Lesson Participation and Observation Assignment

Language and Communication in Multiple Contexts (CIED 312)

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Teaching and Learning

Lesson Participation and Observation Field Assignment for Mathematics Instruction

CIED 312: Language and Communication in Multiple Contexts

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Teaching and Learning

Madeline Lee

Lesson Title: Counting On Up To 40

Franklin Elementary School First Grade

Belleville School District #118

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Lesson Participation and Observation Assignment
Language and Communication in Multiple Contexts (CIED 312)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Teaching and Learning

CIED 312 Mathematics Lesson Plan

Component 1: Learning Context
Teacher Candidate Name: Madeline Lee Section Number: 312-102
Cooperating Teacher Name:
School: Franklin Elementary School Room:
Date: 9/19/2023 Grade level: 1st Time Needed: 20 minutes
Mathematical Topic/ General Concept: Counting on from a random number

Teacher Candidate Role: Lesson Duration:

___Taught with cooperating teacher observing
20 minutes
___Co-taught with cooperating teacher

_X_Assisted cooperating teacher instruction

Prior Knowledge Prerequisite(s) for Learning: Students have learned their numbers and how to write them up to 40, they
have been given a pre-assessment on writing numbers up to 100
Student Misconceptions About the Topic: Some students do not understand the number sequence as well as others

Class Demographics: Student knowledge is not super advanced on this topic, about 20% of the class has a good grasp on
writing and counting numbers up to 40 but the other 80% needs more guidance. About 50% of the class enjoys math and
the other 50% are not very interested in math.
Materials Needed For the Students Materials Needed For the Teacher
Small Whiteboard Worksheet to pass out
Dry erase markers
Counting On worksheet
Pencil and eraser
*The student I interviewed had interest assets in the following areas that are different from mine:
__interest in school _X_interest in lesson topic _X_interest in class colleagues __interest in teacher
*The student I interviewed had knowledge assets in the following areas that are different from mine:
_X_skills mastered _X_knowledge of lesson topic __interpersonal skills needed to learn with others _X_prior life experience
*The student I interviewed had cultural assets in the following areas that are different from mine:
_X_race __social class _X_gender __language _X_culture
*The student I interviewed had community assets in the following areas that are different from mine:
__school cultural diversity _X_student knowledge diversity __economic class of school neighborhood _X_teacher/administrator experience

*At least two characteristics in each category of learning assets must be checked to identify a student participant as different from the interviewer.
Component 2: Learning Objective with Common Core State Standards for Mathematics Identified
Learning Standard Given By Cooperating Teacher:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.NBT.1
Count to 120, starting at any number less than 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of
objects with a written numeral.
Learning Objective Given By Cooperating Teacher:

The student can count on 5 numbers beyond a randomly chosen number between 1 and 40.

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Lesson Participation and Observation Assignment
Language and Communication in Multiple Contexts (CIED 312)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Teaching and Learning

Cooperating Teacher Interview Question

What do we want students to learn when we teach and learn this lesson with them? How does your response to this
question align with the lesson standard and objective you gave me for this lesson?

Response: From this lesson, our goal is for students to improve their number sense and grasp the concept of numbers
that “come after” one another. We want them to learn how to count on from any random number. This aligns with the
objective, which gives a target ability of 5 numbers of counting on and specifies that they should master this skill for
numbers between 1 and 40. Students who are ready for more difficult concepts will be asked to count on from numbers
even higher, up to 100. This goal also aligns with the Common Core Math Standard 1.NBT.1 because we are having
students practice counting starting from a random number. We will continue to practice this more throughout the year
so they can do it up to 120, as stated in the math standard. Through improving their number sense of what numbers
come after others, they will also work toward the standard because they will understand quantity and therefore how a
number of objects is represented by a numeral.

Diverse Student Interview Question

What do you want to learn from this math lesson? How do you want me to teach mathematics to you?

Response: From this lesson, the student wants to learn more about numbers and what order they come in. He wants to
practice counting from different numbers to learn them better, as well as learning how counting can help him add
numbers together. He likes to be taught using fun activities during lessons. For example, he likes using computers to play
math games and get involved with math. He also enjoys using whiteboards and manipulatives because they make the
lessons more fun and keep his attention. He likes having worksheets to go along with activities because he can take them
home and show his parents what he has learned. As far as instruction, this student likes when his teacher does whole-
class instruction, rather than working with small groups. After doing a lot of work during a long lesson, he likes to have
brain breaks such as dancing to a song to let him feel refreshed, and then he can learn and focus better afterwards.

