Day 1 · Monday
Mathematics
I can find both the area and the perimeter of a rectangle and tell them apart.
Builds on: Needs area by multiplying (Week 29 Day 1) and perimeter by adding all sides (Week 30 Day 3). One-minute check: your child finds the area of a 3 by 10 rectangle (30 square units). Then your child finds the perimeter of a square with 2-inch sides (8 inches).
Materials: Grid paper, 2 crayons of different colors, 24 square tiles or paper squares, Yarn or string (about 24 inches), Ruler (for homework), Pencil
5 min · Warm-Up
Spaced review from Week 30 Day 4. Ask: "A rectangle has a perimeter of 18 units and a length of 7 units. How wide is it?" (2 units) Then practice ×7 facts with no clock. Ask 7 × 4, 7 × 6, 7 × 8 and 7 × 9 (28, 42, 56, 63).
10–15 min · Mini-Lesson
Say: "One rectangle has two measurements. Area covers the inside. Perimeter goes around the edge." On grid paper, draw a rectangle 7 squares long and 3 squares tall. Your child shades the inside with one crayon. Ask: "How many rows of how many squares?" (3 rows of 7) Write 3 × 7 = 21. Say: "So the area is 21 square units." Your child traces the edge with the other crayon. Write 7 + 3 + 7 + 3 = 20. Say: "So the perimeter is 20 units." Say: "For area we multiplied and wrote square units. For perimeter we added and wrote units." Now your child does more. Build 3 rows of 6 tiles and lay yarn around them. Your child finds both measurements. (Area: 3 × 6 = 18 square units. Perimeter: 6 + 3 + 6 + 3 = 18 units.) Ask: "Both numbers are 18. Are area and perimeter the same thing?" (No. One counts squares inside. The other is a length around.)
10–15 min · Guided Practice
Your child sketches each rectangle, shades the inside and traces the edge. Here 5 by 4 means 5 long and 4 wide. 1) 5 by 4 (area 20; perimeter 18). 2) 6 by 2 (area 12; perimeter 16). 3) A square with 6-unit sides (area 36; perimeter 24). Ask: "Which answers need the word square?" (The areas.) If stuck, say: "Rub the inside. That is area, so multiply. Now walk the edge. That is perimeter, so add."
15–20 min · Independent Practice
Your child finds both measurements. Write square units for area and units for perimeter. 1) 7 by 2 (area 14; perimeter 18). 2) A square with 3-unit sides (area 9; perimeter 12). 3) 10 by 2 (area 20; perimeter 24). 4) 10 by 6 (area 60; perimeter 32). 5) 10 by 5 (area 50; perimeter 30). 6) On grid paper, draw a rectangle 10 squares long and 3 squares tall. Shade the inside and trace the edge. (area 30; perimeter 26) 7) A rug is 8 feet long and 5 feet wide. How much floor does it cover? How far is it around the edge? (40 square feet; 26 feet) 8) A square game board has 8-inch sides. Find the space it covers and the distance around it. (64 square inches; 32 inches)
5 min · Exit Ticket
Read each question aloud; your child may sketch.
Watch for: Using the multiplication answer for both, such as writing 21 for the area and for the perimeter.
Try: Ask: "Did you go around or cover the inside?" Your child points to the edge or the inside to match.
Exit ticket (3 questions)
- Find the area and the perimeter of a rectangle 9 units long and 2 units wide.
- Which measurement uses square units: area or perimeter?
- A square has an area of 16 square units and a perimeter of 16 units. Are area and perimeter the same thing? Explain.
Show answers
- Area 18 square units; perimeter 22 units
- Area
- No. Look for: area counts the squares that cover the inside; perimeter is the length around the edge.
Support: Build 2 rows of 4 tiles. Your child counts tiles for area, then lays yarn around and counts unit lengths. (area 8; perimeter 12)
Extend: The 3 by 6 rectangle had area 18 and perimeter 18. Your child hunts for one more rectangle like that. (4 by 4: area 16 and perimeter 16.)
