First, I used my flipbook to teach adding and subtracting polynomials. At the bottom of the page, I had my students include an example where they had to find the perimeter of a geometric figure.
The next day, we talked about distributing a monomial and finding the greatest common factor. I teach my students to "make a rainbow" when distributing. They did well with this first page, but hated having to combine like terms at the end!
Next, we completed a page about finding the greatest common factor. On the first example, I just had them watch and not start writing until I was totally done. They hate when I do this, but it helps them pay attention to what I am actually saying.
After that, we did an activity that I found on Math = Love and I included my own problems. My students thought this was TOUGH and we completed it together. They had a very difficult time determining whether something was factored or distributed. I think next time, I will have us sort them into categories together, then have them try the problems on their own.
The next day, we talked about multiplying binomials. I do not teach my students FOIL. I teach them to use a "rainbow" to distribute everything. I want them to be able to distribute anything, not just binomials. However, I wanted them to recognize the acronym FOIL, so I did put it in their hamburger book. We worked a few problems together, then I had them work with their partners.
The last day of the unit, almost as an afterthought, I taught students about the special cases. I wanted them to seem like extensions of what we have already done. This page took about five minutes and we moved on with our review day. Even teaching it this way, my students didn't miss it on their test. :)
We moved on to factoring next. You can read about that here.
Adding and Subtracting Polynomials Flipbook
Distributing and Factoring Monomials Notes
Multiplying Binomials Foldable
