Rachelle Evans

EDS 3210
7/5/2001

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION LESSON PLANS

GAGNE AND BRIGGS LESSON PLAN

Course: Algebra I, Semester II

Grade Level: 9-12 (mostly 9th and 10th)

Gaining Attention:

The teacher announces the agenda for the day, having already written it on the board
prior to the beginning of class. The teacher can point to the agenda while s/he is telling
the students the agenda. This makes the start of the day differentiable so that both visual
and oral learners can understand what the plan for the day is. At this point, I would have
the following agenda on the board:

1. Warm-up (this would be an activity from the previous days lesson. It would be a
problem using the division property of exponents, which is what the students
would have done the previous day).
2. Discuss homework / turn in (this is where the teacher would read off the answers
and answer any questions students have. Students would pass their homework to
the front of the row and the teacher would collect it at this time).
3. Scientific Notation (this is where the teacher would teach the actual lesson for the
day on Scientific Notation)
4. Homework Assignment
5. Quiz (this would be optional and would be based on the students’ behavior
throughout the lesson. If the students were good and the majority paid attention
to the lesson, then there wouldn’t be a quiz. If the majority of the students were
not paying attention, then there would be a quiz).

Informing the learner of the learning intention:

This is where the teacher would talk about the objectives for today’s lesson,
which have previously been written on the board as well. Again, this would help both the
visual and the oral learners to do this both ways. The teacher would also explain why
these objectives are important to learn.
Since this is a lesson on scientific notation, I would put the following objectives
on the board:

1. TLWBAT identify the significance of scientific notation in today’s society.

2. TLWBAT identify the main formula that is used to decide whether or not an
answer is in scientific notation.
 3. TLWBAT change an answer from standard notation into scientific notation and
vice versa.

In discussing why it is important to know about scientific notation and how to use it, I
would state the following. I would tell the students that scientific notation is
important to know and use when you have extremely small numbers (i.e.
.000024020342040203402 parts per million) or when you have extremely large
numbers (i.e. 34600000000000000). It is easier to write such large numbers out in
scientific notation than it is in the above notation, which is called standard notation. I
would also explain to them that the numbers are easier to recite and say in scientific
notation than they would be if you tried to say them in standard notation.

Stimulating recall of prerequisite information:

This is where the teacher would have a warm-up on the overhead, which is based
upon a review of the previous days activities.
Since this is a lesson on scientific notation, the previous days activities would
include a review of the division property of exponents. Therefore, I would have
problems such as these for a warm-up activity:

Simplify each expression with no negative exponents:

1. (16x^4y^-3) / (-4x^2y^5)
2. (3x^-10y^2) / (15x^6y^-4)

**Note: These may look confusing to you here, but they would be understood much
easier if they were handwritten and not typed out. Also, I would handwrite them on
top of each other as a fraction, because that is the easiest way for students to
understand division.

After students had finished with the warm-up (they would have between 3 and 5
minutes to do it), then we would discuss the answers as a class and answer any
questions students had about the previous days lesson).
Also part of this section, this is where we would review the previous days
homework. As a teacher, I would give all the answers to the homework and answer
any questions students had on any of the problems. In order to get full credit for the
homework, all work must be shown, not just an answer. Then I would have students
pass their homework to the front of the row. I would collect it and students would be
expected to get out a piece of paper for notes on the next lesson at that time.

Presenting the stimulus material:

This is the time when the teacher is lecturing and presenting the lesson content for
the day. The teacher would need to explain the main concepts of the lesson and any
rules and procedures necessary to have students grasp that information.
 Since this is a lesson on scientific notation, I have enclosed my rough draft notes
that I would basically write on the board for students to know and understand. This is
the content that I would present. The rules and procedures are things such as the
formula that students need to know to understand when a number is in scientific
notation and when it is not.

