3 Stage Inquiry Lesson Plan

Spooky Shapes
Teacher and 5 Strands of Proficiency (1)
Grade Level 1st Strand- Conceptual Understanding; comprehending
mathematical concepts. Students must think about the attributes of
Haley Carpino what makes a shape.
Courtnie Adam Standards of Mathematical Practice (1)
1st Grade -I can use math tools and tell why I chose them.

Mathematics KCCSSM Standard(s) Be sure to have the code and key words
Domain/ Cluster CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.G.A.1
Geometry Distinguish between defining attributes (e.g., triangles are closed and
three-sided) versus non-defining attributes (e.g., color, orientation,
overall size); build and draw shapes to possess defining attributes.

Purpose: Students will be able to distinguish the different shapes by the total number of
sides they have. Students will also be able to identify specific shapes by their correct
name/label.
Lesson Topic Question:
 How many sides does each shape have?

Know (concepts or ideas) Do (skills)

 Knowledge of the four basic shapes
(Circle, Triangle, Square, Rectangle)
 Basic knowledge of reading skills in
order to read the labels
 Observe the different shapes
 Move the shapes into the correct
column they belong in. (Square
in the 4-sided, Triangle in the 3-
sided column, Circle in the no-
sided column)
 Describe the difference in the
shapes
 Correctly label the shapes, using
the name labels printed out, on
the board

Student Naïve Misconceptions/Error Pre-Assessment

Patterns
 Students may think that a square that
has been rotated 45-degree is no
longer a square but a diamond
 Students may think that the size of the
equal shapes is directly related to the
 What grade are you in?
 Can you give me an example of
what a shape is?
 Have you ever seen shapes in
real life examples?
 What real life examples of
 number of equal shapes
 Students at this age often struggle
with relating the graph as a way of
illustrating comparisons-- meaning
they are abstractly comparing 2 items
* 
*citation at bottom of lesson.
shapes have you seen?
 Can you think of another real life
example of a shape?
 Can you give me an example of
what makes a shape?
Can you give me an example of
a 4 sided shape? 3 sided? How
about an example of a shape
that doesn’t have any specific
sides?
 What is a real-life example of a
triangle? What about a real-life
example of a circle?

Materials
Black Tri-fold board-Haley
Velcro tape -Haley
Border for Board
Shape name labels (English & Spanish)
Scissors (have)
Black Foam Board
Glitter paper for shapes-Haley
Marker (have)
Pictures of real-life “shape” examples
Pen (have)
Markers (have)
Glue for Board-Haley
Halloween candy
Fun Stuff:
Trick or Treat Pumpkin Buckets-Haley
Witches hats
Orange Table Cloth-Haley

Engage/Hook/Anticipatory Set:
Our board will have various Halloween themed pictures on it along with two jack
o'lanterns on the table.
Stage 1: Explore/Before
-Student approaches table
-Table has bulletin board and the shape sides column board out
-We share with student(s) they will be learning about shapes today
-Have various objects with similar characteristics, have students state what they see is
similar, and what is different between those objects
-Students will have the shapes spread out on the ground for the students to see
-Students will see the large sheet with 3 different labeled columns

“Hi welcome to Math Night! We are so excited to show you our activity. How old are
you?”
“That’s great! You’ll do great with this. Today we are going to play with shapes. What are
some of the shapes you know?” (Triangle, circle, rectangle, square, etc.)
“On the table we have a lot of shapes laying out. *Picks up a random shape* Do you
think this shape has 0 sides, 3 sides, or 4+ sides?” (Students answers)
“You’re right!”

State the rules for your game/activity

-Students will observe the different shapes and objects
-Students will place the objects and shapes observed in the column in which the belong,
that is on the large sheet that includes 3 different columns (4+ sides, 3 sides, no sides)
(Example- student has a shape/object that resembles the shape of a triangle, the
student then places the shape/object in the column labeled 3 Sides)
-Students will have shape name labels (in English and Spanish) on the table
-Students will see the different language labels and if preferred could match the shapes
with either the English or Spanish corresponding label.
-Labels also used as a learning piece for English speaking students, allowing them to
see the name of the shape in a different language
-Students will stick the shape name label to the matching shape, that is modeled on the
tri-fold board

“On the table we have a lot of shapes laying out. *Picks up a random shape* Do you
think this shape has 0 sides, 3 sides, or 4+ sides?” (Students answers)
“You’re right! Can you place the shape in the right column on this board for me?”
*Repeats this process with 3 or 4 more shapes*
“Now that I know you can count the number of sides a shape has, let’s talk about shape
names. What is this shape called?” (Have student name a circle, triangle, square, and
rectangle)
“Wow you’re doing great. Which picture on the board resembles a circle? Place the label
on whichever one you think is right.” (Repeat with other three shapes)

Teacher Questions and Possible Student Response:

