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Lesson Plan Design

Subject: Math Grade: 3rd Lesson Topic: Order of Operations/Associative Property
Candidate’s Name: Lesli Nevarez ID #
Site Supervisor: NU Supervisor:
Date: ___November 27, 2018__________________________________
1. Introduction: (Identify Grade Level K12 Academic Content Standard(s), rationale, focus learner,
create bridges from past learning, behavior expectations)
.
Standards: Rationale:
California Common Core Standards
The purpose of this lesson is to focus on
3.OA.5 Apply properties of operations as strategies to
the order of operations in a given equation
multiply and divide.
and then draw on prior knowledge of
associative property of addition to teach
the associative property of multiplication.

Lesson needs to connect to what students

already know. Using prior knowledge
Bridges from past learning:
gives students a base of understanding and
In prior lessons, students have worked with different
provides context for the information they
operations of addition, subtraction, and multiplication. They
are learning in this lesson relative to the
have learned and used the associative property of addition:
larger picture. Students are familiar with
(2+3)+4=2+(3+4).
adding and multiplying, but don’t always
pay attention to what operation is being
asked of them or understand what needs to
happen first.

This is the third month of third grade.

Behavior expectations:
Students have been transitioning between
This will be a lesson given to the entire third grade class.
whole group, small group, or individual
Students are expected to be able to sit and listen attentively
practice in the same lesson. Additionally
as well as transition between listening to direct instruction,
students are able to easily move from
work in group, and come back as a whole class. For this
workbook or whiteboard and back to
lesson students will be expected to transition between whole
workbook. Students are also able to
group instruction, to small group practice, and back to whole
transition between working individually or
group several times during the lesson.
supportively within a group with
discussion.

2. Learner Outcome(s)/Objective(s): (What will students learn from this lesson? How will you
measure mastery of the outcome?)

Behavioral Objective: Rationale:

 Students will be introduced to the order of
operations. (PEMDAS) The objective of this lesson is to introduce
students to the order of operations
  Students will understand the purpose of parentheses
and how they fit within the order of operations.
 Students will learn the definition of the associative
property of multiplication and how to use it
Mastery will be measured through teacher observation of
student answers to questions, observation during table work
to solve problems, and observation of student ability to
complete ABCD whiteboard math at the end of the unit.
3. Pre-assessment Activity: (Determine students’ abilities to achieve the Learner Outcome and
prescribe instruction accordingly. Consider: linguistic background, academic language abilities,
content knowledge, cultural and health considerations, interests and aspirations, physical
development, social development, emotional development. )
For this lesson the class has 26 students from various
backgrounds. There are 13 female and 13 male students.
Students have been in 3rd grade for three months now. They
have been working through the GoMath curriculum and have
had prior lessons and exams in the material. For the specific
concepts in this lesson students completed a computer
administered check called Personal Math Trainer (PMT) to
assess their readiness for the lesson. On the PMT and prior
exams there is a large range of math abilities. Some students
are doing complicated multiplication and simple division
while others are still struggling to memorize their subtraction
facts. All of these students are at different points, but need
access to the same academic curriculum alongside
intervention in earlier skills.
Considerations:
Linguistic background –
The primary language of 2/3s of the class is English.
The majority of the other 1/3 primarily speak Spanish at
home with one student speaking Vietnamese. Students do
understand conversational English well. They understand
instructions and most new information when contextualized
to ideas they already know. They can also converse in basic
English when asked direct questions 1:1, but are hesitant to
voluntarily speak in groups.
Academic language abilities –
About one half of the students are comfortable answering
questions about math content that has been previously taught
and practiced. One quarter can answer questions if asked
with a certain framing or lead in. Another quarter do not
volunteer and struggle with concepts, language, and
confidence.
Content knowledge –
(PEMDAS) in mathematics. Additionally
students will build on prior lesson on the
purpose of parentheses and see how they
fit in with the order of operations and in
the use of the associative property of
multiplication. Students will be introduced
to this property to give them an additional
tool in solving complex problems. The
associative property provides students with
a way to take a difficult problem and
regroup it into easier problems with more
friendly numbers (1, 2, 5, 10) or math facts
that students know.
Rationale:
The more information that is known, the
better the instruction can be designed to
meet each student’s needs. Each of the
areas on the left affects the student and
their learning in some way.
The large range in abilities, but need to
continue teaching everyone the same
content requires teacher to build upon
students prior knowledge and to make
connections between methods that students
are familiar with using and the new
methods or tools they are being taught.
This lesson includes specific vocabulary
instruction to increase student’s academic
language abilities. New property of
associative property of multiplication will
be defined through context to prior
knowledge of associative property of
addition, modeled, and practiced.
Information will be conveyed orally and
visually.
There are several students that need leveled
questions to adjust the instruction, practice,
and academic responses to their ability or
confidence level. Some students need
more framing of the question with a lead to
the answer.
Students have been exposed to different operations (addition,
subtraction, and multiplication). They have seen parentheses
and have been instructed that the operation in the parentheses
is completed before another operation (i.e. 2x(3+2), 3+2 is
done first), but have not learned order of operations.
Students know the associative property of addition and how
to use it to make problems easier, but this is the first
introduction of the associative property of multiplication.
It is a challenge to take the curiosity that
students have and work around their
different abilities and confidence levels to
create meaningful lessons that achieve the
standards which might not be that
interesting to them.

