"Word Problem Clues" (video)

     I think that this lesson was very well thought out and there was a lot of planning behind it. However, I think when implementing this lesson it went in an entirely different direction than previously planned for. In some aspects the lesson ended up being kind of all over the place. The initial intention of the lesson was to use the clues in the word problems to help you figure out the problem. I think that she did a really good job of trying to incorporate this into the lesson, but the students continued to be confused by the problem and I felt she just kept asking the same questions to try and clear up the confusion. I think that the students have a solid foundation of addition and subtraction and strategies to complete both, but they struggle with applying them and little mistakes upon completion. 
     As the teacher described in the beginning, many of the students, even after the teacher directed portion of the lesson, still wanted to simply add the numbers together and say that was their answer. They weren't focusing on what the problem actually said and meant. I understand why this lesson may not have gone in the intended direction. With more time for examples I think this lesson could have flowed more smoothly. Maybe the teacher could have gone through more examples or strategies together. Some students were beginning to grasp it and possible strategies, but were making mistakes along the way. 
     Overall, I really like the idea for this lesson. I love the opportunity for students to explain their work and really talk about how they arrived at the answer they came up with. I like the student reflection on their own work and the opportunity for students to reevaluate their work and fix possible mistakes. I think this could have been more beneficial if students had the opportunity to see and walk through correct answers after this lesson so they could compare and learn from their mistakes. This lesson idea is something that I can most definitely see myself using in my own classroom.