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    Standards this week

    Social Studies

    • D2.Geo.4 Explain how culture influences how people modify and adapt to their environments.Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    • D2.Geo.2 Use maps, satellite images, and other models to explain relationships between places.Day 1, 5
    • D2.Geo.8.3-5 Day 2, 3, 4

    Mathematics

    • 3.NBT.A.2 Fluently add and subtract within 1,000 using strategies and algorithms.Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

    English Language Arts

    • RL.3.3 Describe characters and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    • L.3.6 Acquire and use grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases.Day 1
    • L.3.1.A Day 1, 2
    • L.3.5.B Day 1
    • L.3.2.D Day 1
    • RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions referring explicitly to the text as the basis for answers.Day 2, 5
    • RF.3.4.B Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.Day 3
    • SL.3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, building on others' ideas.Day 4
    • SL.3.1.B Day 4
    • SL.3.1.C Day 4
    • L.3.1.G Day 4

    Science

    • 3-PS2-1 Plan investigations of effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.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

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    Day 1 · Monday

    Social Studies

    I can sort communities into urban, suburban, and rural and explain how I know.

    D2.Geo.4.3-5D2.Geo.2.3-5

    Builds on: Needs the Week 1 idea that a community is people sharing a place. One-minute check: ask "What three parts make up a community?" (People, places and things we share.)

    New words:
    • urban – in a city, where many people live close together
    • suburban – in a community near a city, with mostly houses
    • rural – in the countryside, with few people and lots of open land

    Materials: 6 pictures cut from magazines, flyers or old calendars, or quick sketches (2 city, 2 suburb, 2 countryside), Scissors, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Day 6 — Three Types of Communities — Big Question Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "Name three community needs." (Any three: safety, health, learning, getting around, food and supplies, gathering.) Then ask the big question: "What is around our home: tall buildings, houses with yards, or farms and open land?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Communities come in three main types." Draw three boxes of the same size in the notebook. Put 20 dots in the first box, 8 in the second and 2 in the third. Say: "Each dot is a home." Point to the first box. Say: "Urban means a city. Many people live close together, with tall buildings, buses and trains." Point to the second. Say: "Suburban means a community near a city. It has mostly houses with yards, and many people drive." Point to the third. Say: "Rural means countryside. It has farms, forests, small towns and lots of land between homes." Give clue sentences. Ask: "I ride the subway to the museum. Which type?" (Urban.) "We drive to the shopping center and play in our yard." (Suburban.) "Our nearest neighbor is a mile away." (Rural.) If stuck, say: "How close together are the homes? Is a big city nearby?"

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    1) Your child cuts out the six pictures with scissors and lays them out. 2) Your child sorts them into three piles: urban, suburban, rural. 3) For each picture your child points to two clues. Sample: "Tall buildings and a bus mean urban." 4) In pencil, fill in a chart together: Picture | Type | Clues I see. 5) Decide which type your own community is, with two clues. Expect two pictures in each pile. Some pictures are hard to call, and real places mix types. Look for the pattern: how close the homes are and what the land is used for.

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    Draw three columns: Urban | Suburban | Rural. Your child writes two clue words under each and may add a quick sketch. Keep the six pictures loose, because Days 2 to 5 use them again. Then your child finishes: "My community is ____ because ____ and ____." Sample: "My community is suburban because the houses have yards and we drive to stores."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise every answer that includes a clue, even in your child's own words.

    Watch for: Mixing up suburban and rural because both can have houses and grass.

    Try: Ask "How far apart are the homes, and is a big city nearby?" Close homes near a city point to suburban.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Imani's block has apartment buildings ten floors high and a bus stop on each corner. Which type of community is it?
    2. Give one clue that tells a suburban place from a rural place.
    3. Which type of community is yours? Give one clue.
    Show answers
    1. Urban.
    2. Answers vary. Look for: suburban homes are closer together and near a city; rural homes are far apart among farms or open land.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: the correct type with a real clue, such as yards, farms or tall buildings.

    Support: Use only three very clear pictures, such as a skyscraper, a street of houses and a barn. Ask for one clue each.

    Extend: Your child sketches your area from above, from memory. Mark homes, roads and open land, then give three clues for its type.

    Homework: Tell a family member which type your community is. Look for: two clues that prove it.

    Mathematics

    I can add 3-digit numbers in my head using place value and friendly numbers.

    3.NBT.A.2

    Builds on: Needs Grade 2 adding 10 or 100 in your head and Week 1 expanded form. One-minute check: ask for 350 + 100 (450) and 268 + 10 (278).

    New words:
    • sum – the answer when we add
    • friendly number – a number that is easy to work with, like 200 or 300

    Materials: Scrap paper for base-ten drawings and number lines, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Your child rounds 386 to the nearest 10 (390) and the nearest 100 (400). Then add tens aloud: 40 + 30 (70), 70 + 20 (90), 50 + 50 (100). Ask: "How many tens are in 40 and 30 together?" (7 tens)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Today we add in our heads. We learn two ways." Write 156 + 132. Say: "Way 1: add each place." Draw both numbers with squares for hundreds, sticks for tens and dots for ones. Ask: "How many hundreds in all?" (2 hundreds; 100 + 100 = 200) "How many tens?" (8 tens; 50 + 30 = 80) "How many ones?" (6 + 2 = 8) Write 200 + 80 + 8 = 288. Say: "156 + 132 = 288. We added hundreds to hundreds, tens to tens and ones to ones." Next write 199 + 35. Say: "Way 2: use a friendly number. 199 is almost 200." Ask: "What is 200 + 35?" (235) "Did we add too much or too little?" (1 too much) Say: "We take the extra 1 back. 235 − 1 = 234. So 199 + 35 = 234." Show it on a number line: start at 35, jump 200, step back 1. Now your child does more. Write 243 + 125. Your child adds each place aloud and tells the sum. (300, 60 and 8; 243 + 125 = 368)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Your child chooses a way, then says the thinking aloud. 1) 420 + 350 (add each place; 770). 2) 298 + 47 (think 300 + 47 = 347, then 347 − 2 = 345). 3) 314 + 263 (add each place; 577). 4) 499 + 120 (think 500 + 120 = 620, then 620 − 1 = 619). Ask after each one: "Why did that way fit?" (Sample: 298 is close to 300.) If stuck, say: "Is one number close to a hundred? If not, add the hundreds, then the tens, then the ones."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Your child solves in the head and writes only the sum. 1) 240 + 130 (370). 2) 153 + 42 (195). 3) 366 + 100 (466). 4) 199 + 50 (249). 5) 425 + 250 (675). 6) You draw 3 squares and 4 sticks, then 2 squares and 5 sticks. Your child adds them (340 + 250 = 590). 7) A baker made 215 rolls in the morning and 180 in the afternoon. How many rolls in all? (215 + 180 = 395) 8) A bus drove 299 miles on Monday and 150 miles on Tuesday. How many miles in all? (299 + 150 = 449) Then your child picks one problem and writes the steps used.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Read each problem aloud; your child solves in the head, writes the sum and tells the way used.

    Watch for: Fixing the wrong way after using a friendly number, such as adding 1 instead of taking 1 away.

    Try: Ask "Did we add too much or too little?" Show 199 + 35 on a number line. Start at 35, jump 200 to 235, then step back 1 to 234.

    Fact fluency: Adding tens mentally
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Solve 312 + 245 in your head.
    2. Solve 398 + 45 in your head.
    3. Which way did you use for 398 + 45, and why?
    Show answers
    1. 557
    2. 443
    3. Answers vary. Look for: 400 + 45 = 445, then take away 2, because 398 is close to 400.

    Support: Use numbers with no ones, such as 230 + 140 (370). Your child draws squares and sticks, then counts them.

    Extend: Your child solves 297 + 265 (562) both ways and tells which way felt easier.

    Homework: Solve in your head: 230 + 150 (380), 99 + 45 (144), 302 + 406 (708), 198 + 60 (258). Tell a family member how you solved one.

    English Language Arts

    I can name character traits that tell what a character is like inside.

    RL.3.3L.3.6L.3.1.AL.3.5.BL.3.2.D

    Builds on: Needs Week 1 Day 2, naming characters, and Grade 2 nouns and verbs. One-minute check: say "Rosa built a park." Ask which word is the verb. (built)

    New words:
    • character trait – a word that tells what someone is like inside, such as kind or brave
    • adjective – a word that describes a noun
    • possessive – a word with an apostrophe and s that shows who owns something

    Materials: Reader's notebook, 10 index cards for a trait word bank, Pencil, Your child's own book

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study, Week 2: vowel teams. Say: "Two letters can work as a team to spell one long vowel sound. The teams ai and ay say long a. The teams ee and ea say long e. The teams oa and ow say long o." Write rain, play, green, beach, boat, snow. Your child reads each word and sorts it by long a, long e or long o. (Long a: rain, play. Long e: green, beach. Long o: boat, snow.) Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "What do we call the big lesson a story teaches?" (The central message.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "A character trait tells what someone is like inside, such as kind, brave or patient. It is not how they look. It is not a quick feeling." Write a word bank on the cards: kind, brave, curious, honest, patient, generous, stubborn, shy, clever, bossy. Ask: "Who do you know who is generous? What do they do that shows it?" (Sample: Grandpa shares his garden tomatoes.) Read "First in Line" aloud. Jada was first in line for the swing. She had waited all recess. Then she saw Ben standing alone by the fence, his arm in a cast. "You go first," Jada said, stepping aside. She gave him a gentle push to get him started. Ben smiled for the first time all day. When the bell rang, Jada had not had a turn, but she was humming as she walked inside. Think aloud. Say: "Jada waited all recess, then gave up her turn. Giving to others is generous." Hold up the generous card. Now a grammar link. Write: Jada is kind. Say: "Jada is a noun. It names a person. Is is the verb. Kind is an adjective. It describes the noun." Write: She gave Ben her turn. Say: "She is a pronoun. It takes the place of Jada."

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    1) Ask: "Which other trait card fits Jada? What is your proof?" (Patient. She waited all recess. Or kind. She gave Ben a push.) 2) Say three words: tall, happy, patient. Ask: "Which one is a trait?" (Patient. Tall is how someone looks. Happy is a feeling.) 3) Write: The patient girl waited. Ask: "Which word is the adjective? Which noun does it describe?" (patient; girl) 4) Say: "To show that something belongs to someone, add an apostrophe and s." Write Jada's turn. Ask: "How would you write the cast that belongs to Ben?" (Ben's cast) If stuck, say: "Is she like that most of the time, or only right now? Most of the time means a trait."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Your child picks one character from their own book. 1) Choose three trait cards that fit. 2) For each card, write a trait sentence and a How I know sentence. 3) Write one sentence with a possessive: ___'s best trait is being ___. 4) Circle each adjective. Model: Jada is patient. I know because she waited all recess. Jada's best trait is being generous. Look for: inside traits, not looks or feelings; proof from what the character does or says; an apostrophe before the s.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Ask the three questions aloud. For question 3, your child reads from the notebook and points to the apostrophe.

