Day 2 · Tuesday

Objective: I can research my state's geography, capital and landmarks.

Standards: D2.Geo.2.3-5, D2.Geo.3.3-5, D3.2.3-5

Materials: Atlas or U.S. map that shows states and capitals, A second source about your state (library book, encyclopedia or the state's official website), 2 sheets of plain paper, Colored pencils (blue and brown), Research sheet (a sheet of notebook paper), Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "Which river system is the largest in the U.S.? Which way does it flow?" (The Mississippi. It flows south.) Then ask: "What is a capital city, and what happens there?" (The state government meets there.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today you map your state. Record four things: land and water, the capital, the bordering states and two landmarks." Say: "A capital is the city where the state government meets. It is often not the biggest city." Say: "A landmark is a well-known place. It can be natural, like a waterfall, or built, like a lighthouse." Model with Colorado on plain paper. Draw a rectangle. Draw a star just above the middle for Denver, the capital. Draw brown bumps on the west side for the Rocky Mountains. Leave the east side flat for the Great Plains. Draw a blue line from the mountains toward the southwest for the Colorado River. Mark Pikes Peak with N for natural. Mark Mesa Verde with B for built. Say: "Ancestral Pueblo people built homes in the cliffs there more than 700 years ago. Their descendants include today's Pueblo nations, such as the Hopi." Say: "A map of the whole country shows which states touch yours. A map of one state shows its cities and rivers." Ask: "Is Pikes Peak natural or built?" (Natural.) "Which symbol marks a capital?" (A star.) "Which map shows bordering states best?" (A map of the whole country.) If stuck, say: "Did people make it, or did nature?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Map your state. 1) Your child copies the state's outline from the atlas onto plain paper. 2) Add a star for the capital. 3) Draw one river in blue and one landform in brown. 4) Mark two landmarks with N or B. 5) Write the bordering states around the edge. 6) Add a key. 7) Check two facts, the capital and one landmark, in the second source. Your child fills a chart: Fact | Source 1 | Source 2 | Do they agree? For each source, ask: "Who made it? Does it give facts or opinions?" Say: "A postcard that says 'Best state ever!' gives an opinion. It cannot prove a fact." Expect the two sources to agree. If they differ, say: "Sources sometimes differ. Check a third one."

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   On the research sheet, your child writes: "Capital: ___. Two bordering states: ___ and ___. Landmark 1: ___ is (natural or built). Landmark 2: ___ is (natural or built)." Your child adds the source beside each fact. Sample: "Capital: Denver. Source: atlas."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each exit question aloud. Your child may use the research sheet. Praise facts that were checked in two sources.

Homework: Your child draws one landmark from the state and labels it natural or built. Look for a correct label and the landmark's name.

Objective: I can divide quickly by thinking of the related multiplication fact.

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

Materials: 4 index cards or paper slips, Multiplication chart (for checking only), Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 13 Day 1. Ask: "If 9 × 6 = 54, what is 6 × 9?" (54; switching the factors keeps the product.) Then practice ÷7 and ÷8 facts with no clock. Ask 35 ÷ 7, 42 ÷ 7, 40 ÷ 8 and 72 ÷ 8 (5, 6, 5, 9).

