Algebra and Understanding the Equal Sign
After reading Chapter 2 of Children’s Understanding of Equality, it was a real eye opener for me as a teacher. Reading more information on students understanding of Algebra and the equal sign made me look deeper into my students’ understanding. In the article, “Does Understanding the Equal Sign Matter?” a study was conducted to see how well the students understood the equal sign and how it is important in solving equations. The results corresponded to the chapter above. I am an 8 th grade special education math teacher. We are working on solving equations and working with my students I began to see where my students did not understand what the equal sign meant. When the problem was set up this way 2x + 4 = 6, all students understood what to do because it was in the “correct” order according to them. As soon as they saw the problem this way 6 = 2x + 4, some students did not know what to do. They raised their hands and asked for help because the problem was no...