Educators know all too well about students who do not turn in homework, however laziness is not always the cause. Sometimes the student has trouble understanding and does not have a place to go for assistance. Setting up a wiki for collaboration is a great activity that will allow students to work together to solve a series of problems. Wikis are websites that allow users to collaborate and edit content. The way a wiki can be used to solve two-step equations is to post a series of problems to various groups of students, and have them work it out together via the wiki. So not only can students reinforce the steps required to solve a two-step equations, they will be able collaborate with peers if they get stuck on one problem.
Students in this project are asked to develop a stapleless book via a website or with Powerpoint that will allow them to demonstrate how certain equations are solved. A stapleless book is essentially a guide that a student can create that describes how to solve certain two-step equations. The teacher will assign the various two-step equations to each student, who will in turn create a book with the solution. Each page will represent a different step of the equation which will assist the student in remember the various steps involved for future two-step equations. ReadWriteThink contains a stapleless book section for those that do not have Powerpoint (see Resources).
For activities to continue your two-step equation lesson, the Internet provides games that can be played at home or in the classroom. One example is Hoop Shoot, which can be played with one player or two, and also has a time challenge. Users are asked to solve a two-step equation by choosing the correct answer. If they get the answer right, they move on the free throw line to take a shot for extra points. The game can be played at different levels, from rookie to advanced, and is a fun way to hold your students' attention.
XP Math provides an activity that allows students to practice solving two-step equations, as well as keep track of the problems they have missed. The students are given a problem to solve, and have sixty seconds to figure out the correct answer. If the answer is missed, correct answer is shown and the student is given a new problem.There is also a practice mode available that turns off the timer for a less stressful activity.