Rockingham County Public Schools

Outline of a Typical Lesson: (Daily)

First, introduce the math concept to the whole group. "Today in math you're going to be learning about ____." Relate the concept to previously taught concepts and/or real life experiences.

Next, because second graders need and enjoy movement it's helpful to gather the class together in a different spot from the introduction. Sitting in a circle on the floor works well. Model the activity using the manipulative,. It is REALLY important to model first BEFORE handing out materials. That way the children are focused on YOU, not the fun stuff they'll be using. NOTE: Be sure to give students opportunities to use all your manipulative in free play before using them in any math lesson. This really helps them focus on the lesson rather than just playing with the manipulative. It's also helpful to pick some children to model for the group before you let them go do it on their own just to check for understanding. Once they've got it, let them go and practice while you circulate, redirect, and guide.

After the class has had enough time to complete the activity, bring them back together and talk about their experience. Find out from them what worked, what didn't. This is your time to informally assess their understanding and decide where your teaching should go from there. Often you can immediately move them into paper and pencil practice of the concept. This brings a quiet close to your lesson just before you summarize. If you are using a page from the math workbook, it works nicely to complete the front page together and save the back of the page for independent work.

Finally, take a moment to wrap up the lesson with a quick summary. "Today we learned about Fact Families. We discovered that to make a family you need to....Tomorrow we will...."

Weekly: