Day 4 · Thursday

Objective: I can describe how people immigrate to the U.S. today and how people share different ideas about it.

Standards: D2.His.14.3-5, D2.Civ.10.3-5

Materials: World map, 7 index cards, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 15. Ask: "What does bilingual mean?" (Speaking two languages.) Then ask: "Do immigrants today come from the same countries as 100 years ago?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today people come to the U.S. from every part of the world. The largest groups come from Mexico, India, China and the Philippines." Draw 7 stick people and circle one. Say: "About 1 in 7 people living in the U.S. was born in another country." Say: "The government has rules about who may come and stay. Coming to live here takes forms, interviews and waiting. It can take years." Say: "Some immigrants later choose to become citizens. Most must live here for five years first. Then they pass a test about U.S. history and government." Say: "Grown-ups have different points of view about immigration rules. One example is how many people should come each year. Their views grow from their own experiences and from what they care about." Say: "In a democracy, people share ideas with respect, listen to each other and vote." Ask: "Can coming to live here take years?" (Yes.) "About how many people out of 7 were born in another country?" (1.) "Where do people's different views come from?" (Their experiences and what they care about.) If stuck, say: "Look at the stick people. How many did I circle?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Part 1, map. 1) Your child writes 7 country cards: Mexico, India, China, the Philippines, Italy, Ireland and Germany. 2) Your child places each card on the map. 3) Your child fills a chart: Country | Continent | Then or today. The first four are today. The last three are from the Ellis Island years. Ask for evidence from the chart: "Which continent shows up most for then? Which for today?" (Then: Europe. Today: Asia, and North America for Mexico.) Part 2, respectful talk. Use a home topic, such as "Should bedtime be later on weekends?" 1) One person says: "I think ___ because ___." 2) The other repeats it back. 3) The listener asks: "What makes you care about that?" 4) Switch roles. Look for: your child repeats your idea before answering. Your child names one thing you care about, such as rest or family time.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child writes: "Two countries many immigrants come from today are ___ and ___. One step in coming to live here is ___. A respectful way to handle different ideas is to ___." Sample: "India and Mexico. One step is an interview. Listen first, then share your own idea."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each exit question aloud. Your child answers in the notebook. Praise careful listening you saw today.

Homework: Use the listening routine at dinner. One person shares an idea. The next person repeats it before giving their own. Look for the repeat step.

Objective: I can find the rule in an in/out table and use it to fill in missing numbers.

Standards: 3.OA.D.9, 3.OA.C.7

Materials: Ruler for drawing tables, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Day 3. Your child solves 3 × 70 with the tens sentence (3 × 7 tens = 21 tens = 210). Then try ×7 facts with no clock. Ask 7 × 4, 7 × 6, 7 × 8 and 7 × 9 (28, 42, 56, 63).

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Draw a table with two columns. Label them IN and OUT. Say: "A rule changes every IN number into its OUT number. The rule never changes." Write three rows: 3 and 12, 5 and 20, 7 and 28. Say: "Let us find the rule. Look at the first row." Ask: "How could 3 become 12?" (Add 9, or multiply by 4.) Say: "Test both ideas on the next row." Ask: "Does 5 + 9 make 20?" (No. It makes 14.) "Does 5 × 4 make 20?" (Yes.) Your child tests the last row. (7 × 4 = 28) Say: "So the rule is multiply by 4. It works on every row." Ask: "If IN is 9, what is OUT?" (36) Say: "Each time IN goes up by 1, OUT goes up by 4. That is one more group of 4." Now your child does more. Write the rows 4 and 8, 6 and 12, 9 and 18. Your child finds the rule and adds a row for IN 7. (Multiply by 2; OUT is 14)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child draws each table with the ruler and checks every row. 1) Rule: multiply by 3. IN is 2, 5 and 8. Find each OUT. (6, 15, 24) 2) Rule: divide by 4. IN is 12, 20 and 36. Find each OUT. (3, 5, 9) 3) Find the rule. IN is 3, 5 and 8. OUT is 18, 30 and 48. (Multiply by 6) 4) Find the rule. IN is 9, 14 and 20. OUT is 4, 9 and 15. (Subtract 5) If stuck, say: "Is OUT bigger or smaller than IN? Guess a rule from row one. Test it on row two."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child draws each table and checks the rule on every row. 1) Rule: multiply by 5. IN is 3, 6 and 9. (15, 30, 45) 2) Rule: divide by 6. IN is 18, 30 and 54. (3, 5, 9) 3) Rule: add 8. IN is 7, 15 and 26. (15, 23, 34) 4) Find the rule. IN is 40, 25 and 15. OUT is 8, 5 and 3. (Divide by 5) 5) Find the rule. IN is 2, 5 and 9. OUT is 14, 35 and 63. (Multiply by 7) 6) Rule: multiply by 10. IN is 4, 6 and 9. Draw the table and fill it in. (40, 60, 90) 7) Each spider has 8 legs. IN is spiders and OUT is legs. Find OUT for 2, 5 and 7 spiders. (16, 40, 56) 8) Each ticket costs 6 dollars. OUT is 24 dollars, then 48 dollars. How many tickets each time? (4; 8)

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud; your child answers on paper and may draw a table.

Fact fluency: ×7 facts

Homework: Make an in-out table with a hidden rule for a family member, with an answer key. Sample: IN 2, 4, 6; OUT 12, 24, 36; multiply by 6.

