Teaching Math Effectively: Lesson Plan 1
Name of Pre-Practicum/Practicum Student:
Date of Lesson:
Location/School:
Grade Level: 5th Grade
Lesson Focus: Positive and Negative Integers
I. Essential Question:
How can positive and negative integers be applied to real world scenarios?
• Goal: The students will accurately describe positive and negative integers in a real world
context.
• Rationale: Teaching positive and negative numbers in meaningful contexts will help students
see how negative numbers can be applied in real world scenarios such as temperature,
elevation, banking, etc. Understanding integers in this way will prove to be an invaluable skill
when working with them in mathematical contexts.
II. Objective(s):
• Following the introduction of connecting positive and negative integers to real world
applications, students will record at least two facts they already know about integers, as well
as, at least two questions they would like to have answered (K&W of KWL chart.)
• When presented with sufficient materials, and upon reviewing what we already know about
integers, students will apply their prior knowledge toward the facilitation of the Thermometer
Game with at least two accurate movements along the numberline (see game instruction for
further clarification.)
• Following explicit instruction related to banking, students will balance a simulated checkbook
filling in all criteria and with full accuracy.
• After having gone through all other aspects of the lesson, students will report their findings
relating to both of their questions recorded on their KWL charts, as well as, at least one other
added item (such as an observation, thought, reflection, fact, etc.)
• After reviewing our KWL chart, as well as the purpose of the lesson, students will record an
accurate response to the question provided to them on an exit slip.
III. Assessment:
• Formative Assessment: The teacher will check for students’ understanding by monitoring
their oral responses and participation to the prompts given in the motivational activity. Their
verbally expressed understanding will serve as a guide as to how much explicit instruction is
needed before moving on to the next stage of the lesson. As students complete the KWL chart,
the teacher will gain a better understand of where the students are at with the material and will
provide additional support and/or supplemental instruction when needed. During the
Thermometer Game, the students progress and discussion will serve as formative assessment
by letting the teacher where and when more or less instruction is needed. The exit slips will
provide insight as to the overall understanding of the content and whether or not each student
needs further support.
• Summative Assessment: The completed simulated checkbooks will be collected and graded
based on the criteria listed on the worksheet.
IV. State Frameworks:
Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics: Grade 5
The Number System 5.NS
Gain familiarity with concepts of positive and negative integers.
MA.1. Use positive and negative integers to describe quantities such as temperature
above/below zero, elevation above/below sea level, or credit/debit.
V. Connections across the Curriculum:
There is a connection to science as students will be discussing the measurement of temperative
and elevation, as well as, what those units mean.
Massachusetts Science Curriculum Framework
Earth and Space Science Learning Standards Grades 3–5
6. Explain how air temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, and precipitation make up the weather in a
particular place and time.
VI. Materials:
Materials will include:
• Anchor chart (for motivational story)
• KWL chart sheets for each student
• Anchor chart (for class KWL chart)
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Computer & projector (for YouTube video)
Thermometer Game (Instructions, giant number line, two giant dice, bean bags)
Checkbook activity (Instructions, checkbook worksheets)
Writing utensils (pencils, colored pencils, markers)
Exit slips (1 per student)
VII. Outline the Lesson Process:
Set up: 2 minutes
The students will be seated around rug facing the teacher. They will bring with them a clipboard
and a pencil.
Source of Motivation / Readying the Students: 5 minutes
Once the students are settled, the teacher will motivate the students by telling a fictional story in
which negative numbers are used in ways which do not make sense. For example, “Last night I
had -2 sandwiches.” Once the teacher has finished telling the story she will flip the anchor chart
to reveal the story written out.
Students will be instructed to turn and talk about the story.
The teacher will then ask guiding questions, such as:
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What did you and your partner discuss?
What was wrong with my story?
Did it make sense?
Why didn’t it make sense?
Can you ever has less than zero of something?
What do you think we might be talking about today?
Explicit Instruction: 15 minutes
The teacher will introduce the purpose of the lesson.
In math, we have been learning a lot about positive and negative integers. Today we are going to
talk a look at how positive and negative numbers play an important role in the the real world.
Together, as a class, we complete a KWL chart. Each student will also have a personal copy to
fillout on their own and keep.
First, let’s fill out what we already know about positive and negative integers.
Next, we will fill in any questions we may have about positive and negative integers, especially
relating to how they might be used in the real world.
Review concept of number line.
What might we have less than zero of? When might this useful in the real world?
Examples of this include:
Show YouTube video: Negative Numbers... Where are they?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yevn2t8wLg
Temperature
Temperature can be measured in celsius and/or farenheit. Typically, farenheit is used to measure
temperature for weather purposes while we use celsius when measuring temperature in scientific
experiments and studies. For the purposes of this lesson, we are going to discuss the
measurement of temperature in terms of farenheit. Think of a thermometer as a vertical number
line. Any numbers above zero are positive and mean the temperature is above 0 degrees.
Anything below zero is negative and means the temperature is below 0 degrees.
Elevation
Elevation is used to describe the measurement of a location as it relates to sea level. More
specifically, whether something is above or below sea level. Think of elevation as a vertical
number line. The “0” would be sea level. Anything above sea level would be positive while
anything below would be negative. (Give students example of desk: desktop is “sea level,”
objects on or above desk are above sea level, and objects inside or below desk are below sea
level.)
