Week 16 — Printable Lesson Packet

Mathematics

Objective: Students will solve two-step word problems that combine addition and subtraction by drawing a model for each step (2.OA.A.1).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: Spiral from Week 15: 1-minute burst of 15 facts within 20, then ask your child to name the strategy for 9 + 7 and 15 - 6. Say, 'Fast facts are the tools. Today we build with them.'
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Read: 'Nora had 45 stickers. She gave 18 to her brother. Then she bought 25 more. How many stickers does Nora have now?' Model step one as a take-from bar (45 - 18 = 27) and step two as an add-to bar (27 + 25 = 52). Write both equations numbered. Say, 'One step subtracts, one step adds. Read carefully so you know which is which.'
3. 15 min — Practice: Your child solves: 'A pet store had 36 fish. It sold 19 and then got 30 new fish. How many fish now?' (36 - 19 = 17, 17 + 30 = 47). Then: 'Theo had 28 pennies. He found 15 more and then spent 20. How many pennies now?' (28 + 15 = 43, 43 - 20 = 23). Use pennies to act out the second problem and confirm.
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Ask, 'How did you decide whether each step was adding or subtracting?' Listen for 'gave, sold, spent mean subtract; bought, found, got mean add.'

Materials: pennies, paper, pencil, whiteboard or large paper, timer

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will identify the reasons a character gives to support an opinion and use context clues to figure out unknown words (RI.2.8, L.2.4a).

1. 15 min — Read-Aloud: Read 'I Wanna Iguana' by Karen Kaufman Orloff, doing Alex's letters in an eager voice and Mom's in a calm one. Remind your child that last week they gave reasons about sharks; this week they will study how a writer chooses reasons that actually work. Ask: 'Which of Alex's reasons would convince you?'
2. 10 min — Mini-Lesson: Make a T-chart labeled Alex's Reasons and Mom's Answers. Fill in three pairs from the letters (the iguana is quiet; it will grow six feet long). Say: 'A reason is why you think something, and a strong reason answers the other person's worry.'
3. 15 min — Guided Reading: Reread three letters with your child reading Alex's parts. When they meet a tricky word, model the context clue strategy: read the sentence before and after, look at the picture, and try a word that makes sense. Note any words they solved on a Context Clue List.
4. 15 min — Writing Workshop: Your child chooses something they want to persuade you about (a later bedtime, a pet, a trip to the park) and writes a letter opening like Alex: 'Dear Mom, I think ____ because ____.' Keep it in the Writing Folder to build all week.
5. 10 min — Phonics: Context Clues: Write six sentences with a blank and a word bank of adorable, responsible, lonely, mature, compromise, tarantula (for example, 'The kitten was so ____ that everyone wanted to hold it'). Your child reads each sentence, picks the word that fits, and explains the clue that helped.

Materials: I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff, paper, pencil, writing paper, folder

Science

Objective: Students will build a physical prototype from their plan and record what changed between the drawing and the real object (K-2-ETS1-2).

1. 5 min — Science Question of the Week: Ask: 'Will our plan work the way we drew it?' Reread last Friday's worry from the notebook. Say: 'Engineers expect surprises; that is why they build a prototype before the real thing.'
2. 20 min — Investigation: Build the crayon holder from the plan using the materials kit, following the step list with your child doing the cutting and taping and you assisting only where asked. Every time you have to change something from the drawing, put a small star on the plan and write what you did instead ('lid too small, used cereal-box bottom'). Stop at 18 minutes even if unfinished and note where you are.
3. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Count the stars on the plan. Ask: 'Which change was the most surprising?' Put the prototype somewhere safe and write 'Test on Wednesday' at the top of a fresh notebook page.

Materials: materials kit from last week, scissors, tape, glue, rubber bands, Engineering Notebook, pencil

Mathematics

Objective: Students will solve two-step problems that include a compare step and an add-to or take-from step, choosing the correct model for each step (2.OA.A.1).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: Quick model match: say 'Ali has 12, Bea has 5 fewer' and have your child draw the two-bar compare model and answer (7). Then 'a box had 30 and 12 were taken out' for the single crossed-out bar (18). Then '20 and 13 more' for the put-together bar (33).
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Read: 'Maya has 32 marbles. Ravi has 14 more marbles than Maya. How many marbles do they have together?' Step one is compare: Ravi's bar is longer by 14, so 32 + 14 = 46. Step two is put-together: 32 + 46 = 78. Draw both. Then read: 'Lena read 27 pages. Sam read 9 fewer than Lena. How many pages did they read altogether?' (27 - 9 = 18, 27 + 18 = 45). Point out that 'more than' made step one add and 'fewer than' made step one subtract.
3. 15 min — Practice: Two problems: 'Jun has 24 stickers. Kim has 16 more than Jun. Kim gives 10 away. How many does Kim have now?' (24 + 16 = 40, 40 - 10 = 30) and 'The red team scored 38 points. The blue team scored 12 fewer. How many points did both teams score in all?' (38 - 12 = 26, 38 + 26 = 64). Support: give the first step's answer and let your child do step two only. Stretch: write a two-step compare problem using your family members' ages.
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Ask, 'Which step was the compare step, and how did you know?' Have your child underline the word more or fewer in each problem.

