1.

TITLE OF LESSON: Fractions and Decimals

2. CONTEXT OF LESSON
This activity is appropriate for the students at this time because they have completed their fractions unit.
The students should have knowledge of fractions and decimals. They should know how to write
decimals as fractions and the fractional name of each
3. LESSON CONCEPTS
Decimals, both tenths and hundredths place, can be represented with a visual representation of shading
in decimal grids. This lesson addresses decimals and the fractional, decimal, and written name of each
given number. It also addresses the visual representation of a given number using decimal grids.
4. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
5.

4.3 The student will

a.

a) read, write, represent, and identify decimals expressed through thousandths;

b.

d) given a model, write the decimal and fraction equivalents.

6. LESSON OBJECTIVES
The students will determine the decimal, fraction, and written name of a given number.
The students will generate a visual representation using the decimal grid of a given number.
7. ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING

To assess objective 1, I will have each student write the decimal, fraction, and written name of
the numbers 0.09, 2.14, 0.6, 1.18, 1.2. They must have all three components correct. Each
student will have his or her answers checked before moving on. (Individual assessment)
To assess objective 2, I will have the students visually represent the numbers 0.09, 2.14, 0.6,
1.18, 1.2 by shading each number onto the given decimal grids. I will then collect their sheets.
(Individual assessment)

8. MATERIALS NEEDED
For each student:
Decimal grid worksheet (attached)
Pencil
Highlighter
For the Teacher
A sheet composed of a whole, tenths, and hundreds decimal grid (attached)
Document camera
9. PROCEDURES

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BEFORE: Engagement (How will you prepare students to be ready to engage with the main
task/activity? Brainstorming, simpler problem, etc.); Be sure main task/activity is understood; Establish
expectations for the DURING and AFTER parts of the lesson. (see pp. 25-27 of your 3-5 text)
These students have focused on abstract representations of fractions and decimals, but they have not had
much experience working with the two together. My goal is to use the visual representation of the
decimal grid to help them relate the fraction and decimal values to each other my means of a visual
representation through the hundreds grid.
On the document camera, I will display a blank square as the whole and a square broken up into ten
sections, and a decimal grid with 100 parts. I will tell the students that the blank square is the whole.
Ask a student what the number 0.3 might look like if shaded in on the square broken up into 10 parts.
Student 1: I think it would be less than one strip.
Teacher: Does anyone see it differently?
Student 2: I think you would shade in the three long strips.
Teacher: What does one section represent?
Student 2: One tenth.
Teacher: Okay, and how would we say this number? 0.3?
Student 1: Three tenths. Oh, I think you should shade three sections.
Referring to the decimal grid with 100 parts, what would the number 0.06 look like if shaded in on the
grid?
Student 1: I think six parts.
Teacher: What do you mean by six parts?
Student 1: I mean six long parts.
Teacher: Can you read me how we would say the number 0.06?
Student 1: Zero and six hundredths.
Teacher: So, does anyone know how we could shade in the grid to represent this number?
Student 3: I think you should shade in six of the little squares because each square is one, one hundredth.

DURING:
Present the problem to be solved:
How would the numbers 0.09, 2.14, 0.6, 1.18, 1.2 be written in decimal name, fraction name, and
written name? Then, how would the numbers 0.09, 2.14, 0.6, 1.18, 1.2 be visually represented using a
decimal grid?
Does anyone know where to begin with the first number?
Student 1: Well, we know how to write it as a decimal because thats the way its given to us.
Teacher: How would you want to write the number?
Student 1: 0.09
Teacher: Would anyone have wanted to begin anywhere else?
Student 2: I would have started with the fraction.
Teacher: What would you have done starting with the fraction?
Student 2: I would have written 9/100 so I would remember that it was hundredths, not tenths.
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Teacher: Those are both strategies. Play close attention to place value as you complete the assignment.
Does anyone know how we would shade 0.09 on the decimal grid?
Student 3: I remember (student 2) said that it was nine hundredths, so that is how we would write it and
that tells us that we would only need to shade in 9 squares.
The teacher should step back and let the students attempt the problems without interruption. The teacher
will determine what it is appropriate to start checking answers and giving assistance.
Problem questions to ask during problem solving:
If you are not sure or the student knows what he or she is doing:
Explain to me what you steps you are doing to solve this problem.
If a student has the wrong idea, but doesnt realize it:
Will your same strategy work for the other numbers? Did it work for the example one?
If a student wants to abandon an idea before completely investigating it:
Did I hear you say that each of the small sections represent one hundredth?
If you are trying to figure out what a student has done so you can begin helping them from the point of
the task:
How did you determine what to do for numbers larger than 1?
Students who still dont know how to begin:
What have you done so far? Lets look at 0.6. How did you go about determining the names for this
number? How did you know what to shade in on the decimal grid?
AFTER: Engage the full class in discussion; encourage students to evaluate the ideas; look for
opportunities to highlight significant ideas in students work to make these mathematical ideas more
explicit to all students. (see pp. 25-27 of your 3-5 text).

