Day 2 · Tuesday

Objective: I can compare Ellis Island and Angel Island, two places where many immigrants arrived.

Standards: D2.His.2.3-5, D2.His.14.3-5, D2.His.16.3-5, D3.4.3-5, D2.His.12.3-5, D2.His.11.3-5

Materials: U.S. map, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 13. Ask: "The first railroad across the country was finished in 1869. Workers from which two countries did much of the hard work?" (China and Ireland.) Then ask: "You arrive by ship 100 years ago. What might officials ask you?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Long ago, most immigrants came by ship. They landed at immigration stations, where officials checked papers and health." Point to New York Harbor on the map. Say: "Ellis Island was the main East Coast station from 1892 to 1954. About 12 million people passed through. Most came from Europe. Many saw the Statue of Liberty as they sailed in. Most were let in within a few hours." Point to San Francisco Bay. Say: "Angel Island was the main West Coast station from 1910 to 1940. Many people there came from China, Japan and other parts of Asia." Say: "In 1882 a law called the Chinese Exclusion Act kept most people from China out. It treated people unfairly because of where they came from. Officers at Angel Island questioned Chinese immigrants for weeks or months." Ask: "Which station was on the West Coast?" (Angel Island.) "Why did many Chinese immigrants wait so long?" (The 1882 law. Officers questioned them for weeks or months.) If stuck, say: "Point to the island. Which ocean is beside it?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Two sources. 1) Read both aloud. Source A describes a real photograph. "The photo was taken at Ellis Island in the early 1900s. Hundreds of people wait in a huge hall, in rows between metal rails. They hold bundles and babies. Inspectors stand at tall desks at the far end. A large American flag hangs above." Source B describes real poems. "More than 200 poems are carved into the wooden walls of the men's sleeping room at Angel Island. They are written in Chinese. Most are not signed. Many tell of sadness and anger at being locked in. Some give advice to travelers who come later." 2) Ask: "What do you notice? What do you wonder?" Your child writes two wonder questions. One must connect both sources. (Sample: "Why did people at Angel Island have time to carve poems?") 3) Ask about Source B: "Who made them?" (People held there.) "Who was meant to read them? What is your clue?" (Other Chinese travelers. The poems are in Chinese and give advice.) "Why were they made?" (To share feelings and help others.) 4) Your child fills a chart in the notebook: Place | Coast | Years open | Where many came from | Usual wait. Expect: Ellis Island, East, 1892 to 1954, Europe, a few hours. Angel Island, West, 1910 to 1940, Asia, weeks or months for many.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child writes: "Ellis Island and Angel Island were alike because ___. They were different because ___." Then a claim: "Waiting was usually longer at ___ Island. My evidence is ___." Sample: "Waiting was usually longer at Angel Island. My evidence is that people had time to carve poems."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each exit question aloud. Your child may use the chart. Praise answers that point to a source.

Homework: Your child tells a family member one way the islands were alike and one difference. Look for: both checked newcomers; coasts or waits differed.

Objective: I can predict whether a product will be even or odd.

Standards: 3.OA.D.9

Materials: 30 counters (dried beans, coins or buttons), Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 15. Your child solves 9 × n = 63 (n = 7). Then try ×4 facts with no clock. Ask 4 × 3, 4 × 6, 4 × 8 and 4 × 10 (12, 24, 32, 40). Ask: "Are these products even or odd?" (All even.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Even numbers make pairs with none left over. Odd numbers leave one over." Your child builds 2 × 7 as 2 rows of 7 beans. Say: "Each bean has a partner in the other row." Ask: "Even or odd?" (Even; 14) Next, your child builds 3 × 5 as 3 rows of 5. Say: "Two rows pair up. Look at the last row." Your child pairs the 5 beans in the last row. Ask: "What happens?" (One bean is left over.) Say: "So 3 × 5 = 15, and 15 is odd." Ask: "Were the factors even or odd?" (Both odd.) Say: "Odd × odd is odd. If any factor is even, the product is even." Say: "The ones digit checks it. Even numbers end in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8." Now your child does more. Build 4 × 5, then 3 × 3. Ask: "Even or odd? Why?" (20 is even because 4 is even, so the rows pair up. 9 is odd because both factors are odd.)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child predicts even or odd first, then solves to check. 1) 6 × 3 (even; 18). 2) 9 × 9 (odd; 81). 3) 3 × 8 (even; 24). Ask: "The 3 rows do not pair up. Why is it still even?" (Each row of 8 makes pairs.) 4) 7 × 7 (odd; 49). Ask: "Which rule did you use?" (Odd × odd is odd.) If stuck, say: "Look for an even factor. Is there one?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child writes even or odd before solving each one. Then your child writes the reason in a few words. 1) 3 × 7 (odd; 21). 2) 4 × 9 (even; 36). 3) 5 × 5 (odd; 25). 4) 6 × 8 (even; 48). 5) 9 × 3 (odd; 27). 6) Draw 3 rows of 4 dots. Ring the pairs. Even or odd? (Even; 12) 7) 7 children each bring 5 shells. Can they split all the shells equally between 2 pails? (No. 35 is odd.) 8) 8 boxes hold 9 pens each. Can the pens be split into 2 equal piles? (Yes. 72 is even.) Your child checks each prediction by the ones digit of the product.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

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

Fact fluency: ×4 facts

Homework: Your child predicts even or odd, then multiplies to check. Use 3 × 9, 6 × 6, 7 × 5, 8 × 7 and 5 × 3. Answers: odd 27, even 36, odd 35, even 56, odd 15.

Objective: I can compare the facts in two articles on the same topic and use clues to figure out science words.

