ASSIGNMENT 3: LESSON PLAN  

(​Type a 1-2 page double-spaced lesson plan that includes all the categories below)
YOUR NAME: Valeria Lopez SUBJECT: Math GRADE LEVEL DATE: 11/2/17
1​st​ grade
STANDARD ​CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.B.3​: ​Apply properties of operations as strategies to add and 
subtract. (Commutative property) 

I. DESCRIPTION OF CONTENT & CONTENT TYPE (Fact, Procedure, Concept, or Principle): What are
students learning?

● Students will be learning about the properties of operations and the relationship between addition and
subtraction. Students will be able to apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract
numbers. We will mostly focus on the commutative property for this lesson. Students will learn from the
commutative property that numbers can be added in any order and they will still get to the same sum. This
strategy very much focuses on the structure of algebraic thinking. Students will by the end of the lesson
be able to come up with examples that will demonstrate the Commutative Property of Addition.

LIST OF MATERIALS:

1. A set of cube manipulatives, or colored chips

2. Dice
3. Whiteboards and markers
4. White paper; cut out squares, circles, or triangles.
5. Glue sticks and scissors
6. Pencils, and crayons

CONCEPT OR STANDARD TO BE TAUGHT: (i.e. number sense, geometry, measurement, pattern,

mathematical reasoning)

● The concept that will be taught and learned by the students is the ability to understand number sense and
understand the mathematical reasoning behind the Commutative Property of Addition.

PROCEDURE:

STEP 1: (Introduction)

1. I will bring 4 of my students to my round table that is located in the back of the room. I will have the
cubes centered in the middle of the table along with 4 white boards, and four markers.
2. I will start of by grabbing 4 black cubes, and 3 yellow cubes. I will ask students, “ If I have 4 black cubes
and ADD 3 yellow cubes, how many cubes do I have in total?” I will then ask my students, “What
number sentence can we write that will match the cubes that I am putting together?”
3. Suggesting that students will understand that we will be adding, students will write on their board 4+3.
Now before I have them tell me their answer I will pick one student to count the total cubes I have when I
put together the black and yellow cubes. Expecting that student to say 7 cubes, I will then tell my students
to write their answer on their whiteboard.
4. After students see the answer visually on their board and with the cubes I picked out, I will then ask them,
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 “Look at my cubes I have here placed on the table. (4 cubes on my right, and 3 on my left) If I was to
slide my 3 cubes to the right and my 4 cubes to my left will I still get the same answer?” I will then have
students turn to each other and discuss whether or not the answer will be the same.
5. If students are not sure about the answer, then I will ask them to draw on their board 3 and 4 squares. I
will then ask them to repeat what we did for our first problem and add the two numbers together. I will
ask students to check their answers with their partners and see if they see anything familiar with the first
problem they have written on their board.
6. If students realize that their sum is the same I will then repeat the same question again, “Look at my cubes
I have here placed on the table. (4 cubes on my right, and 3 on my left) If I was to slide my 3 cubes to the
right and my 4 cubes to my left will I still get the same answer?” I will next tell my students to face their
partner and tell them why they believe they will get the same answer based on the example they did on
their board and the cubes I have on the table.
7. I will ask students to tell me their response and have them show me with evidence, whether that being the
addition problem they wrote on their boards or the cubes that I have in front of me. If students respond by
saying that the answer will be the same, I will add onto their answers by saying “Did you realize that
even though we changed the order of the two numbers the sum turned out to be the same?” If students
show understanding, I will then write on my white board "commutative property" and have them repeat
the word after me as well as have them write it on their board. Then I will share the definition of the
commutative property.

STEP 2: (Activity)

1. For the activity part, my students will remain in the back table with me and I will then grab some dice
from the box where I have my cubes. Along with grabbing the dice, I will pass out a worksheet that has
something along the lines of ___ +____ = and students will have to create their own addition sentences.
2. Students will be responsible for making an addition sentence and flipping that same sentence and writing
it onto their paper. Students will not come up with these numbers on their own; rather they will be using
the dice that I took out of the box. Each student will receive one die, and will roll that die and write down
whatever number they get.
3. After getting two numbers, they will need to add those two numbers to get their sum. Using those same
numbers students will have to flip the addends to show that they still get the same answer even if they flip
the numbers around. They will write these two numbers under their first addition sentence to show that
both answers are the same even though the two addends are switched.
4. Students will continue to do this until they fill up their work sheet. Once they are done I will ask them to
set aside their worksheet and to grab a white piece of paper that is located in the middle of the table. I will
then take out glues sticks along with small cut out shapes that students will use to represent one addition
problem onto the white paper.
5. Students will choose an addition problem that they will make a visual out of that will represent both the
original problem along with the problem where they flipped the original addends.
6. Students will glue their shapes with the glue sticks that will be provided to them located in the middle of
our round table.
7. The activity will allow for students to show their understanding visually, and allow them to have a better
understand of the commutative property.

STEP 3: (Assessment. How do you know they learned? What did you see that showed a young student’s
learning?)

1. To assess my students, I will have students share out their addition problem that they chose to create a
diagram for and explain to the rest of the group their thinking.
2. When they are presenting their problems I will ask them questions such as, “Did the sum change when
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 you switched the two numbers, why/why not?” If students are able to answer my question and able to
explain their thinking I will then know that they understood the concept of Commutative properties.
3. After every student has presented their diagrams, I will then have them look back at me and I will do one
final assessment with them. I will show them a similar example like the one I used in the introduction. I
will take out 3 red cubes and 7 brown cubes, but instead of asking them the same question, I will write on
my board 3+7=10 and ask them to turn to a partner and explain what answer you would get if you
changed the problem to 7+3=?
4. I will then ask students to share what they told their partner with the rest of the group, and we would then
again discuss that the sum would not change even if we change the order of the number.
5. I will then ask my students to tell me the name of the property that describes the ideas they have been
working on.
6. I will know that my students understood the lesson based on them being able to explain to their partners
their way of thinking, and being able to show that thinking both on the worksheet and also by creating
their diagram.

LIST FOUR OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS THAT YOU WOULD ASK WHILE THEY ARE WORKING THAT
WOULD DEEPEN THEIR UNDERSTANDING.

1. What did you notice when you change the order of the numbers in your addition problem?
2. Why doesn’t our answer change when we change the order of the numbers?
3. How might your addition sentence look like if you used these cubes? Can you show me?
4. Can you give me a real life example that has to do with the property we are learning today? (I would
probably ask this at the end of the lesson to show me if they understood the concept of the lesson, and also
if they are able to adapt this math out in the real world.)

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