TheFunctionMachine

Author:DavidPeterson
Datecreated:11/14/20178:13PMESTDatemodified:11/29/20172:33PMEST

VITALINFORMATION
TotalNumberof
25students.15girls,10boys.
Students
Area(s)Students
SouthSanJose
LiveIn
Free/Reduced
15/25studentsareonfree/reducedlunch
Lunch

4AfricanAmerican/Black

Ethnicityof 6Asian/PacificIslander
Students 7White

8Hispanic/Latino

JulioEmerging

JuliomovedtotheUnitedStatesfromGuatemalaacoupleofmonthsago.Hisfirstlanguageispanish,buthecanhardlyreadorwrite.He'svery
motivatedtolearnEnglish,andiseagertosharehissteadilyexpandingEnglishvocabularywithmeandhisclassmates.Heworkswellwithmy
bilingualstudents,andhasnotroublesocializing.

YasminBridging

YasminhasmadegreatstridestobewheresheisinherEnlgishproficiency.Shelovesfictionalstories,andlearnedmuchofherlanguagefrom
disectingherfavoritestories.She'sagreathelptomeinassistingJulioinhislearningofEnglish,andInoticedthatshe'sbecomemoresocialdueto
theirEnglish.I'vealsoobservedthatshetakesontheroleofclasclownswhenshe'sfrustrated,soIwillbegivingtheclassmoremechanismsto
EnglishLanguage dealwithfrustrationhopefullyYasminwillpickuponeofthem.
Learners HeidiBridging

HeidimovedtotheUnitedStates2yearsagofromFranceandcontinuestospeakverygoodEnglish.However,she'shadahardtimemaking
friends,andwhenweworkinpartnersorgroups,shegetsveryshy.Sheisagreatstudent,worksveryhard.Iletherdosomeofherworkon
herown,buttherearecertaintimesthatIhaveherworkwithpartnersthatsheseemstobecomfortablewith.SHe'stakenalikingtoscience,so
IencouragehertoanswersciencerelatedquestionsoutloudtopracticeherEnglishandherpublicspeakingskills.

RohanExpanding

Rohancametomyclassspeaking3differentdialectsfromIndia.He'saquirkyyoungmanthatreallyenjoystalkingtoanyoneabouthislifeback
inIndia.Heisverymusicallyinclined,sowheneverItaketimetoexplainthingstohim,Iusemusicanalogies.He'sverysocial,andtakes
advantageofother'slanguagebyofferingtoteachhispeerssomeofhislanguageiftheyteachhimsomeoftheirs.

DenisLegallyblind,sitsatthefrontoftheclassroomandhehasareadingbuddywheneverhecannotreadsmallerwordson
worksheets/workbooks.HehasaccesstoanipadthathasdirectlinktowhateverI'mdoingontheprojector/slidessothathecanseewhatI'm
talkingabout.
Studentswith
SpecialNeeds KyleKyleisaveryhyperactivestudent.Earlyonintheyear,kyleandImadea"secretcode"thathecanusetotellmenonverballywhenhe
needstomovearound.Ilethimchoosehistypeofseatingforthedaysothathestaysputduringinstruction.Ialsolethimhaveapersonal
whiteboardatalltimeshelovestoshoutoutanswerswhenheknowsthem(superbrightstudent),soIgavehimawaytoanswerasfastashe
could:writeitdownonawhiteboardandshowittomewithoutsayinganythingoutloud.

Subject(s) Mathematics

TopicorUnitof Thisisanextensionlessontothetopicoffunctionsusingthe"functionmachine"asalifesizemodel.Thisactivityhelpsstudentsreinforcetheir
Study knowledgeofcountingbackwardsandforwardsbyones,andhelpsthemrecognizemissinginputnumbersandfunctions.

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Grade/Level Grade1

Thereareslightlymoregirlsthanboysinthisclass.Allstudentsseemtobeabletoworkwellwithanyoneintheclass,butIdonoticethatthey
starttoseparatethemselvesintogenderedgroupswhengiventhechance.Typically,Icombatthisnaturalgroupingbysimplydifferentiatingtable
groups.Theyswitchseatseveryfirstofthemonth,andswitchtabledutieseveryday(whoreads,whorecords,whokeepstime,tableleader,
Comments
etc).Thesemethodshaveprovedeffectiveinthestudents'cooperationcapacity,andthey'vereallyimprovedintheirsocil/emotionalbehaviordue
totheconstantpushforcollaboration.ThishasalsoworkedreallywellformyELLandNeruodiversestudentswithsocialskillsaswellbecause
theirboundariesarecomfortabllypushed.

