Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETSSTemplate I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name
Lacey Gooch
Position

Teacher

School/District

Otwell Middle School / Forsyth County

E-mail

lgooch@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Phone

770-887-5248 ext: 790366

Grade Level(s)

7th grade

Content Area

Math

Time line

3 days

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.
Students will demonstrate their knowledge of interpreting inequality word problems, writing the
inequalities being described, and graphing their answers. Students will demonstrate how to interpret
written inequality statements through a short story written by them. Along with the Math standards, this
will include some Language Arts standards, as well.
Math Standards:
Students will be able to write sentences that include inequality words.
Students will be able to interpret those sentences and write them as
inequalities, using math symbols.
Students will be able to graph their written inequalities on a number line.
Language Arts Standards:
Students will be able to write a narrative/short story about a topic of their
choice, using correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Content Standards

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NETS*S Standards:

1. Creativity and innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct

knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression
2. Communication and collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to
communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual
learning and contribute to the learning of others.
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of
media and formats
d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making: Students use critical
thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make
informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project

Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)

Either individually or with a partner, students will be writing a short story which will include statements that can be
written as inequalities. After completing their stories, they will interpret their inequality statements, write them
using math symbols, and then graph them on a number line. Students will produce a page in ItsLearning, where
they will type their stories and upload pictures of their graphs. Students will then provide feedback to one another.
They will be required to read at least two other short stories, check the students work, and give at least one
praise and one recommendation about a correction(s) they may need to make.

Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring
to this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry.
They should not be answered with a simple yes or no and should have many acceptable answers.
How are inequalities used in the real world? How are written inequalities helpful when expressing an answer?
Questions such as Where have you seen inequalities used in real life? and Why was an inequality the best way
to represent those examples? will help guide them toward the most important aspects of this topic. Students will
need to be familiar with the inequality symbols (<, >, <, >).

Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.

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Students will be creating a page on ItsLearning. The page will include their short story, along with their pictures
of the inequalities and their graphs. Students will have the opportunity to learn from and teach one another
through sharing and providing feedback on their work. Students will be monitored and assisted throughout the
completion of the assignments, and they will have the opportunity to go back and make any corrections and
changes pointed out by their peers and/or myself. A rubric will be used to assess this assignment. The
assignment will be differentiated with options, modifications, and interests. If students prefer another way of
submitting their story and pictures, they will have the option of creating a poster, using an app, or creating a
presentation (power point, prezi, etc.). Additionally, for the ESOL and SPED students who struggle with writing,
they may write only 5 sentences that are inequality statements, then write and graph those. ESOL students may
also use an online translator to help them construct their sentences. Lastly, students may choose their own topic
about which to write.
Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resourcesonline student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etchelp elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)
Technology will be the method in which students produce, share, and provide feedback for their work. Students
will use the county wide ItsLearning system to create their pages, which will include their stories along with their
graph pictures. They will also use this system to provide feedback to peers. Aside from technology, students will
be given a handout that includes a step-by-step explanation of how to create a page, as well as the rubric that will
used to assess their work. There will be an example page for them to follow on my ItsLearning page.
Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How can
you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)
Students will need to pull from their creative side to write their short stories, and they will need to know the basics
of writing. Additionally, students will need to have a good grasp of how to write, interpret, and graph inequality
statements. Because I will be closely monitoring students during the rough draft/planning stage of this project, I
will be able to help address any misconceptions and challenges the students face. I expect vocabulary could be
difficult for writing and interpreting inequality statements. Students may use their notes in class to help them with
this.
Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.

