Lesson Planning Form for Accessible Instruction Calvin College Education Program

Teacher: Andrew VanZytveld

Date: 11/14/2017 Subject/ Topic/ Theme: Areas of Parallelograms Grade: 6

I. Objectives
How does this lesson connect to the unit plan?
This lesson will briefly review what students have already learned about finding the areas of squares and rectangles as well as locating ordered pairs in a coordinate
plane. Then it will cover the first topic (areas of parallelograms) in this unit about the areas of various polygons.

cognitive- physical socio-

Learners will be able to: R U Ap An E C* development emotional
Model the formula for the area of parallelograms in partners using construction paper C
Find the area of a parallelogram given its base and height Ap
Find the area of parallelograms with missing spots Ap
Apply their understanding of area to solve word problems involving parallelograms Ap

Common Core standards (or GLCEs if not available in Common Core) addressed:
Common Core Math Standard 6.G: Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume.
1. Find the area of right triangles, other triangles, special quadrilaterals, and polygons by composing into rectangles or
decomposing into triangles and other shapes; apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.
(Note: Write as many as needed. Indicate taxonomy levels and connections to applicable national or state standards. If an objective applies to particular learners
write the name(s) of the learner(s) to whom it applies.)
*remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create

II. Before you start

Students will need:
Identify prerequisite To recall how to find the area of rectangles after a little prompting
knowledge and skills. To know how to draw rectangles with vertices on intersections in graph paper
To be able to recognize when theyve successfully rearranged rectangles into parallelograms
or vice versa
Pre-assessment (for learning): Students will independently find the areas of squares and rectangles (something
they studied in previous years) near the beginning of class, holding up whiteboards with answers for me to check

Formative (for learning): Students will respond to Journal Questions on their whiteboards and compare their
Outline assessment answers with one another. If answers agree, theyll raise their whiteboards together; otherwise, theyll talk
activities through what they did differently. After choosing a shared answer, theyll raise their whiteboards for me to check.
(applicable to this lesson) Formative (as learning):
Summative (of learning ): Students will complete homework problems and turn them in the next day for summative
grading

Provide Multiple Means of Provide Multiple Means of Provide Multiple Means of

What barriers might this Engagement Representation Action and Expression
lesson present? Provide options for self- Provide options for comprehension- Provide options for executive
regulation- expectations, personal activate, apply & highlight functions- coordinate short &
skills and strategies, self- Activating prior long-term goals, monitor
What will it take assessment & reflection knowledge of rectangle progress, and modify strategies
neurodevelopmentally, formulas Immediate feedback
from whiteboards
experientially, Applying parallelogram
emotionally, etc., for your Work on journal for
area formulas final test

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 students to do this Provide options for sustaining Provide options for language, Provide options for expression
lesson? effort and persistence- optimize mathematical expressions, and and communication- increase
challenge, collaboration, mastery- symbols- clarify & connect language medium of expression
oriented feedback
Investigative work
with partners
(modelling activity)
Solving problems
independently on
whiteboards, then
comparing with
partners
For homework,
students will do
practice problems and
receive feedback after
grading

Provide options for recruiting Provide options for perception- making Provide options for physical
interest- choice, relevance, value, information perceptible action- increase options for
authenticity, minimize threats Parallelograms/rectangles interaction
represented on graph Students will draw a
paper rectangle, cut it at an
Parallelograms printed in angle, then
journals reassemble it into a
Problems in textbook parallelogram
Students will
assemble
parallelogram cutouts
into rectangles
Whiteboards/whiteboard markers: ready
Materials-what materials Student cloze notes: ready
(books, handouts, etc) do
Activity sheets: need to be printed
you need for this lesson
Textbooks: ready
and are they ready to
use? Graph paper: needs to be printed
Scissors: ready
Loose leaf paper: unknown

Normal setup (groups of four at tables)

How will your classroom
be set up for this lesson?