Eliciting the desired behavior:

This is when the teacher is calling on students to ask how to do the steps to obtain
the correct answers. This section really goes hand in hand with presenting the
stimulus material. Because throughout the lesson, after the teacher has show the
students how to do a couple of the problems, the teacher should then put a problem on
the board where s/he says that the students should do it on their own and we will go
over it as a class in a couple or a few minutes. After that period, the teacher should
call on one, two or three students for an answer. S/he should never directly outright
say, “that’s wrong,” to a student. But if it is wrong, s/he could make a more positive
comment such as, “that’s very close.” The teacher should do this with at least 2
problems and go around the class and not always call on the same students for
answers everyday. Sometimes s/he should call on students who are not raising their
hands to answer, so that the whole class may be considered involved. But that is why
these steps go hand in hand. So some of the problems that are on my scientific
notation notes, I would put on the board for students to try themselves and then try to
have them explain the steps and how they got to the answer, not just the answer itself.

Providing Feedback:

This is where the teacher gives students 2 or more problems to do on their own
and the teacher goes around the room and checks for understanding. So this is more
for independent practice. This also goes hand in hand with Eliciting the desired
behavior, but is done pretty much at the end of the lesson, after the teacher has
discussed all of the main concepts and has given different students a chance to
participate and the whole class to work through a couple problems together. This is
why at this time, the teacher puts a couple of problems on the board for students to
just try on their own and then s/he goes around the room and makes sure that students
are understanding the content from the lesson. This could also go hand in hand with
assessing the behavior. Because at this point, the teacher could also assign the
homework and still walk around the room to see if the students have started on it and
are understanding the concepts.

Assessing the behavior:

This is where the teacher does one of two things. If homework has not already
been assigned, the teacher writes the homework on the overhead or the board and also
verbally tells the students what it is. This, again, is a strategy for teaching both oral
and visual learners. If the students have been paying attention during the lesson and
the whole class period, the teacher might just want to assign the homework and give
 students the rest of the class period to get started on the homework. If the majority of
students have not been paying attention, then the teacher should assign a pop quiz
right then and there on the lesson. It should consist of one, possibly 2 problems for
the lesson. But it shouldn’t be any more than that, because there would more than
likely only be about 5, maybe 10 minutes left of class. But students should have to
turn in the quiz promptly by the time the bell rings. I feel the best pop quiz might be
an actual problem from the lesson that was just taught. Therefore, those students who
weren’t paying attention wouldn’t understand how to do it at all. Those who were
paying attention and taking notes should have no trouble with it whatsoever.

HUNTER AND RUSSELL LESSON PLAN

Course: Algebra I, Semester II

Grade Level: 9-12 (mostly 9th and 10th graders)

Rationale:

This is where the teacher would explain why it is important to know what
scientific notation is and how to use it in the real world. So at this time, I would
explain why it is important to know about scientific notation and how to use it. In
doing so, I would state the following. I would tell the students that scientific notation
is important to know and use when you have extremely small numbers (i.e.
.000024020342040203402 parts per million) or when you have extremely large
numbers (i.e. 34600000000000000 miles). I would tell them that scientific notation is
not just used in science classes, but can also be applied to the real world. It is easier
to write such large numbers out in scientific notation than it is in the above notation,
which is called standard notation. I would also explain to them that the numbers are
easier to recite and say in scientific notation than they would be if you tried to say
them in standard notation.

Mental Set:

This is where the teacher would be giving students a warm-up. I would put down
a question on the board such as, “Is 346 X 10^5 in scientific notation? Why or why
not? If it is not, put it into scientific notation.” I would give students about 3-5
minutes to do this activity. The results of this activity would let me determine how
much students already knew about scientific notation. It would help me understand
how much breadth and depth to put into my lesson. After giving students that time to
try the warm up, I would give them the answer and then I would ask the class how
many of them got it right. If I saw a large number of hands up, I would know that I
wouldn’t have to spend too terribly much time on the lesson. After all, scientific
notation is a concept that most of them should have heard of before, it’s just a
question of whether or not they remember how to do it or not. In the case of this
warm up problem, the answer would be no for a few reasons. First of all, it would be
no because the coefficient 346 is not between 1 and 10. You could also say that it is
 not because the decimal (even though it is not shown, students by this time know that
it is after the 6) is not after the first non-zero number in this problem. In order to put
this number into scientific notation, you need to move the decimal point 2 places to
the left. When you do that, you increase the exponent by 2 and therefore, your new
answer is now 3.46 X 10^7.

