Less Than

Starter of The Day Transum Mathematics Topics

Transum,
This quite an advanced mathematical statement but sometimes it is effective for pupils to learn about a concept by unpicking a more complex problem rather than starting with the very simplest examples. A little 'trial and improvement' is expected though of course those with experience of solving inequalities may choose to solve the problem in the way the answer is presented below.
John Tranter,
Never smile at a crocodile,
Beware its welcome grin,
Don't stand too close to its open mouth
in case you topple in!
If the open mouth faces to the left,
Remember this you might,
The number there is bigger than
the number to the right.
If the open mouth faces to the right,
Learn this fact by heart,
The number there is bigger than
the number at the start.
Transum, Twitter
Today a student disagreed with me about which way round the greater-than sign was. She said let's Google it. This was the result! #mathschat #mathchat #mathsCPDchat #fakenews I love teaching Maths - we had a laugh! pic.twitter.com/EYDz1zRAPw
— Transum (@Transum) March 15, 2018

How did you use this starter? Can you suggest how teachers could present or develop this resource? Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback and helps make this free resource even more useful for Maths teachers anywhere in the world.
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Previous Day | This starter is for 10 May | Next Day

Answers

2x - 14 < 5x - 5
-9 < 3x
x > -3

5x - 5 < 7x - 7
2 < 2x
x > 1

Note to teacher: Doing this activity once with a class helps students develop strategies. It is only when they do this activity a second time that they will have the opportunity to practise those strategies. That is when the learning is consolidated. Click the button above to regenerate another version of this starter from random numbers.

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Educational Technology on Amazon

Teacher, do your students have access to computers such as tablets, iPads or Laptops? This page was really designed for projection on a whiteboard but if you really want the students to have access to it here is a concise URL for a version of this page without the comments:

Transum.org/go/?Start=May10

However it would be better to assign one of the student interactive activities below.

Laptops In Lessons

Here is the URL which will take them to a related student activity.

Transum.org/go/?to=Inequalities

Try Level 7