When presenting the board and activity to the student(s) there are many things we will
present. The first question we would ask would be What are some of the shapes you
know in your brain already? The student would then answer Square, triangle, rectangle,
circle. After breaking the ice about shapes, we would then ask What are the things that
make a triangle a triangle? The student would respond The number of sides/points it
has. When the student points out sides/points, we would then ask How can you tell if a
shape has sides? The student would think for a moment, then answer by stating They
have straight lines. They have points. They look like a box. The straight sides meet at a
point, etc. Once the student notices these things we will ask the How many sides does a
rectangle have? Student will answer 4. Following asking the question How many sides
does a square have? Student will answer 4. After pointing out that two different shapes
have the same amount of sides, we ask So what makes a rectangle and a square
different from one another if they both have 4 sides and 4 points? (Shows student a
picture on the board of a rectangle and a square). The student will observe the picture
and respond Rectangle is longer. Square sides are the same size. 2 sides of rectangles
are always longer, etc. After this discussion is finished, we will proceed to ask the
student Can you show me a shape that would go in the ‘no sides’ column? The student
*points to the circle. After that we will point out to the student Now, we know circles don’t
have any sides. Looking at these pictures of Halloween objects, which ones looks like a
circle, or doesn’t have any straight sides/points. The student will then *point to the
pumpkin.

Checks for Understanding:

Based on which columns the students place the various geometric shapes in and the
columns they place the various Halloween shapes in, we will be able to determine if they
understand the basic geometry concept while also seeing if they can apply the concept
to real-life examples.

Stage 2: Explain/During
1st Step: Students will observe the shapes that are scattered around, and decide which
column (4+ sided, 3 sided, no sides) it belongs in.
-Student will then place the shape in its column (Ex.- student picks up a circle, the
student will take a few seconds to determine its column, and proceed to place the circle
in the column labeled “no sides”).
-Students will then observe the name labels of different shapes that are listed on the
table, the student will proceed to take the labels and velcro them below the shape(s) on
the board in which it corresponds with. (Student picks up the label “triangle,” the student
then notices the candy corn on the tri-fold board, and proceeds to place the “triangle”
label beneath it.

2nd Step: We (Haley and I) will consolidate understanding by asking the students why
they chose to place the shapes in the columns they chose. Depending on the grade
level, we will count the sides with them.

Teacher Questions:
When explaining in Stage 2 we will ask the students Why do you think that shape goes
in that column? The student will respond with It has ___ sides/points. After the student is
familiar with the column chart, ask the student Did you almost put any of these shapes in
a different column but changed your mind? ---Why?. The student will respond by
stating I almost put the pentagon in the no sides column because it looked circular at a
quick glance. Tell the student that is not an uncommon assumption, and ask them Can
you think of another object besides a haunted house that could look square? What about
a circle?. The student will proceed to give more examples of what the real life objects
are similar to a square, as well as real life objects similar to a circle.

Checks for Understanding:

Based on the columns the students place the shapes in and the labels the students
place on the shapes, we will be able to measure whether the students understand the
basic concepts of shapes.

Stage 3: Extend/After/Expansion
-Students will take their observations from what they learned from placing the different
shapes in the columns on the sheet in which they belonged, and apply it to placing the
name labels of different shapes to their corresponding Halloween shape.
-Students will velcro the name(in English or Spanish) label to where it belongs on the tri-
fold board (Example- name label triangle velcroed beneath the candy corn shape that is
on the tri-fold board)
-Have the students perform the task of placing the different shape names to the different
shapes until they have applied their knowledge to the different shapes that are on the tri-
fold board

“Shapes are all around us. Everything has a shape. This table is a rectangle, for
example. Look at these halloween shapes we have on the board for a minute. Think
about their shapes and what you know about them.” *Gives time to think*
*Points to candy corn picture* “Let’s look at this one. What did you notice about this?” (it
has three sides, it’s a triangle, etc.)
“Great job! You counted the sides and it has three. Which shape did we say has three
sides?” (Triangle)
“Go ahead and place this velcro label next to the candy corn.”
*Repeat with three other shapes*

Teacher Questions:
When extending on the activity we would ask Why did you place the candy corn picture
in the triangle column? Once we ask this the students will support their action by saying
Because it has three sides and triangles only have three sides also. The student
proceeds to ponder on his/her thoughts, and we ask Why do you think the haunted
house is a pentagon? The student supports his/her answer by stating The haunted
house outline had five sides and so does a pentagon. The student shares that thought
and we decide to dive deeper into their head to see if they can relate what they just
learned to real-life examples by asking Can you use your brain to try and think of other
objects we see everyday that have the same basic shape as one of these? In hope, the
student replies Soccer ball is a circle, birdhouse is a pentagon, front of the school is a
rectangle/square.

