Maja,

Your lesson is in very good shape. I just made a few suggestions in the body of the
lesson. Let me know if you have any questions.
Janine
Maja Pehrson
EDUC 531
11/24/14
Core Decisions of Lesson Design
What:
In this lesson, students will deepen their understanding of place value in decimals.
Building on their existing knowledge of place value, students will discuss the relationship
between any two adjacent places within the base ten system (the place on the left is worth
10 times as much as the place on the right/the place on the right is worth one tenth as
much as the place on the left). Additionally, students will practice representing decimals
in different forms, specifically block (modeling), standard, word, and expanded.
Specifically with expanded form, students will consider how the face value and place
value of a number can be multiplied in order to find the quantity of that digit. Expanded
form is not an arbitrary way of writing numbers, as many students seem to think.
Students have been studying decimals for the past couple of weeks. The group of
students that I will be working with has been practicing modeling decimals on graph
paper. They have also begun practice on comparing, reading, and adding decimals.
Students may struggle conceptualizing what decimals are, a part of a whole number
represented in the base 10 number system. The pedagogical focus of the lesson will be
selecting and using representations to make mathematics meaningful and to draw
connections between mathematical concepts.
Very nice, Maja
How:
Students will build their understanding of place value in decimals by using
familiar tools in a new way, as well as through guided discussion and a task centered on
thinking of the different representations of numbers. Students will use base 10 blocks to
model decimals. We will have a discussion of how students have used these blocks prior
and then transition to how they will be used in this lesson. The meaning of the tools will
be made explicit so as not to impede students understanding of the representation of
decimals. We will also engage in guided discussion throughout the lesson, which will
likely take the form of an open strategy sharing. In pairs, students will complete a
worksheet that will require them to think about the different forms that can be used to
represent decimals.
While I cannot fully implement new norms for math class in one lesson, we will
outline expectations at the beginning of the lesson, which will encourage students to ask
questions, revise their thinking, and listen to one anothers thinking. These expectations
will build off of the norms established during our number talks, in which students know
that they are expected to share their thinking strategies and not just their answers.

Why:
I have chosen to focus on place value and the representation of decimals in order
to provide students with a strong foundation before they move onto operations with
decimals. As stated by Chapin and Johnson 2006, If students dont understand the
relationship between place values (that 0.6 is ten times larger than 0.06, for example) or
realize that the value of a place can be represented using other place values (that 13 tenths
is equal to 130 hundredths, for example), they will have great difficulty with decimals
(p.134). Even though I will be working with students who are considered the lowest
performing in the class at math, I have noticed that many of the students who are
considered more advanced have moved on to decimal operations without a strong
understanding of what decimals are.
Since I am going to be working with students who generally find math to be
challenging, I am using concrete modeling in order to make the material accessible and
tangible to them. Students will have the opportunity to move away from modeling
throughout the lesson if they feel comfortable, allowing them to advance their thinking.
Lesson Plan
Goals/Objectives:
Students will deepen their understanding of the base 10 number system by applying their
knowledge of place value to decimals.
Standards:
Pennsylvania Core Standards, Mathematics
Numbers and Operations, Grade 5
CC.2.1.5.B.1
Apply place value concepts to show an understanding of operations and rounding as they
pertain to whole numbers and decimals.
Materials and Preparation:
1. Worksheet
2. White board
3. Base 10 blocks (small cubes, long pieces, flat pieces, cubes)
Learning Environment and Management Issues:
1. I am going to meet with seven students during their regularly scheduled math
period in the afternoon. This group of students has been working together for the
past couple weeks on decimals. They have been grouped together by the
classroom teacher as they all seem to struggle representing decimal numbers. We
will work at the back table in the classroom while the rest of the class works in
separate groups. I am planning to stay in the classroom for this lesson to maintain
consistency. These students are used to working together in this group during

Janine Remillard 11/28/14 10:37 PM

Deleted: .

their math period. The back table is arranged in a semicircle, which will help
facilitate discussion.
2. Students will come to the back table at the beginning of the lesson with just a
pencil. I will have the base 10 blocks and worksheets prepared at the back table.
3. There are a few management concerns with this group of students, particularly
side conversations, restlessness, and negative language. I will try to prevent these
issues from arising by emphasizing expectations at the beginning of the lesson
(outlined in step 1 of plan). I will also tell students where to sit when they come
to the table, as there are a couple of students who should not be seated next to
each other. Having the base 10 blocks for students to interact with will hopefully
help students who are kinesthetic learners and keep them from getting too restless
in their seats. I will also keep track of time, making sure we do not dwell on any
part of the lesson for too long if students seem to be losing interest. I will use talk
moves to facilitate the discussion and guide students in how they respond to each
others thinking. The accommodations outlined at the end of the lesson will also
help with behavior management, as they will help ensure that the material is
accessible and engaging to all students.
Plan:
Have you thought through the timing on this?
1. Go over expectations for small group discussions. Use language students are
familiar with (make progress/keep trying, work together, focus/stay on task, stay
positive, monitor volume). Then I will add some additional expectations: it is
okay to make mistakes and revise our thinking, share our mathematical ideas with
our classmates (the focus is on our thinking- not just our answers), listen to
understand someone elses idea- give each other time to think, ask questions. I
will write these down so we can refer to them throughout the lesson. We will
then review our math signals (thumbs up when students have thought of their
answer and agree/disagree symbols).
2. Introduce base ten blocks (ones, tens, hundreds, thousands). Ask students what
quantities these blocks represent. (follow up: how do you know this?)
3. Focus on the tens and hundreds blocks. Ask students what the relationship
between the two blocks is. How do we get from one block to the next? How
many of the long pieces (tens) does it take to get one flat piece (hundreds)? Then
focus on the hundreds and thousands pieces. Repeat questions. Then take out all
four pieces. How would you describe the relationship between these blocks, or if
you had to come up with a rule to go from one set to the next, what would it be?
How about for going backwards? Emphasize how one place value can be
represented by others, i.e. one ten is the same as ten ones. How can we represent
one number in two ways using the blocks?
4. Introduce the idea that this is not the only way to use the base 10 blocks. We
could decide that the long piece (tens) is equal to one. Explain that this would be
our new unit. What would the other pieces be equal to then? What if I made the
cube (thousands) equal to one? What would the other pieces represent in that
case? Does the relationship between the blocks change if we switch which piece

