LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE B

Lesson Plan

Grades: 4 5
Duration: 60 mins

Subject: Math

ED 3501 2012

Lesson

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General Learning Outcomes:
Specific Learning Outcomes:
Develop number sense
7. Demonstrate an understanding of fractions
8. Describe and represent decimals
9. Related decimals and fractions
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
Convert numbers in a word problem to a fraction.
Represent decimals using different forms.
Relate decimals and fractions to each other (1/2 = 0.5)
ASSESSMENTS
Observations:
Key Questions:
Students are engaged
What is the fraction form?
Students ask questions
What does this look like in standard
form?
Students represent number
What decimal equals x fraction?
appropriately
Written/Performance Assessments:
Students complete textbook questions
LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED
Smart Exchange
Textbook
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

SMARTBoard (or notepad)

Textbook
PROCEDURE
Introduction (10 min.):
Hook/Attention Grabber: http://youtu.be/kb0RdR-25AE
Assessment of Prior Knowledge: Present the question and see what students can answer
on their own.
Expectations for Learning and Behaviour: Students respect who ever is talking,
practicing active listening, raise their hands to add to discussion or ask a question. Students
are on task.
Advance Organizer/Agenda: Video, Examples, Group example, Textbook work
Transition to Body: So what is this as a fraction? (referring to textbook question)
Body (45 min.):
Learning Activity #1: (If smartboard activity available then do that) Go through the example
in the textbook (p. 60) to demonstrate pulling numbers out of a word problem to make a
fraction, representing a fraction in a grid, and writing the fraction as a decimal (using the
grid).
Go through step by step, explain what a denominator is and what the numerator is.
Ask students if they know what to do first, then go through the next step (ex. How do
we put these numbers into a fraction?)
Review the thousandths, hundredths, and tenths columns.
Learning Activity #2: Go over how fractions can be equivalent (1/2 = 2/4, or 24/100 =
240/1000). Present another word problem (there are 500 seats in PE250 but only 50 edge
seats. Represent as a fraction, on a grid and as a decimal).
Ask students for the next step.
Question students who seem to be struggling.
Thumbs up/down for ready to move to textbook work. If thumbs down, make up a
question with the group and solve.
Learning Activity #3: Students do Question 1 and 7, then two of 2, 3 or 4.
Circulate to answer questions and keep students on task.
Have students use blocks to signal need of help.
Ask leading questions to help students solve a question.

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE B

ED 3501 2012

Regroup if many students are having issues and do question 5 together

Closure (5 min.):
Consolidation/Assessment of Learning: Briefly review how to pull numbers from a word
problem to make a fraction, how to put on a grid and represent as a decimal.
Feedback From Students: Use blocks to represent understanding
Feedback To Students: Thank the students for their good work and good behaviour in
respecting their peers.
Transition To Next Lesson: Next week we will talk more about equivalent decimals.
Reflection:

This lesson presented the challenge of keeping the students engaged in a topic presented in a way
that they dont really enjoy. The class is used to doing Daily 5 Math which is a self guided
learning approach, and they make it known whenever we have Textbook Tuesday/Thursday that
they do not want to use the textbook. As these students are heading into middle school very soon
(next year or the year after) and it was decided that it is important for the students to learn how to
do math presented in this way. I used the SMARTBoard (a lesson found on SmartExchange and
tweeked to fit the class) to make the activity a bit more interactive and engaging.
The students loved using the SMARTBoard and demonstrated their knowledge really well
when completing the questions. I had the whole class answer the question and then had each
student have a turn to fill out a question so that I could assess everyone individual as well as in a
whole. My assessment during the SMARTBoard lesson reflected that the students knew the skills
and could apply them to structured questions.
When we moved onto the textbook questions that the students were supposed to do on their
own I found that the students were unable to transfer their knowledge. When someone else
presents a question to them they can apply the knowledge but when they have to read the question
for themselves, break it down and pull out important information, they are unable to apply their
knowledge. The questions students were stuck on were asking the exact information they had just
demonstrated that they knew as the questions we worked through on the SMARTBoard were made
using the textbook questions, asking for the same skills to be applied. Through talking with the
students individually and assessing their issues/answers I found that the students were not really
reading the questions; they would gloss over the information without thinking critically about what
was being asked. This was made obvious by almost the entire class saying we had done the first
question already as a group because it had the same names in it. They had not actually considered
what the question was asking or pulled out the important information, which would have shown
them that it was in fact a different question; similar but different.
If I could go back and do the lesson I would want more time so that I could readdress the
issues and go over breaking apart a word problem. I tried to address questions multiple people had
asked me with the whole class but due to time constraints, was unable to go over doing word
problems as a class. Based on this I plan on doing a mini lesson next math class to go over the
areas of issue. I will go through a question with them, show them how to pull out important
information and encourage them to think critically about what the information given tells us. As
the main issue was transferring knowledge to problems they read on their own, it is my hope that
going over a problem together and demonstrating how to identify important information will help
them do questions independently. Self-guided learning has its benefits but these students are going
into a learning environment that uses textbook work as a major form of assessment.
This lesson has taught me how formative assessment can really affect what you teach in
future lessons. My formative assessment in this lesson showed that the students do not understand
how to break down a word problem on their own. When given the information separately, they
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ED 3501 2012

understand the skills they need to apply but they are unable to pull apart the word problem by
themselves to do this. The next lesson will reflect this as I will be working with the students to
develop this skill.