Alyssa Rumsey Sue Schneider’s

Wednesday and Thursday (12:40 pm-1:20pm ) 2nd grade class

Lesson Plan to teach 1/28/09 and 1/29/09

Everyday Math 7-5: Exploring Weights, Equal Sharing, and Patterns.

Purpose/Rationale
Objectives: To provide experience with exploring weights in pounds on a bath scale,
developing readiness for division, and exploring area and patterns.
division.

Pre-assessment- Before beginning unit 7 on 1/26/09, I passed out exit slips to the
class. I wrote the question: “There are five people. They want to share $8.00. How
much money does each person get?” on the board. I explained to students that I did
not expect them to know the answer, but that I want them to try their best so I can get
an idea of what students already know to plan my math lessons. I stressed that
students would not be punished in any way if they were unable to solve the problem.
I also told students who were having a particularly difficult time or became anxious
over the activity that they could turn their exit slip in blank if they had no idea how to
solve it. Majority of students had an idea of how to solve the problem. Many of
them drew five boxes/circles/faces to represent the five people and them filled in each
with one tally to represent how much money each person would get. Majority of the
students got the answer 1 remainder 3. They correctly solved the problem if dollars
could not be divided up, but there were 0 students who thought to divide up the
change. My pre-assessment demonstrated to me that students are unaware how to
trade dollars for coins to divide even further. It showed me that students need
practice on trading and dividing money further than $1.00 ($1.00 for four quarters,
one quarter for five nickels, etc).

I know that dividing money up is a very difficult activity for most 2nd graders. I think
that using centers to ensure that more students got one on one attention when learning
this strategy would have better results than teaching the lesson to the entire class at
one time. I also think that students will better understand the lesson if they use
money as a manipulative. I will sit at this station and work with groups of four or
five students to make sure that all students are understanding the lesson.

Connections to Standards/Benchmarks/Curriculum
Connection to grade book:
#11: Devises and uses strategies for finding sums of 2-digit numbers.
#20: Mentally calculates sums and differences.
#23: Finds missing values in open sentences using relationship between addition and
subtraction
#36: Readings and writes money amounts in decimal notation
# 37: Adds and subtracts money in mixed units
Connection to GLCE’s:
M.UN.02.07 Read and write amounts of money using decimal notations, e.g.,
$1.15.
M.PS.02.08 Add and subtract money in mixed units, e.g., $2.50 + 60 cents and
$5.75 - $3, but not $2.50 + $3.10d.
N.MR.02.08 Find missing values in open sentences, e.g., 42 + ■ = 57; use
relationship
between addition and subtraction.

What I did to prepare to plan and teach this lesson:

I gave students a pre-assessment to gather information on what students know about

dividing money. I passed out exit slips to the class. I wrote the question: “There are
five people. They want to share $8.00. How much money does each person get?” on
the board. I also met with my cooperating teacher to decide the best way to teach the
exploration lesson. We decided it was best to do centers for the three explorations
activities and add a fourth center to have less students per center. My cooperating
teaching and I discussed how to gather materials and what materials to use. I made
copies of page 163 in their math journals for the hit the target center, gathered blank
paper for the pattern center, and made worksheets for the money and weight centers. I
also looked through the report card requirements with my cooperating teacher to find
our focus objectives.

What connected lesson preceded this lesson and what do you know about
students based on that work that informs this plan?
In my first instructional cycle lesson (6-5), students made books using coin stamps to
show different ways of making $1.00 at a center. At another center, students did an
activity to prepare for division. I know that students are familiar with coins and can
use them in a variety of ways to form $1.00 and that they were comfortable with the
introduction division activity and also with simple division story problems, but I am
not sure if they can combine their knowledge to evenly share money.
Objective(s): The students will be able to…
To provide experience with exploring weights in pounds on a bath scale, developing
readiness for division, and exploring area and patterns.
division.

Materials needed to have ready:

For center 1, exploration A: 1 bath scales, books of various weights, feather, shoe,
phone, box of cereal, 22 weight estimation worksheets, 22 pencils.
For center 2, exploration B: Variety of money: quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies,
dollar bills, 5 dollar bills, 10 dollar bills, 20 dollar bills, 22 sharing money worksheets,
22 pencils.
For center 3, exploration C: 6 + Shape templates, 6+ clip boards, 40+ sheets of blank
paper, crayons pencils, 22 pencils.
For center 4: 22 copies of page 163 in math journal (hit the target game sheet), 22
pencils
Assessment: 22 sharing money worksheets.

Management considerations:

I am going to be very specific in describing what students are to do at each center.

