Math

Minutes

Section A

1. Using the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice (p. 15-
math book, Column 1), make a chart and include observed examples
from your classroom of each.
Standard
What I Observed
CCSS.Math,Practice.MP1:
Number talks, finding multiple
Make sense of problems and
solutions, monitoring
persevere in solving them
progress, asked does this
make sense?
CCSS.Math,Practice.MP2:
Number talks (number
Reason abstractly and
relationships), math
quantitatively
representations of a problem
CCSS.Math,Practice.MP3:
Number talks, Who agrees?
Construct viable arguments and Who got a different answer?
critique the reasoning of others Explain/ defend your answer,
Recognizing what went wrong
CCSS.Math,Practice.MP4:
Word problems with real life
Model with mathematics
scenarios, teacher modeled
different examples
CCSS.Math,Practice.MP5:
I did not observe technology
Use appropriate tools
being used during math. Used
strategically
wreck-n-wreck, quick images,
manipulatives, and
investigations game
CCSS.Math,Practice.MP6:
Teacher communication was
Attend to precision
always clear, discussed
reasoning,
CCSS.Math,Practice.MP7:
Identified patterns in
Look for and make use of
problems and number
structure
families, shifted perspective by
discussion with peers
CCSS.Math,Practice.MP8:
Number talks, looked for
Look for and express regularity in shortcuts or strategies to find
repeated reasoning
the answer, showed their
work


2. Would you say that your classroom teacher is a constructivist? Why or
why not? Give examples to support your answer.

A constructivist is one who believes that learning is active and that it is a
constructive process. It builds off of prior knowledge. According to that definition, I
would say that my corresponding teacher is a constructivist. I have seen evidence of
this in all areas of her teaching, not only in math. She is very active in questioning
the students and building on their prior knowledge. In math she uses number talks
and word problems based off of real life scenarios. Every part of her teaching has a
purpose and is building off of one another. She actively engages the students in
questions and is always looking for ways to connect what the students are learning
to the real world.

3. Complete the Evidence of higher level thinking observation.

(Attached)

4. Complete the Classroom Discourse observation

(Attached)

Section B
1. Based on the current content being taught in your classroom, choose a
childrens book, read it to a group of students, and discuss with them the
math concept presented.

I read the book Dont Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems and wrote an

activity plan for math based off of the content in the story. I read that book to a small
group of students and did a small activity with them with telling time on a digital
and analog clock. I had talked to my teacher about students telling time as a first
grade standard, and it matched, but I realized after teaching it that the mini lesson/
literature read was supposed to connect with the content being taught in the class.
So although it lined up with a standard, the book, lesson, and discussion did not
correlate with what was being taught in the classroom. Because the students were
not as familiar with telling time, reading them this book and discussing the concepts
of telling time was great. It allowed me to introduce a new concept to the students
while engaging them with the literature. I think that using high quality childrens
literature is one of the best ways to engage students and introduce or reinforce
content. The content that the class has been working on is adding and subtracting by
doing word problems and number talks. I took a small group of students again and
we read Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. We discussed subtraction strategies
and provided other examples of counting down.
(Math activity plan attached)

2. Find a song/ poem related to math concept being taught in your

classroom and teach it to a group of students

My classroom teacher does a number talk before every math lesson. Each time I
have observed her she uses different strategies. I noticed that she kept mentioning
the skip counting strategy, so the next time I came to the class I taught the

students a song to help them remember the strategy for counting. (Attached) We did
it before the number talk and the students were engaged and loved it. I taught the
number talk and I was able to refer to that to help guide the students in answering
the questions. This showed me a new way of teaching or reinforcing the content
with students.

