EDMA310/360Mathematicsunitplanner

{MaryBuffon}

UnitOverview
Unittitle:
DecimalFractions
Contentmathsarea:
ThecontentareatobefocusedoninthisunitoverviewisDecimalFractions.
Grade/yearlevel:
ThegradefocusforthisunitoverviewisYear5,withthecorrespondingAusVELSLevel5.
LearningFocus(ideasextrapolatedfromAusVELS):
ThecontentstrandforthisunitisNumberandAlgebra,withthecorrespondingsubstrand,Fractionsanddecimals.Thefocustopicisdecimal
fractions.TheproficiencystrandsforthisfocusofunitworkarelistedasUnderstanding,ProblemSolvingandReasoning.
Rationale:
Thecontentarea,decimalfractions,alignswiththeAusVELS(2014)leveldescriptorsofcomparing,orderingandrepresentingdecimals,whilst
recognisingthattheplacevaluesystemcanbeextendedbeyondhundredths.Irwin(2001)explorestheimportantrolethatdecimalsplayin
studentseverydaylifeknowledge,andthevitalroleweasteachersplayintappingintomisconceptionsofdecimalfractionsinordertoassist
studentsincorrectlysolvingdecimalfractions.Wright(2004)emphasizestheimportanceofunderstandingdecimalsasavitalroleofnumber
senseforstudentsintheupperprimaryyears,asdecimalspervadeeverydaysituations(Wright,2004,p.606).
Assumedpriorknowledgeofstudents:
Itisassumedthatstudentswouldhavehadpriorexperiencesandthereforehavepriorknowledgeofthedevelopmentofwholenumberand
fractionconceptsincludinganunderstandingofdecimalnumbers.Specifically,itisassumedthatstudentswillhavepreviouslylearnt,and
thereforeunderstandthatournumbersystemisbasedongroupingsof10.Forexample,10onesmakesten,10tensmakeonehundred,10
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hundredsmakeonethousand.Itisalsounderstoodthatstudentsknowandunderstandthatfractionsrepresentequalpartsofawholeandthata
whole,whendividedinto10equalparts,resultsintenths.

Groupingstrategiestosupportlearning:
Sullivan(1997)exploreshowdifferencesinstudentslearninggoesbeyondtherateatwhichpeoplelearn,extendingtothestyleinwhichthey
learn,theirorientationtolearningandtheirmotivationtowardsthelearning.Therefore,theuseofmixedabilitygroupinghasbeenusedinthis
unitplannerastheteacheraimstoprovidearangeofmathematicallyrichlearningexperiencesthatprovideextensionworkforthehigher
achievers(Sullivan,1997,p.20)andremedialsupportforthosewithdifficulties(Sullivan,1997,p.20).Itisthroughtheuseofmixedability
groupingthehigherachieversareabletoextendupontheirknowledge,astheyarerequiredtoexplaintheirlearningthroughtheuseofadeep
understandinganduseofdifferentstrategies.Thesehighlyablestudentsarechallenged,astheyarerequiredtoperseverewiththetasktohelp
oneanotherinscaffoldingthelearning.Mixedabilitygroupingallowsstudentstoworkcollaboratively,scaffoldingeachotherslearning,
Differentiation=
one of the most
throughpeerscaffoldinginthewholeclassenvironment.

challenging but
important aspects
in planning

Overviewofassessment:
Arangeofassessmentstrategieswillbeusedtoassessstudentsbothformallyandinformally.Usingformativeassessmentwillbeevidentin
ordertomovelearningforwardthroughoutthesemester.Thisformofassessmentiscrucialinplanningasteachersdeterminewhattodowith
studentswhoalreadyknow,andthosewhodont(DuFour,2004).Summativeassessmentwillbeusedtodemonstratewhatstudentshavelearnt
inregardstodecimalfractionsattheendofthetopic,usingthisforbothformalandinformalreporting.Assessmentwillbeusedtoplanfor
differentiatedlearning,gaugingstudentscapabilitiesthroughoutthecontentarea,decimalfractions.Picturechatswereusedasaformof
assessmentasEdPartnerships(n.d)exploretheseasapotentiallyrichsourceofinsightsintostudentscontextknowledge,aformofassessment
thatallowsformathematicallyrichlearningconversations,exploringstudentsjustificationandreasoningstrategies.Gallerywalksusedpeer
assessmentandwerechosenasafurtherreflectiontool,providingstudentswithastructuredtimetodiscussandactivelylistentoarangeof
mathematicalthinkingideasandunderstandings,justifyingandreflectingonwhattheyhavelearnedfromoneanother,andfromthetaskitself
(ThinkingofTeaching,2012).

