Day 4 · Thursday

Objective: I can explain what courts and the Supreme Court do.

Standards: D2.Civ.1.3-5, D2.Civ.3.3-5

Materials: Notebook, Pencil, 3 index cards, 9 buttons or coins, A spoon to tap as a gavel

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 4. Ask: "What is evidence?" (Words, numbers or other facts that show an answer is true.) Then ask the big question: "Two children both say it is their turn on the swing. Who should decide, and how?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "The judicial branch is made of courts. A court hears both sides of a disagreement, called a case." Say: "A judge weighs the facts and the law, then decides." Say: "The highest court in the country is the Supreme Court. Its judges are called justices. There are nine." Set out the 9 buttons. Say: "Congress chose that number in 1869." Slide 5 buttons to one side. Say: "The justices vote on each case. When all nine vote, the winning side needs five or more." Say: "The President chooses each justice. The Senate must approve the choice." Say: "Justices and most federal judges can serve for life. So they can decide cases without fear of losing their jobs." Say: "The Supreme Court can decide whether a law follows the Constitution." Say: "States have their own courts, which hear most cases." Ask: "What are Supreme Court judges called?" (Justices.) "Why does a court hear both sides?" (To be fair.) "Four justices vote one way and five vote the other. Which side wins?" (The side with five.) If stuck, say: "Think of the swing. Would it be fair to hear only one child?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Pretend court. Your child is the judge. 1) Write one case on each index card. Case 1: the park rule says "No dogs in the playground." Sam is blind and brings his guide dog. Case 2: Ana says Leo broke her toy. Leo says it was already cracked. Case 3: the class rule says "Raise your hand to speak." A student shouts because a classmate is hurt. 2) For Case 1, speak for each side. "The sign says no dogs." "Sam needs his dog to walk safely." 3) The judge taps the spoon and uses this frame: "The rule is ___. The facts are ___. I decide ___ because ___." 4) Say: "Real laws let trained service dogs go where pets may not." 5) For Case 2, ask first: "What facts do you need before deciding?" (Sample: who saw it, or an older photo of the toy.) 6) For Case 3, ask: "What is the rule for? Did the shout harm that purpose?" (The rule keeps class calm. The shout was for safety.) Decisions vary. Look for a reason that uses the rule and the facts, not who spoke loudest.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   In the notebook, your child finishes: "Courts decide ___. The Supreme Court has ___ justices. They can serve ___." Then your child writes the decision and the reason for one case. Sample: "Courts decide cases by the law and the facts. Nine. For life. Sam's dog stays because it is a helper, not a pet."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three questions aloud. Praise answers that give a reason, as a judge would.

Homework: Your child retells one pretend case to a family member and asks how they would decide it. Look for the rule and the facts in the retelling.

Objective: I can find equivalent fractions because they sit at the same point on a number line.

Standards: 3.NF.A.3.A, 3.NF.A.2

Materials: Centimeter ruler (30 cm), Unlined paper, turned sideways, Pencil, Colored pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 16. Your child solves 8 × 30 (8 × 3 tens = 24 tens = 240). Then practice ×8 facts with no clock. Ask 8 × 4, 8 × 6, 8 × 7 and 8 × 9 (32, 48, 56, 72). For a slow fact, double the ×4 fact.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Draw three lines from 0 to 1, each 24 cm long. Stack them with every 0 lined up. Top line: halves, a tick at 12 cm. Middle line: fourths, a tick every 6 cm. Bottom line: eighths, a tick every 3 cm. Label every tick. Find 1/2 on the top line. Lay the ruler straight down from it. Ask: "Which fraction on the fourths line does the ruler touch?" (2/4) Say: "1/2 and 2/4 are at the same point. Both are 12 cm from 0." Write 1/2 = 2/4. Say: "Fractions at the same point are equivalent fractions. They are equal." Say: "So 1/2 = 2/4." Say: "The names are different because the spaces are cut differently." Now your child does more. Your child slides the ruler down to the eighths line. Ask: "Which eighths fraction is at that point?" (4/8) Your child writes 1/2 = 4/8.

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Add two more 24 cm lines below. Thirds: ticks at 8 and 16 cm. Sixths: a tick every 4 cm. Your child labels the ticks. 1) Your child finds 1/4 and the eighths fraction at the same point. (2/8 is at 6 cm; 1/4 = 2/8) 2) Your child finds 2/3 and the sixths fraction at the same point. (4/6 is at 16 cm; 2/3 = 4/6) 3) Ask: "Are 1/3 and 1/4 equivalent?" (No. 1/3 is at 8 cm and 1/4 is at 6 cm.) If stuck, say: "Put the ruler straight up and down on the first fraction. Which ticks does it touch on the other lines?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child uses the five lines and the ruler. Your child draws a colored line down through each matching pair. 1) Which sixths fraction is at the same point as 1/2? (3/6 is at 12 cm.) 2) Find 3/6. Which eighths fraction is at the same point? (4/8. Both are at 12 cm.) 3) Are 3/3 and 6/6 equivalent? (Yes. Both are at 1.) 4) Which eighths fraction is at 1? (8/8) 5) Are 3/8 and 3/6 equivalent? (No. 3/8 is at 9 cm and 3/6 is at 12 cm.) 6) Are 4/6 and 6/8 equivalent? (No. 4/6 is at 16 cm and 6/8 is at 18 cm.) 7) Ana paints 2/3 of a fence. Ben paints 4/6 of a fence the same size. Who paints more? (They paint the same amount, because 2/3 = 4/6.) 8) A snail stops at 3/6 on a 24 cm line. Name that point in halves. (1/2. Both are at 12 cm.) Keep the five lines for tomorrow.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Your child may look at the five lines.