Homework: Your child measures a book to the nearest inch and finds its area and perimeter. Sample: 10 inches long and 8 inches wide gives 80 square inches and 36 inches.
English Language Arts
I can make a labeled picture, diagram or chart that teaches something my words do not.
Builds on: Needs the report draft from Week 30 and the text-feature work on captions and diagrams. One-minute check: ask "What is a caption?" (The words under a picture that tell what it shows.)
- heart word – a word with a tricky part that you learn by heart
Materials: Plain white paper, Colored pencils or markers, Ruler, Report draft and notes from Week 30, Writer's notebook, Pencil
5 min · Warm-Up
Word study (about 3 minutes). Say: "This week's words break the usual spelling rules. Each has a tricky part. We learn that part by heart, so we call them heart words." Write enough, tough, thought, bought, again and because. Your child reads each word and underlines the tricky part. Sort them in the notebook under three headings. gh says /f/: enough, tough. ough says /aw/: thought, bought. Heart words: again, because. Spaced review from Week 28. Ask: "Which question is open: Do bees sting? or How do bees build a comb?" (The second. It needs more than yes or no.)
10–15 min · Mini-Lesson
Say: "A report visual is a picture that teaches. It follows three rules. It matches the report. It has clear labels. It is neat enough to read." Write four choices. A labeled diagram shows parts. A step diagram or timeline shows steps in order. A map shows where things are. A chart compares numbers. Read aloud this report paragraph, "From Flower to Honey": A forager bee sips sweet nectar from a flower. She carries it home in a pouch called a honey stomach. At the hive, she passes the nectar to a house bee. The house bee spreads it into a six-sided wax cell. Then many bees fan their wings until the nectar dries and thickens. Last, the bees seal the cell with a wax cap. The nectar is now honey. Think aloud: "This paragraph tells steps in order. Steps are easier to see than to read. I will make a step diagram." Draw five boxes in a row with arrows between them. Label them flower, honey stomach, house bee, wax cell and wax cap. Write the title "How Bees Make Honey" above. Write a caption below: "Nectar becomes honey in five steps." Ask: "What do the arrows tell a reader?" (What happens next.)
10–15 min · Guided Practice
Your child names the best visual and tells why. 1) One paragraph tells where sea otters live. (A map. It shows places.) 2) One paragraph names the parts of a bee's body. (A labeled diagram. It shows parts.) 3) One paragraph tells how long four animals sleep each day. (A chart. It compares numbers.) 4) Now use your child's report. Ask: "Which part would be easier to see than to read?" Your child names the visual type and makes a quick pencil sketch. Check that every label matches a fact in the report. If stuck, say: "Point to the paragraph with the most parts, steps, places or numbers. What kind of picture fits it?"
15–20 min · Independent Practice
Your child makes the final visual on clean paper. 1) Write a title at the top. 2) Draw the picture and add at least four labels. Use the ruler for label lines. 3) Write a one-sentence caption that tells what the visual teaches. 4) Under the caption, write the source code (S1, S2 or S3) in small print. A good visual matches one paragraph, has labels a reader can read, and uses facts from the notes. To check, cover the report. Your child teaches you two facts using only the visual.
5 min · Exit Ticket
Read each question aloud. Your child holds the finished visual and answers out loud.
Watch for: Drawing a pretty picture with no labels, so it decorates the page and teaches nothing.
Try: Ask: "If a reader saw only this picture, what would they learn?" Add one label for each answer.
Exit ticket (3 questions)
- A report paragraph compares how tall four kinds of trees grow. Which visual fits best, and why?
- Read your caption aloud. What does it tell the reader?
- Point to one label on your visual. Which fact in your report does it match?
Show answers
- A chart, because it compares numbers.
- Answers vary. Look for: one sentence that says what the visual teaches.
- Answers vary. Look for: your child finds the matching sentence in the report.
Support: Trace or lightly draw the outline of the main object for your child. Your child adds the labels and the caption.
Extend: Your child makes a second, different kind of visual for another subtopic, such as a chart that compares two numbers.
