MIAA 360: Lesson Study

Team Members:

Laurie Slatkin, Debbie Hernandez, and John Green

Teaching Dates: May 14, 2015

Concept for this lesson:

Functions-Input Output Table

Grade Span:

8th grade/ Algebra

This lesson was taken from an article I read earlier about using the String Task to engage students. It was supplemented by the
Cutting the Layers task from the Interactive Mathematics Program, year 1.
Green = comments
Red = changes I would make
Stage of Lesson
Engage
Time: 10 Minutes
Materials:
White boards
Markers

Teacher Does
Directions or Teacher Questions

Student Does
Expected Student Responses
Student Activities
Play the high yield routine game Find Students may use their whiteboards to
My Rule
work out any possibilities to discover
the rule.
Begin with an input/output table and
ask students to give a number. When
Students are familiar with this game as
the student gives a number, teacher
theyve played versions of it before.
places the output for that number and
the rule in the output side. Teacher
allows students to guess until they
begin to discover the rule for the table.
What happens when you put a
number in?

A new number comes out.

*Student gives number, teacher gives

output

Students give guesses

Standard
CCCSSM, MPS,
NGSS, 21st Century
8.F.1 Understand that
a function is a rule that
assigns to each input
exactly one output
A-CED Create
equations that describe
numbers or
relationships
A-REI Understand
solving equations as a
process of reasoning
and explain the
reasoning

F-IF Understand the

concept of a function
and use function
notation

First rule: plus one

Second rule: times 2 minus 3
Use harder functions
Stage of Lesson

Teacher Does
Directions or Teacher Questions

Explore

Introduction of the task:

Time: 20 minutes

Today we will be using string to help

us complete an Input/Output table and
to find the function for the table.

Materials:
Handout with directions
5 pieces of string
equally cut, scissors,
chart, construction, or
poster paper for
recording

Teacher explains how to fold the

string in half before making the cut.
Directions include how many cuts to
make each time.
Next time, read through handout with
students, modeling step-by-step.
Students had unclear expectations of
how many strings they had and needed
clarification that each string meant a
new trial.
Ask students to make predictions
about what will happen after each fold
and cut.
Questions might include:

Student Does
Expected Student Responses
Student Activities
Students read the handout with the
directions and ask any clarifying
questions.

Standard
CCCSSM, MPS,
NGSS, 21st Century
MPS 2: Reason
abstractly and
quantitatively
MPS 6: Attend to
precision

Working in pairs, students record the

number of pieces of string they have
after each cut. Students record their
findings on a poster to present to the
class. Students discover a rule for the
cutting of the strings.

MPS 7: Look for and

make use of structure
MPS 8: Look for and
express regularity in
repeated reasoning

What materials will you need?

How many cuts per round? Teacher
circulates through the room and guides
students that are having difficulty.
Students were to work in pairs. Next
time I will assign partners rather than
letting students choose, they took a
long time deciding how to break into
pairs.
Students needed to be walked through
each cut for the steps.
Allow students to decide how to
record their information.
Questions might include:
How many pieces of string do you
have after the first cut?
What quantities are you comparing?
How many after the third?
How could you organize your
information in a table?
What types of relationships are you
seeing in the table?
So what happens every time you make
another cut?
How many strings did you get when
you cut it 3 times?
Next time, I would relate the function

Student responses might include:

2 pieces of string.
We compare the number of cuts to the
number of strings we have.
We could record the number of cuts
and then how many pieces of string
we have.
For every cut we make, we have one
more piece of string.
It makes two more
Seven

back to the Guess My Rule game to

make it easier for the students to find
the function.
Once the groups found what they
believed to be the function, I asked if
it would work for any number?
What is your input telling you?
What about your output?

Stage of Lesson
Explain
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Student
posters

Teacher looks for groups that have

organized their data in a function table
and recorded a rule to explain their
reasoning
Teacher Does
Directions or Teacher Questions
Teacher asks students to explain their
reasoning to the class. Questions can
include the ones above or some of the
following:
How can you represent the
relationship between the number of
cuts and the number of pieces of string
in words and using variables?
How does the rule work?
I clarified with one student why he
had gone to zero, both in the find my
rule game and in the task.

How many cuts.

How many strings you get.
The groups finally found that their
rule did work, even with zero as an
input.
Student Does
Expected Student Responses
Student Activities
Students will explain their findings
and patterns they see from their
exploration.
Students will comment on each others
findings.
Students will discover a common rule
for the amount of cuts in the string and
the number of strings created by the
cuts.
It can tell you whether to add or
multiply, if its still zero you know its
going to be times.
Students will recognize the rule as

Standard
CCCSSM, MPS,
NGSS, 21st Century

Stage of Lesson
Evaluate

Allow time for students to ask

questions of their own.
Teacher Does
Directions or Teacher Questions
Teacher distributes exit ticket

Time: 5 minutes

number of layers plus one

Student Does
Expected Student Responses
Student Activities
Students complete exit ticket.

