Day 3 · Wednesday

Objective: I can work with others to propose a solution to a local problem in a Town Council Challenge.

Standards: D2.Civ.9.3-5, D2.Civ.11.3-5, D2.Civ.13.3-5, D1.1.3-5, D1.4.3-5, D1.5.3-5, D3.3.3-5, D3.4.3-5

Materials: Notebook, Pencil, 2 sheets of paper for a park sketch and the proposal, Markers, 4 index cards

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 say: "Today you are the town council."

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A policy is a plan a government makes to solve a public problem." Read Source 1 aloud. It is about a made-up town. "Notes for the Cedar Hollow town council. Pine Park has two trash cans, both beside the gate. On Saturday, volunteers counted 46 pieces of litter along the path. A new can is bought one time. A worker must be paid to empty cans every week. Some neighbors say more cans attract raccoons. The soccer league offers to help clean up after games." Say: "Our compelling question is: How can Cedar Hollow keep Pine Park clean?" Ask: "Why does this question matter to other people?" (Families, players and neighbors all use the park.) Say: "Supporting questions are smaller questions that help answer the big one. Here is one: Where is most of the litter?" Your child writes two more in the notebook. (Samples: "How much does a trash can cost?" "What have other towns tried?") Ask: "How does each small question help?" Ask: "What source could answer it?" (A litter count, a park worker or a neighbor.) Say: "Ask people who disagree too, such as the neighbors who worry about raccoons." If stuck, say: "Start your question with How many, Where or Who."

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Town Council Challenge. 1) With markers, your child sketches Pine Park on paper. Show the gate, two cans, the path and a soccer field. Mark where the litter was counted. 2) Read Source 2, a note from a park worker. "I empty both cans every Monday. By Saturday they are overflowing." 3) Your child writes one affected group on each index card: families, soccer players, neighbors, town workers. Ask: "What does each group want?" 4) Draw a chart with three columns: Solution, Benefit, Cost or worry. Use three solutions: two new cans along the path, a monthly volunteer cleanup, or signs with a fine for littering. Sample row: new cans; litter has a place to go; a worker must empty them. 5) Discuss as a council. Each person speaks once before anyone speaks twice. Then choose one solution, or join two. 6) Your child writes the proposal on the second sheet: "We propose ___ because ___. It will help ___. One cost or worry is ___. Our evidence is ___ (from Source 1) and ___ (from Source 2)." Proposals vary. Look for the problem, the people, a solution, a cost and evidence from both sources.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child copies the proposal into the notebook. Then finish: "The group that might disagree is ___ because ___. I would tell them ___." Sample: "Neighbors might disagree because of raccoons. I would tell them we will choose cans with lids."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three questions aloud. Praise evidence that comes from a source.

Homework: A family member plays a resident who disagrees with the proposal. Your child writes down their reason. Look for: a real reason, not just "no."

Objective: I can design a fraction quilt and name each color in more than one way.

Standards: 3.NF.A.1, 3.NF.A.3.B, 3.G.A.2

Materials: Grid paper, Crayons or colored pencils (green, blue, yellow and red), Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 21 Day 4. Say: "A rectangle has 8 equal squares. All 8 are shaded." Ask: "What fraction is shaded? What whole number is that?" (8/8; 1) Then practice ×8 facts with no clock. Ask 8 × 3, 8 × 6, 8 × 7 and 8 × 9 (24, 48, 56, 72).

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today you design fraction quilts. A quilt is a blanket made of squares." Draw Quilt A on grid paper: a rectangle 3 squares long and 2 squares tall. Ask: "How many equal squares? What fraction is one square?" (6; 1/6) Give the rules: 1/2 green, 1/3 blue, the rest yellow. Say: "For 1/2, I split the quilt into 2 equal parts." Trace the line under the top row. Ask: "How many squares are in each part?" (3) Color the top row green. Write 3/6 = 1/2. Say: "For 1/3, I need 3 equal parts. The quilt has 3 columns of 2 squares. So 1/3 is 2 squares, wherever they sit." Color 2 squares of the bottom row blue. Write 2/6 = 1/3. Color the last square yellow. Say: "Yellow is 1/6. Check: 3 + 2 + 1 = 6 squares. So the quilt is full." Now your child does more. Your child draws Quilt B: 4 squares long and 2 squares tall. Rules: 1/4 red, 1 square yellow, the rest blue. Ask: "How many squares are red? How many are blue?" (2; 5)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child colors Quilt B with the crayons, then labels each color. 1) Red: how many squares, and what two names? (2 squares; 2/8 and 1/4) 2) Yellow: what fraction? (1/8) 3) Blue: what fraction? (5/8) 4) Ask: "Do the colors fill the whole quilt?" (Yes. 2 + 1 + 5 = 8 squares.) If stuck, say: "Count all the squares first. That number is the denominator."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child answers on grid paper and may draw each quilt. 1) A quilt has 6 equal squares, and 2/3 of it is orange. How many squares are orange? (4) 2) A quilt has 8 equal squares. 3 are white. What fraction is white? (3/8) 3) A quilt has 4 equal squares. 1 is gray. What fraction is not gray? (3/4) 4) A quilt has 6 equal squares, and 1/3 of it is pink. How many squares are pink? (2) 5) Which is more of the same quilt, 1/6 or 1/8? (1/6; sixths are bigger squares) 6) Gran's quilt has 8 equal squares. 5 are dotted and the rest are plain. What fraction is plain? (3/8) 7) Sam's quilt has 6 equal squares. Half are blue. How many squares are blue? (3) 8) Design Quilt C, 2 squares long and 3 squares tall, with three colors. Label each color. (Answers vary. The squares must total 6.)

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud; your child answers on paper and may sketch a quilt.

