SYLLABUS DOT POINTS
WORKING MATHEMATICALLY INDICATORS
Students will:
LEARNING GOALS
By the end of this lesson students will be able to:
MATERIALS REQUIRED
The main focus of this lesson would be to continue on with decimal multiplication (I decided to split it into two lessons because I thought that one lesson would have been to content heavy for the students). In this lesson students would be introduced to more challenging decimal multiplication. It might also be valuable for the students if the beginning part of the lesson involved a quick recap of what was introduced last lesson.
Students would learn to multiply a decimal by another decimal for the first time. Firstly using written methods and then through using a calculator. The importance and relevance would be emphasised by drawing from real life situations that involve the multiplication of decimals. A possible example could be through giving an example with area and how sometimes the length of a rectangle could be 4.2 metres long and 3.75 wide and how you have to multiply those numbers together to get the answer. After this lesson students should then be ready to move onto dividing decimals.
INTRODUCTION (15 MINUTES)
Initially, the homework from last lesson will be looked at. If there were any particular questions students had any issues with the teacher would address them on the board. The teacher would also go through the solutions from the assessment for learning quiz. The teacher would then explain what the focus of this lesson would be. It would be explained to students that this lesson will look at multiplying two decimals with each other. The teacher would first hand out a sheet to each student that looks at the area model for decimal multiplication. (It is the 4th Resource down). The teacher would then go through the example, 0.8 multiplied by 0.7, and show that this is in fact 0.56. This could prove to be a good way to show students that the multiplication of decimals is not as daunting as it might seem.
The teacher would then show students an example which involves decimal numbers with more decimal places. Questions the teacher could ask could be, ‘do we have to do the same as what we do with addition and line up the decimal points?’ and 'Is it alright to just make one of these a decimals a whole number or do we have to keep going?' Once the example has been completed, with the teacher stressing that both need to be made into whole numbers, the teacher could then explain to students that you could also use your calculator to complete the question instantly, depending on the question.
BODY (30 MINUTES)
(15 MINUTES)
Now the body of the lesson would occur. Students would first be instructed to split into pairs and play the online basketball game that looks at multiplying decimals with each other. (It is the 1st resource down). Students would be encouraged to pause every time a new question appears so that they can write down the correct working required to complete the examples (Communicating, Fluency). Once students have had approximately 15 minutes to do this the teacher would stop the class and ask students if they came across any particularly hard questions. The teacher would complete these on the board.
(15 MINUTES)
Next, the teacher would instruct students to form bigger groups by getting two pairs to merge with each other. Students would then be instructed to work on Microsoft Excel and go through a number of multiplying and dividing examples (formulas, steps and questions will be written on the board) (Communicating). Once students have moved through the allocated questions they would then be encouraged to experiment with the program and put in numbers of their own choosing. When this is occurring the teacher would circulate around the room. They could ask questions like, ‘how would you get this answer without excel?’
ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING AND CONCLUSION (15 MINUTES)
(10 MINUTES)
The teacher would then organise a small quiz at the end of class with the online program Kahoot to consolidate what was learnt today (AFL). Here students would be required to do this individually. Once the quiz is completed the teacher would explain the solutions to students.
(5 MINUTES)
Once the quiz is over the teacher would re-emphasise the key points from today. For example, the teacher could say, 'Multiplying decimals seems complicated at first but isn't really. The main thing I want you to remember is that when you are multiplying decimals all you do is you move the decimal places so that you make both our decimals whole numbers!" For homework the teacher could then allocate some carefully selected textbook exercises that look to consolidate what was learnt today.
LESSON EVALUATION QUESTIONS
Did students enjoy the use of virtual manipulatives?
Was the basketball game a good substitute for textbook questions or worksheets?
Did students like the use of Excel or were they disinterested?
Add more about understanding of multiplication of decimals
1) ICT
A resource to use that utilises technology is this online game that involves multiplying decimals. This game could be particularly useful in the classroom because it involves pairs of students playing at the same time. Therefore the game could involve collaboration among students which could then in turn maximise the learning they experience.
The game itself involves various questions of differing difficulty. It incorporates questions that multiply decimals by powers of 10. This could therefore be a good way to link this class with the last lesson. Additionally it also has other questions that involve decimals multiplying with each other, making it also directly relevant to what was learnt in this lesson. The game also has a basketball theme to it so it could potentially be engaging for students.
It also could be a good activity to bring collaboration into the classroom because students are working in pairs here. Therefore, they could share ideas and learn from each other.
This resource was retrieved from: http://www.math-play.com/Multiplying-Decimals-Basketball-Game/Multiplying-Decimals-Basketball-Game_html5.html
2) ICT
Another resource utilising technology that could be used is excel. Here students could also experiment with the multiplication of decimals. With excel students can multiply a wide range of varying questions. One positive with excel is that students can refer to a number of combinations at once. This can allow them to identify patterns or commonalities. Moreover, they can also change any number at any time to see what outcome it could create. Excel could be used on the board in front of the class or by each individual student. This was a resource I thought of on my own. Note: It can also be used for dividing decimals as well. It has a wide range of applications.
3) ICT
Another potential good resource to use is the website called Kahoot. The website could be used by the teacher to test their students at the conclusion of the class. In the website the teacher is able to make multiple questions and have all students take part. The activity can be engaging as every student is involved and they get to create their own nicknames.
Link: https://kahoot.it/
4) LIT
This is a resource which looks at the area model for the multiplication of decimals. Although it only focuses on decimals with one decimal place it could still be utilised in the introduction of discussion at the beginning of the lesson. I think this could be particularly useful for making the multiplication of decimals seem less daunting.
Retrieved from: https://extranet.education.unimelb.edu.au/SME/TNMY/Decimals/Decimals/index.htm