I am going to tell students to return to their seats to complete previously assigned
journal pages if they choose to use their time inefficiently.
Outline of your lesson sequence, including teaching strategies used

The previous lessons in unit 6 do not tie much into this lesson. This lesson is more of
a review on adding and subtracting two digit numbers in hit the target, patterns and
introduces dividing money and estimating weights. This lesson is an exploration
lesson which develops readiness for division of money and estimating weights.
DAY 1
1. Introduction (above) ~ 5-10 minutes: Introduce lesson, explain each center, tell
students who will be beginning at each center.
2. Center 1 (exploration A): weighing with bath and food scales~ 10-15 minutes
—
• Students will take turns making stacks of books, estimating their
weight and recording it on their worksheets.
• Students will take turns weighting the stacks of books and recording
the weight on their worksheets.
• Students will find the difference between their estimated weight and
the actual weight.
• Students will do the same activity using small objects such as coins
with food scales.
• Students will be encouraged to use correct units.

3. Center 2 (exploration B): Sharing Money ~10-15 minutes—

• Students will use a variety of money including quarters, dimes, nickels,
pennies, dollar bills, 5 dollar bills, 10 dollar bills, 20 dollar bills to
divide various amounts of money between them.
• Students will use their worksheets to decide how much money they are
dividing and to record how much money each student gets.
DAY 2
4. Center 3 (exploration C): Patterns ~ 10-15 minutes –
• Students will create black patterns using pattern blocks to trace.
• Students can make any design as long as they are creating patterns.
• Students can decorate their patterns and/or create more patterns by
coloring their patterns.
5. Center 4: Hit the Target Game—
• Students will use “hit the target” worksheets to record their changes
and results.
6. Conclusion~ 5 minutes – Sum up activities and give students feedback on how they
did.
7. On Friday I will pass out assessment worksheets and inform students to do the best
they can and turn them in. I will go over the answers on the board AFTER I collect
the worksheets.
What accommodations did you make to meet the full range of your students?

I liked this lesson because it involves many hands on activities. It give students an
opportunity to work on hands on activities. However it is difficult to have time to
work on three separate lessons that all use manipulative as a whole class. By dividing
the class and teachers up into three separate centers students are able to have more
individual attention when leaning/reviewing various material. It is also easier for me
to assess their work on arrays and multiplication when I only have 7 students at my
center at a time. These centers will work great for students who need additional help
in math and who learn best using manipulatives.

Assessment:

On Friday, I will have students complete answer the question, “Four students share
$5.00 equally. There is no money left over. How much money does each student get?
Is there more than one way to show how much each student gets? If so, what is
another way?” I will ask the students to draw and write how much money each student
gets on an exit slip.

Next steps
What lesson will follow this lesson? What do you want to follow up on? What will you do to
extend student learning?

I will talk to the TA in my classroom and my cooperating teacher and look at the
money worksheets made to determine how much more work students need with
dividing money and which students are having the most difficulty. I will be
facilitating the group so will take note of students who are having particular
difficulties with the assignment. Based off my observations and my sharing money
assessment worksheet I will be able to assess which students need more practice
with dividing money. I will continue to work with students on dividing money to
extend their learning.
Differentiation
Centers are helpful for students who benefit from hands on, group activities.
Centers also aims towards learners who have a difficult time focusing on one
activity for an extended period of time.
Center 1: This center involves holding books and objects and guessing how much it
weighs. For students who have a difficult time comparing and estimating weights I
can give examples of various objects and their weights. Students can hold the
objects with given weights before making their estimation of their stacks of books
to aid in their estimation. There are many materials at this station which target
visual and kinesthetic learners. Going through specific instructions slowly will
ensure that students use materials properly.
Center 2: Money will be used at this station to give students a visual of how to
trade in money for change. I can refer to the money as our “bank” for students who
benefit from connections with their everyday life. Many distruptive students in the
class are fascinated with money. I will emphasize that only students who behave
can handle the money. I will be very specific and direct with instructions and call
on all students at random in my group to ensure that even the easiest to distract
students will stay engaged.
Center 3: This center is aimed towards visual learners. Students are given the
authority to make their own pattern designs and color them using any colors they
choose.
Center 4: This center is aimed towards social students who enjoy working with a
partner. This center gives students authority to choose their own numbers to add or
subject in their process of getting back towards their target number. Students can
use their number grids and/or calculators if needed for extra assistance.

If being observed: On what aspect(s) of your lesson would you like me to

focus?

I would like to focus on the clarity in which I give instructions for the groups and the
time management in moving students from one center to the next. I would also like you
to focus on how on task students are in their groups. If given the opportunity you are
welcome to help in any way since we are doing centers so students are always in need of
extra assistance.

