Capstone: 20-Minute Mini-Lesson Design
Integrate all five Singapore Stack frameworks into a single, teachable, real-student lesson plan.
What You’ll Learn
Design a 20-Minute Singapore Math Mini-Lesson
This capstone integrates all five Singapore Stack frameworks into a single, teachable lesson plan. The lesson must be anchored in a real student, a specific concept, and a concrete CPA stage.
What You’re Building
A 20-minute mini-lesson that a skilled observer could watch and see all five frameworks operating simultaneously — not as separate techniques, but as a unified pedagogical approach.
The Design Brief
Answer these four questions before designing anything:
- The student: Who is this lesson for? What do you know about this student’s current understanding and stage?
- The concept: What specific concept will this lesson address? Be precise — not “fractions” but “understanding the numerator as the count of equal parts.”
- The CPA stage: What stage is this student working in right now? What evidence tells you this?
- The entry point: How will you open the lesson? What problem or object will you put in front of the student first?
Framework Integration Map
For each framework, specify what it looks like in this lesson — not generically, but concretely.
| Framework | How It Appears in This Lesson |
|---|---|
| CPA | What stage? What materials/representations? |
| Pólya’s 4 Steps | How will you guide each step? What’s your prompt for Look Back? |
| Bar Model | Which structure? When does the student draw it? |
| Mastery Gates | How will you assess Explain, Apply, Sustain at the end? |
| Metacognition | Which 2–3 prompts will you use? When? |
The 20-Minute Plan
| Time | Activity | Framework(s) Active |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 min | Entry problem — student reads and represents the problem | Pólya Step 1, CPA |
| 3–8 min | Bar model construction — student draws, educator observes | Bar Model, Pólya Step 2 |
| 8–13 min | Solving — student executes plan with metacognitive prompts | Pólya Step 3, Metacognition |
| 13–17 min | Look Back — verify, explain, connect | Pólya Step 4, Mastery Gates (Explain) |
| 17–20 min | Apply — new problem at same level | Mastery Gates (Apply), Metacognition |
Review Checklist
- All five frameworks are present and integrated — not bolted on separately
- The lesson is anchored in a specific real student and concept
- The student is doing the cognitive work — not watching the educator do it
- Metacognitive prompts are scripted into the plan, not improvised
- The Mastery Gates assessment is built into the lesson, not added at the end
- The lesson could be delivered in exactly 20 minutes with the plan as written
Reflection
Take a moment before moving on. These questions are where the lesson becomes personal.
What surprised you most about integrating all five frameworks simultaneously?
Where did the frameworks feel most natural together — and where did they feel like they were competing?
What would you change about this lesson plan if you taught it twice?