Kacie Thomas

Instructional Cycle 1 Lesson Plan: Lesson 5.9 Powers

of 10
Final Lesson

Purpose/Rationale:

• The students are now learning about “Big Numbers, Estimation,

and Computation.” More specifically, the lessons prior to 5.9
have focused on estimating sums and products, partial products
and lattice multiplication, and big numbers. They have also had
practice using the base-ten place-value system. Now, the
students are ready to learn about exponential notation for the
powers of 10.

Connections to Standards/Benchmarks/Curriculum:

Michigan GLCE’s:
• N.ME.04.03 Understand the magnitude of numbers up to
1,000,000; recognize the place values of numbers and the
relationship of each place value to the place to its right, e.g.,
1,000 is 10 hundreds.

4th Grade Curriculum Material:

• “Everyday Mathematics” Lesson 5.9 Powers of 10

What I did to prepare to plan and teach this lesson:

• In order to prepare, I went through the curriculum material

thoroughly, making sure to be attentive to this lesson as well as
the lessons before and after. I also met with my FI and fellow
student teachers to get their input. Furthermore, I sought out
my CT for guidance and help.

What connected lesson preceded this lesson and what

do you know about the students based on that work
that informs this plan?

• The prior lesson is about big numbers. More specifically, it asks

students to practice using large numbers to recognize patterns in
the base-ten system. This work will help them understand the
 concept of exponential notation and allow them to see even
more patterns in the base-ten system.

Objective(s): The students will be able to…

• Understand the purpose of exponents and what they represent.

Materials needed to have ready:

• Math Journal 1, p. 130
• Teaching Aid Master
• Smart Board
• Pencils
• Popsicle sticks
• Number slips
• Exit Slips

Management considerations:

• Before I begin the lesson, I will make sure that I have every
student’s attention by looking for eye contact. I will also say, “I’ll
wait for your courtesy” if necessary.

• While students are working on page 130 or their math boxes, I

will be circulating the room to ensure that each student is
working productively. If I see that students are off task I will say
things like, “Thank you boys and girls for using six-inch voices”
and “Compliments to all of you for working together so nicely.”

Introduction/hook (scripted):

“As you know I go to U of M. It just so happens that my sister does too.

The other day we were chatting about tuition costs. For those of you
that don’t know, tuition is the money you have to pay to attend
college. She says it costs about 100,000 dollars to attend for 4 years. I
know it costs about 10 to the fifth power dollars. My sister is almost
finished with just her second year of college. I’m almost done with my
fourth year of college. My sister thinks she is correct. I think I am
correct. I wonder who is correct? When this lesson is over will you
help me make the correct discovery? After all, I’m almost done with my
fourth year. Even though I think I’m correct, we should at least give her
the benefit of the doubt right? (~2 min)

Outline of your lesson sequence, including teaching

strategies used.

• “So, in order to figure out who knows tuition costs the best, lets
refresh our memories about place value. To do this, you need to
open up your Math Journals to page 130 (Write page 130 on the
board). There you will find an incomplete chart and your job is to
make it complete. BUT, before you begin let’s take a look at it
together. You’ll notice that the place values go from the ones
place all the way up to the millions. You can also see that the
ones, which we know is the smallest place value—is on the right
side, while the largest is on the left.

o What do you notice about the numbers in row one? They

are written in standard form. They are multiples of ten.
o Now, take a look at the second row of the chart. Does
anyone understand what is going one there. I’ll give you a
hint…look at number two below the chart. It tells us that
each place value is ten times greater than the place value
to the right.
o What does it look like the third row asks you to do? It asks
us to find the factors, which are ten. Numbers like 100,
1000 and so on are called powers of ten because their
factors are 10.
o Looking at row 4, what do you notice? Does anyone have
any idea what that two represents. 10 is raised to the
second power meaning that 10 can be factored into 100
two times as in 10 times 10. Yes, so the raised digit, which
is two lets you know how many times 10 is used as a
factor, which we can see is true thanks to row three. Does
anyone know what the two is called in this case? An
exponent.
o Is there anything else that this exponent might tell you?”
The number of zeros in the product or power of ten. (~8
minutes)