References:
DepartmentofEducationandEarlyChildhoodDevelopment.(2014,February26).Comparingdecimalnumbers:Level5.Retrievedfrom
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/Pages/default.aspx
Downton,A.,Knight,R.,Clarke,D.,&Lewis,G.(2006).Mathematicsassessmentforlearning:Richtasks&worksamples.Melbourne,
Australia:
MathematicsTeachingandLearningCentre,AustralianCatholicUniversity.
DuFour,R.(2004).Whatisaprofessionallearningcommunity?Schoolsas
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LearningCommunities61(8),611.Retrievedfromhttp://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/may04/vol61/num08/What
isaProfessionalLearningCommunity
Moody,B.(2011).Decipipes:helpingstudentstogetthepoint.AustralianPrimaryMathematicsClassroom16(1)1015.Retrievedfrom
http://www.aamt.edu.au/
Roche,A.(2005).Longerislarger:Orisit?AustralianPrimaryMathematicsClassroom,10(3),1116.
Sullivan,P.(1997).Mixedabilitymathematicsteaching:Characteristicsofsuitabletasks.LearningMatters,2(3),2023.
ThinkingofTeaching.(2012).Mathtalkandtwonewstrategiestotry.Retrievedfromhttp://thinkingofteaching.blogspot.com.au/
MATHEMATICSUNITPLANNER
Topic:FractionsandDecimals
Keymathematicalunderstandings
(24understandingsonly;writtenasstatements
believedtobetrueaboutthemathematical
idea/topic):
Decimalsarenumbersthatcanberepresented
onanumberline.

YearLevel:5

Term:Week:

KeyAusVELSFocus/Standard(takendirectlyfromAusVELSdocuments):
Contentstrand(s):
NumberandAlgebra MeasurementandGeometry
Substrand(s):
FractionsandDecimals

Date:
StatisticsandProbability

Leveldescriptions:Level5
Compare,orderandrepresentdecimals(ACMNA105)
Recognisethattheplacevaluesystemcanbeextendedbeyondhundredths(ACMNA104)
Understandingdecimalnumbersrequiresa
Proficiencystrand(s):
Understanding
ProblemSolving
Reasoning
deeperunderstandingofplacevalue.
Understanding:Understandinginvolvesmakingconnectionsbetweenrepresentationsofnumbersanddecimalsand
Theplacevalueofeachnumberisimportant
beingabletorepresenttheseinavarietyofways.Thisalsoincludescorrectlycomparingandorderingarangeof
whencomparing,orderingandrepresenting
decimals,recognizingthattheplacevaluesystemcanbeextendedbeyondtenthsandhundredstothousandths.
decimalsandcanbeextendedbeyond
ProblemSolving:Problemsolvingincludesbeingabletoformulateandsolveauthenticproblemsusingwhole
thousandths.
numberstocreate,order,compareandrepresentarangeofdecimalfractions.
Reasoning:Reasoninginvolvesinvestigatingstrategiestoefficientlyperformcalculations,representpatterns
involvingdecimalswhilstalsousingthecorrectmathematicallanguagetocompare,orderandrepresentdecimal
fractions.
Keyskillstodevelopandpractise(including
Keyequipment/resources:
Keyvocabulary(bespecificandincludedefinitions
- Sixsideddie
strategies,waysofworkingmathematically,language
ofkeywordsappropriatetousewithstudents)
- Tensideddie
goals,etc.)(45keyskillsonly):
Decimalrelatingtoordenotingasystemof
- Threeinarowdecimalnumberline
numbersbasedonthenumberten,tenthparts,and
Locatingdecimalsonanumberlineattendingto
worksheet
powersoften
scale.
- Decipipes
DecimalfractionAfractionwrittenasadecimal.
- MathematicsAssessmentforLearning:Rich
Comparingandorderingdecimalsusing
Thousandthstheordinalnumberofonethousand
Tasks&WorkSamples(2nded.).
benchmarking,equivalenceandpartitioning.
incountingorder.
- Miniwhiteboards
Hundredthstheordinalnumberofonehundredin
Findingadecimalfractionofaquantityusing
countingorder.
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multiplicativethinking.

