Deck 1

Calin Deck
Lesson Plan
September 2017
Special Education Math Lesson Plan
Solving for the Unknown
Background Information:
 Age/Domain: Grades 4-5 (General Education Grade 4)
 Subject: Solving for the unknown
 Lesson Plan Type: Teacher-Directed Expository Teaching
 Title: Uncovering the Unknown
 Time: 25 minutes
Goals:
 Students will understand how to set up the equation.
 Students will recognize that two smaller numbers our parts are equal to the whole
number in addition.
 Students will be able to compare an addition and subtraction problem to better
understand the operations (+ and -).
Rationale:
 Explicitly teaching each type of word problem, helps students to develop and
understand how to solve them. As students gain more confidence through practice,
they will begin to identify and solve more challenging word problems on their own.
 Example: A student going to the store with 5 dollars to spend wants to buy a 15-dollar
radio. This student would use what he or she has learned about addition and
subtraction to determine just how much money he or she will need, to borrow from a
friend, to purchase the radio.
Objectives:
 After completing the lesson, the students will be able to recognize the key
vocabulary terms used in both addition and subtraction to effectively solve word
problems.
 After completing the lesson, the students will be able to solve a single one step word
problem with little to no help from the supervising teacher.
Curriculum Standards:
 CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.OA.B.3
Analyze patterns and relationships.
 CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.D.8
Solve two-step word problems using the four operations. Represent these problems
using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the
reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies
including rounding.
(Students will begin to work with multiplication and division in the proceeding
lesson)
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Teacher Preparation:
 Create google slides PowerPoint to be reflected on the white board for students to
write on the board.
 Half sheet with a single word problem to be turned in by students (see attached).
 Create T-chart to display on the projector (addition and subtraction).
 Create a list of guiding questions to assist the students in recalling the steps for
addition and subtraction word problems.
 Review any new or challenging vocabulary
Vocabulary:
 Equation
Assessment Plans:
 Prior Knowledge:
o Students will come to class and recall part-part-whole from Mondays lesson with
Mrs. Chase. The whole meaning the total.
o Students will come to class knowing the whole is equal to the two smaller
numbers or parts.
 Formative Assessment:
o If I have two parts in the word problem am I going to add or subtract?
o Students will respond by creating an addition sign with their hands as they did
at the end of Mrs. Chases lesson.
o What do you do when you are missing a part in the word problem?
o The students will demonstrate this by using their hands to form a subtraction
sign.
 Exit Ticket:
Half sheet of paper with individualized problems to ensure each student is being
challenged. Students will complete this aspect of the lesson primarily independently.
One student will be allowed the assistance of her paraprofessional. I will also ensure
that the word problems are short and at the students specific reading level. For any
students struggling to read I will come around to reread their problem to them and
observe their thinking.

Instructional Procedures:
 Introduction and Review (3-5 Minutes):
o Define the term equation as a class.
 Before we start can anyone tell me what an equation is?
 Provide time for the students to think. If they need help write a few different equations
on the board and ask what they all have in common.
Answer: An equation is a mathematical problem expressed using an equal sign.
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 Presentation/Develop Understanding (10 Minutes):

o Explain new procedures
Teacher: Today when we are solving word problems I want you to snap when you here a
key word. Just like this (demonstrate snapping or tapping). I do not want it to be loud, but
I would like us to do it as a class so I know you are noticing those keywords.

(Give students a chance to snap/tap)

o Using Google slides, read the first problem and ask the students to snap when
they hear any of the following:
 Altogether
 In all
 Total

 Once the students seem to understand, move on to the word problems.

Teacher: For this first word problem, I am going to show you how to pull out the
important information, and we are all going to practice writing the new equation on the
board.

 Using the same problem as before re-read the word problem (don’t forget to snap at
altogether).
o Emma had 46 apples altogether. Emma gave 13 apples to Andrea and the rest
of her apples to Kate.
Teacher: Now what I want to do is mark the different parts of the equation.

Demonstrate by stating: Because it says altogether after the number 46, I know that this
number is the whole number in the equation. I am going to mark this number with a
circle.

What other number do we know? We know one of the parts. I am going to mark that
number with a part or a half circle.

The word problem should now look like this:

Emma had 46 apples altogether. Emma gave 13 apples to Andrea and the rest of
her apples to Kate.

Teacher: Now we can put these numbers into an equation. Because we know the
whole number in the equation, we know that number should go on the left side.