KEYCONCEPTS&STANDARDS

Sincethisisanintroductionlesson,thestudentsdon'tknowmuchaboutwhatafunctionis,orhowtouseafanctionmachine.Myfirstgraders
BigIdea& haveaconceptualunderstandingoffillinginmissinginputs,andhavemasteredadditionandsubtraction.We'realsoworkingonaunitinscience
EssentialQuestions basedonexperimentation,sousingthelargescale"FunctionMachine"willhelpstudentsvisualizeexactlyhowthefunctionmachineworks,and
howtofillinmissinginputs.

TSWBATidentifywhatexponentismissing(input,ruleoroutput),andsolveforthatmissingfactortomakethe"FunctionMachine"work.
Learning
TSWBATexplaintheirreasoningastowhytheyputinputswheretheydid,andcorrectlylabelthemodelsontheworksheet.
Outcome(s)
TSWBATdefineinput,output,andfunction.

Thislessonisadividebetweenteacherdemonstration,andindependent/groupwork.Duringthedemonstration,theteacherwillprovideacouple
examplesofhowaFunctionMachineworksbymodelingafewinputsandoutputs,usingvariousrulesandswitchingbetweenthemissingparts
Summary (input,rule,andoutput).Oncetheclasshasageneralunderstandingofhowtheactivityworks,they'llbegivenaworksheetwithscaleddown
modelsofthefunctionmachine.Theycanchoosetoworkonitaloneorwithapartner,butbeforeturningitin,everyoneinthattablegrouphasto
checkeachother'swork.

CACaliforniaCommonCoreStateStandards(2012)
Subject:Mathematics
Grade:Grade1
Domain:OperationsandAlgebraicThinking1.OA
Area:Addandsubtractwithin20.
Standard:
5.Relatecountingtoadditionandsubtraction(e.g.,bycountingon2toadd2).

Standard:
Standards 6.Addandsubtractwithin20,demonstratingfluencyforadditionandsubtractionwithin10.Usestrategiessuchascountingonmakingten(e.g.,8+6=8+2+4=
10+4=14)decomposinganumberleadingtoaten(e.g.,134=1331=101=9)usingtherelationshipbetweenadditionandsubtraction(e.g.,knowing
that8+4=12,oneknows128=4)andcreatingequivalentbuteasierorknownsums(e.g.,adding6+7bycreatingtheknownequivalent6+6+1=12+1=
13).

Area:Workwithadditionandsubtractionequations.
Standard:
8.Determinetheunknownwholenumberinanadditionorsubtractionequationrelatingthreewholenumbers.Forexample,determinetheunknownnumberthat
makestheequationtrueineachoftheequations8+?=11,5=??3,6+6=??.

AlongwiththeCommonCoreStateStandards,thislessonincorporatesthesemathpracticestandardsaswell:

MPS2:Reasonabstractlyandquantitatively
Studentswillseedemonstrationsofhowthefunctionmachineworkswithvariousrules,exponents,andequations.Then,theyswitch
toaworksheetwherethemodelsareshapedsimilarlytotherealfunctionmachine.Also,byhavingthemfollowalongwiththe
exampleproblemsontheirowneraseablefunctionmachine,they'redecontextualizingareallifescenariotomakesenseofiton
paper.
Comments MPS4:Modelwithmathematics
There'sareallifefunctionmachineusedinthislessonthatwillbeavailableasacheckingmethodthroughoutthelesson.
MPS5:Useappropriatetoolsstrategically
Weareusingacoupleofengagingmaterialsinthislesson:Thelargefunctionmachine,laminatedfunctionmachinepracticesheets,
andaworksheet.Studentsaremorethanwelcometousethosetoolsthroughouttheworktime.
MPS6:Attendtoprecision
Wewillsetupsomesentenceframesthatstudentsuseafterfixingfunctionmachines(i.e."Myinputis____,theruleisto
_________,thereforemyoutputis______).

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ASSESSMENTS

TTWcirculatetheclassroomandlisteninonhowstudentsaregoingaboutidentifyingmissingexponentsandtheirreasoningfortheir
results.

Assessment/RubricsBeforethestudentsgoouttorecess,theyhavetomakethefunctionmachinework:

TSWpickoneofthemathfunctionsontheirworksheetandrecreateitonthelifesizeversion
TSWexplainwhythefunctionmachinewillworkproperlywiththefunctiontheyshowcasedtotheteacher

Iexpectstudentstobefinishedwiththisactivityrandomlytheywon'tallfinishatthesametimesotheassessmentwillbesomewhatlikeanexit
Comments slip.Havethe"FunctionMachine"setupatatablebythedoor,andasstudentsfinishtheycancomeup,turnintheirpapersandshowtheir
favoritefunction,thengoouttorecess.

