Day 4 · Thursday

Objective: I can organize my state research into a clear poster or slideshow.

Standards: D4.2.3-5, D2.Geo.2.3-5

Materials: Poster board or large paper (or a slide program if you prefer), Markers, Research sheet, map and timeline from Days 2 and 3, Library book or encyclopedia about your state, Scrap paper, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 13. Ask: "Which kind of transportation carries heavy goods like grain a long way over land?" (A train.) Then ask: "What makes a poster easy to read from across the room?" (Big titles, short sentences, clear pictures.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A good project is organized into sections. Then the audience can follow it." Write the four section names on scrap paper: Map and Location, History and People, Economy and Products, Landmarks and Fun Facts. Say: "Each section needs three things: a big heading, two or three short sentences, and one picture or map." Model one section aloud. Say: "Economy and Products. Iowa grows more corn than almost any other state. Farmers also raise many hogs. Trains and trucks carry the corn to other regions." Say: "Add one 'because' sentence to explain a fact. Corn grows well in Iowa because the soil is deep and rich." Show how to use your own words. Read one sentence from the book aloud. Cover it. Say it in simpler words. Then write it. Say: "Read, cover, say, write." Ask: "What three things does every section need?" (A heading, two or three sentences, a picture.) "Why write facts in your own words?" (It shows you understand them.) "What does a 'because' sentence do?" (It explains a fact.) If stuck, say: "Tell me the fact as if I were five years old."

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Build the project. 1) In the book, your child finds two things the state grows or makes. Add them to the research sheet with the source. 2) Your child sketches a layout on scrap paper: a title and four labeled boxes. 3) On the poster, your child writes the state's name and the compelling question at the top. 4) Using markers, your child builds each section with a heading, at least two facts and a picture. Put the Day 2 map in the first section. Put the timeline facts in the second. 5) Your child adds one "because" sentence to any section. 6) Check with a chart on scrap paper: Section | Heading | Two facts | Picture. Tick each box. Ask for evidence: "Which source gave you this fact?" Posters vary. Look for four full rows of ticks.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child copies the layout sketch into the notebook. Beside each box, note the facts that go there and their sources. Then your child drafts an answer to the compelling question: "My state is special because ___ and ___." Sample: "Iowa is special because of its rich soil and its huge corn farms."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each exit question aloud. Your child answers in the notebook. Praise facts written in your child's own words.

Homework: Your child practices presenting once to a family member, with the four sections in order. Look for all four sections named.

Objective: I can use the multiplication properties and solve two-step problems.

