Skip to main content
    Second Grade
    Today

    Quarter 4Week 29WednesdayDay 143 of 180

    Week 29, Wednesday: Partition rectangles and circles into three equal · Use the illustrations in 'Alexander

    Day 143 · 3 lessons · 140 min

    Previous dayNext day This week's worksheets

    Math

    Students will partition rectangles and circles into three equal shares and describe them as thirds (2.G.A.3).

    Remember?

    3 quick questions from earlier weeks · about 3 minutes

    1. 12 − 6 = ? Facts to 20
    2. A rectangle is split into 2 rows and 3 columns of same-size squares. How many squares? Week 28
    3. A bar graph of pets shows: fish 5, rabbits 4, cats 6. How many more fish than rabbits? Week 26

    Standards Addressed

    2.G.A.3

    Activities

    10 min

    Warm-Up

    Show a rectangle cut into halves and one cut into fourths. Ask your child to name the shares and count them. Then ask, 'What if three people wanted to share a sandwich?'

    15 min

    Mini-Lesson

    Draw a rectangle and model dividing it into three equal strips by measuring: a 6-inch rectangle gets marks at 2 and 4 inches. Say, 'Three equal shares are called thirds. This is one third, two of the thirds, three thirds is the whole.' Show thirds on a circle like a peace sign with three equal wedges, admitting that circles are harder to cut into thirds.

    15 min

    Practice

    Your child cuts a 6-inch strip of paper into thirds with the ruler, then draws three rectangles showing halves, thirds, and fourths side by side, shading one share of each. Support: give pre-marked rectangles and have them draw only the lines and shade. Stretch: ask them to shade two of the thirds on one rectangle and two of the fourths on another and decide which shaded part is bigger by cutting and comparing.

    5 min

    Wrap-Up

    Line up one half, one third, and one fourth of the same size strip. Ask, 'Why is one third bigger than one fourth even though 4 is a bigger number?'

    Materials Needed

    rulerpaper strips 6 inches longscissorscrayonspencil

    Related Resources

    Math Worksheets (Weeks 29-32)Math Answer Key (Weeks 29-32)

    English Language Arts

    Students will use the illustrations in 'Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday' to track feelings and discuss the choices Alexander makes with his dollar (RL.2.7, SL.2.1b).

    Remember?

    3 quick questions from earlier weeks · about 3 minutes

    1. An author writes a funny story about a talking dog. What is the author's purpose? Week 28
    2. Add a suffix to 'fear' to mean 'without fear'. Week 26
    3. Change 'quick' to tell how she ran: She ran ___. Grammar and spelling

    Standards Addressed

    RL.2.7RL.2.3SL.2.1b+3 more

    Activities

    15 min

    Read-Aloud: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday

    Tie to social studies: 'On Tuesday you learned that every choice means giving something up.' Read 'Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday' by Judith Viorst, and each time Alexander loses money your child writes what he spent it on and how much on a running list, starting with the bubble gum.

    Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorstpaperpencil
    10 min

    Mini-Lesson: Faces Tell Feelings

    Flip back through Ray Cruz's drawings and ask, 'How does Alexander's face change from the first page to the last?' Chart three feelings with the page that shows each; point out that the words say what he did and the pictures show how he felt about it.

    Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sundaychart papermarker
    15 min

    Guided Reading: The Worst Choice

    Hold a stem conversation on 'Which of Alexander's choices was the worst, and what would you have done instead?' Every turn must name a page and what Alexander gave up by making that choice.

    Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sundaystem chart
    15 min

    Writing Workshop: Expanding Choice Sentences

    Start with 'Alexander bought gum.' and expand with when and why: 'On Sunday, Alexander bought gum because he wanted something sweet.' Your child writes three expanded sentences about a real spending choice of their own, each answering when and why.

    writing notebookpencil
    10 min

    Fluency: High-Frequency Words, List 3

    Word cards: also, another, any, carry, don't, first, know, laugh, once, only. Read for time, then reread the chorus of 'Hey, Little Ant' from Week 27 with expression as a fluency warm-up.

    index cardstimerHey, Little Ant

    Materials Needed

    Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorstpaperpencilchart papermarkerstem chartwriting notebookindex cardstimerHey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose

    Related Resources

    ELA Worksheets (Weeks 29-32)ELA Answer Key (Weeks 29-32)

    Science

    Students will connect several food chains into a food web and predict what happens to the web when one living thing is removed (2-LS4-1, 2-LS2-2).

