Mathematics Lesson Plan Template

Grade: 5th Grade

School: Susan B. Anthony
Teacher: Mrs. Beverly
Goals & Objectives
Students will be able to explain the effect of multiplying and dividing numbers between 0
and 1.
CCSS Mathematical Practices:
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
Analyze patterns and relationships
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NF.B.5.B
Explain why multiplying a given number by a fraction greater than 1 results in a product
greater than the given number (recognizing multiplication by whole numbers greater
than 1 as a familiar case); explain why multiplying a given number by a fraction less than
1 results in a product smaller than the given number. (Note: Students able to multiply
fractions in general can develop strategies to divide fractions in general, by reasoning
about the relationship between multiplication and division. But division of a fraction by a
fraction is not a requirement at this grade.)

Materials
Maze Playing Boards (make 20 copies total so students can use more than one)
Pencils
Highlighters
Colored Pencils
Markers
Clipboards
Calculators
Notebook paper
Post-Its
Exit Ticket Index Cards
Blank Chart Paper
Talk Moves Anchor Chart
Classroom Arrangement & Management Issues
Launch
I will start our lesson by meeting with my students at a small group table in the
hallway outside our fifth grade classroom.
I will launch the lesson with everyone sitting around the small group table and
before dismissing students to independent work, I will point out the materials I have
for each of them to use. Here, I will explain to them that they may use any of
these materials to help them solve the task. (I intentionally want the students to
know they have access to these tools, but at the same time, I do not want to be
presumptuous by telling the students what materials they need to solve the
problem.)

Comment [CE1]: You may want to have several copies. As

students write on them and make realizations, they may
want to start with a new copy. This is a great point. I
will make extra copies available to all the
students.

Classroom Arrangement & Management Issues (Continued)

Explore (Independent Work)
When it is time for individual work, I will encourage the students to spread out; the
students will have the option of either sitting at the small group table or sitting on
the floor within our fifth grade designated hallway area.
I am allowing the students to have a choice where they will sit during independent
work time because I want them have a voice in where they work.
Moreover, I want to give my students the responsibility of picking an area where
they will be free of distractions. My goal is to give students the opportunity to be
able to decide where they will be most on-task. (The students are able to pick
where they want to work during writing workshop, so they already have a
foundation of self-managing where they sit in the classroom.)
After each student picks their spot for independent work, I will closely watch the
students and if I see that two students are distracting each other and not focused
on their work I will talk with the student about where they can move so that they
will be more successful.
Explore (Partner Work)
After about 15 min. of independent work time, I will make the decision to partner
up students based on my observations and assessment during their independent
work.
Discuss
At the end of the lesson, we will come back to the small group table together for a
small group discussion.
Plan
Launch: 5 min.

Tell the following story: So, I was listening to the radio as I was walking to school today, when all
of a sudden an urgent news bulletin came on the radio! Astronomers have found a meteor
heading straight towards the Earth. However, the FBI knew that if people found out about the
meteor, they would be scared and panicked so the FBI forced the astronomers to remain quiet
about their discovery.
However, an anonymous astronomer disobeyed the FBIs warning and sent the radio station a
code which reveals the location where the huge meteorite will hit the Earth. The astronomer
needed to make sure the FBI didnt catch them sending this message to the radio station, so
they wrote the location into a puzzle.
The radio station is having a hard time decoding the puzzle and need your help,
mathematicians! Lucky for you, the puzzle includes operations you are already familiar with:
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Hello mathematicians!
Question: Why are mathematicians like problem solvers?
Question: Why is problem solving important in read life?
Today, your challenge is to try to find the path that gives you the highest number
possible at the finish line of the decimal maze.
[Read the directions out loud and explain how you cannot retrace your path.]
[Model one example pathway through the maze so students understand the
directions. Ask one student to restated my directions in their own words.]
[Point to the supplies on the table.] Here are all the supplies you may use to solve
the puzzle. [Explain the potential uses of each tool, without prescribing one over
another.]
You will work independently for the next 10 min. to solve the puzzle.
[Point to the supplies on the table.] Here are all the supplies you may use to solve
the puzzle.