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I will introduce this project, first with my pre-made example. We will go over, as a class, the step-by-step process
(included on their handout) of how the project is to be completed. Students will have the option of working
individually or with a partner. I will be closely monitoring everyone at the start of the project. I will have reserved
an iPad cart, including 30 iPads, enough for every student, for the day students create their pages in ItsLearning.
Prior to having students complete the lesson, I will create an example page of my own. This will provide me with
any issues that may arise and that I can then address with my students when I explain how to complete the
assignment. Typing out the story was no problem at all, and I knew this shouldnt be an issue for my students
either. Inserting the graphs was a bit trickier, just because of the steps involved. I knew I would have to be very
clear when explaining how to do this and demonstrating it to everyone. When I had a couple of students from
each class uploading their pictures with ease, they were able to help me with those few who were struggling with
this. In the future, however, I plan to have a hard copy of the steps and pictures of what to click on to provide the
students with when they complete that part of the project. When it came to their feedback discussions, I did not
point out that they should mention new suggestions and/or compliments if someone else had already posted, or if
they could not think of a different suggestion, to choose someone elses project. I had several students who wrote
the same suggestion/compliment that was posted before them, so this did not require any higher-level thinking on
their part, which was the purpose of this portion of the project. In the future, I plan to simply make it a requirement
that there may be no more than five feedback comments per project, and if they do post after someone else, it
must be a different suggestion and/or compliment.
Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or
creativity levels of Blooms Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic,
relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge
and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other
and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?

Of the many strategies given by Marzano, the main ones being used in this lesson are: cooperative learning,
providing feedback and praise, and using advance organizers to assist with vocabulary. Students may choose to
work with a partner or individually, but regardless, they will be assisting one another along the way with their
suggestions and compliments. Furthermore, both students and the teacher will give feedback, including
suggestions and praise for their work. Vocabulary terms are an important part of this project. Before we began
the project, we completed a graphic organizers to place key words that mean less than, words that mean, more
than, words that mean, less than or equal to, and words that mean greater than or equal to. Students may
use this organizer to help them write and interpret their inequality statements within their story. I will be there to
assist students along the way. Students are the creators of this project. By giving students the freedom to
choose about what they would like to write, this lends the products to being more creative. Additionally, it will be
challenging for them to include sentences using the key words in their organizers to incorporate within their story.
They must also analyze and provide feedback to one anothers projects. Technology will be used to produce and
share their stories. It will also be used for students to collaborate with one another. Students will be incorporating
inequality statements that could or have been used in everyday life, which will show them how inequalities are
meaningful to each of us. Furthermore, the graphs of the inequalities will provide them with a better
understanding of what an inequality really is and a visual of a lot of the numbers included in the answer. Through
the use of ItsLearning, students will provide feedback and praise to one anothers work before their final
submission. This will be done through a discussion board. I will explain that they are to provide at least one
compliment and one suggestion to two of their peers projects. I, too, will be a part of this collaboration.
Hopefully, students will see my posts, and use them as examples of what to be posting.

Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)

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Because students will have the freedom to choose their own writing topic, everyones projects will be different.
For my SPED and ESOL students who struggle with writing, they will be expected to simply construct 5 sentences
that include inequality statements, then write and graph them. ESOL students may use an online translator to
help them construct their sentences. If students prefer another way of submitting their story and pictures, they will
have the option of creating a poster, using an app, or creating a presentation (power point, prezi, etc.). Students
will have the option of completing the project individually or with a partner. Everyone must provide feedback to
two other projects. The construction of their stories and, specifically, the sentences including inequality
statements, will be completed independently, even if they do work with a partner. They must each create three
sentences on their own, using their advance organizer, if needed. For those students who complete the project
quickly and with ease, they will have an extension activity to complete. They will be asked to think of their own
and research real-world examples/images that demonstrate an inequality. Using their findings, they must create
either a poster collage or an online collage then explain what makes their findings inequalities, what they mean,
and how they would be graphed. Aside from the online translator, no other assistive technologies will be needed.

Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the following
questions?
Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
In what ways was this lesson effective?
What went well and why?
What did not go well and why?
How would you teach this lesson differently?