    This week's reading: Who Eats What?

    Standards Addressed

    2-LS4-12-LS2-2

    Activities

    5 min

    Review

    Your child rebuilds Monday's two chains from memory in under a minute. Ask: 'The hawk is in both chains. What does that tell you?' Real habitats are webs, not lines.

    20 min

    Deeper Investigation: Yarn Food Web

    Tape the 8 cards in a big circle on the floor or a table. Cut yarn pieces. Your child connects every 'who eats whom' pair with a piece of yarn (grasshopper eats grass and clover, frog eats grasshopper, snake eats frog, hawk eats snake and rabbit, rabbit eats clover and grass). Count the strings touching each card. Then the test: remove the grass card and pull out every string attached to it. Ask which animals lost a food source. Put it back and instead remove the hawk; ask what happens to the rabbits. Support: you read each pair aloud while your child places yarn. Stretch: your child adds a mushroom card as a decomposer and connects it to every dead thing.

    8 food chain cardsyarnscissorstape
    5 min

    Data Discussion

    Ask: 'Which card had the most strings? Which loss would break the most links?' Write the sentence: 'In a food web, taking away one living thing changes many others.'

    Materials Needed

    8 food chain cardsyarnscissorstapenotebookpencil

    Related Resources

    Science Worksheets (Weeks 29-32)Science Answer Key (Weeks 29-32)

    Today's Practice

    One page for your child for each lesson. Answers are for grown-ups.

    Math practice · Week 29 · Wednesday

    I can split a shape into three equal shares called thirds.

    Look: thirds on a 6-inch strip

    1. Make a mark at 2 inches and at 4 inches.
    2. Now there are three equal shares. They are called thirds.
    3. Three thirds make the whole.

    Draw three same-size rectangles. Split them and shade one share of each.

    1. Halves. Shade one half.
    2. Thirds. Shade one third.
    3. Fourths. Shade one fourth.

    Circle or write the answer.

    1. Which shaded share is the biggest?one halfone thirdone fourth
    2. Which is bigger, one third or one fourth of the same strip?one thirdone fourth
    3. You cut a 9-inch strip into thirds with a ruler. Where do you make the marks?

    Challenge

    • Why is one third bigger than one fourth, even though 4 is bigger than 3?
    How did it go? Great Okay Tricky

    ELA practice · Week 29 · Wednesday

    I can use pictures to tell how a character feels. I can add when and why to a sentence.

    Look: Faces show feelings

    1. Words: Jen lost her ball. Picture: Jen frowns, and a tear falls.
    2. So Jen feels sad.
    3. Add when and why: On Monday, Jen cried because she lost her ball.

    Think about the story you read today.

    1. How does Alexander feel at the end of the story?
    2. How do the pictures show his feelings?
    3. Which of Alexander's choices was the worst? What would you do instead?

    Make each sentence longer. Tell when and why.

    1. Mia bought a book.
    2. Leo saved his coins.
    3. Write about a real choice you made with money.

    Challenge

    • Use the words "first" and "only" in one sentence about spending money.
    How did it go? Great Okay Tricky

    Science practice · Week 29 · Wednesday

    I can show a food web and tell what happens when one living thing is taken away.

    Connect each eater to its food with yarn. Count the strings on each card.

    CardNumber of strings
    1. Which card had the most strings?

    Now test your web.

    1. Take away the grass. Which animals lost a food?
    2. Put the grass back. Take away the hawk. What might happen to the rabbits?
    3. In a food web, taking away one living thing changes ____.

    Challenge

    • Add a mushroom card. Why does a web need living things that break down dead things?

    You need: yarn or string, the food chain cards from Monday, tape

    How did it go? Great Okay Tricky