Usingcorrectlanguageandterminologyin
regardstodecimalnotione.g.hundredths,
thousandthsratherthanzeropointone.

Postitnotes
String/wool
Camera
Interactivewhiteboard

Possiblemisconceptions(listofmisconceptions
relatedtothemathematicalidea/topicthatstudents
mightdevelop):

strategies/Learning

Decimalnotion,leadingtothewholenumber
thinkingmisconception.Thismisconception
indicatesthatmanystudentstreatdecimalsas
anotherwholenumbertotherightofthedecimal
point.(Roche,2005)
Thelongerislargermisconception.Oneofthe
mostprevalentmisconceptionsasstudents
believethatthemoredigits,thelargeritis.E.g.
0.45islargerthan0.8because0.45hasmore
digits.(Roche,2005).
Theshorterislargermisconception.Many
childrenlacktheabilitytocoordinatethe
numeratoranddenominatorofafractionand
thereforeconcludethatashorterdecimal,such
as0.3,isgreaterthanalargerdecimal,suchas
0.92becausetheythinkonlyaboutthesizeof
thepartsandthereforecannotsimultaneously
considerhowmanypartsthereare(Moody,
2011).
Analysing
Checking
Classifying
Cooperating
Consideringoptions

MaryBuffon

Estimating
Explaining
Generalising
Hypothesising
Inferring

Keyprobingquestions(focusquestionsthatwillbe
usedtodevelopunderstandingtobeusedduring
thesequenceoflessons;35probingquestions):
Canyoushowmewhatyourethinking?Can
youwritedownwhatyouarethinking?
Howcouldyoucheckthis?
Howcanyoudothisanotherwayandstillget
thesameanswer/result?
Isthisthemostefficientway?
Howdoyouknowthat?Canyouconvince
me?

Listening
Locating
information
Makingchoices
Notetaking

Performing
Persuading
Planning
Predicting
Presenting
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PlacevalueThevalueofeachdigitinanumber
dependsonitsplaceorpositioninthatnumber.
NumberlineAlineonwhichequallyspaced
pointsaremarked.Thepointscorrespond,in
order,tothenumbersshown.
PositionDescribestheplacewheresomethingis.

Linkstoothercontexts(ifapplicable,e.g.,inquiry
unitfocus,currentevents,literature,etc.):
Literacywillbeincorporatedasstudentsuse
thecorrectlanguageandterminologyin
regardstodecimalnotation.E.g.hundredths,
thousandthsratherthansaying0.01or0.001.
Studentswillincorporatethegeneral
capabilityofpersonalandsociallearningas
theyworktogethertoparticipatein
mathematicalinvestigationsandlearning
experiences.
Thestudentsarecurrentlyundertakingan
inquiryunitinwhichtheyareactivelytaking
particularinterestinthekindsoffoodsthey
consume,thenutritioninformationonthe
boxesandlabelsoffoodstheyeat.As
studentsbegintounderstand,compareand
orderdecimalnumberstheywillbeableto
usethistocompareitemsinthesupermarket
torecognisethenutritionalcontentofthe
itemstheyareconsuming.

Reading
Recognisingbias
Reflecting
Reporting
Responding

Seeingpatterns
Selecting
information
Selfassessing
Sharingideas

Testing
Viewing
Visually
representing
Working
Page

MATHEMATICAL
FOCUS
(whatyouwantthe
studentstocometo
understandasa
resultofthislesson
short,succinct
statement)

Session1
Developing
students
understanding
andprior
knowledgeon
decimalstobe
abletoexplain
andrelate
commondecimal
fractions.

MaryBuffon

TUNINGIN
(WHOLECLASS
FOCUS)
(ashort,sharptask
relatingtothefocusof
thelesson;setsthescene/
contextforwhatstudents
dointheindependent
aspect.e.g.,Itmaybea
problemposed,spider
diagram,anopenended
question,game,or
readingastory)

INVESTIGATIONS
SESSION
(INDEPENDENT
LEARNING)
(extendedopportunityfor
studentstoworkinpairs,
smallgroupsor
individually.Timefor
teachertoprobe
childrensthinkingor
workwithasmallgroup
forpartofthetimeand
toalsoconductroving
conferences)

Reviewingwhatchildren
alreadyknow

Havestudentswork
individuallytoparticipate
inthegameeverything
aboutmydecimal.Have
studentswritedown
everythingtheyknow
aboutthedecimal,
representtheirdecimalon
anumberline,writedown
thefractionequivalenceof
thedecimal,representthe
decimalaspartofametre
andcutapieceofwoolor
stringtheappropriate
length.Encouragestudents
torepresenttheirdecimal
inarangeofdifferent
ways.Teacherroams
duringthegameto
observe,recordandgauge
studentslevelofdecimal

MiniWhiteboards
Whiteboardsarepowerful
toolstoelicitevidenceof
studentspriorknowledge.
Theteachercanquickly
frameaquestione.g.
Whichdecimalislarger?
Studentsrecordtheir
answeronthewhiteboard
andwhenasked,holdup.
Theteacherquicklyscans
thestudentsresponses,
makingobservationson
priorknowledge.

REFLECTION&
MAKING
CONNECTIONS
SESSION
(WHOLECLASS
FOCUS)
(focusedteacher
questionsandsummary
todrawoutthe
mathematicsandassist
childrentomakelinks.
NB.Thismayoccurat
particularpointsduringa
lesson.Useofspotlight,
strategy,gallerywalk,
etc.)
Studentsparticipateina
gallerywalktoexplore
otherstudentsknowledge,
understandingand
strategiessuchas
benchmarkingandtheuse
ofequivalencetorepresent
theirknowledgeofdecimal
fractions.Whatdoyou
noticeaboutthewayAnna
hasrepresentedher
decimalvalueusingwool?
Isitbigger/largeror
smallerthanVictorias
decimal?Howcanyou
tell?Ensurestudentscan
provideaconvincing
argumenttodemonstrate
theirknowledge.
Strengthenthegallerywalk
byhavingchildrenpost
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ADAPTATIONS
Enablingprompt
(toallowthose
experiencingdifficultyto
engageinactive
experiencesrelatedtothe
initialgoaltask)
Extendingprompt
(questionsthatextend
studentsthinkingonthe
initialtask)

Enablingprompts:
- Providea
benchmarkforthe
string/woole.g.,
50cm.
- Lessquestionse.g.
justfocuson
numberline.
Extendingprompts:
- Whatisthemost
efficientstrategyto
comparethese
decimals?Howdo
youknowthis?
- Whichtwo
decimalswerethe
easiestto
compare?Why?
- Whichtwo
decimalswerethe

ASSESSMENT
STRATEGIES
(shouldrelateto
objective.Includeswhat
theteacherwilllisten
for,observe,noteor
analyse;whatevidence
oflearningwillbe
collectedandwhat
criteriawillbeusedto
analysetheevidence)

Collectstudents
worksamplesto
indicatelevelof
understandinge.g.
equivalence,
benchmarking,and
comparisons.Use
theseto
scaffold/extendfuture
lessons.
Rovingconferences
Usethesetohear
studentsmathematical
languageandevidenceof
learninginthemoment
e.g.understandingsand
knowledgeofdecimals.
Theserovingconferences
givetheteacherthe
opportunitytoarticulate
studentslearning,
Page

Session2
Relatingtenths,
hundredthsand
thousandthsand
usingplacevalue
torecordnumbers
involving
thousandths