Interviewer Reflection Commentary:

These responses have helped me get an idea of how I want to teach in the future. Firstly, my cooperating teacher has a
very clear goal going into this lesson, and I think this is very important for teachers. Having an objective for the lesson
helps you ensure that you are staying on topic, designing and planning appropriate activities for the lesson, and allows
you to assess student learning and determine if the goals have been met. I want to always set goals for my lessons in the
future and shape them around the best ways for students to meet those goals. Another way this has helped inform how I
want to teach is that it has shown how a whole-class activity can be differentiated a bit for students with different levels
of prior knowledge. Although all students will participate in the same lesson with whole-class instruction, the teacher is
able to support learners at different levels by asking different questions to them. For students with more understanding
of the topic, she can ask them more difficult questions and have them count on from numbers larger than 40. One last
way this has helped me envision my future teaching strategies is that I think it can be beneficial to ask students what
activities they prefer and how they learn best. This can help me cater to the learning styles of my students and make
lessons more engaging.

Component 3: Academic Vocabulary

Given the language function and learning task identified in the standard and objective for this lesson plan listed in part 2,
describe the academic vocabulary inferred from standards and objectives and the academic vocabulary actually used for
this lesson. Differences between inferred and used academic vocabulary suggest concepts students already know, concepts
they may be struggling with, and concepts that may be new to them.
General Academic Vocabulary That Could Be Used to Mathematics Vocabulary Specific to Counting On that
Build the Mathematics Concept of Number Sense Could Be Used to Build the Mathematics Concept of
Number Sense
Sequence, pattern, before, after, next, quantity, more, less,
fewer, larger, smaller Number, count, digit, cardinality, count on

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Lesson Participation and Observation Assignment
Language and Communication in Multiple Contexts (CIED 312)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Teaching and Learning

General Academic Vocabulary That Was Used to Build Mathematics Vocabulary Specific to the Concept of
the Mathematics Concept of Number Sense Counting On That Was Used

After: behind Number: an arithmetical value expressed by a word or

symbol, representing a quantity
Next: coming immediately after the present one in order
Adding: join something to something else to increase the
Through: to continue up to and including amount

Between: in or along the space separating two things Plus: with the addition of

Less: a smaller amount of, not as much Count: an act of reciting numbers in ascending order

Smaller: of a size that is less than something else
Bigger: of a size that is greater than something else
“Pound number”: a number emphasized by making a fist
in the air with a pounding motion (teacher-invented term)
Count on: reciting numbers in ascending order starting
from a given number

Component 4: Assessment Plan

Planned Objective: The student can
count on 5 numbers beyond a randomly
chosen number between 1 and 40.
Actual Objective: The student can count
on 5 numbers beyond a randomly
chosen number between 1 and 40.
Description of assessment method #1 and student work.
One or Two Assessment Methods(s) Embedded in the Cooperating Teacher’s
Chosen Assessment Instrument(s). Actual assessment Instrument(s) Are
Described in the Cell Below:
_X_Worksheet (see example attached)
___Test (see example attached)
___Observation Checklist (see example attached)
___Other (see descriptions below)

The first assessment method embedded in this worksheet was assessing if students could write their numbers accurately
from one to ten. In order to assess this, the worksheet had blanks upon which students were expected to write the
solutions to simple addition problems within 10. Students were expected to do this without any other references to help
them. This allows the teacher to assess if students are able to write their numbers correctly and clearly, making sure they
are written facing forward and are written at an acceptable size for their motor skills.

Results of this method of assessment: What general patterns of learning did you observe as you evaluated assessment
products with your cooperating teacher? What exceptional patterns of learning did you observe?

Looking at the students’ work on this worksheet, the general pattern was that students could correctly write most of
their numbers from one to ten. The number that students most often had trouble with was five, which was seen written
backward more than any other number. A couple other numbers that students had trouble writing forwards were three
and six. Some exceptional patterns were that a few students wrote all their numbers correctly without any errors, and
there were a few students that consistently wrote a couple numbers backwards. For example, one student wrote the
number five backwards each time he wrote it, whereas other students were likely to make this mistake only once or
twice on the worksheet. Something I have learned in my math class that connects to these patterns is that at a young
age, when students are beginning to grasp number sense, numbers are often represented by objects or images rather
than their numerical digit (VandeWalle, 2019). This helps students make connections to value. However, once the digits
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Lesson Participation and Observation Assignment
Language and Communication in Multiple Contexts (CIED 312)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Teaching and Learning

are introduced and are used more often than objects or images, students are not as familiar with them. They can
recognize and identify them easily but have trouble producing them on their own.