Culture and health considerations –

Students come from a variety of cultures and SES statuses.
Some students are from affluent families that travel and are
heavily involved, other students have families that struggle to
meet basic needs and are not involved in their child’s
education. To the point that some students that are eligible
for school intervention programs such as English in Flash or
Math in Flash do not attend these activities. Specific
information about SES status of students within the
classroom is unknown; however, the Jefferson Elementary
SARC report from 2016-2017 (Carlsbad Unified School
District, 2017) states that the student population of SES
disadvantaged students is over 50%.

Interests and aspirations –

Many of the students are interested in learning, but not
necessarily in learning the content being taught to them.
During a recent STEM challenge of building a bridge from
paper and tape, almost all of the students were engaged and
excited. There was also high level of involvement and
curiosity at a field trip to the local lagoon. Personal interests
range from sports to Pokemon to LOL dolls to travel to
nature.

Physical development –
Generally the students have age appropriate physical
development. A few of the students lag behind in fine motor
skills especially stamina relative to writing.

Social development –
Students at this age are aware of each other’s abilities and
will often gravitate towards peers of similar abilities in and
outside of the classroom. When heterogeneous groupings are
used within the classroom, students generally work together
with reminding of teacher. At this age there are changes in
friendships and struggles with emotions and socializing.
Additionally there are two students that do not interact well
together.

