More Than and Less Than

Lesson Plan
Purpose/Rationale (Include assessment information about students that you may have gathered
from a variety of sources including discussions with your cooperating teacher, pre-assessments, daily
work, etc that provide a rationale for the teaching of this lesson.

I have taught a lesson on more than and less than concept the day previous
to this lesson. From what I observed and from the end of class assessments
that I received, I found out that half of the class do not know how to use
the signs. I think most of them understood the concept of the open mouth
facing the greater number but they were not able to translate this into
writing. The students also would need more practice in communicating the
number stories so that they fully understand the meaning behind the
numbers and the symbol. I think this concept is important because this is
the foundation to what they would be doing in the future in math. Knowing
how to express a number being greater than another helps the students
communicate their mathematical knowledge. This skill will also be used in the
later lessons regarding ordering numbers and subtraction amongst many
other relevant math concepts.

Connections to Standards/Benchmarks/Curriculum

(Reference curriculum materials from which this lesson is adapted, in addition to local, state and/or
national standards and benchmarks)

Taken from the Everyday Math curriculum: More Than and Less Than
Number Stories lesson.
N.ME.01.03 Order numbers to 110; compare using phrases such as
same as, more than, greater than, fewer than; use = symbol.
Arrange small sets of numbers in increasing or decreasing order, e.g.,
write the following from smallest to largest: 21, 16, 35, 8.
N.ME.01.05 Understand that a number to the right of another
number on the number line is bigger and that a number to the left is
smaller.

What I did to prepare to plan and teach this lesson:

(practiced the experiment, did the math problems myself, thought through timing, researched
materials, etc.)

To prepare for this lesson I searched the internet on strategies to teach

students greater than and less than concept. In particular, I searched on
stories that I can use to explain the mouth concept. I talked to my
colleague about what she did for her lesson on the same concept; I also
talked to my supervisor and a couple of teachers on methods to teach this
lesson. In addition to the ideas that the conversations contributed to my
lesson plan, I also thought through the activities and the ideas that I will
present to the students. I evaluated what didnt work on my lesson
previously and decided to design a simpler lesson to get the concept across.
What connected lesson preceded this lesson and what do you know about
students based on that work that informs this plan?
The lesson that preceded this lesson was on the same topic. Based on that
lesson I observed that the students were having a hard time to grasp the
concept. During the group activity, some of the students were confused on
how to use the more than and less than sign. They got familiar with the
mouth concept but found it hard to transfer it into action and into writing.
Therefore I will build on what I think the students have become familiar
with and clear up the concept for them in this lesson.
Objective(s): The students will be able to
Identify which numbers are greater, greatest, smaller, smallest.
Use the symbol >, <, = to describe the relationship between two
numbers.
Tell the number story that is associated with the more than and less
than number model.
Understand different words that means the same as more than and
less than such as more than, fewer than, bigger than, and smaller
than.

Materials needed to have ready:

Chart board
Related worksheets (2)

Blank cards (16)

End of class worksheet

Management considerations:
I like to have the students on the carpet because I believe they can
focus more and I would be able to observe their reaction better.
Therefore during lesson time, the students will be on the carpet as I
review the concepts with them.
I would need to use the number line that was created as a class during
calendar time as it is positioned near to the carpet.
I need to give my instructions clearly before every activity so that
the students would not be confused and thus they would be focused.
During the ordering number game students would need to work
together to order the numbers. If the students are struggling to work
together, I will move the students to other groups or they would not
be allowed to participate in the activity until theyre ready to work
together with others.
Students will be spread around during the end of class assessment so
students have some space to work on the worksheets themselves.
Introduction/hook (scripted)
Yesterday we had a lesson on more than, less than, and equal symbols. I saw
that you had a bit of trouble getting the whole idea so we are going to clear
things up today. First, I would like to start by telling you a story about a
hungry monster. A long time ago, there was a monster that lives up a big, big
hill. One day he got really hungry that his growling stomach can be heard all
over the village. He went down the village to look for food. He saw 8 goats on
his right and 3 sheep on his left. Pretend you were the hungry monster,
which one would you eat?

Outline of your lesson sequence, including teaching strategies used.

What lesson went before this lesson? Consider gradual release of responsibility, discussion,
recitation, inquiry. Be specific about what you will do and how long each activity will take. How will
students achieve the goal of the activity? Review your outline to consider whether the activities in
the sequence provide the opportunity for your students to achieve your goals.

1. Students will start by discussing the question posed on the story.

Students will be positioned on the carpet during introduction time. I
assume that the students will say that the hungry monster will choose

2.

