Math Lesson Plan

Grade: 2nd Grade Content Area: Math

Total Lesson Time: 45 minutes

OVERVIEW OF THE LESSON

MA Curriculum Frameworks incorporating the Common Core Standards: With regard to
how this lesson fits into the “big picture” of the students’ long-term learning, which MA
framework does the lesson most clearly address?
2.G.A1 → Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given
number of angles or a given number of equal faces. Identify triangles, squares, rectangles,
rhombuses, trapezoids, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.

Instructional Objective: By the end of the lesson, (1) what concept, information, skill, or
strategy will the student(s) learn and (2) how will they demonstrate that knowledge?

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to look at a shape (from the standards list) and
determine its name based on its characteristics, including its number of sides and angles and how
those relate to each other in length. In other words, they will be able to know the word associated
with each shape and label them accordingly. Students will also learn how to explain these shapes
(to the best of their ability) to the point where they are distinguishable from the other shapes.
SWBAT differentiate shapes from other shapes when shown all together.
Students will have to draw on their previous knowledge of geometry, including their learning of
basic two-dimensional shapes being closed figures and knowing that shapes have different names
(1.G.A.1).

Assessment: What specific, tangible evidence will show that each student has met this
objective?

There will be a few methods to assess the students’ learning with tangible evidence. First,
throughout the lesson (after introducing each shape), the students will be asked if they know of
anything that has a _____ shape, and then they are welcome to participate. They can use
whatever method of communication they feel comfortable with, whether it be spoken, written,
described, or shown in the classroom. Also during the lesson, students will use a handout to
match the shape with its picture. They will work in groups to practice making different shapes
out of popsicle sticks before the final assessment. At the end of the lesson, students will be given
manipulatives to form different shapes and be able to say what attributes make that shape.

Academic Language Objective: By the end of the lesson, (1) what language, relating to the
lesson and lesson content, will the student(s) know or learn, and (2) how will they demonstrate
that knowledge?

By the end of the lesson, SWBAT explain why a given shape is that particular shape by defining
and demonstrating the shapes’ attributes specifically using the vocabulary at the word-level
attribute, equal, angle, vertex, and side (referring to shapes) along with the sentence-level
function of present tense explanations (“A square has…” or “This shape is…”) and at the
discourse-level (cohesion of language) because by matching names to their shapes and speaking
the sentence “This is a ___ because…” Students will also be able to name and write the shape
names as part of vocabulary identification: triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid,
pentagon, and hexagon.

Assessment: What specific, tangible evidence will show that each student has met this
objective?

Students will be assessed through the lesson’s activities, including the worksheet, but also
through their participation during the lesson. Participation is not limited to just raising hands or
answering questions, but engaging with the rest of the class to identify the shapes and
participating in group work. The group work that will be assessed is the activity where students
will work at their table groups to arrange popsicle sticks into shapes.

Content: What are the specific details of the lesson’s content knowledge?

Students at all levels of English proficiency will be able to identify shapes with specified
attributes by recognizing (or matching) a word with its corresponding shape and explaining those
differences themselves. Students will also be required to speak each shape to show their ability to
recognize the attributes and classify what it is by speaking the name and using it in a sentence.
There will be several opportunities for speaking during the lesson to improve their productive
language development. This lesson will go through each of the seven 2-dimensional shapes listed
in the MA standard, including how many angles the shapes have and if they have equal sides.

PROCEDURES FOR THE LESSON

Opening (10 minutes): How will you introduce the instructional objective to the students,
“activate” learners, pre-teach/preview vocabulary, and prepare them to engage with the lesson
content?

