1

Task 1
Kaitlyn Gorman
2/22/2015

Table of Contents
Title
Part I: Context for Student Learning Information

Page
3-6

Part II: Lesson Plans

Days 1-2

7-9

Days 3-4

10-12

Day 5

13-14

Part III: Instructional Materials

Day 1

15-16

Day 2

17-20

Day 3

21-23

Day 4

24-27

Day 5

28-32

Part IV: Assessments

33-36

Part V: Planning Commentary

37-43

Resources

44

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Part I: Context for Student Learning
Community
1. Describe the community in which the school is located, including its population and
social/ economic diversity.
a. The community in which the school is located is a college town that revolves around
a major university. The school as well as the community benefit from the resources
that the university has to offer. There is a large separation between the wealthy of
the community and lower income families. The school contains a mixture of both
types. There are approximately 500 students in the school and about 80,000 in the
town.
2. Describe community resources available to complement curriculum, e.g., museums,
local businesses.
a. The students do not go on many field trips and if they do it is not for a mathematics
class. The math department does not include outside resources in order to improve
the curriculum or instruction.
3. Describe the extra-curricular resources in which students may be involved.
a. Students are involved in basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, choir, band, and
orchestra at this time of the year. Some students are involved with 4-H which I do
not know much about. When reading through their student information sheets I
noticed a wide variety of sports and that seemed to be a reoccurring thing with this
group of students.
4. Describe the level of parental involvement in the school.
a. The parent involvement varies from student to student. There are parents that help
the classroom out by coming in to make copies for the teacher. There are also
parents that call or email when they feel that their child is struggling with the current
topic. But there are also the parents that do not show up to conferences or have
very little involvement in their childs education. Unfortunately, these are the parents
that need to be the most involved.

School
1. Type of school elementary, middle, high or other configuration
a. Middle School with 7th and 8th graders only.

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2. Identify special features of your school or classroom setting (e.g., themed magnet,
classroom aide, bilingual, team taught with a special education teacher, remedial
class, honors/AP course) that will affect your teaching in this learning segment.
a. For students that are struggling to keep up with the work in our Math 7 class,
there is a program called Math-lab or Ac-lab (academic lab) for other
subjects. These are the students that really struggle or the ones that never
turn in assignments. This class takes up a students elective period and
they are able to get out of it once they start to do better or try harder.
3. Describe any district, school, or supervising teacher requirements or expectations
that might affect your planning or delivery of instruction, such as required curricula,
pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or standardized tests.
a. My supervising teacher uses standards based grading in order to assess
students which could potentially affect the assessments that I create and the
grading procedures I use for those assessments. She also follows a
curriculum map that paces how long to spend on certain topics. She also
collaborates with another Math 7 teacher on what they will be teaching for the
next week. Since they do almost the exact same lessons each day, I think
this will affect what I am able to do for this class.
Class
Secondary
1. What is the name of this course?
a. Mathematics: Grade 7 (informally called Math 7)
What is the length of this course?
One semester
One year
Other (please describe)
2. What is the class schedule (e.g. 50 minutes every day, 90 minutes every other day)?
a. The class period is usually 46 minutes long except on Wednesdays it is 45
minutes long which does not seem like a huge difference but it does occur
every Wednesday.
3. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in your content area? If so, please describe
how it affects your class.
a. The 7th graders are split into the following levels: Math 7, Honors Math 7, and
Algebra 1. The students in my Math 7 class know that they are at the
standard level which affects their math-confidence. At a secondary level
ability grouping happens when their elementary teachers choose which class
to place them in.

4. Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for this class. If a
textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.
a. The Math 7 classes do not have a textbook but I have a curriculum map for
the class. The Math 7 teachers use the state standards as well as any
resources from the state standards website in order to complement their
curriculum.
5. List technology resources (e.g. SmartBoard, manipulatives, resource library in the
classroom, on-line resources, etc.) available for instruction and/or students activities
or demonstration of learning.
a. There is a classroom set of iPads, a SmartBoard, a resource library with
content specific as well as general teaching books that my teacher has
accumulated over the years, a computer for the teacher which can project
onto the SmartBoard, and a classroom set of individual whiteboards with dry
erase markers and erasers.
6. Identify instructional resources available to assist students, i.e., teacher aides,
resource teachers.
a. Some of the other classes I will be teaching do have a resource teacher or
aide. This class in particular does not have any extra resources because
none of the students in this class have an IEP that requires a teachers aide
or resource teacher.
Students
1. Grade level: 7th Grade
Number of students in the class: _22_
males: _6_ females _16__
English language learners __0__
Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 plans _0___
2. Beyond the specific information above, it is important to discuss with your
supervising teacher and other school professionals more detailed knowledge about
students backgrounds, interests and learning needs.
a. Personal/community/cultural assets
I can tell from the things that the students like to talk about that they are very
interested in sports. I have students that like gymnastics, swimming, dance,
basketball, and more. They are very involved with their sports and it is very
important to them at that age.

