Wayne State University College of Education

Lesson Planning Framework for Effective Instructional Design

Teaching Intern: Renee Burdock
School in which the lesson is being taught: University High School
Grade level of students for whom the lesson was developed: 9
Subject/content area(s) for the lesson: Mathematics Algebra I
Title of the lesson: Solving Systems of Equations
Time needed for lesson: 50 Minutes

1. LEARNERS & LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

a) Engaging and Supporting Diverse Learners: Applying Principles of UDL

For this particular class there are no IEP students, no ESL students and no
students with a 504. There are 31 students and their gender is evenly dispersed. They
are all African American. Many of the students are hungry and tired and it is difficult for
them to pay attention. Many of the kids do not have the academic background that
would be expected coming from middle school. They have around a 5th grade level
mathematical ability. They seem not to have the academic discipline that is usually
developed in middle school. Their concept knowledge is very fragile.
There are 4 students in the class who stand out. One boy has to get up out of his
seat and move, so he is placed near the back of the room on the left so he may do so if
he needs to, but given the chance he will talk to everyone. One boy likes to talk out of
turn, make jokes, and talk to other classmates. He is positioned in the front left of the
room right by the teachers desk to minimize this. One girl likes to constantly be asking
questions and talking to her shoulder partner. The positive in this is I can count on her
to ask questions during the lesson as well. She is in the front row in the middle, by
choice. She does participate and wants to learn. And the last girl likes to be a helper
and pass out papers; she is the first to volunteer and is also always very much a part of
the lesson. I can count on her to volunteer answers.
There are two students who earlier in the semester chose not to take notes and
participate, unless they were specifically spoken to during circulation. One is a boy and
one is a girl. The girl frequently had her head down. I have found that through one on
one engagement she has a lack of basic math skills and when I offer her a calculator
she does better. The boy is sometimes sick or tired, but is always in class. He has
responded very well to constant one on one attention especially asking if he is ok and
praising his work and now does complete his work and participate
There are 4 students who lack self-confidence, but they do very well because
they are persistent. These students are all girls.
There is one boy who is very unsure and struggles with concepts. He keeps to
himself, but asks questions frequently during circulation and wants to understand.
There are two boys who try harder than anyone else in the class to make sure
they are doing the right thing. They ask questions all the time and constantly want their
work checked.
There are 6 boys in the class who are very knowledgeable about the content,
and almost always do extremely well. Three of them are very quiet, and sit near the
back and keep to themselves. One is quiet and sits to the right and works well helping
his shoulder partner. One sits in front and contributes immensely to class conversation,
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 but the fifth one is an extrovert, and always raises his hand and participates. He is
always the first with the answer and the first one done and asks for more to do.
There are 3 students who have a lower ability than most of the class. They
consist of two girls and one boy. They all pay attention and take notes and do their
work. They seem to just need more help.
The remaining 9 students will take notes and do the work, and participate if
called on. They will ask for help if they need it, and answer questions during circulation.
University High School is a public school in Ferndale, but it is a magnet school
and most of the students that attend do not live in Ferndale. They come from the Detroit
Public School system and surrounding communities. These are the students whose
parents want them to get a better education, however due to the commute they are
frequently late or miss school. If I make my expectations clear in the beginning of the
lesson, they are more likely to follow through. They are craving structure and discipline,
so incorporating that into the lesson and delivery make it more likely to be successful.

b) Materials and Digital Tools Needed - Pencil, Handouts, Whiteboards, dry-erase

markers, ELMO Document Camera, class whiteboard, Calculators.

2. OUTCOMES & ASSESSMENT

a) State Standards and Student OutcomesLearning Goals

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA.REI.C.6
Solve systems of linear equations exactly and approximately
(e.g., with graphs), focusing on pairs of linear equations in two
variables.

Students will be able to solve systems of linear equations by

graphing.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSA.CED.A2
Create equations in two or more variables to represent
relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate
axes with labels and scales.

Students will be able to create a system of equations and graph

them.

b) Assessment and EvaluationEvidence of Student Learning

Students work on whiteboards, teacher circulates assessing grasp of
concept. I will know whether or not they can perform each step of the
solving process as they all have to take a turn doing each part, and I ask
them to explain it when I check the group. This assessment works well for
the students who need a lower stress method of learning, due to lack of self-
confidence. They can make mistakes here where it doesnt count and get
practice before having to do work to turn in. This allows me to assess if they
can solve a system by graphing.

Questioning and discussion throughout the lesson, as a group and one on

one while reviewing their work in groups gives immediate feedback on
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 whether or not they understand, based on their responses to questions.
This assessment method works well for the students who like to talk and
participate in class. This allows me to assess if they can solve a system by
graphing.

