Instructional Resources Grades 3-4 May 4 — May 8, 2020

We know that our students love to learn, and we want you to have the opportunity keep learning at home! This resource contains English Language Arts, math, science and social studies tasks or activities. But remember, learning can happen in a lot of different ways, too.

Here are some helpful tips for using these resources: • Create a dedicated space for learning. • Create a daily schedule that provides stability and consistency for your family that includes time for learning, eating, physical activity, playing games, and TV or online time. • Discuss your work with someone after you have completed it and ask for help if you need it. • Do the best you can! Some of the material may be familiar, but you can always learn new things. Some of the material may be difficult, and that is OK, too.

We know that during this difficult and unsettling time, it may be difficult for students to complete academic work. While we encourage learning at home, please know that these enrichment opportunities are optional. During this difficult time where many are facing many challenges, we do not want families to feel additional stress about finishing and turning in work.

Additional resources for learning opportunities are also available online at https://www.mnps.org/digitaltools

Need free help? Call 615-298-6636 Go to https://www.homeworkhotline.info Hours: 4pm – 8pm Monday through Thursday

The Sun, Yellow Dwarf Star at the Heart of the Solar System By News ELA

TOP: This image shows an enormous eruption of solar material, called a coronal mass ejection, spreading out into space, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on January 8, 2002. BOTTOM: A solar eclipse captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on October 7, 2010. Courtesy of NASA.gov.

The sun is a star made of gas. It is not rocky and hard like Earth. It is burning hot and very bright. The Earth moves around the sun. So do other planets like Mars and Venus. Scientists call their

movement around the Sun an orbit. Everything that orbits the sun is part of the solar system. We could not live without the sun. It keeps us warm and gives us light. It provides us with energy and

makes plants grow. The sun is also like a big anchor. It creates gravity that keeps all the planets orbiting in the solar system. If it weren't for the sun, planets would simply fly off loose into the universe. Big As 1.3 Million Earths

The sun is much, much bigger than Earth. It is as big as 1.3 million Earths. The sun is 93 million miles from Earth. The Milky Way Galaxy

The sun is in the Milky Way galaxy. A galaxy is a group of stars and planets. There are around 200 billion stars in the Milky Way.

The sun orbits the middle of the Milky Way. As it moves it brings the planets in the solar system along with it. Earth goes along for the ride. One full orbit takes 230 million years. 4.5 Billion Years Old

The sun is about 4.5 billion years old. It will not always be there. One day it will die. Scientists think it will last for another 6.5 billion years. As it starts to die it will grow very large. It will burn up Mercury and Venus. It may even burn up Earth. Very Hot

The sun is very, very hot. The inside is about 27 million degrees. The outer part is about 10,000 degrees. The Photosphere

The main outside part of the sun is called the photosphere. It is the part we can see. The photosphere gives off the sunlight we get here on Earth. The sun's light takes eight minutes to reach us.

The Chromosphere and The Corona

The chromosphere and corona cover the photosphere. They are both much thinner than the photosphere. Their light is much weaker. Most of the time they cannot be seen from Earth. The photosphere is too bright.

Both can be seen when the moon covers the photosphere. This is called a solar eclipse.

The chromosphere looks like a red ring around the sun. The corona is white. It looks like a beautiful

ring of flowers. Solar Flares

The sun sometimes shoots flares out into space. These are known as solar flares. They can reach Earth. Satellites and other communication devices may stop working. Our TV or cell phones may not work. The sun usually gives off flares around every 11 years. Myths and Stories

The sun has inspired mythological stories in cultures around the world, including those of the ancient Egyptians, the Aztecs of Mexico, Native American tribes of North and South America, the Chinese, and many others.

Comic books say Superman or others from the planet Krypton have powers from the yellow glow of our sun, and they can even dispose of dangerous materials as Superboy once did, by hurling them into the sun.

