Allison Bradley TIE 535 9 November 2012 Instruction Commentary This lesson was recorded on Wednesday October 17,

2012. It is lesson 3.7, Making Change by Counting Up, from EveryDay Math for second grade. 1. Strategies Used to Engage Students in Learning The instruction in the video was divided into four distinct sections for students to try and make meaning in multiple ways. The first is the math message for students to complete individually to warm up their minds and to also serve as a pre-test before the lesson begins. Students bring their math messages to the rug when completed for teacher to look at before beginning instruction. The math message is then explained by students who correctly completed it. This allows opportunities for reciprocal teaching and more active engagement. It serves as a reminder how to count coins (start with the largest) and in what increments the different coins are counted in. The next portion is teacher directed, where I explained the objective of the lesson and how it is to be done. I then immediately had the students turn to face the projection from the document camera so students could see what I was explaining and what I expected them to do later. Even though I did not allow students to work with fake coins during their partner work because I find them to be a greater distraction, I opted to use them in my example. I wanted students to see a concrete example and practice counting money aloud. I then chose to a student to come up and practice with me and explicitly model what students should do when they began working in partnerships. I modeled once as the store clerk and had the student act as the customer. In my second example (not included in the video) I chose another student and we completed a transaction with the roles reversed. The third component of the lesson allowed students to work in partnerships and practice making change for purchased items. Before allowing students to break off into partnerships, I explained why this lesson was applicable to their lives (sometimes store clerks make mistakes and we want to be sure we get the correct change when purchasing items.) One student made the hand signal that this has actually happened to him before. I felt that making students recognize the importance of this lesson and application to their real lives would provide greater motivation to succeed. I then introduced the Partnership Principles because I know our students need help working with one another. Since the beginning of the year, I have had several problems with students arguing with one another when asked to work together so I thought this strategy would not only help them in this particular lesson, but could be applied to partner work in any subject in the future. The partner work allowed students to practice strategies such as coin identification, addition, subtraction, and skip counting. It also reinforced how to positively work together. I then pulled a small group of students who were struggling with correct coin identification and counting to meet with me at the back table. I opted to have students work in pairs because I thought more questions would be answered by peers in partnerships than individual students

raising their hands for teacher assistance. I knew that I had several students who needed small group instruction and wanted to be able to meet with them. I then had a page in the students math journals to be completed, but time did not allow. Therefore, I gave an explanation of the exit ticket (how to make change by counting up) and let them begin. b) How Strategies Reflect Students Academic, Social, and Cultural Experiences I try to begin my direct instruction much like a conversation. I am not preoccupied holding something or writing, but I purposefully scan the students on the rug as I speak. In this lesson, I first began by diving right into the content. I used buying a toy as an example because I know that is what appeals to my students at this age. Once I explained and modeled what we were doing, I sat back down across from them to explain why this lesson was important. One strategy to count change is by beginning with the value of the item and counting up to the amount tendered. I explained to students that it was important to know how to do this because we often exchange money when purchasing items. When I saw one of my students give the signal for a connection, I quickly used him as an example, Cameron, I see this has happened to you before. Thats why it is important to count our change. Counting money is a recurring topic in the second grade math curriculum. I drew from students prior knowledge with the math message (I purchased an item for 48 cents, draw the coins.) I then modeled what students would be doing and immediately called on student volunteers to model with me. Students know how to count change, this lesson just had them do it in a different way. 2. Cite examples of language supports seen in the clip(s) to help your students understand that content and/or participate in literacy discourse central to the lesson. At the 2:49 mark in the video is when I introduce the concept of getting change back. I explain that when I bought an item, I only had big coins that were a little bit more than the amount I owed. Therefore, the store clerk would be responsible for giving me change. At the 4:47 mark, I bring up again the transaction between customer and clerk and fully model the process of making change by counting up. I do another example to solidify language supports and help students understand the content at 5:37. Soon after in the video, student volunteers come up to the document camera to model a transaction with me (6:20). By providing students the opportunity to see a peer example, I find students are more engaged and eager to grasp the concept in order to participate themselves. a. How did these strategies reflect students varying language proficiencies and promote their language development? At the 8:13 mark is where I explain to students that it is their turn to make change and make the connection to their real lives. At 8:38 is when a student identifies that a store clerk has given him (more likely a family member or friend) the wrong amount of change. This is evidence of how my teaching strategies and explanations resonated with students. It is a prime example of making learning meaningful.

By distinctly dividing my lesson into the I Do, We Do, You Do portions I gave multiple opportunities for students to reflect on and grasp the strategy of making change by counting up. I was consistent in using the term change instead of money I get back to further develop their vocabulary within the content area. 3. Describe strategies for eliciting student thinking and how your ongoing responses further their learning. Cite examples from the clip(s). One strategy I used for eliciting student thinking was bringing student volunteers up to the document camera to model how to complete the work (4:49). I was explicit in the modeling and did a problem straight from their math journals so students were very clear in what they were to do when they began working with partners. Another strategy I used was that of collaborative practice. By having students work in partners they had the opportunity to seek peer assistance and discuss the work together. While not specifically related to the math, introducing the Partnership Principles was an important part of the lessons success and a strategy for working collaboratively that will be used throughout the year. At the 10:30 mark a student begins to explain the guide portion of the principles. Instead of explaining guide he begins to explain check. I utilized the No OptOut strategy and explained that he actually explained check and again asked him for what it means to guide your partner. Instead of giving him the answer, I provided another opportunity for him to give a successful answer. Finally, I pulled a small group of students to meet with at the back table. These students are significantly below grade level and instead of frustrating them with this assignment, I decided instead to focus on basic skills of counting money that will aid in their success in the future. 4. Reflection a. Reflect on students learning of concepts and academic language as featured in the video clip(s). Identify both successes and missed opportunities for monitoring all students learning and for building their own understanding of skills and strategies for comprehending and/or composing text. I think this was a particularly difficult concept for the second grade students in my class to grasp. Many were still confusing coins and how to add them. I tried to be explicit and strategic in my presentation of the lesson, but I know that students struggled. Overall, I felt that students were receptive to what I was teaching and tried hard to work together, but I know it was a difficult concept. The student volunteers at the document camera were very successful and good examples for the rest of the class of how to do the activity and how to do it well. A big missed opportunity for monitoring students learning was at 13:09. Since I was preoccupied with my small group, I failed to notice that two of the boys were singing and not working on their money transactions. I should have been more in tune with what was happening elsewhere in the room such that I could have intervened instead of them getting to work when

they noticed another teacher walking over toward them with the ipad. However, I think there was a learning opportunity shortly after when the student realized that he had made a mistake himself and went back to correct it. I think this was a good example of self-monitoring which is what we ultimately what we want our students to do. b) Missed Opportunities and Areas for Improvement If I could re-teach this lesson, I would have preferred to set it up as more of a centers based lesson. I found the performance and abilities of my class to be so varied that it was difficult to teach everyone the same content. I now think it was a waste of time for students who could not identify different types of coins to sit through my direct instruction because it was so far beyond what their minds were capable of comprehending at the time. Even though I pulled them for a small group meeting at the end of the lesson, it would have been more beneficial if they were at a center categorizing coins or practicing addition facts. I would have liked to have three centers, or a tiered presentation of instruction. The lower performing students would have benefitted from working on other skills while I taught to the middle and higher performing students.