Pre-practicum 1 – Lesson Template

Name: Marina Sheetz Date: May 1, 2019

School: ______________________________ Grade: 4

Starting and Ending Time: 9:00 to 9:50

OVERVIEW OF THE LESSON

MA Curriculum Frameworks incorporating the Common Core State Standards: With
regard to how this lesson fits into the “big picture” of the students’ long-term learning, which
MA framework does the lesson most clearly address?

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.MD.A.1: Know relative sizes of measurement units within one

system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system
of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record
measurement equivalents in a two-column table.

Instructional Objective: By the end of the lesson, (1) what concept, information, skill, or
strategy will the student(s) learn and (2) how will they demonstrate that knowledge?

Mathematical Goal:
After this lesson, the students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the importance
of units when measuring area by converting between area units.

Assessment: What specific, tangible evidence will show that each student has met this
objective?

The students will demonstrate their knowledge by completing a worksheet that involves using
the formula for area to calculate the area of a shape and then converting the area to a different
unit by comparing one-dimensional attributes of the shape. They will also use the meaning of
multiplication to convert areas from one unit to another.

Mathematical Practices:

MP4 Model with Mathematics

MP7 Look For and Make Use of Structure
MP8 Look For and Express Regularity in Repeated Reasoning

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 PROCEDURES FOR THE LESSON
In this section, provide specific directions, explanations, rationales, questions, potential
vignettes/scenarios, strategies/methods, as well as step-by-step details that could allow someone
else to effectively teach the lesson and meet the lesson objectives.

STORYLINE/INSTRUCTIONS FOR TEACHER

Opening (3 minutes): How will you introduce the instructional objective to the students, pre-
teach/ preview vocabulary, and prepare them to engage with the lesson content?

The lesson will begin with all of the students sitting at their tables. I will start by asking if
someone can tell us the definition of area. I will correct the student’s answer if it is incorrect and
reiterate what they said if they are correct. The definition of area that we will use is: area is the
number of square units it takes to cover a region with no gaps or overlaps.

During Lesson (35 minutes): How will you direct, guide, and/or facilitate the learning process to
support the students in working toward meeting the instructional objectives?

While the students are sitting at tables, I will hand out 1 inch by 1 inch squares to each student.
They will also each have a handout with a rectangle on it that is 2 inches long and 4 inches wide.
I will ask them to measure the area of the rectangle using the squares they just received. They
will work in table groups to determine an area and write it down. Next, I will show the class a 2
inch by 2 inch square and ask them to write down a prediction about whether or not the area of
the rectangle will be different. If they think it will be, I will also have them make a prediction
about what its new value will be. I will ask if anyone would like to share their predictions about
what the area will be using the 2 inch squares and write the predictions on the whiteboard.

Next, I will pass out 2 inch by 2 inch squares to the students so that they can measure the area of
the same rectangle using this new unit. To determine the area, the students will be encouraged to
work with their peers at their tables to lay the squares inside the rectangle and count how many it
takes to completely fill the region with no gaps or overlaps. This will reinforce the definition of
area and it also builds on the students’ elementary understanding of how to determine it.

After everyone has written down their calculation of the rectangle’s area, we will come together
on the rug to go over their answers. I will ask the students to share both of their answers for the
area of the rectangle. After this, I will ask the whole class if these areas are the same. The
students will most likely say that they are not the same. Then, I will ask them why the number of
units is different. I will explain that the value of the area changes when the units we use to
measure it change, but the actual area of the rectangle remains the same.

I will ask each student to look at the 1 inch by 1 inch square and the 2 inch by 2 inch square and
ask them: “What is the relationship between these two squares? Compare these two units and
turn and talk to a neighbor about what you notice.” To help them understand what I am asking
them to think about, I will give them the example of 12 eggs and 1 dozen. These are two ways

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 that we describe the same number of eggs. I will ask them what it is that changes in this example,
so that they can see that the unit changes but the number of objects does not.

Next, I will use the projector to display an image of two squares on the whiteboard whose
proportions are relative to the paper ones that the students are using. Then, I will draw 4 smaller
squares inside the larger square to show the relationship between the 2 units. I will also write the
relationship on the board so that the students can refer to it and recognize the importance of this
point. I will write: 1 inch by one inch unit = 1 square unit and 2 inch by 2 inch unit = 4 square
units. I will explain that area depends on units, like length and other measurements. The area of
the shape is not changing, but when we measure with different units, the numerical value of the
area does change.

I will ask if someone can think of how we might be able to use multiplication to convert these
area units. Depending on the student’s answer, I will make sure to state that when we convert
from inches to centimeters, for example, we can think of each inch as 1 group of 2.54
centimeters. When we convert between square inches to square centimeters, we can also think of
this as 1 group of 2.54 x 2.54 square inches. I will draw a picture on the board to show why this
is true. The picture would be of two equal sized squares. One will be labelled with side lengths of
1 inch and the other will say 2.54 centimeters. This will help the students see that when we use
square inches and square centimeters, they need to remember to think about the relationship
between the units in two dimensions.

The students will transition back to their seats to complete a worksheet with their table groups.
The worksheet is made up of problems that involve measuring the length and width of an object
and calculating the area. Then, they will convert the area to a different unit by measuring each
dimension again. There are also problems where the students calculate the area after being given
the length and width in one unit without measuring and they also have to convert that area to a
different unit using the meaning of multiplication.

Closing (12 minutes): How will you bring closure to the lesson and, by doing so, review and
determine what students have learned?

To end the lesson, the students will come together on the rug so that we can go over their
answers to the worksheet as a class. I will have a student give their answer and explain their
process for each problem. The students will also have the chance to ask any questions about the
material during this time, as well. Once we have gone over all of the problems, I will ask
someone to tell me two ways to convert between units of area. The answers I would expect are
converting the units in one dimension and then recalculating the area and using the meaning of
multiplication. This will help me assess their understanding and get a sense of what parts of the
concepts will be most important to focus on in future lessons.

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 FINAL DETAILS OF THE LESSON
Materials: What are the materials that you will need to organize, prepare, and/or try-out before
teaching the lesson?

● Square units (1 in by 1 in, 2 in by 2 in)

● Handout with a 2 in by 4 in rectangle
● Worksheet titled “Converting Areas”
● Rulers
● Whiteboard
● Projector

Prerequisite Knowledge:

The students will need to know the definition of area. The definition I will be using is: The area of
a shape is the number of square units it takes to cover the region with no gaps or overlaps. They
will have also previously learned the formula for the area of a rectangle, A = L x W. This lesson
also makes use of the meaning of multiplication.

Several standards from the MA Curriculum Framework that the students will have previously
learned will be necessary before this lesson. These are:
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.5.B: A plane figure which can be covered without gaps or
overlaps by n unit squares is said to have an area of n square units.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.6: Measure areas by counting unit squares (square cm,
square m, square in, square ft, and improvised units).
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.7: Relate area to the operations of multiplication and
addition.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.7.A: Find the area of a rectangle with whole-number side
lengths by tiling it, and show that the area is the same as would be found by multiplying the
side lengths.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.MD.C.7.B: Multiply side lengths to find areas of rectangles with
whole-number side lengths in the context of solving real world and mathematical problems,
and represent whole-number products as rectangular areas in mathematical reasoning.

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