    Watch for: Choosing a feeling word such as happy or sad as a trait.

    Try: Ask: "Is she like that most of the time, or only right now?" Only most-of-the-time words are traits.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Ben has his arm in a cast. Is that a character trait? Explain.
    2. Look at "Ben smiled." What job does each word do in the sentence?
    3. Read your possessive sentence. Where did you put the apostrophe, and what does it show?
    Show answers
    1. No. It tells about his body, not what he is like inside.
    2. Ben is a noun that names a person. Smiled is a verb that tells the action.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: the apostrophe after the name and before the s; it shows the trait belongs to that character.

    Support: Use only four cards: kind, brave, patient, honest. Act out an action for each. Your child holds up the card that fits.

    Extend: Your child writes an opposite on the back of five cards. Samples: patient, impatient; honest, dishonest; kind, unkind; generous, selfish; shy, bold.

    Homework: Read for 15 to 20 minutes. Pick a character and write three trait words with one reason each. Look for inside traits and a reason from the book.

    Science

    I can explain what balanced forces are and what they do to an object's motion.

    3-PS2-1

    Builds on: Needs Week 1: a force is a push or a pull, and gravity pulls things down. One-minute check: ask, "What pulls a book toward the floor when you let go?" (gravity)

    New words:
    • balanced forces – two forces that are equally strong and point opposite ways, so they cancel

    Materials: Hardcover book, Table, Small toy car, 2 pieces of string, about 2 feet each, Tape, Science notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Day 6 — Balanced Forces — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "I tap a rolling ball from the side. What changes?" (its direction) Then set the book on the table. Wonder question: "This book is not moving. Is any force acting on it right now?" Take any answer. You will come back to it.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Often two forces act on one thing at the same time. If they are equally strong and point opposite ways, they are balanced forces. Balanced forces cancel. The motion does not change." Your child holds the book on a flat palm with the arm out. Ask: "What do you feel?" (the book pressing down) Say: "Gravity pulls the book down. Your hand pushes up just as hard. So the book stays still." Set the book on the table. Ask: "What pushes up on it now?" (the table) Say: "Balanced does not mean no forces. It means the forces cancel." Check: "A cup sits on a shelf. Name the two forces on it." (Gravity pulls down. The shelf pushes up.) "Which of those forces is stronger?" (Neither. They are equal.) If stuck, say: "Is the cup starting to fall? No? Then something pushes up as hard as gravity pulls down."

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    1) Your child presses both palms together with equal force. The hands stay put. 2) Your child pushes harder with the right hand. The hands move left. 3) Tape a string to each end of the toy car. Set the car on the table. You each hold one string. 4) Both pull gently and equally. 5) Your child pulls a little harder. 6) You pull a little harder. After every step ask: "Were the forces equal? Did the motion change?" Record in a chart with columns Step, Equal Forces?, Motion Changed? and Balanced? Expect no change with equal forces. Expect the car to roll toward the stronger pull. Pulling exactly equally is hard. If the car creeps, one pull was a bit stronger.

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    Your child draws the book on the table with two arrows of the same length. One arrow points down, labeled "gravity." One points up, labeled "table pushes up." Write "balanced" below. Frame: "The book stays still because ___." Sample: "The book stays still because gravity pulls it down and the table pushes it up just as hard." Check that the two arrows match in length.

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Go back to the wonder question and let your child answer it again. Then ask the three exit questions. Praise any answer that names both forces on a still object.

    Watch for: Believing that an object sitting still has no forces on it at all.

    Try: Your child holds the book on a flat hand. Ask: "What would happen if your hand stopped pushing up?" Lower your own hand fast under a book to show it.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. A cat sits still on a fence. What pulls the cat down, and what pushes it up?
    2. Two children pull a jump rope from opposite ends. The knot in the middle stays in place. What does that tell you about their pulls?
    3. True or false: a rock lying still on the ground has no forces on it. Explain.
    Show answers
    1. Gravity pulls it down. The fence pushes it up.
    2. The pulls are equally strong, so the forces are balanced.
    3. False. Gravity pulls it down and the ground pushes up just as hard. The forces cancel.

    Support: Do only the palm press and the two-string pull. Your child says "same" or "stronger" aloud before telling what happened.

    Extend: Your child finds 3 balanced examples in the room, such as a towel on a hook. They draw both arrows for each one.

    Homework: Your child finds 3 things at home with balanced forces, such as a lamp on a table. They sketch one with its arrows. Look for two arrows of equal length pointing opposite ways.

    Day 2 · Tuesday

    Social Studies

    I can describe what life is like in an urban community, including pros and cons.

    D2.Geo.4.3-5D2.Geo.8.3-5

    Builds on: Needs the three community types from Day 1. One-minute check: ask "What does urban mean?" (A city, where many people live close together.)

    New words:
    • harbor – a safe place along the shore where ships can stop
    • trade – buying and selling goods

    Materials: A map of the United States (in an atlas, a book or on a placemat), The 2 city pictures from Day 1, 1 sheet of plain paper, Markers, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Day 7 — Urban Communities — Big Question Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "Which community need does a bus meet?" (Getting around.) Then ask the big question: "Why do millions of people choose to live in cities?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Urban communities have tall buildings, apartments, buses and subways, museums and many kinds of jobs." Say: "People from many places live in cities. They bring their foods, languages and holidays." Open the map. Say: "Many cities began beside water. Ships and boats carried goods for trade." Find New York City. Your child traces a finger from the city out to the Atlantic Ocean. Say: "New York City grew around a harbor." Ask: "What could ships bring to a city?" (Food, goods and people.) Ask: "Name two urban features." (Any two, such as apartments and subways.) Ask: "Are cities only buildings?" (No. Cities have parks too.) If stuck, say: "Look at the city pictures from Day 1. What do you see a lot of?"

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    1) On the map, your child finds Chicago and New Orleans and names the water beside each. (Lake Michigan; the Mississippi River.) 2) Read this text aloud. "City Morning. Before sunrise, a ship unloads boxes at the harbor. Trucks carry the boxes to stores across the city. Trains under the street bring thousands of workers downtown. Some work in tall office towers. Others cook, teach, build or care for the sick. At noon, people fill a small park between the buildings. The sidewalks are crowded and loud. An apartment here costs more than a house in many small towns." 3) Ask: "Find two ways people or goods move." (Ship, trucks or trains.) "Find one good thing about city life." (Many jobs, or a park.) "Find one hard thing." (Crowded, loud or costly.) 4) On the plain paper, your child draws a city street in marker with five labels. Include a building, a way to get around and a place to gather.

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    In the notebook, draw two columns: Pros | Cons. Your child writes two of each in full sentences. Then your child finishes: "Many cities grew beside water because ____." Sample: "Ships could bring goods to trade."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise answers that use a detail from the text or the map.

    Watch for: Thinking cities have no parks or nature at all.

    Try: Tell your child that New York City has a park of more than 800 acres. Add a park to the street drawing.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. A new town sits beside a deep harbor. Give one reason the harbor could help the town grow.
    2. Give one reason a family might want to live in a city and one reason they might not.
    3. Name two ways people get around a city without a car.
    Show answers
    1. Ships can bring goods and people, and trade brings jobs.
    2. Answers vary. Look for: a pro such as many jobs or lots to do, and a con such as crowds, noise or cost.
    3. Any two: bus, subway or train, walking, bicycle, ferry.

    Support: Look at the two city pictures together. Your child names five things aloud before drawing.

    Extend: Your child finds another big city beside water on the map. Predict how the water helped it grow.

    Homework: Ask a family member: "Would you like to live in a big city? Why or why not?" Look for: a written answer with one city feature.

    Mathematics

    I can add 3-digit numbers in columns when no regrouping is needed.

    3.NBT.A.2

    Builds on: Needs Day 1 adding each place and Grade 2 adding with drawings. One-minute check: ask for 200 + 300 (500) and 40 + 50 (90).

    New words:
    • column – a line of digits that goes up and down
    • estimate – a quick answer that is close, found with rounded numbers

    Materials: Grid paper (one digit per square), Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Your child rounds 452 to the nearest 100 (500) and compares 318 _ 381 (<). Then add hundreds aloud: 300 + 400 (700), 200 + 600 (800), 500 + 400 (900).

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Today we add by stacking the numbers. Each place gets its own column." On grid paper, write 234 above 152. Write H, T and O over the columns. Draw both numbers with squares, sticks and dots. Say: "First we estimate. 234 is about 200. 152 is about 200." Write 200 + 200 = 400. Say: "An estimate tells us about how big the sum should be." Say: "We start with the ones. Tomorrow you will see why." Ask: "What is 4 + 2?" (6) Count the dots to check. Write 6 under the ones. Ask: "What is 3 tens and 5 tens?" (8 tens) Write 8 under the tens. Ask: "What is 2 hundreds and 1 hundred?" (3 hundreds) Write 3 under the hundreds. Say: "234 + 152 = 386." Ask: "Is 386 close to our estimate of 400?" (Yes.) Now your child does more. Write 425 + 343. Your child estimates, then adds the ones, tens and hundreds. (400 + 300 = 700; 425 + 343 = 768)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Your child writes each problem on grid paper, estimates, then adds. 1) 312 + 256 (estimate 300 + 300 = 600; sum 568). 2) 524 + 173 (estimate 500 + 200 = 700; sum 697). 3) 405 + 392 (estimate 400 + 400 = 800; sum 797). Ask: "What is 0 tens and 9 tens?" (9 tens) 4) Write 54 + 623 in a line. Ask: "How do we stack these?" (The 5 goes in the tens column and the 4 in the ones column; 54 + 623 = 677.) If stuck, say: "Point to the ones column. Add only those two digits. Now slide over to the tens."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Your child estimates first, then solves in columns on grid paper. 1) 631 + 248 (879). 2) 511 + 287 (798). 3) 143 + 432 (575). 4) 720 + 164 (884). 5) 306 + 81 (387). 6) You draw 2 squares, 1 stick and 4 dots, then 3 squares, 6 sticks and 5 dots. Your child writes and solves the problem (214 + 365 = 579). 7) A farm has 235 hens and 142 ducks. How many birds in all? (235 + 142 = 377) 8) Lena has 416 stamps. Her brother has 251 stamps. How many stamps do they have together? (416 + 251 = 667) Your child checks each sum against its estimate.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Your child answers on grid paper with the drawings put away.

