STAGE 1 DESIRED RESULTS

Unit Title: Introduction to Algebraic Concepts

Established Goals (Standards):
Expressions and Equations
7.EE.B.4
Use variables to represent quantities in a realworld or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities
to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.
Expressions and Equations
7.EE.A.2
Understand that rewriting an expression in different forms in a problem context can shed light on the problem and how the
quantities in it are related. For example, a + 0.05a = 1.05a means that "increase by 5%" is the same as "multiply by 1.05."
The Number System
7.NS.A.3
Solve realworld and mathematical problems involving the four operations with rational numbers.
Understandings: Students will understand that
Essential Questions:

Variables can be used to represent numbers

What is the use of using variables in math?

Word problems can be translated into equations

What is the importance of translating word problems

into numeric equations?

Numbers can be substituted into variables places to

Why should we check our answers after solving

check for a correct answer
problems?
Students will know:
Students will demonstrate HOW to:

How to solve equations that contain variables

Compute correct answers to equations that contain

variables

How to represent word problems by using numeric

equations

Locate pertinent information in a word problem

How to check their answer upon solving for a

Apply their answer to an equation with a variable to

variable
check if it is the correct answer

STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE

Knowledge: How will you assess what students know?
Performance Tasks: (proceduralHow will you assess
the skills you want students to perform?)

Pre-assessment prior to beginning the unit

Identify current comfort level on basic math

operations

Conferencing with students while they are working

Demonstrate understanding of solving for a variable

on problems in class

Partner practice/independent practice on worksheets

Apply information given a word problem to solve an

equation

Nightly homework

Demonstrate understanding of how to check if the

End of the unit quiz

found answer is the correct answer
STAGE 3 LEARNING PLAN
Summary of Learning Activities:
For each day, provide the overall focus or theme for the lesson, and what the intended learning outcomes are. Make
sure this aligns with your standards, big ideas, and assessment plan. Every day you should be TEACHING students
something. There shouldnt be days where the students are doing activities and you arent giving any instruction at
all.
Day 1:
Give pre-assessment to class related to defining math operations, solving simple equations, and solving inverse operations.
Review important terms that will be used in this unit. Include defining: equation, algebra, variable, inverse, operation, and
expression.
Have students think/pair/share to discuss what they felt was difficult on the pre-assessment. Conference with students while
they are chatting. Finish class by sharing ideas whole class.
Day 2:
Return pre-assessment to class. Review basics of topics that were exceptionally difficult for a majority of class. Assuming that
many students in class fit Katies needs, focus on basics of multiplication and division. Split class into partners to complete a
worksheet with basic multiplication and division problems.
Give students homework with a multiplication/division worksheet to prepare for the rest of the unit.
Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)

Day 3:
Introduce the use of variables. Define algebraic expressions, and explain that these expressions are often how real-world math
problems need to be solved. List problems on the board with letters and ask students to try to explain what the letter
represents.
Have students provide examples of algebraic and non-algebraic expressions to check for understanding of the basic concept.
Then teach students how to solve basic addition and subtraction problems using algebraic expression/variables. Complete 5
simple equations whole-class. Instruct class to complete 5 questions with partners. They will complete 10 questions as
homework.
Day 4:
Begin class by reviewing homework. Show students how they can use their answer to check if it is correct with algebraic
equations. Practice 5 problems of this method whole class.
Explain that we will be shifting to word problems today using the skills from yesterday. Present a word problem and model
dissecting the word problem to pull out important information. Show class how to determine what information you have given in
the problem and what information you still need to find this number will be the variable.
Hand out a cheat sheet that discusses words in word problems and how they generally translate to numbers. Model another
problem, asking students to give fist-to-five for understanding.
Have students complete two addition/subtraction word problems with partners. Assign one to be completed as an exit slip, and
an additional three as homework.
Day 5:
Review the previous few lessons by having a bell-ringer activity with variables in addition/subtraction equations. Review
homework. Explain that today we will be learning the same concepts with multiplication and division. Ask students to predict
what these equations will look like.
Model how to solve two multiplication and two division equations with variables. Have students work in partners on completing
a list of five multiplication equations with variables. Assign homework, 10 problems of the multiplication/division equations with
variables.
Day 6:
Review for half the period, then hand out unit quiz including all types of problems taught in this lesson.

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)

Lesson Plan Template

Date: January 15, 2016

Grade/Class/Subject: 7th Grade, Math, Pre-Algebra

TAKE DIRECTLY FROM YOUR UNIT PLAN:

The Big Ideas for the Unit:
Introduction to Algebraic Concepts: Using Variables & Completing Word Problems
State/National Standards addressed in this lesson:

Expressions and Equations

7.EE.B.4
Use variables to represent quantities in a realworld or mathematical problem, and construct
simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.
Expressions and Equations
7.EE.A.2
Understand that rewriting an expression in different forms in a problem context can shed light
on the problem and how the quantities in it are related. For example, a + 0.05a = 1.05a means
that "increase by 5%" is the same as "multiply by 1.05."

The Number System
7.NS.A.3
Solve realworld and mathematical problems involving the four operations with rational
numbers.

Content Objective(s): What will students know and/or be able to do after the lesson?
(Observable and measurable skill, DIRECTLY related to both the standard, and your
independent practice at the end of the lesson. Remember to include criteria for measuring
the goal.)

Students will critique a word problem to identify necessary terms to produce an equation four
times given five examples.

Students will solve for a variable using the equation they found from a word problem seven times
given ten examples.

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)

Instructional materials: (What book or online resources will you use with students? What
additional resources will you use for your own lesson prep? Will you engage students with
technology?)

