Boyle 1
Name: Courtney Boyle
Date: Oct. 25 2011
Grade Level: 2nd Grade
Lesson: Board Games
Connection (Background):
In our last lesson Araceli solved more challenging word problems, she solved
the problems with an absolute ease, even solving the beginning multiplication
problem I wrote. After our lesson I asked Araceli what she would like to do next and
she quickly responded, “color pictures”. We discussed this option and arrived at the
possibility of using pictures to represent our word problems. We also discussed the
possibility of creating our own board game, since she enjoyed the Capture Five game
so much. When I asked her what she might want to include in her math game she
responded: “I like to read so I would like to use words”. From this we discussed how
we might create a board game using word problems. The purpose of this lesson is to
further our conversation about board games. In this lesson we will begin creating
our board game utilizing problem solving and word problems. I intend for this
lesson to provide a different context for the word problem work that we have been
doing. I also intend for this lesson to build on our problem solving work and
provide a connecting activity. I do not intend for us to finish our board game in this
lesson but rather continue it over a few lessons.
Teaching Point (Purpose):
 The purpose of this lesson is to continue our work with word problems but
to introduce them in a new context: board games.
 Indiana State Standards
o Math: 2.6.2 Use tools such as objects or drawings to model problems.
o English: 2.5.6 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience
or person.
Active Engagement
Before
 Before we get started I am going to ask Araceli to tell me about board games.
What is a board game? What board games have you played? What is your
favorite board game?
 I will then show Araclie some pictures of various board games and we will
discuss the structures of board games (i.e. the spaces,use of a dice, spinner,
or cards, and different rules).
 We will also discuss the different styles in board games (i.e. how the board is
laid out, the colors chosen, the themes)
During
 After our introduction we will begin constructing our board game.
 I hope to talk to Araceli about how we can make our board game look
different or similar to the board games we know.
 I also hope to talk to her about the space we have available on our board and
how many spaces we might need to fill it. I will also ask how many spaces
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can we place if we set them up in straight lines or curvy lines? Are our
numbers different? If so, why? By asking these questions I hope to develop
problem-solving skills outside of word problems or math riddles. I also hope
to provide a more contextualized experience.
From here we will discuss what the purpose of our game will be. How can
we incorporate word problems? (how will these word problems be
represented?)
Building off of this I will ask Araceli what kind of theme she thinks we should
use? How can we connect this theme to our word problems?
After we decide this we will discuss rules and how to play.
If we have time I would like to begin creating some of our word problems in
the representation that we have selected. If possible these word problems
will contain not only words but pictures as well. These pictures can be used
to tell the word problem or perhaps serve as clues.
After
 Once we are finished I plan to do a quick check in with Araceli and make sure
that she still likes the work we are doing. I may use the two stars and a wish
protocol again.
 I will also ask her if she would like to continue working on our board game
next week.
Board game inspiration:
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Reflection:
This lesson was a great success! Araceli really enjoyed the connection
between math and board games. At the start of the lesson we talked about what
board games are, what ones have we played, and what are our favorites. Araceli
told me that she liked to play tic-tac-toe but that checkers were her favorite. When I
showed her the pictures for inspiration she immediately recognized Monopoly and
quickly told me how she plays it all the time. Monopoly would become the source of
our inspiration. She decided to use the patterns she noticed throughout Monopoly
on her own board. For instance she had some spaces that were single and some
spaces that were two close together. She also decided to use square spaces. She
originally said she wanted to have twenty spaces but as we examined the board
more she realized 10 would work better. We then transitioned into how we could
incorporate word problems into our board game. After a short discussion we
decided to create cards with word problems. On their turn the player would draw a
card with a word problem and the solution would determine how many spaces
he/she moved. This was a great conversation about rules of play and provided a
clear direction about what to do during our next lesson. We then talked about what
theme our board game should have. Araceli immediately decided that she wanted to
make her board game about God. I know from previous conversations that Araceli
and her family are very religious so this did not come as a complete shock.
However, I was uncertain of what to do. I wanted to follow the child and respect her
interests but I know what a touchy subject religion is in schools. I ended up letting
her use this theme; I am still pondering whether my choice was the right one. On
one hand I firmly believe that it was because this was something that Araceli is very
interested however I know the bureaucracy of schools and I did not want to be
accused of anything. Ultimately I chose to follow the child. During this lesson we
mainly worked on creating our board and were unable to start on our word
problems due to time constraints. At the end of our lesson I asked Araceli if she
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would like to do another 2 Stars and a Wish however she declined. She did talk
about how much she liked the Capture 5 game though. We then talked about what
we could do next time and decided to create our word problems and finish
decorating our board. I would like to note that the standards that I outlined in this
lesson were not completely addressed. Due to the fact that we mostly discussed our
board game and constructed how it would look we just touched on the standards.
This was the beginning of our board game process so I am confident that they will
be addressed in our continuing lesson.