Rachel Stremme

Professor Caroline Ebby

EDUC-531
10 December 2018

Term III

Part I. “The What”

Goals / Objectives

We want our students to explore the various conceptual connections of multiples and
multiplication. In our fifth-grade classrooms, we have seen that number sense is expected as
intuitive in our students, but we have rarely seen it visited on its own. Number sense is incredibly
expansive and many connections can be made to solidify and maintain students’ grips on number
sense and we want to engender that expansion on this topic in our lesson. Specifically we will be
focusing on number sense’s connections to the determinants of change in patterns (starting
number vs. numerical multiple). This focus will also encompass many other mathematical ideas
that we will not necessarily emphasize but will be an inherent aspect of the lesson itself (place
value, base 10, patterns in sums, pattern differences in even and odd numbers).

● MP3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

● MP5: Use appropriate tools strategically.
● MP7: Look for and make use of structure.
● MP8: Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
● CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.OA.B.3: Generate two numerical patterns using two given
rules. Identify apparent relationships between corresponding terms. Form ordered pairs
consisting of corresponding terms from the two patterns, and graph the ordered pairs on a
coordinate plane.

The Task

Imagine that you have several robots that can only move forward or backward: a two-stepper and
a three-stepper.

● Pick the number on the 10 x 10 grid where the robots will start.
● Explore the walks
● Try at least two different start numbers for each robot.
● Write about the patterns you find in your grids. Think about:
● Patterns in the ones place
● Patterns in the tens place
● Even and odd number patterns
● Patterns in the sums of the first and second number, the third and the fourth
number, the fifth and the sixth number, and so on.
● What changes a pattern more, the stepper or the start number? Explain your
thinking.
Unpacking the Mathematics

As said previously in the “Goals/Objectives” section, number sense is a concept that students in
our fifth grade classroom should already have but it is never directly addressed. It is simply not
a topic that we have seen covered in our classes. Interestingly enough, number sense is
something that we have seen our students struggle with to an extent when solving problems that
require the application of such mathematical concept. Therefore, we would like to build upon
their current knowledge of number sense and expand it heavily with the aid of accessible
numbers that they can navigate around.

It is important to mention that this task is a strong example of a low floor high ceiling task, for it
does not require extensive prior knowledge of number sense while possessing the capability of
broadening the number sense/knowledge of number sense in our students to great extents. This
task will require as little as knowledge in addition, counting by ones, skip counting,
multiplication, and an application of both in certain contexts. The additive strategy of repeated
addition demonstrates that the students can unitize into groups. To further develop their
multiplicative skills, students must be able to apply an understanding of place value, properties,
and relationships. These skills can be demonstrated through skip counting and algorithms. This
lesson helps students work on early transitional strategies, such as skip counting, to develop an
understanding of place value. Most, if not all, of our students are capable of addition and can
certainly skip-count (OGAP), thus, this activity will be very practicable and doable for our
students. They will be using addition/skip counting/multiplication (OGAP) to find the “steps” of
each robot (which are essentially multiples) and they will utilize a combination of addition,
counting, and multiplication (perhaps even the conceptual understandings of doubling and
halving) to examine patterns that occur from these operations (as well as the
dependence/influence of the starting point of their robots on these patterns).

Certainly, a difficulty we have discussed is the ability to gauge the current understandings of
number sense among our students. However, we find that this understanding isn’t entirely crucial
because our task is so low floor high ceiling. Nonetheless, a difficulty we are in preparation for is
the potential lack of meaning making that will be present in the patterns our students observe.
We hope to counter this extensively by continuously asking our students why they think that
specific pattern has happened and to support their mathematical claims/arguments. The analysis
of the evidence in the patterns must be present for this lesson to take place.

Anticipating Student Strategies

We are expecting our students to use skip counting, prior multiplication (multiplication tables),
repeated addition, and counting by ones if necessary. The point of the lesson is not to assess how
capable our students are at finding multiples/sums, rather we are hoping to guide our students to
help them find patterns and compare patterns as mentioned in the previous section.
Student Strategy Representation

Skip Counting (OGAP) 2 - 4 - 6 - 8 -10 -12- 14- 16 - 18

Knowledge of Multiplication Tables Knowing that we are multiplying by 2

Derived Facts 2x2 is 4, 2x4 is 8, 2x8 is 16

Repeated Addition (OGAP) 2+2= 4,

4+2 = 6
6+ 2= 8

Counting On A Model
Materials and preparation

Grid Papers
A Recording sheet
● For each student.

