Day 3 · Wednesday

Objective: I can explain how different U.S. regions make different goods and trade with each other.

Standards: D2.Eco.4.3-5, D2.Geo.7.3-5, D2.Geo.12.3-5

Materials: U.S. map with state names, Blank U.S. outline with state lines (printed, or traced from your map), Colored pencils, 3 to 5 food labels or packages from the kitchen, Ruler, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 11. Ask: "Name the five U.S. regions and point to each." (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and West.) Then hold up a food package. Ask the big question: "Could our state grow everything in our kitchen?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Regions specialize because their climate, soil and resources are different." Point to each place on the map as you name it. Say: "Corn and soybeans grow across Iowa and Illinois. Wheat covers the plains of Kansas and North Dakota. Oranges grow in warm Florida and California. Potatoes grow in Idaho's cool nights and loose soil. Apples grow in Washington. Maple syrup comes from Vermont's cold forests. Much oil comes from Texas." Say: "Trucks, trains, ships and planes carry these goods, so every region can have them." Ask: "Why does Vermont make maple syrup, while Florida does not?" (Sugar maple trees need cold winters. Florida is too warm.) Now teach cause and effect. Say: "Suppose a long drought dries up wheat fields in Kansas. There is less wheat. So flour and bread can cost more in stores far away." Ask: "Who feels a drought in Kansas?" (Kansas farmers, and bread buyers in other states.) Ask: "How could Washington apples reach us?" (Sample: by truck or train.) If stuck, say: "What does this place have a lot of? What is it missing?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Trade Map. Read this source table aloud. Apples: Washington. Potatoes: Idaho. Corn: Iowa. Wheat: Kansas. Oranges: Florida. Maple syrup: Vermont. Peanuts: Georgia. Oil: Texas. 1) Your child colors your own state on the outline. 2) Read the food labels. Does any label name a state? Add it to the table. 3) Your child picks five goods. With the ruler, they draw an arrow from each producing state to your state. 4) Label each arrow with the good and one way it might travel. 5) If your state is in the table, draw that arrow out to a neighbor state. 6) Ask: "Which region sends us the most arrows? What is your evidence?" (Answers vary. Your child counts arrows by region.) 7) Pick one arrow. Ask: "What if a flood closed this route for a month?" (Fewer of that good would arrive. Prices could rise.) Check that each arrow starts in the right state.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   In the notebook, your child writes: "My state gets ___ from ___. My state sends ___ to other states." If you are unsure what your state sends, ask a relative or check a library book later. Then write one sentence about a drought, flood or frost in another region. Sample: "My state gets apples from Washington. If frost hurt the apple trees, apples would cost more here."

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the questions aloud. Your child points to the map while answering. Praise answers that use the word because.

Homework: Your child reads five food labels at home and lists any state or country names. Look for a list with the food beside each place.

Objective: I can find area by counting unit squares row by row.

Standards: 3.MD.C.6, 3.MD.C.5.b

Materials: Centimeter grid paper, Colored pencils, Ruler, Sticky note (to cover rows), Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 22 Day 1. Ask: "Which is greater, 3/8 or 5/8 of the same pizza?" (5/8. The parts are the same size, and 5 parts is more than 3.) Then practice ×5 facts with no clock. Your child counts by 5s to 50. Ask 5 × 4, 5 × 8 and 5 × 10 (20, 40, 50).

