How will students learn? 

There will be several ways to interact with me in an online class: through synchronous interaction and asynchronous interactions.

Here are some examples of ways I will engage in synchronous interactions:

Live course orientation. 

Synchronous online meeting. 

How will the students learn?

*The students will be able to discuss what makes word problems challenging. Explain that one strategy for solving
word problems effectively is to identify “key words” which indicate a mathematical operation. 

How will they interact with myself and each other?

I will use the gradual release method of teaching: " I do, we do, you do" 
- First, I demonstrate how to do it (using several examples).  
- Next, the students do some problems along with me.
- Finally, they complete some problems on their own that I will check for accuracy and give more guidance if needed. 

How is class time structured?

The material taught in an online course follows a structure. Just like a traditional course, students start at the beginning of the education objectives and progress through the coursework. They move from the most introductory topics the class covers to the most advanced.

What topics will be covered?

Students will be able to master the following in this lesson: 

Listed below are some of the questions that you may ask during this lesson and what they need to master. The questions I will ask will depend on the students' responses. My focus in this part of the lesson is to have students try and picture the problem in their head and creating a graphic organizer template to make sense of what is happening in any given Math problem. Students will come up with a variety of answers. Some example questions I could ask include:

1) What do you notice about this word problem? (answers may vary: there are 8 zebras and 5 monkeys, it has animals, it has numbers, etc.)
2) What is different in the problem? (answers may vary: there are different animals, numbers are different, there's more zebras, there are less monkeys, etc.)
3) What are we trying to find out? (how many less monkeys there are than zebras)
4) How can we represent this part of the story? (draw, write a number, use manipulatives)
5) What would help us organize our thinking and our work? (answers may vary: draw it out, act it out, write an equation, etc.)
6) What strategies can we use to solve this problem? (we can match up 5 zebras and 5 monkeys then see how many zebras are left, that will tell us how many fewer monkeys we have than zebras.)

Class break down per day of instruction. Note *(instructional minutes may vary depending of skill set of students/groups)

Introduction and Rationale
Throughout these lessons I will be building the students skills and knowledge of multiplying and dividing fractions. 

 Day #1 (60 minutes)*

1) Before beginning the lesson, Students will take out Word Problem Papers (below, 4 in all) around the
room.
2. On my computer screen I will write the words Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division.
3. Ask students to brainstorm words that mean addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division. Call on students to participate and write words on the shared computer scree under the
appropriate category. (For example, students may say “times,” this would be written
under the multiplication category).
4. Give students a sample word problem and ask them what the key word is in the
problem. (For example, “Janelle and Maria went on a trip together. They spent a
total of $550.00. They split they expense equally. How much did each spend?”
Students should recognize the words “split” and “each” as key words which indicate
division.)
5. Repeat above with other sample word problems.
6. Ask students to write down categories and word from the computer screen.
7. Separate students into independently will be assign each to a Word
Problem Paper given to them and share with the group of students. 
8. Explain that they will be given one minute to identify the key words and mathematical
operations in each problem on the computer screen. Emphasize that they DO
NOT have to solve the problem, but only identify the key words and mathematical
operations.
9. Set timer for one minute. Encourage individuals to work at the highest level they can do. 
10. At the end of one minute, students will enter their answers on the computer screen by sharing the control of the screen. 
Continue until each student has rotated to each set of questions.

Homework 
Students will be given worksheets to compete and be prepared to have discussions at the start of the next class. 

Day #2 (60 minutes)*

"1. Watch a math video relevant to what I am teaching. This lesson will most effective when it is used within the Operations strand (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) but could also work for Geometry (finding the circumference of circle, the volume of a sphere), Statistics (Mean/median/mode), and other areas of math.

2. After the video, have students answer the Challenge Questions and complete any associated printable exercises.

3. Create a sample word problem that utilizes the type of math operation you’re focusing on. Walk through the problem with the class, pointing out the importance of reading it carefully (and aloud if helpful), understanding what you’re solving for, and underlining the most relevant information to help guide the problem solving process.

