Family Digest · Quarter 4 · Week 33
T'ang & Song China — The World's Most Advanced Civilization
Paper, gunpowder, the compass, movable type.
6.RP.A.3
6.SP.B.5
RI.6.7
W.6.7
MS-LS3-2
C3 D2.His.16.6-8
ELA this week
- Monday: Integrate text + maps on Tang trade (RI.6.7).
- Tuesday: Vocabulary: dynasty, civil service, calligraphy, porcelain.
- Wednesday: Plan mini-research: choose one Chinese invention (W.6.7).
- Thursday: Draft mini-research; cite at least two sources.
- Friday: Publish mini-research; share aloud.
Words to know
dynasty
civil service
calligraphy
porcelain
Standards
RI.6.7
W.6.7
Math this week
- Monday: Population data: compare Chang'an, Constantinople, Baghdad.
- Tuesday: Data sets: rank Chinese inventions by impact.
- Wednesday: Percent of population literate vs. taking exams.
- Thursday: Trade ratios: silk per gold across centuries.
- Friday: Mixed practice: data and percent.
Science this week
- Monday: Variation in offspring — sexual reproduction (MS-LS3-2).
- Tuesday: Investigation: model genetic recombination with cards.
- Wednesday: Why variation matters: disease resistance in crops.
- Thursday: Compare twin studies: identical vs. fraternal twins.
- Friday: Mini-quiz on variation; portfolio entry.
Standards
MS-LS3-2
Social Studies this week
- Monday: Reunification under Tang; Chang'an as world's largest city.
- Tuesday: Movable type, magnetic compass, paper money, gunpowder.
- Wednesday: Confucian texts as the gateway to government service.
- Thursday: Goods that connected China to the world.
- Friday: Compare with European tech of the same era.
Ask at the dinner table
- 1.Ask: "Who is the main character or speaker in what you read today, and what do they want?" Then have your child read aloud one favorite sentence from "Integrate text + maps on Tang trade (RI".
- 2.Ask: "Who is the main character or speaker in what you read today, and what do they want?" Then have your child read aloud one favorite sentence from "Vocabulary: dynasty, civil service, calligraphy, porcelain".
- 3.Ask: "Who is the main character or speaker in what you read today, and what do they want?" Then have your child read aloud one favorite sentence from "Plan mini-research: choose one Chinese invention (W".
- 4.Ask: "Who is the main character or speaker in what you read today, and what do they want?" Then have your child read aloud one favorite sentence from "Draft mini-research".
- 5.Ask: "Who is the main character or speaker in what you read today, and what do they want?" Then have your child read aloud one favorite sentence from "Publish mini-research".
- 6.Ask your child to teach you tonight's idea in 60 seconds: "Show me one example of population data: compare Chang'an, Constantinople, Baghdad." Teaching it back is the fastest way to lock it in.
How to help at home
Read together. Spend 15 minutes on any text — fiction, news, even recipes. Talk about new words.
Show your thinking. When you do math in real life (cooking, shopping, budgeting), narrate it out loud.
Ask "why" and "how." For science and social studies, open-ended questions matter more than right answers.
Celebrate effort. Six hours of school is a long day. Notice the work, not just the grade.