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Name: Gallo, Eleanora

Class Preparation Assignment Week 2

Submit to Blackboard Assignment Dropbox before the start of class in Week 3.

Please note: Assignments submitted during class hours will receive a grade of 0.

The purposes of this assignment are to:

● Introduce you to the three-phase problem-solving lesson format you will read about in Elementary and Middle
School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally and use in writing lesson plans for this course.
● Help you to understand the structure of Texas’s mathematics curriculum standards, the TEKS, and learn how to
correctly write and reference a TEKS

Learning Activity 1
Read through the lesson plan for The Birthday Party Problem.
Think about these questions (Don’t answer these questions in writing, but think about them prior to
completing the sentence frame below):
● What is the math content point of the lesson?
● What features of the task make it discussable?
● How does the teacher anticipate student thinking in the lesson plan?
● Whose thinking might be overrepresented in the discussion? Are there features of the lesson plan
that help make the task open to multiple perspectives?
● How will the lesson make use of collaborative small group work? How will this grouping structure
support discourse and learning?

Response:
Complete this sentence frame within this box:
The focus on classroom discussion in this lesson will support student learning by allowing students to
broaden their ideas, think independently, hear other perspectives, ask questions, etc.

Learning Activity 2
1. Take out your TEKS foldout. Listen to this 12-minute video: Introduction to the Mathematics
TEKS.mp4 As you listen, follow along in your TEKS foldout.
2. You will be expected to help your future students develop proficiency with the seven mathematical
processes defined in the Process TEKS, (1)A-G. To do so successfully, you need to be comfortable
with these mathematical processes yourself. Across the semester, you’ll have opportunities to
engage in the mathematical processes to grow your own proficiency and comfort. Take a quick self-
assessment of your current level of confidence with the mathematical processes:
○ Monday class
○ Thursday class
 This self-assessment will not be graded. However, you will be asked to take the same self-assessment
at the end of the semester so you can look at your growth.

When you refer to a specific TEKS standard (i.e., in a lesson plan or in a discussion of the standard), include
both the TEKS Statement and Student Expectation. The convention for coding and writing a specific TEKS is
as follows: Grade.TEKSStatementStudentExpectation

Example of a Process TEKS: 3.1A – The student uses mathematical processes to acquire and demonstrate
mathematical understanding. The student is expected to apply mathematics to problems arising in everyday
life, society, and the workplace.

Example of a Content TEKS: 3.4K – The student applies mathematical process standards to develop and use
strategies and methods for whole number computations in order to solve problems with efficiency and
accuracy. The student is expected to solve one-step and two-step problems involving multiplication and
division within 100 using strategies based on objects; pictorial models, including arrays, area models, and
equal groups; properties of operations; or recall of facts.

Response:
TEKS 3.4K and 3.1A above are both aligned with the Birthday Party Problem lesson. Identify one more
Process TEKS that is also aligned with this lesson. Write it in complete form (including the coding, the TEKS
Statement, and the Student Expectation) within this box.

TEKS: 3.1A – The student uses mathematical processes to acquire and demonstrate mathematical
understanding. The student is expected to analyze mathematical relationships to connect and communicate
mathematical ideas; and

Learning Activity 3
Listen to Podcast 3 from Welcome to Math Class: What Makes a Good Math Problem? (9 minutes).
Directions for accessing the podcasts can be found on page xii of Welcome to Math Class.

Response:
Think about how your understanding of “good math problems” is growing as a result of class activities, your
reading in our textbook, and this podcast. List three important characteristics of a good math problem
within this box:

1. The problem is clear and concise.

2. The problems allow for a variety of ways to solve for a solution.
3. It is developmentally appropriate, and students can connect the problem to real life, reality, the
world.
 Grading Scale for Class Preparation Assignment
2 points = Response is complete and thoughtful.
0-1.5 points = Response is minimally complete or incomplete.