4. Students will explain that they are going to create word problems for each other to solve. Tell them that they can be as silly or creative as they want them to be, but lay down any parameters you feel are necessary (how long they have to be, how many steps they have to include, minimum/maximum value of numbers used).

5. Students should be given a certain amount of time to complete their problem (and have the answer themselves).

Wrap Up/Extensions

-Students can work to create a third word problem.

-Optional: Give the students the answer to the problem and they then have to create the word problem that will lead there.

-Optional: Students can create whole stories/narratives that have a word problem at the center. They can write these with a younger audience in mind and then share them with their parents. 

Guided Reflection
-"I used to think ______ and now I think ______"
-"One thing I learned is ________________ and one question I still have is _________"

Homework 
Students will be given worksheets to compete and be prepared to have discussions at the start of the next class. 


Day #3 (60 minutes)*
Activate prior knowledge by displaying the following word problem:

Sam wants to buy a new car before he goes to college. His parents said they would pay for half. Sam has been comparing prices and thinks he will find the perfect college vehicle for $18,990. Sam finds a great job sacking groceries at a nearby store making $7.25 per hour. If Sam works 20 hours per week, how long will it take him to save enough money for the car?

Give students 5 minutes to solve the problem on their own and to come up with an explanation for their answer. Have students write this information on a sticky note and place it on the corner of work space.

Each individual student will take out a sheet of lined paper. Have students fold the chart paper in half and then fold it in half again. Have students label the top of each section with the following:

Visualize Problem
Write Equation
Solve Equation
Explain Answer

Continue watching part of 'A Multiple-Step Word Problem' section. Pause at the 2:16 mark. Have students refer back to the word problem about Sam's new car. In the 'Visualize Problem' section of their chart paper, have each students create and label a cartoon that clarifies what the word problem is asking and what pertinent information the word problem provides.

Give students another sticky note and 2 minutes to adjust their original solution to this problem if necessary. Have students add a note explaining any changes to their original answer. Have students keep all of their sticky notes to show progression in learning.

Continue watching the remainder of 'A Multiple-Step Word Problem' section. Pause at 3:55.

Have students work independently to write an equation that represents Sam's new car word problem in the 'Write Equation' section of their chart. Students take out a sheet of paper  to make any corrections to their solution.

Briefly review order of operations with students. Then, watch the remainder of the video.

Have students solve their equation and explain their answers in the third and fourth sections of their chart paper. Provide students an opportunity to share their completed chart with you or others. Discuss any challenges and give students the opportunity to correct their mistakes.

Discussion Questions
Why do you think people are sometimes afraid of word problems?
What would you say to make them feel better about word problems?
Why is visualization an important first step in solving word problems?
Why do you need to know about the order of operations?

Day #4 (60 minutes)*

Class review and assessment

During this class students will be allowed to have an open discussion on what problems or success they experienced as well as to practice more in-depth questions. 

Students will be given a Summative Assessment assignment. The assessment is designed to reinforce the concept of multiplying  and dividing fractions. If students struggle on the assignment, I will be made aware of misunderstandings, and shortcomings of the lesson taught and relay information to parents to support all stake holders.

Lesson Extension
Have students create their own multi-step word problem and solve the problem on poster or chart paper, clearly showing each solution step. For a collaborative element, ask students to create word problems for their peers to solve.
Common Core Standard(s): 

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT 7.NS.1d. 
7.NS.1d.  Apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract rational numbers.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.7b
Solve linear equations with rational number coefficients, including equations whose solutions require expanding expressions using the distributive property and collecting like terms.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.EE.4
Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.

CCSS.MATH.CONTEN 6.NS.C.5:
6.NS.C.5: Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or values; use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world contexts, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation.

CCSS.MATH.CONTEN 6.NS.A.1
6.NS.A.1 Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem.