Day 3 · Wednesday

Objective: I can match community needs to the local services that meet them and explain how they are paid for.

Standards: D2.Civ.6.3-5, D2.Eco.12.3-5

Materials: Notebook, Pencil, 12 index cards, Marker, 10 pennies and a cup, A water bill or tax notice (optional, for the extension)

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 1. Ask: "What is a community need?" (Something the whole community must have, such as safety.) Then ask: "If a house catches fire, who comes? Who pays the firefighters?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Local services meet needs that people share." "Police officers keep people safe. Firefighters put out fires. Public schools teach children. Libraries lend books. Parks give places to play. Public works crews take care of streets and often collect trash. Water workers send clean water in and take dirty water away." Say: "All of this costs money. A tax is money that people and businesses pay to the government. Taxes pay for services everyone shares." Take turns dropping the 10 pennies into the cup. Say: "Everyone chips in. Now the town can buy a street sweeper that no single family could." Say: "Towns often tax homes and other property. Many places add a small tax when you buy things. Some services also charge a fee, like a water bill." Ask: "Who pays the librarian?" (Everyone, through taxes.) "Which workers fix a hole in the street?" (Public works.) If stuck, say: "Think of the cup. Who put the pennies in?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Match and read. 1) Your child writes six needs on six cards. "A kitchen is on fire." "A big hole opens in the street." "A child wants to borrow a book." "A car races past a playground." "Tap water must be safe to drink." "Kids need a place to play." 2) With the marker, write six services on six more cards: fire department, public works, library, police, water department, parks department. 3) Your child matches each need to a service and says why. 4) Turn the cards over and play memory. 5) Read this made-up chart aloud. "Town of Cedar Hollow: where each 10 dollars of tax money goes. Police and fire: 4 dollars. Streets and trash: 3 dollars. Parks and library: 2 dollars. Town hall and other costs: 1 dollar." 6) Your child stacks the 10 pennies in four piles to match. Ask: "Which services get the most? What is your evidence?" (Police and fire get 4 of every 10 dollars.) "The town wants a new park but has no extra money. Name one choice it has." (Spend less on something else, or ask people to pay more tax.) Real towns differ. Look for the idea that money is limited.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   In the notebook, your child draws a chart with three columns: Need, Service, Worker. Fill in all six rows. Under the chart, finish: "Taxes are ___. They pay for ___." Sample: "Taxes are money people and businesses pay to the government. They pay for services we share."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three questions aloud. Praise answers that tell who pays, not only who helps.

Homework: Your child thanks a local service worker with a note or a wave. Then your child tells a family member which need that worker meets. Look for a worker matched to a real need.

Objective: I can build fractions by counting unit fractions.

Standards: 3.NF.A.1

Materials: Fraction strips from Day 2 (whole, halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, eighths), Scissors, Envelope for the pieces, Grid paper, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 3. Your child solves 503 − 268 in columns (235). Then practice ×3 facts with no clock. Ask 3 × 6, 3 × 8, 3 × 9 and 3 × 7 (18, 24, 27, 21). For a slow fact, double the number and add one more group.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Cut the fourths strip apart on its lines with the scissors. Hold up one piece. Say: "This is 1/4. A fraction with 1 on top is a unit fraction. It is one equal part." Lay the whole strip flat. Put one piece on it at the left edge. Say: "One fourth." Add a piece beside it, with no gap. Say: "Two fourths." Add a third piece. Say: "Three fourths." Ask: "How many pieces of size 1/4?" (3) Write 3/4. Say: "So 3/4 is three pieces of size 1/4. The numerator counts the pieces. The denominator names their size." Add the last piece. Ask: "How many fourths fill the whole?" (4) Now your child does more. Your child cuts the sixths strip apart. Your child builds 5/6 on the whole strip and counts aloud. Ask: "How many pieces of size 1/6?" (5) Your child writes the fraction and says it. (5/6; five pieces of size 1/6)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Cut the other strips apart, but keep the whole strip uncut. Your child builds each one on the whole strip. 1) Build 2/3. Your child says it and writes it. (Two pieces of size 1/3; 2/3) 2) Build 6/8. Ask: "How many pieces of size 1/8?" (6) 3) Lay down three 1/3 pieces. Ask: "Which fraction is this?" (3/3) 4) Ask: "Which unit fraction builds 2/6?" (1/6) "How many of them?" (2) If stuck, say: "Start at the left edge. Lay one piece and count one. What is each piece called?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child writes in the notebook and may build with pieces first. 1) How many pieces of size 1/4 make 2/4? (2) 2) How many pieces of size 1/6 make 3/6? (3) 3) How many pieces of size 1/8 make 8/8? (8) 4) Your child builds 4/8 with 1/8 pieces and counts aloud. (1 eighth, 2 eighths, 3 eighths, 4 eighths) 5) Which fraction is two pieces of size 1/2? (2/2) 6) Draw a rectangle 6 squares long on grid paper. Draw a line after every square. Write 1/6 in 4 parts and shade them. Which fraction is shaded? (4/6) 7) A granola bar is cut into 4 equal pieces. Each piece is 1/4 of the bar. Sam eats all 4 pieces. What fraction does he eat? (4/4) 8) A window has 8 equal panes. Each pane is 1/8 of the window. Rosa washes 7 panes. What fraction is clean? (7/8) Put all the pieces in the envelope for tomorrow.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

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

Fact fluency: ×3 facts

Homework: Your child builds 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3 with the thirds pieces for a family member. Then your child tells how many pieces of size 1/3 make each one. Answer: 1, 2 and 3 pieces.

