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PURPOSEFUL LESSON PLANNING

1. PURPOSE
What do you want students to know and What will students say, write, show, or do to
understand as a result of working on this task? communicate their understanding?
Mathematical Students will be able to: Students will complete the table and discuss
Content Goals ● Use function notation, evaluate functions the parts of the recursive equation and what
for inputs in their domains, and interpret they mean. They will be able to apply that
statements that use function notation in formula to different situations, and interpret
terms of a context. based on units. They will also be able to
● Write a function defined by an explain their thought process in constructing
expression in different but equivalent this formulas.
forms to reveal and explain different
properties of the function.
● Write a function that describes a
relationship between two quantities.
● Determine an explicit expression, a
recursive process, or steps for calculation
from a context.
● Recognize situations in which one
quantity changes at a constant rate per
unit interval relative to another.

Mathematical Students will be able to:
Practices Goals ● Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
● Look for and make use of structure
● Look for and express regularity in
repeated reasoning
Students will be looking for a pattern in the
table to create the formula, and use it to
reason through the next examples. They will
apply the structure of the recursive formula.

Social Goals I want students to become comfortable working
with each other to explore a task instead of me
going through the activity with them initially.
When working on group activities, students
should be discussing the task with their group
and ensuring everyone understands each part.
Students will be asking each other questions,
and using each other as resources before
asking me.

2. ABOUT THE TASK

Cognitive Demand Level of Task
Cognitive Demand Level Justification:
Low  High This task is high cognitive demand there are multiple
e.g. e.g. Procedure
ways students can approach the task, and it doesn’t
Memorization with specify how to do it. It has students develop a formula
or Procedure connections, and then apply it given the context. From the 5 practices:
w/out problem ● Focus students’ attention on the use of procedures
connection solving where
for the purpose of developing deepers levels of
procedures
aren’t understanding of mathematical concepts and ideas
immediately ● Require some degree of cognitive effort.
clear Although general procedures may be followed,
they cannot be followed mindlessly. Students
need to engage with conceptual ideas that
underlie the procedures to complete the task
successfully and that develop understanding.
Adapted from UC Regents (2009) and Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol (Smith & Stein, 2011)
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If Low Demand, how will you revise task to be high demand?

3. ANTICIPATING
Solution Strategies: What are all the ways this task can be solved? (Solve the task yourself!)
● How will students solve it?

● What misconceptions might students have?

▪ That the equations for f(x) and f(x+1) are the same because they follow the same slope pattern
Adapted from UC Regents (2009) and Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol (Smith & Stein, 2011)
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▪ When you add 2 to the x with f(x+2), you add 2 to the slope
● Different than 2 times the slope
▪ That the recursive formula always has addition, so even though it says “decreased by 3 degrees” and
should be represented as “f(x-3)”, students write “f(x+3)”

● How will students communicate their mathematical understanding?

▪ Show work and explain their answers
▪ Ask some students to present their work to the class and explain their thought process
▪ Explain what the recursive formula tells us; what each part means

4. ENGAGING THE LEARNER

Setting up the Task:

1. How will you introduce students to the activity so as not to reduce the demand of the task?
Refer back to the previous lesson, and refresh the students on how we were able to develop the formula.
Using that formula, have students lead me on how to fill out the first couple values in the table, then read
the next question aloud before having them work in their table partners.

2. What will you hear (language) or see (gestures, drawings, etc.) that lets you know students understand the task?
Students will be talking and working together, raising their hands with any questions or when they
complete the formula so I can check it and have them move on. Students will show their work and use the
word “recursive” to describe the formula, focusing on slope.

3. How will students work on and complete this task?

What resources and tools will students have to use?

Students will have the activity, and she be referring to their “How Hot is It?” activity from the previous
lesson (Thursday). They will also need a calculator to do computational math.

How will students work to explore this task?

I will recap the previous activity and explain how this one relates to it and what it is asking
them to do [in Setting Up Task]. Then, have students work with their table partners to complete the
rest of the table, and construct the formula to represent the change in one degree f(x+1). This formula
affects the rest of the deeper thinking questions, so students will raise their hand as I walk around so I
can check their formula and ask how they thought about it. Once I confirmed their formula and
answered any questions, have them start the next set of questions.

