Grade 3: Lesson on Patterns (Videos)

In this grade 3 lesson, students were first introduced to a story in which the main character had a magic pot that could double the 5 coins he had in his purse every time the coins were put into the pot. The teacher then took this story and adapted it to a math lesson designed to help the students with their basic multiplication skills along with logical reasoning. In the math question that the teacher proposed, the students were given a sceneario with two options. Option one was to be given five coins and a magic doubling pot that they could use no more than ten times. Option two was to simply be given 1,000 coins right then. Following the teachers original proposition of the question the students immediately chose option two (1,000 coins) in unison. However, the teacher then worked with them to do the math involved in option one, showing the students that eventually, after doubling the number ten times, they would come out with 5,120 coins. Once again, the purpose of the lesson seemed to be to provide the students a chance to interact as a whole group and use their multiplication skills to answer a fun question that could have some real world applications.

Question 1: Describe the primary task in this lesson and identify the mathematical skills and concepts that this task is designed to develop.

As mentioned in the overview of the lesson, the primary task was getting the students to use their multiplication and logical reasoning skills to solve a fun and interesting math porblem. As opposed to simply allowing the stuents to do guess work and choose the first answer or option that seemed appealing, they were given the chance to remend their original choices after completing the work as a whole group and realizing that option number one (doubling the coins ten times) was actually more appealing in the long run. By providing the students with a real world applicable and fun math problem to solve, the teacher has successfully contributed to the building of their multiplication and logical reasoning skills.

Question 2: Describe how appropriate you think the primary task in this lesson is for developing an understanding of the mathematics being taught.

I feel that this particular task is very appropriate given the age group the teacher is working with. In many cases, simply drilling math facts, more specifically multiplication facts, into young childrens minds is a way to get them maybe to remember these facts in time for a timed test. However, it does not teach them to make connections with the math skills behind these answers. By simply teaching kids facts over and over without giving them some type of situation in which they can use the facts, and draw from to provide them with a "why" to the "what" (a reason that these facts are what they are) does not aid in their learning of mathematics, and only causes more problems in the long run. So, by allowing these children to make those connections through this sceneario, this particular teacher has both helped them learn the basic facts, and provided them a framework for future exploration of mathematics.

Question 3: Propose one or more alternative tasks that might have strengthened the lesson or helped to clarify the key mathematical ideas being developed, and justify the use of this task or these tasks.

I honestly would not propose a completely different alternative assignment or task, as I feel that the teacher did an excellent job (as I previously mentioned) in providing a fun and meaningful connection for these students, along with tying the mathematics to other lessons in other subject areas (reading most prevalently). However, I do feel that the students would benefit if the same concept or task was used again with different numbers. By providing the same style of task with different numbers, you are ensuring that the students will enjoy it once again, make the same connections to aid in their futher learning, and also have the chance to further explore their multiplication and math facts with different numbers.