Instructional Software

Lesson Idea Name: What is an Equal Sign?

Content Area: Addition, Subtraction, and Equations

Grade Level(s): 1st

Content Standard Addressed:

MGSE1.OA.7 Understand the meaning of the equal sign, and determine if equations involving addition and
subtraction are true or false.

Students will be able to work with addition and subtraction equations by understanding the definition of
the equal sign.

Selected Technology Tool: Khan Academy

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable and goes directly to the lesson):
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/early-math/cc-early-math-add-sub-20/cc-early-math-equals-
sign/v/equal-sign

Type of Instructional Software:

☐ Drill and Practice ☐ Tutorial ☐ Simulation ☐ Instructional Game ☐ e-books/e-references

Features of this software (check all that apply):

☐ Assessment Monitoring/Reporting

☐ Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students

☐ Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in the class

☐ Multi-user or collaborative with others outside the class

☐ Accessible to students beyond the school day

☐ Accessible via mobile devices

☐ Multiple languages

☐ Safety, security and/or privacy features

Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy Level(s):

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☐ Remembering ☐ Understanding ☐ Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☐ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration:

☐ Infusion Level: Students may work at a higher Bloom’s Level, but they do not have any “Voice or Choice”
during the activity and most of the decisions are made by the teacher.

☐ Integration Level: We would like to see ALL lessons/activities reach this level. The project is student-
driven. Students have “Voice and Choice” in the activities, selecting the topic of study and determining the
technology tool to demonstrate mastery of the standard. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator.

☐ Expansion Level: The projects created are shared outside of the classroom, publishing student work and
promoting authorship. This could be reached by showcasing the project on the school’s morning
newscast, posting the project to the classroom blog, or publishing via an outside source.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): This lesson incorporates the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) by
giving students responsibility and means of taking action to grow in their mathematics foundation and engage
with the lessons outside of the classroom and allows them to pick the lesson they feel they are struggling with
and give them the chance to engage with the lesson at their own pace. All students can watch with captions
of multiple languages and the opportunity to pause and replay as many times as they need. The lesson can
give students multiple unfinished equations and lead to a scavenger hunt to find the equals for all the
students to engage with the material in an exciting way and go at their own pace and solidify their
understanding of the equal sign in addition and subtraction equations on their own.

Lesson idea implementation:

The lesson can be introduced to students with image of cookies on one plate and cookies on another plate (or
anything you know your students are fond of) and asking them to decipher if they’re equal. The teacher can
then play the Khan Academy video on the Equal Sign and then dive into the scavenger hunt where they will be
given unfinished equations all over the room and they have to hunt down their equals. Teacher will serve as a
facilitator to allow students to take responsibility and guide themselves to all the answers and their own
understanding of addition and subtraction equations. Student learning will be assessed by their success in
finding the equation matches. Teachers can differentiate learning by seeing each student’s individual success
with the activity and decipher who needs extra support for the content. Teacher can give individual feedback
and decide a course of action with the student based on their success with the lesson. The lesson will
conclude with students going back to Khan Academy to deepen their practice with equations.

Reflective Practice:

This is an introductory lesson to the equal sign and equations so the lesson could be extended to rearranging

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the equation like 10 = 4 + 6 or include missing variables like 4 + ? = 10. Those next steps could challenge
student learning by broadening and deepening their understanding of equations. Any number of instructional
software that center on mathematic games or giving students the chance to create their own website or
online game or online quiz that helps them practice and apply these addition and subtraction equations.

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