Stop and Jot Note Catcher The Sun: Yellow Dwarf Star at the Center of the Solar System

§ Big as 1.3 Million Earths, The Milky Way Galaxy, 4.5 Billion Years Old,

and Very Hot sections o .

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o .

§ The Photosphere, The Chromosphere and the Corona, and Solar

Flares o .

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The Struggle for Equality

Representative Barbara Jordan

For hundreds of years, most African Americans were enslaved. In 1865, the U.S. Civil War ended, and slavery in the United States also officially ended that year. But African Americans have been struggling to be treated fairly and equally ever since. Many have helped change laws to make the United States a better country for all its people. Here are stories about how some heroic African Americans worked for equality for everyone.

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 when she refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger. At the time, a city law required black people to give their seats to white people on crowded buses. Parks's action and arrest was a major event in the civil rights movement, which led to greater equality for black people in the U.S.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri. He went to college and became a writer in the 1920s. Hughes published 50 books. He wrote poetry, plays, novels, songs, and children's stories. Many of his books are about the struggle for equality. One of his fictional characters says, "I've been insulted, eliminated, locked in, locked out, and left holding the bag. But I am still here."

Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Named after his grandfather, who had been enslaved, Marshall always tried to help poor people and other African Americans. Before becoming a justice of the Supreme Court in 1967, Marshall helped end segregation in schools.

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia. After graduating from college, Robinson joined the Army and became a lieutenant. In 1947, he became the first African American to play for a major league baseball team. Robinson's spectacular skills won him many fans, and he became one of the greatest players of his time. Throughout his life, Robinson tried to help other people. He once wrote, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

Barbara Jordan

Barbara Jordan was born in Houston, Texas, in 1936. She was the first African-American woman elected to the Texas state legislature. In 1972, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Jordan always believed that if people worked hard, they could overcome any barriers and become successful.

Copyright © 2009 Weekly Reader Corporation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Weekly Reader is a registered trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation.

1. What does the text list?

a. Barbara Jordan’s achievements in the U.S. House of Representatives

b. laws that have made the United States a better country for all its people

c. key events in the American civil rights movement

d. some African Americans who have worked for equality for everyone

2. In the passage, the lives and work of five African Americans who have worked for equality for everyone as described. These African Americans include a writer, a Supreme Court justice, and an athlete. What can be concluded about the struggle of equality based on this information?

a. The struggle for equality is over thanks to these five African Americans.

b. The struggle for equality has not had an effect on America.

c. A variety of people in society have struggled for equality in different ways.

d. Only politicians and government workers have struggled for equality.

3. Based on the text, what is one thing Thurgood Marshall and Jackie Robinson had in common?

a. They both wrote books about their experiences with racism.

b. They both tried to make a positive difference in other people’s lives.

c. Neither of them had to deal with racism.

d. They both tried to pass laws to make sure everyone was treated equally and fairly.

Answer Key:

1. D 2. C 3. B

Mathematics Learning Activities Grades 3 – 4 Activities for students in 3rd grade: Adapted from Imagine Learning In this task, you are packing and weighing basic children’s activity boxes for families whose homes have been damaged by a flood. However, you do not have a scale that displays weight in pounds. You will develop two equal-sized packing plans using a pan balance. Each box must contain at least 1 food item.

UNDERSTAND: Complete this packing plan table by finding activity box items that are equivalent to the basic supplies box items. Some values are entered for you.

Complete the sentence: A pan balance is __________ if the total weight of each pan is ________. A pan balance is _______________ if one pan weighs more than the other.

EXPLAIN: if a pan balance is balanced, what happens if an object that weighs !" pound is replaced by

an object that weighs "# pound? Explain.

ORGANIZE: Use the pan balances to find equivalent weights for each packing plan. For each plan, draw fraction boxes on the right pan to create a balanced pan. Then complete the tables.

EXPLAIN: What patterns do you notice in the packing plans? Explain your reasoning. What happens if you put the items from Plan 1 in one pan of a pan balance and the items from Plan 2 in the other plan? Explain your reasoning. CHECK: Check your work by shading the fraction circles to show the weight of the objects in the basic supplies box.

