Template for Assignment 1: Tiered Lesson

Name & Student Number: Domagoj Bosnjak 2109683

Curriculum (Learning) Area of Lesson: Mathematics
Specific Topic of Lesson: Fractions and Decimals
Year Level/s: 1/2

Lesson Context
This lesson is the third within a junior primary introductory unit on fractions. It is connected to the broader strand of the
Mathematics curriculum, Number and Algebra. Although the students would have experienced 2 full lessons prior to
this tiered lesson, this will be the first opportunity students will have to utilise their newly acquired knowledge (or prior
knowledge), understanding and skills without my constant guidance and direction. The first lesson entailed a form of
pre-assessment (to assess prior knowledge) as well as an informal discussion about fractions what we think they
are, where we see them, how we think they might help us in day-to-day scenarios? The second lesson consisted of all
students sitting in a circle on the floor, watching me, followed by assisting me, in dividing A3 sized shapes into
fractions. All of their questions and queries were answered as the lesson progressed. Engagement and relevance was
crucial, so we pretended the shapes were things they liked such as pizza and cakes.
The class consists of 24 students, of which 10 are grade 1 and 14 are grade 2. Throughout the subject of
mathematics this year, it has become evident that the class is at different readiness levels for all aspects of the class.
This is why pre-assessment and tiered lesson planning has been implemented, providing students with the best
opportunity possible (Doubet & Hockett, 2015).

Learning Objectives
-

Recognise and describe one-half as one of two equal parts of a whole. (ACMNA016)
Recognise and interpret common uses of halves, quarters and eighths of shapes and collections. (ACMNA033)

As a result of engaging with the lesson, students will:

understand that
-

fractions are equal parts of a whole.

know
-

be able to (do)

what halves, quarters and eighths are, as

well as their numeric representation ie, ,
(according to their year levels achievement
standard).
fractions represent equal parts (or in
mathematical technical terms, fractions) of a
whole.

demonstrate how fractions represent parts of a whole,

through illustrations and cutting of shapes.
exemplify where these fractions can be utilised/helpful in
day-to-day life and scenarios.

Essential Questions
1)
2)

Where have you seen fractions in the real world? How do they make things easier for us?
How many parts in a whole if you have x people?

Pre-assessment of Individual Student Readiness

This tiered lesson will rely on pre-assessment to help gauge the readiness level of each student pertaining to the topic
of fractions. Furthermore, this will assist in creating the tiers necessary to guide, teach and appropriately challenge
students in accordance with their readiness level (Tomlinson, 2004).
The pre-assessment begins with asking some fundamental questions about their previous fraction education

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whether they have had any exposure to the topic or used fractions in daily activities (Refer Appendix 1). The preassessment goes on to discover what prior knowledge they may have brought with them to the class, asking students
to colour in particular fractions of shapes and link up the numeric fraction with its literal counterpart.
The information gathered from this assessment task will assist in the creation of the 3 tires which will be tiered based
on readiness level (Levy, 2008 & Tomlinson, 2004) the first tier (green group) being students who are below the
grades recommended level of readiness; the second tier (blue group) being for those who are at the appropriate
readiness level according to achievement standards; and finally the third (orange group) for those who have shown
that they are ready to be extended and would find the initial 2 tiers useless and disengaging. Colours have been
utilised for group names as opposed to number sequencing because we want to avoid students feeling superior or
inferior to their peers in terms of readiness and ability.

Resources needed for lesson:

30 x Cut out Circles
30 x Cut out Squares
30 x Cut out Triangles
15 x Cut out Rectangles
15 x Cut out Nutella Pizza template
30 x Exit Cards
Classroom collection of scissors & glue sticks

Lesson Plan
Lesson Sequence

Explanatory notes

1. Introduction (10-15mins)
Sit students down on the floor. Gather them in a circle,
with you as part of the circle, and commence a
discussion: what is a half, quarter, eighth; why do we use
them; who has seen these types of fractions before? Go
through the lesson structure and what we will cover
today.

