Think and Draw

Direct Instruction Model/Constructivist (p. 85)

Grade 1- Math
Lesson plan@ 50 and Reflection @ 50
1. MATERIALS/PREPLANNING
Materials
Chart paper
Hide Zero Cards
Worksheets
Overhead projector
Vocabulary
Solve
Take apart
Put together
Label

2. OBJECTIVE

Objective- Solve put together/take apart with addend unknown word problems, and relate counting on to the take from ten strategy.
Cognitive Taxonomy level 3 (Application), DOK Level 3- Strategic thinking
Common Core State Standards:
1.0A.6- Subtraction with Hide Zero Cards
1.0A.5- Count by Fives
1.0A.4- Missing Addend Within Ten

ASSESSMENT Perfect Assessment Tool Rationale:

An informal assessment will be used after students
complete their assignment.
Students will be prompted to complete an exit ticket
assignment. After completing the 2 problems, they will
review their work by sharing answers with a partner. During
this time the teacher will walk around to view students work
This assessment supports the constructivist model because
students are challenged to engage in each of the 4 components
recommended:
Engage- Work with one or more partners
Explain- Discuss the answers you came up with for each
problem
Elaborate- explain your thinking

and monitor their discussions. This will allow the teacher to

find common misconceptions or misunderstandings that can
be addressed once the class comes back together.

4. CENTRAL FOCUS/ PURPOSE (2 parts to include)

Central Focus- This activity is designed for students to learn how to explain their thinking using a diagram. The goal is for
them to move beyond rote memorization of math operations to thinking critically about how numbers can be broken down.
Purpose- In completing this lesson, students will become more proficient in breaking down word problems by drawing a
diagram. They will learn how to identify important information in a word problem and decide how to use it to find an answer.
Also, students will become more adept at explaining their thinking in words.

5. MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING

Intrinsic motivation is appropriate for this theoretical model because students should be excited about working in a group.
They typically prefer these types of activities.
This lesson will be made fun by allowing students to use different materials and interact on multiple levels. They will be able
to use number cards, which is an activity they enjoy. In addition, they will be working in groups drawing diagrams and

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 discussing possible answers.
This lesson promotes a growth mindset by providing students opportunities to share their ideas with others. Students who
are struggling with the material can be encouraged by hearing others explain how to solve the problem.
6. PRE-LESSON - Just before teaching the new lesson do the following:

Students, before beginning our new lesson we will do a warm-up activity reviewing how to subtract 7,8, and 9. We are doing this so
you can remember the thinking strategies we have learned on how to subtract numbers quickly. This will be a fun activity because we
will be using number cards to show our work.

Activity:
Students are given Hide Zero number cards to answer the following questions:
T: (Show card with the number 15.) What do I need to do if I want to subtract 9?
S: Take apart 15.
T: (Break apart the cards to show 10 and 5.) Now what?
S: Take 9 from 10.
T: 109= ?
S: 1.
T: What should I do next?
S Add1tothe5. T: 1+5= ?
S: 6.
T: (Put the cards back together to show 15.) So, 15 9 = ?
S: 6.
Continue subtracting 9, 8, and then 7 from teen numbers.

6. LESSON BODY: Provide text page #_____ for your lesson. Follow the exact steps provided in the text for the
lesson you are teaching. Clarity is the key.

