Lesson 1

Number Puzzles

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Lesson Narrative

In this introductory lesson, students solve and write number puzzles of the sort where you are given a series of operations on a number, and the final result, and have to find out the original number. These puzzles are good preparation for solving linear equations, where students have to perform operations on each side of the equation to isolate the variable. Students use representations of their choosing, such as line diagrams, tape diagrams, and equations.


Learning Goals

Teacher Facing

  • Calculate a missing value for a number puzzle that can be represented by a linear equation in one variable, and explain (orally and in writing) the solution method.
  • Create a number puzzle that can be represented by a linear equation in one variable.

Student Facing

Let’s solve some puzzles!

Learning Targets

Student Facing

  • I can solve puzzle problems using diagrams, equations, or other representations.

CCSS Standards

Building On

Building Towards

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