Cracking the Code: Translating and Evaluating Numerical Expressions

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8th Grade level IIIBTC Style / Thinking Classrooms50 min

Learning Objective

Students will translate verbal expressions into numerical expressions and evaluate them using order of operations in real-world and mathematical contexts.

Lesson Overview

Students move from reading verbal phrases as numerical expressions to evaluating them using order of operations, culminating in real-world multi-step translation and evaluation tasks. Each task changes exactly one variable in complexity.

Materials

Vertical whiteboards or large chart paper
Dry-erase markers (multiple colors)
Pencils and notebook paper
Basic calculator (for checking ceiling tasks only)

Scaffolded Task Progression

1Task 1

Write the numerical expression described by each phrase. Do NOT evaluate yet.
a) The sum of

12

and

7

b) The product of

6

and

4

15

decreased by

9

d) The quotient of

20

and

5

2Task 2

Now EVALUATE each expression from Task 1.
a)

12 + 7

6 \times 4

15 - 9

20 \div 5

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