MATERIALSANDRESOURCES

Dryerasemarkers
laminated"FunctionMachines"
Largescale"FunctionMachine"(seepicture)
numberedpingpongballs
"FixtheFunction"worksheet

Toaccessattachments,pleasefollowthelinktotheonlineversionofthislessonplan.
Instructional
Materials https://w.taskstream.com/Lesson/View/7534C8F88B5F2A58EDB22ACA4CA7760F
(Handouts,etc.)
Attachments:

1. FixtheFunctionWorksheetThisisahomemadeworksheetmadetopairwiththedemonstrationoftheFunctionMachine,where
studentshavetosolvewhichpartofthefunctionismissing,andwhatwillcorrectlysatisfyit.
2. FunctionMachinePracticeSheetMaster
3. PictureexampleofLarge"FunctionMachine"Ihaven'tfinishedthefinalproductyet,butthepictureshereprovideabasicskeletonof
myoneofakindtool,the"FunctionMachine".OnceIperfectthisgadget,I'llincludeDIYinstructionsastohowtomakeyourown.

Thisisahomemadelessonplanthatrequiresalittleextraworkbytheteacher.Thelargescale"FunctionMachine"isafunctionalmodelofhow
Comments
functionswork,soifyoulikethislesson,youbetterbegoodwithyourhands!(OrIcanmakeoneforyou).

IMPLEMENTATION

Introduction:5minutes

"Alrightclasslet'stransitionovertothecarpetareatolearnabotournewmathactivityfortheday!Todaywe'regoingtobelearning
aboutfunctionsusingthatmachineoverthere(pointtotheFunctionMachine)tomakeoutputsthatmatchthefunction'sruleandinput.Before
Iexplainhowtousethe"FunctionMachine",let'sgooveracoupleofthosewordsIjustsaid,sothatyouallcanmakemoresenseoutofwhat
we'redoingtoday."

Eachofthefollowingdefinitionswillbepremadeonasentencestrip.

Input:Thenumeralatthestartofanalgorithm.

Rule:Thedirectionsthathelpyoureachaspecificoutput.

Output:Theresultarulehasontheinput.

TeacherModel:15minutes

1. TTWbringoutthe"FunctionMachine"andexplainit'sparts.
1. The"Input"isatthetop,thisiswhereweputthefirstnumber
2. The"Rule"isputintotheboxinthemiddle,sothattheinputknowswhattodoinsidethe"FunctionMachine"
3. The"Output"iswheretheresultrollsoutandwecanobserveifallthreepartsofthefunctionworktogether.

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 2. TTWgiveacoupleexamplesofhowthefunctionmachineworks.
3. TTWcallonstudentsusingnamestickstopicktheruleandtheinput.
4. Onceacoupleofexampleshavebeenshown,andthestudentsseemtounderstandhowtousethemachine,distributethelaminated
"FunctionMachine"worksheetsforstudentstofollowalongwith.
Sequenceof 5. TSWfollowtheteacheralongwithacoupleofexamples,holdinguptheirinterpretationsofthefunctionssothattheteachercancheckfor
Activities comprehension.
6. TTWcallacoupleofstudentsuptodemonstratetheirmodelswiththebigger"FunctionMachine"

Independent/groupwork:25minutes

1. Aftertheteacherseesthatthestudentsunderstandhowtousethefunctionmachineonthecarpet,it'stimetosendthembacktotheir
desks.
2. HavetheStarStudentpassouttheworksheets
3. TTWcallonacoupleofstudentstoreadtheinstructions
4. TTWcallonacoupleofotherstudentstoreinterprettheinstructionsintheirownwords,sothatthetaskisexplainedinavarietyofways.
5. TSWworkeitherindependentlyonthisworksheetorwiththeirtablegroups,butcannotturnintheirownworksheetuntiltheworkof
everyoneelseatthetableisdoneaswell.
6. Oncestudentsaredonewiththeworksheet,theycanturnitinasateam(oneperpersonthough!)andeachstudenthastoshowthe
teachertheirfavoritebrokenfunction,andfixitonthebigversionofthe"FunctionMachine".

Closure:510minutes

"Iseeyou'reallworkingveryhardtohelpfixmy"FunctionMachine"factory!WhatI'dlikeyoutodonowispickyourfavoritefunctiononthat
worksheet,andwhenyou'rereadytogotorecess,lineupatthe"FuntionMachine",gothroughtheentireprocessofinsertinganinput,writing
downtherule,findingtheoutput.Iwillbeaskingeachoneofyouaboutyourthoughtprocessforsolving,sobereadywithagreatexplanation!"

