Day 4 · Thursday

Objective: I can describe the steps a local government uses to make a decision and practice them in a pretend council meeting.

Standards: D2.Civ.11.3-5, D2.Civ.9.3-5, D2.Civ.13.3-5

Materials: Notebook, Pencil, 5 index cards, A timer or clock, A spoon to tap as a gavel

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 7. Ask: "What is a point of view?" (How one person or group sees and feels about something.) Then ask the big question: "How does a town decide whether to build a new park?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "At home, a grown-up can decide alone and fast. A town decides in the open, in four steps." Write each step in the notebook as you teach it. Say: "Step 1 is a proposal. A proposal is an idea someone suggests, such as adding a streetlight on Elm Street." Say: "Step 2 is discussion. The council holds a public meeting. Residents, the people who live there, may speak for or against." Say: "Step 3 is the vote. The side with more council votes usually wins." Say: "Step 4 is action. The town sets the money aside and does the work." Say: "Children can attend, write letters and share ideas too. Hearing many views helps the council choose fairly." Ask: "A council member says, 'Let's add a streetlight.' Which step is that?" (Proposal.) "Workers put up the pole. Which step?" (Action.) "How is this different from the way our family picks dinner?" (Sample: at home one person may decide. A council must talk in public and vote.) If stuck, say: "Idea, talk, vote, do. Which one is happening?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Pretend council meeting. The proposal: "Should our town spend its park money on a new playground or on longer library hours?" 1) Write five role cards: Mayor, Council Member 1, Council Member 2, Resident A and Resident B. 2) Share the roles. With two people, you run the meeting and read both resident cards. Then you both vote. 3) The mayor taps the spoon and states the proposal. 4) Each resident speaks for up to one minute. Watch the timer. Resident A, a parent, says: "Small children have nowhere safe to climb." Resident B, a teenager, says: "The library closes before I finish my homework." 5) Each council member asks one question, such as "How many people would each plan help?" 6) Before voting, each council member repeats one reason from the other side. 7) Vote with raised hands for one plan or the other. The mayor announces the result. If the votes are even, talk again and vote again. 8) Ask: "Which step was each part of our meeting?" (Stating the idea was the proposal. The speeches and questions were discussion. Raised hands were the vote. Action would come later.) Look for reasons, not the loudest voice.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child draws four boxes in a row with arrows between them: Proposal, Discussion, Vote, Action. Under the boxes, write the result of today's vote and one reason someone might disagree. Sample: "We voted for library hours. A parent might disagree because small children still need a safe place to play."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three questions aloud. Praise your child for stating the other side's reason fairly.

Homework: Your child asks a family member about one decision your town made, such as road work. Which steps do they remember? Look for one or more of the four steps named.

Objective: I can tell whether a fraction is less than, equal to, or greater than 1 whole.

Standards: 3.NF.A.1, 3.NF.A.3.C

Materials: Fraction pieces and the whole strip from Day 3, Grid paper, Crayons, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 15. Your child solves 4 × 6 + 9 (24 + 9 = 33). Then practice ×4 facts with no clock. Ask 4 × 6, 4 × 7, 4 × 8 and 4 × 9 (24, 28, 32, 36). For a slow fact, double the ×2 fact.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Lay the four 1/4 pieces on the whole strip. Count: "one fourth, two fourths, three fourths, four fourths." Ask: "Is any of the whole left?" (No.) Write 4/4 = 1. Say: "The numerator and denominator match, so every part is counted. So 4/4 is equal to 1 whole." Take one piece off. Ask: "Is 3/4 a full whole?" (No. It is less than 1.) Say: "What if we count more than 4 fourths? We need a second whole." On grid paper, draw two rectangles, each 4 squares long. Say: "Each rectangle is one whole. Each square is 1/4." Shade squares one at a time with a crayon and count to five fourths. The first rectangle is full. One square of the second is shaded. Write 5/4. Say: "So 5/4 is greater than 1. It is 1 whole and 1/4 more." Now your child does more. Your child draws two rectangles, each 3 squares long, and shades 4 squares. Ask: "What fraction is shaded?" (4/3) "Is it less than, equal to or greater than 1?" (Greater than 1. 3/3 is 1 whole.)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child draws on grid paper. One square is one part. 1) 2/3: one rectangle 3 squares long, with 2 squares shaded (less than 1). 2) 6/6: one rectangle 6 squares long, all shaded (equal to 1). 3) 8/6: two rectangles 6 squares long, with 8 squares shaded (greater than 1; 1 whole and 2/6 more). 4) 4/2: two rectangles 2 squares long, with 4 squares shaded. Ask: "How many wholes?" (2) Write 4/2 = 2. If stuck, say: "The denominator tells how many parts fill one whole. Do you have fewer, the same or more?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   In the notebook, your child writes less than 1, equal to 1 or greater than 1. Drawing is allowed. 1) 5/8 (less than 1). 2) 3/3 (equal to 1). 3) 7/6 (greater than 1). 4) 2/2 (equal to 1). 5) 5/6 (less than 1). 6) Draw two rectangles, each 2 squares long. Shade 3/2. How many wholes, and how much more? (1 whole and 1/2 more) 7) A cracker breaks into 4 equal parts. Lee eats 6 parts. Did Lee eat more than 1 whole cracker? (Yes. 6/4 is greater than 1, because 4/4 is 1 whole.) 8) A pizza is cut into 8 equal slices. The family eats all 8 slices. What fraction do they eat? Is it equal to 1? (8/8; yes, it is 1 whole pizza.) Your child reads each answer aloud as a sentence.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Put the pieces and drawings away. Your child answers aloud or on paper.