Emotional development -
Students in third grade are in a large range of emotional
development and maturity. Generally they are aware of
others feelings and right/wrong; however, many of them are
still maturing in being able to focus on task at hand. A few
students become easily frustrated and negative about ability
to complete work. Several students lack confidence in their
academic interactions. One student struggles with
completing any work that is asked of him and will become
withdrawn and disruptive if pushed.
4. Differentiation, Adaptation & Accommodation Strategies: (Based on the pre-assessments, modify
Learning Activities based on learner characteristics to meet the needs of ELL & special needs
students, highly achieving students and low achieving students)
This lesson was designed to accommodate the needs of all
students. Every student in the classroom needs to be exposed
to the same content regardless of ability. This is challenging
due to the range of student ability from those doing division
to those still struggling with subtraction. To make the
content accessible it will be built upon past lessons and
linked to methods of solving problems that most of the
students are comfortable with using. Information will be
conveyed orally and visually with concepts modeled before
students practice together and independently.
Below are listed specific aspects of this lesson that
accommodate the needs and abilities of all students within
the classroom.
ELLs – Most of the vocabulary in this lesson has been taught
in previous lessons. New words will be written on the board,
defined relative to known concepts (i.e. associative property
of addition) and referred to during the lesson. Verbal
instruction will be done alongside visuals to increase
student’s ability to follow. Hearing and participating in
dialogue of heterogeneous group will increase language
skills. Student will be motivated to participate knowing that
he may be called upon when class regroups through random
card draw. After the lesson, the new property (associative
property of multiplication) will be added to the list of math
properties in the classroom along with an example equation.
Every new concept/problem type will be modeled followed
by guided and independent practice. ABCD whiteboard
math is designed to allow ELLs to show what they can do
without verbal communication or need for instructions. It is
based on problems that were used in the lesson followed by
problems that have applications from the lessons to other
material.
Special Needs – There are several students with IEPs. The
main struggle of these students is ability to focus in larger
groups and follow during direct instruction. Focus can
sometimes be redirected by teacher proximity or simple
nonverbal gesture. Within this lesson there will also be
several opportunities for students to work in smaller peer
groups. During independent activity, teacher can re-teach
concept in small group if needed or provide some individual
direction and support.
High Achieving Students – Lesson is designed to include
basics and draw connections between math concepts and
Rationale:
Not all students learn in the same way or at
the same rate. These students need to be
instructed in a way they can learn and be
provided activities that they can succeed in
with the appropriate student effort and
teacher support.
ELLs – Contextualizing new vocabulary
and concepts to prior knowledge is critical
for ELLs to follow and use the connections
to expand their vocabulary and
comprehension. Hearing dialogue and
having motivation to participate will
increase student language skills, academic
language, and potential for learning from
the activity. ELLs may be able to
complete the math problems, but struggle
with expressing their answers. The ABCD
whiteboard math is an opportunity for
these students to truly be able to do math
outside of oral (listening or speaking)
language.
Special Needs – These students struggle in
large groups. To provide some support
students will work in smaller peer groups.
Extra teacher support will be provided
during independent work as needed by
moving to carpet and working through
problems in guided practice.
High Achieving Students – The high
students will recognize and understand
tools. For some of the activities, these students will be
placed in heterogeneous groups that require them to listen to
peers and articulate why they think their answer is correct if
it is different from others. ABCD whiteboard math is
designed to challenge the high achieving students by making
each problem more complex with the understanding amongst
students that not everyone will finish all four problems.
Low achieving students – If student volunteers to answer
question, then teacher will make effort to call on them.
When student is asked to provide answer, the question will
be leading and targeted to set the student up for success.
Students will work some problems in heterogeneous table
grouping to give support for completing assignment.
Dialogue is expected, not just copying answers. During
dialogue teacher may indicate that low performing student
will be called on for the answer, so he/she better know and
group is expected to help them understand.
5. Resources: (Identify materials needed for this lesson accounting for varying degrees of skill level)
Computer/Projection System
Whiteboard/markers
Pencils
Worksheet
Cards with student names
6. Learning Activities: Explicit Teacher Instruction - (Explain, Model, Demonstrate, Check for
Understanding)
Explain:
Student will be engaged in lesson by asking them to solve the
problem 2+3x4 as a table group (6 or 7 students) using their
whiteboards. Bring class back together and share answers.
Discuss importance of order of operations and introduce
PEMDAS (parentheses, exponential, multiply, division,
addition, subtraction).
Model and demonstrate:
Take equation, 2+3x4, from beginning of lesson and model
PEMDAS as a class. After working through problem draw
student’s attention to parentheses as 1st operation to be
completed. Add to the above equation as shown: (2+3)x4
and solve using PEMDAS.
Check for understanding:
more of the connections between concepts
and tools and be able to apply the
information quickly. Verbalizing their
reasoning will require students to focus on
why the answer is what it is and be able to
communicate those ideas to others.
Low achieving students – Many low
achieving students do not volunteer to
answer questions. If they do volunteer,
they should be given the opportunity and
support to succeed and build confidence.
Rationale:
The materials listed here will allow teacher
to model concepts while verbalizing the
concepts. This will help visual learners
and ELLs to understand the concept being
taught. Additionally using different
student materials of pencil/paper and
whiteboard/marker provides a way to break
up the lesson into different sections and
methods of learning.
Rationale:
This will get students thinking and
discussing how to solve the problem. The
intent is that there will be some confusion
and potentially different answers. This
will lead into why order of operations
(PEMDAS) is important in solving
problems.
To create deeper understanding of the
concepts, it is important to follow direct
instruction with a demonstration of how to
use the concept.
It is important to check for student
Students instructed to look at new equation 4+2x6. Ask
students to keep answers in their heads. Think about what
operations there are in the equation and which operation
should be done first. Ask students to close their eyes and
stand up if they think addition should be done first.
7. Learning Activities: Guided Practice/ Collaborative Practice (Check for understanding and
provide feedback and re-teaching)
Guide practice:
Students will now participate in guided practice of applying
