Unit 4: Putting it All Together and Lesson Planning

Return to: Emily McAlpine's Portfolio Page, Teaching Middle School Mathematics Intervention (AIS), Unit 3

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Overview

Unit 4 is all about synthesizing what you have learned throughout Units 1-3 and applying that to two design activities; a lesson plan and student binder. You will also find a reflection activity at the end, which asks you to reflect on this unit and the course as a whole.

Lesson 4.1: Designing a Lesson

Objective

Create and design a lesson plan for a middle school math intervention class.

Background/Context

As you have likely learned in this course or elsewhere, students tend to benefit from structure and consistency. When planning for the year and designing lessons, try to establish a routine early on. This does not mean you have to do the same thing every day, however, you can follow a similar structure and routine in each lesson. This routine, and even a daily agenda, should be communicated clearly and consistently with students so they are aware of what is expected of them. This also benefits students, particularly intervention students, because it is modeling strategies that can help them improve their general work habits.

Introduction

When designing a lesson for intervention students, it is important to consider what they are doing in their regular math class. If possible, try to align your curriculum with that of the regular math class as a means to build students' foundational skills in the topics they will be diving deeper into. For example, if I know that the Math 8 class is about to start a unit on the laws of exponents, I might design a few lessons that cover the foundational skills around that topic. Additionally, once the Math 8 class completes that unit, I might design a lesson that reviews and reinforces those new concepts.

An intervention lesson should have a healthy combination of direct instruction, guided practice, independent or group work, and a fun/engaging activity. As has been discussed, instructors should try to avoid long periods of direct instruction or lecturing as that often leads to a lack of student engagement. These lessons should also include a (consistent, if possible) introductory activity and concluding activity, which I often use for fluency practice or a quick formative assessment. While technology should be incorporated in some way, instructors should also be careful that students are not spending the entire class on a device. This can also lead to a lack of engagement and participation.

Example

Directions: You will now have the opportunity to look over a sample lesson for an 8th grade Math AIS class, designed by me. Please note that this lesson is designed for a 70-minute block and could carry over into multiple blocks, depending on student progress and needs. If you are a current teacher and your classes are significantly shorter, consider how you might adapt this lesson to fit your class schedule.

Link to Example: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1phHIBqmXz5fjgnbcie6UKE0YF52djTxw/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=114694005730662303707&rtpof=true&sd=true

Design Activity

Directions: It's time to apply everything you have learned in this course to design your own math intervention lesson!

A template has been provided with suggestions for instructional strategies, however, you may change this as needed. You may also choose to design a lesson on any topic. If you need ideas, I would suggest reviewing your State's standards and choosing one to cover. Feel free to incorporate any materials or resources that you have found or created throughout this mini-course.

Link to Template (**Make a copy for yourself to edit**): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zh3jfeZFIydb-_B65k3SaFda8B3ncQBk/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=114694005730662303707&rtpof=true&sd=true

Lesson 4.2: Student Binder

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Objective

Design and organize a binder for student use in a math intervention class.

Background/Context

A student binder can be a useful tool in activating students as agents of their own learning. By providing students with a clear design for the binder, they will have the opportunity to practice organization and self-responsibility. It can also serve as a resource in supporting students with progress monitoring and self-reflection.

Introduction

Due to financial constraints, it is not always possible to provide students with (or ask them to obtain) a binder. In my classroom, we used two-pocket folders in place of a binder, however, a binder with dividers would be ideal for organizational purposes. I recommend having students leave their binder/folder in a designated place in the classroom. This eliminates the possibility of students losing or forgetting their materials for class, and also provides the instructor with an opportunity to put a routine in place for the start and end of class.

Review

In preparation for the final design activity, you may want to take some time to review the key concepts covered in this mini-course. I would suggest looking over your reflection journal and the activities you've completed in other lessons. The items featured in Lesson 2.2 will be particularly helpful in completing the next activity.

Design Activity

Directions: In PowerPoint or Google Slides, you will now design and organize a binder for student use in a math intervention class. Imagine that each slide is a divider in the binder and label each with a category/title. Within each category, create of list of materials/work that students should include in that section.

As you do this, consider all of the concepts that have been discussed throughout this course and try to incorporate those as much as possible. In particular, consider the features of your lesson plan and what materials/work students will need or be left with. For example, you might have a category for "Data Tracking" where students will keep materials such as those that were provided in the "Explore" section of Unit 2. You can even include sample documents or past student work as examples.

Unit 4 Reflection

Directions: In your reflection journal, please address the following questions and anything else you would like to make note of from this unit.

• How did you apply what you learned in Units 1-3 to both of the design activities in this unit?
• If you are currently a teacher, are there any ideas or strategies from this mini-course that you plan to try out in your classroom? How could you use some of those ideas or strategies to improve upon your practice?