Day 3 · Wednesday

Objective: I can make a simple budget that shows my income, my spending and my saving.

Standards: D2.Eco.1.3-5

Materials: Notebook, Pencil, 12 play dollars (paper slips work), Calculator (for checking only)

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 24. Ask: "Name one need and one want. How are they different?" (Sample: food and a toy. We must have needs to live and be safe.) Then ask the big question: "If someone gave you $20, how would you plan to use it?"

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A budget is a plan for your money before you spend it. Income is money coming in. Expenses are money going out." Write the rule: expenses plus saving cannot be more than income. Model a $10 weekly allowance in the notebook. Write four lines: Save $3. Give $1. Comic book $4. Snack $2. Ask: "Does the plan fit? Add the lines." (Yes. 3 + 1 + 4 + 2 = 10.) Now change the snack to a $4 toy. Ask: "Does it fit now?" (No. 3 + 1 + 4 + 4 = 12, and 12 is more than 10.) Ask: "What could change?" (Drop one thing, or pick something that costs less.) Say: "Every choice has a benefit and a cost. The comic's benefit is a fun story. Its cost is $4 that cannot be used for anything else." Ask: "What is the benefit of the Save line?" (Money is ready later for something bigger.) "What is its cost?" (Less to spend this week.) If stuck, say: "Add each line. Is the total more than the income?"

3. Activity / Source Work · 15–20 min

   Make a Budget. Your child gets a pretend $12 for the week, in play dollars. Read this price list aloud. Pack of trading cards $5. Toy car $3. Sheet of stickers $2. Ice pop $2. Juice box $1. 1) In the notebook, draw a table with three columns: line, amount, running total. 2) Write "Income $12" above the table. 3) The first line is Save. It must be at least $2. Your child sets those play dollars aside. 4) Your child chooses items. For each one, write a line, pay the play dollars and write the running total. 5) Stop before the running total passes $12. If it goes over, cross something off. 6) Ask: "What is the benefit of your first choice? What did you give up to get it?" 7) Check the total with the calculator. Many budgets are right. Sample: Save $2, cards $5, car $3, stickers $2. That makes 12.

4. Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child copies the finished budget neatly. They label Income, Save and Expenses and write the total. Then finish the frame: "Making a budget helps me because ___." Sample: "Making a budget helps me because I see what I can afford before I spend." Keep this page for Day 4.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Your child solves question 2 on paper and answers questions 1 and 3 aloud. Praise your child for adding every line.

Homework: Your child writes a budget for this week's allowance, or a pretend $10, before spending any of it. Look for a Save line and a total that is no more than the income.

Objective: I can find perimeter by adding the side lengths of any polygon.

Standards: 3.MD.D.8

Materials: Ruler (for straight sketch lines), Plain paper, Notebook, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 29 Day 2. Ask: "A rug has an area of 21 square feet. One side is 3 feet. How long is the other side?" (7 feet) Then practice ×4 and ×8 facts with no clock. Ask 4 × 6 and 8 × 6, then 4 × 7 and 8 × 7 (24, 48, 28, 56). Ask: "How does a ×4 fact help with a ×8 fact?" (Double it.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "A polygon is a closed flat shape with straight sides. Triangles, squares and rectangles are polygons." Say: "To find the perimeter of any polygon, add every side." With the ruler, sketch a five-sided polygon shaped like a house. Say: "A five-sided polygon is a pentagon. You met that name in Grade 2." The sketch need not be true to size. Label its sides 3, 4, 5, 2 and 6 cm. Your child ticks each side as you add it. Say: "Look for friendly pairs. 4 + 6 = 10. Then 3 + 5 + 2 = 10. And 10 + 10 = 20." Say: "So the perimeter is 20 cm." Next, sketch a rectangle. Label only the top 7 cm and the left side 2 cm. Ask: "How long is the bottom? How do you know?" (7 cm; opposite sides of a rectangle match.) Write the two missing labels. Write 7 + 2 + 7 + 2 = 18. Say: "So the perimeter is 18 cm." Last, sketch a square with 6-inch sides. Say: "A square has 4 equal sides, so we can multiply. 4 × 6 = 24. So the perimeter is 24 inches." Now your child does more. Sketch a triangle with sides of 4, 6 and 9 feet. Your child adds them. (4 + 6 + 9 = 19 feet)

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   Your child sketches each polygon and labels every side before adding. 1) A rectangle labeled 9 meters on top and 2 meters on the left. (9 + 2 + 9 + 2 = 22 meters) 2) A square with 8-cm sides. (4 × 8 = 32 cm) 3) A six-sided polygon with every side 3 inches. (6 × 3 = 18 inches) 4) A triangle with sides of 6, 6 and 4 cm. (6 + 6 + 4 = 16 cm). If stuck, say: "Tick each side as you add it. Does any side still need a label?"

