Third Grade Pollack Inspired Owls

Lost Marbles Balancing Equations

Although I teach visual arts now, I still create some general education materials by request. I was recently asked to come up with a math station activity for finding balanced equations. So, I came up with the concept of Lost Marbles. This “print and go” set of balanced equation problems for students to solve are a quick, low prep addition to math stations. Students add the two colors of marbles in the first jar to find the sum and use that sum to find the missing addend in the second jar to equal the same sum. Students can use manipulatives such as marbles, two-color counters, or beans to find the missing addend. The set includes sums from 4 to 10 and a blackline master to use for creating additional problems. Two versions of recording sheets are included for accountability. You can download the file from my TpT store.