    Watch for: Lining up digits from the left, so a 2-digit number sits under the hundreds and tens.

    Try: Your child writes H, T and O above the columns and fills the ones column first for each number.

    Fact fluency: Adding hundreds mentally
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Which place do you add first?
    2. Solve 352 + 426.
    3. Why do we line up the places?
    Show answers
    1. The ones place
    2. 778
    3. Answers vary. Look for: so we add ones to ones, tens to tens and hundreds to hundreds.

    Support: Use 2-digit numbers first, such as 42 + 35 (77). Your child draws sticks and dots and writes T and O above the columns.

    Extend: Ask for two 3-digit numbers that add to 999, with no column adding to 10 or more. (Sample: 456 + 543 = 999)

    Homework: Solve 4 problems in columns: 213 + 451 (664), 132 + 605 (737), 340 + 226 (566), 702 + 195 (897). Estimate each one first.

    English Language Arts

    I can figure out a character's trait from what the character says and does.

    RL.3.3RL.3.1L.3.1.A

    Builds on: Needs Day 1's trait words and the difference between a trait and a feeling. One-minute check: ask for one trait Jada showed and the action that proved it. (Generous. She gave Ben her turn.)

    New words:
    • infer – to figure something out from clues in the text and what you already know
    • adverb – a word that tells how an action happens, such as calmly

    Materials: Reader's notebook, Pencil, Your child's own book

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study: mark the team. Write paint, stay, sleep, dream, coat, grow. Your child underlines the vowel team in each word and says its sound. (ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, ow) Ask: "Which two teams say long e?" (ee and ea) Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "What do sequence words show? Name two." (The order of events. Samples: first, next.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Authors rarely write that Owen is calm. They show it. The reader uses clues to figure it out. That is called inferring." Try one from life. Ask: "A friend gives you the last cookie. What trait does that show?" (Generous.) Say: "You inferred it from an action." Read "The Cracked Volcano" aloud. An hour before the science fair, Owen's volcano model fell off the table. The clay cracked into four pieces. His friend Lila gasped, but Owen just grabbed the glue. "It can be a volcano that already erupted," he said. He painted orange lava running down every crack. At the fair, a judge stopped to ask him how real volcanoes break apart. Owen grinned and explained. Draw a chart with two columns. Label them What the character did or said, and What this shows. Think aloud. Say: "The model broke, and Owen just grabbed the glue. He did not cry or yell. That action shows he is calm." Write the clue in column 1 and calm in column 2. Say: "My stem is: Owen is calm because the text says he just grabbed the glue."

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    1) Ask: "Find something Owen said. What does it show?" (He said the model could be a volcano that already erupted. He is creative or clever.) Your child copies the clue into row 2. 2) Ask: "Can you say it with the stem?" (Owen is creative because the text says, "It can be a volcano that already erupted.") 3) Grammar link. Say: "Clue words are often verbs, like grabbed and painted. An adverb tells how a verb happens." Write: Owen calmly grabbed the glue. Ask: "Which word is the adverb? Which verb does it describe?" (calmly; grabbed) 4) Your child adds an adverb to this sentence: He painted orange lava. (Sample: He neatly painted orange lava.) If stuck, say: "Find a sentence where Owen does something. What kind of person acts that way?"

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Your child reads their own book for 15 minutes, then adds three rows to the chart for one character. 1) Each row has an exact action or the character's exact words. 2) At least one row uses something the character said. 3) Each row ends with a trait word. 4) Under the chart, your child writes one stem sentence: ___ is ___ because the text says ___. Sample row: She shared her lunch with the new girl. This shows she is kind. Look for: a clue and trait that match; a clue from the page, not a guess.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Ask the three questions aloud. Your child may look back at "The Cracked Volcano" and should answer question 2 with the stem.

    Watch for: Naming a trait with no clue from the text to back it up.

    Try: Require the stem every time: Owen is ___ because the text says ___.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. What does it mean to infer?
    2. Owen painted lava down every crack. What trait does that show? Use the stem.
    3. Lila gasped when the model broke. Is that a trait or a feeling? What does it show?
    Show answers
    1. To figure something out from clues in the text and what you already know.
    2. Answers vary. Look for: Owen is creative (or hardworking) because the text says he painted orange lava down every crack.
    3. A feeling. She was surprised or worried in that moment.

    Support: Act out three actions from the story, such as grabbing glue. Your child names the trait each action shows.

    Extend: Your child infers two traits for Owen from two clues, then explains which clue is stronger and why.

    Homework: Read a picture book or a chapter for 15 to 20 minutes. Write one trait for a character and the action or words that show it.

    Science

    I can explain what unbalanced forces do to an object's motion.

    3-PS2-1

    Builds on: Needs Day 1: balanced forces are equal and opposite, so motion does not change. One-minute check: ask, "A book rests on a table. Name the two balanced forces." (Gravity pulls down. The table pushes up.)

    New words:
    • unbalanced forces – forces that do not cancel because one is stronger, so the motion changes

    Materials: Toy car, 2 pieces of string, about 2 feet each, Masking tape, Ruler, Sheet of paper and scissors (for arrows), Science notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Day 7 — Unbalanced Forces — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "Which sends a ball farther, a gentle push or a strong push?" (a strong push, usually) Wonder question: "Yesterday equal pulls kept the car still. What happens when one pull wins?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Cut two paper arrows first, one long and one short. Say: "Forces are unbalanced when they do not cancel. One force is stronger. Then the motion changes." Lay the arrows beside the car. The long arrow points right. The short arrow points left. Say: "A longer arrow means a stronger force." Ask: "Which force is stronger?" (the one pointing right) "Which way will the car go?" (to the right) Say: "A still object starts to move the way the stronger force points." Give a tug-of-war example. "Aisha pulls a rope harder than Mateo. The rope moves toward Aisha." Then push the car from behind with no other push. Say: "One force with nothing to cancel it is unbalanced too." Check: "The long arrow points left and the short arrow points right. Which way?" (left) "Two equal arrows point opposite ways. What happens?" (No change. The forces are balanced.) If stuck, say: "Find the longer arrow. Slide your finger the way it points."

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    Tape a string to each end of the car. 1) Your child pushes the still car from behind. It starts moving. 2) You each hold a string and pull equally. Mark the car's spot with tape. 3) Your child pulls harder for a count of two. Measure with the ruler how far the car moved. Note which way. 4) Reset the car. You pull harder for a count of two. Measure again. 5) Your child rolls the car, then pushes it from the side with one finger. Keep the same car and table. Change only which force is stronger. Record in a chart with columns Step, Stronger Force, What the Car Did, and Inches Moved. Expect the car to go the way the stronger force points. The distances will differ. Real results vary. Look for the pattern.

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    Your child draws a tug-of-war with a long arrow on one side and a short arrow on the other. They label the stronger side. Frame: "The rope moves toward ___ because ___." Sample: "The rope moves toward the left team because its pull is stronger. The forces are unbalanced."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions. Your child may draw arrows for the second one. Praise answers that tell which force is stronger and which way the object goes.

    Watch for: Thinking an object moves only when the weaker force is zero, or that it moves toward the weaker side.

    Try: Repeat the string pull with your child pulling only slightly harder. Ask: "Which way did it go? Whose pull was stronger?"

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. A door is standing still. You push it, and nothing pushes back as hard. Are the forces balanced or unbalanced? How do you know?
    2. On a drawing of a balloon, a long arrow points up and a short arrow points down. Which way does the balloon move?
    3. Give one example of unbalanced forces from your own day.
    Show answers
    1. Unbalanced. The door starts to move, so its motion changes.
    2. Up, the way the longer arrow points.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: a motion that changed, such as kicking a ball or pulling a drawer open.

    Support: Your child places the paper arrows beside the toy car for every step before saying which way it will go.

    Extend: Your child sketches 3 balanced and 3 unbalanced playground scenes. Each one gets two arrows of the right lengths.

    Homework: Your child finds 2 examples of unbalanced forces at home and draws arrows for each. Look for a longer arrow on the stronger force.

    Day 3 · Wednesday

    Social Studies

    I can describe what life is like in a suburban community and compare it to a city.

    D2.Geo.4.3-5D2.Geo.8.3-5

    Builds on: Needs the urban features from Day 2. One-minute check: your child names two things found in most cities (such as tall buildings and subways).

    New words:
    • suburb – a community near a city, with mostly houses
    • commute – the trip to work and back that a person makes each day

    Materials: The 2 suburb pictures from Day 1, 1 sheet of plain paper, Markers, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Day 8 — Suburban Communities — Big Question Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "Name two community helpers and the need each one meets." (Any two correct pairs, such as nurse and health.) Then ask the big question: "Why do some families live near a city but not in it?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "A suburb is a community near a city." Draw a big dot in the notebook for the city. Draw a ring of small dots around it. Say: "These are suburbs." Draw lines from the small dots to the big dot. Say: "Roads and trains link suburbs to the city. Suburbs grew when trains and cars let people live farther from work." Say: "Suburbs have houses with yards, quiet streets, schools, parks and shopping centers." Say: "A commute is the trip to work and back. Some people commute to the city. Many others work in the suburb." Ask: "Where do you find a suburb?" (Near a city.) Ask: "What is a commute?" (The trip to work and back.) Ask: "Does everyone in a suburb work in the city?" (No. Many work at schools, stores and offices nearby.) If stuck, say: "Point to the ring of dots. What is in the middle?"

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    1) In the notebook, draw two big circles that overlap. Label them URBAN and SUBURBAN. Label the middle BOTH. 2) Read these words one at a time: subway, skyscraper, crowded sidewalks, backyard, driveway, quiet street, schools, stores, parks, jobs. 3) Your child writes each word in a part and says why. Expect subway, skyscraper and crowded sidewalks under URBAN. Expect backyard, driveway and quiet street under SUBURBAN. Expect schools, stores, parks and jobs under BOTH. 4) Your child adds one new word to each part. 5) On the plain paper, your child draws a suburban street in marker with four labels. Real places mix. Some suburbs have apartments and buses. Sort by what is most common.

