Day 1 · Monday
Mathematics
I can use doubles to know my ×2 facts.
Builds on: Needs Grade 2 doubles to 20 and the turned arrays from Week 4 Day 3. One-minute check: ask 6 + 6 (12) and 9 + 9 (18).
- double – a number added to itself, like 7 + 7
- even number – a number that splits into two equal groups with none left over
Materials: 20 counters (dried beans, coins or buttons), Plain sheet of paper, 10 index cards or paper slips, Notebook, Pencil
5 min · Warm-Up
Spaced review from Week 2. Your child solves 248 + 248 (496). Ask: "What do we call adding a number to itself?" (Doubling.) Then count by 2s to 20 together. Ask: "What comes after 16?" (18)
10–15 min · Mini-Lesson
Say: "Today we learn the ×2 facts with doubles." Write 2 × 7. Ask: "What does this tell us to build?" (2 groups of 7.) Build 2 rows of 7 beans on the paper. Write 7 + 7 = 14. Say: "2 groups of 7 is 7 and 7. That is double 7." Write 2 × 7 = 14. Turn the paper a quarter turn. Ask: "How many rows now? How many in each row?" (7 rows of 2.) Write 7 × 2 = 14. Say: "Turning never changes the total. So 7 × 2 is double 7 too." Next, write the facts from 2 × 1 to 2 × 10 in a list. Your child says each double and you write the product. Ask: "What do you notice about the products?" (They go up by 2. They are all even.) Say: "A double is two equal groups. So every ×2 product is even." Now your child does more. Your child builds 2 × 6 and writes 6 + 6 = 12 and 2 × 6 = 12. Then your child turns the paper and writes 6 × 2 = 12.
10–15 min · Guided Practice
Your child says the double first, then the product. Keep the beans close. 1) 2 × 4 (double 4 is 8). 2) 2 × 9 (double 9 is 18). 3) 8 × 2 (double 8 is 16). 4) Ask: "2 × 3 = 6. What is 3 × 2? How do you know?" (6. It is the same array turned.) If stuck, say: "Which factor is not the 2? Add that number to itself."
15–20 min · Independent Practice
Your child writes the double and the product for each fact. 1) 2 × 5 (5 + 5 = 10). 2) 2 × 8 (8 + 8 = 16). 3) 4 × 2 (8). 4) 3 × 2 (6). 5) 2 × 10 (20). 6) Your child draws 2 rows of 3 dots. Then your child writes two sentences (2 × 3 = 6; 3 × 2 = 6). 7) Mia has 6 pairs of socks. How many socks? (6 × 2 = 12) 8) 2 spiders have 8 legs each. How many legs in all? (2 × 8 = 16) Last, make fact cards. Your child writes each ×2 fact on a card and its product on the back. Sort the cards into "know it" and "still building" piles. Use no timer.
5 min · Exit Ticket
Put the beans and cards away. Read each question aloud; your child writes the answers.
Watch for: Adding 2 instead of doubling, such as saying 2 × 7 is 9.
Try: Build 2 rows of 7 beans. Say: "2 groups of 7 is 7 + 7." Your child counts both rows before writing the product.
Exit ticket (3 questions)
- What is 9 × 2? Which double helps?
- What is 10 × 2?
- Why is every ×2 product an even number?
Show answers
- 18; double 9, or 9 + 9
- 20
- Answers vary. Look for: it is a double, so it makes two equal groups.
Support: Use only 2 × 1 to 2 × 5. Your child builds both rows with beans, counts every bean, then says the double.
Extend: Say: "A ×2 product is 16. Which number was doubled?" (8) Repeat with 14 and 18 (7; 9). Then ask: "Can 2 times a whole number be 15?" (No. 15 is odd, so it cannot make two equal groups.)
Homework: Use the ×2 fact cards with a family member for 10 minutes, with no timer. Say the double for each card. Sample: "2 × 8 is double 8, so 16." Write down any facts that are still building.
English Language Arts
I can tell the difference between informational text and a story.
