Day 1 · Monday

Objective: I can choose a U.S. state to research and write questions to guide my project.

Standards: D1.1.3-5, D1.3.3-5, D1.4.3-5, D1.5.3-5, D2.Geo.2.3-5

Materials: U.S. map, 3 sticky notes, An atlas, encyclopedia or library book about the states (a state's official website also works), Planning sheet (a sheet of paper with four headings: Title, State, Region, Questions), Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 11. Ask: "Name the five regions and one state in each." (Sample: Northeast, New York. Southeast, Florida. Midwest, Iowa. Southwest, Texas. West, California.) Then ask: "If you could visit any state this week, which would you pick? Why?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "For five days you will become an expert on one state." Say: "Your project has four sections. Map and Location: where is it? History and People: who lived there first, and who lives there now? Economy and Products: what do people make or grow? Landmarks and Fun Facts: which well-known places make it special?" Write the compelling question on the planning sheet: "What makes my state a special place?" Say: "People can answer this in different ways. So you will need evidence." Say: "Supporting questions are smaller. Facts can answer them. Their answers become your evidence." Model two questions. Say: "'What crops grow in Kansas, and where are they sent?' is strong. A book can answer it. 'Is Kansas boring?' is weak. It only asks for an opinion." Now your child judges. Say each question. Your child shows thumbs up for strong. "What mountains are in Oregon?" (Up.) "Is Oregon fun?" (Down.) "Who lived in Oregon first?" (Up.) Ask: "Why do we need supporting questions?" (Their answers give facts for the big question.) "Which section does 'What do farms grow?' fit?" (Economy and Products.) If stuck, say: "Start with What, Where, Who or How. Could a book answer it?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Choose a state. 1) Your child puts sticky notes on three states that seem interesting. 2) Your child names the region of each. 3) Find each state in the atlas or book. Look for a map and at least one page of facts. 4) Your child fills a chart in the notebook: State | Region | Source I can use | Why I am curious. 5) Your child picks one state and gives a reason. 6) Ask: "Which kind of source answers a geography question best?" (A map or atlas.) "Which answers a history question?" (A library book or encyclopedia.) Ask for evidence: "Show me the page that proves we have enough facts." Choices vary. Look for a correct region and a real source.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   On the planning sheet, your child writes the state, its region and the compelling question. Then your child writes three supporting questions. One is for Map and Location, one for History and People, and one for Economy and Products. Sample for Kansas: "Where are the rivers in Kansas? Which Native nations have homelands in Kansas? What do Kansas farms grow?"

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each exit question aloud. Your child answers in the notebook. Praise questions that facts can answer.

Homework: Your child asks family members if anyone has visited the state. Your child writes one thing they remember. Look for a detail to check in a source later.

Objective: I can show a division fact as equal sharing and as equal grouping.

Standards: 3.OA.A.2

Materials: 30 counters (dried beans, coins or buttons), 6 cups or paper plates, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 16 Day 3. Write 4 × 60. Your child says the tens sentence (4 × 6 tens = 24 tens = 240). Then practice ÷3 and ÷4 facts with no clock. Ask 21 ÷ 3, 27 ÷ 3, 28 ÷ 4 and 36 ÷ 4 (7, 9, 7, 9). Your child names the multiplication fact that helped with one.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Division asks two different questions. Today we review both." Write 20 ÷ 5. Say: "First, sharing. That was Week 10 Day 1. We know the number of groups." Set out 5 cups. Deal 20 beans one at a time, round and round. Ask: "How many in each cup?" (4) Say: "20 shared among 5 groups puts 4 in each." Tip the beans out. Say: "Now grouping, from Week 10 Day 2. We know the size of each group." Scoop the 20 beans into piles of 5. Ask: "How many groups?" (4) Say: "So 20 ÷ 5 = 4 both ways. The total always comes first." Draw both pictures side by side: 5 circles of 4 dots, and 4 circles of 5 dots. Ask: "What is the same? What is different?" (Same total and same numbers. The 5 is the groups in one and the group size in the other.) Now your child does more. Write 18 ÷ 3. Your child shares with 3 cups, then groups in piles of 3. (6 in each cup; 6 groups) Say: "So 18 ÷ 3 = 6."

