Algebra tiles help make math visual for students, and paper algebra tiles take it a step further because we can cut them into fractions. In this post are a few short cut paper algebra tiles videos for solving 1-step and 2-step equations that include when x is a fraction.
This first equation is a simple 1-step equation where x is being divided by 4.
Next up is another 1-step equation where the coefficient of x is a negative fraction.
In this 1-step video, x ends up being a fraction. We can show this by cutting the tiles to evenly distribute it.
Last is a 2-step equation where x is a fraction and the coefficient of x is negative.
There are more algebra tiles videos to see in this algebra tiles YouTube playlist.
More algebra tiles:
Factoring (free digital algebra tiles)
Middle school math algebra tiles tutorial (long version)
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| Algebra tiles resources pack |
Algebraic expressions can be translated, just like any other language. When middle school math students learn how to translate algebraic expressions correctly, they begin to see algebra as the language it is and more than just a random set of rules. In this post, there are a few algebraic expressions activities to help middle school math students practice translating algebraic expressions into numbers and symbols, along with some research supporting a varied approach to teaching math.
Do your students struggle finding domain and range of graphs? I made a couple printable domain and range tools to help our students this year.
There are directions pointing students to look at x for domain and y for range as they drag each tool across the graphs. There are also directions printed on the tool for what to record for domain and range when a graph has an arrow.
We have always used rulers to find where graphs start and stop, but I wanted something a bit more self-teaching for our students this year. The graph cards in the photo are a free download on my blog here.
You can find the domain and range finder tools here on my website.
I also made a new domain and range of graphs cheat sheet for our students that you can find here in my drive.
UPDATE: A 3rd tool for finding increasing/decreasing intervals of graphs has been added to the file linked below.
> Browse all domain and range activities
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| Domain & Range Finder Tools |
We're getting so close to winter break! In this post, there is a collection of winter-themed math activities that hit the standards while keeping students engaged in learning their math before and after winter break. Many of the activities below were made to double as colorful winter math bulletin board displays of student work.
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| Slope winter snowflake activity |
The first activity is a slope winter snowflake activity where students find the slopes of lines given a table, then decorate your classroom with their finished snowflakes. Anna L's students called their slope snowflakes "slope flakes" as they worked on the slope review activity coming back from winter break.
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| multiplication ornaments |
These multiplication ornaments make a festive math bulletin board display of student work. Students can decorate their ornaments with bows and holly after calculating their products. There are 4 blanks also included for your own multiplication problems.
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| Winter proportional relationships snowflakes |
There's a similar set of winter proportional relationships snowflakes for younger students. students plot coordinates of proportional relationships, then determine the equation of each snowflake's line.
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| Winter snowflake 2-step equations |
If your students are solving 2-step equations this winter, they can practice their solving on this winter snowflake 2-step equations sheet. After solving, students will need to read the inequalities in the key to figure out which color to color each section of their snowflake.
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| Slopes between winter animal pictures |
This winter slope activity has students calculating the slopes between winter animal pictures in the coordinate plane. The x-axis is in months, and the y-axis is in days of the month. It's a fun, low-stress way to review slope.
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| Multiplying decimals mittens |
If your students need practice multiplying decimals, these multiplying decimals mittens make a colorful winter bulletin board display of student work.
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| Multiplication ornaments activity |
This set or Christmas multiplication ornaments have students multiplying multi-digit numbers that then become winter classroom décor. The multiplication problems include: 2x2 digit, 2x3 digit, 1x4 digit, and 2x5 digit. There are a bunch more Christmas math activities here for middle school, high school and elementary school math topics.
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| Winter picture puzzles math escape room |
For a digital activity, this winter picture puzzles escape room has students solving for the values of winter pictures before going on to the next puzzle.
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| Winter picture puzzles math escape room |
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| Editable New Year's math review |
This is year #2 of updating this editable New Year's math review. There are versions for 7th grade math, 8th grade math, and algebra, and will be updated every year. They're each editable in PowerPoint so that you can customize the activity to your students' needs.
You can browse all winter math activities here: winter math
Browse Valentine's Day math activities
In this post, I want to share a few resources for teaching the discriminant as part of a Quadratic Formula unit.
This simple discriminant cheat sheet helps students make the connection between the value of the Quadratic Formula's discriminant and the number of real solutions the equation will have. It also shows examples of graphs with 1, 2, and 0 zeros and what the discriminant will look like in each case.
