EDME258

ASSIGNMENT 1



BRYTTANI AJANI

STUDENT NO: 220 110 194



WORD LIMIT: approx. 2000

DUE: 4
TH
APRIL 2014


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Investigative Lesson
Introductory Information
Grade Level: Stage 2 Date: March 2014
Topic / Title: Measurement (Length) / Do your friends taller than you, all have big feet too?
Working Mathematically Outcome:
Uses appropriate terminology to describe, and symbols to represent, mathematical
ideas (MA2-1WM)
selects and uses appropriate mental or written strategies, or technology, to solve
problems (MA2-2WM)
checks the accuracy of a statement and explains the reasoning used (MA2 3WM)
Prerequisite Knowledge:
measure lengths and distances using metres and centimetres
use of excel on computers
Content:
record lengths and distances using metres and centimetres, eg 1 m 25 cm
compare and order lengths and distances using metres and centimetres
estimate lengths and distances using metres and centimetres and check by
measuring
Objectives: The student actively measures height and foot-length in metres and
centimetres. The student verbally makes comparisons between different heights and foot-
lengths, both in their small groups, and on a whole-class scale.


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Assessment:
Class work the student has recorded the different lengths in metres and centimetres, in a
table. They have measured correctly, recorded correctly (e.g. 1m 25cm) and have
understood how to record information in a table.
Observation during class activity, the student is making verbal comparisons between
height and foot-length. They are verbalising their comparisons of different lengths, e.g. The
tallest person in our group didnt have the longest feet, they had the 2
nd
longest feet. They
also are able to explain why they have come to a certain conclusion by discussing the
measurements they took using the correct terminology (e.g. metres, centimetres).
Gearing down: There really is no right or wrong in this lesson. It is about the students
finding their own ways to make comparisons between height and foot-length. If, however,
some students are having difficulty measuring, because they have not yet mastered their
ability to correctly measure in metres and centimetres, these students can just measure in
centimetres. If centimetres are too difficult, then using an informal unit like a piece of string
may help. Obviously, the students will not be fulfilling the requirement to measure in
metres and centimetres, but at least with the measurements they take (centimetres or
string) they can still be recording these and making a comparison between height and foot-
length.
Gearing up: Students who are finding the lesson easy can take the results they recorded in
their table and make a graph, which shows another way of recording information and
making comparisons. If a further activity is required, students will be given a list of objects
in the classroom that they first have to estimate the length off, and then measure the length
to see how close their estimates were.
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Materials: Metre rulers, string, paper, items around classroom will be measured (e.g. table,
blackboard, wall).
ICT (if available) projector, smart board, excel program, computers/laptops/tablets,
printer

Lesson Outline
Launch: Have class gathered in a group on the floor. Teacher introduces a problem that the
class needs to work out. Teacher says Now Im going to tell what happened to me
yesterday. My friend, who is much taller than me, told me that because she was taller than
me, her feet would be longer than mine. So we measured our heights, and then the length of
our feet, and we found that her feet were indeed longer than mine. But, then I went to my
other friends house, who is also taller than me, and when we measured our feet, we found
that my feet were actually longer. So I need your help to find out whether the tallest people
really do have the longest feet? Then the teacher asks the class what they think the
outcome will be, and why. Here, the teacher introduces the concept of estimating. To do
this, 5 students are asked to come and stand up the front. The teacher asks the class,
without using a ruler, how could they best guess (or estimate) how tall each person is and
how long their feet are? Students can come up with any idea that is appropriate. It is just to
get them thinking. More estimating strategies are implemented in the explicit lesson. (10
mins)

Investigate: The class is split up into 6 groups of 4. Each group has access to a computer or
laptop so they can record their information in an Excel table.
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The students are given just one instruction Find out if the tallest person in your group has
the longest feet, and the shortest person has the shortest feet.
Students are first told to estimate the height and foot length of each member of their group,
and record these estimations.
Students are now given two metre rulers per group; paper if they want to trace around each
others feet to measure; string if they want to use it as a measuring device. They are told
they can use anything else in the classroom. They are not given a specific method for doing
this activity, they are just told what they need to find out. Teacher circulates classroom,
asking students about the strategies they may use, and what they think the answer may be.
(15 mins)

The students are then called back to the floor to discuss what they found. Each group has to
present their findings, and also the method they used to figure it out. (10 mins)

Then students are asked to go back to their groups and compare the order of students who
are tallest to shortest in height, with the order of students from longest to shortest foot-
length. This may mean students need to measure the height and foot-length of their other
group members if, in the previous activity, they only measured the tallest and shortest
person. A template of the table they are to use for this activity is projected on the board.
Once each height and foot-length is measured, and recorded in the table, students come
back to the floor and discuss if the height order in their group matches up with the order of
shortest to longest feet. Here, they also discuss how different their answers were to their
estimations. An example of the table is below. (10 mins)