Comment [CE2]: This is a very creative launch. Im not

convinced it will really enhance their engagement with this
particular task just be sure it doesnt distract from the
purpose. I think posing it as a challengefind the path that
leads to the largest number is engaging enough, but its your
call! Good point. I will take this first part out and
refocus my launch on making sure my students
understand the task and the tools available to
them.

Plan (Continued)
Explore: 10 min.
Students begin working on the task independently.
Give the students a few minutes of uninterrupted thinking and work time before I
start going around, looking at the students work and asking follow up questions.
As I rotate around to each student, I will be looking to see what pathways each
student is choosing and I will ask them why they choose that pathway.
Potential Questions:
o What is the problem asking you? (If students need some encouragement to
start the task.)
o What path did you choose to take in the maze? Why? What decisions were
you making along the way?
o What is this called in mathematics? (If students are not using vocabulary
such as product or quotient as they are talking about their work.)
o What patterns are you noticing and why?
o Would this pattern work for other numbers? Why or why not?
o What does division mean? What does multiplication mean?
o What is important about the pattern you are noticing?
o I see that youre choosing multiplication/addition. What happens if you
choose division?
After about 10 min. have passed, I will pair up the students depending on my
observations during their independent work time.
At this time, students will have the chance to share their answers with their partner
and explain their reasoning behind their solution. In other words, students will need
to justify to their partner why they choose that specific route.
After 5 minutes of partner work, students will have 5 more minutes to work
independently. This time, the students strategies are likely to be informed by their
peer conferences.
Discuss: 15 min.
Before opening up the conversation, I will review our Talk Moves anchor chart with
the students and encourage them to use these sentence starters during our
discussion.
o So youre saying? Can you repeat what ____ just said in your own words?
o Do you agree or disagree and why? How did you reach that conclusion?
o Who would like to add on?
o Does anyone have the same answer but a different way to explain it?
o Do you see a pattern?
o Does that always work? Is that true for all cases?
o Can you think of a counterexample?
o What would happen if . . .?
Potential Questions:
o What strategies did you use to solve the puzzle when you first started?
o After trying to solve the puzzle for a while, what strategies did you use?
o Which moves had the greatest impact on increasing the magnitude of
the resulting value? Why?
o How has our thinking changed from when we started to now?
o What were the largest values everyone reached at the Finish?
After writing the answers on the chart paper, I will ask the student with the lowest
answer to explain to the group how they arrived at that answer. Then, the students

Comment [CE3]: I think you will need to go over the task a

bit more before having them work independently. For
example, you will need to explain that you are moving down
in the maze and that you cannot retrace your path. Also that
you will start with 100 and use a calculator to find the
product, quotient, sum or difference at each juncture. I
would suggest doing one sample path together first and
then challenge them to see if they can find a path that leads
to a higher number. Also make sure they know how to use
the calculatormaybe go through an example. This isnt as
automatic as you may think, particularly when you are
putting in multiple steps. I agree. I have made
corrections on page two in blue.
Comment [CE4]: In addition, you may need to prompt
them to try different approaches. I noticed you used
multiplication every time, what happens if you choose
division? This is a good question because it is more
direct. I have added this question to my list.

Comment [CE5]: Will they also have time to try new

paths? After discussing, they will likely be spurred to keep
trying to get a larger result. This is an excellent idea. I
have added this new step on page four.

will build off each others ideas and the students will have the opportunity to revise
their thinking as they listen to each other.
Why Questions:
o Why does division by a decimal result in a larger answer?
o Why does multiplication by a decimal result in a smaller answer?
[The answer is approximately 6,332. If the longitude is 63 and the latitude is 32, then the
meteor is heading towards Santa Fe, Argentina.] Once students agree on an answer, we
will type in these coordinates into my laptop to reveal the location.
Anticipating Students Responses
1. What different strategies students are likely to use to solve the task
Students will likely use guess and check
Students will likely start by trying to use only multiplication and addition operations
in order to make the largest number possible. In other words, I predict students will
avoid the subtraction and division operations because their emerging
understanding may lead them to assume that the operation of division always
means that the quotient will get smaller when dividing.

Comment [CE6]: I think here you can also ask the why
questions. Why does division by a decimal result in a larger
answer? Why does multiplication by a decimal result in a
smaller answer? Even if they dont have it completely
worked out, their answers will give you very interesting
information about their developing understanding and their
understanding of the operations of multiplication and
division. You could use money to help them make
connectionse.g., dividing by 0.25 is like finding out how
many quarters are in an amount. I think asking why
questions will help increase the rigor of the lesson.
Even if not all the students understand the why
some students with more advanced explanations
may help inform other students.

