solve equations
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Prerequisite Skills and Current Content
The effort to provide intervention to fill in gaps is challenging for different reasons. One reason is the effort to balance support for current content while filling in gaps. This post shows an example of how to fill in gaps while working through the current topic. Overview Various rubrics used to assess teacher instruction includes…
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Solving Equations – Scaffolded Handouts
There are several layers to solving equations that can be unpacked using a task analysis approach. This includes written and mental steps (such as what we teachers mean when we tell a student to do the same thing to “both sides of the equation”). Here is how I develop the concept of equations and solving.…
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Concepts vs Skills – Need Both
In general math is taught by focusing on the steps. Conduct a Google search for solving equations and you will see the steps presented (below). You need a video to help your student understand solving and you typically get a presenter standing at the board talking through the examples. (I’ve posted on my approach to…
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Conceptual Understanding Before Getting “Mathy”
All too often math topics are introduced first with the skills and steps. This is backwards. The photo above shows how I introduced solving equations a high school student with autism using the concept as an entry point. We discussed what was involved in buying a car, including payments (no interest) then I posed the…
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A Game Changer for Teaching Solving Equations
Dragon Box (link to website here) presents solving equations, proportions (and fractions and expressions) using an alternative representation and in a highly engaging game format (different platforms!). In the photo above, the goal is to get the treasure chest by itself. To do this, the fly looking thing and the snake have to be eliminated. First…