Grades 3-5

Main Idea & Supporting Details

ELAR

Reading: Choose an informational text such as a book or an online article to read for about 25 minutes. As you read, think of the main ideas for each page or section of the text.

Writing: Respond to your reading by writing about the main idea of your selected text. Possible prompts include:

• The most important point in this page/section/text is_____.I knew that because of_____.

• I learned______after reading this (sentence/paragraph/

• passage/page). The details that best support the main idea of this text are _____, _____and______.

• The text provides these specific details: _____, _______,and______. The generalization I can make from these details is______.

SLAR

Lectura: Escoge un texto informativo como un libro o un artículo en la red para leer por aproximadamente 25 minutos. Mientras lees, piensa en las ideas principales de cada página o sección del texto.

Escritura: Responde a tu lectura escribiendo la idea principal del texto que seleccionaste.

Posible tópicos de escritura incluyen:

• El punto más importante de este(a) sección/página/texto es_____. Yo lo supe porque ______.

• Yo aprendí _______ después de leer este(a) (oración/párrafo/ensayo/página). Los detalles que mejor apoyan la idea principal de este texto son ______ y _______.

• El texto proviene estos detalles específicos: ______, ______, y ______. La generalización que puedo hacer de estos detalles es ______.

Physical Activities - While doing physical activities (e.g. going up and down stairs, walking from one end of a room to another, hopping, jumping jacks, etc.), keep track by counting by different multiples (e.g. 10s, 100s, or 1,000s) both forwards and backwards. Lots of children find counting backwards challenging as they are used to a forward counting sequence, so this is a good time to get some practice in. You could also switch the count mid-way (e.g. starting counting by 10s, then switch to counting by 100s, then back to 10s).

Shopping and Money - Have your child estimate costs (Do you think we will have enough to get...?) and practice addition and subtraction (How much will these two items cost together?, How much change should you get?, How much more expensive is this than that?). Practice rounding the costs of items. Grab a handful of coins and figure out the total value, or explore the similarities and differences between any foreign currencies you have.

Spatial Reasoning - Building with blocks, Lego, or other loose parts (e.g. coins, pebbles) all help develop spatial reasoning and can be an opportunity to explore ideas like symmetry. Mazes, jigsaw puzzles, origami, pentominoes and tangrams are also great. Finally, have your child read or draw some maps! Mapping helps children develop their spatial reasoning skills and make sense of their world.

Estimating Collections - Create collections of things around the home (e.g. pasta, paper clips, coins, Legos) and have your child make an initial estimate of the number of things in each collection. Then, have them refine their estimation using strategies like finding what ten or hundred looks like and comparing what you are estimating to the ten/hundred, clump counting, or scooping and count.

1. In a clear cup/glass, pour about a half cup of vegetable oil, water, and any type of syrupy item you have at home. Write down what happens as you pour and after the mixture has settled for about 5 minutes. What do you notice? What do you wonder? Talk with someone about those questions.

2. Go outside on a clear night and observe the moon. Draw a picture of what it looks like. Try to be as detailed as possible with colors and shading. Do this over the course of 2 weeks and see if you notice a pattern in what is happening.

3. Take a toy car or some object that usually slides easily and roll it across 3 different surfaces (i.e. carpet, wood, vinyl, concrete). Measure the distance that the object goes on the different surfaces. What do you think is causing this?

Task 1 - Economics

Make a list of 5-10 things you or your family buys. Categorize each item as a need or a want.

Need | Want

Task 2 - Government and Economics

With an adult, watch a newscast. As you watch, determine if the news story can be categorized as dealing with government (political) or economics. Summarize that story.

Task 3 - Economics

Create a list of 5-10 businesses you go to on a regular basis. Summarize and categorize that type of goods or services you buy from that business.

Services | Goods

Task 4- Culture

Describe family traditions and customs that your family celebrates. Compare your family traditions and customs that your family celebrates with another families traditions and customs.

Task 5 - Science and Technology

Think of a form of technology you use in your home each day (microwave, A/C, phone, computer, etc). Write, draw or record a story about how your day would be different without this technology.

Talk and Reflect

• Choose someone to share your work with. This can be a family member or a friend, in person or online.

• Ask them: What did you like about this work? And how might I improve this work?