MaryBuffon

Teachermodelsthe
previoussession
everythingaboutmy
decimal,writingdowna
numberandmodellinghow
toplacethisuponanumber
line,takingthe
investigationalittledeeper
andbuildingonwhatwas
previouslyexplored.
Add/remove1or2digits
fromthenumbertomake
connectionsbetween
tenths,hundredthsand
thousandths,representing
eachoneoftheseusing
placevaluetorecordthe
numbers.Haveastudent
modeltheactivity,using
theirnumberfromthe
previousdaythistime
usingdecipipeswith

knowledgeand
understandings.Questions
toprobethinking:
Howcouldyoucheck
this?
Canyouusematerialsto
help?
Canyouexplainyour
thinkingtome?
Howdoyouknowits
correct?
Canyoudoitanother
way?
(Downton,Knight,Clarke
&Lewis,2006).

postitnoteswritinga
strength,questionor
wonderingtheyhaveafter
viewingtheirpeerswork.
Discussthesenotesinpairs
orsmallgroups,discussthe
needforthefeedbackthey
providetoassisttheirpeers
inmovinglearning
forward.

Havestudentsexplorethe
decipipesonthetable.
Discussasaclassafter
explorationwhatthesemay
be,whattheymay
representsuchas0.1,0.32
and0.875andhavea
studentmodeltheactivity
withteacherscaffolding.
Havestudentsworkin
pairs,usingthethink,
pair,sharethinking
routineofmixedability
groupingtoexploreand
representarangeof
decimals,usingreasoning
strategiestoconvincetheir
partneroftheir
representationandthe
correspondingdecimal.
Theteachersroleduring

Attheendofthelesson
studentswillparticipatein
agallerywalkaroundthe
classroomtolookatother
studentsrepresentations
usingthedecipipes.
Studentsaskquestionsand
sharetheirstrategiesof
usingplacevaluetorecord
numbersinvolving
thousandthssuchasusing
strategiesofbenchmarking.
Again,strengthenthe
pedagogicaluseofsticky
notes,studentscanwrite
newstrengthsor
observations,differentto
thepreviouslessone.g.
somethingnewIlearnt,
noticedorthatIamstill
wondering.Encourage
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hardestto
compare?Why?

Enablingprompts:
- Whatdothey
remindyouof?
- Howcouldyou
writethis?
- Usebenchmarks
suchasthis
(tenths)represents
1whole.
- Initiallyhaveonly
tenths,usingfewer
materials.
Extendingprompts:
- Addanextra
numbere.g.227
tenths
- Challengestudents
topersevereby
encouragingthem
toorallysharetheir
justificationsand

providingthemwiththe
opportunitytojustifyand
reasonwhytheyhave
donewhattheyhave
done.Italsoassiststhe
teachertoidentifyand
correctmisconceptionsas
theyarisethrough
authenticlearning
conversations,not
possiblebyonly
collectingworksamples.
Usebothformsof
assessmentto
documentandrecord
students
understanding.
Usingpicturechatshave
mathematicallyrich
conversationsto
challengestudents
thinkingstrategiesand
reasoningtounderstand
theirthinkingandfurther
knowledge.Havestudents
takeafewphotosand
chooseonetoexplain
whatwashappeningin
thephoto,whatstrategy
theywereusingandhow
thisstrategyassistedthem
tosolvetheproblem.
Listeningfor
mathematicallanguageof
tenths,hundredthsand
thousandths.
Lookingforcorrect
placevalue
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10

teacherscaffoldingto
introducethefollowing
activity.

Session3
Relatingtenths,
hundredsand
thousandthsand
usingplacevalue
torecordnumbers
involving
thousandths

MaryBuffon

Havedecipipesontable
andhavechildrenrevise
theseandmakeanumber
withasmanydecimal
pointsastheylike.Teacher
posesquestionwhatdoes
yournumberlooklikein
standardform?Writethis
down.Whatdoesyour
numberlooklikeinbase
tenform?Drawthis.Have
childrenusethethink,
pair,shareactivityand
workinpairswithdifferent
numberse.g.tenths,

activity/lessonistoobserve
forstrategiesusingplace
valuetorecordnumbers
involvingthousandthswith
studentsextendingthe
placevaluesystembeyond
hundredths.Teacheralso
observesforthecorrectuse
ofmathematicallanguage.
Questionstoprobestudent
thinkingmayinclude:
- Howcouldyou
writethat?
- Couldyoumodel
thatinadifferent
way?
- Whatdothese
remindyouof?
Teachermayprovide
benchmarkingsuchasif
thisrepresentsone,what
willonehalf(0.5)look
like?
IntroducethegameMake
aNumber(Downtonetal.,
2006).Participateinthe
gameusingcards,
numbered69andone
(thus,extendingbeyond
hundredths,into
thousandths)witha
decimalpoint(see
appendix2).Inpairs,
initiallyhavestudents
comeupapproximately57
questionse.g.usingyour
cards,whatisthesmallest
numberyoucanmake?

studentstoshareideasand
usereasoningstrategiesto
provideaconvincing
argumenttoacknowledge
theplacevaluesystemcan
beextendedbeyond
hundredths.

