Algebra - Level 1

Achievement objectives

Exploring patterns and relationships
Within a range of meaningful contexts, students should be able to:

Exploring equations and expressions
Within a range of meaningful contexts, students should be able to:

Suggested learning experiences

Exploring patterns and relationships
Students should be:

• exploring repeating and sequential patterns by making and discussing them, using calculators to generate them, looking at how they continue, and predicting new terms;
• illustrating and talking about relationships, using pictures, arrows, and other methods.

Exploring equations and expressions
Students should be:

• exploring different ways to show the same number;
• telling number stories involving equals, less than, and greater than; writing and explaining number sentences using =, <, >; and using calculators and concrete material to make statements involving = and the operations (for example, 2 + 3 = 3 + 2).

Sample assessment activities

These assessment activities are examples of the kinds of tasks which teachers could devise for their own assessment programme.

Students:

• create a 4-member repeating pattern with physical objects, and describe where the pattern repeats;
• continue a 4-member repeating pattern (a pattern in a circle could be included);

• explain the rules for repeating "people" patterns. For example, who should be next in the pattern: boy, boy, girl, boy, boy, girl, ... and why?
• create and draw a repeating pattern.

Using this example, teachers could assess students' ability to:

• make and describe repeating and sequential patterns (A1);
• continue a repeating and sequential pattern (A1);
• devise and use problem-solving strategies to explore situations mathematically (MP1).

Students illustrate and talk about relationships between two sets, for example, the relationship "likes" between a group of students and their pets (cats, dogs, turtles, canaries).

Using this example, teachers could assess students' ability to:

• illustrate and talk about relationships (A1);
• use their own language ... and diagrams to explain mathematical ideas (MP1).

Students, working in groups, find out and record the number of different ways to get dressed, given four different coloured shirts and three different coloured hats.

Using this example, teachers could assess students' ability to:

• illustrate and talk about relationships (A1);
• devise and use problem-solving strategies to explore situations mathematically (MP1);
• use their own language ... and diagrams to explain mathematical ideas (MP1).

Students write a number sentence for a story. For example, Genna collected 4 shells from one place on the beach and 2 shells from another place. She has 6 shells altogether.

Using this example, teachers could assess students' ability to:

• write number sentences, using = , from story contexts (A1);
• make up, tell, and record number stories, up to 9, about given objects and sequence pictures (N1).

Sample development band activities

• Students arrange and re-arrange a number of objects to show different ways of representing the number. They read and record each arrangement and explain the result.
• Students make a chart showing the relationships they have sorted from a set of picture cards.
• Students make a number story book and share their entries with others. An entry might be: Mum had three potatoes and Dad had seven. 7+3=10. Dad ate more than Mum. He had 4 more. 7 is 4 more than 3.
• Students explore, record, and describe a variety of number patterns, for example, by using a hundreds board.