Teaching Coach: Mrs.

Judy Oakleaf EDUC 485B-001 Student Teacher: Wesley Pace

Mentor Teacher: Mr. Austin Kolm

Lesson Plan: Minimum Wage Debate

Lesson Title: Debate 4: Should minimum wage be increased?
Lesson Date: Thursday, February 4th, 2021 (02.04.21)
Student Teacher: Mr. Wesley Pace
Mentor Teacher: Mr. Austin Kolm.
Grade(s): 11 & 12
Content Area: High School Mathematics (Financial Algebra)

TORSH Lesson #2

Lesson Topic and Rational/Relevance: Students enrolled in Financial Algebra are seeking to meet their graduation
requirements for mathematics. Many of the students enrolled in this course have elected this class as an alternative
to traditional math classes (ex., trigonometry, pre-calculus, etc.). This lesson has been designed to foster economic
awareness and the relationship it has to mathematics. Students researched the implications of a federally mandated
minimum wage increase to $15.00 and what this would mean for the stability of society. Each student chose whether
they would be for or against the wage increase and designed an argument based on their decision. Students were
asked to include mathematical reasoning into their argumentation.

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Content Standards addressed by this lesson:

CCSS.MATH. CONTENT. HS.S-IC.B. Making Inferences & Justifying Conclusions: Make inferences and
justify conclusions from sample surveys, experiments, and observational studies. (Though this is not a statistics
course, students will be using data from their research to make inferences and justify conclusions.)

Academic Context and Connections (Math Practices):

1. Apply statistical methods to interpret information and draw conclusions in real-world contexts.
(Entrepreneurial Skills: Critical Thinking/Problem Solving)
2. Evaluate reports based on data and explain the practical and statistical significance of the results.
(Entrepreneurial Skills: Literacy/Reading and Writing)

Teaching Practices Highlighted in Lesson:

1. Establish mathematics goals to focus learning (i.e., center discussion on relationship between minimum wage & math).
4. Facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse (i.e., full student participation during debate).
5. Pose purposeful questions (i.e., keep the debate moving and relevant to the topic).
8. Elicit and use evidence of student thinking (i.e., use student points to show clear and logical thinking).

Student Learning:

(MP3) Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others: Learners will demonstrate their ability
to construct arguments for/against a minimum wage increase. Furthermore, students will show their ability to
actively listen and critique the position of their peers.
(MP4) Model with mathematics: Learners will convey their ideas by showing the relationship their stance has with
mathematics (e.g., show how a mathematical model of increased minimum wage strengthens/corrupts a society).

Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction, select applicable
questions from standard)

1. What constitutes a well-reasoned argument?

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Teaching Coach: Mrs. Judy Oakleaf EDUC 485B-001 Student Teacher: Wesley Pace
Mentor Teacher: Mr. Austin Kolm

2. What are the pros for a minimum wage increase (e.g., reduce welfare dependency, provide a
living wage, etc.)?
3. What are the cons for a minimum wage increase (e.g., inflation, offshoring jobs, etc.)?
4. What mathematical basis do we have to believe that a minimum wage increase affects society in a
positive way (e.g., downward trends in welfare numbers, income sufficient to pay for necessities,
etc.)?
5. What mathematical basis do we have to believe that a minimum wage increase affects society in a
negative way (e.g., inflation rate statistics from prior attempts to increase minimum wage, etc.)?
6. How can the results of a statistical investigation be used to support or critique a hypothesis (e.g.,
How can your position be made stronger by the supportive evidence that you submit?)?
7. What questions do you have for you peers about their positions for/against the wage increase?
Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets) and (Success Criteria)

▪ Learning Targets: Research minimum wage data to make arguments about the sustainability of a
minimum wage increase.
▪ I can make inferences to be best conclusion given historical precedents and mathematical analysis of data.
▪ I can use supportive reasoning to construct an argument to my peers.

o This means that students will learn how to relate mathematics to real-life situations. This practice
will better equip them to make informed, rational decisions in their lives.

Relevant CDE (Colorado Department of Education) outcomes:

1. Evaluate reports based on data. Define and explain the meaning of significance, both statistical
and practical.
Assessments: (Please see the documents listed in blue in the TORSH platform uploads.)

1. This lesson is a student-led exploration in which learners are given the opportunity to make mathematically
grounded arguments based on research data. Each student will be assessed by their participation in this
debate process and on how well they make formal arguments. I will be observing their individual
contributions and watching their debate arguments. (Formative)
2. General debate rules guidelines have been provided to students. They will be assessed by how well they
align with the etiquette and practical aspects of the debate standards.
3. Students have been provided a debate preparation worksheet designed to focus their attention on crucial
aspects of the minimum wage discussion. This will be collected after debate completion. (Formative)
4. The debate moderator will be evaluated according to the rubric standards on the guideline. (Formative)
5. The debate recorder will document key aspects of the discussion and submit their record. (Formative)
6. The debate respect officer will be assessed by their active role in maintaining a peaceable debate. (Formative)
7. Questions related to the debate topic will be built into the first unit test. (Summative)

Planned Lesson Activities

Lesson Title & Purpose Debate 4: Should minimum wage be increased? — Help students
develop critical thinking skills, self-initiated learning, and the
ability to effectively critique counterarguments.
Time/Materials ▪ Time: 60-minutes of debate interchange.
▪ One fifteen-minute preparation.
▪ Two/three short intermissions for teams to regroup.
▪ Writing tool.

