Entry 1

Math Lesson 10/24

The math lesson starts with a mini-lesson addressing a topic on what they will be talking about.
Teacher gives notes for them to write into their notebook. After they finish writing the notes on
the board, she goes over the topic with them as a whole group. They can ask questions if they
have any. She gives them plenty of time to write down their notes from off of the board.

They are talking about PEMDAS or Order of Operations. Most of the students have said that
they have done this before in 3rd grade. She had them write down PEMDAS and then she wrote
what each letter stands for. After they finished writing down their notes, she showed a video
showing how to use PEMDAS in a problem. She pauses the video to explain something in even
more depth after they say it on the video, etc. she paused the video after they said that you
could divide or multiply first and explained to them that whichever comes first, you do no matter
if it is multiplication or division. Same with addition and subtraction. She then played an Order of
Operations song called “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.” The students really enjoyed the
video and had it played again.

She puts a problem on the board to do one together as a class. 6 x 26 + 3 x 45 -11 = n

She writes PEMDAS next to the problem so they know what to do. Do I have parentheses in
tmy problem? No? Cross out the P. Do I have any exponents? No? Cross or the E.
Multiplication or division. What am I doing first? 6 x 26. They solve and get 156. Then she tells
them that they have to rewrite the problem. 15 + 3 x 45 - 11 = n. Is there anymore
multiplication? Yes? What do I have to do? 3 x 45. They solve and get 135. Rewrite the
problem. 156 + 135 - 11 = n. Any more multiplication or division? No? Cross off you M and D.
Addition or subtraction first? Addition. 156 + 135. They get 291. Rewrite the problem. 291 - 11 =
n. Addition or subtraction? Subtraction. 291 - 11. They get 280. That is their answer.

The do another problem together on the board.

After she finishes showing her work on the board she shows them that she has made an upside
triangle shape by showing her work. She rewrites the problem every time to show her work.

After 2 problems together, she gives them all one to solve on their own. And then goes over the
problem after they have completed the problem.

She then shows them these videos

http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/math/problem-solving/psorder-of-
operations.htm and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSkDfTe7xX0

For those students who feel comfortable with the content, they are allowed to move to their
workstations. If they don’t feel comfortable, they stay on the carpet to go over some more
problems. Their workstations are either games (on their chromebook), an application on their
chromebook (Math Man this week), they have a multiplication game station where they are
working on flashcards right now, they have a review station that they do on their chromebooks
that is on Khan Academy, and their last station is problem solving and they are working on a
problem solving deck. They can play a game called Math24.

For the students that are on the carpet, she goes over the steps of order of operations again.
She then gives them another problem and goes over the problem step by step so that they
understands. She asks them questions such as “Is there any multiplication or division? Is there
anymore multiplication? Is there any addition or subtraction? Which is first? Is there any more
addition or subtraction? The children are very responsive to the lesson.

Reflection
I observed a math class and I think it went really well. I enjoyed being able to actually see a
whole group math lesson because that isn’t something that she normally does. Her objectives
were to make sure that the students understood the concept of order of operations. I think that
they teacher did very well with finding resources to keep them engaged. The students loved the
order of operations song and it stuck with them while they were working; I would hear them
humming the song. I think the teacher could have had more control over what the students were
doing when they were finished with their worksheet while she worked with the students who
were needing more help. I felt like the students could have used some more work on order of
operations because a lot of them were still confused afterward even though they “finished” their
work. In the future, I could see myself using the videos that the teacher used. The students were
engaged and especially loved the song. I want to be able to have a fun classroom with a fun
environment like that for my students to learn. In the future, I might also break up the problems
a little better so they understand the steps more clearly.