Virginia Department of Education
Properties of Operations
Explore the definitions of algebraic properties through a hands-on activity. Individuals cut and paste examples and match them to the correct properties. After examining the provided examples, pupils create examples of their own.
Virginia Department of Education
Distance and Midpoint Formulas
Small groups work through two guided activities to derive the distance and midpoint formulas for the coordinate plane. The activities begin with concrete examples and move to abstract.
Virginia Department of Education
Constructions
Pupils learn the steps for basic constructions using a straightedge, a compass, and a pencil. Pairs develop the skills to copy a segment and an angle, bisect a segment and an angle, and construct parallel and perpendicular lines.
Virginia Department of Education
Angles in Polygons
Polygons — it's all about the angles. Groups work with dynamic geometry software to find the sum of the measures of the angles of various polygons. After finding the information for several polygons, the groups generate a formula that...
Virginia Department of Education
Evaluating and Simplifying Expressions
Discover how algebra tiles help evaluate expressions. Scholars learn to use algebra tiles to substitute values in for variables and evaluate expressions. The included worksheet contains a set of evaluation problems to assess individuals'...
Virginia Department of Education
Multiplying Polynomials Using Algebra Tiles
Tiles are not just for algebra—see how they can help with multiplication too. Young mathematicians learn to use algebra tiles to model the multiplication of polynomials. A follow-up worksheet provides practice with the skill.
Virginia Department of Education
Adding and Subtracting Polynomials Using Algebra Tiles
Scholars learn how using algebra tiles to add and subtract polynomials can model how to combine polynomials. They use their newfound knowledge to complete a worksheet of problems.
Virginia Department of Education
Cover Up Problems
Don't cover up this resource — use it out in the open! Pupils learn how to cover up various parts of a linear equation in order to help solve the equation. A worksheet of problems provides practice with this skill.
Virginia Department of Education
Algebra Tiles and Solving Equations
Young mathematicians solve linear equations by drawing models of algebra tiles using colored pencils. To finish, they solve the same equations algebraically and check their answers using a graphing calculator.
Virginia Department of Education
Solve for the Unknown
How can shapes help solve literal equations? Scholars first learn to replace variables with shapes to aid in solving literal equations. A worksheet of practice problems helps hone the skill.
Virginia Department of Education
Greetings
Welcome learners to the world of algebra. Use a lesson that poses a situation involving the profit from creating greeting cards to teach about algebra. It requires scholars to use linear functions and inequalities to solve problems.
Virginia Department of Education
3-D Figures
Scholars construct three-dimensional figures to study dimension and side views. Learners build models using linking cubes to match views of different sides. After practicing with models, they attempt to match three-dimensional drawings...
Virginia Department of Education
Area and Perimeter
Develop a strategy for finding the area and perimeter of irregular figures. Building on an understanding of finding area and perimeter of rectangles and triangles, learners apply the same concepts to composite figures. After...
Virginia Department of Education
Transformations
The coordinate plane is a popular place! Identify rotations, reflections, and dilations on the coordinate plane. Pupils work in small groups to match transformations of a figure with the description of the transformation....
Virginia Department of Education
The Pythagorean Relationship
Add up areas of squares to discover the pythagorean relationship. Small groups create right triangles with squares along each side. They calculate the areas of each square and notice the relationship. Groups construct other types of...
Virginia Department of Education
Properties of Quadrilaterals
What type of quadrilateral is that? Discover the difference between the types of quadrilaterals. Small groups investigate types of quadrilaterals using geometry software to find their properties. To keep track of the different...
Virginia Department of Education
Arc Length and Area of a Sector
What do skateboarding and baked goods have in common with math? You can use them to connect half-pipe ramps and cakes to arcs and sectors. Pupils compare the lengths of three different ramp options of a skate park. They calculate the...
Virginia Department of Education
Circles in the Coordinate Plane
Make the connection between the distance formula and the equation of a circle. The teacher presents a lesson on how to use the distance formula to derive the equation of the circle. Pupils transform circles on the coordinate plane and...
Virginia Department of Education
Types of Variations
Scholars determine how two quantities vary with respect to each other. They complete a fill-in-the-blank activity by stating whether the entities vary directly, inversely, or jointly, create equations that match different variations, and...
Virginia Department of Education
Calculating Measures of Dispersion
Double the fun — calculate two measures of deviation. The lesson plan provides information to lead the class through the process of calculating the mean absolute deviation and the standard deviation of a data set. After learning how to...
Virginia Department of Education
Permutations and Combinations
Counting is not all it adds up to be — sometimes it involves multiplying. The activity introduces permutations and combinations as ways of counting, depending upon whether order is important. Pupils learn about factorials and the...
Virginia Department of Education
z-Scores
Just how far away from the mean is the data point? Pupils calculate the standard deviation for a set of data and find out how many standard deviations a point is away from the mean. The teacher leads a discussion on how to calculate...
Virginia Department of Education
Powers of Ten
Investigate negative exponents of-ten. Pupils use the pattern of increasing powers of 10 to determine negative powers of 10. The scholars write the powers in expanded and product forms and make the connection to exponents using a...
Virginia Department of Education
Quadrilateral Sort
If only you had a Sorting Hat to sort out quadrilaterals. Learners sort cutouts of quadrilaterals based on their properties and attributes. A flowchart helps them organize the results of the activity.