Day 3 · Wednesday

Objective: I can name the needs every community has and who meets each need.

Standards: D2.Civ.13.3-5, D2.Civ.6.3-5

Materials: 12 index cards or paper slips, Notebook, Pencil

1. Day 3 — What a Community Needs — Big Question Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Day 2. Ask: "Is a soccer team a place community or an interest community?" (An interest community.) Then ask the big question: "What does any community need to work well? Picture a town with no roads or no clean water."

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Every community has needs. A need is something the whole community must have. A want is nice to have, like a toy store. A town can still run without it." Write six needs on six cards as you teach them. SAFETY: a fire station. HEALTH: a clinic. LEARNING: schools and the library. GETTING AROUND: roads and buses. FOOD AND SUPPLIES: a grocery store. GATHERING: parks. Say: "Local government runs some services, like roads and the fire service. Businesses run others, like stores. Volunteers run some too, like a food pantry." Ask: "Which need does a sidewalk meet?" (Getting around.) Ask: "Who usually takes care of town roads?" (Local government.) Ask: "Who runs a grocery store?" (A business.) If stuck, say: "Would the whole town have trouble without this? Then it meets a need."

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   1) Write six real local places on six more cards, one for each need. 2) Mix all 12 cards. Your child matches each need to a place. 3) For each match ask: "Who runs it: government, a business or volunteers?" 4) Read this notice aloud. "Notice from the Town of Maple Hill. Families told the town council that children walk in the street to reach Oak Park. Pine Road has no sidewalk. The council will meet on Tuesday to hear ideas. One plan is to build a sidewalk. It costs a lot and takes months. Another plan is to add warning signs and a lower speed limit. That costs less, but children still walk in the street. Everyone may come and speak." 5) Ask: "What is the problem? Find the words." (Children walk in the street.) "Who will decide?" (The town council.) "Name one plan and its cost." (Either plan, with its downside.) "Which plan would you pick? Why?" (Any choice with a reason.)

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   In the notebook, draw a chart: Need | Who meets it here | How I have used it. Your child fills in at least four rows. Sample row: Learning | our public library | I borrowed books about sharks.

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise answers that name both a need and who meets it.

Homework: Spot one community service you used today, such as a road or a park. Look for: your child tells a family member which need it met.

Objective: I can compare two 3-digit numbers using <, > and =.

Standards: 2.NBT.A.4

Materials: Place-value chart drawn on paper, 3 index cards marked <, > and =, Die or number cards 1 to 9 (for the homework game), Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Day 2. Your child writes 609 in word form and expanded form (six hundred nine; 609 = 600 + 9). Then practice 10 more and 10 less aloud. Say 45, then 128, then 390. Your child gives 10 more and 10 less each time (55 and 35; 138 and 118; 400 and 380).

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "To compare, start with the biggest place. Hundreds are worth the most." Write 348 above 354 in the chart. Draw both with squares, sticks and dots. Ask: "How many hundreds in each?" (3 and 3) Say: "The hundreds match, so we look at the tens." Ask: "How many tens in each?" (4 and 5) Say: "4 tens is less than 5 tens. So 348 is less than 354." Write 348 < 354. Say: "The open side faces the greater number. The point faces the smaller number." Write 354 > 348. Read both aloud: 348 is less than 354, and 354 is greater than 348. Next write 712 twice. Ask: "Which is greater?" (Neither. Every place matches.) Write 712 = 712. Now your child does more. Write 625 and 652. Your child compares place by place and puts a symbol card between them. (Same hundreds; 2 tens is less than 5 tens; 625 < 652)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child says each step aloud and places a symbol card. 1) 901 and 899 (9 hundreds is more than 8 hundreds; 901 > 899). Ask: "899 has bigger tens and ones. Why is it still less?" (Hundreds are worth the most.) 2) 437 and 431 (hundreds and tens match; 7 ones is more than 1 one; 437 > 431). 3) 506 and 560 (0 tens is less than 6 tens; 506 < 560). 4) 283 and 283 (every place matches; 283 = 283). If stuck, say: "Cover the tens and ones with your finger. Which hundreds digit is bigger? If they match, slide your finger over."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child writes <, > or = in each blank. 1) 245 _ 254 (<). 2) 600 _ 600 (=). 3) 137 _ 173 (<). 4) 910 _ 109 (>). 5) 480 _ 408 (>). 6) Order 417, 471 and 174 from least to greatest (174, 417, 471). 7) Ben read 325 pages. Rosa read 352 pages. Who read more? (Rosa; 352 > 325) 8) One jar holds 198 beans. Another jar holds 201 beans. Which jar holds fewer? (The first jar; 198 < 201) Your child checks each answer by naming the first place where the digits differ.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Put the symbol cards away; your child writes the answers, then tells you the comparing rule in their own words.

Fact fluency: Adding 10 and subtracting 10

Homework: Roll a die three times, or pull 3 number cards, to make a 3-digit number. A family member does the same. Write both numbers with a symbol between them. Play 5 rounds. Sample: 436 > 265.

Objective: I can retell a story in order using beginning, middle and end.

