Modified Task 4 Assignment 

Spring 2018 MAED 3224 

  
Section A: Context for Learning 
1. Grade level: 4th  

2. How much time is devoted each day to mathematics instruction in your classroom?  

100 minutes per day: ​using the Singapore method twice daily. Once in English and once in Greek,
50 minutes each. 

3. Identify any textbook or instructional program the teacher uses for mathematics instruction. 
If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.  

4. From your observations, list other resources (e.g., electronic whiteboard, manipulatives, 
online resources) the teacher uses for mathematics instruction in this class. Provide one 
example of how a resource was used to teach a concept.  

Whiteboard, projection used for computer screen onto whiteboard, worksheets, cut-outs, pattern 
blocks, khanacademy.com. The teacher used cut-outs of shapes for a sorting activity where 
each student was given a shape and given a turn to place their shape on the board to show what 
kind of lines their shape contained: perpendicular, parallel, intersecting, or none of the above.  

5. From your observations, explain how your teacher makes sure the students learn the 
standard/objectives conceptually giving a specific example.  

The teacher makes sure the students learn the standard/objectives conceptually by 
having students draw picture to help them solve math concepts. For example, after a lesson on 
shapes and what kind of lines they contained (parallel, perpendicular, intersecting, none of the 
above) the teacher had the students complete an exit ticket given a hexagon and requiring the 
students to draw a set of lines they seen and have them label. The teacher was having the 
students make conceptual connections by having them draw these lines on top of the shapes to 
be given a visual. Another example, whenever the teacher did word problems with the students, 
she required them to draw a picture to make conceptual connections with the content. Having 
students draw pictures, providing a visual of their understanding, demonstrate their conceptual 
learning.   

6. What did you learn most about teaching mathematics from observing this teacher?  

By observing this teacher, I learned a lot about teaching mathematics. To effectively 

teach mathematics, a teacher must have knowledge of the concepts in the subject, knowledge 
of students, and knowledge of instructional practices. As a teacher, you need to be very 
proficient in the math concepts and know where they can lead and where the students are 
heading with them. A teacher must have knowledge of their students by knowing how they 
learn math, and be able to determine techniques that work for them to help them reach math 
goals. All students learn differently and need different scaffolding techniques to meet their 
needs, which can be determined by interpreting and analyzing student work. I also learned that 
by providing hands on manipulatives and activities, students make better connections with the 
material they are working with.  

 
Section B: Whole Class Lesson 
Meet with your IMB teacher and decide what you will teach. Make sure your teacher 
understands that your lesson must have a conceptual understanding instruction along with both 
procedural fluency and problem solving components. You teach just one lesson. 
 
1. Describe the Central Focus of your lesson (a description of the important understandings 
and core concepts that students will develop with this lesson). 

The central focus of this lesson is classifying triangles based on their attributes. Students will 
classify triangles based on the attributes: angles and sides.   
 

2. State the CCSSM Standard and the objective for your whole class lesson.   

4.G.A.2 Classify two-dimensional figures based on the presence or absence of parallel or 
perpendicular lines, or the presence or absence of angles of a specified size. Recognize right 
triangles as a category, and identify right triangles​. 
 
3. Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks: (summarize the lesson plan components by 
briefly describing the instruction and the learning tasks you used. Include the tasks students will 
solve during the lesson.) 

The teacher will engage students by drawing a right isosceles triangle on the board and 
asking what kind it is based on angles, then sides and requesting an explanation for both 
attributes. The teacher will then write 5 types of triangles on the board and students will 
practice making these triangles individually on geoboards, then recording the triangle on geodot 
paper.   

1. Acute scalene triangle 

2. Obtuse isosceles triangle 
3. Equilateral (acute) triangle 
4. Right scalene triangle  
5. Acute isosceles triangle  

The teacher will lead a discussion by having volunteer students draw the triangle on the board 
and justify why their triangle fits the task to the class. Students will then complete an exit ticket 
to end the lesson where they are to draw a scalene obtuse triangle and justify how they know 
their triangle fits the task in terms of angles and sides.   
4. Create a formative assessment that assesses conceptual knowledge, procedural fluency, 
and problem solving. I​ nsert a copy of the assessment with your solutions here.  

