Darnell Logan EPS 513 October 26, 2012 Dr. S. Knauth & Dr. D.

Salmon National Louis University Planning Commentary Content Focus and Standards The central focus of this lesson is to cover Illinois state standard 6.4.10; solve problems and number sentences involving addition and subtraction with regrouping and multiplication (up to three-digit by one-digit). By the end of this lesson, my students will be able to solve number sentences, identify true and false number sentences, and regroup number sentences to make them true. The assessment that students will be given directly lines up with this standard and instruction is based directly upon the standard provided above. There are some prerequisites students need in order to begin tackling this lesson segment. They will need basic computation skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) and a basic knowledge of true and false sentences (identifying greater than less than and equals). This standard is based on algebra, so I will have to begin to transfer my students thinking to be more critical and open to things they are not used to experiencing. With knowing these things going into the lesson, I will have to be prepared for a few misconceptions my students might run into, (i.e. solving number sentences on the right hand side of the equal sign, identifying greater and less than number sentences, regrouping using parentheses, and solving basic operations in parenthesis first). I have a tall task ahead of me, but it can be accomplished with direct and explicit instruction and a framework that will best help my students learn.

Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching

Academic Development: To be successful with gaining the knowledge and skills to do well on these concepts, students will need a few pre-requisite skills/tools. Students will have to know what true and false number sentences are, students will need to be able to compute simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts, and be able to use a calculator to perform the simple. My students have already gone over true and number sentences and will only need a quick refresher on this topic. Basic fact skills are low, but students know the process of computing simple facts with a calculator. Students will be thinking in a different way with this new topic. Not only will they be dealing with a new topic in math, but they will be regrouping and performing new operations with parentheses, beginning the order or operations. Academic Language Development: Students are very good with obtaining new vocabulary in my classroom. What my co-resident, mentor teacher, and I do in the class to reinforce the concept of new vocabulary is making our students use it in all of our talks about math. It is mandatory for students to focus on using vocabulary as they answer questions and talk/work during think pair share (TPS). The vocabulary is important, so students can recognize what it is they will be seeing in exit tickets and high stakes testing (assessments). Family/Community/Cultural Assets: Family and community arent as important in this aspect of the lesson. Students dont have to pull from their personal experiences to be successful in this lesson. The only recall or transfer that is necessary is from previous facts and lessons gone over since August. The students who are very enthusiastic and interested in classes are pretty much the higher performing students,

and it starts with their parents. Regardless of the community they have grown up in, their parents are often working with them to make sure their homework is done and that they have a decent understanding of what they are supposed to do to succeed in class. Expectations from the parents are high and those expectations have been displayed through the children. There are many exceptions to this rule. But there is often someone who influences their lives who has a positive impact in a students schooling and their success in school. There are a few students who do not feel as confident in their mathematical or social abilities. In this instance, I give them opportunities during lower level thinking activities or during lower level tactile activities. I also pose guided questions to them during TPS, so they can feel more confident about sharing their responses to raise their hands. Social and Emotional Development: Social and emotional development is big in my classroom. Students have learned for the most part how they are supposed to act and conduct themselves at all times during classroom instructional time, but it still has to be modeled for them sometimes. Redirection and refreshers of behavior has to be done for the students. During the lesson there is a lot of TPS, individual think time, collaboration, during the we do, and moving around during sharing. Learning Strategies: Direct instruction on the rug is a major point of focus for my students, because thats where they can learn the skills needed to do well on the tasks at hand. Discussion is another strategy that works well for my students. We use a lot of TPS in the classroom, to get students thinking and talking about math. Following discussions and direct instruction, my students need practice and lots of it. Students vary in the pace where things are grasped, which is why

practice is used as a check for understanding. We were taught by my mentor to provide multiple checks for understanding to create the best environment of success for our students. These strategies may be used to address misconceptions as checks for understanding. This gives me the chance to cold call and even use slates to see what my students know and misconceptions they may have, so I can address them and push them forward in the learning process.

