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ITE 325 Lesson Plan Format

Name: Lauren Saito
Grade Level and Setting:

Title: Addition War!

1st grade, Barbers Point Elementary School

Date Taught: March 13, 2014

Students: 3

Duration: 30 minutes

Number of

Overarching Mathematical Goal(s):

Students will:
Demonstrate understanding of fluency for addition within 5.
Demonstrate different strategies to solve addition problems.
Compare different sums to determine the greater sum.
During this lesson, my goal is to demonstrate fluency for addition within 5 by observing
strategies for future instruction. Students will play a game called Addition War to build
up math skills and practicing comparing numbers. After shuffling cards, students will
have two cards (placed faced down on desk) from a deck of cards from 0 to 5. When I
instruct students to flip their cards over, students will have to quickly figure out the sum
of the two cards. Students are to write their addition problem with their final answer on a
piece of paper next to them. I want to have students compare each others sums to
determine the bigger number. Whoever has the bigger sum, wins. The three kinds of
strategies I will be observing for is: build each number (with objects) and count all, use
fingers and count all, use fingers (or other motor act) to hold one value and then count
on, count on without a motor act (hold a number in their head and count on), or
automaticity (student just knows it).
Materials Needed:
Each student will need:
Folder paper
Pencil
Eraser
Teacher will need:
Flashcards
Timer (cell phone)
Addition War Handout
Addition War Test Handout
Sources:
Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally (2010) by Van
de Walle, Karp, Bay-Williams

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Consider Your Students Needs:

Students must be able to recognize number names from 0 to 5 and its count sequence.
Some, if not the majority, of students can write numbers from 0 to 20 and solve the
addition problems from numbers within 0 to 5. However, students may not demonstrate
fluency.
For English Language Learners:
Use visuals (tiles or pictures) as I model the addition problems with the
flashcards.
Verbally pronounce each number using appropriate mathematic vocabulary.
For Students with Special Needs:
Use visuals (tiles or pictures) as you model the addition problems with the
flashcards (ex: the number 3 flashcard may have a picture of 3 pigs on it).
Verbally pronounce each number using appropriate mathematic vocabulary.
Rather than writing addition problem on paper, verbally tell me the problem
showing me through the use of manipulatives.
For Fast Finishers:
Explain how they got their sum by writing number sentences and corresponding
drawings.

Standard/Benchmark
HCPSIII/Common Core Content Standards:
1.OA.6 Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction
within 10.
NCTM Process Standards/Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice:
Problem Solving Standard:
Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems.
Build new mathematical knowledge through problem solving (strategy that works
well with them).
Assessment
Observe:
Are students building each number (with objects) and counting all?
Are students using their fingers and counting all?
Are students using their fingers (or other motor act) to hold one value and then
count on?
Are students counting on without a motor act (hold a number in their head and
just count on)?
Do students have automaticity?
Ask:
What is the sum of those two numbers?
How do you know?

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How did you solve that problem?

Can you show me?
Can you say how you thought that problem out in your head?
How many are there all together?

Assessment Recording Sheets and/or Rubrics:

Student
Name

Treasure
AfoaMalietusa
Brooklyn
Sullivan
Matthew
Viena

Build each # Use fingers

(with
and count
objects) and all
count all

Use fingers
(or other
motor act)
to hold one
value and
count on

Count on
without a
motor act
(hold # in
head and
just count
on)
x

Automaticity

x
x

Activities/Instructional Strategies
BEFORE:
Begin with a simpler version of the task:
Have students practice math addition facts within 0 to 5 with flashcards by
themselves as an introduction to activity.
Explain different strategies to solve addition problems within the group.
Model the different strategies listed on my assessment-recording sheet that
they will be assessed on.
Present the focus task to the group:
Explain to students that they can use different strategies that best fit how they
are most comfortable solving addition problems within 0 to 5 (explained different
strategies previously).
Introduce the activity
o Flip over your flashcards and record the addition problem with the sum
onto the handout.
Provide clear expectations:
Flip over your two cards when I tell you to (this is not a race).
Think about how you will get your answer by using a strategy that best suites you
before writing down equation on handout.
Write down the addition equation on your Addition War Handout. Make sure you
have the correct sum written down along with the correct addends.

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Wait until your peers are done writing their addition equation.
Compare each others sums to see which sum is greater.