Students complete the Activity sheets while doing the activity. I will know for
each student when questioned if they can complete the material, and
understand the individual components. This assessment method works well
for the students who are engaged and work hard to do well. This allows me
to assess if they can solve a system by graphing.

Students complete a practice assignment and turn in to be graded, teacher

grades, assesses grasp of concept and gives feedback, and will record
students grades. This shows me whether or not they can use the concept
taught to perform the necessary work. This provides written assessment
and immediate feedback to the students to use in their own self-evaluation.
Students are encouraged to go over their paper and to ask any questions
on it when it is passed back to see what they need to work on. This allows
me to assess if they can solve a system by graphing and whether they can
create a system of equations and graph them.

Teacher can use these assessments to evaluate how the lesson was
received, and how well the material was presented and if the students
understand the concepts. I can use this to assess myself in my materials
used and in my delivery to see if I am reaching all learners in an effective
way. I can also then have the students evaluate themselves based on our
conversations and graded material.

3. INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE

a) IntroductionEngaging Students, Activating Prior Knowledge, Setting Lesson Goals

Recall that we have graphed lines with equations in two different forms.
Recall that we solved equations, one, two, multiple and literal.
Explain systems of equations
Demonstration: Specifically chosen students will be walking two lengths of string or
yarn that will represent two lines crossing across the classroom. Their intersection
point is the solution to the system of equations. The two anchor students are quiet
boys who sit in back (Khaim and Dylan), and the walkers are the two boys who need
movement and engagement to keep them on track (Daymari and Devonte). The girl
who will be identifying the point where they cross is one who needs her confidence
boosted a little as in some past lessons she was not called on when her hand was
raised and sort of stopped raising it. (Alecia) The two girls who collect the materials
are the other two girls who like to volunteer and participate.(Love, and Onisha)
b) Instructional ProceduresEngaging Students in Actively Constructing Deep
Understanding
Group Activity Group them by seating, with special attention however to make sure
that students are in groups that will be able to work together well. (Minika and Brent
need to be grouped with Onisha and Dylan, NOT Jordan and Stanley) in groups of 4.
Elijah will pass out whiteboards 1 per group.
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 Jasmine will pass out markers 1 per group.
Parris P. will pass out the activity sheets 1 per student.
Working together they will graph the system of equations and determine the solution.
The first page of the Activity sheet gives the first set to solve. They are going to find
information about the equations, graph the lines, and determine the point at which
they cross on the graph. This is the solution to the system. They are going to check
the solution by plugging the set into the equations to verify. The sheets are a guide
to use while solving, and then they will have a reference to study from. Using sheets
instead of scratch paper allows them to have notes without having to do a separate
lesson.
Each person in the group has a job. I will refer them to the job table which gives the
person number and what their jobs will be in order. Their job will change for each set
of equations so each person has a chance to do all four jobs. This method gives
them time to process each step individually and to get help from each other in small
steps instead of having to process the whole task all at once. The slide on the board
will also have which person is doing which job for that system of equations.
Instruct them to complete the work on the notes sheet.
They will graph the lines on the white board. When they have their lines graphed,
and the solution verified they are to hold up their graph.
A teacher will verify the group work. During this time all students will have time to
copy the information on their note sheets if they did not do it as they went along as
some students need more time and this gives it to them without holding up the class
and making it public.
After all four sets are complete, the same students will collect white boards and
markers and a teacher will pass out Practice Assignment.
Give Instructions for practice assignment. It is worth 10 points and must be turned in
for a grade. Time of lesson will dictate due date.

c) Technology as a Tool for Effective Teaching & Learning

Students who need calculators will be given them. ELMO Document camera
used to project the Activity sheet they are working from. Smartboard to project
the google slides with the Activity.

d) ClosureStudents Summarizing and Synthesizing Their Learning.

Discuss what we learned in this lesson, from the demonstration to the
activity. Two equations with two variables can be solved by graphing them.
What is the solution? (The point at which they cross)
Can we verify this another way? (Plug the x and y values back in to
both equations)
Discuss other possibilities.
What if they dont cross? (No solutions) W
What if they were the same line? (Infinitely many solutions)
Discuss that there are two more methods to solve systems.
Do they have any ideas how?
Discuss briefly substitution and elimination.
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 Students completing the practice activity, getting feedback and discussing
the feedback will help them self-assess whether or not they understand the
material, and can create their own systems based on that knowledge.

