Ojasoo EUUC 410 1

Lesson Plan Thursday February 19th

Teacher: Mrs. O
Grade: 1st
Content Area: Math

Content and Standards: 1.NBT.B.3

Prerequisites: Students would have to complete the previous lesson

introducing the concepts of greater than, less than and equal to.

Essential Questions: How can I model and compare two-digit numbers to

determine which is greater?

Materials and Equipment: Greater than, less than and equal to

anchor chart, comparing numbers partner game (12), Greater than,
less than symbol writing practice sheet, gator numbers song
(youtube), pencils and scissors.

Instructional Objective: At the end of this lesson students will be

able to compose a number using two digits and then compare two
numbers to determine which number is greater or if the numbers
are equal. Students will use math language to describe two
numbers and symbols to represent greater than, less than and
equal to.
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Instructional Procedures:

● Before: Students will warm up before this lesson by

participating in a 5 minute warm up game to review counting
by 5’s. Standing in a circle students skip count by 5’s up to
120. Whoever says 120 must sit. Play continues until only
one student is standing. Students then gather on the large
group meeting rug. We then review the symbols and
vocabulary on our comparing numbers anchor chart and then
sing-along with the Number Gators video clip. Students follow
along using their arms to form the symbols for greater than,
less than and equal to. Teacher and students complete 3
problems on the board to review how to use the tens and
ones to determine if a number is greater or less than another.
Each problem students will turn and talk with their partner to
determine if the digit in the tens place or ones place helps to
determine which number is greater.
● During: Students complete a page to practice forming the
symbols for greater than, less than and equal to and also
practice reading each equality (5 minutes). Students pair up
with their partner to play a comparing numbers game.
Students must first cut apart their number playing cards (0-9).
Then each person draws two number cards without looking
and places them to make the greatest number that can be
formed. Students then record the number they formed on the
game board and fill in a symbol (>,<,=) that compares the two
numbers. Play continues for several rounds and the winner is
the player who had the greater number most often.
● After: Students gather to review how to use the tens and one
place to compare numbers.

Assessment: Students will complete an independent practice page

that will provide evidence if students are able to compare two
numbers and represent them using the symbols for greater than,
less than and equal to (>,<,=). Direct observation of students ability
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to complete the comparing numbers will provide me with an idea of

the level students have mastered using the symbols for greater
than, less than and equal to (>,<,=).

Differentiated Instruction: Students who are struggling will complete

the practice sheet with guidance from the teacher rather than
independently. Students are paired up with another student to
complete the comparing numbers game. This will provide students
who need assistance someone who can model the proper use of
symbols for greater than, less than and equal to (>,<,=).

This was one of the most interactive lessons I have taught for math.

We started with our math warm-up. Each week I prepare a quick activity or

game that focuses on a skill for a specific group of students. Each student

or group is assigned a warm-up based on their abilities and needs. This

week it was a large group warm-up that reviews and practices skip

counting by 5s. Students stand in a circle counting off skip counting by 5s

up to 120. The student who says 120 sits down and the game continues

until only one student is standing. The students enjoy the element of

competition in this game. They loved it so much, they chose to start their

own game during recess. My "teacher" heart was bursting with pride. Commented [1]: Domain 3c: Student enthusiasm and
interest
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To start this lesson, we reviewed the anchor chart that the students

helped me to create earlier in the week. This anchor chart represented Commented [2]: Domain 3a: Expectations for
Learning

vocabulary for greater than, equal to and less than using picture models,

symbols and words. I like to review the anchor charts we use to remind the

students of the references available around the room. Next, I played a

short video clip from youtube titled Number Gators. This is a fun song

reviewing how to use the symbols for greater than, less than and equal to

(>,<,=). The students and I have been discussing how silly songs are fun

but we also use them to help us remember the information we are learning.

Some of the students get a little more energetic than I like when we play

the video. I usually have to give one or two reminders about self-control

with our arms as we move our bodies and sing along with the song. The

students get a good laugh when the gator chomps up the greater number

so it was worth the few moments it takes to bring them back.

