Day 1 · Monday

Objective: I can explain what interdependence means and trace one everyday item back to the people who helped make it.

Standards: D2.Eco.4.3-5, D2.Eco.3.3-5

Materials: A wooden pencil, A slice of bread, 3 items from the kitchen or desk, such as an apple, a milk carton and a wooden spoon, Notebook, Colored pencils, 6 scraps of paper (for the support move)

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 26. Ask: "What is trade?" (Giving goods, services or money to get something you want.) Then hold up the pencil. Ask the big question: "Could you make this pencil all by yourself?" List what you would need: wood, graphite, an eraser, a metal band and paint.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Most workers specialize. They do one job well and trade for the rest. Interdependence means people depend on each other for the goods and services they need." Put the slice of bread on the table. In the notebook, draw six boxes joined by arrows. Fill them in as you talk. Say: "A farmer grows wheat. A miller grinds it into flour. A baker bakes the bread. A truck driver delivers it. A store worker puts it on the shelf. Our family buys it." Ask: "Which worker could we skip and still get bread?" (None. Every link is needed.) Ask: "What happens if the truck driver stays home?" (The bread never reaches the store.) Say: "It goes both ways. The baker needs the farmer's wheat. The farmer needs the baker to buy it." Ask: "Where does the chain start?" (With wheat, grown in soil.) If stuck, say: "Where was it before that? Who touched it next?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Trace It Back. 1) Your child picks three items, such as an apple, a milk carton and a wooden spoon. 2) Read any label aloud. Ask: "What evidence tells where it came from?" (Sample: the carton names a dairy.) 3) For each item, your child draws a chain of at least four boxes with arrows. The first box is a natural resource, such as an apple tree, a cow or a forest. The last box is "me". 4) Under each arrow, write the worker who moves it along, such as picker, dairy farmer, truck driver or cashier. 5) Circle one tool or machine each chain needs, such as a ladder, a milking machine or a saw. 6) Make a small table with three columns: item, starts in nature as, number of workers. Ask: "Which item needs the most workers?" Chains differ from family to family. Look for a start in nature and a worker at every arrow.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Title the page "Interdependence." Your child writes the meaning in their own words and copies their best chain in colored pencil. Then they finish two frames: "I depend on ___ for ___." "Someone depends on me for ___." Sample: "I depend on the bus driver for my ride. My family depends on me to feed the cat." Look for a real person and a real need in each sentence.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three exit questions aloud. Your child answers in the notebook. Praise chains that go all the way back to nature.

Homework: At dinner, your child picks one food and names at least four people who helped it reach the table. Look for a farmer or fisher at the start of the chain.

Practice page · Week 28, Day 1

Social Studies

I can trace an everyday item back to the people who helped make it.

Show answers

The Story of a Wool Hat

Your warm hat began on a farm. A farmer raised sheep, and in spring a shearer clipped their thick wool. At a mill, workers washed the wool and spun it into yarn. A knitter turned the yarn into a hat. A truck driver carried boxes of hats to a store, and a store worker put them on the shelf. Then your family bought one. Many people helped, and the hat needed every one of their steps. When people depend on each other for goods and services, we call it interdependence.

Use the story above.

1. 1.

   What natural resource does the hat chain start with?
2. 2.

   Put these in order: truck driver, shearer, knitter, store worker.
3. 3.

   Could the store sell hats if the mill closed? Why or why not?
4. 4.

   Interdependence means people ___.

   ○ depend on each other for goods and services○ make everything by themselves○ never trade

Trace It Back: choose one item at home. Fill in one row for each step, starting with nature.

Step	Person or place	What they do

1. 5.

   My item:
2. 6.

   My chain starts with this natural resource:
3. 7.

   Finish: I depend on ____ for ____.

Challenge: Why would it be very hard for one person to make a pair of sneakers all alone?

Materials: one item from home, such as a sock or a jar of jam

Objective: I can explain that area is the amount of flat space inside a shape.

Standards: 3.MD.C.5, 3.MD.C.5.a, 3.MD.C.5.b

Materials: 30 paper squares, 1 inch on each side (cut with a ruler and scissors, or use square tiles), 3 paper rectangles in whole inches: 4 by 3, 5 by 2 and 6 by 3, Square sticky note, 3 inches on each side, 12 coins of one kind, Grid paper, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 25 Day 2. Say: "A show starts at 4:10 and ends at 4:45. How long is it?" (35 minutes) Then practice ×3 facts with no clock. Ask 3 × 4, 3 × 6, 3 × 7 and 3 × 9 (12, 18, 21, 27).