Students will complete an exit ticket. Students will explain a triangle based on its angles and 
sides. Students will draw a picture of a scalene obtuse triangle on geoboard dot paper and 
justify in 1-2 sentences how they know their triangle fits the task. (​ex: It has an angle >90 
degrees and all sides are unequal.​)  

5. Define your evaluation criteria for mastery of the assessment in a rubric. Make sure you 
define separately conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and problem solving parts of 
this rubric, including the corresponding points. ​Insert this rubric here.  

Summative: 10 point total 

3 points for picture 
3 points for written explanation 
4 points for correct answer 
 
Students are expected 8/10 points on exit ticket to demonstrate mastery. 
  
Section C: Results of Whole Class Assessment 
1. Create a graphic showing class performance of conceptual understanding, procedural 
fluency, and problem solving of the objective. This can be pie charts, tables, bar graph etc. but 
must show performance in each of the above areas separately, according to each student’s 
performance in the formative assessment.  
 
Student   Conceptual Problem Procedural Total (10 pts) 
Understanding/ Solving/ Fluency/ Correct
Picture (3 pts)  Sentence Answer (4 pts ) 
Explanation (3
pts) 

A  2  3  4  9 

B  3  3  4  10 
 C  2  3  2  7 

D  2  3  2  7 

E  0  2  0  2 

F  3  3  4  10 

G  1  3  2  6 

H  3  3  4  10 

I  3  3  2  8 

J  3  0  0  3 

K  2  3  2  7 

L  3  3  4  10 

M  3  3  2  8 

N  3  3  4  10 

O  3  3  4  10 

P  2  3  2  7 

Q  3  3  2  8 

R  3  3  4  10 

S  3  3  4  10 
 
 
2. Describe common error patterns in each of the areas of patterns of learning - conceptual 
understanding, and procedural fluency. Refer to the graphic to support your discussion.  
 
I looked for students to draw a picture to show conceptual understanding of the problem.
This showed me if the students understood the problem or not. A common picture approach
that demonstrated strong conceptual understanding for the students was drawing a triangle
with 1 obtuse angle and 3 unequal sides. 11 out of 19 students demonstrated strong
conceptual understanding of the problem. An example of a picture that demonstrated weak
conceptual understanding was drawing four sided figure. This picture was not correct for the
problem neither did it match the students’ approach, showing weak conceptual
understanding of the problem.

I looked for students to include the correct answer in their explanation sentence(s),
therefore showing how they understood the task provided to show procedural fluency of the
 problem. A common procedural fluency approach students used to get the correct answer
was including in their explanations that they knew their triangle fitted the task of being
scalene obtuse because there was 1 angle greater than 90 degrees and all 3 sides were
unequal. 9 out of 19 students demonstrated strong procedural fluency. An example of weak
procedural fluency was a student not giving an answer to the problem. The student wrote
an explanation sentence, but did not include an actual correct answer. The student’s picture
did not match their approach nor did the student give an answer in their explanation to the
task, showing weak procedural fluency for the problem.

I looked for students’ to write an explanation in 1-2 sentences to show an approach to

solving the problem. This was out of 3 total points, giving full points if there was a written
explanation that aligned with picture. Strong problem-solving approaches can be
demonstrated by a student writing a full 2 sentences explaining how their triangle correctly
fits the task by an angle being greater than 90 degrees and all 3 sides are unequal. 17 out
of 19 students demonstrated strong problem-solving skills for this problem, showing
mastery. Some students demonstrated non-mastery with problem-solving. An example of
weak problem-solving is a student not providing any explanation at all, leaving it blank. This
showed the student did not understand a correct approach to this problem. The student
may have needed more time.
 
Note:​ Patterns of learning include ​both ​quantitative and qualitative patterns (or consistencies) for different 
groups of students or individuals. Quantitative patterns indicate in a numerical way the information 
understood from the assessment (e.g., 10 out of 15 students or 20% of the students). Qualitative patterns 
include descriptions of understandings, misunderstandings, partial understandings, and/or developmental 
approximations and/or attempts at a solution related to a concept or a skill that could explain the quantitative 
patterns. 
For example, if the majority of students (quantitative) in a class ordered unit fractions from least to greatest as 
1​/​2, 1​/3
​ , 1​/​4, 1​/5
​ , the students’ error shows that they believe that the smaller the denominator, the smaller the 
fraction and they have a mathematical misunderstanding related to the value of fractional parts (qualitative). 
For example, if a student error occurs in a subtraction problem then the underlying mathematical 
understanding may include trading or regrouping, meaning of subtraction, and/or subtraction as the inverse of 
addition. You start with the quantity of students who made the specific mistake and you continue with the 
quality of the mistake in terms of the mathematical misconception. 
 
