Teaching a Lesson

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Teaching a Lesson

Introduction This guide explains how to use Connected Mathematics Project 3 (CMP3) resources and features to effectively teach a lesson.

It explores tools for planning, strategies for teaching each phase of the lesson, and student resources to reinforce lesson concepts and practice skills.


Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

CMP3 is fully aligned with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). The Unit Planning and Investigation Planning sections of the Teacher’s Guide and Teacher Place explicitly state the Standards for Mathematical Content that you will teach. These sections also highlight the Standards for Mathematical Practice that students should develop.

The Standards for Mathematical Practice have always been the foundation of the CMP classroom and continue to drive the CMP3 curriculum.


Daily Planning

Focusing on the Problem

An effective lesson begins with planning. CMP3 provides teacher planning materials for you to carefully plan a lesson to maximize students’ learning. Depending on your preference, you will find planning resources in both the online Teacher Place and the printed Teacher’s Guide—CMP3’s teacher support.

CMP3 students learn mathematics through problem-based challenges and inquiry. Lessons are designed around a mathematical problem that requires students to use what they know and transfer learning to new concepts. Teacher Place equips you with everything you need to plan your lessons. You will see a detailed description of the problem with a Problem Implementation guide that includes a materials list, a Vocabulary section, Mathematics Background, and both At a Glance and a detailed Lesson Plan.

When planning your CMP3 lessons, consider the Focus Question that accompanies each problem. This question is for teachers—to guide their instructional decisions throughout their planning, teaching, and reflection on students’ understanding.

Take some time to review the materials that you will want to use to teach the problem, including Student Activities and Math Tools.


Launch

Also, review the student edition pages and the Mathematics Background feature to help you think about and anticipate how your students will solve the problem.

CMP3 problems follow a consistent pattern with a Launch, Explore, and Summarize phase.

The purpose of the Launch is to introduce the problem setting, describe the mathematical context, and present the problem as a mathematical challenge for students to explore and solve. Teachers have an active role in the Launch.

The Launch is a whole-class teaching and learning experience where you will introduce new ideas, clarify definitions, review old concepts, and connect the problem to past experiences.

The Connecting to Prior Knowledge section provides an opportunity for you to activate students’ prior knowledge.

Some problems include a Launch video to help introduce the context of the problem. Once you have made the connections, you can move on to Presenting the Challenge.

The Presenting the Challenge section offers support for teachers to move into introducing the problem of the day and includes Suggested Questions that teachers can ask to help students start the problem.


After students are engaged and take ownership of the problem in the Launch, they are ready to move to the Explore phase. The Explore phase is an opportunity for students to develop mathematical proficiency as they gather data, share ideas, look for patterns, make conjectures, and develop problem-solving strategies.

During the Explore phase, students work in collaborative groups or pairs to explore the problem, devise solution strategies, and document their work.

They can complete their work using the printed student edition and physical manipulatives or by going to Student Place where they have access to their ACTIVe-book with interactive Math Tools and Student Activities.

The CMP3 teacher support offers guidance for you to help your students during the Explore phase to persevere in their work by asking appropriate questions and providing confirmation and redirection where needed.

Avoid the temptation to point out strategies to your students. Your role as the teacher is to facilitate learning by allowing them to discover strategies on their own.

Explore


Differentiation

Summarize

Providing for Individual Needs is a lesson feature in the CMP3 Explore phase that supports differentiated instruction. The Going Further feature provides questions that target different students. Some students may need questions that direct them toward a strategy, and other students will need questions that take them beyond the given problem. There are labsheets for all students, including additional accessibility labsheets that support students who may need more structure and guidance.

The Planning for the Summary feature provides guidance on what to look for as you capture students’ work and observe each group’s solution strategies in preparation for the Summarize phase.

At the end of each problem, the whole class comes together to summarize the problem. It is during this time that you guide students to reach the mathematical goals of the problem and connect their new understanding to prior knowledge.

An important part of your role during the Summarize phase is to orchestrate a mathematical discussion. The key to this part of your instruction is to let students do as much of the talking as possible.

The Reflecting on Student Learning section is important for teachers to informally assess students’ understanding at the end of the lesson. As students present their solutions, teachers encourage other students to ask questions and share different strategies. Your role during the Summarize phase is again to facilitate productive mathematical discussions by providing prompts that encourage students to pose conjectures, question each other, offer alternatives, state reasons, refine their strategies and conjectures, and make connections. As with the Launch and Explore phases, the CMP3 teacher support contains helpful hints and questions for the Summarize phase of each problem.

You may want to end the Summarize phase by writing down some conclusions and posing a problem or two to check students’ understanding.


Homework and Skills Practice

After the classroom lesson, the Applications, Connections, and Extensions (ACE) exercises give students a chance to practice and make sense of ideas that they developed in class.

The ACE Assignment Guide for each problem is in the Summarize section of Teacher Place.

Students work individually on the ACE exercises to refine their skills and reinforce their understanding. Students can complete and submit ACE exercises from their printed student edition or online in the Student Place.

CMP3 also offers students opportunities for additional skills practice with MathXL®* for School exercises. This powerful online tool provides additional skills practice with scaffolded support and feedback for your students. It offers automated grading and data tracking for you. MathXL for School ensures that your students have ample opportunity to practice the targeted skills that they need for mastery and success.

* MathXL® is a trademark, in the U.S. and/or other countries, of Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates.

Teaching a Lesson

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