Wilmington University
Pathwise Lesson Plan Format
Teacher/Student
Teacher
Grade:
Subject:
Date:
Peggy Bell Cole
7th
Math - fractions
October 10, 2009
The original lesson plan is found at http://www.localschooldirectory.com/lessonplans/id/343.
Modifications to the plan are shown in bold italic.
1. Briefly describe the students in this class.
Summarize the class profile (grade level, age range, numbers of students and make up of the
class); if relevant, include special needs of the group and any concerns that the teacher may
have or an observer may need to know before viewing the lesson.
This lesson plan is for a 7th grade math class. This is the mid-level math taught for this grade, so the
students are reasonably competent in their math knowledge and proficiency, but need more time on a
particular concept before moving on to more advanced concepts. The material covered is a review of
previously learned material, which is necessary for moving on to future topics. There are
approximately 28-30 students in the class, none with any particular needs.
The setting is the regular teacher classroom, which has several computers in the back of the room.
2. What are your goals for the lesson? What do you want the students to learn?
Describe what will be taught to the students and what expectations the teacher has of them by
the completion of this lesson. Meaningful objectives and goals define the terminal behavior
expected of the learner. Terminal behavior can be defined by identifying and naming the
observable act that will be accepted as evidence that the learner has achieved the objective.
Original: Students will learn to read and solve word problems.
Revised: In addition to above, students will explore a deeper understanding of fractions by solving
problems using pen & paper, computer programs, as well as real life examples. The goal is for
students to be able to translate words into mathematical formulae and then solve them correctly.
3. Why are these goals suitable for this group of students?
Describe how these goals are developmentally appropriate, appropriate for the ability levels of
students in the classroom, the types of thinking skills and/or learning styles these goals
promote, etc.
These goals are appropriate because they build on previous knowledge of techniques appropriate for
solving word problems, as well as knowledge of mathematical operations applied to fractions. These
concepts have been introduced in each of the previous 3-4 years, and should be familiar to the
students. This lesson is a review and extension of those concepts.
4. How do these goals support the district’s curriculum, state frameworks, and/or content
standards?
This lesson plan links to DE Standard Standard 1 (5–8) – Numeric Reasoning: Students will develop
Numeric Reasoning and an understanding of Number and Operations by solving problems in which
there is a need to represent and model real numbers verbally, physically, and symbolically; to explain
the relationship between numbers; to determine the relative magnitude of real numbers; to use
operations with understanding; and to select appropriate methods of calculations from among mental
math, paper-and-pencil, calculators, or computers.
It also links to DE Standard 5 – Problem Solving: Students will develop their Problem Solving
ability by engaging in developmentally appropriate problem-solving opportunities in which there is a
need to use various approaches to investigate and understand mathematical concepts; to formulate
their own problems; to find solutions to problems from everyday situations; to develop and apply
strategies to solve a wide variety of problems; and to integrate mathematical reasoning,
communication and connections.
5. How do these goals relate to broader curriculum goals in the discipline as a whole or in other
disciplines?
Demonstrate or describe how these goals link to big ideas, curriculum concepts, or to concepts
being taught in other discipline areas. Describe how this lesson fits into the sequence of the
instructional unit or curriculum.
These goals link to larger goals around applying mathematical operations and concepts to solving
real problems. They help reinforce the link that “math matters” in real life, and hopefully will spark
greater interest in mathematics in general. There is also a strong link to language arts because of the
reading component involved.
6. How do you plan to engage students in the content? What will you do? What will the
students do? (include time estimates).
Original plan:
1. You will copy the worksheet so that each student will have a copy.
2. You will explain to the students what they are to do by giving them an example on the board.
Mandy had 17 books that she wanted to give away. She wanted to divide them equally between her
two friends, Cindy and Julie. What is the fraction that she has left? The answer is 1/17. She has 1
book left after giving away 8 books to each one. 3. You will pass out the worksheets so they can work on them independently.
Revised Plan:
Warm up – pose the question: you want to make cookies for your entire field hockey team of 30
students, but your recipe is for 48 cookies. If you want them to have 2 cookies each, what do you
need to do? Link them into a real life situation. Ask for suggestions, write down possible answers
on Smart Board or white board, and see if an equation to the word problem can be written.