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today we measure how much flat space a shape covers. That amount is called area." Lay the paper rectangle that is 4 inches long and 3 inches wide on the table. Say: "Area is all the space inside the edges." Hold up one paper square. Say: "This is a unit square. Each side is 1 unit long. It covers 1 square unit." Your child covers the rectangle with squares, edge to edge. Ask: "Are there any gaps? Do any squares overlap?" (No.) Count the squares together, touching each one. (12) Say: "12 unit squares cover it with no gaps and no overlaps. So the area is 12 square units." Now cover the rectangle with coins. Ask: "Can we count this space exactly?" (No. Coins leave gaps.) Slide one square partly on top of another. Ask: "Is the count still right?" (No. One spot is counted twice.) Now your child does more. Your child covers the rectangle that is 5 inches long and 2 inches wide. Ask: "What is its area?" (10 square units)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   1) Your child covers the sticky note with squares and counts (9 square units). 2) Outline a rectangle 4 squares long and 2 squares tall on grid paper. Your child counts the squares (8 square units). 3) Lay 6 squares in a row with a space between two of them. Ask: "Is this covered the right way?" (No. A gap leaves space that is not counted.) 4) Your child builds any shape from 5 squares with edges touching. Ask its area (5 square units). Your child moves the squares into a new shape. Ask: "Did the area change?" (No. It is still 5 unit squares.) If stuck, say: "Touch each square once and count. Each square is 1 square unit."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child says or writes each area with the words "square units." 1) A shape is covered by 14 unit squares with no gaps or overlaps. What is its area? (14 square units) 2) Your child builds a shape from 11 paper squares and tells its area (11 square units). 3) Outline a rectangle 6 squares long and 2 squares tall on grid paper. Your child counts (12 square units). 4) Draw steps on grid paper with rows of 1, 2 and 3 squares. Your child counts (6 square units). 5) Your child covers the paper rectangle that is 6 inches long and 3 inches wide (18 square units). 6) Ben covers a mat with 12 squares but leaves gaps. Is the area 12 square units? (No. The gaps were not counted.) 7) Lena covers a tray with 20 unit squares, with no gaps or overlaps. What is its area? (20 square units) 8) A game board is covered by 25 unit squares. What is its area? (25 square units)

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Put the paper squares away. Read each question aloud; your child draws on grid paper for question 3.

Fact fluency: ×3 facts

Homework: Your child draws three different shapes on grid paper. Each must have an area of 10 square units. Sample: a rectangle 5 squares long and 2 squares tall.

Objective: I can choose a research topic that I care about and that is small enough to study in four weeks.