4. REFERENCES & RESOURCES

Blakely, M. (2015). Watch your Step. Retrieved from Fredonia University Project PRIME:
http://www.fredonia.edu/org/projectprime/resources/lessons/watchyourstep.pdf

Core Standards Initiative. (2016). Retrieved from Mathematics Standards:

http://www.corestandards.org/Math/

5. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY:
I felt the introduction of the lesson went really well. The students were
interested and engaged. However I feel I need to improve my questioning to elicit
more responses. I had thought about this, and had ideas and questions, but in
the future I will write them down, and have more ideas to direct students when
they are not going in the direction I need them to. I was not getting the types of
responses I intended. When I asked if the clotheslines were a graph, what would
they represent, a student replied The axis and I acknowledged it, and
attempted to prompt further answers, so I improved from earlier lesson in that I
did not ignore the wrong response, but I had not thought about potential wrong
answers in my planning so eventually I was giving the information out in bits to
try to nudge them along. In short I need to prepare for wrong answers, possibly
listing potential ones and how to use it to re-guide with further questioning. I
think this will help in future situations be better prepared to guide students in
the right directions through questioning.
During the grouping part, I felt this did not go well due to the fact that I
was unprepared for the fact that they had never been in 4-person groups and
were uncomfortable with it. I had not discussed this aspect of the lesson with my
mentor teacher and was informed in the discussion with her afterward that with
this group that has never been done, they do not know each other and it makes
them extremely uncomfortable. In my future classes I will definitely address this
early in my teaching, by doing get to know you activities and grouping with less
pressure so that grouping can be included in activities as I feel it is a very
valuable tool. For this lesson I backed off on the group job requirement to
accommodate them individually, but tried to encourage some collaboration even
though they were doing it more in pairs than in the group.
I know that the groups prior concept knowledge is very fragile. I did
not however take into consideration that this does not only apply to their
previous education, but to their current one as well. I did assume that since they
had just finished a unit on graphing lines that they would be able to do that now.
I was incorrect. Many of the students during the walk around assessment could
not recall how to find the slope, the intercept and use it to graph a line. For me
personally as a teacher, I would never have moved on to a new concept, when so
many students had not already mastered the previous one. We cannot build on a
shaky foundation. A review lesson would be in order and a reassessment should
take place prior to moving to a new concept. In my own class this is how this
situation would be handled. Had I known that most students failed the test
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before spring break, I would have done review of graphing lines first, and then
had them graph two. Also, having the section on the sheet to check the answer
was completely lost on them. I would have also reviewed solving equations and
checking the answers with them.
The students asked many questions during the circulation and every
student I interacted with was able to eventually come to the point of
understanding how to graph and to solve the system. This was a very positive
aspect and having three teachers in the room was invaluable. This shows me
that co-teaching and student teacher ratio is really important to consider when
planning and executing a lesson. This lesson would have been a disaster during
the group part with only one teacher. It reminds me to be mindful when creating
lessons of the class size and the feasibility of different activities.
Due to these issues we did not get through the whole activity and this
prompted me to decide that the next class will be finishing the activity pages,
but only with their shoulder partner as they are comfortable with them and also
to review the answers with them after they complete it. Then we can move into
the practice assignment they need to do for a grade and do this during class
time. Only then will I be able to assess whether or not they meet the second
learning goal of being able to create their own system and graph it.
I also created another assignment to follow that one with more
practice before I will consider moving on to the next area of solving systems. I
could see that from the questions asked during class that they need more
practice.
For the students that I interacted with that were done however I will
create an assignment for them to do that is more difficult as there really needs to
be more differentiation in the assignments for a select few students. I had hoped
that these students would assist the others during the group but that was not
the case, so I will also individually discuss with them if that is something they
would consider doing moving forward. I discussed with one student that had the
assignment completed what he would like to see in the future to accommodate
him and what could I do to serve his needs better as a teacher. He asked if he
could have something else to do after he finished. For this student, he can move
on to the practice assignment and be given some more challenging work to do.
He could also be introduced to the next concept and possibly asked if he would
be interested in being a peer helper.
Finally, I lost track of time and so did not properly wrap up the
assignment. I was alerted by the teacher we only had 2 minutes until the end of
class and this was not sufficient in my opinion to properly discuss the lesson. I
did my best, but I will need to do this the next class when they finish the activity
to ensure they do not miss out. Everything I had planned for the closure was not
done. Even though the lesson was only partially finished, a more concise
discussion about the two systems we did graph would have been appropriate. I
need to keep track of the time and have a smooth transition to clean up and
discussion for each lesson. To do this, a timer could be set to signal the end of
the activity time. This would ensure not losing track of time and missing out on
this valuable tool.