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child builds each one, draws it, and labels it sharing or grouping. 1) 30 beans are shared among 6 cups. How many in each cup? (30 ÷ 6 = 5; sharing) 2) 16 beans are put in groups of 2. How many groups? (16 ÷ 2 = 8; grouping) 3) Write 15 ÷ 5. Your child draws it both ways. (5 circles of 3 dots; 3 circles of 5 dots; 15 ÷ 5 = 3) 4) Your child tells a sharing story and a grouping story for 12 ÷ 4. (Sample: 12 grapes shared by 4 children, 3 each. 12 grapes in bags of 4, 3 bags.) If stuck, say: "Do we know how many groups, or how many in each group? Draw what we know first."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child draws a model, writes the equation, and labels it sharing or grouping. 1) 27 ÷ 9 as sharing (3; 9 circles of 3 dots). 2) 32 ÷ 4 as grouping (8; 8 circles of 4 dots). 3) 24 ÷ 8, either way (3). 4) 40 ÷ 8, either way (5). 5) You draw 6 circles with 3 dots in each. Your child writes a division sentence for it. (18 ÷ 6 = 3) 6) 0 ÷ 5 (0; nothing to share puts 0 in each group). 7) 36 pencils are shared equally among 4 tables. How many pencils at each table? (36 ÷ 4 = 9; sharing) 8) A baker packs 35 muffins in boxes of 5. How many boxes? (35 ÷ 5 = 7; grouping) To check a model, your child counts all the dots. The count must match the total.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Your child answers on paper with no beans and draws for question 2.

Fact fluency: ÷3, ÷4 facts

Homework: Your child draws four models and labels each sharing or grouping. Use 12 ÷ 3, 21 ÷ 7, 16 ÷ 2 and 40 ÷ 5 (4, 3, 8, 8).

Objective: I can write a focused research question and ask questions that help a speaker explain more.

Standards: W.3.7, SL.3.3

Materials: Two or three nonfiction books from home or the library, Notebook, Sticky notes, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, 3 minutes: suffixes -ly and -ness. Say: "The suffix -ly means 'in a certain way.' Quickly means in a quick way. The suffix -ness means 'being a certain way.' Kindness means being kind." Write quickly, softly, loudly, kindness, darkness, goodness. Your child sorts them into an -ly column and a -ness column and tells each meaning. Spaced review from Week 16. Ask: "What does it mean to draw a conclusion?" (To decide something by putting evidence together.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 15 min

   Say: "Research means finding facts to answer a question. A good research question passes three tests." Write the tests: 1. Can I find facts to answer it? 2. Does it need more than yes or no? 3. Is it about one part of a big topic? Think aloud with four questions about spiders. Say: "'Are spiders creepy?' That asks for a feeling. Facts cannot settle it, so it fails test 1." Say: "'Do spiders have eight legs?' One word answers it. It fails test 2." Say: "'What are spiders like?' That is far too big. It fails test 3." Say: "'How do spiders build their webs?' I can find facts. It needs a real answer. It is about one part. It passes." Write the starters How, Why, What and Where. Ask: "Which starter did the best question use?" (How.)

3. Guided Practice · 10 min

   Turn each topic into a focused question together. After each one, your child names the tests it passes. 1) Horses. (Sample: How do horses sleep?) 2) Lightning. (Sample: What causes lightning?) 3) Deserts. (Sample: How do desert plants get water?) 4) Fix this yes-or-no question: "Do bears sleep in winter?" (Sample: How do bears get ready for winter?) If stuck, say: "Start with How or Why. Ask about one part, such as its food, its home or its body."

