Math Minutes

A Tasks
5. Choose a math lesson from your class and make a list of 3 possible childrens books
to enhance/enrich the lesson.
One lesson that my teacher, Mrs. Robinson taught, was on the size of cows. This
lesson was part of the farm unit that the class was doing. Mrs. Robinson projected a cow
onto the floor in the Makers Studio, and the students were able to estimate how many
blocks it would take to measure the whole cows length. Then, she gave the students
blocks and they measured the cow to see if they had estimated correctly. Three childrens
books that I think could be used to enhance this lesson are Cindy Moo by Lori Mortensen,
Real Size Farm Animals by Marie Greenwood, and Measuring Penny by Loreen Leedy.
Cindy Moo by Lori Mortensen is a sweet story about a cow who jumps over the moon. I
think that this would be a good story to use when first introducing students to cows. Real
Size Farm Animals by Marie Greenwood is a non-fiction book that teaches students about
the real size of various farm animals. This book goes with the lesson very well because
the lesson is focused on showing the students just how big cows are. Measuring Penny by
Loreen Leedy is a story about a girl who measures her puppy. Even though the animal in
the story is different, it relates to the story because the animal is being measured. I think
that childrens books should be used in lessons as often as possible because they add to
and enrich the lesson.

8. Make a t-chart showing examples of both summative and formative math

assessments used in your classroom.
Formative Assessments
Calendar time: One student each day adds
a straw to the ones pouch for the number
of days they have been in school, writes
the number, and uses a pointer to count to
that number. Mrs. Robinson observes and
guides the students through this.
Weather time: One student checks the
weather and adds a link to either the
sunny, partly sunny, cloudy, or rainy
chain. Mrs. Robinson asks the student
questions about the weather graph, like
how many sunny days have we had? or
which chain is the greatest? or how
many rainy days do we need for it to equal
sunny?
Math war: Two students half the deck of
cards and play war. The student with the
highest card played each round wins both
cards. Mrs. Robinson observes the
students as they play.
Math board games: Students roll the dice
and move their player the number of
spaces that they rolled on the dice. Higher
level students add 1 to the number that
they rolled (if they roll a 5, they move 6
spaces). Mrs. Robinson observes the
students as they play.
Skeleton game: Students roll the dice and
turn over the body part that has that
number written on the back. They do this
until the entire skeleton has been formed.
Mrs. Robinson observes the students as
they do this activity.
Estimating: Each student estimated the
number of seeds in a pumpkin. The
number that they estimated gave Mrs.

Summative Assessments
Beginning of the year assessments to
collect data

Worksheets: Students complete math

worksheets and turn them in to Mrs.
Robinson. For example, the students have
turned in a worksheet called Roll, Count,
and Color, in which they roll the dice,
count the number on the dice, and color in
something based on the number that they
rolled.

Robinson an idea of their sense of number

and ability to estimate.
11. Make a list of technology observed and how it is used in your math class. Develop a
chart to indicate:
a Is it contributing to the learning goal?
b Is it for individuals or small groups?
c Other information

Technology

Contributing to
learning goal?

Individual or small
groups?

Other
information

YouTube Videos: Mrs.

Robinson plays math
videos on YouTube as
brain breaks or while
students are returning
from the bathroom after
lunch.

Yes. The math

videos that she plays
relate to the math
skills that are being
taught in the
classroom, like
counting to 100 by
ones and counting
by 10s.

All of the students

that are in the room
at the time watch the
videos.

Mrs. Robinson
typically plays one
math video a day.

Document camera: Mrs.

Robinson uses a document
camera when explaining a
new math activity or game
that the students can play
during their math centers.

Yes. The document

camera indirectly
contributes to the
learning goal. It
allows Mrs.
Robinson to show
all of the students
how to accomplish a
math activity at
once.

All of the students

see Mrs. Robinsons
directions at the
same time.

Interactive whiteboard:
Mrs. Robinson uses the
interactive white board
when doing whole group
instruction.

The interactive
whiteboard also
indirectly
contributes to the
learning goal.