Through my experience and research in JP teaching, I have

found that gathering students in a circle when describing
something works effectively as you have a solid view of every
student and every student has a solid view of you (Docking &
MacGrath, 2013).

Following this discussion, let students know that this is a

practice and considered a learning attempt at something
we are going to produce to show at the next assembly
pizza fractions.
2. Discovery Explanation (20-30mins)
*Be sure to have group lists ready/accessible*
Explain to students that this will be a group activity and
that students will be able to work in pairs. Read the
names of every group prior to explaining the activity in
each tier. As each group member is read out and the
activity explained, get that group to go back to the tables
to start their activity being sure to reiterate classroom
rules, such as manners and respect because you will
have to still explain the activities to the other groups. If
students complete tasks well ahead of time (and if it is
appropriate to do so), give students the opportunity to
attempt the tier above.
Tier 1 Green Group
Students will firstly be divided into pairs. Following this,
they will be provided with cut out pieces of paper which
represent foods circle cut outs will represent pizzas
and square cut outs will represent cakes. In the pairs,
students will be asked to determine how to share the
food between one another, equally. This will be done by
folding the paper. Once accomplished, 2 pairs will join up
to make a group of 4. Here they will be asked to

I believe it is important to have a small run-through (discussion)

of my expectations, what we are about to learn as well as a
recap on what we have covered in previous lessons. It assists in
refocusing students, particularly after something like PE or lunch.
Be sure not to only ask the students with high-end readiness
(Abler, 2011).

Students are grouped according to readiness and put into tiered

groups so that the work which will be completed is at an
appropriate level of challenge. If the work is too easy or too
difficult, students have the tendency to become disengaged
which often leads to disruptive behaviours and attitudes. If this
sort of behaviour manifests, learning and educational outcomes
are left at a minimum and behaviour management ends up
consuming most of the time (Doubet & Hockett, 2015 &
Tomlinson, 2005).
Repetition of standards and expectations will bring forth an
environment where students understand and learn to respect the
expectations of the teacher this in turn produces a rich learning
environment (Saville, 2011).

The use of pizza and cakes makes the topic more relevant to
them, in turn engaging students in the learning process (Jarvis,
2013).

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determine how they can share the pizza paper

(followed by the cake paper) equally between the four
of them.
In order to see if the pizza and cake slices are equal,
students will be advised to cut over the folds and lay
each slice on top of each other to get an idea of the
accuracy.
Once complete, glue cut outs into big mathematics book
followed by writing a description of the fraction, literally
and numerically.
Tier 2 Blue Group
Similar to the group above, students will firstly be divided
into pairs. Following this, they will be provided with the
same cut out pieces of paper which represent foods. In
the pairs, students will be asked to determine how to
share the foods between 4 people, equally. This will be
done by folding the paper. Once accomplished, 2 pairs
will join up to make a group of 4. Here they will discuss
their folds. Once agreed on a fold, they will be expected
to cut over the folds and lay each slice on top of each
other to get an idea of the accuracy. Once complete,
team up with another group of 4 students, totalling 8
students. Repeat the previous activity, however this time
divide it equally for 8 people.
If students have time, they may attempt to figure out how
to divide rectangles and triangles between 2 or 4 people.
Once complete, glue cut outs into big mathematics book
followed by writing a description of the fraction, literally
and numerically.
Tier 3 Orange Group
Using a similar approach, but with more freedom,
students in this tier will be asked to determine how many
different ways exist for dividing the food cut outs. Once
they have discussed and began folding the shapes in
pairs, pose questions like: how many ways are there;
and which shapes are easier to divide evenly?
If the extension activity opportunity arises and time is not
an issue, provide these students with a triangle shape
(which will represent the slice of a Nutella Pizza). In
addition to this, provide them with a template of the
whole Nutella Pizza. In pairs, students will be asked to
discover what fraction the slice they have received is.
Allow them to work out a tactic which will assist them in
discovering the fraction.
Once complete, glue cut outs into big mathematics book
followed by writing a description of the fraction, literally
and numerically. Ask tier 3 students to explain what the
number at the bottom of a fraction represents ie, the
amount of parts/denominator.
3. Conclusion (share/reflect) (10-15mins)
After giving students the opportunity to write a
description of the cut outs and glue their cut outs into
their large maths books, gather students onto the floor
again for a conclusion.
Have another discussion, raising the Essential
Questions, as well as anything else that the students had
learnt or found interesting.
Give students the exit cards which you have produced
earlier (Refer Appendix 2). They will now have a few