Standards: W.3.7, SL.3.1, SL.3.1.B, SL.3.1.C, L.3.2.F

Materials: Writer's notebook with a new "Research Project" section, 5 sticky notes, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, contractions. Say: "A contraction is two words squeezed into one. An apostrophe sits where letters were dropped." Write can't, don't, it's, we're, we'll, you've. Your child reads each and says the two words (cannot, do not, it is, we are, we will, you have). Your child sorts them under three headings: not, is or are, will or have. (not: can't, don't; is or are: it's, we're; will or have: we'll, you've) Spaced review from Week 26. Ask: "'My backpack weighs a ton.' Literal or nonliteral? What does it mean?" (Nonliteral. The backpack is very heavy.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Today we start a real research project. By Week 31 you will have a finished report. In Week 33 you will present it." Say: "First we need a good topic. A good topic passes three tests." Write: 1) I really want to learn about it. 2) It is narrow enough for four weeks. 3) I can get books or articles about it. Say: "Narrow means small and exact. A broad topic is too big to finish." Draw a ladder with four rungs. Think aloud: "I like animals. That is huge. Ocean animals is smaller. Sea otters is smaller still. How sea otters stay warm is one clear thing to find out." Write on the rungs, top to bottom: Animals, Ocean animals, Sea otters, How sea otters stay warm. Ask: "Which rung could fill a whole library shelf?" (Animals) "Which rung can I finish in four weeks?" (The bottom one.) Now your child does more. Say: "Climb down a ladder from Food." (Sample: Food, Sweet foods, Honey, How honeybees make honey.)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Set the discussion rules first. Say: "We take turns. We look at the speaker. We build on each other's ideas." Write two starters: "I agree, and..." and "I see it differently because..." 1) Your child writes five possible topics, one on each sticky note. 2) Pick up one note. Ask: "Does it pass test 1? Tell me why." (Listen for a real reason, such as "I saw one at the lake.") 3) Ask: "Is it narrow enough?" Model with Space. Say: "Space is too broad. How astronauts sleep in space is narrow." (Your child narrows each broad note with How or Why.) 4) Ask: "Can we get two or three books or articles about it?" (Yes, or the note is set aside.) Use a starter yourself each turn, and expect one back. If stuck, say: "Could a whole library shelf be about this? Then go one rung down. Ask how or why."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child picks a final topic and writes a paragraph titled "Why I Picked This Topic." It should be 4 or 5 sentences. 1) Name the topic. 2) Give a reason it interests you. 3) Tell one thing you already know. 4) Tell one thing you wonder. Frames: "My topic is ___. I picked it because ___. I already know that ___. I wonder ___." Model: "My topic is how honeybees make honey. I picked it because we keep honey at home, and I can't picture insects making food. I already know that bees visit flowers. I wonder what happens inside the hive." Checklist: the topic passes all three tests; the reason is more than "it's cool"; one known fact; capitals and end marks.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three questions aloud. Your child writes the answers in full sentences in the notebook.

Homework: Tell a family member your topic and why you chose it. Ask what they wonder about it, and write their question down. Look for a full sentence that ends with a question mark. About 10 minutes.

Objective: I can explain that a trait is a feature of a living thing and name some of my own traits.

Standards: 3-LS3-1

Materials: Hand mirror, Science notebook and pencil, Colored pencils, Ruler marked in centimeters, One houseplant, garden plant or pet to observe

1. Day 136 — What Are Traits? — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 26. Ask: "How do a desert jackrabbit's long, thin ears help it?" (Body heat escapes from them, so it stays cooler.) Then hand your child the mirror. Ask: "What are 5 things you notice about how you look?" Write down each word. Now the wonder. Ask: "Which of these would still be true tomorrow, in different clothes?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A trait is a feature of a living thing. Physical traits are features of the body. You can see them or measure them." Give examples: eye color, natural hair color, curly or straight hair, freckles, ear shape and height. Go back to the warm-up list. Your child circles every word that is a physical trait. Say: "Brown eyes are a trait. A red shirt is not, because you can take it off." Say: "Plants and animals have traits too, like a sunflower's yellow petals." Ask: "Is a cat's long tail a trait?" (Yes. It is part of the cat's body.) "Is a dog's collar a trait?" (No. The collar comes off.) "Is loving soccer a physical trait?" (No. It is something you like, not a body feature.) If stuck, say: "Is it part of the body? Can we see it or measure it?"

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

   Trait Inventory. Safety: an adult checks that the plant or pet is safe to touch. 1) With the mirror, your child records eye color and natural hair color. 2) They record hair texture and check for freckles. 3) Measure your child's hand with the ruler, from the wrist crease to the longest fingertip. Record it to the nearest centimeter. 4) Observe the plant or pet closely. Your child lists 3 of its traits, such as leaf shape, leaf color or fur pattern. Record everything in a table with three columns: Living thing, Trait, What I see or measure. This is an observation, not a test, so nothing is changed. Keep the ruler's zero on the wrist crease. Expect about 8 rows. Every row should describe a body feature, not clothes, likes or skills. If your lists differ, say: "Real results vary. Look for the pattern: body features only."

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Start a notebook section titled "Traits" and write the date. Your child finishes the frame: "A trait is ___." Then they draw a quick self-portrait with colored pencils. They label 5 physical traits with arrows. Under it they list the 3 traits of the plant or pet. Sample: "A trait is a feature of a living thing. My plant has smooth, green, heart-shaped leaves."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three exit questions aloud. Your child may answer aloud or on paper. Praise answers that tell why the backpack is not a trait.

Homework: Ask a family member or friend to name 5 of their own physical traits. Write them down and circle any trait you also have. Look for: every item is a body feature.