How long will they work individually or in pairs/small groups? Will students be partnered in a specific way? If so,
in what way?
Students will work in pairs for ~15 minutes. Students will be paired with their table partners (seated
alphabetically, not chosen), so just based on location for this activity. Because it is a shorter length of partner
work time and I would be walking around to ensure everyone was on task, I figured that would be the best use of
time instead of making them move around.

How will students record and report their work?

Students will record their work on the activity. As I am walking around monitoring their work, I will ask at least 2
pairs to come to the document camera to share their work and explain their thought process. Since this is the first time
having them come up to share instead of from their seats, I figured it would be more comfortable for them to come up in
their pairs instead of individually, especially because they worked together.

Adapted from UC Regents (2009) and Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol (Smith & Stein, 2011)
4

5. MONITORING

Supporting Students’ Exploration

● Teacher Questioning
What questions will you ask to uncover, assess, focus and advance student understanding of key mathematical
ideas? Consider your anticipated solutions from part 3, how will you respond (without reducing the cognitive
demand) to the students that produce similar student work?
● How do we denote “change in temperature by 1 degree”?

● Is there another way using what we talked about above to find f(15)-f(13)? Other than using the equation?

● What is the definition of slope? What are the units for the x and y values?

● What would happen if we had an increase in temperature by 3 degrees?

● Student Engagement/Understanding
➢ What will you do if a student does not know how to begin to solve the task? How will you support student
without lowering demand?
Instead of having them go right to the formula, tell them to compare the two columns of f(x) and f(x+1) and see if there
is a pattern as you move down the table. Have them explain in words what they would do if the wanted to find the next
value in the table without using the equation to plug it in.

➢ What will you see or hear that lets you know students are thinking about key mathematical ideas?

I will see that students are using the formula for slope (change in y/change in x) and looking for the pattern in the
table. I will see that they write “f(x+1)=” to start out their formula to denote the change in temperature by one degree, and
talking about how it relates to the previous values. I would also listen for students using the word “recursive” because they
are developing the recursive formula for this situation given, and we have already shown where the recursive formula
comes from.

Adapted from UC Regents (2009) and Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol (Smith & Stein, 2011)
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6. SELECTING & SEQUENCING

1. What mathematical ideas do you want shared and discussed?
I want the students to share and discuss their recursive formula, but more importantly, what it means. Students are
used to seeing the explicit “y=mx+b” formula and not the recursive “f(x+1)=f(x)+m” formula, so digging deeper into what
it actually means and is telling us will be beneficial in them constructing them based on context. Use words to describe that
to get to the next value (f(x+1) part), we take the previous value (f(x)) and add (+) the slope (m). The notation is different
for them, so I want us to break it down and read it like its a sentence.

2. How will you determine which solutions get shared and in what order?
I will look for students that showed their work in answering the questions, and had a clear solution path that I
thought other students could follow. I will look for different solution paths like I anticipated, so that students can see
multiple ways of approaching the task. I will try to start with a student that may not have finished the task but was on the
right path, to discuss what the next steps could be. Then, I would show a more straight-forward student solution that might
be easier to follow, then move to a pathway that may be more abstract.

3. What discourse moves will you use, when, and for what purpose(s) during the lesson. Consider discourse
moves that you will use during the different communication contexts (i.e. Working in a small group & Reporting
out to the whole class).

● Working in small groups- having them work with their table partners on the activity
● Monitoring- walking around as students work to gauge their understanding and give opportunities to ask
questions, while also looking for possible student work to present
● Probing student work- and I monitor, ask students how they got their formulas and what they
mean
● Inviting student participation- as I monitor, look for student work that could be presented and ask them if
they would be willing to come up to the document camera and explain their thought process
● Revoicing- after students explain their work, I will revoice what they said to repeat and reinforce their
work, and students can hear the explanations in two different ways

Adapted from UC Regents (2009) and Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol (Smith & Stein, 2011)
6

LESSON AT-A-GLANCE

L What students will do Refer back to the previous

A lesson, and refresh the students
U on how we were able to develop
N Refer back to the previous lesson, and refresh the students on the formula. Using that formula,
C how we were able to develop the formula. Using that formula, have students lead me on how
H have students lead me on how to fill out the first couple values in to fill out the first couple values
the table, then read the next question aloud before having them in the table, then read the next
question aloud before having
work in their table partners.
them work in their table
partners.