Supporting Student Learning Understanding of Student Prior Learning: I know practice and direct instruction is big for my students learning and understanding of concepts in class. With this being known, I have to give multiple attempts for practice during the instructional we do portion of the lesson. But I also have to plan checks for previous learning to build off of, to make sure students have grasped previous concepts, before we can move on. I plan these checks for previous knowledge during math reflexes and math message. These initial checks let me see what my students already know and where I will have to scaffold during instruction. Sequence of Instructional Plan(s): During the lesson there are constant checks for understanding; not only for the new material. Before a new topic can be covered I have planned a check for understanding for the previous two lessons, because what I will be teaching builds on the same concept of true and false number sentences. I have an advanced concept of identifying and calculating true and false number sentences along with regrouping to make number sentences true. After a concept is taught, it must be checked for understanding.

Skill Connections: Throughout the learning process, students have an essential question to think about during activities and discussions. For this specific lesson the essential question was How do I know what operation to perform first, in a number sentence? The question is to help students make connections from the previous concepts learned to what they will be learning during my lesson. The lessons are structured for students to make these connections. Many times I like to bring the complete connection in at the end of the lesson wrap up, unless a student can make the connection providing for a great teaching moment. I want my students to be able to make connections between performing operations randomly to performing them in a structured process. Also I want them to make the connection of how and why performing operations in this structured manner is important. Misconceptions for Students: Some misconceptions for students are knowing when to perform certain operations either before parentheses or after them. Students have previously learned you perform operations from left to right. Now when a parenthesis is on the right hand side of a number sentence, students have to remember they are to perform the operation inside the parenthesis before any other operation in the number sentence. Another misconception for my students will be solving number sentences with the sentence on the right hand side of the equal sign (eg. 12 = (6 2) * 3). Students are often used to solving number sentences with the computational numbers on the left hand side of the equal sign. Lastly, students will run into solving computational algorithms on both sides of the equal sign at the same time. This is a concept students have not done in class yet. They will have to be guided through this process.

Planned Instructional Strategies for Support: There are no planned instructional strategies in place to support students with specific learning needs. I have made sure my directions for tools and skills are as clear and explicit as possible, so these questions will not arise. Also, my students who have IEPs have minutes outside of the classroom, and are not in the classroom during this instructional time. They receive additional strategies from our excellent special education resource teacher.

Supporting Student Understanding and Use of Academic Language Key Academic Language: The language demand of this lesson is very important. The students will not be able to properly gain the new skills needed to perform the tasks if key academic language is not gained and used during instruction, discussions, and TPS. The academic language is all integrated in the actual planning of the lesson and must be used to obtain all necessary skills. The assessment and checks for understanding is based off of key academic language, because thats what students have seen during NWEA testing and what students will see during ISAT. Key language is important used in all facets of the lesson. This key language is not limited to vocabulary. It is also the structure of the questions asked of students during we do and independent practice. It is important to allow students to practice now, things they will see in the winter and sprint, during high stakes testing. Instructional Supports: Planned instructional supports such as TPS, whole group discussions, and paired discussions, are in place to help students think about math and make connections with vocabulary and actual content knowledge. Discussion and think time has been placed in specific parts of the

lesson to allow students to make the connections using critical thinking and prior knowledge to understand new content. These tools are very important because it allows me to check for understanding and see what my students understand and see what misconceptions my students have. Once I know what my kids know and what they have misconceptions with, I can scaffold the new learning to make sure they obtain knew knowledge and skills by the end of the lesson.