2. What students are likely to be confused by or find difficult

Students are likely to be confused that dividing by a number between 0 and 1
creates a quotient larger than the dividend.
Students are likely to be confused that multiplying by a number between 0 and 1
creates a product smaller than the factor.
3. What aspects of the lesson might present particular managerial challenges
It may be challenging trying to understand why students are making choices as
they move through the maze because their work is on the calculator and the
maze does not ask them to stop and write down why they are making each move
as they work through the maze. (Thus, it will be important that I ask the students
questions as they work so that I help make their thinking visible.)
When I model an example at the start of the lesson, I could use two different color
highlighters to illustrate how to stay organized my using a different color each time.
Assessment
See below for my assessment tracker.
The purpose of this assessment chart is to help organize my notes as I asses each
students understanding during the lesson.
As I walk around listening to the students during the explore section of the lesson,
I plan to use this tracker to take notes on the students understandings. Then,
based on my notes on this tracker, I will pair up the students to discuss their
strategies before we meet as a whole group to discuss their findings.
If a student reached the goal of the lesson, they would understand that multiplying
by a number between 0 and 1 results in a product smaller than the factor and
dividing by a number between 0 and 1 results in a quotient larger than the
dividend.
In order to reach this goal, the students will need to guess and check while
thinking about how each operation increases or decreases their original number.
In other words, students will need to reflect on their best course of action at each
turn.

Comment [CE7]: Yes, or you could ask them to write it

down and give them multiple copies of the maze. I have
made this addition.

Comment [CE8]: This is a nice idea

 I will be observing the students to see how they analyze the patterns and
relationships between the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
operations.
Since the task has multiple paths from start to finish, the students will need to solve
the problem multiple times. Only after students have worked through the maze
multiple times, will they be able to begin to construct an argument about which
path leads to the greatest value. and why.
Accommodations
Too Challenging?
Change the length of the process: ask the students to start at the top and try to
find the greatest number in only three moves.
Change the numbers: instead of using decimal numbers like .87 and .6, use
decimal numbers like .25, .50, and .75 which more closely resemble quarters
because students often understand decimals as it relates to money.
Break the task up into smaller steps: Have the students write down their answer at
each vertices so that they keep track of the numbers on the paper and not in their
head or on the calculator.
Make the starting number smaller: Start with the number 10 instead of 100 so the
students are working with smaller, more familiar numbers.
Too Easy?
Ask the students to find the path that leads to the smallest number as possible.
Prove that you have found the largest path. How are you sure this path leads to the
largest number?
Ask the students to find the path that leads to the number closest to 100.
Students could change the numbers to using scientific notation or extended form.
Each student can create his or her own maze. The student can also create their
own rules (Can you move up, to the side, or only down? Is the goal to get the
greatest number?) The student then needs to make an answer key before trading
their maze with another student to solve.

Comment [CE9]: And again, they can begin to verbalize

why which will give you insight into what they understand
about multiplication and division and decimal numbers
between 0 and 1

Comment [CE10]: This would be hard to do on the fly.

Since you have calculators, I dont think it will be necessary.

Comment [CE11]: You could also ask them to prove that

they have found the path that leads to the largest number.
How do they know?

Student Name: ___________________________

Date: ______________

Decimal Maze
Move down or sideways (never up) through the maze from Start to Finish. You may not
retrace any steps.
Begin with a value of 100 on your calculator. As you cross a segment, perform the indicated
operation on your calculator.
The goal is to choose a path that results in the largest value when you reach Finish.

2008 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics http://illuminations.nctm.org

Assessment Tracker: Decimal Maze

Student
Name

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

What patterns
do they notice in
the Decimal
Maze? What
assumptions are
they making?

What is the largest

value the student
had when reaching
the finish? What
strategies are they
using as they work
through the maze?

What assumptions is the

student making about
multiplication? To what
extent does the student
understand multiplying by
a number between 0 and
1 results in a smaller
product?

What assumptions is the

student making about
division? To what extent
does the student
understand dividing by a
number between 0 and 1
results in a larger quotient?