Day 4 · Thursday

Objective: I can explain why each vote matters using a close-election example.

Standards: D2.Civ.2.3-5, D2.Civ.12.3-5

Materials: Notebook, Pencil, 25 counters, buttons or dried beans: 11 of one color, 10 of a second and 4 of a third (or paper squares marked Y, N and ?), 1 sheet of paper for a voting mat

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 20. Ask: "Which branch of government does Congress belong to?" (The legislative branch.) Then ask the big question: "Can one vote really make a difference?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Some elections are very close. A few town elections have even ended in a tie." Say: "In some places, the law then breaks the tie by drawing a name or flipping a coin." Say: "In many local elections, fewer than half of the people who may vote take part. Those who vote choose for everyone." Say: "National elections come in even-numbered years. Election Day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November." Say: "The rules about who may vote have changed, because people worked to change them." Draw a timeline in the notebook. Say each date as you write it. Say: "Long ago, mostly white men who owned land could vote." "1870: an amendment said race could not be used to stop a citizen from voting. Still, unfair rules kept many Black citizens from voting until a 1965 law." "1920: an amendment protected women's right to vote." "1924: a law said all Native people born in the United States are U.S. citizens. Some states still blocked Native voters for many years." "1971: the voting age became 18." Ask: "How did those rules change?" (People spoke up, marched, wrote and voted until laws and amendments changed.) Ask: "If only a few people vote, who decides?" (Only the people who voted.) If stuck, say: "Think of our family vote. What if only two of us had voted?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Counter model. A youth club has 25 members. They vote on one question: "Should the club also meet on Saturdays?" 1) Your child draws three boxes on the mat: Yes, No, Did not vote. 2) Lay 11 counters on Yes, 10 on No and 4 on Did not vote. Check that 11, 10 and 4 make 25. 3) Draw a chart with four columns: Round, Yes, No, Winner. Round 1 is 11 to 10. Yes wins by 1. 4) Change one thing each round: where the 4 extra counters go. Keep the first 21 votes the same. Round 2: move all 4 to No. Now it is 11 to 14. No wins. Round 3: reset, then move just 1 to No. It is 11 to 11, a tie. 5) Ask: "What is your evidence that the 4 members mattered?" (The winner changed when they voted.) 6) Talk about why people miss a vote: busy, forgot, did not know the date, no ride. Brainstorm three ways to help, such as a reminder note or a ride. Real elections vary. Look for the pattern: a close vote can flip.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child draws Round 1 and Round 2 as two bar pictures. Then finish the frame: "Every vote matters because ___." Sample: "Every vote matters because four people who stayed home could have changed the winner." Then list the three ways to help people vote.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three questions aloud. Your child may use counters for the first one. Praise answers that explain with numbers.

Homework: Your child shows a family member Rounds 1 and 2 with counters and asks why voting matters to them. Look for: your child explains how 4 missing votes changed the winner.

Objective: I can compare two fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator on a number line.

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

Materials: Centimeter ruler, 3 sheets of paper, turned sideways, 2 crayons of different colors, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 21 Day 3. Ask: "Are 2/2 and 4/4 equivalent? How do you know?" (Yes. Both are 1 whole.) Then practice ×7 facts with no clock. Ask 7 × 3, 7 × 6 and 7 × 9 (21, 42, 63). Ask: "How does 7 × 10 help with 7 × 9?" (One group of 7 fewer. 70 − 7 = 63.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "On a number line, the fraction farther to the right is greater. It is farther from 0." Draw a line 24 cm long. Write 0 at the left end and 1 at the right end. Mark sixths with a tick every 4 cm. Your child puts a crayon dot on 3/6 and another color on 5/6. Ask: "Where are the dots?" (at 12 cm and 20 cm) "Which is farther right?" (5/6) Say: "So 5/6 > 3/6." Now the numerators match. Draw two more 24 cm lines, one under the other. Line up the 0s. Mark thirds every 8 cm on the top line. Mark fourths every 6 cm on the bottom line. Your child dots 2/3 and 2/4. (16 cm and 12 cm) Say: "2/3 is farther right. So 2/3 > 2/4." Now your child does more. Your child draws stacked lines in sixths and eighths, with ticks every 4 cm and every 3 cm. Your child dots 5/6 and 5/8 and compares. (20 cm and 15 cm. 5/6 > 5/8)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child dots both fractions in different colors and writes the comparison. 1) 1/4 and 3/4 on one fourths line (6 cm and 18 cm; 1/4 < 3/4) 2) 2/6 and 2/3 on stacked lines (8 cm and 16 cm; 2/6 < 2/3) 3) Draw a 0 to 2 line 24 cm long, with 1 at 12 cm. Mark fourths every 3 cm. Compare 7/4 and 5/4. (21 cm and 15 cm; 7/4 > 5/4) If stuck, say: "Do both lines start at the same 0? Count the jumps from 0. Which dot is farther right?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child draws lines 24 cm long, dots each fraction and writes <, > or =. 1) 1/3 ___ 2/3 (<; 8 cm and 16 cm) 2) 7/8 ___ 4/8 (>; 21 cm and 12 cm) 3) 1/2 ___ 1/8 (>; 12 cm and 3 cm) 4) 3/8 ___ 3/6 (<; 9 cm and 12 cm) 5) Use a 0 to 2 line with 1 at 12 cm. 3/2 ___ 3/4 (>; 18 cm and 9 cm) 6) Put 2/8, 7/8, 4/8 and 1/8 on one line. Order them from least to greatest. (1/8, 2/8, 4/8, 7/8) 7) A snail crawls 2/8 of a path. A beetle crawls 2/4 of the same path. Which one goes farther? (The beetle. 2/4 > 2/8) 8) A red ribbon is 5/4 feet long. A blue ribbon is 3/4 of a foot long. Which ribbon is longer? (Red. 5/4 > 3/4)