Materials: paper, pencil, whiteboard or large paper, dried beans

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will judge which reasons in a persuasive text are strong or weak and add evidence to their own persuasive letter (RI.2.8, W.2.1).

1. 15 min — Shared Reading: Reread 'I Wanna Iguana' and after each of Alex's letters ask your child to hold up a thumb up for a strong reason or a thumb sideways for a weak one. Talk about why 'I will take care of it myself' is stronger than 'Mikey Gulligan is giving it away.'
2. 10 min — Mini-Lesson: Teach the difference between a reason and evidence: a reason is the why, evidence is the proof. Show Alex's line about feeding the iguana lettuce and say that a fact about what iguanas eat is evidence that he did his homework. Write Reason and Evidence on a card with one example of each.
3. 15 min — Independent Reading: Your child rereads Mom's letters silently and lists Mom's three worries in their own words. Then they decide which worry Alex answered best and mark that page with a sticky note.
4. 15 min — Writing Workshop: Your child adds two more reasons to their persuasive letter and one piece of evidence for each (a fact, an example, or a promise). Use the linking words card from last week: because, and, also. Support: talk the reasons out first and you write them on sticky notes to copy. Stretch: they write the worry you might have and answer it.
5. 10 min — Phonics: Context Clues: Write sentences with a hard word in bold and a clue nearby: 'The elephant was enormous, bigger than a truck.' 'She was shivering because the wind was so cold.' Use enormous, shivering, drowsy, furious, delighted, gigantic. Your child underlines the clue and tells the meaning.

Materials: I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff, index cards, pencil, sticky notes, paper, writing folder

Social Studies

Objective: Students will explain what voting is and why groups use it to make fair decisions (D2.Civ.9.K-2, D2.Civ.11.K-2).

1. 10 min — Read-Aloud and Discussion: Read 'Grace for President' by Kelly DiPucchio. Pause when Grace asks why there has never been a girl president and when Thomas decides how to vote at the end. Ask: 'Why did the class vote instead of letting the teacher pick? Was Thomas's vote fair?'
2. 15 min — Hands-On Activity: Hold a family election for tonight's dessert or this weekend's game. Make two candidate posters with a name and one reason ('Vote apples: they are crunchy'), let each candidate give a 30-second speech, then make a shoebox ballot box and paper ballots. Each family member marks one choice in private, drops it in, and your child counts the ballots aloud and makes a tally chart.
3. 5 min — Quick Write: Your child writes: 'We voted for ___. ___ got the most votes, so it won. Voting is fair because ___.' Talk about how the losing side still has to accept the result.

Materials: Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio (library), shoebox, paper for ballots and posters, markers, pencil

Mathematics

Objective: Students will practice a mix of two-step problems and check answers with an alternate path or by working backward (2.OA.A.1).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: Work-backward warm-up: 'I am thinking of a number. I added 10 and then took away 4, and got 21. What was my number?' (15). Then: 'I took away 7 and then added 12 and got 30.' (25). Talk through undoing each step in reverse.
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Model checking. Solve: 'A baker made 60 rolls. She sold 24 in the morning and 18 in the afternoon. How many rolls are left?' Path A: 60 - 24 = 36, 36 - 18 = 18. Path B: 24 + 18 = 42, 60 - 42 = 18. Then check by working backward: 18 + 18 + 24 = 60. Say, 'Two paths that agree, plus a backward check, means we are sure.'
3. 15 min — Practice: Four problems on cards; your child solves each and checks with a second path or backward check: 'Sofia had 50 beads, used 23, then found 14. How many now?' (41); 'Ben has 19 cars and Max has 8 more than Ben. How many cars in all?' (46); 'A shelf had 72 books. 35 were checked out and 16 returned. How many now?' (53); 'Zara picked 26 flowers and 17 more, then gave away 30. How many left?' (13).
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Ask, 'Did any check catch a mistake today?' If yes, celebrate the catch. If no, ask which checking method felt most trustworthy.

Materials: index cards, paper, pencil, whiteboard or large paper

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will compare how two persuasive texts use reasons and will use context clues in a second book (RI.2.8, RL.2.9, L.2.4a).