EXPLAIN: What should the fraction circles show if your work is correct? Activities for students in 4th grade: Adapted from Imagine Learning UNDERSTAND: In this task, you are using sonar to explore the depth of the ocean floor at five locations. You know that the maximus depth is this part of the ocean is 6,000 feet. You intercept a

message about a discovery made by another boat, but some words are unclear. You will use the information from the message to sketch a possible shape of the discovery buried beneath the ocean floor. You will make two sketches.

The sketch shows part of shape of the boat’s discovery. The table shows the information needed to finish the sketch. Complete the table so that the total time is 30 seconds, and then finish sketching the shape. Some answers are filled in for you.

Complete the sentences: You can use __________ to multiply a one-digit whole number by a ____________ whole number. To multiply 4 x 1,500, think 1,500 is 1 ________ and 5 hundreds, so multiply 4 x 1 thousand = 4 thousands plus 4 x 5 hundreds = 20 ____________. Then, 4,000 + 2,000 = 6,000. EXPLAIN: How is the depth related to the time for the ping at each point? What is the greatest depth of the shape in your sketch? What is the least depth? Explain. ORGANIZE: For each sketch, complete the table with whole numbers so that the total time is 30 seconds. Then sketch the shape.

EXPLAIN: What patterns do you notice? SOLVE: For each sketch, identity the greatest depth and least depth in the shape. Then explain your reasoning.

CHECK: Use base-10 blocks to check your work. Begin by checking the products of point B and point C above. Some information is entered for you. Simplify your computations.

EXPLAIN: What should happen with the base-10 blocks is your work is correct? Activities appropriate for any student in grades 3 & 4:

Liters and Quarts Sources: mathlearningcenter.org

Which One Doesn’t Belong Think carefully about what is the same and what is different about each picture. Describe your ideas as clearly as possible to another person. You can find ways to explain why any one of the four pictures does not belong with the others.

Too Much Homework

Mrs. Flowers’ fourth graders complained that they were spending too much time on their homework, so she asked them to collect information about how many minutes they spent on their homework each night. The table below shows the results.

1. Use the information from the table to complete the line plot below.

2. What does the X stand for on the line plot?

3. How many students said they spend 40 minutes on their homework?

4. Mrs. Flowers says that she thinks that her students should spend 30 to 40 minutes on homework each night. Do you think that she is giving the students the right amount of homework? Use information for the line plot to back up your answer.

Talking Math Adapted from Illustrative Mathematics

Activities for students in grade 4: Solving Word Problems with Remainders Source: origoslate.com

What is the same about each problem? What is different? The remainders mean different things in each problem. How do the remainders help you answer each problem? Parents - Additional information about the content in these activities and/or answers for the activities can be found at https://bit.ly/3axNrEz or by scanning this QR code:

Grade 3: A typical tomato weights 123 grams. How much would 5 tomatoes weigh? A typical serrano pepper weighs 6 grams. If there are 75 peppers in a box, how much does the box weigh? Grade 4: A large head of cabbage can weigh 2 ½ pounds. About how much would 3 large heads of cabbage weigh? Extension:

• What vegetables are in your kitchen? Which ones are heaviest or which are the lightest?

• Measure the lengths of some vegetables you have at home. Order them from shortest to longest.

•

ANSWER KEY: Mathematics Learning Activities Grades 3 – 4 Parent Version Activities for students in 3rd grade: Adapted from Imagine Learning In this task, you are packing and weighing basic children’s activity boxes for families whose homes have been damaged by a flood. However, you do not have a scale that displays weight in pounds. You will develop two equal-sized packing plans using a pan balance. Each box must contain at least 1 food item.

UNDERSTAND: Complete this packing plan table by finding activity box items that are equivalent to the basic supplies box items. Some values are entered for you.