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Your child keeps the ruler and one sheet of paper. Read each question aloud; your child draws and answers.

Fact fluency: ×7 facts

Homework: Your child draws a 0 to 2 line in fourths, with 1 at 12 cm, and marks 3/4, 5/4 and 7/4. Your child writes two comparisons. Sample: 3/4 < 5/4 and 7/4 > 5/4.

Objective: I can use context clues to figure out the meaning of new words in stories and informational texts.

Standards: L.3.4.A, L.3.4.D, RF.3.4.C, RI.3.4, L.3.6

Materials: Reader's notebook, Children's dictionary, Pencil, Your child's own book

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study: meaning. Ask three riddles. Your child says and spells each answer. "Which word is a path beside a street?" (sidewalk) "Which word is light from the sun?" (sunshine) "Which word rings when a visitor comes?" (doorbell) Say: "The two small words help explain the big word." Spaced review from Week 15. Ask: "What does the prefix mis- mean in misread?" (Wrongly. To misread is to read something wrong.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today you infer what a new word means. The clues are the words around it. You met these context clues in Week 7." Write four kinds, one per line. Definition: the sentence tells the meaning. Example: the sentence gives examples. Synonym: a word that means the same is nearby. Antonym: an opposite is nearby. Write: "A fawn, a baby deer, stood beside its mother." Think aloud: "I don't know fawn. Right after it I see 'a baby deer.' That is a definition clue. Now I check. I swap in my guess: A baby deer stood beside its mother. It makes sense." Write the swap check in the notebook: put your guess in place of the word and reread.

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Read this aloud together. "The Busy Beaver": Beavers are rodents, a group of animals with large front teeth that never stop growing. Mice and squirrels are rodents too. A beaver gnaws, or chews, on a tree trunk until the tree falls. Then it drags the branches to a stream and builds a dam. The dam holds back water and makes a pond. The pond is a refuge, a safe place where the beaver can hide from wolves. Unlike its sluggish walk on land, a beaver's swimming is quick. Beavers also eat aquatic plants, such as water lilies and cattails. 1) Your child points to rodents. Ask: "What are rodents? Which clue helps?" (Animals with large front teeth that keep growing. A definition, plus the examples mice and squirrels.) 2) Point to gnaws. Ask the same. (Chews. Synonym clue: "or chews.") 3) Point to refuge. (A safe place. Definition clue.) 4) Your child does the swap check on refuge. ("The pond is a safe place." It makes sense.) If stuck, say: "Cover the word with your finger. What would make sense there?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   1) Your child finds sluggish and aquatic in "The Busy Beaver." For each, write the clue, the kind of clue and a guess. (Sluggish: slow; antonym clue "quick." Aquatic: living in water; example clue "water lilies and cattails.") 2) Your child picks three new words from their own book, or uses these. "The old bench was sturdy, so it did not wobble when we all sat down." "The drowsy puppy curled up and closed its eyes." "The whale was enormous, longer than a school bus." Write a guess for each, then look it up in the dictionary. Was the guess close? (Sturdy: strong and steady. Drowsy: sleepy. Enormous: very large.) 3) Reread and fix. Your child reads aloud: "The doe drank from the steam." Ask: "Does that make sense? Fix it." (Stream.) 4) Look up rodent in the dictionary. Say: "A science book would also explain rodent in its glossary at the back."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Your child writes the answers with "The Busy Beaver" in view.