T: Project the following problem: Mark has 14 crayons. Eight of the crayons are on the table, and some more crayons
are in the box. How many crayons are in the box?
S: (Solve and then share work.)
T: (Circulate, noticing students accuracy with creating a drawing that matches the story and taking note of the varying
ways students solved the problem.)
T: Explain your drawing to your partner, and discuss how you solved the problem.
S: (Students Share work.)
T: (Continue to circulate and take note of the language students are using to explain their thinking.)
T: (Point to todays problem.) Step 1: When we want to solve a problem, we read or listen to the problem. Lets read it
together again. (Write on the board, then Read.)
S/T: Mark has 14 crayons. Eight of the crayons are on the table, and some more crayons are in the box. How many
crayons are in the box?
T: Step 2: Draw as much of the math story as you can. You made some great drawings to match this story. What did you
draw? (Write on the board: Redraw on the board as students explain their drawings.)
S: I drew 14 lines in a row, like the 14 crayons in the problem. I circled 8 of them and labeled those with a T to show they
were the ones on the table. I started by drawing 8 circles for the 8 crayons on the table. Then, I started
drawing dark circles until I got to 14.
T: Everyone look at your work. As I read the story, find the part of your math drawing that matches the sentence.
T: (Read from projection.) Mark has 14 crayons. Does your drawing show Mark has 14 crayons? Point to where your
drawing shows the 14 crayons. Circle it with your finger.
T: Eight of the crayons are on the table. Where does your picture show the 8 crayons that are on the table?
T: Are these 8 more crayons, or are they a part of Marks 14 crayons?
S: They are a part of Marks crayons!
T: How can we tell these crayons from the other crayons in the story?
S: We can make those crayons circles and the other ones dots. We can label these crayons with a T since they are on
the table. We can circle them.
T: If you didnt already label them with a T or with the word table, add a label. Lets put a box around them too, so we can
see them together clearly. (Write on the board: and label after 2. Draw.)
T: ... and some more crayons are in the box. Can you find these crayons in your drawing? Point to them and circle them
with your finger.
T: What could we label this set of crayons?
S: B for box.

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 T: If you didnt label these crayons, add B or the word Box to show these are the crayons in the box.
T: Now, we come to the question part of the word problem. How many crayons are in the box? Can we find the answer to
this question in our drawing?
S: Yes, 6 crayons!
T: What number sentence would match this story? (Write on the board: 3. Write a number sentence.)
S: 8+6=14.
T: Which number in the number sentence is the answer, or solution, to the question?
S: 6.
T: We have to make sure we put a rectangle around this number so we know it is the solution. If you didnt add a box, do
that now.
T: What is the answer to our question? (Write: Write or tell a statement of the solution.)
S: There are 6 crayons in the box.
T: When we read the problem and draw the parts of the story, it can help us understand the problem and help us write
the number sentence and the answer, or solution, sentence. Lets try to read, draw, and write (RDW) (point
to list of steps now listed on board) to solve more problems.

7. ASSIGNMENT
This is a good assignment for students because they will be using the same steps we have reviewed as a class. They will be
working in groups to figure out a good diagram to draw for each problem. In addition, the teacher will provide chart paper for
students to draw diagrams before writing them down on paper. This will aide in their collaboration efforts. Having individual
worksheets keeps all students accountable for absorbing the information when writing it down.
Copy:

8. Student Work Examples/Technology Support

Attached at end of document
Reflective Thinking/Curriculum Evaluation @50 Points
9. Reflective Thinking/Curriculum Evaluation

Reflection is a very important part of each lesson. Please take the time to thoughtfully prepare your reflections. Follow
the format provided below and provide a professional quality reflective analysis of your work.

Relevance: Explain how this lesson demonstrates your competence with one of the Graduate SLOs below? Delete unused
SLOs.

SLO 1: Demonstrate advanced understanding of the trends, issues, and research associated with education in general and

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with their respective specialization.

This lesson demonstrates my understanding of the current research in education. Students are able to increase their
retention of information by discussing new concepts with their peers. This activity challenges students to explain their
thinking with one another and justify their reasoning.

Significance/competence: Using careful analysis and evaluative thought, address the points listed below. Add other
pertinent information that supports our competence by using this lesson model.