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After submitting their final products, students will be asked to complete the online survey. This should address all
aspects of the project and provide me with good feedback to take and implement in order to improve the
assignment.
After viewing the survey responses, an overwhelming number of students indicated that they found the project
meaningful and the directions were clear and easy to follow. Students favorite part of the project was a fairly
even split between writing their own stories and creating their pages. The least favorite among most students was
providing feedback. There were very few recommendations, but among some of them were: only have students
give feedback to one other person and give more help on the graph pictures.
I felt as though the students enjoyed the project and found it meaningful, since many of them included real-world
inequality statements within their stories. The project was very successful, as most students earned an A on the
assignment.
Students did an excellent job writing creative short stories. The rubric seemed to be a helpful resource, as
students were careful to follow the expectations if they wanted full credit for each section. Additionally, the
advance organizer proved to be useful for those students who still struggled with the key words of inequality
statements.
Overall, the project went very well, with very little struggles. The only small issue was the students uploading the
pictures of the graphs. I had to explain this multiple times and have a few student helpers with this process. As
mentioned earlier, a hard copy of the step-by-step process, along with pictures of the icons they would click on,
would have been very helpful to address this problem.
Other than the hard copy of instruction regarding uploading a picture, I would be more careful and detailed about
my expectations of the feedback portion of the project. As mentioned previously, making it clear that students
would need to post a different praise and suggestion if others had posted before them or find a different project on
which to provide feedback would be important and something to include on the rubric, as well.
Ultimately, I enjoyed grading these projects and was very proud of students work, and they enjoyed creating and
completing this story assignment. While the flow of project worked flawlessly for the most part, there were a
couple of hiccups along the way from which I learned and will be able to address and improve upon in the future.
This will most definitely be a lesson plan that I continue to do for quite a while.
Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience with
implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson? Please
provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.
The above reflection encompasses all of this.
*See directions and rubric below.

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Writing and Graphing Inequalities Project

Formative Assessment
Directions:
1. Write a short story (about 20 sentences) about any appropriate topic or character.
MAKE IT ENTERTAINING! :)
2. Include 5 statements that can be written as inequalities. Do not use all simple
words like more than, less than, etc. Use at least 2 inequalities that involve words
like at least, no more than, up to, maximum, minimum, etc.
3. Create a page in ItsLearning and type your story.
4. On the number line paper, write the inequalities, using math terms. Then, graph it
on the number line.
5. Take a picture of your inequality and the graph.
6. Insert your picture to its matching part of your story.
7. Do this for all five of your inequality statements.
8. Using the rubric on the back of this page, double check your story and work to
make sure you have completed all of the requirements.
9. Read at least two of your peers stories. Check their written inequalities and their
graphs. Give them at least one praise statement and one recommendation for
making their project better.

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Categories

PERFECT
20 points

ALMOST
PERFECT
10-15 points

NEEDS
IMPROVEMENT 5
points

Story

The story is entertaining,

well written, and easy to
read.
The story includes 5
inequality statements, 2 of
which are more
challenging and include
words like at least, no
more than, up to, etc.
All 5 inequality statements
are written correctly in
math terms.
All 5 written inequalities
are graphed correctly on
the number lines.

The story is somewhat

entertaining and written
decently.
The story includes 3-4
inequality statements, and 12 are more challenging,
including words like at least,
no more than, up to, etc.

The story is boring and

poorly written

Inequality
statements

Written
Inequalities
Graphed
Inequalities
Peer
Feedback
Total
Points

At least one praise and one

recommendation were
given to two peers.

3-4 of the inequality

statements are written
correctly in math terms.
3-4 of the written
inequalities are graphed
correctly on the number
lines.
At least one praise and one
recommendation were given
but only to one peer.

The story only includes 1-2

inequality statements, and
none of them are
challenging.
0-2 of the inequality
statements are written
correctly in math terms.
0-2 of the written
inequalities are graphed
correctly on the number
lines.
Only a praise OR a
recommendation was given
to only one peer.

Final Grade:
Writing and Graphing Inequalities Project
Rubric
Name(s): _________________________________________________________
Story Name: ____________________________________________________

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