Open ended questions to inspire your students to get ready to learn. This set of problems, "Expression Solution Fusion" inspired by Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, presents students with 5 solutions, then gives them specific parameters, including use of negative integers, on how to build expressions to equal those five solutions. This game has low floor, high ceiling qualities meaning that students of all levels can engage with the content but there is a possibility of very high level thinking with your fast learners.

Each question will take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. This is a great way to begin a period or to fill time with your fast finishers at the end of class.

What's included?

• 50 negative integer operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) thinking questions (5 per page with key)
• 50 pages designed to project or print with 1 thinking question per page along with instructions for students
• Two notes pages that can be added to an interactive notebook

How I Use This Resource

• Get students into random groups of 2 to 3
• Send students to whiteboard surface, preferably standing, preferably with 1 marker per group
• Give instructions using the script for each section.
• Continue giving the warm up thinking questions for as long as you like before starting your lesson.
• Give students the “Notes” page to write down their thoughts on the patterns they see as they work through the thinking questions.

Key

• There is a “key” included with each set of questions, but keep in mind that students may come up with an acceptable solution that is different than the one I listed. Make students prove to you that their solution is correct rather than giving them a yes or no.

Tip

• I like to have different groups of students check each other when I am unable to get to them (because I am with another group) - then they have permission to start on the next round. I have each group  of students write the problem they are working on at the top of their boards so that other groups can see what is next

I try to avoid telling students that they are “correct” rather, I want them to prove to me that their work is logical. I encourage them to keep their work up on the whiteboard so they can show me what they did and use it on later problems. Once they are sure their work is correct, I give them the next set of problems.

Some groups will obviously work faster than others. Continue to give them problems and avoid telling them how many they have left. If a group finishes the problem sets that you have for them, challenge them to come up with their own Expression Solution Fusion set!

Please remember to follow my page and “rate” this product to receive Teachers Pay Teachers credit toward your next purchase.

You may also enjoy:

Math Facts and Fluency - Adding Integers

Or to find more like this product:

Expression Solution Fusion - Adding and Subtracting Negative Numbers

Expression Solution Fusion - Adding and Subtracting Positive and Negative Numbers