E What students will do

XP Ask questions such as:
L -How do we denote “change in
O temperature by 1 degree”?
R -Is there another way using
E what we talked about above to
I will recap the previous activity and explain how this one relates to it and find f(15)-f(13)? Other than
what it is asking them to do [in Setting Up Task]. Then, have students work using the equation?
with their table partners to complete the rest of the table, and construct the -What is the definition of slope?
formula to represent the change in one degree f(x+1). This formula affects the -What are the units for the x and
rest of the deeper thinking questions, so students will raise their hand as I walk y values?
around so I can check their formula and ask how they thought about it. Once I -What would happen if we had
confirmed their formula and answered any questions, have them start the next an increase in temperature by 3
set of questions. degrees?

I will monitor as the students

work, asking probing questions
to keep them engaged in the
task and ensuring they are
discussing it with their table
partners.

I will see that students are using

the formula for slope (change in
y/change in x) and looking for
the pattern in the table. I will
see that they write “f(x+1)=” to
start out their formula to denote
the change in temperature by
one degree, and talking about
how it relates to the previous
values. I would also listen for
students using the word
“recursive” because they are
developing the recursive
formula for this situation given,
and we have already shown
Adapted from UC Regents (2009) and Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol (Smith & Stein, 2011)
7

where the recursive formula

comes from.

As I monitor, I will ask probing

questions when needed to
jumpstart student thinking.
Based on solution paths, I will
invite student participation by
asking a few pairs of students to
share their work on the
document camera. After
students explain their thought
process, I will revoice their
explanations.

SU What students will do

M I want students to be able to
M I will look for students that showed their work in answering the questions, and connect the recursive formula to
A had a clear solution path that I thought other students could follow. I will look the table to show different
RI for different solution paths like I anticipated, so that students can see multiple representations. Also, to be able
ZE ways of approaching the task. I will try to start with a student that may not to interpret what the recursive
have finished the task but was on the right path, to discuss what the next steps formula tells us, in normal
could be. Then, I would show a more straight-forward student solution that speaking terms (not necessarily
might be easier to follow, then move to a pathway that may be more abstract. mathematical language).

After the students present their

solutions and I revoiced their
explanations, I will summarize
the main concepts and key ideas
of this activity, and how it
translates into their homework.

Since they will have enough

class time to work on and
maybe complete their
homework, I will walk around
as they work to give them an
opportunity to ask questions if
they didn’t feel comfortable
asking during the lesson or if
one came about while trying to
work on their own. This will
allow me to gauge where
students are in terms of
understanding of the topic.

Adapted from UC Regents (2009) and Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol (Smith & Stein, 2011)
8

Reflection

This lesson was an activity that was a continuation of the previous lesson, which was developing the
formula in explicit form to convert temperature in Fahrenheit to the equivalent temperature in Celsius using
known boiling and freezing points. The task the students were working on incorporated that formula, and had the
students develop the recursive formula using a table. The goal was for students to be able to work together and
develop the formula and meaning through discussion, which proved to be a bit difficult. As I monitored, I found
that students were either able to complete the task right away based on previous work with recursive formulas
and finding that pattern in how they are written, or they were stuck after filling in the table. All students were
able to use the formula to fill in the “f(x)” column and use those values to fill in the “f(x+1)” column, but it was
the notation of “f(x+1)” that was causing confusion. When I got questions about that, I would have them
compare it to the wording of the question and what it means in terms of the table. I wanted students to develop
the meaning of the parts of the formula and what it tells us.
While students were working on the activity, I found it difficult to ensure all students are having
productive mathematical discourse, because there is such a large spectrum of math background that these
students bring in. Some students caught on very quickly to the point of the activity and didn’t need any
scaffolding, where others needed some probing questions to jumpstart their thinking. As I was tagging my video,
I noticed that a lot of my probing questions were almost exactly the same or variations of the same question. This
is an indicator to me that there was a particular concept that many students struggled with, and it was notation in
particular. There were students that moved through the activity quickly and were able to justify their answers, so
I while reviewing the situation, I realize I could’ve given these students the agency to explain the concept to their
classmates. This would’ve given the opportunity for more student to student interaction and so I wasn’t repeating
the same question over and over. This is beneficial for both the student who is struggling and the student who
understands, because students can often learn better from their peers. I find myself as a teacher using more
formal mathematical language at times because I know and am comfortable using that language, but many
students are not, so hearing explanations from their peers in more colloquial terms may translate better. I believe
that the true test of if you understand something is if you are able to explain it to someone else in your own
words, so it gives the opportunity for students to interact with the material in a different way by trying to explain
it to one another.
I always try to invite student participation whenever possible, but depending on the lesson it may just be
in the form of raising their hands to answer questions. For this activity, I made the decision to invite student
participation in a different way, by paying close attention while monitoring to find student solutions to share. I
wanted to get a couple of student solutions that were approached in different ways, but still correct. As I walked
around, I asked a couple pairs of students if they would be willing to go up to the document camera and share
their work and explain their thinking, and they were fine with it. I was able to find a pair that thought about the
questions in a different way, so I asked them if they would go up after the other pair shared. They were a little
iffy at first, because they were asking many clarification questions during that time, and thought they did
something wrong. I assured them that their process was a valid way to approach it and I liked that they tried a
different way, so I thought it would be helpful for their classmates to see another way. Once I was more
transparent on my reasoning for having them participate in that way, I believe they were more willing. I’ve had
students share out their thinking in other tasks, but never had them physically come up to the document camera
and show their work to the class. It was a way to engage the other students in their peers’ work and compare
what they did, and I think it was helpful for them to hear explanations in a different way. I definitely would like
Adapted from UC Regents (2009) and Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol (Smith & Stein, 2011)
9

