Field Experience and Practicum Plan

Touro is a student.

Student ID: Institution:

Date:22/11/17

Class: Third Grade

Subject: Class type (general, special education, or inclusion):

Lesson Subject: Unit the half, quarter, and eighth

Cooperating Teacher:

Learning

The purpose of this lesson is to teach students that when a larger whole is divided into two or more smaller, equal parts, each component is a fraction of the larger whole. The ability to recognize and calculate a half, quarter, and eighth will be given to students. Additionally, students will be able to comprehend fractions and how they are used in daily living.

Common Core Learning Standard that applies: 3.NF.

Students comprehend that when a whole is divided into b equal parts it forms a fraction 1/b.

Link with Prior Knowledge:

In the previous topic students had practiced how to identify and label whole units and non unit fractions. The teacher had given them a test to check their understanding of how to identify and label whole units and also simple calculations involving non unit fractions. Identifying whole units provides a foundation for this course that deals with unit fractions.

Key Vocabulary:

Fraction: Is part of a whole.

Half: One whole divided into 2 equal parts each part is a half.

Quarter: One whole when divided into 4 equal parts, each part is a quarter.

Eighth: One whole when divided into 8 equal parts, each part is an eighth.

Materials:

Pencil, plain A4 paper, manila paper, scissors, crayons, eraser, apple, orange, and knife (for teachers use only) classroom worksheet.

Motivation:

Before commencing the lesson of the day the teacher conducts a fun game for the class where volunteer students come up to the front of the class and give name stories. They introduce themselves to the class and explain what the meaning of their names and nicknames is, and why they were given the names by their parents or friends. They also share how they relate with the names. The rest of the class claps and cheers for each volunteer who shares his or her name story. The teacher then introduces fractions and proceeds to explain what a half, quarter and eighth are. Students work in pairs of two and are given manila papers for drawing and cutting out and shading fractions to create fun in the lesson. As the student teams finish their assignments they get to walk to the front and show off their work and the whole class gets to applaud them by clapping and telling them “Well done! Well done!” This public recognition enhances participation. The students get to carry the shaded manila paper home to show their parents and friends at the end of the lesson.

Lesson Plan Procedures:

Students draw a circle, rectangle and square on the manila paper. They have fun cutting out the shapes. They then draw out a line dividing the circles into two equal halves then proceed to shade one half. The square is divided into 4 equal parts and one quarter is shaded in a lively colour. The rectangle is divided into 8 equal parts and one eighth is shaded. Drawing out the shapes and shading out parts with the crayons creates fun in the class increasing the level of participation. The teacher closely supervises and assists any students who get stuck in performing the task.

Medial Summary:

The teacher draws out three figures on the board a circle square, rectangle. He divides the circle into quarters and shades one quarter. Divides the square into quarters and shades two quarters. The rectangle is subdivided into eighths and three eighths are shaded. The students are asked to draw out the diagrams in their work sheets and indicate what fraction is the un-shaded part in their work sheets. This exercise is to test their understanding of fractions. Once all the students have finished the exercise, the teacher goes round the class checking which of the students have answered the questions correctly he gives them a tick and a Good! Remark. He patiently corrects and explains to the ones who fail to get the correct answer so they can understand how to arrive at the correct fraction.

Differentiated Instruction:

The teacher engages the students with oral questions that help the students understand the real life application of fractions. For example, A mother cut an orange among her four sons equally. What fraction of the orange did each son get?

Question 2. Ann brought her birthday cake to the class and it was subdivided into two equal parts. One part was eaten in class and she carried the other part home. What fraction did the class eat? The teacher also produces a full apple and an orange. He then proceeds to cut each fruit into segments with a knife starting with halves, quarters and eighths as he asks the students to verbally label each fraction. The knife is promptly stored away into the teacher’s locker after this exercise to prevent any accidents from occurring. The knife is only handled by the teacher.

Opportunities for Practice:

The teacher also issues out to the students blank A4 papers and asks them to work again in twos. Students are instructed to work with a different partner from the one in the first practical exercise. They each take turns to fold their papers into two and name the two halves and verbally pronounce the fraction arrived at to their partners. They proceed to fold it into 4 and 8 and each time pronouncing the fraction arrived at. Finally the student opens up the paper to produce the original whole he started with. The student then changes over with his partner who then does the same exercise on their A4 plain paper and make the verbal pronouncements of a half, quarter, eighth then back to a whole. After this exercise the teacher gives the students a homework exercise which involves shading out fractions of different shapes, naming shaded parts of a whole and real life application of fractions.

Final Summary:

To finalize the lesson the teacher engages the students in a question and answer session where she asks questions related to unit fractions and gets students to answer based on their understanding. The teacher also calls out for volunteers who come up and explain what they have understood from the lesson of the day and the rest of the student clap for the volunteers to encourage participation. Students also get to display the shapes they created and shaded to the rest of the class who applaud them.

Assessment:

The teacher collects all the classroom work sheets the students have been working on for further marking and assessment of each individual students performance during the class in order to assess their understanding of fractions. The teacher will also be able to evaluate each students comprehension of the subject from collecting and marking their home work in the next class.

Classroom Management:

The students were fully engaged in the class with different activities like cutting out and shading fractions, answering oral questions, working in teams of two and also presenting in front of the class. The teacher appointed one of the students to be a class captain of the lesson tasked to issue out and collect back all the scissors and return them back to the teachers locker to immediately after the exercise of cutting out shapes to avoid any accidents. The class captain also ensures that all the students throw the cuttings and waste paper from the practical lesson into the dustbin and maintain a clean work station. Students hence learn how to be organized and responsible. The captain position is rotated from one student to the next in different lessons. This inculcates leadership skills in the students. Dangerous objects like the knife are only handled by the teacher and promptly locked up into the teacher’s drawer to avoid accidents.

Attention to Multicultural Issues:

The teacher set out ground rules at the beginning of the lesson for the students to follow like; you must leave your work station cleaner than you found it by clearing all the waste into the dustbin after each exercise and maintaining a quiet disciplined yet fun atmosphere in the class. This impressed on the students the model of an orderly society where each individual is responsible and takes care of their own mess. All the students were involved in the classroom activities during the lesson hence creating inclusivity in the class room. The name stories game exposed the class to the different cultural origins of each student. By the students pairing up in twos and changing partners for each practical exercise they were exposed and had to relate first hand to different cultures.