Domain: Operations and Algebraic Thinking Standard Code: 1.OA.7 (Teddy Bear Seesaw)
Part 1: / Selecting and Setting up a Mathematical TaskWhat are your mathematical goals for the lesson? (What do you want students to know and understand about mathematics as a result of this lesson?) / Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if equations involving addition and subtraction are true or false. For example, which of the following equations are true and which are false? 6=6, 7=8-1, 5+2=2+5, 4+1=5+2.
· What are your expectations for students as they work on and complete this task?
· What resources or tools will students have to use in their work that will give them entry into, and help them reason through, the task?
· How will the students work – independently, in small groups, or in pairs – to explore this task?
· How will students record and report their work? / · Students will be able to model equalities with pictures and a number sentence
· (Seesaw) paper, pencil, (Teddy Bear) counters, true/false card
· Students will begin doing independent work, then move into pairs
· Students will record their work on their (seesaw) paper.
How will you introduce students to the activity so as to provide access to all students while maintain the cognitive demands of the task? / Demonstration: Show students a balancing scale(seesaw) and use teddy bear counters to show what happens if you put a lot on one side and a few on the other. Ask students does this balance are both sides the same. How could we make them the same? Ask volunteers to come up and show how the teddy bears could balance. Write statement on the board (2+3=5), ask children if this is true or false.
Launch 1: The teddy bears are at the park. Their favorite thing to do is go on the seesaw. The teddy bears want to play on the seesaw. Put some teddy bears on the right and the same amount on the left so the seesaw can balance.
Launch 2: This time, 10 teddy bears want to ride the seesaw with their teddy bear friends. How many different ways can the teddy bears ride so that both sides are the same?
As students finish, they can ask partner, “Is my number sentence true or false?”
Part 2: / Supporting Students’ Exploration of the Task
As students work independently or in small groups, what questions will you ask to –
· Help a group get started or make progress on the task?
· Focus students’ thinking on the key mathematical ideas in the task?
· Assess students’ understanding of key mathematical ideas, problem-solving strategies, or the representations?
· Advance students’ understanding of the mathematical ideas? / Getting Started Questions:
- What prior knowledge do you have?
- Where will you put your teddy bears to show how the seesaw will balance?
- Is this sentence true? How do you know?
- Do you remember when we used the balance? How can you relate that to your problem?
Assessing Questions:
- How did you know where to put the teddy bears?
- How did you know how many teddy bears to use?
- How are you sure that is true/equal?
- What did you use to come up with that answer?
- How do you know the answers are equal/true?
Advanced Questions:
- What happens if one bear fell off?
- Can you find another way to make the sides the same?
- Can you do this using different numbers?
- How would things change if you (added a bear, took one away, etc)?
- Think of another question you could ask about this problem.
- *Writing – Write a story problem involving the bears using the terms true/false/equal/the same as.
How will you ensure that students remain engaged in the task?
· What assistance will you give or what questions will you ask a student (or group) who becomes quickly frustrated and requests more direction and guidance is solving the task?
· What will you do if a student (or group) finishes the task almost immediately? How will you extend the task so as to provide additional challenge? / Assistance:
- Show me what you are thinking.
- What do you know?
- Remember, the sides have to be the same.
- Start the problem for them, then have them finish it
- Try a different strategy.
Extensions:
- Show me another way
- More bears came to the park to play on the seesaw. How many solutions can you find?
Part 3: / Sharing and Discussing the Task
How will you orchestrate the class discussions so that you accomplish your mathematical goals?
· Which solution paths do you want to have shared during the class discussion? In what order will the solutions be presented? Why?
· What specific questions will you ask so that students will –
- Make sense of the mathematical ideas that you want them to learn?
- Expand on, debate, and question the solutions being shared?
- Make connections among the different strategies that are presented?
- Look for patterns?
- Begin to form generalizations?
What will you see or hear that lets you know that all students in the class understand the mathematical ideas that you intended for them to learn? / Solution Path:
- Using the balance
- Using teddy bear counters
- Picture representation
- Written number sentence with the equal symbol
Have students come up in this order of difficulty to demonstrate their work:
· 6=6
· 6=5+1
· 5+1=1+5
· 5+1=2+4
Specific questions:
- How can you show this a different way?
- Does 10 always equal 4+6?
- What if I took one away, would the seesaw still work?
- Does the same mean equal?
- If this is false, show me how to make this true.
- True and false answer card
- Questions: what makes this true? What makes this false? Where else would you use an equal sign?
- Have other students verbalize what the student did and/or how they got that answer.
- Connections: Students write down the multiple accurate combinations they came up with and compare them.
- Generalizations: Will 5+1 always equal 6? Is 5+1 the only way that equals 6?
What will you see or hear?
- We will see students answer the questions in accuracy in representation.