. Which animal usually lives alone?
      ○ black bear○ zebra○ ant
    4. Name one cost of living in a big group.
    5. Lionesses spread out and close in on a herd. What does working together help them do?
    6. Claim: A flock of 100 birds is safer from a hawk than one bird. Give one piece of evidence.
    7. Why might a jaguar do better hunting alone?
    Show answer key
    1. It protects the young from the lions.
    2. Answers vary. Look for: lay eggs, gather nectar or pollen, build comb, care for young or guard the hive.
    3. black bear
    4. Answers vary. Look for: sharing food, fighting over food, or sickness spreading.
    5. catch prey (hunt)
    6. Answers vary. Look for: more eyes spot the hawk sooner, or many birds moving together confuse the hawk.
    7. It sneaks up quietly on prey and does not have to share what it catches.

    What to do next

    Most right
    If 6 or more are right: research one more animal group (such as a pod of orcas) and write a claim, evidence and reason.
    Some right
    If 4–5 are right: redo the Day 4 page, then make a T-chart of costs and benefits for a new animal.
    Few right
    If 3 or fewer are right: reteach Day 1 (why animals live in groups) by redoing the Many Eyes test with blocks and a puppet.

    Social Studies · Week 13 Social Studies Check

    D2.Geo.7.3-5D2.His.14.3-5D2.His.2.3-5D2.His.1.3-5D2.Geo.11.3-5D2.Eco.4.3-5D2.Eco.5.3-5

    Goals

    • I can name reasons people move.
    • I can tell how travel has changed and how goods travel.
    • I can explain why regions trade.

    Answer each question. Show your thinking in the box when there is one.

    1. Kenji's family moved to live close to his aunt and cousins. What was the reason?
    2. Name two other reasons people move.
    3. What joined the East and the West by rail in 1869?
    4. Before trains and cars, how did most people travel over land?
    5. Which vehicle would carry 500 big containers of toys across the Pacific Ocean?
      ○ truck○ ship○ airplane
    6. Why does money make trading easier than swapping goods?
    7. Iowa grows lots of corn. Which region is Iowa in?
    8. Why do regions trade with each other?
    Show answer key
    1. family
    2. Answers vary. Look for: any two of jobs, school, climate, safety or a home that fits.
    3. the transcontinental railroad
    4. Answers vary. Look for: walking, riding horses or driving wagons.
    5. ship
    6. Answers vary. Look for: people can use money to buy what they need, even if the seller does not want what they have.
    7. Midwest
    8. Each region produces different things, so trading lets people get what their region cannot easily grow or make.

    What to do next

    Most right
    If 6 or more are right: Pick one food and draw its whole journey, from farm to table, with each vehicle labeled.
    Some right
    If 4–5 are right: Redo the Day 3 page (how goods travel), then read two more kitchen labels and find each place on a map.
    Few right
    If 3 or fewer are right: Reteach Day 4 (trade): play the snack trade game with two kinds of snacks and talk about why both people gain.

    Week 13

    Home Connection

    Big ideas

    • Switching, grouping or breaking apart factors makes multiplying easier.
    • Revising makes writing clearer; editing makes it correct.
    • Living in groups helps some animals survive.
    • Trade connects places near and far.

    Mathematics

    Try it (10 min): Build 3 × 5 and 5 × 3 with pennies or beans to see they make the same total. Then break 7 × 6 into 5 × 6 plus 2 × 6 (30 + 12 = 42).

    Talk about it: What happens when you multiply any number by 0 or by 1?

    English Language Arts

    Try it (10 min): Choose a sentence your child wrote this week. Together, swap one weak word, like good or said, for a stronger one, then check capitals, end marks and that the subject and verb agree.

    Talk about it: How is revising different from editing?

    Science

    Try it (10 min): Read a book or watch a short nature video about wolves, honeybees, ants or elephants. List two ways the group helps each member survive.

    Talk about it: Would you rather be an animal that lives alone or in a group? Why?

    Social Studies

    Try it (10 min): Check the labels on five foods or toys at home to see where they were made or grown. Find the places on a map or globe.

    Talk about it: How do you think one of these items traveled to your home?

    This week’s words

    commutative · distributive · revise · edit · trade · goods

    Celebrate

    Celebrate three things: a property you used, a sentence you made stronger, and a place you traced on a map.