III. The Plan

Describe teacher activities AND student activities
Time Components for each component of the lesson. Include important higher order thinking questions and/or
prompts.
[3 minutes] Briefly describe new unit: Listening
Motivation areas of polygons a break from more
(opening/ abstract stuff theyve been doing! First
introduction/ parallelograms, then triangles, then
engagement)

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 trapezoids, then composite shapes, then
shapes in the coordinate plane Solve problem then raise whiteboard
[1 minute] Ask students to solve a rectangle
area problem on their whiteboards and raise
them for checking: whats the area of a
rectangle with sides of length 2 ft and 3 ft? Listen
[2 minutes] Formally write out formula
( = ), and ask another
practice question: area of a rectangle with
sides of length 4 ft and 2 ft
[30 seconds] Pass out worksheet (see Receive worksheet
attached copy) Listen / ask questions
[2 minutes] Briefly introduce activity:
drawing a rectangle and grid paper and
turning it into a parallelogram. Hold up
Development
example rectangle, explain how to find area.
(the largest
Then cut it at an angle, and reassemble into
component or
a parallelogram and explain how to find
main body of area (count the squares.) Explain to
the lesson) students: theyll compare the area of this
new parallelogram with the original
rectangle.
[8 minutes] Monitor students work on first Do first activity:
activity

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 o See attached activity sheet for
details about activity. This activity
sheet is from Big Ideas Math
Green, Ron Larson and Laurie
Boswell, 2014.

[30 seconds] After students finish first Receive activity sheet for second activity
activity, pass out second worksheet
[2 minutes] Briefly summarize next Listen
activity: reassembling parallelograms into
rectangles. Cut out a shape from an extra
activity sheet and form a rectangle, and start
counting interior boxes but dont finish!
Assign each table to do one parallelogram
[5 minutes] Monitor students work Do second activity
o See attached activity sheet for
details about activity. This activity
sheet is from Big Ideas Math
Green, Ron Larson and Laurie
Boswell, 2014.
Ask each group to write down their formula Write down formula from activity,
or to quick improvise one! confirm whether their formula worked
[2 minutes] Quickly do a whole-class Listen / talk about formulas
debrief of activity. If all methods are the
same, move on pretty quickly. If any differ,
explore a little (when do they work? When
dont they work?)
1
Write out general formula: = 2
Listen
[30 seconds] Hand out journals Receive journals
[1 minute] Project journals on Elmo Wait
[Probably the remainder of the period]
Work through these (cloze-style) journals.
Odd problems: do as a whole class and ask Work through these (cloze-style)
for volunteers. Even problems: have journals. Even problems: write notes,
students use the shell formulas as clues to volunteer answers. Odd problems: write
solve the problems on their own blank on out answer to each blank on their
their whiteboards and compare with their whiteboards and compare with their
partners. If its the same, both raise their partners. If its the same, both raise their
whiteboards. If different, they should talk whiteboards. If different, discuss why.
through why their answers differ.

Closure [If time] Ask students to start homework Start problems 1-16, 26 on Pgs. 156-157
(from textbook): Problems 1-16, 26 on Pgs.
(conclusion,
156-157. Otherwise, simply ask them to
culmination,
wrap-up) write the homework down./

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 Your reflection about the lesson, including evidence(s) of student learning and engagement, as well as ideas for improvement
for next time. (Write this after teaching the lesson, if you had a chance to teach it. If you did not teach this lesson, focus on the
process of preparing the lesson.)
This lesson didnt go quite as Id planned. I had hoped to both start and finish the topic of trapezoids in one class, which turned out
to be unrealistic. So when the first activity took longer than anticipated, I panicked and simply wrote the formula on the board and
started troubleshooting practice problems. Taking an extra 5 minutes to talk through the activity might have yielded substantial
benefits, but I didnt want to take the time. I was pleased with students eagerness to offer suggestions and participate while we
worked through their cloze notes, however.

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