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How to Teach Inequalities

Inequalities are a concept in pre-Algebra. Students as early as first grade are introduced to this idea. At a basic level, inequalities show which number is larger symbolically. Students need to know three phrases and their corresponding symbols: greater than, less than and equal to. The greater than and less than symbols looks like Vs laying on their side. Students need to know how to express inequalities in graphic form and words. Teaching inequalities is easy and fun when students have a strong number sense.

Instructions

- 1
  Write a simple inequality problem on a whiteboard with extra space between the two numbers. An example problem is 2 and 7.
- 2
  Tell students that the inequality alligator always eats the largest number. Create an alligator with one hand and ask students to do the same.
- 3
  Draw an alligator mouth with the open end pointing facing the largest number. If the numbers are the same, an equal sign goes between the two numbers.
- 4
  Instruct students how to verbalize the inequality. For example, "two is less than seven." If the example was reversed, the phrase is "seven is greater than two." For the same number, it is "three is equal to three."
- 5
  Solve different problems during group instruction.

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