Standard
CCCSSM, MPS,
NGSS, 21st Century

High-level response: students are able

to formulate a rule for a similar
problem with correct values.

Materials: Exit Ticket

Medium-level response: students are

able to find values but are not able to
formulate the rule.

Stage of Lesson

Teacher Does
Directions or Teacher Questions

Extend:

Teacher will assign writing an

explanation of the task and their
conclusions in the form of a paragraph
in their journals.

Done later or as
homework

Low-level response: students are not

able to find values or a rule.
Student Does
Expected Student Responses
Student Activities
Students will be able to record their
findings and write their understanding
in the form of a short essay.

Standard
CCCSSM, MPS,
NGSS, 21st Century

Students should answer the following

questions:

Stage of Lesson

Does the input and output change?

What is the reasoning for the change?
Is there a new function?
Day 2
Teacher Does
Student Does

Standard

Directions or Teacher Questions

Engage
Time: 10 Minutes
Materials:
Previous Night
Homework
White boards
Markers

Explore
Time: 20 minutes
Materials:
Handout with directions
5 pieces of string
equally cut, extra string
as needed, scissors,
chart, construction, or
poster paper for
recording

Expected Student Responses

Student Activities
Teacher reviews homework with
Selected students will present their
students, asks for volunteers to explain findings to the class.
their findings of the previous nights
homework.
Questions from students may be
Teacher will allow a brief discussion
presented as well.
of the findings.
Students will be able to explain the
Questions include those from the
change in output. Students will
homework assignment: Does the
understand that while the input was
input and output change? What is the the same the output changed because
reasoning for the change? What was
of the difference in the strings folds.
the new function?
Students will be able to describe the
new function.
Introduction of the task:
Today we will be again be using
string to help us complete an
Input/Output table and to find the
function for the table.
This task includes folding the string
more than once prior to cutting.
Teacher allows students some time to
explore the difficulties of folding the
string prior to cutting.
Teacher will work through at least one
cutting of the layers, more if
necessary.

Is this the same as yesterday?

How many times do we fold the
string?

CCCSSM, MPS,
NGSS, 21st Century

Allow students to decide how to

record their information.
Questions might include:
How many pieces of string do you
have after the first cut?
What quantities are you comparing?
How many after the third?
How could you organize your
information in a table?
What types of relationships are you
seeing in this table?

Explain
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Student
posters

Teacher looks for groups that have

organized their data in a function table
and recorded a rule to explain their
reasoning
Teacher asks students to explain their
reasoning to the class. Questions can
include the ones above or some of the
following:
How can you represent the
relationship between the number of
cuts and the number of pieces of string
in words and using variables?
How does the rule work?
How was this task different from
yesterdays?

4 pieces of string
We are comparing how many cuts to
how many strings.
The number of cuts of string as the
input and the number of strings after
the cut.

Students will explain their findings

and patterns they see from their
exploration.
Students will comment on each others
findings.
Students will discover a common rule
for the amount of cuts in the string and
the number of strings created by the
cuts.
Students should recognize that the
number of cuts was different per string
as well as the layers.

Allow time for students to ask

questions of their own.

Evaluate

Students will create their own string

task and present it to the class.

Students will recognize the rule as

number of layers plus one
High-level response: students are able
to create a multi layer string task and
find a rule to match.
Medium-level response: students are
able to create a multi-layer string task
but are not able to formulate the rule.
Low-level response: students are not
able to find a new string task or a rule.

Final Reflection:
This was actually a difficult lesson to teach as it was out of context. I had no real what came before and what next to
follow through with the group. Following the 5-Es plan helped bring out layers to the lesson I wasnt really thinking of when I
choose it. It made me deliberately contemplate what the students actions and words might be.
Following the plan made it easier to anticipate problems the students might have and what my response would be. It helped to
lay out a course of action and plan my time, especially as this is not my normal class or routine. I could see this really benefitting my
planning when contemplating the Engage New York program that we currently use for 5th grade math. It would help me to streamline
my lesson.
Observing myself on camera was not the most fun thing Ive done, but it was interesting. I realize that my wait time is not
always the longest. I also tend to try to fill in if I feel the lesson is lagging or Im not seeing the results. I was happy that I didnt lead
the students directly to the answer; I asked defining questions to guide them to their conclusions. I felt I moved around the room well,
and I did not show bias in choosing students for answers or questions.
In all, this was a good experience. I liked mapping out the lesson and can see using the Five E lesson plan in the future.