Learner prior knowledge/ learner background experiences:
The learner will possess the following knowledge and math skills at the start of the lesson:
• tell and write time from analog and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m. and p.m. (Common Core for Math, 2.MD.7).
• fluently count to by fives, through at least 60.
• be familiar with using tools such as a number line to solve math problems.
In addition, the learner will possess literacy skills sufficient to read and comprehend informational text appropriate for 3rd grade. The learner will be able to interpret a simple street map and identify locations (Essential Standards for Social Studies, 2.G.1.2).
Earlier in this unit, students were introduced to elapsed time and solving problems of elapsed time by using empty time lines (Van de Walle, et al., 2010). The book, Game Time! (Murphy, 2000), was used to reinforce and practice using elapsed time. Students engaged in invented problem solving strategies for elapsed time and were then introduced to solutions proposed by other students, such as this video from Mr. Avery’s Classroom Blog: http://mravery.edublogs.org/2011/01/07/elapsedtime/.
Materials and resources needed (include authentic literature selection):
• Interactive Whiteboard with Internet access to the following examples of elapsed time:
o http://mashable.com/2011/04/24/time-lapse-nature/
o http://mravery.edublogs.org/2011/09/21/aday/
• Traditional white board and markers
• Document Camera
• Student math journals
• Student activity hand outs (attached):
o Field Trip Planning, which describes the assignment in detail
o Field Strip Schedule, a table to be completed by students
o Analysis of Elapsed Time, 6 questions that students must answer in writing about the assignment
o Bus schedule for Winston-Salem Transit Authority, Route 16, Reynolda Manor Oldtown, retrieved from
http://www.wstransit.com/nroutes/Route%2016%202008%20hp.pdf
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Teachingstrategies
• anticipatory strategies (background knowledge)
To begin the lesson, I will refer to the list of observations the class has created during their study of elapsed time. The purpose of the list is to document learning and to eventually develop one or more conjectures about elapsed time. The list follows:
Observations About Elapsed Time
1. Time can be measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, decades, centuries and millennia.
2. Elapsed time occurs when you measure the time that passes from the start of an event to the end of the event.
3. Events can be short or very long.
4. Books like The Grouchy Ladybug are about elapsed time.
5. Our class schedule shows all the things we do in a day at school. This is an example of elapsed time.
6. Sometimes when we measure elapsed time, we start with a.m. hours and end with p.m. hours.
7. Sometimes when we measure elapsed time, we start on one day and end on another day.
8. Sometimes it’s a good idea to use a teaching clock when trying to measure elapsed time in hours and minutes.
9. Sometimes it’s better to use an empty number line when measuring elapsed time.
10. When we read Game Time!, we looked at elapsed time as counting down to the end of the game instead of counting forward.
To activate specific experiences with these observations, students will turn to their partner and engage in a think-pair-share activity in which they will reflect on one or two learning experiences related to one of these observations. I will give an example of a learning experience related to observation #1 in which I will recall that we saw how long a minute was when we closed our eyes and kept them closed until we thought that 60 seconds had passed. A minute seemed like forever!
• developmental strategies
To transition to the core lesson, I will comment on how the experiences that were shared were so varied. In addition, I will mention that both our own experiences and learning about other people’s experiences make our understanding of mathematical concepts more rich and complete. To further contribute to our experience database, we are going to briefly look at some examples of elapsed time by viewing 4 short videos which capture elapsed time in different ways. A short discussion will follow each video. These videos are not intended to be the focal point of the lesson, but rather an experiential supplement to build to the planned activity.
1. Oak Tree (1 year),
http://mashable.com/2011/04/24/time-lapse-nature/#-bUDylndVoY>This first example features an oak tree and how it changes over the course of a year. The video is only 15 seconds and I will replay it once or twice so that students can make different observations. I will remark about how this video was 15 seconds long and captured 365 days of time. I will ask students to reflect on what this example teaches us about elapsed time.
2. Dandelion (1 month), http://mashable.com/2011/04/24/time-lapse-nature/#UQ_QqtXoyQw
This video starts with a dandelion that is going into bloom and follows it through the point were it is about to disperse its seeds. The duration of the video is about 1:30 minutes. We will discuss how this is only covering one month of time and yet is 6 times as long as the oak tree video.
3. Garden Cress (6 days),
http://mashable.com/2011/04/24/time-lapse-nature/#qtECPtJzW7A>Thislively video is about 1 minute long and captures 144 hours of time in which garden cress sprouts and grow to more than 1” above the soil. There are clocks in the background that show the hours passing, and in the foreground, the number of hours that pass are posted in 24-hour increments.
