Amanda Goldstein

Ms. Lachances 1st grade class

Taught 11/12/13
LESSON PLAN OUTLINE

JMU Elementary Education Program

A. TITLE/TYPE OF LESSON The Introduction of Subtraction/Math
B. CONTEXT OF LESSON
Since the students have been learning how to add numbers together since I have been
student teaching at McSwain Elementary School, they are ready to start learning
subtraction, too. I believe that the majority of the students feel comfortable adding
numbers together, so it would make sense to start teaching a new operation to them at this
time. Students will start learning subtraction through story problems and games that are
very similar to the ones that they performed when learning addition. They will be
interested in this topic because it is new and the games that they have played in the past
really kept them engaged during past lessons. It has been a fun and exciting way to learn
and practice these math operations.
C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand
Students will understand
that they take away a
number from another when
subtracting.
Students will understand
how subtraction and
addition are different from
one other.

Know
Students will know how to
subtract correctly with
numbers or with the help of
manipulatives.
Students will know that the
smaller number is
subtracted from the bigger
number to find their
difference.

Do
Students will relate
subtraction to story
problems.
Students will play Roll and
Record and Five in a Row
by subtracting correctly.

D. ASSESSING LEARNING
Since these first graders are being introduced to subtraction for the first time with this
lesson, they will not be formally assessed at this time. I will informally assess them,
however, with story problems, Roll and Record, Five in a Row, and observations. With
this gathered data, I will be capable of analyzing who understands subtraction and who
needs more help in which areas. This will assist me in understanding which areas each
child needs to focus more on in further lessons. The different types of data collected will
also help me assess students in various ways. Although the data being collected is
informal, I believe it will be beneficial to gauge student understanding at the beginning
stages of learning about subtraction.

Amanda Goldstein
Ms. Lachances 1st grade class

Taught 11/12/13

E. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING

Virginia Standards of Learning in Math
1.6

The student will create and solve one-step story and picture problems using
basic addition facts with sums to 18 or less and the corresponding subtraction
facts.

1.11

The student will use calendar language appropriately (e.g., names of the
months, today, yesterday, next week, last week).

F. MATERIALS NEEDED
- Start With/ Get To materials number line, red and green pins, number cards
- Roll and Record materials game boards and dice
- Five in a Row materials chips, game boards and dice
- Pencils
- Story problem cards
- Unit cubes
- Smart Board calendar activities
All materials will be organized in the classroom prior to teaching this lesson. I have made
my own number line for Start With, Get To. All other materials will already be placed in
appropriate areas in the classroom for convenience during this lesson. The computer will
be ready and set up with all documents loaded on it previously so we do not waste time
waiting for them to load.
G. PROCEDURE

Preparation of the learning environment

o I will have the SmartBoard calendar activity up on the computer prior to
having the students come in so we do not waste time waiting for it to load.
o Everything for Start With, Get To will be placed underneath the easel at
the rug so it is all ready to be used in an accessible manner.
o All of the materials for the games will be set up in an organized fashion so
there is no confusion or time wasted looking for materials throughout the
lesson.
Engage- Introduction of the lesson
o Before the students start learning about subtraction, the student teacher
will come up to the SmartBoard and do routine calendar and weather
activities that we always do on a regular basis. The student teacher will
ask the rest of the students various questions. During this time, I will sit by
the student teacher to help them ask questions and make sure this process
does not take too long and run over into math.
o Once we are done with the weather and calendar, the student teacher will
sit back on the rug with the rest of the class and get ready for math.
o We will play Start With, Get To. We have played this before but the
students have only been playing with numbers up to 30. Today, they will

