Day 2 · Tuesday

Objective: I can sort things into needs and wants and explain items that could be either.

Standards: D2.Eco.1.3-5

Materials: 12 index cards or paper slips, 2 paper plates labeled Needs and Wants, Notebook, Markers, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 22. Ask: "What do we call a person who runs for an office?" (A candidate.) Then ask: "You need water. Do you need lemonade?" Let your child explain. Say: "Today's question: how do we tell a need from a want?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Needs are things people must have to live and stay safe and healthy. They are food, water, shelter, clothing and health care." Say: "Wants are things that are nice to have. We could live safely without them." Draw a coat in the notebook. Say: "Some things can be either. It depends on the situation." Say: "A warm coat is a need in a cold winter. A fourth coat is a want." Say: "A phone may be a need for an adult's job. For a child, it is usually a want." Say: "Every person has the same basic needs. Families meet them in different ways." Say: "Wants are not bad. They just come after needs." Ask: "Water or lemonade: which is the need?" (Water.) Ask: "Shoes are a need. Is a third pair of sandals a need?" (No. It is a want, because the need is already met.) Ask: "What makes something a need?" (People must have it to live and stay safe and healthy.) If stuck, say: "Ask: Could a person live safely and stay healthy without it?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Card sort. 1) With markers, your child writes or draws one item on each card. The first six are bread, drinking water, a warm blanket, a home, a doctor visit when sick, and soap. The other six are a skateboard, candy, a board game and a movie ticket. Add a fancy cake and a second pair of sneakers. 2) Shuffle. Your child places each card on the Needs plate or the Wants plate and gives a reason. 3) Expect the first six on Needs and the other six on Wants. 4) Your child counts the cards in a chart with three columns: Needs, Wants, Could be either. 5) Pick two cards your child was unsure about. Ask: "When could this be a need? When is it a want?" Sample: "Sneakers are a need when the first pair no longer fits. A second pair that fits is a want." 6) Ask: "What is your evidence that soap is a need?" (It keeps people clean and healthy.) Sorts vary a little. Accept the other plate if the reason is sensible.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child draws a T-chart with five needs and five wants. Then finish: "A tricky item is ___. It is a need when ___ and a want when ___." Sample: "A tricky item is a coat. It is a need when winter is cold and a want when I already have one that fits."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three questions aloud. Your child answers without the plates. Praise reasons that start with "because."

Homework: Your child finds five items at home and sorts them into needs and wants with a family member. Look for: a reason for each, and one tricky item.

Objective: I can show that equal parts can look different and that the same fraction of different wholes can be different amounts.

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

Materials: Grid paper, 1 small and 1 large paper circle (trace a cup and a plate), Crayon, Scissors, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 20 Day 4. Ask: "On a 0 to 1 line in fourths, which fraction is 2 jumps from 0?" (2/4) Ask: "Which equivalent fraction sits at that point?" (1/2) Then practice ×6 facts with no clock. Ask 6 × 3, 6 × 5, 6 × 6 and 6 × 8 (18, 30, 36, 48).

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Draw two 4 by 2 rectangles on grid paper. Ask: "How many squares are in each?" (8) On the first, shade the 4 squares of the top row with the crayon. On the second, shade a 2 by 2 block. Ask: "How many squares are shaded in each?" (4) Say: "Both parts cover 4 of the 8 equal squares. So both parts are 1/2 of the rectangle. Equal parts need the same area, not the same shape." Next, fold the small circle and the large circle in half. Say: "Both are 1/2. But half of the big circle is more paper. A fraction tells an amount compared with its own whole." Now your child does more. Your child draws a third 4 by 2 rectangle and shades 1/2 in a new way. Ask: "How do you know it is 1/2?" (4 of the 8 squares are shaded.)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   1) Your child draws two 4 by 2 rectangles and shades 1/4 of each in different ways (2 squares each). 2) Your child draws two 4 by 3 rectangles and shades 1/3 of each in different ways (4 squares each). 3) Hold up one half of each circle. Ask: "Which 1/2 is more paper?" (the large one) 4) Ask: "Two squares are the same size. Is 1/4 of each the same amount?" (Yes. The wholes are equal.) If stuck, say: "Count the squares in the whole. Then count the shaded squares."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   1) Draw a 4 by 3 rectangle. Shade 1/2 of it (6 squares). 2) Draw two more 4 by 3 rectangles. Shade 1/4 of each in different ways (3 squares each). 3) Draw one more. Shade 1/6 of it (2 squares). 4) You draw two 4 by 2 rectangles. Shade 2 squares in a different place on each. Ask: "Does each show 1/4?" (Yes. Each is 2 of 8 equal squares.) 5) Draw a 2 by 2 square and a 4 by 4 square. Shade 1/4 of each. Which 1/4 is more space? (the one in the large square; 4 squares, not 1) 6) Can two parts of one shape look different and both be 1/2? (Yes, if the areas are equal.) 7) Mei and Omar each paint 1/3 of their own wall. Mei's wall is bigger. Who paints more wall? (Mei) 8) Lin and Raj have same-size pies. Each eats 1/4, cut in different ways. Who eats more? (the same amount)