State objective of lesson – “we are going to improve our word problem solving capability by
working on word problems involving fractions.” Success means being able to take a word
problem, translate it to mathematical operations involving fractions, and then solving them. This
is important in real life situations:
 Cooking/baking
 Jobs (paying friends equally for a shared job)
 Splitting food equally between friends
 Etc. can have students generate additional examples
Instructional input – short review on fractions, using whiteboard. Review terms (common
denominator, etc.) and then operations - adding/subtracting/dividing of fractions. This should be
short, since it would have just been covered. Can ask students to answer sample problems to test
understanding. This is a combination of lecture and demonstration.
If there is a need for further review, the following fun worksheet on fractions can be used:
http://www.dositey.com/math/mistery2.html. Students needing additional help can use NLVM on
fractions for review of basic concepts – this would be done while rest of class is working
independently.
Model – use one example and go through with entire class (the one chosen in the original plan.)
6. (con’t)
Check for understanding – alter the question slightly, and ask for the new answer (i.e. what if she
had three friends – what would be the answer? How would it be written out? I would look to see
that most students understood the concept by either answering the question, or raising hands, or
looking engaged.
Guided practice – rather than have students work individually on the worksheet, I would have
them work on it in groups of 2 or 3, and probably have them do about 1/3 of the problems (saving
the rest for homework.) They can report out their answers on individual whiteboards, or come to
the blackboard/Smartboard to write answers, or if there were enough computers, each group
would log them into a document – perhaps a class wiki or blog, or even just a Powerpoint or Word
document.
Extending the lesson – can be done since not all of the word problems are done in class. Several
alternatives here – have the class (again in small groups) develop their own word problems, and
then ask other groups to solve them. They can use computers for this – Word or Powerpoint, and
then display question for the entire class to solve.
If enough prep time had been given, each student or group of students will research a recipe on
one of many recipe websites, and then work on what would be required to alter it to accommodate
a different number of servings (say all the students in the room.) They can work out the answer
on their own, and check it against the websites own calculators. www.allrecipes.com is a great site
to start with.
Pizzas (real ones) could be used to illustrate real life word problems, based on how it is cut or
served (i.e. for 32 students, how would you divide 4 pizzas so each gets one piece. Then one could
ask what fraction is left of one pie after 3 pieces have been cut.) Many ways to develop word
problems here.
If I felt there was a need, manipulatives could be used to illustrate the concept, or even measuring
cups or spoons. The websites and other computer programs mentioned above can be used by
individual students to improve their skills.
Closure Activity – reinforce concepts that were introduced; could return back to original question
of the cookies, and ask if they know a different way to get the answer.
Assign rest of worksheet as homework.
7. What difficulties do students typically experience in this area, and how do you
plan to anticipate these difficulties?
Describe any special concerns you may have about this material, the methodology, or the
equipment that you will be incorporating into this lesson as related to the students in this class.
Explain how you plan to address these concerns.
Concerns about the material covered include making sure every student understands the prerequisite
information before moving on; this can be addressed by giving a pretest to see which students need
help, and then having them work together on the review material. Other concerns are around
students with difficulty reading word problems; they could partner with a friend to help them out, or
if it was a language issue, have a worksheet in that child’s language.
Concerns about equipment include making sure it all works prior to starting the lesson; this is
addressed by checking it out well before class starts. Additional concerns would be around having
enough computers for students to use during the group activity portion of the lesson. Larger groups
might have to be used, or perhaps the students take turns at the computer.
8. What instructional materials or other resources, if any, will you use?
List all equipment and materials needed. Include:
 Worksheet
 pencils & erasers
 Smartboard
 Individual whiteboards
 Manipulatives
 Pizza
 3-5 computers for students to use
9. How did you plan to assess student achievement of the goals? What procedures
will you use? (Attached any tests or performance tasks, with accompanying scoring
guides or rubrics.)
Assessments can be conducted in both formal and informal ways. Assessment is an ongoing
activity and can be done at various stages in the lesson. A final, formal evaluation might occur
at the conclusion of teaching a concept or skill. Examples of assessment can include
observation of students, checking for understanding, guided practice activities in the
classroom, independent practice, quizzes, tests, demonstrations, etc.
In addition to scoring the worksheet, additional assessment will come in the form of observing the
students as they develop their word problems. The material will also be covered on quizzes and
posttests.
10. How do you plan to use the results of the assessment?
Describe the way in which the assessment will be used? Examples include evaluation of student
comprehension before moving on to a more complex concept, grading, assessment of a student
achieving a standard, interim assessment of a concept, meeting the needs of an individual
instructional plan (IIP or IEP), etc.
The assessment will be used to determine when I can move on to the next lesson/expand the
material. It will be used both to measure how well the class as a whole understands the concept, as
well as highlight individual students who are struggling with the material. I can then supply
additional resources and help to those students.