BW Walch
Creating Linear Equations in One Variable
The example of two travelers meeting somewhere along the road has been a stereotypical joke about algebra as long as algebra has existed. Here in this detailed presentation, this old trope gets a careful and approachable treatment....
5280 Math
Stories That Formulas Tell
Learn the stories a formula holds. An interesting lesson takes a unique approach to teach how to use formulas. Beginning with a formula, learners predict what the variables stand for and then use the formula to make calculations and tell...
Illustrative Mathematics
Toilet Roll
Potty humor is always a big hit with the school-age crowd, and potty algebra takes this topic to a whole new level. Here the class develops a model that connects the dimensions (radii, paper thickness, and length of paper) of a common...
5280 Math
Multiplication Table Algebra
Patterns, patterns, everywhere! Young scholars examine the multiplication table to identify patterns. Their exploration leads to an understanding of the difference of squares and sum of cubes by the completion of the algebra project.
Illustrative Mathematics
Fishing Adventures 1
Often inequalities exist in many real-world contexts but young math learners struggle with understanding how to represent that relationship in a simple equation using an inequality. This activity focuses on the basic concepts by using...
Illustrative Mathematics
Logistic Growth Model, Abstract Version
Here learners get to flex some serious algebraic muscles through an investigation of logistic growth. The properties of the constant terms in the logistic growth formula are unraveled in a short but content-dense activity. Moving...
Curated OER
Problem Solving
Give kids a few strategies to help them become amazing problem solvers. This presentation is intended to be used over a two-day period and presents several techniques or ways to solve word problems or multiplication problems by...
5280 Math
Triangle Area Patterns
Combine algebraic and geometric strategies to find solutions. The task asks learners to find the coordinates of a third vertex of a triangle to create a triangle with a specific area. The project is a set of seven problems that helps...
Illustrative Mathematics
Centerpiece
Learners hear wedding bells in this problem set, as they help a fictional bride plan the centerpieces for her wedding reception. Algebra is married to geometry as volume, aesthetics, and budgeting all come into play. Learners are asked...
101 Questions
How Many Hot Dogs?
Top off your hot dogs with a little math. Learners view a video on a hot dog eating contest, and then answer questions using estimation. Using a table of hypothetical data, they create algebraic expressions to represent the situation.
Illustrative Mathematics
Regular Tessellations of the Plane
Bringing together the young artists and the young organizers in your class, this lesson plan takes that popular topic of tessellations and gives it algebraic roots. After covering a few basic properties and definitions, learners attack...
Illustrative Mathematics
Equal Area Triangles on the Same Base II
A deceptively simple question setup leads to a number of attack methods and a surprisingly sophisticated solution set in this open-ended problem. Young geometers of different strengths can go about defining the solutions graphically,...
Illustrative Mathematics
Foxes and Rabbits 1
Here is where algebra learners begin to understand that a function is a rule, and for each input there is exactly one output. The commentary gets bogged down with information about the predator-prey relationship between the fox and...
Illustrative Mathematics
Busy Day
This activity gets at the heart of algebraic reasoning and setting up equations with one variable to solve real-world problems. The worksheet has only one problem, but it requires that learners first use their own reasoning capabilities...
Illustrative Mathematics
Global Positioning System II
Intricate details of a modern technology that many of us take for granted in our phones, computers (and some cars) are laid bare in a short but deeply investigative activity. The math behind a seemingly simple GPS device is...
5280 Math
Interesting Times
Gain a little interest in functions with a real-life task. Young scholars analyze home loan data with a geometric sequence and series. They use the models to make predictions about the total loan payments at certain intervals in a useful...
Henrico County Public Schools
Solving Systems of Equations by Elimination
Eliminate the obvious. A series of slides presents algebra classes with step-by-step procedures for solving systems of equations using the elimination method. It provides an introduction to the elimination method for solving linear...
Illustrative Mathematics
Sum of Angles in a Polygon
How can learners use algebra to solve a geometry problem? Help learners create an equation that shows the relationship between the number of sides of a polygon and the sum of the interior angles. Students are asked to divide the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Ice Cream Cone
Every pupil with a sweet tooth will be clamoring for this lab and analysis, particularly when they're allowed to eat the results! Volume and surface area formulas for cones are developed from models, and then extended to the printing of...
Curated OER
Identifying Terms, Factors, and Coefficients
What are terms, factors, and coefficients? This slideshow provides definitions and examples of various parts of algebraic expressions, and provides guided practice problems in writing and identifying parts of algebraic expressions for...
Curated OER
Delivery Trucks
Written to assess students' knowledge of interpreting expressions that represent a quantity in terms of its context, this machine-scored task also allows for a good discussion about units guiding the problem solving and solution.
Education Development Center
Writing Numerical Expressions—Hexagon Tables
Explore a basic pattern to practice writing expressions. In collaborative groups, learners examine a contextual pattern and write an expression to model it. The task encourages groups to describe the pattern in multiple ways.
Annenberg Foundation
Skeeters Are Overrunning the World
Skeeters are used to model linear and exponential population growth in a wonderfully organized lesson plan including teachers' and students' notes, an assignment, graphs, tables, and equations. Filled with constant deep-reaching...
Oregon Department of Education
Building Number Sense
It's never too early to begin a child's math education. This collection of fun hands-on activities engage youngsters in building their number sense as they learn how to count objects, identify numerals, compare amounts, and much more.