Asmentionedearlier,thisisaleisurelyclosedlesson.I'llletstudentsfinishupattheirownpace,andhopefullyeveryonewillbedoneby
recess/lunch.

TSWmodeltheirfavoritefunctiononthebiggerversionofthe"FunctionMachine",explainingtheprocesswhileshowing.

Mainlyindependentwork,andwholegroupinstruction.Itendtohavestudentsmovearoundtheclassroomfortransitionsandstayawayfrom
havingthemseatedformorethanhalfanhour.So,whileIintroducethelesson,givedefinitions,andmodeltheMachine,they'llsitonthecarpet.
GroupingStrategies
Whiletheywork,they'reallowedtoworkanywhereintheroom,aslongastheyfinishandcheckworkwiththeirtablegroups.Whilethe
independentworkisgoing,I'llopenuptheoptionforthestudentstocomeovertometousethefunctionmachinefortheproblems.

Noneofmystudentsareparticularlychallengedinmath,butIamabitworriedthatsomestudentsmayfindthisactivitytooeasy,sinceitisjust
workingwithadditionandsubtraction.Wealreadyknowhowtocountupto100,andknowhowtoadd/subtractwithin100aswell.Ifstudents
finishtooearly,I'dhavethemgetoutalaminatedFunctionMachineandworkwithapartnertomaketheirownequationswithapiecemissing,
andhavetheirpartnertrytosolveit.Ifthatgetstooeasy,thenIwillgenerateacoupleofadditional,challengeworksheetswherestudentscan
starttolearnhowtousethe"FunctionMachine"withharderadditionandsubtraction.

Forthosewhothisactivitymayposeaproblemwithcomprehension,thelaminatedpracticesheetswillofcoursebeavailabletouse.Havinga
Differentiated
practicesheetwherestudentscanchecktheirworkisgreatforretention,especiallywhenitcomestopuzzlemathlikethis.Alsoavailabletothe
Instruction
studentsistheactual"FunctionMachine",soiftheyreallyaren'tsureifthey'recorrect,studentscanactivelychecktheirworkbyputtingintheir
desiredinput,markingtherule,andobservingwhattheoutputis.

Somestudentshavetroubleconceptualizingtheworthofnumeralsattimes,oftenconfusing6with9,4and7someareevenstillcatchingupwith
learninghowtodifferentiatetensandones.Byusingpingpongballs(eachballrepresents1exponent)asamanipulativeinthe"Function
Machine"model,studentscanseetheworthofnumerals,andtheyhavetheoptiontoevenusethosepingpongballstochecktheirwork,by
modelingtheirequationonthe"FunctionMachine".

Ifthisactivityistooinolvedforstudents,I'llbesuretohavethemdosomemindfulnessexcercises.IcanpredictthattheFunctionMachinemay
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beadistractionforsomemoresothanatool,thisiswhyIhavealsomadeatemplatewitha2DversionoftheFunctionMachine.

REFLECTIONS

I'mreallyexcitedforthislesson.Ihaveafeelingthatbyusingabigmodelofthe"FunctionMachine"willgreatlybenefitstudentcomprehension
andstudentinterestthroughoutthelesson.Ourclasshasneverseenanythinglikethe"FunctionMachine"before,sowhileIhavereservationsthat
theclasmaybeabitrowdyduetothenewlearningtool,Ibelievethatoncetheygetstartedwiththeactivity,they'llseeitmoreasanengaging,
helpfulmathtooltheycanreferencethroughouttheyearratherthansimplyasillytoythatMr.Petersonmadebecausehewasbored(eventhough
thattotallywasmymotive).Theconceptofusingafunctionmachineissomethingmyclasswilldefinitelybenefitfrom,especiallybecausethe

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 practicecanbeappliedtomultiplefocusesinmath:fromadditiontodivision.Ialsoenjoythattheactivityinandofitselfissimple,butrequires
PriortoLesson moreadvancedthinkingfromstudentstheyhavetobeabletodissectproblemsandlookateachindividualpartinordertosuccessfullyput
themallbacktogetherand"makethe'FunctionMachine'workproperly".It'sagreatwaytoboosttheirconfidenceinmath,encourageproblem
solvingatabasiclevel,andhopefullysomestudentswillgainanappreciationformathmoresothanthedaybefore,duetothesuperawesome
"FunctionMachine".

Ithinkthatifitproveshelpful,I'dleavethe"FunctionMachine"accessiblefortherestoftheyearasaselfregulatedmethodforstudentstocheck
theirownwork.

PostLesson
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