Suitable for Grades: 7th Grade, Algebra I
CCSS: 6.EE.A.3, 7.EE.A.1, HSA.APR.A.1
CCSS Description: Apply the properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions. For example, apply the distributive property to the expression 3 (2 + x) to produce the equivalent expression 6 + 3x; apply the distributive property to the expression 24x + 18y to produce the equivalent expression 6 (4x + 3y); apply properties of operations to y + y + y to produce the equivalent expression 3y.
Apply properties of operations as strategies to add, subtract, factor, and expand linear expressions with rational coefficients.
Understand that polynomials form a system analogous to the integers, namely, they are closed under the operations of addition, subtraction, and multiplication; add, subtract, and multiply polynomials.
Introduce your students to expanding parentheses with this worksheet that uses algebra tiles and the area model/grid method throughout.
Section A begins with an example showing the method using algebra tiles, and the rest of the section is scaffolded to ease learners in. To aid students, all terms and multipliers in section A are positive.
The example in section B uses the area model/grid method, but without algebra tiles, and also introduces negative constants into expressions.
Throughout sections C and D, students will be expanding parentheses where the coefficient of the variables is greater than 1 and where the multiplier contains a variable. Section C contains only positive terms. Section D introduces negative terms once more.