Lesson Plan Format: Measurement an introduction

Teacher Houston Woolery_________ Grade Level__Prek__

I. Content and Standards:

a. 7.C Explore tools used for measurement.

b. 7.A.ECb Use nonstandard units to measure attributes such as length and capacity.

c. 7.A.ECc Use vocabulary that describes and compares length, height, weight, capacity
and size.

d. 7.A Measure objects and quantities using direct comparison methods and nonstandard
units.

e. 6.D.ECb Describe comparisons with appropriate vocabulary, such as more, less,

greater than, fewer, etc.

f. 1.A.ECb Respond appropriately to questions from others.

g. 2.A.ECa Engage in book-sharing experiences with purpose and understanding.

II. Prerequisites:

a. Measurement is necessary to fits pieces of buildings together.

b. Some uses of measurement.

c. Must have beginning understanding of number.

d. Should be able to count from 1-10.

III. Essential Questions (provide a framework)

a. How does unit size effect my measurements?

b. Why is it better to use a unit the requires less?

IV. Instructional Objective:

 a. Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of one concept of measurement
from the book Building a House by accurate verbal response or thumbs up/down
response to a statement.

b. Students should be able to apply knowledge of comparison and measurement through

acknowledging the difference in unit size (thumbs up/down).

I. Instructional Procedures:

a. Students will be called to the carpet. All students will participate in the daily count on
their new white boards (located in their TPTs). Direct students to place their TPT kits on
the floor in front of them. (Procedures for Participation kits will be explained during this
time)

b. Sing the Are You Ready song.

c. Picture walk through of Building a House. What do we remember about this book? What
materials were used? What tools? What tool would they have to use in order to make sure
each piece was the right length?

d. Have students turn to the ActivBoard. Direct students to turn to their neighbor and
discuss how they would measure something large while teacher turns on ActivBoard and
gets Sid the Science Kid clip on nonstandard measurement ready
(https://youtu.be/fPEcTmySUIs)

e. What did we notice from this video? How might we measure a large object, such as a
whale? Would we use something little to measure a large object, or would we need
something larger?

f. Explain what we will be doing today (investigating how to measure objects with
nonstandard measurement tools).

g. Call upon a student to walk the length of the carpet while the other students count how
many steps it took. Teacher will then walk the carpet while students count how many
steps it takes. - Record each set of steps on easel chart paper (have students record both
sets of steps on their personal whiteboards).

h. Discussion: Why do you think (insert child's name) measured the rug at (insert #) steps,
and Mr. Woolery Measured the rug at (insert #) steps? (TPS) Did they use the same tool
 to measure? If so, what was the difference in their 'tools' aka feet? How might this have
affected the outcome of the measurement?

i. Send students to small groups.

II. Materials and Equipment:

a. Dry erase marker

b. TPT kits

c. Chart paper

d. Markers

III. Assessment/Evaluation:

a. Anecdotal notes will be used to chart student understanding of the activity. This will
help to assess where students should be placed in small groups for this activity over the
next week.

b. Checklist which students understand how to utilize the variable of unit size in
measurement (either through statement or agreement with a peer).

c. Checks for understanding this informal, formative assessment will take place
throughout the lesson. Lesson will shift to student needs as necessary .

I. VII. Differentiation: Individualized Activities :

a. Students struggling to understand material and demonstrating an inaccurate response

(through thumbs up/down or statement) will be provided with additional scaffolding.
Student will be required to explain why they first agreed/disagreed with what was said.

i. Students will be provided with additional small group time to work through the
problem together.

b. Students grasping concepts in an accelerated manner will be asked to demonstrate for the
group how they came to their conclusions. What do you mean that Mr. Woolery's foot is
bigger than " "?
 c. ELL and visual learners will be provided with drawings of two different sized feet to aid
in understanding the difference in unit sizes used.

d. ELLs will be provided with teacher assistance in formulating complete sentence

responses.

II. Technology:

a. ActivBoard

b. Laptop computer

c. ActivBoard Pen

I. Self-Assessment

a. What is one thing that went exceptionally well? What is something that could have gone
better? What would I change if I were to teach this lesson again in the future? How could
I have engaged the students better? For the students that were not grasping the concepts,
what could have been done differently? How could I have differentiated this lesson
better?
 Overall Lesson Reflection

This lesson on measurement was interesting, in that incorporated many

components of learning. Not only was this an excellent learning experience for my

students, but it was also a learning opportunity for myself. Throughout the lesson

planning process I ensured to incorporate different points of feedback that I have received

from my cooperating teacher (CT), field supervisor, and seminar instructor. It was quite

powerful to observe this combination of feedback being incorporated into a single lesson,

but I will delve into this deeper in the following reflection.

During the planning process I wanted to ensure that I included total participation

opportunities throughout the learning experience. I was purposive in the placement and

planning of intermittent participation activities, such as participation kit use (personal

whiteboards) and think-pair-share (TPS) opportunities. I also made sure to plan for

diverse learning experiences. Differentiated learning experiences are important in

addressing the different ways in which students learn, as well as the variable rates of

learning. I utilized information that I had about students previous learning in order to

plan for these differentiation tactics. However, in order to create this learning experience

I had to remain mindful of the outcome expectations I had set before writing the lesson.

