Day 5 · Friday

Objective: I can present my state project clearly and answer a question about it.

Standards: D4.1.3-5, D4.3.3-5, D4.5.3-5, D2.Geo.2.3-5

Materials: Completed project (poster with its map), 3 index cards, Timer or clock, Stored Week 17 check and its answer key, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 8. Ask: "What makes a question a compelling question?" (It is a big question that people can answer in different ways.) Then your child practices this opening twice: "My state is ___. It is in the ___ region. Today I will tell you about ___."

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A strong presentation has three parts." Say: "First, the opening. Name your state and its region." Say: "Second, the middle. Walk through the four sections in order and point to each one." Say: "Third, the ending. Answer the compelling question with a claim and two pieces of evidence." Model an ending. Say: "Colorado is special because of its high mountains and its long history. My evidence is Pikes Peak, which is over 14,000 feet high. My second piece of evidence is Mesa Verde, built more than 700 years ago." Show how to stand. Stand beside the poster, face the audience and point. Say: "When someone asks a question, repeat it. Then answer. If you do not know, say so honestly and offer to find out." Say: "Listeners ask one question that starts with What, Why or How." Ask: "What goes in the ending?" (A claim and two pieces of evidence.) "Where do you stand?" (Beside the poster, facing the audience.) "What do you do first when asked a question?" (Repeat it.) If stuck, say: "Finish this: My state is special because ___."

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Present. 1) Write one audience question on each card. "Why do people visit your state?" "How do people in your state use the land?" "What surprised you most?" 2) Your child presents to the family for three to four minutes. The timer is a guide, not a race. 3) A listener picks a card and asks the question. Your child repeats it and answers. 4) Each listener gives one star, something done well, and one wish, something to improve. 5) Together, fill a chart in the notebook: Opening | Four sections | Claim | Two pieces of evidence | Answered a question. Tick each part you heard. Ask: "Did your evidence really support your claim? Which fact was strongest?" Presentations vary. Look for a claim with two facts from the research.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Keep this to 5 minutes today so the check fits. Your child writes: "What went well: ___. I was asked ___, and I answered ___. Next time I will ___." Sample: "I pointed to my map. I was asked why people visit. Next time I will speak slower."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud. Then give the stored Week 17 check. It has 8 items and takes about 15 minutes. Score it with the answer key. 6 or more right: move on to Week 18. 4 or 5 right: redo Day 2's work on capitals, landmarks and checking sources. 3 or fewer right: reteach Day 1 on strong and weak questions. Praise brave speaking. If time is still short, give the check later today.

Homework: Your child shares the project with another family member. Then your child asks that person one question about a state they know. Look for a What, Why or How question.

Objective: I can complete a mid-year practice set on multiplication, division, properties and two-step problems.

Standards: 3.OA.A.2, 3.OA.A.3, 3.OA.A.4, 3.OA.B.5, 3.OA.C.7, 3.OA.D.8

Materials: Stored Week 17 check and its answer key, 5 index cards. Before the lesson, write one station problem on each. Facts: 36 ÷ 9. Models: draw 20 ÷ 4 as sharing. Properties: 3 × 8 = 8 × ?. Unknowns: n ÷ 6 = 5. Two-step: 3 bags of 6 apples, 4 eaten., 20 counters and 5 cups (for the models card and for reteaching), Grid paper, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 16 Day 3. Write 8 × 50. Your child says the tens sentence (8 × 5 tens = 40 tens = 400). Then practice ÷6 facts with no clock. Ask 18 ÷ 6, 36 ÷ 6 and 54 ÷ 6 (3, 6, 9).

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Play Five Stations for 10 minutes. This is the first half of the mid-year practice set. Lay the 5 cards face down. Say: "Each card is one kind of problem from this week. Flip a card, name its kind, and solve it." Model one turn. Flip n ÷ 6 = 5. Say: "This is an unknown, like Day 3. The total is unknown, so I multiply. 6 × 5 = 30. So n = 30." Check it: 30 ÷ 6 = 5. Now your child takes the other four turns. Facts card, like Day 2: 36 ÷ 9 (4; 9 × 4 = 36). Models card, like Day 1: 20 ÷ 4 as sharing (5; 4 cups of 5 beans). Properties card, like Day 4: 3 × 8 = 8 × ? (3). Two-step card, like Day 4: 3 bags of 6 apples, 4 eaten. (3 × 6 = 18; 18 − 4 = 14) Ask after each turn: "How could you check that?" Put a star on any card that needed help.

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   This is the second half of the practice set. Your child works on paper while you watch. Help only when asked. 1) 63 ÷ 9 (7). 2) Draw 30 ÷ 5 as grouping. (6; 6 circles of 5 dots) 3) Break apart 9 × 3 on grid paper. (5 × 3 = 15; 4 × 3 = 12; 15 + 12 = 27) 4) A box holds 40 cards. 4 are given away. The rest go into 4 equal piles. How many in each pile? (40 − 4 = 36; 36 ÷ 4 = 9) If stuck, say: "Which day is this like? What did we draw or ask that day?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Give the stored Week 17 check now. It has 8 items on the skills from this week. Allow about 15 minutes, with no clock running. Your child may draw but uses no multiplication chart. Score it with the answer key. Then choose a route by the result. 6 or more right: move on to Week 18. 4 or 5 right: find the kind of item missed. For division stories and models, redo Day 1 Guided Practice. For division facts, redo Day 2 Guided Practice. For equations and choosing × or ÷, redo Day 3 Guided Practice. For properties and two-step problems, redo Day 4 Guided Practice. 3 or fewer right: reteach the Day 1 and Day 3 Mini-Lessons with counters and cups before Week 18. Write down the weakest kind of problem and any starred card. Week 18 reviews every kind again.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   After the check, your child answers these three questions; then go over any missed check items together.