After the video, I wrote three problems on the board for students to

practice using symbols for greater than, less than and equal to (>,<,=). For

each problem, students 1st turn and talk about and decide if the digit in the

ten’s place or the digit in one’s place helps to determine which number is

greater. Students then turned told their partner which number is greater Commented [3]: Domain 3b: High levels of student
participation in discussion.
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and how they know it’s greater. Some examples of their comments Commented [4]: Domain 3b: Discussion, with the
teacher stepping out of the central, mediating role.

included, “50 has five tens and 20 only has two. So, fifty if greater than

twenty” and “17 has 1 ten and 7 ones and 19 has 1 ten and 9 ones. So, 19

is greater than 17 and 17 is less than 19”.

Once we completed each of the three problems together, students

were given directions for their short independent practice page and also Commented [5]: Domain 3d: Monitoring student
learning

how to play the game for their active engagement portion of the lesson.

Most students completed the practice page in less than 5 minutes and then

transitioned into preparing for the partner game. Students were able to cut

out the number cards labeled with the digits from 0-9. Once both players

cut their cards game play could begin. Students would each draw two cards

and then use them to make the greatest two-digit number possible with

those numbers. Each player recorded their number on the recording sheet

and decided which symbol to place between the numbers. The player with

the greatest number wins that round. Play continues for 10 rounds and the

player who won the greatest amount of rounds wins. It was interesting to

observe students as they determined how to make the greatest number

using the two digits selected. I was surprised that partners were correcting

each other when they noticed the other player did not put the greatest
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number in the ten’s place, even if it meant they would lose that round. The Commented [6]: Domain 3b: High levels of student
participation in discussion

group as a whole was successful at representing greater than, less than

and equal to. Students were able to complete the game with little to no

assistance from the adults in the room. As I walked around observing Commented [7]: Domain 3c: Students actively
"working" rather than watching while their teacher
"works"
student pairs I noticed students were engaged and respectfully interacting

with each other. Some groups were working faster than others. I

anticipated this so I had extra game boards ready to go for those students

who had time to continue playing past 10 rounds. This game was a crowd Commented [8]: Domain 3e: Demonstrating Flexibility
and Responsiveness

pleaser and also provided the students with lots of practice time using and

representing greater than, less than and equal to. After about 15 minutes

of play, students gathered back on the large group meeting area to review

how to determine which number is greater to close out the lesson.

Reflection:

The learning objective for this lesson was for students to represent

greater than, less than and equal to using symbols and words. I could tell

this objective was met because students were able to work independently

during the active engagement game time. I observed all students engaged

in playing the game and spent time with each pair, listening and observing

and discussing their ability to represent greater than, less than and equal to
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using symbols and words. I also reviewed their independent practice

sheets to check for understanding.

This lesson was planned with recent video lesson feedback in mind.

One area that I needed to focus on was including collaborative group work

in my lessons. This game provided a great example of how students can

work together to build knowledge. I loved how students were politely

correcting each other's mistakes and defending the thoughts and reasons

why one number was greater than another number.

After reflecting on this lesson and domain 3, I have set some goals

for my teaching. The first goal is to increase the amount of higher-level

questioning. This goal is aligned with Domain 3b. I have rated my Commented [9]: Domain 3b: Use questions of high
cognitive challenge, formulated by both students and
teacher
performance in this area as proficient-level 3 for this lesson but I have

found that math is probably my most challenging area to remember to

include higher-level thinking questions. When students were determining

which number was greater I did ask them to tell how they know allowing

them to explain their thinking. Students also turned and talked explaining

to their classmate how they determined which number was greater. I

would like to include this type of higher-level questioning more often during
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math lessons. I would also like to move into the distinguished level-5 for

Domain 3b by having students initiate higher-order questions. Another Commented [10]: Domain 3b

goal I have set for myself is to find ways to include collaborative learning

more often. The students were working hard during the game using the

terms greater than, less than and equal to. Having students work in pairs

allows them to put into practice the information that was taught in the

lesson. The final goal that I have set for myself in this Domain is to include

a self-assessment for students to monitor their progress in each day’s

lesson. One idea I have to meet this goal is to include a check box on exit

tickets as a way for students to rate how they feel they did on a particular

lesson.