Remaining cognizant of the instructional objectives guided me in structuring a coherent

lesson for all.

I wish that I could state that I came up with the idea of using personal whiteboards

and participation kits on my own, but it actually came about from feedback and a
research article that I had received from my seminar instructor. I was hesitant about

providing participation kits to each student when I first read the article, but I realized that

it was worth a try in order to engage all of my students. After getting over the proverbial

hump of materials management I began observing a true difference in student

participation. Students were not only provided with more opportunities to practice writing

numbers, drawing shapes and practicing their letters, but they were also subjected to an

activity that included each student in the experience. I am glad that I took this feedback as

a valuable learning tool.

Student engagement and inclusionary activities also help to establish a positive

learning tone in the classroom. When students are better able to understand that all of

their answers are important and respected, they are more likely to feel safe in the learning

environment. Throughout the lesson I ensured that behaviors were managed through a

variety of techniques, including positive reinforcement. I have started a system that

allows for students to have first selection of free-choice activities when they earn a

sticker during whole group instruction. I have found that this type of positive

reinforcement helps to keep student behaviors in check a majority of the time, but I still

utilize nonverbal signals and prompting when necessary. This positive reinforcement

strategy has helped to curb many undesired behaviors, but there are still instances in

which students need reminding, prompting, or reengagement tools. This is another

example of feedback that I have chosen to employ in my classrooms structure. Positive

reinforcement strategies were suggested directly by my seminar instructor, and passively

through my field supervisors recommended reading of Harry Wong texts.

 I am unable to state that this was the answer to all classroom and behavior

management issues, but it has come to help set a more positive and rewarding tone in the

classroom. I have noticed that students have started taking more initiative in their work

and the work of the team. Students can also work to be rewarded by having their work

displayed on the unit wall. Although all students have work displayed on the unit wall

throughout the unit, students demonstrating a unique process for solving a problem,

excellence in assisting peers, or contributing to the overall climate of the classroom are

eligible to select an additional piece of work to be displayed. This is exceptionally

beneficial to the other students in the classroom when the students work demonstrates

unique problem-solving skills, because it provides a visual representation for other

students to learn from.

Peer learning is particularly important when teaching any lesson. For this reason I

particularly enjoy utilizing the TPS instructional strategy. The TPS opportunities

distributed throughout this lesson on measurement provided students the opportunity to

share and compare their ideas with a peer, while also providing and additional

opportunity for whole class participation. Engagement is an important aspect of any

learning experience, which is why Danielsons framework made it one of the components

of Domain 3. However, TPS activities can also be used to quickly assess student thinking.

This provides additional assessment opportunities and, more importantly, provides

additional information on how the remainder of the lesson should be directed. Employing

questioning strategies throughout this lesson was an excellent way to better understand

how students were thinking about the material, and what information was causing gaps in

students learning.
 I had previously been struggling with assessment utilization. While I have known

the importance of concurrent assessment, I was not applying a diverse range of

assessments. I believe that this was one of my biggest shortcomings, and I am grateful for

all of the feedback that has been received from multiple sources. In consistently hearing

that I needed to diversify assessments in each of my lessons I set out to find more

information on the subject. Through my own research and interviews with other

educators I have been able to gain a more concrete understanding of assessment. For

instance, in this lesson I applied three assessment strategies to better gauge student

understanding and outcomes. I have observed a tremendous difference, because I am now

better able to obtain necessary data from my students, which, in turn, assists in the

development of future lessons.

Research and personal development are not only important for furthering my

practice, but they demonstrate my commitment to long-term professional enhancement.

As with most sciences, I believe that teaching is a practice, in that I am continuously

working towards a better method of holistic application. For this lesson specifically, I

worked to research and implement a more student-led approach to learning. I wanted to

take the role of learning guide and provide students with the opportunity to shift the

lesson in the direction of their own thinking. In order to accomplish this feat, I had to

reflect carefully on what had worked well in the past with this group and what needed

improvement. Student-driven does not equate to absolute student control.

While my professional development has been on the rise, there are components of

domain 4 that I would like to continue to improve. It is my hope that the portfolio I
recently started with my students will assist in record keeping, along with the new filing

system that I have been using to keep anecdotal note records. I am constantly working to

improve myself, my presence in the schools community, and in my record keeping

abilities. I would like to continue developing my student portfolios, as I believe that this

will get me to a more proficient level of assessment and record keeping. Furthermore, I

will be focusing on how to continuously engage the few that remain semi-defiant. It is my

hope to achieve 80% average participation by my most defiant students before the

conclusion of my student teaching experience.

 Domain 3 Reflection

The attached lesson was extremely enjoyable and engaging due to careful

planning and purposive application. I have come to discover that student-centered lessons

not only make for meaningful learning experiences, but also provide me with the

necessary foundation for exceptional instructional delivery. While I am in no way to the

point of being an expert in the field of education, I can comfortably state that my

instructional strategies have improved exponentially over the length of my student

teaching experience.