For students:
Bennett, J., Chard, D., Jackson, A., Milgram, J., Scheer, J., & Waits, B. (2004). Holt middle school
math.
Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

*Will be available in computer and text form to engage students who respond well with
technology

For lesson planning:
Reid, R., Lienemann, T. ,& Hagaman, J. (2013). Strategy instruction for students with learning
disabilities (2nd Ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
LDonline.org

*Helps understanding of strategy usage and student characteristics

PROACTIVE PLANNING:
Academic Scaffolds (supports for the class in general) and Accommodations (supports for
your case study student):
What background knowledge is required for students to be successful with this
lesson?
Students will need to know how to add and subtract. They will also need basic reading
comprehension skills. They will also need to remember how to plug a solution into a
variable of an equation to check their answer (learned in the previous lesson).
What vocabulary will need to be taught/pre-taught in this lesson?
Students will need to have definitions of the following words in a math context: variable,
translate, equation, expression, and operation.
What are the potential barriers to instruction and assessment for your case study
student?
Katie struggles with basic math facts and calculation skills, so she might get caught up on
adding and subtracting bigger numbers. Katie tends to reverse numbers when copying
them, so she may have difficulty with word problems including double-digit numbers. She
also struggles with completing steps of a word problem in order, which will mostly be
worked on during this lesson.
Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)

Universal Design for Learning supports to address the identified barriers:

Options for Multiple Means of Representation:
Teacher will provide options for decoding text and mathematic notation by modeling and
reinforcing skills used to dissect word problems. Teacher will also enhance student focus
on big ideas by handing out a graphic organizer to help students identify important terms
in word problems.
Options for Multiple Means of Action and Expression:
Students may use the online version of the textbook if technology better suits their learning
needs. Students will be provided scaffolds during guided instruction to aid in improving
skills and be given skills to monitor their own progress (checking their answers as part of
STAR).
Options for Multiple Means of Engagement:
Teacher will reduce threat/distraction by assigning student partner pairs. Teacher will also
encourage use of self-assessment when completing word problems (checking their
answers as part of STAR). They will also foster collaboration and communication by having
students work in pairs.

YOUR LESSON SHOULD INCLUDE EITHER ONE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING STRATEGY OR ONE
READING OR WRITING STRATEGY:
Executive Functioning/Metacognition Skills: Especially think about how you can get
students to self-evaluate their learning AND how they can use what they are learning in
other settings (generalizing skills)
Students will evaluate their understanding of new concepts by showing a fist-to-five ranking.
Students will also be taught skills to check their solution of a variable to see if it is correct so they
will be able to self-monitor their solutions. For generalization, the skills learned in using steps in a
word problem will help as students work with word problems in future classes (mostly math and
science related).
Reading or writing strategies: what strategy is incorporated in this unit to increase
students acquisition of skills?
STAR is included as a math/reading strategy to aid comprehension of word problems.

Lesson Sequence:
Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)

The lesson should follow direct instruction with a gradual release of responsibility format.

Anticipatory Set: 3 components: activate background knowledge, provide the purpose for
the lesson, and engage students in the lesson. Rememberthis has to be tied to the lesson
standards and objective.

Bell ringer: Ask students to solve for a variable on three problems on the board.
Once students have finished, review the three problems.
Tell class that we will be shifting to solving word problems with variables today.
Explain that this is most likely where you will encounter variables in the real world.

Input and Modeling: These are typically done together: In this section you are teaching
students skills and content. You are modeling skills for them that you hope they are able to
begin to do independently. The best way to do this is often step by step. (this is the I DO
part of the lesson). Remember, this has to be tied to the lesson standards and objective.

Teach students how to translate between words and equations. Begin by presenting a word
problem and dissecting it by circling words that are likely important for coming up with the
equation. Emphasize where the variable will be. Explain why the circled words may be important.
Tell class that this is the first part of the strategy we will be using to dissect word problems.

Put a different word problem on the board. This time, model it using STAR (search the word
problem, translate the problem, answer the problem, review the solution). Model each step
separately in one word problem and review the steps upon completion. Place emphasis on
checking your answer.


Hand out a cheat sheet that details words commonly used in word problems that guides you to
the important information. Allow students to use this during partner work.

Check for Understanding: These are the questions you will ask students during input,
modeling, and guided practice. You need to ask questions to be sure students understand
what you are teaching before you move them to independent practice. You need to ask a
mix of question types to address both lower and higher order thinking skills.

What words stick out in this problem?
What do I do first to solve the word problem?
What acronym do we use to solve word problems?
How do I check to make sure my solution is correct?
Fist-to-five, where are you on dissecting word problems using STAR?

Guided Practice: This is the WE DO part of the lessonthis means you work with the
entire class, or you partner students to practice the skills you taught during Input and
Modelingit is an extension of that work.

Students complete worksheet with a partner. Each partner group will complete five problems of
circling important words in a word problem and five problems solving for a variable in a word
Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)

problem using STAR. Conference with students and take questions while students are working
with partners.

Independent Practice: Lesson Assessment: (this is the YOU DO part of the lesson): This
has to be directly related to the lesson standards, objective, modeling, and guided practice.

Students will complete a worksheet circling important words in a word problem on five problems
and solving for a variable in a word problem using STAR on ten problems. Whatever they do not
finish in class is homework.

Lesson Closure: Reviewwhat did they learn today? How is this tied to what they will learn
tomorrow?

Tell students that tomorrow we will continue to work with variables. Tomorrow will bring
multiplication and division with variables. Students are encouraged to review their basic
multiplication/division facts at home.

Source: Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template (Wiggins/McTighe 2005)