Fact fluency: ×4 facts

Homework: Your child draws two rectangles, each 8 squares long, and shades 12/8. Your child tells a family member whether it is less than, equal to or greater than 1. Answer: greater than 1; it is 1 whole and 4/8 more.

Objective: I can write body paragraphs that each give one reason with evidence and start with a linking word.

Standards: W.3.1.B, W.3.1.C, L.3.6

Materials: Writer's notebook, Essay organizer and introduction, Three colored pencils, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study: use the words. Ask: "Which word fits? Ice is ___ than juice." (colder) "Of these three ropes, this one is the ___." (longest) "A drum is ___ than a whisper." (louder) "Which is the slowest: a snail, a dog or a horse?" (a snail) Spaced review from Week 7. Ask: "What does a topic sentence do?" (It tells the main idea of the paragraph.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Read this jumble aloud: "Cats are quiet and they need no walks and they are cheap and they stay inside." Ask: "Is that easy or hard to follow?" (Hard. Everything is mixed together.) Say: "Each reason gets its own paragraph. A body paragraph has a recipe." Write the recipe. 1 Transition and reason. 2 Two or three sentences of evidence. 3 A closing sentence that ties back to the opinion. Say: "A transition is a word or phrase that links one idea to the next." Write First, Another reason, Most importantly. Read the model paragraph, "No Walks Needed." First, cats do not need to be walked. Our neighbor's cat, Pepper, uses a litter box and stays inside all day. On rainy mornings, her owner stays warm and dry. That is why a cat fits apartment life. Think aloud: "First is the transition. The first sentence gives the reason. The next two sentences are evidence. The last sentence ties back to the opinion."

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Read this thin paragraph: "Another reason is that cats are quiet." 1) Ask: "Which recipe parts are missing?" (the evidence and the closing sentence) 2) Ask: "How do you know cats are quiet? Say one evidence sentence." (Sample: Pepper pads across the floor without a sound.) 3) Write the topic sentence of your child's Body 1 together. Start with "First," and use Reason 1 from the organizer. 4) Your child says the evidence aloud, then writes two evidence sentences and a closing sentence. They underline the topic sentence in the first color. If stuck, say: "Read your reason. Now finish this: I know because ..."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child writes two more body paragraphs alone. 1) Body 2 starts with "Another reason is that". 2) Body 3 starts with "Most importantly," and gives the starred reason. 3) Each paragraph has three to five sentences. 4) Underline each topic sentence in its own color. Checklist: a transition and a reason, two or three evidence sentences, and a closing sentence. For evidence, use a fact, an example or something that happened. Read each paragraph against the recipe before moving on. If time runs short, your child finishes Body 3 before Day 5.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Your child answers the three questions, pointing to their draft for question 2.

Homework: Read for 15 to 20 minutes. Then read your body paragraphs to a family member. Ask which reason convinced them most. Look for: an answer that names one reason.

Objective: I can find the wind's direction and estimate its strength by watching what it moves.

Standards: 3-ESS2-1

Materials: Strip of ribbon, tissue or light paper, about 12 inches long, Tape, Compass (a phone compass works), Outdoor thermometer and rain gauge, Science notebook with the Weather Log, Pencil

1. Day 94 — Measuring Wind — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 2. Ask: "A tug-of-war rope is not moving. Are the forces balanced or unbalanced?" (Balanced.) Your child logs today's temperature and rain. Then the wonder. Tape the strip to the pencil to make a streamer. Blow on it gently, then harder. Ask: "How can you tell my wind got stronger?" (The streamer lifted higher and flapped more.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Wind is moving air. We describe its direction and its strength." Say: "A wind is named for where it comes FROM. A north wind comes from the north and blows toward the south." Call one wall north. Walk from that wall across the room as a north wind. Ask: "Now I start at the west wall. What wind am I?" (A west wind.) Say: "A wind vane has an arrow that points into the wind. It shows direction. An anemometer has cups that spin. It measures wind speed." Say: "Without an anemometer, we judge strength by what the wind moves." Copy this chart into the notebook. Calm: smoke rises straight up. Light: leaves rustle and you feel wind on your face. Gentle: leaves and small twigs keep moving. Moderate: dust and loose paper blow, and small branches move. Strong: large branches sway, and umbrellas are hard to hold. Ask: "A flag hangs limp and smoke goes straight up. How strong?" (Calm.) Ask: "Small branches move and paper blows along. How strong?" (Moderate.) If stuck, say: "Which side of your face feels the wind? It comes from there."

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

   Wind Watch. Safety: stay indoors in a storm or when branches are falling. 1) Outside, find north with the compass. Your child faces north, with east on the right. 2) They hold the streamer high and watch which way it points. 3) Say: "The streamer points where the wind is going. The wind comes from the opposite side." 4) They look at leaves, branches, flags and smoke, then choose a strength from the chart. 5) They record in a table with four columns: Spot, Direction from, Strength, Evidence. 6) Repeat in a second spot, such as the other side of the house. Keep the tool and method the same. Change only the spot. Expect an open spot to feel windier than a sheltered one. Say: "Real results vary. Look for the pattern." On a still day, record "calm".

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child copies the table and draws an arrow showing which way the air moved. They finish this frame. "The wind came from the ___. Its strength was ___ because I saw ___." Sample: "The wind came from the west. Its strength was gentle because I saw leaves and twigs moving." Add the wind to the Weather Log.

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions aloud. Praise naming the wind by where it comes from.

Homework: Spend 10 minutes at a window or outside before dark. Write the wind direction, its strength and one piece of evidence. Look for: a "from" direction and matching evidence.