Santiago Sere

OMDE 610
Section 9040
June 13, 2016
Assignment 2 - Protractor Usage in 4th Grade
Activity/Lessons Description:
This set of lessons/activities will engage students in the fourth grade who struggle with
different learning disabilities in their development and understanding of the usage of protractors
to measure angles. It is intended as a four day lessons: day 1) lesson, day 2) practice, and days 3
and 4) project. Since I teach fourth grade students, I incorporated technology into the lessons and
made the actual lesson portion take place online through a blended environment. The use of
technology is integral to these lessons.
Grade/Audience: 4th Grade
Lessons Objectives: Students will

use protractors to identify/label angles

use protractors to find the degree of angle within a 5 degree margin.

Lesson 1: Lesson

(5 minutes) Warm-Up Students will identify and label as either acute, obtuse, right or
straight on the Promethean Board. The class will go over it as students come up to the
board and drag the term beneath the correct angles.

(5 minutes) Activating Prior Knowledge Students will watch a BrainPop video on

angles. This will ensure that all students have something to contribute to the lesson and
something to build from during the activities.

(10 to 15 minutes) Lesson Students use the Chromebooks to access an uploaded

YouTube video on the use of protractors. In these video, I will teach students how to
position a protractor to measure the angle within 5 degrees. The video will contain parts
where students are expected to pause, measure an angle on the screen, come show me in
real life and then proceed with the rest of the examples on the video. If students get it
right, they can move on to the next four examples where they will be required to show me
their answers. If they get it wrong, I will work with the student and support them in
learning to use the protractor.

(10 15 minutes) Practice Students will use scaffolded protractors to practice

measuring angles. Once the students have demonstrated a strong grasp, they will be given
regular protractors and asked to continue practicing.

(15-20 minutes) Homework Students will log onto IXL and complete skill number
P.15 for homework.

Lesson 2: Practice

(5 to 7 minutes) Warm-Up: Students come up to the board and measure angles. The
class goes over the angles together.

Practice/Review: Students will go on to http://www.abcya.com/measuring_angles.htm

and practice measuring angles. They have the option to review the lesson or skip the

tutorial. Students are not able to move past each of the ten problems until they get the
correct answer.

Homework: Students will take home their protractors and measure three angles in their
house.

Lesson 3: Project (2 days)

In this project, students will be given an iPad, and a protractor to go around the school and find
five different examples of each type of angle: acute, obtuse, right, and straight. Students will take
a picture of the object and measure it within a margin of 5 degrees. When they have collected the
images and measurements, they will email themselves the images and create a Google Slide
presentation showing the real world examples. The presentation must include six slides:
1. Introduction with title, student name and date
2. Acute angle slide includes five examples with measurements
3. Obtuse angle slide includes five examples with measurements
4. Right angle slide includes five examples with measurements
5. Straight angle slide includes five examples with measurements
6. Explanation slide explanation as to what makes each angle that particular types of
angle.
Technology Integration:
Technology is a key component to this lesson as it is a valuable tool that engages students
and provides them with clear visuals that make abstract concepts more concrete. The set of
lessons start with a short BrainPop video where students build prior knowledge to assimilate new

information. Through the teacher created video, students can pause, rewind and go back to areas
that are tricky at their own pace. It also provides me with paced-out time to check in with
students and check their work. Their homework is done online because a) my students have
executive functioning issues which often manifests itself in a lack of organization, forgetting
materials, and being mentally discombobulated, and b) all of my students have access to a
computer at home so they cannot use the excuse that they forgot the necessary materials.
The second day of the activity has students practice using an engaging website to keep
their interest high. Finally, students will use the iPad and Google Slides to create a small
presentation where they can further demonstrate their understanding of angles and their ability to
accurately identify and measure all types of angles using a protractor. Throughout the lessons
students are expected to come to the board when practicing or during the warm-ups as they
benefit from active movement as well.
Theories behind this Lesson:
This lesson includes two theories of learning: the behaviorist and the cognitivist theory.
Behaviorism focuses mostly on what is observable in terms of learning, how people behave and
how behavior can be changed (Harasim, 2012). One of its major tenants is the change of
behavior through both positive and negative reinforcements and punishments. This theory is
present in the lesson in multiple ways. For example, in order to move to the next part of the
activities as in the video lesson or the homework, students must first be able to accomplish a
task. In this sense, they are seeking a positive reward from the teacher or self-recognition that
they are able to move onto the next step. Finally, the use of visual stimulus, as is the case with
the videos, presents students with a change in behavior or the learning of information.

Cognitivist theory takes into account behaviors and stimuli but focuses on the mental
processes. As Harasim (2012) states, in cognitivist model of learning: stimuli became inputs
and behaviors were the outputs (p. 47). This theory is present in how the lesson is structured.
Students may already have a schema or map of what angles are and by activating that prior
knowledge, their mind is more likely to change its information if needed. Information will be
added (teaching how to use a protractor to measure angles) or changed through assimilation if
they possess the incorrect knowledge. This theory is also present in the sense that information is
being passed down from teacher to student through the video as opposed to self-constructed as
one would find in a constructivist approach.

Rubric for Project:

3

2
Presentation
contains 3 - 5
slides
Slides include 3
or 4 real life
images with
degree
measurements

1
Presentation
contains 1 -2
slides
Slides include 1
or 2 real life
images with
degree
measurements

0
Presentation
does not contain
slides

Contains 1
requirement

Contains 0
requirements

Number of
Slides

Presentation
contains 6 slides

Content of
Slides

Slides include 5
real life images
with degree
measurements

Intro Slide
title
name
date

Contains all 3
requirements

Contains 2
requirements

Explanation
Slide

Content shows a
great
understanding of
the types of
angles. 0
mistakes

Content shows
an understanding
of the types of
angles. 1 or 2
mistakes were
found

Background and
text has good
contrast, images
and

Background and
text has enough
contrast, images
with

Aesthetics

Content shows
little
understanding of
the types of
angles. 3 or 4
errors were
found
Background and
text has little
contrast, images
with

Slides do not
contain images
or degree
measurements

Content does not

show
understanding.
More than 5
mistakes were
found
Text is very
difficult to read,
images cannot
be clearly seen.

measurements
are logically
placed.

measurements
are placed but
may overlap.

measurements
are oddly placed
and misguide the
audience.

References:
Harasim, L. (2012). Learning theory and online technologies. New York: NY, Routledge.