At the beginning of the lesson on nonstandard measurement, I discussed the

essential questions in order to focus student learning; the instructional objectives so that

students would know what was expected of them; and procedures that were to be

followed throughout the experience. While I believe that I excelled in these areas, I could

have improved in my explanatory processes of the content. Though I worked to provide

all students with clear explanations of the material that I was providing, I believe that I

could have utilized a more diverse delivery system. For instance, I included visual,

auditory and kinesthetic modalities for learning during the learning experience, but not

every activity within the experience was provided in all modalities. I will work to remain

cognizant of varied learning and attention styles in future lessons, so that I can ensure the

clearest and most meaningful experience for all students.

Clarity is not only important in how I explained the material during this activity,

but it was also an important component in questioning students. In order for students to
answer a question to the best of their abilities, they must be able to fully understand the

question. For this lesson I wrote out specific questions to guide group discussions. These

questions provided me with a clear starting point for different lines of questioning, but

they were in no way intended to replace authentic, in-the-moment questioning. I wanted

to be prepared with ideas for higher-order, open-ended questions for when the

opportunities presented themselves. Though I had many questions written out to prepare

myself, there were several opportunities where I should have extended my line of

questioning with a student or reformatted the question itself. For instance, one student

answered a question by stating that she would never measure a whale because she would

have to get her measuring tool wet. Although I was running out of time, I should have

stuck with this student and rephrased the problem so that her idea would no longer be an

issue in solving the measurement problem at hand.

Questioning was also an essential component for guiding think-pair-share (TPS)

discussion activities. A question was posed for the students to think about, and then

discuss with a partner. This was an excellent strategy to consolidate student responses for

whole group discussion. The intermittent TPS activities provided an excellent opportunity

for all students to participate in the discussion, and become more engaged/immersed in

the learning experience.

Student engagement is an important aspect in any lesson that I devise. It is

especially important to consider how I might engage the outliers (i.e., the advanced

students and the behaviorally defiant students). Several engagement and total

participation strategies were used throughout the lesson, such as personal whiteboard
writing activities, thumbs up/down, prompting, and quiet signals. It was important to me,

however, that all students were engaged in meaningful, higher-level learning. Though

personal whiteboards, TPS, and thumbs up/down strategies may appear to be shallow

practices, they are actually profound performance tools. Each of these strategies gives

students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the material through

independent accountability exercises. Student engagement in higher-level thinking was

evident in this lesson, but it was not consistent. I would like to continue working towards

maintaining full, active engagement for a majority of the time that students are

participating in learning experiences. It is interesting, because my field supervisor

recently provided me with similar feedback on how to engage all of my students for a

majority of learning time. After all, students must be fully engaged in order for me to

receive an accurate assessment of their learning.

Assessment is such an important aspect of the classroom experience. I am

constantly working to improve my skills in this area, and I believe that this lesson

demonstrates a definite growth in my own skillset. For this lesson I worked to diversify

my assessment strategies through anecdotal note taking, a checklist system, and checks

for understanding. I worked to ensure that assessment was taking place concurrently with

learning. Students were able to work through problems in their own manner and on their

own time, while I was able to observe and make note of student understanding and

growth in the content area. However, I was not only assessing my students performance,

but my own performance, as well. I believe that in order to maintain a flexible learning

experience I must attend to student needs, and this process includes understanding what

they need from me. I worked to gauge my own actions and efforts in my endeavor to be
the best learning resource possible for my students. I know that I have room for

improvement, and I will continue to work at being more mindful of the self and student

assessment processes that I choose to employ in each of my lessons.

It was my hope that I would be best equipped to remain flexible and responsive to

my students needs through the planned assessment strategies. I pride myself in being

able to adjust lessons to student needs. Though some flexibility is required concurrently

with teaching, I find that planned differentiation eases some of the need for mid-lesson

adjustment. This does not mean that I am not constantly adjusting my learning

experiences to fit the needs of my students, but that I am better prepared for some of the

issues that may arise throughout the lesson. An example of my flexibility in this learning

experience was when I decided to have a student and myself place our feet side by side,

so that the other students could possibly make the connection between foot size and the

differences in our measurement of the rug area. This strategy worked wonderfully and

student rapidly began to show the quiet answer signal. While I believe that flexibility is

one of my strongest attributes in domain 3 of Danielsons framework, there was an

instance during this lesson when I continued on a path of my learning trajectory when I

should have regressed towards why we want to use the largest unit that requires the least

in measuring our target object.

This lesson went relatively well, and it is great to reflect back on the progress that

I have been making in the area of instructional delivery. I have heard that instructional

delivery is an area that many professional educators struggle with, but I do not take this
as an excuse fore mediocrity. I will continue to perfect my craft, and I would like to focus

on two specific goals in the coming weeks and throughout my career:

I would like to become more mindful of opportunities for advanced and higher

level questioning. I would like to get to a point where I am proficient in the clarity

and level of questioning that I offer to each of my students.

Finally, I am going to work towards maintaining flexibility and responsiveness

throughout my lessons. It is my hope that this will ensure that every child is

provided with a more meaningful learning experience.