    This week's read-aloud

    Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

    This week your child learns why people move and how travel has changed, and this book follows a man who crossed an ocean by steamship and came to love two homes.

    See the five daily prompts →

    Math catch-up · 3.OA.B.5

    Split the Array

    The distributive property sounds hard, but it is just cutting a big array into two smaller ones you already know.

    Builds on: 3.OA.A.1, 3.OA.A.2

    Materials: grid paper · scissors · crayons · a ruler

    1. Draw a 6-by-7 array. Draw a line after the 5th column so it splits into 6 × 5 and 6 × 2.
    2. Find each part: 6 × 5 = 30 and 6 × 2 = 12. Add: 30 + 12 = 42. So 6 × 7 = 42.
    3. Try grouping three factors: 2 × 4 × 5. Multiply 2 × 5 = 10 first, then 10 × 4 = 40. Same answer either way.
    4. Each day, your child picks one hard fact, draws and cuts the array into two easy facts, and adds the parts.

    Try again

    1. Split 4 × 9 into 4 × 5 and 4 × 4. What is 4 × 9?
    2. 3 × 2 × 5 = ? Which two factors are easiest to multiply first?
    3. 8 × 1 = ? and 8 × 0 = ?

    Reading About Our World · Week 13 · Science

    Better Together

    Animal groups · This week's Science lessons

    A group of meerkats works together: one stands tall on a mound as a lookout watching a hawk in the sky while two others dig for food and one peeks out of a burrow.

    Read it aloud first while your child follows along. Then read it together, and let your child read the parts they can. Talk about the words in the word box.

    Why Live in a Group?

    Some animals spend their lives alone. Others live in groups. Living in a group can help an animal survive. Group members can watch for danger, find food together, care for their young and stay warm.

    A Pack of Wolves

    A wolf pack is usually a family: a mother, a father and their young from the last few years. Wolves hunt together. By working as a team, a pack can chase down large animals, such as elk, that one wolf could not catch alone. Older brothers and sisters often help feed the pups. Wolves also howl to keep in touch with pack members far away.

    A Colony of Honeybees

    A honeybee colony can have tens of thousands of bees. Each bee has a job. One queen lays the eggs. Female worker bees collect nectar and pollen, make honey, build wax combs, clean the hive and guard the door. Male bees, called drones, mate with queens. No single bee could survive for long on its own.

    Lookouts and Huddles

    Meerkats live in groups called mobs. While the others dig for food, one meerkat stands tall as a lookout. If it spots a hawk, it gives an alarm call, and everyone dashes into a burrow. In Antarctica, emperor penguins huddle close together in the icy winter wind. They take turns moving from the cold outside edge to the warmer middle.

    Groups Have Costs Too

    Living in a group is not always easy. Members must share their food. A big group is easier for predators to spot. Sickness can spread quickly from one animal to the next. That is why some animals, such as tigers and most owls, live mostly alone. Each kind of animal lives in the way that works best for it.

    Think Like a Scientist

    Scientists study animal groups by watching closely and recording what they see. They ask questions such as, How does this group help each member? You can ask the same question about ants, birds or fish near your home. Write down what you see.

    Word box

    • Honeybees crawl over the six-sided cells of a honeycomb where the colony lives together.colony: a large group of animals of the same kind that live together
    • A hawk, a predator, swoops down with its talons out to catch a mouse.predator: an animal that hunts other animals for food
    • alarm call: a sound an animal makes to warn others of danger
    • huddle: to crowd close together

    Questions

    1. What job does the queen bee have?
    2. How do emperor penguins stay warm in winter?
    3. Why do you think a meerkat lookout makes the whole group safer?
    4. The section Groups Have Costs Too comes after the sections about benefits. Why did the author put it there?

    Week 13 spelling words →

    This week's specials page

    Dribble Time

    • Art: Paint an underwater scene with only cool colors.
    • Music: Major sounds happy. Minor can sound sad.
    • PE: Dribble a ball with your hand.
    • Health: Plan a snack with two food groups.

    Try it (PE)

    1. Stand still and bounce a ball 10 times with one hand.
    2. Use your fingertips, not your palm. Keep the ball at waist height.
    3. Now walk slowly while you dribble.

    Think about it: To keep control of the ball, I ____.

    See this year's specials plans