First Lesson Plan Idea

The key activities for my first lesson plan idea is to prompt the students to complete sentences such as: “Today is _____,” “Tomorrow will be _____,” “The day before yesterday was _____,” “Yesterday was _____,” “Tomorrow will be _____.” I will use numerals with each date as well as the word: for example, “Today is Tuesday, June 20th.”

Then I would like to facilitate a discussion about the numbers that represent the date. I will ask students to express the number in many different ways and relate it to things in the classroom (e.g., number sentences and equations, number of students with siblings, a birth date, the number on a football jersey, how to say some numbers in a different language, the dates on money, etc.). When the students are finished, I will have students record these ideas using a whiteboard or chart paper, or using drawing or painting software.

My Flickr photosharing Web site will depict several football players wearing their jerseys. I will ask the children to identify the numbers on the shirts and ask if they know how to say particular numbers in the Spanish language.

After that, I would guide the class in visiting a Web site that further explores the numbers. As the class exhausts its own ideas, I would facilitate further exploration by demonstrating or pointing students to various Web sites that show the day’s number from different perspectives so that they can enjoy finding ways to express numbers that are similar to their own.

I would keep a visible record of student discoveries. Periodically I would have students examine their results as a group to see if any patterns emerge in the ways to represent numbers. By discovering patterns, students will link some of the more complex mathematical concepts to real information, earlier than scheduled on the scope and sequence.

Finally, I would make connections to other curriculum areas, including history. For example, although primary grade children have not studied Egyptian culture, the mathematical connection to the contributions made by this and other cultures can be simplistically introduced to building understanding about the rich contributions many peoples have made to mathematical understanding. I would have students display their finding about numbers, patterns, and history by drawing pictures, creating multimedia presentations, and any other method or activity that is appropriate for the developmental level of the students. You may view the original version of “A Number a Day” lesson plan idea located at Web site http://www.cnets.iste.org/.