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Teaching Coach: Mrs. Judy Oakleaf EDUC 485B-001 Student Teacher: Wesley Pace
Mentor Teacher: Mr. Austin Kolm

▪Debate worksheet (paper/digital)

▪Recorder → note taking system (e.g., computer).
▪Moderator → question sheet for debaters.
▪Respect Officer → enforce a peaceable debate.
Anticipatory Set ▪This lesson gives students the opportunity to express and
develop their critical thinking abilities. Even though
classroom oversight will be in my hands, the debate
moderator will facilitate the lesson flow.
▪ Students will strengthen their talent for making well-
reasoned arguments and critiquing other’s arguments.
▪ All learners will be asked to participate in a meaningful
way (e.g., ask questions, work in teams, and present
their views to their peers).
Student Engagement Strategies ▪ Debate regulations and rules outlined.
▪ Debate worksheets designed for preparation.
▪ Presentations by groups of two (i.e., don’t have to be solo).
▪ Assessment based on participation & argumentation.
▪ Inquiry debate questions.
Lesson Procedure TEACHER ACTIONS:
• Students will be given fifteen-minutes to collect their
ideas and decide who their first representatives will be. I
will circulate the room to make sure that team members
are on the same page and know the presentation order.
Facilitate the opening of the debate with a gradual
release of the reins to the student moderator. I will pay
close attention to the time limits that have been set for
each part of the debate, being sure that these rules are
held to. During Q&A portions of the debate I will make
sure to ask pertinent questions to learners. Closure to the
debate will be summarized at lesson’s end. A mid-
debate mask break will be given to students if they need
a breather.
STUDENT ACTIONS:
▪ Students have 15 minutes to prep for the debate.
▪ Each team will be allotted 5-minutes to present their
sides’ opening arguments.
▪ Teams will be given 5-minutes to develop a rebuttal to
their opponents’ position(s).
▪ New members from each team will be given 3-minutes
to defend their position and/or point out flaws in their
opponent's argumentation. (Possibly, two-rounds).
▪ Students will be given 3 minutes to collect their ideas
after the second round of debating is complete.
▪ Each team will be asked questions by the
moderator/teacher and must defend their positions. (10-
20 minutes). [Team members that have not participated
will be asked to do so.]
▪ (Optional) Mask break (5 minutes).
▪ Teams will be provided 5 minutes to develop their
closing arguments for the debate.
▪ Each team will have up to 5 minutes to making closing
remarks about why their position should be considered
most reasonable.

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Teaching Coach: Mrs. Judy Oakleaf EDUC 485B-001 Student Teacher: Wesley Pace
Mentor Teacher: Mr. Austin Kolm

▪ Students will listen to closure for the debate (teacher).

Student Engagement ▪ Students will be involved in their group to discuss
debate points. My duty is to monitor this activity.
▪ Student debate sheets will be collected after the activity
so that involvement in the debate process is recorded.
▪ Each student will be asked to come to the front of the
room with a peer to argue for their side’s position.
▪ Student participation will be assessed during the
moderator’s questioning phase of the debate.
Closure ▪ Final arguments will be student-led.
▪ Mr. Kolm and I will decide on a debate “winner”.
▪ Recorder will submit their written documentation.
End of Lesson Engagement ▪ Recorder will share their notes with the class as study
reference.
▪ I intend to make some closing remarks about the debate
(e.g., procedure, highlights, etc.).
Differentiation ▪ Learners will be given the opportunity to choose the side
of the debate they prefer.
▪ Learners with aversion to presentation will be given the
option to convey their understanding in another way
(e.g., via their note-guide or support of teammates
during intermission sessions).
▪ The moderator will supply questions for each team to
consider and answer; thus, reaching students that might
not connect with my style of instruction.
▪ Questions will be simplified or expanded when there is
confusion or the flow become mundane.
Assessment Reflection ▪ The guided notes for the debate truly helped students be
prepared for the event. Without the guided notes I do not
think the conversation would have been as robust as it
was.
▪ The recorders for each day of the debate did an excellent
job at their task (worth 25 pts.).
▪ All students from each group (except for one) got up in
front of the class to make an argument for their position.
▪ The debate moderators did an excellent job at facilitating
the discussion.

Assessment was based on student participation, completed note

guides, and special roles (e.g., recorder). Additionally, questions
from this debate topic were added to the unit test.

Lesson Plan: The lesson is a teacher & student facilitated exchange. Learners will be asked to join small groups and
discuss the implications of a federally mandated minimum wage increase. Prior to debate day students will be given
time to collect and critically think about their positions (i.e., debate worksheet and small group preparation). During
the debate I will play the roles of a facilitator, timekeeper, and antagonist. During team intermissions I will help
learners see the flaws in their own arguments, discuss how they can bolster their position, and support critique of
their opponent’s position. To bring closure to the lesson I will add some concluding remarks.

