Balanced Equations

My teammate, Mrs. Guzman, had a great way of having the students show their understanding of equal, or balanced, number sentences. Each student was given a sum to show with paper color tiles in two different ways on a student drawn balance scale. The students then wrote to explain the number sentences and how they were equal.

Balancing Number Sentences

The students used balance scales and manipulatives to demonstrate different ways to make the same sum. This helps them understand two different number sentences that are equal or to find a missing part of a number sentence.

Number Sentence Match Up

Mrs. Timms, who plans our math, came up with a fun game for the students to play to practice finding equivalent number sentences. The students have a set of cards with number sentences on them. They turn two over at a time, like in a traditional matching game. If the number sentences equal the same total, they get to keep the cards. If they do not, they have to put them back. This is a great game for them to play for additional practice while I work with  small groups.

Taking Math Outdoors

After several weeks of freezing temperatures, we have been loving the warmer weather. So, we decided to take math outside. We have been learning about balanced equations or number sentences. The Students took a dry erase board outside and I called out various number sentences. They wrote the number sentences and then drew circles under each addend. They then counted the number of circles on each side of the equal sign to see if both sides were equal, or balanced.