Day 1 · Monday

Objective: I can review U.S. geography and the five regions.

Standards: D2.Geo.2.3-5, D2.Geo.10.3-5

Materials: Blank U.S. map (or a hand-traced outline), 5 colored pencils, Region chart from Week 11, 10 index cards, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "Which mountains are older, lower and rounder: the Rockies or the Appalachians?" (The Appalachians.) Then ask the big question: "Why do places in one region look and feel alike?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "This week we review Quarter 2. Today is geography and regions." Say: "A region is a group of states that share land, climate and ways of life." Say: "Climate changes from region to region for three reasons. They are how far north a place is, how high it is, and how near the ocean it is." Show it on the blank map. Touch northern Alaska, then Florida. Say: "Far north is colder. Farther south is warmer." Now quiz with the map. Your child points and answers. "Which region has the Pacific coast, Alaska and Hawaii?" (The West.) "Which region has deep soil and huge corn and wheat farms?" (The Midwest.) "Which Great Lake lies entirely inside the U.S.?" (Lake Michigan.) "Name two states in the Northeast." (Sample: New York and Maine.) "Why is northern Alaska colder than Florida?" (It is much farther north.) If stuck, say: "Find the Mississippi River. Is the place east or west of it? Is it north or south?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Map and clue game. 1) Your child colors and labels the five regions from memory. Then check with the Week 11 chart. 2) Your child writes two states inside each region. 3) Your child draws the Rockies as points, the Appalachians as low bumps and the Mississippi River as a blue line. 4) Write one clue on each card: Everglades, Chicago, cactus deserts, Seattle, maple syrup, Atlanta, Kansas wheat fields, Houston, Boston, Hawaii. 5) Read each card. Your child names the region and points to it. Keep a tally in the notebook: Clue | Region named | Right or not yet. Answers: Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, West, Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Northeast, West. Ask for evidence: "What on your map tells you that?" Expect 8 or more right. Scores vary. Look for a pattern in the misses, then replay those cards.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child writes one sentence for each region: "The ___ is known for ___ and produces ___." Sample: "The Midwest is known for flat farmland and produces corn." Other samples: Northeast, big Atlantic cities, maple syrup. Southeast, warm beaches and swamps, oranges. Southwest, deserts and mesas, cattle. West, high mountains and the Pacific coast, apples.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Put the map away. Read each exit question aloud. Praise answers that give a reason from the land or climate.

Homework: Your child quizzes a family member with five clue cards. Look for your child explaining any missed card.

Objective: I can use a strategy to multiply quickly with all the facts from ×2 to ×10.

Standards: 3.OA.C.7, 3.OA.B.5

Materials: 8 index cards or paper slips, Grid paper, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 13 Day 4. Ask 8 × 0, 1 × 9, 0 ÷ 5 and 7 ÷ 1 (0, 9, 0, 7). Then practice ×6 to ×9 facts with no clock. Ask 6 × 4, 7 × 3, 8 × 5 and 9 × 2 (24, 21, 40, 18). Your child tells the strategy for one. Any strategy that works is fine.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Speed comes from choosing a strategy, not from guessing. Let us match each hard table to its strategy." Write the list together and keep it in view. For ×6: the ×5 fact plus one more group. For ×7: 5 groups and 2 groups. For ×8: double the ×4 fact. For ×9: 10 groups minus one group. Say: "These came from Week 7 Day 3 and Week 8 Days 1 to 3." Ask: "Which strategy uses subtraction?" (The one for ×9.) Write 8 × 7. Say: "8 groups. I double the ×4 fact." Write 4 × 7 = 28, then 28 + 28 = 56. Say: "So 8 × 7 = 56." Sketch 8 rows of 7 dots with a line under row 4. Say: "8 groups is 4 groups and 4 more groups. That is why the double works." Write 9 × 6. Say: "9 groups. I use 10 groups minus one group." Write 10 × 6 = 60, then 60 − 6 = 54. Say: "So 9 × 6 = 54." Ask: "Why do I take away 6?" (10 groups is one group too many.) Ask: "Which easier tables use doubles?" (×2 and ×4. Also ×3: a double plus one more group.) Say: "For ×5 and ×10 we count by 5s or by tens. And we can always switch the factors." Now your child does more. Write 7 × 8. Ask: "Which strategy fits? Show the steps." (5 × 8 = 40; 2 × 8 = 16; 40 + 16 = 56) Ask: "Why does it match 8 × 7?" (Switching the factors keeps the product.)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Write each fact. Your child names the strategy first, then writes the steps and says the product in a sentence. 1) 6 × 7 (5 × 7 = 35; 35 + 7 = 42). 2) 8 × 4 (4 × 4 = 16; 16 + 16 = 32). 3) 9 × 9 (10 × 9 = 90; 90 − 9 = 81). 4) 7 × 7 (5 × 7 = 35; 2 × 7 = 14; 35 + 14 = 49). If stuck, say: "Look at the first factor. Which strategy goes with that many groups?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child writes each fact from problems 1 to 6 on a card. The product and the strategy steps go on the back. 1) 6 × 6 (36). 2) 8 × 8 (64). 3) 9 × 4 (36). 4) 7 × 4 (28). 5) 9 × 8 (72). 6) 6 × 5 (30). 7) Your child outlines 8 rows of 6 on grid paper and draws a line under row 4. Then your child writes the double. (4 × 6 = 24; 24 + 24 = 48) 8) Solve two word problems and add a card for each. Nine teams have 7 players each. How many players are there in all? (63) Six cartons hold 9 eggs each. How many eggs are there in all? (54) Last, your child sorts the 8 cards into "know it" and "still building." Use no clock. A fact is known when the product comes without counting. Praise the strategy, not the speed. Keep the cards for Day 5.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Cover the strategy list. Read each question aloud; your child answers on paper.

