"Subtraction is hard!"

Yesterday I taught my first formal lesson in my Kindergarten class, subtraction. Teaching subtraction sounded easy enough but that was me thinking as an adult saying of course 6-3 = 3...easy from my Kindergartener's I hard a chorus of "subtraction is hard". They have been working on subtraction since Monday and I noticed when through the teacher says when we subtract the number will get smaller and when we add the number gets bigger when students come up to the board to volunteer to write their answer they still write the number sentence as addition and solve as addition. I think some students either just can’t pay attention long enough to see the whole problem or maybe they are just not ready for subtraction. I can’t remember if I did subtraction in Kindergarten or first grade. For my lesson I had a school bus template with six windows. As I said a subtraction problem, like six bears got on the bus, students would line up all their bears on the bus, and then I would say four bears got off and they would continue by removing four bears. Then I said how many bears are left? After the students would count the bears and write the number in the number sentence. This was the first week of doing subtraction so with more and more practice they should catch on. The students loved working with the manipulative and there was less playing with the bears then I though there would be. : )

How Many on the Bus?


Standards/ Objectives:
Curricular Standards:
• (K) 1.14 Add and subtract whole numbers to 10 using objects.

Objectives:
• SWBAT subtract minuends up to six, three out of four times using bus counter sheet and bears counters.


Materials/ Technology Resources
Description and quantity:
• Pencil (29)
• Bear counters
• White board
• Bus counter sheet (29)
• Subtraction worksheet

Distribution Strategy:
• Teacher will place bus counter sheet and subtraction worksheet on desk during calendar
• Teacher will pass out bears counters after instructions
• Pencils are in box at desk
Collection Strategy:
• At the end of lesson students will return their math worksheets to designated area
• Students will return bear counters to appropriate box in manipulative area.
Procedures
Motivation/Engagement:
• Ask students if they can think of how they use adding or subtracting at home, school, or in the world. Explain numbers are used everywhere in the world, ourselves, and in math class.
o You add water, sun, dirt when growing an apple tree and you subtract apples, leaves.
o When you are a baby you add hair and subtract when you get a hair cut
o When you are a baby you add teeth and subtract when you lose baby teeth

• Allow students to give other examples and write them on the white board

Developmental Activity:
• Introduce activity: Just like we went on a school bus the bears are going on the school bus too. Some bears will get off when the bus stops. We need to find how many bears are left.
• Walk through physical example using bear counters and four students. 4 bears get on the bus, three leave, how many are left? Model number sentence on white board.
• Tell students we are going to practice by doing other number sentences at their desk with bus counter sheets and bears counters.
• Have students return to desk
• Pass out bear counter as students get settled
• Explain they need to listen carefully to the number sentences, after saying number sentence orally write number sentence on the large white board.
• Questions:
o 6 – 5 =
o 6 – 4 =
o 6 – 3 =
o 6 – 2 =
Accommodation, Modification and differentiations for Diverse Learners:
• Students with special needs will have work compatible to their IEP requirements and fewer math problems per teacher discretion.
• Gifted student will have higher minuends (up to 10) to practice their subtraction.

Closure:
• The lesson will end when all student finish their individual work
• Students will understand the subtraction process and how it applies to their everyday lives.
• Students can expect to practice more using subtraction strategies with larger minuends

Extension:
• If students finish early they will complete unfinished work, work on computers, or white boards.
• For homework students will practice subtraction with given worksheet
Student Assessment/ Evaluation
Formative assessment of learning:
• I am using effective questioning techniques like open ended questioning, probing questions, and leading questions. The student will be using various levels of Bloom’s levels of questioning through problem solving to find out the answers.
Summative assessment of achievement based upon objectives:
• The students will be assessed by teacher observation during large group and individual work. I will look for students understanding and participation.
• Student will return their subtraction worksheets and teacher will grade papers.
• Student will get three out of four math problems correct.