The students in this class seem to have more parental involvement with their
schooling. One students parent called to make sure that the way she was
helping her daughter with homework aligned with what we were teaching in
class.
b. Physical, language, reading level and social differences among the students
None of the students in this class have specific IEP requirements that we
need to focus on. Another class we have is an inclusion class which contains
most of the students that have IEP requirements at the Math 7 level. That
particular class has a classroom aide that comes to help the students so
rather than having that person come throughout the day, they have contained
the students into one class.
That being said, the class I am focusing on does have some students that I
think have not been identified as ADHD or EBD but should be. Some
students I believe have the mental age of an elementary school student by
the way they act around their peers and in class.
c. Informal and formal assessment information/resources about the students
The students just took their Acuity tests the second week that I was in the
classroom. I have access to their scores and my cooperating teacher and I
were able to see some of the questions that were on the test. There were
questions on there about topics we have not gone through yet so we know
what we really need to focus on. A lot of the students did very poorly on this
test so we can bring them in for review sessions during their study hall
(advisory) in order to bring them up to standard.
I also have access to their previous ISTEP scores as well as previous test
scores in the past. My cooperating teacher uses standards based grading so
I am able to see the students understanding of different standards. This will
help me understand what my students know and what they dont know.
d. Varied learning needs among the students
Some students are very involved in class and really enjoy participating but
there are also students that do not want to be there. My goal is to involve
these students more and get them to be more confident in their mathematics
knowledge. Some of them do not try because they do not think they can do
it. There is not much room for differentiation but since we will be using
standards based grading, then the tests will have different levels of questions
that will get more difficult as they go.

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Part II: Lesson Plans
Lesson Topic: Days 1-2: Similar Figures

Grade level: 7th Grade

Length of lesson: Day 1: approximately 35 minutes (typically 5-15 minutes of class is put aside
for bell-work and checking homework. Since this is the start of a unit, it is likely that the students
will not have homework to check on this day giving extra time for the lesson) Day 2:
approximately 30-35 minutes.
Desired Results
State Content Standard(s):
7.GM.2 Identify and describe similarity relationships of polygons including the
angle-angle criterion for similar triangles, and solve problems involving similarity
Central Focus:
Essential Question(s):
Students will understand:
How can we figure out if two figures are
The definition of similar figures.
similar?
how to solve problems using similar How can we find the missing sides if
figures.
we know that the figures are similar?
the angle-angle criterion for similar
figures.
Student objectives (outcomes):
Students will be able to:
apply their knowledge of similar figures to solve real world problems.
determine the scale factor for similar figures based on the given information.
Assessment Evidence
Performance Task(s):
Other Evidence:
Students will explore similar figures
Students will complete an exit slip to
and what it means for two figures to
demonstrate that they understand what
be similar.
similar figures are and how to apply
that knowledge to mathematical
Students will be applying the
problems.
definition of similar figures to solve
problems using proportions.
Students will self-assess their
knowledge by using their hands to
demonstrate a scale of 1-5, 1 being I
do not understand and 5 being I
completely understand
Students will be individually assessed
during the unit test based on a
standards based grading 4.0 scale.
Learning Plan
Learning Activities:
Day 1:
o Before:
(2 min) Before I hand out the investigation and let the students get
their iPads, Ill introduce what we will be doing for the
investigation. Since it is an investigation, I do not want to give
anything away until the end.
o During:
(25 min)The first day, students will be using iPads in order to

8
complete the investigation for similar figures. Before they begin, I
will walk them through how to work GeoGebra and where to find
the tools that the guide wants them to use. This will help the
students that are not as good at following written directions and
are better with verbal directions and visual demonstrations. When
the students start working on the investigation I will be monitoring
and assisting students with any problems with technology or
questions about the exploration.
o

After:
(5 min) When there are about 10 minutes left of class, we will talk
about the exploration as a class to see what the students liked or
did not like and see if there are any problems they had with it.
The homework for the lesson is to have the students complete the
exploration. Since there are some extended response questions
they may not get the chance to finish and really think about it.

Day 2:
o Before:
(2-3 min) I will introduce the topic by having students discuss with
their partners on what the word similar means. Then I will pose
the question again to the class to see what they discussed with
their partner.
o During:
(3-5 min) To start, I will use what we discussed for the meaning of
similar and connect it to the mathematical meaning and the
definition that is given on their notes.
(5 min) Then I will start by working out the first problem with the
class. The first problem is determining whether two figures are
similar. Ill demonstrate and explain how all sides have to have the
same proportion for the two figures to be similar. Ill also discuss
how we first need to match up the angles in order to match up the
corresponding sides.
(5 min) After demonstrating the first problem, the students will
work on the second problem with their partner. Once most of the
class has done the second problem, well discuss it as a class.
(5 min) On the next page of the notes, students will be learning
how to find the missing side of a figure if we know that it is similar
to another figure. Ill have students work on problem three with
their partner while I walk around to check that they are doing it
correctly or if they have any questions. If I see that a lot of
students are having problems with it then I will bring it back to a
group discussion.
(5-7 min) Before moving on to problem 4 I will gauge how students
are doing with these problems by holding up their hands with how
they feel about it on a scale of 1-5, 1 being I dont understand it at
all and 5 being I get this completely. Depending on the show of
hands, I will either complete number 4 with the class or have them
work on it on their own. If they work on their own, I will have them
check in with their partner when they have completed it to see if
they got the same answer. If not, they will need to check their
work to see where they went wrong.
If there is not enough time to complete the entire lesson, we will

