Things to Consider in Planning
Instruction in Mathematics in the
Primary Grades.
Group 3
Alexa Laderas, Peter Jaz Fernandez, Justynekaye De
Jesus, Jenny lyn Pia, Liranel Tan, Kate Ugat
In education, planning refers to the
designing and preparation of
learning activities for students. In
lesson planning, the teachers
thoughtfully contemplate about the
lesson objectives, the activities that
will meet these objectives, the
sequence of those activities, the
materials needed, how long each
activity might take,
how the class would be
managed during those
activities, and the evaluation
method to assess how far the
objectives were met. This
lesson enumerates the things
to consider in planning
instruction in mathematics in
the primary grades.
There are five important elements
in lesson planning that you need to
consider- content, objectives,
students, learning environment,
and availability of resources.
Content
Research the subject matter that you will be
teaching. You should consult the curriculum
and teaching guides published by DepEd.
Aside from books, you can also visit
websites which will give you information
relevant to your subject area. You should
master the contents of your lesson before
you teach it.
Remember, you cannot give what
you do not have. Moreover, you
would not want to teach wrong
contents to the students. It is
easier to learn than to unlearn; it is
difficult to take back wrong
contents that have already been
taught. You have a big
responsibility as a teacher- master
your content!
Objectives
Before you begin planning, you need to
know what specific knowledge and skills
you want your students to develop during
the lesson or unit. Teachers often focus too
much on knowledge, forgetting about
developing skills which in the long term
are more important than knowing mere
facts. So, in planning your instruction,
always consider both knowledge and skills.
Students
Get to know your students-where they came from, what their
Interests are, what they already know, their learning style,
attention span, special needs, etc. These will all help you
determine your students' needs. Remember that you need to
prepare your lessons with all your students in mind and that
your main goal should be to meet their needs and offer them
enabling environments to learn their preferred way.
Knowing your students will also help you build rapport
with them which is important if you want your students
to be freely sharing their ideas with you and their
classmates. In teaching, especially mathematics, it's
crucial to consider students' mindset. Many students
have a fixed mindset, believing math is difficult and
unachievable.
This mindset can be influenced by adults, previous
experiences, or negative experiences. The goal is to
develop students with a growth mindset, believing in
their ability to improve and learning even in failures.
Studies show that students with a growth mindset
perform better in school.
Learning environment
Aside from the physical environment
where the learning takes place, it is also
important to consider the social and
emotional learning environment of the
class. You need to make sure that you
promote a positive environment where
students are motivated and are supportive
of each other's growth.
The students must feel safe to
express their thinking, without
fear of being embarrassed
because of mistakes or different
views. Most importantly, you
must create an atmosphere
where students are open to
learning through the activities
you prepared and interactions
with their classmates.
Availability of resources
Take into consideration the instructional materials that you will
be needing before you write your lesson plan. Is a blackboard
available? If not, can you improvise? Are there specific
manipulatives that you need? Where can you get them? Can you
make them instead? Do you need technology resources? Have
you checked whether your devices are compatible with what are
available in school? These are some of the questions that you
can reflect on.