Checks for Understanding:

  What shape the student places in which column / label
 Sees student making connections between rectangle/frankenstein, triangle/candy
corn, square/haunted house, circle/piece of candy
 Student makes the connection between everyday items and the shapes they
belong to

Closure
After the students have finished labeling the halloween shapes with the correct name,
we will have them explain to us why they labeled each object the way they did. We will
then ask questions such as:
 What made you think those were similar?
 Are there some shapes that might have caused some confusion in which one
they were? Maybe a square and a rectangle?
 Is there something new you learned about shapes?

Evaluation
-Based on how which columns the students sort the shapes into, we will be able to
measure whether or not they mastered the concept of comparing similar objects’
shapes.
-Based on which shape the student compares to the halloween objects, we will be able
to measure whether or not they understand applying 2-D shapes into real-world
situations.

Differentiation:
Autism (Low Functioning) Top 5 Characteristics
1. Reasoning and Proof (Wilkins, 2006)
2. Communication (Wilkins, 2006)
3. Connections (Wilkins, 2006)
4. Concrete and Visual Representations of Problems (Van de Walle, 2016)
5. Think-alouds (Van de Walle, 2016)

There are a few areas in our lesson that would not work well for a student with low
functioning autism. First, they sometimes only focus on one minute detail instead of
focusing on the the object as a whole (Wilkins, 2006). Our Halloween shapes are
pictures of popular Halloween objects. The barrier in this would be that the student might
not be able to focus on the shape of the object if they’re focused on what the picture is
instead. Another barrier would be the atmosphere of Math Night. Many students with
autism become over-stimulated when put in loud/chaotic environments (Wilkins, 2006),
such as Math Night. Lastly, many students with autism become hyperfocused on one
activity. Our activity involves two separate activities that relate to one another. The
barrier in this is that the student could potentially become hyperfocused on the first
activity and won’t move on to the expansion portion.

With all of that being said, there are various ways we can adjust our activity to fit their
needs. When it comes to only being able to focus on one characteristic of an object
instead of as a whole, a modification we could make is allowing the student to take the
object off the board and flip it over to the blank, white side of the picture. This would help
the student to only focus on the shape instead of the object itself. As stated above, they
can also become over-stimulated in loud, chaotic environments. An accommodation we
could provide to help avoid this would be to provide noise cancelling headphones for the
student to wear while sorting the shapes and placing the labels. This would allow the
student to focus on the activity and not become overwhelmed by everything else
happening. If the student began to hyperfocus on the first part of the activity, we could
remove the materials needed for the first activity so they are out of sight after the student
had sorted a few. This is following an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ method. The student
would be able to engage more easily in the second activity because the first activity is
not on the table to distract them.

These accommodations are said to be extremely helpful and beneficial in the success of
a student with Autism. By flipping the picture shape over it will reduce the distraction
from what is going on in the photo, allowing the student to focus on the actual frame and
shaping of the object. A second accommodation to provide more of an equitable learning
experience would be to provide the the noise cancelling headphones. The Job
Accommodation Network states that “Individuals with ASD may experience decreased
concentration and may not be able to tolerate distractions such as office traffic,
employee chatter, and common office noises such as fax tones and photocopying”
(Team, 2013). By using the noise cancelling headphones it will promote a more positive
learning environment for the student, enabling his/her focus level to exceed
tremendously. An accommodation that is very common for those with Autism is to
eliminate the amount of items around them. The Job Accommodation Network shares
how “Individuals with ASD may experience difficulty performing many tasks at one time.
This difficulty could occur regardless of the similarity of tasks, the ease or complexity of
the tasks, or the frequency of performing the tasks” (Team, 2013). Therefore, reducing
the amount of materials/tasks would be a positive accommodation for our student(s).

Citation:
Laymance, Jaymee. “Fractions and Contractions.” Adventures of First Grade, 1 Jan.
1970, adventuresoffirstgrade.blogspot.com/2012/03/fractions-and-contractions.html.
Accessed 28 Sept. 2017.

Clements, Douglas and Julie Sarama. 2000. ”Standards for Preschoolers.” Teaching
Children Mathematics 7 (1): 38-41

CCGPS. 2016. “1st Grade Mathematics.” Understanding Shapes and Fractions,

http://ljournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/d-2016-154.pdf. doi:10.18411/d-2016-154

Wilkins, Michelle Muller. Wilkins, Jesse L. M., and Oliver, Tamra.

(2006) “Differentiation for Gifted Students.” Article.

A, V. D., Bay-Williams, J. M., McGarvey, L. M., & Karp, K. S. (2016). Elementary and
middle school mathematics Enhanced Pearson Etext Access Card: teaching
developmentally. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Team, J. W. (2013). Accommodation and Compliance Series: Employees with Autism
Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved November 28, 2017, from
https://askjan.org/media/ASD.html