Monitoring Student Learning Assessments: Informal: There are multiple informal checks for understanding in place to help me gage where my students are in the learning process for this lesson. I have oral checks for understanding with explanations for students to give reasoning behind their answers. Students will also use TPS to share and come to a consensus about their responses and share out with the class. Cold call is a good way to keep students engaged and ready to share responses from their discussions. This informal assessment helps me see if I need to have more modeling during I do or we do. I was specifically looking to see if my students were able to get the process of ordering operations properly (i.e. parentheses first). Formal: There are many forms of formal assessments I have planned for this lesson. I have half sheets of paper for students to leave the rug. If students do not get off the rug, they are here for my small group instructional group to help them catch up with the rest of the class. I have also provided multiple practice problems for my students to share responses with partners and

whole class. Lastly, I have an exit ticket to check the three different phases of the lesson we will be covering during this lesson. The exit ticket is the formal assessment that will be recorded and used for additional small group instructional later in the unit. Modifications and Accommodations: Modifications made for to the assessment for students with specific needs to display their understanding of the material is a reduced formal assessment. The assessment is 6 questions and students with specific needs will only be graded on half of the assessment questions. Many times, these students are coming in from the resource room around assessment time, and they need more time to complete the same tasks as their able bodied/mind peers. If necessary, students will have extended time to complete the problems to level the field for them.

Assessing Student Learning

What Do I Need to Write? A. Analyzing Student Learning:

Student Name Student BA Student BL Student HD Student MB Student ND Student RA Student RA Student RJ Student TR Student TA (IEP) Student VD Student ZR

Class 203 Data Student Score Possible Points 4 4 4 4 6 4 5 4 6 4 Exc 4 4 4 Exc 4 1 4 4 4 3.5 4 1 4 Class 203 Avg Class 204 Student Score Possible Score 5 4 4 4 Exc 4 Exc 4 6 4 5 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 Exc 4 2.5 4 5 4 Exc 4 3 4 Class 204 Avg

Grade Percentage 100% 100% 150% 125% 150% Excused 100% Excused 25% 100% 88% 25% 96%

Student Name Student BJ Student CK Student DK Student DT Student GJ Student GS Student LD Student MJ Student MR Student NA Student RB Student RT Student SM Student TA Student WT

Grade Percentage 125% 100% Excused Excused 150% 125% 75% 75% 75% 100% Excused 63% 125% Excused 75% 99%

4th Grade Avg

98%

My students appear to understand how to perform the first task in the order of operations. They appear to understand how to perform whatever tasks are in parentheses first. A few misunderstandings I saw were: Solving number sentences from the left to right all the time A few of the students were still a bit confused with solving the operations in the parentheses first. They solved number sentences from left to right, as they read and write them. This is probably due to me not engaging them enough and checking their understanding and re-teaching. Solving addition or multiplication operations first A few of the students were confused about which operation to solve first. They solved what was easiest for them to solve first, which is multiplication or addition. A way I can improve upon this is to allow them to use calculators, and give them more practice with solving number sentences while using calculators. Developmentally, I need to scaffold more and make time to implement the scaffolding accommodations I planned. For other students who were able to complete the bonus problems, I need to develop more rigorous and challenging opportunities to test their learning. I can create number sentences that have multiple parentheses and are longer than the book suggestions. Because this lesson was taught during the first quarter, my evidence has long been passed back to and misplaced by the students. I did, however write notes about student performance on this lesson. Students who meet or are above performed very well on the assessment. A big surprise to me was how well my student with the IEP performed on this task (he normally isnt in the classroom, because he has a lot of minutes out of the class). He received a 3.5 instead of a 4 because he didnt get the correct answer on one of the problems, but he was able to perform the process just fine. My highest student