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud; your child answers on grid paper.

Fact fluency: ×6 facts

Homework: Fold two sheets of paper of different sizes in half. Write a sentence comparing the halves. Sample: Both are 1/2, but the big half is more paper.

Objective: I can use clue words and text features to find an author's purpose.

Standards: RI.3.6, RI.3.5, RI.3.4

Materials: Reader's notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study: mark the parts. Write slowest, agreement, excitement, funniest, windy. Your child underlines each base word and circles the ending. (slow + est, agree + ment, excite + ment, funny + est, wind + y.) Ask: "What changed in funniest?" (The y changed to i.) Spaced review from Week 22. Say: "The path was slick, or slippery, after the rain." Ask: "What does slick mean? What kind of clue is it?" (Slippery. A synonym clue.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Authors leave clues about their purpose. Some clues are words. Some are text features." Write three lists. Persuade clues: should, must, best, you'll love, join, buy. Inform clues: facts, numbers, headings, numbered steps, captions, diagrams. Entertain clues: characters, talking, a problem, feelings. Read this aloud and show the layout. "How to Plant a Bean Seed": What You Need: a cup, soil, one bean seed, water. Step 1: Fill the cup with soil. Step 2: Push the bean seed about one inch deep. Step 3: Water it until the soil is damp, and set the cup in a sunny window. Step 4: Keep the soil damp. In about a week, a sprout, a tiny new plant, will push up through the soil. Caption: A bean sprout bends toward the light. Think aloud: "I see a heading, numbered steps and a caption. I see numbers: one inch, a week. No one says 'you should.' The purpose is to inform." Point to each clue as you name it.

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Use the bean text. 1) Ask: "Which feature lets you find what to do second, fast?" (The step numbers.) 2) Ask: "Where would you look to see what to gather first?" (Under the heading "What You Need.") 3) Ask: "Find sprout in Step 4. What is a sprout, and how does the text tell you?" (A tiny new plant. It is a definition clue.) 4) Ask: "Does the author share a view about beans?" (No. The text has only facts and steps.) If stuck, say: "Run your finger down the left side. What starts each line?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child reads this alone. "Grow Something Green": Our school should give every third grader a bean seed this spring. Growing a plant is the best science lesson there is. You'll love checking your cup each morning. Beans grow fast, so nobody gets bored. Seeds cost only a few cents, so there is no good reason to wait. Ask your teacher today! 1) Write the purpose and three clue words. (Persuade: should, best, you'll love, ask.) 2) Write the author's view and your own with yesterday's frame. 3) Write a two-sentence entertain version about a bean seed. 4) Write a two-sentence inform version with a number or a heading. 5) Label one clue in each version. Samples: "Benji the bean hated the dark. 'Let me out!' he yelled." "Bean Facts: A bean plant needs water, light and air." Look for clues that match the purpose in each version.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud. Your child writes the answers with both texts in view.

Homework: Find one text at home with a heading or a diagram. Tell a family member its purpose and two clues. Then read for 15 minutes. Look for clues that are features, not the topic.

