Three Part Lesson: Fractions

We were able to observe a 3-part lesson in Laura's classroom.

Part 1: Getting Started

Laura activated prior experiences with fractions with this bellwork.

After the bellwork, the class held a community circle activity that got students to discuss what they did for mother's day.

Part 2: Working on It

Laura introduced the problem to the class.  Each pair had a choice in which task they wanted to work on:

I bought my mom 20 roses for Mother's Day.  3/5 of the roses were red.  The rest were white.  How many of each colour did she get?  Show your work.  Include a diagram.

I bought my mom 10 roses for Mother's Day. 3/5 of the roses were red. The rest were white. How many of each colour did she get? Show your work. Include a diagram.

Having two tasks (parallel tasks) that involves the same skills allows Laura to differentiate instruction for the combined grade.

Here are a few student solutions:

Part 3: Reflecting and Connecting

Laura gave all students the chance to learn about each other's strategy by doing a GALLERY WALK.  Students were given 2-3 sticky notes and asked to leave a comment or question on someone else's solution.

Here are a few:

Once this was done, Laura strategically chose 3 pairs to share their solutions with the class.  As pairs present, the rest of the class may ask questions and/or make connections to their own thinking.  This is a math CONGRESS.

Once each pair presented, Laura asked the rest of the class to place their solution next to the one that was similar to their thinking.

The lesson ended when Laura summarized the lesson and let students know that they will continue the discussion the next day.

Word Wall

Traditionally, word walls are a collection of high-frequency words that students use in their writing etc.

Laura created a word wall focussed on parts of speech.

Problem Solving

One focus of Laura's math program is problem solving. 

Students get many opportunities to go through the problem solving process.

Students are always encouraged to solve problems using many different strategies.

Laura also uses a strategy wall to give students a starting point when working on a particular concept or problem.

Reading Response Journals

Students complete a reading response journal at one of the literacy centres.

Students get an opportunity to write their response independently.  They also get a chance to share what they've written to their group and get feedback.  Laura also confers with the group and gives them feedback.

Students are placed into groups of 5.  Each group hands in their journals on a specific day. 

In September, Laura modelled how to write an appropriate response with the class.  Once at the independent stage, each student received a letter modelling the type of response Laura is looking for in their journals.

Each week, students write to Laura and she responds.

Throughout the year, Laura also collects evaluation information from students.  Students know ahead of time that a particular response will be evaluated. They know the criteria ahead of time too.

 Laura uses a checklist that gives students a picture of what they did well and which areas can be improved upon.

Literacy Centres

Laura uses literacy centres for her language program.  The structure of her centres stay the same throughout the year but she changes the content.

The class is divided into groups that goes through each centre during the week.

Guided Reading:
She meets with each group once a week for guided reading.

Laura integrates Science and Social Studies in her guided reading groups.  Students tend to read materials from these units.  This is one way she differentiates instruction for each grade group.

Computer Centre

Students visit websites that connect to science or social studies at this centre.

(Spelling) Word Study Centre

Activities at this centre change regularly.  Students usually work with words from the unit coming up.  This gives them some background knowledge for the science and social studies unit about to be taught.