FieldExperienceReport1

1/14/1512:00pm1:00pm
GradeOne

BenHiromura
EE333

1. Topic(s) that students learned (Brief description of the math class) and related Standards
(CCSS-M)
In this lesson two co-teachers presented their first grade students with a single math
problem: There are nine people in line. John is the fourth person in line. How many people are
there after John? The word problem was accompanied by a picture displaying a nine-person line
with an obstructed view of persons five and six by a tree. This problem reflects a take-apart
problem in which students know the all together and the value of one part, which is
represented by Johns place in line. This exercise reflects the following Common Core State
Content Standards:
Grade 1 Operations & Algebraic Thinking
Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.A.1
Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to,
taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g.,
by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent
the problem.1
Work with addition and subtraction equations.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.D.8
Determine the unknown whole number in an addition or subtraction equation relating three
whole numbers. For example, determine the unknown number that makes the equation true in
each of the equations 8 + ? = 11, 5 = _ - 3, 6 + 6 = _.
Toward the end of the class there were two different math sentences on the board reflecting the
word problem above: 4+[5]=9 and 9-4=[5]. Two different students had come up with these
equations based on their individual work with the problem. In discussion students wrestled with
the possibility of both these equations being correct. In this investigation the following Common
Core State Standard was briefly presented:
Understand and apply properties of operations and the relationship between addition and
subtraction.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.B.4
Understand subtraction as an unknown-addend problem. For example, subtract 10 - 8 by finding
the number that makes 10 when added to 8.
The following CCSS for mathematical practice were addressed:
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
*Students worked individually to solve the problem after breaking down the word problem as a
group.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
*Students engaged in immense discussion about the different equations their classmates used to
solve the problem and why each made sense.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics.
*Students used manipulatives, diagrams, and equations to represent the word problem and
picture.

2.Descriptionofthestudents(Strengthsandweaknessofthestudentsintheclassregardingthe
topictheystudiedduringtheclass)
Strengths:Thestudentsdemonstratedstrongdiscussionskillsincludingacooperative
demeanor,theabilitytoasktheirclassmatesforconfirmation,andtheabilitytoexplaintheir
reasoning.Whileontherugforwholegroupinstructionthestudentstookturnsefficientlyand
accordedtoclassroomproceduressuchasraisinghandandgivingthumbsuporthumbsdown
foragreement.Thestudentsalsoshowedcompetencyinbreakingdownthewordproblematthe
beginningofclassbyquicklyfiguringoutwhatinformationweknowfromtheproblemand
whatinformationweneedtofindout.
Theteachersinthisclassroomdisplayedstrengthsinfacilitatingdiscussionastheymadesure
studentreasoningwasattheforefrontoftheconversation.Theteacherstookastudentcentered
approachinwhichtheyallowedstudentstoprogressthroughtheproblemattheirownspeedand
intheendaddressedhigherlevelissueswithintheproblemincludinghowadditionand
subtractionarereciprocalprocesses.Theteachersalsoshowedstrengthinexemplifyingthe
multiplewaysofsolvingtheproblem(additionandsubtraction).Thislessondemonstratedhow
presentingasingleproblemcanbreedcomplexityanddepthinmathematics.
Weaknesses:AlargemajorityofstudentsIobservedstruggledtomakeconnectionsbetweenthe
multiplewaysofmodelingthewordproblem(manipulatives,dotdiagram,andequation).For
example,onestudentInoticedtookoutninemanipulativesanddrewninedots,butbrokeupthe
dotsbygroupsofthreeandsix.AnotherstudentIwitnessedwrotetheequation4+5=__before
eventakingoutthemanipulativesordrawingdots.Iobservedconfusionwiththeprocedural
recallofthestudentswhenmodelingthemathematics.Additionally,studentsthatstruggledwith
thestepsofthemodelingandmakingconnectionsbetweenmodelshadtroubleselfcorrecting
theirerrorssuchashavingthewrongamountofmanipulativesorwritinganequationnotinline
withtheproblem.
3.Flowofthelesson(Minutesoftheclass)
Time

Teachersinstruction(questions,
comments,etc.)

Studentslearningactivities(answerstothe
teacher,groupwork,individualwork,etc.)

00:0
0

*Teacherasksstudentstotakeoutmath
journals,
*Teacherassemblesstudentsontherug
*Teachershowsthepictureofthedays
mathproblemandasksstudentswhatthey
noticefromthepicture.

*Transitiontowholegroupinstruction

*Teacherpresentsproblem:
There are nine people in line. John is the
fourth person in line. How many people

*Studentsreadtheproblemaloudwith
teacher.

00:0
2

*Studentspointoutthelineofpeople.

are there after John?

00:0
3

00:0
5

00:0
6
00:0
7

*Teacherasks:whatinformationdowe
know?Specificallytalkingaboutthe
wordsintheproblem.

*StudentsaysthatJohnisfourthinline
*Teacherunderlinesthesentencethat
correspondstothestudentsanswer.