Practice page · Week 24, Day 2

English Language Arts

I can use clue words and text features to find an author's purpose.

Show answers

Look: Purpose clues

1. Persuade clues: should, must, best, you'll love, join.
2. Inform clues: facts, numbers, headings, steps, diagrams.
3. Entertain clues: characters, talking, a problem, feelings.

How to Make a Paper Boat

Step 1: Fold a sheet of paper in half from top to bottom. Step 2: Fold the top corners down to the middle to make a triangle. Step 3: Fold each bottom strip up. Run your thumbnail along each crease, the sharp fold line, to make it flat. Step 4: Pull the bottom of the hat open and press it flat into a square. Step 5: Fold the bottom corner up to the top on each side to make a triangle. Step 6: Pull the bottom open again and press it flat into a smaller square. Step 7: Gently pull the two top points out to the sides. Your boat pops into shape!

Use the text above.

1. 1.

   What is the author's purpose?

   ○ Persuade○ Inform○ Entertain
2. 2.

   Name two text features or clues that show it.
3. 3.

   What does crease mean?

Read: 'Every family should fold paper boats! You'll love racing them. Start this rainy day!'

1. 4.

   What is the purpose?

   ○ Persuade○ Inform○ Entertain
2. 5.

   Circle two persuade clue words.

3. 6.

   Write one sentence about boats with an entertain purpose.
4. 7.

   wash + able = ____
5. 8.

   excite + ment = ____

Challenge: Fold a paper boat with the steps. Was the text easy to follow? Why?

Materials: a sheet of paper

Objective: I can draw two possible designs, compare them against my criteria and choose the best plan.

Standards: 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-ESS2-1

Materials: Box of parts from Day 1, Science notebook with the Day 1 page, Ruler and pencil, 1 index card

1. Day 117 — Plan and Compare Designs — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Day 1. Ask: "'Use only parts from our box.' Criterion or constraint? Why?" (Constraint. It limits the materials.) Then lay out the parts from the box. Ask: "Which of these could become part of your instrument? What job would it do?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Good engineers think of more than one solution before they build. Then they compare." First, test an idea. Your child holds the index card by one edge with its flat side toward you. Blow on it. Then your child turns its thin edge toward you. Blow again. Ask: "When did the card get pushed more?" (When the flat side faced the moving air.) Say: "A big flat tail catches the wind. So a wind vane needs a tail bigger than its point." Now compare two designs. Design A: a straw arrow that spins on a pin stuck in a pencil eraser. Design B: a cardboard arrow taped tightly to a stick. Draw a scoring chart: designs down the side, criteria across the top. Ask: "Turns in a light breeze?" (A yes, B no. B is taped still.) "Stays standing?" (Both can, with a heavy base.) "Points to where the wind comes from?" (Only A, because it can turn.) Your child counts the checks. (A has 3. B has 1.) Say: "The best design meets the most criteria and stays inside the constraints." If stuck, say: "Go one box at a time. Can this design do this job?"

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

   Two-Design Plan. 1) Your child sketches Design A and Design B for their own instrument, with labels. The two must differ in at least one real way, such as tail size or base. 2) With the ruler, they draw a scoring chart with their three criteria across the top. 3) For each box they ask, "Is this design likely to meet this criterion?" They mark a check or an X and say why. 4) They test both designs against the constraints. A design that breaks a constraint is out unless it can be changed. 5) They choose the design with the most checks and tell you why. 6) They write at least five numbered build steps. Wind vane sample: cut the point and tail, slit the straw ends and slide the pieces in. Then find the balance point and pin the straw to the eraser. Look for a choice that matches the chart and steps in a sensible order. A tie is fine. Your child picks one design and gives a reason.

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child keeps both sketches, the scoring chart and the build steps in the notebook. Frame: "I chose Design ___ because ___. One thing I am unsure about is ___." Sample: "I chose Design A because it earned three checks. I am unsure whether the base is heavy enough."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three exit questions aloud; your child answers on paper. Praise reasons that name a criterion.

Homework: Your child shows the plan to a family member and asks for one suggestion. Look for the suggestion written beside the plan.