Fact fluency: ×6, ×7, ×8, ×9 facts

Homework: Your child practices the still-building cards for 5 minutes, saying the strategy first. Sample: 9 × 8; 10 × 8 = 80, and 80 − 8 = 72.

Objective: I can review narrative writing by mapping a story I hear and writing one of my own.

Standards: W.3.3, W.3.3.C, W.3.3.D, SL.3.2, RL.3.5

Materials: Notebook, Story map drawn in the notebook (characters, setting, problem, events, resolution), Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, 3 minutes: Unit 3 review. Write unlock, dislike, preheat, thankful, spotless, quickly. Your child sorts them into a prefix column and a suffix column. Then your child tells what each word part means. (un-: not or undo; dis-: not; pre-: before; -ful: full of; -less: without; -ly: in a certain way.) Spaced review from Week 12. Ask: "Name the five parts of a story arc." (Opening, rising action, climax, falling action, ending.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 15 min

   Say: "This week we review Quarter 2. Today is narrative writing. A strong story has an opening, a problem that matters, rising action, a climax and an ending. The ending solves the problem. Writers add time-order words, sense details and dialogue." Read this story aloud. Your child only listens. "Nico's Window Garden" Nico planted basil seeds in an old egg carton on his windowsill. Every morning he checked them, but for a whole week nothing happened. "Maybe they're broken," he sighed. His neighbor, Mrs. Lin, leaned out of her window. "Seeds need patience, and maybe a little more water," she said. Nico watered them carefully. Three days later, he spotted tiny green loops poking through the soil. "Mrs. Lin! They're alive!" he shouted. That afternoon, he made her a thank-you card shaped like a leaf. Model the first two boxes of the story map. Say: "Characters: Nico and Mrs. Lin. Setting: Nico's windowsill, beside Mrs. Lin's window." Write them in.

3. Guided Practice · 10 min

   1) Your child retells the story in 4 or 5 sentences from listening only. Listen for the problem and the ending. 2) Ask: "What is the problem?" (The seeds are not sprouting.) Write it on the map. 3) Ask: "What is the climax?" (Nico spots the green sprouts.) Mark it with a star. 4) Ask: "How does the story end?" (He thanks Mrs. Lin with a leaf-shaped card.) 5) Read the story once more. Your child raises a hand for each time-order phrase. (Every morning, for a whole week, three days later, that afternoon.) If stuck, say: "What did Nico want? What moment gave it to him?"

4. Independent Practice · 20 min

   Your child writes a new short narrative of 8 to 10 sentences. Ideas: something lost and found, a plan that went wrong, or a surprise in the kitchen. 1) Plan for 3 minutes on a fresh story map. 2) Start with this frame if needed: "One ___, ___ was ___ when ___." 3) Write the story from opening to ending. 4) Tick this checklist. A clear problem and an ending that fixes it. At least 3 time-order words. At least 3 sense details. At least 2 lines of dialogue with quotation marks. Look for: one small moment, events in order, and a climax your child can point to. Save the story for tomorrow.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Reread Nico's story first if your child asks.