Lesson reflection:

I began by looking through Everyday math unit seven to pick out lessons that students
would benefit from using hands on materials or extra scaffolding with. I knew I wanted to do
center work so I wanted to choose lessons where I would be able to work with four-six students at
a time rather than twenty. I think that centers are a great way to do assessment or work with
students on more challenging concepts. It is easier for me as a teacher to assess which students
are having a difficult time with the concept and intervene immediately. I chose lesson 7-5
because it is an exploration lesson which involves three different lessons. One of the lessons is
dividing money. My students have not had much experience in division and little to no
experience with the division of money this year. After I pre-assessed students on the division of
money I quickly realized the need to work with a smaller group of students at a time to ensure
understanding. Another center involved weighing items using a bath scale. I knew that if student
were left at a center alone to use the bath scale issues of sharing the bath scale would become an
issue. I used my cooperating teacher as a resource and asked her to work with students at this
center. The last two centers are centers that I knew students could easily work at with little
instruction and scaffolding. The hit the target center was a game that students played earlier that
week in math and seemed to really enjoy. Students also have experience making patterns. I
wanted to add this center to give visual learners an opportunity to work with shapes/colors to
make patterns with geometric shapes.

I was extremely impressed and surprised at how fast the groups I met with picked up on
dividing money. Having a small group of students really helped me in allowing all students to
participate. I was also able to give them a more concrete example of how to divide money by
dividing a certain amount of money between the number of students at the center. Students were
extremely interested in handling and dividing money and picked up on the activity easily. I was
also impressed with how intently students listened to instructions as I explained each center. I
accidently forgot to add two students when making centers. Other students immediately noticed
this and informed me of the two students I forgot. I immediately apologized and thanked them
fixing my error.

After reflecting after the first day (first two groups) of centers I decided that the next time I
planned centers I would write out direction worksheets for each center so that students could look
at the instruction sheet to answer questions before asking a teacher (who is busy working with
students at another center). I could also add an answer sheets at centers to foster independence
and give students more accountability. If there was an activity that I could repeatedly use at
centers I would type of the instruction guide and laminate it for future use. I will also ask
students to ask every member of their group a question before they are allowed to ask a teacher.
This will push students to work in groups and also foster independence and accountability.

I thought that the centers went well but would make some changes if I was to do this lesson
over. In the dividing money center I would omit the worksheet and just focus on using the
manipulative to divide money and use more time for discussion/explanation from students. I
would also have the money more organized ahead of time to use time more effectively. I found
myself scavenging through money to find the coins I needed. I would also keep chalkboard at the
center with me to draw on to show students and do examples/demonstrations. This is much easier
than continually pointing to students worksheets and asking them to look at their neighbor to
correct their answer. At the beginning of the lesson I had planned to cover writing money out in
decimal form. I think that the fifteen minute center does not allow enough time to cover this
subject and would work on it during another lesson. I had a difficult time managing a center and
also looking at the clock to tell students when to begin cleaning up and rotate centers. I plan to
buy a kitchen timer to help me manage time during centers.

In the estimation/weight center I noticed that students did not get to the extra worksheets I made
for when they were done weighing their items. One worksheet would have been sufficient for
this station. I think students would benefit from having more time to explore/investigate the
scales and practice estimation rather than working on measurement worksheets. The hit the target
and pattern centers went exactly how I wanted them to and I would not make any changes to
those.

I also decided that the assessment I made for students was much too difficult for having one
15 minute center learning the concept. I decided to write a question on the board and give
students an exit slip instead of handing out the original (more difficult) worksheet I prepared. I
asked them to answer: “Four students want to share $5.00. How much money does each student
get? Please show your work and label money. Is there more than one way you could divide up
the money? If so, what is another answer?” When I did the assessment students had a difficult
time. As students turned in incorrect answers I began to get concerned that I hadn’t taught them
how to divide money correctly. I thought about how well students worked with dividing the
money at the centers and decided to redo the assessment allowing students to use money. Almost
all students correctly answered the question using money without assistance. A few students
needed scaffolding to answer the question but every student got the question correct.

My goals for future center work is to think of myself as the other teacher in the room when
planning the lesson. I realize that it is importance to use all resources/teachers if available, but I
need to prepare myself for working in a classroom where I am the only teacher. I would like to
practice this so that I can incorporate center work into my classroom without other teachers
involved. I would also like to focus on fostering student independence and accountability by
asking them to ask classmates for help and giving them instruction sheets and answer guides
which allows students to practice learning with less assistance from the teacher. Lastly, I am
going to double check my planning better before teaching lessons. It wasn’t a big deal that I
forgot two students in making groups because my class was listening so intently and politely
informed me that I forgot certain students, but I don’t want any student to feel like they aren’t
important to me when I forget them in planning an activity. Overall I think the center lessons
went great and plan to plan more center lessons.