9
skip number 4 and move on to the exit slip.
After:
(5 min) Before I hand out the exit slip, I will check to see if there
are any unanswered questions that the students still have. Then
the students will have time to complete the exit slip while I hand
out the homework for the lesson. Students that finish early can
start working on their homework until class is over.
Academic Language:
Similarity- Two figures are similar if the corresponding angles are equal and the
corresponding sides are proportional. This will be new vocabulary for the
students. Students should be able to decide whether or not two shapes are
similar based on whether or not the angles of the shapes are the same and the
sides are proportional.
Shapes and Figures- triangles, rectangles, quadrilaterals, parallelograms,
trapezoids, prisms, and cylinders. Students will need to know these shapes for
the unit. This is vocabulary that students will already have encountered in a
previous unit. Students struggled with deciphering between parallelograms and
trapezoids but that should not affect their understanding in this unit.
Resources and Materials:
Resource 1: Exploration for day 1
Resource 2: Notes for day 2
Resource 3: Homework for day 2
Materials: classroom set of iPads
Required Accommodations/Modifications:
There are no students in the class with an IEP or with required modifications.
There is an inclusion class which is not a part of the focus for this learning
segment which includes all of our students with required modifications or
accommodations
Extending the Lesson
If the students are struggling with the content, it would be beneficial to have a
warm up the next day that reviews the material.
There is homework associated with day 1 and day 2. The students will complete
it that night and we will go over it the next day. The students check their
homework for accuracy while we just check it for completion. Allowing the
students to correct their own work allows them to see their mistakes and change
whatever it is that they did incorrectly.
o

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Lesson Topic: Days 3-4: Scale Drawings

Grade level: 7th Grade

Length of lesson: 30 minutes

Desired Results
State Content Standard(s):
7.GM.3 Solve real-world and other mathematical problems involving scale
drawings of geometric figures including computing actual lengths and areas from
a scale drawing. Create a scale drawing by using proportional reasoning.
Central Focus:
Essential Question(s):
Students will understand:
How can I use a map in order to figure
how to use proportions in order to
out a distance between two points?
determine distances from scale
How can scale drawings help us solve
drawings.
real world problems?
what are scale drawings and scale
Why do we use scale drawings?
factors.
Student objectives (outcomes):
Students will be able to:
measure a distance between two points on a map and use the scale factor in
order to find the actual distance.
solve real world problems using scale factors and scale drawings.
Assessment Evidence
Performance Task(s):
Other Evidence:
Students will be analyzing scale
Students will be individually assessed
drawing problems using a map of
during the unit test based on a
Indiana.
standards based grading 4.0 scale.
Students will use proportional
reasoning in order to solve scale
drawing problems
Learning Plan
Learning Activities:
Day 3:
o Before:
(3-5 min) I will introduce scale drawings by asking how I can find a
distance between two cities by using a map. Students will discuss
with their partners ideas on how to find the distance. Then we will
talk about it as a class while I am handing out the notes.
o During:
We will go through the first problem together. I will have the
students measure the distance between Bloomington and Fort
Wayne and then we will use that distance to figure out the actual
distance.
After we go through how to figure out the distance using a
proportion, students will go through the second problem with their
partners. Once most of the class has finished the second problem,
we will discuss their answers and I will check to see if there are
any questions.
The second page of the notes has a question on finding the length
of a scaled object from the length of the actual object. I will have

11

them work on this one with their partner to begin with and if I see
that a lot of students are struggling, then I will step in and we will
go through it together.
The last problem is similar to the first two in that it is going from
the scaled object to finding the actual size of the object. I will have
the students work on this on their own so I can monitor and get a
sense of who gets it and who does not. Once everyone is close to
finishing, I will have them check their work and answers with their
partner.

After:
Time permitting, while summing up the lesson, Ill have students
share with their partners one thing they think they could use scale
drawings for in real life. Depending on how much time we have I
will have students share what they discussed with their partner.

Day 4
o Before:
(5 min) I will explain the activity to the students and what they will
be doing. I will show an example of measuring a distance on one
of the maps and we will go through finding the scale and using the
scale on the map to find the actual distances.
o During:
(20 min) The students will use their guided notes to walk around
the classroom with a ruler and measure distances on different
maps posted around the classroom. I will be walking around
assisting groups that have questions or the students that may
need some extra help. Students will work to get as many of the
distances as they can.
o After:
(5 min) Once there are about 5-10 minutes left Ill have students
clean up and start checking their work. Ill have an answer key up
for students to check and students can ask questions or make
comments about the activity.
Academic Language:
Scale drawing, scales, proportion, distances, lengths
Students have not had many problems with proportions similar to these in the
past. They do understand what distances, lengths and proportions are. Some
new vocabulary for them will be scale drawings and scales. Since these words
are related and are the only new terms, they should be okay with it.
Resources and Materials:
Materials: Maps of Indiana, rulers
Resource 4: day 3 notes
Resource 5: day 3 homework
Resource 6: day 4 guided notes
Resource 7: day 4 homework
Required Accommodations/Modifications:
There are no students in the class with an IEP or with required modifications.
There is an inclusion class which is not a part of the focus for this learning
segment which includes all of our students with required modifications or
accommodations

12
Extending the Lesson
There is homework for both days of the lesson.
If the students do not understand scale drawings very well the first day, then
extra practice should be added before they begin the maps activity on day 2.
They will not be able to complete the activity to the best of their ability if they
struggled with the information on the first day.

