Variables on both sides (Day 1 of 2)
Objective: SWBAT solve equations with variables on both sides.
Big Idea: Let kids become the kings/queens of Algebra Land by declaring which side of the equation is Variable Land and which side is Constant Land.
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Warm-up
Each day, students complete a warm-up that usually consists of spiraling the previous day's material, in addition to older material. Warm-up problems also sometimes extend lessons that students have encountered before to more unfamiliar contexts.
It's incredibly important to push application to real-world contexts, especially in the midst of a fairly "procedural" unit like solving equations. What does it actually MEAN when we solve an equation like this? I use the warm-ups each day - which I go over meticulously while the kids are fresh - to try to keep this at the forefront of students' minds.
That's why there are a series of application like algebra problems (like #2) that are important to make sure you go over in detail. I like using these problems to model the commutative property, also - there is more than one correct way to represent this equation.
Homework
The homework includes questions related to this lesson, as well as spiraled review. I also provide answers to the problems on page 2.
