by Head of Community Engagement Gordon Mathis
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics will publish a manuscript by second-grade teacher Helen Francis detailing a recent lesson plan in one of their upcoming issues.
As part of her graduate work at Mercer University, Ms. Francis created a hands-on lesson plan for place value using the real-world scenario of Florida residents evacuating their homes during Hurricane Ian. One hundred people could fit into a bus, ten people could sit in a truck, and one person could drive a car; if 673 people fled the area, how many vehicles would be needed to help in the evacuation?
Learning about place value, students discussed responses to the task – there could be 673 personal cars; six buses, seven trucks, and three individual cars; or other ways to divide the total number into hundreds, tens, and ones.
The classroom lesson allowed students to share a range of prior knowledge. As students discussed the solutions among themselves, Ms. Francis walked around the room, listening to and interacting with the students. One student recognized the potential problem of stopping for gas in personal cars. Another realized that 673 individual cars could lead to a traffic jam.
Thinking about the math task at hand, the students explored the “place value” of numbers, leading to deeper understanding of a mathematics principle. “This lesson permitted students to apply their background knowledge,” observed Ms. Francis. “There was a low-floor / high ceiling for a range of student responses. They could demonstrate what they know in a safe setting.”
“Math instruction is not just lecture anymore,” she added. “Math teaching is more about discourse, allowing students to represent what they learn and understand.”
We are grateful to have a teacher who will share her expertise in the elementary mathematics classroom with other practitioners in the NCTM publication!