Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

Teachers: Rowan Stewart Subject:

Autumn Minarchin Area and optimization
Jessica Campos

Common Core State Standards:

 G.G-MG.A.1: Use geometric shapes, their measures, and their properties to describe
objects utilizing real-world context.
 G.G-MG.A.2: Apply concepts of density based on area and volume in modeling
situations utilizing real-world context.
 G.G-MG.A.3: Apply geometric methods to solve design problems utilizing real-world
context.
Technology Standards:
 ISTE 4a: Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas,
testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
 ISTE 4b: Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that
considers design constraints and calculated risks.
 ISTE 4c: Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design
process.
 ISTE 4d: Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to
work with open-ended problems.
 ISTE 6c: Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or
using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.
Anchor Standards:
 R.7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including
visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
 W.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts,
using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
 SL.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can
follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
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 SL.5: Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express
information and enhance understanding of presentations.

Objective (Explicit):
· The students will be able to recall the formula for area of different shapes, value their
area project by choosing and arranging the grid the way they want and illustrate their
knowledge of area by calculating the area of the different gardens they create.

Evidence of Mastery (Measurable) a copy of Include the lesson assessment.

Provide exemplar student responses with the level of detail you expect to see.
Assign value to each portion of the response.

The students evidence of mastery task will be based on their final garden task: predicting and
showing how many of each plant will fill up all of the garden space. This will show that they
know the relationship between the total area of the garden and smaller areas of the plants.

An unsatisfactory student would answer the question by physically showing how many plants
will fit in the grid without any calculations. A satisfactory student would calculate at least one
of the areas, either the total garden or just one kind of plant and show some logical reasoning
of how they got their answer. An exemplary student would calculate both areas, divide the
smaller area by the larger one to see how many plants will fit into the garden and then prove
their answer by showing it on the grid.

Sub-objectives, SWBAT (Sequenced from basic to complex):

How will you review past learning and make connections to previous lessons?
What skills and content are needed to ultimately master this lesson objective?
How is this objective relevant to students, their lives, and/or the real world?

The students will be able to label their gardens with length and width.
The students will be able to list the formulas for area at the top of their paper.
The students will be able to record answers using proper units.

Key vocabulary: Materials: graph paper/grids

Paper flower cut outs
Pencil
calculator - optional, not required

Opening (state objectives, connect to previous learning, and make relevant to real life)
How will you activate student interest?
How will you connect to past learning?
How will you present the objective in an engaging and student-friendly way?
How will you communicate its importance and make the content relevant to your students?

We will begin the lesson by passing out a sheet of graph paper to each student. Then we will
explain that they are supposed to build and plant the biggest garden they can with 100 ft of
fence. Sunflowers take up 4 spaces, Roses take up 3, Tulips take up 2, and Daisies take up 1
space. Sunflowers will be worth 6 points, Roses worth 3.5, Tulips 4 and Daisies worth 3
points. This activity will be a competition to see who can build the largest garden and fit the
most amount of plants. Students will have 5 minutes to complete this activity with the winner
getting a piece of candy. A short discussion will follow this opening activity as we discuss as a
class some of the strategies the students used when building their garden. This activity and
discussion lays a strong foundation for the instructional part of our lesson about exploring
optimizing area, geometrically and algebraically.
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Instructional Teacher Will: Student Will:

Input How will you What will students be doing
model/explain/demonstrate all to actively capture and
knowledge/skills required of the process the new material?
objective? How will students be
What types of visuals will you use? engaged?
How will you address
misunderstandings or common student
errors?
How will you check for understanding?
How will you explain and model
behavioral expectations?
Is there enough detail in this section so
that another person could teach it?

After we discuss different student’s This discussion is student

strategies for how they developed their centered as we talk about the
own garden I will pick a strong strategy different and similar
that showcases thinking about how big strategies the students used to
we can make an area with 100 ft and/or build their garden. Since each
how many points we get for each student participated in the
flower per space. opening activity they should
all have something to
Once we have this foundation I will ask contribute to the discussion
students to recall our area formulas, aspect of this lesson.
specifically: squares/rectangles, circles,
triangles, and trapezoids. Since there
Students must be able to use
was no restriction given on what shape
their notes from the previous
the students could use I will ask which
lessons and recall the
shape will give us the largest amount of
area with 100 ft of fencing.
 different area formulas we
Next I will calculate the area for a have discussed.
square, rectangle, and circle. I will start
with the square since it is the easiest
since we can just divide 100 by 4 to get
the side length. Then I will use the area
formula for a square to find the area.
Then we will do the circle by using the
circumference formula to find the
radius of a circle with a circumference
Students must make sure they
of 100 ft. Again we will use the area
are taking notes while we
formula for a circle to find the total
discuss how to calculate the
area. Now we can compare the two
area so they are able to follow
areas, square and circle to see which
along when they are asked to
one gives us the largest area. The area
do the furniture activity later
for the square should be 625 ft^2 while
on in the lesson.
the area of the circle should be 795.775
ft^2. Next we will try to find the area of
a rectangle but unlike a square and
circle the area of a rectangle is
dependent on two different side
lengths. There are multiple rectangles
that can be built using 100 ft of fencing,
each with different areas. In order to
find possible side lengths for the
rectangle I will ask the students to
consider the maximum side length we
can have with 100 ft of fencing. Then I
will help them develop a formula for
our constraint by choosing an arbitrary
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length and using variables to make our

process more general. (100 ft = 2L +
2W) Next I introduce the area formula
again and we discuss how one side of
the rectangle is dependent on the value
of the other so we can algebraically Students should make sure

find a formula for the length of both of they draw the shapes we are

the sides in terms of the other. (L = 50 - finding the area for as well as
W or W = 50 -L) Then I will the various algebraic work we

demonstrate using this equation to are doing along with rationale

solve for the area using the area so they are able to recreate

equation. (A = L*W) this process later in the

lesson.