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Lesson Topic: Day 5: Angle Types

Grade level: 7th Grade

Length of lesson: 45 minutes

Desired Results
State Content Standard(s):
7.GM.4 Solve real-world and other mathematical problems that involve vertical,
adjacent, complementary, and supplementary angles.
Central Focus:
Essential Question(s):
Students will understand:
What do you notice about
how to find a missing angle using
complementary and supplementary
the given angles and their
angles?
knowledge of types of angles.
How can I find the missing angle if I
how to identify different types of
know the measurement of another
angles.
angle?
Student objectives (outcomes):
Students will be able to:
find missing angles using their knowledge of the different types of angles.
identify what the type of angle is when given a set of angles.
Assessment Evidence
Performance Task(s):
Other Evidence:
Students will apply their knowledge
Students will complete and turn in an
of types of angles to solve
exit slip for types of angles. This exit
problems on finding missing
slip will assess what students
angles.
understand about complementary,
supplementary, and vertical angles.
Learning Plan
Learning Activities:
o Day 5
Before: (5-10 min) Students will be using iPads to fill out a
graphic organizer on types of angles. I will have a key filled out to
show so that students can fill out the ones they have missing or
what they could not find. I will also introduce the mnemonic device
for complementary and supplementary angles described under
academic language. The graphic organizer will be an introduction
into the notes. Students will use the following website to help them
find the definitions and examples:
http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry
During: Now that students have had an introduction to the
vocabulary in the unit, we will go through some example problems
together. The students can use their graphic organizers to help
them identify the angles which will ultimately help them solve the
problems.
After: I will clear up any last questions the students have at the
end of the lesson. Then students will complete an exit ticket for
this lesson since this lesson will not be assessed on the unit test.

14
Academic Language:
Vertical, Supplementary, Complementary, and Adjacent Angles
Students tend to mix up the definitions of Supplementary and Complementary
angles. The graphic organizer should help them remember which is which. I will
also introduce a mnemonic device that they can use to help them remember.
Taking a look at the word Supplementary, you can see that it has two Ps.
Supplementary angles are angles that add up to 180 degrees. If you switch the
Ps to 9s and add 90+90=180. For Complementary there is only one P which
would give us one 9 and if we change it to 90 then we know that complementary
angles add up to 90 degrees. It is slightly far-fetched but it has helped other
students I have worked with in the past remember which is which.
Resources and Materials:
Resource 8: Types of Angles Graphic Organizer
Resource 9: Types of Angles Notes/ Practice Problems
Resource 10: Day 5 Homework
http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry
Required Accommodations/Modifications:
There are no students in the class with an IEP or with required modifications.
There is an inclusion class which is not a part of the focus for this learning
segment which includes all of our students with required modifications or
accommodations
Extending the Lesson
There will be homework for this lesson which will be checked and reviewed the
following day.
There will also be a review activity before the unit test.

15

Part III: Instructional Materials

Day 1: Resource 1
GeoGebra Investigation
Part I: Exploration

Step 1: Use the polygon tool

Step 2: Use the measurement tool

the sides and angles.

to make a quadrilateral ABCD.

and the angle tool

to find the measures of

Step 3: Use the Dilate Object from Point by Factor tool

to create a new quadrilateral.
You will need to select your quadrilateral and one of the corners to dilate it from. Enter in 2
when prompted with the input bar. This will give you a new quadrilateral labeled ABCD.
Step 4: Make sure you zoom out enough so you can see both quadrilaterals. Then find the
lengths and angle measures of your new quadrilateral by following Step 2 again.

Part II: Investigation

1. Draw your quadrilaterals with labels (label points, lengths, and angle measures).

2. List all the angle pairs that have the same measure.

3. What do you notice about the relationships between the lengths of the segments a and a, b
and b, c and c, d and d?

16
4. What do you notice about quadrilateral ABCD and quadrilateral ABCD? Explain.

5. Move point A to change the original picture. Do your conclusions still hold true? Why or why
not?

Quadrilateral ABCD and quadrilateral ABCD are called _____________

17
Day 2: Resource 2

18

19
Day 2 Resource 3

Math 7: Worksheet 10-1

Determine whether the figures are similar. Show your work!
1)
8 cm

10 cm

15 cm

12 cm

6 cm
9 cm

2)

5 in.

2 in.
3 in.

7.5 in.

The two figures are similar. Write and solve a proportion to find x.
3)
x

10 yd
30 yd

12 yd
8 yd

20 yd
4)
4 km

7 km

21 km

2x

20

Mixed Review!
5) Mary purchased a bag for $39. At the register, she presented a 15% off coupon. How much
was the bag before tax?

6) Last week, a loaf of bread was $1.89. This week, its $2.09. What is the percent of markup?

7) Write in order from least to greatest: 15 cups, 8 pints, and 1 gallon. You MUST show your work!

8) Write and solve an inequality: 17 is less than or equal to the difference of half of a number and
5.

9) Evaluate: -5 4(72 3 10). You may NOT use a calculator.

10) Evaluate: 14 3 2 2. You may NOT use a calculator.

21
Day 3 Resource 4

22
Day 3 Resource 5

Math 7: Worksheet 10-2

Solve. Show your work.
1. The scale on a map is 2 cm: 15 km. Find the actual distance if the distance on the map
is 7.5 cm.

2. The scale on a drawing is in.:10 ft. Find the distance on the drawing if the actual
length is 5 yd.

3. Aaron bought a model airplane. The model used a scale of in. = 50 ft. If Aarons
model airplane is 18 inches long, how long is the real airplane?

4. The polygons are similar. Find x.

5. A 20-foot light post casts a shadow that is 9 feet long. How long is the shadow cast by
a 6-foot man at the same time?