Standards: RI.3.9, RI.3.4, L.3.6, L.3.4.A, L.3.4.C, RF.3.3.C, RF.3.4.B

Materials: Paper with the two beaver articles copied or printed (text in the lesson), Notebook with a 3-column chart, Highlighter, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, 3 minutes. Your child writes these as one word: care + ful, care + less, thank + ful, harm + less, use + less, help + ful. Then your child underlines each base word and circles each suffix. Ask: "Did the base word change its spelling?" (No.) Spaced review from Week 15. Ask: "What do we call a group of lines in a poem?" (A stanza.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Two articles on one topic never say exactly the same things. We sort the facts three ways." Head the chart columns: Both Articles, Only Article A, Only Article B. Read Article A aloud while your child follows. Article A, "Beaver Builders" The beaver is a rodent, an animal with front teeth that never stop growing. Gnawing, or chewing, on wood keeps those teeth short and sharp. Beavers use their teeth to cut down trees. They drag the branches into a stream and pack them with mud to build a dam. The dam blocks the water, so a pond forms behind it. In the pond, the beaver family builds a lodge, a dome-shaped home of sticks and mud. Think aloud: "Rodent is a new word. Right after the comma, the writer explains it." Highlight the clue. Say: "Science writers often explain a word after a comma." Now read Article B aloud. Article B, "Pond Makers" When beavers build a dam across a stream, the water spreads out into a quiet pond. Soon the land around the pond stays soaked for much of the year. This is called a wetland. Ducks, frogs, fish and turtles move in. The pond also stores water, so nearby plants stay green in dry summers. But not everyone cheers. Sometimes a beaver pond floods a road or a farmer's field. Model one row: "Article A says beavers build dams. I check B. Its first sentence says so too." Write "beavers build dams" under Both.

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   1) Ask: "What is a lodge? Where is the clue?" (A dome-shaped home of sticks and mud; right after the comma.) Your child highlights it. 2) Ask: "What is a wetland?" (Land that stays soaked for much of the year.) Say: "The words 'This is called' point back to the sentence before." 3) Point to "Builders" in the title of Article A. Write build, builder, rebuild. Say: "A root word is the main word inside a longer word." Ask: "Which root word do these share? What is a builder?" (Build; someone who builds.) Clap and read wet|land and ro|dent. 4) Ask: "A dam makes a pond. Which column?" (Both. Your child points to the sentence in each article.) Then your child reads Article B aloud twice. The second reading should sound smoother, with expression. If stuck, say: "Put a finger on the fact in A. Can you find the same fact in B?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child works alone. 1) Add at least 4 more rows to the chart. Only A: teeth never stop growing; gnaws wood; cuts down trees; builds a lodge. Only B: a wetland forms; ducks, frogs, fish and turtles move in; the pond stores water; ponds can flood roads. 2) Write rodent, lodge and wetland with their meanings. 3) Use "wetland" in a sentence of your own. Look for: every fact in the right column, and meanings in your child's own words. Keep the articles and the chart for Day 4.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Your child may use both articles and answers in the notebook.

Homework: Read your own book for 15 to 20 minutes. Then teach a family member the words rodent, lodge and wetland from your notebook. Look for: each meaning in your own words.

Objective: I can observe and record the living and nonliving things in my study square.

Standards: 3-LS4-3

Materials: Field journal and pencil, Magnifying glass, Clipboard or hardcover book, Watch or phone to tell the time, Camera or phone for one photo (optional; a sketch works too)

1. Day 77 — Observation Visit 1 — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "How is a producer different from a consumer?" (A producer makes its own food using sunlight. A consumer eats other living things.) Next, your child sits still with eyes closed for about one minute. Then they name every sound they heard. Now the wonder. Ask: "How many kinds of living things share your one small square?" Your child writes a guess in the journal.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Field scientists look slowly and write down everything, even tiny things." Show how to describe. Put the pencil under the magnifying glass. Describe yours without naming it. Sample: "Long, yellow, six flat sides, a black pointed tip." Say: "If you cannot name a living thing, sketch it and describe it the same way." Teach three places to look: low on the ground, at eye level and up high. Teach the tally. Say: "Make one mark for each one you see. For things too many to count, like grass blades, write many." Say: "Dead leaves and sticks go on the nonliving side with a star. The star means once living." Ask: "You see a tiny gray bug you cannot name. What do you do?" (Sketch it. Write its size, color, legs and how it moves.) Ask: "You find a feather but no bird. Does it go in the journal?" (Yes. It is an animal sign.) If stuck, say: "Pretend your friend cannot see it. What would you tell them first?"

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

   Visit 1, about 15 minutes in the square. Safety: an adult stays close; look but do not touch unknown plants or mushrooms; wash hands afterward. 1) Write the date, the time and weather words: sunny or cloudy, warm or cool, wet or dry. 2) On the clipboard, draw a table with two columns, Living and Nonliving. Each row gets a name or sketch and its tally marks. 3) Your child looks low, then at eye level, then up high, and adds tallies. 4) Search for animal signs: chewed leaves, holes, tracks, droppings, feathers or webs. List them under the table. 5) Your child sketches two living things up close with the magnifying glass. 6) Take one photo or quick sketch from a standing spot you can find again. Keep that spot and the visit length for next time. Expect at least 10 entries with 4 or more living things. A winter or city square may have fewer. Say: "Real results vary. We count what is truly there."

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child finishes the Visit 1 page with three frames. "The most common living thing was ___." "One animal sign was ___." "I wonder ___." Sample: "The most common living thing was clover. One animal sign was a spider web. I wonder what chewed the clover leaves."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud; your child may point to the tally table. Praise tiny things noticed and exact describing words.

Homework: Look up one thing you could not name in a library book or nature guide, with an adult. Write its name in the journal. Look for: a name plus one matching detail from the sketch.