Expressions

Type of Unit: Concept

Prior Knowledge

Students should be able to:

Write and evaluate simple expressions that record calculations with numbers.
Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions and evaluate expressions with these symbols.
Interpret numerical expressions without evaluating them.

Lesson Flow

Students learn to write and evaluate numerical expressions involving the four basic arithmetic operations and whole-number exponents. In specific contexts, they create and interpret numerical expressions and evaluate them. Then students move on to algebraic expressions, in which letters stand for numbers. In specific contexts, students simplify algebraic expressions and evaluate them for given values of the variables. Students learn about and use the vocabulary of algebraic expressions. Then they identify equivalent expressions and apply properties of operations, such as the distributive property, to generate equivalent expressions. Finally, students use geometric models to explore greatest common factors and least common multiples.

Students explore what makes a math trick work by analyzing verbal math expressions that describe each step in the trick.Key ConceptsWords can be used to describe mathematical operations.In a math trick, a person starts with a number, follows mathematical directions given in words, and ends up with the original number.Math tricks can be explained by examining the mathematical expressions that represent the verbal directions.Goals and Learning ObjectivesExplore verbal expressions.Predict and test which sets of expressions will result in the original number.