Builds on: Needs the story skills of Unit 1: characters, setting and events. One-minute check: ask, "Was 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' a true report or a made-up story?" (A made-up story that teaches a lesson.)
- informational text – writing that gives true facts about the real world
- nonfiction – another name for writing that is true and about real things
- fiction – a made-up story
- fact – something true that you can check
Materials: Your child's own nonfiction book (animals, weather or any real topic), A storybook from your shelf, Reader's notebook, Pencil
5 min · Warm-Up
Word study, Unit 1 review of syllable types. Write kite, cube, rain, sleep, farm, apple. Your child sorts them under Silent e, Vowel Team, R-controlled and Consonant-le, then reads them. (Silent e: kite, cube. Vowel team: rain, sleep. R-controlled: farm. Consonant-le: apple.) Spaced review, Week 5. Ask: "Which is an abstract noun, lantern or courage?" (Courage. You cannot see or touch it.)
10–15 min · Mini-Lesson
Hold up the storybook and the nonfiction book. Say: "Fiction is a made-up story. Informational text, also called nonfiction, gives true facts about the real world." Read aloud this page from a nonfiction book. Say "heading" and "caption" as you reach them. A heading is a small title over one part. A caption tells about a picture. Words in capital letters stand for bold print. [How Honeybees Make Honey. Heading: Gathering Nectar. Worker bees fly from flower to flower. They sip a sweet liquid called NECTAR. One bee may visit dozens of flowers on a single trip. Heading: Back at the Hive. At the hive, the bee passes the nectar to other workers. They fan it with their wings until much of the water dries out. Then they store the thick honey in HONEYCOMB, which is rows of six-sided wax cells. Caption: A worker bee carries yellow pollen on its back legs.] Now read this story opening: [Zuzu the bee was late for the Flower Dance. "Wait for me!" she buzzed, tying her tiny yellow shoes.] Think aloud: "A fact is something true that you can check. The first text teaches facts. Real bees do sip nectar. The second has a bee who talks and wears shoes. That is made up, so it is fiction."
10–15 min · Guided Practice
Draw a T-chart in the reader's notebook: Informational | Fiction. 1) Ask: "What is each text for?" (Informational text teaches about a topic. Fiction tells a story about characters.) 2) Ask: "What parts did the bee page have that the story did not?" (A title about a topic, headings, bold words and a caption.) 3) Ask: "What does the story have instead?" (A character with a name, talking and a problem.) 4) Your child adds one example from each text. (Sample: "Bees fan nectar with their wings." "Zuzu tied her shoes.") If stuck, say: "Could a scientist check this sentence? If yes, it goes under Informational."
15–20 min · Independent Practice
1) Your child flips through their own nonfiction book and lists five clues that it is informational. (Such as photos, headings, captions, bold words, a diagram or an index.) 2) They read two pages and write two facts they learned. 3) They write one sentence using the word informational and one using fiction. Look for: clues that are features or facts, not "it has animals"; each new word used correctly. Sample: "My shark book is informational. It teaches real facts about sharks. A story about a talking shark is fiction."
5 min · Exit Ticket
Read each question aloud. Your child answers in full sentences, aloud or in the notebook.
Watch for: Thinking any book with animals is fiction, or any book with pictures is nonfiction.
Try: Ask, "Is it teaching true facts or telling a made-up story?" Your child decides from the purpose.
Exit ticket (3 questions)
- What is another name for informational text?
- Give two clues from the honeybee page that show it is informational.
- A book tells about a dragon who opens a bakery. Is it fiction or informational? Why?
Show answers
- Nonfiction.
- Any two: it gives true facts about real bees; it has headings; it has bold words; it has a caption.
- Fiction. Dragons are not real, so the characters and events are made up.
Support: Write a short checklist: heading, photo, caption, bold word. Your child finds each one in the nonfiction book and ticks it.
Extend: Your child writes a paragraph naming a nonfiction topic they want to learn about this year, with two reasons.
