LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Algebra 1

Goal 1: Number and Operations - The learner will perform operations with numbers and expressions to solve problems.

Objective 1.02. Use formulas and algebraic expressions, including iterative and recursive forms, to model and solve problems.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

Working with parabolas
In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 2.3
In this lesson, students graph a quadratic equation to find a solution to a hypothetical scenario involving event planners.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9 Mathematics and Science)
By Debbie Brooks, Peggy Dickey, and Jan Sullivan.
Utility workers: Working with the Pythagorean theorem
In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 2.7
In this lesson plan, students use the Pythagorean theorem to solve a problem relevant to the careers of utility workers.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8–9 Mathematics)
By Debbie Brooks, Peggy Dickey, and Jan Sullivan.
Powers of monomials
This lesson is a PowerPoint presentation of the Powers of Monomials. It speaks on the following rules: Product of Powers, Power of a Power.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 Mathematics)
By Clarissa Kelly.
Postal polynomials
In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 2.6
In this lesson, students use polynomials to solve problems, and discuss how polynomials are relevant in some careers.
Format: lesson plan (grade 7 and 9 Mathematics)
By Debbie Brooks, Peggy Dickey, and Jan Sullivan.
Percent of change: What's the deal?
In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 2.5
In this lesson, students calculate percent of change and discuss how percent of change is used in retail careers.
Format: lesson plan (grade 7 Mathematics)
By Debbie Brooks, Peggy Dickey, and Jan Sullivan.
Free falling: Working with radicals
In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 2.4
In this lesson, students solve problems involving radicals and discuss the importance of radicals in various careers.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9 Mathematics)
By Debbie Brooks, Peggy Dickey, and Jan Sullivan.

Resources on the web

Vigenere cipher
In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students learn about the polyalphabetic Vigenere cipher. They encode and decode text using inverse operations. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Trout pond population
In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students use iteration, recursion, and algebra to model and analyze a changing fish population. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Symbolic analysis
In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit, students use iteration, recursion, and algebra to model and analyze a changing fish population. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Stacking squares
This Illuminations lesson prompts students to explore ways of arranging squares to represent equivalences involving square- and cube-roots. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Seeing music
In this Illuminations lesson, students calculate terms of a geometric sequence to determine frequencies of the chromatic scale. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Rediscovering the patterns in Pick's Theorem
In this lesson, the first in a series from Illuminations, students use a geoboard, geoboard applet, or Geometer's Sketchpad to discover the pattern of Pick's Theorem. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Light it up
In this Illuminations lesson, students are presented with a real-world problem: Given a mirror and laser pointer, determine the position where one should stand so that a reflected light image will hit a designated target. This investigation allows students... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Iterating to find the square root of two
In this lesson, from Illuminations, students use a computer software program to assist them in determining the square root of the number two to a given number of places (quite large). (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Gather data
In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students explore the development of a mathematical model for the decay of light passing through water, in a rich exploration of exponential models in context. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Dirt bike dilemma
In this Illuminations lesson, students discover the algorithm for solving linear programming problems. They gain conceptual understanding by solving a real-world problem and using graphing calculator applications. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
The Devil and Daniel Webster
This interdisciplinary lesson allows students to examine a recursive sequence in a game between the Devil and Daniel Webster. Illuminations provides an activity sheet, solutions for the activity, a link to a helpful spreadsheet, and detailed instructions... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Mathematics)
Provided by: Illuminations