Description
What our Inequalities lesson plan includes
Lesson Objectives and Overview: Inequalities teaches students the basics about inequalities, including what the symbols (< and >) mean. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to compare numbers using the <, >, and = sign through the hundreds. This lesson is for students in 1st grade and 2nd grade.
Classroom Procedure
Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the blue box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand. The supplies you will need for this lesson include construction paper, crayons or markers, and glue.
Options for Lesson
Included with this lesson is an “Options for Lesson” section that lists a number of suggestions for activities to add to the lesson or substitutions for the ones already in the lesson. One optional addition to this lesson is to have your students use a number line to compare two numbers. If you have more advanced students, you can try using larger numbers. You can also have your students use their arms to show the answer when working as a who class to incorporate kinesthetic learning.
Teacher Notes
The teacher notes page includes lines that you can use to add your own notes as you’re preparing for this lesson.
INEQUALITIES LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES
Inequalities (1-2)
The Inequalities lesson plan includes two content pages. In math, inequalities are sentences that use one of three symbols to show how the numbers relate to each other. The symbols are greater than (>), equal to (=), and less than (<).
An easy way to remember the symbols is to picture them as an alligator eating the numbers. The alligator always wants to eat the larger number, so its mouth will always open to the larger value.
To compare numbers, we look at differences in place value and use that to determine which is larger and which is smaller. The lesson includes a helpful place value chart that students can use to remind themselves of the different place values.
To solve inequalities, you need to figure out which number is bigger. The lesson includes a few examples! In the first example, we need to compare 73 and 71. The lesson shows a place value chart with tens and ones. The tens are the same (7), but the ones are different (3 and 1). Since 3 is greater than 1, 73 > 71.
When you compare numbers, start from the highest place value you have. In the second example, we’re comparing 365 and 378. We start by comparing the hundreds place, but they’re both the same (3). Next, we look at the tens, which are different (6 and 7). Since 7 is larger than 6, we know that 365 < 378.
Using a place value chart can help you learn how to compare numbers! Eventually, you won’t need to use a place value chart and will be able to solve inequalities in your own, just by looking at the numbers.
INEQUALITIES LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS
The Inequalities lesson plan includes four worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, a homework assignment, and a quiz. You can refer to the guide on the classroom procedure page to determine when to hand out each worksheet.
MAKE YOUR OWN ALLIGATORS ACTIVITY WORKSHEET
The activity worksheet asks students to design their own inequality symbols using construction paper or paper plates. They can use their favorite animal or alligators as inspiration for their design. They will then use their new symbols during in-class practice.
SYMBOLS PRACTICE WORKSHEET
For the practice worksheet, students will compare images of different numbers of objects using <, >, or =.
INEQUALITIES HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
The homework assignment asks students to use <, >, or = to make each statement true.
QUIZ
This lesson also includes a quiz that you can use to test students’ understanding of the lesson material. For the quiz, students will fill in the place value charts to solve each inequality.
Worksheet Answer Keys
This lesson plan includes answer keys for the practice worksheet, the homework assignment, and the quiz. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.