Objective: I can use evidence from two texts, including cause and effect, to draw my own conclusion.

Standards: RI.3.9, RI.3.3, RI.3.8

Materials: The two beaver articles from Day 2, Comparison chart from Day 2, Notebook, Highlighter, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, 3 minutes. Your child says the word that fits. "A person who says thank you is ___." (thankful) "A floor with no dirt is ___." (spotless) "A broken umbrella in the rain is ___." (useless) "A garden of red, pink and yellow flowers is ___." (colorful) Spaced review from Week 13. Write "The birds sings at dawn." Your child fixes the verb. (The birds sing at dawn.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A cause is why something happens. An effect is what happens. The words because and so link them." Read from Article A: "The dam blocks the water, so a pond forms behind it." Think aloud: "The cause is that the dam blocks the water. The effect is a pond. The word so points to the effect." Write: dam blocks water, then an arrow, then pond forms. Your child highlights so. Next say: "To draw a conclusion, you put evidence from both texts together. Then you decide something bigger than one fact." Write the stem: "Based on both texts, I think ___ because ___ and ___." Say: "A copied fact is not a conclusion. 'Beavers build dams' is only a fact."

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child rereads both articles aloud first. 1) Read from Article B: "The pond also stores water, so nearby plants stay green in dry summers." Ask: "Which part is the cause? Which part is the effect?" (The pond stores water. Plants stay green.) 2) Ask: "In Article A, why do a beaver's teeth stay short?" (Because the beaver gnaws on wood.) 3) Point to "But not everyone cheers." Ask: "How does the next sentence connect to it?" (It gives the reason: a pond can flood a road or field.) 4) Write a conclusion together: "Based on both texts, I think beavers change the land around them. They build dams that make ponds (A). The ponds turn into wetlands where many animals live (B)." Label each piece of evidence A or B. If stuck, say: "What does Article A add? What does Article B add? What do they show together?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child writes a conclusion paragraph of 4 or 5 sentences. Offer two questions to choose from: "Are beavers good neighbors?" or "Why are beavers called builders?" 1) Start with the stem. 2) Give one piece of evidence from each article and label it (A) or (B). 3) Write one cause-and-effect sentence with because or so. 4) End with a closing sentence. Sample: "Based on both texts, I think beavers are good neighbors for wild animals. Their dams make ponds (A). Ducks, frogs and turtles move in because the pond becomes a wetland (B). A pond can flood a road, so people may not agree. Still, many animals need beavers." Look for: evidence from both articles, one because or so, and an idea your child truly believes.

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 read your conclusion to a family member and point to the evidence in each article. Look for: one A fact and one B fact.

Objective: I can sort the living things I observed into producers, consumers and decomposers and build a food web from my data.

Standards: 3-LS4-3

Materials: Field journal with both visits, About 15 index cards, Three paper plates labeled Producer, Consumer, Decomposer, Science notebook and pencil, A nature book about local plants and animals, if you have one

1. Day 79 — Roles in My Ecosystem — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 12. Ask: "Which way do food chain arrows point?" (From the food to the eater, the way the energy moves.) Then the wonder. Ask: "Who eats whom in your square? Can your own notes prove it?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today you use your own data, like an ecologist." Producers are the plants and moss. Consumers include insects, spiders, birds and squirrels. Decomposers include mushrooms, molds and tiny bacteria in the soil. Say: "Earthworms and pill bugs are animals that eat dead leaves, so they are consumers. Their chewing helps the decomposers." Write three cards: clover, ladybug, mushroom. Your child places each on a plate. (Producer, consumer, decomposer.) Now lay out a sample chain on paper: sun, grass, grasshopper, sparrow, with arrows between. Ask: "What does the arrow from grasshopper to sparrow mean?" (The sparrow eats the grasshopper, so energy moves to the sparrow.) Write a second chain: dead leaves, pill bug, toad. Ask: "Where did the dead leaves get their energy?" (From the sun, when they grew on a plant.) Teach the evidence rule. Say: "Use a link only if you saw a sign of it or can check it. If you are unsure, draw a dotted arrow with a question mark." If stuck, say: "Pick one animal card. What does it eat? Put that card on its left."

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

   Data Sort and Web. 1) Your child reads the field journal and writes each kind of living thing on its own card. 2) They sort the cards onto the three plates and count each plate. 3) They fill in a table with three columns: Role, Kinds found, Examples. 4) They build two food chains with the cards. Each chain starts with a plant or with dead leaves from a plant. 5) Check each link in the nature book or with an adult. Unsure links get a dotted arrow. 6) On a notebook page, your child draws the sun and copies both chains. They join the chains where they share a living thing. Expect more kinds of producers and small consumers than large hunters. Expect few decomposers, because most are tiny or hidden. Say: "Real results vary. Look for the pattern." If the Decomposer plate is empty, point to the dead leaves on the list. Say: "Something is breaking these down." Your child adds a card that reads "unseen decomposers in the soil."

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child copies the three-column table under the food web and finishes two frames. "My square has ___ kinds of producers and ___ kinds of consumers." "One chain is ___." Sample: "My square has 4 kinds of producers and 5 kinds of consumers. One chain is sun, clover, caterpillar, robin."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise links backed by evidence and honest question marks.

Homework: Show your food web to a family member. Explain one chain from the sun to the last eater. Look for: the words "is eaten by" for each arrow.