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    Your child finishes three frames. "One pro of a suburb is ____." "One con of a suburb is ____." "A suburb is different from a city because ____." Sample: "One pro is more space to play. One con is that you often need a car."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise answers that compare the two places instead of describing only one.

    Watch for: Writing that suburbs have "no stores" or "no jobs."

    Try: Ask where suburb families buy food and where their teachers work. Check that stores and jobs sit under BOTH.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Mr. Park lives in a suburb and rides a train to his city job each day. What is that daily trip called?
    2. What can you find in both a city and a suburb? Give one example.
    3. Give one reason a family might choose a suburb and one problem they might have there.
    Show answers
    1. A commute.
    2. Answers vary. Look for: schools, stores, parks, neighbors or jobs.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: a reason such as more space or quiet streets, and a problem such as needing a car.

    Support: Look at the two suburb pictures first. Then sort only six words: subway, skyscraper, backyard, driveway, schools, parks.

    Extend: Your child interviews a family member who has lived in a different type of community. Add their ideas to the circles.

    Homework: Tell a family member whether you live in a suburb. Look for: one feature that proves it, or the correct type with one clue.

    Mathematics

    I can add 3-digit numbers when I need to regroup ones into a ten.

    3.NBT.A.2

    Builds on: Needs Day 2 column addition and Grade 2 trading 10 ones for 1 ten. One-minute check: draw 13 dots. Your child circles 10 and tells the tens and ones (1 ten and 3 ones).

    New words:
    • regroup – to trade 10 of one kind for 1 of the next kind, like 10 ones for 1 ten

    Materials: Grid paper (one digit per square), 30 counters (dried beans, coins or buttons), Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Your child writes 740 in word form and expanded form (seven hundred forty; 740 = 700 + 40). Then add 9 by making 10. Lay out 9 beans and 6 beans. Move 1 bean over to the 9 pile. Say: "Now we have 10 and 5." Ask: "So what is 9 + 6?" (15) Your child does 9 + 4 (13) and 9 + 7 (16) the same way.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Sometimes the ones make 10 or more. Then we trade 10 ones for 1 ten." Write 256 above 137 on grid paper. Estimate first: 300 + 100 = 400. Draw both numbers with squares, sticks and dots. Ask: "What is 6 + 7?" (13) Say: "13 ones is too many for one place." Circle 10 dots and draw 1 new stick. Say: "I regroup. 13 ones is 1 ten and 3 ones." Write 3 under the ones. Write a small 1 above the tens column. Ask: "How many tens now?" (5 + 3 + 1 = 9) Write 9 under the tens. Ask: "How many hundreds?" (2 + 1 = 3) Write 3. Say: "256 + 137 = 393." Ask: "Is 393 close to 400?" (Yes.) Now your child does more. Write 348 + 226. Your child draws, trades and says each step. (8 + 6 = 14; write 4, regroup 1 ten. Then 4 + 2 + 1 = 7 and 3 + 2 = 5. So 348 + 226 = 574)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Your child solves on grid paper and draws the trade for problem 1. 1) 357 + 219 (7 + 9 = 16; write 6, regroup 1 ten; 576). 2) 425 + 348 (5 + 8 = 13; 773). 3) 164 + 123 (4 + 3 = 7; 287). Ask: "Why was there no trade?" (7 ones is fewer than 10.) 4) 519 + 263 (9 + 3 = 12; 782). If stuck, say: "Add the ones. Is it 10 or more? Circle 10 dots and draw a new stick."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Your child solves on grid paper and circles each small regrouped 1. 1) 268 + 114 (382). 2) 436 + 347 (783). 3) 507 + 288 (795). 4) 145 + 39 (184). 5) 612 + 243 (855). Ask: "Did you regroup?" (No. 2 + 3 = 5, which is fewer than 10.) 6) You draw 1 square, 2 sticks and 8 dots, then 2 squares, 4 sticks and 5 dots. Your child solves it (128 + 245 = 373). 7) A store sold 218 red apples and 146 green apples. How many apples in all? (218 + 146 = 364) 8) Omar walked 327 steps to the park and 458 steps home. How many steps in all? (327 + 458 = 785) Your child checks each sum with an estimate.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Your child answers on grid paper and shows the small regrouped 1.

    Watch for: Forgetting to add the regrouped ten, such as getting 383 for 256 + 137.

    Try: Your child touches the small 1 and says "plus the ten I traded" each time they add the tens.

    Fact fluency: Adding 9 by making 10
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. What does regroup mean in addition?
    2. Solve 247 + 138.
    3. In 247 + 138, what does the small 1 above the tens column stand for?
    Show answers
    1. Answers vary. Look for: trading 10 ones for 1 ten.
    2. 385
    3. 1 ten. Look for: it came from trading 10 of the 15 ones.

    Support: Use small numbers, such as 15 + 8 (23). Your child lays out beans in rows of 10 and makes the trade by hand.

    Extend: Your child writes a problem where the ones add to exactly 10, then solves it. Sample: 234 + 126 = 360. Ask why the ones digit is 0. (All 10 ones were traded.)

    Homework: Solve 4 problems: 146 + 238 (384), 409 + 386 (795), 527 + 145 (672), 318 + 274 (592). Circle the regrouped 1 each time.

    English Language Arts

    I can describe how a character changes from the beginning to the end of a story.

    RL.3.3RF.3.4.B

    Builds on: Needs Day 2's inferring from what a character says and does. One-minute check: ask what Owen's calm trait was inferred from. (He just grabbed the glue when his model broke.)

    New words:
    • expression – reading aloud with a voice that matches the feelings in the story

    Materials: Reader's notebook, Pencil, Two sticky notes, Your child's own book

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study: dictation. Say this sentence twice: "We stay on the beach and dream of a boat." Your child writes it. Check stay, beach, dream and boat together. Ask: "Why is it ay in stay, not ai?" (The long a sound comes at the end of the word.) Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "What is the past tense of build?" (built)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Characters can change during a story. We look at how a character feels or acts at the start and at the end. Then we ask what caused the change." Read "Priya's Recital" aloud. Priya hid behind the curtain on the night of the piano recital. Her hands were cold, and she whispered, "I can't." Her teacher, Mr. Okafor, knelt beside her. "Play it the way you play it for your cat at home," he said. Priya pictured her cat curled on the rug. She took a breath, walked out, sat down and played. When the clapping started, she grinned and asked, "Can I play again next year?" Think aloud. Say: "At the beginning, Priya hides, and her hands are cold. She whispers that she can't. She is scared." Say: "By the end, she grins and asks to play again. She is confident." Say: "Something in the middle caused that change." Write the change frame: At the beginning, ___. Then ___ happened. By the end, ___.

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    1) Your child fills in the frame aloud. (At the beginning, Priya was scared to play. Then Mr. Okafor told her to play as she does for her cat. By the end, she was proud and confident.) 2) Ask: "Why did Priya change?" (Her teacher's advice helped her.) 3) Your child writes the before clue on one sticky note and the after clue on the other. (Before: she hid behind the curtain. After: she grinned and asked to play again.) 4) Ask: "Scared is a feeling. What trait does Priya show by walking out anyway?" (Brave.) If stuck, say: "How did she feel or act at the start? How about the end? Are the two words different?"

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    1) Your child reads their own book for 10 minutes. 2) Your child writes the change frame for one character, with the event that caused the change. A character from a finished book works too. 3) Your child reads "Priya's Recital" aloud twice. The second time, use a small, scared voice for "I can't" and an excited voice for the last line. Sample frame: At the beginning, Tam was lonely. Then Rui asked her to join the book club. By the end, she felt at home. Look for: a before and after that differ; a real event in the middle; a voice that changes with Priya's feelings.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Ask the three questions aloud. For question 3, your child reads the change frame from the notebook first.

    Watch for: Telling what happened instead of how the character changed inside.

    Try: Ask: "How did she feel or act at the start? How about the end?" Your child circles two different feeling words.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. How did Mr. Okafor's words change what happened next in the story?
    2. Why did picturing her cat help Priya?
    3. Read your change frame. Which event caused your character to change?
    Show answers
    1. Priya walked out and played instead of hiding behind the curtain.
    2. Answers vary. Look for: it made the stage feel like home, so she felt calmer.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: one real event from the book, named in the middle sentence of the frame.

    Support: Draw a worried face and a proud face. Your child tells what happened between them, then says the frame aloud.

    Extend: Your child writes four or five sentences on what Priya might do at next year's recital, and why.

    Homework: Read for 15 to 20 minutes. Then tell a family member about a time you changed from nervous to brave. Use the change frame.

    Science

    I can predict and test when forces on an object are balanced or unbalanced.

    3-PS2-1

    Builds on: Needs Days 1 and 2: equal opposite forces are balanced; a stronger force changes motion. One-minute check: draw a long arrow pointing left and a short one pointing right. Ask: "Which way will the object go?" (left)

    Materials: Toy car, Table, 2 paper cups, String: 2 pieces about 3 feet long and 2 short pieces for cup handles, About 30 pennies, Tape, Science notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Day 8 — Tabletop Tug-of-War — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Drop a penny and ask: "What pulled the penny down?" (gravity) Wonder question: "When does a tug-of-war rope stay still? Could pennies play tug-of-war for us?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Set up first. Tape a short string across the top of each cup as a handle. Tape a long string to each end of the car. Say: "Today pennies do the pulling. Each cup will hang off one edge of the table. Gravity pulls the cup down. The string turns that into a sideways pull on the car." Tie one cup to one string and hang it over the edge. Your child holds the car still. Put 5 pennies in the cup, then 10. Ask: "When did the cup pull harder on your hand?" (with 10 pennies) Say: "More pennies means a stronger pull." Check: "Both cups hold the same number of pennies. Balanced or unbalanced?" (balanced) "The left cup holds more pennies. Which way should the car go?" (left) If stuck, say: "Count the pennies on each side. Which side pulls harder?"

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    Safety: keep feet clear of the cups, and keep pennies away from small children. 1) Set the car in the middle of the table. Run the strings over opposite edges. Tie a cup to each. 2) Round 1: put 8 pennies in each cup. Your child predicts, then lets go of the car. 3) Round 2: add pennies to one cup, one at a time, until the car rolls. Catch the car at the edge. Count the extra pennies. 4) Round 3: go back to 8 and 8. Lift one cup until its string goes slack, and catch the car again. Change only the pennies. Keep the same car, strings and table. Record in a chart with columns Round, Pennies Left, Pennies Right, Prediction, What Happened, and Balanced or Unbalanced. Expect no motion in Round 1. In Round 3, expect the car to roll toward the hanging cup. Round 2 may need several extra pennies. Say: "Rubbing at the table edges and in the wheels holds the car back." Real results vary. Look for the pattern.