• “Now that we talked through one column together, I’d like you to
work with a fellow mathematician to do the rest. You probably
noticed a slip of paper on your desk with a number. Someone
else has that same number and he or she will be your partner.
Please remember to use six-inch voices. You’ll have about 10
minutes to do so and then we’ll come back together. If you
happen to finish early, I’d like you to try and add another place
value smaller than one and see what you come up with. And if
you manage to do ALL that because you’re so brilliant, then go
ahead and do some math boxes.”
 • “Alright now I invite you to share with your classmates what you
came up with.”
o “Who can tell us what they came up with for this box (point
at smart board) in row one.” (Pick a popsicle stick)
o “How about this box? Does everyone agree? Please feel
free to disagree.”
o “How did you do that?”
o “Does that make sense to everyone?”
o “Will you please come to the board and show off what you
know?” (~5 min)

What accommodations did you make to meet the full

range of your students?

• To accommodate my below-grade level focal student along with

my other below-grade level ability students, I put students in
pairs to help one another.
• My grade-level focal student as well as my other grade-level
students will follow the designated lesson plan.
• To accommodate my above-grade-level focal student as well as
my other above-grade-level students, I will give them the
opportunity to extend their chart on page 130 to include 1/10,
1/100, 1/1000.
• Additionally, all students will have the chance to move on to their
math boxes if time allows.

Closing/Wrap Up (scripted):

• “SO, who was right…me or my sister? You both think the same
thing about tuition because $100,000 is equal to 10 to the fifth
power. What? Really!? I can’t believe it. How can I prove to her
that they’re the same? You can tell her that the exponent 5 tells
you how many zeros the power of ten has and 100,000 has five
zeros. Oh, I see. And if she doesn’t understand exponents what
else could I do to show her? You could write out the factors of
100,000, which are 10 * 10 * 10 * 10* 10. Wow! I have to say, I
am so impressed with you…great job today! (~5 min)

• I have one more thing I’d like you to do. So that I can better
prepare for future math lessons and to help me to get to know
you as a student, please do this Exit Slip, which when finished,
invites you to go to lunch. You’ll have about 5 minutes to finish
it. Once you are done, please get attention appropriately and I
 will pick it up.

Assessment:

• As students work on page 130 of their Math Journals, I will

circulate the room to better understand how each student is
doing. In doing so, I will informally assess them.

• I will administer an Exit Slip to assess if students’ met the

lesson’s objective. (See attachment for Exit Slip)

Next Steps:

• The next lesson that will follow is a lesson on “Rounding and

Reporting Large Numbers.” The students’ will be using and
reviewing what they learned about exponential notation, as they
will be discussing sensible ways to report large numbers. In
addition, students will be doing more math boxes allowing them
to review the content of lesson 5.9 as well.

If being observed: On what aspect(s) of your lesson

would you like me to focus?

• I’d like to focus on how I handle classroom management as I

think it is something I need establish before anything else.
 Name: _________________

Exit Slip

Directions: Please fill in the blank, circle or write the correct

answer.

1. The 100s place value is ____ times as big as the 10s

place value.

2. 1,000 is _________________10 to third power.

greater than less than equal to

3. Please write 100,000 using exponential notation.

 Kacie Thomas
Math Cycle One
Reflection

Looking Back

Overall, I am pleased with my lesson on the powers of ten. I have to

thank my cooperating teacher, field instructor and students for that.

When it came to planning, my cooperating teacher’s and field

instructor’s guidance and feedback proved to be most valuable. My

cooperating teacher helped me understand the students’ prior

knowledge allowing me to better know how long each portion of the

lesson would take. My field instructor’s feedback was a great help as it

gave me new insights and ideas. For example, she suggested that I

invite students to come up to the smart board to contribute. Finally,

my students were well behaved, and actively listening as I taught,

which allowed my lesson to proceed smoothly.

As the students helped me, I helped them as well. In order to help

them understand the major concepts—powers of ten and exponential

notation—I did a few things. First, I walked them through the chart in
their math journal, which they were asked to complete with a partner.

As I walked them through it, I asked questions like “What do you notice

about row one?” and “What is row two asking us to do?” Doing so

enabled them to practice making inferences and understand their task

even more. Second, having the math journal page present and visible

helped all my students see what we were learning about as we talked.

Still, I feel this portion of my lesson could be improved. If I were to

teach this lesson again, I would make sure to scaffold students more.

To do so I would complete a cell in each row with them in order to

minimize confusion.

