Equal Signs and Mystery Numbers

Michelle Brumfield
nd
2 Grade/Mathematics

Common Core Standards:

1. OA.7 Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if

equations involving addition and subtraction are true or false. For
example, which of the following equations are true and which are
false? 6 = 6; 7 = 8 – 1; 5 + 2 = 2 + 5; 4 + 1 = 5 + 2.
1.OA.8 Determine the unknown whole number in an addition or
subtraction equation relating three whole numbers. For example,
determine the unknown number that makes the equation true in each
of the equations: 8 +? = 11; 5 =? − 3; 6 + 6 =?

Lesson Summary:

During this lesson, the students will gain an understanding of what the “=” sign means in any addition or
subtraction equation and should be able to tell if equations are true or false. Once the students gain this
knowledge, we will make it a little more difficult by having students fill in the blank, using context clues
surrounding the equation to find out the missing number in an addition or subtraction equation. The purpose of
this lesson plan is to have the students’ brains begin working on simple equations, being able to tell what
numbers equal/do not equal each other, as well as what numbers can be substituted into a missing spot to make
an equation correct. The students will be using technology to aid in their learning by playing games online
practicing related content being taught in class, take a quiz/assessment online (where I can keep track of their
progress), and they will be able to play a collaborative game in groups called Kahoot created by the teacher
before the post-assessment test on Friday.

Estimated Duration:

This lesson will be divided into five 40 to 45-minute class periods (Monday-Friday) with Friday being the
post-assessment in the form of a test. Since the students will be involved in teacher instruction, technology
learning, as well as group collaboration activities, I think it will be beneficial to have this longer class time
period to account for preparation including students getting technology devices, listening to me when giving
directions/examples, beginning the work for the day, and incorporating time that will be taken up for questions.

Commentary:

I plan on hooking the students into the lesson by asking a math question related to the material they are about
to learn. Then, there will be a graph up on the board where there will be 4 answers (one of them being the
correct one) and depending on the answer, the kids will pick a colored post it note, place it above the answer
they believe to be correct, and will sit back down in their seats. Then they are able to visually see how many
students (post it notes) are above the correct answer in which I will tell them which answer is correct and why.
This is a great way for me to gauge which students are on the right track from the very start and what we have
to work on before I teach the lesson. Also, it is a great way to get the kids up and moving for a second before
the lesson will begin. I think that one of the challenges of this lesson will be the technology part, as in getting
the students signed into the games, websites, Kahoot, etc. and having the students get used to these technology
resources properly, and quickly (so we don’t waste too much time signing into them). I think to avoid some of
these challenges, I will demonstrate on the whiteboard projector from my computer screen how to sign in to
the technology devices, and resources with the students while they are signing in so they can easily see how
it’s done, and that way I take care of all the students at once to reduce wasting time, and the same questions
being asked when students get stuck on how to get somewhere, and which buttons to push.

Instructional Procedures:

Day 1:
First 10 minutes: Introductory Activity- Students will participate in the question I ask them which will be “I
have mini M&M packages and mini Skittles packages up on my desk. What I want is for you to come up when
I call your table and decide if I have the same amount of Skittles packages as I do M&M packages.” There will
5 of each package so the answer will be yes, they are equal. “Next, once you count the packages and have your
answer, you will walk over to the board, and there is a chart with numbers. You will put a post it notes above
the number of each package (Skittles of M&M’s) you think there are (options include: 5, 8, 2, 4). Then you
will pick up another post it note and if they are equal, you will put the post it in the “Yes” group, and if you do
not think they have the same number of packages then you will put the post it in the “No” category”. Dismiss
students by each table to complete this task. After each table has gone up to my desk, counted and completed
the board task with post it notes I will tell the students the real answer that there are 5 of each candy package
and that they are equal. This means that the number of packages on both sides are the same. This introduces
them to the equal sign which I will write up on the board demonstrating what we will be learning today. Give
the students candy packages to take with them to lunch (if allowed to have candy).
Next 15 minutes: Pre-assessment- Students will participate in the 10-question pre-assessment using technology
devices for me to get the results and gauge how well the students know or do not know the material they are
about to learn. This assessment will go question by question, and the students will have time to answer each
question, and once I see that all students have submitted their answer, I will move on to the next question.
Last 10 minutes: After the students complete the pre-assessment, I will spend the last 10 minutes explaining to
the students what the equal sign means, I will do 3 math problems with the students showing how 9=9, 7 does
not equal 4 etc. until class time is over explaining to them that if it =’s the same number it is found to be true
and if it does not = the number on the other side then it is called false.