Explain how this lesson supports helping students reach levels of deeper learning.
o This lesson helps students reach levels of deeper learning by challenging them to justify their reasoning.
After guided practice, students need to show that they understand the concept beyond following the things
I put on the board. Drawing diagrams to represent their answer shows that they have a firm understanding
of the concept.
How does this model make learning stick in long term memory?
o This lesson requires students to engage with the material in multiple ways, each of which helps the
information stick in long-term memory. This begins with the warm-up activity because students recall the
learning game used before and apply it to the new numbers. Having already learned how to break down
numbers systematically gives them the opportunity to reinforce those skills in this activity. In addition,
drawing the diagrams helps learning stick to long-term memory because they are using a step-by-step
process that can be applied to many types of word problems. More repetition makes retention easier.
Provide examples and rationale for appropriate use of this teaching model and where it is suitable throughout your
curriculum. Indicate/discuss strengths/weaknesses based on theology/theory.
o This teaching model is useful when trying to help students understand a systematic process for answering
a problem. In this case, students needed to be shown how to find evidence in the text and use it to draw a
diagram. After directly instructing students on how to do this, they can go on to apply the skill to new
problems.
o Another way this model can be used is when teaching students how to write an essay. They need to be
shown the step-by-step process of writing an introduction, supporting details, and a conclusion. After this
is demonstrated students can go on to build their own essay.
o The strength of this theory is that students learn fundamental skills that serve as building blocks as they
move on to more challenging problems. There is a logical flow of introducing the concept, guided practice,
and independent practice. Finally, students are able to be formally assessed on whether or not they
understood what was taught.
o The weakness of this theory may be that students spend some time observing as opposed to actively
engaging with the material. The teacher should find ways to make sure students are engaged during direct
instruction. One idea is having think-pair-share activities where students brainstorm the next steps that will
be used in the process.
How will you support advanced/ELD/Special needs learners through using this model?
o This lesson model is good because the use of diagrams will help ELD students access the material. Word
problems may be difficult for them to read, so the diagrams will help them understand how the problem is
being solved. Students who need additional help will be able to work with the teacher during independent
work time.
Provide links to the Common Core State Standards and explain how this lesson could support the CCSS.
o http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/1/OA/#CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.C.6
o This lesson supports the Common Core State Standards because students are able to understand and
apply properties of operations and the recognize the relationship between addition and subtraction. This
is a critical area of development for 1st grade students.

Link to Theory:

Explain the links between this lesson model and the supporting theory (i.e., behaviorism, info processing, social learning or
constructivist).
o The constructivist model states that students should use real-world examples when learning new concepts.
The word problems used in this assignment are meant to seem like events that could really happen. This
helps make the material relevant to students.
Link this lesson to the New Learning Sciences and provide rationale for your selection and descriptive examples.
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 o Research in the learning science traditionally focuses on cognitive-psychological, social-psychological,
and cultural-psychological foundations of human learning, as well as on the design of learning
environments (Wikipedia.com). This lesson focuses on the social-psychological aspect of learning by
requiring students to work together as a team to draw a diagram on chart paper. This social experience
helps learning as students use academic language to explain their thinking to one another.
Describe technological resources you have found useful.
o Greatminds.org has a program called Eureka that provides example lesson plans online. It also links lesson
plans to common core standards, which helps teachers decide which ones should be used in their class.

Growth Mindset

How does this lesson help a student develop a stronger positive growth mindset? Provide specific examples. Include ideas on how
you might reward learning according to the Growth Mindset research.

This lesson promotes a growth mindset by providing students opportunities to share their ideas with others. Students who
are struggling with the material can be encouraged by hearing others explain how to solve the problem. I would reward
learning by giving students words of affirmation as they work together as a group. The goal is to encourage collaboration so
students will become more comfortable working together.

Professional Actions/Areas for growth: What are your next professional steps in this area to keep moving forward as a
professional?

Discuss what went well and what changes you have made for improving learning.
o The independent practice portion was beneficial because I was able to walk around and observe students
working together. Groups that were struggling received some guidance from me but still had to do the
majority of work on their own. The only negative thing is that some students were not engaged in the
academic conversations. They were discussing things that did not have to do with the assignment. To fix
this I would make sure each student in the group has a specific task that holds them accountable for
paying attention.
What have you learned about how learning happens?
o Learning happens in an interactive environment. I think students learned more from teaching each other
than from listening to me during my direct-instruction.
What more do you need to read or learn?
o I need to learn more about how to create effective group assignments. I want all students to be engaged
during the lesson and not have the opportunity to get off task.
How does this add to your credibility to supervise student teachers?
o This adds to my credibility because I am aware of specific strategies teachers should implement into their
lesson plans, such as prompting students to talk to a partner and progress monitoring students as they
work.

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Assessment tool:

Student Samples (next page)

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