Lesson plan 1 Verb Tenses: Past, Present, Future Fourth Grade

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (20 minutes)


Display the symbols for greater than (>), less than (<), and equal to (=) on the board, using markers, an interactive whiteboard, or a projector.
Ask student to raise their hands if they have ever seen any of these symbols.


Explain that there are strategies for remembering which symbol stands for greater than, and which symbol stands for less than. One common way is by pretending that each symbol is an alligator mouth.
Draw alligator teeth on each symbol. Explain that the alligator mouth always "eats" the bigger number.

Draw an example of a number comparison on the board, such as: 4 < 8.

Using the interactive whiteboard (if accessible), play the game Less Than or Greater Than: 1 to 20 with the students.
To work with higher numbers, show three examples on the board, one for each symbol, using numbers below 100. Examples can be something like: 43 __ 34; 55 __ 66; 77 __ 77.
Talk through each example, drawing the correct symbol as you explain why it is the correct answer. Include the alligator "teeth" on each symbol to reinforce the idea of the alligator "eating" the larger number.
Read each example as a sentence. For example: 43 is greater than 34; 55 is less than 66; 77 is equal to 77.
If needed, go through a few more examples on the board with your students. Alternatively, you can use the game Less Than or Greater Than: 50 to 99.


EL


Beginning


Build the numbers with base-ten blocks so that students understand the quantities associated with the numbers.
Remind students that as we count on, the numbers get bigger. Ask them to find 43 and 34 on the number line. Point out that 43 is further from one on the number line than 34 is.