Day 2:
First 5 minutes: Recap from Monday- The students will recap what they learned in math class yesterday. Ask
students “What did we learn and work on yesterday?”. Students response should be equal sign and true and
false meaning and when to use it. Then go over when we use the equal sign and what true and false mean to
refresh their minds.
Next 5 minutes: Write 3 math examples that have an equal sign in between two numbers and ask the students
to work as a table group to solve these 3 math examples stating if they are equal (true) or not equal (false) and
if it makes sense of the math problems to have an equal sign. Math problems:
1) 3=2
2) 8=8
3) 9=4
Next 20 minutes: Play math games- The students will play math games that involve telling if two numbers get
the equal sign, and true/false questions using addition and subtraction. If students complete this easily and
quickly, they can participate in the “challenge” games that will be a little trickier with bigger numbers.
Last 10 minutes: Come together and review: The students will put away their technology devices (and plug
back in if they used chrome books/laptops) then we will have a discussion as a class as to what we are learning
and the problems they found to be difficult (if any) and we will discuss as a class the correct answer and why
the answer is correct. This can also include difficult questions from the “challenge” games as well.

Day 3:
First 5 minutes: Mystery Number Problem- The students will work with their table group members on the
mystery number problem seen on the board which is the beginning of the second standard they will be
learning. This mystery number problem will be: 8+? =11. The answer should be 3. Using addition is simpler
than subtraction so this is the perfect math mystery problem to get the students engaged and thinking about
what we will be learning.
Next 10 minutes: Explanation- The students will listen to me explain how you solve for a missing number.
“When trying to find a missing or “mystery” number to solve an equation and make it true (incorporating
terminology used from the previous days in class) you must look at the context clues. Now you might be
wondering, what in the world are context clues? They are the numbers and signs around the mystery number
that you do not know. These are clues that you will use to help you solve for the missing number”.
Demonstrate a few mystery number equations.
Next 15 minutes: Mystery Numbers Worksheet- The students will individually work on an 8-question
worksheet that I have prepared and created for them using both addition and subtraction, but mostly addition.
The students will be free to ask me questions as well as talk to their table members if they have any questions.
If the students do not complete this in the 15-minute time period given, they will not be able to participate in
online learning games until they do so.
Last 20 minutes of class: Complete worksheet, math games, and check-in: The students will complete their
worksheet during this time if not completed earlier. When the students finish their worksheet, they will turn it
in to the basket for me to grade and gain feedback on how they are doing with this new lesson/standard.

Day 4:
First 10 minutes: Review on Addition/Subtraction Mystery Problems- The students will tell me what they
learned the day before on learning addition and subtraction mystery problems. They will then individually
complete the 3 example problems on the board as a warm-up (1 addition 2 subtraction). Once they have
completed this, I will have them lay their head on their desks and close their eyes. I will ask the students who
got what answer for questions 1-3 to see who has a good understanding of the material so far. Then I will ask
them to “raise your hand if you feel good about this new stuff we are learning in class” and to “raise their hand
if they are feeling not too good about the new stuff we are learning in class”. This way I can gain an
understanding of how the students are feeling towards this new material.
Next 15 minutes: Focus on Subtraction- The students will complete a worksheet I created for them on-line. It
will consist of 10 mystery questions (2 addition and 8 subtraction). When the students are done, they will
submit the assignment and begin playing math games with a mixture of addition and subtraction mystery
problems.
Last 20 minutes: Grade and Check-in with students- The students will play their math games while I quickly
grade their work online, they just submitted. If the students appear to be struggling and did not get a good
score on the worksheet they just did, I will pull them aside in a group and see how they are doing and feeling.
Then I will help the students with solving some of the problems they all missed for the last 20 minutes of class.