Amanda Goldstein
Ms. Lachances 1st grade class

Taught 11/12/13

play with numbers from 1 to 100. They will only practice counting
forward during this lesson.
o 15 minutes of Subtraction Story Problems I will show the first half of this
Brainpop video (up until 3 minutes and 30 seconds into it)
http://www.brainpopjr.com/math/additionandsubtraction/basicsubtraction/
to get the students interested in learning about subtraction. This will model
subtraction story problems similar to the ones that the book suggested for
me to review. We will go over story problems after this verbally, too.
Students will be encouraged to retell these stories to the class and to
partners for further comprehension. We will model these stories with the
use of unit cubes for a visual representation, too. I will make sure to ask
the students if the result of each subtraction problem is bigger or smaller
than the initial amount of objects stated.
Implementation of the lesson
o 15 minutes of Introducing Subtraction Games After we have gone over
different story problems and the class seems to grasp this concept, I will
then introduce Roll and Record and Five in a Row to the students. The
students will independently choose their own partners. They will also be
able to choose which game they want to play first. After they play for ten
minutes, I will tell the students to switch to the other game. After the
students play Roll and Record they will put their paper in the Silly Circle
Box so I can analyze their work later on to check for understanding.
o Before the students play either game, I will explain both to them
thoroughly. They have played both of these games with addition
previously so I anticipate them understanding how to apply this to addition
well, too. Each game will have simple directions by their designated
materials so students can play this independently. Both games are outlined
below.
Roll and Record I will show students two different number cubes.
One die has dots on it and the other has numbers. In partners, they
will take turns rolling both dice at the same time. The number cube
tells the student which number to start with and the dot cube tells
them how much to subtract or take away from the larger number.
Since the number cubes are labeled 7-12 and the number cubes
have dots from 1-6 on each side, the students will always find a
positive solution, never negative. When students subtract each die
from one another, they will record this on their sheet above each
solution (i.e. The student will write 7-2 over the 5). The students
will continue to play this game until I tell them to switch to the
other game.
Five in a Row I will show students two different number cubes.
One die has dots on it and the other has numbers. In partners, they
will take turns rolling both dice at the same time. The number cube
tells the student which number to start with and the dot cube tells
them how much to subtract or take away from the larger number.
Since the number cubes are labeled 7-12 and the number cubes

Amanda Goldstein
Ms. Lachances 1st grade class

Taught 11/12/13

have dots from 1-6 on each side, the students will always find a
positive solution, never negative. When the students subtract the
smaller number from the larger number and come up with a
difference, they will place their chip on a number on their board.
One partner will have yellow chips and one will have red chips.
Their goal will be to cover the entire board with chips reflecting
the different pairs of numbers that they rolled.
o If students are having trouble with any of these activities, there will be unit
cubes for them to use as manipulatives for a more concrete representation
of subtraction.
Closure
o 15 minutes of solving more story problems After students finish playing
their math games, I will ask everyone to put their materials away and
come back to the rug. We will go over two more story problems. I will ask
them whether or not the results are smaller or larger than the initial
number. This will conclude this lesson.
Clean-up
o Students will have already put all materials away before sitting on the rug
so clean up will be done prior to this. I will put the game bins away after
the students transition into handwriting for the ten minutes before specials.
If there is no time for this, I will do this before they leave for specials.

H. DIFFERENTIATION
Although the activities that we are doing in this lesson are very similar to the ones that
we have done when learning about addition, they are still different. If students have
trouble grasping subtraction, the games will be difficult to play. All of the students will be
given directions in the beginning so that they can access all of the materials
independently. Each game station will have directions on it, too. This will allow me to go
around the room and help students who are struggling with this material. I will encourage
them to draw pictures on a separate piece of paper or use unit cubes for representation
purposes. If students continue to struggle, I will model examples with the use of the
cubes at this time. Since we are using games, a video, and visual, verbal, and numerical
representations for subtraction, though, I believe all different types of learners can be
supported in the varied activities.
I. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU
DO ABOUT IT?
Although some students may not grasp this concept as quickly as others do, I will not see
this as a problem since we have just started learning this material today. Students who
need help will be given more support with manipulatives and drawings. One of the
biggest concerns that I have about this lesson, however, is that students will get off task
during their independent time. I will manage the classroom with different cues throughout
the lesson as needed. If students cannot cooperate, they will receive reminders so they do
not interrupt their classmates from learning. This will be influential for better behavior.
There is also a new student in our class whos first day of school at McSwain is

Amanda Goldstein
Ms. Lachances 1st grade class

Taught 11/12/13

tomorrow. We do not know much about him, but he apparently has some behavior
problems. I cannot predict how this will go for him since my cooperating teacher and I
have never met him. I will do my best to support his needs to allow him to fit into the
classroom and learn to the best of his abilities. I know that lessons do not always go as
planned, so it is important to plan ahead of time for some of the possible differences that
could play out while I am actually teaching. I will act on each situation as it arises for the
best learning experience for all students.