Whole group

14. Complete the Evidence of higher level thinking observation.

B Tasks
4. Create a chart of talk-moves that you observe your teacher using in one column and
ones that you try out in the other.
Observed

Tried Out

Wait time: Mrs. Robinson will give students

several seconds to think when she asks a
question before expecting an answer.

Wait time: While teaching my math activity

plan to eight students, I used the wait time
talk move by saying take 10 seconds to think
about

Revoicing: Occasionally Mrs. Robinson will

repeat a students answer in a different way. I
have especially seen this during weather time.
For example, if a student says sunny is
longer than cloudy, Mrs. Robinson will say
so you are saying that sunny is greater than
cloudy?

Reasoning: When teaching my math activity

plan, I encouraged the students to do the me
too sign if they agreed with someone elses
answer or the point of interest sign if they
disagreed.

Reasoning: Mrs. Robinson will instruct

students to either agree with a students
answer by doing the me too sign or disagree
with their answer by doing the point of
interest sign.
Adding on: When a student agrees or
disagrees with a students answer, Mrs.
Robinson will ask them why they agree or
disagree.

6. Based on the current content being taught in your classroom, choose a childrens
book, read it to a group of students, and discuss with them the math concept
presented.
I read the book The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds for my math activity plan. The
activity plan is attached below.

Design for Learning

Activity Plan- Math
Instructor: K. Fuller
Lesson Title: Finding Shapes in our World
Curriculum Area: Math

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Estimated Time: 20 minutes

Standards Connection:
(ALEX) Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these
objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to. [K-G1]
Learning Objective(s):
When given a worksheet with pictures of 9 everyday objects, students will be able identify which objects are circles,
which objects are squares, and which objects are triangles.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
I will give you pictures of things that we see every day, and you are going to say whether its a circle, a square, or a
triangle!
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):
The worksheet has pictures of 9 objects, and below each picture is a box. 3 of the objects are circular, 3 of the
objects are square, and 3 of the objects are triangular. The students will be asked to color the boxes underneath the
circular objects green, the boxes underneath the square objects blue, and the boxes underneath the triangular objects
red. Students who correctly color all 9 boxes will be in the green zone. Students who correctly color 5-8 boxes will
be in the yellow zone. Students who correctly color 4 or less boxes will be in the red zone.
Engagement:
The teacher will ask the students to solve 3 riddles. Then she will play a YouTube video titled Shapes by Pancake
Manor. Okay boys and girls, sit down criss cross applesauce and put your hands in your lap! You should sit like this
the whole time unless I ask you to move. Turn on your listening ears and put on your thinking caps! I have 3 riddles
that I need help figuring out! After I say the riddle, give me a silent thumbs up if you think you know the answer!
The first riddle is I am round and I look like a donut! What shape am I? The teacher will call on a student with
their thumb up to answer the riddle. You solved it! Its a circle! Thank you! The second riddle is I have 4 sides and
I look like the front of a block! What shape am I? The teacher will call on a student with their thumb up to answer
the riddle. Wow youre right! Its a square! Okay now heres the last riddle! I have 3 sides and I look like a piece of
pie. What shape am I? The teacher will call on a student with their thumb up to answer the riddle. Fantastic! Its a
triangle! Now we are going to listen to a fun song! You can sing along if you would like, but make sure that you stay
sitting criss cross applesauce! The teacher will play the YouTube video on her laptop since this is a small group
activity. Wasnt that a fun song? Give me a thumbs up if you can tell me what shapes they talked about in the video.
The teacher will ask a student to say which shapes were talked about in the video. Youre right! They sang about
circles, squares, and triangles! They showed some pictures of things that we see every day that are circles, squares,
or triangles! Today we are going to read a book about how shapes are all around us!
Learning Design: (Activity)