Selectedstudentswillbe
askedtosharestrategiesto
emphasizepartitioningof
decimals(tenths,
hundredthsand
thousandths)whenrelating
thethree.Whatdoyou
noticeaboutthewayAnna
usesplacevaluetorecord
herdecimalsforexample,
whensheuseshercardsto
makethesmallestdecimal?
Havestudentsrecordsome
newstrategiesandideasto
beabletojustifyand
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reasoningswith
theirpeers.

Enablingprompts:
Useonlytenths,
hundredthsorthousandths
ratherthanacombination
ofallthreeatonetime.
- Useprompting
strategiesto
encouragestudents
tocheckthecards
matcheshowshe
hasplacedher
cards,with
questioning
techniquessuchas,
Isthereanother

representationstorecord
numbers(tenths,
hundredthsand
thousandths).

Usethelearning
dispositionstriangleto
gatherevidencefor
learningincludingskills
&capabilities,learning
dispositionsandstudents
understandings.Thisway
thelearnersvoiceis
heard,valuingstudent
discussionstoidentify
futurelearningneeds,
experiencesandcontexts.
Teacherrovesthe
classroom,listeningto
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11

hundredths,thousandths
discuss/relatetheir
numbers.Emphasizethat
studentswillcontinuewith
placevaluefortoday,
deepeningtheir
understandingsonwhat
theypreviouslylearnt.

Session4
Comparingand
orderingdecimals

MaryBuffon

Displaya10x10gridon
theinteractivewhiteboard.
Havestudentscomeupand
shadeparts,asking
questionssuchaswhat
doestheshadedpart
represent?Revise
previouslessonby

Studentsusetheinstruction
sheet(seeappendix2)and
thenareencouragedtosee
howmany
questions/answerstheycan
comeupwithrelating
decimalplacevalue,
decimaldensityand
beginningtocompare
decimals.

IntroducethegameThree
inarowdecimalnumber
line.Usetwostudentsto
modelthegamewiththe
teacherscaffolding.Have
thestudentsplaythegame
threeinarowinpairs(see
appendix2).Theteachers

reasontheanswerthey
havearrivedat.
-

waytoworkthat
out?Canyoudoit
anotherway?
Teacherprovidesa
listofquestions
theymayanswer
ratherthan
studentscreating
theirown.

Extendingprompts:
- Representdecimals
thatgobeyond
thousandths.E.g.
tensof
thousandths.
- Usemorevariables
e.g.addafifthor
sixthcard.
- Studentscreate
theirown
questionsthatgo
beyondsmallest
andlargeste.g.
decimaldensity,
creatingarubricif
theyfinishearly.

Choosestudentstoshare
theirstrategiesinsmall
groups,allowingformore
discussionopportunities
forallstudentstoexplore
theuseofbenchmarking
andequivalence.Askthe
classquestionssuchas:
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Enablingprompts:
- Useonedie
insteadoftwoto
onlymaketenths.
- Useasixsideddie
- Havethenumber
linejust01.
- Provide

learningconversations.
Addthesetoteacher
journalforstudents
mathematicalcontent.
- Observationof
theuseofthe
correct
mathematical
languagee.g.
sayingoneand
threetenthsrather
than1.3(one
pointthree).
- Observationof
theuseofcorrect
decimalplace
valuee.g.one,
twoandthree
decimalplaces.
- Observetheuse
ofdecimal
densitye.g.
recognisinghow
manydecimals
theycanmake
betweentwo
numbersontheir
cards.

