Day 105 Combining Like Terms Word Problems

6th Grade Math Standards: 6.EE.3 Apply the properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions. For example, apply the distributive property to the expression 3 (2 + x) to produce the equivalent expression 6 + 3x; apply the distributive property to the expression 24x + 18y to produce the equivalent expression 6(4x + 3y); apply properties of operations to y + y + y to produce the equivalent expression 3y.

6.EE.4 Identify when two expressions are equivalent (i.e., when the two expressions name the same number regardless of which value is substituted into them). For example, the expressions y + y + y and 3y are equivalent because they name the same number regardless of which number y stands for

The Learning Objective: Combine like terms to find equivalent expressions in a real-world context

Quote of the Day: “If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, ‘I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.’” - Anne Landers

Agenda:

1. Journal write
2. Review the homework
3. Pepper with the vocabulary and examples
4. Notes on like terms
5. Like terms practice from the textbook

The Assessment: Pepper was a great way to assess vocabulary. I timed it in one class and it took us just over 5 minutes for everyone in the class to answer one question.

The journal write was also assessed. Students did not know the vocabulary and that's another reason why pepper was effective. In one class I had less than 25% of students answer a single question correctly. The feedback I gave to students was that at home they really need to review their notes a second time after writing them. Not that I don't feel somewhat accountable for students not knowing the vocabulary, but it was delivered to them the day prior to this lesson.

In the second of two problems on the notes I broke down the word problem into smaller steps. I had the students first circle and underline what they knew and what they were trying to find. Next I reviewed that process on the board. The second step was to draw what was happening. Students did this individually first, and then I did it at the board. The third step was to write an expression. Again students tried and I showed how to do it after they had thought about it. The fourth step was to simplify that expression. It was a good way to give feedback and include students in the thinking process.

The homework time varied from class to class. Throughout the day I was giving more and more time for homework. Students were struggling for the most part with it - which was exactly what I expected.

Homework: Page 499 #9, 11, 12 Page 501 #29-33, Page 502 #18 and 19. The weekly quiz #17 is due tomorrow in class

My Glass Half-Full Take: I really enjoyed the pace of the notes and the focus I got from my students. It was a great balance between lecture and seeing what the students knew.

One Thing to Do Differently: Two practice problems was not enough. They needed a third and they needed to do it completely independently (without me emphasizing which step to do next). I would add one more problem to the notes and take one off the homework in the future.

Link of the Day: The wind chill formula explained. Very relative to what we've been learning lately (variable expression, exponents, integers) and the weather lately.