Alina Rozenbaum Thompson Valley High School November 27, 2018

Linear Expressions Workshop

Content Area: Algebra II

Grade Level: 11th

Lesson #: _3a_ of _4_

Content Standards Addressed by This Lesson

(Write Content Standards directly from the standard)

Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities and graph
equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales. (CCSS: A-CED.2)

Understandings
(Big Ideas)

Algebraic expressions naturally arise from numerical expressions and allow us to more easily handle
repetitive problems.

Algebraic expressions reveal information about a variety of situations that are not as frequently seen in
the context of numerical expressions.

Inquiry Questions
(Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction, select applicable questions from
standard)

What do linear expressions reveal about a context and how do they make our work more efficient?

What are some similarities in solving all types of equations?

How do the rates of change differ from complete linear equations?

Why do different types of equations require different types of solution processes?

Evidence Outcomes
(Learning Targets AND Success Criteria)

I can: construct a linear expression to symbolize a repeated phenomenon and utilize it to solve future
problems.

This means: I have a solid grasp of establishing patterns and understanding how to construct algebraic
expressions to solve a problem.
Alina Rozenbaum Thompson Valley High School November 27, 2018

List of Assessments
(Note whether the assessment is formative or summative)

Formative: Throughout the lesson, the Desmos website will provide repeated feedback based on
individual responses from students. There will also be out-loud discussions of some of the more
subjective questions in the assignment by group, depending on the activity the students chose. As well
as partnered discussion before that about the same factors of thinking process and completion.

Summative: Their exit ticket and class discussion (closure) will give me a good idea of conceptual
understanding. Also, not during this lesson, but there will be two types of ways to check their
understanding. One will be the “packet” on Khan Academy for this unit and another will be in-class.
Their final score will be an average of how well they did with their entire Khan Academy “packet” and
the in-class unit test. Finally, the work that they complete will not only be in Desmos but also in their
math notebooks, which will be collected and evaluated after the completion of both parts of the lesson.

Planned Lesson Activities

Name and Purpose of Lesson
Should be a creative title for you and the students to associate with the activity. Think of the purpose as
the mini-rationale for what you are trying to accomplish through this lesson.

Name: Linear Expressions Workshop

Purpose: To help students understand the utility of linear algebraic expressions, as well as understand
their relationship with proportional expressions.

Approximate Time and Materials

How long do you expect the activity to last and what materials will you need?

Time: The anticipatory set should last no more than 10-15 minutes, and the main activity should take
the rest of their allotted time for the class, up until the last 10 minutes. That will be put aside for proper
closure, discussion and self-reflection

Materials: For the warm-up students should just need that day’s slip of paper to do the problem. Once
they are done, it will be gone over on a whiteboard/SmartBoard with everyone. Students need
computers, as well as their writing utensils and their math interactive notebook to write up the two
activities they have chosen for this lesson.

Anticipatory Set
The “hook” to grab students’ attention. These are actions and statements by the teacher to relate the
experiences of the students to the objectives of the lesson, To put students into a receptive frame of
mind.

• To focus student attention on the lesson.

• To create an organizing framework for the ideas, principles, or information that is to follow
(advanced organizers)

An anticipatory set is used any time a different activity or new concept is to be introduced.
Alina Rozenbaum Thompson Valley High School November 27, 2018

In this case it will be their usual type of warm-up problem. It will focus on having them think about what
they’ve learned about proportions recently and what it means to be proportional. This is the first part of
the third lesson in the expressions unit, and the first two only focused on utilizing proportions.

The strategy I intend to use is: Working independently and quietly on a problem.

I am using this strategy here because: I want to refresh their memory and have them conceptualize
what it means to be proportional, so they can compare it to the new material we cover today.

Procedures
Include a play-by-play account of what students and teacher will do from the minute they arrive to the
minute they leave your classroom. Indicate the length of each segment of the lesson. List actual minutes.

Indicate whether each is:

• teacher input
• modeling
• questioning strategies
• guided/unguided
• whole-class practice
• group practice
• individual practice
• check for understanding
• other

When students arrive, the learning targets for the day, the date, assignments/homework and the
agenda along with the materials they need will be on the board in the form of a PowerPoint slide. There
will be a basket of little slips of paper which is their warmup for the day. They will complete it
independently and silently, and then afterward we will go over it as a class. Individual practice followed
by whole-class practice. (10-15 minutes)

This warmup image will be provided to them on a slip of paper with the
following instructions:

Observe the image below, his name is Bob. What would happen if Bob
was drawn so that each line was half as long as the original? How about
if you shortened each line by half an inch instead? Draw both versions
below and circle the one that is proportional to the original.