Fact fluency: ×8 facts

Homework: Your child explains one quilt to a family member. Sample for Quilt A: green is 3/6 or 1/2, blue is 2/6 or 1/3, yellow is 1/6.

Objective: I can plan an opinion speech and give it in a family 'Opinion Fair' (enrich day).

Standards: W.3.1, SL.3.1, SL.3.4, SL.3.3, L.3.3.B

Materials: Final opinion essay, Three index cards, Poster paper and markers, A clock or watch, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study: dictation. Say this sentence twice while your child writes it: "On the rainy day, we ran across the pavement to the playground." Check it together. Your child names the parts of three words (rain + y, pave + ment, play + ground). Spaced review from Week 21. Ask: "What three things does a strong conclusion do?" (It restates the opinion, sums up the reasons and ends with a call to action.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "This week ends with a family Opinion Fair. Tomorrow you give your essay as a speech with a poster." Say: "Your speech lasts one to two minutes, about as long as reading your essay aloud." Teach four speech moves: opinion at the start and the end, short sentences, eyes up, steady pace. Give this model as a speech. "Learn to Swim!": Have you ever sat on the edge of a pool and wished you could jump in? I believe all kids should learn to swim. Why? I have three big reasons. First, swimming keeps you safe near water. Second, it's great exercise. Your arms, legs and lungs all work. Most of all, swimmers get to join the fun. So ask a grown-up about lessons this summer. Every kid should learn to swim! Ask: "What did you hear that an essay would not have?" (Short forms such as it's, very short phrases, the opinion twice.) Say: "In a speech, your voice and pauses do the work of punctuation. In an essay, every sentence needs a capital and an end mark." Show card 1 for the model as notes: "Pool edge question. Every kid, swim!" Say: "Cards hold notes, not sentences."

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   1) Together, make card 1 from your child's introduction: the hook and the opinion in a few words. 2) Your child says card 1 aloud while you glance at the clock. Give one tip, such as "Pause after your opinion so it sinks in." 3) Your child picks one long essay sentence and says it as a speaker would. (Sample: "In addition, swimming is excellent exercise" becomes "Also, it's great exercise.") 4) Plan the poster in pencil: the opinion in big letters, three reason boxes and one picture. If stuck, say: "Tell me your opinion as if I just asked at dinner."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   1) Make card 2: the three reasons as short notes, each with one piece of evidence. 2) Make card 3: the conclusion and the call to action. 3) Finish the poster with markers. 4) Practice the whole speech twice with the cards. 5) Write one question a listener might ask, and plan an answer. Sample: "What if a kid is afraid of water?" "Lessons start in the shallow end." Checklist: opinion at the start and the end; notes only on the cards. Eyes up at the end of each card; one planned pause.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Your child answers aloud with the three cards in hand.

Homework: Finish the poster if needed. Practice the speech twice for a family member or a mirror. Look for eyes up and the opinion said twice.

Objective: I can observe the sky over a day and look for patterns between clouds and weather.

Standards: 3-ESS2-1

Materials: Science notebook and pencil, Clipboard or hardcover book, Crayons (gray, blue, white), Thermometer, Wind streamer from Week 19, Watch or clock

1. Day 113 — Flex Challenge: Cloud and Weather Journal — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 22. Ask: "In a temperate climate, what do deciduous trees look like in winter?" (Bare. They dropped their leaves in fall.) Then look out the window. Your child describes the clouds with shape words: puffy, flat, wispy or tall. Wonder: "Do clouds give clues about what the weather will do next?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today you are a sky scientist. Scientists find patterns by observing again and again." Plan the day. Teach this lesson in the morning. Two 5-minute sky checks come later, near noon and in mid-afternoon. Finish the notebook entry and exit ticket after the last check. Teach four cloud looks. Say: "Thin, wispy streaks float very high. Puffy white heaps with blue between them often mean fair weather. A flat gray sheet can bring drizzle or light snow. Tall, dark towers can bring showers or thunderstorms." Your child learns the cloud names in Week 25. Teach sky cover. Say: "Sky cover is how much of the sky the clouds hide: none, a quarter, half, most or all." Draw a circle and shade half. Ask: "What sky cover is this?" (Half.) Ask: "What if the sky is one gray sheet from edge to edge?" (All.) Ask: "Why make three checks instead of one?" (One look cannot show a change or a pattern.) If stuck, say: "Pretend the sky is a pizza. How many slices do the clouds cover?" Safety: never look straight at the sun.

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

   Sky Journal. 1) In the notebook, draw a table with three rows and five columns. The columns are Time, Cloud sketch, Sky cover, Temperature in °F, and Wind and precipitation. 2) Choose one outdoor spot with a wide view. Keep the spot the same all day. 3) Check 1, now: your child looks up for 30 seconds and says three describing words. 4) With the notebook on the clipboard, they sketch the clouds in crayon and write a sky cover word. 5) Read the thermometer after 2 minutes in the shade. Hold up the streamer. Note the time from the watch and any rain or snow. 6) Repeat steps 3 to 5 near noon and again in mid-afternoon. 7) After check 3, your child reads down each column. Ask: "What changed? What stayed the same?" Many days are warmest in mid-afternoon, and clouds may build or clear. A clear sky all day still counts: write "none." Real results vary. Look for the pattern in your own table.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   After check 3, your child writes under the table. Frames: "During the day the clouds ___. The temperature ___. I predict tonight will be ___ because ___." Sample: "During the day the clouds grew thicker and grayer. The temperature rose 6 degrees, then dropped. I predict tonight will be rainy because the sky is all gray."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   After the notebook entry, read the three exit questions aloud. Praise details that came from looking, not guessing. Tomorrow morning, check the prediction together.

Homework: Your child looks at the sky once more at bedtime and adds a note. Look for sky cover, or whether stars can be seen.