Banking
Positive and negative numbers can also be applied to banking applications. If you have job and
your paychecks are deposited into your bank account- that is a credit. In fact, anytime you put
money into your banking account, you are crediting your account. That is where positive
numbers play a role in banking. Whenever you make a purchase, withdraw money, pay a bill, or
remove money from your account in any way- that is a debit. Because you are taking money
away from your total balance, you are working with negative numbers. Furthermore, if you take
out more money than you had to begin with, your balance will be a negative number. This means
you actually owe the bank money. Credit cards work similarly, but the concept is reversed.
Essentially, all money in credit account is negative because it is money you are borrowing.
Making purchases and withdrawing money are still considered debits and still work like negative
numbers. However, with credit cards you must pay a minimum credit every month to keep your
account in good standing and to pay back the money you have borrowed. This would be the
positive numbers. Think of a checkbook as a numberline. The “0” would represent when you
have no money at all. Anything above the 0 means you have more than $0 and anything less than
0 means you owe that amount to the bank.
Thermometer Game: 15 minutes
Students will be divided into two large groups. Each group will have a giant number line
(Numbered from -100°F to 100°F) and a bean bag of their team’s color (red and blue.) The red
team is the positive team (trying to reach 100°F) and the blue team is the negative team (trying to
reach -100°F.) Both teams will share two giant dice. The first die will be numbered on each side:
1, 5, 10, 20, 35, and 50. The second die will have three positive signs and three negative signs.
The teams will roll both dice to determine who goes first (higher number goes first.) Both teams
will place their bean bag on 0 to begin. The team who goes first first will roll both dice. The
numbered die will tell them how many lines to move their bean bag. The positive/negative die
will tell them whether or not they are moving up or down on the thermometer. The first team to
reach their desired temperature wins.
*Note: If you reach the other team’s desired number, you must skip a turn.
*Note: You cannot go further than 100°F or -100°F. Should you land on this space, you must
wait for the dice to lead you in the opposite direction.
*Note: To further challenge students, have them begin at the opposite end of the thermometer
from their desired temperature, instead of at zero. (Also see adaptations)
Simulated Checkbook: 15 minutes
Students will move to their seats to work independently. Each student will recieve a Simulated
Checkbook worksheet to complete on their own (see attached.)
They must accurately balance their checkbook and show their work.
*Note- There will be tiered worksheets.Worksheet 1 (yellow) will be for students who are
struggling with positive and negative integers and no transactions that involve overdrafting.
Their closing question will change to “How much money would Stuart need to deposit to bring
his account back to his original balance?” Worsheet 2 (blue) will be for students who are on par
with the lesson and will be exactly as the attached worksheet. Worksheet 3 (purple) will have 2-3
instances in which the account will be overdrafted, and will ask students to create an action plan
stating how the account holder could avoid future overdrafts.
KWL Chart Completion: 5 minutes
Now that the class has an understanding as to how positive and negative numbers can be used in
real world contexts, we will come back to the rug as a group to share out what we learned.
We will fill in the “L” portion of our KWL chart, answering any questions we originally had.
Closing/ Exit Slip: 3 minutes
To bring closure to the lesson and provide a means of formatively assessing the students’
understanding of the lesson, they will be asked to complete an exit slip.
There will be two levels of exit slips (yellow and blue) which I will hand out based on my
formative assessment throughout the lesson.
Exit Slip Level One (yellow): From what you have learned about positive and negative integers,
what is one place you might see them in the real world?
Exit Slip Level Two (blue): Identify what a debit is, what a credit is and how they relate to
positive and negative numbers.
VIII. Source of Activating Prior Knowledge:
1. Connecting what we already know about positive and negative numbers and number lines.
2. The YouTube video will help to reinforce the purpose of the lesson, as well as, connect what
students already know about banking, elevation, and temperature to what they already know
about positive and negative integers.
IX. Adaptations:
The Thermometer Game will be adjusted for students who need more of a challenge. Instead of
starting at the “0” and moving toward their designated ends, they will start at the opposite end
and move all the way through the number line.
The Simulated Checkbook will be adapted for various instructional levels. See description of the
Simulated Checkbook for tiered instructions.
X. Vocabulary:
Positive Integer- Numbers greater than zero, or, to the right of zero on a numberline.
Negative Integer- Numbers less than zero, or, to the left of zero on a numberline.
Number line- A straight line used in mathematics in which every point corresponds with a
positive or negative integer and in which those integers increasse in quantity from left to right.
Temperature- The degree or intensity of heat presnt in a substance or object according to a
comparative scale shown by a thermometer.
Farenheit- The scale in which temperature is measured by.
Thermometer- Instrument used for measureing and indicating temperature.
Elevation- The height of a specific location when measured against the point of sea level.
Credit- a.) An entry recording a sum received or deposited into a bank account.
b.) Money lent or made available to a person by a bank.
Debit- An entry recording an amount owed or withdrawn from an account.
Transaction- The instance of buying, selling, or exchanging money for goods or services.
Overdraft- A deficit in a bank account caused by drawing more money than an account holds.