Homework: Read a nonfiction book or article for 15–20 minutes. Write two facts you learned. Look for facts that could be checked.
Science
I can observe a pendulum's motion and describe its repeating pattern.
Builds on: Needs Week 1 Day 4 (forces start, stop and turn motion) and time on a playground swing. One-minute check: ask, "What pulls a swing back down after it goes up?" (Gravity.)
- pendulum – a weight that hangs from a string and swings back and forth
- motion pattern – a movement that repeats the same way, so you can tell what comes next
- full swing – one trip out and back to where the weight started
Materials: String, about 30 inches long, Weight: a metal washer, a key ring or a small bag of coins, Tape, A table or counter edge, Ruler or tape measure, Timer or a clock with a second hand, Science notebook and pencil
5 min · Day 26 — Repeated Motion Patterns — Wonder Warm-Up
Spaced review from Week 3. Ask: "A swing slows and stops if no one pushes. What slows it?" (Friction where it hangs, and air pushing on it.) Then tie the weight to the string, hold the top and let it swing. Ask: "What do you notice? What will it do next?" Say: "Today we look for motion that repeats."
10–15 min · Mini-Lesson
Say: "This is a pendulum: a weight that swings from a string." Swing it gently. Say: "It moves the same way again and again. A movement that repeats is a motion pattern." Ask: "After it swings left, what comes next?" (It swings back to the right.) Say: "Because the pattern repeats, we can predict it." Test that. Your child holds a flat hand where the weight should return, without touching it. Ask: "Did it come back to your hand?" (Yes, or almost.) Say: "One full swing is out and back to the start." Count three full swings aloud together, saying each number as the weight returns. Ask: "Is going across once a full swing?" (No. It must come back.) Ask: "Name another motion that repeats." (Sample: a playground swing, a rocking chair, a bouncing ball.) If stuck, say: "Watch one spot. Count only when the weight comes back to that spot."
15–20 min · Investigation / Hands-On
Safety: keep faces back from the swinging weight. 1) Tape the string firmly to the table top so the weight hangs past the edge. Measure 24 inches from the edge to the middle of the weight. Use a counter if the weight touches the floor. 2) Draw a chart with two columns: Trial, Full swings in 30 seconds. 3) Pull the weight one hand-width to the side. Let go without pushing. 4) You time 30 seconds. Your child counts each return to the start side. 5) After two trials, your child predicts the third count, then tests it. Change nothing between trials. Keep the same string length, weight and one-hand pull. Look for counts that match. Expect about 19 full swings each time, give or take one. If your counts differ more, say: "Real results vary. Check that we counted only the returns." Ask: "Why was your prediction so close?" (The motion follows a pattern.)
10 min · Science Notebook Entry
Your child sketches the pendulum and draws its path as a dotted arc. Write the three counts. Then finish the frames: "The pattern is ___. I can predict ___." Sample: "The pattern is the same back-and-forth swing, about 19 times in 30 seconds. I can predict the next count."
5 min · Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket
Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise the word predict, and any prediction that uses the earlier counts.
Watch for: Counting each crossing as a full swing, which doubles the count.
Try: Your child keeps a hand at the start side and says the number only when the weight returns to it.
Exit ticket (3 questions)
- What counts as one full swing of a pendulum?
- A rocking chair rocks back, forward, back, forward. What comes next? What do we call a motion like this?
- A child on a playground swing is at the top of the back swing. Where will the swing go next? How do you know?
Show answers
- Out and back to where it started.
- It rocks back. It is a motion pattern, because it repeats.
- Forward and down, then up the front. A swing repeats the same back-and-forth pattern.
Support: Count aloud together and time only 15 seconds. Expect about 9 or 10 full swings.
Extend: Your child predicts the count for 60 seconds, then tests it. Ask how the 30-second count helped. (Add it twice: about 38.)
Homework: Find 3 repeating motions at home, such as a clock's second hand, a ceiling fan or a rocking chair. Describe each pattern. Look for what repeats and what comes next.