Day 106 Equivalent Expressions Study Guide

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: Find equivalent expressions; simplify expressions

Quote of the Day: "Any organization whose leader seeks stardom at the expense of the team is not one I would want to join regardless of the paycheck." - John Wooden

Agenda:

1. Journal Write
2. Review the homework
3. Dunkin Donuts practice problem
4. Study guide read aloud. I told students to write down that they should circle and underline on word problems and to circle all like terms before attempting those types of problems
5. Study guide done out in partners 
6. Review the study guide with the class

Interesting to note I thought I would run out of time and had two other things ready (more like terms practice and pepper again), but did not have time after reviewing the study guide.

The Assessment: I circumvented the room during the study guide to see how students were doing. One thing I emphasized was remembering to multiply by all the terms in parenthesis in doing the distributive property.

The Dunkin Donuts problem was assessed by me as well. About 33% of students answered this correctly. The issue that threw them for a loop was the idea of four twenty-five count munchkins. Many students wanted to use twenty-five in the expression, but this was superfluous information as the next sentence said, "each box costs $x." It did not matter how many came in a box.

The homework was a big issue too. Students continue to struggle with vocabulary although there was significant improvement versus where they were just 24 hours before.

Homework: With today's class falling on a Friday, it's always a risk, but students are going to study for the quiz over the weekend. The weekly quiz is also available online.

My Glass Half-Full Take: Students worked with a partner but they did not need much help from me. Occasionally I would give them one piece of information such as how to set up a word problem with the distributive property, but I was really encouraged with how their like terms word problems came out. I am confident that they will be successful on the quiz on Monday.

One Thing to Do Differently: Not that I would do this differently, but I actually gave away a box of munchkins to the class that did the best job on the Dunkin Donuts practice problem. I told the classes before I gave away the munchkins that I would pay attention as I reviewed the homework that way they would be successful on the subsequent problem. Despite my forewarning only a third of the students answered this question right. Perhaps next year as students review their homework I will give them a different color utensil to put in the work that I put in as we review the homework in anticipation of their confusion and lack of familiarity with combining like terms in a real-world context.

Link of the Day: This is a good resource for helping students understand the cost of living courtesy of FreeTech4Teachers.