Rationale for Math Lessons

Counting By Twos, Fives, and Tens

Context

During my Block II internship at Mountain View Elementary School, in Ashe County I was placed in a first grade class under Mrs. Ashley Fields.  While I was in this classroom, I was required to design and carry out three math lessons that worked in with Mrs. Fields curriculum plan.  Along with my cooperating teacher’s help, we decided that I needed to teach the concepts of counting by twos, fives, and tens.

After careful consideration, I decided to break these lessons down by starting with the process of counting by twos, and building upon the lesson every day so that it would include all three of the concepts on the final lesson. 

Impact

As a teacher, I will be able to use these lessons as tools for teaching my own students how to accurately count by twos, fives, and tens.  The activities used within these lessons will provide my students with fun methods for learning.  Because of my experiences with these lessons, I have gained the knowledge of how to adequately teach my students how to count by twos, fives, and tens using engaging methods.  Through the teaching of these lessons, my students would be able to learn how to accurately count by twos, fives, and tens, and how to use grouping methods to make the counting process easier.  The students would also be able to use the information learned within these lessons to determine the fastest way to count large groups.

Alignment

I met standard 2, indicator 3 through my demonstrations of how to accurately count by twos, fives and tens using models.  This can be seen during my Draw Me a Star lesson, where I was timed while I drew as many stars as I could in one minute, and then counted the stars using twos, fives, and tens.

I met standard 7, indicator 1 through the planning of my lessons along with the pace of the first grade curriculum.  The concepts of counting by twos, fives, and tens are parts of this curriculum.

I met standard 7, indicator 3 through using their prior knowledge of counting by twos to build upon with the concepts of counting by fives and tens.  The students were required to use their prior knowledge of counting by twos, and fives within my last lesson to complete the assignment of using at least two different counting methods.

I met standard 7, indicator 4 through my implementation of a variety of teaching strategies within my three lessons. 

I met standard 7, indicator 6 by including modifications for academically gifted and struggling students within each lesson.

I met standard 9, indicator 4 through my ability to show mathematical connections for counting by twos, fives, and tens.  This can be seen during my Draw Me a Star lesson, because I had the students to determine the fastest way to count the stars.  The had to understand the connection between counting by tens and speed.

I met standard 9, indicator 5 by through my creation and use of representations to demonstrate the processes of counting by twos, fives, and tens.  This can be seen through my demonstration of how to count the number of stars in one minute.