observation #3 - math lesson

Third Formal Observation – Student Teaching

Observed by University Supervisor

1

Alexandra Keresztes

Grade 4

Date

March 3, 2015

Title of Lesson

Reinforcing partial products: 1 by 3 digit and 1 by 4 digit multiplication

Problem Solving

Grade Level/

Content Area

Grade 4

Math: Multi-Digit Multiplication

Objectives Students will be able to represent multi-digit by single-digit

multiplication by illustrating word problems on an area model

Students will be able to represent multi-digit by single-digit

multiplication by expressing partial products in multiplication sentences

Students will be able to solve multi-digit by single-digit multiplication

word problems using both the partial product and area model strategies

For students who finish the worksheets: Students will be able to create

and solve their own multi-digit by single-digit multiplication word

problems using both the partial product and area model strategies

GLEs or

Common Core

Standards

CCSS-MATH-4.NBT.B.5 – Multiply a whole number of up to four digits

by a one-digit whole number, and multiply two two-digit numbers, using

strategies based on place value and the properties of operations.

CCSS-MATH-4.OA.3 – Solve multistep word problems posed with

whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four

operations.

Instructional

Materials &

Resources

- Promethean Board: ActivInspire OR chart paper

- individual white boards, Expo markers, and erasers

- copies of 1x3 and 1x4 digit word problems

- scrap paper

- multiplication bingo

Instructional

Activities &

Tasks

Lesson Introduction: (5 minute)

Will start lesson in the back of the room, to get something that I

will tell students I got a gift shop from the factory I visited over

the weekend. Reach into lunchbox and bring up a jar of “Z….rific

pickles” to the front of the room

Bring students up to the front meeting area with a white board,

Expo marker, and eraser



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Lesson Development: (15 minutes – 5 for each problem)

Introduce lesson focus: using the area model and partial product

strategies to solve multi-digit by single-digit multiplication word

problems

Have one student read the word problem projected onto the board.

o Ask for help finding the multiplication equation – how did

you know?

o Ask one student to guide me through drawing the area

model strategy and another for the partial product strategy

o After problem is solved; ask for help writing an answer

statement

White board practice: 1x3 digit individually

o Have one student show the area model and another show

the partial products on the Promethean board using the

dual pen mode – if it works

White board practice: 1x4 digit individually

o Have one student show the area model and another show

the partial products on the Promethean board using the

dual pen mode (if it works)

Partner Practice: (~20 minutes)

Read through each problem on the document camera before giving

students the worksheets – call on students to choose their partners

o Students will work with their partners to complete both the

area and partial product strategies for each problem

o Answer statements must be shown

1-2-3 directions o Complete the 1x3 digit and 1x4 digit multiplication word

problems; if you finish, ask me for the challenge problems!

o Create your own 1x3 digit and 1x4 digit multiplication

word problems

o At 10:00-10:05 (I’ll give a 5 minute warning), put

everything in the classwork bin and sit at your own seat for

directions

Lesson Wrap Up: (15-20)

With about 15-20 minutes left: we will play multiplication bingo to

practice multiplication facts

With about 2 minutes left: pass out post-its and ask students to

write down one thing they feel completely confident in and one

thing they are struggling with or wonder about related to this unit

Assessment Informal: Students will be coming up to annotate on the Promethean

Board and will turn their white around to a teacher so we can quickly

assess both strategies and check multiplication facts

Formal: Students will complete four word problems, two of each 1x3 digit

and 1x4 digit which will be turned in to monitor learning and plan the



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next day’s instruction.

Self–Assessment: Students will test their own knowledge of

multiplication facts while playing multiplication bingo.

Learner

Factors

Students will be building upon the previous days’ lessons and transferring

their understanding of creating area models and partial product sentences

for multiplication sentences to doing the same with word problems.

Students will build upon their interpersonal skills as they discuss how to

solve word problems with their partners. Students will strengthen

intrapersonal skills as they complete the problems and exit slip on their

own. Students will strengthen their logical/mathematical skills and visual

representation skills as they work through the entire lesson.

Students can learn strategies from their classmates who are showing their

marble problems and their strategy for solving it on the board.

A, N, B use of calculators and multiplication charts

A, N lines drawn for them to set up partial products and writing, and

draw area model rectangle for them

A, N, B, E, M suggestion of partners or extra support from myself

when writing answer statements

Environmental

Factors

Students will begin lesson whole group at the front meeting area.

During “Partner Practice,” students will have chosen the partners that they

wish to work with and may sit at any area in the room.

During Math Bingo, students will be sitting at their own desks.

In the even the Promethean board is not working, I will use the

whiteboards/chart paper.

Extension/

Enrichment

Build your Dream House (made for 6th

grade but adapt to 4th

)

http://www.cwu.edu/~ourslandm/WebQuery.html

http://www.cwu.edu/~ourslandm/WebQuery.html



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Lesson Reflection:

1. How effective was the lesson plan? Explain.

The lesson plan was mostly effective. I made some last minute changes during

instruction because of the things that I was noticing during the white board

practice time that I offered to students. This led me to assign partners which,

although to the students seemed random, was intentionally done based on the

different things that I saw with their comfort levels in three areas: representing the

area model, using the partial product strategy, and familiarity with multiplication

facts.