Standards: RL.3.5, RL.3.2, L.3.1.D, L.3.1.E

Materials: "The Indoor Park" (reprinted in this lesson), Reader's notebook, Pencil, Four sticky notes, Your child's own book

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study: dictation. Say this sentence twice: "The cub slid down the slide." Your child writes it. Check the capital T, the period, and the words cub, slid and slide. Ask: "Why does slide end in e?" (The silent e makes the i long.) Spaced review from Day 2. Ask: "What two parts does a setting have?" (Where and when.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Stories have three parts. In the beginning we meet the characters and the problem. In the middle they try to solve it. In the end the problem is solved." Reread "The Indoor Park" aloud. On a gray Saturday morning, Rosa pressed her nose to the apartment window. Rain drummed on the fire escape. "No park today," sighed her little brother, Teo. Rosa looked around the small kitchen. A mountain of empty boxes sat by the door, left over from Grandma's move. "We can build our own park," she said. Soon the kitchen floor had a cardboard slide, a box tunnel and a paper sun taped to the fridge. When the rain finally stopped, Teo did not even notice. Write one line for each part. Beginning: It rains, so Teo cannot go to the park. Middle: Rosa builds a park from boxes. End: The rain stops, and Teo does not notice. Ask: "How does the middle build on the beginning?" (Because of the rain, Rosa needs an indoor idea.) Write the sequence words on a sticky note: first, next, then, after that, finally. Say: "Longer texts have named parts. A chapter book has chapters. A play has scenes. A poem has stanzas, which are groups of lines." Copy this poem, "Box Park," leaving a blank line at the double slash. Rain taps the glass, / the sky hangs low, / no swings, no grass, / no place to go. // But boxes bend / and tape holds tight. / A slide, a friend, / a paper light. Ask: "How many stanzas? How does stanza 2 build on stanza 1?" (Two. Stanza 1 tells the rainy problem, and stanza 2 tells the fix.)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Retell the story together while you write. 1) Ask: "What happened first?" (First, Teo was sad because it rained.) 2) Ask: "What happened next?" (Next, Rosa saw Grandma's boxes.) 3) Ask: "Then what?" (Then they built a slide and a tunnel.) 4) Ask: "How did it end?" (Finally, the rain stopped, and Teo kept playing.) Say: "A retelling tells what already happened, so its verbs are in the past tense." Underline rained, saw and built. Say: "Many verbs add -ed, like rain and rained. Some verbs change, like see and saw, or build and built." Say one event three ways: "Rosa built a park. Rosa builds a park. Rosa will build a park." Ask: "Which one tells about the future?" (Rosa will build a park.) If stuck, say: "Touch the Beginning line. Tell me only that part, and start with First."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child uses a story from their own book. 1) Fold a notebook page into three boxes: Beginning, Middle, End. 2) Sketch each part. 3) Under each sketch, write one past-tense sentence that starts with a sequence word. 4) Below the boxes, finish this sentence: Chapter ___ builds on the chapter before because ___. Sample: First, Tam moved to a new town. Next, she looked for a friend. Finally, she met Rui at the library. Look for: events in story order; a middle that shows work on the problem; past-tense verbs.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three questions aloud. Your child answers in full sentences and may look back at "The Indoor Park."

Homework: Read for 15 to 20 minutes. Then retell the story to a family member with first, next, then and finally. Look for the right order and past-tense verbs.

Objective: I can describe pulls, including pulls that act without touching.

Standards: 3-PS2-1

Materials: String, about 2 feet, Rubber band, Small toy, A heavier toy or small book (for the extension), Fridge magnet, Steel paper clip, Eraser, Science notebook, Pencil

1. Day 3 — Many Kinds of Pulls — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Review from Day 2. Your child shows a gentle push and a strong push on the eraser. Ask: "Which push moved it more?" (the strong push) Then ask: "What did you pull this morning?" (a blanket, a drawer, a sock) Wonder question: "Can something be pulled when nothing is touching it?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A pull moves a thing toward whatever is pulling. Often the puller touches it, like a hand on a wagon handle. Some pulls work without touching." Hold the eraser up and let go. Ask: "Which way did it move?" (down) "Did anything touch it to make it fall?" (no) Say: "Earth pulls things down toward the ground. That pull is called gravity." Next, set the paper clip on the table. Lower the magnet slowly from above until the clip jumps. Ask: "Was the magnet touching the clip when it began to move?" (no) Say: "The magnet pulled across a gap." Check: "Which way does gravity pull?" (down, toward Earth) "Name a pull that needs touching." (pulling a drawer or a wagon) If stuck, say: "Look for a gap. Was there space between the puller and the thing?"

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

   Safety: stretch the rubber band only a little and keep it away from faces. 1) Tie the string to the toy. Your child pulls it slowly across the table. 2) Loop the rubber band onto the loose end of the string. Your child pulls gently by the band. 3) Your child pulls harder. Compare the band each time. 4) Your child lowers the magnet toward the clip and says "now" when the clip jumps. 5) Your child drops the eraser twice from shoulder height. Record in a chart with columns Pull, Touching or Not Touching, and What We Saw. Use four rows: string, rubber band, magnet, gravity. Expect a longer band with the harder pull. The size of the magnet's gap depends on your magnet. A weak magnet must come very close.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child sketches the toy, the string and the stretched band. An arrow shows the pull, pointing toward the hand. Frame: "The rubber band stretched more when ___." Sample: "The rubber band stretched more when I pulled harder." Your child adds a sketch of the magnet and clip, labeled "pull without touching." The arrow points from the clip toward the magnet.

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions. Praise answers that say which way the object moved and what pulled it.

Homework: Your child lists 5 pulls from the day and circles any that worked without touching. Look for at least one gravity example, such as a dropped sock falling.