3. Play an Investigations game/ pre-made task with a group of students

Because the students are in first grade, much of the instruction for math is simple

but engaging. I rarely ever saw them do a worksheet, which was very encouraging.
One of the games that I played with the students was called Double Compare. It is
from the Investigations curriculum and the students love it. The students are paired
with partners and they are given a deck of cards. It is divided up evenly and each
player flips the top card over each time to display the number. Whoever has the
highest number says me and they take the card. It was so fun to play it with the
kids and I think that it is a great way to get their brains thinking about the quantity
of numbers and what is more and what is less.

4. Design and administer a math assessment for a group of students in

your class

I taught a math lesson and therefore created an assessment on subtraction. One thing that I
thought was very interesting was that my classroom teacher did not want us using the
word subtraction while I taught. It was a great experience to create a lesson thinking on
that kind of level for the students. I had to think creatively of how to engage them and teach
them the content without using that language while still purposefully getting that
information to them. We did a few number talks, worked on word problems together on
the board as teaching, and then they went to their seats and used skittles to work out the
word problems as practice. For assessment, the students were given another two word
problems that I created to put in their math journals and answer. They had to show their
work and I was able to go around and see how they were doing. This is how our teacher
formatively assesses them on a daily basis and I loved it. The teachers instruction in the
classroom that I have been observing has really been a great example for me to follow.

Design for Learning

Activity Plan- Math
Instructor: Miss Harding

Lesson Title: We Want Mo Math
Curriculum Area: Math

Grade Level: 1st

Estimated Time: 25 minutes

Standards Connection: Tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and
digital clocks. [1-MD3] [1.17]

Learning Objective(s): When given a analog and digital clock, students will correctly
match the analog hour time with its digital time.

Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
You will learn how to match the time of day using two different kinds of clocks.

Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):
Teacher will assess this activity by giving the students a problem (see attached) challenging
them to match the time of day on digital and analog clocks. Students will be asked to pair
the digital time with its exact analog time. Students will only be assessed on whole hour
time. Students will need to pair all times correctly to be considered proficient.

Engagement:
Teacher will use the book, Dont Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!, in order to get her students
motivated and focused on the activity. She will use the concept of time in this book to relate
it to what the students are learning and engaging in. Good morning friends! I need everyone
to come to the carpet. If you have purple on, please come to the carpet.
Redblueblackwhite. If I havent called a color you may come to the carpet. Teacher waits
for students to get situated. I need everyone to sit crisscross applesauce and I need all eyes
and all ears. Good. Raise your hand if you like to stay up late. Teacher listens to students
answers. Okay, lets bring it back in. Miss Harding does not like to stay up late. She likes her
sleep. Sleep is good for us! We are going to be practicing a little bit today how to tell time.
Have any of you ever read this book? Its one of my favorites. As I read I want all eyes up here.
Think of your bedtime and if there are any similarities in this book. Also think about what
time it might be as the pigeon stays up. Teacher read the book Dont Let the Pigeon Stay Up
Late! She observes throughout if the students are engaged and participating. What did yall
think? Would you try to stay up like the Pigeon did? Do you think you would make it? Can
someone tell me what is something that you do at night that is the same as the Pigeon?
Teacher waits for student response. Good. What time do you think it was that the Pigeon
really started to get tired? When do you start to get tired? Do you get tired at the night or in
the morning? Teacher listens and engages the students in questions and conversation.
Wonderful responses, boys and girls. How do you think the Pigeon knew what time it was? Do
you think he had a clock to tell him? Teacher waits for responses. I agree. Do you all have
clocks or watches in your house that let you know its time for bed? Clocks can tell us to wake
up too, right? Teacher waits for student responses. Good job! Telling time must be pretty

important to us. I know I couldnt be a good teacher if I did not have sleep and I do not think
you all would be good students either if you didnt get any sleep. Lets see how well you can tell
time in this fun activity that we are going to do together.