23

6. Solve for x. 7(x 3) = 14

7. A pair of shoes was originally $75. They are now $40. What is the percent of
decrease?

8. A coat was originally $50. You have a coupon for 10% off. How much will the coat
cost you, including 7% sales tax? (Remember: sales tax is added after the discount is
taken off.)

9. A photograph that was originally 4 by 6 is enlarged by 80%. What is the width and
length of the enlarged photograph?

10. Find the rate of change of the

following table:

20

10

35

15

50

20

65

11. Graph the line of the table from

number ten.

24
Day 4 Resource 6

ALABAMA

INDIANA

1. Birmingham to Mobile

13. Indianapolis to South Bend

2. Tuscaloosa to Dothan

14. Evansville to New Albany

3. Florence to Huntsville

15. Terre Haute to Ft. Wayne

4. Anniston to Auburn to Montgomery

16. Franklin to Columbus to Madison

FLORIDA

KENTUCKY

5. Pensacola to Tallahassee

17. Henderson to Paducah

6. Jacksonville to St. Petersburg

18. Lexington to Covington

7. Ft. Lauderdale to Miami

19. Louisville to Bowling Green

8. Gainesville to Ocala to Tampa

20. Frankfort to Richmond to London

ILLINOIS

OHIO

9. Rockford to Peoria

21. Cincinnati to Toledo

10. Mt. Vernon to Champaign

22. Akron to Columbus

11. Effingham to Springfield

23. Youngstown to Cleveland

12. Galesburg to Bloomington to Naperville

24. Canton to Mansfield to Findlay

25

TENNESSEE
25. Nashville to Clarksville

26. Chattanooga to Jackson

27. Knoxville to Murfreesboro

28. Memphis to Jackson to Par

Day 4 Resource 7

Math 7: Worksheet 10-2 #2

Use the scale drawing of a flower garden and a centimeter ruler to answer
the questions below. Show your work.
1. What are the actual dimensions (length and
width) of the flower garden?

perennial bed

rose bed

tulip bed

daisy bed

L=

W=

2. What is the actual and area of the tulip bed?

1 cm: 5 ft.

Use the scale drawing of the U.S.A. and a centimeter ruler to answer
questions 3-5. Show your work.

1 cm: 250 mi

3. What is the actual distance between Indianapolis, IN and Boston, MA?

27

4. What is the actual distance between Nashville, TN and Atlanta, GA?

5. What is the actual distance between Topeka, KS and Sacramento, CA?

6. What is the actual distance between Olympia, WA and Austin, TX?

Solve.
7. The weatherman predicted that it would rain 3 inches on Tuesday. It
actually rained 3.24 inches. What was his percent of error?

8. Joey makes $7.50 per hour working at best buy as well as 7% commission
on his television sales. If he sold 6 televisions for $500 each and worked
40 hours last week, how much did he make?

Set up an equation & solve.

9. Three more than twice a number is equal to 27

10. Five times a number plus six is less than 36

Day 5 Resource 8

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Types of Angles
Vertical Angles

Adjacent Angles

Supplementary
Angles
Complementary
Angles

Day 5 Resource 9

Definition

Examples

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Math 7: 10-3 Types of Angles

Use the diagram to answer the following prompts.
1. Name two pairs of Vertical Angles.
____________

____________

2. Name two pairs of Adjacent Angles.

____________

_____________

3. Name two pairs of Supplementary

Angles.
____________
_____________

4. Name two pairs of Complementary

Angles.
____________
_____________

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5. The following angles are Complementary. Find the measure of the missing angle.
a.

b.

6. The following angles are Supplementary. Find the measure of the missing angle.
a.

b.

Day 5 Resource 10

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Math 7: Worksheet 10-3

1. Find the missing angle measures.
A
C

45

P
N

80

100

M
L
K

H
I
125

A. _______

I. _______

B. _______

J. _______

C. _______

K. _______

D. _______

L. _______

E. _______

M. _______

F. _______

N. _______

G. _______

O. _______

H. _______

P. _______

32

2. A train model is 5 ft. long. If the scale of the model is 1foot: 15 yards, what is the size
of the actual train?

3. The trapezoids below are similar. Find the missing height of the larger trapezoid.
Then find the area of both figures.

12 cm
8 cm

16 cm

4. Find the surface area of a cylinder with a length of 6 ft. and a height of 10 ft.

Solve WITHOUT using a calculator.

5.

5
2

15
6

25

9 12

6. 5 ( )

7. 5.6 3.2 + 6.25(3)

33
Part IV: Assessments
Assessment: Day 1 Exit Slip
Similar Figures Exit Slip
1. What does it mean for two figures to be similar?

2. Are triangles ACB and AHC similar? Why or why not?

Assessment: Day 5 Exit Slip

Angles Exit Slip
1. List two pairs of supplementary angles and two pairs of complementary angles.
Complementary: _________________________

__________________________

Supplementary: __________________________

__________________________

2. Draw and label one pair of vertical angles.

34
Assessment: Unit Test

35

36

37

TASK 1: PLANNING COMMENTARY

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 9 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the
brackets. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored.

