Unit 4, Lesson 12
Equations with Unknowns
Grade 2
Preparation
Lesson Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is for students to represent addition and subtraction and to find unknown values using a number line and equations with a symbol for the unknown.
Lesson Narrative
In previous lessons, students found the value of sums and differences within 100, represented their thinking on the number line, and compared different methods.
In this lesson, students find the number that makes addition and subtraction equations true within 100 in equations with unknowns in all positions. They continue to think about the relationships between the numbers in each equation and reason about how they can use the structure of the number line, the relationship between addition and subtraction, and their understanding of place value to find the number that makes each equation true (MP7).
The context of the first activity encourages all students to reason with the number line. In the second activity, students may use the methods and representations that make the most sense to them. The work of this lesson helps students make sense of the way the number line can be used to represent and solve story problems which will be useful in upcoming lessons.
- Representation
- MLR8
- Comprehend (in spoken and written language) the phrase “jumped __ to the right” refers to addition on the number line and the phrase “jumped __ to the left” refers to subtraction.
- Represent addition and subtraction situations using number lines and equations with a symbol for the unknown.
Required Preparation
None
Teacher Reflection Questions
Reflect on how students work together during partner work. How are students supporting one another when reasoning together and sharing mathematical ideas?
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