Complete the sentence: A pan balance is ____balanced____ if the total weight of each pan is _equivalent ____. A pan balance is _____unbalanced_____ if one pan weighs more than the other.

EXPLAIN: if a pan balance is balanced, what happens if an object that weighs !" pound is replaced by

an object that weighs "# pound? Explain. Sample Answer: The pan balance stays balanced

because ½ and 2/4 are equivalent fractions and the weight is equal. ORGANIZE: Use the pan balances to find equivalent weights for each packing plan. For each plan, draw fraction boxes on the right pan to create a balanced pan. Then complete the tables.

EXPLAIN: What patterns do you notice in the packing plans? Explain your reasoning. What happens if you put the items from Plan 1 in one pan of a pan balance and the items from Plan 2 in the other plan? Explain your reasoning. Sample Answer: There are more items, such as granola bars, that weigh less than other items that weigh more, such as crayons. A reason for this is that the weight of the heavier items equivalent to the total weight of several lighter items. CHECK: Check your work by shading the fraction circles to show the weight of the objects in the basic supplies box.

EXPLAIN: What should the fraction circles show if your work is correct? Sample answer: The total fraction circle pieces for the items in the basic supply boxes should equal the total fraction circle pieces for the replacement items of the activity boxes.

Activities for students in 4th grade: Adapted from Imagine Learning UNDERSTAND: In this task, you are using sonar to explore the depth of the ocean floor at five locations. You know that the maximus depth is this part of the ocean is 6,000 feet. You intercept a message about a discovery made by another boat, but some words are unclear. You will use the information from the message to sketch a possible shape of the discovery buried beneath the ocean floor. You will make two sketches.

The sketch shows part of shape of the boat’s discovery. The table shows the information needed to finish the sketch. Complete the table so that the total time is 30 seconds, and then finish sketching the shape. Some answers are filled in for you.

Complete the sentences: You can use __place value__ to multiply a one-digit whole number by a ___multi-digit___ whole number. To multiply 4 x 1,500, think 1,500 is 1 __thousand__ and 5 hundreds, so multiply 4 x 1 thousand = 4 thousands plus 4 x 5 hundreds = 20 _hundreds________. Then, 4,000 + 2,000 = 6,000.

EXPLAIN: How is the depth related to the time for the ping at each point?Sample answer: The time of the ping is how long it takes the sound wave traveling at a speed of 1500 meters per second to hit a solid surface. So, the depth in meters is the product of 1500 and the time of the ping. What is the greatest depth of the shape in your sketch? What is the least depth? Explain. Sample answer: The greatest depth is 6,000 meters because this is the greatest distance in the shape below sea level. The least depth is 3,000 meters because this is the least distance in the shape below sea level.

ORGANIZE: For each sketch, complete the table with whole numbers so that the total time is 30 seconds. Then sketch the shape.

EXPLAIN: What patterns do you notice? Sample answers: The pings are always 1, 3, or 4 seconds, so the echo times are always 2, 6, or 8 seconds. SOLVE: For each sketch, identity the greatest depth and least depth in the shape. Then explain your reasoning.

CHECK: Use base-10 blocks to check your work.

. EXPLAIN: What should happen with the base-10 blocks is your work is correct? Sample answer: The total number of base-10 blocks should equal the depth of points B and C Activities appropriate for any student in grades 3 & 4: Liters and Quarts Sources: mathlearningcenter.org

Solutions: a. About 2 quarts; b. Fewer liters than a gallon Which One Doesn’t Belong Think carefully about what is the same and what is different about each picture. Describe your ideas as clearly as possible to another person. You can find ways to explain why any one of the four pictures does not belong with the others.

Multiple solutions: All equal ½ but they are partitioned differently Too Much Homework

Talking Math Adapted from Illustrative Mathematics

Activities for students in grade 4: Solving Word Problems with Remainders Source: origoslate.com

What is the same about each problem? Each problem has 50 items divided by 6 groups. What is different? How the remainder is used in each problem The remainders mean different things in each problem. How do the remainders help you answer each problem?