Homework: Read for 15 minutes. Find one new word in a book or on a food package. Write the sentence, your guess and the dictionary meaning. Look for a guess that fits the sentence.

Practice page · Week 22, Day 4

English Language Arts

I can use context clues to figure out new words.

Show answers

Look: Four kinds of context clues

1. Definition: the sentence tells what it means. Example: the sentence gives examples.
2. Synonym: a word that means the same is nearby. Antonym: an opposite is nearby.
3. Check: put your guess in place of the word. Does it still make sense?

The Quiet Hunter

Owls are raptors, birds that hunt with sharp claws, like hawks and eagles. An owl can swoop, or dive down fast, to catch a mouse. Its soft feathers make its flight almost silent, not noisy at all. Most owls are nocturnal, which means they hunt at night and rest during the day.

Use clues in the article.

1. 1.

   What are raptors?
2. 2.

   What does swoop mean?
3. 3.

   What kind of clue helped with swoop?

   ○ example○ synonym○ antonym
4. 4.

   Silent means ____. Which clue helped?
5. 5.

   Where in a science book could you find what raptor means?

   ○ the glossary○ the cover○ the title

Read and fix.

1. 6.

   A reader read, 'The owl caught a horse.' What should the reader do?
2. 7.

   Make a compound word: book + shelf = ____

Challenge: Use 'nocturnal' in a sentence about another animal.

Materials: a children's dictionary

Objective: I can compare polar and desert climates and explain how plants and animals survive in each.

Standards: 3-ESS2-2, 3-LS4-3

Materials: Climate map from Day 1, Globe or world atlas, 1 ice cube (taken from the freezer just before the towel test) and 1 spoonful of water, each on its own plate, 2 small pieces of paper towel, Ruler and pencil, Science notebook

1. Day 109 — Polar and Desert Climates — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Day 3. Ask: "Which season has the most daylight in a temperate place?" (Summer.) Then the wonder. Ask: "Which would be harder: living where it is frozen all year, or where it almost never rains? Why?" Accept any answer with a reason.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Polar climates are cold all year. Arid climates are very dry." On the globe, find the Arctic at the top. Say: "The Arctic is mostly frozen ocean with land around it. Polar bears, Arctic foxes and seals live there." Find Antarctica at the bottom. Say: "Antarctica is a frozen continent. Penguins live along its coasts. Polar bears and penguins live at opposite ends of Earth." Now deserts. Say: "A desert gets less than about 10 inches of rain or snow in a year. The Sahara in Africa is a hot desert. The Gobi in Asia is a cold desert with freezing winters." Ask: "What do all deserts share?" (They are very dry.) If stuck, say: "One desert is hot and one is cold. So heat is not the rule. What is?" Then the towel test. Your child presses a dry paper towel piece on the ice cube for 5 seconds. They press the other piece on the spoonful of water. Ask: "Which towel soaked up more?" (Usually the one on liquid water.) Say: "Polar lands hold lots of water, but it is frozen. Living things need liquid water. Antarctica gets so little snow that it counts as a desert too."

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

   Polar and Desert Chart. 1) Your child finds the Arctic, Antarctica, the Sahara and the Gobi on the Day 1 map. 2) With the ruler, draw a chart in the notebook. It has two columns, Polar and Desert, and four rows: temperature, water, plants, animals. 3) Fill it in together. Temperature: cold all year; hot or cold. Water: frozen as ice and snow; very little rain. Plants: mosses and low Arctic poppies; cactus and aloe. Animals: polar bear, Arctic fox, penguin; camel, fennec fox, desert tortoise. 4) Ask: "What is one way the two climates are alike?" (Both have little liquid water, and few plants grow.) 5) Argue it out. Ask: "Would a polar bear survive well, less well or not at all in the Sahara? Use evidence." (Not at all. Its thick fur and fat hold heat in, and there are no seals to hunt.) Look for evidence about the animal's needs and the place.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Under the chart, your child writes two sentences from these frames. "Polar and desert climates are alike because ___. They are different because ___." Sample: "They are alike because both have little liquid water. They are different because polar lands are always cold and some deserts are hot."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three exit questions aloud. Praise answers that use evidence from the chart or the globe.

Homework: Your child tells a family member two facts about a polar or desert climate from today's chart. Look for one fact about water.