4. Independent Practice · 20 min

   Your child works with the nonfiction books. 1) Look through the books and choose a topic that at least one book covers. 2) Write one main research question and two smaller questions under it. Sample: main question, "How do dragonflies live and grow?" Smaller questions: "Where do dragonflies lay their eggs?" and "What do young dragonflies eat?" 3) Your child explains the question aloud. You ask two follow-up questions that start with Why or How, such as "Why do you want to know that?" Your child answers each with a detail. 4) Your child writes one new question from your talk on a sticky note and adds it to the page. Look for: a main question that passes all three tests, and smaller questions about the same topic. Keep the books for the rest of the week.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Your child answers in the notebook and keeps the three tests in view.

Homework: Read your own book for 15 to 20 minutes. Then tell a family member your research question and write down one question they ask about it. Look for: a new question that starts with How, Why, What or Where.

Objective: I can plan a model of an ecosystem that includes producers, consumers, decomposers and nonliving parts.

Standards: 3-LS4-3

Materials: Option A: a large clear jar, or a 2-liter bottle cut by an adult, Option A: about 1 cup of small pebbles, 2 to 3 cups of potting soil, 2 or 3 small plants or moss clumps, a few dead leaves, Option B: a shoebox or poster board, paper, crayons and glue, A toy car or toy animal, Science notebook and pencil, Bean cup and a little water

1. Day 81 — Plan a Model Ecosystem — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 16. Ask: "Tell one food chain from your study square." (Answers vary. Each arrow points to the eater.) Check the bean cup and water it if the soil is dry. Then the wonder. Ask: "Could a whole ecosystem fit in a jar or a shoebox? What would it need?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Hold up the toy. Say: "This is a model. A model is a smaller or simpler version of something real." Ask: "How is it like the real thing?" (It has the same shape and parts.) Ask: "How is it different?" (It is small and cannot do everything the real one does.) Say: "Scientists use models to study things that are too big or too slow to watch." Explain the two choices. Option A is a terrarium, a living model in a clear container. Option B is a shoebox or poster model with every part drawn or built and labeled. Write the model checklist in the notebook. It has seven lines: light, water, air, soil, 2 producers, 2 consumers, 1 decomposer. Ask: "Which checklist parts are nonliving?" (Light, water, air and soil.) Ask: "A shoebox pond shows water, a frog and a heron. What is missing?" (Producers, a decomposer, light, air and soil.) In a terrarium, the decomposers are molds and tiny bacteria in the soil and dead leaves. Give the animal rule. Use only 2 or 3 pill bugs or one earthworm from your own yard. They go home on Day 5. Collecting in parks is often not allowed. If the ground is frozen, plan plants only and add labeled drawings of consumers. If stuck, say: "Read the checklist one line at a time. Point to that part in your idea."

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

   Model Plan. Safety: an adult does all cutting of the bottle and tapes the sharp edge. 1) Your child chooses Option A or B and the ecosystem to show. 2) They list the materials needed. Walk through the house, tick what you have and set it on a tray. 3) They sketch the model from the side and label each layer or part. A terrarium sketch shows pebbles at the bottom, then soil, plants and dead leaves. 4) They check the sketch with a table of three columns: Part, In my plan, Where. 5) They add anything missing to the sketch. Expect all seven lines ticked. A poster can show large consumers. A terrarium can hold only tiny ones.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child writes the plan: option, ecosystem, materials list, labeled sketch and ticked checklist. They finish this frame. "My model will show a ___ ecosystem. Its producers are ___. Its consumers are ___. Its decomposer is ___." Sample: "My model will show a backyard ecosystem. Its producers are moss and clover. Its consumers are pill bugs and a drawn robin. Its decomposer is mold on dead leaves."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise a plan in which every part has a place.

Homework: Gather the materials on your list with an adult. Look for: every item ticked, or swapped for something you have.