 
3. Scan and insert here the copies of​ 2 students​ first work samples as follows. Choose the 
most representative examples from the whole class assessment (​no student names​). Then, 
analyze each student’s misconceptions. 
  

 
 
Student 1 Mathematics Work Sample (​ student struggles with conceptual understanding) 
 
Student G scored a 6 of 10 on the exit ticket. For the task draw a scalene obtuse triangle, 
this student drew a triangle, labeling all sides as equal and with all acute angles, drawing an 
equilateral triangle as the result. The student was vague in their explanation stating there is an 
obtuse angle in the shape, but not giving the understanding behind how they know there is an 
obtuse angle, which is that there is an angle greater than 90 degrees. However, in their 
explanation, the student stated all sides are not equal, giving partial of the correct answer. The 
student showed they had an understanding that a scalene triangle has all unequal sides, but 
their picture did not reflect this explanation, demonstrating the student struggled with 
conceptual understanding for the problem. The student may have had misconceptions in 
meaning of the lines they drew on the triangle, labeling the sides as equal. The student may 
also have had a misconception in what an obtuse angle angle by getting it confused with an 
acute angle.    
 
Student 2 Mathematics Work Sample (​ student struggles with procedural fluency or problem 
solving) 
 
Student E scored a 2/10 on the exit ticket. The student provided an explanation stating 
their triangle drawn is a scalene obtuse triangle because there is a point at the top which make 
an obtuse angle. The student did not have the understanding that an obtuse angle is greater 
than 90 degrees and, by not providing anything in their explanation about sides, demonstrated 
the student did not have procedural fluency for the problem to provide the required content. The 
student did not provide a correct answer showing weak procedural fluency for the problem.   
  
  
Section D: Plan for Re-Engagement 
Assessment results are irrelevant if you do not act on them. Thus, you are to create a plan to 
use the results you described in Part C. You do not have to actually re-engage the students but 
you must show that you understand what to do with these results. Thus, based on the 
assessment results you described above, group each of your students into one of these groups:  
Group 1 - re-engage for conceptual 
Group 2 - re-engage for procedural  
Group 3 - re-engage for problem solving 
Group 4 - mastery/ready to move on 
1. Describe the number of students you will have in each of these groups. (Note: if a child 
performed poorly in multiple parts of the assessment, that child will start in the conceptual 
group)  
I would have 2 students in group 1 for re-engagement for conceptual understanding. I 
would have 4 students in group 2 for re-engagement for procedural fluency. I would have 1 
students in group 3 for re-engagement of problem solving for this specific lesson, as all 
students wrote a required explanation in sentences. There may be missing portions from the 
explanations, but this is reflected in procedural fluency as the answer to the task. I would have 
12 students group 4, which have demonstrated mastery and are ready to move on.   
  
2. Plan to re-engage for conceptual understanding. 
a. Describe your re-engagement lesson for this group (objective from CCSSM, learning 
tasks, strategies, materials, assessment). 
Students will re-engage in a lesson covering standard 4.G.A.2 Classify two-dimensional 
figures based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines, or the presence or 
absence of angles of a specified size. Recognize right triangles as a category, and identify right 
triangles. Teacher will engage the students by giving them the following task: Create an 
isosceles right triangle. Students will work to complete the task using geoboards and then draw 
the intended triangle on a recording sheet. Students will then work in pairs to complete the 
following tasks: Create a scalene obtuse triangle. Create an acute isosceles triangle. Students 
will record these on the recording sheet. Teacher will then lead a discussion based on student 
work with the tasks, asking students to explain their work. ​The teacher will ask other students if
they agree or disagree and to explain why or why not. Materials needed for this lesson are
geoboards and a recording sheet to record triangles. ​Students will then complete an exit ticket. 
Students will draw a picture of an acute scalene triangle and justify in 1-2 sentences how they 
know their triangle fits the task. (​ex: It has an angle <90 degrees and all sides are unequal.​)  