Standards: 3.OA.B.5, 3.OA.D.8

Materials: Grid paper, Crayons in two colors, Property reference card from Week 13 Day 5 (for support), Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 15 Day 3. Write 4 + 3 × 5. Ask: "What do we do first?" (Multiply: 3 × 5 = 15. Then 4 + 15 = 19.) Then practice ×9 facts with no clock. Ask 9 × 3, 9 × 6 and 9 × 8 (27, 54, 72). Your child tells the strategy: 10 groups minus one group.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Three properties make facts easier. We met them in Week 13." Write 7 × 4 and 4 × 7. Say: "Commutative, from Day 1: switch the factors. The product stays 28." Write 2 × 3 × 5. Say: "Associative, from Day 2: multiply the friendly pair first. 2 × 5 = 10, then 10 × 3 = 30." Say: "Distributive, from Day 3: break apart a hard fact." Outline 7 rows of 7 on grid paper. Color 5 rows in one color and 2 rows in the other. Write 5 × 7 = 35 and 2 × 7 = 14. Ask: "Why 5 rows?" (The ×5 facts are easy.) Write 35 + 14 = 49. Say: "So 7 × 7 = 49." Next, review a two-step problem from Week 15. Read aloud: Tia has 5 packs of 6 pencils. She gives 4 pencils away. How many are left? Ask: "What must we find first?" (All the pencils.) Write 5 × 6 = p, so p = 30. Write 30 − 4 = n, so n = 26. Say: "Tia has 26 pencils left." Ask: "Does 26 answer the question?" (Yes. It asks how many are left.) Now your child does more. Three boxes hold 9 crayons each. Dad adds 8 more. How many crayons? (3 × 9 = 27; 27 + 8 = 35)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child solves each one and names the property or labels the steps. 1) 6 × 5 is the same as 5 × ? (6; commutative) 2) Find 2 × 8 × 5 the easy way. (2 × 5 = 10; 10 × 8 = 80; associative) 3) Break apart 8 × 7 on grid paper with two colors. (5 × 7 = 35; 3 × 7 = 21; 35 + 21 = 56; distributive) 4) 45 cookies are baked. 5 are eaten. The rest go equally into 5 bags. How many in each bag? (45 − 5 = 40; 40 ÷ 5 = 8) If stuck, say: "Did you switch, group or break apart? For a story, what must you find first?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child names the property for problems 1 to 4. For problems 5 to 8, your child labels both steps. 1) 9 × 3 is the same as 3 × ? (9; commutative) 2) 5 × 4 × 2 the easy way (5 × 2 = 10; 10 × 4 = 40; associative) 3) Break apart 6 × 9 on grid paper with two colors. (5 × 9 = 45; 1 × 9 = 9; 45 + 9 = 54; distributive) 4) Break apart 9 × 4. (5 × 4 = 20; 4 × 4 = 16; 20 + 16 = 36; distributive) 5) 6 rows hold 4 plants each. 12 more plants sit in pots. How many plants? (6 × 4 = 24; 24 + 12 = 36) 6) A book holds 50 stamps. 14 are used. The rest fill 4 equal rows. How many in each row? (50 − 14 = 36; 36 ÷ 4 = 9) 7) 2 tables seat 8 children each. 3 more children stand. How many children? (2 × 8 = 16; 16 + 3 = 19) 8) 7 bags hold 5 oranges each. 6 oranges are eaten. How many are left? (7 × 5 = 35; 35 − 6 = 29)

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Your child answers on paper and may sketch an array.

Fact fluency: ×9 facts

Homework: Your child solves two two-step problems and labels both steps. 4 boxes of 5 pens and 7 more pens (4 × 5 = 20; 20 + 7 = 27). 30 grapes, 6 eaten, the rest shared by 3 children (30 − 6 = 24; 24 ÷ 3 = 8).

Objective: I can sort my research notes into categories with headings and use research words correctly.

Standards: W.3.8, L.3.6, L.3.1.C, RF.3.3.A

Materials: Note cards from Days 2 and 3, Six scraps of paper for the sample notes, Sticky notes for headings, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, 3 minutes. Your child says the word that fits. "The ___ of the sun made me squint." (brightness) "Look both ways and cross ___." (safely) "We could not see the path in the ___." (darkness) Say: "Words that end in -ness are abstract nouns. They name a quality or a feeling, not a thing you can hold." Ask: "Can you hold a dragonfly? Can you hold kindness?" (Yes. No.) Spaced review from Week 9. Ask: "What is the plural of berry?" (Berries.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 15 min

   Say: "Researchers sort their notes into categories. A category is a group of notes about the same part of a topic. Each category gets a heading, which is a short title. Later, each category becomes one paragraph." Write six sample notes on scraps of paper, one note on each. The notes: four clear wings; eats mosquitoes; lives near ponds; nymph grows underwater; huge eyes; catches bugs in the air. Think aloud: "'Four clear wings' tells how a dragonfly looks. 'Huge eyes' tells that too. They belong together." Put the two scraps side by side. Write Looks on a sticky note and place it above them. Then practice the research words. Your child finishes each sentence. "A ___ is where a fact comes from." (source) "A ___ is a few key words in my own words." (note) "A ___ is a group of notes about one part." (category) "A ___ is a short title for a section." (heading)

3. Guided Practice · 10 min

   Sort the other four scraps together. Each time, your child says, "This note belongs in ___ because ___." 1) "Eats mosquitoes." (Food, because it tells what a dragonfly eats.) 2) "Catches bugs in the air." (Food, because it tells how it gets food.) 3) "Lives near ponds." (Home, because it tells where it lives.) 4) "Nymph grows underwater." (Life Cycle, because it tells about a young dragonfly. Home is fine with a good reason.) Your child writes each new heading on a sticky note. Ask: "Which category has only one note? What could we do?" (Find another fact for it, or join it to another group.) If stuck, say: "Which two notes are about the same thing? Start a group with that pair."

