Day 4 · Thursday

Objective: I can compare the climate, landforms and cities of the Southwest and the West.

Standards: D2.Geo.2.3-5, D2.Geo.10.3-5

Materials: U.S. map, Notebook, Pencil and colored pencils

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "Which river carved the Grand Canyon?" (The Colorado River.) Then say: "Phoenix and Seattle are both in the western half of our country. Would you pack the same clothes for both?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Point to the Southwest. Say: "Much of the Southwest is hot and dry. It has deserts, canyons and mesas. Its cities include Phoenix, Albuquerque and Dallas." Say: "Pueblo nations, such as the Hopi and Zuni, and the Navajo Nation have homelands here. They live here today." Point to the West. Say: "The West has the most variety. It has the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific coast and deserts in Nevada. Washington has a rain forest. Northern Alaska has tundra, cold land with no trees. Hawaii has warm islands." Hold up a fist as a mountain. Say: "Wet ocean air climbs the mountain, cools and drops its rain. The land behind the mountain stays dry." Say: "Land also gets colder the higher you climb." Ask: "Which region has tundra?" (The West, in Alaska.) "Why can a mountaintop have snow in summer?" (Higher land is colder.) "Do people live in the desert Southwest?" (Yes. It has big cities and Native nations.) If stuck, say: "Find it on the map. Is it near an ocean, high mountains or the far north?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Two cities, two climates. 1) Read this data aloud. Phoenix, Arizona: usual July afternoon 106 degrees; rain in a year, about 7 inches. Seattle, Washington: usual July afternoon 77 degrees; rain in a year, about 39 inches. 2) Your child copies the data into a small table and finds both cities on the map. 3) Ask: "Which city is hotter in July? By how many degrees?" (Phoenix, by 29.) 4) Ask: "Which city gets more rain? How many more inches?" (Seattle, 32 more.) 5) Ask: "Use the map. Why is Seattle wetter?" (It is near the Pacific, where wet ocean air arrives.) 6) Your child draws a chart with four columns: Region, Climate, Landforms, Cities. Fill one row for the Southwest and one for the West, with two entries in each box. 7) Ask: "Where could you see snowy mountains and the ocean on one trip?" (The West.)

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child finishes two frames under the chart. "Much of the Southwest is ___ because ___." "The West has the most variety because ___." Sample: "The West has the most variety because it has mountains, coast, desert, rain forest, tundra and islands." Then sketch a mesa and a snowy peak in colored pencil.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Your child answers using the chart and data table. Praise answers that give a number or a map clue as evidence.

Homework: Your child asks a family member which region they would most like to visit and why. They write that answer and their own. Look for a real feature of each region.

Objective: I can divide by 8 and 9 using multiplication facts and patterns.

Standards: 3.OA.C.7, 3.OA.B.6

Materials: 32 counters (dried beans, coins or buttons), 6 index cards or paper slips, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 10. Your child writes the fact family for 6, 9 and 54. (6 × 9 = 54, 9 × 6 = 54, 54 ÷ 6 = 9, 54 ÷ 9 = 6.) Then warm up the facts behind today's division, with no clock. Ask: "8 times what is 16? 9 times what is 27? 8 times what is 80?" (2, 3, 10) Your child tells how one answer was found.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today we divide by 8 and by 9." Write 32 ÷ 8. Say: "To multiply by 8, we can double three times. To divide by 8, we undo it. Half, half, half." Your child splits 32 beans into 2 equal piles. Ask: "What is half of 32?" (16) Your child splits each pile in half. Ask: "How many piles? How many in each?" (4; 8) Your child splits each pile in half once more. Ask: "How many piles now? How many in each?" (8; 4) Write 32, then 16, then 8, then 4, with an arrow for each half. Ask: "Why three halves?" (They make 2 groups, then 4 groups, then 8 groups.) Say: "I check with 8 × 4 = 32. So 32 ÷ 8 = 4." Write 72 ÷ 9. Say: "I ask: 9 times what is 72?" Write 9 × ? = 72. Say: "Nine groups is 10 groups minus one group. Try 8 in each group." Write 80 − 8 = 72. Say: "So 9 × 8 = 72, and 72 ÷ 9 = 8." Ask: "Add the digits of 72. What do you get?" (7 + 2 = 9) Say: "The digits of a ×9 product add to 9. That is a quick check." Now your child does more. Write 64 ÷ 8 and 45 ÷ 9. Your child writes the three halves, then the ×9 question. (32, 16, 8. Then 9 × ? = 45, so 5.)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child writes three halves for ÷8 and the multiplication question for ÷9. 1) 72 ÷ 8 (36, 18, 9). 2) 81 ÷ 9 (9 × ? = 81; 9). 3) 54 ÷ 9 (9 × ? = 54; 6). 4) Write 36 ÷ 9. Ask: "Could the quotient be 5? How do you know?" (No. 9 × 5 = 45, not 36. It is 4.) If stuck, say: "For 8, write the total and take half three times. For 9, ask: 9 times what?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child writes each quotient and shows the halves or the multiplication check. 1) 40 ÷ 8 (20, 10, 5). 2) 27 ÷ 9 (3; 9 × 3 = 27). 3) 63 ÷ 9 (7; 9 × 7 = 63). 4) 80 ÷ 8 (40, 20, 10). 5) Solve two facts from Day 3 with the multiplication question: 42 ÷ 6 and 56 ÷ 7 (7, 8). 6) Your child draws 16 dots and splits them in half three times. Your child writes the division. (16 ÷ 8 = 2) 7) 48 pencils are packed equally into 8 boxes. How many pencils are in each box? (48 ÷ 8 = 6) 8) A rope is 90 feet long. It is cut into 9 equal pieces. How long is each piece? (90 ÷ 9 = 10 feet) Last, your child writes each fact that felt hard on a card. The strategy goes on the back. Use no clock.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Put the beans and cards away. Read each question aloud; your child answers on paper.