Because we are looking for a part we know that we are going to need to _____?
o Provide time for students to answer.
Write out the new equation: 46-13= 33
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 Guided Practice/ Comprehension Monitoring (10Minutes):

o Go through the rest of the practice word problems. Call on students to come
to the board and take turns marking the different components and writing out
the new equation.
o Watch to make sure the students are still noticing and snapping when they
hear the keywords.
o Acknowledge the students correct answers and ask what words told them to
add or subtract.
o Allow students to solve for the unknown. Allow students to come to the board
to demonstrate how they found their answer.
 Integration/ Closure
o Give each student their individualized word problem to be turned in. Explain
that they are expected to mark them as we had been doing on the board, write
the equation, and solve the equation.
.

Differentiation:
Students will be given a variety of word problems. To ensure all students are being
challenged at their own instructional level, throughout the lesson, I will include a variety of
numbers. Because the primary focus is setting up the equation, I will be able to use single and
double-digit numbers for the students who are still using their fingers to add and subtract. For the
more advanced students, who are more easily grasping the concept, I will be including some
three-digit numbers that will force them to regroup.
I will also be reading all of the problems out loud, as not all of the students will be able to
read the word problems on their own. I have included some of the vocabulary words they have
been working on in reading to ensure the reading is accessible to each student.

Extension: Inquiry Based

If time provides use a T-chart to compare addition and subtraction word problems.

o If students are struggling to come up with ideas on their own read a few of the word
problems that the students practiced. Ask the students:
o Do I add or subtract?
o Great job. How did you know to add/subtract?
o Was there a word or words that gave it away?
 Write their response under the appropriate column.
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Name: ___________________________

If 11 cats were playing and 4 cats were sleeping. How

many cats were there in all?

Altogether, there were 36 students in Mrs. Chase’s class. 28 of those

students moved away. How many students were left?

Name: ___________________________
A farmer had 120 cats in all. A loud noise made a lot
run away. There were 19 cats left. How many cats ran
away?

A girl had 7 cats. On her walk 38 more joined her. How many cats were
there in all?
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Name: ___________________________
A girl had 7 cats. On her walk 38 more joined her. How
many cats were there in all?

Altogether, there were 36 students in Mrs. Chase’s class. 28 of those

students moved away. How many students were left?

Name: ___________________________

A farmer had 120 cats in all. A loud noise made a lot run
away. There were 89 cats left. How many cats ran away?

There were 78 cats in the barn. 18 more cats came to live in the barn.
How many cats were there in all?
 Deck 7

Addition + Subtraction -
 Deck 8

Pre-Reflection:
My advising teacher Mrs. Chase was looking for ways to help her students solve word

problems. She created an addition and subtraction model for the visual and kinesthetic learners to

physically flip the numbers and switch the mathematical signs. For instance, if the word problem

gave the students a part and a whole, the students could visually see that they needed to switch

the addition sign to a subtraction sign because they did not have two parts to add together.

This inspired me to come up with a way for the students to utilize this same concept in

their general education classrooms. After a few days of using the visual model, I decided I would

try having the students mark the word problems using a half circle to represent the parts and a

whole circle to represent the total. I think if the students can recognize the parts and the wholes

in everyday word problems, solving for the unknown will become much easier.

I have also incorporated snapping to help to bring attention to the keywords that tell the

students whether they should add or subtract within each word problem. In incorporating this

snapping activity, I am also hoping to gain the attention of a high functioning student who

commonly daydreams and becomes unfocused. I am hoping this will not only help the students

to identify those keywords, but I am hoping it will keep each of the students engaged.
 Deck 9

Post- Reflection:

This lesson went well for the most part. The students were engaged and able to not only write

the equations, but they were able to solve them as well. A goal my cooperating teacher set for the

year. Though the students still need practice, the progress my students had made during that lesson

was apparent. This was the first time they successfully wrote the equations on their own.

Through observing the classroom prior to this lesson I noticed a student sitting out and not

entirely taking part in any of the lessons. This is what inspired me to incorporate the tapping. I

thought if this student had a task of her own, or something to look for within the lesson, she might be

willing to stay focused for a longer period of time. In all my excitement, I did not think of what I

would do if this strategy did not work. Throughout my lesson, this student was not answering my

questions or doing the tapping, or so I thought. Later that night, I went home to watch the recording

of the lesson, while watching I saw the student tapping inside her desk this made me so happy to see

the student participating. Although I did not see the student tapping in class or completing math

problems, I did have her attention. This willingness to participate on her own was a step in the right

direction, and I am excited to continue figuring out the needs of this student.

If I could change one thing, I would have been better prepared to explain why an equation

can be written in more than one way. During my lesson, one student used subtraction to solve the

word problem, while another student used addition to solve the word problem. Though they both

came up with the right answer, they did not understand why. This was a question I had not been

adequately prepared to explain. After letting both students know that their answers were both correct,

I solved the problems both ways. The day after this lesson, I further explained why both students

were correct with the assistance and advice I received from my cooperating teacher.