Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Very Busy Spider (Lesson Plan and Reflection)

     Over all the lesson went fairly well, for a first lesson. I have some good things going for me and some things that I really need to work on. Seeing 31 students looking up at me for instruction was both a realization of my lifelong dream to become a teacher, and one of the scariest things I've ever done. I want to do right by these kids, so that they can take what they learn from me and be able to use it as a building block for future skills.
      What went well in this lesson, was that I was able to get most of my students to grasp the basics of the idea of what perimeter is and how to find it on basic shapes. I did manage to fulfill my lesson objectives, for the most part. I was able to tell that my students fulfilled these objectives based on student participation and the results of the four spiderweb problems that they completed. Some reteaching of the concept will be needed, mostly for review and clarification. While not completely confident of myself, I at least was able to project my energy and excitement about the subject and about teaching.
      Teaching this lesson was a lesson for myself as well as for my students. I came away with several very important realizations about teaching:
  1. Less is more - don't be afraid to split a lesson up if needed.
  2. Clear instructions are priceless.
  3. Model, model, model.
      Looking back over the my experiences teaching my first lesson, I realize that partway through our hour of math I started to rush the lesson, trying like crazy to fit the whole thing into an hour. What would have worked better for both myself and the students, was that the lesson should really have been two lessons. The first lesson being the book, the discussion of the concept and some practice problems. The second being a review of the concept, and the spiderweb perimeter activity. This would have given the students more time to let the concept sink in, without confusing them with too many instructions too far apart, as well as allow for better artwork results. What I ended up with was a lot of pencil drawings, without the connected mathematical portion that I wanted. What I should have done was to provide the students with a clear example of a polygon spiderweb drawing. Had I provided such an example, the students would have been able to absorb a visual representation of my expectations for their final products.

Student work: 



      Having the instructions up on the board along with the definition of the concept of perimeter would have been a good way to go as well. Towards the end of the lesson there seemed to be confusion on the part of the students as to what they were supposed to do. So many of the questions I got from them had to do with what was supposed to happen next, rather than being related to the actual math.
      Next time will be better. The time after that will be even better. As Dori the fish, from Finding Nemo, says “Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming! Swimming, swimming, swimming!”





