If you teach Pre-Algebra or Algebra, then I have a fun Christmas themed freebie for you today! One skill that is so important in early Algebra is graphing linear equations. I spent a lot of time as a teacher trying to help kids recognize that the graph is a picture of what the equation represents. It's just another way to represent the information. So to help kids understand the connections between a table, an equation and the graph of a line Keep Reading...
Christmas Equations: Algebra Skills Activity {FREE}
Welcome to Day 9 in my "12 Days of Christmas" math series! I love creating fun, holiday themed math lessons, worksheets and games, and I hope that today's activity provides a fun Christmas challenge for your students! Use this set of Christmas equations in a number of different ways depending on the age of your kids. This easy to use Christmas equations worksheet is a great way to get kids thinking outside of the box, using their problem solving Keep Reading...
Fall Leaves Sort: Slope Activity {FREE}
One of the concepts that can prove most vexing for Algebra students in understanding the slope of a line. What does that mean? What does it look like? There are a lot of different ways to approach it, and thinking about slope lots of different ways can help students make sense of it. One way that I like to help deepen students' understanding (of any concept, really) is by comparing and sorting. This easy to use slope activity requires kids to Keep Reading...
Algebra Essentials Resource Bundle
Before I began homeschooling my children, I was a classroom teacher. I taught in a variety of contexts and grade levels, but I always taught Algebra. Sometimes it was remedial Algebra sometimes College Algebra, and everything in between. And I loved it! But it seemed no matter what level of Algebra I was teaching, there were certain concepts that challenged kids. And these concepts were ones that I had to review or reteach, even when I was Keep Reading...
Equivalent Expressions Activity {FREE}
Understanding how to work with expressions involving variables can be such a huge leap for kids. On more than one occasion, I've had students tell me, "I was great at math until it started to involve letters. What's up with that??" What I constantly tried to convey to my students was that a variable is still just a number. When you're feeling stuck, replace it with a number to try and figure out what's going on. So if your students are feeling Keep Reading...
8 Engaging Early Algebra Lessons (FREE)
I love Algebra. It's true, I do! I don't even mind long, tedious calculations. I love the challenge of correctly "undoing" an equation to find the solution. I love knowing I can check my answer. I love the feeling of satisfaction when I correctly solve it. This is why I spent most of my time in the classroom as an Algebra teacher. In the beginning, however, students often get hung up on some of those early foundations, making the rest of their Keep Reading...
Foldable 3D Shapes {FREE Printable Pack!}
Exploring the properties of three dimensional shapes is fun for all ages! Because kids are introduced to 3D shapes early on, you could make these together with young kids, or you could use them with high schoolers to explore more complex math. No matter how you use them, this set of foldable 3D shapes is bound to be a hit! *Please Note: This post contains affiliate links which help support the work of this site. Read our full disclosure Keep Reading...
Adding and Subtracting Integers {FREE Lesson!}
One of the most important concepts introduced in pre-algebra (or algebra) is integer operations. I can distinctly remember learning "the rules" and fun little tricks to remember them. But I also remember wondering why in the world subtracting a negative means you add! So when I saw this method to introduce adding and subtracting integers, I knew I had to try it. *Please Note: This post contains affiliate links which help support the work of Keep Reading...
Understanding the Angles in Triangles
I love letting kids investigate and explore and see math ideas and patterns for themselves. As an Algebra teacher, this was not always easy to do, but Geometry, on the other hand, really lends itself to being explored. Geometry is the math of lines and points and shapes: solid and three dimensional. So why in the world teach it by having kids right down a set of theorems to memorize? Today I want to share a fun and super simple example involving Keep Reading...
Investigating Exponent Properties {FREE Lesson!}
Many of the topics covered in Pre-Algebra or Algebra are taught as "rules," "properties," or "formulas" to be memorized. And while it is definitely helpful to have certain properties or formulas memorized, I think it is much more important that these Algebra facts be taught in a way that is logical and makes sense, rather than simply telling students "This is true. Now use it correctly." If you let students explore and discover math truths on Keep Reading...
