What happened before the lesson?

Where did the idea come from? 
• “Pennies” Day One, page 43-46 in TEXTEAMS Mathematics Institute Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten.
•  “Use of Symbols,” page 94 in The Young Child and Mathematics.

What had the children learned BEFORE this lesson? 
Children had done many activities that required them to make sets of five. They had also worked with activities that emphasized the parts of the quantity FIVE. 

What did you plan to do AFTER this lesson?
I planned a variety of activities and graphic representations of two sets of data that would help children use comparison language such as MORE and FEWER as well as NOT attributions.   

What's happening during the lesson?

Objective: The children will compare two quantities and verbalize which group contains MORE.

Introduction:
Children draw five pennies from a tray and, using a magnifier, observe the attributes of their selected pennies.

Procedure:

1. Distribute the workmat (see picture below) to everyone and ask if they know what the pictures represent. Explain the terms SHINY and NOT SHINY.
2. Children group their five pennies accordingly on their own workmat.
3. Demonstrate how to make a penny rubbing using a crayon.
4. Children make a crayon rubbing of each penny on their mat.
5. Discuss children’s workmats using the words MORE and NOT SHINY. 
6. Group workmats into two groups: MORE SHINY Pennies and MORE NOT SHINY Pennies.
7. Make a class graph and ask each small group to add their workmats in the appropriate place.  

A picture of the workmat the children used to separate their shiny pennies from their NOT shiny pennies.

What will I do after the lesson?

How did your plans change as you taught this lesson?
While I had planned this lesson to be primarily a comparison lesson of quantities, one boy in particular was excited to discover what happens when you “put them together.” I decided to reinforce this idea in the lesson and before we made the class graph (pictured below), we first counted the objects “all together” and made sure we always had five pennies. 

What would you do differently if you taught it again?
I would actually tape the five pennies onto the sheets. The rubbings were a good idea; however, it allowed some children to rub some of their five pennies twice, thus getting the incorrect number on their board. Also, I would ask children to support their responses and answer the question, “How do you know?” more often. 

How would you describe the teaching that occurred using the words on the Continuum of Teaching Behaviors? 
I SCAFFOLDED children’s responses and comparison ideas and could have asked better questions throughout the activity. 

A graph made using their pictures to show the groups that had MORE shiny pennies and groups that had MORE NOT shiny pennies.