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Counting one square at a time is slow. Today we count a whole row at a time." Use the ruler to outline a rectangle 6 squares long and 3 squares tall on grid paper. Your child colors each row a different color. Ask: "How many rows?" (3) "How many squares in each row?" (6) Lay the sticky note over the rectangle. Slide it down to uncover one row at a time. Count by rows together: 6, 12, 18. Say: "3 rows of 6 is 18. So the area is 18 square units." Say: "Now count by columns. A column goes up and down." Ask: "How many columns? How many squares in each?" (6; 3) Count together: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18. Ask: "Why are both counts 18?" (Each way counts every square once.) Now your child does more. Outline a rectangle 5 squares long and 4 squares tall. Your child counts by rows, then by columns. (5, 10, 15, 20; 4, 8, 12, 16, 20; 20 square units)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Outline each rectangle on grid paper. Your child counts by rows and writes "__ rows of __ is __ square units." 1) 2 rows of 5 (5, 10; 10 square units). 2) 3 rows of 3 (3, 6, 9; 9 square units). 3) 3 rows of 10 (10, 20, 30; 30 square units). 4) Your child checks problem 3 by columns. Ask: "How many columns of 3?" (10 columns; still 30 square units) If stuck, say: "Cover all but one row. How many squares do you see? Uncover the next row and count on."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child outlines each rectangle, counts by rows and writes the rows sentence. 1) 2 rows of 7 (14 square units). 2) 3 rows of 4 (12 square units). 3) 5 rows of 5 (25 square units). 4) 3 rows of 9 (27 square units). 5) 8 rows of 5 (40 square units). 6) You outline a rectangle 7 squares long and 3 squares tall. Your child writes its rows sentence. (3 rows of 7 is 21 square units.) 7) A floor has 4 rows of 10 tiles. Each tile is 1 square foot. What is its area? (40 square feet) 8) A window has 2 rows of 6 square panes. Each pane is 1 square foot. What is its area? (12 square feet) Your child checks problems 1 and 2 by counting columns.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Put the colored pencils away. Read each question aloud; your child may sketch on grid paper.

Fact fluency: ×5 facts

Homework: Your child draws three rectangles on grid paper and counts each by rows. Use 2 rows of 3, 4 rows of 5 and 3 rows of 10. Areas: 6, 20 and 30 square units.

Objective: I can plan my project in order and use sequence words to explain the steps.

Standards: W.3.7, RI.3.3

Materials: Writer's notebook, One sheet of plain paper, Colored pencils, Research question page from Day 2, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, contractions. Dictate this sentence: "We can't start yet, but she'll help when it's time." Your child writes it. Check it together. Touch each apostrophe and name the dropped letters (can't: n and o; she'll: w and i; it's: i). Spaced review from Week 15. Ask: "What does the prefix mis- mean in misread?" (Wrongly. To misread is to read something the wrong way.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Read this text aloud while your child follows. "Making Butter in a Jar. First, pour cold heavy cream into a clean jar until it is half full. Next, screw the lid on tight. Then shake the jar hard for about ten minutes. At first, the cream turns thick and fluffy. After that, keep shaking until you hear a slosh. A yellow lump has formed because the shaking made tiny bits of fat stick together. Finally, pour off the thin liquid, called buttermilk, and rinse the butter in cold water." Say: "Writers show order with sequence words." Think aloud: "I see First. That is step one, so I write a 1 above it." Your child numbers the other steps and circles the sequence words (Next, Then, At first, After that, Finally). Ask: "What do you do right after you screw on the lid?" (Shake the jar hard.) Say: "The word because signals cause and effect. The cause makes the effect happen." Ask: "What causes the yellow lump?" (Shaking makes bits of fat stick together.) Ask: "Could you rinse the butter before shaking? Why not?" (No. There is no butter yet.)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Say: "A project has steps in order too." On the plain paper, draw a timeline with five rows. Label them Week 28, Week 29, Week 30, Week 31 and Week 33. Week 32 is a catch-up week, so it gets no row. 1) Ask: "What goes in the Week 28 row?" (Topic, research question, three sources.) Your child writes it. 2) Ask: "What must be done before drafting?" (Notes) Your child writes notes in Week 29 and draft in Week 30. 3) Say: "Week 31 is for the picture, revising, editing and publishing. Week 33 is for presenting." Your child fills in both rows. 4) Your child says the plan aloud: "First I will find three sources. Next I will take notes." Say: "If the notes are not done in Week 29, then drafting will be hard." If stuck, say: "What do you need before you can do this step? Put that step first."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   1) Your child colors each row a different color. 2) Your child adds one exact task to each row, such as "read source 2." 3) In the notebook, your child writes three sentences about the plan with first, next and finally. 4) Your child writes two cause-and-effect sentences with the frame "If I ___, then ___." Model: "If I sort my notes by subtopic, then writing paragraphs will go faster." Look for: every row has a task; the order makes sense; each If sentence names a real effect. Tape the timeline into the notebook.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three questions. Your child may point to the butter text and the timeline while answering.