Despite not scaffolding students as much as I should have, I am

happy with how they did. Over half of the 22 students present for my

lesson completed all three questions on the assessment correctly. My

high ability student (#14) was one of them and to let him know I was

pleased I said, “Excellent! I can tell you understand powers of ten and

exponential notation!” when grading his Exit Slip. I noticed during my

lesson that he also challenged himself by adding a tenths and

hundredths column to his chart.

My grade level student (#17) answered question one and three

correctly, but to my surprise answered ‘less than’ to number two. He

was one of five who answered number two incorrectly. I thought all the

students would get number two correct, as it was very similar to the

problem that was posed in my introduction and answered in my

conclusion. His incorrect answer could be the result of confusion

though, as the question didn’t use exponential notation, but rather

said, “10 to the third power.” To commend him on his efforts I said,

“Nice Job! I can tell you’re starting to really understand powers of ten

and exponential notation!”

My below grade level student (#19) answered all three questions

correctly, which really surprised me. Usually she has a difficult time

staying on task and attentively listening during a lesson. Hence, I

conveyed how proud I was of her by saying, “Excellent! Your answers

are evidence that you paid attention and understood!” when grading

her Exit Slip. Her success could be the result of the work she did with

her partner who was a high ability student. He may have helped her

understand the content better.

I was also surprised that some students thought the tens place was

two times as big as the hundreds place. They may have been thinking

to themselves that one has to multiply ten two times to get one

hundred. In addition, they hadn’t been exposed to big numbers as

planned because lesson 5.8 was yet to be taught. Even so, I am happy

that most of the students seem to understand the major concepts well.

I am pleased with the students’ response to my lesson. They

participated throughout its entirety and seemed to be very engaged. I

feel that the story about my sister and me (my hook) was responsible

for some of this. It helped spark my students’ curiosity and encouraged

them to do their math journal page, as it was a way to discover the

answer to my dilemma. Also, using the popsicle sticks to call on

students required all students to stay on task and thus, actively

participate in the lesson. Furthermore, inviting students to the smart

board to add to the chart increased students’ involvement.

I supported a respectful, fair and nurturing classroom by doing a

few things during my lesson. First, I circulated the room showing my

students that I was interested in how they were doing and to help them

if needed. While I did so I discovered that they weren’t completing the

chart as quickly as my C.T. and I thought they would. Hence, I gave

them more time then I had anticipated. Doing so caused me to

shorten how long we spent going over the answers. Thus, I also asked

that they put their thumbs up to show that they agreed or understood

their classmates and/or the lesson’s content. I also feel that I was

nurturing and respectful when I responded to students. Specifically, I

found myself answering their alternative ideas by saying, “That’s an

interesting idea.” Furthermore my lesson was fair as I upheld the

classroom rules and conventions. This can be seen when I allowed the

“paper passer” to do her job and when I used popsicle sticks to call on

students.

Due to the fact that I can maintain a positive learning environment

that enables students to meet lesson objectives, I am convinced that I

am becoming a practicing professional. I also believe I am becoming a

better teacher because I am learning to go with the flow. During my

lesson the smart board stopped working, as the computer needed to

reboot. I managed to keep the lesson going by shifting it to the

whiteboard and referring to the Everyday Mathematics book. Still, I feel

this could have been handled better had I prepared for the

unexpected. Hence, in the future I will have a alternative plan in place.

I have three other goals for the future as well. They are as follows: I

would like to learn how to better pair students together, so that all

students are benefiting, I would like to master the smart board and I

would also like improve the language I use as a teacher.

Performance Record

Student Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Notes

1 x x x
2 x x x
3 x Greater x Didn’t put the
exponent in the
than correct spot
4 x x x
5 x x x
6 x x x
7 x x x
8 x Greater x
than
9 Greater x x Seems to have
not read the
than question
correctly
10 x x x
11 x Greater x May have not
understood that
than “10 to the third
 power” is
exponential
notation
12 x x x
13 2 x x May have thought
you need to
multiply 10 two
times to get 100
14 x x x
15 x x x
16 x Greater x
than
17 x Less than x
18 ABSENT
19 x x x Originally
thought greater
than for #2
20 x x x
21 ABSENT
22 Pulled Out For Math
23 x x x
24 2 x x May have thought
you need to
multiply 10 two
times to get 100
25 Pulled Out For Math
26 Blank x Blank Didn’t
understand what
she was being
asked
27 Pulled Out For Math

Kacie Thomas
Math Instructional Cycle I
Winter 2011