The one piece of the lesson plan that I would change was the placement of the

post-it check in and multiplication bingo. Although multiplication bingo was

further development, it did not sequence into the lesson perfectly and was

intended to be a fluency practice. It would have been more appropriate to save

multiplication bingo for the end of the math block and do the post-it self-

assessment/check-in immediately after the core portion of the lesson.

2. Was the pace of the lesson appropriate? Explain.

Pacing was much more appropriate with this lesson than it has been previously.

Though not perfect, I feel that including the approximate amounts of time I

wanted to spend on each portion of the lesson was extremely beneficial to my

time management.

The prop that I chose to include was admittedly a little distracting and slowed my

lesson down at first, but I believe the lesson got back on track. Even though I

started off fielding some questions about the jar of pickles with a student’s face on

the jar, I feel that the students became more engaged in the lesson from that and

that engagement followed through the entire lesson time.

3. Did you implement effective classroom management strategies? (Ex: use of

proximity, positive reinforcement, etc.) Explain.

For this lesson, I felt that my classroom management strategies were effective, but

could have been better. When I was trying to get through the introduction I was

moving around the classroom a lot, which made it harder for some of the students

to focus on what the lesson was going to include. In addition, I did not wait for

the class to get over their laughing fit before trying to move into the lesson; in

hindsight, this is something that I really need to work on, not only for this lesson

but all of them.

4. Were all the students actively engaged in the learning process? How did you meet

individual needs of students?

I found that the students were immediately engaged by the iPhone message slide I

put together to introduce this lesson. The fact that the slide lead into an even

more amusing prop sent them over the top with laughter but, because the iPhone

message slide and prop directly related to the lesson, I feel that we were able to

regain focus to the word problem on the board. The lesson set-up was very

relevant to the students in the class and involving them in the word problems

helped me to engage all of the students because their individual interests were

included in the problems that I centered on them.



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Each time the students in the class get to use their individual white boards or work

with a partner, their engagement in the lessons is much higher than any other

time. As this lesson accommodated both, everyone was on task and interested the

entire lesson.

In order to meet the individual needs of learners, I chose partners for each of the

students. Although the majority of the students have an excellent sense of the two

strategies that we are using, I paired students who needed a challenge with those

who may have needed a little extra help to give the students who had a full

understanding the chance to help teach a classmate. Teaching someone else

further reinforces the major concepts for both individuals.

Additionally, two of my students do exceptionally better when the lines are drawn

for them to write on; after passing out the word problems, I went over to them to

ensure that these lines were drawn for which also boosts their confidence. There

were two students who have missed all (or almost all) of the lessons in this math

unit, so I did spend a majority of the partner work checking in on the two of them

to ensure that they were doing what they needed to be doing and comprehended

what was being done.

5. Were the materials of interest to the students? How do you know?

Judging just from the prop I used, I would say that the materials were interesting

to the students. It has been a promise this year that we would create a pickle word

problem specifically for this student, so actually having a chance to do it was

great for the students.

In addition, the word problems which I created provided a break from the typical

math work the class is accustomed to doing. Besides being different from the

work they normally do, every one of the word problems had to do with the

students in the class and their individual (or combined) interests.

6. Discuss the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of your teaching. (What worked, what

didn’t, how does this inform your instruction?)

I truly believe that my teaching was effective and engaging for this particular

lesson. It was immensely important for me to incorporate student interest to make

word problems interesting to my class. Using the three problems that I did as

individual white board practice was an effective general measure of student

ability. The most effective thing I feel that I did as a part of this lesson was give

workspace for the students that was broken into four boxes so that all students

could show their work in boxes dedicated to each of the two strategies with spaces

for the multiplication equation and answer statement.

I feel that my teaching was ineffective in two senses. First, I have a tendency to

talk over students rather than waiting until they have finished talking and are

listening to my instruction or directions. Second, I found that in this lesson I

should have kept multiplication bingo as my final activity rather than putting the

post-it check-in last. Removing the children from the lesson and then bringing

them back to it does not accurately measure student reflection from the lessons.

7. Discuss your assessment. (What was learned?, how do you know?)

From using the white boards to check their understanding, as well as walking

around during white board work, I was able to quickly assess and pair up students

for partner work based on what areas they may have been struggling with. This



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was a good formative assessment for me to determine how to place students so

they could help each other understand, in the event that I was not able to explain

something in a particular way to ensure that all students understood the major

concepts of this unit.

Although there was not enough time for all of the students to finish the four

partner word problems in the lesson time, it was finished for morning work the

next day. When the work was finished, I was assured that all students, even those

who had missed the majority of the lessons in this unit, were on track and meeting

the objectives that I set up. When errors were made on the problems, they

typically involved multiplication facts or basic addition errors.

After going through the post-it reflections that I asked the students to write as a

mid-unit formative assessment, I saw that the majority of the class fully

understood what was going on so far. There were only two students who were

unsure of something and both were the ones who were not present during

previous lessons. I will be working more with these students individually to

ensure that they are receiving the best possible instruction to meet their individual

needs related to this unit.

observation #3 - math lesson

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