Here, the complexity of the task in increased in order to ensure

that the activity is at an appropriate level of challenge (Tomlinson
& McTighe, 2006).

Here, the complexity of the task in increased in order to ensure

that the activity is at an appropriate level of challenge (Tomlinson
& McTighe, 2006).

The Orange group has sat through the explanation of the

previous two tiers in order to start thinking and contemplating
about the topic using higher level thinking (Hart, 2004). This
higher level of thinking additionally manifests when completing
the component involving the Nutella Pizza.

A concluding discussion is implemented in order to establish the

key learning objectives, as well as provide an opportunity for
students to discuss what they learned, enjoyed and found
challenging (Doubet, 2012).

The implementation of exit cards is a useful way to assess

ongoing learning and can also be used as a means of engaging
students in future lessons by assessing their interests and what
they might still be struggling in (Doubet, 2012).

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minutes to complete these, put their names on it, and

hand them back to you.

Check for Understanding

As the students are working, the teacher should be walking around, interacting with tables, and making note of each
childs progress. Evidently, there is not enough time to circulate thoroughly around the whole classroom this is
where the exit cards stated above are of relevance (Refer Appendix 2). These cards contain the Essential Questions,
as well similar questions which were found in the pre-assessment task. This will assist in checking for understanding
and progress. Additionally, the exit card has a section which asks whether or not there are any aspects confusing
them or something that was of further interest to them in this area. This could serve as an additional form of preassessment which would help engage students in the next lesson of the unit.

Explanation:
Pre-assessment has been utilised for this lesson in order to gauge the readiness level of each student. This will assist
in creating a lesson in which students are not becoming bored and disengaged due to the learning objectives being
too complex or too simple for their level of readiness (Brighton, 2005). This will additionally produce the spectrum for
appropriate challenge, which is a necessary condition for learning (Le Lant, 2016). I have chosen to tap into the
interests of students as it provides a powerful tool for motivation and engagement (Jarvis, 2013).
I adopted the approach covered by Sousa & Tomlinson (2011), Differentiating in response to student readiness. I did
this by adopting readiness-based assessment (through the means of pre-assessment) in order to create the
appropriate level of work that will challenge them enough so that they can progress in the topic, acquiring
unprecedented confidence and competence. The goal of my lesson was to create a bridge for the students with lower
readiness levels, assisting and enabling them to progress to the mastery level. For those who were already there, I
provided them with the opportunity to reinforce and continue their development in this area (Doubet & Hockett, 2015 &
Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011).