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Summarize: To compare the different heights and foot lengths of the whole class, the
teacher asks the tallest student from each group to come and record their height and foot
length in the table on the smart board, and then the same for the shortest person in each
group. This provides a bigger class-wide comparison for the students to consider. (10 mins)
A class discussion is then initiated by the teacher where, to sum up the activity, students are
asked whether or not they think height has anything to do with the length of your feet? Did
the whole class comparison show similar results to their small group results? (5 mins)









Student 1

1m 25cm 2
nd
tallest 20 cm 3
rd
longest
Student 2

Student 3

Student 4

Height Height
rank
Foot-
length
Foot-length
rank
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Explicit Lesson
Introductory Information
Grade Level: Stage 2 Date: March 2014
Topic / Title: Measurement (Length) / Recording Right!
Working Mathematically Outcome:
Uses appropriate terminology to describe, and symbols to represent, mathematical
ideas (MA2-1WM)
selects and uses appropriate mental or written strategies, or technology, to solve
problems (MA2-2WM)
checks the accuracy of a statement and explains the reasoning used (MA2 3WM)
Prerequisite Knowledge:
measure lengths and distances using metres and centimetres
use of excel on computers
Content:
record lengths and distances using metres and centimetres, eg 1 m 25 cm
compare and order lengths and distances using metres and centimetres
estimate lengths and distances using metres and centimetres and check by
measuring
Objectives: Students are able to use an object to make estimations of the length of various
items. They correctly record and order their estimations, and then compare them with exact
measurements. Students acquire the understanding that estimations are approximate, and
exact measurements need to be found with rulers.

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Assessment:
Class work Students correctly record and order measurements and estimations in their
excel table.
Observation student is contributing to class discussion, and is able to verbalise their
understanding of estimating, whilst comparing this to exact measurements. During class
discussion, students show an understanding that estimations are approximate, and
measurements with a ruler are exact. During the teachers circulation of the classroom, the
student is able to engage in a conversation about how their estimations vary, depending on
what object is used.
Gearing down: If measuring with metres and centimetres is too hard, then the teacher can
give the student smaller lengths to measure, where only centimetres can be used. The
teacher needs to direct the student in making the transition from measuring just with
centimetres, to measuring larger lengths which require the use of metres and centimetres.
Gearing up: Students who are finding the lesson easy can be given bigger objects to
estimate the height of, so that they have to use different guessing strategies to estimate
the height/length. E.g. tree, length of classroom, height of classroom, etc.
Materials: Metre rulers, smart board, length worksheet, objects to measure (e.g. boxes,
pipes), string, computers/laptops/tablets with excel

Lesson Outline
Launch: Welcome class and have them gather in a group on the floor. Discuss what they
have been learning in the previous lesson (the investigative lesson). The teacher guides the
class discussion, leading students to talk about how they compared and ordered each
others height and foot-length. Here, the teacher introduces the concept of estimating. The
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teacher asks the class how they could have guessed (estimated) their heights and foot-
lengths without a ruler? (An idea that was touched on in the launch of the Investigative
lesson.) The teacher should accept students ideas, and lead them to suggesting using
another object to guess the height. E.g. string, paper, boxes, etc. (10 mins)

Instruct: The teacher now demonstrates estimation. The class is told that they are going to
estimate the length of the desk. The teacher tells the class that her hand span is
approximately 10cm long and she is going to use this information to estimate the length of
the desk. Students are asked to suggest what will have to happen next? They should come
to the conclusion that they need to find out how many of the teachers hands will fit along
the length of the desk. All of the students can count along with the teacher to find the
answer. The teacher writes the answer on the board (e.g. desk length = 10 hand-spans).
Then the teacher asks how can this guess be made more accurate? The students will make
various suggestions. The teacher is to lead students into understanding that they can
multiply the length of the teachers hand by the amount of times it did fit along the desk, to
get an approximate estimate. So the teacher writes in the board:

10cm x 10 hands = 100cm or 1m so the desk is approximately 1m long

The teacher then does this same demonstration another couple of times, each time using a
different length object (e.g. string, blackboard eraser, pencil), to show that the estimation
can be different depending on what you use to estimate with. By the end of this activity,
there will be a range of estimations for the length of the desk. Now the teacher can measure
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the desk to get the exact answer. Students now see the difference between estimation and
an exact measurement. (20 mins)

Now students are split into groups of about 4. The following instructions are written on the
board. They have to be carried out in their small groups. The objects that the students have
to measure are very similar in height. During this activity, teacher circulates room to ask
students about their estimation techniques. Instructions on the board:
1. Estimate the length of 4 objects around the classroom. Use one group
members hand-span to make your estimates. Record your estimations in an
excel table on the computer.
2. Then order these objects from shortest estimate to tallest estimate.
3. Now measure these 4 objects correctly with a metre ruler and record in your
excel table.
4. Now order these objects from shortest to tallest, using their actual
measurements.
(20 mins)