Description of assessment method #2 and student work.

The second assessment method embedded in this worksheet was assessing if students could use the “counting on”
strategy to solve addition problems. In order to assess this, the worksheet had many addition problems where students
were given a number, and then had to add it with another number that was represented by images. For example, it may
say “6 + “ and students would have to count on “6… 7, 8, 9” to find that 6 + 3 equals 9. Students were expected
to complete all these addition problems independently and were urged to try again until they got them all correct.

Results of this method of assessment: What general patterns of learning did you observe as you evaluated assessment
products with your cooperating teacher? What exceptional patterns of learning did you observe?

Examining the students’ work on this worksheet, the general pattern was that students could successfully count on to
add most of the time. During the lesson, we observed that some students had trouble understanding the directions for
the worksheet, but with a little reminding they got on the right track. One pattern we noticed was that the most
common mistake students were making was repeating the starting number when they began to count on, rather than
starting with the next number, resulting in a given answer that was one less than the correct answer. For example, for
the problem given above students would say “6… 6, 7, 8.” They also might say “6, 7, 8,” pointing to the first object when
reading out the starting number. This would result in an answer of eight instead of nine. An exceptional pattern we saw
was that two students occasionally counted backward instead of counting forward. For example, for that same problem
they would count “6… 5, 4, 3” and write an answer of three. This also connects to number sense, showing that the
students have a strong understanding of the counting sequence but do not have a very developed understanding of its
relationship with addition (VandeWalle, 2019).

Cooperating Teacher Interview Question

What different ways did you see your students demonstrate their learning of your objective today? How do you get to
value these different ways of learning through the grades your school asks you to assign to each student? To what extent
do you think your students agree with the way your school values learning differences through its grading system? Why?

Response: The first way students demonstrated learning her objective of counting on five numbers beyond a starting
number was by counting aloud. She gave students a number and they demonstrated verbally that they could count on
five numbers beyond the starting point. This was done as a whole class. The students also demonstrated their learning of
the objective by writing numbers on their whiteboards. The teacher gave them a starting number verbally, and they had
to write down the following number, working their way up to writing the next five numbers. Finally, they applied their
learning to an independent worksheet, using counting on to solve addition problems. The school asks her to assign
grades to each student for math and she does this based on their performance throughout the school year. She grades
them based on their effort and learning as a whole, rather than giving a lot of weight to each individual score they get on
assignments. Her students are very young, so they do not have strong opinions on the grading system. However, they
understand that their parents’ involvement in their learning is important, and that it’s necessary to give grades to
parents that reflect how their children are doing in class.

Diverse Student Interview Question

What did I say or do during the lesson that made the most sense to you? Why?

Response: What made the most sense to this student during the lesson was working through some problems together
and using the “pound number” and pointing technique. The teacher used a verbal strategy along with hand motions to
help students understand counting on and how it applies to addition, and to help them keep track of how many they are
counting on. This strategy was helpful for the student and made sense to him. He also liked using the whiteboards at the

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Lesson Participation and Observation Assignment
Language and Communication in Multiple Contexts (CIED 312)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Teaching and Learning

beginning of the lesson, because that was a low-stakes way to practice counting on and get everyone engaged in the
lesson. It made sense to him because he could see the numbers in front of him rather than just hearing them. The use of
visual objects to count in the worksheet also made sense to this student, because it helped him keep track of how many
he needed to count on and built connections between numerical values and the quantities they represent.

Interviewer Reflection Commentary:

These responses have helped me see the importance of having a variety of formative assessment methods, both formal
and informal, to track students’ progress. During this lesson, the teacher used a variety of assessment methods, including
informal class discussion and whiteboard activities, and a formal worksheet. This helped her see if the students were
grasping the concept of counting on. In my future classroom, I hope to use similar informal formative assessment
methods to assess my students’ learning without putting a lot of pressure on them. I have learned that class discussions
are very student-focused and allow them to share their learning and ideas (Simonds, 2011). During such discussions, I can
note who is participating and who seems to have misconceptions. I also want to use formal formative assessment, such
as worksheets, because those allow me to look at each individual student’s work and structure my future lessons based
on what concepts they are grasping and what concept should be reviewed. From my interview with the student, I can
also see that using different instructional and assessment strategies is beneficial to the students as well as the teacher.
This student found the different activities helpful in learning the concept and then being able to apply it when doing the
worksheet. I think that having a variety of activities and assessment methods can be helpful for students with different
learning styles. Some students may be more auditory learners, while others are visual learners. It’s important to
remember that all students are different and to keep some variety in my teaching methods.