Ample space would be provided with graph paper underneath for both.

Once the students are finished with the warmup we will move into the main part of the lesson where
they utilize their laptops to go onto Desmos, log into their account and join the lesson using the class
code I will display on the board. Students will get to choose this time which activity they would like to
work on, and so everyone does not do the same one, they will sign up on the board, with the number of
students for each activity being a relative quarter of the total number of students in the class. The same
will be done for their second activity.
Alina Rozenbaum Thompson Valley High School November 27, 2018

The students will all work at their own pace with some catch-and-release scattered throughout, with the
teacher overseeing the work and helping students as needed throughout. Students will work
independently or with a partner to complete the activities. In anticipation of students finishing early,
they will move on to the next step, and find another person or partnership to discuss their findings with.
Work done for both activities will be written up in their math notebooks. They will be completing two of
these activities and this lesson is projected to take two class periods to complete. This activity
incorporates individual practice, guided/unguided, check for understanding, teacher input and partner
work. (55-60 minutes)

Activity 1: Pool Border

Activity 2: Central Park
Activity 3: Picture Perfect
Activity 4: Pentomino Puzzles

Once there are around 13 minutes of class left, they will be asked to pack up and gather together with a
post-it note on the floor. We will have a class discussion of their take-aways from the activities so far
and their thoughts on the inquiry questions on the board. Finally, the only thing I want them to
complete is an exit slip on a post-it note detailing one similarity and one difference between
proportional and linear equations. (10 minutes)

The strategy I intend to use is: Self and/or class paced working through problems.

I am using this strategy here because: This is an introduction of another layer to creating and solving
equations, and I want to allow them time to really understand what is going on. To work through it in a
way that makes sense to them.

Closure
Those actions or statements by a teacher that are designed to bring a lesson presentation to an
appropriate conclusion. Used to help students bring things together in their own minds, to make sense
out of what has just been taught. “Any Questions? No. OK, let’s move on” is not closure. Closure is used:

• To cue students to the fact that they have arrived at an important point in the lesson or the end
of a lesson.
• To help organize student learning
• To help form a coherent picture and to consolidate.

Closure will involve a class huddle about the various activities and any takeaways students might have so
far regarding the inquiry questions that are up on the board, tying them to the work they accomplished.
Finally, it will be the usual exit-slip stuck on the board under their class period providing one example
each of a similarity and difference between proportional and linear expressions.

The strategy I intend to use is: Class discussion and independent work time.

I am using this strategy here because: I want them to reflect on the lesson independently and as a
group. This is getting more complicated and just introduced another step to the process of writing
expressions, so I want to make sure they are asking and thinking about the right questions. To guide
their thinking to the next half of the lesson and share their thoughts so far.
Alina Rozenbaum Thompson Valley High School November 27, 2018

Differentiation
Differentiation should be embedded throughout your whole lesson!! This is to make sure you have met
the needs of your students on IEPS or 504.

• To modify: If the activity is too advanced for a child, how will you modify it so that they can be
successful?
• To extend: If the activity is too easy for a child, how will you extend it to develop their emerging
skills?

If a student is too advanced the will have a chance to start on the homework even sooner and work
through most it, with adjustments made for subsequent lessons when they begin to work through the
material that is assigned to the class. This is if they do not have a partner or another pair of students to
share their findings with, or if they have completed that task.

If a student is struggling with the material I will talk them through the various problems on Desmos,
breaking each one down for them. As the lesson goes on, if it is a group of students, I would pull them
aside to do the lesson step-by-step with them, while the more independent students work through the
problems on their own.

Assessment Reflection (Data Analysis)

How will you know if students met the learning targets? Write a description of what you were looking for
in each assessment.

I will monitor responses on Desmos to see how well students are really grasping the information that is
provided to them. It is of course best to go through the information during the class period, but if I am
helping students that may be rather difficult, so I will at least be able to look over the results after class.
For the exit-slip, that will give me a good conceptual idea of whether or not students have grasped the
main idea of the lesson. With it being an introduction to concept of linear expressions, I don’t expect full
understanding just yet.