1. Central Focus
a. Describe the central focus and purpose for the content you will teach in the learning
segment.
[The central focus of the unit is for students to use proportional reasoning skills to solve real
world problems involving similar figures and scale drawings. Also included in the unit are types
of angles such as vertical, adjacent, supplementary, and complementary. These standards are
put together as outlined in the curriculum maps and state standards for 7th grade mathematics.
The curriculum maps for Batchelor Middle School outline what will be taught and when
throughout the year.]
b. Given the central focus, describe how the standards and learning objectives within your
learning segment address

conceptual understanding,
procedural fluency, AND
mathematical reasoning and/or problem-solving skills.
[For the first lesson, the standards and objectives support proportional reasoning skills in
relation to similar figures. Students will be able to apply their knowledge of similar figures to
solve real world problems. In the process of solving real world problems they will use
proportional reasoning skills to determine whether the figures are similar or find a missing side
given that the two figures are similar. Students will be able to determine the scale factor for
similar figures based on the given information. The exploration on day 1 supports a conceptual
understanding of similar figures and what it means for two figures to be similar.
For the second lesson, the standards and objectives support mathematical reasoning and
problem solving skills with scale drawings and using maps to figure out distances. Students will
need to have a procedural fluency in proportions in order to solve these types of problems.
Students will be able to measure a distance between two points on a map and use the scale
factor in order to find the actual distance as well as solve real world problems involving scale
drawings.
For the third lesson on types of angles, students will need procedural fluency when solving
these types of problems. They will be asked to find missing angles and identify types of angles.
They will need to use their mathematical reasoning skills to define these different types of
angles and use the definitions to solve problems. All of the lessons will require procedural
fluency which will be assessed in the unit test. Students will need to be accurate with their
procedures in order to solve the problems.]
c. Explain how your plans build on each other to help students make connections
between facts, concepts, and procedures, and to develop their mathematical reasoning
and/or problem-solving skills to deepen their learning of mathematics.
[The first lesson begins with an investigation activity. This investigation gives students a
good basis for understanding similar figures. Since the students may not have time to finish
answering the questions and analyzing their shapes, it will be homework to finish it for the next
day. The next day we will go through some example problems involving similar figures together.

38
This way they can apply what they discovered the previous day to solve actual problems
involving similar figures. Then there will be an exit ticket for the lesson to help me see if there is
anything I need to talk about more in depth. The homework will help students practice using
similar figures to solve problems as well as review other concepts they have learned throughout
the year so far.
The second lesson begins with the notes and discussing how to use scales in order to find
distances. The problems in the notes build on each other in that they get more difficult as they
go on. It starts with problems on using a scale to find an actual distance. Then it goes into
problems on finding the size of a model from the actual distance. There will be homework for the
first day of the lesson to review scale drawings, a few to review similar figures, and more to
review other concepts from throughout the year. Then on the next day students will be walking
around the classroom using a ruler and a guide to find distances between points on different
maps. Some of the prompts ask for a distance from one point to another point to another point
so students will have to find two distances and add them together. Then students will have a
homework assignment that has more review and practice on scale drawings. This particular
homework has more measurement to practice what they were doing during the activity.
The third lesson begins with filling out a graphic organizer on the types of angles we will be
going through in the lesson. Once students have their organizers filled out and we have gone
through it, we will apply these definitions to solve problems involving angles. The first few
problems are identifying pairs of angles that fit the definition of the types of angles in the graphic
organizer. Then the problems will involve degrees of angles and finding the measures of
missing angles using these definitions. Students will have homework that is a little more difficult
than the problems we did in class but will be achievable for students.]
2. Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching
For each of the prompts below (2ac), describe what you know about your students with
respect to the central focus of the learning segment.
Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support
(e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers,
underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted
students).
a. Prior academic learning and prerequisite skills related to the central focusCite
evidence of what students know, what they can do, and what they are still learning
to do.
[The students have just finished a unit on 2D and 3D shapes and figures. This will help them
decipher between shapes that are potentially similar and shapes that are definitely not. They
can use their knowledge of area and perimeter to determine whether these shapes are similar
based on those properties.
Students have also been using proportional reasoning and cross multiplying. When I first
started my student teaching, students were using proportions to find percentages of numbers.
We have also had homework problems that review proportional reasoning skills from last
semester. They understand how to set up proportions and cross multiply to solve for x. They do
still struggle with understanding what it means when we find x, occasionally when looking for
percentages the students label it as a length or just a number rather than a percent.
Currently we are doing a unit on slope. We are going to include whether a line is proportional
or not based on whether it goes through zero and if it a straight line. This will help reinforce the
idea of what proportional means which will help the conceptual understanding of the
proportional relationship between similar figures.]

39
b. Personal/cultural/community assets related to the central focuswhat do you know
about your students everyday experiences, cultural backgrounds and practices,
and interests?
[The students have interests in athletics such as gymnastics, basketball, cheerleading, and
other types of sports. One student has an interest in art and I find her doodling on her papers
occasionally. I know two of my students are on the wrestling team with students in my other
classes. Some students have intensive practices for these sports and other things that go along
with playing the sport. Occasionally we include problems that involve these different sports and
interests such as 4-H or engineering.
Although I am still learning about their cultural backgrounds and family life, I have heard
from the parents of a few students. Some students have parents that are very involved in their
childs education even if the student is not as interested in it. I have received emails and phone
calls from parents that have tried to help their child with their homework and struggle to
understand it themselves.
I have some students that I have found talking with the people around them while I am trying
to discuss instructions or other important material with the class. There are also students that do
not listen to me when I give instructions but I have noticed that they also do the same thing with
my cooperating teacher. Sometimes we have to tell one student in particular to pay attention
over and over.
We also have had students that move in and out throughout the year. We have had one
student already move away and another student move in. This is a common occurrence in my
other classes as well. It does not seem to affect the other students in class as much as it affects
my instruction for the new students and figuring out what they know and what they have not
learned yet.]
c. Mathematical dispositionswhat do you know about the extent to which your students