PEMDAS to solve several problems as a class. This will
include moving parentheses in above equation, followed by
two problems with addition and parentheses only. The last
two problems will demonstrate the associative property of
addition that students have learned in prior lesson. This will
be a lead in to the associative property of multiplication.
Work (2x3)x5 and 2x(3x5) to show that they are the same
answer and that it doesn’t matter what order they are done if
all of the operations are multiplication.
Check for Understanding:
Teacher will observe student answers to the questions above
as they work through the problems as a class. Students will
be randomly called upon by pull of card with name.
8. Independent Practice: (Provide practice that supports the learning outcome. Note: Independent
activities are assigned assuming that students understand the concept well enough to work on their
own.)
Independent Practice:
Students will continue to work through remaining worksheet
problems independently. They will need to identify all of the
operations in an equation and apply PEMDAS to determine
the order the operations should be completed in to solve
problem.
All students will participate in this same activity; however,
for those that still need support it will be guided practice.
Check for Understanding:
Teacher observes students as they complete their
independent work. Questions will be asked to guide students
that are off-task or are not ready for independent practice.
Through these questions, teacher will be able to observe
where the students are struggling. This will guide future
instructional planning. If there are several students that are
struggling they will be pulled to the front carpet to revisit the
concepts taught and work through problems through guided
practice.
understanding of concept before moving
on and trying to build on the concept.
Additionally, having students hold ideas in
their heads gives all levels of learners the
time to process and come up with their
own answers. Throwing a little movement
and different way of responding chorally
by standing up breaks up the lesson a bit.
Rationale:
The guided practice is a chance for
students to apply what they have learned in
a supported manner. When students know
there is the potential of being called upon
through random card draw they are more
likely to focus on the task at hand.
Additionally drawing connections between
prior knowledge and new concept helps
bridges student learning.
Rationale:
Independent practice is crucial to build
self-efficacy and critical thinking skills as
well as to practice the skill from the lesson
and provide opportunity for teacher to
observe progress and support to those that
need it.
Not all students will be ready for
independent practice. These students will
be supported as they complete the work
through leading questions or re-teaching in
a small group.
9. Assessment and Evaluation: (Describe how you will assess and/or evaluate the students’ learning.
Describe differentiating assessment strategies you will use for ELL, special needs students, highly
achieving students and low achieving students.)
Whole class assessment:
Informally teacher will circulate through the room during
table activities and independent practice to observe who is
struggling with concepts.
After the independent practice, students will all be instructed
to take out their whiteboards for ABCD whiteboard math.
ABCD whiteboard math is where the teacher writes down
four problems of increasing complexity on key concepts
from the lesson. Students solve the problems independently
using whiteboards and markers. When a student finishes the
first problem, they hold up their whiteboard, teacher checks,
and then they can proceed to the next problem.
Modifications for:
ELL – Order of operations and associative property will be
displayed on the board for students to reference. This
progress assessment is a nonverbal activity. It asks students
to start with problems that have been covered in the lesson
and to progress to applying those concepts to more
complicated problems. If the student needs additional help
with activities teacher will reference visuals and use concise
direct language.
Special Needs – There are several students with IEPs. The
main struggle of these students is ability to focus in larger
groups and tending to the task at hand during independent
work. The ABCD math is an independent task that may
require teacher to redirect student to continue working. This
can be done by proximity or gentle verbal reminders.
High Achieving Students – This type of assessment is
designed to provide stretch problems for high achieving
students. As the students progress through the problems they
become more complicated and challenging.
Low achieving students – This type of assessment is
designed for low achieving students to be successful on at
least one of the problems. Teacher will circulate and provide
clues by asking questions of struggling students as needed.
Rationale:
This is an activity that the students enjoy,
provides differentiation, and an
opportunity for teacher to check for
individual understanding and progress in
key lesson concepts.
ELL – These students can often process as
much information as their English peers,
but language is a huge barrier. They rely
heavily on visuals, gestures, and
demonstrations to learn as they work on
learning, processing, and understanding
English socially and academically. They
rely on these same skills to communicate
what they know. Assessing these students
in a way that removes/reduces the language
component allows students to show what
they know about the content outside of
language.
Special Needs – Often a simple redirection
to the task at hand is enough for these
students to complete work. There is the
potential for refusal to work. One student
is allowed to show a break card at any time
during the day.
High achieving students – Challenging
students to do extra work is not enough.
The work should be applying their
knowledge in a different more complex
way that has not been directly modeled.
Low achieving students – Low achieving
students struggle with self-esteem and need
chances to successfully work problems
independently to build confidence.
Sometimes a simple guiding question to
 lead student in right direction will set them
up for success.

10. Closure: (Describe how students will reflect on what they have learned.)

Regroup as a class and go over ABCD whiteboard math Rationale:

problems. Review PEMDAS and order of operations. Note
Going through ABCD math will give the
that the associative of multiplication will be added as new
students feedback and guidance on how to
rule on list for reference.
complete problems they will be assessed
on at the end of the chapter. Reviewing
learning goals will provide focus to what’s
important in the lesson for the students and
call attention to a reference of the new
property they can use in the future.

11. Lesson Reflection/Assessment: (Collect student learning data to determine: What went well?
What needs to be changed? Were learning outcomes met? What activities will you add, change,
modify in the future? What can be done to follow up on the learning from this lesson? Who needs
additional help? Who needs enrichment or higher level work?)

Revised: 10/23/2008
Note: An electronic copy of the Lesson Plan Design may be found on the Nu-Fast website:
http://www.nu-fast.com . Links: Fileshare - SOE – TED – TED 629 – Student/Faculty
References

Carlsbad Unified School District, (2017). Jefferson Elementary School 2016-17 School
Accountability Report Card. Retrieved from http://cusd-
ca.schoolloop.com/file/1218238651149/1218679748465/8598741390045512577.pdf.

Go Math! California. (2015). Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.