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    Your child finishes the chart, then writes two sentences. Frames: "With equal pennies the car ___ because ___. With more pennies on one side the car ___ because ___." Sample: "With equal pennies the car stayed still because the pulls were balanced. With more pennies on one side the car rolled that way because that pull was stronger."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions. Your child may point to chart rows as proof. Praise answers that use the penny counts as evidence.

    Watch for: Expecting the car to move as soon as one cup has a single extra penny.

    Try: Slide the string over the table edge by hand so your child feels it rub. Say: "This rubbing holds the car back a little. The extra pull must beat it."

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Both cups hold 6 pennies. What does the car do, and why?
    2. One string goes slack, so only the other cup still pulls. Are the forces balanced? What does the car do?
    3. One extra penny did not move the car. What was holding the car back?
    Show answers
    1. It stays still. The two pulls are equal, so the forces are balanced.
    2. No, they are unbalanced. The car rolls toward the cup that still pulls.
    3. Rubbing. The strings rub on the table edges and the wheels rub as they turn. The extra pull must beat that rubbing.

    Support: Run Rounds 1 and 3 only. Your child drops the pennies in one at a time and counts aloud.

    Extend: Your child repeats Round 2 starting with 5 pennies in each cup. They compare how many extra pennies it takes and report honestly.

    Homework: Your child explains balanced and unbalanced forces to a family member using today's penny results. Look for "equal pennies, no motion" and "more pennies, the car rolls that way."

    Day 4 · Thursday

    Social Studies

    I can describe what life is like in a rural community and explain how the land is used.

    D2.Geo.4.3-5D2.Geo.8.3-5

    Builds on: Needs urban and suburban features from Days 2 and 3. One-minute check: your child names one urban feature and one suburban feature (such as subway and backyard).

    New words:
    • ranch – a large farm where cattle, sheep or horses are raised
    • crop – a plant that farmers grow to sell or eat

    Materials: 3 foods from your kitchen, such as milk, eggs and bread, The 2 countryside pictures from Day 1, Notebook, Pencil, Crayons or colored pencils

    5 min · Day 9 — Rural Communities — Big Question Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "Is a hiking club a place community or an interest community?" (An interest community.) Then set the three foods on the table. Ask the big question: "Where did our breakfast grow?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Rural communities have lots of land between homes and fewer people." Say: "Many rural people farm, ranch, fish or work in forests. They grow much of the food that cities and suburbs eat." Touch each food. Say: "Milk comes from dairy cows. Eggs come from hens. Bread is made from wheat, a crop grown in big fields." Say: "People use land for what it does best. Flat land with rich soil is good for crops. Dry, grassy land is good for cattle." Say: "Rural towns are small. They have a few stores, a school and a post office." Ask: "Why are big farms in rural places and not downtown?" (Farms need lots of open land.) Ask: "Does everyone in a rural place farm?" (No. Some teach, fix cars or run stores.) Ask: "What is one hard thing about rural life?" (Long drives to stores or hospitals.) If stuck, say: "Think about how much room a herd of cows needs."

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    1) Read this text aloud. "A Day Near Cedar Gap. The Ortiz family raises cattle on grassy hills. The land is too dry and steep for corn, but grass grows well. Their nearest neighbor lives two miles away. On Friday, Mrs. Ortiz drives forty minutes to town. The town has one school, a clinic, a feed store and a post office. Her sister teaches at the school. Each month a truck carries cattle to market in the city." 2) Ask: "Why does the family raise cattle and not corn? Find the words." (The land is too dry and steep for corn.) "Find a job that is not farming." (Teacher.) "Which words show homes are far apart?" (The nearest neighbor is two miles away.) "How does this ranch help the city?" (It sends cattle to market for food.) 3) Play "Where does it come from?" with the three foods. Your child names the plant or animal behind each.

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    In the notebook, your child draws a rural scene in crayon. Add four labels, such as barn, field, tractor and main street. Then your child finishes: "One pro of rural life is ____. One con is ____. Rural communities help cities and suburbs by ____." Sample: "They grow food for them."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise answers that link the work to the land.

    Watch for: Thinking everyone in a rural area lives on a farm.

    Try: Point out that rural towns also have teachers, store owners, nurses and mechanics. Reread the sister's job in the text.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. A rural place has thick forests. What work might people do there, using the land?
    2. Name two rural jobs that are not farming or ranching.
    3. Give one pro and one con of rural life.
    Show answers
    1. Forestry, such as cutting and replanting trees for wood. Also accept sawmill work or guiding hikers.
    2. Any two, such as teacher, nurse, mechanic, store owner or mail carrier.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: a pro such as open space or quiet, and a con such as long drives to stores or hospitals.

    Support: Look at the two countryside pictures. Your child names each thing aloud before drawing.

    Extend: Your child picks one food and draws its trip in four steps: farm, truck, store, table. Name a worker at each step.

    Homework: Look at three more foods in your kitchen. Look for: your child names the plant or animal each one came from.

    Mathematics

    I can add 3-digit numbers when I need to regroup in the ones and the tens.

    3.NBT.A.2

    Builds on: Needs Day 3 regrouping ones into a ten. One-minute check: your child solves 148 + 227 (375) on grid paper.

    Materials: Grid paper (one digit per square), Colored pencil for regrouped digits, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Your child rounds 549 to the nearest 10 (550) and the nearest 100 (500). Then add 2-digit numbers aloud: 80 + 50 (130), 70 + 60 (130), 45 + 30 (75). Ask: "8 tens and 5 tens make how many tens?" (13 tens, which is 1 hundred and 3 tens.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Sometimes the tens also make 10 or more. Then we trade 10 tens for 1 hundred." Write 478 above 256 on grid paper. Estimate first: 500 + 300 = 800. Draw both numbers with squares, sticks and dots. Ask: "What is 8 + 6?" (14) Circle 10 dots and draw 1 new stick. Write 4 under the ones and a small 1 above the tens. Ask: "How many tens now?" (7 + 5 + 1 = 13) Say: "13 tens is too many for one place." Circle 10 sticks and draw 1 new square. Say: "13 tens is 1 hundred and 3 tens." Write 3 under the tens and a small 1 above the hundreds. Ask: "How many hundreds?" (4 + 2 + 1 = 7) Write 7. Say: "478 + 256 = 734. The rule is the same in every place. Ten of one kind trades for 1 of the next." Ask: "Is 734 near our estimate of 800?" (Yes.) Now your child does more. Write 567 + 389. Your child solves and names each trade. (7 + 9 = 16; 6 + 8 + 1 = 15; 5 + 3 + 1 = 9. So 567 + 389 = 956)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Your child writes each regrouped digit in colored pencil. 1) 348 + 175 (8 + 5 = 13; 4 + 7 + 1 = 12; 523). 2) 596 + 247 (6 + 7 = 13; 9 + 4 + 1 = 14; 843). 3) 264 + 381 (4 + 1 = 5; 6 + 8 = 14; 645). Ask: "Which place needed a trade?" (Only the tens.) 4) 489 + 351 (9 + 1 = 10; 8 + 5 + 1 = 14; 840). Ask: "Why is there a 0 in the ones place?" (All 10 ones were traded.) If stuck, say: "After each column, ask: is this 10 or more? If yes, trade 10 for 1 of the next place."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Your child estimates, solves and tells how many times they regrouped. 1) 678 + 264 (two times; 942). 2) 295 + 387 (two times; 682). 3) 156 + 468 (two times; 624). 4) 372 + 284 (one time, in the tens; 656). 5) 87 + 546 (two times; 633). 6) You draw 2 squares, 7 sticks and 6 dots, then 1 square, 5 sticks and 9 dots. Your child solves it (276 + 159 = 435). 7) A school has 365 girls and 378 boys. How many students in all? (365 + 378 = 743) 8) A theater sold 289 tickets on Friday and 434 on Saturday. How many tickets in all? (289 + 434 = 723) Your child checks each sum against its estimate.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Your child answers on grid paper and shows every regrouped digit.

    Watch for: Trading the tens but forgetting to add the new hundred, such as getting 634 for 478 + 256.

    Try: After each column your child asks "Is this 10 or more?" and touches each small 1 while adding.

    Fact fluency: Adding 2-digit numbers mentally
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Solve 469 + 287.
    2. How many times did you regroup in 469 + 287?
    3. What does the small 1 above the hundreds column stand for?
    Show answers
    1. 756
    2. Two times
    3. 1 hundred. Look for: it came from trading 10 tens.

    Support: Use 2-digit numbers that pass 100, such as 67 + 58 (125). Your child draws sticks and dots and circles each group of 10.

    Extend: Ask for the missing digit in 3_8 + 274 = 652. (7, because 378 + 274 = 652) Your child explains how they found it.

    Homework: Solve 4 problems: 389 + 246 (635), 157 + 468 (625), 274 + 559 (833), 695 + 128 (823). Estimate each one first.

    English Language Arts

    I can compare and contrast two characters and talk about it with a partner.

    RL.3.3SL.3.1SL.3.1.BSL.3.1.CL.3.1.G

    Builds on: Needs Days 1 to 3: naming traits and proving them with what a character says and does. One-minute check: ask for one trait word and one feeling word. (Samples: brave is a trait; scared is a feeling.)

    New words:
    • compare – to tell how two things are alike
    • contrast – to tell how two things are different
    • Venn diagram – two circles that overlap, with shared things in the middle

    Materials: Reader's notebook, Pencil, Two colored pencils

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study: meaning. Ask: "Which word means to get bigger?" (grow) "Which word names the sand beside the sea?" (beach) Say: "Coat has two meanings." Ask: "What are they?" (A jacket you wear, and a layer, as in a coat of paint.) Your child uses dream in a spoken sentence. Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "Which words in a book title get capital letters?" (The first, the last and every important word.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "To compare is to tell how two things are alike. To contrast is to tell how they are different." Read "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" aloud. It is a traditional fable from Aesop. Country Mouse invited his cousin, Town Mouse, to his home in a field. He served plain barley and roots. Town Mouse nibbled politely and said, "Come to the city. I will show you how to really live." In the city, the mice feasted on cake, cheese and jelly in a grand dining room. Suddenly the door banged open, and two big dogs ran in barking. The mice raced into a hole. Country Mouse picked up his bag. "Enjoy your fancy food," he said. "I would rather eat plain food in peace than cake in fear." Draw a Venn diagram, two circles that overlap. Use one colored pencil for each mouse. Label one circle Town Mouse and the other Country Mouse. Say: "The middle is for things that are true of both." Think aloud. Say: "Town Mouse loves fancy food. That is only him, so it goes in his circle." Write it. Say: "Both are mice, and they are cousins. That goes in the middle." Write it. Say: "Country Mouse wants to feel safe. That goes in his circle." Write it.