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child sketches, labels every side and writes the unit. 1) A rectangle 8 cm long and 4 cm wide (24 cm). 2) A square with 10-inch sides. (4 × 10 = 40 inches) 3) A triangle with sides of 5, 7 and 9 meters (21 meters). 4) A five-sided polygon with sides of 2, 6, 4, 3 and 7 cm (22 cm). 5) A six-sided polygon with every side 4 feet. (6 × 4 = 24 feet) 6) Your child sketches a rectangle 12 inches long and 5 inches wide and writes all four labels. (12 + 5 + 12 + 5 = 34 inches) 7) A sign is a triangle with sides of 10, 10 and 6 inches. How much tape goes around its edge? (26 inches) 8) A park path has four sides of 30, 20, 25 and 15 meters. How long is one lap? (90 meters)

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read each question aloud; your child sketches and labels before adding.

Fact fluency: ×4 and ×8 facts

Homework: Find each perimeter. A rectangle is 10 cm long and 6 cm wide (32 cm). A square has 4-cm sides (16 cm). A triangle has sides of 3, 4 and 6 inches (13 inches).

Objective: I can write body paragraphs with a topic sentence, facts, linking words and science or history words explained.

Standards: W.3.2.B, W.3.2.C, L.3.6

Materials: Writer's notebook, Outline from Day 1, Subtopic pages, 5 sticky notes, Pencil

1. Warm-Up · 5 min

   Word study, Unit 5 review. Dictate this sentence: "Their team can't write the players' names yet." Your child writes it. Check it together. Ask: "Why is the apostrophe after the s in players'?" (More than one player owns the names.) Spaced review from Week 28. Ask: "Why should a researcher use more than one source?" (One source might be wrong or leave things out.)

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Each subtopic page becomes one body paragraph. It has a topic sentence, three or four facts and a closing sentence." Read this model aloud. "Inside the Hive. Inside the hive, nectar slowly changes into honey. First, a forager, a bee that gathers food, passes her nectar to a house bee. Next, house bees spread the nectar into wax cells. They also fan their wings because moving air dries the nectar and makes it thick. Finally, the bees seal each cell with a wax cap. All this teamwork turns watery nectar into honey." Think aloud: "The first sentence is the topic sentence. It came from my big-idea sentence. Then I count four facts. The last sentence closes the paragraph." Say: "Linking words connect ideas." Write also, another, and, but, because on the sticky notes. Say: "I see also and because in the model." Say: "Forager is a topic word, a special word for this subject. The writer explains it between commas for the reader."

3. Guided Practice · 10–15 min

   1) Ask: "Which words show the order of the facts?" (First, Next, Finally) 2) Ask: "The writer could add another fact. Which sticky note could start it?" (Another, as in "Another job is cleaning the cells.") 3) Your child lists 3 to 5 topic words from their own notes. Your child explains one in a sentence. (Sample: "Sea otters rest in groups called rafts.") 4) Together, turn the Body 1 big-idea sentence into a topic sentence. Ask: "Does it tell what the whole paragraph is about?" (Yes) Then ask: "What could a closing sentence say?" (It says the main point again in new words. It adds no new fact.) If stuck, say: "Read your big-idea sentence. Read your first note. Join them with also or because."

4. Independent Practice · 15–20 min

   Your child drafts the body paragraphs, one for each subtopic. Each paragraph has 5 to 7 sentences. 1) Start with the topic sentence. 2) Add three or four facts from the notes, in your own words. 3) Use at least two linking words from the sticky notes. 4) Explain one topic word for the reader. 5) End with a closing sentence. Your child finishes Body 1 today and starts Body 2. The rest is homework. A strong start for otters: "A sea otter's fur is its winter coat. It also traps a layer of air." Checklist: every fact matches the topic sentence; two linking words; one topic word explained; no copied sentences.

5. Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Ask the three questions. Your child points to the draft while answering.