To plan for this part of the lesson you must think about: What do you want the children to be able to
share in the AFTER part of the procedure OR how will you share the ideas you observed?
How they approached the problem?
Answer?
Justification for their answer?
All of the above?
How have you made these expectations clear before they started to work independently?

When each student has solved the task and was able to explain it, they can use another fraction
name, if applicable, to represent any equivalent fractions to the one they have already written down.
Each student is invited to share his or her strategies with the class. The teacher is responsible for
making sure the mathematics is correct and the students strategy is mathematically correct. The student
will also be welcome to share any challenges they faced and how they overcame those challenges. (it is
not necessary for every student to share if the strategies are the same).
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Teacher: Student 1 began writing out the written name for each of the numbers. Student 2 wrote
out the fraction name for each number with 100 as the denominator. Is it okay to begin with either of these
two ways?
Student: Yes, it doesnt matter which part you start with, as long as you reach the correct answer
and the strategy is efficient for the student.
10. MODIFICATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Challenge Problem:
If a student finishes before others, be prepared to have the students add each of the decimal answers that
they solved, 0.09+ 2.14, 0.6+ 1.18 and 1.2+0.09
Then ask the students to add the fraction form of each number.
Remedial Problem:
For students who struggle with the problem, give the following decimal grid and ask them to shade in
the appropriate amount for the following numbers.
0.2, 0.6, 0.5

11. REFLECTION
As soon as possible following your activity, write your response to the following questions. Be
thorough in your reflection and cite specific examples of the childrens language, involvement,
reactions, exploration, and learning. DO NOT SIMPLY COPY AND PASTE. THIS SECTION
SHOULD BE THOROUGH AND WELL THOUGHT.
A. Based on your plan for assessing learning and the data you collected, evaluate the success of the
lesson. Be thorough in your description. Cite multiple examples of student behavior and language that
document your conclusions.
Look at the assessment data and identify 2 students who appear to fall into these 3 categories: (1) Gets it; (2)
Has some good ideas, but there is still room for learning and (3) Does not get it. Organize your responses to
the following questions in a chart/table form similar to the one below.
Gets it

a.
Understands

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Has some good ideas, but

Does not get it

Student ALauren

Student BDavid

Student CLiam

Student DMichael

Student ESerena

Student F

How to
visually
represent a
given number
using a
decimal grid
and how to

How to
visually
represent a
given number
using a
decimal grid
and how to

How to
determine the
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for a given
number. He

How to
determine the
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for a given
number. He

How to
determine the
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for a given
number. She

How to
determine the
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for a given
number. He
4

determine the
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for a given
number. She
shaded the
decimal grid,
visually
representing
the given
number
correctly. I
wrote down
the written
name first.
That told me
what to shade
in. If it was
greater than
one then I
knew I had to
shade at least
a whole grid.

determine the
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for a given
number. He
visually
represented
each given
number using
the decimal
grid correctly.
He wrote each
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for the given
number
correctly.

understands
how to
visually
represent
some
numerical
values using
the decimal
grid. He knew
shading 60
boxes of the
decimal grid
visually
represented
the number,
0.6.

wrote the
correct
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for each given
value.

b. Confused
about

N/A

N/A

Decimal place
values. He
shaded in one
whole grid
and two small
boxes on the
second grid
for the value
1.2.

c. Questions to
ask to clarify
what I know

Tell me how
you came up
with your
answers?
How did you
know how
many boxes of
the grid to
shade?

How did you

come up with
your
solutions? (In
regards to the
challenge
question)
What strategy
did you use
when adding
the number
values? Did
you use the

Just looking at
your decimal
grid that you
shaded, what
number does
that represent?
Does that
match the
written name
that you wrote
for the given
number?

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How does

wrote the
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for each given
number
correctly.

wrote the
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for each given
number
correctly.

Decimal place
values. He
shaded in one
whole grid
and two small
boxes on the
second grid
for the value
1.2.

Decimal place
values. She
shaded in one
whole grid
and two small
boxes on the
second grid
for the value
1.2. She also
shaded 6 small
boxes of the
decimal grid
to represent
0.6.

Decimal place
values. He
shaded in one
whole grid
and two small
boxes on the
second grid
for the value
1.2. He also
shaded 6
small boxes of
the decimal
grid to
represent 0.6.

Looking at
your decimal
grid that you
shaded, what
number does
that represent?
How about for
this decimal
grid? What
number does
that represent?
Does that
match your

Look at the
decimal grid
that you
shaded in for
each given
number. How
many boxes
did you shade
in for the
number 0.09?
What was the
written name
for that

Look at your
decimal,
fraction, and
written name
for each given
number. Tell
me about your
process of
shading each
of the given
numbers on
the decimal
grid.

