Lesson Plan
Date(s): March 4 ‘09
Grade Level: Grade 4
Topic: How much personal space do I
need?
Time(s): 1 fifty minute period
Curriculum Expectations:
Measurement
Measurement Relationships - pose and solve meaningful problems that require the ability
to distinguish perimeter and area
Assessment Strategies:
Rubric- I will use this as a summative evaluation because the students are currently
finishing a unit involving perimeter and area. I use this assessment while students
present their work and when I review their worksheets.
Accommodations and Modifications:
If students are uncomfortable working with numbers in the decimals, I will encourage
them to round their numbers to the nearest whole or convert to centimeters.
The Van De Walle approach to critical thinking in mathematics allows students to
demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of ways, with no single method recognized as
the “best”. The Van De Walle approach also allows for cooperative learning and allows
students to self-correct as they learn from one another.
Resources:
Outline:
Students will critically think about the concept of
personal space. Students will begin to explore
strategies to avoid bullying.
- overhead photocopies of comics
and “Recommended Personal
Space” pages
- I will write the questions on the
blackboard
Introduction: 10 mins
I will introduce the activity by displaying a few
cartoons that deal with the concept of personal
space. I will then show the overhead titled,
“Recommended Personal Space”. This provides a
visual display of the concept of “personal space”.
Students will work in groups of 3 or 4 to answer the
following questions.
1. How many students could fit in the
classroom if everyone had a personal space
radius of 1.23 meters?
2. Is 1.23 meters a reasonable amount of
personal space? Why, or why not?
Students will complete the worksheet attached below
as “sample worksheet”. I will explain my
expectations for each section of the worksheet and
help them tap into prior knowledge about perimeter
and area problems.

“What do we know about the problem?” –
Students must use this section to describe
information they can derive from the
problem. For example, each person has a


- students will complete their
work on chart paper
1.23 meter radius (r=1.23 m). Students may
also use this section to demonstrate
background knowledge on the subject. For
example, students may write the equation for
the area of a circle (A=3.14 * r * r), or
students may choose to transform the circles
to squares and write the equation for the area
of a square (A= l2 or l * l).
“The 3 BIG Questions” – this section allows
opportunity for students to reflect on the
problem solving process. This is written in
the students own language and may be
completed after completing the “work”
section.
“Show Your Work” – this is where students
must show their mathematical equations.
Students may use manipulatives, or draw
pictures, or use another strategy to help them
find the answer. Students are encouraged to
demonstrate 2 different approaches to solving
the problem (this helps answer the question,
‘How do you know your answer is
correct?”). Student must sign their name
beside their contributions to the group work
to ensure group accountability.
Middle: 30 mins
Students will have about 20 minutes to complete the
worksheet and arrive at an answer for the 2 questions
posed at the beginning of the lesson.
After 2 minutes students will begin presenting their
conclusions to the group. Encourage students to ask
questions of one another and compare their answers
with each another.
After 20 minutes, student groups will begin
presenting their work to the class. Each group must
explain their answers to the 3 BIG questions and
describe the answers they arrived at for the 2
questions posed at the beginning of the lesson.
- “One” by Kathryn Otoshi
Conclusion: 10 mins
After the group presentations, I will invite the
students for a discussion about bullying. It is
important to recognize our own comfort level with
personal space. Tapping into our feelings helps us
recognize when we feel uncomfortable. I will
introduce the book, “One”. This book introduces the
idea that there is strength in numbers when we speak
out against bullying. This book will help prepare
students for upcoming lessons on strategies to
combat bullying.
Follow Up:
I will teach 3 lessons on strategies to avoid bullying.
The first lesson will teach anger management
strategies (from the bully perspective). The next 2
lessons will teach strategies to avoid bullying from
the victim and bystander perspectives.
Recommended Personal Space
1.23 m
0.46 m
Diagram of Edward T. Hall's personal reaction bubbles (1966), showing radius in feet
Overview
Two people not affecting each other's personal space.
Reaction of two people whose personal space are in conflict.
Cartoons about Personal Space
Rubric for perimeter and area activity
Categories
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Knowledge and Understanding – Subject-specific content acquired in each grade (knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning an significance (understanding)
- demonstrates limited knowledge - demonstrates some knowledge
- demonstrates considerable
- demonstrates considerable
Knowledge of content
(ie/ applies appropriate problem- of content
of content
knowledge of content
knowledge of content
solving procedures such as,
multiplication, identifies
perimeter, equations for finding
area, etc.
Thinking – The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes
- uses processing skills with
- uses processing skills with some - uses processing skills with
- uses processing skills with a
Use of processing skills
(ie/ carrying out a plan, collecting limited effectiveness
effectiveness
considerable effectiveness
high degree of effectiveness
data, questioning, testing,
revising, modeling, solving,
inferring, forming conclusions)
- uses processing skills with
- uses processing skills with some - uses processing skills with
- uses processing skills with a
Use of processing skills
(ie/ looking back at the solution, limited effectiveness
effectiveness
considerable effectiveness
high degree of effectiveness
reasoning, justifying, reflecting,
etc.)
Communication – The conveying of meaning through various forms
- expresses and organizes
- expresses and organizes
- expresses and organizes
Expression and organization of - expresses and organizes
mathematical thinking with
mathematical thinking with some mathematical thinking with
mathematical thinking with a
ideas and mathematical
effectiveness
considerable effectiveness
high degree of effectiveness
thinking using oral, visual, and limited effectiveness
written forms
(ie/ is the mathematical process to
arrive at an answer clear and
coherent)
Sample Worksheet
What do we know about the problem?
(ie/ what information does the problem give us?)
The 3 BIG Questions
1.
What did you do to get the answer?
2. Why did you do it that way?
3. How do you know your answer is correct?
Show Your Work
(remember to answer the problem in 2 different
ways)
Sample Worksheet