to make this more of a classroom norm, so students are comfortable sharing in that way as well. I could tell
students aren’t used to doing this, especially in math, so that is why I specifically chose students who were able
to complete the task. Mistakes are extremely valuable in creating learning opportunities and I think that will be
important to highlight more in this type of participation in the future, but I chose not to start out that way.
Knowing my students, showing what they would see as a “wrong” solution or if they didn’t know quite how to
explain things would deter them from participating in the future. So, I wanted to choose a couple different
pathways that were complete to show how their classmates can help them, without having students feel
discouraged (even though they shouldn’t) if they didn’t get it. As I had anticipated, the students were a little
more shy about sharing their work at first. After the first pair shared, the second pair that had previously agreed
to showing their work didn't really see why it was necessary because they "did the same thing". By that they
meant they got the same answer but they approached it differently, so I reassured them that's why I wanted them
to share their process as well, while comparing it the previous pair. Next time I have them participate in this way,
I will be more transparent in the beginning that I will have some students share that approached it in different
ways, even if they arrived at the same answer.
As I watched my video, I realized that I asked a lot of probing questions, but I often didn’t give enough
wait time. I would ask a question, and I would either get an immediate answer or based on how the students
reacted or their facial expressions, I would almost immediately ask the question in a different way or scaffold it
in some form. Based on body language I assumed they still didn’t understand, but I really didn’t give them
enough time to really think about the question and formulate their thoughts. Wait time can be an awkward thing
at times, especially when the students just stare at you and don’t respond, but I know how important it is from
both a teacher and student perspective. I noticed the same thing too at the end of the activity, because I will ask
“What questions do you have?” and give some wait time before moving on. If no students have any questions
right away, sometimes I don’t wait as long and I will start recapping the lesson, and what the important parts and
goals of the lesson were. Although I believe this is helpful for students because it reminds them what the goal of
the lesson was, I realize I need to give students ample time to formulate questions they have.
When students were presenting their work, after every main idea of the activity I would tend to revoice
what the student said before they moved on to explaining the next part. I wanted to give the students the
opportunity to hear the same explanation in two different ways, and also expand it and relate it to things I saw
other students do. Something I realized I could’ve done more of, was ask the students who were presenting more
assessing questions before revoicing, so they could explain their solutions more instead of just telling what they
did. I asked these sorts of assessing and probing questions while monitoring to ensure these students would be
able to explain their work to the class, but not in front of the entire class. I also could in the future have other
students in the class revoice their classmate’s explanation. This would give them the opportunity to interact with
each others’ thinking in a new way, and teaches them to analyze and compare other solution pathways.
I have noticed that not just for this activity, but in general I tend to revoice students’ thinking quite often. Even
if it is something short and sweet, I try to revoice it in a way that repeats it so the whole class can hear, but also
assigns competence to that student. For example, I will say “What ___ is saying…’ or “___ told us before
that…” so that the mathematical knowledge is still coming from the students. This enforces the norm of the
students being the source of information for each other.

Adapted from UC Regents (2009) and Thinking Through a Lesson Protocol (Smith & Stein, 2011)