b. Explain why you believe this re-engagement lesson will be effective based on the 
error patterns you found in the data. Score here will be based on how well you describe 
 the connection to the re-engagement lesson and the error patterns found, effective use 
of materials, and sound methodology.   
This re-engagement lesson will be effective based on error patterns with conceptual 
understanding as it allows students more conceptual work with these intended triangles. 
Students are also able to work in pairs so they can collaborate together and learn from 
one another.   
c. Explain how you will reassess for mastery of the concept. 
Students will then complete an exit ticket. Students will draw a picture of an acute scalene 
triangle and justify in 1-2 sentences how they know their triangle fits the task. (​ex: It has an angle 
<90 degrees and all sides are unequal.​)  
 
Summative: 10 point total 
3 points for picture 
3 points for written explanation 
4 points for correct answer 
 
Students are expected 8/10 points on exit ticket to demonstrate mastery. 
 
  
 
3a. Plan to Re-engage for procedural understanding. 
a. Describe your re-engagement lesson for this group (objective from CCSSM, learning 
tasks, strategies, materials, assessment). 
Students will re-engage in a lesson covering standard 4.G.A.2 Classify two-dimensional 
figures based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines, or the presence or 
absence of angles of a specified size. Recognize right triangles as a category, and identify right 
triangles. Teacher will engage the students by drawing a scalene obtuse triangle on the board 
and have them write in 1-2 sentences how they know this triangle is scalene and obtuse. 
Students will then work in pairs to complete an activity where they are given a triangles and 
have to explain why (based on sides and angles) these triangles fit the task. Students will be 
given the following triangles: isosceles right, scalene acute, scalene right. Teacher will then 
lead a discussion based on student work with the tasks, asking students to explain their work. 
The teacher will ask other students if they agree or disagree and to explain why or why not.
Materials needed for this lesson are paper, pencil and triangle sheet. ​Students will then 
complete an exit ticket. Students will explain a triangle based on its angles and sides. Students 
will be given a picture of an acute isosceles triangle and justify in 1-2 sentences how they know 
this triangle fits the task. (​ex: It has an angle <90 degrees and 2 sides are equal.​)  
  
b. Explain why you believe this re-engagement lesson will be effective based on the 
error patterns you found in the data. Score here will be based on how well you describe 
the connection to the re-engagement lesson and the error patterns found, effective use 
of materials, and sound methodology.   
This re-engagement lesson will be effective based on error patterns found as it provides 
students with more practice zooming in on the procedural fluency aspect of classifying 
 the triangles. Students get exposure to focusing on giving explanations for the task, 
working towards higher procedural fluency skills.   
 
c. Explain how you will reassess for mastery of the concept.  
Students will then complete an exit ticket. Students will explain a triangle based on its angles 
and sides. Students will be given a picture of an acute isosceles triangle and justify in 1-2 
sentences how they know this triangle fits the task. (​ex: It has an angle <90 degrees and 2 sides 
are equal.​)  
 
 
Summative: 10 point total 
3 points for picture 
3 points for written explanation 
4 points for correct answer 
 
Students are expected 8/10 points on exit ticket to demonstrate mastery. 
 
  
3b. Plan to Re-engage for problem solving. 
a. Describe your re-engagement lesson for this group (objective from CCSSM, learning 
tasks, strategies, materials, assessment). 
b. Explain why you believe this re-engagement lesson will be effective based on the 
error patterns you found in the data. Score here will be based on how well you describe 
the connection to the re-engagement lesson and the error patterns found, effective use 
of materials, and sound methodology.  
c. Explain how you will reassess for mastery of the concept.  
 
 
Scoring Rubric 
  Possible 
Points 

Section A: Context for Learning    

A1  1 
A2  1 
A3  1 
A4  5 
A5  5 
A6  5 

Section B: Whole Class Lesson    

B1  1 
B2  1 
B3  10 
 B4  8 
B5  10 

Section C: Results of whole class assessment    

C1  10 
C2  14 
C3  6 

Section D: Plan for re-engagement    

D1  2 
D2  10 
D3a or D3b  10 

Total of all scores:   100