Fact fluency: ÷8, ÷9 facts

Homework: Your child practices the still-building ÷8 and ÷9 cards for 10 minutes with no clock, saying the strategy first. Sample: 63 ÷ 9 = 7 because 70 − 7 = 63.

Objective: I can use quotation marks, commas and capital letters correctly in dialogue.

Standards: L.3.2.C, L.3.2.E, L.3.2.F, L.3.2.G

Materials: Narrative draft, Writer's notebook, Red pencil, A sheet of paper with the four practice lines copied from Guided Practice, A children's dictionary

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, about 3 minutes. Say each sentence with both choices. Your child picks and spells the right word. "I ___ for snow all week: hoped or hopped?" (hoped) "Dad ___ the door quietly: shared or closed?" (closed) "The dog is ___ a squirrel: chasing or skating?" (chasing) Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "Say the past tense of go and see." (went, saw)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Write this with no marks: I'm hungry said Liam. Ask: "Which words did Liam say out loud?" (I'm hungry) Write three rules large in the notebook. Rule 1: put quotation marks around the exact spoken words. Rule 2: put the comma, question mark or exclamation point inside the closing quotation mark. Rule 3: capitalize the first spoken word. Think aloud, adding each mark in red: "I open the marks before I'm. The comma goes after hungry, then I close the marks. Said Liam is the speaker tag, and the period ends the whole sentence." Result: "I'm hungry," said Liam. Show a question: "Where is my backpack?" asked Rosa. Say: "A question keeps its question mark, with no extra comma." Show the tag first: Mom said, "Dinner is ready." Say: "When the tag comes first, the comma follows the tag. The end mark still sits inside the closing marks."

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child fixes each line on the sheet in red and explains every mark. 1) can we go to the park asked Omar ("Can we go to the park?" asked Omar.) 2) Dad said put on your coat (Dad said, "Put on your coat.") 3) this soup is too hot said Nell ("This soup is too hot," said Nell.) 4) "Wait for me"! yelled Gus. ("Wait for me!" yelled Gus.) If stuck, say: "Read it aloud. Put one finger where the talking starts and one where it stops."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   1) Your child fixes every line of dialogue in the draft. Each correct mark and capital gets a small tick. 2) Your child circles each word ending in -ed or -ing and checks it against both rules. Double after one short vowel and one consonant: hopped, running. Drop a silent e: smiled, riding. 3) Your child looks up the base word of any doubtful word in the dictionary. Many entries list the -ed and -ing forms. 4) Your child writes two new lines, one with the tag first and one with the tag last. Look for: marks in pairs, the comma or end mark inside, a capital first word, and endings spelled by rule.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three questions. Your child writes the first two with all their marks.

Homework: Read your own book for 15 minutes. Copy three lines of dialogue and circle the quotation marks, commas and end marks. Look for: every comma or end mark sits inside the closing marks.

Objective: I can name an action an animal does that helps it survive and explain how it helps.

Standards: 3-LS4-3

Materials: 6 index cards, Science notebook, Pencil

1. Day 54 — Behavioral Adaptations — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "Name three ways a force can change how a ball moves." (Any 3: start it, stop it, speed it up, slow it down, change its direction.) Then ask: "Why do many birds fly south in the fall?" (Food such as insects gets hard to find in winter.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A behavioral adaptation is something an animal does that helps it survive." Try it on your child. Say: "You have thumbs. You put on a coat when it is cold. Which one is a has, and which one is a does?" (Thumbs: has. Coat: does.) Teach five behaviors. Say: "To migrate is to travel for food or better weather. Many monarch butterflies fly to Mexico for winter." Say: "To hibernate is to rest deeply all winter. A groundhog's heartbeat and breathing slow down, which saves energy." Say: "Nocturnal animals, like most owls, are active at night. A killdeer is a small bird. It may fake a hurt wing to lead a fox away from its nest. A squirrel stores nuts." Say: "Many of these are instincts. The animal does them without being taught." Ask: "A bat hunts at night. What is the word?" (Nocturnal.) Ask: "Geese fly south each fall. Which behavior is that?" (Migrating.) Ask: "A chipmunk hides seeds in fall. How does that help?" (It has food in winter.) If stuck, say: "Is it something the animal has, or something it does?"

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

   Behavior Charades and Sort. 1) Write one animal on each card: groundhog, monarch butterfly, owl, killdeer, Arctic tern, gray squirrel. 2) Your child draws a card and acts out its behavior while you guess. Switch roles. 3) Sort the cards and say how each behavior helps. Groundhog: hibernates. Monarch and Arctic tern: migrate. Owl: nocturnal. Killdeer: fakes a hurt wing. Gray squirrel: stores food. 4) Has or Does? Draw a two-column tally, Physical and Behavioral. Read each statement; your child marks a column. A porcupine has quills. Geese fly south. A rose has thorns. A beaver builds a lodge. A turtle has a shell. A rabbit freezes when a hawk flies over. Expect 3 marks in each column: the "has" ones are physical.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Make a chart: Animal, Behavior, How it helps it survive. Your child fills a row for all 6 cards. Then give the frame: "Migrating and hibernating both help animals survive winter, but ___." Look for: "animals that migrate leave, and animals that hibernate stay and rest."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three questions aloud. Praise answers that say how the behavior helps the animal survive.

Homework: Watch a bird, squirrel or insect outside for 10 minutes. Write one behavior you see. Look for an idea about how it helps the animal survive.