Day 4 · Thursday

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

Standards: D2.Geo.4.3-5, D2.Geo.8.3-5

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

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

   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?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   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."

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   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.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   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. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

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

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

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

Standards: 3.NBT.A.2

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

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   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.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   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)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   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."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   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. Exit Ticket · 5 min

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

Fact fluency: Adding 2-digit numbers mentally

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

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

Standards: RL.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.1.B, SL.3.1.C, L.3.1.G

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

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   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.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   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.

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   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."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   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. Exit Ticket · 5 min

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

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.

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

Standards: 3-PS2-1

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

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

   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.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   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?"

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

   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.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   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. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   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.

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."