Lesson Plan 1- Measuring up

Measuring up-  Illuminations

http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=U148

This lesson plan(s) is one that I would definitely use in a classroom. I searched the NCTM’s illuminations page for lessons containing measurement and found this lesson plan. However, this was more than just one lesson plan; it was a series of lessons aimed at helping students understand proportionality, ratios, and indirect measurements. After presenting an overview of what would be covered in the unit, this “plan” goes on to list seven lessons, showing what each one is designed to teach. The first lesson was designed to help students review and gear up for the upcoming lessons. Each subsequent lesson builds on the information provided (discovered) by the students in the previous lesson. Some of these lessons also help students connect these ideas with real world situations. While a teacher could go through this lesson and make modifications, I think that it is ready to present the way that it is. In all actuality, this particular lesson is probably better off left alone. All of the parts are already designed to work with each other to reach a common goal. While it may be pertinent to interject some instruction into the lessons, allowing the students to discover the knowledge on their own through experimentation also has its advantages. I would allow my students to establish  their own understanding of these concepts by scaffolding their growth through these experiments.