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Set three discussion rules: look at the speaker, take turns, and link to the last idea. Write two stems: I agree because ___. I want to add ___. Take turns adding to the diagram. 1) Say: "Town Mouse thinks plain food is boring." Your child answers with a stem first, then adds an idea. (Sample: I agree because he only nibbled. I want to add that he likes grand rooms.) 2) Ask: "What do both mice do in the dining room before the dogs come?" (Both feast on cake, cheese and jelly.) 3) Ask: "What does Country Mouse care about most? How do you know?" (Peace and safety. He would rather eat plain food in peace.) If stuck, say: "Is this true for both mice or only one? Point to the words that show it."

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    1) Your child adds to the diagram until each part has three items. 2) Your child writes: The mice are alike because ___. They are different because ___. 3) Grammar link. Say: "To compare two, add -er or use more. To compare three or more, add -est or use most." Show two sets: plain, plainer, plainest; careful, more careful, most careful. 4) Your child writes one -er sentence and one -est sentence about the mice. Samples: The field is quieter than the city. The cake was the fanciest food on the table. Look for: middle items true of both mice; -er for two; -est for three or more.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Ask the three questions aloud. Your child may point to the Venn diagram for question 1.

    Watch for: Putting things in the middle that are true of only one character.

    Try: For each middle item, ask: "Is this true for both mice?" Your child moves it if not.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Both mice ran into the hole. Where does that go on the Venn diagram, and why?
    2. Which is right when you talk about two mice: "the calmer mouse" or "the calmest mouse"? Why?
    3. Your partner says, "Town Mouse is brave to live near dogs." Say one sentence that builds on that idea.
    Show answers
    1. In the middle, because it is true of both mice.
    2. The calmer mouse. We use -er to compare two.
    3. Answers vary. Look for: a stem that links to the idea. Samples: "I agree because he stays in the city." "I see it differently because he hid too."

    Support: Draw the diagram for your child. Say six facts one at a time. Your child points to where each fact goes.

    Extend: Your child writes five sentences telling which mouse they agree with and why, with one reason from the fable.

    Homework: Read for 15 to 20 minutes. Then compare two characters from a book you like in a quick Venn diagram. Put two items in each part.

    Science

    I can decide whether forces are balanced or unbalanced in everyday situations.

    3-PS2-1

    Builds on: Needs Days 1 to 3: balanced forces cause no change in motion; unbalanced forces change it. One-minute check: ask, "Equal pennies hang from both sides of the car. What does the car do?" (It stays still.)

    Materials: 7 index cards or paper scraps, Marker, Ball, Science notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Day 9 — Balanced or Unbalanced in Real Life — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "You drag a laundry basket toward you. Push or pull?" (a pull) Wonder question: "A bus rolls straight down a road at one steady speed. Are the forces on it balanced or unbalanced?" Take any answer for now.

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Ask one test question. Is the motion changing? Starting, stopping, speeding up, slowing down and turning are all changes. Then the forces are unbalanced." Push the still ball. Ask: "Did its motion change?" (Yes, it started. Unbalanced.) Say: "Sitting still is no change. Moving straight at one steady speed is also no change. Then the forces are balanced." Give two examples. "A book rests on a shelf. No change, so balanced. A car brakes at a red light. It slows, so unbalanced." Return to the bus. Ask: "Is its speed changing? Is it turning?" (No and no. Balanced.) Check: "A cat sleeps on a couch." (balanced) "A sled speeds up going downhill." (unbalanced) If stuck, say: "Is it getting faster, getting slower or turning right now?"

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    1) Write one situation on each card with the marker. A ball being kicked. A lamp on a table. A bike slowing down. A picture hanging on a wall. A car pulling away from a stop sign. A swing being pushed. An elevator rising at a steady speed. 2) Your child reads a card and asks the test question aloud. 3) Your child names the change, or says "no change." 4) Your child sorts the card into a Balanced pile or an Unbalanced pile. 5) Act out the kick and the swing push with the ball to check. Expect three balanced cards: the lamp, the picture and the elevator. The other four are unbalanced. If your child disagrees, ask: "Which change do you see?" Last, your child picks the trickiest card and explains it to you as evidence of understanding.

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    Your child lists the 7 situations in two columns, Balanced and Unbalanced. They draw arrows for one of each. Balanced gets two equal arrows. Unbalanced gets one long arrow and one short arrow. Frame: "___ is unbalanced because it is ___." Sample: "The bike is unbalanced because it is slowing down."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions. Listen for the test question in each answer. Praise your child for naming the change, or for saying there is none.

    Watch for: Labeling anything that moves as unbalanced, even when it moves straight at a steady speed.

    Try: Stress the word "changing." Ask: "Is it getting faster, slower or turning right now?" If not, the forces are balanced.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. A truck is parked in a driveway. Are the forces on it balanced or unbalanced? How do you know?
    2. A runner leaves the starting line and gets faster. Balanced or unbalanced?
    3. A toy boat drifts straight across a pond at one steady speed. Balanced or unbalanced? Explain.
    Show answers
    1. Balanced. Its motion is not changing.
    2. Unbalanced. The runner is speeding up.
    3. Balanced. Its speed and its direction are not changing.

    Support: Use only 4 clear cards: the kick, the lamp, the car pulling away and the picture on the wall.

    Extend: Your child writes 3 new situation cards for a family member to sort. One must be tricky, such as steady motion.

    Homework: Your child watches 5 moving or still things this evening and labels each balanced or unbalanced. Look for a reason that names a change or says "no change."

    Day 5 · Friday

    Social Studies

    I can sort and describe urban, suburban, and rural communities.

    D2.Geo.4.3-5D2.Geo.2.3-5

    Builds on: Needs everything from Days 1 to 4. One-minute check: your child gives one clue each for urban, suburban and rural (such as subway, backyard and barn).

    Materials: Stored Week 2 Social Studies Check and its answer key, The 6 community pictures from Day 1, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Day 10 — Week 2 Check: Community Types — Big Question Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "Which community need does a clinic meet?" (Health.) Then play a lightning round. You say a clue and your child says the type. "Subway." (Urban.) "Barn." (Rural.) "Driveways and garages." (Suburban.) "Tractor." (Rural.) "Skyscraper." (Urban.) Ask the big question: "How do the three types need each other?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Review the week's ideas. Say: "Urban means a city. Suburban means near a city. Rural means countryside." Your child names one feature of each. Then read a clue story. Say: "Eli's house sits among wheat fields. His school bus ride takes 40 minutes." Ask: "Which type? Give two clues." (Rural. Fields and a long ride.) Say: "Now you make one." Your child tells a two-clue story and you guess the type. Ask: "Which type sits between the city and the countryside?" (Suburban.) Ask: "Which type has subways and skyscrapers?" (Urban.) If stuck, say: "How close are the homes? What is the land used for?"

    15–20 min · Activity / Source Work

    1) Mix the six pictures. Your child sorts them again and says two clues for each. 2) In the notebook, draw three boxes in a row: RURAL, SUBURBAN, URBAN. 3) Ask: "What do rural places send to the others?" (Food and wood.) Your child draws arrows from RURAL and labels them. 4) Ask: "What do cities offer?" (Many jobs, big hospitals, museums and goods from factories and ships.) Draw and label arrows from URBAN. 5) Ask: "Who travels from suburbs to the city each day?" (Workers on a commute.) Draw that arrow. 6) Ask: "What would happen to a city if farms stopped sending food?" (Stores would run out.) Look for arrows going both ways. The types depend on each other.

    10 min · Notebook Entry

    Keep this entry to about 5 minutes so the check fits. In the notebook, your child finishes in pencil: "I would choose to live in a ____ community because ____ and ____." Look for two reasons that use real features.

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions aloud. Then give the stored Week 2 check: 7 items, about 15 minutes, not timed. Score it with the key. If your child is tired, give the check later the same day. 6 or more right: go on to Week 3. 4 or 5 right: redo the Day 1 chart, then play the clue game from today's warm-up. 3 or fewer right: reteach Day 1 by sorting the pictures into three piles and naming one clue for each. Praise answers that give two clues.

    Watch for: Sorting by one detail, such as "it has trees, so it is rural," instead of the whole picture.

    Try: Your child finds two clues in each picture before naming the type.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Tess sees houses with driveways and a road sign that says the city is 10 miles away. Which type of community is she in?
    2. A nurse lives in a suburb and works at a big city hospital. Which two community types does she use each day, and how might she travel between them?
    3. A picture shows trees and a tall apartment tower. Kim says it must be rural because of the trees. Is she right? Why?
    Show answers
    1. Suburban.
    2. Suburban and urban. She might drive or ride a bus or train on her commute.
    3. No. The tower shows many people living close together, so it is urban. Cities have trees too.

    Support: Read each check item aloud. Your child may point to a picture to answer.

    Extend: Your child makes a chart comparing the three types on homes, jobs and ways to get around.

    Homework: Explain the three community types to a family member. Look for: one real example place for each type.

    Mathematics

    I can solve addition word problems within 1,000 and check with an estimate.

    3.NBT.A.2

    Builds on: Needs Days 1 to 4 addition and Week 1 rounding. One-minute check: your child rounds 143 and 268 to the nearest 10 (140 and 270).