*Teacherprompts:howmanypeopleare
there?referencingtheinformationthey
knowfromtheproblem.

*Studentsaysthereareninepeopleinline
*Teacherunderlinesthesentencethat
correspondswiththestudentsanswer.

*Teacheraskswhatarewetryingtofind *StudentsaysthepeoplebehindJohn
*Teachercirclesthesentencethat
out?
correspondswiththestudentsanswer.
*TeacherasksastudenttolabelJohnin
thepicture.

*Studentcountsone,two,three
*Teachercorrectsfirst,second,third

00:0
8

*Teacherexplainsvocallyindividual
workdirections:
1.Glueproblemintojournal,
2.Underlineandcirclethesentences
ofinterestinthewordproblem,
3.Modelwithflowercounters,
4.Drawcorrespondingdotdiagram,
5.Writeanequationtosolve.

*Manystudentsbegintorushtotheirseats
beforetheteacherdirectionsarefinished,
*Manyseemdistractedbylargegroupof
observers.

00:1
0

*Teacherscircletocorrectmistakes.

*Studentsengageinindividualwork.

Table2(middlerowonrightside)three
studentsatthetablehavewrittenthe
followingequations:4+5=__andthe
others4+5=9withnosolveboxesor
dotdiagram.
Thestudentshavetakenoutthe
manipulativescorrectly.

Table3(farbackright)twoboysgiggle
andaredistractedbytheflower
manipulatives,donotbeginimmediately.
Bothboysputout9manipulativesbefore
underliningorcirclinganyoftheword
problems.
Oneboydrawscorrespondingdotdiagram,
butbreaksitupintopartsof3and6.
Theotherboydrawsthedotdiagramand
beginscountingfromlefttorighttolabel
John,whichisbackwardfromthepicture.
*Studentstransitiontowholegroup
instruction.
*Studentassemblesnineflowercounters
andplacesoffcolorpiecetorepresentJohn
asthefourthpersoninline.

00:1
8
00:2
0

*Teachersgivewarningtostudentsto
finishupandstartheadingtotherug.
*Teachersaskstudenttocomeuptothe
boardtoassembletheflowercounters
correspondingtotheproblem.

*Teacherasksstudentforrationale.
*Teacherredirectsstudentbasedonthe
informationweknow
00:2
2

00:2
5

00:2
7

00:3
0

00:3
2

00:3
5

*Teachersaskanotherstudenttodrawthe
dotdiagram.

*Teacherpointsoutthatwedidnt
alreadyknowthefivemeaningthatthe
groupoffiveisnewinformationinthe
problem.
*Theteacheraskswhatdoesthefive
represent?
*Teacherasksstudenttowritemath
sentenceontheboard

*StudentclaimsIputfiveandthenfour
*Studentanswersthatthereareninepeople
intheproblemandthatJohnisfourthin
line.
*Studentdrawsninedotsandputsarcsover
agroupoffiveandagroupoffour,andthen
drawsanarcunderthetotaldots.
*Studentasksforconfirmationfromclass.
*Onestudentsaysthatthereshouldnotbea
solveboxaroundthetotaldotsbecausewe
alreadyknowthat.
Studentrespondsbysayingshethoughtshe
wassolvingthealltogether
*Studentanswersitsthepeopleafter
John

*Studentwrites4+[5]=9
*Studentasksforconfirmationfromclass

*Teacherasksanotherstudenttoexplain
theequationontheboard.
Showexplanationonthediagram.
*Teacherasksspecificstudenttoshow
theirmathequationbecauseitisdifferent
fromtheoneontheboard.

*Thestudentchosenstrugglestoshowhow
the4and5intheequationrelatetothedot
diagram.
*Studentwrites94=[5]

*Teacherasksstudenttoexplainthis
equation.
*Teacherreferencestheproblemfromthe
daybeforeinwhichtheyknewthe
altogetherandonepart.

*StudentexplainsthesignificanceofA
P=PorAltogetherPart=Part
*Onestudentexplainsthattheproblem
fromtodayisthesamebecausetheyknew
thealtogetherandthepart.

*Teacherasksthreeotherstudentsto
repeatthisconclusion.
*Teacherbeginstoinitiatethesummary
sectionofthelesson.

*Onestudentraisesherhandandquestions
whether4+[5]=9iscorrectorif94=[5]
iscorrect.
Sheseesdifferencesinthenumberafterthe
equalsignandassumesoneiswrong.

*Teacherasksclasstheseequationshave
differentanswers,isonewrong?

*Theclassseemstoshowmixedreviews.

*Teacherfollowsupwhatinformation
doesthesolveboxrepresent?
00:3
8

*Studentdoesnotmaketheconnection
betweenthesolveboxandthenumberof
peoplebehindJohn,butdoesseethatthe
solveboxesbothare5.
*Teacherpointsoutthatthesolveboxes
*Studentssaythatitispossibletouseboth
bothhavethesameanswer,andaskscan iftheymatchthediagram
weuseeitheradditionorsubtraction?

