Lillieana Lin

Small Group Lesson Plan: Inequalities

1. 6th Grade Math TEKS
a. MATH 6.9.A. Expressions, equations, and relationships. The student
applies mathematical process standards to use equations and inequalities
to represent situations. The student is expected to write one-variable, one-
step equations and inequalities to represent constraints or conditions
within problems.
2. Lesson Objectives
a. TSWBAT write an inequality
b. TSWBAT write a one-variable
c. TSWBAT write and distinguish between different one-step equation
3. Time
a. 10-20 Minutes
4. Materials
a. Teacher
i. Blank copy of STAAR question, teacher’s copy of the student
worksheet, pen/pencil.
b. Student
i. Computer, GoFormative (where they do their exit ticket, DoNow,
and other assignments online), whiteboard/scratch paper (if they
want to show their work), pencil/dry erase marker.
5. Key Vocabulary
a. Inequality - a statement of an order relationship—greater than, greater
than or equal to, less than, or less than or equal to—between two
numbers or algebraic expressions.
6. Sequence of Instruction
a. Introduction
i. Tell student(s) we are going to do class work and practice test
taking strategies for the upcoming STAAR test. This set of
questions are going to go over inequalities and different equations.
b. Direct Instruction and Guided Practice
i. Have a student read the question aloud.
ii. Ask them what is the first step to taking the STAAR test
1. Writing CUBES on the side of the paper
iii. What is the first step of CUBES? What do we do for the C?
1. Circle key numbers & units
iv. Go ahead and circle what you think should be circled
1. Give 30 seconds to circle the numbers and units in the
problem
 v. After a couple seconds, have students share what they circled on
their paper
vi. Repeat steps (a) - (e) for the rest of CUBES
vii. When we get to the last two steps of CUBES, stop and make sure
that students have everything that you wrote matches what they
wrote on their paper.
1. Also, make sure students know what an inequality is and
what it means.
viii. Once we get to the solve part, ask them:
1. What is the question asking you to do?
a. Can Gabriel run more than 36 miles total? Yes!
b. Can Gabriel run exactly 36 miles? Yes!
c. Can Gabriel run less than 36 miles? No!
2. We want an inequality to have greater than or equal to sign
in the equation
ix. Have students independently write their inequality
x. Go through each answer choice and use the process of elimination
to get the correct answer.
c. Closure
i. What are the different inequality signs
1. Less than, greater than, equal to
ii. Make sure they hit submit online to turn in the classwork
1. Check that they have all their work shown on the screen
7. Formative Assessment and Differentiation
a. The student’s understanding will be checked throughout the small group
lesson. The teacher will be guiding them through the questions and asking
questions to make sure they understand the concept. The teacher will be
going through each step of the strategy to make sure there are no
misconceptions or confusion on the STAAR practice problem
b. English Learners - For ELLs, you may have to define and explain what
an inequality is to the student in simpler terms. I will speak slower, if
needed, for them to understand. If I have to, I will think of easier ways for
them to understand and draw out the problem for them to visualize better.
8. Reflection / Strengths and Improvements
a. My mentor teacher was not able to observe my small group because she
was on the other side of the room, so this will be what I thought my
strengths are. I thought I did a good job adapting to the student’s
questions and confusions to smoothly get through solving the problem.
Imitating the teacher and what she usually does with the whole class was
actually harder than I thought, so I would have to consider that something
I have to improve because I kind of got stuck on the last two parts of their
STAAR test strategies. If I am confused and unable to move forward in
front of the class, then they will be confused and not learn as well as
compared to if I was really prepared.