1. 15 min — Read-Aloud: Read 'Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type' by Doreen Cronin, with your child reading every 'Click, clack, moo' line. Ask: 'What do the cows want, and what reason do they give Farmer Brown? What do the cows have that makes Farmer Brown listen?'
2. 10 min — Mini-Lesson: Compare the two books on paper: Alex uses many reasons and promises; the cows use one clear reason (the barn is cold) plus a bargain (no milk until we get blankets). Ask which approach worked faster and why a good persuader also offers something.
3. 15 min — Guided Reading: Reread the notes the cows and hens leave. Practice context clues on the words 'demand', 'ultimatum', 'neutral party', and 'impatient', using the sentence and Duck's role in the story. Add each solved word to the Context Clue List.
4. 15 min — Writing Workshop: Your child revises their letter to add a bargain like the cows did ('If you let me stay up later, I will also read for twenty minutes'). Then they write the closing: 'Please think about it. Love, ____.'
5. 10 min — Phonics: Context Clues: Cover-and-guess: on a page of 'Click, Clack, Moo', cover one word with a sticky note (try 'furious', 'background', 'typewriter', 'electric'). Your child reads the sentence, guesses a word that fits, uncovers it, and checks whether the meaning matches.

Materials: I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, paper, pencil, writing folder, sticky notes

Science

Objective: Students will test a prototype against the criteria, collect data, and use the results to identify what to improve (K-2-ETS1-3).

1. 5 min — Review: Read the three criteria and the test plan from the Problem Brief. Set up a Test Sheet with a row for each criterion and columns for 'Trial 1', 'Trial 2', 'Trial 3', and 'Pass or Fail'.
2. 20 min — Deeper Investigation: Run the tests three times each: put 8 crayons in the holder (do they all fit?), tilt the table by sliding a book under two legs and count how many crayons escape, and try to fit the holder in the pencil box. Record numbers, not just yes or no ('2 crayons escaped'). If something breaks, that is data too; write it down and use tape to keep going.
3. 5 min — Data Discussion: Look at the Pass or Fail column. Ask: 'Which criterion failed most? What one part of the holder caused that?' Write one sentence starting with 'Next time I will change ___ because ___'. Support: offer two possible changes and let your child pick. Stretch: ask them to predict the new number of escaped crayons after the change.

Materials: prototype, 8 crayons, hardcover book, pencil box, Engineering Notebook, tape, pencil

Mathematics

Objective: Students will write their own two-step word problems with a given equation pair and solve a partner's problem (2.OA.A.1).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: Give the equations 34 + 16 = ? and ? - 20 = ? and ask, 'What story could these tell?' Take three suggestions out loud (for example a jar of buttons, a bus of riders, a bag of apples) before anyone writes.
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Model writing a problem from equations. Given 48 - 15 and then + 22, write: 'Pia had 48 grapes. She ate 15. Then her dad gave her 22 more. How many grapes now?' (55). Show that every number in the equations must appear in the story and that the question must match the last ?. Then hand your child the pair 27 + 13 and then - 9 to turn into a story.
3. 15 min — Practice: Your child writes two problems: one from the pair 56 - 29 then + 14 (41), and one compare problem using 'more than' with any numbers under 50. You solve their problems with bar models while they solve one you write: 'Owen has 31 cards. His sister has 17 fewer. Owen gives her 12 of his. How many does his sister have now?' (14 + 12 = 26). Check each other's work.
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Ask, 'What made a problem clear to solve?' Listen for 'the numbers were in order' and 'the question matched the last step.'

Materials: paper, pencil, index cards, whiteboard or large paper

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will rehearse presenting an opinion with reasons in complete sentences and audible voice (SL.2.4, SL.2.6, W.2.1).

1. 15 min — Shared Reading: Reread the ending of 'I Wanna Iguana' and the ending of 'Click, Clack, Moo'. Ask: 'Did each persuader get what they wanted? What was the last thing they said or did that tipped the decision?'
2. 10 min — Mini-Lesson: Teach the three presenting rules: stand tall, speak so someone across the room can hear, and look up at the end of each sentence. Model presenting one of Alex's reasons two ways, mumbling and then clearly, and have your child say which one persuaded them.
3. 15 min — Independent Reading: Your child chooses one of the two books and reads their favorite letter or note aloud as a speech, three times, following the presenting rules. Time the third read so they know how long it takes.
4. 15 min — Writing Workshop: Your child reads their persuasive letter aloud and fixes any sentence that does not sound complete. They then make three note cards, one for the opinion, one for the reasons, one for the bargain and closing, to hold during tomorrow's presentation.
5. 10 min — Phonics: Context Clues: Read six sentences aloud that each use a made-up word, and have your child tell what it must mean from the clues: 'The dog was so blorpy after the walk that he fell asleep by the door.' Then they write one sentence with their own made-up word and a clear clue for you to solve.

Materials: I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, timer, writing folder, index cards, pencil, paper

Social Studies

Objective: Students will describe how elections choose leaders and identify ways citizens, including children, can take part in their community (D2.Civ.9.K-2, D2.Civ.11.K-2).