4. Mr. Avery’s Classroom (7 hours), http://mravery.edublogs.org/2011/09/21/aday/
This 55 second video covers an entire school day in Mr. Avery’s 6th grade class at Dennett Elementary in Massachusetts. We will comment on how this video captured time from 8:00 am until 2:45 pm.
The purpose of showing these videos is to expand student’s understanding of elapsed time as a measurement for all living things and not just to measure human events. This will become important in making a connection to scientific observations of living things. The focus, however, will return to human events with the last video concerning Mr. Avery’s class.
Next I will segue to the focus activity for this lesson. I will begin by displaying the Field Trip Planning sheet on the document camera and discussing the assignment. While I am doing this, the classroom helper will distribute packets of information that students will need to complete this assignment. This will be done quickly and efficiently by handing enough copies to the first student in each row for all students in that row. The first student will then pass the copies the student on his/her right, and the process will continue down the row (Lemov, 2010).
For this assignment, students will work with a self-selected partner and will schedule a field trip to Reynolda House Museum of Art. To accomplish this, students will schedule the following activities:
a. bus travel from Transportation Center to museum
b. guided tour of museum – 90 minutes
c. visit to the Museum Store – 30 minutes
d. restroom break – 15 minutes
e. lunch at Village Tavern – Healthy Children’s menu – 60 minutes
f. return by bus to Transportation Center
As students schedule the activities, they will record the information on the Field Trip Schedule form. This will help students see the sequence of activities and measure the elapsed time for each event. In conjunction with this form, students will create an empty time line. When this information is completed, students will answer the questions on the Analysis of Elapsed Time for Field Trip sheet.
As I review the assignment, I will show students that the first entry on the Field Trip Schedule form has been completed to serve as an example. Next, I will discuss the bus schedule. To check for understanding, I will ask the following questions:
• Where is the Transportation Center located on this map?
• What do numbers 1 – 4 represent on the map?
• What number is used to represent the Transportation Center?
• Reynolda House is located at Reynolda Village. Which bus stop would we use to get to Reynolda Village? (answer: #2) Please circle bus stop #2 on the map.
• Please refer to the columns below the map that list the times the bus stops at each station. The numbers at the top of each column represent a bus stop. Locate the column for bus stop #1, which is the Transportation Center. Circle the number 1 at the top of this column. This is the column we would use to figure out when we would leave the Transportation Center.
• Let’s look at the map again. Trace the path we would take to travel from the Transportation Center to bus stop #2, which is Reynolda Village. How many stops have we passed before we get to stop #2? (answer: none, #2 is the first stop!)
• Now let’s go back to the columns of departure times. If we arrive at the Transportation Center at 9:15 am, when would the next bus leave the station for Reynolda Village? (answer: 9:45 am)
• Please put your finger on the 9:45 departure time in column #1. Slide your finger to the right and stop at the time in column #2. What time would we arrive at Reynolda Village? (answer: 9:55 am)
To conclude this part of the lesson, I will explain the difference between the Inbound and Outbound bus schedules. Students will put an asterisk by the Outbound schedule as a reminder to use this schedule for the return trip.
At this point, I would put the Field Trip Schedule form on the document camera and ask for volunteers to come up and complete the next row of the table with the information we just reviewed. Since map reading is a developing skill, this part of the lesson requires scaffolding and direct instruction. In a few minutes, students will have an opportunity to work independently on these skills during the partner activity.
I will then remind students that they must create an empty number line to show elapsed time for each activity. To differentiate for struggling learners, students can review the concept of an empty number line by reviewing the video from Mr. Avery’s Class blog, http://mravery.edublogs.org/2011/01/07/elapsedtime/.
To complete this assignment, students will answer the questions on the Analysis of Elapsed Time at Reynolda House worksheet.
When the students are working in pairs, I will circulate around and observe the discussions and analysis being performed. I will also informally assess students’ understanding of elapsed time, creating empty number lines, and reading maps and tables. As appropriate, I will ask guiding questions and scaffold learning.
Students who finish early will have the following options:
• watch one or more time lapse videos (http://mashable.com/2011/04/24/time-lapse-nature/) and write a reflection on the classroom blog or in their math journals about what this teaches them about elapsed time.
• read Scholastic’s on-line activity, Math Maven’s Mysteries: Time for a Crime, and use their knowledge about elapsed time to solve the mystery.
• concluding strategies
To conclude this lesson, each pair of students will verbally answer question #5 on the Analysis of Elapsed Time at Reynolda House worksheet: How much time did you spend at Reynolda House altogether? I will once again retrieve the list of ten observations about elapsed time and ask if this activity echoed one of these observations or if it created a new observation. Student responses will be shared as a whole group discussion.