    New words:
    • total – how many there are when the parts are put together
    • bar model – a long box split into parts that shows a story

    Materials: Stored Week 2 check and its answer key, Grid paper, Highlighter or colored pencil, Notebook, Pencil

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Your child rounds 734 to the nearest 100 (700) and compares 465 _ 456 (>). Then add three numbers aloud. Try 20 + 30 + 40 (90) and 5 + 8 + 5 (18). Then try 30 + 60 + 10 (100). Ask: "Which two did you add first? Why?" (Sample: 5 + 5 = 10, then add 8.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "A word problem is a small story. We find out what the story asks." Read aloud: Amara's school collected 256 cans on Monday and 378 cans on Tuesday. How many cans in all? Your child highlights the two numbers. Ask: "What do we need to find?" (All the cans.) "Are the two parts put together?" (Yes.) Draw a long bar and split it into two parts. Write 256 and 378 inside. Write ? above the bar for the total. Say: "Two parts make the total, so we add." Estimate: 260 + 380 = 640. Your child solves on grid paper (256 + 378 = 634). Ask: "Is 634 close to 640?" (Yes.) Say: "Answer with the label: 634 cans." Now your child does more. Read: The library has 345 picture books and 287 chapter books. How many books altogether? Your child draws the bar, estimates and solves. (350 + 290 = 640; 345 + 287 = 632 books)

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    Your child draws a bar, estimates, solves and says the answer with its label. 1) Diego read 128 pages last week and 96 pages this week. How many pages in all? (130 + 100 = 230; 128 + 96 = 224 pages) 2) A farm stand sold 415 apples and 199 pears. How many pieces of fruit? (420 + 200 = 620; 415 + 199 = 614 pieces) Ask: "Which Day 1 way fits here?" (199 is close to 200.) 3) Three classes collected 156, 248 and 123 bottle caps. What is the total? (156 + 248 + 123 = 527 caps) Ask: "How many parts does this bar need?" (3) If stuck, say: "Tell me the story in your own words. What are the parts? What are we finding?"

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Give the stored Week 2 check now. Your child works alone for about 15 minutes. Score it with the answer key. Choose a route by the result. 6 or more right: start Week 3. 4 or 5 right: find the kind of item missed. For adding in the head, redo Day 1 Guided Practice. For lining up columns, redo Day 2 Guided Practice. For regrouping, redo Day 3 or Day 4 Guided Practice with drawings. For word problems, redo today's Guided Practice with bars. 3 or fewer right: reteach the Day 3 and Day 4 Mini-Lessons before starting Week 3.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

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

    Watch for: Grabbing the numbers and adding without reading, or hunting for one clue word.

    Try: Skip clue words; they often point the wrong way. Your child retells the story and draws the bar before adding.

    Fact fluency: Adding three numbers mentally
    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Ana has 237 red beads and 185 blue beads. Draw a bar for the story. How many beads in all?
    2. Find the total of 145, 238 and 312.
    3. Why is it smart to estimate before you solve?
    Show answers
    1. 422 beads (the bar shows parts 237 and 185, with ? for the total)
    2. 695
    3. Answers vary. Look for: it tells about how big the answer should be, so you can catch mistakes.

    Support: Use smaller numbers, such as 28 cans and 35 cans (63). Your child draws the bar before adding.

    Extend: Your child writes an addition story with three parts about your family and solves it. Sample: we walked 120 steps, then 85 more, then 60 more (120 + 85 + 60 = 265).

    Homework: Write and solve one addition word problem using counts from home, with a sum under 1,000. Sample: 125 red blocks and 240 blue blocks; 125 + 240 = 365 blocks.

    English Language Arts

    I can show what I know about character traits, inferring and character change.

    RL.3.3RL.3.1

    Builds on: Needs Days 1 to 4: traits, inferring, character change and comparing. One-minute check: ask what a character trait is. (A word that tells what a character is like inside.)

    Materials: Week 2 English Language Arts Check (find it with the Week 2 lessons), Trait word cards from Day 1, Reader's notebook, Pencil, Your child's own book

    5 min · Warm-Up

    Word study: spelling check, not timed. Say each word in a short sentence, and your child writes it: rain, stay, sleep, dream, coat, snow. Challenge word: explain. Correct together. For any miss, your child underlines the vowel team and rewrites the word. Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "A chapter book has chapters. What are the parts of a play and of a poem called?" (Scenes and stanzas.)

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Say: "Today you show what you know about characters. First we warm up with a new story." Spread out the trait cards. Read "The New Goalie" aloud. Mateo never wanted to be the goalie. "I always miss," he grumbled, kicking the grass. On Monday, his sister Elena set up two buckets in the yard as a goal. She rolled the ball slowly, then faster. Mateo dove again and again until his knees were green. On Saturday, he blocked the hardest shot of the game. "Put me in goal next week," he told the coach proudly. Think aloud. Say: "I look for clues to a trait. Elena set up a goal and rolled ball after ball. That shows she is patient." Hold up the patient card. Say: "A trait needs proof. Elena is patient because the text says she rolled the ball slowly, then faster."

    10–15 min · Guided Practice

    1) Ask: "What trait does Mateo show in the yard? Give the proof." (Brave or hardworking. He dove again and again until his knees were green.) 2) Ask: "How does Mateo change? Use the change frame." (At the beginning, he did not want to be goalie. Then he practiced with Elena. By the end, he asked to play in goal.) 3) Ask: "Which word tells how Elena rolled the ball at first? What kind of word is it?" (slowly; an adverb) 4) Ask: "Hardest compares more than two shots. Which word would compare just two?" (harder) If stuck, say: "Put your finger on what Mateo does. What kind of person acts that way?"

    15–20 min · Independent Practice

    Give the Week 2 English Language Arts Check. It has its own short story and 8 questions. Your child works alone for about 15 minutes. Score it with the answer key. 6 or more right: your child is ready for Week 3. 4 or 5 right: redo the Day 2 practice page, then act out traits for each other to infer. 3 or fewer right: reteach Day 2, inferring traits, with the trait cards. Afterward, your child reads their own book and adds one trait and its proof to the notebook.

    5 min · Exit Ticket

    Ask the three questions about "The New Goalie." Your child answers aloud in full sentences and may look back.

    Watch for: Giving a trait with no proof on a written answer.

    Try: Say: "Every trait answer needs a because the text says part." Your child checks for that part first.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. Mateo grumbles, "I always miss." Is grumpy his trait or a feeling right then? Explain.
    2. What do Mateo and Elena have in common?
    3. In "he told the coach proudly," which word is the adverb, and which verb does it describe?
    Show answers
    1. A feeling. It does not last; by the end he is proud and wants to play in goal.
    2. Answers vary. Look for: both work hard in the yard, or both keep going with the practice.
    3. Proudly is the adverb. It describes the verb told.

    Support: Read the check's questions aloud and accept spoken answers. Your child reads the story alone.

    Extend: After the check, your child writes a short paragraph that compares a book character with Jada.

    Homework: Read for 15 to 20 minutes. Write one trait for a character and copy a sentence from the book that proves it.

    Science

    I can show what I know about balanced and unbalanced forces.

    3-PS2-1

    Builds on: Needs everything from Days 1 to 4. One-minute check: ask, "What is the test question for balanced or unbalanced?" (Is the motion changing?)

    Materials: Stored Week 2 Science Check and its answer key, Toy car with 2 strings taped on, 3 paper arrows: the long and short ones from Day 2, plus 1 more short one, 6 blocks or small boxes, Pencil, Science notebook

    5 min · Day 10 — Week 2 Check: Balanced and Unbalanced — Wonder Warm-Up

    Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "Which way does gravity pull?" (down, toward Earth) Hold up the two equal arrows pointing opposite ways. Ask: "Balanced or unbalanced?" (balanced) Swap one for the longer arrow and ask again. (unbalanced) Wonder question: "Can a tower that stands perfectly still have forces on it?"

    10–15 min · Mini-Lesson

    Keep this review to 10 minutes and the Investigation to 15, so the check fits at the end. Say: "Let's put the week together." First idea: you each pull one string on the car equally. Ask: "What happens, and why?" (Nothing. The forces are balanced.) Second idea: your child pulls harder. Ask: "Which way did it go?" (toward the stronger pull) Third idea: ask, "What is our test question?" (Is the motion changing?) Check: "A kite hangs still in a tree." (balanced) "A wagon starts to roll downhill." (unbalanced) "A marble rolls straight at one steady speed." (balanced) If stuck, say: "Tell me what the object is doing. Now tell me if that is changing."

    15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On

    Keep this to 15 minutes. 1) Your child builds a tower of 5 blocks that stands still. Ask: "What forces act on the top block?" (Gravity pulls down. The block below pushes up.) 2) Your child pushes the top block from the side with one finger, very gently at first. 3) Your child pushes a little harder, bit by bit, until the block slides. Ask: "What made the forces unbalanced?" (The push became stronger than the rubbing that held the block.) 4) Rebuild and repeat with the sixth block on top. Record in a chart with columns Try, What I Did, What Happened, and Balanced or Unbalanced. Expect the block to hold at first, then slide. Real results vary. Look for the pattern.

    10 min · Science Notebook Entry

    Frames: "Balanced forces ___. Unbalanced forces ___." Your child adds one example of each from this week. Sample: "Balanced forces cancel, so motion does not change. Unbalanced forces change motion. The car stayed still with equal pennies. It rolled when one cup had more."

    5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket

    Ask the three exit questions first. Then give the stored Week 2 Science Check: 7 items, about 10 minutes. Your child works alone. You may read items aloud. Score it with the answer key. 6 or more right: start Week 3. 4 or 5 right: redo the Day 4 card sort with new cards and the test question. 3 or fewer right: reteach the Day 1 Mini-Lesson with the two-string car. Pull equally, then unequally. Then repeat Day 2. Praise answers that name a change in motion.

    Watch for: Calling a slowing object balanced because it is "stopping" and not speeding up.

    Try: Say: "Slowing down is a change in motion. Any change means unbalanced forces." Roll the car and slow it with your hand to show it.

    Exit ticket (3 questions)
    1. A coat hangs still on a hook. Are the forces on it balanced or unbalanced? Name them.
    2. A shopping cart gets a shove and rolls faster. Balanced or unbalanced?
    3. You and a friend each pull one string on the toy car. It rolls toward your friend. Whose pull was stronger?
    Show answers
    1. Balanced. Gravity pulls the coat down and the hook holds it up just as hard.
    2. Unbalanced. Its motion is changing.
    3. My friend's pull.

    Support: Read each check item aloud. Your child may act an item out with the toy car before writing.

    Extend: Your child builds a block sculpture that stands still. They name the two balanced forces on the top block and on one middle block.

    Homework: Your child tells a family member one balanced example and one unbalanced example from this week. Look for the words "changing" or "not changing."

    Friday Checks & Answer Keys

    Mathematics · Week 2 Mathematics Check

    3.NBT.A.2

    Goals

    • I can add 3-digit numbers in my head and in columns.
    • I can regroup when I add.
    • I can solve addition word problems.