Objective:

At this time, the teacher should have already listed the objectives on the board,
but should discuss them with the class verbally also. The teacher may point to the
objectives on the board as s/he discusses them if s/he feels the need to. These are the
following objectives for today’s lesson:

1. TLWBAT identify the significance of scientific notation in today’s society.

2. TLWBAT identify the main formula that is used to decide whether or not an
answer is in scientific notation.
3. TLWBAT change an answer from standard notation into scientific notation
and vice versa.

Input:

This is the time when the teacher is lecturing and presenting the lesson content for
the day. The teacher would need to explain the main concepts of the lesson and any
rules and procedures necessary to have students grasp that information.
Since this is a lesson on scientific notation, I have enclosed my rough draft notes
that I would basically write on the board for students to know and understand. This is
the content that I would present. The rules and procedures are things such as the
formula that students need to know to understand when a number is in scientific
notation and when it is not. Here is where you would explain things such as take care
of the coefficients first and give students the formula. You would also have to review
what the different exponent properties are.

Model:

At this time, the teacher should present several different instances of how to do
different problems in scientific notation. There are usually three types of problems
having to do with scientific notation. There are ones where you are just asked to
identify whether or not the number is in scientific notation and if it is not, you are
asked to put the number into scientific notation. There are also problems using
scientific notation where you have to use the multiplicative property of exponents, the
power-to-power property and the division property of exponents. You would have to
give the students at least 1 example involving each of these different problems they
would encounter and walk them through it. You would make sure to answer any
questions if you needed to. Some of the problems I could choose to include in this
section are (2 X 10^2)(3 X 10^5) =? In order to do this, students would have to use
 the associative property. This would then be translated to be (2 X 3)(10^2 X 10^5),
which equals 6 X 10^7. Another problem I could include in here would be a problem
such as (10 X 10^-4) / (2 X 10^-2). If students understood the lesson, they would be
able to understand that you take care of the coefficients first. You translate this into
(10 / 2)(10^-4 / 10^-2). This simplifies to be 5 X 10^-2.

Guided Practice:

At this time, the teacher should put up 2 to 4 problems on the board for students to
try on their own. The teacher should give the students problems and examples from
the homework, if possible. Or, the teacher could give the students a small worksheet
to start working on. The teacher could tell the students to do the first few problems
and then after about 5-10 minutes, the teacher should call on students to have them
explain how they got the correct answers to the problems. The teacher, during this
time, should be walking around the room and assisting students that need extra help.
The teacher should get an idea also of how many students have understood the main
concepts of the lesson at this time. If there were a significant amount of students that
did not understand the main concepts, then the teacher should attempt to re-teach the
part of the lesson that students are failing to understand. The teacher could also do
the first problem or two with the students and then ask them to do the next 2 or 3 as
guided practice and then have other students in the class tell the rest of the class what
the steps were and how they got the correct answers. Here are some examples that I
could have:

Write the following in Scientific notation:

1. 64,000
2. .00234
3. (9 X 10^3) / (3 X 10^-3)

Independent practice:

This is the time where the teacher would either assign the rest of the worksheet (if
one was given) as homework, or assign problems out of the book that were related to
the lesson that was just taught. They should be similar problems to what the students
discussed in the guided practice section. I would try to have them in the same format
as I had just finished teaching. But the problems that I would assign would normally
be out of the book (as I don’t believe students are issued books for nothing). I cannot
really say the exact problems that would be issued, because each school has different
books that they use. But I would assign about 5-15 problems from the book,
depending on how good the class was. The more they were paying attention, the less
homework they would be assigned. But they would have at least 2 examples of each
problem they could expect to see on a quiz or a test.
Accountability:

Students would be held accountable for the information pertaining to this lesson
in different ways. It would depend on how much the majority of the class paid
attention. I would certainly not punish the class for just one or two students who
were misbehaving. In general, my rule would be that if the majority of the class was
not paying attention and was just fooling around, then I would have a pop quiz at the
end of class. There would be one or two questions on scientific notation. The
students that were paying attention at this point would have no trouble with this quiz.
I would probably take the problems straight from the lesson I had taught. If the class
had been paying attention, then I would do the same, as I usually believe in doing,
which would just be to remind them to study for the weekly quiz, which would be on
Friday. However, if I did have a pop quiz, I would have questions such as these:

1. What are the rules for knowing that a number is in scientific notation?
2. (10 X 10^-4) / (2 X 10^-2) =?