Fact fluency: ×8 facts

Homework: Your child shows a family member the five lines and finds two pairs of equivalent fractions with the ruler. Sample: 1/2 = 4/8 and 2/3 = 4/6.

Objective: I can use examples and personal experiences as evidence, and I can retell evidence I heard.

Standards: W.3.1.B, SL.3.2, SL.3.1

Materials: Essay draft, Writer's notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study: use the words. Ask: "Which word fits? A book with large, clear print is very ___." (readable) "The two friends shook hands to show their ___." (agreement) "A crack in the ___ made my scooter bump." (pavement) "What does amusement mean?" (fun, or the feeling of being entertained) Spaced review from Week 16. Ask: "When two texts are about one topic, what do we compare?" (Their most important points and key details.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Sometimes the most convincing evidence is a true story." Tell this one: "Last week I forgot my water bottle on our hike. After an hour I felt tired and dizzy. That is why hikers should always bring water." Ask: "What was my reason? What was my evidence?" (Reason: hikers need water. Evidence: the story of feeling tired and dizzy.) Write four starters: For example, For instance, When I, I once. Say: "Examples and experiences make a reason feel real." Model with the reason "Libraries are important." Example: "For example, some libraries lend cake pans and telescopes, not only books." Experience: "When I needed a book about snakes, the librarian found three for me." Think aloud: "I test each one. This shows that libraries are important. Yes, it connects."

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Listening practice. Read this speech aloud once. Your child only listens. "A Picnic Every Friday." I think our family should eat a picnic supper outside every Friday in summer. For example, last Friday we ate sandwiches under the big maple at the park, and nobody rushed. When we eat outside, my little sister tells her funniest stories. I once learned to skip stones from Grandpa after a picnic at the lake. A picnic every Friday would give us more evenings like that. 1) Ask: "What does the speaker want the family to do?" (Eat a picnic supper outside every Friday in summer.) 2) Ask: "Retell two pieces of evidence." (Any two: sandwiches under the maple, the sister's funny stories, skipping stones with Grandpa.) 3) Ask: "Which starter began the skipping-stones evidence?" (I once) 4) Ask: "How does each story connect to the opinion?" (Each shows a good time the family had at a picnic.) If stuck, read the speech once more and say: "Hold up one finger each time you hear proof."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child works in the essay draft. 1) Add one example or personal experience to each body paragraph. 2) Use a different starter each time. 3) After each new sentence, say "This shows that ___" with the reason's words. 4) Read one new sentence aloud. You retell it. If your retelling is wrong, your child makes the sentence clearer. Sample: "For instance, my aunt's cat naps on the windowsill all afternoon." Look for: true or true-sounding stories, three different starters, and a clear link to each reason.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Your child answers aloud. Do not reread the speech before question 1.

Homework: Read for 15 to 20 minutes. Then ask a family member about a time they changed their mind. Retell it to them in three sentences. Look for: what they thought first, what happened and what they think now.

Objective: I can locate places on a world map and describe each one's climate type.

Standards: 3-ESS2-2

Materials: World map or globe, Paper scraps and tape, or sticky notes, in 5 colors (or color them with crayons), 5 index cards or paper strips, Science notebook, Pencil

1. Day 99 — Climates Around the World — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 11. Ask: "Which habitat is very cold, with frozen ground below and no tall trees?" (Tundra.) Then the wonder. Ask: "If you could visit any place on Earth, where would you go? What do you think its climate is like?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Scientists group places with similar climates. Today you will meet five climate types." Show the equator on the map. Say: "The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of Earth. Places near it get strong sun all year." Point to both poles. Say: "Near the poles, sunlight is weak and slanted, so it stays cold." Write the five types in the notebook with a color for each. Tropical: hot all year and often very rainy, near the equator. Arid: very dry in most years. Deserts are arid and can be hot or cold. Temperate: four seasons, with warm summers and cool or cold winters. Polar: cold all year with ice and snow, near the poles. Mountain: colder and often snowier high up. Say: "Air gets colder as you climb. So a high mountain can be cold even near the equator." Ask: "Which type is very dry?" (Arid.) Ask: "Which two types are cold?" (Polar and mountain.) Ask: "A place is far from the equator and far from the poles. Which type might it be?" (Often temperate.) If stuck, say: "Ask two things. How warm is it? How wet is it?"

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

   Climate Map Hunt. 1) Write these five clue cards. Manaus, Brazil: near the equator, hot every month, heavy rain for much of the year. Cairo, Egypt: about 1 inch of rain in a whole year, with very hot summers. Paris, France: four seasons, warm summers, cool winters. Antarctica: below freezing nearly all year, with ice over the land. Cusco, Peru: over 2 miles high in the Andes Mountains, with cold nights. 2) Help your child find each place on the map. 3) They combine the clue card and the map spot to choose a climate type. 4) They stick the matching color on the place and say their evidence. 5) They record in a table with three columns: Place, Climate type, Evidence. 6) Add your own town. Expect tropical, arid, temperate, polar and mountain, in that order. Ask: "What pattern do you see on the map?" (Hot places are near the equator. Cold places are near the poles or high up.)

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child copies the table as a World Climate Chart. They finish this frame for two places. "___ has a ___ climate. My evidence is ___." Sample: "Cairo has an arid climate. My evidence is that it gets about 1 inch of rain a year."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three exit questions with the map in view. Praise evidence that combines a clue card with the map.

Homework: Ask a family member about a place they have lived or visited. Write its climate type and one piece of evidence. Look for: evidence about warmth or rain.