Finally, we will use the quadratic

formula to solve for the largest value of Students will use a graphing

W or L which allows us to find the calculator to look at the graph

other remaining dimension and thus the of the Area of a rectangle in

largest possible area that can be built terms of one of the side

using 100 ft of fencing. lengths. This will allow them

to see why finding the vertex
of the parabola gives us the
maximum value the area can
ever be with the length of 100
ft of fencing.

Co-Teaching Strategy
Which co-teaching approach will you use to maximize student
achievement?
 Differentiation Strategy
What accommodations/modifications will you include for specific
students?
Do you anticipate any students who will need an additional challenge?
Guided Practice Teacher Will:
How will you ensure that all students
have multiple opportunities to practice
new content and skills?
What types of questions can you ask
students as you are observing them
practice?
How/when will you check for
understanding?
How will you provide guidance to all
students as they practice?
How will you explain and model
behavioral expectations?
Is there enough detail in this section so
that another person could facilitate this
practice?
Here the teacher will showcase another
possible garden and ask the students to
help her figure out the different areas
and optimizations. The teacher will ask
“what are the areas we calculated for
each type of plant in the first example?” check to see who is following
Student Will:
How will students practice all
knowledge/skills required of
the objective, with your
support, such that they
continue to internalize the
sub-objectives?
How will students be
engaged?
How will you elicit student-
to-student interaction?
How are students practicing
in ways that align to
independent practice?
Students should be able to
relate back to the teachers
what the areas for different
flowers were from the first
examples. This will be a
along and who is lost.
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The teacher will then ask for help on

calculating the total area. The teacher
will ask “what formula should we be
using to calculate the total area of the
The students should be able
garden?” After establishing what
to answer these questions.
formula the teacher will ask “what
The teacher will try to call on
numbers should we use?” and “where
different students to see who
did we get those numbers from?”
is getting confused if any.
Students should be doing the
Once we get the areas calculated, the
example in their notebook as
teacher will ask on ways the class
well as answering questions.
thinks they can figure out how many of
each specific plant will fit in the
garden. After the students come up with
several different ways and we discuss Students will contribute their
each and determine which are most ideas on how best to optimize
efficient, the students will finish the amount of plants in the
calculating this problem and then try garden and determine which
their own garden. methods they like to use.

Co-Teaching Strategy
Which co-teaching approach will you use to maximize student
achievement?

Differentiation Strategy
What accommodations/modifications will you include for specific
students?
Do you anticipate any students who will need an additional challenge?
How can you utilize grouping strategies?
Independent Teacher Will:
Practice How will you plan to coach and correct
during this practice?
How will you provide opportunities for
remediation and extension?
How will you clearly state and model
academic and behavioral expectations?
Did you provide enough detail so that
another person could facilitate the
practice?
During this time, students will be given
a third garden and flowers. The teacher
will give each student a piece of grid
paper and several paper cutouts of
different types of flowers. Students will assortment of flowers and
be given more paper cutouts than they
are able to fit into their garden, and it
will be up to them to optimize their
space.
The teacher will then divide students
into groups of three and explain the
feedback model. The teacher may
Student Will:
How will students
independently practice the
knowledge and skills required
by the objective?
How will students be
engaged?
How are students practicing
in ways that align to
assessment?
How are students using self-
assessment to guide their own
learning?
How are you supporting
students giving feedback to
one another?
Students will work
independently at first to
create their gardens. They
will each be given an
they will have to work out
how to optimize the space
they have in their garden
following the same process
we followed as a class above.
The students will each get a
different set of flowers to
ensure that they’re working
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model the desired feedback with through the problem on their

students before asking them to begin
giving feedback if necessary. The
teacher will then time students, giving
each a minute to talk about their garden
and a minute for feedback.
own before working together
to look at all of their gardens.
Once students have had time
to work on their own and set
up their gardens, students will
spend one minute briefly
explaining why they chose
their placements to their
group and then their group
will spend one minute giving
feedback. Once everyone has
given feedback, students will
have a little more time to fix
their gardens to fit as much as
they can. The teacher will
then collect them and grade
them for participation and
involvement in the lesson.

Co-Teaching Strategy
Which co-teaching approach will you use to maximize student
achievement?

Differentiation Strategy
What accommodations/modifications will you include for specific
students?
Do you anticipate any students who will need an additional challenge?
 Students who have a solid grasp on the lesson and complete their
garden early during the individual practice may be grouped with
students who are struggling to arrange their garden and may need
additional support. This way, both students are getting the enrichment
of teaching/learning from each other. If more students need an
additional challenge, the teacher will have “challenge cards” made for
the students that will prompt them to arrange their gardens in specific
ways - highest number of daisies or fewest roses while keeping the rest
of the garden full, etc.

Closing/Student Reflection/Real-life connections:

How will students summarize and state the significance of what they learned?
Why will students be engaged?

In the same groups of three as above, students will restate the objective and come up with one
other “real-world” optimization problem like the one above (fitting furniture in a house, fitting
a certain amount of jelly beans into the smallest possible box, etc). If time permits, students
will share those examples with the class as evidence that they were on task and understood the
objective of the lesson. Students will be engaged because they will be doing a more hands on
activity of arranging square plant pieces instead of just calculating.