1. Introduce the lesson by opening the Google Slides presentation and state the objectives.
a. “Today, we are going to learn about seven different shapes so we can match, or
put them with their names. You will be able to know what each shape looks like
and tell me the shape in English, using our new words angle, vertex, and side.”
2. Remind the students about the differences in language knowledge.
a. “Remember, we have a lot of different learners in class, so sometimes we have to
help each other when we are confused. I will be speaking slowly so everyone in
the class understands me, but if you have a question, please raise your hand.”
(Demonstrate raising your hand.)
3. Address their prior knowledge by seeing if they can remember any shapes.
a. “There are so many shapes, and I know you all have learned about some. We
know that shapes have different names. Turn and talk to your table groups if you
remember any shapes.”
i. Give them time to share with each other, then call for their attention.
b. “Can anyone share with the class any shape names?”
i. Be ready for common answers (square, circle, etc) and not common
answers (star, heart, etc), but steer back to the lesson.
ii. Give students appropriate wait time to gather their prior knowledge and
apply anything new they have acquired.
iii. “We got a lot of good answers, but let’s keep going…”
 4. Proceed to the “shapes of the day” slide. **Do not read them all so as to not overwhelm
them off the bat.
a. “Here are our shapes of the day. Before we meet them, we should talk about what
they look like, or their attributes.”
5. Give a quick definition and example of what an attribute is.
a. “An attribute helps us to know what something is so we can describe it. For
example, I have brown hair. My brown hair is an attribute I can use to describe
part of me. We will learn about the attributes of different shapes to describe what
the shape is.”
6. Proceed to the “parts of a shape” slide.
a. “Shapes have a few parts, or attributes that make them special. They have sides,
angles, and vertices.”
7. Proceed to the slides defining sides, then angles, then vertices.
a. Sides: “Sides are the straight lines that connect with each other to make a shape.
Look at how the sides are straight, because they do not bend like this…”
(Demonstrate straight arms bending.)
i. “Earlier, some of you said some shapes that do not have straight sides, like
circles and hearts. These are different attributes.”
b. Angles: “Angles are the inside corners of two lines when they meet at the same
one point.” (Point and outline the angles on the board.)
c. Vertices: “A vertex is the word for each corner or point of a shape. They are at the
tips of the angles!” (Point to each of the vertices.)
i. “When we have one of them, it is called a vertex. When we have more
than one, like three or four, they are called vertices.”
8. Introduce the sentence-level language feature of using the verb “to have,” then include
the discourse-level of using because.
a. “Today, we are going to describe shapes’ attributes with their sides, angles, and
vertices. We are all going to use what we learn to make new sentences and explain
why something is a shape.”

During Lesson (25 minutes): How will you direct, guide, and/or facilitate the learning process to
support the students in working toward meeting the instructional objectives?

1. Begin going through each shape and their attributes, starting with the square.
a. “First, we have a square. It has four sides (Count out one-four on the board), four
angles (Count out one-four on the board), and four vertices (Count out one-four
on the board). The coolest thing about a square is that all of its sides are the same
length, or size. They’re equal! They also have four equal angles.”
b. “Can anyone see anything in the classroom that’s a square? Turn to your partner
and see how many squares you can find in our class.”
i. Hold up the square cut-out as an example. Others include a square tissue
box, block, and picture frame.
ii. Give wait time and let them brainstorm with their partner. Walk around
and let students share their ideas. Be ready for students to give rectangle
examples, and if they do, remind them that the sides must be the same.
c. “So, let’s put a square into a sentence. This (hold up cut-out) is a square because it
has four equal sides, four equal angles, and four vertices. Let’s try telling our
partners why this is a square. I will walk around and listen.”
 i. Give students time to explain the square to their partners. Walk around the
room again and let them practice. Do not be too strict, as this is their first
attempt.
2. Proceed to the rectangle.
a. “Next, we have a rectangle. Rectangles also have four equal angles, four vertices,
and four sides, but the sides are not all equal.”
b. Name other attributes differently: “Usually, a rectangle has one side that is longer
than the other side.”
c. Show the rectangle cut-out and point out the different lengths. Use the board as
another example, and a book as a third.
d. “Can anyone raise their hand and tell me why this is a rectangle, using what we
know about sides, angles, and vertices?”
i. Give multiple students the chance to volunteer with their answer and
encourage the use of the word because.
3. Proceed to the triangle.
a. “Next is the triangle. Triangles have one (point to first), two (point to second),
three (point to third) sides, three angles, and three vertices, and they can be equal,
but they do not have to be.” (Point to both triangles.)
b. Name other attributes differently: “Some sides can be long and other sides can be
short.”
c. “Can anyone raise their hand and tell me why a triangle is different from a
square?”
i. Possible correct answers: three sides, three angles, three vertices, unequal
sides, unequal angles
ii. Encourage students to use sentences.
1. Example: “A triangle has three sides. A square has four.”
iii. Call on multiple students to practice speaking and to gather a few
differences.
4. Proceed to the rhombus.
a. For each question, encourage the students to answer in a complete sentence.
b. “Next, we have a rhombus. How many sides does a rhombus have?”
i. Call on a student to answer four.
c. “Now, how many angles does a rhombus have?”
i. Call on a student to answer four.
d. “Now, how many vertices does a rhombus have?”
i. Call on a student to answer four.
e. Reiterate the answers:
i. “So, rhombuses have four sides, four angles, and four vertices.”
f. Name other attributes: “Like a square, the sides of a rhombus are all equal, but it
does not have all equal angles, so the shape can look twisted, like this.”
5. Proceed to the trapezoid.
a. “Next is the trapezoid. Trapezoids also have four sides, four angles, and four
vertices, but look at the sides, are the sides equal?”
i. Call on a student to answer.
ii. Repeat their answer: “No, the sides are not equal.”
b. Name other attributes: “The sides of a trapezoid go in different directions or
ways to connect the small and big sides.”
6. Proceed to the pentagon.
 a. “Next, we have a pentagon. Pentagons have five sides, five equal angles, and five
vertices.”
b. Name other attributes: “In a pentagon, all five of the sides are the same length, or
size. What do we call that?”
i. Call on students to answer (preferably): equal.
ii. “All five sides of a pentagon are…?”
1. Have students repeat all together: “Equal!”
7. Proceed to the hexagon.
a. “Next, we have a hexagon. Hexagons have six equal sides, six equal angles, and
six vertices.”
b. Name other attributes: “Just like a pentagon, all of the sides of a hexagon are
equal, but there are six sides total!”
c. Count the six sides of the hexagon.
d. “Let’s practice explaining the shapes. Turn to your neighbor and tell them what a
hexagon is, and I am going to be walking around to listen.”
8. Pass out the Match That Shape! handout.
a. “Now that we know all about the shapes, let’s see if we can remember them.”
b. Return to the slide with all of the shapes in order to give students a guide.
c. Explain that they will be working with a partner.
i. Depending on language level, students can either work independently or
with a partner.
ii. “For this paper, some of you will work with the person next to you to do it
together, and some of you are doing it first by yourself, and then talking to
a partner about it.”
d. “Put your name on the paper. The directions say to draw a line from each of the
words to the picture of the shape. I’ll read each word and then you draw the line.”
e. Go through each word verbally, so students can read and listen to the shapes.
Walk around the classroom and give help where needed.
9. Correct the handout.
a. Project the handout on the board and go through each shape. Draw the correct line
from the name to the shape.
b. “It’s okay to make mistakes, so you can fix them. We are all learning!”
10. Advise the students to correct the handout with you, then leave it on their desks.
a. They may use them for the final activity.

