Place Value, Fractions, and Algebra: Improving Content Learning through the Practice Standards

Classroom Activities

This section of my curriculum unit will include mini lessons where I describe teaching students about different types of problems they are going to be solving and model for them how to apply the practice standards while solving them. While working through problem solving I will scaffold both the problems and levels of support I will provide students as they continue to practice problems and become proficient

mathematicians.

Activity 1 - Expanded form with story problems and assessment

Objective: Students will decide how many hundreds, tens, and ones are in a number by completing a table and representing the number in expanded form.

Whole Group Mini-Lesson: I will model writing a table on the board (or creating one digitally with a SMARTboard). In the table we will organize numbers into their pieces of hundreds, tens, and ones, and write the expanded form of the number. As my students progress through the lesson, some numbers they will see the standard form of, some numbers will include the expanded form, and others will include the word form. Here's a sample table that I'll use in my classroom and ask students to help me complete using the given information. The first line models how to complete the table. I will intentionally model writing the units too so students will represent the units in their table.

Workshop: My students will work independently, with a partner or in a small group to complete a table like the one modeled above. Students will represent numbers by expanding them into their pieces. I will work with a small group and provide additional support by modeling numbers using base-ten-blocks. (They are also available for all students to access if they want them).

Discussion: Students will compare their tables with a partner and discuss any differences. I will give students a story problem that requires them to expand numbers and partners will work together to solve it. Megan can only fit 10 shirts in a drawer. If she has 37 shirts how many drawers will she fill? How many shirts will be leftover?

Assessment: I will give students a table like the model and students will complete it as an exit ticket.

Activity 2 – Diagram model or teen number lesson

Objective: Students will be able to add and subtract "teen" numbers by using manipulatives and looking for patterns to make ten.

Whole Group Mini-Lesson: I will model for students how to find groups of ten and ones. I will present my students with a problem. Jared had to empty the dishwasher. There were 8 plates and 6 cups. How many things did Jared have to put away? Then I ask students questions to get them to help me identify that if I have 8, how many do I need to make ten? Then if I take that amount away from the 6, what is left. I will model using cubes, ten frames, and symbolic notation: 8+6=8+2+4=10+4=14. I could also model and explore this same problem like this: 6+8=6+4+4=10+4=14.

Workshop: My students will be given multiple problems similar to the one described in the mini-lesson. They can work independently, with a partner or in a small group to solve the problem. Students will receive scaffold levels of support as needed and have access to math tools.

Discussion: Students will discuss with a partner the different ways they created ten. They will also work together to check their work by solving one or two problems a second way. Students will discuss how they know they have the correct answers.

Assessment: I will give my students an exit ticket where they have to show two ways to solve a problem by using this strategy of making ten and adding on the ones.

Activity 3 – Multi-level questions

Objective: Students will solve word problems by identifying the important parts of the problem, drawing a diagram to model the problem, and using place value to find a solution.

Whole Group Mini-Lesson: I will model how to read problems: give students a paper with the story problems. (I usually leave space on a paper so students can solve the problems right underneath where the problem is written – this helps second graders be organized).

1. Chorally we will read the story problem and have students discuss what the important parts of the problem are. Students will underline the numbers and units in the problem and the question the problem is asking.
2. I model for students how to write an equation to represent the problem. I will represent the problem with a diagram or manipulatives.
3. We will show the numbers using tens and ones (or hundreds, tens, and ones).
4. We will group the numbers so the tens are together and ones are together.
5. We will add the tens and add the ones. (I model for regrouping if necessary).
6. We will repeat the steps for each problem. As I practice with students I scaffold the amount of time I spend questioning students and guiding them through the process described above.

Here are some problems I will use for this lesson:

Students in Ms. Dooley's class are expected to read 35 pages every night during the week.

1. How many pages do students have to read in one week?
2. John reads 32 pages on Sunday and 38 pages on Monday.
3. How many pages has he read in all?
4. How many pages does he have left to read for this week?
5. Maria has read 35 pages every night for 4 nights.
6. How many pages has Maria read?
7. How many pages does Maria have left to read?
8. If Maria wants to take one day off from reading during the week how many pages would you recommend that she read on the two days left? ( There is more than one correct answer!)
9. Sarah read 42 pages on Tuesday. She read 10 more than Ricco. She read 15 more than Jillian.
10. How many pages did Ricco read?
11. How many pages did Jillian read?
12. How many pages have the read altogether?

Workshop: I will create problems similar in style using different numbers and allow students to work through solving them independently, with a partner, or in a small group with me.

Discussion: Students will choose one problem and share with a partner how they solved it and what their answer was. Students will compare answers.

Assessment: I will score one of the problems students complete independently and evaluate both their work and their answer.