1. The remainder divided fractionally …50 inches of ribbon ÷ 6 equal length cuts = 8 + 2/6 inches or 8 1/3 inches long. Each pieces of ribbon is 8 1/3 inches so that all of the ribbon is used.

2. The remainder will be put into another carton but that carton will not be full. … 50 eggs ÷ 6 eggs in each carton = 8 cartons and the 2 remainder eggs. 8 full cartons

3. The remainder will increase the amount of tents needed… 50 students ÷ 6 students in each tent = 8 tents and 1 more tent for the 2 remaining students.

Grade 3: A typical tomato weights 123 grams. How much would 5 tomatoes weigh? 123 + 123 + 123 + 123 + 123 = 615 A typical serrano pepper weighs 6 grams. If there are 75 peppers in a box, how much does the box weigh? 450 Grade 4: A large head of cabbage can weigh 2 ½ pounds. About how much would 3 large heads of cabbage weigh? 7 ½ Extension:

• What vegetables are in your kitchen? Which ones are heaviest or which are the lightest?

• Measure the lengths of some vegetables you have at home. Order them from shortest to longest.

•

Scientific Literacy: Fossils tell stories about Earth's history. Paleontology is packed with mysteries about living things such as plants and animals that lived thousands, millions, and billions of years before the first modern humans. To solve these mysteries, paleontologists use fossils. Fossils are the remains or traces of ancient life that are usually buried in rocks. Examples include bones, teeth, shells, leaf impressions, nests, and footprints. This evidence reveals what our planet was like long ago. Fossils also show how animals changed over time and how they are related to one another. Fossils can't tell us everything. While fossils reveal what ancient living things looked like, they keep us guessing about their color, sounds, and most of their behavior. Fossils are very rare. Most ancient living things never became fossils. When they died, scavengers ate them, they decayed, or they were worn away by wind and water until they disappeared. Some were destroyed by Earth's heat and pressure. Luckily for us, some living things were preserved as fossils. The Fossil record is like a big jigsaw puzzle, with most of the pieces missing. Most of the fossils of living things will never be found. They may be buried too deep, or they may be in the parts of the world where no one is digging. Many species probably left no fossils at all. Still, plenty of fossils have been found, and new ones are being discovered all the time. Each year, paleontologists continue to piece together the stories of the past. Real World Connections: Fossil Hunt: Explore the area around your house to see if you can find any fossils. Below are some commonly found fossils. Tally the number of fossils you find. Did you find any other fossils?

Fossilized shells Crinoids Fossils (Indian money) Fossilized Ferns

Fossilized Shells Crinoids Fossils Fossilized Ferns Others Others

Interpretation and Analysis: Look at this picture of a dinosaur. Use the bones to help you draw a picture of what the dinosaur might have looked like. Use the bones to help you draw where the dinosaur’s flesh might have been. Add details like feathers and or skin texture. To make the picture more complete add in what the environment might have looked like. Online Extensions:

• Field Museum information

about a Dinosaur: https://bit.ly/2xUdgS0 • American Museum of Natural History games, activities and more on fossils: https://bit.ly/3bJIFFg • Make your own fossil: https://bit.ly/2VI1oLW • The rock outcrops at Fort Negley Park contain fossils of corals that grew on the floor of the Bahamas-like sea

that covered the Nashville area 450 million years ago. A virtual field trip providing a close look of the Bahamas’ coral reefs is here: https://bit.ly/357IYav The video is 25 minutes.

• Museum of the Rockies’, paleontologist Dr. John Scannella, details a Triceratops archeological dig and the here https://bit.ly/2SdpBr5. The video is 4 minutes. After watching the video, students can complete an interactive dinosaur jigsaw puzzle provided here: Hall of Horns and Teeth.

Reflection: How do fossils help us learn about the past?

Did you find anything cool on your fossil hunt? Take a picture and tag us #mnpssteam