Objective: I can write an introduction that hooks the reader, names the topic and states my opinion.

Standards: W.3.1.A, W.3.4, L.3.6

Materials: Writer's notebook, Essay organizer from Day 2, Highlighter or colored pencil, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study: dictation. Say this sentence twice: "The smallest pup ran faster than the strongest dog." Your child writes it. Check it together, touching each word. Look at the endings in smallest, faster and strongest. Spaced review from Week 11. Say: "Change Sam was cold into a showing sentence." (Sample: Sam's teeth chattered, and he tucked his hands into his sleeves.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "An introduction has three jobs. One, hook the reader. Two, name the topic. Three, state your opinion." Write 1 Hook, 2 Topic, 3 Opinion. Say: "A hook is a first sentence that pulls the reader in. Here are four kinds for a swimming essay." Read each one. Question: "Have you ever been the only one who could not jump into the pool?" Surprising fact: "Water covers about 71 percent of Earth's surface." Quick story: "Last summer my cousin Malik stood frozen at the deep end." Strong statement: "Swimming is a skill for life." Now read this model introduction, "A Pet for a Small Home." Have you ever walked a dog in the pouring rain? Some pets need far more work than others. I think cats are the best pet for an apartment. Think aloud: "Sentence 1 is a question hook. Sentence 2 names the topic, pets and their care. Sentence 3 states the opinion, and it comes last."

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   1) Ask: "What kind of hook is this? An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain." (surprising fact) 2) Ask: "What kind is this? Reading is a superpower." (strong statement) 3) Look at your child's organizer. Write a question hook for their topic together. 4) Write a quick-story hook together. It tells one moment in one sentence. Read both hooks aloud. Your child chooses the stronger one and tells why. (Look for a reason, such as "It makes you wonder what happened.") If stuck, say: "Think of one moment that made you care about this topic. Tell it in one sentence."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child writes the introduction, three or four sentences long. 1) Write the hook first. 2) Write a sentence that names the topic. 3) Write the opinion last. It must match the top box of the organizer. 4) Highlight the opinion sentence. 5) Number the jobs 1, 2 and 3 in the margin. Frames, if needed: "Have you ever ___? ___ is something many families think about. I think ___." Checklist: the hook comes first, the topic is named and the opinion comes last. Every sentence starts with a capital and has an end mark.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three questions aloud. Your child answers the first and last in the notebook and points for question 2.

Homework: Read for 15 to 20 minutes. Copy the first sentence of the book or chapter. Tell a family member whether it hooks you and why. Look for: a reason that points to the words.

Objective: I can build a rain gauge and use it to measure how much rain falls.

Standards: 3-ESS2-1

Materials: Clear jar or plastic cup with straight sides and a flat bottom, Ruler with inches, Waterproof tape, A few small rocks, A cup of water for practice, Outdoor thermometer, Science notebook with the Weather Log, Pencil

1. Day 93 — Measuring Precipitation — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "What does a producer use to make its own food?" (Sunlight, with water and air.) Your child reads the thermometer and adds it to the Weather Log. Then the wonder. Ask: "Suppose it rained all night while we slept. How could we find out how much fell?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Precipitation is water that falls from clouds to the ground. Rain, snow, sleet and hail are all precipitation." Say: "A rain gauge is a container that catches rain. We measure how deep the water gets." Show the ruler. Point to 1 inch, then the half-inch and quarter-inch lines. Say: "Rain is measured in inches. One half inch in the gauge means one half inch of rain fell." In the notebook, sketch a straight jar and a cup that is wide at the top. Say: "The wide top catches extra rain and sends it into the narrow bottom. The water looks deeper than the rain really was." Ask: "Which shape gives a true reading?" (The straight jar.) Ask: "The water reaches one quarter-inch line past 1 inch. How much rain fell?" (1 and one quarter inches.) Ask: "The jar is empty in the morning. What do we write?" (0 inches. Zero is data too.) Say: "Branches and roofs block some rain, and later they drip extra. So a gauge needs open sky." If stuck, say: "Put your finger on the 1. Count the quarter lines after it."

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

   Build a Rain Gauge. Safety: use a plastic container if the gauge could tip onto a hard surface. 1) Hold the ruler upright against the outside of the jar. 2) Line up the 0 mark with the inside bottom of the jar. Some rulers have a gap before 0. 3) Tape the ruler on firmly. 4) Practice. Pour in a little water from the cup. Your child crouches to eye level and reads the depth to the nearest quarter inch. 5) Do this three times and record in a table with two columns: Pour, Depth in inches. Then empty the jar. 6) Together choose a spot in the open, away from trees, roofs and walls. 7) Set the rocks around the outside of the base so it cannot tip. Expect practice readings that match yours within a quarter inch. If they differ, check eye level and the 0 mark.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child draws the gauge and labels the jar, ruler, 0 mark and rocks. They finish this frame. "I put my rain gauge ___ because ___." Sample: "I put my rain gauge in the middle of the yard because nothing blocks the rain there." From now on, add a rain reading to the Weather Log each morning. Write 0 on dry days.

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise reading at eye level and saying the unit, inches.

Homework: Check the gauge tomorrow morning. Record the amount in inches, even if it is 0, then empty it. Look for: a number with the unit.