Minds-On Math
Three-Part Lesson for Teaching Measurement (Virtual Tour)
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 3: Literacy for GrowthAges:
8-12
Grade Range:
3rd 4th 5th 6thFood Groups:
Primary: Knowledge Building, Vocabulary Secondary: Writing Processes & Strategies
Transcript
This is our math-learning wall and this is evolving throughout the year based on the topics that were learning in math. Currently were working on our measurement unit. We use the Three-part lesson format in our classroom. So the first thing is we do a minds-on activity. So the minds-on activitys always related to the learning goal and what I do is after the students have completed the minds-on activity, we talk about what the learning goal is. This sets the stage for what were going to be working on. I assign them a task and they spend the middle portion of the math period working on that task. We come together at the end through a consolidation. We often do a gallery walk or we do a math congress. Through this consolidation, we create anchor charts. So beside me you can see some examples of those anchor charts. On these anchor charts, we use vocabulary words and we always write down the definition. The language is kid friendly and its co-constructed with me. This is to ensure that they always understand just what theyve learned. We include strategies that theyve used while theyve been working on the task and they always provide me with examples of the work in the end. We post this on the learning wall so that they can be reminded of how they used the strategy during the lesson. During the minds-on activity, I assign the class a simple task; something that may take 5 minutes, 10 minutes maximum. This is something related to the learning goals, but something easy enough that just activates their mind, gets them thinking about the concepts, and gets them problem-solving a little. This is just to direct them towards the concepts that we will be working on throughout the lesson. When we were measuring area, one minds-on activity we used was I showed them several different shapes of note paper and I asked them "Which note paper do you think, if you had to write a really long note, would be the best note paper to use and why?" So they had to start thinking about the space on the notepaper, if there was any shapes that they had to eliminate, how they may measure the space. As you can see on my left, the first anchor chart we created was about measurement. The students have some practice with perimeter and area so we talked about the definition of perimeter, and some strategies to measure perimeter, and the definition of area and how you would measure area. The students then drew out some examples of this, they did some measuring, and then they posted a couple of their samples on the board here. The next lesson was about how to measure a parallelogram We needed to ensure that we started with what a parallelogram is. We defined a parallelogram, we drew some samples of parallelograms, and then we talked about how to measure the parallelogram. During the three-part lesson, the learning activity would be to find strategies to measure a parallelogram. Students used manipulatives; they used different types of grid paper, different types of measuring tools. During the consolidation period, the students then talk about the different strategies they explored in order to measure a parallelogram and through this we built success criteria of how to measure a parallelogram. Some students may count the squares if theyre using grid paper, they may use manipulatives to fill the space to measure the parallelogram, and some students use the formula. The next one we did was triangles. We follow the same format; a simple minds-on task to investigate triangles and then the large portion of the learning happens where theyre working on strategies to measure the triangle, and then we consolidate through talking about some of the strategies they used. By posting their work samples, they can come up and they can use the learning wall to apply their learning when were doing problem solving.
Related References
Additional Link:
Three-Part Lesson Format: http://professionallyspeaking.oct.ca/march_2010/features/lesson_study/three-part.aspx
Activity Objective
The goal of Minds-On Math: Three-Part Lesson for Teaching Measurement (Virtual Tour) is to illustrate how to follow a 3-step lesson format to teach measurement. To get started, the teacher uses a simple minds-on activity to get them thinking about the learning goal. Next, she assigns a simple task for the students to work on. Then students come together at the end to consolidate; they build an anchor chart, co-create success criteria, define unknown vocabulary words, and share their problem-solving strategies. The teacher also explains two other lessons using the same approach. As a result, the class is left with clear success criteria and a useful math-learning wall resource that they can consult throughout the year as needed.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- You can create a learning wall for just about any subject. Just try and make sure that the text is written large enough so that students can see as much as possible from their desks. - Dont hesitate to remind students to consult the math-learning wall before asking the teacher. This will help build their sense of independence and confidence as they develop their problem-solving skills.
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