Use the long rectangular table in the classroom and pass out Addition War Handout.
DURING:
Initially:
Question students to make sure they understand the task. Look for students who
are confused and need further explanation. Explain to students who do not
understand.
Check to see if students have the correct supplies in front of them: pencil, eraser,
and handout.
Ongoing:
Observe students play the game and ask the assessment questions of which strategy
they are using and record on Assessment Recording tool. Record notes on the datagathering chart.
If students are struggling, provide manipulative to better assess their learning. For
accelerated learner or fast finishers, have students help peers and explain how they got
their sum by writing number sentences with corresponding drawings.
Students were able to solve two addends quickly. Therefore, I had to improvise and add
more addends to the equation to make the game more challenging while stressing
critical thinking. There were a total of four addends we ended up using for our activity.
Since the Addition War Handout had only two addend lines, I had to improvise and have
students write their four addend addition equation on the back of the handout.
AFTER:
Bring the class together to share and discuss the task:
Ask students what they liked about the lesson.
Ask students the level of difficulty: Did you think this was easy or hard?
Ask students the different strategies they used while figuring out their answers?
Ask students specific strategies they used majority of the time?
Ask students what specific strategy works best for them and to continue to use
that specific strategy when they do their homework, tests, quizzes, etc.
Pass out the Addition War Test Handout.
o Time students for one minute to complete as many addition problems
within 0 to 5.
Any other resources needed (worksheets, data tables, etc):
Assessment Recording Tool:
Addition War Handout
Addition War Test Handout

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Reflections:

1. What math concepts did you, the teacher, have to understand in order to teach
this lesson well (cite sources)?
In order to teach this lesson, math concepts I had to understand was being able to
recognize number names from 0 to 5 and its count sequence. I had to be able to write
numbers from 0 to 5 to model to students how to write their own addition equation and
also knowing how to add numbers from 0 to 5 because I had to make sure their sums
were correct. As a teacher, I think that further knowledge beyond fluency of just 5 is
important because students could surprise you knowing more than what you actual
planned for them. Just like me, I had to adjust the lesson on the spot to their learning
ability, and to ultimately challenge them. Also, being able to determine the different
strategies that students use to solve addition problem so assessment would be a lot
easier to distinguish each strategy being displayed. As for the game that the students
played, it was important to know quantity of numbers such as: greater than, less than,
equal to. I think understanding fluency within at least 20 would be the expected goal for
any teacher teaching this lesson to first graders. I think this because students are
always learning at an increasingly rapid pace. Therefore, as a teacher, you have to be
prepared for the unexpected situation a student may bring during your lesson.
Overall, it is always important for a teacher to be five steps ahead of their students
and being very knowledge about their subject matter they are teaching. Teachers are
trained to be knowledgeable for their students to teach and educate to the best of their
ability to raise successful leaders. While I think it's absolutely necessary for a teacher
to be knowledgeable, I actually think it is more important that they be capable of

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effectively conveying understanding of that knowledge to the students (Calletech).

http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic49121.html

2. What experiences did students have prior to the lesson that should have
helped them be successful? What are some concepts and procedures they
should have had some understanding of to be successful? (cite sources)
Prior to teaching the lesson, students had experiences in the classroom with their
mentor teacher practicing addition problems within 0 to 5 during their morning business
(calendar time), handouts from Harcourt text to complete as their homework
assignment, and minute addition tests that tested their fluency within 0 to 5. My mentor
teacher admitted to delaying the math portion because theyve been focusing on
language arts and getting their opinion-writing unit completed. Although, everyday,
students take their minute test to develop their fluency within 0 to 5. I feel that my
mentor teacher should integrate fun activities that increase students fluency rather than
just giving them a handout to complete. Giving out the handout to students and
completing it in a minute does not give students consistent practice to build fluency.
Also, she could have enforced different strategies she wants them to use to help build
fluency, which should have been prohibiting counting on their fingers. I think if she
integrates math into her daily routine more, just for twenty minutes or so, students will
start to exhibit more automaticity because the class is smart based on their
assessments.
The main concept of understanding would be the idea of being able to add
numbers within 0 to 5 (as stated in number 1). As for the procedures, my lesson was
about a game called, Addition War. This game required a lot of procedures in order to
play the game successfully. Students each had two cards with numbers on them, and

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when asked to flip over their cards, they had to write an addition equation on paper.
After that, students had to compare their sums and find the person with the greater sum.
The student with the great sum, wins! If there were not procedures established for my
game, students would not be able to play the game correctly. Also, it was easy to tweak
the game especially because the group of students I had was great at their addition of
two addends. Therefore, I had to tweak the game adding more addends to make it more
difficult. Procedure is important to have a lesson run smoothly and effectively.

3. Reflect on your assessment plan. Were you able to use it? Why or why not?
Useful data allows you to monitor individual, small group and whole class
progress toward developing conceptual understanding, procedural fluency and
reasoning/problems solving skills. If you were not able to collect useful data for
at least half of your children, how would you change your assessment plan?
My assessment plan went well because I was able to implement it during the lesson.
When students were solving their equations, I was able to ask them what their strategy
was in order to get their solution. Since I had a group of only three students, I was able
to take notes on my assessment tool and to even take additional notes in a tablet. I also
made my assessment task into a group discussion where I would have each student
share his or her strategy in detail so I would have a better understanding for future
instruction. At first, I thought that it would be difficult to classify each of the three
students in what type of strategy they use because I didnt think of even implementing a
discussion with it. If I were to just focus on the game like planned, I would not have
good assessment information as I do now. Having the discussion was important to the
student as well because they were able to analyze their doings and actually think about
why they did what they did. As a group, we were able to come up with alternative

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strategies to share with each other to help solve the problem in a faster and efficient
way.

