Concept Attainment Lesson Plan

Content Standards: Students will use numbers to count, measure, compare, order, scale, locate and label, and use a variety of numerical representations to present, interpret, communicate and connect various kinds of numerical information. (Connecticut’s Common Core of Learning, K-12 Content Standards, Number Sense)

Learner Background: For students to perform successfully, it is necessary that they know how to correctly identify numbers zero to one hundred. Students should also know how to count by five’s. By observation, the students have shown that they understand these concepts.

Student Learning Objective: Students will be able to make connections between previous knowledge and extend their knowledge of a new concept. Students will also learn how to sort various numbers.

Assessment: To ensure that students have mastered the objective of this lesson students will have to create their own examples of the concept to demonstrate their knowledge.

Materials/ Resources:

                Teacher: Chart paper, flashcards, markers

                Student: Number Chart

Teaching Model/ Strategy: The students will be engaged in a concept attainment lesson.  This model is beneficial to the students learning in many ways. This model is more effective than a direct instruction for this lesson.  The concept attainment model is teaching students to really look at a concept and to define it on their own terms.

Learning Activities:

Initiation: To initiate the lesson and to get the students involved, the teacher will have the students look at their number chart from one to one hundred.  The students will follow along with the teacher by counting by fives from zero to one hundred. Students will be ‘tracking’ and the teacher will be observing all students to be positive that every student understands the concept of counting by fives one to one hundred.

Lesson Development: Begin by making a list on the chart paper of positive examples (written as, Yes) and negative examples (written as, No). Under each heading write three examples of positive examples and three examples of negative examples. An example of what would be listed in the positive list would be: 25, 85, and 30. An example of what would be listed in the negative list would be: 32, 67, and 13.  Continue the lesson by holding up flashcards of various numbers that also have written on them, yes or no: (example: 45/Yes, 98/No).  After there have been at least five examples in each list, then show the students flashcards that are fives and others that are not, that don’t identify yes or no. Have the student identify which category the number should be placed on the chart paper.  Some students will be able to quickly identify the common characteristic of the numbers. Others may need to see several examples and then have an explanation. For the teacher to distinguish who understand the concept, the teacher will ask the students to give examples of numbers that would be in either category. After having several examples listed under both categories, ask the students if they can correctly identify the concept. After identifying and defining the concept with the students, refer to the chart paper and instead of writing, “yes”, write fives and instead of writing “no”, write numbers.

                 Closure: To be certain that the students’ have understood the lesson, the teacher will identify a new concept. The positive examples could be numbers with zero in the ones place, (ex: 10, 20, 30) and the negative examples could be numbers with threes in the ones place, (ex: 23, 43, 83).  Just by repeating the whole process, students will be more clear of what to look for after already completing one full example.