Instructional Elements

Key Components to the Lesson

Fluency (Sprints)

• This should be fast paced and energetic.

• Builds student confidence.

• Reinforces conceptual understanding/automaticity.

• Reviews foundational skills in a fun way for the day’s concept.

• Develops speed with fluency.

Strategic Fluency Strategies

• Do same type fluency strategies in successive days.

• Refer to script in each module overview.

• Choose one review and one current content practice daily.

• Do not collect Sprints. Send home with students.

• Utilize whiteboards.

• Students might have three Sprints in a single lesson. Pick and choose here!

*** Question doing fluency activities that require lots of teacher prep.

Application Problem

• Allows opportunity to apply what they have recently learned in concept development: (without direct instruction and new context/real-life situation).

• Allows for the development of single and multi-step word problems.

• Students discuss solutions and learn from one another.

• In “meaning” phase, more to get ideas in play; in “mastery” phase can help assess full proficiency.

Application Problem Strategies

• Consider doing after problem set is complete (keep students busy).

• Consider assigning the application problem during a short open time in the schedule (10 minute opening between subjects/activities).

• Periodically do Fluency Practice and Application Problems for entire math lesson or homework.

• Make choices about which Application Problems to assign.

• Don’t spend large amounts of time teaching the application problem. Issue the problem, allocate the recommended time and move on to Concept Development.

Concept Development

• Key section that introduces NEW concepts.

• Moves through concrete to pictorial to abstract (not always in this order).

• This is where the manipulatives can help develop the conceptual understanding as students see the meaning and method.

• Scripted and may or may not be followed verbatim.

Think-pair-share activity

• How are these elements (sprints, application problems and concept development) similar or different from the program you have been teaching? What makes them similar or different?

• What challenges do you see in implementing these elements?

• How you see meaning, method and mastery being supported by these parts of the lesson?

Strategic Concept Development Strategies

• Pre-read through the script and teach this section with your teaching style that works for you and your students

• Don’t skip the script sections that require student engagement

• Keep it focused on the lesson’s objective

• Modelling and guided practice are critical features in Concept Development

• Look at the Problem Sets and make sure students are set up to be successful

(the concept development supports the independent work sections)

Problem Sets

• Often contain three different levels of problems.

Level 1: computational and conceptual

Level 2: students demonstrate reasoning & justify their arguments

Level 3: problems ask students to model real-world situations and use more advanced math skills

Think of this as being similar to Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Strategic Problem Set Strategies

• Level 1 questions for each lesson are must do’s.

• Keeping the lesson’s objective in mind, decide which problems are essential for students to complete.

• Understand that three levels of problems exist and you will need to use your judgment and differentiate what gets assigned to your students based on their skills.

Student Debrief

• Allows students to clarify thinking and make connections by talking and listening to their peers.

• Students get a chance to be exposed to different ways of thinking and reasoning.

• Teacher can be a “Neutral Observer” of student ideas and their mathematical reasoning.

• This is where students review and discuss the work done in the Problem Set.

Strategic Student Debrief Strategies

• Select only one question to debrief that addresses the lesson objective.

• Pair students or create small groups.

• Consider having students share their debrief with the whole class.

• Use the application problem if it pertains to the lesson.

• Students write the debrief rather than discussing orally.

Think-pair-share activity

• How are these elements (problem sets, student debrief) similar or different from the program you have been teaching? What makes them similar or different?

• What challenges do you see in implementing these elements?

• How you see meaning, method and mastery being supported by these parts of the lesson?

Assessments in Common Core Math

• The end goal is for students to use their mathematical skills to solve real-world problems.

• Traditionally students aren’t strong story problem solvers.

• Students will be asked to do multi-step story problems and explain their thinking.

• Assessment informs instruction and must be used on a daily basis.

What Daily Assessments Exist?

• Talk at your tables

• Whole group share out

Mid-Module Assessment Task

• Check-up along the way

End of Module Assessment

• An assessment of the entire module’s content where students must apply the learning to real-world problems.

• Look at the last few pages in the section behind the first brown sheet.

• Quantum Leap………students must apply their skills and explain their reasoning. These assessments are extremely rigorous (level 3).

Smarter Balanced Assessment

Most useful resources are

- Sample tests (especially revised versions to be posted soon).

- http://www.smarterbalanced.org/smarter-balanced-assessments/

Go to Item/Task Specifications to download large zip files which contain item stems; scroll down a lot to see those item stems.