4. What understandings did the children exhibit? List at least five specific things
the students did and said that are evidence of understandings. If they did not
show evidence of understanding, what would you have asked to get more
information?
The children exhibited amazing understanding of the goal being addressed.
Turning my lesson in to a game was really engaging that allowed students to cheerfully
and thoroughly explain their understanding when asked to. If I were to just give them a
handout, it would have been really different because students wouldnt have that
excitement they had in a game to verbally express their solutions. I felt like the game
opened up their minds and communication amongst each other was ongoing. These
three students are the quieter bunch of the class, which surprised me when they started
having fun and understanding the task being asked to do.

Student A said: I got 15! I know this because its in 5s. 5, 10, and then 15!

Student A said: I got a bunch of small numbers again, that means I might
lose again.

Student B said: No, you have to add them all up first before you write on your
worksheet.

Student C said: Your number is 3 bigger than my number, that means you
win.

Student C said: This is easy! My answer is 2 because I have 0, 0, and 2.

5. What misunderstandings did the children exhibit? List at least five specific
things that students did and said that are evidence of misunderstandings? If they

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did not show evidence of misunderstandings, what could you ask to get more
information?
The students did not exhibit misunderstandings throughout the activity of Addition
War. When we got to the part of expanding the equation with more addends because of
their ability to successfully add two addends, I did not make a handout with more than
two addends. Therefore, I had to improvise quickly. I had students write on the backside
of their handout their new equations.

Miss Saito, there are no more lines to add the extra numbers.

As I was conducting their minute test, students had several misunderstandings with
the format of the test not knowing which way to start and because the problems were
xeroxed, the colors came out weird where some addition problems were shaded gray.
Therefore, students were not sure if they were supposed to do those problems.

Do I start from left to right, or top to bottom?

Do we do the shaded region of the handout?

Why is this part of the handout gray? Do I do those problems?

What do I do when Im done?

As for the color of the paper, that could not be helped and I did not think about how
their teachers tests looks like compared to my minute test. I could see how the students
were confused with the different colors of the worksheet because their test administered
by their teacher does not look the same. When students were complete with their test, I
could have told them to check over their answers prior to the test than interrupting their
time and telling them that.

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6. What would you do the same and differently if you could teach this lesson
again? Include specific ideas that are related to the Process Standards (pp. 3-5),
the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practices (pp. 5-7), Selecting
Worthwhile Tasks (pp. 36-42), Orchestrating Classroom Discourse (pp. 42-46)
and/or Planning for All Learners (pp. 64-70).
I really enjoyed the Addition War I implemented in my lesson because students were
engaged while learning. I would definitely teach this lesson again, and even teach it to
the entire class! Since students are grouped in pairs in my field experience classroom, it
would be great to have students compete with each other as a way to build their
fluency. This activity closely relates to the communication and reasoning standard of the
five process standards from Principles and Standards for School Mathematics because
it allows students to analyze and evaluate the mathematical thinking and strategies of
others. Students use different strategies and I feel that peers are able to feed off of each
other to strengthen their strategies to build fluency. Also, students will be using the
language of mathematics to express their answers to each other by restating the
equation while comparing the great sum. As a teacher, I would like students to check
their answers using a method or strategy their peer used/uses to demonstrate making
sense of problems, part of the Standards for Mathematical Practice from The Common
Core Standards.
7. If you were to teach a follow-up lesson, what would be the focus of the next
lesson? What would the specific problem/task be? (Written as it would be
presented to students)
If I were to teach a follow-up lesson, I would definitely continue to introduce
different fluency games within 5. I feel it is important for students to be exposed to many
different activities because it engages them to learn through excitement! After
conducting my group lesson, I noticed how engaging my activity was because of their

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determination to further continue the lesson even after my time was up. If I were to
present a new activity to the students, I would have them work in pairs to solve addition
problems within 5 (see figure 1). This game can be played by having one student color
in a certain number of dots in the first row in pink (see figure 1). As you can see in the
picture, there is one pink dot colored in amongst five dots. The other four dots are
colored in green to represent the second addend in the addition problem. The task of
the second student can be to count and color in the next amount of dots to complete the
addition equation. Together, both students can write out their equation on a separate
piece of paper. Student who colors first can decide how many dots to color. If the first
student colors in all five dots, there still would be an addition equation: 5 + 0 = 5.

Figure 1
The ultimate follow-up lesson would be to continue repetition of fluency within 5
so that on the next lesson, I would continue the common core standard of 1.OA.6 Add
and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition and subtraction within
10, but to increase the goal of fluency to 10 rather than 5.

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Addition War Handout

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Addition War Test

Handout

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Student Evidence

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