Learning Design: (Activity)

The teacher will remind the students of the am and pm times and what those mean. She
will start off having a picture on the screen of an event/action that students would be
familiar with that would take place in the day time or night time. She will pair the activity
with a digital time of day as well as giving 4 possible answers for that digital time to be
paired with on an analog clock. Students will have their own white boards and will write
down the letter of the answer they think is correct. Students will share answers and
teacher will formatively assess if students understand the pairing method. Good morning
boys and girls! Please remember to sit elbow to elbow, knee to knee, keeping your hands and
markers to yourself at all times. Can anyone tell me what some of the differences are between
nighttime and daytime? (Students are on the carpet and have the whiteboards in front of
them.) Teacher calls on 3 students. One of the differences is that after the number, lets say
3:00, there is either an AM or PM. What does AM tell us? PM? Good job, boys and girls. In the
book that we just read and the Pigeon is about to go to sleep, lets say if the time was 9:00
would AM or PM go after it? PM, good! Why? Teacher listens to see if students understand.
Because its nighttime and we have learned that PM tells us its that time. We use those to help
us tell what time it is! Its a hint/clue! I want everyone to look at the screen. What is this
picture of? I want you to think about this silently in your head. Do not speak out. When
everyone has thought about this, I am going to call on someone to tell me what these people
are doing. Teacher calls on student and they say kids eating breakfast. Thats right. Does
everyone see this clock right here? Teacher points to analog clock next to the picture. What
does this tell us? Remember we just learned how to tell what time it is using these clocks.
Teacher waits for student response. Good. It tells us what time the child is eating breakfast.
Now can everyone look down here and see the time here? Teacher points to the digital time
listed below the picture. Does it look different than the other one? These both can tell us what
time it is, remember? Were going to see if you can read and then match the two! Everyone
hold up your whiteboards and markers. Teacher waits for students to get their things
together and bring attention back in. Notice how there are four possible choices for us to
choose from at the bottom of the screen? I want you all to look at this clock (Teacher points
to analog clock) and then pick which letter down here (points to digital clock) matches that
time. Remember to use clues from looking at the picture. The teacher will show 2 more
pictures and will guide students. Throughout the activity the teacher will asks students to
share, explain, and defend their answers. There will be class discussion and the teacher will
also connect the pictures to how it might apply to the students personally. She will make
sure that they are cooperating and engaging throughout the entire activity.

Assessment
This assessment is formative. The teacher will assess the students on a new problem with
no guidance. They will write the answers on the whiteboards and show their answers. If
the teacher notices that students do not understand the activity and the concept of
matching the time, she will either give them more instructional support with a different

problem or she will go back and review/ reteach how to tell time. Alright boy and girls, you
all did such a great job with the three problems so far. I want to see if you all can do this all on
your own. The next slide I show I want you to show me your answer, but you cannot ask a
friend or myself to help you. This is alone work. I do not want to hear talking or see you
showing your board to anyone else. When you think you have the problem, please give me
silent thumbs and then I will come see if you have the answer correctly. Teacher walks
around room observing and makes a note of who got the answer right. I am so proud of
yall. Way to think hard!

Closure
Teacher closes the lesson by asking questions about the last question and what the
students learned about time. Lets talk about what we all got on this last problem. Who
agrees that the answer is C? Why did you all get that answer? Great job looking at the other
clock and the picture to give you clues. Also, looking at the AM and PM helped a lot didnt it? I
want everyone to write one thing on his or her board that you learned today that you didnt
know before. Think back even to the book we read at the beginning of class. Did that help you
think of time and how it relates to your life? Do you all feel like this helped you understand
time better? That is all for today boys and girls. Once again, great job with those thinking
caps.

Materials and Resources:

Mini Whiteboards
Markers
Socks or paper towels
Dont Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
Pictures and questions (Attached)

A. 7:00 am
B. 9:00 am
C. 6:00 pm
D. 3:00 am

A. 10:00 pm
B. 2:00 am
C. 5:00 pm
D. 12:00 am

A. 3:00 Am
B. 4:00 Pm
C. 6:00 Am
D. 10:00 PM

A. 6:00 AM
B. 1:00 PM
C. 8:00 Am
D. 10:00 AM