Homework: Finish your body paragraphs. Read one aloud to a family member and count the linking words together. Look for at least two. About 20 minutes.

Practice page · Week 30, Day 3

English Language Arts

I can write a body paragraph with a topic sentence, facts and linking words.

Show answers

Sea Turtle Nests

Mother sea turtles work hard to keep their eggs safe. First, a mother crawls onto a sandy beach at night. Next, she digs a deep hole with her back flippers. For example, a green sea turtle may lay about 100 eggs in one nest. In addition, she covers the eggs with sand so predators, or animals that hunt other animals, cannot find them. Her nest is a hidden nursery.

Use the paragraph above.

1. 1.

   Underline the topic sentence.

2. 2.

   Circle four linking or order words.

3. 3.

   Which topic word does the writer explain? What does it mean?
4. 4.

   Join with a linking word: 'The eggs hatch. The babies crawl to the sea.'
5. 5.

   Which sentence does NOT belong in this paragraph?

   ○ She digs a deep hole.○ My cousin likes to swim.○ She covers the eggs.

Add the missing apostrophe.

1. 6.

   The turtles eggs are under the sand. (many turtles)
2. 7.

   We cant see the nest.
3. 8.

   The beach is the turtle's home, and shes safe there.

Challenge: Write the topic sentence for your first body paragraph.

Objective: I can observe variation in plants of one kind and explain how farmers use it.

Standards: 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-2

Materials: 5 potatoes or 5 pears of one kind, Piece of string about 40 centimeters long, Ruler marked in centimeters, Science notebook and pencil

1. Day 148 — Variation in Plants — Wonder Warm-Up · 5 min

   Spaced review from Week 22. Ask: "What do we call a climate that gets very little rain?" (Arid, a desert climate.) Now the wonder. Ask: "Are all the potatoes in one bag exactly the same?" Your child predicts 2 ways the samples will differ and writes them down.

2. Mini-Lesson · 10–15 min

   Say: "Plants of one kind vary too. Some variation is inherited from the parent plants. Some comes from the environment: sun, water, soil and space." Example 1. Say: "On an ear of multicolored corn, each kernel is a seed. Each seed got its own mix of traits, so the colors differ." Example 2. Say: "Two bean plants grow from one packet. The one in the shade stays small. That difference comes from the environment." Say: "A crop is a plant people grow for food. For thousands of years, farmers saved seeds from their best plants. They planted those seeds the next year, and slowly the crops changed, like dog breeds." Say: "Pear trees and potato plants of one kind grow from pieces of a parent plant, not seeds. So today's samples differ mostly because of the environment." Ask: "A farmer wants sweeter corn next year. Which seeds should she save?" (Seeds from the sweetest plants.) "A dandelion in a sidewalk crack stays tiny. Why?" (Little soil and water, its environment.) "Why do kernels on one ear differ in color?" (Each seed inherited its own mix.) If stuck, say: "Did the difference come with the seed, or from where it grew?"

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

   Produce Variation Chart. 1) Number the 5 potatoes or pears 1 to 5. 2) Your child wraps the string around the widest part of sample 1 and pinches the spot. 3) They hold the string against the ruler and record the distance around in centimeters. 4) They repeat for the other four samples. 5) They note each sample's color, shape and any spots or bumps. 6) They subtract the smallest distance around from the largest. Use a table with five columns: Sample, Distance around in centimeters, Color, Shape, Spots or marks. Nothing is changed. Keep the same kind of produce, the same string and the widest part each time. Expect the distances to differ by 1 centimeter or more. If two match, compare their shape and marks. Say: "Real results vary. Look for the pattern." Ask: "Which differences likely came from the environment?" (Sample: size from sun, water and space; marks from bumps or weather.)

4. Science Notebook Entry · 10 min

   Your child copies the finished chart into the notebook with all 5 rows. They check the warm-up prediction against it. Then they finish the frames: "My samples varied in ___ and ___. A farmer who grows a crop from seed could ___." Sample: "My samples varied in size and color. A farmer who grows a crop from seed could save seeds from the best plants."

5. Wrap-Up & Exit Ticket · 5 min

   Read the three exit questions aloud. Praise answers that use a measurement from the chart as evidence.

Homework: Examine 5 pieces of a different fruit or vegetable at home. Write 3 ways they vary. Look for: size, color, shape or marks.