Math: Core Decisions

What?: The content of my lesson will involve a review of place value followed by one Commented [GLT1]: Lizit seems like you picked
content that makes good sense for your students!

multiplication problem that the students will have to solve in any way they see fit. I want the

students to gain a better understanding of place value and to use that understanding in solving Commented [GLT2]: Try to say what you mean by
place value as you intend to get at in this lesson.
Place value is sort of a topic labelwhat are the
multiplication problems using multiplicative reasoning strategies (the distributive property or concepts that you want students to understand?

partial products methods to solve). In order for students to use place value effectively, they Commented [GLT3]: Can you be explicit here about
how these multiplicative reasoning strategies are
related to place value?
need to be able to break numbers apart and see each place value within the number. For

example, understanding that 463 is actually 400 + 60 + 3 (the expanded form) can provide a

basis for many arithmetic strategies. I want the students to be able to see how numbers can be

broken apart into their place values and understand that that can provide them with extra

strategies in solving problems, beyond the standard algorithms. The multiplicative reasoning

strategies I want students to be able to use have a firm basis in place value understanding. The

partial products method uses expanded form of a multi-digit number to multiply each place

value separately before adding up the partial products to get the final answer. The distributive

property allows us to distribute a factor, a, to two different addends, b and c. (Chapin &

Johnson, 2006). For example, in order to solve 3 x 58, you can break 58 into 50 + 8 and

distribute the 3 across the two addends: 3 x (50 + 8) = (3 x 50) + (3 x 8). This method relies on

place value and expanded form just like the partial products method does. According to the

OGAP framework, the strategies we have been working on in the 4th grade classroom are at

the top of the progression for multiplicative reasoning (the distributive property and partial
products). However, in order to do those strategies, number sense and place value
understanding are required, as explained above.
How?: I want to use the place value cards from Canvas
(file:///C:/Users/tkacz/Downloads/Secret%20Code%20Cards.pdf) to give students a different
view of place value that I think will be helpful in deepening their understanding. Once the
review of place value is done, I will give the students one multiplication problem to solve where
they can use any strategy they want (including the new place value cards I just introduced them
to). They will also be able to work with paper, marker boards, a multiplication chart, or base ten
blocks if they would like to since those are modeling materials the students are used to working
with. Students will be able to work collaboratively or alone with many tools in order to solve
the multiplication problem. The multiplication problem I have chosen to give the students
requires them to multiply a two- digit by one- digit number followed by a one- digit number by
a three- digit number. Multiplying by a one- digit number makes the distributive property
manageable for the students. Also, the two parts to this problem provides examples of
multiplication with 2- and 3- digit numbers which will indicate place value up to the hundreds
place (easily shown in the new place value cards I have shown them). Then, I will facilitate a
discussion around the different strategies the students used in order to highlight the different
methods of using expanded form and place value understanding. The teaching method
demonstrated in this lesson is inquiry-based problem solving where the problem provided is
problematic for the students. The norms will be set up so that they may work alone or with a
partner to solve the problem, they may use any tools they want that will be available to them,
Commented [GLT4]: Yes they are! Can you elaborate
here on why and in what way they are required?
Commented [GLT5]: Lizbelow is a review of a piece
of that email I sent out. You are missing some
components of this section.
The How Section should indicate specifically how you
will get the students to grapple with the math concepts
that you describe in the What Section. So now you are
considering how to get kids to understand the content
that you identified in the What Section. This includes
the following. 1) The teaching approach you will
take (e.g.: inquiry-based problem solving). 2) Specific
strategies you are going to employ (e.g. students will
work collaboratively to solve a task; I will facilitate a
group discussion in which students present their
strategies and others will question and critique their
ideas). 3) Targeted explanations of the 4 dimensions of
teaching mentioned: tasks, discourse, tools norms.
What task will you use, and how will it help the students
to grapple with the concepts you laid out? How,
specifically, will the discourse be structured in order to
support students in grappling with the concepts? What
specific tools will students use and how will those tools
help students to grapple with the content that you have
laid out? What norms will you lay out in order to make
the use of the tools possible, the discourse possible
and the engagement in the task possible?
Give this section a re-write to be sure you are
adequately addressing the italicized components.
and they will have to discuss their thinking and the strategy they used with the whole group

once I feel everyone has a solution. Throughout the students work to solve the problem, I will

be observing their methods and assessing student strategies. Aligning with my guiding question

based on differentiating instruction, I will have students who finish quickly try to solve the

problem using a different method. If I notice a student struggling, I will ask probing questions to
guide them towards a way in to solving the problem. The discourse I will use with students
Commented [GLT6]: This is nice that you can
incorporate your guiding question here. Also a smart
move to push students to go deeper on the problem of
focus, instead of just giving them more problems to
complete! Well done.

struggling with the task may be to ask them what numbers are given in the problem and how

those numbers could be represented with physical models. If a student is really struggling, I

may suggest that they work with another student first before trying to come up with a different

method on their own. This would help struggling students see what they should be doing with

the numbers in the problem (multiplying them) in order to make sense of a different strategy.

Why?: I want to review place value first because the students in my 4th grade class dont have
a firm understanding of place value, which is such a fundamental mathematical concept moving
forward in everything else they will be doing in math classes. The class curriculum has passed
Commented [GLT7]: Lizthis is a well thought out
Why section. You have been astute in noticing not
only that their computation problems are rooted in gaps
in place value understanding but that filling these gaps
in understanding is absolutely vital to the learning they
will do in the future. This is a wonderful reason to focus
on what you have chosen to focus on.

by the basics of place value and the students are supposed to be ready to use that concept in

solving problems. What I am seeing in class though is that many students are making all kinds of

arithmetic mistakes based on a misunderstanding of place value or how it connects to anything

else in math. Within the curriculum and standards, it is said that the students should be able to

multiply by 1- and 2-digit numbers, which is what we have been working on in class. However,

without place value understanding, this standard is proving very difficult for some students.

This is why I want to start with a place value review using the place value cards supplied on
Canvas (file:///C:/Users/tkacz/Downloads/Secret%20Code%20Cards.pdf) that I think are really

good and that I want to try out in practice. The topic of the word problem I want to do is Commented [GLT8]: This is also a great place to try out
new tools!

multiplication because it relates to what they are working on in the class curriculum. I also think

it is necessary to assess if they have a deeper understanding of multiplicative strategies after

they get a fresh look at place value, since I have been observing their work with multiplication Commented [GLT9]: This is another good idea. Dont
be discouraged if it takes more than one effort to lay
those place value foundations in such a way that they
so far and am finding a lack of place value understanding. will be useful during computation. That work takes time
and continued experience. You have to start
somewhere though, and checking to see where they
are after new exposure is a smart move so that you
know what to do next!