Chapter 11 page 244
has two minutes to ask students questions about what they have learned today. She emphasizes that they
will discuss tomorrow the students’ various explanations for their data and that they will refine their
explanations as they get some additional evidence.
To run a lesson as smoothly as Rachel does requires a great deal of preparation—planning the
lesson, planning the logistics of the activity, preparing all the materials, thinking about how to give
feedback and help, and so on. A teacher who is only partially prepared will end up with substantial
downtime that reduces the time for instruction and opens the door for student misbehavior.
Problem 11.4: Organizing Lessons
Evaluate this teacher’s teaching in terms of what you have learned about classroom management.
Five months into the school year, Sarah Applegate, a fourth grade teacher, begins the school day
with a math lesson on fractions. The school day starts at 8:45.
8:40. As the children enter the room, four boys run to the back of the room to look at a comic
book. One girl sits in her seat with her coat on and stares at the bulletin board. Three students put their
things away; other pupils are taking their time as they talk and remove their coats. As this is happening,
Sarah is reviewing her lesson plan for the day, which she initially wrote two years ago. She suddenly
realizes that this math lesson requires the use of some picture flashcards, and she doesn’t know where
her flashcards are.
8:45. Morning announcements begin, and Sarah asks everyone to be quiet. Many students still
have their coats on and are standing near their friends in the back of the room.
8:49. Once the announcements are over, the students sit put their coats away and sits down.
Sarah asks a student to go to the room of the teacher next door to ask if she can borrow that teacher’s
fraction flashcards. Sarah takes attendance as the students talk, much more quietly now. She asks
students to write in their journals as they are waiting. The students slowly follow her instructions. There
is a considerable amount of side talk as students are writing.
9:00. Sarah has the fraction pieces, so now she asks the students to take out their math books.
She begins the lesson on fractions.
Sarah: OK. Please look at this picture of a pizza. How many slices of pizza do you see?
Adam: Four
Sarah: Yes, Adam—there are four slices of pizza. Now if I wanted to eat one slice, how
many pieces would I have consumed out of four?
Mary: One. And that makes one-fourth. I know that because I study math in special class
after school.
Sarah: OK. Well, you’re really good at this, Mary. Maybe you can help the other students
as we continue. Let’s look at this one. Here’s a picture with cake. How many slices
of cake are there? Joan?
Joan: Five.
Sarah: Good, and how many pieces would I eat if I eat these [Sarah points to two pieces].
Joan: Two.
Sarah: That’s right. And now let’s put those two numbers together. I ate two, and the cake
is divided into five pieces. How much did I eat? In fractions.
Joan: Um....
Sarah: I ate two pieces, and the cake is divided into fifths. How much did I eat?
Joan: Um.... Two fifths?
This is representative of a 10-minute discussion. Then Sarah directs the students to answer the related
fractions questions on page 72 of their mathematics workbook.