4. Independent Practice · 20 min

   Your child sorts the real note cards. 1) Spread out all the cards and read each one aloud. 2) Make three or four groups of cards that go together. 3) Write a heading for each group on a sticky note. 4) If a group has only one card, find one or two more facts, or join two groups. 5) Write the headings in the notebook as a plan and list the notes under each. Sample plan: "Looks: four clear wings, huge eyes. Food: eats mosquitoes, catches bugs in the air." Look for: at least two notes under every heading, and a heading that fits all of its notes. Keep the sorted cards for tomorrow.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Your child answers from the sorted cards and the notebook plan.

Homework: Read your own book for 15 to 20 minutes. Then find one more note for your smallest category. Look for: a short note, written your own way, with its source and page.

Objective: I can use my model to predict what happens when the environment changes and judge a solution to the problem.

Standards: 3-LS4-4, 3-LS4-3

Materials: Model from this week, About 8 sticky notes, 3 index cards for change cards, Science notebook and pencil, Terrarium only: a spoon, a spray bottle, and a cup with damp soil, dead leaves and a lid with air holes

1. Day 84 — Predict Changes and Propose a Solution — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 13. Ask: "Name two ways living in a group helps animals." (Any two: protection, finding food, caring for young, staying warm.) Then the wonder. Ask: "What if your model got no water for two weeks? Who would notice first?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Scientists use models to predict what might happen when a place changes. Then they think of solutions." Say: "A strong prediction tells what changes and why. It uses the word because." Draw a meadow as a rectangle in the notebook. Cover half with your hand. Say: "A new parking lot covers half the meadow." Ask: "What is gone?" (Half the flowers and grass.) Ask: "Who loses food first?" (Bees and butterflies.) Ask: "Then who?" (Birds that eat insects.) Teach the four things that can happen to living things after a change. Some stay and survive. Some move away. Some new ones move in, such as pigeons looking for scraps. Some die. Now judge one solution. Say: "People plant a garden of local wildflowers beside the lot. It gives bees food again. But it is smaller than the meadow, so it may feed fewer insects." Say: "We judge a solution two ways. How well does it fix the problem? What does it cost?" Ask: "Is the garden a perfect fix?" (No. It helps some living things, not all.) If stuck, say: "If ___, then ___ because ___. Put the change in the first blank."

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

   Change Cards. 1) Write three cards: "No water for 2 weeks," "A new predator arrives," "Half the habitat is paved." 2) For each card, your child predicts two effects on the model, each with "because." They put a sticky note on every part affected. 3) For the paved card, they choose a solution. Ideas: a flower garden, plants on a roof or a saved strip of habitat. They rate it 1 to 3 stars and give one reason. They also name one thing it does not fix. 4) Terrarium only, a small safe test. First move the animals with the spoon into the cup with damp soil and leaves. Change one thing: leave the terrarium lid off for one day. Keep the place, the light and the water the same. Record in a table: Lid, Soil feels, Plants look. Then mist the soil and return the animals. Expect drier soil, though one day may show little change. Say: "Real results vary. Look for the pattern."

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child makes a chart with three columns: Change, Predicted effects, Why. Below it they finish three frames. "My solution is ___. It helps because ___. One problem with it is ___." Sample: "My solution is a strip of meadow left along the fence. It helps because bees still find flowers. One problem is that the strip is too small for rabbits."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise every "because" and every honest limit of a solution.

Homework: Talk with a family member about one habitat change near home. Write one effect on living things. Look for: a named living thing and the word because.