Component #5: Teaching and Learning Sequence

Lesson Events
Class discussion about when to use counting on in real-life
situations
Whiteboard activity where the teacher gave a number,
and the students wrote the next number
Whiteboard activity where the teacher gave a number,
and the students wrote the next three numbers
Whiteboard activity where students picked a number 1-20
and wrote as many numbers as they could starting at that
number
Verbal activity where the teacher gave a number and the
students counted on 5 numbers past that number as a
whole class
Students independently completed a worksheet using
counting on to solve addition problems
Why was this event included? What questions were asked?
What explanations and examples were given?
This was to introduce the lesson and to show students why
it’s important to learn counting on. The teacher asked the
students, “When would you need to use counting on in real
life?” Examples included grocery shopping, preparing for a
party, etc. where you need to determine how many of
something to get.
This section of the lesson was to informally assess how
comfortable students are with the number sequence and
producing numbers on their own.
This was to informally assess students’ knowledge of the
number sequence and to have them practice counting on.
This activity was to informally assess students’ knowledge
of the number sequence and give them a fun challenge, as
well as seeing if they can write their numbers.
This activity was included to get students more comfortable
with counting on from a random number, practicing starting
with the right number and counting on the correct amount.
This was to give a formal formative assessment after the
whole group lesson was given. The worksheet assessed
students’ understanding of counting on and how it relates
to addition.

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Lesson Participation and Observation Assignment
Language and Communication in Multiple Contexts (CIED 312)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Teaching and Learning

Cooperating Teacher Interview Question

What advice do you have for new teachers for planning math lessons? What things are important to keep in mind when
planning and carrying out the lesson?

Response: The biggest piece of advice she has for new teachers as far as planning math lessons is to focus on the lesson
objective and to cater to students’ readiness levels. It’s very important to know the lesson objective, because that allows
you to work backwards and determine what will be the best way for your students to achieve this objective and
demonstrate their learning at the end of the lesson or unit. It is also crucial to know which students are ready for more
advanced material and which ones will need more guidance during the lesson. This way, you can differentiate instruction
or even give different assignments to students with different readiness levels. During the lesson, it’s important to keep in
mind that students learn in different ways, and you may need to adjust instruction to help keep students engaged and to
help them understand the material. You should be prepared to be flexible, with alternate materials ready such as
whiteboards, visual aids, or manipulatives to help students learn.

Diverse Student Interview Question

How can your teacher help you when something is challenging for you in math?

Response: If something is challenging for this student during a math lesson, he likes it when the teacher goes more slowly
through the material. It is helpful when the teacher repeats information so that he can try to understand it better the
second time. He also finds it very helpful to have images that go along with the math concepts. This helps him see it in a
concrete way and understand the math better. He also likes working in groups. Sometimes his classmates understand a
lesson more quickly and easily than he does, so he likes being able to talk to other students and hear the way they think
about the math concepts. It is also helpful when each small group has a teacher guiding them through the lesson. That
way, any questions that this student thinks of can be addressed quickly by the instructor working with that small group,
rather than waiting for one teacher to help every student.

Interviewer Reflection Commentary:

These responses have shown me the importance of planning my lessons so that students can work at their readiness level
and achieve the most learning possible for them. My cooperating teacher has talked to me at length about differentiating
lessons for her students. She has looked at many standardized tests in reading and math to split her class into groups for
instruction in these subjects. Each group is at a different readiness level and has a staff member instructing them during
the lessons. This is something that I hope to incorporate in my future classroom, especially seeing that students like
working in groups and find this to be a helpful way to learn. Splitting my students into groups, I can have them all working
toward mastery of the same standard, but at different paces. That way, all students will stay engaged, as they will not
become bored with work that is too easy or frustrated with work that is too challenging. Additionally, both the teacher
and student responses show the importance of having different materials for students to work with. I plan to incorporate
manipulatives or pictures into my math lessons whenever I feel it would enhance student understanding of concepts.

References: Chapters and page numbers in course texts needed for this field assignment. APA format required.
Simonds, C. J., & Cooper, P. J. (2011). Chapter 6: Leading Classroom Discussions. In Communication
for the Classroom Teacher (9th ed., pp. 104–125). essay, Allyn & Bacon.
Van de Walle, J. A., Karp, K. S., Bay-Williams, J. M., & Wray, J. A. (2019). Chapter 7: Developing
Early Number Concepts and Number Sense. In Elementary and Middle School Mathematics:
Teaching Developmentally (10th ed., pp. 125–152). essay, Pearson.