The teacher will read the book The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds. Okay boys and girls, make sure you are
sitting criss cross applesauce as we read The Shape of Things! This book talks about how we can see shapes in
everything! First lets look at the front cover of the book. Does anybody see a circle? The teacher will show the
students the front cover and invite a student to come up and point out a circle on the front cover. Yes thats a circle!
Very good job! Now look closely for a square. The teacher will invite a student to point out a square. Good job!
There are a lot of squares in this picture! Alright now look for a triangle. I see one thats really small! Does anybody
see it? The teacher will invite a student to point out the triangle. Wonderful job! Alright now listen to me and look up
here while I read the story to you. The teacher will read the story. The last 2 pages have a scene of a carnival and a
beach. It instructs the reader to see how many shapes they can find in the scene. The teacher will invite the students
to come up one by one and point out a shape in the picture. This last page says there are shapes of every kind. How
many can you find? I am going to call on someone who is sitting quietly to come find a shape in this picture! It can
be any shape a circle, a square, a triangle, or it could even be a rectangle, an oval, or a diamond! The teacher will
allow each student to point out a shape. You all found some awesome shapes! Were the different things in this book
made up of just one shape? No, they werent! Lets look back at page with the Ferris wheel. It started out as a circle,
but then lights and seats were added, and it became a Ferris wheel! What about the boat? What shape did it start off
as? Yes, it started off as a triangle, but then an ocean and a seagull were added and it became a boat! You see,
shapes are everywhere! We just have to look closely. When start to look closely at things, youll begin to see shapes
everywhere you look!
Assessment
The teacher will hand out the worksheet to the students and instruct them to sit at their table while they work on it.
When they are done, they will be asked to bring the worksheet to the teacher and sit quietly on the carpet. Okay boys
and girls, now its time to see if you can find shapes all by yourself! I am going to give you a worksheet with 9
different pictures. Your job is to look at each picture and see if its a circle, a square, or a triangle! If its a circle,
you will color the box underneath it green. If its a square you will color the box underneath it blue. If its a triangle,
you will color the box underneath it red. Remember that you are doing this all by yourself, and dont forget to put
your name and the date at the top! The teacher will ask the students to repeat back to her which color goes with
which shape to make sure that they understand. When you are done, bring your worksheet to me and sit back down
quietly on the carpet.
Closure
You all did a wonderful job! Who can tell me what we talked about today? Give me a thumbs up if you know. The
teacher will call on someone with their thumbs up to answer. Youre right! We talked about shapes! We learned a lot
about circles, squares, and triangles! We learned that there are shapes all around us! Give me a thumbs up if you
remember something from the book I read that started as a shape. The teacher will ask someone who has their
thumb up to name an object from the book that started as a shape. Good job! The book showed us shapes in many
different things! I have a mission for you. Are you ready to hear what your mission is? I want you to go home today
and look for 1 circle, 1 square, and 1 triangle somewhere in your house! Then you can tell me about it tomorrow! I
will be looking forward to hearing about the shapes that you saw around your house! Thank you for using your
listening ears and thinking caps today!
Materials and Resources:
YouTube video: Shapes by Pancake Manor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsR0h50BiFQ)
The Shape of Things by Dayle Ann Dodds
Green, blue, and red crayons
Worksheet for the assessment (attached)

7.

Name: ___________________

Date: _________________

Finding Shapes in our World!

Color the boxes below the circles green.
Color the boxes below the squares blue.
Color the boxes below the triangles red.

7. Find a song/poem related to math concept being taught in your class and teach it to
a group of students.
I taught the first stanza of this poem to an ELL student on November 19th. First I
modeled the poem, then I taught each line to her one-by-one until she had learned all four
lines. We also came up with our own hand motions to help her remember the words in the
poem. I picked this student because I felt like she could most benefit from this poem.
Most students in Mrs. Robinsons class have advanced far past counting to five, but some
of the ELL students in her class still struggle to count even these small numbers. The
student really enjoyed learning this poem, and it was a lot of fun teaching it to her.

9. Play an Investigations game/pre-made task with a group of students.

I played a pre-made game called Racing Ghosts with a student on October 15th.
This game is played with two or more students. Students take turns rolling the dice and
moving their player the number of spaces that they rolled on the dice. After playing the
game this way one time, we played it again, but this time adding one to the number that
we rolled. So if you rolled a 5, you would move 6 spaces on the game board. This game,
along with other math games, are played during the math center. Mrs. Robinson keeps her
math games stored in containers, and she rotates the games available to the students every
so often. The games are laminated so that they remain durable and do not get damaged. I
enjoyed playing this game with the student and seeing all of the pre-made games and
activities that Mrs. Robinson uses in her classroom.