Summarize: Students are asked to come and sit back on the ground. Each group shares to
the rest of the class what they used to estimate the lengths of their objects, and how
different their estimates were to the correct measurements. Teacher uses this discussion
point to reiterate that estimates are only approximate (guesses), and measuring with rulers
provides an exact measurement. To explain this, the teacher keeps making reference to the
results that the students collected first hand in the main part of the lesson. (10 mins)

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Justification
In my lesson plans, there is a strong connection between practice and theory, where the
strategies and activities I have planned are well supported by various publications. The
learning framework is a key part of the theory behind my lesson plans. The stage that my
lesson plans are made for is Stage 2. The activities I have designed require students to
record, compare, order and estimate with measurements in metres and centimetres.
This is a suitable lesson objective, as the Board of Studies clearly shows that by stage 2,
students should be able to estimate, measure, compare, convert and record length...
using formal units (Board of Studies [BOS], 2014, Stage Statements). This lines up with
the learning framework for measurement, which shows that by Stage 2, students should
be meeting the criteria of level 4 of the framework Measuring using Conventional units
(Count me into Measurement Framework, pg.4). There is integration of technology
throughout the lesson activities, which all have a constant focus on the content and the
objectives of the lesson, which are to record, compare, order and estimate
measurements. These features of my lesson plans are evidence of the Technological
pedagogical content knowledge framework (TPACK), which involves the representation
of concepts using technologies (Serow, Callingham & Muir, 2014, p.6).
There are also measures in place in each lesson plan which will meet the needs for a wide
range of students. Students may have physical, intellectual, social or emotional
difficulties (Serow, Callingham & Muir, 2014, p.244) which can all be catered for. The
gearing up and gearing down activities are designed to provide an effective learning
experience for any student who is either not yet capable of fulfilling the main activity of
the lesson, or who is finding they have an excellent understanding of the content and
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need a further challenge. In the Investigative lesson, for example, students who are
having difficulty have the opportunity to use measurements which only involve
centimetres. If this is still too difficult, they are able to use informal units. Alternatively,
students who require more of a challenge are able to further their knowledge of
recording measurements by making a graph. There is also an exercise that involves the
activity of estimating. In each of these exercises, the student is still recording, comparing,
ordering and estimating with different measurements. This is the same in the Explicit
lesson where the size or level of difficulty of the gearing up or gearing down activities
can be altered to accommodate each students needs. The integration of ICT is another
method which can make activities more accessible for students with a wide range of
needs, for example a physical disability which inhibits a students ability to hand-write;
students with behavioural disabilities whose attention is only kept with the use of
technology; or students who have English as a second language can be assisted by
language -translations with ICT.
My lesson plans address the following Working Mathematically outcomes:
Uses appropriate terminology to describe, and symbols to represent, mathematical
ideas (MA2-1WM)
selects and uses appropriate mental or written strategies, or technology, to solve
problems (MA2-2WM)
checks the accuracy of a statement and explains the reasoning used (MA2 3WM)
MA2-1WM is justified in my lesson plans, because each activity emphasises the use of
correct terminology (i.e. metres and centimetres) as well as the use of correct symbols
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(i.e. m for metres and cm for centimetres) when recording their measurements. It is
expected that, by the end of each lesson, the students will understand the correct way to
record measurements of metres and centimetres.
MA2-2WM is met in my lessons by the use of excel tables on the computer to record
results. Also, students have to choose appropriate strategies when it comes to finding out
if the tallest person has the longest feet (investigative lesson), and also appropriate
strategies when they are estimating.
MA2-3WM is incorporated in to my lesson because there is a big focus on class discussion
and also one-on-one discussions between teacher and student during class activities
where the teacher circulates the room. The assessments in both lessons have a large
focus on whether or not the students can verbalise their understanding of concepts, and
explain and justify how they came to a particular conclusion.
Each lesson has included a detailed assessment for learning tasks. It is of great
importance that the teacher has the ability of seamlessly integrating assessment tasks
into the teaching and learning sequence (Serow, Callingham & Muir, 2014, p.215). The
assessments incorporated into my lessons include physical evidence of knowledge. This
involves the collection of students tables/graphs and other recordings of their results.
These work samples can then be used to identify where the students are up to in their
knowledge understanding of the particular maths concept. Teacher observation is
another assessment use in my lessons. During class discussions, and also during class
activities where the teacher circulates the room, asking student questions, the teacher
observes how the students physically is recording, comparing, ordering and estimating
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measurements. There are also certain key concepts that the teacher is looking for the
students to verbalise. Verbalising of key concepts, and students-explanations of how or
why they did something is a great assessment tool to show student knowledge and
understanding.













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Reference List
Board of Studies (BOS). (2014). Stage Statements. Retrieved from
http://syllabus.bos.nsw.edu.au/mathematics/mathematics-k10/stage-statements/
Count me into Measurement Framework. Retrieved from
http://compasstech.com.au/ARNOLD/ACU/cmim.pdf
Serow, P., Callingham R., & Muir, T. (2014). Primary Mathematics: Capitalising on ICT for
today and tomorrow. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.