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Every division fact has a related multiplication fact. We learned this in Week 10 Day 4 and used it all through Week 11." Write 56 ÷ 8. Say: "I ask: 8 times what number is 56?" Write 8 × ? = 56. Say: "I know 8 × 7 = 56. So 56 ÷ 8 = 7." Ask: "How can we check a quotient?" (Multiply it by the divisor. It must make the total.) Draw a triangle. Write 56 at the top and 7 and 8 at the bottom corners. Say: "These three numbers are a fact family." Ask: "What is 56 ÷ 7?" (8) Say: "What if I do not know the fact yet? I count by the divisor." Write 48 ÷ 6. Count by 6s, one finger for each number: 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48. Ask: "How many 6s did I count?" (8) Say: "8 sixes make 48. So 48 ÷ 6 = 8, and 6 × 8 = 48." Say: "For ÷4 there is one more way, from Week 11 Day 2. Halve the total twice." Write 36 ÷ 4. Say: "Half of 36 is 18. Half of 18 is 9. So 36 ÷ 4 = 9." Say: "Quick does not mean rushed. A fact is quick when you know its related fact." Now your child does more. Write 63 ÷ 9. Your child asks the question and names the related fact. (9 times what is 63? 9 × 7 = 63, so 63 ÷ 9 = 7.)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Write each fact. Your child says the related multiplication fact first, then the quotient. You write both. 1) 27 ÷ 3 (9; 3 × 9 = 27). 2) 35 ÷ 5 (7; 5 × 7 = 35). 3) 54 ÷ 6 (9; 6 × 9 = 54). 4) 32 ÷ 8 (4; 8 × 4 = 32). If stuck, say: "Turn it around. What times the divisor makes the total? Count by the divisor if you need to."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child writes each division fact and its related multiplication fact. 1) 24 ÷ 3 (8; 3 × 8 = 24). 2) 42 ÷ 6 (7; 6 × 7 = 42). 3) 28 ÷ 4 (7; 4 × 7 = 28). 4) 81 ÷ 9 (9; 9 × 9 = 81). 5) 45 ÷ 5 (9; 5 × 9 = 45). 6) Draw a fact triangle with 18 at the top and 2 and 9 below. Write all four facts. (2 × 9 = 18, 9 × 2 = 18, 18 ÷ 2 = 9, 18 ÷ 9 = 2) 7) A baker sets 30 muffins in rows of 6. How many rows does the baker make? (30 ÷ 6 = 5) 8) 7 friends share 21 stickers equally. How many does each friend get? (21 ÷ 7 = 3) Ask: "Which facts came fast? Which ones needed counting?" Your child copies the four slowest facts onto cards. The related fact goes on the back. Check answers on the chart. Find the row for the divisor and slide across to the total. The number at the top of that column is the quotient.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

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

Fact fluency: ÷7, ÷8 facts

Homework: Your child practices the fact cards for 5 minutes with no clock, saying the related fact first. Sample: 42 ÷ 6; 6 × 7 = 42, so the quotient is 7.

Objective: I can use text features to find facts quickly and record where each fact came from.

Standards: W.3.8, RI.3.5, RI.3.4, L.3.4.D

Materials: Two or three nonfiction books on your child's topic (from home or the library), Paper with the sample index and glossary copied (text in the lesson), Children's dictionary, if you have one, Notebook, Sticky notes, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, 3 minutes. Your child writes these as one word: quick + ly, safe + ly, loud + ly, kind + ness, bright + ness, thick + ness. Then your child underlines each base word. Ask: "Did any base word change?" (No. Safe keeps its e.) Spaced review from Week 16. Ask: "A writer puts a comma after a new word. What often comes next?" (The meaning of the word.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 15 min

   Say: "Researchers do not read every page. Text features help them jump to the right part." Review quickly. The table of contents is at the front and lists chapters. The index is at the back. It lists topics from A to Z, each with its pages. The glossary gives the meanings of bold words. Show the sample. From a book called "Backyard Birds" Index: beaks, 6; eggs, 14-15; feathers, 8-9; migration, 20-22; nests, 12-13; songs, 18. Glossary: migration: a long trip some animals make when the seasons change. preen: to clean and smooth feathers with the beak. Think aloud: "My question is 'How do birds build nests?' My keyword is nests. I run my finger down the index. Nests, pages 12 to 13. I turn straight there." Say: "A source is where a fact comes from. I write the source beside every fact." Write: Robins use mud and grass in their nests. (Backyard Birds, p. 12)

3. Guided Practice · 10 min

   Use the sample for the first three prompts. 1) Ask: "Which pages tell about feathers?" (8-9) 2) Ask: "You wonder why some birds fly south in fall. Which keyword helps?" (Migration, pages 20-22.) 3) Ask: "What does preen mean? Where did you look?" (To clean and smooth feathers with the beak; the glossary.) 4) Now open one of your child's books. Your child picks a keyword from the research question and finds it in the index or table of contents. Mark the page with a sticky note. Read the page together and find one fact. If stuck, say: "Say your question. Which word names the thing you need? Find its first letter in the index."