Assessment (utilize a blend of traditional and performance assessments)
1. Informal assessment will occur at various places during the lesson:
a. at the beginning of the lesson during the think-pair-share activity when students shared a learning experience related to elapsed time;
b. during whole group discussion of the time lapse videos;
c. when discussing the bus schedule;
d. when observing the student pairs working on the field trip activity.
e. at the conclusion of the lesson when students reflect on the 10 observations about elapsed time.
2. Formative assessment will be made from the Field Trip Schedule and the Analysis of Elapsed Time at Reynolda House worksheets. It is important to note that the assessment rubric for this assignment is designed to communicate expectations for the assignment and to insure that the assignment is completed carefully and thoroughly. The assessment for the learning of math concepts will be determined by reviewing the accuracy of the entries on the table and time line. In addition, the way students answered the written questions will indicate whether they understand and can interpret the table and time line. Because these concepts are still developing, this information will only be used to inform instruction and not for grading purposes.
The math concepts will be specifically assess by considering the following:
• Field Trip Schedule: Do the start and end times for each event correspond with the duration time?
• Empty Time Line: Does the empty time line accurately reflect what is recorded on the Field Trip Schedule?
• Analysis of Elapsed Time at Reynolda House: Do the answers accurately reflect the data on the worksheets? (This will demonstrate the student’s ability to understand and interpret the data.)
Accommodations/modifications to strategies or assessments
N/A
Wrap-up and reflection by the students
Students will earn an exit ticket by writing in their math journals one thing they enjoyed about this activity and one thing they disliked.
Resources used in creating this lesson plan
Carle, Eric. (1977). The grouchy ladybug. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Charles, R. I., Crown, W., Fennell, F., Caldwell, J. H., Cavanagh, M., Chancellor, D., Ramirez, A. B., Ramos, J. F., Sammons, K., Schielack, J. F., Tate, W., Thompson, M., Van de Walle, J. A., (2005). North Carolina mathematics: Teacher’s edition, grade 3, volume 2. Glenview, IL: Pearson/Scott Foresman.
Common Core and NC Essential Standards retrieved from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/ on October 27, 2011.
Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put student on the path to college. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.
Stuart, J. (2000). Game time! New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Van de Walle, J. A., Karp, K. S., and Bay-Williams, J. M. (2010). Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching developmentally (7th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc./Allyn & Bacon.
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ActivityWorksheets
Sheet 1
FIELD TRIP PLANNING
Objective: To learn about elapsed tme by scheduling a learning experience at Reynolda House Museum of American Art.
Background Information: School starts at 7:40 a.m. After taking attendance and listening to the morning announcements, we will depart at 8:40 am for the bus station, which is known as the Transportation Center. We are scheduled to arrive at the Transportation Center at 9:15 a.m. We will take the Route 16 bus to reach Reynolda House Museum of American Art. Reynolda House is located in Reynolda Village.
Schedule of Events: Reynolda House Museum of American Art is opened from 9:30 – 4:30, Tuesday through Friday. During these hours of operation, you must schedule the following activities:
a. travel from Transportation Center to museum – see bus schedule
b. guided tour of museum – 90 minutes
c. visit to the Museum Store – 30 minutes
d. restroom break – 15 minutes
e. lunch at Village Tavern – 60 minutes
f. return by bus to Transportation Center – see bus schedule
Bus Schedule: Refer to the attached Route 16 bus schedule to determine departure and arrival times for your trip.
Assignment Requirements: The following forms must be completed during the scheduling process: 1) Field Trip Schedule, and 2) Analysis of Elapsed Time at Reynolda House. In addition, each partner pair must complete an empty number line which shows elapsed time for each activity on the field trip.
Optional: A teaching clock and/or a calculator may be used to measure elapsed time or to check your work.
Sheet 2 - [parts of this sheet are in table format and did not translate - can send attachment]
Field Trip Schedule
Start Time End Time
Duration
(hours, minutes)
Activity Description
8:40 am
9:15 am
35 minutes
Travel from school to Transportation Center
Remember: Create an empty time line to show the elapsed time for each activity.
Sheet 3
ANALYSIS OF ELAPSED TIME AT REYNOLDA HOUSE
Based on this scheduling activity, answer the following questions about the field trip activities. Questions should be answered in complete sentences, using appropriate capitalization and punctuation.
1. What time did you arrive at Reynolda House Museum of American Art? Was it before or after the museum was opened?
2. What time did the guided tour start? When did it finish?
3. How much time had passed from the time you arrived at Reynolda House until the time you ate lunch?
4. What time did you eat lunch? Was this before or after the usual time you eat lunch at school?
5. How much time did you spend at Reynolda House altogether?
6. What time did you catch Bus #16 back to the Transportation Center?