How to
visually
represent
numerical
values that
have a tenths
and hundredth
value using a
decimal grid.
He correctly
represented
2.14 using a
decimal grid.

d. Ideas to
work on next

She rushed
through the
first two
problems and
made minor
errors that she
had to go back
and correct
the mistakes,
so taking her
time could be
strengthened.

decimal name,
the fraction
name, or did
you look at
your decimal
grids?

your shading
of the decimal
grid for the
number 0.6
and 1.2
compare? Do
they look
different?

decimal,
fraction, and
written name
that you
wrote?

number?
What about
for 0.6? How
do these
compare?

Finishes very
quickly before
other students,
so providing
him an
additional
challenge
problem
would be
beneficial to
his learning.

Visual
representation
s of tenths.
He shaded the
correct
amount of
tenths on
some
problems but
shaded
hundredths
instead of
tenths on other
problems.

Visual
representation
s of fractions
and decimals.
He shaded the
correct
amount of
tenths on
some
problems but
shaded
hundredths
instead of
tenths on other
problems.

Visual
representation
s of fractions
and decimals.
She shaded
the wrong
amount for
tenths on
every problem
that did not
include a
hundredths
value in
addition to a
tenths value.

Visual
representation
s of fractions
and decimals.
He shaded the
wrong amount
for tenths on
every problem
that did not
include a
hundredths
value in
addition to a
tenths value.

a. What does each student appear to understand?

b. What does each student appear to be confused about?
c. What questions might you want to ask each student to clarify what you know about the students
understanding?
d. What ideas does each student need to work on next?
B. How did your actual lesson differ from your plans? Describe the changes you made and explain why
you made them. Be thorough and specific in your description.
There were a few differences from my actual lesson and my plans. One difference is that once a
few students finished early, I thought about the fact that they might want to use their decimal grid to help
them add the decimals. So, I decided to informally check the students sheets before they moved on to
the challenge problem. Another event that was different from my lesson plan is that my cooperating
teacher also went around and answered questions and checked the students work. She told me later that
she did not pay attention to the shaded part of their sheets, only the decimal, fraction, and written name
part of their sheets. This effected my informal assessment of the students learning because many
students felt like they were on the right page track due to being reassured by my cooperating teacher,
when in fact, their decimal grids did not match up with their numerical values at all. I also modeled two
more visual representations on the decimal grids on the document camera with the whole class. After
doing what I had planned in the Before, I still felt that a small group of students were not ready to try
it independently. I followed the same protocol I had in my original lesson, only with two additional
numbers.

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C. Based on this experience, what changes would you make if you were to present this activity again?
Why? Cite at least one way you could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice in a better or
more thorough way.
Based on this experience, if I were to present this activity again, I would tell my cooperating
teacher that if she wanted to help during the lesson, do pay attention to the students conceptual
understanding of place value and to look at all forms of writing the given number and to see if they were
consistent across the various ways to represent the number. I also wouldve incorporated small groups
into the lesson. This whole group and small group learning is a great developmentally appropriate
practice. The students then could have talked through any confusion they had with peers in their groups.
D. What did you learn from this experience about children, teaching, and yourself?

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Children
Children enjoy mathematics much more when there is a positive outlook in the room from
the teacher. I love math, and it made the children excited about math. Children also feel
more at ease in their learning when there is freedom in the learning environment. Giving
children the freedom to solve a problem in a way that makes sense to them allows for deeper
exploration of mathematics and a richer learning experience.

Teaching
One thing I learned about teaching mathematics from planning and teaching this lesson is
the importance of providing students with multiple variations of the same type of problem.
This is essential for assessing student learning. Students may understand a problem once,
but then if it is given to them again later on, they may not understand it. Practicing
mathematical skills is essential for students learning. I also learned that anticipating student
answers to introductory questions when writing a lesson plan is very helpful in the
execution of the lesson. This process provides a simulation for me as a teacher to
experience before I teach the lesson. I felt like it made things more clear and concise when
actually teaching the lesson.

Myself
I learned that I am able to listen to students during my lessons and still be an effective math
teacher. I hear so many insightful explanations of the students thought processes. There is
a time restraint when teaching any subject. However, allowing students to share their
processes allows the students to take pride and ownership of their work. Doing this also
exposes new ideas and processes of mathematical thinking to the other students and to me.
When I have my own classroom I will have even more opportunities to listen to students
while teaching, and I am excited to learn from them!

Lesson Plan Scoring Rubric

Learning Objectives (measureable)
Assessment (directly related to
objectives)
Procedures (Before)
Procedures (During)
Procedures (After)
Mathematics Questions
Anticipated Student Responses
Modifications (challenge and remedial
problems)
Reflection
Total

Points Possible

Points Earned

2
2
2
2
1
2
1
2
6
20

Other Expectations (If not met, will result in deduction of points.)

Free of spelling and grammatical errors
Submitted on time

5
5/day

Name:_________________________________

Comments:

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