Picturechats:
Takephotosofstudents
working.Askstudents
whatwashappeningin
thispicture?Useto
articulatestudents
knowledgeand
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12

emphasizingthefirstplace
totherightofthedecimal
pointisthetenthsplace,
thesecondhundredthsand
soon.Haveonestudent
modeltheirnumberfrom
thepreviouslessonusing
the10x10gridboard,
movingintocomparisons
forthislessonwiththe
teacherscaffoldingand
studentmodellingwhere
theirnumberwouldbe
placeduponanumberline,
incomparisonwiththe
startandendpoints.

rolewillbetoobservefor
reasoningstrategiesand
explanationsofordering
decimalsandcomparisons
usingmathematical
language.Questionsto
probestudentsthinking
mayinclude:
- Whatdidyou
visualisewhenyou
wereworkingon
thisproblem?
- Whyisthisgreater
thanthis?
- Whyisthisless
thanthis?
- Whydidyouplace
thisnumberhere?
- Howdidyouwork
outwherethe
numberisplaced
uponthenumber
line?

Whataresome
differentwaysto
compare0.1and
1.2?Lookfor
languagesuchas
lessthen,greater
thanin
comparisons.

benchmarks
Extendingprompts:
- Useatensideddie
- Addanextradie
- Therefore,number
linewillbe
extendedfrom0
21.

Session5
Comparingand
orderingdecimals
MaryBuffon

Theteacherintroducesthe
gamenumberbetweenby
writingapairofnumbers
farapartontheboard
(smallestontheleft)and

Emphasisethatwhen
studentsareplayingthe
gametheyaretorecord
theirreasoningusing
numberssentencesofwhy
theyplacedthedecimal
wheretheydid.

Teacherposesopenended
questioncreateadecimal
numberusingtenths,
hundredths,thousandths.
Teacherinstructsstudents

reasoningskills.

Haveselectedstudents
sharetheirstrategieswith
theclasstoexploretheuse
ofbenchmarking.Ask
questionssuchas:
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Enablingprompts:
- Useonlytenths
- Provide
benchmarkse.g.0,

Havestudents
takearangeof
photos,choosing
onetoshare
somethingthey
areproudofand
somethingthey
findchallenging,
identifyingareas
forfurther
improvementand
collaboratingon
howyoucan
addressthis
challenge
together.
Duringthistime
observestudents
reasoning
strategiesofwhy
theyordered
decimalstheway
theydid,how
theycompared
decimalsusing
appropriate
mathematical
languagein
comparisonssuch
aslessthan,
greaterthan,
equalto.

Userovingconferences
to:
- Observetheuse
ofappropriate
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13

toorderthemselvesfrom
smallesttolargest.Use
probingquestionstohelp
studentsorderthemselves
suchas:
- Howcouldyou
checkthatyour
decimalis
smaller?
- Canyouuseplace
valuetoexplore
whosedecimalis
larger?
Useofcomparingand
orderingtasktodeepen
learningfromtheprevious
day,linkingthisto
continuethemathematical
focusinthislesson.

MaryBuffon

callsonastudenttowritea
numberinbetweenthe
pair.Whenacorrect
answerisgiven,callon
anotherstudenttowritea
numberbetweenthenew
numberandoneofthe
earlierendpoints.Divide
thestudentsintoteamsto
playthenumberbetween
game,challengingthe
correctnessoftheanswers
oftheotherteams.The
teachersroleduringthe
gameistoobservefor
strategiesofcomparisons
asstudentscompare
decimalnumberswith
differentnumbersofdigits
afterthedecimalpoint.
(DepartmentofEducation
andEarlyChildhood
Development,2014).

Ifyouknowthisis
1andthisis2,
wherewould1.5
be?Wherewould
0.9be?Locate
decimalsinorder
uponthenumber
line.
Howdoyouknow
wheretoplace
thesenumbers?
Canyoushow
yourthinking?

0.5and1
Extendingprompts:
- Extendbeyond
tenthsto
hundredthsand
thousandths

S00134651

skillssuchas
equivalenceand
benchmarkingin
justifyingtheir
strategyand
answer.
Observationof
theuseofcorrect
andappropriate
mathematical
language,e.g.
twoandeight
tenthsratherthan
2.8(twopoint
eight).
Addthese
anecdotalnotesto
students
checklists.

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