3.

4.

5.

the larger amount of animals, which are the 8 goats. If students still
have trouble to visualize which one the hungry monster will eat, I will
connect it to their lives. I will ask them to tell me what their favorite
food is and if they get a choice whether they would choose the bigger
quantity or the smaller one. Once the students get the idea, I will
then write the numbers on the chart paper and I will draw the symbol
that looks like the monsters mouth. This will connect the story to the
number model. Students will be able to understand which way the
open mouth part of the sign is facing. (5 mins)
I will then break down the procedure on how to figure out which sign
to put between two numbers. I will show the students that first, they
need to figure out which number is the greatest. I will use single digit
numbers as an example. I will circle the greater number to show the
students the first step of the procedure. Then, the second step is to
face the open mouth sign towards the greater number. The third
step is to tell the number story, which is a sentence that describes
the number relationship on the board. (5 mins)
Next, I will do another single digits example. I will ask the students to
recite the three steps while we do it together as a whole group. Then
I will pose a double digit problem. This would be the place where I will
introduce the strategy on using the number line. I will make sure that
the numbers are still under twenty though so that the students would
still be able to follow, while I get across the point that if they face a
more difficult number combination they can use the number line as a
strategy to help them. I will then go through the three steps with
them again. (7 mins)
I will end carpet time with a problem that requires them to put in an
equal sign so that they get exposed on how to tackle that. This will be
a review on what they learned on the previous lesson and students will
learn how to put that into a number story. (3 mins)
Students will then return to their seats to do a practice worksheet.
Students will get a varied worksheet based on the skills that I think
they possess through the assessment that they did on the previous
lesson. I will have two different worksheets that overlap with each
other. Both worksheets share five problems that are the same, the
difference is that on one worksheet the other five problems would
use easier numbers while the other worksheet will include five
problems that use more complicated numbers. The worksheet should

allow the students to work at their level and work up from there. This
time would also allow me to walk around and make sure the students
understand the concept. (12 mins)
6. Once the students are done with their worksheet, they will move to an
empty table and start writing their birth date on a piece of card.
Students who are finished writing will then try to put their birth
dates in order. They get a choice to put it from biggest to smallest or
the other way around, as long as they can tell me when I come to visit
their tables. There will be maximum 5 students per table. This will
provide an activity for the students who are done with the main
worksheet and it will provide an opportunity for students to start
working on ordering numbers, which will be the next lesson.
7. As most of the students finish, I will bring the class back together. I
will ask the students to repeat again the three steps and I will take
any questions. I will also review the concepts that I think the
students are struggling while I was walking around during worksheet
time. Then I will give the students their end of class assessment. (8
mins)

What accommodations did you make to meet the full range of your
students?

Make specific annotations that show differentiation to meet the learning needs of the full range of
your students.

During the lesson, I tried to use simple numbers, mostly numbers below ten
and definitely numbers below twenty, for the examples so that all students
would be able to grasp the main concept. The purpose of the lesson part was
to make sure that the students understand the concept first. Then during
the worksheet time, students will get different worksheets based on their
abilities. There will be two different worksheets for three different levels.
Basically there are fifteen problems in total amongst the two worksheets:
five problems with easier numbers, five problems that are at the average
level, and five problems with more complicated numbers. Each worksheet will
have ten problems, one worksheet will have five easier problems and five
average problems and the other worksheet will have five average problems
to start with and five more complicated problems. Within the worksheets
students should have an opportunity to improve their levels as the problems
get a bit more complicated.

Closing/wrap up (scripted):
As I was walking around the room while youre all doing your worksheets, I
see that most of you are getting the concept now. Im really glad about that
and I just want you to repeat to me the three steps that we need to go
through to figure out how to solve the problem. While youre doing the
worksheet, you only wrote two of the steps but you still need to remember
how to do the third step because its important to be able to tell the story
that goes with the number model. Now Im going to give you a couple more
problems which you have to do yourself so that I know whether you
understand the concept or not. Just like yesterday, I want you to do it like
youre doing a test but you will not be graded for it. Its just for me to know
what you know.
Assessment:

How will you judge if the students have attained the objective(s) you set for the lesson? What is
your evidence of student learning?

I will use my end of class check as a form of assessment on whether the

students have understood how to do a more than or less than problem. I will
also find out whether they remember the steps as I ask them to repeat the
steps when I closed the lesson. I also will be able to know how the students
are doing when I go around the room to observe the students. I will just
write down notes on each student that I work with or observe.