Virginia Department of Education
Balanced
Bring balance to your lesson plans with an activity that asks individuals to solve one-step linear equations with inverse operations. Balance scales help learners understand the concept of isolating the variable.
Willow Tree
Linear Relationships
There's just something special about lines in algebra. Introduce your classes to linear equations by analyzing the linear relationship. Young mathematicians use input/output pairs to determine the slope and the slope-intercept formula to...
Mathematics Vision Project
Module 1: Getting Ready Module
This fabulous resource is a must-have for any algebra teacher's arsenal of lessons. Developing the idea of equations and use of variables from basic physical scenarios, learners gain valuable intuition in the structure and meaning of...
Charleston School District
Review Unit 4: Linear Functions
It's time to show what they know! An assessment review concludes a five-part series about linear functions. It covers all concepts featured throughout the unit, including linear equations, graphs, tables, and problem solving.
Charleston School District
Solving Systems by Inspection
Can you solve a system by just looking at it? The previous lessons in the series taught three methods of solving systems of equations. Now learners discover they can determine the number of solutions of a system just by looking at it....
Willow Tree
Problem Solving
School subjects connect when your young scholars use math to edit English. Math allows you to convert an entire paragraph into a simple equation or inequality. Examples encourage learners to write expressions, equations, and inequalities...
Virginia Department of Education
Slope-2-Slope
Pupils build on previous experience with slope to investigate positive, negative, zero, and undefined slope. They complete a puzzle matching slope-intercept and standard forms of linear equations.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Meal Out
Middle schoolers identify an equation in one variable that models a restaurant order. They then solve the equation to determine the number of people who had each type of meal.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Multiple Solutions
So many different kinds of equations and inequalities! Learners solve equations and inequalities with quadratics and other higher-order polynomials. They then classify the equations based on the number of solutions.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Buying Chips and Candy
As a middle school assessment task, learners first two write equations representing their purchase of chips and candy bars. They then solve the system of equations to find the price of each item.
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Point-Slope Application Problems
Create a linear equation for a problem when the intercept information is not given. The two-day lesson introduces the class to the point-slope form, which can be used for problems when the initial conditions are not provided. Pupils...
Curated OER
Tale of the Tape
How can baseball and skeet-shooting be modeled mathematically? Sports lovers and young mathematicians learn how to use quadratic equations and systems of equations to model the flight paths of various objects.
Curated OER
Dental Impressions
What an impressive task it is to make dental impressions! Pupils learn how dentists use proportional reasoning, unit conversions, and systems of equations to estimate the materials needed to make stone models of dental impressions....
CCSS Math Activities
Sandwich Shop
Eat up the task on systems of equations. Given information on the total number of sandwiches and the total income, learners write and solve a linear system of equations to find the number of each type of sandwich sold at a shop. They...
Fredonia State University of New York
Watch Your Step…You May Collide!
Can two lines intersect at more than one point? Using yarn, create two lines on the floor of the classroom to find out. Cooperative groups work through the process of solving systems of equations using task cards and three different...
Willow Tree
Approximating a Line of Best Fit
You may be able to see patterns visually, but mathematics quantifies them. Here learners find correlation in scatterplots and write equations to represent that relationship. They fit a line to the data, find two points on the line, and...
PBL Pathways
Gas Prices
How can math help your vehicle run better? Complete an interesting project-based learning task with your classes to determine the cheapest approach to mixing the ideal octane level of gasoline. Scholars create and solve a system of...
California Education Partners
T Shirts
Which deal is best? Learners determine which of two companies has the best deal for a particular number of shirts. They begin by creating a table and equations containing each company's pricing structure....
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Matching Quadratic Functions
Ever sigh when learners ask why they have to know so many different forms of the quadratic equation? Here is a lesson that comes in handy! Using hands-on matching activities, quadratic equations are explored through...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Linear Graphs
A line is a line is a line. As a middle school assessment task, learners first identify graphs of given linear equations. They then identify the equations that represent real-world situations.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Shelves
Don't leave this task on the shelf — use it is assess middle schoolers understanding of patterns. Participants try to discover a pattern in the number of bricks and planks used to make shelves. They then match descriptions...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Discovering Slope of a Line in Standard Form
From start to finish this skills practice resource provides a way for individuals to explore the standard form equation of a line. Begin with a warm-up, work through the problems, and then discover the relationship between the...
Howard County Schools
Setting the Table
How many people can fit around a table? Depends on the size of the table, right? Explore patterns to generate an equation for the number of people that can fit around a table given its size.
College Board
AP Calculus: Slope Fields
Ready to field questions about slope fields? An article on AP® Calculus teaching methods describes how to teach about slope fields to solve differential equations. It gives some sample problems to consider with the class and how to...