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Supporting the planning of the first illustrative unit (D6.4)
Text of assignment of preparing a preliminary plan for one of the illustrative units

NOTE: These detailed guidelines have been prepared in the spirit of offering some structure to support the partipants' work in these complex and (for most) novel tasks. Thus, they should not be interpreted too rigidly; alternative approached to the task are acceptable provided that they are discussed with and approved by the instructor.

i. Read the overview of the units on "Tessellation" AND "Area" produced by the NSF funded project "Supporting Middle School Learning Disabled Students in the Mainstream Mathematics Classroom" (sections 1 and 2 of each booklet).

ii. Choose which of these topics you want to work on.

iii. For the topic you chose, read about all examples of implementation reported and then the "detailed flexible plan" suggested for the unit.

iv. Decide the audience to whom you want to teach the unit, the time and curriculum constraints to be considered, and the goals and scope of your "version" of the unit.

v. Plan a sequence of activities that would enable you to accomplish your set goals (given the selected time frame and audience), with the help of the "detailed flexible plan" provided.

vi. Concretize this initial plan in a day-by-day plan, complete of homework assignments and assessment tools, and all the materials necessary to conduct the lesson (e.g: worksheets to guide student activity; overheads; kind of manipulatives needed; etc.) -- looking back at the report of the examples of implementations could help you here.

vii. Prepare a first written draft of your plan, including: a clear identification of your audience, goals and constraints; an overview of the scope and main components of the unit; daily lesson plans and materials. (To be handed in to the instructor for feedback on the first day of class)

viii. Revise your written plan on the basis of the instructor's feed- back and suggestions (after individual meeting) (To be copied and distributed to the rest of the class).

ix. Final draft of your plan after responding to feedback and incorporating suggestions offered by the rest of the class. (To be graded)

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