4. Independent Practice · 20 min

   Your child finds and records five facts that answer the research question. 1) Choose a keyword and use the index or table of contents. 2) Write each fact on its own line as a short sentence. 3) Next to each fact, write the source: the book's title and the page, such as (Backyard Birds, p. 12). 4) For one bold or new word, find the meaning. Use the glossary, a children's dictionary or clues in the sentence. Write the word and its meaning. Look for: every fact answers the question, every fact has a title and page, and one word has a meaning. Keep the notebook page for tomorrow.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Your child uses the sample index and the day's fact list.

Homework: Read your own book for 15 to 20 minutes. Then find one more fact with an index or table of contents. Look for: the fact, the title and the page number.

Objective: I can build the producers and consumers into my ecosystem model and label them.

Standards: 3-LS4-3

Materials: Materials from yesterday's plan (Option A or Option B), Spray bottle or small cup of water (Option A), A spoon for moving pill bugs or an earthworm (Option A), About 10 small labels or sticky notes, Science notebook and pencil

1. Day 82 — Add Producers and Consumers — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 11. Ask: "What four things does a habitat give a living thing?" (Food, water, shelter and space.) Say: "Your model must give those things too." Then the wonder. Ask: "In what order should we build so nothing goes hungry?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Write three sticky notes: "soil and water," "moss," "pill bug." Ask your child to put them in building order and explain. (Soil and water, moss, pill bug. Plants need soil and water first. The pill bug needs a damp home and dead leaves.) Say: "We build in the order that living things depend on each other." For Option A, teach six steps. 1) Add pebbles about two fingers deep, so extra water can drain down. 2) Add soil about three fingers deep. 3) Press the plants and moss in firmly. 4) Lay a few dead leaves on top. 5) Mist lightly with water. 6) Last of all, move the animals in gently with the spoon. Keep the lid loose or poke air holes. Set the terrarium in bright light, but not in hot direct sun. Never add frogs, lizards or other larger animals. For Option B, draw or build the sky, sun, ground and water first. Then add producers, then consumers. Ask: "Why do pebbles go under the soil?" (Extra water drains away from the roots.) Ask: "Why do animals go in last?" (Their food, water and shelter must be ready.) If stuck, say: "What does this one need? Is that in the model yet?"

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

   Build Day. Safety: an adult does any cutting; wash hands after touching soil or animals. 1) Your child builds the nonliving layers or the background. 2) They add the producers and label each one. 3) They add the consumers. Each label names what it eats, such as "pill bug: dead leaves" or "frog: insects." 4) They fill in a food check table with three columns: Consumer, What it eats, Is that food in the model. 5) They compare the model with the checklist and note what is still missing. Expect every consumer to have its food in the model. The decomposer may still be missing today. If a consumer has no food, your child adds the food or removes that consumer. Pill bugs may hide under the leaves. Say: "They often choose dark, damp places, as we saw in Week 14."

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   In the science notebook, your child sketches the model as it looks today and starts a build log. "Today I added ___. Still to add: ___." Sample: "Today I added pebbles, soil, moss, clover, dead leaves and 3 pill bugs. Still to add: a decomposer label and a drawn spider."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud; your child points to the model while answering. Praise labels that name each consumer's food.

Homework: Finish any building with an adult. Mist a terrarium lightly if the soil looks dry. Look for: a label on every living thing.