Lesson Plan Guidelines
Math 381
Spring 2006

This project is for you who are in the MAT program. Undergraduates are to complete the report on a graph theorist. Graph theory is a subject that is easily accessible to students from an early age. The goal of this project is to create a one-hour lesson plan about some topic in graph theory. The end product should be a project that you could implement in class some day.

In order to help your time management, I have broken the assignment into three phases.
Phase I, due by March 3 : You must turn in the subject of the lesson plan with a paragraph explaining what inspires you about the topic. You should also include a paragraph about the target audience of your lesson plan.
Phase II, due April 10 : A lesson plan is based on a well-researched understanding of the background topic with an eye towards your target audience. For Phase II, I expect you to have an extended bibliography that includes at least two offline sources. An extended bibliography means that in addition to the bibliographic reference, you need to include a brief description of each source and explain how it is relevant to your lesson plan. You must also provide a rough outline decribing the topics you will cover and the amount of time you expect to spend on each.
Phase III, due May 5 : The lesson plan is due.

Content: Your lesson plan will conform to the specifications laid out in SEC 593. In particular,

  • You should map out the expected time to be spent on each part of the lesson plan and outline the concepts to be learned in each segment.
  • The lesson plan should explain all parts of the lesson including the setting and the necessary props.
  • If you will be using worksheets, they must be prepared and stapled to the final product.
  • A bibliography in order to help other teachers supplement the lesson plan on their own.
Keep in mind what you wanted to get across to your pupils in the first place and why; this will help guide you in finding material to cover. Just as with the other homework assignments, if you are running into trouble, I suggest coming to see me earlier rather than later.

Grading: This project represents 8% of your grade this semester. You will be graded on content and structure. Yes, even for a lesson plan, you must use proper grammar and spelling and use complete sentences. Your lesson plan must include a proper bibliography. Three of the eight percentage points will be based on the presentation of the lesson plan and the grammar and spelling. The remaining five percentage points will be based on content, as described above. If you would like me to review a draft of your lesson plan, you must submit it in hard copy by 3pm, April 28.


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