Lesson Plan - PDF Format

Specific Objectives:
Upon completion of this lesson the participants will be able to:
1. Students will model multiplication problems using manipulatives.
2. Students will calculate and solve word problems.
3. Students will understand how to use division, the inverse property, to check their work.
4. Students will begin to work with multiplication facts.
5. Students will create a class book using titles, tables of contents, and indexes to organize the information.
General Goals: Students will practice multiplication facts by creating their own word problems. They will share these word problems with other students in the class and take turns solving problems using manipulatives and drawings. With practice, students will develop a more concrete understanding of multiplication and begin to become familiar with multiplication facts.

Materials Needed:
1. Paper
2. Pencils
3. Student Sheet
4. Copy of rubric
5. Construction Paper
6. Binder Ring Clips
7. Math Manipulatives

Activities:
1. Introduce lesson: Inform students that they will be working in cooperative groups to create multiplication story problems for the class to solve.
2. Whole class example: As a class, we will make an example of a multiplication story problem. During this time, I can specify the difficulty level that is required for the students. I will model how to write the story problem, create a number sentence to solve the story problem, and how to create a picture that will help the students solve the story problem.
3. Group work: Students will work in small groups, with assistance from the classroom teacher, to create story problems at the appropriate level. Students will be asked to show a solution to the problem using manipulatives and pictures. Students will be asked to check their work, using the inverse properties of division. Students will then be asked to make a "final copy" so it will be ready to "publish" in a class book.
4. Publishing the class book: Groups will nominate one student to read the story problem out loud to the class. We will organize the story problems into logical groups. Then we will discuss the way in which we can create a table of contents for the book. Students will vote on a title for our book. Each group will be responsible for adding one definition to our glossary. Some examples could include: multiplication, division, number sentence, equation, label, etc.
5. Solving peer story problems: After the class book is published, students will pair up with a new partner. The students will solve the problem that their partner created. The students will be required to use manipulatives to show how to arrive at the answer. The students will also need to check their work using division. The author of the story problem will be required to oversee his/her partner’s work to ensure he/she completing the problem correctly.

Teaching Strategies
1. If students are working with particularly large numbers, drawing pictures and modeling with manipulatives will be difficult. The first time I introduce this project, we work with smaller numbers to make this portion of the lesson easier for the children.
2. Specify the range of numbers students should use. For example, I asked the students to use numbers ranging between 5 and 30.
3. Allow students who understand the concept to use larger numbers in subsequent lessons. Allow students who are struggling to use smaller numbers so they can focus on the modeling with manipulatives.
4. Make the published book available in the class library. This will allow students to look at other problems at a later time.