*Teacheraskstwostudentstorepeat.
00:4 *Teacherwritethesummary:
0
Wecanusebothadditionandsubtraction
mathsentencesbecausetheybothmatch
thediagram.
00:4 *Teacherasksstudentstowritethe
2
summaryandbothmathequationsintheir
journals
00:5 *Teacherasksstudentstoputawaytheir
0
mathjournalsandlineup.
*Timesaboveareanestimation.

*Studentscopythesummaryandmath
equations.

4.Summaryoftheclassobservation
Throughoutthislessontheteachersledstudentsthroughproceduresaimedatachieving
curricularaimsinawaythatwasstudentcentered,cognizantofmultipleapproachestosolving
mathproblems,andindepthcontentwise.Theteachersbegantheirlessonbyeffectively
breakingdownthewordproblemasawholegroup.Theteacherspromptedstudentstostudythe
pictureandwordsindepth,whichledtothelabelingofthepictureandtheunderliningof
importantphrasesinthetext.Thishelpedstudentsunderstandwhatweknowfromthewords
andwhatwewanttofindout.Theuseofunderlining,circling,andlabelingdemonstrated
effectivemodelingofhowtoanalyzeawordproblem.Afterthestudentsthoughtdeeplyabout
theproblem,theteachersquicklydoledoutinstructionsforindividualwork.Unfortunately,due
tosomeconfoundingfactorsincludingthepresenceofmanyobservers,partsofthewholegroup
instructionwerelostonstudentsintransition.Thestudentsweresupposedto1)glueproblem
intojournal,2)underlineandcirclethesentencesofinterestinthewordproblem,3)modelwith
flowercounters,4)drawcorrespondingdotdiagram,and5)writeanequationtosolve.Withso
manystepstotheprocedureitmayhavebeenhelpfulforstudentstohavethedirectionswritten
ontheboardorpossiblyfortheteachertogostepbystepwiththestudents.Manyindividual
studentsfailedtofollowthesestepsinorderandothersslippedupwhileperformingthem.Such
multiplerepresentationofmathematics(modelingwithmath)ishelpfulforstudentstogaindeep
understandingofmathconcepts,however,withnovicemathematicianstheextentofthe
modelingshouldbelimitedoratleastmoreexplicit.Idonotknowtheextenttowhichthisclass

hadpracticedpriortothelessonwithwordproblems,pictures,manipulatives,dotdiagrams,and
equations,butnonethelessthestudentsseemedshakyontheprocedure.
Asthestudentscamebacktogetherontherugtodiscusstheirproblemsolving,itbecame
apparentthattheseteachershadadoptedamultipleapproachesphilosophy.Thatis,theteachers
valuedthemanywaysthatthestudentscametotheiranswers,specificallythemultipleequations
presented(additionandsubtraction).Alongwiththismindset,theteachersmightconsider
allowingthestudentstochoosetheirowntools,insteadofmandatingmanipulatives,dot
diagrams,andequations.Thiswaystudentscandiscovertheirownwayofsolvingproblemsand
indiscussioncansharethevariouswaysofcomingtothesameanswer.Suchaproceduremight
decreasetheconfusionoverthemanystepsoutlinedaboveandgivetheopportunityforthe
teacherstohavestudentspracticeMarcoswayorEdwardsways(justasanexample).
Also,byshowinghowdifferentstudentsusedifferenttools,itmightbehelpfultoallowtimefor
selfcorrectionorretryingtheprobleminanovelway.Isawthatmanystudentswroteequations
incorrectly,mislabeleddotdiagrams,orsimplytookoutthewrongnumberofmanipulatives.By
givingtimetothestudentssotheycouldcorrecttheirmistakesitmightbreedmoreindepthself
correctionormetacognition.StudentsmaybegintoaskwhatdidIdowronghere?oreven
begintomonitortheirprogresswhensolvingproblemsthefirsttimearound.Facilitatinga
classroomcultureinwhichbeingwrongislookeduponasavaluableexperiencewouldenhance
suchaprocedure.Intheend,Ibelievethatasmallpercentageofstudentspickeduponthefact
thatbothadditionandsubtractionequationscouldbeusedtosolvethisproblem.Thisresult
comesfromthestudentcentered,selfliteracymodeledusedbytheteachers.Becausethe
teachersfocusedonindividualscomingtoananswerontheirown,studentsimmediately
displayeddifferinglevelsofmastery.Suchaphenomenonmadewholegroupinstructionjusta
littleharderbecausesomestudentswerebeginningtoseeadditionandsubtractionasreciprocal
processeswhileothershad9+5=14ontheirpapers.Overalltheseclassroomproceduresand
designfacilitateindepththinkingofmathematicsandstudentindividuality.Ibelievethatadding
visualdirectionsaswellasopportunitiesforstudentstoselfreflectwillenhancethemath
learninginthisclassroomevenmore.
Thankyouforallowingustolearnfromyou,
Ben