Post Lesson Reflection:

1. To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment data to justify your level of
achievement)

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Teaching Coach: Mrs. Judy Oakleaf EDUC 485B-001 Student Teacher: Wesley Pace
Mentor Teacher: Mr. Austin Kolm

This was an unconventional math lesson. My mentor teacher Mr. Kolm suggested that I incorporate
different teaching strategies into my instructional repertoire. What better than a debate format? Bottom line is that
this lesson was successful in many ways. Student participation increased, learners developed critical thinking &
reasoning skills, the class maintained a respectful attitude toward the variety of opinions that surfaced during
debates, and students demonstrated initiative to research and prepare for the learning exercise.
To justify that learning objectives were achieved I asked students to research the debate topic and fill out a
debate preparation worksheet. I was able to collect these and monitor the students during this process. Most students
successfully managed to provide clear reasoning and argumentation for their positions. To emphasize the importance
of our learning objectives I included two debate questions totaling 20 pts (the test was out of 100pts) on our unit test
over the stock market (test on 02.24). Many learners were able to restate their arguments clearly. With this
assessment data, I am happy to say that this lesson was both enjoyable and a positive learning experience for all (i.e.,
all but one learner (who was present) spoke in front of their classmates).

2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you were to teach again?

Since Financial Algebra is an alternative mathematics class, I intend to incorporate further debates related to the
topics we will be studying. That said, it will be most beneficial to connect debate topics to the underlying
mathematical content that we are covering (e.g., supply & demand equations, capital gains calculations, accounting
ledgers, etc.). To do this, I intend to include this into my future guided-debate worksheets. For instance, I think it
would be educational to include a few related math problems on the debate topic worksheets. This will reinforce the
math learning and help students be better prepared and make stronger correspondences between mathematical data
and their viewpoints.
Another aspect that I will modify is the structure of the debates. Many students were not inclined to get
involved, especially when asked to stand in front of their classmates. Nonetheless, this practice helps learners
become more developed in the area of interpersonal relationships and become better skilled at speaking in front of
groups of people (i.e., a valuable life skill). My plan to do this will be to have the debate moderator take the reins in
leading the group. Although moderators have helped discussions progress, it would be great to put them at the helm
of the debate process. That is, my facilitation will fade into the background, while the moderator’s position will
become the cornerstone of the debate.
This was the first time we debated in-person and the time structures that I set forth were not ordered as I
wished. I made adjustments to this the next day when Group B had their debate. In the future it will be my job to
make sure that the debate flows in a more structured way.

3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach content, etc.)

As noted above, Mr. Kolm has suggested an alternative design strategy for this math class. I am onboard with this
idea and will be including more math-related classroom debates into the lineup. Our next major debate topic will be
on the necessity or abolition of taxes (e.g., sales, state & federal income taxes etc.). Students will be asked to make
arguments for/against the taxation on income/products and the benefits/drawbacks of taxes that support communities
and/or nation states.
To relate this debate to the mathematical content I will make sure that debate prep-worksheets require students to
research the cost of tax funded programs, investigate tax-tier brackets and how to calculate these values, and look
into the implications of a % increase in sales tax. I believe that doing this will make the math connections more
poignant.
Also, I intend to allow the debate moderator to run the logistics of the debate process so that they develop leadership
skills. Hopefully this will incline students to be more invigorated to learn and share their learning.

4. A Short Overview of My Class Culture and IEPs (Individualized Education Program).

Many of the Financial Algebra students are not math enthusiasts. In fact, most of the students are taking
this class so that they do not have to see another pure math equation in their life (i.e., aside from practical accounting
basics, etc.). That said, the design of this class is based on a project-assessment model. Although I am including

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Teaching Coach: Mrs. Judy Oakleaf EDUC 485B-001 Student Teacher: Wesley Pace
Mentor Teacher: Mr. Austin Kolm

formal tests in the assessment process, the emphasis of the class evaluations is on projects. A project-based class
allows learners to take self-initiative and be responsible learners. Moreover, it allows students to develop the skills
necessary to become lifelong learners by instilling an attitude that mathematics does have a place in one’s life.
For students with IEPs, I have made sure to provide one-on-one help during/after class. Additionally, it has
been vital to these learners that they are accommodated with extra time on exams/assignments. One of my IEP
students’ case manager has recently contacted me about one of my students and we will be working together to help
this student turn in the assignments they are missing. I look forward to learning more about developing healthy
relationship with these vital teaching professionals and how best to accommodate IEP students.

Lesson Discussion with Mentor Teacher (takeaways):

☺ Mr. Kolm thought that this debate format was successful. He liked that most students were involved
participants, as opposed to wallflowers.
☺ Students took initiative to define & argue their positions. A spark for the passion of learning was glimpsed in
some of the more reticent learners.
 Incorporating the mathematics into the debates is an area for improvement. Although the debates were fantastic
in many ways, I need to make sure that the content-area connections are shining through.