perceive mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile1

persist in applying mathematics to solve problems
believe in their own ability to learn mathematics
[There is a mixture between students that are confident in their knowledge and the students
that have hardly any confidence in their math knowledge. Some students do not see the
importance in what we are learning so I relate the material to things that they are interested in
as much as possible. Some students are able to see a problem and find a different way to solve
it than the way we thought they would do it. There are many students interested in engineering
and other fields that heavily use math and science. These are the students that participate
frequently and enjoy math class more than English or social studies. Although I do occasionally
hear comments from students such as why are we doing this? and when am I ever going to
use this? which I either come up with an answer on the spot or tell them Ill find a reason and
get back to them on it.]
3. Supporting Students Mathematics Learning
Respond to prompts below (3ac). To support your justifications, refer to the instructional
materials and lesson plans you have included as part of Task 1. In addition, use principles
from research and/or theory to support your explanations.

From The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

40
a. Justify how your understanding of your students prior academic learning,
personal/cultural/community assets, and mathematical dispositions (from prompts 2ac
above) guided your choice or adaptation of learning tasks and materials. Be explicit
about the connections between the learning tasks and students prior academic learning,
assets, mathematical dispositions, and research/theory.
[Students will be using a few of the eight mathematical practices during the first lesson.
They will model with mathematics while using GeoGebra to help demonstrate similar figures.
Since they are using GeoGebra, they will be using appropriate tools strategically. They will be
analyzing and interpreting the figures they created using the exploration guide. Since they will
have prior knowledge on quadrilaterals, this exploration will reinforce the properties of
quadrilaterals. On the second day I will use modeling when demonstrating how to use the
meaning of similar figures that they discovered in solving real world problems. After I have
modeled a problem, students will work collaboratively with their partner to solve similar
problems to the one I demonstrated.
There will be some direct instruction and more modeling on day 3 when talking about scale
drawings. I will demonstrate the first problem and students will follow my lead. Then they will
either work individually or collaboratively to persevere in solving other problems like the one I
demonstrated. On the fourth day the students will be working individually or with their partners
(depending on their attitudes when class begins) on finding lengths on a map and converting
that to distances. They will be applying their knowledge on scale drawings to a real life example
of using maps. There is a lot of practice and repetition on using scale drawings on this day.
On the last day students will be using a graphic organizer and reading about the types of
angles. This is a content literacy strategy that is useful when learning new vocabulary. Then we
are going through notes that start of easier and get more difficult as they go. This way the
problems will build on each other as they go.
All of the homework assignments for the unit help the students get more repetition and
practice over the material. They also help review other units so that the students do not forget
about what they have learned in the past.]
b. Describe and justify why your instructional strategies and planned supports are
appropriate for the whole class, individuals, and/or groups of students with specific
learning needs.
Consider students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers,
underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted
students.
[Although I do not have any students with IEPs or 504 plans, there are students that have
attention issues and students that seem to be behind in math. For the students that are
struggling to pay attention during class, I have designed the exploration to keep the students
interest. Since they will be working with their partner and using iPads, it will be better than
having me giving direct instruction the entire class period. It will be a nice change for students to
do something other than take notes. When I am using direct instruction it is to introduce a
completely new topic to the students such as scale drawings. Once I am done introducing the
topic and students understand it, they will move on to practicing with their partner or individually.
Modeling new information to the students will be beneficial in their understanding of how to do
the problems and complete the activities. The graphic organizers will help students at lower
reading levels understand vocabulary by summarizing what the website says for the definition.]
c.

Describe common mathematical preconceptions, errors, or misunderstandings within

your central focus and how you will address them.

41
[One common misconception with similar figures is forgetting that the angles need to be
equal AND sides need to be proportional. Sometimes students may think that if the sides are
proportional then the figures are similar but the angles also need to be congruent. With similar
figures and scale drawings students have issues setting up proportions and understanding what
goes where. They are fine with solving proportions but they struggle the most with setting them
up.
Common mistakes with the types of angles are mixing up complementary and
supplementary angles. Since complementary angles are two angles that add up to 90 degrees
and supplementary angles are two angles that add up to 180 degrees, it is easy to mix the two
terms up. There are different mnemonic devices I will share with the students that can help
them distinguish between the two. Students also tend to think that these two terms mean that
the angles have to share a side in order to classify as one of these terms even though they do
not have to.]
4. Supporting Mathematics Development Through Language
a. Language Function. Identify one language function essential for students to learn the
mathematics within your central focus. Listed below are some sample language
functions. You may choose one of these or another more appropriate for your learning
segment.
Compare/contrast