Janine Remillard 11/28/14 10:44 PM

Comment: What answers are you looking
for?
Janine Remillard 11/28/14 10:43 PM
Deleted:
Janine Remillard 11/28/14 10:43 PM
Comment: This is probably the best way to
ask this question.
Janine Remillard 11/28/14 10:46 PM
Comment: When you get to the thousands
block, you will need to spend a bit of time on
how many little cubes it represents, since many
are hidden from view. Also, when
demonstrating the relationship between the
different pieces, you can use the smaller pieces
to build a the next piece, e.g., put 10 flats
together to make something that looks a lot
like a thousand cube.
Janine Remillard 11/28/14 10:49 PM
Comment: I think this may be tough for
them, so think ahead how you will help them
see this relationship. For example, when you
assign the long to be one and ask what would
this flat represent, you can ask, How many of
these longs are in this flat? So this flat is 10
times the size of this long.

5.

6.

7.
8.

is equal to one? How can we represent one place value in different ways using
the blocks?
Take out 2 cubes, 5 flat pieces, 4 long pieces, and 7 small cubes. Ask students
what this number represents (reminding them that one cube is equal to one
whole). Give students think time and ask them to put their thumbs up when
ready. Students will then share their answers, explaining how they found their
solutions. Then I will ask students how else they could represent their answer
without using the blocks, recording their responses on a white board. I will focus
specifically on expanded form, although I will not use that terminology until
students have explained how to represent it. I will guide them if necessary, asking
how many groups of each block we have and how much each block is worth. [I
am thinking it would be good to also write the number as a decimal number.]
Then I will hand out a worksheet with four columns: block model, standard form,
expanded form, and word form. One form will be filled in for each number, and
students will be asked to fill in the other three. I will instruct them to do this in
pairs (and one group of three), reviewing how to work together in pairs (share
your thinking- not just your answers/respect each others ideas/if you dont
understand your partners idea, ask them to explain it/if you agree with your
partner, use phrases such as, I agree because)/if you disagree with your
partner, use phrases such as, I disagree because).
I will monitor their work and make note of what to focus on for our group
discussion. When most pairs have made enough progress (will be determined
depending on time) we will come back as a group to discuss.
If time allows, I will give students a challenge problem in which the flat block
(hundreds) is now equal to one whole, and students have to determine how to
represent the number in the other three forms. This will serve as an exit slip to
assess students understanding. [If they are not ready for the challenge, you might
simply give them a decimal number and have them represent it with the base-10
blocks and explain their thinking.

Janine Remillard 11/28/14 10:52 PM

Comment: This is the first time in the lesson
that you have combined the pieces to represent
a multi-digit number. Id start with just 2
cubes. What number does that represent. Then
add 5 flats. In other words, get to the 4 digits
incrementally, making sure they are with you
as you go.

Assessment:
In order to assess students understanding throughout the lesson, I will focus on
their written work. I will make note of whether students are able to correctly identify the
face and/or place value of each number. I will also monitor which number forms students
seem to grasp (model/standard/word/expanded) and which they might struggle with. Are
students able to connect the concrete model to the numeric representation? Do they see
the connection between standard and expanded form?
These concepts will also arise during discussion. I will pay attention to how
students come to their answers for each problem. Do they use counting strategies or
numerical reasoning?
Anticipating Students Responses and Your Possible Responses:
1. If there are behavior problems throughout the lesson, I will assess why these
issues have come up. Are students struggling with the material or do they need to

Janine Remillard 11/28/14 10:56 PM

Comment: Make sure you make an
assessment checklist and include these and
possible other sub-understandings you will
look for.

be challenged more? In either of these cases I will make accommodations as

outlined below. If students seem to be getting restless, I may decide that students
are getting tired of this segment of the lesson and move on to the next part.
Throughout the lesson I will point out the ways in which students are following
the expectations laid out at the beginning. If problems persist, we may have to
revisit the expectations we went over at the beginning of the lesson. If necessary,
I will switch the seating arrangement. During the worksheet section, I will
circulate and check in with each group.
2. Students may struggle switching which block is equal to one. In this case I may
bring in real world examples of how we often use different units to talk about
numerical values. For example, a pizza could be thought of as one pizza or 8
slices; a ruler can be thought of as 12 inches or one foot. We can decide to think
of a foot as one whole unit or an inch as one whole unit, depending on the
situation. I will then ask the group if they have any more examples and about
how they can apply this thinking to the blocks.
Accommodations:
1. If students seem to be struggling, I will pause the conversation so that students
have a moment to think to themselves or do a pair share. This way they will not
feel pressured to deliver an answer in the whole group before they have collected
their ideas. I may also revisit how students are typically used to interpreting the
blocks (ones, tens, hundreds, thousands) to build up the students understanding
of the relationship between the different place values. When/if they are able to
transition to decimals, they can focus primarily on modeling the numbers, and
hold off on the other forms of representing the numbers.
2. If students seem to find the work simple, I will give them questions in which I
change which block is equal to one. I will then challenge them to expand their
thinking by asking them how place values outside those in the physical model
could be represented.