performed the task without problem and was one of the few 6/4 in the entire class. Students who sit next to him tend to do better than they did before, because he is good at explaining things to them. He is very helpful and lends a hand when needed. My ESL student did not do well at all. He has a hard time paying attention in class and it shows in his scores. He constantly has to be re-directed. I plan to move him closest to me on the rug, so I can keep an eye on him and his learning. My student who works very hard, but still tends to be around the middle of the pack also performed very well on the assessment. He earned a 4/4. High Performing: Student HD Student HD has many strengths as a high performing student. He reads his problems carefully, double checks his answers, participates in class, and asks questions if he doesnt understand (during instruction). Something he should work on is his technique for taking tests. He should circle questions he has a problem with, solve the easier problems, and then come back to it. Its a way to maximize the time he will have to complete the harder problems. He also needs to work on fractions (equivalent, simplifying, adding, and subtracting). Student HD is a visual and tactile learner, therefore illustrations and at bat practice will help him continue to perform well. Low Performing: Student RT Student RT has strengths and things she needs to work on. Her strengths include: making attempts at work and classroom participation. Things she should work on are paying attention, attention to detail on problems, double checking her answers, and putting in more work to understand concepts. Student RT is a tactile and visual learner, therefore providing more at bats and illustrations can possibly help her perform much better. I also have to add more factors in to get her to pay attention more. In class, we always have students use vocabulary as they answer questions, give examples, or make statements. Instructional vocabulary is very important. We give our students many opportunities to

succeed not only academically, but also verbally with using vocabulary. In this lesson, students did not have to write down vocabulary, but they did have to recognize it when they saw it as a word or symbol; our vocabulary word was parenthesis. I gave my students the opportunity to make the connection between the spoken and written word parenthesis.

B. Feedback to Guide Further Learning:

For this lesson, the feedback provided was a smiley face followed with how to correctly solve the problems they missed. For my student with the IEP, I wrote Great Job! with a smiley face. At this time in my residency, I did stopped providing feedback, because my students were not reading it, which is not good. However, I will remember to give written and verbal feedback. I will also let them know there is feedback on their papers, and they should read it. I assumed they would automatically read the feedback, but I must also remember never to assume. I will remember to help push my students into reading feedback and having discussion about the feedback they have received. My students do get the opportunity to try again. We have designed small group instruction into our planning and implemented it into our classroom. Our small groups are formed by RIT from NWEA and instruction is focused on RIT level of strands and our personal assessment data. Students who did not meet the standard on a particular day get multiple opportunities to try again and students who did meet, get more practice on focus areas.

C. Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

The next step for whole class instruction is to move on to the next steps of the order of operations. We have completed the P in PEMDAS (parenthesis, exponents, multiplication/division, and

addition/subtraction). Because learning Exponents is not a 4th grade standard, we move on to multiplication/division next. For my students who did not meet the standard, after whole group instruction, I will pull them into a small group and focus on solving parentheses first and multiplication/division. I will check their understanding of the past a present objective/standard, reteach both standards, and give students many opportunities to master the two standards. I would move on because my class scored a total average of 98%, which by my schools standards, 80%, is means for us to move on to a new standard. As I look at my students data, 3 students scored below 75%. To get a better understanding of my class data, I will begin to make assessments where the possible score is 5 points. My next steps for my individual students are: Student HD Create multi-step problems in regards to the current standard. This is to provide an extension of his learning. In small group, I will continue to work on another strand with him, to move him into the 230 NWEA range for winter testing and ISAT.

Student RT Small group with Student RT will have two focus areas. I will continue to guide instruction by RIT, but I will spend extra time with her, working on PEMDAS. She will have extra daily homework until I can see she has completely mastered this standard. As she masters this standard, I will extend the problems to being more difficult (multiple parentheses and multi-steps).

These next steps follow my school plan for moving all our students to meet/exceed. Our students data guides our instruction. We give a pre-test to see what our students know and to plan what key points we need to stress during instruction. Next we teach our lessons, focusing on the major

points our pre-test data has given us. After the unit has been taught, we have individual exit ticket data that tells us what we need to re-teach and stress during the unit review. Lastly, we give the post-test to see what our students have completely mastered during this unit. It is a great plan to move all of our students into meet/exceed. It also gives every student in my class the opportunity to try until they master a standard. My students will have at least 4 opportunities to master a certain standard before a post test is given, which lets me know Im doing all I can and need to, in order to best teach my kids and help them move forward.