Conjecture

Describe

Explain

Prove

[Explain is one language function that will be used frequently within this learning segment.
They will be explaining their reasoning when exploring similar figures and types of angles. They
will have practice with this on the exit slips and during the lesson on day 1 which will give them
students extra practice with this language function. There is also one question on the unit test
that will assess their ability to explain their reasoning although it does not explicitly use the term
explain. It is number 5 on the unit 10 test.]
b. Identify a key learning task from your plans that provides students with opportunities to
practice using the language function identified above. Identify the lesson in which the
learning task occurs. (Give lesson day/number.)
[On lesson 1 day 1, students will be following the exploration and completing questions
related to what they are doing. In this exploration students will be explaining their reasoning on
a variety of things. For example, students will be asked to explain what they notice about their
original quadrilateral and the new quadrilateral that was created from the dilation. They will also
be asked to explain what they notice about the side lengths of each quadrilateral. Students will
have practice explaining before it matters on the exit slips and unit test.]
c. Additional Language Demands. Given the language function and learning task
identified above, describe the following associated language demands (written or oral)
students need to understand and/or use:

Vocabulary and/or symbols

Mathematical precision2 (e.g., using clear definitions, labeling axes, specifying units
of measure, stating meaning of symbols), appropriate to your students mathematical
and language development

Plus at least one of the following:

2

For an elaboration of precision, refer to the Standards for Mathematical Practice from The Common Core State Standards
for Mathematics (June 2010), which can be found at

http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_Math%20Standards.pdf.

42

Syntax
Discourse
Consider the range of students understandings of the language function and other
language demandswhat do students already know, what are they struggling with,
and/or what is new to them?
[In the first lesson, students will be learning what the word similar means when comparing
two figures. Students will be comparing two figures using proportional reasoning skills and
knowledge of similar figures.
Students will need to know the degree symbol for measuring angles. They will need to label
the angles with the degree symbol to show that they are describing an angle rather than a
length. Students will be learning terms to describe different types of angles such as vertical
angles, complementary angles, supplementary angles, adjacent angles.
In terms of the syntax of the lessons, students may be unfamiliar with how scales are set up
in a sentence. Scales are typically written out as a ratio such as 1:2. Students have had
experience with ratios before but not as much in this context.]
d. Language Supports. Refer to your lesson plans and instructional materials as needed
in your response to the prompt.

Describe the instructional supports (during and/or prior to the learning task) that help
students understand and successfully use the language function and additional
language demands identified in prompts 4ac.
[On the second day, the notes have the definition of similar figures written on it for the
students. For scale drawings I will explain how the scale is written as a ratio and how to say it in
a sentence. On the last day the graphic organizer will help the students keep all of the different
definitions straight.
Students will have the chance to practice using the language demands during class and with
the homework. When it comes to using the language function, students will have practice
throughout the week with the exit slips, exploration, and the homework assignments. When I
pose questions to the class during the lessons, I always ask students to explain their reasoning
or how they got the solution that they did. So they are already used to explaining their
processing and will continue to do so throughout the unit.]
5. Monitoring Student Learning
In response to the prompts below, refer to the assessments you will submit as part of the
materials for Task 1.
a. Describe how your planned formal and informal assessments will provide direct
evidence of students conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, AND mathematical
reasoning and/or problem-solving skills throughout the learning segment.
[The exit slips that I designed will allow students to demonstrate their conceptual
understanding and mathematical reasoning of similar figures and types of angles. Students will
be asked to explain their reasoning and discuss their thinking and processing. I will also be
checking homework at the start of class each day which will help give me an idea of what the
students understand and what they do not understand. I will also be able to monitor students
whenever I have them work on a problem individually or in pairs.
The unit test for this particular unit has questions that will assess the procedural fluency and
problem-solving skills of the students. The tests are designed using standards based grading
which is on a 4.0 scale. There are four levels, only three of which are actually assessed. Level 1

43
type problems are not on the tests because level 1 is a very basic understanding of the
standards. Level 1 is typically included in the level 2 questions to see if they have any idea
about any of the problems. Level 2 problems demonstrate a basic understanding of the
standards that are being assessed. Level 3 questions demonstrate a complete understanding of
the content. If the students get all level 2 and level 3 questions correct, then they are proficient
with the standard. Level 4 demonstrates an advanced understanding of the content which
means the students understanding is beyond that of what the standards were addressing. The
unit test will not assess students on the types of angles since it is not an Indiana power
standard.]
b. Explain how the design or adaptation of your planned assessments allows students with
specific needs to demonstrate their learning.
Consider all students, including students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language
learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic
knowledge, and/or gifted students.
[Although I do not have any students with IEPs or 504 plans, the students will be able to
complete the assessments that I have planned with no problems. Using the standards based
grading scale for the unit test allows me to see who has a complete understanding of the
standard and who does not. Some mistakes fall under mathematical process which includes
simple addition errors or mistakes not related to the standard. So I will not count off for the
geometry and measurement standard if the student made a simple mistake.]

44

Resources
Lesson 1

Day 1 Exploration adapted from an investigation by Dawn Guest-Johnson

o http://cteteach.cteonline.org/portal/default/Curriculum/Viewer/Curriculum?
action=2&cmobjid=835929&view=viewer&refcmobjid=832740
Day 2 Notes by Amy Martin of Batchelor Middle School
Day 2 Homework adapted from an original creation by Amy Martin

Lesson 2

Day 3 Notes created by Amy Martin of Batchelor Middle School

Day 3 Homework adapted from an original creation by Amy Martin
Day 4 Guided notes created by Amy Martin of Batchelor Middle School
Day 4 Homework adapted from an original creation by Amy Martin

Assessments

Unit 8 Test edited and adapted from an original creation by Amy Martin

All adaptions and other resources created by Kaitlyn Gorman.