1. 10 min — Review and Extend: Review the tally chart from Tuesday's election. Then read 'The Day Gogo Went to Vote' by Elinor Batezat Sisulu and ask: 'Why was voting so important to Gogo? How would you feel if you could never vote?' Explain that in our country, citizens 18 and older vote for the mayor, governor, and president, and everyone else can still speak up.
2. 15 min — Project Work: Add a 'How We Choose Leaders' section to the poster: draw the four steps, candidates give reasons, people listen, people vote in private, votes are counted. Then write a 'Kid Citizen' list of three things your child can do now: write a letter to the mayor, pick up litter in the park, share ideas at a family meeting. Actually write a short letter to the mayor about one thing your child would improve in town, and address the envelope together.
3. 5 min — Share Progress: Your child reads the letter aloud to the family and explains one step of an election from the poster.

Materials: tally chart from Tuesday, The Day Gogo Went to Vote by Elinor Batezat Sisulu (library), poster, markers, writing paper, envelope, stamp

Mathematics

Objective: Students will demonstrate that they can solve two-step word problems with mixed operations using models and equations with a symbol for the unknown (2.OA.A.1).

1. 10 min — Warm-Up: One-minute fact burst within 20, then review the routine for two-step problems: read twice, find both actions, model each step, number the equations, check backward.
2. 15 min — Mini-Lesson: Solve one problem together as a warm run: 'Kenji had 40 crayons. He gave 12 to Ana and 9 to Leo. Then he bought 15 more. How many crayons does Kenji have now?' (40 - 12 = 28, 28 - 9 = 19, 19 + 15 = 34). Note it has three steps and that the same routine works.
3. 15 min — Weekly Assessment: Four two-step problems, each requiring a model per step, numbered equations with ?, and a final answer: 1) 'Lucy had 53 stickers. She gave 27 away and then got 18 more. How many now?' (44); 2) 'Amir has 29 shells. Dana has 15 more than Amir. How many shells in all?' (73); 3) 'A store had 80 balloons. 34 were sold and 27 popped. How many are left?' (19); 4) 'Ella read 16 pages, then 19 pages. Cole read 12 fewer pages than Ella. How many pages did Cole read?' (23). Score each step separately.
4. 5 min — Wrap-Up: Reflect: 'Last week was speed with facts. This week the stories had two steps. What is your best tip for not losing the middle number?' Preview next week: odd and even numbers.

Materials: assessment page (four problems), paper, pencil, timer

Assessment: Solve 4 two-step problems with mixed operations

English Language Arts

Objective: Students will present an opinion with reasons to an audience and identify an author's reasons in a text (SL.2.4, RI.2.8, W.2.1).

1. 10 min — Reading Celebration: Type-Off: put a sheet of paper on the table and let your child 'type' with two fingers while the family reads the cows' notes aloud in the funniest voices. Then vote on the best persuader of the week: Alex, the cows, or the hens.
2. 15 min — Reading Assessment: Read one of Alex's letters aloud once more. Your child writes what Alex wants, two reasons he gives, and which reason is strongest and why. This is the week's reading assessment.
3. 15 min — Publishing and Author's Chair: Presentation time: your child stands and delivers their persuasive letter from the note cards, following the three presenting rules. The audience responds honestly with a decision and one reason for it, then the letter goes into the Writing Folder as a finished piece.
4. 10 min — Phonics Check: Give five sentences with a bold word and a context clue (enormous, shivering, delighted, furious, drowsy). Your child writes a meaning for each word and underlines the clue that helped, aiming for at least four of five.
5. 15 min — Independent Reading: Free choice from the library. Ask your child to find one word they figured out from clues and to tell you the clue at the end.

Materials: I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, paper, pencil, writing folder, index cards, library books

Assessment: Written identification of a character's opinion, two reasons, and the strongest reason; an oral presentation of an original persuasive letter with reasons and a closing; and a five-item context clue check.

Science

Objective: Students will improve a prototype based on test data and retest to see whether the change helped (K-2-ETS1-3).

1. 10 min — Drawing Conclusions: Make the one change written on Wednesday (add a lip, a heavier base, a rubber band). Rerun the failing test three times and write the new numbers next to the old ones. Ask: 'Did the numbers get better, worse, or stay the same?'
2. 15 min — Extension or Art Connection: Draw a 'before and after' comic strip with three panels: the failed test, the change being made, and the retest with the numbers written in speech bubbles. Give the holder a product name and decorate it with a label.
3. 5 min — Week Reflection: Ask: 'Was the worry from last Friday the thing that actually went wrong?' and 'What do you want to know about how other people solved this?' Next week you will build a second design and compare.

Materials: prototype, recycling-bin materials, tape, 8 crayons, hardcover book, Engineering Notebook, pencil, drawing paper, crayons or markers, sticker paper or tape for a label