Evaluating a lesson plan from MERLOT

MERLOT, put simply, is an online collection of peer reviewed lesson plans. Here is my review of just one of the thousands of excellent lessons they have. And they're all free.

The lesson I am reviewing is by Cynthia Lanius and is called "Who Wants Pizza?" This lesson plan teaches fractions in a fun and exciting way. There are six parts, with four additional parts for more practice. Students visualize fractions and use their skills to take quizzes on what they learned. The lesson presents valid math concepts and skills in an engaging and understandable way.

(http://www.math.rice.edu/~lanius/fractions/index.html) 

This material could be used at various stages of the learning process. "Who Wants Pizza?" has students explain and demonstrate their understanding of adding and multiplying fractions. This lesson could be used in the late elementary grades as an introduction but it could also be used as a drill and practice or a review for middle school students.

The objectives of Ms. Lanius' lesson plan are to teach students what fractions are using pizza as an example. Students will navigate through lessons teaching them how to add and multiply fractions. Students who are visual learners or prefer practical examples will benefit greatly from this lesson. This lesson certainly improves students ability to learn about the material in a fun way.

This lesson is easily integrated into any math unit on fractions, as it is mostly a drill and practice type lesson. Although it could be used in a variety of contexts, the lesson itself is sequential and follows a logical pattern of instruction. The learning assignments are written with the student in mind, and can be used instantly to introduce, drill, or review fractions with students.

This lesson is very easy to use and the menus, buttons and general layout are designed with the student in mind. Each lesson is similar and be experienced sequentially or independently of one-another. The user is free to navigate through the material on their own pace and they can easily jump between lessons.

Students get real time feedback to the quiz questions they take. "Who Wants Pizza?" can be used by almost any student or teacher and it does not require any additional support like documentation or additional instruction.