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Sample Lesson Plans
Using Literature to Teach Elementary School Math and Science
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education
ED312, Spring 1996; Professor Maria Varelas
Lesson by Mary E. Stalzer
- Third grade
- It gives a clear defining illustration of the division of one hundred. The illustrations appealed to me as well as the obvious math concept. It is suggested by these illustrations that the setting is a forest. Animals are seen in the background, racing away from the ants, with food from the picnic. The ants are convinced that by dividing themselves into rows they will arrive at the picnic sooner.
- The book tells the story of one hundred hungry ants on their way to a picnic. The littlest ant suggests that they march in two rows fo fifty to get there sooner. Four rows of twenty-five, five rows of twenty, and ten rows of ten are soon suggested, to arrive at the picnic sooenr yet. When they arrive at the picnic too late, ninety-nine angry hungry ants begin chasing the littlest ant.
Third graders can be expected to analyze the story and math concepts further. This book can be read by the class the week the teacher introduces two digit even division (quotient with no remainder). It can be read just prior to the math lesson. The reading should be paced to enable the students to comprehend the different organizations of rows and to analyuze or predict the reasoning of the littlest ant. Discussions and illustrations by the teacher and students will pace the reading appropriately. Role playing may help the students to concretely grasp the even division. A room of twenty "ants" can line up in a single row of twenty and continue to divide in several ways to reach the other side of the room sooner. This activity should be done before, to introduce the concept, or after, to check for transfer of learning. The emphasis of the lesson can be division of two digit numbers with no remainders. It should be anticipated that the students will discover more than one way to evenly divide a number.
The teacher should point to the littlest ant as a planner. His efforts to solve his problem prove only his proficiency in even division. The ant's actions will be the class' model for solving division problems. The teacher can guide discussion after the reading by posing questions such as, "Did the ants get to the picnic any faster the second, third or fourth time they organized their march?" (It may be discovered that the ants who were at the end of the first line did in fact get to the picnic sooner in their multiple row. Other students will likely insist that the fuss of making rows slowed down all of the ants.) "Why did the littlest ant first suggest two rows of fifty?"(It may be discovered how the ant manipulated the group of one hundred to get the two even rows. Hopefully the pattern of dividing each row by two will be discovered.) After this question, the idea of remainders may surface by a discovery from the class, or be introduced by the teacher.
Some two digit division problems, which follow along with the discussion, may be written on the board at this time. This numerical representation of the littlest ant's reasoning may help in the transition from forming new rows of ants to numeric division. Guide the discussion to a discovery of even numbers in the rows being divided by two, leaving no reaminder with the following questions:"What if there were 101 ants? Or 102? Or 103? Or...?" "What numbers divided by two leave a remainder?" "What numbers do not leave a remainder? ""How can we tell if a two digit number is even or odd?A three digit number?"These questions are paced to flow with the class discussion. They are posed when the class can define and identify the terms in the quesions. The sequencing of these questions is important. What is acquired from one question may be applied to a following one. During this class discussion the students may find a manipulative helpful in visualizing the division of rows. On hunred pennies to each student can represent one hundred ants. This will ease the transition of this lesson to a money lesson later. Have the students keep record of their finding with their division of rows. This recorded data will help with the transition from the visual manipulative to the written math. The application of dividing rows of pennies assists in comprehension of division of two digit numbers. Cooperative learning in groups of three or four may be appropriate during this discussion. It must be expected by the teacher that the use of manipulative and group work can be time consuming. The appropriate questions posed by the teacher and the flow of discoveries may determine the length of this lesson.
The teacher can assess the students understanding with a take home assignment. Rather than one hundred hungry ants going to a picnic, have the students each decide on a different number of ants (two digit number). Thye can decide from a pool of numbers which the teacher has pre-determined appropriate for this assignment. This assures that the numbers chosen can be represented with four different arrangements. The completed assignment must include an illustration of a picnic in any setting, along with four different march patterns for the ants. In other words, the student must illustrate four different ways to divide the number they chose of ants.
The student should communicate to the teacher in this assignment that she can group the ants into even parts four (or more) different ways. Each march pattern must include a written division problem which can be represented by it. After these assignments are graded, an in class quiz may follow. The students may work in groups, but each student submits their own quiz paper showing their work and explaining their answers. Some suggested quiz questions are: If there are 64 monkeys in 4 rows, how many monkeys are in each row? 84 chidlren went to the show. They sat in rows of 21, how many rows did the children sit in? If 96 people are in line to enter the show, what are four ways we can organize the waiting crowd (how many rows of people and how many people in each row)?
The take-home assignment, quiz as well as individual interviews will suffice in assessing the child's comprehension of even division. These individual interviews should allow the student to illustrate his understanding in written and oral communication. Interviews allow for the teacher and student to pin point areas where the students is weak and strong on the given lesson. Understanding the application of division with two digits, a plan in applying these udnerstanding to division of two digit numbers, and an answer are the criteria to be used in assessment.
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