4-5 Color Markers/Pencils/Crayons

● For each student to color code and to visually represent each of their robot’s path.

Index Cards
● Exit slip for students to conclude and summarize what they learned.
● What was an interesting pattern you found? Explain why.

Classroom arrangement and management issues

For this lesson, we plan to go to the library and work at a table. We (individually Rachel and
Gene with each of our own groups) will sit at the front of the table to lead each of our students
through the lesson. Students will receive all the materials as soon as we sit down and provide the
instructions and norms.

We have usually had management difficulties with students on other tasks (such as the number
talks) for we are not in the classroom as often as other student teachers. To address this, we will
concretely and constantly remind our students of the norms for our lesson, especially at the
beginning of the lesson. This firm placement of the norms will set the standard for the behavior,
the concentration, and the respect that we will expect from our students as they duly expect all
three from us (which we will continually provide).
Part II: The Lesson Plan

Before (5-10 minutes)

- For today’s lesson we will be working independently. We are expecting everyone to be
respectful of each other’s space. That means keeping our hands to ourselves, focusing
on the task, and working silently. If you have a question please use the thumbs up signal
we have practiced during our number talks. Are we all on the same page? Alright! so
today, we will be talking about multiples and number patterns. To do so, we will be
exploring the walks of different robots. Can someone tell me what a robot does? Has
anyone ever seen a robot before? Are there movies about robots? Awesome… the robots
we are working with can only move forward or backward. Imagine that you have a robot
that can only move two steps. If it starts at 0, and then goes to two, what number will it
land on next? To track the robot’s walks, we will be using a 10x10 grid. What other
patterns are we noticing? What happens if we start the robot somewhere else on the grid?
-
During (15-20 minutes)
- After we have worked together and discussed the patterns of the two stepper in depth, I
will provide the students with more grids to work on a three stepper robot. First they
must start the robot at 0. Then they can start the robot somewhere else on the grid.
- We are expecting students to work quietly and independently. We will be reminding the
students of our norms. We will provide them with multiple 10x10 grids to keep track of
each robot’s walk. We are also expecting students to start with the two stepper and then
after marking its steps, move to the three To make sure that students are focused on the
task and looking closely at the grids, we have included some guiding questions.
Questions to guide/assess understanding:
- What patterns are you noticing with your robots? Write them down on the sheet
provided.
- Have you tried starting the pattern at a different number with your robot? Has
anything changed?
- Are there any similarities between the robots?

After (10-15 minutes)

- Great work today everyone! We are really proud of how you took your time with the
assignment and tried to find as many patterns as possible. On a piece of paper, we are
going to write down the patterns that you all found. Can we have people share patterns
they noticed with the three stepper? Where did people start their robots? What happened
to the pattern? Did you notice how the counting you all did is similar to multiplication?
How could you predict the steps of a robot? The final question we have is what changes
a pattern more, the stepper or the start number. Explain your thinking. Before you all
leave, the students will fill out an exit ticket so we can see what they understood from the
lesson. The exit ticket question will ask students to write down a pattern that they
thought was interesting and explain why.
Formative Assessment
- To collect evidence of student thinking, we will film the session. The discussion at the
end of the lesson will be especially important for assessing the students. In addition, we
will collect all of the written work from the students, including the 100 grids and the exit
ticket. We will be looking for students to write down their patterns and to color in the
grids. This information will help us understand if the students noticed how the numbers
were multiples.
Accommodations
- The lesson itself is a low floor high ceiling task. Therefore, students who find the task
too challenging have the ability to spend more time with simpler patterns such as a two
step or three step robot and begin at different numbers on the number grid. On the the
other hand, students who want a greater challenge can work with different robots that we
have not explored, such as a six or seven step robot, or start their robots at a different spot
on the grid. They can also explore different patterns, such as looking at the sums of the
first and second number, third and fourth number, fifth and sixth number, etc.