Closing (10 minutes): How will you bring closure to the lesson and, by doing so, review and
determine what students have learned?

1. Once everyone is ready, pass out the shape manipulatives to the table groups.
a. “Now, you are going to use the pieces to make three different shapes that we
learned. Each piece is one side of the shape. (Show them the pieces.) Each ball is
one vertex. Work together to find different answers, and I will come around to
ask you which shapes you made. Practice speaking to your partner to tell me why
the shape looks like that, and explain its attributes.”
b. **Keep the “shapes of the day” slide open so students can mimic.
2. Walk around and ask students in each group to name the shapes they created.
a. Remind: “This is not for a grade. I just want to see what you remember.”
b. Each student will speak at least one shape they created in the sentence form: “This
is a ____ because…”
 c. If students are stuck, ask them guiding questions such as:
i. “How many sides/angles/vertices does it have?”
ii. “Can you count the sides/angles/vertices with me?”
iii. “How do you know it is a ____?”
iv. “Are the sides of a ____ equal?”
d. Observe if there is any shape a majority of students struggle with and review its
attributes, if necessary and if time permits.
e. Collect the handouts and the manipulatives.
3. Reiterate the objectives. Return to the Google slide of all the shapes.
a. “So, today we learned the names of different shapes and how to explain them with
their attributes. Can anyone raise their hand and remind me which shapes we
learned today?”
i. Give students wait time and let several students answer. If they missed
any, include them at the end. Ex: “That’s right, but we forgot hexagons!”
b. Ask questions for more speaking opportunities.
i. “Can anyone tell me a triangle’s attributes?”
ii. “What shape has five equal sides and angles?”
4. Assess their language and content objective progress.
a. “At the beginning of class, we said we would be able to identify all of these
shapes (Point to shapes on slide.) Give me a “Me Too” if you think you know all
of these shapes now.”
i. Give students time to nod and use the sign, or to shake their heads and not
respond.
b. “We also said we would know the words attribute and equal. Give a “Me Too” if
you think you learned these words.”
c. “Then we said we would be able to explain the shapes with their attributes. Give a
“Me Too” if you think you can tell me why something is that shape.”
5. Explain the Home Challenge.
a. “After you leave school today, try to find one thing that has one of the shapes we
learned today. If you find one, bring it to class tomorrow so we can see it too!”
b. “You will also be able to tell me your object’s attributes that make it a shape!”