Homework: Tell a family member what you will do first, next and last in your project. Then read your own book for 15 minutes. Look for sequence words in the retelling.

Practice page · Week 28, Day 3

English Language Arts

I can put steps in order and use sequence words.

Show answers

Making a Bird Feeder

First, wash an empty milk carton and let it dry. Next, ask an adult to cut a large window in two sides. Then poke a hole near the top and push a string through it. After that, pour birdseed into the bottom of the carton. Finally, hang the feeder from a tree branch. Because the seed is easy to see and reach, birds will soon start to visit.

Use the text above.

1. 1.

   Circle the five sequence words.

2. 2.

   What is the step right after cutting the windows?
3. 3.

   What causes birds to visit?
4. 4.

   Put the project steps in order: take notes, draft, find sources, publish.
5. 5.

   Finish: 'If I find my sources early, then ____.'

Fill in each blank with a contraction from the box.

Word bank: can't · it's · we'll

1. 6.

   We ____ hang the feeder until it is dry.
2. 7.

   ____ fun to watch the birds eat.
3. 8.

   Tomorrow ____ add more seed.

Challenge: Write two sentences about your project plan. Use the words first and next.

Objective: I can explain why offspring of the same parents look alike but are not exactly the same.

Standards: 3-LS3-1

Materials: 10 dry beans of one kind from one bag (lima, pinto or kidney), Ruler marked in centimeters, Sheet of white paper, Picture of a litter of baby animals, such as piglets, rabbits or kittens (book or magazine), Science notebook and pencil

1. Day 138 — Family Resemblance and Variation — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 10. Ask: "What do we call a living thing that makes its own food?" (A producer, such as a plant.) Then show the litter picture. Say: "These babies have the same parents." Your child points out 2 differences among them. Now the wonder. Ask: "Why are brothers and sisters alike, but never exactly the same?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A litter is a group of babies born together. Brothers and sisters are called siblings." Say: "Each offspring gets its own mix of traits from the same two parents. So siblings look alike, but not exactly alike." Say: "The small differences among living things of one kind are called variation." In the notebook, draw a pink mother pig and a spotted father pig. Give both a curly tail. Your child draws three piglets. For each piglet they choose a pink or spotted coat. Ask: "Which trait do all your piglets share?" (A curly tail, like both parents.) "Which trait varies?" (Coat color or spots.) "One piglet looks different. Is it from another family?" (No. Variation in one family is normal.) Say: "Identical twins are a special case. They begin as one, so they look almost exactly alike." If stuck, say: "Each baby gets its own mix. Would three mixes all come out the same?"

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

   Bean Variation Check. Safety: do not eat dry beans, and keep them away from very young children. 1) Spread the 10 beans on the white paper. Say: "These all came from bean plants of one kind." 2) Draw a straight line across the paper. Your child stands each bean with one end on the line. 3) They put the beans in order from shortest to longest. 4) With the ruler, measure the shortest and longest bean to the nearest half centimeter. 5) Sort again by color or markings, such as darker and lighter. Record in a table with three columns: Bean, Place in line from 1 to 10, Color or markings. Nothing is changed in this study. Keep the same kind of bean and measure each one the long way. Expect small differences in length, often half a centimeter or less, and in color. Ask: "Are any two beans exactly the same?" If two look the same, compare their shape and markings. Say: "Real results vary. Look for the pattern."

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child makes a chart titled "Same Kind, Small Differences" with two columns: Alike, Different. They fill in at least 3 rows, using the litter picture and the beans. Then they finish the frame: "Offspring of the same parents are alike because ___, but different because ___." Sample: "They are alike because they inherit traits from the same parents, but different because each one gets its own mix."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three exit questions aloud; your child may look at the bean lineup. Praise any answer that calls variation normal.

Homework: Compare 5 grapes, snap peas or peanuts in the shell. List 2 ways they are alike and 2 ways they vary. Look for: size, shape, color or markings.