Homework: Read your own book for 15 to 20 minutes. Then read your narrative aloud to someone at home and ask them to name the problem. Look for: a listener who can name it.

Practice page · Week 18, Day 1

English Language Arts

I can map a story and find its time-order words.

Show answers

The Runaway Goat

Every Saturday, Marisol helped at her uncle's farm stand. One hot morning, a goat named Pepper slipped through the gate and trotted toward the road. "Pepper, stop!" Marisol shouted. She chased the goat past the pumpkins and around the hay bales, but Pepper was too fast. Then Marisol had an idea. She grabbed a crunchy apple and held it out. Pepper skidded to a stop, sniffed and followed her back through the gate. That evening, Uncle Rafa fixed the latch. "You were quick and clever," he said.

Fill in the story map for the story above.

1. 1.

   Characters
2. 2.

   Setting
3. 3.

   Problem
4. 4.

   Climax
5. 5.

   Resolution
6. 6.

   Write two time-order words or phrases from the story.

Write the base word and the prefix or suffix.

1. 7.

   unlock
2. 8.

   spotless

Objective: I can review and explain ecosystems, habitats and adaptations with examples.

Standards: 3-LS4-2, 3-LS4-3

Materials: Science notebook from Weeks 10 to 17, and pencil, 12 index cards, Bean cup and a little water

1. Day 86 — Q2 Review: Ecosystems, Habitats and Adaptations — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Weeks 10 and 11. Your child gives a meaning and an example for three words, with no rush. Ecosystem (the living and nonliving things in one place and how they affect each other; a pond). Habitat (the place where a living thing gets what it needs; a desert). Adaptation (a feature or behavior that helps a living thing survive; thick fur). Check the bean cup and water it if dry. Then the wonder. Ask: "Which Quarter 2 idea could you teach to a younger child today?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today we check six skills." 1) Living, once living or never alive. Ask: "What is a cardboard box?" (Once living. Cardboard is made from trees.) 2) Food roles. Ask: "Name the role of a fern, a ladybug and bread mold." (Producer, consumer, decomposer.) 3) Habitat needs. Ask: "What four things does a habitat provide?" (Food, water, shelter and space.) 4) World habitats. Ask: "Which habitat is warm and very wet all year, with tall trees?" (Rainforest.) 5) HAS or DOES. Ask: "An owl has large eyes. A monarch butterfly flies south for winter. Which is physical and which is behavioral?" (Eyes are physical. Flying south is behavioral.) 6) Camouflage and variation. Ask: "Brown rabbits and white rabbits live on brown ground. Which does a hawk spot more easily?" (The white ones. Brown rabbits blend in, so more of them survive.) If stuck, say: "Find the page for that week. Read me one line from it."

3. Investigation / Hands-On · 15–20 min

   Review Card Game. 1) Make 12 cards together, two for each skill. Write a question on the front and the answer on the back. Use these six, and your child writes six more from the notebook. "Name a decomposer." (Mushroom, mold or bacteria.) "Is a river rock living, once living or never alive?" (Never alive.) "Which habitat has frozen ground and no tall trees?" (Tundra.) "Thick fur: has or does?" (Has. It is physical.) "Name one need a nest meets for a bird." (Shelter.) "Why is a green caterpillar hard to see on a leaf?" (Camouflage. It blends in.) 2) Your child answers each card. Right answers go in a Got It pile. Missed cards go in a Practice pile. 3) Reteach each Practice card from its notebook page, then try those cards again. 4) Record the result in a table with three columns: Skill, Got It, Practice. Expect 10 or more cards in Got It by the end.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child writes a one-page summary with a heading for each of the six skills and one example under each. They use this frame for adaptations. "The ___ lives in the ___ and has ___ that helps it ___." Sample: "The camel lives in the desert and has wide feet that help it walk on sand."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud; your child answers with no notebook. Praise examples that are different from the cards. Save the Practice pile for tomorrow's warm-up.

Homework: Practice your Practice-pile cards with a family member. Look for: each answer given without turning the card over.