Lesson One
Title: Introduction to Perimeter
Grade: 4
Time: 1 hour

Materials:
  • A copy of the book The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle author and illustrator.
  • SmartBoard for practice problems.
  • Graph paper for the students.
  • Spiderweb worksheet.
  • White paper.
  • Art supplies such as crayons or colored pencils.
Lesson Design:
This lesson is based off of a pretest that the students took, as well as from information provided by their teacher, Mrs. T's previous knowledge of their mathematical skills. The pretest showed that very few of the students knew what the terms perimeter and area meant, let alone how to solve mathematical problems for either.
Prerequisite Skills:
Before students can learn about perimeter, they must first have a few essential mathematical skills. At the very least students must be able to:
  • Use addition.
  • Use Multiplication.
  • Understand simple measurement abbreviations, such as in. and ft.
  • Be familiar with basic geometric shapes, such as squares, triangles, and rectangles.
  • Know what a polygon is.
Oregon Education State Standards:
  • Math: 4.3.7 Solve problems involving perimeters and areas of rectangles and squares.
  • Art: AR.05.CP.01 Use experiences, imagination, observations, essential elements and organizational principles to achieve a desired effect when creating, presenting and/or performing works of art.
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson students will be able to:
  • Define the meaning of the word perimeter.
  • Find the perimeter of basic geometric shapes such as triangles, rectangles, and squares.
  • Design and draw their own spiderwebs, after finding the perimeter of several polygons.
Anticipatory Set:
  1. Introduce the book The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle to the class. Tell the class that the book was written and illustrated by one of my favorite authors when I was a child. Advise the class that the author has also written other books that they may have read, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Grouchy Ladybug.
  2. Read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle to the class.
  3. Pause at key points in the story to further engage the students in the story. These key points are:
  • After the first page with the picture of the sun, ask the class “What do you think the spider will do now that she has arrived at the farm?”
  • Stop on the page with the pig asking the spider to roll in the mud. Ask the students “Do you think a spider is likely to roll in the mud?” and after a few brief answers ask “Why do you all think that the spider is busy spinning a web? What could the web be for?”
  • Stop on the page with the rooster. Ask the class “What do you think the spider will do next, now that she has finished her web and caught the fly?”
  1. Objective for reading the book to the class: The purpose of reading this book to the class is to give us an interesting way to introduce to the students how to find the perimeter of polygons. The students will be provided with perimeter problems to complete, and will be doing so to help the spider find a new place to spin her web.
  2. When the story is over, discuss with the students that the spider in the book is very picky about where she spins her webs, but she is too tired to design and create her own spiderwebs right now. Advise the class that the spider only likes to spin her webs in triangles, squares, and rectangles, and only then if their perimeter is greater than 110in. but less than 193in.
  3. Bring up the spider again. As a class we are going to help her out by picking shapes that she likes, and finding the perimeters of those shapes for her. Then we will design/draw different spiderwebs to fit inside the shapes that we know are to her liking for her to spin later. In order for us to help the spider we will need to learn more about perimeter.
  4. Ask students what they know about perimeter. Write key points on the board. Key points should include: 1. Definition of the word. Perimeter- The border or outer boundary of a figure/shape. 2. To find the length of the perimeter of a figure/shape find the sum of the lengths of the segments that form the sides of the figure/shape. If students are unable to provide key points after a certain period of time, provide the key points for them.
  5. Verify student understanding of the term polygon, and of basic shapes: triangle, square, and rectangles. (Polygon – a closed figure, having three or more usually straight sides.)
Procedure:
  1. Talk about the word perimeter with the students. Discuss that the word indicates a meaning similar to the word around, but that it is more precise. Draw a figure on the board (rectangle or other polygon) and trace the perimeter of the shape.
  2. Have the students trace the perimeter of their desks to fix the idea that perimeter is associated with the idea/concept of around the outside.
  3. Talk about how to find the perimeter of a shape. Provide a few examples on the white board.
  4. Move to the SmartBoard, bring up a blank graph paper background to use for working some examples on the board. Draw several squares, rectangles, and triangles on the board. Work the problems with the class.
  5. Clear the board and create three to four new problems for the students to work with on their own, using scratch or graph paper. Have students work on their own to find the perimeters of the shapes on the board.
  6. When the students are done working the problems on the board ask for volunteers to come up to the board to solve the problems for the class.
Assessments:
I will know that the students understand the concept of perimeter and have met the objectives that I have created in correlation to the Oregon Education Standards for this lesson, because they will:
  • Use the the vocabulary correctly throughout the lesson.
  • Find the perimeters of basic polygons.
  • Find the polygon with the perimeter that fits what the spider wants.
Formative:
  • Students will show how they solved the problems presented to them on the board and or on their paper. This will provide a further avenue to further instruction and guidance, as well as a way to observe and gauge the students' level of understanding.
  • Walk around the classroom during the student's seat work time and observe student activities. Be prepared to answer questions, ask questions, and help keep students on task. Students will show that they are fulfilling the lesson objectives/benchmarks by their participation, conversations, and actions. If needed the lesson will be adjusted to compensate for student misunderstandings or confusion.
  • Prior to the lesson a checklist will be made up, to keep on a clipboard while observing the students in action. This will assist with assessment of students during their seat work time. The checklist will include boxes for student participation, and understanding of the math concepts/vocabulary.
Summative:
The summative assessment will tell me if the students understand the concept of perimeter and how to find the perimeter of basic polygons.
  1. After the problems on the board have been solved, pass out the handout with the four shapes the spider is interested in, and have the students find the perimeter of each of the shapes. There will be a total of four shapes on each page, two on the front and two on the back. Each shape will take up half a sheet of paper. The spider will only want a perimeter that is greater than 110in. And less than 193in. Only one of the shapes provided to the students will be what the spider wants.
  2. Students will be asked to show their work for each shape.
  3. Students will get shapes with different measurements so that they will not all have the same solution. This will keep the students from copying each others work, and provide a clear understanding of where the student stands with the concept of perimeter.
  4. Once the students find out which of the four shapes the spider would prefer, they will be able to move onto the art portion of the lesson. On a blank piece of white paper the students will draw the shape that they found the spider would prefer, and then design their own web to fit inside the shape. On the outside of the shape they are to label the perimeter. Once the web is drawn they can embellish the picture however they wish.
  5. If there is time: On the back of their drawing the students are to write a brief sentence explaining how they found the perimeter of the polygon they picked for their spiderweb.
Differentiation:
  • Real world applications of the concept will be discussed.
  • The vocabulary words will be posted on the board.
  • Students with learning difficulties will be provided with less difficult problems.
  • More advanced students will be provided with more difficult problems.
  • Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners will be engaged throughout the activities in the lesson.
ESOL Adaptations:
  • Definitions written on the board.
  • Students will be asked to trace with their fingers, the perimeter of their desks to provide a concrete meaning to the concept.
  • Provide students with a more simple word that they already know with a similar meaning to perimeter. (Perimeter = Around)



2 comments:

  1. Hello Lady Grace! I am reading this lesson plan as a current teacher education student. I hope you will see this :)
    ~another Lady G.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eventually I did see your note! How goes school for you? What areas of endorsement are you aiming for?

      Delete