Solving Absolute Value Equations

This year, I taught solving absolute value equations for the source fourth dimension ever.  They weren't included inward Oklahoma's former standards for Algebra 1 or Algebra 2, as well as hence I didn't comprehend them.  I felt a tiny chip guilty nearly non teaching them because I knew my students would hold out seeing them on the ACT test.  Oklahoma has right away rewritten our standards to align to a greater extent than closely amongst the ACT, as well as hence right away I receive got to instruct them.  I've been nervous nearly teaching them, but I retrieve it ended upward going genuinely well.

My Algebra 1 students are currently claiming that this is the EASIEST thing we've done all year.  I would disagree amongst that, but I receive got heard pupil later pupil portion that sentiment.  Of course, a lot of that is belike due to the fact that I gave them discussion problems for every unmarried equation as well as inequality we've solved this year.  Yes, I'm that hateful instructor who is making them write their ain equations or inequalities earlier they larn to solve them.  It's genuinely been a genuinely awesome sense doing it this way, but it's taken sooooooooooooooooooooo long.  I'm create to larn done amongst our solving equations unit of measurement as well as movement on to something else!!!  So, I decided to forego the discussion problems as well as exactly give them unopen to context-less absolute value equations to solve.  Hopefully, I'll hold out able to fine-tune this adjacent twelvemonth as well as contain unopen to discussion problems for absolute value equations, too.

Here's the flow-chart-ish type thing I ended upward creating for my students to operate with:    

I was really proud of myself for non telling my students how to solve this type of equation,  Instead, I but asked them to remind me what absolute value means.  After a pupil reminded the course of teaching that absolute value is the distance a release is away from zero, the course of teaching was apace calling out answers.  "Three!"  Then, unopen to other pupil chimed inward "It could hold out negative three, too!"  So, nosotros discussed it.  Which numbers receive got a distance from null of 3?  3 as well as -3.  

So, nosotros wrote x = 3 inward 1 box as well as x = -3 inward the adjacent box.  There was fence nearly which release should hold out placed inward which box.  I told them it didn't affair every bit long every bit they pose the numbers inward the right lodge on the release line.  

We made our lazy release lines that exclusively contain the most of import numbers for the problem, 3 as well as -3.  Soon, a pupil was suggesting that nosotros pose closed circles on the 3 as well as -3.  Some students were confused nearly how nosotros knew they would hold out closed circles.  At first, I was confused nearly why they would hold out confused.  Then, I realized that the exclusively fourth dimension I had required my students to purpose a release work as well as hence far was when nosotros were doing inequalities.  This was an equation, as well as nosotros hadn't discussed how to graph solutions to an equation on a release work yet.  A twain of students suggested that nosotros should shade inward betwixt the -3 as well as 3, but other students chimed inward amongst why that would hold out inappropriate.  

I genuinely didn't receive got to create much teaching at all during this lesson because my students were doing almost all the work!  

The forepart of the foldable had them create 3 super uncomplicated absolute value equations.  Some students were convinced that the problems on the within were going to hold out exactly every bit easy, as well as hence they informed me they didn't demand my aid anymore.  I could sit down downward as well as exactly allow them work.  Then, they opened the foldable...

And, they did demand a chip of aid to larn started.  A pupil was able to nation us that the answers were 3 as well as -1 to the equation |x - 1| = 2, but nosotros needed a way to hold out able to solve the equation if nosotros couldn't encounter right away what the answers were.  I wrote |x - 1| = 2 on the dry out erase board (my projector for my SMARTboard decided to cash inward one's chips the other twenty-four hours as well as fill upward the room amongst smoke...) as well as covered the x - 1 business office upward amongst my hand.  I asked the course of teaching what the thing hiding nether my had had to equal.  In each class, somebody realized that what was nether my manus had to equal either +2 or -2.  So, that gave us our ii equations to solve.

The final ii problems I gave my students required them to isolate the absolute value bars FIRST.

I had planned on this lesson taking the entire fifty-minute period.  But, all of my classes (except 1 large course of teaching that struggles to remain placidity as well as on task) finished it inward 20-25 minutes!  

 Want the file I created?  I uploaded it every bit an editable Publisher file as well as a non-editable PDF file here!  

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