Fact fluency: ÷6 facts

Homework: Your child redoes two missed check items with a family member and explains each fix. If none were missed, solve 54 ÷ 9 and 7 × 6 − 5 (6 and 37).

Objective: I can show what I know about research questions, sources, notes and categories, and start an outline.

Standards: W.3.7, W.3.8, SL.3.1.D

Materials: Stored Week 17 check and its answer key, Sample index from Day 2, Sorted note cards with their headings, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, 3 minutes: an untimed spelling check. Say each word in a short sentence: quickly, softly, safely, kindness, darkness, brightness. Challenge word: carefully. Your child checks each word against the list and rewrites any missed word once. Spaced review from Week 16. Ask: "Two texts tell about one topic. Where on a chart do you write a fact they share?" (Under Both.)

2. Review · 10 min

   Walk the research path with one fresh item for each step. Your child answers aloud. 1) Question. Say: "Make this a better research question: 'Are tigers scary?'" (Sample: How do tigers hunt?) 2) Source. Ask: "In the 'Backyard Birds' index, which page tells about bird calls?" (Songs, page 18.) 3) Note. Say: "Make a short note: 'Beavers pack branches with mud to build a dam.'" (Sample: beavers: branches and mud make dam.) 4) Category. Ask: "Where does the note 'four clear wings' go?" (Looks.) Ask: "Which step do you want to try once more?" Practice that step with one of your child's own cards.

3. Weekly Check · 15 min

   Give the stored Week 17 English Language Arts Check now. It has 8 items and its own sample index and glossary. Your child works alone for about 15 minutes. You may read the directions aloud. Do not rehearse the items first. Score it with the answer key, then choose a route. 7 or more right: move on to Week 18. 5 or 6 right: redo the Day 3 practice page. Then practice Read, Cover, Write with three sentences from a nonfiction book. 4 or fewer right: reteach the Day 2 lesson with the index of a real book. Find two facts together, mark the pages and write each as a short note.

4. Apply · 20 min

   Say: "An outline is a short plan. It lists your headings and notes in order." Show this model in the notebook. Main question: How do dragonflies live and grow? Life Cycle: egg near pond; nymph underwater; adult climbs out. Looks: four clear wings; huge eyes. Food: eats mosquitoes; catches bugs in the air. Your child builds an outline from the sorted cards. 1) Write the main research question at the top. 2) Choose the best order for the headings. 3) Write each heading with 2 or 3 notes under it. 4) Talk about the outline. Your child explains the order of the headings. You ask one question, such as "Why does Food come last?" Your child listens, then says, "After our talk, I will ___ because ___." Look for: every heading has notes, and your child can explain the order. Keep the outline and cards for Week 18 Day 4.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Go over any missed check items together. Then your child answers these three questions from the outline.

Homework: Read your own book for 15 to 20 minutes. Then tell a family member the order of your outline headings and why you chose it. Look for: a reason for the first heading.

Objective: I can explain my ecosystem model and show what I know about modeling and predicting.

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

Materials: Week 17 Science Check (7 items) and its answer key, Finished model, A spoon and small container for carrying pill bugs or an earthworm home (Option A), Science notebook and pencil

1. Day 85 — Week 17 Check and Model Demo — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 15. Ask: "Which has a pupa stage, a butterfly or a frog?" (A butterfly.) Then your child gives a quick tour of the model. Now the wonder. Ask: "What can your model teach someone? What can it not show?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A model helps us think, but it is never the same as the real thing. Every model has limits." Practice on a different model. Ask: "A toy farm set is a model. What does it show well?" (Which animals live on a farm and where they stay.) Ask: "What can it not show?" (Eating, growing, weather or real size.) Now look at your child's model. Draw a chart with two columns in the notebook: Like the real ecosystem, Different. Fill in two lines for each side together. Samples for Different: far fewer kinds of living things, no real weather, a much smaller space. Ask: "Do the limits make the model useless?" (No. It shows connections, and we can test ideas without harming a real habitat.) Teach the four-part demo: the ecosystem, one food chain, one prediction, one solution. If stuck, say: "What does the real place have that your model does not?"

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

   Model Demo and Release. 1) Your child presents the model to a family member in about two minutes. They cover the four parts in order. 2) The listener ticks a small table with two columns: Part, Shown. 3) The listener asks one question. Your child answers by pointing to the model. 4) Option A: with an adult, carry the pill bugs or earthworm in the container. Return them gently to where they were found. The plant terrarium can stay. Wash hands afterward. 5) Your child tells one way the model is like the real ecosystem and one limit. Expect all four parts and at least one clear limit. If a part is skipped, point to that row of the table. Your child adds it then.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child finishes three frames. "My model is like a real ecosystem because ___. It is different because ___. If I built it again, I would ___." Sample: "My model is like a real ecosystem because it has producers, consumers and decomposers. It is different because it has only three kinds of animals. If I built it again, I would add a pond."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud and praise explanations that point to the model. Then give the Week 17 Science Check, which has 7 items. Allow about 10 minutes, later today if time is short. Score it with the key. With 6 or more right, add one more change card and judge two solutions. With 4 or 5 right, redo the Day 3 page and add a second chain and loop. With 3 or fewer right, reteach Day 1 by checking a pond drawing against the checklist.

Homework: Find one model at home, such as a toy, a map or a doll house. Tell one way it is like the real thing and one limit. Look for: a true likeness and a true difference.