Day 5:
First 10 minutes: Review Game- The students will engage in a Kahoot game using their devices. I will have
already set up a mixture of questions from both standards they have learned throughout the week, and the
students will have to answer the multiple-choice questions with the answer they believe to be correct. I will
continue this, and they will answer as many questions as they can until 10 minutes is up. I would like to try and
do 1 minute per question so that they can get a decent amount of question practice in before they take the post-
assessment.
Next 5 minutes: Preparation for Post-assessment- The students will take out their pencils and any other
necessary materials for the test, put away all papers, go on a bathroom break and sit silently waiting for the rest
of the class to be prepared so the test can be passed out.
Last 30 minutes: Post-Assessment: The students will take the 20-question test with the remainder of the class
time that is left. If students finish early, they are to turn-in their test, and sit down in their seat and do silent
reading for the left-over time in the class period.

Pre-Assessment:

One strategy I plan on using to pre-assess student knowledge on my two standards is to have a short
questionnaire with a total of 10 questions related to the standards I am about to teach them. I will have 6
questions be from the first standard about equal signs, and true/false questions related to addition and
subtraction equations. Then 4 questions will be about finding the mystery number to complete an equation to
balance it out and make it correct. I will have the students use their personal phones or class chrome books to
answer these questions via the app called Socrative. The students will sign into my class using the class code
and answer the questions that will be multiple choice. The data will then be submitted to me and I can see a
graph of the results, and when all the students are done, I can tell how many students, and which students
picked the correct answer and which students struggled. They will do this pre-assessment individually so I can
assess what each student knows by themselves, and this way students can be anonymous and do not feel
pressured or embarrassed if they get questions wrong. This way I am able to see which students fall where in
regard to the material they are about to learn, and how quickly/slowly I should move through this lesson
depending on how much they already know or do not know.
Scoring Guidelines:
 The scoring guidelines for the pre-assessment I am going to give my students will regard two
guidelines. I will set my guidelines to 50%, so if I look at the data chart from the Socrative App used
and the students get half of the answers correct, 3/6 for standard one and 2/4 for standard two, then I
will assume that they have a decent handle on the material we are about to learn and that they fall in the
average category for these materials. If the students get below a 50% on either standard, I will assume
that they need more work on it, and I will have to move at a slower pace. Vice versa, if the students get
above 50%, then I know I can move quickly through the standards. What is nice about the
questionnaire I am going to give is that the easier standard has more questions, so if they do not know
this easier stuff, they likely will not know the second standard with less questions. I can also determine
if the students are knowledgeable on one standard over the other, or if they are very knowledgeable on
both standards.

Post-Assessment:

The post-assessment will be a paper test not a technology one online because I feel with math, it is essential for
students to show their work and when they turn in their test I can see their thought process right next to the
question. This test will consist of 20 math problems, where students will answer true/false questions, prove
they have learned what the equal sign means, and show what they have learned throughout the week about
filling in the blank to complete addition and subtraction problems.

Scoring Guidelines:

The scoring criteria for the post assessment will be higher than the pre-assessment because this is after
the students have spent 4 days and a review game on the day of the test regarding the lesson. This
should be plenty of time for students to ask questions during class, and complete homework and in
class assignments to get more familiar and learn the standards I am teaching them. The ideal score I
want the students to get is 15/20 which is a 75%. I feel this would be a fair score for the students to
achieve and missing only 5 questions is not that big of a deal but I would not go below missing 5
questions because then I feel that a 14/20 is not showing the students are comfortable and confident in
what they learned, and solving math problems like the ones on the test. If the students get below a
15/20, I will circle in red what question they missed, and have the students take it home as homework
for the weekend to fix the missing questions, and return it back to me on Monday.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated
students: For students that are gifted/accelerated in the material we are learning; I would offer challenge
problems for them. If the students are moving along with the lesson well, then I would add a few challenge
games where during technology time when the other students are doing the initial assignment, the gifted
students can opt out of that and challenge themselves with harder games with harder problems making them
think outside of the box and advance their thinking so they are not bored since they can easily do what we are
learning in class.

Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be struggling with the
material: If students are struggling with the material, my first step would be seating them next to a gifted
student who is learning the material well so that if the struggling student needs help, they can ask the gifted
student. I feel like sometimes kids can explain to kids better than a teacher can because their explanation might
be better to each other since adult’s explanations might not get through to them. My next step would be
offering more practice for these students. I can create more games for them to play so they can get more
practice in. I also feel like flexible seating might work well too because these students can pick a comfortable
non-traditional seating and workplace to do their assignments where they feel comfortable and can get work
done efficiently.

Extension

Below I will put the URL to a math website for younger children that can be used for additional practice and
explanation with multiple different lessons. This website has tutorials, practice problems, and an answer sheet
to the practice problems. This is beneficial because the students (and parents) can gain a tutorial on how to
complete the problem, then they can use what they learned from this video and go back to it when doing the
practice problems. Then when the student has completed the math problems regarding to the lessons being
taught in class, the parent and double check the answers the student got to make sure their child is going in the
right direction and understands the standards they are learning in class.
https://corbettmathsprimary.com/content/

Homework Options and Home Connections

Each day the students learn something new related to our standards being learned this week, I will send home
any work they did not complete during class time that day. If all the students complete their classwork during
that day, I will print off a small worksheet with 5 problems regarding what we did in class that day. I will also
assign games the students can play online, and they must spend at least 20 minutes playing the games,
allowing for them to get practice in. I would encourage parents to get involved in the learning skills addressed
in my lesson by sending out an e-mail or class text to the parents making them aware of the “homework” and
practice the students are to complete. I will send daily updates to the parents to include them in what we
worked on in class that day and if there is anything the students need to work on for homework that night.

Interdisciplinary Connections

1) Graph Reading (Math): In the beginning of the lesson, the students will do a post it note activity that
will get them up and moving and allowing me to see if the students can tell two things are equal. When
the students put the post-it note above the number, they find to be correct, they will put it in a straight
line above the correct answer creating something similar to a bar graph. I will have already filled in the
x-axis (answer) and y-axis (number of students that chose the answer). This is incorporating the kids
into viewing data in a graph this way, and it can help them visually see how many post-it notes, and the
number of students that chose each answer.
2) Speaking and Listening (Language Arts): The students are learning how to collaborate effectively with
other students when doing table work. They are learning the common etiquette when working with
 others such as turn taking learning when the right time to speak is (when someone is not talking) and
when the right time to listen is (when someone is talking).

Materials and Resources:

For teachers Colored post-it notes, multiple M&M and Skittles mini packages, smart board with
stylus, pre-assessment, post-assessment, math games website games (including some
challenge games) with both addition and subtraction problems, mystery numbers
worksheet, warm-up problems, online worksheet, Kahoot review game, .

For students Pencils, laptop/chrome book for each student to complete math games with,
smartphone/iPad for Kahoot game, smart board with stylus.

Key Vocabulary

Equal sign: used when two numbers have the same value.
True: it is equal and exact to what it is being compared to.
False: it is not equal to what it is being compared to.
Addition: adding a number to another number.
Subtraction: taking away a number from another number.
Technology: fun games, and ways to use computers, iPads, phones etc. that we will use for learning purposes.

Additional Notes
-I will continue to look at the student’s progress throughout their time playing the math games. The website
will allow me to see their progress and how much they are getting correct. If I see students’ struggling I will
assign extra math games and/or worksheets for the students to complete at home.