• After you receive that feedback, consider the response. Make improvements on your work based on the feedback that you think will improve the work. Remember, it's okay if you do not agree with the feedback. What is important is to consider it.

Questions, Opinions, & Ideas

ELAR

Reading: Choose an informational text such as a book or an online article to read for about 25 minutes. Think and write down questions, opinions or ideas you have about the text as you read.

Writing: Choose one of your opinions or ideas. Write a paragraph to elaborate on your opinion or idea.

Possible prompts include:

• The important part about this text is _____.

• I’m realizing ____.

• This makes me think ____.

• What surprises me about this text is ____.

SLAR

Lectura: Escoge un texto informativo como un libro o un artículo en la red para leer por aproximadamente 25 minutos. Piensa y escribe preguntas, opiniones o ideas que tienes sobre el texto mientras lees.

Escritura: Escoge una de tus opiniones o ideas. Escribe un párrafo que elabora sobre tu opinión o idea. Posible tópicos de escritura incluyen:

• La parte más importante sobre este texto es _____.

• Me estoy dando cuenta de que _______.

• Esto me hace pensar _____.

• Lo que me sorprende sobre este texto es _________.

Schedules and Time - While your day may have less scheduled time than a school day, there are still opportunities to talk about time. (How many days until...?, How many hours until...?) Have your child practice reading analog clocks and think about questions related to elapsed time (e.g. What time will it be in 45 minutes? What time was it three hour ago? If we start watching this movie now and it’s 87 minutes long, about what time will we be done?)

Measuring Around the House - Have your child estimate the dimensions of things around the house, then use rulers or tape measures to measure them. They could also measure how far paper airplanes fly, the distance of jumps from a line, how far a toy can be thrown, and more.

Cooking and Food - Have your child help out in the kitchen by measuring out ingredients (adding whole numbers, comparing fractions of different ingredients), calculating how many trays you need to bake for a specific number of people (multiplication/arrays), and figuring out how long things need to stay in the oven (elapsed time).

Reading - Can you find the math in things you read? How about some Bedtime Math stories? Here are a few other math-related books: List of 10 non-fiction math books and Mathical Book Prize list

Weather - Have your child figure out the daily temperature range based on the forecast, or calculate what the temperature is in Fahrenheit or Celsius. The rough conversion for °F to °C is (°F - 30) ÷ 2 = °C and for °C to °F is °C x 2 + 30 = °F

1. If the weather is nice, take your child for a walk and let them draw while they are outside. If that’s not possible, you’ll need a window that lets them observe the weather while drawing. When students are drawing, you may need to remind them to pay attention to four aspects of the weather that are discussed: what you see in the sky, the temperature, the wind, and rain/snow. Consider having students repeat this activity when the weather changes. Drawing gives them a tool that will help them pay attention to changes in the weather that they may otherwise overlook.

2. Observe animals to understand their needs and how they seek safety. You can provide that opportunity by attracting birds with a bird feeder, going on a nature walk, or having your students observe animals through videos. Have your child pretend to be different animals in the forest.

Task 6 - Citizenship

Citizens have roles and responsibilities. Write, draw or record a story for a younger person that describes some of the roles and responsibilities of citizens.

Task 7- History

Take an oral history. Interview a person (in your home or over the phone) who is from a different generation.

Sample Questions:

Where do you live?

Where were you born?

What holidays do you celebrate?

Task 8 - Geography

Make a map of your neighborhood. Be sure to include both physical and human features. Include any nearby businesses, parks, playgrounds, schools, roads, bodies of water, ect.

This map can be drawn or it can be a model. Include color and a key identifying features.

Task 9 - Economics and Geography

Raw materials- the basic material from which a product is made. For example, wood, wheat, cotton, iron, gold, etc.

Look at an item in your home. Create a list of raw materials that might be needed to make/ build this item.

Task 10 - Citizenship

What are some ways you can become engaged in your school, community, or state to make a difference?

Talk and Reflect

• Choose someone to share your work with. This can be a family member or a friend, in person or online.

• Ask them: What did you like about this work? And how might I improve this work?

• After you receive that feedback, consider the response. Make improvements on your work based on the feedback that you think will improve the work. Remember, it's okay if you do not agree with the feedback. What is important is to consider it.