References
Alber, D. (2011). Are you tapping into prior knowledge often enough in your classroom? Edutopia. Retrieved from:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/prior-knowledge-tapping-into-often-classroom-rebecca-alber.
Brighton, C. M. (2005). Preassessment: A differentiation power tool. Teaching for High Potential, 2-3.
Docking, J., & MacGrath, M. (2013). Managing behaviour in the primary school. Routledge.
Doubet, K. J. (2012). Formative assessment jump-starts a middle grades differentiation initiative: A school focuses on
formative assessment to support its efforts to differentiate instruction. Middle School Journal, 43(3), 32-38.
Doubet, K. J. & Hockett, J. A. 2015, Differentiating according to student readiness, in Doubet, Kristina & Hockett, Jessica
A, Differentiation in middle and high school: strategies to engage all learners, ASCD, Alexandria, Virginia, pp. 173-206.
Hart, T. (2004). Opening the contemplative mind in the classroom. Journal of transformative education, 2(1), 28-46.
Jarvis, J. M. (2013). Differentiating learning experiences for diverse students. In P. Hudson (Ed.), Learning to teach in the
primary school (pp.52-70). Port Melbourne, Vic.: Cambridge University Press.
Le Lant, C. (2016). Module 1: Feb 18-19 (Intensive Day). Lecture, 9:00 AM Thursday 18 February 2016 (EDUC 1.01).
Levy, H. M. (2008). Meeting the needs of all students through differentiated instruction: Helping every child reach and
exceed standards. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 81(4), 161-164.
Saville, K. (2011). Strategies for using repetition as a powerful teaching tool. Music Educators Journal, 98(1), 69-75.
Sousa, D. A. & Tomlinson, C. A. (2011). Mindset, learning environment and differentiation. In D. A. Sousa & C. A.
Tomlinson, Differentiation and the brain: How neuroscience supports the learner-friendly classroom (pp. 17-43).Bloomington, IN:
Solution Tree Press Inc.

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Tomlinson, C. A. (2004). The how to's of planning lessons differentiated by readiness, in Tomlinson, Carol A, How to
differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms, 2nd edn, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria,
Va, pp. 45-51.
Tomlinson, C. A. (2005). Differentiated instruction. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Tomlinson, C. A. & McTighe, J. (2006). Considering evidence of learning in diverse classrooms. In C. A. Tomlinson, & J.
McTighe, Integrating differentiated instruction & understanding by design: connecting content and kids (pp.59-82). Heatherton, Vic.;
Hawker Brownlow Education.

Appendix 1
Pre-assessment question card
Question 1
Have you ever learnt about fractions? If yes, what did you learn?

Question 2
What do you think fractions are used for?

Question 3
Please colour in half of this circle.

Question 4
Please draw a line connecting the fraction in its word form with its number form.
A half

A quarter

An eighth

1
4
1
8
1
2

Question 5
Please colour in a quarter of this square.

Question 6
Please colour in an eighth of this circle.

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Appendix 2
Exit card
Question 1
How do fractions help us in life?

Question 2
Please colour in half of this circle.

Question 3
Please draw a line connecting the fraction in its word form with its number form.
A half

A quarter

An eighth

1
4
1
8
1
2

Question 4
Please colour in a quarter of this square.

Question 5
Please colour in an eighth of this circle.

Question 6
If 2 boys wanted to share a pie equally, what fraction of the pie would they each get?
Question 7
If 4 girls wanted to share a cake equally, what fraction of the cake would they each get?
Question 7
Are there any questions you have after today? What would you still like to know about fractions?

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Checklist for progress / ongoing learning

yes

nearly

no

Can confidently show a half.

Can confidently describe a half.
Can confidently show a quarter.
Can confidently describe a quarter.
Can confidently show an eighth.
Can confidently describe an eighth.
Can confidently draw connections between fractions in literal form and numeric form.
Can confidently explain the prevalence of fractions in the real world.
Can confidently work out fractions in real-life examples.
Comments:

Checklist of assignment components:

Completed lesson context explanation
Completed clear learning objectives and essential questions for the lesson
Complete, step-by-step lesson description, with brief notes explaining how the lesson
represents an example of a tiered lesson to address readiness
Explanatory 1-2 paragraphs clearly linking your lesson planning decisions to the topic
content (and citing sources as appropriate)
Supplementary materials (e.g., copies of directions, handouts, etc. provided to students)
Copy and/or description of preassessment task used to assign individual students to
appropriate tiers
Evaluation/ assessment criteria (e.g., rubric or checklist used to guide evaluation of
student work)
EDUC4720/1 EDUC9406 2016. Tiering format adapted from Tomlinson (1999)

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