Homework: Show the visual to a family member. Ask them to tell one fact they learned from it. If they cannot, add a label tomorrow. Then read your own book for 15 minutes.
Science
I can set up a fair test to see how sunlight affects plants of the same kind.
Builds on: Needs Week 1 Day 2, where a fair test changes one thing, and Week 29 Day 4 on the environment. One-minute check: ask, "In a fair test, how many things do we change?" (One.)
Materials: 6 dry beans from one bag (pinto, lima or kidney), soaked overnight in water, 2 clear plastic cups of the same size, About 2 cups of potting soil, Tablespoon and a cup of water, Cardboard box that covers one cup completely, Masking tape and marker, Ruler marked in centimeters, Science notebook and pencil
5 min · Day 151 — Environment Affects Growth — Wonder Warm-Up
Spaced review from Week 30. Ask: "What do we call small differences among living things of one kind?" (Variation.) Then the wonder. Ask: "What would happen to a plant kept in the dark?" Write down your child's answer.
10–15 min · Mini-Lesson
Say: "An environment is everything around a living thing. It includes light, water, soil, air, warmth and other living things." Say: "Plants of one kind inherit the same kinds of traits. But the environment can change how they grow." Hold up two soaked beans. Say: "These came from one bag. They are the same kind." Ask: "One will grow in light and one in the dark. What is the one thing we change?" (Light.) Say: "A fair test changes only one thing. That one thing is the variable. Everything else stays the same." Ask: "Suppose I also gave one cup more soil. Could we tell what caused a difference?" (No. It could be the light or the soil.) Ask: "Name three things both cups must share." (Any 3: the same kind and number of beans, soil, water, cup size, warmth.) If stuck, say: "Look at our supplies. Which of these should both cups get in equal amounts?"
15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On
Sun and Dark Setup. Safety: dry beans are not for eating raw. Wash hands after touching soil. 1) Label one cup Sun and one cup Dark with tape and marker. 2) Fill both cups with soil to one finger-width below the rim. 3) Push 3 soaked beans into each cup, about 2 centimeters deep by the ruler. Place them against the clear side so you can see them. Three beans give a spare if one fails. 4) Spoon 2 tablespoons of water onto each cup. 5) Set both cups side by side in a bright window. Cover the Dark cup with the box. Side by side keeps both about equally warm. 6) Plan to check every 2 days. If the soil feels dry, give each cup 2 tablespoons. Change only the light. Keep the beans, soil, water, cups and place the same. Each check, look for sprouts and note their height, color and stem. Beans often take 5 to 10 days to come up. Real results vary. Look for the pattern.
10 min · Science Notebook Entry
Start a Bean Log in the notebook. Your child draws both cups and labels two lists. "What I change: light." "What I keep the same: beans, soil, water, cups, place." Under that, they rule a table: Date | Sun cup | Dark cup. They fill in today's date and "planted." Then they finish the frame: "I think the beans in the dark will ___ because ___." Sample: "I think the beans in the dark will not grow because plants need light." Any prediction with a reason is fine.
5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket
Ask the three exit questions aloud; your child answers aloud or in writing. Praise answers that name light as the only thing changed.
Watch for: Giving one cup extra water, or leaving the box off for a long look, so two things change.
Try: Tape a Kept the Same list by the window. Tick beans, soil and water at each check. Lift the box only briefly.
Exit ticket (3 questions)
- Name three parts of a bean plant's environment.
- What is the variable in your bean test?
- Why do both cups get the same amount of water?
Show answers
- Any 3: light, water, soil, air, warmth or other living things.
- Light. One cup sits in the light and one is covered.
- So the test is fair. Then a difference between the cups comes from light, not from water.
Support: Draw a picture checklist of the six steps. Your child ticks each step and does the labeling and watering.
Extend: On paper, your child plans a second fair test in which both cups get light but one gets half the water. They name the variable.
Homework: Tell a family member the plan and your prediction. Look for: your child names light as the one thing changed.