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

    1. 299 + 46 = ____
    2. 431 + 257 = ____
    3. 348 + 227 = ____
    4. 569 + 274 = ____
    5. 605 + 198 = ____
    6. Estimate 389 + 412 by rounding to the nearest 100.
    7. Nadia's farm has 238 hens and 165 ducks. How many birds in all?
    8. Three classes made 124, 216 and 145 paper cranes. How many cranes in all?
    Show answer key
    1. 345
    2. 688
    3. 575
    4. 843
    5. 803
    6. 400 + 400 = 800
    7. 403
    8. 485

    What to do next

    Most right
    If 6 or more are right: pick two 3-digit numbers with a sum close to 1,000 but not over it. Add them in columns and check with an estimate.
    Some right
    If 4–5 are right: redo the Day 4 page, then make up two 3-digit numbers, add them on grid paper and check with an estimate.
    Few right
    If 3 or fewer are right: reteach Day 3 and Day 4 (regrouping), one each day. Draw squares, sticks and dots for each number and trade 10 dots for 1 stick.

    English Language Arts · Week 2 English Language Arts Check

    RL.3.3L.3.6L.3.1.AL.3.5.BL.3.2.DRL.3.1RF.3.4.BSL.3.1

    Goals

    • I can figure out a character's traits from clues.
    • I can tell how and why a character changes.
    • I can use adverbs, comparing words and vowel teams.

    Hugo and the Puppy

    At first, Hugo did not like the new puppy next door. It barked at him every morning, and he covered his ears. One rainy day, Hugo found the puppy shivering under his porch. He wrapped it in an old towel and carried it carefully back to Mrs. Patel. "You were so gentle with him," she said. After that, Hugo visited every afternoon. Now he and the puppy race each other down the sidewalk.

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

    1. What trait does Hugo show when he finds the puppy?
      ○ gentle○ bossy○ lazy
    2. Copy words from the story that prove it.
    3. How does Hugo change from the beginning to the end?
    4. What event causes the change?
    5. Find the adverb in "carried it carefully back."
    6. Write it with 's: the porch that belongs to Hugo
    7. The puppy runs ____ than Hugo. (fast)
    8. Write ai or ay: The puppy likes to pl__ in the r__n.
    Show answer key
    1. gentle
    2. "He wrapped it in an old towel and carried it carefully back to Mrs. Patel."
    3. At first he does not like the puppy; by the end he visits it every day and plays with it.
    4. He finds the puppy shivering in the rain and helps it.
    5. carefully
    6. Hugo's porch
    7. faster
    8. play; rain

    What to do next

    Most right
    If 6 or more are right: pick a character from a new book and write a trait, a quote that proves it, and how the character changes.
    Some right
    If 4–5 are right: redo the Day 2 page, then act out a trait with no words while a partner infers it.
    Few right
    If 3 or fewer are right: reteach Day 2 (inferring traits). Use trait word cards and act out actions to match each card.

    Science · Week 2 Science Check

    3-PS2-1

    Goals

    • I can tell if forces on an object cancel out.
    • I can predict how motion changes when one force is stronger.

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

    1. What does it mean when forces are balanced?
    2. A backpack sits still on a chair. Balanced or unbalanced?
      ○ balanced○ unbalanced
    3. A train slows down as it comes into the station. Balanced or unbalanced?
      ○ balanced○ unbalanced
    4. Two dogs pull a rope. The big dog pulls harder. Which way does the rope move?
    5. Are there any forces on a backpack sitting still?
    6. Draw arrows for a tug-of-war that nobody is winning.
    7. Left cup has 20 pennies and right cup has 11. Which way does the car move?
    Show answer key
    1. They are equal in strength and opposite in direction.
    2. balanced
    3. unbalanced
    4. Toward the big dog.
    5. Yes. Gravity pulls down and the chair pushes up equally.
    6. Two arrows the same length pointing opposite ways.
    7. Toward the left cup.

    What to do next

    Most right
    If 6 or more are right: Find 3 balanced and 3 unbalanced things on a walk and draw arrows for each.
    Some right
    If 4–5 are right: Redo the Day 4 page, then sort 6 new situation cards with the test question: is the motion changing?
    Few right
    If 3 or fewer are right: Reteach Day 1 (Balanced Forces) with the two-string toy car, pulling equally and then unequally.

    Social Studies · Week 2 Social Studies Check

    D2.Geo.4.3-5D2.Geo.2.3-5D2.Geo.8.3-5

    Goals

    • I can sort places into three community types.
    • I can name features of each type of community.

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

    1. Leila takes a crowded bus past tall office buildings to get to school. What type of community?
      ○ urban○ suburban○ rural
    2. Tom's family grows soybeans, and the nearest store is 12 miles away. What type of community?
      ○ urban○ suburban○ rural
    3. Ana has a backyard swing set and her mom drives into the nearby city for work. What type of community?
      ○ urban○ suburban○ rural
    4. Name one urban feature.
    5. Name one rural feature.
    6. Which type has the most people living close together?
      ○ urban○ suburban○ rural
    7. How do rural communities help people in cities?
    Show answer key
    1. urban
    2. rural
    3. suburban
    4. Answers vary. Look for: tall buildings, apartments, subways or buses, museums.
    5. Answers vary. Look for: farms, barns, fields, forests, open land.
    6. urban
    7. They grow food and supply resources like wood.

    What to do next

    Most right
    If 6 or more are right: pick a place on a map, find photos of it and write a travel guide page about its community type.
    Some right
    If 4–5 are right: redo the Day 1 page, then play a clue game: one person says a feature and the other names the type.
    Few right
    If 3 or fewer are right: reteach Day 1 (Three Types of Communities) by sorting magazine photos into three piles and naming one clue for each.

    Week 2

    Home Connection

    Big ideas

    • We add big numbers by regrouping ones and tens.
    • A character's words and actions show what they are like.
    • Balanced forces cancel out; unbalanced forces change motion.
    • Communities can be urban, suburban or rural.

    Mathematics

    Try it (10 min): Open a book to two different pages under 500 and add the two page numbers on paper, regrouping when needed. Estimate first, then check that your answer is close.

    Talk about it: When did you need to regroup, and how did you know?

    English Language Arts

    Try it (10 min): While reading a story or watching a show, pause and name one trait for a character, like brave or bossy. Point to what the character said or did that proves it.

    Talk about it: Did the character change from the beginning to the end? How?

    Science

    Try it (10 min): Play a gentle tug-of-war with a towel. Pull with the same strength so it does not move (balanced), then have one person pull harder so it moves (unbalanced).

    Talk about it: Why did the towel stay still when you both pulled the same?

    Social Studies

    Try it (10 min): Look at photos in a magazine, book or online and sort them into urban (city), suburban and rural (country) piles.

    Talk about it: What would you like and not like about living in each kind of community?

    This week’s words

    regroup · trait · balanced · unbalanced · urban · rural

    Celebrate

    Celebrate three wins: a sum you regrouped, a trait you proved with evidence, and a force you balanced.

    This week's read-aloud

    Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

    Your child is studying character traits and how characters change, and Ramona shows her traits through what she says and does all through her third-grade year.

    See the five daily prompts →

    Math catch-up · 3.NBT.A.2

    Trade Ten Ones for a Ten

    When adding in columns, a common slip is writing a two-digit number in the ones place. Building the trade with blocks shows why 10 ones become 1 ten.

    Builds on: 2.NBT.B.7

    Materials: base-ten blocks (or bundles of 10 straws and loose straws) · place-value mat with hundreds, tens and ones · pencil and paper

    1. Build 258 and 167 on the mat. Push the ones together: 8 + 7 = 15 ones.
    2. Ask, "Can we keep 15 ones in the ones place?" Trade 10 ones for 1 ten. Write the 1 above the tens column.
    3. Push the tens together: 5 + 6 + 1 = 12 tens. Trade 10 tens for 1 hundred, then add the hundreds. The total is 425.
    4. Each day, your child builds and solves one new problem, then writes it in columns and checks that the written answer matches the blocks.

    Try again

    1. 349 + 275 = ?
    2. 167 + 25 = ? Tell what you did with the ones.
    3. 486 + 307 = ?

    Reading About Our World · Week 2 · Social Studies

    City, Suburb and Country

    Urban, suburban & rural communities · This week's Social Studies lessons

    A road runs from a city with tall buildings, past suburban houses with yards, out to a farm with a barn and a silo in the countryside.

    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.

    Three Kinds of Places

    People in the United States live in many kinds of communities. Some live in big cities. Some live in neighborhoods just outside a city. Others live in the country, where homes are far apart. These three kinds of communities are called urban, suburban and rural. Each kind has good points and hard parts.

    Urban Communities

    An urban community is a city. Many people live close together there. Tall buildings rise along busy streets, and many families live in apartments. People often ride buses, trains or subways to get around. Cities have many kinds of jobs, as well as museums, libraries, hospitals and restaurants. Cities can also be crowded and noisy.

    Suburban Communities

    A suburb is a community near a city. Many homes in suburbs have yards and driveways. Streets are often quieter than in the city. Suburbs have schools, parks and shopping centers. Many people who live in suburbs drive or take a train into the city to work.

    Rural Communities

    A rural community is in the countryside. There is lots of open land between homes, so neighbors may live far apart. Many people in rural areas work on farms or ranches, in forests or on fishing boats. Families may drive a long way to reach a big store or a hospital. Rural places are often quiet, with wide views of fields and sky.

    How They Work Together

    Urban, suburban and rural communities need each other. Farms in rural areas grow food that is sold in city and suburban stores. Cities make goods and offer services that people from all three places use. Roads and railroads connect them all. Many people live in one kind of community and work in another. A farmer might drive into the city to sell crops at a market.

    What About You?

    Look around your own community. Are the buildings tall or short? Are homes close together or far apart? Your clues can tell you which kind of community you live in.

    Word box

    • Tall city buildings with many windows stand close together.urban: having to do with a city
    • suburban: having to do with a community near a city
    • A barn, a silo and a fence stand in open farm fields.rural: having to do with the countryside
    • community: a group of people who live, work or play in the same place

    Questions

    1. What is a suburb?
    2. Name two kinds of work many people do in rural areas.
    3. Kim lives in an apartment on the tenth floor and rides a subway to school. What kind of community does she most likely live in? How do you know?
    4. The author gives each community type its own section with a heading. How does this help a reader?

    Week 2 spelling words →

    This week's specials page

    Clap It Back

    • Art: Lines can show feelings, like calm or angry.
    • Music: Clap a rhythm and clap it back.
    • PE: Jump high and far, and land softly.
    • Health: Your heart pumps blood. It beats faster when you move.

    Try it (Music)

    1. A grown-up claps a short rhythm.
    2. Listen, then clap the same rhythm back.
    3. Switch! You make up a rhythm for the grown-up to clap.

    Think about it: The hardest rhythm to clap back was ____.

    See this year's specials plans